{"scenes": ["PLEASANTVILLE `` He was part of my dream of course but then I was part of his dream too.'' - Lewis Carroll `` Through the looking glass''", "INT. HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM. DAY. A college counselor stands at the Podium lecturing the high school seniors about their future. COLLEGE COUNSELOR For those of you going on to college next year, the chance of finding a good job will actually decrease by the time you graduate. The available number of entry level jobs will drop thirty - one percent over the next four years. Median income for those jobs will go down as well. There is some rustling in the audience. COLLEGE COUNSELOR Obviously, my friends, it's a competitive world and good grades are your only ticket through. In fact, by the year Two Thousand.", "INT. HIGH SCHOOL. HEALTH CLASS. A different teacher lectures a different class of students. HEALTH TEACHER The chance of contracting HIV from a non - monogamous life - style will climb to one in one hundred and fifty. The odds of dying in an auto accident are only one in twenty - five hundred. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Now this marks a drastic increase.", "INT. HIGH SCHOOL. SCIENCE CLASS. Same angle. Different teacher. SCIENCE TEACHER From just four years ago when ozone depletion was at ten percent of its current level. By the time you are twenty years old, average global temperature will have risen two and a half degrees, causing such catastrophic consequences as typhoons, floods, widespread drought and famine. REVERSE ANGLE. STUDENTS. They stare back in stunned silence. One of them, DAVID WAGNER, sits in the front row with a pencil in his mouth. Nobody moves. SCIENCE TEACHER -LRB- chipper `` classroom'' tone. -RRB- Okay. Who can tell me what famine is? 1958 Birds are chirping. The sun is shining. All the hedges are neatly pruned and the lawns are perfectly manicured. A sweet stillness hangs over the SUBURBAN STREET, which is bathed in beautiful BLACK AND WHITE. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- OS. -RRB- Honey, I'm home.", "INT. SUBURBAN HOME. GEORGE PARKER enters the front door and hangs his hat on the coatrack. He sets his briefcase down and moves into the foyer with a huge smile on his face. It's a frozen smile that does n't seem to be affected by too much in particular - like a tour guide at Disneyland. WOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Hello darling. WIDER. MRS. GEORGE PARKER -LRB- BETTY -RRB- enters, untying the back of her apron. She is a vision of'50s beauty with a trim figure and concrete hair. Betty crosses to her husband and hands him a fresh martini. She kisses him on the cheek. BETTY How was your day? GEORGE Oh, swell. You know, Mr. Connel said that if things keep going the way they are, I might be seeing that promotion sooner than I thought. BETTY Oh darling that's wonderful! -LRB- an adoring gaze. -RRB- I always knew you could do it.", "INT. WAGNER LIVING ROOM. NIGHT. 1996 -- (LIVING COLOR) DAVID WAGNER sits on his couch watching this entire action on a sleek new Sony T.V.. He stares riveted at the set with a big smile on his face. David wears black shoes, black pants, black T - shirt and a black baseball cap, not a nerd exactly. He reaches next to him into a huge bag of Doritos, never taking his eyes off the show. GEORGE -LRB- OS. -RRB- -LRB- on T.V. -RRB- Hey, Pumpkin! What's that smell? -LRB- sniffing. -RRB- Is that your meat loaf? DAVID -LRB- by rote. -RRB- `` It might be.'' BETTY -LRB- OS. -RRB- -LRB- shy smile. -RRB- It might be. He leans over and kisses her - again on the cheek. GEORGE -LRB- OS. -RRB- Oh Pumpkin! You sure know the way to this man's heart. There is a loud and inappropriate LAUGH TRACK. David smiles wider and is just about to reach for more corn chips, when his real MOTHER'S VOICE rings out from the other room. DAVID'S MOM -LRB- OS. -RRB- Bullshit Barry, that was n't the deal.", "INT. KITCHEN. David's mom paces the room with the phone in her hand. Between the plastic surgery and the make - up it's hard to fix her age. DAVID'S MOM No - you have custody the first weekend of every month and this is the first weekend. -LRB- pause. -RRB- I do n't care if yesterday was the thirtieth, this is still the first weekend.", "INT. LIVING ROOM. Her words drift in from the kitchen while David stares at the show. DAVID'S MOM -LRB- OS. -RRB- No I ca n't bail you out, I'm supposed to go out of town. -LRB- beat. -RRB- La Costa. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Barry, if I want to get a mud bath with my new boyfriend, that's really my business, is n't it? He reaches out and TURNS UP THE SOUND. PLEASANTVILLE plays at an unnaturally high volume. GEORGE -LRB- on T.V. -RRB- Hey. Where are those kids? DAVID -LRB- reciting - a little louder. -RRB- `` Right behind you father.'' BUD AND MARY SUE TOGETHER -LRB- on T.V. -RRB- Right behind you father. RESUME T.V. -LRB- BLACK AND WHITE -RRB- The Parkers' son and daughter -LRB- BUD AND MARY SUE -RRB- enter the foyer together. Mary Sue wears her hair in a pony tail. Bud has on a Letterman's sweater. MARY SUE Mother. Father. Bud has a little surprise for you. BETTY What's that Bud? Bud hesitates for a moment, then holds up a shiny `` blue'' ribbon. BUD First prize at the science fair. There were lots of swell projects - guess mine was just the ` swellest'. BETTY Darling that's wonderful. Except there's no such word as ` swellest'. BUD Well gee whizz, Mom. It was n't the `` English'' fair. There is another jarring LAUGH TRACK. CLOSE UP. DAVID. He smiles right along with it. David stares transfixed at the set despite the continuing conversation in the other room. DAVID'S MOM -LRB- OS. -RRB- Well sure they can stay by themselves. Barry, they're seventeen years old, but that's not the point. You're supposed to see them. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Well fine - You'll see them some other time. -LRB- pause. -RRB- No, I'm not gon na cancel my trip just so you wo n't look like a jerk. DAVID -LRB- quietly. -RRB- What's a mother to do? BETTY -LRB- OS. -RRB- -LRB- on T.V. -RRB- Oh - what's a mother to do? CLOSE UP. DAVID. He grabs another handful of Doritos staring at the T.V.", "EXT. HIGH SCHOOL. (SERIES OF SHOTS) DAY. A cacophony of modern life. Beepers and nose rings - blue hair and tattoos. Dissonant boom boxes compete with one another. The hormones are running crazy.", "EXT. SCHOOL COURTYARD. It is a large open area, alive at lunchtime. Groups of kids hang out together, divided by their various cliques. The music pounds in the background. CLOSE UP. DAVID. He stands at one end of the courtyard beside a chain link fence. Beads of sweat form on David's forehead as he speaks to someone in front of him. DAVID Hi. I mean. -LRB- pause. -RRB-. Hi. REVERSE ANGLE. A very pretty blonde girl smiles back at him. It's a warm, welcoming smile. CLOSE UP. DAVID. DAVID Look. You probably do n't think I should be asking you this. I mean - not knowing you well and all. REVERSE ANGLE. GIRL. She smiles wider at him, inviting him to continue. CLOSE UP. DAVID. DAVID -LRB- pause. -RRB- I mean I know you - everybody ` knows' you. I just do n't know you. technically. REVERSE ANGLE. GIRL. She nods at him. There's a SCHOOL BELL. The crowd begins to thin out. CLOSE UP. DAVID. DAVID Well - I was just wondering -'cause I see you all the time in Algebra and I heard you humming that Van Halen song and I really like that song too. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Anyhow, I do n't know what you're doing this weekend but my Mom's leaving town and she said I could use her car so. REVERSE ANGLE. GIRL. She positively beams. The girl flicks her blonde hair and stares back at him adoringly. CLOSE UP. DAVID. Instead of smiling back, David just stares, then looks at the ground. WIDE ANGLE. SCHOOL YARD. For the first time WE SEE THAT SHE WAS N'T TALKING TO HIM. David stands a good hundred yards across the school yard, rehearsing this speech while the young woman stands face to face with a much cooler boy. He has a cell phone and a very hip haircut. ANGLE. DAVID. David watches as the girl throws her arm around the boy's waist and heads out of the playground.", "EXT. \"LUNCHEON COURT\" DAY. David and his friends are all gathered around the plastic picnic tables and vending machines that form the luncheon court. The chess club meets at one end and there are some teachers at the other. All the cool kids are on the other side of the fence but David and his friends eat lunch at the same table every day. HOWARD Okay, whose window did Bud break when he was playing with his father's golf clubs? DAVID Easy. Mr. Jenkins. What job did Mr. Jenkins have? Howard looks at him, puzzled. DAVID -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Salesman. What did Bud and Mary Sue name the cat they found in the gutter? HOWARD Scout? DAVID Marmalade. They all nod - and murmur with admiration. DAVID Okay - here's one : Why did their parents come home early from their weekend at the lake? Everybody thinks. Nobody knows. DAVID'Cause Bud did n't answer the phone and they were worried about him. It's quiet for a beat. HOWARD You're unbelievable. You'll win this thing for sure. When is it on? DAVID Marathon starts at 6:30. Contest's tomorrow at noon. HOWARD -LRB- weighing it. -RRB- A thousand dollars. And it's on all night? DAVID Of course it is Howard. That's why they call it a Marathon. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE David's sister, Jennifer, hangs out with her friends in the parking lot. All the girls are dressed in the exact same uniform : Blue jeans, beeper on the belt, white V - neck T - shirt, car keys in their hand. -LRB- Even the girls WITHOUT a car hold car keys in their hand -RRB-. Jennifer is by far the prettiest and, thus, is the leader of the group. They all look toward the Luncheon Court where David and his friends are hanging out. KIMMY Omigod, it's so mor - tifying. I ca n't believe you're like - related to him. JENNIFER Only on my parent's side. KIMMY I know, but you're like. twins and stuff. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You must be from like, the cool side of the uterus. A group of VERY HIP boys strut through the parking lot. They bop up and down with the self - confidence of all cool sixteen year olds. The girls freeze when they see them. KIMMY Omigod, omigod - here they come. CHRISTIN Do n't do anything. Just do n't like - do anything. JENNIFER -LRB- coolly. -RRB- Hi Mark. DIFFERENT ANGLE. He pauses then looks over at her. Jennifer slides sinuously off the fender of the car, flicking her hair like a young racehorse. She has a perfect 16 year old body and the whole parking lot knows it. Mark heads over to her, followed by his lackeys. MARK -LRB- to Jennifer. -RRB- Hey. JENNIFER -LRB- right back. -RRB- Hey. Beat. MARK'S LACKEYS -LRB- to Jennifer's lackeys. -RRB- Hey. JENNIFER'S LACKEYS -LRB- back to them. -RRB- Hey. MARK Saw you at the mall yesterday. JENNIFER Yeah. Saw you too. Everyone nods for a moment or two. No one says anything. JENNIFER So you watching Pearl Jam on MTV tonight? MARK Yeah. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You? JENNIFER Yeah. Jennifer pauses, weighing the next statement. JENNIFER -LRB- CONT. -RRB- My mom'll be out of town. Kimmy and Christin positively GASP while Mark's Lackeys mumble and glance around. The import of the thing is n't lost on anybody. Mark bobs up and down a little faster. MARK So uh. Maybe we could uh. JENNIFER -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Cool. MARK -LRB- nodding faster. -RRB- Cool. VARIOUS LACKEYS Cool. Everybody bobs and shuffles for a beat, when Mark nods, summoning his flock.", "EXT. WAGNER NEIGHBORHOOD DUSK It is a southwestern version of `` Leave it to Beaver.'' The uniformity of Suburbia has been washed in earth tones. There is a red tile roof gracing every home. All the houses have the same anemic palm tree. It's an urban planner's version of hell. A Westec Security car rolls through the shot.", "INT. JENNIFER'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. It is just as sleek and impersonal as before. Maybe more so at night. Jennifer crosses through the bedroom with the cordless phone attached to her ear. JENNIFER I know, I know - He's just like so FINE. I'm still like ; `` Omigod.'' -LRB- pause. -RRB- It was amazing, Daph. I'm like : `` Well my Mom'll be out of town.'' And he's like `` Well then, maybe we could - you know.'' And I'm like `` Yeah, sure.'' And he's like `` Well, cool.'' -LRB- beat. -RRB- I know, he's just so smart. -LRB- pause. -RRB- I do n't know. Maybe that black thing I just got. -LRB- pause. -RRB- It is not slutty Daph, it's cute. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Well, `` hello?'' He's not coming over here to study. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I know. Well I'm jealous of you too sometimes.", "INT. DAVID'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. It is studious and academic - not joyless, but not colorful either. David stands at his bedroom window, staring outside with a cordless phone in his hand. DAVID He's not homeless Howard, they just do n't say where he lives. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Well it's a silly question. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Because nobody's homeless in Pleasantville. REVERSE ANGLE. HIS POV. His mother loads the final Louis Vuitton bag into her Mercedes. DAVID -LRB- CONT. -RRB- because that's just not what it's like.", "EXT. DRIVEWAY She fires up the car and pulls out of FRAME. David watches from the upstairs window. DAVID Listen Howard - it's almost six - thirty. I got ta go.", "INT. WAGNER LIVING ROOM. The huge black TV sits like a monolith in the middle of the room. All at once David comes bounding down the stairs making a B - line for the couch. Jennifer enters just as quickly from the other direction, fiddling with her clothes. DIFFERENT ANGLE. They hit the coffee table and reach for the remote control at exactly the same moment. Both of them freeze then look up at each other in shock. JENNIFER What are you doing? DAVID What are you doing? Neither one moves. They clutch the remote together. JENNIFER David, cut it out. Mark Davis is gon na like be here in five minutes. DAVID Well great. The Pleasantville Marathon starts at six thirty. JENNIFER Omigod, I do n't be - leeeeeve this! He's gon na like beeeee here! DAVID Well great. You can watch it upstairs. JENNIFER Upstairs! Up - staiiiirs! There is n't any STEREO! Jennifer gets panicked and yanks at the remote. David yanks back and before they know it, the remote goes flying out of their hands, CRASHING onto the hardwood floor. It smashes into a million tiny pieces. DAVID -LRB- breathless. -RRB- Oh my God. -LRB- sinking to his knees/scooping up the remains. -RRB- Oh my God. JENNIFER David, stop stressing, you can like - turn it on normally. DAVID No you ca n't, Jen! It's a new TV. It does n't work without a remote. David cradles the pieces like a fallen comrade, when the DOORBELL RINGS behind him. JENNIFER Oh my God! He's here! Jennifer sweeps some of the pieces frantically under the sofa and tries to adjust her outfit on the way to the door. David just stares in shock at the shattered plastic. Jennifer reaches the front door and wets her lips. She fluffs her hair quickly, sticks out her chest then swings it open. DIFFERENT ANGLE. FRONT DOOR. Jennifer steps forward with her sexiest smile, but it is n't Mark Davis on the other side. TV REPAIRMAN STANDS ACROSS THE THRESHOLD IN A BROWN JUMPSUIT. Jennifer looks at him puzzled. He steps forward, flashing her a chipper grin, toolbox in hand. TV REPAIRMAN TV repair. JENNIFER TV repair? TV REPAIRMAN Yeah. TV busted? JENNIFER Yeah. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- smiling wider. -RRB- Well here I am. REVERSE ANGLE. JENNIFER'S POV. She glances out the front door toward a weird VAN parked at the curb. It says `` TV REPAIR'' on the side but looks like something from a medicine show. The antenna on top resembles a weather vane and the mural beneath it depicts a happy family from the 1950s, gathered around their TV set. Everyone wears a smile, including the dog. The hand - painted motto reads `` TV Repair - WE'LL FIX YOU FOR GOOD.''", "INT. LIVING ROOM. David looks back at TV Repairman who smiles at him, then crosses to the living room stepping nimbly around the ottoman. He heads toward the TV. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- seeing the smashed remote. -RRB- Holy cow. Look at that. Had a little disaster did n't ya fella. DAVID Yeah. Sort of. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- setting down the toolbox. -RRB- We'll get you fixed up in no time. He pops the top of the tool box while Jennifer and David just stare. It's a strange looking box with the same happy family painted on the side. TV Repairman pulls out another remote. TV REPAIRMAN I know how I'd feel if mine went out. Almost like losing a friend. DAVID -LRB- tentatively. -RRB- You know, we did n't call any TV repair. TV REPAIRMAN Well that makes it a lucky day for both of us, hunh? Jennifer shuts the door and crosses down toward the living room. JENNIFER You think you could do this like soon? It's almost six thirty. TV REPAIRMAN What's the rush? DAVID -LRB- cutting her off. -RRB- The Pleasantville Marathon starts at six thirty. At that moment there is a huge FORK OF LIGHTNING and a booming CLAP OF THUNDER. It literally rattles the walls of the house as TV Repairman turns toward David. TV REPAIRMAN Pleasantville? David recoils slightly. TV Repairman flashes him a smile. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Gosh, I loved that show. Watched it for years. JENNIFER That's not the reason. I've got a date at six thirty. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- ignoring her/leaning closer to David. -RRB- Hey - who did Muffin take to the masquerade ball when her date came down with the measles? DAVID Her father. TV REPAIRMAN Right. And how did she dress him? DAVID Like Prince Charming. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- studying David/nodding. -RRB- Nice. Nice. JENNIFER Um - hello? I've got like a social emergency here. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- ignoring her. -RRB- Remember the one where Bud lost his cousin when he was s ` posed to be watching him? DAVID Yeah. TV REPAIRMAN What department store did they go to? DAVID McIntire's. TV REPAIRMAN McGinty's. DAVID No. McIntire's. Remember :. -LRB- sings. -RRB- `` For the very best in men's attire, Head right down to McIntire's.'' TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- stunned. -RRB- That's right. He stares at David, speechless, for a moment, then smiles fondly and reaches beside him for his tool kit. TV REPAIRMAN Say - why do n't you take this remote instead. It's got a little more `` Ooomph'' in it. DAVID Ooomph? TV REPAIRMAN Sure. Big beautiful set like this - you want something that'll put you right in the show. JENNIFER -LRB- quickly. -RRB- We'll take it. He flashes them a big smile and holds out a weird looking contraption that seems more primitive than space age. It's a strange combination of an early transistor radio and Flash Gordon ray gun. TV Repairman extends it with pride, while Jennifer and David stare at him warily. DAVID Thanks. TV REPAIRMAN Well, I better get going. Your show's almost on, and. -LRB- smiling at Jennifer. -RRB- It's almost time for your date. There is a SECOND CLAP OF THUNDER even louder than the first. He smiles at them, then starts across the living room, pausing at the front door to look back. There is a weird smile on his face. TV REPAIRMAN Take care now. David and Jennifer look at one another while the front door shuts with a THUD. It's quiet for a second or two before there is another CLAP OF THUNDER. David cocks his head. DIFFERENT ANGLE. He glances down at the strange contraption sitting on the coffee table. It looks a little scary. Slowly, very slowly, he reaches down and touches it. Nothing seems to happen so he picks it up. CLOSER. David points the remote toward the TV set with an apprehensive look on his face. He winces a little, then pushes one of the buttons. DIFFERENT ANGLE. The TV set turns on. Psychic Friends Network appears. SHOT. DAVID. DAVID Hunh. It all seems normal as he pushes another button. This time the channel changes. DAVID -LRB- relaxing. -RRB- Great. He continues to press the button, flipping through the channels. Jennifer sees that everything is fine and reaches for the remote. JENNIFER Lem me see that. DAVID No way. He continues to flip through the channels, coming to rest on the Pleasantville Marathon. BUD'S VOICE fills the room. BUD -LRB- OS. -RRB- -LRB- on TV. -RRB- Gee whizz, Mary Sue - why ca n't I borrow your transistor radio? MARY SUE -LRB- OS. -RRB- -LRB- on TV. -RRB- I promised Betty Jane she could use it over the weekend. FULL SHOT. TV SET. `` PLEASANTVILLE'' -LRB- BLACK AND WHITE -RRB- Bud and Mary Sue clutch either end of a small transistor radio. They seem to be in the EXACT SAME POSITION as David and Jennifer, who are struggling over the remote control. ANGLE. DAVID AND JENNIFER. She tugs the remote while David yanks in the other direction. JENNIFER Do you mind. This is like the most important moment of my whole life. DAVID Forget it Jen, I've waited a year for this. JENNIFER -LRB- yanking at it. -RRB- God, David. Just give it to me! DAVID -LRB- yanking it back. -RRB- Forget it! They wrestle with the remote, inadvertently POINTING IT AT THE TV. At that moment, a weird thing happens : SPECIAL EFFECT A huge white light emanates from the set, like its own atomic blast wave. The entire room is filled with a BLINDING AURA for a second or two, before it actually gets sucked into the TV. WIDE ANGLE. LIVING ROOM It is suddenly empty - illuminated only by the soft glow of the picture tube. David and Jennifer are nowhere in sight.", "INT. PARKER LIVING ROOM. (PLEASANTVILLE) DAY. David and Jennifer are standing in the middle of the 1950's living room, dressed in Bud and Mary Sue's clothing. They still clutch the remote control in the exact same position that was occupied by their fictional counterparts. David and Jennifer glance at one another, then look horrified around the room. THE WORLD HAS TURNED TO BLACK AND WHITE. DAVID -LRB- a whisper. -RRB- Oh my God. JENNIFER What happened? DAVID I'm not sure. WIDER George Parker -LRB- Bud and Mary Sue's father -RRB- enters from the landing whistling a happy tune. He's dressed in a gray suit with a gray shirt, and a dark gray tie with little gray dots. GEORGE -LRB- as if to his own children. -RRB- Hi Sport, hi Muffin. Better get a move on, you're gon na be late for school. He continues to cross through the living room whistling into the kitchen. JENNIFER -LRB- desperately. -RRB- What did you do? DAVID I do n't know. JENNIFER -LRB- examining her black and white skin. -RRB- Uchh! Look at me! I'm like so. pasty! He glances down at the remote control that sits lifeless in his hand. David frantically presses the buttons but nothing happens. All at once, there is a voice behind them. VOICE -LRB- OS. -RRB- Psst! Over here. DIFFERENT ANGLE. They whirl around to see TV REPAIRMAN'S FACE smiling at them from the TV set in the corner. It's an old'50s set with a big round picture tube. They run over to him as he smiles. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- beaming. -RRB- Told you it was your lucky day. Bet you thought I was just a fan or something. JENNIFER What happened? TV REPAIRMAN A miracle. They stare stunned at the TV set. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- cont. -RRB-. See, every time I thought I'd found someone they'd turn out to disappoint me. They'd know the early episodes, but they would n't know the later ones. They'd know all about Muffin but they would n't know about Bud. DAVID -LRB- to the TV set. -RRB- What the hell's going on! TV REPAIRMAN Shh! Ca n't talk like that now. You're in. -LRB- smiles. -RRB- You know. David glances around at his black and white surroundings. His `` mother's'' voice rings out from the kitchen. BETTY -LRB- OS. -RRB- Bud. Mary Sue. Breakfast is on the table. DAVID We're in Pleasantville? TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- grinning. -RRB- Dream come true, hunh? JENNIFER -LRB- panicking. -RRB- This is n't funny! I happen to have a very important date in like five minutes! TV REPAIRMAN Well, you do n't have to worry about that anymore. FULL SHOT. TELEVISION SET. All at once the scene on the TV changes and TV Repairman's picture gives way to a WIDE ANGLE SHOT OF THE WAGNER HOUSE. DUSK. Mark Davis is standing at the front door, BANGING on the brass knocker. He checks his watch, shifts restlessly for a moment or two, then turns and heads down the flagstone walk never looking back. MARK DAVIS -LRB- under his breath. -RRB-. Bitch.", "INT. PARKER LIVING ROOM (BLACK AND WHITE AGAIN) Jennifer flings herself at the screen, as TV Repairman appears all over again. JENNIFER Noooooo! DAVID You - you got ta get us out of here. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- recoiling slightly. -RRB- Why would I do that? DAVID Because we do n't belong! TV REPAIRMAN Oh sure you do. `` McIntires Department store.'' `` Their father dressed as Prince Charming.'' That was gorgeous Bud. DAVID My name's David. JENNIFER -LRB- wailing on the floor. -RRB- Oh GOD. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- a little snippy. -RRB- You know - this is a pretty strange way of showing your appreciation. DAVID Look - we appreciate it. We really do. We just - we want to go home now. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- hurt. -RRB- But you do n't know how long I've been looking for someone like you. -LRB- long face. -RRB- I'm very disappointed. -LRB- deep breath. -RRB- In fact. I'm starting to get a little upset. David moves toward the screen. DAVID Do n't get upset. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- snapping back. -RRB- Well would n't you! You look for someone for years. You pour your heart into it. This is a privilege you know. -LRB- shakes his head. -RRB- I do n't think I better talk about this right now. DAVID Where are you going? TV REPAIRMAN I do n't think we should discuss this until I'm a little bit more composed. DAVID Wait a minute. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- turning his back. -RRB- Maybe tomorrow when I'm not so emotional. Give you a day or two to think about it. DAVID COME BACK! TV Repairman shakes his head and walks out of the shot. David grabs the remote and starts rapidly pushing buttons. Nothing happens. He crosses to the TV, spinning the dial, but comes up with nothing but local programming. He returns to the empty test pattern. DAVID -LRB- dropping the gizmo. -RRB- Oh God. JENNIFER What's going to happen? DAVID I do n't know. It's not possible. -LRB- looking at her. -RRB- Is it possible? BETTY -LRB- OS. -RRB- Bu - ud. Mary Sue. Your breakfast is getting cold. DAVID It ca n't be possible. DIFFERENT ANGLE. Betty -LRB- their `` mother'' -RRB- sticks her head into the living room wearing her black and white apron. She has a great big Pepsodent smile. BETTY Well, come on kids. You're not going off to school without a hot breakfast inside you. They just stare at her. BETTY Forward march. They exchange a strange little glance then slowly rise to their feet. Jennifer waits for David who forces a smile then starts toward the kitchen. BETTY I just love you in that sweater Mary - Sue. It's so flattering. JENNIFER -LRB- dazed. -RRB- Thanks.", "INT. KITCHEN. David and Jennifer walk two steps into the kitchen when they suddenly freeze - agape at the spectacle in front of them : THEIR POV - PARKER KITCHEN Every breakfast food imaginable has been laid upon the table. There are hotcakes and sausages and biscuits and eggs. Pitchers of orange juice are dwarfed by the mountains of ham. The table literally sags under the weight of the food. George Parker lowers his morning paper and smiles at his children. GEORGE -LRB- once again. -RRB- Morning kids. Better get a move on or you're going to be late for school. They nod and wander forward into the room. Bright sunlight streams through the kitchen window as a gentle symphony of songbirds sings outside. David and Jennifer stare stunned as their `` mother'' adds some waffles to the heap. DAVID I do n't believe this. JENNIFER Neither do I. GEORGE Well, c'mon. Dig in. Betty sets two heaping plates at their places. Neither one moves. BETTY -LRB- to Jennifer. -RRB- I put blueberries in them just the way you like. JENNIFER Actually - I'm not real. hungry. BETTY -LRB- big smile. -RRB- Oh nonsense young lady. You're going to start your day with a nice big breakfast. She takes Jennifer by the shoulders and `` guides'' her into the chair. Jennifer looks down at a huge plate of GRAY WAFFLES. BETTY -LRB- oppressively chipper. -RRB- Here. Why do n't you have some waffle cakes. -LRB- beat. -RRB- And there's sausage and eggs and some good crisp bacon. -LRB- beat. -RRB-. And a ham steak. Betty drenches the waffles in syrup and slathers on a huge slab of butter. She glances back at David who just shrugs. BETTY -LRB- CONT. -RRB- And of course, a nice big bowl of oatmeal, then it's right off to school. Jennifer hesitates then glances over at her `` mother'' who looks at her expectantly. Jennifer pauses then reaches down and takes a forkful of the oozing mess. FULL SHOT. PAT BOONE He stands facing the CAMERA in an actual Kinescope from 1958. The backdrop is a painted pastoral landscape and the background singers are all white debutantes. He wears a letterman's sweater and button down shirt. PAT BOONE. Tooty fruity - oh rooty. Tooty Fruity. Oh rooty.'' He CONTINUES his homogenized version of Little Richard's nasty hit, -LRB- all the nastiness gone -RRB-. It becomes a slow and lilting melody. PAT BOONE. Tooty fruity - oh rooty.''. -LRB- slowly. -RRB-''. A wap bop a loo bop - a wap bam boom.''", "EXT. PLEASANTVILLE (ELM STREET) - DAY The CAMERA CRANES DOWN in the middle of a beautiful tree lined street to find the Milkman nodding to the Postman ; Jennifer and David are walking up the sidewalk, holding their stomachs. JENNIFER I'm gon na hurl, David. I swear to God. DAVID Just take deep breaths. JENNIFER All that animal fat. I feel it in my pores or something. Jennifer clutches her stomach, but David's glance darts from side to side - totally absorbed. JENNIFER I still do n't see why we're doing this. DAVID Because we're supposed to be in school right now. JENNIFER We're supposed to be at home David! We're supposed to be in color! -LRB- wailing. -RRB- Oh GOD. DAVID Ssshhh. A man calls out from across the street. MR. SIMPSON Hello Bud. DAVID Hello Mr. Simpson. MR. SIMPSON Hear your Dad got a new car. DAVID Oh yeah. A Buick. It's swell. JENNIFER You know him? DAVID Owns the hardware store. JENNIFER Okay, now you listen to me! I do n't know what's going on but you'd better fix it! I had a date with Mark Davis and I even bought new UNDERWEAR! DAVID We just got ta play along for a little while. till that guy shows up again. Then I'll talk to him and. JENNIFER Play along? DAVID Well, yeah. I'm. Bud Parker and you're. um - Mary Sue. JENNIFER -LRB- ripping the barrette from her hair. -RRB- No! I'm not gon na do it! If I do n't dress like this for Mom I'm sure as hell not going to do it for you! DAVID We do n't have a choice Jen. We're stuck until he comes back. JENNIFER Why ca n't we just EXPLAIN IT? DAVID To who? Jen looks around this cheery little street, and the horror starts to dawn on her. At that moment, they hear a screaming SIREN and a bright GRAY FIRE ENGINE comes racing up the block. WIDER. Jennifer and David step back on the curb as the firemen come flying out of the truck, grabbing the ladder on the back. DIFFERENT ANGLE. -LRB- FOLLOWING THE FIREMEN -RRB- They work in perfect precision. Two firemen grab the base of the ladder while a third takes the front. They go tearing across one of the lawns, in full `` emergency response'' anchoring the ladder into the ground and winging it up into a tree. FIREMAN C'mere, kitty. He emerges a moment later with the cat who was stuck in the tree. Jennifer sinks to the curb as he carries the kitten by them, petting it gently as he goes. JENNIFER Oh God, we are. We're stuck in like ` Nerdville'. -LRB- shakes her head. -RRB- I always knew you'd pay a price for this. I knew you could n't be hopelessly geekridden for this long without suffering some like, really tragic consequences. -LRB- voice wavering. -RRB-. But it's just not fair. I mean - I'm starting to get really - popular. Debbi Russell transferred to another school and my skin's been great since March and Mark Davis is starting to come around and. BOY'S VOICE -LRB- OS. -RRB- Hello Mary Sue. Jennifer turns to see a strapping blonde seventeen year old driving by in his convertible. He is extremely handsome with Jack Armstrong features and a Letterman's sweater. Despite her crisis, Jennifer's jaw drops open as he slows to a crawl. Skip Martin flashes a huge Pepsodent smile. The guy is a `` dreamboat''. SKIP What's all the commotion? Where's the cat? JENNIFER Um. It's. Skip turns to see the fireman hand the kitten to its owner and climb into the truck. SKIP Ah, right. -LRB- smiling at her again. -RRB- Well - guess I'll see ya later Mary Sue. He takes off down the street with the sun glinting on his really keen convertible. Jennifer gapes as he disappears around the corner. JENNIFER Who's that? DAVID Skip Martin. Captain of the basketball team. JENNIFER -LRB- still gaping. -RRB- Does he - you know - like `` me?'' DAVID As a matter of fact he does. JENNIFER -LRB- flicking her hair. -RRB- Hunh.", "EXT. PLEASANTVILLE HIGH SCHOOL. DAY. Streams of impeccably kept youngsters file through the double doors. All cheery and very pleasant looking. It looks like a Leni Riefenstahl movie. ANGLE. FROM ACROSS THE STREET. David stands beside Jennifer looking at the entrance to the school. Three girls huddle together by the front steps. JENNIFER Those are my friends. DAVID Peggy Jane, Lisa Anne and Betty Jean. JENNIFER -LRB- staring at them. -RRB- Can we do any better? DAVID I do n't think so. JENNIFER Okay. She flicks her hair back - cops a first day of school attitude, and heads across the street like she owns the place.", "INT. GEOGRAPHY CLASS. LATER It looks like a propaganda film from the Eisenhower Administration. The boys all wear crew cuts and short sleeve button down shirts. The girls all have lacy dresses buttoned to the neck. Everyone stares straight ahead at a pulldown map where Miss Peters stands with a pointer in her hand. MISS PETERS Last week Class, we discussed the geography of Main Street. This week, we're going to be talking about Elm street. Can anyone tell me one of the differences between Elm Street and Main Street? -LRB- pointing. -RRB- Tommy. TOMMY It's not as long? Jennifer looks stunned as several students nod. MISS PETERS That's right, Tommy. It's not as long. Also, it only has houses. So the geography of Main Street is different from the geography of Elm Street. ANGLE. JENNIFER She glances around at several students who seem to be nodding in agreement. All at once, she thrusts her hand into the air. MISS PETERS Mary Sue. JENNIFER What's outside of Pleasantville? The teacher looks at her with a puzzled frozen smile on her face. She looks vaguely troubled. MISS PETERS What? -LRB- beat. -RRB- I do n't understand. JENNIFER Outside of Pleasantville. What's at the end of Main Street? The class lets out a knowing groan - as if to say `` Oh. We get it now. Boy what a stupid question.'' Miss Peters gives a kind but condescending look. MISS PETERS Oh, Mary Sue. You should know the answer to that. The end of Main Street is just the beginning again. Miss Peters gives a big grin as a series of heads nod up and down. Jennifer stares straight ahead, dumbfounded.", "INT. GYMNASIUM. DAY. There are fifteen to twenty boys scattered around the Gym. Each is dressed identically in white shorts and black socks with a `` PLEASANTVILLE'' Jersey. SHOT. DAVID He stands at the free throw line with a basketball in his hand. -LRB- Not exactly an athletic image. -RRB- David lets go of a jump shot that swishes effortlessly through the net. He looks a little surprised. DAVID Wow. He stares at the backboard slightly intrigued. David retrieves the ball and fires again, this time chucking it up blind. The ball sails through the hoop again, HITTING NOTHING BUT NET. FULL SHOT. OTHER SIDE OF THE GYM Ten to twelve of his teammates fire simultaneously at the hoop. ALL OF THE SHOTS SAIL THROUGH THE HOOP, NONE EVEN NICKING THE RIM. The boys retrieve their shots as the coach claps his hands. COACH That's it men. Keep it up. Big game tomorrow. ANGLE. DAVID He gets the ball and turns his back on the basket completely. David flings the ball wildly over his shoulder. It bounces off all the walls of the gym, then glides through the net as smoothly as the others. He stares in amazement. SKIP -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Bud. WIDER. Skip Martin -LRB- the boy in the convertible -RRB- approaches from the other side of the Gym. He is a classic All American Hero - somewhere between 4 - H club member and a future astronaut. SKIP -LRB- a little nervous. -RRB- Hi ya Bud. DAVID Hi ya Skip. He fidgets nervously for a moment looking down. SKIP Hi ya Bud. Can I ask you a question? DAVID Sure. SKIP Well. If I was to ask your sister. What I mean is, if I was to go up to Mary Sue. DAVID Oh God! Are we in that episode? SKIP What? DAVID I do n't believe it. SKIP What's the matter? DAVID You want to ask her out tonight, right? And then you want to give her your school pin. SKIP Yeah. How'd you know? DAVID -LRB- shaking his head. -RRB- Lucky guess. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Look, Skip. I do n't think it's a real good time for that right now. Skip's expression falls. He stands crushed in front of David. DAVID -LRB- CONT. -RRB- What I mean is. Mary Sue's been a little `` different'' lately. SKIP -LRB- stunned. -RRB- She wo n't go out with me? DAVID I did n't say that. It's just that right now. SKIP I do n't know what I'd do if she would n't go out with me. All at once, Skip takes the basketball he's been holding and hurls it toward the hoop. The ball does a couple of revolutions of the rim, and then amazingly pops out. WIDE ANGLE. GYM Play comes to a halt. ALL THE PLAYERS TURN AND STARE, DUMBSTRUCK AT THE SIGHT OF A MISSED SHOT. SHOT. DAVID. He turns back to Skip with a big forced smile on his face. DAVID I'm sure we'll work something out.", "INT. CORRIDOR. LATER... David stands off to the side with his sister, while class pours out around them. JENNIFER I do n't know. DAVID One date, Jen - that's all I'm asking. If you do n't go out with this guy we could throw their whole universe out of whack. Besides, I thought you liked him. JENNIFER It's too weird David. This place is giving me the creeps. Did you know all the books are blank? DAVID What? JENNIFER I looked in the library. They got covers with nothing inside them. DAVID What were you doing in a Library? JENNIFER I got lost. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Oh here. look at this! She reaches into her purse and pulls out a book of matches. Jennifer tries to light a Kleenex on fire. DAVID JENNIFER! JENNIFER Just watch. You know why those guys just get cats out of trees?'Cause nothing burns around here, that's why! They do n't need any firemen. Sure enough the tissue has become flame retardant. DAVID Jen, listen. JENNIFER -LRB- CONT. -RRB- -LRB- trembling. -RRB- I like - really need a cigarette, too. DAVID -LRB- putting his arm around her. -RRB- I'll get us out of here. I really will. But if we do n't play along we could alter their whole existence. We may never get home. She looks over at him, slowly. JENNIFER You really think anybody's gon na, like, notice if I do n't have a chocolate malt with this guy. At that moment, three of Mary Sue's `` friends'' come tittering around the corner. They skitter up to her like a group of wind - up toys. PEGGY JANE -LRB- high - pitched - rapid fire. -RRB- You wo n't believe what we just heard. LISA ANNE Skip Martin's going to ask you out. BETTY JEAN And that's not all. PEGGY JANE No, that's not all. ALL THREE TOGETHER He's going to give you his pin! They explode in a torrent of TITTERS all over again. Jennifer looks over at David.", "EXT. PARKER HOUSE. DUSK A lone streetlamp glows in the foreground. Jennifer's voice plays OS. JENNIFER You sure I'm supposed to wear this?", "INT. MARY SUE'S ROOM. Jennifer emerges from the closet in a mohair sweater and a poodle skirt. Under the sweater she wears a 1950's `` bullet bra'' that turn her breasts into lethal weapons. JENNIFER -LRB- looking in the mirror. -RRB- I could like - kill a guy with these things. DAVID It's in your closet. JENNIFER -LRB- examining her profile. -RRB- I've worn some kinky stuff before. DAVID He wo n't notice anyway. JENNIFER Why not? DAVID They do n't notice that kind of thing around here. JENNIFER So what's the point? DAVID Jen please. JENNIFER He - llo? I've got like three pounds of underwire here. DAVID Just go with the program, hunh? I'm late for work.", "EXT. SODA SHOP. DUSK. The flashing neon ice cream cone looks good enough to drink. Underneath it, the swirling script spells `` SODA SHOP.'' Johnny Mathis drifts out into the evening air. CLOSER David comes sprinting up to the screen door and pauses to get his breath. He adjusts a little soda jerk's hat, then plunges inside.", "INT. SODA SHOP. Mr. Johnson, the owner and proprietor is wiping down the counter. He is a `` pleasant'' looking man, in his early forties wearing a white apron and black glasses. The strains of `` MISTY'' get louder as Bud lets the screen door slam behind him. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- looking up. -RRB- Bud? DAVID Sorry. I had to help my folks and then I could n't find my hat. MR. JOHNSON Oh. He stops wiping for a moment, holding the towel in his hand. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- CONT. -RRB- I did n't know what to do. He stares at the rag a little troubled. DAVID What's wrong? MR. JOHNSON Well - I always wipe down the counter and then you set out the napkins and glasses and then I make the french fries. DAVID -LRB- confused. -RRB- Yeah. MR. JOHNSON But you did n't come so I kept on wiping. He looks down at the towel clearly disturbed. David pauses for a moment then starts toward him. DAVID I'm sorry. He crosses to Mr. Johnson who has polished one section of the counter right down to the wood. David takes the towel out of his hand and folds it neatly in front of him. DAVID -LRB- gently. -RRB- You know, if this ever happens again, you can make the fries even if I have n't put out the napkins yet. MR. JOHNSON I'm so glad you're here. DAVID I understand.", "EXT. SODA SHOP. TIME LAPSE DUSK TO NIGHT. (LATER...) The place is really hopping now. All the spots in the parking lot are filled with vintage `` jalopies'' and several patrons are streaming through the door. The SAME JOHNNY MATHIS SONG is still PLAYING on the juke box, and the neon ice cream soda sign blinks against the sky.", "INT. SODA SHOP. NIGHT. David is trapped behind the counter, furiously working to keep up with the load. Several clean cut teenagers pepper him with orders while he yanks at the pumps and spigots. It's clear he is n't used to this. DAVID -LRB- frazzled. -RRB- Peppermint shake, chocolate soda, two orders of fries and a split? PEGGY JANE Peppermint soda, two chocolate shakes, order of fries, and we'll split it. David nods quickly, wiping some sweat from his brow. He scoops some ice cream into the metal blender as Mr. Johnson comes up beside him. MR. JOHNSON There are n't any cheeseburgers. DAVID -LRB- turning. -RRB- What? MR. JOHNSON Well, usually I put out the burger and then you finish with the lettuce. DAVID Listen to me! Mr. Johnson recoils slightly. DAVID -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Do you have the lettuce? MR. JOHNSON Yeah. DAVID Have you cooked the burgers? MR. JOHNSON -LRB- quieter. -RRB-. Yes. DAVID Well you can just put on the lettuce, finish the burger and pretend it was me doing it all along. Mr. Johnson stares at him. DAVID Really. It's fine. DIFFERENT ANGLE. SODA SHOP ENTRANCE. The screen door swings open and is held there by the end of a Letterman's sweater. A moment later, Jennifer sashays through, parading her new Jane Russell profile. Her `` girlfriends'' TITTER from the corner as Skip rushes up to a table, and pulls out a chair. She sashays into it, brushing against him as she goes. ANGLE. DAVID. He stares motionless at the spectacle - concerned and apprehensive. David holds a hot fudge sundae under the soda spigot and jerks back on the lever blowing ice cream all over his chest. FULL SHOT. TABLE. Skip stares across the table at Jennifer with the wholesome devotion of a labrador retriever. SKIP -LRB- haltingly. -RRB- I sure am glad you said you'd come out with me tonight Mary Sue. JENNIFER -LRB- full blown `` Mary Sue''. -RRB- Well `` gee whizz'' Skip. I sure am glad you asked me. He guffaws for a moment or two before speaking again. SKIP I do n't know if I ever said this to you before, but, well. I think you're just about the keenest girl in the whole school. JENNIFER Really Skip? The keenest? SKIP Oh yeah. JENNIFER -LRB- all sarcasm. -RRB- Gosh. I hardly know what to say. DAVID -LRB- OS. -RRB- What can I get you two? WIDER He stands at their table holding a little white pad of paper and a pencil. Jennifer looks up at her brother and almost bursts out laughing. He wears his soda jerk hat at a jaunty angle with large white apron tied around his neck. SKIP Oh, I dunno Bud. Guess I'll have my usual cheeseburger and a cherry coke. More gooney laughs. David turns to Jennifer who puts on the same dopey countenance. JENNIFER Oh, I dunno Bud. Guess I'll just have a salad and an Evian Water. He shoots her a dirty look. Jennifer just smiles at him. JENNIFER Cheeseburger it is. ANGLE. FOLLOWING DAVID. He glowers at her all the way back to the counter. David posts the order in the little carousel clip board, keeping an eye on the table the entire time. RESUME. TABLE. Skip gazes across the table at Jennifer with an adoring look on his face. His hands are properly folded in front of him. She's still trying to do her best `` Mary Sue.'' SKIP. See the whole time we were in civics together, I really wanted to sit next to you - but you were always sitting between Peggy Jane and Lisa Anne. There is some TITTERING behind her. Jennifer does n't respond. SKIP And you always seemed so smart and everything. Like that report you did on `` Our Town Hall.'' Gosh. I did n't know what I'd talk to you about. JENNIFER Well, sometimes talking's over - rated. Do n't you think? SKIP Hunh? -LRB- gooney laugh. -RRB- Oh, right. He still does n't understand. Skip GUFFAWS for a moment or two then glances down at the table top. There is a momentary break in the Music as Johnny Mathis' `` MISTY'' starts up all over again. It's enough to make you shoot yourself. SKIP So I know I have n't been steady with anybody, but I just do n't want to rush it. I mean, there's kids that are even holding hands already but I figure there's plenty of time for that kind of thing later on. Do n't you? JENNIFER Oh you bet. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Will you excuse me for a sec? Jennifer gets up in a daze and heads toward the bathroom. ANGLE. DAVID. He freezes behind the counter and watches as his sister practically stumbles through the bathroom door.", "INT. BATHROOM. Of course there are n't any toilets. Jennifer gropes her way to the sink and leans against the counter. JENNIFER Jesus Christ. She turns and sits against the sink for a moment with a dumbstruck look on her face. Jennifer shakes her head for a moment or two, when the door to the bathroom bursts open. GIRL'S VOICES -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- `` Did he give it to you. Did he give it to you. I bet he gave it to her. Did he give it to you?'' JENNIFER -LRB- straight ahead. -RRB- I do n't think he knows how. They TITTER away, even though they do n't get it either. LISA ANNE I bet he's gon na take her to Lover's Lane. PEGGY JANE I bet he is. I bet he is. BETTY JEAN I bet he's even gon na hold her hand! They TITTER some more as Jennifer shakes her head.", "INT. SODA SHOP. David's gaze is fixed on her as she returns to the table from the bathroom. SKIP -LRB- befuddled. -RRB- Anyhow. I really wanted to come over and sit next to you in civics but. JENNIFER You want to get out of here? SKIP What? JENNIFER You wan na get out of here? You wan na leave? SKIP -LRB- confused. -RRB- But where would we go? JENNIFER -LRB- shrugging. -RRB-. Lover's Lane. SKIP -LRB- swallow. -RRB- Lover's Lane! There is an audible GASP from the booth behind them. Jennifer ignores it. JENNIFER Yeah. Lover's Lane. You up for it? CLOSE UP. SKIP. He just stares at her with his mouth open. Jennifer reaches forward and grabs his hand. FULL SHOT. SODA FOUNTAIN. David is in the middle of making a hot fudge sundae when he glances through the window and sees Jennifer leading Skip up the sidewalk. She clutches onto his arm and nuzzles against his cheek. DAVID NOOOOOOOO! He vaults over the counter making a bee - line for the door. Everyone turns and stares as he races toward the entrance.", "EXT. SODA SHOP Skip's car is just pulling onto the street when David sprints into the parking lot. He takes off after the car, sprinting down the street. DAVID YOU CA N'T DO THIS JENNIFER! HE DOES N'T EXIST! YOU CA N'T DO THIS TO SOMEONE WHO DOES N'T EXIST!", "EXT. LOVER'S LANE. NIGHT It is a beautiful tree - lined pond with a lush willow tree in the foreground. The moonlight glistens silver across the water. Several cars are parked in a row with their occupants HOLDING HANDS. Skip's convertible is parked at the end. SHOT. SKIP'S CAR. He sits stiffly at the wheel staring straight ahead. Jennifer is draped languidly across the seat beside him, making the most of her mohair sweater. She stares at Skip in a not - so - Pleasantville - kind - of - way. He glances over at her and swallows. SKIP Sure is pretty. JENNIFER -LRB- staring at him. -RRB- Oh yeah. Gorgeous. SKIP To be honest Mary Sue. I did n't think you'd want to come here until we'd been pinned for a little while. JENNIFER Oh, Skip. You can `` pin'' me any time you want to. She leans back a little more, draping her arm across the top of the seat. Her tits point toward the sky. JENNIFER -LRB- breathy. -RRB- Or maybe I should just `` pin'' you. He looks over at her a little confused, then breaks into his gooney laugh. SKIP Oh, that's silly Mary Sue. How could you possibly pin me? CLOSE UP. SKIP He is still guffawing when he looks over at Jennifer and suddenly freezes. Skip's eyes widen.", "EXT. PARKER HOUSE. NIGHT David comes sprinting up to the porch, then doubles over catching his breath. He clings onto the porch swing when the door opens behind him. GEORGE Bud? WIDER His `` father'' come out onto the porch. David catches his breath then forces a smile. GEORGE Son, what's wrong? DAVID Have you seen Mary Sue? GEORGE Why no. She's still on her date with Skip. Is something the matter? DAVID -LRB- still panting a little. -RRB- No, I. I was just. worried about her. His father gives him a `` knowing'' look and rests a hand on his shoulder. GEORGE Bud, your sister's a little older now and she's naturally going to start going out with boys. But she's a fine young woman and she would never do anything for us to be concerned about. David looks back at him and rolls his eyes.", "EXT. LOVER'S LANE. NIGHT The low guttural MOANS of two coupling animals drifts out over the evening air. It is raw and primitive and desperate. The CAMERA begins to TRACK behind all the other cars - their occupants primly holding hands in a tender silhouette. It finally COMES TO REST on a convertible at the end, with a girl's leg sticking out the window. CLOSER. A Letterman's sweater hangs over the door. Jennifer's sweater is draped over the backseat. The car is rocking.", "INT. CAR. They are clenched in a mad embrace : all arms and hair. Skip pulls back for a moment, GASPING for air. His face is covered with lipstick and there is a crazy look in his eye. He's stuck somewhere between passion and fear as he clings desperately to the steering wheel. SKIP -LRB- some terror. -RRB-. I think I better go home now Mary Sue. She holds onto his shirt as her knee rubs the dashboard. JENNIFER -LRB- breathless. -RRB-. Why? SKIP -LRB- more terror. -RRB- I think. I might be ill. He glances down at his lap a little confused. SKIP -LRB- a whisper. -RRB- Something's happening to me. JENNIFER -LRB- smile. -RRB- It's s ` posed to happen, Skip. SKIP It is? JENNIFER Yeah. Trust me. He looks at her completely confused as she pulls back down, and OUT OF FRAME.", "EXT. PARKER HOUSE. NIGHT A single light is burning in the kitchen window. BETTY -LRB- OS. -RRB- Do you want some more cookies?", "INT. KITCHEN David is at the kitchen table with a nauseated look on his face. There are three empty bottles of milk and cookie crumbs all over the table. DAVID -LRB- sick. -RRB- Oh no. I'm fine. BETTY How ` bout some Marshmallow Rice Squares? DAVID I'm fine. There is a knock behind them at the door. David springs up. BETTY Now who could that be. FOLLOWING DAVID.", "EXT. PORCH He crosses into the foyer ahead of his `` parents.'' David swings open the door revealing Mr. Johnson, standing on the porch. DAVID Oh. Hi. MR. JOHNSON Hi there. You took off so quick. I was n't sure if you were okay. DAVID Oh, yeah. Sorry. I'm fine. I just. Had to get home early. Mr. Johnson leans in closer and speaks in a CONFIDENTIAL tone of voice. MR. JOHNSON Bud. DAVID Yeah. MR. JOHNSON You know how when we close up, I close the register, then you lower the blinds, then I turn out the lights, then we both lock the doors. DAVID Yeah. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- proud. -RRB- Well you were n't around this time so I did the whole thing myself. Mr. Johnson has a strange look of `` manly pride'' on his face. His shoulders square back. His chest puffs out a little. There is a sudden sparkle in his eye. MR. JOHNSON Not only that, I did n't even do it in the same order. First I lowered the blinds, then I closed the register. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Oh, hello Betty.", "INT. FOYER REVERSE ANGLE. Betty stares at him from the foyer. BETTY Hello Bill. Neither one says anything but neither one has to. David looks on in horror as his mother locks eyes with Mr. Johnson and his new found virility. DAVID -LRB- quickly. -RRB- Well, look, thanks for coming by. I. I really appreciate it. Mr. Johnson continues to stare.", "INT. CAR. CLOSE UP. JENNIFER She looks sweetly over at the driver's side of the car -LRB- OUT OF FRAME -RRB-. JENNIFER Well gee thanks Skip. I had a really wonderful time. ANGLE. SKIP. OTHER SIDE OF CAR He sits behind the wheel with a totally dazed look on his face. Skip stares stunned at Jennifer, like he just got hit with a couple of thousand volts. SKIP Me too. She leans over and kisses him on the cheek. Then she bites his ear lobe, gently, and flashes him a big smile. Skip smiles back.", "EXT. CAR She climbs out and shuts the door. Jennifer nods to Mr. Johnson as she heads up the walk. JENNIFER -LRB- sweetly. -RRB- Hello Mr. Johnson. MR. JOHNSON Oh, hello Mary Sue. She is wearing a big smile by the time she reaches the porch. David grabs her arm.", "EXT. PORCH DAVID -LRB- urgent whisper. -RRB- What did you do to him? JENNIFER -LRB- innocently. -RRB- Nothing.", "INT. HOUSE She starts up the staircase. David follows her and the CAMERA follows them both. DAVID What do you mean `` nothing?'' That's not nothing. That's. She reaches the top of the stairs and turns to him. JENNIFER Relax `` Bud.'' We had a really nice time. -LRB- mock YAWN. -RRB-. Now I'm really tired and we got ta get up early for school in the morning so. She flashes her brother an evil grin. JENNIFER -LRB- CONT. -RRB- ` Night. She shuts the door softly in his face. David stairs at the gray wood in front of him.", "EXT. ELM STREET. NIGHT. Skip pulls up at an intersection with the same dazed look in his eye. The car rumbles at the stoplight for a moment or two, before he glances over to his right. CLOSE UP. SKIP. The stunned look turns to one of sheer amazement : SKIP'S POV. ROSE There, against a gray picket fence, on a black and white street in a black and white neighborhood, a single red rose is BLOOMING. CLOSE UP. PAPER BOY - MORNING He reaches into his basket tossing first left, then right. The CAMERA CRANES back to reveal Main Street on a beautiful sun - drenched morning.", "INT. PARKER LIVING ROOM. MORNING. David sits parked in front of the TV furtively turning through the channels. He flips the dial frantically. No sign of TV Repairman. There is only a WeatherMan. BETTY -LRB- OS. -RRB- Bud. It's 7:30 in the morning. Are you watching television? He gives her a sheepish grin and sighs.", "INT. SCHOOL GYM. DAY It is the same configuration as earlier. Everyone wears their Pleasantville `` Lions'' jerseys, white sneakers and black socks. David enters the Gym a little groggy. He has n't had much sleep. CLOSER He looks up and stops. David cocks his head to the side, staring across the gym. HIS POV. SKIP AND OTHER BOYS. They are huddled at the far end, each holding a basketball under his arm. Skip is in the center of the group, animatedly describing something that is holding their RAPT ATTENTION. WIDER ANGLE. INCLUDING DAVID DAVID -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Oh no. Skip continues his story while they stare at him with their mouths open. The Coach blows his whistle. COACH Come on men. Let's go. Big game next week. The huddle breaks up as the basketball players all wander toward the hoop. Ten shots go up at once but NOT ONE COMES EVEN CLOSE. Several clang off the rim, a couple hit the edge of the backboard. One slams into the side of the gym. Everyone stares in disbelief. DAVID Oh my God.", "INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR. DAY. David stands face to face with his sister in mid conversation. DAVID You ca n't do this, Jennifer. I WARNED you. JENNIFER So what's the big deal. Oh. Okay. They're like not good at basketball anymore. Like - omigod, what a tragedy. DAVID You do n't understand. You're messing with their UNIVERSE. JENNIFER Well maybe it needs to be messed with. Did that ever like - occur to you? -LRB- beat. -RRB- You know, they do n't want to be like this, it's just that nobody ever helped them before. PEGGY JANE -LRB- walking past. -RRB- ` MS' How you doin'? JENNIFER Kewl ` PJ' How you doin'? PEGGY JANE -LRB- relishing her new word. -RRB- ` Kewl.' Jennifer smiles at her friend as she goes by. DAVID You have no right to do this. JENNIFER Well if I do n't who will? DAVID They're happy like this. JENNIFER David, nobody's happy in a Poodle skirt and a sweater set. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You like all this do n't you? He recoils slightly. JENNIFER -LRB- CONT. -RRB- I mean, you do n't think it's just like dorky or funny or something. you really like it. -LRB- shudders. -RRB- Oh God! I am so personally horrified to be your sister right now. DAVID I just do n't think we have the right to. JENNIFER David, let me tell you something. These people do n't want to be geeks. They want to be `` attractive.'' They've got a lot of potential, they just do n't know any better. DAVID They do n't have that kind of potential. JENNIFER Um - hello? You want to like take a look? Jennifer motions behind her to a boy and girl who are locked in an intimate conversation. The girl -LRB- LISA ANNE -RRB- wears bobby socks and the boy -LRB- TOMMY -RRB- wears a letterman's sweater, but the conversation is sexually charged. They speak to one another in a close whisper - their faces inches apart. All at once the girl gets shy and glances away. She blows a big bubble with her gum, but the BUBBLE IS BRIGHT PINK IN AN OTHERWISE GRAY FRAME. TOMMY Wow. What kind of gum is that? CLOSE. DAVID AND JENNIFER He looks over in shock as she sucks the BRIGHTLY COLORED BUBBLE GUM back into her mouth. Jennifer flicks her hair. JENNIFER I got ta go. I'm meeting Skip at the flagpole.", "EXT. LOVER'S LANE. NIGHT. It is the exact same shot as before : The CAMERA STARTS ITS LONG SLOW TRACK behind the vehicles, except this time ALL OF THEM ARE ROCKING. Various limbs and articles of clothing hang out the open windows. MOANS of pleasure waft out over Lover's Lane as the real -LRB- and nasty -RRB- version of LITTLE RICHARD'S `` TOOTY FRUITY'' PLAYS OVER : LIL' RICHARD -LRB- VO. -RRB-''. Got a gal - her name is Sue. She knows just what to do.''", "INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICE. DAY. (MUSIC CONT...) It is a typical'50s family practice right out of Norman Rockwell. There is a jar of tongue depressors on the counter and a jar of lollipops beside them. Lisa Anne -LRB- Mary Sue's best friend -RRB- is being examined by Dr. Henderson. Her mother sits at her side. DR. HENDERSON Let me see it again. Lisa Anne opens her mouth and sticks out a BRIGHT RED TONGUE. Everything else in the frame is Black and White, but her tongue literally gleams with color. DR. HENDERSON -LRB- examining it. -RRB- Well. I do n't think it's anything to worry about. Cut down on greasy foods and chocolate, that kind of thing. -LRB- aside/to the Mother. -RRB- It'll probably just clear up on its own.", "EXT. LOVER'S LANE. NIGHT. (MUSIC CONT...) It is really rocking now. More cars are lined up along the edge of the lake.", "INT. PARKER LIVING ROOM (MUSIC CONT...) Tooty Fruity continues as David flips frantically through the channels looking for TV Repairman. There are only some very local programs. He shakes his head.", "INT. HIGH SCHOOL GYM (MUSIC CONT....) The Pleasantville Lions lose a game late in the second half. The scoreboard reads 84 to 16.", "INT. PARKER LIVING ROOM. (MUSIC CONT....) David examines the back of the TV set.", "INT. FURNITURE STORE. (MUSIC CONT....) A large group of customers is huddled in a circle, staring at an item on the display floor, like it is the monolith in `` 2001''. They seem both confused and absolutely mesmerized as the CAMERA PUSHES IN TO REVEAL : a double bed.", "INT. PARKER LIVING ROOM. (MUSIC CONT...) David sits on the floor with a weird look of resignation as a Brillcream commercial plays in front of him. LIL RICHARD -LRB- OS. -RRB-''. A wop bop a loo bop - a wop bam boom!''", "EXT. SODA SHOP. NIGHT. ON DAVID. He heads toward work with his apron and his paper hat, but he's clearly disconcerted. David stops and stares at A BRIGHT GREEN CAR parked at the front door of the restaurant. He shakes his head.", "INT. SODA SHOP. The place has been transformed. What was cheery and benign a couple of days before, has gotten a little bit dangerous. The letterman sweaters have been replaced by leather jackets. The Pat Boone and Johnny Mathis have given way to real Rock and Roll. There is a James Dean/Marlon Brando edge in the air. Somebody has played the flip side. ANGLE DAVID He enters the soda shop adjusting his paper hat. A young couple makes out passionately in the doorway - all tongues and hands. When they break David sees that the girl's cheeks are FLUSHED WITH RED. He stares at her for a beat as they return to normal. David shakes his head. FOLLOWING HIM. He crosses to the counter and grabs his pencil and little pad of paper. Various things have already GONE TO COLOR AROUND THE ROOM : The JUKE BOX. The COKE SIGN. THE NAUGAHIDE STOOLS. David starts down the aisle when his sister's arm reaches out and stops him. DAVID'S POV - BOOTH Jennifer is sitting with her arm around Skip, eating an ice cream sundae. JENNIFER -LRB- evil grin. -RRB- Think we could get two cheeseburger and some cherry cokes. She eats the bright red cherry in a taunting fashion. DAVID -LRB- pointed. -RRB- I'll be right with you. He crosses behind the counter and posts the order. DAVID Two cheeseburgers, two cherry cokes. There is no response. David looks in the kitchen. HIS POV No one is there. David looks over at the cash register where Mr. Johnson is staring into space. MR. JOHNSON There are n't any cheeseburgers. DAVID Look. I thought we talked about this. I thought we said. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- What's the point, Bud? Mr. Johnson looks up at him with a weird kind of emptiness in his eyes. David grabs his arm, and pulls him down the counter toward the storeroom in the back.", "INT. STOREROOM. He shuts the door behind them. DAVID What are you talking about? MR. JOHNSON I'm just not sure I see the point anymore. DAVID You make hamburgers! That is the point! MR. JOHNSON No I know. I know I do. -LRB- he pauses, then looks up. -RRB- But it's always the same, you know? Grill the bun, flip the meat, melt the cheese. It never changes. It never gets any better or worse. DAVID Just listen to me. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- not hearing him. -RRB-. Like the other night, when I closed up by myself. That was different. DAVID Forget about that! MR. JOHNSON Oh. Okay. But I really liked it. DAVID -LRB- deep breath. -RRB- Look, you ca n't always like what you do. Sometimes you just do it because it's your job. And even if you do n't like it, you just got ta do it anyway. MR. JOHNSON Why? DAVID -LRB- exasperated. -RRB- So they can have their hamburgers! This sounds stupid even to David. He shakes his head. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- like a secret. -RRB- You know what I really like? DAVID -LRB- warily. -RRB-. What's that? MR. JOHNSON Christmas time. David rolls his eyes. Mr. Johnson leans closer, speaking furtively. MR. JOHNSON See every year on Dec. 3, I get to paint the Christmas decorations in the window. And every year, I get to paint a different thing. -LRB- beat. -RRB- One year it's the North Pole. The next I do Santa's workshop. Here I'll show you. He pulls a photo album from the back of the desk and opens it for David. DAVID -LRB- impressed. -RRB- Wow. That's pretty good. MR. JOHNSON Thanks. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- But this morning I was thinking about it and I realized that I looked forward to it all year. And then I thought `` Gee. That seems awfully silly. That seems like an awfully long time to be waiting for just one moment,'' do n't you think? David looks at him speechless. MR. JOHNSON Well do n't you? DAVID I think you should try not to think about this anymore. MR. JOHNSON Really? DAVID Yeah. MR. JOHNSON Oh. Okay. I'll try that then.", "INT. BARBERSHOP. DAY The Barber Pole spins in three shades of gray. Several men are gathered around the two chairs in the front of Gus' shop. Besides being the barbershop, it is the bastion of all male life in Pleasantville. GUS Have they ever lost before? GEORGE Basketball? No they sure have n't. GUS Just feels `` wrong'', that's all. There are several murmurs. RALPH Maybe that's where they get that saying, `` ca n't win'em all.'' GUS Yeah. That's a good point, Ralph. They do have that saying. BOB. -LRB- O.S. -RRB- But they do win'em all, Gus. They've always won'em all. REVERSE ANGLE. DOORWAY. `` Big Bob'' McGee, owner of the drugstore, Chevy dealership, and supermarket stands in the doorway. He's an imposing figure with a razor - sharp crewcut. BURT Oh. Mr. Mayor. Here. Go ahead. Burt climbs out of his chair as Big Bob crosses over. BOB Do n't be silly, Burt. I could n't possibly take your spot. -LRB- takes Burt's spot. -RRB- What I want to know is this : if they've never lost before, and they've never tied before, is n't that `` winning em all?'' BURT Well, yeah. That'd be `` winning em all,'' sure. The men nod and mumur.", "INT. PARKER KITCHEN. DAY. The women's bridge club has assembled in the Parker kitchen like it does every Wednesday afternoon. Four women are seated around the kitchen table with a nice bowl of bridge mix between them. Betty is sitting next to Marge Jenkins, the woman who accompanied her daughter to the doctor's office. MARGE -LRB- dealing the cards. -RRB-. He said it would clear up on its own if she just stayed away from fried foods and sweets. Except it's spread to her lips now too. Oh, I do n't know. MARY -LRB- a THIRD WOMAN. -RRB- And you say it's just `` red?'' MARGE Well - like you know. real red. MARY Hunh. I know what you mean. That's like this car that was in front of Bill Johnson's shop. I was going by it the other day and it looked green. real green. Betty looks up quickly - then grabs some bridge mix. MARGE -LRB- lowering her voice. -RRB- Have you seen him lately? The man does n't look like himself. I was getting my sewing machine fixed across the street and he was sitting in the window of his shop just staring. Was n't looking at anything particular. Just staring. MARY That is strange. Betty reaches out and grabs her cards. She fans them out in front of her, when her eyes go wide. HER POV. BRIDGE HAND They are ALL HEARTS and all BRIGHT RED. It looks like a fistful of valentines. CLOSE UP. BETTY She puts the cards down quickly and takes a sudden breath. Betty keeps them like that for a moment or two, before lifting them up and taking another look. MARGE It's your bid, Betty.", "EXT. PARKER HOUSE. DUSK. The SOUND of the television plays OS while a warm light burns in the window.", "INT. KITCHEN. DUSK. Jennifer and Betty stand at the sink finishing the dishes. Betty washes while Jennifer dries and it's clear who's more used to this. Jennifer examines a chipped nail as she places a dish in the drying rack. BETTY Mary Sue? JENNIFER Yeah? Betty hesitates. Rinses out a pot. BETTY Can I ask you a question? JENNIFER Sure. She pauses for a long moment. BETTY What goes on up at Lover's Lane? JENNIFER -LRB- turning toward her. -RRB- What do you mean? BETTY Well, you hear all these things lately. You know - kids spending so much time up there. -LRB- she looks over. -RRB- Is it holding hands? That kind of thing? JENNIFER Yeah. -LRB- beat. -RRB- That - and. She stops herself. BETTY What? JENNIFER It does n't matter. BETTY No. I want to know. JENNIFER -LRB- glances toward the living room/lowers her voice. -RRB- Well. Sex. BETTY Ah. Betty nods from the import of the tone but not the meaning. She starts washing again ; then stops. BETTY -LRB- CONT. -RRB- What's sex? Jennifer looks over at her stunned, but Betty just looks at her with a blank, curious expression. Jennifer hesitates. JENNIFER You sure you want to know this? BETTY Yes. JENNIFER Okay. She crosses to the kitchen door and closes it. The sounds of the TV in the living room disappear. Jennifer crosses back to the kitchen counter and turns to her. JENNIFER -LRB- CONT. -RRB- You see Mom. -LRB- softer and with understanding. -RRB- When two people like each other very much. Betty looks at her and nods.", "EXT. PARKER HOUSE. TIME LAPSE - DUSK TO NIGHT. The TV keeps flickering in the window.", "INT. KITCHEN. LATER..... The CAMERA PANS across the kitchen table where there is a full quart of milk and some uneaten cookies. It finally comes to rest on Jennifer who is staring across the kitchen table with a concerned look on her face. JENNIFER You okay? REVERSE ANGLE. BETTY She nods - shaken but `` fine.'' Betty stares long and hard at the plate of chocolate chip cookies. She's far away. BETTY Yes. -LRB- softly. -RRB- It's just that. JENNIFER -LRB- gently. -RRB- What? BETTY Well. -LRB- looking up. -RRB-. Your father would never do anything like that. Jennifer bites her lip weighing her next sentence. JENNIFER Oh. Hmm. -LRB- whisper/woman to woman. -RRB- Well, Mom. there's ways to `` enjoy'' yourself without Dad. ANGLE BETTY She looks across the table, perplexed.", "INT. PARKER BEDROOM NIGHT. George crosses from the dresser to the TWO TWIN BEDS in the middle of the room. He wears long sleeve pajamas that are buttoned up to the neck. George puts his glass of warm milk on the nightstand and climbs in his own single bed. It is barely wide enough for his body and takes some maneuvering. GEORGE Sweetie? You coming to bed? There is no answer. GEORGE Betty?", "INT. BATHROOM. She stands in her bathrobe staring down at the tub. Her dressing gown is buttoned to the neck as well. BETTY -LRB- calling out. -RRB- Yeah. I'm just going to take a bath first. CLOSER. BETTY She swallows once as she stares down at the tub - then reaches for the spigot and turns on the water. Betty's heart beats a little faster as she HEARS the WATER THUNDERING DOWN. CLOSER STILL. Betty reaches up and unties the little silk ribbon at the top of her robe. She slips it off, and lets it drop to the floor, standing naked in the middle of the bathroom. Betty glances toward the mirror and then quickly glances away. She takes a deep breath and steps into the tub. EVEN TIGHTER. ON HER FACE. Betty slides down into the warm water, breathing in the steam, and closing her eyes for a moment. She lingers like that for a second or two, before settling a little lower in the tub. Betty opens her eyes, but they only half open. There is the slight trace of a smile. EXTREME CLOSE UP BETTY'S FACE. Her eyes close again as she bites her lower lip gently. The water continues to THUNDER DOWN as she arches her back. Betty's breathing seems to quicken as she opens her eyes all over again : HER POV. BATHROOM. ALL AT ONCE, EVERYTHING AROUND STARTS TO TURN FROM BLACK AND WHITE TO COLOR. A BIRD OUT THE WINDOW BECOMES A RED BREASTED ROBIN. THE TILE ON THE TUB TURNS OUT TO BE PURPLE. GREEN TOWEL. PINK ROBE. PALE BLUE UNDERWEAR DRAPED OVER A CHAIR. CLOSE UP. BETTY'S FACE She stares in amazement. Beads of sweat form on Betty's forehead as the world goes to TECHNICOLOR. The THUNDERING WATER POUNDS IN THE BACKGROUND, but beneath can be heard the beginnings of a faint, low, MOAN. Her eyes dart around the room. Her breathing quickens : Faster. Harder. More intense. THEN SUDDENLY. Betty takes a bath", "EXT. ELM STREET. NIGHT The HUGE ELM TREE across the street suddenly BURSTS INTO FLAMES. Fire shoots straight up into the sky as billowing clouds of black smoke fill the air. BRIGHT ORANGE FLAMES LIGHT UP THE NIGHT.", "INT. PARKER LIVING ROOM. NIGHT. David is staring at the television set when he notices a weird orange glow. He glances behind him, out the living room window. DAVID Oh my God! Fire! Fire! Cat?", "EXT. ELM STREET. NIGHT David comes racing out of the front door and down the walk. A small CROWD has gathered in front of the fire. -LRB- They do n't seem frightened - just sort of amazed. -RRB- The street is still BLACK AND WHITE but it is now bathed in a weird ORANGE LIGHT. The flames leap higher and higher. DAVID Jesus Christ. FOLLOWING DAVID He takes off down the block, as fast as he can run. The crowd continues to stare as David turns the corner at Main Street.", "EXT. FIRE STATION. He races in the front of the building SCREAMING at the top of his lungs. DAVID FIRE! FIRE!", "INT. FIRE STATION. There is no sign of life on the ground floor. David races up the stairs toward the bunk room on the second story.", "INT. BUNK ROOM All the firemen are sitting around playing Gin Rummy when David rushes in the front door. They can hear his voice from down the hall. DAVID -LRB- entering. -RRB- FIRE. FIRE. They still do n't move. All the firemen just look at him from their bunks with a perplexed expression. DAVID -LRB- beat. -RRB- CAT! All at once they spring to their feet grabbing their helmets and their yellow slickers. They race to the landing just outside the bunk room and leap onto the pole.", "EXT. MAIN STREET. NIGHT. The FIRE ENGINE comes SCREAMING toward the house from the top of the block. David sits in the front of the truck next to the Fire Chief who drives the vehicle at break neck speed. DAVID Right here! The Fire ENGINE screeches to a halt. The Fireman looks around. FIREMAN Where is it? David shoots him a look then glances at the inferno. He shakes his head and leaps from the truck. FOLLOWING DAVID He races around to the back where the other firemen are standing just as confused. David grabs one of the hoses and begins to pull it from the truck. DAVID Here! Grab this nozzle. FIREMAN But where's the cat? DAVID Just grab it! He strips out about fifteen feet of hose, then grabs the fireman and pulls him toward the curb. David hands him the hose and opens the valve sending out a huge FLUME OF WATER. FIREMAN Whoa! -LRB- beat. -RRB- So that's what these do. A huge smile breaks out across the fireman's face - like a man who has suddenly found his purpose in life. He beams from ear to ear dousing the flames, while David runs to get another hose. BOB -LRB- VO. -RRB- -LRB- fading in. -RRB-''. In honor and in recognition of your heroism.''", "EXT. TOWN HALL. DAY David stands at a podium receiving a commendation from `` Big'' Bob McGee -LRB- the man from the barbershop -RRB-. He holds up a large shiny medal for public display, while `` David's'' whole family beams in the background. BOB And with great appreciation from the citizens of Pleasantville.'' WIDER A huge crowd is gathered on the town hall steps. There are lots of balloons and bunting. BOB -LRB- CONT. -RRB- I am pleased to present you with this special commendation, from the ` Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce'. He hands the medal to David as the entire town bursts into APPLAUSE.", "EXT. MAIN STREET. LATER.... David walks away from the center of town looking down at the gold medal around his neck. He takes his sleeve and starts to rub off a smudge when a young woman comes up beside him. GIRL'S VOICE Hi Bud. WIDER She is MARGARET ANNE HENDERSON, the prettiest girl in school, and one of the most popular. Margaret wears a cheerleader's outfit that only accentuates a bombshell'50s figure. Nonetheless, she seems the image of girly innocence. MARGARET That was sure swell. DAVID Oh. Thanks, Margaret. MARGARET -LRB- smiling. -RRB- I baked you my oatmeal cookies. DAVID -LRB- vaguely remembering an episode. -RRB- Oh, no. You baked those for Whitey. MARGARET No. I baked them for you. DAVID No. You baked them for Whitey. MARGARET No. I baked them for you. DAVID No. You baked them for wh. MARGARET -LRB- low and guttural. -RRB- No. I baked them for you. All at once, Margaret grabs his arm and presses herself up against him. Her breasts shove up against his chest. Her mouth is inches away from his. DAVID Um. thanks. David can smell the weird combination of hot moist breath and freshly baked cookies. He stares into her eyes for a moment, unable to speak. Margaret flashes him a not - so - Pleasantville smile. MARGARET See ya. She turns and heads around the corner, while David just watches her dumbstruck. Take Five", "EXT. SODA SHOP. DAY. David heads toward work with his apron and little paper hat. The BUDDY HOLLY music has given way to `` hip'''50s JAZZ. DAVE BRUBECK drifts out of the soda shop as David pauses for a moment, and looks at the door. The same couple that was making out before are at it again. This time, when they part, however, the color does n't fade. They remain rich and saturated. David takes a bite of his cookie and goes inside.", "INT. SODA SHOP. The place has `` morphed'' even more. Brubeck's `` TAKE FIVE'' plays in the background while several patrons talk `` intensely'' in their booths. DOORWAY David walks into the building and pauses. There are several COFFEE cups on the table. Jennifer gets up and comes over to him. JENNIFER Nice medal. DAVID -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Thanks. JENNIFIER Look, I know things got a little out of hand. DAVID It's okay. He glances at the booth beside them. All the kids are staring up at him, with a weird expression of awe. DAVID What's going on? JENNIFER -LRB- still under her breath. -RRB- Um. They like wan na ask you a question. I did n't know how to handle it. So. DAVID Sure. He crosses to the booth where Skip and two others look up at him. It's like Elvis has entered the building. DAVID How you doin'? VARIOUS KIDS Swell. DAVID You wanted to ask me something? They keep on staring. Several glances are exchanged back and forth like they're sharing a secret. Finally. TOMMY How'd you know about the fire? DAVID What? TOMMY How'd you know how to put it out and all? David hesitates, weighing his words. DAVID Oh. Well - where I used to live. That's just what firemen did. This sends a MURMUR through the shop. The boy leans forward. TOMMY And where's that? DAVID -LRB- carefully. -RRB- Um. Out - side of Pleasantville. This sends a much LOUDER MURMUR rifling through the kids. It's like electricity. They glance excited at one another. A hush descends. TOMMY What's outside of Pleasantville? DAVID Look it does n't matter. It's not important. TOMMY What's outside of Pleasantville? David stops and looks out at the kids who are hanging on every word. DAVID It's really not important. MARGARET What's outside of Pleasantville? REVERSE ANGLE. INCLUDING DOORWAY. Margaret Henderson -LRB- the girl with the cookies -RRB- stands in the doorway staring at David. She hangs on his words with the same excitement as the others. She's ten feet away but might as well be touching him. DAVID -LRB- slowly. -RRB- Um. Well. There are some places where the road does n't go in a circle. There are some places where it keeps on going. There's an excited giggle. They lean forward. MARGARET -LRB- an exotic concept. -RRB- Keeps going. DAVID Well, yeah - it all just keeps going. Roads. rivers. WILL -LRB- from the back. -RRB- Like the `` Mighty Mississippi.'' DAVID What? He moves forward extending a book. The boy is in full, rich color. The cover reads : `` THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN.'' David opens the first page. There is printing inside, with COLOR illustrations. WILL -LRB- quoting. -RRB- `` It was big'n brown n' kept goin' an' goin' as far you could see.'' DAVID -LRB- turning to Jennifer. -RRB- I thought the books were blank? WILL They were. He looks over at Jennifer. JENNIFER -LRB- CONT. -RRB- -LRB- quickly. -RRB- Okay look, this like - was n't my fault. They asked me What it was about and I like did n't remember'cause we had it back in tenth grade. But I told them what I DID remember, and the next thing I knew the pages had filled in. DAVID The pages filled in? JENNIFER But like only up to the part about the raft, because I did n't read any farther. David flips through the book and sure enough only the first chapter has print. The pages are blank after that. TOMMY Do you know how it ends? DAVID -LRB- hesitating. -RRB- Well, yeah. I do. MARGARET -LRB- breathless. -RRB- So how does it end? She has moved closer and is gazing at him from a couple of feet away. It's silent in the soda shop. DAVID Well - see. they're both running away - Huck and the slave. And. They go up the river. But - in trying to get free. they sort of see that they're free already. INSERT. BOOK. David looks immediately down to the blank pages of the book that are n't blank anymore. Rows and rows of FRESH NEW TYPE materialize in front of him. He turns to the back of the book, that is complete with a COLOR illustration. SHOT. DAVID. DAVID -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Oh my God. WILL Wow! PEGGY JANE Do you know this one? DAVID Oh yeah. well this is great. Kind of Blue", "EXT. PLEASANTVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY. DAY. The CAMERA PANS down from the `` PUBLIC LIBRARY'' sign to find the front door. A long line of kids waiting to check out their books stretches onto the sidewalk. EXTREME WIDE SHOT. LIBRARY. FROM ACROSS THE STREET. Several men from the barbershop lean against the wall next to the spinning barber pole. They watch the spectacle for a moment or two, as teenager after teenager exits with an armful of books. GUS Look at'em, Burt. It's spreadin' all over the place. Look at the color on her books. BURT -LRB- swallow. -RRB- Look at the color on her sweater. -LRB- pause. -RRB- I mean goin' up to that lake all the time is one thing, but now they're going to a library? I mean what's next? BOB Oughtta be havin' an ice cream soda. That's where they oughtta be. At that moment, Lisa Anne, the girl with the red tongue, walks by them with an armful of books. She wears a plaid skirt, tight angora sweater and BRIGHT RED LIPS. Her EYES SPARKLE A BRILLIANT BLUE. She smiles at the men as she passes and their eyes nearly fall out of their head. They follow her progress down the block. BURT -LRB- swallows, faintly. -RRB- You're right, Bob. Somebody oughtta do somethin' about that. -LRB- watching her ass recede. -RRB-. Soon. Big Bob glances over and nods. WIDER STILL From the shadows of the Town Hall, up the block, David watches the stream of kids emerge with their books. They cradle them in their hands like a piece of newfound treasure. Stand up for what's right!", "INT. PARKER LIVING ROOM. NIGHT. George sits on the edge of his Barka Lounger, across the coffee table from `` Big'' Bob McGee. Even sitting down the man is a looming presence. Besides owning the market, auto dealership, hardware store, and gas station, he also owns the insurance agency where George works. George sweats into his collar. GEORGE Want some bridge mix? BOB Oh, no thanks. GEORGE Betty's making some pineapple kabobs. BOB I'm fine - but thank you. George nods as Bob takes a belt of his Martini and leans forward. BOB -LRB- CONT. -RRB- George, you're probably wondering why I asked if I could come over today. George shrugs - then nods - then shrugs. BOB -LRB- CONT. -RRB- I'm sure you've noticed the same things we all have - certain ` changes' going on in the town. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You know what I mean by ` changes?' GEORGE ` Changes.' BOB -LRB- nodding. -RRB- ` Changes.'. -LRB- takes a belt of martini. -RRB- And it's not just the fire or big stuff like that. It's little things. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Did you hear about Bill Miller? GEORGE -LRB- concerned. -RRB- No. What? BOB Wife wants him to get one of those new beds. GEORGE One of those. big beds? Bob nods. GEORGE -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Oh my gosh. What's he gon na do? BOB I really do n't know. It's everywhere, George. Bill Anderson's boy just quit his job at the market. GEORGE What do you mean quit? BOB Took off his apron in the middle of an order. Said he did n't `` feel'' like it anymore. There were groceries all over the counter. Took'em three hours to sort it all out. GEORGE Sheesh. BOB Everyone likes you, George. GEORGE Oh, well. BOB No. They do. And it is n't just'cause you're a great bowler. They respect you. GEORGE -LRB- heartfelt. -RRB- Thank you very much. BOB And, George, it's important for them to see someone they respect, stand up for what's right. If you love a place, you ca n't sit around and watch this kind of thing happen to it. GEORGE No. Of course not. BOB -LRB- big patriarchal smile. -RRB- And, George, that's why I want you to be on the Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce. Big Bog reaches forward and extends a small square jewelry box. He pops open the lid and extends it in front of George. INSERT. BOX. Sitting inside is a shiny silver lapel pin in the shape of the Chamber of Commerce insignia. SHOT. GEORGE. GEORGE -LRB- stunned, moved. -RRB- Oh my Gosh. I hardly know what to say. -LRB- stares at the pin. -RRB- It looks just like yours. BOB -LRB- smiles. -RRB- It's exactly like mine. George looks at him speechless. BOB -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Why do n't you start by saying `` yes,'' and then getting me one of those swell pineapple kabobs. GEORGE Oh sure. You bet. -LRB- calling out. -RRB- Betty. There is no answer. GEORGE -LRB- CONT. -RRB- BETTY - BOB WANTS TO TRY ONE OF YOUR GREAT HORS D' OEUVRES. BETTY! WIDER George turns around to see David, standing on the landing, listening to the entire conversation. Their eyes lock for a moment. DAVID I'll get her. He moves quickly to the kitchen shutting the door behind him. What's a mother to do?", "INT. KITCHEN. David gets a couple of steps in and stops. He looks across the room to see Betty standing at the kitchen sink, just staring out the window. Her back is to him. She grips the formica kitchen counter. DAVID -LRB- approaching slowly. -RRB- Are you okay? She does n't answer. David moves up to her and rests a hand on her shoulder. DAVID Are you alright? Betty turns around to face him. HER FACE HAS TURNED COMPLETELY TO COLOR. THE EYES ARE GREEN. THE LIPS ARE RED. SHE HAS A NATURAL BLUSH IN HER CHEEKS. In fact the whole thing looks like a beautiful color portrait except for the tear stains on either side of her face. BETTY -LRB- fighting tears. -RRB- What am I going to do? David moves closer and looks at her. Her lip is quivering. DAVID It's okay. It's alright. BETTY -LRB- trembling. -RRB- I ca n't go out there. How can I go out there? She looks right up at David. BETTY -LRB- CONT. -RRB- -LRB- quieter. -RRB- Look at me. DIFFERENT ANGLE. He stares at her for a second. Big green eyes full of fear and confusion. David pushes a reassuring smile. DAVID Have you got any make up? BETTY In my handbag. He crosses to the counter and grabs her purse. David sits Betty on a kitchen chair and fishes inside the handbag for her compact. He finds it along with a wadded up Kleenex. DAVID Okay - first we'll dry you out a little. He dabs at the tears, while she smiles at him in gratitude. Then David opens the compact and takes out the large GRAY powder puff. CLOSER. It is a truly amazing sight. As David smears on the makeup, she returns gradually to BLACK AND WHITE. The skin tones disappear. The flush of her cheeks goes. David takes out a DARK GRAY lipstick, obliterating the bright red of her lips. REVERSE ANGLE. OVER BETTY'S SHOULDER. He works on her for a second or two, then takes a step back. All at once, David seems to wince : REVERSE ANGLE. HIS POV. BETTY'S FACE. The life is gone from her face. In an instant Betty has gone from three dimensions to two. She stands in front of him, the fictional version of herself all over again. BETTY -LRB- off his reaction. -RRB- What? David shakes his head and forces a smile. He hands her the compact so she can examine herself. Betty holds it up to her face, turning her head first right, then left. BETTY -LRB- beat. -RRB- Does it look okay? DAVID Looks just like it did. BETTY And they wo n't be able to tell? DAVID -LRB- even quieter. -RRB- No. They wo n't be able to tell. Betty takes a deep breath and fluffs her hair. She grabs the plate of Pineapple kabobs and heads for the door. Just before she goes in, she pauses, then plasters on a big wide `` stewardess'' smile. BETTY Thank you. DAVID -LRB- sadly. -RRB- Sure. He watches as she opens the door, and marches in the room, extending the little tray of hors d'oeuvres in front of her. A book of art", "INT. SODA SHOP. DAY. Mr. Johnson is all alone in the shop, setting up the napkin dispensers. He whistles BRUBECK'S `` TAKE FIVE'' when the screen door slams behind him. Mr. Johnson looks up with a start. MR. JOHNSON Oh, hi. DAVID -LRB- entering. -RRB- Hi. MR. JOHNSON Are n't you a little early? DAVID -LRB- quietly. -RRB- I brought you something. From the library. CLOSER. FOLLOWING DAVID. He has a large book tucked under his arm that is easily three feet long. Mr. Johnson looks at him a little intrigued as David crosses to the counter. DAVID -LRB- CONT. -RRB- It's an art book. MR. JOHNSON Oh my Gosh, Bud. DAVID Open it. Mr. Johnson reaches out and opens the cover. After a beat, his eyes widen. DAVID -LRB- CONT. -RRB- I just thought since you liked painting it might help to. Mr. Johnson gasps. It's quiet, and subtle, but it's still a gasp. David looks over at him but he's lost in the pages. HIS POV. -LRB- INSERT -RRB- ART BOOK. Massacio's `` Expulsion of Adam and Eve'' leaps off the pages in vibrant, tortured color. The beauty of the garden is offset by their agony and their shame. HE TURNS THE PAGE. Titian's `` Venus of Urbano''. Soft, fleshy, in a rich golden light. She is utterly real and entirely nude. The folds of her flesh almost seem to glow. MR. JOHNSON Who's Titian? DAVID I'm not sure. Rembrandt's `` Self Portrait.'' Dark reds, umbers, blacks and browns. He looks back at Mr. Johnson with pain and wisdom. There's a brilliant light on his hair. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- OS. -RRB- Mmmmgh. Faintly, almost imperceptibly, the SOUND of a rich ARIA begins to UNDERSCORE THE IMAGES. It's so faint you ca n't be sure you even hear it at all. like you're hearing it with your eyes. He TURNS THE PAGES faster : Breugal's `` Harvesters''. Turner's `` Steam Train''. Monet's `` Cathedral''. Cezanne's `` Oranges''. Mr. Johnson shuts the book. WIDER. SODA SHOP They sit like that for a beat. MR. JOHNSON It's beautiful, Bud. He looks up at David, troubled. DAVID What's wrong? MR. JOHNSON -LRB- CONT. -RRB- I'll never be able to do that. DAVID Oh, well - you're just starting out. I mean, you ca n't do it now. MR. JOHNSON No, that's not it. Mr. Johnson shuts the book gently. MR. JOHNSON Where am I going to see colors like that? ANGLE. DAVID What can he say. David looks over at Mr. Johnson who just smiles and shrugs. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Must be awfully lucky to see colors like that. I bet they do n't even know how lucky they are. CLOSE UP. DAVID He just stares for a second. Those are not your cookies, Bud!", "EXT. MAIN STREET. LONG SHOT. DAY... Margaret walks up the center of Main Street toward the CAMERA with her books pressed against her chest. She passes the drugstore, then the hardware store. Far off in the distance, a young man comes racing out of the soda shop, pulling off his little paper hat as he goes. He comes running up behind her as fast as he can. CLOSER. He takes a deep breath and tries to quiet the panting. DAVID Hi. MARGARET -LRB- turning/lighting up. -RRB- Oh. Hi. DAVID -LRB- pause. -RRB- Look, I probably should n't be asking you this - not knowing you that well and all. Margaret stops in the street and turns to him : a moment of truth. All at once, he abandons the speech. DAVID You want to go out with me tonight? He wants to turn away but does n't. David forces himself to look back at her. All of a sudden she beams. It's the whitest, pearliest smile in the world.", "EXT. ELM STREET. DAY. David comes flying around the corner in complete jubilation. He vaults over a picket fence, swings around a lamppost and leaps off the bumper of a parked car. David hi - fives into the air at no one in particular and sails over Mr. Simpson's hedge almost decking him in the process. DAVID Sorry. He races across the street bobbing and weaving like an All American fullback. David bounds up his front steps two at a time flinging open the door.", "INT. PARKER HOUSE. FOYER. DAVID `` Oh when the Saints. Go Marching in.'' He lets the door slam behind him as he takes off his apron and tosses it on the coat rack. David starts up the stairs, when he HEARS a MAN'S VOICE coming from the living room. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- OS. -RRB- Bud. He pauses a second and glances back. MAN'S VOICE David. He peers into the living room. David goes a little grayer. HIS POV. TELEVISION TV Repairman is looking back at him from the middle of the TV screen. He seems to have a bit of a stubble. TV REPAIRMAN Hello there. DAVID -LRB- wary. -RRB-. Hi. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- stage whisper. -RRB- Well c ` mere, young fella.", "INT. LIVING ROOM David crosses slowly over to the TV set. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- CONT. -RRB- -LRB- big smile. -RRB- You know I've been thinkin'. I might have been a little `` hasty'' the other day when you asked to come home - just took me by such surprise, ya know - ha ha. He gives a gooney laugh. David just looks at him. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- CONT. -RRB- So even though I ca n't make any promises, well - I figured if you asked me real nice - I might just be willing to talk about it again. DAVID -LRB- quickly. -RRB- I ca n't. TV REPAIRMAN What? DAVID Talk about it. Right now, I mean. I got to. um. The look turns suddenly dark and ominous. TV REPAIRMAN Bud - I thought you wanted to come home. DAVID Oh. I do. Yeah. It's just that I told my `` dad'' I'd clean out the rain gutters and Mr. Johnson wanted me to. to change the tape in the register. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- getting testy. -RRB- I'll be honest with you Bud. I'm getting sorta concerned about what I'm seeing in some of these re - runs. DAVID Re - runs? TV REPAIRMAN Like when Margaret Henderson makes her cookies for Whitey. -LRB- losing it a little. -RRB-. Those are n't your cookies Bud. DAVID Oh, I know they're not. But I mean - they're just `` cookies'' after all. TV REPAIRMAN Excuse me? DAVID Well they're not just cookies. I mean, they're great cookies. TV REPAIRMAN Those are Whitey's cookies, Bud. They belong to him. Then he eats them, then he asks her to go to Lover's Lane, then. DAVID Look, I'd love to get into all this but I'm really running late, why do n't we hook up tomorrow. TV REPAIRMAN Bud. DAVID Look I ca n't hear you - it's really cruddy reception. I'll talk to you later. CLICK. He switches off the TV sending TV Repairman to electronic limbo. David stands in the middle of the living room, breathing hard.", "INT. JENNIFER'S (MARY SUE'S) ROOM. She sits on the bed staring down at the front cover of a book. -LRB- It's an alien experience. -RRB- Jennifer is just about to open it when she senses something and glances toward the door. REVERSE ANGLE. Bud is standing in the doorway just staring at her. He seems to be out of breath. JENNIFER What's wrong? DAVID Nothing. JENNIFER Nothing? He keeps breathing hard in the doorway. David holds the remote in his hand. DAVID Listen. He takes a couple of steps into the room and then suddenly stops. DAVID You're reading? JENNIFER -LRB- glancing at the book. -RRB- Yeah. Ca n't believe you started such a dorky fad. She holds up the cover. JENNIFER -LRB- CONT. -RRB- D.H. Lawrence. You ever heard of him? DAVID -LRB- amazed. -RRB-. Yeah. JENNIFER I read a couple of pages. Seemed kinda sexy. DAVID -LRB- still stunned. -RRB- It is. He just stares at her for a second as his mind seems to drift. JENNIFER So what is it? DAVID Well. -LRB- out of the blue. -RRB- Can I ask you a question? JENNIFER Sure. DAVID Remember when Dad moved out? JENNIFER -LRB- rolls her eyes. -RRB- Uh, yeah. slightly. DAVID Well. Did you want them to get back together? JENNIFER Sure. For a little while. DAVID -LRB- searching for something. -RRB- Then you stopped? JENNIFER -LRB- thinks. -RRB- I never stopped wanting it. I just stopped thinking about it. I figured it was never gon na happen so I just. -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- Moved on. DAVID Moved on? JENNIFER Yeah. David stares at the wallpaper in her room like it's a window or a mirror or something. He seems a million miles away. Jennifer shifts closer to him. JENNIFER Can I ask you a question? DAVID Sure. JENNIFER How come I'm still in black and white? DAVID -LRB- back to earth. -RRB- What? JENNIFER Well I've had like ten times as much sex as these girls and I'm still like this. They have one hour in the back of a car and suddenly they're in technicolor. DAVID Oh, I do n't know. Maybe. -LRB- thinks. -RRB-. it's not just the sex. JENNIFER -LRB- looking up quickly. -RRB- What? She stares at him wide - eyed like someone who has just heard their name called. Jennifer's eyes dart around like she's calculating a math problem. After a moment or two, her expression changes : a vague look of recognition. JENNIFER No, maybe it's not. She glances down at her book. It's a big book. Jennifer takes a deep breath and stares at the gray skin of her hand. After a second or two, she looks back. David looks at her for a beat. At Last", "EXT. MARGARET HENDERSON'S HOUSE. (MAPLE STREET) DAY. David gets out of his `` dad's'' convertible, carrying a dozen `` gray'' roses. He takes a deep breath and heads up her front walk.", "INT. CAR. DAY. LATER... David sits behind the wheel of the borrowed car with Margaret Henderson by his side. He concentrates hard on the road, holding the wheel at `` 10 and 2'' as he steals a glance to his right. HIS POV. MARGARET It's not quite evening yet, and late afternoon light makes her glow. Margaret smiles as she turns her face into the warm wind that swirls inside the convertible. SHOT. DAVID He studies her for a moment or two, then suddenly swerves to avoid a parked car on his right. WIDER. They pass a sign with a happy family on it that reads : `` NOW LEAVING PLEASANTVILLE''", "INT. CAR. Main Street turns into a winding country road as they leave the town behind and head off into the woods. They wind through the dense woodland for a moment or two before a second sign appears, much like the first : `` NOW ENTERING PLEASANTVILLE'' DIFFERENT ANGLE. THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD. Sure enough, the town emerges in front of them again, completing the 4 dimensional circle. David looks confused. MARGARET Um. You got ta turn off Main Street. DAVID Oh. Right. He looks over at her and smiles. Margaret turns on the radio.", "EXT. CAR. DUSK. SAM COOKE sings for them as David turns from Main Street onto a smaller unmarked lane. The car starts to rise up a small hill, with Dogwood trees blooming on either side of the road. It continues to climb up the narrow gravel lane toward the crest in the hill. David looks over at Margaret who takes a deep breath shutting her eyes. He glances down at the seat between them. HIS POV. CAR SEAT. THE ROSES THAT WERE GRAY HAVE SUDDENLY TURNED TO COLOR. They sit next to him on the seat : a deep, rich RED.", "INT. CAR. David looks up and out the windshield. The same thing seems to be happening around them. Many of the Dogwoods have started to turn PINK. Not all of them, but at least fifty percent of the petals have `` bloomed'' in some weird false spring. The road twists and turns on its way to the top, as they finally reach a crest in the hill. DAVID Wow. THEIR POV. LOVERS LANE There, sitting in front of them, is a whole world gone Technicolor : THE LAKE IS BLUER THAN BLUE. THE WEEPING WILLOW IS GREENER THAN GREEN. THE DOGWOOD PETALS -LRB- all `` turned'' now -RRB- SWIRL IN THE WIND LIKE SOME STRANGE PINK SNOWSTORM. A LONG LINE OF PASTEL CARS STRETCHES OUT ALONG THE SHORE. SAM COOKE -LRB- VO. -RRB- -LRB- over the car radios. -RRB- `` Cupid, draw back your bow.'' SHOT. CAR. Slowly, David rolls the convertible forward. Many of the kids have left their cars and sit down along the grassy bank by the edge of the water. A few of them have books open. It almost looks `` Athenian.''", "INT. CAR. David looks at the whole scene for a moment then suddenly cocks his head to the side. DAVID What's that smell? WIDE ANGLE. LAKE. A beautiful wild rose in mid - bloom eats up half the frame, while David and Margaret stare at the view in the distance.", "EXT. MAIN STREET. DUSK Betty is staring into the window of the FLOWER SHOP with a shopping bag on either hand. From a ways away, she looks like any other homemaker in Pleasantville. You do n't even notice the gray make - up. CLOSER. FOLLOWING BETTY. She nods to Mrs. Filmore in the bakery and smiles at Don in the Post Office. Betty is just about to turn on Elm Street when she glances up, and suddenly stops. HER POV. ACROSS THE STREET. There, in the middle of the block, sits Mr. Johnson's soda shop. The whole scene is still black and white, except for the large CUBIST PAINTING THAT FILLS MR. JOHNSON'S WINDOW. It is rendered in bright PINKS, YELLOWS AND ORANGES, and looks like a Braque or a Picasso except for the unusual subject matter. Upon closer examination you see that all the spheres and cones add up to an avante garde snow scene, with a Cubist Santa hovering over the roof tops. SHOT. BETTY She stares at it, mesmerized for a moment, then starts to wander across the street. It's late afternoon and the business district is empty. Betty crosses in the middle of the block, staring straight ahead.", "INT. SODA SHOP. The door opens and she sticks her head inside. Most of the place is dark except for one streak of sunlight shining through the window near the back of the store. Betty glances around. The little bell JINGLES as she enters. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- OS. -RRB- We're closed right now. DIFFERENT ANGLE. He sits in front of a small easel near the back, staring at a board which doubles as a canvas. Mr. Johnson glances over his shoulder and recognizes Betty in the doorway. MR. JOHNSON Oh, hi. BETTY -LRB- turning to leave. -RRB- I'm sorry. MR. JOHNSON No, no. Come on in. REVERSE ANGLE. He gets up from his stool and crosses toward the door, still holding the palette in his hand. Betty stares at the `` Cubist Christmas'' in the window. BETTY I just thought. It's beautiful. MR. JOHNSON Thanks. Their eyes lock for a second. Sort of a clutzy silence. Mr. Johnson motions toward his easel. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- CONT. -RRB- I was just trying to do one of these `` still lifes.'' Having kind of a tough time. He sighs and looks beside him. Next to the easel is a bowl of GRAY FRUIT. Betty moves down the counter, glancing at the painting. BETTY I think it looks nice. MR. JOHNSON Well. -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- Here's what it's s ` posed to look like. He reaches across the counter and grabs the art book. It's open to a Cezanne that nearly burns off the page. BETTY Oh my. CLOSER. They are standing almost on top of each other gazing down at the book. Neither one of them moves. Betty almost disappears into the pictures - drawn by a strange new world. MR. JOHNSON Here. Look at this. He turns to Kandinsky - a massive swirl of color. The image is nearly electric. BETTY -LRB- breathless. -RRB- Where'd you get this? MR. JOHNSON Bud brought it to me. BETTY My Bud? MR. JOHNSON Here's my favorite. INSERT. BOOK. He turns the page near the back to one of Picasso's `` Weeping Women.'' The woman is rendered in pink and red and green. Her head is a large sphere, laying `` peacefully'' on her own shoulder. From the tree of knowledge WIDER MR. JOHNSON What do you think? She does n't answer. MR. JOHNSON Is n't it great how she's resting like that? BETTY -LRB- faintly. -RRB- She's crying. MR. JOHNSON No she's not. BETTY Yes she is. He looks up at her. REVERSE ANGLE. A single tear is running down Betty's cheek. She senses it and reaches up to wipe it quickly away, but instead of just wiping the tear, she takes off a huge swath of GRAY MAKE - UP. A long strip of PINK FLESH is revealed underneath. ANGLE. MR. JOHNSON He stares up at her in amazement. ANGLE BETTY. She senses something and glances down at her hand. Her fingertips are covered in GRAY MAKE - UP. Betty turns and bolts for the door. WIDER. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- following her. -RRB- Wait. BETTY I've got to go. MR. JOHNSON It's alright. He stops her near the door and she turns her face toward the wall. Mr. Johnson touches her shoulder. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- CONT. -RRB- It's alright. Let me see. BETTY -LRB- shame. -RRB- No. He reaches up and gently touches her chin. Mr. Johnson moves around to glimpse the other side of her cheek. MR. JOHNSON It's beautiful. CLOSER. She freezes like that for a moment, then slowly, haltingly, turns toward him. THE COLOR of her real flesh is revealed underneath. Betty stands there exposed. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- a whisper. -RRB-. It's beautiful. She swallows, not sure what to do. Betty glances down. MR. JOHNSON You should n't cover that up. Mr. Johnson reaches over to the little napkin dispenser on the counter and pulls one out. He leans forward and dabs at the tears beneath Betty's eyes. Then slowly, gently, he starts to wipe the makeup off her cheek. CLOSER STILL She recoils a bit, tensing up, then just looks at him. Mr. Johnson is gazing at her `` true color'' with wonder and acceptance. She hesitates for an instant, then seems to make a decision. Betty slowly turns her face to the side, exposing her flesh all the way down to the neck. Mr. Johnson continues to wipe off the make up in larger and larger strokes as the beautiful pink flesh begins to emerge.", "INT. JENNIFER'S (MARY SUE'S) ROOM. NIGHT. She lies on her bed, reading the same book she was browsing earlier. Jennifer seems strangely engrossed as she flips the pages, lying on her stomach, scouring every word. After a moment or two she gets restless and shifts position, lifting the book. The cover is plainly visible : `` LADY CHATTERLY'S LOVER.'' CLOSER She does n't have enough light so Jennifer rises from the bed and crosses to `` her'' desk. She sits in the chair and flattens the book in front of her. Jennifer is deep into the plot and does n't even look up as she flicks on the desk lamp. She could almost be studying algebra as she sits upright at the little desk. DIFFERENT ANGLE She flips the page and peers more intently. Her hair is bothering her so she pulls it back and knots it in a pony tail. It's cold by the open window and she puts on a sweater. After a little while her eyes begin to get more tired and she looks up and blinks a couple of times. Jennifer notices something across the desk. REVERSE ANGLE. A pair of Mary Sue's glasses are neatly folded in front of her. Jennifer reaches out, puts them on her head, glances back down at the print. JENNIFER -LRB- impressed. -RRB- Hunh. She can see much clearer now. Jennifer folds her hands in front of her and does n't even realize that she has mimicked the PHOTOGRAPH OF MARY SUE THAT SITS BESIDE HER IN A SILVER FRAME. The face is the same, but that's to be expected. So is the pony tail, the glasses, the posture and the studious look on her face. Jennifer turns the page engrossed in her novel when there is a loud TAP on the window. She rises from the desk and pulls back the curtain. Jennifer slides open the window.", "EXT. PARKER HOUSE Skip stands on the front lawn tossing pebbles at the window. SKIP Mary Sue - C'mon. JENNIFER -LRB- leaning out the window. -RRB- What are you doing? SKIP -LRB- jiggling in anticipation. -RRB- It's six - thirty. JENNIFER So. SKIP We were gon na. You know. He jiggles some more. JENNIFER Oh. -LRB- remembering. -RRB-. I ca n't. SKIP Why not? She glances down at her book. JENNIFER I'm busy. SKIP -LRB- surprised. -RRB- With what?", "INT. JENNIFER'S ROOM. She hesitates for a second then glances back at the desk. Her own image in the silver frame stares back at her. The hair is pulled back in a pony tail. The glasses sit on the front of her nose. JENNIFER -LRB- turning to Skip. -RRB- I'm studying. She thinks about it for a moment, then suddenly smiles. Skip stands dumbfounded on the sidewalk as Jennifer reaches up and quietly closes the window.", "EXT. LOVER'S LANE. NIGHT. David and Margaret sit on the edge of the grass, looking out across the water. Even in the moonlight, the COLORS are vivid. David still clutches the rose in his hand, taking a long hit like an Opium addict. DAVID -LRB- inhaling. -RRB- Mmmmgh. MARGARET Do they have those. Where you come from? DAVID Yeah. I guess. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I do n't know. MARGARET You do n't know? Margaret laughs like that is n't even possible. She shifts on the grass hiking her skirt up above the knee. It reveals a long tan leg beneath it. David watches as she kicks off her shoes, rubbing her feet through the long cool grass. MARGARET So what's it like? DAVID What? MARGARET -LRB- a whisper. -RRB- Out there. She clings onto the words like they could transport her by themselves. David thinks for a moment. DAVID Oh. I do n't know. It's different. She leans forward. MARGARET How? DAVID Well it's louder. And scarier I guess. And. and a lot more dangerous. MARGARET Sounds fantastic. You know some kids came up here the other night to go swimming - took off all their clothes. She giggles. David looks at her in amazement. MARGARET You want some berries? DAVID Hunh? She unfolds a handkerchief revealing a handful of berries in REDS AND BLUES AND PURPLES. MARGARET I picked them myself. They grow wild up here. DAVID They do? MARGARET -LRB- looking straight up. -RRB- Oh yeah. There's a lot of stuff. Here. Look at this. She hops up and scampers across the grassy bank, kicking her heels behind her. Margaret reaches a tree in the distance and reaches toward an upper limb, stretching out her body like a piece of statuary. She picks a piece of fruit and scampers back toward him, hiking up her skirt as she goes. MARGARET Here. CLOSER Margaret sticks out her hand, offering him a BRIGHT RED APPLE. It's brilliant and shiny and glistens in the moonlight. ANGLE. DAVID He hesitates just looking at it. Margaret speaks in a whisper MARGARET Go on. Try it. HIS POV She is lying on her stomach now, and behind the outstretched apple he can see an ample view of her cleavage. Margaret is smiling at him as the apple shines in the foreground. David reaches out and takes it. WIDER. DAVID AND MARGARET For this instant, they seem alone in the garden. He looks down at it, then glances over at Margaret. David hesitates for a split second then takes a bite of the apple. Rain", "EXT. ELM STREET. NIGHT George heads home with his briefcase in hand whistling a happy tune. He smiles at Mr. Simpson and swings the attache case as he turns and heads up his front walk.", "INT. FOYER George opens the door and sets the briefcase by the stairs like he always does. He hangs his hat on the hatrack, his coat on the coatrack, and beams as he hollers his nightly greeting : GEORGE Honey - I'm home. There is no response, just a BOOMING CLAP OF THUNDER. He looks a little perplexed but smiles as he calls out again : GEORGE -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Honey - I'm home.", "INT. SODA SHOP. NIGHT. Betty sits in a corner of the shop, next to the gray bowl of fruit. She holds her head to the side, sitting gracefully with her chin in the air. Mr. Johnson sits behind his easel, painting her portrait from a few feet away. Betty looks radiant with no trace of the makeup, the warm PINK OF HER FLESH TONES lit softly by a bare forty watt bulb. CLOSER She looks over at Mr. Johnson when they hear the BOOMING CLAP OF THUNDER. Each of them freezes. There is ANOTHER, LOUDER BOOM. ANGLE. WINDOW The `` Cubist Snow scene'' lights up brightly, illuminated by the sudden flash of lightning behind it. Betty leaps up from the chair and crosses to the window looking out. BETTY -LRB- frightened. -RRB- What is that? MR. JOHNSON I do n't know. Betty looks back at Mr. Johnson and suddenly sees the painting. She flinches for a second. Her eyes go wide. REVERSE ANGLE. INCLUDING THE PAINTING It is cubist -LRB- like the rest of his recent work -RRB- but that is n't the shocking part. Even though she sits in front of him fully clothed, Mr. Johnson has painted a beautiful, sensual nude. Betty just stares at the canvas, stunned to see herself revealed like that. The COLORS are all hot pinks and oranges and yellows - like some Fauvist celebration of summertime. There is another even LOUDER PEEL OF THUNDER. WIDER. BETTY AND MR. JOHNSON She looks over at Mr. Johnson and he glances down. After a moment or two he looks back at her, but she does n't turn to run. Betty just stares at him, then without even realizing it, moves slightly closer.", "EXT. LOVER'S LANE. NIGHT. David and Margaret are locked in a deep passionate kiss. At first they do n't separate when they hear the BOOMING CLAP OF THUNDER. It is only when they hear the SECOND ONE and the RAIN starts to fall, that Margaret pulls back and looks up in the sky. MARGARET What is that? ANGLE. DAVID He is still in an amorous daze and does n't even feel the increasing rain. It starts to pound harder and Margaret looks to him in terror. MARGARET -LRB- CONT. -RRB- What's going on? DAVID Rain. MARGARET Real rain? DAVID Yeah. You do n't have rain either? She looks at him frightened. David smiles. DAVID Right. Of course you do n't. He puts his jacket around her and starts to lead her up the grassy slope. A dozen other couples go scurrying up the bank, looking in terror at the water falling from the sky. MARGARET What do we do? DAVID -LRB- reaching the car. -RRB- We'll just put up the top. He goes fishing around the boot of the car, looking for the catch to release it. David leans into the back seat fishing around as the rain starts to pound harder. MARGARET What top? He looks back at her. No top either. David smiles, drenched in rain and puts his arm around Margaret who is starting to shiver. DAVID It's fine. Come on. ACROSS THE POND. He leads her back to a thicket of bushes where several of the kids are clustered together. They look at one another, terrified, as they huddle for shelter beneath the ledge of an overhanging rock. DAVID It's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of. See? David points his face toward the sky, letting the water pound on him. They look a little reassured as he closes his eyes against the storm.", "INT. JENNIFER'S ROOM. NIGHT. She stands at the window looking out at the driving rain. Jennifer still holds the D.H. Lawrence book in her hand. There is a huge flash of lightning and another clap of thunder. JENNIFER Cool. She flops back down on the bed and continues to read.", "INT. PARKER LIVING ROOM George wanders through the empty and darkened house completely perplexed and utterly disoriented. He looks around for his family, but all he can find are the darkened rooms and the sound of the driving storm. GEORGE Honey, I'm home. -LRB- a little frightened/a little petulant. -RRB- Honey, I'm home.", "INT. KITCHEN. He still ca n't find her as he crosses into the KITCHEN. The lights are dark there as well and he looks around confused. GEORGE -LRB- CONT. -RRB- -LRB- baffled. -RRB- Where's my dinner? He sniffs a couple of times but there are no familiar cooking smells. George crosses to the stove. GEORGE Where's my dinner. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Where's my dinner.", "INT. FOYER George comes reeling out of the kitchen into the foyer. He slams his shin on the coatrack but keeps on going. GEORGE -LRB- insistent. -RRB- Where's my DINNER.", "EXT. HOUSE. It's really blowing now. The rain is coming down in heavy sheets, being swirled and driven by the wind. The front door opens and George wanders out onto the front porch, still dressed in his shirtsleeves. GEORGE Where's my DINNER! ON GEORGE He stumbles down the front walk in a state of complete confusion. The rain pounds against his body and within seconds his shirt is soaked through to the skin. GEORGE -LRB- over the storm. -RRB- WHERE'S MY DINNER.", "EXT. ELM STREET. He keeps stumbling through the torrent. George reels down Elm Street screaming skyward in the distance. GEORGE WHERE'S MY DINNER! WHERE'S MY DINNER! SERIES OF SHOTS. FOLLOWING GEORGE. He turns on Main Street and goes reeling past the insurance agency where he works. George howls into the wind and he passes the hardware store, the gas station, the bakery. Finally he pauses outside the barbershop. It's empty as well with the spinning barber pole being buffeted by the rain. George lowers his arms and just stares into the darkened shop. His voice grows quieter : bewildered and shivering. GEORGE -LRB- plaintively. -RRB- Where's my dinner? He wraps his arms around himself and shivers on the sidewalk. A question of values", "INT. BOWLING ALLEY. NIGHT. The regular occupants of the barber shop spread out across three lanes. Each wears a Pleasantville bowling shirt, sponsored by one of Big Bob's businesses. The NOISE from the crashing pins is deafening and there are n't any windows so the storm has gone unnoticed. ANGLE. BIG BOB. He picks up a 7 - 10 split and claps his hands in delight. He starts to cross back to the scorer's table when he looks up and suddenly stops. REVERSE ANGLE. HIS POV George is standing in the doorway to the bowling alley cold and shivering. His shirt is soaked through to the skin. His hair is drenched and dripping. BOB What happened? He does n't answer. George clutches his body and keeps shivering. WIDER. The men stop bowling and rush to George's side. He blinks a couple of times, still soaked to the bone. BOB Are you alright? -LRB- looking at him. -RRB- What is it? GEORGE -LRB- faintly. -RRB- Rain. BOB -LRB- beat. -RRB- Real rain? George nods. Bob rushes to the glass door of the bowling alley and sees the driving storm. A huge fork of lightning lights up the sky. BOB Oh my God. George shivers and Bobs leads him over to one of the benches and guides him into the seat. BOB Are you alright? GEORGE -LRB- still shivering. -RRB-. I came home like I always do. And I came in the front door. And I took off my coat. And I put down my briefcase and I said `` Honey. I'm home.'' The men all nod in recognition. GEORGE Only no one was there. A MURMUR goes through the men. GEORGE -LRB- CONT. -RRB- So I went into the kitchen and I yelled it again. `` Honey - I'm home.'' But there was no one there either. No wife. No lights. No dinner. They all GASP. GEORGE -LRB- CONT. -RRB- So I went to the oven you know - because I thought maybe she had made me one of those `` TV dinners.'' The men nod and lean forward. George shakes his head. GEORGE -LRB- CONT. -RRB- But she had n't. She was gone. And I looked and looked and looked - but she was gone. A LOUDER MURMUR moves through the crowd. George lowers his head and just shakes it from side to side. Big Bob moves up and puts a hand on his shoulder. BOB -LRB- gently/the patriarch. -RRB-. It's gon na be fine George. You're with ` us' now. George looks up at him helplessly. Bob pats him on the back and crosses away, gathering his thoughts. GUS What do we do Bob? BOB Well - we'll be safe for now - thank goodness we're in a bowling alley - but if George here does n't get his dinner, any one of us could be next. It could be you Gus, or you Burt, or even you Ralph. They murmur again. Bob gathers a little steam. BOB -LRB- CONT. -RRB- -LRB- like a WWII movie. -RRB-. That's real rain out there gentlemen. This is n't some little `` virus'' that's going to `` clear up on it's own.'' There's something happening to our town and I think we can all see where it comes from. He turns to one of the men in front. BOB Burt, why do n't you show them what you showed me before. BURT Bob. BOB Go on. Show them. Burt glances around then slowly unzips his windbreaker. He lowers the jacket to reveal a HUGE BURN mark on the back in the shape of a STEAM IRON. There are MURMURS. BOB -LRB- CONT. -RRB- He asked her what she was doing and she said `` nothing''. She was just `` thinking''. There are more MURMURS. BOB -LRB- CONT. -RRB- My friends, this is n't about George's dinner or Burt's shirt. It's a question of values. It's a question of whether we're gon na hold onto the values that have made this place great. There are nods of agreement. BOB -LRB- CONT. -RRB- So the time has come to make a decision. Are we in this alone, or are we in it together? MEN Together. together. Bob smiles and places a reassuring hand on George's shoulder. Caught in the storm CLOSE UP. A BRIGHT RED ROSE. Drops of moisture cling to the petals as it GLEAMS BRILLIANT RED IN THE MORNING SUN. AERIAL SHOT. PLEASANTVILLE. The rain is gone now. The town glistens in the sunlight complete with a huge RAINBOW arching across the sky. Literally all the COLORS IN THE RAINBOW shine against the black and white of the town. It looks like a greeting card.", "INT. SODA SHOP. Betty and Mr. Johnson are asleep in the booth, lying in each other's arms. Sunlight streams in through the window, warming Mr. Johnson's face which has now turned to color. He opens his eyes and looks outside.", "INT. JENNIFER'S ROOM. She has passed out on her bed with her book on her chest. Jennifer's hair is still tied in a bun and she still wears Mary Sue's glasses, but her face has returned to its rosy pink hue. She blinks open her eyes, feeling the sunlight, and looks out the window.", "EXT. LOVER'S LANE Birds are chirping. David and Margaret also lie asleep in each other's arms, beneath the shelter of the rocky overhang. Margaret lifts up and sees the vista. She has turned to color as well. CLOSE UP. MILK BOTTLES. They jingle happily in their metal carrier, just as they did before. The CAMERA WIDENS out to REVEAL Elm Street in all its idyllic glory, with one notable exception : In the foreground is the trunk of a tree with a hastily scrawled public notice tacked to the bark : TOWN MEETING TONIGHT ALL `` TRUE'' CITIZENS OF PLEASANTVILLE", "INT. PARKER KITCHEN. DAY. George and Betty stand face to face in their suburban kitchen. He is black and white. She is in full color. BETTY I told you where I was. GEORGE All night? BETTY I got caught in the storm. You were gone all night too. GEORGE -LRB- the ultimate defense. -RRB- I was in a bowling alley. Betty turns - glances out the window. GEORGE -LRB- sudden smile. -RRB- Look. Let's just forget about it. Let's just go to the meeting and. BETTY I told you, George. I'm not going. GEORGE -LRB- bigger smile. -RRB- Sure you are. BETTY No I'm not. She turns to face him. George flinches slightly. BETTY Look at me George. That meeting's not for me. Look at my face. GEORGE It's fine. You'll put on some make up and. BETTY I do n't want to put on some make up. George's eyes widen. It's a watershed moment. GEORGE -LRB- protesting. -RRB- It goes away. It'll go away. BETTY -LRB- gently. -RRB- I do n't want it to go away. He suddenly squares back his shoulders and puffs out his chest. GEORGE -LRB- the'50s patriarch. -RRB- Okay - now you listen to me. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You're gon na come to this meeting and you're gon na put on this make up, and you're gon na come home at six o'clock every night and have dinner ready on this table. BETTY -LRB- softly. -RRB- No I'm not sweetie. His expression leaves as quickly as it came. Betty moves closer to him. BETTY -LRB- half whisper. -RRB-. There's a meat loaf in the fridge. You just put it in the oven and turn this little knob up to three - fifty. If you put the pie in forty minutes later, it'll be hot in time for dessert. George's eyes widen. BETTY -LRB- CONT. -RRB- I made a couple of lunches for you and put them in brown paper bags. -LRB- much quieter. -RRB- I'm gon na go now. GEORGE Where are you gon na go? BETTY I'm gon na go now. She turns and starts out the kitchen door when George calls after her. GEORGE Betty, do n't go out there like that! They'll see you! -LRB- beat. -RRB- They'll SEE you! And she closes the door behind her. GEORGE Betty, come back here!", "EXT. ELM STREET. NIGHT David and Margaret stand beneath the big Elm tree outside Margaret's house : a statue of two young lovers. The meeting across town seems a million miles away. Margaret holds a beautiful new umbrella tied with a bright red bow. MARGARET It's beautiful. Where'd you get it? DAVID It was a prop for the school play. MARGARET Can I open it? DAVID Sure. Margaret gives him a little giggle then opens the umbrella. She puts it back on her shoulder and turns a series of pirouettes - like her own kind of rain dance. Margaret points her face up to the sky as if she is being showered by a summer storm. All at once a pair of HEADLIGHTS round the corner. WIDER David grabs the umbrella and closes it quickly. Margaret looks to the street as the convertible slows to a crawl and two TEENAGE BOYS, WHITEY AND PETE, pull up beside them. They are clean cut with BLACK AND WHITE faces. WHITEY Hello Bud. Hello Margaret. DAVID -LRB- clipped. -RRB- Hello Whitey. The two boys smile at each other for no good reason. It's scary and arrogant. WHITEY -LRB- loud. -RRB- Hey Bud, how come you're not at the town meeting right now? DAVID -LRB- curt. -RRB- No reason. -LRB- pause/firing back. -RRB- How come you're not? WHITEY Oh. We're s ` posed to go out and let everybody know about it. See. He points to an ARMBAND that has some sort of Chamber of Commerce seal on it. Whitey leans out of the car and leers. WHITEY I thought maybe it was cause you were too busy entertaining your colored girlfriend. Margaret literally flinches. The boys share a PEEL OF LAUGHTER AND SNORT AT EACH OTHER. David puts an arm around her and pulls her close. DAVID Why do n't you guys just get the hell out of here. WHITEY Oh, okay, Bud. We'll do that. He guns the engine as if to leave, then pauses and turns toward Margaret. WHITEY -LRB- CONT. -RRB- You know Margaret, you can come over and bake those Oatmeal cookies for me anytime you want to. They share another CHORTLE as Whitey guns the car and peels out with a SCREECH. Margaret's lip starts to quiver and David holds her tighter.", "EXT. TOWN HALL - NIGHT The Chamber of Commerce insignia hangs over the entrance to the building.", "INT. TOWN HALL. NIGHT. The chamber of commerce meeting is in full swing. Various citizens are on their feet, screaming from the audience. WOMAN Burt Campbell's got a blue front door. BURT It's always been blue! WOMAN Not that blue! CLOSE UP. GEORGE. He sits up on the stage in an honored position right behind Bob. George wears the new silver `` handshake'' PIN in his lapel : it's first official flight. He sits stoicly upright with the sense of sobriety that only a shiny new pin can give you. BOB People, people. I think we all know what's going on here. SHOT. BOB. Bob lifts his hands in the air. The crowd quiets down a bit. BOB -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Obviously certain `` changes'' have been happening. Up until now, things in Pleasantville have always been - well. `` Pleasant.'' And, recently, certain things have become. `` Un - Pleasant.'' Now it seems to me the first thing we have to do is to separate out the things that are pleasant, from the things that are `` Un - Pleasant.'' There is a loud murmur and nod of agreement. BOB George, why do n't you and Burt take the lead on this. Why do n't you put together kind of an `` Un - Pleasant Activities Committee.'' A lovely shade of blue", "INT. SODA SHOP. NIGHT. Mr. Johnson has scrubbed the snow scene from the window and stares with his palette at a blank pane of glass. There is a knock at the door. WIDER. Mr. Johnson puts down the paints and crosses to open it. Betty is standing in the doorway clutching her purse and a `` Lady Samsonite Weekender'' bag. She stares up into his eyes.", "EXT. MAIN STREET - DAWN First rays of sunlight peek over the roofs of buildings. FULL SHOT. SHOP WINDOW. MORNING. Mr. Simpson opens up the hardware store like he does every morning, only today there is a slight difference. He swings open the door, puts out the rakes and shovels, then sets a newly handwritten sign clearly in the front window : `` NO COLOREDS'' SERIES OF SHOTS. SHOP WINDOWS. As the businesses are opened on Main Street, more and more `` NO COLOREDS'' signs appear in the windows : next to the donuts. by fishing poles. beside the stationery supplies. Everything else looks frighteningly the same.", "EXT. MAIN STREET. MORNING. Joey Anderson, the local paper boy, is finishing his morning rounds. He reaches in his bag and tosses left toward the bakery. Then he throws right toward the post office. Then he turns left toward the soda shop, does a double take and slams into a trash can. WIDER. SODA SHOP. Where Mr. Johnson had once painted his cubist snow scene, there is a brand new painting that is n't cubist at all. A NUDE version of Betty graces the shop window - painted in curving sensual brush strokes. Joey stops his bike and just stares in amazement. He gets up and rides away as fast as he possibly can.", "EXT. MAIN STREET. LATER. David is in a happy daze, wandering up Main Street and does n't even notice the crowd gathered outside Mr. Johnson's soda shop. After a moment or two, he glances up and sees the window. CLOSER. DAVID His eyes go wide. The murmur of the crowd grows louder as stray derisive comments rise above the noise. David glances from the nude in window to the growing angry mob.", "EXT. MAIN STREET. DAY. David goes tearing through the business district looking for any sign of his `` mother.'' He glances in the flower shop. toward the green grocer. David is just about to turn on Elm street when a booming voice seems to come from the sky. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- OS. -RRB- WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? David stops and looks to his right. There, in the window of the Philco TV store, are twenty screens of various sizes displaying the image of the TV Repairman. TV REPAIRMAN Get in here! NOW! The sound reverberates like God Himself. David ducks inside the store, slamming the door behind him.", "INT. STORE. There are fifty screens. David glances around, not sure where to look. TV REPAIRMAN You think this is a toy? You think it's your own little goddamn coloring book. DAVID Look - it just sort of happened. TV REPAIRMAN A deluge does n't ` just happen'. Bolts of lightning do n't ` just happen'. DAVID -LRB- finding courage. -RRB- I did n't do anything wrong. TV REPAIRMAN Oh no? Let me show you something! SHOT. TV SCREEN. All at once a box appears in the upper right hand corner of the screen containing the image of David and Margaret at Lover's Lane. The VIDEOTAPE rolls forward as she extends the BRIGHT RED APPLE. David hesitates, then takes it, then puts it to his mouth and takes a bite. TV REPAIRMAN `` YOU DO N'T DESERVE THIS PLACE.'' The image of David biting the apple PLAYS BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS like some football instant replay. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- CONT. -RRB- YOU DO N'T DESERVE TO LIVE IN THIS PARADISE! WIDER. David just stares at the repeated images of TV Repairman on the TV screens. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- quickly. -RRB- Where's the remote control I gave you? DAVID Why? TV REPAIRMAN Because you're coming home. I'm gon na put this place back the way it was. DAVID I ca n't let you do that. TV REPAIRMAN WHAT!? DAVID -LRB- gathering strength. -RRB- I'm sorry. I ca n't let you do that. TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- nuts. -RRB- JUST GIM ME THE GODDAMN REMOTE! He lunges toward the screen and slams his hand against the `` barrier.'' TV REPAIRMAN -LRB- CONT. -RRB- OW! DAVID -LRB- backing out. -RRB- I'm gon na go now. TV REPAIRMAN You're not going anywhere! You're gon na get that remote and you're gon na come home and we're gon na make everybody HAPPY AGAIN! -LRB- exits. -RRB- Do n't make me get rough with you! I can get awfully fucking rough!", "EXT. TOWN SQUARE. DAY. David bolts from the store, breathless and terrified. He glances at the shop windows with their `` NO COLOREDS'' signs prominently displayed. In the distance he hears shouting. David rounds the corner onto Main Street and sees a crowd at the other end. He stops and stares at them. DIFFERENT ANGLE. The crowd is moving toward him. A woman walks in front of a group of young men who circle around her, taunting and harassing her. A moment later David can make out the face : BETTY clutches her handbag to her chest while the crowd circles her like a pack of dogs. CLOSER. BETTY The ROSY HUE of her face stands out in stark relief to the black and white faces around her. Betty holds her head high with dignity -LRB- and fear -RRB- while the ugly epithets overlap one another : `` Oooh - let's see the rest of you. Let's see what's under that nice blue dress. Bet she's even pinker than her picture.'' One of the boys yanks at Betty's skirt and she quickens her pace. Just at that moment the boy is shoved to the ground. WIDER. David shields his `` mother'' as he shoves one of the boys into the dirt. The kid gets up but David punches him hard in the side of the jaw and the rest of them just stare. -LRB- Violence is as new as anything else and it seems to freeze the moment. -RRB- David steps in front of his `` mother'' with both fists clenched. DAVID -LRB- as scared as she is. -RRB- Come on! He plants his back foot primed for action. The crowd of black and white thugs just stares at it. DAVID COME ON! ANGLE. CROWD They look at him warily. The boy reaches up and feels the side of his mouth where a trickle of RED BLOOD is running down his chin. He looks at his finger in horror and starts backing away. DAVID Get out of here! They back away further and David takes a threatening step. The boys turn and run as he turns back to face his `` mother.'' DIFFERENT ANGLE. BETTY. -LRB- OVER DAVID'S SHOULDER -RRB- David moves up to her gently. DAVID Are you alright? She nods, still clutching her purse to her chest. David reaches out and touches her cheek when suddenly her eyes go wide. DAVID -LRB- off her look. -RRB- What? CLOSER. STILL OVER DAVID'S SHOULDER Betty reaches into her purse and pulls out her compact. She opens it, and holds it up to David, showing him the reflected image of his own face. AT LAST HE HAS TURNED TO COLOR. REVERSE ANGLE. DAVID He holds the mirror staring at his own reflection. The courage which transformed him only seems to grow. They look at each other, both in color now, when David puts a gentle arm around her shoulder. DAVID -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Come on. He begins to lead her up toward the corner. Code of conduct FULL SHOT. SODA SHOP WINDOW. DAY. A larger crowd of hooligans has now gathered around the nude painting of Betty in the window. The jeers and cat calls are even louder. The `` closed'' sign still sits in the doorway. After a beat or two, a HUGE BRICK SHATTERS THE GLASS. WIDER A big CHEER goes up from the crowd. Drunk on adrenaline, the fever builds and ANOTHER BRICK SMASHES THE WINDOW. In an instant, Mr. Johnson's `` canvas'' is totally destroyed. The CHEERING grows louder. Almost by osmosis, the crowd rushes the building together. The door is kicked in and they stream into the place. Soon all that can be heard is the weird SOUND OF LAUGHTER AND BROKEN GLASS.", "INT. SODA SHOP. It is an orgy of destruction. Stools are hurled - tables ripped out. The cash register is turned over. Two boys kick in the front of the juke box.", "EXT. MAIN ST. DAY David and Betty round the corner to find the Soda Shop being destroyed. They stand at the far side of the intersection watching the carnage as the crowd continues to run amok. After a moment or two, there are some more HOOTS as MARGARET comes running toward them with the front of her blouse ripped open. DAVID Oh my God. He takes her in his arms and Margaret starts to sob. David strokes her hair.", "EXT. COUNTRY ROAD. (LEADING TO LOVER'S LANE). DUSK. They all ride in George's convertible up the twisting turning road. It has turned completely PINK with the dogwood petals. David winds up the trail, in the fading light, looking for refuge. All at once, he slams on the brakes. THEIR POV : LOVER'S LANE THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD A phalanx of BLACK AND WHITE THUGS have created a roadblock across the entrance. It is a weird incongruous image ; the black and white barrier in the foreground with the lush green pond beyond. They have turned their cars sideways across the road. They hold axe - handles in their hands. BETTY We better go.", "EXT. MAIN STREET. NIGHT Darkness has fallen and the streetlamps have come on. Some debris is scattered around the street and distant sounds of the mob still fill the air. David rolls back into town with the headlights off. CLOSER. CAR. MARGARET Where are they? DAVID I'm not sure. They head down Main St. and turn the corner on Walnut. All at once, a weird ORANGE LIGHT bathes the car. REVERSE ANGLE. THEIR POV A BONFIRE has been lit in the middle of the street between the library and the barber shop. Twenty to thirty people are gathered around it still whooping and hollering as the bright ORANGE FLAMES shoot into the air. ANGLE. CAR. David pulls over by the curb, and their eyes go wide. REVERSE ANGLE. From closer up, it becomes clear what they're burning. Huge piles of library books have been dumped onto the sidewalk, waiting their turn on the pyre. There is a strange celebratory atmosphere as they chuck book after book on the flames, with the glee of a teenager tossing a firecracker. David sees something and bolts from the car. DAVID Oh my God. ANGLE. SIDE OF THE BONFIRE. Jennifer is locked in some strange wrestling match with Skip. He clutches a book over her head while she tugs at his wrist trying to stop him from throwing it on the fire. SKIP Just let go. JENNIFER No! SKIP It's better, Mary Sue. JENNIFER I said, NO! -LRB- yanking it. -RRB-. I've read like one book in my whole life and I'm not gon na let you throw it on that fire. Jennifer wrestles with him for a couple of seconds and then suddenly kicks Skip in the groin. He doubles over in agony when Jennifer snatches the book and bolts in the other direction. DIFFERENT ANGLE. STREET. She sprints up the street and is just passing the barber shop when David steps out of the shadows. DAVID It's me. WIDE SHOT. SODA SHOP. OTHER SIDE OF MAIN STREET The crowd has moved on and all that is left is the dark wreckage of the soda shop. Several stools lie out in the street and shards of brightly painted glass are scattered around the sidewalk. It is eerily quiet. WIDER. David, Betty, Jennifer and Margaret sit silently in the car, across the street with the lights off. He unlatches the door handle and gets out slowly. The rest of them follow him into the empty street as they move silently toward the soda shop, like some platoon on patrol. REVERSE ANGLE. As they get closer, more of the wreckage comes into view. Half a booth. a soda spigot. After a moment or two Jennifer looks up and gasps. CLOSER Several teenagers step out of the shadows. They have scraped faces and ripped clothing - the signs. Most are dazed and ALL OF THEM ARE IN COLOR. After a second or two, more appear : Betty Jean. Peggy Jane. Lisa Anne and her boyfriend. Will, the boy who was reading Huck Finn. Tommy. ANGLE. DAVID The kids turn to him as if he has some kind of answer. Of course he does n't. The sounds of the Mob still carry through the air from somewhere off in the distance. DAVID Let's go inside.", "INT. SODA SHOP. The place is just sad. All the remnants of what they had are strewn around the floor. The jukebox is turned over. The stools are ripped out of the floor. Betty looks over at the corner where he painted her. The easel is smashed to bits. ANGLE BETTY She brings a knuckle to her lip and David puts an arm around her and draws her close. After a moment or two they HEAR a weird SCRAPING sound. DAVID Hello? The SCRAPING SOUND stops. They all look to the open door and after a second or two, Mr. Johnson appears holding a broom and dustpan. MR. JOHNSON Just thought I'd try to tidy it up a bit. Betty runs across and throws her arms around him. The teenagers watch as she holds him tight. MR. JOHNSON It's okay. Once we sweep it up it'll be alright again. Betty stifles a sob as he strokes her hair. No one says anything while they just embrace for a moment. Finally. DAVID Well he's right. Come on. Let's turn these booths back up. `` Mary Sue'', why do n't you help me slide this in front of the door. We'll be okay in here. They respond to the tone of leadership. One by one the kids start to pitch in, sifting their way through the wreckage. Jennifer and David slide a barricade in front of the door as the kids try to put their shop back together.", "INT. TOWN HALL. (CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MEETING) NIGHT. Big Bob stands at the podium addressing a packed house. The atmosphere is odd : somewhere between a bake - off and a lynching. People sit in the aisles and in the window sills. Bob points his finger. BOB This is not the answer people. The crowd quiets a bit. He leans over the lectern. BOB No matter how upset we may get, or how frustrated we may be, we're not gon na solve our problems out in the street. It's just the wrong way to do it. We have to have a `` Code of Conduct'' we can all agree to live by. His tone grows softer - more concerned. BOB Now, I asked George and Burt here to sketch out some ideas - and I think they've done a terrific job. -LRB- beat / scans the crowd. -RRB- If we all agree on these then we can take a vote and I think we'll start to move in the right direction. ANGLE. CROWD. They murmur and nod. BOB -LRB- reading from the `` CODE OF CONDUCT''. -RRB- `` ONE : All public disruption and acts of vandalism are to cease immediately.''", "EXT. BONFIRE. NIGHT. It is still ablaze with books. Bob continues to READ in VOICE OVER. SHOT. FIRETRUCK. The same fireman who learned to use the hose before can barely contain his excitement as he gets to open the valve and extinguish the raging bonfire. BOB `` TWO : All citizens of Pleasantville are to treat one another in a courteous and ` pleasant' manner. SERIES OF SHOTS. LAMPPOSTS. The CODE OF CONDUCT is nailed to lampposts and tree trunks in rapid succession. It is plastered on walls and in shop windows.", "EXT. SODA SHOP. Debris is still strewn around the street. A dim light emanates from inside.", "INT. SODA SHOP. It looks like a scene from the French Revolution. Ten to fifteen kids huddle behind the barricade while David reads the code of conduct out loud by flashlight. LISA ANNE `` Courteous and Pleasant manner.'' That does n't sound too bad. David just looks at her then continues. DAVID -LRB- reading from THE CODE. -RRB- `` THREE : The area commonly known as Lover's Lane as well as the Pleasantville Public Library shall be closed until further notice.'' This sends a murmur amongst the kids. DAVID -LRB- CONT. -RRB- `` FOUR : The only permissible recorded music shall be the following : Pat Boone, Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, Jack Jones, The marches of John Phillips Souza or the Star Spangled Banner. In no event shall any music be tolerated that is not of a temperate or `` pleasant'' nature. VARIOUS KIDS -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- `` Oh my gosh. No.'' David holds up his hand. DAVID `` FIVE : There shall be no public sale of umbrellas or preparation for inclement weather of any kind.'' Various glances dart back and forth between them. David continues. DAVID `` SIX : No bedframe or mattress may be sold measuring more than 38 inches wide. -LRB- pause. -RRB- `` SEVEN : The only permissible paint colors shall be BLACK, WHITE or GRAY, despite the recent availability of certain alternatives.'' David looks over at Mr. Johnson who just winces slightly. Betty clutches his hand. DAVID `` EIGHT : All elementary and high school curriculums shall teach the `` non - changist'' view of history - emphasizing `` continuity'' over `` alteration.'' -LRB- David pauses. -RRB- Wow. David lowers the paper. DIFFERENT ANGLE. It is SILENT in the soda shop. Everyone sits motionless for a moment or two, letting the decree sink in. David just stares down at the piece of paper in his hand with a weird kind of sadness. Off in the corner, however, one of the boys has been fiddling with the jukebox and has n't paid any attention to what was being read. All of a sudden, his voice rings from the corner. WILL Hey. This thing still works. He hits a button and BUDDY HOLLY's voice fills the soda shop. RAVE ON blares at almost top volume recalling a more festive time. BUDDY HOLLY Well all the things that you say and do Make me want to be with you - oo - oo. LISA ANNE -LRB- suddenly/in a panic. -RRB- Turn that off! The boy looks back at her. LISA ANNE -LRB- shrieking. -RRB- You're not allowed to do that now! He flinches and pulls the plug from the wall. The jukebox winds down with a groan as the electricity drains out of it. David looks at the kids then suddenly speaks in a calm clear tone. DAVID Sure you are. He walks across the soda shop and plugs it back in. The kids watch spellbound at this personal display of defiance. WIDER SHOT. SODA SHOP. Buddy Holly's voice fills the Soda Shop but it has a suddenly different meaning. All the kids listen spellbound, as if to an anthem, while the Rock and Roll lives up to its rebellious reputation. BUDDY HOLLY The little things that you say and do Make we want to be with you - oo - oo. RAVE ON! It's a crazy feeling. RAVE ON! It's got me reelin'. Jennifer looks over at her brother with pride. Betty puts an arm around Mr. Johnson, feeling a little stronger - a little safer. The kids seem to relax a bit, and even if they do n't feel totally reassured, at least they do n't feel ashamed. Twenty `` colored'' faces listen as Buddy Holly tells them RAVE ON. David stands beside the jukebox like a captain at the helm of his ship.", "EXT. TOWN SQUARE. NIGHT. The Fire Department is cleaning up the charred remains of the bonfire. Civil disobedience", "INT. SODA SHOP. LATER... The kids sleep on the floor. Betty is asleep in one of the booths. David and Margaret sleep next to the juke box with Margaret curled up against his chest. David opens his eyes. REVERSE ANGLE. HIS POV Mr. Johnson is standing in the middle of the shop, staring at the large piece of plywood where his window used to be. He just gazes at the thing as if he could look through it. There's a faraway look in his eye. SHOT. DAVID He rises carefully from the booth, without waking Margaret. David crosses over to Mr. Johnson and speaks in a whisper. DAVID It's okay. We'll get you a new one. MR. JOHNSON -LRB- softly. -RRB-. I do n't know what I'd do if I could n't paint anymore Bud. I just do n't know what I'd do. CLOSE UP. DAVID He just nods. David glances down at the table next to him. He picks up one of the brightly painted shards of glass and just looks at it. It's orange and pink and yellow. David thinks for a second. DAVID Maybe I have an idea.", "EXT. MAIN STREET. DAWN. The same paper boy who rode into the trash can, peddles down Main Street tossing his papers toward the curb. He throws right toward the post office, then left toward the hardware store, then right toward the bakery, then finally looks up. CLOSER This time the boy slams into a trash can. He tumbles off his bike and stares straight ahead in disbelief. HIS POV. TOWN HALL. Two men sleep at the base of the wall next to a clutter of paint cans. Above them, however, is painted A VIVID ALMOST UTOPIAN MURAL OF THE TOWN OF PLEASANTVILLE in LIVING COLOR. Instead of being drab, the place literally gleams with life. The post office turns out to be a RICH RED BRICK. The sky shines in vibrant BLUE. It is a rendering of what the town could look like. David and Mr. Johnson sleep soundly next to their own signatures. ANGLE. PAPER BOY. He turns around and rides and away as fast as he can. CLOSE UP. DAVID AND MR. JOHNSON. David opens his eyes. Mr. Johnson stirs a moment later. They look straight in front of them. THEIR POV A small crowd has gathered gawking at the brilliant colors revealed in front of them. There is a growing BUZZ in the air. ANGLE. DAVID. He smiles slightly as the BUZZ gets louder. HIS POV -LRB- TIME CUT -RRB- The crowd has grown, as has the noise. A good portion of Pleasantville stares at the massive mural plastered across the police station. All at once, Big Bob fights his way through the front of the crowd. MEDIUM SHOT. DAVID AND MR. JOHNSON They sit upright in front of their creation proud, difficult. The NOISE of the crowd grows even LOUDER. The bright colors glisten in the sunshine.", "EXT. MAIN STREET. NIGHT. A group of `` colored'' kids hangs out by the police station. They stare off in the distance, at the orange light glowing from David's jail cell.", "INT. JAIL CELL. NIGHT. CLOSE UP - NEWSPAPER A large advertisement on the back page reads : `` TOMORROW! TOWN HALL 10 AM! PLEASANTVILLE'S VERY FIRST TRIAL EVER!'' It depicts a cheery judge holding up his gavel with a smile. David lowers the paper and looks around his new surroundings. The trial REVERSE ANGLE. JAIL CELL. The place has never been used so there is still plastic wrapping on all the sheets and pillow cases. He ca n't help smiling. David hears the jingling of keys. SHOT. POLICE CHIEF. He approaches David's cell from the other direction and knocks gently on the bars. David turns around. DAN There's someone to see you Bud. He sits upright on the bunk trying to think who it could be. After a moment, he hears the sound of the key turning in the lock. DAVID Oh, hi. REVERSE ANGLE. George enters the cell carrying his jacket and a small brown paper bag. He glances around the cell. It's a weird new experience. GEORGE Is this a bad time? DAVID No, no. It's fine. Come on in. GEORGE -LRB- extending the bag. -RRB- I brought you something. Thought you might be hungry. DAVID Thanks. David glances inside - pulls out a small glass jar. DAVID -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Cocktail olives? GEORGE Well, everything was frozen and I did n't know how to. His voice trails off. DAVID I appreciate it. George nods and takes a deep breath. He fidgets a little. GEORGE -LRB- suddenly. -RRB- You know your Mom went out. DAVID Went out? GEORGE Yeah. She went out for a little while. DAVID -LRB- beat. -RRB- When? GEORGE Three days ago. DAVID Oh. David just looks at him. George stares straight across the cell. GEORGE -LRB- big forced smile. -RRB- Boy, there's so darned many gadgets in that kitchen. I did n't know it was so complicated. You got that timer on the oven and it wo n't turn on without that timer. -LRB- glances at David. -RRB- Did you know it did n't work without a timer? DAVID No I did n't. GEORGE I did n't either. I always told her. I always said `` Betty. My job is one thing, but your job, hey, that's something else.'' David nods. His `` dad'' stares right at him. GEORGE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I told her that Bud. I said it to her. David just stares. GEORGE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Well if I said it to her, then why would she `` go out.'' DAVID -LRB- quietly. -RRB- I do n't think it has anything to do with you. GEORGE Well that's good. -LRB- beat. -RRB-. Is that goOd? DAVID I'm not sure. GEORGE -LRB- sitting on the cot. -RRB- Oh, I'm not sure either. Jeez. It's all so cockeyed right now. I did n't even know it was Tuesday. Tuesdays we play bridge with the Jenkins but there was no bridge so. He heaves an exhausted sigh and just stares straight ahead on the cot. He glances at the jar of olives. GEORGE Can I have one of those? DAVID Sure. You hungry? George nods emphatically. He takes the olives pries off the lid. GEORGE -LRB- stuffing two in his mouth. -RRB- Mrs. Benson was making a meat loaf next door. I almost climbed in the kitchen window. David smiles. George wolves down three more olives, then suddenly pauses. GEORGE What happened Bud? One minute everything was fine and the next. -LRB- shakes his head. -RRB- What went wrong? DAVID Nothing went wrong. People change. CLOSE UP GEORGE He turns and looks right at David. There's a stunned expression on his face. GEORGE -LRB- a brand new concept. -RRB- People change? CLOSE UP. DAVID It hits him as well - as if he's heard the words for the first time. DAVID -LRB- nods, a brand new concept. -RRB- Yeah. People change. GEORGE -LRB- pause. -RRB- How? MOVING CLOSER ON DAVID DAVID -LRB- slowly. -RRB- Well. Sometimes they realize that what they thought they needed is n't what they need anymore. -LRB- thinks. -RRB- Sometimes they see that what they're scared of - they do n't need to be scared of anymore. -LRB- quieter. -RRB- Sometimes they just. let go. WIDER George straight ahead, stunned. A couple of seconds go by. GEORGE Can they change back? David looks down at his own skin. It's a bright rosy color. He smiles. DAVID I do n't know. I think that's harder. WIDE They sit quietly in the cell for a moment. Finally, George jerks himself out of it. DAVID You okay? GEORGE Yeah, yeah. Just not fair, you know. You get used to one thing and then. DAVID -LRB- re : himself. -RRB- No. It is n't. Several seconds go by. GEORGE Well I better get going. DAVID Sure. He rises from the bunk and puts on his jacket. All at once the stark image of the black and white armband fills the room. David stares at the `` two shaking hands''. George glances down at it as well. GEORGE I've got a meeting later. DAVID It's okay. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Why do n't you take these with you? David extends the jar of olives to his `` father'' who looks down at them. GEORGE Thanks Bud. DAVID Sure. He takes the jar then turns and leaves the cell. David watches him head down the hall, before glancing back at his window. David rises and crosses to it peering out of the bars.", "EXT. TOWN HALL - NIGHT A large `` HANDSHAKE'' BANNER is unfurled on Town Hall as the NOISE continues. SERIES OF SHOTS - NIGHT -LRB- QUICK CUTS -RRB- More BANNERS roll open. On the library and the police station. The NOISE OF THE CROWD GROWS TO A ROAR.", "EXT. TOWN SQUARE - NIGHT TIME LAPSE. Dawn comes on quickly as the TOWN HALL is suddenly bathed in sunlight.", "EXT. TOWN SQUARE - DAY It is DRAPED IN `` HANDSHAKES''. People begin to stream toward the front of the TOWN HALL as a GAVEL BANGS THREE TIMES. BIG BOB -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Bud Parker and William Johnson.", "INT. TOWN HALL. DAY. The place has been transformed from meeting hall to courtroom. The huge Chamber Of Commerce symbol still adorns the back wall, but instead of the podium, there is now a judge's bench. Big Bob sits several feet above the proceedings finally living up to his name. He reads from the indictment. BIG BOB You are charged with descration of a public building and the intentional use of prohibited paint colors in violation of The Pleasantville Code of Conduct and `` Laws of Common Decency.'' REVERSE ANGLE. ROOM. David and Mrs. Johnson sit alone at a table in the middle of the room. The `` Jury'' lines either side of the chamber like some weird image from the Spanish Inquisition. There is a Black and White section on the ground floor and a `` colored'' section above. Franz Kafka meets `` Inherit the Wind.'' BIG BOB -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Do you admit that on the night of May 1 you did consciously and willfully apply the following FORBIDDEN paint colors to the North Wall of the Pleasantville Police Station :. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Red, Pink, Vermilion, Puce, Chartreuse, Umber, Blue, Aqua, Ox Blood, Green, Peach, Crimson, Yellow, Olive and Magenta. DAVID Yes I do. Where's our lawyer? BOB We prefer to keep these proceedings as `` pleasant'' as possible. I do n't think a lawyer will be necessary. There is a MURMUR and a great deal of nodding amongst the black and white faces. David turns and locks eyes with Betty who is seated in the front row of the balcony. BOB -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Do you further admit that this was done surreptitiously and under the cover of darkness? DAVID Well - it was dark out. BOB Good. Do you further admit that this unnatural depiction occurred in full public view where it was accessible to, and in plain sight of, minor children? DAVID It was accessible to everyone. BOB Very well. Let the record show that the defendants have answered in the affirmative to all the charges. He looks directly at them for the first time. BOB -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Do you have anything to say in your defense? SHOT. DEFENSE TABLE. Mr. Johnson just looks at David, confused and terrified. MR. JOHNSON I did n't mean to hurt anybody. I just have to paint. I have to. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Maybe I could paint something different. Maybe I could use less colors or something. Or just - you know - certain colors. Maybe you could pick them before hand and then they would n't bother anybody. DAVID -LRB- leaping up. -RRB- I've got something to say. BOB -LRB- turning. -RRB- Very well. DAVID You do n't have a right to do this. There is a murmur in the courtroom. David continues. DAVID I mean, I know you want it to stay `` Pleasant'' around here, but, there are so many things that are so much better : like Silly. or Sexy. or Dangerous. or Wild. or Brief. And every one of those things is in you all the time if you just have the guts to look for them. BOB Okay - that's enough! DAVID I thought I was allowed to defend myself. BOB You're not allowed to lie. DAVID I'm not lying. -LRB- pointing to the colored section. -RRB- See those faces back there. They're no different than you are. They just happened to see something inside them that you do n't want to look at. BOB -LRB- pounding the gavel. -RRB- I said that's enough! DAVID Here! I'll show you. He suddenly turns toward George. DAVID -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Dad. GEORGE -LRB- defensive. -RRB- Yes, Bud? DAVID It's okay, Dad. Just listen for a sec. -LRB- closer. -RRB- I know you miss her. I mean you told me you did. But maybe it is n't just the cooking or the cleaning that you miss. Maybe it's something else. -LRB- even closer. -RRB- Maybe you ca n't even describe it. Maybe you only know it when it's gone. Maybe it's like there's a whole piece of you that's missing too. -LRB- motioning toward Betty in the gallery. -RRB- Look at her, Dad. Does n't she look pretty like that? SHOT. BETTY. She sits gracefully at the railing of the `` colored'' section looking down at the trial. DAVID -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Does n't she look just as beautiful as the first time you met her. Do you really want her back the way she was. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Does n't she look wonderful? SHOT. GEORGE. Slowly, almost imperceptibly he nods. A single tear rolls down his cheek. As it traces the side of his face it leaves a long trail of COLOR behind it. DAVID Now do n't you wish you could tell her that? He nods again and it all comes out. Betty smiles at him through her tears. Even Mr. Johnson smiles as well. BOB -LRB- POUNDING the gavel. -RRB- YOU'RE OUT OF ORDER! DAVID Why am I out of order? BOB BECAUSE I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO TURN THIS COURTROOM INTO A CIRCUS! DAVID Well I do n't think it's a circus. And I do n't think they do either. David motions behind him to the black and white section. There are now ten to fifteen `` colored'' faces. BOB THIS BEHAVIOR WILL STOP AT ONCE. DAVID But see that's just the point. It ca n't stop at once. Because it's in you. And you ca n't stop something that's inside you. BOB -LRB- tightly. -RRB- It's not in me. DAVID Oh sure it is. BOB No it is n't.", "INT. TOWN HALL (CONT.) He crosses to the bench looking right up at Big Bob. He leans over the bench and gets right up in his face. DAVID -LRB- smug whisper. -RRB- What do you want to do to me right now? Big Bob starts to tremble. He shakes with rage as David moves closer. DAVID -LRB- CONT. -RRB- C'mon. Everyone's turning colors. Kids are making - out in the street. No one's getting their dinner - hell, you could have a flood any minute. Pretty soon you could have the women going off to work while the men stayed home and cooked. BIG BOB That's not going to happen! DAVID But it could happen. BIG BOB No it could n't! Big Bob looks at David and starts to tremble. It starts around the base of his neck, spreads quickly up the rest of his head. After a moment or two, Big Bob has gone completely RED IN THE FACE. WIDER A gasp goes through the courtroom. David looks at him and just smiles. The crowd reaction turns almost to a ROAR as Big Bob sits there confused. ANGLE. GALLERY Betty leans over the rail. BETTY Bud. He looks up as she tosses him a compact makeup mirror. David understands immediately and smiles at her. ANGLE. DAVID He crosses to the bench and opens the compact. David holds it right up to Big Bob, putting him face to face with him own, ruddy reflection. Bob stares in horror at the mirror then looks down at his bright pink hands. He freezes for an instant, then bolts from the bench fleeing the courtroom. ANGLE. DOORWAY. As Big Bob flees, he flings open the doors to the courtroom revealing an amazing sight : the TOWN SQUARE GLISTENS IN LIVING COLOR. The huge lawn is a rich deep green. The sky is a dense opaque blue. Dozens of spectators bolt from their seats and rush to the doorway as the crowd moves outside.", "EXT. PLEASANTVILLE. (FULL COLOR!) All the birds are really chirping. Red Brick, Yellow cars, Green hats. The barber pole in front of Gus' has finally turned to red, white and blue - he ca n't help smiling. David walks out into the sunlight and stares in wonder at his creation. The whole town is washed in joy. WIDER. Margaret comes up and throws her arms around him. They meet in a rich passionate kiss -LRB- in direct defiance of the code of conduct -RRB-. Several people around them actually clap, like spectators at a wedding. Jennifer moves up next to them and looks at her brother making out. JENNIFER Uch. I am like gon na hurl. David turns and looks at her. Both of them laugh. Then he glances across the street and pauses for a moment. David turns and starts down the steps of the town hall. FOLLOWING DAVID He moves across the street to the small row of shops on the other side. He stops and stares in the window of Philco TV store. Farewell HIS POV. NORM'S TV STORE. There, on the screens that once held TV Repairman is a late fifties travelogue showing a world of possibilities : The Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Hong Kong, Egypt, the blue shores of Hawaii. All of them are vividly real and all are in living color. SHOT. DAVID It's over now. He stands for a moment and just stares. A quiet smile spreads across his face.", "EXT. TOWN SQUARE. THE NEXT DAY... It is a lush green park now - the birds have something to sing about. Betty sits on a park bench next to her George. They look out across the square at Main Street in the distance. There's a breeze. GEORGE -LRB- quieter. -RRB- So. Are you going to stay with him? She reaches over and takes his hand. George looks at his wife. CLOSER The CAMERA PANS from HIS CLOSE UP TO HERS as she takes a deep breath. BETTY It's not ` him' or ` you'. It is n't. I just need to think for a second. I never took a minute to stop and think. I just. I never. MR. JOHNSON I understand. She looks back at him. The CAMERA PANS back but instead of George sitting on the bench beside her, it is MR. JOHNSON. BETTY Really? MR. JOHNSON Yeah. BETTY Thank you. Betty leans against him. Mr. Johnson puts an arm around her and kisses her gently on the forehead.", "EXT. MAIN STREET. DAY. David and Jennifer stand together on the edge of town. She clutches a valise in her hand. He holds the remote control. DAVID This thing works now. We could go home. JENNIFER I'm not ready yet. I got ta do this for a little while. WIDER. They stand on the edge of town -LRB- which finally has an edge. -RRB- A large sign says : `` Springfield 12 miles'' and for the first time, the end of Main Street is no longer the beginning. Jennifer is dressed in Mary Sue's clothes with a little bit of style thrown in. Rich fields of wheat spread out in the distance. JENNIFER Besides. You think there's like a chance I'm gon na get into college back there? DAVID -LRB- thinks. -RRB- Honestly. no. They both smile. DAVID -LRB- CONT. -RRB- You got the admissions letter. JENNIFER Right here. He pauses and looks at her. JENNIFER -LRB- CONT. -RRB- I've done the slut thing, David. It's really kinda old. DAVID -LRB- smiles, nods. -RRB- I'll come back and check on you in a month. Jennifer nods and gives him a hug. She holds on tight for a couple of seconds. JENNIFER You're like the coolest brother in the world. David smiles. Never been called cool before. They suddenly hear the SOUND of a motor and look to their left. A huge Greyhound bus lumbers up the highway, pulling to a halt at the sign. The doors open beckoning her in. Jennifer smiles at her brother, then turns toward the door.", "EXT. PARKER HOUSE. DAY. In glorious color now. The CAMERA begins to push up the walkway one last time. DAVID -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I've got to. MARGARET Why?", "DAVID -LRB- gently. -RRB- I've got to see what it's like. I've got to try it. -LRB- quieter. -RRB- I'll be back and see you. I promise. MARGARET No you wo n't. DAVID Sure I will. MARGARET Just do n't forget me. Even if you do n't come back, I just do n't want you to forget about me. DAVID I could n't do that. She throws her arms and clings onto him, like a farewell at the train platform. Margaret clings onto him for several seconds, then finally lets go. She hands him a brown paper lunch bag. MARGARET -LRB- softly. -RRB- Here. DAVID What is it? MARGARET Well - lots of stuff. He starts to look in the bag. BETTY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- A meat loaf sandwich. And a hard boiled egg. -LRB- softer. -RRB-. And some marshmallow rice squares. DAVID Oh. Hi. WIDER Betty is standing in the doorway with a letterman's sweater draped over her arm. She shares a glance with Margaret then crosses down to David. BETTY There's some fried chicken in there too. Do n't go skipping dinner just cause you're not here anymore. DAVID I wo n't. -LRB- looks at her. -RRB- I thought you were n't gon na. BETTY -LRB- painful, quieter. -RRB- I had to come say goodbye. She looks up at him and their eyes lock. Betty unfolds the sweater. BETTY -LRB- fighting it. -RRB- And wear this on the trip in case it gets cold. DAVID It's a pretty short trip. BETTY Still. She drapes it around his shoulders and fusses with the collar. Betty arranges his clothes for a second or two, then finally throws her arms round his neck. BETTY -LRB- CONT. -RRB- Oh, Bud, I'm just so proud of you. DAVID Thanks. She hugs him tigher and whispers something in his ear. DAVID -LRB- CONT. -RRB- -LRB- nods. -RRB- I know. I love you too. She clings on tight for a second or two then lets go. Betty flicks away a tear and draws a deep breath. BETTY Well. She steps back and looks at him. David glances down at the remote. DAVID You better stand back a little. Betty and Margaret cross toward the corner of the room. David points the remote at the TV.", "EXT. MODERN HOUSING TRACT. DUSK. All the ersatz Spanish houses stretch out toward infinity. A WESTEC security patrol cruises by them at a crawl.", "INT. DAVID'S LIVING ROOM. NIGHT. He stands in the middle of the living room looking at his new/old surroundings. Everything is the same as it was : The black onyx coffee table, the sleek white Berber rug - black tile in the entry and the stark white walls. David glances around the room still clutching the remote control in his hand. The only sound comes from the TV. TV ANNOUNCER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Well that concludes the first hour of the Pleasantville Marathon ; boy was that a weird episode. Do n't forget folks, we go all night long till noon tomorrow. David smiles and reaches forward shutting off the TV. A sudden smile descends on him. He stands there, in the silence for a moment, when a strange SOUND comes from the kitchen. FOLLOWING DAVID He crosses toward the noise and after a moment it becomes clear : the unmistakable sound of a woman sniffling. HIS POV. KITCHEN. David stops in the doorway and stares. There are four Louis Vuitton bags next to the kitchen table. His mother -LRB- his real mother -RRB- faces away from him, still in spandex jogging clothes. DAVID You okay? She turns back to him. There's a tissue in her hand. DAVID'S MOM Oh, hi. DAVID I thought you went out of town. DAVID'S MOM -LRB- breaking again. -RRB- I came back. She trembles slightly and stifles a cry. David crosses to the kitchen table. DAVID What's wrong? She starts to cry all over again. David's Mom shakes her head trying to draw a deep breath. DAVID'S MOM Oh, I do n't know. It's all so fucked up. I got halfway down there and then I thought, `` what am I doing?'' He's nine years younger than me and it does n't make me feel younger it just makes me feel older. He nods. DAVID'S MOM -LRB- CONT. -RRB- So I stopped in the market to call him and there was this young couple getting out of a station wagon with two kids and a big lab and I thought, `` that was me. That used to be me.'' She starts to cry again. DAVID'S MOM You know, when your father was here I thought well this is it. It's always gon na be like this. I have the right house and the right car and the right life. DAVID There is no right house. There is no right car. DAVID'S MOM Oh, God. My face must be a mess. She chokes back a sob and wipes away a tear. There is mascara all over her cheek. DAVID It looks beautiful. DAVID'S MOM Honey, that's very sweet of you but it does n't look beautiful. DAVID Sure it does. C'mere. He takes a tissue from the box on the kitchen table and -LRB- aware of the parallel -RRB- begins to wipe the smeared makeup from her face. She glances at her reflection in the shiny black oven. DAVID'S MOM Oh God. It's not supposed to be like this. I'm forty - four years old. DAVID It's not supposed to be anything. Hold still for a second. He continues to clean his mother's face as she looks at him with a strange new expression. DAVID'S MOM -LRB- quietly. -RRB- How'd you get so smart all of a sudden? He stops for a second and smiles to himself. DAVID -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- I had a good day. EXTREME WIDE ANGLE. They sit alone in the half lit kitchen surrounded by her suitcases. David, carefully, gently continues to wipe the smeared makeup off her face as the MUSIC builds. Across the universe SERIES OF SHOTS. PLEASANTVILLE. FULL COLOR -LRB- END CREDITS -RRB- The MUSIC CONTINUES -LRB- Frank Sinatra : Vo - La - Ray -RRB- as the town explodes to life in rich, drunk, saturated color. The most mundane pieces of daily living acquire a weird new meaning in their reds, and greens and yellows : A tire is changed. a grapefruit gets smelled. a lawn is watered. The CREDITS ROLL."], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "High-schoolers David and his twin sister Jennifer lead very different lives: Jennifer is shallow, popular and outgoing, while the introverted David spends most of his time watching Pleasantville, a black-and-white 1950\u2019s sitcom about the idyllic Parker family. One evening while their mother is away, David and Jennifer fight over the television, breaking the remote control. A mysterious TV repairman arrives and, impressed by David\u2019s knowledge of Pleasantville, gives him a strange remote control before departing. When they use the remote control, David and Jennifer are transported into the black-and-white world of Pleasantville, finding themselves in the Parkers\u2019 living room. David tries to reason with the repairman, communicating through the Parkers' television, but the repairman declares that the world of Pleasantville is better than the real world and they should be lucky to live in it. Forced to act as the show\u2019s characters Bud and Mary Sue Parker, David and Jennifer explore the wholesome but peculiar town \u2013 fire does not exist and firefighters merely rescue cats from trees, and the citizens of Pleasantville are unaware that anything exists outside of their town, as all roads circle back with no escape. David tells Jennifer they must stay in character and not disrupt the town. Trying to maintain the show's plot, Jennifer dates a boy from school but has sex with him, a concept unknown to him and everyone else in town. Slowly, parts of Pleasantville change from black-and-white to color, including flowers and the faces of people who experience new bursts of emotion and foreign concepts such as books, fire and rain begin to appear. After Jennifer introduces sex to her peers, many of her classmates go to Lover's Lane to engage in sex, becoming \"colored\" in the process. David introduces Bill Johnson, owner of the soda fountain where Bud works, to colorful modern art via a book from the library, sparking Bill\u2019s interest in painting. After learning of sex and masturbation from Jennifer, Betty pleasures herself while bathing and, upon reaching orgasm, sees color and eventually becomes \"colored\" herself. Bill and Betty fall in love and she leaves home, bewildering her husband George. Only the town fathers remain unchanged, led by the mayor Big Bob, who views the changes as a threat to Pleasantville\u2019s values, and resolve to do something about their increasingly independent wives and rebellious children. As the townsfolk become more colorful, a ban on \"colored\" people is initiated in public venues. A riot is ignited by Bill\u2019s nude painting of Betty, done on his malt shop window. The soda fountain is destroyed, books are burned, and people who are \"colored\" are harassed in the street, while Betty is nearly raped by non-colored boys. The town fathers forbid people from visiting the library, playing loud music or using colorful paint. In protest, David and Bill paint a colorful mural depicting their world, prompting their arrest. Brought to trial in front of the entire town, David and Bill defend their actions and arouse enough anger and indignation in Big Bob that he becomes colored as well and flees. Celebrating their victory, David notices that the television store now sells color televisions, broadcasting new programs and footage of other countries and that the town's roads now lead to other cities. With Pleasantville changed, Jennifer chooses to continue her new life in the TV world. Bidding farewell to his twin sister, his new girlfriend and Betty, David uses the remote control to return to the real world. He comforts his mother, who had left to meet a man only to get cold feet and assures her that nothing has to be perfect. A montage reveals the citizens of Pleasantville enjoying their new lives, including Jennifer/Mary Sue attending college, while Betty, George and Bill contemplate the future.", "name": "Pleasantville_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["V FOR VENDETTA In the darkness, we hear a voice, a woman's voice. Her name is Evey. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot. I know of now reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.'' Her voice has a strength that is metered by a calmness, a deep centered peace that we can feel. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Those were almost the very first words he spoke to me and, in a way, that is where this story began, four hundred years ago, in a cellar beneath the Houses of Parliament. In the darkness, we find a lantern. Guy Fawkes, a dangerous man who wears a goatee, is struggling with a wheelbarrow stacked with barrels of gunpowder. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- In 1605, Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. The wheelbarrow bumps over the heavy stone mortar of the cellar floor. From the dark depths, we hear the sound of dogs. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He was caught in the cellars with enough gunpowder to level most of London. Guy sees lanterns coming from both sides. He tries to run as the dogs reach him first. He grabs for his sword as dozens of pole axes pin him against the tunnel's stone wall. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sometimes I wonder where we would be if he had n't failed. I wonder if it would have mattered. In the dim pre - dawn light, Guy is led to the gallows. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I suppose the answer is in the rhyme. More than the man, what we must remember is the plot itself. The coarse noose of rope is snugged up to Guy's throat. He looks into the crowd until he finds a face, a woman's face, staring up at him. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- For in the plot we find more than just a man, we find the idea of that man, the spirit of that man, and that is what we must never forget. The lever is thrown and the woman looks down, a tear falling down her face. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This, then, is the story of that idea, of that spirit that began with an anarchist's plot four hundred years ago. Guy's body hangs in silhouette, lifeless against a red morning sun. FADE OUT.", "INT.  SUBURBAN HOUSE A young Evey sits on her father's lap, combing her Barbie's hair. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I was born near the end of the millennium, the year 1997. My father used to say that people were so afraid that the world was going to end that they were willing it to happen. Her father sits beside her mother on the living room couch, watching the news. From the look on their faces, the news is bad. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I do n't remember much of the century's turn. I do n't remember the market crash or the plague or any of the Trafalgar riots. The television flickers with images of heavily armed soldiers fighting in a shelled city. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I've read about them since but I do n't recall how any of them impacted my life except for the fear. They would hide it from me, like a secret between them. Little Evey sees her father staring at her mother. They take hold of each other's hand, clasping them tight. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But I could feel it.", "EXT.  CITY STREET It is a new day. People are gathered along the street as if they were waiting for a parade. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Of the chaos that seemed to swallow the beginning of the 21st century, there is one thing I do remember. Evey holds her father's hand. Unable to see what is coming, she can hear it. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Very clearly, I can remember that sound. We hear them, hundreds of marching soldiers. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And I remember those boots, black leather that gleamed bright in the morning sun. I had never seen such boots. All moving in perfect unison. Little Evey hides in the forest of adults, clinging to her father's leg, staring as row after row of boots march by with military precision.", "EXT.  CITY STREET In the midst of a political rally for the emerging new party calling itself Norsefire, we find little Evey now on her father's shoulders. Dascombe, a young man, paces the podium, inciting the crowd. DASCOMBE The time has come, London, to return to a bygone age, an age of tradition, an age of values that have been disparaged and all but forgotten. What this country needs is a leader! A true leader to remind us of that age. A righteous leader with the strength of his moral convictions to do what must be done. I give you that man! I give you our leader! Adam Susan! Adam Susan rises and the crowd cheers. Evey's father looks at her mother and again they clasp hands. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It must have seemed so easy to them. They offered such a simple deal ; give up control and we will restore order.", "INT.  SUBURBAN HOUSE Little Evey is asleep in her bedroom. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- At first, the arrests were political. Dissidents. Radicals. Liberals. A loud crash of splintering wood wakes her up. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- When my parents were younger, they had been activists. They had marched with Labor in the great train strike. The sound of heavy boots swarms through the house. LITTLE EVEY Mommy? Her bedroom door bursts open and a heavily armed soldier scoops her up. She is carried through the dark house which is filled with soldiers. On the floor of the living room, she sees her parents being bound with plastic zip - ties. MOTHER My daughter! Do n't take my daughter! FATHER Evey! Evey! LITTLE EVEY Mommy! Daddy! A heavy black hood is pulled over each of her parent's heads as Evey is carried out of the house. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I never saw them again. Overnight, my life, my entire world was erased.", "INT.  BATHROOM A nun with a switch in her crossed arms watches as Evey and several other little girls scrub the floor of a dormitory bathroom. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It was done so quickly and violently, so completely, that it began to seem that it had never even existed. A tear rolls down Little Evey's cheek.", "EXT.  HOUSE A gay man is dragged violently from his Piccadilly home. Outside, he sees his lover being forced to the cobblestones. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The homosexuals were next. What God had started with AIDS had to be finished by man. It was God's work. That's what we were told. He reaches for him as the clubs rise and fall, vicious and bloody. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But once they were gone, there was someone else. Someone different. In another neighborhood, we see the police arresting Pakistanis. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Someone dangerous. In a different area, young black men are packed into a caged van so tightly they are unable to move. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- There were those who understood what was happening, who knew it was wrong but who kept silent. A young detective named Finch looks down as the van pulls away. When he looks up, another man in a military uniform whose name is Almond is watching him. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And in the vacuum of that silence, order was imposed. Finch sticks his pipe in his mouth and turns away.", "EXT.  STREET Again, we see the marching boots. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Order that was like those boots, order that required rigorous discipline. Order that is exactly the same, where each single step falls with every step. The order of the many shaped into one. We move through the columns of marching soldiers to a wall where a poster has been plastered up. The poster reads, `` Strength Through Purity, Purity Through Faith.'' EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Somehow in my heart, I knew it would n't last. As the sound of the marching fades, a shadow falls over the sign. After a moment, we hear the hiss of spray paint. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- What they thought they had crushed, the spirit they believed trampled and ground beneath the marching of their boots, rose up, rose as if from a four hundred year old grave, rose to remind us all that day. The shadow sprays a `` V'' over the poster. FADE OUT. Close on a loudspeaker. There is one on every major street corner. FATE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Good evening, London. It's nine o'clock, the fourth of November in the year 2019 and this is the voice of Fate broadcasting on 275 and 285 of the medium wave. Beneath the loudspeaker is a surveillance system labeled, `` For your protection.'' Bubble eyed lenses iris at the end of stalks that move, insect - like, racheting and clicking as they watch a little girl pedal her bicycle. The little girl glances nervously over her shoulder up at the mechanical eyes watching her. FATE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- People of London, be advised -", "EXT.  EVEY'S APARTMENT There is a radio on a small makeup table. FATE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- - that Braxton and Streathon are quarantine zones as of today. Evey is now a young woman. She slips into a dress that is little more than a nightgown. She tries to adjust it, pulling it down at the hem, pulling it up at the thin shoulder straps, but it is like trying to hide behind a lamppost. FATE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It is suggested that these area be avoided for reasons of health and safety.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY Another radio in a room that seems to be of another world. FATE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Good news following the productivity reports from Herefordshire indicating a possible end to meat rationing starting mid February. A man enters the room as he once entered the world. His body is lean and strong and though we do not see his face, there is a strength in his carriage, a power to his presence.", "INT.  EVEY'S APARTMENT She packs tissue paper into the toes of a pair of high heels that are too big for her. FATE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Police raided seventeen homes in the Birmingham area, uncovering what is believed to be a major terrorist ring.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY We move over a dressing bureau, past a wig and over a pair of black leather gloves, moving until we find the mask ; it is like something from the masquerade ball of another era. It has an exaggerated goatee, harlequin cheeks and a smile, forever fixed, at once be - guiling and be - deviling. FATE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Twenty eight people, eight of them women, are currently in detention awaiting trial.", "INT.  EVEY'S APARTMENT Evey coats her lips with a lascivious red. She stares into the mirror, her makeup like a mask over her own face. FATE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And that is the face of London tonight.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY The man, now fully dressed in cloak, hat, and mask gazes into the mirror. This is V. FATE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And this is the voice of Fate signing off and bidding you a pleasant evening.", "EXT.  CITY STREET Close on Evey's high heels, stumbling and awkward as she walks down a dark cobblestoned street.", "EXT.  CITY STREET Close on V's boots walking in the opposite direction so that it seems they are walking towards each other. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I do n't know what brought us together that night. I had never been to that part of Westminster but ever since I've known him, I've stopped believing in coincidence.", "EXT.  CITY STREET Evey looks up and sees a man standing mostly in shadow. EVEY Excuse me? Uh. excuse me, Mister? The man turns around. It is not V. EVEY Would you like. uh, would you like to sleep with me? He smiles. EVEY I mean, for money. MAN That is the clumsiest bit of propositioning I've ever heard. EVEY Oh god, I'm sorry. MAN Is this your first time, darling? EVEY Yes, no, I mean for money. But I know what you want and I'll do it. She presses her body to his, using her little girl eyes and her woman's mouth. EVEY Anything you want, mister. Please, I need the money. I know I'm young but I promise I know what I'm doing. MAN No. You do n't know what you're doing. He pulls out his wallet and shows her a badge. The sight of it knocks the breath out of her. EVEY Christ, you're a Fingerman. FINGERMAN 1 Give the little lady a prize. FINGERMAN 2 I've got something to give her. Evey turns and there are more Fingermen behind her. FINGERMAN 1 Prostitution is a class H offense. Know what that means? It means that we get to exercise our own judicial discretion - FINGERMAN 2 And you get to swallow it. The Fingermen laugh. EVEY Oh god, please. It's my first time. Please do n't hurt me. FINGERMAN 1 Gosh, fellas, look at those big innocent eyes. What do you think? FINGERMAN 3 Spare the rod, spoil the child. Fingerman 2 laughs hard as he drops his pants. EVEY Oh no! He shoves her face first against a brick wall, lifting her dress to expose her bottom. EVEY Please, do n't! FINGERMAN 3 You heard the man, sweetie. This rod's for your own good. Suddenly, they are no longer alone. V `` The multiplying villainies of nature do swarm upon him.'' FINGERMAN 3 What the hell - V `` And fortune, on his damned quarrel, smiling, showed like a rebel's whore.'' FINGERMAN 1 We're police officers, pal. FINGERMAN 4 We're with the Finger. FINGERMAN 3 So bugger off! V `` Disdaining fortune with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution.'' In the clenched fist of black leather, we see a flash of steel. FINGERMAN 1 He's got a knife! V attacks and at once we know this is no normal human being. A single blow sends the largest of the Fingermen flying backwards. But more than his strength, it is his speed. A gun is cocked but before the hammer falls, a knife is buried in the Fingerman's chest and - Before the body falls, the knife is gone. It takes a handful of seconds and three bodies lay on the ground. V turns to the last Fingerman who is struggling to pull his pants up. FINGERMAN 3 Jesus Christ! Do n't hurt me! V steps forward and he screams, bolting while holding his pants up. V Good evening. EVEY Who - Who are you? V Me? I imagine all manner of names shall be heaped upon my humble visage but, for now, let us simply say I am the villain. He throws wide his cloak and bows deeply to her. V And you would be? EVEY Evey. V Of course. They hear sirens rushing towards them. In a blink, he scoops her up and dashes into the shadows of a narrow alleyway.", "EXT.  ROOFTOPS Police cars and several ambulances swarm over the area with the dead Fingermen. V watches them from above. EVEY Why did you do that? Why did you. help me? V Why indeed? He takes out an old antique pocket watch. It is almost midnight. V Almost time. EVEY For what? V For the music. EVEY Music? V Yes, music. My music. You see. Evey, I am a performer. EVEY Is that why you're wearing a mask? V We all wear masks. Life creates them and forces us to find the one that fits. Do you know what day it is? EVEY Uh. November fourth. V Not for long. He looks out where, rising above the rooftops, he can see Big Ben. V `` Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.'' The second hand sweeps into the final minute. V Tell me, Evey, what good is an actor that plays his part to an empty theatre? EVEY I do n't know. V Nor do I. That's why you are here. I need you, Evey. I need someone to listen. EVEY To your music? V Yes. Yes, to my music. From his sleeve, he pulls a conductor's wand. V Can you hear it? It's already begun. He begins to lightly tap the wand in the air and, very faintly, we hear it. EVEY I ca n't hear anything. V At first, you have to listen very carefully. He continues to conduct and we begin to hear the music, violins and horns that seem almost like a whisper or a wind that steadily swells. V Ahh, yes. There it is. Beautiful, is it not? He turns to the parapet, his gestures growing grander as the music rises and we recognize Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture. The music mounts a climax and V points the wand at Big Ben as cymbals crash - Big Ben explodes with such force the world seems to shake, while - V, smiling, always smiling, points again with another crescendo and - The statue of justice is blown to smithereens. V nods in appreciation while mustering the music towards it's finale as fireworks begin lighting up the sky. EVEY Oh my. Everywhere across the city, people stand transfixed by the dazzling shimmer of the fireworks until - A strobing final blitz leaves a single, starry image floating in the smoke filled sky. It is the letter V. EVEY It's beautiful. V Thank you. From every direction, the city screams with the panicked sound of sirens.", "EXT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING A massive modern building that is the seat of the new government. A long, black car pulls up to the entrance. Adam Susan gets out, wearing a long black trenchcoat over his pajamas. He is the Leader and he looks older, heavier, and meaner. He hurries past the heavily armed guards, barely acknowledging the snap and cock of their Nazi - like salute.", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE The Leader enters his main chambers and we see the Fate computer system. It is a cerebral cortex for a vast intelligence network. Information can almost be felt coursing through its hard drives. The Leader sits, at once regaining a measure of composure. He takes a deep calming breath and accesses the system. Dozens of monitors fill with images from all across the city, most of them are of the damage caused by V. LEADER Gentlemen, I will hear your reports now. Mr. Heyer, speak for the Eye. Conrad Heyer appears on one of the screens. He is at his desk inside the command center for the Eye, the governmental organization responsible for the visual surveillance systems. CONRAD We have less than two minutes of usable footage, Leader. It took the suspect less than a minute to dispatch the Finger's vice patrol. On an insert screen, we see grainy footage of V rescuing Evey from one of the pole - mounted cameras. CONRAD As you can see, the suspect's reflex speed is extraordinary. As is his strength. As the last body falls, V seems to pause and looks back over his shoulder straight into the camera. LEADER Freeze it! The Leader stares at the smiling face. CONRAD I'm afraid the mask makes retinal identification impossible. LEADER Mr. Etheridge, report for the Ear! Bunny Etheridge appears on another screen. Behind him, huge spooling reels of audiotape wind constantly. ETHERIDGE We were able to triangulate the origin of the fireworks. We also are currently monitoring a lot of phone surveillance indicating a high percentage of conversation concerned with the explosions. All suspect or significant transcripts are being forwarded to Mr. Almond. LEADER Very good. Mr. Finch, speak for the Nose. Finch, no longer the same young man, stands at the site of the fireworks launch. FINCH Thanks to Etheridge, we found the launch for the fireworks. These appear to be individually weighted flares and we have found traces of the same chemicals at both of the detonation sites which leads us to conclude that, despite a level of sophistication, these devices are all home - made with over the counter chemicals, making them impossible to trace. Whoever he is, Leader, he's good. LEADER Thank you for that professional annotation. An intercom opens. LIEUTENANT -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Leader, Mr. Almond has arrived. LEADER Very good. Gentlemen, keep me informed of any further developments. England prevails. They answer in unison as Almond enters the office. His face is harder but he has the same violent gleam in his eye. The Leader turns in his chair. LEADER Mr. Almond, do you know what this is behind me? ALMOND Uh. the Fate computer system, sir? LEADER No. No sir. It's more than that. This, this computer is a symbol, Mr. Almond. A symbol of the highest attainable goal of mankind. Do you know what that goal is, Mr. Almond? Almond does not. The Leader leaps from his chair while pounding the desk. LEADER Control, Mr. Almond! Control! The world around us is a changing, directionless, amoral morass and it is up to man and man alone to set things right! He moves around the desk at Almond. LEADER Without control, man is nothing more than any other stinking, sweating, brute animal. Control, Mr. Almond. The control that we have painstakingly built up over the last ten years. Now, do you understand what happened last night? ALMOND We. lost control. LEADER Yes, Mr. Almond. Last night someone did the unthinkable. Someone hurt us. It is imperative that we act swiftly and precisely. I want that man found, Mr. Almond. I want his head or, by god, I'll have yours.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY Evey is wearing a blindfold and V leads her by her fingertips, guiding her almost as if they were dancing. His fingers slip free of her and she reaches out. EVEY Wait. I've lost you. V No, you have n't. He is behind her and he removes the blindfold, revealing his house to her. EVEY Oh. It is a labyrinth of interconnecting underground tunnels and rooms. The gallery is the main room as it is filled with an amazing collection of human culture. There is art that spans from the renaissance to the painted covers of Eerie comics, literature that ranges from Shakespeare to Spillane, philosophy from Plato to Bukowski, and a vast collection of nonfiction. There are movie posters everywhere and an entire wall is lined with videocassettes. A jukebox stands in front of an enormous vinyl and CD collection of music. EVEY A jukebox? Where did you get it? V I saved it. Like everything here. She punches a button and Billie Holiday begins to sing. EVEY Oh, it's beautiful. I've never heard anything like it. V Of course not. You grew up in their world. Art is created by individuals and there are no individuals in a world where you are told what to think. EVEY This place is amazing. V You're welcome to stay. She stops suddenly and looks at him. The offer is terribly exciting but it is so unlike anything she has ever done that it's almost impossible to imagine. EVEY Stay here. with you? V Yes. If you like. EVEY I. I do n't even know your name. V I do n't have a name. But you can call me V. EVEY V? V. I like that. And she returns his smile.", "EXT.  JORDAN TOWER The only operating broadcast tower in London ; home of the Mouth.", "INT.  RADIO BROADCAST BOOTH Lewis Prothero leans forward and lets his voice pour like syrup over the microphone. PROTHERO Good morning, London. This is the voice of Fate - Damn. He stops and coughs. PROTHERO Good morning - ack. Good morning Lond - Goddammit! Where is my bloody tea?! In the control booth, Roger Dascombe, his hair thinner now, rubs his temple. DASCOMBE Would someone get his lordship his bloody tea? He clicks on the microphone. DASCOMBE Lewis, they want this report on the first hour - PROTHERO I know. I know. Damned inconvenient this entire affair. Fine. Let's try again. He clears his voice and the red `` record'' light turns on. PROTHERO Good morning, London. It is 6 am, the fifth of November 2019 and this is the voice of Fate. The new day brings good news and bright prospects from overseas, where negotiations with New China are moving in a positive direction. Last night's scheduled demolition of two deteriorating landmarks went off without a hitch. Dascombe is unable to stop himself from smiling. PROTHERO Spokesman for the Interior ministry said both structures were severely damaged and judged to be a danger to the unsuspecting public. Plans for new landmarks are well underway. Prothero sits back, shaking his head. PROTHERO Do you believe this crap, Dascombe? DASCOMBE It's not our job to believe it, Lewis. Our job is to tell the people - PROTHERO `` Exactly what they tell us.'' I Know but do you think that people will believe it? DASCOMBE They will if it's you that's telling it to them. Now let's try it again.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY V is alone, listening to the first morning broadcast. PROTHERO -LRB- V.O. -RRB- plans for new landmarks are already well underway. He clicks off the radio. Walking down a hall, he stops and peers into Evey's new bedroom. She is fast asleep, looking remarkably at peace. Quietly, he shuts the door.", "EXT.  TRAIN STATION People are hurrying to board a departing train.", "INT.  TRAIN CAR Prothero is staring out his window. PROTHERO `` Remember, remember, the fifth of November.'' He talks to his bodyguards almost as if talking to himself. PROTHERO Do you suppose that's why he did it? BODYGUARD 1 Sir, who did what, sir? PROTHERO Guy Fawkes. He tried to blow up Parliament. The guards look at each other, confused. PROTHERO Do n't they teach history in school anymore? BODYGUARD 1 Sir, we're both straight military, sir. BODYGUARD 2 Sir, yes, sir. I was fighting in Ireland by the time I was sixteen. PROTHERO Yes, of course. My mistake. He turns back to his window.", "EXT.  RAILROAD The train rumbles along, heading for a tunnel.", "INT.  TRAIN CAR Prothero watches the countryside rolling past. PROTHERO I love trains. I remember riding the underground with my father. Shame they shut them all down. Bodyguard 1 looks out the opposite window just as the train enters the tunnel. BODYGUARD 1 What the hell's that!", "EXT.  TRAIN For a flashing instant, we see V in silhouette, cloak swirling around him like dark wings as he jumps from the bridge onto the train.", "INT.  TRAIN CAR Prothero and Bodyguard 2 stare at Bodyguard 1. BODYGUARD 1 I thought I saw a man jumping onto the train. BODYGUARD 2 The train's doing almost seventy. It would break his legs. BODYGUARD 1 You're right, I. It must have been rags.", "EXT.  TRAIN Deep in the tunnel, a dark figure glides across the rooftops.", "INT.  CONDUCTOR'S CAB The conductor hears something on the roof. He peers up just as V swings down, smashing feet first into the cab.", "INT.  TRAIN CAR The brakes suddenly lock, throwing Bodyguard 2 into Prothero. PROTHERO Get off of me! A moment later, the lights are cut off and the entire train is plunged into complete darkness. BODYGUARD 2 What the fuck is going on? BODYGUARD 1 Lock the car doors. PROTHERO I have a lighter. somewhere. BODYGUARD 2 I ca n't find the lock - wait. Hey wha - There is a muffled shriek followed by a sharp snap. BODYGUARD 1 What's happening - There is another sound, like the leather slap of a boxer pounding a heavy bag, followed by the sound of the heavy bag collapsing onto the floor. PROTHERO I found it! He flicks on the lighter and, in the dim light of its flame, he sees the smiling face. PROTHERO Oh god. V sits casually, arms folded, across from Prothero. The bodyguards lay dead on the floor. PROTHERO Who are you? What do you want? Money? Is that it? V just smiles. PROTHERO Wait, wait. You're, you're the one that blew the Bailey. V nods and Prothero's eyes go wide. PROTHERO You're making a mistake. I'm nobody - On the floor, he sees the bodyguard's gun. He kills the lighter and dives for it. In the darkness, we hear the struggle. It ends quickly. When the lighter flicks back on, V is holding it and the gun. PROTHERO Oh god, what do you want? V I've come to offer you a choice. Commander Prothero. PROTHERO What - What did you call me? V Commander Prothero. Prothero's heart begins to pound. V That was your title at Larkhill. You remember Larkhill, do n't you, Commander?", "EXT.  LARKHILL RESETTLEMENT CAMP - FLASHBACK A sign reads, `` Larkhill Resettlement Camp.'' V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Where they sent the undesirables. A caged truck packed with minorities rolls into the gates which are topped with spools of razor wire.", "INT.  TRAIN CAR Prothero is sweating. PROTHERO I do n't know what you're talking about. V Maybe I can help your memory. Let's see. Larkhill opened in the summer of 2009. You were appointed it commander. You wore a uniform in those days. You looked very good in it.", "INT.  LARKHILL - PROTHERO'S OFFICE - FLASHBACK Prothero admires his uniform in the mirror. V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You were a man of many responsibilities. You made sure Larkhill made all its quotas, especially the oven quotas even though they required an excessive amount of maintenance.", "EXT.  LARKHILL OVENS - FLASHBACK We see a detail of black and Indian men, shoveling mounds of black ash from a series of furnace like ovens. As the shovels lift, we see blackened bones and burnt skulls.", "EXT.  LARKHILL MAIN YARD - FLASHBACK Prothero saunters through the lines of camp prisoners. V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But there was one task you took to with exceptional relish. Remember the medical block, Commander? I believe you called it the funny farm. You were the one that selected the prisoners. You hand picked each one. Prothero steps in front of a woman who remains beautiful despite the suffering she has endured. Prothero smiles. PROTHERO Her. As the guards grab her, we become aware of a man that is staring at Prothero. He is one of the prisoners but we do not see his face. Prothero notices the man. He does n't like the way the man is staring at him. PROTHERO You.", "INT.  TRAIN CAR Prothero is terrified. PROTHERO You! You're him, are n't you? V nods. PROTHERO Oh my god! What are you going to do? V You gave us a choice, remember, Commander? You said we could cooperate with the doctors or. V cocks the gun. V Hold out your hand. Trembling, Prothero sticks out his hand. V lets the light die for a moment. When he flicks it back on, Prothero is holding a long, metal syringe filled with a murky liquid. PROTHERO Oh no, no! Please I was just doing what I was told! V Of course you were. Now I'm telling you to make a choice. Either you stick that syringe into your neck or - He presses the gun barrel to Prothero's forehead. V I can kill you right now. Prothero begins to blubber. V Crying does n't help, Commander. I remember there was a woman who had been screaming for two days. You winked at the doctor and laughed, `` All in the name of science.'' PROTHERO Please, do n't make me do this. V It's a difficult choice, is n't it? Certain death versus something that might be. worse. But you never know. There is still a chance. You could survive. Look at me. Now, time's up, Commander. Choose. Anger galvanizes his fear and steadily Prothero lifts the needle towards his neck. PROTHERO I'll see you in hell. He jams the needle in and sinks the plunger. V Yes. I'm quite sure you will.", "INT.  TRAIN Train workers with flashlights hurry through the cars. TRAIN MAN This door's locked! He slams a shoulder against it and the door gives in. TRAIN MAN Holy Christ! Flashlights sweep over the dead bodyguards. The train man hears a strange gurgling rasp and he turns, finding Prothero in his light. TRAIN MAN What happened here? Prothero is foaming at the mouth while a thick mucus bubbles from his nose. His breath comes in tiny rasps. TRAIN MAN Good lord! I need a medic here. Prothero becomes more animate, trying to tell the man something. PROTHERO Fi. Fi. Fi. TRAIN MAN 2 He's trying to say something. PROTHERO Five. TRAIN MAN 1 Five? Where's the goddamn medic? PROTHERO Room five. Suddenly, his body convulses and blood pours out his ears. His body slumps over. TRAIN MAN 2 I think he needs a priest.", "EXT.  TRAIN STATION The station is swarming with police. A stretcher wheels a body in a black plastic bag out from Prothero's car.", "INT.  TRAIN CAR Finch puffs on his pipe, staring at something spray painted on the wall of the train car : a `` V'' with a circle around it. DOMINIC What do you make of this, Mr. Finch? Dominic, Finch's younger assistant, is holding a flower in his rubber gloved hand. FINCH Hmm. It's a rose. A violet carson, I believe. Strange. DOMINIC Strange? FINCH I did n't think they still existed. SOLDIER Mr. Finch! Sir! Finch turns as a soldier with a radio steps into the car. SOLDIER Sir, they want you at headquarters, sir. FINCH Now? SOLDIER Yes, sir. I'm to transport you immediately. FINCH Send the rose to the lab. Also, scrape a sample of this paint and have it analyzed as well. I'll be back as soon as I can.", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE The door opens and Finch steps in. LEADER Ah, Mr. Finch. I sent for you because what I have to say can not be said over a phone or a radio. What I have to say can not leave these four walls. Do I make myself clear? FINCH Yes, sir. LEADER I believe in a few things, Mr. Finch. I believe in god. I believe in the destiny of the Nordic race. And I believe in fascism. The romans invented fascism. They had a symbol for it ; a bundle of twigs bound together. One twig could be broken but a bundle would prevail. That is the heart and soul of fascism. Strength in unity. I tell you these things knowing full well that they make you uncomfortable. FINCH Well, I. LEADER You have in fact expressed your discomfort in several arrest reports, arrests that were, in your opinion, `` unnecessary.'' The fact that you are here, that you are not rotting in a prison cell, is a mark of my respect and admiration for you, for your craft, and for what you have done for this country. Finch looks at the ground. LEADER It is also because I know you, Finch. I know what you are. You're a man like me. A man who understands when they are given a job what must be done. I understand you, Finch, and that is why I can trust you. He moves in close to Finch. LEADER This terrorist knows us, Finch. These attacks are perfectly calculated and they are divisive. He knows what he's doing, Finch. He knows us all too well. FINCH You think he's an insider? LEADER What I think is that this man must be stopped. Stopped at all costs and no one, I repeat, no one is to be placed above suspicion. Do I make myself clear? FINCH Perfectly. LEADER England prevails, Mr. Finch. FINCH England prevails.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY Evey, alone in the Shadow Gallery, stares up at the inscription above the crooked staircase. EVEY V, v, v, v, v. V I hear your summons, my lady. And obey. She jumps, V suddenly appearing behind her. EVEY Oh, V, you scared me. She turns back to the carving. EVEY I was reading the inscription. What is it? V A Latin quotation. A motto. `` Vi veri veniversum vivus vici.'' `` By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.'' She nods. EVEY Yes, I suppose you have. This place is the only universe I have right now. V Does that bother you? EVEY I do n't know. I'm so grateful to you - I just feel I should help you, you know, the way you're helping me. I mean, that's the deal, is n't it? V drifts over to the big old Wurlitzer, fingers scanning the song list. V No deals, Evey. Not unless you want them. She looks up at the inscription as an old blues song begins to play. EVEY I think I do. Part of me wants to stay here forever and never have to face what's going on outside. But that's not right. Is it? That's not taking responsibility. Not conquering my universe. She turns to him. EVEY I want to help you, V. I want to do something. Can we make a deal? V Yes. I think we can make a deal if you like. I think I know a way you could help me very soon indeed. Evey smiles nervously. EVEY Good. That's that, then. The blues song curls in the air around them like a heavy incense. EVEY V, you said that Latin thing was a quote. Who said it? V Nobody you'd have heard of. A German gentleman named Dr. John Faust. He spins her. V He made a deal too.", "EXT.  WESTMINSTER ABBEY - DAY The church doors have opened with the flow of parishioners as the final mass of the day has ended. The tide slowly pours out onto the sidewalk, separating around the clumps of people that conglomerate to network and gossip. Church bells toll in the orange dusk above them. Helen Heyer, a woman whose spite and guile are hidden behind her looks and clothes she drapes them with, charges into the gossipers, her trophy husband in tow, a timid looking man that we recognize as Conrad Heyer. CONRAD Hello, Rosemary. Derek, how - Helen's head snaps over at the mention of the name. HELEN Derek! She pushes past Conrad, giving Derek Almond an exuberant kiss on both cheeks. HELEN Darling, how are you? Hello, Rosemary. Always behind her husband, Rosemary Almond smiles nervously as she straightens her drab church dress. ROSEMARY Hello. DEREK It's so good to see you. Since this bloody terrorist business, the old man has me literally chained to the office. Helen pouts at him. HELEN Oh, you poor dear. Derek taps the bottom of his cigarette box, drawing one with his lips. DEREK It comes with the job. How are things in the Eye, Conrad? CONRAD Well, we've been working some bugs out of the new Mark IX fiber optic network, actually - HELEN Oh, Conrad, do n't be such a bloody bore. Do tell us about the terrorist, Derek. Is it true he blew up Big Ben and the old Bailey? DEREK I'm afraid so. We're dealing with a pathological psychotic in the most extreme case. We'll catch him though. I promise. Helen rubs her white sable against her body. HELEN Oh, it sounds dreadfully exciting. Are n't you glad you've got such a ruthless, implacable brute for a husband, Rosemary? ROSEMARY Yes, well - HELEN Believe me, you're lucky. You could be struck with a professional peeping tom like Conrad. England's highest paid voyeur, are n't you darling? CONRAD Helen, I think we'd better - HELEN Oh yes, of course. We have to get back so the little pervert can watch what the neighbors do after Sunday lunch. He's so exciting. Derek laughs as they climb into their car. HELEN Ciao! DEREK Goodbye, Helen. Conrad. Rosemary waves as it pulls off. ROSEMARY She's a bit hard on him, is n't she? Derek sneers at her. DEREK Until you're half the woman of Helen's sophistication, I'd keep your little mouth shut. He throws the cigarette at her feet. DEREK Really, just look at the way you dress.", "INT.  WESTMINSTER ABBEY From above, a hand sweeps aside the red plush curtain. LILLIMAN Ah, there they go. My happy and contented flock. Spiritually refreshed and ready to face the world again. Bishop Anthony Lilliman is a slender man of pious elegance with a warm, beautiful smile. He turns from the window to his valet, Dennis, as Derek and Rosemary get in their car. LILLIMAN Did you enjoy the sermon today, Dennis? DENNIS Very inspiring, your grace. Though the segue of the forces of Satan among us did strike me as a bit of a curious digression. He whisks a lint brush over the Bishop's robes before putting them away. LILLIMAN Hmm, yes. A trifle purple, I thought. Still, Fate wanted it included and who are we to question the will of the almighty, miserable sinners that we are? A gentle smile spreads across his mouth. LILLIMAN And speaking of sin, I wonder which of the seven deadlies the good lord will see fit to tempt me with today. Dennis finishes with the Bishop's robes and sweeps the closet door shut. DENNIS Perhaps pride, your grace. Lilliman chuckles. LILLIMAN I was thinking of something a little less ethereal. Has the young lady arrived? DENNIS The agency informed me she'll be here directly. However, there was a mixup. It's not one of the usual girls. She's a little older. LILLIMAN Oh dear. Oh dear. Not too old, I trust? DENNIS They promise me she's no more than fifteen. LILLIMAN Fifteen, hmm. The Bishop rubs his cheek, ponderously. LILLIMAN Ah well, if Job could bear his disappointments, I suppose I must have the good grace to bear mine. Show her in when she arrives. DENNIS Yes, your grace.", "EXT.  WESTMINSTER ABBEY - NIGHT A pair of headlights melt through the heavy night's fog as a taxicab pulls into the circle drive.", "INT.  BISHOP'S QUARTERS Dennis peers into the Bishop's living quarters. DENNIS The young lady, your grace. LILLIMAN Oh my! Standing next to Dennis is Evey, wearing a frilly pink summer dress, pigtails and bows and white ruffled socks. LILLIMAN And to think I doubted your loveliness for even an instant. Mea culpa, my child, mea culpa. You are a vision. An angel. Evey smiles awkwardly. EVEY Uh. thank you.", "EXT.  WESTMINSTER ABBEY - NIGHT A shadow begins moving across the manicured grounds borne on the thick mist like a dark phantom. V glides toward the rectory, cloak undulating against the dark, wet wind.", "INT.  BISHOP'S BEDROOM It is extravagantly furnished, somewhere between posh and pimp. The Bishop is sitting very close to Evey on his plush water bed. LILLIMAN Of course, `` hate the sin, love the sinner.'' I always say. Take your dress off, please. Evey stammers, backing up along the bedside. EVEY Listen - I was kind of hoping - He paws at her, groping hands pushing the front of her dress down as she backs up against the nightstand. EVEY No -", "EXT.  MAIN GATE - NIGHT The guards look out into the night, fear suddenly gripping their faces. V emerges demonically through the parting veils of fog, the white smiling mask bobbing eerily up and down as he rushes them. A cigarette drops from the first guard's mouth, red embers exploding when it hits the wet cement. Close as the two guards claw for their arms and the white hot flash of V's knives - That slice like talons. The two men crumple to the ground, clutching their gaping, gurgling wounds. A whisper. V sprints into the courtyard.", "INT.  BISHOP'S BEDROOM Evey grabs a metal table lamp and swings it down on the Bishop's head. There is a shuddering clank and he collapses to the floor. LILLIMAN You - You filthy whore! His blood speckles the white bearskin throw rug as the Bishop slowly rises after the retreating Evey. LILLIMAN I'll kill you, you fucking sow. He charges after her but freezes dead in his tracks as V swings around the corner in front of him. LILLIMAN What's this? Who - V Please allow me to introduce myself. V bows. V I'm a man of wealth and taste. LILLIMAN Dennis? Instantly, the point of one of V's knives is against the Bishop's throat. V presses a finger to his frozen smile. V Shh. It is n't polite to disturb the dead on their journey. Evey watches from around the corner. V A courtesy I'll most respectfully extend to his grace. EVEY V? Lilliman swallows audibly. EVEY V, what are you doing? V Vi veri veniversum vivus vici, Evey. Evey looks down at the knives on his belt, dripping blood. EVEY Oh no. She begins backing to the door. EVEY You ca n't kill him! V Death has followed his grace the whole of his career. Is it any coincidence it has finally followed him here? EVEY Oh god, V. I ca n't - I ca n't - V turns back to Lilliman as Evey runs. V Let us pray.", "EXT.  WESTMINSTER ABBEY - NIGHT Evey sprints past the dead guards at the man gate and into the fog.", "INT.  THE EAR A cramped control room that looks like something between a radio and television switching room, though it does not broadcast. It receives. Two operators sit at the main substation as the sounds of lovemaking come over the speakers. The moans are stifled and low, however, as if they were afraid someone was listening. OPERATOR 1 Bloody hell. Does n't anybody fuck with feeling anymore? Operator 2 does not look at him, scrolling through an intricate city map on his computer. OPERATOR 2 Hey, it's Sunday. Children's hour over at the Abbey. OPERATOR 1 Let's see what that filthy old pervert is up to. Operator 1 punches in some coordinates and the sound over the speakers changes to a garbled fart of noise. Two voices drown beneath a cacophony of classical music. OPERATOR 1 What the - He tries to dial out the background and suddenly the voices rise clearly above the din. VOICE 1 And I saw a black shape against the flames. Oh god. It's you. The man from room five. You've come - VOICE 2 To collect what's mine. VOICE 1 I beg you! I do n't want to die! Please have mercy! The two men look at each other, Operator 1 lunging for a red phone. OPERATOR 1 Get me the Finger. This is an emergency!", "EXT.  BISHOP'S QUARTERS - NIGHT Close on a stain of white vomit and blood on the thick pile of a Persian rug. It is encircled in police chalk. Pull back to reveal the chalk outline where the body of Bishop Lilliman was found. The circled bloodstain floats above the head like the last word balloon of a crude comic strip character. The Bishop's quarters is slowly being picked over by a forensic team from the Nose. A photographer's flash bursts against a painted `` V'' on the wall near the body outline. At the window, Finch chews on his pipe, staring at a plastic evidence bag that contains a single violet carson rose. DOMINIC No prints yet, sir. Just like Prothero. FINCH I want those tapes from the Ear in my office tonight, Dominic. DOMINIC Yes, sir. They're on top of it. Finch turns to a muscular man named Creedy, second in command at the Finger. FINCH Any word from your superior, Mr. Creedy? CREEDY Mr. Almond does n't seem to be answering his page, sir. I'm sure he's in the field. FINCH Quite.", "INT.  CONRAD HEYER'S BEDROOM Grunting like an animal, Derek's face is frozen, locked in the rigor of a violent orgasm. After a moment, he collapses beside Helen onto the sweat soaked sheets. HELEN There you go, baby. Now my baby boy can think so much clearer. Ca n't he? She grabs her cigarette case and her lighter. HELEN You have been thinking, have n't you? She straddles his chest then lights two cigarettes. HELEN I know you have. Ever since this terrorist appeared. He smiles as she puts one of the cigarettes in his mouth. HELEN Oh jesus, that smile. That smile turns me on like nothing else. She whispers in his ear. HELEN Tell me. Tell me what's going on in that ruthless sadistic brain of yours. DEREK Everyone is so worried about the terrorist. Especially Susan. You know why? Because nobody knows what he's going to do. He exhales through his grinding teeth. DEREK If I were him, I know what I'd do. He whispers. DEREK I'd blow that fat bastard to kingdom come. Helen bolts up. HELEN No. You're kidding. DEREK Am I? He smiles, blowing more smoke. DEREK There's an old train line under the New Government Building. It collapsed when they poured the foundation. You could haul in enough TNT to launch our Leader's ass all the way to the moon. Helen's eyes gleam as he laughs. HELEN You're serious, are n't you? He eyes her sucking on the cigarette. DEREK You need to be careful, Helen. Your mouth is going to get you into trouble one day. HELEN Is that the same trouble you love putting in my mouth? DEREK You never know who might be listening. HELEN I know, Derek. You love your country and you love your party, just like you love your wife. He glares at her. HELEN Derek. I'm sorry. I know I can be a bitch. But that's why you're here, is n't it? He smiles again and she presses her body to his. HELEN This is it, is n't it, Derek? What we've been waiting for. At last, you'll be rid of Susan. I'll be rid of Conrad. And we'll be free. Free, wo n't we? His eyes close as he grinds his hips into hers and we rise, drifting up to the ceiling light fixture - Where we see a tiny hidden microphone.", "INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE - THE NOSE Finch sits at his desk, staring into the silence of his notepad. He has doodled a little `` V'' with a circle around it. He looks up as Dominic enters, holding up a portable cassette player. DOMINIC Sorry it took so long. The boys had a devil of a time trying to filter out the background noise. FINCH Background noise? DOMINIC The perpetrator apparently turned on the Bishop's stereo. Subsequently, a great deal of the tape is useless. He hands the player to Finch. FINCH What music did he play? DOMINIC Beethoven. The fifth, I believe. Finch smiles. FINCH Da, da, da, dum. That's code. Morse code. DOMINIC Sir? FINCH For the letter `` V''. Finch punches `` play''. Over the small speaker, we sear Evey protesting to V, then run. He stops it. FINCH Anything on the girl yet? DOMINIC No. The agency said somebody claiming to be Lilliman's valet canceled his Sunday appointment. Finch starts it again and this time the tape is very fuzzy. FINCH What is it? DOMINIC 23rd Psalm. We recognize some of the words though muted and crackly. TAPE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. DOMINIC It goes on like that for a while. Fairly incoherent except we could make out a few words in this part. Transubstantiation. Finch nods, understanding. DOMINIC That miracle business when the wafer transform into the body of Christ. FINCH He made him eat a host. DOMINIC Yes, listen to this part. The tape becomes somewhat clearer as the music rests. TAPE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And at the moment this enters your mouth it becomes the flesh of the savior? Yes. please. And whatever it is made of now it will become the body of Christ? Yes. yes. They eye each other. TAPE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I want you to swallow it. DOMINIC There's a couple of funny human noises. FINCH And then just Beethoven's fifth. He shuts off the tape. FINCH We have got the initial path report back. The host was full of cyanide. Finch picks up the bag with the violet carson. FINCH And do you know what? He rises, sliding into his jacket. FINCH When it reached his abdomen, it was still cyanide.", "INT.  MORGUE Close on the heavy stitching of a `` Y'' incision sewn into the chest of a corpse. It is one of the Bishop's guards. DELIA Do you have a motive? Finch is standing next to the cadaver gurney with the coroner, Delia Surridge. She is a serious woman, hair wound tight behind her head in a severe bun. DELIA I mean, was anything taken? She fills the dead man's head with cotton and replaces the top of his skull. FINCH Just lives. Pulling at the man's scalp, she stretches it over the replaced skull piece. FINCH I know it's too early for your profile but do you have any initial impressions? DELIA Well. She points at a jagged puncture wound at the base of the man's sternum with a ball point pen. DELIA He's incredibly powerful. This man's sternum was split like dry wood from the base all the way up to the manubrium. Finch peers into the hole. DELIA And he's resourceful. On that table behind you is a breakdown of all the chemicals found in Prothero's blood stream. Finch hefts the pile of computer paper. FINCH Bloody hell. DELIA There were hundreds of different chemicals in him. From trinitrotoluene to estrogen to motor oil. He flips through the document, biting into the wooden end of his pipe. FINCH Perhaps Fate will make something more of all this. I certainly ca n't. DELIA The Leader finally authorized an uplink for you? He must be getting nervous. FINCH Quite. Government directed terrorism never sews healthy ideas into the public. Oh, that reminds me. Finch pulls the evidence bag from his pocket. FINCH Can you tell us anything about this? Delia's eyes lock onto the violet carson. FINCH We found one in the carriage with Prothero and this one in the Bishop's quarters. A violet carson. He hands it to her. FINCH I heard that strain had died off. Thought a botanist might shed some light on it. Delia? Delia, riveted to the rose, suddenly looks up to him. DELIA Yes - Yes, of course. FINCH Magic. I'll drop by tomorrow then. He turns, leaving her with the rose.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY V relaxes with a book in an overstuffed reading chair, a violet carson rose resting on a table next to him. He begins to read a passage aloud. V `` There is more behind and inside of V than any of us had suspected. Not who, but what : what is she?'' He places the book down. Thomas Pynchon's `` V''. V rises, lifting the rose and moving into the darkness of the Shadow Gallery.", "EXT.  EMPTY STREET A small figure moves down the dark wet street, the cobblestones glistening like black scales. The huddled figure arcs across the street in the shadows, avoiding the pools of streetlight. It is Evey, a frightened look on her face.", "INT.  KITTY KAT KELLER A woman in combat boots, fishnets, and a tight fitting soldier's uniform is in the middle of a cheeky number on stage in this smoky burlesque bar. It is a popular place with locals and Fingermen. Peter Creedy squeezes through the crowd, angling for the back of the bar where a number of loud Fingermen are drinking. CREEDY What's all this, then, Harper? I get a radio that a man's down and in need of assistance? HARPER I ai n't gone down yet but I sure do need some assistance. Creedy leans in. CREEDY Are you flat broke already? They break up in laughter, led by Creedy who sits next to Harper, pouring himself a drink. LOUT How'd you sneak away, Creedy? Almond off buggering that blonde chippy? HARPER The one with the tits? They all begin to hoot and whistle. CREEDY What I would n't give for a piece of that. LOUT She could serve a tray of drinks on those thingies. HARPER I bet you get your chance with her sooner than later, Creedy, with the way Almond's crackin' up. LOUT Bloody bugger's losing his marbles. HARPER Terrorist or no, if that bastard gives me another double shift, I'll stomp his fucking head. Creedy raises his drink. CREEDY Aye. This nonsense has put a serious strain on my drinking. I think I was actually sober today. LOUT I'll drink to that. HARPER We need to get a real man of the people in that director's position. Like Creedy here. Everyone cheers in agreement. CREEDY Well, it's good to know when the shit hits the fan who your real friends are. They salute and drink.", "INT.  ALMOND HOME Derek Almond sits hunched under a desk lamp, pumping the cylinders of his revolver with a wire brush. Rosemary shuffles up to him, her frumpy gown gathered around her. ROSEMARY Derek - He blows down one of the cylinders, not looking up. DEREK I do n't want to hear it, Rosemary. ROSEMARY Derek, please! We ca n't carry on like this. Derek stares at the gun, rage building. ROSEMARY You do n't talk to me. You do n't eat with me. You do n't have sex - Derek leaps up, slugging her. Rosemary clatters to the ground in tears. Derek glowering over her. DEREK I do n't have to take any crap from you! I have that fat bastard riding me all day. I do n't want to listen to you, so shut your fat gob! He leans into her face. DEREK And me not wanting to fuck you is obvious. Take a look at yourself. He sits back in front of the gun, wiping it down. DEREK Get out of my sight. I'm cleaning my gun.", "INT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S HOME Dr. Surridge sits somberly in the dark, street light filtering in from the open curtains. Her eyes fixed on the violet carson as she slowly turns it over in her hands, fingers tracing the soft petals. After a moment, she stands, letting it fall from her lap.", "INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE - THE NOSE Finch turns as Dominic bursts in. DOMINIC I got it! FINCH A connection? Dominic waves a printout. DOMINIC Larkhill Resettlement Camp. Prothero's and Lilliman's employment records show they both help positions there at similar times. FINCH What about codename V? DOMINIC Most of Larkhill's records were destroyed for security reasons but I did uncover an old standard procedures and operations manual. Dominic smiles. DOMINIC In special case studies, medical research groups used roman numerals to identify test inmates. FINCH Five is the letter V. Brilliant, Dominic. Finch slides in front of his computer. FINCH All we need is Larkhill's employment records.", "INT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S BEDROOM The covers pulled protectively up around her, Delia rests in a light, uneasy sleep. Suddenly, an eye pops open as she awakens, catching a familiar scent. She slowly sits up and inhales. DELIA Roses. She closes her eyes. DELIA It's you, is n't it? You've come to kill me. From the shadows, V answers. V Yes. Tears begin to streak her face. DELIA Oh thank god. Thank god.", "INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE - THE NOSE Dominic hangs over Finch's shoulder as Larkhill's employment record comes up. Finch's mouth falls open. FINCH Oh my god. Row after row of names scroll by at the end of each bio are the words : deceased, file closed. FINCH Oh bloody hell. The data banks unfurl like a mass grave. DOMINIC He's killed them all? It's not possible. Finch stops, staring at the one name whose file is not closed - FINCH Oh no. Dr. Delia Surridge.", "INT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S BEDROOM V floats on the edge of the room's shadows, a dark angel. V Are you afraid? DELIA No, no. I thought I would be, but I'm not. I'm - She looks at the hovering, smiling mask. DELIA Relieved. She starts to cry again. DELIA Oh god, all these years. All this waiting. And somehow I always knew you'd come back. Delia thinks back. DELIA When I saw you that night - the night you escaped, you were standing against the flames and you looked straight at me. The mask almost nods. DELIA I knew then that one day you'd come looking for me, that you'd find me. Her voice drops to an almost confessional whisper. DELIA What - what happened at Larkhill. What we did - What I did. That terrible knowledge, it's been with me so long. That I could do things like that. Delia rubs the salty tears from her eyes. DELIA For years, I blamed it on the government, on the authority I could never stand up to. But living so long with the knowledge of what I did has made me understand otherwise. I alone was accountable. V watches her. DELIA There is something wrong with us. With all of mankind. With me. Something evil that made me enjoy what I did. Some hideous flaw. Her voice almost trails off. DELIA We deserve to be culled. We deserve it.", "INT.  ALMOND BEDROOM Light sweeps across Rosemary from the opening bedroom door as she sobs softly in bed. Derek enters, holding a bottle of whiskey and his clean gun. She sits up as Derek looms over her. ROSEMARY Derek? What? He lifts the gun into her bruised face. Her eyebrows cringe as he slowly pulls the trigger. DEREK Bang. Click. It is empty. DEREK Do n't worry, Rose. I did n't load it. The phone rings. DEREK Not tonight. He grins evilly at her and answers the bedside phone. DEREK Almond. What?! Where? Derek's drunk eyes light up. DEREK Oh god, yes! God, thank you! He slams the phone down, charging out of the room.", "EXT.  KITTY KAT KELLER A gaggle of drunks exit the bar, laughing and singing as they pass a small figure.", "INT.  KITTY KAT KELLER Evey wanders into the bar amidst the lustful screams and cat calls for the line of high stepping, semi - clothed girls on stage. She stares out into the crowd, not sure why she is here when a man approaches her : Creedy. His sloppy smile indicates he has had a few drinks. CREEDY You look lost. She looks blankly at him. CREEDY Can I buy you a drink? EVEY No. I made a mistake. She turns for the door. EVEY I have to find someone. Creedy frowns as his radio crackles. CREEDY Well I did n't like the looks of you anyway - RADIO -LRB- V.O. -RRB- All units, all units. Code red. Converge in Plaistow to apprehend codename V. CREEDY Bloody hell! He screams to the Fingermen at the back. CREEDY It's him! We got him! Evey watches as they storm out of the bar, then follows.", "EXT.  CITY STREET The emergency lights blaring, Finch's car squeals around a corner.", "INT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S BEDROOM V hovers ghostly at Delia's bedside. DELIA It's funny, I was given one of your roses today. I was n't sure you were the terrorist until I saw it. She manages a smile. DELIA What a strange coincidence. That I should be given it today. V There are no coincidences, Delia. Only the illusion of coincidence. He reaches into his cloak. V I have another rose. This one is for you. He hands it to her. DELIA Then you are going to kill me now? V produces an empty syringe. V I killed you ten minutes ago. While you slept. DELIA Is there any pain? V sits on the bed. V No. No pain. DELIA Thank you. She stares at the mask. DELIA Can I - Can I see your face again? V slowly pulls off his hat and lifts his mask. Delia stares into his face. DELIA It's beautiful. The rose falls from her hands.", "INT.  HALL V quietly shuts the door as if not to wake her and turns just as - Derek Almond reaches the top of the stairs. DEREK Do n't move an inch, you bloody bastard. He trains his gun. DEREK You did n't hear me arrive, did you? Did n't know we'd rumbled you? He squints. DEREK It's all finished, chummy. All of it. The old man told me it was my head or yours and what do you know. It's yours. The smiling mask stares. DEREK Because you're standing over there with your bloody stupid knives and your fancy karate gimmicks - Derek pulls back the hammer. DEREK And I've got a gun. He smiles. DEREK Bang. Click. He never loaded it. There is an awkward moment of silence, then V moves - Cloak opening, filling the hall like a black tidal wave that envelopes Derek. He chokes a scream as V embraces him, slipping a knife above his floating rib. Derek Almond sputters as he claws at V's mask. DEREK Who - Who are you? V Yes, look. Look and tell me what you see. He rips V's mask off as V thrusts the knife in deeper. Derek's eyes widen in horror as his life pours out the knife wound. DEREK Horrible! God, it's horrible! V jerks his blade free, letting Derek slip to the ground.", "EXT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S HOME Finch's car bucks up onto the sidewalk. Finch and Dominic tear out of the car and barrel into the house.", "INT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S HOME At the top of the stairs, they find the dead Derek. Finch rushes past him for the bedroom. FINCH Delia? Inside, he finds her. Her eyes fixed, cold, and dead, a single violet carson in her lap. FINCH Get an ambulance.", "EXT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S HOME Evey rushes around a corner to see a crime scene bathed in siren light. She pushes up to the police barricade as the M.E.'s load a draped body into their van. EVEY Oh no. V? She tries to angle around to get a better look when a man in a brown overcoat grabs her from behind and drags her into the alley.", "INT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S BEDROOM From the corner of the room, Finch sits, watching as the M.E.'s wheel out Delia's body. Dominic squeezes past the gurney and crosses toward Finch. DOMINIC I'm sorry, sir. You knew the doctor pretty well? Finch nods. DOMINIC We found this on her bureau, sir. It's Dr. Surridge's journal. It covers her years at Larkhill. It might contain the whole story. Dominic searches for something more to say when Finch does not answer. After a moment, Finch looks at the book in Dominic's hand, then takes it, leafing through the pages. They flip by, a breathy sigh, rising to a cold wind. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- May 23rd.", "INT.  LARKHILL MEDICAL RESEARCH BLOCK - DAY - FLASHBACK A younger Dr. Surridge, one by one, administers a series of injections to her research stock. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Prothero has hand picked my subjects. Four dozen of them, none of which will be any use to me if I do n't get to work soon. She finishes an injection, Prothero encouraging the next subject. We recognize her as the woman Prothero pointed at. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- They're so weak and pathetic I find myself hating them. Delia prepares the next dose, a sour look on her face. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- They do n't fight or struggle. Just stare at you with weak eyes. PROTHERO Next.", "INT.  LARKHILL OVENS - DAY - FLASHBACK Two inmate orderlies are hefting sacked cadavers from a cart into an incinerator. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- June 9th : Of the original four dozen, over 75 % are now deceased. Strangely, no clear patterns have emerged as of yet. Another body thuds onto the pile. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Batch 5 seems to have no common discernible effect on any specific group though the men seem slightly more resilient than the women. When it is full, they move to the next door until the cart is empty. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'm hoping the survivors will provide more answers or my time here will have gone to waste. Red heat suddenly glows from the oven vents as the orderly throws a series of switches.", "INT.  LARKHILL MEDICAL RESEARCH BLOCK - DAY - FLASHBACK Dr. Surridge moves down the drab aseptic hallway accompanied by an armed guard. Roman numerals on the doors to each cell ascend to five. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- June 18 : And only five left now. Two men and three women. Which tends to contradict my entry on the 9th. She pauses at room five. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The man in room five is a fascinating case. She looks through the small chicken wire glass window in the door. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Physically, there does n't seem to be anything wrong with him. No cellular anomalies, nothing. In the back, just on the edge of the room's shadow, sits the man in room five, silently staring back. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Batch five, however, seems to have brought on some kind of psychotic breakdown. He's quite insane. Dr. Surridge ca n't seem to break her stare. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He has this way of looking through you. Reverend Lilliman wo n't go near him. He claims that it is the devil in room five. I see him cross himself whenever he passes his door. Still, there's something about him.", "EXT.  LARKHILL GARDEN - DAY - FLASHBACK Dr. Surridge slowly moves through the Larkhill garden, an incredible abundance of fruits, vegetables and violet carson roses. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'm glad Prothero let room five have a go at the gardening project. He is quite proficient. Prothero was reluctant to allow an inmate access to the tool and chemical supply at first but now the fat toad is delighted. The crop has almost doubled. She traces the petals of a rose with her finger. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He also grows roses. Beautiful roses.", "INT.  LARKHILL LOUNGE - NIGHT - FLASHBACK Dr. Surridge and several other Larkhill appointees relax after dinner. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- December 24th : I was in the mess. It was about half past ten when we heard the first explosion. A massive explosion shakes the building to its very core, its windows shattering and hooded pendulum lights swinging.", "EXT.  LARKHILL LOUNGE - NIGHT - FLASHBACK Men and women clutch at their throats as they tumble out into the yard. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The ones at the front ran straight into the gas. It was horrible. They drop to the ground, gasping and vomiting. The back door is kicked open, Dr. Surridge following two guards. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- A few of us made it out through the rear door. You could hear men screaming everywhere. I hate the sound of men screaming. She looks out, men running, collapsing, dying in a yellow green haze that seems everywhere. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- In the center of the camp, everything was on fire. Everyone running in all directions. We had hardly enough time to get our bearings when the ovens exploded. Another explosion wracks the compound. The pillar of flame rises into the black sky, dwarfing the men in the camp. Dr. Surridge sees a gaping hole in the medical block, its insides turned out like an unholy birth. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It was the man in room rive. I could n't have known. The chemical supplies, grease solvents, ammonia, fertilizer. He'd been making things with them. Close on a soldier, doubled over, hacking up bile. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Mustard gas. A sticky blue fire licks up from a blackened body like a dura flame. DELIA And napalm. Dr. Surridge turns as a silhouette crosses the yard, backlit by a curtain of fire. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And in the yard, I saw him. He had the flames behind him. He was naked. The man stops. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He looked at me. Dr. Surridge seems to wilt under his stare but can not look away. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- As if I were an insect. Oh god. As if I were something mounted on a slide. The flames convulse hypnotically behind him. DELIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He looked at me.", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE Finch snaps Dr. Surridge's journal shut. He sits in front of the Leader's desk puffing on his pipe while Susan stares coldly. FINCH That's the last entry until six months later when Dr. Surridge is back in London. There is no mention of the man in room five again. End of story. He tosses the journal on Susan's desk. FINCH Except that it was n't the end of the story. Finch rises, crossing to the wastebasket. FINCH Between 2009 and 2012, over forty men and women who were previously stationed at Larkhill met with what were believed to be accidental deaths. Eventually, only three remained. He taps his pipe into his hand, pouring the contents into the wastebasket. FINCH The three he'd been saving until last. Finch brushes the ashes from his hands and begins repacking his pipe. FINCH Everyone who worked at Larkhill. Everyone who could have identified him. You see there are two possible motives here. Not one. Susan raises his head. FINCH The first is revenge. He escapes from Larkhill and vows to get even with his tormentors. The whole exercise an elaborate, chilling vendetta. When he finishes repacking the pipe, he replaces it in his mouth. FINCH That's the explanation that I find most reassuring, funnily enough. Because that means he's finished. It's over now. Finch begins relighting his pipe. FINCH The second motive is more sinister. Like I said, everyone who could have identified him is dead. A flame leaps into the air. FINCH What if he's just been clearing the ground? Another burst. FINCH What if he's planning something else? The lighter slips back into his pocket. FINCH You see, the diary we found was in full view. We did n't have to search for it. He left it there. He wanted us to find it. He wanted us to know the story. Or. Finch returns to his chair, letting out a huge cloud. FINCH For all we know, the diary could be a complete and utter fake. Codename V could have written it himself. Finch leans forward. FINCH He's playing games with us. He might never have been at Larkhill at all. Do you see? It could all be another smoke screen, a false trail, another cover story - LEADER Enough! Susan punches the desk. LEADER Mr. Finch, would you please explain to me the nature of this meeting?! Because I was under the impression that you had some information about the terrorist, codename V! And punches it again until his fist hurts. LEADER No more questions, understand! I want answers! I am not interested in where he grew up, what kind of flowers he likes or his favorite color! Susan's collar chokes his face to an unnatural crimson. LEADER Do I make myself clear? FINCH Yes, Leader. After a moment, Finch stands, Susan hanging on his last word. LEADER Dismissed. England prevails, Mr. Finch. Finch turns, Susan calling after him as he leaves. LEADER Mr. Finch, the girl. Do you have anything on the girl? Finch pauses at the door. FINCH No, Leader. Not yet.", "INT.  CELL Evey stirs as voices drift in from the hall outside her door. MAN Wake up, cow. Three guards are silhouetted in the doorway of a cramped jail cell. Still sluggish from the chloroform, Evey looks down at the coarse slipover she's now wearing. One of the men, Rossiter, crosses toward Evey, swinging a pair of shackles. He grabs Evey, slamming her face down into the hard cot, driving a knee between her shoulder blades. Evey screams. GUARD 1 Tsk. This pathetic whore is the famous Miss Hammond? The shackles bite down on her wrists as they laugh in the hall. EVEY You've made a mistake. Rossiter stands her up, shoving her into the wall. ROSSITER Shut up. EVEY Please. I have n't done anything - He slides a thick hood over her head. ROSSITER I said shut your hole!", "INT.  INTERROGATION ROOM The hood is lifted from her head. Evey squints hard, awash in a blinding, burning light. A man sits, unmoving, at a desk across from her, a guard at his side, both backlit by a harsh white kliegs. Evey's eyes start to water as she blinks. INTERROGATOR Do you know why you're here. Evey Hammond? EVEY No, please, I did n't do anything. INTERROGATOR Allow me to be more precise. Did you participate in the murder of Dr. Delia Surridge? EVEY No. INTERROGATOR Did you participate in the murder of Derek Almond, director of the Finger? EVEY No, I - INTERROGATOR Did you participate in the murder of Bishop Anthony Lilliman? EVEY Oh god, I do n't - INTERROGATOR Have you ever participated in a terrorist act against your country? EVEY No - INTERROGATOR What is the identity of codename V? EVEY I do n't know. INTERROGATOR You are a lying cunt. A monitor next to the desk lights up. From the snowy static, an image begins to form. A girl is talking to a man. She is shoving her hips at him, propositioning him. When more men appear from the alley, Evey realizes she is watching herself. EVEY They were going to rape me, kill me - Rossiter grabs a handful of her hair. ROSSITER Shut up. She swallows hard when she sees V emerge on the screen. The image freezes on his smiling face. INTERROGATOR This board will not tolerate any more of your lies, Miss Hammond. We have over 120 minutes of audio and videotape and 75 pages of testimonials from eye witness that identify you as an accomplice to the terrorist, codename V. The monitor blinks off. INTERROGATOR Do you want to know why you're here? You are formally being brought up on charges of murder on fourteen counts and sedition against your Leader and country which brings an automatic sentence of death. EVEY Please. I did n't do anything. INTERROGATOR Process the prisoner and return her to her cell until she is more cooperative. Rossiter slips the hood back over Evey's head.", "INT.  PROCESSING ROOM Evey cries as a rough hand runs a pair of electric clippers over her head. Huge sheaves of her hair fall to the ground.", "INT.  CELL Evey lies crumpled on the hard floor, unmoving, as a tray of food is slid through a slot at the bottom of the door. She watches as a rat crosses from a hole in the wall, sniffing the murky rendered gelatin in the wooden bowl.", "INT.  PROCESSING ROOM Evey hangs limply from a set of manacles as she is washed and deloused by heavy hands. She coughs in the yellow bug powder cloud as it burns her eyes and the red welts on her back.", "INT.  CELL Evey is curled up on the cot like a dry fetus, now gaunt arms wrapped around her legs. She blinks when she hears something moving in the rat hole. Evey raises her head as something is pushed through the crevice. Tentative fingers search the hole, pulling out a length of toilet paper. Over every inch of it is a delicately scrawled message. We move into the rathole, its edges slowly filling the frame until black.", "EXT.  INTERROGATION ROOM Pull back from a shadow, the outline of the interrogator's silhouette against sharp light coming into frame. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I read her letter. Hid it. Slept. Woke. They questioned me. And I read her letter again. Rossiter is buckling Evey's thin arms and legs into a chair. Her now frail frame can barely hold up the frayed brown slipover. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Over and over. On the table in front of her, there is a large wash basin of water. Rossiter dunks her head into it. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Her name was Valerie.", "INT.  CLASSROOM - DAY - FLASHBACK A teacher reads from her lesson plan in front of rows and rows of uniformed pubescences in this all girl private school. Her voice drones on and on like Muzak. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I was born in a rainy burg in Nottingham in 1975. I passed my eleven plus and went to girl's grammar. A blonde tomboy sneaks a smile to her curly haired friend next to her. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I met my first girlfriend at school. Her name was Sara. Her wrists. Her wrists were beautiful. Her hand slides across the desk, fingers tickling the young flesh of Sara's wrist. The teacher's voice slows, dropping octaves, becoming -", "INT.  BIOLOGY LAB - DAY - FLASHBACK A man's voice. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I sat in biology class staring at the pickled rabbit fetus while Mr. Herd said it was an adolescent phase that people outgrew. Valerie looks at Sara across the room, her head down in shame. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sara did. I did n't.", "INT.  LIVING ROOM - DAY - FLASHBACK Two teenage girls stand in front of a middle aged couple. They are holding hands. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- In 1994, I stopped pretending and took a girl called Christine home to meet my parents. The greying woman repeats the sign of the cross over and over, sobbing into a handkerchief. Her husband's face is contorted in disgust. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- A week later I moved to London to go to college and study drama. My mother said I broke her heart.", "EXT.  PARK - DAY - FLASHBACK Two young women cuddle on a park bench under a London summer sky, feeding the pigeons. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But it was my integrity that was important. Is that so selfish? It sells for so little but it's all we have left in this place. The black haired girl nibbles on the blonde's ear. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It is the very last inch of us.", "INT.  INTERROGATION ROOM Evey struggles against Rossiter's weight who keeps her head submerged. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But within that inch we are free. INTERROGATOR Enough. Rossiter wrenches back and Evey sucks hard for air, coughing out water. INTERROGATOR Now Miss Hammond, let us review the facts. Evey stares at him, eyes red, heart pounding in her ears. INTERROGATOR You work for codename V. Codename V killed Delia Surridge and then Derek Almond with your help and that is why you were found outside her home. Evey begins to shake her head, water sluicing off her thin face. INTERROGATOR Is n't that what happened, Miss Hammond? EVEY No. No, that is n't true - INTERROGATOR Oh dear, Rossiter? Rossiter grabs Evey's neck - EVEY No, wait! Plunging her head into the bowl. Water fills Evey's nose and ears. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- London. I was happy in London.", "INT.  THEATRE - NIGHT - FLASHBACK The packed house watches as a Prince kneels before a woman's bare foot with a slipper of glass. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I played Dandini in Cinderella. The woman glances into the dark sea of faces. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The world was strange and rustling with invisible crowds behind the hot lights and all that breathless glamour.", "EXT.  MEADOW - DAY - FLASHBACK Two women weep in each other's arms, embracing in a perfect knee high meadow. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Work improved. I got small film roles, then bigger ones. The blonde woman brushes away a tear from the other's cheek. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- In 2006, I starred in `` The Salt Flats.'' That's where I met Ruth. We fell in love. We pull back and see we are on location for a movie and the two women are being filmed.", "INT.  CONDO - NIGHT - FLASHBACK Ruth and Valerie sit on the couch watching television. On the table behind them is a bouquet of violet carson roses. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Every Valentine's Day she sent me roses and, oh god, we had so much. Those were the best three years of my life. The two women stare at the newscast in tears, the sound of marching coming from the set's speakers. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- In 2010, they came.", "EXT.  LONDON STREET - DAY - FLASHBACK The sound of marching explodes as columns of men in brown uniforms and jack boots fill the streets. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And after that there were no more roses.", "INT.  INTERROGATION ROOM Rossiter presses his elbow onto Evey's neck, holding her submerged. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Not for anybody. Rossiter lets Evey up. Her red burnt lungs gulp at the air. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- After the takeover, they started rounding up the gays. They took Ruth while she was out looking for food. Evey blinks hard, black fireworks exploding in her eyes. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Why are they so frightened of us? She wheezes, on the edge of unconsciousness. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- They burned her face with cigarettes and made her give them my name. She signed a statement saying I'd seduced her. The interrogator's voice melts into a slag heap of sound with the hot, rhythmic pounding in her ears. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I did n't blame her. God, I loved her but I did n't blame her. Rossiter uncuffs Evey, slipping the black bag over her head. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But she did. Evey's knees buckle as he forces her to stand. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She killed herself in her cell. She could n't live with betraying me, with giving up that last inch. Oh, Ruth. Evey weaves down the hall. Rossiter shoving her from behind. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- They came for me. They shaved off my hair. They held my head down a toilet and told lesbian jokes. They brought me here and pumped me full of chemicals. The cell door swings open. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I ca n't feel my tongue. I ca n't speak. Rossiter yanks the hood from her head and pushes her in. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It is strange that my life should end in such a terrible place but for three years I had roses and apologized to nobody. The iron door slams shut, lock ringing in the stale air. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I shall die here. Every inch of me shall perish. Evey rolls to her knees. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Except one. She crawls for the rat hole. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- An inch. It is small and fragile and it's the only thing in the world that's worth having. Her shaking hand pulls the letter from the stone crevice. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We must never lose it or sell it or give it away. We must never let them take it from us. Evey clutches it like a rosary as she begins to cry. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I do n't know who you are but I hope you escape this place. I hope that the world turns and things get better and that one day people have roses again. She holds the note to her face, her tears soaking into the fragile paper. VALERIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I do n't know who you are but I love you. I love you. Valerie. Slowly, Evey slips away, succumbing to blackness. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I had come to know every inch of those four walls in that dark hell and they knew every inch of me. Every inch.", "INT.  INTERROGATION ROOM Loud lights blare against Evey's solemn face. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Except one. A typed document sits on a small tray table in front of her. INTERROGATOR `` My name is Evey Hammond. On the 5th of November 2019, I was abducted by the terrorist known as codename V and then taken against my will to an unknown location.'' Rossiter hovers just behind her as the Interrogator reads her confession. INTERROGATOR `` Once there, I was systematically brainwashed by means physical and psychological. I was frequently subjected to sexual abuse during this period.'' Evey's expression is unchanging. INTERROGATOR `` Eventually I was terrorized into helping him commit the murders of Derek Almond, Dr. Delia Surridge, and Anthony Lilliman, Bishop of Westminster.'' Rossiter drops a pen on the table. INTERROGATOR `` I, the undersigned, swear that the above statement is genuine and that it was not signed by means of intimidation.'' The pen slowly rocks to a stop. INTERROGATOR We'd like you to sign that for us, Miss Hammond. Where we've put the little cross. She blinks. EVEY No. INTERROGATOR As you wish. Rossiter begins unbuckling Evey's restraints. INTERROGATOR Escort Miss Hammond back to her cell, Rossiter, where she will wait while you arrange a wet detail of six men. He forces Evey to her feet. INTERROGATOR Then take her out behind the chemical sheds and shoot her.", "INT.  CELL The door opens behind Evey as she rereads Valerie's letter for the last time. ROSSITER It's time, unless you want to change your mind. She holds the tattered piece of toilet paper to her chest. ROSSITER Sign that statement. You could be out inside three years. Perhaps they'd find you a job with the Finger. Evey closes her eyes. EVEY Thank you but I'd rather die behind the chemical sheds. Her last words hang in the air. ROSSITER Then there's nothing left to threaten you with, is there? You are free. He turns and leaves. EVEY What? She listens as his footsteps fade down the hall, the door hanging weirdly open. Evey takes a few tentative steps toward the door and sticks her head out into the empty hall, peering down both ways. Slowly, she emerges from her cell, retracing her path down the hall that her blindfold never allowed her to see. Quietly inching along the wall, Evey peeks around a corner, gasping at the rigid guard standing off to the side. There is something about the man's frozen stare that keeps her from running. Evey straightens and crosses to the guard. It is a mannequin. She touches him, the wheeled platform he is mounted on rolling back against the wall.", "INT.  INTERROGATION ROOM The door creaks open as Evey enters the room where for so long she was questioned and tortured. She crosses to the frozen Interrogator sitting at his desk. Her finger brushes lightly against the plastic hand, then Evey raps a knuckle on his hollow wooden head. Around his neck a small speaker hangs from a cord. Evey drifts uneasily into a back room where a discarded prison guard's uniform hangs on a rack. On a table next to a wig and pair of gloves, the rat looks up at her through the bars of its tiny cage. She moves through another door, the wind suddenly knocked from her chest as she finally sees where her prison was built -", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY V steps from the shadows. V Welcome home, Evey. EVEY You. Her mouth hangs open. EVEY You did this. to me. Evey's rail thin figure begins to shake. EVEY You did this to me! She stumbles against the wall, unable to support herself. EVEY You - You hit me and - and cut my hair. It was you. It was just you all this time. She doubles over, covering her face as she bursts into tears. EVEY You tortured me. You tortured me - Evey looks up at him, body shivering as he quietly glides toward her. EVEY Oh god, why? V Because I love you, Evey. Because I wanted to set you free. EVEY Love? A look of horror twists her starved face. EVEY Set me free? Do n't you realize? Slender fingers ball into fists. EVEY Do n't you realize what you did to me? You nearly drove me mad! Disgust and anger light up her eyes. EVEY I hate you. Her little, wiry body coils tight as she circles him. EVEY I hate you! Set me free? You put me in a prison to set me free?! V You were already in a prison. You've been in a prison all your life. EVEY Shut up! I do n't want to hear it. I was n't in a prison. I was happy! I was happy here - V Happiness is the most insidious prison of all, Evey. EVEY That's warped! That's evil and it's wrong! What gives you the right to judge? Who are you to say what's not good enough?! V You were born in a prison, Evey. I did n't put you there. I just showed you the bars. You've been in a prison so long, you no longer believe there's an outside world. She wheels away from him, covering her ears, trying to get away from his voice. EVEY Shut up! You're mad! I do n't want to hear it! V That's because you're afraid, Evey. You're afraid because you can feel freedom closing in on you. You're afraid because freedom is terrifying. Evey falls, stumbling through the labyrinth of the Shadow Gallery. EVEY I ca n't feel anything! There's nothing left to feel! Do n't you understand? V Do n't back away from it, Evey. Part of you understands the truth even as part pretends not to. She collapses, head pounding. V Woman, this is the most important moment in your life. Do n't run from it. EVEY I do n't know what - Oh god - I ca n't breathe - V couches next to her. V Good. You're almost there. Go closer. Feel the shape of it. EVEY What are you doing to me? I ca n't breathe - V You were in a cell. They offered you a choice between the death of your principles and the death of your body. He cradles her as she hyperventilates, tears streaming down her face. EVEY I feel - I feel like I'm going to burst. V You said you'd rather die. You faced the fear of your own death and you were calm. Try to feel now what you felt then. EVEY Oh god - I felt - The mask hovers over her. EVEY Like an angel - He squeezes her shuddering body. EVEY Oh god, V, I'm so scared. What's happening to me? V The door of the cage is open, Evey. All that you feel is the wind from outside. Do n't be afraid. Gently, he lifts her. V Try to walk. The lift will take us to the roof. EVEY The roof? Outside? He helps her to an open elevator. EVEY I - I do n't want to be blindfolded. V No, Evey. No more blindfolds. The cage in the elevator rattles shut.", "EXT.  ROOF - NIGHT The two figures stand in the door of the roof access, a raging tempest oozing from a split sky. Something draws Evey out into the storm. Slowly, she walks beneath it, the wind and rain pounding against her thin frame. Evey lets the coarse slipover fall to the ground and stares straight up into the storm, naked, the elements soaking into her very being. V moves up behind her. V Do you feel it? EVEY Everything's so - different. V I know. Five years ago, I too stared beneath a night like this. Naked under a roaring sky. A low rumble of thunder washes over London. V The night is yours, Evey. Seize it. Encircle it within your arms. His words buffet against her with the sheets of rain. V Bury it in your heart up to the hilt. She raises her arms to embrace the raging torrent. V Become transfixed and transfigured - A jagged bolt of lightning shatters the sky. V Forever.", "EXT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING Finch gets out of a police car and looks up the black face of the modern building. He sighs and taps his pipe against the heel of his shoe. DASCOMBE Finch! Finch turns to find Dascombe hurrying towards him. DASCOMBE Do you know what this is all about? FINCH No, but I can guess. DASCOMBE What? FINCH `` Remember, remember, the fifth of November.'' DASCOMBE Oh come on. He's long gone. He has to be. He did what he came to do and it's over. Finch chews on his pipe. DASCOMBE Is n't it? FINCH Not for us. He turns and heads into the building. FADE OUT.", "EXT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING - DAY A dark November sky hangs like a shroud over the building. LEADER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- A year, gentlemen.", "INT.  COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM The heads of each department are gathered around a table of black granite. Peter Creedy, sitting back out of the lights, is the new head of the Finger. LEADER I have given you almost a year and you have given me nothing. Nothing! He glares at Finch. DASCOMBE Now Adam, there is no one better than Finch and you know it. LEADER Yes, Mr. Dascombe, I do know it. It is that very fact that keeps me awake at night, wondering if perhaps there is a reason that Mr. Finch has failed. FINCH What are you saying? LEADER I'm saying that perhaps I do n't know you as well as I thought I did. FINCH Are you asking for my resignation? LEADER No, I am asking for some goddamn results! DASCOMBE It's not Finch's fault, Adam. CONRAD We've all been looking. The man simply disappeared. ETHERIDGE Vanished. DASCOMBE He's gone, Adam. It's over. The Leader trembles like a volcano set to blow. LEADER It's over, is it? He's gone. Vanished, you say? The Leader grabs a large box from the floor and hurls reams of computer printout across the table. LEADER Transcripts recorded over the last thirty days in which the terrorist was talked about or mentioned in a positive context. This is only thirty days! He punches a `` play'' button and a wall of monitors blink on. It is a recording of a television variety show. A character that is made to look like Adam Susan is giving a speech. A woman is dressed like V except that the only thing she is wearing under her cloak is a garter belt, stockings and high heels. V sneaks up behind Susan and yanks his pants down. Susan is outraged but when he gives chase he trips over his pants. The audience hoots and howls. The Leader kills the tape. LEADER Is this what you consider, `` disappeared?'' DASCOMBE For god's sake, Adam, it's a stupid variety show. LEADER Mr. Creedy, I want the producers, writers, and actors of that `` stupid variety show'' arrested and charged with sedition. CREEDY Yes, sir. DASCOMBE You ca n't be serious - LEADER Push me, Roger, push me and you'll find out how serious I am. He stares each of them to silence. LEADER This, this V is still out there. I can feel him like a sickness worming its way into the hearts and minds of the public. Something must be done, and done quickly, to exorcise this demon for the very soul of this country is at stake. He pauses. LEADER That is why I am compelled to give each and every one of you notice that if by the fifth of November you are still giving me nothing more than excuses, I will have to revoke your party status and terminate your positions. Everyone is stunned. LEADER Mr. Creedy, I will speak with you in private. The rest of you are dismissed. England prevails.", "INT.  LEADER'S PRIVATE QUARTERS The Leader stands at the window. LEADER Mr. Creedy, as the new head of the Finger, you are the most important member of my cabinet. CREEDY I, uh, appreciate your faith in me. LEADER Your predecessor, Mr. Almond, was a good man, a man who understood what strength in unity meant, a man who, above all, loved his country. I need to know if you are such a man. His eyes bore into him. LEADER Do you love your country, Mr. Creedy?", "EXT.  ALLEYWAY A police car is parked in a dark alley. It is raining and the windows of the car are completely steamed. CREEDY Oh god, yes! He is sweating, his knuckles white as he squeezes the steering wheel, panting. We hear a noise like a very wet kiss and then a woman's voice. HELEN `` The most important member of my cabinet.'' Yes it is, is n't it, dear? Helen lifts her head out of his lap. Her lipstick is smeared about her mouth. CREEDY Oh, do n't stop. HELEN I stop when you stop. What did he say next? CREEDY I ca n't - She whispers in his ear while playing with his lap. HELEN Come on, Peter, what are you afraid of? Almond used to tell me everything and you're twice the man he was. CREEDY He asked me. if I loved my country. HELEN Oh yes, I can tell you do love your country, almost as much as you love this. She lowers her head into this lap. CREEDY Oh god. HELEN Go on. CREEDY Then he asked me to do something. oh, oh. HELEN What? CREEDY Helen, I ca n't. I ca n't tell you. Helen lifts her head. HELEN He told you to frame someone as the terrorist. CREEDY My god?! How did you know that? HELEN I know Adam Susan. Now who was it? CREEDY No way. I ca n't tell you that. HELEN Yes you can, honey. You can and you will. You have to trust me, love. We're going to help each other. CREEDY Helen, please. HELEN Look at that face. You see? You're just bursting to tell me. Her head drops back down. Creedy moans. HELEN Now who was it? CREEDY It was. Fi. Fi. FINCH! The name seems to orgasm from his mouth.", "INT.  FINCH'S APARTMENT Finch sits alone in his modest apartment, reading a book. The book is Koesterler's, `` The Roots of Coincidence.'' An old CD player is playing music, a Bach piano concerto.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY V is playing the exact same concerto on his piano, his gloved fingers gracefully flitting across the keys. Evey enters the gallery. Her hair has grown out but is still short. She projects a kind of strength that comes from a deep inner peace. V coaxes the final delicate notes and lets them softly fade. EVEY That was beautiful. She walks up to him and takes the smiling face in her hands. EVEY I've wanted to do this for a long time. She bends and gently kisses the frozen lips. EVEY Thank you, V. Thank you for everything you've done for me. V You did it all yourself, Evey. I just provided the backdrop but the drama was all your own. EVEY It was a good backdrop. I believed it. I really did. It's still a bit hard for me to accept that it was n't real. That it was just you. Especially the letter. She takes the letter from her pocket. EVEY It is a beautiful letter, V. Every time I read it I could feel Valerie, almost like she was holding me. I believed in her most of all. I believed that she loved me and I loved her back. She looks down. EVEY I feel a bit foolish telling you this. I know that you must have written it and thought you should have it back. V But I did n't write that letter, Evey. EVEY What? V Come with me.", "INT.  VALERIE'S ROOM It is a shrine. The walls are covered with movie posters and reviews and pictures of an actresses named Valerie Page. We recognize her as the woman chosen for the medical block just before V. Everywhere there are flower boxes filled with blooming roses ; violet carsons. EVEY Valerie? V Yes. Valerie Page. She was the woman in room four. EVEY She's beautiful. V She wrote the letter just before she died. I delivered it to you as it was delivered to me. The words you wept over were the same words that transformed me. Evey smiles and bends to smell the roses. EVEY Roses. You grew them for her. V Yes. EVEY They're beautiful. V Evey, do you know what day it is? EVEY Two days before the first day we met. V You remembered. EVEY You're planning something, are n't you, V? V You know me too well now. EVEY What are you going to do? V I'm going to fulfill an old promise. Evey cocks an eyebrow. V I'll show you.", "INT.  UNDERGROUND STAIRWELL Carrying a lantern, V leads Evey down a dark stone staircase. EVEY I've never been here before. V Yes. It is the deepest part of my home. Once you know it, I should think you'll know everything. He pushes a button and a secret passage opens in a heavy stone wall. There is a small narrow series of passageways that he guides her through, leading to another door. Evey steps out into an underground subway station.", "INT.  VICTORIA STATION Parked beside the concrete platform is a beautiful antique train car. EVEY Oh, V, it's lovely. Where on earth did you find it? V In a way, I suppose it really found me. Evey steps into the train car and finds it filled with little packages wrapped in wax paper. EVEY What's in these packages? V Gelignite. She screams and almost drops one. V Careful. EVEY What are you going to do with all of it? V I told you. I'm going to finish what was started four hundred years ago. EVEY Where does this train go? V This is the old Victoria line but it is blocked, blocked somewhere between Whitehall and St. James. EVEY Whitehall. V, that's the New Government Building. V nods. EVEY But the underground has been shut down for years. How are you going to make it run without any power? V I just thought I might ask them to turn it on for me.", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE The Leader sits bathed in the flickering images of the Fate computer. LEADER Yes, Mr. Creedy? CREEDY Everything's set, sir. No worries. LEADER When? CREEDY Tonight. On one of the screens, a television program has just begun. ANNOUNCER Tonight on Tales from the Bible, a story of treachery and betrayal from the Book of Daniel. We cut from that screen to another screen -", "INT.  JORDAN TOWER - CONTROL BOOTH The television studio where Roger Dascombe surveys a large bank of monitors filled with the images of typically vapid television entertainment. DASCOMBE All of London's waiting. Ready, two. And here we go - A player locks on as a recorded program begins. We move in as the logo slashes across the screen : Storm Saxon. ANNOUNCER Tonight, England's greatest hero repels the forces of darkness in a brand new episode. We pull back from the show's opening teaser and find ourselves looking at a small television.", "INT.  JORDAN TOWER In the delivery bay at the back of Jordan tower, five security guards are riveted to the heroic actions of Storm Saxon. HEIDI Oh, Storm. Save me! Save me! STORM You mongrel trash, if you harm her! MONGREL TRASH Look out, de white debil has a laser lugar! Behind them, a shadowy figure in a cloak and tall hat enters the loading bay. GUARD Hey, what the -? They all turn and find a smiling V. They go for their weapons. V goes for them. It is brutal and quick, knives slicing in bloody arcs, bodies kicked and thrown with superhuman power. The TV crashes to the ground and we move in at it as Storm Saxon stands triumphant beside his buxom lass. HEIDI Oh Storm, hold me. Hold me tight. We pull back on another television screen inside -", "INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE Dominic is chewing on a hamburger, engrossed in Storm Saxon. Across the room, Finch is reading the `` Roots of Coincidence.'' FINCH I do n't know how you stand that tripe. Dominic answers with a mouthful of cheeseburger. DOMINIC Es gooh. Finch shakes his head, reaching for his pipe. He realizes he is out of tobacco. He slides open the bottom desk drawer and his eyes almost pop out of his head. He stares into the drawer like someone staring at his own tombstone. DOMINIC Finch? Finch, what's wrong? Slowly, he lifts something from the drawer. On his desk, he lays out several knives, a cloak, a hat, and a smiling mask. DOMINIC What the hell? Finch lifts the mask and almost has to laugh. FINCH Do n't you see, Dominic? He puts the mask to his face. FINCH I'm V.", "INT.  JORDAN TOWER V emerges from an elevator and immediately attacks several more guards. A surveillance camera watches as V steps over their slumped, broken bodies.", "INT.  CONTROL CENTER The security guard sees V on the monitor coming directly down the hall. GUARD Bloody hell! He grabs the machine gun, aiming it just as V kicks open the door. GUARD Freeze! V stops. At least five guards have trained their weapons on him. He is surrounded. Slowly, he lifts his arms as though surrendering. His cloak opens, revealing enough TNT to level the entire building. In his hand is the plunger detonator. GUARD Fuck all. V nods.", "INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE The door bursts open as Creedy and a group of heavily armed Fingermen muscle in. DOMINIC Creedy? What the hell's going on? CREEDY I'm here to arrest Mr. Finch for acts of treason and terrorism. DOMINIC You ca n't be serious. CREEDY If I were you, boy, I'd shut my hole unless you want to start explaining why you did n't say nothing about Mr. Finch's secret identity.", "INT.  JORDAN TOWER V follows Roger Dascombe into the main control booth. The door shuts behind them and they are alone. All around them are the laugh tracks and gunshots of the evening's entertainment. V puts his hand into his cloak and pulls out a videotape. He hands it to Dascombe.", "INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE Finch glares at Creedy. FINCH Why do n't you just shoot me, Creedy? Would n't that make everything a lot simpler? CREEDY Yeah, I suppose it would. Creedy smiles, his finger tightening on the trigger when - DOMINIC Holy Christ! Creedy, you stupid ape! If Finch is V then tell me who is that? He points at the television where V sits calmly at a desk in front of the `` VTV'' logo. V Good evening, London. CREEDY Bloody fuckin' hell. V I thought it was time we had a little talk. FINCH He has to be at Jordan tower. Come on! Finch and Dominic rush out of the room. Creedy looks at his confused men. CREEDY Do n't just stand there! Follow them!", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE V smiles at the horrified Adam Susan. V Are you sitting comfortably? Good. Then I'll begin. The Leader screams, pounding on Fate. LEADER Damn you! Damn you! He hits the intercom. LEADER Lieutenant, ready my transport. I want every armed man within a hundred miles at Jordan tower. Now! We move in at VTV. V Right now, I imagine there are hundreds of soldiers rushing here to kill me because someone does not want us to talk. We pull back in -", "INT.  LIVING ROOM A family watching television. In the background, two children are squabbling. MOTHER Hush. Turn it up. The husband does. V's voice gets louder as we move towards him. V They are afraid that I am going to say the things that are not supposed to be said. They are afraid that I am going to say the truth.", "INT.  APARTMENT A man sits on his couch, mesmerized by V. V The truth is that there is something terribly wrong with this country, is n't there? If you look about, you witness cruelty, injustice and despotism. But what do you do about it? What can you do? He pops his beer tab and the beer foams over the couch but he does n't seem to notice.", "INT.  FINCH'S POLICE CAR The car races wildly towards Jordan tower as Finch and Dominic listen to the broadcast on the radio. V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You are but a single individual. How can you possible make any difference? Individuals have no power in this modern world. That is what you've been taught because that is what they need you to believe. But it is not true.", "INT.  LEADER'S TRANSPORT The Leader seethes, staring at three television monitors in his limo which are all filled with V. V This is why they are afraid and the reason that I am here ; to remind you that it is individuals who always hold the power. The real power. Individuals like me. And individuals like you.", "INT.  KITTY KAT KELLER The bar is almost completely soundless except for the voice of V. People stare at the television as if the moment were somehow suspended in time. V I have come to offer you a deal. If you accept, I will give you a different world. A world without curfews, without soldiers and surveillance systems. A world that is not run by other men but that is run by you. I am offering you a second chance.", "EXT.  JORDAN TOWER The military forces have begun to swarm. V Four hundred years ago, a great citizen made a most significant contribution to our common culture. It was a contribution forged in secrecy and stealth although it is best remembered in noise and bright light.", "EXT.  TELEVISION STORE A crowd has gathered, watching through the window. V To commemorate that glorious night at precisely the stroke of midnight, the edifice of their world will erupt with enough sound and fury to shake the earth. All I ask is that you join me at the gates to watch as the past is erased, the pathway cleared so that together we can start toward a new day.", "EXT.  JORDAN TOWER The Leader climbs out of his limo and is met by one of his captains. LEADER I want this man dead! I want him shot on sight! CAPTAIN Yes, sir.", "INT.  FINCH'S CAR Finch can see the forces gathering outside Jordan tower. V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But, you ask, who am I to make such promises? A fair question but hardly necessary as you know me already. To know me any more you need only look to a mirror. Finch catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror.", "INT.  CONTROL BOOTH VTV fills every screen. V Truth be told, this was n't even my idea, was it? If you think back, you'll remember that night, whispering in your lover's arms. I became a part of your plan just as you have now become part of mine. Give me the line of the queen and I'll give you your secret dream.", "INT.  JORDAN TOWER - HALLWAY A heavy battering ram is rushed down the hall, carried by four soldiers. V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- On the twelfth stroke of the fifth day of the eleventh month, I hope we shall all meet again.", "EXT.  TELEVISION STORE The crowd is much larger. V Until then, I bid you goodnight. Every screen suddenly goes black. The crowd turns to each other, unsure of what to do.", "INT.  CONTROL BOOTH The door explodes open. V is standing alone, almost as if waiting for them. Before he can even move, they shoot. Machine gun fire lights up the room. V's body dances and jerks backward, smashing through an observation window - Falling to the television stage below.", "INT.  HALL A path is cleared for the Leader. As he heads into the television studio, an armed soldier is heading in the opposite direction. It is impossible to tell because of the dark face plate but it looks like the soldier is smiling. The Leader shoves his way onto the main stage. A group of soldiers is gathered around the body. LEADER Who was it? Who was he? The mask is pried off, revealing the lifeless face of Roger Dascombe. To the Leader, it is an obvious revelation. LEADER Roger Dascombe! Of course. Of course! It makes such perfect sense. CAPTAIN Sir, I think there has been a mistake. LEADER No! There is no mistake! CAPTAIN But sir, there are people that say they saw both the terrorist and Dascombe together - LEADER Who? Who are these people? They must be detained immediately. Whatever they saw or whatever they think they saw is subordinate to the truth and that truth is that Roger Dascombe is the terrorist and the terrorist is dead! FINCH But I thought I was the terrorist. Finch's voice stops the Leader cold. LEADER Finch, what are you doing here? FINCH Since I'm not in jail and since you have another, even more convenient suspect. I'm guessing the charges have been dropped. LEADER Be careful, Finch. FINCH I am careful, sir. Always. That is why I suggest that a search of this building begin immediately. LEADER The terrorist is dead! FINCH With all due respect, I disagree and I believe that he is presently trying to get out of this building disguised as one of us. LEADER Are you challenging my authority? FINCH No sir, I'm trying to run an investigation - LEADER I am trying to run a country! When I tell you, Mr. Finch, the terrorist is dead, then the terrorist is dead! If you continue to suggest otherwise then you will leave me no choice but to have you arrested on charges of sedition. Do I make myself clear? He eyes the room. Everyone is silent. LEADER Now, it is imperative for the people of London to know that they are safe, that the terrorist is dead and everything is under control. The Leader storms past Finch who looks at Dascombe and bites down on his pipe.", "EXT.  CITY STREET One of the Ear's black vans has been modified with large speakers wired to the roof. As the van rolls down the street, the speakers drone with a looped message. SPEAKERS The terrorist is dead. No further threat exists. Everything is under control. Out of the back, soldiers hurl leaflets that swirl and flutter in the van's wake. The little girl on the bicycle that we saw earlier stops and picks up one of the leaflets. It has a picture with the body of Roger Dascombe beneath the headline, `` The terrorist is dead! London is safe once again!'' LITTLE GIRL Bollocks. She crumbles the leaflet and throws it. LITTLE GIRL Bollocks! She gets off her bike and takes something out of the backpack. LITTLE GIRL He's not dead! It's all bollocks! Turning to a nearby wall, she spray paints a large circle around a `` V''.", "INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE A recording of VTV plays on the small television. V if you give me the line of the queen, I'll give you your secret dream. Dominic freezes the image ; V stares at them, smiling. FINCH Play it again. DOMINIC Come on, Finch. We've seen it fifty times. I mean, after what they done to you, I do n't know why we're even trying to stop him. Finch stares out the window. FINCH I do n't know. For twenty seven years, I've been at this job. Twenty seven years, I've done what I've been told to do. Maybe that's all there is to it. I'm just a dumb old dog. A dumb old dog that only knows one trick. DOMINIC That ai n't it, Finch. It's more than that. I know you. It's something personal with this one. Finch smiles. FINCH Maybe. And maybe I'm not ready for a revolution. DOMINIC Well, we got less than thirty hours to stop it. FINCH We will. DOMINIC How? FINCH It's on the tape. I know it. I can feel it. He did this for a reason. He needs something. DOMINIC What? FINCH The line of the Queen? DOMINIC But what does that mean? FINCH Maybe it's a line from Shakespeare. Or a book. I do n't know. He rewinds and starts the tape. V This was n't even my idea, was it? FINCH But right here. He's talking to someone. Someone specific. Someone who knows what he wants. V If you think back, you'll -", "INT.  CONRAD'S BEDROOM V continues on a different television. V Remember that night, whispering in your lover's arms. Helen Heyer is lying on her bed, eating chocolates, watching V through calculating eyes. At her feet, we hear a suckling noise that suddenly stops. CONRAD Helen? Helen, why did you want that tape? HELEN Shut up, Conrad. I'm thinking. She shoves her foot back into his mouth and he continues to suck on it and each of her toes. V now you've become a part of mine. HELEN How? How did you know that? Conrad moves up her ankle, licking and kissing his way to her knee. CONRAD Know what, my love? V Give me the line of the Queen and I'll give you your secret dream. She freezes the tape. Her eyes light up and she smiles back at him. HELEN All right. You have a deal. Conrad licks along the inside of her thigh until she slaps him. HELEN Oh no! Not you. Conrad. Not yet. Here you can have a chocolate. Open up. Open! She shoves the candy in his mouth. HELEN Good boy. As for the rest of the box, perhaps when you're Leader. She smiles. HELEN Right now I need something else Conrad. I need you to use that pretty little brain for me. You know all about the old underground, do n't you? He nods still gagged with the candy. HELEN I need to know everything, understand? Everything.", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE There are cameras set in front of the large black leather chair so that the flashing images and data of the Fate computer system can be seen behind the Leader. A makeup artist mattes down the Leader's lipstick. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Ready in five, Leader. The makeup artist adjusts one last hair and scurries off. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR In four, three. He points and the camera's red light goes on.", "INT.  LIVING ROOM The same family, the same squabbling children watching as a `` Special Bulletin'' interrupts a laugh track. LEADER Good evening London. As Leader of this great country, I felt it imperative to speak with you and to assure you once and for all that the shadow that recently fell across our land has indeed passed. WOMAN Oh, for fuck's sake.", "EXT.  TELEVISION STORE - NIGHT No one is watching. LEADER What we have endured this long year was no accident, no mere coincidence. This was not a simple act of terror conducted by a singular madman. No, this was a test.", "INT.  KITTY KAT KELLER A drunk struggles up onto his bar stool blocking the TV. LEADER It was not me, nor the Party, nor the government that was threatened this year. It was our beliefs. Our faith. I believe that God himself bore witness to our struggle and like Job I believe that we have been vindicated. The drunk raises his glass. DRUNK Remember fifth of November! The bar cheers.", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE The Leader reaches for his Bible. LEADER How do I know this? Let me read to you where I found the answer, where I so often find the answer. In the Scripture. Revelations.", "EXT.  STREET CORNER - NIGHT The megaphones blast the Leader's voice. LEADER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` If any man have an ear, let him hear.''", "INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE There are stacks of printout everywhere. LEADER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity ; he that killeth with the sword shall be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the Saints.'' Finch stops reading, listening to the radio. LEADER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` And I beheld another beast coming out of the Earth ; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spake as a dragon.''", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY Another radio crackles with the Leader's voice. LEADER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from Heaven on the Earth in the sight of men.'' V nods, almost laughing as Evey enters the gallery. LEADER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` And he deceiveth them that dwell on the Earth by the means of those miracles which he had the power to do -'' EVEY Oh, V, turn it off, please. V Of course, my dear. He reaches over and changes the frequency. We hear voices, hushed and secret but we recognize them. CREEDY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But how does he know? HELEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I do n't know. All I know is he does. And I know what he wants. The voices are labored, punctuated by gasps and moans. EVEY What is that, V? V That, Evey, is what I have been waiting for. CREEDY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Do you know what I want? I want you just like this. Bent over that black leather chair. We are pulled by the radio into -", "INT.  CREEDY'S BEDROOM Where we see a tiny microphone hidden in the ceiling light above the bed. Helen moans as we drift down, glimpsing Helen, her arms reaching for the edges of the bed, her back arching up towards Creedy, behind her, smiling. CREEDY What about Conrad? HELEN I told you, I'll handle Conrad and V will take care of Susan. The mob will take care of the guard and then. You can use the Finger to take over. CREEDY Use the Finger? You mean like this? He inserts a finger into her. HELEN Oh. oh. that is vulgar. CREEDY But you like it? HELEN Yes, oh yes, oh you're a pig, Peter. CREEDY That I am, misses. But I'm the pig that's gon na be running this country. That sends a shiver through Helen's body. HELEN Yes and I'm. I'm going to be Eva. Oh Eva. Her eyes close and her fists knot the sheets. HELEN `` Do n't cry for me Argen. oh Argen. Argen. tina! The word is almost lost in her orgasm.", "EXT.  LONDON The sun rises over London. It is the morning of the fourth.", "INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE Finch looks through the blinds at the morning sun. He has been up all night. He checks his watch : 6:00 am. FINCH Eighteen hours. Rubbing the knot in his neck, he turns back to his office which is now buried beneath mounds of paper. Dominic is passed out, sprawled on the couch, and clutching a printout from Spencer's `` Fairy Queen.'' FINCH Dominic! Dominic jumps, immediately searching the printout. FINCH Dominic, go home. DOMINIC But I've still got over three hundred lines from The Fairy Queen. FINCH Forget it. There's no more time. You go home and get some rest. You're going to need it tonight. Dominic lets the papers fall to the floor. DOMINIC He's got us, does n't he, Finch? FINCH Yes, he does.", "EXT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING Conrad pulls his car into his reserved space.", "INT.  CAR Helen holds Conrad's chin the way a mother holds a child when she is telling them something important. HELEN Now listen to me, Conrad. This is the most important moment of our lives. Everything I've worked and hoped for comes to this. Susan is a very dangerous man, especially now, that's why I need you, Conrad. I need you to be stronger than him. I need you to be the better man. Understand? Conrad nods. HELEN If you do this Conrad, and you do it right, I'm going to turn you from the little man I married into the man of my dreams. CONRAD Oh, Helen. He embraces her to kiss but she turns her perfectly painted lips. HELEN Not on the lips. Ardently, he kisses her cheek.", "INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE Finch sits alone, palms pressed to his bleary eyes. FINCH Give it up, old man. You're not even sure you want to stop him. With a red pen, he begins absently drawing red circles around any V he sees on any piece of paper. Victims. Vectors. Values. Victory. Words from quotes and lists. Suddenly, he stops. Carefully, as if reaching to touch a butterfly, he slips a single sheet out from the sheaves covering his desk. The paper has a long list : the names of all the Queens of England. He has circled in red the V in Victoria. When it hits him, it hits him like a falling safe. FINCH Christ! That's it! It's got to be it!", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE The intercom clicks on. LIEUTENANT -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sir, Mr. Heyer is here to see you. Says it's urgent. And he's here with his wife, sir. LEADER His wife? LIEUTENANT -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sir, yes, sir - Wait, you ca n't go - The door slaps open. HELEN Leader, I'm terribly sorry but I absolutely must speak with you. The Leader waves the Lieutenant off. HELEN I have something to tell you, something important but - She glances at Conrad. HELEN I can tell you and only you. In private. The Leader studies her. HELEN It is a matter of national security.", "EXT.  CITY STREET In his car, Finch races to a corner and slams on the brakes. He gets out, staring at a shadow on the ground : a `` V'' in a circle. The shadow is cast by a sign for Victoria Station, part of the abandoned subway. The gates are chained shut. He fires his pistol into the lock, kicks open the rusting gates, and descends into the underground.", "INT.  LEADER'S PRIVATE QUARTERS The Leader closes the door behind them. LEADER Now what's this all about, Mrs. Heyer? HELEN Please, forgive me. I've been so afraid, afraid to come here to talk to you. I thought he must know. I was terrified he knew but I had to come because I knew you were the only one that can protect me. LEADER Protect you from what? She is unable to go on, seemingly about to burst into tears. LEADER Come now, Mrs. Heyer. He touches her and it is all she needs. She buries her face into his chest. HELEN You wo n't let him hurt me, will you? LEADER Let who hurt you? HELEN The terrorist. LEADER The terrorist is dead. HELEN Oh, how I wanted to believe it, Leader, but I know it's not true. LEADER How? HELEN Because I know who the terrorist is.", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE Conrad is alone with Fate. He glances about nervously, moving closer and closer. His fingers reach out and graze the main keyboard. Taking a deep breath, he turns and begins to type.", "INT.  PRIVATE QUARTERS The Leader takes hold of Helen by her shoulders. LEADER Who? Who is it, woman? HELEN It's Conrad, Leader. Conrad. My husband is the terrorist. LEADER What?!", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE Conrad accesses the department of water and power. He finds the correct file and begins rerouting power to a once dead system.", "INT.  V'S TRAIN STATION A hanging light suddenly sizzles to life. V looks up, smiling.", "INT.  LEADER'S PRIVATE QUARTERS The Leader stares hard at Helen. LEADER How do you know? HELEN I saw him, Leader. In the middle of the night. I heard something. I went to the landing and that's when I saw it. She clutches him. HELEN That mask. That hideous smiling mask. LEADER But how did you know it was Heyer? HELEN I know, Leader. I know the way a woman knows. LEADER But you have no proof? HELEN Proof? LEADER Yes, proof? This is an extremely delicate situation, Mrs. Heyer. It has been reported that the terrorist is dead. It would be a catastrophe to arrest a man now without concrete, conclusive proof. Do you have any evidence at all? Tears well up in Helen's eyes as she shakes her head. LEADER But if you're right, if Heyer is indeed the terrorist. His eyes fly wide and he spins away from her, throwing open the door. HELEN Leader! Wait!", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE Conrad sits calmly across the room. CONRAD Is everything all right? Helen? LEADER Yes, Mr. Heyer, your wife has done her duty to her country. He turns to Helen. LEADER Do n't worry, Mrs. Heyer. You will be taken care of. I will launch an immediate investigation and I promise, you will be the first to know when an arrest will be made. CONRAD Investigation of what? LEADER Subversion, Mr. Heyer. Your wife was privy to the dialogue of subversives. That's all you need to know at this time. Lieutenant! The Lieutenant appears almost instantly. LEADER The Heyers are leaving. I need to see Mr. Creedy at once. Helen looks up at the Leader, a smile hidden near the corners of her perfect red lips. HELEN Thank you, sir. The Leader nods.", "INT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING Helen and Conrad get out of the elevator, standing beneath the rows of new party flags that line the lobby. HELEN I want you to go straight to your office and wait for me to call. When I do, I want you to come immediately home. Understood? CONRAD Yes, Helen. She embraces him, pressing her body against his. HELEN Oh, Conrad, I'm so proud of you. CONRAD I did it, Helen. I did it, did n't I? HELEN Tonight, Conrad. CONRAD Tonight. HELEN I promise you will never forget tonight. She almost kisses him. HELEN Goodbye, Conrad. Smiling, she pivots on her heel and heads for the door. He reaches for her when - GUARD Mr. Heyer! Mr. Heyer! The front desk guard rushes towards him. CONRAD Yes? GUARD Sir, this package arrived for you, sir. He hands him a small, brown wrapped box. CONRAD Thank you. He looks back for Helen but she is already gone.", "INT.  SUBWAY A single flashlight beam creeps toward us as Finch searches the detritus of the dead train line.", "INT.  CONRAD'S CAR Sitting at a stoplight, Conrad decides to open the package. Inside is a cassette tape. The light changes and a car behind him honks. He starts forward and inserts the tape.", "INT.  SUBWAY Finch crawls up onto the platform of V's hidden station, staring at the beautiful old train car.", "INT.  CONRAD'S CAR Strangling the steering wheel, Conrad listens to the tape. The speedometer climbs as everything seems to accelerate. TAPE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Do you know what I want? I want you just like this. bent over that black leather chair. Helen moans.", "INT.  TRAIN CAR Finch steps inside the car, his flashlight sweeping over the stacks of gelignite. FINCH Oh my god.", "INT.  CONRAD'S CAR A scream builds in Conrad. With tears in his eyes, he stares out the windshield but sees only the images created by the tape. TAPE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Use the Finger? You mean like this? Oh. That's vulgar. But you like it? Yes. oh yes. Conrad loses control and the car careens up onto the sidewalk and smashes into a brick wall. Lifting his bloodied forehead, Conrad looks out and sees the ubiquitous poster partially destroyed by the crash : `` Strength through purity, purity through faith.''", "INT.  TRAIN CAR Finch hears something and jerks back, almost falling out of the car. Aiming his gun, he finds no one. He turns and bolts. As the sound of his footsteps fade, V steps out of the shadows.", "INT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING The Leader's Lieutenant looks up from his desk and sees Finch rushing towards him. FINCH Is the Leader in? LIEUTENANT Yes, but he's meeting with the Captain of the Guard. FINCH Perfect. LIEUTENANT Mr. Finch, you ca n't go in - Finch charges through the doors.", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE The Leader and his Captain turn. LEADER Mr. Finch? FINCH Leader, I need as many men the Captain can spare and I need them right now. CAPTAIN What for? FINCH To capture codename V.", "EXT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE Creedy opens the trunk of his car. In the phosphorescent glow of the streetlight, the set of knives gleam. He bundles the costume that he tried to planet on Finch into his arms, then slams the trunk. Above, a window blind that was cracked open snaps shut.", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE The Leader moves towards Finch. FINCH He's underground. The old subway. I know exactly what he's going to do. If we move quickly, we can be there, waiting for him.", "INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE Conrad waits, hidden inside a bedroom closet. He hears the front door close and his grip tightens around the handle of a long, steel - necked hammer.", "INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE The Leader is steadily convincing himself of something. FINCH Leader, every second we delay. The Leader lifts his hand, silencing Finch. LEADER I'm coming with you. GUARD Sir - LEADER There will be no discussion - GUARD But if Mr. Finch is right - LEADER I am sick to death of this terrorist being everywhere and nowhere! I will judge whether Mr. Finch is right and I will judge it with my own eyes! Do I make myself clear, Captain? CAPTAIN Sir, yes, sir! Finch is suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling that is common to chess players. It is the disturbing sense that you have just done exactly what your opponent wanted. LEADER Is there a problem, Mr. Finch? FINCH No. no sir. LEADER Good. Captain, mobilize your men. CAPTAIN Sir, yes, sir. LEADER We'll find this bloody bastard and we will finish him.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY Evey sits in the gallery, reading Pynchon's `` V'' just as V had done. She suddenly feels V watching her. EVEY V? V Yes. Evey smiles as V steps out of the shadows. EVEY V, what's going to happen? V Change, Evey. That's all. Just change. EVEY Is it going to be violent? V Yes, I suppose it will.", "INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE Creedy empties a bottom drawer, making room to hide the costume. As he does, the closet door behind him slowly creeps open.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY V stands at the jukebox. EVEY But why? Why must is be violent? V Because, Evey, that is the nature of change. She is a temperamental creature that appears in earnest rarely but, when she does, she will wear one of two faces. The first face is the destroyer. It is lamentable but all true change begins with death.", "INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE A dark figure stands over Creedy. The hammer raises, a slash of silver against the velvety darkness.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY V punches a button on the jukebox just as -", "INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE The hammer falls with a sickening soft crunch.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY The song begins to play ; a melancholy song that says goodbye to love.", "INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE Blood pours down Creedy's snarling face, he snatches one of V's knives as another hammer blow cracks through his collar bone. He screams, lunging at Conrad.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY V listens to the song, the smiling eyes somehow knowing.", "INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE The hammer falls again and again until the metal head is slick with blood and meat. Conrad stumbles back, dropping the hammer. He looks down at the hilt of the knife protruding from his stomach. He yanks it out and holds V's knife which is bright red with his own blood. He collapses to the floor.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY The song continues. EVEY What is the other face, V? V The other face? She is the true face of change. The face of the creator. She is the one that remakes the world. Evey? EVEY Yes, V? V May I ask you for a favor? EVEY Of course. V It is a small thing but it would mean a great deal to me. EVEY Tell me. V I've never danced before. I've thought about it many times, here in this room, listening to the music. But I've always been alone. Evey smiles and crosses to him. EVEY It would be my pleasure. He opens his arms and she steps into them. They dance, standing very close, his gloved hand holding tightly to hers, her smile against his.", "EXT.  CITY STREET Dozens of military vehicles swarm around the entrance to Victoria Station while heavily armed men pour through the gates of the underground.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY The song ends. V Thank you, Evey. You are an excellent dancer. EVEY All it takes is a little practice. V Alas, I have run out of time. He bows, pressing his frozen lips to her hand. Evey is suddenly nervous. EVEY V? What are you going to do? V Do n't you remember? I have a date tonight, Evey. EVEY You're coming back though, are n't you? She seizes hold of his hand. EVEY V, I wo n't let you leave unless you promise me that you will come back. V Of course, I'll be back. You do n't think you can be rid of me now, do you? EVEY Just promise. V I promise. She lets him go.", "INT.  TRAIN STATION Soldiers swarm through the station. Susan stares in shock, outraged by the mere presence of the train. LEADER Mark my words, Mr. Finch, this man is going to become an example so that every man, woman, and child in this country will remember what happens to those who would ever think to stand against the state. He turns to the Captain. LEADER Captain, I need a gas unit down here with enough nerve gas to fill every rat - hole in these tunnels. Suddenly the lights go out. FINCH I do n't think that will be necessary. The Leader smiles. LEADER There are over one hundred of the best trained soldiers in this country down here. Let him come.", "INT.  TRAIN TUNNELS Five soldiers creep forward in a tight formation, their flashlights probing every nook and cranny. Behind them, a secret passage opens and V steps out. He is among them with frightful speed, a grinning dervish with blades like metal fangs ripping and rending flesh, slashing bright in the flashlight. Other soldiers rush towards the screams and gunfire but they find only five bodies and warm blood running down the walls. LEADER Captain, what's happening? RADIO -LRB- V.O. -RRB- No sign sir. Repeat, no sign of him. CAPTAIN They lost him. From the opposite end, there is another series of screams and machine gun fire that lights up the dark tunnel for a moment. Then, nothing. FINCH This. this is a mistake. LEADER Do n't tell me you're a coward, Mr. Finch. Back in the tunnels, V drops from above, his cloak a swirling cloud of squid ink that hides him in the darkness. Again, quicksilver knives lash out, drawing fonts of blood.", "INT.  TRAIN STATION Finch can feel the panic that is spreading through the tunnel. FINCH Leader, we have to get out of here! LEADER This was your idea. FINCH It was a mistake. This is what he wants. He knows us, Leader. He knows us too well. We have to get out of here before it's too late - A voice rings out from hidden speakers, echoing through the tunnels. V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Good evening citizens of London. This is the voice of Fate. Your fate. LEADER What trick is this? V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Tonight, the face of London is going to change and I am going to offer you the chance to change with her. Your Leader is finished. He will not leave these tunnels alive. The Leader screams to be heard over the resonant voice of V. LEADER This is an outrage! I order you not to listen to this! V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- At midnight tonight, the Head will be destroyed and a new era will begin. You must now decide if you are going to be a part of that era. Everywhere, terrified soldiers listen to the voice. V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You can choose to stay here and die with your Leader or you can choose to be free. The decision is yours and yours alone. LEADER Captain, order all your men to fall back and secure this position! V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Some of you have wives. Some of you have families. All of you have lives. Consider each of them as you ask yourself, are they a part of the past, or are they a part of the future? CAPTAIN Fall back. Fall back and secure the central platform. Deep in the tunnel, two soldiers look at each other. Simultaneously, they drop their guns and run. LEADER Any man that disobeys this order will be court marshaled! Groups of solders drop their weapons and disappear into the shadows. LEADER Captain! Captain, where are your men? The station fills with the sound of boots running wildly away. LEADER Goddammit, I will not tolerate this insubordination! I want those deserters shot, Captain. Finch slowly draws back away from the Leader. LEADER Shot on sight! The few men on the platform are soon the only men left. CAPTAIN You! You! Point position. We're getting out of here! Now! A knife sings through the air and buries itself in the Captain's chest. With a tiny rasp, he falls to the ground. The remaining men bolt. LEADER Traitors! You cowards! He grabs for the Captain's machine gun. LEADER I know who you are! I'll see you hang! Every last one of you! `` You'' echoes down the dark empty throat of the tunnel. The Leader looks around, his flashlight sweeping in big arcs as he realizes that he is alone. LEADER Finch? Finch! Finch, goddammit, you ca n't leave me! Do n't leave me! V You are going to die as you ruled - The Leader screams, whipping around towards the voice. V Alone. The smile is as cold and as sharp as the knife that flicks from his hand. The Leader raises his gun just when the knife sinks into his shoulder. Howling in pain, he drops the gun. LEADER Damn you! Damn you! V smiles into the spot of his flashlight. LEADER Conrad? Is that you? You're working with Finch, are n't you? And Creedy! You're all in this together! V closes in. LEADER Who are you? V You, most of all, should know, Leader. You created me. Without you, I would never be. More than life, Leader, you gave me purpose. V draws his final blade. V `` He that killeth with the sword, shall be killed with the sword.'' V raises the knife. LEADER Noooo! FINCH Do n't move! V and the Leader turn to find Finch aiming a machine gun at V. LEADER Mr. Finch! Oh god, Mr. Finch! FINCH Drop the knife. V does and Susan begins an almost hysterical laugh. LEADER Oh, I knew it, Mr. Finch. I knew you would n't desert me. You're a good man, Finch. A damn good man. FINCH No, Mr. Susan. No, I'm not. I'm a man who does his job and does what he's told. For twenty seven years, that's all I've been. He steps toward V, staring into his smiling black eyes. LEADER Careful, Mr. Finch. He's quick as the devil. Finch ignores the Leader. FINCH I've read Delia's diary over and over all year. It sickens me but I am unable to judge her. I am as guilty as she. LEADER Mr. Finch, what are you doing? Shoot him. Kill the bastard, Finch. FINCH I have no excuse. I did what I was told to do. LEADER Finch, I order you to shoot him! Finch! FINCH My job was to find you and catch you. I've done my job. I've done it for the last time. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of it all. He tosses the gun to the Leader. FINCH Kill him yourself if you can. The Leader seethes, his eyes boring into Finch. FINCH Thank you, V. And goodbye. V Goodbye, Mr. Finch. The machine gun burst shatters the quiet concrete silence. Finch falls dead at V's feet. LEADER I warned you, Finch, the penalty for treason is death. He aims the gun at V. LEADER Are you ready to die? V The real question is, are you? The Leader laughs. LEADER Do you really believe you can pick up that knife before I pull this trigger? V No. But I do n't have to. Almost casually, V bends down to pick up the knife - The Leader screams and fires. Bullets knock V back a bit but he continues, grabbing the knife and standing. Eyes widening with disbelief, the Leader fires another blast as V begins walking towards him. The machine gun roars, bullets shredding out through the back of V's cloak as he continues with short deliberate steps until - The hammer clicks against the pin. The gun is empty. V stands before him. V You see? You can not kill me. There is no flesh and blood within this cloak to kill. There is only an idea. V smiles. V And ideas are bulletproof. The Leader screams. V drives the knife into his heart, killing him instantly. V stands alone amidst the carnage and seeping pools of red. His body wavers. He takes his hands out from beneath his cloak and reveals his gloves, wet with blood.", "INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE The front door opens and Helen enters. HELEN Creedy? Creedy, you dumb bastard, you left your car parked in front. She walks up the stairs to the bedroom. HELEN What did I tell you? Creedy.", "INT.  BEDROOM She steps into the room, her sole and heel sinking into the plush carpet soaked with blood. HELEN Oh my god. When she sees Creedy's head mashed open, she covers her mouth. CONRAD Helen. Conrad has propped himself against the bed. HELEN Conrad! What have you done? CONRAD I won, Helen. I did it. I won. I'm the better man. He crawls toward her, slipping on the wet carpet. CONRAD We've been through a bad patch, Helen. But now, he's gone. There's nothing to come between us. He reaches for her foot, his hand gloved with wet red. HELEN Do n't touch me! You stupid piece of shit! You've ruined it! I had it all planned perfectly and you've ruined it! She checks her watch ; two hours to midnight. HELEN I have to get out of here! I have to get away! Conrad seizes hold of her ankle. CONRAD Helen - HELEN No! Let go! Now! The look in his eyes frightens her. She tries to kick free of him but he wo n't let go. Twisting, she reaches for the door but slips on the carpet. HELEN Conrad, damn you! Let me go! CONRAD No, Helen, you're not leaving me. not this time. not ever. He crawls up her body still clutching the bloody knife. HELEN No, please! Oh god, no! Oh god, please help me! Conrad raises the knife. CONRAD No one can help us, Helen. God is dead. The knife falls.", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY Evey hears V on the spiral staircase. EVEY V? Scarlet footprints trail behind V as he struggles down the stairs. EVEY You came back. He nods and then collapses, rolling down the rest of the stairs. EVEY V! V! Running to him, she falls to his side. His clothes are slick with blood. EVEY Oh god, what happened? V Evey. EVEY You need a doctor. V It's too late for that. EVEY No, do n't say that! V Evey, listen to me. I've not long and there are things that must be said. His voice strains beneath the mask. V I have done that which I came to do. Now, it is time for me to rest and with me the past will, at last, find peace. Trembling, Evey holds him. V But the world, the world is not saved. Do not think that, when the fires die and the smoke clears, there is no miracle. there is only a path. upon which they must learn to rule themselves. EVEY Yes, they need you, V. V Not me, Evey, not me. I told you I am the villain. The destroyer. But yes, they will need help. He reaches up and wipes a tear from her cheek. V I kept my promise to you, Evey. Now you must promise me. EVEY What? V Promise me. you will discover the face under this mask. but you will never look beneath it. EVEY I do n't understand. V Promise me. Please. EVEY I promise. V Sweet Eve. Wherever I shall go, I shall always love you. EVEY V, you are not going anywhere! V Midnight. Midnight. Eve. Make them remember. EVEY You're not going to die, V! V Let me be there, Evey, when it begins. Please, let me hear the music, one last time. my music. EVEY I wo n't let you die! V I know you wo n't. I know. EVEY V! V My love. Ave Atque vale. Holding him as tight as she can, she feels his life drain away, slipping through her arms in the way the last grains of sand pour through the neck of the hourglass. She buries her face beside his and weeps.", "EXT.  CITY STREET An enormous crowd has begun to gather in the streets surrounding the New Government Building. With the crowd, a restlessness swells against each barricade erected by the military. A sergeant stands on an armored car, speaking through a megaphone. SERGEANT Return to your homes! There is nothing to see! The terrorist is dead! RABBLE ROUSER 1 He ai n't dead! RABBLE ROUSER 2 He'll be here, just like he said!", "INT.  SHADOW GALLERY Evey huddles against the stair railing, her face tear stained, staring at the lifeless body of V. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I remember. I remember staring at the mask, at that smile. She touches the mask, her fingers finding its edge. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Part of me could n't believe he was dead and maybe that was why. The smile was still the same. It made me want to tear it off so I could see the face, so I could see that he was dead. Her fingers stop. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But I had promised. V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You will discover the face under this mask but you will never look beneath it. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I began to try to imagine his face. Of course, I had long pictured my father behind that smile but I knew in my heart that V was not my father. Evey stares into the eyes, the dark, empty eyes. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yet every time I pictured another face, any face, something was lost, something important was somehow diminished. V was more than a face. V was V. Her expression changes. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And then, quite suddenly, quite naturally, I realized whose face must be beneath that mask. It was the only face that mattered. EVEY I wo n't let you die. V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I know you wo n't. I know. A small smile creeps across her face.", "EXT.  CITY STREET Midnight approaches and the crowd feels it. Spilling everywhere, they fill the streets like a flood.", "INT.  TRAIN CAR Evey sets a final violet carson on the chest of V. He is lying on a bed made of gelignite, covered in roses. Touching his mask, she bends over him. EVEY Goodbye, my love. Tenderly, she presses her lips to the smile, her eyes closing, her final tears blinking free. She backs away and V smiles, his lips wet with her kiss, his cheek wet with her tears. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Ave Atque vale.'' On the train platform, Evey reaches through the window and starts the train. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I looked it up the next morning. The wheels churn as the train lurches forward. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Hail and farewell.'' V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Make them remember.'' She watches the train disappear into the tunnel. EVEY They will, my love. They will.", "EXT.  CITY STREET The crowd surges against a barricade when a voice cries out across the city echoing through the megaphone on every corner. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Remember, remember, the fifth of November!'' High above the gathered mass, a masked figure steps out onto a roof parapet. The crowd explodes.", "INT.  SUBWAY The train barrels along, screaming against its rusted rails.", "EXT.  ROOFTOP Dressed as V, Evey stands on the roof's edge, speaking into a microphone. EVEY I have come here tonight to keep a promise. A promise that is over four hundred years old. Tonight I am here to give you your freedom! Again, the crowd bursts into a frenzy. EVEY Since mankind's dawn a handful of oppressors have accepted the responsibility over our lives, responsibility that we should have accepted ourselves. By doing so, they took our power. By doing nothing, we gave it away. The voice booms over the mesmerized crowd. EVEY Tonight, our world will change. Our leaders will be gone and we must choose what comes next. A return to the chains of others or lives of our own. A world of the past or one of the future. She feels the sea of humanity beneath her, almost channeling their energy. EVEY Let us choose carefully, London, and when we do, let us mark well and remember, remember this fifth of November! The crowd screams as one and their scream becomes -", "INT.  SUBWAY The train hurling like a bullet through a gun barrel. Ahead the tracks end, buried beneath the rubble of the collapsed tunnel.", "INT.  TRAIN CAR Inside the rattling train, V lays in perfect repose. V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Let me be there, Evey, when it begins.", "EXT.  ROOFTOPS Hidden and alone, Evey pulls the mask from her face. V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Please let me hear the music. one last time. my music. Almost unconsciously, Evey raises her hand and coaxes the first soft notes as he had once done. V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- At first, you have to listen carefully. The violins of the 1812 overture steadily rise. V -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Ah, yes. There it is. Beautiful, is it not? Evey smiles, her hand still gently conducting. EVEY Yes, my love. Yes it is.", "INT.  SUBWAY With the clash of cymbals, the train crashes into the wall of rubble.", "EXT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING The entire building opens like a time - lapsed rose blooming with brilliant orange petals of flame.", "EXT.  CITY STREET The crowd is awash in the baptismal glow of erupting flame.", "EXT.  ROOFTOP Evey watches the explosion, a star - burst of flaming debris searing against the night sky like fireworks.", "EXT.  CITY STREET The masses burst through the barricades with a euphoric frenzy.", "EXT.  ROOFTOP The explosion begins to slowly die. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I know that there is only one way to repay him for what he did. She looks down at the mask. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And I know that that way is going to take a lot of hard work. She smiles. EVEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I know this like I know the sun will rise tomorrow and beneath that new sun, our work will begin. The fire fades and Evey turns, cradling the mask, and walks away. FADE OUT."], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0], "summary": "In 2032, the world is in turmoil. The United Kingdom is ruled by the fascist Norsefire Party, under High Chancellor Adam Sutler. On November 4, a vigilante in a Guy Fawkes mask, \"V\", rescues Evey Hammond, an employee of state-run British Television Network, from members of the \"Fingermen\" secret police. They watch his demolition of the Old Bailey, accompanied by fireworks and the \"1812 Overture\". Inspector Finch of Scotland Yard investigates V's activities. V hijacks a BTN broadcast to claim responsibility for the destruction, encouraging the people of Britain to rise up against their government and meet him on next year's Guy Fawkes Night outside the Houses of Parliament. The police attempt to capture V. Evey helps him escape, but is knocked unconscious. V takes Evey to his home, where she is told she must remain for one year. V kills Lewis Prothero, Norsefire's chief propagandist, and Anthony Lilliman, the Bishop of London. Evey offers to help, but escapes to the home of her boss, talk show host Gordon Deitrich. In return for Evey trusting him, Gordon reveals subversive paintings, an antique Quran, and homoerotic photographs. V confronts Dr. Delia Surridge, who experimented on him and other \"undesirables\" at Larkhill concentration camp; seeing her remorse, he kills her painlessly. After Gordon satirizes the government on his show, his home is raided and Evey is captured. She is tortured for information about V, her only solace being a note written by Valerie Page, a prisoner tortured and killed for being lesbian. Evey is to be executed unless she reveals V's location. When she says she would rather die, she is released, finding herself in V's home. V captured her at Gordon's home, staging her imprisonment to free her from her fears. The note was real, passed from Valerie to V when he was imprisoned. He informs her that Gordon was executed when the Quran was found in his home. While Evey initially hates V for what he did to her, she realizes she has become a stronger person. She leaves him, promising to return before November 5. Reading Surridge's journal, Finch learns V is the result of human experimentation and is targeting those who detained him. Finch searches for V's true identity, tracing him to a bioweapons program in Larkhill. Finch meets William Rookwood, who tells him about the program. Fourteen years earlier, Sutler, Secretary of Defence at the time, launched a secret project at Larkhill which resulted in the creation of the St. Mary's virus. Creedy, the current leader of the Norsefire Party, suggested releasing the virus onto the UK. Targeting St. Mary's School, a tube station and a water treatment plant, the virus killed more than 100,000 people. The outbreak was blamed on a terrorist organisation. Norsefire used the wave of fear and chaos to elevate Sutler to the office of High Chancellor and win an overwhelming majority in Parliament, taking control of the country. Finch discovers that Rookwood was V in disguise, and though he initially disbelieves the story, his faith in Norsefire government is shaken. As November 5 nears, V distributes thousands of Guy Fawkes masks, while the population questions government rule. The UK descends into anarchy, ignited when a Fingerman shoots and kills a girl painting graffiti, only to be killed in turn by enraged citizens. On the eve of November 5, Evey visits V, who shows her a train filled with ANFO explosives in the abandoned London Underground, set to destroy Parliament. He leaves it to Evey to decide whether to use it. V meets Creedy, with whom he made a deal to surrender in exchange for Sutler's execution. After Creedy executes Sutler, V reneges on his deal, killing Creedy and his men. Mortally wounded, V tells Evey he loves her before dying. As Evey places V's body aboard the train, she is found by Finch. Disillusioned by the Party's regime, Finch allows Evey to send the train off. Thousands of citizens wearing Guy Fawkes masks march toward the Houses of Parliament. As Creedy and Sutler are both dead, the military receives no orders, and allows the crowd to pass. As Parliament is destroyed, Finch asks Evey for V's identity, to which she replies, \"He was all of us.\"", "name": "V_for_Vendetta_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["FRANKENSTEIN TITLES UNFOLD IN BLACKNESS as we are lulled by the distant flute - like sounds of a recorder. Overall the effect is mournful and haunting, elegant and serene. and we CRASH TO :", "EXT.  BARENTS SEA - NIGHT a storm of inconceivable force and violence. Merciless arctic winds whip the sea in a frenzy of thirty - foot swells. This is the last place in God's creation that any human being should be. And yet. the prow of a three - masted ship rises massively before us, looming from the darkness and chaos. it crashes upward through a swell and slams back down again, plunging nose - first into the trough. The sails on the forward mast are still deployed. It's insane ; in this weather they should be stowed -LRB- as is already the case with masts 2 and 3 -RRB-. Hurtling toward us. Rising and falling. Thundering through the swells. And as she sweeps past CAMERA within a seeming hairbreadth, we PAN with the ship and find ourselves.", "EXT.  SHIP - NIGHT aboard the `` Alexander Nevsky,'' along for the ride whether we like it or not. There are men all around us, dark screaming FIGURES glimpsed and half - glimpsed, heavy oilskin clothes flapping in the gale. A GROUP OF MEN are in a life - or - death tug of war WALTON PULL, YOU BASTARDS! PULL! Riiiiippp! All eyes turn skyward as the uppermost sail tears loose, the heavy canvas shredding away in huge billowing tatters. The jib - arm wrenches free and plummets toward us, trailing rope and fabric. The men dive aside as the jib smashes into the deck like an exploding bomb. Splintered shards of wood cartwheel through the air like shrapnel. Walton catches a glancing blow to the head and slams face - down on the pitching deck. GRIGORI, the first mate, scrambles to Walton's aid. Walton shoves him off, pushes painfully to his knees. LIGHTNING throws his face into a stark relief map of pain and fury : blood is streaming from his hairline, freezing in his eyes, staining his teeth. He gazes up at the mainsail, still intact and straining against the wind. We hear a huge CRACK! The base of the mast is starting to give. WALTON Cut the damn rigging free before we lose the mast! Long - handled axes are grabbed from their mounts. Frantic men begin hacking at the ropes. Walton snatches an axe from a passing crewman and elbows his way to the front. He attacks a guy - rope with primal fury, CAMERA rising and falling with the motion of his axe. Suddenly, a chilling cry from high above : LOOKOUT -LRB- O.S. -RRB- IIIICEBEEEEERG! THE CROW'S NEST -LRB- MAST # 2 -RRB- The LOOKOUT is lashed to the mast by means of a safety rope knotted at the chest. He points ahead. WALTON and the others spin to look as A PANORAMIC SHOT OF THE BARENTS SEA reveals a magnificent vista of storming fury. The ship is heading into an enormous field of icebergs dotting the ocean like boulders in a quarry, The Nevsky is plying these waters like a man running pell - mell through a mine field. An iceberg passes massively and unexpectedly in the foreground, rumbling within yards of the camera, wiping us into darkness.", "EXT.  NEVSKY - NIGHT and we wipe from darkness as a flapping piece of canvas billows away to reveal ` Walton and the crew, gazing in breathless horror as an iceberg looms from the gale before them like a ghostly white mountain. Walton finds his voice : WALTON HARD TO PORT! THE PILOT fights to turn the wheel. Men rush to his aid, throw their backs into it, straining to the limit. The wheel is grudging, fighting them every inch of the way. PUSH IN on Walton and the crew : GRIGORI It's going to ram us. WALTON It would n't dare. THE CROW'S NEST -LRB- MAST # 2 -RRB- The lookout fumbles under his coat, grabs the rosary around his neck, clutches the crucifix tightly in both hands. Face white with terror. Breath coming in ragged gasps. SHIP'S POV Crashing through the swells. Rising and falling. Tilting the world and the audience on its ear. iceberg looming. For a brief moment we seem to be veering past. But then we swing back in a final, churning, vertiginous plunge. and smack the ice. VARIOUS QUICK - CUT ANGLES God just hit the ship with an anvil. Mast # 1 snaps at the base with a thunderous CRACK and begins to topple in a symphony of shattering wood and tangled rigging. The lookout on mast # 2 is vaulted through the railing of the crow's nest, screaming through the air, arms and legs windmilling as he plummets head - first toward the deck below. And is jerked to an abrupt stop by the safety line around his chest, We hear another horrible CRACK. the sound of his back breaking. Men are sliding, tumbling, screaming. Mast # 1 completes its fall, slamming massively to the deck, shattering a section of the gunwale to splinters. Utter panic. Total chaos. Sheer mortal terror. And as the sequence builds to a final brain - splitting crescendo of sound and fury, we ARCTIC - TWILIGHT Total, stunning silence. A glittering wasteland of ice. Breathlessly cold. Even the sun seems frozen, barely hanging on the horizon. Pellets of snow scour the permafrost like broken glass, driven by a desolate arctic wind. It's as if Hell had erupted through the floor of the Earth in the form of ice. Nothing could survive here. Nothing. SLOW PAN reveals a distant ship frozen in the ice, tilted at a permanent list. Silent. We see no signs of life. SUPE TITLE : `` The Arctic, 1839.'' VARIOUS LINGERING ANGLES provide ominous detail - shots of the Nevsky A flap of frozen canvas creaks in the wind. The pilot's wheel is now a crystalline sculpture of ice. The forward mast lies across the deck like a broken limb, extending out over the ice on a tangle of rigging. The ship's prow is smashed open above the water line. A familiar rosary lies broken on the deck. Beads scattered. | A tiny Christ figure lies with arms thrown wide, painted eyes staring up at the sky through a thin sheet of ice. HIGH, HIGH ANGLE From the top of mast # 2. A breathtaking perspective of the entire ship below, guaranteed to induce vertigo. The corpse of the lookout is suspended below us at the end of the frozen rope, His posture mimics the Christ figure : His arms thrown wide, dead eyes staring up at the sky through a thin sheet of ice. A ghastly still - life, the corpse twisting ever - so - slightly on the wind, rope creaking. A SAILOR thrusts into frame swaying precariously in the rigging, WIDEN to reveal TWO MORE MEN as they reach out with long gaffing poles to snag the corpse.", "EXT.  NEVSKY - LOW ANGLE FROM ICE - TWILIGHT Walton watches them reel the body in. ANGLE SHIFTS as he turns, revealing the rest of the crew working desperately to free the ship. Axes and picks rise and fall in waves, slamming into the ice, throwing up frozen chips. The men are near collapse, exhaustion carved in their faces. The dogs are nearby, huskies and malamutes huddled in the snow. Walton rejoins the men, rams his axe fiercely into the ice. WALTON Put your backs into it! SAILOR #1 What's the use? This godless ice stretches for miles! Would you have us chow our way back to England? WALTON No. But we'll chop our way to the North Pole if we have to. Inch by bloody inch. GRIGORI You ca n't mean to go on! Our journey is ended! The best we can hope for now is to get out of this alive! SAILOR #2 Aye, if the ice ever lets us! WALTON The ice will break. And when it does, we proceed north. as planned. Cries of dismay from the men. Grigori thrusts his arm toward the sky, pointing at the corpse on the mast. GRIGORI At the cost of how many more lives? He's interrupted by a long, chilling HOWL. The lead husky rises to its feet, hackles up, HOWLING at some unseen thing in the distance. The other dogs start rising around him, joining in, staring off across the ice. GRIGORI There's something out there. The dogs are going berserk. The lead husky breaks free and launches himself across the ice. The men scramble to restrain the animals, but three more break away and take off after their leader. Walton snatches up his rifle. WALTON You five come with me! The rest stay with the ship!", "EXT.  ARCTIC PANORAMA - TWILIGHT The Nevsky in the distance. The dogs come howling across the ice toward us. The men trail substantially behind. BOOM DOWN to the icy boulders f.g.. A massive hand comes briefly to rest in one of the crags, ghastly gray skin rippling with harsh ligaments and sinewy veins, brutal surgical scars marring the wrist. A HUGE DARK FIGURE wipes frame, fleeing into the rocks. The dogs come bounding past in pursuit, snarling and slavering. THE RUNNING MEN hear an INHUMAN HOWL rise amidst those of the dogs. A vicious free - for - all echoes from the rocks. Barking gives way to shrill squeals. An object is launched from the crags, catapulted through the air in a high arc. Some men slip and fall as the object slams to the ground with tremendous impact before them. and they find themselves staring in horror At the sight of the lead dog. Silence now. Those who have fallen, rise. Walton cocks his rifle. The group proceeds, picks and axes held ready, slowly skirting the rocks. and the massacre is revealed. Blood - stained ice. Dead, mangled animals strewn about. One twitching survivor crawls toward them on broken limbs, whining piteously, dragging its entrails in a red smear. GRIGORI Look. They follow his gaze. Bloody tracks lead away from the bodies, ascending the rocks. Most are smeared and vague. but one is clearly a bare human footprint. Several men cross themselves. Walton shoulders the rifle, aims down at the surviving dog. BLAM! A single bullet to the brain ends its misery, punching a halo of blood onto the ice. The shot echoes for miles. WALTON Back to the ship.", "EXT.  NEVSKY - ESTABLISHING - NIGHT Silhouetted against the aurora borealis. The horizon swirls mysteriously with color and light. Distant slivers of lightning kiss the earth. Men keep watch in furtive groups, huddled against the cold, breath punching the air with billows of vapor. A massive CRACKLING is heard. A YOUNG SAILOR spins, jumpy. OLD SAILOR Only the ice to starboard, boy. YOUNG SAILOR Is it breaking up? OLD SAILOR Just dancing on the current. It'll freeze even tighter come next wind. CAMERA DRIFTS past to another group : SAILOR #4 It was a polar bear. That's what I say. SAILOR #5 Say all you want, but you were n't there. It left human tracks. SAILOR #6 No man could tear those dogs apart. SAILOR #5 No human. We've roused a demon from the ice. CLANG - CLANG! The men spin. A SAILOR on starboard has rung the signal bell. The men race over, crowding the gunwale. SAILOR Something. In the mist. Walton appears from his cabin and crowds his way to the front, rifle aimed at the sky. The men wait. Holding their breath. Scanning the darkness. AN APPARITION looms eerily from the mist on a creaking floe of ice, silhouetted by the shifting light of the borealis. The figure's pose is uncanny and weird : neither standing nor kneeling, but something in between, arm dangling at its side and lolling slowly with the motion of the current. YOUNG SAILOR It's the demon! Shoot while you've a chance! The Pilot lights the kerosene wick of a reflector box spotlight and swings it around. The beam seeks out the specter and pins it in a dim circle of light. revealing a man collapsed on a dog sled, lashed to tiller upright stanchions with frozen leather straps, Dead dogs lie in icy heaps around him.", "EXT.  NEVSKY - NIGHT The men venture onto the shifting ice with lanterns raised. Grappling lines are unslung and thrown, the ice floe snagged. Gaffs reach out, drawing it closer. Men clasp arms, forming a human chain. Grigori is the first to reach the motionless figure on the dog sled. WALTON Dead? Grigori cautiously eases his hand into the darkness of the furred hood to search the neck for a pulse. and the figure scares the shit out of him. With a convulsive shudder and a gasping intake of breath, the hood rises up, revealing a haggard face tortured white with frost, beard frozen solid, eyes blazingly intelligent and aware. Walton finds himself in an extended beat of eye contact with VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN.", "EXT.  NEVSKY - ON DECK - NIGHT A HOWLING WIND has kicked up, pelting the huddled sentries with sleet. CAMERA TRACKS past, moving steadily toward the dimly - glowing window of Walton's cabin.", "INT.  WALTON'S CABIN - NIGHT where we find Walton and Grigori in tense discussion : GRIGORI Captain, I implore you. The men are frightened and angry. They want your assurance. WALTON They knew the risks when they signed on. I've come too far to turn back now. GRIGORI Then you run the danger of pushing them to mutiny. Walton pulls a pistol from his drawer and slams it flat on the table before him. WALTON -LRB- low, tight. -RRB- Let them try. Grigori is taken aback. He hears a shifting of blankets and glances to the captain's bed. Walton follows his look. Frankenstein has awakened and is watching them. Grigori exits, uneasy under Frankenstein's gaze. Walton rises, retrieves a pot from the stove. WALTON You're awake. I've prepared some broth. It'll help restore you. VICTOR -LRB- hoarse, faltering. -RRB- I'm. dying. Victor draws a hand from under the blanket and holds it before his face. Fingers skeletal and black. VICTOR Frostbite. Gangrene. A simple diagnosis. WALTON Are you a physician? VICTOR -LRB- faint smile. -RRB- How is it you come to be here? WALTON There's a startling question, coming from you. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'm captain of this ship. We sailed from Archangel a month ago, seeking a passage to the North Pole. VICTOR Ah. An explorer. WALTON Would - be. I'm plagued with my share of difficulties just at the moment. VICTOR I heard. WALTON I ca n't say I blame them. We're trapped in this ice and bedeviled by some sort of. creature. VICTOR Creature? A. human like creature? WALTON -LRB- stunned. -RRB- You know of it? VICTOR Your men are right to be afraid. WALTON Then explain it, whatever it is. It could save the voyage. I've spent years planning this. My entire fortune. VICTOR You'd persist at the cost of your own life? The lives of your crew? WALTON Lives are ephemeral. The knowledge we gain, the achievements we leave behind. those live on. Victor reaches out with his blackened claw of a hand, pulls him closer. Impassioned, intense : VICTOR Do you share my madness? WALTON Madness? CAMERA PUSHES SLOWLY on Victor's face. VICTOR We are kindred, you and I. Men of ambition. Let me tell you all that I have lost in such pursuits. I pray my story will come to mean for you all that is capricious and evil in man. WALTON -LRB- angry, frightened. -RRB- Who are you? VICTOR -LRB- beat. -RRB- My name is Frankenstein. And CAMERA proceeds into the bottomless depths of Victor's staring eye, plunging us into : TOTAL DARKNESS. Tick - tock. Tick - tock. A METRONOME fades up before us. WOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Failure has no pride, Victor. You must try again. LITTLE BOY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Yes, Ma'am.", "INT.  GRAND BALLROOM - FRANKENSTEIN MANSION - DAY We hear a HARPSICHORD begin playing as a WIDER ANGLE reveals a huge, magnificent room with vaulted ceilings thirty feet high. Floor - to - ceiling windows. Hanging tapestries. VICTOR sits at the harpsichord, a very serious 7 year - old in his little gentleman's suit and stiff starched collar. MRS. MORITZ, head of the housekeeping staff, conducts the lesson. Her daughter JUSTINE, age 4, sits with her doll in a huge wingback chair, making it dance to the music as she listens. but her eyes are on Victor. She adores him. An enormous door swings open. Victor stops playing. His PARENTS enter, ushering a somber and beautiful ELIZABETH, age 6, across the vast expanse of floor. Victor slides off the bench and faces them. FATHER Mrs. Moritz, would you and your daughter excuse us? MRS. MORITZ Of course, Doctor. Madam. Come along, Justine. Bring your dolly. Mrs. Moritz takes Justine's hand. Justine gazes back at Victor and Elizabeth as her mother whisks her off. MOTHER Victor. This is Elizabeth. She's coming to live with us. FATHER She has lost her parents to scarlet fever. She is an orphan. MOTHER You must think of her as your own sister. You must look after her. And be kind to her. Victor stares at Elizabeth. She returns the gaze evenly, self - possessed and dignified even at this young age. ARCTIC VICTOR -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I loved her from the moment that I first saw her.", "EXT.  FRANKENSTEIN ESTATE - NIGHT A MASSIVE BOLT OF LIGHTNING hammers from the sky, reducing a centuries - old oak tree to smoldering ruin.", "INT.  DOWNSTAIRS PARLOR - NIGHT while Victor gazes at the storm, face pressed against a window, astonished at the sight. Lightning throws seething shadows of the rain on his face. MOTHER Victor. Elizabeth is frightened by the storm. Go comfort her.", "INT.  UPPER LANDING - NIGHT We hear a CHILD SOBBING. Victor comes racing up the grand staircase from below as LIGHTNING sends wild banister shadows skittering. He caroms down the hall toward :", "INT.  ELIZABETH'S ROOM - NIGHT Victor enters. Elizabeth is a tiny figure huddled in an adult - size bed, gazing up with tear - streaked face at the huge skylights in the vaulted ceiling, dreading the next scary boom and flash. Victor approaches and whispers : VICTOR Do n't cry, Elizabeth. ELIZABETH -LRB- frightened. -RRB- Are n't you? KA - BOOM! A LIGHTNING BOLT rips overhead, rattling the panes of glass. Victor does find it scary. but exhilarating. VICTOR We'll build a fort. So the lightning ca n't get us. He races about the room, grabbing every pillow he can find and hurling them to her. Big decorative pillows from the chaise, bed pillows from the armoire. they all come flying. She giggles as a big one knocks her flat. Victor scampers onto the bed with her. They pile the pillows around and above, concealing themselves in a bulging heap of cushions. INSIDE THE PILLOW - FORT Victor pokes his hand up, widening a space so they can still see. Lightning glistens in their upturned eyes. ELIZABETH Are you sure it ca n't hurt us? VICTOR Nothing can. Not ever. She seeks his hand. Fingers clasp. Comfort and strength. TILT UP to the skylight. Rain drumming the glass.", "INT.  MANSION - GRAND BALLROOM - DAY Victor and Elizabeth are learning to waltz, their movements stiff and awkward, childlike. MRS. MORITZ is at the harpsichord. Justine sits with her dolly, watching. MRS. MORITZ You must lead, Victor. The lady will always look to you for guidance, so your steps must be sure and strong. VICTOR Mrs. Moritz. MRS. MORITZ aaand, one - two - three, one - two - three, twirl - two - three. JUSTINE Mama, can I dance with Victor? MRS. MORITZ Nonsense, Justine. Hush. And now a sweeping arc about the room! one - two - three, twirl - two - three. Victor and Elizabeth gamely work their way across the vast room, tripping on each other's toes. They pass within inches of CAMERA, bodies WIPING FRAME.", "INT.  GRAND BALLROOM - DAY (TEN YEARS LATER) and they sweep from before our eyes, waltzing away from camera to reveal Victor now 17, intense and handsome as he approaches manhood. Elizabeth is a blossoming and graceful beauty at 16. Mrs. Moritz is still conducting the lessons. MRS. MORITZ one - two - three, twirl - two - three. Excellent! You'll be the envy of all the young ladies and gentlemen! They're certainly the envy of Justine, who gazes at Victor as he sweeps Elizabeth around the room in his arms. She is n't concentrating and fumbles on the keyboard. Her mother throws her a look of reproval : MRS. MORITZ Justine. Surely you can maintain better time than that. JUSTINE Yes, Mama. Flustered, she puts her attention back on the keyboard as Victor and Elizabeth keep dancing, swirling fluidly about the room, their attention only on each other.", "INT.  UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT A skylight above us. A storm is raging, rain drumming the glass. We hear SCREAMING in the house. TILT DOWN to Victor perched at the edge of a settee, seething with tension. Waiting. Elizabeth is with him. She squeezes his arm, trying to reassure him. ELIZABETH She'll be all right. Another SCREAM rips down the hallway. Justine comes scurrying up the stairs, about to enter his parent's room with a fresh load of sheets. Victor lunges to his feet and intercepts, trying to push past her, but finds the doorway implacably blocked by Mrs. Moritz. MRS. MORITZ You can do nothing here. Wait downstairs. He can see his mother in the dim kerosene light, writhing and screaming on the bed, belly swollen and distended. His father, sleeves rolled up, works feverishly to save her. VICTOR Mother? FATHER Victor, do as you're told! Justine glances at Victor, longing to comfort him. She squeezes past into the room. The door slams in his face. He turns to Elizabeth, eyes brimming with terror.", "INT.  PARENTS' BEDROOM - NIGHT as his mother falls back on the sweat - soaked sheets, blowing air like a bellows, trying to give birth.", "EXT.  MANSION - NIGHT while her SCREAMS mingle with the howling of the wind, the stump of the long - dead oak tree pokes from the earth in the foreground like a gravestone, lashed by the rain.", "INT.  DOWNSTAIRS PARLOR - NIGHT VICTOR stares out the window at the raging storm. Elizabeth appears at his side. He does n't look at her. VICTOR As a boy, I stood at this window and watched God destroy our tree. b.g. screaming stops, Victor and Elizabeth turn, gazing up the grand staircase. The sudden silence is even more frightening. The FAINT CRY of a newborn infant drifts down A door opens upstairs, throwing a spill of light. Victor's father appears in silhouette, comes down the stairs toward them. He pauses halfway down, unable to continue. VICTOR Father? A FLASH OF LIGHTNING floods the room, revealing Victor's father on the staircase. Face haggard. Eyes hollow. Clothes spattered with blood. Hands glistening wetly red. ELIZABETH Oh God. The blood. Father sits down shakily on a step. Victor and Elizabeth race up the stairs and pause before him. FATHER I did everything I could. Victor lets out a sob of anguish. Elizabeth begins to cry. Father gathers them into his arms.", "EXT.  FRANKENSTEIN ESTATE - CEMETERY - DAY A BABY CARRIAGE stands amidst leaning gravestones, gothic and ornate, a chill breeze billowing the lace. A PRIEST recites a Latin burial mass. DOZENS OF MOURNERS are gathered before the Frankenstein family mausoleum. an imposing edifice of stone and spidery wrought - iron, its steepled roof crowned by a massive granite crucifix. A sleek black casket lies atop the bier, ringed with flowers and sorrow. The trees are windswept and bare, branches stark against a steely gray sky. Victor and Elizabeth stand apart from the others, staring at the casket. Softly : VICTOR How could all my father's knowledge and skill fail to save her? ELIZABETH It's not ours to decide. All that live must die. It's God's will. Victor raises a grim look at the huge crucifix atop the mausoleum. Christ returns his gaze with blank stone eyes VICTOR What kind of God is He to will this? ELIZABETH She was mother to me as well. But ours is the job of the living. It's up to us now to hold this family together. We must think of Father and be strong for him. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I can not do that alone. VICTOR God took her from us. ELIZABETH He left a beautiful gift in her place. A baby boy. To cherish and love as our very own. Your brother Victor glances at the baby carriage. He seeks her hand. Their fingers clasp. Comfort and strength. VICTOR Our brother. The baby starts CRYING as the casket is lowered, its thin voice carried on the wind.", "EXT.  MEADOW - DAY A gorgeous, sun - dappled day. Tall grass waving on the breeze. Butterflies skittering. WILLIAM, 11 months - old, toddles into view. He does n't get far. PLOP! Down he goes, right on his ass. His face scrunches up in surprise and he bursts into tears. Elizabeth hurries over and scoops him up, cradling and comforting him. Victor rises from a picnic blanket to join them. Nanny Justine looks up from her task of laying out the silverware and food. JUSTINE Poor William! What indignant tears! ELIZABETH There, there. shhh. Victor takes the baby and swoops him high in the air. The child shrieks and wails, held aloft. ELIZABETH Victor, have a care! You'll make him dizzy! VICTOR The world is a dizzying place. She tries to reclaim the baby. Victor feints, keeping Willie out of reach. Elizabeth grows crosser : ELIZABETH Oh, do give him here! He needs to be comforted and held! VICTOR He needs to vent his outrage to the skies! Make yourself heard, Willie! Learning to walk is not an easy thing! Why should it be so? Elizabeth is exasperated to realize that the baby has begun to laugh. She glares at both of them. Men. ELIZABETH That's the nature of all progress, William. Do n't let your brother sway you otherwise. JUSTINE Quite right! Victor cradles Willie as if to shield his delicate ears. He peers at Elizabeth with mock - grave suspicion and speaks to the baby sotto - voce, in deepest confidence, man - to - man : VICTOR Do n't listen, Willie. Progress is a feast to be consumed. Women would have you believe you must walk before you can run. Or run before you can waltz! ELIZABETH -LRB- laughing. -RRB- Give me that child before you fill his head with drivel! Victor waltzes the baby in circles. Elizabeth stalks them. VICTOR Devil take walking, ladies! My brother shall learn to waltz! He grabs her by the waist, pulls her into it. There's no use resisting. She succumbs and they dance with the baby between them. Justine is gasping with laughter. JUSTINE Elizabeth, really! He's quite mad! ELIZABETH Scandalous! What would your dear mother say? JUSTINE -LRB- thinks a beat. -RRB- One - two - three, one - two - three, twirl - two - three. Laughing, Victor and Elizabeth waltz little William around in a sweeping arc. They pass within inches of the CAMERA, bodies wiping frame.", "INT.  GRAND BALLROOM - NIGHT (6 YEARS LATER) To reveal the grand ballroom ablaze with candlelight and spectacle as a HUNDRED DANCERS swirl about the floor in a breathtaking waltz to the music of a full string ensemble -LRB- NOTE : The music here should be our movie's distinctive WALTZ/LOVE THEME, which will reoccur later. -RRB- Victor and Elizabeth dance magnificently, room spinning about them in a blur. Now 24, he's in the prime of manhood. Elizabeth, 23, is a drop - dead beauty radiating poise and intelligence. They're so right for each other, so beautiful together, your heart could break just looking at them. Justine, now 21, has blossomed into a beauty herself. She's at the sidelines, wearing a lovely gown, wishing someone would ask her to dance. William, now 7, scampers to her side. She stoops to straighten his collar and smooth back his hair. Waltzing couples swirl past them. WILLIE Auntie Justine, Papa said I could have a sweet. JUSTINE You can. But not before dinner. The music ends amidst applause. The men bow to the ladies, the ladies curtsy in return. Victor escorts Elizabeth off the dance floor. Elizabeth fans herself, flushed and happy. JUSTINE You dance so beautifully together. ELIZABETH And you look so lovely. They share a sisterly hug and a radiant smile. The orchestra recommences. The music is lush. Justine looks hopefully to Victor, keeping her tone light : JUSTINE Victor? Spare me one dance? Elizabeth catches Victor's eye. ELIZABETH Go on, ask her. Please. I'm quite out of breath. Victor gallantly offers his arm. Justine takes it, lighting up as he escorts her onto the dance floor. and they begin to dance. She's glowing. This is a big moment for her. But they've hardly begun, when. ting - ting - ting, Victor's father is tapping a champagne glass with a knife. The dancers stop. The orchestra falls silent. Justine hides her disappointment as servants pass among the guests with glasses of champagne. FATHER My friends, fatherly pride wo n't allow this occasion to pass without my raising a toast. Shouts of assent. Victor is grabbed by his friends and dragged forward, a glass of champagne shoved in his hands. FATHER To Victor. My son. Who read every medical book in my library by age thirteen. and then re - read them, which seemed excessive even to me. -LRB- the guests ROAR with laughter. -RRB- Drape yourself in glory, my boy. Study well. When you return, you return a man of medicine. I will then be honored to call you `` colleague.'' VICTOR But never your equal. FATHER No. You'll surpass me. Applause and roars of approval. The drinks are tossed back. Victor is jostled with backslaps and handshakes.", "EXT.  MANSION - NIGHT Music and warm light spill from the windows. A COUPLE eases through a French door and come racing across the lawn, giggling and hushing each other. They take refuge under a tree, revealing their faces to the moonlight : Victor and Elizabeth. She leans against the trunk to catch her breath. ELIZABETH Smell the air. Wonderful. VICTOR Quite a send - off, is n't it? ELIZABETH Father's so proud. VICTOR And you? ELIZABETH Prouder still. You'll be the handsomest student there. VICTOR I'll have to do better than that. ELIZABETH You will. -LRB- searches his eyes. -RRB- What do you want, Victor? VICTOR To be the best there ever was. To push our knowledge beyond our dreams. to eradicate disease and pestilence. to purge mankind of ignorance and fear. He's so serious, she ca n't help laugh. VICTOR I'm not mad. She smiles, smoothes a lock of hair gently off his forehead. ELIZABETH No. Just very earnest. And very dear. An extended moment. Unspoken words flowing between them. Victor leans forward and kisses her. Her eyes widen slightly. So do his. Shared excitement, gentle and sexy beyond belief. They pause, draw back, searching each other's eyes. He whispers : VICTOR I've loved you all my life ELIZABETH All my life I've known. They kiss again. A breath. A shiver. VICTOR This feels. incestuous. ELIZABETH Is that what makes it so delicious? She brushes her lips against his. Gentle as a sigh. ELIZABETH Brother and sister still? VICTOR I wish to be your husband. ELIZABETH I wish to be your wife. VICTOR Then come with me to Ingolstadt. Marry me now. ELIZABETH If only I could. But one of us must stay. Father's not strong. Willie's just a child. Who can look after them in your absence? Who can run the estate? VICTOR Only you. ELIZABETH I will be here when you return. Another kiss. Turning lustful and steamy. They melt into each other, sinking down, bodies pressing and minds afire. These people are hot for each other. They stop, stunned at the intensity. He lays his head to her breast. Their fingers clasp. She whispers her secret : ELIZABETH My head is spinning. I want to give myself to you. He raises his head. She meets his gaze evenly ELIZABETH If we're to be married, must we wait? He touches her face. Fingertips tracing downward, gentle and reverent, brushing the contours of her bosom at the edge of her bodice. She shivers. Closes her eyes. Lays her hand over his. Guiding his touch. VICTOR You make me weak. ELIZABETH Not as weak as I. She raises his hand to her mouth. Brushing his fingertips with her lips. Wrestling with desire. Their eyes meet. ELIZABETH Our decision. Together. VICTOR Your decision. For us. ELIZABETH -LRB- hesitates. -RRB- I give you my soul. VICTOR -LRB- nods. -RRB-. until our wedding night. When our bodies will join. ELIZABETH Victor. I love you, VICTOR Elizabeth. My more than sister. They kiss again. Gently.", "EXT.  FRANKENSTEIN ESTATE - CEMETERY - DAWN A misty gray dawn. Victor is kneeling at a gravestone, observing a moment of silence. His saddled horse is tethered nearby. Softly : VICTOR I'll make you so proud, Mother. He lays a small sprig of flowers on the grave, rises and walks toward his horse.", "EXT.  MANSION - MORNING Overcast and chill. An open carriage stands loaded. The family and household staff have turned out. Victor stands ready to go. Father pulls him into a back - slapping embrace. FATHER Write to us often. Victor moves on to Justine, takes her hand. VICTOR We never finished our dance. -LRB- she smiles. -RRB- Someday we shall. Next is William. The little boy stands stiffly, tears on his face, trying to be brave. Victor kneels and whispers : VICTOR The others will look to you while I'm gone, Willie. Be strong. The boy nods miserably, throws his arms around Victor's neck. Last comes Elizabeth. She and Victor regard each other, sharing the secret of last night. A faint smile plays at the corners of her mouth. He kisses her cheek. VICTOR Elizabeth. He mounts the carriage. CLAUDE snaps the reins and lurches away, speeding Victor off to his future. Victor turns back for a final look at the home and family he loves so much. William runs after him until he's gone from sight. INGOLSTADT - ESTABLISHING ANGLES - DAY High white clouds in a blazing blue sky. Church steeples rising among the rooftops. Beautiful. BOARDING HOUSE - DAY FRAU BRACH trudges heavily up a long, steep, narrow flight of stairs with Victor teetering uneasily behind. FRAU BRACH No real rooms left. All we've got is attic space. No one ever wants the attic space. ATTIC SPACE/GARRET - DAY She leads him into an immensely long space running a twisted path the entire length of the building ; various levels and areas unhindered by wall separation, massive vaulted beams crisscrossing as understructure to the roof. Daylight filters dimly through dozens of dormer windows and skylights coated with grime. Nooks and crannies abound. VICTOR This will do nicely. UNIVERSITY - DAY A monumental structure of brick. A BELL TOWER TOLLS. Dead leaves scurry across the lawn. LECTURE HALL - DAY PROFESSOR KREMPE, a squat little man, paces before the packed galleries of eager young STUDENTS. KREMPE In science, the letter of fact is the letter of law. Our pursuit is as dogmatic as any religious precept. Think of yourselves as disciples of a strict and hallowed sect. Someday you may be priests. but only if you learn the scripture chapter and verse. -LRB- off their laughter. -RRB- Any questions? VICTOR -LRB- hand shoots up. -RRB- But surely, Professor, you do n't intend we disregard the more. philosophical works. KREMPE Philosophical? VICTOR Those which stir the imagination as well as the intellect. Paracelsus, for one. This reference is lost on all but a few. At the faculty table : PROFESSOR WALDMAN peers up at Victor, adjusting the glasses on his nose. Up among the students : HENRY CLERVAL leans out and shoots an amused look in Victor's direction. SCHILLER catches Henry's look and rolls his eyes. KREMPE Paracelsus? VICTOR Or Albertus Magnus. Cornelius Agrippa. KREMPE What is your name? VICTOR Victor Frankenstein, sir. -LRB- no response. -RRB- Of geneva. KREMPE Of Geneva. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Tell me, Mr. Frankenstein of Geneva. Do you wish to study medicine? Or mysticism? Titters sweep the room. Krempe remains staunchly unamused : KREMPE Those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Frankenstein's suggested reading list. thankfully, that would be most of you. would be well advised to avoid it. Here at Ingolstadt, we concern ourselves with immutable reality. -LRB- specific to Victor. -RRB-. not the ravings of lunatics and alchemists hundreds of years in their graves. Understood? Victor is flushed and humiliated. Held like to say more, but wisely swallows his anger and nods. KREMPE I am relieved. Are there any relevant questions? -LRB- there are none. -RRB- Lecture hall dismissed.", "EXT.  UNIVERSITY - DAY Victor exits wearing a distinctive black greatcoat, fuming over the exchange with Krempe. He strides across the lawn, eyes fixed straight ahead. Henry Clerval races up behind him and falls casually in step. Victor glances over. Henry nods pleasantly, as if held been there all along. Victor responds with a curt nod and resumes his straight - ahead demeanor. They walk in silence, just two guys heading in the same direction. Henry ca n't help it ; he snickers loudly to himself. Victor shoots him a sharp look. Henry's smirk vanishes, replaced with blank innocence. Did somebody snicker? HENRY I was just clearing my throat. VICTOR Very well then. They continue walking. Silence thick. Finally : HENRY You know, you're quite mad. Victor stops. Turns. VICTOR -LRB- low, measured. -RRB- I am not mad. HENRY -LRB- matching Victor's tone. -RRB- As a march hare. Henry's expression betrays nothing. but perhaps there's a trace of amusement in his eyes? VICTOR Are you having me on? HENRY Of course I am. It pays to humor the insane. Beat. Victor smiles. Henry grins, offers his hand. Takes it. HENRY Henry Clerval. VICTOR Victor, Victor Frankenstein. HENRY I know. You have a way of making an impression.", "INT.  GASTHOF - DUSK The tavern is packed with students and noise. Beer and food served at a frantic pace. We find Victor and Henry at a small table, tearing into sausages and cheese. VICTOR Do you really think I'm mad? HENRY Come now. Magnus? Agrippa? Next thing you know, you'll be teaching toadstools to speak. Schiller enters with FRIENDS. They pause at Victor's table SCHILLER If it is n't the sorcerer. Found yourself an apprentice? VICTOR I'm afraid I rejected his application. He merely dabbles. HENRY Dilettantes need not apply. What about you? Schiller, is n't it? SCHILLER Von Schiller. I'm interested in real medicine. Treating the sick. HENRY Really? I myself find sick people rather revolting. -LRB- off their looks. -RRB- I'm here to secure my degree with a minimum of fuss and hard work that I might settle into a life of privilege treating rich old ladies with gout and dallying with their daughters. SCHILLER You two disgust me. Schiller and his friends stalk off.", "EXT.  INGOLSTADT - DUSK LONG LENS magnificently compresses buildings and steeples, distant hills and drizzly sky. Victor wears his greatcoat as he and Henry walk along a twisty cobblestone street. VICTOR Rich old ladies and their daughters? HENRY Can you think of a better reason? VICTOR Quite a few. HENRY Do me a favor then. -LRB- claps his shoulder. -RRB-. keep them to yourself. Victor takes a shocked beat and bursts into laughter.", "INT.  AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY Waldman, in sinock, addresses a GROUP OF STUDENTS from across morgue slab. He throws a sheet back to reveal a corpse dissected to reveal the inner workings. The others crowd for a closer look. Victor glances to Henry, who leans back and rolls his eyes in utter disgust.", "INT.  VICTOR'S GARRET - DAY PUSHING SLOWLY IN on Victor sitting at a tall dormer window, writing a letter with quill and ink. It's raining outside. The garret is tidied.", "EXT.  RYE FIELDS - FRANKENSTEIN ESTATE - LATE DAY WORKERS are harvesting for miles around. PAN to Elizabeth and Claude examining the sheaves on a wagon. She cracks the grain and tastes it, glances to Claude. He smiles and nods. CLAUDE It's turning out to be a good year. ELIZABETH Let's return a tenth of the crop to the tenants. -LRB- off his look. -RRB- They had a hard winter. CLAUDE Not even your father would be that generous. ELIZABETH Then there's no need to tell him, is there? Claude grins and motions to his MEN. They resume loading the sheaves as a STABLEBOY rides up : STABLEBOY Miss! The mail arrived! There's one from Master Victor!", "INT.  FRANKENSTEIN PARLOR - NIGHT We find the family gathered around the fire as Elizabeth reads Victor's letter aloud : ELIZABETH and not a day goes by that I do not cherish your faces in my mind's eye or ache to see you all again. Be assured that I am with you in spirit, and you are never far from my thoughts. I remain, as always, your loving and devoted Victor. P.S. She pauses, reading ahead. INSERT OF LETTER The P.S. reads : `` Elizabeth. I am holding our vow precious in my heart.'' ELIZABETH glances up at their expectant faces. WILLIE What does it say? ELIZABETH It says, give Willie an extra big hug for me. WILLIAM -LRB- beaming. -RRB- Read it again? She smiles, rearranges the pages as we", "INT.  UNIVERSITY HALLWAY - DAY A classroom door. SHOUTING from within : VICTOR -LRB- O.S. -RRB- That's no excuse for being a pompous ass! Victor storms out with Krempe at his heels. Krempe pauses in the doorway, red - faced, bellowing after him : KREMPE I'll see you thrown out of this university! I'll go to the dean himself! Take me at my word, Frankenstein! The dean himself! Classroom doors are opening, faces peering out. Waldman among them. Victor keeps going, does n't look back.", "INT.  GASTHOF - NIGHT Victor and Henry slouched at their regular table writes in his thick, well - worn leather journal. HENRY The entire school heard it. It was n't something one could miss. VICTOR You're a comfort to me, Henry. HENRY What now? Writing about it in your journal wo n't help. VICTOR -LRB- quietly. -RRB- It's a letter to my father. Henry falls silent. Victor closes the journal, winds it secure with its leather thong, jams it deep in the outer pocket of his greatcoat. Brooding. The bell above the door JINGLES. A gust of wind sweeps in. They glance up. Professor Waldman enters, dapper and soft - spoken, impeccably courteous. He murmurs a pleasantry to the INNKEEPER and drifts over to Victor's table. VICTOR Professor Waldman. WALDMAN -LRB- takes a seat. -RRB- Victor, explain yourself. VICTOR Krempe has a way of provoking my temper. WALDMAN You have a way of provoking his. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I've been watching you. You seem impatient with your studies. VICTOR To say the least. I came here to expand my mind, but honest inquiry seems strangled at every turn. All we do is cling to the old knowledge instead of seeking the new. WALDMAN You disdain accepted wisdom? VICTOR No, I embrace it. as something to be used or discarded as we advance the boundaries of what is known. HENRY -LRB- mutters to Waldman. -RRB- Now you've got him started. VICTOR These are exciting times, Henry. We're entering an era of amazing breakthroughs. Look at Edward Jenner. He was n't content to bleed people with leeches, he pioneered a new frontier of thought HENRY yes, and thanks to him, smallpox has been virtually eliminated. I've heard this speech before. VICTOR But you have n't listened, Never in history has so much seemed possible. We're on the verge of answers undreamt of. but only if we have the courage to ask the questions. WALDMAN I understand your frustration. I was young once myself. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Walk me home. Something I'd like to show you.", "INT.  WALDMAN'S HOME - WORKSHOP - NIGHT The gaslights come up with a SOFT HISS. The first thing Victor and Henry notice is an artist's nook situated adjacent to big windows where the light would be best during the day. Easels are lined with in - progress work on a variety of subjects, everything from landscapes to anatomical studies, all quite excellent. The rest of the place is a laboratory crammed floor - to - rafter with arcane equipment. Taking off his coat and rolling up his sleeves, Waldman leads Victor and Henry down rows of tables crammed with experiments and clutter. WALDMAN You know for thousands of years the Chinese have based their medical science on the belief that the human body is a chemical engine run by electricity? They say we all contain streams of energy which flow through us like currents in the ocean, or rivers in the earth. They arrive at a table. Waldman roots through a tray of knickknacks, holds up an acupuncture needle. WALDMAN Their doctors treat patients by inserting needles like these into the flesh at various key points to manipulate these electric streams. He directs their attention to an ancient Chinese silk on the wall. It depicts the human body from front and side angles. Acupuncture points are clearly marked. VICTOR Preposterous. WALDMAN I once saw it done, as a boy in Canton. My parents were missionaries. The cure was nothing short of miraculous. -LRB- off their looks. -RRB- I've never forgotten it. Been fascinated ever since. HENRY It smacks of magic. Waldman slides forth a steel pan and uncovers it to reveal an enormous dead toad in dissection. Copper mounting pins trail wires to a small panel of switches. The switches, in turn, are connected to a series of galvanic batteries. Waldman starts throwing switches. Victor and Henry jump as the toad convulses with motion. They watch, stunned, as Waldman puts the toad through its paces : legs kick, feet flex, mouth opens and closes, lungs breathe. WALDMAN Magic. Seems alive, does n't it? Waldman shuts the thing down, strips off his gloves, his arm at the array of wires and batteries. WALDMAN Electricity. VICTOR It's utterly fantastic! This is the sort of thing I'm talking about! We should be learning this! WALDMAN Why? God alone knows what it means. Until it has proven value, it's nothing more than a ghoulish parlor trick. Hardly fit for the classroom. VICTOR But the possibilities. Combining ancient knowledge with new? Something like this could change our fundamental views! WALDMAN It is a thrilling direction to explore. Thrilling and dangerous. -LRB- off his look. -RRB- Nature can be wonderful and terrible. Science is not a realm for the reckless ; it needs a conscience. We must proceed cautiously. Assess as we go. -LRB- drapes the toad. -RRB- What I do on my own time is my own business. The same holds true for you. You wish to expand your mind? Fine, do so. You can even join me here, if you like. But not at the expense of your normal studies. VICTOR I doubt that decision is still mine to make. WALDMAN -LRB- waves. -RRB- Nonsense. Tonight you will draft an apology to Professor Krempe. Victor starts to object, but Waldman overrides him with a stern gesture for silence. Listen. WALDMAN. a sincere and heartfelt apology which you will then read aloud to him before the assembled student body and faculty. VICTOR Why? WALDMAN -LRB- draws close. -RRB- Our profession needs talent like yours. Destroy your career over an issue of pride? What a waste. Waldman hands him the acupuncture needle. A gift. Victor studies it, fascinated. WALDMAN Go home, Victor. Write the letter,", "INT.  LECTURE HALL - DAY DOLLYING VICTOR IN A SWW 360 : He stands before the students and faculty, reading his apology. VICTOR and I further wish to extend my sincerest regrets to Professor Krempe for my display. My behavior toward him was both rash and inexcusable. Up in the gallery, Krempe nods grudgingly to himself.", "INT.  FRANKENSTEIN MANSION - DUSK Exquisite silverware goes CLINKING SOFTLY onto polished wood as : ELIZABETH -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- laughing. -RRB- I knew held get himself in trouble. TILT UP to reveal the expansive dinner table being set for guests. KITCHEN STAFF are to - ing and fro - ing. Elizabeth splits her attention between supervising and reading Victor's letter, while Justine busies herself with a flower arrangement. Willie gets underfoot. Father just sits. JUSTINE Must've been a terrible row. ELIZABETH He was almost expelled for calling one of his professors a `` pompous. -LRB- glances to Willie. -RRB- Fellow.'' FATHER He always was opinionated. ELIZABETH -LRB- reads on, laughs. -RRB- He set things right with a proper apology. and now they've put him in charge of dissection lab! WILLIE What's that? FATHER That's where they cut things open and peer about inside. WILLIE Things? What sort of things? Father is about to press on with the gory details, but Elizabeth freezes him with a glance. ELIZABETH It's far too ghoulish for your young ears. The old man throws Willie a look. We'll talk later. ELIZABETH The point is, your brother is a brilliant student well on his way to becoming the finest - and most compassionate doctor ever.", "INT.  WALDMAN'S WORKSHOP - NIGHT A DISSECTED DOG convulses through its electronically - induced paces. Kicking. Twitching. Tasting the air with its dead tongue. TILT UP to reveal Victor at the switch. Waldman leans close to observe. Softly : WALDMAN Re - configure the leads? VICTOR Numbers four and twelve directly into the nervous system? Waldman nods. WALDMAN Worth a try.", "INT.  AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY With Waldman at his side and Henry providing the tools as needed, Victor instructs a freshman class in the internal workings of a dissected corpse. Professor Krempe observes from a distance. VICTOR and the medulla oblongata is the transition between the spinal cord and the two parts I've already named. cerebrum and cerebellum. Any freshmen feeling queasy yet? -LRB- glances around, smiles. -RRB- All of you, from the look of it. We'll resume your torture tomorrow. He waves them dismissed. They laugh and exit, relieved. Waldman squeezes Victor's elbow. Well done. Victor stiffens at Krempe's approach. KREMPE You seem to be adapting well to the approved curriculum. VICTOR Despite the lack of challenge. Krempe reddens, but says nothing. He gives Waldman a curt nod and walks off. WALDMAN Victor. He was trying to be gracious. VICTOR The strain was evident. HENRY Come now, you must take some satisfaction. You've risen to the top of your class. A position of prominence and regard. Victor weighs this, glances at both of them, smiles. VICTOR What keeps me going are my friends. He throws his arm around Henry's neck, pulls him into an affectionate headlock. Henry struggles and laughs : HENRY Leave off! JEWELER'S SHOP - DAY Victor is gazing with reverence at a gorgeous oval locket dangled before him by a smiling JEWELER. He glances to Henry for an opinion. HENRY Your Elizabeth must be quite a treasure, Victor. -LRB- pointedly to jeweler. -RRB-. to justify these prices. The jeweler's smile goes frosty. WALDMAN'S WORKSHOP - DAY TIGHT ANGLE ON the locket lying open against canvas, dangling from an easel frame. TILT DOWN to reveal a magnificent miniature oil portrait of Victor in progress, no more than three inches high within its penciled oval. Waldman paints with an extraordinarily delicate touch, jeweler's glasses riding low on his nose, eyes unnaturally large behind the magnifying lenses. Victor sits patiently for the portrait, suffused with daylight. Henry leans in over Waldman's shoulder, studying the portrait. Waldman stiffens a bit, aware of his presence. He clearly hates people looking over his shoulder. HENRY -LRB- deadpan. -RRB- Should n't the nose be above the mouth? Waldman heaves a long - suffering sigh. He abruptly jabs his brush at Henry's nose, daubing it with paint. Dignity upheld he resumes his careful work as Victor laughs.", "INT.  WALDMAN'S HOUSE - DINING ROOM - NIGHT Victor, Waldman, and Henry are gathered around the remains of a meal, laughing uproariously, enjoying one another's company. Cigars are lit, wine is flowing. Conversation is fast and loose, intense and passionate : WALDMAN I'm quite serious. Look at all the charity and clinic work we do. Up until thirty years ago, the concept of vaccine was unheard of. HENRY You're saying all disease will eventually be eradicated? WALDMAN I'm convinced. Not by treating symptoms, but by diving nature's most jealously - guarded secrets. HENRY -LRB- turning serious. -RRB- Do you foresee this happening in our lifetimes? WALDMAN No. But someday. HENRY Thank goodness. We'd be out of work. A HOWL OF OUTRAGE AND LAUGHTER. Victor flings his napkin in Henry's face. VICTOR Only you would think of that! HENRY -LRB- laughing. -RRB- Somebody has to! Victor raises his wine glass. The others join. A toast. VICTOR I tell you what we need, my friends. Forget the symptoms and diseases. What we need is a vaccine for death itself. WALDMAN -LRB- laughter. -RRB- Oh, now you have gone too far. There's only one God, Victor. HENRY -LRB- raises his glass. -RRB- And here's to Him. Everything in moderation, Frankenstein. VICTOR -LRB- grins. -RRB- Nothing in moderation, Clerval.", "INT.  POOR HOUSE - DAY CAMERA, TRACKS the gritty reality of a big - city poor house, crammed with society's dregs : the poor, the uneducated, wailing babies, stampeding children. Absolutely jangling with noise and confusion. loud and stifling. people getting eye - ear - nose - throat exams. being vaccinated. The `` doctors'' in attendance are all Ingolstadt STUDENTS performing community service, none of whom look like they're enjoying it. Schiller looks particularly harried. We find Victor and Henry giving out vaccinations. They keep glancing over their shoulders at Waldman as he gets further embroiled in a no - win argument with a wiry, ferret - faced MAN terrified about getting his vaccination : MAN Yer not stickin' it in me! Got pox in it, I hear tell! FAT WOMAN Pox? They givin' us pox? Ripples of panic spread. Waldman is as tense and clipped as we've ever seen him, valiantly trying to control his temper amidst the surrounding cacophony and ad - lib dialogue : WALDMAN No, it's not pox, it's a vaccine. FAT WOMAN Vaca - what? WALDMAN vaccine, from the Latin vacca, meaning cow. -LRB- glances at her girth. -RRB-. or vaccinia, meaning cowpox. MAN I told you there was pox in it! WALDMAN no, no, cowpox in a minute quantity, perfectly harmless, gives you a natural immunity to small ox, which is the point of this whole bloody exercise. Victor and Henry are pausing work. Concerned. Drifting closer. The ferret - faced man is cornered. MAN You doctors kill people! I don' care what you say, you ai n't stickin' it in me! WALDMAN I most assuredly am! It prevents disease and it's the law! Why am I explaining myself? Somebody restrain this damn fool! It happens this fast : There's an innocuous blur of motion as the man seems to tap Waldman lightly in the stomach, then he darts away, slamming past Victor and Henry. Victor looks after him running away, hears something clatter to the floor. He glances down. A thin knife. Victor looks to Waldman. Puzzled. It still has n't really dawned. Waldman turns to them, face drained of color, hand pressed to his sternum, lips tight. He looks more annoyed than anything else. He exhales slowly. HENRY Professor? WALDMAN -LRB- softly. -RRB- Oh God. That's when the blood starts pumping through his fingers. They catch him as he collapses, cradling him as he sprawls to the floor. People are pushing and crowding to see.", "EXT.  POOR HOUSE - DAY A cobblestoned street - scene. Carriage. A delivery wagon. Vendors. Pedestrians. The doors of the poor house burst open, releasing a frenzy into the street : Victor and Henry carrying Waldman by his arms and legs, all the students running alongside, some of them weeping with panic, the crowd at their heels still trying to catch a glimpse, pedestrians scattering, the students dwindling up the long winding street, bearing their professor toward the school, shouting for help.", "INT.  UNIVERSITY CHAPEL - DAY Krempe delivers the eulogy before the open casket. The chapel is full. Victor is seated near the back. Dazed. Henry comes up the aisle and slides in next to him. Victor does n't even glance over. Henry whispers : HENRY They just caught the man who did it. VICTOR He was a frightened soul who acted out of fear and ignorance. HENRY They'll hang him all the same. VICTOR Good. I'll be there to hear his worthless neck snap. People glance back. Henry lays his hand on Victor's elbow. HENRY Keep your voice down. You do n't know what you're saying. VICTOR It was wrong, Henry! It should n't have happened! The bastard deserves to die. Victor is causing ripples of attention throughout the chapel. Even Krempe falters briefly in his eulogy. Henry pulls Victor from the pew, drags him up the aisle.", "INT.  CONFESSION BOOTH - DAY and into the confessional where they launch at each other in harsh whispers. Dialogue here is overlapping and intense : HENRY You're making a scene! VICTOR Why Waldman? He of all people should have cheated death! HENRY You ca n't. Death is God's will! VICTOR I resent God's monopoly. HENRY That's blasphemy! VICTOR Blasphemy be damned! Waldman spent his life trying to help people! HENRY All the more reason for us to continue his work with the poor! VICTOR -LRB- beat, low. -RRB- No. He had more important work. HENRY There are sick people who need our help. Here and now. Not in some future time. Consider that. Henry exits. Victor tries to compose himself, clasping his hands together as if in prayer. or quiet rage. He gazes up. There on the wall hangs a crucifix. VICTOR Life and death. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Why should You alone have the final say? VICTOR'S POV PUSHING SLOWLY IN on the Christ figure before him, bleeding from a crown of thorns, arms thrown wide. DA VINCI'S STUDY OF MAN rises from the image of Christ, striking an eerily similar pose, arms thrown wide within the perfect circle. We hear a DOOR BEING UNLOCKED as.", "INT.  WALDMAN'S WORKSHOP - DAY a WIDER ANGLE reveals the deserted workshop. The door swings open as Victor lets himself in. He sees the finished locket lying open on a table, picks it up, studies the beautiful miniature portrait it contains. Snaps it shut. He looks up, eyes falling upon the Da Vinci print hanging on the wall. He stares. Intense.", "INT.  WALDMAN'S WORKSHOP - NIGHT TRACKING SHOT : Things are in the process of being sorted and boxed. We find Victor poring over Waldman's notes : VICTOR To understand the causes of life, we must first have recourse to death. and examine the process in minutest detail.", "EXT.  TOWN SQUARE - DAY A gray day. Waldman's ferret - faced MURDERER stands weeping helplessly on the scaffold as sentence is read : MAGISTRATE his body to be left on public display for a twenty - four hour period, thereafter to be consigned to an unmarked pauper's grave. So the court has spoken. The EXECUTIONER draws the hood over the murderer's head, cinches the noose tight. The condemned man is blubbering, pleading for his life. Victor stands in the crowd. Watching. Waiting. We hear the THUMP of the body dropping, the CRACK of a snapping neck.", "EXT.  TOWN SQUARE - NIGHT Dark as Hades. Pissing down rain. A FLASH OF LIGHTNING and a CRASH OF THUNDER. The dead man still hangs from the scaffold, lashed by the wind. Victor looms from the storm, hands jammed in the pocket of his greatcoat. He pulls out a thin, glittering blade. The very weapon which took Waldman's life. He gazes up at the dead man. at the rope from which he dangles.", "INT.  VICTOR'S GARRET - NIGHT The dead murderer lies pale and naked on a slab. Victor leans close, still dripping, studying the face closely. A FLASH OF LIGHTNING throws wild, skittering shadows through the dormer windows and skylights. Softly : VICTOR No longer pathetic and useless", "INT.  VICTOR'S GARRET - DAY The dead man, dissected and wired, jerks bolt upright, flopping and convulsing, eyes opening and closing, mouth gaping open and shut. He falls back limply as Victor shuts the power off, making careful notations in his journal.", "INT.  VICTOR'S GARRET - DAY TRACKING the dissection table. up the length of the murderer's body. now in an advanced stage of decay. we hear the SOFT BUZZING of flies. We find Victor standing over the corpse. Gaunt and hollow - eyed. Exhausted and obsessed. Wearing a butcher's apron. Staring down at one of the dead man's forearms. Maggots are swarming in the flesh. He abruptly raises a cleaver and WHACKS it off at the elbow.", "INT.  VICTOR'S GARRET - NIGHT TRACKING SLOWLY past the forearm lying in a steel pan, we find Victor performing an intense chemical analysis. Dead tissues are breaking apart in solvents, distilled over a slow - burning flame. Victor smears a glass slide, places it under a microscope.", "INT.  GASTHOF - DAY Victor is hunched over his notebook, pale and unhealthy, scribbling notations next to a rendering of the human form. Henry is across from him : HENRY Victor. This has got to stop. -LRB- Victor glances up. -RRB- Nobody's seen you in months. You have n't attended a single class. VICTOR I've been preoccupied. HENRY We all know how hard you took Waldman's death. Even Krempe is sympathetic. But it is time to move on. It is time to concern yourself with life. VICTOR That is my concern. -LRB- faint smile. -RRB- I'm involved in something just now. I want to finish it in Waldman's memory. HENRY How much longer? VICTOR Few months perhaps. I'm gathering the raw materials even now.", "EXT.  GRAVEYARD - NIGHT The wrought - iron doors of a crypt have been forced open. CAMERA PUSHES through to find Victor standing inside over a stone sarcophagus with a pry bar in his hands. He's nervous, working up his courage : VICTOR Materials. That's all they are Tissue to be re - used. He pries off the stone lid. It THUMPS heavily to the floor, cracking in half. He opens the casket, reaches in, raises the pale arm of the deceased to inspect it.", "EXT.  GRAVEYARD - NIGHT Stone monuments. Bare trees. Ivy - covered ground. Victor shoulder - deep in a grave. Shoveling. A lamp burns low. COFFIN - NIGHT Pitch black. The lid swings open, cascading dust and soil. Victor peers down, holding the kerosene lamp high. VICTOR'S GARRET - NIGHT TRACKING ALONG the shelves, crammed now with formaldehyde jars of feet and hands, brains and kidneys, the occasional head staring through the glass, dead cats. and we find Victor working into the wee hours. Hunched over his specimens. Candle flame flickering low. Referring back to Waldman's notes. Making notations in arcane books such as `` De Occulta Philosophia,'' by Agrippa, and `` Le Sciences et les arts D'alchimiste,'' by Paracelsus. FRANKENSTEIN ESTATE - LATE DAY A magnificent backdrop of mountains against a cloudless blue sky. TILT DOWN to Elizabeth and Justine with the mansion distant. A steady breeze ripples the fields as Elizabeth regards a stack of mail. ELIZABETH Nothing. Still nothing. JUSTINE It's been months. It's not like him. ELIZABETH Something's wrong. I know it. -LRB- off her look. -RRB- I've heard rumors of cholera spreading south from Hamburg. JUSTINE So have I ELIZABETH I should go. I should leave today. JUSTINE Elizabeth. If it's true, travel into Germany would be banned. You'd never get near Ingolstadt. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Besides, they're only rumors. ELIZABETH -LRB- beat, nods. -RRB- And not a word of them to Father. He's agitated enough not hearing from Victor. JUSTINE Read him one of the old letters and rephrase it. We'll say it came today. It'll set his mind at ease. Elizabeth gives her a hug. They walk toward the mansion", "INT.  BLACKSMITH SHOP - DAY Murky and dark. Bellows are pumping. Showers of sparks cascade. The BLACKSMITH and his ASSISTANT are pounding a metallic sledgehammer litany, beating a huge copper sheet into shape. Victor enters. The blacksmith directs his attention to a finished copper piece leaning against the wall. Victor runs his hand over the surface. Nice.", "INT.  MATERNITY WARD - CHARITY HOSPITAL - NIGHT A WOMAN lies on a table, screaming as she goes into labor. Her water breaks, cascading into a steel bucket. One of the ASSISTANTS snatches it up, scurries around the corner. Victor is waiting in the shadows. Money changes hands.", "INT.  VICTOR'S GARRET - NIGHT Victor is examining the amniotic fluid. Boiling it off. Working to synthesize it.", "INT.  VICTOR'S GARRET - NIGHT Victor pours the final drum of fluid into what appears to be a large copper vat. He dips his hand in, examines the consistency and smell. ANGLE WIDENS, spinning slowly up to reveal that the vat is human in shape. A sarcophagus.", "EXT.  ALLEY - NIGHT We find Victor examining three corpses on the back of a wagon, checking nostrils and teeth with gloved hands. A PAIR OF MEN lurk in the shadows, waiting. VICTOR That one. The corpse is lifted off. Money changes hands. MAN With this cholera come to town, we'll have plenty more for you.", "INT.  VICTOR'S GARRET - NIGHT Victor wearing elbow - length gloves, hacking furiously away with a bone saw. Tossing aside the scraps. VICTOR'S GARRET - NIGHT Victor has an arm wired, testing reactions. He scrapes off a small shred of tissue, drops it in solution, watches it break apart. It does n't look good. He glances feverishly at the clock, makes a fast decision, scribbles in his journal : VICTOR Not optimal. Must use. No time to replace. Body ca n't wait. VICTOR'S GARRET - NIGHT Victor stitches a torso with one of those big, awful curved needles, yanking up hard to draw the catgut tight. ARCTIC VICTOR -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I stitched it together with my own hands. VICTOR'S GARRET - NIGHT Victor pulls on a chain, hoisting the body off the slab via block - and - tackle mounted on a ceiling track. The body rises limply into the air, spinning slowly, arms and legs dangling, long black hair covering its face. ARCTIC VICTOR -LRB- V.O. -RRB- A patchwork man of my own devising. Victor reaches up with one hand to stop the body spinning. He pushes it down the length of the lab, rolling it along its ceiling track like a side of beef in a meat locker.", "INT.  VICTOR'S GARRET - NIGHT The Creature lies on an improvised bier of crates, surrounded by shadows and clutter, draped/sprawled like Christ taken from the cross in Michelangelo's `` Pieta.'' Beakers bubbling and dripping. Intravenous lines seeping and secreting. A misty chemical haze in the air. Victor is watching his patchwork man. Glowering. Waiting. ARCTIC VICTOR -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It took nutrients like a child receiving milk. blushed like a young girl with the blood I forced through its veins. A FLASH OF LIGHTNING rips through the skylights, bathing the scene purple/white. Eerier and eerier. ARCTIC VICTOR -LRB- V.O. -RRB- all in preparation. VICTOR'S GARRET - DAY We find Victor passed out in a chair. His creation is still taking fluids. Gray daylight streams through the windows. There's commotion in the street outside : shouting, horses' hooves clattering on cobblestone, an occasional scream or wail. Victor does n't stir. Dead to the world. Somebody starts POUNDING on the door. Victor rouses, takes a moment to remember where he is. He lurches from his chair, grabs a canvas tarp, throws it over his `` patchwork man.'' STAIRWELL - DAY Henry is pounding. Finally the latch is drawn. The door swings open a crack. Victor peers out. Gaunt and furtive. Suspicious. Henry is stunned at his dissipated appearance. HENRY God's sake, what is that stench? Henry peers past him. Victor shifts, blocking his view VICTOR This is a bad time, Henry. I'm busy just now. What do you want? HENRY Things have gone worse with this cholera outbreak. Thousand new cases a day now. Classes have been suspended. University's shut down. VICTOR Yes? And? HENRY Listen to what I'm saying. The militia's arriving to quarantine the city. Most of us are getting out while we still can. VICTOR You'll be leaving then. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Just as well. You never were cut out for this, Henry. Goodbye. And the door slams shut. The bolt is thrown. Henry pounds. HENRY VICTOR! OPEN THE DOOR! LISTEN TO REASON! Nothing. Stunned and hurt, Henry turns from the door and heads back down the stairs.", "EXT.  VICTOR'S BUILDING - STREET - DAY Henry exits into a nightmare. REFUGEES are streaming from the city, horses and wagons, people on foot, carrying their possessions. Henry steps into the street and is nearly run down by a carriage. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- OUT OF THE WAY! Henry glances up to see Schiller at the reins, struggling to control the animals as the carriage eases past. HENRY Schiller? You're leaving? Where's all that high talk about treating the sick? SCHILLER -LRB- icy. -RRB- To hell with them. And you. He snaps the reins, not caring who he runs down. The carriage lurches away, scattering refugees before it. Henry keeps walking. Jostled by the hostile crowd. Looking around. Dazed. Dead bodies are stacked along the street like cordwood, waiting for the death carts. ANGLE WIDENS as Henry stumbles along through utter despair and devastation, stunned at the human suffering around him as we", "INT.  VICTOR'S GARRET - NIGHT Victor glances at the clock. Scribbles in his journal : VICTOR Time running out. Rate of decay accelerating. Must strike now. or start again from scratch. He gazes down at his creation, lying once again on the slab before him. but now the Creature lies on a full body - length steel grate. Steel chains with hooks dangle from the ceiling above. along with long coils of thick copper wire tipped with glittering needles big enough to knit with. Victor glances up at the Da Vinci. The Study of Man has been daubed with red paint at key acupuncture points. Victor dips a huge cotton swab in a bowl of iodine, starts dabbing identical marks on the body before him. Now he's ramming the huge wire - fed needles deep into these spots, brutally working them around in the flesh to get good contact. The forearms, the neck, the rib cage. Now he's attaching the steel chain - hooks to the four corners of the steel grate. Now he's pulling on a rope, straining to hoist the whole rig into the air. It lifts slowly from frame : body, needles, wires and all. HIGH WIDE ANGLE. and we get our first spectacular look at Frankenstein's gloriously low - tech and stupendously arcane lab. The Creature dangles below us from the ceiling - hoist, lying full - length and horizontal on its steel grate, spinning slowly, thick copper wires trailing from its arms and legs, rib cage and neck, armpits and groin. The copper cables trail upward, coil along the ceiling like garden hose to provide necessary slack, meander down the wall to culminate in a splendiferous array of galvanic batteries, steam engines and generators. Frankenstein reaches slowly up, fingertips straining toward the ceiling as if worshipping the creation revolving endlessly above his head in a perfectly - described circle not at all unlike the Da Vinci. And he grabs the lever on the platform and pulls to start it spinning, with a mighty heave, he sets the whole thing gliding in motion, CAMERA TRACKING FASTER AND FASTER as he rolls it along the ceiling track through the lab, passing table after table of desiccated leftovers and discarded scraps, LIGHTNING BLAZING through the windows to mark his way with wild and sinister shadows. and he yanks the platform to a stop over the copper sarcophagus. Amniotic fluid steaming and murky within. He positions the platform, unties the rope, lowers the Creature down and down, lower and lower, sinking into the vat, the steel grate a perfect fit in size and shape. Faster now, moving furiously. Reaching into the murk, unhooking the chains. Arraying the copper wire through air - tight guide holes. Spinning on his heels and reaching up, grabbing hold of the upper shell of the sarcophagus also suspended from the ceiling, stunningly heavy, gleaming with reflections and secrets. CAMERA ROCKETS DOWN on Victor as he swings the upper shell into position, lowers it into place with a THUD - CLANK! Working the wing - nuts on the bolts, spinning frantically, tightening them down, sealing the sarcophagus air - tight. Faster now. Faster. The frenzy builds and the CAMERA GOES WILD, rocketing, zooming, gliding, spinning the audience on its ear : Frankenstein. Turning up the heat on the burners. Cooking the copper from below. Double double, toil and trouble. Frankenstein. Gazing through the thick glass portholes checking on his creation drifting in the murk. Frankenstein. Whipping up the galvanic batteries, supercharging them with steam generators. Watching as they send voltage humming and throbbing through the copper cables along the ceiling beams. Building up a charge. Frankenstein. Gazing at his gleaming handiwork. LIGHTNING painting his features into a twisted mask. Hand on the switch. Ready to rev it up and throw the throttle. Over it goes. WHAM! Overdrive. The body convulses violently in its copper womb as the first jolt of electricity hits. THUNK - THUNK - THUNK! Blazing with energy and arcane light, fingers of light throbbing through the portholes, sparkling, glittering, seeking. Frankenstein races to the sarcophagus. A long glass tube, two feet in diameter and ribbed with steel, gets lowered on a boom and rammed into a hole, collate spun tight, inner dam wrenched out like a Polaroid plate. He reaches up and grabs holds of a pull - chain, fingers going knuckle - white on the wooden handle. One hard yank. A dump - tank is released, murky water cascading down the glass tube. And here's the final perversion, the ultimate icing on this twisted cake : the copper sarcophagus is literally a womb, with the giant glass tube serving as a massive gleaming phallus down which come pouring dozens of electric eels, wriggling and streaming like huge black sperm. EEL POV -LRB- IN THE TUBE -RRB-. rocketing down the tube, slithering and squirming, faster and faster, racing into the sarcophagus, seeking out the creation in the murky womb - fluid, lashing at the hapless gray flesh, zapping it again with high - intensity voltage. The Creature convulsing, thrashing, jerking from side to side, raising its head against the top, mouth gaping open and shut, jaws snapping with electrical surges. Frankenstein's face appears at the porthole, peering in, watching his dark seed fertilize his unholy child. VICTOR -LRB- muffled through the glass. -RRB- Live, you bastard! A huge bony hand slaps against the porthole, fingers clawing and spasming against the glass. FRANKENSTEIN jerks his head back, stunned. The fingers are scratching. He turns, runs to the electrical rig, shutting the whole thing down. It cycles off, whining into silence INSIDE THE SARCOPHAGUS. and the body relaxes, shutting down with it, going limp and lifeless in the murk, spasms trailing off. FRANKENSTEIN stares at the sarcophagus. Realizing his creation has stopped moving. Nothing now. He sags to his knees, utterly devastated at the loss of his dream. Nothing. It was all for nothing. INSIDE THE SARCOPHAGUS. And The Creature opens its dim yellow eyes, aware. Its mouth goes wide, teeth bared in a silent scream as it tries to breathe and finds nothing in its lungs but fluid. FRANKENSTEIN is wrapped in his despair, face cradled in his hands. A SOFT TAP. He glances over his fingers. Thinking he imagined it. No. There's another tap. And another. We see it in his eyes. Sheer joy and stunned exultation. Triumph and wonder unbelievably sublime. A bare whisper : VICTOR It's alive. It's alive. And then hell breaks loose : Massive convulsions wrack the sarcophagus, damn near shaking it off its cradle. THUMP - THUMP - THUMP! Pounding from within. Head ramming against the inner lid. He races over, frantic, fingers fumbling on the wing - nuts, spinning them loose, trying to free the drowning man within. He unscrews the final bolt, reaches for the rope to hoist the lid away. and the lid launches itself across the room, propelled from below with rocket - booster force. The massive copper shell goes hurtling/spinning/cartwheeling across the lab, demolishing an amazing array of equipment in its path, and thunders massively off the wall in an explosion of masonry and splintering coat rack. Victor's greatcoat goes flying. Silence. Frankenstein is frozen. Staring at the roiling surface of the amniotic fluid as it settles. An eternity passes in the space of a heartbeat. The Creature erupts from the vat like a vision from Hell, thrashing and gagging. Murky fluid cascading in all directions. The Creature seizes Victor by the shirtfront, trying to pull itself from the vat, slipping and sliding like an epileptic in a bathtub full of oil, damn near dragging Victor in, eels leaping and frothing and crackling with electricity. Victor screaming, trying to pull away, trying to break the Creature's grip. and the whole thing tips over. Victor reels back, falling as the vat SLAMS to the ground, cascading its murky contents, washing the Creature limply across the floor like a body tossed from the ocean, eels flipping and flopping, snapping electrical discharges into the air. Victor scrambles back, slipping and sliding on the amniotic muck, desperately jerking his legs away. He finds his traction and scrambles to his feet. The Creature is grasping and crawling toward him. Flopping and jerking. Gripped by seizures and convulsions. Vomiting murky liquid as his lungs heave grotesquely to dispel the fluid. Swiping the air with palsied hands. Malfunctional. VICTOR stands dripping fluid and goo, chest heaving, staring down at the Creature, not quite able to believe he was midwife to this ghastly birth. Softly : VICTOR What have I done? The Creature lunges to its knees, grasping him, clutching his clothes, pawing him. VICTOR LET GO OF ME! Victor ca n't break free. Panicking. He snatches a hammer from a nearby table and brings it down on the Creature's head. THUD! Again and again. Beating the thing down, pounding it into submission. The Creature finally collapses, sliding down Victor's legs, curling up like a fetus, twitching and jerking in its own afterbirth. Silence now. A ghastly tableau : Victor stands in the middle of his ruined lab with his creation moaning and twitching at his feet in a dying heap. A FLASH OF LIGHTNING silently bathes the room, jerking wild shadows across the walls. Victor steps over the Creature. Dazed. He drops the hammer. It clatters to the floor. He stops to jot a final entry : VICTOR Massive birth defects. Result is malfunctional and vile. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Have chosen to abort. He walks stiffly away, disappears into the bedroom.", "INT.  BEDROOM - NIGHT where he staggers to the canopied bed, beyond exhausted, and collapses face - down into oblivion. Weeping.", "INT.  VICTOR'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The wee hours. Rain pattering desolately on the roof. Victor sleeping. Wrestling with troubled dreams. Through a crack in the bed curtains, we see the bedroom door slowly creak open, throwing a twisted spill of light. A shadow appears. Entering. Shambling and gliding across the floor. Silent and furtive. Creeping toward the bed. PUSHING SLOWLY IN on Victor. Moving into close - up. Sleeping. Unaware. The shadow falls across his face. Beat. His eyes fly open. An intake of breath. Paralyzed. Sensing the presence. Feeling the shadow. Working himself up to something. Perhaps a scream. He can stand it no longer, thrusts out his arm, jerks the curtain aside. and the Creature is there, Looming like a specter of death. Naked. Beseeching. Dull yellow eyes trying to understand. Victor lurches from bed, sends a nightstand and vase CRASHING to the floor. The Creature circles, seeking him, threatening to cut off his path to the door. VICTOR Stay away! He darts past the thing, careening out into the lab. The Creature whips around, unsteady for a moment, then follows him with surprising speed.", "INT.  LAB - NIGHT Victor races through the lab with the Creature hobbling behind, trying to catch up. Victor hurling lab equipment, tipping shelves in its path, anything to slow it down. Victor rips the door open, lunges through, slams it in the Creature's face. The Creature presses against the wood with pathetic little moans, begging not to be left alone. He sinks to the floor. Abandoned. Shivering with cold. Sees Victor's greatcoat where it fell. Grabs it. Drags it over. Shrouding himself.", "EXT.  STREET - NIGHT Victor races into the downpour, soaked to the skin in seconds, mind racing. He needs a plan. He presses on.", "INT.  SHOP - NIGHT Victor appears at the window. TILT DOWN to reveal an array of gleaming swords lying in their velvet display. Victor hurls a brick through the glass. Snatches up a sword.", "INT.  VICTOR'S BUILDING - NIGHT Victor careens in from the storm, drenched, racing up the stairs, sword glittering in his grasp. He gets to the top of the stairs.", "INT.  VICTOR'S GARRET - NIGHT only to discover the door torn off it's hinges. He enters, stunned. The thing is gone.", "EXT.  STREET - NIGHT Victor races back into the storm. Searching. Slogging grimly on. Lashed by the wind and rain. Mocked by the lightning. He'll never give up. Not until he finds the thing and takes back the life he gave it. He dwindles from view, vanishing into the gale as we", "EXT.  ALLEY - MORNING Gray and drizzly. Heaps of wet garbage. Crawling rats. There's a shifting, heaving motion. The vermin scatter as the waking Creature peers at the world from beneath the greatcoat like a frightened child peering from under a blanket. Lost and confused. He scrabbles through the garbage for something to eat. He finds a rotted scrap, chews it anxiously. Ravenous. TWO FERAL DOGS appear, grizzled denizens of the city's gutters and back - alleys, peering with insolent eyes. Watching him eat. Assessing his potential as a threat. The Creature stares ingenuously back. Not knowing to be afraid. The lead dog curls his lips back with a guttural SNARL. The Creature draws back sharply with a fearful MOAN. That's all it takes. The dogs are on him, snarling and snapping, the food torn from his hands. The dogs dart away, growling and fighting over the scrap. The Creature is left whimpering and shaken. He pushes to his feet and hurries in the opposite direction, legs bare and pale beneath the swirling greatcoat, clutching his collar against the cold. He hears a distant CLANGING. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Bring out your deeeaaad! Bring out your deeeaaad! A death cart clatters slowly past the mouth of the alley, DRIVER ringing his bell. It makes no sense to the Creature, but it's a sign of human life. He presses on.", "EXT.  TOWN SQUARE - DAY and emerges into the square as ANGLE WIDENS. There's a fair amount of activity. People are still leaving the city, though the earlier flood has thinned. Some citizens are still trying to go about their normal lives. VENDORS are calling out, selling food. The Creature moves through the square, unnoticed, just another figure mingling with the flow. People trudge along, eyes downcast, miseries great, paying little attention. The Creature pauses, sniffing the air. An aroma draws him to a vendor's stand. Loaves of bread are laid out. He hunches down to smell one, picks it up, bites off a chunk. Chewing. It's good. A bigger bite. Snatching up more. WOMAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Here! What do you think you're doing? The Creature glances up. The VENDOR'S WIFE is within arm's reach, breath catching in her throat at the sight of him. Mouth gaping. Too stunned to scream. The Creature cradles the loaves to his chest, terrified she's going to take them away. He remembers his recent experience with the dogs and decides to try out the lesson he learned : he curls his lips back and snarls. He's rewarded with a PIERCING SHRIEK. The Creature jumps back, startled. This was n't the desired effect. The woman SCREAMS like she'll never stop. He turns to run away. and plows right into the stream of refugees. He goes sprawling, scraping his knees bloody, still clutching his loaves. Confusion all around. People converge angrily. A ROUGH MAN grabs his hair, jerking him upright. ROUGH MAN Stupid bastard! and the Creature staggers to his feet before them, whimpering to protect his food, showing his face to all. Screams and panic. The Creature whips around, seeing horrified faces on all sides. He's the cholera! He's the one been spreadin' the plague! faces which turn into an angry mob, glaring sheer hatred. Somebody hits him in the face with a heavy stick, spinning him to the ground, loaves of bread scattering. They surround him, hitting, flailing, throwing stones. He tries to crawl, whimpering for them to stop. VENDOR'S WIFE BURN HIM! BURN HIM! The Creature finds himself hoisted into the air, falling back onto a sea of hands, kicking and screaming as the mob sweeps him across the square like some pagan sacrifice. He gets tossed onto the hard cobblestone in a thrashing heap, scrambles to his knees as the crowd surrounds him. He's wailing with terror now, long inhuman howls of fear. Men start flinging lamp oil, spattering him, blinding him. A torch is lit, swung toward him. Feel the heat. The Creature lunges to his feet, panic and terror complete bulldozing through the crowd to get away from the torch, bowling people over, scattering them in all directions. He breaks free, hobbling wildly across the square, greatcoat billowing. The mob streams after him, thirsty for blood, hurling rocks and sticks.", "EXT.  STREETS/ALLEYS - DAY The Creature is weeping as he runs, bleeding from his many cuts and bruises. He turns a corner, collapses against a wall to catch his breath. He can hear them coming, shouting. They'll be here any second. He sees a death cart heaped with bodies. He hurls himself up on the cart to conceal himself among the putrefying corpses. The crowd streams past the mouth of the alley. The death cart WORKERS appear, heaving another corpse onto the cart, gaping fearfully at the confusion. They scramble into their seats, snap the reins. The cart rattles off as we", "EXT.  STREET - DAY Elsewhere in Ingolstadt. Death carts and devastation. This part of town was hit hard. Bodies are heaped in gutters, stacked along the walls. People are huddled in doorways, quaking with sickness and pestilence. CART WORKERS move among them, faces shrouded with kerchiefs and burlap masks. WORKER # 1 moves down a row of the sick and dead, shaking them to see which is which, his face hidden behind heavy burlap. He pauses, seeing Victor unconscious against the wall, pale and covered with filth, shaking with fever. The worker's eyes widen. Stunned. He calls over his shoulder : WORKER #1 Over here! WORKER # 2 hurries over. Stares down. Eyes also widening. WORKER #2 Oh my God. Worker # 1 rips his mask away. It's Henry. He leans down and grabs Victor, trying to rouse him. HENRY Victor! Worker # 2 also sweeps his mask aside. Professor Krempe. KREMPE Do n't dawdle, lad! The sick cart! Lift on three! One, two, three! They hoist Victor off the ground by his arms and legs and carry him into the street. Victor rouses, feels himself being carried. He sees a death cart looming ahead, stacked with heaps of reeking dead. Staring. Waiting. VICTOR -LRB- delirious, struggling. -RRB- No. no. I'm not dead. please. Do n't put me on the cart! I'm not dead! I'm not dead! I'M NOT DEAD! ANGLE WIDENS UP as they carry him kicking and screaming past the death cart and on across the square.", "EXT.  MASS CEMETERY - DAY A death cart rattles past, bearing its load. PAN WITH IT to reveal a scene utterly Dante - esque. Here's where the dead are brought to be burned en masse. Fires are burning. Smoke is drifting in thick clouds, obscuring the sky. Soot is drifting like black snow. BODIES are dumped into a slit - trench, rolling and tumbling in heaps. Barrels are kicked over. Streams of oil come pouring down, splashing and soaking. One of the corpses moves, heaving the others aside. The Creature gazes around, terrified once again at the smell of oil. He knows what that means. He pushes free, clambering over bodies, desperately trying to scramble from the trench, loose soil crumbling under his fingertips. ON THE LIP OF THE TRENCH. as WORKERS prepare to light the blaze. A MAN turns toward the trench with a burning torch. And then the Creature erupts from the trench of dead bodies right before big eyes, The man SCREAMS. The Creature SCREAMS even louder, cowering back. The man hurls the torch. The Creature ducks as it goes spinning over his head into the trench. WA - BOOOM! A massive wall of flame punches sky - ward. The Creature whirls, stunned at the searing heat, arms thrown up in horror. He flees, scattering the workers as he goes, running from this ghastly place of flames and death.", "EXT.  WOODS - DAY The Creature comes blundering into view. On the move. He knows not where. Just away, He arrives at a pond. Water. He's thirsty. He scrambles to water's edge, starts lapping it up with his hands. He pauses, noticing his broken reflection. The water settles and his face comes clearly into view. He throws his hands up and SHRIEKS, terrified at his own reflection. and then he realizes it's him down there. He stirs the water with his fingertips to make sure. He reaches up, touching his face, utterly horrified at the sight of it. and utterly heartbroken. He drops his face into his hand and weeps helplessly. BARKING DOGS in the distance. He looks up, thinking they're after him. A moan of grief. He pushes to his feet. TRACKING THE CREATURE faster and faster through the trees, running from this world he's been born into. Gasping for breath. Crashing through branches. The BARKING draws closer. He hurls himself into a thicket, scrambling to hide himself, covering himself with dead leaves. Panic. Exhaustion. Mortal terror. He flinches as something comes CRASHING through the brush nearby. The legs of a DOE come into view. Staggering. Falling. Thrashing down into a cushion of dead leaves. Two arrows protrude from her heaving side. A tiny FAWN stumbles into view on ungainly legs, mouth open, frothing with exhaustion and terror. Waiting for his mother to rise. Her thrashing grows weaker. Dying. The Creature moans at the sight. The fawn turns, meets his gaze. An extended beat. A rush of empathy. The Creature reaches out. The fawn takes a few hesitant steps toward him. The BARKING draws closer. HUNTERS shouting. The Creature's fingertips make contact with the fawn. A pack of the biggest, nastiest Staffordshire terriers you've ever seen throw themselves HOWLING AND SNARLING onto the doe, savaging her like whirling dervishes, The Creature lets out a SHRIEK, snatches up the fawn as he lunges to his feet, crashes off through the foliage with the fawn cradled to his chest. The dogs take off after him. DOLLYING THE CREATURE Running full - tilt, SHRIEKING in terror all the way. Trying to save the fawn. Trying to save himself. The dogs are snapping at his heels, trying to sever his hamstrings and bring him down. He hears RUSHING WATER ahead, crashes headlong through a thicket.", "EXT.  RIVER - DAY and sails SCREAMING into empty SPACE, twisting and spinning as he falls, plummeting head - first into the rapids. The dogs are left behind. The Creature gets swept along, gasping and choking, caroming off huge boulders, fawn still clutched protectively to his chest. Finally the water starts to settle. He manages to lash out and secure a handhold. He pulls himself up, clambering over the rocks and staggering onto firm soil. He collapses to his knees, dripping water and heaving for breath. He lowers the fawn away from his chest, joyous at their escape. only to realize the small animal is limp and lifeless in his hands. He crushed it to death trying to save it. He lays it down, moaning, trying to understand. ANGLE WIDENS UP into the trees as we WOODS - DUSK TILT DOWN to reveal a solitary figure in a greatcoat trudging across the sodden countryside under a dismal, darkening sky. Cold. Hungry. Wet. Tired. The Creature pauses, hearing FAINT MUSIC drifting on the breeze : the lovely flute - like sounds of a recorder. He slogs to the crest of a ridge. There's a small house in the valley below. A peasant dwelling. Smoke drifts from the chimney. That's where the music comes from -LRB- a simple and plaintive rendition of our movie's WALTZ/LOVE THEME -RRB-. The Creature proceeds down the ridge. drawn by the music and the promise of warmth. HOUSE - DAY The Creature approaches cautiously. Furtive. He eases to a window, catches a glimpse inside, draws back. Listening. The tune ends. We hear the pleasant murmur of VOICES. FOOTSTEPS come clumping across the floor. The Creature reels back and dives around the side of the house as the door unlatches and swings open. FELIX exits, a poor man trying to scratch an honest living from the soil. He heads in the same direction as the Creature. ANOTHER ANGLE. and walks around the corner of the house just as the Creature scrambles from view behind the chicken coops. The Creature watches through the wire and wood as Felix approaches and stops, only his legs visible. Feed is scattered through the wire. The chickens begins to eat. The Creature backs up PIGSTY - DUSK. and finds himself in the company of PIGS. The animals GRUNT and SQUEAL in alarm. FELIX -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Yes, yes, I'm coming. The Creature scurries further back into the shadows as Felix's feet stop just outside. A pail is upended. Slop pours into the trough. Felix walks away. The pigs scurry to eat. The Creature leans forward intently. Food? He crawls to the trough and squeezes in among the pigs. They jostle, but he jostles right back, wanting his fair share. He laps up the slop with his fingers, dribbling it down his chin. Not much on taste, but it's edible. He stops, hearing the recorder MUSIC again, turning toward the sound. He follows it, crawling back into the darkest recesses where the sty adjoins the wall of the house. He places his eye to a chink between the logs. and sees GRANDFATHER playing the instrument near a fireplace of glowing embers. The Creature shifts for another view, sees the family preparing the table for dinner. Felix and his wife MARIE are helped by their children, MAGGIE AND THOMAS, ages 6 and 8 MARIE Bring Grandfather to the table. The old man stops playing as the children scurry over. As Maggie helps him to his feet, Thomas tosses another log on the fire. It BLAZES UP. Fire and sparks. In the pigsty, the Creature draws back with a fearful moan. that nobody but GRANDFATHER hears, He pauses to gaze blindly toward the wall, eyes milky with cataracts, wondering what it might have been. Probably nothing. He lets the children lead him toward the table. The meal is brought from the stove and ladled out. The Creature eases back to the chink in the wall, smelling it from here. A string of drool spills from his mouth. It's humble fare, not very appetizing, but it looks like a feast compared to pig slop.", "INT.  VICTOR'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Victor lies sleeping. Wrestling with troubled dreams. In an eerie echo of before : the door creaks open in a spill of light. A shadow enters, creeps to the bed, falls across his face. Victor's eyes fly open. He tries to erupt from bed, choking on a scream. and Henry wrestles him back to the pillow to feel his clammy forehead. HENRY Thank God your fever broke. -LRB- offers him water. -RRB- Slowly, now. Just a sip. -LRB- Victor sips, falls back. -RRB- I've been worried we might lose you. It's been touch - and - go for a week. VICTOR A. week? HENRY We feared cholera. Turned out to be pneumonia, brought on by nervous exhaustion and some idiot running around in a storm. VICTOR Is that your diagnosis? HENRY Mine and Professor Krempe's. -LRB- off his look. -RRB- We've been trading off nursing you in shifts. The rest of the time we're out working with the cholera victims. It's his turn for that just now. VICTOR You've been going round - the - clock? HENRY We catch a few hours sleep where we can. Usually here at your bedside. VICTOR -LRB- deeply moved. -RRB- Everything in moderation, Clerval. HENRY Nothing in moderation, Frankenstein. Victor takes Henry's hand. Squeezes it. HENRY It's the down - and - outs I pity most. Those who ca n't fend for themselves. They'll be dead by the thousands before this is done. They do n't stand a chance out there. VICTOR -LRB- thinking of his creation. -RRB- No. They do n't. HENRY Victor. This place looked like a charnel house. What went on here? Victor pauses, too emotional to respond. Softly : VICTOR I want to go home. Beat. Henry accepts this, though he does n't like it. HENRY It'll be months before you're well enough. Meantime, your family must be frantic not hearing from you. Henry grabs a stack of letters from the nightstand. HENRY I found these. Some of the postmarks go back nine months. -LRB- slaps them on the bed. -RRB- Why do n't you open them? And when you've the strength, have the decency to ease their minds with a reply. Soon as the city ends quarantine, I'll even mail it for you. Along with this. -LRB- raises the locket. -RRB- It's a beautiful gift. Does her no good lying here. Henry leaves him alone to wrestle with his guilt. Victor is swept with emotion and remorse. He closes his eyes. Softly : VICTOR It ca n't survive.", "INT.  PIGSTY - DAY The Creature and the pigs are sleeping in a heap. He rouses, scattering them, crawls to the slats of the sty. Felix is returning wearily from the fields with a large basket on his back. The Creature moves to his chink in the wall to see Felix enter the house and dump the basket out for Marie. A pathetic array of potatoes and turnips. FELIX Not much to look at. Even less to eat. I do n't how we're going to get through the winter with this yield. MARIE We'll sell another pig at market. FELIX One less for us. MARIE We'll make do. We always have. He sinks into a chair, weighed by worry. She moves to comfort him, cradling his head to her breast. He returns her embrace, drawing strength. A tender, gentle moment. The Creature watches, puzzled and empathetic, deeply moved by her sympathy. Felix gathers himself, wipes his eyes. FELIX I'll see if I can scratch a few more out of the ground. He hoists the basket and exits. The Creature turns to watch Felix trudging back toward the fields.", "EXT.  FIELD - DAY Felix digs for potatoes, tilling as he goes. Back - breaking work. Thomas provides what help he can. Some distance away, Maggie and Grandfather are tending the cow. ANGLE SHIFTS to reveal the Creature watching from the brambles.", "INT.  PIGSTY - NIGHT The Creature watches the family eat their dinner. Potatoes and turnips. A glimmer of understanding in his eyes.", "EXT.  HOUSE - NIGHT A long shadow looms toward the dwelling. circling the house. approaching the shed. Baskets and tools.", "EXT.  FIELDS - NIGHT We find the Creature working by the light of a refulgent moon, hacking away at the soil, tilling the earth.", "INT.  PIGSTY - DAWN The Creature stirs, hearing movement within the house. He scurries to the slats of the sty and peers out. All the baskets from the tool shed are stacked to overflow before the door. The door opens. Felix steps out and trips on a basket, sprawling to the ground in a torrent of potatoes and turnips. He sits up, gazing in wonder.", "INT.  PIGSTY - NIGHT A sliver of warm light spills through the chink in the wall. The Creature looms into frame, busily munching a raw potato. A pig comes snuffling at his elbow. He shoves him away. Go find your own. Inside, the family is enjoying a much more generous meal than the last one : GRANDFATHER I wish we could thank our benefactor. FELIX Nothing in this life comes free of cost. I'd like to know who and why. MAGGIE It's the Good Spirit of the forest. FELIX Who's been filling your head? GRANDFATHER It does no harm. FELIX -LRB- peers at him. -RRB- Oh, I see. THOMAS Is it, Papa? Is it the Good Spirit? Felix and Marie exchange a look. He's not as amused as she is, but lets it go. She smiles at the children. MARIE Of course it is. Now finish your food before it gets cold.", "EXT.  POND - DAY Grandfather sits playing his recorder. The cow is grazing at a distance. The Creature creeps into view, listening to the music. Grandfather senses his presence. Turns. GRANDFATHER Who's there? Felix? Children? No response. He turns back. Unsettled. Continues playing.", "INT.  PIGSTY - NIGHT The Creature watches Marie instructing the children in their letters. A half dozen words are written in chalk on a slate board. Maggie is trying to puzzle one out : MAGGIE ff. reh. nn. nd. Friend? Friend. MARIE Good! And now the next CREATURE -LRB- mimicking the effort. -RRB-. freh. nnn. nd. Freehhnnnd. He's delighted to have uttered his first word.", "EXT.  WOODS - DAY Felix is chopping lengths of wood, dulled by the task. The children are stacking the wood on a litter.", "EXT.  FIELD - DUSK Felix and the children walk home. The litter of wood is being dragged by their cow.", "EXT.  HOUSE - DUSK Felix stacks the last pile of wood under the eaves. Marie meets him at the door, takes his hands. MARIE Your hands are bleeding again. Come in. I'll rub liniment. They go inside. The door closes. CAMERA PUSHES to the pigsty. Eyes peering out.", "EXT.  WOODS - NIGHT The Creature walks along, munching a turnip, axe slung over his shoulder, muttering : CREATURE brread. motherrr. frriend. -LRB- stops, gazes up. -RRB- Treeeeee.", "EXT.  HOUSE - MORNING The walls around the house are stacked impossibly high with cords of wood. Felix and Marie gaze out the door. Stunned. FELIX What is going on here?", "INT.  VICTOR'S GARRET - NIGHT Snow is drifting outside the tall dormer window. We find Victor at his desk, reading a letter : VICTOR. but it's been so long since I've heard from you. Remember the vow we took the night you left? You must be honest with me if your feelings have changed. Answer for the sake of our friendship, and both our future happiness.'' -LRB- pause. -RRB- She wrote that four months ago. ANGLE SHIFTS to include Henry. He's been listening. HENRY A woman like that is far too rare to be taken lightly. Victor ponders the letter. He lays it next to the locket, pulls out a sheet of paper and quill, begins to write.", "INT.  PIGSTY - NIGHT The Creature observes another lesson. Six more words are chalked on the board. Thomas is struggling with the first : THOMAS Ch. uur - ch. Church. CREATURE Ch. uuu. ch. MARIE Good. And the next. THOMAS Fl. oww. CREATURE Floww. And then, amazingly, the Creature finishes the word before Thomas does : CREATURE wwer. Flower. THOMAS wer. Flower? MARIE Very good! Maggie. Try the next. Now the Creature beats Maggie to the punch : CREATURE Garrr. denn. Garden. THOMAS Maria! Look! It's snowing! The children crowd to the window. The Creature turns, peering through the slats. White flakes drift magically down. The door flies open, the children pour out. The adults appear in the doorway : MARIE Maggie! Thomas! You'll catch your death! GRANDFATHER Let them play. There's plenty of wood for the fire. FELIX -LRB- shoots her a look. -RRB- He's right about that. Before she can react, he grabs her by the waist and drags her shrieking out into the snow. Before you know it, a wild snowball fight ensues. Screams and laughter. THE CREATURE watches his family cavorting in the snow, having the time of their lives. His face lights up with a smile. Softly : CREATURE It's snnowwinng.", "EXT.  HOUSE - DAY Bright sunshine sparkles off a fresh carpet of snow. Felix and the children are heading out, spirits high. Felix has his axe and a coil of rope slung over his shoulder.", "EXT.  WOODS - DAY TRACKING Felix and the children. They're laughing and joking, the kids playful and giggling. The Creature shadows them, looming and darting among the trees, along for the excursion. Happy as a kid himself. Maggie and Thomas hurl themselves to the ground, thrashing their arms and legs in the snow. They jump to their feet and hurry to catch up with Felix. The Creature peers out, amazed to see two snow - angels in the powder at his feet. Up ahead, Maggie points to a 6 - foot fir tree. MAGGIE That one! It's the most beautiful tree I've ever seen! Felix shrugs off his coil of rope and starts chopping.", "INT.  PIGSTY - NIGHT The Creature gazes through the chink in the wall, face lit up with wonder. Inside, the tree is a dazzling vision of ornaments and light. The house is filled with joy and laughter. Grandfather plays his recorder by a roaring fire CREATURE Most beautiful. tree. The kids go dashing across the room. The Creature shifts to the slats as the door opens, throwing a spill of warm light. The children set something out in the snow. Maggie calls out into the darkness : MAGGIE Merry Christmas! The door closes. The Creature creeps from his sty, scurries closer to investigate. He finds a covered plate topped with a glittering red silk flower as decoration. The slate board is jammed in the snow. On it is chalked a child's rendering of a glowing angel and a message : CREATURE For the. Goood Spirr - rit. of the. Forr - rest. He snatches up the plate, scurries around the side of the house, and hunkers down near the tool shed with his prize. He plucks the red silk flower, enchanted by it, tucks it gingerly into an inner coat pocket. He uncovers the plate to reveal a wonderful array of Christmas cookies. He's not sure what they are, but they do n't smell half bad. He picks one up and bites into it. He pauses, stunned, eyes going wide as saucers. A whine builds in his throat. He starts huffing air as he chews, mouth gaping, mind thoroughly blown. Screw potatoes and turnips.", "EXT.  HOUSE - MORNING The children race out the door to find the plate empty. And a big snow - angel waiting for them in the yard,", "INT.  PIGSTY - NIGHT The Creature watches the family clustered around the fire. Marie reads a book aloud : MARIE with particles of heavenly fire, the God of Nature did his soul inspire. and pliant still the ethereal energy which wise Prometheus tempered into paste. The Creature leans back into the shadows, grappling with the concept of book. He reaches into the pocket of the greatcoat, and pulls out what's been there all along : Victor's Journal. So that's what this is. A book. He unwinds the thong, riffles the pages. Letters fall, scattering from the pages. He picks one up by the corner, turns his head this way and that. Slowly : CREATURE Myyy Darrllnng Vic. tor. Willee haaad hisss burrth - dayyy. I wissh. yooo cuud huvv beeen. herre. to sharre ut. withh. ussss.", "EXT.  GRANDFATHER'S POND - DAY Grandfather sits playing his recorder. Again, the Creature approaches to listen. Grandfather stops. Turns. GRANDFATHER I know you're there. -LRB- waits for a response. -RRB- Wo n't you speak to me? The Creature studies Grandfather for a time. The old man waits. Finally starts to play again. The Creature finds a spot to listen. He opens Victor's journal. CAMERA PUSHES SLOWLY IN as he puzzles over it.", "INT.  PIGSTY - DAY and we CONTINUE PUSHING SLOWLY IN as the Creature reads : CREATURE of sscience. and to c - create. a beinng. in the image of man. assembled ffrrom. the. dead bodieess I have. gatherrred. He turns the page and discovers his own rough likeness : it's Victor's sketch of his patchwork man. The rendering includes suture marks where the pieces were joined. The Creature gazes for a long time. His finger traces the penciled suture - line where an arm joins the torso. Eyes going wider. Revelation slowly dawning. No. It ca n't be. it's too horrible to conceive. and he drops the journal, clawing at his coat in a surge of panic, wrenching it away to reveal his arm. And the massive suture scars joining his shoulder to his torso in an exact match to the drawing. He throws his head back in an animalistic PRIMAL SCREAM, face twisted in a mask of utter horror, Munch's painting made flesh. IN THE WOODS. and his scream echoes across the countryside, Felix turns from chopping wood. His family gathers, eyes wide, listening to the sound trail off. Softly : FELIX God in heaven. IN THE PIGSTY A massive hand rips the page from the journal, raises it in a clenched fist. ANGLE WIDENS to reveal the Creature huddled in a corner, dropping his head into his arms to hide his face. Sunlight throws streaks of light and shadow through the slats. He sobs, wracked with despair as we", "EXT.  VALLEY - DAY The house is distant below. Felix and his family are heading out across the fields now sparse with snow, herding the cow before them. Only Grandfather is missing. The gentle MUSIC of the recorder drifts up from the house. ANGLE WIDENS to reveal the Creature hunkered on a hill. Watching. Waiting. The family dwindles in the distance.", "INT.  HOUSE - DAY For the first time, we actually see the inside of the house from a perspective other than through the chink in the wall. Grandfather is by the fire, playing his recorder. The Creature's face appears at a window. Peering in. He ducks from view, appearing at another window. Making sure the house is otherwise empty. He vanishes again. The door swings silently open. His figure fills the doorway. Grandfather stops playing. Silence. GRANDFATHER Would you like to sit by the fire? The Creature enters. Sits. Holds his hands toward the embers, feeling the warmth. CREATURE Nice. GRANDFATHER The music? Or the fire? Grandfather offers him the recorder. The Creature hesitates, takes it, inept where such delicacy is required. He puts it to his misshapen lips and blows a few hollow tones. He gives it back, huffing air, delighted. GRANDFATHER I'm glad you finally came to the door. A man should n't have to scurry in the shadows. CREATURE Better that way. for me. GRANDFATHER Why? CREATURE I'm. very, very ugly. People are afraid. Except you. GRANDFATHER -LRB- smiles. -RRB- It ca n't be as bad as that. CREATURE -LRB- soft. -RRB- Worse. The old man - reaches for his face. The Creature draws back. GRANDFATHER I can see you with my hands. If you'll trust me. The Creature decides to trust. He eases forward. Grandfather runs his fingers over his features. Gently : GRANDFATHER You're an outcast. CREATURE Yes. I have been seeking my friends. GRANDFATHER Friends? Do they live around here? CREATURE Yes. Very close GRANDFATHER Why do you not go to them? The Creature pauses. Emotions swirling. Afraid to continue. CREATURE I have been. afraid. Afraid. they will hate me. because I am so very ugly. and they are so very beautiful GRANDFATHER -LRB- softly. -RRB- People can be kinder than you think. CREATURE I am afraid. Grandfather reaches out and takes the Creature's hands. GRANDFATHER Perhaps I can help. Tell me who. The Creature is huffing air, breath hitching in his chest like a panicking child. His monstrous eyes well up with tears. Trying to get the words out : CREATURE I love them. so very much. I want. I want. them to be my ff - family. I II - Ilove them ss - so very mm - mm - mmuch. The Creature pauses. Trying to get the words out. And the door swings open. The Creature whips his head. There stands Maggie. Eyes going wide. Breath catching in her throat. She lets out an ear - splitting SHRIEK! The Creature throws himself on the old man's lap, clutching him, pleading : CREATURE Do n't let them hate me! Felix bursts in, shoving Maggie aside, hell breaking loose in screaming, hollering chaos : Marie trying to get the children out of the way, Felix throwing himself on the Creature to rip him off the old man, the Creature sprawling to the floor, the old man shouting, the children SHRIEKING, Felix snatching, up the fireplace poker and swinging it down, again and again, trying to kill the thing. GRANDFATHER Leave him alone! the CREATURE SCREAMING and taking the blows, writhing across the floor in agony, the children scattering from his pleading hands. The CREATURE rolls from under the brutal beating and sails out the door.", "EXT.  WOODS - DAY The Creature runs bleeding and sobbing, a specter sailing among the trees with greatcoat billowing like huge dark wings. Running from the horrified screams of rejection still echoing in his mind.", "EXT.  WOODS - DAY A snowscape. Stark trees. A figure in a greatcoat. Head bowed with misery. Leaning against a tree. Trying to catch his breath. Ca n't. Crying too hard. He sinks to his knees, hands clutched bitterly to his heaving chest. Wondering why the anguish does n't stop his heart in mid - beat. A realization. He pulls the little red silk flower from the inside pocket. It lies glittering in his huge, misshapen palm like gentle magic. Or hope. Yes. HOUSE - DUSK The sky is brewing. The Creature runs across the courtyard toward the house, breathless, holding his palm out. See? Here's the flower you gave me. Do n't you understand? CREATURE It's me! It's mmmmeeeeee! Nothing. He glances around. The pigs are gone. Chickens too. The Creature's eyes go wide. He dashes to the house HOUSE - DUSK. and bursts in to find it empty. Items have been scattered and left behind. Books, clothes, even the old man's recorder. They left in a hurry. CREATURE no. HOUSE - NIGHT We hear furniture CRASHING, glass SHATTERING, shelves being ripped from walls. A faint glow kicks up. Flames rise within. The Creature exits with a flaming torch, spins back to watch. He has new possessions : an armload of books jammed in a satchel, some extra clothes on his body, the old man's recorder jammed in his belt. A HOWLING WIND whips up, billowing his coat and hair, fanning the flames even higher. He raises his torch, HOWLING along with the wind, reflected fire seething in his eyes, exulting as the house is consumed. MONT BLANC - DAY Massive pale gray feet walking through the snow. ANGLE WIDENING to reveal a lone, windswept figure traversing the glacier with a walking staff. Struggling toward the crest of a ridge. Greatcoat billowing in a freezing wind. THE CREATURE rises from below the crest and gazes down. Glowering with triumph at achieving his goal. Softly : CREATURE Geneva. AERIAL SHOT sweeps up the slope of the glacier like the wind itself, rising magnificently past the tiny figure standing on the ridge, sailing up over the crest. to reveal the valley and lake of Geneva below.", "INT.  VICTOR'S GARRET - DAY (SPRING) Sunlight streams through the dormer window. Birds twitter on the ledge outside. The trees are in bloom. Victor stands dressed and ready to go, taking one last pensive look around at the now - empty garret. Henry appears : HENRY Our carriage is here.", "EXT.  INGOLSTADT CITY GATES - DAY Bustling with activity. Hopeful. A traffic snarl is jammed up in both directions, waiting to get in and out of the city. People, carriages, wagons, goods. We find Professor and MRS. KREMPE saying goodbye to Victor and Henry : MRS. KREMPE -LRB- watching the gates. -RRB- Such a terrible winter. I'll praise God to see those gates open again. KREMPE I'll have all your things sent on. They should arrive soon after. -LRB- Victor nods. -RRB- It's been a rough time, lad. For us all. But if you'd like to come back and finish out your final term once university re - opens. A ROAR goes up from the crowd. The gates are finally opening as SOLDIERS swing them aside. The traffic starts to flow. Victor turns back to Krempe, nods gratefully. VICTOR Thank you, Professor. For everything. Krempe is flustered as Victor gives him an awkward hug. KREMPE Write and let us know you've arrived safely. Victor breaks the embrace. He and Henry clamber into the carriage. Softly : VICTOR Take me home, my friend. Henry signals the DRIVER. The reins snap. The carriage lurches away, easing into the flow of traffic as we", "EXT.  FRANKENSTEIN ESTATE - DAY William, now 10, comes charging up the steps with a small package under his arm, nearly bowling over Mrs. Moritz as he sails past her hollering his head off : WILLIAM HE'S COMING HOME!", "INT.  PARLOR - DAY Willie careens into the parlor, where Elizabeth and Justine are entertaining FRIENDS. WILLIAM Elizabeth! Justine! Father enters, trailed by HOUSEHOLD STAFF. FATHER What's all the fuss? Why are you shouting? WILLIAM He's coming home! Tonight! ELIZABETH Who? Victor? WILLIAM That's what I'm telling you! ELIZABETH -LRB- swept with relief. -RRB- Thank God. Willie thrusts the package into her hands. She hesitates FATHER Open it. Willie scrambles to bring her the letter opener. Elizabeth lays the package down, slits it open. Willie peers in. Elizabeth pulls the locket out to the admiration of all. She presses the catch. The locket pops open to reveal Waldman's miniature oil painting. WILLIAM It's Victor! JUSTINE It's beautiful! May I? -LRB- takes the locket. -RRB- He looks so handsome. Elizabeth pulls out the letter. Apprehension and hope. She begins to read. The others watch her. Waiting. Her face lights up, blinking back tears. She remembers to breathe. FATHER What does it say? ELIZABETH Let this locket be a token of the vow we took the night I left. -LRB- beat. -RRB- He's coming home to marry me. Instant pandemonium and joy. except from Justine, whose heart quietly breaks. Father and the others ROAR with approval while Willie jumps and shouts : WILLIAM Married! The two of you? FATHER Brilliant! I knew it! Ever since you were children! JUSTINE -LRB- softly. -RRB- That's wonderful. She hands the locket back. She slips quietly from the room, unnoticed by the others.", "INT.  ENTRYWAY - DAY and hurries down the hall, fighting back tears. RESUME PARLOR as Elizabeth is swept up in congratulatory conversation. Willie grabs the locket, admiring it : WILLIAM Elizabeth? Can I take this to show Peter? ELIZABETH Willie, it's not a toy for your friends. WILLIAM I'll take extra special care, I promise! Pete's never seen what Victor looks like! He'll admire it enormously! Willie's so solemn and earnest that Elizabeth has to smile. ELIZABETH Do n't dawdle. It'll be dark in a few hours. The boy takes off like a shot. Father throws his arm around Elizabeth, announcing to all : FATHER Join us for champagne! My son is coming home!", "EXT.  FRANKENSTEIN ESTATE - LATE DAY Geese scatter as Willie comes racing across the grounds. He clambers over a low fence, heading into the miles of wooded acreage behind the house. His favorite shortcut.", "EXT.  COUNTRYSIDE - LATE DAY Willie hurries/dawdles along as kids do, the precious locket clutched in his hands, admiring it. He ca n't get over the fact that his brother's finally coming home. He pauses, hearing FAINT TONES carried on the breeze, eerie and flute - like. A recorder. Curious, he follows the sounds further and further into the woods.", "EXT.  POND - LATE DAY and comes into view of the pond. There's a FIGURE sitting half - concealed among the tall reeds, gazing off across the water and playing his delicate wind instrument with oddly - pleasing dissonance -LRB- again, a simple variation of our familiar WALTZ/LOVE THEME. -RRB- Willie draws closer. Curious. Not wanting to intrude, but listening to the music. The figure in the reeds still has n't noticed him. And then his head abruptly whips around, An ogre right out of a storybook. Willie's eyes go wide. The locket drops from his fingers into the dust. The boy turns and runs as the monster in the reeds lunges to its feet : CREATURE Wait! Do n't be afraid! The boy keeps running. The Creature comes shambling up from the pond, still calling after him. He picks up the dropped object. As he rises, he finds himself staring at the locket. At the small painting it contains. Victor Frankenstein. He raises his gaze after the fleeing boy. Maybe Willie does have reason to be afraid. The Creature starts after him, locket clenched in his fist, teeth grinding in greater and greater rage. Eyes wild. THEIR FEET go pounding through the brambles and brush. The terrified boy. The pursuing monster. Faster and faster.", "INT.  FRANKENSTEIN KITCHEN - DUSK Whirling with activity. Mrs. Moritz supervises the staff. Elizabeth and Justine are helping with the preparations. Justine turns with a platter, collides with one of the kitchen staff. Carrots go flying. MRS. MORITZ Justine! Pay attention! JUSTINE -LRB- tight. -RRB- Yes, Mother. ELIZABETH -LRB- pulls her aside. -RRB- Are you all right? JUSTINE -LRB- even tighter. -RRB- Fine. Justine sees genuine concern. She softens : JUSTINE I'll be all right. Really. Father enters with Claude. Both men worried. FATHER Have you seen Willie? ELIZABETH Is he not back yet? FATHER Claude rode over there to see if held lost track of time. They say he never arrived. ELIZABETH It's far too late for him to still be out.", "EXT.  MANSION - DUSK Elizabeth exits with the others CLAUDE Do n't worry, Monsieur, we'll find him. He rushes to gather the men. Elizabeth gazes off. Wind kicking up. Night approaching. Almost too dark to see.", "EXT.  COUNTRYSIDE/WOODS - NIGHT A massive search in progress. People are scouring the fields on horse and on foot, shouting Willie's name. Elizabeth enters frame, calling out : ELIZABETH WILLIE! LIGHTNING dances on the horizon. A storm approaching.", "EXT.  WOODED AREA - NIGHT The stark black silhouettes of tree trunks bisect the frame in foreground as Justine approaches from the fields, lantern held high. JUSTINE WILLIE! and one of the `` tree trunks'' turns out not to be. It darts abruptly across frame with a billow of flapping greatcoat, Justine enters the woods. A FLASH OF LIGHTNING sends shadows skittering among the trees.", "EXT.  ROAD TO MANSION - NIGHT And the storm is now a raging downpour, TILT DOWN to reveal a coach clattering through the rain.", "INT.  COACH - NIGHT Victor is peering out the window flap. VICTOR There! Look! Henry cranes to look. A LIGHTNING FLASH stutters the mansion briefly to life a few hundred yards down the road, HENRY Quite a place. VICTOR Thank you, Henry. HENRY For what? VICTOR This. My home. My family. -LRB- softly. -RRB- If not for you, I'd be dead in a burial pit somewhere. Henry smiles, squeezes his shoulder. The carriage lurches violently, tossing them forward.", "EXT.  COACH - NIGHT Victor jumps from the coach as the DRIVER wrestles his rearing horses under control and points. Victor turns. Elizabeth stands in the downpour like a ghost. Drenched to the bone. Weeping from the depths of her soul. Holding Willie in her arms. The boy's arms hang limp, his head dangles back. Victor starts forward, stunned, unable to comprehend, running faster and faster. VICTOR Elizabeth? and now others are converging on the scene, dark screaming figures in the storm. Victor reaches her first as the others crowd around in a panic of confusion, crushing and jostling as she collapses into Victor's arms, all of them cradling Willie, and then Father is there, shoving his way through, - seeing his dead boy and collapsing in the muck with a SCREAM, and suddenly Henry is there shouting for the men to lift him and everybody is scrambling and screaming as we", "INT.  MANSION - FATHER'S BEDROOM - MORNING Silence. All we hear now is the SOFT TICKING of a clock. Henry tenderly ministers to Father, who lies gravely ill.", "INT.  PARLOR - MORNING Elizabeth is sitting. Elbows crossed. Holding herself together. Face ashen. Dazed. Still in shock. Mrs. Moritz is nearby, looking much the same. Eyes swimming with tears. MRS. MORITZ Sir. I'm terrified for my girl. VICTOR -LRB- softly. -RRB- We'll organize another search now that it's light enough. We'll find her, Mrs. Moritz, I promise. Henry comes downstairs. He and Victor confer in whispers then approach Elizabeth. Victor crouches before her. ELIZABETH What is Father's outlook? HENRY I am cautiously hopeful. With quiet and proper care he may eventually regain some or most of his strength. Victor squeezes her hand. Comfort and strength. ELIZABETH Thank you, Henry. There's a KNOCKING at the front door.", "INT.  ENTRYWAY - MORNING Victor opens the door. POLICEMEN hover outside. Faces grim. POLICEMAN #1 Mr. Frankenstein. We've apprehended the murderer. Not five miles from here, hiding in a barn. VICTOR Who is it? The policemen trade uneasy glances. POLICEMAN #2 It's very unsettling, sir. And quite strange. Perhaps you'd better come with us.", "INT.  JAIL CELL - DAY Victor is led in by policemen. The JAILER unlocks the cell. Victor enters as the men depart. Victor is alone, staring at a FIGURE huddled in the corner, pooled in shadow. We get the impression of long, dangling hair. The figure stirs. FEMALE VOICE Victor? and leans into the light. Justine. Pale. Dazed. Scared JUSTINE Victor! It's you! Thank God! She rushes to him, throws herself into his arms. He reacts stiffly, not at all sure he wants her touching him. JUSTINE Is it true? What they say about Willie? Is it true? VICTOR Yes. She dissolves into tears. Barely able to breathe. JUSTINE Willie. My poor little angel. -LRB- looks up. -RRB- Victor! They think I did it! VICTOR Did you? Justine pauses. Stunned. Her eyes on his. Here's the deepest betrayal ever experienced. Her heart turns to ash. JUSTINE -LRB- low. -RRB- I do n't believe. I am in need of your comfort. anymore. VICTOR -LRB- a whisper. -RRB- Did you, Justine? Beat. She hauls off and slaps him hard enough to rock his head around. Then she slaps him again. Harder. JUSTINE Get out!", "INT.  COURTROOM - DAY The courtroom is packed. Justine sits accused. An older KITCHEN MAID is on the stand. KITCHEN MAID I found her sobbing her eyes out. Poor thing, I said, what's all this? And she spilled her heart to me about Master Victor. How she'd always loved him, and now he was coming home to marry mistress Elizabeth. A MURMUR sweeps the courtroom. Victor and Elizabeth share a stunned glance. KITCHEN MAID She cried and cried about the beautiful locket he'd sent. How she wished it was hers. She swore me never to tell a soul. -LRB- peers at Justine. -RRB- That was before the boy went missing, a ` course.", "INT.  COURTROOM - DAY Victor is on the stand : VICTOR I always viewed her with brotherly affection. I had no idea of her feelings for me. PROSECUTOR Rejection can be a powerful wound. People have been known to do uncanny things. VICTOR But to commit so ghastly and terrible a crime against a child she loved? Victor pauses, gnawed by some vague intuition. He looks to Justine. She gazes back, her feelings hidden. Softly : VICTOR It's hard to believe.", "INT.  COURTROOM - DAY Elizabeth is on the stand : ELIZABETH Justine and I grew up as sisters. I know her better than anybody. DEFENDING COUNSEL Do you think it possible she committed this crime? ELIZABETH William was as much her child as mine. We were both mother to him. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I believe she would sooner have strangled the life from her own body. DEFENDING COUNSEL Then you consider the charge without merit. ELIZABETH I consider the charge imbecilic.", "INT.  COURT ROOM - DAY Justine is now on the stand : JUSTINE Yes. I took refuge in the barn. Would n't you? Lost in the storm? Freezing and wet? I was exhausted and could search no longer. PROSECUTOR And is it true, Miss Moritz, that you love Victor Frankenstein? That your heart was broken? -LRB- off her silence. -RRB- Answer the question. Do you love Victor Frankenstein? Her gaze wanders to Victor, eyes locking on his. Stares back, trapped. JUSTINE I have always loved him. PROSECUTOR Is it also not true that you murdered his brother William in a misdirected crime of passion? JUSTINE Murder Willie? In my heart, he was our child. Victor's and mine. Such a thing could never have entered my mind. PROSECUTOR So you have claimed. Yet you have no explanation for this. -LRB- holds up the locket. -RRB- The locket last seen in the hands of the poor murdered child was found hidden in your dress the morning following the murder. The locket you so coveted. -LRB- leans close. -RRB- How did it come to be in your possession? JUSTINE I have no knowledge of that.", "EXT.  FIELD - DAY A PAIR OF FEET drop heavily in frame. THUMP - CRACK! A shoe flies off. The CROWD gasps. Mrs. Moritz collapses WAILING to the ground. Elizabeth drops to her side to comfort her. Victor just stands staring. ANGLE WIDENS to reveal Justine dangling from the noose, neck broken, hands bound and feet still twitching.", "EXT.  SAME FIELD - NIGHT Another eerie echo of before : a storm is raging. The body dangles from the scaffold, lashed by wind and rain. Victor looms from the darkness, staring. And then a massive white hand thrusts into frame and grabs his shoulder. Victor whirls and finds himself staring up into the last face he ever expected to see again, the hideous necrotic features bathed in a purple/white GLARE OF LIGHTNING. He SCREAMS as the Creature lashes out, grabs him by the coat, draws him breathlessly closer, inch by inch, eyeball - to - eyeball, grinning his awful rictus grin. Softly : CREATURE Frankenstein. Victor is speechless with horror. The Creature raises his arm, pointing with an impossibly long and bony finger. Look there. Victor does. LIGHTNING dances in the sky, illuminating Mont Blanc with a crackling halo of electricity. and then the Creature is gone, vanishing like a shadow in the darkness. Victor falls gasping. The awful truth dawning. He rises, gazing at the scaffold, horrified. VICTOR Oh God. Oh God! No! NOOOOOOO! Screaming now, rushing to the scaffold, throwing his arms around the innocent girl dangling there, sliding down, sinking to his knees, weeping helplessly : VICTOR Oh God. Justine. Forgive me.", "INT.  MANSION - STUDY - DAWN Victor pulls a carved box from a shelf. Opens it. Lying inside in their velvet cradle are a gorgeous pair of Model 1820 Collier flintlock revolvers. MANSION - DAWN Victor is bundled in a rough coat, packing final supplies on a horse held by Claude. Elizabeth is at his heels. VICTOR My mind was not playing tricks. He was there in the storm. gloating over his crimes. challenging me to come. ELIZABETH But why risk yourself? Has n't this family suffered enough? VICTOR I've no choice ELIZABETH If what you say is true, it is a matter for the police! VICTOR They've done a fine job. Hanging an innocent for the crime of a fiend. He rams the rifle into its scabbard, turns to her. ELIZABETH -LRB- softly. -RRB- Do you know this man? Is there something between you? VICTOR I know only that he is a killer. And I shall bring back his carcass. Victor heaves himself into the saddle and rides off. TILT UP to the mountain. Shrouded in snow. Waiting. MONT BLANC - DAY A lone horse and rider appear, on his mission of revenge. Victor ascends the mountain. The mountain is brutal and unforgiving. Victor dismounts, leading his horse onto the glacier. A bitter wind blows. They plod on. Searching. Magnificent rugged vistas unfolding before our eyes. Primeval and vast. The horse suddenly spooks. Victor calms him. Staring. Is that a figure down there? He shades his eyes against the cutting sleet. Somebody in the distance. Down there on the snow field. A tiny speck. Watching him. The figure starts running, leaping across the ice with great bounds. Right toward Victor. Victor wrenches the carved box from the saddle bag. The horse bolts. Victor drops to the snow, throws open the box, frantically snatches up the pair of revolvers. He glances up. The figure is gone, vanished in drifts of white. Victor rises with a revolver in each hand, cocks the flintlocks of both, turning slowly around. Gazing at the rocks and crags. Searching. VICTOR WHERE ARE YOU? He hears nothing but his own voice echoing back. and then FEET CRUNCHING through the snow. He turns. The Creature is running toward him across the glacier with inhuman speed, greatcoat billowing like huge dark wings. Victor raises the first pistol. Hesitates. As frightened and angry as he is, a small part of him pauses to admire the achievement of actually having created life. He pulls the trigger. BOOM! A huge flash of powder, an eruption of smoke. The Creature dodges the shot, still coming. Victor raises the other gun. BOOM! Another flash of smoke. Still the Creature comes. Victor. Frantic. Manually spinning the cylinders, cocking, firing. BOOM! A miss. BOOM! Another miss. Spinning. cocking. Firing. BOOM! BOOM! Spinning. Cocking. And the Creature is on him, slapping the pistols clean out of his hands. The guns sail through the air, spinning off across the ice. Victor panics, turns to run. And slips over the edge of the precipice. Victor falls SCREAMING, arms and legs windmilling through a 30 - foot drop. and slams bodily into a snowdrift. He looks up. The Creature is peering down. and leaps over the edge to follow, sailing through the air to land before him in a cat - like crouch. He pulls Victor from the snow and sends him sliding across the ice with a mighty heave.", "INT.  ICE CAVE - DAY right into the mouth of an ice - cave, Victor comes tumbling and sliding down the entrance, spinning and careening to sprawl heavily to the cave floor. Winded. Battered. Barely able to move. He glances up to see the cave filled with possessions. Books. Provisions. Extra clothing. The embers of a fire burn low. There is even a rough attempt at furnishings in the form of a few crates. A huge shadow fills the cave entrance. The storybook ogre is coming home to his cave, breath huffing like a steam engine. Victor scrambles back terrified, pressing into a corner as the Creature enters. but the Creature merely crosses to the fire and hunkers down. He tosses a few more sticks on the flames. Pause. CREATURE Come warm yourself if you like. VICTOR You speak. CREATURE Yes, I speak. And read. And think. and know the ways of Man. -LRB- pause. -RRB- I've been waiting for you. Two months now. VICTOR How did you find me? The Creature grabs Victor's journal off the `` shelf.'' He unwinds the thong, the letters spill out. CREATURE The letters in your journal. That and a geography book. -LRB- picks up a letter. -RRB- Your Elizabeth sounds lovely. VICTOR Kill me and have done with it. CREATURE Kill you? Hardly that. VICTOR Then why am I here? What did you want with me? CREATURE More to the point, why am I here? What did you want with me? -LRB- off Victor's look. -RRB- What does one say to one's Maker, having finally met him face to face? Milton gave it voice. -LRB- grabs a book, thumbs to a certain page. -RRB- Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay to mould me Man? Did I solicit thee from Darkness to promote me? VICTOR Fine words from a child killer. You who murdered my brother. CREATURE Your crime. as well as mine. VICTOR How dare you. You're disgusting and evil. CREATURE Evil? -LRB- scurries closer. -RRB- Do you believe in evil? VICTOR I see it before me. CREATURE I'm not sure I believe. But then I had no one to instruct me. I had no mother. and my father abandoned me at birth. He draws closer still. Intimate. Turning his head this way and that. Puzzling at Victor's face. Softly : CREATURE Were the dying cries of your brother music in my ears? He raises his hand before Victor's eyes, bony fingers curling to clutch an invisible throat. Victor is petrified CREATURE I took him by the throat with one hand. lifted him off the ground. And slowly crushed his neck. -LRB- emotion growing. -RRB- That poor, innocent child died in my grip. because all I could see was your face. and all I could feel was my rage. And when I let him go, he fluttered to the grass like a sparrow. FLASHBACK INSERT : FIELD The Creature gazes down at Willie's body. He stares at the hand that committed the crime as if waking from a dream. Tears welling. Overcome with shame and horror. He falls to knees in the middle of the vast field, his wail echoing across the countryside as he weeps over the boy. RESUME ICE CAVE Victor stares in horror as the Creature relates his story with tears shining in his monstrous eyes. CREATURE Later, when they were searching, I followed the pretty lady who got lost in the woods. FLASHBACK INSERT : - BARN Justine is asleep in the hay. Haggard, wet, exhausted. The Creature looms over her, a monstrous shape backlit by the lightning, gazing on her beauty. His hand reaches down, hovering reverently, wishing to caress the swell of her breasts at the neckline of her bodice. CREATURE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She was so lovely. I longed to touch her. and seek her sympathy. The locket drops from his hand to dangle in his fingers. He lowers it, tucking it gently away in her pocket CREATURE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- but I simply returned the object which had triggered my crime, hoping in some small way to atone. RESUME ICE CAVE Now tears are shining in victor's eyes as well. CREATURE You gave me these emotions, but you did n't tell me how to use them. Now two people are dead. Because of us. Victor is crushed by remorse. A sob escapes him. CREATURE Why, Victor? Why? What were you thinking? VICTOR There was something at work in my soul which I do not understand. CREATURE What of my soul? Do I have one? Or was that a part you left out? -LRB- spreads his hands. -RRB- Who were these people of which I am comprised? Good people? Bad people? VICTOR Materials. Nothing more. CREATURE You're wrong. Do you know I knew how to play this? He grabs up the recorder, plays a brief snatch of melody. CREATURE In which part of me did this knowledge reside? In these hands? In this mind? In this heart? -LRB- beat. -RRB- And reading and speaking. Not things learned. so much as things remembered. VICTOR Trace memories in the brain, perhaps. CREATURE Stolen memories. Stolen and hazy. They taunt me in my dreams. I've seen a beautiful woman lying back and beckoning for me to love her. Whose woman was this? I've seen boys playing, splashing about in a stream. Whose childhood friends were these? -LRB- soft, intense. -RRB- Who am I? VICTOR -LRB- hollow. -RRB- I do n't know. CREATURE Then perhaps I believe in evil after all. The Creature moves off. Victor is emotionally exhausted VICTOR What can I do? CREATURE There is something I want. -LRB- pause. -RRB- A friend. VICTOR Friend? CREATURE A companion. A female. Like me, so she wo n't hate me. VICTOR Like you? Oh, God, you do n't know what you're asking. CREATURE I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine. And rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I can not satisfy the one, I will demonically indulge the other. That choice is yours. -LRB- off his look. -RRB- You're the one who set this in motion, Frankenstein. VICTOR And if I consent? CREATURE We'd travel north, my bride and I. To the furthest reaches of the Pole, where no man has ever set foot. There we would live out our lives. Together. -LRB- beat. -RRB- No human eye would ever see us again. This I vow. PUSHING SLOWLY IN on Victor. Considering it. Beaten.", "EXT.  MONT BLANC GLACIER - NEXT MORNING Victor is calming his skittish horse as the Creature looms into view. Victor turns. The Creature tosses Victor his journal. Victor hesitates, jams it into his saddlebag. CREATURE Soon? VICTOR Yes. I want this over and done with. CREATURE I'll be waiting. And watching. And with that, the Creature turns and scrambles back down the nearly - vertical cliff face, leaping from crags and boulders with superhuman agility. Victor watches him vanish from sight.", "EXT.  MONT BLANC - DAY Victor descends the mountain, heading back to civilization.", "EXT.  FRANKENSTEIN ESTATE - DAY Victor walks his horse toward the house. Elizabeth rushes out to meet him with Henry and Claude. Victor hands off the reins to the STABLEBOY and embraces Elizabeth tightly. ELIZABETH I thought I'd never see you again! VICTOR I'm all right. I'm safe, HENRY What happened up there? VICTOR I did n't find what I was looking for. CLAUDE What did you find? Victor glances over. Claude has pulled the Collier pistols from the saddlebags and caught a strong whiff of powder. CLAUDE These have been fired. VICTOR At shadows. My nerves got the better of me. Victor walks on toward the house with Elizabeth", "EXT.  GARDEN - DAY and we find them in discussion by the fountain : ELIZABETH What sort of task? VICTOR It's not something I can explain now. Perhaps someday. ELIZABETH What of our marriage? Victor, we've had so much tragedy. I want this family to live again. VICTOR So do I. ELIZABETH We need each other now, I need your comfort and strength, not separation and solitude. VICTOR A month at most, that's all I ask. -LRB- draws close. -RRB- Elizabeth, please. Things have not yet resolved. I must take steps to see that they do. For our family's sake. For our sake. -LRB- caresses her face. -RRB- You are life itself. We shall seal our vow. The moment I am done. He leans forward to kiss her. and pauses, hearing the distant MUSIC of a recorder echoing from the hills.", "INT.  BEDROOM - DAY Victor sits at bedside, holding Father's hand. The old man is a weak and frail shadow of his former self. VICTOR You must regain your strength to preside at our wedding. and spoil your grandchildren later on. These are duties you can not shirk. Father smiles faintly. Victor squeezes his hand, whispers : VICTOR We're all safe now. I promise", "INT.  MANSION ATTIC - DAY Murky and dark. Victor enters, yanks a dusty curtain off a window to let in some daylight. He picks up a pry bar, approaches a stack of crates as if facing an old adversary. One in particular is quite large. He rams the bar into the wood, prying it open. and CAMERA PUSHES IN to reveal a dull gleam of copper lurking within the packing straw. VICTOR God forgive me. Victor assembles his equipment, recreating the lab ; bolting together the sarcophagus, now resting in its cradle. Hanging the huge glass tube, adjusting the boom. Installing the ceiling tracks and hoist mechanism. Playing out the copper wire along the ceiling beams. Hooking up the galvanic batteries and generators. Testing the electrical circuit with goggles and thick gloves, getting a huge cascade of sparks. HENRY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I prayed never to see these again. Victor turns. Henry stands in the doorway. HENRY Whatever they are. Henry enters, runs his hand over the gleaming surface of the sarcophagus, circles toward Victor. HENRY I wo n't bother asking what or why. You would n't tell me anyway. I just hope you know what you're doing. -LRB- draws close. -RRB-. because if this is a repeat of Ingolstadt, I wo n't be around to pick up the pieces. CAMERA PUSHES PAST to the Da Vinci print on the wall, contact points still daubed with red.", "EXT.  CEMETERY - NIGHT CAMERA DRIFTS among the tombstones to reveal an eerie sight : SOMEONE hunched in a grave, digging madly, dirt flying. We hear the THUNK of a shovel hitting wood", "INT.  COFFIN - NIGHT and the lid wrenches aside to reveal the Creature. He peers down at us, almost close enough to kiss.", "EXT.  FRANKENSTEIN MANSION - ANGLE FROM ROOF - NIGHT The Creature nimbly climbs the outer wall, fingers grasping the brickwork, a dark shape slung over his shoulder. He pauses as a PAIR OF STABLEHANDS pass far below. He pulls himself onto the roof, crosses the gables, and pushes open a dormer window. We see Victor inside as it swings open. The Creature enters with his prize.", "INT.  ATTIC - NIGHT and the mottled corpse of Justine Moritz flops onto the table before us. CREATURE I want her. Victor stares down in utter horror. Her cold, dead face. Blue lips already beginning to shrivel. Purple, sunken eyes. Knowing that she loved him. Knowing it's his fault she's dead. He can barely get the words out : VICTOR Why. her? CREATURE Her body pleases me. That's it for Victor. He turns away, stomach heaving. It's all he can do to keep from throwing up. CREATURE Materials, remember? Nothing more. Your words. Victor hesitates, pulling himself together. Softly : VICTOR My words. He turns back, forcing himself to examine the body, trying not to view it as someone he knows. He cradles the head, probing the back of the neck with his fingers. VICTOR The brain stem was destroyed by the hanging. We'll need another. The body looks like it will do, but some extremities are too decayed. They'll have to be replaced. The fresher the better.", "EXT.  ALLEY - RED LIGHT DISTRICT - NIGHT Outside the back door of a rowdy tavern, we find a PROSTITUTE servicing a SAILOR in the alley : he's got her pressed against the wall, skirt hiked up. It's not long before he's finished. Off he goes, staggering back into the bar. She arranges her skirt, tucking the money away. and pauses, noticing a TALL FIGURE in the shadows. Staring. She approaches with her best saucy smile : PROSTITUTE Want some yourself? Or just like to watch? -LRB- draws close. -RRB- What do you say, lover? I can make it good for you. The Creature leans into the light, clamps a massive hand to her mouth. His other arm wraps around her waist, pulling her off the ground. She gazes up, eyes wide, screams muffled in his palm. Softly : CREATURE I know you can. And he wrenches his arm, snapping her spine.", "INT.  ATTIC - NIGHT The dead prostitute lies staring up, dried blood staining her mouth. TILT UP to Victor gazing down in horror. VICTOR What is this? CREATURE A brain. Extremities. VICTOR This was not taken from a grave. CREATURE What does it matter? She'll live again. You'll make her. VICTOR No. I draw the line. The Creature lashes out and drags Victor across the table. CREATURE You will honor your promise to me! VICTOR -LRB- through gritted teeth. -RRB- I will not! Kill me now! CREATURE That is mild compared to what will come. If you deny me my wedding night. I'll be with you on yours. The Creature vanishes out the attic window into the night. Victor is left gasping for air, staring at the dead prostitute. The full horror sinking in.", "INT.  ATTIC STAIRCASE - MORNING Victor slams the attic door, securing it with a massive padlock. He hurries down the steps.", "INT.  GRAND BALLROOM - DAY Victor and Elizabeth, intensity flying : VICTOR No. Not tomorrow, not next week, Marry me today. ELIZABETH Why the change? What about your work? VICTOR It was misguided and pointless. Is your answer yes? ELIZABETH It is VICTOR We'll leave this afternoon, right after the ceremony. Pack only what you need. ELIZABETH Does this have something to do with that man you saw? VICTOR -LRB- hesitates. -RRB- Yes. We're in danger here. Every moment we stay. ELIZABETH Victor, tell me why! Trust me! VICTOR I do. But you must trust me for now.", "INT.  BEDROOM - DAY A small ceremony has been hurriedly organized at Father's bedside. The old man holds Elizabeth's hand. Softly : FATHER This is not. the grand wedding. I had hoped to give you. He releases her hand, giving the bride away. She takes her place at Victor's side. Henry stands as best man. The PRIEST faces them : PRIEST We gather now in the sight of God to witness this man and woman bond their lives in matrimonial vow.", "EXT.  MANSION - DAY Elizabeth gets in the coach. Claude clambers up to the driver's seat armed with a rifle, ready to pull out. EIGHT MEN on horseback provide armed escort. Victor addresses the men staying behind, all of whom are also armed : VICTOR Be especially on your guard. Stay cautious to a fault. STABLE HAND Who is this man, sir? How shall we know him? VICTOR He is huge and deformed. and quite insane. CLAUDE He killed Master William and sent Justine Moritz to the noose! No hesitation, lads! Shoot the bastard on sight! CRIES of assent. Victor pulls Henry aside : VICTOR Are you sure you'll be all right? HENRY Yes, do n't worry. I'll look after your father. You look after her. VICTOR I'll be back as soon as I've got her far away and safe. We'll hunt this fiend down together. HENRY Only if you'll tell me who he is. VICTOR -LRB- hesitates. -RRB- I owe you that. Done. A quick embrace. Victor leaps into the coach. ANGLE FROM FATHER'S BEDROOM WINDOW The coach clatters up the road, trailed by the eight horsemen. Those left behind scatter across the courtyard. Henry turns and walks back toward the house. ANGLE WIDENS to reveal the Creature at the window. In the bed behind him, The old man stirs, opening his eyes FATHER Victor? and sees the Creature turn toward him. Father's eyes go wide as his final stroke is triggered. His life ends with a prolonged death - rattle. and a soft exhale. The Creature reaches down, closes his eyes. A tender gesture. A LOUD GASP. The Creature whirls. There stands the priest, dropping his tea to the floor. The Creature sweeps across the room, presses him against the wall. PRIEST -LRB- breathless with horror. -RRB- You're the Devil himself. CREATURE Yes, and I've come to snatch your soul. -LRB- leans close. -RRB-. unless you tell me where they've gone.", "EXT.  LAKE GENEVA - DUSK A magnificent sunset bathes the mountains as storm clouds roll in. A ferry is crossing the lake, moving away from us, rippling the water. TILT DOWN to reveal.", "EXT.  FERRY DOCK - DUSK Claude trotting to the window of the coach. CLAUDE That was the last ferry. There's nothing else till morning. VICTOR Damn it CLAUDE We'll ride on ahead and secure you lodging for the night.", "EXT.  RESORT - NIGHT A big chalet nestled in the woods by the lake. The storm is raging. Claude and his men are positioned at the entrances. VICTOR Make sure you keep your pistols dry GUARD #2 They're dry enough. And if they fail, we've others. And if those fail. -LRB- draws his saber halfway. -RRB-. we can always gut the bastard. CLAUDE Do n't worry, sir. You're well guarded. Now why do n't you go upstairs to your wife? It's not often a man has his wedding night.", "INT.  BRIDAL SUITE - NIGHT Victor enters to find the room aglow with dozens of candles. Elizabeth turns from the fireplace, her body silhouetted through the sheer white nightgown. ELIZABETH You're soaking. She approaches, peels off his coat. Victor stares at her, awe - struck. She sees the look in his eyes, crosses her arms demurely. then laughs at her own modesty. ELIZABETH Brother and sister no more. VICTOR Now husband and wife. He strokes her bare shoulders with his fingertips. VICTOR I remember the first time I ever saw you. Crossing the floor of the grand ballroom with my parents at your side. So beautiful even then. ELIZABETH -LRB- a whisper. -RRB- I have been waiting for this ever since. She leans up and gives him a kiss that would melt glass, triggering the sexiest seduction imaginable. kissing, caressing, Victor stripping off his wet shirt, CAMERA DRIFTING around them in slow circles, candles spinning like a fever that's been building for a lifetime. and now onto the bed. Magnificent and canopied. Kneeling together, bodies touching, hands seeking, mouths joining. Elizabeth lying back, beckoning for him to love her. Victor sinking down, running his hands up her thighs, peeling up the nightgown, making her shudder with desire. and a SHOT FIRES. Victor jerks up. He can hear SHOUTING. He rolls off the bed, snatching up both pistols lying primed and ready on the nightstand. ELIZABETH Victor! VICTOR Open this door for no - one!", "EXT.  CHALET - NIGHT Victor sails past the GUARD at the entrance, brandishing his pistols. The men converge, shouting in the rain : GUARD #2 I saw him in a flash of lightning! He vanished toward the lake! CLAUDE Get after him! Several men race off in pursuit. TILT UP from Victor and Claude. as a FLASH OF LIGHTNING reveals the Creature clinging in the branches above their heads with a malevolent smile. He scurries silently up, further and further into the tree. closer and closer to the balcony.", "INT.  BRIDAL SUITE - NIGHT Elizabeth. Tense and waiting. A shadow looms across the balcony. spilling through the French doors. onto the floor. a bony hand reaches for the latch. The doors burst open on a crust of wind and rain, Elizabeth spins as candles blow out all over the room. The Creature enters, massive and unseen, gliding in shadow. Softly : CREATURE Do n't bother to scream.", "EXT.  CHALET - NIGHT The men come running back from the lake. They stop before Victor and Claude. GUARD #3 We lost him. And GUARD # 4's eyes drift up : GUARD #4 Why are those open? Victor spins, gazing up. Breath catching in his throat. The French doors are swaying in the wind. VICTOR Elizabeth.", "INT.  BRIDAL SUITE - NIGHT Elizabeth watches, transfixed, as the huge shadow moves inexorably toward her. Her eyes dart toward the door. She makes a break for it. He catches her halfway across the room, spinning her around by the arm. Her face is lit by the light of the fireplace. The Creature pauses, stunned at her beauty. A moment passes between them. She senses the softening in his heart. She peers at him, trying to understand. Realizing : ELIZABETH You do n't want to hurt me. He averts his gaze, shamed by her beauty. CREATURE You're more lovely than I could ever have imagined. FOOTSTEPS come pounding up the stairs. A HEAVY CRASH of men throwing their shoulders at the door. VICTOR ELIZABETH! and it changes back in an instant, The Creature snarls. She tries to wrench away. He spins her around so he wo n't have to look at her in the light, casting her face in shadow. He cooks his arm back and plunges his fist toward her chest with pile - driver force.", "INT.  LANDING (OUTSIDE ROOM) - NIGHT and her SCREAM is cut short. The men give one last mighty rush at the door.", "INT.  BRIDAL SUITE - NIGHT and they burst in just in time to see Elizabeth cascade back onto the bed, her chest a massive red stain. The Creature whips toward them, fist glistening with blood. CREATURE I keep my promises. and he races across the room as the men OPEN FIRE, shredding the walls to splinters with an explosive fusillade of shots. But the Creature is too fast. He hits the leaded window head - on with the force of an anvil.", "EXT.  CHALET - NIGHT and goes sailing out into empty space in a hurricane of shattering glass. He drops 40 feet to the grass below and vanishes like the breeze, greatcoat whipping into darkness.", "INT.  BRIDAL SUITE - NIGHT Victor rushes to the bad and lets loose the most PRIMAL SCREAM OF ALL. He sweeps his limp, murdered bride into his arms, cradling her to his breast, screams trailing off into wracking moans and sobs of despair : VICTOR -LRB- softly. -RRB- Oh God. he took her heart. he took her heart from me.", "EXT.  CHALET - NIGHT The men make way as Victor carries his dead wife through the downpour. He puts her in the coach. Dazed.", "EXT.  ROAD - NIGHT The coach comes racing through the storm, the horses in a frenzy, faster and faster.", "EXT.  MANSION - NIGHT Victor whipping the coach veers to a wild stop. Victor jumps down, gathers up the body, and mounts the steps. Henry appears, rushing out into the rain. Victor goes right past him. MANSION - NIGHT. and carries Elizabeth through the silent halls. ATTIC - NIGHT The door swings in. Victor stands dripping. Holding Elizabeth. Gazing at the gleam of copper. And we launch into the final throbbing madness. Victor hacking and chopping. Discarding pieces. Sewing the creation, yanking the catgut tight. Ramming the needles deep. Hoisting the body in the air. Slamming the sarcophagus lid, tightening the bolts. Powering up the galvanic circuit, throwing the switch. Screaming at God as the LIGHTNING FLASHES and the body convulses. Wind and rain sweeping through the lab, battering a window open and shut, open and shut. Lowering the glass tube, ramming phallus into womb. Releasing the eels, huge black sperm squirming and writhing toward the spasming egg The body. Convulsing. Lashing. Screaming in the copper womb. Hair whipping in the fluid. Victor shuts down the machinery. He opens the tank and reaches into the fluid with his thick rubber gloves. He pulls out his creation, cradling the head and neck as one would cradle a newborn infant's. And wipes the muck away with his glove to reveal Elizabeth's face, Massive suture marks bisect her neck and collarbone where pieces were joined. A whisper : VICTOR Live. Her eyes flies open as consciousness hits, mouth gaping to draw air but finding fluid in the lungs. She erupts, thrashing in the vat. He clutches her tight, pounding her back to start her breathing, calming the convulsing Creaturess with soft murmured words of tenderness and love as her lungs heave violently to dispel the fluid. He lifts her gently out. Wipes off the muck as she shivers and shakes, spasms easing off. Cleansing her face. Clasping her hand in his. Comfort and strength. Helping her to her feet. Jerky and unsure. Lean on me. Replacing the sheer nightgown on her scarred and naked body, draping it. and finally, exhaustingly, tilting her chin up with his fingers to gaze into her eyes. A whisper : VICTOR Say my name. Blank. Dazed. Stunned. Not a flicker of recognition. VICTOR Elizabeth. Say my name. Say you remember. Say my name. Nothing. He leans forward. and kisses her dead lips. Gentle as a sigh. A flicker in her eyes? VICTOR You must. You must. Maybe his imagination. Still whispering : VICTOR Say my name. Say you remember. And slowly. ever so slowly. she raises her bony white hand before her eyes. staring at it. trying to puzzle it out. its meaning. perhaps the vaguest shred of recognition. and the hand continues to rise. creeping slowly toward his shoulder. and coming to rest there. He smiles, blinking back tears. VICTOR Yes. I'll help you remember. And he takes her other hand in his. At first it's imperceptible. just the slightest motion, perhaps nothing, perhaps just a shift of balance. and then it grows into the vaguest sway. and tears are glistening in Victor's eyes as she begins to move. Lurching. Faltering. Unsure. You must lead, Victor. The lady will always look to you for guidance, so your steps must be sure and strong. Trace memories. A waltz. And here we are treated to the most sweepingly romantic and hair - raisingly demented image of the film : Frankenstein dances with his dead bride, showing her the way, begging her to remember, please remember, and now our WALTZ/LOVE THEME really comes back to haunt us as the MUSIC SWELLS, incredibly lush and deranged, dissonant and echoing through Victor's head, music only he can hear. VICTOR one - two - three, twirl - two - three. and the worst part? The very worst thing of all? There on the shelf. A large formaldehyde jar. Justine's severed head. Watching them through the glass with dead, sightless eyes. Watching them dance. Still a wallflower? No. She's finally finishing her dance with Victor. most of her, anyway. Under the circumstances, it'll have to do. and the waltz goes on, madder and madder, sweeping in glorious circles as a dazzling array of LIGHTNING bathes them in its wild, jittering spotlight, shadows careening across the walls, INSANE MUSIC swelling louder and louder, climbing higher and higher, reaching toward its crescendo with jagged glass claws. and it all screeches to a stop as the door bursts in. Music echoes abruptly away into silence. Nothing now but rain and distant thunder. In the doorway : CREATURE She's beautiful. VICTOR She's not for you. CREATURE I'm sure the lady knows her own mind. Does n't she? Let her decide the proper suitor. The Creature raises his hand. Beckoning. She takes a faltering step. Drawn to him. VICTOR Elizabeth, no! -LRB- she turns, puzzled. -RRB- Say my name. Her face reflects horror and shame, like a brain - damaged child who's wet the bed. She knows she's supposed to remember. but ca n't remember what remembering means. They both motion to her. Murmuring. Begging. She's caught between them, pulled like a diaphanous rope in a tug of war. Please. come with me. Please. remember. She finally tilts toward the Creature. Gazing into his eyes. Studying his face. Fingertips tracing his massively scarred flesh. A beat. A frown. A puzzlement. This is n't right. People do n't look like this. They're not stitched together out of pieces of flesh like a patchwork. She looks at her own hands. Dead and white. Not even hers. One belongs to Justine. Another to a prostitute, suture scars marring the wrist. She looks down at herself. The dead, sagging breasts. The body that is n't hers either. Realization creeping into her eyes. Realization and horror. Turning to Victor. Why do I look like this? What's happened to me? Oh God, what's happened to me? ELIZABETH Vic. tor? CREATURE no. and she lets out a SHRIEK, a banshee wail from the deepest pits of hell. Screaming at them both. Screaming at herself. She goes berserk, trying to claw her flesh away, trying to find the real Elizabeth underneath the horror, trying to peel it away, clawing at her face. Trying to claw out her own eyes. Victor lunges to restrain her, screaming himself, veering toward final utter madness like strings snapping on a violin. The Creature grabs him, hurls him aside. CREATURE GET AWAY FROM HER! SHE'S MINE! VICTOR SHE'LL NEVER BE YOURS! SHE SAID MY NAME! SHE REMEMBERS! Yes. She remembers. Not much, but enough. She breaks away from them as they grapple, still SHRIEKING as she sails across the room, tipping furniture, equipment flying. over straight to the kerosene lamp, snatching it up before they can stop her. VICTOR NO! She spins to face them, holding them breathlessly at bay with the threat of the lamp, twitching from one to the other. But it's not just the lamp, it's the look of sheer loathing in her eyes. Loathing for them for what they've done to her. loathing for herself for what she's become. It turns out the lady does know her own mind. She wants no part of it. or them. Decision made. She crushes the lamp in her bare hands, drenching herself in a cascade of kerosene. WHOOOOSH! She goes up like a blazing matchstick and darts past them, still SHRIEKING, still trying to claw the dead flesh away, pulling off giant flaming pieces of herself as she careens out the door and down the steps, Victor and the Creature racing after her.", "INT.  UPPER HALLWAY - NIGHT and she sails down the hallway, setting FIRE to everything she passes, SCREAMING for the final torment to end. She hurls herself over the railing, drapes catching ablaze as she plummets to the floor far below. A pillar of flame leaps up on impact. VICTOR AND THE CREATURE face each other as flames sweep the walls, combusting the upper hallway into a raging tunnel in Hell. VICTOR You killed her! You killed her! He hurls himself at the Creature, who backhands him spinning down the hallway, sprawling to the floor. The Creature gazes down at his Maker one last time. CREATURE We killed her. And then vanishes through the smoke and flames.", "EXT.  FRANKENSTEIN ESTATE - DAY The once - magnificent estate lies in smoldering ruin beneath a merciless gray sky. Charred beams and drifting smoke are all that remain to mark the passing of a noble family. Victor stands gazing at the house. A windswept, hollow man Bundled in a rough coat. Flintlock rifle dangling at his side. Henry moves into frame some distance behind. Softly : HENRY Victor. No reaction. For a long moment it seems Victor has n't heard. He rouses as if from a trance, turn and walks to his pack horse. The animal stands saddled and ready. He starts to mount up, but Henry intercepts him with a restraining hand. Victor snaps a look as if seeing a stranger. and then his features soften. VICTOR All that I once loved lies in a shallow grave. By my hand. HENRY Let it go. Victor pauses, emotions swirling. Wishing he could grab the dangling thread of sanity Henry has offered. but knowing the thread is a bittersweet illusion. A bare whisper : VICTOR You should have been my father's son. He would have been so proud. Victor abruptly heaves himself into the saddle and spurs his horse. Henry runs after him, shouting : HENRY VICTOR! COME BACK! But Victor keeps riding without so much as a backward glance. The past is dead. Henry watches Victor until he's gone from sight, as Willie did so long ago.", "EXT.  MONT BLANC GLACIER - DAY The solitary rider and his mount traverse the windswept glacier.", "INT.  THE CREATURE'S CAVE - DAY Victor slides down the entrance, rifle cradled. The cave is now deserted, all possessions gone, a scorched black spot where the campfire had been.", "EXT.  GLACIER - DAY A panorama of snow. Pristine. save for the long trail of footprints stretching off before us. Victor's face thrusts into frame, gazing at the craggy horizon, breath punching the air with billows of vapor. He slogs onward, following the tracks, leading his horse by the reins. Dwindling across the frozen landscape. ARCTIC VICTOR -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I followed his trail north. always north. and always one step behind. never stopping. driven by my fires of rage. and revenge.", "INT.  WALTON'S CABIN - TWILIGHT Victor lies in Walton's bed, sallow as a corpse, barely able to speak, drained now of everything. VICTOR A year now I've followed him. Perhaps more. Only to arrive at this place. Tired. So very tired. I never did find. whatever it was. I was looking for. and neither will you, my friend. -LRB- off Walton's look. -RRB- Value life above ambition. or those glittering prizes you seek will crumble to dust in your fingers. as they have in mine. -LRB- reaches out feverishly. -RRB- See your loved ones again. I can not. Walton takes Victor's hand, lays it gently back to his chest. Softly : WALTON Rest now. Victor is silent. His breathing shallow. Walton just sits And waits. A SLOW DISSOLVE marks the passage of Walton's long vigil. Victor's eyes flutter open as if staring at something unseen. Perhaps, the faces of those he loved. The eyes glaze. A peaceful death. Walton rises. Puts on his heavy coat to ward off the chill. Exits the cabin.", "EXT.  NEVSKY - ON DECK - TWILIGHT Grigori is leaning on the gunwale, staring off across the ice. His coat is open. Walton joins him. Surprised at how warm it is. He holds up his hand, testing the breeze. WALTON A warming wind. GRIGORI This ice will break yet. -LRB- glances over. -RRB- How's our guest? WALTON He died. Raving about phantoms. He was mad, poor devil. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Gather a detail. Have the body removed from my cabin. GRIGORI Aye, Captain. Grigori moves off to gather help. Walton turns and heads back to his cabin.", "INT.  WALTON'S CABIN - NIGHT Walton enters. and freezes at the sound of SOFT WEEPING. He ca n't see the bad from here. Could it be the dead man? He glances down. Wet footprints lead across the floor. He eases forward. The tiny bed chamber comes slowly into view. A DARK FIGURE is hunched and weeping at bedside, holding the corpse's hand. Walton is stunned. WALTON Who are you? The figure swivels its head, revealing its face to the dim yellow light : CREATURE He never gave me a name. Walton hisses a terrified intake of breath. He lunges to the desk, slaps his hand on the pistol lying there. A frozen beat. Wondering if he should snatch it up. Eyes dancing with fear and speculation. The Creature makes no move. Unconcerned. CREATURE You were with him at the end. WALTON -LRB- finds his voice. -RRB- Yes. CREATURE I was watching. Walton glances to the porthole, ajar and creaking in the breeze, chilled at the thought. The Creature returns his gaze to Victor. CREATURE I longed to be with him. But I wanted his final moments to have peace. I could see you were a friend to him. WALTON What is that to you? Evil as you are. CREATURE -LRB- swivels his gaze. -RRB- I am as he made me. In his own image. WALTON You drove him to his torment. CREATURE And he drove me to mine. WALTON Then why weep for him? CREATURE Would you not? He was father. And mother. We fell from grace together. He from his God. I from mine. The Creature gently strokes Victor's cheek. He reaches up with two fingers, closes the staring eyes. A whisper : CREATURE Could we ever have forgiven? The question goes unanswered. The Creature rises, gliding in shadow to the door. Pauses. CREATURE I've never been shown a kindness. Show me one now. WALTON What kindness? CREATURE Build for him a pyre. Light up the sky with his passing. And then the Creature is gone, vanishing smoothly into the night.", "EXT.  ARCTIC - TWILIGHT The crew of the Nevsky are on the ice, chopping up the fallen mast, axes rising and falling in waves.", "EXT.  ARCTIC - TWILIGHT The body of Victor Frankenstein lies on an impressive bier of wood, stacked and lashed. His body is wrapped in rough canvas, his face as dead and white as the ice. Walton and crew stand facing the bier. Walton silently reads a passage from the Bible. Oily black smoke from a small campfire drifts past. Walton closes the book. Amens are muttered. Walton glances to Grigori and nods. Grigori moves forward with two other men. They begin dousing the pyre with lamp oil, soaking it. Walton moves to the campfire, picks up an unlit torch. He dips it into the fire, igniting the pitch, turns. The men back away, preparing for the coming blaze. and a dog starts howling on deck, others joining in. The men pause. Gazing across the ice. Dread seeping into their bones. There's a figure out there. Huge and humanlike in frame. Loping slowly over the ice. Approaching. PILOT -LRB- softly. -RRB- Christ. Grigori snatches up the rifle, shoulders it smoothly, cocks the flintlock. Walton glances over, pushes the muzzle skyward, denying his aim. WALTON It has a right to bear witness. Grigori hesitates, nods. If you say so. The men grow more unsettled as the Creature draws nearer. Frightened muttering. Men start backing toward the ship. WALTON Stand fast. All of you. The men stand fast. The Creature stops some thirty yards out. A silent tableau on the ice. The men facing the Creature. Walton holding the torch. The pyre waiting for the kiss of flame. Walton moves forward. and a THUNDEROUS CRACK is heard, The men whip their heads as a gigantic plate of ice goes spinning into the air some fifty yards away and comes crashing back down again. It's like tectonic plates building pressure toward an earthquake : once it goes, it goes with terrifying speed and force : CRACK! Another eruption. CRACK! And another. CRACK! Ice cascading skyward. OLD SAILOR THE BITCH IS BREAKIN' UP! GRIGORI -LRB- whips toward Walton. -RRB- TORCH THE DAMN THING! Walton rushes forward. CRACK! The ice erupts before him. The torch goes flying. Walton sprawls flat on his back. WALTON BACK TO THE SHIP! The men do n't have to be told twice. They're already in full retreat, scrambling for their lives. Ice is detonating for miles around as if pounded by artillery. Grigori helps Walton to his feet. The torch lies burning not ten feet away. A heartbeat of hesitation. Walton wondering if he should go for it. Grigori pulling wildly on his sleeve. GRIGORI LEAVE IT! and then the matter is decided for them as a huge rift opens at their feet, running an explosive zig - zag course across the ice, separating them from the torch. They fall back to join the retreat, stumbling after the others, pursued by the ice dissolving at their heels. THE CREATURE watches his last wish for Victor Frankenstein snatched away by God's whim and breaking ice. NO He starts forward. Behind him, a detonation of ice throws a massive fist into the air, creating a magnificent halo of cascading water and spinning fragments. THE NEVSKY The first wave of fleeing men reach the ship, crowding to the drop - net for salvation, scrambling up the side. WALTON AND GRIGORI stumble along, closing distance to the ship. Walton glances back, amazed to see : THE CREATURE racing across the ice, making for the torch, teeth set in a wide grimace of effort. Detonations threaten to swallow him from all sides. Suddenly, things go from bad to worse. THE NEVSKY breaks free with an enormous groan, heeling slowly over, triggering massive eruptions in all directions. The crew hang onto the drop - net for dear life. Several men plummet into the icy water. THE CREATURE is propelled by a detonation as if held stepped on a land mine, cartwheeling helplessly through the air to plunge headfirst into the water, huge plates of spinning ice crashing down after him. Gone. WALTON AND GRIGORI are knocked flat as a fissure appears between them. Grigori, dazed, is lifted into the air on a teetering table of ice, desperately trying to scramble back but sliding forward nonetheless, rising up and up, a gaping maw of frigid water yawning wider and wider before him. Walton grabs the back of Grigori's coat and tries to drag him off. but the coat is snatched from his fingers as the ice see - saws forward in a complete flip and slams Grigori thunderously into the drink. WALTON GRIGORI! THE NEVSKY finishes righting itself, swaying ponderously as she finds honest ocean beneath her hull. Some men are reaching the top of the net, hurling themselves over the gunwale to the deck. Those lower on the drop - net are helping their fellows from the water, hauling them to safety. FRANKENSTEIN'S BIER is now corkscrewing in slow circles on its own ice floe. THE TORCH is drifting on a chunk of ice. Still burning. ANGLE AT WATER LEVEL Walton is on hands and knees, scrambling on shifting pieces of ice, thrusting his arms into the water, screaming : WALTON GRIGORI! The first mate breaks surface in the foreground, gasping and strangling for breath, face already turning blue, arms thrashing wildly, dragged down by the now - impossible weight of his own clothing. Walton strains to reach him, nearly going into the water himself. Grigori keeps thrashing and gasping. Dying. He's dying right in front of Walton's eyes. WALTON SOMEBODY THROW ME A GAFF! Too late. Grigori goes down for the final time, vanishing for good beneath the frigid water. Gone. Walton throws his head back with a bellow of anguish. and Grigori breaks the surface again, rising slowly And impossibly from the water. arms and legs windmill against the air, propelled from below with nearly aulic strength. He gazes down in shock at the massive fist clutching his chest. and the arm that grows and grows, rising, lifting him up and up. and the hideous face that breaks the surface beneath him. The face of a nightmare. The Creature lunges hugely, hurling Grigori through the air right into Walton's arms. Both men go sprawling. Walton scrambles to his knees, makes eye contact with the Creature. The monster is exhausted. Near his limit. Walton thrusts out his arm, fingers grasping to help. WALTON Swim. The Creature swivels his gaze. The burning torch is drifting away. He looks grimly back to Walton. Walton beckoning to him. Come. Grab my hand. The Creature swims away, knifing through the water after the torch. Walton turns, drags Grigori gasping to his feet, helps him limp toward the Nevsky across the lurching ice. CREATURE struggles through the water, crushed and battered by ice floes on all sides. Going under. WALTON AND GRIGORI slog grimly on across the disintegrated ice, knee - deep and nearly walking on water. They sink, finding nothing beneath their feet. Lines are thrown down and caught. Walton and Grigori are hauled from the frigid arctic water and hoisted up the side of the ship. The last ones aboard. BURNING TORCH is spinning slowly on its chunk of ice. Bony fingers break the surface of the water. A straining hand. The Creature's eyes rise from the murk. Bleary with exhaustion and cold. He seizes the torch. Raises it high. Swims grimly on. ABOARD THE NEVSKY The crew bundle Walton and Grigori in blankets, both men shivering with exposure. Walton lurches to the gunwale, gazing off. The men crowd to his - side. THE CREATURE swims on, head barely breaking the water, torch held high to keep it burning. Relentlessly determined. This is the most grueling effort we've ever seen. Gasping and sinking beneath the surface. and finally grasping with frozen fingers the ice floe upon which lies Frankenstein's funeral pyre. He hauls himself from the water. Moving now in a slow - motion litany of exhaustion. Climbing the pyre. Scaling the wood. Seeking the top. Never giving up. The Creature joins his Maker atop the bier, straddling the wood, holding the torch aloft as if lighting his master's way to the Netherworld, Frankenstein's personal boatman across the River Styx. Frankenstein himself lies serenely at his creation's knees, content to be shown the way. The Creature turns his face to the sky, gulping air, spreading his arms wide in sublime triumph. Feeling the wind on his skin, the sleet on his face, the grim joy in his heart. Cold. So very cold. He glances at the torch burning low in his outstretched hand, pitch almost gone, sputtering and trailing smoke. He looks down. At Frankenstein. The oil - soaked canvas. The saturated wood. There's that smell. Yes. He scoops Victor up with his free arm and cradles him to his breast, as tender as a mother comforting a baby. WALTON AND THE CREW gaze in horror. Realization dawning : GRIGORI -LRB- SOFTLY. -RRB- Do n't do it. -LRB- screaming. -RRB- FOR GOD'S SAKE! DO N'T DO IT! THE CREATURE turns his gaze one last time toward Heaven. Eyelids fluttering in near - religious ecstasy. Finding in these last moments the sympathy held so long sought. A whisper : CREATURE For God's sake. I will. And he rams the torch into the pyre beneath him. White - hot ignition. Ultimate redemption. WHUMP! A massive BALL OF FLAME engulfs the bier, pushing a huge fiery fist into the sky. Blossoming. Roiling. WALTON AND THE CREW gaze on in wonder and horror as : THE CREATURE rides the burning pyre, a shrieking revenant wrapped in a caul of fire, screaming in the flames. Hair going up at a sizzling flashpoint. Cheeks billowing out, peeling back in the blast - furnace heat. Flesh cleansing from bone. Teeth charring and turning black. Still cradling Victor. Still screaming. waiting for the final torment to end. Perhaps it never will. FRANKENSTEIN'S PYRE drifts off into the arctic twilight trailing a huge column of flame and smoke, inhuman screams echoing endlessly. Lost in the darkness and distance. WALTON stands at the gunwale, his crew at his side. The borealis dances mysteriously on the horizon. Distant slivers of lightning kiss the world. Softly : WALTON Home", "EXT.  ARCTIC - TWILIGHT HIGH AERIAL SHOT. An ocean of broken ice beneath us. The Alexander Nevsky heels gingerly about, corkscrewing through a slow turn toward the open sea as we FADE TO BLACK. 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While their ship is trapped in the ice of the Arctic Sea, the crew discovers a man, Victor Frankenstein, traveling across the Arctic on his own. Victor proceeds to tell Walton and the crew his life story. Victor grows up in Geneva with his adopted sister, Elizabeth Lavenza, who will become the love of his life. Before he leaves for the university at Ingolstadt, Victor's mother dies giving birth to his brother William. Traumatized by grief afterward, Victor vows on his mother's grave that he will find a way to conquer death. However, he is shunned by his peers, who view him as a madman. Eventually, he and his friend Henry Clerval meet Shmael Augustus Waldman, a professor whose notes contain information on how to create life; Waldman warns Victor not to use them lest he create an \"abomination\". While performing vaccinations, Waldman is murdered by a stubborn patient, who is later hanged in the village square. Using the body, a leg from a fellow student named Schiller who's died from cholera, and Waldman's brain, Victor builds a creature based on the professor's notes. He is so obsessed with his work that he drives Elizabeth away when she comes to take him away as Ingolstadt is being put into quarantine. Victor finally gives his creation life, but soon regrets his decision and tries to kill it with an axe; the creature steals his coat and is driven away by the townspeople when it tries to steal food. The creature escapes, running off to the wilderness. He spends months living in a family's barn without their knowledge, gradually learning to read and speak based on observations and memories from Waldman's brain. He attempts to earn the family's trust by anonymously helping them with their failing farm, and eventually converses with the patriarch, an elderly blind man, after murdering an abusive debt collector. But when the blind man's family returns, they attack the creature and abandon their farm. The creature finds Victor's journal in his coat, and learns of the circumstances of his creation. He burns down the farm and vows revenge on his creator. Victor, who believes the creature to be dead from the cholera epidemic, returns to Geneva to marry Elizabeth. He finds his younger brother William has been murdered. Justine, a servant of the Frankenstein household, is inadvertently framed for the crime by the creature and hanged by a lynch mob before anyone can prove her innocence. The creature abducts Victor and demands that he make a companion for him, promising to leave his creator in peace in return. Victor begins gathering the tools he used to create life, but when the creature insists he use Justine's body to make the companion, Victor breaks his promise and the creature exacts his revenge, strangling Baron Frankenstein and tearing out Elizabeth's heart. Maddened with grief beyond measure, Victor races home to bring Elizabeth back to life. He stitches Elizabeth's head onto Justine's fully intact body, and she awakes as a re-animated creature. The two are briefly and happily reunited until the creature appears, demanding Elizabeth as his bride. Victor and the monster fight for Elizabeth's affections, but Elizabeth, horrified by what she has become, commits suicide by setting herself on fire, burning the mansion to the ground. The story returns to the Arctic Circle. Victor tells Walton that he has been pursuing his creation for months to kill him. Soon after relating his story, Victor dies from pneumonia. Walton discovers the creature weeping over Victor's body, confessing that for all his hatred, he still considers Victor to be his \"father\". The crew prepares a funeral pyre, but the ceremony is interrupted when the ice around the ship cracks. Walton invites the creature to stay with the ship, but the creature insists on remaining with the pyre. He takes the torch and burns himself alive with Victor's body. Walton, having seen the consequences of Victor's obsession, orders the ship to return home.", "name": "Mary_Shelleys_Frankenstein_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["INT. TELEPHONE COMPANY INFORMATION OFFICE. DAY. We move slowly through a crowded office. A hundred information operators in booths. SHARON works at a computer terminal. Close on her. She's on a kind of autopilot as she does her job, and the people talking to her hear so little personality that her humanity barely registers. That she might have a beauty that is becoming hollow, or a private life that would astonish them - this, no one thinks about. She watches the clock. Five minutes to six. SHARON Please hold for the number. Operator 134, what city please? -LRB- Pause, as she types in the name. -RRB- Is that a business or residence? Please hold for the number. -LRB- Pause. -RRB- Operator 134. What city please? -LRB- Pause. -RRB- How do you spell that? The clock. Two minutes to six. SHARON -LRB- pause. -RRB- Please hold for the number. -LRB- Pause. -RRB- Operator 134. What city please? -LRB- Pause. -RRB- Is that a business or residence? -LRB- Pause. -RRB- Please hold for the number. Pause. Behind her, a woman, another OPERATOR, waits for the chair. Six o'clock. SHARON gets up. The other OPERATOR takes her place and takes her headphones. SHARON starts to stand as she begins the next sentence. Pause. SHARON Operator 134. Is that a business or residence? And the other OPERATOR takes her headset and completes the number as SHARON leaves her post. OPERATOR Please hold for the number. SHARON walks away. Cut to :", "EXT. STREET. NIGHT. And now we see her sitting in the back of a Jaguar convertible. VIC is driving the car. VIC looks to someone offscreen. VIC What about them? SHARON No. He's wearing a rug, and she has a nose job. VIC It's not a bad nose job. SHARON They're all bad. Now we see VIC. He is a beardless werewolf -LSB- I mean, spiritually -RSB-. SHARON is excited. She likes danger. Underneath, we feel her deep exhaustion. SHARON Let's go to the Continental Club. VIC Really? SHARON Come on, Vic, you do n't want to go back to the airport. He's thinking. VIC I like the airport. I like the bars at the airport hotels. I like tourists. -LRB- Meaning the bar :. -RRB- I do n't want that tonight. SHARON What's the matter, are you scared of getting dirty? VIC -LRB- uncertain. -RRB- Maybe. SHARON C'mon, Vic. That's the place to start. Let's have some fun. From her challenging smile, his laugh, we cut to :", "INT. BAR. NIGHT. A rummy's bar in Hollywood. SHARON and VIC lean against a wall, drinking from bottles. VIC studies a couple sitting alone at a table, side by side. Sharp - featured, long - haired, not talking, they are smoking. SHARON I like them. VIC You would. SHARON and VIC walk across the floor to the table. They slide into the seat facing the couple. Call her DIANA. Call him RANDY. VIC I'm Vic. SHARON I'm Sharon. VIC Hi. RANDY and DIANA are quietly amused. RANDY What brings you to this side of town? SHARON We got tired of shooting the dogs where the rich people live. DIANA What are you looking for now? SHARON Now we're looking for something a little less obvious. VIC But fun. Definitely fun. We're very social people. RANDY You might be asking for something you could n't handle. SHARON I can handle it. RANDY What if things go out of control? SHARON What's control got to do with it? VIC I think he wants to find out if you have any limits. SHARON Tell him that I have n't found them yet. VIC Sharon has n't found her limits yet. DIANA Talk, talk, talk. -LRB- To RANDY :. -RRB- Let's go somewhere. VIC I have a store. Let's go to the store. They stand up. VIC takes DIANA'S hand. RANDY and SHARON follow. Cut to :", "INT. VIC'S STORE. NIGHT. VIC leads the others in, turning on lights and slow dance music -LRB- Little Richard singing `` Directly from My Heart'' -RRB-. We move through the store to a far corner, to a model bedroom. SHARON reaches out to RANDY and pulls him to her. RANDY lets go of DIANA and dances with SHARON. They dance to be watched. They are moving toward a bed. DIANA takes VIC'S hand. They dance. A blues song plays. RANDY Come here. Come here and have a seat. SHARON Come on, let's fool around. RANDY lifts SHARON into his arms. SHARON Ohh. What a man. RANDY Nice store you got here, Vic. Nice. SHARON dances slowly with RANDY ; they grind into each other, putting on a show. SHARON and VIC watch each other. DIANA Come on. Show me what you mean by fun. VIC Unnh - uhh. SHARON sees this and shakes her head. DIANA goes to RANDY and SHARON. SHARON Vic likes to watch. RANDY Watch this. And we stay with Vic's face as the other three fall on the bed. Dissolve to :", "INT. VIC'S STORE. NIGHT. SHARON, RANDY, and DIANA on a bed. Their sex is a ritual, and the surprise here is their need. SHARON is the subject. They finish. They are still for a moment. SHARON gets up. We watch RANDY watching her. SHARON sits on the arm of a leather couch, smoking. RANDY comes over to her. Behind them, Vic begins fucking DIANA. SHARON looks grim. RANDY studies her. RANDY Was that far enough? SHARON turns to look at him. SHARON Randy, right? RANDY Hey, you remembered my name. SHARON Hi, Randy. RANDY Was it enough? SHARON That was. interesting. The camera pulls back. We hear DIANA as VIC tries to come. Cut to :", "INT. TELEPHONE COMPANY INFORMATION OFFICE. DAY. SHARON works at a computer terminal. Close on her. SHARON Operator 134, what city please? -LRB- Pause, as she types in the name. -RRB- Is that a business or residence? -LRB- Pause. -RRB- Hold for the number. -LRB- Pause. -RRB- This is operator 134. What city? -LRB- Pause. -RRB- Can you spell that? -LRB- Pause. -RRB- Is that D as in Dick? -LRB- Pause. -RRB- Please hold for the number. Cut to :", "INT. TELEPHONE COMPANY VENDING-MACHINE ROOM. DAY. Coffee break. Move through the room. Everyone sits alone, recovering from the phones. SHARON enters staring into space. Behind her are a group of workers, talking quietly but passionately. At first, SHARON does n't listen. Bits of the following drift into consciousness. WORKER #1 Hi, Wayne. It was much stronger last night, was n't it? WORKER #2 By a factor of five. WORKER #3 It was almost like the first time, I mean, it was that clear. WORKER #1 And the horn, the sound of a horn, that was new. WORKER #2 One note, a very clear tone. I found it on my piano ; it's B flat. WORKER #1 What do you think? SHARON has leaned back in her chair to eavesdrop. WORKER #3 I think it's going to happen, and soon. Have you been praying? WORKER # 2, facing SHARON'S back, sees her leaning in and puts a finger to his lips. WORKER #2 Yes, as much as I can. The other two glance over their shoulders at SHARON. She looks over her shoulder and sees them look at her. She pulls her chair forward. WORKER #3 What does The Boy say? WORKER #1 Not yet. Cut to :", "INT. SHARON'S APARTMENT. NIGHT. She is in bed with RANDY. Under the sheet, he strokes her. She comes, pushing his hand away. SHARON Tell me a story. RANDY Hmmm. He tries to start again. SHARON No, no, no. I already know that story. Tell me something new. He thinks about it. RANDY I've done things for money. SHARON Like what? RANDY Things I wish I had n't. SHARON Like what? RANDY I killed a man once. SHARON For how much? RANDY For a thousand dollars. SHARON That's not very much money. RANDY It was a lot then. All I can say now is, I wish I had n't. SHARON Why? RANDY'Cause it stays with me. I mean, I killed a man. I took his life, his only life. That's bad. SHARON Did you know him? RANDY No. SHARON Well, why did the people who paid you want him dead? RANDY There are some questions you do n't ask. After that, they offered me another job, the same kind of job, better money. SHARON And did you do it? RANDY No. But I think about that killing a lot. I think, you know, if we were n't taught that killing is bad, would I still feel as bad? SHARON I do n't know. RANDY You do n't know. Are you scared of me now? SHARON Did anyone pay you to kill me? A long pause. RANDY That was not a good year. 1975, that was my best year. I was nineteen. What was your best year? SHARON Hmmm. I guess I'm still waiting. I do n't know. I do n't know. Everything just seems so empty. Time passes so quickly. RANDY Yeah? I think it's kind of slow. SHARON No, I mean, like a day. You know, a day is always just over. I do n't know what I'm trying to say. RANDY I think I understand. SHARON Oh really? Why do n't you let me in on my secret. RANDY I think that you are depressed, and I think that you should see a therapist. SHARON Oh, that's great. That's fucking brilliant. Cut to :", "INT. SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY. SHARON pulls subscription cards out of magazines. A door bell rings ; then there's a knock at the door. SHARON answers it. Two men wearing suits, white shirts, and dark ties are there. Both are in their late thirties or early forties. In New York, you would assume they were bankers or painters trying to look like bankers. They are evangelists. None of the evangelists in this film sound like TV preachers or have a hint of the South in their accents. FIRST EVANGELIST You understand that these are the last days. It ca n't go on like this. God is coming back. His prophecies are now being fulfilled. SECOND EVANGELIST You have to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. SHARON Otherwise. FIRST EVANGELIST You wo n't be saved. She shuts the door. Pause. She opens it again. The men are still there, still smiling. SECOND EVANGELIST We're not trying to scare you. FIRST EVANGELIST No. SECOND EVANGELIST Do you understand the difference between righteousness and faith? SHARON Why do n't you tell me. SECOND EVANGELIST It's only by the grace of God you'll be saved. SHARON But what if I lead a good life? Does it still matter if I do n't believe? FIRST EVANGELIST Do you really lead a good life? SHARON No. SECOND EVANGELIST You have to believe. If you do n't, you go to Hell. SHARON Well, that does n't seem fair. FIRST EVANGELIST I used to think that. But then I met Him. SHARON Who? SECOND EVANGELIST That's what we're trying to tell you. FIRST EVANGELIST -LRB- from John 3:16. -RRB- For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. That whosoever should believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. SECOND EVANGELIST You can have what we have. FIRST EVANGELIST A personal relationship with the Son of God. SECOND EVANGELIST It's hard to believe unless you believe it. But when you believe it, then it's easy. You just know. SHARON What? FIRST EVANGELIST Him. SHARON How? FIRST EVANGELIST Who knows? It just is. SHARON Right. And I'm supposed to buy this? He hands her a small Bible. FIRST EVANGELIST No. It's a gift. SECOND EVANGELIST We know what you're thinking. It does n't make sense. SHARON No. SECOND EVANGELIST I was like you. SHARON I doubt it. SECOND EVANGELIST No, really. SHARON And, like I said, I doubt it. The men turn and leave. As they walk away, SHARON speaks : SHARON I heard someone talking about The Boy? Who's The Boy? SECOND EVANGELIST Some people say that he's a prophet in the old tradition. FIRST EVANGELIST And some people say there are others like him, all around the country. SECOND EVANGELIST All around the world. SHARON And what do you say? SECOND EVANGELIST I say trust in God. The SECOND EVANGELIST gives SHARON a warm smile. SHARON Excuse me. And she shuts the door. Cut to :", "INT. TELEPHONE COMPANY INFORMATION OFFICE. DAY. SHARON works at a computer terminal. Close on her. SHARON Operator 134. What city please? -LRB- Pause. -RRB- City please? -LRB- Pause. -RRB- Please hold for the number. -LRB- Pause. -RRB- Operator 134. What city please? -LRB- Pause. -RRB- Is that a business or residence?", "EXT/INT. SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY. The phone rings. She picks up, and we hear VIC on the line. SHARON Hello? VIC -LRB- voice - over. -RRB- Sharon? SHARON Hi, Vic. VIC -LRB- voice - over. -RRB- I dropped by a few of the hotels near the airport today. You'll never guess who I found. The most fascinating couple, really. They're from Philadelphia. Well, he's from Pennsylvania and she's from Florida and they're married. Is n't that romantic? She sees evangelists pass outside on bicycles. SHARON What time? VIC -LRB- voice - over. -RRB- Pick you up at nine.", "EXT. VIC'S WIFE'S HOUSE. NIGHT. SHARON looking out. Behind her, VIC is dancing with ANGIE and the EXECUTIVE.", "INT. VIC'S WIFE'S HOUSE. NIGHT. EXECUTIVE Here's to open - minded people and L.A., my kind of town. ANGIE Do n't you have, uhh. -LRB- to her husband while she corners VIC. -RRB- something better to do? EXECUTIVE I'm doing it. ANGIE laughs as the Executive goes to SHARON. She declines. SHARON'S point of view as he walks back to the group. VIC dances with ANGIE while the EXECUTIVE gropes her a little. The EXECUTIVE unzips the back of ANGIE'S dress as he turns her around, and as the dress falls away, SHARON can see a tattoo through the veil of ANGIE'S long black hair. The tattoo is not finished : we see a long boat with an angel blowing a horn on the bow. Behind the scene is a large pearl. SHARON What is that? VIC What are you talking about? SHARON She has a tattoo on her back. VIC looks. VIC Whoa. ANGIE I got it when I was a kid. EXECUTIVE This was before she met me. ANGIE I got drunk one night. SHARON One night. You had it done in one night? EXECUTIVE Well, you know how kids are. I almost got a tattoo once. She was drunk. ANGIE wraps herself around VIC. The naked EXECUTIVE fondles SHARON while she watches VIC and ANGIE kiss and laugh, the EXECUTIVE wants to get inside her, but she wo n't let him, he can only use his hands. For a moment, she enjoys it, but the pearl on ANGIE'S back is too compelling. SHARON Angie, you got that in one night? VIC Maybe she does n't want to talk about it. ANGIE There's nothing to talk about. SHARON Why did you get it? VIC Sharon? Can we talk about it later? SHARON I mean it must have been painful. ANGIE realizes she has to deal with SHARON'S curiosity. ANGIE -LRB- facing SHARON. -RRB- I do n't remember, and I do n't know why I got it. She looks at the EXECUTIVE. He gives her a compassionate look. EXECUTIVE Its okay, Angie. I'm here. I'm with you. SHARON Why would you get a tattoo that you did n't really want? I'm sorry, I do n't want to make you unhappy, but I really need to know. ANGIE Why? SHARON I do n't know. I do n't know. It's important. -LRB- She asks again :. -RRB- What is it? ANGIE Do n't you know what's going on? SHARON What? ANGIE The dream? The Pearl? SHARON What dream? EXECUTIVE Tell them. Cut to :", "INT. TELEPHONE COMPANY VENDING-MACHINE ROOM. DAY. The three workers are sitting together, drinking coffee. SHARON comes into the room and walks over to them, then sits down. She acts as though she's seen the light, but she's heavy - handed and obvious. SHARON Hi, it's a beautiful day, is n't it? How are you? WORKER #1 -LRB- cautious. -RRB- We're fine. And you? SHARON I'm fine. Now that I dream about the Pearl. Silence. The men watch her carefully. She becomes uncomfortable, but they do n't release her from their hard stares. She is being evaluated. WORKER #2 What dream would that be? SHARON The Pearl. I dream about the Pearl. WORKER #3 Tell us about it. WORKER #1 What does it look like? SHARON You know. The Pearl. It's a big pearl by a river. WORKER #3 No, it's not. WORKER #1 You have n't seen it. SHARON Yes, I have. WORKER #2 You ca n't fake it. SHARON slumps, defeated. WORKER #1 It's a message from God. If you really want it, all you have to do is pray. SHARON -LRB- disdainfully. -RRB- Pray. WORKER #2 He's coming back. SHARON Slow down. If everybody is getting this dream, how come it is n't on the news? WORKER #2 Those who need to know, know. WORKER #1 And those who do n't believe wo n't get the dream. SHARON There are five billion people on the planet. There's I - do n't - know - how - many religions. Why does the God of some little country on the Mediterranean have to be the God for everyone? Is n't that a little arrogant? I mean, really? The Buddhists get along okay without Jesus Christ. The Hindus get along okay without Jesus Christ. The Moslems seem to be getting along okay without Jesus Christ. WORKER #1 But none of them are saved. Cut to :", "INT. SHARON'S APARTMENT. NIGHT. SHARON comes in. She goes to the bedroom. VIC is in bed with a woman. VIC Sharon, this is my friend Andrea. Andrea is from Nebraska. Come and join? SHARON leaves and slumps down a wall in the next room.", "EXT. SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY. SHARON smokes on the balcony. Something has changed.", "INT. SHARON'S APARTMENT. BEDROOM. NIGHT. SHARON wakes up. She shakes RANDY. SHARON Get up. RANDY What? SHARON Get up, or get out. RANDY What did I do? SHARON I have to make the bed. RANDY Come on, look, no, it's three o'clock in the morning. SHARON Get out of bed, or get out of the house. RANDY Why? SHARON This bed is unclean. RANDY I'm out, I'm out. Unclean. you changed the sheets yesterday. SHARON Shut up! And he gets out of bed. She rips the sheets off the bed and then we cut to : Close - up of clean sheets being put over the bed. RANDY is n't helping ; he leans against a wall, trying to sleep. SHARON I'm starting over, Randy. I've had enough. RANDY Enough what? SHARON I need a new direction in my life. There is a God, I know it, there is a God, and I'm going to meet Him. RANDY When did you get religion? SHARON I am trying, Randy. I want my salvation. RANDY Sharon, you're fine the way you are. SHARON You just want to live in sin, do n't you? RANDY That's right. I just want to live in sin. SHARON Fine, be a slave to the Devil. RANDY Devil? Do you remember where we met? Do n't start asking me now to apologize for who I am or what I believe in. SHARON Oh, and what do you believe in? RANDY There is no God. There's only chaos.", "INT. SHARON'S APARTMENT. BATHROOM. NIGHT. SHARON takes a shower. RANDY talks to her through the glass. SHARON And why do we have such guilty consciences? Answer that? RANDY You're the one with the guilty conscience. I sleep really well, or at least I used to. -LRB- He tests the shower water. -RRB- Jesus Christ, that's hot. SHARON Do n't take the Lord's name in vain, Randy. That's one of the commandments, it even comes before theft and adultery, it even comes before murder. That's how important it is not to take the Lord's name in vain. RANDY Since when have you known the Lord? SHARON I am trying to. RANDY And what does a shower at three in the morning have to do with eternal salvation? SHARON is washing herself in a steaming hot shower. She scrubs herself with a hard brush. She gets out of the shower. SHARON I want to be clean. Am I clean? RANDY watches in silence as she dries herself with a towel, cleans her fingernails, and brushes her teeth. She speaks to him in her reflection. RANDY Yeah, you're clean. SHARON When you do something wrong, we feel bad, and that's because there's a little bit of God in all of us, telling us to change our ways before it's too late. Is n't that right? RANDY No, it's not right. It's just conditioned by society. All we are is animals whose brains have become too big and too complicated for the purposes of satisfying our animal needs, which are food and sex. SHARON There is a spiritual need which is just as real as hunger, just as real as the need for love. RANDY Sharon, do n't you understand what's going on? The world's a disaster. We have no power to make it better. You hate your job. You hate your life. But you want to feel special. But instead of letting me do that, you're rushing off to something that's not even there. There's no Pearl, there's only us. SHARON flosses her teeth. SHARON I feel sorry for you, Randy, I really do. But you have to leave. RANDY I do n't want to leave. I want to stay here with you. You know me. We know each other. We know each other's secrets, that's something. I think we can love each other, and I think you feel that too. SHARON There has to be something more. RANDY Why? SHARON cries. SHARON I'm tired of the pain in my life. I'm tired of feeling empty all the time. RANDY Let me help you. SHARON Why ca n't we let God help both of us? RANDY Because there is no God. And he is out the door. Hold on SHARON.", "EXT. DRIVEWAY. NIGHT. RANDY gets into his truck. Cut to :", "INT. SHARON'S APARTMENT. BEDROOM. NIGHT. SHARON reads the Bible the EVANGELISTS gave her and then simply clutches it. She tries to sleep, to relax. Her eyes close. Whatever it is, self - consciousness or doubt, she ca n't force herself to believe. SHARON -LRB- whisper. -RRB- God, please, please, please help me. God, I'm lost. Cut to :", "EXT. ENDLESS BOULEVARD. DAY. SHARON drives aimlessly. She stops for a hitchhiker named TOMMY, rough - looking, with a bedroll and a rucksack. Cut to :", "INT. SHARON'S CAR. DAY. TOMMY Chicks do n't usually stop for me. -LRB- No response from SHARON. -RRB- In fact, I think they think I'm dangerous. -LRB- Pause, again no response. -RRB- They're probably right. I'm not as dangerous as some guys I know, but I would never give myself a lift, that's for sure. No way. If I was a chick, no double - fucking way would I give me a lift. I've looked in the mirror. I've seen myself. I mean, with my thumb out, if I was a chick and I saw me, no sir. On the other hand, if I was a, if I was the one who was hitching and I was a chick, I'd stop for me in a second. In fact, I'd, I'd fuck me, too. In fact, if I was hitching and I was a chick, and I got stopped by a chick, I'd fuck me that way, too. Yeah. In fact, I would n't mind getting into a bi - girl scene with myself. Actually, you're the first chick that has ever given me a lift. I think other chicks do n't pick me up because they can tell I carry a gun and I've been to prison in Vermont. I do n't think they can tell I've been to prison, but that's where I'm from. Vermont. You ever been to Vermont? -LRB- SHARON does n't answer. -RRB- I'm from the Lemon Fair Valley. Actually, there's no lemons in Vermont. Actually, it comes from the French, Lay Moan Vayer, which means the Green Mountains. Which is what Vermont means. Green Mountains. Vert : Green. Mont : Mountains. Vermont. Green Mountains. Anyway, my father's a farmer. I left home. What's your name? I'm Tommy. SHARON Sharon. TOMMY Oh yeah? With who? SHARON What? TOMMY Who you sharin' it with? You gon na share it with me? Cut to :", "EXT. ADULT MOTEL. DAY. Tracking shot past the entrance. SHARON'S is not the only car parked at the motel.", "INT. ADULT MOTEL. DAY. TOMMY is on the round bed. He plays with a knife. We hear the shower running. The camera peeks into the bathroom.", "INT. ADULT MOTEL. BATHROOM. DAY. SHARON is in the shower, dressed. TOMMY'S rucksack is just outside the bathroom. TOMMY Sharon? Did you know that the state bird of Vermont is the Hermit Thrush? I'll bet you did n't know that. The state flower is the Red Clover. Highest point is Mount Mansfield, I believe, which is four thousand three hundred ninety - three something, I do n't know. Hey, have you got a quarter? Let's get some magic finger going in here. How would that be?", "INT. ADULT MOTEL. DAY. SHARON pulls a gun from TOMMY'S rucksack. He hears something, turns. SHARON is standing there dripping, with the gun. SHARON It's time for you to go. TOMMY Uhhh? SHARON You have to go, Tommy, and you have to leave me your gun. TOMMY Ahhhh! TOMMY raises his knife, she cocks the gun, and he plunges it into the bed. Dissolve to :", "EXT/INT. ADULT MOTEL. LATER. SHARON is in bed, the blankets pulled up over her head. She pulls the blankets down. She reaches beside her for her bag. She opens her bag. A pint of pear schnapps. She drinks half the schnapps. She takes the gun and puts it under her chin. She closes her eyes and holds the gun for a long moment. She opens her eyes. The disorder of the room bothers her. She gets out of the bed and puts everything from the bag but the gun back into it. The ashtray on the night table is filled with crushed butts. She pulls the drawer open to hide the ashtray, and she finds the Gideon Bible. She puts the ashtray on top of the Bible. She is a bit disgusted with herself ; disappointed at her lack of resolve. Then she takes the Bible out of the drawer and opens it. She starts to read the Gospels. A golden light fills the room. SHARON is thrown backward by it, and before she's eclipsed by its brilliance : Dissolve to : Extreme close - up : a pearl. You've never seen a pearl this close, so close that we lose its shape. All we can see of it is the color : the changing white, silver, and pink. It is beautiful. You do n't want it to go away. Dissolve to :", "INT. SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY. SHARON is sleeping, smiling, at peace. She wakes up. Everything is different. She gets up. She goes to her closet and takes a simple dress from a hanger. She hears a door. VIC is behind her. She covers herself with the dress. SHARON Can I get dressed? VIC Where were you? SHARON Turn around. VIC Really? She nods. He does while she puts on the dress. VIC C'mon. Where have you been? SHARON I went away for a few days. VIC Who'd you go with? SHARON No one. VIC Meet anyone? SHARON Yes, yes, I did. I did meet someone. VIC can sense that something is different about her by the way she talks to him so directly and so calmly, and by her placid smile. VIC lies on the bed. She comes out from behind the door. VIC Are you okay? SHARON I'm fine, Vic. I'm really, really fine. VIC Unnh - uhh. No you're not. Something's going on. You've changed. You've got this look right now. SHARON What look? VIC That goofy smile. SHARON If I tell you, you're not going to believe me. But I have to tell you, so it really does n't matter if you do n't believe me. It does n't matter to me. I mean it matters to me, but you're the one who really needs to hear this now. VIC You met a guy. SHARON Well, guy is not exactly the word I'd use for Him. VIC You fox, you fell in love. SHARON -LRB- deadly serious. -RRB- Yes. VIC Wait until he finds out about you. SHARON Well, He knows all about me. VIC Is he as bad a boy as I am? SHARON I think you should meet Him. VIC Did you tell him about me? SHARON I told you, He knows everything. VIC He's rich, right? He's some rich guy, and you fell for some line of his. SHARON You could love Him, too. VIC -LRB- laughing. -RRB- Oh, no, you fell in love with some rich homosexual. SHARON He's the Lord Jesus Christ, Vic. He's the Son of God. VIC jumps off the bed. VIC Sharon, did you quit your job? SHARON Why would I do that? VIC So you can go to the airport and sell flowers, or do whatever the cult wants you to do. SHARON You ca n't understand, but I know what that's like. Until it happens to you, until you accept God into your heart, it's like a fairy tale, it's like some joke that you just do n't get. VIC I think you need to be deprogrammed. SHARON There's no cult, Vic. There's only God, and his message of Love. VIC Love. SHARON Love. VIC Look, you'll give this up, someday. I know you, you'll give this up. SHARON This is forever. VIC Everybody says that. SHARON This is different. VIC Everybody says that, too. -LRB- He is heading out the door. -RRB- Sharon, call me when this is over. SHARON is alone, content. Cut to :", "INT. TELEPHONE COMPANY INFORMATION OFFICE. DAY. Go down the rows of computer terminals, hearing other operators. Stop at SHARON. SHARON Hold for the number. Hi. Who's this? Hi, Susanna, this is Sharon. Have you met Jesus? Well, I'm sure you're in a hurry, but do n't you think you could take time out to get to know your Lord and Savior? well okay, well, you have a good day too. What was the number you wanted? Here you go. -LRB- Pause. -RRB- Hi, this is Sharon. Who's this? Hi, Maria. Have you met God? You have? Is n't He wonderful? She looks up and sees HENRY, her supervisor. Cut to :", "INT. TELEPHONE COMPANY. HENRY'S OFFICE. DAY. The door is closed. HENRY You're supposed to spend a maximum of fifteen seconds on each call. Do you know what your average has been? SHARON No. HENRY Take a guess. SHARON Twenty seconds? Twenty - five? HENRY Two minutes. You were clocked on one call at seven minutes fifteen. SHARON I am just trying to do my job. HENRY It seems like you're trying to do two jobs. SHARON -LRB- a little defiantly. -RRB- We only have one job. HENRY That's right. And you're not doing the one you're being paid for. SHARON Henry, God made me an information operator for a reason. I'm in a position to spread His word to hundreds of people every day, personally. One - to - one. HENRY God. SHARON I know you ca n't believe this, but God is coming back to judge the world. And it's important, I have to tell people. We have to prepare for His return. HENRY takes his time before speaking. HENRY When did you first see the light? SHARON A few days ago. HENRY -LRB- neutral. -RRB- Mmm - hmm. SHARON You do n't believe me. HENRY Sometimes people have heard about the Pearl and they try to pretend like they've seen it, but you can always tell when they're lying. You just ca n't fake it. SHARON You? SHARON puts her hand on her heart. HENRY When they first meet Him, everyone thinks that Judgement Day is just around the corner. I remember that feeling very well ; it's a powerful feeling. But. that sense that it's going to happen tomorrow passes when tomorrow comes and He does n't. And then you understand that those feelings, as powerful as they are, and the dreams, as real as they are, are still just shadows of the real thing, and no one can say how far away that real thing really is. SHARON The feeling is so strong. HENRY studies her. HENRY I do n't know you, but I know you. A lot of people who have come to God are broken. They've been messed up by life. The unbelievers try to make it seem like there's something wrong with us, that we're stupid, but only the humble hear the voice of God. You're alone, are n't you? SHARON -LRB- tears forming. -RRB- Yes. HENRY It's hard at the beginning. You give up your old life, and it's like you've come to a new country. Your old friends can not really be your friends anymore. SHARON What do I do? HENRY Trust in God, and take it easy on the phones. SHARON smiles. SHARON Who's The Boy? He looks at her. Cut to :", "INT. CHURCH. DAY. A small, spare room. No pews, only a circle of folding chairs. Perhaps twenty people are there. We're watching HENRY and his son, THE BOY, about ten years old. He never speaks out loud ; he whispers behind a cupped hand into his father's ear. On SHARON, across from them, watching. On THE BOY : he cups a hand and speaks to HENRY. HENRY addresses the room. HENRY God is coming back. There are wars and rumors of wars, and a curse devours the Earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. THE BOY again whispers to his father. HENRY We have to wait. An OLDER WOMAN in the circle. SHARON For how long? THE BOY whispers to his father. HENRY Probably a few years. Five years, six years. The people in the room hug each other. SHARON gives herself to the hugs and gives hugs. Love without sex. Dissolve to :", "INT. RANDY'S WORKPLACE. RANDY sprays coating on a metal gate. SHARON arrives. SHARON Hi, Randy. RANDY -LRB- pretends to struggle to remember her name. -RRB- Ohh, uhh, Sharon. Sharon. How's that apartment coming? Is it still unclean? SHARON No. RANDY So you found your salvation. Congratulations. SHARON I found God. RANDY Oh yeah? Is he going to move in, or did he keep his own place, or are you going to do that commuting thing? You've got to watch that ; it's very tough on a relationship. Why are you here? They walk into an adjoining woodshop. SHARON I know you are as lost as I was, Randy, and I wanted to tell you that you could know God. If you just surrender your pride, you can know God. RANDY Sharon, it's just a drug. Instead of doing heroin, you're doing God, and I need sandpaper. SHARON Randy, God is real. God is not make - believe, and you know that. You do n't want to admit that, because you're afraid. RANDY What am I afraid of? SHARON What we are all afraid of : God's judgement. RANDY No. I'm not. SHARON I do n't want to lose you. RANDY You just want to save my soul. SHARON At least you know you have one. RANDY I do n't want to tell my secrets in church. SHARON I'll pray for both of us. RANDY You'd stay with me even if I did n't pray? SHARON kisses RANDY. They hug. TITLE SUPERIMPOSED : SIX YEARS LATER", "INT. CHURCH. NIGHT. There are more people in the room now. THE BOY is older now ; and although HENRY is beside him, he speaks directly. THE BOY So far, we're still in the realm of signs and wonders. But the Rapture is coming. It says so in the Bible. Our bodies will be transformed into spirit. And then we will be caught up in a cloud to meet God. The end is coming soon. This year. RANDY takes SHARON'S hand. Cut to :", "INT. SHARON AND RANDY'S TOWN HOUSE. BEDROOM. NIGHT. The bedroom is now filled with Christian icons. SHARON and RANDY wake up together, shaken by the same image. RANDY Ever since I was a kid, I've had the feeling that something was going to happen to me. I always knew that when it happened, I would recognize it, and that I would n't mistake it for something else. I would n't have something happen to me and I would say, this is it! and then later on say, no, that was n't it. It was a secret feeling, and I never told anybody about it. SHARON And what's the feeling now? RANDY Something's going to happen.", "INT. RANDY AND SHARON'S KITCHEN. DAY. SHARON and her daughter, MARY, six years old, sit at the kitchen table. MARY Where's Heaven? SHARON It's in the sky. MARY Why ca n't we see it? SHARON You will. MARY But why ca n't we see it now? SHARON Mary? Do you love Baby Jesus? MARY Yes. SHARON Then you'll see him really soon. Slowly dissolve to :", "EXT. SWIMMING POOL.  DAY. We move through the water, and the change from the light is easy, gradual. The water is ethereal ; we do n't even know this is a pool yet ; it could be a body of heavenly water. The calm surface of the pool explodes as a six - year - old - girl, MARY, bursts to the surface. SHARON moves through the water. Her friend PAULA floats on a raft. PAULA What does the Bible say? SHARON We who are alive who are saved will be taken bodily into Heaven. PAULA Ohhh, Sharon. Sharon. SHARON You ca n't accept God, can you? PAULA No. SHARON Well, maybe we should talk about that for a minute. PAULA -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Okay, do you mean that if you're a Christian and you're ironing your shirts and the Rapture happens, you'll be taken to Heaven in the middle of doing the laundry? Or does God give you time to turn off the iron, or do your shirts burn? SHARON -LRB- joking but deadpan. -RRB- I wear permanent press. PAULA Well, I mean what's supposed to happen? You are supposed to float up into the sky? SHARON In the twinkling of an eye. The body will be transformed into spirit. And there is a warning. If you listen, if you pray for it. We'll hear the sound of trumpets, God's angels. MARY listens.", "INT. RANDY'S WORKPLACE. DAY. RANDY is now a supervisor in a large insurance office. He is well groomed ; his hair is cut short ; he is a few pounds lighter. Other workers are around. RANDY is arguing with LOUIS, another worker. A security officer stands behind RANDY. RANDY Louis, I'm trying to say this without causing you a lot of pain. LOUIS Any way you say it, I'm fired, right? RANDY We have struggled together, but, you have to admit, it has n't worked out. LOUIS That's because I'm not kissing ass around here, is n't it? RANDY Louis, it's because you're not doing your job. LOUIS You're not doing your job, banana - head. RANDY Louis, we've tried to help you, have n't we? LOUIS -LRB- crying. -RRB- I do n't want your fucking help. RANDY We took you to a counselor. LOUIS You took me to a homo. RANDY I took you to an A.A. meeting. LOUIS They were a bunch of a - holes. A - holes Anonymous. And you're an a - hole. And I'm tired of kissing your Christian a - hole. -LRB- To the security guard :. -RRB- What are you looking at? RANDY Louis, I'll pray for you. LOUIS -LRB- wildly. -RRB- Yeah, well, fuck you! Cut to :", "INT. RANDY AND SHARON'S APARTMENT. DAY. MARY and her parents, RANDY and SHARON, hold hands in a circle. This is a happy family.", "INT. RANDY'S WORKPLACE. DAY. We hear a blast. We see RANDY in his office at the corner of a hall. There are two bodies in the hall, and LOUIS walks down it with a gun. RANDY gets up from his desk and starts to come out. As he does, LOUIS shoots into an office. LOUIS goes into another office, and we hear two more shotgun blasts. RANDY is now out of his office and turning down the empty hall when LOUIS comes back into the hall. RANDY Louis. LOUIS No speeches, preacher. RANDY I have a little girl. LOUIS So what? And he blasts RANDY. Cut to :", "INT. SHARON AND RANDY'S TOWN HOUSE. DAY. MARY opens the front door. MARY Come in. The living room is filled with friends who have brought food to SHARON. MARY and other children play. SHARON talks to PAULA on a balcony. PAULA You see, now's one of those times when I wish I was a believer. SHARON Why? PAULA Because I would have a rock to stand on, because I could tell myself that everything was for the better because God has a plan. SHARON But it is, because He does. PAULA It is so hard for me, Sharon. I try to resist it as much as possible. SHARON So you do feel something tugging at you, do n't you? PAULA I tell myself it's just conditioning, it's how I was raised. I tell myself that if we did n't tell our children about God, they would n't ask. It is a story we tell ourselves so everything makes sense. SHARON It's not. PAULA But how do you know? SHARON The Bible. PAULA Do n't tell me the Bible. SHARON It's a question of faith. PAULA So there's no proof? SHARON Paula, the universe you live in is cold and filled with empty space. The universe I live in is filled with God. Cut to :", "INT. SHARON AND RANDY'S TOWN HOUSE. NIGHT. SHARON and MARY kneel at MARY'S bed, praying. MARY Will we see Daddy again? SHARON Yes. MARY When we die? SHARON Or when God takes us to Heaven. MARY When the Rapture comes, does that mean we die? SHARON Not exactly. MARY So you can go to Heaven without dying? SHARON Yeah. MARY But if you die, you can still go to Heaven. SHARON Yes. MARY So Daddy is going to Heaven. SHARON No, Daddy's already in Heaven. MARY If we pray to Daddy, can he hear us? SHARON Well, we pray to God, and God tells Daddy what we're saying. That way he can hear everything. Cut to :", "EXT. MINIMALL STAIRCASE. DAY. SHARON comes down the stairs and stops. Pull back to reveal : We are outside a Photolab in a corner pod mall. SHARON walks into view, looking at the snapshots of America rolling off the printer. In the photographs, we see RANDY wearing the clothes in which he died, and he's trying to reach her, trying to say something to her. Her husband appears improbably in a picture at the beach, standing behind a typical family. Then RANDY is pictured in the desert, standing on a tall rock pile, his arm raised, calling her to him. He's pleading with her. Cut to :", "INT. CHURCH. DAY. The room is filled ; people are standing on chairs at the wall. There's still a circle in the middle, but it's smaller. HENRY and THE BOY are flanked by the two EVANGELISTS. SHARON is across from them, with MARY. Now THE BOY speaks. THE BOY This is from the Book of Revelation, chapter 12, verse 6. It says, `` And the woman fled into the desert where she had a place prepared for her by God.'' Is anyone else getting visions that tell us we have to go to the desert? SHARON You do n't believe me. THE BOY I do. SHARON What does it mean? THE BOY You're the only one who can hear these calls. It could be Satan. SHARON I do n't think so. THE BOY Then God wants you for His special purpose. SHARON Please, come with me. THE BOY We have n't been invited. SHARON wants to cry. She gets up and takes Mary's hand. The crowd parts for her, making a path to the door. She starts walking toward it, about ten feet. SHARON But I'm scared. THE BOY Do n't ask God to meet you halfway. SHARON What does that mean? THE BOY shakes his head no. HENRY -LRB- to THE BOY. -RRB- What does that mean? THE BOY shakes his head. No, he wo n't answer. SHARON is scared. She opens the door.", "EXT. OUTSIDE THE CHURCH. SUNSET. SHARON and MARY are framed in the church door, the faithful behind them. They walk out into the sunset. Cut to :", "EXT. SHARON AND RANDY'S TOWN HOUSE. DAY. SHARON is packing a sports bag while PAULA watches her. PAULA is desperate. SHARON is calm. SHARON holds up a few of MARY'S dresses while she studies the clothes in her closet. PAULA has a shopping bag filled with food. PAULA Sharon, you ca n't just leave like this. SHARON Yes, I can. God is calling me. PAULA No, no, no. Sharon. what about Mary? SHARON God is calling her too. PAULA Why do n't you sell the house? You ca n't just walk away from it. SHARON Of course, I can. There's a better house waiting for me. God is building me a mansion, right now. What should I wear? She takes out a few dresses. PAULA God wo n't come, the bank will own your home, and what are you going to do then? SHARON I'm going to Heaven, Paula. I'm going to Heaven. Mary and I are going to Heaven. And we'll wear these dresses, together, when we finally meet God. Randy always liked this dress. I'll wear it for him. I'll be seeing him soon. And he always loved to see Mary in this. PAULA sits on the bed. PAULA Do n't you get a white robe and wings? SHARON Angels do n't have wings. And I do n't know about the robes. I do n't know what they wear, but I guess I'll find out. SHARON packs a sweater. PAULA Then what's the sweater for? SHARON It gets cold at night in the desert. PAULA Winter is coming. You'll need more than a sweater. SHARON He's taking us soon, very soon. PAULA How do you know? SHARON He told me. PAULA Sharon, Sharon, listen to me. I do n't know if you can hear me, but listen to me. You need food. SHARON Not that much. PAULA You need a tent. I do n't want you guys sleeping out in the car. Okay. Candle, matches, flashlight. PAULA pulls the named items out of the bag. SHARON Thank you, Paula. PAULA You need something else. You ca n't go out to the desert alone, there's a lot of creeps out there, Sharon, and a woman alone, I'm scared. SHARON God will take care of us. PAULA Maybe. Insurance. She takes out a small handgun. SHARON Oh, Paula, no. PAULA You do n't have to use it. But you have to take it. And you can bring it back to me when you come home. SHARON holds PAULA'S hand, and she looks at the gun. SHARON I'm not coming home. Cut to :", "EXT. DESERT CAMPGROUND. DAY. SHARON and MARY drive into a campground somewhere in the high desert. There are Joshua trees, yuccas, and large rocks and rock piles. MARY Mom? SHARON Yes, Mary. MARY This does n't look like Heaven, Mom. SHARON This is n't Heaven, honey. MARY Then why stop here? SHARON Think of Heaven as a great big hotel or a big office building. MARY Yeah. SHARON Well, this is the lobby, this is where we have to wait. MARY For what? SHARON The elevator. Another car pulls up. Dissolve to :", "INT. TENT. NIGHT. SHARON and MARY sleeping. We go into SHARON'S dream. She is dreaming of the Pearl. Cut to :", "EXT. DESERT CAMPGROUND. DAY. ROCK CLIMBERS are high on the sheer face of a rock wall. MARY watches them. One CLIMBER rappels down the rock and lands beside them. He is lean, muscular, cool. MARY Are you waiting for God, too? CLIMBER Oh, is that what you guys are doing here? MARY God is coming back. CLIMBER Sounds good. MARY He really is. CLIMBER Okay. MARY He's coming tomorrow. SHARON No, soon, Mary. He's coming soon. They look up at the sky.", "EXT. DESERT CAMPGROUND. NIGHT. SHARON puts MARY to sleep in the tent.", "EXT. DESERT CAMPGROUND. LATE DAY. There is n't much food left or water. We hear a loud siren. SHARON grabs MARY. MARY grabs for her toy panda. SHARON That's it! That's it, Mary, here it comes, here it is, he's calling us, come on, hurry, hurry. She runs with MARY up a rock formation, higher and higher. The sound continues. MARY drops her panda and screams out : MARY Panda! SHARON Mary, come on. MARY No, Panda! SHARON scrambles back to get the doll. It is out of reach. She gets it. MARY hugs her panda, and they continue on up the rock until we have a good view of the whole campground.", "EXT. TOP OF ROCK PILE. DAY. The horn is still loud and clear. SHARON holds MARY, their faces lifted to the sky, waiting for the Rapture. We see a CLIMBER running across the parking lot to his car. He turns off the alarm, and the sound stops. SHARON remains frozen for a second ; then she sits down. For the first time, we see real doubt and the beginning of defeat. MARY starts to cry. MARY I miss my Daddy. SHARON Honey, I miss your Daddy, too. MARY I want to see him again. SHARON You will, you will see him in Heaven. MARY Why ca n't we go to Heaven? Mommy, I want to go to Heaven. SHARON We have to wait until God calls us. MARY Did God call Daddy? When you die is that when God calls you? SHARON Yes. MARY Then I want to die. SHARON No, sweetie, no. MARY You want to go to Heaven, do n't you? SHARON Yes. MARY And you believe that when we die we'll go to Heaven, because we're saved, right? SHARON Yes. MARY Then why ca n't we just die and go there really quickly and be with Daddy again? Why do we have to stay here and just hang around and wait for God? Come on, Mom, let's die. SHARON puts her arm around her. She is too young to really understand what she's asking for. SHARON Let's give God one more chance. Cut to :", "EXT. DESERT CAMPGROUND. DAY. A county sheriff's car drives into the campground. FOSTER MADISON gets out of it. MARY and SHARON pray at a picnic bench. Something about SHARON attracts him. He could be hard, but he is curious, soft. FOSTER Howdy. SHARON Hello. FOSTER I'm Foster Madison. SHARON Sharon. And Mary. FOSTER crouches to be closer to MARY. FOSTER Oh yeah? I have a sister named Mary. She's all grown - up now. MARY Are you with God? FOSTER I'm with the sheriff. MARY We're waiting for our father. FOSTER Where is he? MARY Heaven. FOSTER Do n't you go to school? MARY I do n't have to go to school. FOSTER looks at SHARON. SHARON I'm not asking you to understand, or to have faith, but the end of the world is coming, and we're a lot safer out here. MARY walks away. FOSTER Well, there's a two - week limit on staying here. SHARON Is that a limit on how long I can stay in the park, or how long I can use this campsite? FOSTER Actually, it's just a limit on how long you can use this particular campsite. SHARON -LRB- points to different campsites. -RRB- So if I move over there, or over there, or over there. I can stay for another two weeks. FOSTER wants to be fair ; he sees a woman in need. FOSTER Technically. I ca n't stop you. SHARON Thank you. FOSTER Could I ask you a question? SHARON Sure. FOSTER Is this good for your little girl? SHARON Have you been saved? FOSTER No. SHARON Do you know what that means? FOSTER Yeah. SHARON Would you like to be? FOSTER Oh yeah, yeah sure, who would n't. SHARON Why is it so hard for you to pray? FOSTER You have to surrender to God, do n't you? SHARON -LRB- not fully certain. -RRB- That's right. FOSTER It's in my training. I do n't give up my gun. SHARON But you'd like to believe. FOSTER That these are the last days? SHARON You know they are. God is coming back to judge the world. A lot of people are going to suffer. FOSTER I hope that's not true ; but if there's no law against it, my hands are tied. SHARON smiles a little. SHARON I bet with a little prayer you'd be on my side in an hour. FOSTER Well, then it's time for me to go. Watch out for the coyotes. -LRB- To MARY :. -RRB- Good - bye. MARY Good - bye. FOSTER gets back into his car. When he is gone, SHARON breaks down and cries.", "EXT. DESERT CAMPGROUND. NIGHT. The moon is behind clouds. Wind pulls at the tent flaps.", "INT. TENT. NIGHT. The camera moves toward SHARON. We're getting inside her dream again. Brief glimpses of an orgy.", "INT. SHARON'S DREAM. The Pearl recedes, gets smaller, and finally disappears. Blackness. MARY -LRB- voice - over. -RRB- Mom. Mommy.", "INT. TENT. NIGHT. SHARON wakes up ; her eyes are hollow. MARY is awake. MARY Mom. SHARON -LRB- lost. -RRB- What? MARY Mom, I'm hungry.", "EXT. DESERT CAMPGROUND. DAY. SHARON looks through trash cans. No food. She turns the water jugs upside down. No water. MARY watches her. MARY You said we'd give him one more chance. SHARON -LRB- impatient. -RRB- Who? MARY God. You said you'd give God one more chance, and if we did n't get the Rapture that we could die. That's what you said. You promised. SHARON -LRB- gently avoiding the question. -RRB- Baby. MARY Do n't you believe in God? SHARON Yes. says. MARY Do n't you love God? Then why ca n't we just go to God? Go now. Now. SHARON does n't answer immediately. SHARON -LRB- the implications are frightening. -RRB- One more chance. Cut to :", "EXT. DESERT CAMPGROUND. NIGHT. A motorcycle comes into the campground. SHARON and MARY are in the tent. SHARON pokes her head out. The motorcycle comes closer. SHARON gets out. FOSTER, out of uniform, is on the motorcycle. FOSTER I. I was in the neighborhood. SHARON And you thought you'd come by for a cup of sugar. FOSTER No. Actually, I came to bring you this. He reaches into his pack for a blanket. He hands it to her. SHARON We have sleeping bags. FOSTER Yeah, I know, I, it's just that sometimes you want to sit on the ground, you do n't want to get dirty, it s nice to have a blanket. SHARON Thank you. FOSTER I, I brought your little girl a candy bar. I know moms are worried about cavities, so if you do n't want to give it to her, you know, I'll understand. SHARON I'll give it to her. FOSTER You can share it. SHARON Thanks. He wants to talk. He looks at her. FOSTER Well, I'll check up on you again sometime, if that's okay. SHARON Thank you. And he rides away. She returns to the tent.", "INT. TENT. NIGHT. Close on MARY. She cries out in her sleep. MARY Mom! You have to make up your mind, now! Gabriel is coming, Mom, Gabriel is coming. -LRB- She wakes up, and she is in a kind of trance, staring at her mother, afraid for her. -RRB- He's God, Mom, He's God. Do n't ask God to meet you halfway. -LRB- A final cry. -RRB- Mommy! SHARON Wake up, Mary, wake up. It's okay, baby, it's okay. MARY wakes up, and she cries deeply. Her face tells us everything : she has given up hope. SHARON Come on, baby, you're just hungry ; we'll get something to eat. Come on, let's go to town. MARY No, we ca n't leave. SHARON Yes, we can. MARY But we do n't need any food. God will give us food when we get to Heaven. I'll be in Heaven tonight. There was a river. And I was in Heaven. SHARON Where was I? MARY You were there. SHARON Good. MARY Sort of. You were there, but only sort of. SHARON tries to make sense of this. She ca n't ; she's too tired right now for tests of faith. She smiles and looks her daughter in the eye. SHARON It's almost morning. As soon as the sun comes up, we'll go get something to eat. Cut to :", "EXT. JACK IN THE BOX DRIVE-THRU LINE. DAY. SHARON is at the pick - up window. The food order is put out for her. The CASHIER waits for the money. Behind him is the MANAGER. CASHIER Eleven dollars and twenty - eight cents, please. SHARON looks at him. He knows what the look means. CASHIER Oh, no you do n't. SHARON quickly grabs the food and drives away. CASHIER Call the police. MANAGER No. CASHIER Why not? MANAGER She had a kid.", "INT. CAR. DAY. SHARON returns to the Joshua tree campsite. MARY devours her burger and fries. SHARON'S face is set. She is on the other side of something powerful.", "EXT. CAR. DAY. SHARON drives down a road.", "EXT. BURNED HILL. LATE AFTERNOON. SHARON and MARY walk up the hillside. MARY kneels and clutches her toy panda. SHARON stands behind her. SHARON Do you love me? MARY Yes. SHARON Do you love Jesus? MARY Yes. SHARON You know, in Heaven there's Jesus and Baby Jesus, together, and Baby Jesus has the special job, has the special job. -LRB- breaking down. -RRB- of looking out for all the children. Mary, do you love Baby Jesus? MARY Yes. SHARON It's not fair to make you pay because I'm lost. If God loves us, He'll understand. We're going to Heaven now. MARY We're going together? SHARON Together. Now we see the gun that PAULA gave her before she left home. The sun is going down. MARY And Daddy? Daddy's in Heaven. SHARON -LRB- this thought comforts her. -RRB- Daddy. We'll see Daddy. Yes. And we'll be together forever because nothing is broken in Heaven. I love you. MARY Daddy. SHARON You have to love God, Mary, do you love God? MARY Yes. MARY makes a face as though she's about to enter icy water. With her panda tucked under her arm, she clasps her hands in prayer even harder. SHARON Tell Him that. Do n't be afraid. SHARON pulls the trigger, and the gun fires. MARY is dead. SHARON takes the gun and puts it to her head. She holds the gun. We watch. We wait. Will she? Can she? She empties the gun into the air, screams at the sky ; then she sits down on the ground ; then she lies down beside MARY and goes to sleep. Fade - out. Fade - in :", "EXT. BURNED HILL. LATER. NIGHT. SHARON places a cross on the panda on top of the grave and then gets up. She walks away, empty. We hear hoofbeats, one horse, distant. The sound gets louder.", "INT. SHARON'S CAR. NIGHT. SHARON speeds down the highway, and everywhere she looks she sees a white horse flashing in her vision. Cut to :", "EXT. FREEWAY. NIGHT. SHARON keeps speeding. The white horse is gone. And then the red lights of a sheriff's police car appear in the mirror. The siren is close. She is sure she has been caught. She pulls over. The sheriff's OFFICER MADISON from the campground. He shines his searchlight on SHARON'S car. Then he walks to the car and knocks on her window. FOSTER Could you get out of the car, please? SHARON gets out of the car. FOSTER What happened to God? -LRB- He can see she is in some kind of distress. -RRB- What's wrong? She does n't answer. FOSTER I have to see your license and registration, please. SHARON They're in the car. She gets them. She holds the license and registration out in her hand. FOSTER Thank you. Could you step over into the light, please? He takes the identification and goes back to his bike. SHARON nods yes. He studies the license. We look at him for a moment. He is not a bad man, and he is studying SHARON, less as another speeder than as a woman in obvious trouble. In the beginning, SHARON is catatonic ; her answers are short and sparse. As FOSTER continues to press her, she starts to unravel. She realizes what she has done. FOSTER Here. Where's your little girl? SHARON She's with God. FOSTER She died? SHARON Yes. FOSTER Mary. SHARON Yes. FOSTER How? SHARON I killed her. I was going to kill myself too, but you ca n't get into Heaven if you kill yourself. You can get into Heaven if somebody else kills you but not if you kill yourself. Life is some kind of punishment, is n't it? You have to go through with it, even when you know what life is for. FOSTER What is life for? SHARON Ask God. FOSTER What does he say? SHARON I think He says that, basically, you have to love Him, no matter what. But I do n't love Him, not anymore. He has too many rules. He told me to meet Him in the desert. And I did and I waited. He did n't come. He broke His promise. He let me kill my little girl. And He still expects me to love Him? I'm afraid of Hell, so I have to wait out my life, waiting for God. Now : He'll forgive me and He'll let me join my daughter and my husband in Heaven, but first I have to say I love Him. You can send me to the gas chamber, and if I let God into my heart before I die, then I can go to Heaven, because God is merciful. How fast was I going? FOSTER A hundred miles an hour. SHARON A hundred miles an hour. If I had gone off a bridge and died, would I have gone to Heaven? FOSTER I do n't know. SHARON Neither do I. Dissolve to :", "INT. PRISON. DAY. A guard leads SHARON down a row of cells. A door is opened and then locked behind her. A woman on the next bed is reading the Bible, and when she lowers the book, we see it is ANGIE, the swinger with the tattoo. SHARON says nothing to her. ANGIE I know you. I should be embarrassed to even tell you where we met, but I'm not ashamed, I'm not ashamed of anything anymore, I found God, God found me. I was preaching the word of God at a shopping mall in Palm Springs, and they had me kicked out. So I went back in, and they had me arrested. Have you heard the word of God? -LRB- No reply. -RRB- It's the greatest gift of all time. You have to trust completely in God. He'll forgive all your sins. SHARON Who forgives God? And she turns away from her. Fade - out.", "INT. PRISON CELL. NIGHT. SHARON hears a sound from her cell. A flaming sword slices the air. The sword stops flaming when it cuts through the air. The sword is held by the ARCHANGEL MICHAEL. ANGIE sleeps. Another angel drifts into this scene outside the cell. MARY appears dressed as she was when she died. MARY -LRB- sincerely, with a little difficulty. -RRB- God is coming back, Mommy. There are wars and rumors of wars, Mommy, and a curse devours the Earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. SHARON He said He was going to take us to Heaven. MARY Mother, listen to me. The living outnumber the dead. The Armies of the Lord are waiting for the Day of Judgement. Do n't you still love God, Mommy? SHARON He left us, alone, in the desert. He let me kill you. MARY Do you still love Him? SHARON How can I love a God who let me kill my baby? MARY God loves you because you love Him. SHARON Why? MARY I know you want me back, but I ca n't come back, Mommy. I'm dead. SHARON looks as they vanish, then, after a beat, looks down. Cut to :", "INT. PRISON. NIGHT. We move through the cells. A trumpet plays one long, extended note. The prisoners look outside. ANGIE That's the first call. It's Gabriel blowing his trumpet. There will be six more calls. We have until the last call to repent. After that, it's too late. After that, it's too late. We hear the hoofbeats again, getting louder. People look up. The sound seems to be in the middle of the room. The sound of the hoofbeats is impossibly loud, and we see on the TV screen the faint image of a white horse over a ballgame. Then the game disappears, and we see the feet of the horse. ANGIE It's God. He's giving us a last chance to save ourselves. At war, the First Horseman of the Apocalypse. The horse is replaced by a trumpet. The channels are changed, and the golden trumpet blowing the pure tone is seen across every channel. It is a long trumpet raised high before a deep blue background. A hand holds the trumpet, but we do n't see the angel's face. ANGIE begins to sing : ANGIE -LRB- sings. -RRB- Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King ; Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled! Joyful all ye nations rise, Join the triumph of the skies ; With th' angelic host proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem. As she sings, the trumpet sounds again. The hoofbeats grow. The blast gets louder. Prison bars start to collapse. All of the bars fall out of the walls, collapse to the floor with a great noise. Women step slowly out of their cells. A helicopter sounds in the background. Everyone sits quietly. No one knows what to say. ANGIE What more do you need? SHARON Get out of here. ANGIE leaves. SHARON is alone in the cell. FOSTER walks down the corridor. SHARON What are you doing here? FOSTER I want to know what happens next. SHARON Are you scared? FOSTER I do n't know. I never had any faith. But you did. SHARON Yep. FOSTER So? SHARON So. FOSTER Well, if the world is coming to an end, this is n't the place to be. Let's go.", "EXT. ROAD. DAY. SHARON rides behind FOSTER on his motorcycle. Hoofbeats are closer. The red horse ridden by a rider wielding a long sword chases them. The rider holds a pair of scales. The trumpet continues to sound. Cut to :", "EXT. THE ROAD. NIGHT. SHARON and FOSTER are on the bike. The night sky is filled with the image of a huge bull ridden by a ghostly woman holding an immense candelabra. Cut to :", "EXT. FARTHER DOWN THE ROAD. DUSK. The motorcycle comes to the crest of a hill. Smoke surrounds the two. It is impossible to go ahead. They stop driving. The smoke obscures everything now. Hoofbeats. The world is dissolving. The FOURTH HORSEMAN, DEATH, riding the pale horse, appears in the fog of smoke and comes slowly toward them. SHARON and FOSTER get off their motorbike and watch the horseman. Then, they begin to rise slowly into the smoke. She does n't want this. SHARON No! No, I do n't want to go. -LRB- To FOSTER :. -RRB- Do n't let me go. No! They disappear into the smoke. Dissolve to :", "EXT. LIMBO. NIGHT. We are in the dark. The noise has stopped. Then we see them, barely lit, a hint of something like moonlight on them. A voice, MARY'S : MARY Mom? -LRB- MARY walks out of the darkness. She is beside them, holding her panda. -RRB- Hi, Mom. FOSTER Is this Hell? SHARON -LRB- tenderly. -RRB- Hello, Mary. SHARON walks to her, but MARY is just out of reach and stays there. FOSTER That's your daughter. SHARON Mary? Where are you? MARY I'm here. SHARON Where are we? MARY You know when you hear those songs about the river that washes away all your sins? Well, here it is. Heaven is on the other side of the river. FOSTER We're in Heaven. Why are we in Heaven? MARY You're not in Heaven. Heaven is over there. She points to the distance, into the darkness. FOSTER I ca n't see it. MARY It's there. If you love God, it's there. Foster. Do you love God for giving you the gift of life? FOSTER -LRB- whispers. -RRB- Yes. Then he smiles, and then he disappears. SHARON No! MARY Mommy! Gabriel is coming. You have to make up your mind. SHARON There's nothing more to say. Take me to God, Mary. I have to speak to Him. MARY You have to love God. SHARON I love you, Mary. MARY That is n't enough. SHARON Baby, it's all I have. If life is a gift, if it really is a gift, and there really is a Heaven. MARY There really is a Heaven. SHARON Then why should I thank Him for the gift of so much suffering, Mary, so much pain on the Earth that He created. Let me ask Him why? MARY Tell God you love Him. SHARON I ca n't. MARY If you do n't tell God that you love Him, you ca n't go to Heaven. Tell God that you love Him. Mommy! SHARON No. And then we hear Gabriel's final call. Gabriel's melody is like the infinite regression of an image in parallel mirrors, and the melody stretches into the end of time. While they listen, a gold light, as though a sun is setting, fills SHARON'S face. MARY takes her hand and stands beside her. The gold light shines on both of them. MARY Do you see Heaven? SHARON Yes. MARY Is n't it beautiful? SHARON Yes. MARY lets go of SHARON. MARY Do you know how long you have to stay here? SHARON Yes. MARY fades away. MARY How long? And to the darkness, SHARON says : SHARON Forever. She is alone. We pull back."], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "Sharon, a young Los Angeles woman, engages in a swinging, libidinous lifestyle. She comes into contact with a sect that advises her that the Rapture is imminent. In time, she comes to accept this belief herself and becomes a born-again Christian. She then starts living a pious life, eventually marrying and having a daughter, Mary. When her husband Randy is killed in a senseless murder, however, she begins to question the benevolence of God. She believes God has called her to go to the desert to wait for the Rapture, and instead of leaving her daughter safely with friends, she decides Mary must come with her. Foster, a police officer, is concerned for their well-being after they are reduced to stealing food while they wait, but Sharon is insistent that the end is near. Sharon begins to despair after a period of time, and at her daughter's urging, decides to hasten their ascendance to Heaven. She kills Mary with a gunshot but is unable to take her own life afterwards, afraid she will be condemned as having killed herself. She confesses to Foster what she had done and is jailed. After an apparition of Mary (accompanied by two angels) appears in the night, the Rapture occurs. While Sharon sits in her cell early the next morning, a loud trumpet blast is heard all over the world, signaling the start of the Rapture. Later on, Sharon and Foster, after driving out into the desert, are both raptured to a Purgatory-like landscape. Foster, who had been an atheist his whole life, accepts God and is allowed entrance to Heaven, but Sharon blames God for Mary's death, even though God did not tell her to take Mary with her to the desert, and she cannot renounce her anger at what she sees as God's cruelty. Mary pleads with her to accept God back into her heart so she can join her and Randy in Heaven, but Sharon refuses, choosing to remain alone in the purgatory-like landscape for eternity.", "name": "Rapture_(1965_film)"}
{"scenes": ["Jordan Peele I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. -Romans 12:1-2 EXT. THE SHAW'S HOUSE - FRONT LAWN - NIGHT1 1 A perfect suburban house with bay windows and a front lawn. The SHAW family. Caucasian and warm - RICHARD, 34 ; NANCY, 30 ; JOSHUA, 6 ; and MAY, 4 - eat dinner inside. Richard reads something on his tablet illuminating his face. JOSHUA Which one are we going to? RICHARD The one in Orlando. NANCY Disney World. JOSHUA Tony said that Mickey is not really Mickey ; it's someone else in there. RICHARD Mickey's Mickey.", "EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - NIGHT2 2 ANDRE, 29, an African-American man runs down the sidewalk in sweats. He listens to jazz on his phone. The music stops. He stops running and checks his phone. ANDRE Damn. He's right in front of the Shaw's house. He glances inside. The Shaw's seem normal and content. Andre smiles. A motion detecting security light floods the lawn.", "INT. THE SHAW'S HOUSE - DINING ROOM - CONTINUOUS3 3 Richard looks up from his table to see Andre standing there. The rest of the family does n't notice. Nancy tends to May, who SQUIRMS in her chair. Richard watches Andre protectively. JOSHUA Also, Tony said he saw a chef Mickey and a normal Mickey. NANCY He must have changed his clothes for work.", "EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - CONTINUOUS4 4 Andre walks on. It's getting dark. He is suddenly very alone. A vintage creme-colored Porsche Boxter with tinted windows and a roof CREEPS up on the street behind Andre. It's following him.", "INT. SPORTS CAR - CONTINUOUS5 5 Driver's POV watching Andre. His BREATH ECHOES deep and tinny as if it were into a coffee can. Through the car's system we hear an English to French language tutorial recording. TUTORIAL Pardon me. Where is the nearest restaurant? Pardonnez-moi. Ou est le restaurant le plus proche? The driver does n't repeat.", "EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - CONTINUOUS6 6 Andre, feeling followed, stops to tie his shoe. The car also stops. Andre waves at the unseen DRIVER. There is no response. The ENGINE PURRS. Andre begins walking again. The car begins slowly too. Andre stops again. The car does too. Andre peers through the windshield but ca n't see through the tint. ANDRE Can I help you...? No response. ANDRE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'm new to the area. I just moved here... Down on Evergreen... Nothing. ANDRE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Did I do something wrong?'Cause -- 3.", "INT. SPORTS CAR - CONTINUOUS7 7 Driver's POV. Andre continues to talk, but is n't heard. TUTORIAL Can you show me the nearest bathroom? Pouvez-vous me montrer la salle de bain la plus prouche?", "EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - CONTINUOUS8 8 Andre hears nothing from inside. ANDRE -LRB- under his breath -RRB- This is some shit right here. Andre begins walking. The car creeps alongside him. After a few steps, Andre stops again. The car stops. Andre laughs. ANDRE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Wait a minute. I know you? You messing with me right?..Come on. No response. He realizes it's not a friend. ANDRE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You know this could be considered stalking and harassment. Plus, you're sitting in a deadly weapon so that's some felony-type shit right there. No response. ANDRE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What?!? Say something then. No response. Andre ca n't hide his anger anymore. He starts walking the other direction. The car backs up, following Andre in reverse. ANDRE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- TO HIMSELF -RRB- Calm down, Andre. Do n't do it. Do n't let him get to you. After a few more steps... ANDRE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Fuck. 4. Andre, fed up, stops. He approaches the passenger's side window and bangs on it. ANDRE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'm from Brooklyn, man. If you wan na do something, then let's do something. I'm ready..! Hey, I'm talkin' to you!!!", "INT. SPORTS CAR - CONTINUOUS9 9 Driver's POV. Andre bangs on the window.", "EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - CONTINUOUS10 10 Andre bangs harder on the window three times. The car's passenger-side window rolls down. TUTORIAL Can you help me find a hotel? Pouvez-vous m'aider a trouver mon hotel? Andre's expression goes from anger to terror. The driver wears a tubular metal medieval knight's helmet with slanted rectangular eye holes. ANDRE Shit. The driver raises a gun with a silencer on it. Andre turns to run but is shot in the back. Stunned, Andre stumbles towards the Shaw's house. The driver exits the car and follows him. TUTORIAL -LRB- From inside the car -RRB- Can you please call the police? Pouvez-vous s'il vous plait appelez la police?", "EXT. THE SHAW'S HOUSE - FRONT LAWN - CONTINUOUS11 11 Andre falls in front of the Shaw's lawn. A dart sticks out of his back. He reaches towards the Shaw family. The masked driver approaches calmly Andre drags himself toward the house as everything blurs around him. ANDRE -LRB- WEAKLY -RRB- HELP Andre passes out as the security light floods the lawn again. 5.", "INT. THE SHAW'S HOUSE - DINING ROOM - CONTINUOUS12 12 The Shaw family eats while Andre lays on their front lawn. This time Richard, buried in his tablet, does n't notice. the driver lift Andre's limp body and carries him to his car. JOSHUA Tony said Mickey's face does n't move. RICHARD That's right. Mickey's always happy.", "EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - CONTINUOUS13 13 The driver carries Andre to the car. JOSHUA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Why? RICHARD -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Because he has n't aged in 100 years. The driver plops Andre in the padded trunk. He gets in his car and drives off. TITLE CARD : `` GET OUT''", "EXT. BROOKLYN PARK SLOPE - DAWN14 14 The sun rises over the city. Autumn. Beautiful.", "INT. BROOKLYN LOFT - LIVING ROOM - MORNING15 15 We move slowly through the small but clean apartment. The walls are decorated with fascinating urban photography.", "INT. BROOKLYN LOFT - BATHROOM - MORNING16 16 CHRIS WASHINGTON, 26, a handsome African-American man shuts the medicine cabinet. He's shirtless and naturally athletic. He scrutinizes his reflection with a touch of vanity.", "INT. STARBUCKS COUNTER - MORNING17 17 ROSE ARMITAGE, 28 - Caucasian, brunette with freckles - cool and beautiful like an old Summer Camp crush. Rose looks at pastries through the glass. She ca n't help but smile.", "INT. BROOKLYN LOFT - BATHROOM - MORNING18 18 Chris spreads shaving cream onto his face and shaves. He postures a little then nicks himself on the neck. He smirks ; deserved that.", "INT. BROOKLYN LOFT - LIVING ROOM - MORNING19 19 Chris, clothed, looks out his window through a professional camera. He flips through some striking urban images on the digital display much like the ones framed around his apartment. He is a very talented photographer. Sid, a small black dog, watches him. The BUZZER RINGS.", "INT. BROOKLYN BUILDING - HALLWAY. MORNING20 20 Chris opens the door. Rose stands outside the apartment with her hands full. She has two coffees and two bags of pastries. Chris smirks. ROSE I could n't decide... He takes the coffee tray and pulls her inside. They kiss.", "INT. BROOKLYN LOFT - LIVING ROOM - MORNING21 21 Rose and Chris have coffee and sweets by the window. The small mound of pastries sits on the coffee table. SID lays on her lap. She strokes him. It's a perfect morning. ROSE Poor thing. Do you even pet him? CHRIS Are you kidding me? When you're not here that dog gets the best fuckin' pets of his life. 7. ROSE So, how come whenever I come over, he acts like he's been totally neglected. CHRIS ` Cause he know he's got you wrapped around his little paw. ROSE oh, really? CHRIS Yeah. Chris picks up her foot sweetly and massages it. She melts.", "INT. BROOKLYN LOFT - CHRIS' BEDROOM - DAY22 22 Chris packs a small bag of luggage. Rose lays on the bed. ROSE Toothbrush... Deodorant... CHRIS Check... Check.... Chris puts a cigarette in his mouth. Rose pops up and grabs the cigarette from his mouth and breaks it. Chris tries to feign incredulousness but is amused. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'm not gon na have one the whole weekend. ROSE You quit, remember? CHRIS I'm nervous. ROSE Why? They're going to love you. CHRIS Yeah? How do you know? ROSE Let's see, you're smart, sweet, handsome, creative... You're you. CHRIS Good answer. 8. Chris packs in silence for a moment. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Do they know I'm black? Rose is taken aback by the question. ROSE I do n't think so. Why? Should they? CHRIS Seems like you might give them a heads up. ROSE Really? Like `` Mom, Dad, my black boyfriend is coming up for the weekend''? CHRIS You said, I'm the first black guy you'd ever dated. ROSE Yeah...? CHRIS So this is uncharted territory for them. Rose embraces him. ROSE Baby, it's fine. My dad would legit vote for Obama a third time he could. Yes, he will want to talk to you about it, and that will be embarrassing, but they're gon na love you. I promise. Chris nods. She kisses his neck and pulls him to the bed.", "INT. BROOKLYN LOFT - LIVING ROOM - DAY23 23 Chris turns on the TV for Sid. He and Rose stand by the front door about to leave. CHRIS Bye. ROSE See you soon. 9. Rose blows Sid a kiss and they leave.", "EXT. BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOOD STREET - DAY24 24 Chris puts his luggage in the trunk and enters the passenger's side of a shiny white BMW X5.", "INT. BROOKLYN NIEGHBORHOOD STREET - PARKED CAR - CONTINUOUS25 25 Rose sits in the driver's seat. Chris gets in the passenger seat. Her car is a mess. CHRIS How do they even let you in a hospital? ROSE Shut up. I'm very sanitary at work. She moves some fast food wrappers to the back seat. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You ready? CHRIS Yeah. You? ROSE Oh, wait. She raises her phone and takes a selfie of the two of them. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Ready. Chris puts his hand on her leg, and they drive off.", "EXT. NEW YORK - CITY - CONTINUOUS26 26 The car leaves the city.", "EXT. RURAL ROAD - BIRD'S-EYE VIEW - DAY27 27 We soar over the car as it drives through the beautiful countryside ; a road flanked by woods.", "INT. ROSE'S CAR - DAY28 28 Rose hums. Chris, in the passengers seat, looks through his camera at the passing trees. He snaps a test shot. CHRIS How long has it been? ROSE 10 months, so a year basically ; longest I've ever been away. Chris takes out another cigarette. Rose promptly grabs it and opens the window. CHRIS Whoa... whoa!! Come on! I'm a grown man. If a man says he wants a cigarette, a man should be able TOO- She throws it out the window. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Okay, so that's like a dollar. You basically just throwin' dollars out the window. ROSE You should n't have bought them. CHRIS I did n't buy them. Rod... Shit. ROSE What? CHRIS I almost forgot Rod.", "EXT. LAGUARDIA AIRPORT - OUTSIDE THE TERMINAL - DAY29 29 ROD WILLIAMS, 26, African American, a stocky TSA agent smokes a cigarette. His cell phone rings. ROD ` Sup? INTERCUT WITH :", "INT. ROSE'S CAR - DAY30 30 Chris sits in the passenger seat and talks on the cell phone. CHRIS Hey. You at work? ROD Yeah. How I'm gon na get in trouble for following standard procedure? Fuckin' Gary out here thinkin' just because a bitch old, she ca n't hijack an airplane. Chris laughs. ROD -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Like you ca n't hide a bomb in a wheelchair? Watch, Chris, the next 9/11 is gon na be on some geriatric shit. CHRIS Look, man, real quick. You good to watch Sid this weekend right? ROD What? You think I forgot? Damn ` C', give your boy a little credit. I do n't forget shit ; you do. CHRIS You're right. My bad. ROD Apology accepted. How's ` Lil Miss Rosie? CHRIS She's good. -- Rose takes the phone. ROSE Hi, Rod. ROD Whattup babygirl? You better bring my boy back in one piece. 12. ROSE I do n't even know what that means but yes I promise. ROD You know you picked the wrong guy though right? ROSE It's not too late for us is it? Chris takes the phone back. CHRIS Okay, get your own girl. ROD Damn, I never seen you like this. Meeting the family and everything? What does she do lick your ass? CHRIS No! What the fuck is wrong with you? ROD That's it! First girl licks your ass and you done. Just... Rod makes a WHIPPING SOUND. CHRIS You need help. ROD Yeah I do. I need your girl to introduce me to one of her freaky deaky boarding school friends. CHRIS -LRB- LAUGHING -RRB- I'll see what I can do. Oh, and I'll kick you some cash for watching Sid. ROD Come on, son! I do n't need your money. I got you! CHRIS Thanks, man. ROD You better not come back all bougie on me tho -- 13. Chris hangs up. He gives Rose a look. ROSE What..? Settle down. You know I'm yours. After a beat he puts another cigarette in his mouth. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- No! CHRIS Last one! She goes for it. He dodges playfully and tickles her causing her to cackle. A shadow darts across the road in front of the hood of the car. It's hind legs SMACK the hood of the car with a loud THWAT-THWAT. It's propelled into the woods at an awkward angle. The CAR SCREECHES to a halt. Chris and Rose breathe hard for a few moments of shock. ROSE Fuck! CHRIS You okay? ROSE Yeah. You? CHRIS Yeah. That scared the shit out of me.", "EXT. RURAL ROAD - CONTINUOUS31 31 Rose gets out of her car and inspects the damage. Chris gets out as well. There's a small bloody dent in the hood. ROSE Fuck!!! Chris looks back in the direction of the collision. CHRIS Stay here. ROSE What are you doing? 14. CHRIS I do n't know... See if it's okay? Chris walks a few more steps then stops. He rethinks. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Maybe it's gone -- A guttural, almost human, MOAN OF PAIN comes from in the woods behind them. They watch the woods in horror. Chris walks back towards the haunting wail. It stops. ROSE Chris...? Chris motions for Rose the stay. He keeps walking towards the thicket about 60 ft behind the car. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Be careful! Chris gathers his courage and takes a step toward the thicket. The Moan starts again, but much loader and closer than Chris realized. He's startled. Chris peers through the bushes. The deer lays there gasping for breaths and watching him with a black wet eye. Chris is transfixed. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Do you see it? Chris snaps to. He nods and takes out his phone.", "EXT. UPSTATE NEW YORK ROAD - DAY32 32 A cop car is now pulled up to where the deer was hit. OFFICER FROSTIE - Caucasian - 33 stands near the deer. Another officer, OFFICER CROW - 40 - Caucasian with a patronizing smirk, stands by the driver's side window of Rose's car which Rose and Chris are both back in.", "INT. ROSE'S CAR - CONTINUOUS33 33 OFFICER CROWE So in the future the number to call is Animal Control Services. Rose does n't like the way he's looking at them. 15. CHRIS Right. That makes sense. OFFICER CROWE You two coming up from the city? CHRIS Yeah. OFFICER CROWE And what brings you up -- ROSE I'm from here. The Lake Pontaco area? We're going home. OFFICER CROWE -LRB- TO CHRIS -RRB- You got a driver's license? CHRIS Oh... yeah. Chris gives Rose a `` see?'' Look as he gets his license. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I mean, I do n't have a driver's license, I have a state I.D. ROSE I was driving. OFFICER CROWE I did n't ask who was driving. I asked him for his I.D. ROSE My boyfriend should n't have to show you his I.D. because he has n't done anything wrong. OFFICER CROWE Ma'am, any time there is an INCIDENT -- ROSE No, fuck that! CHRIS Baby. It's okay -- ROSE -LRB- TO CROWE -RRB- It's bullshit, and you know it. 16. There is a tense silence. Officer Crowe's walkie chimes in. OFFICER FROST -LRB- O.C. -RRB- Everything alright up there Crowsie? Officer Crowe stares Rose down. After a moment he presses his walkie button. OFFICER CROWE Yeah, I'm all good. He hands Chris his I.D. OFFICER CROWE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You guys be careful.", "EXT. RURAL ROAD - DAY34 34 The car winds through a thickly wooded road.", "INT. ROSE'S CAR - AFTERNOON35 35 Chris sits in the passenger's seat deep in thought. He watches Rose with a new awe. Rose notices. She shrugs. ROSE What? I'm not gon na let anyone fuck with my man. CHRIS That was some ride or die shit, baby. I like that. Rose smiles at him. ROSE We're here.", "EXT. ARMITAGE ESTATE - AFTERNOON36 36 The woods give way to an huge front lawn. A large mansion sits in the middle. Thick forest surrounds the estate except for one side which is the edge of a lake. The property feels expensive and isolated ; no other houses in sight. As they drive through the large front lawn, Chris sees WALTER, African American 35 in the distance facing away. Walter wears a gardening hat and trims hedges. He works slowly and methodically. ROSE -LRB- TO CHRIS -RRB- That's the grounds-keeper... I think his name is Walter. Rose parks in front of the house, and. He has a pleasant smile. Rose gets out of the car and waves. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Hi! Walter turns and waves back. Chris gets out and waves too. CHRIS -LRB- TO WALTER -RRB- Hey! What's up? Walter waves silently. Odd. As Chris gets the luggage from the trunk, Rose runs to the front door and RINGS the DOORBELL. FOOTSTEPS. The door swings open revealing... DEAN ARMITAGE, 59, a tall, balding, barrel-chested, bear hug of a man. Though clearly smart, Dean has an endearing cockiness and a bad case of Dad humor. He is the kind of guy who pronounces garbage, Gar-bahge. And... MISSY ARMITAGE, 56, A beautiful beacon of intellectual patience. She is poised and warm ; relaxed and in control. They stand in the shadows of the doorway smiling. Rose hugs her parents. ROSE Hi!!! DEAN MISSY There's my girl! Hello sweetheart. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I miss you guys. MISSY We miss you, Ro Ro. Chris approaches with the bags. CHRIS Hi. ROSE Chris, these are my parents. Mom, Dad, this is Chris. 18. CHRIS Good to finally meet you... Chris holds his hand out. DEAN Mr. Armitage will do. CHRIS Sure. DEAN I got him.  -LRB- TO CHRIS -RRB- Come here. Dean grabs Chris' arm and pulls Chris in tight. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Call me Dean. We hug around here, Fella. CHRIS Alright. DEAN My wife Missy. CHRIS I've heard so much about you guys. Missy holds Chris' shoulders and examines his face and chest. MISSY Yes, you'll do just fine. So handsome. ROSE Can we get inside before you guys start embarrassing me? MISSY Of course, come inside, make yourself at home. CHRIS I'm fine with the embarrassing by the way ; go ahead. Missy and Dean laugh. The four enter the house. Missy shuts the door behind them. Outside, Walter watches as his smile fades away. He slowly turns and goes back to work. 19.", "INT. ARMITAGE LIVING ROOM - DAY37 37 A wonderful house looms ahead. The interior is worldly and interesting ; clean and homey. Several paintings of castles and medieval battles accent the walls. Taxidermy. One wall is all bookshelf, and there is a fireplace. Above the fireplace is a large hauntingly beautiful portrait an old man and woman. CHRIS Wow. DEAN `` Wow'' is good. We'll take wow. CHRIS I grew up in a one bedroom, so for me, this is ridiculous. DEAN It ought to be. Lord knows we've done enough work on it through the years... MISSY -LRB- To Rose and Chris -RRB- How was the ride in? ROSE We hit a deer. DEAN MISSY Oh no! Where? ROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I do n't know. Down around Lyons road? CHRIS It came out of nowhere. MISSY Are you guys okay? CHRIS ROSE Yeah. Yeah. It just fruck us out. MISSY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I bet. DEAN You know what I say. One down... a few hundred thousand to go. Dean snickers. 20. MISSY ROSE Dean. So awful! Dad. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What?! Those things are everywhere up here, Chris ; like rats. The damage they've done to the ecology alone... Anyway, are we ready for the grand tour? MISSY Let them unload their bags first. DEAN Leave ` em. Walter will get ` em. ROSE I think we'll manage, Dad.", "INT. ARMITAGE UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAY38 38 Rose and Chris take their bags upstairs.", "INT. ARMITAGE HOUSE - ROSE'S BEDROOM - DAY39 39 Rose's old room is preserved in the state of a young-minded teenage girl. Lots of pink and dated boy band posters, a stuffed lion. A window overlooks the front lawn. Rose and Chris place their bags down. ROSE -LRB- SARCASTIC -RRB- You think they wish I was still a kid? CHRIS I can not believe they kept it the same. Chris looks at some pictures posted on her dresser. ROSE So... CHRIS They're great. ROSE Yay. 21. CHRIS No, they're totally sweet. ROSE I told you they'd love you. He sees a picture of Rose in high school on stage in a production of ` The Crucible.' CHRIS What?! Is this you? ROSE `` The Crucible.'' I was Abigail. CHRIS I did n't know you acted. ROSE There's a lot you do n't know about me. Rose grabs Chris by the belt and pulls him to the bed on top of her. They kiss. She goes for his fly. CHRIS Wait, what about the tour? ROSE `` The tour?'' Are you serious? CHRIS We just got here. I do n't wan na be disrespectful... ROSE Who gives a fuck? Be disrespectful. He stops her. CHRIS I'm serious. Later.", "INT. ARMITAGE DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAY40 40 Dean and Chris walk and look at pictures on the wall. Rose and Missy catch up in the living room. DEAN Frankenstein's monster. Only pieces of the original structure remain ; I like to think the soul is in tact though. 22. They keep walking. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- There are seven bedrooms, ten bathrooms, three indoor dining areas, two study's, two main kitchens. There's an observatory wing on the top floor. And you'd be hard pressed to find a room that does n't serve as library. Chris zones in on a photograph taken in the 90's in front of the Armitage house. Dean and Missy are younger, and Rose and her brother Jeremy are kids. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- That's Jeremy. Rose's brother. He's in Med school. CHRIS I've heard stories. DEAN He went through a couple dark spots but came out the other side. You'll meet him later. CHRIS Oh, cool. Dean points out the older couple in the picture, the same from the portrait in the living room ; GRANDPA and GRANDMA. DEAN Mother and Father lived here till the end. They died a few years ago now. Passed away within weeks of each other... CHRIS I hear that happens a lot. DEAN `` Love'' is a powerful thing. They move down the hallway to a black and white framed picture of a 25 year old man posing in the starting position for a race. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- My Dad was a runner. A good runner ; great sprinter. 23. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Oh, In fact, you might find this interesting, he was just beat out by Jessie Owens in the qualifying round for the ` 36 Olympics in Berlin. That's the one where -- CHRIS -- Owens won in front of Hitler. DEAN You know your history. CHRIS Not really. That one always just stood out in my mind. DEAN Of course. One of those perfect moments. There's Hitler on his high horse with his perfect Aryan race, and here comes this black guy to prove him wrong on the world's stage. What a moment. CHRIS Yeah, tough break for your father though. DEAN He almost got over it. Dean winks. HOUSE - MISSY'S OFFICE - DAY Dean opens the door to the office. He and Chris stand outside the door as Dean reaches in to turn on the lights. In front of the desk two comfortable-looking chairs face each other. Books line the walls, and are stacked everywhere. Dean and Chris do n't enter. A white cat laying next to a teacup wakes up on the desk. DEAN Okay Snowbell just looking.  -LRB- TO CHRIS -RRB- Missy's office. This is where she takes appointments. CHRIS She's a Therapist right? DEAN Yeah. One of the best in the world. Not a tidy woman. 24. CHRIS Like mother like daughter. Dean Cackles.", "INT. ARMITAGE HOUSE - HALLWAY - DAY41 41 CHRIS And you're a surgeon? DEAN A neurosurgeon ; was. I retired early. Now, I pretty much focus on the house and twiddle my thumbs. Dean and Chris pass a closed door. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Oh, downstairs is the wine cellar, the games room, some storage. Apparently a black mold issue down there. Almost everything needs to get thrown out ; shame.", "INT. ARMITAGE KITCHEN - DAY42 42 Dean and Chris continue their walk-through. The kitchen is large, homey and pristine. Large windows overlook the backyard. GEORGINA, African American, 30 stands facing a wall. She is still. DEAN My mother loved her kitchen. Upon hearing them, Georgina comes alive. She resumes cleaning the kitchen. CHRIS That view. DEAN Oh, Georgina, this is Chris ; Rose's boyfriend. Georgina turns to them. She has the same eerie smile as Walter. Like she's masking something. CHRIS Hi. GEORGINA Hello.- 25. DEAN Ah ha! But now for the piece de resistance... Dean opens the glass back door.", "EXT. BACKYARD - LATE AFTERNOON43 43 The yard is huge and the woods beyond it ominous. The wind RUSHES through the trees. Dean leads Chris out through the yard towards a gazebo. DEAN Badminton and bocce ball, croquet ; we're a family who loves games. Two other families have properties on lake Pontaco, and they're way on the other side. Total privacy. Chris is distracted by Walter who prepares the lawn mower in the distance. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I know what you're thinking. CHRIS Yeah? DEAN Well-to-do white family ; black servants... CHRIS I was n't gon na go there. DEAN You did n't have to. We hired them a few years ago to help care for my parents ; they became part of the family. Could n't bear to let them go. I hate the way it makes us look though... CHRIS Hey. People need work. DEAN Yeah. They arrive at an outdoor patio. Dean stops Chris from stepping on a dead sparrow. 26. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Well, crap.  -LRB- CALLING -RRB- Walter! Walter turns to face them. He has that same eerily mild smile. Vacant in its sincerity. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Another dead bird!  -LRB- TO CHRIS -RRB- Damn things fly into the patio from time to time ; break their necks. Walter nods slowly. Dean gently kicks the bird's carcass out of their way. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Iced tea?", "EXT. OUTDOOR PATIO - DAY44 44 Dean, Missy, Chris and Rose sit with iced teas. MISSY -LRB- TO CHRIS -RRB- Rose tells us your parents are n't with us. CHRIS My Dad was never really in the picture. My mom passed away when I was 11 ; She was hit by a car. MISSY DEAN Oh, that's awful ; so young. I'm so sorry to hear that. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Yeah. My aunt raised me, with my cousins. We did n't have a lot of money or anything, but she's a good person ; kept me off the streets. She gave me my first camera. Rose holds Chris' hand. MISSY You two seem like you've been together for years. How long has it been now? 27. CHRIS ROSE 4 months? 5 months. CHRIS 5? She's right ; I'm wrong. DEAN ` Atta boy Chris. Get used to saying that. MISSY Not a lot of time, anyway. So...? You guys in love or what? ROSE Mom. CHRIS I mean, we've been trying to take it slow but... MISSY Yep. You're in love. I can tell. DEAN Ca n't resist the inevitable. Walter mows past them in the distance. MISSY And how did you meet, again? CHRIS At the blood drive. ROSE Remember when I volunteered at the community center? DEAN Ah, yes. MISSY And he really is so good looking, is n't he? You'd have beautiful babies. ROSE I know! DEAN Uh oh. Get out of here before it's too late! 28. ROSE -LRB- TO CHRIS -RRB- Now, all you have to do is just quit smoking. DEAN Oh no! A smoker!? MISSY And we were just beginning to like you. CHRIS No. I'm quitting. DEAN You should have Missy take care of that for you. ROSE Oh God. CHRIS How? DEAN Hypnosis. Works like a charm. Missy watches Chris' reaction intently. He is uncomfortable. CHRIS Oh. DEAN I thought the whole thing was B.S. too. I smoked for 20 years. She puts me under once, now the sight of a cigarette makes me wan na vomit. MISSY Of course, I'd give you the service for free. You are family after all. CHRIS Wow. I do n't... Thank you. Um, I do n't know. Chris looks to Rose for help. ROSE You guys, normal people do n't want strangers fiddling around in their heads. 29. MISSY If you change your mind... We're just glad you could join us for the big get-together. Georgina brings the pitcher of iced tea around and refills everyone's glass. Chris tries to thank her with a look. She smiles and avoids eye contact. CHRIS The get-together? ROSE The party tomorrow? I told you. CHRIS I must have forgot. MISSY Oh, well we host a shindig once a year for our friends. DEAN A tradition. Some of my Dad's old social club. Some old patients. Some just friends... MISSY Drinks, good food, good people... CHRIS Sounds fun. Georgina has been pouring Chris' drink too long and his glass has overflown. MISSY Georgina! Georgina snaps out of her daze. She realizes what she's done and starts to clean. MISSY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It's fine George, I'll get it. Maybe you need a nap. Georgina nods, smiles and walks away. Chris and Rose look at Dean. That was odd. Dean shrugs. A CAR HORN HONKS in front of the house. DEAN Jeremy's home. JEREMY, 29, rounds the house with open arms. 30. He's `` Rich kid intense'' ; handsome and strong with an unpredictable wildness behind his eyes. JEREMY Who answers the door around here?!", "INT. ARMITAGE DINING ROOM - LATER/NIGHT45 45 Everyone laughs. Dean pours the remainder of a bottle of wine into Chris' glass. Their meal is done and they are tipsy. Jeremy pops the cork on a new bottle of wine as he energetically holds court. JEREMY One more... So, let me set the scene. I'm a junior ; Ro's a freshman and she has a crush on this guy Connor -- ROSE -- No. Mom. MISSY Jeremy... CHRIS No, no... These are good. I wan na hear this. DEAN Manners, Rose. Give the guest what he wants. JEREMY Yeah, Rose. ROSE I hate you. JEREMY Connor Garfield was on my lacrosse team. Huge guy, like 6' 3'', and crazy, just like `` Looney Tunes,'' right? We had thrown a party -- ROSE You did. JEREMY I think my parents were in Greece or something. We had gotten into their liquor cabinet and we're all shit- faced. 31. MISSY No you were n't. Were you? JEREMY We put water in the bottles so you would n't know. Let me finish. Okay, so I'm upstairs in my parents' bathroom hooking up with Jenny Richardson. Hottest girl in our class. MISSY Uch. ROSE You realize you're coming off like a total douche right now, right? JEREMY Thanks. All of a sudden Connor starts banging on the bathroom door, right? I open it, and he's got blood gushing out of his mouth and he's screaming `` Your thith-ter bit my fuckin' thongue off!!!!'' CHRIS Whoa, what? JEREMY Sure enough, there is a centimeter of tongue meat missing right here. Jeremy demonstrates and Chris winces. CHRIS -LRB- TO ROSE -RRB- Ahhhh! You bit him? ROSE He cornered me and shoved his tongue in my mouth, so yeah. CHRIS Damn. That's badass, Bae. MISSY I'm going to see how dessert is coming along.  -LRB- TO DEAN -RRB- Maybe we can change the conversation to something a little lighter. 32. ROSE Yeah, great story. Thanks for making it totally uncomfortable. Missy walks out of the dining room into the kitchen. The door swings open and Chris gets another glimpse of Georgina who stands with a kitchen knife and wears an intense and wicked little smile. The door swings shut. DEAN Okay, new subject. Chris, Yanks or Mets? CHRIS Ah, Orioles. My mom was from BALTIMORE SO -- JEREMY You an MMA fan? ROSE Oh God. JEREMY What? DEAN She's right. Let someone else talk for a bit. JEREMY You've had your chance. He's dating my sister. I ca n't bond with the guy? Dean exhales. CHRIS You mean like UFC? Yeah, nah. Too brutal for me. I'm a lover, not a fighter. JEREMY You ever get into street fights as a kid? CHRIS Not really. I did take Judo for after-school in 1st grade. ROSE Awww. 33. JEREMY Cause, with your frame, your genetic make-up? If you pushed your body, I mean really trained, you'd be a beast. CHRIS Cool... Thanks? The kitchen door swings open again, and Missy walks back in with a perfect carrot cake. Georgina is gone. MISSY What'd I miss? ROSE More ramblings from King Awkward. JEREMY We're talking about sports.  -LRB- TO CHRIS -RRB- Stand up. Let me show you something. MISSY No karate at the dinner table. JEREMY It's not karate, it's jiu-jitsu. He stumbles a little towards Chris and tries to put him in a headlock. Chris stands. CHRIS I've got a rule. I do n't play- fight with drunk dudes. JEREMY I'M JUST -- DEAN -- Alright, enough Jeremy! JEREMY I was n't going to hurt him. Dean is loud and stern for the first time. Jeremy's eyes flutter, DRUNK and embarrassed. He grabs a wine bottle and goes upstairs `. ROSE And that's my brother. 34.", "EXT. THE ESTATE. NIGHT46 46 Full moon. CRICKETS.", "INT. ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT47 47 Rose and Chris make hushed love in her bed. A stuffed lion seems to watch Chris. He turns it away.", "INT. ROSE'S BEDROOM - LATER48 48 Rose sleeps, but Chris is wide awake. There's a buzz in his ear. He smacks his own head and sits up. A soft HOWL of WIND rushes through the room. The CLOSET DOOR CREEKS open. Chris' eyes drift to the pack of cigarettes sticking out of his camera bag pocket draped on the desk chair.", "INT. ARMITAGE HALLWAY - NIGHT49 49 Chris leaves Rose's room and walks down the dark hallway. A floorboard creaks under his feet. He turns down the stairs.", "INT. ARMITAGE DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS50 50 Chris gets to the bottom of the stairs. He hears the floorboard creek upstairs. He stops and turns, expecting someone to follow him down. Nothing. Chris continues to walk down the hallway past the pictures towards the kitchen. The basement door is open a crack. Chris peers into it curiously. A stairwell leads down into pitch darkness. Chris shuts the door. A figure now stands at the end of the hallway behind him. He does n't notice. He just keeps going into...", "INT. ARMITAGE KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS51 51 Chris walks through the kitchen. He bumps into a bar chair moving it slightly. He keeps walking. He continues out the sliding back door of the house.", "EXT. BACKYARD - CONTINUOUS52 52 Chris steps out the back door and takes a cigarette out. Chris looks into the vast night around him. The CRICKETS are deafening. Suddenly, something DARTS FAST across the yard in the distance. Chris peers out into the darkness. The thing RUNS across the lawn again. A moment of terror comes over Chris. He makes out a shape. It's now running towards him. Chris backs up in fear just as the figure emerges from the shadows and into the moonlight. It's Walter, the grounds keeper. He passes Chris without noticing. Chris gathers his breath. The kitchen light turns on and floods the backyard. Chris drops the cigarette and stomps it out. He turns back towards the house and finds himself face to face with Georgina, who glares through the window dead in Chris' eyes. He's caught. Georgina does n't react. Chris it still. Georgina suddenly exposes her teeth in a frightening grimace. Chris backs away slowly.", "INT. ARMITAGE KITCHEN - NIGHT53 53 Georgina sucks her teeth. She does n't actually see Chris at all. She's looking at her teeth in the reflection in the window which, front lit, reflects her and the room around her. Outside is invisible.", "EXT. BACKYARD - NIGHT54 54 Chris realizes he's not caught. Close call. Inside Georgina notices the bar chair has been moved. She moves it back into its original position, and begins cleaning the kitchen cabinets. Chris quietly sneaks around the house.", "INT. ARMITAGE DINING ROOM - NIGHT55 55 Chris sneaks in through the door in the dark dining room.", "INT. ARMITAGE LIVING ROOM - NIGHT56 56 Chris moves through the living room towards the stairs, the lamp in the middle of the room turns on startling Chris. Missy sits near him ; cat in lap ; almost seductively. He's caught ; for real this time. MISSY Quick fix? CHRIS Yeah. Nerves got me I guess. MISSY Come. Let's nip this in the bud.", "INT. MISSY'S OFFICE - NIGHT57 57 Missy sits in a chair and directs Chris to sit across from her. She pours them both some tea. Chris sits. CHRIS I still do n't know if this is right for me. MISSY There really is no need to be nervous. CHRIS I'm good. The dude was running out there. Scared me. MISSY Walter starts early every day. He's borderline obsessive compulsive. Tea? CHRIS Nah, I'm good. It'll keep me up. Missy puts two sugar cubes in her cup. She begins to stir slowly, CLINKING the SPOON softly and rhythmically against the sides of the cup. TING TING. TING TING. MISSY How's the bed. Good? CHRIS Yeah. MISSY Comfortable enough? CHRIS It's perfect, thanks. 37. MISSY Enough sheets? CHRIS Yep. TING TING. TING TING. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- So, how does this work? Are you going to swing a pocket watch in front of my face? MISSY You watch a lot of Television. Now, you are feeling very sleeepy... They share a smile. MISSY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We do use focal points sometimes, but just about any object or simple motion can guide someone to a state of heightened suggestibility. CHRIS Heightened suggestibility. Okay, where do we start? MISSY Your childhood. CHRIS Yeah, my memory sucks. TING TING. TING TING. MISSY Wounds get locked in your heart and they fester and grow into ugly little things like depression and addiction. But, they are all in there somewhere. All we need to do is find the key. TING TING. TING TING. The world around Chris slowly goes out of focus. CHRIS I guess if it makes me quit... Wait... Has it started --? 38. MISSY -- we're going to go back to a place that might be uncomfortable for you. Your Mother's death to be specific. Were you there when she was hit? CHRIS I was home. I was watching TV. MISSY Let's go back there. Hear this place. Let the vibrations rush run through your body and ears. Hear it... Find it... Tell me when you find it. The sound of RAIN AGAINST a WINDOW slowly fades up along with the MUFFLED sound of a SITCOM ON TELEVISION. CHRIS Okay... Yeah, I found it. TING TING. TING TING. MISSY Good. How did you find out she died? CHRIS I knew it. She was never late after work. When she did n't come home, I just knew something was wrong. MISSY Good. Now touch. Feel your surroundings. Feel every part of your body and what you touched. Feel it. Find it... Tell me when you find it...", "INT. SMALL APARTMENT. NIGHT58 58 Close on 11 year old Chris' hands scratches the bed post nervously. MISSY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Tell me when you find it. CHRIS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I found it. His toes brush the carpet as his dangling legs swing off the side of his bed. 39. TING TING. TING TING.", "INT. MISSY'S OFFICE. - NIGHT59 59 Chris' feet try to swing but are too long. He scratches the arm of the chair in Missy's office. MISSY You said ` you knew something was wrong.' What did you do? CHRIS Nothing. MISSY Nothing? CHRIS I just sat there. Watching TV. MISSY You did n't call someone? Your Aunt or the police? CHRIS No. MISSY Why not? CHRIS I do n't know. I thought if I did, it would make it real. MISSY Next is smell and taste. Breathe in and let the scent fill your nose. Smell that place. Taste it. Find it. Chris is getting emotional. He breathes deep through his nose.", "INT. SMALL APARTMENT KITCHEN - NIGHT60 60 Young Chris finishes inhaling. The rain hits the window sill. MISSY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Tell me. Tell me when you find it. Young Chris takes sip of a juice box.", "INT. MISSY'S OFFICE. NIGHT61 61 26 year old Chris sips from an invisible straw. CHRIS I found it. TING TING. TING TING. MISSY Good. Now lastly, you must see it. Let the light flood into your eyes. Every color, every detail. See it. See it. Find it. Chris' eyelids flutter. He continues to scratch the armchair. TING TING. TING TING", "INT. SMALL APARTMENT - NIGHT62 62 11-year-old Chris scratches through the wood on his bed, splintering the wood. He watches TV from his bed next to some action figures. MISSY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Tell me when -- 11-year-old Chris nods. TING TING. TING TING.", "INT. MISSY'S OFFICE. NIGHT63 63 Chris nods and cries. CHRIS -- Found it. MISSY -LRB- REALIZING -RRB- You think it was your fault. Chris nods. TING TING. TING TING. MISSY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I want you to feel that fear again, Chris. CHRIS I do n't want to. MISSY It's okay. I'm here. Chris trembles anxiously. 41. MISSY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Are you afraid now? Paralyzed like that day? He nods. Her empathetic expression turns into a sick smile. MISSY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Good. Now sink into the floor. CHRIS WAIT -- MISSY Sink! Now! TING TING... Chris' hand has compulsively scratched open the arm of the chair. His hand stops. His mouth drops and eyes open, frozen.", "INT. SMALL APARTMENT - NIGHT64 64 ... TING TING. Suddenly, 11-year-old Chris falls through the bed and floor. END FLASHBACK.", "INT. DARKNESS65 65 Terror. Chris, 26 again, breathes fast but falls in slow motion though darkness as if through water. TING TING. TING TING. He flails towards a pitch black abyss. He's illuminated by the fading blue flicker of a large downward facing TV-like screen. On it Missy sits Speaking to him and clinking her teacup. Missy's voice is everywhere. MISSY Good. Good. Sink. Sink.", "INT. MISSY'S OFFICE. NIGHT66 66 Chris' body sits in his chair motionless. He ca n't move. His eyes are wide open, staring strait at Missy.", "INT. DARKNESS67 67 Chris continues to slowly fall backwards. Missy approaches on the screen above him. It shows what his eyes are seeing. CHRIS No! NO!!! I'm done! Bring me back! Please!!!! There is no response. Chris cries. Eventually he slows down and comes to a stop. He lands feet first on a soft ground. This place sounds like it's crawling with insects. He looks up. He can still see the screen above but it is far away, like the mouth of a deep and expansive well. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Mrs. Armitage!!! On the screen, Missy stands. She walks towards Chris' body and looks down at him through his own eyes. MISSY Now you are in the Sunken Place. Missy reaches towards the screen and shuts his eyelids. The abyss goes almost completely dark. Now he's alone in the dark. He cries in terror. Chris hears a DEEP HULKING BREATHING in the darkness. CHRIS -LRB- WHISPERING -RRB- Something's down here... No response. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- WHISPERING -RRB- Bring me back. Bring me back. Bring me back. Bring me back... In the darkness, the SOUND OF HOOVES CRUNCHING ON SOFT GROUND approaches. THUNK THUNK. THUNK THUNK. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Bring me back. Bring me back. Bring me back. The sounds get louder and louder. THUNK THUNK. THUNK THUNK. 43. An antlered thing emerges from the shadow. It's head is that of a deer, but with the flesh stripped off and with mostly its skull exposed. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- No! Its eyes glow and flicker faint blue in its sockets. It MOANS A WRONG SOUNDING MOAN ; in hateful anguish. It charges Chris... THUNK THUNK. THUNK THUNK. THUNK THUNK. The bloody deer impales Chris on its antlers. They both MOAN.", "INT. ROSE'S BEDROOM - DAWN68 68 Chris wakes up with a start in Rose's bed sweaty and heaving. He's alone and confused. Bad dream? Headache. The SHOWER RUNS inside Rose's bathroom. SHE HUMS. DING DING He's gotten a message. It's a picture of Rod pretending to pour beer in Sid's mouth. Chris smiles. The batteries are low. He plugs his phone in and puts it on the dresser.", "EXT. BACKYARD - DAWN69 69 It's Golden hour. Beautiful. Chris walks through the yard to the edge of the forest with his camera. Chris keeps walking. He looks through a long-zoom lens into the wilderness. He sees a bird and snaps a picture. He turns to the house. Georgina can be seen through an upstairs window knitting. He raises his camera. She's beautiful. She stands and begins to remove her wig. Then as if aware she's being watched, she turns towards him. Chris turns away, taking a picture in another direction. He glances back at the window. Georgina is gone. BANG. A sparrow slams against the gazebo and falls to the ground. Startling Chris. CHRIS Damn. He turns away and is startled even more by Walter smiling serenely at him about 50 feet away in the yard. Embarrassed, Chris gathers himself. He walks towards Walter. 44. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What's up? No response. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- They working you good out here, huh? Walter's voice is soft and methodical. His eyes remain distant as though he his looking through Chris. Chilling. There is a hidden anger behind his pleasantness. WALTER Nothing I do n't want to be doing. CHRIS Ha! Walter is n't joking. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Yeah... yeah. No, I can tell. I never really got to meet you actually, up close. I'm Chris. WALTER I know who you are. You're Rose's friend. Chris stops walking about 15 feet from Walter. Something does n't feel right. CHRIS Yeah. That's one way to put it. So, where you from originally? WALTER She is lovely is n't she? CHRIS Rose? Yeah, she is... WALTER One of a kind ; a real doggone keeper. Chris is weirded out. WALTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Sorry if I scared you last night. CHRIS Oh, yeah. Actually, I guess I was pretty drunk. -LRB- MORE -RRB- CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I do n't remember much. WALTER And the hypnosis? Did it work? CHRIS Hypnosis? No, I did n't... Chris remembers. WALTER Well, I should get back to work. Chris raises his hand in a timid ` black power fist.' Walter raises his hand in an open wave. CHRIS There's another bird... Walter nods. Chris turns and walks to the house. Chris makes pops a cigarette into his mouth. He is repulsed by the taste of it. He looks at it. More of last night seems to come back to him.", "INT. ROSE'S BEDROOM - DAY70 70 Chris enters as Rose finishes blow drying her hair. He's worked up. ROSE Hi. Where have you been? CHRIS Out. Taking pictures. Hey, so I think your mom hypnotised me last night. ROSE Wait, what? CHRIS -LRB- HAZY -RRB- I think I snuck out for a smoke, and she caught me and offered? I do n't know. I must have agreed to it ` cause the thing just made me nauseous. ROSE Okay. Well then that's good, right? CHRIS No, not good. I can barely remember any of it even happening ; I do n't like that. Plus I had these fucked up dreams. ROSE That happened to me too. CHRIS What did? ROSE The nightmares. When I was a kid. She hypnotized me once for stage fright, and I had the craziest nightmares, but it worked... She wraps herself up in Chris' arms. Chris thinks. CHRIS And, what's the deal with the help? ROSE Like... The iced tea thing? Yeah that was weird. CHRIS That, but also the lawn-mower guy creepin' me the fuck out too. ROSE Why? Did he say something? CHRIS It's not what he says, it's how he says it. You know? ROSE Yeah, something about them seems... different. Out the window, A CAR DRIVES onto the front yard. Rose hears and looks. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- They're here. Chris looks as well. A car parks on the front lawn. A Chauffer gets out and opens the backseat passenger door. A well-trained Husky service dog exits the car followed by JIM HUDSON, 57. Jim is blind and has slicked back grey hair. 47.", "EXT. FRONT YARD - NOON71 71 Bird's-eye view. Walter helps direct 12 expensive cars onto a makeshift parking lot on the front lawn. Wealthy guests emerge from each one.", "EXT. BACKYARD - NOON72 72 The party is in full swing. The 30 or so guests mingle excitedly. They are all white except for one Japanese man. Through the kitchen window, Georgina fixes food and helps occupy four white children by helping them make Hors d'oeuvres. Rose and Chris get a drink at the bar. They walk through the party. Missy mingles with some guests. She makes eye contact with Chris and winks. He looks away. Chris and Rose are stopped by GORDON GREENE, 68, and his wife EMILY GREENE, 67. Gordon is a cute man with a cane and impish excitement. Emily is pretty and birdlike. They watch Chris intently and smile from ear to ear. Gordon shakes Chris' hand thoroughly. GORDON Nice to meet you, Chris. Nice to meet you indeed.  -LRB- TO EMILY -RRB- Good grip. CHRIS Thanks. You too. GORDON You ever play golf? CHRIS Once, actually ; a few years ago. I was n't very good. EMILY Gordon was a professional golfer for years. CHRIS Oh? No kidding. GORDON Ca n't quite swing the hips like I used to though. You know, I met Tiger. Rose and Chris share a subtle smirk. ROSE CHRIS Wow, that's great. Cool. EMILY Gordon loves Tiger. GORDON Best I've ever seen. Ever, hands down. Let's see your form. CHRIS Me? I could barely hit the thing. GORDON Show me... Chris does. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- If I knew what I know now at your age? Now then I could really play. CHRIS It'd be kind of a waste of time travel though. They laugh.", "EXT. BACKYARD - LATER73 73 Chris and Rose speak to NELSON DEETS, 82, who's smiles in a wheelchair with his jaw hanging, and LISA DEETS, 54, a loose- lipped trophy wife smiles at Chris in a predatory manner. They have Dutch accents. LISA -LRB- TO ROSE -RRB- How handsome is he? ROSE Extremely. Lisa squeezes Chris' bicep. A bit too familiar. LISA Not bad huh, Nelson? NELSON Eh? 49. LISA -LRB- TO ROSE -RRB- So, is it true? The love making. Is it better? Rose cackles at the bluntness of the question. Chris almost chokes on his drink. Lisa continues to size Chris up. CHRIS Wow. Um.. LISA -LRB- TO ROSE -RRB- I'm being too forward? ROSE We'll talk later. CHRIS Oh, will you now?", "EXT. BACKYARD - LATER74 74 Chris and Rose talk to PARKER DRAY, 60, and APRIL DRAY, 57. They are an overweight, rose-cheeked tipsy wasp couple. Chris and Rose try to mask boredom and annoyance. APRIL Who even cares about skin color? My God. CHRIS Right. I mean -- PARKER The world cares, April. But it's not a question of physical superiority, it's `` What skin color is more culturally advantageous?'' As Parker drones on Chris looks around the party. Dean schmoozes animatedly with two couples. He quickly scans the party, finds Chris and points him out. The two couples wave and smile giddily. They had all just been talking about him. Chris pretends to not see this. ROSE `` Advantageous?'' Suddenly, Chris sees another black guy walking through the crowd. Relief. It is Andre, the jogger from the first scene, but he's very different than before. 50. He seems glazed-over with the same frozen smile as Walter and Georgina, and wears a particularly square ascot and golfing hat. PARKER Fairer skin is has been in favor' the last couple of thousands of years, but the pendulum has swung back again has n't it..? CHRIS I'm sorry. I'm going to get another drink. Chris walks away. PARKER I did n't mean to offend him. ROSE Really? ` Cause you have yet to say anything that's not a blanket statement about race. PARKER Now, Rose. --", "EXT. BACKYARD - MOMENTS LATER75 75 Andre stands by the bar and makes himself a Martini. Chris approaches him. CHRIS It's good to see another brother around here. Andre turns to face Chris neatly. Andre's voice is completely different from the first scene. There is no longer any trace of an urban dialect. He speaks in a lower pitch and slow, enunciating his words precisely. ANDRE Yes, of course it is. Chris expects Andre to engage more. He does n't. He just stares at him smiling. CHRIS Who do you know? ANDRE Why, the Armitage's of course. We're friends of the family. 51. PHIL, 65, a craggy effeminate man with manicured eyebrows, cuts between them. PHIL -LRB- TO ANDRE -RRB- There you are. Here, put this somewhere. Phil hands his napkin to Andre who pockets it obediently. Phil places his hand on Andre's back possessively. PHIL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- TO CHRIS -RRB- Oh, hello. I'm Phil... and you are...? CHRIS Chris. Rose's boyfriend. PHIL Fantastic. Logan and I know Rose very well. ANDRE I'm sorry, where are my manners. Logan, Logan King. -LRB- TO PHIL -RRB- Chris was just telling me that he felt more comfortable with my being here. Chris is let down. Andre is n't what he had hoped. PHIL That's nice. Logan, I hate to tear you away, dear, but the Wincott's were asking about you. ANDRE/LOGAN Ah, well it was nice meeting you Chris. CHRIS Sure. Chris holds out his fist for Andre/Logan to bump. Andre/Logan shakes Chris' fist and then, realizing his error fist bumps him like it's the first time. Andre/Logan and Phil laugh and walk away. They join a small group of people who applaud Andre's arrival. Andre does a little spin showing off his clothes. 52.", "EXT. BACKYARD - MOMENTS LATER76 76 Chris comes back to Rose. He is more creeped out and agitated. ROSE Where's your drink? CHRIS What? Oh, I forgot. Dean projects over the crowd. DEAN Hello! Everyone applauds and gives Dean their attention. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Achem! Once again, I want to thank you all for coming. Words can not express how much it means to us that after all these years we can all still get together and share. I'm reminded of stories of how the knights of old would gather in honor of a new crusade...", "EXT. GAZEBO. DAY.77 77 During Dean's speech, Chris wanders away from the group. JIM Ignorant shit... Chris had n't seen Jim Hudson, the blind man, who sits in the gazebo with his seeing eye dog. He is close to Chris, but far enough away from the group that no one else hears them. CHRIS Who? JIM All of them. Ignorant assholes. They have no idea what real people go through. CHRIS I guess people only see what's in front of them. Chris notices his faux pas. 53. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I mean... JIM Heh. No, you're right. And usually not even that much. That's people. Jim holds a glass up. Chris fist bumps the glass. JIM -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Jim Hudson. CHRIS CHRIS- JIM I know who you are. I'm an admirer of your work ; you have a great eye... CHRIS Wait. Jim Hudson... of Hudson Galleries? Jim smiles. JIM The irony of being a blind art dealer is n't lost on me. CHRIS How do you do it? JIM I have an assistant describe work to me. You've got something... The images you capture... so brutally melancholic. Powerful stuff. CHRIS Thank you. Yeah, I just like finding the beauty in abandoned things. JIM I used to dabble myself. Wilderness mostly. I submitted to Nat Geo 14 times before realizing I did n't have `` the eye'' for it ; Began dealing. And then, of course, my vision went to shit. CHRIS Damn. 54. JIM I know. Life can be a sick joke. One day you're working in a dark room, and the next day - BAM. You wake up in the dark. Genetic disease. CHRIS Shit ai n't fair, man. JIM Yeah. Jeremy comes over with his preppy friend, Derrick, 29. JEREMY Chris, we need you... CHRIS Yeah, sure.  -LRB- TO JIM -RRB- Nice to meet you. JIM Stop by the gallery some time. Bout time you had a solo show. CHRIS Really? Wow, okay. Thank you. That would be a game changer. JIM I think we could do wonderful things together.", "EXT. BACKYARD - LATER78 78 Chris and Rose play badminton against Jeremy and Derrick. A gaggle of party guests watch, entertained. Chris is actually having fun. He swings big but misses the shuttlecock. JEREMY HA! Come on. You can do better than that! CHRIS Not my game, what can I say. JEREMY Yeah, I see that. ROSE Shut up Jeremy. 55. JEREMY I'm just saying, if your boy is n't gon na bring his' A' game, we might as well bring Mom up here. CHRIS Whoa, whoa, okay. Now we talkin' smack huh? Chris serves the shuttlecock hard. The following rally is long, captivating the crowd. Chris ends it with an impressive diving swat. Derrick misses the return and the crowd goes wild. Chris throws his arms up in celebration. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Boom! ROSE Yay, baby! JEREMY See, that's what I'm talking about!!! Okay, again! Chris is about to serve. He scans the crowd of beaming faces. Everyone is rooting for Chris. They love him. Chris scans the crowd. It's too much. CHRIS Hold up. Here. ROSE Where are you -- CHRIS I'm gon na go to the bathroom. Chris gives his racket to Gordon Greene.", "INT. ARMITAGE HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY79 79 Chris walks through the kitchen.", "INT. ARMITAGE LIVING ROOM - DAY80 80 Chris slips past several small groups of guests mingling. He goes up the stairs to the second floor. As soon as he are out of sight and earshot, the mingling guests stop in mid-conversation. Everyone in the room waits and listens to CHRIS' FOOTSTEPS above. It is now clear that their conversations have been fake. They are all hanging on Chris' actions.", "INT. ARMITAGE UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAY81 81 Chris walks to Rose' room.", "INT. ROSE'S BEDROOM - DAY82 82 Chris exits the bathroom in Rose's room. The bed is made. He picks his phone up from the dresser. It's unplugged and out of batteries. That's odd. He plugs it in again as he hears a CREAK down the hall.", "INT. ARMITAGE UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAY83 83 Chris leaves Rose's room. A door at the end of the hallway is a crack open. Chris slowly walks down the hall, and peers inside. A couple lacrosse trophies and one for ju-jitsu. Jeremy's room. Movement inside. It's Georgina making the bed. The door creaks alerting her of his presence, she turns slowly. Before she sees him he walks quickly back to Rose's room just as she comes upstairs. ROSE Hey! You okay? Chris waves for her to join him back in her room.", "INT. ROSE'S BEDROOM - DAY84 84 Chris speaks quietly and frantically to Rose. CHRIS The housekeeper unplugged my phone. Rose sighs. `` Not this again.'' CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'm trying to check in with Rod, and I got no juice. ROSE I'm sure it was an honest mistake. CHRIS Yeah, or maybe not. Maybe she does n't like the fact that I'm with you. ROSE Chris... 57. CHRIS What? It's a thing. ROSE You think my family's housekeeper gives a shit who you're with? That's crazy bae. Chris sits on the bed and rubs his forehead. CHRIS Forget it. Nevermind. ROSE Look, I get it. This whole thing is stressful. I mean, they're circling you like hyenas down there. I just do n't get why you're taking it out on George and Walter. CHRIS -LRB- PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE -RRB- You're right. I'm being paranoid. I just need a minute and I'll be down. ROSE Fine. Rose leaves a little annoyed.", "INT. CHRIS' APARTMENT - DAY85 85 Rod eats a cheeseburger and watches a true crime show on Chris' couch with Sid the dog. His PHONE RINGS. ROD Hey. INTERCUT WITH :", "INT. ROSE'S ROOM - SAME TIME86 86 Chris is alone in Rose's room. He peers out the window. CHRIS Bruh. What's up? ROD Not much. Sid's chillin'. We eatin' burgers. What's up with you? 58. CHRIS Yeah... ROD Uh oh. That does n't sound good. CHRIS They just got me over here meeting all the family friends. It's like they never met a black dude that does n't work for them or some shit. ROD Oh, they got you on display? CHRIS Exactly. Also, I got hypnotised last night... ROD Nigga, what the fuck? Oh, Hell no! CHRIS Yeah, to quit smoking. Rose's mom is a hypnotherapist -- ROD -- Nope. I do n't give a fuck if she's Dr. Drew up in this bitch. You ai n't getting in my head. CHRIS -LRB- Seeing Rod's point -RRB- Right. ROD Who knows what they'll make you do. You know white people into some crazy sex slave shit. Chris laughs. CHRIS Yeah, I'm like 99 % sure they're not a kinky sex family, but- ROD Why not? Jeffery Dahmer ate niggas' heads, but that was after he fucked the heads. ROD -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You think they saw that shit coming? Hell no. -LRB- MORE -RRB- ROD ( CONT'D ) One second they think they just gon na suck some dick, next second they sucking dick but their head is n't on their body Chris. CHRIS And thanks for that image, right there. ROD I saw that on A & E, so that's real life. CHRIS It's the black people out here that are the weirdest. The help. It's like they're possessed or... ROD Hypnotised. CHRIS -LRB- DRY -RRB- HA HA -- ROD I'm just connecting the dots you presenting me with. The mom puttin' trances on niggas and fuckin' them. It's clear as day and that's fucked up. She hot? CHRIS What's fucked up is : You're the first line of defense against terrorism. ROD This is good shit tho. CHRIS Oh, and the one other black guest is like the whitest-most dude at the party. Rod laughs. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I mean Rod, if you could see what this dude is wearing. ROD Send me a picture. You are a photographer. -LRB- MORE -RRB- ROD ( CONT'D ) You should be documentin' this shit. CHRIS -LRB- AMUSED -RRB- Aiight. I'll try. ROD And yo, do n't say I did n't warn you ` cause my ass sure as Hell ai n't coming up to the country to save you from no fuckin' witch coven... Unless the mom's hot. She hot? CHRIS Thanks Rod, bye. Chris hangs up and brings his phone with him. He opens the door. Georgina stands right outside it, eerie smile and all. Chris is startled. GEORGINA Hello. CHRIS Hi. Georgina's voice is shaky and careful. GEORGINA I owe you an apology. I should n't be touching things that do n't belong to me. CHRIS Oh, no. It's cool. I was just confused. GEORGINA I lifted your cellular phone this morning to wipe down the dresser and it accidentally came undone, see? CHRIS Yeah, I -- GEORGINA Rather than meddle with it further, I left it that way. 61. CHRIS Really, it's okay. I did n't mean to rat you out. Georgina eyes get lost for a moment. There's a pain behind her smile. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... get you in trouble. GEORGINA Oh no, no, no, no, no, no... Are n't you the sweetest thing? Not at all. The Armitages are so good to us ; They treat us like family.", "EXT. BACKYARD - AFTERNOON87 87 Chris walks back into the back yard where Dean entertains seven people Chris has n't met. They turn as Chris approaches smiling eagerly. They all seem to share a private joke. DEAN Chris! There you are. I wanted to introduce you to some old friends. We'll do it quickly. Down the line : David and Marcia Wincott, Ronald and Celia Jeffries, Hiroki Tanaka, and Fredrich and Jessika Walden. Each couple - DAVID and MARCIA, RONALD and CELIA, HIROKI, FREDRICH and JESSIKA - waves as they are named. CHRIS Too many names to remember but... The couples all laugh nervously. HIROKI -LRB- to Dean in Japanese -RRB- Can we ask him questions? DEAN -LRB- JAPANESE -RRB- Of course. HIROKI Do you find that being African American has more advantages or disadvantages in the modern world? Chris pans the crowd who all give him their undivided attention. The silence is long. Chris sighs. He looks for Rose. She is off talking to someone. 62. CHRIS Yeah, I do n't know, man. They all smile like hungry vampires. Chris is very uncomfortable with this unprovoked group interrogation. Andre/ Logan and Phil approach. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- That's actually a great question. Logan! They were asking me about the African American experience. Maybe you could take this one. Andre/Logan is a little caught off guard but dives in. ANDRE/LOGAN My life as an African American has been, for the most part, very good. It's hard to be too specific as I have n't much desired to leave the house in a while. The crowd chuckles. Chris takes out his phone. PHIL We've become homebodies... ANDRE/LOGAN -LRB- TO PHIL -RRB- But recently, even when you go to the city, I've just had no interest. -LRB- To the group -RRB- The chores are my sanctu -- With the attention on Andre/Logan, Chris subtly backs away from the conversation. He raises his phone toward Andre/Logan and the group and snaps a picture. The FLASH POPS. CHRIS Shit. Everyone turns to Chris. Andre/Logan steps forward and looks at Chris oddly ; His head cocks a little and his peaceful expression drifts slowly to maddened horror. Some of the party guests gasp. PHIL Logan? Andre/Logan drops his glass and stumbles towards Chris. Chris backs up, but Andre is already up in his space. 63. ANDRE Get out. Andre/Logan's voice is higher and scratchy, like it was in the first scene. CHRIS Hey, man, I'm sorry, I -- Andre/Logan grabs Chris by the shoulders and screams shrilly. Blood trickles out of his nose. ANDRE GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!! Phil and Jeremy grab Andre. They have to pry Andre/Logan's grip off of Chris. When they do Andre/Logan screams bloodcurdlingly. It takes all their strength to bring him into the house. Missy and Dean follow.", "INT. LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOON88 88 Rose sits on the couch. She's been crying. Chris comforts her but is clearly traumatised. A few other concerned guests mill around. Dean enters everyone gives him their attention. ROSE What the Hell was that? DEAN It was a seizure. ROSE A seizure? DEAN Yes. Logan's okay. Missy's with him now. Are you okay Chris? CHRIS Yeah. Why did he come at me like that? ROSE Yeah seizures do n't make people attack people, I'm sorry. DEAN It was an abnormal manifestation but yes, actually, sometimes they do. The flash on your phone must have triggered it. Andre/Logan enters with stands with Missy and Phil to a smattering of concerned applause. 64. He addresses a group in his lower pitched `` Logan'' voice. ANDRE/LOGAN Well, I do believe I owe you all an apology. The group grumbles. MISSY We're just glad you're feeling yourself again. ANDRE/LOGAN Well yes I am. It's quite like being trapped in a dark room and watching my experiences through a window. Thank God you and Dean were here to calm me down. DEAN It's a simple glitch of the brain. Nothing to be afraid of. ANDRE/LOGAN I know I scared you all quite a bit.. especially you Chris. CHRIS No, I'm sorry about the flash. I did n't know. ANDRE/LOGAN Of course. How could you have? PHIL -LRB- to Andre/Logan -RRB- You should n't have been drinking either. The group chuckles. ANDRE/LOGAN As I said I'm feeling much better now, but you'll all have to proceed without the aid of my marvellous wit ; the whole thing has left me a quite a bit exhausted. DEAN Of course. ANDRE/LOGAN It was nice meeting you. 65. CHRIS Yeah, you too. Chris is skeptical. Missy shows Phil and Logan out. Andre and Phil leave. DEAN Let's do sparklers shall we? Brighten the mood? He gives Chris and Rose sparklers and to other people who light them. ROSE Let's go. Rose takes Chris' hand. MISSY Anybody need a drink? ROSE We're going on a walk. Rose grabs Chris' hand and leads him out the front door. The party guests in the living room, Dean and Missy included, go silent. As their sparklers burn they approach the window, watching Rose and Chris leave the front yard.", "EXT. LAKESIDE - AFTERNOON89 89 Rose and Chris walk by the lake. Their sparklers fizzle. CHRIS My cousin is epileptic. That was n't a seizure. ROSE Honestly? That was one of the strangest things I've ever seen in my life. CHRIS Also, this is gon na sound weird, but when he got up in my face like that, I got the feeling like I knew that guy. 66.", "EXT. BACK YARD. SAME TIME90 90 With Chris and Rose are away, the party guests have all gathered in the back yard facing Dean who stands by a large picture of Chris on an easel. Everyone is silent. Dean raises his hand and makes numbers with his fingers : `` Three and three.'' Several party guests raise their hands. Dean points to the Waldens. This is an auction.", "EXT. LAKESIDE - SAME TIME91 91 CHRIS Let's go back home tonight. ROSE What? Wait, no. CHRIS I'm just... Something does n't feel right. ROSE You mean with us? CHRIS No. With this whole situation! I just... I ca n't explain but I need you to trust me. Let's just go. It does n't even have to be a big deal. ROSE It is a big deal. It's my family. I would n't even know what to tell them.", "INT. BACKYARD - SAME TIME92 92 Dean raises his hand again making more numbers with his fingers : `` 4, 5.'' Gordon Greene raises his hand. Dean points to him accepting his bid.", "EXT. LAKESIDE - SAME TIME93 93 ROSE Yes, it's weird. There are a lot of ways I wish this was going different. I wish my brother was n't a cock. I wish my parents friends were chill ; but just because it's tough, it does n't mean you run away... Rose cries. CHRIS Baby, I -- ROSE... I'm late. CHRIS Late? ROSE I should've got my period like last week. CHRIS Oh. ROSE I mean, I did change my birth control, so it could just be that, but... Chris thinks silently. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- So...? CHRIS I do n't know what to say. ROSE Okay... Try any emotional response whatsoever. He's silent. Rose wipes her tears. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- If you wan na go then go. I'm not going to force you to stay but I'm not leaving. 68.", "EXT. BACKYARD - SAME TIME94 94 The auction is flying now. Dean's hand signals are going fast. It's down to three couples. Dean signals `` 5, 6.'' Mr. Greene raises his hand. Dean points. Dean signals `` 5, 8.'' Mrs. Deets raises her hand. Dean points. Dean signals `` 6.'' Jim Hudson raises both his hands and signals `` 10.'' His chauffeur stands beside him whispering in his ear. Dean points at him. Dean scans the crowd signalling `` 10, 2?'' `` 10, 2?'' The crowd looks around. No one is challenging. Dean smiles. Finally Dean bangs his fist onto his open palm and points to Jim Hudson. Jim's chauffeur whispers in his ear. The guests clap in a mixture of delight and disappointment.", "EXT. LAKESIDE - DUSK95 95 Chris and Rose sit watching the sunset over the lake. Chris kisses her hand. He hears the faint APPLAUSE in the distance. He looks in the direction of the house. CHRIS I told you about the night my mom died. How I did n't call 911 ; did n't go out looking for her. ROSE BABY -- CHRIS One hour went by, then two, three... I just sat there... I just watched TV. ROSE It was n't your fault -- CHRIS I found out later she had survived the initial hit. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- She laid there bleeding by the side of the road all night, cold and alone. And that's how she died in the early morning... Cold and alone. And I was watching TV. -LRB- MORE -RRB- CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- There was time. If someone was looking for her, there was time. But no one was looking. Chris cries. Rose embraces him. ROSE You were just a kid. CHRIS Yeah... yeah. So, I'm not gon na leave here without you. I ` m not going to abandon you. Never. They share a moment of pure love. ROSE Fuck it. Come on. Let's go back home. CHRIS Yeah? ROSE Yeah. I mean, you're right. This sucks. I'll go back with you. I'll make something up. CHRIS I love you. ROSE I love you too. The two get up and walk back toward the house.", "EXT. FRONT LAWN - DUSK96 96 Chris and Rose approach the house as the last of the guests get into their cars and drive off. The fireflies are out. CHRIS That was fast. ROSE Yeah. The guests wave to Dean and Missy, who stand at the front door, and then to Chris and Rose. Lisa Deets, the trophy wife, is tipsy. Nelson is in their car. 70. LISA Bye Chris! It was a pleasure meeting you. I hope you -- Chris and Rose wave. NELSON Come on, Lisa. Before you say something stupid. Chris laughs. Walter shuts the car door behind Lisa. Walter stands pleasantly watching the cars leave. He turns to Chris with the same ` ol smile. Chris and Rose enter the house.", "INT. ARMITAGE BATHROOM - DUSK97 97 Sink running. Chris washes his hands and looks in the mirror. His phone SIGNALS a text message from Rod. It's picture from the internet of witches in a circle around a man being sacrificed followed by the text message. `` You dead yet?'' Chris texts back. `` Bruh, you have no idea.'' He finds the picture he took of Logan/Andre on his phone and sends it. Moments later, his phone vibrates. INTERCUT WITH :", "INT. CHRIS' APARTMENT - DUSK98 98 Rod is on the phone. ROD That's Dre. CHRIS Dre? ROD Andre um... Hayworth! Yeah! He used to kick it with Veronica. CHRIS Veronica from... ROD... Teresa's sister! Worked at the movie theatre on 8th ; ROD -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- got us into the movie a couple of times ; Rush hour 2 and, um Usual Suspect. 71. CHRIS Yeah. That is him. But... ROD... But what? CHRIS This is so fuckin' crazy. He's different now. ROD Different? How? CHRIS Different. Slower... I mean he was street ; now he's all like... white- seeming. Oh, plus he's gay! ROD No, he ai n't. CHRIS I'm telling you : He's gay, I met his man. He's -- ROD Chris, you in a fucked up Eyes Wide Shut situation. You need to --. The phone goes dead. No batteries.", "INT. ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT99 99 Chris' phone lays on the dresser plugged in. He's in a hurry now. He packs his small bag and looks out the window. One car remains parked in the designated parking area. It's the first to have arrived for the party : Jim Hudson's. The driver brings the dog to the back seat. He gets a green envelope from the glove compartment and brings it to Missy at the front door. She accepts it silently. The driver drives away without Jim. Chris goes to leave Rose's room. Her closet creaks open. Chris sees a framed picture of Rose inside. Not quite knowing what he's looking for, he goes to the closet. The picture is a frightening one. Rose is one of the witches in a high school production of Macbeth. It's on top of a red shoebox that has the drama/comedy masks drawn on top of it. He takes it off of the shelf. Inside is a pile of pictures. On top is one of Rose dressed as Juliet in a high school play. The next one is of Rose at 13 playing Ms. Hannigan in Annie. Chris flips through a few more pictures of Rose at different ages in different class plays. Finally Chris comes upon a photo printed from a computer. It's a selfie of her and some other black guy. The picture is almost identical to the one she took with Chris before the ride up. Under the image are written the words. `` X-mas 2014'' Stunned, Chris flips to the next picture. It's another romantic selfie, this time with a different black guy. Underneath, the caption `` Memorial Day 2013'' He continues flipping through the stack of pictures of Rose with 8 different black guys. The last one is a picture of Rose with Walter. In it she kisses Walter's cheek intimately. `` Thanksgiving 2009'' Walter looks different in the picture. He is n't smiling vaguely ; he's got swagger. ROSE -LRB- EMOTIONLESS -RRB- What are you doing? Rose stands there in the doorway behind him. Chris subtly drops the pictures back in the shoebox. CHRIS Um... Looking for my camera. Rose points to her desk. He grabs his bag and the camera. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Where are the keys..? I got ta put our bags in the trunk. ROSE Walter can do that. CHRIS Nah, I'll do it. Rose is truly distant for the first time. A different person. She is methodical and emotionless. The jig is up, and now she is now phoning it in. ROSE I was just looking for them. I'm such a mess, will you help me? Chris walks out the door, leaving Rose. 73.", "INT. FOYER/LIVING ROOM - NIGHT100 100 Rose follows Chris down the stairs. ROSE Chris... What's wrong? CHRIS Nothing. Jeremy stands near the front door twirling his lacrosse stick. Dean and Missy sit in the living room. JEREMY Where are you going? The party's just getting started. CHRIS I'm going to the car ; see if we left the keys in there. MISSY I just made tea. CHRIS I'm good. The family is silent. Missy's glare pierces Chris. He avoids eye contact. ROSE Oh, I know where they are. In my bag. Duh. MISSY You're leaving us. CHRIS Yeah. MISSY Is something wrong? CHRIS No. Well, yeah... Um. ROSE -LRB- STILL BLANK -RRB- His dog is not well. He needs to go to the vet first thing in the MORN -- Dean hits play on the sound system. Darkly valiant classical music begins. He standing in front of the fireplace. 74. Lost in the fire, Dean begins conducting the music. DEAN What is your purpose, Chris? CHRIS What? DEAN In life? What is your purpose..? CHRIS Right now, it's finding the keys. DEAN We've been looking for our purpose for such a long time. Fire has mesmerized man since the Stone Age. It is a reflection of our impermanence in the world. Fire is born, it breathes and then it dies. CHRIS Rose... Rose lamely rummages through her bag. ROSE I'm looking. CHRIS Rose, what is this shit?! DEAN There's a reason we worship the Sun, Chris. He who lights the way through the darkness of life. He in all his glory was around long before us and will be here long after we are gone, but he too will die some day! That's right even the Sun God will die. It is no less mortal than we, but it inspires us to defy it! So what do we do? -- CHRIS -- Rose. -- DEAN -LRB- UNHINGED -RRB- -- What do we do?! We baptize ourselves in the firewater! -LRB- MORE -RRB- DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We bathe in his reflection, for one chance to emerge having defied death! DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You'd take that baptism would n't you, Chris? The baptism of immortality? CHRIS I was raised Episcopalian. Chris starts toward the door, but his path is blocked by Jeremy swinging at air. JEREMY Whoa! Be careful, bro. MISSY Do n't hurt him, Jeremy. JEREMY What? I'm not doing anything. DEAN Listen, Chris -- CHRIS -- I do n't know what you're saying! DEAN -LRB- Through tears of joyous MADNESS ) I'm saying that we've found OUR PURPOSE!!! There must be a sacrifice! Sacrifice is essential for the righteous to achieve our true potential. A vessel must be comprised. A host must be born!!! CHRIS Rose! The keys!!! Rose backs away. ROSE Oh baby... You know I ca n't give you the keys. Chris makes a run for the door. Missy CLINKS the cup with her SPOON. TING TING. TING TING. 76. The world instantly blurs around Chris. He begins to fall. He sees a flash.", "INT. DARKNESS101 101 Chris falls through the abyss towards ` The Sunken Place' again just like when he was hypnotized. The blue screen above him shows what his open eyes see. It's his own perspective falling to the floor. CRASH! The screen now shows the living room ceiling. Jeremy leans over him. JEREMY Oh shit! MISSY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Is he hurt? CHRIS What the fuck? JEREMY Did you see him drop? DEAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- He hit his head pretty good. ROSE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It's just a bump. He's fine. CHRIS Rose!!! MISSY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Why do you push them, Dean? DEAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It's important to me that they acknowledge the purpose. MISSY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Why do you think he ran? JEREMY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Rose gave it away. ROSE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- He already knew. MISSY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Take him to the games room. Jeremy, get the legs. Dean, help him. 77. JEREMY I can take him alone. MISSY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- No. We've already damaged him enough. Dean, please. Chris continues to fall slowly further from the screen above which continues to show his body's POV as it is being lifted by Dean and Jeremy and carried out of the room. CHRIS Rose!? No, no, no, no. Shit, shit... DEAN You're going to drop him. JEREMY No I'm not. MISSY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Be careful what you say, everyone. He can hear every word. CHRIS Rose!!!! ROSE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It does n't matter any more does it? A DOOR CREAKS open. Chris' body is taken downstairs into the darkness. The screen in the abyss goes dark. CHRIS No!! Help!!! Help!!!!! Help!!!!!! Chris sinks, his screams are enveloped by the pitch back.", "INT. AIRPORT - SECURITY CHECK - DAY102 102 Rod sits by the bag x-ray but stares into space distracted by thought. GARY ( 40 ) a condescending supervisor snaps his fingers in Rod's face. GARY Hey... two strikes. Go take 10 ; get it together. 78.", "EXT. AIRPORT - DEPARTURES TERMINAL - DAY103 103 Rod smokes a cigarette and dials Chris. CHRIS' VOICEMAIL MESSAGE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's Chris. I'm away from my phone or I just do n't want to talk to you. ROD Sup? Making sure you good. I thought you were coming back yesterday, so hopefully you home already and just sleeping or some shit. Aiight. Let me know.", "INT. CHRIS' LIVING ROOM - NIGHT104 104 Rod opens the door. Sid wags his tail hungrily.", "INT. CHRIS' KITCHEN - LATER105 105 Rod opens dog food while he calls Chris. CHRIS' VOICEMAIL MESSAGE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Hey, it's Chris. I'm away from my phone or I just do n't want to talk TO -- Rod hangs up. He places Sid's bowl down. Sid does n't eat. Instead Sid looks back up at Rod and WHINES. ROD Yeah... me too.", "INT. CHRIS' LIVING ROOM - LATER106 106 Rod sits at Chris' desk in front of his laptop. Sid sits on Rod's lap. Rod types `` Andre Hayworth'' into the search engine. Images of Andre come up. Rod finds an article entitled : `` What Happened to Andre Hayworth?'' under in bold `` Brooklyn Native Goes Missing In Evergreen Hallow.'' Rod's eyes go wide. ROD Oh shit. 79.", "INT. GAMES ROOM - LATER107 107 Chris wakes up with a bump on his head. In front of Chris, a deer's head is mounted above an old-school floor-standing television. Behind him, a goat's head is mounted under a taxidermy owl, wings spread. His arms and legs fastened to a leather upholstered chair in the middle of a small dark room full of board games. Chris pulls at the straps that bind his arms and legs. CHRIS Hey. Hey!!!! Rose!!!! Chris tries to gnaw at the harnesses, but they are too thick. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh shit. The fuck?!?!! Y'all are psycho!? Is that it? Let me out of this chair. Chris looks around. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- People know I'm here. I told a bunch of people where I was going! You do n't know me!!! You do n't know me!!!! Hey! Hey!! Hey!!!!! The television screen turns on. Chris watches intently. The image of deer walking through woods comes on. The words `` YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND by James Taylor'' comes up as the song starts to PLAY. It's a forest-themed karaoke video. Chris is confused. He tries to slip out of the binds again drawing blood on his wrists.", "INT. CHRIS' LIVING ROOM - DAWN108 108 Sid wakes Rod up with a lick to the face. He's on the sofa.", "INT. POLICE STATION - DAY109 109 Rod sits at a desk with Sid on his lap.. DETECTIVE LATOYA 50, African American enters. She looks like she's been doing this way too long. She speaks to someone outside her office. DETECTIVE LATOYA -LRB- MORE -RRB- DETECTIVE LATOYA ( CONT'D ) ` Cause hey, look ; how about this? If you record the evidence, you're responsible for it. ... Then he should've gone back up there and made sure everything was accounted for. Latoya shuts the door and sits at her desk. She begins opening and eating a bag of cashews. DETECTIVE LATOYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Hello Mr... ROD Williams... Rod Williams... DETECTIVE LATOYA From the TSA? ROD Yes Ma'am. DETECTIVE LATOYA You know that TSA issues should be brought to your authorizing officer, right? ROD It's not TSA business, ma'am. DETECTIVE LATOYA Please do n't call me `` ma'am,'' or we're not gon na get along. How can I help you, Rod Williams from the TSA? CHRIS Here it is : My boy Chris has been missing for two days. DETECTIVE LATOYA Your son is missing? ROD No, sorry, not my son, my boy. He's my friend. He's 26. His name is Chris... Washington... He gives her time to write the name which she does n't do. She just stares at him. ROD -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- He left town on Friday with his girlfriend Rose... Armitage... She's white. 81. DETECTIVE LATOYA That's four days ago. ROD Yeah, I mean he's only been MISSING for two days. He was SUPPOSED -- DETECTIVE LATOYA -- I'm gon na stop you right there. Now you know the minimum amount of time without contact before you can file a missing persons report IS -- ROD -- Three days I know, but I have reason to believe he's been abducted. DETECTIVE LATOYA Go on. ROD Chris was set to come back home on Sunday. I was watching his dog Sid. Latoya points to Sid DETECTIVE LATOYA That's Sid. ROD Yup. Cute right? Now look... Rod takes out his phone and scrolls to a photo of Andre. ROD -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Chris sent me this which he took at the girlfriend's parents house. That's Andre Hayworth, a guy we knew from back in the day. Come to find out he went missing 6 months ago in an affluent suburb upstate. DETECTIVE LATOYA Do n't look too missing to me. ROD Well that's the thing. We found him and now, according to Chris, he's gay with a different personality. DETECTIVE LATOYA Gay? ROD But he did n't used to be. DETECTIVE LATOYA I think he might just argue with you on that one. ROD I know what I'm about to say is gon na sound crazy. DETECTIVE LATOYA Try me. ROD You ready for this...? I think this family is abducting black people and brainwashing them to work for them as sex slaves and shit... Sorry. DETECTIVE LATOYA... Brainwashing? ROD Yeah. DETECTIVE LATOYA Hold on one second. -LRB- over her intercom -RRB- Garcia, Frostie, get in here a second.  -LRB- TO ROD -RRB- I want you to tell these officers exactly what you just told me.", "INT. POLICE STATION - MOMENTS LATER110 110 Two detectives, Garcia, 37, and Drake, 43, stand behind Latoya. ROD... See, I do n't know if the hypnosis makes you a slave or if just turns you gay or what, but they already got two brothers that we know of, and who knows how many more there could be. The officers are all riveted... Then... All three detectives laugh. Rod is not being taken the slightest bit seriously. 83. LATOYA -LRB- to her colleagues -RRB- So, I do n't want none of you sayin' I do n't do nothin' for you... White girls'll get ya every time! They laugh even harder.", "INT. GAMES ROOM - LATER111 111 The SONG PLAYS Over and over. Chris is too weak to struggle. CHRIS Is this the only song you got?", "INT. GAMES ROOM - LATER112 112 The SONG ends. It BEGINS again. CHRIS Okay. Okay! What do you want? You tryin' to break me? I wo n't say shit!! I'll just... I'll do what you say, just answer me!", "INT. CHRIS' LOFT - DUSK113 113 Rod sits by the window with Sid. He looks out over rooftops and thinks. He picks up his phone and calls Chris again. He knows Chris wo n't answer. Then -- ROSE Hello? Rod is taken off guard. He almost drops his phone. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Chris? ROD Yo. Um, Rose? It's Rod. ROSE Hi. ROD Where's Chris? INTERCUT WITH :", "INT. ARMITAGE HOUSE. DINING ROOM - DUSK114 114 Rose stands by the dining table on Chris' phone. Rose starts to cry. ROSE He left like two days ago. ROD He left? ROSE We got in a fight. He got all paranoid and flipped out ; He took a cab home. He forgot his phone. Wait... You have n't seen him? ROD No. He never made it back here. ROSE Oh my God. ROD I've been calling. I went to the police and everything. Rose is silent. ROD -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Hello? ROSE What did you say? ROD I told them he was missing. ROSE Uh huh... ROD So... What cab company did he use? ROSE I do n't know. A local one I'm guessing. Maybe uber? Wait, I'm so confused... ROD Hold on a second. Rod knows she had something to do with it. 85. He opens up ` Garage Band' on Chris' computer and puts the phone on speaker, recording her. ROD -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- So, last time Chris and I talked, he told me your mom hypnotized him? Rose is silent. Then... ROSE Rod, just stop. ROD Huh? ROSE I know why you're calling. ROD Why is that? We now see Rose's family standing in the living room behind her. They watch her operate. ROSE Come on. I mean, it's kind of obvious. ROD What? ROSE That there's something between us. ROD No. I'm calling about Chris. ROSE We'd all go out drinking... I remember you looking at me. Rod is put on the spot. He becomes extremely uncomfortable. ROD That's my best friend. If you did SOMETHING -- ROSE I know you think about fucking me, Rod. ROD -- No. You crazy... No. 86. Rod hangs up in a panic. He looks at Sid helplessly. Rose's flirtacious smile goes blank. She places the phone on the dining room table and looks back at her family. They watch in approval.", "INT. GAMES ROOM115 115 `` You've Got A Friend'' plays. Chris, still strapped to the chair, hangs his head in resignation. Eyes shut, he sings along. CHRIS... Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall, all you need to do is call. And I'll be there. You got a friend. Ai n't it good to know you've got a friend. Ai n't it good to know you've got a friend. Oh, yeah, yeah, you've got a friend. The song is over. After a moment. Chris begins to sing the opening guitar lick. He gets a couple notes before realizing he's singing alone. The television in front of Chris flickers off and then back on to the image of a tea cup comes into focus on the screen. A spoon comes into the shot and clinks the side of the cup. `` TING TING, TING TING'' CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- NO- Before he can react, Chris falls asleep. Later... Chris wakes up bald. Static snow clicks fills the TV lighting the room. The image clicks to that of...", "INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY (TELEVISION)116 116 Jim Hudson, also shaven, sits on a hospital bed. And faces Chris through the television. JIM Hello Chris. How's it going...? You can answer. There's an intercom in the room ; I can hear you. 87. CHRIS I need water. JIM Yeah, sorry about that. If it makes you feel any better, I'm thirsty too. CHRIS I need to get outta here. JIM Right. So, the reason I am talking to you now is so you can understand what is happening to you. I guess your ` understanding' it raises the success rate of this whole thing. Not even sure I ` understand' it. CHRIS Where's Rose? JIM Hot is n't she? Hot voice anyway, you dirty dog. You're one of the lucky one's. The son Jeremy's wrangling method sounds way less pleasant. CHRIS Is this some kind of a game to you? JIM They asked me for my favorite song, which was hard ; I like all types of music. Turns out they really just needed one I knew all the words to : I went with James Taylor's `` You Got a Friend.'' I hope it has n't been too torturous ; that was n't the point. The point is that you learn it, and for us to have that knowledge in common. CHRIS Who the fuck are you people? JIM Oh right. Okay, let me back up and give you the cliff notes. The Armitages and I are a part of a society. A pretty extraordinary society actually. -LRB- MORE -RRB- JIM -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- One whose sole purpose for many many years has been a search for a very powerful object. Armitage lineage redefined the nature of that search. They proved that the power did n't just exist in that object ; You see, with science the Armitage's created a miracle. CHRIS You hypnotize me? Break my will..? Make me a slave like the others? This is some crazy racist shit. JIM No. Not racist, Chris. We do n't hate you. We want to be you... You are not going to be a slave. You're going to be a vessel. CHRIS Wait, what? JIM Missy's hypnosis was merely to sedate you. Oh, that and to prepare you psychologically... CHRIS For what? Jim smiles. JIM For the procedure. CHRIS What's the procedure? JIM Are you ready...? Drum roll please. Brain transplantation. Some say it could never be done ; JIM -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- They experimented for centuries, but it turned out re-linking the brain to a foreign central nervous system was impossible. The nerve connections are far too intricate and delicate. CHRIS What the fuck? JIM Dean's the only guy who really gets the science. He's the one who discovered that full brain transplantation is n't actually necessary to transfer the soul, and that partial brain transplantation solves the little nerve ending problem. CHRIS No. Jim holds up a Color coded diagram of the human Brain. There is a big red part that takes up 80 % of the image. The other 20 % is blue and located near the lower back of his skull. JIM Okay so... You see the blue part? That's the piece of your brain that's all rooted in the nervous system. So that stays ; keeping those tricky little connections intact. The rest is discarded. Then they'll remove the red part of my brain from my skull and put in yours. Your `` blue'' and my `` red'' basically absorb each other. And apparently the brain heals surprisingly fast, so assuming everything goes as planned, we should be up and functioning in a couple weeks. CHRIS And my brain? JIM Your red part? It'll be discarded, but do n't worry. You wont be gone. Well not completely. You'll still be in there somewhere ; limited consciousness of course ; JIM -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- you'll still be able to see and hear but your existence will be as a passenger... an audience. You will live in... CHRIS -LRB- DEFEATED -RRB-... The Sunken Place. JIM Yes. That's what she calls it. Good! So you understand, I'll control the motor functions, the will of our body, effectively MAKING ME -- CHRIS Me... You will be me. JIM As far as the world is concerned. It's still a pretty new operation. Some kinks. We're supposed to stay away from flashes of light for example. They can trigger a `` momentary lapse in control of motor functions...'' CHRIS Why black people? Jim is disappointed in the question. JIM Well, because you get the highest bids. For the last decade or so anyway. I wish it was less simple than that, but it's not. You're in fashion, baby! Final hope sinks from. Chris shoulders. JIM -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Honestly though, personally..? I could n't give two shits about race. I do n't care if you're black, brown, green, purple... whatever. What I want is so much deeper : Your eye, man. I want those things you see through. CHRIS That's crazy. JIM Take it as a compliment. CHRIS You're not going to get away with this. JIM We have and we will. We'll be together soon, brother. The television turns off. Chris clenches his body trying to pry free from his restraints, before his shoulders collapse with exhaustion. He lifts his head to a rip in the leather arm of the chair revealing its cotton stuffing. He looks at the cotton. We see Chris make a difficult decision. LATER... We hear nothing except a HEART BEAT. Chris' head hangs, asleep. His lips are dry. Chris wakes up. The Television turns on. On the screen, a woman's hand holds a tea cup. With a spoon, she clinks it. We do n't hear it though. We still hear nothing but the HEART BEAT. CHRIS No, No -- Before Chris can finish SCREAMING, his eyes widen. He goes limp -- unconscious again. Rose enters wearing a white and black nurse's outfit with a red cross on the chest. She rolls a medical table into the room. She draws a dotted line across his forehead and around to the back of his scalp. Then she unstraps his arm and prepares it for an IV. She inserts the needle. She goes to put earbuds connected to an ipod in his ears but sees the arm of his chair has been stripped open. She looks at Chris. Cotton makeshift earplugs have been stuffed in his ears! He's not really hypnotized! Rose tries to scream but Chris grabs her throat with his free hand and squeezes. The HEARTBEAT quickens. Rose pleads, but we do n't hear her. ROSE -LRB- INAUDIBLE -RRB- Wait. Wait. Chris!.... Chri- Chris chokes her. Tears stream down his face. CHRIS Shhhh. Rose convulses. She scratches his hand and cheeks. He's too strong. She stares at Chris' eyes as her consciousness fades. Then, through the agony, her face curls into a twisted smile. She's having fun. Psycho. Rose goes limp in Chris' hands. Chris takes the cotton out of his ears. We can hear again. `` You've got a Friend'' plays on the earbuds of the ipod.", "INT. OPERATING ROOM.117 117 Earbuds also rest in Jim Hudson's ears playing the same song. He lies unconscious on one of two operating beds in the center of the room connected to an IV and heart monitors. A bright medical light shines on Jim's shaved head which also has a dotted line around it. The other bed is empty and has a light shining on it as well. This bed is for Chris. Dean stands in a black and white robe with a red cross in the middle, his palms upwards in silent prayer near some ceremonial candles. Jeremy watches his father. They are unaware of what's happening in the Medical room down the hall. Dean finishes his prayer. DEAN Saw... Jeremy hands Dean a circular surgical saw. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The vessel. Jeremy leaves as Dean begins to saw into Jim's cranium.", "INT. DARK HALLWAY118 118 Chris finds an old badminton set. Jeremy exits the room briskly and walks down a dark hallway. He turns into the games room and finds Rose's body. Jeremy's eyes go wild. He turns as Chris emerges lunging from the darkness with a badminton racket. Before Jeremy can scream, Chris slams him in the face with the metal side of the racket. He pulls Jeremy inside and shuts the door cutting off the sound from outside. Jeremy wilts in pain. Chris whips him over and over warping the racket to a crumpled bloody mess.", "INT. OPERATING ROOM119 119 Dean finishes sawing the top of Jim's skull off. He removes the cranium preciously exposing Jim's brain. DEAN Jeremy...? Dean walks to the doorway. Dean scans the dark hallway. It's quiet. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Ro Ro...? Chris emerges charging from the darkness with Deer's head in his arms. He punctures Dean through his neck and shoulder with the antlers. Dean and stumbles back into the operating room, deer's head attached. DEAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- MISS -- His call to Missy devolves into gargles. Dean falls knocking the unused bed over along with some candles. The bed has caught fire. The fire grows fast.", "INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT120 120 Missy takes a whistling tea pot off the stove and pours herself a cup. Georgina sits nearby knitting. The window, like before reflects the room around them. She sniffs the air. She is suddenly afraid. She turns off the light illuminating the back yard. Walter runs back and forth in the distance. She turns the light back on again. Chris' reflection is now behind hers. He looks savage ; covered in blood. Georgina screams and runs out the back door. Chris heads to the door, but sees his phone on the dining room table. He goes for it.", "INT. DINING ROOM - CONTINUOUS121 121 Chris runs through the dining room and finds his cell phone on the dining room table. Chris picks up his phone and presses the power button. The loading screen comes up. Chris grunts with frustration as he hears a creak behind him. It's Missy, now in the kitchen doorway behind him holding her teacup and spoon. She begins clinking her tea cup... TING... Chris knocks the cup out of her hand spraying hot water on her chest and face. She screams. The cat bounds off the dining room table at Chris' face. Chris punches it out of the air. This has given Missy enough time to grab a knife. She lunges at Chris screaming psychotically. Chris ca n't pin her down. She slices his hands. Chris grabs the tea pot and cracks her in the head with it. She falls. He hits her one more time. Done. The cat slinks out an open window.", "INT. FOYER - CONTINUOUS122 122 Chris runs towards the front door. Before he can open it, he hears a footsteps running upstairs from the basement followed bloodcurdling scream from back in the kitchen : JEREMY -LRB- O.C. -RRB- Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Jeremy bursts though the dining room and pounces on Chris' back. The two roll around. Chris throws his elbow back at Jeremy who blocks it and uses it to put Chris in a choke hold from behind. Chris slams the back of his head into Jeremy's face. He does it again, and again, and again. Jeremy squeezes tighter. Chris, about to pass out, reaches into Jeremy's pocket and pulls out his keys. He scrapes them deep into Jeremy's eye. Jeremy screams in pain and Chris wriggles out of his grasp tripping him with an improvised Judo throw. Jeremy lunges at Chris again but slips on his own blood banging the back of his head on the coffee table. He's out.", "EXT. FRONT YARD - NIGHT123 123 Chris begins to run but then sees the beige sports car we recognize from the opening scene. He looks at Jeremy downed in the doorway and then at the keys in his hand. Moments later...", "INT. SPORTS CAR - NIGHT124 124 Chris is in the driver's seat. The tubular metal helmet sits next to him in the passengers seat. His phone finally turns on. There is a very small amount of batteries. He turns the ignition. The English to French tutorial comes on. TUTORIAL I seem to have misplaced my passport. Je crois avoi egare mon passeport. Chris peels off, driving fast through the field into the night. He dials 911. 911 OPERATOR 911 emergency, I'm at the home of Dean and Missy Armitage -- Chris looks in the rearview mirror as the house gets smaller behind him. All of a sudden, BAM! The car slams into and over Georgina, who, in the night, seems to come out of nowhere. The phone falls. CHRIS Ahhhh! TUTORIAL Can you direct me to the nearest hospital? Pouvez-vous me diriger vers I'hopital le plus proche? He drives on a few more seconds on a flat tire but then stops the car. Chris breathes heavy. CHRIS -LRB- TO HIMSELF -RRB- No... no... Do n't do it... Just get the fuck got ta here... Just go! Just... Fuck! Chris puts the car in reverse and drives backwards beside the motionless bloody heap that is Georgina. TUTORIAL Where is the nearest train EST LA GARE LA PLUS125 125 proche? He looks back at the house which is now filling with smoke. Chris quickly gets out of the car and lifts what's left of Georgina's mangled unconscious body into the passenger's seat of the car. He shuts the door and gets in the driver's seat. He floors it. After a moment of driving, Georgina's eyes open and she rises. The wig slides off her head revealing an old surgical scar around the top of her head. Chris has n't noticed her yet. He reaches for his phone. TUTORIAL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Can you please call the police? Pouvez-vous s'il vous plait appelez la police? Annoyed, Chris turns off the sound system just before Georgina grabs his face and scratches it. GEORGINA Ahhhhh!! CHRIS Ahhhhhhhh!! Chris, veers the car into a tree. Georgina ` s head hits the windshield hard and bursts open. She's dead. So is the car. A bullet hits the rear view mirror. Jeremy stands in front of the smoking house with a hunting rifle. He's soaked in blood. JEREMY -LRB- THROUGH TEARS -RRB- Grandma!!!! Chris looks at Georgina's body. Georgina was Grandma. JEREMY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Grampa! Walter, the grounds keeper, rounds the house at top speed. Walter is grandpa and he's so fast. JEREMY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Get him!!! Chris crawls out of the car as Walter/Grandpa sprints across the front lawn strait at him. Walter's hat flies off revealing the surgical scar around his head like the others. Jeremy shoots again, and it grazes Chris' side. Chris runs through the trees. Walter/grandpa closes the gap quickly. Another shot hits a tree. As Chris reaches the road, Walter/ Grandpa pounces like a jaguar and rolls him over on his back. He pushes his thumbs into Chris' eyes. GRANDPA Damn you to Hell!!! Jeremy arrives behind them crying. JEREMY Kill him, Grandpa. GRANDPA The gun, Jeremy. Jeremy tosses the rifle. Grandpa catches it and holds it up to chris' head. GRANDPA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You ruined everything!!! Chris, blinded, raises his phone to Walter/Grandpa's face. He takes a picture, flashing strait into Walter/Grandpa's eyes. 97. Walter/Grandpa does n't shoot. Instead he looks up. Jeremy is confused as to why Walter/Grandpa has stopped. JEREMY What...? Grandpa --? Walter/Grandpa spins and gathers his bearing. His eye is cocked and blood trickles out of his nose. He let's out a PAINED MOAN reminiscent of the deer's. WALTER/GRANDPA Ahhhhhhh! Walter/Grandpa shoots Jeremy in the chest. He falls. Chris, on his back, pushes himself away. Walter/Grandpa sees Chris' scurry. He turns looking mad. CHRIS Wait. Walter/Grandpa raises the gun under his own chin and shoots himself through the head. He falls. Approaching sirens blare in the distance. Chris lays in shock. It's over. Just then a hand grabs Chris face! Jeremy's still alive! Blood pours from his mouth. JEREMY Ahhhhhh! They both go for the gun, grabbing it at the same time. They roll around in the grass. Chris ends up on top. He bludgeons Jeremy over and over with the butt of the gun into the ground. Chris is lost in violence. 2 police cars pull up. He drops the gun. COPS Hands! Hands! Get away from the weapon/ Show me your hands! / Hands! Hands!! Get on your Knees! / Hands! Hands! / Goddamn Hands!!! Chris, covered in blood, raises his sliced hands. CHRIS Look in the basement! He is violently swarmed by officers. The house burns. 98.", "INT. MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON. VISITING ROOM - NIGHT126 126 Rod sits down opposite Chris who wears a prison jumpsuit and smokes a cigarette. Both of them look like shit. Rod is gaunt with circles under his eyes. Chris' hair and beard have grown in. There's a long silence. ROD I really need to... CHRIS... I do n't remember... ROD... impress on you the importance of remembering some of those names. The fire did n't leave ENOUGH -- They've clearly had this conversation many times before. CHRIS I do n't remember. ROD You got ta help me out, Chris. Secret societies does n't get you very far on Google. I'm over here feeling like I'm playing connect the dots on a fucking football field. One name... CHRIS I do n't remember. ROD Well, try again please. CHRIS Rod. ROD Let's start at the beginning ; walk me through it again. CHRIS Rod. Rod knows he's been defeated. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'm good, man. I stopped it. You know? I stopped it. Chris is at peace. He takes a long good drag of his cigarette then gets up and leaves.", "INT. MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON. HALLWAY - NIGHT127 127 Two GUARDS escort Chris back to his cell. He WHISTLES `` You Got A Friend.'' THE END"], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0], "summary": "Chris Washington is a black photographer from Brooklyn, New York preparing for a weekend visit to Upstate New York to meet the family of his white girlfriend, Rose Armitage. Hesitant, he asks Rose if her family knows about their interracial relationship, but she assures him that they are not racist. While there, Rose's brother Jeremy and their parents, neurosurgeon Dean and hypnotherapist Missy, make disconcerting comments about black people, and Chris witnesses strange behavior from the estate's black housekeeper Georgina and groundskeeper Walter. When Chris is unable to sleep, Missy pressures him into a hypnotherapy session to cure his smoking addiction. While in his trance, he confesses that his mother was killed in a hit-and-run when he was a child and that he feels responsible for her death as he waited too long to call for help. He then sinks into a void Missy calls the \"Sunken Place\". The next morning, he assumes that the encounter was a dream until Walter acknowledges their brief session the night before. However, he is pleased to discover that the hypnosis was a success, as he no longer has a desire to smoke. Georgina unplugs his phone \"accidentally\", draining its battery. Dozens of wealthy white people arrive for the Armitages' annual get-together, and express admiration for Chris' physique and for black figures such as Tiger Woods. Jim Hudson, an art dealer who has gone blind in his old age, takes a particular interest in Chris' photography skills. Chris meets another black man, Logan King, who behaves strangely and is married to a much older white woman. Chris relays the information to his friend, TSA officer Rod Williams. Chris tries to photograph Logan inconspicuously, but when his flash goes off, Logan becomes hysterical, shouting at Chris to \"get out\". The others restrain him, and Dean later claims that Logan had an epileptic seizure. Away from the party, Chris tells Rose that they should leave. Rod recognizes \"Logan\" as Andre Hayworth, a missing man from Brooklyn. Suspecting a conspiracy, Rod tries to tell the police, but his claims are dismissed. While Chris packs to leave, he finds photos of Rose in prior relationships with several black partners, including Walter and Georgina, contradicting her earlier claim that Chris is the first black person she has dated. He tries to leave the house, but Rose and her family block him. Chris attacks Jeremy, but Missy uses a \"trigger\" that she implanted during his hypnosis, knocking him out. Chris awakens strapped to a chair in the basement. In a video presentation, Rose's grandfather Roman explains that the family transplants their brains into others' bodies, granting them preferred physical characteristics and a twisted form of immortality. Jim tells Chris the host's consciousness remains in the Sunken Place, conscious but powerless. Although the Armitages target mainly black people, Jim explains that he doesn't care about Chris' race: he only wants his eyesight. Missy performs hypnosis, seemingly knocking Chris out. When Jeremy comes to fetch Chris for the surgery, it is revealed that Chris blocked the hypnosis trigger by plugging his ears with cotton stuffing pulled from the chair. Chris bludgeons Jeremy unconscious and impales Dean with the antlers of a deer mount, causing Dean to knock over a candle which sets fire to the operating room with an anesthetized Jim inside. Chris kills Missy but is attacked again by Jeremy as he heads towards the door; he overpowers and kills Jeremy before leaving in his car. On the way out, he hits Georgina and knocks her unconscious. Compelled by guilt from his mother's death, he decides to carry her into the car, but she awakens and is revealed to be possessed by Rose's grandmother, Marianne. In the ensuing struggle, the car crashes and Georgina is killed. An armed Rose apprehends Chris with Walter, who is possessed by Roman. Chris uses the flash on his phone to neutralize Roman, allowing Walter to regain control of his body. Walter takes Rose's rifle and shoots her in the stomach before shooting himself. Chris begins to strangle Rose, but she smiles at him, and he finds himself unable to kill her. Police sirens approach, and Rose cries out for help. However, the driver is revealed to be Rod, who drives away with Chris. Rose is left bleeding out on the road.", "name": "Get_Out"}
{"scenes": ["LEGION TITLE OVER BLACK `` Come, ye children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the LORD.'' PSALM 34:11. THE MOJAVE DESERT - DUSK Vast. Barren. No signs of life. A BLOOD RED SUN is sinking behind the distant mountains. The unbearable heat will soon become an unbearable cold. A YOUNG WOMAN'S VOICE. Solemn. Weary. Determined. WOMAN'S VOICE When I was a little girl, my mother would remind me each night before bed to be sure to open my heart to God, for he was kind, merciful and just. Things changed after my father left a few years later, leaving her to raise me and my brothers alone in a little place out on the edge of the Mojave Desert. She never talked about a kind and merciful God again. Instead she spoke of a prophecy. Of a time when all the world would be covered in darkness and the fate of Mankind would be decided. One night I finally got up the courage to ask my mother why God had changed, why was he mad at his children. `` I do n't know,'' she said, tucking the covers around me, `` I guess he just got tired of all the bullshit.'' And with these words the last trace of sunlight is SNUFFED OUT, leaving us in : DARKNESS. A darkness filled with the sounds of SIRENS, GLASS SHATTERING, SPORADIC GUNFIRE. a CITY FALLING INTO CHAOS. TITLE : `` Los Angeles, December 23rd - 1:02 a.m.'' A BLOOD RED MOON reflected in a greasy puddle of water. Might just be the smog that's making it that ominous color. Then we notice something moving in the reflection. A dark shape, growing, coming down at us fast. Beat. then WHAM! TWO BLACK BOOTS land hard in the water. and we're in :", "EXT. AN ALLEY WAY - LATE NIGHT A DARK FIGURE in a tattered trench coat tumbles onto the pavement, hands out to slow the impact. A beat then slowly he climbs to his feet, recovering from what seems to have been quite a fall. He has chiseled features, shaved head, deep - set eyes. Looks like he's been through one hell of a fight. His name, we will come to know, is MICHAEL. He quickly checks out his surroundings, nothing but brick walls above him. Where'd this guy jump from? A RUMBLE of thunder. then RAIN starts to hammer down. Seems to motivate him. Michael pulls his overcoat tight around his body and dashes toward the mouth of the alley. He reaches the STREET just in time to see a FLEET OF POLICE CARS tearing around the corner, SIRENS WAILING, heading this way. He reels back into the alley way, ducks down behind a trash dumpster, as the BLUE AND RED LIGHTS of the POLICE CARS whip past. Michael waits for the lights to disappear, then he pulls a MASSIVE ORNATE KNIFE from his jacket. Considers it grimly. Runs his finger along its edge. Blood beads up. Razor sharp. Michael begins to peel off his overcoat, revealing his bare chest underneath. and skin literally covered with DARK TATOOS. Hard to see what they are in this light. As his coat falls to the ground, we DRIFT over to the BRICK WALL behind him where we see MICHAEL'S SHADOW crouch over, and then. TWO LARGE SHAPES UNFOLD FROM HIS BACK, STRETCHING UP INTO WHAT ARE UNMISTAKABLY. THE SHADOW OF WINGS. The RAIN POUNDS harder, as if punishment from the heavens. The glint of the KNIFE coming down fast. A HORRENDOUS SOUND OF FLESH TEARING AWAY FROM BONE. THE BLOODY KNIFE CLATTERING TO THE PAVEMENT. FOLLOWED BY MICHAEL'S UNGODLY SCREAM RISING UP FROM THE ALLEY WAY. And then SILENCE. CLOSE ON THE GUTTER, AS BLOOD BEGINS TO FLOW FREELY, MIXING, SWIRLING WITH THE RAIN.", "EXT. CITY STREET - A SHORT WHILE LATER Michael, face tight with pain, trench coat back on, steps out of the alley, stares with determination at a dark storefront across the street. `` GUN & SPORT WORLD''", "INT. GUN & SPORT WORLD - A SHORT WHILE LATER Cavernous. A Costco for survivalists. Quiet except for the sound of RAIN, then. SMASH! Michael drops down through one of the skylights in a shower of glass.", "INT. GUN & SPORT WORLD - BATHROOM - MOMENTS LATER Michael bursts in. Tosses a first - aid kit into the sink. His trench coat falls to the floor and here in the fluorescent light, we get a better look at him. His thin but stunningly well muscled body is TATTOOED shoulder to ankle with INTRICATE WRITING. The man's flesh is a living book. But the writing is in no language we recognize. He turns his back to the mirror, revealing two HORRIFICALLY OPEN WOUNDS running down between both shoulder blades. FRESH. BLOODY. He threads a needle not with thread, but with FISHING WIRE, and begins to STITCH the wounds closed. BLOOD POOLS on the cement floor around his feet.", "INT. GUN & SPORT WORLD - MOMENTS LATER Trench coat and a shirt back on, Michael races along the ENDLESS RACKS OF GUNS, searching for just the right weapons, his every movement precise, as if he's trained his whole life for this. Weapon after ferocious weapon gets tossed into rifle bags. Whatever this guy's preparing for, it's big. Rifle bags filled, Michael heads for the exit. Stops cold. The place is locked up tight. Metal gate over the front doors, bars over the windows. How the hell's he going to get out of here?", "INT. LAPD SQUAD CAR - DRIVING - SAME Two COPS, world weary, cruise through downtown. That's BURTON behind the wheel, ESTEVEZ riding shotgun. The POLICE RADIO is ABUZZ WITH ACTIVITY. Busy night. Burton stares out at the city's rain soaked denizens with a deep hatred, the shadows looming in doorways, the streetwalkers. BURTON Goddamn' animals. Nights like this I wish I could take a match to this city just so I could watch all these motherfuckers burn. ESTEVEZ -LRB- LAUGHS. -RRB- A good ol' boy barbecue, huh? Burton does n't even smile. He's dead fucking serious. BURTON A fresh start. That's what this place needs. He holds his finger up like a pistol. Aims it at the people they pass, picking them off one by one. BURTON Pow! Pow! Pow! Now Burton laughs, a dark, mean laugh. Estevez eyes his partner, wary. ESTEVEZ Jesus. You know Burton, I'm so happy we get to share beautiful moments like this. They really brighten my da - KABOOM! Through the WINDSHIELD, we see a storefront EXPLODE just ahead, raining fiery debris onto the squad car. Burton slams on the breaks and the cops look up just in time to see.", "EXT. GUN & SPORT WORLD - CONTINUOUS Michael, bulging rifle bags in each hand, stepping brazenly out of the GAPING HOLE he's blown in the front of the store. ESTEVEZ -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Freeze! Estevez and Burton are already out of the squad car, crouching behind the open doors, GUNS trained on Michael. ESTEVEZ Drop the bags! Hands on your head! In the distance, the POP - POP of GUNFIRE. The POLICE RADIO CRACKLES with URGENT CHATTER. MANY VOICES TALKING AT ONCE. `` Shots fired. Code Three. Officer down!'' The cops shift about nervously, trying to stay focused. MICHAEL -LRB- sensing their unease :. -RRB- It's starting. There is n't much time. The cops shoot a quick, anxious glance at each other - `` what the hell?'' - then they turn back to Michael. BURTON Shut the fuck up and drop the bags now! Michael lets the gun bags hit the ground. ESTEVEZ Hands on your head! On your head! Michael slowly places his palms on his skull. BURTON Turn around! Turn the fuck around! Michael slowly turns around. Calm. Estevez rushes in to restrain Michael, grabbing his wrist, FINGERS TIGHTENING. Michael closes his eyes, a terrible decision made. And that's when he moves, a fucking blur! In an instant Michael's broken the cop's arm, spinning him helplessly around, turning him into a human shield. Now it's Michael who's in charge, gun to Estevez's head, facing off with Burton. Burton struggles to find a shot, ca n't. BURTON Let ` em go! ESTEVEZ Take the shot, Burton! BURTON I said let ` em fuckin' g - g - g - g - Suddenly Burton starts to SHAKE, the words stuck in his throat like a skipping record. ESTEVEZ Burton!? THE STREET LAMPS BEGIN TO FLICKER AND STROBE, adding to the confusion. Burton squeezes his eyes shut in pain, his WHOLE BODY QUAKING, heels CLICKING the pavement, as if some massive pressure were building inside him. And with the horrific sound of CRACKING BONES, BURTON'S MOUTH BEGINS TO TWIST INTO AN IMPOSSIBLY WIDE SMILE LIKE A BIZARRE CLOWN! His eyes SNAP OPEN, focused, the force inside him now fully in control. Burton looks at Michael with calm recognition, his voice GUTTURAL. INHUMAN. A man possessed. BURTON What are you doing, Michael? These were n't your orders. Estevez looks at his partner with confusion. ESTEVEZ What did you say? Michael, however, seems to know exactly who he's talking to. MICHAEL I'm following my own orders now. BURTON Then you will die along with the child. ESTEVEZ Burton, you fuckin' know this guy?! BLAM! Burton shoots his partner in the head. Estevez drops, leaving Michael without cover. Burton re - aims, but Michael's faster, already FIRING back. Bullets rip up the concrete. SMASH! The squad car window SHATTERS, Burton's chest EXPLODING! And down he GOES, leaving Michael the only one left standing. Smoke rising from his gun. With soldier - like efficiency, Michael picks up the rifle bags and begins to load them into the trunk of the squad car. He gets in the car and FLOORS IT, ROARING AWAY, as the FLICKERING STREET LAMPS FINALLY GO OUT IN RAPID SUCCESSION, a wave chasing him, PLUNGING THE ENTIRE CITY INTO DARKNESS. JEEP HANSON -LRB- LATE TEENS -RRB- Bolts awake. Breathing hard. Covered with sweat.", "INT. JEEP'S ROOM - JUST BEFORE DAWN Jeep switches on a lamp, illuminating this incredibly cramped bedroom. Not much larger than the bed itself. He's got shaggy hair, a sensitive face, clearly not big on sunlight.", "EXT. DESERT - PRE-DAWN A couple of ancient SILVERSTREAM TRAILERS are bathed in the eerie blue light of night's final moments. It looks like the trailers have n't moved from this patch of barren ground in decades. A single strand of colored Christmas lights dot the trailers roof lines, marking the season. One of the trailer doors CREAKS open and Jeep steps wearily out into the cool western morning. Home. Nothing but desert for miles in all directions, save for a two lane HIGHWAY and a weather beaten TRUCK STOP DINER that Jeep and his father will open for business in a few hours. Jeep gazes up to the diner's slanted roof where a large sign glows like a beacon in the darkness : `` PARADISE FALLS GAS ` N' GRUB'' A beat as Jeep contemplates the sign. CHARLIE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You okay, Jeep? Jeep turns to see CHARLIE, a very pregnant girl of about twenty, standing in the trailer doorway, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Even with the trailer - trash veneer, she's strikingly beautiful. JEEP Sorry to wake you, Charlie. CHARLIE -LRB- stepping out of the trailer, hands on her BELLY. -RRB- Was n't you. He's been kickin' up a storm all night. Must know somethin' I do n't. She approaches Jeep. Sees the strain in his eyes. CHARLIE Another bad dream? He struggles for a moment, nods. CHARLIE It's just stress, Jeep, that's all. You do too much worryin'. About this place. About your dad. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- About me. A glimmer of a smile crosses Jeep's face. JEEP You're the only thing I like worrying about. CHARLIE See what I mean? You're worried about a girl eight months pregnant and it is n't even your baby. Now that's enough to give anybody nightmares. Jeep turns away, dejected. JEEP Go ahead, make fun of me. Everybody else does. CHARLIE -LRB- turns him back around. -RRB- C'mon, I was only kiddin'. You know how much I appreciate everything you and Bob are doing for me, but a month from now, this baby'll have a new family and I'll have to start thinkin' about what the hell I'm doin' with my life. This is not news Jeep wants to hear. JEEP So you're still going through with it? CHARLIE Jeep, I'm not ready to be a mama. Christ, I can barely take care of myself as it is. JEEP I could help you. We could do it together, you know? I want to. Charlie smiles sadly at him, touched by his sweetness, but this just is n't where she's at. CHARLIE You got ta stop carryin' the weight of the world on your shoulders. Jeep nods, tries to hide the fact that he's dying inside. CHARLIE -LRB- rubbing her arms. -RRB- Now can we go back in? I'm freezing my ass off out here. JEEP Go on. I'll be right there. Charlie kisses him on the cheek and heads back to the trailer. He watches her, longing in his eyes. With the clank of the door, she's gone. And over Jeep's troubled look, the perennial holiday cheer of FRANK CAPRA'S `` IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE'' MIXES up. JIMMY STEWART -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I do n't know whether I like it very much being seen around with an angel without any wings. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE PLAYING ON A CRUMMY TV Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey has just met Clarence, his guardian angel - in - training. The signal ROLLS and SNOWS in and out. We hear a WHACK, which causes the image to momentarily improve and then slowly roll back the other way. CLARENCE -LRB- ON TV. -RRB- Oh, I've got to earn them and you'll help me, wo n't you?", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS `N' GRUB - DAY BOB HANSEN -LRB- late 40's -RRB-, owner and proprietor of this fine roadside establishment, attempts to fix the old TV hanging in the corner above the counter by banging the shit out it. The restaurant itself has the kind of grungy diner charm you'd hope to find in a place last renovated in 1963. An old plastic Christmas tree strung with flickering lights and tinsel occupies a lonely corner. Next to that, a faded diorama of the NATIVITY SCENE. The kind you might order off the Shopping Network. Bob considers the TV with a frown. He deftly rolls an ENGRAVED SILVER ZIPPO back and forth over the nicotine stained fingers of his right hand. Must be a nervous habit. You can tell just by looking at the man that he's a beer drinker. Behind the counter, a black man named PERCY WALKER -LRB- 60's -RRB- is cooking up a storm on the grill with spectacular one - handed dexterity. You do get pretty good at this sort of thing when your other hand has long been replaced by a METAL HOOK. The dog tags around his neck tell the story. His white cook's hat has been temporarily replaced by a red Santa hat. PERCY Lord as my witness, Bob, one of these days that thing's gon na hit you back. WHACK! BOB Whaddya talkin' about, Percy? We got a special relationship here. WHACK! PERCY Yeah, they got names for that kind a relationship. The JUKEBOX on the other side of the diner starts up with the MERLE HAGGARD tune `` I'M A LONESOME FUGITIVE''. A stunning looking sixteen - year - old GIRL with dyed - black hair and a piercing or three, is leaning seductively over the jukebox, swaying gently to the music. The headband doubling as her mini - skirt reveals her knock - out figure in a way that really does n't leave much up to the imagination. She's a billboard of rebellion. SANDRA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It's disgusting. HOWARD -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You're right. It is disgusting. Watching the scintillating action from a booth across the diner is a conservatively dressed SUBURBAN COUPLE. SANDRA and HOWARD ANDERSON. Fish out of water. SANDRA Really, how can she go out in public wearing that? HOWARD I do n't know. Why do n't we just ask her? SANDRA Howard, do n't. You'll embarrass me. HOWARD -LRB- shouting across the DINER. -RRB- Audrey, honey? Your mother was wondering if you got dressed this morning with the specific intention of showing your ass off to the entire world? The girl who we now know as AUDREY ANDERSON turns to Howard with a caustic smile. AUDREY Yeah, that's cuz I woke up hoping to get double teamed by a couple of meth head truckers in the bathroom of some desert shithole. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Good thing we stopped here. And with that she turns back to the jukebox. Percy watches the exchange discreetly from behind the counter. Loving it. Howard turns back to his wife. Rigid smile. HOWARD I feel satisfied with that answer. I really do. Sandra buries her face in her hands. SANDRA I'm being punished for something, I know it. Across the diner, Audrey goes back to swaying dreamily to the music, which is suddenly overtaken by BASS BUMPIN' HIP - HOP. DRIFTING OVER A VAST EXPANSE OF WESTERN DESERT The noontime sun bakes the strip of highway slicing through this barren country. A BLACK CADILLAC ESCALADE blazes a path. HEAVY BEATS thunder from within.", "INT. ESCALADE - DRIVING - CONTINUOUS The stereo in this rig could shake mountains. KYLE WILLIAMS -LRB- late 20's -RRB- handsome as hell, thug style. A straight up bad boy. He passes a weathered road sign : `` ENTERING PARADISE FALLS, NEXT SERVICES 50 MILES'' Kyle's expression says this is not good news. He grabs his cell phone off the passenger seat. No signal. KYLE Shit. He spots the truck stop diner just up the road ahead.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS `N' GRUB - CONTINUOUS The Escalade pulls off the highway and rolls to a stop at the lonely row of old gas pumps. Kyle gets out and surveys the scenery with dismay. Now in the daytime we see this is truly a place time forgot. Attached to the diner is a MECHANIC'S BAY. Grease stains and rusty car parts litter the ground. Behind the place is the SILVERSTREAM TRAILER we saw Jeep step out of earlier. The only thing here that looks fairly new is the UHAUL TRUCK parked in front of the garage with its hood up. Kyle grabs a crumpled hand drawn map from the front seat and flattens it out on the roof of the car. He spins it around. Which way is north? KYLE Darren, your fuckin' directions suck, man. He checks his cell phone again. No chance of a signal way out here. So he shuffles around to the side of the diner in search of a pay phone. The good news is that he finds one. The bad news is that it's been broken for ten years. Leaning next to the broken phone, however, is Charlie wearing a shabby, faded WAITRESS uniform stretched tight around her very pregnant belly. Adding to her perfect mother - to - be look is that cigarette dangling from her lips. The plastic name tag pinned to her chest says `` CHARLIE''. KYLE Hey. She eyes him, mildly intrigued, takes a drag. KYLE You know that shit right there ai n't good for the baby. She lets out a long slow exhale. CHARLIE Guess I should think ` bout quittin' then. KYLE Now hold on, girl, let me bum one before you do. CHARLIE You can buy a whole pack inside. KYLE Tell ya what. You let me have one of yours, and I'll give you two from the new pack you're gon na sell me. She considers him for a moment, then pulls out a cigarette. Lights it off the end of hers then hands it to him. Kyle takes a drag, pulls out his crumpled map. KYLE Am I in the right place? CHARLIE -LRB- peers at the map. -RRB- Only if nowhere's right, ` cause that's where you are. KYLE Sonuvabitch. There another phone around here? You know, one that works? CHARLIE Bob'll probably let you use the diner phone if you ask him real nice. And pay ` im somethin'. KYLE I can handle that. You got pancakes here? CHARLIE Yeah, we got a buttermilk stack for three seventy - five. We also got french toast for four dollars if you're into that. I personally like the pancakes though. JEEP -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You okay, Charlie? They both turn to see Jeep behind the diner, wearing mechanic's coveralls and holding a DUSTY OLD CRIB. Charlie quickly hides her cigarette behind her back. Busted. CHARLIE Yeah, I'm okay. This guy's just lost. Jeep nods, uncertain, eyes Kyle another moment, then he shuffles along out of sight. Charlie brings the cigarette back up to her lips. An awkward beat. KYLE Three seventy - five, huh?", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS `N' GRUB - DAY The DOOR JINGLES. Charlie and Kyle enter. Audrey's eyes light up when she sees Kyle. He notices her as well. How could n't he? She's directing every ounce of sex appeal she has in his direction. Her parents, on the other hand, shoot a look of utter fear in Kyle's direction, as if he personified their worst suburban nightmare. Charlie heads to the register. Digs out a fresh pack of smokes from underneath the counter. CHARLIE I hope Salem Lights are okay, ` cause that's all we got left. KYLE If I can smoke ` em, I'll take ` em. BOB -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Where ya been, Charlie? Bob steps off the chair. BOB This ai n't a resort you know. I got orders stacking up here. In truth there are n't any orders stacking up, but it certainly makes Bob feel better to say it. BOB -LRB- sees the two cigarettes Kyle's handing her. -RRB- You best not be smokin' again. Not in your condition. CHARLIE -LRB- gestures to the diner. -RRB- Bob, do you see where am I right now? Can my condition really get any worse? ` Sides, you ai n't one to talk. BOB What? I quit two years ago. CHARLIE Yeah, so why you still carryin' that fancy lighter ` round for? BOB It was a gift from my ex - wife, alright? I'm sentimental. I do n't wan na forget how much I hate her guts. KYLE Hey man? Bob turns to Kyle. Does n't like what he sees. KYLE Can I use your phone? My cell does n't get a signal out here and the pay phone outside is busted. Bob is about to respond when : HOWARD -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Excuse me? Howard approaches, oblivious to the conversation he's interrupting. HOWARD Any news about when our truck might be fixed? You said your boy would have us on the road two hours ago. The rate we're going, we'll be lucky to make it to Scottsdale by Christmas. Bob's expression darkens at this news. BOB Goddamn it. Where the hell is Jeep? A GRIMY PIECE OF WOOD A cloth wipes away the dirt, revealing the partial image of an ANGEL carved into the surface.", "INT. MECHANIC'S BAY - CONTINUOUS Jeep is carefully cleaning the old wooden crib on a workbench. There's an unsettling intensity in his eyes, as if fear itself were driving him. BOB -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Hey, Leonardo! Jeep freezes, knows he's in trouble He reluctantly turns to see his father standing next to the Anderson's broken - down Uhual. BOB The fact that this truck's hood's up mean anything to you? Jeep stares at the ground. Could n't be anymore uncomfortable. JEEP Yeah. BOB -LRB- approaches, peering past him to the crib. -RRB- Whaddya workin' on that's so goddamn important you're not doin' your job? JEEP Nothin'. Jeep tries feebly to block his path, fails. Bob looks down at the crib with dismay. JEEP Found it under a bunch of stuff in the storage shed. I know you never like to throw anything away. Bob considers him, softens. BOB Whaddya doin'? JEEP What? BOB Jeep, I like Charlie. I do. And I think it's real good of you to lend her a helping hand, but she is not your responsibility. JEEP -LRB- heard this before, pushes past him. -RRB- Oh whatever, leave me alone. BOB Do n't walk away from me while I'm talkin' to you!", "EXT. PARADISE GAS `N' GRUB - CONTINUOUS Jeep walks out toward the gas pumps, but Bob's right alongside him, not giving up. BOB How long you gon na follow her around like a puppy dog? Cleanin' up the messes she makes while she steps out with every guy around here other than you?! Jeep stiffens. Turns to his father : JEEP Do n't say that about her! She's not like that! Bob gives Jeep a hard stare. Yeah, she is. BOB You really think she's gon na stick around here after that baby's born and off her hands? Jeeps shakes his head, burns. JEEP Look, I know it does n't make any sense to you, but it's just something I have to do. Bob sighs, feels for his boy. BOB -LRB- points up at the PARADISE FALLS sign. -RRB- See that up there? Your mother thought I was crazy for wanting to buy this place, middle of nowhere. But I just knew this was what I was supposed to do. Told your mom, `` just wait.'' Told her when they finally ran the freeway through here like they were plannin' on, this place would be like Grand Central Station. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- But I was wrong. The freeway never came and now the only people who ever stop here are the ones who are lost. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- And your mom? Well she got tired of waitin'. JEEP C'mon Dad. You ca n't blame yourself for what she did - BOB Yeah, I can. And I'm sayin' you're about to make the same damn mistake I made, believing in something that's never gon na happen. Or someone. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- It's time for you to move on from this place, Jeep. I do n't wan na see you wake up one morning old and pissed off, realizing you're lost just like everybody else who stops here. Jeep looks up at his father, his words hanging heavily. A tough pill to swallow. BOB Now get to work on that truck. I wan na have these people on the road by nightfall. Bob walks back into the diner. Jeep is about to turn back to the garage when he notices something off in the distance. Ominous DARK CLOUDS line the horizon to the south like a living wall. He shifts his gaze up the highway to the north. Same thing. DARK CLOUDS are pushing their way over the distant mountains. A storm is coming.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS `N' GRUB - SAME Bob reenters the diner to find Kyle sitting at the counter, digging into a plate of banana pancakes. Kyle is about to address him again, when something else steals Bob's attention. BOB -LRB- holding up a silencing HAND. -RRB- Yeah, wait a minute. The TV has gone on the fritz again. Only now the image is mostly snow. Bob climbs back onto the chair. Faces the TV. BOB What's wrong with you today? WHACK! The image flickers but does n't improve. PERCY I told you to get the satellite TV. But you do n't wan na listen. BOB What the hell do I need that crap for? PERCY History Channel, man! BOB I got all the history I can take. CHARLIE That's for sure. BOB What's your problem now? WHACK! CHARLIE Where do I start? BOB You know this was the top - of - the - line model when I bought it. CHARLIE Yeah, in the Fifties. BOB You should n't be watchin' anyways. -LRB- rubs his hands together. -RRB- Okay, baby, this is gon na do it. Bob gives the TV one final wallop - WHACK! And the picture snaps into FOCUS. Only it is n't the picture he was expecting. The STARK GRAPHIC OF THE EMERGENCY BROADCASTING SYSTEM and its accompanying HOLLOW TONE fill the diner. Everybody in the place stops and turns to the TV. BOB See? Clear as day. PERCY Nice work, Bob. What the hell's that? BOB It's just one of those test things. That'd be true, except for the words at the bottom of the screen, which read : `` THIS IS NOT A TEST'' Bob switches the channels. All the same. CHARLIE Do n't look like a test. Bob steps off the chair and backs slowly away from the TV as if a little distance will bring some clarity. He bumps into Kyle. KYLE Yo, am I the Invisible motherfuckin' Man here? Do you have a phone or not? Kyle peels a five dollar bill off a serious WAD OF CASH. That gets Bob's attention. Bob snaps the money out of his hand. BOB In the back past the kitchen. Make it fast. Kyle hustles passed Percy. Charlie is standing by the Anderson's table, clearing dishes. Everybody's eyes are locked on the TV. SANDRA If there's a real emergency are n't they supposed to give us some information about what to do? HOWARD I'm sure it's a mistake. BOB Hey, Percy, give that old radio of yours a shot. Maybe they got some news about the TV. Percy grabs an old battery powered radio off a kitchen shelf. Switches it on. STATIC. He spins the dial until he reaches a clear signal. The same HOLLOW TONE of Emergency Broadcasting. Station after station the same thing. The diner is overwhelmed by a chilling chorus of HOLLOW TONES. Everyone goes very still. KYLE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Let me talk to him.", "INT. DINER - BACK OFFICE - SAME Kyle sits at a messy desk in this dark, wood paneled back office, phone to his ear. KYLE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- on phone. -RRB- Cuz a father should be able to talk to his son, that's why. Now put ` im on the phone. -LRB- a beat then a smile. -RRB- Is that my little man? Yeah, well I'm working hard, so that I can be with you. You bein' good? -LRB- strange STATIC can be HEARD. -RRB- Wait. You're breakin' up. Hello? -LRB- hangs up in frustration. -RRB- Shit! Kyle stews a beat, then picks up the phone to redial. Frowns. No dial tone. KYLE What the hell. He keeps trying. Nothing. HOWARD -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Maybe there was an earthquake?", "INT. DINER - SAME Everyone is looking at Howard. HOWARD They keep sayin' we're overdue for a big one. PERCY Lot a folks could be hurt. BOB Not if it was centered in the desert. HOWARD Exactly. Could be nothing to worry about. SANDRA So then why's the TV out? HOWARD Maybe it just hit the relay stations. Are n't those usually in remote areas? BOB Yeah, ` cause of the radiation they give off. PERCY There ai n't no radiation comin' from those things. Plus that do n't explain the radio being out too. Some of those stations broadcast over hundreds of miles. Any quake that big and we would a felt it. CHARLIE Percy's right. I did n't feel nothing. AUDREY Maybe it's a terrorist attack or something? SANDRA -LRB- covers her mouth. -RRB- Oh god. Everyone considers that grimly, then : BOB Well, for cryin' out loud. There's no use in speculating. I'll just call my brother up in Needles. He must a heard something. KYLE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I do n't think so. Kyle has reappeared in the diner. BOB Whaddya talkin' about? KYLE Phone's dead. Just tried to make a call. BOB You're shittin' me. Kyle shakes his head, sits down at the counter. SANDRA Oh, this is just great. BOB Relax, Mrs. Anderson. Nothing to get excited about. Probably just working on the lines. Sides, I'm sure Jeep'll have your truck fixed up quick as can be, and then you'll be on your way.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME Jeep is buried under the Uhaul's hood, working at something with a socket wrench. It's not going well. JEEP Damn it! He pulls himself up. Grease covers his face and hands. The sound of a CAR APPROACHING catches his attention. He watches as a beat up EIGHTIES CUTLASS SUPREME pulls off the highway and rolls to a stop at the pumps. It's a mystery how anyone could see through the LAYER OF DUST on that windshield. After a moment the car door pops open and the LEGS OF AN ELDERLY WOMAN swing down to the ground, followed by the metal frame and wheels of a walker. The LITTLE OLD LADY gets out of the car, steadies herself on the walker, and then slowly makes her way toward the diner with the rickety frailness of an old turtle. Jeep watches her disappear inside. He then looks toward the horizon again. The WALL OF DARK CLOUDS are growing ever closer.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - CONTINUOUS A JINGLE as the old lady enters. She surveys the scene as if feasting on paradise. Maybe her eyes are n't so good. CHARLIE Have a seat wherever you want, Ma'am. Specials are on the board. OLD WOMAN Thank you, dear. The old lady settles at a table across from the Andersons. She smiles at them pleasantly. Charlie is about to hand her a menu, when : OLD WOMAN Oh, I already know what I want. CHARLIE Okay, what'll it be? OLD WOMAN I'll have the steak, please. CHARLIE And how'd you like that cooked? OLD WOMAN Rare if you would. And water, no ice. CHARLIE Coming right up. OLD WOMAN Charlie, is it? CHARLIE Yeah. OLD WOMAN What an unusual name for a girl. CHARLIE So they say. I'll be right back with your water. The old lady turns to the Andersons. OLD WOMAN Hello, I'm Gladys. Gladys Foster. SANDRA Nice to meet you, Gladys. I'm Sandra and this is my husband Howard. GLADYS What a nice young couple you are. What brings you out to these parts? SANDRA We're moving out to Scottsdale. But our truck broke down, and so we're stuck here while it's being fixed. GLADYS Oh, what a nuisance. A FLY begins to buzz around Gladys's head. She does n't seem to notice it. SANDRA Say, Gladys, it seems the lines are down around here. The phone and TV, you know? And I just was wondering if you might have heard something on your way up? You know, about what's going on? Gladys smiles strangely. GLADYS Oh, do n't worry yourself about that, sweetheart. It'll all be over soon. Sandra nods at the old woman, unsure of what to make of that response. The fly that was circling her head, now lands on GLADYS'S FACE. It crawls across her cheek without her reacting in the least. Howard and Sandra exchange looks. Creepy. The door JINGLES and Jeep walks in. He heads straight for a quiet huddle with Bob. All the while though, he keeps one eye fixed on the old lady sitting at the table near the Andersons. Something about her. JEEP The carburetor's shot. Do n't know why. Looks brand new. BOB -LRB- glances over at the ANDERSONS. -RRB- Ah, shit. They're gon na be pissed. JEEP I could try to rebuild it, but it'd take a while, and I do n't think we have all the parts. If we call right now, we might be able to get a new one down here tomorrow morning. BOB That's not gon na happen. Goddamn phone's out. JEEP What? Across the diner, Charlie places a bloody red steak in front of Gladys. GLADYS Thank you, dear. How far along are you? Charlie rests a hand on her belly. CHARLIE Just about there. GLADYS The father must be very proud. CHARLIE I would n't know. GLADYS You mean he's. CHARLIE Out of sight. Out of mind. GLADYS Oh, I see. So you're not married, I take it? A fly lands on Gladys's steak. Charlie tries to wave it away. But another one lands in its place. CHARLIE Nope. Gladys starts to dig in to the steak with a real ferociousness you would n't expect from an old lady. More FLIES begin to land on her body. On her food. Charlie is still trying to wave them away. GLADYS That's too bad. CHARLIE No, I prefer it that way. I do n't a need a man tellin' me what to do. GLADYS But what about the baby? CHARLIE I've got it under control. GLADYS Yeah, but it's gon na burn. Charlie freezes. The Andersons turn to look as well. Kyle glances over from the counter. CHARLIE What did you just say? GLADYS -LRB- all smiles. -RRB- I said your fucking baby's gon na burn. Charlie shakes her head at the woman, not giving in. CHARLIE Go to hell, lady. She slaps the check down on the table and walks back toward the kitchen, passing Jeep and Bob. BOB What happened? CHARLIE Total fucking Jesus freak. Gladys begins to laugh innocently as she continues to devour her meat. Red juice drips down her chin. The flies are swarming now. How did so many get in here? Sandra and Howard are mortified at this sudden turn of events. GLADYS All those babies. They're gon na burn. SANDRA Gladys, please. There's no reason to - Gladys's head suddenly whips toward her. GLADYS Shut up, you stupid fucking cunt! All you do is complain! Complain! Complain! Sandra covers her mouth in shock. Everybody in the diner is now focused on the old lady. Howard gets up from the booth. SANDRA Howard, it's okay! Do n't listen to her! But Howard's already standing over Gladys. HOWARD Who the hell do you think you are, lady?! Now, I'd like you to apologize to my - GLADYS LUNGES AT HOWARD AND TAKES A MONSTROUS BITE OUT OF HIS NECK! SHE PULLS BACK TO REVEAL A MOUTH FILLED WITH TINY RAZOR SHARP TEETH. EVERYBODY FREAKS as Howard crumbles to the floor. Gladys rockets to her feet, knocking her table over. Blood covers her face and chest. GLADYS You're all going to fucking die! Percy is the first to react. From behind the counter, he whips a heavy metal frying pan at Gladys that knocks her head sideways. THWACK! BONES BREAK AND BURST FROM HER NECK. Impossibly, Gladys is still standing. She lets out an INHUMAN SCREAM and SCRAMBLES ACROSS THE DINER, knocking tables and chairs over in her wake. Bob pulls a shotgun from behind the counter. BOB Do n't move! But Gladys not only moves, SHE SCURRIES RIGHT UP THE FUCKING WALL LIKE SOME KIND OF BIZARRE CRAB! Bob ca n't believe his eyes. But he gets over it real fast, as the crab lady rushes toward him - ACROSS THE CEILING - UPSIDE DOWN! BOB PUMPS THE SHOTGUN, trying to take her down, but he ca n't track her fast enough. Instead he blows ENORMOUS HOLES in the ceiling, a rain of plaster. Gladys drops down right in front of Bob. BOB -LRB- struggles to cock the GUN. -RRB- Fuck! Gladys smiles sweetly before SLAPPING HIM CLEAR ACROSS THE ROOM! The shotgun clatters to the floor at Jeep's feet. He snatches it up and aims it at Gladys who turns calmly to face him. PERCY Shoot her, Jeep! Jeep's about to fire, when the old lady's EYES GO ALL WHITE. GLADYS -LRB- a sickly sweet smile. -RRB- You'll never save her. Jeep freezes, stunned by her words, overwhelming fear paralyzing him where he stands. PERCY SHOOT THE FUCKING BITCH! Gladys rockets straight at him! But Jeep's too afraid to move. He clamps his eyes shut, bracing himself for the end. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! A RAIN OF BULLETS RIP INTO GLADYS, taking her down like an animal. Jeep slowly opens his eyes. His gun's still cocked. Gladys lies dead in a smoldering, bloody heap at his feet. He turns to see Kyle with smoke rising from the barrel of his silver plated WESTERN ARMS 45. If everyone was n't so shocked, they'd probably be wondering why this guy is packing such serious heat. SANDRA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Somebody help me! Sandra is on the floor with her husband. Blood pours freely from his neck. Kyle stares at the dying man - a moment of hesitation - then he rushes to help. KYLE Press your hands over the hole! Sandra looks fearfully up at Kyle, at the gun still in his hand. KYLE Do n't look at me like that, lady! I'm tryin' to fuckin' help you! Now put your goddamn hands over the hole before your husband bleeds to death! Obeying, she cups her hands over the hole in his neck, desperately trying to stop the flow of blood leaking out between her fingers. Percy scrambles over with a first - aid kit and together he and Kyle get to work on Howard's neck. A few feet away, Charlie helps Bob, bruised and bleeding, to his feet. BOB The fuck was that?! What the fuck was that!? Across the diner, Audrey is pushed back into a booth, her knees pulled tightly to her chest, shivering. Her adult facade giving way to that of a frightened child A DROP OF RED HITS AUDREY'S CHEEK, causing her to look up and see Gladys's TRAIL OF BLOOD DRIPPING FROM THE CEILING. An ungodly horror.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME Kyle, Percy, Sandra and Audrey frantically carry Howard, his neck bandaged, to the back of the Escalade.", "INT. ESCALADE - CONTINUOUS Howard lies in the back seat. Sandra by his head, clasping his hands in hers. Audrey by his feet. Percy rides shotgun. Kyle struggles to get the key in the ignition. The engine ROARS to life.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS `N' GRUB - CONTINUOUS The Escalade fishtails onto the highway.", "INT. ESCALADE - CONTINUOUS Kyle grips the wheel. Picking up speed. KYLE How far to the hospital? PERCY Seventy, maybe eighty miles. Kyle shoots him a look. Eighty miles?! Pedal to the floor time. Audrey leans forward from the back seat. AUDREY What's that on the road? Up ahead, the DARK CLOUDS Jeep saw earlier have finally closed in, descending onto the highway like a WALL. KYLE They're fuckin' clouds! What the fuck do they look like? AUDREY Not clouds. Clouds do n't buzz. She's right. They're black. Undulating. BUZZING! PING! PING! PING! Suddenly HUNDREDS OF TINY BUGS begin to HIT the windshield - SPLAT! And that's when they realize it. Those are n't clouds. THEY'RE FLIES! The Escalade enters the SWARM. The car is PUMMELED by insects, the windshield instantly covered in BLACK AND RED bug guts. Driving blind! The sound of FLIES SPLATTERING and BUZZING is deafening! Everyone SCREAMS as hell surrounds them.", "INT. DINER BATHROOM - SAME Bob is hunched over the steaming sink, pounding a can of light beer. Jeep is leaning against the wall, looking like he's about to puke or faint. BOB I do n't understand how she was still standin' after Percy hit ` er with that goddamn fryin' pan. Broke her fuckin' neck. I saw it. I swear I did. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- And did you see that kid's gun? The hell's he doin' with a gun like that? Bob looks over at Jeep, sees him trembling. BOB It's okay, Jeep. It's okay. But for Jeep it's not okay. He's hurting real bad inside. JEEP I could n't pull the trigger. I froze. I saw what I needed to do, but I was afraid. -LRB- breaks down. -RRB- She could've killed you! Or Charlie. She would've killed me if it was n't for. He ca n't get the words out. Bob rests a hand on his boy's shoulder. BOB There's nothin' to be ashamed of, Jeep. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Not everybody can play the hero. Before Jeep can respond, they hear the sound of the front DOOR JINGLE.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - CONTINUOUS Bob and Jeep appear from the back, as Kyle, Percy, Audrey and Sandra carry Howard into the diner, all of them stumbling, gasping for air. Charlie moves in to help. Percy races for the back. BOB -LRB- catching Percy by the ARM. -RRB- Where you going?! PERCY To get my bible! BOB The hell you need that for?! PERCY Well somebody's got ta start prayin'. Bob's about to respond when he hears the BUZZING. Bob, Charlie and Jeep slowly approach the windows to see the SOLID UNDULATING BLACK CURTAIN OF FLIES SURROUNDING THE TRUCK STOP'S PERIMETER A FEW HUNDRED YARDS OUT. Everything in the diner is suddenly cast in DARK RED as the day's remaining sunlight filters through the swarm. Apocalyptic. No one breathes. A BLACK HAND AND A HOOK TEAR A SHIRT OPEN Revealing a bloody mess of muscles and tendons chewed down to the bone.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME Percy and Charlie are tending to Howard. Sandra is holding her husband's hand, trying to comfort him, while Audrey watches from a distance with grim fascination. PERCY -LRB- raises a bottle of ALCOHOL. -RRB- Okay, hold ` em steady. CHARLIE -LRB- nods, peakish, to HERSELF. -RRB- Oh god, please do n't throw up. Howard writhes as Percy pours alcohol on the wound. Sandra ca n't help but stare at Percy's hook. Meanwhile across the diner, Bob and Jeep peel back the tablecloth to examine Gladys' bullet riddled corpse. Kyle stands over them with Bob's shotgun trained on the body - just in case. Gladys is a real horror show. Bones jut out at obtuse angles from her neck - a result of the blow to her head from Percy's frying pan. BOB She's cold as a freakin' ice cube. If I had n't just seen her walk in here, I'd say the old bag's been dead for hours. Bob rolls Gladys over, revealing her face - her enlarged mouth filled with dozens of razor sharp baby teeth. KYLE Well, I do n't care how long she's been dead, the bitch ai n't stayin' in here with us.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - A FEW MINUTES LATER Bob, Kyle and Jeep quickly drag Gladys's body wrapped in the plastic table cloth a short ways from the diner. They warily eye the curtain of FLIES no more than a hundred yards out. BOB I do n't get it. Why do n't they come closer? KYLE How the fuck am I supposed to know, man? You askin' me to explain the behavior of a motherfuckin' pestilence. A CLANK and Jeep notices the old lady's car keys have dropped to the ground. JEEP -LRB- holding up the keys. -RRB- You guys! GLADYS' CUTLASS SUPREME Its windows are completely caked with dust. The men WIPE AWAY a layer of brown from the glass, allowing them to peer inside the car. BOB You see anything? KYLE No Twilight Zone shit if that's what you mean. Jeep slips the key into the driver's side door. Unlocks it. BOB Careful. Old lady could have some kind of rabid poodle locked up in there. Jeep slowly swings the door open and that's when the smell hits them. KYLE Agh! What the fuck is that? Bob covers his nose. BOB Jesus. Kyle opens the passenger door, looks in. Dark, dirty. But nothing unusual. KYLE Nothin' here. JEEP How ` bout the trunk? They go around to the BACK OF THE CAR. Jeep slips the key in. The trunk POPS open, revealing a PILE OF DEAD CATS. ROTTING. MAGGOT INFESTED. Bob quickly slams the trunk closed. The guys are reeling with disgust. Kyle's trying to blow the stench from his nose. KYLE Bitch's got motherfuckin' dead cats in her hoopty! What the fuck is wrong with white people?! BOB Least now we know where that smell was coming from. KYLE Yeah, it was a real motherfuckin' necessity we figured that out, man. JEEP -LRB- sees something up the ROAD. -RRB- Hey. They turn to see HEADLIGHTS growing larger in the dim haze. A POLICE CRUISER careens off the highway and skids to a wild stop in front of the diner. Its ENGINE RATTLES as the dust clears around it. No movement can be seen behind its bug splattered windows. BOB Okay, now we're talkin'. JEEP Wait a minute. Check it out. It's LAPD. What's an LA cop doing way out here? Bob and Jeep look over at Kyle. KYLE I'm from Nevada, man. They consider the police car a moment more. See the SHATTERED PASSENGER WINDOW, the BLOOD STAINS. BOB Give me the shotgun. Kyle hands the shotgun over to Bob.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME Charlie's face lights up when she sees the police car. CHARLIE Oh, thank God, the police!", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - CONTINUOUS The door of the POLICE CAR OPENS as Charlie races from the diner. The three men see her moving toward the car. Jeep's face goes slack. JEEP Charlie, wait! The men begin to run toward her. While out of the police car steps. MICHAEL Charlie freezes a few feet from the car when she sees those piercing eyes already familiar to us. Michael looks at her, as if she was exactly who he expected to see. In moments Bob, Kyle and Jeep form a protective shield in front of Charlie. Bob raises the shotgun. BOB Take one step closer and I'll drop you right here. A long beat as Michael considers Bob. Icy cold. MICHAEL That how you greet all your customers? BOB Mister, after what we've been through here today, you're lucky we did n't shoot you first and greet you later. Now let me see your teeth. Michael stares at him blankly. BOB Your teeth goddamn it! Lem me see ` em! Michael offers up a dangerous smile, revealing a not so well kept but definitely normal set of teeth. Bob and the others ease slightly. JEEP No, shark teeth, Pop. Bob lowers the gun. BOB Okay. Suppose you tell us your name then. MICHAEL Michael. BOB Sorry about all that, Michael. This old lady just went crazy inside my place here. She had these teeth. Never seen anything like ` em. Practically bit a man in half. Michael remains silent. Does n't seemed shocked in the least by what he's heard. BOB So what are you doin' out here? Got ta say you do n't exactly look like a police officer. Even one from L.A.. Then again, you have to be, right? I mean, who the hell'd be crazy enough to steal a cop car? Bob chuckles for a moment. When Michael does n't respond in kind, Bob falls silent. Anxious. He slowly raises the shotgun again. Michael sizes up this raggedy group. His gaze drifts over to the loosely wrapped body in front of the diner. The plastic table cloth flaps wildly in the wind. Turning back to Bob : MICHAEL You do n't know, do you? KYLE Know what? CHARLIE We do n't know anything. Nothing's working here. The TV, the radio, the phone. Michael just shakes his head. MICHAEL I'm running out of time. Michael steps toward Charlie with a sense of purpose, but Bob blocks his path, brandishing the shotgun. BOB Back off, fella. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Now, I do n't care if this is the second coming of Jesus fucking Christ, I say it's time for you to either get talkin' or get the hell outta here! In a BLUR OF MOVEMENT, Michael rips the shotgun from Bob's hands. It all happens so fast that Bob is stunned to find himself holding air. He's even more stunned to now have the barrel of the gun pressed to the bridge of his nose. Everyone freezes. KYLE Easy! Easy! Michael's expression is totally calm. Merciless. JEEP C'mon, Dad, tell ` em you're sorry. Tell ` em you were only kidding! But Bob ca n't even speak, he's so scared. He squeezes his eyes closed. CHARLIE Let ` em go! Michael's eyes flit momentarily in Charlie's direction. Considering her. The diner door opens and Percy steps cautiously out with hand and hook held up to show no threat. He's followed by Sandra and Audrey. Michael sees them, but offers no indication that he cares. PERCY Now, son, I'm sure you do n't wan na go spillin' blood for no good reason in front of all these decent people, do ya? Our friend Bob here ai n't worth the trouble it'd cause ya. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- So whaddya say ` bout just lettin' ` im go and then you can be on your way? Nice ` n' easy. But Michael does n't seem to register this plea. It's not looking good. No one BREATHES. That's when Kyle notices something out in the direction of the road. DOZENS OF TINY HEADLIGHTS APPEARING IN THE DARK HAZE. APPROACHING. KYLE What the -? Michael turns, sees the lights. MICHAEL They're here. Michael whips the gun away from Bob's head and thrusts it back into his hands. Bob's looks down at the gun, speechless. MICHAEL You're going to need this. Michael walks swiftly around to the trunk of the cruiser. Pops it, revealing a staggering ARSENAL OF WEAPONRY. HE BEGINS TO LOAD GUN AFTER GUN. Percy stares out at the lights, eyes wide. PERCY Lord, have mercy. -LRB- waving back Audrey and SANDRA. -RRB- You ladies best get back inside. SANDRA What is it? What's happening? Who is this man? Why's he driving a police car? AUDREY Shut up, mom! Audrey pulls her mother back into the diner. Michael hands an MP5 SUB - MACHINE GUN to Kyle. Another one goes to Percy. Finally he places a third one in Jeep's hands, who stares down at it anxiously. BOB Wait. I do n't think that's such a good idea. JEEP Dad, I can handle it. BOB -LRB- to Michael. -RRB- He's just a kid - JEEP I said, I can handle it! Michael's eyes narrow, studying Jeep. MICHAEL He can handle it. He does n't have a choice. Michael pulls out twin MP5s for himself. GLOCK 9s are tucked everywhere they can go. Michael tosses clip belts to the men. Boxes of shotgun shells. The works. MICHAEL If you want to live, you'll do exactly as I say. He slams the trunk closed and approaches Charlie. He cocks a Glock and hands it to her. MICHAEL When you fire, you keep your thumb off the slide. Do n't hesitate. Do n't do anything brave. There's no safety. He gives her a hard look. She nods nervously. Trusting him but not sure why. Michael marches into the diner. Kyle glances quickly at the others, then he bolts after Michael. Percy follows. Then Charlie. Now it's only Jeep and his father left. BOB C'mon, Jeep. We got ta go! And Bob rushes into the diner. A moment as Jeep looks out toward the road. THE HEADLIGHTS ARE GROWING BRIGHTER. CLOSER. He contemplates the sub - machine gun in his hands. JEEP Fuck it. And races after his father. A DEAD BOLT Thrown. Locking the diner door.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - CONTINUOUS Frantic activity. Kyle and Michael push a booth in front of the door, sealing off the entrance. Tables are turned on their sides to form makeshift shields. Window blinds are snap closed. THE BACK OFFICE - CONTINUOUS Jeep races in, locks the back door. Then he pushes a desk in front of it. IN THE DINER - CONTINUOUS The place is transformed. Locked up tight. The ROAR OF ENGINES outside grows ever LOUDER, CLOSER. Sandra huddles on the floor with Howard, his head in her lap. She's running her hands gently through his hair, trying to keep calm. He opens his eyes. Pale, weak from blood loss. HOWARD Sandra? What's happening? SANDRA It's okay! Everything's okay! Sandra closes her eyes. Struggling to believe it. Suddenly the ELECTRICITY GOES OUT, dipping the room into DARKNESS. We hear CRIES OF ALARM. TOTAL BLACK. Chaos. BOB -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Jeep, get the flashlights! PERCY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Everybody just stay still! KYLE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now that we're locked in here, what the fuck are we supposed to do? A flicker of LIGHT. And then FLASHLIGHT BEAMS CUT THROUGH THE DARKNESS. coming to rest on Michael's pale face. Michael looks up at the ceiling.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - ROOF - NIGHT A hatch opens and out comes Michael followed by Bob, Percy and Kyle. They quickly take their places behind the `` Paradise'' sign. Pitch black surrounds them. The RUMBLE OF ENGINES is gone, leaving only the RUSH OF THE WIND coming up off the desert. KYLE Where the hell did they go? Bob turns to Michael sharply. BOB Alright, Rambo. You got us up here. Now you mind explaining what the fuck we're fighting? Michael is about to answer, when : PERCY Listen! Over the wind, another sound becomes audible. The delicate chime of a CALLIOPE. PERCY You hear what I'm hearing? BOB Yeah. The hell is that? The CALLIOPE MUSIC grows louder, the melody more distinct. Now we recognize the song : SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN. But instead of filling them with cheer, it fills them with dread. PERCY It sounds almost like. KYLE Ice cream. TWO HEADLIGHTS appear in the darkness. And sure enough, an ICE CREAM TRUCK rolls slowly toward the diner. The EERIE CALLIOPE MUSIC emanates from a speaker on its roof. It's too dark to see who's behind the wheel. KYLE You've got to be fuckin' kidding me. MICHAEL Alright. There's a safety switch on the side of your gun. Push it all the way down. Two clicks. The men quickly do as they're told. MICHAEL Now when this starts, you hold on tight, you hear me? If you do n't, you're going to blow your hand off. Understand? Kyle, Bob shoot quick anxious looks at Percy. PERCY The fuck y' all lookin' at me for?", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME Jeep faces the boarded up front door, awkwardly holding the MP5, trying to assume a tough guy posture. If only he could stop shaking, it might be believable. Charlie and Audrey peer between the slats covering the windows. The ICE CREAM TRUCK'S HEADLIGHTS fan across the diner. Audrey and Charlie back away from the windows. Charlie stops next to Jeep. Senses him shaking. Rests a hand on his arm. And that seems to help. a little. Howard smiles weakly at the familiar sound of the CALLIOPE. HOWARD Oh, honey, listen. It's the Ice Cream Man.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - ROOF - SAME The Ice Cream Truck pulls to a stop with its headlights facing the diner. Everyone aims their guns at the truck. Tense. From the Ice Cream Truck. a DARK BLOODY SHOE STEPS to the ground. MOVING up the long grey pant leg spotted with blood stains to reveal a skeletally thin man in tattered coveralls. Say hello to THE ICE CREAM MAN. He looks like he's been through hell - literally. As he steps into the beams of the headlights we can see him even more clearly. He's tall. Too tall. His clothes do n't seem to fit him. And he's unnaturally thin as if he's been stretched like taffy. If he got down on all fours, you might mistake him for some kind of spider. He surveys the diner, the garage, the roof - assessing the situation. On the roof, the men wait for something to happen. KYLE -LRB- WHISPERS. -RRB- Ah, he do n't look that bad. The Ice Cream Man's gaze snaps up to the roof. He heard. KYLE Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. That's when the Ice Cream Man's JAW UNHINGES, STRETCHING TORTUROUSLY DOWN TO NEARLY THE MIDDLE OF HIS CHEST! ROW AFTER ROW OF A RAZOR SHARP TEETH FORM with the sickening sound of CRACKING OF BONES. From his new mouth, the Ice Cream Man lets out an earth shattering HOWL. Everyone except Michael is practically hyperventilating with fear. MICHAEL Get ready! And the ICE CREAM MAN BOLTS for the diner with STARTLING SPEED! His movements are n't at all like those of a normal man, but rather like some kind of HUMAN INSECT. Michael aims. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Bullets rip into the creature's body, knocking him flat on his back. Still. Arms and legs in a twisted, twitching mess. Michael keeps his aim. Waits. The CALLIOPE music continues to play. KYLE Is that it? Not even close. A RUMBLING OF ENGINES. HEADLIGHTS. A freeway full of VEHICLES of every variety punch through the wall of dust, racing toward the diner. They are THE COMMUTERS. MICHAEL Now! Shoot now! The men let loose with FEROCIOUS FIREPOWER. WINDSHIELDS SHATTER! TIRES BLOW OUT! ENGINES EXPLODE! Vehicles swerve and COLLIDE! DARK SHAPES bolt from the burning vehicles, scattering. In the FLASH OF BATTLE we catch glimpses of them : BUSINESS PEOPLE. CONSTRUCTION WORKERS. EVEN AN ENTIRE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM. All deformed by some demonic force. Many mere BALLS OF FLAME drifting through the darkness. MICHAEL Spread out! Do n't let them get close to the windows! The DARK SHAPES converge on the diner from all directions. They move so strangely fast it seems that their feet do n't actually touch the ground. From the roof it's a full - on turkey shoot as the men follow Michael's instructions and cut down everything in sight. Their faces lighting up with each FLASH. SHELL CASINGS spray from their weapons like water drops from a sprinkler. BODIES BURST and crumble to the dirt. The creatures do n't seem to be afraid of dying. Their strategy appears to be in their sheer numbers. With each wave, the dark figures get ever closer to the diner. ON BOB firing madly. Then. CLICK! CLICK! Oh, no. He's out of ammo. BOB Shells! Percy tosses him a box of shells. But Bob fumbles the catch and the box slides halfway down the sloped roof. BOB Fuck! With the gun still in one hand, Bob reaches frantically down for the ammo. Stretching. Further. A HIDEOUSLY WOUNDED MIDDLE - AGED HOUSEWIFE CATAPULTS UP FROM BELOW THE ROOFLINE! Her hair must have been in curlers before most of it BURNED AWAY. Her nightdress hangs in tatters off her body. Her jaw CLICKS RAPIDLY, as she clatters up at Bob like a GIANT INSECT. Bob tries to pull back, but he has no traction and he starts to slip down toward her. She's coming fast! Percy sees his friend in trouble. PERCY Bob! Bob swings the shotgun like a club - CRACK! - knocking the bitch clear off the roof. But the move has made his slide even faster. He drops the shotgun, trying to hold on, but he ca n't stop! BOB IS ABOUT TO HIT THE EDGE WHEN THE HORRID WOMAN POPS UP RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM! She does n't even have a chance to react as Bob does something akin to a swimmer's push right off her body! WHAM! The creature goes flying back off the roof and the opposing force halts Bob's slide. PERCY -LRB- extending his hook. -RRB- Grab my hand! Bob reaches up and clasps Percy's hook, praying that it stays on. But this chick ai n't finished yet. Up she comes once more. Her razor sharp fingernails claw up the metal roof. SCREECH! BOB Gun! Percy tosses Bob a Glock. Fortunately this time Bob deftly catches it with his free hand just as the deranged woman pounces on him. BOB -LRB- jamming the gun in her MOUTH. -RRB- Fuck off! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! The back of her head EXPLODES. Her body goes limp. Bob struggles to push the corpse off of him. BOB Pull me up! Percy extends his hook hand, helping Bob ascend to safety.", "INT. PARADISE GAS `N' GRUB - SAME Hiding in the shadows. listening to sounds of WAR just outside. Sandra squeezes her hands over her ears. A few feet away, Audrey clutches a butcher's knife. Jeep's eyes darting from one window to another. Trying to keep it together. Charlie is crouched down behind the counter, holding the handgun close to her pregnant belly. Distant EXPLOSIONS rattle the plates on the shelves. Charlie peers out from behind the counter to look at the front windows. Momentary FLASHES of intense light outline the closed blinds. Another FLASH lights up Charlie's face. Staring.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - ROOF - SAME Percy is swivelling left and right, firing like mad. PERCY Come on, motherfuckers! Come on! Closer and closer the creatures come. Most are eviscerated by the fire from the rooftop.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME ON CHARLIE staring at the window. CLOSER. Charlie's eyes go wide as - SMASH! A DARK SHAPE crashes through the window. Glass, sand and dust swirl in. Audrey and Sandra SCREAM. Charlie springs up from her hiding place, gun ready. Jeep spins around, pointing his gun, searching frantically for the intruder. It's so dark! JEEP Where is it?! Audrey shakes her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. She looks over at her mother. Sandra's eyes are closed. It's too much. AUDREY Mom! Open your eyes! SANDRA I ca n't! I ca n't! Suddenly Howard's body is TORN AWAY from Sandra. Something's got hold of his legs! That gets Sandra's eyes open! SANDRA -LRB- springing after her HUSBAND. -RRB- Howard! Howard screams deliriously as he's dragged rapidly through the diner toward the broken front window. He flails about, desperately trying to grab a hold of something. Sandra scrambles after her husband. Reaching for him. AUDREY Daddy! The creature reaches the window. Sandra dives for Howard's outstretched hands. She has him! The creature's progress is abruptly halted at the shattered window. It turns back toward Sandra - a shaft of light falling across its face, reveals : A TEENAGE GIRL of about Audrey's age. Her skin is a deathly blue. Her pupils a GHASTLY WHITE. Deep human fingernail scratches have torn open the bloated flesh on her arms, neck and face. The self - inflicted wounds of a drug addict. Her voice is not QUITE HUMAN. TEENAGE GIRL See what you made me do, mother!? Sandra screams, holds on. SANDRA No! Charlie and Audrey rush to Sandra's side, grabbing Howard's arms. Jeep is right behind them ready to fire at the creature, but with the women in the way, he ca n't get a clear shot. So he discards the gun and grabs Howard's arms. Howard screams as his body is torturously stretched. A human tug - of - war. ON HOWARD'S FEET - TWO MORE SETS OF SINEWY MUSCLE AND BONE CLAWS REACH THROUGH THE WINDOW AND GRAB HIS LEGS. Howard's body lurches further out the window. SANDRA Howard! Howard's torso is almost entirely out the window. Charlie daringly reaches for Howard's belt, desperate to gain leverage. ANOTHER DISFIGURED HAND PUNCHES THROUGH THE BLINDS AND LOCKS ONTO CHARLIE'S ARM! Charlie screams as she's yanked painfully toward the window, losing her grip on Howard's belt. Through the broken window, she sees the face of a RAGGEDY LOOKING MAN. He smiles at her like a father coming home to his baby girl. RAGGEDY MAN -LRB- SWEETLY. -RRB- There you are! And he starts to pull her arm even harder. Other creatures suddenly notice her as well, focusing their attack as if she alone was their target. Jeep immediately let's go of Howard and dives for Charlie, grabbing her free arm just before she's pulled through. Without the help, Audrey and Sandra ca n't hold on any longer. Howard is ripped from of his family's hands and out the window. AUDREY Daddy!", "EXT. PARADISE GAS `N' GRUB - ROOF - SAME The tide is turning. The men seem to have gotten their game on and the dark shapes are starting to pull back. KYLE They're running! We got ` em! Kyle turns happily to Michael. Gone. Kyle looks around the roof with alarm.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME Only a few more inches separate Charlie and certain death through the window. Jeep's losing her! A FLASH OF STEEL. SCHING! Charlie and Jeep fall back into the diner, the claw like hands still grasping Charlie's arm no longer attached to their owners. Michael leaps over her, a butcher's knife in one hand, a machine gun in the other. He lights up everything in his path. The window blinds become a WALL OF FIRE. Creatures SCREECH and flee into the night, having successfully taken their first victim. Charlie flings the severed appendages off her and she and Jeep scoot away from the window. Hysterical, Sandra tries to push past Michael. She's going after Howard. He intercepts her before she can make it out. SANDRA Let me go! He's alive! Sandra slaps at him frantically as he carries her away from the window and thrusts her down into a back booth. SANDRA He's alive! MICHAEL No. Not anymore. Sandra breaks down. As Charlie climbs slowly to her feet - a sudden pain. She clutches her belly. Winces. Jeep catches her arm to steady her. CHARLIE -LRB- RECOVERING. -RRB- I'm okay. I'm fine. She glances back at Michael. He's watching her. Those eyes. CHARLIE Thanks. MICHAEL I told you not to do anything brave. Charlie does n't know how to respond. She's about to say something when - Kyle rushes into the room. A smile on his face. KYLE We got ` em runnin'! Then Kyle notices the broken window, takes in the room, his excitement falling. KYLE Where's Howard? No one responds. Sandra and Audrey are huddled together. Crying. Bob and Percy follow Kyle in, still shaking from the adrenaline. MICHAEL Someone needs to be on the roof. KYLE I'll go. Bob grabs Kyle's arm. BOB Hold on. -LRB- approaches Michael, DETERMINED. -RRB- You better start talking. All eyes on Michael. These people want answers. Finally : MICHAEL The first time God lost faith in Man he sent a flood. The second time. he sent what you see outside. Everyone takes that in for a moment, then : PERCY You sayin' this is the Apocalypse? MICHAEL I'm saying this is an extermination. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Those things out there are vessels. The Possessed. The weakest willed are the easiest to turn. KYLE Possessed by what? Demons? MICHAEL No. by angels. That silences the room. PERCY -LRB- pulls out his bible. -RRB- Son, I do n't know what bible you been readin', but in my version, the angels are the good guys. Michael looks squarely at Percy. MICHAEL That's where your book is wrong. SANDRA How come you know so much about them? MICHAEL I know because until last night, I was on their side. JEEP You mean you're. Michael considers Jeep, then : MICHAEL Not anymore. BOB Right and yesterday I was the fuckin' Easter Bunny. You know, fuck this. I do n't even believe in God. MICHAEL That's fine, because He does n't believe in you either. Bob stares at Michael, uncertain how to respond to that. PERCY C'mon, Bob. Have you looked outside recently? Those are n't exactly our regular customers out there. BOB How do we know he did n't bring them here himself? CHARLIE He brings them here and then he saves us from them? You're a genius, Bob. Bob falls silent, confounded. Audrey hesitantly approaches Michael. AUDREY So you're here to protect us? MICHAEL Not you. -LRB- looks at Charlie. -RRB- Her. Charlie reacts in shock, as all eyes are suddenly on her. CHARLIE Me?! Why me?! MICHAEL Because your child is the only hope humanity has of surviving. In response to that, Charlie does the only thing someone can do when told such a thing. She LAUGHS. CHARLIE No way! But Michael is n't joking and Charlie's laughter becomes genuine fear. CHARLIE -LRB- STUNNED. -RRB- Jesus Christ. MICHAEL Exactly. Jeep stares at Charlie, as if suddenly his entire life is starting to make sense. JEEP You're sayin' she's the mother of the Messiah? BOB Wait a minute, is n't Mary supposed to be a vi - CHARLIE Go fuck yourself, Bob! PERCY Makes you wonder about Mary. CHARLIE -LRB- approaches Michael, panic setting in. -RRB- Look, this is not possible! I'm just a waitress! I'm nobody! I ca n't give birth to the Savior of Mankind! -LRB- and finally. -RRB- I do n't even own a car! MICHAEL None of that matters anymore. Either your child lives or Mankind dies. KYLE So what, we're supposed to just hold those things off until Mary over there squeezes one out? MICHAEL That's right. CHARLIE That ca n't be. I'm only eight months pregnant. KYLE Oh we're fucked. We are so fucked! SANDRA How are we supposed to survive here for a month? MICHAEL We wo n't have to. At this Charlie goes white, the realization hitting her. CHARLIE It's coming soon, is n't it? Michael nods. Charlie sways on her feet. Jeep rests a hand on her shoulder, steadying her. With a CLANK Michael re - arms his weapon, turns to the group with finality. MICHAEL If you want to live you'll do what I say. This first attack was a test of our strength. The next one will be a test of our weakness. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Something much worse is on its way. Everyone exchanges terrified looks. Finally, Kyle steps forward. KYLE Okay, what's your plan? MICHAEL We'll keep watch on the roof in shifts of two. Jeep, go get some tools. We need to close up this window before somebody else goes out. Jeep looks anxiously at Charlie, silent, scared, and then he follows after Michael, leaving Charlie to stare at the SHATTERED WINDOW, the blinds flipping wildly in the wind.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - ROOF - LATE NIGHT Percy and Kyle keep watch, rifles at their sides. They're wrapped up from head to toe in blankets to protect them from the cold and the flies. Percy scans the horizon. Momentary SPECTRAL FLASHES dot the darkness. PERCY They're out there. Sons of bitches. I can feel ` em. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Damn it's cold! Percy makes the unconscious motion of rubbing his `` hands'' together to keep them warm. Kyle notices. Sees the dog tags. KYLE You were in the Army? PERCY Navy, two tours. But the second one did n't work out so well, so I did n't get to go back for a third. Suppose that makes me lucky in a way. Served with Bob, you know. That's how I ended up in this place. KYLE What was it like? Being in a war? PERCY Dark. Like this. Kyle nods. Scared. He takes out his 45. Nervously switches it from hand to hand. PERCY So what's with that gun? KYLE What? PERCY Your piece. The one you killed grandma with. Do n't reckon it's for huntin' buck. KYLE No. I uh - keep it for protection. PERCY Protection from what? KYLE From people. Percy looks at him skeptically. PERCY People. KYLE Yeah, people who might try to give me a hard time, you know? PERCY Just regular people or uh. KYLE Yeah, well, no, not regular, regular people. PERCY Irregular people then. KYLE I'm talkin' people whose job it is to give other people a hard time. Kinda person who does n't get enough fiber in their diet, you know what I'm sayin? PERCY So it's a work thing, is it? KYLE Exactly. Strictly business. PERCY This business of yours. You like it? Kyle's eyes narrow. KYLE Who the fuck are you to be sweatin' me, man? I got my reasons for doin' what I do. Percy just stares at him, penetrating. Finally : PERCY When I was a kid my father would sit by my bed every night before I'd go to sleep and he'd say to me, Percy, if you do n't wake up tomorrow, if it turns out that today was your last day on earth, would you be proud of what you've done in this life? Cuz if you ai n't, then you better start gettin' square. Kyle looks at Percy, fear in his eyes, then he turns back to the darkness. and the evil that surrounds them. THE SILVER ZIPPO rolls between dirty fingers.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - NIGHT Bob plays with his trusty zippo with one hand and grills up some steaks with the other. He pauses in his cooking every few moments to take a slug from a can of beer. Ca n't get it down fast enough. Sandra sits at the counter across from him, staring at a prescription bottle tipped in front of her, pills spread around. Bob glances over, sees the devastation in her eyes. He pulls another can of beer from underneath the counter, pops it and places it in front of her. BOB On the house. She looks up at him. Smiles weakly. Takes a sip. SANDRA Thanks. BOB You hungry? SANDRA Could n't eat if my life depended on it. BOB Well I figure just cuz the world's coming to an end, it does n't mean a man's got ta starve. All I can say is thank heavens they left the gas on. Sandra takes another sip of beer. Considers it. SANDRA Never much cared for beer. Howard's the beer drinker in the family. The moment the words leave her mouth, the grief hits her again. She gathers up some pills from the counter, tosses them back and downs her beer like there's no tomorrow. This is a battle she's losing. Meanwhile in a booth across the diner, Audrey is fiddling with Percy's old radio. Back and forth on the dial. Listening for anything. Nothing but STATIC. Up at the front of the diner, Jeep silently helps Michael nail broken table planks across the shattered window. He eyes the strange tatoos running down Michael's arms, the two jagged wounds visible above his shirt line. JEEP What did you do. you know, before you came here? Michael considers the question a beat, then : MICHAEL I was a soldier, a general, in His army. JEEP Well, what changed? What made you leave? MICHAEL I was given an order I did n't believe in. -LRB- off Jeep's look :. -RRB- He lost faith. I had n't. Michael drives the last nail into place, securing the window. JEEP So what happens to you. after this is over? Michael pauses a beat, as if unsure how much to say, then : MICHAEL Sometimes we have to face the thing we fear the most in order to be free of it. Michael picks up his gun. MICHAEL It's almost time for the next shift. Michael heads for the roof, leaving Jeep to stare after him, deep in thought.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS `N' GRUB - DAWN The faintest glint of sunlight through the dark red dusty haze. A new day has forced itself into existence. TITLE : `` December 24th - 6:05 am''", "EXT. PARADISE GAS `N' GRUB - ROOF - MORNING Michael is searching the horizon in front of the diner for movement. His expression focused, determined. On the other side of the roof, Bob keeps watch, struggling to stay awake. The beer taking over. His eyes droop closed.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME Sandra awakens with a start. SANDRA Howard? But Howard's not there. And everyone else in the diner is still asleep. The drugs have started to wear off. and her fear is returning.", "INT. DINER BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS Sandra splashes water on her face. Stares at herself in the mirror. A living wreck.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - BACK OFFICE - CONTINUOUS Sandra steps out of the bathroom. VOICE -LRB- a whisper. -RRB- Sandra. Sandra freezes. SANDRA Who's there? A beat then : VOICE Sandra. Sandra spins around. Searching. SANDRA Howard? Is that you? It sure sounded like Howard. VOICE Help me. Please. This time, it's clear where the voice is coming from. Sandra turns to face the BACK DOOR. A desk blocks it. Sandra ever so slowly approaches the door. VOICE -LRB- from behind the door. -RRB- Help me. Sandra. Sandra is stricken. What the hell is she going to do? That's when Sandra notices the TRANSOM WINDOW above the door. She climbs onto the desk and stretches up until she can see out. SANDRA'S POV : Howard. Her husband. Ten feet away from the door. NAILED TO AN UPSIDE - DOWN CROSS. But wait. It gets worse. His skin is covered with horrible black boils. And even worse than that. Howard's boils are breathing. Sandra goes slack with horror. HOWARD Help me, please! Howard's torn open shirt reveals the BREATHING PUSTULES covering his body. He writhes in slow, excruciating agony. SANDRA Howard! Sandra scrambles down off the desk and frantically pushes it away from the door. She's reaching for the dead bolt when Audrey and Kyle appear in the doorway. AUDREY Mom! Kyle races to restrain Sandra. SANDRA Let me go! He's alive! She struggles against him, throwing a wild elbow that tags Kyle in the face. Down he goes. Sandra is about to open the door when Audrey pounces on her.", "INT. PARADISE GAS `N' GRUB - SAME The SHOUTING from the back office awakens the rest of the sleepers. Percy springs up. Charlie is shaking Jeep.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - ROOF - SAME The ROAR OF WIND ripping off the plain is all that can be heard. ON BOB as his head drops down with drunken fatigue. Sleep. RISING OVER HIM TO SEE. Howard nailed to the upside - down cross below.", "INT. PARADISE GAS `N' GRUB - BACK OFFICE - SAME Sandra and Audrey are locked in battle. Sandra slaps Audrey hard. Audrey stumbles over Kyle and hits the floor. Percy appears in the doorway. Now is her last chance. Sandra whips open the back door and that's when the world hits SLOW MOTION. Howard is there. A few feet away. Alive. Sandra races toward him. Just behind her comes Percy. SANDRA Howard! And that's when the speed ACCELERATES TO NORMAL - - and the boils covering Howard's body explode - spraying streams of dark fluid toward Sandra - - just at the moment Percy spins around her, shielding her from the spray, which hits him in the back. But he's not stopping. Percy pushes Sandra back into the diner, the door SLAMMING closed behind them. Percy releases Sandra, letting her stumble hysterically into the room. Kyle and Jeep grab her, forcing her to the ground. But she's not fighting anymore. Charlie turns to look at Percy who is still standing with his back to the door, breathing heavily. CHARLIE Percy? He takes a step forward, then falls to ground. The entire back side of his body is gone. Burned away. A SHEET covering a body.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS `N' GRUB - FREEZER ROOM - DAY Percy's body lies covered on the table. Bob stares ruefully at his dead friend. A broken man. Tears stream down his face. He rolls the Zippo between his fingers. Jeep watches his father from the doorway. JEEP We should get back out there. BOB Just gim me another minute with him, okay? Jeep nods, quietly leaves his father at the side of his dead friend. SANDRA'S FACE Catatonic.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS `N' GRUB - A SHORT WHILE LATER Michael and Bob are tying Sandra to a chair. Not like it looks like she's capable of going anywhere, but you never know. Across the diner, Charlie eyes Michael cautiously. Michael never goes for more than a few moments without looking up at her. It's not lecherous. More like a protective father making sure his child has n't strayed too far. In a booth, Audrey watches, red - eyed, as Michael restrains her mother. Then she returns her attention to Percy's radio. Tuning. Trying to find something, anything in the STATIC. She brings her ear up close. Wait. Is that a VOICE? She adjusts the antenna, trying to bring the signal into focus. CLEARER. AUDREY Hey. CLEARER. Yes. It's a VOICE! AUDREY Hey! You guys, I think I got something here! Everyone drops what they're doing and quickly gathers around the radio. THROUGH THE HAZE OF STATIC, A GRAVELY, TIRED VOICE. STRAINED BEYOND BELIEF. BUT STILL BROADCASTING. RADIO VOICE battling has been fierce. The numbers of casualties are unknown but all indications are that they must be unimaginably large. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- If you're just joining us, we're getting some of the first bits of good news, if you can call it that, since this apocalypse began just twenty - four ago. A human militia has formed on the outskirts of Las Vegas and has begun to engage the enemy. Also down in the Four Corners area, we've been receiving unconfirmed reports of another resistance force gathering in Red Rock National in the northern Mojave Desert area. JEEP Red Rock. CHARLIE That ca n't be more than an hour up the highway from here. AUDREY Does that mean we can leave? MICHAEL No. We're not going anywhere. BOB What the hell are you talkin' about? This is our chance! MICHAEL We ca n't risk being on the move when the child comes. It's too dangerous. Bob looks over at Charlie, defeated. She shakes her head, anger building. She sweeps some plates off the counter and races for the bathroom. RADIO VOICE And as we fight this new enemy, may God give us the strength to survive and show mercy for those of us who are already lost. A CIGARETTE being lit.", "INT. DINER BATHROOM - NIGHT Charlie stands at the sink, cigarette to her lips, water running, stealing a private moment. She takes a deep drag, feels the smoke filling her lungs, defiant. Then she catches a look at herself in the mirror, runs her hand along the curvature of her belly. Tears well up in her eyes, fear and anger overtaking her. She stamps out the cigarette in a fit of frustration.", "INT. DINER - A SHORT WHILE LATER It's quiet. DRIFTING past sleeping figures to find Charlie, wide - awake, sitting at a booth, lost in thought. JEEP -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Guess it's your turn not to sleep. Charlie looks up to see Jeep sit down across from her. CHARLIE Hey. Jeep sees the strain on her face. JEEP You okay? CHARLIE You mean besides the fact that I just found out that I'm the mother of the Messiah? Jeep smiles, nods. CHARLIE Crazy thing is. I did n't want this baby. I even went down to the clinic, you know that? -LRB- off Jeep's reaction :. -RRB- I remember sitting there in the waiting room, absolutely sure I was doin' the right thing. And that's when the feeling started. Like I was falling into the deepest, darkest hole imaginable. I could n't breathe, I could n't speak. I kept thinking this must be what death is like. And when finally they called my name, I ran. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- For a while after that I tried pretending that it was just cold feet, that I could go back if I wanted to, that I could decide to end it like I'd planned. Then I'd start to have that feeling again and I knew I did n't have a choice. Somehow this had already been decided. And it made me hate this thing that's been growing inside me. A long beat, as Jeep considers her, then : JEEP You should n't say things like that, Charlie. It is n't right. You'll get through this. I know you will. She turns to him, the bitterness overtaking her : CHARLIE How come you have so much faith in me, Jeep? God knows I've never given you or anybody else a reason to. Or is it that you just ca n't find any other hard - luck case to follow around? Jeep's face hardens. He gets up. Hurt. Frustrated. JEEP You know, you're not the only who's suffered, okay? Let me know when you stop feeling sorry for yourself. And with that, Jeep walks away, leaving Charlie to stare after him, disturbed and surprised by his response.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - ROOF - LATE AFTERNOON Sand and wind. The INVISIBLE SUN is sinking. Kyle and Audrey are bundled together on the roof, keeping watch. Kyle is showing her how to hold the MP5. KYLE Then you just flip this - Audrey flips the safety. AUDREY Yeah, I got it. All the way down. Two clicks. She points the gun out into the haze like she's been holding one all her life. Off Kyle's surprised look : AUDREY Dated this guy last summer. A marine. Had a thing for guns. Parents hated him. KYLE I bet they did. After a moment, Audrey switches the safety back on. Hands the gun over to Kyle. Audrey stares into the red nothingness surrounding them. Her expression growing distant. She seems to have aged years overnight. AUDREY My parents hate everything I do. That's why we were moving. KYLE Yeah? AUDREY They thought a more `` wholesome'' environment would help me `` change my ways.'' So fucked up. Only reason they care at all is cuz they do n't want to be embarrassed in front of their friends at the country club. Kyle considers her thoughtfully. KYLE The only time my old man ever paid attention to me was when I was doing somethin' bad. So you know what I did? AUDREY What? KYLE I got really good at being bad. She smiles at this confession. Can obviously relate. He wipes a tear from her cheek. She leans in. Kisses him. Passionately. Desperately. His hands trace over her body. She claws at him. Her passion growing out of control. She's practically devouring him. Kyle can barely keep up. It's like something else beyond sensual need has taken over. She moves down his chest. Further. Kyle leans his head back. Further. Just then the SPOT LIGHTS that illuminate the roof sign come to life. The young couple stops to look up at the brilliant red word `` Paradise'' illuminated above them. Down below, the gas pumps LIGHT UP. The station's FLUORESCENTS flicker on.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS `N' GRUB - SAME All at once the entire diner COMES BACK TO LIFE. The jukebox WHIRS ON, filling the room with Merle Haggard's `` I'm a Lonesome Fugitive''. Bob's TV glows with bright rolling STATIC. The electric fan spins on above the grill. Jeep and Michael move to look through the slats at the window. Charlie is giving Sandra some water through a straw. Bob wanders in, squinting at the sudden presence of light. BOB We back in business? MICHAEL I do n't think so.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - ROOF - SAME The truck stop is lit up like a Christmas tree. If you did n't know better, you might mistake the place for business as usual. Kyle and Audrey stand on the roof, taking in the dramatic change. AUDREY Is it over? KYLE I do n't know. HEADLIGHTS appear on the highway. KYLE -LRB- raising his gun. -RRB- You better get downstairs. AUDREY No, I can handle it. Kyle stares at Audrey's beautiful, determined face. Then he pulls out his silver 45. KYLE -LRB- handing her the gun. -RRB- Just in case. The headlights become a FAMILY MINIVAN careening wildly off the highway to stop at the pumps. KYLE Get ready. They aim their weapons at the vehicle. A well dressed MAN in his mid - thirties jumps out of the car. He looks around nervously, scared. Then, seeing that the coast is clear, he offers a calming wave to his WIFE and YOUNG BOY who wait anxiously for him inside the car. He races around to the gas pump. KYLE -LRB- lowering his gun. -RRB- Wait a minute. AUDREY Kyle, are they. A distant SCREECH from behind. Kyle and Audrey spin to look out over the back side of the diner. AN ARMY OF DARK SHAPES are swarming in fast. Kyle looks urgently back at the family. The father lifts the pump. Flips the lever. KYLE It's a trap. They saw them coming and turned on the lights. It's a fucking trap! Kyle and Audrey wave their arms frantically at the family. KYLE AND AUDREY Hey! Get back in your car! It's a trap! But down below, the man can only hear the sound of RAGING WIND as he pumps the gas. Kyle fires his gun in the air. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! At the sound of gunfire, the man looks quickly up to the roof. His family heard it too and they start to SCREAM TO HIM. The man can only see silhouettes in this light, but he's not waiting around to see if it's friend or foe. Audrey watches in horror as the dark shapes reach the diner. AUDREY They're not gon na make it. The father dashes to the driver's side. He throws open the door. But he's too late. He looks over his shoulder just in time to see a BLUR OF MOVEMENT RUSHING AT HIM. His BLOOD PAINTS the car windows. Kyle raises his MP5 to fire upon the dark shapes that surround the vehicle like swarming insects. The wife and boy scream hysterically as they are torn from the vehicle by skeletal hands. AUDREY -LRB- pushing his barrel down. -RRB- Wait! You'll hit them too! So Kyle makes a desperately courageous play. He leaps onto the roof's sloped overhang - sliding fast - he drops to the ground in front of the diner. AUDREY Kyle! Kyle charges the dark mob. Creatures peel away from the woman and boy to confront Kyle head - on. He lets loose with a rain of bullets, eviscerating everything that comes at him.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME The group gathered at the window sees Kyle racing out toward the pumps. BOB Jesus Christ, what the hell is that boy doin'! CHARLIE We have to get ` im back in here! Bob springs into action. Pushes the booth away from the front door. The sound of a gun COCKING. Bob looks over to see Michael pointing a gun at his head. MICHAEL Do n't. You open that door and we could all be dead.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME The Possessed move in from all sides, but Kyle is remarkably agile, dropping one after another in a stunning display. He closes in on the family, blasting back the creatures huddled around them. He finds the YOUNG BOY curled up with his hands protectively covering his face. Kyle swoops down and gathers the boy into his arms. KYLE I got you! Kyle moves on to the mother. But something odd is happening. The creatures have stopped coming at him. In fact, they're just standing there watching him. Waiting. Kyle freezes. CLOSE ON HIM as he senses something terribly wrong. YOUNG BOY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Mister. Kyle looks over at the boy in his arms. GHOSTLY WHITE EYES stare back at him. YOUNG BOY -LRB- WHISPERS. -RRB- Fooled ya. A FLASH OF TEETH AS KYLE'S THROAT IS TORN OUT. Kyle drops to his knees. Up on the roof, Audrey watches helplessly as Kyle falls. AUDREY Kyle!", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME Bob kicks over a table in disgust. BOB Damn it all to hell! CHARLIE Oh, no. Audrey. Out the window they see Audrey drop down from the roof and run towards Kyle.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME The young boy stands over Kyle, silently watching the life drain from his body. The boy looks up to see Audrey approaching fast. Tears suddenly appear in his eyes. He opens his arms pleadingly to her. YOUNG BOY I'm sorry! I did n't mean to! AUDREY Fuck you! Audrey raises the 45 and. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. She keeps pulling the trigger. Nothing. The boy's tears stop instantly. He looks at her with an eerie calm for someone so young. YOUNG BOY You're gon na die now. The boy moves toward Audrey, stepping over Kyle's body. Audrey backs away. She looks toward the entrance to the diner. Blocked by advancing creatures. They're everywhere. She's trapped. She notices the open door to the MINIVAN. And so she BOLTS. Audrey dives into the car as the throng of creatures rapidly closes in. She hammers the auto door lock. CLUNK! She moves to the center of the car as gruesome faces press against the windows. A nightmare come to life.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME Panic. Charlie rushes to Michael's side. CHARLIE Do you have no heart?! She's just a kid! But he's immovable. CHARLIE You ca n't let her die! -LRB- grabbing a gun from the TABLE. -RRB- I swear if you do n't do something, I will! Charlie COCKS the gun, moves toward the door. MICHAEL Wait. Charlie looks back at him, defiant. No one breathes. Then : MICHAEL -LRB- raising his guns. -RRB- Open the door. Bob springs into action, clearing the door and flipping the dead bolt. The door is opened and Michael charges passed Charlie and out into hell.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - CONTINUOUS With stunning calm, Michael marches straight for the pumps. IN THE MINIVAN, Audrey screams as the windows begin to CRACK. She's running out of time. Michael grabs a gas pump, flips the lever and points it at the minivan. What's he up to? The creatures covering the car turn to look at Michael as if they've just now noticed him. And that's when he starts spraying gas at them. But wait, there's more to this trick. Up comes Michael's Glock in his other hand and BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! The spray of gas EXPLODES into a SPRAY OF FIRE! The MINIVAN is engulfed in flames. Creatures tear away from the car like fiery comets through the night. The windows EXPLODE, showering Audrey with tiny shards of glass. Michael drops the gas pump. He reaches through a fire rimmed broken car window and unlocks the door. Audrey looks up to see Michael's expressionless face CIRCLED BY A RING OF FIRE. MICHAEL Come with me. Meanwhile, fire is spreading quickly under the car. Michael pulls Audrey from the flaming vehicle. MICHAEL Run. And together they run toward the open diner door. BEHIND THEM THE MINIVAN EXPLODES. A BALL OF FIRE ROARS AT THEM!", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - CONTINUOUS Everyone's eyes go wide at the insanity they're witnessing. Audrey is the first one in. Michael is almost there. But the fire is faster, ENGULFING HIM IN FLAME! CHARLIE Michael! BOB -LRB- pulling Charlie away from the door. -RRB- Get back! BURSTING OUT OF THE FLAMES, Michael marches confidently into the diner. Jeep slams the door CLOSED just as the WALL OF FIRE REACHES THEM. Everyone hits the deck as the FIRE SHOOTS THROUGH THE SLATS covering the windows like spindly fingers reaching for prey. Michael's clothes are a smoky, smoldering mess. Jeep and Bob rush to pat him down. Audrey's coughing from the smoke. CHARLIE I'll get some water! Charlie dashes behind the counter to the sink. She fills up a pitcher of water. She turns away from the sink with the filled pitcher. And SCREAMS! The YOUNG BOY with the lifeless white eyes stands before her wielding an ENORMOUS BUTCHER'S KNIFE. The pitcher shatters LOUDLY on the floor. The boy swings the knife at her, slicing open the waitress outfit covering her pregnant belly. Charlie tumbles back to the ground behind the counter. She frantically pushes herself away from the approaching boy. But she does n't have far to go before she'll run out of room to maneuver. YOUNG BOY C'mon, do n't be scared. I just wan na play with your baby. That's it. She's backed against the end of the counter! The boy raises the knife to strike. Charlie grabs a baking pan off a shelf. Swings it out in front of her body like a shield, as the KNIFE IS DRIVEN DOWN. CLANG! The knife hits the pan hard and stops. But the boy's hands do n't. They slip off the handle and run right down the blade. The knife CLATTERS to the ground. The boy instinctively raises his hands to strike again, but there's no knife. Charlie watches in horror as the boy calmly realizes that his THUMBS ARE MISSING. Blood sprays from the stumps. Charlie pulls her legs in close then rockets them out at the boy's chest. He's catapulted away from her. Michael leaps over the counter, landing in front of Charlie, guns ready for action. But the boy is gone. MICHAEL Are you hurt? Charlie shakes her head no. CHARLIE Where is he?! That's when the electricity goes out once again, PLUNGING THE DINER BACK INTO DARKNESS. JEEP'S VOICE He's still in here! FLASHLIGHT BEAMS fan out across the diner. LIGHTING under chairs. Under tables. BOB'S VOICE Where the fuck is he?! A SCAMPERING SOUND. MOVING FAST. Everybody spins to track the location of the sound. As soon as they move in one direction, the SCAMPERING is heard in another. Jeep's LIGHT CATCHES SOMETHING ON THE GROUND. A TRAIL OF BLOOD. JEEP He's bleeding! THE BEAMS OF LIGHT JOIN TOGETHER, MOVING FAST TO TRACK THE BLOOD ACROSS THE DINER WHERE IT ENDS AT. A WALL. Jeep raises his LIGHT UP THE WALL WHERE THE TRAIL OF BLOOD REACHES THE CEILING AND. STOPS. BOB What the fuck? SCREECH! THE BLOODY BOY SPRINGS OFF A TABLE BEHIND THEM AND LANDS ON BOB'S BACK. Bob flails around trying to pull the boy's small, but deadly strong arms away from his neck. JEEP Dad! Jeep ca n't get a clear shot. Bob's gasping for air. Michael grabs the boy and fiercely rips him off of Bob's back. He swings the boy around like a living shot put. MICHAEL Get ready! Jeep and Bob whip up their guns as Michael throws the wicked creature into the air. Sandra's vacant face flickers in the light as the SOUND OF GUNFIRE AND INHUMAN SCREAMING fill the diner. And then in moments. All is QUIET. BEHIND THE COUNTER, Audrey helps Charlie to her feet. She WINCES. Doubles over, clutching her stomach. CHARLIE Oh, no! Michael lowers his flashlight. CLEAR FLUID runs down Charlie's legs.", "EXT.   PARADISE GAS `N' GRUB - LATE NIGHT Inky darkness. A flickering light emanates from within the diner. TITLE : `` December 25th - 3:33 am'' The sound of CHARLIE'S SCREAM, carries us to :", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - LATE NIGHT Charlie, drenched in sweat is writhing on the ground with Michael holding down her arms and Audrey kneeling between her legs. Pots of steaming water surround them. AUDREY What am I supposed to do? Just ` cause I'm a girl does n't mean I automatically know how to do this! MICHAEL Just do as I say. AUDREY Yeah, but, how do you know how to do this?!", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - ROOF - SAME Bob and Jeep keep watch. The SPECTRAL LIGHTS in the distance seem to be growing larger - closer. Charlie's SCREAMING rises up from below. BOB What a way to bring a child into the world. -LRB- looks over at Jeep. -RRB- She ever tell you his name? JEEP She's never said. I just assumed it was Joe Danvers. You know how she's always had a thing for bad boys. Bob hears the spite in Jeep's voice. BOB Jeep, sooner or later she'll realize you're the best thing that's ever happened to her. JEEP I thought you said I should move on? BOB Ca n't a father be wrong sometimes? Jeep considers Bob with a smile, then comes the sound. A DEEP, LONG, BODY RUMBLING TONE rising up off the plain, as if emanating from the largest HORN ever constructed. JEEP What was that? The SPECTRAL LIGHTS dot the landscape now with untold numbers.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - CONTINUOUS Michael reacts to the sound. An urgency comes over him. Audrey arrives with more steaming water. AUDREY What is that?! MICHAEL He's coming. We have to hurry. AUDREY Who's coming? Whaddya mean hurry? This is n't something you can exactly hurry, is it? MICHAEL Charlie, I need you to push. I need you to push as hard as you can. AUDREY Michael, who's coming?! Charlie pushes, tears streaming down her face, delirious with pain. It's a gruesome, bloody affair. It's getting close. MICHAEL We're almost there.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - ROOF - SAME Jeep and Bob watch helplessly as the ARMY OF CREATURES has closed within a hundred yards of the diner. Their ranks stretch back seemingly without end into the darkness. JEEP We're not gon na make it outta here, are we? Bob looks at his son. The agony stretched across his face. BOB I'm sorry Jeep. This should n't be happening to you. Jeep rests a comforting hand on his father's shoulder. Bob pulls his son close and hugs him with all his might, tears filling his eyes.", "INT. PARADISE GAS `N' GRUB - SAME Amidst the dirt and darkness, Charlie lets out a final agonizing SCREAM. and then comes a BABY'S CRIES. Audrey, eyes wide, holds up the CHILD. Stunned. Elated. AUDREY Oh my god. we did it! Charlie, you did it! Audrey places the child in Charlie's arms. She stares at the baby, holding it at a distance, unsure of whether to embrace it or be terrified by it. A commitment she's not yet ready to make, even at this late hour. AUDREY -LRB- CONFUSED. -RRB- It's okay. The baby's okay. Charlie looks to Audrey, tears streaming down her face. CHARLIE I do n't. I. Audrey looks to Michael, unsure. MICHAEL Take him. Give her a minute. Audrey nods, takes the baby back from Charlie, tries to soothe him by pacing around the diner. AUDREY It's okay. It's okay. Shhh. Another DRONE OF THE HORN RATTLES THE WALLS. Menacing. Closer. Audrey reacts, crosses to the counter, turns on the radio, trying to drown out the sound of the approaching menace. Out of the STATIC, the haunting sounds of BING CROSBY singing SILENT NIGHT fills the room. The quiet before the storm. Michael helps Charlie quickly clean herself up. She stares at him, a burning spite in her eyes. CHARLIE So are we safe now? Is it over? MICHAEL No. Killing the child would have ended the war before it had begun. Now, at least, he will have a chance to grow up, a chance to lead the world out of darkness. Those words provide her little comfort. CHARLIE And what happens until then? MICHAEL You'll need to teach him how. Charlie shakes her head, this is all too much. CHARLIE What makes you think I can do that? What makes you think I want to do that? If he's so important, why do n't you take him? MICHAEL Each of us has a burden. This one is yours and yours alone. Maybe someday you'll understand what that means. Off Charlie's look, we move across the diner where Audrey approaches her mother, kneels down in front of her. Despite how much her mother pisses her off, it breaks her heart to see her in such a demoralized state. AUDREY Mama? Can you hear me? -LRB- holds up the baby. -RRB- We did it. The baby's alive. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Mama? If Sandra hears her daughter, it does n't show in her face. Tears well up in Audrey's eyes as she moves away from her mother. But we HOLD here and. DRIFT DOWN BEHIND THE CHAIR TO REVEAL Sandra's hands are loosening the bonds. BLOOD TRICKLES from where the rope's cut through her skin.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME DRIFTING THROUGH the dark shapes as the BABY'S CRIES reverberate up and down the ranks. They begin to look about frantically, agitated by the sound. Some even begin to back away from the diner.", "EXT. DESERT - CONTINUOUS Off in the distance, the diner is but a dim flickering light above the plain. It could almost be mistaken for a stable in a desert town a long time ago. THREE STARS burn bright and low in the black sky. All around us the DARK CREATURES are cowering from sound of the CRYING INFANT whose wails seem to grow even LOUDER the further away from the diner we get. HIGH ABOVE THE TRUCK STOP In the darkness below we see the lights of the legions of creatures dot the landscape and at the center of it all, the truck stop. The sound of WINGS BEATING AGAINST THE WIND. AND WE'RE DRIFTING DOWN TOWARD THE DINER ENTRANCE. LIKE A BIRD CIRCLING ITS PREY.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME Jeep and Bob enter the diner to see Michael helping Charlie to her feet, while Audrey continues to pace, the bundle of bloody blankets cradled in her arms. JEEP Something's happening. They're moving away. MICHAEL The Possessed ca n't come near the child, so He sent someone that can. Someone like me. BOB Who? MICHAEL Gabriel. My lieutenant. He's come to do what I would n't. ON JEEP as the realization hits him. JEEP Your orders. Michael looks at Jeep. JEEP You were the one who was supposed to kill the baby? That was the order you did n't obey. Michael nods grimly. Charlie looks urgently at Michael. CHARLIE What's he talking about? The baby CRIES LOUDER. CHARLIE Michael, what the hell's he talking about?! MICHAEL There was never meant to be a Second Coming. But we've just changed that. The child lives. The future is unwritten. There's still hope. Charlie, shaken by this revelation, reaches out to Audrey. CHARLIE Audrey? Audrey moves to hand over the baby to Charlie. AND THAT'S WHEN SANDRA SPRINGS OUT OF HER CHAIR AND SNATCHES THE BABY FROM AUDREY'S ARMS! Sandra backs away from them, moving toward the front door. Hers is the face of madness. SANDRA Stay away from me! Do n't come any closer! AUDREY Mom! BOB Do n't do it, lady! SANDRA You heard what he said. They just want the baby. Maybe if we just give it to them, then they'll let us go! Michael cocks his gun. Points it at Sandra. THE HORN BLARES ONCE MORE, DEAFENING, SHAKING EVERYTHING IN THE DINER. IT'S RIGHT OUTSIDE THE DOOR. Charlie squares off with Sandra, panic in her eyes. CHARLIE Give him to me! SANDRA Why?! You never wanted him in the first place! Charlie stares at her in horror, the truth of those words rattling her to the very core. CHARLIE No. I. Sandra is almost to the front door. SANDRA It's just one baby. Just one. CRASH! THE DOOR IS TORN OFF ITS HINGES. A brilliant SPECTRAL LIGHT pours into the diner. Sandra is blinded. She raises a hand to block the light. And that's when Michael fires. BLAM! Sandra staggers back, blood dripping from the hole in her forehead, and. THE BABY GOES FLYING OUT OF HER HANDS! Charlie screams and the WORLD MOVES INTO SLOW MOTION. And everything suddenly goes very QUIET. Michael fires again. Blowing Sandra's body back through the doorway. Jeep watches the baby sail SLOWLY through the air. The time for Jeep to act is now! Jeep DIVES for the baby. catching the bundle of rags mere inches from the ground! And then he looks up to see. The dark SILHOUETTE OF A MAN approaching from out of the spectral light. A MAN WITH WINGS. Jeep's eyes grow wide as the FIERCE ANGEL steps into the diner. But this looks like no angel we've seen before. This is a creature built for war. Rough hewn, battle scarred. His body armor making him appear disturbingly insect like. His wings are not feathery or gentle. Rather they are hard, mechanical, an organic machine. The angel's wings retract with clockwork - like precision. And now that we see the his face clearly, we notice his striking resemblance to Michael. We might even mistake them for brothers. His name is GABRIEL. Gabriel raises a massive, ferocious, strangely mechanical looking MACE in his powerful hands. And the world returns to NORMAL SPEED as Gabriel brings the mace arcing down at Jeep. Jeep rolls! CLANG! The weapon just misses him, hitting the floor in a spray of sparks, literally CRACKING THE GROUND. Gabriel brings the mace up again. Jeep wo n't be so lucky twice. BOB -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Sonuvabitch! Bob charges at the creature, sub - machine gun blazing. Gabriel reacts by instantly UNFOLDING HIS WINGS and launching himself into the air. The bullets clawing up the wall behind him. But Bob's heroic move has given Jeep time to get up and run with the baby for the back of the diner. He thrusts the child into Charlie's hands. And without even thinking, she pulls the child protectively to her chest. Gabriel drops down in front of Bob, whipping his wings around like a deadly, RAZOR SHARP FAN! Bob stops firing, a look of surprise stretches over his face. His gun falling from his hands. Blood begins to pour out of the slice across his belly. JEEP No! With a sweep of his hand, Gabriel sends Bob flying across the diner where he crashes down behind the counter near the stove. Michael GRABS JEEP'S HAND before the boy can rush back into the fray. MICHAEL No, Jeep! You must protect the child now! JEEP Me?! What about you? MICHAEL My path ends here. You are the true protector. You always have been. Jeep shakes his head, panic setting in. JEEP But I do n't know what to do! MICHAEL Find the Prophets. Learn to read the instructions. Michael lets go of Jeep's hand and turns away to face Gabriel, leaving Jeep to contemplate those final words. JEEP Prophets? What Prophets? What instructions?! And that's when Jeep opens his hand to find the KEYS to Michael's Police Cruiser. Jeep looks up from the keys to see Charlie, Audrey and the baby. The responsibility crashing in on him. Then he closes his hand around the keys, determination building. JEEP C'mon! Charlie looks past Jeep to see Michael returning to the fray. CHARLIE Wait! We ca n't leave him! JEEP We have no choice! We have to get to Red Rock! He pulls Charlie past the counter toward the back office. Jeep stops when he sees his father's broken body lying on the ground by the stove in a pool of his own blood. Bob's half open eyes focus on his son. In his outstretched hand is that goddamn ZIPPO LIGHTER. and next to that, a BROKEN GAS PIPE leading to the stove. Jeep is terrified. JEEP Dad! Jeep tries to help him up. BOB Leave me, Jeep. My place is here, remember? JEEP But Dad! Bob smiles weakly at his son and says simply : BOB Run. And so Jeep, fighting back tears, does what his father says.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - BACK OFFICE - CONTINUOUS Audrey and Jeep push the desk away from the door. Charlie opens it. Sand swirls in around her. And Jeep leads the trio out the door.", "INT. PARADISE GAS `N' GRUB - SAME Michael and Gabriel square off in the diner, not like enemies, but like brothers on opposite sides of a terrible family conflict. MICHAEL I knew he'd send you, Gabriel. You were always so eager to please Him. GABRIEL Unlike you. the rebellious son. -LRB- noticing Michael's scars. -RRB- Pity about your wings. They would have helped you now. MICHAEL To not feel their burden. is a dream. GABRIEL You think you can defy Him and not pay the price? MICHAEL The child lives. What happens to me does n't matter now. GABRIEL Yours is a fool's sacrifice. You can help them sneak out the back door, but they wo n't escape. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- And neither will you, brother. Michael slowly approaches Gabriel. MICHAEL -LRB- SOFT. -RRB- I'm not running anymore. Gabriel hesitates, doubt clouding his face. This was not what he was expecting. MICHAEL -LRB- SENSING. -RRB- Join with me. You do n't need do this. There's another way. A beat, then Gabriel's expression hardens. GABRIEL There is no other way. He pulls back from Michael, raising the mace - SCHING! - LONG DEADLY SHARP SPIKES BURSTS FROM ALL ITS SIDES. as if it was n't bad - ass enough. And the fight begins. It's mace against machine gun and strangely enough, it seems under Gabriel's deft control, the mace is the vastly superior weapon. With the aid of his wings, Gabriel moves with staggering speed, defying gravity to avoid the rain of bullets. The place is getting absolutely shot to hell. Michael leaps from table top to table top as Gabriel brings the mace brutally down - splintering everything it touches. Michael leaps onto the last unbroken table top - spins to fire. Gabriel pushes into the air, jabbing a spike straight into the barrel of Michael's MP5. The gun explodes in Michael's hands, sending him rocketing backwards where he lands on the counter. Gabriel swoops in fast. Michael kicks him in the chest, sending him fluttering back. Michael thrusts himself to his feet. Gabriel recovers, jabs again. Michael grabs a hold of Bob's ceiling mounted TV for support and lifts his body just above the deadly spike. Michael kicks Gabriel in the head, momentarily stunning him. Michael dives at Gabriel, landing an awesome flurry of punches. Gabriel is rattled back by the assault. He clumsily lifts his mace and thrusts with it. Michael narrowly evades the razor point, which drives into a wall. Michael smashes down on Gabriel's wrist, CRACKING the bones. A swift kick to the chest and Gabriel is thrust crashing back, losing his grip on the weapon. Michael takes a running leap onto Gabriel's back. Gabriel launches wildly into the air, trying to throw Michael off. They hit the ceiling, but Michael hangs on. Choking the life out of Gabriel.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - CONTINUOUS Audrey and Jeep help Charlie quickly move around the side of the diner where the cruiser is parked. They are buffeted by winds and sand. Jeep puts Charlie and the baby into the front passenger seat while Audrey hustles in back. Jeep rounds to the driver's side. Hops in.", "INT. POLICE CRUISER - CONTINUOUS Jeep frantically tries to get the right key into the ignition. It's in. Jeep turns the key but the ENGINE STRUGGLES TO FIRE UP. Panic. CHARLIE Come on, Jeep! JEEP I'm trying! Jeep gives it some gas, but the ENGINE'S NOT CATCHING. A DARK SHAPE POUNCES ONTO THE HOOD OF THE CAR. The light catches it, revealing the disfigured face and beard of a SHOPPING MALL SANTA CLAUS, his oversized belly gruesomely distended. Charlie screams. JEEP Fuck! Jeep pumps the gas and the ENGINE BURSTS TO LIFE! The creature's about to punch a fist through the glass JEEP -LRB- throwing the car in REVERSE. -RRB- Hang on! Jeep floors it, causing the cruiser to rocket backwards toward the highway. BUT THE CREATURE HANGS ON! Jeep pulls the wheel hard and the cruiser whips around a full 180 onto the road. THE CREATURE SHOOTS OFF THE CAR AND HITS THE ASPHALT. Jeep throws it in drive just as the POSSESSED SANTA rises from the pavement. Pedal to the metal. The creature does n't have a chance as the cruiser PLOWS into him. BONES CRUNCH as a flash of red and white is sent sailing over the car and tumbling down onto the road behind them in a cloud of dust. Jeep clenches the wheel, pedal to the floor. JEEP Okay, we need to figure out our weapon situation. Hopefully Michael did n't take everything out of the car. Jeep places his Glock on the dash. He sees that he's got a police issue shotgun in the front seat rack. Charlie searches under her seat. Pulls out a. GRENADE. CHARLIE Is this what I think it is? JEEP Yes. Now just put it down. Slowly. Charlie places it onto the seat. Audrey fishes around in the backseat. AUDREY -LRB- holding up each item. -RRB- Okay, all I got is a flare gun thing. Looks like we got a box of flares to go with it. JEEP Okay. Okay. Handgun. Shotgun. A a flare gun. And a grenade. Alright. -LRB- hands Charlie the Glock. -RRB- Load this. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Audrey, can you figure out how to load that flare gun without killing us all? AUDREY I can try. JEEP Try real hard, okay? Audrey anxiously sets about loading the flare gun.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS `N' GRUB - SAME Gabriel flies into a wall in an attempt to crush Michael. He fails that but succeeds in leaving a massive dent. Gabriel runs/flies for the opposite wall. This one does n't hold and the two enemies crash through it into the bathroom. Unbelievably Michael is still holding on. Gabriel is up. He thrusts himself back into the bathroom mirror. It shatters painfully behind Michael. Gabriel rages out of the bathroom and into the diner. Michael continues to ride him like a wild bull. Gabriel slams Michael into a wall once more. It's a brutal struggle. Gabriel spots his mace sticking out of the wall within arms reach. He grabs it, holding it futilely in front of him. From this angle he'd never be able to hit Michael with it. Gabriel's strength is giving way. Michael is winning. Gabriel lets out a tremendous ROAR and plunges one of the mace's long spikes into his own stomach. Michael's eyes go wide with surprise, his grip loosens. Gabriel has run them both through. Gabriel rips the mace from his body and stumbles forward. Blood pours from a huge hole in Michael's chest. Right through his heart. Gabriel looks down at the hole in his own belly. Not nearly as bad as Michael's. Apparently there's not a lot of blood left in this guy. Michael falls to his knees. Weakening. Gabriel looms over Michael. Michael looks up at him, blood leaking from his mouth. GABRIEL You always wanted to live like one of them. Now you'll know how it feels to die like one of them. Gabriel raises the mighty mace above his head. Michael closes his eyes. Submitting. The mace comes swinging down.", "INT. POLICE CRUISER - DRIVING - SAME The cruiser hits the FLY STORM. Black. Nothing is visible beyond the windows. BUZZING surrounds them. DEAFENING. Jeep turns on the windshield wipers. Hits the brights. PING! PING! PING! Driving blind! ON THE SPEEDOMETER as their speed slows to a crawl. AUDREY Go faster! JEEP I ca n't fuckin' see! Charlie's desperately trying to soothe her SCREAMING baby. ON THE AIR VENTS as FLIES start crawling in. JEEP Oh, no.", "INT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME Gabriel is looking down upon Michael's broken body. Something is happening to his skin. The DARK WRITING THAT COVERS HIS BODY is beginning UN - WRITE itself and DISAPPEAR.", "INT. POLICE CRUISER - DRIVING - SAME Charlie is struggling to close the air vents to stop the inflow of BUZZING insects. It's not working! She looks to Jeep in desperation, but something more frightening catches her attention. The INTRICATE WRITING is beginning to appear on Jeep's arm, snaking its way up from his wrists like VINES. CHARLIE Jeep, your arm! Jeep sees it, eyes go wide. CHARLIE What is it? A beat, as Jeep remembers Michael's parting words. JEEP The instructions.", "INT. PARADISE GAS `N' GRUB - SAME Gabriel watches as the last of the writing FADES from Michael's body when he hears a faint CLICKING sound from somewhere in the diner. Gabriel moves gracefully through the destroyed diner, toward the source of the CLICKING. He steps behind the counter and finds Bob lying in a massive pool of blood. It takes the creature a moment to realize that the CLICKING sound is coming from Bob's SILVER ZIPPO. Bob is focusing every last ounce of life in his body to lighting that lighter. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. Bob looks at Gabriel. BOB Sorry. We're closed. And with one last brush of his thumb, Bob's trusty ZIPPO IGNITES. Gabriel's eyes go wide as the TINY FLAME DANCES in front of the stove's broken gas line. Gabriel spins and runs like hell as the gas explodes. A STREAM OF FIRE ENGULFS HIM AS HIS WINGS UNFOLD AND HE LEAPS INTO AWESOME FIERY FLIGHT.", "INT. POLICE CRUISER - DRIVING - CONTINUOUS The MASSIVE EXPLOSION rocks the slow moving vehicle. In the rearview mirror, Jeep sees the CLOUD OF FIRE MUSHROOMING UP in the sky behind them. It's eerily magnificent. CHARLIE The swarm, it's fading! Jeep looks back to the road as, sure enough, the FLY SWARM suddenly dissipates all around them, revealing a CLEAR VIEW of the highway ahead. Jeep knows at what price this good fortune has come. JEEP Thank you. AND THAT'S WHEN THE WORD `` PARADISE'' CRASHES DOWN LIKE A BALL OF FIRE ONTO THE ROAD DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THEM! JEEP Oh, shit!", "EXT. HIGHWAY - CONTINUOUS The cruiser PUNCHES through the burning `` Paradise'' sign, smashing it into fiery pieces! The cruiser charges on down the endless highway, burning bits of sign swirling in its wake.", "INT. POLICE CRUISER - DRIVING - CONTINUOUS From the back seat, Audrey watches the fire recede into the distance. AUDREY I ca n't believe it. Is it really over? Up front Jeep stares out at the dark road ahead. JEEP No. It's just starting.", "EXT. PARADISE FALLS GAS'N' GRUB - SAME Burning wreckage everywhere. DRIFTING THROUGH IT until we settle on the SPIKE - SCEPTER stuck firmly in the ground. Flames ring the handle.", "EXT. HIGHWAY - SAME The cruiser blazes down the highway.", "INT. POLICE CRUISER - DRIVING - SAME Charlie cradles the baby, apprehensive. The baby looks up at her, smiles. She ca n't help but smile back at him. Jeep eyes her. JEEP Better not hold him too long. Might get attached. Charlie looks over, feels his lingering anger. CHARLIE Look, I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier, ` bout you following me around. I did n't mean it. JEEP Nothin' to be sorry about. It's true. I did follow you around. At least now I know there was a good reason. Charlie's reacts, a bit stung. Jeep tries to hide his pleasure that the tables have turned at least a little. Charlie is about to respond when Audrey leans in from the back seat. AUDREY We're here. She points ahead to a beaten up road sign that says : `` Now Entering Red Rock National Park, Next Rest Stop 30 MILES'' JEEP Okay, all we got ta do is - CRASH! The roof buckles above them. The windows BLOW OUT.", "EXT. RED ROCK NATIONAL PARK ROOD - CONTINUOUS GABRIEL SMASHES DOWN ON THE CRUISER'S ROOF WITH MASSIVE FORCE! USING HIS MIGHTY WINGS FOR BALANCE HE BEGINS TO STOMP ON THE ROOF, CRUSHING IT DOWN AS IF IT WERE A SODA CAN!", "INT. POLICE CRUISER - DRIVING - CONTINUOUS Jeep, Charlie and Audrey slip frantically down in their seats as the roof presses down at them. The windows BURST. Jeep grabs the Glock and fires wildly up at the roof.", "EXT. POLICE CRUISER - DRIVING - CONTINUOUS Gabriel takes a direct hit in the thigh, causing him to slide off the roof and onto the trunk where he grabs a hold of the rear window frame for support.", "INT. POLICE CRUISER - DRIVING - CONTINUOUS With tremendous strength, Gabriel pulls his upper body through the broken back window toward Audrey. AUDREY Jeep! Jeep swings the gun around. JEEP Duck! BLAM! Gabriel takes one in the shoulder, but it does n't slow him down. JEEP Audrey, the flare gun! Audrey desperately tries to load a flare while avoiding Gabriel's grasp. Jeep ca n't get off another shot without the risk of hitting Audrey. Gabriel is almost entirely in the car now. Audrey swings the flare gun toward Gabriel, but he knocks her hand aside just as she pulls the trigger and the flare goes off INSIDE THE CAR! Jeep ducks. The CAR SWERVES MADLY. The flare RICOCHETS through the cabin, lighting it up like the Fourth of July! Gabriel lunges for Charlie just as the flare bounces off the windshield - PING! - and nails him right in the face, SETTING HIS HAIR ABLAZE. And that gives Jeep the chance to swing around and FIRE. BOOM! Gabriel is blown back partially through the rear window. He holds onto the car with an iron grip. Starts to pull himself back in. Nothing slows this guy down. Jeep pulls the trigger again and. CLICK. No bullets! Audrey frantically reloads the flare gun. Brings it up to fire, but he's too fast! WHACK! Gabriel knocks her into the side of the car with a sweep of his hand. She's out cold. Now he's clawing his way unobstructed toward Charlie again. Jeep knows there's only one thing to do. JEEP Get down on the floor! Charlie pushes herself and the baby down on the floor in front of the passenger seat. Jeep PUNCHES IT. The speedometer leaps ahead. 70. 80. 90. Gabriel's now completely in the car. They're helpless. Gabriel lunges over the passenger seat, grasping for Charlie, his ferocious hand only inches from her and the baby, when. AUDREY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Get off her, you fucking asshole! Audrey leaps onto Gabriel, pulling him away from Charlie just in time. He flails wildly about but this young girl rides him like one helluva a cowboy. 100. 110. 120. AUDREY Do it, Jeep! Do it now! JEEP SLAMS ON THE BREAKS, SENDING GABRIEL AND AUDREY SHOOTING FORWARD THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD LIKE A BULLET. The intertwined bodies of Gabriel and Audrey hit the road with a sickening crunch and ROLL INTO A BALL OF FIRE.", "EXT. RED ROCK PARK - CONTINUOUS The Cruiser spins out of control, swerving off the road and careening into a large rock formation. This ride is over.", "INT. POLICE CRUISER - CONTINUOUS Jeep's side of the car is crushed. Blood is running down his forehead. Charlie crawls up from the floor. CHARLIE C'mon, Jeep! He tries to focus on her. CHARLIE Jeep! She kicks open her door and begins pulling him out. JEEP The baby? CHARLIE Alive. JEEP And what about. CHARLIE Nothing could have survived that. JEEP -LRB- ANGUISHED. -RRB- Audrey. CHARLIE She saved us, Jeep. Audrey saved us. Now c'mon, we got ta go! Charlie, the baby bundled in her hands, leads Jeep away from the demolished Cruiser.", "EXT. RED ROCK RIDGE - PRE-DAWN Jeep and Charlie, battered and bruised, struggle to make the long climb up the ridge. Charlie looks up. STARS completely fill the pre - dawn sky. Breathtaking. CHARLIE How can this happen? JEEP What? CHARLIE How can this happen in a world so beautiful? Jeep follows her gaze to the sky. Endless stars. Confounding. Jeep shifts his eyes to the TOP OF THE RIDGE just ahead. JEEP C'mon, we're almost there. They are only a few steps from the EDGE OF THE RIDGE when - GABRIEL ROCKETS UP IN FRONT OF THEM! Charlie screams! Jeep pushes her and the baby out of the way just as Gabriel comes down hard in front of them, kicking up a cloud of dust. Gabriel's mechanical wings haltingly retract. The crash has done some serious damage. Much of his skin has burned away. Chunks of his armor and flesh are missing as well, including a large part of his head, revealing that under his human visage is a NIGHTMARISH CREATURE. Gabriel charges at Jeep fast. Jeep whips up his Glock, BLAM! Gabriel takes the bullet, then slaps the gun out of Jeep's hand. Jeep throws a wild punch, connects with Gabriel's chin, rocking him back. More annoyed than surprised, Gabriel knocks Jeep savagely to the ground. Jeep struggles quickly to his feet, comes right back at Gabriel swinging. But Gabriel simply knocks him to the dirt again. Jeep slowly gets up once more, bleeding, hurt. Raises his fists. This kid will simply not give up. Jeep moves in again, swinging hard, but Gabriel blocks it, shoots out a hand and grabs Jeep by throat, lifting him clear off the ground. GABRIEL So brave. So pointless. You should have worried more about saving yourself. Jeep's feet dangle. His eyes bulge out. He claws at Gabriel's iron - fast grip, but there's no hope. Charlie watches in horror. CHARLIE Stop! Please! Do n't kill him! But Gabriel is doing just that. Jeep is rapidly losing consciousness. The battle is lost. GABRIEL Go to sleep. Jeep's eyes flutter. He's almost gone. CHARLIE Stop it! I'LL GIVE YOU THE BABY! This gets Gabriel's attention. Charlie climbs to her feet, holding the bloody bundle out to him. CHARLIE I do n't want this responsibility! Tears run down her face. She's dead fucking serious. Gabriel lets go of Jeep. He falls to the ground, gasping desperately for air. JEEP Charlie, no! Gabriel takes the bundle from Charlie, turning away from her. GABRIEL `` And as the child's cries are extinguished, an eternal darkness at last descended upon the world.'' He peels the cloth back, revealing. THE GRENADE. He spins around to face Charlie. She's holding the pin. KABOOM! GABRIEL IS BLOWN TO BLOODY BITS. The creature is gone at last. The sound of a BABY COOING. Charlie picks the child up out of the brush. She helps Jeep to his feet and together they slowly make their way to the top of the ridge.", "EXT. RED ROCK RIDGE - DAWN Jeep and Charlie stand overlooking the desert valley below. ON THEIR FACES, reacting to what they see. Charlie takes Jeep's hand in hers. JEEP We made it. CHARLIE Yep, we sure did. And now we see it too : THE MOJAVE DESERT - DAWN Vast. Barren. No signs of life. No resistance force. No nothing. ON JEEP AND CHARLIE Taking it in. Breathing hard. JEEP I'm sure they're just over the next ridge. He glances at Charlie. Worry in her eyes. CHARLIE What if we're on our own now? JEEP Do n't be afraid. We'll be okay. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Believe me. At those words, Charlie looks deep into Jeep's eyes. Sees a confidence in them she's never seen before. And she leans in and kisses him. Tender. When they part, Jeep stares back at her with surprise. Then the surprise melts into a smile. And they descend the ridge. out of sight, leaving us with a view once again of - THE MOJAVE DESERT - DAWN A BLOOD RED SUN rises behind the distant mountains. The unbearable cold will soon become an unbearable heat. And we're back where we started. A YOUNG WOMAN'S VOICE. Solemn. Weary. Determined. IT'S CHARLIE'S VOICE. CHARLIE'S VOICE Someday when my son is older, I will tell him about the time of his birth when all the world was covered in a great darkness.", "INT. CAR - DRIVING - MORNING - WEEKS LATER Jeep is at the wheel. He looks aged, scarred from the experience. His exposed arms are completely covered with the INTRICATE WRITING. The Instructions. The boy he once was is gone at last and the warrior protector has replaced him. CHARLIE'S VOICE And how just at the moment when everything seemed lost. Charlie sits across from him, the baby cradled in her arms. It's strange, but you might actually mistake them for a happy family. Of course you'll have to ignore the ARSENAL OF WEAPONRY in the back seat. CHARLIE'S VOICE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- a mighty warrior fell in order to save me. Jeep glances over at Charlie and the baby. He smiles at the image of maternal bliss. CHARLIE'S VOICE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And a boy faced his fear and rose up to save us all. The sun shines through the car windows, filling our eyes with its fiery light. THE END"], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "The Archangel Michael falls to Earth in Los Angeles and cuts off his own wings. After looting a weapons warehouse and stealing a police car, he travels towards the Paradise Falls Diner, near the edge of the Mojave Desert. Meanwhile, Kyle, a single father driving to Los Angeles, stops at the diner. He meets the owner, Bob Hanson; Jeep, Bob's son; Percy, the short-order cook; Charlie, a pregnant waitress; Howard and Sandra Anderson, a married couple; and Audrey, their rebellious teenage daughter. As the diner's television, radio and telephone fail, the elderly Gladys enters the diner and becomes abnormally hostile before biting a piece out of Howard's neck, whereupon Kyle shoots her. The attempt to transport Howard to the hospital is thwarted by a gigantic swarm of flies that surrounds the diner and isolates its patrons from the outside world. Michael arrives and arms the patrons as the entire sky turns black. Hundreds of cars approach, filled with possessed people who begin to attack the diner. Michael leads the patrons in the fight, but Howard is dragged away. Later, Michael explains that God has lost faith in mankind and has sent his angels to destroy the human race. He also reveals that Charlie's baby must stay alive, as it is destined to be the savior of mankind; Michael disobeyed God's order to kill Charlie's baby, as he still has faith in humanity. The next morning, Sandra discovers Howard crucified behind the restaurant and covered with huge boils. She tries to rescue him, but he violently explodes into acid. Percy dies shielding Sandra from the blast. Sandra is driven insane and must be restrained. Meanwhile, the remaining survivors hear a radio transmission that reveals there are other pockets of resistance. One such refuge is nearby, but Michael advises them not to go, since they would be too vulnerable on the move. That night, a second wave of possessed people attack. Kyle is lured into a trap and killed while Charlie goes into labor. Audrey and Michael help to deliver the baby as trumpets sound, signaling the approach of the Archangel Gabriel. In a panic, Sandra breaks her restraints and tries to give the baby to the possessed, but she is executed by Michael. Moments later, Gabriel enters the diner and fatally wounds Bob. Michael urges the group to escape and tells Jeep to \"find the prophets, learn to read the instructions\". The hordes of possessed humans are unable to approach Charlie's baby; Jeep, Audrey, Charlie, and the baby go to Michael's cruiser. Gabriel and Michael fight to a standstill before Gabriel stabs Michael through the chest with his morning star. Michael dies and his body disappears. Dying, Bob uses his lighter to ignite the diner's gas main and blow up the diner, incinerating himself and the remaining possessed. Jeep's body is covered in the same mysterious drawings seen on Michael's body; Jeep concludes that the tattoos are his instructions. Gabriel appears and a scuffle ensues in which Audrey is killed. Eventually Gabriel corners them in the nearby mountains and is about to kill them when Michael descends from Heaven, healed and restored to the rank of Archangel. Michael tells Gabriel that Gabriel gave God what He asked for, but Michael gave Him what He needed, giving humanity another chance; Michael says this was God's plan to test his angels and that Gabriel failed Him. Ashamed, Gabriel leaves. Michael explains to Jeep that he is the child's true protector and that they will see Michael again, before flying away. Charlie and Jeep reach the top of the mountain and see a small town in the valley below. Sometime later, Charlie, Jeep, and the baby drive away \u2013 the shot widens to show that the back of their vehicle is full of weapons.", "name": "Legion_(2010_film)"}
{"scenes": ["BATMAN BEGINS BLACK. A low KEENING which becomes SCREECHING that BUILDS and BUILDS until - RED flickers through black as the screen BURSTS into life : Clouds of REELING BATS silhouetted against a blood red sky, bolting away from camera, MASSING in the sky. FORMING a density the shape of an enormous BAT - LIKE SYMBOL. More BATS mass, swamping the symbol, DARKENING the screen to - BLACK. Distant children's LAUGHTER which comes closer as - SUNLIGHT flickers through black. Sunlight through trees running through a SUMMER GARDEN. A BOY. Chasing a GIRL. The Boy reaches a Victorian GREENHOUSE. Stands in the doorway catching his breath. This is Bruce Wayne, aged 8, and we are -", "EXT. GARDENS, WAYNE MANOR -- DAY YOUNG BRUCE peers down rows of plants on long trestle tables. YOUNG BRUCE Rachel? No response. Sunlight streams through wrought iron and glass. Young Bruce advances, cautious. He is GRABBED from behind and pulled under a table by a young girl, aged 10. This is RACHEL. She puts her hand over Young Bruce's mouth. FEMALE VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Rachel?! Master Bruce?! A woman STRIDES past the windows : MRS.DODSON, Rachel's mother, housekeeper of Wayne Manor. YOUNG BRUCE -LRB- whispering. -RRB- What're you doing?! RACHEL -LRB- matter - of - fact. -RRB- Kidnapping you. They'' pay a lot for precious Brucie. Young Bruce stares, wide - eyed. She SMILES. He relaxes. Young Bruce BOLTS out from under the trestle table - SPRINTS for the back door. Rachel TEARS after him.", "EXT. DISUSED KITCHEN GARDEN, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Young Bruce crouches in the mouth of a DISUSED WELL, peering over the stone wall at Rachel, who searches for him. RACHEL Bruce, I can see you. Young Bruce suppresses a giggle - the BOARDS beneath him GIVE WAY and he PLUMMETS into.", "INT. OLD WELL -- CONTINUOUS Young Bruce DROPS thirty feet - LANDS painfully on the rubble strewn bottom of the shaft.", "EXT. KITCHEN GARDEN, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Rachel, hearing, RUNS to the well. RACHEL BRUCE?!", "INT. OLD WELL -- CONTINUOUS Young Bruce lifts his head from damp dirt and rocks, groaning.", "EXT. KITCHEN GARDEN, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Rachel SPRINTS towards the house. RACHEL MOM! MISTER ALFRED!", "INT. OLD WELL -- CONTINUOUS Young Bruce, in shock, groans. He hears SQUEALING - freezes, PEERING into the DARKNESS of an OPENING between rocks. BATS EXPLODE from the darkness, filling the air. HE SCREAMS - CURLS against their flapping, squawking, fluttering BLACKNESS. A JOLT : OLDER GREEN EYES FLICK OPEN, WAKING. in DARKNESS. Filthy, sweating darkness. and we are in -", "INT. BHUTANESE JAIL -- MORNING The yes belong to a bearded, weathered, young man's face. BRUCE WAYNE aged 28. An OLD ASIAN MAN sits staring at him. OLD MAN A dream? WAYNE A nightmare. OLD MAN Worse than this? Their cell is a tin box. Light seeps through gaps in the roof. Shouts ECHO. Wayne shrugs.", "EXT. PRISON COURTYARD -- LATER Wayne and the Old Man line up for gruel. PRISONERS are scattered in small groups. All eyes on Wayne. OLD MAN They are going to fight you. WAYNE I fought them yesterday. OLD MAN They will fight you every day. Until they kill you. Wayne holds out his plate. Watches gruel dribbled onto it. WAYNE Ca n't they kill me before breakfast? Wayne turns from the table. His path is blocked by an ENORMOUS MAN, backed by six aggressive prisoners. The Enormous Man SMASHES his plate away. ENORMOUS MAN -LRB- broken English. -RRB- You are in hell, little man. He PUNCHES Wayne - Wayne goes down hard. ENORMOUS MAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- and I am the devil. Wayne picks himself up. Dust himself off. WAYNE You're not the devil. The Enormous Man SWINGS again - Wayne CATCHES his fist, KICKS the big man's knee out an, as he goes down, BOOTS his face. WAYNE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- you're practice. Six Prisoners RUSH Wayne all at once. Wayne fights skillfully and hard, FLIPPING one prisoner into another, KICKING as his arms are held. several Prisoners hit the deck before - GUNFIRE - two GUARDS break it up, shooting into the air. they GRAB Wayne. GUARD Solitary! WAYNE -LRB- indignant. -RRB- Why? GUARD For protection. WAYNE I do n't need protection. The Guard points angrily at the unconscious prisoners. GUARD Protection for them.", "INT. SOLITARY, BHUTANESE JAIL -- MOMENTS LATER Wayne is tossed into the dank cell. The door SLAMS. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I often wonder at the riches to be found in dark places. The voice is mellifluous. European. It comes from the shadows of a deep corner of the cell. WAYNE I thought the point of solitary confinement was the solitary part. Wayne can make out the profile of a MAN seated in the corner. MAN These men have mistaken you for a criminal, Mr.Wayne. Wayne reacts to his name. The Man steps into the light : powerfully - built, distinguished, in a well - cut SUIT AND TIE. WAYNE Who are you? MAN My name is merely Ducard. But I speak for Ra's Al Ghul. Have you heard the name? WAYNE I've heard the legends. master warrior, international mercenary, feared by the all the underworld. some even swear he's immortal. DUCARD -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Ra's Al Ghul uses theatricality and deception as powerful weapons. Ducard approaches Wayne. Looks deep into his eyes. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You have not escaped his notice - a man like you is here by choice. or because he is truly lost. Wayne's eyes flick away from Ducard's penetrating gaze. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Ra's Al Ghul and his League of Shadows offer a path to those that are capable of upholding our code. WAYNE Code? Are n't you criminals? DUCARD A criminal is simply a man that someone else thinks. -LRB- gestures around them. -RRB-. should be put in jail. Wayne nods, conceding the point. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- This world is run by tyrants and corrupt bureaucrats. Our code respects only the natural order of things - we're not bound by their hypocrisy. Are you? Ducard moves to the door. Knocks. It is opened by a guard. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- There is a rare flower - a blue double - bloomed poppy - that grows on the Eastern slopes. Tomorrow you will be released. Pick one of the flowers. If you can carry it to the top of the mountain, you may find what you are looking for. WAYNE And what am I looking for? Ducard looks at Wayne with a glint in his eye. DUCARD Purpose. The door slams shut leaving Wayne in DARKNESS.", "INT. BOTTOM OF THE OLD WELL -- DAY (WAYNE'S MEMORY) Silence. Young Bruce lies there, exhausted, weeping softly. MALE VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Bruce? Young Bruce looks up : a FIGURE, long coat billowing, is lowered down the shaft. THOMAS WAYNE, Young Bruce's father.", "EXT. GARDENS, WAYNE MANOR -- MOMENTS LATER Thomas carries his son towards the house. At his side, a 50 - year - old man in a somber suit calmly coils a rope : ALFRED. ALFRED Will we be needing an ambulance, Master Wayne? THOMAS We have everything I need to set the bone. I'll take him for x - rays later. ALFRED Very good, sir. They pass a tearful Rachel standing with her mother.", "INT. HALL, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Thomas carries Bruce up the main stairs. The house is vast and grand, but full of flowers and life. Bruce's Mother -LRB- MARTHA -RRB- appears at the landing, distraught. THOMAS -LRB- reassuring. -RRB- He'll be fine.", "INT. BRUCE'S BEDROOM, WAYNE MANOR -- LATER Alfred moves to the bedside. Looks down at Young Bruce. ALFRED Took quite a fall, did n't we? Young Bruce looks up at Alfred. Manages a slight smile. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And why do we fall, Master Bruce? Alfred reaches up to the curtains. Young Bruce says nothing. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- So that we might better learn to pick ourselves up. Alfred smiles gently. PULLS the curtains shut, and we - An exquisite double - bloomed BLUE POPPY. and we are -", "EXT. HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS -- DAY A field of the blue poppies. Wayne approaches. Picks one. Studies its brilliant blue in the cold sunshine.", "EXT. TINY HAMLET, HIMALAYAS -- DAY Wayne, exhausted, freezing, hungry, wanders up the street. As locals see him they head inside. DOORS SLAMMED, BOLTED. CHILD -LRB- O.S. -RRB- No one will help you. Wayne turns to find a YOUNG CHILD STARING at him. The Child POINTS at the blue flower pinned to Wayne's chest. An OLD MAN appears at the Child's side. WAYNE -LRB- weak. -RRB- I need food. OLD MAN Then turn back. Wayne looks at the Old Man. Then carries on up the mountain.", "EXT. MOUNTAIN -- DAY Wayne, struggles through DRIVING SNOW up an ICY RIDGE. He clears the ridge, FLOPS down into the snow, Painfully raises his scarf - wrapped face to the cutting wind to see a MONASTERY perched on jagged rock.", "EXT. HIMALAYAN FORTIFIED MONASTERY -- DAY Wayne climbs up the steps to the VAST DOORS of the monastery. Unwraps a severely FROSTBITTEN FIST. POUNDS against the ice - covered wood, knocks ECHOING deep within. Nothing. Wayne lowers his forehead to the door, shoulders wracked by SOBS, pounding accelerating to a FRENZY. A GRINDING noise from within. Wayne STOPS, straightens. The doors SWING OPEN to DARKNESS.", "INT. GREAT HALL, MONASTERY -- CONTINUOUS Wayne shuffles forward into a low - ceilinged wooden hall lit by flickering lamps. Hands trembling, Wayne pulls at brittle scarves. He STARTS as the doors THUD shut behind him. At the far end, on a raised platform, sits a dark robbed figure ; RA'S AL GHUL. Wayne moves unsteadily towards him. WAYNE -LRB- hoarse. -RRB- Ra's Al Ghul? ARMED WARRIORS of various races emerge from the SHADOWS : BOWS taut, SWORDS drawn. NINJAS. Wayne freezes. DUCARD -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Wait. The Warriors hold. Wayne looks at the source of the command : Ducard leans against a nearby pillar. Wayne reaches into his layers of clothing. Pulls out the DOUBLE - BLOOMED BLUE POPPY. Holds it out, shaking. Ra's Al Ghul starts to speak in Urdu. Ducard TRANSLATES. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Fear has been your guide. But now you must advance or fear will keep you on your knees. We will help you conquer your fear. In exchange you will renounce the cities of man. You will live in solitude. You will be a member of the Leagues of Shadows. And you will be without fear. Ducard takes the flower. Considers its delicate blue petals. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Are you ready to begin? Ducard threads the flower through the buttonhole of his lapel. Wayne looks at Ducard, shaking with hunger and fatigue. WAYNE Ready? I. I can barely - Ducard KICKS him - Wayne Crashes to the floor. DUCARD Death does not wait for you to be ready. Wayne crawls, gasping. Ducard STRIKES him in the ribs. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Death is not considerate, or fair. And make no mistake - today, death is your opponent. Ducard turns - WHIPS his leg in a fearsome roundhouse KICK aimed straight at Wayne's NECK - but Wayne BLOCKS the kick with a lateral movement of his forearm. He stares at Ducard, eyes BLAZING. Ducard SMILES. Wayne RISES. Assumes a martial STANCE. Ducard STRIKES - Wayne BLOCKS and PARRIES, driving his body through pain into a series of FLUID, SKILLED moves. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Tiger Crane. Ju Jitsu. -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Skilled. But this is not a dance - Ducard GRAPPLES Wayne, BRAWLING, BITING, ENERGIZED, MESSY. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Facing death you learn the truth. Ducard's head smashes Wayne's cheek - Wayne FALTERS - DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You are weak. Ducard SMASHES him in the groin. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You are alone. Ducard SLAMS Wayne's chin, sends him DOWN HARD. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And you are afraid. Ducard crouches at Wayne's side. Looks into his glazed eyes. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- curious. -RRB- But not of me. Ducard pulls the flower from his lapel. Leans in close to replace it on Wayne's chest, his lips at Wayne's ear. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Tell us, Wayne. VIOLENT FLAPPING, SCREECHING BLACK RATS - swarming, chittering - DUCARD -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- whispers. -RRB- What do you fear? Young Bruce's eyes OPEN, and we are -", "INT. BRUCE'S BEDROOM, WAYNE MANOR -- DAWN (WAYNE'S MEMORY) Young Bruce, breathing hard. Light cuts across the bedclothes. He looks to the door. Thomas is there. THOMAS -LRB- gentle. -RRB- The bats again? Young Bruce nods. Thomas approaches. Sits on the bed. THOMAS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You know why they attacked you? -LRB- off look. -RRB- They were afraid of you. YOUNG BRUCE Afraid of me? THOMAS You're a lot bigger than a bat, are n't you? All creatures feel fear. YOUNG BRUCE -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Even the scary ones? Thomas smiles back, reaches into his dressing gown pocket. THOMAS Especially the scary ones. -LRB- thinks. -RRB- Here, let me show you something -. -LRB- freeze. -RRB- But you ca n't tell anyone, right? Young Bruce nods, eager. Thomas pulls out a long jewel case. He opens it : PEARLS glow in the half - light. THOMAS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- For your mother. Young Bruce GRINS. Thomas winks at him, SNAPS the case shut.", "INT. ELEVATED TRAIN (MONORAIL) -- EVENING Young Bruce watches the glory of Gotham glide past. His parents beside him, dressed up - Martha idly stroking her pearls. She smiles at Thomas. YOUNG BRUCE Did you build this train, Dad? THOMAS Your great - grandfather built the first trains in Gotham. The city's been good to our family - it was time to give something back. Thomas draws a CIRCLE in the CONDENSATION on the window. THOMAS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- A new public transportation system for the whole city. Thomas draws SPOKES through the circle, creating a WHEEL. Thomas TAPS his diagram at the central HUB of the wheel, then points through the glass to a tall 1930's SKYSCRAPER. THOMAS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- and at the cent. Wayne Tower.", "EXT. GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS The monorail train TURNS INWARDS on a `` SPOKE''. SHOOTING towards the central station at the base of Wayne Tower.", "INT. CONCOURSE, WAYNE STATION -- MOMENTS LATER Young Bruce STARES at the MAGNIFICENT STATION. He looks up through the vaulted glass ceiling. WAYNE TOWER rises above. Rich ORCHESTRAL STRINGS rise, and we are -", "INT. GOTHAM OPERA HOUSE -- LATER A gilded house packed to the rafters for Boito's Mefistofle. Young Bruce seated between his parents, On stage : WITCH - LIKE CREATURES cavort. DARK BIRDS on wires descend, FLAPPING. Young Bruce STARES, uneasy, at their VIOLENT motions. INSERT CUT : BATS EXPLODE FROM A DARK CREVICE. Young Bruce starts breathing faster, STARES fixedly. SCREECHING, FLAPPING BLACK BATS SWARM ALL AROUND. Young Bruce, gulping PANIC breaths, looks around for an exit - they're in the middle of a row. He GRABS his Dad's arm. YOUNG BRUCE -LRB- desperate whisper. -RRB- Can we go?! Thomas stares at his son, confused. Martha looks over. Young Bruce looks at his father, PLEADING. Thomas nods. They make their way along the row, Thomas nodding apologies.", "EXT. SIDE ALLEY, GOTHAM OPERA HOUSE -- CONTINUOUS The Waynes emerge from a side exit. Martha crouches before Bruce, tries to meet his eyes. He stares down, ashamed. MARTHA Bruce, what's wrong? THOMAS He's fine. Martha looks up. Thomas gives her a conspiratorial look. THOMAS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I just needed a bit of air. Bit of opera goes a long way, right, Bruce? Young Bruce looks up at his Dad, who winks. Young Bruce smiles gratefully. THOMAS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Come one. Thomas, coat over his arm, ushers his family down the dark alley, heading for the WELCOMING GLOW of the main boulevard. A FIGURE emerges from the shadows in front of them. A MAN. With a GUN. Shifting uneasily. MAN Wallet, jewelry! Fast! THOMAS -LRB- calm tone. -RRB- That's fine, just take it easy. Thomas hands Young Bruce his coat, then reaches for his wallet. The Man JERKS the gun at Thomas, eyes DARTING. Young Bruce stares up at the gun TREMBLING in the Man's hand. THOMAS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Here you go. The man GRABS at the wallet but FUMBLES it. It FALLS. The Man glances down at the wallet then back to Thomas, scared. THOMAS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- reassuring tone. -RRB- It's fine, it's fine. The Man crouches for the wallet, eyes on Thomas. THOMAS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- just take it and go. The Man feels for the wallet, looks at Martha. Her pearls. MAN I said jewelry! She starts pulling off her rings. The Man JERKS the gun at her neck. Thomas STEPS protectively in front of his wife. THOMAS Hey, just - BOOM. Young Bruce FLINCHES. Thomas looks down at his bleeding chest. Then back to the Man, saddened. Thomas CRUMPLES. Martha SCREAMS. The Man REACHES for Martha's pearls - but she SCREAMS desperately for Thomas. MARTHA THOMAS! THOMAS! MAN Gim me the damn. But Martha FLAILS, trying to grab her fallen husband. The Man SHOOTS her. Then YANKS at her necklace, which BREAKS. Spilling PEARLS all over the asphalt. The Man stands. Turns to Young Bruce. Who STARES at him. Uncomprehending. The Man can not bear the boy's gaze. And then he RUNS. Young Bruce looks at the bodies of his parents. DROPS to his knees, head down : PEARLS dot the asphalt beneath him. Some of them are bloody. Young Bruce starts to SHIVER.", "INT. POLICE STATION -- NIGHT CHAOS : REPORTERS and COPS vying for a piece of the crime of the decade. In the Captain's office, Young Bruce. Bewildered, forgotten. Still clutching his father's overcoat. MALE VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Is that your father's? Young Bruce looks up : a young beat cop stands over him - JIM GORDON -LRB- 29 -RRB-. Gordon crouches, reaches for the coat. Young Bruce huddles over it, protective. GORDON -LRB- reassuring. -RRB- It's okay. Gordon's tone prompts Young Bruce to trust him. Gordon takes the coat, DRAPES it gently across Young Bruce's shoulders. MALE VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- GORDON! You got ta stick your nose into everything! Gordon turns to CAPTAIN LOEB, who glares at him. CAPTAIN LOEB Outta my sight. Gordon NODS at Young Bruce, whose eyes wish Gordon would stay. Gordon leaves. Loeb turns to Young Bruce. CAPTAIN LOEB -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Good news. we got him, son. Young Bruce looks up at him dazed. Uncertain.", "EXT. GROUNDS, WAYNE MANOR -- DAY Snow falls over two open graves. MOURNERS disperse, guided by SECURITY GUARDS. Alfred stands with Young Bruce. A man approaches, EARLE -LRB- 47 -RRB-. He nods at Alfred, crouching. EARLE -LRB- indicates Alfred. -RRB- You're in excellent hands, Bruce. And we're minding the empire. When you're all grown up, it'll be waiting. Young Bruce looks blankly at Earle.", "EXT. WAYNE MANOR -- LATER Mourners file towards the gates. Rachel walks with her mother. Looks up at Bruce's high window. Sees him watching. Waves. Young Bruce pauses, then returns the wave.", "INT. BRUCE'S BEDROOM -- CONTINUOUS Alfred enters. Looks tenderly at Young Bruce's back. ALFRED I thought I'd prepare a little supper. No response. Alfred turns. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Very well. YOUNG BRUCE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Alfred? Alfred turns back. Young Bruce is looking at him with TEARS POURING down his cheeks. Alfred tilts his head. ALFRED -LRB- voice catching. -RRB- Master Bruce? YOUNG BRUCE It was my fault, Alfred. Alfred's mouth opens. YOUNG BRUCE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I made them leave the theater - ALFRED Oh, no, no, no - Alfred moves to Young Bruce, taking the boy in his arms. YOUNG BRUCE If I had n't got scared - ALFRED No, no, Master Bruce. Nothing you did. Nothing anyone ever did can excuse that man. Alfred holds Young Bruce away to look directly into his eyes. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It's his, and his alone. Do you understand? Young Bruce nods. Then BURIES his face in Alfred's chest, sobbing. YOUNG BRUCE I miss them, Alfred. I miss them so much. ALFRED -LRB- whispering. -RRB- So do I, Master Bruce. So do I. Tears well in Alfred's eyes as he HOLDS the boy, watching snowflakes swirl past the window. DUCARD -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And do you still feel responsible?", "INT. PASSAGEWAY, MONASTERY -- DAY Ducard leads Wayne along a screened passage overlooking extraordinary mountains. WAYNE My anger outweighs my guilt. Ducard opens a door.", "INT. DOJO, MONASTERY -- DAY Leads Wayne onto a MEZZANINE LEVEL stacked with boxes and bottles. NINJAS pour powders into packets, mixing compounds. Ducard takes a pinch of a powder - throws it down - BANG! Wayne FLINCHES - Ducard SMILES good - naturedly. DUCARD Advanced techniques of Ninjitsu employ explosive powders. WAYNE As weapons? DUCARD Or distractions. Theatricality and deception are powerful agents. Ducard hands Wayne a pinch of the powder. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- To be a great warrior is not enough. Flesh and blood, however skilled, can be destroyed. you must be more than just a man in the minds of your opponents. Wayne listens to this. Tosses the powder - BANG!", "EXT. FROZEN LAKE, HIMALAYAS -- DAY Wayne and Ducard CIRCLE each other on the ICE, SWORDS poised to strike. Dark figures in the white and blue landscape. Ducard STRIKES at Wayne, who DEFLECTS the blow using a SILVER GAUNTLET with THREE SCALLOPS -LRB- thick, hook - like projections -RRB-. Ducard SKIDS left, breath STEAMING, feinting with his sword. Wayne steps sideways on the ice, his foot landing on a thin patch which CREAKS, water BUBBLING underneath. DUCARD Mind your surrounding. Always. Wayne STRIKES - Ducard BLOCKS with his own BRONZE GAUNTLET. Wayne SLIPS right and FLIES IN with a short THRUST - Ducard's arm flips down in a backhand move - Ducard CATCHES Wayne's sword in one of his SCALLOPS. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Your parent's death was not your fault. Ducard ROTATES his arm, WRENCHING Wayne's sword from his grasp - it SKIDS along the ice. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- it was your father's. Wayne, ENRAGES, dives at Ducard, SWINGING at him with the scallops, FURIOUS, RECKLESS. Ducard parries with his sword, they LOCK - noses inches apart, Wayne BREATHING. ANGRY. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Anger does not change the fact that your father failed to act. WAYNE The man had a gun! DUCARD Would that stop you? WAYNE I've had training - DUCARD The training is nothing. The will to take control is everything. Your father trusted his city, its logic. he thought he understood the attacker and could simply give him what he wanted. Wayne considers this. breathing slowing. CALMER. they separate. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- gently. -RRB- Your father did not understand the forces of decay - cities like Gotham are in their death throes - chaotic, grotesque. Beyond saving. WAYNE Beyond saving? You believe that? Ducard regards the harshly beautiful landscape. DUCARD It is not right that one must come so far to see the world as it is meant to be. Purity. Serenity. Solitude. These are the qualities we hold dear. But the important thing is whether you believe it. Wayne stares at Ducard. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Can Gotham can be saved, or is she an ailing ancestor whose time has run? Ducard STRIKES DOWN at Wayne with his sword. Wayne BLOCKS the strike with FOREARMS CROSSED, SLIDES BETWEEN DUCARD'S LEGS across the ice to where his sword lies. GRASPING his sword he SPINS, SWEEPING at Ducard's feet. Ducard LEAPS - Wayne CATCHES his foot, brings him down onto the ice. Wayne THRUSTS his sword at Ducard's throat - STOPS INCHES from Ducard's bare neck. Ducard freezes, arms at his sides. Wayne looks down at Ducard, SMILING in triumph. WAYNE Yield. Ducard smiles. Shakes his head. DUCARD You have n't beaten me. You've sacrificed sure footing for a killing stroke. Ducard TAPS the ice beneath Wayne's feet with his sword - the ice gives way, PLUNGING Wayne through the surface.", "EXT. SHORE, FROZEN LAKE -- EVENING Ducard feeds a small FIRE. Wayne RUBS his arms, SHIVERING violently against hypothermia. Ducard looks at him. DUCARD Do n't rub your arms, rub your chest. Your arms'll take care of themselves. Wayne rubs his torso, NODS at Ducard. Ducard feeds the fire. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You have strength born of years of grief and anger, Wayne. The strength of a man denied revenge. Even in his shivering, Wayne REACTS to this. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Why, Wayne?", "INT. WAYNE STATION PLATFORM -- DAY (WAYNE'S MEMORY) A monorail pulls into the platform. Disgorges passengers. DUCARD -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Why could you not avenge your parents? Amongst them, Bruce, AGED 20, holding a bag. He sees Alfred, now 62, craning his neck, SEARCHING. He waves. BRUCE You did n't have to pick me up - ALFRED Well, sir, the red line. well, it's closed. Apparently Mr.Earle thought it was n't making enough money.", "INT. CONCOURSE, WAYNE STATION -- MOMENTS LATER Bruce looks sadly at the DECAY to his father's station : glass CRACKED, marble chipped, HOMELESS bundled in shuttered storefronts. He looks up through the sparing glass : WAYNE TOWER looms overhead, gold lettering catching the sun. BRUCE How is Mr.Earle? ALFRED Oh. successful.", "INT. ROLLS ROYCE -- LATER Alfred glances at Bruce in the rear - view mirror. ALFRED Will you be heading back to Princeton tomorrow or could I persuade you to spend an extra night or two? BRUCE I'm not heading back at all. ALFRED You do n't like it there? Bruce smiles, sardonic. Looks out at the trees flashing by. BRUCE I like it fine. they just do n't feel the same way. Alfred purses his lips, IRRITATED.", "EXT. WAYNE MANOR -- MOMENTS LATER Bruce STARES up at house. Alfred pulls the bag out of the car and, to Bruce's surprise, DROPS it at Bruce's feet.", "INT. WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Alfred leads Bruce up the main staircase. The house is now dark and empty. Dust - cloths cover much of the furniture. ALFRED -LRB- tense. -RRB- I've prepared the master bedroom. BRUCE My old room will be fine. ALFRED -LRB- stern. -RRB- With all due respect, sir, your father is dead. Wayne Manor is your house. BRUCE -LRB- irritated. -RRB- No, alfred, his is n't my house. -LRB- gestures. -RRB- It's a mausoleum. A reminder of everything I lost. And when I have my way I'll pull the damn thing down brick by brick - Alfred turns on Bruce, angry. ALFRED This house, Master Wayne, has sheltered six generations of the Wayne family, and stood patiently by while you've cavorted in and out of a dozen private schools and colleges. As have I. Bruce stares at Alfred. Eyes burning. Chastened. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- softer. -RRB- The Wayne family legacy is not so easily shrugged off. BRUCE -LRB- sadly. -RRB- Nor borne, old friend. I'm sorry to have disappointed you. ALFRED Master Wayne. I was at your father's side when you were born. And at your side when he was laid to rest. BRUCE -LRB- voice catching. -RRB- I know. ALFRED Your father was a great man. But I have every confidence that you will exceed his greatness. BRUCE Have n't given up on me, yet? ALFRED -LRB- conviction. -RRB- Never. Bruce sags under the burden of Alfred's faith. He opens the door to his bedroom, then turns back to Alfred. BRUCE I may not get another chance to thank you for all you've done for me. Alfred looks at him, curious. ALFRED Are you going away after the hearing? Bruce shrugs, hard to read. Then enters his old bedroom.", "INT. BRUCE'S BEDROOM -- CONTINUOUS Bruce puts his bag on the bed. Looks around the room. At the mantel, Bruce stares at a framed photograph : Young Bruce on his Dad's shoulders, arms raised in triumph. Bruce wipes dust from the photograph. Smiles at it. INSERT CUT : Young bruce on Thomas's shoulders - thomas TIPS back, threatening to drop Young bruce who LAUGHS and LAUGHS. Bruce moves to the bed. Opens his case. Inside it is a GUN.", "EXT. GATES, WAYNE MANOR -- MORNING Rachel, now 23, stands by her car looking up at the house. She can see Bruce in the window. She gives a small wave.", "INT. BRUCE'S BEDROOM -- CONTINUOUS Bruce returns Rachel's wave. Then FINISHES LOADING HIS GUN.", "EXT. GATES, WAYNE MANOR -- MOMENTS LATER Bruce walks down the drive to Rachel. He smiles gently. BRUCE You look well. `` Assistant District Attorney'', right? RACHEL -LRB- nods, smiles. -RRB- You still trying to get kicked out of the entire ivy league? BRUCE -LRB- shakes head, smiling. -RRB- Turns out you do n't actually need a degree to do the international playboy thing. Rachel smiles. Looks down at her shoes. Then back to Bruce. RACHEL Bruce, I do n't suppose there's any way I can convince you not to come - BRUCE -LRB- cold. -RRB- Someone at this proceeding should stand for my parents. RACHEL Bruce, we all loved your parents. What Chill did is unforgivable - BRUCE Then why is your boss letting him go? RACHEL Because in prison he shared a cell with carmine Falcone. He learned things and he'll testify in exchange for early parole. Bruce shakes his head, opens the car door. Rachel sighs.", "INT./EXT. RACHEL'S CAR ON FREEWAY, GOTHAM -- MORNING Rachel's car heads towards the golden spires of Gotham. Bruce stares out the window in silence.", "INT. RACHEL'S CAR -- MOMENTS LATER Rachel pulls into the PARKING LOT of the COURTHOUSE. Parks. Bruce looks at her through the strained silence. BRUCE Rachel, this man killed my parents. I can not let that pass. Rachel almost says something. Then SHRUGS. BRUCE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Rachel, I need you to understand. Rachel looks at Bruce. Considering. Gently NODS. Bruce nods back. Rachel opens her door and starts getting out. Bruce slips out his GUN, placing it on the ground behind the front wheel of Rachel's car as he gets out.", "INT. COURTHOUSE -- DAY A small bureaucratic proceeding. A five person PANEL. Bruce sits amongst the OBSERVERS. Watching the back of Chili's head. Rachel's boss, FINCH, addresses the panel. FINCH Given the exemplary prison record of Mr.Chill, the 14 years already served And his extraordinary level of cooperation with one of this office's most important investigations. we strongly endorse Mr.Chill's petition for early release. The CHAIRMAN nods, consults his paperwork. CHAIRMAN I gather a member of the Wayne family is here today. Chill REACTS, TURNING. Bruce STUDIES his weathered face. CHAIRMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- does he have anything to say? Chill notices Wayne's cold eyes. Has to look away. Bruce RISES, walks out, all eyes on him. Including Rachel's.", "EXT. PARKING LOT, COURTHOUSE -- MOMENTS LATER Bruce MOVES to Rachel's car. Picks up his GUN, stuffs it up the sleeve of his overcoat. Waits. The side exit opens and two COPS come out. A shout goes up from the pressmen around the front of the courthouse. REPORTERS They're taking him out the side! REPORTERS swarm around the building as Chill emerges. REPORTER1 Chill, any words for the Wayne family?! Chill, head down, presses on. Bruce straightens. Breathes. Starts WALKING towards Chill. A Reporter SPOTS him. REPORTER2 It's Bruce Wayne! The Reporters clear a path, eager for a confrontation. BLONDE FEMALE REPORTER Joe! Hey Joe! This one catches Chill's eye - blonde, local t.v. type. Bruce's hand DROPS to his side as he MOVES. he's BREATHING HARD. THINKING. DECIDING. BLONDE FEMALE REPORTER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Falcone says hi! She THRUSTS a gun at Chill's chest and FIRES. Chill DROPS - Bruce STOPS in his tracks. Reporters DIVE for cover - COPS jump on the Blonde Reporter, pinning her. Bruce. Fifteen feet away. Loaded gun up his sleeve. Face as uncomprehending as the night Chill killed his parents. Rachel moves to Bruce, pulling him away from the chaos. RACHEL Come one, Bruce. Come on, we do n't need to see this. Bruce yanks his arm away. BRUCE I do.", "INT. RACHEL'S CAR -- EVENING Rachel drives. Bruce sits there, hands in his lap. Staring. Rachel glances over at him. Then pulls over. Turns to him. RACHEL -LRB- gentle. -RRB- Are you okay? BRUCE -LRB- distant. -RRB- All these years I wanted to kill him. Now he's gone. Now I ca n't. RACHEL You do n't mean that. BRUCE -LRB- bitter. -RRB- What if I do, Rachel? Chill killed my parents. They deserved justice. Rachel looks at him, appalled. RACHEL You're not talking about justice, you're talking about revenge. BRUCE Sometimes they're the same. RACHEL They're never the same, Bruce. Justice is about harmony. revenge is about you making yourself feel better. That's why we have an impartial system - Rachel pulls out into the street. BRUCE Well, your system of justice is broken - RACHEL Do n't you tell me the system's broken, Bruce! I'm out here every day trying to fix it while you mope around using your grief as an excuse to do nothing. You care about justice? Rachel YANKS the wheel -", "EXT. FREEWAY, GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS Rachel's car SCREECHES across two lanes, onto an EXIT RAMP.", "INT./EXT. RACHEL'S CAR ON SURFACE STREETS -- CONTINUOUS The streets below are DARK, crowded and THREATENING - RACHEL Look beyond your own pain, Bruce. Rachel gestures at the filthy streets. Down dark alleys - shadowy figures conduct business. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- This city is rotting. Chill is not the cause, he's the effect. Corruption is killing Gotham and Chill being dead does n't help that - it makes it worse because Falcone walks. He carries on flooding our city with crime and drugs. creating new Joe Chills. Falcone may not have killed your parents, Bruce, but he's destroying everything they stood for. They pull up in front of a BASEMENT CLUB. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- They all know where to find Falcone. -LRB- gestures at club. -RRB- But no one will touch him because he keeps the bad people rich and the good people scared. Rachel turns on Bruce. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- quiet. -RRB- And what chance does Gotham have when the good people do nothing? She pokes him in the chest. Bruce looks down at her finger. BRUCE I'm not one of your `` good people'', Rachel. Chill took that from me. Rachel looks at Bruce strangely. RACHEL What do you mean? Bruce pulls up his sleeve. Turns his hand over. Rachel stares at the GUN in his hand, SHOCKED. BRUCE I was going to kill him myself. She looks at Bruce. Then SLAPS him. Bruce does nothing. Rachel SLAPS him again and again. Nothing. She stops. Tears flowing. RACHEL You're no better than the rest. Rachel points at the gun. Looks into Bruce's eyes. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Your father would be ashamed of you. Bruce stares at Rachel. Opens his door.", "EXT. DOCK AREA, GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS Bruce watches Rachel's car disappear. Turns to look at the line of SHIPS in the harbor. He makes his way to the water. Takes out his gun. Turns it, STUDIES the light off its metal - INSERT CUT : the TREMBLING BARREL of Chill's gun, inches from Thomas Wayne's chest. Bruce, with contempt, FLINGS his gun into the black water.", "EXT. BASEMENT CLUB, FACING DOCKS -- LATER Bruce walks towards the entrance. A BOUNCER steps out, looking at him with contempt. BOUNCER Get lost, kid. Bruce pulls a massive wad of cash from his pocket. Splits it in two. Offers one half. BRUCE The other half when you give me the nod that Falcone's leaving. Unawares. The Bouncer looks at Bruce. Takes the money.", "EXT. BASEMENT CLUB, FACING DOCKS -- LATER Bruce watches the entrance from the shadows. Two THUGS escort a thickset man out of a club. The Bouncer waves - BOUNCER ` Night, Mr.Falcone. The three men move towards a waiting limo - WHAM - one Thug takes a kick to the head, goes down - Bruce steps from the shadows - the Second Thug goes for his gun - Bruce GRABS his arm - CHOPS his throat - JUDO FLIPS the thug. Bruce turns to Falcone who looks at him, curious. FALCONE The little rich kid. No gun? I'm insulted. The First Thug lunges at Bruce with a KNIFE - Bruce puts him down with a graceful SWEEP - BRUCE I do n't need a gun. FALCONE Yes, you do. CLICK. A gun is at bruce's head. Held by the Bouncer FALCONE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Money is n't power down here - fear is. The Bouncer pistol whips him once, hard. Bruce goes down. The Bouncer drops Bruce's money onto him. FALCONE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You shoulda just sent me a thank - you note. Bruce looks up at Falcone. Spits blood. BRUCE I did n't come here to thank - you. I came to show you that nit everyone in Gotham is afraid of you. FALCONE -LRB- laughs. -RRB- Just those that know me. You got balls, kid. -LRB- cold. -RRB- But you do n't belong down here with us. We do n't play fair. Now go back to your big house, wrap yourself in your silk sheets and I'll send you a shoulder to cry on. BRUCE You do n't dress well enough to be a pimp. Falcone lights a cigar. Stares down at bruce. Ice. FALCONE You miss your Mommy and Daddy? Come down here again, I send you to them. Falcone turns. His thugs get into the limo with him. Bruce watches it slide into the night. Struggles to his feet. Bruce walks the docks, wiping blood from his mouth. SHADOWS in doorways mark his progress. Three YOUTHS approach. Bruce stiffens, but they cross the street to avoid him. MALE VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- No one'll mess with ya. Bruce turns. A HOMELESS MAN warming at a flaming oil drum. One of many HOMELESS clustered around the docks. HOMELESS MAN Wander ` round here dressed like that, means you got something to prove. Man with something to prove is dangerous. Bruce STARES at the man. Thinking. Takes out his wallet. Removes the money. Hands it to the Homeless Man. HOMELESS MAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- For what? BRUCE Your jacket. Bruce DROPS his wallet into the fire. The Homeless Man LAUGHS. Bruce pulls off his tie, throws it into the fire. He pulls off his overcoat, bundles it up ready to - HOMELESS MAN Lem me have it, that's a good coat. Bruce looks at the Homeless Man, who has removed his own. They EXCHANGE clothing. BRUCE Be careful who sees you with that. -LRB- off look. -RRB- They're gon na come looking for me. HOMELESS MAN Who? Bruce smiles. BRUCE Everyone. Bruce, less incongruous in his `` new'' coat, moves down towards the stacks of containers. Bruce wanders the stacks. A HORN sounds. Bruce's eyes lock onto the ship preparing to leave. Bruce runs towards it trough the shadows. DUCARD -LRB- O.S. -RRB- And when you left Gotham. And we are -", "EXT. HIMALAYAN MONASTERY -- DAY DUCARD what were you seeking? Ducard LEAPS up onto a STONE WALL. GRABBING ON using pikes on his palms and on his feet. Wayne watches. WAYNE To lose myself. I could n't do anything as Bruce Wayne. I felt useless. Ducard gestures up to the top of the 50 - ft wall. DUCARD Perhaps you can beat my record. Bruce JUMPS up onto the wall, HIGHER than Ducard. Confident. WAYNE How long? DUCARD Two days. -LRB- off look. -RRB- The test is not to see how quickly you can climb, but how slowly. The Ninja is thought invisible, but invisibility is largely a matter of patience. Ducard reaches up for another handhold. Slowly. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- On your journey. you sought knowledge of the criminal world? WAYNE -LRB- nods. -RRB- I needed to understand the thoughts and feelings of those who stand in the shadows.", "EXT. CROWDED MARKET, AFRICAN PORT TOWN -- EVENING (MEMORY) WAYNE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The first time you're forced to steal not to starve. Bruce picks up a mango from a stack to examine it. As he does so he uses his lower hand to slip a PLUM into his pocket.", "EXT. ALLEY, AFRICAN PORT TOWN -- LATER Bruce squats in a doorway. Bites hungrily into his plum. He looks up. A CHILD in rags sits in the next doorway, STARING. Bruce stares back, juice dripping. WAYNE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- you lose many assumptions about the simple nature of right and wrong. Bruce hands the Child the plum. Licks his fingers. Hard.", "INT. TRAIN STATION, LONDON -- DAY Bruce -LRB- bearded, filthy -RRB- in a crowd, with an ELDERLY MAN. WAYNE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I needed to feel the fear before a crime. The Elderly Man SPOTS a BUSINESSMAN hurrying along - STEPS into his path, engineering a COLLISION, tumbling to the pavement. The Businessman and Bruce both CROUCH to help. WAYNE -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- And the thrill of success. Bruce SLIPS the Businessman's wallet out of his pocket. The Businessman moves off. Bruce shows the Elderly Man the wallet for APPROVAL. Then HURRIES after the Businessman. WAYNE -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- without becoming one of them. Bruce CATCHES the Businessman, gives him the wallet. The Businessman thanks Bruce - noticing his destitution, he HANDS Bruce a banknote. Bruce nods thanks.", "INT. WAREHOUSE, UNDER THE ARCHES, EASTERN EUROPE -- NIGHT Bruce tries to crack a safe under the supervision of a YOUNG TOUGH. The Young Tough shakes his head, spins the dial and whips open the safe. Showing Wayne the action. WAYNE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I thought I would find something.", "INT. SMOKE-FILLED BACKROOM, SHANGHAI -- NIGHT At a table with a CHINESE BOSS and SEVEN CRIMINALS drinking, laughing, showing each other their spoils -LRB- watches, phones -RRB-. WAYNE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I thought I would learn what I needed to do with my skills and my anger.", "INT. WAREHOUSE, SHANGHAI -- DAY A TRUCK races through the door. Two Criminals yank the doors shut after. Bruce and the Boss jumps down from the cab. WAYNE But the harder I looked the less I saw. The less I knew. Bruce turns to the Boss wary. BRUCE Where's this friend of yours? BOSS -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- Not friend. Friend of friend. Bruce rolls his eyes. Looks at the Boss with contempt. WAYNE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Until I was n't even sure what I'd been looking for in the first place. The doors EXPLODE COPS burst in, shouting in Mandarin.", "INT. SAME -- LATER The back of the truck is opened. Cops inventory piles of BOXES pulled out of the back. WAYNE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And I was lost. Bruce sits in a line of criminals, bands cuffed behind back. A Cop YANKS him to his feet, hauling him over to an OFFICER. COP -LRB- in Mandarin. -RRB- He refuses to give his name. The Officer smiles solicitously at Bruce. OFFICER -LRB- in Mandarin. -RRB- Fool - this is china, you're a criminal, what the hell do I care what your name is? BRUCE -LRB- in fluent Mandarin. -RRB- I'm not a criminal. The Officer, surprised, waves Bruce away. Looks at the truck. OFFICER -LRB- in accented English. -RRB- Tell that to the guys who owned these! He KICKS a BOX : CLOSE ON the WAYNE INDUSTRIES logo.", "EXT. WALL, HIMALAYAN MONASTERY -- DAWN Wayne and Ducard cling to the wall just short of the roof, eyes LOCKED. Both are in AGONY, sweat - drenched, STRAINING. Ducard BLINKS. REACHES for the roof and pulls himself up. Wayne closes his eyes in relief. Ducard pulls Wayne up onto the roof. They lie there in the half - light. Ducard turns to Wayne. Puts a hand on his shoulder. Proud. DUCARD You are ready.", "INT. THRONE ROOM -- NIGHT Close on Wayne's BLUE POPPY - now SHRIVELED DRY - on the altar. Wayne, clad in black ninja uniform watches as Ducard, also in black, picks it up, takes a pestle and mortar, drops in the dried flower, and grinds it to dust. Ducard pours the dust into a small brazier. Lights it. Motions to Wayne, who approaches the smoking altar. DUCARD Drink in your fears. Face them. Wayne breathes the smoke. He shakes his head, REACTING to the effects of the smoke. his mind is plagued by IMAGES : Chill's trembling gun - Young Bruce FALLING - Thomas STAGGERING - Ducard puts on his ninja mask. Motions Wayne to do the same. Wayne STRUGGLES to think through the effects of the smoke. WAYNE Why The masks? As if in reply, DOZENS of NINJAS step forward from the shadows : the hall is filled with identical Ninjas. Ducard has melted into the crowd. Wayne raises his guard. DUCARD To conquer fear, you must become fear. you must bask in the fear of other men. and men fear most what they can not see - Ducard STRIKES at Wayne - Wayne SPINS, PARRIES - but Ducard has gone. The Ninjas movie in unison, forming WALLS. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It is not enough to be a man. you have to become an idea. a terrible thought. a wraith - The Ninja nearest Wayne TURNS and SLASHES - it is Ducard. Wayne LEAPS sideways, ROLLING through the wall of Ninjas. He looks at his arm - it has been slashed, the uniform torn a dead giveaway. Wayne looks around, crouched, READY. One wall of Ninjas PARTS, revealing a WOODEN BOX. Wayne stares at it, MIND SPINNING from the smoke. DUCARD -LRB- O.S. ; CONT'D. -RRB- Face your fear. Wayne cautiously approaches the box. Carefully lifts the lid. PEERS inside. BATS EXPLODE from the box, FILLING the air - Wayne dives away from the box, STARING up at the squawking bats - flinching. Ducard LEAPS at Wayne, who ROLLS sideways, blocking - Wayne turns to face Ducard, but he is lost in the Ninjas, bats filling the air, Wayne FLINCHING with their attacks. Wayne stays low, SLASHES the arm of the Ninja nearest him - the man does not move. Wayne turns. Fighting to THINK. A Ninja paces softly through the crowd, as he speaks, we can tell this is Ducard. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Become one with the darkness. Ducard falls in behinds a Ninja with a SLASHED SLEEVE. He KNOCKS him to his knees, sword against throat - DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You can not leave any sign. Ducard pulls off his own mask. Disappointed. WAYNE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I have n't. A SWORD IS AT DUCARD'S NECK - Wayne is behind him, pulling off his mask. Ducard looks around. several of the Ninjas around them have slashed sleeves. Ducard smiles. The Ninjas TURN, in unison, and sit. Ra's Al Ghul is seated on a small stage at the head of the room. Ducard leads Wayne to sit down in front of Ra's. A Ninja places a tray between them : a bottle and a burning candle. Ducard places the candle in front of Wayne and hands him a small glass. Ra's Al Ghul begins speaking in Urdu. DUCARD We have purged your fear. You are ready to lead these men. You are ready to become a member of the League of Shadows. Drink. Wayne tips back the glass. Strong stuff. DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- By blowing out this candle you renounce your mortal life. You renounce forever the cities of man. You dedicate your life to solitude. Wayne leans forward to blow out the candle. PAUSES. Looks at the rows of seated Ninjas. WAYNE Where will I be leading these men? DUCARD You will need them in Gotham. WAYNE You want me to go back to Gotham? Ra's stares at Wayne. Starts speaking. DUCARD You yourself are a victim of Gotham's decay. That is why you came here, and that is why you must go back. You will assume the mantle of your birthright. As Gotham's favored son you will be ideally placed. WAYNE For what? DUCARD To help us destroy the city. WAYNE What?! DUCARD When Gotham falls, the other cities will follow in short order. Nature's balance will be restored and Man will finally return to solitude. Wayne turns to Ducard. WAYNE You ca n't believe in this. Ducard looks at Wayne, troubled. DUCARD Ra's Al Ghul has rescued you from the darkest corner of your own heart. what he asks in return is obedience. And the courage to do what is necessary. Wayne stares down at the flickering candle. At the bottle. Wayne FLICKS his sword out, SMASHING the bottle, TIPPING the candle - FLAMES spread across the wooden floor - DUCARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- reaching to extinguish flames. -RRB- What are you doing? WAYNE What's necessary. Wayne STRIKES Ducard in the head with the butt of his sword, DOUSES his mask in the liquid fire and TOSSES it back into the mezzanine where the explosive powders are stored. Ra's LEAPS from his throne, STRIKING at Wayne with his sword - Wayne parries - EXPLOSIONS roar from the balcony, shooting flame across the ceiling - Ra's and Wayne fight as EXPLOSIONS surround them. Wayne LEAPS clear as FLAMING DEBRIS collapses onto Ra's, CRUSHING him. the flames are rising, Ninja bodies are strewn around, fresh explosions rip across the hall as Ninjas flee and Wayne spots Ducard lying unconscious. Wayne PICKS UP Ducard, hauls him out of the Throne room, into a passage, SMASHING THROUGH an ornate screen.", "EXT. MOUNTAINS -- CONTINUOUS Wayne and Ducard CRASH down onto a steep slope of ice and rock, the monastery exploding above them. Wayne rolls over, GRABS a rock, looks across to see - Ducard UNCONSCIOUS, SLIDING down the icy slope. His limp form ROTATES, spinning as his body gathers MOMENTUM, rushing towards the EDGE of the CLIFF. Wayne DIVES AFTER HIM, SLIDING HEAD - FIRST down the ice. the cliff closer and closer as Wayne RACES after Ducard. MERE FEET FROM THE CLIFF EDGE, Wayne GRABS Ducard - raises his free GAUNTLET - CLAD ARM, and SMASHES AT THE ICE, DIGGING IN with the BRONZE SCALLOPS. STOPPING on the edge - Ducard HANGS LIMPLY over a tremendous drop - Wayne STRUGGLES with the dead weight. Wayne PULLS Ducard up onto the ice. BREATHING.", "EXT. TINY HAMLET, HIMALAYAS -- DAY Wayne CARRIES Ducard down the road.", "INT. SHERPA'S HUT -- MOMENTS LATER Wayne KICKS the door open. The Old Man he saw on his way up the mountain stares back at him. Then motions Wayne to put Ducard down onto some mats. The Old Man wipes blood from Ducard's temple. Looks at Wayne, who is moving to the door. OLD MAN I will tell him you saved his life. Wayne stops. Turns. Looks back at Ducard. WAYNE Tell him. I have an ailing ancestor who needs me. Wayne puts his hands together in formal salute. Bows.", "INT. CLIMBER'S BAR, BHUTAN -- DAY A smoky inn, full of SHERPAS and CLIMBERS. Wayne enters, FILTHY, RAGGED. Conversation CEASES. Everyone STARES.", "INT. SAME -- MOMENTS LATER Wayne uses a phone at the bar, waiting for an answer - ALFRED -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Wayne residence. Wayne SMILES at Alfred's familiar voice. WAYNE -LRB- hoarse. -RRB- Alfred. ALFRED -LRB- unflappable. -RRB- Master Wayne. It's been some time. WAYNE Yes. Yes it has. I need a ride. ALFRED And where are we, sir? Wayne glances around. WAYNE Bhutan, I think. A curious Sherpa nearby NODS at Wayne. ALFRED Am I to assume that you're without money and passport? WAYNE I'm traveling a bit light, yes. ALFRED I believe there's an airstrip at Khatmandu long enough for a G5. Make your way there, I'll have the jet down in fifteen hours. WAYNE Very good. Oh, and Alfred? ALFRED Yes, sir? WAYNE Bring some painkillers.", "INT. PRIVATE JET -- DAWN Wayne steps out of the washroom, clean - shaven, fresh tailored clothes. The jet breaks cloud, revealing GOTHAM bathed in glorious SUNRISE. Wayne looks out at the city. Alfred, sleeping opposite, opens an eye. WAYNE Have you told anyone I'm coming home? ALFRED I thought you might like to surprise a few people. WAYNE No one can know I'm back. Not until I'm ready. I'll need everything on the company - shareholders' reports, holdings. Everything. Alfred SMILES to himself. Closes his eyes again. ALFRED You sound like a man with purpose. Wayne stares at the vast city beneath them as the jet BANKS. WAYNE Gotham needs me, Alfred. Gotham needs. a symbol. ALFRED What symbol, sir? WAYNE I'm not sure. Something for the good to rally behind.", "EXT. GOTHAM -- SUNRISE MOVING over SPIRES of the city catching GOLD of first light. WAYNE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- and the criminals to fear.", "INT. LIBRARY, WAYNE MANOR -- NIGHT Wayne, cross - legged on the floor, STUDIES a thick report. Circles something, closes it. Draws another from a STACK.", "INT. KITCHEN, WAYNE MANOR -- EVENING Alfred makes tea. A television plays : business news. INTERVIEWER -LRB- over television. -RRB- Lot of interest in new directions Wayne Industries has been taking. Alfred looks up : Earle is being interviewed. INTERVIEWER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- couple big defense contracts in the bag. as well as rumors that the board is petitioning to have Bruce Wayne, missing for seven years now, declared officially dead. EARLE -LRB- smiles thinly. -RRB- Our operating assumption is always the hopeful one that Bruce'll resurface sometime soon.", "INT. LIBRARY, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Wayne HEARS a CHITTERING. He rises, moving out into the main hall.", "INT. MAIN HALL, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Wayne STARES : a small shadow SPUTTERS around the ceiling. ALFRED -LRB- O.S. -RRB- A blessed bat gain, sir. Wayne turns to find Alfred standing there with a tea service. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- They nest somewhere on the grounds. Wayne watches the dark shape FLICKER around the ceiling.", "EXT. GROUNDS, WAYNE MANOR -- DAY Wayne walks across the gardens to the greenhouse. He wears a long overcoat, a coil of rope over one arm.", "INT. GREENHOUSE -- CONTINUOUS Now derelict. Glass cracked or missing, paint peeled from wrought iron. Wayne stands in the entrance, remembering - INSERT CUT : Rachel, LAUGHING, SPRINTING between the tables.", "INT. DISUSED WELL SHAFT -- MOMENTS LATER DARKNESS, punctured by LIGHT as BOARDS are YANKED, splintering from the mouth of the well, high above. Wayne LOWERS himself down the shaft, overcoat billowing. He undoes his rope at the bottom. TURNS, finding - The DARK CREVICE between the rocks. Wayne CROUCHES, pushing into the BLACKNESS, crawling through into -", "INT. CAVERNS -- CONTINUOUS Wayne climbs down a jagged rock crevice. Air blows in his face. The crevice WIDENS into a low - ceilinged chamber. Wayne hears the RUSH of WATER. He crouches, advances through the low chamber. It turns DOWNWARDS, steeper - Wayne carefully slides on his back, LOWERING HIMSELF into. LIMITLESS BLACK. Wayne stands. A ROAR of water now. He REACHES into his coat, pulls out a CHEMICAL TORCH. CRACKS it, throwing LIGHT into. A VAST CAVERN. An underground RIVER, a JAGGED ceiling, far above, which, as Wayne PEERS, starts to MOVE - BATS EXPLODE from the ceiling. THOUSANDS DESCEND, SCREECHING, attracted to the light - Wayne instinctively CROUCHES. But as they SWARM around him terrifyingly. Wayne RISES to his feet amidst a CYCLONE of bats, watching the fluttering blackness with a profound CALM. And he knows the symbol he must use.", "INT./EXT. ROLLS ROYCE ON GOTHAM STREETS -- MORNING Wayne stares at the DECAY. Sadness gives way to anger.", "EXT. WAYNE PLAZA -- LATER The Rolls pulls up onto the Plaza in front of Wayne Station. The station is deserted. Derelict. Wayne gets out, staring. WAYNE Is it closed? ALFRED They still run a token service out of respect for your father. WAYNE -LRB- low. -RRB- Respect?", "INT. BOARD ROOM, WAYNE TOWER -- CONTINUOUS A board meeting in full swing. Earle presiding. He is addressing a portly, distinguished man at the other end. This is JUDGE PHELAN. EARLE Clearly, Judge Phelan, moving to have Bruce declared dead is not something that any of us here relishes. but as responsible managers it falls to us to act on behalf of Wayne Industries.", "INT. OUTER OFFICE, WAYNE TOWER -- CONTINUOUS Wayne walks past the young, beautiful ASSISTANT sat her desk. WAYNE Morning. The Assistant gets to her feet. ASSISTANT Sir, you ca n't go in there! Wayne turns to her. Smiles. WAYNE Yes, I can. The Assistant RECOGNIZES him, stands there, SHOCKED.", "INT. BOARD ROOM, WAYNE TOWER -- CONTINUOUS As the door OPENS, Earle looks over, annoyed. EARLE I'm sorry, can I? Earle STARES. Dumbstruck. All heads TURN - Wayne smiles. WAYNE Sorry to barge in, but I was in the areas. SILENCE. Earle gets to his feet, approaching Wayne, STARING. He SHAKES Wayne's hand, claps the other on his shoulder. EARLE My boy! We thought you were gone for good. WAYNE What can I say? `` Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated''. Nervous chuckles. Judge Phelan stares at Wayne, incredulous. EARLE Can I ask where you've been? WAYNE -LRB- mischievous. -RRB- You can ask. EARLE -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Well, perhaps you'll tell us your plans. Are you back to finish college? WAYNE Actually, I thought I'd get to grips with what we actually do around here. From the ground up - one division at a time. Earle takes this in, nodding. EARLE Any idea where you'd like to start? WAYNE Applied sciences caught my eye. EARLE Mr.Fox's department. I'll make a call. You can start today. WAYNE Actually, I've got a one o'clock tee - off, and it took me all morning to convince the club to honor my old membership. -LRB- grins at Earle. -RRB- Apparently they do n't have to meet the same high standards as you when it comes to declaring someone dead.", "INT. STAIRCASE, DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE -- DAY Rachel HURRIES down marble stairs to catch Finch. RACHEL Mr.Finch FINCH -LRB- weary. -RRB- Yes, Miss Dodson? RACHEL Mr.Finch, on the Falcone matter - FINCH -LRB- here we go again. -RRB- The case against Falcone died with Chill. We had our shot. They walk out into the parking lot.", "EXT. PARKING LOT, COURTHOUSE -- CONTINUOUS RACHEL That was then - but now he's importing drugs, everybody knows it, let's take it to Harvey Dent and - FINCH -LRB- looking around. -RRB- Keep your voice down. -LRB- quite, sympathetic. -RRB- Look, Rachel, Falcone's got Judge Phelan and half of City Hall bought And paid for. So you got burned on Falcone - let it go, we've got bigger fish to fry. RACHEL That would make a lot more sense if we were doing any frying. Finch, uncomfortable, TURNS. Rachel WATCHES him exit.", "INT. ROLLS ROYCE -- CONTINUOUS In The back seat, Wayne WATCHES Rachel standing there. ALFRED Shall I park, sir? Wayne wrestles for a moment. WAYNE No, let's go. Alfred pulls out with a touch of disappointment.", "INT. APPLIED SCIENCES DIVISION -- DAY A massive WAREHOUSE, stacked with crates, odd - shaped under dust covers, lab equipment. LUCIUS FOX, aged 52, leads Wayne through the stacks, speaking in calm, knowledgeable tones. FOX Environmental applications, defense projects, consumer products. all prototypes, none if production at any level whatsoever. WAYNE None? Fox pauses, turns to Wayne, a wicked gleam in his eye. FOX What did they tell you this place was? WAYNE They did n't tell me anything. FOX Told me exactly what it was when they sent me here. a dead end where I could n't cause any more trouble for the rest of the board. WAYNE You were on the board? FOX Back when your father ran things. WAYNE You knew my father? FOX Sure. Helped him build his train. Beautiful project - routed right into Wayne Tower, along with the water and power utilities. Made Wayne Tower the unofficial heart of Gotham. Fox stops at a tall CRATE. Checks paperwork. Opens the crate : a BODYSUIT - clear silicone over jointed armor. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Here it is : the nomex survival suit for advanced infantry. Kevlar bi - weave, reinforced joints. Wayne feels the fabric of the suit. WAYNE Bullet - proof? FOX Anything but a straight shot. WAYNE Tear - resistant? Fox HACKS at the suit with his pen - it does n't even mark. FOX This sucker'll stop a knife. WAYNE Why did n't they put it into production? FOX The bean counters figured a soldier's life was n't worth the 300 grand. Fox looks at Wayne. Suspicious. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What do you want with it, Mr.Wayne? WAYNE I want to borrow it. For spelunking. -LRB- off look. -RRB- You know, cave - diving. Fox shrugs. Puts the lid back on the crate. FOX You get a lot of gunfire down in those caves? WAYNE -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Listen, I'd rather Mr.Earle did n't know about me borrowing - FOX Mr.Wayne, the way I see it. Fox waves his arm, taking in the enormous facility. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- All this stuff is yours, anyway.", "INT. CAVERNS BENEATH WAYNE MANOR -- DAY Wayne, high on the cavern wall, in climbing harness, HAMMERS a bracket into the rock securing a line of industrial LAMPS. WAYNE Okay! Give it a try. Alfred throws a switch on a portable GENERATOR : the lamps flicker on, dimly lighting the length of one wall. Alfred peers at the DAMP, DINGY surroundings. ALFRED Oh, charming. Alfred sees the BATS covering the entire ceiling. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- At least you'll have company. Wayne RAPPELS to the cave floor, looks up to a HIGH corner : CRUMBLING BRICKWORK. Alfred follows his gaze. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Must be the lowest foundations of the Southeast wing. Wayne CLIMBS up : poking through the rock ceiling : the bottom of a wrought - iron SPIRAL STAIRCASE. In the center of the spiral : a dumb - waiter lift, fallen off its track. Wayne grabs the chains of the lift, RATTLES them - sending a wave ECHOING up into the darkness. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- During the civil war your great - grandfather was involved with the underground railroad. Secretly transporting freed slaves to the North. I suspect these caverns came in handy. Wayne jumps down. Moves to the small river. Follows it where it disappears under rocks. Steps over. Alfred waits. The ROAR of WATER gets louder and the light gets BRIGHTER. Wayne follows the tunnel around a dog leg, emerging. BEHIND THE FACE OF A WATERFALL. Wayne grins, HOPS along slick rocks right up to the beautiful CURTAIN of water. WAYNE -LRB- awe. -RRB- Alfred, come up here. Alfred is twenty feet behind on the dry rocks. ALFRED I can see it very well from here, thank - you, sir. Wayne, mesmerized, reaches for water that is liquid light.", "INT. UNMARKED POLICE SEDAN -- EVENING Gordon, now 46 and a Detective, in the passenger seat. Worn eyes watching his partner, FLASS, 42, glad - hand the owner of the liquor store they are parked outside. Flass squeezes into the driving seat holding a wad of CASH. FLASS Do n't s ` pose you want a taste? Gordon looks at Flass, cold. Flass shrugs. Counts his money. FLASS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I keep offering'cause who knows, maybe one day you'll get wise. GORDON Nothing wise in what you do, Flass. FLASS Yeah? Well, Jimbo, you do n't take your taste - makes us guys nervous you might decide to roll over - GORDON -LRB- irritated. -RRB- I'm no rat, Flass. -LRB- calmer. -RRB- In a town this bent, who's there to rat to, anyway? Flass LAUGHS at this, hits the gas.", "EXT. ROOFTOPS, GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS Moving in on a rooftop balustrade to discover Wayne, wearing the bodysuit, crouched, watching the police station across The street. He pulls on a black balaclava. CLIMBS through the SHADOWS using Ninja SPIRES on his hands and feet.", "EXT. POLICE STATION -- MOMENTS LATER Gordon slams the car door. Watches Flass pull away. Weary.", "INT. GORDON'S OFFICE -- CONTINUOUS Gordon SLUMPS into his chair, back to the window. Reaches for the phone - notices a BOOK sitting on his desk : an old, worn copy of : `` PHYLUM PERACOPDA : THE TWILIGHT WORLD OF BATS''. Gordon frowns at the book, CONFUSED. The light goes OUT. WAYNE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Do n't turn around. Gordon FREEZES - Wayne is behind his, pressing a stapler between Gordon's shoulder blades as if it were a gun. GORDON What do you want? WAYNE I've been watching. You're a good cop. One of the few. What would it take to get Falcone? Gordon narrows his eyes, puzzled. GORDON Carmine Falcone? WAYNE He brings in shipments of drugs every week, nobody takes him down. Why? GORDON He's paid up with the right people. WAYNE What would it take? GORDON Leverage on Judge Phelan. And a D.A. brave enough to prosecute. WAYNE Rachel Dodson in the D.A.'s office. GORDON Who are you? WAYNE Watch for a sign. GORDON You're just one man? WAYNE Now we are two. GORDON We? No response. Gordon turns around. No one. He JUMPS to the window - looks down, looks up : a SHADOW slips onto the roof -", "INT. BULLPEN -- CONTINUOUS Gordon RACES across the bullpen, drawing his gun, hits the stairwell - two UNIFORMS see him go, run after him.", "EXT. ROOFTOP -- CONTINUOUS Wayne moves to the edge of the roof - the gap is TOO BIG - he TURNS BACK - the DOOR SMASHES open : Gordon GUN RAISED. GORDON FREEZE! Wayne RACES for the GAP - LEAPS. DROPS FAST. misses THE TOP STORY - GRABS the balcony below. it BREAKS AWAY - DROPS him onto the one below. Winded, Wayne CLIMBS onto the wall. From the other roof, Gordon watches Wayne melt into the shadows. The Uniforms arrive either side. UNIFORM 1 The hell was that? 1 GORDON -LRB- dismissive. -RRB- Some nut. But Gordon's expression is less certain.", "INT. EARLE'S OFFICE, WAYNE TOWER -- DAY Earle sits at his desk conferring with two board members. BOARD MEMBER Is he taking over? EARLE Not yet. I checked th trust, and bruce ca n't assume control until his thirtieth birthday. -LRB- presses intercom. -RRB- Jessica, where's that coffee? BOARD MEMBER But that's in three months. EARLE We'll have to move fast. BOARD MEMBER 2 To do what? EARLE An IPO. There's nothing in Bruce's trust to stop us taking the company public. we'll have an offering. BOARD MEMBER -LRB- getting it. -RRB- And Bruce will become just another board member. EARLE Precisely. We ca n't have some clown prince running things. -LRB- presses intercom. -RRB- Jessica? No answer. Earle steps to the door and opens it. His assistant is GONE. So is the receptionist.", "EXT. ROOFTOP, WAYNE TOWER -- MOMENTS LATER The SWISH - CLICK of a Titleist rocketing off the roof and out towards Gotham River. Wayne stands behind the Beautiful Assistant, hand on her hip, adjusting her grip on a gold club. Another YOUNG WOMAN watches, leaning on a driver. WAYNE Keep your elbows in. EARLE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Ladies? They turn. Earle is standing there. JESSICA Sorry, Mr.Earle, Mr.Wayne insisted that all junior executives need to know how to play golf. EARLE Junior Executive? Who's answering the phones? Wayne smiles pleasantly at Earle. WAYNE This is Wayne Industries, Mr.Earle - I'm sure they'll call back. Wayne unwraps himself from Jessica and approaches Earle. WAYNE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- conspiratorial. -RRB- I thought a few promotions might be good karma forgetting my new job. Earle smiles patiently. EARLE Of course, you're not actually starting just yet, Bruce. Not until your birthday. WAYNE -LRB- grins. -RRB- Three month's time - I'm having a huge blowout and I expect everyone to be there. EARLE With bells on. How are things down at Applied Sciences? WAYNE Great - there's some cool stuff down there. Although that Mr.Fox goes on a bit once you gte him talking. Earle takes Wayne by the elbow, walking him away. EARLE Since you're here, there is a business matter that I wanted to make you aware of. Wayne assumes a pose of seriousness. WAYNE Business. sure. EARLE We've been thinking for some time about offering shares. I think the time is right. WAYNE Offering shares? EARLE It's just a way of raising capital for growth. it's important to me that the company be in great shape when you take over. Consider it my legacy. Wayne nods. EARLE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Well, I guess I'd better go hire a new secretary and receptionist. Earle head to the door. Wayne smiles, turns back to Jessica. WAYNE Right, who's turn is it?", "EXT. FALCONE'S BASEMENT CLUB, DOCK AREA -- NIGHT Judge Phelan exits the club, a GIRL on his arm. BOUNCER Night, Judge Phelan. Phelan turns, giddy with drink, puts his finger to his lips. PHELAN Shhhhh. The Girl giggles. Phelan guides her into a waiting limo. A STREET PERSON comes over to the rear windows of the car, knocking. The DRIVER gets out. DRIVER Get lost! The Driver KICKS the Street Person away from the limo. A Homeless Man warming by a fire starts shouting. It is the Homeless Man that bruce gave his coat to years before. The coat is worn but recognizable. HOMELESS MAN Leave him alone! Let him be! The limo moves off. Close on the Street Person watching it leave. IT IS BRUCE. He glances down at a tiny CAMERA in his lap. Smiles at the screen : Phelan and the Girl.", "INT. BAT CAVE -- DAY Wayne places two BRONZE GAUNTLETS on a trestle table. FIRES up a paint sprayer. Starts coating them matte BLACK.", "INT. SAME -- LATER Wayne is showing Alfred DIAGRAMS. We catch only GLIMPSES. ALFRED If we order the main part of this. -LRB- points. -RRB-. cowl from Singapore - WAYNE Via a shell corporation. ALFRED Indeed. Then quite separately, place an order through a Chinese manufacturer for these - Alfred points at a diagram which looks like a pair of HORNS. WAYNE -LRB- nods. -RRB- Put it together ourselves. ALFRED Precisely. Of course, they'll have to be large orders to avoid suspicion. WAYNE How large? ALFRED Say, ten thousand. WAYNE -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Least we'll have spares.", "INT. APPLIED SCIENCES DIVISION -- MORNING Fox, at his desk, watches Wayne approaching. FOX -LRB- smiles. -RRB- What's it today? More `` spelunking''? WAYNE Sper - lunking. And no, today it's base - jumping. FOX Base - jumping? What, like parachuting? WAYNE I need some kind of lightweight grappling hook. FOX For what? WAYNE Base jumping's illegal - you ca n't just take the elevator. Fox shakes his head at Wayne. Gets to his feet. They sit. FOX We've got suction pads, grapples. WAYNE Any good? FOX Nope. But this thing's pretty neat. Fox pulls out a box. Inside : a bronze GRAPPLING GUN and HARNESS. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Pneumatic. Magnetic grapple. Monofilament tested to 350 pounds. Wayne feels the weight. It is light. Strong. He picks up the HARNESS that goes with it. Shoulder straps with a wide, hi - tech BELT. Wayne shoves the back end of the gun into the belt buckle - it CLICKS into place. WAYNE Too expensive for the army? Fox takes it back from Wayne. Sardonic. FOX Guess they never thought about marketing to the billionaire base - jumping, spelunking market. WAYNE Look, Mr.Fox, if you're uncomfortable - FOX Mr.Wayne, if you do n't tell me what you're really doing, then when I get asked. I do n't have to lie. But do n't treat me like an idiot. WAYNE -LRB- nods. -RRB- Fair enough. Fox looks at Wayne. Thinking. FOX Come on, I'll show you something.", "INT. LOADING DOCK, APPLIED SCIENCES DIVISION -- LATER Fox hands Wayne a sheet of black fabric. FOX Notice anything? Wayne examines it, shrugs. Fox puts on a GLOVE. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Memory fabric - dual layer polymers with variable alignment molecules. Flexible ordinarily, but put a current through it. Fox GRABS the fabric - which instantly POPS into the RIGID shape of a small one - man TENT. Wayne raises his eyebrows. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- the molecules align and become rigid. Wayne pushes on the tent, feeling its strength, fascinated. WAYNE What kind of shapes can you make? Fox releases the tent, which instantly COLLAPSES. FOX It could be tailored to any structure based on a rigid skeleton. Wayne lifts the black fabric, FLICKING it in a WHIPPING motion. Thinking. Then he sees something. Some kind of vehicle, covered by a tarp. HUGE TIRES visible. WAYNE What's that? Fox, a twinkle in his eye, rolls up the memory fabric. FOX The Tumbler? Oh, you would n't be interested in that. Wayne shoots Fox a look, and we P.O.V. : RACING ALONG, INCHES ABOVE A TEST TRACK -", "INT. TUMBLER ON TEST TRACK -- MOMENTS LATER Wayne pilots using aircraft - like control sticks. Fox, in the passenger seat, hangs on as Wayne PUSHES the vehicle. The Tumbler SHOOTS PAST : LOW and WIDE, a cross between a Lamborghini Countach and a Humvee. Sandy camouflage, stealth - angled panelling and variable - angle flaps across the back. Fox SHOUTS over the noise of the engine. FOX She was built as a bridging vehicle You hit that button -. -LRB- Wayne reaches. -RRB- NO, NOT NOW! -LRB- Wayne recoils. -RRB- It boosts her into a rampless jump! In combat, two of them jump a river towing cables, then you run a bailey bridge across! Damn bridge never worked - but this baby works fine! Wayne inspects the cockpit : a forward - slung `` gunner's'' driving position between their legs, video screens, electronic controls, windows with HEADS - UP DISPLAY. Wayne ACCELERATES. The Tumbler TEARS down the straightaway, SKIDS to a HALT.", "INT. TUMBLER -- CONTINUOUS Fox JOLTS with the stop. Turns to Wayne, a little green. FOX What do you think? Wayne turns to Fox with a slight smile. WAYNE Does it come in black?", "INT. BAT CAVE -- DAY Wayne takes the hi - tech harness for the grapple and CUTS OFF the shoulder straps, leaving a BELT WITH SLIDING ATTACHMENTS.", "INT. SAME -- LATER Wayne lifts a GLOVED hand, metal contacts on the fingertips. With his other hand, he picks up a FABRIC GLOVE, RIBBONS dangling from each finger. He thrusts the gloved hand into the fabric glove - the ribbons SHOOT OUT - RIGID FINGER EXTENSIONS like the SKELETON of a BAT'S WING. Wayne FANS the PROJECTIONS, testing.", "INT. BAT CAVE -- LATER Close on : the COWL. Black, with a slight GRAPHITE sheen. Dramatic, ICONIC even without its ears. A BASEBALL BAT SMASHES into the crown, CRACKING it in two. Alfred picks the pieces off the table, FROWNING. ALFRED Problems with the graphite mixture, apparently. The next ten thousand will be up to specifications. Wayne looks up from adjusting a servo - mounted microphone. WAYNE At least they gave us a discount. ALFRED Quite. In the meantime, might I suggest, sir, that you try to avoid landing on your head? Wayne shoots Alfred a look. Then fits the microphone into the horn - shaped `` ear'' from the cowl.", "INT. SAME -- LATER Wayne GRINDS METAL at a lathe. Alfred approaches with a thermos. Wayne stops grinding, BLOWS on his handiwork. ALFRED Why the design, Master Wayne? Alfred indicates the steel carved into a BAT'S WING. WAYNE A man, however strong, however skilled, is just flesh and blood. I need to be more than a man. I need to be a symbol. ALFRED And why the symbol of the bat? WAYNE Bats frighten me. -LRB- slight smile. -RRB- And it's time my enemies shared my dread. Wayne tilts the crude BATARANG, watching light dance across the brushed steel. He THROWS it WHISTLING into darkness.", "INT. FALCONE'S CLUB, DOCK AREA -- NIGHT Judge Phelan sits sandwiched between two GIRLS, drink and cigar in hand. He looks up. PHELAN Carmine! Where are you going? Falcone is putting his coat on. FALCONE Duty calls. You have yourself a good time, Judge. Falcone turns to the CLUB MANAGER. Leans in. FALCONE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- If he's too cheap to get a hotel, at least make him take his car around to the alley. -LRB- shakes his head. -RRB- No class.", "EXT. DOCKS -- CONTINUOUS Down in the stacks, THUGS unload BOXES an open container. HEADLIGHTS light them up - everyone FREEZES. A sedan pulls up. FLASS emerges. Approaches one of the thugs holding a box. OPENS it, YANKS out a STUFFED TOY. FLASS Cute. Flass RIPS open the toy, pulls a plastic PACKAGE from inside. FLASS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- mock surprise. -RRB- Oh? What have we here? Nobody reacts. Flass hands the toy back to the Thug. FLASS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Carry on, gents. Flass heads inside a massive warehouse to a set of offices.", "INT. OFFICE, DOCKS -- CONTINUOUS Flass enters. Falcone sits at the desk. FALCONE You believe this hump, Flass? He indicates a thin man opposite. Flass sits. FLASS Problem? FALCONE Crane here's making insinuations. The thin man, CRANE, leans forward. A cold presence. CRANE Insinuations? Well, let me be clearer - you stepped on the last shipment before you delivered it to me. You cut it with baby powder, and rendered it useless for my purposes. Falcone stares at the slight man, incredulous. FALCONE -LRB- furious. -RRB- Flass, tell this guy what happens to people who talk to me this way.", "EXT. FALCONE'S CLUB, DOCK AREA -- CONTINUOUS Judge Phelan stumbles out of the club with the GIRLS. They pile into the waiting limo. The Club Manager gestures to the Driver to pull around into the alley.", "EXT. ALLEY, DOCK AREA -- CONTINUOUS The Limo idles in the alley.", "INT. LIMO -- CONTINUOUS The Driver picks his ear. The partition is closed. The Driver examines his finger. WHAM! A BLACK SHAPE LANDS ON THE HOOD - the Driver's eyes go wide as - SMASH! - a BLACK - GLOVED FIST SHATTERS THE WINDSCREEN and GRABS the Driver's neck. IN THE BACK : Phelan sits BOLT UPRIGHT. The girls look around, ALARMED. THE PARTITION SLOWLY LOWERS, REVEALING : BATMAN. Crouched like a dark animal on the hood - the Girls SCREAM.", "EXT. ALLEY -- CONTINUOUS The Homeless Man looks up from his brazier, curious. He sees a dark shape on the hood of a limo, a LONG BLACK CLOAK BILLOWING out behind it. screams echo through the alley.", "INT. LIMO -- CONTINUOUS Phelan scrambles back in his seat, whimpering. BATMAN You have eaten well. As Gotham has starved. Batman's eyes stare out of the black cowl at Phelan. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- This changes tonight. Batman SHOOTS UP OFF the hood, banging onto the roof -", "EXT. ALLEY -- CONTINUOUS The Homeless Man STARES OPEN - MOUTHED at Batman standing, ICONIC, on the roof of the limo, cloak billowing. Batman turns his head towards the Homeless Man - BATMAN Nice coat. - and FLIES UP from the limo, DISAPPEARING into the shadows high above. The Homeless Man looks down at his coat, then back up to the shadows. HOMELESS MAN -LRB- small. -RRB- Thanks.", "INT. OFFICE, DOCKS -- CONTINUOUS Crane looks at Falcone, matter - of - fact. CRANE I'm aware that you're not intimidated by me, Mr.Falcone. But you know who we're working for. and when he gets here I do n't think he's going to want to hear that you've been endangering our operation just to filch a few dollars from your dealers. FALCONE He's coming to Gotham? CRANE Soon. This is our last shipment. Falcone shifts, SUDDENLY UNEASY.", "EXT. THE STACKS -- CONTINUOUS A THUG hands a box to a SECOND THUG, who walks away along the corridor of containers. The first Thug turns back to the darkness of the open container, reaches in - HE IS YANKED INTO THE DARKNESS WITH AN ECHOING CRY - Second Thug TURNS, stares uneasily down the deserved corridor to the BLACK MOUTH of the open container. SECOND THUG Steiss? No reply. He puts down his box. Draws his gun. A THIRD THUG comes around the corner. THIRD THUG Come on, we got ta - He sees the Second Thug's gun. Draws his own. They move cautiously towards the open container.", "EXT. THE STACKS -- CONTINUOUS The Thugs peer into the blackness of the open container - Behind them, a LAMP hanging above the corridor SHATTERS, the Thugs turn, startled, to see another lamp shatter and go dark - them another and another, DARKNESS ADVANCING TOWARDS THEM.", "INT. OFFICE, DOCKS -- CONTINUOUS Falcone lifts his hands in a gesture of peace. FALCONE There's no need to argue - you can just test the stuff here and now. CRANE That's why I came. Flass tosses the package onto the desk.", "EXT. THE STACKS -- CONTINUOUS As the closest lamp SHATTERS, a GLINT of metal DROPS to the ground. the Second Thug bends, picks it up, STARING ; A BAT - SHAPED brushed steel plate. The Second Thug looks up, confused, but the Third Thug is STARING above him. SECOND THUG What? The Second Thug looks up himself : a DARK SHAPE HANGING from a CRANE directly above him. A GIANT BAT, WINGS FOLDED, head pointed towards the ground. SECOND THUG -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What the hell - The Bat DROPS - wings WHIP OUT, RIGID - CATCH the air - FLIPPING the shape downwards - ENVELOPING THE SECOND THUG IN DARKNESS - the Third Thug BOLTS, RACING between containers, arms PUMPING - He SPRINTS headlong down the narrow corridor, SKIDS around a corner, RACES towards - BLACKNESS SIDESWIPES THE THIRD THUG, SPINNING HIM OFF HIS FEET, WHIPPING HIM INTO DARKNESS WITH A PIERCING SCREAM.", "EXT. TRUCK OUTSIDE THE STACKS -- CONTINUOUS Other Thugs REACT to the SCREAM.", "INT. OFFICE, DOCKS -- CONTINUOUS Falcone and Crane hear the scream. Flass JUMPS up.", "EXT. THE STACKS -- CONTINUOUS Thugs, guns drawn, advance into the stacks.", "EXT. THE STACKS -- CONTINUOUS A Fourth Thug WHIPS around a corner to see a JUMPY THUG covering the other end of the corridor. The Fourth Thug nods, steps backwards. MOVEMENT in the shadow behind him. BATMAN IS ALREADY IN FRAME - his arm FLASHES forward with his CLOAK, WRAPS the Thug's neck, YANKS him backwards into the shadows. Jumpy Thug sees the other Thug DISAPPEAR. he OPENS FIRE, STROBING the stacks, revealing INDISTINCT GLIMPSES of MOVEMENT. ELSEWHERE IN THE STACKS : Thugs REACT to the gunfire. Flass stands outside the stacks, gun drawn, listening. He moves back into the office.", "INT. OFFICE, DOCKS -- CONTINUOUS FALCONE What the hell's going on?! Flass looks at Falcone. FLASS You've got a problem out there. Falcone reaches behind the desk, PULLS out a SHOTGUN.", "EXT. THE STACKS -- CONTINUOUS Jumpy Thug FIRES blindly at STROBING SHADOWS - GLIMPSES of a DARK CLOAKED FIGURE moving from SHADOW TO SHADOW. Jumpy Thug empties the clip. FUMBLES for another as he looks out into the darkness. JUMPY THUG WHERE ARE YOU?! A whispered word at his ear : BATMAN Here. BATMAN'S FACE, UPSIDE DOWN, at the Thug's shoulder - Jumpy Thug SCREAMS as he is ENGULFED by DARKNESS -", "EXT. OUTSIDE THE STACKS -- CONTINUOUS Flass scuttles over to his car. Crane pauses, listening to the shouts and gunfire. Then moves off into the night.", "EXT. THE STACKS -- CONTINUOUS Falcone advances through the stacks, shotgun in hand. He rounds a corner to find FIVE THUGS, various weapons in hand, in a loose defensive ring, peering out into the darkness. A SHADOW DROPS into the center of their ring - Thugs TURN, SHOUTING, one SWINGS a CHAIN, another a KNIFE - Batman DUCKS the chain - SWEEP - KICKS the knife - wielder to the ground. Chain SWINGS again. Batman JUMPS up, one leg LOW to let the CHAIN WRAP around his ANKLE - Batman KICKS his leg sideways RIPPING the chain from its owner, then HEAD BUTTING him down - Batman SPINS his CHAIN - WRAPPED LEG in a ROUNDHOUSE KICK, WHIPPING THREE THUGS behind him in the fade with the CHAIN. All three go DOWN. The rest are unconscious or gone. Batman STANDS there, long cape BILLOWING out to one side. The chain SLIDES from his leg. Falcone is behind him, SHOTGUN aimed dead at Batman's head. FALCONE What in God's name are you? Batman opens his hand, revealing TWO SHOTGUN CARTRIDGES. Then TURNS, billowing cape WRAPPING around him. BATMAN I'm Batman. Falcone pulls the trigger. CLICK.", "INT. BEDROOM, RACHEL'S APARTMENT -- LATER Rachel TOSSES, trying to sleep, eyes shut. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Rachel Dodson. Rachel bolts upright, GRASPING at her bedside table. RACHEL Who's there?! She pulls out a TASER - PEERS into the shadows : Silhouetted by the window - a dark, cloaked figure. Batman. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Take one step, I drop you! Batman moves his arm - something DROPS onto Rachel's bed : a FILE, spilling PHOTOS. She FLINCHES. GLANCES DOWN : photos of Phelan and the girl in the limo. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What the hell is this? BATMAN Leverage. RACHEL What do I need leverage for? BATMAN To get things moving. RACHEL Who are you? BATMAN Someone like you. Someone who'll stand against the corruption. Rachel reaches for the lamp, her eyes off the window for the INSTANT it takes to ILLUMINATE the room, revealing - No one.", "EXT. DOCKS -- CONTINUOUS Gordon approaches, coffee in hand : TIED - UP THUGS sit against the container full of DRUGS. UNIFORMS hold back a line of PRESS, who snap away at the surreal scene. Gordon crouches to look at the Thugs, curious. UNIFORMED COP -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Falcone's men? GORDON -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- Does it matter? We'll never tie him to it, anyway. UNIFORMED COP -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I would n't be too sure of that. Gordon looks up. The uniformed Cop is POINTING. At a HARBOR LIGHT trained on the heavens. Gordon RISES, walks towards it. Two Cops stand there, STARING : Falcone is STRAPPED to the LIGHT, UNCONSCIOUS, arms spread. Coat RIPPED, hanging from his arms in a STRANGE PATTERN. COP 1 Th hell is that? Looks like. Gordon follows their gaze up to where the BEAM of light CATS FALCONE'S SHADOW onto the CLOUDS. COP 2 Like a bat. Gordon stares at the projection. It is a BAT SYMBOL. GORDON Cut him down. Gordon moves away, THINKING. Something catches his eye : a block away. Halfway up a building. A BLACK FLAG blowing in the wind. Not a flag. a DARK FIGURE, wearing a CAPE, sitting on a LEDGE. BATMAN. WATCHING.", "INT. FINCH'S OFFICE -- MORNING Rachel TOSSES a newspaper onto Finch's desk, BEAMING. The front page : a huge photo of Falcone strapped to the light. RACHEL No way to bury it now. FINCH Maybe so, but there's Judge Phelan - RACHEL I've got Phelan covered. FINCH And this `` bat'' they're babbling about. Rachel breaks eye contact for an instant, UNCOMFORTABLE. RACHEL Even if these guys'll swear in court to being thrashed by a giant bat. we have Falcone at the scene - drugs, prints, cargo manifest - everything. Finch considers. Grins. FINCH Damn right. Let's get frying.", "INT. BULLPEN, POLICE HEADQUARTERS -- MORNING Loeb addresses CAPTAINS, SERGEANTS, LIEUTENANTS. Gordon at the back. Loeb HOLDS up the PAPER, SMACKS the front page. LOEB Unacceptable. I do n't care if it's rival gangs, Guardian Angels or the goddamn Salvation Army - get them off the street, and off the front page. CAPTAIN SIMPSON They say it was one guy. or thing. LOEB Dipping into their own supply - it was some asshole in a costume. -LRB- the room chuckles. -RRB- If it's one guy, that'll make it a lot easier for you, wo n't it? Gordon RAISES his hand. Loeb NODS, cautious. GORDON This guy did deliver us one of the city's biggest crime lords. LOEB -LRB- glares. -RRB- No one takes the law into their own hands in my city, understand?", "INT. MASTER BEDROOM, WAYNE MANOR -- DAY Alfred opens the curtains. Wayne WAKES, squinting. WAYNE -LRB- groggy. -RRB- Bats are nocturnal. ALFRED Bats, maybe. but even for billionaire playboys, 3 o'clock is pushing it. The price of leading a double life, I fear. Alfred PUTS down a tray : water, fruit, newspaper. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Your theatrics made an impression. WAYNE Theatricality and deception are powerful weapons, Alfred. It's a start. Wayne glances at the paper. Gets out of bed, bare - chested. Alfred sees BRUISES across his torso and arms. ALFRED If those are to be the first of many injuries. it would be wise to find a suitable excuse. Polo, for instance. Wayne throws Alfred a look. WAYNE I'm not learning polo, Alfred. ALFRED Strange injuries, a nonexistent social life. these things beg the question of what, exactly, Bruce Wayne does with his time. And his money. Wayne considers this. WAYNE What does someone like me do? ALFRED -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- Drive sports cars, date movie stars. Buy things that are n't for sale. Wayne looks at Alfred. Nods. DOWNS the water, stands straight, feet together - FALLS FORWARD to the floor - into his dizzyingly fast push - ups. Alfred watches. Concerned. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Who knows, Master Wayne - if you start pretending to have fun, you might even have a little by accident.", "INT. COUNTY JAIL, RECEIVING -- DAY Crane, briefcase in hand, is BUZZED through thick steel and glass doors and met inside by a PRISON OFFICIAL. They walk. PRISON OFFICIAL Dr.Crane, thanks for coming down. CRANE Not at all. So he cut his wrists? PRISON OFFICIAL Probably looking for an insanity plea, but if anything happened. CRANE Of course, better safe than sorry.", "INT. INTERVIEW ROOM, COUNTY JAIL -- CONTINUOUS Crane enters. Falcone sits at a table, wrist bandaged. Crane places his briefcase on the table. Falcone smiles. FALCONE Doctor Crane, it's all too much, the walls are closing in, blah, blah, blah. Couple more days of this food, it'll be true. CRANE What do you want? FALCONE We got a lot to talk about. CRANE Such as? FALCONE Such as, how you're gon na convince me to keep my mouth shut. CRANE About what? You do n't know anything. FALCONE I know you would n't want the cops taking a closer look at the drugs they seized. Crane REACTS to this. Falcone SMILES, enjoying the reaction. FALCONE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I know about your experiments on the inmates at your nuthouse. -LRB- off look. -RRB- I do n't get into business with someone without finding out their dirty secrets. Those goons you hired. I own the muscle in this town. Falcone leans forward. Looks Crane in the eye. FALCONE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- So what have I been bringing in for you hidden in my drugs, Crane? CRANE If he wanted you to know he'd have told you himself. Falcone shifts slightly. FALCONE I've been smuggling your stuff in for months, so whatever he's got planned, it's big. And I want it. Crane studies Falcone. Considering. Sighs. CRANE I already know what he'll say. that we should kill you. Falcone leans forward, glaring at Crane with contempt. FALCONE Even he ca n't touch me in here. Not in my town. Crane SHRUGS. Leans forward. Pops the locks on his briefcase. Smiles at Falcone. Crane reaches into his briefcase. Inside is a BREATHING APPARATUS attached to a small BURLAP SACK MASK. CRANE Would you like to see my mask? He pulls the mask out of the case. Holds it up. CRANE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I use it in my experiments. Probably not very frightening to a guy like you. But those crazies. Falcone stares at crane, uneasy. Crane puts on the mask. It is a sack with eye holes and twine stitching for a mouth. CRANE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- they ca n't stand it. FALCONE When did the nut take over the asylum - WHUMP - a cloud of white SMOKE shoots out of Crane's briefcase. Falcone pushes his chair back, COUGHING, surprised. CRANE They scream and cry. Falcone looks up at Crane in his mask - Through Falcone's eyes : tiny LIZARD TONGUES FLICK out of the holes in Crane's mask. CRANE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- much as you're doing now. Crane TOWERS over Falcone, FLAMING EYES and FLAMING MOUTH. Falcone SCREAMS.", "INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE INTERVIEW ROOM -- MOMENTS LATER Crane emerges with his briefcase. The Prison Official hovers outside. SCREAMS ECHO from inside the room. CRANE Oh, he's not faking. Not that one. The Prison Official nods gravely. Crane leans in. CRANE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'll talk to the Judge, see if I can get him moved to the secure wing at Arkham. I ca n't treat him here.", "EXT. ARCTIC OCEAN -- DAY A COAST GUARD HELICOPTER touches down on the back of a heavily damaged DESERTED CARGO SHIP. Two COAST GUARDSMEN with FLASHLIGHTS jump onto the deck of the ship to take a look around. BAFFLED. The deck is lined with HOLES. The Coast Guardsman shines his light into a MASSIVE HOLE.", "INT. EARLE'S OFFICE, WAYNE INDUSTRIES -- AFTERNOON Earle is at his desk. A EXECUTIVE walks in, TROUBLED. EXECUTIVE We have a situation. EARLE What kind of situation? EXECUTIVE Coast guard picked up one of our cargo ships last night. Heavily damaged. Crew missing, probably dead. EARLE What happened? EXECUTIVE Ship was carrying a prototype weapon. A microwave emitter.", "EXT. AIRBASE -- MORNING (FLASHBACK) ARMY BRASS and SCIENTISTS waiting for a demonstration. an industrial MACHINE the size of a small van sits on the ground a hundred feet from a WATER TOWER. EXECUTIVE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's designed for desert warfare - it uses focused microwaves to vaporize the enemy's water supply. The Scientists and Brass don goggles. Fire up the machine. the water tower starts SHAKING. then EXPLODES in a CLOUD OF STEAM that drifts towards the observers like FOG.", "INT. EARLE'S OFFICE, WAYNE INDUSTRIES -- CONTINUOUS EXECUTIVE It looks like someone fired it up at sea - judging from the damage to the ship and cargo. EARLE What about the weapon? The Executive shifts, uneasy. EXECUTIVE It's missing.", "EXT. HOTEL RESTAURANT, DOWNTOWN GOTHAM -- EVENING A BUGATI VEYRON -LRB- looks, and costs, a million -RRB- pulls up to the valet station. Wayne emerges, impeccably tailored, from the driver side. The VALETS scramble to the passenger side. Open the door to find TWO BLONDES, one on the other's lap.", "EXT. HOTEL RESTAURANT -- CONTINUOUS Tables around an decorative infinity pool. Earle and his GUESTS at a table. Earle sees Wayne enter with the Blondes. He sighs. Then waves.", "EXT. SAME -- LATER The table is littered with bottles and empty plates. FEMALE GUEST At least he's getting something done. MALE GUEST Bruce, help me out here. Wayne turns from the Blondes. They stand up and walk over to the pool. Wayne smiles, turns to the Female Guest. WAYNE A guy who dresses up like a bat clearly has issues. FEMALE GUEST But he put Falcone behind bars - MALE GUEST And now the cops are trying to bring him in, so what does that tell you? FEMALE GUEST They're jealous? Wayne watches as, behind them, one of the Blondes slips off her dress and lowers herself into the pool. the other one. Giggling, follows her lead. WAYNE If he's so benevolent why does he hide his face? FEMALE GUEST Maybe he's protecting the people he cares about from reprisals. Wayne nods, considering. The MAITRE D' slides up, annoyed. MAITRE' D Sir, the pool is for decoration, and your friends do not have swim wear. WAYNE Well, they're European. MAITRE' D I'm going to have to ask you to leave. WAYNE -LRB- turns to Earle. -RRB- Mr.Earle, I'm buying this hotel. Will you please broker a deal? Earle nods. Patiently. WAYNE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- turns to Maitre D'. -RRB- I think we should make some new rules for the pool area, do n't you? The Maitre D' stares at Wayne. Dumbstruck. BLONDES -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Bruce! The Blondes beckon Wayne. He comes to the edge of the pool. WAYNE Ladies? They SPLASH him. Earle turns away, shaking his head. Behind him, out of focus, Wayne is PULLED into the pool.", "EXT. HOTEL -- LATER Wayne and the Blondes, wet hair, in white HOTEL ROBES, waiting. The Valet pulls up in the Bugati. RACHEL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Bruce? Wayne turns. Rachel is standing there, dressed for dinner. Stunning. WAYNE Rachel. BLONDES -LRB- from car. -RRB- Come on, Bruce. We have some more hotels we want you to buy. Rachel glances at the Blondes. Then back to Wayne. RACHEL I'd heard you were back. -LRB- Wayne nods. -RRB- Where were you? WAYNE Oh, kind of all over, you know. RACHEL -LRB- tense. -RRB- No, Bruce, I do n't. And neither did a lot of people. People who thought you were probably dead. WAYNE You did n't? RACHEL I never quite gave up on you. Wayne looks at her. Thinking. Gestures towards the Bugati. WAYNE Rachel, all that. that's not me, inside I'm. different. I'm - RACHEL The same great little kid you used to be? Bruce, deep down, your friends out there are great, too. It's not who you are underneath. -LRB- pokes his chest. -RRB- But what you do that defines you. Rachel moves past him. Wayne stands there, eyes burning.", "INT. GORDON'S APARTMENT -- EVENING Gordon's pregnant wife, BARBARA tries to get their TWO - YEAR OLD to eat. Gordon KISSES her, picks up the trash.", "EXT. BACK ALLEY, GORDON'S APARTMENT -- CONTINUOUS Gordon sticks the lid on the trash can. THUNDER rolls around. FLASS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Gon na rain, huh? GORDON What do you want, Flass? Flass, leaning on his car, feigns offence. Pulls a pint bottle from his pocket. FLASS How's Barbara? The kid? Gordon takes a drag, eyeing Flass coldly. FLASS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Another one on the way, right? Big responsibility. And when you're on a big case like Falcone. lot of time away from here. GORDON Cut to it, Flass. FLASS Just saying it's good the case is clear cut - you'll wrap it up easy. Flass finishes his bottle. Throws it at the trash cans. GORDON You come around here making threats, pretending to be liquored up. tells me you're scared. FLASS -LRB- cold. -RRB- Take care of yourself, pal. Gordon watches him head back to his car. BATMAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Trouble? Gordon looks up : Batman is crouched in the fire escape. GORDON -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- The scum's getting jumpy because you stood up to Falcone. BATMAN It's a start. Your partner was at the docks with Falcone. GORDON He moonlights as a low - level enforcer. BATMAN There was another man. Testing the drugs. GORDON -LRB- surprised. -RRB- It was n't a buy - why risk opening a package on the docks? BATMAN Flass knows. GORDON He wo n't talk. BATMAN He'll talk to me. Gordon looks up. Close on Batman, in the shadows. GORDON Commissioner Loeb set up a massive task force to catch you. He thinks you're dangerous. BATMAN What do you think? Gordon gets to his feet, dusts off his pants. GORDON I think you're trying to help. Gordon looks up. But Batman is gone. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- but I've been wrong before.", "EXT. CARGO SHIP, DOCKS -- NIGHT Three MEN walk through the canyons of shipping containers, checking the tags with a flashlight. They stop at one. CUSTOMS AGENT This is the one I'm talking about. DOCK EMPLOYEE 1 What's your problem with it? CUSTOMS AGENT It should n't exist. This ship left Singapore with 246 containers and arrived with 247. Probably dead illegals. You got a strong stomach? They HAUL the doors open. The Customs Agent looks inside : an industrial machine the size of a small van. His torch picks out the WAYNE INDUSTRIES logo on the side. CUSTOMS AGENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What the hell is this thing? BEHIND HIM : Dock Employee 1 raises a SILENCED GUN. FIRES. Dock Employee 2 helps DRAG the body into the container.", "EXT. FALAFEL STAND, SURFACE STREET -- NIGHT Raining. Flass stuffs falafel into his mouth. Grabs a banknote from the VENDOR. Flass walks down a dark street. YANKED from the pavement, he's PULLED up between buildings, falafel falling, UP and UP until face - to - face with. The Batman. Rain pouring off his cowl. Holding Flass by his ankle. Flass is SCREAMING. BATMAN Who was with Falcone at the docks? FLASS I do n't know, I swear to God - BATMAN Swear to ME. Batman DROPS Flass three flights down on the wire. PULLS TAUT - WHIPS him back up. FLASS -LRB- terrified whispers. -RRB- I never knew his name. never. Sometimes shipments went to this guy before they went to the dealers - BATMAN Why? FLASS There was something else in the drugs, something hidden - BATMAN What? FLASS I do n't know - something! I never went to the drop - off - it's in the Narrows - cops ca n't go into the Narrows except in force. BATMAN Batman can.", "EXT. THE NARROWS -- NIGHT AN ISLAND IN GOTHAM RIVER : a ramshackle LABYRINTH of crumbling public housing, makeshift additions GROWING LIKE FUNGUS AROUND AN INSANE ASYLUM. A walled city. Slick with rain. Batman LANDS, CROUCHING, looking at the windows of a WAREHOUSE built around the supports of the MONORAIL tracks.", "EXT. WAREHOUSE, SHANGHAI -- MOMENTS LATER Batman slips through a louver, drops SILENTLY to the floor amidst. By the freight elevator is a massive shipping crate. Batman leaps up onto its lid - pries it open. Inside : the industrial machine the size of a small van. Batman sees the WAYNE INDUSTRIES logo and a number : M - EMIT.42 B NOISES. Batman melts into the shadows. THREE MEN enter. Two are the Dock Employees. The third is Crane. DOCK EMPLOYEE 1 The boss wants you to keep it in the asylum until the time comes. CRANE Fine, leave the body. Torch the place. No traces. The Thugs pull the Customs Agent's body out then push the crate onto the elevator. Crane notices RAIN spattering off the open louver. He steps towards it. Thug 2 turns from the elevator holding a Molotov cocktail. LIGHTS it - A cord WRAPS around the BOTTLE - YANKS it into the shadows. Its fuse is EXTINGUISHED. The Thugs STARE at the darkness. Batman RIPS from the shadows - Thug 1 pulls a gun - Batman SMASHES his arm to the ground. Thug 2 moves in from the side - is DROPPED by a fast elbow to the neck. Batman turns to Crane - now wearing his MASK. Carne's hand FLASHES towards Batman, who DODGES a small puff of SMOKE. Batman moves for Crane - COUGHS, CHOKES - losing BALANCE - GASPING. Batman looks at Crane, sees a monster : FLAMING EYES, ELONGATED LIMBS, SPINNING like a DERVISH. Batmen REELS, in the throws of a hallucination. Crane SMASHES the BOTTLE over him, soaking him with GASOLINE. Batman LURCHES for the windows, IMAGES ASSAULTING his mind : INSERT CUT : BATS EXPLODE from the DARK CREVICE - Batman TURNS to Crane. Who holds a FLAMING LIGHTER. CRANE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Need a light? Crane TOSSES the lighter at Batman. who BURSTS into FLAMES. INSERT CUT : Ra's Al Ghul OPENS his BOX - BATS BURST FORTH - Batman, IN FLAMES, SPINS - LEAPS desperately at the windows -", "EXT. WAREHOUSE, THE NARROWS -- CONTINUOUS Batman SMASHES through the window, CLOAK ABLAZE. FALLING. tries to ACTIVATE his CLOAK - but only gets one side to POP OPEN. the deployed wing causes him to SPIRAL - INSERT CUT : Young Bruce FALLING, FALLING in the well shaft - Batman PLUMMETS, trailing flame, UNOPENED WING FLUTTERING with the violent FLAPPING of - BATS : SCREECHING, FLAPPING, FLUTTERING DARKNESS. Batman's STIFF WING HOOKS a RAILING - SLOWS him with a JOLT - RIPS - DROPPING him to the ground with a CRASH. Young Bruce HITS the dirt at the bottom of the SHAFT -. and a SIZZLE, as wet pavement DAMPS the flames, GROANING, Batman ROLLS his burning batsuit along the asphalt. Batman, smoldering, LURCHES into an alley, raises his grapnel gun, FIRES up at the enclosed roof - RIDES up - PUNCHES his way through wire and metal, CRAWLS onto his back, STARING up at the skyscrapers of Gotham. Rain blurring his vision. Insert cut : Young Bruce watches his Father CRUMPLE - Batman FUMBLES at his belt. Pulls out a tiny phone. BATMAN -LRB- hoarse. -RRB- Alfred?! Alfred?!", "INT. ROLLS -- LATER Alfred DRIVES, looks through the rear - view mirror at Batman, who lies in the back, FLINCHING at invisible antagonists. BATMAN BLOOD! Alfred?! Blood! A sample - take a sa - sample - poisoned. To Batman - the car is FILLED WITH BATS. Mefistofle rises. Young Bruce in the throws of his PANIC ATTACK GULPS AIR - turns to his Father, LOOKS him in the eye and CONDEMNS HIM - YOUNG BRUCE -LRB- shouting. -RRB- We HAVE to go NOW, Dad! Young Bruce DRAGS his parents from their seats.", "INT. MASTER BEDROOM, WAYNE MANOR -- MORNING Wayne awakes. Shivering. Red - eyed from crying. Alfred sits at his bedside, watching over him. WAYNE -LRB- hoarse. -RRB- How long did I sleep? ALFRED Two days. It's your birthday. WAYNE It was some kind of gas. I only breathed the slightest amount. ALFRED I dread to think, sir, what would've happened if you'd had a lungful. WAYNE I've felt those effects before. but this was much more potent. ALFRED I took a blood sample and sent it to a laboratory known discreet both discreet. -LRB- hands Wayne paper. -RRB-. and prompt bloodwork. BRUCE -LRB- reading. -RRB- Protein - based compounds. might be possible to work up an antidote. ALFRED Shall I contact Wayne Pharmaceutical? BRUCE I've got a better idea.", "INT. APPLIED SCIENCES DIVISION -- DAY Fox looks over the toxicology report. Looks up at Wayne. FOX This was in your blood? WAYNE It's some kind of weaponized hallucinogen. Administered in aerosol form. FOX Mr.Wayne, you are definitely hanging out at the wrong clubs. WAYNE Could you synthesize an antidote? FOX Well, the hallucinatory compounds can be balanced. but this receptor's a compound I've never seen before. WAYNE -LRB- reaches for paper. -RRB- So you ca n't. FOX -LRB- snatches it away. -RRB- Did I say that? I just want you to know how hard it's gon na be. Fox puts the report on his desk. WAYNE Do you know what a Wayne Industries M - Emit42B is? FOX No. But she will. Fox starts typing on his computer FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh. WAYNE What? FOX It wo n't tell us. -LRB- turns to Wayne. -RRB- It must be a defense prototype. WAYNE Could you find out? FOX I'll make a couple calls. I still have a couple friends in defense.", "INT. D.A.'S OFFICE -- AFTERNOON Gordon finds it. Knocks. Rachel looks up from her desk. RACHEL Sergeant Gordon? GORDON Councilor. Thanks for seeing me. Gordon enters, shuts the door behind himself. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- they shake hands. -RRB- Will Finch go the distance on Falcone? RACHEL He'll have to because of the press. GORDON What about Judge Phelan? RACHEL Someone gave me leverage. GORDON Who? RACHEL I'd rather not say. GORDON -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- There's a loose thread on the Falcone case - I want to see what unravels higher up. I'm told you can be trusted. RACHEL Who told you that? GORDON -LRB- smiles. -RRB- I'd rather not say. Rachel looks at Gordon, sizing him up. RACHEL Gordon, we're working for a masked vigilante. Maybe from a rival gang. GORDON My gut says he's okay. And he's getting things moving in this town. RACHEL And when he gets bolder with success? Goes too far? GORDON Councilor, this guy took down a dozen of Gotham's most vicious wiseguys single - handed and without killing one of them - he's plenty bold already. RACHEL If he takes a life. it's on us. Gordon looks at her. Nods. A KNOCK at the door. Wayne puts his head around the door. Rachel stares at him. WAYNE I'm sorry, I'll come back. GORDON I was just leaving, Mr.Wayne. WAYNE I'm sorry, have we? GORDON Gordon. Sergeant. No, I just recognized you. From your pictures. Wayne nods. Gordon looks at Rachel, nods goodbye. RACHEL -LRB- cold. -RRB- What do you want, Bruce? WAYNE I wanted to invite you a party - RACHEL A party. Great. Just what I need. WAYNE Today's my birthday. And I wanted to apologize. RACHEL You do n't owe an apology, Bruce. You are who you are. It' simple. I do n't have the right to expect anything more. WAYNE I thought you could never quite give up on me. RACHEL Is the party at the house? I miss it. WAYNE I hate the place. I'd tear it down if I could. RACHEL -LRB- appalled. -RRB- Bruce, do n't say that. WAYNE The place is nothing without the people who made it what it was. Now there's only Alfred. RACHEL And you. Rachel looks at him. An ASSISTANT sticks her head in. ASSISTANT It's Falcone. They moved him to Arkham Asylum on suicide watch. RACHEL Who authorized that?! ASSISTANT Judge Bentley, on the advice of the head psychiatrist, Dr.Jonathan Crane. Rachel starts getting her things together. RACHEL Get Crane there right now - do n't take no for an answer. and call Dr.Lehmann, we'll need our own assessment on the Judge's desk by morning. The Assistant nods, leaves. Rachel heads for the door. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Guess I wo n't make your party. WAYNE You're going to Arkham now? It's in the Narrows, Rachel. Rachel gives him a look. RACHEL You have yourself a great time - some of us have work to do. She hurries past him. Stops. Turns. Looks at him, softer. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Happy Birthday, Bruce. She races down the steps. Wayne watches her go, thinking.", "INT. MAIN HALL, WAYNE MANOR -- LATER Wayne hurries through the hall. Alfred in pursuit. Tables of food and decoration fill the hall. ALFRED But Master Wayne, the guests will be arriving. Wayne turns. WAYNE Keep them happy until I arrive. Tell them that joke you know. Wayne hurries off. Alfred watches him go, exasperated.", "INT. STUDY -- CONTINUOUS Wayne steps to the piano, hits 4 notes - the bookcase SWINGS - OPEN. Wayne steps through.", "INT. STONE STAIRCASE -- CONTINUOUS Wayne descends. Arrives at the top of a wrought iron SPIRAL STAIRCASE, steps onto the dumb waiter at its center. Wayne pulls a lever, RELEASING the lift which PLUMMETS VERTIGINOUSLY DOWN the CENTER of the SPIRALING stair.", "INT. BATCAVE -- CONTINUOUS The lift hits the bottom with a great RATTLE of crimes. Wayne moves to a PADLOCKED BOX. Opens it : the BAT SUIT hangs there - a PHANTOM, black eyes STARING back at him. He reaches for it.", "EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM, THE NARROWS -- EVENING Rachel's car crosses the bridge to the Narrows.", "INT. CRANE'S OFFICE, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- MOMENTS LATER Rachel sits in front of Crane at his desk. CRANE Ms.Dodson, there's nothing to add to the report I filed with the judge. RACHEL Well, I have questions about your report. -LRB- off look. -RRB- RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Such as, is it unusual for a 58 - year old man with no history of mental illness to have a complete psychotic break? CRANE Yes. But this is a mental asylum for the criminally insane. The unusual is usual here.", "EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS The GLOWING WINDOW of Crane's office. Batman, crouched on the fence, adjusts mikes in the ears of his cowl.", "INT. CRANE'S OFFICE -- CONTINUOUS RACHEL But is n't it convenient for Falcone to suddenly develop these symptoms when he's about to be indicted? CRANE There's nothing convenient about his symptoms, Miss Dodson. -LRB- smiles, sympathetic. -RRB- Look, I doubt we're even supposed to be having this conversation, but off the record. Crane RISES, motioning.", "INT. CORRIDOR, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS An ORDERLY talking to a NURSE. Crane leads Rachel past. CRANE We're not talking about a few easily - manufactured eccentricities. Crane stops at a door. Motions Rachel to look : Falcone STRAPPED to the bed. He STARES at the door, mumbling. FALCONE Scarecrow. s - scarecrow. s - s. RACHEL What's `` scarecrow''? CRANE Patients suffering delusional episodes often focus their paranoia onto an external tormentor, usually one conforming to the Jungian archetypes. -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- In this case, a scarecrow.", "EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Batman, upside down, CLINGS to the wall above the window at the end of the corridor. He RACKS AUDIO FOCUS THROUGH the Orderly's conversation, SETTLING on Crane's voice.", "INT. CORRIDOR, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Rachel looks at Falcone, mumbling, delusional. RACHEL He's drugged. CRANE -LRB- nods. -RRB- Psychopharmacology is my primary field - I'm a strong advocate. Crane turns to Falcone. Staring. CRANE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Outside, he was a giant. In here, only the mind can grant you power. RACHEL You enjoy the reversal. CRANE -LRB- shrugs, smiles. -RRB- I respect the mind's power over the body. It's why I do what I do. RACHEL -LRB- hard. -RRB- And I do what I do to put scum like Falcone behind bars, not in therapy. I want my own psychiatric consultant to have full access to Falcone, including bloodwork to find out exactly what you have him on. Crane stares at her. Shrugs.", "INT. ELEVATOR -- CONTINUOUS Crane steps in, Rachel follows. He puts a key into the panel. CRANE First thing tomorrow, then. RACHEL Tonight. I've already paged Dr.Lehmann over at County General. Crane turns the key. CRANE As you wish. The elevator descends. The doors open onto :", "INT. DESERTED WING, SUB-LEVEL ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS A long, decrepit corridor. Water dripping, clearly disused. Crane steps off the elevator. Rachel follows, perturbed.", "INT. ABANDONED REFECTORY -- CONTINUOUS Rachel follows Crane into a vast room : Tables stretch off into the room, covered in bags of powder, scales, aluminum barrels and DOZENS OF INMATES working the powder, refining it. Armed THUGS look up, curious. Crane surveys the room. CRANE This is where we make the medicine. Perhaps you should have some. Clear your head. He turns, but Rachel is gone. Crane smiles.", "INT. DERELICT CORRIDOR, DISUSED WING -- CONTINUOUS Rachel RACES into the elevator.", "INT. ELEVATOR -- CONTINUOUS Rachel HITS the 2nd floor button. Nothing. She HITS all the buttons, floors the alarm. all dead without the key. The door opens to Crane's MASKED FACE. He reaches out - CRANE Boo. A small puff of GAS sprays from his sleeve. Rachel RECOILS, coughing, choking. She looks up at Crane : The eyeholes of the burlap mask are FLAMING. Rachel SCREAMS.", "INT. ABANDONED REFECTORY, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS The Thugs DRAG Rachel into the room. The inmates stare blankly, clearly drugged. Crane turns Rachel's reluctant face to look up at his mask. She GULPS PANIC BREATHS - CRANE Who knows you're here? Rachel SHAKES her head. CRANE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- WHO KNOWS?! Rachel PULLS away, BURYING her head in her arms. THE LIGHTS GO OUT. The Thugs look around, unnerved. Crane PULLS OFF his mask. CRANE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- fascinated. -RRB- He's here. FIRST THUG Who? CRANE The batman. The Thugs exchange nervous glances. FIRST THUG What do we do? CRANE What anyone does when a prowler comes around. -LRB- off look. -RRB- Call the police. The First Thug looks at crane. SECOND TECHNICIAN You want the cops here? CRANE At this point, they're irrelevant. But the batman. he has a talent for disruption. Let the cops wrangle him. CRANE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Force him outside, the police will take him down. -LRB- indicates inmates. -RRB- Get them out of here. FIRST THUG -LRB- indicates Rachel. -RRB- What about her? CRANE She's gone. I gave her a concentrated dose. The mind can only take so much. SECOND THUG The things they say about him. Can he really fly?", "EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Batman's cape FLUTTERS as he SWINGS down two stories, LANDING at the high windows of the derelict corridor.", "INT. ABANDONED REFECTORY -- CONTINUOUS THIRD THUG I heard he can disappear - Crane backs into the shadows, smiling at the Third Thug. CRANE We'll find out, wo n't we? The Thugs move either side of the door. GLASS SMASHES, across the room - a Shadow drops from a high window. Rachel SCREAMS. The two thugs advance through the darkness. Second thug is GRABBED from above - PULLED UP, SCREAMING, into the blackness of the rafters. The First Thug peers up into the darkness, gun aimed. A SHADOW DESCENDS, SHOUTING - First Thug FIRES - the Shadow CRUMPLES onto him. It is the Second Thug - First Thug ROLLS the body off, SCRAMBLES to his feet - Batman STRIKES him from behind, KNOCKING him unconscious. SIRENS outside, close. Batman looks at Rachel - Crane BURSTS from the shadows, arm high, aimed at Batman's face - Batman grabs his arm, DUCKING away from the puff of GAS from Crane's sleeve. Batman SPINS Crane, RIPPING off his mask, WRENCHES his arm around to his own face, RIPS. Crane's jacket open and pulls out the BLADDER full of toxin. BATMAN Taste of your own medicine, doctor? Crane's eyes go wide as Batman SQUEEZES the bladder and a choking cloud of dust sprays into Crane's face. Crane falls to the ground, CHOKING. Batman turns him over, pulls his face up to meet his. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Who are you working for?! Crane's eyes are wide with TERROR. Batman is a DEATH'S HEAD - black eyes, fangs. CRANE Ra's. Ra's. Al Ghul. Batman reacts, pulls Crane tighter. BATMAN Ra's Al Ghul is dead, Crane! Who are you really working for? CRANE! But Crane just STARES at him, EYES GLAZING - MIND FLYING - IMAGES CASCADING THROUGH HIS FEVERED BRAIN. Crane smiles. CRANE Dr. Crane is n't here right now, but if you'd like to make an appointment - Sirens outside. Batman TURNS to Rachel. Through her eyes : Batman is a towering HORNED, WINGED DEMON. Rachel LASHES OUT at the demon with all her might. Batman applies a GRIP to her neck that renders her unconscious. COP -LRB- over bullhorn. -RRB- BATMAN. PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER. YOU ARE SURROUNDED. Batman RISES, carrying Rachel.", "EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS POLICE CARS surround the building. COPS have guns drawn, WAITING. STAFF emerge, blinking, from the darkened asylum. Flass and Gordon arrive. Flass shouts at the Uniforms : FLASS What're you waiting for?! UNIFORMED COP Backup. FLASS Backup?! Flass gestures at the DOZEN police cars outside the building. UNIFORMED COP The batman's in there. SWAT's on the way, but if you want to go now. -LRB- smiles. -RRB- I'm right behind you, sir. Flass turns to Gordon. Shrugs. FLASS SWAT's on the way. Gordon shakes his head. Approaches the front doors.", "INT. DERELICT CORRIDOR, DISUSED WING -- CONTINUOUS Batman carries Rachel, cloak BILLOWING in his wake.", "INT. LOBBY, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Gordon moves through the dark, gun drawn, eyes FLICKING to terrified NURSES who make their way to the front door.", "EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS SWAT OFFICERS pour out of vans, RACE up the front steps.", "INT. CORRIDOR, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Gordon tries the elevator - it is dead. He enters the STAIRS.", "INT. LOBBY, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS The SWAT team BURSTS in - FLASHLIGHTS on RIFLES SCAN the darkness.", "INT. STAIRWELL, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Gordon locks down the stairwell - the way down to the disused wing is fenced off. He heads up - and is GRABBED and SWUNG OUT into the stairwell. Batman holds him as they ROCKET UPWARDS. GORDON What -! Batman covers Gordon's mouth - down below : the door SMASHES OPEN - SWAT team lights CROSS the darkened stairwell. Batman PULLS Gordon into the rafters. Gordon turns, FURIOUS - sees : Rachel. Lying in a storage space/open attic. Twitching : GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- whispering. -RRB- What's happened to her? BATMAN Crane poisoned her with his toxin. He was the third man at the docks. GORDON Let me take her down to the medics - BATMAN They ca n't help her. But I can. THE LIGHTS COME ON - bleaching the stairwell - Batman, Rachel and Gordon are in the shadow of the attic. Batman reaches down to his boot. Presses a SWITCH in the heel, producing a barely audible HIGH - FREQUENCY WHINE. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- indicates Rachel. -RRB- I need to get her the antidote before the damage becomes permanent. GORDON How long does she have? BATMAN Not long.", "EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS A strange SQUEALING SOUND rises. Flass looks around, curious. A dark CLOUD crosses the moon. not a regular cloud.", "INT. STAIRWELL, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS BATMAN Get her downstairs, meet me in the alley on the Narrows side. GORDON How will you get out? BATMAN -LRB- indicates his boot. -RRB- I called for backup. Crane's been refining his toxin, stockpiling it. GORDON What was he planning? BATMAN I do n't know, but he's been working for someone else. Gordon frowns at the loud SQUEALING noise. GORDON What is that? BATMAN Backup.", "EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Flass SCREAMS - Cops DIVE for cover as BATS - thousands upon thousands - DESCEND on the Asylum, HEADING for the windows -", "INT. CORRIDOR, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Windows SHATTER INWARDS as bats POUR into the building -", "EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Gordon covers Rachel as he carries her down the steps.", "INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Bats FLOOD into the bright stairwell, SOARING UP past the cowering SWATS, a BLACK MAS RISING, DARKENING the stairwell. Batman amidst the bats. Calm. Pulls the sounder out of his heel, leans over the stairwell and DROPS it. Bats CYCLONE down the stairwell, FOLLOWING the signal. Batman JUMPS into the center of the black cyclone - HIDDEN FALLING.", "INT. CORRIDOR, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Batman OPENS his cloak with a JOLT - lands HARD. He moves calmly through the bats, slipping past COWERING SWATS, moving past cell doors. Inmates STARE, wide - eyed out their windows as he passes. Batman turns to a cell door, pulls a small package out of his utility belt.", "INT. CELL -- CONTINUOUS Two inmates FLINCH as the door lock BLASTS open and the door is KICKED In - Batman STRIDES across the cell between them. BATMAN Excuse me - And BLASTS the window of their cell. He SLIDES out. one Inmate turns to the other. LUNATIC What'd I tell ya?", "EXT. SIDE STREET -- CONTINUOUS Gordon lowers Rachel to the asphalt. She STIRS. BATMAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- How is she? Gordon looks up to see Batman standing there. A SEARCHLIGHT from a chopper blasts them. Batman GRABS Rachel. Gordon points back to the street. GORDON Take my car. BATMAN I bought mine. Batman has disappeared into the dark end of the alley. GORDON Yours? BLINDING HEADLIGHTS FLARE. A MASSIVE ENGINE ROARS - Gordon DIVES out of the way as - The BATMOBILE comes flying out of the darkness. the matte - black, muscularity of the stealth - finished `` car'' BLOWS by. Gordon's jaw drops. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I got ta get me one of those.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Batman DRIVES. Rachel, COMING TO, hangs on, TERRIFIED. A COP CAR pulls across the alley - Batman hits the accelerator.", "EXT. ALLEY -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile SPEEDS towards the cop car -", "INT. COP CAR -- CONTINUOUS The Cops GAWP at the Batmobile, BRACING -", "EXT. ALLEY -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile SMASHES into the cop car, huge front tires CRUSHING the bonnet, BOUNCING the Batmobile right over the cop car in a messy display of brute force.", "EXT. SURFACE STREETS, GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile TEARS left, and ACCELERATES down the street.", "INT. CRUSHED COP CAR -- CONTINUOUS The Cops are scrunched down. One of them GRABS the radio. COP 1 He's in a vehicle! DISPATCHER -LRB- over radio. -RRB- Make and color? COP 1 It's a black. -LRB- turns to partner. who shrugs. -RRB-. tank. DISPATCHER -LRB- over radio. -RRB- Tank?", "EXT. SURFACE STREETS, GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile WEAVES around traffic, DODGING freeway supports.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Rachel BRACES against the dash, BREATHING FAST, staring at the road ahead. through her eyes : SPEED : pure, visceral SENSATION - lights STREAKING, columns FLASHING past at unthinkable velocity - BATMAN You've been poisoned. Stay calm. He looks at an intricate GPS display, then at the road ahead.", "EXT. SURFACE STREETS, GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile RACES along - JUMPS lights, nimbly DODGING through the cross - traffic. Two Cop Cars join the pursuit from the cross streets, lights BLAZING, sirens BLARING.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Batman spots the Cops on a rear - view monitor, FLIPS a switch.", "EXT. SURFACE STREETS, GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile DROPS SPIKE STRIPS onto the road. the Cop Cars hit them - tires EXPLODE - rims light SPARKS as they GRIND, skidding SIDEWAYS, one laying into the other. Up ahead : the Batmobile SLALOMS outside of the freeway supports, ROLLS over the sidewalk, NIPS back into the roadway.", "INT. CRUISER -- CONTINUOUS An IMPATIENT COP is on the radio. COP 3 At least tell me what it looks like. His eyes WIDEN : the Batmobile ROARS past. A shadowy MONSTER. COP 3 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Never mind.", "EXT. SURFACE STREETS, GOTHAM The Batmobile comes out from under the elevated freeway and is hit by a SPOTLIGHT from a CHOPPER.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Batman glances at a row of BUTTONS - each one a tiny SCREEN showing different views. Batman PUSHES one - that view flicks onto the main display. Rachel is HYPERVENTILATING. BATMAN Breath slowly. Close your eyes. She does so. For an instant. RACHEL That's worse!", "EXT. STREETS, GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS Three Cop Cars pull across the intersection in a ROADBLOCK.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Batman SPOTS the ROADBLOCK in front. Touches the GPS screen - the map becomes THREE - DIMENSIONAL -LRB- heights of building, levels of streets -RRB-. Batman SKIDS into a turn -", "EXT. SURFACE STREETS, GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile SKIDS through the entrance to a multi - level PARKING GARAGE - TAKING OUT the ticket machine and barrier.", "INT. PARKING GARAGE -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile RACES upwards through the structure, the car's enormous width TAKING OUT PILLARS at every turn.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Rachel FLINCHES AWAY from the pillars - RACHEL What're you doing?! BATMAN Shortcut.", "INT. PARKING GARAGE -- CONTINUOUS Cop Cars SMASH into DOWNED PILLARS in the Batmobile's wake.", "EXT. ROOF, PARKING GARAGE -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile ROARS out onto the top level, and is LIT UP by the CHOPPER. The Batmobile REVERSES into a spot marked `` COMPACT'', CRUSHING the cars either side, then RACES forward. Cop Cars emerge onto the roof, BLOCKING THE ONLY WAY DOWN. The Batmobile SCREECHES to a HALT -", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Batman glances at his 3 - d GPS. Then looks at Rachel. COP 3 -LRB- over loudspeaker. -RRB- TURN OFF YOUR ENGINE! She recoils, TERRIFIED by his mask, clawing at her harness. Batman puts his gloved hand on her frantic arms. BATMAN Trust me. Batman SLIDES into the FRONT DRIVING POSITION, body PRONE as if riding a motorcycle, head in a glass POD between the front wheels. He HITS a button.", "EXT. ROOF, PARKING GARAGE -- CONTINUOUS CANNONS emerge from the nose of the Batmobile - BLASTING the far wall. the massive JET ENGINE at the back IGNITES, its mouth ADJUSTING. FLAPS on the front and REAR of the car, FLARE OUT like a PYTHON spreading its neck. The Cops STARE. The Batmobile ROCKETS FORWARD. heading for the GAP in the far wall. accelerating.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Rachel SCREAMS - Batman HITS another button -", "EXT. ROOF, PARKING GARAGE -- CONTINUOUS An INVERTED SPOILER JAMS INTO THE AIRSTREAM at the front of the car, BUMPING it just off the ground, a RAMPLESS JUMP -", "EXT. ROOFTOPS -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile JUMPS OFF the parking garage, soaring over a thirty - foot gap to LAND HEAVILY on a neighboring FLAT ROOF. The Cops STARE at one another, open - mouthed.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Batman YANKS the steering left, hits the BOOST -", "EXT. ROOFTOPS -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile TURNS - ROCKETS for the edge of the roof. SHOOTS over the gap to the next roof, CHOPPER IN PURSUIT.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Batman checks his 3 - D GPS, ROCKETS forward, aiming at the next roof, a PITCHED CHATEAU - STYLE TILE ROOF.", "EXT. STREETS BELOW -- CONTINUOUS Corp Cars SHOOT along, paralleling the rooftop chase. FROM BELOW : the Chopper SWOOPS LOW over the buildings. A GLIMPSE of the Batmobile as it LEAPS across to the next building. COP 4 -LRB- over radio. -RRB- We're on him, we're on him.", "EXT. ROOFTOPS -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile lands on the PITCHED ROOF, racing along at a PRECARIOUS ANGLE, TILES SLIDING off the roof in its wake.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Batman's forward - slung position is GYROSCOPICALLY BALANCED - he is the only vertical element in the angled car.", "EXT. ROOFTOPS -- CONTINUOUS Chased by the LOW - FLYING chopper, the Batmobile SWERVES up over the GABLES, roof CRUMBLING in its wake, RACING for the end of the roof which PARALLELS an ELEVATED FREEWAY. The Batmobile rockets forward - JUMPS THE LAST GABLE. DROPS onto the elevated FREEWAY, TRAFFIC SWERVING to avoid it.", "EXT. SURFACE STREETS -- CONTINUOUS Cop Cars see the Batmobile disappear onto the freeway above. COP 4 Dammit!", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Batman's display shows a RADAR SWEEP and PLOTS a course through the differing speeds of the lanes. He pilots, LEANING left and right like a motorcyclist.", "EXT. FREEWAY -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile SWERVES - the Chopper's light stays trained. TRAFFIC gets heavier. Cop Cars are CLOSING IN from behind.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Batman lifts himself back into the REAR DRIVING POSITION - THROTTLES BACK - KILLS all the lights, and the ENGINE.", "EXT. FREEWAY -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile DROPS BACK, DARK. the Chopper LOSES IT. The Batmobile CRUISES across the lanes, a WRAITH.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS SILENCE, but for the steady WHINE of the ELECTRIC MOTOR. Rachel BREATHES in the sudden quiet. Eyes flickering.", "EXT. FREEWAY HEADING OUT OF GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile SLICES across lanes, a SHADOW only visible BREAKING the GLARE of other cars' HEADLIGHTS. The Cop Cars pull forward, driving parallel, an empty lane between them.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Rachel stares at Batman in the intimate quiet. Her eyes are glaring. Her breathing is shallow. BATMAN -LRB- quiet. -RRB- Stay with me.", "INT. COP CAR -- CONTINUOUS The Cop turns left to look at the other Cop Car. COP 3 Where'd he -? He sees, between his car and the next, a BLACK SHAPE. COP 3 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- THERE HE IS!", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS The SPOTLIGHT hits the car - Batman HITS a button - the main engine ROARS to life - Batman SLIPS into the prone position - Hits the BOOST.", "EXT. FREEWAY -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile SHOOTS forward from between the two Cop Cars.", "INT. COP CAR -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile's JET WASH BLASTS the windscreen, SHATTERING it, the Cop throws his hands in front of his face -", "EXT. FREEWAY -- CONTINUOUS The Cop Car SPINS out of its lane, SLAMMING into the guard rail as the Batmobile RACES ahead, weaving through traffic. The Batmobile slides onto a TIGHTLY - CURVING EXIT RAMP. FLIES off the ramp, JUMPING DOWN onto the frontage road below.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Batman KILLS the lights, running on NIGHT VISION. Rachel's eyes flicker at the EERIE green view of ghostly trees, her breathing FASTER and still more SHALLOW. BATMAN Hold on. Just hold on. Batman YANKS A LEVER -", "EXT. SMALL TURNOFF -- CONTINUOUS A ground ANCHOR DIGS into the road, WHIPPING the Batmobile RIGHT in a HARD TURN, down a small turnoff. the Chopper LOSES the Batmobile, pursuing Cop Cars BLAZE PAST the turnoff.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Rachel, crying, looks at the monstrous shapes of the trees : FLICKERING, jagged tree shapes SPIN past DIZZYINGLY. BATMAN Rachel? Rachel?! No reply. Up ahead : a LOOKOUT over a river gorge. Batman PUSHES the Batmobile, SPEEDING towards the lookout. Rachel's glazes eyes REGISTER the danger - she TWISTS, PANICKED.", "EXT. WOODED PATH -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile ROCKETS off the edge of the lookout, over the gorge, FLYING STRAIGHT AT THE FACE OF A WATERFALL.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Rachel SCREAMS as they SPLASH INTO THE FACE OF THE WATERFALL -", "INT. CAVERNS -- CONTINUOUS - AND EMERGE THROUGH THE CURTAIN OF WATER into the BATCAVE. The Batmobile's ground ANCHORS hook a steel CABLE, spinning an INERTIA REEL bolted to the cave wall, YANKING the car to a halt like a jet landing on an aircraft carrier.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Rachel BOUNCES in her seat. PASSED OUT.", "INT. BATCAVE -- CONTINUOUS The canopy of the Batmobile hisses open in three complex sections, like insect wings IMPLODING. Batman LIFTS Rachel from the cockpit, steps down onto wet shale. CARRIES her into the damp blackness of the caverns. Cloak BILLOWING in his wake, he heads for the GLOW of his work table. Gently lays Rachel on the table. RACKS up the scaffold to his computer station. A CONTAINER sits there with paperwork from Fox. Batman opens it, removes a VIAL. He plugs it into a pneumatic SYRINGE, puts the syringe between his teeth - GLIDES off the scaffold, LANDING beside Rachel. He INJECTS her in the biceps. Batman steps back, watching Rachel's breathing SLOW.", "INT. ABANDONED REFECTORY, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Gordon surveys the scene : COPS and SWATS dig through the mess, interviewing Inmates and sifting rubble. A DETECTIVE sits in a cell doorway examining Crane's mask. Crane is huddled in the corner, STARING. GORDON Is he cooperating? DETECTIVE If by cooperating you mean chewing his way through three sets of restraints, then yes, he's cooperating. Did we catch the batman? Gordon tries not to smile. GORDON Nope. A cop hurries over. COP Sir, there's something you should take a look at.", "INT. DERELICT BATH HOUSE, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Tiled baths and hydrotherapy equipment. A POOL in the center. The Cop leads Gordon to the edge. A massive HOLE has been dug through the bottom. Dozens of ALUMINUM BARRELS sit alongside. Gordon climbs down, PEERS into the hole. A TORRENT of water runs at the bottom. GORDON Looks like they tapped the mains. Gordon looks at the dozens of aluminum barrels. Realizing. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Get me somebody at the water board!", "INT. BATCAVE -- LATER Rachel's eyes flicker open to the cavernous damp darkness. She sees BATS banging high above. CLOSES her eyes again. RACHEL -LRB- under her breath. -RRB- Oh. My. God. BATMAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- How do you feel? His voice ECHOES as if spoken from al shadows at once. RACHEL -LRB- hoarse. -RRB- Where are we? Nothing. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Why did you bring me here? BATMAN If I had n't. your mind would now be lost. You were poisoned. Rachel thinks, concentrating, remembering. RACHEL I remember. nightmares. This. face, this. mask. -LRB- realizes. -RRB- Crane. It was Crane - Rachel STRUGGLES off the table, trying to stand. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I have to tell the police - we've got - She SLIPS - Batman is there, CATCHING her. BATMAN Rest. Gordon has Crane. In his arms she looks up at him - he lays her gently back onto the table. Retreats into shadow. RACHEL Is Sergeant Gordon your friend? BATMAN I do n't have the luxury of friends. Rachel watches this dark shadow hover just outside the light. RACHEL Why did you save my life? BATMAN Gotham needs you. RACHEL And you serve Gotham? BATMAN I serve justice. Rachel STARES at the solitary shadow. Fascinated. Pitying. RACHEL Perhaps you do. Batman steps into the light. Holding a pneumatic syringe and two vials. Rachel stares at him. BATMAN I'm going to give you a sedative. You'll wake up back at home. Batman holds up the two vials. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And when you do, get these to Gordon, and Gordon alone. Trust no one. RACHEL What are they? BATMAN The antidote. One for Gordon to inoculate himself, the other to start mass - production. Batman hands Rachel the vials. She looks at him, curious. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Crane was just a pawn. He was working for someone else. RACHEL -LRB- remembering. -RRB- Ghul. something Al Ghul. BATMAN Ra's Al Ghul. It's not him. He's dead. RACHEL How do you know? BATMAN I watched him die. Batman approaches with the syringe. Rachel offers her arm. Batman injects her. Her eyes close. Batman removes his cowl. Wayne stands above the sleeping Rachel. Stares at her for an inexpressibly lonely moment.", "INT. BATH HOUSE, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Gordon is on the phone - GORDON Someone's been dumping a dangerous contaminant into the supply from this location for days, maybe weeks -", "INT. CONTROL ROOM, WATER BOARD -- CONTINUOUS Two TECHNICIANS sit there, one on the phone to Gordon. A large screen in front of them maps the water supply of Gotham. TECHNICIAN If that's true then it's already spread through the whole system. But no one's reported any effects.", "INT. BATH HOUSE, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Gordon looks around, thinking, frustrated. GORDON It must be like chlorine or fluoride - harmless to drink, but when you breathe it it's deadly. look, wake up your boss, see if there's a way to flush out the system. Gordon hangs up. Frustrated. Notices something. A large SHIPPING CRATE. He turns to the Cop. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Open that up.", "INT. STUDY, WAYNE MANOR -- EVENING Wayne emerges from the bookcase. The noise of a PARTY outside the door. Alfred is there waiting, dinner jacket over his arm. Wayne grabs the shirt - dressing hastily. WAYNE Rachel's sedated. You can take her home. ALFRED Very good, sir. WAYNE Is Fox still here? -LRB- Alfred nods. -RRB- Tell you staff to stop serving drinks and move everybody on after the cake. Alfred nods. Wayne moves to the door. Alfred STOPS him. Hands him a towel, gesturing at his face : Wayne is still wearing BLACK MAKEUP around his eyes.", "INT. MAIN HALL, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Hundreds of GUESTS. Music. Tables groaning with food FEMALE GUEST -LRB- O.S. -RRB- There he is! Guests look up - Wayne WADES INTO the throng, GRINNING and GLAD - HANDING. The band strikes up with `` Happy Birthday'', Wayne spots Fox at the buffet.", "EXT. SIDE ENTRANCE, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS As sounds from the party drift over, Alfred gently arranges the unconscious Rachel on the rear seat of the car. He frowns as Rachel's legs get stuck. He looks up to see a PARTY GUEST, cigarette in hand, staring, curious. ALFRED -LRB- smiles. -RRB- A little the worse for wear, I'm afraid. Alfred YANKS Wayne's gold clubs to one side, rachel settles.", "INT. MAIN HALL, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Guests are leaving. Wayne works the room, charming, but distracted. heading to Fox. WAYNE Any word on that. item. Fox nods, glances around. Leans in, conspiratorial. FOX A contact in heavy weapons tipped me off - it's a microwave emitter. It vaporizes water. Wayne thinks. WAYNE Could you sue it to put a biological agent into the air? FOX Sure, if the water supply were poisoned before you vaporized it. Wayne takes this in. Grave. Nods at Fox. EARLE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Happy Birthday, Bruce. Wayne turns to Earle. WAYNE Mr.Earle, good of you to come. EARLE -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Not everybody thought you'd make it this far. WAYNE Sorry to disappoint. How did the stock offering go? EARLE Very well - the price soared. WAYNE Who was buying? EARLE A variety of funds and brokerages. it's all a bit technical - the key thing is, our company's future is secure. Wayne nods. Gestures to fox. WAYNE Have you met Lucius Fox? EARLE Of course, Lucius, how are you? WAYNE Fox is showing me the ropes down at Applied Sciences. he's a great untapped resource at our company, are n't you, Mr.Fox? Fox shoots Wayne a look, but Wayne WINKS and moves off. FOX He's a good kid. EARLE -LRB- cold. -RRB- Fox, forget about kissing Wayne's ass to get back in - I'm merging Applied Sciences with central archiving and you're top of the early retirement list. -LRB- smiles at reaction. -RRB- Did n't you get the memo?", "INT. BATH HOUSE, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Gordon and the other Cops STARE at the MICROWAVE EMITTER. COP What the hell is it? Gordon turns to the SWAT team members. GORDON I do n't know, but nobody gets near it, understand? We're closing the bridges, locking down the whole island.", "INT. BEDROOM, RACHEL'S APARTMENT -- CONTINUOUS Rachel STIRS. On her bed fully clothed. Trying to remember a strange dream. She sees the two vials of antidote sitting on her bedside table. HURRIES to her feet.", "INT. MAIN HALL, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Wayne moves across the party, heading for the study. An ELDERLY SOCIETY DAME grabs him - SOCIETY DAME Bruce, there's somebody here you simply must meet. WAYNE Mrs Delane, I ca n't just now. She TURNS Wayne to face an ASIAN MAN in his fifties. SOCIETY DAME Now, am I pronouncing it right? In the Asian Man's buttonhole is a DOUBLE - BLOOMED BLUE POPPY. SOCIETY DAME -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Mr.Al Ghul? The Asian Man nods. Wayne STARES at him. WAYNE You're not Ra's Al Ghul. He's dead. The Society Dame laughs nervously, confused. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- But is Ra's Al Ghul immortal? Wayne TURNS. Standing there. Smiling. Ducard. DUCARD Are his methods supernatural? WAYNE -LRB- understanding. -RRB- Or cheap parlor tricks to conceal your true identity, Ra's? Ducard -LRB- THE REAL RA'S AL GHUL -RRB- smiles acknowledgment. DUCARD/RA'S AL GHUL Surely you do n't begrudge me dual identities? Ra's Al Ghul walks Wayne through the dwindling party. RA'S AL GHUL I've been admiring your work, even as it's interfered with my plans. Ra's Al Ghul looks at Wayne with a tinge of sadness. RA'S AL GHUL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You were my greatest student. until you betrayed me. Wayne notices CERTAIN GUESTS staring at him : members of the League of Shadows. Wayne looks at the departing Guests. WAYNE Your quarrel is with me. Let these people go. RA'S AL GHUL As you wish. But they do n't have long to live - your antics at the Asylum have forced my hand. WAYNE Crane was working for you. RA'S AL GHUL His toxin is derived from the organic compound in our blue poppies. Crane was able weaponize the compound. A brilliant scientist, but no visionary. He just wanted money and power -. -LRB- smiles. -RRB- I told him the plan was to hold the city to ransom. but, in fact - WAYNE You're going to unleash Crane's poison on the entire city. RA'S AL GHUL -LRB- nods, serious. -RRB- Then watch Gotham tear itself apart through fear.", "EXT. BRIDGE TO THE NARROWS/ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS COP CARS BLOCK the bridge. Police in RIOT GEAR, some on HORSEBACK. Rachel argues with a POLICE OFFICER. POLICE OFFICER Orders are, no one crosses - RACHEL Officer, I'm a Gotham City District Attorney with information relevant to this situation - so let me pass. Rachel brushes past him. He follows, shaking his head.", "INT. LIBRARY, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Wayne and Ra's enter. The library is empty of guest. WAYNE You're going to destroy millions of lives. RA'S AL GHUL No. Billions of lives. Gotham is just the beginning. The world will watch in terror as the greatest city falls. Anarchy and chaos will spread. mankind will ravage itself, the species will be culled and the balance of nature restored. The planet will be saved for all species. Wayne stares at Ra's appalled. WAYNE You're inhuman. RA'S AL GHUL Do n't question my humanity, Bruce - when I found you in that fetid hole you were lost. I saved you - I showed you a path and took away your fear - I made you what you are. -LRB- stares at Wayne. -RRB- And in return. you attacked me and burned my home. Ra's looks up at his MEN in the gallery. Nods. The Men start SETTING FIRE TO THE DRAPES. RA'S AL GHUL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Since then, you've used my skills and techniques to interfere with my plans, plans in which you were supposed to play a part. WAYNE What part was that, Ra's? To put my company at your disposal? To obtain your microwave emitter and plant it somewhere in Gotham? RA'S AL GHUL -LRB- smiles, nods. -RRB- You were supposed to be Gotham's destroyer. instead you became her only protector. WAYNE You underestimate Gotham. RA'S AL GHUL You underestimate Gotham's corruption - we've infiltrated every aspect of the city's infrastructure.", "INT. BATH HOUSE, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Four SWATS are guarding the Emitter. One of them checks his watch. Gives a signal to the SECOND SWAT who nods and starts priming the machine. The Third SWAT turns - THIRD SWAT Hey! What the hell are you - PHUUUT. The Fourth SWAT has shot him with a silenced pistol. Moving with military precision, the three Ninja/SWATS don gas masks place explosive charges along the wall.", "INT. MONORAIL STATION -- CONTINUOUS The TRAIN DRIVER checks his watch. Hits the INTERCOM. TRAIN DRIVER -LRB- over loudspeaker. -RRB- This train is no longer in service. PASSENGERS groan, get to their feet.", "INT. LIBRARY, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS The FLAMES ARE RISING. SMOKE GATHERING at the ceiling. RA'S AL GHUL Gotham is helpless without you. That's why I'm here. WAYNE To kill me? Ra's Al Ghul looks at Wayne. Emotional. RA'S AL GHUL To bring you back to us, Bruce. The world will need great men like you - WAYNE To take power. RA'S AL GHUL This is not about power. this is about saving the planet before man destroys it with his greed, with his pollution, with his weaponry. Ra's holds out his hand. A Ninja THROWS him a SWORD. He HANDS it to Wayne, placing the point at his own throat. RA'S AL GHUL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You still doubt me? Apply a few pounds of pressure. buy your precious city a reprieve. Ra's looks into Wayne's eyes with absolute conviction. RA'S AL GHUL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Kill me. Then you'll understand how simple it is to do what's necessary. Wayne holds the sword at Ra's throat. Thinking. Ra's stares at Wayne with absolute conviction. WAYNE I will not take life. I will not be a part of this. RA'S AL GHUL But you already are. You've given Gotham a potent symbol of fear. WAYNE I frighten criminals. RA'S AL GHUL You frighten everybody. A giant vengeful bat? What better apocalyptic symbol to haunt Gothams' dreams as panic takes hold? Wayne stares at Ra's Al Ghul. Pulls the sword away from his throat. Ra's Al Ghul looks at him, contemptuous. Pulls at the handle of his cane, producing a SWORD. RA'S AL GHUL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Then die with Gotham - Ra's STRIKES Wayne's sword from his throat - lays into him, sword in one hand, CANE/SHEATH in the other -", "EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Gordon turns. Rachel is there. He nods. GORDON How are you? RACHEL Better. Thank you. GORDON Thank the Batman. RACHEL I already did. -LRB- reaches into pocket. -RRB- He sent me with doses of the antidote for you.", "INT. BATH HOUSE, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS The Ninja/SWATS crouch away from the back wall. One of them HITS a DETONATOR. A controlled EXPLOSION BLASTS a large hole in the back wall -", "EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS The Cops react to the EXPLOSION - Gordon RACES into the building. RACHEL Gordon, wait!", "INT. BATH HOUSE, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Gordon and his men appear at the door to the room - the Ninja/SWATS are moving the Emitter through the hole in the wall - Gordon OPENS FIRE - the First Ninja/Swat turns to the second, SIGNALS. The Second Ninja/Swat ACTIVATES the Emitter - A PULSE OF ENERGY RIPPLES FROM THE MACHINE. PIPES/TAPS/DRAINS EXPLODE with pressurized STEAM - Gordon DIVES for cover -", "EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Manhole covers EXPLODE, RELEASING GEYSERS of STEAM. FIRE HYDRANTS EXPLODE, HISSING with steam - Cops hit the deck.", "INT. WATER BOARD CONTROL ROOM -- CONTINUOUS An ALARM SOUNDS - the Technician points at a DOT on the map. TECHNICIAN What's that?! SECOND TECHNICIAN Some kind of pressure under the Narrows. like the water's. -LRB- confused. -RRB-. boiling. TECHNICIAN Did the valves hold? SECOND TECHNICIAN Yeah, it's contained. For now.", "EXT. BRIDGE TO ARKHAM/NARROWS -- CONTINUOUS Cops STARE at the cloud of FOG rising from the island.", "INT. LIBRARY, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Ra's throws himself at Wayne with FEROCITY and SKILL - Wayne PARRIES, THRUSTS. WAVES of flame ROLL across the high ceiling as the great room approaches flashover point. Wayne PRESSES Ra's back under the gallery. Ra's THRUSTS, OFF BALANCE - Wayne dodges - Ra's goes DOWN - Wayne holds his sword at Ra's throat. WAYNE Perhaps you taught me too well. Ra's looks up at Wayne with a sly smile. RA'S AL GHUL Or perhaps you'll never learn - A section of the BURNING GALLERY DROPS onto Wayne. RA'S AL GHUL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- - to mind your surroundings as well as your opponent. Ra's RISES. Looks down at Wayne, unconscious, PINNED under BURNING TIMBERS. Firelight flickers on Ra's' face as he sheathes his sword/cane. RA'S AL GHUL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Rest easy, friend. Ra's turns, walks out of the flaming library.", "EXT. FRONT DOOR, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Ra's walks out of the burning building. Motions to a Ninja. RA'S AL GHUL No one comes out. Make sure. He walks towards a waiting HELICOPTER. Another Ninja follows. RA'S AL GHUL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Is everything ready? NINJA 2 They created a smokescreen in the Narrows - and they're moving the emitter into place for your run.", "INT. MONORAIL TRACK ABOVE FOGBOUND NARROWS -- CONTINUOUS The Train Driver looks down at Arkham as he pulls overhead with his empty train. He STOPS the train above the Narrows.", "INT. BATH HOUSE, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Thick clouds of WHITE FOG fill the room. Gordon is CHOKING. RACHEL GRABS HIS ARM - RACHEL Gordon, it's me! It's Rachel! I have the antidote! Gordon - Gordon RIPS his arm away - COUGHING, SPLUTTERING. he STARES into the BLINDING WHITE. TERRIFIED, adrenaline kicking in - Rachel SHAKES Gordon, FUMBLING with the pneumatic syringe. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Stay calm. I can help you. Gordon looks at the needle, panicked. Then at her face.", "INT. LIBRARY, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Wayne, unconscious, PINNED by burning timbers, FLAMES RISING.", "EXT. SIDE DOOR, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS A Ninja guards the side door, STARING into the flames. WHACK! He goes down. ALFRED is standing there, nine iron in hand. He looks down at the Ninja. ALFRED I sincerely hope you're not from the fire department. Alfred rushes in to the burning house.", "INT. LIBRARY, WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS Alfred moves to Wayne, tries in vain to shift the BURNING WOOD from Wayne's chest. He moves to Wayne's face. SLAPS IT, HARD. ALFRED Master Wayne! Master Wayne! Wayne's eyes flicker open. He PUSHES, but ca n't move. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- exasperated. -RRB- Sir, whatever is the point of all those push - ups if you ca n't even - Wayne GLARES at Alfred, FORCES the weight from his chest.", "INT. STUDY -- CONTINUOUS Wayne and Alfred push through the burning room. Wayne JABS at the flaming piano keys.", "INT. WROUGHT IRON SPIRAL STAIRCASE -- CONTINUOUS Alfred and Wayne CRAWL onto the lift.", "EXT. WAYNE MANOR -- CONTINUOUS The burning house COLLAPSES.", "INT. WROUGHT IRON SPIRAL STAIRCASE -- CONTINUOUS Smoke and flame EXPLODES through the passage - Alfred YANKS the lever DROPPING them out of the heat - they SPEED DOWN.", "INT. BATCAVE -- CONTINUOUS LANDING HARD. Smoldering. Wayne STARES up the SPIRAL : high above, SPARKS and firelight. The CRASH of collapsing TIMBERS echoes down as WAYNE MANOR DIES. Tears form in Wayne's eyes. WAYNE -LRB- whispers. -RRB- What have I done, Alfred? Everything my family. everything my Father and his father built. Alfred struggles to pull himself to a standing position. ALFRED -LRB- hoarse. -RRB- The Wayne legacy is more than bricks and mortar, sir. Wayne stares up at the glowing shaft. Lost in his despair. WAYNE I thought I could. help Gotham. but I've failed. Alfred makes a futile show of dusting down his jacket. ALFRED And why do we fall, sir? Wayne looks at Alfred's bruised, smudged, yet dignified face. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- So that we might better learn to pick ourselves up. Wayne looks up at his old friend. WAYNE Still have n't given up on me? Alfred offers him a trembling hand. ALFRED -LRB- conviction. -RRB- Never. Wayne takes Alfred's hand. Gets up.", "EXT. THE FOGBOUND NARROWS -- CONTINUOUS Ninjas in gas masks move the Emitter into position UNDER THE MONORAIL TRAIN. The bind it into a HOIST.", "EXT. THE NARROWS -- CONTINUOUS Rachel injects Gordon. He stares into her eyes, questioning. RACHEL Breathe. Just breathe. NOISES draw Gordon's frightened eyes to shape of COPS choking on the fog, SHOUTING. FIGHTING. Rachel pulls Gordon to his feet - heads for the hole in the wall. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Come on.", "EXT. BRIDE TO ARKHAM/NARROWS -- CONTINUOUS Loeb and a LIEUTENANT get out of a car at the blockade. Starring across : FOG HANGS OVER THE ISLAND. LOEB What in God's name is going on in there?", "EXT. THE NARROWS -- CONTINUOUS As Rioters FLIT past through the fog either side, Rachel DRAGS Gordon into a doorway. She looks up into the fog. Sees the Ninjas hoisting the emitter up to the monorail.", "INT. FOGBOUND ARKHAM ASYLUM -- EVENING An INMATE at the window of his cell. A CLUNK - he turns - his cell door is OPEN. He looks out into the corridors.", "INT. MIST-FILLED CORRIDOR, ARKHAM ASYLUM -- CONTINUOUS Crane, in ScareCrow mask, RINGS down the corridor, LAUGHING, unlocked each door in turn. INMATE -LRB- to himself. -RRB- Scarecrow. Inmates emerge from their cells, confused.", "INT. THE BATCAVE -- CONTINUOUS CLOSE ON : black scalloped GAUNTLETS thrust onto purposeful hands. A dark CLOAK whipped around strong shoulders. A graphite COWL placed over an implacable face. A DARK FIGURE swallowed by the gloom. BATS flutter as an ENGINE ROARS to life.", "EXT. WATERFALL -- CONTINUOUS MOVING IN on water tumbling hypnotically. The Batmobile EXPLODES through the water, ROCKETING onto the opposite bank.", "INT. HELICOPTER ABOVE FOGBOUND NARROWS -- CONTINUOUS Ra's Al Ghul puts on a gas mask as the helicopter descends.", "EXT. FOGBOUND NARROWS -- NIGHT Rachel sits up from Gordon. Hears something : a DRAGGING NOISE behind her. She turns, stepping away from Gordon. A HORSE emerges from the fog. Crane is riding ; in Scarecrow mask. DRAGGING along behind, boot caught in the stirrup, a dead MOUNTED POLICEMAN. CRANE TURNS TO RACHEL. RACHEL Crane! Crane shakes his head. CRANE -LRB- hisses. -RRB- Scarecrow.", "EXT. BRIDGE TO ARKHAM/NARROWS -- CONTINUOUS Loeb with a LIEUTENANT, watching the fog hang over the island. They head a massive ENGINE, turn, BLINDED by headlights. the Batmobile RACES at the cordon, SHOOTS over the cars, clipping the roofs, Cops DIVING out of the way.", "EXT. ALLEY, FOGBOUND NARROWS -- CONTINUOUS The too - wide Batmobile RIPS metal sheets and drywall from both sides of the tiny alley - RIOTING INHABITANTS run SCREAMING - the Batmobile is heading for a dead end.", "EXT. COURTYARD, FOGBOUND NARROWS -- CONTINUOUS Crane GALLOPS towards Rachel and Gordon and STOPS. Rioters emerge behind them. he REARS UP to STAMP RACHEL AND GORDON - Rachel fires her taser, plugging Crane in the face - he JERKS, SPASM - the HORSE BOLTS, THROWING him, DRAGGING HIM OFF INTO THE FOG. Rachel watches him disappear. Then sees the Lunatics closing in on all sides. The Batmobile SMASHES THROUGH THE WALL - Lunatics closing in on all sides. The Batmobile opens - Batman emerges - runs to Rachel. A BRICK smashes into Batman's head. He TURNS to the Rioters STARING at him, TERRIFIED. Batman RISES in the mist. to their eyes : Batman is a twelve - foot shadowy devil with WINGS. They fling bricks, bottles, fighting off the demon. Batman GRABS Rachel, FIRES his grappling gun up into the fog. it finds purchase - they SHOOT UP FROM THE MOB -", "EXT. ROOFTOP -- MOMENTS LATER Batman sets Rachel down, looks out at Gotham : the Narrows below steaming, burning, screaming. The rest of Gotham WAITS. BATMAN They're going to unleash the toxin on the entire city. I have to find the microwave emitter. RACHEL They were lifting a machine up to the tracks. Batman TURNS to face Rachel, realizing - BATMAN Of course - the monorail. The track runs directly over the water mains. Batman turns to the city, stares at the wide sweep of the monorail tracks. The `` spoke'' that lead in to Wayne Tower. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- He's going to drive that thing straight into Wayne Tower and blow the main hub, creating enough toxin to blanket the entire city.", "INT. MONORAIL TRAIN -- CONTINUOUS Ra's Al Ghul climbs onto the train with three MASKED NINJAS. The narrow - band emitter fills the front car. Pulsing with energy. Ra's moves to the driver's position.", "EXT. THE NARROWS -- CONTINUOUS Gordon looks up - the train moves overhead. as it passes, manhole covers EXPLODE in its wake, sending up fresh GEYSERS of STEAM. Gordon watches the train go. starts RUNNING.", "INT. CONTROL ROOM, WATER BOARD -- CONTINUOUS ALARMS sound - the Technician looks at the map - lights FLASH. SECOND TECHNICIAN What's that? TECHNICIAN The pressure's increasing. and it's. Moving.", "EXT. ROOFTOP -- CONTINUOUS Batman stands at the edge - looks at the IMPOSSIBLE DROP to the moving monorail train. RACHEL Wait! Batman TURNS. Rachel stares at his eyes in the black cowl, reaches up to his face. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You could die. At least tell me your name. Batman turns. Looks back at her. BATMAN It's not who I am underneath. -LRB- touches his chest. -RRB- But what I do that defines me. Rachel steps forward, recognizing her own words, REALIZING - RACHEL Bruce - But he is already FALLING.", "EXT. OVER GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS Batman FREE FALLS, cloak flapping, sliding his gloves into the activating pockets. The cloak goes RIGID - SMASHING THE WIND LIKE A PARACHUTE. Batman's arms CONTROL his cloak, not simply arresting his fall, but GLIDING GRACEFULLY like a hand glider. He eyes the moving train and NOSES DOWN, ACCELERATING -", "INT. MONORAIL TRAIN -- CONTINUOUS Ra's pulls off his mask, watching the city speed around him.", "INT. SEDAN ON THE BRIDGE TO THE NARROWS -- CONTINUOUS Flass is in the driver's seat, eating. Gordon opens the door GRABS him - FLASS What the -? - FLINGS him out onto the asphalt - PEELS OUT.", "EXT. GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS Batman STREAKS DOWN, CUTTING through the STEAM GEYSERS shooting up in the train's wake. the train SPEEDS through a station - Batman BANKS SHARPLY around the building.", "INT. CONTROL ROOM, WATER BOARD -- CONTINUOUS The Technician stares at the map : BLINKING LIGHTS reach CLOSER AND CLOSER to Wayne Tower. SECOND TECHNICIAN Pressure's building at the hub - TECHNICIAN Open all the run - off valves! SECOND TECHNICIAN They're already blown! The Technician, worried, looks at a PRESSURE GAUGE : the NEEDLE is moving steadily HIGHER, towards the RED ZONE.", "EXT. MONORAIL TRAIN -- CONTINUOUS The track ahead passes into an office building - Batman noses down - trying to get down onto the train before it reaches the building. Batman gets OVER the back of the train - it's at the mouth of the tunnel - he COLLAPSES his cloak - DROPS onto the train just as it BLASTS into the building -", "INT. TRAIN -- CONTINUOUS Ra's hears a THUMP. He nods at his Ninjas. They move into the rear car, COCKING machine guns.", "EXT. TRAIN -- CONTINUOUS Batman lies on the roof - the train SPEEDS through the CANYONS of downtown Gotham. BULLETS tear through the roof, several HIT BATMAN - JOLTING him loose, spinning his SIDEWAYS -", "INT. TRAIN -- CONTINUOUS The ninjas see a SHADOW FALL FROM THE ROOF. One of them sticks his head up to check : nothing but fresh bullet holes. At the Ninjas' feet, UNNOTICED, a GRAPPLING HOOK sticks through the FLOOR of the train -", "EXT. SURFACE STREETS BELOW THE MONORAIL -- CONTINUOUS A small CROWD outside a store watch news on stacked T.V.'s. The train STREAKS overhead. People look up, SHOCKED to see - Batman HANGING FROM THE TRAIN BY HIS GRAPPLING CABLE, FLYING ALONG, 15 feet in the air, dodging STOPLIGHTS and AWNINGS. The Train crosses over a busy intersection - Batman FLIES over CARS, between tall TRUCKS. behind him, in the train's wake, manhole covers EXPLODE, fire hydrants BURST. Batman STRUGGLES to fasten his grappling gun into his utility belt, but he's being TOSSED too violently. Up ahead : more of Ra's Al Ghul's Ninjas ride in a truck, preceding the train, guarding the monorail supports.", "EXT. STREET BELOW THE MONORAIL -- CONTINUOUS In the truck, a Ninja puts a rocket - propelled grenade launcher on his shoulder, sighting Batman - the others aim their guns. A CURVE in the truck sends Batman SWINGING UP into the glass facade of a building, SMASHING ALONG THROUGH forty feet of plate glass. he clears the glass, looks ahead - sees the truck in his path, WEAPONS TRAINED ON HIM. The machine guns open up - the TRIGGER of the RPG is SQUEEZED - BLAM - with a SHUDDER the truck is KNOCKED SIDEWAYS by a SPEEDING unmarked sedan - the grenade MISFIRES into the cab. GORDON is at the wheel of the unmarked sedan - he DUCKS DOWN - the truck EXPLODES. Batman FLIES THROUGH THE FLAMES. On the other side, the track DEAD ENDS at another tunnel. Gordon looks up in time to see Batman LATCH the grappling gun into his belt - SHOOT UP, SKIRTING the lip of the tunnel.", "INT. TRAIN -- CONTINUOUS Batman JUMPS into the rear car - FIRES his grappling gun at a Ninja's leg, YANKS him DOWN. Ra's glances back from the front car, but ca n't see clearly. Batman DOWNS a Ninja with an ELBOW to the head. LEAPS for the door between cars - a Ninja in the front car LOCKS it - SMASH - Ra's TURNS to see Batman at the rear door, glass falling from the window, hands around the Ninja's THROAT. RA'S AL GHUL You! Batman DROPS the Ninja. LEADS UP out of sight.", "INT. CONTROL ROOM, WATER BOARD -- CONTINUOUS ALARMS : The technician watches the blinking lights move CLOSE to the HUB. the pressure gauge needle tips into the RED - FIRST TECHNICIAN Everybody out! Out of the building! SECOND TECHNICIAN But - FIRST TECHNICIAN We're sitting on the hub - she's gon na blow and blow big, understand?", "EXT. MONORAIL TRAIN -- CONTINUOUS Batman moves forward along the roof, cloak FLAPPING madly behind. Wayne Tower visible up ahead, the train STREAKING DIZZYINGLY through the tight CANYONS of Gotham. Ra's Al Ghul climbs up onto the roof at the front of the train. Standing tall before Gotham, long coat blowing around his legs. He marvels at Batman. RA'S AL GHUL You took my advice about theatricality a bit literally, do n't you think? He draws his sword from his cane. Batman LUNGES at Ra's, who SWINGS his sword at him - Batman PARRIES with his gauntlet, SPARKS striking off the metal scallops. The train SHOOTS through a building, the airflow WHUMPING down on the duelists. Ra's SWINGS his cane - Batman TRAPS it in his scallop - TWISTS his arm - sends the cane SPINNING away. RA'S AL GHUL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Familiar. Ra's THRUSTS his sword at Batman's chest, Batman DODGES left, dangerously close to the EDGE. He DUCKS at Ra's, who KNEES him sideways, SWINGING him at the FRONT EDGE of the train. Batman REGAINS FOOTING - Ra's STRIKES DOWN at his head. Batman CROSSES HIS ARMS, CATCHING THE SWORD in the scallops of BOTH gauntlets, HOLDING FAST. RA'S AL GHUL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Do n't you have anything new? BATMAN How about this? Batman YANKS his ARMS in OPPOSITE directions, BREAKING RA'S AL GHUL'S SWORD IN TWO. Ra's STUMBLES back, loses footing, SLIPS onto the roof, SLIDING back toward the rear. Batman looks ahead to Wayne Tower approaching.", "INT. CONTROL ROOM, WATER BOARD, WAYNE TOWER -- CONTINUOUS The first technician watches the pressure gauge needle slide up through the red. He CLOSES HIS EYES.", "EXT. TRAIN -- CONTINUOUS Batman leans over the front of train - FIRES his GRAPPLING GUN into the front GUIDE WHEELS - which JAM, SPARKING, GRINDING. cable SPOOLS out of the grappling gun. the train SHUDDERS. RA'S AL GHUL -LRB- climbing to his feet. -RRB- What're you doing?! Batman THROWS the grappling gun at the SPARKING guide wheel. BATMAN What's necessary. The guide wheel HITS the grappling gun - BUMPS OFF ITS TRACK. Ra's DIVES onto Batman - SMASHES him against the roof - the train LURCHES, SCRAPING against the concrete guiderails. Batman ROLLS Ra's onto the bottom - but Ra's is CHOKING Batman, THUMBS PUSHED DEEP INTO THE FLESH ABOVE BATMAN'S NECKPIECE. Batman STRUGGLES uselessly against Ra's Al Ghul IRON GRIP. RA'S AL GHUL Are you afraid?! Ra's looks up at Batman's DYING eyes. Batman's hands STOP PUSHING against Ra's. BATMAN -LRB- choked. -RRB- Yes. and slip down his cloak to the activating pockets - BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- but not of you. The cloak goes RIGID - CATCHES THE WIND - like pulling a rip cord - Batman YANKED from Ra's Al Ghul's hands, INTO THE AIR. Ra's SCREAMS as he rides the train OFF THE MONORAIL. CRASHING DOWN INTO WAYNE PLAZA - DIGGING THROUGH THE CONCRETE - METAL SHREDDING, MARBLE SHATTERING, DUST CLOUDS FLYING, PARKED CARS EXPLODING. The Train has disintegrated into burning rubble just short of the entrance to Wayne Station.", "INT. CONTROL ROOM, WATER BOARD, WAYNE TOWER -- CONTINUOUS The Technician opens one eye. Then the other. And starts breathing again.", "EXT. WAYNE PLAZA -- CONTINUOUS Massive fiery destruction. And above it all - Batman SOARS in a high bank, riding the thermals, staring down at Ra's Al Ghul's funeral pyre. And we -", "EXT. WAYNE PLAZA -- MORNING, DAYS LATER Construction CREWS clear the RUBBLE, Lucius Fox, in hard hat, supervises. Earle approaches, livid. Fox spots him. FOX This is a hard hat area. EARLE What are you doing here, Fox? I seem to remember firing you. FOX Might be something to do with my new job as head of Wayne Industries. -LRB- off look. -RRB- Did n't you get the memo? Earle stares at Fox, hard. EARLE Whose authority? Fox points at Wayne's Rolls Royce idling nearby. Earle strides towards it. Fox quietly smiles, turns to his work.", "INT. ROLLS -- CONTINUOUS Earle is BANGING on the window. Wayne rolls it down. EARLE You think you have authority to decide who runs this company, Bruce? WAYNE It is my company. EARLE Not anymore. Wayne Industries went public a week ago - WAYNE And I bought most of the shares. A controlling interest, in fact. -LRB- off look. -RRB- Through various charitable foundations, trusts and so forth. Alfred is smiling in the front seat. WAYNE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Look, it's all a bit technical, but the important thing is. my company's future is secure. Earle is speechless. Wayne smiles. The Rolls pulls away.", "EXT. GROUNDS, SMOKING RUINS OF WAYNE MANOR -- DAY WORKERS sift through the smoking ruins, supervised by Alfred.", "INT. ORANGERY -- CONTINUOUS Soot - stained glass crunches underfoot as Rachel picks her way through the smoking remnants of the greenhouse.", "EXT. DISUSED KITCHEN GARDEN -- CONTINUOUS Rachel finds Wayne hammering a board across the disused well. He looks up at her. She approaches. He turns to the well. WAYNE Do you remember the day I fell? RACHEL Of course. Wayne looks down at the black gap yet to be covered. WAYNE As I lay there, I knew. I could sense it. RACHEL What? WAYNE That things would never be the same. RACHEL What did you find down there? Wayne picks up another board. WAYNE Childhood's end. Wayne places the board over over the gap. Closing the well.", "EXT. SMOKING RUINS OF WAYNE MANOR -- MOMENTS LATER Wayne walks Rachel past the ruins. RACHEL The day you left Gotham. the day Chill was murdered. I said terrible things. WAYNE True things. You made me see that justice is about more than my own pain and anger. RACHEL Well, you proved me wrong. WAYNE About what? RACHEL Your father would be proud of you. Just as I am. Wayne looks at her, emotion rising. He takes Rachel in his arms and they kiss, passionately. desperately. They break, Wayne looks into Rachel's eyes, hopeful. But she gently shakes her head. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- soft. -RRB- Between Batman and Bruce Wayne, there's no room for me. WAYNE Rachel, this life I chose. I can give it up. Rachel reaches up to his face with her hand. RACHEL You did n't choose the life, Bruce. It was thrust upon you, the way greatness often is. You've given this city hope - now she's depending on you. We all are. Wayne looks at her. Aching. He nods. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Good - bye, Bruce. She walks away. Stops. Turns. Points at the ruins. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What will you do? Wayne looks at her. Glorious purpose in his eyes. WAYNE I'm going to rebuild it just the way it was. Brick for brick. Rachel nods. Walks off. Wayne stares after her. Alone. But Alfred is at Wayne's shoulder. Watching his gaze. ALFRED Just the way it was, sir? Wayne turns to Alfred. WAYNE Yes, why? They stroll, side by side, towards the smoking ruins. ALFRED I thought we might take the opportunity of making some improvements to the foundation. WAYNE In the south east corner? ALFRED Precisely, sir. The irregular SHADOW of a BAT SYMBOL cast up onto turbulent clouds. and we are -", "EXT. ROOF, POLICE STATION -- NIGHT Gordon sips coffee from a styrofoam cup. Beside him - an upturned spotlight with a METAL STENCIL bolted to it. A dark FLUTTERING, and Batman is standing the other side of the spotlight. He reaches out, taps the stencil. BATMAN Nice. GORDON -LRB- crushing his cup. -RRB- Could n't find any mob bosses to strap to the light. Gordon kills the searchlight. The two men stand opposite each other in the dark. BATMAN Well, Sergeant? GORDON It's Lieutenant, now. Commissioner Loeb had to promote me. And he had to disband the task force hunting you. Amazing what saving a city can do for your image. BATMAN Then things are better. GORDON -LRB- nods. -RRB- You've started something - bent cops running scared, hope on the streets. Gordon leaves his sentence hanging between them. BATMAN But? GORDON But there's a lot of weirdness out there right now. the Narrows is lost. we still have n't picked up Crane or half the inmates of Arkham that he freed. BATMAN We will. Gotham will return to normal. GORDON Will it? What about escalation? BATMAN Escalation? GORDON We start carrying semiautomatics, they buy automatics. we start wearing kevlar, they buy armor - piercing rounds. BATMAN And? Gordon leans closer to Batman. Points at him. GORDON And. you're wearing a mask and jumping off rooftops. Gordon fishes in his pocket. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Take this guy. He pulls out a clear plastic evidence bag. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- armed robbery, double homicide. Inside the clear plastic bag is a PLAYING CARD. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Got a taste for theatrics, like you. Gordon hands Batman the bag. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Leaves a calling card. Batman turns the card over. It is a JOKER. BATMAN I'll look into it. He steps up onto the balustrade. Gordon looks at him. GORDON I never said thank you. Batman looks out at the lights of Gotham. Cloak billowing around him. BATMAN And you'll never have to. Batman DROPS from the rooftop, GLIDING on the night wind. Gordon smiles. He ca n't help it. FADE OUT. CREDITS. 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Attending the opera with his parents, Thomas and Martha, Bruce becomes frightened by performers masquerading as bats and asks to leave. Outside, mugger Joe Chill murders Bruce's parents in front of him, and the orphaned Bruce is raised by the family butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Fourteen years later, Chill is paroled after testifying against mafia boss Carmine Falcone. Bruce intends to murder Chill, but one of Falcone's assassins does so first. Bruce's childhood friend Rachel Dawes berates him for acting outside the justice system, saying that his father would be ashamed. After confronting Falcone, who tells him that real power comes from being feared, Bruce spends the next seven years traveling the world training in combat and immersing himself in the criminal underworld. In a Bhutan prison, he meets Henri Ducard, who recruits him to the League of Shadows led by Ra's al Ghul. After completing his training in ninja methods and purging his fears, Bruce learns the League intends to destroy Gotham, believing the city beyond saving. Bruce rejects the League and its edict that killing is necessary, burning down their temple during his escape. Ra's is killed by falling debris, while Bruce saves the unconscious Ducard. Returning to Gotham intent on fighting crime, Bruce takes an interest in his family's company, Wayne Enterprises, which is being taken public by the unscrupulous William Earle. Company archivist Lucius Fox, a friend of Bruce's father, allows Bruce access to prototype defense technologies, including a protective bodysuit and a heavily armored vehicle, the Tumbler. Bruce poses publicly as a shallow playboy, while setting up a base in the caves beneath Wayne Manor and taking up the vigilante identity of \"Batman\", inspired by his childhood fear. Intercepting a drug shipment, Batman provides Rachel with evidence against Falcone and enlists Sergeant James Gordon, one of Gotham's few honest cops, to arrest him. In prison, Falcone meets Dr. Jonathan Crane, a corrupt psychologist whom he has helped smuggle drugs into Gotham. Donning a scarecrow mask, Crane sprays Falcone with a fear-inducing hallucinogen and has him transferred to Arkham Asylum. While investigating \"the Scarecrow\", Batman is incapacitated by the hallucinogen, but is saved by Alfred and given an antidote developed by Fox. When Rachel, now the city's assistant district attorney, accuses Crane of corruption, he reveals he has introduced his drug into Gotham's water supply. He drugs Rachel, but Batman subdues and interrogates Crane, who claims to work for Ra's al Ghul. Batman evades the police to get Rachel to safety, administering her the antidote and giving her a vial of it for Gordon and another for mass production. At Bruce's birthday party, Ducard reappears and reveals himself to be the true Ra's al Ghul. Having stolen a powerful microwave emitter from Wayne Enterprises, he plans to vaporize Gotham's water supply, rendering Crane's drug airborne and causing mass hysteria that will destroy the city. He sets Wayne Manor aflame and leaves Bruce to die, but Alfred rescues him. Ra's loads the microwave emitter onto Gotham's monorail system to release the drug at the city's central water source. Batman rescues Rachel from a drugged mob and indirectly reveals his identity to her. Confronting Ra's on the monorail, as Gordon uses the Tumbler's cannons to destroy a section of the track, Batman refuses to kill Ra's but chooses not to save him, gliding from the train as it crashes, killing Ra's. Bruce gains Rachel's respect and love, but she decides she cannot be with him now, telling him if Gotham should no longer need Batman, they can be together. Batman becomes a public hero and Bruce reveals he has purchased a controlling stake in Wayne Enterprises, firing Earle and replacing him with Fox. Sergeant Gordon is promoted to Lieutenant and shows Batman the Bat-Signal, mentioning a criminal who leaves behind Joker playing cards.", "name": "Batman_Begins"}
{"scenes": ["Lethal Weapon FADE IN: CITY OF ANGELS lies spread out beneath us in all its splendor, like a bargain basement Promised Land. CAMERA SOARS, DIPS, WINDS its way SLOWLY DOWN, DOWN, bringing us IN OVER the city as we : SUPER MAIN TITLES. TITLES END, as we - SPIRAL DOWN TOWARD a lush, high - rise apartment complex. The moon reflected in glass. CAMERA CONTINUES TO MOVE IN THROUGH billowing curtains, INTO the inner sanctum of a penthouse apartment, and here, boys and girls, is where we lose our breath, because - spread - eagled on a sumptuous designer sofa lies the single most beautiful GIRL in the city. Blonde hair. A satin nightgown that positively glows. Sam Cooke MUSIC, crooning from five hundred dollar SPEAKERS. PASTEL colors. Window walls. New wave furniture tor - tured into weird shapes. It looks like robots live here. On the table next to the sleeping Venus lies an open bottle of pills. next to that, a mirror dusted with cocaine. She rouses herself to smear some powder on her gums. As she does, we see from her eyes that she is thoroughly, completely whacked out of her mind. She stands, stumbles across the room, pausing to glance at a photograph on the wall : Two men. Soldiers. Young, rough - hewn, arms around each other. The Girl throws open the glass doors. steps out onto a balcony, and there, beneath her, lies all of nighttime L.A. Panoramic splendor. Her hair flies, her expression. rapt, as she stands against this sea of technology. She is beautiful. On the balcony railing beside her stand three potted plants. The Girl sees them, picks one up. Looks over the balcony railing. It is ten stories down to the parking lot. she squints, holds the plant over the edge. GIRL Red car. Drops the plant. Down it goes, spiralling end over end - until, finally. BAM -! SHATTERS. Dirt flies. A red Chevy is now minus a WINDSHIELD. The Girl takes another plant. GIRL Green car. She drops it. Green Dodge. Ten stories below, BAM Impact city. Scratch one paint job. Grabs the final plant and holds it out, saying : GIRL Blue car. POW. GLASS SHATTERS. Dirt sprays. A blue BMW this time. The Girl loves this game. her expression is slightly crazed. She reaches for another plant - There aren.t any. Her smile fades - And for a moment, just a moment, the dullness leaves her eyes and she is suddenly, incredibly sober. And tears fill her eyes as she looks over the edge - GIRL Yellow car. And jumps the railing. Plummets, head over heels like a rag doll. Hits the yellow car spot on. She lies, dead, like an extinguished dream. Still beautiful.", "EXT. BENEATH THE PIER    NIGHT FOUR TOUGH - LOOKING DOCK WORKERS are camped out under the pier, warming themselves around a small bonfire, laughing loudly. Christmas decorations dangle above them from the pier, and empty beer cans litter the sand around them. CAMERA PUSHES IN to discover an old collie tied to one of the pilings. Then we realize that the dog is being tor - mented by the dock workers. They flick lighted matches at him. Shake their beers and spray him in the face. These guys are not rocket scientists. The dog cowers, tugging bn the rope. Tries to get away. All to the great amusement of its tormentors. One of them turns, laughing - As a shadowy FIGURE strides calmly up to the fire : Long hair. Cigarette dangling from - lower lip. Shirt - tails hanging loose below the waist. Nothing threatening in his manner as he plops down beside the men, smiling. They are immediately on their guard. RIGGS -LRB- FIGURE. -RRB- Happy holidays. Mind if I join you? PUNK  #1 Yes. PUNK  #2 Fuck off. Riggs smiles at him innocently. Strokes the collie's fur with one hand. With the other, he reaches intb a paper sack and produces, a spanking new bottle of Jack Daniels, possibly the finest drink mankind has yet produced. RIGGS I need help drinking this. Cool? The dock workers exchange glances. There seems to be no harm in this. One of them frowns : PUNK  #1 You a homo? RIGGS Do I look like a homo? PUNK  #1 You got long hair. Homos got long hair. PUNK #3 I hate homos. Arrggh. Riggs shakes his head, laughs. RIGGS Boy, you guys are terrific. You make me laugh, you just do. At which point, appropriately enough, Punk # 4 shakes a beer and sprays it in the old collie's face. The DOG pulls away, WHINING. Riggs leans forward. RIGGS This your dog? Nice dog. And then, he proceeds to do a peculiar thing : He starts to talk to the dog - in what seems to be the dog's own language. Very weird, folks. He coos, snuffles, barks softly, then withdraws, listening, his ear to the dog's muzzle. Riggs nods. Frowns. The others look on, puzzled. Then Riggs looks at each of the four dock workers. RIGGS Huh - You know what? He says he doesn.t want you to spray beer in his face. He says he just hates that. A pause. Uncomfortable. Then - PUNK #1 Oh, he does? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Well, mister, why don.t you ask him what he likes? The others snicker. Riggs simply nods. RIGGS Okay. And once again, begins to confer with the dog. Listens intently, piecing together what he is hearing. RIGGS What? You want. oh. Oh, hell no, I couldn.t do that. Nossirree bob, you little nut. He ruffles the dog's hair. The men are more puzzled than ever as Riggs turns and says : RIGGS -LRB- chuckling. -RRB- Get this : He wants me to beat the shit out of you guys. Everything stops. A cloud passes over the assembled faces and a pin - dropping silence ensues. Riggs, completely heedless, once again attends to the dog : RIGGS What's that? The one. in the middle. is a stupid fat duck. What? -LRB- listens again. -RRB- Oh. Oh! A ` stupid fat fuck! Right. He looks up, shakes his head. RIGGS Boy, this dog is pissed. The one in the middle grabs Riggs by the collar. Hoists him to his feet. Gulp. Stands, staring down at Riggs, whose eyes are completely neutral, like a snake's. PUNK #1 Buddy, you.re shortening your life span. He flicks open a mean - looking switchblade. Riggs is dead meat. So why then, does he choose this moment to execute a Three Stooges. routine, consisting of nose tweak, eye gouge, and rotating fist that bobs the dock worker on the head? He's nuts or something. Riggs steps back and adopts a neutral fighting stance. The others begin to circle. The DOG BARKS. Riggs turns to the dog, but his eyes never leave his grinning attackers. RIGGS -LRB- to the collie. -RRB- What's that? You want me to take the knife away. and break his elbow? Circling. Riggs, watching them, his eyes beginning to dance. Breathing slow and even. RIGGS But that would be excruciatingly painful. Something inside Riggs is gearing up. the others can perhaps sense it, their smiles falter a bit, they crouch, combat - ready. Riggs, eyes blazing. RIGGS And if I separated the fat one's shoulder. he.d probably scream. No doubt about it. We know from the look in Riggs. eyes he's nuts. He wants the fight, badly, all four of them at once. And then Punk # 1 springs. Big mistake. Needless to say, mincemeat is made of the four meddlesome dog - torturers. The beach is littered with their writhing forms as Riggs does, finally, what he set out to do : Unties the dog. Starts to go. As he does, he pats his shirt. Pats his jeans. Realizes his wallet has flown free during the fracas. Scoops to retrieve it from its resting place on the sand, where it lies open, and as it lies open, yes, folks, that is a badge we see. Riggs, we realize, is an officer of the law. He lights a cigarette and notices the collie, seated. Frowns : RIGGS Okay, skeezix. Go on. Get outta here. He begins to walk away. The dog remains close at his heels. Following him. RIGGS No, no. Don.t follow me. I.m an asshole. Go away. The dog sits obediently and Riggs walks away. He can.t help it, looks back over his shoulder. Sees the dog watching him with a beseeching expression. Pitiful. RIGGS Aw, shit. He signals the dog. RIGGS Awright. Move it. Let's go. The COLLIE BARKS happily and dashes toward him through the surf, kicking up sand and water. As they shuffle off against the palm - lined skyline, we hear, supered, Riggs. voice. RIGGS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So. You live in the area? What's your major? And so on as we.", "EXT. MURTAUGH's HOUSE - PRE-DAWN Palm trees cast shadows on the lawn. Toys, lots of them, littered across the lawn. A Big Wheel, a G.I. Joe figure. Christmas lights are strung across the eaves.", "INT. HOUSE - BATHROOM     SAME A real gun, a.38 Police Special, dangling in its hol - ster from the back of a chair. Next to it - A real badge, gleaming in the light. It identifies its owner as LAPD Robbery/Homicide. ANOTHER ANGLE A birthday cake comes INTO FRAME. A set of matronly hands places it directly in front of - DETECTIVE ROGER MURTAUGH Seated in the bathtub. He groans, throws a towel over himself, and mutters in mock indignation : Roger is tough : An old - fashioned fighter, wears his past like a scar. Piercing eyes ; cynical. He is surrounded by his family ; wife and three children, names and ages as follows : TRISH : Roughly thirty - eight. She used to be a stunner. NICK : Ten years old. Precocious. CARRIE : Age seven. Eyes like saucers. Adorable. RIANNE : Heartbreaker stuff, Seventeen. Takes your breath away folks. The cake is a real beauty. CARRIE Make a wish, Daddy. RIANNE Go for it, Dad. MURTAUGH -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Go for it, huh? Okay, I.ll go for it. He blows out the candles. Applause. His gaze lingers on - the cake. Or rather, the message scrawled atop it in icing : WELCOME TO THE BIG 50 The presents arrive.", "EXT. SIMI VALLEY - MORNING The scorched landscape stretches out beneath a lattice - work of high - tension power lines. Only scrub grass grows here. Rusted railroad tracks wander into the distance, and nestled beside them, like the last stop before death - sits a lonely trailer home. Battered TV antenna. A dirt yard which houses a beat - up pickup truck. Dead garden sprouting weeds. The ground begins to tremble. like an earthquake, RATTLING the POWER POLES, as, without warning - An express TRAIN BLASTS BY CAMEPA and streaks past the trailer at seventy miles an hour.", "INT. TRAILER HOME Now we are inside, the RUMBLING FAINTER. And we are looking at a tired, chiseled face. Etched with line and shadow. Eyes closed, as the shadows from the speeding train strobe across DETECTIVE SERGEANT MARTIN RIGGS. Morning is not a good time for Riggs. The CLOCK RADIO suddenly BLARES to life : ` silver Belllls. It's Christmas Tiiime in the City. Riggs snaps awake instantly. Alert. Tense. Face bathed in sweat. ANOTHER ANGLE He is not alone. In the doorway sits a thoroughly loveable black Labrador. Sitting stock still. Staring at Riggs, watching him sleep. Tail going thump - thump - thump on the carpet. Riggs sits up. Stares at the dog. RIGGS Sam, today is the first day. of the rest of my life. He lights a cigarette. Inhales. Coughs and hacks. The TRAIN THROBS by outside, rattling his skull.", "INT. MURTAUGH HOME - SAME TIME And it is a typical morning for Detective Roger Murtaugh. Chaos. The TELEVISION BLARES. Young Carrie Murtaugh wails like a banshee. Her brother Nick tells her to shut up. Trish Murtaugh is burning eggs in the kitchen. Roger Murtaugh enters then, fixing his tie. The following dialogue is fast and furious, tossed over the shoulder as Murtaugh scurries to and fro, getting dressed : MURTAUGH Honey, what's this on my tie? She looks. TRISH An ugly spot? MURTAUGH Thanks. Sharp as a pin. TRISH I.m thinking of going on. Jeopardy. MURTAUGH Don.t take any questions on cooking. TRISH Thanks. I love you, too. Carrie is still shrieking. Tears stream down her face. MURTAUGH Hey, kid, turn off the waterworks, okay? CARRIE -LRB- points to Nick. -RRB- Daddy, he changed the channel! MURTAUGH NOOOOOO. NICK She's a crybaby, Dad. MURTAUGH Mind your own busines. -LRB- nods toward the TV. -RRB- That's illegal. NICK What's illegal? MURTAUGH Can.t put a dead body in an ambulance. This. Kojak? NICK ` starsky and Hutch. MURTAUGH Huh. It's illegal. Never put a dead body in an ambulance, son, you got that? NICK Sure, Dad. MURTAUGH Honey, where's the spot remover? -LRB- turns to Carrie. -RRB- Young lady, stop crying or I.ll give you something to cry about. Damn. He dabs at his tie. Carrie screams. In the kitchen Trish drops the eggs, swears. The PHONE RINGS. Carrie screams. MURTAUGH That's it. I.m gon na give you something to cry about. He grabs a copy of Newsweek and hands it to her. MURTAUGH Starving children. See? They haven.t eaten, it's very sad. Cry. He moves away. CARRIE Daddy, you.re weird. MURTAUGH Thank you, Carrie. Hear that, honey, the children think I.m weird. TRISH They.re bright children. -LRB- hangs up the. -RRB- telephone. -RRB- Honey, you know a man named Dick Lloyd? Don.t step in the egg. MURTAUGH Where's my thinking? I should.ve checked the floor for egg. Dick Lloyd? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Jesus, Dick Lloyd. What's he want? TRISH The office called. He's been trying to reach you for three days now. MURTAUGH I haven.t talked to him in. shit, twelve years? No, wait a minute, that would make me fifty years old, that can.t be right. TRISH -LRB- smiles. -RRB- You.re not getting older, you.re getting better. MURTAUGH Inform the children of this. -LRB- kisses her ; heads for the door. -RRB- Forget the eggs, I.ll eat later. TRISH Whatever. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Honey? -LRB- as he stops. -RRB- How come I never heard of Dick Lloyd? MURTAUGH I never talked about him. TRISH Oh. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Vietnam buddy? MURTAUGH Yeah. Vietnam buddy. He exits the kitchen, crosses the entrance hall. Stops, noticing Rickles the cat, who is happily munching on the remains of Roger's birthday cake. MURTAUGH Hey. He swats it aside. Pauses, his gaze lingering on the silent message which gnaws at his guts. THE BIG 50. He comes out the front door. Flicks off the Christmas lights, crosses to the car. Looks up, and sees - his oldest daughter Rianne. Jogging past. She wears an adorable pair of dolphin shorts. Walkman headphones. She waves. RIANNE Bye, Daddy. He waves. MURTAUGH -LRB- shakes his head. -RRB- Goddamn heartbreaker. She's a heartbreaker. SERIES OF SHOTS - RIGGS GETTING DRESSED Riggs enters the living room, naked. Scars on his back, the kind you get from knives. Runs a hand through limp hair. Turns on the lamp. As he does - the TELEVISION also springs to life ; hooked to the same circuit. Pops three aspirin from a bottle. Chews them. Opens a bag of peanuts, throws it to the big Lab, who gobbles them down. Eats a sandwich, standing in the middle of his apartment. Looking at the floor. What a lonely fucking guy. Straps on his gun. 9 millimeter Beretta, if it matters. Throws on a jacket. Downs a shot of whiskey. Pauses, looking at a photograph on the wall. Riggs, much younger, along with a pretty and vivacious woman in a wedding gown : his wife. Stares at the photograph. His fingers twirl the whiskey glass with completely unconscious skill. Tense. Tense. twirling the glass. RICHARD DAWSON DRONES from the TV -LRB- our survey says -! -RRB- . Riggs slings the shotglass. Dead center, SHATTERING the TV SCREEN.", "INT. POLICE FIRING PANGE - MORNING Targets : Human silhouettes with kill zones numbered. Murtaugh enters. Sheds his coat, unholsters the.38. Steps to the red line. Shifts. Stretches. Cracks his neck. This is a ritual for him. He stops to examine his right hand, holding it steady before his eyes. Except there is a slight tremble. Tiny, but it's there. He frowns. Braces himself : Cross - draws with lightning swiftness. - BAM! - The sound is DEAFENING in the closed room. A neat round hole appears in the target. Perfect shot : a neat third eye. Murtaugh smiles. Holsters his gun. Puts on his coat - and sings softly to himself : MURTAUGH Happy birthday to me.", "INT. CAR - DAY Sergeant Martin Riggs is driving. He looks like he hasn.t slept. He certainly hasn.t shaved. The DISPATCH RADIO SQUAWKS. He turns down the MUSIC from the car radio and hears : DISPATCHER -LRB- V. 0. -RRB- All units in the vicinity and Fourteen X - ray thirty - one, shooting in progress at Venice Beach, Washington and Navy. Three victims down, PA en route Fourteen X - ray thirty - one, handle code three. Riggs hits the gas pedal and PEELS OUT.", "EXT. CENTURY CITY PARKING LOT  -  MORNING The sky threatens rain. Cars buzz by as the city awakens. A section of the parking lot is cordoned off by yellow streamers which read : POLICE LINE - DO NOT CROSS, and as we watch, a black and white patrol car pulls up, admitting two beat COPS and a young hooker. Her name is DIXIE, and she is not happy. DIXIE Can I stay in the car? COP #1 No. DIXIE Aw, cut me a break. I told you already : she came out on the balcony - COP #1 -LRB- points. -RRB- That balcony? DIXIE - No, the Chandler fucking Pavillion, of course that fucking balcony, and then she jumped, and then I puked in a trash can. Can I go now? COP #1 Not. til you talk to the Sarge. DIXIE Terrific. Where the hell is he?", "INT. MURTAUGH's CAR The sarge drives up and gets out. A BEAT COP Toes by. BEAT COP Happy 50th, Rog. MURTAUGH Fuck you. He crosses to the two Cops and Dixie. COP #2 Hey, Sarge. MURTAUGH Morning, Phil. Get some rain, looks like. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Hey, Dixie. Nice threads. DIXIE Hey, Murtaugh. Tell these bozos to lay Off. MURTAUGH You. Bozos. Lay off. COP #1 Had a jumper last night, Sarge. Dixie here was walking by, saw the whole thing. MURTAUGH You got a statement? Send her home. DIXIE Thanks, Rog. I.m beat, you know how it is. MURTAUGH Sure. -LRB- points to her outfit. -RRB- All dressed up and no one to blow. DIXIE You.re hilarious. She exits. Cop # 2 escorts Murtaugh across the parking lot. COP #2 Nice wholesome girl. She got a new job, you know. MURTAUGH What's that? COP #2 County ceiling inspector. -LRB- beat. -RRB- So. Fifty years old, huh? MURTAUGH Eat me. They stop next to the Porsche. Murtaugh grimaces. COP #2 Name is Amanda Lloyd, age twenty - two, prostitute, one arrest, no convictions. Born Tennessee, parents - MURTAUGH What was the name? COP #2. says. Lloyd. Amanda Lloyd. You know her? Murtaugh looks stunned. He speaks very slowly : MURTAUGH I knew her dad. COP #2 Jesus. -LRB- an awkward pause. -RRB- Vehicle is registered to her. She landed right on top of her own car. MURTAUGH Find out who bought it for her. Her sugar daddy. COP #2 Take some looking into. MURTAUGH So look.", "INT. AMANDA LLOYD's APARTMENT - DAY Murtaugh stares at the photograph we saw earlier. The two soldiers. One, we can assume, is Dick Lloyd. The other is Murtaugh. Younger, trimmer. He speaks into the phone. MURTAUGH Hello, honey? Give me the number for Dick Lloyd. What? Yes, the man who called me this morning. His daughter just took a dive out a window.", "EXT. CHRISTMAS TREE LOT  -  DAY Martin Riggs and three lot employees are gathered around the liftgate of a truck bearing a load of Christmas trees. The truck shields them from the view of customers picking out trees in the lot. The lot employees are actually DRUG DEALERS. They look around nervously in all directions as Riggs tastes a sample of their wares. RIGGS Good stuff. DRUG DEALER ONE You better fuckin. believe it. RIGGS Okay. Let's do it. How much? DRUG DEALER TWO How much for how much? RIGGS For all of it. DRUG DEALER THREE You want it all? RIGGS Yeah. -LRB- glances at the trees. -RRB- And maybe a nice big six - footer to put it under. DRUG DEALER ONE The tree you can have for nuthin. But the shit is gon na run you a hundred. Riggs lets out a soft whistle at the amount. RIGGS That much, huh? -LRB- digs into his pocket. -RRB- Okay. Let's see what I got. He pulls out a roll of money and begins to count it out in twenties and small bills. RIGGS Twenty, forty, sixty - The Drug Dealers exchange dumbfounded expressions. DRUG DEALER ONE Hey, man. Hey! RIGGS Wait, wait. shutup. I.m losin count. Where was I? Oh, yeah. -LRB- continues to peel off the bills. -RRB-. Eight, ninety, ninety - five, ninety - six, ninety - seven. -LRB- digs into his pocket for loose change. -RRB-. Ninety - seven - fifty. Sixty. Seventy - five. Okay, there's ninety - eight dollars and twenty cents. He is about to check his other pocket for change when Drug Dealer One stops him. DRUG DEALER ONE Forget it, dumbshit. RIGGS C.mon. I.m almost there. Gim me a minute to - DRUG DEALER ONE One hundred thousand, you stupid fuck! One hundred thousand! Riggs is floored. He can.t believe his ears. RIGGS Oh, Jesus. I can.t afford that. Not on my salary. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Look. let's do this instead. -LRB- pulls out his wallet. -RRB- I take your complete stash, okay? I take it all. For free. And you assholes go to jail. As he says this, he flips open his wallet and shows his badge. The Drug Dealers at first look startled, then disbelieving. RIGGS I could read you your rights, but. nah. You guys know what your rights are. DRUG DEALER  ONE Fuck you, man. That badge ain.t real. And you ain.t real. DRUG DEALER TWO But you.re sure as hell one crazy fuck! Riggs. eyes begin to blaze. His nostrils flare. Like a maniac, he lunges at Drug Dealer Two. RIGGS You callin. me crazy!? You think I.m crazy! You, wan na see crazy? I.ll show you crazy! This is crazy! Riggs then proceeds to slap and pummel the Drug Dealer in the manner of the. Three Stooges. complete with. WOO - WOO. sound effects. But he ends the routine by pulling a nine - millimeter Baretta from behind his back and pressing it against the neck of Drug Dealer Two. RIGGS That's a real badge. I.m a real cop. And this is a real gun. -LRB- to the other two Drug Dealers. -RRB- Face down on the ground. Arms and legs out. Do it now! Dealer One and Three begin to follow orders but Riggs sees a flicker in their eyes that him to trouble. He spins around - a FOURTH DRUG DEALER is behind him with a shotgun. The SHOTGUN EXPLODES. Riggs ducks, allowing Drug Dealer Two to take the full force of the. blast in the face. Riggs rolls in the sawdust FIRING his BERETTA. Dealer Four takes a bullet between the eyes. Dealer Two now has an AUTOMATIC RIFLE in his hand. It CHATTERS in Riggs. direction. Sawdust and pine needles fly in the air - but Riggs is able to blow him away. One more Drug Dealer left. Riggs can.t find him. His eyes dart in all directions. Where is he?! Behind Riggs, that's where! He presses a revolver to the back of Riggs. head, taking Riggs. Baretta from him and tucking it into his belt. Thats when : FIVE NARCOTICS OFFICERS come running from their stakeout positions around the lot. But they stop short when they see that Riggs is being held with a gun pointed to his head. The Drug Dealer begins to move with Riggs toward a van parked nearby. RIGGS -LRB- to officers. -RRB- Shoot him! Shoot him! DRUG DEALER -LRB- to Riggs. -RRB- Shut up! RIGGS -LRB- to Drug Dealer. -RRB- Fuck you! -LRB- to officers. -RRB- Shoot him! Shoot him! The narcotics officers do n't know what to do. They are frustrated. Helpless. Immobilized. Riggs sees the van looming up. The van means defeat. The van means disgrace. The van means victory for the bad guys, and we know that Riggs would rather die than be the instrument of the Dealer's escape. CLOSE ON RIGGS AND DRUG DEALER The veins are popping out in Riggs' neck. The Drug Dealer is getting nervous and panicky. His gun hand is trembling. The barrel of the gun jiggles against the back of Riggs' head. RIGGS -LRB- to Drug Dealer. -RRB- Do it, asshole. Pull the trigger. Pull the trigger. DRUG DEALER Shut the fuck up! They move closer to the van. The narcotics officers have their guns poised for action, but do n't dare use them. DRUG DEALER -LRB- to officers. -RRB- Guns down! Guns down! RIGGS -LRB- to officers. -RRB- Shoot him! Kill him! -LRB- to Dealer. -RRB- Pull the trigger! -LRB- to officers. -RRB- Waste him! -LRB- to Dealer. -RRB- Shoot me! -LRB- to officers. -RRB- Kill him! The Dealer is so freaked now that his grip on Riggs slips momentarily - and Riggs sees his opening. He spins. Kicks the Dealer in the groin. Dislocates his arm - sending the gun flying. Riggs retrieves his Baretta from the Dealer's belt and shoves the barrel into the Dealer's face. Riggs' entire body quakes with rage. His finger begins to squeeze back on the trigger. He wants to kill the guy so bad he can taste it. and yet, he does n't do it. The other officers arrive and step between Riggs and the Dealer. Riggs turns away. Breatliing hard. Adrenalin pumping. He tucks the Baretta into his belt, then notices that his hand is covered with the spilled blood of one of the Drug Dealers. It gives Riggs pause. For a moment, he just looks at it. HOLD ON Riggs. VERY CLOSE. And the look in his eyes.", "INT. METRO SQUAD ROOM - MORNING Police have seldom looked this busy. Yes, there are RINGING PHONES. Yes, there are CLATTERING TYPEWRITERS. Yes, it looks like a circus. And here comes Captain of Detectives ED MURPHY, moving like an after - breakfast juggernaut. Behind him, a young woman rushes to keep up. The POLICE PSYCHOLOGIST, no less. PSYCHOLOGIST I want Martin Riggs pulled from duty. MURPHY Um. no. PSYCHOLOGIST No. No? Captain, he walked into the line of fire. MURPHY Very brave individual, do n't you think? PSYCHOLOGIST This is utter bullshit. MURPHY Oh, is it? Forgive me. PSYCHOLOGIST Martin Riggs is a cop with a death wish. Murphy shoots her an incredulous look. PSYCHOLOGIST You can quote me. It happens to be my professional opinion. MURPHY Um. good opinion. See you tomorrow. PSYCHOLOGIST Captain. MURPHY Look, Doc, you're way off. Way off. Know what I think? I think Riggs is pulling for a psycho pension. PSYCHOLOGIST Oh, do you? MURPHY Yeah. I am sure you're aware the department offers a disability stress pension - PSYCHOLOGIST Yes, I'm aware - MURPHY - Except we do n't offer it to everybody, only cops who seem to suffer from PSYCHOLOGIST - From abnormal stress, yes, I know. Or suicidal tendencies. MURPHY Give the lady a cigar. PSYCHOLOGIST You think Riggs is playing a game? MURPHY Sure. He wants the cash. Seen it a hundred times. He'll come around. PSYCHOLOGIST Sir, with all due respect. I think that's a dangerous attitude to take. May I remind you that his wife of eleven years was recently killed in a car accident, and MURPHY I know all about Riggs, Doc. He's a tough bastard. PSYCHOLOGIST -LRB- intense. -RRB- He is on the edge. He may be psychotic. MURPHY Bunch of psych bullshit - Look, can I pee now? PSYCHOLOGIST I think you're making a mistake by leaving him in the field. He's suicidal. MURPHY End of discussion. We're gon na wait. And then, if he offs himself. Well, then we'll know I was wrong. PSYCHOLOGIST Yes, sir. Then we'll know.", "EXT. SIMI VALLEY  -  NIGHT Rain sweeps in off the desert. Cold. Drenching. Riggs walks slowly toward his trailer home, head down. The RAIN BEATS on him. He does n't notice. Under his arm he carries a large cardboard box.", "INT. RIGGS' TRAILER - SAME TIME Riggs enters, soaking wet. Switches on the lamp. Depressing. Jake appears, tail a - thump. Tongue wagging doggishly. Riggs reaches atop the refrigerator, grabs a bag of peanuts. Opens it, tosses it to the dog. RIGGS Sam, every day. in every way. I'm getting better and better. Opens the box and removes its contents. Brand new color TELEVISION. Plugs it in. Switches it ON. Sits down with a bottle of whiskey. Drinks. On the screen, the Grinch steals Christmas from the residents of Whoville. ANOTHER ANGLE Riggs opens a drawer beside him, and takes out a bottle of sleeping pills. Picks it up. As he does - the sound of the TELEVISION FADES OUT - silence, dead silence. As Riggs rolls the bottle in his fingers. Slowly, thoughtfully, unscrews the cap. dumps them on the table. Runs his fingers through them. CLICK. CLICK. Stares. Mesmerized. RAIN BEATS on the window.", "EXT. TRAILER The RAIN CONTINUES to hammer the lonely little pit which Riggs calls home. L.A.P.D. - MORNING A zoo. A sign reads METRO ROBBERY/HOMICIDE. Roger Murtaugh sits at his desk, lost in thought. Behind him, McCASKEY, Class Three Detective. He talks to Murtaugh : MCCASKEY See, you're behind the times, Sarge. Guys in the Eighties are n't tough. They're sensitive people. They show emotions around women and shit like that. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I think I'm an Eighties man. MURTAUGH How you figure? MCCASKEY Last night : I cried in bed, so how's that? MURTAUGH Were you with a woman? MCCASKEY No, I was alone, why the fuck you think I was crying? MURTAUGH Sounds like an Eighties man to me. Another detective enters. Rail - thin, nose like a beak. His name is BURKE. Behind him in the door frame we see a fat cop pass by down the hall, walking backwards ; a beat, and then he is followed by four more cops singing the world's shittiest rendition of `` It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.'' It sounds like pigs mating. Burke approaches Murtaugh : BURKE Got some news on the Lloyd case, Rog. MURTAUGH That was quick. BURKE So was the autopsy. -LRB- takes a deep breath. -RRB- You ready for this? They're not calling it suicide. MURTAUGH What? BURKE Surprise, surprise. First off, coroner found evidence she took barbiturates. MURTAUGH Brilliant. There was an open bottle on her table. BURKE Right, right. That's not the surprise. Surprise is someone doctored the pills. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Every capsule was loaded with drain cleaner. MURTAUGH Jesus. BURKE If she had n't jumped, she woulda been dead inside fifteen minutes. MURTAUGH -LRB- sighs. -RRB- This case blows. ANOTHER ANGLE ACROSS the room, a detective takes off his gun and slings the holster across his chair. As he EXITS FRAME - PAN to reveal : Martin Riggs as he enters the squad room. Shuffles from foot to foot, looking lost. Lights a smoke. ACROSS ROOM Murtaugh slings on a jacket. Turns to go. Notices Riggs. MURTAUGH'S POV Riggs resembles a bag person. Unshaven, limp dirty hair, grimy leather jacket. BACK TO SCENE He frowns, says : MURTAUGH McCaskey, if my wife calls, tell her late dinner. BURKE Ho, Rog - I'm not through yet. I'm supposed to tell you two more things. MURTAUGH Shoot. He is still looking at Riggs, who is slowly wandering from desk to desk, smoking - Stopping near the desk with the holstered gun. BURKE First, condition of the sheets and mattress indicate someone was in bed with Amanda Lloyd just before she died. That's A. MURTAUGH What's B? BURKE B is, I'm supposed to tell you you're breaking in a new partner on this. Now Murtaugh is eyeballing Riggs. Cautious. MURTAUGH -LRB- distracted. -RRB- I do n't work partners. BURKE You do now. C.I.T. transfer, some burnout they want you to keep on a leash. MURTAUGH Oh, perfect. Can I trade in my life for a new one? At which point, across the room, Riggs removes the hol - stered gun and hefts it, curiously. Suddenly all hell breaks loose : MURTAUGH Gun! He bolts like a cheetah. Cops dive for cover, a secretary shrieks, and Murtaugh goes plowing through the squad room like an express train, blowing people out of the way - Cops grabbing for their holsters - Riggs, meanwhile, looking around frantically, he's trying to find the guy with the gun who is, of course, himself. Murtaugh takes a flying leap sails across the desk, going for the glory And Riggs, in the blink of an eye, simply ducks and flips Murtaugh neatly over one shoulder. There is a hideous crash of BREAKING GLASS and OVERTURNING FURNITURE. Ouch. McCaskey, meanwhile, screams to Burke : MCCASKEY What the shit is going on? Burke sighs, shakes his head : BURKE Roger just met his new partner.", "INT. OFFICE Darkness. A soft CLICK as a gun is cocked. The barrel gleams faintly in the dim light. A voice : MAN -LRB- O's. -RRB- There are three guns on you. VISITOR Easy. Take it easy. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'm going to light a match. He does. Holds it near his face. MAN -LRB- O's. -RRB- Thank you, Mr. Mendez. The lights come on. Dazzling. Mendez covers his eyes. Three men. Seated in chairs. Shirt sleeves and shoulder holsters. The LEADER speaks. LEADER If you'll follow me, please. MENDEZ Who the hell are you? LEADER That's hardly important. If you like, you may call me Mr. Joshua. MENDEZ Swell. They move toward a door in the rear wall. JOSHUA -LRB- LEADER. -RRB- I trust you're having a pleasant holiday season? MENDEZ -LRB- looks at him. -RRB- Yeah. It's a fucking joy, thank you.", "INT. BACK OFFICE - SAME TIME The door opens into a dimly - lit office. Stained carpet. Rotten wood. A desk. Behind the desk sits a large, rugged man with eyes like chips of stone. This is the GENERAL. GENERAL Yes, Joshua? Ah, Mr. Mendez. Please, have a seat. Joshua stands off to one side. Mendez sits. MENDEZ -LRB- under his breath. -RRB- Where'd you get him? Psychos ` R.' Us? GENERAL Hardly. Points to another merc. MENDEZ I like the sunglasses. Very Hollywood. GENERAL Mr. Larch is unfortunately missing an eye. For anonymity's sake, he chooses to forego wearing a patch. MENDEZ Swell. Blind people with guns. This is a class act. Maybe we can run over to the V.A. and pick up a couple amputees. Bargain rates after six. GENERAL I do n't find you funny. MENDEZ I do n't find this goddamn setup funny. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You're using mercenaries, for Chrissake. Tell me I'm wrong. GENERAL No. You're not wrong. MENDEZ And I'm supposed to trust these bozos? GENERAL My people are loyal, Mr. Mendez. They are loyal to me. MENDEZ Bullshit. GENERAL Joshua. Hold out your hand. Joshua steps up to the General and extends his arm. GENERAL Do you smoke, Mr. Mendez? MENDEZ Yeah. GENERAL Give me your lighter. Mendez frowns, cautiously hands a silver cigarette lighter to the General. Who promptly pulls an old G. Gordon Liddy maneuver : He holds the flame right under Joshua's hand. Searing it. Mendez looks on, a trifle pale. As for Joshua, he makes no sound at all. Simply stands, trance - like. GENERAL You wish to do business with us, yes? MENDEZ Jesus. GENERAL Mr. Joshua is in a great deal of pain. You wish to make a purchase, yes? MENDEZ I. yes. Sure. Jesus. The General nods, hands the lighter back to Mendez. GENERAL Filthy habit, smoking. -LRB- beat. -RRB- The bulk of the heroin will arrive Friday night. We will make delivery at that time. Please have the money ready, and no tricks. If you try to cross us, I'll have Joshua cut out your eyes. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Merry Christmas.", "EXT. UNMARKED POLICE  CAR  -  DAY Riggs and Murtaugh cruise through downtown Los Angeles. Riggs drives, while Murtaugh scowls. There is an awk - ward pause. MURTAUGH Turn right. -LRB- beat. -RRB- So. They tell me you're a good cop. RIGGS I try. MURTAUGH Heard about your little stunt yesterday. Pretty heroic stuff. -LRB- as Riggs does not reply. -RRB- File says you worked for the Phoenix Project in Vietnam, that right? RIGGS Yes. MURTAUGH Assassin stuff? RIGGS Maybe. MURTAUGH And they gave you the Congressional Medal of Honor. RIGGS It was a lean year. MURTAUGH It's over, you know. RIGGS What is? MURTAUGH The war. RIGGS Yes. I know. MURTAUGH Just thought I'd remind you. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Check out your piece? He reaches across the get Riggs' gun. At which point Riggs' hand shoots out - and stops him cold. RIGGS Bad manners, man. Riggs removes the gun himself. Steers with his knees. Drops the chambered bullet. Slips out the magazine, works the slide, KA - CHIK Hands the gun to Murtaugh. RIGGS Do n't hurt yourself. Murtaugh hefts the weapon, turning it over in his hand : Beretta.9 millimeter. Smooth, well - oiled. Accurized. Murtaugh frowns. MURTAUGH 9 millimeter Beretta. That's some serious shit. RIGGS Military switched from Colt to Beretta in 1985. It's a better piece. Wide ejection port, no feed jams, no stovepipes. MURTAUGH What's it take? RIGGS Fifteen in the mag, one up the pipe. You carry a wheelgun? MURTAUGH 38 Special. RIGGS Lot of old - timers carry that. Murtaugh shoots him a look. Replaces the gun. MURTAUGH File says you're registered with Newark P.D. as a lethal weapon. RIGGS File do n't lie. Look, friend, let's cut the shit. We both know why I was transferred. Everyone thinks I'm suicidal, in which case I'm fucked and no one wants to work with me. Or they think I'm faking to draw a psycho pension, in which case I'm fucked and no one wants to work with me. Basically, I'm fucked. MURTAUGH Guess what? RIGGS What? MURTAUGH I do n't want to work with you. RIGGS Then do n't. MURTAUGH Ai n't got no choice. Damn. We're both fucked. RIGGS Terrific. As they speak, Riggs has pulled to a stop in front of a large downtown bank building. MURTAUGH -LRB- rubs his eyes. -RRB- I'm very old. -LRB- sighs. -RRB-. God hates me, that's what it is. RIGGS Hate him back. Works for me. He lights a cigarette.", "INT. BANK  BUILDING  -  DAY Dick Lloyd's office : everything about it looks starched and perfect. In the b.g., bank employees shuttle between desks, building and toppling empires. DICK LLOYD paces back and forth. He is the man we saw earlier in Amanda's photograph, standing next to Murtaugh. Now he looks like shit. He addresses Riggs and Murtaugh, who are seated in the office. LLOYD Murder. But I thought. MURTAUGH Poisoned. Even if she had n't jumped. she'd still be dead. LLOYD Jesus. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Jesus, I ca n't take -. He sits, staring out the window. A broken man. MURTAUGH Dick, why did you call me yesterday? LLOYD -LRB- very far away. -RRB- Called you? Yeah. That's right. I heard you were working out here. I wanted you to find her for me, Roger. Take her MURTAUGH Out of what? LLOYD She did movies, Roger. Naked movies. Saw one of them. saw my little baby. smiling. She did it. with a woman. She was on top of a woman, Roger -! MURTAUGH Easy, Dick. Lloyd turns, facing them. Intense : LLOYD I want a promise. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You owe me. You know you do. MURTAUGH Yes. I know that. LLOYD When you find who did it, I want you to kill them. If it's more than one, I want you to kill all of them. Make them squirm first, take your time. and fucking kill them. MURTAUGH I'm a police officer, Dick. LLOYD Forget the law. It's easy to do. You owe me. MURTAUGH -LRB- pause ; then. -RRB- We have to go now. Lloyd does not look up. Riggs and Murtaugh head for the door. LLOYD I know you can, Roger. You kill them. You do that. The cops exit. The door shuts.", "EXT. OFFICE BUILDING - DAY Riggs and Murtaugh head ior the car. Riggs takes out a pack of cigarettes. MURTAUGH You gon na smoke in the car? RIGGS Thinking about it. MURTAUGH Terrific. He puts the top down. Riggs takes out a cigarette, starts to put it in his mouth. Stops. RIGGS Whoops. Shit. He replaces it in the pack, takes another. Murtaugh looks at him. MURTAUGH What was wrong with that one? Riggs points to the tip of the replaced cigarette. We notice two things : a -RRB- It looks like it's about fifty years old ; and b -RRB- There is a tiny red mark, circling the filter. RIGGS This one is the last cigarette I'll ever smoke. Trick I learned from my dad. I smoke all I want, but when I smoke this one. I'm through. MURTAUGH Brilliant. Get in the car. RIGGS Want me to drive? MURTAUGH You're suicidal, remember? RIGGS Anyone who drives in Los Angeles is suicidal. They get in. Murtaugh heaves a sigh, stares bleakly out the window. A moment, then Riggs says : RIGGS He said you owed him. What did he mean? MURTAUGH We served together in ` 65. He saved my life in the La Drang Valley. Took a bayonet in the lung. RIGGS That was nice of him. MURTAUGH I thought so. The RADIO SQUAWKS. Murtaugh TURNS it UP. DISPATCHER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- All units and seven eight twenty - one, possible jumper at the corner of Santa Monica and La Cienega, seven eight twenty - one handle code two. Murtaugh keys the hand mike. MURTAUGH Four King Sixty en route. RIGGS This is great. I love this job. MURTAUGH Stow it.", "EXT. CITY INTERSECTION - DAY A building, ten stories high. On the ledge, a lone man poised high above the street. Beneath him, a crowd has gathered. A police car. A searchlight. A crowd of office workers, rubber - necking to beat the band. One or two kids yell, \u00d3Jump, jump.\u00d4 Murtaugh\u00d2s car glides to the curb. The doors burst open and the two partners emerge. A PATROL COP approaches. PATROL  COP Hey, Sarge, you wan na handle this? MURTAUGH Where\u00d2s the psychologist? PATROL  COP Sitting in traffic. MURTAUGH Swell. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Who\u00d2s the guy? PATROL  COP Salesman name of MacCleary. Left the office party. Went upstairs and walked out on the ledge. MURTAUGH Think he\u00d2ll go? PATROL  COP Seems serious enough. Who knows? Riggs clears his throat. Murtaugh turns. RIGGS I can handle this. MURTAUGH You qualified to talk to jumpers? RIGGS I\u00d2ve done it before. MURTAUGH -LRB- reluctant ; then. -RRB- Okay. You\u00d2re elected. -LRB- as Riggs. -RRB- turns to go. -RRB- Hey. -LRB- as Riggs stops. -RRB- No guns. No kung fu. Just. bring him in. RIGGS Sure. Bring him in. MURTAUGH Right. Riggs moves off toward the building. Murtaugh looks after him. Was this a mistake?", "EXT. ROOFTOP - DAY Riggs appears on the roof. There, about five yards away, stands the JUMPER. Agitated. Breathing hard. Below is ten stories of open space. The wind blows. Riggs nods to the Jumper. MACCLEARY -LRB- JUMPER. -RRB- Go away. RIGGS My name is Riggs. MACCLEARY Fuck off. RIGGS I can\u00d2t do that. -LRB- beat. -RRB- What\u00d2s your name? MACCLEARY Look, I know all the psychology bullshit, it won\u00d2t work. RIGGS I\u00d2m not a psychologist. MACCLEARY Yeah? What are you? RIGGS Homicide cop. MACCLEARY You\u00d2re early. Hang on a couple minutes, you can go to work. RIGGS At least tell me your name. Look, I got ta fill out the little piece of paper. Okay? MACCLEARY -LRB- swallows. -RRB- Len. Len MacCleary. RIGGS Thanks. \u00d1Preciate it. -LRB- beat. -RRB- That M - C? MACCLEARY M - A - C, now get outta here. Riggs leans out farther, perches on the ledge. Absolutely calm. RIGGS Why are you doing this? MACCLEARY None of your goddamn business. RIGGS Fair enough. -LRB- pause ; then. -RRB- I\u00d2m coming out. Take it easy. Riggs stands, steps out onto the narrow ledge. He seems unconcerned. MACCLEARY Don\u00d2t come near me! RIGGS Ssshhh. Easy. I\u00d2m just going to talk. MACCLEARY Touch me and I\u00d2ll jump. RIGGS I understand.", "EXT. BUILDING - DAY On the ground below, Roger Murtaugh reacts with disbelief. His partner is taking an insane risk. Up above, Riggs pauses. Around him the WIND BLOWS treacherously. RIGGS You\u00d2re not the first guy to think of this, you know. Everyone\u00d2s got problems. MACCLEARY You know shit. RIGGS Wrong. You\u00d2re wrong. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I almost tried this once. Seriously. My wife. Got killed in a car crash. Only person I ever cared about. I never had kids. MacCLEARY You\u00d2re breaking my heart. Riggs takes out his wallet, flashes it at MacCleary. RIGGS This is her picture. MACCLEARY Nice. Fuck off. RIGGS I\u00d2m trying to tell you I understand, you dope. He takes a step closer. MACCLEARY Don\u00d2t touch me. I\u00d2m not doing anything wrong. RIGGS I know that. Not like you\u00d2re murdering anyone. MACCLEARY Right. Only one hurt is me. RIGGS Same way I look at it. I\u00d2m gon na stand beside you, okay? MACCLEARY No! -LRB- beat. -RRB- Dammit, keep away. RIGGS Please. This is scary stuff. Just. let me stand next to you. MACCLEARY Don\u00d2t try nothing. RIGGS I try something, we both go. MACCLEARY Right. Riggs slowly steps up to the man. Shudders. RIGGS There. Fuckin\u00d2 cold, up here. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Helluva day for both of us, huh? -LRB- looks around at the sea of traffic far below. -RRB- Here we are. -LRB- beat. -RRB- God, this is really scary. I\u00d2m scared. MACCLEARY Me, too. RIGGS You wan na smoke? -LRB- pulls out cigarettes. -RRB- Let\u00d2s smoke, okay? MACCLEARY Sure. Riggs offers a smoke. MacCleary reaches for it. And Riggs snaps a handcuff on his wrist. Snaps the other end onto his own wrist. MACCLEARY Hey. RIGGS Sorry. -LRB- beat. -RRB- See this key? He holds up the key to the cuffs. Flings it out into space. RIGGS We\u00d2re together on this. You can go if you want. But you take me with you. Makes you a murderer. MACCLEARY You bastard. RIGGS You\u00d2ll be killing a cop. Silence. RIGGS I\u00d2m going inside. What say you come with me? He turns, starts to ease along the ledge. MacCleary swallows hard, says : MACCLEARY Fuck you, I\u00d2m jumping. And suddenly Riggs turns on him. Eyes like steel. RIGGS You wan na jump? You really want to? -LRB- long pause ; then. -RRB- Fine. Let\u00d2s do it. He steps to the edge. MACCLEARY Hey, what the fuck. RIGGS You asked for it. MACCLEARY Hey, wait a minute! Riggs does something very drastic. He jerks them both off the ledge. Holy shit. The crowd gasps. RIGGS Geronimoooooo. As down they plunge, all ten stories - Tumbling and falling - MacCleary shrieking like a lunatic. And suddenly, BAM -! They land in a fireman\u00d2s net. Bounce a few times. Come to rest, safe and unharmed. Riggs rolls over with a sour look on his face. Cops surround them. MacCleary is a trifle upset. MACCLEARY Get him away from me! Cut me loose! Crazy fucker tried to kill me! Did you see that? He tried to kill me! And so on, screaming and ranting - As a uniformed cop cuts Riggs free with a set of clippers. Riggs stands shakily. Steps away from the net. And there is Roger Murtaugh. Visibly upset. Did I say upset? I meant enraged. He grabs Riggs, slams him against the wall. Tries to grab his collar. Riggs\u00d2 hand shoots out. Lightning fast. Stops Murtaugh\u00d2s hand. Stops it cold. They stare into each other\u00d2s eyes. RIGGS Don\u00d2t. touch me. Murtaugh will not back down. MURTAUGH What the fuck did you just do? RIGGS I controlled the jump. You wanted him down. He\u00d2s down. MURTAUGH C\u00d2mere. He yanks Riggs around the corner, away from the other cops. MURTAUGH Okay, turkey, no bullshit. Do you want to kill yourself? RIGGS Aw, for Chrissake. MURTAUGH Shut up. Just yes or no, do you want to die? Huh? Yes or no? RIGGS I got the job done. MURTAUGH You\u00d2re not answering the question! RIGGS -LRB- angry. -RRB- What do you wan na hear, man? You wan na hear that I got a bottle of pills in my room? I do. Every day I wake up, I look for a reason not to take them. Doing the job, that\u00d2s. that\u00d2s the reason. Murtaugh looks at him. Nods. A moment, then : MURTAUGH You want to die. RIGGS I\u00d2m not afraid of it. MURTAUGH Here. -LRB- unholsters his gun. -RRB- Pills are too slow. Use a gun.Use my gun. Go ahead, pal. A pause. Riggs looks at the gun. MURTAUGH Be my guest. He offers the gun to Riggs. MURTAUGH Go ahead. If you\u00d2re serious. Riggs smiles, takes the gun without missing a beat. Puts it to his head. CLICK -! The hammer is cocked. Murtaugh and Riggs stare each other down. Tense. Reading each other. RIGGS You shouldn\u00d2t tempt me, Roger. MURTAUGH Put it in your mouth. Bullet goes in your ear, might not kill you. Meanwhile, in the b.g., pedestrians are diving for cover. Murtaugh and Riggs are oblivious. Riggs puts the gun under his chin. RIGGS Under the chin\u00d2s just as good. They stare at each other. Riggs\u00d2 finger begins to tighten on the trigger. Turns white with pressure. It looks like he\u00d2s going to do it. At the last second, Murtaugh jams his thumb in front of the hammer, and CLICK Jesus. The hammer thuds against his thumb. Murtaugh grabs the gun. Stares at Riggs, wild - eyed. MURTAUGH Jesus. You\u00d2re not trying to draw a psycho pension. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You\u00d2re really crazy. RIGGS -LRB- smiles coldly. -RRB- So now you know. MURTAUGH Yeah. Now I know.", "INT. POLICE  LINEUP  -  DAY The Police Psychologist we met earlier is talking on the telephone : PSYCHOLOGIST You\u00d2re asking me if he\u00d2s stable and I\u00d2m telling you no. We\u00d2re talking about a man who carves notches in his gun barrel. One for each kill. He blew a man to Pieces yesterday. Is this helping? ROGER MURTAUGH Standing at a pay phone, listening. He nods : MURTAUGH Terrific. So you\u00d2re saying I should worry. PSYCHOLOGIST Are you kidding? The guy\u00d2s a time bomb. When he goes. stand back. MURTAUGH Thank you, Doctor. You\u00d2ve been very helpful. He hangs up. Rubs his eyes tiredly and says : MURTAUGH I\u00d2m too old for this shit.", "INT. MURTAUGH\u00d2S CAR - TRAVELING - DAY Silence. Murtaugh fumes. Riggs keeps his mouth shut. Murtaugh takes his anger out on the road : SLAMMING the BRAKES ; SQUEALING around corners, etc.. But he can\u00d2t hold it in. He explodes : MURTAUGH -LRB- pounding his fist against the wheel. -RRB- It\u00d2s my birthday, damnit! Fifty years old today! Fifty goddamn years old! Thirty years on the force! Not a scratch on me! Not a scar! I got a wife! Kids! House! Fishing boat! But I can kiss all that goodbye, \u00d1cause my new partner\u00d2s got a death wish! My fuckin\u00d2 life is over! RIGGS Roger - MURTAUGH Shut up! Why you talkin\u00d2 to me?! I\u00d2m not here anymore! I\u00d2m gone! I\u00d2m dead! You\u00d2re gon na see to that! You wan na die - and you\u00d2re gon na take me with you! Silence again. Murtaugh gnashes his teeth. Riggs looks at him with a very serious expression. RIGGS I didn\u00d2t know that. MURTAUGH Know what?! RIGGS That today was your birthday. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Happy Birthday, Roger. I mean that sincerely. Murtaugh looks taken aback by the genuine sound of affec - tion in Riggs\u00d2 voice. RIGGS I just hope we stay alive long enough for me to buy you a present. Riggs says this with a straight face - but there is a playful glint in his eye that Murtaugh doesn\u00d2t miss. And he laughs out loud in spite of himself. It breaks the tension, and Riggs knows it. RIGGS Where we going? MURTAUGH Beverly Hills. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Got an address on Amanda Hunsecker\u00d2s meal ticket. But remember. this guy isn\u00d2t a suspect yet. We\u00d2re gon na question him ; not damage him. Riggs raises his hands - as if to say, I\u00d2ll be on my best behavior. Murtaugh swings the car onto Sunset Blvd..", "EXT. POSH BEVERLY HILLS HOME - TWILIGHT The kind of house that I\u00d2ll buy if this movie is a huge hit. Chrome. Glass. Carved wood. Plus an outdoor solarium : A glass structure, like a greenhouse only there\u00d2s a big swimming pool inside. This is a really great place to have sex.", "INT. SOLARIUM The swimming pool is covered by a vinyl tarpaulin. Surrounded by a jungle of plants. AT POOLSIDE TABLE Sits a very rich person. He is wearing an $ 800 designer ensemble. Beside him, an elegantly - appointed shotgun leans against the table. He is on the phone. RICH GUY Listens asshole, you got ta tell me these things. Yeah, we got a problem. My margin is completely fucked up, and we got athletes snorting the shit and pitching over dead, how\u00d2s that for a problem? Yes, I\u00d2m holding two keys now. Terrific, call me back.", "EXT. WOODEN GATE - SAME TIME Riggs and Murtaugh approach the gate. Riggs tosses out a cigarette. Suddenly - There is an ELECTRIC HUM and the gate glides softly open, admitting a red Honda scooter, a dashing blonde behind the wheel. She ROARS off down the street. Riggs and Murtaugh exchange glances. The GATE CLICKS, starts to glide shut. The cops enter.", "EXT. HOUSE WINDOW - SAME TIME Riggs\u00d2 face comes INTO FRAME, peering cautiously through a plate glass window. He whistles softly. RIGGS Take a look. Murtaugh steps to the window, looks in. MURTAUGH\u00d2S POV - THROUGH THE WINDOW Enough cocaine to service the third tier at Yankee Stadium. A BLONDE, BIKINI - CLAD WONDER sits on the couch, happily snorting. She sees Murtaugh and waves hilariously. Makes come - hither gestures. Murtaugh scowls, turns to Riggs. RIGGS I\u00d2m thinking probable cause. MURTAUGH Jesus. Maybe I should call for backup. RIGGS What am I, chopped liver? Murtaugh looks at him. Sighs. MURTAUGH No killing. RIGGS No killing. He grins cheesily -", "EXT. SOLARIUM Riggs and Murtaugh approach the frosted glass door. They draw their guns. MURTAUGH Nice and easy. RIGGS Nice and easy. Murtaugh takes a deep breath. Kicks open the door. MURTAUGH Police. Hold it right there.", "INT. SOLARIUM The rich guy does not hold it right there. In fact, he has already snatched up the SHOTGUN. He triggers a BLAST, BLOWS OUT GLASS next to Murtaugh. Murtaugh dives, rolls, comes up in a combat crouch. BAM - The rich guy takes it in the shoulder. Spins around. The gun clatters to the ground. Riggs and Murtaugh approach, guns drawn. The rich guy writhes on the ground, clutching his shoulder. Murtaugh says to Riggs : MURTAUGH See how easy that was? Boom. Still alive. Now we take the gun away. -LRB- he does. -RRB-. And we question him. Know why we can question him? Because I got him in the shoulder. I didn\u00d2t blow him up or jump off a building with him. RIGGS No fair, the building guy lived. MURTAUGH Whatever. The point is, no killing. RIGGS No killing. MURTAUGH Right. Piece of cake. I\u00d2m very happy. Read the man his rights, I\u00d2ll be over here being happy. Unfortunately. as Murtaugh speaks, he does not see the man on the ground has a hideaway gun tucked into his waistband. As Murtaugh talks, oblivious. The guy takes out the gun with his good arm - and aims dead center - at Murtaugh\u00d2s back. Riggs, however, notices. And springs into action. Before the rich guy can fire. Riggs\u00d2 foot flashes out like a pile driver. CRACK! The guy flies backward. Lands on top of the pool tarpaulin. Oops. It promptly surrounds him in a sucking, vice - like grip. Murtaugh dives forward and extends his hand. Too late. The vinyl surrounds the screaming rich guy, sucks him below the surface. Smothers him. Drags him to the bottom. Murtaugh looks on, wild - eyed. On the bottom of the pool is a vinyl tomb. Murtaugh dives in. Swims to the bottom. Yanks, and strains, but we all know it\u00d2s no fucking use. The vinyl stops moving. Murtaugh stares. and then he gives up. Surfaces at the side of the pool, gasping and wheezing. Riggs kneels down beside him. RIGGS Oops. Murtaugh stares daggers at him. MURTAUGH Have you. ever. met someone you didn\u00d2t kill? RIGGS Haven\u00d2t killed you yet. MURTAUGH Terrific, you want a little gold star? -LRB- lie pulls out a soaked pack of cigarettes. -RRB- Shit.", "EXT. POSH BEVERLY HILLS HOME - LATER Behind Riggs and Murtaugh, crime scene cops scurry back and forth. Flashing lights. Cameras. Murtaugh makes his way to the car. Riggs beside him. As they reach the car, Murtaugh stops : MURTAUGH Look, I\u00d2 m sorry I said that shit back there. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You saved my life. Thank you. RIGGS I bet that hurt to say. MURTAUGH You have no idea.", "INT. MURTAUGH HOME - LATER THAT NIGHT The two detectives come through the front door, shedding their jackets. Young Carrie appears, nursing a Popsicle. CARRIE Hi, Daddy. Is that a crook? MURTAUGH No, honey, this is Martin, my partner. -LRB- scoops her up ; hugs her. -RRB- Tell Martin what you think of crooks. CARRIE Buttheads. -LRB- giggles. -RRB- They\u00d2re buttheads. RIGGS Kid\u00d2s no dummy. CARRIE Daddy, Mommy says you hate her cooking. MURTAUGH Tell Mommy hate is a mild word.", "INT. KITCHEN Trish is cooking as the two cops enter. MURTAUGH Hi, honey. -LRB- he looks in the oven. -RRB- We\u00d2re having something brown. A largish brown object. TRISH It\u00d2s roast. MURTAUGH Dammit, I wanted to guess. Honey, this is Martin, my new partner. He\u00d2ll be joining us tonight, okay? TRISH Sure. Roast okay with you, Martin? RIGGS Fine. MURTAUGH How about brown, roast - like substance? TRISH Roger, you\u00d2re being an asshole. -LRB- kisses his ear. -RRB- Don\u00d2t forget to compliment Rianne on her shoes. MURTAUGH Got it. Drink, Martin? RIGGS Bourbon, if you have it. Murtaugh exits. Riggs stands awkwardly as Trish removes the roast from the oven. RIGGS My wife could burn water. TRISH You\u00d2re married? RIGGS I was. She\u00d2s dead now. TRISH Oh. I\u00d2m sorry. RIGGS No problem. He reaches for a stray piece of roast. Trish slaps his hand. TRISH Don\u00d2t pick. - Riggs smiles. A genuine smile, the first we\u00d2ve seen.", "INT. LIVING  ROOM  -  SAME Murtaugh is fixing drinks as RIANNE enters. We all heave a sigh. She is strictly to perish for. RIANNE Hello, Father. MURTAUGH Hello, daughter. Nice shoes. RIANNE Oh, Daddy, aren\u00d2t they great? MURTAUGH Absolutely. How much they cost? RIANNE A hundred and ten dollars. Do you really like them? MURTAUGH A hundred and -. -LRB- frowns. -RRB- - They\u00d2re shoes. RIANNE Right. MURTAUGH You wear them on your feet. RIANNE Right. MURTAUGH And that\u00d2s all they do? There\u00d2s not, like a TV inside? RIANNE Nope. MURTAUGH -LRB- shakes his head. -RRB- I\u00d2m very old.", "INT. MURTAUGH\u00d2S DEN Young Nick Murtaugh is sitting in front of the TELE - VISION, watching a \u00d3Charley Brown Christmas\u00d4 and coloring a picture with a big box of crayons. He stops. Frowns. Looks up - At Martin Riggs, who is peeking his head around the corner, watching with rapt fascination. Riggs chuckles, points to the screen : RIGGS This is good. I like this. Nick looks at him very strangely. Okay, so the guy likes cartoons.", "INT. DINING ROOM - MEALTIME Everyone is gathered, eating. Incredibly homey and domestic - looking. For Riggs, who eats ravenously, it is the first taste of warmth in many a long year. ACROSS THE TABLE We notice something kind of neat : Rianne simply can not take her eyes off Riggs. She stares at him, in a trance. Her brother NICK nudges her in the ribs. She pulls a face. MURTAUGH Has also noticed his daughter\u00d2s attentions, and you can bet he\u00d2s not all that happy about it.", "EXT. MURTAUGH\u00d2S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - BOAT - NIGHT Trish Murtaugh wheeling garbage pail to curbside. TRISH -LRB- sarcastically. -RRB- That\u00d2s okay, honey. I\u00d2ll take out the garbage. Boat. Murtaugh\u00d2s head appears sheepishly from within. MURTAUGH Yeah. Thanks, honey. On board boat, Murtaugh is working on the engine. Riggs sitting on driver\u00d2s seat. MURTAUGH Whaddaya think? RIGGS You know anything about boats, Roger? MURTAUGH Know how much they cost. RIGGS I mean, can you sail this thing? MURTAUGH What\u00d2s wrong with you? This ain\u00d2t a sail boat. RIGGS -LRB- smiling. -RRB- That\u00d2s what I thought. MURTAUGH No trick to it. That\u00d2s the front. That\u00d2s the back. Water all around. Why you got ta make things so complicated? RIGGS I don\u00d2t. That\u00d2s just how they are. Murtaugh opens an ice chest, takes a beer for himself and tosses one to Riggs. MURTAUGH Oh, yeah. You mean Amanda Hunsacker\u00d2s murder? RIGGS Now, did I mention that? MURTAUGH You don\u00d2t have to. I can read your mind. Riggs makes no reply. He just looks at Murtaugh over the rim of his beer can. MURTAUGH I don\u00d2t get you, Riggs. What\u00d2s the problem? We got one dead girl and one dead guy. Dead guy killed the dead girl and we killed the dead guy \u00d1cause he wanted us to be dead guys. Seems pretty easy to me. Riggs has wandered over to the instrument panel. He in - spects the switches and gauges. MURTAUGH Look, her sugar daddy was dealin\u00d2 drugs. She said somethin\u00d2. or did somethin\u00d2. or saw somethin\u00d2 she shouldn\u00d2t have, and he pitched her off the balcony into the sweet by - an\u00d2 - by. -LRB- beat. -RRB- That\u00d2s why he came at us today with a shotgun. RIGGS I don\u00d2t know. Sounds a little too neat to me. MURTAUGH Of course it\u00d2s neat. And what\u00d2s wrong with neat? I like neat. Riggs flips a switch and the MOTOR ROARS to life. Murtaugh leaps up. MURTAUGH Hey! Watch what you\u00d2re doin\u00d2! Murtaugh fumbles with the switches in a futile effort to turn off the engine. But Riggs knows exactly which switch to flip. RIGGS Lookin\u00d2 for this? He silences the engine. Murtaugh glares at him. MURTAUGH You asshole. RIANNE Hi, Dad. Murtaugh jumps, startled by his daughter\u00d2s arrival. Rianne and Riggs exchange a glance. MURTAUGH What is it, Rianne? RIANNE Mark wants to take me out to a club tomorrow night. MURTAUGH You\u00d2re grounded - you know that. RIANNE Please, Daddy. MURTAUGH Which one is Mark, anyway? RIANNE The blond one. MURTAUGH Oh, yeah. The one with pits in his face. RIANNE Those are dimples. MURTAUGH Those are pits. When he smiles, I can see through his head. -LRB- beat. -RRB- The answer is no. End of story. RIGGS C\u00d2mon, Rog. Have a heart. Murtaugh looks at Riggs - not appreciative of his intervention. MURTAUGH The girl was smoking pot in the house. She\u00d2s grounded! RIANNE Next time I\u00d2ll just take a beer instead. Why can I have a beer and not a joint? It\u00d2s not coke, you know, Dad. Murtaugh looks down sheepishly at the can of beer in his hand. Riggs grins to himself. MURTAUGH \u00d1Cause right now, beer\u00d2s legal and grass ain\u00d2t. Right or wrong. RIANNE Wrong. RIGGS Right. She stalks off. After a moment, Murtaugh looks over to Riggs. MURTAUGH I\u00d2ve lost track. did we resolve anything here tonight? Riggs shakes his head, smiles and starts to climb off the boat. RIGGS Yeah. We resolved that your wife takes out the garbage. Your daughter smokes pot, which is illegal but shouldn\u00d2t be - that you don\u00d2t know from boats, and you got one hell of a family, guy. Walking towards truck together. MURTAUGH Thanks. RIGGS Enjoyed the meal. MURTAUGH Bullshit, but thanks anyway. A pause. Riggs stands there. Then : RIGGS You don\u00d2t trust me at all, do you? MURTAUGH Tell you what. Make it through tomorrow without killing anybody. Especially me. Or yourself. Then I\u00d2ll start trusting you. RIGGS Fair enough. He walks toward his truck. Stops. RIGGS I do it real good, you know. MURTAUGH Do what? RIGGS Kill people. Only thing I ever did good. When I was nineteen, I did a guy in Laos from a thousand yards out. Rifle shot in high wind. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Ten guys in the world coulda made that shot. Huh. Only thing I was ever good at. -LRB- pause ; then. -RRB- Well, see you tomorrow. MURTAUGH Yeah. See you then. Riggs drives away. Murtaugh watches him. Turns. On the way back inside, he flicks on the Christmas lights.", "EXT. SUNSET STRIP - NIGHT Martin Riggs cruises along in his battered pickup truck past all - night dives and porno houses. The streets are nearly deserted. Except for a young HOOKER on the cor - ner. Real young, maybe seventeen. Riggs sees her and pulls over to the curb. The Hooker approaches. HOOKER Hi, handsome. Looking for something? RIGGS Aren\u00d2t we all? HOOKER -LRB- nods. -RRB- Are you affiliated with any law enforcement organization? RIGGS -LRB- pause ; then. -RRB- No. Get in the car. She does. Closes the door. RIGGS How old are you? HOOKER Twenty - two. RIGGS Bullshit. HOOKER Why, you like \u00d1em young? RIGGS Younger the better. How old are you? HOOKER -LRB- almost shyly. -RRB- Sixteen. Riggs nods. Takes out a hundred - dollar bill and sets it in her lap. HOOKER Wow. -LRB- beat. -RRB- So, what do you want? RIGGS I want you to come home and watch television with me. He drives away from the curb.", "INT. MURTAUGH HOME - NIGHT The house is dark and quiet at this hour. Roger Murtaugh fixes a sandwich in the kitchen. Rickles the CAT PURRS, rubs against his leg. MURTAUGH Hey. He kicks it aside. Notices a package on the counter, together with a scribbled crayon note : HAPPY BIRTHDAY SERGEANT MURTAUGH The gift is a 99c special, right off the rack at Pic N\u00d2 Save : The TUFF N\u00d2 READY Police Action Playset ; Tiny plastic gun, made in Taiwan. Tiny plastic badge. Murtaugh smiles. Notices another package next to it. Frowns. Its label reads : ROGER MURTAUGH : POLICE EVIDENCE.", "INT. LIVING ROOM He opens the package. Two things : a high school year - book ; also a videocassette. Takes it, slides it into a VCR machine. Turns on the television.", "INT./EXT. RIGGS\u00d2 TRAILER - NIGHT The Hooker watches TV - really enjoying the Three Stooges. Riggs stands apart from her. He\u00d2s not watch - ing TV ; he\u00d2s watching her watching TV. He wears a melancholy expression. The world is full of happy families like Murtaugh\u00d2s, but he has to get by like this. His eyes shift to a photo of his wife. He picks it up and views it sadly. HOOKER -LRB- turning to him. -RRB- You\u00d2re not having a very good time, are you? Riggs puts down the photo. RIGGS -LRB- sweetly. -RRB- You don\u00d2t know that. Maybe this is how I look when I\u00d2m having a good time. Maybe I\u00d2m having the best time of my life. HOOKER -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Are you? Riggs doesn\u00d2t answer. HOOKER I know. sing me something. RIGGS I don\u00d2t sing. HOOKER Come on. Sing me a song. RIGGS I don\u00d2t know any songs. HOOKER Not even a Christmas song? Everybody knows a Christmas song. Riggs shrugs and makes a half - hearted attempt : RIGGS Something through the snow, in a one - horse open sleigh. HOOKER Good. That\u00d2s good. -LRB- helps him out. -RRB- Over the hills we go, laughing all the way. RIGGS Something something ring, making something bright. HOOKER Oh, what fun it is to ride. RIGGS To grandma\u00d2s house tonight! They know they got it wrong, but they\u00d2re pleased with themselves just the same. The Hooker hugs Riggs impul - sively. Riggs looks uncomfortable. He\u00d2d like to show her some platonic affection, but he knows that\u00d2s impossible. He gently unwraps her arms from around his neck. RIGGS I better take you back now. SAME PLACE - LITTLE BIT LATER Murtaugh is in front of the TV. On his lap is a high school yearbook. Open to the middle. He glances down, sees - a photograph of Amanda Lloyd. Senior picture. Smiling. Young. The girl most likely to. He looks up up at the television. On the screen Amanda Lloyd is writhing in ecstasy. Smiling. Murtaugh continues to watch. Lights another cigarette. There is a sad, faraway look on his face.", "INT. HALLWAY Very late now. Murtaugh walks down the hall to a bedroom door. Opens it a fraction. Inside - His daughter Rianne is asleep. A shaft of moonlight falls across the bed. She is more beautiful than we\u00d2ve ever seen her. Murtaugh crosses to the bed, leans down, and kisses her forehead. She stirs in her sleep, smiles like a cat, and whispers : RIANNIE Mark. Murtaugh recoils. Stands up. We realize that up until this moment, see, he thought she was maybe a virgin.", "INT. MURTAUGH\u00d2S BEDROOM He takes off his robe, drapes it on a chair. Gets into bed silently next to his sleeping wife. Lies awake, staring up at the ceiling. The RAIN BEATS on the window, throwing odd shadows across his face. He drifts toward sleep. As he does, we ever so slowly.", "INT. MURTAUGH BEDROOM Sunlight streams through the windows, Murtaugh stirs groggily, forces open his eyes. Staring him in the face is Martin Riggs\u00d2 scruffy, early morning face. Murtaugh frowns. MURTAUGH Martin? RIGGS Good morning, Roger. I\u00d2ve been doing a little thinking. Murtaugh just stares at him. RIGGS About the night Amanda Hunsaker died. Murtaugh grimaces. MURTAUGH Do you know what time it is? RIGGS Day time? MURTAUGH I\u00d2ll get dressed.", "INT. MURTAUGH KITCHEN In the kitchen Trish is singing something bluesy, fixing coffee. At the table Nick is drinking milk. Murtaugh sits. Riggs takes off his shoulder holster, and with meticulous care drapes it delicately over the back of his chair. Sits opposite Murtaugh. RIGGS You\u00d2re seriously using ketchup? MURTAUGH Yeah. RIGGS On eggs. MURTAUGH Yeah. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Who made the ketchup? RIGGS Heinz. MURTAUGH Who made the eggs? Riggs looks to Trish. TRISH -LRB- across the room. -RRB- You two are so hilarious I could bust. Riggs leans forward. RIGGS Roger. MURTAUGH Yeah. RIGGS That hooker who witnessed the jump the other night. What was her name? MURTAUGH Dixie. CARRIE What\u00d2s a hooker? MURTAUGH Shh, quiet, I\u00d2m combatting crime. NICK A hooker is a. RIGGS -LRB- interrupts. -RRB- Right, and she\u00d2s in Century City witnessing Amanda Hunsaker\u00d2s suicide MURTAUGH or murder - RIGGS right, or murder, and my question is. what is she doing there? I called Wilshire Vice, that\u00d2s not her usual turf. MURTAUGH Wow. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Wow. That\u00d2s really reaching. RIGGS Cut me a break, it\u00d2s a hunch, Roger. I\u00d2m having a hunch. MURTAUGH You couldn\u00d2t have it at home, you had to come here at 7:30 A.M. and have it. RIGGS 7:35, and yes, I thought you\u00d2d be excited. MURTAUGH I\u00d2m thrilled. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Okay. RIGGS Okay, what? MURTAUGH Okay, go for it. I\u00d2m listening.", "INT. OUTDOOR FIRING PANGE - DAY Riggs and Murtaugh stand on line at the range. Around them the echoing BOOM of gunshots fills the morning air. They struggle to be heard over the tumult : MURTAUGH We know someone was in bed with Amanda Lloyd the night she died. RIGGS Right. \u00d1Til now we assumed it was a man. MURTAUGH Okay. Let\u00d2s say it was Dixie. RIGGS Okay. Disgusting, but okay : Let\u00d2s say Dixie slipped the drain cleaner into the pills. MURTAUGH Say someone paid her to do it. RIGGS Sure. She thinks, terrific, Amanda swallows a couple downers and boom, she\u00d2s dead. Then Dixie - MURTAUGH If it was her - RIGGS Right, right, then Dixie has plenty of time to spritz the place up, get out, whatever. MURTAUGH Except Amanda jumps out the window. RIGGS Or Dixie pushes her. Either way MURTAUGH Either way, she\u00d2s got ta make a fast getaway, \u00d1cause now the body\u00d2s public. She hauls ass downstairs. RIGGS People are coming out to see what happened. MURTAUGH Someone spots her. She says \u00d1shit.\u00d2 RIGGS Right. She actually stops and says, \u00d1Shit.\u00d2 MURTAUGH Or, \u00d1Damn.\u00d2 RIGGS Or \u00d1Golly, I\u00d2ve been spotted.\u00d2 The point being - MURTAUGH The point being, now she has to cover her ass. RIGGS Right. So she says, \u00d1Officer, officer, I saw the whole thing.\u00d2 MURTAUGH Right. RIGGS Right. MURTAUGH -LRB- sighs. -RRB- That\u00d2s pretty fucking thin. RIGGS Very thin. MURTAUGH -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Hell with it. Thin\u00d2s my middle name. RIGGS Your wife\u00d2s cooking, I\u00d2m not surprised. MURTAUGH Would you lay off the cooking? RIGGS Tell her that. Riggs steps to the line. Draws the Beretta, fires off a full clip. Three - shot rhythms, two in the chest, one in the head, two in the chest, one in the head. Removes the magazines lovingly snaps in a new one. MURTAUGH You sleep with that thing under your pillow? RIGGS I would if I slept. MURTAUGH Here, stand back. Murtaugh steps to the red line. Stretches. Cracks his neck. Shifts from foot to foot. Finally steadies him - self. A moment then : He cross - draws with lightning swiftness. - BANG -! The REPORT is DEAFENING. The target grows a neat third eye. Perfect shot. Dead center. Murtaugh grins, holsters his gun. MURTAUGH Hey - hey. Would\u00d2ja look at that? Pretty good for an old man. Riggs shrugs. Draws. FIRES. He isn\u00d2t even looking. Nonetheless. - He puts a magnum round right through the hole made by Murtaugh\u00d2s.38. The hole gets.60 inches wider. Murtaugh scowls. MURTAUGH Yeah, yeah. Eat me. He stalks away, pissed off.", "EXT. WEST L.A. STREET - MORNING Murtaugh\u00d2s car glides up to the curb. In front of a row of neat frame houses. Old neighborhood. Late model cars. A LITTLE black KID playing on the sidewalk. The two cops get out, stride toward a cottage set back from the street. They pass the Little Kid who is playing with a plastic bucket and a headless Star Wars figure. RIGGS Hey, kid. What\u00d2cha doing? The Kid grins, obviously pleased with himself. LITTLE KID I put this on top and it fall down. He demonstrates. He puts it on top. It falls down. He grins happily. Riggs shakes his head. RIGGS Good thinking. They keep walking. Toward the cottage. MURTAUGH Very thin. RIGGS Probably nothing. They mount the steps to the walk. As they do - The HOUSE suddenly EXPLODES. It BLOWS APART concussively. There is a flash of light, a loud, flat BANG -! And the thing tears to pieces. Glass blows out. Wood sprays. Flying shrapnel. A wall of flame. Riggs hits the dirt, smothering the Little black Kid. Murtaugh dives for cover behind a telephone pole. A piece of shrapnel imbeds itself ; right next to his head. Carnage. Noise. The tumult slowly begins to fade. Echoes. Flames rage to the sky. Smoke rolls. Beams collapse. The cottage is no more. Murtaugh climbs to his feet, dazed ; stares at the rubble. Looks over toward Riggs, who is getting up off the Kid. The Kid is shaken, but unhurt. MURTAUGH Hey. Riggs turns. MURTAUGH You\u00d2re on fire. Riggs looks. The back of his coat is completely ablaze. RIGGS Shit. He takes it off, flings it aside. Goes up to Murtaugh - Lights a cigarette. RIGGS Probably nothing. MURTAUGH Thin. Very thin.", "EXT. BURNED-OUT COTTAGE - LATER Cops prowl through the gutted remains. Charred and black. Nothing left. A body goes by on a stretcher. MURTAUGH stops it. MURTAUGH Ho. -LRB- he looks under the sheet. -RRB- Jesus. ATTENDANT We\u00d2re hoping to find some teeth. in there. Otherwise, could be anybody. Black, white. Could be a fuckin\u00d2 bowl of soup, for all we - MURTAUGH Okay, okay. The stretcher continues toward the waiting truck. Murtaugh looks off, whispers : MURTAUGH Bye - bye ANOTHER ANGLE Martin Riggs is examining a twisted hunk of metal as Murtaugh walks up beside him. MURTAUGH What ` cha got? RIGGS Part of the device. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Holy cow. MURTAUGH What? RIGGS Artwork. This is goddamn artwork. MURTAUGH Swell. I'm glad you liked it. RIGGS You do n't understand. This is real pro stuff. Have n't seen this since. well, since the war. MURTAUGH Come again? RIGGS C.I.A. used to hire mercs who used this same setup. Mercury switches. Murtaugh frowns. A PATROL COP taps him on the shoulder. PATROL COP Sir, I think you'd better come with me. Riggs - and Murtaugh exchange glances. They move off, across the street.", "EXT. STREET - BACK OF FIRE  TRUCK Riggs and Murtaugh stand by the rear of the truck. A CONSTRUCTION CREW watches from behind, heavy equipment idling softly. Next to them sits the little black kid from earlier, coloring with crayons. His mother hovers. COP Okay, here it is. The little kid says he saw someone working on the meter this morning. MURTAUGH Where? COP Across the street at Dixie's. He was playin' some kind of game, hidin' under the stairs. Says he saw the guy pretty good. MURTAUGH Jesus. This could be a break. RIGGS You kidding? The kid's six years old. COP If that. MURTAUGH You call the gas company? COP Sure did. No one supposed to check that meter for at least another month. MURTAUGH -LRB- nods. -RRB- Let me handle this. COP Be my guest. RIGGS Wan na wear the chicken suit? I got some clown makeup. MURTAUGH Stow it. He crosses to the boy. MURTAUGH Hi. I'm Detective Murtaugh. What's your name? ALFRED -LRB- LITTLE KID. -RRB- Alfred. He stares at Murtaugh with eyes like saucers. MURTAUGH How old are you, Alfred? ALFRED Six. MURTAUGH Wow. Six. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Bet you like the Gobots, huh? Alfred nods. MURTAUGH Me, I'm a G.I. Joe man. ALFRED -LRB- points. -RRB- Is that a real gun? MURTAUGH Yes, it is. ALFRED Do you kill people? MURTAUGH No. If a guy is hurting someone, I try to shoot him in the arm or something. Just to stop him. ALFRED Momma says policeman shoot black people. Murtaugh grimaces. Alfred's mother looks away quickly. MURTAUGH Alfred, this man you saw. The meter man? -LRB- beat. -RRB- You get a good look at him? ALFRED I saw him. MURTAUGH Great. Listen, you ever watch ` Starsky and Hutch'? ` Cause the police, sometimes they need help. They need police helpers. Detectives. -LRB- he takes out a plastic badge, puts it on Alfred's chest. -RRB- If you want, you can be a junior detective. If you want. The kid looks at him. Distrust. MURTAUGH Keep it, it's yours. Official detective. Alfred nods, grins. MURTAUGH The man at the meter. Can you. picture him in your head? Think about what he looked like. Got it? Alfred nods. Murtaugh picks up Alfred's box of crayons. Hands it to the little boy. MURTAUGH I want you to draw him for me. ALFRED I'm a good drawer. MURTAUGH Try to draw the man. Riggs clears his throat. Rolls his eyes. RIGGS Oh, brother. This is good. I like this. MURTAUGH Can it, Martin. RIGGS We're gon na put out an A.P.B. on Big Bird. MURTAUGH Very funny. RIGGS -LRB- laughs. -RRB- Attention all units. Large yellow bird. Silly voice. MURTAUGH You're hilarious. Alfred, draw the man, okay? Alfred nods, takes the crayons, and carefully selects a bunch of colors. Lays them out like Da Vinci fixing his palette. Riggs shakes his head. RIGGS Brilliant police work? I think so. ANOTHER ANGLE Minutes have passed. MURTAUGH Martin, have a look at this. Riggs crosses. Alfred has finished his drawing, and guess what? It's hilariously bad. Like a six - year - old drew it or something. Riggs rubs his eyes. RIGGS Oh, my. -LRB- begins to laugh. -RRB-. Oh, my. He laughs even harder now. Murtaugh scowls, snatches the picture away. MURTAUGH Terrific. Very professional. Riggs is hooting. Murtaugh shows the picture to Alfred. ALFRED He laugh at my picture. MURTAUGH Shhh. Do n't mind him. He's crazy. ALFRED I'm a good drawer. MURTAUGH You bet. -LRB- points. -RRB- Alfred. This is. the man's arm, right? ALFRED Yeah. MURTAUGH Okay. Now this mark. Is this. What is this? ALFRED He had it on his arm. Riggs stops laughing. Moves in closer. RIGGS Whoa. What was on his arm? MURTAUGH Was it a birthmark? -LRB- points to his arm. -RRB- Was it like this? ALFRED No. It was pained. MURTAUGH Pained. RIGGS Pained, pained. What's he saying? MURTAUGH Sssshh. -LRB- beat. -RRB- It was. painted? ALFRED Yeah. MURTAUGH Like a tattoo? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Do you watch Popeye? Was it a tattoo like Popeye has? Riggs rolls up his sleeve, exposes his Marine tattoo. You've seen the type : A Tweety Bird with a machine gun, or some such. RIGGS This is a tattoo. The boy's eyes go wide once again. He points at Riggs' arm. ALFRED It was that. The cops stop, puzzled. MURTAUGH It was that? You mean. just like that? ALFRED Yeah. Man had the same thing. RIGGS You're sure? Alfred nods. The cops exchange glances : RIGGS Special Forces tattoo? MURTAUGH Martin. RIGGS Yeah. MURTAUGH What the hell are we into here?", "EXT. CLIFFSIDE HOUSE - DAY A sprawling, expensive villa nestled on the side of a bluff overlooking the ocean. Terraces, verandahs, gazebos. Architecture that merits three syllables. The ocean looks cheap by comparison. A memorial service is in progress. A group of people, mostly young, friends of Amanda Lloyd ; all are dressed in funeral black. NEARBY - Martin Riggs is collapsed in a lawn chair, smoking and looking thoroughly out of place. Seeing the girl, he frowns. puffs on his cigarette, and rolls a quarter over his knuckles like a stage magician. Nimble, trained fingers. A thoroughly unconscious habit. ANOTHER ANGLE Dick Lloyd looks worse than ever. He stands, staring out over the ocean - as a hand comes out of nowhere. grabs his shoulder, and spins him roughly around : Face - to - face with Roger Murtaugh. Eyes burning like cold fire. MURTAUGH Hi, guy. LLOYD Roger. What. What's up, buddy? MURTAUGH Not much. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Wan na tell me about it? LLOYD Tell you about what? MURTAUGH Do n't bullshit me. That's over. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Your daughter was n't killed because of something she was into. She was killed because of something you're into. Stop me if I'm wrong. LLOYD I do n't know what you're talking about. Roger, I. MURTAUGH Keep your hands in front. LLOYD -LRB- stops ; startled. -RRB- Hey. Take it easy, man. MURTAUGH Fuck easy. -LRB- beat. -RRB- When you called me the other day, you were gon na blow the whistle, were n't you? LLOYD Blow the whistle on what? MURTAUGH You tell me. You were gon na spill your guts. So they killed your daughter. Tell me I'm wrong. Lloyd swallows hard, flustered. He ca n't meet Murtaugh's eyes. MURTAUGH Talk to me. LLOYD Ca n't. ca n't do that. MURTAUGH They killed your daughter. LLOYD I. MURTAUGH They paid off a hooker to poison your daughter. Talk to me! Lloyd shoots a desperate glance across the lawn. At his other daughter, Amanda's twin. LLOYD Dammit, Roger, I've. I've got another daughter! MURTAUH She'll be protected. -LRB- beat. -RRB- It's over, pal. LLOYD Protected. That's a laugh. You do n't know these people. MURTAUGH Acquaint me.", "INT. LLOYD'S HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER The two men are inside now. The sunlight filters in through a large picture window from the lawn. Lloyd is pacing back and forth. He touches his stomach in the classic gesture of ulcer - carriers everywhere. Opens the fridge, removes a carton of milk. There must be three cases of the stuff. Drinks, turns to Murtaugh. A man at the end of his rope : LLOYD It goes all the way back to the war. MURTAUGH I'm listening. LLOYD I ended up working for a group called Air America. C.I.A. front, secretly ran the entire war out of Laos. I was part of a special unit called Shadow Company. Mercs. Trained killers. When Charley was bringing in heroin to finance the V.C. government, Shadow Company went in and burned it all down. We killed everybody. But we also. formed a plan. MURTAUGH Keep talking. LLOYD Couple of years ago, Shadow Company got together again. The war was over, but we still had a list of sources. In Asia. MURTAUGH And? LLOYD And we've been bringing it in ever since. MURTAUGH Bringing what in? LLOYD Think real hard. MURTAUGH Heroin. LLOYD -LRB- nods. -RRB- Two shipments a year. Run by ex - C.I.A. Soldiers, mercs. No one knows. MURTAUGH You son of a bitch. Lloyd does not reply. A pause, then : MURTAUGH If you were getting cold feet, why'd they kill Amanda? Why not just kill you? LLOYD They ca n't. They need me. MURTAUGH Why? LLOYD My bank. It's the front. Makes everything look good on the tax report. MURTAUGH The tax report? LLOYD This is big business, Roger. MURTAUGH -LRB- ice cold. -RRB- Not any more. I'm gon na burn it down. LLOYD You ca n't. It's too big. These guys are trained killers. MURTAUGH Tell me about the next shipment. LLOYD No. No way. Murtaugh grabs a framed picture of Amanda, slams it down on a wooden butcher block. GLASS SHATTERS. Lloyd stares. MURTAUGH Tell me! Lloyd flinches. Leans back, a dreamy look in his eyes. Speaks from very far away. LLOYD -LRB- softly. -RRB- Nothing. wrong with the kids, Roger. We're all fucked up. Us old bastards. We're killing them. And suddenly there is a gun in his hand. Aimed at Murtaugh. LLOYD Back off. MURTAUGH Oh, swell. Good move. LLOYD I'm not kidding. I'm in too far now. Murtaugh does not budge. Lloyd cocks the hammer. LLOYD The gun is silenced, Roger. Murtaugh stares him down. Eyes like fire. MURTAUGH What's it gon na be, buddy? You gon na save my life, just so you can snuff me twenty years later? LLOYD Things are different now. MURTAUGH I guess. A moment. Lloyd stares intently. Finger sweating on the trigger. MURTAUGH If you can do it, do it. I do n't fucking care anymore. LLoyd blinks. Swallows. Another moment. Finally - He lowers the gun. Sighs. LLOYD What do you want to know? Murtaugh relaxes visibly. And that's when two things happen. The picture WINDOW GLASS suddenly COLLAPSES. Falls TINKLING into a million shards. And the carton of milk in Lloyd's hand pops, spurting milk all over the front of his black suit. He frowns. Stares at the dribbling milk. Blinks. And his eyes snap open wide, as blood seeps out of his shirt, spattering the floor. LLOYD Roger -! With his dying breath, he leaps in front of Murtaugh. Takes the SECOND BULLET. The one meant for Murtaugh. It blows him into Roger, takes them both to the floor in a breath - crushing impact. More BULLETS CHOP thkitchen. China PLATES BURST into a glassy spray. Food spatters and gushes, staining the walls. Murtaugh rolls free, then, a man possessed : Screams out the window : MURTAUGH Riggs!", "EXT. LAWN Murtaugh's voice is far away. Riggs looks up from his lawn chair. Notices two things : One : Everything seems normal. Nobody has heard the shots. Two : The glass in the kitchen window. something strange, what the hell is it. oh, yeah, it's broken, someone broke the glass. And Riggs is on his feet in the blink of an eye. BACK INSIDE Murtaugh is at the window. Gun pointed. MURTAUGH Riggs! MURTAUGH'S POV reveals a crowd of people, milling back and forth, he has no idea where the sniper is, and suddenly BAM -! The wood blows out not two inches from his head and he ducks, and meanwhile - back outside. MARTIN RIGGS He's on the move. He jogs. trots. runs. Noticing a lone man in black, striding quickly across the lawn, striding into the crowd. toward the edge of the bluff. Things happen fast now, pay attention, as - The man turns, sees Riggs. Riggs sees him. and the man is none other than Mr. Joshua. Crew cut. Sunglasses. Moving fast. MURTAUGH diving out the window. Hits. Rolls, comes up. Scream - ing, waving at Riggs. RIGGS Gun out. moving fast, shoving through the crowd, people screaming now, `` Jesus, he's got a gun -!'' Running across the lawn, Murtaugh thirty yards behind, moving, hard and fast, both guns drawn, pushing/shoving, knocking people ass over teacups and meanwhile let us not forget - JOSHUA moving at a dead run, now, gun out. at the edge of the cliff. People all around him, confused, I mean Jesus, what the hell is all this shooting about, and Riggs ca n't get a clear shot. He's sweeping the gun, back and forth, bodies crossing in front of him. all the wrong bodies, Goddammit! Moving forward, shouting : RIGGS Lie down! Down! Murtaugh, springing hell bent for leather - and folks, grab your hats. because just then, a BELL COBPA HELI - COPTER crests the edge of the bluff. An explosion of sound. As it rises like an avenging angel. Hovers, shattering the air with turbo - throb, sandblasting the hillside with a roto - wash of loose dirt, tables, chairs, everything that's not nailed down. Screaming, chaos, frenzy. Three words that apply to this scene. And in the midst of all this - Joshua steps onto the chopper and is hauled inside. No expression. The total professional. And then, my friends, it's bye - bye time. The CHOPPER ROARS like a behemoth, tilts - slips over the side and plummets away. Slick. Very slick. Except Martin Riggs it not impressed. He's still running, you see. Dives flat at the edge of the cliff, nearly flings himself over the damn edge. GUN extended like it's part of his arm. Finger flat on the trigger. Blowing SHOT after SHOT at the retreating chopper. BAM - BAM - BAM His face contorted in a rictus of animal concentration. And he wings the chopper, even. POP spray of fiberglass, but nossir, no cigar. cause the damn chopper flies away. And Riggs dumps his magazine, stuffs in a new one. and Jesus Christ he keeps FIRING. As Murtaugh walks up beside him. Stares down. Gun held loose at his side. Riggs still FIRES, BAM - BAM - BAM does n't know it yet. Until his MAGAZINE CLICKS empty. He lies flat. Stares. People screaming, running away. Murtaugh standing over him, staring down at this animal with a gun, who even now refuses to look away from the retreating chopper, whose gun even now continues to follow its course out over the sea. Hands, clutching the barrel. Finally, they relax. Riggs shuts his eyes. Murtaugh stares, and a silent It's over, but he MURTAUGH You through? Riggs looks up at him. His eyes look like a demon's. RIGGS I have n't even started.", "INT. HELICOPTER - SAME TIME Joshua and his pilot are cruising over the surf at break - neck speed, the rotor stirring tiny geysers of water. Joshua speaks into a radio microphone. JOSHUA Yes, sir. Yes, sir, Mr. Lloyd is dead. I'm afraid, however, that another problem exists. INTERCUT - THE GENERAL In his van, speaking on mobile phone. GENERAL Define. JOSHUA Lloyd spoke to the cops, sir. GENERAL Are the cops dead? JOSHUA No, sir. I missed. There is a significant pause. Joshua licks his lips. Then : GENERAL That's very disappointing. The police may know everything. The whole operation, yes? JOSHUA Yes. Awaiting orders, sir. GENERAL Joshua, I think it's time to turn up the heat.", "EXT. VIEWSITE - NIGHT A black Camaro is parked at the side of the road. The city twinkles beyond.", "INT. CAR - SAME Two teenagers, engaged in a first - rate makeout session. One of them is Roger Murtaugh's daughter Rianne. The other is MARK, he of the hilarious dimples. They are kissing when Rianne suddenly pulls away : RIANNE Mark, I got ta get home. MARK Would you quit worrying? Your mom thinks you're asleep and your dad's busy shooting crooks. RIANNE He said he'll shoot you if we have sex. MARK Some things are worth dying for. He leans in and kisses her. Passion, horniness. Some - thing. He runs a hand inside her sweater. She starts to resist. Gives in. RIANNE Wait. She takes out her gum and sticks it to the steering wheel. * Leans over to kiss him again * FACE comes INTO FRAME. Right outside the window. Crewcut. * Shirt and tie. No less than Mr. Joshua himself, as we - *", "EXT. THIRD STREET - NIGHT Martin Riggs walks slowly down the boulevard. In one hand he carries a snapshot of Amanda Lloyd. Male prostitutes take one look at him and flee. He stops to light a cigarette. As he does - He notices a reflection in the silver lighter. Two pinpoints of light. Moving. He throws away the cigarette. Spins, drawing his gun. HEADLIGHTS, as a car comes barreling out of the darkness. Bearing down on Riggs at fifty miles an hour. Riggs FIRES. The WIND - SHIELD SPLINTERS. No dice. The car keeps coming. Riggs FIRES again, sprints for cover - As a mercenary leans out of the car window with a pump SHOTGUN. Triggers THREE BLASTS at Riggs. The first two blow out chunks of scenery. The third takes Riggs in the chest. Blows him backward through a store window. GLASS SHATTERS. He hits the ground in a heap. The CAR SHRIEKS off into the night, LAYING RUBBER. The ECHO of gunfire slowly FADES on the wind. INSIDE DARKENED STORE Riggs lies crumpled in a pool of broken glass. Murtaugh charges from across the street. He throws himself down beside the dead Riggs. Rips open Riggs' shirt revealing - A bulletproof vest. Riggs opens his eyes. RIGGS I'm pissed, Roger. Now I'm pissed.", "EXT.  STORE The cops exit and cross the street toward their car. RIGGS Roger. Quit looking so damn worried. I'm fine. MURTAUGH Two inches higher, they would've got your head. RIGGS Fuck that. Two inches to the left, they would've got my smokes. He takes out a pack, lights one up. RIGGS Oh, by the way : Guy who shot me? MURTAUGH Yeah. RIGGS Same guy who shot Lloyd. MURTAUGH Jesus. You sure? RIGGS I never forget an asshole. MURTAUGH -LRB- sighs. -RRB- So okay, ace : What do we do now? RIGGS Give up? Flee? Go far away? MURTAUGH Hilarious. What do we really do? RIGGS What else? We bury the fuckers. You know, we solve this, we could get famous, do shaving ads and shit. MURTAUGH Do goddamn Forest Lawn ads, we're not careful. RIGGS Heh. Do n't be a killjoy. It's Friday night. Let's go kick ass. MURTAUGH You just got shot, man. RIGGS Exactly. MURTAUGH What do you mean, exactly? RIGGS Gives us the edge, Cochise. -LRB- smiles. -RRB- They think I'm dead, Roger. I'm a corpse. And are n't they just gon na shit when I nail their butts? They look at each other. Suddenly the police RADIO SQUAWKS. Murtaugh answers it. DISPATCHER -LRB- V. 0. -RRB- Four King sixty, meet four king ninety on tach two. MURTAUGH King sixty, roger. He adjusts the frequency on the radio. PATROL COP -LRB- V. 0. -RRB- Four king ninety, four king sixty. Got a homicide, Mulholland Drive. MURTAUGH Four king sixty, negative. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Give it to Burke. PATROL COP -LRB- V. 0. -RRB- Sorry, sixty. Captain says give it to you. Male Caucasian, age seventeen. MURTAUGH Swell. Did he have blond hair and big dimples? There is a long pause -. Then : PATROL COP -LRB- V. 0. -RRB- How'd you know? Suddenly, Murtaugh goes completely pale. So does Riggs. Murtaugh hits the gas.", "EXT. MURTAUGH HOME - NIGHT Murtaugh's CAR SCREECHES to the curb. Hops the sidewalk, jolts to a stop. The two cops are out and running in a dead heat toward the front door. Murtaugh flings open the door. Stops. On the carpet beneath the mail slot is a tiny envelope with SEASONS GREETINGS emblazoned across the front. A note is attached with a paper clip. One side reads DETECTIVE ROGER MURTAUGH. On the other side is a message in block capitals. YOUR DAUGHTER LOOKS REALLY PRETTY NAKED Murtaugh tears open the envelope, afraid to breathe. Inside is a Polaroid snapshot. The audience may get a glimpse of it, or they may not. Either way, the effect it has on Murtaugh is devastating. He drops the snapshot like a live snake. Backs away, stumbles into the wall. Shakes his head. MURTAUGH Bastards. bastards. Riggs looks on, stunned. The TELEPHONE RINGS. RINGS again. RIGGS Roger. Murtaugh looks up. Snaps out of it. Down the hall, his wife Trish moves to answer the phone. MURTAUGH Do n't answer that! He rushes down the hall, scoops up the receiver : MURTAUGH Murtaugh. He listens intently, a look of pure dread on his face. Hangs up slowly, stares straight ahead. On the table, a stuffed bear stares back impassively. Trish Murtaugh looks on, terrified. MURTAUGH They took my kid. Bastards took my kid. Beside him, Riggs' face contorts into a look of sheer, brutal hatred. Get ready for World War Three.", "INT. MIDTOWN HOMICIDE - NIGHT McCaskey is seated next to a bank of telephones, smoking and reading a comic book. Behind him the fat cop we saw earlier is conducting his choir in a thoroughly hideous version of `` Deck the Halls.'' The PHONE RINGS. SINGING COPS ` Don we now our gay apparel.' MCCASKEY McCaskey, Homicide - just a moment, please - Hey, will you guys for Chrissakes shut up? Yes, can I help you? INTERCUT - MCCASKEY AND MR. JOSHUA Joshua is on the other end. Beside him the General looks on intently. JOSHUA Hello, I'm calling from the K.T.L.A. News department. We heard that Sergeant. um, Riggs, is it? had some trouble tonight, and. MCCASKEY -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- Yes, Sergeant Riggs has been killed. Shot through the chest by unknown assailants. JOSHUA My God. I'm sorry. MCCASKEY It's a bad day for all of us. And what is your name, sir? JOSHUA Goodbye. He hangs up. Turns to the General. JOSHUA Bingo. Riggs is out of the picture. GENERAL -LRB- nods. -RRB- I want Murtaugh taken alive. JOSHUA He may not talk. GENERAL We have his little girl. He'll talk.", "INT. RIANNE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                      * Trish Murtaugh looks like she could come apart at any * moment. She walks around the bedroom, slowly. Touching things. Touching her daughter's possessions. Murtaugh enters. They look at each other. He hands her the.22. MURTAUGH Take this. Until it's over, I do n't want you to let it out of your sight. His wife nods. Runs a hand through her hair. Shifts from one foot to the other. MURTAUGH They're not going to hurt her. If I do exactly what they say. they'll let her go. -LRB- beat. -RRB- She's coming home. A moment. Then : TRISH What about you? Murtaugh says nothing.", "INT.  LIVING  ROOM  -  SAME  TIME Riggs has his shirt off, and is carefully removing slivers of glass from his shoulder. Cigarette dangling from his lips. He hears a noise And spins, startled. RIGGS' POV - SIX - YEAR - OLD CARRIE MURTAUGH Adorable in a blue nightgown, Rickles the cat cradled lovingly in her arms. Riggs relaxes. Smiles. Carrie walks over to him. RIGGS Hey, Missy. CARRIE I ca n't sleep. RIGGS Uh - oh. Not good. He scoops her up. RIGGS Who's your friend? CARRIE Rickles the cat. RIGGS Huh. He is a cutie. Carrie looks at him then. And she does a peculiar thing. Slowly, she reaches out. Riggs looking on. And touches his back. Runs her tiny hand over the knife scar beneath his shoulder. Fascinated by it. CARRIE Ouch. Riggs looks at her. Smiles, and whispers softly : RIGGS Yeah. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Ouch. And he suddenly hugs the little girl for all he's worth. Closes his eyes tight. In that moment, every single year catches up to Riggs, and he looks, for a moment, incredibly old, and so very, very tired.", "INT. LIVING ROOM  -  LATER Carrie is asleep on the couch, snuggled beneath a knitted afghan. Riggs and Murtaugh stand across the room, con - ferring in hushed tones. RIGGS You know they're going to kill her. MURTAUGH Yes. RIGGS You want her back, you've got to take her away from them. MURTAUGH I know. RIGGS Good. We do this my way. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You shoot, you shoot to kill. Get as many as you can. Do n't miss. MURTAUGH I wo n't miss. A pause. Riggs studies Murtaugh. Then : RIGGS We're gon na get bloody on this one. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You're going to have to trust me. Murtaugh stares at him for a moment. Then, he finally speaks. MURTAUGH How. good are you? RIGGS What? MURTAUGH Are you. only crazy. or are you. as good as you say you are? There is a pause. Then : RIGGS No one can touch me. MURTAUGH Good. Kill every fucking one of them. Okay? At which point, my friends, a light flickers on behind Riggs' eyes. We see grim determination, sure. But we also sense something else, oddly enough : Anticipation. Riggs is a machine. and the machine is, well. revving up. He looks at Murtaugh : RIGGS Get half. I'll kill the other half. A moment passes between them. This will be the most devastating night of their lives. They will probably die. A RINGING PHONE shatters the stillness. RIGGS Here we go.", "INT. MARTIN RIGGS' TRAILER - DAY The apartment is dark, illuminated only by a tiny lamp. Riggs crosses to the window, peers out through slatted blinds. On TELEVISION a group of carolers sings `` TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY.'' Riggs looks at the wall calendar : December 22. The CLOCK TICKS. The REFRIGERATOR HUMS. He goes to the closet. Opens it. A cloud of dust billows out. Reaches in, removes a weathered cardboard box. Sits in the center of the room, takes a shot of bourbon. Opens the box. Inside is a set of desert fatigues. He takes them out. Underneath a wicked - looking hunting knife. He takes that, too. Holds it up near his face, and it positively sparkles in the dim light. ANOTHER ANGLE Riggs stands, fully dressed. Colt.22 in an ankle holster. Combat webbing. Desert boots. Beretta.9 millimeter, riding the right - hand thigh. Scans his appearance in the mirror. Breathes : in, out. in, out. Glances at the photograph of his wife on the wall. Wedding gown. White lace - and - satin ruffles. Beautiful. His face is craggy. Weathered. Covered with desert paint. Surely he was never married. not this demon. RIGGS Forgive me. There is a KNOCK at the door. Riggs spins. Lightning quick. Gun in hand. VOICE -LRB- O's. -RRB- Me. Murtaugh. RIGGS Come in slow. The door opens and Roger Murtaugh enters, carrying a briefcase. He looks briefly at Riggs' combat get - up. Shrugs. Sets the briefcase on the bed, opens it. It is filled with round upon round of ammunition. MURTAUGH Hollow points. Armor piercing. RIGGS -LRB- nods. -RRB- You were n't followed? MURTAUGH No. Riggs begins scooping up handfuls of ammo.", "INT. RIGGS' TRAILER - FEW MINUTES LATER Murtaugh is hooking a wire in place under his collar. MURTAUGH Testing, one, two, three. RIGGS Fine. He straps on his hunting knife. RIGGS It's twelve - thirty. Let's move. MURTAUGH Do n't get too close. They'll spot you. Riggs hoists a long - range sniper rifle. Infra - red scope. RIGGS Thousand yards okay?", "EXT. LOW DESERT - DAY The desert floor shimmers with stored heat, bathed in relentless sunlight. A lone car, plowing along toward the horizon. Looking lost and utterly alone beneath the clear December sky.", "INT. CAR - ROGER MURTAUGH Driving. Relentlessly onward, his face locked in a mask of contained fury. Dust billows past the windows. Wind. He keeps driving, straining his eyes ahead, focusing through the hundred - degree shimmer. Noticing, finally a series of shapes. dim mirages. silhouettes maybe, possibly men. possibly the men. The mirage resolves. Mercs. Standing next to a black sedan. Murtaugh stiffens. Leans forward, punches the cigarette lighter, and as he does - he whispers into his hidden microphone. MURTAUGH Split.", "EXT. CAR - DAY It happens in the blink of an eye : The trunk pops open, and out rolls Martin Riggs. Yanks a rope. The trunk slams shut. Riggs hits. Rolls. Comes up, combat - crouched, hunkers off at a dead heat. He is clad in his desert fatigues. Magnum sniper rifle slung over one shoulder.", "EXT. MURTAUGH - DESERT Murtaugh rolls to a halt and steps from his car. Facing three armed mercs. Murtaugh simply stands there, reading the odds. Scanning. MERC #1 Murtaugh? MURTAUGH Yes. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'm alone. MERC  #1 Hands up. Come with us. MURTAUGH Show me the girl. MERC  #1 She's not here. MURTAUGH Bullshit. Let me see her. Then I come quietly. The Merc nods. VAN comes AT US from across the desert.", "INT. VAN Inside, Rianne is gagged, helpless. She looks terrified. Next to her, Mr. Joshua holds a cocked pistol. Merc # 1 leans in : MERC #1 He wants to see the girl. BACK OUTSIDE Murtaugh waits. Sweating. Hands in pockets. And out comes Rianne, followed by the vicious Merc. He holds a knife squarely at her throat. Murtaugh's eyes fill with tears. Relief that she's alive. MERC  #1 Simple exchange. You come with us, the girl takes a walk. MURTAUGH Let her go now. MERC  #1 No. Take your hands out of your pockets. MURTAUGH -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- Sure thing, pal. He slowly raises his hands. In his left hand, he clutches a shiny metal sphere. A grenade. Murtaugh's grip is the only thing keeping it dead. The Merc swears violently. MURTAUGH This fucker's alive. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Let her go or we all die. And that's when Mr.Joshua steps out of the car. Deadly calm. All heads turn. Crewcut - Mirrored sunglasses. MR. JOSHUA Take him. MERC #1 But sir. MR. JOSHUA He's bluffing, it's a dud. He would n't risk killing his daughter. MURTAUGH Do n't push me. MR. JOSHUA Take him.", "EXT. HILLTOP  - MEANWHILE Far away. The car and the surrounding figures are tiny. A lone soldier crouches. Riggs. The rifle is on his shoulder. His eye is glued to the scope. INFRA - RED IMAGE SHOWS RIANNE AND HER CAPTOR Riggs' concentration is absolutely perfect. Like a statue. He licks a finger. Raises it, testing the wind. RIGGS Come on. Come on. BACK WITH MURTAUGH As he and Joshua stare each other down. Tense. Tense. His hand clutches the grenade. Merc # 1 pushes the knife into Rianne's throat. MERC #1 Put the pin back in. Do it. Murtaugh sweats. Mr. Joshua begins to walk forward, gun extended. Cool as ice. Another step. Smiling. ON HILLTOP Riggs sits dead still, focusing through the sniper scope. RIGGS Come on. Move away from the girl. MURTAUGH Joshua stops in front of Murtaugh. Cocks the gun. MR. JOSHUA Drop the fucking grenade. MURTAUGH I do and we die. MR. JOSHUA No. I do n't think so. He sights down the gun and pulls the trigger : All hell breaks loose. Here's what happens : BAM -! The bullet catches Murtaugh in the shoulder. He drops the grenade. It rolls, and Mercs dive for cover. The Merc holding Rianne takes a step back. Bingo. ON HILL Riggs grunts. FIRES. BELOW The Merc drops. Joshua's head snaps around. He stares off at the distance and hisses : JOSHUA Riggs! Meanwhile, Murtaugh rolls, comes up, gun in hand. FIRES, BAM MURTAUGH Rianne, the car! Rianne bolts. Meanwhile - ON HILLTOP Riggs swivels the barrel, half an inch. Grunts. FIRES. DOWN BELOW The black sedan's WINDSHIELD SPLINTERS. The car rocks with the impact as the driver is killed instantly. GRENADE chooses that moment to EXPLODE, poof. into a cloud of orange smoke. A shower of confetti. JOSHUA Dud! It's a dud! RIANNE is running for the car as Joshua swivels in her direction, lining up the UZI, FIRING a BURST - Until a bullet from Riggs parts his hair, sends him diving to the sand, the Uzi sprouting flame - As Rianne flings open the car door, screams - at the blood - spattered corpse which rolls off the steering wheel. BULLETS BLAST the car. METAL POPS and BURSTS. She jumps in. MURTAUGH is flat on the sand, FIRING like crazy, shot after shot - As Rianne floors the gas, the CAR PEELING out in a' storm of flying sand and dirt. Door open. One leg hanging out. Plows into an armed merc. He flies up onto the hood, spins, still conscious, and takes aim through the windshield, right at her. ON HILL Riggs swivels, lightning quick. RIGGS No. Grunts. FIRES. MERC ON HOOD is blown off the car. RIANNE screams, the dead driver sprawled against one shoulder, her foot nailed to the gas pedal. as the car leaps like a kicked dog and careens off into the desert. ON HILLTOP Riggs lines up for another shot - And there is a soft CLICK -! He whirls. The General has arrived. Stand - ing at the top of the hill. His M - 16 is cocked and locked. GENERAL You're not that fast, son. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Drop the rifle. He speaks into a walkie - talkie. GENERAL I got Riggs. ON DESERT FLOOR Murtaugh makes a break for it, FIRING blind - Until the ground before him literally EXPLODES with GUNFIRE. The earth is chopped to tatters. Dirt flies. He stops. Puffing for breath. Raises his hands. As the smoke clears, Mr. Joshua approaches like a demon through fog. He is flanked by two mercs with Uzis - JOSHUA A very nice try. -LRB- speaks into walkie - talkie. -RRB- Kendo. Get the girl. ON HILLTOP Riggs stands, hands over head. The General studies him thoughtfully. GENERAL Martin Riggs. Your combat record is the stuff of legend. RIGGS So is yours. General Peter McAllister, commander of Shadow Company. GENERAL I see we've heard of each other. RIGGS Yeah. It'll almost be a shame when I kill you. GENERAL -LRB- laughs. -RRB- I do n't think so, son. DESERT FLOOR Mr. Joshua says to Murtaugh : MR. JOSHUA You're about to have a fun evening. MURTAUGH Go spit. Joshua slams him in the head with a karate blow. He falls.", "EXT. DESERT ROAD - DAY Rianne is driving to save her life. Screaming at the top of her lungs, the needle touching 90 as she struggles to shove the merc's dead body into the corner. Swerving. Screaming. At which point the sand explodes in front of her. She shrieks. A HOWL of noise, a veritable eruption of sand and dirt, and it's one of two things, it's either aliens from space, descending - or it's a Bell Cobra helicopter. Rianne swerves to a halt to avoid the DRONING CHOPPER, which hovers like a behemoth, ROTORS THROBBING, as Rianne stumbles from the car and collapses in a heap on the sand. Lost, alone, her tears inaudible over the HIGH, CHURNING WHINE as we FADE OUT.", "INT. BASEMENT ROOM - NIGHT Riggs is naked. He is manacled hand and foot. Chained in a bathtub full of water. Around him is a dingy concrete basement. Joshua steps forward. Behind him is KENDO, an Oriental mercenary. He is working on a mechanical device of some kind. Connecting wires. Riggs grunts. JOSHUA Well, well. Look who's back from the dead. Riggs struggles against the manacles, slopping water. JOSHUA Please save your strength. I believe you'll need it. Riggs stops moving. Scowls at Joshua and says nothing. Joshua smiles. JOSHUA You're just in time for a lot of pain. RIGGS I'm thrilled. JOSHUA Oh, you will be. I daresay you'll be. shocked. Kendo snickers in the corner. RIGGS Who's the chin? JOSHUA Shhh. Do n't make him mad. RIGGS My mistake. Who's the pleasant Oriental psychopath? JOSHUA His name is Kendo, and he has forgotten more about dispensing pain than you will ever know. RIGGS Terrific. Listen, guys, can we get some Mister Bubble in here. JOSHUA Please shut up. -LRB- studies Riggs. -RRB- My, my, look at all those scars. -LRB- beat. -RRB- See, Martin, we have a problem. Since we have Murtaugh, we really do n't even need you. But I believe in being thorough. Across the room, Kendo throws a switch. A mechanical HUMMING fills the room. JOSHUA Our problem - and yours, too is that we have some merchandise to deliver. A rather large shipment, we're all very excited. It would be unfortunate, however, if we showed up with the goods and found ourselves surrounded by fifty cops. RIGGS That would be a shame. JOSHUA Indeed. So you see, Martin, it is essential that we find out how much the police know. RIGGS We do n't know shit. You killed Lloyd before he could talk. JOSHUA I wish I could believe you. Unfortunately, I do n't. So, if you'll be kind enough to tell us all you know, I will kill you quickly. RIGGS Such a deal, I should worry. JOSHUA Oh, indeed you should. See, Martin, you do n't talk to us. He gestures to Kendo, who approaches. He is carrying a very ominous device : a sponge, attached to a portable dry - cell battery casing. Joshua frowns at Riggs. JOSHUA Do you vomit? RIGGS Sometimes. Joshua nods. Sighs. JOSHUA Back before prison reform, the staff at Sing Sing invented a rather unusual form of punishment. It's know as the hummingbird treatment. Are you familiar? RIGGS Please, no tickling. I hate tickling. JOSHUA The ` patient' is chained naked in a bathtub full of water. A bath is then administered using a battery powered sponge. The pain is said to be so excruciating that after twenty minutes most men are either insane or dead. Riggs is silent. JOSHUA I thought you'd like it. I can of course, kill you now. Simply tell me what you know. RIGGS Guess we're in for a long night. ` Cause I do n't know scratch. JOSHUA We'll find out. Kendo? The Oriental moves forward. He brandishes the sponge / battery hookup. Dips it into a bucket of water. Riggs is sweating. JOSHUA Feel free to scream. RIGGS Have n't you guys. heard of yuletide cheer? Kendo hits Riggs with the sponge. Riggs screams. A high, lunatic scream. Thrashes in the water, splashing Kendo, whipping from side to side as the room spirals back and forth out of focus. Kids, do n't try this at home. Kendo removes the device. Riggs falls backward. Thumps against the tub. Sucking air. Moaning. JOSHUA My goodness. Now that was fun, was n't it? Riggs looks at him. Dripping hate. RIGGS I'm going to kill both of you. JOSHUA -LRB- laughs. -RRB- That's very funny. -LRB- beat. -RRB- About the shipment? RIGGS Fuck yourself. Kendo dunks the battery. Run it down Riggs' stomach. He screams again, as we mercifully.", "INT. DINGY BACK ROOM - SAME No windows. Hardwood floors. A single chair in the center of the room. Roger Murtaugh is strapped tightly to the chair. His face looks like something his wife makes for dinner. Black eyes. Swollen jaw. His shirt is off, exposing the gunshot wound in his arm. The General stands facing him, flanked by three mercs. They all wear holstered sidearms. GENERAL The shipment, Mr. Murtaugh? MURTAUGH Go spit. GENERAL -LRB- sighs. -RRB- I hope you enjoy saying that as much as Mr. Larch enjoys punishing you for it. MR. LARCH, a big redneck with no discernible compassion, steps forward. Pours a big handful of baking salt from a container. Packs it into Roger Murtaugh's gunshot wound. Murtaugh groans. Shouts. Struggles. The General looks on without blinking. MURTAUGH That's it. if you guys think I'm sending you a Christmas card you're nuts. Larch cuffs him, hard. GENERAL -LRB- shakes his. -RRB- head. -RRB- This is going nowhere. Mr. Larch? Larch grins, leaves the room. A pause. Murtaugh sweats, glaring out from swollen eyelids. The General nods, smiles.", "INT. BASEMENT  -  BACK  WITH  RIGGS as he groans and collapse back into the tub. Splash. Moans feebly. Blood drips from his nose. Saliva drools from his limp mouth. He looks half - dead, probably be - cause he is just that. Kendo pulls away the battery sponge, says to Joshua : KENDO He knows shit. We're safe. JOSHUA You're sure? KENDO Believe me, he'd have told us. JOSHUA Fine. -LRB- clucks in disgust. -RRB- Big, bad soldier. my ass. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'm going upstairs. Deal with him. KENDO Deal with him? JOSHUA Yeah. -LRB- stops at the door. -RRB- Fry his nuts. He exits.", "INT. DINGY BACK ROOM - SAME TIME The General leans over Murtaugh. Murtaugh sweats. GENERAL Anytime, Roger. Anytime. -LRB- beat. -RRB- See, the thing of it is. We know where you live. -LRB- frowns. -RRB- In fact, Mr. Joshua has been known to exterminate entire families, when he gets in. one of his moods. Oh, speaking of that - Larch re - enters the dingy back room. This time he's got Murtaugh's daughter Rianne. She is clad only in a T - shirt and bikini briefs. RIANNE Daddy. please do n't let them hurt me! Murtaugh goes nuts. Struggles, wrenches, bangs the chair up and down against the floor. No use. He is completely helpless. Snarls with rage : MURTAUGH Bastards. Untie me and I'll kill every one of you. GENERAL Precisely why we would never think of untying you. Larch shoves Rianne into the corner. She lands in a heap. Murtaugh is sweating buckets. Eyes desperate. The General leans in close : GENEPAL If you know something, son, you better play ball, ` cause the stakes just went up.", "INT. BASEMENT - SAME TIME Kendo switches on the battery again. In the tub, Riggs' head lolls back and forth. Listless. Dead. His eyes refuse to focus. Kendo shows him the sponge. RIGGS -LRB- slurred. -RRB- No. Please. KENDO You die now, Sergeant Riggs. Very slow. Riggs does not respond. Stares into space. Kendo leans over the tub, reaches in - And that's when we find out Riggs has been faking. His eyes focus. No longer hazed. He snaps his hand forward to the end of the chain. Grabs Kendo by the hair. In the blink of an eye, he slams the man's head down against the porcelain tub. Kendo's nose shatters. The Oriental topples over into the tub. The battery drops to the floor. Riggs is a fucking machine : he flips the chain around Kendo's neck and wrenches. Hard. He goes limp. Riggs is not through yet. He begins to heave and thrash, thrusting against the chains - Maneuvering the corpse on top of him. Shifting it. Moving Kendo's pants pocket within reach. He reaches in. Slowly, carefully, brings out a shiny silver key.", "INT. DINGY BACK ROOM --  SAME TIME A length of rope is pulled taut. RIANNE's bound hands are stretched over her head. Larch hooks the rope around a peg set into the wall. She is helpless. Murtaugh is out of his mind. Struggling to break free. GENERAL Good Lord. Very wholesome - looking girl. Yessirreee. MURTAUGH Goddammit, I've told you everything! GENERAL We'll soon know, wo n't we? Larch approaches Rianne. She squirms. MURTAUGH -LRB- beat. -RRB- You touch her, you're dead. GENERAL Oh, son, spare me. -LRB- beat. -RRB- It's over, Sergeant. No heroes around to save you. He picks up a baseball bat. Tosses it to Larch. GENERAL Mr. Larch. She's yours. Rianne screams. Murtaugh shouts. Strains. The chair thumps up and down, creating an insane, staccato rhythm. The General laughs. Rianne shrieks. Harrowing. Terri - ble. A scene out of Hell. And then the Devil comes in and kicks the door off its hinges. Okay. Okay. Let's stop for a moment. First off, to describe fully the mayhem which Riggs now creates would not do it justice. Here, however, are a few pointers : He is not flashy. He is not Chuck Norris. Rather, he is like a sledge - hammer hitting an egg. He does not knock people down. He does not injure them. He simply kills them. The whole room. Everyone standing. Except for - the General, who ducks out a side door and escapes. Riggs' chain moves like a live thing. Snapping here. Striking there. Mercs try to draw their guns - And suddenly their hands are shattered wrecks. One merc draws a bead on Rianne, almost gets off a shot, because Riggs is across the room. Without missing a beat - Riggs throws the chain. It wraps the guy's neck and kills him instantly. Ouch. He goes down, FIRING useless ROUNDS into the ceiling. Plaster rains. Riggs spins, dives. Scoops up the baseball bat. Comes up beside an armed merc - Swings the bat with hurricane force. A sickening impact. The bat breaks in half. Riggs spins, combat - ready. Scans the room. No one left to kill. Using only the element of surprise, he has taken out an entire room in hand - to - hand combat. He steps in front of Murtaugh without missing a beat. Cuts him loose with a borrowed knife. RIGGS Work your circulation. Crosses to Rianne, cuts her free. She collapses sobbing into his arms. RIGGS Ssshhh - No time. Come on. He scoops up handguns, throws them to Murtaugh. Takes for himself a pump shotgun, possibly the same one used against him earlier. Murtaugh stares dumbfounded at the body count. RIGGS They're all dead. Let's get out of here.", "EXT. HALLWAY -  SAME  TIME The three of them. On the run, moving hard and fast. They scramble down the hallway, Riggs in the lead, as - a merc ducks around the corner, sees them. Ducks back. Riggs FIRES through the wall, BLAM -! A corpse falls into view. They keep moving. Downstairs. Around another corner. Moving, moving. The three of them keep moving. Rushing headlong toward a sign marked EXIT. They may actually make it. Or not. For at that moment, Mr. Joshua looms up behind them and tosses something in their direction. Ducks back out of sight. It's a live grenade. The grenade hits the floor. Clatters. Riggs stops instantly. He knows the sound. Spins. Dives. Scoops up the GRENDADE and chucks it with all his might. It bounces downstairs and EXPLODES at the foot of the steps.", "EXT. BUILDING - NIGHT Joshua skids to a halt next to a sedan. He slams the door and ROARS off down Hollywood Boulevard. The crowd parts like the Red Sea. People are screaming. And suddenly, the doors burst open - As Riggs, Murtaugh and Rianne come skidding out onto the sidewalk in hot pursuit. Murtaugh shoves his daughter back as Joshua FIRES out the window of the car. BULLETS lash the pavement. The crowd shrieks. The CAR SCREECHES away. ANOTHER ANGLE A beat cop comes running up, and Murtaugh shoves Rianne in his direction. Flashes his badge. MURTAUGH Get her out of here. ANOTHER ANGLE - MURTAUGH AND RIGGS go running after the car. Side by side. Beaten. Bloody. Naked from the waist up. Murtaugh FIRING his PISTOL. Shot after blazing shot. Riggs unloading with the M - 16 on three - shot mode, the muzzle flash blinding, the noise DEAFENING - Until pedestrians swarm suddenly into the line of fire. Blocking them. Except Murtaugh wo n't give up. He runs after the car, shouting : MURTAUGH Out of the way. Move. His GUN CLICKS empty. He tosses it aside. Pulls another from his waistband. The car. Far away. FIRES FOUR more SHOTS. Collapses in the street. Nearly' unconscious. Crawls forward after the car, blood streaming from his broken nose. Going on sheer guts. Finally gives out. Slumps in a heap. Riggs kneels beside him as a police CAR ROARS up to them, flashers spinning. Riggs is a man possessed. We PANA - GLIDE with him as he runs forward. M - 16 in one hand. Badge in the other. RIGGS Get an ambulance! He takes off after the Joshua's car. On foot. Someone better tell this guy to lighten up. The car is far ahead, racing onto a freeway on - ramp. Riggs runs. Sweat pours off him. Seeing the car on the ramp, he changes direction. Starts running an intercept course. Leaps out into the street - Spins, as a TRUCK BLARES out of nowhere, BRAKES SQUEALING, HORN SHRIEKING. Somersaults over the hood.Lands. Keeps moving. Barrels across the street. Faster now. Even faster than before. Feet pounding. Gun swinging. Dashing out onto the freeway overpass. Where, without stopping, he promptly jumps the guardrail. Drops through space. And lands, thump -! Atop the big green freeway sign. Swings like an acrobat. Dangles from the sign, twenty feet above the ground. Levels the M - 16 one - handed, switches it to full auto. Waits. BENEATH HIM Joshua's CAR comes SCREAMING through the underpass, doing eighty. Riggs unleashes the GUN. It BLAZES with cruel FIRE. STRAFES the back of the car. Sure enough, BLOWS out both TIRES - Throwing the VEHICLE into a deadly SKID - Slewing across the freeway - STRIKING the GUARDRAIL at sixty - plus. It slides for a full hundred yards, sending up a shower of sparks. The back tires disintegrate in a trail of burning rubber. The CAR GRINDS to a halt. The door opens and Joshua rolls out. Riggs FIRES. Kicks up a cloud of cement near the merc. Joshua RETURNS FIRE. ANOTHER ANGLE Big chunks of the.freeway SIGN BLOW OUT next to Riggs' head. He is showered with wooden debris. Riggs lowers the gun. Lets go and drops twenty feet to the pavement. Lands, rolls, comes up. A CAR swerves around him. CRASHES into the guardrail. Riggs does n't even look. Instead, he begins to walk. He is a fucking juggernaut. UP AHEAD Joshua turns, sees Riggs - and stops. JOSHUA Okay, you bastard, let's see who's better. They are separated by perhaps two hundred yards. Joshua snaps his rifle to his shoulder. Eyes glued to the scope. Riggs swings his own rifle into position - and we've got the showdown at the O.K. Corral. A battle of wits. Each one scanning through the scope. Looking for a clear shot, as CARS SWERVE around and between them. The crosshairs sweep the freeway. Perfect concentration. Riggs. Joshua. Two soldiers. And suddenly, the shot is there : Joshua sights in on Riggs' position. Only problem is, Riggs' rifle is pointed right at the CAMERA. He is sighted in on Joshua. Simultaneous. They FIRE at the exact same moment. TWO SHOTS. Two distinct RIFLE CRACKS. Riggs takes it in the shoulder. Blown backward. Joshua goes down, winged. Riggs. Joshua. Each looks like shit. They struggle to their feet. And that's when a car backs up into Riggs at thirty miles an hour. Broadsides him. Sends him flying. UP AHEAD Joshua rushes up to a stalled car. Throws open the door. Yanks out the driver, hops behind the wheel. ROARS away.", "EXT. BUILDING - SAME TIME An ambulance shudders to a halt and two ORDERLIES hop out. Uniformed COPS are struggling to hold back the crowd. One of the Orderlies rushes up. ORDERLY Where is he, Officer? COP Right over there. He points - and suddenly frowns : There is no one there. Murtaugh is gone. Nowhere to be seen.", "EXT. BACK ALLEY - SAME TIME A sleek black VAN careens around the corner.", "INT. VAN A MERC is driving, foot glued to the pedal. THE GENERAL sits sweating in the back seat. ANOTHER ANGLE The headlights flash wildly as the car roars down the alley. The General stares ahead, and suddenly -. ` Cause would n't you know it, there's ROGER MURTAUGH. Fifty yards away. Standing in the middle of the street. ANOTHER ANGLE There is no reason for Murtaugh to be standing. He is a walking testament to man's ability to bloody himself. And he's pissed. The Merc sees him, snarls - punches the gas. Murtaugh holds his ground. He can barely stand. And then he does a peculiar thing : He examines his hand. No question. A definite tremble. Scowls. Stretches. Cracks his neck. Shifts from foot to foot, steadying himself. He has one shot. The numbers are falling, it's all coming down - And he's ready. The van comes barreling in. Doing fifty. Now or never. MURTAUGH No way you live. No way. He cross - draws with lightning swiftness. BAM. The REPORT is DEAFENING. The WINDSHIELD promptly SHATTERS. And the Merc sprouts a neat third eye. Perfect shot. Dead center. The van swerves. Murtaugh steps out of the way. Deadly calm. As the van careens past - He salutes the General. Watches, expressionless. The CAR SLAMS into a telephone pole and rolls over. GRINDING METAL. An ERUPTION of GLASS. It continues to roll like some great beast, crumpling and folding like an accordion. Comes to rest, upside down in a sea of glass.", "INT. VAN The General is pinned beneath a crumpled door - frame, struggling to break free, as FLAMES lick upward from the ruptured gas tank. And then the General sees something which ruins his whole day. The Merc's corpse, sprawled over the steering column. * with a shiny metal GRENADE attached to his belt. * Flames dance around the grenade * ANOTHER ANGLE * The General squirms, strains, yanks for all he's worth. * Fingers reaching out for the grenade. * Flames burning his outstretched hand. And it is, as they say, all she wrote. *", "EXT. ROADWAY Murtaugh is walking like a zombie. Away from the VAN. Gun held loosely at his side. Suddenly - It BLOWS sky high. A tower of fire. Blows Murtaugh flat. Knocks him ass over teacups. ECHOES down the street. Turns night into day for one brief instant. And then - Then something truly incredible happens. For the first time in nearly a century - it begins to snow in Hollywood. Murtaugh looks up, a `` What the hell?'' expression on his face. Sure enough - HEROIN is sifting down on the night air, ten million dollars' worth. A cloud over the entire' street. Swirling in the breeze. MURTAUGH gets slowly to his feet, checking for broken bones. If it was n't busted already, apparently it's okay now. Time passes. A hand rests on his shoulder. MARTIN RIGGS Stands next to him. Cops swarm behind them. The heroin snow continues to fall. The wreck burns. Riggs looks at Murtaugh. Murtaugh looks at Riggs. The two most physi - cally abused men in film history. MURTAUGH Well, shit. RIGGS Try not to breathe, you'll see pink elephants. MURTAUGH Joshua? RIGGS Got away. MURTAUGH We. got ta find him. RIGGS No dice. First thing we got ta do is get you to a hospital. MURTAUGH Uh - huh First thing we got ta do is check on my house. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I got a bad feeling. He moves away. Riggs starts to follow. Goes to toss his cigarette in the gutter, and stops : There is a tiny, red mark at the tip of the filter : It is the cigarette. The very last one. He stares at it, a sudden glimmer in his eye.", "EXT. MURTAUGH HOME - NIGHT The Christmas lights shed a happy glow. The lawn is still littered with toys. Two uniformed COPS are watch - ing over the house, sitting in a police car across the street. One of them munches on a sandwich. The other is doing a crossword puzzle. A car pulls up next to them. The door opens - out steps Mr. Joshua. POLICE OFFICER Excuse me, sir, may I see some ID? Joshua takes an UZI from beneath his coat. No hesi - tation. BLOWS them apart. Walks forward, gun smoking. Crosses the lawn to the front door. Kicks it to splinters.", "EXT. CITY STREET - SAME TIME A police CAR PEELS around the corner. Takes out a Salvation Army BUCKET, which POPS like a clay duck. Coins shower every which way.", "INT. CAR Murtaugh is driving like a lunatic. Beside him, Riggs holds a handkerchief to his gunshot wound.", "INT. MURTAUGH HOME'- SAME TIME Joshua stalks down the hallway of Murtaugh's house. Stops in front of the bedroom door. Holy Jesus. He kicks it open. SPPAYS the interior with GUNFIRE. Shreds the mattress, dices the pillows. Trashes everything in sight : Star Wars posters. Stuffed animals. Stereo. Empties an entire clip of.9 millimeter slugs. Except the bed is empty. There is no one there. Joshua snarls. Turns. SERIES OF SHOTS Kicks open another door. TRIGGERS DESTRUCTION. Plaster and wood fill the air in a cloud. Room to room. Search - ing. Growing more and more enraged - because there is no one here to kill. He is blowing the shit out of an empty Santa Monica bungalow. He bursts into the only room he has n't visited. Living room. It too, is empty. There is a note, however. Taped to the Christmas tree : Big letters. DEAR BADGUYS NO ONE HERE BUT US COPS. SORRY. - THE GOODGUYS Joshua swears. Runs for the door. And a police CAR drives through the front of the house. PLOWS into the living room, shearing boards in half, BURSTING WINDOWS, GRINDING to a halt in a sea of glass. Joshua spins, triggering the UZI. - STRAFES the car. A withering FIRE. Empties an entire clip at the front WINDSHIELD, dicing it to SMITHEREENS. Waves the gun like a WAND, STRAFING X patterns, FIRING all the while, completely EXTINGUISH - ING the car and all life within. Stops. Silence. Floating debris. Joshua lowers the gun. Breathing hard. Crosses the room, his boots crunching through broken glass. Yanks on the driver's door. It falls loose with a metal clang. ANOTHER ANGLE A cop's nightstick has been jammed against the accel - erator pedal. The car is empty. Joshua spins, startled Stares across the room At MARTIN RIGGS, who sits calmly on the windowsill. RIGGS Ho, ho, ho. He raises his gun and fires without blinking. Blows the gun out of Joshua's hands. Smiles a big shit - eating grin. Joshua turns and dives through the hole in the wall, lands outside, comes up running, but sorry, no dice because there stands Roger Murtaugh. Drawing a bead on Joshua's running figure. MURTAUGH Freeze, Joshua. Joshua stops dead. Turns, growling low in his throat. A fire hydrant, sheared off by the runaway car, sprays water high into the nighttime air. The wind blows. Martin Riggs steps out of the house. Pointing the.38 Special like a finger of doom. Strolls toward Mr. Joshua. the gun is rock steady. Riggs' eyes meet Murtaugh's, and he speaks with deadly purpose : RIGGS I'll handle it. He steps up to Joshua. Smiles. And then he does some - thing very strange : he relaxes his grip on the gun - And throws it away. Faces Joshua. Raises his arms, and carefully places them behind his head. When he speaks, his voice drips menace : RIGGS Come on, ace. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Try me. A moment. Then Joshua calmly plants himself in front of Riggs. Around them, water showers down in a gentle cloud. SIRENS APPROACH in the near distance. Joshua and Riggs. Two soldiers. Their eyes lock. And you better hang onto your popcorn, boys and girls, because it's about to get ugly. JOSHUA Do n't mind if I do. And so it begins. They start to circle. Riggs and Joshua, perfect concentration, round and round and never, never once does their focus break, because, baby, these guys are pros - And here's something funny : they are n't looking at each other's eyes at all. Rather - They're watching each other's hands. RIGGS His fingers twitch. Flex. Wrist making slow, laborious - circles. JOSHUA Shifting from leg to leg, floating his balance. MURTAUGH looks on, sweating it out. He's not happy, he wants to end it. And yet he waits. RIGGS AND JOSHUA All we see is their eyes, straining, focusing, scanning for an opening. JOSHUA Concentrate, Martin. Do n't give me an opening. Would n't want to do that. Riggs shifts. Blinks. And : JOSHUA springs. Foot coming out like a shot, Riggs jerking back, inches - meanwhile, Riggs - countermove, spins, tries a back kick, no dice. Joshua no longer there, where is he? Shit -! Comes up, darts a punch to Riggs' neck - Riggs fields it, snap the left. It comes out of nowhere. CRACK! The sound of Riggs' rib breaking carries clearly. He grunts. Thrusts, inviting a countermove. Joshua counters - And Riggs snags his hand, picture - fucking - perfect. Breaks one of Joshua's fingers. Ouch. Backs off. Joshua backs off. The two of them. Wounded, they circle. Round two. MURTAUGH Meanwhile, is raising his gun, pointing it at Joshua. Riggs' voice cuts like a knife : RIGGS No. Roger. -LRB- beat. -RRB- No way. Murtaugh lowers the gun. Stares, fascinated, at this contest between two consummate professionals. In for the kill. It is a dance of the forces. Riggs is on fire. Leaps, avoiding a shot to the knee, spins, slams the knuckles of his hand into Joshua's nose. Busts it. Joshua snarls, drops - Catches Riggs' arm over one shoulder. And, ladies and gentlemen. Riggs has just fucked up. CRACK -! His arm breaks. He screams with pain. Screams with anger. Tosses three shots at Joshua. SNAP. SNAP. SNAP. RIBS, SPLINTERING. Joshua hissing with pain. Lets go. Back off -LRB- Riggs -RRB-. Back off -LRB- Joshua -RRB-. In pain, they circle. Round three. JOSHUA That's it, Martin. your body wants to go into shock. but you wo n't let it, will you? RIGGS Give it up. Your breathing's shot. JOSHUA so's your left arm. RIGGS Life's tough that way. Oh, by the way : Fuck you. He launches himself at Joshua. Joshua strikes, scores a minor point, breaking Riggs' collarbone, except Riggs does n't care, nosirree Bob. ` Cause he just hit paydirt : Joshua's knee. Boot - strikes, BAM -! Shearing the knee, maybe bursting the cap. Joshua shrieks, but then again, so would you. And he promptly jack - knives his fist right into Riggs' broken arm. Three times. Riggs bellows. Refuses to quit. Slams his head into Joshua's busted nose. Pop. Does it again. Joshua, hammering the broken arm. Pow. -LRB- Scream -RRB- Pow. -LRB- Scream -RRB-. Until, son of a bitch. The pain is simply too intense. nothing human can withstand it, they fall away, staggering, wrenching to a shaky halt, facing one another, standoff. Exhausted, limping, hardly able to speak. POLICE CARS Pulling up now, cops stumbling out, guns clearing their holsters as Murtaugh waves frantically, screams : MURTAUGH No guns. Let it go! Goddammit, let it go! RIGGS spits, gazes straight at Joshua. Joshua stares back. Two soldiers. This close to collapsing. Until, breaking the silence - comes Murtaugh's voice : MURTAUGH Martin. RIGGS Yeah. MURTAUGH Kill the motherfucker. A moment. and then, my friends, Riggs does a peculiar thing : He smiles then. Damned if he does n't. And rises up. Standing. Standing straight. There is no way he should be able to do this. And then he speaks, and it's like the voice of doom, and all of a sudden we know that this guy is a fucking legend, we know why the V.C. en - forcers whispered his name at night in the foxholes. He is Riggs. And no one can touch him. No one. RIGGS Last chance. Walk away. JOSHUA Fuck yourself. RIGGS Fine. Die. He steps forward. Stands. Joshua springs - thunders his foot into Riggs' hip, separating the bone at the joint. And Riggs does n't blink. His hand comes out. Lightning quick. There is a sick - sounding CRACK - And Joshua is dead before he hits the ground. Riggs hovers over the corpse. breathing spastic, saliva dripping from his lips. takes a handkerchief, wipes his hand, and says : RIGGS You lose. At which point, he collapses like a sack of grain. MURTAUGH is running forward, tears in his eyes by this time, falls to his knees, cradling Riggs in his arms, while the assembled cops look on in thoroughly stunned silence, what they have just seen is beyond their wildest imagining. ON GROUND Riggs looks at Murtaugh. Murtaugh looks at Riggs. MURTAUGH Take it easy, Martin. RIGGS Right. Easy. You bet. MURTAUGH Does it hurt? Riggs throws him a look. RIGGS What are you, an idiot? MURTAUGH Sorry. RIGGS S'all right. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I got good news and bad news. MURTAUGH What's the good news? RIGGS Good news is, I'm not dead. MURTAUGH What's the bad news? Riggs grimaces in pain - RIGGS Bad news is, I'm still alive. He chuckles. Groans. Passes out. The water RAINS steadily down. The night wears on.", "EXT. LONG BEACH BAR - DAY Christmas carolers sing outside at roadside. A big banner screams MERRY CHRISTMAS to passing cars. Christmas lights. Tinsel. Murtaugh and Riggs stand on the sidewalk, huddled against the chill. Riggs stands, braced on one crutch. Arm in a sling. Their breath plumes out in front of them. MURTAUGH So. RIGGS So. MURTAUGH There are worse things than a psych pension. RIGGS -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- Probably. MURTAUGH Guess I wo n't be seeing you around. RIGGS Guess not. -LRB- beat. -RRB- The Department thinks I'm wild. I do n't belong anymore. Not here. MURTAUGH Where do you belong? RIGGS Who knows? Maybe I can get a job on a remake of Cobra. MURTAUGH My son would come see you. RIGGS He'd be the only one. MURTAUGH -LRB- a pause ; then. -RRB- Riggs. RIGGS Yeah. MURTAUGH This. is a bad old world, is n't it? RIGGS -LRB- sighs. -RRB- Yeah. Sometimes it really is. MURTAUGH Hell. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'm thinking of quitting. RIGGS Do n't you dare. Murtaugh looks at him. RIGGS You're too old to change now, Colchise. MURTAUGH Me? Old? RIGGS You just hang in there. MURTAUGH Yeah. You, too. RIGGS Guess I'll say goodbye. MURTAUGH Sure. Come over for dinner sometime. RIGGS No, thanks. MURTAUGH Do n't blame you. I'm thinking of arresting my wife for cruelty to bacon. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Merry Christmas, Martin. RIGGS Merry Christmas. He walks off down the street. Murtaugh watches him go. Pause. Turns up his collar against the chill, takes a few steps. And a man steps in front of him. The same Punk who Riggs beat the shit out of at the very beginning of the film. PUNK Hey, old man, got any money? Murtaugh stops. Stares. Blinks. And proceeds to kick the shit out of him. A kick. A punch. The Punk lies on the sidewalk, semi - conscious. Murtaugh scowls and says : MURTAUGH I'm fifty. That's not old, dickless.", "EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK (SAME DAY) RAIN pours down. Martin Riggs stands over a lone grave. There are dark hollows under his eyes. The wind tugs at his hair. The tombstone reads : VICTORIA LYNN RIGGS. BORN : 1953. DIED : 1984. He reaches beneath his overcoat and removes a bright green Christmas wreath, which he places atop the grave. Kisses his fingertips. Presses them to the moist earth. RIGGS Merry Christmas. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I love you. The rains starts to fall. Riggs is oblivious.", "EXT. MURTAUGH HOME - NIGHT Carpenters are at work, patching and repairing. The Christmas lights still shine defiantly. A car pulls up. FRONT DOOR As a hand knocks softly : The door opens - and there stands young Rianne. Adorable. She looks up at the visitor. It is Martin Riggs. RIANNE Hi. RIGGS Hi. He hands something to her. She takes it. The bottle of pills. It has a red ribbon tied around it. RIGGS Give that to your dad. It's a present. Tell him I wo n't be needing them anymore. Rianne nods. RIANNE Okay. You wan na come in? We're building. Riggs thinks it over. Shakes his head : RIGGS No, that's okay. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You have a Merry Christmas, Missy. RIANNE Okay. Riggs turns to go. Rianne stops him : RIANNE They say you're the best. Beat. He stops. Turns and looks at her. RIANNE Are you? RIGGS -LRB- big smile ; wild wink. -RRB- No one can touch me. Rianne blushes. Riggs begins to walk away, into the rain. Until Roger Murtaugh appears from inside the boat on the trailer hitch. He stands on deck and looks down at Riggs. Riggs stops. They stand there in the rain for a moment. Then Murtaugh looks him square in the eye and says : MURTAUGH Sucker, if you think I'm gon na cut the world's lousiest Christmas turkey all by my lonesome, you're nuts. Riggs nods. A moment passes. Then : RIGGS I think your daughter kinda likes me. MURTAUGH You touch her, I'll kill you. RIGGS You'll try. He smiles. Murtaugh smiles. The rain falls, as they enter the house together, and we THE END"], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "Shortly after his 50th birthday, LAPD Homicide Sergeant Roger Murtaugh is partnered with Sergeant Martin Riggs, a transfer from narcotics. Riggs, a former Special Forces soldier whose wife was killed in a car accident three years prior, has turned suicidal, and has been taking his aggression out on suspects, leading to his superiors requesting his transfer. Murtaugh and Riggs quickly find themselves facing off with each other. Murtaugh is contacted by Michael Hunsaker, a Vietnam War buddy and banker, but before they can meet, Murtaugh learns that Hunsaker's daughter, Amanda, apparently committed suicide by jumping from her apartment balcony. Autopsy reports show Amanda to have been poisoned with drain cleaner, making the case a possible homicide. Hunsaker tells Murtaugh that he was concerned about his daughter's involvement in drugs, prostitution, and pornography, and was trying to get Murtaugh to help her escape that life. Murtaugh and Riggs attempt to question Amanda's pimp, but find a drug lab on the premises, leading to a shootout. Riggs kills the pimp and saves the life of Murtaugh, who starts to tolerate his new partner. Even though the case seems closed, Riggs is aware that the only witness to Amanda's apparent suicide was Dixie, another prostitute who was working away from her normal streets. They attempt to question Dixie at her home, but the building explodes as they approach it. Riggs finds parts of a mercury switch from bomb debris, indicating a professional had set the bomb; some children who had been nearby witnessed a man approach the house with a tattoo similar to the one Riggs has, and Murtaugh suspects Hunsaker is not telling the full picture. The pair visit Hunsaker before Amanda's funeral, where he reveals of having previously been an operative of \"Shadow Company,\" a heroin-smuggling operation run by former special forces operators from the Vietnam War, masterminded by retired General Peter McAllister and his right-hand chief enforcer, Mr. Joshua. Hunsaker had been laundering the money, but wanted to get out, and when McAllister found out he had contacted Murtaugh, the general had Amanda killed in retaliation. As Murtaugh tries to get Hunsaker to reveal everything he realizes about Shadow Company, Joshua arrives in a helicopter and kills Hunsaker. Then Shadow Company attempts to kill Riggs in a drive-by shooting, but he is saved by a bulletproof vest. Murtaugh and Riggs fake his murder in order to gain the upper hand. Shadow Company later kidnaps Murtaugh's daughter Rianne and demand that Murtaugh turn himself over to them for her return. Murtaugh and Riggs plan an ambush for the exchange at El Mirage Lake with Riggs providing sniper support, but Riggs is caught by McAllister and the trio are taken to an unknown location. Murtaugh and Riggs are tortured for information, but Riggs manages to overpower the captors, frees Murtaugh and Rianne, and they escape to find themselves in a busy nightclub used as a front for Shadow Company. With their cover blown, McAllister and Joshua attempt to escape separately. Joshua manages to get away, but McAllister's driver is shot by Murtaugh, causing the general's car to veer out of control and get struck by a bus on Hollywood Boulevard, and McAllister is killed when a fire causes hand grenades in the car to detonate. Murtaugh and Riggs race to Murtaugh's home, knowing that Joshua will come after his family for revenge. They arrive in time to prevent him, and Riggs beats Joshua in a violent brawl on the front lawn. As backup officers arrive to take Joshua into custody, he breaks free and steals a gun from one of the patrolmen, but Murtaugh and Riggs pull their guns and shoot Joshua dead. After visiting his wife's grave, Riggs spends Christmas with the Murtaughs, having become close friends with Murtaugh and bonding with the rest of the family. Riggs also gives Murtaugh a symbolic gift: a hollow-point bullet which he had been saving to commit suicide, as he does not need it anymore.", "name": "Lethal_Weapon"}
{"scenes": ["BLACK We hear a clock ticking. FADE IN : INT. RIGGAN'S DRESSING ROOM - THEATER - DAY Close on the brilliant colors of a middle eastern rug, the center of what seems to be a makeshift \u201c meditation \u201d space. We slowly tilt up to discover the back of Riggan Thomson ( 55 ). He is in the proper \u2018 Lotus \u2019 position, dressed only in tight white briefs and he appears to be meditating deeply. And if all this seems a little odd, it becomes all the more so when you notice that he is levitating almost two feet above the floor. His breath is calm and measured... in and out... in and out. MAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- How did we end up here? -LRB- Beat. -RRB- This place is a fucking dump. We begin to slowly move toward Riggan's back while his measure breathing continues. We see a clock on the wall, ticking. MAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Smells like balls. A slight twitch in Riggan's neck. MAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We do n't belong in this shithole. A Skype call shatters the silence. Close on his back, we follow Riggan as he walks over to the computer and answers the call. On the computer screen appears Sam ( 21 ), in a pair of Levi's and a Led Zeppelin T-shirt. She has simple and striking good looks, with an edge in her voice and behind her eyes. She stands in a Korean Deli among the flowers, talking to Riggan through her iPhone. The Korean Store owner ( 50 ) stands in the background screaming at her the whole time. RIGGAN Sam, I ca n't -- SAM Dad? What kind of -- -LRB- Turning to Korean. -RRB- SHUT UP!!! -LRB- Back to screen. -RRB- What kind of flowers did you say you wanted? RIGGAN Alchemillas. Or something soothing that smells nice. Listen I can \u2019 t -- SAM It all smells like fucking Kimchi! RIGGAN Then whatever looks nice. Anything but roses. No roses. KOREAN Flowers do n't need you touch! They need you buy!!! SAM -LRB- Close into the screen. -RRB- I hate this job. And the Skype call is over. Riggan closes the laptop and leans forward trying to regain his calm. His reflection appears in the mirror, and for the first time we see his face. He has a dark goatee and his hair looks strangely abundant. There is a piece of paper on the mirror with the handwritten phrase \u201c A thing is a thing, not what it is said of that thing. \u201d ANNIE ON SPEAKERS Riggan, they \u2019 re starting scene five. We need you on stage. RIGGAN Shit... Riggan throws on a sweater and stumbles into his slacks. He hurries out...", "INT. HALLWAYS - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... through the narrow corridors of the theater. There is a lot of activity as various workers and stage hands appear and disappear carrying equipment and scenery. As Riggan descends the stairs, a Stage Hand\u00b7 passes by in the opposite direction. STAGE HAND Mr. Thomson. RIGGAN Steve. STAGE HAND It \u2019 s Daniel. RIGGAN -LRB- Already passed. -RRB- Okay. Riggan continues on until he arrives backstage. He runs into Jake ( 42 ) his producer and friend. JAKE How \u2019 s it going, buddy. RIGGAN Great. It \u2019 d be even better if I could get Ralph to stop acting like he \u2019 s in an educational video for syphilis... The camera moves off of them and onto...", "INT. STAGE - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the stage. Suddenly we are in the midst of an Americana style kitchen. Around the kitchen table sit Lesley ( 35 ), plain and no nonsense, her simple hairstyle and makeup ca n't hide how attractive she is. Laura ( 35 ), dark, exotic, the kind of woman who makes every person she meets feel like she's seducing them. And Ralph ( 40 ), slightly handsome, slightly balding, slightly invisible. A half empty bottle of gin on the table, they drink from highball glasses as they chat... LESLEY He loved me. RALPH Yeah. He loved her so much he tried to kill her. LAURA He tried to kill you? LESLEY No. -LRB- A beat. -RRB- Okay, well, he did beat me up one night. He dragged me around the living room by my ankles, yelling `` I love you, I love you, bitch.'' What do you do with a love like that? RALPH How is that -- That is not love and you know it. Why do you insist on calling it -- LESLEY You can say what you want, but I know what it was. RALPH What about you, Nick? Does that sound like love to you? Riggan arrives at the table and sits. RIGGAN Sorry I \u2019 m late. -LRB- Beat. In character. -RRB- I'm the wrong person to ask. I did n't know the man. I've only heard his name mentioned in passing. You'd have to know the particulars. But I think what you're saying is that love is absolute. RALPH Yeah. The kind of love I'm talking about is... The kind of love I'm talking about, you do n't try and kill people. LESLEY -LRB- Sadly. -RRB- It was love, Mel. To Eddie, it was. I do n't care what anybody says. He was ready to die for it. RALPH Ask her what he did after she left him. LESLEY He shot himself in the mouth. But he screwed that up, too. Poor Ed. RALPH Poor Ed, my ass. The guy was dangerous. LAURA How'd he screw it up if he shot himself in the mouth? RALPH -LRB- By the numbers. -RRB- He used to carry this twenty-two. We lived like fugitives those days. I never knew -- RIGGAN -LRB- Breaking character to direct. Exasperated. -RRB- Okay. Fugitives are on the run, Ralph. How many times do I have to -- Fugitives are scared. Give me more of that. Ralph nods. He takes a breath and dives in once again... RALPH -LRB- The same but louder. -RRB- We lived like fugitives those days... Extremely frustrated, Riggan stares out into the auditorium. From his POV we see Jake who is now sitting in the third row. His head buried in his hands, tortured by Ralph \u2019 s performance. Riggan turns back to Ralph. RALPH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... I never knew if he was going to come out of the bushes or from behind a car and just start shooting. Riggan watches Ralph act and sees his whole production headed down the drain. Ralph is just that bad. RALPH -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- The man was crazy. He was capable of anything. The actors all wait for a cue from Riggan, who is now staring up into the lights above the stage. Laura finally picks up Riggan \u2019 s cue. LAURA Christ. What a nightmare... RALPH He used to call me at the hospital and say... -LRB- Over the top. -RRB- `` Son of a bitch. Your days are numbered.'' Silence. Ralph looks over to Riggan. RALPH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Too much? Little bit? I just wanted to give you a range, so you could -- And with that a light comes barreling down from it's perch and crashes into Ralph's head, making him hit the floor like a rag doll. Silence. LAURA Holy shit. Lesley and Annie ( 35 ), the Stage Manager, run over to Ralph who is out cold. Not knowing what to do, they stare at him. LESLEY Is he breathing? Jake runs toward the stage. JAKE Someone call 911! Riggan slowly backs away from the chaos. LAURA Is that blood coming out of his ear? JAKE -LRB- To Riggan. -RRB- Where are you going? LESLEY Okay, he \u2019 s breathing. What did he have for lunch? LAURA Did anyone call for help? ANNIE -LRB- Clapping. -RRB- Wake up! Wake up! Two crew members try to help Ralph. CREW MEMBER Grab his legs. I got the top. JAKE Do n't move him! Wait for the ambulance. -LRB- Calling out. -RRB- For the love of God! I could get a black audience in this theater faster than a doctor! Riggan heads off the stage, and Jake chases after him. We follow them as...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... they walk through the corridor. JAKE Where are you going? We \u2019 ll have the understudy ready to rehearse in five -- RIGGAN Forget the understudy. We have to postpone the preview. JAKE What are you -- It \u2019 s a full house. We would have to refund all the -- RIGGAN Then do it. A crew member\u00b7 passes in the opposite direction. CREW MEMBER How \u2019 s Ralph? RIGGAN He \u2019 ll be fine. JAKE Wait. Wait. Fuck. Wait. RIGGAN Listen to me. It was going to be a disaster. That guy \u2019 s the worst actor I've ever seen. The blood coming out of his ear was the most honest thing he's done so far. JAKE He's not that bad. Riggan stops in his tracks and stares at Jake. JAKE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Okay, he's fucking horrible. But -- Riggan starts walking again. JAKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- You have the press in your dressing room in a few hours. How are we -- RIGGAN I'll make something up. Two Technicians\u00b7 hurry up in the opposite direction. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Jake. This happened for a reason. It was n't an accident. JAKE What do you mean? RIGGAN I -- -LRB- A beat. -RRB- I made it happen. JAKE Oh. Okay. -LRB- Beat. -RRB- Are you drunk? RIGGAN Find me an actor. A good actor. Philip Seymour Hoffman... JAKE He \u2019 s doing the third Hunger Games. RIGGAN Michael Fassbender? JAKE Doing the prequel to the X-Men prequel. They arrive at Riggan's dressing room. RIGGAN What \u2019 s his name? Jeremy Renner... JAKE Who? RIGGAN The... the Hurt Locker guy. JAKE Yeah. He \u2019 s an Avenger. RIGGAN -LRB- With disgust. -RRB- Fuck. They put him in a cape, too? -LRB- A beat. -RRB- Look, I don \u2019 t care. Find me someone. Riggan enters...", "INT. RIGGAN'S DRESSING ROOM - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... his dressing room and tries to shut the door. Jake, still in the corridor, stops it with his foot. JAKE -LRB- Sticking his head in. -RRB- Ralph'll sue us. He'll sue us. And he's got a case. Riggan releases the door. RIGGAN Then make him go away. JAKE How do you suggest I do that? RIGGAN You're my lawyer, my producer and my oldest friend. We are going to make this work. Now just get out there and do what you were born to do. JAKE What's that? RIGGAN I have no idea. But I have faith. Now go away from me. JAKE Do you think we should -- Riggan slams the door shut on Jake. A beat. On a television, a segment of E! News. A busty blond, with an exaggerated smile, hosts. BLOND WOMAN... and when we come back, an exclusive interview with Robert Downey Jr., who tells us about the billion-dollar Iron Man franchise. The talented actor invited us onto the set of Iron Man 3... Riggan slams the tv off, his mind racing. He sits on a chair. MAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That clown doesn \u2019 t have half your talent and he \u2019 s making a fortune in that Tin Man get up. Riggan stares into the mirror, in the reflection he catches sight of a poster from a movie called `` Birdman 3''. The superhero, Birdman ( a younger Riggan in a bird costume ), wings widely spread, stares directly back at him. A hand written note on the top of the poster reads : `` Thomson, break a wing! From the boys at Local 1.'' Riggan tries to calm himself with a mantra... RIGGAN `` Breathing in, I embrace my anger. Breathing out, I smile to it.'' BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Embrace it. Kiss it. Turn it around and fuck it in the -- A knock on the door behind him. RIGGAN Not now! Laura opens the door and sticks her head in. LAURA Can I come in? RIGGAN No. LAURA Okay. Two words. Shia La Beouf. RIGGAN That's three words. LAURA It's two. RIGGAN Get out. LAURA I love you. She closes the door. Riggan tries to calm himself down, but Laura opens the door again. LAURA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I take it we \u2019 re not going to dinner anymore? RIGGAN I don \u2019 t have an actor. LAURA I don \u2019 t have a life. RIGGAN Laura... LAURA Fine. Whatever. -LRB- Goes to leave but stops. -RRB- You remember at Joan's when you asked me to come do a Broadway play with you? You said it would be fun... RIGGAN Go away. LAURA So far? No fun. Riggan closes the door and looks at the Birdman poster. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Fun? You know what would be fun? Getting the fuck out of here before we humiliate ourselves. That would be fun. Riggan looks at himself in the mirror and begins to pull at his hair. As it comes off his head, we discover it was a wig. He turns away from the mirror, trying desperately to stay calm. Something catches his eye : a vase of roses on the end of the table. A card in them says, `` They did n't have the whatever you wanted - Sam''. Enraged, Riggan focuses on the vase. It begins to shift. Then, with a surge of anger, without ever touching it, he sends it crashing against the wall on the other side of the room. The camera pans over the roses scattered across the floor. It hovers over the carpet and around the perimeter of the room, until it finally settles on Riggan, now dressed in a casual blazer. It is later the same day. He is sitting on the sofa and on three chairs in front of him are three journalists : Gabriel, a geeky theatre journalist, wearing thick glasses and a thin tie. Clara, a reporter from an entertainment blog. And Han, a polite, obese Japanese journalist, who sits next to his translator, another Japanese guy. GABRIEL Why does somebody go from playing the lead in a comic book franchise to adapting Raymond Carver for the stage? Riggan tries to remain calm. GABRIEL -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- I mean, as you're probably aware, Barthes said, \u201c The cultural work done in the past by gods and epic sagas is now done by laundry detergent commercials and comic strip characters. \u201d It's a big leap you've taken... Riggan shifts nervously. RIGGAN Well... Absolutely. As you said... that Barthes said... Birdman, like Icarus... CLARA Hang on. Who's this Barthes guy? Which Birdman was he in? GABRIEL Roland Barthes was a French philosopher, who -- CLARA Oh. Okay. Sure. Now, is it true you \u2019 ve been injecting yourself with semen from baby pigs? RIGGAN What? CLARA As a method of facial rejuvenation. RIGGAN Who told you that? CLARA It was tweeted by... ( checks her notes ) @ prostatewhispers. RIGGAN It's a lie. CLARA I know. But did you do it? RIGGAN No! GABRIEL Are you afraid at all that people will say you're doing this play to battle the impression that you're a washed-up super hero? RIGGAN No. I \u2019 m not. And that \u2019 s exactly why 20 years ago I refused to do Birdman 4. HAN Birdman 4??? You do Birdman 4??? Jake opens the door and the camera pans to him. JAKE Okay. That's enough for today. Thank you for coming. We \u2019 re expecting some great pieces from you... Riggan stares at the Birdman poster. JAKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Publicity guys are trying to get you a Times feature. Riggan stands up and pulls the Birdman poster off of the wall. JAKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- So, How \u2019 d it -- Whoa. If I were you I wouldn \u2019 t do that. RIGGAN I don \u2019 t want to look at it anymore. JAKE That was a present from the crew. Don \u2019 t fuck with those guys, they \u2019 re union. RIGGAN I don \u2019 t care. Riggan leaves the poster on the floor, facing the wall, and walks to the window. He opens it. We can hear distant drums coming from the street. JAKE So... How'd it go? RIGGAN Great. JAKE -LRB- Worried. -RRB- Did they ask about Ralph? RIGGAN Nope. JAKE Good. He did it, you know? The motherfucker threatened to sue us. Didn \u2019 t even wait to get out of the hospital. RIGGAN And, what did you say? JAKE What \u2019 d I say? I said, `` You motherfucker. You \u2019 re threatening me? ME? I swear to god, you fuck, I so much as get a letter from a lawyer, the press \u2019 ll get the pictures we got off your computer. \u201d RIGGAN What pictures? JAKE The guy has a thing for nuns... in diapers. What do you care? You shouldn \u2019 t have any knowledge about it anyway. The important thing is that I made him go away. RIGGAN Right. That's great. JAKE Yeah, it \u2019 s fantastic. One problem. We do n't have an actor. And if we cancel the first preview the press will smell the blood. We ca n't afford to lose any more money. At all. RIGGAN What do you want me to do? JAKE We pay an understudy, let \u2019 s use the understudy. RIGGAN No. JAKE No? Riggan, listen to me. Our dream actor is not going to knock on that door and say : `` Hey fellas, when do we start?'' There is a knock at the door. Leslie peeks in. LESLIE Can I talk to you for a second? RIGGAN Yeah. What \u2019 s up? LESLIE Did you find another actor? RIGGAN No. LESLIE Okay. Well... Mike's available. RIGGAN He is? JAKE Mike who? RIGGAN I thought he was doing -- LESLIE He was. He quit. Or got fired. JAKE Mike who? RIGGAN Which one? Quit or fired? LESLIE With Mike it's usually both. JAKE Mike Fucking Who? LESLIE Shiner. JAKE Yes! RIGGAN Jake... JAKE Yes! How do you know Mike Shiner? LESLIE We share a vagina. RIGGAN You think he'd want to do it? LESLIE Yeah. JAKE How do you know? LESLIE Because he said he'd want to do it. JAKE Yes! RIGGAN Jake. Hang on a minute. JAKE -LRB- to Riggan -RRB- Ask me if he sells tickets. RIGGAN Does he sell tickets? JAKE A shitload of tickets. Now ask me if the critics like him? RIGGAN Do they like him? JAKE They want to spooge on him. RIGGAN -LRB- Indicating Lesley. -RRB- Hey. JAKE Leslie... LESLIE Right on his face. JAKE Everything for a reason, right? RIGGAN You think he'll be able to come tonight? LESLEY I can call him and find out. Riggan gives Jake a look. JAKE I'll call his agent. Jake charges out of the room. The camera follows him into...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the hallway and as Jake makes a left turn, Annie enters from the right. JAKE Annie, turn the work lights on and get me a fresh copy of the script. We \u2019 re gon na have a \u201c put in \u201d tonight. ANNIE Who? JAKE You \u2019 ll find out... Jake disappears down the hall and we follow Annie through the theater and onto...", "INT. STAGE - THEATER - EVENING ... the stage, where she turns some of the stage work lights on. We pan along the stage until we find Riggan, wearing the same clothes as before, scanning the empty auditorium. MIKE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Intimidating. Is n't it? Riggan sees Mike Shiner ( 39 ) coming down the aisle, slovenly dressed with mussed hair and intense eyes. MIKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Do you have any idea who walked these boards before you? -LRB- Beat. -RRB- Geraldine Page, Marlon Brando, Helen Hayes, Jason Robards... And now you. Riggan Thomson. Riggan, trying to hide the intimidation. RIGGAN Thanks for coming on such short notice, Mike. I appreciate it. MIKE Hey. This is what we do. -LRB- Indicates a script. -RRB- So, you wrote this adaptation? RIGGAN I did. MIKE And you're directing the adaptation and starring... RIGGAN I am. MIKE Ambitious. RIGGAN Thank you. A sly smile from Mike. He leaps onto the stage. MIKE Why do n't we do a bit of it? RIGGAN Hey, I was n't expecting you to -- MIKE First preview is tomorrow, right? RIGGAN Yeah, but you can go on with the script until you feel comfortable -- MIKE Let's just do some of it. Riggan tries to hide his excitement. He grabs the script from a nearby table and walks it over to Mike. RIGGAN Take a look at page twenty -- MIKE Yeah. I do n't need that. RIGGAN What? MIKE I do n't need the script. Just give me a cue. RIGGAN What are you talking about? MIKE Feed me a line. RIGGAN I don \u2019 t -- What? MIKE Feed. Me. A line. Riggan drops the script and begins the scene. RIGGAN \u201c I'm the wrong person to ask. I did n't know the man. I've only heard his name mentioned in passing. I would n't know. You'd have to know the particulars. But I think what you're saying is that love is absolute. \u201d Mike stares at Riggan, hyper-focused. MIKE -LRB- Ruminating. -RRB- Am I saying that love is absolute? ( He transforms. ) `` Yeah. The kind of love I'm talking about is. The kind of love I'm talking about you -- `` ( An intense pause. ) Well, you do n't try to kill people. Riggan is transfixed, and almost immediately intimidated. RIGGAN How do you know the lines? MIKE I have a thing, a whatever, a gift. ( A beat. ) Come on, I helped Lesley get off book. Hey, give me that cue again. RIGGAN `` I'm the wrong person to ask. I did n't know the man. I've only heard his name mentioned in passing. I would n't know. You'd have to know the particulars. But I think what you're saying is -- \u201d MIKE Okay, can I -- Do you mind if I -- RIGGAN No, go ahead. MIKE Follow me. He says, `` I'm the wrong person to ask.'' What's his intention? Is he fed up with the topic? Deflecting? Guilt about his wife maybe? Then four sentences all say the same thing... `` I did n't even know the man.'' MIKE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- `` I've only heard his name mentioned in passing.'' \u201c I would n't know. \u201d `` You'd have to know the particulars.'' First of all, particulars? What are you, my grandmother? But the point is, YOU DO N'T KNOW THE GUY, WE FUCKING GET IT. Make it one line. `` I did n't even know the guy.'' Right?... RIGGAN You pretty much know my lines too, huh? MIKE Can we -- Are we doing something here? Come on let's go. Cut it down, give it to me again. RIGGAN `` I'm the wrong person to ask --'' MIKE Oh, right, sorry, you see? `` I'm the wrong person to ask?'' That's another fuck you. `` Do n't put me on the spot. Do n't make me self conscious about my marriage when my wife is sitting right here...'' See? Give it to me. Give me a good fuck you. Come on... RIGGAN Okay, let me -- MIKE Come on. Give it to me right now. Fuck me. Right now. Right here. Let's do it. RIGGAN Okay, yeah... MIKE DO IT! RIGGAN -LRB- Jumps in without thinking. -RRB- `` Hey. I'm the wrong person to ask, okay? I did n't even know the guy. So what's your point?'' MIKE `` What's my point?'' RIGGAN `` What's your point? What are you saying? Spit it out. You're saying, what? That love is an absolute?'' MIKE -LRB- EXPLODING. -RRB- `` Yeah! Alright? The kind of love I'm talking about is absolute. The kind of love I'm talking about you -- -LRB- A painful memory. -RRB- Well, you do n't try to kill people. Riggan stands silently, his heart pounding. MIKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- So what do you think, boss? Do I have a job? Riggan calls over to the wings. RIGGAN What do you think? Mike turns to see Sam, who has been there for a bit. SAM Larry needs to see him for a fitting. MIKE I'm gon na take that as a yes. -LRB- Walking to Sam. -RRB- And you are...? RIGGAN That's my daughter, Sam. MIKE Right. Yeah. I can see it around the... -LRB- A beat -RRB- She does n't look anything like you. -LRB- To Sam. -RRB- And your job is...? RIGGAN She's my assistant. MIKE Your assistant... -LRB- To Sam. -RRB- And can you speak? SAM Yup. I can even'sit','stay' or'roll over' if you have any treats. RIGGAN Welcome aboard, Mike. MIKE -LRB- MOCK SALUTING. -RRB- Thank you, Captain. We follow Mike and Sam off as they...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... advance through the hallways. MIKE I'm Mike Shiner, by the way. SAM I know who you are. -LRB- Reluctantly honest. -RRB- I saw you in'Hothouse' at the Geffen. It was... great. MIKE That ass is great. She turns her head toward him with a disgusted expression. SAM Dude. Seriously? Moving by her, into a dressing room. MIKE This is the theatre, honey. Don \u2019 t be so self-conscious. She follows him into the room where we see...", "INT. COSTUME DEPARTMENT - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... Larry stressing out while he works on a costume. He turns to see Mike standing there. Sam stands against the wall, focused on her cell phone. LARRY Oh, thank the Lord and pass the biscuits! I finally have an actor to dress. Hello, Mr. Shiner. MIKE How're you doing, Larry? LARRY Better, now that you're here. Take off your clothes. Mike takes off his shirt and hands it to Sam. She does n't budge, and it hits the floor. He begins to unbutton his pants... MIKE You gon na stand there? SAM -LRB- Glancing at her cell. -RRB- This is the theatre, honey. Don \u2019 t be so self-conscious. Larry searches for a few costume pieces. LARRY Okay. I'm gon na have to start from scratch, with less than twenty-four hours... Let's see if these -- He turns to see a completely naked Mike. LARRY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Holy -- What is happening? Where are your underpants? MIKE At home, under the bed, I think. Sam glances at Mike for a second, then returns to her phone. Larry begins to help Mike into some pants which, given the situation, is very awkward. LARRY Okay. Everything is too small. SAM Yeah, you're not kidding. Lesley enters the room immediately coming face to face with a naked Mike. She does n't notice Sam who is partially hidden by a clothes rack. She just goes about trying a costume shirt. LESLEY Oh, that's nice... -LRB- To Larry. -RRB- Forgive him, Larry. Mike's like my five year old son. Neither one of them has clean underwear... LARRY Or pubic hair, I imagine. -LRB- Folding the pants. -RRB- Okay, well, I can take out the suit but we're going to need some new pants and shirts. -LRB- Looking back. -RRB- And underwear... Mike just stands there naked, staring at his penis in the mirror. LESLEY -LRB- To Larry. -RRB- This is too small. -LRB- To Mike. -RRB- What the hell are you doing? MIKE Waiting for Larry to finish. LARRY I'm finished. Larry disappears deeper into the costume room. MIKE Okay, well, then I'm just standing here with my balls out. LESLEY Get dressed. Riggan's daughter is hanging around, and I do n't need her to walk in here and -- MIKE Leslie... LESLEY No, Mike. You haven \u2019 t seen her. She \u2019 s always hanging around, just -- I don \u2019 t -- Watching everyone. It \u2019 s creepy. It \u2019 s -- MIKE Les... LESLEY I don \u2019 t know if the drugs fried her brain or what, but I do n't need her running to her father saying you showed her your junk. MIKE Okay, then we should probably get her out of here. Lesley's expression goes blank. LESLEY Oh, God. Really? MIKE Hey, Sammy... SAM It's Sam. LESLEY Fuck. Sam steps forward. LESLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- To Sam. -RRB- I did n't mean -- SAM -LRB- Totally relaxed. -RRB- It's cool. He's a handful, huh? They both look back at Mike. LESLEY Almost. Sam smiles at her and exits. Lesley wheels on Mike. LESLEY -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Jesus... How is it you always manage to find a new way to humiliate me? MIKE To be fair, you make it really easy. LESLEY What the hell was she doing here? MIKE She brought me. LESLEY And stayed??? MIKE I know, right? She's a little -- LESLEY Look at me, Mike. This is Broadway. I'm here. Finally. And I'm begging you, if you love me, please, do me a favor... do n't fuck it up. MIKE -LRB- Gently. -RRB- Come here. Lesley moves toward Mike. He cups her face in his hands tenderly. They are face to face. MIKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Play with my balls... She twists his nipples hard and walks out. MIKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- I wo n't fuck it up... Probably! Larry reappears holding some clothes. We follow him out...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... through the hallway. He walks by Jake and Riggan who are mid conversation. We stay with them. RIGGAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I don \u2019 t care, sign it. JAKE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Listen to me. RIGGAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- No you listen to me -- JAKE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I can \u2019 t afford to listen to you... LARRY I \u2019 m gon na need to go shopping again. JAKE Fucking sew something, you old fuck! RIGGAN I do n't care. Give him what he wants. JAKE His agent is asking for almost four times what we were paying -- RIGGAN Then go into the reserve. JAKE The reserve is gone. You spent it on the fog. And those fake trees... RIGGAN It \u2019 s a dream sequence, it -- JAKE And three union midgets that dance around like -- RIGGAN You \u2019 re not supposed to call them midgets -- JAKE The reserve is gone! RIGGAN Listen to me, you did n't see what I just saw. But you will, at the preview tomorrow. Look, get the contract done. I'll get the money. Riggan begins marching toward the stage. JAKE -LRB- Calling after him. -RRB- When??? Laura comes down some stairs and chases Riggan. LAURA -LRB- Incredulous. -RRB- Hey, is it true? Shiner? RIGGAN He's in. LAURA Holy shit! When can I meet him? RIGGAN He's in a fitting with Larry. Lesley comes down the hallway. LESLEY I \u2019 m going to Starbucks. You guys want anything? RIGGAN I \u2019 m fine. How \u2019 s Mike? LESLEY Did you talk to your daughter? RIGGAN No. LESLEY He \u2019 s great. LAURA -LRB- To Lesley. Matter-of- factly. ) Honey, your tits look like fucking anjou pears in that top! LESLEY -LRB- Uncomfortable. -RRB- Okay, well I'm gon na -- Thank you. She walks away. LAURA And that ass. Like two eggs in a hanky! Riggan walks, Laura follows him. LAURA Okay, I was going to tell you this over dinner, but everything -- I have some news too. RIGGAN Good or bad? Cause right now -- A technician walks by. LAURA -LRB- Whispering. -RRB- I missed my last two periods. -LRB- Beat. -RRB- I think it's happening this time. Riggan stops. Silent. A beat. LAURA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Is that good or bad? -LRB- He stares at her. -RRB- Riggan...? RIGGAN It's good. It's great. She smiles, her eyes filled with emotion. Riggan smiles back, and nods absently. LAURA Say something else... RIGGAN -LRB- JOKING. -RRB- You're pretty sure it's mine? LAURA -LRB- Unamused but plays along -RRB- Well, let's see. There's you. Jake. That masseuse wore a condom so... Yes, it's yours... idiot. She puts her head on Riggan's chest. We see his mind racing. Laura is moved, and confused. LAURA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Are you excited? RIGGAN Yeah. LAURA Me too. Laura moves slightly away from him and suddenly slaps him across the face. Riggan looks at her, confused. RIGGAN What --? LAURA You're not funny. She kisses him intensely on the lips and briefly places his hand on her belly, then moves it up to her breasts. After a moment, she backs away. LAURA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- First preview tomorrow. Here we go! Laura turns and walks away. Riggan continues down the corridor. He passes by a Security Guard\u00b7 in front of a small TV. The camera becomes Riggan \u2019 s POV and advances until...", "INT. BACKSTAGE - THEATER - EVENING ... we go through the stage door. We scan the backstage area to see the stagehands ready to do their jobs. We can feel the electricity of a first preview. On stage part of the kitchen set from before is visible. Annie stands at her podium, calling the cues for the show. ANNIE -LRB- Into her headset. -RRB- Cue 34 and 35. Go. She turns and looks directly into the camera. ANNIE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Places. RIGGAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Okay. Riggan walks on screen wearing his costume, carrying a bucket of ice and a bottle of gin. He goes to the opposite side of the stage and takes his place in the wings. He peeks out at the audience who seem to be watching with interest. Then we pan to the stage to find Mike, Lesley and Laura performing the scene we saw at the beginning, around the table. Mike looks comfortable, sipping at his drink. A half empty bottle of gin on the table. MIKE The maniac shot himself right in front of us. I rode with him in the ambulance to the hospital. LESLEY I \u2019 ll never get that image out of my head. Right before he did it, his eyes -- they were so sad... lonely. LAURA Did you have to treat him? MIKE I didn \u2019 t have to. But I did. -LRB- Pouring another drink. -RRB- He was in bad shape. His head swelled up to like twice the size of a normal head. I'd never seen anything like it. And I swear to God, I hope I never do again. Riggan stands near Annie. RIGGAN He \u2019 s good. ANNIE He \u2019 s incredible. I think he's drinking real gin. Riggan looks out at Mike, who is refilling his glass. RIGGAN What? A stagehand gives Riggan a bottle. Riggan watches and waits for his cue. MIKE Ask Nick what real love is. He \u2019 ll agree with me. You watch. LESLEY Why don \u2019 t we just head to the restaurant? LAURA Don \u2019 t get him started, Mel. You haven \u2019 t seen how he \u2019 s been lately. He \u2019 s been depressed. I \u2019 m worried about him. He \u2019 s been -- She gently pushes Riggan and we follow him on stage...", "INT. STAGE - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... where Mike goes to refill his glass with the last of the real gin. Riggan snatches the bottle out of his hands and gulps the rest, straight from the bottle. RIGGAN Been what? ( Beat. ) I'll tell you what real love is. This happened a few months ago. -LRB- Drops bottle on table -RRB- And it ought to make us ashamed when we talk like we know what we're talking about when we talk about love. LAURA Nick, for God's sake. Are you getting drunk? RIGGAN -LRB- Pointed at Mike. -RRB- I do n't have to be drunk to say what I think. MIKE Nobody \u2019 s drunk. We \u2019 re just having a few drinks. LESLEY You \u2019 ve had more than a few. RIGGAN What are you, counting? LAURA Do n't you talk to her like that. Don \u2019 t talk like a drunk if you \u2019 re not -- RIGGAN -LRB- Exploding. -RRB- Shut up. For once in your life. Will you do me a favor and shut up for a minute? -LRB- Beat. -RRB- Like I was saying... There's this old couple, had a car wreck out on the interstate. Some drunk kid plowed his dad's pick up into their camper. We begin to hear the underscoring of violins. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Fucking teenager. By the time I got to the hospital, the kid was dead. He was off in a corner laid out on a gurney. We took the old couple up to the O.R.. They were a mess. We worked like hell on them for most of the night... Over the speech, Mike reaches for the new bottle that Riggan placed on stage. He refills his glass. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- When we were done, we wrapped them in full body casts. The husband was depressed. Even when I told him his wife was gon na pull through, he was still depressed. So, I got up to his mouth hole and asked him, and he told me it was because he could n't see her through the eye holes. Can you imagine? I \u2019 m telling you, the man's heart was breaking because he could n't turn his goddamn head and see his goddamn wife. Riggan is doing a good job. Lesley and Laura are genuinely moved. Mike notices. He sips his drink. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I mean... It was killing him. Killing him that he -- MIKE I'm tired of this shit. They all look at Mike. In silence. MIKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- -LRB- to Riggan -RRB- What the fuck is this? Water? He hurls the glass against the wall. Some laughter from the audience. Riggan stares at him, confused. He presses on. RIGGAN It was killing the old bastard... MIKE Did you just give me water? RIGGAN Come on, Mike. MIKE Come on what? RIGGAN Take it easy. You're drunk. MIKE Of course I'm drunk! I'm supposed to be drunk! This is Carver, man! The guy lost a piece of liver every time he wrote a page! If I \u2019 m supposed to drink gin then bring me fuckin gin! I mean, you fucked the time period! You took all the good lines for yourself! At least let me -- The audience is now hysterical. Dozens of cell phones pointing at the stage. Mike walks toward the apron, facing the audience. MIKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Oh, okay. Seriously? You people are pathetic. Put the cell phones down and join the real world! Will somebody please just live in the real world?!! He crosses to the refrigerator. LAURA Where's he going? LESLEY -LRB- Firmly. -RRB- Mike, cut it out. Mike rummages through the fridge. MIKE Look at this. It \u2019 s all fake. -LRB- Tossing items out of the fridge. ) The milk is fake. The butter is fake. Riggan storms off the stage. MIKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- -LRB- To Riggan. -RRB- Your performance is fake. ( He finds some fried chicken. ) Hey! There's chicken. Real chicken. The only thing real up here is the chicken. So I'm gon na stick with the chicken. The audience laughs harder. MIKE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Hey, this is good bird, man! Riggan charges through the chaos backstage running into a panicked Annie. RIGGAN Get Mike out of here. ANNIE How do you want me to do that? Riggan keeps walking up to...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the hallway. Jake chases him. RIGGAN I want him gone. JAKE No. RIGGAN What? JAKE We ca n't do that. RIGGAN What are you -- Of course we can do that. It's our show. JAKE Riggan, listen to me -- Riggan comes to a halt and faces Jake. RIGGAN No. You listen to me. Get him the fuck out of my play. Did you see him out there? JAKE It was a preview! Nobody gives a shit about previews. Nothing matters until that old bat from the New York Times is sitting in that audience on opening night. RIGGAN We're getting rid of him. I \u2019 m not going to stand up on that stage and -- JAKE Shut up! Just shut up for once and listen to me. As soon as we announced he was taking over, the advance doubled. We ca n't afford to lose a preview. We ca n't afford to lose money. We ca n't afford to lose Mike. This is about being respected, validated, remember? That's what you told me. That's how you got me into this shit. Now, you're the director. Get him under control. -LRB- A beat. As a friend. -RRB- These are not the nineties anymore. Jake storms away. Riggan heads toward his dressing room. Out of nowhere, Mike barrels into him, pinning him against a wall. RIGGAN -LRB- Startled. -RRB- Holy Fuck! Mike presses up against Riggan, breathing down his neck. After a painful silence... MIKE -LRB- Like he's possessed. -RRB- You were good... RIGGAN Meet me in front of the theater in 10 minutes. Mike chuckles and slaps Riggan gently on the face before he disappears into his dressing room. Riggan begins walking again. We follow him into...", "INT. RIGGAN'S DRESSING ROOM - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... his dressing room. He goes into the bathroom and quickly washes his face. SYLVIA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What the hell was going on up there? We pan over to see his ex-wife Sylvia ( 43 ), standing in one corner, staring at Riggan. She is elegant and simply beautiful. RIGGAN I did n't know you were here tonight. SYLVIA That guy's an asshole, huh? Riggan dries his hands with a towel and comes out of the bathroom. RIGGAN What are you doing here? SYLVIA Sam and I are going to grab a bite after she's finished with -- RIGGAN No, I mean here. Now. SYLVIA Well. I know how much this means to you, so -- RIGGAN I appreciate that. A beat. SYLVIA So, how's it going? RIGGAN The play? SYLVIA No, you and Sam. RIGGAN It's good. ( A beat. ) It \u2019 s the same. SYLVIA Do you talk to her? RIGGAN We talk. We -- I do n't know, it's been crazy around here. SYLVIA You understand where her head is at right now. RIGGAN Of course. SYLVIA She's trying to stay away from everything and everyone that got her into rehab in the first place, but... RIGGAN... I know, Sylvia... SYLVIA... But that's all she had. So she's -- RIGGAN I really do get it. SYLVIA I know you're caught up in all this stuff, but -- RIGGAN Stuff... SYLVIA You know what I mean. -LRB- Beat. -RRB- Riggan... You do n't have to be a great father right now, you just have to be one. RIGGAN Yeah. Suddenly, Laura opens the door and sticks her head in. LAURA -LRB- Noticing Sylvia. -RRB- Oh, sorry. She closes the door. Awkward silence. SYLVIA So how is that going? Is she and Sam --? RIGGAN I don \u2019 t wan na talk about it. He goes to a small fridge, takes out a beer and closes it. SYLVIA You're drinking? RIGGAN I'm having a beer. SYLVIA Okay... He sits and sips in silence for a moment. Then he begins to take out the wig. RIGGAN So, what's going on with you? SYLVIA Me? Nothing. Everything's the same I guess. I'm going back to teaching. RIGGAN I \u2019 m thinking about refinancing the Malibu house. SYLVIA Wh -- I \u2019 m sorry? RIGGAN I \u2019 m thinking about -- SYLVIA No, I heard you. I just need a second to -- ( A beat. ) That's gon na be Sam's house. Why would you -- ( A beat. ) What? For this play? RIGGAN -LRB- Honest and vulnerable. -RRB- I need the money. SYLVIA Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds? RIGGAN What do you want me to say? My health lasted longer than the money... Go figure that out. Riggan seems pensive and lost. SYLVIA Riggan... -LRB- Beat. -RRB- What \u2019 s going on?... Look at me. Riggan gently looks up to Sylvia. RIGGAN I have a chance to do something right. And I have to take it. I have to. SYLVIA It \u2019 s funny. I was sitting here waiting for you, and all of a sudden I couldn \u2019 t remember why we broke up. Silence. Then, as if he hasn \u2019 t heard what she said. RIGGAN The last time I flew here from LA, George Clooney was sitting two seats in front of me. With those cuff links, and that... chin. We ended up flying through this really bad storm. The plane started to rattle and shake, and everyone on board was crying... and praying. And I just sat there -- Sat there thinking that when Sam opened that paper it was going to be Clooney's face on the front page. Not mine. ( A beat. ) Did you know that Farrah Fawcett died on the same day as Michael Jackson? She smiles sadly. She kisses him on the head and goes to the door. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Why did we break up? SYLVIA -LRB- Looks him in the eye. -RRB- You threw a kitchen knife at me... Riggan is smacked by that memory. His eyes on the floor. SYLVIA -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB-... and one hour later you were telling me how much you loved me. -LRB- Beat. -RRB- Just because I did n't like that ridiculous comedy you did with Goldie Hawn did n't mean I did not love you. But that's what you always do. You confuse love with admiration. She smiles sadly. He looks at her. As Sylvia opens the door, she turns back to Riggan... SYLVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It's your house, so do what you want with it. Just make sure you're there for our daughter. RIGGAN I will. SYLVIA You're not Farrah Fawcett, Riggan. She exits. Painful silence... until... BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We should have done that reality show they offered us. `` The Thomsons.'' That would \u2019 ve been good. Crazy, druggy, wise ass daughter. Milfy wife with the perky tits. People would have watched that. RIGGAN -LRB- To the poster. -RRB- Shut up. Riggan stands up and grabs his jacket. He opens the door and goes out to...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the hallway. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Where are we goin'? RIGGAN -LRB- Almost whispering. -RRB- Leave me alone. Riggan walks between crew members. Annie interrupts him. ANNIE The sun bed is here. RIGGAN What does that mean? ANNIE It means there's a sun bed out there being delivered to in here. RIGGAN Who ordered a sun bed? ANNIE Mike. He says it \u2019 s for his character. Carver \u2019 s red necks, \u201c people of the land \u201d. Part of his process and that shit. Riggan can not deal with this right now. He continues walking until he arrives at a metal door that takes him out to...", "EXT. AN ALLEY WAY - OUTSIDE THE THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... an alley way. Riggan walks toward the street. There is a man playing drums. Riggan finds Mike leaning against a parked car, dazed and looking up at the marquis... RIGGAN Let \u2019 s go. Walk. Riggan begins to walk, Mike follows. MIKE Where are we going? RIGGAN To get you some coffee. Have I done anything to disrespect you? MIKE Not yet. RIGGAN I have a lot riding on this play. MIKE Is that right? RIGGAN People know who I am, and -- MIKE Bullshit. RIGGAN Mike -- MIKE Bullshit. People don \u2019 t know you. They know the guy in the bird suit. They know the guy who tells those quaint, slightly vomitous stories on Letterman. RIGGAN Well, I \u2019 m sorry for being popular, but that -- MIKE -LRB- With irony. -RRB- Popular? POPULAR?... Oh God, popularity is just the slutty little cousin of prestige. RIGGAN Okay, I don \u2019 t even know what that -- MIKE My reputation is riding on this play. And that's... That is... RIGGAN A lot? MIKE A lot. Exactly. Fuck you. Yes. This does n't work out for you, you get to go home to your studio pals and jump right back into that cultural genocide you guys are perpetrating. \u201c There \u2019 s a douchbag born every minute \u201d. That was P.T. Barnum \u2019 s premise when he got rich inventing the circus. And you and your pals know nothing \u2019 s changed, and whatever toxic shit you make people are still gon na pay to see it. But, after you \u2019 re gone, I \u2019 ll still be here. I \u2019 ll still be making my living on the stage. Baring my soul. Wrestling with emotions, complex emotions. RIGGAN Right. Is that what tonight was about then? ( Mocking him. ) Wrestling with \u201c complex emotions \u201d? MIKE Tonight was about making it alive. About making it bleed. This is n't the Warner Brothers lot, Riggan. This is the city, and this is how we do things. Mike turns and opens the front door of The Rum House. RIGGAN Where are you going? MIKE They have coffee in here. He walks into the restaurant. Riggan backtracks and we follow him into...", "INT. RUM HOUSE - CONTINUOUS ... The Rum House. Mike stands at the bar, the bartender already pouring two whiskeys. MIKE -LRB- To bartender. -RRB- Thanks, Tommy. Tommy nods and walks away. RIGGAN -LRB- Getting back on point. -RRB- People were laughing in our faces. MIKE -LRB- Handing Riggan a drink. -RRB- Tonight they were laughing, tomorrow they'll be... be.. tweeting about us. Fuck \u2018 em. Who cares??? These are the people who pay half price to watch us rehearse. Stop fucking caring! RIGGAN We \u2019 re doing Raymond Carver. This play is a drama. This play is -- MIKE You don \u2019 t know what this play is. These are previews. This is where we find out what the play is. Mike points to an Older Woman sitting at the bar. She sips a martini and scribbles in a notebook with a sour expression. MIKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- You see that woman over there? The one that looks like she just licked a homeless guy \u2019 s ass? Nothing matters until she writes five hundred words about us in the New York Times. RIGGAN That's... MIKE Tabitha Dickinson. Yes. And, believe it or not, the only thing that matters in theater is whether she likes us or not. She does, we run. She does n't, we're fucked. RIGGAN -LRB- Preoccupied. -RRB- She does look like she licked a homeless guy \u2019 s ass. MIKE Do me a favor, do n't get your panties in a twist over a preview, alright? And do n't tell me how to do my job. Cause, this is my town. And, to be honest, nobody gives a shit about you around here. LADY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You're Riggan Thompson, right? Two fat tourists in `` Mamma Mia'' t-shirts, with a seven year old kid, approach the table. HUSBAND -LRB- Timidly. -RRB- We're sorry to interrupt... LADY Would you mind terribly if we got a picture? RIGGAN Of course. It's no trouble at all. The Lady shoves her camera into Mike's hands. LADY -LRB- To Mike. -RRB- Would you mind? Mike gets up with a blank expression and takes the camera. The Lady pushes the kid into the booth next to Riggan. LADY -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- -LRB- Ordering Mike. -RRB- The button right on top there. KID Who is this guy? LADY -LRB- To his son. -RRB- Come on, Billy. He used to be like Batman. She yanks the kid closer and they squeeze up against Riggan. Mike takes the photo and holds the camera to the lady. LADY -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- -LRB- To Mike -RRB- I think you screwed that one up. Take another one. LADY ( CONT \u2019 D ) -LRB- To Riggan. -RRB- God bless you, darlin \u2019. You're very sweet. And handsome! Mike takes another picture. She kisses Riggan hard on the mouth. Then gets up, giddy, and takes her son by the hand. As the couple leaves, husband shoves a five dollar bill into Mike \u2019 s hands. HUSBAND We really appreciate it. An agitated Mike takes a sip of whiskey. MIKE Are we good here? Cause I \u2019 m gon na go. RIGGAN See you tomorrow. Mike places the dollar under one of the shot glasses and begins to walk away, but then stops and turns curiously. MIKE Why Raymond Carver? You never told me. Riggan looks at Mike for a second, than reaches for his wallet and produces an old cocktail napkin with some writing on it. He slides it to Mike. RIGGAN A long time ago, I did a play back in high school in Michigan. He was in the audience. He sent this backstage after. MIKE `` Thank you for an honest performance. Ray Carver.'' What is this? Riggan looks vulnerable. He is trying to make Mike understand the importance of the napkin, to build a bridge between them. RIGGAN And that's when I knew I was going to be an actor. Mike ca n't stop himself from smiling. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Why is that funny? MIKE He wrote it on a cocktail napkin. RIGGAN So... Mike slides the napkin back to Riggan. MIKE He was drunk. A17 A17 He walks away and we follow him as he passes by the bar next to Tabitha Dickinson, the Critic. TABITHA You headed to Hollywood, Mike? Mike stops. MIKE Hollywood's headed here, Tabby. TABITHA -LRB- A devilish smile. -RRB- Good luck with that. Mike looks directly into her eyes. MIKE `` A man becomes a critic when he can not be an artist, in the same way that a man becomes an informer when he can not be a soldier.'' Flaubert, right? He flashes his own devilish smile. She stares back. If she were n't so much older than him, you'd swear there was sexual electricity between them. TABITHA He's a Hollywood clown in a Lycra bird suit. MIKE Yeah. And at 8 o'clock tomorrow, he's gon na get on stage and risk everything. What're you gon na be doing? A standoff. TABITHA Do n't you ever worry that I'll give you a bad review? MIKE Oh, I'm sure you will. If I ever give a bad performance. -LRB- Beat. -RRB- Ms. Dickinson. TABITHA Mr. Shiner. Mike smiles and waves over to an obviously nervous Riggan. He goes toward the exit, but we stay with Tabitha, scribbling on her notebook. Suddenly she raises her eyes and, with a dark expression, looks at Riggan who is passing by. We follow Riggan toward the exit. Through the window we see him leave the restaurant. Then we pan to a wooden wall, and this wall takes us to...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - LATER ... the theater hallway. Riggan walks through the quiet corridor, until he arrives at...", "INT. GREEN ROOM - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the Green Room. Sam sits listlessly, drawing some lines across a roll of toilet paper. RIGGAN What're you still doing here? SAM -LRB- Continues scribbling. -RRB- Nothing. I \u2019 m -- Nothing. Your costumes are hanging in your room. RIGGAN Great... SAM I got the coconut water you wanted. If you want me to get -- RIGGAN Hey. SAM What? RIGGAN I'm not sure if I said thank you. SAM For what? RIGGAN All of it. You've been doing a good job. And I've been... SAM Yeah. RIGGAN So, I just wanted to say that -- -LRB- He stops abruptly. -RRB- What is that? SAM What...? RIGGAN That smell. SAM I do n't -- RIGGAN Look at me. SAM What are you -- RIGGAN Look at me. She does. He examines her eyes, then immediately rises, scouring the room. SAM Dad... RIGGAN -LRB- Continuing to search. -RRB- You have to be shitting me... Where is it? SAM Could we not do this? Riggan pulls a jar of peanut butter from the trash. RIGGAN What is this? SAM That is chunky peanut butter that happens, by the way, to have Omega -- Riggan pulls a stubbed joint out of the jar. RIGGAN This. SAM Oh. That's pot. RIGGAN Sam. SAM Alright, just relax. RIGGAN Relax? What the hell are you doing? SAM Protecting myself from cataracts? RIGGAN You ca n't do this to me! SAM To you? RIGGAN SHUT UP! You know what I'm talking about. SAM Yeah. You're talking about you. What else is new? RIGGAN Do n't try to -- SAM What? Make it about me? I would n't dream of it. RIGGAN Listen to me. I'm trying to do something that's important... SAM This is not important. RIGGAN It's important to me! Alright? Maybe not to you, or your cynical playmates whose sole ambition is to end up going viral and who, by the way, will only be remembered as the generation that finally stopped talking to one another. But to me... To me... This is -- God. This is my career, this is my chance to do some work that actually means something. SAM Means something to who? You had a career before the third comic book movie, before people began to forget who was inside the bird costume. You're doing a play based on a book that was written 60 years ago, for a thousand rich, old white people whose only real concern is gon na be where they go to have their cake and coffee when it's over. Nobody gives a shit but you. And let's face it, Dad, it's not for the sake of art. It's because you just want to feel relevant again. Well, there's a whole world out there where people fight to be relevant every day. And you act like it does n't even exist! Things are happening in a place that you willfully ignore, a place that has already forgotten you. I mean who are you? You hate bloggers. You make fun of twitter. You do n't even have a Facebook page. You're the one who does n't exist. You're doing this because you're scared to death, like the rest of us, that you do n't matter. And you know what? You're right. You do n't. It's not important. You're not important. Get used to it. Silence. Riggan seems devastated, and Sam can see that. SAM -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Dad... She looks at him sympathetically, but not knowing what to say... exits. After a moment Riggan gets up and heads for the trash can. He digs out the roach, grabs some matches and lights it. Music begins to sound. He inhales deeply and holds the smoke for a few seconds and finally exhales. He coughs, tosses away the joint and heads out of the kitchen. We follow him...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATRE - CONTINUOUS ... as he slowly walks until he disappears into the darkness of the corridor. We keep moving forward until we end up...", "INT. BACKSTAGE - THEATRE - EVENING ... backstage. We are in the middle of the second preview. The music continues, it belongs to the play. Laura is by herself on stage performing the end of a scene. She stands in the middle of a surrealistic forest set, at dusk. There is fog, and trees. A strong, artificial wind blows through Laura \u2019 s hair. Desolate music. LAURA -LRB- To the audience as soliloquy. -RRB- In the days before Nick \u2019 s depression really started to eat away at him, he had no idea I was pregnant. And I never intended on telling him. I guess we make choices in life, and we choose to live with them. Or not. I didn \u2019 t want that baby... Three dancers on stage pass by in front of Laura. We follow the dancers backstage where we find Mike and Lesley wearing pajamas. LAURA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB-... Not because I didn \u2019 t love Nick. And not because I didn \u2019 t love the -- The idea of it. But because I just wasn \u2019 t ready to love myself. There \u2019 s a certain distance to it all now. A wistful distance. Underscored by a gentle breeze and the sound of the birds... laughing at the whimsy of it all. A stage hand helps Mike and Lesley into a double bed. The camera slips under the covers with them and stays there. MIKE -LRB- Whispering. -RRB- Hey, Les... LESLEY -LRB- Whispering. -RRB- What? MIKE I'm hard. LESLEY No, you're not. It's just that sometimes you do n't consider other people's feelings. MIKE No. I'm hard. Feel. LESLEY Oh, you got ta be kidding. The stage begins to revolve as we hear...", "INT. STAGE - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... music through the transition. It remains dark. MIKE Let's really do this. Let's fuck. LESLEY Are you crazy? No. Mike rolls on top of Lesley. LESLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Cut it out... Mike continues to maneuver himself. LESLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'm serious, Mike. Stop! MIKE I'm Mel. Not Mike. Mel. A knock on a door. RIGGAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Terri! Terri! A furious Lesley tries to reposition herself under Mike. RIGGAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Terri! I know you're in there! The knocking gets louder. RIGGAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Terri??? Mike, lost in his libido, has begun to have sex with Lesley. The camera comes out from under the covers and pans to Riggan who stumbles into what is now the Motel Room set. He wears a mustache and a long wig, that makes him look like a wild man. He holds a gun in his right hand. A neon `` Motel'' sign is illuminated. A clever effect of falling rain is visible behind the set, accompanied by the appropriate sound effect. Riggan is wet because of the `` rain''. Lesley uses Riggan's entrance to escape from Mike. LESLEY Ed! Mike hops out of bed, unaware of the very noticeable erection protruding underneath his pajama bottoms. Some laughter from the audience. LESLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What are you doing here? Lesley does n't understand the audience response, until she notices the erection herself. RIGGAN -LRB- To Lesley. -RRB- Why? I need you to tell me why. I lived for you. I worshipped you... MIKE Listen Ed, I know this is hard but -- More laughter. Riggan is disturbed, but he continues... RIGGAN -LRB- to Mike -RRB- Fuck you. Shut up. Fuck you. He shoves Mike violently to the floor. LESLEY Eddie! Please! Riggan points the gun at Mike's head. RIGGAN What's wrong with me? Why do I end up having to beg people to love me? LESLEY Ed. Eddie. Please... Give me the gun. She begins to cry. Her performance is beautiful. LESLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Just look at me. I was drowning. I was not capable of -- You deserve to be loved. You do. RIGGAN I just wanted to be what you wanted. -LRB- Beat. -RRB- Now I spend every fucking minute praying to be someone else. Someone I'm not. Anyone... MIKE Put down the gun, Ed. She just does n't love you anymore. The audience is silent. RIGGAN -LRB- A sad smile. -RRB- You do n't, do you? LESLEY -LRB- With sympathy. -RRB- No... RIGGAN And you never will... LESLEY I'm sorry. RIGGAN -LRB- A revelation. -RRB- I do n't exist. I'm not even here. I do n't exist. None of this matters. Riggan points the gun at Lesley. Then at Mike. Finally, he puts the gun to his own head and pulls the trigger. PUM! And with the explosion, a fake blood mechanism splatters brains onto the stage. Riggan drops to the floor. A blackout. The audience applauds politely. The curtain falls. We follow Riggan off stage and into...", "INT. BACKSTAGE - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the wings, where Annie immediately helps him remove the bloody and wet wig with the propeller mechanism. Laura waits next to them for their bows. Meanwhile, a stage hand crosses behind them, and we follow him as he goes on stage to...", "INT. STAGE - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... reposition some scenery for the curtain call. The camera carries us to the other side of the stage, where Mike and Lesley are in a heated exchange... MIKE Just, keep your voice down... LESLEY -LRB- Furious. -RRB- You have to be shitting me. You ca n't get it up in six months... -LRB- She starts hitting him. -RRB-... and now you try to fuck me in front of eight hundred strangers??? MIKE What do you want from me? I have to feel it. You know that. I told you that from the -- LESLEY Oh, fuck you... Music begins and the curtain rises. The audience applauds as Lesley and Mike stride onto the stage and take their bows, smiles plastered on their faces. MIKE... I was in the moment... LESLEY I told you to stop. You fucking animal. MIKE But... You were incredible. LESLEY What is wrong with you? Lesley starts back for the wings, and Mike follows her. In the background we see Riggan and Laura enter from the other side to take their bows. MIKE Listen I \u2019 m sorry, alright, I -- LESLEY I want your shit out of the apartment. They go back on stage and join Riggan and Laura for the company bow. MIKE Can we -- LESLEY No we ca n't. Maybe up here you \u2019 re Mr. Truth, Mike. But in the real world, where it counts, you're a fraud. How's that for truth? You... dick. Lesley storms off, leaving Mike and a confused Riggan on stage. Laura chases her off and straight into...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the hallway. LAURA What's going on? LESLEY He's an asshole. LAURA What did he do now? LESLEY Oh, nothing. He just tried to fuck me in front of a full house. LAURA Oh, my God... LESLEY Right? LAURA That \u2019 s kind of hot. She follows Lesley into...", "INT. LESLEY AND LAURA'S DRESSING ROOM - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the dressing room and closes the door. Lesley proceeds to smash everything on her dressing table. Then she looks in the mirror holding a hairbrush. LESLEY Why do n't I have any self-respect? LAURA You're an actress, honey. Lesley begins to cry. Laura hugs her. LESLEY I \u2019 m pathetic. You know, I \u2019 ve dreamt of being a Broadway actress since I was a little kid. And now I \u2019 m here. And I \u2019 m not a Broadway actress. I \u2019 m still just a little kid. And I keep waiting for someone to tell me I made it. LAURA -LRB- Hiding how moved she is. -RRB- Hey. You made it. LESLEY I did? LAURA Sadly, it was with Mike Shiner, on a fake motel bed, in front of -- LESLEY -LRB- A little laugh. -RRB- Shut. Up. Riggan steps into the doorway and sees Laura hugging Lesley. RIGGAN Is she okay? LAURA She's gon na be fine. Riggan enters gingerly and walks up to Lesley. RIGGAN None of this is your fault. -LRB- Into her eyes. -RRB- You're beautiful. And talented. And I'm lucky to have you. Okay? LESLEY Okay. RIGGAN Okay. Riggan leaves the room. Laura leans on the makeup table. LESLEY That was very sweet. LAURA Yeah. Laura is suddenly teary. LESLEY What's wrong? A beat. LAURA -LRB- Smiling. -RRB- Nothing. Two years, he's never said anything like that to me. LESLEY -LRB- Into her eyes. -RRB- Hey. You're smart. And beautiful. And talented. And I'm lucky to have you. Okay? LAURA We \u2019 re gross. LESLEY We are. Laura smiles and caresses Lesley \u2019 s hand. They look at each other. Then Laura leans forward, close to Lesley \u2019 s face... LESLEY -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- -LRB- Nervous. -RRB- What are you doing? LAURA Nothing. Laura kisses Lesley tenderly on the lips. Lesley seems confused. A few seconds of silence. Then... LESLEY Do it again. Laura kisses her again. A knock at the door. They separate. Mike opens the door holding the prop gun. MIKE -LRB- To Lesley. -RRB- Can we talk about this like two -- Lesley hurls the hair brush at his head. LESLEY FUCK YOU!!! MIKE Okay, well, you're not ready. Mike points the prop gun at her, pretends to fire and... MIKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- That was hot. He exits the room. We follow him...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... down the hallway up to Riggan's dressing room. Riggan sits at his table, picking the brains out of his hair. MIKE -LRB- Holding the gun. -RRB- Your gun is ridiculous. It looks like a plastic toy. And it still has the red plug in the barrel. -LRB- Shows the plug. -RRB- You look like a seven year old when you \u2019 re holding it. I'm not threatened by it at all. He tosses the gun onto Riggan's table. MIKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Have some self respect and get a new one. -LRB- Takes a step then turns. -RRB- That was a fun crowd, huh? We follow Mike to...", "INT. STAIRS - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the stairs. He climbs them as he lights a cigarette. He goes through a metal door that takes him out onto...", "EXT. ROOFTOP - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... a rooftop. The Marquis' of the other theaters glowing with the street lamps, a classic Broadway view. Mike is surprised to find Sam sitting on the cornice of the building, a good fifty feet above 45th street. He goes next to her, looking down at the street. MIKE I do n't think it's high enough. Sam turns to him, uncomfortable by his presence. SAM Me neither. MIKE So, what are you doing up here? SAM -LRB- Hesitant. -RRB- Adrenaline. Just came out of rehab. Closest I get to a drug. MIKE You were in rehab? SAM -LRB- Distant. -RRB- Yeah. MIKE Cool. SAM It was n't all Dr. Drew or anything, but that dude from American Pie was there. A VOICE -LRB- From the street below. -RRB- Juuump! SAM -LRB- Calling down. -RRB- Eat me! A VOICE Okay. Jump on my face! SAM -LRB- To Mike. -RRB- I love this city. MIKE Yeah. SAM -LRB- Casually. -RRB- Why do you act like a dick all the time? Do you just do it to antagonize people? MIKE Maybe... Sam turns and faces Mike. SAM You really do n't give a shit if people like you or not... MIKE Not really. SAM -LRB- More comfortable. -RRB- God, that's cool. MIKE Is it...? Mike leans on the railing, looking down at the street. For a moment, he is somewhere else... SAM Hey. -LRB- Mike does n't respond. She pushes him. -RRB- Hey... MIKE What? SAM Let's play a game. MIKE A game? SAM Yeah. MIKE What are you, eight? SAM What are you, seventy-eight? Truth or dare...? MIKE You got ta be -- SAM Truth or dare? He looks at her, intrigued. MIKE Truth. SAM The first time we met, you made a comment about my ass. Why'd you do it? MIKE Because you have a great ass, and I noticed it. So, I said it. -LRB- A beat. -RRB- Truth or dare? SAM Dare. MIKE Really... SAM Uh-huh. A moment of tension. MIKE -LRB- Looking at the street. -RRB- There \u2019 s a bald guy about to walk by down there. Spit on his head. SAM No! MIKE You said dare. SAM Truth. MIKE Too late. She stares into Mike's eyes, knowing she's being tested. She leans over the railing and spits down toward the street. SAM Happy? MAN -LRB- O.C. -RRB- -LRB- From the street -RRB- Fuck you! Sam laughs. Mike smiles at her carefree laugh. It could be the first time we've seen a genuine smile from him. SAM Truth or dare? MIKE Truth. SAM You're boring. MIKE Truth. She stares him down. SAM -LRB- Nervous, pretending. -RRB- Do you want to fool around with me? A pause. MIKE No. SAM -LRB- Taken aback. -RRB- Really? Why not? MIKE That's a second question. SAM It's a second part. A pause. MIKE I'd be afraid I could n't get it up. Impressed with his honesty. SAM That did n't seem to be a problem for you on stage. MIKE Nothing \u2019 s a problem for me on stage. SAM I wan na ask another question... MIKE You just asked -- SAM One more. MIKE Go'head. SAM If you were n't afraid. What would you want to do to me? He carefully considers it, then moves his face close to hers. MIKE I would want to pull the eyes out of your head... SAM... That's sweet... MIKE... And stick them in my skull, and then look out at this street and see it the way I saw it when I was your age. Mike turns and stares out at the street once more. Sam stares at the mystery that is Mike. SAM G'night, Mike. She walks away and into the building, never looking back. A29 A29 Mike stares out into the night. We move to his POV. The street. Night turns to day. Pedestrians begin to walk below. B29 B29 We crawl down the wall until we arrive at Riggan's dressing room window. We push in to find...", "INT. RIGGAN'S DRESSING ROOM - THEATER - DAY ... Riggan siting with his feet on the window frame, staring at a manila envelope in his hands that reads... `` R, MALIBU REFINANCE DOCS. SIGN AND SEND ASAP. J.'' Riggan sighs and props the letter up against the mirror. With a soft knock, Laura enters. She stands in the doorway with an odd expression on her face. RIGGAN What now? Laura lays the Arts section of the New York Times down in front of Riggan. LAURA Do n't kill the messenger. Riggan picks up the paper. His expression immediately changes. Laura watches him sympathetically. LAURA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- He's an asshole. Now we see the cover of the Arts section. There is a picture of Mike lounging on a black sofa, his bare feet on a table as he sips a glass of wine. The Title of the article reads... `` CARVING OUT HIS PLACE IN THEATER HISTORY. Shiner says Raymond Carver is the reason he became an actor.'' Riggan involuntarily squeezes the paper as he reads on, filling with rage. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He \u2019 s fooling you. RIGGAN Shut up. LAURA -LRB- Confused. -RRB- I did n't say anything. RIGGAN Fuck. This is it? -LRB- He passes a few pages. -RRB- This ca n't be it. LAURA Page twelve. Riggan searches desperately for page twelve. When he gets there, he finds a huge ad of the new Toyota Camry that almost fills the entire page, and down in the left corner a tiny press release with the title : `` From Birdman to Carver : An aging Action Hero Grasps for His Youth.'' RIGGAN -LRB- Reading. -RRB- `` Riggan Thompson, better known as the face of the Birdman films, tries not to lay an egg on Broadway...'' -LRB- Flipping pages. -RRB- Where's the rest of it? LAURA There is no rest of it. RIGGAN They didn \u2019 t use the photo I sent them. LAURA What photo? RIGGAN The one you liked. The one you said I look like a young Jack Nicholson. LAURA -LRB- She lights a candle. -RRB- Do n't worry about it. Someone'll be using that to pick up dog shit tomorrow. RIGGAN How can you be so calm about this? LAURA What are my other choices? RIGGAN Are n't you scared at all? LAURA About what? RIGGAN About being humiliated out there. LAURA It wo n't be the first time I've been humiliated. RIGGAN I bet it wo n't. Laura looks at him with fire in her eyes. LAURA You're an asshole. She charges to the door and is about to leave when she turns back to Riggan... LAURA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- By the way... I'm not pregnant. So there's one thing you don \u2019 t have to worry about. She leaves, slamming the door behind her. Riggan remains still. Mike seems to be smirking at him right through the cover of the Arts section... BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That pretentious, little, theater fuck is stealing your thunder. Riggan charges out of the room and into...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the hallway. He walks to Mike's dressing room, finds the door half opened and enters...", "INT. MIKE'S DRESSING ROOM - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... discovering Mike lying in a sun bed. His arm is sticking out of it, holding on to a copy of Borges's'Labyrinths'. Riggan yanks the sun bed open. Mike is asleep, wearing tiny sun goggles. Riggan slams the lid down on him. MIKE What the fuck is going on! RIGGAN Get up! MIKE Back away. RIGGAN Get up. Riggan slaps Mike on the arm. MIKE Ow, fuck that hurts! RIGGAN So, Carver is the reason you became an actor? MIKE What? RIGGAN This is my play! I did the work. I raised the money. I arrange the press. MIKE They called me for an interview. I said -- I do n't know, I said the first thing that came to mind. Jesus, we got the cover of the Arts section! RIGGAN You said the first -- Fuck the Arts section. The first thing that came to mind? Right. Cause that's you. Mr. Natural. Mr. Fuck the scene, just stare at my massive hard-on. Because that's the truth of the moment. MIKE You think it looked massive? RIGGAN Shut up. Shut the fuck up. You do n't get hard on my stage unless I tell you to. MIKE Your stage? This stage belonged to a lot of great actor's, pal. But you are not one of them. Mike storms out of the room. Riggan follows him into...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the hallway. He slaps Mike on his sun burned back. RIGGAN So, you wrote your own lines? He slaps him again. MIKE Ow. Fuck. Yes I did. RIGGAN You changed a few words, and mumbled a little, you self absorbed prick. MIKE Look who's talking... RIGGAN Let me tell you something, you spiteful nobody piece of shit. MIKE Nobody? My hard-on has already fifty thousand views on youtube. RIGGAN Fifty thousand views? A cat playing with a dildo has more than that. MIKE I do n't care. RIGGAN Yes you do. -LRB- Beat. -RRB- Everybody says : `` Mike is so honest''. ( Smacks him. ) `` So truthful''. ( Smacks him again. ) MIKE -LRB- Like a child. -RRB- Ouch. Fuuuuuck. Cut the shit! Riggan corners Mike against the wall. RIGGAN You said in the interview that your father was a drunk, like Carver. Is that true Mike? Is it really true? Riggan stares intensely into Mike's eyes. Mike looks away. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Because my father was. My father was a mean fucking drunk. Beat the shit out of us. But we were okay with the beatings. You know why? Because at least when he was beating us, he was n't thinking about taking us out to his tool shed... Mike's expression changes. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- That sonofabitch would smile and say, `` Do you want to kneel down and unbuckle my belt? Or do you want me to take it off and use it?'' I learned how to make myself numb. But my sister -- ( Holding back tears. ) My little sister... Riggan ca n't go on. Mike is horrified. MIKE Jesus, Riggan. I'm really sorry. I did n't -- That's fucking horrible... RIGGAN -LRB- Crazy smile. -RRB- Yeah. It's also not true. See? ( Cracking up. ) I can pretend too, you little dick! Riggan shoves Mike violently. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Do n't fuck with me, Mike. MIKE You're crazy... RIGGAN You have no idea what I'm capable of. You understand me? Riggan pulls the paper out of his back pocket. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Working with Riggan Thomson is like waltzing with a monkey? He smacks Mike in the head with the paper and begins to jump in front of him, ready to fight. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Let \u2019 s go. Put your hands up. MIKE -LRB- Tauntingly. -RRB- Do n't you want to go put on your tights and your -- Riggan punches him on the face. Mike needs a few seconds to understand what has just happened. Then they begin to wrestle in the hallway. Mike breaks free from the headlock. MIKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- What are you gon na do? You gon na get rid of me? Huh? What do you think my friend Tabitha is going to write in the Times after you get rid of me? Riggan stares at Mike, paralyzed by the truth. Finally, he turns and marches to his dressing room, and we follow him...", "INT. RIGGAN'S DRESSING ROOM - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... Riggan slams the door shut and paces in a rage. He glares at a make-up box on the table and, points his finger at it, and sends it flying across the room. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You are lame, Riggan. Rolling around with that third rate actor in an 800 seat shithole like this. RIGGAN -LRB- Whispering. -RRB- Breathing in, I feel my rage. Breathing out, I embrace my mental formations. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You're going to let that poncey theater fuck threaten you? Riggan continues breathing deeply with his eyes tightly closed. He smiles a tiny artificial smile. RIGGAN -LRB- Whispering. -RRB- Breathing in, I am calm. Breathing out, I ignore my mental formations. This is a mental formation. This is a mental form -- BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Stop that shit. I am not a mental formation. I am `` you'', asshole. Riggan looks down at the poster on the floor. RIGGAN -LRB- Whispering. -RRB- Leave me alone. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You were a movie star, remember? Pretentious, but happy... Riggan opens his eyes, slowly. A sad expression on his face. RIGGAN I was not happy. BIRDMAN... Ignorant but charming. Now you are a tiny bitter cocksucker. RIGGAN Shut up! Stop whining! I was miserable! BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yeah. But fake miserable. Hollywood miserable. Riggan points his fingers at a lamp and sends it flying. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- What are you trying to prove? Huh? That you \u2019 re an artist? You \u2019 re not. RIGGAN Fuck you! Riggan points his fingers at a chair and sends it flying. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Fuck you, coward! And fuck those critics that made you quit. Our franchise grossed billions worldwi -- RIGGAN And billions of flies eat shit everyday! So what? Does that make it good? ( Beat. ) And I don \u2019 t know if you \u2019 ve noticed, but that was 1992! Look at me! ( He takes off his shirt. ) This is what's left! ( Grabbing his neck. ) This! ( Grabbing his chest. ) This! ( Totally exploding. ) I'm fucking disappearing! I'm the answer to a fucking trivial pursuit question. Riggan sits down, exhausted. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What part of that do n't you get? You're fucking dead. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We are not dead. We \u2019 re -- RIGGAN Stop saying'we'! There is no'we'. I am not you. I'm Riggan fucking Thomson. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- No. You're Birdman. Because without me, all that's left is `` you''. A sad, selfish, mediocre actor, grasping -- Riggan points his finger and sends the poster flying, spearing it on a coat rack, piercing Birdman right through the heart. Finally, silence. Until... BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- What the hell did you do that for? I liked that poster. A confused Riggan looks over to the wall, where the lamp on the floor is creating a shadow of his figure. Only in the shadow, it appears as if Riggan is wearing the Birdman costume. Stunned, Riggan slowly lifts one arm and in the shadow we see a wing. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's always'we' brother. The television turns on by itself, playing an episode of the original Birdman cartoon. Riggan points his fingers at the tv and sends it hurling at the shadow. Then he proceeds to destroy everything in his room with his telekinetic powers. We slowly pan to see that, behind Riggan, Jake stands on the other side of the half-opened door. We push in on Jake, watching in shock. The camera turns and becomes Jake's POV...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... and now, from his view, we see Riggan yelling at the shadow. RIGGAN Fuck you! Fuck you! He picks up a chair and throws it down. He then picks up the newspaper from the floor and tossing it all around. And now we understand that he is not using telepathy. He has been using only his hands. Completely mad. As Riggan turns to pick up something else, he spots Jake on the other side of the door. He immediately calms himself and walks over. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What's up? JAKE Um... Well. Two hours to curtain. Why don \u2019 t you rest a little bit? RIGGAN Yeah. Sure. JAKE Last preview, buddy. We \u2019 re almost there. RIGGAN Okay. JAKE How ya doin? RIGGAN Good. Great. JAKE Good. That's good. -LRB- A beat. -RRB- The, uh, money came through. I just have to transfer it to the account. RIGGAN Oh, that's terrific... JAKE Okay. Well, I'm gon na do that. -LRB- He stares at Riggan who seems about to collapse. ) You know I \u2019 m proud of you, right? This took balls. And you did it. Riggan nods. An exhausted sadness in his eyes. RIGGAN I can \u2019 t do this anymore, Jake. JAKE What? RIGGAN I think I \u2019 m gon na cancel the preview. I \u2019 m exhausted. JAKE It \u2019 s a joke, right? ( He forces a laugh. ) Good one, Riggan. RIGGAN I \u2019 m starting to believe that this is not for me. The applause is... lukewarm. I think they \u2019 re laughing at me. JAKE What are you --? Listen. There \u2019 s a three block line of people waiting to see you. We are sold out. It \u2019 s a full house. RIGGAN Really? JAKE Yes. And the French embassador is coming. And the prince of Saudi Arabia, with one of his wives. And... I wasn \u2019 t going to tell you this, but -- Martin Scorsese. He \u2019 s casting for his new film. But don \u2019 t tell anyone, okay? This is between you and me. RIGGAN Okay. I \u2019 ll be ready. Riggan smiles. He has forgotten about his existential doubts. A worried Jake closes the door. He walks a few steps and finds Laura and Lesley. They \u2019 ve been listening to his conversation with Riggan. LESLEY How is he? JAKE He \u2019 ll be okay. LESLEY Poor creature. LAURA Is it true? Scorsese? JAKE Yes. And the new Pope too. -LRB- Beat. -RRB- They both understand. LAURA You \u2019 re an asshole, Jake. JAKE I \u2019 m the one keeping this boat afloat. LESLEY So there is no line of people out there? JAKE I don \u2019 t know. Now go and get ready. That \u2019 s your job. -LRB- He begins to walk. -RRB- I \u2019 ll better invest in a taco truck, or a strip joint near the airport. Laura leaves. We follow Lesley up to Riggan \u2019 s dressing room. She knocks on the door. Nothing. Silence. She half-opens the door and, from behind her, we see Riggan examining his right hand. He has blood falling from the palm to the wrist. LESLEY Are you okay? RIGGAN -LRB- Smiles. -RRB- Yeah, I -- This is nothing. Shaving. He cleans his hand against his trousers. LESLEY I just want to say I'm sorry. RIGGAN For what? LESLEY I knew what Mike was capable of, and I brought him in, anyway. RIGGAN You did good. Lesley nods. A beat. LESLEY Tomorrow's my first opening night on Broadway. RIGGAN Mine too. LESLEY And I want you to know that, whatever happens, I'll always be grateful to you for that. RIGGAN Me too. It \u2019 s going to be great. Full house. She looks at him with tender eyes. Then we follow her along the corridor until she passes by Mike \u2019 s dressing room. Mike half-opens the door and sees Lesley walking by. He has a black eye. He waits for Lesley to be completely gone, and then he comes out of his dressing room and we follow him up the stairs to...", "EXT. ROOFTOP - THEATER - DUSK ... the rooftop. He finds Sam standing on the cornice, looking at the street. MIKE For fuck's sake, just jump already. Sam stares out, a smile creeping over her face. SAM How did you know I'd be up here? MIKE I did n't. I was just hoping. Silence. Mike walks up next to her and stares out as well. SAM Where's Lesley? MIKE Moving on. SAM Smart girl... MIKE I appreciate that. A beat. SAM Ready for the last preview? -LRB- Noticing his black eye. -RRB- Who did that to you? Mike smiles. No answer. SAM -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Could have been anybody, I guess. -LRB- After a beat. -RRB- I \u2019 m sort of hoping it was Lesley. He barely says no, smiling, and lights a cigarette. She understands. SAM -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Oh, don \u2019 t tell me... Silence. MIKE What's the worst thing he ever did to you? Sam is surprised by the question. She thinks for a moment. SAM He was never around, so... MIKE That was --? SAM No. That was -- Who gives a shit. It was the way he tried to make up for it by constantly trying to convince me I was special. ( A beat. ) What about you? MIKE My dad? SAM Yeah. MIKE He pretended I was his son. She stares him down. Silence. SAM So, what happens now? MIKE I have no idea... SAM Yeah... A beat. MIKE He was right, though. SAM About what? MIKE About your being special. You \u2019 re hanging around here trying to make yourself invisible behind that fragile little fuck up routine. But you can \u2019 t. You \u2019 re anything but invisible. You \u2019 re big. And you \u2019 re sort of this really great mess, a candle burning at both ends, and no amount of booze or pills is gon na hide that. Sam tosses Mike \u2019 s cigarette over the balcony, and kisses him. He leans into the kiss. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- From below. -RRB- Jesus Fuck! She suddenly pulls away. SAM It's a good thing you're an actor and not a writer cause that little speech was just like, Oprah... Hallmark... R. Kelly bad. She kisses him lightly one more time and then walks away. When she gets to the door she stops and leans on the frame. SAM -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Truth or dare? MIKE Truth. SAM No. MIKE Truth. SAM No. Truth or dare? The slightest smile as she exits through the door, and after a short pause, Mike follows...", "INT. HALLWAYS - THEATRE - CONTINUOUS ... along a darkened hallway. They reach a tiny wooden door and Sam leads the way through it. MIKE Do you have any idea where you're going? SAM Absolutely not. She continues on until she gets to...", "INT. ABOVE STAGE - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the `` grid'' above stage where the lights are located. We can see, below us, the empty seats of the auditorium and the kitchen set. MIKE What now...? Mike reaches up to kiss her. She stops him. SAM How do you do it? MIKE What? SAM How do you go out there and pretend to be someone else in front of all those people? MIKE I do n't pretend. Not out there. Just about every place else, but never out there. SAM Good to know. They stare at one another... MIKE What are we doing here? SAM What do you mean? MIKE I mean, what are we doing here? She moves in. SAM Adrenaline... They kiss. The camera begins to drift down toward the stage... RIGGAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Fucking teenager. As the camera continues down from the grid, we discover an auditorium full of people staring at the actors on stage. RIGGAN -LRB- O.S -RRB- -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- By the time I got to the hospital, the kid was dead. He was off in a corner laid out on a gurney. We took the old couple up to the O.R.. They were a mess. We worked like hell on them for most of the night... We pan along the auditorium back to the stage to find Riggan, Mike, Lesley and Laura in the kitchen. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- When we were done, we wrapped them in full body casts. The husband was depressed. Even when I told him his wife was gon na pull through, he was still depressed. So, I got up to his mouth hole and asked him, and he told me it was because he could n't see her through the eye holes. Can you imagine? I \u2019 m telling you, the man's heart was breaking because he could n't turn his goddamn head and see his goddamn wife. LESLEY -LRB- In genuine tears. -RRB- That's terrible. ( Beat. ) Perfect. And terrible. She is crushed. Laura holds Lesley, trying to control her own emotion. RIGGAN -LRB- Taking this in. -RRB- Yeah. So I guess what we have to ask ourselves is... What do we talk about when we talk about love? The lights go to a blackout and the audience applauds as some scene change music plays. As we follow Riggan off stage, the lights are turned on again, but now they have an orange mood. Lesley is the only one on stage, doing a monologue. LESLEY Mel and I have been together five years, been married for four. But it was Ed who taught me something no one else could... He taught me what it felt like to really feel loved. And the terrible thing is that if something happened to Mel or myself, if something happened to either one of us tomorrow, I think the other one would grieve for a while, you know, but then would go out and love again, have someone else soon enough. All this -- All of this love we \u2019 re talking about... it would just be a memory. Maybe not even a memory. Am I wrong? I mean, I don \u2019 t know anything. And I \u2019 m the first one to admit it. A Dresser waits in the wings to help Riggan with his change. DRESSER That was amazing! Riggan looks proud. Things are finally going well. He undresses to his underwear and puts on a robe and his moccasins, as the stage begins to revolve. Laura, in costume, walks up beside him. Over the following dialogue, the kitchen gives way to the extravagant garden set we saw before. LAURA -LRB- A bit distant. -RRB- It's actually going well. RIGGAN Yeah. ( A beat. ) Hey. I think we have to talk. LAURA -LRB- Sad smile. -RRB- No. We do n't. Riggan nods. RIGGAN Right. ( Beat. ) We will eventually, though, \u2018 cause that \u2019 s the only way I get to say I \u2019 m sorry. I really am. Silence. LAURA We could've made good parents. RIGGAN Horrible. We would've been just -- LAURA Awful. Would have raised, like... RIGGAN... a serial killer... LAURA... or Justin Bieber. -LRB- She smiles at him. -RRB- I'm not really the housewife type anyway. I thought I could be a mom. My body seems to disagree. The lights come up and Laura walks onto the stage. LAURA -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- -LRB- Back to him. -RRB- You were right. This was fun. Riggan watches her go, but something else grabs his attention. We pan across the stage to see Sam and Mike on the other side. They talk and laugh. Sam kisses Mike softly. Mike playfully grabs her ass. We pan back to Riggan. His expression morphs from broken- hearted to rage. He marches over to a stage hand. RIGGAN You have a cigarette? The stage hand holds out a pack, Riggan takes one. STAGE HAND You need a light? Riggan snatches the lighter and storms out through the hallway, and out the back door of the theater to...", "EXT. AN ALLEY WAY - OUTSIDE THE THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the alley. Down at the end, we can see the tourists making their way about the streets. Riggan lights the cigarette and leans back against the stage door trying to calm himself. RIGGAN Breathing in, I calm myself. Breathing out, I ease myself. But this is New York City. A fluorescent light buzzes above his head. Taxis honk their horns. The sound of pedestrians yelling at one another. All fueling his agitation. Riggan checks his watch. He pulls one last drag from the cigarette before he tosses it, and turns to head back in, only to realize the door has locked. He tries to pull it open to no avail. He begins to knock loudly on the door. There is no response. He knocks louder. Nothing. He is turning to walk away when he realizes that his robe is caught in the door. He checks his watch again and now is beginning to panic. He tries to tear at the robe but the terry cloth is too strong for him to rip. Frantically, he looks around for an answer. No answer. No time. He pulls the robe off of him and, wearing only his underwear and moccasins, he charges down the alley way toward...", "EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS ... the street. Now, rushing down the block in his underwear. A tourist spots him. TOURIST Hey, are n't you...? RIGGAN I'm sorry. I ca n't really -- TOURIST Riggan Thompson! Holy Shit! Let me get an autograph. Riggan marches on as a few more people begin to notice. The Tourist runs in front of him, forcing him to stop. TOURIST -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Come on, man. Do n't be a dick. Let me have an autograph. The man produces a pen and a magazine from his pocket. More people begin to gather... MAN ON STREET Birdman! Seeing no other way out, Riggan signs the autograph. TOURIST Dude! You fuckin' rock! Directly in front of him stand a lady and her two kids. LADY Can we take one picture? RIGGAN Are you kidding me? KID #1 Why is he naked? LADY One picture... KID #2 I can see his weenie. Riggan tries to get past them, but a crowd has formed. A swarm of cell phones begin to glow like fireflies. LADY -LRB- To her kids. -RRB- Get next to him! RIGGAN Give me a fucking break, lady. The kids run up next to him. Even more people crowding around. Riggan puts up his middle finger, just as the Lady takes the shot. He shoves the kids aside and moves on. WOMAN ON STREET He looks so old in person. MAN ON STREET -LRB- From across the street. -RRB- You suck! RIGGAN Fuck you! Riggan pushes through the crowd to get to the lobby. The people begin to chant. Dozens of cell phones recording him. CROWD Bird-man! Bird-man! Bird-man! Riggan pushes his way through to the lobby doors...", "INT. LOBBY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... to be stopped by the vision of Ralph in a wheelchair. His head wrapped in a bandage. A man in a suit next to him. RIGGAN Jesus Christ! What're you doing here? RALPH Waiting for Jake. This is Mr. Roth, my attorney. Riggan continues walking toward the auditorium. Ralph and Mr. Roth follow him. MR. ROTH We're pursuing financial remuneration for the injuries Mr. Pinkus suffered while rehearsing your -- RIGGAN I have a play to do. RALPH I'm going to ruin you! Riggan storms toward the auditorium, but is stopped by an old Usher. OLD USHER I'm sorry sir, you're going to have -- Riggan shoves the old lady aside and enters...", "INT. AUDITORIUM - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the theater. Riggan stands in the back among the audience. He sees the `` rain'' falling on the stage. The `` Motel'' sign is lit. Mike and Lesley are in bed, for the motel scene, waiting for the knock on the door. With nothing else to do, Riggan yells his line from the back of the auditorium... RIGGAN Knock knock knock! Terri! Terri! The audience turns to see Riggan standing in his underwear. They begin to murmur and laugh and point at him. Riggan marches down the aisle. He looks haggard and covered with perspiration. Lesley and Mike, confused, come out of bed. LESLEY Ed! What are you doing here? RIGGAN Why? I need you to tell me why. I lived for you -- I worshipped you... MIKE Listen Ed, I know this is hard but -- RIGGAN Fuck you. Shut up. Fuck you. Giggles from the audience. Riggan turns threateningly and points to an audience member on the aisle who is giggling at him. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Shut up! The guy stops smiling. The audience goes silent. Riggan arrives at the apron of the stage. Annie from the wings slides the gun towards him. Riggan grabs it and points it at Mike. LESLEY Eddie! Please! Riggan climbs onto the stage. Exhausted. He goes to Mike and, with a last effort, pushes him lamely. RIGGAN What's wrong with me? Why do I end up having to beg people to love me? LESLEY Ed. Eddie. Please... Give me the gun. We pan to the wings where Jake is staring in disbelief. His cellphone begins to vibrate, and he answers. JAKE Yeah. ( A beat. ) What?... No no no no no no no. Wait there. I'm coming out in -- He walks toward the hallway and we follow him...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... through the corridor. JAKE No. Wait. Wait for me. I'll be there in a second. ( Beat. ) What is that, a threat? ( Beat. ) What wheelchair? ( Beat. ) Wait. Do n't hang up. Mr. Roth, we can discuss -- Hello?... Hello?... He goes out one of the exits and we are left with the silence of the empty hallway. After a few seconds, the sound of the gunshot from the scene echoes through the theater. The audience applauds. The camera starts to move forward. A few seconds later Riggan takes over the POV with his bloody long wig and the fake gun. We follow up to...", "INT. RIGGAN'S DRESSING ROOM - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... his dressing room. He puts on a robe. He walks to his refrigerator without acknowledging Sam who is sitting on the couch, scribbling her dashes on the toilet paper once again. Riggan takes out a plastic container of bologna and a jar of mustard. He sits in front of his dressing table, peels open the bologna and opens the jar of mustard. Slice by slice, he dips the bologna in the mustard and shoves it into his mouth. SAM Dad...? RIGGAN -LRB- Looking up. -RRB- Hey. How ya doin'? SAM Are you okay? RIGGAN Why? SAM I do n't know. You seem -- RIGGAN -LRB- Eating. -RRB- I'm good. This is good. ( Holding out a piece. ) You want some? SAM I'm good. RIGGAN Great. Great. He continues to eat. She tries to fill the odd silence. SAM So. Opening night, tomorrow. RIGGAN Yeah. SAM That's exciting, huh? RIGGAN Yeah. Well... I do n't know. The previews have been a train wreck. We have n't been able to get through a performance without a raging fire... or a raging hard-on. I'm not really sleeping, you know, at all. And I'm pretty much broke. Oh, and also, this play feels like a miniature, deformed version of myself that keeps following me around, hitting me in the balls with a tiny hammer. -LRB- Beat. -RRB- Sorry, what was your question? SAM -LRB- Looking through phone. -RRB- Never mind... Tonight was n't bad. It was weird. But that's sort of cool. People seemed to like it. Silence. Riggan notices the toilet paper. RIGGAN What are you doing? Some homework? SAM No. I do n't -- When I was in rehab, they made us do this. RIGGAN Really... SAM Yeah. These dashes, represent the six billion years the planet has existed. Each dash represents 100 years. She unravels the roll and we see that there are thousands of black marks running along the toilet paper. She takes the last two panels and tears them off. SAM -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- And this... ( Hands them to him. )... is supposed to represent the entire time us humans have been here. One hundred and fifty thousand years. That's it. -LRB- Beat. -RRB- I guess they were trying to remind us that that's what all our egos and self- obsession are worth. Riggan stares at the paper, and then at Sam. RIGGAN -LRB- Casually. -RRB- I was a shitty father, was n't I? SAM No. You were a -- ( She stops herself. ) You were fine. He stops chewing and stares out. RIGGAN Fine... You're right. I am just `` fine''. Adorably mediocre. He smiles to her sadly, and then he wipes the mustard from his face with the piece of toilet paper. SAM Dad! RIGGAN What? Sam looks at the ruined toilet paper in his hands. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Oh... Shit. I'm sorry. SAM -LRB- Smiling. -RRB- It's okay. You just destroyed the entire human race in one blow. Riggan looks at her with the saddest of expressions. SAM -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Dad. ( She hesitates. ) Do you know you \u2019 re becoming a trending topic? RIGGAN Really? What does that mean? Sam searches for something on her iPhone and then hands it to Riggan. Riggan looks at the phone and sees a hand-held video of himself in the streets in his underwear. SAM 350,000 views in less than an hour. Believe it or not, this is power. Riggan looks at more footage, seemingly confused. After a moment, the phone vibrates and the video is interrupted by a text message, which reads \u201c Truth or Dare? \u201d RIGGAN It \u2019 s for you. She grabs the phone and looks at the screen. Then at her father. Riggan is staring at her. She looks down. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Go ahead... SAM -LRB- Hesitant. -RRB- Are you...? RIGGAN Go. A sympathetic smile. An understanding. Sam exits. Riggan stares into the mirror absently. His eyes locked on his reflection trying to find himself in the image. Then he spots a vase with dying roses, the same roses he flung to the ground previously. He gets up and goes into the bathroom. He pulls off the long wig and the mustache. He washes his face. Then he opens a small bottle and uses the liquid to scrub his goatee. The dark dye begins to run out, leaving only white hair. For the first time we see that Riggan has a white beard. He puts on new clothes and comes out of the bathroom. He grabs a beige raincoat and heads out of the dressing room and into...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the hallway. As he passes by Mike \u2019 s door he can hear Sam and Mike. They \u2019 re trying to be as quiet as possible, but we can hear them flirting and laughing. He pauses for a moment but continues on. After a few seconds, his phone vibrates. He looks at it. A text from Jake reads : \u201c Have you seen this??? Awesome!! ! \u201d He clicks the attachment and sees the, now infamous, video of his underwear escapade in the street. We zoom in until the image fills the screen, when we finally pull away, we discover that...", "INT. RUM HOUSE - LATER ... Riggan's video is being played now in a television in the bar. We see the MTV logo on the bottom of the screen and a video caption that reads : \u201c Birdman goes viral, 930.000 views and counting \u201d. The camera pans to find Riggan sitting at the bar, drunk. He is one of the few customers. He polishes off his drink. RIGGAN Let me have another one. BARTENDER You got it. The bartender pours another whiskey for Riggan. A waiter steps up to the bar. The bartender points to a martini. BARTENDER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- To the waiter. -RRB- That's going over to Ms. Dickinson. Riggan's head tilts at the mention of the name. He looks over to see Tabitha sitting at a table, scratching in her notebook. RIGGAN -LRB- Hands the waiter a bill. -RRB- I got it. She's a friend of mine. The waiter pockets the money and gives Riggan the drink. He walks it over to Tabitha and places it down in front of her. Not looking up, she pulls the drink closer and takes a sip. Riggan sits down across from her. She looks up and immediately recognizes him. He takes out the Carver cocktail napkin and pushes it in front of her. She looks at him, and then down to the napkin. She reads it in silence. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- Re : The napkin. -RRB- That was twenty years before I put on that damned costume. A pause. Then she pushes the napkin back toward him. TABITHA I do n't care. RIGGAN I'm just saying, when you come tomorrow night, I want you -- TABITHA It doesn \u2019 t matter. RIGGAN What are you -- TABITHA I'm going to destroy your play. RIGGAN You have n't even seen it. I do n't -- Did I do something to offend you? TABITHA As a matter of fact you did. You took up space in a theater which otherwise might have been used on something worthwhile. RIGGAN But you do n't even know if it's -- TABITHA That \u2019 s true. I have n't read a word of it, or even seen a preview, but after the opening tomorrow I'm going to turn in the worst review anybody has ever read. And I'm going to close your play. Would you like to know why? Because I hate you. And everyone you represent. Entitled. Spoiled. Selfish. Children. Blissfully untrained, unversed and unprepared to even attempt real art. Handing each other awards for cartoons and pornography. Measuring your worth in weekends. Well, this is the theater, and you do n't get to come in here and pretend you can write, direct and act in your own propaganda piece without going through me first. So, break a leg. Tabitha goes back to her writing. Riggan sits for a moment. RIGGAN What has to happen in someone's life, for them to end up becoming a critic? She looks up at him. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Whatcha writin \u2019? You reviewin \u2019 a play? Was it good? Bad? Did you even see it? Lem me read. He snatches the notebook from her. TABITHA I will call the police. RIGGAN No you won \u2019 t. Let \u2019 s read your review! -LRB- He scans the notebook. -RRB- \u201c Callow \u201d. A label. \u201c Lackluster \u201d. Label. \u201c Marginalia \u201d. Sounds like you need penicillin to clear that up. None the less... label. -LRB- Looks to Tabitha. -RRB- All labels. You \u2019 re a lazy fucker aren \u2019 t you? -LRB- Looks one last time at the notebook. -RRB- Epistemological vertigo? Tabitha wants to reach for the notebook, but her pride won \u2019 t let her. Riggan takes a flower from a vase at the center of the table. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- You know what this is? You don \u2019 t, do you? You can \u2019 t even see it if you don \u2019 t label it. You mistake those sounds in your head for true knowledge. TABITHA Are you finished? RIGGAN -LRB- Wrinkling one of the pages. -RRB- Nothin \u2019 about intention, structure, technique. Just crappy opinions backed up by crappy comparisons. You \u2019 re incapable of writing more than a couple of paragraphs, and you risk nothing of yourself. -LRB- He tears out the page and tosses the notebook. -RRB- Well, I \u2019 m an actor and this play has cost me everything. So you can take your cowardly, malicious, shittily written reviews and shove them up your... ( Showing her the wrinkled page. )... wrinkly, tight ass. Riggan wears a proud smile. And suddenly, Tabitha begins to smile with him. TABITHA You think you \u2019 re an actor? -LRB- Calls to the waiter. -RRB- Eddie! Eddie the waiter approaches the table. WAITER Yeah, Mrs. Dickinson? TABITHA Give us some Shakespeare. WAITER No problem. Got anything in mind? Tabitha looks over at Riggan picking the perfect verse. TABITHA The Scottish Play. Act five... WAITER Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time ; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools. The way to dusty death... He is brilliant. The monologue is perfectly played and powerful. Riggan being mercilessly reminded of his mediocrity... by Eddie the waiter. WAITER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury... Signifying nothing. A few drunks clap at the beautiful performance. Then, a powerful silence rings out for a moment, until... TABITHA Thank you, Eddie. WAITER You got it. TABITHA -LRB- To Riggan. A derisive laugh. -RRB- You're no actor. You're a celebrity. Let's be clear on that. Tabitha rises from her seat and grabs her things. TABITHA -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- I'm going to kill your play. She walks away. Riggan sits numb. After a moment, he reaches over and gulps down Tabitha's entire martini, gin pouring out the sides of his mouth. Unaware, he slams the empty martini glass on top of the Carver napkin and gets up. We follow him out onto...", "EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS ... the street, where he walks through the theater district. Tired. Drunk. Empty. Neon lights all around him. A crazy, old homeless man passes by in the opposite direction shouting furiously. Riggan keeps walking until he arrives at a bench, with a tree behind. Everything is quiet. Riggan sits on the bench, lost. We begin to tilt up, slowly, toward a tall tree. We move closer into the branches and the green leaves. Silence. A49 A49 Night turns into day. The sounds of the city disappear and birds begin to sing. The branches now caressed by golden shafts of morning sun. Finally, we tilt down slowly and find...", "EXT. STREET - DAY. ... Riggan still sleeping on the bench. He looks like a bum. His raincoat is dirty and wet. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- God. You look like shit, brother. You get that mongoloid look when you're hung over, do n't you? Riggan opens an eye. He scratches his hair. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Let's go. Get up. It's a beautiful day. Riggan sits up slowly. He is really hung over. BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Stand up! Forget about the times. Everyone else has. So you're not a great actor... Who cares?!! You're much more than that. Fuck! You tower over all these theater douchebags. You're a movie star! A Global force! Do n't you get it? Riggan stands up and begins to stumble forward. We pan around to find Birdman ( a stronger Riggan wearing a cool Birdman outfit ), following behind him. BIRDMAN You spent your whole life building a reputation and a bank account, and now they're both blown. So what? Fuck it. We make a come back. Something huge. Take what belongs to us. Take back the spotlight. Magazine covers and billboards. Happy meals with Birdman dolls. Remember that? That \u2019 s who you are. That \u2019 s who we are! Riggan just marches on. People and cars pass by, but nobody notices Birdman. Riggan tries to ignore him. BIRDMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- C'mon, buddy. Tell me we're going back to the big leagues. Let \u2019 s do this. Shave off that pathetic goatee, and put the mask back on! Batman my balls. We \u2019 ll start a new franchise. Birdman : Phoenix Rising. Trust me! A billion world wide. Swear to God. A50 A50 Riggan keeps walking. Birdman, insistent, chases, until suddenly he begins to flutter off the ground. BIRDMAN Do you hear me? You can do anything! You \u2019 re an icon! Desperate, Birdman flies a bit higher around him. BIRDMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You \u2019 re bigger than life. You save people from their boring, miserable lives... The camera pans to the street in front of them. People carry out their everyday routines. There is a deli, a souvenir shop, a small bank... BIRDMAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... You make them jump, laugh, cry, shit their pants... All you have to do is snap your fingers and... B50 B50 Riggan snaps his fingers, once, twice, and the bank suddenly explodes. The sound is so loud that it seems to belong to another movie. The earth shakes. People run. Dust all over. Fire. An unsteady camera pans back to Birdman. BIRDMAN -LRB- Excited. -RRB- That's what I'm talking about! That is cool! Explosive! Big, fast, loud! -LRB- He turns directly to the camera and talks about the audience. ) Look at them. They love that shit! They starve for blood and action, not this artsy-fartsy-philosophical bullshit! C50 C50 We hear a loud roar, and the camera pans to discover a huge alien about to crash a cab against the asphalt. Birdman uses his powerful blow to send the alien flying away. BIRDMAN And when you shout `` whooaa! ``... -LRB- Riggan shouts `` Whooaa!'' -RRB-... it explodes in the eardrum of millions. Your power is unlimited. Riggan slows down his pace, as he starts to listen. BIRDMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You glimmered on 3000 screens, over 5 continents, in 47 countries at the same time. You are ubiquitous. You're a God! You can do it again. You can soar above all of them. Riggan suddenly begins to levitate. BIRDMAN There you go, you mother fucker! See? Gravity does n't even apply to you. The camera flies up with Riggan as he floats above the street. There is something magical in his ascension, gently impelled by the breeze. A beautiful backlight makes his body glow. Birdman flutters around him. BIRDMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Listen to me. We got ta go back! We have to do this. We have to end it on our terms. With a grand gesture. A strange light suddenly palpitates in Riggan's eyes. Something makes sense in what Birdman is telling him. The camera becomes Riggan's POV. He looks down to see the people on the street, watching him in awe. BIRDMAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We \u2019 ll go back. We \u2019 ll show them how much they're going to miss us. Flames. Icarus. Sacrifice... We tilt up again to Riggan's face. He has a plan. BIRDMAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Let \u2019 s go back one more time and show them what we \u2019 re capable of. You can do it. You're Birdman. Do you hear me? You're... A GUY'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Birdman! E50 E50 And as the camera pulls away, we discover Birdman is gone and Riggan is standing on the ledge of a tall building. The camera tilts down and we see that more people have gathered around, and more cars has stopped, and they all point at Riggan, worried about the situation. A guy wearing shorts, a Bob Marley t-shirt and a robe opens his window, one floor below Riggan, and looks up at him. GUY Dude, what are you doing? Riggan looks down at the people on the street far below. GUY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You okay, buddy? Do you want me to call someone? We pan to a lady on her balcony filming Riggan with her phone. LADY Is this for real, or you're shooting a film? RIGGAN A film. The lady looks around but sees nothing. LADY Oh, you people are full of shit. She goes into her apartment. GUY I \u2019 m calling 911. The guy goes inside his apartment. RIGGAN One more time... Now, from the door of the rooftop, a good neighbor calmly approaches Riggan. GOOD NEIGHBOR Hi, sir. Can I help you? You should be careful. RIGGAN Sorry. Can \u2019 t talk. I'm late. -LRB- Murmuring. -RRB- Music. Some underscoring music begins to sound. The neighbor is now close to him and helps Riggan step down from the edge on to the floor of the rooftop. GOOD NEIGHBOR Are you alright? Do you want me to call someone? Do you know where to go? Riggan closes his eyes for a moment as the camera moves slowly toward him. He opens his eyes. The music begins to swell. Riggan stands up straight and proud, and in a voice that sounds like Birdman... RIGGAN Yes. I know where to go. He turns and begins to run on the rooftop. The music is rousing. As he runs, he holds out his arms, spreading them wide. The camera runs behind him, until suddenly... Riggan jumps, and the camera jumps after him. He rapidly falls toward the street, toward the asphalt. But in his face there is no fear. No. He spreads his arms again and... He takes flight, soaring high over Manhattan. The music becomes epic. There is something beautiful about this broken man flying like a superhero. We fly next to him, and we can see below the spectacular sight that is Manhattan, until...", "EXT. THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... he finally lands on 45th street and calmly approaches the theater. An Usher acknowledges him with a look of surprise. USHER Mr. Thomson. I think you forgot to -- RIGGAN Stop the music. The music stops. USHER I beg your pardon? Riggan enters the theater. The confused Usher watches him go by, as he points to the street. We pan to see a taxi driver coming out of his car, running like a mad man toward us. We stay with the Usher and the taxi driver as they argue. They take it inside the lobby, but we remain out front. A51 A51 Day turns to night, igniting the lights of the marquee, which reflect off of the lobby doors. We hear wild applause coming from inside the theater. Seconds later, the doors of the theater open and the audience files out for intermission. MAN -LRB- Tweeting on his phone. -RRB- It's really good. WOMAN I know. I can \u2019 t believe it... We begin to move up, outside the theater. We see the marquee of the play that reads, `` What We Talk When We Talk About Love''. Above the title, in smaller print, `` Riggan Thomson and Mike Shiner''. Below on a banner, `` Opening Night''. We keep climbing until we arrive at Riggan's dressing room window. We push in to find...", "INT. RIGGAN'S DRESSING ROOM - THEATER - EVENING ... that the room is full of roses and cards. Riggan lies on the sofa, hugging a cushion. He is wearing the long wig and mustache for the motel scene. Sylvia appears in the doorway. SYLVIA Wow, that is just NASCAR hot. He smiles at her. SYLVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I just wanted to come say hello. It's going great out there. You're so good. I mean it. You \u2019 re -- I really mean it. RIGGAN Come here. Sit next to me. ANNIE ON SPEAKERS This is your five minutes. SYLVIA Do you need to --? RIGGAN I'm fine. Sit. She does. SYLVIA Look at all these roses. SYLVIA -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- You hate roses... RIGGAN I hate roses... She laughs. He watches her, something odd in his expression. SYLVIA Are you okay? You seem -- I don \u2019 t know, you seem abnormally calm. RIGGAN I am calm. I \u2019 m great. I spent most of the day observing how beautifully this pile of dirty clothes was lit by the warm afternoon sun. ( A tiny smile. ) So beautiful. Sylvia, teasing him, closes her eyes and imitates Riggan's meditation posture. SYLVIA -LRB- Mocking him. -RRB- Oh yes. God is those purplish light dots I see between my eyes and my eyelids. RIGGAN You know? I have this voice that talks to me and tells me the truth. It \u2019 s comforting, and scary. A beat. SYLVIA I \u2019 m going to pretend I didn \u2019 t hear you say that. RIGGAN Okay. SYLVIA -LRB- Changing the subject. -RRB- You would n't believe the crowd outside. They said, some people paid up to 500 dollars a ticket. He sits down. RIGGAN You wan na hear something funny? SYLVIA Sure. RIGGAN Do you remember our last anniversary party? SYLVIA Seriously? You're going to ruin a nice moment with that? RIGGAN Do you remember the party? SYLVIA The party where you fucked Janet Rossbach in our bed? Yeah, it rings a bell. RIGGAN Yeah, well. Let's skip over that part for a minute. SYLVIA Gladly. RIGGAN After you threw the guests out of the house, and the furniture out of the window. You locked yourself in the bathroom. SYLVIA I remember. Why are we -- RIGGAN I drove down to Malibu. I sat on the beach for a while. Just... staring out at the ocean. SYLVIA Riggan... RIGGAN Until I walked straight into the water and tried to drown myself. Silence. Sylvia stares at Riggan, surprised. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I was in up to my chest when I felt the first one. On my back, like somebody was holding a frying pan against me. And then my chest, and my legs. The water was full of jellyfish. I fought my way out of the water, and I started rolling around the sand like a maniac... crying. Sylvia does n't know how to react. SYLVIA You said it was a sunburn. RIGGAN -LRB- Smiling. -RRB- And you believed me. SYLVIA To be honest, I did n't give a shit. RIGGAN I love you. And I love Sam. SYLVIA I know. Silence. They stare at each other. RIGGAN I never should have video taped Sam's birth. First of all because you and Sam both look like shit in that video. But mostly because I missed the moment. I should have just been there with the two of you. Present in my own life. So I \u2019 d have it. But, I don \u2019 t. I don \u2019 t have any of it. SYLVIA You have Sam. RIGGAN No, I do n't. SYLVIA Listen, she's just -- RIGGAN No, I understand. She needed a father and she got one shamefully successful youtube video. Pretty pathetic. SYLVIA -LRB- Putting a finger on Riggan \u2019 s lips. ) Shhh... There are more pathetic things than that. That mustache, for example. She kisses him. ANNIE ON SPEAKERS Places for act two. Places. SYLVIA Riggan... RIGGAN You should get back to your seat. You do n't want to miss what's next. Sylvia lingers for a moment, and not knowing what to say, she exits. Riggan opens a drawer and takes out a black case. He gently opens the lid. Inside a revolver. He takes some bullets out of a box and one by one loads them into the chamber as he does his vocal exercises into the mirror. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Twenty little leopards laughed at two lofty lions. Twenty little leopards laughed at two lofty lions. Twenty little leopards... laughed. He stares at the dressing room door, and with his telekinetic powers he opens it. He snaps the cylinder into the gun and exits out into...", "INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the hallway. He paces deliberately, gun in hand. A technician goes by in the opposite direction. TECHNICIAN Break a leg, Mr. Thomson. Riggan ignores him and continues through to the...", "INT. BACKSTAGE - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... backstage area. Annie immediately hustles over to him holding up the brain mechanism. He walks right by her. RIGGAN -LRB- Brushing her off. -RRB- I do n't need it. Annie does n't seem to understand. She stays there, holding the device. Riggan takes his place outside the motel door. We pan toward the audience. The auditorium is full. The audience in complete silence. Riggan knocks firmly on the door. Silence again. Then... RIGGAN -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Terri! Terri! -LRB- Beat. -RRB- I know you're in there! He barges through the door and onto...", "INT. STAGE - THEATER - CONTINUOUS ... the stage. The motel room as we saw it before. Mike and Lesley jump out of the bed. LESLEY Ed! What are you doing here? RIGGAN -LRB- Almost whispering. -RRB- Why? I need you to tell me why. I lived for you -- I worshipped you... MIKE Listen Ed, I know this is hard but -- Riggan raises one hand to silence Mike. Mike looks at him, confused. His eyes narrow on the gun. There is no red plug. Dead silence. An eerie electricity in the theater. RIGGAN What's wrong with me? Why do I end up having to beg people to love me? LESLEY Ed. Eddie. Please... Give me the gun. She begins to cry. LESLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Just look at me. I was drowning. I was not capable of -- You deserve to be loved. You do. RIGGAN I just wanted to be what you wanted. -LRB- Beat. -RRB- Now I spend every fucking minute praying to be someone else. Someone I'm not. Anyone... MIKE Put down the gun, Ed. She just does n't love you anymore. RIGGAN -LRB- To Lesley. -RRB- You do n't, do you? LESLEY -LRB- With sympathy. -RRB- No... RIGGAN And you never will... LESLEY I'm sorry. For the first time, Riggan turns to face the audience. He smiles the most beautiful insane smile. RIGGAN I do n't exist. I'm not even here. I do n't exist. None of this matters. Then he raises a trembling arm, and with his eyes full of tears, he aims the gun at Mike. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Pum. But he doesn \u2019 t shoot. Then he turns and aims at Tabitha Dickinson who is sitting on the second row. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Pum. Again, no shot. Slowly, Riggan raises the gun toward his own head, suddenly a frightening explosion. Blood sprays. Riggan falls. We stay with the shell-shocked audience. A moment of tension, of uncertainty, until... MAN Bravo! The audience, one by one, jump to their feet, applauding wildly. The sole exception is Tabitha, who remains seated, a dazed expression on her face. We stay with the audience a few seconds longer. FADE TO BLACK. The sounds slowly vanish. After a moment of silence... BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You wo n't be hearing from him anymore. MAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Is he...? BIRDMAN -LRB- V.O -RRB- He's gone.", "INT. WAITING ROOM - HOSPITAL - DAWN One of the old Birdman films is playing on a small television screen that hangs on a corner. The scene ends and a Morning Show host appears. Behind him a picture of Riggan and a caption that reads : \u201c Nation in shock. \u201d A shot of a candle vigil in Central park. HOST What do we talk about when we talk about Riggan Thomson? When we come back, more on the actor who two nights ago shot himself during the opening performance of his new Broadway play... We pan away from the TV to see that the waiting room is filled with newsmen waiting for something to happen. There is almost no room to breath. We pan to see Jake emerging from an elevator, carrying a newspaper under his arm. He walks through the dense mass of newsmen with a serious expression on his face. We follow him into...", "INT. ROOM - HOSPITAL - CONTINUOUS ... a room. Jake peers in. Riggan lies on a bed, the bandages on his nose cover most of his face. Sylvia is looking out the window. JAKE Is he...? SYLVIA He \u2019 s awake. Jake enters the room. JAKE -LRB- Serious. -RRB- I thought I lost you, buddy. Thank god you \u2019 re a horrible shot! What the hell happened? I was watching you up on that stage, and all of a sudden you get that goofy look in your eye, and you were just like -- He starts to laugh. SYLVIA What the hell are you laughing about? He tried to -- What is wrong with you? JAKE I \u2019 m happy, okay? He \u2019 s alive. My best friend is alive. And he is the man of the hour! Jake holds the New York Times up in the air. RIGGAN What is that? JAKE You did it. SYLVIA -LRB- Coming to them. -RRB- You have to be shitting me... She wrote a review? Jake unfolds the newspaper and we see the headline of the review : \u201c The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance \u201d. JAKE -LRB- To Sylvia. -RRB- Read it. He hands her the newspaper. She begins to read to herself. SYLVIA I don \u2019 t believe this... JAKE Read it out loud! SAM `` Thompson has unwittingly given birth to a new form that can only be described as supra-realism. Blood was spilled both literally and metaphorically by artist and audience alike. Red blood. The blood that has been sorely missing from the veins of the American theatre...'' -LRB- Beat. To a smiling Jake. -RRB- You \u2019 re happy about this? She hands it to Riggan. JAKE Happy? I \u2019 m fucking euphoric. This is the -- This is the kind of review that turns someone into a living legend. SYLVIA He tried to -- He shot the nose off his face! JAKE He \u2019 s got a new nose! And if he doesn \u2019 t like that one, we \u2019 ll get him another one. We can use Meg Ryan \u2019 s guy. Who gives a shit? Turn on the tv. There are people praying for him all over the country. They \u2019 re lighting candles in Central Park. He did it. ( To Riggan ) You did it! The play \u2019 s gon na run forever. It \u2019 s gon na open in London, in Paris... The studios will call us again. We \u2019 ll get book offers. SYLVIA How do you know all that? You can see the future? JAKE -LRB- Euphoric. -RRB- Yes. She slaps him in the face. SYLVIA Did you see that coming? You \u2019 re so full of shit, Jake. Jake needs a few seconds to recover. Then he looks at Riggan who just sits there, in silence. JAKE Why aren \u2019 t you saying anything? This is what you wanted wasn \u2019 t it? -LRB- Riggan gazes at the review. ) Riggan, this is what you wanted. RIGGAN It \u2019 s what I wanted. JAKE Okay, listen. You \u2019 re gon na get hit with a \u201c brandishing a weapon \u201d charge. If anybody talks to you, it was an accident and we \u2019 re doing an internal invest -- A newsman comes into the room and takes a quick picture. JAKE -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- -LRB- Chasing him out. -RRB- This is a hospital you motherfucker! Jake rushes to the door, shoving the newsman and a few other paparazzi out the door. Security guards. Chaos. Finally silence. Sylvia steps up and looks Riggan in the eye. SYLVIA Is that what it was? An accident? Riggan just stares at her. His calm, sad eyes peeking through the bandages. After a moment his gaze moves over her shoulder. Sylvia turns and we discover Sam standing in the doorway holding a bouquet of flowers. A bit of awkward silence, and Sylvia decides to leave them alone. She kisses Sam on the head and exits. Sam walks the flowers to Riggan at the bed. She lays them on his chest. SAM Alchemillas. The hint of a smile on Riggan \u2019 s face. SAM -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Are you actually smiling? -LRB- She smiles. -RRB- What \u2019 s so funny? RIGGAN I can \u2019 t smell them. A moment until the smiles turn to gentle laughter. She takes out her cell phone and snaps a picture of him. RIGGAN -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- What are you doing? SAM I \u2019 m posting this picture on your Twitter page. RIGGAN Very funny... SAM Set it up today. RIGGAN You \u2019 re joking. SAM I \u2019 m not. RIGGAN Let me see the picture. SAM Absolutely not. You look hideous. RIGGAN Thanks a lot. SAM I \u2019 m just kidding. No, I \u2019 m not. You look hideous. -LRB- Working on phone. -RRB- You already have 80 thousand followers. In less than a day. And I \u2019 m about to scare the shit out of them. RIGGAN Let me see. SAM No. Done. A moment between them. Sam picks up the flowers and kisses him tenderly on the head. Riggan is pleasantly surprised by that kiss. SAM -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Now, I \u2019 m going to find something to put these flowers in. She heads out of the room. Riggan lies there for a moment, tranquil. After a moment he reaches up and touches his bandages. Finally, he climbs out of the bed. We follow him into...", "INT. BATHROOM - ROOM - HOSPITAL - CONTINUOUS ... the bathroom. He stands before the mirror. He stares at his reflection for a few seconds, and slowly begins to remove the bandages. We can see that Riggan \u2019 s nose has been reconstructed. It is a crooked, incomplete nose, like the one Javier Bardem has. RIGGAN I do look hideous. In the reflection, Riggan sees Birdman sitting on the toilet. They look at each other, but say nothing. Riggan puts the bandages back on and we follow him out to...", "INT. ROOM - HOSPITAL - CONTINUOUS ... the room. He looks around, but Sam is gone. He ambles over to the window, his ass hanging out of the back of his hospital robe. He opens the window and feels the sun and the breeze on his swollen face. We just hear the sounds of the people standing down in the parking lot. Media trucks. Fans. We stay with Riggan, who seems to be thinking about something. He sees a flock of birds dancing in the sky. Then he grabs the side of the window with one hand and begins to step up onto the sill. The camera pans away from him to a table that has some photos propped on it : One of he and Sam when she was a child. One with Sylvia and Sam. A copy of Carver \u2019 s \u201c What we talk About When We Talk About Love \u201d laying on the surface. The camera continues to pan until it comes to the door. Sam enters with a small vase. She looks around... SAM Dad? She goes to the bathroom and peers in... nothing. SAM -LRB- CONT \u2019 D -RRB- Dad...? She spots the opened window and registers the sounds from outside. Tentatively she walks toward the window. She gets there, summons her courage and looks down. Nothing. Slowly, confused, she tilts her head up and looks up into the sky. A smile, filled with pride, begin to wash over her face. SMASH TO BLACK"], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "Riggan Thomson is a faded actor famous for playing a superhero named Birdman in a film trilogy from 1989 to 1992. He is tormented by the mocking and critical internal voice of Birdman and frequently visualizes himself performing feats of levitation and telekinesis. Riggan is trying to regain recognition by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver's short story, \"What We Talk About When We Talk About Love\". However, the Birdman voice wants Riggan to return to blockbuster cinema and insists that he is an essential part of Riggan's identity. Jake, Riggan's best friend and lawyer, is producing the play, which co-stars Riggan's girlfriend, Laura, and Broadway d\u00e9butante Lesley. Riggan's daughter Sam, a recovering drug addict with whom he is trying to reconnect, is working as his assistant. The day before the first preview, a light fixture falls onto Riggan's hapless co-star, Ralph. At Lesley's suggestion, Riggan replaces Ralph with her boyfriend, the brilliant but volatile and self-absorbed method actor Mike Shiner. The first previews are disastrous: Mike breaks character over the replacement of his gin with water, attempts to rape Lesley during a sex scene, and claims that the prop gun does not look real. Riggan clashes continually with Mike, culminating in a brawl after Riggan reads a New York Times interview with Mike in which he steals Riggan's personal reason for doing a Raymond Carver play. Jake persuades Riggan to continue with the play. When Riggan berates Sam after finding her using marijuana, she insultingly rebukes and chastises him, telling him he is irrelevant and the play is for his own vanity. During the final preview, Riggan accidentally locks himself outside with his robe stuck in the fire escape door. He is forced to walk through Times Square in his white briefs and enter through the audience to do the final scene. A concerned Sam is waiting in his dressing room after the show. She thinks the performance was very unusual but interesting. She shows him that the Times Square footage is going viral and explains how this actually helps him. Riggan goes to a bar for a drink and approaches Tabitha Dickinson, a cynical and highly influential theater critic. She promises to \"kill\" his play with a deprecating review without even having seen it. On the way back, Riggan buys a pint of whiskey, drinks it, and passes out on a stoop. The next day, walking to the theater with a severe hangover, he visualizes Birdman trying to convince him to abandon the play and make a fourth Birdman film. Riggan then imagines himself flying through the streets of Manhattan before arriving at the theater. On opening night, the play is going very well. In his dressing room, a strangely calm Riggan confesses to his ex-wife, Sylvia, that several years ago he attempted to drown himself in the ocean after she caught him having an affair. He also tells her about the Birdman voice, which she ignores. After Sylvia leaves, Riggan picks up a real gun for the final scene in which his character commits suicide. At the climax, Riggan shoots himself in the head on stage. The play receives a standing ovation. Riggan wakes up in a hospital\u2014the suicide attempt merely blew off his nose, which has been surgically reconstructed. Tabitha has published a glowing review of the play, calling the suicide attempt just what American theater needed. Sam visits with flowers and takes a picture of him to share with the skyrocketing number of followers on the Twitter account she has created for him. While she steps outside to find a vase, Riggan goes into the bathroom, removes the bandages revealing his swollen new nose, and says goodbye to Birdman, seen seated on the toilet. Fascinated by the birds flying outside his room, he opens the window, peers up at them, and then climbs out onto the ledge. Sam returns to an empty room and frantically runs to the open window, scanning the ground before slowly looking up into the sky and smiling at what she sees.", "name": "Birdman"}
{"scenes": ["", "NARRATOR This is a story of boy meets girl. CUT TO :", "NARRATOR The boy, Tom Hansen of Margate, New Jersey, grew up believing that he'd never truly be happy until the day he met his. `` soulmate.'' CUT TO :", "NARRATOR This belief stemmed from early exposure to sad British pop music and a total misreading of the movie, `` The Graduate.'' CUT TO :", "NARRATOR The girl, Summer Finn of Shinnecock, Michigan, did not share this belief. CUT TO :", "NARRATOR Since the disintegration of her parents' marriage, she'd only loved two things. The first was her long blonde hair. She picks up scissors from the counter and begins to slice. NARRATOR The second was how easily she could cut it off. And feel nothing. CUT TO : SPLITSCREEN. INT BOARDROOM / INT CUBICLE - SAME On the right side of the screen, Tom continues to listen to some boring presentation. On the left, Summer answers a call, takes a message, and walks out of her cubicle down a long narrow hallway. NARRATOR Tom meets Summer on January 8th in a San Francisco office building. In an instant, he will know she's the one he's been looking for. CU Summer opening the door to the boardroom, about to come face to face with Tom for the first time. NARRATOR This is a story of boy meets girl. But before they do, CUT TO : BLACK. NARRATOR You should know up front, this is not a love story.", "", "PAUL I did n't know who else to call. The Girl removes her bike helmet. GIRL You did the right thing. Where is he? Tom is in the kitchen breaking things and basically going insane. About to smash a plate on the floor, he's interrupted BY : GIRL Thomas. Tom freezes. TOM Rachel? What are you doing here? GIRL -LRB- RACHEL. -RRB- I'm here to help you. TOM Help me how? RACHEL First, put down the plate. Tom slowly obliges. RACHEL Now come here and sit down. Tom sits next to the young girl. Paul and Mckenzie sit on either side of them. RACHEL The key is not to panic. TOM I think I'm gon na be sick. RACHEL Drink this. She hands him a glass of water. Tom drinks it down. MCKENZIE What is that? RACHEL Vodka. TOM -LRB- grimacing at the taste. -RRB- More. He gulps another down. TOM Does Mom know you're here? It's got ta be past 10. RACHEL Do n't worry about it. Start from the beginning. Tell us what happened. Tom takes a deep breath.", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We spent the whole day together.", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We went shopping.", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We had coffee.", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We saw a film.", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We bought music.", "INT TOM'S PLACE TOM I thought it was a great day. RACHEL And then what happened?", "TOM -LRB- to WAITRESS. -RRB- Um. you know what. let's go crazy, I'll have BOTH. -LRB- to Summer. -RRB- God, I love eating pancakes at night. It's like the greatest thing ever. How great is this? SUMMER I think we should stop seeing each other.", "INT TOM'S PLACE - AS BEFORE RACHEL Just like that? TOM Just like that. PAUL Did she say why?", "INT DINER - AS BEFORE SUMMER This thing. This whatever it is. You and me. Do you think this is normal? TOM I do n't know. Who cares about normal?! I'm happy. Are n't you happy? SUMMER You're happy? TOM You're not? SUMMER All we do is argue! TOM That is such a lie!", "INT TOM'S PLACE - AS BEFORE RACHEL Maybe she was just in a bad mood. PAUL A hormonal thing. RACHEL P.M.S? TOM -LRB- to Rachel. -RRB- What do you know about PMS? RACHEL More than you. TOM Oh my god. MCKENZIE Please continue.", "INT DINER - AS BEFORE SUMMER This ca n't be a total surprise. I mean, we've been like Sid and Nancy for months. TOM Summer, Sid stabbed Nancy seven times with a kitchen knife. We've had some disagreements but I hardly think I'm Sid Vicious. SUMMER No. I'm Sid. TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- So I'm Nancy?! The Waitress comes out with the food. Tom and Summer stop their discussion until the meal is served and the Waitress leaves. Summer starts to eat. SUMMER Let's just eat and we'll talk about it after. I'm starving. Without another word she goes back to her pancakes. Tom watches her eat like this is the worst travesty in the history of mankind. SUMMER -LRB- mouth full. -RRB- Mmm, you're so right. These are great! Tom looks at his food in disgust. He may never eat again. SUMMER -LRB- INNOCENT. -RRB- What? Tom stands up to go. SUMMER Tom, do n't. Come back. You're still my best fr - THE SCENE FREEZES AND WE ZOOM IN ON TOM'S STUNNED FACE.", "PAUL Jesus. MCKENZIE That's harsh. TOM I do n't know what I'm gon na do. RACHEL You're gon na be fine. TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- I'm gon na throw up. MCKENZIE Or that. RACHEL Here. Tom drinks more vodka. MCKENZIE Come on Hansen. You'll be ok. You're the best guy I know. You'll find someone. PAUL You know what they say. there's plenty other fish in the sea. TOM No. PAUL Sure they do. They say that. TOM Well they're wrong. It's not true. I've fished in that sea. I've jumped in and swam in that sea! I'm fucking Aquaman! -LRB- to Rachel. -RRB- Sorry. What I mean is. there are no other fish. This was my fish. Paul and McKenzie share a very concerned look. CUT TO :", "TOM I'm in love with Summer. PAUL -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- For real? CUT TO : CU - SUMMER'S SMILE TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I love her smile. CU - SUMMER'S HAIR TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I love her hair. CU - SUMMER'S KNEES TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I love her knees. CU - SUMMER'S EYES TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I love how one eye is higher up on her face than the other eye. CU - SUMMER'S NECK TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I love the scar on her neck from this operation she had as a kid. CU - SUMMER'S BREASTS. -LRB- UNDER A BLACK T - SHIRT. -RRB- TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I love how she looks in my Clash T - shirt. CU - SUMMER ASLEEP TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I love how she looks when she's sleeping. CU - SUMMER'S LAUGH TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I love the sound of her laugh. OVER BLACK, play the middle 8 of `` Every Little Thing She Does is Magic'' by The Police. TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I love how I hear this song every time I think of her. CU - TOM, STARING DIRECTLY AT THE CAMERA. TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I love how she makes me feel. Like anything's possible. Like, I do n't know. like life is worth it. CUT TO :", "TOM For real, Paul. I'm madly in love with that girl. Paul is silent for a beat. PAUL Oh shit.", "MCKENZIE Now I know this may be a little risque. but if New Hampshire Greetings wants the jump on those conservative, right - wing neo - Nazis at Hallmark, maybe playing it safe is the wrong approach. The nuclear family is dead and we need a new holiday to recognize that. Mckenzie holds up a home - made photoshopped family portrait of Martina Navratilova, Ellen DeGeneres, and the kid from `` Jerry Maguire''. MCKENZIE May 21st. Other Mother's Day. The co - workers nod and digest this idea. VANCE is the head of the department. VANCE Hmmm. That's an intriguing idea McKenzie. Along with Grossman's `` Magellan Day'' I'd say we've got some potential here. What do you think Hansen? Could you write up some prototypes for these? Tom is about to answer when. the door opens. SUMMER Excuse me, Mr. Vance? There's a call for you on line 3. And in walks this girl. Summer. We've met her by now but Tom has n't. This is the first time. His eyes go wide and from that moment on, he ca n't take them off her. VANCE -LRB- to the table. -RRB- Everyone this is Summer, my new assistant. Summer just moved here from. SUMMER Michigan. VANCE Right. Michigan. Well, Summer, everyone. Everyone, Summer. Excuse me, I have to take this. SUMMER Nice to meet you all. Summer gives a little wave before following Vance out. She does n't notice Tom whose face looks like he's just seen God.", "TOM What do we know about this new girl? MCKENZIE Who? TOM The new girl. Summer. In Vance's office. MCKENZIE Dude. I hear she's a bitch from hell! TOM -LRB- DISAPPOINTED. -RRB- Really? MCKENZIE Patel tried to talk to her in the copy room. She was totally not having it. TOM Maybe she was just in a hurry. MCKENZIE And maybe she's some uppity, better than everyone, superskank. TOM Damn. MCKENZIE I know. She's pretty hot. TOM That makes me so mad! Why is it pretty girls always think they can treat people like crap and get away with it? MCKENZIE Dunno. TOM Like, just cause she has high cheekbones and soft skin. MCKENZIE and really good teeth. TOM And maybe the world's most perfect breasts. Just cause of that stuff, she can walk around like she's center of the universe? MCKENZIE -LRB- as explanation. -RRB- Women. TOM Ugh. You know what? Screw her! We have n't even met and I ca n't stand her already.", "SUMMER The Smiths. Tom, pretending not to hear or care, gives her an unenthusiastic wave. SUMMER I love The Smiths. Tom, still pretending, takes off his headphones. TOM Sorry? SUMMER I said. I love The Smiths. You have good taste in music. A beat as Tom processes this information. TOM -LRB- AMAZED. -RRB- You like the Smiths? SUMMER -LRB- SINGING. -RRB- `` To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die.'' Love it. The elevator doors open and she gets off. TOM -LRB- accidentally out loud. -RRB- Oh my god.", "TOM Hi. SUMMER Hello. TOM So, uh, Summer. SUMMER Tom. TOM Yeah! How's it going so far? SUMMER The city or the firm? TOM Both. Either. SUMMER I'm happy. Still getting situated. How long have you worked here? TOM Oh, you know, 4, 5. years. SUMMER Really? Jesus. Did you always want to write greeting cards? TOM Are you nuts? I do n't even want to do it now. SUMMER What is it you want to do? TOM I studied to be an architect actually. SUMMER That's so cool! What happened? TOM Eh, you know. Same old story. Moved to the city to work for a company. Company went under. Needed a job. My friend worked here. Got me this. SUMMER And are you any good? TOM -LRB- points to a framed card. -RRB- Well I wrote that one. SUMMER -LRB- READING. -RRB- `` Today You're a Man. Mazel Tov on your Bar Mitzvah.'' TOM It's a big seller. SUMMER I meant, are you any good as an architect? TOM Oh. No. I doubt it. SUMMER Well, I'd say you're a perfectly. adequate. greeting card writer. TOM Why thank you. That's what they called me in college. `` Perfectly adequate'' Hansen. SUMMER They used to call me `` Anal Girl.'' Tom does a spit - take and almost chokes. SUMMER -LRB- EXPLAINING. -RRB- I was very neat and organized. There's an awkward silence. SUMMER Anyway, I should get back. TOM Ok, well, I'll see you around. She walks back to her cubicle at the other end of the hall. Tom watches her walk away, completely enamored. He sits down at his desk and sets out to work. But before he does, his eyes fall on a sketch he drew of a house. It's dated 2001 and it's the only architecture sketch on his wall.", "TOM And it turns out she's read every Graham Greene novel ever published. Her desk is lined with Magritte posters and Edward Hopper. RACHEL Your favorites. TOM We're so compatible it's insane! Seriously! It does n't make sense! She's not like I thought at all. She's. amazing. RACHEL Oh boy. TOM What? RACHEL You know. just cause some cute girl likes the same bizarro music you do does n't make her `` the one.'' TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Of course it does. SARAH -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Dinner! SARAH, 50s, Tom and Rachel's mother, stands in the doorway. SARAH Pause and come eat. They do. Tom enters the living room area and sits down next to his stepdad MARTIN, 60s, a quiet, professorial Southern gentleman type. TOM Hey Martin. ANGLE ON RACHEL and Sarah. RACHEL He met a girl. SARAH -LRB- EXCITED. -RRB- Yeah? RACHEL -LRB- GRIM. -RRB- Yeah. Sarah grows serious too. SARAH Oh shit. CUT TO : STOCK FOOTAGE. The Wright Brothers, Galileo, Heaven's Gate, Neil Armstrong. NARRATOR When one strongly believes in something, it takes overwhelming contradictory evidence to change their minds. END ON : LITTLE TOM, age 6, mesmerized by a vinyl album cover of Olivia Newton - John in `` Xanadu.'' NARRATOR Tom had always been a devout believer in the idea of `` true love.'' -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- The evidence did not support him. CUT TO :. -LRB- - 8914. -RRB-", "NARRATOR Exhibit A : Lisa Rayner. The Little Girl stands up and walks the picture over to ANOTHER BOY. Tom is mortified. The OTHER BOY eats the drawing. -LRB- - 5313. -RRB-", "NARRATOR Exhibit B : Wendy Wilson. Once Tom is out of frame, a SECOND BOY approaches Wendy. Then they start making out. -LRB- - 2825. -RRB-", "TOM I'm so glad we decided to go away together Bec. I know we've only been dating a few months but it's been. awesome. NARRATOR Exhibit C : Rebecca Myles. TOM And now, you and me, 8 days in Mexico. best spring break ever! Across the aisle Rebecca makes eye contact with three COLLEGE DUDES. REBECCA I think we should see other people. -LRB- - 734. -RRB-", "NARRATOR And, finally. Exhibit D : Amanda Heller. AMANDA It's just. it's complicated. TOM What's complicated? Last week you said you loved me! AMANDA I know it's sudden but. TOM No, this ca n't be. Everything was going so great. I do n't understand. AMANDA -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Here. TOM What's this? She puts a disc into the cd player. AMANDA Because you're, like, the biggest music nerd I've ever met, I think this should really help explain where I'm coming from. A pop song begins to play on the stereo. They listen for a few beats. Tom is confused. AMANDA You remember how much I loved this song when you first played it for me? TOM Sure. It's all you wanted to listen to for weeks. AMANDA Right. And I still like it, do n't get me wrong. It's just. When I hear it now, I do n't feel the same. rush. TOM -LRB- still confused. -RRB- Ok. AMANDA I press the skip button. Still Tom does n't understand. TOM What does this have to do with -? AMANDA I'd rather listen to something else. And with that, it slowly sinks in for him. TOM But Amanda. this is a great fucking song!", "TOM It's off. PAUL What? TOM Me and Summer. MCKENZIE Was it ever on? TOM No. But it could have been. In a world where good things happen to me. PAUL Yeah well, that's not really where we live. TOM No. MCKENZIE So what happened? TOM You ready for this?", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So there we are. All alone. Nine more floors to ride. Plenty of time. I figure. this is my chance. If not now when, right? They ride in silence for a few beats. TOM Summer. SUMMER Yeah? TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- So how was your weekend? SUMMER It was good.", "TOM You believe that shit? MCKENZIE What shit? PAUL I think I missed something. TOM `` It was good.'' She did n't say `` It was good.'' She said `` It was good.'' Emphasis on the good. She basically said `` I spent the weekend having sex with this guy I met at the gym.'' Fucking whore. Screw her. It's over. Everyone's silent. MCKENZIE What the hell is wrong with you?! PAUL Dude, you got problems. TOM She's not interested in me. There's nothing I can do. MCKENZIE Based on. `` it was good?'' TOM And some other things. PAUL Like what, she said `` hey'' instead of `` hi'' cause that totally means she's a lesbian. TOM I gave her all sorts of chances.", "SUMMER I'm going to the supply room. Anyone need anything? MCKENZIE No thanks. TOM I think you know what I need. There's a beat. TOM Toner. SUMMER Oh ok, sure, no prob.", "", "TOM Do you want to go out with me? A beat. Summer says nothing. TOM And the Priest says, `` But we're already out!'' They both laugh. SUMMER That is hilarious! TOM I know! And when she walks away, he smacks his head a few times with his palm.", "INT LOCAL DIVE BAR - AS BEFORE TOM Not once did she take the bait. Not once. Screw it. I'm done with her. It's over. Tom's friends all look at him like he's crazy. -LRB- 27 & 28. -RRB-", "MCKENZIE This Friday. 10 bucks all you can karaoke at The Well. TOM No way McKenzie. Absolutely not. MCKENZIE Come on! -LRB- SINGING. -RRB- `` Take me down to the paradise city where the grass is green and they got big titties!'' TOM They wo n't let you back in there after last time. MCKENZIE I was n't that bad. TOM Not at all. You just threw up on the stage, tried to fight the bartender, and then threatened to burn the place down before passing out on the sidewalk. Quiet night for you. MCKENZIE -LRB- REVERENTIAL. -RRB- You saved my life that day. TOM We are not going back there. MCKENZIE This is a work thing, Tommy. It wo n't be like that. The whole office is going. TOM I really ca n't. Even if I wanted to. There's a lot of stuff I got ta take care of. MCKENZIE You're not listening to me. TOM What? MCKENZIE The whole office is going. Tom looks over to where Summer sits. And realization dawns on him.", "TOM Hi. SUMMER Hey! They said you were n't coming. TOM You asked if I was coming? -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- I mean. my plans got cancelled. Tom is at a loss. There's yet another awkward silent beat between them. Thankfully, it's interrupted by. MCKENZIE -LRB- already drunk. -RRB- Goddamn that song is brilliant! What's up Hansen? Summer sees the next song come up on the screen. SUMMER Ooh that's me. She downs a shot and jumps up on stage. SUMMER -LRB- into mic. -RRB- Ok. I'm the new girl so no making fun of me. Her co - workers whistle and cheer her on. She takes a deep breath as the opening bars of `` Born to Run'' begin to play and Summer starts to sing. Tom sees Summer as the actress in whatever nonsensical karaoke video accompanies the song. -LRB- it's something to do with an old convertible, the sunset, and a midget in a tuxedo. -RRB- LATER. Tom sits in the booth with McKenzie. -LRB- doing a shot. -RRB- as Summer chats with co - workers at another table. Tom ca n't help but stare at Summer. She notices and waves. He smiles, hopeful that she'll come over. She does n't. He hides his disappointment. LATER. Tom walks back to his table with drinks. Summer is there in mid - conversation with McKenzie. TOM You were great up there, by the way. SUMMER Well you ca n't go wrong with The Boss. TOM -LRB- sitting down. -RRB- I hear that. MCKENZIE Hey, did you know Tom here's from Jersey? SUMMER Yeah? TOM Lived there til I was 12. SUMMER I named my cat after Springsteen. TOM No kidding? What's his name? SUMMER Bruce. TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- That makes sense. She laughs. She's really cute when she laughs. MCKENZIE So you got a boyfriend? SUMMER Me? No. Tom shoots daggers at McKenzie for that comment. McKenzie mouths `` what?'' Summer sees nothing. MCKENZIE Why not? SUMMER Do n't really want one. MCKENZIE Come on. I do n't believe that. SUMMER You do n't believe a woman could enjoy being free and independent? MCKENZIE -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Are you a lesbian? SUMMER No, I'm not a lesbian. I'm just not comfortable being somebody's `` girlfriend.'' I do n't want to be anybody's anything, you know? MCKENZIE I have no idea what you're talking about. SUMMER It sounds selfish, I know, but. I just like being on my own. Relationships are messy and feelings are always getting hurt. Who needs all that? We're young. We're in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I say, let's have as much fun as we can afford and leave the serious shit for later. TOM But. what if you meet someone and fall in love? SUMMER -LRB- LAUGHS. -RRB- Love? You seriously believe in that stuff? TOM Of course I do. SUMMER Interesting. A real romantic. MCKENZIE Oh you have no idea. This one. embarrassing. There was this one girl. -LRB- to Tom. -RRB- I got ta tell this story - Tom elbows McKenzie hard in the ribs to shut him up. TOM Summer, hold on. you do n't believe in love? SUMMER I do n't even know what that word means. I know I've never felt it, whatever it is in all those songs. And I know that today most marriages end in divorce. Like my parents. TOM Well mine too but - SUMMER Oh yeah, And I read in Newsweek, there were these scientists who found that by stimulating a part of the brain with electrodes you can make a person fall in `` love'' with a rock. Is that the love you're talking about? TOM Well. SUMMER Why, what's your take on it? CUT TO : AN ANIMATION SEQUENCE, real quick. AN EXPLOSION OF MANY DIFFERENT COLORS, COMPLETE WITH A CHOIR AND A CHURCH ORGAN ALL BUILDING TO A HUGE CRESCENDO. BACK TO :", "TOM I think it's. kind of a huge thing. SUMMER -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Ok. Looks like we're gon na have to agree to disagree on that one. McKenzie senses some discontent. MCKENZIE So, uh, who's singing next? SUMMER -LRB- re : singing. -RRB- I'd say it's your turn loverboy. TOM Nooo. I do n't sing in public. SUMMER Sure you do. I see you lip - synching to your headphones every morning on your way in. TOM I do n't. MCKENZIE You really do. SUMMER It's ok. I like it. Takes a lot of self - confidence to look ridiculous. MCKENZIE -LRB- ca n't help himself. -RRB- Self - confidence! Ha! Tom elbows him in the ribs again. TOM Anyway, I'm not near drunk enough to sing in front of all these people. SUMMER Ok then. Let's drink. TOM It would take at least ten shots to get me to sing. SUMMER Bartender! TEN MINUTES LATER. Tom is up there singing The Clash's `` Magnificent Seven.'' You would n't think so but Tom is a ROCK STAR up there! He's dancing like Jagger, he's got everyone in the bar singing along to the audience - participation parts. It's a sight to behold. Summer is all smiles watching. LATER. Tom and Summer back at the table. Summer is humming something. TOM That's not it. SUMMER What is that then? TOM I have no idea. They're both having a good time. SUMMER I used to watch it every week. TOM Me too. Why ca n't we think of the stupid A - Team theme song. SUMMER Pathetic. TOM This is gon na bother me for weeks. SUMMER Totally. They share another laugh and then it gets quiet. In that good way. ANGLE ON McKenzie, wasted, singing the shit out of `` Proud to Be an American.'' He really means it. At any minute he might start to cry. MCKENZIE `` And I'd proudly stand UP!''. -LRB- aggressive drunk. -RRB- I said stand! BACK ON TOM and SUMMER. TOM Oh here we go.", "MCKENZIE -LRB- to Summer. -RRB- This guy. -LRB- DRAMATICALLY. -RRB- He's the best. TOM Ok, let's get you in a cab. MCKENZIE No. I'm gon na walk. I live right down that street. Or that one. SUMMER -LRB- LAUGHING. -RRB- Is he gon na be ok? TOM He'll be fine. A cab arrives. Tom and Summer help McKenzie inside. MCKENZIE Hey. TOM What's up? MCKENZIE Not you. You. -LRB- beat, to Summer. -RRB- He likes you. TOM -LRB- QUICKLY. -RRB- Ok, goodnight McKenzie! MCKENZIE I mean. likes you, likes you. For real. Tell her Tom. Tom shuts the door on McKenzie as fast as he can. Now it's just Tom and Summer. Tom talks a mile a minute to try and erase McKenzie's last exchange from her mind. TOM Sorry you had to see that. Happens every time we come here. It's unbelievable. Something about that guy and singing for people. I do n't know. But at least he did n't - SUMMER Is that true? TOM What? SUMMER You know what. Do you. like me? TOM Yeah. I like you. Of course I do. SUMMER As a friend. TOM Right. As a friend. SUMMER Just as a friend? The wheels are spinning in Tom's head. What's the right answer here? TOM Yes. I mean. I have n't really thought about. Yes. Why? SUMMER Nothing. I just. You're interesting. I'd like us to be friends. Is that ok? Tom was clearly hoping for her to say something else. He hides his disappointment the best he can. TOM Oh yeah totally. Friends. You and me. That's. perfect. SUMMER Cool. TOM Cool. Silence. SUMMER Well, I'm that way. Good night Tom. TOM G'night Summer. Tom watches her walk away for a beat before he turns to go the other way. TOM -LRB- under his breath. -RRB- Friends. Awesome. That's just great. Well done Hansen, you idiot. Tom walks a few more steps. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, without his even noticing, SUMMER HAS WRAPPED HER ARMS AROUND HIM AND PULLED HIM INTO A KISS! It's unbelievable. There's a few seconds where Tom is n't sure if he's dreaming or not. But then he realizes, suddenly, out of the blue, his best case scenario really is actually happening. FADE UP : `` YOU MAKE MY DREAMS COME TRUE'' by Hall and Oates.", "", "SUMMER Hey! TOM Hey! Vance pokes out of his corner office. VANCE. says. Summer, I need - Oh hello Hansen. TOM Hey Mr. Vance. SUMMER Yes, Mr. Vance? And they're all business. As Tom turns to go, however, Summer gives him a little coy smile that would be enough to make anyone's day complete. Tom gives her the international signal for ` I'll call you later' in return. Vance sees none of it. Tom walks to his cubicle, still on top of the world.", "PAUL You son of a bitch. He walks inside without waiting for an invite. PAUL Last night, karaoke night? TOM -LRB- ANXIOUS. -RRB- Shhh. PAUL The same girl you'd been whining and crying and bitching about for weeks now? TOM I have not been. PAUL The same girl you said was way out of your league and you'd have no chance with no matter what. That girl? TOM Paul, seriously. PAUL Did you bang her? TOM No! PAUL Blow job? TOM No! PAUL Hand job? TOM No, Paul, no jobs. I'm still unemployed. We just kissed. PAUL Come on, level with me. As your best friend, who tolerated a whole month of talk talk talk about this girl, nothing but Summer this, Summer that, Summer Summer Summer, I mean you were practically stalking her. TOM Shhh! Suddenly, the sound of a toilet flushing is heard. From the bathroom emerges Summer, dressed to go out. PAUL Oh crap. SUMMER Hi, I'm Summer. PAUL Summer, wow what an unusual name. I'm sure I'd remember that if I had heard it before. Tom, how come you've never mentioned you knew such a lovely little lady? -LRB- off Tom's nasty look. -RRB- Or perhaps you have and I've just forgot. -LRB- to Summer. -RRB- I mean, with all the women in Tom's life it's hard to keep track. -LRB- not helping. -RRB- Ok, well, I was just. I'm Paul. SUMMER Hi Paul. PAUL -LRB- not sure what else to SAY. -RRB- I'm a doctor. SUMMER Nice to meet you. PAUL Anyway, I'm leaving now. Pretend I was never here. Tom, talk to you later? Hey, If any jobs open up. Tom quickly shuts the door on Paul. TOM If you heard. SUMMER Heard what? TOM Excellent. You ready to go. SUMMER I'm stalking, STARVING! Tom realizes she's heard it all. TOM -LRB- PLAYFULLY. -RRB- He exaggerates!", "TOM Check them out. Summer sees. She has no reaction. TOM -LRB- SARCASTIC. -RRB- That is hot. Summer keeps eating. TOM I am very turned on right now. SUMMER Sometimes you can be so judgmental. TOM Huh? SUMMER I mean, who are you? They're happy. Just mind your own business. Summer goes back to eating. Tom ca n't believe she snapped.", "TOM 9, 9.5? SUMMER Too soon to say. It's all in the dismount. TOM If we're lucky, there wo n't be a dismount. Summer, her cheeks flushed already from laughing, loses it again. They are having a great night. SUMMER I ca n't believe them. I have like zero patience for PDA. TOM I hear ya. If I want to watch people make out, I have big windows and binoculars at home. SUMMER Yeah? TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- No. That would be wrong. They laugh some more. She is in hysterics. SUMMER This is fun. You're fun. TOM Thanks. SUMMER I mean, I just want to say, up front, I'm not looking for anything serious. Tom is a little surprised. SUMMER Are you cool with that? TOM -LRB- UNCONVINCING. -RRB- Sure. SUMMER It freaks some guys out when I say that. TOM -LRB- still confused. -RRB- Not me. SUMMER Let's just have fun. Let's just. hang out, no pressure, no labels, no obligations. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Ok? Tom is visibly disappointed by this but he tries to hide it. TOM Sure. SUMMER -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Wan na hold my hand under the table? A beat. TOM Yeah.", "TOM I'll be. back in a sec. He walks into the hallway, out of her sight. He looks into the hallway mirror. TOM Settle. Do n't get too excited. She's just a girl. There's lots of them. Who look like that. And like what you like. They're everywhere. Calm yourself. He takes a few deep breaths. TOM Are you calm? -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Ok. Then it's time to go back in. We watch from behind as he re - enters his bedroom. Where Summer waits. Under the covers. Naked. SUMMER Hi. TOM Oh sweet Jesus! Tom ca n't help but do a little celebration dance. CUT TO : LATER. Sex has been had. Summer is asleep. Tom lies next to her. He still ca n't help but be ecstatic. He is pumping his fists in the air and silently shouting `` Woo Hoo!'' CU - TOM. LOOKING THE WORSE FOR WEAR. UNSHAVEN, LONG HAIR, CRUMPLED CLOTHING. IN SHORT, HE'S A MESS. TOM -LRB- into CAMERA. -RRB- I fucking hate Summer. CU - SUMMER'S SMILE. -LRB- as before. -RRB- TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I hate her crooked teeth. CU - SUMMER'S HAIR. -LRB- as before. -RRB- TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I hate her 1950s haircut. CU - SUMMER'S KNEES. -LRB- as before. -RRB- TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I hate her knobby knees. CU - SUMMER'S EYES. -LRB- as before. -RRB- TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I hate her lopsided, asymmetrical, cock - eyed head. CU - SUMMER'S NECK. -LRB- as before. -RRB- TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I hate that centipede - shaped scar. CU - SUMMER'S BREASTS. -LRB- as before. -RRB- TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I hate her. stupid. big boobs. CU - SUMMER ASLEEP. -LRB- as before. -RRB- TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I hate the way she sleeps. CU - SUMMER'S LAUGH TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I hate the way she laughs. OVER BLACK, play the middle 8 of `` Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.'' TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I HATE THIS FUCKING SONG! CU - TOM. REVERSE ANGLE on A TROLLEY FULL OF PEOPLE, terrified of this raving lunatic. BUS DRIVER Son, you're gon na have to exit the vehicle. CUT TO :", "", "TOM It's very. complex. SUMMER Complex. Yes. CU : a second painting which is nothing but red. ANGLE ON Summer and Tom looking at it with the same expressions. SUMMER In a way, it speaks so much by saying. so little. TOM I feel the same way. CU : a third painting which could only be, well, poop. ANGLE ON Summer and Tom, still perplexed but trying. They say nothing, until : TOM You wan na go to the movies? SUMMER -LRB- RELIEVED. -RRB- God yes!", "", "", "TOM A lot of people have problems with this, but to me, it makes both structures so much more beautiful side by side like that.", "TOM The guy who made this, Maybeck, he is a God.", "TOM It just makes you feel. peaceful. They really do seem at peace.", "TOM No. See now, this is torture. SUMMER Why? TOM Over there, that's St. Patrick's church. The beauty of St. Patrick's is its humility. With this giant mirror thing deflecting all the attention away, it's too humble. No one even knows it's there. SUMMER How would you change it? TOM There's a million things. First, there's no need for this much glass. You could easily. SUMMER Show me. TOM What? SUMMER Do n't talk about it. Do it. Summer gives him a pen from her purse and the underside of her arm. Tom thinks about this. Then he starts to draw a sketch on her skin. We catch her watching his face as he draws. She's attracted to his enthusiasm. TOM See this beam, it steps on the landscape. But if we moved it. just so.", "SUMMER You wan na - TOM No you go first. SUMMER It does n't matter to me. TOM Whatever you want. A CO - WORKER passes. CO-WORKER Hey Summer. Tom. BOTH -LRB- like nothing's up. -RRB- Hey. / Hi. Summer joins the co - worker and walks in. SUMMER -LRB- to Co - Worker. -RRB- So how's it going? She turns back to look at Tom on the way. She sticks out her tongue to be cute. Co - Worker does n't see. Tom is crazy about her.", "TOM Hello? SUMMER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I remember!", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That's it! McKenzie enters and sees her singing into the phone. Turns without a word and leaves.", "MCKENZIE Your girl is losing it. Tom is too wrapped up in the phone call to acknowledge him. The smile on his face is the biggest we've seen yet.", "SUMMER This is not at all as easy as it looks. TOM Ow! The curtain rips and the bar comes crashing down. They fall on top of each other laughing.", "TOM There's no way. SUMMER Why not? TOM `` Octopus's Garden?'' You may as well just say `` Piggies?'' SUMMER I told you. I love Ringo. TOM You're insane. SUMMER Why? TOM Cause nobody loves Ringo. SUMMER That's what I love about him. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Ooh. Summer drags Tom into the curtained - off `` Porn'' section. She picks up a box. SUMMER -LRB- FLIRTATIOUS. -RRB- This got great reviews.", "", "SUMMER Is that. possible?", "PAUL So what's going on with you and Summer? TOM I do n't know. PAUL Is she your girlfriend? TOM I would n't say that. MCKENZIE What would you say? TOM Like, are we `` going steady?'' Come on, guys. We're adults. PAUL It's not an unreasonable question. Watch. McKenzie, do you have a girlfriend? MCKENZIE No I do not. In fact girls are repulsed by me. Paul, how about you? PAUL Why yes, in fact I do. Her name is Robyn. See Tom, it's easy. TOM It is when you've been with the same girl since high school. PAUL You've been `` seeing'' this girl, what, two months now? TOM Something like that. PAUL And you have n't discussed it? TOM No! She's not. We're not like that. PAUL Like what? MCKENZIE Normal. TOM We've just been. hanging out. PAUL Hanging out?! TOM Yeah. Guys, look, Summer and I. we know how we feel. We do n't need to label it. `` Boyfriend, girlfriend.'' That stuff is very. juvenile. Beat. MCKENZIE You're so gay. PAUL Well let me ask you this then. Do you want her to be your girlfriend? Tom takes a second to think about this. TOM I do n't know. Maybe. MCKENZIE I heard her Hansen. She's not the girlfriend type. You're gon na need to discuss it. TOM No. We're adults. It'll be fine. MCKENZIE Have you made her a CD yet? TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Maybe. MCKENZIE Oh dude. PAUL You really need to have that talk.", "RACHEL You were saying? TOM My thinking is. why rock the boat? Things are going well. If we start putting labels on it, that's like the kiss of death. Like saying to a girl `` I love you.'' RACHEL I know what you mean. That's what happened with me and Sean. TOM Who the hell's Sean? RACHEL My boyfriend before Mark. TOM Who the f -! Never mind. Help me. I need solid female advice. RACHEL I'm 12. TOM Yeah but, you know me. This is the kinda stuff that always gets me in trouble. RACHEL Hmm. So, basically you do want to ask the question, ` are we boyfriend/girlfriend?' You're just afraid you'll get an answer you do n't want and that will shatter your illusions of how good everything's been these past few months. Is that about right? TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Something like that. RACHEL Thomas, tell me this. Is it worse to get the wrong answer now. or find out in a month she has a date coming up with Lars from Norway? TOM Who's Lars? RACHEL He's a professional surfer with Brad Pitt's face and Jesus's abs. TOM That son of a bitch. RACHEL You see what I mean? The whistle blows again and Rachel gets up to go back on the field. RACHEL Later dude. TOM Coach, no, wait! I need her. -LRB- shouting to Rachel. -RRB- Rachel, what do you think I should do? RACHEL -LRB- calling back. -RRB- Just do n't be a pussy. On Tom, we : CUT TO :", "SUMMER Hi. TOM Hi. SUMMER Are you ok? TOM Yeah. SUMMER You sure? He's not. He clenches his teeth. And begins. TOM Summer, I've got ta ask you something. SUMMER Ok. He takes a deep breath. He's about to go on when : SUMMER Wait! Summer finds on the radio a particular song. -LRB- `` Waiting in Vain'' by Bob Marley, if you must know. -RRB- SUMMER Whoa. Oh my god. We ca n't talk during this song. It's too beautiful. And it is. Tom's hand is on the gear shift. She puts hers there and locks it with his. Tom listens and Tom watches Summer listening. There's something about this moment, the way she sings along, the way her eyes close during certain notes, the way her smile rises and falls like she could cry at any minute from being overwhelmingly happy or just simply overwhelmed. Tom is powerless to stop his feelings for this girl. Marley sings : B.M. `` In life I know there's lots of grief / but your love is my relief.'' We know, as well as he does : he will ask nothing tonight.", "", "", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` So he broke your heart. You've been sad and depressed for weeks. Perhaps you've turned to drinking or even drugs. And nothing's helped. Now what? Should you binge on rocky road and watch soaps all day?'' SECONDS LATER. Tom sits in his bed eating ice cream. He continues to read. TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` No you should not.'' He slowly puts the ice cream down. TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Through extensive research, we have found the six most effective ways to get over that lost love and make room in your heart for a new man to fill. Those steps are :''", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` One. Exercise. The body's release of endorphins will assuage the brain and provide a genuine sense of accomplishment and success.'' Cars pass him at top speed. Bicycles breeze by him. A child on a big wheel soars past. He may as well be jogging in place.", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Two. Physical and Mental relaxation. Channel all of your energies to the core of your being for a new understanding of the self and others.'' This shit is really fucking hard when you're as inflexible as Tom. Everyone else in the class seems at peace. Tom ca n't even get the breathing right.", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Three. Charity. Reach out! You are not alone in your pain.'' Next in line is a HOMELESS COUPLE holding hands. Tom spirits immediately fall. Even these two somehow found each other.", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Four. Shoe Shopping! Ladies. you know you want to. Indulge!'' ANGLE ON TOM, just sorta standing there. Confused. He does n't really want new shoes.", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Five. Travel. Take some time to see another environment. Get perspective. It's a beautiful world. It will be for you again someday.'' This is it, he's finally found some peace. Tom looks up to the tops of the trees where the sunlight is peeking in and takes a deep breath. FREEZE ON TOM. INFORMATION BUBBLES pop up on the screen to point out that Tom is standing in POISON OAK. There's a RUSTY BEAR TRAP a step ahead of him. A giant POISONOUS SNAKE creeping up behind him. A TICK on his leg. And in the distance a HUNTER has Tom sized up in his rifle sight. UNFREEZE. Tom starts to itch.", "TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Six. Redecorate. Start anew.'' He's focused on his task and in fact seems pretty good at it. TOM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` By taking these few steps, you will have discovered your inner strength and should be ready to move on. I bet you can hardly remember his face at all.'' We pull back to REVEAL Tom has painted a giant mural of Summer on his wall. He looks at the self - help book and dropkicks it.", "TOM I just do n't get women's fashion nowadays. Everybody with the tattoos, the giant hoop earrings, those annoying hats. Explain this to me. SUMMER People think it looks good. TOM Do you? SUMMER On some. TOM I like how you dress. SUMMER Yeah? What if I started wearing berets and got a huge butterfly tattoo on my leg? TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Please do n't. A tall, well - built, GOOD - LOOKING DOUCHEBAG GUY has suddenly appeared next to them. DOUCHE -LRB- to Summer. -RRB- Hey. Tom and Summer stop talking. SUMMER Hey. DOUCHE How's it going? SUMMER Ok. Tom puts his hands in his pockets and watches this exchange go down. Not sure what else to do. At this point he's more amused than concerned. DOUCHE You live around here? SUMMER Yeah not too far. DOUCHE I've never seen you here before. SUMMER You're not too perceptive. DOUCHE Ha. That's funny. Tom smiles to himself. This guy's a tool. Nothing to worry about. DOUCHE So, uh, let me buy you a drink. SUMMER No thank you. As she answers Summer gives a quick glance over to Tom. The Guy notices. Up to this point he had not connected the two of them together. DOUCHE Are you with this guy? Tom realizes he has to sort of say something now. TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Hi. I'm Tom. DOUCHE Whatever. -LRB- to Summer. -RRB- Come on, one drink. What are you drinking? SUMMER Sorry, no thank you. Tom is pleased. DOUCHE You're serious? This guy? And now he's pissed. TOM Hey buddy - SUMMER -LRB- to the Douche. -RRB- Do n't be rude. I'm flattered, I'm just not interested. Now why do n't you go back over there and leave us alone, ok? DOUCHE It's a free country. Summer and Tom make eye contact again, as if to say `` now what?'' After a beat : DOUCHE So you and him, huh? I ca n't believe that. Is this guy really your boyfriend? And that question hangs in the air. Tom, panicked, decides to cut the silence. All the pent up uncertainty and confusion, coupled with the challenge to his manhood in front of the woman he loves, all manifests in one single, solid, almost automatic RIGHT CROSS TO THE GOOD LOOKING DOUCHEBAG'S FACE. Which connects spot on and sends the Douche reeling. Both Douche and Tom wince at the pain. -LRB- Douche's chin, Tom's fist. -RRB-. There's a beat of calm where Tom is actually sorta surprised. And then the Douche spins around and starts PUMMELLING TOM. CUT TO :", "TOM Did you see that punch? I do n't know where it came from. I have n't punched someone since Josh Greenberg in fifth grade. Guess I'm gon na have to throw out this shirt. Summer starts walking ahead and Tom notices for the first time she's furious. TOM Hey. What is it? SUMMER I ca n't believe you. TOM What? SUMMER You were so completely uncool in there. TOM You're mad at me? I just got my ass kicked for you. SUMMER Oh that was for me? You were, what, protecting me? Next time Tommy, do n't. I fight my own battles. TOM Come on, that guy was an asshole! SUMMER You did n't have to hit him. Why did n't you just let me handle it? TOM I do n't know. He was - SUMMER See. This is why I do n't want a serious relationship. TOM Whoa. What was that? SUMMER Nothing. Look, I like you Tom. I like this. What we've been doing. But maybe it's gone too. TOM What? SUMMER I told you all along what I do n't want and it's. Tom waits for more. It does n't come. SUMMER I'm tired. Can we talk about this tomorrow? It's silent. He does n't know what to do or say or think. Neither of them say a word as they go their separate ways. TOM -LRB- calling to her. -RRB- I just got my ass kicked! Only the CROWD outside the bar hear this. TOM -LRB- to Onlookers. -RRB- I got one good shot in. -LRB- 146 & 147. -RRB-", "TOM -LRB- GENUINE. -RRB- Hi. SUMMER -LRB- COLD. -RRB- Hi. TOM What's up? SUMMER Nothing. TOM Ok. Nothing else is said. TOM Wait, are you still mad at me? SUMMER -LRB- rolling her eyes. -RRB- Tom. TOM Holy shit you are. I ca n't believe you! SUMMER -LRB- re : copies. -RRB- Are you almost done? TOM Yeah. I'm all done. He starts to walk out. TOM You know what. Sometimes you really do n't make any sense. Tom walks out. He looks back but she is n't looking. When she looks back at him, he's gone. LATER. Tom about to leave the office. Passes Summer's desk. She's on the phone. He wants to stop and say something but she's busy. He walks on. She never knew he was there. LATER. Summer, packed up to go, walks over to Tom's cubicle but he's already gone. SPLITSCREEN - INT. BOTH APARTMENTS - THAT NIGHT Left : Tom tosses and turns in his sleep. Right : Summer lies awake, staring at the ceiling. Left : Tom picks up the phone. Is about to dial when he stops himself and hangs up. Right : Summer looks at her phone, willing it to ring. It does n't.", "SUMMER Say you're sorry. TOM Huh? SUMMER Say you're sorry for acting like a jerk. TOM I am. I'm sorry for acting like a jerk. SUMMER Ok. Me too. TOM Summer. we do n't have to label what we're doing. I just. I need - SUMMER I know - TOM Consistency. I need to know you wo n't wake up tomorrow and feel a different way. SUMMER I ca n't promise you that. Nobody can. Anyone who does is a liar. A beat. SUMMER I can only tell you how I feel right now. or I can show you. She comes in and kisses him. He thinks about it for a second. Is this enough to assuage his doubts? Damn it, she wins again. He shuts the door in our faces.", "TOM Have you ever had a real `` boyfriend?'' SUMMER What? TOM A boyfriend. `` Going steady.'' Whatever. You know what I mean. SUMMER Well. yeah. TOM More than one? SUMMER A few. TOM Tell me about them. SUMMER Oh no way. TOM Why? SUMMER Cause there's nothing to tell. TOM Come on, I'm interested. SUMMER You wan na have the relationship history conversation? TOM Yes. SUMMER You sure about that? TOM No. Yeah. I do n't know. Why not? I can take it. SUMMER Ok. Well, in high school, there was Markus. INSERT : Still photograph of MARKUS. Or at least how he appears in Tom's mind. Arm cocked, about to throw the winning touchdown pass. TOM Quarterback slash homecoming king? SUMMER He was a rower. Very hot. TOM What happened to Markus? SUMMER He works for the Republican party. Very successful. Just not for me. TOM Ok. And then? SUMMER Well, for a short time in college, there was Kurt. INSERT : Still photograph of KURT. As Tom envisions him. Playing the guitar on stage in Motley Crue. SUMMER That did n't really go anywhere. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- And. my semester in Rome. Daniele Belardelli. AKA `` The Puma.'' INSERT : Still photograph of THE PUMA. A swarthy Italian posing in front of a Vespa moped in tight Gucci pants, his boner clearly trying to escape. TOM The Puma? SUMMER Yeah, cause, you know. Tom has no idea. And he does n't want to know. TOM And that's it? SUMMER The ones that lasted. TOM What happened? Why did n't they work out? SUMMER Nothing happened really. It's what always happens. Life. On TOM. Silent for a few beats. Did he want to hear that? CUT TO :. -LRB- 290S. -RRB-", "", "", "", "ALISON So how long have you known Paul and Robyn? TOM Since grade school. ALISON No way, really? That's crazy. TOM Yeah. ALISON Well I'm glad you called. They spoke very highly of you. TOM Great.", "ALISON So. uh. how's it going? TOM Ok. Beat. ALISON You've been pretty quiet. TOM Sorry. ALISON I'm pretty quiet too. Usually. It's nice sometimes to be comfortable enough that you can just sit and eat and not have to say anything, you know? TOM Uh - huh. More silence. ALISON Do you want to try some - TOM No thanks. Alison looks at her food. Tom realizes he's been difficult, starts to feel kinda bad. TOM I'm sorry. It's just. there's this girl. ALISON Oh. TOM I'm not usually like this. I was n't before. Long story short, she wrecked me. I do n't know if you can tell but it was pretty recent and I'm still kinda thinking about her. ALISON -LRB- DISAPPOINTED. -RRB- Well maybe you should think about. someone else. who could cheer you up. TOM I ca n't get her out of my head, you know? I see her everywhere. She's all I think about. And it's horrible. Cause I totally did n't see it coming. I thought things were fine. So now I keep going through every day in my mind, every second really. Wondering. What went wrong? Is it my fault? Could I have prevented it somehow?", "TOM A lot of people have problems with this, but to me, it makes both structures so much more beautiful side by side like that. Tom keeps talking. Summer turns and looks directly at the CAMERA. SUMMER While you continue to talk about buildings and whatever other bullshit interests you, I'll just nod my head and pretend to listen while secretly dreaming about the many ways I can one day rip out your heart and eat it like the rabid vampire I am.", "TOM Maybe there were things I could have said or done, you know?", "", "ALISON Waiter! TOM Or. Christ, I do n't know, maybe she was never that interested in me to begin with.", "TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- How was your weekend? SUMMER -LRB- winks at him. -RRB- It was good.", "INT RESTAURANT - SAME TOM Anyway. sorry. If I'm acting strange, that's why. ALISON It's ok. I'm sure it's tough getting over an ex - girlfriend. TOM Actually she was never my girlfriend. Now Alison is really confused. And it's right around the part where Tom starts totally cracking up. TOM I just. I thought I'd have figured it out by now, you know? My life. Where I'm going, where I want to end up, who with. All that stuff. I still do n't know anything. And the thing is. When I was with Summer, none of that mattered. I never even noticed how much of my life was missing! Is n't that weird? ALISON You were in love, that's what it does. But, now that you know where the holes are you can start to fill them. TOM Sure. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Hey, I've been talking non - stop. You talk. ALISON Me? Well I grew up - TOM So what do you think? Did I do something? Did I not do something? What can I do now? ALISON I. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- You wan na get out of here? I know this great. TOM -LRB- suddenly excited. -RRB- Oh! You know what we should do.", "TOM `` You said you'd stand by your man! / So tell me something I do n't understand. You said you loved me! / And that's a fact! And then you left me, said you felt trapped! Alison sits by herself in a booth trying to hide her face. TOM `` You did n't stand by me! Not at all! You did n't stand by me,'' I'm talking about you Summer! On Alison, having the worst date ever. CUT TO :", "", "", "SUMMER Hey it's me. TOM Hello me. You having a good day? SUMMER I am thank you. Listen, about tonight. I think I might just stay in and go to bed early. TOM What? Why? SUMMER I'm just really tired and I've got ta go in early tomorrow. Would you be super mad at me if we went out this weekend instead? TOM Well. You do n't want to just, maybe, go to dinner. I mean, you've got ta eat right? SUMMER I'm not really that hungry. And this place is fancy right? TOM -LRB- touching his tie. -RRB- Sorta. SUMMER I'd rather not. Seriously, do you mind? Tom is standing still now, no longer moving. He's trying to keep his frustration from being audible. TOM Hey, no, that's cool. Whatever you want to do. SUMMER Thank you. So we'll talk tomorrow, alright? TOM Sure. SUMMER Great. Good night Tom. TOM Good night. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Hey, Happy. birthday. But the line is dead. Tom's head sinks into his chest. Yet another frustrating night. CUT TO : CU PAUL, TALKING DIRECTLY TO THE CAMERA DOCUMENTARY STYLE PAUL I just got lucky I guess. We met in elementary school. We had the same class schedule in the 7th grade and we just. clicked. CUT TO : CU MCKENZIE. MCKENZIE Love? Shit, I do n't know. As long as she's cute and she's willing, right? Actually, cute is a strong word. Not atrocious. CU RACHEL. RACHEL That's a pretty complex question. Philosophers, poets, scientists, everybody has a theory, do n't they? I kinda like what Nietzsche said : `` There is always some madness in love, but there is also. always some reason in madness.'' Think about it. Pretty smart. Although, Nietzsche also said `` Kill the Jews.'' So there's that. CU VANCE. VANCE. says. I've been happily married for 30 years. She's the light that guides me home. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Yes it is from one of our cards. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- No someone else wrote it. Does n't make it less true. CU SUMMER SUMMER Ok I'm sick of this love shit. Come on! We've been fed this nonsense for generations to the point where it's now genetically encoded in our very beings. And what does it mean? Absolutely nothing. Give me a break! CU MCKENZIE MCKENZIE I'm just saying. I really need some ass. I'm desperate. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- You got nothing? CU PAUL PAUL I would n't say `` the girl of my dreams,'' no. The girl of my dreams would have a better rack. Probably different hair, could like sports a little more. But. truth is. Robyn's better than the girl of my dreams. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- You know why? Cause she's real. CU TOM. He says nothing. Just stands there. So confused. We go right INTO : ANIMATION. A QUICK 5 second recap of the earlier color sequence.", "MCKENZIE Hansen, do n't you have like twenty bar mitzvah cards to write? TOM Nope. All done. What are you working on? MCKENZIE Congratulations. But I've run out of ways to say it. `` Good job,'' `` well done,'' `` way to go''. I got nothing. TOM Why do n't you try. `` Everyday you make me proud. But today, you get a card.'' MCKENZIE -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Shit. That's not bad. TOM No worries. Tom walks by the room marked `` Weddings and Anniversaries.'' He's about to keep going when he pauses.", "TOM This is good Millie. `` To my wife, the love of my life. I love you.'' That's very nice. I was thinking though, why not try something like. `` Everyday that we do n't meet is meaningless and incomplete.'' You know, spice it up a little. The Women clutch their heart like they might faint.", "TOM Did you try. `` Merry?'' ALL Whoa/Perfect/Yes! TOM What else you got? EMPLOYEE #1 Passover. Tom says something totally in Yiddish. No one knows what the hell he just said except for one Employee who bursts out in tears of joy.", "", "TOM. aint no woman got what you got, sista girl. Happy birthday to the lean, sheen, and sizzly mocha queen!''. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- How's that? The AFRICAN - AMERICAN MAHOGANY WRITERS are impressed. MAHOGANY WRITER #1 Something's gotten into you son! TOM Yeah. It's pretty cool.", "TOM You really want to see this? SUMMER It sounds amazing. TOM It's, like, all stabbing and shit. SUMMER Exactly. TOM Ok. SUMMER All you take me to are sappy little romances. I want to see some open wounds, damn it. I want carnage. TOM Fantastic. Suddenly, Tom sees something at the front of the line. TOM Oh shit. SUMMER What? And here they come, Tom's mom and step - dad, Sarah and Martin. Tom's face registers a noticeable panic. SARAH Hey! Sarah and Martin are delighted at this coincidence. Sarah hugs and kisses her son. TOM -LRB- looking at Summer. -RRB- Hi Mom. Summer smiles. Maybe this will be ok. TOM Mom, Martin, this is Summer. SARAH Summer! Well hello! We've heard so much about you! It's so good to finally meet you. Sarah hugs Summer. SUMMER You too. And now Martin weighs in with his own hug. Tom notices Summer's face growing increasingly concerned. Why is he hugging me? MARTIN -LRB- to Tom. -RRB- Is this the girlfriend? Tom is caught like a deer in headlights. What can he do? TOM Well this is the girl friend I've told you about. I do n't know if `` girlfriend'' is the right word. SARAH You going to see the serial killer one? SUMMER Yes we are. SARAH Great! Should we save you seats? Again, this has become incredibly awkward for Tom and for Summer. SUMMER Absolutely. SARAH Ok. We'll see you inside. When they're out of earshot, Tom sees that Summer is distraught. TOM Sorry about that. SUMMER It's fine. TOM You wan na go do something else? We can totally bolt. SUMMER Did you tell them I was your girlfriend? TOM What?! No way. I never used that word. SUMMER They seemed to think. I mean, why is your step - dad giving me a hug? TOM He's very. loving. SUMMER Does he hug all your friends? There's that word again. Summer looks at Tom, like she's disappointed or even angry at him for something. Then she walks ahead of him into the theatre. He's forced to follow. Answer - less, as conflicted as ever. Why is none of this easy? CUT TO :", "", "SUMMER You're not having any fun. TOM You're having enough for both of us. SUMMER I'm dancing. I have n't danced in ages. God. Come on. TOM No. SUMMER Come on! I wan na dance with you. TOM Where were you an hour ago? I might have danced then. I've been standing here by myself this whole time and you did n't look over once. SUMMER So you're pissed? TOM I'm not pissed. Summer. you know I hate this shit. SUMMER Then why are you here? TOM This is what you wanted to do so. we're doing it. SUMMER Yeah well, I did n't need a chaperone. Go home. You're a buzzkill standing there pouting. TOM -LRB- HURT. -RRB- That's real nice. He walks off. She feels some guilt for a second. SUMMER Tom! But when he does n't turn around she just shakes it off and starts dancing again. LATER. Tom is outside in the rain. We can still hear the music blaring from the club. Summer is in there. Tom is alone. He ca n't believe it's come to this. FADE UP : `` YOU MAKE MY DREAMS COME TRUE'' by Hall and Oates.", "", "", "TOM You wanted to see me, Mr. Vance? VANCE Yes Hansen. Sit down. TOM Ok. VANCE. says. Has something happened to you recently? TOM What do you mean? VANCE A death in the family, someone taken ill. anything like that? TOM No. VANCE Look, I do n't mean to pry. Does this have something to do with Summer leaving. TOM Who? VANCE. says. My assistant. TOM -LRB- faking badly. -RRB- Your? VANCE. says. Tom. everyone knows. Nevermind. The reason I'm asking. lately your work performance has been. a little off. TOM I'm not following. VANCE For example, here's something you wrote last week. -LRB- reads from a card on his DESK. -RRB- `` Roses are Red, Violets are Blue. Fuck You Whore.'' Now. most shoppers on Valentine's Day - TOM Mr. Vance. are you firing me? VANCE No, no, no. Relax Hansen. You're one of our most. adequate writers. TOM Ok. Well, I'm sorry. Things for me have been a little difficult. VANCE That's ok. I understand that. I was just thinking. perhaps you could channel your energy into. this. He hands him some sympathy cards. TOM Funerals and sympathy? VANCE Misery, sadness, loss of faith, no reasons to live. it's perfect for you. Whaddaya say? Good? Good. Now back to work you go. He quickly ushers him out of the office.", "NARRATOR -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Most days of the year are entirely unremarkable. They begin and they end without creating a single lasting memory. Most days have no real impact on the course of a life. The phone rings. Tom stops his push - ups to answer it. NARRATOR -LRB- V.O. -RRB- May 8th was a Saturday.", "TOM What's going on? Neither one answers him. They look at each other. Finally. PAUL We have news. TOM Ok. MCKENZIE It's about her. TOM Do I want to hear it? PAUL Thats what we wanted to ask you. MCKENZIE It's just. lately you've been. better. PAUL You've been much much better. MCKENZIE So maybe it's best we do n't ever bring her up again. PAUL Just let sleeping dogs lie. MCKENZIE Leave those dogs alone Tom! TOM You guys, look, I'm. I appreciate what you're saying and, thank you, really, for putting up with me these past few months. I've been crazy. But I've accepted the fact that she and I were just two very different people who wanted very different things. I wanted to get serious. Shit, I loved her. And I know now, she just is n't the kind of girl who can settle down with one person and be happy. The way I wanted. And she probably never will. There was nothing I could do. Mckenzie and Paul just sit there. Now more uncomfortable than ever. On Tom, we : CUT TO :", "TOM There's no fucking way! MCKENZIE Tom. TOM It ca n't be. It's impossible! PAUL It is. TOM How do you know? On Tom's pained face we. CUT TO :", "", "", "", "", "TOM Jesus Christ people! Get a room! They look at this lunatic in his robe and quickly walk away.", "", "MCKENZIE Tom! Nothing. MCKENZIE I've been calling every five minutes. Are you ok? TOM What? Oh yeah. Great. MCKENZIE Do you need anything? TOM Twinkies? MCKENZIE Sorry. TOM I'm out of twinkies. MCKENZIE Well let's go. TOM Go. where? MCKENZIE It's Thursday.", "CO-WORKER This one says `` Go for it!'' She clicks to the next slide. `` Cat Hanging From Tree Branch.'' CO-WORKER This one says `` Do n't give up!'' Click. We see `` Cat Considering a Giant Leap.'' CO-WORKER And this one says `` You can do it!'' We have a whole line of inspirational cards featuring Pickles, my cat. I think people will really enjoy them. Thank you. She takes her seat. VANCE. says. Good job Rhoda, I agree. Really inspirational stuff. Now, who's next. We have n't heard from `` Sympathy'' in a while. Hansen. TOM -LRB- reacting to his name. -RRB- Hmm? VANCE. says. The Winter collection. You have anything to contribute? TOM Uh. no. I really do n't. VANCE. says. You have nothing? TOM Well I would n't say nothing. Actually, that's about right. VANCE. says. -LRB- DISAPPOINTED. -RRB- Oh. k. We'll come back to you. McKenzie - TOM You know what? VANCE. says. Yes Tom. TOM Can I say something about the cat? VANCE Well sure. Go ahead. TOM This here is, and Rhoda, you know I mean no disrespect. but this. this is total shit. MCKENZIE Tom! TOM `` Do n't give up?'' `` You can do it?'' He points to the screen, still showing the `` Cat About to Leap'' image. TOM This is n't inspirational. It's suicidal. He tries that jump, I'm writing a sympathy card for that cat. That's the last thing I want to be doing with my life. It's bad enough writing these things for people. VANCE Hansen, this is a place of business. We do n't cut down our co - workers - TOM That's cause we're liars! It's what we do here. Why do n't we level with people? Stop feeding them nonsense? CO-WORKER -LRB- RHODA. -RRB- We're a greeting card company. TOM Yes but think about it! Why do people buy these things? Not to say how they feel. There's paper and pens for that. People give these cards when they ca n't say how they feel. Or they're afraid to. And we provide the service that lets ` em get away with that! Tom is getting excited. The rest of the room is growing uncomfortable. TOM I say to hell with it! Let's level with America. Or at least make them speak for themselves! I mean, seriously, what's this. -LRB- picks a card off the TABLE. -RRB- `` I'm sorry to hear your grandmother has passed.'' What the hell? Let's give em some truth. Something like, `` Sorry to hear about your grandmother. Here's a card so I get some credit in your time of need. I'm sure it makes up for the fact that grandma's dead.'' Vance and the card - writing team are appalled. TOM Think about it. -LRB- picks up another card. -RRB- `` Congratulations on your new baby.'' Eh. How bout. `` Congratulations on your new baby. Guess that's it for hanging out. Nice knowing ya, buddy.'' VANCE Hansen, sit down! TOM -LRB- picks up a card. -RRB- Wait, what's this? Ooh. fancy! Look at this one with all the hearts. Let's open it up. `` Happy Valentine's Day, Sweetheart. I love you.'' Oh that's nice. MCKENZIE Tom. TOM If someone gave me this card, Mr. Vance. I would eat it. MCKENZIE Tom! Tom recognizes he's losing his shit. He takes a seat on the boardroom table. TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- It's these greeting cards, Sir, these cards, these movies, these pop songs. They're responsible for all the lies, the heartache, everything! We're responsible! Everyone shifts in their seats. TOM I think we do a bad thing here. People should be able to say how they feel, how they really feel, without some strangers putting words in their mouths. The truth. A card is a nice thought but it should n't do the dirty work for you. You love someone, tell them yourself, in your own words. Maybe it's not love at all. Maybe there's no such thing as love. Maybe it's. `` galoogoo.'' -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Yeah I made it up, so what?! Tom gets up and walks to the door. TOM It's all crap. We make and peddle crap. And sometimes people believe in this crap. I just ca n't do it anymore, Mr. Vance. There's enough bullshit in the world without my help. I quit. And with that he gets up and walks off. The room is pretty stunned. Someone coughs. McKenzie tries to start a clap. It does n't really take. CUT TO :", "", "TOM There's no fucking way! MCKENZIE Tom. TOM It ca n't be. It's impossible! PAUL It is. TOM How do you know? MCKENZIE We know. TOM But. It's May! We broke up last August. PAUL I know. TOM And you said she was single at Christmas. MCKENZIE She was. TOM And now she's. MCKENZIE Yeah. TOM Now she's getting married. PAUL I'm so sorry Tom. TOM Married? PAUL It's insane. TOM It's impossible. It does n't make sense. Where did they meet? Is it someone we know? PAUL No. TOM So everything she said. All that stuff about. it ca n't be. Not her. I know her too well. She would n't do that. His friends say nothing. TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Fuck! And with that he storms off. MCKENZIE Tom! PAUL Let him go. ANGLE ON Tom walking away from them. Literally, his entire universe falls apart. FX : BUILDINGS come crumbling down. The whole city turns to rubble. He's the only constant as the world around him is ERASED, brick by brick, beam by beam, as if by an unseen force and reduced to nothing. CUT TO : BLACK. And we fade up those famous OPENING BARS OF `` HAVA NAGILA.'' CU on a CIRCLE OF PEOPLE HOLDING HANDS, some young, some old, Tom right in the mix trying hard to smile. Has he joined a cult? We are :", "RACHEL Your apple pies are really great. So Uncle Sid and Aunt Ro, come light candle number eight! ANGLE ON TOM sitting with his mom Sarah at the table. They clap. Mom looks at her son knowing something is wrong. Tom catches her looking. CUT TO : LATER. Tom being accosted by two more Aunts. AUNT ANITA I ca n't believe that. No girlfriend? TOM I ca n't believe it either! AUNT BETSY What are you 30? You should be married now. With a family. What are you waiting for? TOM The right girl I guess. AUNT BETSY There's girls everywhere. I bet you have to beat em off with a stick. TOM Oh you'd be surprised. AUNT ANITA -LRB- actually squeezing his CHEEKS. -RRB- Look at this punum. Are all those girls blind? AUNT BETSY My friend Mimi has a granddaughter. Yay high. Great figure. Bosom out to here - TOM Hey I appreciate that Aunt Betsy. Lord knows I like bosoms. It's just. I recently got out of a. well, I do n't know what it was. AUNT ANITA Oh I'm sorry. When was that? TOM July. AUNT BETSY You mean. seven months ago? AUNT ANITA Was it a man? TOM What? AUNT BETSY She's means ` are you a homosexual?' TOM No. Where's that coming from? AUNT BETSY We just always wondered. Awkward. AUNT ANITA So how's work? CUT TO : LATER. Tom at the bar. He downs his drink in one gulp. CUT TO : LATER. ANGLE ON Tom alone at the table. The band plays `` Lady in Red'' and everyone's dancing. When we're back on Tom, he's sitting with Summer. TOM Well. glad you came? SUMMER Of course. Where am I exactly? TOM When you turn 13 in the Jewish religion, you officially become an adult. ANGLE ON RACHEL, dancing with a BOY. SUMMER Wow. So this is a big day in your sister's life. TOM Pretty big, yeah. SUMMER -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- So why are n't you smiling? ANGLE ON TOM. Alone. Still not smiling. Rachel arrives in the nick of time. RACHEL Hey brother. Wan na dance? She drags him to the dance floor. RACHEL Hi. TOM You having fun? You were great this morning. RACHEL Yeah yeah yeah. Talk to me. How are you? TOM Me? I'm good. I'm great. RACHEL -LRB- re : Summer's engagement. -RRB- I heard. TOM Yeah. RACHEL Sucks. TOM Yup. It's silent a few beats. TOM Anyway, who cares about me? This is your day. She hugs him. Tight. He does n't cry but he could. RACHEL You know, my friends. they're all in love with you. TOM Is that right? RACHEL Look. He sees a coven of 13 - year olds swooning across the dance floor at him. TOM That's nice. RACHEL What I tell ya? There are plenty other fish in the sea. TOM Those are guppies. RACHEL Who knows, someday one might turn out to be your `` true love.'' TOM Are you making fun of me now? RACHEL No I'm serious. TOM I got news for you Rach. That true love stuff. it's make - believe. RACHEL Well that's not very romantic. TOM It's the new me. The song ends. TOM Alright. go play with your friends. RACHEL You'll be ok? TOM -LRB- LYING. -RRB- Sure. RACHEL Tom. TOM Hmm? RACHEL I know you think she was the perfect girl for you. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- I do n't. I think you're just remembering the good stuff. But what do I know, right? I'm 13. She blows him a kiss and then runs off and joins her girls. Tom watches her go. CUT TO : SPLITSCREEN - TOM'S BEDROOM / SUMMER'S BEDROOM - MORNING Tom is wide - awake, sitting fully dressed on his bed putting his shoes on. He holds the phone up to his ear. TOM Hey. Summer is half - asleep under the covers. The phone lays at her side and she angles towards it. SUMMER Hello? TOM Are you still sleeping? SUMMER -LRB- GROGGY. -RRB- I'm getting up. What time is it? TOM 10:30. Are we still hanging out today? SUMMER Ok. Sure. TOM I'll meet you at Liberty in. 20 minutes? SUMMER I might need 45.", "TOM So how was last night? SUMMER It was fine. Just a work thing. TOM Where did you guys go? SUMMER Some restaurant. TOM Fun? SUMMER Uneventful. Did n't get home until after 12 though which is way too late for a stupid work function. How was your night? TOM Pretty standard. Not much more to say. Stay with them for a few extra beats of silence.", "", "", "TOM It's playing at 5. SUMMER You want to go? TOM I do n't know. You wan na maybe go back to your place or - SUMMER I want to see it. Let's go. TOM Ok cool. SUMMER Unless you do n't want to. TOM No, I will. That's fine. SUMMER Ok. A few more silent beats. Something's in the air.", "", "", "TOM Hey. He goes to hug her. He hugs her. It's unclear if she hugs back. TOM Hey Sum, it's just a movie. SUMMER I know. I'm sorry Tom. TOM Is everything alright with you? She smiles, tries to pull herself together. SUMMER Yeah. I'm just. I'm sorry. I'm being ridiculous. TOM It's ok. This happens to me every time I watch `` Hoosiers.'' Let's go for a walk, ok. Let's get some air. Or go to Sister Ray's. SUMMER Ok. They walk.", "TOM It pains me that we live in a world where no one's ever heard of Spearmint. SUMMER I've never heard of them. TOM And it's painful. Oh look. He grabs a Ringo Starr album and shows it to her, just as we've seen on Page 7. She smiles and they continue on down the aisles. In CU, Tom goes to hold Summer's hand. But something happens. It could be a total coincidence, but just as his hand approaches hers. -LRB- in SLO - MO. -RRB-, she moves it away and keeps it at her side. Tom puts his hands in his pockets, unsure if there's something to read in that.", "", "SUMMER So. TOM So. Now what? SUMMER Now. I think I'm gon na call it a day. TOM Yeah? You wan na maybe. get some dinner or something? SUMMER I've got pasta at home. TOM Are you hungry? SUMMER I'm pretty hungry, but - TOM Ooh! SUMMER What? TOM I've got a great idea! SUMMER What? TOM Let's get breakfast. SUMMER Now? TOM Pancakes? Summer's resistance is futile. And the rest as they say is history. FADE UP : `` Number Two'' by the Pernice Brothers. Which plays OVER :. -LRB- 417 - 464. -RRB-", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "SPLITSCREEN - DAY On the LEFT, Tom, alone, on a bus. Looking out the window. Thinking. On the RIGHT, Summer. In her wedding dress. The veil is lifted. And she's a bride. END MUSIC.", "", "SUMMER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Hey. Summer sits like an apparition on a neighboring bench. She may have just sat down, she may have been there for hours. Tom is n't sure if she's real. He does n't quite know what to do. SUMMER -LRB- re : suit. -RRB- Where you coming from? TOM What? Oh. Nowhere. How long have you been sitting there? SUMMER Awhile. Tom finds it hard to look at her. SUMMER I come here a lot. I always loved this place, ever since you brought me here. The mention of their past makes the atmosphere frosty. TOM So. I should probably say congratulations. SUMMER Probably. But only if you mean it. TOM I do n't know if I do honestly. SUMMER I understand. TOM Yeah well. anyway. I hope you're happy. SUMMER You really do? TOM -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- God no. They both laugh a little. The tension begins to dissipate. SUMMER How are you, Tom? TOM I'm good. Ish. SUMMER That's good. TOM Yeah I quit the office. SUMMER Really? That's great! What are you doing now? TOM Mostly. sleeping. Breaking things. Awkward silence. TOM So who's the guy? SUMMER Who, my guy? TOM Yeah. Wait. Do n't tell me. I do n't want to know. SUMMER Tom. TOM No really, I do n't. SUMMER Ok. More awkward silence. This one goes on a beat longer. And THEN : TOM It's amazing to me. You're married. SUMMER I know. TOM You're not only someone's girlfriend, your someone's wife! SUMMER Pretty crazy, huh? TOM -LRB- SIGHS. -RRB- I'll never understand that. SUMMER Tom - TOM What's different now? How could things change so quickly? SUMMER I do n't know. It just happened. TOM What happened?! That's what I do n't get. SUMMER I. Tom. TOM What, tell me. SUMMER I woke up one day and I knew. Tom says nothing. SUMMER I knew I could promise him I'd feel the same way every morning. In a way that I. I never could with you. And there's not much else to say after that. Tom gets up to leave. TOM You know what sucks? Realizing that everything you believe in is complete bullshit. SUMMER What is? TOM Destiny, soulmates, true love. All that stuff. It's nothing more than silly childhood fairy tale nonsense, is n't it? God! SUMMER Tom, do n't go. TOM I should have listened to you, Summer. You were right all along. Summer takes a beat to let this hang there. SUMMER I was right? And then, out of nowhere, she begins to hysterically laugh. TOM What? This is funny? Tries to stop but it only makes it worse. Now's she's completely cracking up. TOM What are you laughing at? And she ca n't stop. She's totally lost control. TOM -LRB- trying himself not to LAUGH. -RRB- You're a crazy person! SUMMER Tom! You're the crazy person! TOM What are you talking about?! SUMMER One day I'm reading a book at the corner deli and this guy sits down and starts asking about it. Now he's my husband! TOM This is funny to you? SUMMER What would have happened if I went to the movies instead? If I went somewhere else for lunch? If I showed up to eat ten minutes later? Tom, it was meant to be, just like you said. And as it was happening, I knew it. I could feel it, sure as the sun. And I kept thinking to myself `` Holy shit. Tom was right.'' You were right about all of it. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- It just was n't me you were right about. Tom is speechless. Summer takes his hand. We may notice her wedding ring. We may also notice that this is the same exact shot as the first scene of the screenplay. We hold it for a few seconds more. And then, the hands separate. SUMMER Anyway, I should probably be getting back. It was good to see you. I'm glad you're well. Summer gets up and starts walking away from him. After a SECOND : TOM Summer! She stops and turns back. He takes in her face, most likely for the last time ever. TOM I really do hope you're happy. SUMMER I know. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- See you later. And she walks away. The CAMERA TRACKS AWAY with her, leaving Tom alone in the park, getting smaller and farther away every second. FADE OUT : A FEW SECONDS OF BLACK, BEFORE. FADE IN :", "GIRL Are you here to interview? TOM Sorry? GIRL Are you interviewing? For the position? TOM Oh. Yeah. Why, are you? GIRL Yup. TOM Ah. My competition. GIRL It would appear. TOM Gee, this is a little awkward. GIRL Yes it is. TOM Well, I hope you do n't get it. GIRL I hope you do n't get it. They both laugh. There's a silence for a few beats. And it's during this time that something weird comes over Tom and we can visibly see it in his face. He likes the look of this girl. This girl is cute. He'd like to talk more with her. And, honestly, he's a little surprised by it. TOM So, uh. GIRL Hmm? TOM Are you from. California? GIRL Grew up not too far from here. Atherton, near Stanford. TOM I know Atherton. Nice area. GIRL Have I seen you before? TOM I, uh, do n't know. I do n't think so. GIRL Do you go to St. Patrick's? Not to pray or anything but to stand outside? TOM I do! I love that church. It's like my favorite structure in the city. GIRL If only it was n't near that horrible mirrored thing. TOM Yes! Exactly. I totally agree! GIRL Yeah. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- I think I've seen you there. TOM You have? Really? Hmm. I did n't see you. GIRL It happens. You probably were n't looking. A MAN comes out. MAN Tom Hansen? TOM Yes. MAN Come on back. TOM Thank you. He starts to go. But halfway through the doorway, he pauses and looks back at the girl. NARRATOR If Tom had learned anything. it was that you ca n't ascribe great cosmic significance to a simple earthly event. Coincidence. That's all anything ever is. Nothing more than coincidence. ANIMATION. 1 second clip of the colored sequence. Real fast. Hardly noticeable. But it's there. NARRATOR It took a long time but Tom had finally learned. There are no miracles. There's no such thing as fate. Nothing is meant to be. He knew. He was sure of it now. -LRB- BEAT. -RRB- Tom was. Tom turns back around. NARRATOR pretty sure. TOM -LRB- to Girl. -RRB- Excuse me. GIRL Hello stranger. TOM When this is over. uh. would you like to maybe. grab a cup of coffee or something? GIRL Oh. I'm sorta supposed to meet someone. TOM -LRB- DEFLATED. -RRB- Oh. Got it. No problem. He turns back around and shakes that off, tries to refocus on the task at hand. A job interview. And then he hears. GIRL Ok. Tom turns back around. TOM What's that? GIRL Why not? TOM Yeah? GIRL Yeah. TOM Great! So. I'll wait for you here, or you wait for me or. something. She laughs. She's cute when she laughs. GIRL We'll figure it out. TOM Ok! -LRB- extends hand to shake. -RRB- My name's Tom. GIRL Nice to meet you. She puts out her hand to meet his. They shake. GIRL I'm Autumn. And on his face. SMASH CUT TO : THE END -LRB- CREDITS ROLL TO `` GO ASK YOUR DAD'' by THE TYDE. -RRB-"], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "On January 8, Tom Hansen meets Summer Finn, his boss' new assistant. Tom is trained as an architect but works as a writer at a greeting card company in Los Angeles. After discovering they have a similar taste in music, they have a conversation about love at a karaoke night; Tom believes in it, but Summer does not. Tom's friend and co-worker McKenzie drunkenly reveals that Tom likes Summer, which Tom asserts is only \"as friends\", something Summer agrees with. A few days later, Summer kisses Tom in the office. During the next few months Summer and Tom grow closer. Tom shows Summer his favorite spot in the city, a park bench which overlooks a number of buildings he likes, though the view is somewhat spoiled by parking lots. After several months of dating, both Tom's friends and his preteen half-sister Rachel push him to question Summer where they are in their relationship, though Summer brushes this off, saying that it should not matter if they are both happy. One night, Tom gets into a fight with a man who tries to pick up Summer in a bar, which causes their first argument. They make up and Summer concedes Tom deserves some certainty, but that his demand that she promises to always feel the same way about him would be impossible for anyone to make. On day 290, they are hanging out in a cafe. Tom wants to go back to Summer's place but she insists on seeing The Graduate and weeps at the ending, which surprises Tom as he'd always thought it was a romantic fairy tale. They visit the record store, but Summer is distracted, appears to have lost interest in Tom, and kisses him good night. Tom tempts her with an offer of pancakes at a diner, where Summer casually announces that the relationship hasn't been working and breaks up with Tom while they are waiting for the food to arrive. Tom is horrified and begins to sink into depression. Summer quits her job at the greeting card company. Tom's boss moves him to the consolations department, as his depression is making him unsuitable for happier events. Tom goes on a blind date with a woman named Alison. The date does not go well as he spends it complaining about Summer until an exasperated Alison ends up taking Summer's side. Months later, Tom attends co-worker Millie's wedding and tries to avoid Summer on the train, but she spots him and invites him for coffee. They have a good time at the wedding, dance together, and Summer catches the bouquet. She invites Tom to a party at her apartment and falls asleep on Tom's shoulder on the train ride back. He attends the party hoping to rekindle their relationship but barely gets to talk to Summer and spends most of the night drinking alone, until he spots her engagement ring. Tom leaves, close to tears. He enters a deep depression, only leaving his apartment for alcohol and junk food. After a few days, he returns to work with a hangover and, after an emotional outburst, quits his job. Rachel tells Tom that she does not believe Summer was \"the one\" and that his depression is being worsened by the fact that he is only looking back on the positive aspects of their relationship. One day he suddenly finds the energy to get out of bed and rededicates himself to architecture, something Summer had pressured him to do. He makes a list of firms he wants to work for, assembles a portfolio, and goes to job interviews. On day 488, Summer is waiting for Tom at his favorite spot in the city and they talk. He informs her that he left the office, and notes that she got married, which he admits he doesn't understand since she never even wanted to be someone's girlfriend. Summer says she got married because she felt sure about her husband, something she wasn't with Tom.  When Tom asserts that he was wrong about true love existing, she counters that he was actually right about it, he was just wrong about it being with her. Summer puts her hand on Tom's and says she is glad to see he is doing well. As she leaves, Tom tells her he really hopes she is happy. Twelve days later, on Wednesday, May 23, Tom attends a job interview and meets a girl who is also applying for the same job. He finds that she shares his favorite spot and dislike for the parking lots. As he is entering the interview, he invites her for coffee afterwards. She politely declines, then changes her mind. Her name is Autumn.", "name": "500_Days_of_Summer"}
{"scenes": ["EXT. SKY-DAY A Black B - 1 Bomber banks steeply exposing its underside to us. MAN -LRB- V.O., FILTERED. -RRB- Slingshot this is Watchdog. Rabbit's home. Rolling out of its bank, the bomber begins a steep climb revealing the fact that it is carrying a small delta winged shuttle on it back. The bomber's wings slide back. BOMBER PILOT -LRB- V.O., FILTERED. -RRB- Roger watchdog. Understand we are go for crossbow. Suddenly a rocket engine on the back of the modified bomber fires thrusting the plane into steep climb.", "INT. B-1 FLIGHT DECK-DAY THE PLANE VIBRATES. The pilot and co - pilot are busy in their seats. Behind them sits a third pilot wearing a space suit. He gives them a thumbs - up signal, rises and crawls to the rear. BOMBER PILOT -LRB- into the mike, over the roar. -RRB- Watchdog, Slingshot. let us know when the rabbit's in the hole.", "EXT. A CROWD-DAY A blond haired, blue - eyed man with a small walkie - talkie is standing in the midst of a group of cheering Central American peasants and townsfolk. He is disguised as one of them. ANGLE ON VILLA BALCONY The uniformed President of this formerly sleepy, now strategically critical nation is waving to his people. He is flanked by military guards. He turns and walks into the villa.", "EXT. B-1 BOMBER-DAY The bomber approaches the top of it's arc. ATHERTON The shuttle pilot climbs into his seat, straps in and checks his instruments. SHUTTLE PILOT All systems check. Crossbow is armed. BOMBER PILOT -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Roger, Ignition sequence, start, separation in five.", "EXT. TOP OF THE BOMBER The explosive bolts blow on the shuttle mount.", "INT. BOMBER FLIGHT DECK The pilot pushes his yolk forward.", "EXT. BOMBER As the bomber falls way, the shuttle's booster ignites with a roar, thrusting it toward space.", "EXT. SPACE-LOOKING BACK We see a tiny glowing speck coming towards us. very quickly it gains in altitude and we see that it is the shuttle. Suddenly it is upon us and blasts over our heads. ANGLE FROM BEHIND We follow the shuttle. The engine stops. There is a small explosion, which pushes the booster rocket away. Small maneuvering rockets fire and the shuttle establishes itself in a nose down altitude. SHUTTLE PILOT -LRB- V.O. FILTERED. -RRB- Crossbow is established. BOMBER PILOT -LRB- V.O., FILTERED. -RRB- Roger, we have ground confirmation. Reference grid seven. Check pathfinder, on. SHUTTLE PILOT -LRB- V.O. FILTERED. -RRB- Roger, I'm going on the scope. Moving Target Indicator, engage. Behind and above the cockpit a large hatch opens and a large circular spinning mirror rises and locks into position.", "INT. SHUTTLE The pilot reaches above him and pulls down a viewfinder and begins looking through it.", "EXT. THE SHUTTLE. A target sighting lens moves from right to left, stops, and then moves back but this time with the mirror moving in unison.", "INT. THE SHUTTLE While still looking through the viewfinder, the pilot manipulates the targeting controls. INSERT PILOT'S POV OF THE SCREEN Crosshairs, a grid patter and digital, rangefinder readouts appear over various parts of the Earth's topography as the pilot searches for his target. Then it steadies on a polarized image of a group of people. One of the images seems to stand out brighter than the others.", "EXT. VILLA PATIO-DAY The president and his aide are chatting with a group of visiting dignitaries. There is a jovial atmosphere as they order drinks from a waiter. The president is proudly displaying one of his medals to his guests. it has a very unique jewel - like object in its middle.", "INT. THE SHUTTLE The pilot is watching through the viewfinder. PILOT -LRB- into mike. -RRB- Scanner on. Target locked. Tracking locked.", "EXT. THE SHUTTLE The mirror and sighting lens adjust as they track the target.", "EXT. VILLA PATIO The President is served a cup of coffee. He asks the waiter for sugar. The waiter turns back to his cart.", "INT. THE SHUTTLE The pilot puts his hands on the joysticks and flips open the trigger covers. PILOT Nice and easy does it.", "EXT. THE SHUTTLE Dead silence, then the mirror erupts in brilliant light and sends an incredibly bright beam toward the Earth. Behind the shuttle we see exhaust gases venting in giant plumes into space.", "EXT. VILLA PATIO The beam strikes the president like the finger of god. He vaporizes. The waiter turns back with the asked - for sugar to find a smoking hole where the President once stood.", "EXT. SPACE The shuttle finishes its work and the beam shuts down. The mirror folds away and the shuttle arcs across the screen preparing for re - entry, firing small retro rockets. PILOT -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'm coming home. Just like shooting ducks in a barrel. PULL BACK TO REVEAL", "INT. A HIGH-LEVEL GOVERNMENT CONFERENCE ROOM-NO WINDOWS A large screen at one end of the room continues to show the re - entry. ANNOUNCER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The Crossbow Project. There's no defense like a good offense. In the middle of the room is a giant donut of a round conference table. Another circle hangs above and casts light downward in such a way as to light the table - top but caser those sitting around it in shadow. We can see them but not well. There are SIX MEN in suits. The look is sinister as Hell ; but the talk is for Rotary Club meeting. A MAN, sitting at three o'clock, wearing an Air force major's uniform, points at a remote control device at the screen and stops the film. The lighting does not change. he turns to the man sitting at twelve o'clock. CARMICHAEL Nice little weapon is n't it, Dave? DECKER Well, I guess so, but gosh, Don, it's a movie. You want me to start buying weapons from George Lucas? Polite laughter all around. CARMICHAEL Now that would be somethin', would n't it? DECKER Well, sometimes I think I might as well. -LRB- to one of the others. -RRB- What do you think of what you saw, Roy? ROY I think there were n't enough girls. More polite laughter. Then Roy turns ice cold in a flash. ROY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Is this thing for biological targets only? CARMICHAEL No, Sir, this thing would take the skin right off, of Air Force One if you wanted. Not that I'm saying we'd ever want to kill our own President, but, you know, for example. ROY Our studies indicate that this type of weapon is totally useless for warfare. DECKER It's not intended for use in your kind of warfare, Roy. This is a perfect peace time weapon. ROY What's the kill potential? CARMICHAEL As soon as the size - to power ratio is licked we'll have about seven bangs for the buck. ROY When that? Carmichael shrugs the sign for `` who knows?'' DECKER Seriously, Don, I have to report to the Secretary that everything's on schedule. We have plans for your little ray's gun this summer. CARMICHAEL -LRB- Trying to cover. -RRB- As I understand it, guys, there's some major practical difficulties. I'm pushing as hard as I can. DECKER Well, Don, you tell those geniuses you've got until the end of the next fiscal quarter to come up with a working model or I'm pulling the plug on the funding. CARMICHAEL -LRB- very nervous. -RRB- I'm assured they're on the verge of a major breakthrough. DECKER Good. Just as long as we get a working weapon out of it by June. Right, general? ROY I would n't know, Dave. I have n't had a working weapon since Korea. DECKER Right. -LRB- to assistant. -RRB- Larry, let's see the film on blinding techniques, then we'll have some lunch, all right?", "INT. EXHIBITION HALL -DAY WE OPEN on a sign : `` Effects of marijuana on Rodents.'' A cage is divided in half. One side is marked `` NO Marijuana.'' A chinchilla is running furiously on a treadmill. The other side is marked `` Marijuana.'' A chinchilla is lying in a little hammock. DOLLY BACK TO WIDE SHOT. We see we are in a large hall. There are dozens of booths and exhibits. A banner strung across the hall lets us know that this is the `` WESTERN REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL WINTER SCIENCE FAIR.'' ANGLE ON a pretty female student at a booth standing in front of a clear glass cylinder that has vacuum hoses connected to it. There are two colored gases inside the cylinder. A sign behind her says : HOW TORNADOS ARE FORMED.'' A small group of boys stand watching her in as sexist a way as possible. GIRL It does n't seem to be working ; but if it was, these gases would be going around. A BOY We do n't care. ANGLE ON another part of the hall. Two blond - haired, male twins stand proudly in their booth. `` THE GRAVITATIONAL PULL OF HEAVENLY BODIES.'' A large, crudely painted diorama of the Milky Way is in the background. Several painted balls are suspended in front, labeled `` Mercury,'' `` Venus,'' etc.. The sun is represented by a large electromagnet. All the `` planets'' ANGLE ON a booth near the entrance. A ROBOT attracts a crowd. It has a video screen for a face which reads : `` Hi, my name is Harry. Let me guess your weight and age.'' With jerky motions he extends his mechanical arms and shakes hands with passersby. He is speaking to a small KID. HARRY Hi, my name is Harry. Let me guess your weight and age. midget mutant ; weight. The kid shoots it in the neck with a toy space gun. The ROBOT SHORT CIRCUITS : sparks shoot out, its arms fly in circles until a FUSE BLOWS and it SIZZLES to a burning stop. WE PAN OVER TO the door just in time to see the entrance of DR. JERRY ATHERTON, professor of physics at Pacific Tech, and a popular host of a PBS television show about science. His manner and bearing mark him as a classic anal retentive. He is a perfect cross between Carl Sagan and Jerry Brown. Brilliant, intense, seemingly sincere but, in fact, incredibly manipulative. There is an intentional aura of superiority surrounding him. We FOLLOW him in and down an aisle where he draws the attention of the crowd in the manner of the celebrity he is. An OLD LADY stops him. He beams a smile at her. OLD LADY Are you Dr. Atherton? ATHERTON Yes, dear. OLD LADY I just love your television show. ATHERTON Well, thank you. We try. OLD LADY What's Albert Einstein really like? ATHERTON Dead. OLD LADY Oh, I thought you had him on. ATHERTON No, that was just an actor. OLD LADY Is everyone an actor, then? ATHERTON -LRB- beginning to tire of this. -RRB- No, I'm a physicist. OLD LADY But Einstein is n't? ATHERTON -LRB- dismissing her. -RRB- Nice talking to you. He walks away. ANGLE ON a booth where we meet MITCH SIMON, aged fifteen. Mitch is a genius. He's known that since he was old enough to understand the word, which was on his first birthday. He was doing college level work by the time he was in the fourth grade. Although he's intellectually precocious, he's still only 15 years old and has all the problems of any average adolescent. His shyness and intellect have always made him feel different and uncomfortable in social situations. He stands with his PARENTS near a demonstration table. Unlike some of the other exhibits we've seen, there is nothing amateurish about this one. In fact, it is an impressive display of a dye laser. We can see the beams of multi - colored rays bouncing between mirrors, moving through liquids, combining with gases. MITCH is trying to explain his work to MR. SIMON, who is a nice enough guy but who pretty much regards the fact that his son is gifted as a pain in the butt. MITCH See, Dad, it's coherent light. MR. SIMON It talks? MITCH No. ATHERTON APPROACHES. He is seen by MRS. SIMON, who greets him. MRS. SIMON Dr. ATHERTON, what a surprise. ATHERTON Hello, Mrs. Simon. How are you? MR. SIMON No problem with Mitch's test scores or anything, is there? ATHERTON No, no. I just thought I'd stop by, bring you the good news myself. I just got word from the admissions committee. We did it. Mitch is in. MRS. SIMON Is n't that wonderful. ATHERTON -LRB- to Mitch. -RRB- Hello, Mitch. MITCH -LRB- shyly. -RRB- Hi. ATHERTON Nice little display? MITCH Thanks ATHERTON What's your medium? MITCH Just Argon. But I have it all structured for HF if I could get some. ATHERTON That would be interesting. MITCH It's all theoretical at this stage, but I have the power supply completely worked out. ATHERTON Very nice. MITCH -LRB- a kid again. -RRB- Thanks. ATHERTON turns to Mitch's parents. ATHERTON You must be very proud. he's the first student we've ever accepted for winter term entrance at Pacific Tech. MR. SIMON I image he's the youngest, too. ATHERTON No, actually. The youngest we've had was a twelve, but he cracked under the pressure within six months so we do n't really count him. MRS. SIMON -LRB- almost in tears. -RRB- Fifteen year old and off to college. Image. MR. SIMON Listen Doc. This scholarship thing, does he get any kind of whatya call it, signing bonus sort of thing? ATHERTON -LRB- hoping this is not going to be a problem. -RRB- Well, no. but by allowing Mitch to progress at an accelerated rate we give him the opportunity to fulfill a far greater portion of his remarkable intellectual potential. Do n't you agree? MR. SIMON Yeah, I guess. It's just that athletes get, you know, cars and stuff. ATHERTON -LRB- polite for Mitch's sake. -RRB- Well, I guess we scientists are a little different than athletes. MR. SIMON Cheaper. ATHERTON Smarter MR. SIMON Not when it comes to getting cars. MRS. SIMON We just want the best for Mitchie. -LRB- changing gears. -RRB- Dr. Atherton, I saw your show the other night, about radioactive isotopes, and I have a question for you. ATHERTON Oh, yes? MRS. SIMON Is that your real hair? MR. SIMON Well, I wondered that, too. ATHERTON -LRB- struggling for manners. -RRB- Well, interesting question, when you consider the philosophical aspects of whether anything on television is `` real'' or actually just an `` image'' being broadcast. MR. SIMON Did n't look real. Anyway, listen, I got to get something to eat or I'm gon na die. MRS. SIMON Come on, let's look for something. They start away. MRS. SIMON -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- I saw over there one of the kids was doing an experiment with insect protein. MR. SIMON Did you see anyone doing anything with corned beef? They exit. ATHERTON Your parents. MITCH Yes? ATHERTON They're. nice MITCH They're Okay. They just sometimes do n't have any idea of what I'm talking about. ATHERTON I'm sure of that. Afraid you're going to miss your friends? MITCH No. I do n't have any. I think I intimidate other kids. ATHERTON Good boy. MITCH I do n't want to. ATHERTON Remember, compared to you, most people have the IQ of a carrot. We're different than most people, Mitch, but you should be proud of that. I mean, look around. From now on, you'll BE amongst peers, colleagues. I suppose I might as well tell you now, I've put you on my personal research team. Some of the finest minds on campus, not the least of which is, of course, my own. MITCH It sounds great. ATHERTON Well, now, I'm expecting great things from you, my boy. This is only the second time I've given this honor to a freshman. The first was. MITCH Chris Kinsley. ATHERTON You know Chris? MITCH No, but he's a legend in the Physics Club. ATHERTON Well, you're going to become a legend yourself. You'll be working with Chris. He's a senior now but he's still on the team and still as brilliant as ever. MITCH Wow.", "INT. PACIFIC ELECTRONICS INSTRUMENTS-DAY We see CHRIS KINSLEY, Chris has on his head a pair of those jiggling antennae - like things. WE PULL BACK to revel that he is on a tour of the facilities. A huge hanger - like room filled with workers constructing and assembling scientific instruments. This place has the look and feel of the Big Time. Workers put the finishing touches on a communication SATELLITE. Passing through this Disneyland of Science is a well - dressed executive. ROBERT JENSEN, who is guiding Chris on the tour. Chris was heralded as one of the smartest people to ever enter Pacific Tech. He proved to be even smarter than many of his professors. He also proved to be one of the most outrageous people to ever enter Pacific Tech. his antics are legend. Unimpressed with authority, pomposity and bullshit in general., Chris dresses on the sloppy side of life. Currently he's wearing a sports jacket that's seen better days, over a faded sweatshirt that has the logo `` I? Toxic Waste.'' They approach a second executive/scientist, MIKE DODD, who is wearing a lab coat, and a beautiful public relations executive named SHERRY NUGIL, who is also wearing a lab coat but in a whole new way. JENSEN -LRB- as they approach the couple. -RRB- Guys, I want you to meet Chris Kinsley. Chris, this is Sherry Nugil, my assistant, and Mike Dodd. CHRIS Dr. Dodd? JENSEN He's the man who just designed the new Telcom Satellite here. CHRIS I know. Nice to meet you Dr. Dodd. Is n't the Telcom raining debris all over Europe? DODD -LRB- smiling, but angry. -RRB- That was a launch problem, not a design problem. Why are you wearing that toy on your head? Chris takes the thing from his head. CHRIS Oh, this. Sorry, I was worried that people would think I was stuffy, You know, no fun ; all brain, no penis, JENSEN Pardon? CHRIS I'm sorry, it's just an infantile response to authority. JENSEN -LRB- confused. -RRB- Yes. you are Chris Kinsley, are n't you? CHRIS No. Well, yes. I mean, I used to be. Now I'm Mhavishnue Kinsley. JENSEN -LRB- relieved. -RRB- I see. You are being funny. CHRIS Well, I just ca n't help it. You're such a fun guy yourself. JENSEN Oh yes. I think you'll find we all are, right Mike? DODD No. JENSEN Now Chris, Sherry is going to show you around the place. She can answer any questions you might have about fringe benefits or dress codes or anything and I'll see you back upstairs when you're done, okay? Sherry, take good care of this young man. He's one of the ten finest minds kin the country. CHRIS Someday I hope to be two of them. JENSEN See you later. Jensen and Dodd exit. CHRIS You are very beautiful. SHERRY You do n't act like one of the top ten minds in America. CHRIS Oh, really? How many of them have you met? SHERRY -LRB- with a really dirty look in her eye. -RRB- Seven. CHRIS Really? SHERRY You'll be eight. Six was Professor Hostetler at M.I.T. CHRIS Old Professor Hostetler? Is n't he dead? SHERRY He is now.", "INT. ANOTHER PART OF THE PEI FACILITY- ALITTLE LATER Sherry and Chris stare intently into one another's eyes. SHERRY And so, coupled with full insurance coverage and bonus plans, you find it adding up to a fairly sizable perks package. CHRIS I have a pretty sizable perks package right now. SHERRY Also, we understand that you people do n't care too much for rigid timetables, and that's pretty rare in private industry. CHRIS So are you. SHERRY Is it true that school of yours keeps getting smarter and smarter kids every year? CHRIS Yup! I mean no!", "INT. YET ANOTHER PART OF PEI- A LITTLE LATER. SHERRY You see the funding associations are the same. Our theoretical work is in the Blue Sky sector as well. CHRIS You have no idea how much I need that kind of continuity in my life right now.", "INT. CATWALK ABOVE A HUGH LAB- A LITTLE LATER STILL SHERRY You just belong here, Chris. We have several of Dr. Atherton's former students and they're all doing quite well with us. CHRIS What number was he? SHERRY Two. One of his other students was four. CHRIS You're wonderful. SHERRY I know. CHRIS Can we go somewhere? SHERRY Yes.", "EXT. ROOF OF HANGER-DUSK The giant dish of a huge radio telescope faces heavens. SHERRY -LRB- O.C. -RRB- -LRB- between kisses. -RRB- Talk smart to me. CHRIS -LRB- O.C. -RRB- What? ANGLE ON CHRIS AND SHERRY They are lying in the middle of the dish. Passion mounts, fingers cope with belts and buttons, clothing falls away ; my god, these people are having sex. SHERRY Please I need it. What was your favorite course? CHRIS I guess right now I'd have to say Fluid Mechanics. SHERRY Oooooooooh. CHRIS -LRB- responding to something interesting Sherry just did with her hips. -RRB- And Gym. SHERRY Please. CHRIS Sorry. SHERRY What's your research with Artherton? CHRIS Ultra - high power laser as an energy force for fusion. Tremendous boon to all mankind. And womankind, too. SHERRY Fusion, more fusion. CHRIS It's the process for obtaining enormous amounts of energy from forms of hydrogen, like Deuterium and Tritium. SHERRY Oh, my God, more. CHRIS Extracting the fuels is no problem. SHERRY Hmmmm. CHRIS Getting them to combine and release the energy is the problem. SHERRY Oohh, yes CHRIS It takes temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius. SHERRY Oh, God. CHRIS So, I'm. SHERRY Yes. CHRIS building. SHERRY Yes. CHRIS a laser. SHERRY Oh, yes. CHRIS that pulses. SHERRY Hmmmmmmmm. CHRIS very hot. SHERRY Ohhh. CHRIS and causes. SHERRY Yes. CHRIS Fusion. SHERRY Ahhhhhhhhhhh.", "EXT. PACIFIC TECH CAMPUS-DAY It is an impressive campus of older California Spanish building mixed with modern architectural marvels. This is the Sunday before the beginning of the Winter Term. We pick up MITCH SIMON and FOLLOW him as he crosses campus. He is wearing a tie and jacket, which only adds to his general sense of being out of place. He is carrying a map which he stops to consult every now and again. He stops an upper classman and asks him a question while pointing at the map. The older asks him a question while pointing at the map. The older student takes great delight in turning the map right side up.", "EXT. PRESIDENT'S HOUSE-AFTERNOON The tasteful and elegant official residence of the university's President. DR. EUGENE MEREDITH. MITCH approaches the open front door, where he is greeted by MRS. MEREDITH. MITCH Good afternoon. I'm looking for. -LRB- reading from the invitation in his hand. -RRB- the President's Freshman Tea. MRS. MEREDITH. says. -LRB- leading him inside. -RRB- Oh, good. I'm so glad we have one then. Who are you?", "INT. THE HOUSE-CONTINOUS They pass through on their way to the backyard. MITCH Mitch Simon. MRS. MEREDITH. says. Oh yes. You're the special case. I know Gene wants to meet you. You're just in time for his traditional talk. Would you like a glass of sherry? MITCH I'm a minor. MRS. MEREDITH. says. Aha, well of course you are. That would explain your height. They exit out onto the patio.", "EXT. THE PATIO AND GROUNDS OF THE HOUSE-CONTINUOUS The returning freshman class has gathered for a social. Mitch is the only one in a tie. He stands on the patio with Mrs. Meredith whose husband, the apparently ever - jovial professional academic administrator, is about to speak to the assembled. MEREDITH People, if I might get your attention. The din begins to quiet. MEREDITH -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Welcome back, freshmen! I take it you all put the Christmas break to good use? There is good - natured jeering. MEREDITH -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Now, if you'll indulge me, I'd like to speak seriously for a moment. You will recall that when I welcomed you to the Pacific institute of Technology a few short months ago I spoke of how we are one of the finest scientific institutions in the world. I think the finest. I mentioned our six Nobel Prize winners, our members of the national Academy of Sciences, and our members of the National Academy of Engineering. This is an intellectual oasis of technological achievement in the dessert of general academic mediocrity we see inmost colleges and universities today. There is some applause and good - natured banter. Mitch is truly moved. This environment is exactly what Mitch has hoped for all his life. MEREDITH -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I also spoke of the fact that you are the finest freshmen class we have ever had here. There are cheers and applause. MEREDITH -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I say this to every freshman class. Each year we raise our entrance requirements and each year there is a group of students like you who meet and surpass those requirements. Almost jubilant cheering and clapping. MEREDITH -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- As you have no doubt already noticed by now, over a third of you are gone. By the end of the year another third of you will have followed them out of Eden and into mediocrity. The crowd goes deathly silent as Meredith continues in his cherry manner. MEREDITH -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- We want only the best. Hard work and high standards are expected of everyone. And if you are n't up to it Cal tech or M.I.T. might take you, but you do n't fit in here. MEREDITH -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Let me remind you that this place is an opportunity, not a right ; a chance not a gift ; a working lunch, not a picnic. Welcome back. Several waitresses begin serving tea but the despair of reality creeps over the students and they begin to disperse. Mitch stands waiting for the approaching Dr. Meredith. MRS. MEREDITH Gene, this is Mitch Simon. MEREDITH Oh, yes, Professor Artherton's bright star. MITCH Yes, sir. MEREDITH And I understand you're already on his project. I'm assured you're going to do great things. MITCH I hope so. MEREDITH Let me give you some advice. MITCH Thank you. MEREDITH Do n't screw up. MITCH Okay. I guess I better go now. He walks away. MEREDITH -LRB- watching Mitch with satisfaction. -RRB- I think the young people really appreciate my'' getting down'' verbally, do n't you? MRS. MEREDITH Absolutely.", "EXT. CAMPUS-LATER Once again Mitch, map in hand, must ask another student for directions. This one also turns the map right - side up and then points to the building they are standing in front of. As he heads for it he passes a bronze bust of one of the founding fathers, DR. BRADFORD. The students have decorated him with a muffler, earmuffs and carrot nose to look like a snowman.", "INT. APPLIED PHYSICS BUILDING-MOMENTS LATER Mitch walks down a long corridor. He passes several open doors that reveal laboratories with all kinds of scientific equipment all over them. Mitch stops in front of a closed door. He checks the number, then looks down at a card in his hand. He turns the card right - side up. He OPENS the door to REVEAL a darkened lab. In the darkness there is a veritable light show of laser beams. A voice calls out from the darkness. VOICE -LRB- O.C. -RRB- Hey! MITCH Yes? VOICE -LRB- O.C. -RRB- Come in here.", "INT. LAB-CONTINUOUS Mitch ENTERS quickly and shuts the door behind himself. In the instrument glow we can make out the forms of three other students. They are : KENT, CARTER and BODIE, members of Dr. Atherton's research team. KENT Just leave the sandwiches and go. MITCH Me? KENT No, Yoda ; yeah, you. MITCH I do n't have any ah. CARTER Brains? MITCH No, sandwiches. KENT Well then, what good are you? CARTER What are we supposed to eat? MITCH -LRB- getting a little fed up. -RRB- How about my shorts. KENT Hey! Who do you think you're talking to? The laser snaps off and the lights snap on. The glare is a little intense at first. KENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Are you from the restaurant or not? With the lights on we get a chance to have a better look at the team. Kent is an elitist, intellectual snob with very little imagination who likes to think of himself as Atherton's prot\u00e9g\u00e9. He wears braces on his teeth because he knows how important a proper smile can be in the marketplace. MITCH No. I'm Mitch Simon. I'm a student. Dr. Atherton told me to come up here. KENT Oh, you're the new stud, are you. Or is it dud? MITCH How do you mean? BODIE Stud. Hot shot. Brain. You're the twelve - year - old, right? MITCH I'm fifteen. CARTER Does your body know that? Mitch attempts a good - natured laugh. It's not a great attempt. MITCH Are you expecting him or. KENT Sure. Can I get you something? A balloon? MITCH Are any of you guys Chris Kinsley? They all freeze. KENT No, Thank God. CARTER Hey Kent, I hear Kinsley got that PEI job all locked up. KENT Damn! I wanted that job. MITCH Why? KENT Why? Because it starts at fifty thousand a year, that's why. Plus travel, car, stock options. MITCH Oh. Well, I'm supposed to have a look at your work up to date. Check it over. KENT Check it over. MITCH Yes. KENT For what? MITCH Mistakes, I guess. He said you guys are stuck. The room goes rigid. Evidently this little punk of an upstart needs to be told what Christ died for. KENT Let's get something very clear here. Everything you've heard about the supportive student body and the honor code might hold for the rest of the campus, but it does n't count for squat in here. Which means when jerry's not here, you do what I say. From God to Jerry to me, get it? Atherton ENTERS. KENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Hi Jerry. ATHERTON I've told you before, Kent, you do n't get to use my first name. KENT Did I? ATHERTON -LRB- to Mitch. -RRB- Good to see you, Mitch. ATHERTON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- to the group. -RRB- I'm sure you're all going to become fast friends. KENT We're well on our way already. ATHERTON Good, because after Mitch is brought up to date, I want the rest of you to take your cues from him. He'll be in charge of the group. KENT What? I mean, good choice, Jerry. ATHERTON You're doing it again, Kent. KENT Am I? ATHERTON Where's Chris? KENT He did n't bother to come in today. BODIE He said he did n't feel like it ; and then I said ` you better' ; and then he said' or what?' ; and then I said' or he'd get the heck,' and then he said ` jam it, it's Sunday' and he looks for God on Sundays ; so I said ` okay, but I'm telling.' ATHERTON Thank you Bodie. I notice you've stopped stuttering. BODIE Yes, I've been giving myself some sock treatment and it's working. ATHERTON Good. -LRB- to Mitch. -RRB- I'm sorry he is n't here. I wanted you to meet your hero. CARTER Hero? That clown? Look at this. He points to a table full of laser equipment comprised of various angled mirrors and gas cambers and drib units. The others gather around it. CARTER -LRB- Cont'd. -RRB- We heard he was n't coming in. Kent and I figured we'd go ahead and run his section without him. And we started getting picosecond ratings that are n't even in the ballpark. KENT It looks like it'll take at least a week to re - do all this and start again. Mitch is carefully studying the equipment and checking some notes that were on the table. KENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Another costly mistake. ATHERTON Are you sure? CARTER Positive. KENT Positive. MITCH -LRB- reading from notes. -RRB- Negative. -LRB- innocently, to Carter and Kent. -RRB- There's a mistake all right, but I think you guys made it. Look, you inverted the last two steps. CARTER -LRB- grabbing the notes. -RRB- I do n't make mistakes. -LRB- reading. -RRB-. Usually. ATHERTON Damnit, do n't touch other people's things. MITCH -LRB- adjusting the equipment. -RRB- This should n't take too long to fix. ATHERTON I'm glad that you were here, Mitch. KENT Yes, thanks for pointing out Carter's mistake, Mitch. ATHERTON Do n't bother with that now. I'm sure you want to go get settled. MITCH -LRB- relieved. -RRB- Well, it has been kind of a long day. Atherton starts to leave. ATHERTON Oh, I forgot Kent, I need your help. KENT Anything, Jerry. ATHERTON Stop it. KENT What? ATHERTON Get copies made of everything so young Mitch here can get started checking everything tomorrow. KENT My pleasure. ATHERTON And then, on your way back, stop at my cleaners. KENT Do n't give it a thought. I enjoy it. ATHERTON -LRB- to Mitch. -RRB- Shall we? MITCH Sure. Atherton exits, followed by Mitch. BODIE I guess it goes from God to Jerry to you to the cleaners, right Kent?", "EXT. DORM HALL- LATE AFTERNOON Mitch enters the arched column portico of this dormitory building.", "INT. ROOM The room is small, cramped, and more than a little disheveled. PEI, NASA and science fiction posters hang on the ceiling and wall, over and around one of the two beds. Junk food and soft drink containers are littered everywhere. In one corner is a fully - stocked Frito Lay Chip display. Mitch crosses to his bed and sits. He is exhausted and depressed. The door opens and Mitch see a strange, tall, bulkily - built, hermit - looking kind of a guy enter. He is carrying a McDonald's bag. He stops when he see Mitch and stares at him in a quirky way for a second, then crosses to the closet, opens the door and exits into it. MITCH Hello? Getting no response, Mitch rises, goes to the closet, opens it and looks in. MITCH Hello? There is no one there. MITCH What kind of place is this? Mitch crosses to his luggage. he opens a bag and, to his surprise, he finds it empty. he then looks in the other bag and find they've all been cleaned out. Puzzled, he shuts the bags. Suddenly, the door swings open and CHRIS KINSLEY, who we saw earlier at PEI, ENTERS. He's dragging a large piece of mechanical equipment. it is, in fact, a baseball pitching machine. CHRIS Hi. Mitch stares. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Hey, you just gon na sit there admiring the room or are you going to help me with this? MITCH What is this thing? CHRIS It's a penis stretcher. You want to try it out? MITCH No! CHRIS Oh really? Well, congratulations, then, No, It's an Iron Mike. MITCH What? CHRIS A baseball pitching machine. Chris is setting it up. MITCH I was here for a second this morning. CHRIS -LRB- frightened. -RRB- You did n't straighten the place up, did you? MITCH -LRB- looks around at the mess. -RRB- No. CHRIS Good.'Cause all my filth's in alphabetical order. Chris puts on a baseball cap and grabs a bat. MITCH Anyway, I dropped off my luggage and now all my bags are empty. A ball is pitched. Chris connects and the ball smashes through the window. CHRIS I put your stuff away for you. Another pitch. He smashes a ball into a wall. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It's all in the bottom drawer. Shirts, pants, underwear, shoes. I had a little trouble with your sport jacket, so I threw it out. Nah, only kidding. This one's for you, little Johnny. He whacks another pitch. He does a crowd cheer and circles the bases. CHRIS What a game. I'm Chris Kinsley. MITCH Oh, no.", "INT. MOVING CAR- SAME TIME Dr. Atherton is riding in a rental car with DON CARMICHAEL, a government contract monitor. These two guys are part of an old boy network involved with research and development. CARMICHAEL We're falling way behind, Jer. ATHERTON Well, we're not making cheese sandwiches here, you know, Don. CARMICHAEL That's a good one. I'll have to remember to use that, Jer. ATHERTON The new boy is quick. CARMICHAEL He better be because the company needs a practical working model within four months. ATHERTON You ca n't dictate innovation. CARMICHAEL Let me put this another way, Jer. You know all that money we've been spending for development? ATHERTON Yes CARMICHAEL Well, when a project gets cut off, the finance boys always run an audit. ATHERTON I see. The car pulls up to Atherton's house, where there is a great deal of construction going on. Once the work is completed, this is going to be beautifully restored, rather large Victorian home. CARMICHAEL -LRB- looking out. -RRB- Having a little work done on the old place, are you? Looks nice.", "INT. MITCH'S ROOM-THAT NIGHT Mitch is gathering up some books. He looks at a chart on the wall. MITCH Library. library. 205. The door to the room opens while Mitch is looking the other way. We catch a glimpse of the same tall, bulkily - built man opening Mitch's closet door and disappearing inside. Mitch turns just in time to see the door close. he goes into it, opens it and looks inside. Nothing. he goes to the door of his room. Mitch opens the door, steps into the hall and slips, landing on his ass. His books go flying.", "INT. HALLWAY The hall floor is covered with ice wall - to - wall. Skating MUSIC is playing on a cassette somewhere. A few students, dressed for winter, are skating. Chris skates over and helps Mitch to his feet. CHRIS Welcome to Pacific Tech's `` Smart People On Ice.'' He whirls away, leaping from wall to wall, sliding quickly down the ice. He stops in front of a short, roly - poly kid of Japanese descent, MARK ICKAGAMI, better know as ICK. Ick is a bio - chemist who spends a great deal of time in his lab experimenting with various fun compounds that do things ranging from making artificial ice to increasing memory. CHRIS -LRB- with a proletariat accent. -RRB- Ice turned out real good, Ick. ICK Yeah, it worked., did n't it? CHRIS What did you use? ICK -LRB- teasing. -RRB- Oh, sure, I tell you then you tell somebody else, and the next thing you know we're in the middle of another ice age. CHRIS -LRB- yelling down the hall. -RRB- Come on, people. Nobody's skating. A STUDENT -LRB- O.C. -RRB- Just'cause you're a slack, Kinsley. CHRIS Moles and trolls. MITCH What? CHRIS Moles and trolls. Work, work, work, work. I plan this for weeks. I go to a lot of trouble and all they want to do is study. I'm hurt. I know that's it's not like me but I'm sorry. I'm starting to get discouraged, people. We had nobody at the mutant hamster races, one entry in the Madame Curie look - alike contest, and he was disqualified later. Why do I even bother? Chris skates off. MITCH -LRB- to Ick. -RRB- How does he do it? ICK Well, I'm not an expert, but I think he puts one foot in front of the other and pushes. MITCH Not skating. The horsing around. The never studying. I know he's smart. but nobody's that smart. ICK I do n't know how smart he is. Before he even came here he invented a solar battery, which laid the groundwork for the system that provides the energy for Amarillo, at half the cost. He'd be a millionaire today if he been smart enough to make them pay for it. How he pulls the grades, I do n't know. Just then, ROARING down the hall, face down on a sled, comes JORDANS COCHRAN. She is an advanced engineering student with great theoretical and mechanical skill who can never seem to pitched energy of a hyper - kinetic kindergarten class. She crashes at Mitch's feet. He reaches down to help her. MITCH You okay? JORDAN No, not emotionally, no I'm not. I'm disappointed. not terribly, but still, it should have gone much, further, much faster. It's okay, though, I know what the problem is, that's simple, it's obviously the drag coefficient, I'll just have to re - design the blades. I can do that, that's easy. I can do that here ; but I have to cut then after they're designed, that takes tools, that takes time. How long is this stuff going to last, do you know? ICK Maybe another half an hour. JORDAN That's great, that's good. I can do that, no problem, lots of time. -LRB- to Mitch. -RRB- What's your name? MITCH Mitch JORDAN Thanks for the help. See you. And in a flash she is gone. MITCH Your welcome. -LRB- to Ick. -RRB- Who was that? ICK That? that was. Jordan rushes back. JORDAN -LRB- to Mitch. -RRB- I'm Jordan, I realized I'd forgotten to tell you my name, it's Jordan. I heard there was going to be someone new this term, are you a freshman? MITCH Yes. JORDAN Do you have a bed? MITCH Yeah. JORDAN Oh, I was going to make you one if you needed it but you do n't so that's okay. Well, I got ta go, I'll see you later, probably. See you Ick, see you Mitch. As she races off, KENT enters carrying several binders. KENT What's all this suppose to be? CHRIS This? This is new kind of shovel. Mitch finds this very funny and reacts accordingly by laughing. Kent ca n't stand to be laughed at. KENT -LRB- Dumping the binders into Mitch's hands. -RRB- This should keep you busy for awhile. This, plus your regular class load should turn your brains to mush in a month. MITCH Aw! Kent, we were going to name you King of the Winter Carnival. KENT Ha ha. -LRB- to Ick. -RRB- I suppose you're in on this, too. Did you make this stuff? ICK I'm not saying. KENT Who's going to clean it up? ICK Do n't have to. It's going to go from solid form directly to gas. KENT -LRB- impressed by this fairly uncommon phenomenon. -RRB- Really? What is it? ICK I'm not saying. But I can tell you that it's fairly rare, and very unstable. KENT You're all a bunch of degenerates. CHRIS We are? What about that time I caught you naked with a bowl of Jello? KENT -LRB- flustered. -RRB- I. you. I was hot and I was hungry. And anyway. Look, Kinsley, you're not number one anymore. CHRIS Number one what? KENT -LRB- pointing to Mitch. -RRB- Mighty mouse, here, beat your placement scores by over twenty points. CHRIS Really? I guess you think you're pretty hot stuff? MITCH -LRB- uncomfortable, unsure if this is real. -RRB- Well. no, I mean CHRIS Hey! Maybe you are smarter than me, but, can you do this? Chris pushes himself off backwards and slides along the ice in an attempt at a fancy figure skating move. Just as he's about to finish he crashes to the floor at the precise moment that the floor turns into a cloud of rising gas. Chris disappears in the cloud. ICK -LRB- excited. -RRB- It worked! MITCH That's neat. ICK -LRB- teasing. -RRB- Now if we can just keep it from exploding. Kent runs away. CHRIS -LRB- from inside the growing cloud. -RRB- Hey, Ick. Is it okay to breathe this stuff? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Ick? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Ick? The cloud fills the screen.", "INT. CHRIS AND MITCH'S ROOM-THE NEXT MORNING Perfect morning light streams through the window, making even this dump look beautiful. Chris is asleep in a strange position on his bed, proving that even asleep he is eccentric. We Pan across the room to Mitch. He has obviously fallen asleep while reading the binders that Kent had given him the night before. We HEAR the sound of the door opening, followed by some heavy footsteps. This causes Mitch to wake up. it takes him a second to realize where he is. He sits up. MITCH'S POV Again we catch just a glimpse of that same mysterious figure opening the closet door. He is holding a `` McDonald's'' bag. He closes the door behind him. ANGLE ON MITCH To say the least, he's thrown by this strange intrusion. MITCH Hello? He waits a beat, listening. Nothing happens so he gets up and crosses to the closet, looks inside. OVER MITCH'S SHOULDER INTO CLOSET There's nothing in there but clothes. Mitch pushes the garments aside and finds just a wall. ANGLE ON MITCH He shakes his head. This is getting frustrating. He exits the room.", "INT. BATHROOM Mitch crosses to the urinal. Just as he is about to relieve himself, the door opens. Jordan enters. This is an experience Mitch has never before and as a result he is one uncomfortable fifteen - year - old. JORDAN Hi, good morning, I thought I saw you come in here, you must be an earlier riser, we met last night, I'm Jordan, remember? I had a sled with me, I made you a sweater. She holds out a sweater. He leans into the urinal, trying to hide himself the best he can. MITCH Last night? JORDAN yeah, it's just something I do with my hands while I'm reading. I hope I got the size right, I'm pretty sure I did, I have a brother so I use him as a sizing comparison, and I have a pretty good eye for that sort of thing, so I just went ahead and made you one because I was, you know, up. Peeing? MITCH Yeah. JORDAN I never sleep. I do n't know why. It drove my roommate nuts. I mean really nuts, they had to take her away in an ambulance and everything, she's okay now thought but she had to be transfer to an easier school but I do n't know if that part has anything to do with being my fault, but still, anyway, if you ever want any help studying at night or just let me know, okay,'cause I'm just a couple of doors down from you guys and I'm usually up and I would n't mind, okay? MITCH Thanks, I will. JORDAN Are you finished yet? MITCH I ca n't start. JORDAN Because I'm here? MITCH I think so. JORDAN Is n't that weird? Well, I have to go. MITCH Me, too. JORDAN Right, well, do n't forget what I said, I'll put the sweater in your room, see you later, tell Chris that if he wants one I'll be happy to make him one but nit today because after classes I'm going to rebuild the back part of my room, you should come down and see it later, I have to go, bye. She exits. MITCH -LRB- stunned. -RRB- bye.", "INT. THE LOBBY AREA OF THE DORM- A LITTLE LATER Mitch is coming down a hallway into the area. He is dressed in his tie and jacket and has books under his arm. As he crosses past the self - serve vending machine he spots Chris entering the kitchen. Mitch follows him inside. MITCH Something strange happened to me this morning. CHRIS Was it a dream where you see yourself dressed up in kind of sun god robes standing on top of a pyramid with all theses nude women throwing little pickles at you? MITCH No CHRIS Why am I the only person who has that dream? Before Mitch can ask another question, Chris open the freezer compartment and takes out a large thermos - like container. He takes it over to the cutting board, then takes from his pocket a pair of calipers, a pair of tweezers, and a little box that looks like a dental floss kit. He opens the container which immediately starts pouring thick steam. MITCH Liquid nitrogen? Chris uses calipers to extract a length of tubing from inside the container. he puts it down on the board and, using the tweezers, pushing out a cylindrical mound of ice from inside the tube. Then, from the dental floss kit, he pulls out a length of very fine wire, which he uses to cut the ice into a number of thin `` coins'' and slides then into the lid of the container, which he picks up and takes out the door with him. Mitch follows.", "INT. VENDING MACHINE AREA CHRIS Coffee? Using the tweezers, Chris picks up an ice coin and puts it into one of the machines. There is a high - pitched squeak. To Mitch's astonishment, the machine accepts the bogus money and a cup drops down and fills with coffee. CHRIS So, what's happened? MITCH Oh. There's a guy living in our closet. CHRIS You've seen him too? Chris puts his coins in several of the machines and retrieves from them junk food junky's treasure trove of goodies. MITCH Who is it? CHRIS Hopsfield. MITCH Is he. safe? CHRIS So far. Chris exits. Mitch stares after him. A quick series of shots moves us through the next two months of time, accompanied by an original song.", "INT. LECTURE HALL-DAY An older professor is lecturing, pointing to a complicated algebraic problem on a blackboard, Mitch is in the last row of this student - filled, multi - tiered classroom. Everyone else listens intently and makes notes while Mitch thumbs quickly through a textbook, then closes it and makes a note in a loose - leaf binder.", "INT. ATOM SMASHER ROOM-DAY Mitch stands with a group of other students watching an instructor explain the intricacies of nuclear fission. Mitch opens a notebook and starts writing furiously.", "INT. ATHERTON'S PROJECT LAB-DAY Mitch is using his notes and some pieces of equipment to explain something to the rest of the team. Chris is impressed. Kent shakes his head in disagreement until Atherton nods his approval, at which point Kent also agrees.", "INT. CHRIS AND MITCH'S ROOM-NIGHT it is late but Mitch is still hard at the books. Hopsfield goes by and disappears in the closet. Mitch does n't even notice anymore. There is a knock at the door and Jordan enters. She has brought Mitch a device that she just built which holds textbooks and turns the pages automatically.", "INT. LECTURE HALL-DAY Mitch, dressed more informally, is in the same room with the same professor as in scene 54. This time, however, there are several empty seats. The people have been replaced by cassette tape recorders. Mitch takes notes.", "INT. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LAB-DAY Mitch enters with another student to find a teddy bear waiting for him at his place.", "INT. ATHERTON'S LAB-NIGHT Mitch and Chris work alone. it is obviously very late. Using a variety of exotic - looking devices, they put the laser through its paces and make notes.", "INT. LECTRURE HALL-DAY This time, Mitch is the only student. Tape recorders sit in front of every seat. The professor drones on, apparently oblivious to what he sees in front of him.", "INT. WAVE TANK ROOM-DAY A very attractive instructress is demonstrating a dye trace experiment in a huge wave tank. Mitch takes notes.", "INT. DINING HALL Mitch and Ick are carrying trays of food, looking for a place to sit. They pass a seated Kent, who points out a place for Mitch, who looks to see a highchair at the end of the table.", "EXT. LIBRARY-MORNING Mitch comes down the stairs with several books under his arms. He stumbles and drops one of the books. As he struggles to recover it, it is handed to him by none other than Hopsfield. By the time Mitch realizes who it is, the mysterious figure is once again gone.", "EXT. STREET-DAY Mitch is crossing the street carrying a huge load of books. Suddenly a yellow Citroen pulls up behind him and honks its horn causing Mitch to drop everything. He looks at the driver and sees that it is a laughing Kent.", "INT. ATHERTON'S CLASSROOM Chris, Kent, Bodie and Carter are present as Atherton wraps up a day's class. People take serious notes. Chris reads a magazine. People file out and Mitch enters approaches Chris to get him to work on the laser. Chris shakes his head.", "INT. ATHERTON'S LAB-LATE NIGHT Mitch is working alone. He adjusts the laser and turns it on. It burns through a very thick block of wood, but Mitch is still not pleased.", "INT. HALLWAY-NEXT MORNING A very tired Mitch heads for the lecture hall. He comes to the door, opens it and enters to see a tape recorder lecturing to a roomful of tape recorders.", "INT. CHRIS AND MITCH'S ROOM-ANOTHER NIGHT In need of a break from studying, Mitch goes to the closet in hopes of figuring out how to open the wall. He examines the walls and the floor and looks, for hidden switches or secret mechanisms, all to no avail. As he's about to give up, the closet door swings closed. When it closes, the wall opens to reveal a small elevator - like cage. Mitch steps in and the cage descends. It hits a lever and stops. But before Mitch steps in and the can get off, it begins to move sideways, triggering another pulley, and goes down again into the steam tunnels, then drags along the floor and stops. Mitch gets out. It's spooky. In the distance there is a glow of light. Mitch goes forward until he can see the home of Hopsfield. It's a very utilitarian example of life on the edge, with all the comforts. At the console of an amazing, hand - built computer sits amazing Hopsfield. Mitch watches in awe from the darkness.", "INT. ATHERTON'S LAB-DAY There is an experiment in progress. A large laser is building up an energy load. Atherton, Kent, Bodie, Carter, and Mitch monitor various pieces of equipment. Things hum and click and there is a sense that something big is going to happen. Atherton seems pleased, while Mitch seems troubled. Suddenly, a valve blows and a stream of liquid nitrogen hisses from a hose, spewing frost over everything. Everyone jumps for switches and they shut the experiment down. CARTER -LRB- checking the valve. -RRB- It's nothing. It's just mechanical. ATHERTON GOOD. Do n't bother changing it. I want you and Bodie to rebuild the whole unit ; same output in half the size. Should hold up, right Mitch? MITCH Sure, as long as we go with H.F. ATHERTON Well, gentlemen, now what? Things are going okay so far, are n't they? KENT They certainly are in my area, Jerry. ATHERTON -LRB- warning. -RRB- KENT KENT -LRB- unaware. -RRB- Yes? MITCH Boy, when I think of all the applications for this! ATHERTON -LRB- covering. -RRB- We've got enough theory to deal with without talking applications. You just worry about giving me that power breakthrough. how close are you? KENT -LRB- gloating. -RRB- Not very, from what I hear. ATHERTON -LRB- to Mitch. -RRB- Are n't you and Chris working together? MITCH Yes. but. ATHERTON Where is Mr. Kinsley? KENT -LRB- anxious to get Chris in trouble. -RRB- He's outside. Kent goes to the window and shouts down. KENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- shouting. -RRB- Kinsley! Dr. Atherton wants you.", "EXT. LAB BUILDING-MEDIUM CLOSE ON CHRIS-WAIST UP He's sitting on a chaise lounge with a stack of encyclopedias, sipping a beer. CHRIS Coming. PULL OUT TO REVEAL that the chaise lounge has balloons tied to each corner. Chris dumps a volume from his lap and the chaise rises straight up in the air. ANGEL ON ATHERTON AND CHRIS - FRAMED BY THE WINDOW Chris hovers in mid - air. ATHERTON What are you doing out there? CHRIS Floating, sir. And thinking. ATHERTON -LRB- fuming. -RRB- I want to see you at my house at six o'clock. Sharp. CHRIS Sounds fun. Should I bring anything? ATHERTON How about a proper attitude for a change? CHRIS I'll try and borrow one. Now, if you'll excuse me, there are millions of boys and girls everywhere waiting for me to bring them presents. Ho ho ho. He hands Atherton a volume and floats from view.", "INT. LAB Atherton, Mitch and Kent stand at the window, watching Chris ascend. KENT He's really pushing it, is n't he, Jerry? ANGLE ON MITCH He smiles as he watches his roommate and friend float off.", "EXT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE-EARLY EVENING The restoration work is reaching completion and the house is looking pretty beautiful. A small crew of workmen paint and do other finishing work. Chris is sitting on the porch, watching. He is eating a very large puffs of popcorn from a bag. We SEE Atherton returning from his daily jog. He is decked out in an expensive designer jogging suit and has all the appropriate accessories. he also has all the silly habits of the trendy runner for cooling down and stretching. CHRIS You wanted to see me, your joggingness? ATHERTON Mr. Kinsley. Right on time. What a surprise. Do you run? CHRIS Only when chased. ATHERTON What are you eating? CHRIS It's one of mark's Ickagami's experiments. He's been irradiating corn with strontium. it's his hobby ; big food. ATHERTON That's popcorn? CHRIS It's big popcorn. ATHERTON -LRB- over reacting. -RRB- Get it away from me. I ca n't stand it. I hate popcorn. Leave it there. Chris puts the bag down on the porch. CHRIS Okay. Have you ever considered switching to de - caffeinated coffee? Atherton leads Chris to the front door, where he removes his shoes and then stands and waits until Chris does the same. They proceed into the house.", "INT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE- CONTINUOUS The interior is immaculate. A classic example of elegant good taste. Atherton is fastidiously protective of his things. ATHERTON I want to start seeing a lot more of you in the lab. CHRIS You want me to work nude? ATHERTON Very funny, you're a major disappointment to me, Chris. CHRIS And you to me, Jerry. ATHERTON -LRB- angry. -RRB- We had a deal! CHRIS And I advanced your project more than any three guys on campus. ATHERTON That was yesterday. What have you done for me today? CHRIS Hey, are n't you getting a little obsessive about this? I took in the new kid. He's working his guts out for you. ATHERTON Your arrogant, disrespectful behavior is distracting him. If you keep it up, you're going to pay for it. CHRIS Hey, I'm out of here. Delenda Est Cartheo. P.E.I. July one. ATHERTON You still have to pass, dear boy, and considering the fact that my class is a requisite, it would seem that I would have some control over your destiny. From now on, you and Mr. Simon are going to spend every waking moment working on my power problem and you will solve it by my deadline. CHRIS Okay, Jerry, but I really think you should see an analyst. Chris exits. Atherton watches him go.", "INT. ATHERTON'S LAB-NIGHT Mitch is alone and trying to work on the new, smaller laser. He looks tired and upset. He tinkers around for a while, then goes back to his table and looks at his notes. Nothing seems to make sense anymore. Chris enters with a beaker in his hand. CHRIS Hi. Do me a favor, taste this. Mitch is confused. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Come on, you wo n't hurt my feelings. MITCH I. Chris rams the spoon in his mouth. CHRIS Well, too sweet? Mitch makes a face. MITCH What is it? CHRIS Beats me. I just found it in one of the labs. MITCH Aggghh! CHRIS Come on. I'm just pulling your leg. How are you doing? MITCH I'm stuck. Dr. Atherton says we've got to miniaturize the power supply and you're not helping. CHRIS Lighten up. It's only a laser. Chris goes to the laser. Mitch is annoyed. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Instead of trying to take that roomful of capacitors over there and putting new perspective. Charge this baby up. Everything you've got. MITCH What for? CHRIS You'll see. Go Mitch goes next door. Chris, meanwhile, measures a certain distant from the floor and mounts a mirror on the wall above his head. He then moves to the laser and repositions it to shoot at the mirror. Mitch returns and makes some adjustments to a control panel. MITCH All set, I think. CHRIS Do it. Mitch throws a switch. Immediately, a loud electrical hum fills the air. Chris goes over and opens the door to the hall and glances left. CHRIS'S POV A roomful of capacitors loading.", "EXT. THE CAMPUS-NIGHT The lights twinkle from various buildings. WE HEAR the hum", "EXT. THE CAMPUS-NIGHT The lights twinkle from various buildings. We hear the hum growing. MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- What are you doing now? CHRIS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Making hamburgers. Suddenly, there are several loud snaps and all the lights on campus go off at once as the power overload blows the sub station fuses. MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Oh, no!", "INT. THE LAB IN DARKNESS CHRIS Relax, it's just the fuses at the sub station. They'll have it back on in a second. More importantly, did we get a charge? Suddenly there is a loud `` crack'' and the laser sends out a beam across the room, bouncing off the mirror on the wall., out the door, where it hits another mirror and disappears from sight. MITCH Wow!", "EXT. THE CAMPUS-CONTINUOUS The beam has formed a web of light across the darkened campus. The effect is quite spectacular. People look in awe. Chris and Mitch exit the physics building. CHRIS Follow the yellow brick road. MITCH Have you ever considered the fact that you are completely wasting your life? CHRIS Constantly. The lights on campus come back on as Chris and Mitch continue to follow the beam.", "INT. WAVE TANK BUILDING An open window above the door lets the beam of light enter. Chris and Mitch enter.", "INT. HALLWAY-CONTINUOUS Chris and Mitch walk down a stairway through an open door, following the beam.", "INT. WAVE TANK ROOM-CONTINUOUS The place has been turned into an indoor Waikiki. The beam has been directed into a hood - shaped device that has split it into enough rays to cook a bunch of hot dogs and hamburgers on an improvised barbeque, managed by ICK, who is dressed for the beach and wearing a welding mask. Past him we can see that there about twenty girls and some guys present. Several of them are water - skiing on the mechanically produced waves inside the tank, towed by an elaborated pulleys system. Others are frolicking on the `` beach'' and cut out palms stand around, achieving the desired effect. Blankets have been laid out and girls sit on them eating hot dogs and talking. There are sun lamps set up in one area and some kids are smoothing sun tan oil and shagging a few rays. Rock music fills the room. ICK -LRB- lifts his mask. -RRB- Aloha. ANGLE ON THE DOORWAY A lot of the guys we've seen around the dorm have started to arrive. They enter hesitantly at Chris's urging. CHRIS Come on in, boys. Surf's up. Awestruck, shy but excited, they approach. CORNELL -LRB- a nerdy student. -RRB- I have a geochemistry test tomorrow and I do not feel adequately prepared. CHRIS But the main thing is you look good. CORNELL Thanks. MILTON What if we end up having too much fun and end up failing? CHRIS And would that be the end of the world. Milton? MILTON Yes, it would. CHRIS Yeah, you're right. Maybe you should go back to the library. MILTON Well, maybe I could just look for a minute. CORNELL -LRB- noticing. -RRB- Are those girls? CHRIS I have n't had them all tested yet, Cornell, but so far so good. MITCH Who are they? MILTON They're not from here. I'd know. CHRIS No, no they're not, they're from a nearby college though. MITCH Which one? CHRIS The Wanda Trossler School of beauty. MITCH They're beauticians? CHRIS Not yet. CORNELL Gee, I do n't know. CHRIS They'll teach you. Let's get serious here, lads. There are 670 guys at pacific tech and 136 girls. MILTON A ratio of 4.93 to 1 CHRIS Good, Milton. Of the 136 girls, most of them can find guys a lot better than you. CORNELL Oh, easily. CHRIS These girls are not used to geniuses. You might impress them. CORNELL I do n't see how. CHRIS Let me put this another way. Given the type of people you are and the environment you're in, you guys have to admit the strong probability that this may be the only chance you'll ever get in your entire lives to have sex. There is a pause while everyone considers the hypothesis. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Think about it. He turns and heads into the party. After a beat, everyone except Mitch follows Chris's lead. ANGLES ON VARIOUS ACTIVITIES - A LITTLE LATER Water - skiing, dancing, a volleyball game. Most of the guys are making an effort to socialize. Mitch watches quietly. ANGLE ON MILTON TALKING TO A GIRL OVER BY THE SUN LAMPS. VIVIAN So, what do you guys do? Just be smart all the time? MILTON Well. VIVIAN What's your major? MILTON Astrophysics. VIVIAN Is that like sports medicine? MILTON Space. VIVIAN -LRB- impressed. -RRB- Oh! Let me ask you something about that. If I was on the moon, Could I like tease hair much higher? MILTON Theoretically. VIVIAN This is fascinating. ANGLE ON another guy named Fenton and a girl. They're necking. CONNIE My friend Evelyn, tells me that brilliant men are the best lovers. FENTON I'd say that's true. CONNIE Up to now, what's been your ultimate sexual experience? FENTON I once fell off a ladder and landed on my sister, Bernice. ANGLE ON CONNELL, and a girl in the tank. they both bob up out of the water. Cornell still has his glasses on. He takes them off and ca n't see. LOUISA Why do you wear those glasses? CORNELL So I can see. LOUISA But you look very sexy without them. Reflexively he breaks his glasses in his hands. ANGLE ON MILTON AND VIVIAN. He rubbing suntan oil on her back MILTON I really should be studying. VIVIAN Me too. I have a bleaching final tomorrow. MILTON -LRB- sneezing. -RRB- Achew. VIVIAN Bless you. MILTON I'm allergic to suntan oil. VIVIAN Maybe you should stop. MILTON -LRB- aroused. -RRB- I do n't think I can ANGLE ON CORNELL AND LOUISA. They are sitting on the `` beach'' toweling off. LOUISA -LRB- very sexy. -RRB- You know, I read in the Enquirer that woman paid twenty thousand dollars for the sperm of a genius. CORNELL Really? LOUISA -LRB- putting her arms around him. -RRB- I've GOT TWENTY BUCKS? CORNELL Do you have a cup? ANGLE ON MITCH The party is in full swing and most of the guys have become very comfortable. Some are making out. Mitch now seems like the only one left out. he sees a pretty GIRL just coming out of the water. She adjusts her top. Mitch wanders over to her. MITCH -LRB- with great effort. -RRB- Hi. TAMMY Hi. MITCH I was watching you. swim. TAMMY Yes? MITCH I was thinking of maybe going for a swim myself. TAMMY Yeah? Is this the kiddy pool? She exits, leaving Mitch devastated. He goes and sits in a corner. Meanwhile, Chris is looking around proudly. It's obvious he did n't see what just happen to Mitch. He smiles at the fun everyone is having. A girl passes him eating a hamburger. CHRIS Do n't eat that! KIMBERLY Huh? CHRIS Do n't you know eating that stuff can give you very large breasts? -LRB- mock despair. -RRB- Oh. My god! I see I'm too late. She laughs. He puts his arms around her and they walk off. As Chris and Kimberly EXIT, we catch a glimpse of a face in a window. We push in to see Kent, spying.", "INT. CLASSROOM-SAME TIME (BUT APPEARS TO BE DAY) OPEN TIGHT on Atherton's face. He looks odd, as there are Kleenex tissues sticking out from his shirt collar. A hand comes into frame, holding a pancake makeup puff, and starts applying it to his face. ATHERTON Christ, Don. I'm doing the best I can. You act like I do n't want my own invention to work. There are only so many hours in a day. CAMERA PULLS BACK CARMICHAEL I agree. And what's more important, massaging your ego on television explaining the digestive system of a rabbit to the great unwashed or `` project crossbow'' MAKEUPMAN Off - hand, I'd say television. ATHERTON -LRB- angrily to make up man. -RRB- Just get rid of the crows' feet! -LRB- to Carmichael carefully. -RRB- There's nothing more important than'' crossbow,'' but when went from blue sky to black you turned into Bigfoot. The STAGE MANAGER approaches. STAGE MANAGER Ready to go, Dr. Atherton. He exits. ATHERTON Pushing me does n't help. You tell them that. He walks away. There is definitely no love between them. ATHERTON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- under his breath. -RRB- Son of a bitch. CARMICHAEL -LRB- under his breath. -RRB- Asshole. ANGLE ON ATHERTON as he walks over to the cue card man and checks through the cards. KENT enters in a rush. KENT I have something to. ATHERTON -LRB- cutting him off. -RRB- Did you pick up my dry cleaning? KENT Yes I did. there's something you should know. ATHERTON The gravy stain? KENT No, that came out. -LRB- very pleased. -RRB- Chris and Mitch are n't working. They're at a party. Atherton begins to seethe. ATHERTON I want to show me where, right after I'm finished here. KENT -LRB- all smiles. -RRB- My pleasure. STAGE MANAGER In five. four. Kent forgets to move. Atherton shoves him off. We HEAR an off - stage CRASH. STAGE MANAGER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- three. two. and. We PUSH in on nearby monitor. the show's logo comes on, along with its theme MUSIC. ANNOUNCER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- WELCOME TO `` SCIENCE,'' WITH YOUR HOST, Dr. JEROME ATHERTON. FUNDED BY. A NEW CARD SHOWS ON THE MONITOR. ANNOUNCER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- A grant from Pacific Electric Instruments. PEI. And now, Dr. Atherton. Atherton appears on the monitor. ANGLE ON ATHERTON IN THE STUDIO He smiles broadly and reads from the cue cards. ATHERTON Good evening. Tonight we're going to look at something most of us take for granted. the colon. What's it look like? KENT WANDERS BY IN THE BACKGROUND.", "INT. WAVE TANK ROOM-LATER THAT NIGHT THE PARTY IS STILL GOING STRONG. says. ANGLE ON JORDAN She tosses a volleyball up into the air in a one - woman game of catch. Mitch approaches forlornly. JORDAN Wan na play? MITCH I'm not very. HE GETS SMACKED IN THE HEAD BY THE BALL. MITCH -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Sure, all right. Through the following, Mitch and Jordan volley the ball between them. JORDAN Some party, huh? MITCH I guess. -LRB- hesitant. -RRB- How come you're not. JORDAN Necking? MITCH well. JORDAN I'm not gay. MITCH -LRB- embarrassed. -RRB- I did n't. I would n't even. JORDAN Look, I'm seventeen. I'm brilliant, and I'm hyper kinetic. Guy are a little afraid of me, you know. It'll pass. I hope. ANGLE ON MITCH MITCH -LRB- softly. -RRB- I think you're very nice. Mitch gets smashed on the head with the ball, sending his glasses flying. Suddenly, Atherton burst into the room, followed closely by Kent. ATHERTON -LRB- seeing Mitch. -RRB- Simon! He passes the tape deck and snaps it OFF. Everything comes to a stop as Atherton heads for Mitch, all eyes trained on the pending drama. ATHERTON You were supposed to be in the lab tonight. KENT -LRB- chiming in. -RRB- Were n't you! MITCH I was and. ATHERTON You are at Pacific Tech to work, not to behave like a philistine. KENT That's right! MITCH I was working, I. ATHERTON Where's Kinsley. I imagine this was his idea. KENT No doubt! ATHERTON -LRB- annoyed. -RRB- Kent! KENT -LRB- stiffening. -RRB- yes? ATHERTON -LRB- to Mitch, very angry. -RRB- I took a big chance recommending a fifteen - year - old. I guess I made a mistake. I hope you're proud of yourself. Kent is in seventh heaven as Atherton turns and heads for the door. As they exiting, they pass Cornell and his date. CORNELL Dr. Atherton? ATHERTON What! CORNELL Are you wearing makeup? Atherton can only stare in his rage. LOUISA Is it too try and hide those crows' feet? He growls and exits. ANGLE ON MITCH He is truly at a loss in the face of this cruelty. Everyone is staring at him. He runs out the door. ANGLE ON JORDAN She watches Mitch go, feeling very badly for him", "INT. ATHERTON'S LAB-THE NEXT NIGHT Mitch, tired, looking like a kid who's been working for hours, is staring at a formula on the blackboard. Frustrated, he throws his screwdriver against it in anger and runs into the adjacent room and begins disconnecting the capacitor bank.", "INT. LAB HALLWAY-EARLY MORNING Kent, Bodie and Carter cross toward the lab. Just then, Mitch comes out. He looks exhausted and very upset. As he passes Kent, he turns away from his stare. KENT -LRB- mock concern. -RRB- Gee, he looks depressed. The other guys yuk it up. They turn and watch Mitch go into Atherton's office down the hall. They follow in time to HEAR : MITCH -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I'd like to make a collect call to Mrs. Bill Simon. Kent's eyes light up with an idea.", "INT. ATHERTON'S OFFICE Mitch is on the phone. He's very upset. MITCH I know, but I do n't like it here anymore. I want to live at home with you. -LRB- reluctant. -RRB- Yeah, and dad. I want to go back to high school. I - dad did what? Rented out my room? Well, why ca n't Mr. Echevarria and I share it? Please, ma, I want to come home.", "INT. KENT'S LAB-TIGHT ON A MINI TAPE RECORDER Its reels are spinning. It's being held up to a telephone receiver. MITCH -LRB- V.O., FILTER. -RRB- -LRB- crying. -RRB- Please let me come home. I do n't want to stay here. WIDEN to reveal Kent holding the recorder as cater and Bodie watch. The workbench area in Kent's lab is covered with a drop cloth. Kent chuckles as MITCH pleads with his mother.", "INT. DORM HALL-DINING ROOM-NEXT MORNING The dorm population is eating their breakfast. Kent and his unholy two are smugly downing their `` shredded wheat'' Mitch is alone off in the corner. It's obvious he has n't slept. Chris enters and crosses to Kent. A WAITRESS, middle - aged, is serving coffee. CHRIS Kent. let's never fight like that again. KENT What? CHRIS We've been lovers too long to have a silly argument come between us. The waitress stares disgustedly at Kent. KENT Chris. CHRIS Please. Do n't speak. You were right. Tonight I'll wear the cowboy suit. CHRIS EXITS KENT -LRB- sputtering. -RRB- You. WAITRESS Do your parents know about this? KENT Of course not! She nods and exits. Kent calls after her. KENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Nobody knows. I mean, there's nothing to know. ANOTHER ANGLE Chris walks over to Mitch. CHRIS Where were you all last night? MITCH The lab. Where you were supposed to be. CHRIS Jordan told me about Atherton coming down on you. what exactly did. Mitch abruptly turns his back to Chris and continues eating. Chris sees the conversation is over. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- referring to the sentence he never finished. -RRB-. Let me hold that thought and get back to ya. ANOTHER ANGLE Ken, Bodie and Carter. The gentle strains of classical music fill the room. KENT Something soothing to eat by. The tape is abruptly interrupted by the RECORDING Kent made of Mitch on the phone to his mother. ANGLE ON MITCH He ca n't believe his ears. His expression runs from surprise to embarrassment. ANOTHER ANGLE Everyone stops eating and listens to Mitch begging his mother to come home. They share his embarrassment and lower their heads. Even Kent's friends are uncomfortable. Kent, on the other hand, is laughing it up, having a great time. ANGLE ON MITCH He's in a state of shock. ANGLE ON KENT KENT -LRB- he ca n't wait. -RRB- Here comes the crying! He loves it. ANGLE ON MITCH He runs out of the dinning room. Kent loves Mitch reaction. It makes him laugh harder. ANGLE ON CHRIS CHRIS -LRB- to himself. -RRB- Too low.", "INT. MITCH'S ROOM-A FEW MINUTES LATER Mitch is trying to pack, but it's difficult because the place is in such disarray. Chris enters. He watches and tries to think of what to say. CHRIS Okay, if you want to leave, go ahead. But you'll miss the fun. MITCH -LRB- sour. -RRB- What fun? CHRIS Ick invented a new virus and we're gon na release it in Kent's room. Mitch turns on Chris with surprising hostility. MITCH That's sick! That's a sick thing to do! CHRIS Hey, I was just kidding, I. MITCH You're always just kidding. There's something wrong with you. CHRIS Just a second. MITCH The other night I needed your help and all you wanted to do was party. CHRIS I tried to help you. I tried to help you relax. MITCH Being snubbed by beauticians is n't my idea of relaxing. CHRIS Student beauticians. MITCH -LRB- Blows up. -RRB- I thought this place was going to be different, but it's just the same. I'm either used or made fun of. In high school they pushed me in a mailbox, did I tell you that? CHRIS They called me Chris the whiss'. MITCH Really? What's a whiss? CHRIS I think they meant wuss, but it did n't rhyme. when I was three years old, I balanced my father's checkbook so they sent me to school and fired their accountant. My father was so intimidated, he stopped speaking to me. My teacher disliked me because I was smarter than they were, and my classmates hated me because I bell the bell curve. Sound familiar? And tell me why my. why did my mother dress me in white shirts, hush puppies and a briefcase, guaranteeing that a girl would never talk to me? Mitch looks down at his own white shirt and hush puppies. MITCH YOU? CHRIS -LRB- Dramatic. -RRB- And then one night, in this room, I was sitting right where you are sitting now. I had a vision. I saw him. MITCH god CHRIS Hopsfield. MITCH Hopsfield? Oh! The guy in the closet. CHRIS Yeah. Laslo Hopsfield. I followed him. Through the closet ; down into the steam tunnels. And down there I saw the most disgusting thing I've ever seen. MITCH -LRB- Frighten. -RRB- What? CHRIS Hopsfield in his pajamas. MITCH LAUGHS. CHRIS -LRB- Lighter, but sincere. -RRB- And I talk to the guy. Turned out that in the Seventies he was the number one stud around here. Smarter than you and me put together. So brilliant, so sharp, so advanced, so long. MITCH What do you mean? CHRIS He graduated. Went to work for some chemical company. One day someone told him he was making stuff that was killing people. I think it was his mother. He freaked. You see, he was totally unprepared for the real world. He had no philosophy. He thought science was the answer for everything. MITCH Am I gon na wind up in a steam tunnel? CHRIS Yes, you are, Metaphorically speaking. Unless you see that the same thing that has made your life miserable can make it great ; your brain. When you're smart, people need you, and you can learn how to work that for fun and profit. MITCH You had a arrangement going with Atherton, do n't you? That's why you do n't have to study. CHRIS Hey, I do n't carry a briefcase. -LRB- pause. -RRB- You're a nice kid. If you leave I'll miss you. MITCH -LRB- thinking about it. -RRB- If I stay, what should I do, I mean. CHRIS Well, the first thing you have to do is get even with Kent. It's a moral imperative. MITCH -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Yeah.", "EXT. CAMPUS-NIGHT Kent's Citroen pulls up. Kent and Carter get out and walk by Jordan, who is sitting nearby. KENT And at Northern Electronics you get the stock options, but not the free housing, It's what makes PEI so sweet. You get everything. CARTER Yeah, and Kinsley's got that locked. KENT -LRB- knowingly. -RRB- Maybe he does, and maybe he does n't. They walk away. After a beat, CHRIS, MITCH and ICK jump out from behind another car. Mitch carries a TOOL BOX. JORDAN Over here! The others rush over to her. Chris trains a light on the license plate. It reads, `` KENT.'' CHRIS He puts his name on his car. He does the same thing with his underwear. Mitch flops down the tool box. 5R5DISSOLVE TO : MONTAGE Chris, Mitch, Jordan and Ick working on Kent's car. They are undoing bolts, talking out wires, removing fenders, etc.. The last DISSOLVE and we see the car is gone. And no sign of our foursome.", "EXT. DORM HALL-NIGHT Chris quietly goes up the stairs inside the dorm carrying a steering wheel. Ick and Mitch have an engine on a flatbed cart. Jordan enters carrying heavy chains and a drill.", "EXT. KENT'S ROOM-EARLY MORNING Filthy with crankcase oil, Chris, Mitch, Ick and Jordan exit and scamper down the hall. All are very pleased with themselves.", "EXT. KENT'S ROOM-LATER THAT MORNING Kent is coming down the hall. he opens his door and walks inside.", "INT. KENT\"S ROOM CLOSEUP ON KENT. His jaw drops open. ANOTHER ANGLE Chris and Mitch enter. CHRIS Hey, Kent. That's your car. MITCH You're not supposed to park on campus. KENT This is n't funny. You went too far this time, Kinsley. CHRIS I had help. KENT -LRB- surprised, to Mitch. -RRB- You? -LRB- a beat. -RRB- I'm going to get you guys. Dr. Atherton's gon na hear about this. He storms out of his room. CHRIS -LRB- calls to Kent. -RRB- Hey, Kent, you owe us ten dollars for the gas. -LRB- to Mitch. -RRB- He'll never pay us.", "EXT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE-DUSK The restoration has been completed and the house looks beautiful. Chris comes up the walk, goes to the door and rings the bell. A very pretty girl named SUSAN answers the door.", "INT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE-CONTINUOUS Chris enters. CHRIS Wow! Hello. SUSAN Hi. CHRIS Jerry asked me to drop by. What did he ask you to do? SUSAN What? CHRIS Which word did n't you understand? SUSAN Are you here for the meeting? CHRIS What meeting? SUSAN I do n't know. CHRIS Okay. SUSAN I'm just waiting. CHRIS Right. The study doors open and Atherton, Carmichael and Decker step out. DECKER -LRB- finishing their conversation. -RRB- And finally, it comes down to, if you ca n't do it, we'll get somebody else. I have a timetable, doctor. CARMICHAEL We're very close, Dave, do n't worry, everything's going to be fine. DECKER -LRB- cold as ice. -RRB- Don, try and remember you work for me. -LRB- to Atherton. -RRB- I think I've made my point, have n't I? ATHERTON -LRB- equally as cold. -RRB- Crystal clear, Mr. Decker. DECKER Good. CHRIS Anything I should know about? ATHERTON Shut up Kinsley. I'll be with you in a moment. DECKER Goodbye, Jerry, and good luck. Susan? They begin to exit. Chris takes Susan's hand. CHRIS I guess this is goodbye. I'm sorry I did n't get a chance to know you. At all. -LRB- to the boys in admiration. -RRB- Have you ever seen breasts like theses before? DECKER She happens to be my daughter. CHRIS Oh, then I guess you have. CARMICHAEL -LRB- to Atherton. -RRB- I'll be reporting to him every day. DECKER Coming, Don? CARMICHAEL Yes, Sir. They exit. ATHERTON What do you think you're doing? CHRIS You said come over. ATHERTON Take off those shoes. Chris removes his shoes to reveal even dirtier socks. ATHERTON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Stay off the rugs.", "INT. STUDY-CONTINOUS CHRIS What's up, Doc. ATHERTON I'm withdrawing your recommendation to PEI. CHRIS What? ATHERTON I'm giving Kent the job. CHRIS Did you suddenly find humor? ATHERTON You have n't solved my power problem. CHRIS I'm trying. ATHERTON No, you're not. So, I'm going to fail you, so you wo n't graduate, so you ca n't take the job. Q.E.D. CHRIS I'll pass your exam. Atherton just smiles a `` so what'' smile. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- We had a deal! ATHERTON Did we? That does n't sound very ethical. CHRIS You ca n't do this. I'll go to Dr. Meredith. ATHERTON -LRB- enjoying this. -RRB- Go ahead. What are you going to tell him. Do n't forget, like most scientists, he is an honorable, moral man who thinks everyone else is too. I'll just deny anything you say. CHRIS You dick! ATHERTON Count on it.", "EXT. DORM ROOF-NIGHT Chris sits, lost in thought, outside the window of his room, Mitch appears at the window, sees Chris and climbs out to join him. MITCH What are you doing? CHRIS Self - realization. I was thinking of jumping, but it's only twelve feet. MITCH Something wrong? CHRIS No. Atherton is going to flunk me out of school. MITCH But you had a deal. CHRIS Yeah, and he says I did n't deliver. You sleep with pits, you wake up smelly. I think Aristotle said that. It was him or Eva Gabor. At least Hopsfield still has his integrity. MITCH Excuse me? CHRIS I thought I was so smart. I did n't want to be like the other dumb geniuses like Hopsfield. I though I could use Them., instead of Them using me. But, Guess what? MITCH I have to agree. It does appear that you've been the victim of your own erroneous logic. CHRIS Thank you. MITCH However, this does n't mean that you ca n't get yourself out. CHRIS How? MITCH Hard work? CHRIS But that's the old way. GRINDING MONTAGE A series of shots showing Chris hard at work, underscored by an original song.", "INT. LASER LAB Mitch and Chris dismantle part of the laser.", "INT. DINING HALL Mitch, Jordan and Ick are listening as Chris shows them diagrams and formulas for a laser supercharger while they try to eat.", "INT. BIOCHEMISTRY LAB Chris and Ick search for a new gas combination for the laser supercharger.", "INT. ATHERTON'S LAB Mitch and Chris work hard on a second laser. Kent is both upset and suspicious of Chris' new interest in work.", "INT. ATHERTON'S CLASSROOM Chris enters carrying books and a note pad. Kent sees this and is shocked. Atherton gives Chris a `` you have n't got a chance'' grin.", "INT. CHRIS AND MITCH'S ROOM-NIGHT They both study for exams ; on the wall is a chart of exam week showing Mitch's exam schedule, a big red square around Chris' exam with Atherton and, in every free hour is written'' Laser''.", "INT. DORM LIBRARY Many students, including our gang, study for exams. Suddenly, Milton ca n't take the pressure any longer and momentarily goes out of his mind and runs from the room.", "INT. ATHERTON'S LAB A tired looking Chris and Mitch attach a second laser to the original but nothing improves. They check their notes and diagrams. Kent, Bodie and carter chuckle in the corner.", "INT. AN EXAM ROOM Mitch is taking an exam with a bunch of people he does n't recognize from the Professor who everyone tape recorded. One of the students appears to be near panic as he deals with a pile of mangled tape.", "INT. JORDAN'S ROOM-VERY LATE NIGHT Chris and Jordan use a blackboard diagram to discuss the engineering difficulties of Chris' laser supercharger assembly.", "INT. DORM HALL Chris runs down the hall and enters his room. Mitch is sprawled out asleep under a math text. Chris feels bad about it but wakes him up.", "INT. ATHERTON'S LAB A wasted Chris and Mitch build the new assembly that will allow a second laser to shoot at the gas jets of the principal laser.", "INT. DORM LIBRARY-NIGHT Chris is studying hard. Mitch is asleep, his head on the table. MITCH -LRB- in his sleep. -RRB- Please, Vito, not in the mailbox again. CHRIS Mitch! Mitch wakes up. MITCH Oh. I was just reliving some high school highlights. CHRIS Look, you do n't have to stay up with me. It's not like we're driving. Get some sleep. You're a growing boy. I hope. Hopsfield enters carrying two large boxes of what appear to be file cards. Mitch is stunned. They all stare for a beat. CHRIS Hi, Laslo. HOPSFIELD I thought you might want some help so I dug into the computer and got every question Artherton's ever asked on every final he ever given. CHRIS Gee, I did n't get you anything. Is that them? HOPSFIELD No, these are entries for McDonald's Sweepstakes. No purchase necessary. Enter as often as you want. So, I am. CHRIS Really? HOPSFIELD This box makes it one million, six hundred thousand. I should win thirty two point six percent of the prizes, including the car. CHRIS Kind of takes the fun out of it, does n't it? HOPSFIELD I suppose so. But they set up the rules, and lately, I have come to realize that I have certain materialistic needs. CHRIS So where are the questions? HOPSFIELD -LRB- insulted. -RRB- I memorized them. Chris and Mitch look at each other, impressed and a little frightened. MITCH I have to go to sleep now. HOPSFIELD Want my pajamas? MITCH Uhhh. thanks, no. HOPSFIELD Smart kid. He's going to grow five inches in the next year. CHRIS How do you. never mind.", "INT. MITCH'S ROOM He opens the door and enters. It's dark. FEMALE VOICE Mitch? MITCH -LRB- surprised. -RRB- Jordan? He turns on the light. Much to his surprise and ours, seated on his bed is Sherry Nugil, the girl Chris met at PEI - the genius groupie. She's dressed for the occasion. SHERRY Mitch Simon? MITCH Who? SHERRY I'm Sherry Nugil. And I've been waiting three years for this. MITCH For what? SHERRY For you to be old enough. MITCH For what? SHERRY For this. She kisses him. SHERRY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Are you ready? MITCH For what? SHERRY Why do you keep saying, ` For what?' MITCH'Cause so far it's working great.", "INT. JORDAN ROOM-NIGHT Jordan is using a big machine to sand her floors. There's a knock on the door. JORDAN -LRB- shouts. -RRB- Come in. Mitch enters, He appears dazed and disheveled. JORDAN Oh, hi, Mitch. I'm just sanding the floor. MITCH Could you turn that off a second? She does. She starts moving the furniture back. JORDAN What's wrong? Why are you sweating? MITCH I. I just. I came back from helping Chris and there was this woman in my room. Jordan stops, It's the first time we've seen her doing nothing. JORDAN A woman? MITCH -LRB- with emphasis. -RRB- A woman. I mean she was. blessed JORDAN Oh? MITCH And she wanted to. How can I say this so as not to offend you? JORDAN Jump you? MITCH Yeah. I hope you're not offended. JORDAN So what happened? MITCH -LRB- excited. -RRB- She kissed me. Then she took off her clothes. Then I took off my clothes - she had to help me. I kept blacking out - then. it was unbelievable. JORDAN You made it with her? MITCH No. That's what was unbelievable. JORDAN Sure. MITCH It's true. I stopped her and told her I did n't want to. JORDAN Afraid? MITCH No. I mean I really did want to. but not with her. He looks at her hopefully. She smiles.", "INT. ATHERTON'S LAB-DAY Chris puts the finishing touches on the second laser assembly. He seems pretty pleased with himself. Kent, Bodie and Carter watch conspiratorially. Carter looks at his watch and starts for the door. CARTER Let's go girls BODIE What's that supposed to mean? CARTER It's just a f. f. figure of speech, Bodie. You guys coming to the exam or not? CHRIS -LRB- finishing his work. -RRB- I guess we should, seeing as he's gone to all the bother of having one and everything. They all begin to exit, but then Kent holds up. KENT You guys go ahead. I have to go to the bathroom. CHRIS -LRB- exiting. -RRB- Okay, Kent, but I do n't think that's going to help your confidence, do you? The others exit as Kent goes back to Chris' laser, opens it up and starts to fiddle with the works. KENT -LRB- to himself. -RRB- So, Mr. Funny Man, let's see how funny you think this is.", "INT. ATHERTON'S CLASSROOM-DAY Students wait to begin taking their final exams. Chris, Bodie and Carter enter and take their seats. Atherton is passing out the booklets. ATHERTON You will have exactly three hours. And remember, we believe in the honor system here, people. ANGLE ON KENT He enters and heads for his seat beside Chris. KENT Good luck, buddy boy. CHRIS Is it okay if I name my first child after you? Dipshit Kinsley has a nice ring to it. 5R5DISSOLVE TO :", "INT. ATHERTON'S CLASSROOM-LATER The students are busy taking the test. ANGLE ON CHRIS He seems to be breezing through it. ANGLE ON KENT He's taking the test. He looks up and is distressed at Chris apparent lack of trouble. Chris looks over and throws Kent a big kiss. Kent turns away immediately.", "INT. ATHERTON'S OFFICE Atherton is going over some plans. Carmichael ENTERS. Atherton rises. ATHERTON -LRB- reprimanding. -RRB- This is my class hour! CARMICHAEL -LRB- loud whisper. -RRB- We're past the deadline. Do n't you understand, Decker's dangerous. We need those plans. ATHERTON -LRB- snaps back. -RRB- It's not ready yet. But it will be. I've got Kinsley cooking now. He'll do it. Believe me, I know how to push that kid's buttons. -LRB- rolling up the plans. -RRB- Here are my drawings for the optics in the sighting system. CARMICHAEL -LRB- cutting him off. -RRB- Decker wants the laser by the end of the week. ATHERTON -LRB- close to losing it. -RRB- I'm doing all I can, damnit! Atherton storms out.", "INT. CLASSROOM Atherton enters like a dark cloud. He sits at his desk. ANGLE ON CHRIS He finishes his last question. He gets out of his seat. ANGLE ON ATHERTON Sitting at his desk. Chris places his test on the desk. Atherton looks up. ANGLE ON CHRIS AND ATHERTON Chris has a big grin on his face. He takes a piece of paper and writes on it and then slides it in front of Atherton. INSERT The piece of paper. It says, `` I aced this.'' ANGLE ON ATHERTON He writes a message and slides it to Chris. INSERT A piece of paper which reads, `` Ace the laser.'' ANGLE ON CHRIS Chris places an apple on Atherton's desk. He exits. Atherton tosses the apple in the wastebasket. The APPLE EXPLODES.", "EXT. CAMPUS-DAY Chris is heading for the lab. The place has that look of exam period desertion. CHRIS -LRB- muttering to himself. -RRB- Okie - dokie, doc, a house does n't have to fall on ole Chris Kinsley.", "INT. ANTHERTON'S LAB-DAY Chris enters and prepares to test the new equipment. He aligns the secondary laser and let it charge up. He makes some final checks and then throws a switch. The laser fires for an instant but then seems to go crazy. The new laser overheats and the main chamber sparks and smokes. Chris tries to shut it down but to now avail. he tears the cover off in hopes of pulling the wiring, but he's too late. We see everything melting away as the machine eats itself. We also see a message left for Chris just before it too melts. It reads : `` 1 laser = 1car.'' Chris is on the verge of a complete mental collapse as he watches his work go up in smoke. CHRIS -LRB- in anguish. -RRB- No! There is nothing but the echo of his voice in response. The main laser stands like a huge, frozen bird in the empty room. In anger and frustration he swears at the machine. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You bastard. This is your fault. He kicks the wastepaper basket in hopes of getting rid of some of this anger ; but, instead, all he gets is the basket bouncing back and hitting him in the shin. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Shit! I deserve that. It all comes back on you in the end. He suddenly stands up straight as though he were having a stroke. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Holy shit! Inspiration takes hold and Chris begins running around like a madman, gathering up parts to the laser. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- almost singing, he's so happy. -RRB- Of course, it's so simple. Echoes, bouncing back at me and you.", "EXT. DORM-A LITTLE LATER Chris runs up the stairs three at a time.", "INT. CHRIS AND MITCH'S ROOM He bursts in. CHRIS Mitch?! The room is empty. The closet door opens and Hopsfield steps out, carrying another box of cards. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Laslo! Buddy! Have you seen Mitch? HOPSFIELD No. How did you do? CHRIS -LRB- elated. -RRB- I failed! HOPSFIELD You should n't have. CHRIS That's true. But never mind that now. It came to me. The power problem. I solved it. Echoes! It's so simple, four little mirrors. It bounces back and supercharges the gas itself. I've got to find Mitch to help me build it but it should increase the power ten - fold at least. If you see him, tell him to meet me at the lab. Bye. Chris exits, leaving Hopsfield lost in thought.", "EXT. STUDENT UNION-MOMENTS LATER A hand - painted sign hangs over the door that says : `` Exam Week Decompression Here.'' Chris runs in the door.", "INT. DECOMPRESSION ROOM-CONTINUOUS The room is full of students who are blowing off steam from studying for and taking exams. They are engaged in all sorts of silly, mindless activities, ranging from tiddly - winks and video games to watching cartoons. There are supplies of `` brain food'' and health drinks around. Mitch, Ick and Jordan are in the corner. Chris runs up to them. JORDAN Oh, Chris. How did it go? CHRIS Great. It was a snap. But Atherton said he's failing me anyway. JORDAN That's terrible. You must be feeling awful. Are you all right? CHRIS Thank you, Jordan. I do feel terrible but I ca n't talk about it right now. I need Mitch. Got ta go. Bye. He grabs Mitch and pulls him out. ICK He seems to be handling it all right. 5R5FADE OUT", "EXT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE-LATER THAT NIGHT Chris knocks on the front door. Atherton answers the door. He is less than thrilled to see Chris.", "INT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE CHRIS -LRB- forcing his way in. -RRB- Hiya, Jerry, how's it going? ATHERTON What do you want Kinsley? CHRIS World peace, but I do n't think this is the time to discuss it. ATHERTON What are you doing here? I've already told you you've burned out and you've failed me and yourself miserably. CHRIS Yes, I know that. But I thought you might be interested. ATHERTON I'm not interested in anything you have to say. Just then a pretty COED starts to come down the stairs. She is dressed only in one of Atherton's shirts. COED Jerry? CHRIS I solved the power problem, Jerry. Atherton pauses. He looks at Chris, then the girl. ATHERTON Debbie, go home.", "INT. ATHERTON'S LAB-LATER THAT NIGHT Atherton, Kent, Bodie and Carter stand by the laser as Chris explains what he's done with formulas on the blackboard. CHRIS As you know, I was working on supercharging the DF by means of a fusion technique using a secondary laser. Well, when I tried it, I discovered Kent had sabotaged it so it collapsed on itself. Everyone looks at Kent in disgust. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And I want to thank him for the thought. KENT What? CHRIS The Deuterium and Fluorine take up enough space by themselves, right? Well, the mistake we've been making up to now is in trying to kick up the power by means of yet another outside source. Big and bulky, right? Well, the elegance of this is that by reflecting part of the lasing light back in the gas jets we supercharge the whole deal, increasing the power tenfold with no increase in size. KENT This is a complete waste of time. Mitch has been preparing the laser for demonstration. He is struggling to lift several thick metal plates. CHRIS Kent, make yourself useful for once and help put those plates against the wall. Kent does and everyone stands back. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Okay, Mitch do it. This should work. Mitch switches on the main laser. It comes to life. Gases flow and a beam appears, hitting the plate without effect. MITCH Now we open the vacuum chamber. He turns a valve and the beam begins to heat up the plate. CHRIS So far so good. And now, cross your fingers. He throws a switch. There's a beat. And then, suddenly, the beam glows intensely brighter, cuts through the plate, the cabinets behind it and through the wall out into the night. Chris and Mitch jump shut the whole thing off. CHRIS Sorry about the wall, sir. KENT -LRB- looking through the hole. -RRB- And the tree across the quad. ATHERTON -LRB- in awe. -RRB- Screw the wall, you did it! You really did it. KENT -LRB- petulant. -RRB- I've done my part, too. ATHERTON -LRB- ignoring Kent. -RRB- Okay, Kinsley. You did it. You pass. CHRIS Thank you, sir. ATHERTON And I think we can get that job back for you at PEI. KENT -LRB- apoplectic. -RRB- What! You ca n't. That's my job. I've done everything you've ever asked. I get your laundry, and I finished the mirror. Look. Kent runs out of the room as Mitch and Chris exchange a look and Atherton shakes his head. Kent returns, rolling a circular precision mirror one meter in diameter. KENT See! Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a film virtually 100 per cent reflective, one micron thick and apply it to a mirror this shape? ATHERTON Good, Kent. -LRB- to Chris, in a hurry. -RRB- I have to go. I have a pressing. He exits. MITCH -LRB- very happy for Chris. -RRB- Let's celebrate. CHRIS Absolutely. Kent, you with us? KENT -LRB- totally frustrated. -RRB- Oh. eat me.", "EXT. CAMPUS-NIGHT Chris, Mitch, Ick and Jordan are looking at the laser hole in the tree.", "EXT. LIBRARY-NIGHT They look at where the beam has cut a hole through the head of the statue of Dr. Bradford.", "EXT. STREET-NIGHT They look high up at a hole where the beam went through a telephone pole and then across the street, even higher, where it burned through a billboard on top of tavern. They cheer.", "INT. BAR-LATER Our group is celebrating. The jukebox blares. Chris and Ick are drinking beers ; Mitch and Jordan are holding hands, sharing a milkshake and feeding each other French fries. MITCH I do n't think I'm ready for that yet. Maybe we should wait a year ; at least until I get my license. JORDAN I understand. There are a lot of things to be considered here. For example, I could drive. Hopsfield enters and sits down at the table. Everyone stares for a beat. HOPSFIELD -LRB- to Chris. -RRB- I've been thinking about your laser solution. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- I figure you've increased the output to six megawatts. CHRIS Yeah. HOPSFIELD What would you use that for? MITCH The applications are unlimited. Industrial for one. HOPSFIELD With the gas tanks you've designed the beam would only last for forty seconds. What good is that? CHRIS I do n't care, Laslo. I graduated. MITCH Let the engineers figure out a use for it. That's not our concern. HOPSFIELD Maybe somebody already has a use for it, one for which it's perfectly designed. JORDAN You mean Atherton had something in mind all along? HOPSFIELD Looks at the facts : very high power, portable, limited firing time, unlimited range. All you'd need is a big spinning mirror and you could vaporize a human target from space. Hopsfield gets up and walks outside. Silence for a beat. CHRIS This is not good. ICK You want another beer? MITCH How big a mirror?", "INT. HALLWAY-EARLY MORNING Chris, Mitch, Ick, Jordan and Hopsfield run down the hall and enter the lab. ANGLE - THE LAB The laser is gone.", "INT. HALLWAY Chris runs next door and forces Kent's lab door open, looks in.", "INT. KENT'S LAB They all enter. CHRIS The mirror is gone, too. Atherton, you worm! You pig! You fuck! Kent, you too! Chris is venting his rage on every inanimate object in the room, kicking and punching. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I should have seen it! How could I have not seen it! MITCH He lied to us. CHRIS It's easy to lie to you. You trust people! I'm cynic! What an asshole I am! HOPSFIELD I understand how you feel, Chris, and you're right. But what we should be doing now is trying to find out what he's doing.", "INT. CHRIS AND MITCH'S ROOM-NIGHT Chris and Mitch sit waiting. Chris is very despondent. Very. Jordan enters. MITCH Did you do it? JORDAN I put a receiver in it too. -LRB- referring to Chris. -RRB- Is he okay? MITCH I do n't know he stopped talking about an hour ago. May I see it? She holds out her hand and we see an almost microscopic electronic device. Ick enters carrying several gas masks, a gas bottle, some tubing an atomizer. ICK Ready?", "INT. DORM HALLWAY -MOMENTS LATER Mitch, Jordan and Ick are gathered around the closed door to Kent's room wearing the gas masks. Ick feeds the end of the tube under the door and opens the valve on the bottle. ICK We'll have two minutes. A STUDENT walks by, not batting an eye. STUDENT Hi, guys.", "INT. KENT'S ROOM The gas has knocked Kent out. He sleeps peacefully in a chair. The door opens and our gang enters. JORDAN -LRB- to Mitch. -RRB- Open his mouth. He does and she pulls out some dental tools and goes to work, placing the receiver in Kent's mouth. JORDAN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- It was his braces that gave me the idea. They're a perfect antenna. His whole. ICK It's about time someone put it to good use.", "INT. CHRIS AND MITCH'S ROOM-MOMENTS LATER They all huddle around a homemade radio transceiver. MITCH -LRB- disguising his voice, into a microphone. -RRB- Kent. Kent. Wake up, Kent.", "INT. KENT'S ROOM-SAME TIME Kent begins to stir. We can HEAR Mitch's voice coming from Kent's head. At first he thinks he's dreaming. MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'm talking to you, Kent. KENT What? MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I said I'm talking to you. KENT -LRB- shaking his head, violently. -RRB- No! MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yes. KENT -LRB- slapping himself. -RRB- I'm not asleep. I must be overworked. MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You're not overworked, Kent. KENT Well, I'm not insane! Silence. KENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Am I?", "INT. CHRIS AND MITCH'S ROOM MITCH That remains to be seen, Kent. But we are having a conversation.", "INT. KENT'S ROOM KENT I have to metabolize this. Um. who is this? MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This is Jesus, Kent, and you've been a very naughty boy. KENT -LRB- cracking up, laughing. -RRB- All right! Who is this?! Bodie? Carter? MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I am known by many names. I am the One. Turn to me and be saved. KENT Oh, Sure. MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Cut the crap, Kent, you've built a weapon. KENT How did you know that? MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I know everything. KENT Oh. God.", "INT. CHRIS AND MITCH'S ROOM MITCH That's right, Kent. Where is the laser now?", "INT. KENT'S ROOM KENT I ca n't tell you. MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- How would you like to burn for the rest of time? KENT -LRB- panicking. -RRB- No, they're testing it on the twenty - seventh but I do n't know where. It's classified. MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Oh. KENT What? MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Nothing. I want you to think about what you've done and repent, and from now on, stop playing with yourself. KENT I do n't. okay", "INT. CHRIS AND MITCH'S ROOM MITCH Now what? The closets door opens and Hopsfield appears. HOPSFIELD Phase two.", "INT. STEAM TUNNELS They are near Hopsfield's lair. Hopsfield has removed the cover from an enormous terminal. Chris seems remote and depressed. HOPSFIELD This is the phone terminal for the entire school. MITCH Okay, we tap Atherton's office phone. What about his home? ICK All the faculty's home phone are part of the University system. JORDAN -LRB- enthusiastically, looking at the maze of wiring. -RRB- Great, all we have to do is find it! HOPSFIELD We'll find it. Jordan and Hopsfield set to work searching for Atherton's lines. Ick is concerned about Chris. ICK I'm depressed. Why did I listen to my parents? I should have become a ping - pong pro. HOPSFIELD It's not too late. MITCH You should n't be depressed. It's us he used. JORDAN Downtown Schmidlap. MITCH Excuse me? JORDAN -LRB- Still working. -RRB- Ernie `` Downtown'' Schmidlap. From my high school. He was captain of everything. One day he told me he wanted to `` date me up.'' so for a month he'd come over and I'd do his homework for him. He was going to take me to the prom. But once he passed his courses, he took Roberta Preen. I stayed home and re - wired our housekeeper's TV. ICK That's awful! MITCH You think that hurts? You should've met my Uncle Stan. He was a Weasel. ICK That bad, huh? MITCH No, that was his lodge. The Royal order of Friendly Weasels. Every Wednesday when I was eight, he'd take me down to his lodge meeting and he'd challenge people to call out two five - digit numbers. I had to multiply them in my head faster than a guy could do it on a calculator. They'd bet on me. Of course, after the meeting, he'd take me for ice cream. ICK That's nice. MITCH Well. he'd take me to the supermarket and I had to dip my hand in. HOPSFIELD I've got his office. JORDAN I've got his home.", "INT. STEAM TUNNEL- SOMETIME LATER They've all made themselves comfortable as they sit and wait for the phone tap to produce results. Hopsfield has wired a speaker so that they can hear, CHRIS Why does n't your phone ring, you jogging, syphilitic microbe? ICK -LRB- sotto, to Mitch. -RRB- I think he's coming around. Suddenly, from the speaker, we HEAR the sound of Atherton's phone being picked up. ATHERTON -LRB- V. 0., FILTER. -RRB- Hello VOICE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Is this Jerome Atherton? ATHERTON -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yes, it is. VOICE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This is Bill Carlisle. I saw your television show the other night about the reproductive system. ATHERTON -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Thank you, I hope you enjoyed it. VOICE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I love it. Everything you said was copied word for word from my book and I expect a lot of money for it. ATHERTON -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Need I remind you, it's public television, an attempt to teach people something. And all you can think of is personal greed. It's people like you that make me feel bad about being American. VOICE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'm Canadian ATHERTON -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'm not surprised. Good day. They hang up. ICK God, he's good at that. He almost gets away with it. That's the most manipulative guy I've ever seen. I mean heard. CHRIS He does get away with it. MITCH Not anymore.", "INT. STEAM TUNNEL-LATER STILL Everyone lies asleep in various places and positions, Mitch awakens. He is amazed to find Jordan asleep on his shoulder, so amazed he has to wake her. MITCH Jordan? JORDAN Hmmmmmmmm. MITCH You were sleeping. JORDAN I was? Gee. -LRB- snuggling. -RRB- I guess you relax me. MITCH -LRB- proudly. -RRB- Wow! CHRIS -LRB- awakening. -RRB- What's going on? MITCH I put Jordan to sleep. CHRIS And you're proud of that? MITCH Yeah. The speaker comes to life with the sound of the receiver being groped for and then Atherton's groggy voice. ATHERTON -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- mumbling. -RRB- Yes. hello DECKER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Jer? Dave Decker How are you? ATHERTON -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Christ, Dave what time is it? DECKER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Nine thirty here in Washington. I thought you Californians all get up early and exercise. Ha, ha CHRIS This is it. That's the guy I saw at his house with the daughter. ATHERTON -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Very funny, Dave. What do you want? I'm busy. DECKER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It sounds like it. Listen, I'll be out there tomorrow for the test but I want you to go to the Marsh this afternoon and check optics systems one more time. ATHERTON -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Why? DECKER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Because I'm in charge, Doctor. Goodbye. He hangs up. All look to Chris. ICK Well? CHRIS -LRB- comes to life. -RRB- It's happening. MITCH It's only weapon if it works, right? CHRIS -LRB- determined. -RRB- You're absolutely right! The time has come, people. No more being used. No more Downtown Schmidlaps or Uncle Stans or Jerry Athertons. We're going to take responsibility for our own brains. Remember, without ethics there can be no morality. Without morality there is no society and without society there can be no fast food restaurants. So the whole country, nay, in the world, is counting on us to get even in a big way. Thank you. ICK Nice logic. CHRIS Thanks. Synchronize watches. MITCH Why? CHRIS It's just something you say at a time like this. HOPSFIELD I do n't need a watch. CHRIS Okay, forget it. Let's go.", "EXT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE-DAY Atherton comes out and heads for his car carrying an over - night bag. As he drives away we SEE that Ick has been spying on him.", "EXT. A FILED-DAY Ick is hiding behind some bushes on a knoll. he is looking through binoculars. ICK POV Atherton's car is passing through a high security gate into Marsh field.", "EXT. SHIPPING DOCK-DAY Chris, Mitch and Hopsfield are loading the last of several large boxes into a beat - up van.", "EXT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE-EVENING The van pulls up in front. Painted on the side is a plumber's logo. Mitch, Jordan and Ick start unloading boxes. Chris goes to the front door. ANGLE ON THE DOOR. says. Chris picks the lock.", "INT. HOPSFIELD'S LAIR-LATER THAT NIGHT Chris and Mitch enter to see Hopsfield as he works at the computer, attempting to interface with another computer. Each time he hits the keys the READOUT replies `` Negative.'' HOPSFIELD Boy, these secret fields are so untrusting. CHRIS So we ca n't get on - base clearance. HOPSFIELD I guess not. CHRIS Forget it. We'll balls it. Jordan enters carrying two I. D. cards. JORDAN How do these look? INSERT Two fake I. D.'s with Mitch's and Chris's picture on them. Perfect. I hope. ANGLE BACK ON THE ROOM MITCH What if they do n't fool anybody? CHRIS They shoot us.", "EXT.  MARSH AIR FORCE BASE- MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT Technicians check monitors and prepare for the coming test. Nearby stands a firing command module very reminiscent of the pilot's compartment in the opening sequence. Atherton goes over last minute details with various people. He seems distracted as an engineer discusses a problem with him. ENGINEER Are you all right? ATHERTON What? Oh, yes, fine. Have you ever had a feeling that there's something terribly wrong? ENGINEER No.", "EXT. MAIN GATE OF THE BASE-NIGHT There are two Air force Police GUARDS in the shack. Chris and Mitch pulls up in Kent's Citroen, behind a government sedan awaiting clearance at the gate. They are dressed as technicians and Mitch sports a moustache.", "INT. THE CITROEN Mitch is a wreck and Chris does n't help. He begins humming the theme from `` Mission Impossible.'' GUARD -LRB- V.O. -RRB- All clear, Mr. Decker. Just follow the yellow line. Chris accidentally hits the horn. Through the windshield we SEE Decker and the guard look back. Chris recognizes Decker. CHRIS -LRB- covering. -RRB- How long does it take? Mitch whimpers. Decker's car pulls away. The guard uses one finger to motion Chris forward. Chris pulls the car up. The guard leans in the window. GUARD I.D. Mitch, obviously shaking, hands his to Chris who hands them to both guard. CHRIS Snap it up, will ya? We just flew in. We're tired. We're hungry. We have this stupid car. The guard turns away and walks into the shack. MITCH Are you out of your mind? CHRIS You have to intimidate these guys. The guard returns. GUARD You're not on the list. CHRIS Of course not. We're classified. We HEAR the phone RING. The second guard answers it.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER An Air Force Officer is on the phone. An impatient Atherton stands beside him. ATHERTON I do n't know what he should look for, just tell him if he sees anything out of the. let me tell him. He grabs the phone.", "INT. THE CITROEN GUARD Are n't you guys a little young to be technicians? CHRIS Lasers are a young science. There, fine, now you've made me say it. Now we're all in trouble. Mitch looks like he's going to die. GUARD Look, I'll call the duty officer. He starts towards the phone shack. The other guard is still on the phone. CHRIS -LRB- his demeanor changing. -RRB- Excuse me. The guard turns back. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Look, pal, do n't call anybody. We're four hours late. It's our jobs. Give us a break, will ya? Someday you might be in the private sector, right? A beat. Mitch dies. Chris gives the guard a goofy grin.", "EXT. THE GATE The guard waves them through. The car pulls away. The guard returns to the booth. SECOND GUARD We're supposed to look for anything out of the ordinary. FIRST GUARD Okay.", "EXT. THE RAMP - NIGHT A B - 1 Bomber, painted black, sits in the glow of the work lights. Technicians, who are wearing jumpsuits similar to the ones Mitch and Chris have on, are busy working around the plane. Chris and Mitch ENTER FRAME and walk up to the plane. A couple of the technicians watch them curiously as they go up the stairs into the bomb bay.", "INT. BOMB BAY Chris and Mitch enter. Three technicians are inside the plane running last minute checks on the laser, which sits in the middle of the cabin. Chris crosses to the technician who is in the middle of the cabin. He watches him making mental notes as he checks the program. The technician turns, sensing his presence. CHRIS Nice work. Keep it up. Mitch, meanwhile, checks out the laser optics. After a beat, one of the technicians signals for the others to complete their jobs and exit. They start to file out. One of them turns and looks at Chris, who is just standing there. CHRIS What?! The technician shakes his head uncertainly and exits with the others. Finally, Mitch and Chris are alone. Chris opens the BRIEFCASE. It contains a cellular phone, a modem and an EEPROM Processor.", "INT. HOPSFIELD'S LAIR - SAME TIME The computer receives a signal. Hopsfield turns to Jordan and Ick. HOPSFIELD We've got a connection. They're in.", "INT. BOMB BAY CHRIS Get the EEPROMs. Mitch opens up the computer and clips a couple of power lines and pulls out four computer chips and hands them to Chris, who plugs them into the processor. Chris picks up the phone. CHRIS -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Abbott to Costello.", "INT. HOPSFIELD'S LAIR Jordan picks up the phone. JORDAN -LRB- into phone. -RRB- This is Costello. Go ahead, Abbott.", "INT. BOMB BAY CHRIS -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Costello, who's on first? Mitch hits him impatiently. CHRIS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- We've got the goodies. JORDAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We have the target coordinates computed for trajectory adjustment. CHRIS Great. Shoot.", "INT. HOPSFIELD'S LAIR Hopsfield's computer screen fills with machine code of ones and zeros. He begins searching through many screens of code. HOPSFIELD Oh, oh. ICK What? HOPSFIELD Oh, nothing.", "INT. BOMB BAY Chris and Mitch freeze as a mechanic walks by the open bomb bay door.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER - EARLY MORNING Technicians are checking monitors and a radar scope at a control panel. Atherton is in the rear of the room briefing a group of civilians and military brass. Amongst them is Decker. Atherton points to a drawing on a large chart. ATHERTON The plane will reach an altitude of sixty - five thousand feet. When it is over, the target will fire the laser from here. -LRB- points to the firing module. -RRB- for five point two seconds. Carmichael enters. CARMICHAEL They're all set for the final onboard check. ATHERTON Fine. Right this way, gentlemen. They all follow Atherton and Decker to the exit at the rear of the room.", "INT. BOMB BAY Chris and Mitch sweat it out.", "INT. HOPSFIELD'S LAIR Hopsfield is scanning the screens. HOPSFIELD I think I've found it. May I have the coordinates, please. ICK -LRB- reading from paper. -RRB- Thirty - four degrees, ten minutes, fifteen seconds North ; one hundred eighteen degrees, nine minutes, three seconds West. Hopsfield enters the data into his computer. JORDAN -LRB- into phone. -RRB- We're sending.", "INT. BOMB BAY CHRIS -LRB- into phone. -RRB- We're taking. Mitch suddenly panics as he looks out. MITCH'S POV Atherton and his group come around the corner of a building and head for the plane. ANGLE ON MITCH AND CHRIS MITCH They're coming this way. CHRIS -LRB- into phone, overly calm. -RRB- You may be interested in knowing that Mitch reports that Herr Professor is approaching and I'm not even sweating. Is n't that remarkable?", "INT. HOPSFIELD'S LAIR JORDAN Please hurry. Atherton's coming. HOPSFIELD -LRB- typing furiously. -RRB- Please, I do n't work well under pressure. He finishes. HOPSFIELD -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- There. I hope that does it. JORDAN -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Okay, Chris. I mean Abbott. Hello. hello. hello.", "EXT. BOMBER Atherton and his group approach and enter the bomb bay.", "INT. BOMB BAY As they enter, there is no sign of Chris and Mitch. Atherton checks out the laser and the computer. The others examine various gauges and switches and the flight deck. CARMICHAEL Everything all right? ATHERTON Of course.", "EXT. BOMBER As the group exits the plane, Chris and Mitch drop out of the forward landing gear well in the background. ATHERTON -LRB- turning back. -RRB- Oh, I forgot. ATHERTON'S POV A glimpse of Chris and Mitch as they disappear around the corner of the building. CLOSE ON ATHERTON Uncertain of what he has just seen. CARMICHAEL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What is it? ATHERTON Nothing.", "INT. DORM LIBRARY - PRE-DAWN Kent looks the worse for wear as he sits surrounded by psychology books dealing with schizophrenia. MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Hi, Kent. KENT -LRB- surprised. -RRB- Oh, I thought you were gone. MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Not yet. Have you been touching yourself? KENT Yes. I mean, no.", "INT. CHRIS AND MITCH'S ROOM - SAME TIME MITCH -LRB- into mike. -RRB- Good, Kent. Dad, my father, you know, God, wants to show you something. KENT -LRB- V.O., FILTER. -RRB- Why? I mean, what? MITCH I've learned not to ask.", "INT. DORM LIBRARY MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He wants you to wait on the sidewalk at six thirty nine Ivy Crest Drive at precisely six - oh - eight this morning. KENT Ivy Crest? MITCH -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Just wait there and you shall receive a sign. Do not despair and do not go inside. KENT Why not? Hello? Hello, Jesus? A student walks in and looks at him strangely.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER - DAWN Atherton and company watch the bank of monitors as the flight controller clears the bomber for take off.", "EXT. CAMPUS - DAWN Chris and Mitch jump into the van and drive off.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER Some monitors show the bomber climbing while others show the desert target area. It is a mock up of a Presidential motorcade. The open cars are filled with test dummies, and are linked together and are being towed slowly across the desert by a tractor. CONTROLLER -LRB- into mike. -RRB- Crossbow One, radar contact. Climb and maintain flight level six five oh.", "EXT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE The van pulls up and parks across the street. Chris and Mitch get out. Just then, a Volvo pulls up and Jordan, Ick and Dr. Meredith get out. Dr. Meredith is wearing a bathrobe, pajamas and slippers. MEREDITH Ah, Mr. Kinsley. Why am I not surprised to see you here? Perhaps you have the explanation for this so - called event I'm suppose to witness. CHRIS Yes, sir, I do, but first may I take this opportunity to compliment you on your fashion sense.", "INT. CONTROL CENTER CONTROLLER -LRB- into mike. -RRB- Crossbow One, turn left to two eight zero. PILOT -LRB- V.O., FILTER. -RRB- Two eight zero, roger. A technician hits a switch and a monitor pops on. Crosshairs dominate the center of the screen. The desert floor rushes by. Atherton turns to a specialist standing by. ATHERTON Norman, if you'd be so kind. This cockpit mock - up duplicates the shuttle flight deck and we've placed it here to demonstrate the firing technique. The specialist takes his place inside the command module. PILOT -LRB- V.O., FILTER. -RRB- We are thirty one DME from the target. CONTROLLER -LRB- mike. -RRB- Roger, Crossbow. Open the doors.", "INT. BOMB BAY The doors open to reveal clouds rushing past and the ground far below.", "EXT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE MEREDITH These are rather strong accusations, Chris. CHRIS Yes, sir, I know. MEREDITH If they're true, I'm going to need some proof. CHRIS I think we're going to be able to accommodate you in just a minute, sir. Looking past Meredith, Chris sees Kent approaching. ANGLE ON KENT as he arrives at the house and stars up at it. He glances at his watch and waits impatiently.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER Inside the firing module, the specialist pulls down the target sighting device and puts his hands on the joysticks. SPECIALIST Power on. CONTROLLER T minus fifty and counting.", "INT. BOMB BAY The large mirror lowers into its firing position and the laser powers up.", "EXT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE - MORNING The group watch Kent, who is nervously pacing back and forth, talking to himself. CHRIS -LRB- to Mitch. -RRB- Boy, if this works, he's going to start a new religion. MITCH If it does n't work? Chris shoots him a censoring look.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER This countdown continues. Monitors display the target sight, the pilot's sighting screen of the ground and a camera's view of the bomber. TECHNICIAN Trajectory command relay, locked. ATHERTON Now, Norm here has firing control. ANGLE ON TARGETING MONITOR The target motorcade is sighted.", "INT. BOMB BAY The laser mirror and sighting lens move in unison as they line up on target.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER The crosshairs line up on the sighting monitor.", "EXT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE JORDAN What's he doing? THEIR POV Kent has now started toward the front door. MITCH I told him not to go in! CLOSER ANGLE ON KENT KENT -LRB- muttering to Jesus. -RRB- Look, this is Jerry's house, we're very close, so if you're not going to answer me, then I'm going in. He reaches for the front door. KENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- here I come. ANGLE ON CHRIS AND MITCH CHRIS -LRB- shouting. -RRB- Kent! Stop! ANGLE ON KENT who turns and sees them.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER Everyone is riveted to the sighting monitor. SPECIALIST Target locked. In ten, nine, eight. As the countdown continues.", "INT. BOMB BAY The computer comes to life and electronically unlocks the laser optics from the sighting camera. The mirror turns to the left.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER The aerial view of the motorcade remains centered on the sighting monitor.", "INT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE Kent opens the front door and enters. KENT -LRB- to himself. -RRB- That looked like Dr. Meredith in a bathrobe. First I'm hearing things, now I'm seeing things. He closes the door. KENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Okay, God. Let me have it. The room is dark, lit only by morning light coming through a large stained glass window at the top of the stairs. In the middle of the room is what looks like a large above - ground swimming pool, covered in aluminum foil. Kent is amazed.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER SPECIALIST three, two, one, bingo. He hits the trigger.", "INT. BOMB BAY The laser fires.", "EXT. SKY The laser beam traces through the atmosphere.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER The group waits expectantly. Nothing happens to the target.", "EXT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE Chris and Mitch, who are running toward the house, are stopped in their tracks by the incredible sight of the red laser beam shooting down out of the heavens, striking the grass, tracking across the lawn then up the wall of Atherton's house.", "INT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE The beam strikes the window and for one tiny moment causes the most incredible light show anyone has ever seen. KENT -LRB- in awe. -RRB- Oh! The window is obliterated by the laser light, which crashes down directly onto the aluminum foil - covered pool. KENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh, my! The foil is heated instantly in the laser light and there is the SOUND of tiny explosions, building to a roar. In a second, the foil rises violently and tears open. Kent picks up a piece of debris and examines it. KENT Popcorn? In the next instant, he is engulfed in popcorn.", "EXT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE The beam disappears as suddenly as it came. Everyone stands in awe. A few kernels fly out of the broken window, then a storm.", "INT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE Kent and furniture are being forced up the stairs by a rising tide of popping popcorn. He struggles against it, loses, and sinks into the mound like a dinosaur in quicksand.", "EXT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE The windows are filling up with popcorn. Finally, they crack and break as popcorn forces its way out of the house wherever it can. MITCH Kent! Chris and Mitch head for the front door. Suddenly, it bursts open and Kent is carried out by a moving wall of popcorn.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER People furiously check systems. CARMICHAEL I do n't understand. Did it fire? TECHNICIAN Yes, we indicate a shot. We've got another problem, though. It's not shutting down.", "INT. BOMB BAY The computer is still working. The laser optics and equipment begin to melt. It's been wired to self - destruct.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER The devastated group watches the laser self destruct on the monitor. DECKER Nice going, Jer. ATHERTON Something's wrong here. Unlock the bird's eye. He takes over the command module sighting system ATHERTON I'm tracing where the shot went. We watch as the monitor's view swings away and across a residential neighborhood, coming to rest on a bird's eye view of his own house. ATHERTON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh, no. The monitor view moves in to reveal what looks like a growing mushroom. DECKER What have you done? ATHERTON Retired.", "EXT. ATHERTON'S HOUSE The group looks on as the mountain of popcorn continues to engulf the house. Meredith goes to see if Kent is all right. CHRIS -LRB- to Mitch. -RRB- Do you think we used too much? MITCH Maybe a little. CHRIS Well, I guess we all learned something here today. JORDAN What? CHRIS I do n't know, but it seemed like the right thing to say, did n't it? ICK It did to me. As they continue to watch the destruction of the house, and various neighbors come out to see what's what, a Winnebago pulls up and stops. Hopsfield gets out. HOPSFIELD I think you used too much. CHRIS Really? I'm sorry you missed it. HOPSFIELD Yeah, well, I had to pack. CHRIS Why? HOPSFIELD I'm getting married. CHRIS What? To whom? MITCH -LRB- looking at the U - Haul. -RRB- What is all this? HOPSFIELD Oh, I won. Only thirty - one point eight percent though. I have to figure that out. But not this summer. Mitch suddenly sees Sherry standing at the Winnebago door. MITCH Sherry? SHERRY -LRB- kissing Hopsfield. -RRB- Hi. Is n't it wonderful. I finally found him. Number One. I've been looking for him for ten years. HOPSFIELD What can I do? She loves me. CHRIS Right. Congratulations. HOPSFIELD Thanks. Anyway, we probably wo n't ever get to see you again, so, bye. CHRIS What do you mean? Where are you going? SHERRY I've got a little survival place in Wyoming. We're going to live there. HOPSFIELD Yeah, it's getting too weird around here. See ya. They climb into the Winnebago and it pulls away. The others watch it go. ICK You think it's getting too weird around here. CHRIS Absolutely. JORDAN I did n't notice. MITCH I like it. In the background, the popcorn has split the walls of the house and finally lifts the roof off like the top of a pot. The whole house tilts to its side and the popping stops. As we PULL BACK, Atherton's car pulls up and he gets out, dumbstruck. Dr. Meredith walks over to him and confronts him. Kent joins Chris and the others who watch. THE END."], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "The CIA is secretly developing \"Crossbow\", a space shuttle-mounted laser weapon precise enough to incinerate a single target from outer space, planning to use it for illegal political assassinations. However, they struggle with its power source, and have covertly hired Professor Jerry Hathaway at Pacific Technical University to develop this. Hathaway has assembled a group of brilliant physics students to do the work for him, though, outside of his graduate student Kent, purposely does not tell them the reason for their research. Hathaway is also embezzling the CIA provided funds intended for research so that he can upgrade his house. Hathaway recruits high school student Mitch Taylor to attend Pacific Tech and join the \"laser weapon\" development team. Mitch is roomed with Chris Knight, also a member of the team, and known to Mitch as a \"legend\" in the fictitious \"National Physics Club\". Mitch becomes dismayed that Chris is more of a goof-off than a hard-working student. Chris introduces Mitch to some of the other exceptional students, including Jordan, \"Ick\" Ikagami, and his nemesis, the less intelligent Kent. Despite his age and inexperience, Hathaway assigns Mitch to lead the team due to his innovative and original ideas in the field of laser physics, hoping that he will encourage Chris to straighten up his act, and that perhaps together, the two exceptionally bright minds will solve the crucial power problem that is the only remaining obstacle to completing the weapon. Hathaway begins to be pressured by the CIA to hurry the project and is given a deadline, and he in turn, assigns the team a rigorous timetable. Chris, however continues his carefree attitude, eventually inviting Mitch to a pool party. Kent reports this to Hathaway, pulling him away from filming his television show. In front of Kent at the party, Hathaway lambastes Mitch who in tears calls his parents and tells them he wants to go home (unaware Kent and his friends were recording the call). The next day, Kent plays the recording over the school's public address system at lunch, humiliating Mitch. Mitch begins packing, now intent on leaving Pacific Tech, and Chris tries to reason with him as to why he should reconsider his decision by advising him on how to deal with the pressures and burdens of being highly intelligent and relating his own history and Lazlo's at Pacific Tech.  Lazlo, as a result of \"cracking\", dropped off the map apparently and Chris felt the same could happen to him or any other super-intelligent person unless they lighten-up and enjoy life in addition to devoting themselves to their work.  Mitch agrees to stay and Chris suggests that their first priority is to exact revenge on Kent (by placing his car in his dorm room cycling the Citro\u00ebn's air suspension so it appears to be sleeping). As the project is still lagging, the CIA continues to put pressure on Hathaway to produce the laser.  Hathaway, now intimidated and afraid, angrily informs Chris that he is no longer of any use to him and that he is not only off the project, but that he intends to fail Chris in his final course needed for graduation.  To further add insult to injury, he is giving a coveted \"after-graduation\" job that was promised to Chris, to Kent instead and will take steps to ensure that Chris will never be able to find work in the field of laser physics. Now faced with his mentor having to leave in disgrace, Mitch uses the same logic and reasoning used by Chris on him to convince Chris to stay and persevere, and with help from Lazlo and their other smart friends, the two commit themselves to attain their goal with the laser and for Chris to pass Hathaway's final exam and graduate.  Their hard work and dedication begins to pay-off and they are close to achieving their objective. Chris passes the exam but in a final effort to humiliate and exact revenge on Chris and Mitch, Kent sabotages their latest apparatus, which showed the promise of succeeding, but inadvertently gives himself away as the perpetrator.  Unable to actually prove it was Kent, Chris is left to brood over the injustice and in a moment of inspiration comes up with a whole new approach to the design problem. In the impressive demonstration of his innovative solution that follows, Hathaway relents and congratulates Chris and assures him that he will now graduate and get his promised job. The jubilant Chris and Mitch go out to celebrate their apparent success with their friends, blissfully unaware of the real reason for the creation of the laser. Lazlo unexpectedly arrives to join their celebration apparently, but actually was looking for them to tell them his theories and suspicions regarding the possible use of their unique design and they finally realize that they have been duped. By the time they return to the lab, all of the laser equipment, along with a mirror built by Kent for a target tracking system has been taken by Hathaway and is already in the hands of the nefarious government agency who contracted the project. The students are able to implant a radio transmitter in Kent's mouth, and Mitch uses it to speak to him through it making Kent believe Mitch is Jesus; Kent divulges the location of a nearby Air Force base where Hathaway will be demonstrating the equipment. Chris and Mitch sneak onto the base and reprogram the onboard computer to allow them to control it so Lazlo can reposition the target of the laser. Along with the rest of their team, they go to Dr. Hathaway's home and prepare something involving a small prism mirror on the outside of one of the windows and many boxes inside. They gather outside of the home to watch with one of the school's other professors and a Congressman. Kent, who was told by \"Jesus\" to go to the house but remain outside, arrives and goes inside. As the laser test begins, the changes cause the target to be Hathaway's house so it hits the mirror prism, heating and popping the large amount of popcorn inside. Before long, the house fills with popcorn, eventually causing it to burst at the seams, sending Kent out through the front door. Due to the laser hitting the wrong target, Hathaway investigates where the blast did go, only to find his house. Chris, Mitch and the others look on at the popcorn mess in amusement as kids jump around in it like snow. Lazlo, who had entered a number of sweepstakes contests with calculated mathematical odds, arrives in his recently-won RV and other prizes with his lady love. At dusk, Hathaway arrives to see what has become of his house.", "name": "Real_Genius"}
{"scenes": ["INT. KPHX TV - LOBBY - DAY ABBY RICHTER, 30's, pretty, driven and absolutely in control, walks through the lobby, greeting the SECURITY GUARD. ABBY Morning, Freddy. SECURITY GUARD Morning, Abby. Another peaceful day? ABBY If you say so.", "INT. KPHX - CORRIDOR - MORNING - MOMENTS LATER JOY, 40's, the associate producer, falls in step with Abby. JOY -LRB- panicked. -RRB- We've got problems. ABBY There are no problems, Joy. Only solutions. JOY The sky - cam on the traffic copter has a cracked lens and they ca n't fix it. ABBY Okay, that's a problem. -LRB- thinking, then. -RRB- Call Matt Hardwick down at Media Services. He's got a few Sky Cams and he owes me. Now, where are my weathermen? Joy opens a door to a waiting area.", "INT. KPHX - WAITING AREA - MORNING - CONTINUOUS Several portly LATINO MEN look up and wave at Abby. LATINO MEN Hey there! ABBY Hi, guys! Abby waves back and closes the door. ABBY What's with the pot bellies? JOY Research shows people like fat weathermen. It makes them feel safe. ABBY I like the one in the green and the one in the brown, but I want to see the one in the green with less sideburns and the one in the brown with more, then I'll make my decision. LARRY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Abby! LARRY, 50's, the pompous, uptight anchor man, catches up to them. He wears a makeup bib. ABBY Morning, Larry. LARRY I'm sorry to do this to you, Abby, but I do n't think I can work with her anymore. It's bad enough I have to take her criticism at home. I ca n't do it on air, too. A man can only take so much. Abby nods, taking him seriously, but you can tell she's done this before. ABBY You're not a man, Larry. -LRB- off his look. -RRB- You're a newsman. A newsman is n't defined by the easy times, Larry, he's defined by the difficult ones. Can you imagine Ted Koppel or Chris Hansen or Anderson Cooper having their wives as co - anchor? Hell, no, because they could n't handle it. But you can. You've got balls the size of Volkswagens. Do n't think I have n't noticed. LARRY -LRB- re his balls. -RRB- I've only thought of them as blue as of late, but you're right. They are quite sizeable. But not disproportionately so. -LRB- with pride. -RRB- I like to think of them as aesthetically pleasing - Abby steps away, not wanting to ponder Larry's balls anymore than she has to. ABBY I think I've made my point. Larry nods, appeased, as she reaches the door marked ABBY RICHTER, PRODUCER, `` ALBUQUERQUE A.M.'' She enters and.", "INT. KPHX - ABBY'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS walks in on a shouting match between JOSH, a leftist angry news writer, and DORI, the entertainment - leaning co - writer. DORI Josh, nobody in Sacramento gives a crap about trees in Alaska! It's not newsworthy. JOSH Oh, but full coverage on David Beckham's new tattoo is vital?! Larry's wife and co - anchor, GEORGIA, 40 and coiffed to the gills, storms in, followed by the show's GUEST CHEF. GEORGIA He's trying to kill me! He knows I ca n't eat crab, I'm allergic to it! -LRB- to the room. -RRB- Does anyone see this? Is this a hive? JOSH It looks like syphilis to me. DORI -LRB- to Josh. -RRB- See that? You would n't even know what syphilis looks like if it were n't for my story on Paris Hilton. GUEST CHEF -LRB- to Abby. -RRB- She does n't eat crab or beef or fish. She does n't eat anything but chicken. You do n't need a chef on this show. You need a box of McNuggets. Everyone shouts at each other. Abby calmly pulls out a whistle, puts it to her mouth and BLOWS.", "INT. KPHX - \"SACRAMENTO AM\" SET - MORNING Cameras roll as the chef happily cooks away on the set. Georgia and Larry taste samples of what he's prepared. GEORGIA I have to tell you, Bruce. This is the best Chicken Kiev I've ever tasted. GUEST CHEF Actually it's Duck Kiev. Duck makes an excellent alternative for chicken, Georgia. JAVIER, the new fat weatherman, takes a huge bite. JAVIER Can I take home the leftovers? They all laugh. LARRY When we return, our live Skycam traffic update and more on David Beckham's hundred thousand dollar tattoo. GEORGIA And what you can do to help preserve the ancient forests of Alaska - and how it might help your Albuquerque electric bill.", "INT. KPHX - CONTROL ROOM - MORNING Abby and Joy stand next to CLIFF, the show's director. CLIFF Go to commercial. -LRB- to Abby. -RRB- I do n't know how you do it. ABBY It's just a matter of staring the chaos in the eye and showing it who's boss. Nice work, guys. She pats him on the back and heads out of the control room. JOY -LRB- to Abby. -RRB- Stuart wants to see you. He's freaking out. ABBY -LRB- worried. -RRB- That means he got the numbers.", "INT. KPHX - STUART'S OFFICE - DAY Abby talks to STUART WARDLOW, 60's, KPHX's curmudgeonly general manager. STUART Have you seen the ratings for yesterday? We got beat by all the network shows, plus a rerun of `` Who's the Boss''. The one where the vacuum breaks. ABBY It's a temporary setback. This week we'll do better. STUART The guy with the cable access show on Channel 83 does better. If we programed Jerry Springer re - runs, we'd do a nine share at a quarter the price. Abby looks worried. ABBY Please tell me you're not thinking of killing the show. STUART I'm not, but I can guarantee you that's what the new management's thinking. ABBY Stuart, `` Sacramento AM'' is an award - winning news program. STUART Management does n't listen to awards. It listens to numbers. We're not a family - run station anymore, Abby. You're good at what you do, but you've got to get me some numbers. I've got two daughters in college and a son in beauty school. I do n't know how much you know about Vidal Sassoon but that shit ai n't cheap. Abby nods. ABBY You can count on me, Stuart.", "INT. KPHX - WOMEN'S BATHROOM - DAY Abby and Joy stand at the sinks. Abby compulsively flosses in front of the mirror. ABBY I ca n't be letting corporate management dictate the content of this show. This is my show. I control it. She rips out an extra two feet of floss. ABBY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- I should cancel my date tonight and make a list of ideas for sweeps. JOY Absolutely not. You should be out, observing humanity. Humanity's who watches our show. ABBY Yeah, all 2.47 % of them. JOY You've already rescheduled on this guy three times. You cancel tonight and he's gone. He's read more than a dozen books, he has a 401K and he's cute. She holds up her clipboard, which has the guy's E - Harmony PROFILE and PHOTO. JOY -LRB- CONT'D ; cont'd. -RRB- Look at this bone structure. This could be the bone structure of your future children. Do n't you want them to be symmetrical? Abby stops flossing and looks at Joy. ABBY You printed his profile? JOY What? I'm married. I live vicariously through your dating life. And I really think that this could be our next boyfriend. C'mon, he had nine out of ten items on your checklist. ABBY Well, technically eight and a half. He said he could cook, but when I pressed him, he was completely unfamiliar with cumin. Do n't you think that's a little suspicious? Off Joy's look, we CUT TO.", "EXT. UPSCALE RESTAURANT - NIGHT Sacramento's nicest restaurant. Diners enter and exit.", "INT. UPSCALE RESTAURANT - FOYER - NIGHT Abby approaches the FEMALE HOSTESS, at her podium. ABBY Hi. I'm looking for a guy with sandy brown hair, athletic build, and blue eyes. he's 5' 9 which - I know what you're thinking - it's a little short, but he's read The Great Gatsby twice, so we'll just live with it, okay? JIM -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Technically, I'm 5' 9 and 3/4. She turns, mortified, to see JIM, 30's and good - looking. Actually, he's better looking in person than in his photo. Abby gulps. JIM -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- But I'll read Gatsby again if that makes it any better. ABBY Jim - hey. Hi. Hey. HOSTESS Shall I show you to your table? Abby and a mildly perturbed Jim follow, clearly not off to a banner start.", "INT. RESTAURANT DINING AREA - NIGHT Abby and Jim sit at a table. Abby looks around, tense. ABBY You know what? This is not the best angle. We should get the table over there. Then we both get a view, instead of one of us looking at the busboy station. JIM I'm fine here. ABBY No, trust me. It'll be better over there. He looks at her like she's crazy, as they get up and move.", "ANTOHER TABLE - MOMENTS LATER The waiter is now taking their drink order. WAITER Can I get you some water for the table? JIM Bottle of flat, please. ABBY You know, they've done studies that show tap water is no different from bottled water. And they passed a law recently to have all restaurants filter their tap water. So, technically it's not tap water. It's filtered water, which is exactly what bottled water is, except you do n't have to pay $ 7 for it. JIM Yeah, I still like the way it tastes better. WAITER Can I get you any cocktails? JIM Scotch on the rocks. ABBY In your profile, you said you liked red wine. JIM I do, I just feel like having a scotch right now. She looks disappointed, then pulls out a piece of paper. ABBY -LRB- re the paper. -RRB- Was there anything else you changed your mind about? I mean, just so I can figure it into the overall picture. JIM You printed out my profile? ABBY Actually, my associate producer did. She likes me to be prepared. Not that I'm ever not prepared. Kudos on your comprehensive car insurance policy, by the way. JIM That was n't in my profile. ABBY No, but it was in your background check. -LRB- off his look ; changing the subject. -RRB- So. tell me about yourself. JIM Well, what's left that you do n't know? ABBY Good point. There's an awkward silence between them. She pulls out another piece of paper, and hands it to him. ABBY I printed out some talking points for us just in case this happened. JIM I take it it's happened before? ABBY No, but since you have nine out of ten of the necessary attributes on my checklist, I just wanted to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible. As Jim processes this, the waiter arrives with drinks. JIM Thank you. He takes a huge sip, relieved. Abby looks at him. ABBY You realize the ice in that scotch is made from tap water, do n't you? He looks at her, realizing she's a complete nightmare.", "EXT. RESTAURANT PARKING LOT- NIGHT Jim and Abby walk to their cars. Jim is walking faster than she is, trying to get away. She trots along, trying to keep up. ABBY Next time we could go bowling. I noticed online that you're the mid - ranked amateur in the state. I mean, if there is a next time. I'm not trying to be presumptuous, but I am getting a pretty good vibe here. Jim does n't even consider refuting this. He just wants to leave. Abby reaches into her purse and pulls out - ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Floss? JIM Uh, no thanks. It's late. I should go. He gets into his car as she hands him his doggy bag. ABBY FYI, be sure to eat this by tomorrow. With curry, you ca n't smell if it's gone bad, so after three days, you should just toss it. Really, do n't even give it to a pet or anything. JIM Three days. Got it. Abby has officially lost control to the producer part of herself. she knows what she's doing, but ca n't stop herself. ABBY Here, just to be sure, I'll write today's date on it for you. Abby takes a pen out and writes a date on the bag. JIM -LRB- annoyed. -RRB- It's fine, really. The bottom of the bag gives out and a container of goopy leftovers SPILLS all over Jim's lap. ABBY -LRB- horrified. -RRB- I told them to double bag this! JIM I'm just gon na - go. ABBY I'm so sor - Jim closes the door, catching the hem of Abby's wrap skirt. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D ; cont'd. -RRB- Wait, my - The car speeds off - RIPPING Abby's skirt right off her as it races away. Abby is left standing in her underwear.", "INT. ABBY'S CONDO - NIGHT Abby, still in her undies, trudges up the steps. She opens her front door. Her calico cat D'ARTAGNAN, 9, skeptical and easily annoyed, stares up at her. ABBY Do n't ask.", "INT. ABBY'S CONDO - BATHROOM - NIGHT Abby, now in pajamas, flosses her teeth. She hears a noise coming from her bedroom and looks to see D'Artagnan's paw in the fish bowl, trying to scoop up a goldfish. ABBY D'Artagnan! Stop that! Abby picks up the cat. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- How many times do I have to tell you? Leave Juliet alone. Was n't Romeo enough for you? Abby picks up the remote, snaps the TV on to `` Nightline'' with Brian Williams. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Now there's a man. Not some five foot nine scotch drinker who lies about cumin. She heads into the bathroom.", "INT. ABBY'S CONDO - BATHROOM - NIGHT As Abby flosses in front of the mirror.", "INT. ABBY'S CONDO - BEDROOM - SAME TIME - NIGHT D'Artagnan hisses at the TV and steps on the remote control. ON TV - the channel jumps to a cable access show. MIKE ALEXANDER, 30's, handsome but not pretty, proudly dressed in an outfit that costs less than fifty dollars, addresses the camera. MIKE You want the truth! But you ca n't handle the truth. ` Cause it's - MOTLEY GROUP Ugly! THE THEME SONG for `` The Ugly Truth'' kicks in over a series of past scenes : Mike judo - kicking an giant Oprah doll. Several posters spelling the word `` LOVE'' are destroyed by Mike with a variety of weapons. The theme sequence ends and CUTS TO -", "INT. CHANNEL 83 - STAGE - NIGHT `` The Ugly Truth'', live on air. The look of the show's set is low - rent cable TV. MIKE I'm Mike Alexander and we're back with the `` The Ugly Truth.'' Tonight, as always, we're going to talk about what it is men and women really want in relationships. I've been looking through some books. He holds up several books in his hands, reading the titles. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- `` Smart Women Foolish Choices'', `` Women Who Love Men Who Hate Them'', `` Hating Men Who Love Women But Hate Loving Men''. He drops the books on the floor, picks up a can of gasoline and pours it on the books. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Billions and billions of dollars wasted on self - help psychobabble. Mike lights a match and tosses it on the books, setting them ablaze. Then opens up his jacket and takes out a stick with a marshmallow. Begins roasting the marshmallow on the flame. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Now listen up, ladies, cause I'm only gon na say this once tonight and it's just three little words. No, they're not `` I love you.'' Here goes. MEN. ARE. SIMPLE. We can not be trained. All this `` Men Are From Venus'' bullshit is a waste of your time and money. You want to be a lonely hag, then keep reading these stupid books. You want a relationship, here's how you get one : it's called a Stairmaster. Get on it and get skinny and get some trashy lingerie because at the end of the day, all we're interested in is looks. No one falls in love with your personality at first sight, they fall in love with your tits and your ass. And they stick around because of what you're willing to do with them. You want to win a man over? You do n't need ten steps. You need one. And it's called a blow - job. Mike shoves a burnt marshmallow into his mouth. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And do n't forget to - He mimes swallowing.", "INT. ABBY'S CONDO - BEDROOM - NIGHT WE PAN off the television to the bed, where Abby now watches, appalled. ABBY Oh my God. It's that cable access jackass Stuart was talking about.", "INT. CHANNEL 83 - STAGE    - NIGHT Mike takes a call. FEMALE CALLER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- How dare you burn those books? They've helped my personal life more than - MIKE What's your boyfriend's name, princess? FEMALE CALLER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I'm not seeing anyone right now but - Mike hangs up the phone. MIKE My point exactly, Shrek. Next caller.", "INT. ABBY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS Abby, now infuriated, picks up the phone and begins dialing. WE INTERCUT between the stage and her apartment, as Mike continues his rant. MIKE Men do n't fall in love. Men fall in `` want.'' We want things. We're hunters and gatherers. We're the same as we were when we were cavemen and a gillion years of evolution has n't done squat. Trust me, there was a Pamela Anderson of cave women and all the cave guys were trying to stick their dicks in her. Mike walks over to a chalk board with the word `` LOVE'' on it. He crosses it out and writes `` LUST.'' MIKE -LRB- CONT'D ; cont'd. -RRB- Now girls, if you want to think lust is the same as love, that's fine, but you're delusional. Let's take some more calls. -LRB- picks up the phone. -RRB- You're on the air. Abby is now on the phone. ABBY So you're saying men are incapable of love? MIKE Did I burst your little Harlequin Romance bubble? Irritated, Abby begins to compulsively remake her bed. ABBY The only thing you burst is your credibility. Men are absolutely capable of experiencing love. MIKE Okay, I'll bite. Who's the guy? ABBY What? MIKE The guy, Mr. Wonderful, the one who's so capable of love. Who is he? What's he like? ABBY Well, he's not like you, that's for sure. MIKE Thank you very much. Go on. ABBY He's smart. he's handsome but does n't know it. -LRB- enjoying the fantasy. -RRB- He's successful, but in a job that means something. He loves red wine, classical music, Cary Grant movies. MIKE This is a guy in America, right? You're not calling from Europe or anything. ABBY Are you interested in listening or not? MIKE No, please. I'm loving this. ABBY He works out, not because he's vain, because it's healthy. He's socially liberal but fiscally conservative. He likes dogs but he's a cat person. He never gets out of bed before you on a Sunday morning - MIKE Oh my god. You're a lesbian! ABBY What?! MIKE Well, you're describing a woman. ABBY Why are those qualities so threatening to you? Perhaps because your complete lack of any one of them is the real reason why women are n't interested in you. At least women of quality. Mike scoffs, but he's thrown. He takes a moment, then. MIKE Where is this guy? I will give you one hundred dollars of my own money to bring him down here and let me meet him. ABBY Oh, he's out there. somewhere. MIKE Wait a second. You're not even dating this guy?! ABBY Well, no. I'm just describing a type. I thought that's what we were doing. MIKE You do n't even know him?!? Mike bowls over LAUGHING. Abby realizes she's been had. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Hold on. whoa. now I get the whole picture. You're a dog. ABBY Excuse me? She rips the perfectly made bed apart and starts over. MIKE You heard me. You must be. If you were hot, you'd be out breaking some poor schmuck's heart instead of spending all your time fantasizing about Mr. Wonderful. Face it, you're ugly! ABBY I am not ugly! MIKE Well, of course you do n't think so. Ugly people never know they're ugly. It's like people who have B.O.. They never know it because they're surrounded by their own stench all the time. Now Abby's really fuming. She snaps a sheet violently. ABBY That is the most ridic - MIKE Look, lem me help you out here. You might as well just face the fact that you're gon na be alone and stop pining away for some fantasy guy you're never going to get. Get a hobby. Build housing for the poor. Anything. ABBY How could you possibly - MIKE Hey, Lassie - the show's called `` The Ugly Truth''. If you ca n't face it, do n't call. -LRB- switching gears. -RRB- Well that about wraps it up for today. I'm Mike Alexander reminding you that the truth is never pretty. As he smiles smugly, Abby SCREAMS and THROWS the phone across the room. D'Artagnan, terrified, jumps off the bed, which is now in total disarray.", "INT. KPHX - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY Abby and Joy make their way into the conference room. Dori and Josh are already there. JOY How did the date go? ABBY I ended up pantsless in a parking lot. JOY That's awesome! Stuart walks into the conference room. STUART Morning, everybody. He puts a DVD in the player. STUART Now before I play this, I have to warn you. -LRB- hits play. -RRB-. he's a little rough around the edges. ON TV : Mike's face appears. MIKE -LRB- ON T.V. -RRB- Face it, you're ugly! ABBY'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I am not ugly! Joy looks at Abby. JOY Is that you? ABBY What?! No! MIKE -LRB- ON T.V. -RRB- Ugly people never know they're ugly. It's like people who have B.O. - Abby grabs the remote and turns off the T.V. ABBY Why are we watching this?! STUART One word. Ratings. Say hello to our new guest commentator. I'm starting him with two segments a week. Three minutes a pop. ABBY Are you kidding me? JOSH Who the hell is this guy? STUART His name is Mike Alexander. ABBY And he's a quintessential misogynist uber - moron who represents everything wrong with television and society at large. DORI I get crap every time I suggest we do something even remotely fluffy and now you're gon na put this douchebag on the air? STUART He's got a point of view. We do n't have to like him, we're news people. We're objective. Stone Phillips interviews terrorists, does n't mean he likes them. It's good for ratings. Abby holds up a piece of paper. ABBY I've got a whole list of ideas on how to improve ratings. We do n't need him. Stuart takes the memo, reading it. STUART A live debate on immigration policy? Never work. ABBY What are you talking about? Albuquerque is 45 % Latino. At this moment, MIKE walks in. Abby stares at him, appalled. MIKE Yeah, and as you can tell by all the screaming rugrats in this town, Latino guys like to have a lot of sex. Which means they'd rather listen to me tell them how to bang hot chicks than hear about why they ca n't bring grandma across the border. -LRB- as they all stare at him. -RRB- Sorry, I was eavesdropping out in the hall. STUART See, what did I tell you? He's great. MIKE Thanks, boss. Abby spins to face Stuart. ABBY You already hired him?! MIKE -LRB- re Abby. -RRB- Who's this delightful creature? ABBY Your superior. MIKE Mmm. I like a woman on top.", "INT. ABBY'S OFFICE - DAY - MOMENTS LATER Abby is pacing, clearly on the verge of hysteria. ABBY -LRB- chanting. -RRB- I am an award - winning news producer. I am an award - winning news producer. A KNOCK. Then the door opens and Mike appears. MIKE Hey, no hard feelings, right? ABBY You do n't even knock? MIKE I knocked. I got no response. ABBY So, essentially your knock was negated by your complete lack of adherence to the social etiquette of what follows a knock. MIKE Wow. You are wound like a fuckin' top. Abby glares at him. ABBY Woof woof. Recognize the bark? He stares at her, surprised. MIKE -LRB- then ; realizing. -RRB- Hey, what do you know? You're not ugly at all. ABBY Imagine my relief. MIKE You know, if it were n't for you, I would have never gotten this gig. You and I make good TV. ABBY I'm sorry, what channel is your show on? MIKE Eighty three. ABBY This is channel two. You do know that the lower numbers are better, right? More people watch. So do n't tell me that `` you and I'' make good TV. I am an award - winning news producer. I make good TV. You make imbecilic trash watched by housebound inbreds who are so busy putting their hands down their pants they're unable to change the channel. MIKE I had n't really been picturing you that way, but thanks for the image. ABBY Let me tell you something. I am not one of your viewers. My cat stepped on the remote. MIKE Thank your pussy for me, then. Abby gags as she pushes past him and walks out.", "INT. KPHX - HALLWAY - DAY Abby strides down the hall with Georgia and Larry. ABBY There is no way Mike Alexander is going to stay on my show. I want you to skewer him. Make him look like a complete idiot. Not that it will be hard. The man is a moron of unseen proportions. GEORGIA -LRB- re Larry. -RRB- That's just what we need on this show. LARRY Does anyone think my highlights are too shiny? ABBY Larry, listen to me. I want Mike Alexander to go down in flames. I want Mike Alexander to be nothing but a pile of ash on the seat next to you. I want the janitor to come in with his Dustbuster and vacuum up the ashes of Mike Alexander, and then when he throws the ashes into the dumpster outside, I want the rats to vomit and then defecate on the ashes of Mike Alexander. She strides off. Larry looks at Georgia. LARRY And I thought you were angry and bitter. GEORGIA Uh, no, that would be my untouched vagina.", "INT. KPHX - SACRAMENTO AM SET - DAY Cameras roll as Larry and Georgia sit at the anchor desk. GEORGIA For years, there have been concerns about lowering television standards. But many believe that this man and his local public access show, `` The Ugly Truth,'' have brought things to a new low. With that, we welcome Mike Alexander. Mike gives a cocky wave. MIKE How ya doing, guys? LARRY Mike, how do you respond to those who say your show is offensive? MIKE It is. but then again, so is the truth. GEORGIA The truth about what, Mr. Alexander? MIKE What relationships are really like.", "INT. KPHX - CONTROL ROOM - DAY Abby and the control room crew watch the proceedings. Cliff mans the bank of monitors. MIKE Take marriage for instance. It's about mutual benefits, social pressure, and taxes. It's not about love and we should stop pretending it is. We INTERCUT with Georgia, Larry, and Mike on set. ABBY C'mon Georgia, let him have it. GEORGIA Sounds to me like no one's ever loved you and you're taking it out on the female population. In the control room, Abby smirks. ABBY Ooh, good one. MIKE Well, while we're making observations, you two project this image of the perfect couple, when clearly, it's a lie. LARRY Excuse me? Abby nervously gnaws on the straw from her Kombucha drink. ABBY -LRB- nervous. -RRB- Cliff, let's go to commercial. CLIFF Stuart told me to keep rolling, no matter what. ABBY What? When? Cliff shrugs. Abby is pissed. ABBY This is my show. CLIFF Not right now it is n't. On the set, Mike continues his vivisection of Larry and Georgia. MIKE I mean, come on Larry, I grew up watching you on TV. You used to be this cool confident cat. Georgia's no dumb bunny. She knew the only way she was getting off the weekend shift was by hooking up with you. But then lo and behold, she became more popular than you and ended up with twice your salary. ABBY C'mon, Larry. Take him down. She starts twisting her straw into shapes, as - LARRY I'm proud of my wife's success. MIKE Bullllloney you are. You hate her success. You feel emasculated by her and that screws with your head which inevitably screws with your manhood. GEORGIA What's your point, Mr. Alexander? ABBY Good girl, Georgia. Take control. MIKE My point? My point is that your husband has n't had sex with you in. I'm gon na say. three months? LARRY That's not my fault! MIKE I know, it's her fault! GEORGIA Why is it my fault?! In the control room, Abby looks like she's going to pass out. ABBY Oh, dear God. GEORGIA Well, what am I supposed to do, give up the money, so he can get an erection? MIKE I agree. You've economically emasculated your husband to such a point that he's afraid to desire you. Sure, you can dump his ass, but honey, have you seen the eligible men in Albuquerque? It's slim pickings out there for a woman in her forties. You're not going to do any better than Larry. You just have to let him be a man. LET HIM BE A MAN, GEORGIA! -LRB- to Larry. -RRB- And you, Frowny McFlacid, give it to her. Now! Larry grabs Georgia and kisses her hard. After a moment of resistance, she melts into his arms. The crew goes crazy. Larry throws Georgia over his back and hauls her off the set. Abby sinks down into a chair. CLIFF And we're out. He cuts to BLACK.", "INT. KPHX - ABBY'S OFFICE - DAY It's pitch black. Suddenly a closet door is opened. Joy and Stuart stand in the doorway. JOY Found her. Abby is sitting in a ball in her closet. STUART One thousand, one hundred and forty - seven calls and over three hundred E - mails. And fifty - three percent of them were women. This guy's a lightening rod! ABBY -LRB- confused. -RRB- People liked him?! STUART Liked him? They loved him. ABBY How is that possible? STUART I do n't know, but I'm scaling back the news and giving it to `` The Ugly Truth.'' Corporate wants five minutes of Mike Alexander, five days a week. ABBY Stuart, I really think this is a mistake - STUART Just keep him happy and both of our contracts will be renewed. Stuart leaves. Joy turns back to Abby. JOY Congratulations? Abby closes the closet door on herself.", "INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - HALLWAY- DAY Mike enters his apartment, throws his keys on the counter and hits play on his answering machine. GIRL'S VOICE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Hey, Mike, it's Valerie. I have n't heard from you in a while. But I just saw you on TV. You were great! He pushes skip. 2ND GIRL'S VOICE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Mike, hi, it's Ginevra, I'm having a party - Skip. 3RD GIRL'S VOICE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Why have n't you called me? I miss you. It's Laura, by the way. Remember? We went to the track? MIKE Remember? How could I forget? You threw up in my car. JONAH, 14, awkward, Mike's nephew, walks in. JONAH Dude, you totally hosed me! MIKE What? JONAH Last week on your show, you said you should always be mean to hot girls because they'll want you more. I tried it today, she cried, and then I got detention. MIKE First of all - do n't listen to what I say on my show. Second of all, you're supposed to do that to 25 - year - old girls who think they're hot and can get any guy they want. Not 14 - year - old girls. They're going through puberty. They have enough problems. JONAH Mom said when she was fourteen, she was the prettiest girl in the class. MIKE Well, I was there when she was fourteen and let me tell you something - she lied. Mike's sister, ELIZABETH, 40's, walks in, wearing a nurse's uniform and holding a cake box. ELIZABETH Do n't listen to your Uncle Mike, he was blind from masturbating too much. MIKE Oh, that's a nice thing to tell your son - ELIZABETH It's nothing worse than what he's heard on your show. She hands him the cake box. ELIZABETH Let's hope you can clean it up now that you're on a network. Congrats. She gives him a kiss on the cheek. He grins. MIKE Thanks. He opens the box. MIKE -LRB- reading the cake. -RRB- `` Happy 85th Birthday, Harold''? ELIZABETH Sorry, I did n't have time to bake one. I took it from work. Harold did n't quite make it through the big day. MIKE -LRB- re the cake. -RRB- Looks like he got to blow out his candles. ELIZABETH -LRB- re the candles. -RRB- What do you think did him in? He closes the box. MIKE Who wants to go out and eat?", "EXT. JOY'S BACKYARD - DAY/DUSK Abby and Joy lie in lawn chairs, drinking margaritas as Joy's husband, KEN, barbecues shrimp kebobs nearby. ABBY -LRB- tipsy. -RRB- I'm just going to keep drinking until my mind blots out any memory of Mike Alexander. JOY I do n't know if I have that much tequila. ABBY Maybe I should eat the worm. Ken looks over. KEN Is Mike Alexander the guy you went on the date with? ABBY No, that was a different source of humiliation, but thank you for reminding me. KEN I still do n't understand why you did n't just marry Bill. He was a good guy. ABBY Yeah. he was. But he also had navy blue sheets and bath towels with tassels. He played computer games on his phone. He wore open - toed shoes. Sometimes with socks. And his mother called him `` Bucky''. JOY Plus, he sucked in bed. ABBY Yes, there was that -. -LRB- then. -RRB- Wait, why are we sharing this with Ken? JOY I tell him everything. KEN -LRB- to Abby. -RRB- By the way, I thought it was hilarious when you asked that one guy for a toxicology report. ABBY What? He was exposed to asbestos! Joy gives her a look. Abby sighs, realizing the extent of her neuroses. ABBY Give me the freaking worm.", "INT. KPHX - SACRAMENTO AM SET - DAY Mike's goofing with the pretty makeup girl, as Abby walks up to give him some last minute tips. ABBY Keep it clean, keep it moving, and stick to the script. You're on a live affiliate network news program. You do not have the luxury of using the words `` blow'' and `` job'' in the same sentence. If you say anything scatological, you're fired. MIKE Really? Because I thought you were gon na get fired if you do n't keep me happy. -LRB- leaning closer. -RRB- I've got a list of demands to go over after the show. And let me just warn you - they're gon na be scatological. She fumes, jabbing the earpiece in his ear. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Just because you look pretty today, I wo n't mention the misguided phallic rage you just displayed. ABBY -LRB- re Mike's ear piece. -RRB- If you hear my voice in your ear, do what I say. MIKE Promise you'll talk dirty? Mike is cut off by Cliff in the booth. CLIFF -LRB- O.S. -RRB- And camera one. Action Mike. Abby slips out of frame just in time. Mike looks to the camera. MIKE I'm Mike Alexander and this is `` The Ugly Truth,'' where we'll be taking a few minutes every day to talk about men, women and relationships. Let's start with men. Men are simple. To illustrate my point - on my left we have the best our world has to offer. He crosses to - a CANDLE - LIT TABLE with a fancy dinner placed in the center. Several books rest beside it. Beside the table, a man plays violin. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You have a gourmet meal, fine wine, classical music and great literature. He picks up a copy of `` Ulysses'' from the table. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Now, if you'll follow me we have something quite different. He starts to walk off the set.", "INT. KPHX - CONTROL ROOM - DAY - SAME TIME Now in the control room, Abby panics. CLIFF Where the hell is he going?! ABBY Follow him!", "EXT. KPHX - ALLEY - DAY - CONTINUOUS Mike exits the stage door and walks into the alley, followed by the confused camera crew. MIKE Ah, I see you ladies have started without me. He smiles at TWO BLONDE TWINS IN BIKINIS, who wrestle in a kiddie pool of Jello. We INTERCUT with the control room. ABBY Who let them on the lot? Do n't we have security? IN THE ALLEY, a security guard watches the girls, smitten. Mike smiles to the camera. MIKE Babes wrestling in Jello. Let's just take a quick survey and see which option the men out there would pick. ABBY Do we have phone lines? Open them! MIKE Beethoven, stuffed pheasant and James Joyce - or semi - naked chicks frolicking in strawberry - flavored goo. As Abby looks horrified, the PHONES in the control room start RINGING off the hook. Realizing her defeat, Abby sighs. ABBY Jesus, if we're gon na do this, we might as well milk it. -LRB- then ; into headset. -RRB- Two, go wide! Good. Ready, one - tight on his hand! Abby grabs the microphone for Mike's ear piece. ABBY Lick the Jello off her finger! ON THE MONITOR - A slightly puzzled look from Mike, but he lifts the girl's finger and licks the Jello off it. ABBY -LRB- COMT'D. -RRB- -LRB- into headset. -RRB- Go one! The camera focuses tightly on his face. MIKE Mmmm. I was wrong. It's cherry. And that's the ugly truth. Over to you, Georgia. As Mike waves to camera, he's pulled into the Jello pool and the girls rip off his shirt.", "INT. KPHX \"SACRAMENTO AM\" - DAY Mike walks in, covered in Jello, to find Abby standing there, arms crossed, quietly containing her rage. ABBY Your realize I once had the Archbishop Desmond Tutu on this show. MIKE Who's that? Abby rubs her temples. ABBY I ca n't even illustrate how far I've fallen, because you're not smart enough to get the references. She walks off. Confused by her reaction, he follows. MIKE C'mon, we were a good team back there. You were the one who told me to lick the Jello. ABBY Do you have any idea how much I hate myself for that?! It was cheap titillation. I am now going to broadcasting hell right behind Geraldo and the naked weather girl from Canada. MIKE Seriously? There's a naked weather girl? Can we get her?", "INT. KPHX - \"SACRAMENTO AM\" SET - DAY CLOSE ON Stuart, wearing a grave expression. STUART -LRB- into camera. -RRB- You've got to do it for ratings, Abby. We have no choice. Abby nods, uncomfortable. We PULL BACK to REVEAL that she's now the NAKED WEATHER GIRL, sitting behind the anchor desk. Strategically placed cardboard suns and clouds cover her bosom. Traumatized, she reads off the teleprompter. ABBY `` Today, it will be partly sunny. with a cloud cover moving in from my left breast.'' Seated next to her, BRIAN WILLIAMS shakes his head, disappointed. BRIAN WILLIAMS Oh, Abby. There's a CRASH and we CUT TO -", "INT. ABBY'S CONDO - NIGHT On the sofa, Abby BOLTS awake from her nightmare, seeing Juliet's FISH BOWL lying in shattered pieces on the floor. ABBY Juliet - She leaps up, then sees the cat licking his chops. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Murderer. D'Artagnan bolts out the front door. ABBY Dammit!", "EXT. CONDO COMPLEX - NIGHT Abby runs through the grounds of the complex looking \u00b1 or D ` Artagnan. ABBY Here, kitty kitty. She spots him hiding under a U - Haul, and slowly creeps towards him. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It's okay, baby. I'm not mad. I mean, yes, I am somewhat angry - but I'm repressing it. A car speeds past, honking obnoxiously at Abby. The cat races away, then climbs up a LARGE TREE beside one of the condos. Abby sighs and follows. ABBY Really? This is how I get to spend my evening?", "EXT. COLIN'S CONDO - NIGHT Abby looks up the tree to see D'Artagnan perched on a branch above. He MEOWS. ABBY It's okay, baby. Just stay there. Abby jumps up, grabs a branch and starts to climb. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Almost there. Abby starts climbing higher, testing branches as she goes. Finally she reaches the branch he's on. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You're gon na be okay. Come on. Abby grabs a branch overhead and scoots down the limb. She reaches out, picks up the cat and cradles him. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It's okay. I've got you. D'Artagnan safely in hand, she looks around and notices she's just outside a window. She looks in and sees - A handsome man in a steamy bathroom taking a shower. This is COLIN ANDERSON. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh, my. Abby covers the cat's eyes, then looks away. But a moment later, she's looking back in the window, to see - Colin step out of the shower. Abby takes a deep breath as he crosses to the mirror, giving her a look at his abs. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh, my, my. Abby leans closer to see Colin start flossing, wearing only a towel. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- a delighted gasp. -RRB- He flosses. Suddenly we hear a CRACK, and the branch breaks. Colin looks out the window and makes eye contact with Abby just as - ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Ahhhh! D'Artagnan leaps to another branch as Abby falls. As she plummets, her foot gets caught between some branches, leaving her now HANGING UPSIDE DOWN. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Help! The front lights SWITCH ON and Colin, still in a towel, races out of his condo. As he runs up to the tree - COLIN Just stay calm. You're gon na be fine. The branch breaks. ABBY Ahhh! Abby FALLS to the ground but - Colin CATCHES her. But only for a moment. She DROPS out of his arms and onto the ground. As she goes, his TOWEL GOES WITH HER. Landing on her face. COLIN Whoops. She pulls the towel away and looks up, trying not to make eye contact with the one - eyed trouser snake staring back at her. ABBY Hi, I'm Abby.", "INT. MIKE'S APARTMENT    - DAY Mike plays poker with his buddies : DWAYNE -LRB- 30's, chubby -RRB-, STEVE -LRB- 30's, Latino -RRB-, and GARY -LRB- 30's, bespectacled -RRB-. While Mike tries to concentrate on the game, but the guys are more interested in reading his fan mail. DWAYNE -LRB- reading. -RRB- `` Dear Mike, I know I'm the girl who can change you and make you fall in love. Here's a photo of me and my iguana.'' Steve looks at the photo. STEVE I thought iguanas only liked dry places. He passes it to Gary. GARY We might need to call animal control on this one. MIKE Guys, enough with the fan mail. STEVE What? You do n't want to add her into your rotation? MIKE Uh, no. DWAYNE What about the tranny? He seemed nice. GARY And he went to all the trouble to knit you that cock - sock. Mike rolls his eyes and deals the cards. MIKE Can we just play poker?", "INT. COLIN'S CONDO - NIGHT Unpacked boxes are stacked everywhere. Classical music plays on the stereo. Colin, now in sweats and a t - shirt, examines Abby's ankle. ABBY -LRB- impressed. -RRB- You're a doctor? COLIN An orthopedic surgeon. She glances around the room and sees a bottle of red wine and a half empty wine glass sitting on a table. COLIN I do a lot of leg and hip stuff but I do get the occasional foot. You seem to be fine. No sprain. ABBY Well, I guess I'm pretty lucky D'Artagnan picked your tree to climb. Dave in the next unit over sells lawn furniture. I do n't know that I would have been as confident with his diagnosis. COLIN I'm here whenever you need me. Abby puts on her shoes as Colin opens his wallet and hands her a card. COLIN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- My home number's on the back. If the ankle starts giving you problems, just give me a call. Colin picks up the cat, who starts purring. ABBY Wow, he does n't usually like men. COLIN Dogs are great, but. well, you're a cat person. You know. Abby looks at him, nodding. Delighted at his complete and utter perfection. ABBY Well, I guess I should get going now. She remains rooted to her spot. He waits a beat then, feeling awkward, makes a move to open the door. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Thanks again for saving me. COLIN Any time. She walks out and Colin closes the door. Realizing that he still has the cat in his arms, he opens the door to find - Abby doing a SPAZZY HAPPY DANCE. Startled, she quickly composes herself. COLIN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You forgot your cat. ABBY -LRB- re the dance. -RRB- Oh. Thanks. There was a - spider. On me. But it's gone now. He chuckles, hands her D'Artagnan. COLIN Good night. He closes the door.", "EXT. COLIN'S CONDO- NIGHT - CONTINUOUS Abby hates herself. ABBY I'm such an idiot - She starts doing a SELF - HATING SPAZZY DANCE, mocking her previous dance. Just as Colin opens the door again - COLIN You alright? She freezes. ABBY Yes. I'm going now. Good night. She walks off, trying to maintain her dignity.", "INT. KPHX - HALLWAY - DAY Abby and Joy walk down the hall towards the set. ABBY You should see him. He's perfect. JOY Symmetrical? ABBY You have no idea. JOY Well, how did you leave it? Did he ask for your number? ABBY No, but he gave me his. What do I do? Should I call? And if I did, what would I say? Joy looks a little overwhelmed. They walk onto the set, where -", "INT. KPHX - SACRAMENTO AM SET - DAY - CONTINUOUS Mike faces the camera, finishing up his segment. MIKE If you want a woman to keep sleeping with you there are certain things you never say. For instance, `` Hell no, I do n't want to meet your family.'' Or `` How hard is it to lose ten pounds?'' `` I have to take a dump, I'll call you back.'' And here's one that's sunk a lot of perfectly good sexual relationships : `` Marriage? I'm just hanging out with you until I meet someone better.'' Guys, use your big head to help your little head. In other words, lie. And that's the ugly truth. As they watch, Abby turns to Joy. ABBY You promised me the worm would make him go away. As Abby shakes her head in disgust, a P.A. walks up and hands her a sheet of paper. P.A. Yesterday's ratings. Abby and Joy study them. ABBY I should be happy about this, should n't I? JOY -LRB- reading the ratings. -RRB- Uh, yeah, you've never gotten a twelve share before. ABBY I feel so dirty. Mike approaches them. MIKE You hear about the ratings? ABBY Yes. MIKE And did you hear Corporate's coming next week to take me to dinner? ABBY I hope you can chew with your mouth closed. She turns and walks off. MIKE What's up with her? JOY She's spiraling lower and lower into a morass of self - loathing and intense hatred for you. MIKE Yeah, I picked up on that.", "INT. KPHX - CORRIDOR - DAY - MOMENTS LATER Abby walks down the corridor. She turns the corner and comes face to face with Mike. MIKE Why do you hate my guts? ABBY Your innards are of no consequence to me. I hate what you represent. MIKE You hate the truth? ABBY Your skewed perception of male - female interaction is not `` the truth''. MIKE But your imaginary boyfriend's the truth? ABBY For your information, I happened to meet him last night. MIKE I really hope he's real this time, because otherwise this is just sad. ABBY Oh, he's very real. Not to mention stunningly handsome and morally sound. His name's Colin. He's a doctor. An orthopedic surgeon, actually. MIKE You know what that means? ABBY What? MIKE He had to stick his finger up some guy's butt in medical school. ABBY You disgust me.", "INT. ABBY'S OFFICE - DAY - CONTINUOUS Abby enters her office. Mike follows her. MIKE So, did butt - boy ask you out? ABBY Not exactly. We're taking things slow - getting to know each other first. -LRB- then. -RRB- Why am I talking about this with you? MIKE You're the one who brought it up. ABBY Dr. Anderson is everything that you could never be. In fact. Abby takes Colin's card from her wallet, dials a number, then - ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Hi, this is Abby Richter calling for Dr. Anderson. Yes, I'll hold. MIKE You're calling the guy?! You ca n't do that. You've got ta let him call you. ABBY Please. It's the twenty - first century. Abby shoots Mike a snide grin. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Hi Colin. This is Abby. Your neighbor. From last night.", "INT. COLIN'S OFFICE - DAY Colin, in a white doctor's jacket, talks on the phone while going over patient files. COLIN Oh, hi. Everything okay? We INTERCUT. ABBY Could n't be better. I just wanted to call and tell you how much I enjoyed meeting you. Mike picks up the extension and listens in. Abby glares at him, but she ca n't stop him. COLIN Oh, thanks. ABBY So. I was just thinking that we should have dinner. COLIN -LRB- not great. -RRB- Oh. great. Mike shakes his head, knowing where this is going. ABBY There's this new French Bistro that got fantastic reviews and there's a gallery opening in Old Town on Friday. So, if you want, we could have dinner, then go to the opening. COLIN Hmmm, Friday. wow. ABBY Is that not a good time? COLIN Actually, Abby, I'm still kind of unsettled with the move and everything so I ` m really not - Mike snatches the phone from Abby and hangs it up. ABBY What the hell are you doing? MIKE Saving you. He was blowing you off. ABBY He was not. She moves to pick up the phone. Mike sits on the phone to stop her. MIKE Do n't! He'll be expecting you to call him back. When you do n't, he'll call you. ABBY How do you know? MIKE Because I know men. If you want it to work out with this guy, you'll listen to me and do exactly as I say. You already did irreparable damage with your psycho - aggressive control freak phone call. It might even be too late. Even if you do salvage the situation, you'll probably never be more than Abby, his desperate neighbor. ABBY I'm not desperate! -LRB- then. -RRB- Why, did I sound desperate? MIKE Listen to you - desperately asking me if you sound desperate. A concerned look from Abby as. the phone rings. Her caller I.D. says SACRAMENTO MED. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Although you wo n't admit it, you know I know what I'm talking about. -LRB- beat. -RRB- It's your call, dude. She thinks, looks at the phone again. ABBY Okay. What do I do? MIKE Pick up the phone and say : `` Hey, Doug.'' ABBY Why would I - MIKE Just do it. She answers the phone. ABBY Hey, Doug.", "INT. COLIN'S OFFICE - DAY A confused look from Colin as he talks on the phone. COLIN No, this is Colin. We INTERCUT. ABBY Oh my God. Sorry. COLIN Who's Doug? MIKE -LRB- whispering. -RRB- Just a guy I'm seeing. It's nothing serious. Abby hesitates. Mike shoves her. ABBY Just a guy I'm seeing. It's nothing serious. COLIN Oh. MIKE -LRB- whispering. -RRB- Hang on a sec. ABBY Hang on a sec. Mike puts the phone on hold. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What now? MIKE Make him wait. A long pause. ABBY This is so rude. MIKE That's the point. ABBY When do I pick up? MIKE Never. You make him wait until he gets frustrated and hangs up. If he's still holding on after thirty more seconds, you may actually have a chance. ABBY You'd better be right about this. MIKE Think about it. Would you wait on hold for somebody you were trying to blow off? ABBY You have a point. MIKE Just give me a little bit of time and I can make this guy your bitch. ABBY -LRB- scoffing. -RRB- I do n't want a `` bitch.'' And Colin would never be a bitch. He's a well - rounded man capable of mature emotions and deep abiding love. Things which you know not of. MIKE Maybe not, but I know about lust, seduction, and manipulation. And clearly, you do not. ABBY Why would you want to help me? MIKE Because then you'll have to admit that I know more about this stuff than you do. They stare each other down. Then Mike looks at his watch. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Thirty seconds. The phone light is still blinking. ABBY My God, you're right. Now what? Mike hangs up the phone. MIKE Always make an impression. Let's get out of here. We have work to do. ABBY But what about - MIKE Do n't worry, in five seconds he'll call back. ABBY -LRB- skeptical. -RRB- What are you, Nostradamus? That's - The phone RINGS again. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- in awe. -RRB- - amazing. He hustles her out of the room. A moment after the door closes, Mike rushes back in and hangs up the ringing phone. He smiles, then bolts.", "INT. COLIN'S OFFICE - DAY Dial tone. Colin hangs up the phone. COLIN Unbelievable.", "EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET \u00ad DAY Abby and Mike walk down the street. MIKE Rule number one. Never criticize. ABBY Even if it's constructive? MIKE Never. Men are incapable of growth, change or progress. For men, self - improvement ends at toilet - training. Rule number two. Laugh at whatever he says. ABBY What if what he's saying is n't funny? MIKE That's irrelevant. A fake laugh is like a fake orgasm. ABBY And a fake orgasm is good? MIKE No, but a fake orgasm is better than no orgasm at all. ABBY A fake orgasm is no orgasm. MIKE Only to you. You're not the only person in the room, you know. Let's not be selfish. Abby giggles. Mike is struck by the sound of her laughter. MIKE -LRB- CONT `` D. -RRB- That was perfect. You have a perfect laugh. Real or fake? ABBY You'll never know. He raises an eyebrow, impressed.", "INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY - CONTINUOUS Mike and Abby wait for their lattes. MIKE Rule number three. Never talk about your problems. Men do n't really listen or care. ABBY Some men care. MIKE No. Some men pretend to care. When we ask you how you're doing, it's just guy code for `` let me put my dick in your ass.'' ABBY Okay, I'm trying to decide whether I should just walk away right now, or run. MIKE I know you think Colin is above it all, but he's a guy. If he's even remotely into you, he's thought about each one of your orifices at least ten times. ABBY I love how you assume every man is as perverse as you are. MIKE I do n't assume. I know.", "EXT. STREET - DAY - CONTINUOUS Mike and Abby walk along, coffees in hand. MIKE Rule number four. Men are very visual. Ninety percent of a relationship is based on how good the woman looks. We have to change your look. ABBY What's wrong with my look? MIKE -LRB- taking her in. -RRB- Sports bras? Khakis? Srunchies? Nurse shoes? ABBY These are n't nurse shoes! They're Lady Keds. MIKE Abby, you're a very attractive woman but you are completely inaccessible. You're all about comfort and efficiency. ABBY What's wrong with comfort and efficiency? MIKE Nothing. Except no one wants to fuck it. With that, a MONTAGE BEGINS.", "INT. DEPARTMENT STORE - DAY Mike and Abby wander through the racks of lingerie. ABBY I am not getting breast implants. MIKE Size is n't everything. Breasts just have to be friendly. They have to say, `` Hello, everybody! Look at me!'' Abby looks down at her breasts, curiously. ABBY What are mine saying? MIKE Uh, `` I'm reading Tolstoy and I do n't want to be disturbed''? ABBY Really? I hate Tolstoy. A SALESWOMAN passes them. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Excuse me ma'am, but we need some bras that will make my friend's boobs say, `` Put me in your mouth - I taste good.'' The saleswoman looks disturbed, but hands him a push - up water bra. SALESWOMAN This should do the trick. MIKE Sweet. -LRB- to Abby. -RRB- Strap it on, flapjacks. Abby glares at him as we CUT TO -", "INT. SHOE STORE - DAY Abby, wearing high heels, awkwardly makes her way over to Mike. ABBY I look like a hooker. MIKE That's a good thing. She falls, KNOCKING OVER a large display of shoes. MIKE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Well, you're on your back, so that works.", "INT. HAIR SALON - DAY Abby sits at a rinse chair, while Mike and the HAIRDRESSER study her look. ABBY You're not touching my hair until I know exactly what you're going to do with it. MIKE We're giving you bedhead. ABBY Why would I want bedhead? MIKE Bedhead is sexy. -LRB- re her current hairdo. -RRB- A ponytail implies that you are either operating heavy machinery or emptying the litter box. Neither of these things inspires an erection. The hairdresser shoves her head under the sink and douses her with water.", "EXT. CONDO COMPLEX      - NIGHT Night has fallen on the condo complex.", "INT. ABBY'S CONDO - LIVING ROOM -      NIGHT Mike avoids the cat while waiting in the living room. ABBY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I just do n't want to be perceived as a bimbo. MIKE I do n't want you to be a bimbo. You need to be two people, the saint and the sinner, the librarian and the stripper. It's a delicate balance. On one hand, you have to push the guy away with cold indifference and yet on the other hand be a sexually teasing tornado. Abby enters, looking amazing in a little black dress and sling backs. Her hair and make - up are sexy but not trashy. ABBY Well just do n't sit there. Say something. MIKE Glasses. ABBY Huh? MIKE You need glasses. ABBY But I wear contacts. Besides, does n't the woman usually remove glasses during a makeover? MIKE Yeah, but we're going for a stripperlibrarian thing. Right now, I would n't trust you to find me a book. Abby opens a drawer and takes out some glasses. She puts them on. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Not bad. Now we need to practice flirting. ABBY I know how to flirt. MIKE Do you want to be an old maid? ABBY So, if I do n't listen to you, I'll be an old maid? MIKE -LRB- acting old. -RRB- `` My name's Abby and I'm arthritic and alone. I have eighteen cats who keep me company.'' ABBY -LRB- sarcastic. -RRB- Oh, ha ha. That's very funny. -LRB- pretending to be Mike. -RRB- `` Are you wearing underwear?'' She grabs his ass. MIKE Come on! I would n't say that and I would n't grab ass. ABBY -LRB- still as Mike. -RRB- `` Hey babe, what's wrong with a little ass grabbing?''. -LRB- continuing to pinch his ass. -RRB- `` I mean what's the point of you even having one unless it's there for me to grab it? You're just a set of orifices and a pair of tee - tas.'' MIKE You're a deeply, deeply disturbed person. Switching tactics, Abby slips into seductress mode, tracing her finger up and down his arm. ABBY Maybe I'm just a good student. MIKE Would you stop doing that? ABBY Doing what? MIKE Touching me with your finger. She seductively leans into him. ABBY Why? Am I turning you on? MIKE Maybe. She gives him a look. ABBY Actually, I kind of like it. MIKE Really. She leans in closer. ABBY Sucker. He shoves her away. MIKE No teaching the teacher. Just then, the doorbell RINGS. ABBY Who is it? COLIN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It's Colin. ABBY Oh my God! MIKE Told you he'd drop by. ABBY -LRB- panicking. -RRB- I'm not ready for this. Am I? I'm not. MIKE Calm down. Keep the conversation under a minute. Be mysterious. Keep him guessing. Mike leaps over the couch and hides. As Abby walks over to the door and opens it. Colin stands there. ABBY Oh. Hey. COLIN Hi. Wow, you look great. ABBY Thanks. COLIN What happened to you today? ABBY What do you mean? COLIN You put me on hold and did n't call me back. ABBY That was you? I'm so sorry. -LRB- steering him to the door. -RRB- Can you call me later? I'm super busy. She hustles him out the door. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Bye. Colin bangs on the door. COLIN -LRB- 0. S. -RRB- Abby wait. Mike pops up from under the couch. He gives her the thumbs up. ABBY -LRB- whispering. -RRB- Now what? MIKE Make him suffer. COLIN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Do you want to go the Lobos game on Saturday? She looks at Mike in amazement, then breaks into the happy dance. He watches, horrified at her spazziness. MIKE What the hell is that?! As she continues to dork out, we CUT TO -", "EXT. BALLPARK - DAY The ROAR of the crowd at the Lobos game. Colin walks with Abby, who adjusts something in her ear. Now she's wearing the earpiece from the station, and on the other end. MIKE'S POV THROUGH BINOCULARS - A different angle of Abby walking down the aisle. MIKE Nod if you can hear me. BINOCULARS POV - Abby nods. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Just relax. You're gon na be fine. I'll walk you through this. Colin looks at Abby and smiles as they take their seats, popcorn in hand. COLIN Do you follow baseball? We INTERCUT with Mike. MIKE There's no right answer to that question. Do something non - committal. Abby does something between a nod and shaking her head. Colin hooks at her, confused. COLIN I'm really more of a fair weather fan myself. I do like watching Mike DeLoggia pitch, though. Amazing bone structure. MIKE Laugh. Abby is baffled but proceeds to laugh awkwardly. Colin looks at her. COLIN What's so funny? ABBY Your joke. COLIN What joke? MIKE Shit, he was serious? Feeling a popcorn kernel in her teeth, Abby takes out her floss. MIKE Wait - what the fuck are you doing? Is that floss? Abby freezes. MIKE Jesus! Put that away! She puts the floss back in her purse. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Good. Now toss your hair. She dramatically tosses her hair from one side to the other. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Okay, that was a little over the top, but nice try. ABBY Thank you. COLIN For what? Abby realizes she's spoken aloud. ABBY Thank you for. just being you. COLIN You're welcome. MIKE Okay, no more improvising. Just repeat everything I say, `` You're so much fun to be with.'' ABBY You're so much fun to be with. COLIN Thanks. A FAN calls to Mike. FAN Hey, down in front! Mike gestures for the fan to leave him alone as he continues to instruct Abby. MIKE -LRB- to Abby. -RRB- You're not like the other guys I ` ve dated. ABBY You're not like the other guys I've dated. FAN Hey, sit down, jackass. Mike waves him off, trying to remain focused on Abby. MIKE -LRB- to Abby. -RRB- You're so much more interesting and informed. ABBY You're so much more interesting and informed. COLIN That's nice to hear. The fan throws peanuts at Mike. Mike turns around and shouts at the fan. MIKE Dude, what the fuck?! ABBY Dude, what the fuck?! COLIN What? Abby blanches, waiting for Mike instructions. MIKE Oh, shit. ABBY Oh, shit. Colin is now just staring at her. MIKE -LRB- to Abby. -RRB- No, I'm not talking to you. ABBY I'm not talking to you. COLIN Did I do something wrong? MIKE Abby, listen - tell him you saw him looking at another girl. It's the only way out of this. ABBY -LRB- to Colin. -RRB- Were you looking at another girl? COLIN Who? ABBY Uh - her? She points to the only nearby female - an Elderly Obese Hot Dog Lady. COLIN Yeah. I was just trying to get us a hot dog. ABBY Oh. There's an awkward moment as Colin hands her the hot dog. MIKE Alright, we need a recovery. Make sure to eat your hot dog slowly. Men like watching penis - shaped food go into a girl's mouth. ABBY What?! Repulsed, she flinches, losing control of her drink, DUMPING it into Colin's lap. He flinches. ABBY Oh my God, I'm so sorry. She grabs a napkin and starts rubbing his khakis. COLIN It's fine, really. ABBY No, I have to get it out or else it will stain - She puts some muscle into it. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What fabric is this. COLIN Cotton. ABBY Cotton's the worst. Well actually leather's the worst, followed by suede. Unbeknownst to them, the batter hits a pop fly near them. THE JUMBOTRON CAMERA follows the guy catching the fly, then finds Abby and Colin. PANS over to them and - It looks like Abby is giving Colin an enthusiastic HAND JOB. The ENTIRE STADIUM, ballplayers included, stop what they're doing and stare. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Are you sure they're cotton cause this should be coming out, wait. it's coming. It's definitely coming. It's. done! She smiles at Colin. As he looks nervously up at the JUMBOTRON. Abby follows his gaze - and sees SHE'S ON IT. Everyone at the stadium is looking at her. The organ player bangs out `` Charge.'' The stadium starts WHOOPING and HOLLERING.", "EXT. BALLPARK - DAY Abby is getting a citation from a self - righteous POLICE OFFICER. POLICE OFFICER This is a family place, ma'am. Not an open - air hand job palace. ABBY I understand, officer. POLICE OFFICER You want to pull those kind of stunts, you do it at home. Or in the backseat of a car, like moral upstanding people do. He hands her a ticket and walks off.", "EXT. ABBY'S CONDO - NIGHT Colin walks a defeated Abby to her door. NEARBY, Mike watches this, unseen and impassive. COLIN Well, I ca n't say it was boring. ABBY That was pretty much the all - time worst first date ever. COLIN Gee, thanks. Mike looks worried. MIKE -LRB- to Abby. -RRB- Where are you going with this? No guy wants to hear that! ABBY No, no, I take full responsibility. So. -LRB- sticking out her hand. -RRB-. Thanks. -LRB- as he shakes her hand. -RRB- But, hey, at least your pants are clean. He smiles, amused. COLIN You're not what I'm used to. ABBY -LRB- sighing. -RRB- I know. COLIN Actually, that's a good thing. I'm used to women I can figure out in five seconds. I ca n't do that with you. Mike rolls his eyes. MIKE He's an idiot. I figured you out in two. Now tell him good night and stick your tits out. We're going to give this one last shot. ABBY -LRB- Sticking her tits out. -RRB- Good night. MIKE And walk away. She starts to walk away when Colin stops her, grabbing her arm and pulling her in for a kiss. COLIN That definitely made up for my wet crotch. ABBY -LRB- dreamily. -RRB- Me, too. -LRB- off his look ; realizing. -RRB- Just - scratch that. Colin gives a wave and walks toward his condo. Abby pretends to enter her house until she sees Colin close his front door. Then, she turns around and rushes over to - MIKE. She throws her arms around him, embracing him. ABBY You did it! You did it! Mike pulls back, a little uncomfortable. MIKE I did n't do anything. It was you. Do n't ask me why, but I think he likes you. ABBY He's really a great guy, is n't he? MIKE Yeah, he's dreamy. ABBY And he fits all ten criteria on my checklist! MIKE Right. were n't items one through nine something to do with him pretty much being gay? Abby puts her key in the door. ABBY I'm going to ignore that because I'm in a very good mood. MIKE Yeah, I heard, wet crotch. Abby rolls her eyes with a smile and goes inside. As Mike is walking away, he turns back for a moment, then keeps walking.", "INT. ELIZABETH'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM -       NIGHT Jonah and Mike sit on the couch, playing `` Fight Night.'' JONAH So, no date tonight? MIKE As a matter of fact, I did have a date. It was n't mine, but it was a date. I was helping out a friend. JONAH Guy or girl? MIKE Girl. JONAH Ooh. is she hot? MIKE She would be if she were less irritating. JONAH So she likes to make fun of your clothes and stuff? MIKE No, actually I make fun of hers'. JONAH You told me not to do that. MIKE That's right. And you should listen to me. JONAH If you know so much about chicks, why are you sitting here playing `` Fight Night'' with me when you could be out with the Jello girls? MIKE Because this is better. Elizabeth enters, wearing a pair of sweats and carrying her laptop. She hands Mike a digital camera. ELIZABETH Hurry, take a picture of me. I'm online with Fugly35 and he wants to know what i look like. MIKE You really want to go out with a guy named Fugly35? ELIZABETH He's being ironic. Look, he's hot. She holds up her laptop. Mike peers at it. MIKE Uh. look closer. That's Jim Morrison. Who I'm pretty sure is n't an accountant in Rio Rancho. ELIZABETH Shit. Are you serious? Jonah holds out his hand to his mom. JONAH You owe me a dollar. MIKE What are you wasting your time on the internet for anyway? ELIZABETH Says the man who has n't had a decent relationship since 1999. MIKE At least I date. ELIZABETH No. you fornicate.", "EXT. ZOO - DAY A cage of randy Bonobos getting it on. Mike, in a gorilla suit, does a segment. Next to him is an anthropologist, DR. LESTER. DR. LESTER Of all primates, Bonobos are the closest relatives to human beings, both genetically and socially - - especially when it comes to sex. For the Bonobo, sex is a way to ease stress and diffuse tensions. MIKE So summing up Bonobo - land, the chicks look great, get freaky in bed and in turn, they get to sit on their asses and boss their men around all day. DR. LESTER That's one way of looking at it. MIKE If that's not an argument for evolution, I do n't know what is. He winks at the camera as - CAMERA GUY Cut! NEARBY Abby watches. Mike walks over to join her. MIKE What did you think? ABBY It was good. MIKE Did you hear Corporate's taking me to Saffron tonight? What do you think - ABBY -LRB- cutting him off. -RRB- Colin called. He wants to get together again. MIKE Cool. He starts pulling off his gorilla suit as he heads for the van. Abby follows him. ABBY How long do you think I should wait to sleep with him? MIKE The more you make him beg for it, the more you've got him on the hook. Do everything but. Then show him beneath that control freak exterior, there's a sexual deviant waiting to be unleashed. ABBY I am not a sexual deviant. MIKE Good point. If memory serves us right, you've been out of practice for what? A year? ABBY -LRB- defensive. -RRB- No. eleven months. MIKE Alright, well, how often do you - ABBY Do I what? MIKE You know. -LRB- under his breath. -RRB- Flick the bean? ABBY What bean? Mike throws her a look. Abby catches on. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Ewww, gross. That's what you call it? MIKE No, I call it masturbating, but I thought it would offend your delicate lady - like sensibilities. -LRB- beat. -RRB- So. how often do you flick it? ABBY How often do you flick it? MIKE You only want me to answer that so you can picture me flicking mine while you flick yours. ABBY Trust me, I would never think about you while I'm flicking it. Not that I would ever do - that. MIKE Never? Abby looks away haughtily. ABBY I find it impersonal. MIKE What could be more personal? ABBY I just do n't think of myself that way. MIKE Well, you need to start. Because if you do n't want to have sex with you, why the hell should Colin?", "EXT. ABBY'S CONDO - NIGHT Abby opens the door to find a gift bag on her doorstep, with a card that reads : `` This present is n't for you. It's for your bean. Love Mike.''", "INT. ABBY'S CONDO - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Abby sits on the couch staring at a box of ELECTRIC UNDERWEAR. She opens the box, dumping out a pair of underwear and a REMOTE CONTROL. When she turns on the remote the underwear VIBRATES, startling her. She turns it off.", "INT. ABBY'S CONDO - BEDROOM - NIGHT Abby checks herself out in the mirror. Now in the underwear. She downs a glass of wine, sits on the bed and picks up the remote. She turns it on. Nothing happens. She tries again. Nothing. ABBY Great. Abby smacks the remote a few times. The DOORBELL rings. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- shouting. -RRB- Who is it? MIKE -LRB- 0. S. -RRB- It's Mike! ABBY -LRB- frowning. -RRB- One second - Abby quickly throws on her skirt and hurries toward the living room.", "INT. ABBY'S CONDO - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Abby heads toward the door, but quickly realizes she's still holding the remote. She tosses it in her purse, then opens the door. Mike stands there out of breath, dressed in a suit. MIKE You have to come with me. ABBY Where? MIKE My dinner with Corporate. I do n't want to fuck it up. ABBY I ca n't. I have a date with Colin. MIKE We'll pick him up on the way. ABBY Mike, I'm not going on your dinner. MIKE So, if it does n't go well and they cut the segment and the ratings go back down to negative fourteen and they cancel the show, you're cool with that? Abby thinks a moment, then - ABBY Let me get my purse.", "EXT. COLIN'S CONDO - NIGHT Colin opens the door to find Abby standing there. COLIN Hey, you're early - ABBY Yeah. Mike pops out from behind Abby. MIKE I'm Mike. Change in plans. Grab your keys. We got ta go. As Colin looks confused, we CUT TO -", "INT. MIKE'S TRUCK -    NIGHT Mike's driving. In the passenger seat, Abby turns to Colin, who sits in the back. ABBY We'll just stay for one drink. I'm really sorry about this. COLIN No worries. -LRB- to Mike. -RRB- Are you a news producer as well? MIKE No, dude, I'm the talent. COLIN So you're one of the anchors? MIKE No, `` The Ugly Truth.'' -LRB- to Abby. -RRB- Has n't he ever seen our show? ABBY Not everyone wants to start their day by watching you rant about implants and g - strings. COLIN -LRB- to Mike. -RRB- You talk about g - strings? ABBY Oh, look! We're here!", "INT. SAFFRON - BAR AREA - NIGHT As Abby, Mike and Colin walk into the bar, two buxom blonde twin JELLO GIRLS, BAMBI and CANDI, rush up to Mike. MIKE Hey, ladies. You're looking quite fetching. BAMBI Hi, Mike! CANDI Do you like my dress? She leans over and displays her cleavage. ABBY -LRB- displeased. -RRB- Are these the Jello Girls? MIKE Yeah, they're my dates. She tries to control her displeasure, as Stuart walks in with two guys in suits, BOB and HAROLD, in their 50's. STUART Hey, the gang's all here! Abby, you know Harold and Bob. ABBY Of course. BOB -LRB- ignoring Abby. -RRB- And we all know Mike Alexander. They slap him on the back, eyeing the twins. HAROLD And who are these lovely ladies? BOB Something tells me we wo n't be talking about the news tonight.", "INT. SAFFRON - DINING ROOM - NIGHT The group sits down at the table. MIKE So, you guys here to give me a raise, or what? UNDER THE TABLE Abby tries to kick Mike. As she does, she unwittingly knocks over her purse. The contents spill out and the REMOTE for her vibrating underwear rolls away, stopping UNDER THE TABLE NEXT TO THEM. AT THE NEXT TABLE A PRECOCIOUS KID, 8, sits with his parents. Bored out of his skull. When the remote rolls under his feet, the kid picks it up and flicks the switch. A small RED LIGHT turns on. AT ABBY'S TABLE As Harold and Bob laugh, Stuart slaps Mike on the back. STUART That's my guy. Always with the jokes. Abby turns to Bob and Harold. ABBY We're really excited about the ratings increase this year. Next quarter we hope to - Suddenly, her smile quickly changes to horror. ABBY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Oh, God. She shifts in her seat, trying to control her NOW - VIBRATING UNDERWEAR. COLIN What's wrong? ABBY Nothing. She leans down to grab her purse. UNDER THE TABLE She pokes her head under the table to see that the contents of her purse have spilled. Mike's head appears next to hers. MIKE What are you doing? ABBY I'm looking for the remote. MIKE What remote? ABBY -LRB- gritting her teeth. -RRB- For. the. underwear. Mike starts laughing. MIKE You're wearing them? Now? She writhes again, hitting her head on the bottom of the table. AT THE TABLE Stuart watches, worried, as Abby rises from underneath the table, clutching her head and looking around frantically, trying to figure out who has the remote. AT THE NEXT TABLE The kid has flicked up the speed on the remote even higher. Abby's eyes roll back. She looks like she's on three hits of ecstasy. COLIN Are you okay? ABBY This ceviche is just so. GOOD! I'm going to ask the chef for the - ooh - recipe! Excuse me - She starts to get up when Stuart stops her. STUART Hold on. Tell Harold about the new teaser campaign we're starting next week. -LRB- to Harold. -RRB- You're going to love this. MIKE Yeah, Abby. Tell us about the teasers. Abby glares at Mike and sits back down. ABBY Well, it's fifteen seconds. each hour. As she fumbles, Mike spots the kid at the next table, remote in hand. He starts to get up but - ABBY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- They're very - oh! Abby grabs Mike's arm, yanking him back down, in the throes of panic and pleasure. ABBY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Mike! - Wait! You - tell them. She looks into his eyes, imploring. MIKE Actually, I'm really enjoying the way you're telling them. Candi looks at Harold, intrigued by Abby's display. CANDI What's in a ceviche? As Stuart frowns, concerned, Abby spasms, then rushes through it as fast as she can. ABBY -LRB- rapid fire. -RRB- It's fifteen seconds every hour of Mike telling an Ugly Truth and. Jesus. GOD, they're good. She leaps to her feet. ABBY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Ohhhhh. Then she sinks back down, spent. Harold and Bob applaud, as do the twins. Relieved, Stuart turns to Bob and Harold. STUART See what I mean about her? COLIN -LRB- proudly. -RRB- You've got to love her enthusiasm.", "INT. SAFFRON - BAR AREA - NIGHT - LATER As they all walk out, Mike grabs the remote from the kid. MIKE Sorry, buddy, that's my toy. Abby spots this and snatches the remote out of Mike's hand. ABBY You knew he had it the whole time, did n't you? MIKE No, just part of the time. Figured I should let you finish. She shoots him a look. MIKE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Seriously, thanks for coming tonight. I mean, you know, to dinner. ABBY You would have done fine without me. MIKE I know.", "EXT. SAFFRON - NIGHT - VALET STAND - MOMENTS LATER Stuart schmoozes with Harold, Bob, Bambi and Candi at the valet stand. Abby and Mike exit the restaurant. MIKE He likes you, by the way. Colin. I can tell. ABBY Really? Colin walks up. COLIN Are we ready to go? I know Abby is. Harold and Bob shake hands with Mike. HAROLD Keep up the good work, Mike. BOB And thanks for introducing us to our future ex - wives. MIKE You kids play safe. They take off with the twins. Mike turns to Abby and Colin. MIKE So, what's next? A little three - way Scrabble? Some Twister? Maybe a massage chain? We could write in each others' diaries. COLIN I think we've got it from here. Mike's truck pulls up and he gets in. MIKE Do n't do anything I would n't do. He drives away. Abby smiles at Colin, as a punk rock version of `` Getting To Know You'' PLAYS and a MONTAGE BEGINS.", "EXT. SANDIA MOUNTAIN - DAY Colin and Abby ride the tram up the mountain, snuggling.", "INT. MOVIE THEATRE - NIGHT Abby and Colin are watching `` TO CATCH A THIEF.'' Colin puts his arm around Abby. COLIN I ca n't believe I've never seen this before. Abby grins, pleased.", "INT. KPHX - \"SACRAMENTO AM\" SET - DAY Mike's on set rehearsing with a HOT GIRL next to him. NEARBY, Abby gets flowers delivered. Mike tries not to be distracted by Abby's delighted expression as she reads the card.", "INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY At the counter, Abby introduces Colin to Joy. As Colin turns away to get his latte, Joy falls to the ground in a MOCK SWOON. Colin sees this and, concerned, rushes to help Joy up.", "INT. SPORTS BAR - NIGHT Mike stands at the sports bar with Dwayne, Steve and Gary, as a DRUNK GUY praises Mike. DRUNK GUY -LRB- to Mike. -RRB- Dude, you got me laid three times last month. Drinks are on me. MIKE Just doing my job. Just then a CUTE BRUNETTE in a tight t - shirt and ridiculously gynormous implants walks up. CUTE BRUNETTE I got implants, just like you said! MIKE -LRB- horrified. -RRB- Indeed you did. DWAYNE Here's to implants! Steve clinks his beer bottle against Mike's. STEVE You're a rock star, bro. Mike sips his beer, looking a bit wary of his powers.", "INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT A waiter takes Colin and Abby's order. WAITER A bottle of water to start? COLIN Yes, a bottle of flat, please. She starts to say something, then smiles at the waiter. ABBY I'll have one, too. Colin smiles at her as THE MONTAGE ENDS.", "EXT. BAR - NIGHT A sign on the upscale bar window advertises `` Happy Hour - Ladies Drink For Half Price.''", "INT. BAR - NIGHT Mike has a beer and enjoys the scenery as Abby sits across from him at their table, making notes. ABBY The Balloon Fiesta is coming up, so, I was thinking for sweeps, we could do a segment on `` how men are full of hot air.'' He does n't answer. ABBY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- I was kidding - Mike is n't even listening. He's watching a trashy redhead at the bar. Abby notices. ABBY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Colin would never like a girl like that. MIKE I forgot, Colin only likes `` women of quality.'' ABBY That's a trait to be admired, not mocked, man - whore. MIKE Who says I'm a man - whore? ABBY I've seen you with the Funbag Twins, remember? MIKE You saw me what? Take them to dinner and introduce them to some network executives? They want to be actresses. Who am I to kill their dreams? ABBY You're telling me you've never slept with those girls? MIKE I did n't say that. ABBY Exactly my point. Man - whores want women who wear slutty clothes and suck lots of cock. MIKE Every man wants that. And for your information, I was only with the one who can read. -LRB- then. -RRB- Did you just say cock? ABBY What? I can say cock. You do n't own that word. Cock. There. I said it again. MIKE A week ago you cried at the thought of a vibrator. Now you're all `` cock this,'' `` cock that.'' -LRB- then. -RRB- You had sex with Colin, did n't you? ABBY NO! We're saving that for this weekend. He's taking me to Santa Fe. MIKE You sure you're ready for that? ABBY Of course I'm ready. MIKE You do n't sound ready. ABBY Well, I am ready. Mike holds up a glass. MIKE Here's to overturning assumptions. I'm really a man of discriminating taste and you're a foul - mouthed slut.", "INT. KPHX - \"SACRAMENTO AM\" SET - DAY On set, Mike addresses the camera. MIKE So there you have it. Never assume a girl is easy, or assume she's a prude. There are many layers in between and it's your job, gentlemen, to peel back those layers and figure out exactly what type of woman you are dealing with. NEARBY, a confused Joy looks at Abby. JOY What happened to him? That sounded almost enlightened. Abby does n't know weather to be pleased or worried. MIKE Because once you do peel back those layers, my friends, her lady garden awaits. And I'm pretty sure you're gon na want to fertilize that patch of petunias. And that there is the Ugly Truth. JOY And - he's back. AT THE ANCHOR DESK Larry turns to the camera. LARRY Next up, Javier tells us if your petunias are going to see any rainfall this weekend. Georgia winks at him. GEORGIA I hope mine do. Abby rolls her eyes as Mike walks up. ABBY Yes, the city gets treated to flower - vagina metaphors. Georgia O'Keefe would be so pleased. At this, a slick AGENT in a suit, 30's, walks up and slaps Mike on the shoulder. AGENT Are you ready for this? I just got you on to `` The Tonight Show''. They want you as a guest. Mike is stunned. MIKE Jay Leno wants me on his show? You're shitting me. Abby looks at the agent, confused. ABBY Who are you? MIKE This is Rick. My agent. ABBY Since when do you have an agent? AGENT Since he became the hottest thing in morning TV. MIKE Holy shit. Leno? This is amazing. ABBY -LRB- trying to process. -RRB- Yeah. AGENT You leave tomorrow. Let's go clear it with Stuart. MIKE -LRB- to Abby. -RRB- How cool is this? They walk off as Abby stands there.", "INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY Abby runs a programming meeting. Joy, Dori, Josh, Georgia and Larry are in attendance. ABBY What's our story at the top of the hour? JOSH Global warming. DORI Jesus. Again? JOSH Oh, I'm sorry, did Anna Nicole come back from the dead? Stuart pokes his head in. STUART Abby? I need you. She rises and goes out into the hall.", "INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS Abby frowns at Stuart's serious expression. ABBY What's up? STUART I just found out Mike was offered a job by the local NBC affiliate at twice the pay. This Leno thing is his audition. ABBY What?! STUART If Bob and Harold find out about this, we're dead. I need you to fly out there and talk him out of it. ABBY Today? Now? But I'm going to Santa Fe - STUART -LRB- ignoring her. -RRB- Just do n't let him know you know beforehand. Let him do the show and get us our publicity, then convince him to sign with us for the next three years. Now go.", "EXT. AIRPORT - DAY An airplane lands at LAX.", "INT. CAB - DAY A pissed Abby sits in the cab, having a conversation with herself. ABBY Hi, stupid motherfucker who'd still be on cable access if it were n't for me. I hear you're moving to NBC. The CAB DRIVER looks at her. CAB DRIVER What did you just call me? ABBY Nothing. Just practicing my speech.", "EXT. HOTEL - DAY Mike walks out of the lobby, as Abby gets out of a cab, suitcase in hand. MIKE Abby? What are you doing here? Abby glares at him, about to show her true feelings, but then quickly covers. Smiling. ABBY Stuart decided you needed a cheerleader. MIKE I thought you were going to Santa Fe. ABBY Apparently, he felt that you needed a producer more than I needed to get laid.", "INT. TOWN CAR - DAY Abby and Mike sit in the backseat. Abby looks down at her notes. ABBY Okay, so let's go over the pre - interview questions. Mike studies her. MIKE I'm sorry you did n't get to meet little Colin this weekend. And by little, I do n't mean undersized, although I highly suspect that's the case. ABBY Really? Colin's penis? That's what you want to talk about right now? I was thinking maybe we should talk about what you're gon na say on the show. -LRB- doing Jay. -RRB- So, tell me Mike. How did `` The Ugly Truth'' start? MIKE Well, Jay, I had a sales job where I drove around a lot, listening to talk radio. I started calling in and lo and behold, people liked what I had to say. Then I decided what the hell, I need my own show. I have a message people need to hear. Abby rolls her eyes, still angry with him. ABBY Yes - thousands of lives are being enriched by your wisdom. MIKE Excuse me, lady, but you have a boyfriend right now because of me. ABBY It may have started because of you, but it's lasted because of me. MIKE So, you've been acting like your normal control freak psycho self in front of him? ABBY I'm not a control freak. MIKE When you checked into the hotel, did you or did you not insist on getting an `` Eastern - facing'' room on `` a floor not below seven''? ABBY I like rising with the sun. And a view. MIKE My point is, Colin likes the Mike version of Abby, not the Abby version of Abby. So, do n't go knocking my words of wisdom when you're living proof that they work. Abby sits there, fuming that he's right. ABBY I could be having sex right now - MIKE Yeah, thanks to me.", "INT. \"THE TONIGHT SHOW\" - BACKSTAGE - DAY A `` Tonight Show'' handler in a headset readies a visibly nervous Mike backstage. Mike's Agent stands next to him, giving him a pep talk as Abby watches skeptically. AGENT Dude, this is awesome. You're about to go on Leno! NBC is going to give you the moon - Mike shoots him a `` shut up'' look. Abby pretends not to notice. AGENT - in a gift basket, of course. MIKE This is n't helping. AGENT Just do what you always do. MIKE What do I always do? AGENT Uh - ABBY -LRB- cutting him off. -RRB- You entertain people with your moronery. And they love you for it. Mike looks at her, surprised. MIKE That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me. ABBY Your welcome. She smiles at him. Looking a little calmer, he smiles back at Abby. The Agent rolls his eyes. The handler gives Mike the nod, as we HEAR - JAY LENO -LRB- O.S. -RRB- And that was Kiku, the penguin that flies! Next up, here to tell us The Ugly Truth, is Mike Alexander - The audience applauds as Mike takes a deep breath and heads on stage.", "INT. \"TONIGHT SHOW\" STAGE - DAY - MOMENTS LATER Abby now sits in the audience, watching as Jay interviews Mike on stage. JAY So what's your number one piece of advice to all the people out there who are trying to find love? MIKE Do n't do it. Try to find lust instead. It's a lot easier and a lot less messy. Blue balls only last a few hours. A broken heart can last years. The audience reacts with hollers and cheers. Abby shakes her head. JAY So, what's her name? MIKE Who? JAY The girl who screwed you up. She must have been a doozy. Mike looks a bit taken aback, but recovers quickly. MIKE Like I said, better a floozy than a doozy. Abby cocks her head, intrigued by Mike's reaction. JAY Well, what do you say to guys like me who have been happily married for twenty - seven years? We ca n't be the exception to the rule, can we? There's plenty of us out there. MIKE Well, Jay, let me tell ya - He hesitates, then looks at Abby for a moment. She gives him an encouraging nod. He gains confidence, and continues. MIKE Marriage starts off great. She's cute, you're cute, the world's cute. Nothing can burst your bubble of everlasting love. Then, ten years later, she's put on twenty pounds, you've got nose hair, you're voting for different presidents, and one day, the receptionist at Jiffy Lube accidentally grazes your hand as she hands you back your keys and you realize that's the first time a woman's touched you in three months. By year twenty, you've learned to completely tune out the sound of her voice and it occurs to you that ever since you walked down the aisle, you're living with someone who can barely tolerate your presence and, on the rare occasion that you actually do make love, she probably thinks about Jake Gyllenhaal. Jay looks stricken, going along with the bit. JAY You're right. I'm going to get a divorce. My whole life is a lie. -LRB- to camera. -RRB- Sorry, honey. The audience laughs, as we CUT TO -", "INT. KPHX - STUART'S OFFICE - NIGHT Stuart flips off the TV, talking on his cell phone. STUART -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Did you get him? Is he ours?", "INT. \"TONIGHT SHOW\" - BACKSTAGE - DAY Abby talks on the phone. ABBY -LRB- tense. -RRB- I'm working on it. She hangs up as Mike and his Agent approach. ABBY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- -LRB- to Mike. -RRB- You were amazing out there. MIKE Was I? AGENT -LRB- to Abby. -RRB- You go ahead and hold our table, doll. We've got some business to discuss. They walk off. Abby fumes - then does her self hating spazzy dance.", "INT. EL FLORIDITA RESTAURANT - NIGHT A festive Cuban place in Hollywood with a live salsa band and a floor full of SEXY PATRONS salsa dancing. Abby sits at a table, waiting anxiously. As Mike walks in, she waves him over. ABBY -LRB- confused. -RRB- Where's Rick? MIKE I sent him home. I thought we should celebrate on our own. Abby's surprised, then suspicious. ABBY What exactly are we celebrating? MIKE Uh, hello? Leno? I was just on it. Maybe you saw? The waiter arrives with mojitos. Abby looks at him. ABBY I know about the offer from NBC. He looks at her, surprised, then - MIKE Okay, well then you know I turned it down. If it were n't for you, I'd still be on Channel 83. So do n't worry, I'm not going anywhere. ABBY Really? MIKE Relax. Drink. Enjoy. You did your job. I'm re - signing with you. Now let's stop talking about work. Abby sips her mojito, studying Mike. ABBY So. who was the doozy? MIKE What are you, trying to kill my buzz? ABBY No, I'm interested. In what makes you. you. Mike sighs, deciding to level with her. MIKE It was n't just one. it was more like a parade. By the time I hit thirty, I realized you can only have so many bad relationships before you figure out there's no such thing as a good one. ABBY You ca n't really believe there's no such thing as a good relationship. MIKE To my very core. Just then, the waitress walks up. WAITRESS Two more mojitos? ABBY And some water, please. WAITRESS Still or sparkling? MIKE Just bring us tap water. She nods and leaves. Abby stares at him. MIKE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- -LRB- off her look. -RRB- What? It's the exact same thing, is n't it? ABBY So I've been told. He stands up. MIKE C'mon, let's dance. ABBY I do n't think so. MIKE I'm serious. I've seen your spazzy dance, now I want to see the real thing. Abby looks out at the dance floor, seeing that even the worst dancers are great. ABBY I ca n't dance like that. MIKE I can. Mike grabs her hand and leads her onto -", "INT. EL FLORADITA - DANCE FLOOR - NIGHT Mike and Abby make their way onto the crowded dance floor. ABBY Mike, no - MIKE You'll be fine. Abby looks at him, sure that he's about to make a fool of them both. Then, he takes her in his arms, completely self - assured, and starts leading her in a salsa dance and. he's good. But not just good. Great. ABBY Oh my God. How did you learn to - - She follows his moves, half - shocked and half - turned on. He pulls her in a bit closer, and for the first time, she allows herself to be led without trying to control the situation. For about five seconds. Then she looks at her watch. ABBY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- We've got an early flight tomorrow. We should go.", "INT. UNIVERSAL HILTON - ELEVATOR - NIGHT Mike and Abby ride up the elevator. ABBY So the car's picking us up downstairs at eight. You want me to call you? MIKE I'll get a wake up call. ABBY Good idea. There's a moment of uncomfortable silence. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D ; cont'd. -RRB- I had a great time. MIKE Me, too. ABBY Remember, the car's - MIKE Picking us up at eight. Got it. The elevator comes to a stop. MIKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- My floor. See you tomorrow. ABBY Bright and early. They hug. It's long hug. They give a quick kiss. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D ; cont'd. -RRB- Good night. MIKE Good night. Neither lets go. They give a longer kiss. ABBY Good night. MIKE Good night. Mike starts out the elevator, then returns, grabbing Abby. And suddenly - They're ALL OVER EACH OTHER. In the midst of this, the elevators try to close but their furious groping blocks it, until - A shrill BUZZING begins. They abruptly step apart staring at each other. MIKE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- So, I guess I should - ABBY Yeah. Mike backs out of the elevator, looking shell - shocked. The doors close. Abby is flushed and stunned. ABBY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Wow.", "INT. UNIVERSAL HILTON - ABBY`S ROOM - MOMENTS LATER Abby sinks down onto her bed, wearing the same expression. ABBY What the hell was that? And why do I want to do it again? There's a KNOCK at the door. She leaps up, smooths her hair, checks her reflection, and goes to the door. Opening it with a smile, she finds - Standing there, bottle of red wine in hand, is. Colin. COLIN Miss me? It takes a moment for Abby to adjust. ABBY Colin? COLIN You were expecting someone else? ABBY -LRB- recovering. -RRB- Uh, no - He walks in the room, holding up the wine. COLIN Since you could n't come to Santa Fe, I decided to come to you. ABBY How'd you find me? COLIN Joy told me. I started thinking about all the things we were going to do there and I decided I could n't wait. ABBY Oh. Okay. COLIN What's the matter? ABBY Nothing. I'm just so - surprised to see you. COLIN Well, you told me you were spontaneous. Guess the proof is in the pudding. ABBY -LRB- tense. -RRB- It sure is. As he opens the wine, some of it splashes on his shirt. COLIN Whoops. Looks like we'll have to get naked sooner than I thought.", "INT. UNIVERSAL HILTON - EXT. ABBY'S DOOR - NIGHT - SAME TIME Mike approaches Abby's door. MIKE Abby - I really need to kiss you again. And not just in a one - night stand way, in a totally different way. Oh fuck, what am I doing? He turns and walks the other direction. Then stops and turns back. MIKE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Nut up, Alexander. You can do this. He KNOCKS on Abby's door. After a second it opens and - There's Colin, standing there SHIRTLESS. COLIN Oh, you're not room service. -LRB- holding out his hand. -RRB- How ya' doin', man? Mike reels, trying to cover his shock. MIKE I just came by to tell Abby about the change in our flight time. But I can tell her later. Abby appears behind Colin. ABBY Mike, what are you doing here? MIKE Just leaving. He turns and goes.", "INT. UNIVERSAL HILTON - HALLWAY - NIGHT - MOMENTS LATER Mike walks down the hall, freaked out and perturbed. Abby runs to catch up with him. ABBY Mike - He keeps walking as she tries to keep up. ABBY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- He just showed up to surprise me. MIKE How convenient. ABBY I thought it was you at the door. He stops and looks at her. MIKE I guess we're all interchangeable. I've taught you well. Maybe you should take over the show. He starts to walk off. ABBY Mike, wait - tell me what just happened in the elevator. They hold eye contact for a very long moment. ABBY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Should I tell Colin to go? Mike looks away. MIKE Why pull up anchor now? You've worked damn hard to get him here. ABBY Really? That's it? That's all you have to say. MIKE What else do you want me to say? A lot. But he's not saying it. ABBY I guess the truth is ugly, is n't it? MIKE That's what I've been telling you. He shrugs and walks off.", "INT. UNIVERSAL HILTON - ABBY'S ROOM - NIGHT -MOMENTS LATER Abby enters the room. Colin stands there, still shirtless. ABBY Sorry, about that. He was upset about his performance on Leno. COLIN No worries. The rest of the night is ours. He pours her a glass of wine. COLIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- To the first of many romantic evenings to come. Abby takes the glass and drinks. And keeps drinking. COLIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Whoa - Abby finishes the glass and looks at him. ABBY Why do you like me? COLIN Well, you're beautiful, you're smart - Abby smiles, pleased, then he continues. COLIN -LRB- CONT'D ; cont'd. -RRB- You're open, you laugh at my jokes, you never criticize. Abby's smile fades. COLIN -LRB- CONT'D ; cont'd. -RRB- You never try to control the situation, and I've got to say, it's a breath of fresh air. A lot of women I know are total control freaks - and it's a nightmare. I love that you're not like that. Abby looks at him, nodding, then - ABBY You know what? I am like that. COLIN What do you mean? ABBY To be honest, I did n't like the way you poured the wine. I would have decanted it. And I was editing that speech as you were giving it. She looks around. ABBY -LRB- CONT'D ; cont'd. -RRB- Plus, this bed should be facing north - south instead of east - west! COLIN -LRB- confused. -RRB- Are you serious? ABBY I have n't been myself for one second of the two weeks and five days we've been dating. COLIN Then who have you been? ABBY The girl some idiot told me to be.", "EXT. LAX   AIRPORT - DAY Taxis drop off tourists.", "INT. AIRPORT - DAY Abby paces in front of the gate and checks her watch, while talking on her cell phone. ABBY -LRB- into phone. -RRB- And you're sure he checked out? Okay, thanks. She hangs up the phone. A FLIGHT ATTENDANT approaches her. FLIGHT ATTENDANT Miss, we're going to need you to board now. Resigned, she picks up her bag and walks on board.", "INT. KPHX - LOBBY \u00ad DAY Abby walks into the station, greeting the security guard. ABBY Morning, Freddy. The security guard just looks at her and shakes his head, disappointed. Stuart rushes up to her. STUART I thought you said we had him. ABBY What are you talking about? STUART He quit this morning. I got a smug call from Channel 4 saying they closed a deal with him. Corporate's having a shit fit. What the hell happened? Abby is hurt and stunned, but overcomes it with fierce and abiding hatred. ABBY We do n't need Mike Alexander. He's a dime a dozen. STUART You better hope so, because you're going to find me a new one by the end of the week.", "INT. KPHX - WAITING AREA - DAY Abby and Joy walk through the waiting area, which is filled with MIKE ALEXANDER REPLACEMENT HOPEFULS of all different shapes and sizes. Abby points at candidates, while Joy makes notes on a clipboard. ABBY -LRB- pointing. -RRB- Yes. No. Yes. No. No. -LRB- then. -RRB- I ca n't believe I even considered for a second allowing myself to feel something for him. JOY I still ca n't believe that you broke up with Colin. ABBY I know I ca n't control everything. As much as I'd like to. But I should at least be able to decide who I feel something for and who I'm repulsed by. She turns back to the candidates, frustrated. ABBY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Yes. No. No. Yes. Fuck no.", "INT. KPQU, CHANNEL 4 STAGE - DAY Channel 4's brighter and more expensive stage, with a prominent logo for `` MORNING MAYHEM WITH MIKE!'' Mike, dressed in an Armani suit, glandhands the Channel 4 suits, as they show him around. BIG WIG What do you think of the new set? MIKE Love it. BIG WIG #2 KPHX retained the copyright to your old segment title, so we retitled you `` Morning Mayhem with Mike!'' Mike's on autopilot. MIKE Love it. BIG WIG And this is Joe, your new producer. Mike finally wakes up a bit. Turns to Joe, a balding nebbish. MIKE You know what I like best about you, Joe? I do n't want to have sex with you at all. JOE I'm - relieved to hear that. The Big Wigs chortle. BIG WIG How much do we love this guy?", "EXT. MIKE'S APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY Mike, in his suit, walks up the front steps. Jonah sits on a lawn chair, drinking a soda and watching - IN THE NEARBY VALLEY Hundreds of multi - colored, multi - shaped HOT AIR BALLOONS are aloft. JONAH Dude, check it out. Balloon Fiesta. MIKE Yep. JONAH Why do you look like a lawyer? MIKE New station. New wardrobe. JONAH You're never going to get any pussy looking like that. MIKE -LRB- annoyed. -RRB- Where do you get this stuff? JONAH From you. MIKE Look at me, Jonah. I'm 38, I'm still single, I live alone. Does it look like it's all working out? If there's one thing you do n't want to be, it's like me. As he opens the door and goes inside, Jonah calls out - JONAH I'm pretty sure you do n't want to open your new show with that.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY On the field that is covered with hot air balloons and their pilots and aficionados, Abby and Joy stand with Mike's replacement - JACK MAGNUM, a fast - talking slickster who thinks he's really fucking cool. JACK MAGNUM How's my skin? Too shiny? How are my pores? JOY Tiny. JACK MAGNUM Which side is better? Left? Right? Full - frontal? Joy looks at Abby, a little worried. ABBY They're all fine. But let's go over your intro. -LRB- prompting him. -RRB- `` I'm Jack Magnum and this is.'' JACK MAGNUM The Ugly Truth! He fake - smiles and does the `` point - and - shoot'', going so far as to blow the smoke off his fingertip gun. ABBY Oh - kay. Let's maybe lose the gun. JACK MAGNUM What? The gun is my signature move. ABBY -LRB- impatient. -RRB- Unless the NRA is paying your mortgage this month, I say lose the fucking gun. JOY And we're live in - five, four, three, two -", "INT. KPHX - CONTROL ROOM - DAY - CONTINUOUS Stuart sits in the control room next to Cliff. CLIFF Think this guy's any good? STUART He better be. ON THE MONITORS - Jack Magnum does his intro, now standing in a balloon basket. JACK MAGNUM -LRB- ON T.V. -RRB- and this is The Ugly Truth! Jack starts to do `` the gun'', but then he remembers and awkwardly turns it into a peace sign. JACK MAGNUM -LRB- ON T.V. ; CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Peace! STUART Oh, Jesus. He's going political.", "INT. MIKE'S APARTMENT - DAY - SAME TIME Jonah watches TV as Mike gets a beer out of the fridge. JONAH Dude, check this out. Your replacement's on. MIKE My what? Mike looks over to see - ON THE TV - Live footage from the Balloon Fiesta. Jack Magnum continues to alienate his audience. JACK MAGNUM Most of you are watching this show so you can learn how to get chicks. Let me assure you, you're in good hands. You're looking at a guy who's personally had sex with over 137 women. Most of them conscious.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY - CONTINUOUS Abby looks at Joy, panicked. ABBY He's ad - libbing. Why is he ad - libbing? There's no ad - libbing.", "INT. MIKE'S APARTMENT - DAY - CONTINUOUS Mike sits down on the couch to watch. MIKE Oh, this is beautiful. ON TV - Jack Magnum just makes it worse. JACK MAGNUM -LRB- ON T.V. -RRB- We're here at the Balloon Fiesta, and I'm supposed to be telling you men are full of hot air, but I think we all know, it's the ladies that are full of crap. Just because she says no, does n't mean she means no. At this Jack Magnum is tackled and pushed out of the balloon basket. After a moment - A frazzled ABBY pops up in his place. ABBY -LRB- ON T.V. -RRB- -LRB- nervous. -RRB- Hi! I'm sorry, but Jack Magnum will no longer be able to do `` The Ugly Truth'' segment. Which should really come as no surprise. Because men are completely unreliable.", "INT. KPHX - DAY - CONTINUOUS Stuart and Cliff watch from the control room, in shock. CLIFF What is she doing? The PHONE RINGS. Stuart picks up, then blanches. STUART -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Hey, Harold. Yes, I know - we're fixing it.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY - CONTINUOUS Abby stands in the basket, still nervous, but flying on adrenaline. Joy gives her a `` keep going'' hand gesture. ABBY Take Mike Alexander, for instance. He up and quit the show without so much as a word. You think you know what men are going to do, you think you know what they want to do. but when it comes down to the moment where they actually have to nut up, they turn around and do something completely different.", "INT. MIKE'S APARTMENT - DAY - CONTINUOUS Mike stares at Abby on TV for a second, then grabs his keys. MIKE Oh, I'm all over this. He races out, as Jonah calls after him. JONAH I do n't think she's into you, guy!", "EXT. FIELD - DAY - CONTINUOUS Joy and the camera guy watch as Abby gains steam, ranting to the camera. B - CAMERA, strapped to the basket, also records. ABBY The big, strong, romantic men we've been reading about in novels and watching in movies since we were nine? They're fallacies. `` Blue Lagoon'' is a total freakin' lie. Men are not strong. Men are not brave. Men are afraid.", "INT. KPHX - \"SACRAMENTO AM\" SET - DAY From the news desk, Georgia and Larry watch the monitor, confused. LARRY -LRB- offended. -RRB- I love `` Blue Lagoon''. Georgia squeezes his hand. GEORGIA I know you do, honey.", "EXT. FIELD - PARKING LOT - DAY - CONTINUOUS Mike's truck careens into the parking lot. He gets out, racing towards the field.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY - CONTINUOUS Abby is now on a total tear. ABBY They're afraid to say what they feel. Afraid to grow up. Afraid to tell the truth.", "INT. MIKE'S APARTMENT - DAY - CONTINUOUS Jonah watches, entranced. JONAH It's like she's in his brain!", "EXT. FIELD - DAY - CONTINUOUS Mike pushes through the crowd of balloon lovers.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY - CONTINUOUS Abby continues her impassioned tirade. ABBY Even if they have a moment in a hotel elevator that's totally romantic and filled with potential, men are completely incapable of copping to it. Because men are weak. MIKE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Let me tell you something about women. She turns to see - MIKE standing there. He pushes past Joy and climbs into the balloon. Grabbing the mic from Abby's hand. ABBY Hey - MIKE -LRB- ignoring her ; to camera. -RRB- Women would have us believe that they are the victims. They are n't. They want us to think that we break their hearts for sport. That's crap. They say they want romance. They say they want true love, but all they want is a checklist. Is he perfect? Is he handsome? Is he a doctor?", "INT. KPHX - CONTROL ROOM - DAY - CONTINUOUS A confused Cliff looks at Stuart, who's still on the phone. CLIFF I thought he quit. STUART -LRB- now elated ; into phone. -RRB- See? I told you she'd get him back.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY - CONTINUOUS Abby glares at Mike. ABBY That is not true. BY THE CAMERAMAN, Joy shrugs. JOY Well, kinda true. Mike continues his rant. MIKE You men that fit the criteria - do n't kid yourselves. They're not sleeping with you. They're sleeping with a carefully calculated set of venal choices. Money over substance. Looks over soul. Polish over principles. No gesture, no matter how real or romantic, will ever compensate for a really impressive list of credentials. ABBY Says the man who's never made a gesture except for this one - She makes the universally known `` jack - off'' hand gesture. MIKE So, the elevator was n't a gesture? ABBY The elevator was a moment of passion, followed by a moment of panic on your part, apparently.", "INT. KPHX - CONTROL ROOM - DAY - CONTINUOUS Stuart looks at Cliff. STUART What elevator?", "EXT. FIELD - DAY - CONTINUOUS Mike glares at Abby. MIKE I came by your room! ABBY And then you ran away. MIKE Well, that was n't panic, sweetheart. It was an unwillingness to compete with the walking checklist that was in your bed. You should be thanking me. NEARBY, Joy taps her watch. JOY We have ten seconds. An OVERZEALOUS BALLOON PILOT walks up. PILOT Are we ready to soar up, up and away? IN THE BASKET, Mike looks at the camera. MIKE And that's the Ugly Truth, folks. A girl in heat for two guys will always pick the one with the better resume. BEHIND HIM, the Pilot silently boards the balloon. ABBY That is bullsh - The TORCH of the BALLOON is suddenly fired, covering her FBC violation. The cameraman follows the balloon as it slowly starts to rise. JOY And we're out. -LRB- then ; sotto. -RRB- Keep rolling on B - camera.", "INT. HOT AIR BALLOON BASKET - SKY - DAY - CONTINUOUS Abby glares at Mike, not realizing they're still on the air. ABBY -LRB- freaked. -RRB- I hate you so much I just swore on live television. MIKE No, you hate yourself for being so shallow. PILOT Off we go! Abby and Mike spin around to look at him. Realizing the balloon is now soaring upwards. ABBY Where are we going?! MIKE I'm not going anywhere with you. Mike starts to climb out. ABBY What a shock. You're bailing. PILOT I would n't recommend that. Mike looks down to see - They are now FIFTEEN FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. And rising. He stops climbing, as the balloon continues to float up and away. PILOT -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- So, who wants champagne?", "INT. KPHX - CONTROL ROOM - DAY - CONTINUOUS Stuart and Cliff stare at the monitors, eating it up. STUART They do n't know the camera is on, do they? CLIFF -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Nuh - uh.", "EXT. SKY - DAY - A MOMENT LATER Now holding champagne glasses, a disgusted Mike and Abby look at opposite ends of the sky, hating that they are trapped together. MIKE Hey! I know - we can pass the time with you telling me how much fun you and Colin had having sex in Los Angeles. ABBY I broke up with Colin in Los Angeles, jackass. Mike is thrown, turning to look at her. MIKE What? PILOT To our left, we have the Sandia Mountains, glistening in the afternoon twilight. Abby ignores the pilot. ABBY Oh, that got your interest? If you think we're going to finish what we started in LA, you're out of your mind. You lost your chance. PILOT And to our right, you'll see the Rio Grande River winding its way through the diochramatic landscape. Mike ignores the pilot as well. MIKE I never had a chance with you. PILOT And off in the distance, we have the Petroglyph National Monument, where - ABBY -LRB- to the Pilot. -RRB- Can you stop talking, please? -LRB- to Mike. -RRB- You're right. I had a momentary lapse in judgement where I thought you might be more than you are. But you are n't. Clearly. MIKE What does that mean? ABBY -LRB- mocking. -RRB- `` I'm Mike Alexander. I like girls in Jello. I like to fuck like a monkey. Do n't fall in love - it's ` scary.'''", "EXT. FIELD - DAY - CONTINUOUS Joy talks on the phone to Stuart. JOY Do n't worry, I saw this coming, so I got us a three second delay.", "INT. HOT AIR BALLOON BASKET - SKY - DAY - CONTINUOUS Mike glares at Abby. MIKE Yeah, it is `` scary.'' It's fucking terrifying. Especially because I'm in love with a psycho like you.", "INT. MIKE'S APARTMENT - DAY - CONTINUOUS Jonah now sits with Elizabeth. They both stare at the TV in shock. ELIZABETH Did he just say - JONAH `` Love''?", "INT. KPHX - \"ALBUQUERQUE AM\" SET - DAY - CONTINUOUS Georgia and Larry look at each other. GEORGIA/LARRY I knew it!", "INT. HOT AIR BALLOON BASKET - SKY - DAY - CONTINUOUS Abby stares at Mike. ABBY I am not a psycho. MIKE I just told you I loved you and all you heard was `` psycho''. You are the definition of neurotic. ABBY The definition of neurotic is a person who suffers from anxiety, obsessional thoughts, compulsive acts and physical ailments without having any objective evidence of disease - MIKE Again, I just told you I'm in love with you and you're standing here giving me a vocabulary lesson. -LRB- to the Pilot. -RRB- Back me up on this, buddy. who here is afraid? PILOT I'm just going to drink my champagne. ABBY -LRB- skeptical. -RRB- You're in love with me. Really. Why? MIKE Beats the shit out of me, but I am. Abby opens her mouth, about to make a retort, then realizes what's been said to her. For the first time in her life, she stops thinking and - Grabs Mike and kisses the hell out of him. The sheer force of her kissing THROWS them into the pilot, causing - The torch to FLAME radically. The balloon WHOOSHES upwards.", "INT. KPHX - CONTROL ROOM - DAY - CONTINUOUS An elated Stuart picks up the phone. STUART -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Joy, how do you feel about a promotion?", "EXT. FIELD - DAY - CONTINUOUS On the phone, Joy hi - fives the cameraman, then quickly composes herself. JOY -LRB- into phone. -RRB- I feel good about it.", "INT. HOT AIR BALLOON BASKET - SKY - DAY - CONTINUOUS Abby finally loosens her grip on Mike. Hair askew, he looks a little like he's been hit by a cyclone. ABBY -LRB- breathless. -RRB- If you say `` just kidding'', I'm going to throw you out of this balloon and watch your body splatter to the ground. MIKE Are you going to threaten me with death when we have sex? Because it might be distracting. The Pilot looks worried for his safety. PILOT May I suggest you wait until we land? Abby and Mike keep kissing as the balloon sails into the sunset, and we FADE TO BLACK, then CUT TO -", "EXT. BOTANICAL GARDENS - DAY CLOSE ON Mike, as he addresses the camera. He holds a mic, wears a tuxedo and speaks in a hushed voice. MIKE As many of you know, sometimes a guy's got ta admit what he thought was the truth is n't necessarily the whole truth. Yes, women have a checklist, but sometimes that list includes a foul - mouthed idiot who took way too long to realize he was in love. -LRB- holds up a finger. -RRB- Let's continue this conversation in a second. WE PULL BACK to REVEAL - Mike is standing in a garden with rows and rows of WEDDING GUESTS seated behind him. An altar with flowers and a minister wait patiently. Mike gestures for the camera to follow him as he makes his way up to the altar. As he arrives he greets his groomsman, JONAH, also wearing a tux. He only has eyes for Joy, Abby's bridesmaid. JONAH -LRB- to Joy. -RRB- Has anyone ever told you you have a stupendous bosom? JOY Not lately, so feel free to say it again. A string quartet's version of `` HERE COMES THE BRIDE'' begins, as we PAN OVER to see - ABBY, in a wedding dress, about to make her way up the aisle. Looking absolutely beautiful. MIKE -LRB- wowed ; to camera. -RRB- Zoom in on this, guys. I want the whole city to see how lucky I am. The cameraman ZOOMS IN on Abby, as she catches Mike's eye and smiles. IN THE AUDIENCE, Elizabeth takes photo after photo. Her date - a dead ringer for Jim Morrison - looks at her, amused. ELIZABETH What? No one's ever going to believe this. I need proof. AT THE ALTAR, Abby finally arrives and looks at Mike. ABBY -LRB- re the cameras. -RRB- What's this? MIKE Hope you do n't mind, but we're live. ABBY -LRB- re the cameraman. -RRB- No, what's Jorge doing so close? We need a master. MIKE -LRB- surprised. -RRB- You knew about this? ABBY Hello. I'm the producer. It's sweeps week. How do you think I got them to pay for this? She gestures to - BOB and HAROLD from Corporate, who sit in the audience. Mike looks momentarily surprised, then - MIKE God, I love you. He turns to the camera. MIKE So, here it is, guys. The games, the manipulation, the ploys, the tactics. all the things we do to think we're in control. But guess what? We never are. Abby leans over his shoulder. ABBY -LRB- to the camera. -RRB- Is n't it beautiful? She smiles as we - CUT TO BLACK."], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) is a morning show TV producer in Sacramento, California. Abby firmly believes in true love and is a big supporter of complex self-help books such as Chicken Soup for the Soul and Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. Coming home from a disastrous date, she happens to see a segment of a local television show, The Ugly Truth, featuring Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler), whose cynicism about relationships prompts Abby to call in to argue with him on-air. The next day, she discovers the TV station is threatening to cancel her show because of its poor ratings. The station owner has hired Mike to do a segment on her show. At first, the two have a rocky relationship; Abby thinks Mike is crass and disgusting while Mike finds her to be naive and a control freak. Nevertheless, when she meets the man of her dreams, a doctor named Colin (Eric Winter) living next to her, Mike convinces her that by following his advice she will improve her chances with Colin. Abby is skeptical, but they make a deal: If Mike's management of her courtship results in her landing Colin, proving his theories on relationships, she will work happily with him, but if Mike fails, he agrees to leave her show.Mike succeeds in improving the ratings, brings married co-anchors Georgia and Larry closer and successfully instructs Abby to be exactly what Colin would want through a number of pointers including: always laugh at his jokes and say he is amazing in bed. Mike is invited to appear on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and is offered a job at another network. Abby is forced to cancel a romantic weekend away with Colin, during which they had planned to finally sleep together, and instead fly to Los Angeles to persuade Mike to stay with her show. They drink and dance and Mike admits he does not want to move because he wants to stay in Sacramento near his sister and nephew. In the hotel elevator, they passionately kiss, but go to their separate rooms. Mike, dealing with the intensity of his feelings for Abby, calls on her room only to find Colin has shown up to surprise her. Mike leaves. Abby is upset and soon realizes Colin only likes the woman she has been pretending to be, not the real her. She breaks up with him. Mike quits and takes a job with a rival TV station in Sacramento, and ends up doing a broadcast at the same hot air balloon festival as Abby. He cannot resist intruding when she kicks the new \"Mike Chadway\" imitator off the air and begins ranting about what cowardly weaklings men are. The balloon takes off while they argue. Abby says she broke up with Colin, and Mike admits he loves her. Abby kisses him while they fly off, all of which is broadcast due to a camera mounted in the balloon. The film ends with Abby and Mike in bed. When Mike asks if she was faking it, Abby responds with, \"You\u2019ll never know.\"", "name": "The_Ugly_Truth"}
{"scenes": ["OVER BLACK1 Sounds of the innerspaces rushing forward. Then a splinter of blue light in the center of the picture. It breaks wide, showing the top and bottom a silhouetted curtain of razor sharp teeth suggesting that we are inside of a tremendous gullet, looking out at the onrushing under - sea world at night. HEAR a symphony of underwater sounds : landslide, metabolic sounds, the rare and secret noises that certain undersea species share with each other. CUT TO", "EXT. LIGHTHOUSE - NIGHT Caught in its blinding flash, the light moves on, fingering the fog. A lone buoy dongs somewhere out at sea.", "EXT. AMITY MAINSTREET - NIGHT The quaint little resort town is quiet in the middle of the night. A ground fog rounds a corner and begins spreading toward us. It fills over sidewalks and streets like some Biblical plague.", "EXT. THE SOUTH SHORE OF LONG ISLAND - NIGHT It is a pleasant, moonlit, windless night in mid - June. We see a long straight stretch of white beach. Behind the low dunes are the dark shapes of large expensive houses. The fog that has reached Amity proper is seen only as a low - hanging cloud that is pushing in from the sea. HEAR a number of voices sing - ing. It sounds like an Eastern University's Alma Mater.", "ANOTHER ANGLE \u2013 BEACH A bonfire is blazing. Gathered around it are about a dozen young men and women who are merrily trading fight songs from their respective universities. Two young people break away from the circle, Chrissie almost pulling a drunk and disorderly Tom Cassidy behind her.", "CLOSEUP - CASSIDY makes a clumsy try at kissing Christina but she laughs and ducks away.", "ANOTHER PART OF THE BEACH The fire, now one hundred yards in the b.g., silhouettes Chrissie running up a steep dune. Once there, she pauses to look at the ocean that we can only hear. Cassidy plods up the dune behind her, grossly out of shape. Chrissie runs down a few steps, leaving Tom Cassidy reeling on the summit. Chrissie's dress, bra and panties fly toward Tom, who ca n't make a fist to catch them. The dress drapes over one half of his head. Soggily aroused, Cassidy struggles to get his shoe off. But Chrissie is already in full flight toward the shore. In she goes, a delicate splash, surfacing in a cold ocean that is unusually placid. Chrissie pulls with her arms, drawing herself into deeper water. That's when we see it. A gentle bulge in the water, a ripple that passes her a dozen feet away. A wave of pressure lifts her up and eases her down again. Her face shows the beginning of fear. Maybe it's Tom. She smiles and looks around for him, then her eyes go to the beach where Tom - too drunk to stand - one pantleg off, is struggling with his other shoe. Chrissie turns and starts for shore.", "CLOSE - CHRISSIE Her expression freezes. The water - lump is racing for her. It bolts her upright, out of the water to her hips, then slams her hard, whipping her in an upward arc of eight feet before she is jerked down to her open mouth. Another jolt to her floating hair. One hand claws the air, fingers trying to breathe, then it, too, is sucked below in a final and terrible jerking motion. HOLD on the churning froth of a baby whirl - pool until we are sure it is over.", "ANGLE - CASSIDY in his undershorts, laughing, turning in slow stoned circles, a prisoner in his orange windbreaker that seems to have him in a full Nelson. He stumbles to his knees.", "INTERIOR - MARTIN BRODY'S BEDROOM - DAWN ALARM CLOCK - RADIO giving weather bulletin : marina weather, westerly winds, light chop, etc.. A pair of bumps under the bedsheets. There is a rustling and two stockinged feet swing up and settle heavily on the floor. Follow them as the pad along from hardwood floor to bathroom tile. A light pops on and the feet arrive at a scale, board it.", "INSERT - SCALE DIAL In a blur it goes to 191. Then, as if by magic, the numbers float backward to 160.", "ANGLE Martin Brody at forty - two, stands rigid, lifting himself from the sink counter - top with both hands. Satisfied, he turns toward the mirror, squinting in the light, measuring himself up and down. Advancing waistline, receding hairline. Gray around the ears. Martin Brody makes another silent promise to get his act together - tomorrow. He reaches for the sliding mirror and opens the medicine cabinet. There is a travel brochure of Arizona attached to the shelf. Brody shakes his head and removes it. He closes the mirror which now reflects his wife, Ellen Brody, pert and poised off to one side. ELLEN Martin. Are n't you tired of Maine lobster, Long Island duckling and Ispwitch clams. Just once could n't go for a Big Mac at the bottom of the Grand Canyon this summer? BRODY Look at me, I'm not even awake. ELLEN You've had no time off in two years, Martin. BRODY Living here is time off. Brody opens the shower door to turn on the water. Ellen has scotch - taped a travel folder for exotic Mazatlan, Mexico on the shower head.", "INTERIOR - BRODY BEDROOM - MORNING Martin is getting dressed after his shower. Ellen stands by the curtained window. BRODY Larry Vaughn says we'll pull a record season. Ellen, we're collecting high enough rentals to cover the mortgage payments for all three of our beach - front investments. ELLEN I know where we can invest in an Indian Chief Motor - home for the whole of August, drop it off in Aspen, Colorado and jet back to Boston by Labor Day. Ellen pulls from behind her back three brochures of trailer home rentals. BRODY Uh. look, Ellie. Let's just - ELLEN -LRB- completes the sentence. -RRB- - play it by ear. Ellen turns to open the curtains. Sunlight and ocean sparkle pour in. A glorious view. ELLEN -LRB- false happiness. -RRB- Another shitty day in Paradise. The sunlight catches Brody's Police Chief badge as he slips on his shirt, and we discover why he ca n't go anywhere.", "INTERIOR - BRODY'S KITCHEN - MORNING Brody, ripping open a twenty - five pound bag of Kennel Ration as five hungry mutts somersault around his feet. The tele - phone rings, and Brody one - hands it as he attempts to sow all five doggy bowls with missed double - helpings. BRODY Mornin' Hendricks. What's what? He listens, sours, and takes a breath. BRODY First goddamn weekend of the summer. great start! -LRB- beat. -RRB- No. take him back to the beach. Maybe she washed in.", "EXTERIOR - ISLAND HIGHWAY - MORNING Martin Brody's Country Squire police wagon rushes past, taking the view to an enormous billboard depicting a typical summer day in Amity. A beautiful model splashes in the golden surf, languishing in a Solarcaine sun. AMITY WELCOMES YOU is written above her flailing arms.", "EXTERIOR - AMITY BEACH - DAY Three small figures in the landscape, walking the beach. The surf is rough and there is sea - floor debris strewn about from the receding tide.", "CLOSER ANGLE Deputy Hendricks is searching the shore about one hundred yards down wind. Meanwhile, Brody, in his casual police attire, and Tom Cassidy, still in the clothing we saw him in last night, poke around the smoking ashes of the bon - fire. Brody fingers the missing girl's shoes, purse and clothes. In the daylight, Cassidy looks like a junior in High School and misconducts himself, wavering between inflated maturity and tear - blown adolescence. BRODY Christine what? CASSIDY Worthingsly. Worthington - no one ever died on me before. BRODY You picked her up on the ferry. CASSIDY I did n't know her. BRODY And nobody else saw her in the water? CASSIDY Somebody could've - because I was sort of passed out. BRODY Sounds to me like maybe she ran out on you. CASSIDY Oh, no, sir. I've never had a woman do that. I'm sure she drowned. A shrill whistle makes them turn. Hendricks is fifty yards away, on his knees. He blows again, a feeble report this time. BRODY We may know in a minute. Brody runs toward Hendricks, Cassidy hesitates, then follows with : CASSIDY -LRB- pathetically. -RRB- You ca n't make me look -!", "MASTER ANGLE - THE SAND DUNE A skein of seaweed garnishes the base of this isolated dune. The booming waves and fizzing surf make dialogue inaudible. Deputy Hendricks on hands and knees, looking white as a sheet. Brody tells Cassidy to wait at the foot of the dune, and ventures up. Hendricks stops him with a wave - off, saying something at the same time. Brody nods understanding and steps up cautiously. And looks down. Whatever he sees has a marked effect on his entire physique. Kicking out with his foot, Brody sends dozens of angry horseshoe crabs in an escape frenzy and they boil over the top of the dune and down its slopes. Cassidy takes a few uneasy steps backwards when Brody waves him over. He shakes his head. An awkward moment. Then Cassidy shuffles forward and up the few remaining feet, his eyes looking everywhere but down. Brody says something else and Cassidy shakes his head again, eyes out at sea. Brody puts his hand gently around the quaking man's shoulder. Nodding, he starts to look down, an inch at a time. He looks. The jolt that assaults Cassidy is not unexpected. He falls backward in a sitting position as though shot. Nods yes - it's her. Brody turns and slides off the dune, stumbling close. Hear his BREATHING. He looks around, envisioning the week ahead of him.", "INTERIOR - BRODY'S OFFICE - DAY Brody walks through the door and enters his office, holding a fizzing glass of Alka - Seltzer. Polly, his sixty - one year old secretary follows close on his heels with her shorthand pad of messages and reminders. In the outer office, Hendricks and Cassidy slump into chairs, sipping from fizzing dixie cups. Brody sits behind the typewriter, only to find that somebody has placed a travel folder to sunny Scottsdale, Arizona between the rolls of his Smith - Corona. He sighs and replaces the colorful brochure with the grim accident report. As he types, Polly reads his calendar to him, undaunted by Brody's heavy malaise. POLLY This is in no order of importance, Chief : There's a meeting on the Amity Town Council on Aging this Monday night, Bentoncourt Hall. The Fire Inspector wants you to go over the fireworks site with him before he catches the one o'clock ferry. Mainly, you have a batch of calls about that new Karate school.", "CLOSE - ACCIDENT REPORT Brody has just typed the girl's name. He skips the space for Cause - of - Death, and just under it types the Next - of - Kin in - formation he has collected from her wallet. POLLY Searle's Rent - a - Bike, the Rainy Ale, Tisberry's Hardware. they say it's those nine - year - olds from the school practicing karate on all those nice picket fences. The phone rings and Polly picks it up. POLLY It's the Coroner. Somebody pass away in the night? Brody nestles the phone between ear and collar, listening, as he turns to the typewriter. BRODY Jesus, Santos.", "INSERT - ACCIDENT REPORT Cause - of - Death line rolls into place. The hammers punch out : SHARK ATTACK.", "BRODY leans forward, staring at what he just wrote. Polly cocks her head and removes the phone from his ear. POLLY What's the matter? Brody takes a breath. A new resolve comes over him. BRODY Polly, I want to know what water recreation the Island fathers have on for today. POLLY Right this minute? Brody gets up and moves hastily toward the door.", "BRODY'S OUTER OFFICE Cassidy and Hendricks look up as Brody enters. BRODY -LRB- To Hendricks. -RRB- Where'd you hide the ` Beach Closed' signs? HENDRICKS We never had any. What's the problem? A local merchant comes through the door. LOCAL MERCHANT Glad I caught you. There's a city truck with New Hampshire plates parked right in front of my. Brody pushes past him and out the door.", "EXTERIOR - AMITY MAIN STREET - DAY In the busy center of a town preparing for the big Fourth of July weekend, Brody wends his way around sidewalk activ - ity, purpose and haste in each stride. As he turns a corner a little man in a white smock emerges from the Funeral Parlor. This is Carl Santos, Amity's part - time coroner. Santos looks both ways before crossing Colonial Drive. Brody passes Keisel's Bicycle Rental, navigating an awkward course through an odd assortment of Schwinns that line the sidewalk in front of a demolished white picket fence. Keisel intercepts Brody on the run. KEISEL Eight to ten years old. Average size about five - four, otherwise the overhand chops would be higher up on the fences. And I have a pretty damn good idea who two of the little bastards are. BRODY -LRB- out - walking him. -RRB- Call me later in the afternoon, Harry.", "ANGLE - AMITY GAZETTE NEWSPAPER OFFICE - PORCH Santos emerges with Ben Meadows, the stylish, late - thirties editor of the Amity Gazette. Together they cut a beeline for the other side of the street.", "ANGLE - AMITY STREET25-A Past taverns and chowder shacks, past bleacher construction and July Fourth posters, Brody enters Lynwood's Hardware and Sporting Goods. so overstocked that beach umbrellas, alumi - num deck chairs, and rainbow beach towels splash a surplus of color from the display window to the sidewalk.", "INTERIOR - LYNWOOD'S HARDWARE & SPORTING GOODS - DAY The store proprietor is busy at work on an inventory list with a mainland delivery man. LYNWOOD Stuff's no good to me in August when the Pilgrims come in June. -LRB- to Brody. -RRB- Go on and help yourself to what - ever you need, Chief. Can you work the register?", "EXTERIOR - LYNWOOD'S - DAY Brody emerges with enough poster - board, wooden stakes, nails, paint, and brushes to close every beach on the island. He starts back the way he came when Hendricks shoots up the street in the patrol jeep. He stops fast enough to call attention, leans out the window. HENDRICKS -LRB- he has fully read the report. -RRB- I sent Sammy out ahead of me to the South Chop beach until I can make up the signs. BRODY Let Polly do the printing. HENDRICKS There's a Scout troop in Avril Bay doing the mile swim for their Merit Badges. I could n't call them in, there's no phones out there. BRODY Oh, brother! Gim me the keys, Lenny. Brody leaps behind the wheel as Hendricks steps out.", "EXTERIOR - VAUGHN'S REALTY - DAY A secretary is removing four 8 x 10 glossies of beachfront houses from the display window, revealing Larry Vaughn, the Mayor of Amity, exchanging anxieties with Ben Meadows and Coroner Santos and two other city Selectmen. They come out in a group, reach the sunlight, and squint down the street as Brody careens around the corner and out of sight. Deputy Hendricks, laden with his arts and crafts, passes them on the street front. VAUGHN What have you got there, Lenny? HENDRICKS We had a shark attack at South Chop this morning, Mayor. Fatal. Got ta batten down the beach. Vaughn and group exchange horrified looks, but we get the impression it is not in response to the shark - attack news. VAUGHN Who've you told this to, Lenny? HENDRICKS I just found out about it - but there's a bunch of Boy Scouts in the water a coupla miles down the coast from where we found the girl. Avril Bay, thereabouts. Chief went to dry them off. VAUGHN -LRB- to Meadows. -RRB- Take my car, okay? -LRB- to Hendricks. -RRB- You come with us, Lenny. HENDRICKS I've got all these signs here. VAUGHN C'mon, it'll give us time to think about what they're going to say. They all crowd into a Cadillac El Dorado with Vaughn Realty signs on the doors.", "EXTERIOR - AVRIL BAY - DAY A flotilla of twenty exhausted Boy Scouts round a lifebuoy that marks the quarter - mile. A rowboat with Scoutmaster and bullhorn keeps pace.", "ON THE BEACH Two older Seascouts time the event with stop watches, and a couple of dozen parents look on, shading their eyes. Brody's jeep pulls up in the background and stops. He gets out and starts down to the breakwater when the Mayor's Cadillac pulls up and skids to a stop. Brody pauses momentarily as Mayor Vaughn emerges, trying to affect an easygoing appearance. Reaching Brody, he slips an arm around his shoulder, trying to slow him as Brody leads the gang toward the breakwater and the slogging Scouts. VAUGHN Where are you going to get the authority to close the beaches? Brody stops. He sees pitiful Hendricks standing by the car with the signboard material. Brody begins to slow burn. BRODY Are you asking me as the Mayor, or as a Real Estate broker, or our of friendly interest, or what, Larry? VAUGHN I just want you aware of what you're doing before you tinker with the life blood of all those sage and discriminating souls who elected you. Next week's the goddam Fourth of July! We've got a couple thousand summer people coming over here who will gladly use the Cape Cod beaches if they ca n't use ours. BRODY So what you're suggesting is we lay out a smorgasbord for the shark. All you can eat for the price of a weekend on Amity Island. VAUGHN We're not even sure it was a shark. BRODY What else could do that?! VAUGHN -LRB- to Coroner Santos. -RRB- Boat propeller? SANTOS Possibly. Yes. VAUGHN Swims way out. night. fishing boat comes along - BRODY -LRB- looking at both of them. -RRB- What is this? MEADOWS We've never had shark trouble here, Martin. They do n't come in close. No reefs, or fish - processing plants, slaughter houses. Nothing to keep it interested. BRODY You print whatever you want. VAUGHN Martin, sharks are like ax - murderers. People react to them with their guts. Brody looks toward the open water. The Boy Scouts have made a turn and are passing the lifebuoy marking the three - quarter mile point. MEADOWS Whatever was out there is miles out to sea by now. Sharks do n't have swim bladders like most fish - they have to keep moving or drown. Do n't you know anything about them? BRODY I. do n't go around the water much. VAUGHN It's one chance in a million this'll happen again. -LRB- points. -RRB- Look at that. safe and sound. The Boy Scouts are emerging exhausted ; some flop down on their backs, happy it is over. Brody considers this. VAUGHN Had you yelled ` shark,' those Cub Scouts would have broken the free - style record for the hundred - meter, then busted our backs with word of mouth. BRODY If that's the test case for your million - to - one shot, I'm glad I lost. Vaughn feels secure that Brody will not act in haste. He puts a hand on his shoulder, turns and walks him toward the cars. VAUGHN Listen, Chief - the funniest thing - you know the white picket fence around my realty office.", "CLOSE QUINT Rising like Neptune from out of the deep, Quint walks the sidewalk in the pool of his own shadow. He is a sleek and sinewy specimen, inches over six feet, and with a face making it hard to determine where the scars leave off and the wrinkles begin, though he is no older than fifty. Quint seems to be heading for the local tavern when a crunch of seafaring fishermen pour out, forming an impenetrable knot around the sidewalk in front of him. One of them sees Quint, who approaches with no intention of slowing down. The seven fishermen never give it a second thought, they part like the Red Sea, clearing a beeline trail to the bar doors. Quint bursts through their obliging ranks and turns into the Music store. The tiny bell jingles daintily. Two of the Portu - guese fishermen spit three times, taking no chances.", "INT. AMITY MUSIC STORE - DAY Quint brushes against the counter. The shopkeeper is helping a ten year old boy fix a new reed to his clarinet. The little boy produces a mellow low tone, then wonderingly rides the scale. With little or no effort, Quint's gnarled hand floats up and drops like a sledge on the service bell. The shop - keeper's eyes pop up, the kid hits a bad note and squeaks. QUINT -LRB- forced politeness. -RRB- Four spools number twelve piano wire. SHOPKEEPER Catch any monsters lately, Mr. Quint? Quint's eyes never leave the little boy. He is drilling him with a sidelong whammy. The boy feels Quint nailing him and a ragged assortment of squeaks, blurps and missed notes over - ride the sounds of the shopkeeper unspooling the piano wire.", "INTERIOR BRODY'S STUDY AT HOME - SUNSET A riffly blur, color alternating with black and white. The dizziness stops on a book page showing a black and white rendering of eight species of shark. The banner at the top of the page reads : THE KNOWN AND REPUTED MANEATERS. The riffling begins again, stops on a grizzly photograph of scar tissue on six former shark victims. Riffling - stop. Photograph of five Ichthyologists posing on wooden stools, framed by the enormous jaws of a prehistoric shark from the family Carcharodon charcharias.", "BRODY his reading glasses reflecting a stack of twelve library books, all on the subject of sharks and shark attacks. The door opens and Ellen enters, quietly, in respect for Brody's mood. ELLEN Can you stand something to eat? BRODY Love a cup of tea. With lemon. Ellen walks past Brody to the window and looks out the window which overlooks the south bay. It is the hour of dusk. ELLEN Mikey loves his birthday present. BRODY Where is he? ELLEN -LRB- with a slight laugh. -RRB- He's sitting in it. Brody gets up, concerned, and joins her at the window. ELLEN Honey. He has it tied up to the jetty with a double - knot.", "BRODY'S POINT OF VIEW Michael is sitting in the boat, but two of his young school chums are in the water, swimming around it. Brody opens the window and calls down : BRODY Son! - Out of the water now! MICHAEL My boat's neat, Dad! BRODY -LRB- turning to Ellen. -RRB- Tell him I want him out of the ocean. ELLEN It's three feet deep, Martin. You said that shark was half way back to Florida. BRODY -LRB- angry now. -RRB- Michael! Come inside the house! ELLEN It's his birthday tomorrow. BRODY I told him not to go out until he memorized the handbook, safety reg - ulations and - Ellen's eyes drift down to the open book. One large text is open to a page of illustrations. Among them is the famous painting, The Gulf Stream, which depicts a black fisherman in a small dinghy much like Michael's, being assaulted by the pressing jaws of three man - eaters. Startled, Ellen closes the book, opens the window and sticks her head out. ELLEN You heard your father! Out now!", "EXT. BEACH - DAY A jelly - bowl woman visitor to Amity's beaches plunges head - long into the white foam. There's enough of her stuffed into a one - piece bathing suit to sate the appetite of any shark for weeks. Remarkably buoyant, she chops at the water revealing other cheerful Sunday bathers trying to enjoy the last uncluttered weekend before the holiday crowds.", "ANGLE - MARTIN BRODY AND ELLEN Brody is balefully alert this morning, sitting straight - back in his beach chair, coating the swimming area with careful looks. About ten other adults and a dozen children attend this casual birthday get - together. MAX I do n't envy you this summer, Chief. Every year the swarms get worse. MAX'S WIFE I know now why there's not a sane Parisian left in Paris from July to September. Brody hears a SCREAM from the water. He cranes his neck past Max's wife in order to see.", "BRODY'S POINT OF VIEW A young lady is being pulled underwater to her hair. Instantly, she is jerked up again - sitting on her boyfriend's shoulders, laughing hysterically. BRODY What? MAX What? BRODY Did you say something? MAX No - yeah, I was wondering if it's true. That you sit in your car the whole while over on the mainland ferry.", "BRODY'S POINT OF VIEW His son Michael along with sever other boys rush headlong into the gentle surf with their inflatable rubber rafts. Another youngster, Alex Kintner gathers up his Day - Glow yellow raft, but his mother takes issue and a tug - of - war ensues. Overlapping dialogue : MAX'S WIFE ALEX What a terrible thing to say.Please let me take my raft, Mom! MAX C'mon Penny, I'm not ashamed MOTHER to admit that when I fly, myLet me see your fingertips. feet sweat right through my -LRB- he holds them out -RRB- socks.They're beginning to prune. Ten more minutes.", "BRODY'S POINT OF VIEW The fat woman is going out too far. ALEX' VOICE Fifteen! We stay on the fat woman, almost hypnotically. DENHERDER'S VOICE I ca n't believe it! Brody!", "CLOSE - BRODY Snapping out of it. Looks up at the dripping Selectman. BRODY -LRB- false normalcy. -RRB- How's the water? DENHERDER Fine! Cold. -LRB- to Ellen who walks over and sits next to Brody. -RRB- How'd you do it - getting him to the beach? ELLEN It's Michael's birthday. DENHERDER Hope we get this weather next weekend!", "BRODY'S POINT OF VIEW The fat woman is not where he last remembered seeing her. He sort of rises to one knee, his eyes combing the surf. ELLEN -LRB- kissing him on the cheek. -RRB- Do you want me to call the boys in? Honey, if this worries you - MAX -LRB- bolting down his drink. -RRB- Does this - mortal fear of the water have a clinical name, Martin? BRODY -LRB- throwing it away. -RRB- Drowning.", "EXT. UNDERWATER - DAY A fish - eye view of people lying on rafts. From below we see the outlines of swimmers, arms and legs dangling tantalizingly in the blue water. Traveling this way from raft to raft, there comes a space of open water followed by a quick view of a single raft. A pair of feet kicking and arms paddling produces bizarre underwater vibrations, louder than human ears would normally perceive.", "ANGLE - SURFACE The fat lady floating on her back, wearing pink sunglasses. A black object surfaces next to her. It emerges as a bather in a black bathing cap.", "ANGLE - ALEX - WATER LEVEL paddling in circles, making motorboat sounds.", "ANGLE - TWO LOVERS kissing, drawing each other below the surface.", "ANGLE - BRODY'S SON separating from his friends, eating a huge piece of cake and trying to steer with the other hand.", "ANGLE - GROUP OF KIDS ON RUBBER RAFTS They begin a water fight, slapping at the ocean with karate - type blows, sending little explosions of water at each other. Then, no more than ten feet beyond the fighting, a genuine water eruption upstages the child's play. Everybody turns just as the ocean flattens itself out again. A pug - faced over - sized twelve year old named `` P.J.'' renews the fighting with a genuine Karate yell.", "P.J. He hits the water, which sprays all over another youngster.", "CLOSE - MATHEW His face dripping with red rivulets.", "CLOSE - P.J. Looks down at his hand. The water surrounding all the boys is slick with blood.", "ANGLE - SHOREFRONT People begin to congregate around an older gentleman, definitely a mainlander by his outfit. MAINLANDER It came out of the water. Did n't anybody else see it? WOMAN TOURIST There's blood.", "CLOSE - BRODY He stands all the way up this time. Parents begin calling - a frantic inventory for lost children up and down the beach. Brody is on the move, barreling to the shoreline. He kicks up sand passing Alex' mother, who looks up from her novel annoyed. BRODY -LRB- top of his lungs. -RRB- MICHAEL -! EVERYBODY OUT OF THE WATER! MICHAEL -! Other names from hysterical parents as the panic of a yet unseen tragedy rises.", "ANGLE - MICHAEL Appears from the shoot of a breaking wave. He is all right but the wave that curls after him carries the shredded pieces of the Day - Glow yellow raft. The foam that breaks wide on the sandy beach is tinged with pink.", "INTERIOR - THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE AND COUNTY OFFICES - DAY A crowd of men and women in an angry tangle outside of Brody's office. These are the shop owners, real estate brokers, hotel managers and Selectmen of the Island. Through the windows, the Southbeach High School Band is practicing for the Fourth of July Parade. Brody and Vaughn exit Brody's office and enter the fray. VAUGHN I'm glad everyone could make this meeting. Why do n't we wander down the hall to my office where there's room. All follow Brody and Vaughn. Meadows pushes through the crunch to speak. MEADOWS Do n't keep us in suspense Mayor. What's the verdict? Vaughn can not bring himself to say it right away. BRODY Larry and I have agreed to close all beaches for a limited period of time to give us a chance to contact the Port Authority and United States Coast Guard out on Montaux. MRS. TAFT Well, that could take all summer! VAUGHN Twenty - four hours. BRODY -LRB- turns angry. -RRB- We never agreed to that. MR. WISEMAN I do a thrifty business her but I'll not see it flourish at the price of any more lives. MRS. TAFT Three reservations cancelled and I still have August rentals open. VAUGHN So do I, Martha, so do I. They reach Vaughn's office. It is being painted. Newspapers are strewn all over the floor and paint - splattered tarps over the furniture. Vaughn's secretary still dutifully takes calls. SECRETARY Larry, two Newsday reporters and one from the New York Times, cal - ling every 15 minutes. MR. POSNER Good people, nobody saw a shark. MEADOWS What they'll print is maybe it was a shark. MR. POSNER Oh wonderful, and what we'll have is maybe a summer. MR. POLK Town'll lose tax revenue, municipal services'll deteriorate, the people'll begin to move away. Oh, I do n't care. I never raised my kids to be somebody's lunch. VAUGHN We have no way of keeping the lid on what happened yesterday. There were well over a hundred bathers on the beach, three - quarters of them from the mainland. Vaughn leads the way down the hall toward the Bureau of Records room. MR. GARDNER I'm not interested in participating in any cover - up Mayor. VAUGHN I would n't worry too much about that, Max. The President himself could n't stop the mushrooming at this point. Selectman Denherder almost whispers in Vaughn's ear. DENHERDER But could n't we just say the kid drowned? VAUGHN -LRB- whispering back. -RRB- We could n't even find the little bastard. Vaughn opens the door to the Bureau of Records. About two dozen children sit around, twisting multi - colored Kleenex into artificial flowers for the big parade. Vaughn turns his face into a condescending grin. VAUGHN Could the big people have a grownup meeting in here, please, children. CHILD SPOKESMAN Get lost. A voice from behind Vaughn draws him away. It is a small but muscular black man named Salvatore. SALVATORE'S VOICE Mr. Vaughn? He steps out of the shadows, hat in hand. SALVATORE Mister Quint sent me down from Jacobstown. VAUGHN What for? SALVATORE Well. he out catchin' them things every day practily. Price's right, he come catch yours here. VAUGHN What's he get? SALVATORE Ten thousand and a color TV. VAUGHN -LRB- outraged. -RRB- How much? SALVATORE Twenty - seven inch. Japanese one. Vaughn studies the little blinking man, ready to laugh. VAUGHN Mister Quint's services are not required, thanks. -LRB- stopping a secretary. -RRB- Is there an empty office anywhere in this goddam building? SECRETARY Weights and Measures nobody ever uses. Vaughn starts away and the crowd follows. DENHERDER I'd haul it in myself before I'd pay anything to that maniac. you wan na hear what he did to three friends of mine on a Saint Valentine's Day sporting charter? They are halted in their tracks by the grim appearance of Mrs. Kintner and her benign father. She is dressed in church white with a black arm band. Mrs. Kintner never says a word. She has just tacked something to the community bulletin board and is walking through the parting crowd. With sympathy, all watch her leave, then press up to the cork board. Brody fights his way through everyone until we are standing over his shoulder, staring at a homemade poster that offers : `` ALL OR A FRACTION OF $ 3000 BOUNTY TO THE MAN OR MEN WHO CATCH AND SLAUGHTER THE SHARK THAT SAVAGED ALEX M. KINTNER, JR.. ON SUNDAY, JUNE 29 IN THE TOWN OF AMITY.'' BRODY -LRB- to Vaughn. -RRB- Listen, Larry, I'm going to talk to her. This is n't a contest we want everybody from Boston to Quebec entering. MRS. TAFT I agree. If she's going to adver - tise, I would n't recommend out - of - city papers. There's enough of us here in Amity could take care of this. BRODY Larry, I'm responsible for the public safety around here. VAUGHN So I think tomorrow you should go out with whoever, and see that they do n't get hurt. BRODY But nobody sport - fishes for shark! No one will listen. Already plans are being discussed, sides chosen, boats, tackle and tactics recommended. The din overrules Brody, who we pull close to and - CUT TO", "INT. QUINT'S CHUM SHED - DAY A naked 100 - watt bulb illuminates the electric grinder purring in one corner. The slick black carcass of a pilot whale dominates the lighted area. Quint is hacking slabs off the whale with his Marine machete as his mate, Salvatore rolls an empty barrel to the grinder. SALVATORE -LRB- suspicious. -RRB- Where you find this whale anyway? QUINT Way out. Dead as a doornail. SALVATORE How come harpoon holes in him? Quint does n't reply as he hacks away. The mate rolls away a full barrel. SALVATORE You hardly never use this chummin' for shark. QUINT For some kinds. Quint muscles a new slab into the grinder, slowing it to a low growl as it purees the blubber. QUINT Go hose the deck, we're chartered for nine a.m. SALVATORE -LRB- awed, looking at chum. -RRB- Think it's one of those they got down there? Quint's grim smile is reply enough. Salvatore, looking worried, indicates some barrels full of whale pulp. SALVATORE Load these on or what? Quint is hacking revenge from the mutilated carcass. He spits away the dripping perspiration. QUINT ` Not required'. you heard the man. -LRB- answering Salvatore's question -RRB- Just a regular charter tomorrow. I'll keep this on ice for a while.", "ANGLE - QUINT'S MARINE CORP MACHETE Chop, chop, chop. CUT TO", "A SHOVEL whump, whump, whump. pounding the sharpened standard into the sand. The sign reads : NO SWIMMING OR WADING - Amity P.D.", "SUNSET ON THE BEACH Hendricks and another deputy are assisting Brody. Silhouettes of townspeople look on like mourners at a funeral. In the background some workmen are taking down the shutters from a quaint summer cottage. They pause to watch the declining moments of the day. Three Selectmen also stand watching. One of them seems to be whispering bounty news to three youngish men on a nearby dune. Sounds : Surf and hammering. CUT TO", "EXTERIOR - GRASSY INLET AND PIER - NIGHT Selectman Denherder and his buddy, Charlie, a professional angler, push a wheelbarrow ahead of them as they near the tumble - down jetty that leads fifty feet out into the black water. Both men scuff along, exhausted. DENHERDER You wan na call it a night after here? CHARLIE It's only two - thirty. What, are you tired? DENHERDER Yeah, Charlie, I got my second wind three nibbles back. Denherder hefts a bloodstained laundry bag from the wheel - barrow, revealing about a hundred feet of coiled dog chain and a large patched inner tube. Charlie takes out a monster hook and together they push the wheelbarrow onto the rickety pier that is only about five feet across. DENHERDER -LRB- reaching into the bag. -RRB- Leg of lamb this time? CHARLIE Screw lamb - let's shoot the sirloin! DENHERDER -LRB- a hyena laugh. -RRB- We're blowin' half the bounty on bait - The splintered pier sways to and fro as the men reach the end and start to work. Charlie baits the hook with a massive chunk of sirloin while Denherder secures the loose end of chain to a skinny piling. Charlie then fastens the inner tube to the chain five feet from the end of the hook. DENHERDER One more after this, then I'm going home. CHARLIE Set? Denherder tugs the chain against the piling to prove that it is. Charlie heaves the bait. Splash! The inner tube follows and both men eagerly watch as it floats seaward, the chain playing out from the wheelbarrow. CHARLIE Tide's taking it right out. Charlie lights his pipe and sits back against a piling. He turns on his transistor radio and loops one end around a fractured board. Denherder paces, bored to death. DENHERDER You do this all the time, right, Charlie? CHARLIE Twenty years. DENHERDER I ca n't believe that people pay money to go fishing. This is really dumb. This is n't even relaxing. it's just boring.", "CLOSE - CHAIN IN WHEELBARROW Suddenly zipping out, faster and faster, as both men straighten. Denherder is goggle - eyed. DENHERDER Hey! What's this? The chain is coming out so fast that it begins to drag the wheelbarrow to the end of the jetty. A section of chain tangles around the handle and flips the entire machine into the air. Both men watch dumbfounded as the inner tube, racing out to sea in a wake of white water, suddenly dips under. CHARLIE Look at him take it! DENHERDER Do I set the goddam hook? CHARLIE Let him do it! Go - go - go - go - go! It is then that the chain whips taut against the narrow pilings.", "CLOSE - PILING A lineup of five decrepit 2 x 4 inch pilings SNAP with a resounding CRACK.", "ANGLE - JETTY The end of the jetty is yanked loose. Denherder is flipped like a chip over the side and into the cold night water, where he manages to snag hold of a splintered timber.", "DENHERDER'S POINT OF VIEW The severed section of jetty, a joined platform of footboards, is being dragged seaward with Charlie sitting dazed on top of it, his lit pipe still going. DENHERDER CHARLIE! JUMP! Charlie rolls into the water, sputters, turns to watch the flotilla of wood draw away.", "CLOSE - CHARLIE looking seaward.", "CHARLIE'S POINT OF VIEW The end of the jetty makes a 180 - degree turn and heads back in his direction. CHARLIE Holy Jesus Christ! Denherder steps up on the broken - off piling just to be out of the water. DENHERDER Get the hell out! Charlie! Swim! Charlie, inhaling terror, trying to slog to shore. The jetty is getting closer. Suddenly the chain dragging it through the water is severed, and the charging wood falls behind - an enormous black fin breaks water like a periscope, making course corrections as it comes for Charlie. Denherder jumps from piling to piling, almost losing his balance on his way to help Charlie. Charlie has reached the last pylon toward open sea, and his hands clamber for a hold. But -", "INSERT - CHARLIE'S HANDS The algae is too slippery, and his fingers keep sliding back. That's when the fin behind him seems to reach up to the sky and - CHARLIE SCREAMS. An explosion of water and bubbles mercifully blot out the image.", "EXTERIOR - AMITY HARBOR - DAWN Ben Gardner, ruddy faced and ornery, is a fisherman as sea - worthy as they come. With his make, Swede, he starts to board the Flicka, a Bertram 28 Sports Fisherman. Absently, he makes preparations for casting off, his attention focused on surrounding dockside activity and -", "HIGH ANGLE - HARBOR Chaos. A dozen cars and trucks double - parked on the dock with out - of - state plates from New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut. Other vehicles are pulling up and parking. Men unloading their weapons. Boarding small boats. A queue of up - islanders, down - islanders, out - of - towners at the boat rental shack. From rank amateurs in their green golf slacks to the alley - poor in levi tatters - all of this dis - dainfully observed by Ben Gardner. Cries of `` Cast Off,'' the starting of diesel engines in con - trast to the flooded baby Evenrudes - all of this helped along by a lot of honcho swearing.", "CLOSE - HARBORMASTER Sleepy, the old salt bends over the dock, washing out his coffee pot in the oily harbor water. He sets down the pot, pulls a small wooden chair into position, on which teeters a bowl of Kellogg's Rice Krispies, and collapses into it with spoon in hand. He watches stoically as :", "CLOSE - BRODY Riding up on his police bicycle, Brody joins Deputy Hendricks who is trying to break up an argument at the Rental stand. HENDRICKS Christ, Martin, that Kintner lady must have taken out an ad in Field & Stream. BRODY Looks more like the Harvard Lampoon. OUT - OF - TOWNER I did n't come all the way out here from New Rochelle to be gouged in the seat of the pants by this loan shark. BOAT RENTAL MAN Prices always go up around here after June One - is n't that right, Chief? If you want leaky boats at lower rates, go up to the Hamptons.", "ANGLE FROM ONE OF THE BOUNTY BOATS The narrow channel leading out of port lies ahead. An incoming boat, a Formula 22 Inboard/Outboard with 110 h.p. Volvo engines. A few of the smaller craft begin zig - zagging to clear the right - of - way, their wakes causing annoying chop in the bay.", "ANGLE - INCOMING FORMULA Matt Hooper, a bearded, backpacking young man, is at the helm, peering ahead at the ragtag armada. He ties up, revealing for the first time a seven - by - four foot steel cage in the stern, drawing some attention.", "BACK TO DOCKSIDE Another man and his two buddies heft a trash can into one of the boats. He lifts the lid, and the stench throws his head into near whiplash. WALTER What is this sewage? BARWOOD For chum. Let's move it. WALTER What's chum? BARWOOD Anything that attracts'em. Brody looks over the dockrail at the boarding. Eight men have piled into a tiny Glasstron and are now loading various and sundry weapons, from crossbows to spear guns. Brody walks over to the harbormaster. BRODY Is n't there a limit to how many men those boats'll carry? HARBORMASTER Sit down next to me, son, and we'll find out.", "CLOSE - GARDNER exchanging distasteful looks with his mate. He is casting off the bow lines just as Felix and Pratt, two down - island characters run over. FELIX -LRB- more a declaration. -RRB- Okay, we go out with you. Gardner quickly pushes off, leaving Felix with his boarding leg in the air. GARDNER Hunt with the pack, sport. I'll fish for it my way. Felix and Pratt make obscene gestures and run off, looking for boats not yet filled to capacity, trying to make a deal.", "ANGLE - LANDING Hooper sees Brody, up in arms about something, walking toward him. Hooper starts to speak, but Brody veers aside and yells over the pier at the loading boats. BRODY No dynamite! Hand that stuff over or you'll never leave port! MAN IN BOAT It's fireworks. I read somewhere it attracts'em. HOOPER Sharks are equipped with two long cords of nerve tissue that function as a sort of radar for homing in on underwater vibrations. -LRB- to Brody. -RRB- Understand you're having a little shark trouble. Brody turns and walks away, Hooper barely keeping up with him. HOOPER I know you have a visitor off your southern shores. I think it could be my shark. BRODY It belongs to whoever catches it. -LRB- to a late arrival. -RRB- You'll move this car to a parking slot, mister, or it wo n't be here when you get back. HOOPER Sir, I'm not with these others - BRODY It's always nice to meet an educated man. HOOPER I'm interning at the American Museum of Natural History, but the Oceanographic Research Institute in South Africa is co - sponsoring my thesis paper arm in arm with the Natural Institute of Health and the Marine Fishery Service. Brody pauses to look hard at Hooper. A careless amateur trips and falls into the harbor beyond him. BRODY I do n't have time to help you with your homework. Brody goes over to lend a hand. Hooper persists. HOOPER I'm trying to prove that the shark that killed Christine Watkins last Friday was the same rogue that savaged these. Hooper pushes a mimeographed sheet in front of Brody. About twenty names and addresses in all. BRODY One shark did all this? HOOPER -LRB- his excitement multiplying as he goes on. -RRB- The trail of a rogue shark leads all over the world. This is only a theory. It has never been authen - ticated, but there is a wonderful chance that the shark that killed the Watkins girl and the man - eater I tagged off the Great Barrier Reef are the one and the same. Off and on I've tracked it to New Zealand, Santiago Bay, Cape Town South Africa. uh. the Gulf of Guinea, then West Palm Beach, Florida last December - and finally predicted it would follow the warming Gulf Stream into the Northern Seasonal Zones, and release an attack pattern along the Jersey Coast. I was off by just three hundred miles. It hit you instead. BRODY You'll pardon me i f I do n't help you get your Ph.D. while my town here degenerates into some high - class ghost resort. Brody starts away. In the background all boats are heading toward open ocean. HOOPER All I'm asking is for a little future cooperation. I could predict future outbursts of attack activity in the area. Use me. Let me use you. I scored 93 on my Orals, for crying out loud! BRODY We've had two other attacks since the Watkins thing, both fatal. Could you kill it for us? HOOPER -LRB- honest response. -RRB- No sir, I could n't. BRODY Then how do we begin to cooperate? HOOPER By letting me see Christine Watkins.", "EXTERIOR - OCEAN - DAY The armada is spread out and moving in a ragged circle, fif - teen boats in all. One man heaves cherry bombs into the water. A smaller boat going in the opposite direction offers us Barwood, forking spaghetti leftovers into the ocean while his friend pours out a bottle of ketchup. A speedboat chugs by, one of the occupants reading instructions aloud from a book entitled `` Sharks - East Coast, Vol. I.'' A boatload of impoverished scallop fishermen throw a net over - board, full of gaps and split ends. The professionals look professional, but the landlubbers out for the $ 3000 make it impossible for everybody. Collisions are barely averted.", "THE RUBE GOLDBERG ERROR thruthru", "The Out-of-Towner in a small boat is bent over in a life and death struggle, his rod in a tight arc. His buddy leaps across to lend a hand. Twenty yards away in another boat the same struggle ensues. This time it's the overloaded boat with the poor scallop fisher - men. Shouts of I'M ON! DIG IN! STRIKE! Then a tangle of tackle springs from the water. They have hooked each other. Joy turns to swearing. Arnold Felix stands up to applaud the mishap, while his buddy Pratt takes careful aim with his Remington 1100 12 - gauge and blasts at the tackle as if it were a clay pigeon. The tangle explodes - Both the Out - of - Towners and the Scallop Fisherman falls over backward - The Scallop boat swerves right, and bows into an eleven - foot Glasstron - A Proud Mariner standing in the stern with his 30.06 is knocked off balance and pitches forward into the drink, his gun exploding outward and - The wad of shot from the exploding rifle hits the rigging of a passing boat sending the jib, mains' l and about twenty pounds of rigging on top of the bewildered occupants.", "ANGLE - HARRY'S BOAT Three men are aboard, one holding a rod which holds a fast arc. A few yards off stern we see a triangular dorsal fin crossing back and forth, struggling, jerking, the mighty tail threshing. One man is screaming success, the other two slapping the angler on the back.", "CLOSE - PRATT AND FELIX They spot it and sour. PRATT Well, get over there! He ai n't caught it yet! The owner of Pratt's boat throws it forward and Pratt removes a.45 automatic from the holster of his belt. He tests it, firing once in the air. As they near the scene of the struggle, eleven other boats begin converging, until -", "HARRY'S BOAT Everyone wants to get into the act. They are attacking the threshing beast with all they've got. Pratt uses his auto - matic, another blasts point blank with a shotgun. There are occasional water ricochets and the bounty hunters duck from time to time as bullets skip by. Finally, the shark stops threshing.", "FELIX AND PRATT Their boat has moved close to the shark, closer than Harry's. PRATT -LRB- exultant. -RRB- Hand me that pole! Quick! One of his party in the over - filled boat grabs a gaff and leans out to grab the moribund shark. But Harry wo n't give up the line, still reeling in. HARRY Beat it! I hooked him! PRATT How's the family, Harry? -LRB- to the man with gaff. -RRB- Go on and do it! MAN WITH GAFF We split down the middle? Pratt nods reluctantly. The man swings, lodges the gaff and hauls the shark up onto the gunwale. A paroxysm of cheers from the surrounding boats. Smoke flares are fired into the air. HARRY -LRB- a tug - of - war. -RRB- Let go my shark! It is a ten - foot blue, and what a mess - splattered with bullet punctures, gashes, bleeding from several orifices. But it is not dead - it kicks back to life and threatens to cap - size the boat. Pratt panics and fires six times with his.45. The bullets pierce the shark's head, pass through, and split the fiberglass hull through which a flood of water rises. Every - body stands up as the boat slips beneath them.", "HIGH ANGLE FROM SHORE On a hummock overlooking the cluster of boats stands Quint. He is laughing out loud - a sharp, piercing bark that has little real humor in it. Below, the circle of boats tighten around the spreading stain of crimson.", "INTERIOR - MORGUE - DAY Hooper is measuring the bite marks on the Day - Glow raft with his dial calibrators. HOOPER I'll look at her now if you do n't mind.", "ANGLE - BRODY, CORONER SANTOS, HOOPER Hooper scribbles notes, then mumbles something inaudible into his pocket cassette recorder. Coroner Santos looks to Brody, plaintively. CORONER SANTOS That was a different sort of acci - dent. As I told you - BRODY -LRB- guilty, angry. -RRB- Let him. The coroner hesitates, then walks to the ice chest and slides open the drawer.", "CLOSE - HOOPER At first his face registers shock. Then, with forced composure, Hooper steadies his hands and begins to take pictures with his Minolta. HOOPER I've heard the boat - propeller story several times. And the nocturnal hatchet - murder story, the dashed - upon - the - razor - coral story -. -LRB- to Brody. -RRB- The little boy was never found? Brody nods, looking down at his feet. HOOPER They're very successful creatures, sharks. Eighty million year's antiquity for the species of the Great White. The family goes as far back as three - hundred million. Plenty of time to get good at what they do. An attendant flies into the room, joyfully out of wind. ATTENDANT They called from the dock, Mr. Brody! They got it!", "CLOSE - HOOPER He appears stunned.", "CLOSE - BRODY enjoying a lightheadedness he has n't felt in weeks. BRODY Want to see?", "EXT. - BREAKWATER LEADING TO THE PUBLIC BATHING AREA - DAY", "A PROCESSION OF TWENTY MEN dragging the shark by a tail - rope from harbor to beach. A dog follows, barking at the remains of the blue. As they arrive at the beach Meadows takes charge. Talks to both his photographer and the bounty hunters. MEADOWS -LRB- to photographer. -RRB- I want a good one for under the headline - nearer the water. Get a group shot with the shark. Use it on page one, six inches by six columns, center. Some of the men have run ahead, happily knocking down some of Brody's NO SWIMMING signs. MEADOWS -LRB- seeing this. -RRB- Great! Bring one over here. In the background ; voices, laughter. Some joke about the `` big - time fisherman'' - `` Ben Gardner, not even back yet!'' Others open beer, throw frosty cans around, making it look like a Miller's commercial. Meadows positions the shark and vigilantes. MEADOWS Group around Charlie Tuna. that's right. No, leave it clear in back - closer with the sign. Brody and Hooper are seen approaching fifty yards up the beach. MEADOWS Smile, boys! On three, drop the sign. -LRB- to photographer. -RRB- On three, Bill. One. two. three. Click. Cheers. MEADOWS One more. Just the two prize - winners. Mock groans as the posse moves aside. Pratt and the gaffer remain. One of the others raises the sign again for take two. HARRY I hooked him y' know? MEADOWS In a little tighter please. The gaffer does n't fancy sidling up to the critter. GAFFER Better check this bastard. He starts to poke it in the eye. Pratt on the other side leans forward for a closer look, gaff in hand. The gaffer pokes the eye. The Blue shark is wide awake, a vicious lunge in the opposite direction that snaps the gaff in Pratt's hand completely in half. VOICE IN CROWD Christ! Ai n't it dead? Pratt squeezes out a little smile and shuffles eight feet to his right out of range. Hooper and Brody walk into the frozen tableau. Hooper walks over to the shark, eyeing it with both amusement and disappointment. BRODY Yours? HOOPER No, this one's a blue. HARRY -LRB- insisting. -RRB- I hooked him. BRODY -LRB- persisting. -RRB- Is it the one? Hooper unravels a lab thermometer on a long nylon cord, twirling it over his head like a lariat, finally hurling it out into the ocean. He then unhooks a steel tape measure from his bag of tricks and spools out feet and inches from the shark's nose to tail. HOOPER It's sure big enough - ten point six feet. PRATT Who is this guy? Hooper is reeling in his thermometer. BRODY -LRB- does n't want to say a ` student'. -RRB- The Institute of Sharks sent him to lend a hand - Matt Hooper. PRATT That's right, except he's half a day late now that I already caught it.", "HOOPER reading the thermometer. HOOPER I'm not so sure. Blue sharks pretty much operate on the warm - water law, and limit their attacks to seventy degrees and up. -LRB- holding out thermometer. -RRB- Ocean's fifty - five. PRATT -LRB- after a stymied beat. -RRB- Who is this guy? HOOPER The Great White's body temperature in the lateral musculature is almost eighteen degrees above whatever the temperature of the water. I do n't know if this is our bite culprit. PRATT -LRB- beginning to rave. -RRB- If you'd have seen the fight he put up, you'd shut up. Hell, he ate a nine - year - old boy yesterday morning, the bastard, and goddammit. -LRB- kicks the shark in the nose. -RRB-. this is my shark! Hooper removes from its sheath the meanest fourteen - inch hunting knife Pratt has ever seen. HOOPER Only one way to know for sure. -LRB- handing Pratt the knife, handle first. -RRB-. and since it's not my shark, I'm not slitting open the belly to see what portions of the boy is still inside. Am I? Groans are heard from the bounty hunters, some of whom start to turn away.", "CLOSE - BRODY Uncomfortable and queasy at the thought of it.", "CLOSE - PRATT He wraps his hands behind him in defiance of the proffered blade. PRATT -LRB- whiny. -RRB- Well, shit - this guy caught it with me. And Harry over there hooked it!", "ANGLE - HARRY starts to whistle up toward the clouds.", "BACK TO HOOPER as he poises the knife himself toward the underbelly and - BRODY Not here, Mr. Hooper HOOPER This could be it. He's big enough all right, but I still ca n't be sure until - BRODY -LRB- nods toward upper beach. -RRB- - the boy's mother.", "POINT OF VIEW Mayor Vaughn, Mrs. Kintner and her father approaching. Mrs. Kintner is draped in black mourning, and never utters a sound. She lifts her veil, walks two paces forward and spits down at the shark, takes two paces back and replaces the veil, recovering her poise. VAUGHN -LRB- to Brody. -RRB- This it? HOOPER -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- I wo n't know until I perform a full autopsy. VAUGHN -LRB- sotto to Brody. -RRB- Who is this kid? BRODY He's a fish expert from the Oceano - graphic Foundation. VAUGHN -LRB- looking him up and down ; in a wholly irreverent tone. -RRB- Well, it does n't take much of an expert to see that this is the big - gest, ugliest, meanest - looking shark ever hooked around Amity Island. -LRB- to the gathering of men. -RRB- Who caught her? Harry steps forward, pointing. HARRY This guy, Pratt, and me. VAUGHN A thousand dollars apiece is not a bad day's haul. Vaughn begins shaking hands with the three winners, and Meadows snaps some bonus pictures. Mrs. Kintner's father draws close to Brody and Vaughn, handing Vaughn a card from his pocket. FATHER At whatever the cost, my daughter has requested that all preparations be made to ship this animal to her home town of Marblehead, Mass.. Can you accommodate us? VAUGHN What the devil for? Nary a blink from the old man, and Vaughn looks to Hooper, weighing the alternatives. VAUGHN We'll see it through, Mr. Sands. -LRB- to Martin. -RRB- Martin, you start collecting those signs. And keep your friend away from that demon with his pigsticker there. Let's show some respect for the loss we've incurred. -LRB- to Meadows ; walking him up the beach. -RRB- Get the story on the state wire. Try to get AP and UPI to pick it up in New York or Boston to put it on the national. Call Dave Axelrod in New York and tell him this is from me, and he owes me one.", "ANGLE - FATHER AND MRS. KINTNER walking up the beach with Pratt, Harry and the gaffer follow - ing behind.", "BRODY kneels next to the shark, making a face at the wafting stench. BRODY Some field you picked. HOOPER Well, there's dolphins - but they talk too much. CUT TO", "INT. RADIO ROOM - COAST GUARD STATION #4 - EVENING One man is at the radio, another, a laundry - white officer, walks toward Brody. OFFICER Ca n't seem to raise your Mr. Gardner. Maybe his radio is out. Or he could have put in somewhere else. BRODY He would have called his wife. They walk out together, into an eerie dusk fog. BRODY No point sending up a plane, huh? OFFICER I'll get a patrol boat on it. If you'd like to go - BRODY -LRB- laughing under his breath. -RRB- I do n't do so hot on boats. OFFICER -LRB- going. -RRB- We'll contact you down there if - BRODY -LRB- urgently stopping him. -RRB- Listen - OFFICER -LRB- they've been over this. -RRB- Brody, sharks are always around. Blues, browns, makos, thousands - BRODY Ca n't you get rid of just one for us? OFFICER Where is it? How do we find it? It should n't come around again. Odds are worse on the highways. BRODY But you could protect the beach -! I mean, you have access to - OFFICER -LRB- stopping him. -RRB- We could put up a show. We could give you spotters, but in where the waves break, the water's cloudy and it's hard to spot. Or we could string out shark repellent - sometimes it's effec - tive. But then, sometimes - BRODY What do I do then? Pray for lousy weather? OFFICER We're just the Coast Guard, Brody. Brody walks into the fog until he disappears.", "SLOW ANGLE \u2013 LIGHTHOUSE Brody walking away from the station and lighthouse preoccupied with a dozen alternative thoughts. A shattering blast from the fog horn catches him unprepared and he nearly comes out of his skin. Hands clasped to ears, he passes a sign that can barely be seen through the fog : WARNING! FOG HORN CAN BE DAMAGING TO YOUR HEARING!", "EXTERIOR - FRONT PORCH OF BRODY'S HOUSE - NIGHT Hooper is having after - dinner with Ellen and Martin Brody, while a spectacular heat - lightning display colors the night clouds and dances on the water miles out. HOOPER There're good things to be said about meshing. It's worked in Australia for years. Repellent's a myth. Now there's a cable avail - able charged with 7,000 amps that could be strung along the entire bathing area. ELLEN We have Kahlua, Mr. Hooper. HOOPER Matt. And I do n't drink alcohol, but thank you. -LRB- back to Brody. -RRB- We think the Great Whites possess an electrical sense - Michael walks in. He does n't smile after the Sunday incident. He is quite dry this evening, and is in possession of a ghastly watercolor of a shark tearing a man in two. MICHAEL -LRB- shy, his eyes on Hooper. -RRB- Mrs. Pfister had us all draw sharks in school today. BRODY I told you not to wear that cracker - jack ring. It's too big - you're gon na catch it on something and lose a finger. HOOPER -LRB- always interested. -RRB- This is a very good rendering, Mike. Looks like a thresher. Where'd you learn to draw him? MICHAEL I - cheated, and found pictures in one of Dad's books. HOOPER -LRB- delighted. -RRB- Get bitten by the subject. or just morbid curiosity? BRODY More in the spirit of the public interest. MICHAEL Mrs. Pfister says if we have a bad season, we could sell our pictures to the tourists. We get to paint through American History again tomorrow. Ellen and Brody exchange worried looks. Hooper digs around in his pocket for something, then looks through his satchel purse. ELLEN You want me to speak to her tomorrow? Hooper hands Michael a shark's tooth on a wire necklace. HOOPER I picked this up in Macao. There's supposed to be a superstition about these things - that if you keep it with you, you'll be safe from shark bite. Michael smiles for the first time, and a warm moment passes between him and Hooper. MICHAEL I got ta show this to Guber. BRODY Do n't sleep with that on, son. You'll cut something in the night. ELLEN -LRB- squeezing his hand across the table. -RRB- That was nice. Michael has n't smiled since his birthday party and that Kintner accident. HOOPER He was a witness? BRODY -LRB- changing subject, referring to storm. -RRB- Yeah. Listen. I'm no crack meteor - ologist, but I think we're in store for some surf. HOOPER Hope not. I'm longlining in the morning. You should come along, Martin. BRODY In case you have n't caught the island gossip, I never take baths - just showers. HOOPER Aquaphobia or what? Mind if I smoke? BRODY No. Here, wait. Brody takes out a lighter as Hooper puts a twisted cigarette in his mouth. Instead of inhaling, Hooper takes a long hit, and it does n't take long for the shock to beat the aroma to where Ellen and Martin sit. HOOPER -LRB- behind the hit. -RRB- I'm going to try and snag the old boy with 3/32 of an inch stainless steel aircraft cable. BRODY -LRB- dubiously amused. -RRB- I could throw your ass in jail for that. HOOPER Brought my own cage, thanks. If this really is my shark, he's got a Peterson disc tag on his anal fin. It ca n't be seen from a boat. BRODY -LRB- growing anger at this young man's impudence. -RRB- Once hooked, what then? Hooper brightens and reaches into his duffel, pulling out a shiny stainless steel object about the size of an alarm clock. HOOPER Biotelemetry. It's a radio collar. I bell the cat and then follow him anywhere. I'm trying to make a deal with a satellite tracking station at Houston, Texas. BRODY -LRB- getting riled. -RRB- Now let's wait a minute. You have him hooked, right? HOOPER -LRB- trying to be jovial. -RRB- Well, I'll never take him without a fight, but - BRODY And you stick that - cigarette case to his neck? HOOPER -LRB- wondering where this is leading. -RRB- That's the game plan. BRODY Then you let it loose. You let it go free. Hooper sees where this has arrived. He swallows the roach and takes a breath. HOOPER I know what you're saying, Martin. BRODY Your little lab experiment has seen three innocent people killed over the past three days. ELLEN Martin, it's not his shark. BRODY And your list makes me sick. You carry it around with you like you're keeping score. HOOPER Nature has no conscience, Mr. Brody. BRODY Oh, Christ. Whose side are you on? You told me you'd help us get rid of it. HOOPER What I said was, I'd help predict future attacks in your area. If this device works, the early warn - ing to other shorefront resorts - not just here, but anywhere it ranges in the world - BRODY I do n't give a crap about your worldwide conquest. What about right here? This town is going under today! Where's your humanity? You could kill this thing for us, flatten its ass and - HOOPER -LRB- rising. -RRB- I'm staying at the Abilard Arms. Hooper gathers his things, climbs into his backpack. Smiles at Ellen and kisses her hand. Ellen smiles, not yet recovered from embarrassment. HOOPER I really liked dinner. He leaves. Ellen looks at her hand. Brody turns and sees her. ELLEN -LRB- it's all she can say. -RRB- Nobody kisses hands anymore. BRODY If you stick that wet spot under the black light at the Coney Island Aquarium, they'll let you in for nothing.", "EXTERIOR - ABOARD HOOPER'S BOAT - FOGGY DAY The boat is slicing gentle swells into the flat water. Hooper is mainlining from a big reel. Tuna - halibut clips attached to each of the lines that bear hooks and floats every ten yards. Large bait chunks are tossed into the water. In the boat with him is Meadows, huddled in a corner and trying to appear eager to learn. Hooper is not cooperating. He storms around, upset and frustrated. MEADOWS Okay. What's the second species of shark on your dangerous list? Hooper opens the throttle half - speed, looking into the sonar display that casts a green glow in the soupy weather. A blip appears on the screen that draws a speculative hum from Hooper. MEADOWS -LRB- trying to sound scientific. -RRB- Fish activity? HOOPER Very deep - looks like a school. -LRB- more to himself. -RRB- Mackerel. Really clumped together. As the two huddle together in the green spill, Hooper touches the throttle to increase speed, still slightly puzzled. HOOPER Staying right with us.", "HOOPER Tends to. Gets very still down there.", "CLOSE - MEADOWS looks up from the scope, and his expression turns to horror. MEADOWS Look out! Hooper looks up in time to avert a near collision with Ben Gardner's boat, the Flicka. It is completely awash, with water in the cockpit right up to the gunwales. Seat cushions and hatch covers float about, banging and thumping. The boat is wallowing and it seems that, given a touch more weight, it will sink. MEADOWS -LRB- shocked. -RRB- That's Ben Gardner's boat! Ben! Ben! Hooper comes up alongside, cuts his engine and goes forward to tie his bowline to a forward cleat on the Flicka.", "INSERT - SONAR SCOPE Bigger blips, both visually and audibly. Taking note of this, Hooper stands a moment trying to figure out what could have done this. There does n't seem to be any damage fore or aft. Then he notices that one of the after cleats on the Flicka has been torn away. there are scars on the wood where the screws are used to hold the cleats down. MEADOWS -LRB- skin crawling from the foggy stillness. -RRB- He must have hit something. I'm sure they had life - belts on board. Hooper nods toward the water.", "ANGLE - WATER We see life - belts and jackets floating in the unearthly stillness.", "HOOPER - WIDE He gingerly steps onto the rail of Flicka, peeks into the cockpit and cabin. Awash. No sign of life. He puts more weight down as he cranes his neck further and the whole boat lists to one side. Hooper leaps back to his own.", "ANOTHER ANGLE - HOOPER'S BOAT He opens a locker and pulls out a wet suit and other gear. MEADOWS Maybe we should just tow it in. HOOPER -LRB- suiting up. -RRB- I'd better see the damage first.", "INSERT - SONAR SCANNER Blip, blop, blip, blip.", "CLOSE - MEADOWS suddenly cold, zips up his windbreaker and turns the collar up, as Hooper zips up his wetsuit and clasps on a weighted belt. HOOPER Did he have a dinghy on board? MEADOWS -LRB- just wants out of here. -RRB- I do n't know. Hooper hyper - ventilates as he places on mask, checks his `` hot'' flashlight. MEADOWS -LRB- alone. -RRB- I'd rather we just towed it in, Mr. Hooper. Hooper finishes hyper - ventilating. smiles to reassure him. HOOPER Be up in a minute. He's ready to go, but hesitates a moment, staring out at the sea - the first time Hooper has appeared to be doubting his next move. He shakes it off, takes a huge breath, lets out half and splashes in.", "ANGLE - MEADOWS all alone in the boat. Just he and the active sonar. He checks the second - hand sweep of his watch, counting out loud.", "UNDERWATER SEQUENCE - HOOPER Hooper descends in a froth of bubbles. Warily he turns a full circle with his hotlight. At first we see nothing out of place about the Flicka except that it is lying so low in the water. But as Hooper travels the bottom looking for damage, he comes across a jagged hole two - thirds of the way forward. The hole is about the size of a basketball, and the wood around it has been bashed and splintered. Hooper explores the hole with his hands, then takes the knife from its sheath and begins to dig at something. Whatever it is comes free in his hand. As he studies his find, his light wanders upward, pointing directly into the dark hole. Hooper looks up.", "CLOSE - HOLE Ben Gardner's dead face stares out through the hole in the Flicka, eyes and mouth gaping in frozen horror, his skin pinched like a prune.", "CLOSE - HOOPER bumps his head in trying to get away, seems to yell through escaping bubbles. His mask fills with water as he flails for the surface. Miscalculating, he bumps into the hull of his own boat, scrambles around it, finally coming up between the two boats. gulping air, unable to speak yet, shocked and scared, out of breath. MEADOWS Bad -? All Hooper can do is hold out his hand, open for Meadows to see. A shiny white tooth, at least two inches long, rests in the palm of his hand. HOOPER A White - it's a Great White, I knew it! Looks like he died of fright in there. MEADOWS -LRB- scared shitless. -RRB- No shark did that to a boat - Hooper rolls up his sleeve, and with one stroke of the tooth shaves all the hair off him forearm. HOOPER One this big could do anything! Meadows will never be the same.", "INT. VAUGHN'S REALTY OFFICE - DAY On the run and seeing red, Larry Vaughn speed - walks out of his office, grabbing his coat and out the door, cuss - mumbling all the way. Meadows, still in his boat clothing, appears behind him, his tie undone and sweating. Vaughn jumps into his car, and just before Meadows can open the passenger door, takes off in it.", "EXT. ISLAND HIGHWAY - DAY Just under the roadside billboard, Hendricks and another deputy, Joyner, prepare for a climb with ropes in their arms, paint cans and large canvas brushes. Beyond them a few feet away, stand Brody and Hooper, watching Vaughn pacing back and forth, sucking on a Havana. He has a newspaper in his right hand. Hooper is sketching on a sketch pad. VAUGHN It says here IT IS CAUGHT! Period! Brody holds out the two - inch tooth. BRODY Mr. Hooper figured its size from this - it's over a ton. It's also over - VAUGHN Put that rotten thing -. -LRB- he pushes it away, it slices. -RRB- Yee - ow! Hooper steps over to show him his sketch. VAUGHN -LRB- wrapping handker - chief around his hand. -RRB- If my hand gets infected. HOOPER Meet Carcharodon charcharias. VAUGHN What is it? HOOPER The shark that just bit you on the hand. -LRB- sketching. -RRB- And this. is you. Hooper has sketched the reduced ratio figure of Vaughn with cigar standing in front of the jaws. He looks like a dwarf by comparison. HOOPER Seventeen feet from anterior to posterior. VAUGHN No shark grows seventeen feet, for Christ's sake. HOOPER The famous Swedish naturalist Linnaeus believed that the ` great fish' that swallowed Jonah was not a whale, but a great white shark. VAUGHN Love to prove that, would n't you? Get into the National Geographic. BRODY What should we do about this white? Hooper has come prepared. He takes from his backpack a Bomar Brain calculator and ticks away at it while talking. HOOPER The longer there's nothing to munch on here, the better your chances he'll go. That means, of course, keeping your beaches closed, your fishermen in port. The other alternative is non - corrosive, 100 - gauge steel mesh - say, 30,000 feet of it around your bathing area. Concrete blocks and installation would run you. oh, four, five hundred thousand. That is, unless you could seek a deputa - tion from the federal government -. -LRB- notes Vaughn's non - believing countenance. -RRB- Beats getting swallowed, does n't it? Vaughn is apoplectic. His seemingly dead cigar glows again. He takes Brody by the arm and leads him out of earshot of Hooper. BRODY Maybe we can make it up in August. VAUGHN That beach will be open ON the FOURTH OF JULY, DAMMIT! BRODY We have to give this a coupla weeks. VAUGHN A couple of days. And that's bad enough. I'll have to think of some reason that'll keep the grease from frying. In the mean - time, I want that shark killed. Either do it yourself, or hire a pro, but go door to door with the offer. No more of his bounty crap. And Brody - Vaughn gestures up at the billboard. The beautiful model splashing in the golden surf with flailing arms has been significantly reinterpreted. Some pranksters have painted a huge dorsal fin cutting through the waves next to her, and she now looks like an hysterical beach - goer stampeding out of the water. The deputies begin covering it over with paint. People have been gathering throughout the scene on bicycles and a few station wagons. VAUGHN First the picket fences - and now this. I want to see those little bastards hanging upside down by their Buster Brown shoes. Vaughn storms away before Brody can reply.", "EXT. DOCK AREA - DAY Hooper is loading some mainline floats and smelly bait fish on board. Two young long - hairs are assisting him. The old harbormaster dips his coffee percolator into the water and rinses it thoroughly while watching Hooper load. He rises to his feet and walks across the pier, looking in the oppo - site direction about three slips away.", "ANGLE - A HIDDEN SLIP Brody and Deputy Hendricks are supervising another loading activity. Six local fishermen are converting their 16 - foot fiberglass double outboard into a gunboat. A sealed crate of high concussion palm - sized depth charges gingerly finds a place in the bow section, over which fishing gear and nets are positioned to disguise the mission. BR0DY. -LRB- to Hendricks. -RRB- Do n't let him out of your sight. Not for a second. Stay at a dis - creet distance - and dammit, Lenny, no shark talk! The way sound carries over water, you're a dead giveaway. HENDRICKS Who's with him? BRODY Local hire. I do n't know. I want to hear from you, Len.", "EXT. PICKET FENCE ROW - DAY Angling down a stretch of picket fence. Little karate cries are accompanied by little flat hands piercing through splin - tering wood.", "EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY The hardware store proprietor, bored and withdrawn, suns himself on a chaise lounge surrounded by summer surplus that no one is buying, while - - the Amity Gift and Candle shop is offering an outside display on a carousel postcard rack of artificial shark - tooth necklaces, along with an open - air gallery of shark books. A dozen tourists bunch up as business booms here today.", "INT. BRODY'S OFFICE - DAY Ellen is somehow mired behind Brody's desk, two travel folders in her absent - minded grasp. She talks into one phone, at the same time she is talking on another to a breathy, ticky landlady. All of this overlapping. Brody's secretary Polly is in the outer office doing three things at once. ELLEN -LRB- into phone. -RRB- I do n't know where my husband is, Mr. Kretzler. He's only closed the beaches to insure your safety. LANDLADY First it's twenty - four hours, then it's two days. If one more guest of mine leaves for Cape Cod, I'll start a petition! From the outer office, we hear : POLLY -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Until further notice! You'll have to ask him about that when he gets back. Good - bye. Three people enter. Two of them, an elderly tourist couple, push past Polly and into Brody's office where Ellen stands beside the desk. MAN TOURIST Excuse me - I see by the papers they caught the killer shark. I see by the signs that the beaches are still closed, and we were just wondering. TOURIST WIFE -LRB- reaches out and takes Ellen's hand in hers, glowing. -RRB- I think it's a simply wonderful positive sign of our times to see a woman Chief of Police in a nice place like - Ellen removes the receiver from her ear, from which angry geese - like sounds filter through. She starts to explain, instead bursts out laughing - one of those spontaneous, funny cries for help that leaves you weak. She falls helplessly into her husband's swivel chair, covering her face with Acapulco brochures. CUT TO", "INT. QUINT'S RESIDENCE - NIGHT Entering Quint's abode is not unlike a spooky ride at Disneyland. the placement of objects, the dungeon lighting, the tendrils of smoke and dust in the air makes a visitor wish he were carrying a 100 - watt bulb. There is gear everywhere. The walls are adorned with jerky shark hides, coiled ropes dangle like serpents above a galley stove that leaks smoke and holds two weeks worth of filthy dishes. Tubes, barrels, rods, reels, harpoons, an antique gun collection and a dizzy array of shark hooks line the walls, with one entire wall dedicated to a collection of laminated jaws from the blue shark to the Great White. Con - spicuously in the center of the room is a swivel fighting chair and it looks like the perfect place to have all your teeth pulled. Into this orifice of decay, Brody enters, and from his point of view, we see Quint hunched over a tub of steaming Borax. BRODY I know it's late, Mr. Quint. Quint lifts a ghastly set of dripping jaws from the solution. QUINT Snappy little novelty item. Quint demonstrates by holding them up to frame his face through the round jagged opening. QUINT Picture frame. -LRB- holding it down. -RRB- Toilet seat. He looks up at his gallery of jaws. QUINT No offense, you guys! -LRB- confidentially referring to what's left of sixteen sharks. -RRB- Very touchy. All set for the Hallelujah chorus and stuck on the first note. Brody enters the room like he's treading on hot charcoal. BRODY I would have called you - Quint walks toward Brody with Borax dripping from both hands. He places one of them hospitably on Brody's shoulder. QUINT -LRB- without losing a beat. -RRB- Sure you would, sweetheart. And ushers him into the fighting chair. He then busies him - self around the premises and Brody must use the swivel chair to follow him, feeling chills whenever Quint move behind him. BRODY I'm Chief Brody, Mr. Quint - QUINT Suits me. I'm a social undesirable myself. BRODY Listen - QUINT Me and your Great big White. BRODY Who told you? QUINT -LRB- scrubbing teeth with a wooden brush. -RRB- What's the count up to down there anyway? You ca n't have much of a town left! BRODY Got Ben Gardner this time. QUINT -LRB- feigning shock. -RRB- Ben? Sharks'll eat anything. BRODY I need to talk to you, Quint - Quint slips past Brody's blindspot to the opposite wall, and Brody tenses and swivels too fast, almost spinning 360 degrees before braking with his feet. QUINT Anything! Know what I found inside that tiger? Aside from fish and all? He moves proudly to the shelf of jaws and souvenirs collected from the bellies of sharks. QUINT Twenty feet of cable, half an army cot, four brass buttons, a cocker spaniel, license plate, a drip - dry shirt, and a six - pack of diet Pepsi. BRODY We ca n't have this damn thing sneaking in - QUINT -LRB- as though alarmed, he touches a hand to Brody's mouth. -RRB- Chief! Show a little respect. Jesus! Whites are head of the mob out there, this sounds like Lucky Luciano. BRODY -LRB- wiping his mouth. -RRB- Ever caught one? QUINT A thirteen - footer and one fifteen - teenagers. BRODY Now you're asking ten thousand dollars, but look - QUINT Chief, Chief, Chief - forget it. I get two bills a day from charters. I sell the hides, I sell the teeth, I sell the fins to chinks for soup - you ought to try a little shark sometime! Hammerhead's terrific - here! Quint hops to the oven. An avalanche of pots and pans, a burst of smoke, and before you know it, Quint is presenting Brody with a hot plate. QUINT Home - fried hammerhead! Brody turns away from the stink. QUINT -LRB- obsequiously apologetic. -RRB- Sorry, nothing fancier tonight - boy, I do a Mako Provencale -. -LRB- kisses his fingers. -RRB- BRODY How's four hundred a day, Quint? Quint is suddenly across the room, lowering a bucket in front of Brody. QUINT -LRB- fuck off. -RRB- Serve yourself, Chief. Shark - liver oil! Best lubricant in the world! BRODY -LRB- desperate. -RRB- How much do you want? Quint turns, suddenly bitter. He walks over to a cage with a parrot in it. QUINT -LRB- to parrot. -RRB- Clowns trying to bargain. BRODY I came on my own, Quint. QUINT Yo - ho - ho, and a bottle of rum. BRODY -LRB- rises, pleading. -RRB- See, if we could make a deal tonight - QUINT Here's what the price is tonight, Chief. Quint stalks Brody as he talks. Brody trying to look reasonable as he backs around the room, bumping into objects d'art. QUINT Twenty - five grand to go for it, plus twenty - five more if I land it, all repairs on the boat, and on me, a new rod from Haydy's in London, a life subscription to Playboy, a stereo 4 - track and the color TV. BRODY Quint, you know they'll never - QUINT Let me finish! If it gets me, different deal - seventy - five, no extras! BRODY -LRB- bewildered. -RRB- Seventy - five for who? QUINT -LRB- wildly improvising. -RRB- For nobody! To make this place a museum or something! ` Quint's Monster Palace!' How's that? Maybe have me stuffed in the middle here -! Quint poses stuffed with a harpoon in the middle of the room. This is the first time he has stopped moving. BRODY -LRB- addressing stuffed Quint. -RRB- I have to tell them something reasonable - Brody looks for the door. completely disoriented, he tries to open one of the walls. QUINT No problem! Tell'em that joke from World War Two -. -LRB- walks over to parrot. -RRB- About the Marines in the landing barge? Sergeant splashes right in, yelling ` Hit the beach men, follow me and.' Quint taps the bottom of the bird cage, and without losing a beat, the parrot squawks in falsetto : PARROT Watch out for the shark! Brody has found the door and is gone. The door swings in a breeze. Quint turns to his gallery of jaws and smiles with a mock - courtly bow.", "EXTERIOR - DOCKS - DUSK Hooper's Formula twenty - two tying up in his rental slip. He looks dog tired as he steps off and stretches his legs on dry land. The most astonishing thing about Matt this evening is his obvious disappointment. The gunboat is also tied up, the men unloading. They are in terrific spirits. Each has caught his limit. The boat is filled with fish, the men filled with stories. Only Len Hendricks shows the strain.", "ANGLE - BRODY riding up on his police bicycle. He sees Hendricks fifty yards away in the dusk, shaking his head. Brody turns and rides down the dock toward Hooper, saying good - bye to his day help. BRODY -LRB- tired, apologetic. -RRB- Any luck? HOOPER Might be for you, Mr. Brody. I think it's all over. BRODY How can you be sure? HOOPER The sea is full of fish again for one thing. You wo n't find sea life in the territory of a Great White. All the fish we saw in the ocean today. You'd think they were cele - brating. I played low - frequency music underwater - that usually works faster than blood. -LRB- shrugs `` nothing''. -RRB- BRODY -LRB- gives him a long look. -RRB- Are you feeling okay? HOOPER There are signals in the water. I can always read them. And the currents are shifting. BRODY Vaughn's going to want a statement. What about taking precautions? HOOPER I'd take them, sure. Lookout posts. An alarm system. If you can afford picket boats equipped with sonar repellent line across the bathing area. Jesus. we must have gone six times around this crummy island. BRODY -LRB- still perplexed. -RRB- And you're sure it's - HOOPER You'll never be immune to attack. It knows where you live now. Good - night. Brody is left alone on the dock, the sky darkening behind him.", "INT. FERRY BOAT - DAY Two cavernous iron doors. Then a crack of vertical light as six burly crewmen muscle them apart. The Amity ferry landing is approaching, people in colorful outfits waiting dockside for the first filled - to - capacity shuttle of the summer season and - Bach's Little Fugue is the musical accompaniment to this wholly visual montage of disembarkation. The next two minutes should be treated like a `` short film'' taking into account all of the colors, episodes, faces and behavior of a variety of Americans who colonize Eastern resort communities for the ninety - day season. A. A train of cars trundle down the ramp, bumper to bumper. B. Young beautiful people from Princeton, Yale, N.Y.U., wearing knapsacks, toting luggage, babies riding in papoose rigs, energized children, senior citizens hold - ing hands on the pedestrian ramp, a few wheelchairs. C. The sidewalk vendors hawking balloons for the kiddies, hotdogs, hot fried clams, Italian ices. D. The Amity Cab Company, small blue Toyotas, run by students on vacation queued up like a bomber wing. E. Hooper is watching. Station wagons with pale winter faces pressed anxiously to the windows, Cadillacs with Rear Admirals at the helm, their wives with blue hair remembering the way from the years before. Then six blonde and tanned Coney Island meatballs descend the ramp. They all wear Men's Club Lifeguard patches and matching collegiate windbreakers. They scour the landing, looking for someone to save. The boat is empty. Everybody heading inland, anticipating the best Fourth of July ever. Already there is debris on the docks and the cleaning crew works away at it.", "INSIDE THE FERRY As Bach's Little Fugue ends, the six burly crewmen lean their combined weight against the Cathedral doors, closing out the light and locking in the trade. The doors latch shut with a resounding clang! GO TO BLACK", "EXT. COAST GUARD STATION - DAY A young Ensign is demonstrating `` Shark - Chaser'' to Brody from the concrete pier. He lowers a canister of it into the water and a dark cloud begins to diffuse. OFFICER You'll need about 150 of these - twelve feet apart, behind your surf - line. We'd have to string them right across, that's say, 2000 feet. BRODY Makes sort of a long black curtain. OFFICER Repellent. BRODY -LRB- leveling. -RRB- But it does n't always work. OFFICER Well. it inhibits them, Mr. Brody. -LRB- brightens with facts. -RRB- The astronauts use it. BRODY -LRB- not impressed, gazes into water. -RRB- That, and Tang.", "EXT. AMITY MAINSTREET - DAY If you lifted out any hunk of mid - day Manhattan intersection and set it here on the colonial corners of Main Street and Pilgrimage Way, you could n't do worse. This is what Amity feeds on between July and September. This is what the tourists pick over between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M.. This is what it's all about.", "EXT. AMITY MOVIE HOUSE - EVENING The marquee lights go on. Moby Dick is the new substitute feature offering. Pan down to show the theatre manager and a boiling, pacing Larry Vaughn. VAUGHN I want this off before the weekend. And if it's not -! MANAGER I thought with all this interest. -LRB- weak smile. -RRB- It's not a documentary, you know.", "INT. MOVIE HOUSE", "FULL SCREEN Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab in an outpouring of classic Melville. The white whale explodes through the waves and crushes sixteen harpooners. A single sandpapery laugh accompanies each special effect.", "ANGLE - MOVIE HOUSE Quint sits in the center aisle, popcorn and ju - ju - bees stuffing his face. The splayed projection beams dance around his head as he roars with amusement. People are getting up and moving away from him. He is watching with delight, slapping his thigh, thumping the seat - back with his feet.", "FULL MOVIE SCREEN We watch as Ahab gets tangled in the line and dragged under by the whale. Quint can be heard OVER.", "EXT. SOUTH BEACH - THE FOURTH OF JULY A four foot surfer's swell curls and crashes on shore, rider - less. The broad sandy beach is a mosaic of summer color as one thousand vacationers practice fun in the sun, but not in the water. Hot dog stands and ice cream vendors are every - where.", "ANGLE - LIFEGUARD STATIONS A half - dozen lookout lofts. As many handsome lifeguards with Walkie - Talkies strapped to their trunks and loudhailers at arm's reach. Bored, two of the hot dogs train their binoculars on some local color.", "AT SEA Tactically flanking a three - hundred - yard apron of black repellent are four small watch - boats. A fifth tiny pleasure boat darts around the repellent line. Farther out, cross - ing back and forth, are patrol boats six and seven. To top it all off, a Coast Guard blimp floats three hundred feet above.", "ON SHORE A crunch of gawkers makes life miserable for a mobile TV crew on their van - shaped unit. A graduate from the Columbia School of Broadcasting is interviewing Martin Brody in front of dozens of camera - conscious kids. INTERVIEWER -LRB- humorous. -RRB- Will you be going for a dip, Chief? BRODY -LRB- ill at ease. -RRB- No, I'll be sticking to business today. As you see, we have spotters up and down the beach, and out there's the Coast Guard, State Police, County Police - everyone's cooperating on this - INTERVIEWER The question is, if it's so unlikely as you seem to think - BRODY It never hurts to play it safe. INTERVIEWER Thank you, Chief Brody. -LRB- to crew. -RRB- Let's do a group at the hot dog stand. Vaughn is watching the ocean, aware that nobody is in yet. He turns in the direction of a Selectman and his family, and after grunting hellos, falls on his haunches and talks through a dogged smile. VAUGHN Will you please get in that ocean. SELECTMAN What? VAUGHN Nobody's going in - move! -LRB- indicating his family -RRB- Them, too! He gets up, gesturing `` go in'' to another townsman. The Selectman gathers his senses, swallows back nagging nerves. SELECTMAN -LRB- to his family, false cheer -RRB- How about a swim, gang, huh? -LRB- to 12 - year - old daughter -RRB- Not you, you have a cold. Vaughn spies Hooper, alone on the sand in his trunks, look - out at sea. The Selectman and his family of four start into the ocean as Vaughn approaches Hooper. VAUGHN You've earned a day off, Doc. And thank you. Hooper just looks at him. VAUGHN We feel you've done a heck of a job, you know. HOOPER -LRB- nods, looks back to sea -RRB- I feel the same about you.", "ANGLE - SELECTMAN AND HIS FAMILY They walk into the surf, deeper and deeper, until a wave washes over their heads. The Selectman surfaces, and realizes he is wearing his watch. Never mind. Others follow suit and begin to trickle into the white surf.", "BOAT # Four State Police with their 30.06's stowed discreetly under their seats. As a Beering State Policeman talks to Brody on the Walkie - Talkie, we notice Boat # 5, a short - range speedster, working the repellent line. BEERING POLICEMAN We're putting the fresh cans on, Brody. -LRB- takes beer from ice chest. -RRB- Calm down, will you? -LRB- shouting to Boat # 5. -RRB- You guys want a beer?", "BOAT # Two men and a boat - load of canisters. One holds up the nylon repellent line with a pole as the other replaces a can and shouts back. SAILOR I want a pair of rubber gloves. To demonstrate what he means, he holds up two hands, black with dye. A wet can of Budweiser tumbles into one of them. Sailor's Walkie - Talkie squawks like a strangled chicken. VOICE -LRB- Walkie - Talkie. -RRB- Daisy to Blimp. Daisy to Blimp. thirty yards off my port side. The two sailors turn to port.", "BOAT # Hendricks is on the radio while a Coast Guard spotter works the sonar. HENDRICKS Anything? Thought I saw a shadow. Over. Pan to the water.", "INT. BLIMP A breathtaking view. The blimp spotter looks down with naked eye and binoculars. BLIMP SPOTTER Nothing from up here, Daisy. Over.", "CLOSE - HENDRICKS HENDRICKS -LRB- into Walkie - Talkie. -RRB- False alarm. Must be this glare.", "ANGLE - BEACH - CLOSE ON BRODY He is walking down the beach, threading his way through the happy hordes. VOICES Who's scared to go in! I was in! Up to your knees, yeah - So come with me - I'll go again. How far? Etc., etc.. A group of youngsters playing with Michael Brody's dinghy. They are hauling it toward the surf. BRODY Hey Mikey -! Michael turns as Brody trots toward him. BRODY You're not going to the ocean with that, are you son? MICHAEL I'm all checked out for light surf and look at it. BRODY Do me this favor just once. Use the ponds. MICHAEL Dad, the ponds are for old ladies. BRODY Just a favor for your old man. MICHAEL -LRB- confused. -RRB- Sure, Dad.", "SWIMMERS AND SURFERS A surfer waving to impress his girlfriend on the beach. He dives off his board and swims around the black dye. COUNTY POLICEMAN -LRB- through loudhailer. -RRB- Not so close to the line, please. The eighteen - year - old surfer submerges, comes up all inky. His girlfriend laughs, impressed.", "TV CREW - NEAR WATER Clowning, posing, boasting for the cameras, dozens of youngsters ride in baby waves, stand on their heads, on the shoulders of friends, wave, swim out, kick up the water. The TV cameramen are going crazy. Burning film. Zooming.", "REPELLENT LINE - SURFER AND COUNTY POLICEMAN The Surfer wo n't leave the area. COUNTY POLICEMAN -LRB- through loudhailer. -RRB- Get clear of the repellent line, son! Suddenly his Walkie - Talkie fizzes, and the Blimp Spotter's voice overloads the speaker. BLIMP SPOTTER Blimp to Daisy! Red Four, Red Four!", "BOAT #7 - HENDRICKS Guns are up, heads turning everywhere. HENDRICKS -LRB- into Walkie - Talkie. -RRB- Where -? BLIMP SPOTTER Went under your - There! The Coast Guard sonar operator spots it and pales. A slick black dorsal fin is slicing a wake toward the swimming area. SONAR OPERATOR Jesus Christ -", "BEACH - BRODY Rigid and choked, he almost breaks the `` send'' button trying to transmit. BRODY Everybody out! Out of the water, please - leave the water, please - Hooper is on his feet. The lifeguard next to him begins blowing on his whistle.", "CLOSE - BRODY shouting hysterically into his Walkie - Talkie. BRODY No whistles! No whistles!", "THE BEACH Dozens of bathers halfway out of the water, turn to see. More whistles, and they start toward shore. The loudhailers sound - ing more urgent now, and a contagious dread seizes one person after another. Entire groups of people begin pulling toward shore, some of them obviously trying to control a growing hysteria in others.", "BOATS #6 AND # are converging, heading toward the repellent line as if track - ing an underwater shadow. The fin is beyond the repellent cordons and heading into the crowds.", "THE WATER - BATHERS People begin screaming. Kids are suddenly separated from their parents. Others seem to forget how to swim. One myopic little girl has her glasses bumped off and she begins to cry in blinded panic.", "BOATS #2, #3, # The riflemen in the boats are trying to get a bead, but too many civilians create a hazard. The Coast Guardsmen attempt to sever the repellent cord to gain access to the bathing area and the heaving fin.", "THE WATER - BATHERS This is a confirmation of our worst dread - a full - blown headlong water panic. Screaming vacationers claw their way over the bodies of the less able. Some literally attempt to walk over the bobbing heads and glistening backs of others pulling for dry land.", "CLOSEUPS - PANIC Horrified faces. Some are stunned and wandering in slow, tentative circles, while others are helped out by friends. Five people try to mount a rubber raft. Ugly reminders that each of us is Number One. Brody enters shot, yelling into his Walkie - Talkie, Hooper charges past him to help an old man out of the water. He returns to pull several others to their feet.", "EXT. - THE BEACH Hooper keeps plunging in, dragging the helpless from the surf. Tears well in Brody's eyes. The screaming is deafening. The TV unit pushes past Brody. INTERVIEWER -LRB- pointing. -RRB- Zoom in! Over there! One thousand survivors pack the beach, standing absolutely still. A numbing cold sets in, and people shiver against each other. Muted sobs, whimpering, coughing. The six burly lifeguards huddle together like Cub Scouts.", "ANGLE - BATHING AREA The monstrous black fin turns a slow circle as two Coast Guardsmen manage to cut their own repellent line. All boats converge on the dynamic fin. Men raise their guns to fire. Others adlib nautical commands in a uniquely calculated fashion.", "CLOSE - FIN It slips sideways, revealing for the first time a tiny blue snorkel. Then appears the faces of two youngsters whom we will recall from the coven behind the dune. The fin bobs back, a beaverboard replica attached to a partially sub - merged surfboard. One youngster looks up and is greeted by :", "YOUNGSTER'S POINT OF VIEW Twenty rifles and shotguns pointed directly at him. Surround - ing him on three sides. Some of the policemen start to lower their guns - struck dumb.", "CLOSE - YOUNGSTER his only defense, he begins to cry - and feebly raises his hands in unconditional surrender.", "ANGLE - ESTUARY The narrow estuary leading into the half - mile is rough today. Two children digging in the sand and unaware of the beach panic one hundred yards away look up, and the little girl points.", "A BLACK DORSAL FIN is cruising through the narrows and toward the busy pond.", "ANGLE - POND Michael is tacking full - sail in his boat with a friend, Kit. Kit is admiring the shark's tooth necklace around his own neck while Michael rubs some water on the scratches left by it. The fin, huge, black and real, crosses behind them. They are not yet aware. The fin seems to circle and return. It heads toward Michael's boat when another small dinghy gets in its way - a weekend novice just finishing a thermos of coffee when he is `` bumped.'' The entire boat is overturned. Michael sees the fin now as it collides with him, the entire bow lifting out of the water and rolling over on the port side. Michael and Kit are thrown head first. Three heads in the water come up sputtering, the fin between them crossing back. Michael freezes. The fin comes directly at him, growing into the sky, passing him so close he could touch it, but ignoring him as it follows the flailing and panicked weekend novice. Catches him. Michael watches. That all too familiar explosion of water - a choked off scream - the head and upper torso of the novice passing Michael swiftly as though being carried off - a current of blood trailing around. The renewed cry of SHARK! SEMENTIA POND!", "CLOSE - BRODY He turns. Oh God! Running through the slogging sand.", "CLOSE - COAST GUARDSMEN IN PICKET BOAT COAST GUARDSMAN Block the estuary! Three boats racing to carry out the orders. The black fin repassing the two children, racing to get out. One rowboat reaches the mouth before the others. The fin wo n't veer off. It smacks into the little vessel, tearing off the bow and beaching it in its wake. Racing into open water. Blood leavings.", "CLOSE - HOOPER He is pulling Michael out of the water as Brody runs up. Michael is conscious but in shock - his eyes staring at nothing. HOOPER -LRB- feeling his face. -RRB- He's in shock. Get blankets! People gather and Brody snatches beach towels out of their hands. They cover Michael and carry him off the beach, feet raised above his head. HOOPER I can read signals in the water - when they're around - when they leave. I saw the signals. It moved on. They reported an attack up the coast, toward Ipswitch, Maine today. Oh, Jesus, Martin, I'm sorry.", "INT. QUINT'S SHACK - DAWN The 1940's hit HUBBA, HUBBA, HUBBA blares from the new stereo. Barbara Walters blares from the new color TV. Brody has the look of a man who has gone without sleep for two days. He slouches in the fighting chair, watching Quint who is shoving Salvatore toward the door. QUINT -LRB- shouting over the noise. -RRB- You know which cans, stupid - the whale meat. Get'em out of the deep freeze and on board. This done, Quint picks up a harpoon, tests the point. Sharpens it on a shark hide. QUINT And where would you like this shark delivered, sir? BRODY -LRB- even. -RRB- Anywhere we can see it's dead. QUINT -LRB- looking at TV. -RRB- You want him gift - wrapped? Brody rises to go. BRODY Call me. Soon as you have some news. Quint talks past him in a load open voice. QUINT What is it now?! We see Salvatore, afraid of him, but resolved. SALVATORE I ai n't going. Ai n't goin'. Quint snaps the generator off. QUINT -LRB- quiet menace. -RRB- You ai n't what? SALVATORE I ai n't that crazy, that's what! Now I brung in some mean big mothers with you, but I'm resignin' on this. no, sir! QUINT -LRB- to his gallery of jaws. -RRB- Mutiny on the Bounty! SALVATORE I do n't mess with nothin' built like no station wagon, 18 - 20 foot - QUINT -LRB- bored. -RRB- How much do you want? SALVATORE Not with no man - eater! He ai n't gon na live to no reputation on me - QUINT -LRB- sharply, turning away. -RRB- Go load up. SALVATORE That's all I'm gon na do. Quint picks up a length of rope and starts to coil it, turns to Brody. QUINT Might have to wait till I dig up another - BRODY I'll go. Quint takes him in with a tight smile. He tosses Brody the length of rope. QUINT Tie me a barrel knot. Brody feels useless holding the rope end. BRODY I really want to go, Mr. Quint. QUINT -LRB- ignoring him. -RRB- Five lengths of half - inch. twenty number 14's, straight gaff - BRODY -LRB- leaving. -RRB- I'll get a pro to come along. Quint runs through his check list. to himself. Pan down to the floor and an arsenal of hand - to - shark weaponry. QUINT Flying gaffs, tail rope, eye - splices, M - One, pliers, irons. CUT TO", "EXT. QUINT'S DOCK - DAY Hooper's fighting gear is on deck. His colleague from Woods Hole looks at him with some dismay as they go over the check list of fighting gear from the Oceanographic Institute. The Colleague, in a smaller boat alongside, hands him the last few bits and pieces. HOOPER -LRB- grim. -RRB- Powerhead, C.O. 2 darts. hypo. regulator. tanks. depth gauge. The Colleague glances up toward the flybridge and Quint. Salvatore goes back and forth rolling on chum barrels. COLLEAGUE You should n't be in on this, Matt. -LRB- pause, watches. -RRB- Hunting anything down - I mean, that's not our area. HOOPER -LRB- signing receipt. -RRB- Maybe I'm in the wrong area. Quint looks down at the undersea cage that is sitting on the transom of the Orca. QUINT What's this glamour - boy. a portable shower? HOOPER -LRB- shakes hands with Colleague, who pushes off, shaking his head. -RRB- Thanks. I'll see you. QUINT Huh? HOOPER -LRB- disinterested in what he thinks. -RRB- Anti - shark cage. QUINT -LRB- smiles. -RRB- And you're inside that - in the water? HOOPER If necessary. QUINT -LRB- smiles, nodding. -RRB- You're in the water with the shark. HOOPER That's right. With an operatic gesture, Quint sings down to him in his best voice. QUINT -LRB- soulfully. -RRB- ` Believe me, if all those endearing young charms. That I gaze on so fondly today.' HOOPER -LRB- glancing toward pier. -RRB- Let's go.", "ANGLE - PIER Brody is walking down the pier, bundled in foul - weather clothes like a tenderfoot Sea Scout. He carries a shopping bag and an overnight kit. Quint ca n't help himself - he guns the Orca's diesel engines to sound like a wolf whistle. QUINT Well. shiver me timbers! Brody is helped unsteadily into the boat by Salvatore, who then leaps lightly to the dock and casts off with style. Even now Brody is beginning to look sick. He holds onto the hatch handle. QUINT -LRB- to Brody. -RRB- Bow. Stern. Aft. Forward - Port - Starboard. Got it? Good! -LRB- yells over engine noise to Salvatore. -RRB- Missing a great adventure, Sal! Salvatore waves and smiles as the boat pulls away. SALVATORE You bet, Mr. Quint! Bye! Bye! The Orca chugs past the dock and out toward the narrow breakwater. -LRB- NOTE : TO BE INSERTED - THE BLUE SHARK FRENZY, PER BENCHLEY'S NOVEL, TO GET THE THIRD ACT UNDER WAY. -RRB-", "EXT. THE OCEAN - AFTERNOON The Orca is drifting in neutral. The ocean is like gelatin, the sun sucking heat waves from its surface. Brody at the stern, handkerchief on his head to protect from further sun - burn, has been handed the slimiest job on a shark hunt : the ladling out of chum. Brody is reeling with nausea. Hooper is up at the wheel on the flybridge. He dons a baseball cap and aviator's sunglasses. Quint is firmly situated in the fighting chair, reeling in the bait. All three have the look of being on open water for the better part of the day, with no luck. QUINT -LRB- to himself. -RRB- That do n't tempt him either, huh? He hauls in the bait. Two mackerel, barely alive. QUINT We'll find him something. Hooper studies this man Quint as he flings aside the mackerel. Brody has stopped chumming and is retching over the side. QUINT -LRB- yelling at Brody. -RRB- Keep that chum going! We got five good miles, do n't break it! Brody opens his overnight kit and takes out a handkerchief and some Old Spice after - shave. He pours the after - shave into the cloth, presses it to his nose, and resumes ladling. Quint almost trips over Hooper's tanks as he walks to the chum barrels. He roughly kicks them aside. QUINT Fancy goddam toys. HOOPER -LRB- jumping up. -RRB- Careful! Compressed air - you crack that and it explodes like a bomb! QUINT -LRB- mutters. -RRB- Cluttering up my deck - Quint takes a wide red strip of whale meat and a gnarled squid from the garbage pail, and searches for a No. 2 hook rig. HOOPER -LRB- distaste. -RRB- That from a pilot whale too? QUINT -LRB- deftly slicing whale. -RRB- Ca n't you tell? Here - He holds up the strip of whale. Quint has sculpted it into the outline of a whale. QUINT Cute, huh? -LRB- to Brody. -RRB- The expert do n't approve. Brody shades his eyes from the white sun as Quint baits up. QUINT Now, you swim down and. -LRB- kisses the bait. -RRB- give a nice big kiss to Mr. White - BRODY -LRB- croaky. -RRB- You still think it's all the way out here? QUINT -LRB- snapping bait to his leader. -RRB- I think like they do, Chief. HOOPER And they have brains the size of a radish. Quint gets a big laugh out of this, and sits in the fighting chair. He casts off, murmuring as the line feeds out. QUINT Now if he were n't around, we'd of hooked something else by now, would n't we? But he scared'em all away. Yeah, did n't you? Yeah, I know you, you poor lonesome son of a bitch. come to pappa, you - The line whizzes off the reel. Brody jumps up. Quint puts his hand on the drag and addresses the situation softly. QUINT Atta baby - he'll gulp it down now. -LRB- making gulping noises. -RRB- Hoooooo! Quint tightens drag and strikes. The line goes whizzing out. Brody runs to Quint's side. BRODY You got it? QUINT -LRB- turning with the pull. -RRB- Get behind me, dummy! -LRB- shouts to Hooper Reverse her and turn - he's taking too much line! -LRB- to Brody. -RRB- Wet my reel, quick! Brody pours water on the screaming reel, nearly unspooled now. Hooper is turning the boat around and the line changes direc - tion. QUINT -LRB- straining, muscles popping Starboard, for Chris ` sake - Hooper steers it sharply. QUINT -LRB- to Hooper. -RRB- Half - speed there. Again the line changes direction, down this time. QUINT -LRB- to Hooper. -RRB- Neutral! -LRB- to the sea. -RRB- Where the hell is he going? Quint reeling in like mad. QUINT Oh, this ai n't foolin' me -. -LRB- rod arcs down with a surge. -RRB- Sure - try it! The line rushes out and now there is less tension. Quint is horsing up and down, reeling in. QUINT Makin' believe it's easy now. The line is almost vertical now, and Quint shows a hint of bafflement. He reels in suspiciously. QUINT Gettin' ready to run again - no? No? -LRB- suspicious. -RRB- What's he playin' here? -LRB- reels in furiously, to Hooper. -RRB- Put the gloves on! -LRB- to fish. -RRB- Let's see who's gon na tease who now! -LRB- to Hooper. -RRB- Down here! Do like I told you! Hooper is rushing down. HOOPER Ca n't bring him up so quick - QUINT -LRB- bathed in sweat ; hauling, reeling. -RRB- How do you know! How do I know! The leader shows above the water line. Brody is wide - eyed, waiting for that first look. BRODY He's nearly up - QUINT -LRB- to Brody. -RRB- Unbuckle me - fast! -LRB- to Hooper. -RRB- Grab the leader. He ai n't normal, this one. they never -. -LRB- to Hooper. -RRB- Snap it on, jerk! Hooper snaps the rope onto the leader and holds on. QUINT Watch your hands -. -LRB- suddenly to Brody. -RRB- Grab onto this! Before he realizes what's happening, Brody is clumsily clutch - ing at the big rod, appalled. Quint skips away for a harpoon. He picks one from a row of twelve, turns. That's when the leader lashes free, sending Hooper crashing backward in a serious fall, and the rod whips at Brody's forehead, drawing blood. Quint snatches up the rod and reels in. The wires have been bitten through. QUINT -LRB- addressing the ocean. -RRB- Sure. you're havin' a ball! -LRB- to Hooper, still sprawled on deck. -RRB- Get back up here! BRODY He's hurt. HOOPER -LRB- stunned. -RRB- I'm okay. BRODY What's the point with hooks and lines - QUINT Do n't tell me my business! -LRB- to Hooper, points. -RRB- Quarter - mile, that way. Full throttle. Hooper shakes off his dizziness and obeys. Brody watches Quint rig up a new leader, hook up the same bait. BRODY -LRB- nursing forehead, gesturing at rod and reel. -RRB- I do n't understand though. How you expect to - QUINT This tricks him to the surface, got that? Then I can jab him, under - stand? -LRB- goes to flybridge, muttering. -RRB- Think I'm gon na haul it in like a catfish? Brody begins to apply cream to his sunburned nose.", "ON BRIDGE - HOOPER AND QUINT QUINT -LRB- suddenly, pointing. -RRB- Over there! HOOPER Why over there? QUINT -LRB- still looking. -RRB- At least you handle the boat all right. HOOPER I can do more than that. Look, Quint, I brought along a - QUINT Stop. Here. Cut the engine. Hooper cuts the engines as Quint swings nimbly down. He stands stock still on the main deck, motioning Brody to be silent. Then picking up the newly rigged rod, Quint softshoes it over to the chair. About to sit down, he freezes.", "CLOSE - QUINT looking stunned.", "CLOSE - BRODY moving back, eyes wide.", "CLOSE - HOOPER moving closer, aghast.", "COMBINED POINT OF VIEW We see the shark. First the jet - black fin. then the head and upper jaws, twenty yards off. It finally submerges, veer - ing off to one side with a neat slap of its tail.", "ANGLE - QUINT He puts the rod away. QUINT Jesus. I heard they got that big. HOOPER Closer to thirty feet. QUINT -LRB- knowingly. -RRB- Twenty - five. And three tons of him there. HOOPER -LRB- to himself. -RRB- What's the formula? -LRB- calculates in his head. -RRB- Girth, say 150 inches. Squared and. divide by 800 - that's six one, five. 6150 by 2000 -. -LRB- stops, wryly. -RRB- Just over three tons. Quint snorts and dumps the chum overboard. Flings in the two mackerel. BRODY Where'd it go? Hooper is rummaging in his gear. Brody watches him locate a small waterproof signal light. He starts to attach it to the first barrel. Quint, who has been scanning the sea, spins around. QUINT Do n't monkey with none of my gear! HOOPER -LRB- trying to be patient. -RRB- Your harpoons are attached to these. right? -LRB- indicates barrels. -RRB- They pop up and drag on him, drag on him till he's through - is n't that the idea? QUINT You ca n't improve on it! Hooper switches on the signal light. It pulses a glow that hurts the eyes even in broad daylight. HOOPER What if we have to follow him? Quint breathes in smoke until his tongue catches fire. QUINT Sonny - take that, and your formulas, and your cage - take your whole halfass hardware store here and - A whale of a thump jolts the Orca. Quint grabs for a harpoon. Brody pulls his snub - nose special from his shopping bag. Hooper sees the panic on Brody's face and reaches a hand out to him. HOOPER Put that away! Quint, on the pulpit, harpoon poised. QUINT Once more. once more! WHUMP! Quint almost takes a tumble into the water. We see the glistening back and fin below him. HE PLANTS THE HARPOON. The Great White slaps the transom with its tail and sounds.", "INSERT - COILED ROPE AND BARREL The rope reels out in a blur, and Hooper pins Brody out of the way of the spinning coils - just in time. The barrel with flasher attached literally somersaults out of the boat, missing both men's faces by seven inches. Quint is already poised, feet planted, with harpoon number two.", "ANGLE - OCEAN The barrel skips like a flat rock over the surface of the water, then unexpectedly vanishes under the water. QUINT -LRB- poised. -RRB- He ca n't stay down, swimmin' with that on! Wait till I stick him with two! That'll worry him! Come on, upstairs! What's he waitin' for?! He ca n't keep down this long! Brody and Hooper enter the shot behind him. The sun is low - slung over the horizon. BRODY Why do n't we go in? Have a crack tomorrow? QUINT -LRB- does n't turn. -RRB- We are stayin' out here till I got him!", "ANGLE - HOOPER AND BRODY They exchange looks. `` He's nuts.''", "EXT. ORCA - ON OPEN SEA - NIGHT - CLOSE - BRODY asleep on deck. The day has taken its toll. Brody is riding the crest of some bad dreams, on the verge of waking at any moment.", "ANGLE - QUINT AND HOOPER Both sit on the transom. Hooper takes a long pull from a bottle of Quint's home brew. Quint is railing at him, both a little smacko. QUINT Close call, my ass. A baby dogfish in a laboratory? See this thumb? Quint flaunts his thumb, a checkerboard of scar tissue. HOOPER -LRB- handing back the bottle. -RRB- You've got the monopoly, huh? Here! Hooper rolls up his trouser leg boasting a crescent scar on his calf. HOOPER Look at this one. QUINT -LRB- snorts. -RRB- Beauty mark. Quint starts to pull up his own pant leg. HOOPER Bull - shark scraped me. I was down getting samples, and he - QUINT -LRB- puts his leg on Hooper's lap. -RRB- Mako! Match that! A slow mischievous grin stains Hooper's soggy face. He slowly unbuttons his shirt, knowing an ace beats the three of club. An S - shaped white scar on his side says `` gin.'' HOOPER Eight - foot moray eel - right through the suit, buddy. Quint staggers to his feet, begins undoing his belt, undoes his zipper. QUINT You're in one piece, ai n't you? Here me lovely! Quint pulls down one side of his pants to his hip. It looks like a small piece of him was cored out. HOOPER Minor League. Where's it from? QUINT Tillie Schwab - Newark, New Jersey. Both laugh, as Hooper pull his shirt down over his left shoulder. HOOPER Right! You want to play dirty -? -LRB- displays tiny scar. -RRB- Standing in line for The Exorcist! More laughter. Quint takes off his shoe. QUINT I got a toe that'll wipe the floor with you - Hooper, laughing, undoes his belt. HOOPER A what? You got a what?", "ANGLE - QUINT Something catches his eye and sobers him. QUINT He's up again.", "ANGLE - SEA The stroboscopic signal - light surfaces at the horizon. QUINT -LRB- grudgingly. -RRB- Very handy light, I'll say that. HOOPER -LRB- feeling macho. -RRB- Let's move in on him. QUINT -LRB- shakes head. -RRB- Not till I can see him good. -LRB- a long look, a hint of worry. -RRB- Even the one'll keep pullin' him up. But he'll need three, maybe four. Most I ever used was two. -LRB- swigs from bottle. -RRB- Bastard ran me halfway to Liverpool. HOOPER You kill him? QUINT -LRB- still staring. -RRB- Always do, once I stick a barrel on'em. -LRB- back to Hooper. -RRB- No more objections? Hooper does n't replay, Quint needles him. QUINT Jaws two foot wide. Real Prestige item. Hooper shrugs. Quint hands him the bottle. Hooper cocks his head, noticing a scar patch on Quint's right forearm. HOOPER How'd you get that one? Quint, staring out to sea, does n't seem to hear Hooper. The signal light disappears. QUINT Down again. HOOPER -LRB- persisting. -RRB- The scar on your arm. QUINT -LRB- detached. -RRB- Had a tattoo there. HOOPER -LRB- jocular. -RRB- Changed your mind about somebody? QUINT -LRB- shaking his head. -RRB- It said ` U.S.S. Indianapolis.'", "CLOSE - HOOPER His face falls as he hears this. Quint looks at him ironi - cally. QUINT Guess you experts know about that. Once again Quint turns his eyes to the sea. HOOPER -LRB- gravely. -RRB- You were on her? June' 45? QUINT -LRB- flat and quiet. -RRB- On her and torpedoed right off her. Into the drink with 900 other clowns. Started with 900 anyway. floating in that big warm Pacific. -LRB- the light surfaces again. -RRB- Must have been like a dinner bell in there. Explosions, and half the guys bleeding. Soon as the sharks came homing in on us, we went by the Manual, of course. Kept trying to float in groups. doin' what if said, splash at'em, yell at'em, hit'em on the nose, they wo n't bother you. all that. They tore apart about a hundred men, the first night. And pretty soon, when they stepped it up, and you'd feel'em bump you, and guys'd get pulled down a couple of yards away, and it got to two days. and three. Well, some fellas could n't take it no more, just peeled off their life - jackets, got it over with. We were in the water 110 hours. Sharks averaged six men an hour. -LRB- nails Hooper a hard look. -RRB- They're all experts. -LRB- spits in the ocean. -RRB- HOOPER -LRB- weakened by the story. -RRB- Jesus, Quint! You ca n't blame - Hooper is interrupted by the boom and banshee cries of a distant whale.", "ANGLE - BRODY springs out of his shallow sleep. BRODY What - What the hell -? HOOPER -LRB- depressed. -RRB- A whale's out there. Quint sits in the fighting chair. QUINT So is he.", "ANGLE - SEA The light has surfaced a quarter of a mile away. QUINT Go on and sleep, the two of you. Brody sinks back, half awake and panting from his burst of fright. Hooper looks at Quint a long time, suddenly a stranger again, then beds himself down in the balmy night air. Quint starts to doze, massaging his missing tattoo. CUT TO", "EXT. THE OCEAN - NIGHT The Orca sits on unruffled waters. A planetarium of star - life overhead with shooting stars, every now and again making incisions into the heavens and leaving green trails behind. All is quiet, not a breath of wind. The barrel's strobe light pops into foreground, CLOSE. It heads toward the Orca, carving neon blue phosphorescence into the water. The massive dorsal fin surfaces in the night and circles the Orca, leaving phosphorescence in its broad wake. The night skies, the silent waters are now alive in dancing light.", "ANGLES - THE MEN as the sleep. A SOUND is heard. A low protracted scraping. No one wakes. The sound returns. Another SCRAPE. A SCRATCH - ING noise. almost sounds like CHEWING. Then a gentle BUMP at the stern. Quint stirs. Brody turns over. Hooper is sleeping soundly. Then. A seizure of violent shaking. A horrible splintering and popping noise. Quint half falls, half springs, out of the chair. Hooper is on his feet, but loses his footing. The Orca is again bumped from underneath. Brody holds on, his gun in hand. Quint pulls out his M - 1. QUINT Start the engine! Hooper is on the flybridge in six bounds. Quint fires sea - ward over the transom. The engine starts, but something in it sounds wrong. QUINT Cut it! Cut it! Quint cranes to look down and around, but no light can be found. QUINT I do n't know where he is! Ripped something loose - shaft or some - thin'. He hefts up a deckboard, pokes his small flashlight into the cavity. HOOPER I told you I have things to kill it with. take over up there, I can - Quint! QUINT -LRB- slams down board. -RRB- Start the pump, goddammit! Quint ca n't hide his fear now. BRODY Are we leaking? Sound - pumps starting. QUINT We'll stay afloat. Watch for the barrel - BRODY Ca n't I bail or something? Quint takes Brody by the arm and sits him down, pointing to starboard. QUINT Keep your eyes open, that's all - out there! -LRB- to Hooper. -RRB- And you keep looking that way, killer! Quint takes up the opposite position and loads his M - 1. Brody checks his gun. Hooper looks with binoculars. QUINT And nobody sleeps. Nobody!", "ANGLE - ORCA The three men standing sentinel. Stars. quiet seas. phosphorescence lighting up the water. HEAR the whale cry - ing from far away.", "EXT. THE ORCA - DAWN Brody leans against the windshield on the flybridge. His arms hoist binoculars to his eyes. Visible without binoculars is the signal - light and barrel, not moving, two hundred yards astern. An angry racket filters up from below deck - Quint is effecting engine repairs the only way he knows how. Brody has learned a neat sailor's trick and nimbly slides down the hand piping, his feet avoiding the steps. He sidles next to Hooper, who is struggling into his full wet suit. QUINT. -LRB- o.s. -RRB- It moving? BRODY -LRB- loud and off. -RRB- No - still there! Hooper is busy attaching the cage to the ginpole. He is full of purpose, his hands working against the clock, short glances to the hatch from where Quint can be heard, cursing and wrench - ing. BRODY Please, Matt, do n't get him sore. He's loony enough. Hooper tests the rope, inspects his gear, selects a steel pole and opens a tiny green felt case. BRODY Put all that stuff away before he finds out.", "INSERT - GREEN FELT CASE Hooper opens it, removing a deadly - looking syringe head. HOOPER -LRB- grim. -RRB- He had a turn, now I'll have a turn. -LRB- mounting it on steel pole. -RRB- Maybe you should have a turn, too. Brody tries to reason, when :", "ANGLE - QUINT emerges dirty, red - eyed and haggard, pauses to take it all in. QUINT What is this? HOOPER -LRB- without looking up. -RRB- Strychnine nitrate, 20 CC's. QUINT Wear all the Batman costumes you want, sport. But do n't you inter - fere with me. Quint starts to climb the bridge. HOOPER -LRB- to Quint. -RRB- All you need to do is lower me in - QUINT -LRB- muttering to himself. -RRB- I need a transom that do n't leak every time that -. -LRB- starts engine. -RRB- - shaft goes around -. -LRB- an uneven sputter. -RRB- - Bent! Seams splitting open there -! Quint finesses the Orca `` slow ahead'' toward the barrel. The engine sounds like a hamster treadmill. Hooper climbs up beside him. HOOPER You know he'll go for the cage - QUINT Not today, doc. No injections. HOOPER I can finish him in sixty seconds. QUINT -LRB- listening to engine. -RRB- Whole goddam housing's loose! ` He' can hear it, too. HOOPER Ca n't you stop this Moby Dick crap?! QUINT We do this the way I know how. Quint cuts the engine once alongside the barrel. Hooper barely controls himself. Climbs down. Quint follows after him, putting a cautioning hand on Hooper's shoulder to walk softly, then motions Brody to stay on the flybridge and keep his eyes peeled.", "QUINT - HOOPER Tiptoe to the stern, Quint intercepting a harpoon along the way. Hooper leans way out over the transom and poles the barrel closer. It bobs around easily, arousing Quint's sus - picions. QUINT -LRB- softly. -RRB- Playin' possum. Hooper poles up the slick nylon rope, leaving the barrel untouched in the water. QUINT Pull up easy - only want to goose him up. Second you feel he's run - ning, drop it. If you want any hands left. Hooper starts hand - reeling in. Surprisingly, there is no resistance. Both men share perplexed looks. Then Quint reaches over, his whole body leaning over the side, putting down his harpoon. QUINT Here - gim me. I do n't get what he's.", "WATER - ANGLE Both men are draped over the side, their chins almost touching the water on the aft side. From the opposite starboard direction, fully unfastened from the barrel, comes the Great White. First the fin, then the conical nose and the upper border of wide, grinning teeth. It knifes through the water in absolute silence, propelling itself with tremendous speed toward the unsuspecting men.", "CLOSE - BRODY His instincts shine - as does his newly - acquired sense of direction. BRODY -LRB- top of his lungs. -RRB- Shark! Starboard! It's under you -!", "CLOSE - HOOPER AND QUINT They turn just in time, and a long spine - stretch saves them from instant decapitation. The Great White passes the transom, the harpoon still in its side and trailing five feet of chewed off cable. The monster rolls on its side and looks at them as it passes. Then, with a great sweep of its tail, it lashes the side of the boat, ripping the rope from Quint's hand and shearing off five square yards of paint like a lathe. It makes a wide arc out to sea, only the fin showing now, and begins to circle around the boat. Quint notices his hand, palm cut and bleeding, realizes he came that close to losing his whole hand. He has never been more dangerous. QUINT -LRB- to Brody. -RRB- Haul in that rope - it can foul us! -LRB- screaming to Hooper. -RRB- Start the engine -! Brody and Hooper exchange places. The engine starts with a terrible grinding. QUINT -LRB- roaring. -RRB- Easy! It'll tear right out! BRODY -LRB- next to him, hauling in rope. -RRB- We ca n't do it ourselves. QUINT -LRB- seeing red. -RRB- Shut up! BRODY He chewed through this, he cracked your boat - radio in for help - QUINT -LRB- to Hooper. -RRB- Pump her out a little! BRODY I mean it! Send out an S.O.S! QUINT -LRB- spitting. -RRB- Do n't make me laugh when I'm working. BRODY -LRB- sudden resolve. -RRB- I'll do it. Brody heads off for the cabin.", "QUINT - CLOSE A perfectly terrible look comes over him. He raises up and starts after Brody. Brody disappears into the cabin. Quint pauses outside and sees :", "INSERT - QUINT'S LEAD-CENTERED BASEBALL BAT his calloused hand grabs it up fiercely.", "INT. RADIO SHACK Brody picks up the radio, flicking on knobs and lights on the complex console. QUINT. -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Beg your pardon -", "ANGLE - DOORWAY Quint appears, silhouetted in the hot light of the door, raising his bat. QUINT Duty first and pleasure after -", "CLOSE - BRODY looking up in horror.", "CLOSE - QUINT Quint brings down the bat with all the strength he can muster. Crash! Sparks fly, lights blink and go out, plastic and sections of metal ricochet all over the cabin as Quint demolishes the ship - to - shore radio. Quint takes a happy breath, winks at Brody and hands him the bat. QUINT -LRB- leaving the cabin. -RRB- Excuse me! If he were ten years older, Brody would be on the floor with heart failure.", "CLOSE - HOOPER urgently pointing. HOOPER Coming right to us! Quint grabs up his harpoon. QUINT No - comin' at us! Slow ahead he'll slam us, head on -. -LRB- the engine clanks. -RRB- Slower! Throttle back -", "ANGLE - OVER THE BOW The shark is closing the gap, faster. QUINT -LRB- raising harpoon. -RRB- Hard to port! Hooper pulls the boat into a tight turn and Quint has a shot at the upward rolling flank. He sinks it with careful pre - cision. QUINT Try shakin' that out! Brody emerges from the cabin as the rope zips overboard, and the barrel, changing over, catapults into the air before plunging into the ocean in a cloudy splash. BRODY -LRB- shouting to Hooper. -RRB- This wo n't kill it! QUINT -LRB- to Hooper. -RRB- Swing around! After him!", "ON THE FLYBRIDGE Hooper can see the fin racing ahead of the barrel. Diving down. Up again - Quint prepares another iron. QUINT More gas. go to half! Get me right alongside him - The engine thuds and knocks. HOOPER -LRB- shouting down. -RRB- We ca n't rev it up this high - Suddenly the barrel gongs into the side of the Orca. QUINT Watch it! Hooper skillfully avoids the speeding rope. QUINT Atta boy! Quint leans to one side, harpoon over his head. The Great White breaks water and. QUINT Take two, they're small! He sinks it deep. We hear shots. As the new rope whips out, Brody can be seen standing on the gunwale, clutching the steel cage with one hand, firing his pistol at the shark with the other. Quint shakes his head in amused disbelief at this, as the barrel goes over. HOOPER -LRB- shouting at Brody. -RRB- Do n't shoot him any more! He's crazy on his own blood already! BRODY I ca n't stand here doing nothing! QUINT Order in the court!", "WATER LEVEL ANGLE He has seen the two barrels pop to the surface. QUINT -LRB- racing over. -RRB- Three'll do it! He's havin' trouble with two! He yells to Hooper and Brody as he swings behind the controls. QUINT Grab yourselves a couple of poles! Quint steers `` Slow Ahead,'' engine protesting, as he maneuvers toward the moving barrels. Quint peers down, steering closer and closer. QUINT Get ready! Now snag'em! Together Brody and Hooper hook a barrel - rope and hold on for dear life as the shark changes course. QUINT Pull in the ropes and tie'em onto the transom - free ride. Brody and Hooper pull in with all they are worth as Quint helps out by wheeling in a circle. He laughs to himself, enjoying the spectacle.", "CLOSE - HOOPER securing the rope to a cleat but allowing the barrel to hang overboard. He helps Brody with his chore on a second adjacent cleat.", "WIDE ANGLE - ORCA The boat is jarred violently from side to side as the under - water force of the Great White jerks and heaves them to and fro, up and down, side to side.", "ANGLE - HOOPER AND BRODY are both torn off their feet as the boat is thrust forward.", "FLYBRIDGE - QUINT sees the fin ahead. It is pulling the boat. QUINT Get tired! That's the idea! Here's a little reverse for you! The shark leaps partially out of the water, and the sight is both horrifying and awesome. Its jaws break water, snapping at the ropes that have him snarled and frustrated. Quint throws the Orca into neutral and shouts down : QUINT Haul in - watch the prop! At that, Quint slides down to the prow, grabs up an iron. It is too light. He grabs another, finding satisfaction in its heft and balance. The shark can be seen directly ahead, threshing closer. QUINT Now! Untie'em! Quick - Now! He sinks the iron, and the shark veers downward in a gushing shower of spray.", "HOOPER AND BRODY They are trying to untie from the cleats, but both ropes are stretched too taut. They jump out of the way as the ropes stretch down the side and behind the boat, knocking over objects as it skeeters across the deck. A tight jerking motion, and the Orca is dragged through the water - backwards. And much too fast. Water is splashing up over the transom in its backward wake. QUINT I said untie them - Wrenched to one side, Quint is knocked from his feet.", "CLOSE - THE TWO CLEATS A moment of slackness, and then a great surge of raw strength. The rope snaps the cleats off, screws and splintered wood spraying - and the barrels fly into the water. They dis - appear beneath the turbulent grey surface. The three men, breathing heavily, bruised and pouring sweat, look out at the blank water.", "ANGLE - OCEAN Pop - pop - pop. One, two, three, the barrels surface - ready for more. QUINT He ca n't go deep now, or far, either. Not with those. Not for long. Brody looks down at his feet. There is salt water up to their shoe tops. BRODY What about us? QUINT -LRB- mentally assessing the damage. -RRB- Have to pump her steady, s ` all. The barrels start a wide circle, each cuts through the water, pushing a wave before it and leaving a wake behind. QUINT -LRB- to Hooper. -RRB- Follow him -. -LRB- to Brody. -RRB- You start pumpin' out here. Quint tosses Brody the hand pump, then picks up his 30.06, checks the load. QUINT Maybe a brain shot. one lucky hit. HOOPER. -LRB- o.s. -RRB- -LRB- on bridge. -RRB- He's heading under -! QUINT -LRB- incredulously. -RRB- No way! He ca n't!", "ANGLE - OCEAN The barrels approaching the Orca dip below the surface, one - two - three. BRODY Where'd he go? Brody looks around. Hooper on the flying bridge searching in all directions. Quint is looking more appalled every second. QUINT -LRB- helplessly. -RRB- He ca n't stay down with three barrels on him! What are we dealing with here?! Where is he?! BRODY Have you ever had one do this? QUINT -LRB- and he means this. -RRB- No! BOOMING THUD at the keel. Brody slides on the wet deck and Quint loses his footing, falling into Brody's arms.", "HOOPER - FLY BRIDGE With him we watch the barrels pop up ahead of the bow then veer briskly to the left and plunk down again. QUINT Follow him! HOOPER I ca n't see him!", "CLOSE - BRODY Panic - ridden, barely in control. BRODY There -! The barrels have surfaced and we see the lengthy shadow passing underneath the Orca. It is incredibly huge, there's always more of it. There is a SCRAPING NOISE. Quint looks down as two of the barrels drag along the sides of the boat. BRODY He's trying to sink us! QUINT -LRB- to Hooper. -RRB- Dead astern! Zig - zag! There is something different about Quint. He's quieter now, more icily calm. The colorful cockiness has left him. Brody senses that Quint knows he's in a fight for his life. The Orca taking evasive action. But the three barrels are steadily closing the gap. The engine makes SLOSHING NOISES now. missing and backfiring. BRODY He's chasing us. I do n't believe it. QUINT Full throttle - to port!", "HOOPER He gooses the throttle but the engine only screeches and pounds erratically. The three barrels pass beyond the boat, negotiating a tight circle and plowing mercilessly toward the Orca. The tip of the fin aims for the stern. Quint is ready with his rifle. The shark breaks water and rises like a rocket, snout, jaw and pectoral fins shooting straight up. We see the smoke - white belly, the pelvic fin, as it clears the surface and falls sideways drenching Quint, who fires six times. The Orca shudders from side to side. From Hooper's point of view we can just discern what is happening. The shark has the lower transom in its jaws and is shaking the boat with each jolt of its head. Quint shoots until spent. Brody seizes a gaff and drives it down at the conical nose again and again. QUINT Throttle back -! When they next peer out, the dorsal fin can be seen gliding away, beginning a long circle around the Orca. Right about now the Orca's engine breathes its final fumes and fails.", "CLOSE - BRODY AND QUINT Utter dismay. Hooper turns the key, the motor wheezes. but the engine is dead.", "ANGLE - QUINT His eyes flick from Hooper to the transom. It is cracked! Then out at the barrels. they do n't seem to be moving. BRODY -LRB- noting this. -RRB- Maybe we killed it? QUINT -LRB- do n't I wish. -RRB- We did n't kill it. In rebuttal the barrels begin to move again, closer, in tighter concentric circles. CUT TO", "ON DECK - HOOPER slipping into his weight - belt, strapping on his compressed air tanks. Nobody wants to stop him this time. even Quint helps him on with things. HOOPER Your pumps are out too. Drop me down to twenty feet or so, okay? Hooper walks over to the cage. Opens the steel doors and closes himself in. HOOPER -LRB- to Quint. -RRB- Try and keep him off me till I'm down. Quint nods grimly and Hooper brandishes the pole with affixed syringe. He give him a thumbs up and Hooper absently returns it. Quint circles the deck, eye on the barrels.", "HOOPER AND BRODY on opposite sides of the bars. HOOPER -LRB- with a reassuring smile. -RRB- Lower away, Chief. He pops his mouthpiece between teeth and lowers the face mask. Unsure, Brody manages to undo the knot that starts the cage into the ocean. He and Hooper stare at one another as their faces pass, Hooper's moving down, down into the slate - grey sea. Brody curls the rope around his forearm for a stronger hold. QUINT That's the way Chief. BRODY Live and learn.", "UNDERWATER - CAGE HOOPER'S POINT OF VIEW Submerging. The sky, horizon, water line, clean fresh sea air then. the magnificent innerspace, with bubbles sparkling in front of us.", "ANGLE - HOOPER IN THE CAGE as he floats to twenty feet Hooper never stops looking around 360 degrees. He removes the rubber guard from the needle and waits.", "EXT. THE SURFACE - BRODY AND QUINT Their turning heads tell us that the barrels are still circling. Suddenly, both heads stop turning.", "THE SEA The barrels have come to a stop. Delicately, they change course and meander toward the lowered cage.", "UNDERWATER - HOOPER His back is to us. He is just now completing a visual sweep and turns, eyes front into closeup and : fixes wildly on something monstrous. and fascinating.", "HOOPER'S POINT OF VIEW The water is clear and shafts of sunlight streak downward in the blue. From the deep gloom - diving slowly, smoothly - comes the shark. It move with no apparent effort, sinuous beyond comparison. As it nears the cage, it turns, and its ghastly length passes right in front of him : first the snout, then the jaw, slack and smiling, then the black eye. Hooper tentatively reaches out. It is too far for the strychnine pole. The vinyl flesh is pocked with bullet holes, iron scars, gaffing hooks and strange open wounds that tinge the passing currents with pink.", "SURFACE The trailing barrels GONG and SCRATCH the keel of the Orca above. Brody and Quint leap back.", "HOOPER - CLOSE The shark has vanished into a cloud of rising silt. Hooper, expecting the shark to attack out of that same general direction, braces himself, pole extended through the bars, breathing faster, straining his eyes into the gloom and. we see that the shark attacking from behind him. The cage is sent careening. Hooper grabs the bars for dear life. The shark has grabbed the steel struts in its brutal jaws, shaking the cage relentlessly from side to side, bending the bars like clothes hangers. Hooper ca n't turn the point - end of the pole around, his body jammed as far away from the non - rational attacker as possible. Hooper is trapped. The shark withdraws to get some running room then charges again. The bleeding snout thrust deeper into the yawing bars, the jaws snapping and twisting, two feet from Hooper's torso, the tail thrusting it forward. Hooper drops the strychnine pole between the bars and it tumbles slowly toward rapture depth. All the shark needs is one more good thrust before separating Hooper at the waistline. Through frantic bubbles Hooper fumbles with the overhead hatch cover, kicking up and out of the cage. The shark backpedals with its tail, but the broad head wo n't shake loose. Hooper rushes downwards, after the strychnine pole.", "ANGLE - SHARK As spirals of harmless bullets bead the water, the shark twists free of the cage and arrows downward after Hooper. Hooper nearly recovers the pole. Again it slips from his frightened grasp and this time disappears into a narrow abyss. Hooper turns and looks up. The Great White is lunging at him, twenty feet above.", "SURFACE One of the barrel ropes snakes around the cage rope and pulls taut.", "HOOPER - DEEP Turning to meet the monster which - though held back for a moment by the snarled rope - now surges forward.", "SURFACE - BRODY AND QUINT The Orca is listing dangerously aft, the ginpole bent almost to the breaking point. Brody is in a frenzy trying to haul up the cage. Quint attaches the end of Brody's rope to a hand - winch. The GINPOLE IS SPLITTING! QUINT Let go of it! The pole gives way, the rope whipping down on the gunwale. the pulling of the tonnage below is tipping the Orca, dragging it, but Quint wo n't give up the winch. Brody hauls on the rope barehanded.", "UNDERWATER - HOOPER maneuvering downward, away from the jaws. Suddenly the crazed shark veers upward for the surface.", "SURFACE - QUINT The winch is working faster now, Quint demonically winding it in. The crushed cage bangs against the hull then breaks water. Brody is horrified. THE CAGE IS EMPTY! QUINT -LRB- a horrible scream. -RRB- He's comin' up -!", "MASTER ANGLE The shark breaks water right beside the Orca, rising with a great whooshing noise. It rises vertically, towering over - head, blocking out the sun. The pectoral fins seem to reach forward. The shark, in all of its monstrous glory, falls onto the stern of the boat with a shattering crash, narrowly missing Quint and Brody. It drives the stern underwater, the ocean pours in over the transom. The jaws snap from side to side. Brody flounders backwards away from it. Quint gropes for his rifle and fires. The shark heaves its terrible girth and Quint flies backwards onto his harpoon display.", "CLOSE - QUINT Skewered by a Number Twelve iron, Quint gulps blood and pitches into the onrushing sea.", "NIGHTMARE ANGLE - BRODY The Orca is tipping backwards, sinking stern first, tipping Brody toward the gaping thrusting jaws. Deck chairs, irons, spent cartridges, thermos, beer cans all pour into the vacuum of the open gagging jaws. It wants Brody now, its tail keeping him into position. Brody is sliding toward it with the rest of the debris as the bow raises thirty degrees. He intercepts one of Hooper's compressed air tanks and just as he and everything else pours toward the whirlpool and into the jaws, Brody braces himself and shoves the tanks at the bottomless pit. They jam between the upper and lower jaws and stick fast. The shark twists backward in the water and turns away. Hooper, rising, is peering around for Brody and Quint. The shark is spinning in crazed circles, the head - thrusts indicating that it can neither dislodge nor swallow the silver tanks. It bites down at fifteen tons pressure per square inch. The TANKS EXPLODE!", "SURFACE - EXPLOSION A thirty - foot geyser of bright red water touches the black sky, spreading everywhere, missing nothing.", "UNDERWATER Clouds of blood - shark's suspended carcass. Another cloud - Quint suspended.", "SURFACE - THE ORCA sinks with a rumble.", "CLOSE - HOOPER ON SURFACE Raising his mask from the water, he kicks toward Brody.", "UNDERWATER The steel - grey body of the shark is falling away, an apparition evanescing into the darkness - sinking in a slow, graceful spiral, stopped by the bobbing barrels.", "SURFACE - BRODY AND HOOPER Brody is holding onto a cushion, barely afloat, in shock. BRODY Quint. Quint. is he dead? Hooper crosses Brody's chest with his left arm, keeping him up in the water. HOOPER Do n't talk. We've got a long way.", "HIGH SHOT The two tiny, miserable heroes, swimming from the debris. FADE OUT THE END"], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "During a beach party at dusk on Amity Island, New England, a young woman, Chrissie Watkins, goes skinny dipping in the ocean. While treading water, she is violently pulled under. The next day, her partial remains are found on shore. The medical examiner's ruling that the death was due to a shark attack leads police chief Martin Brody to close the beaches. Mayor Larry Vaughn overrules him, fearing that the town's summer economy will be ruined. The coroner now concurs with the mayor's theory that Chrissie was killed in a boating accident. Brody reluctantly accepts their conclusion until another fatal shark attack occurs shortly thereafter. A bounty is placed on the shark, prompting an amateur shark-hunting frenzy. Local professional shark hunter Quint offers his services for $10,000. Meanwhile, consulting oceanographer Matt Hooper examines Chrissie's remains, and confirms her death was caused by a shark\u2014an unusually large one. When local fishermen catch a tiger shark, the mayor proclaims the beaches safe. Hooper disputes that it is the same predator, confirming this after no human remains are found inside it. Hooper and Brody find a half-sunken vessel while searching the night waters in Hooper's boat. Underwater, Hooper retrieves a sizable great white shark's tooth embedded in the submerged hull. He drops it in fright after encountering a partial corpse. Vaughn discounts Brody and Hooper's statements that a huge great white shark is responsible for the deaths, and refuses to close the beaches, allowing only added safety precautions. On the Fourth of July weekend, tourists pack the beaches. Following a juvenile prank in which the presence of a shark is simulated, the real shark enters a nearby estuary, killing a boater and causing Brody's oldest son, Michael, to go into shock. Brody then convinces Vaughn to hire Quint. Quint, Brody, and Hooper set out on Quint's boat, the Orca, to hunt the shark. While Brody lays down a chum line, Quint waits for an opportunity to hook the shark. Without warning, it appears behind the boat. Quint, estimating its length at 25 feet (7.6 m) and weight at 3 tonnes (3.0 long tons; 3.3 short tons), harpoons it with a line attached to a flotation barrel, but the shark pulls the barrel underwater and disappears. At nightfall, Quint and Hooper drunkenly exchange stories about their assorted scars, and Quint reveals that he survived the USS Indianapolis. The shark returns unexpectedly, ramming the boat's hull, and disabling the power. The men work through the night, repairing the engine. In the morning, Brody attempts to call the Coast Guard, but Quint, who has become obsessed with killing the shark without outside assistance, smashes the radio. After a long chase, Quint harpoons another barrel into the shark. The line is tied to the stern cleats, but the shark drags the boat backward, swamping the deck and flooding the engine compartment. Quint prepares to sever the line to prevent the transom from being pulled out but the cleats break off, keeping the barrels attached to the shark. Quint heads toward shore to draw the shark into shallower waters, but he intentionally pushes the damaged engine past the safety limits and the overtaxed engine fails. With the Orca slowly sinking, the trio attempt a riskier approach. Hooper puts on scuba gear and enters the water in a shark-proof cage, intending to lethally inject the shark with strychnine, using a hypodermic spear. The shark attacks the cage, causing Hooper to drop the spear, which sinks and is lost; Hooper manages to escape to the seabed. The shark then attacks the boat directly and devours Quint. Trapped on the sinking vessel, Brody jams a pressurized scuba tank into the shark's mouth, and, climbing the crow's nest, shoots the tank with a rifle. The resulting explosion obliterates the shark. Hooper surfaces, and he and Brody paddle back to Amity Island clinging to the remaining barrels.", "name": "Jaws_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["EXT. LE VALLON Opening shot - High angle on Lincoln along small bay with boats. Ext.. Bar - Waist to full figure Pan Right to Left. Detective comes out eating pizza, looking around. He crosses street and stops against wall of impasse Michael. He looks O.S. left, His POV - L.S. of Lincoln behind fishing nets. Waist shot of Detective looking and eating. M.S. of Lincoln. C.S. of Detective looking O.S. Left. Pan Right to Left with Charnier coming out from Fonfon with three friends and they walk to the Lincoln. Pan Left to Right with Lincoln passing in front of the Detective.", "EXT. CAFE LA SAMARITAINE High angle from balcony. Zoom on Detective seated at the cafe, reading a newspaper. Cut on Lincoln along sidewalk of the cafe, then zoom back to discover Detective seated.", "EXT. MARSEILLE STREETS Low angle from stairs Rue des Repenties and Pan Left to Right to Rue Sainte Francoise following the Detective. Pan Left to Right with Detective from Rue des Repenties to Rue Baussenque. Low angle between Rue des Moulins and Rue des Accoules with Detective passing by. Ext.. Rue du Panier - The Detective comes out from the bakery camera Right and starts to climb up Rue des Moulins with his bread.", "EXT. STREET High angle - on No. 50 Rue des Moulins. Pan Left to Right with Detective coming up the street with his bread and going inside his house, starting to open his letter - box.", "INT. CORRIDOR High angle - complete reverse. As the Detective starts to open his letter - box in B.G. a hand pointing a gun moves in foreground and blows off half of the French Detective's head with the first shot. Cut to Nicoli C.S. who just fired.", "EXT. A BAR IN BED-STUY - DAY A large man in a Santa Claus suit and white beard is entertaining a group of black children. He leads them in the singing of a Christmas Carol -LRB- Hark the Herald Angels Sing -RRB-. The man is DETECTIVE FIRST GRADE JIMMY DOYLE. His attention is split between the children and the activity inside the bar.", "INT. THE BAR - DOYLE'S POV - DAY The place is crowded with mid - day drinkers. Dimly outlined at the far end of the bar are TWO BLACK MEN involved in some kind of transaction in which a package is exchanged for money. As the transaction seems to be completed, cut to", "EXT. THE BAR - DAY Santa Claus -LRB- DOYLE -RRB- starts to ring his big Christmas bell, above the singing. The bell is a signal to DETECTIVE SECOND GRADE BUDDY RUSSO. At this moment RUSSO is in the clothes of a hot dog vendor and is in fact working behind a hot dog wagon. At the ringing of DOYLE's bell he takes off his apron, leaves the wagon, and runs toward the bar. DOYLE -LRB- as RUSSO passes him. -RRB- The guy in the brown coat.", "INT. THE BAR - DAY RUSSO enter the bar on the run. He stops and looks over the room. RUSSO'S POV There are TWENTY or THIRTY MEN at the bar, at least TEN are wearing brown coats! The TWO MEN involved in the deal see RUSSO and start to run. One -LRB- THE BUYER -RRB- takes off out of the back door. The other -LRB- THE PUSHER -RRB- jumps over the bar and heads for the front entrance.", "EXT. THE BAR - DAY THE PUSHER dashes out past Santa Claus -LRB- DOYLE -RRB-. RUSSO follows him and all three give chase.", "EXT. BED-STUY TENEMENT ALLEY - DAY THREE FIGURES running down a New York tenement alley, the first in flight, the others in pursuit. We pick up the incredible clutter of such an alley, mounts of rusting beer cans, paper bags of garbage bulging and ripping open, old bed springs, burned out mattresses, etc..", "EXT. BED-STUY TENEMENT ALLEY - DAY Close shot of BLACK PUSHER tripping on the tangle of trash going up against the wall in his stumble, face toward the camera, and the figures of RUSSO and DOYLE leaping upon him from off - camera. There is a blur or fast struggle as DOYLE and RUSSO try to get his arms and put him against the wall. BLACK PUSHER writhes loose and we close in on a knife in his hand, plunging rapidly into RUSSO'S left forearm. RUSSO Son of a bitch! The words are both warning and a grunt of pain. As RUSSO takes the blade and utters the words, we simultaneously go to DOYLE crouching and snatching his.38 out of the right ankle holster.", "EXT. BED-STUY TENEMENT ALLEY - DAY Close shot of DOYLE and the BLACK PUSHER, DOYLE pistol - whipping him into submission with three lightening chops of the gun to the PUSHER'S head. DOYLE continues to beat the man mercilessly into submission.", "INT. DOYLE'S CAR - DAY 3 - shot of BLACK PUSHER sitting between DOYLE and RUSSO. DOYLE is at the wheel. BLACK PUSHER is sitting on his hands, wrists manacled behind him, his head down and dripping blood onto the jacket and the canary - yellow turtleneck. All three are breathing hard. DOYLE What's your name, asshole? BLACK PUSHER Fuck you, Santa Claus! DOYLE hits him across the face. RUSSO Your name is Willie Craven. BLACK PUSHER does n't look up. DOYLE Who's your connection, Willie? What's his name? No response. RUSSO Who killed the old Jew in the laundromat? BLACK PUSHER's brow furrows, looks up just a little. BLACK PUSHER I do n't. DOYLE Ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie? BLACK PUSHER What? DOYLE Did you ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie? BLACK PUSHER I do n't know what you're talkin' about. DOYLE Were you ever in Poughkeepsie? BLACK PUSHER No. yeah. DOYLE Did you ever sit on the edge of the bed, take off your socks and stick your fingers between your toes? BLACK PUSHER Man, I'm clean. DOYLE You made three sales to your roaches back there. We had to chase you through all this shit and you tell me you're clean? RUSSO Who stuck up the laundromat? DOYLE How about that time you were picking your feet in Poughkeepsie? The BLACK PUSHER'S eyes go to RUSSO in panic, looking for relief from the pressure of the inquisition. RUSSO -LRB- in pain. -RRB- You better give me the guy who got the old Jew or you better give me something or you're just a memory in this town. BLACK PUSHER That's a lot o' shit. I did n't do nothin'. The BLACK PUSHER's eyes are on DOYLE, frozen in confusion and fear. DOYLE You put a shiv in my partner. Know what that means? All winter I got ta listen to him gripe about his bowling scores. Now I'm gon na bust your ass for those three bags - then I'm gon na nail you for pickin' your feet in Poughkeepsie.", "EXT. HEADQUARTERS NARCOTICS BUREAU OF THE NYPD 12 OLD SLIP AND SOUTH STREETS - NIGHT DOYLE and RUSSO standing side by side on the front steps of the old First Precinct on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. RUSSO has his overcoat over his shoulders as a cape. The sleeve of his left arm is rolled up over a blood - stained bandage on the left forearm. DOYLE Havin' trouble? You're a dumb guinea. RUSSO How'd I know he had a knife. DOYLE Never trust a nigger. RUSSO He coulda been white. DOYLE Never trust anybody. You goin' sick? RUSSO Not a chance. RUSSO nods in acceptance of the remark. The easy, synical rapport between them is obvious : they are partners in a business where somebody is always getting hurt and pain is part of the inventory. DOYLE Let's popeye around the Chez for a half hour, catch the end of the show and a couple drinks. RUSSO Some other time Jimmy, I'm beat. DOYLE reaches into the right side pocket of BUDDY's suitcoat for a cigarette and matches. He lights up two in the pause, sticks one in RUSSO's mouth. DOYLE Come on - one drink. Whatta you say? RUSSO Drink this. DOYLE Whip it out.", "INT. THE CLUB - NIGHT THE TITLES COMMENCE THE FRENCH CONNECTION Titles over a close shot of a chorus line, with lots of tits and ass and lean, long legs in a brassy blare of music. We zoom back to the area where DOYLE and RUSSO are beginning to occupy a table. RUSSO takes the seat on the right, eyes immediately on all that ginch, while DOYLE standing, gives their order. We do not hear the dialogue but DOYLE asks RUSSO what he wants BUDDY looks up and says `` Cinzano.'' DOYLE turns and says `` Two of these.'' DOYLE slips into the chair opposite RUSSO and the titles roll on. Unlike RUSSO who is concentrating on the girls, DOYLE is digging the room and the people who occupy the tables in it, as if he is the sort of man who can not relax until he knows who is around him, why they are there.", "INT. THE CLUB - NIGHT A long view from DOYLE's position of the room, a quick certain survey that stumbles twice ; on laughter that seems too raw and then over a flurry of activity by WAITERS and CAPTAINS serving a table on the main floor. DOYLE's attention is apprehended by the noise and activity that emanate from the same large table. DOYLE I make at least two junk connections at that table in the corner. The guy is the stripe combo, I know him too. RUSSO Hey, I thought we come for a drink.", "INT. THE CLUB - NIGHT A long view of the table with DOYLE and RUSSO very close foreground, left and right. DOYLE is leaning on an elbow. DOYLE Who is that guy? RUSSO Policy man in Queens. DOYLE What about the last of the big - time spenders. You make him? RUSSO's eyes come off the show. It is a direct line from DOYLE's gaze to the round, ruddy and arrogant face of SAL BOCA, the apparent host of the table of EIGHT MEN AND WOMEN, the Men in dinner jackets with ties tucked under the collars of blue or white lace - trimmed shirts, the Women in a mixture of pant suits and Catskills cocktail party dresses, their hair coiffed towers. RUSSO No, you? DOYLE Hunh - uh. Check the bread. He spreads it like the Russians are in Jersey. RUSSO He probably sells insurance. Owns a chicken farm in Hackensack. Zoom in slowly on SAL as he deals tips and orders. Through DOYLE's eyes, we go from Guest to Guest at SAL's table, taking apart their manners and styles as they talk and laugh, lost in the show chatter.", "INT. THE CLUB - NIGHT DOYLE finishing his drink, still looking at the table. DOYLE Dig who's just come over. The creep on the end.", "INT. THE CLUB - NIGHT The camera pans down the table to dig the `` creep on the end.'' RUSSO -LRB- VO. -RRB- Jewish Lucky from the Bronx. He do n't look the same without a number across his chest.", "INT. THE CLUB - NIGHT DOYLE close in right profile, SAL's table in the far blurred background. DOYLE Whatta you say we wait and give him a tail? RUSSO Give who a tail? DOYLE The greaser with the blonde. RUSSO What for - you wan na play Hide the Salami with his old lady? DOYLE Come on - just for fun -", "INT/EXT. DOYLE'S CAR - NIGHT The view from the back seat of DOYLE's car. DOYLE is at the wheel, RUSSO packed uncomfortably into the corner at DOYLE's right. Seventy - five yards away on the other side of the street the canopied entrance of the Club. A Continental is parked in front of the club. The DRIVER leaning on a fender talking with the DOORMAN. DOYLE frisks his own pockets for a cigarette, coming up with a collection of laundry slips, crumpled notes, toothpicks and matches. One of the slips of paper catches his eye as he is going through the ritual of the cigarette mooch, a slip bearing the name of a girl. His attention is really on the entrance of the Club and both his conversation and the cigarette business are detached and incidental to the art of waiting through the stakeout. He stuffs the cards back into his pocket. DOYLE Monica? Who's Monica? RUSSO -LRB- handing him a cigarette. -RRB- A and A, that's all you're interested in - Arrests and Ass. As soon as DOYLE has finished lighting the cigarette SAL and his PARTY come bubbling out of the Club noisily, a little drunkenly. SAL waves to the attentive DOORMAN. DOYLE close, leaning forward over the wheel to put his hand on the ignition key. He does not turn it. He is waiting for the cover of noise from the starting of SAL's car. RUSSO is turning the opposite corner of the car into a bend, his head back, arms across his chest. DOYLE Cloudy, I'll lay odds he takes us to Little Italy. DOYLE reaches under his seat for the straw surveillance hat - throws it up to read ledge of car. RUSSO I'm telling you, Popeye, he owns a bagel mine in the Bronx. A long view of the Club entrance. SAL and ANGIE, a well - built `` classy'' blonde with good legs, get into their black Mercury sedan. The Mercury takes off towards First Avenue. We hear DOYLE's car start and we move off after them on the last blink of tail - lights at the corner.", "EXT. BROADWAY - NIGHT Cabs, Daily News and Times delivery trucks, bakery vans and a few cruising cabs, one or two passenger cars and a coasting green and black police cruiser - this is the 4:30 a.m. traffic through which DOYLE moves. A rear - window view of SAL and ANGIE BOCA, in animated conversation. His head is turned toward her, his hand raised in a gesture. ANGIE is sitting in a corner with her back to the door, in profile to the back window. Her blonde head bobbles with laughter over some remark SAL has made. A long overhead view of the two cars wheeling in and out of the sparse traffic. Close shot of the license plate on BOCA's car. Close shot DOYLE staring at license plate, memorizing it.", "EXT. RATNER'S - DAY BOCA and ANGIE exit restaurant, get into their car and drive off. Hold for DOYLE's car as it passes through after them.", "EXT. MULBERRY STREET - DAY Side close view of SAL turning south into Mott Street panning to pick up the Italian names on the candy stores, funeral parlors, bars, grocery stores, social clubs. A long view of SAL's car from the DOYLE - RUSSO auto, over the shoulders of the two cops. DOYLE is leaning on the wheel of his car. He's against the curb about 100 yards behind SAL. Medium close view of SAL in the middle of Mott Street, walking quickly toward the opposite side of the street, hands in the pocket of his white raincoat. He glances over his shoulder in the direction of DOYLE's car. Close of RUSSO who has come awake. The smart - ass demeanor has dropped away. DOYLE turns to him and smiles. This district is the heart of every illegal activity in New York. Close rear view of DOYLE and RUSSO ducking down to the level of the dashboard, a reflex action. He could n't see them at that distance, although SAL, lighted by his own headlights, can be seen in the background walking around the cars, across the sidewalk and stopped at a recessed doorway. Medium close shot of SAL and partially visible FIGURE at the doorway. With another glance up the street, SAL takes something out of his raincoat pocket and steps up and into the doorway.", "INT. DOYLE'S CAR - DAY Close from the front of DOYLE and RUSSO low against the dashboard. DOYLE It's a drop! DOYLE's face, close, light smile. Long view of SAL walking down the sidewalk quickly for about a quarter of a block while the headlights of his car, with ANGIE apparently driving, move up with him. At another doorway, he looks back and then steps inside.", "EXT. BROOKLYN BRIDGE - DAY Long view of SAL's Mercury moving over Brooklyn Bridge. Close shot of the DOYLE - RUSSO car from RUSSO's side. BUDDY now interested, watching.", "EXT. BROOKLYN - DAY Overhead view of cars circling block, first Mercury turning corner, then DOYLE's Ford. Long shot of the Mercury pulling up beside line of parked cars -LRB- as seen from DOYLE - RUSSO car -RRB- stopping and parking. Hold on Mercury as SAL and ANGIE get out of it. SAL locking it up, and starting to walk toward a line of parked cars. Close shot from rear seat of DOYLE and RUSSO glancing at each other. SAL and ANGIE stop in the street beside beat - up white Dodge. Without a word they get in. Hold as they get in, SAL starts and they begin to drive out of the spot. Close on DOYLE. DOYLE It's startin' to cook, Cloudy, my man is cookin'. A series of impressionist traveling shots of the white Dodge and DOYLE's Ford moving through Brooklyn Streets, picking up street signs of areas. Medium close shot of the white Dodge pulling into the curb. In near background, a candy - confectionery store.", "INT. DOYLE'S CAR - DAY Close shot of DOYLE and RUSSO in profile driving past the candy store as SAL and ANGIE open door and go in. Close shot of DOYLE and RUSSO parked. DOYLE is looking in the rear - view mirror while BUDDY is turned around on the seat, looking out the rear window. A long shot, from the DOYLE - RUSSO viewpoint of the candy store. The door is open, the street is deserted. Lights are going on in the little shop. Hold on the storefront as SAL appears, this time in a candy store operator's smock over a white undershirt, baggy slacks. He's carrying a stack of newspapers. Zoom in on SAL stacking the Sunday Times and the Daily News on the rack in front of the store as ANGIE appears in the doorway. She's blackhaired now, the blonde wig gone, also wearing a grey cotton smock over a plain skirt and sweater, holding a cup of coffee. We hold on them for a beat, then DOYLE and RUSSO close just looking at each other. The look says everything about the freak case they have stumbled into.", "EXT. QUAY MARSEILLE SHIPYARD 1 -RRB- Tight two shot then, 2 -RRB- cut into blue prints. CHARNIER En prolongeant les quais d'une trentaine de m\u00e8tres on pourra recevoir des unit\u00e9s d'une cargaison de 500 tonnes. 3 -RRB- While he shows the extension, clean P.O.V. Of each quay. 4 -RRB- Dolly Left to Right with Notre - Dame in background. They fold the blue prints and moves. FOREMAN MARCEL Et combien d'hommes suppl\u00e9mentaires? CHARNIER Ca fera environ 10 hommes de plus par \u00e9quipe. MARCEL Le Syndicat exigera un minimum de 12. CHARNIER Quelle importance. Ce qui compte pour moi c'est d'avoir un chantier qui puisse recevoir les plus grands bateaux du monde. MARCEL Dis moi vieille branche? Comment fais tu pour rester si jeune avec la vie que tu m\u00e8nes? CHARNIER Quelle vie Marcel? J'ai plus rien foutu depuis que je suis descendu de ces cabines.", "EXT. NUNNERY", "EXT. CORNICHE - HI-WAY (BERGER) Pan Left to Right Lincoln driven by Jean with Charnier behind.", "EXT. CASSIS CROSSROAD IN FRONT OF MARSEILLE SIGN POST Lincoln passing by.", "EXT. CASSIS HARBOUR FROM CASINO Pan Right to Left with Lincoln passing by.", "EXT. CASSIS ROAD LEADING TO VILLA Pan Right to Left with Lincoln arriving from main road to Villa.", "EXT. VILLA CASSIS Camera in front of garage where the Lincoln stops. Charnier comes out with gift and walks Right to Left.", "EXT. VILLA CASSIS Pan Left to Right with Charnier walking along terrace with Cassis bay in B.G., and we discover his wife, Marie. She gets up. Dolly back. CHARNIER Bonjour ch\u00e9rie. They kiss each other and walk arm in arm back to us.", "EXT. VILLA CASSIS Close 2 - shot favouring her. He gives her the gift. CHARNIER Tu sais j' ai r\u00e9fl\u00e9chi longuement \u00e0 ton cadeau pour le voyage. Je l'ai choisi moi - m\u00eame. Tiens. MARIE Je peux l'ouvrir tout de suite? CHARNIER Si tu veux. MARIE -LRB- opening the gift. -RRB- Oh Alain! C'est merveilleux! Tu me g\u00e2tes. Je t ` aime. Attends, je vais te montrer moi aussi ce que j' ai achet\u00e9. CHARNIER Encore du sho ping!", "EXT. VILLA L.S. Pan Right to left from under the trees following her as she leaves Charnier to enter in the house.", "EXT. VILLA C.S. of Charnier along the terrace. He throws a fishing pole in the sea.", "EXT. VILLA PAN RIGHT TO LEFT with Marie coming back with a new coat. MARIE Regarde mon p\u00eacheur de baleine. Tu sais il va faire tr\u00e8s froid cet hiver. CHARNIER Avec \u00e7a tu pourras le supporter. MARIE Mais non, c'est pour toi. CHARNIER Pour moi? MARIE Regarde, il te va parfaitement bien! CHARNIER Formidable! Sans toi je m ` habillerais encore en docker. -LRB- then, taking off coat. -RRB- Je suis pass\u00e9 voir Fran\u00e7oise. MARIE Comment va - t - elle? CHARNIER Je n'ai jamais vu tant de s\u00e9renit\u00e9. Elle m' a demand\u00e9 de tes nouvelles et si nous \u00e9tions heureux. MARIE Le sommes nous? CHARNIER -LRB- he kisses her. -RRB- Non!", "EXT. BOAT - CAR PARK Complete Pan Left to Right with Lincoln passing in front of Samaritaine cafe. Driver pulls out. Charnier comes out from Lincoln and we follow him as he crosses Left to Right and jumps into the boat which moves out. FROM BOAT Back shot. Charnier standing in the moving boat and smoking as Marseille diminishes in B.G. OPENING SEA SHOT From the boat approaching Chateau d'If. ON PEER Pan Right to Left as Charnier gets out of boat and starts to climb up. High angle thru first stone door with sea in B.G. Charnier comes up and turns Right to Left. High angle - Pan Left to Right - Low angle, with Charnier coming up from 2nd arch to 3rd arch thru which we see the tower in B.G.", "EXT. CHATEAU D'IF - 1ST PLATFORM Pan Left to Right with Charnier arriving on terrace.", "EXT. CHATEAU D'IF - CHARNIER - HIS POV Nicoli back to us. He turns left shoulder as we approach to him.", "EXT. CHATEAU D'IF - TWO SHOT Dolly back preceding Charnier and Nicoli after they meet and Pan Left to Right to the Rotonde. CHARNIER Ca a march\u00e9? NICOLI Au poil. They turn around. CHARNIER Sale boulot. NICOLI Il fallait le faire. CHARNIER Il est en retard. NICOLI Je crois qu'on fait une erreur de le prendre avec nous. CHARNIER Une erreur! C'est g\u00e9nial. C'est une vedette \u00e0 la t\u00e9l\u00e9vision. Il peut aller partout sans \u00eatre soup\u00e7onn\u00e9. En plus il a besoin de fric. NICOLI J'ai pas confiance en lui. CHARNIER Sois gentil avec lui. On ne sait jamais. Il peut te faire travailler \u00e0 la t\u00e9l\u00e9vision.", "EXT. CHATEAU D'IF Cut on Devereau arriving. He sees them.", "EXT. CHATEAU D'IF Pan Left to Right bringing Charnier and Nicoli towards Devereaux to finish in 3 - shot. CHARNIER Henri c'est gentil d'\u00eatre venu. Je vous pr\u00e9sente mon associ\u00e9, Pierre Nicoli. Henri Devereaux. DEVEREAUX Enchant\u00e9. -LRB- they shake hands. -RRB- Alain, j' ai r\u00e9fl\u00e9chi \u00e0 votre proposition et j' ai d\u00e9cid\u00e9 d'accepter. SURVEILLANCE MONTAGE OF SAL BOCA's activities. From time to time DOYLE and RUSSO are visible, but their dialogue is for the most part VOICE OVER.", "INT/EXT. BROOKLYN CANDY STORE - DAY Various shots of SAL and ANGIE. Several shots of DOYLE and RUSSO in the CANDY STORE : reading magazines, having lunch separately. They are also seen in the LEATHER FACTORY across the street observing the CANDY STORE. Several CHARACTERS enter the CANDY STORE from time to time and go into the BACK ROOM. Following are a series of cuts -LRB- MOS -RRB- to be used with the V.O. dialogue of RUSSO and DOYLE.", "INT. CANDY STORE - DAY SAL counts the receipts. Two or three CUSTOMERS in the BG. SAL removes a tray of Ziti from the oven. ANGIE makes an order to go. SAL removes garbage from the back area. RUSSO -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Our friend's name is SALVATORE BOCA. They call him SAL. He's a sweetheart. He once was picked up on suspicion of armed robbery. Tried to hold up Tiffany's on Fifth Avenue! In broad daylight! Could have got two - and - a - half to five, but they would n't prosecute. Also downtown they're sure he pulled off a contract on a guy named DeMarco.", "EXT. CANDY STORE - DAY SAL putting garbage into cans. Pan and Zoom to DOYLE and RUSSO in window of FACTORY across the street.", "INT. CANDY STORE - DAY ANGIE carries bowl of hard - boiled eggs from rear of store to the front. DOYLE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- His old lady? ANGIE makes a tuna sandwich on a roll. A cigarette dangles from her lips. SAL is in BG at cash register with customer. RUSSO -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Her name's Angie. Fast filly. she drew a suspended for shoplifting a year ago. only a kid, nineteen according to the marriage license. From front of store looking to back. DOYLE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yeah, nineteen goin' on fifty. What else? RUSSO is at counter eating lunch with three others. ANGIE serving. She wears a sleeveless sweater ; shows lots of tit. RUSSO digs. she digs him. A wise guy comes in, goes to the back room. SAL follows. RUSSO -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He's had the store a year an' a half. takes in a fast seven grand a year.", "EXT. CANDY STORE - DAY POV from FACTORY window. Two Wise Guys in big coats and hats pull up in a big car. They enter store. DOYLE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So what's he doin' with two cars and hundred dollar tabs at the Chez?", "INT. CANDY STORE - DAY Angie shooting from back of store towards front. The Two Wise Guys enter, go to Back Room. SAL follows. They close door. DOYLE is at the magazine counter in front. He sits down with magazine. Orders coffee. RUSSO -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The Merc's in his wife's name. Dodge belongs to his brother. WARD'S ISLAND - DAY A heavy - faced, dirty looking man in a Sanitation Dept. uniform in a group of men practising with Sanitation trucks. RUSSO -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Lou. he's a trainee at the Sanitation School on Ward's Island. Served time a couple of years ago, on assault and robbery raps. SEVERAL SHOTS - DAY", "EXT. CANDY STORE LOU pulls up. As LOU picks up SAL. They drive to various buildings in Brooklyn. One or the other gets out briefly, then goes on. DOYLE and RUSSO watch from DOYLE's car. SUYDAM STREET DOYLE If that's not a drop or a pickup, I'll open a charge for you at Bloomingdale's. RUSSO Make it Alexander's, I like the toy department. DOYLE Toy wit' this will ya.", "EXT/INT. \"MICKEY'S TWO DOOR\" - DAY RUSSO There's about a hundred years' parole time in there night or day. SAL arrives alone. DOYLE and RUSSO in parked car across street. DOYLE They treat our boy like a king. Wonder why he do n't bring his old lady? SAL flirts with the BARMAID. RUSSO There's your answer. THROUGH RIDGEWOOD - DAY Restaurants, stores, etc.. DOYLE Who's the greaser? With SAL and his FATHER. RUSSO It's his father. DOYLE and RUSSO in parked car. DOYLE I think we oughta burn him on suspicion. RUSSO Suspicion of what? DOYLE Makin' wine in the basement. -LRB- pause. -RRB- He looks like that wop stooge used to drive for the Fracisi brothers. LOU joins them. He and SAL leave together after each kisses and embraces the old man. RUSSO Lay off with that wop stuff, will you?", "EXT. WEINSTOCK'S APT. BUILDING - DAY In the East 80's. SAL exits. DOYLE That's the third time he come here this week. You got anything on the building? DOYLE and RUSSO in parked car. RUSSO The building's clean. I checked the tenant list - Don Ameche, the actor lives there - oh, and somebody else. Do the name Joel Weinstock ring a bell? TIME LAPSE Late day. WEINSTOCK leaving building, nodding to doorman. DOYLE You're kiddin' DOYLE and RUSSO in parked car. RUSSO No sir - this is where Joel lives. DOYLE He was the bank on that shipment outta Mexico three years ago. RUSSO So I've heard.", "EXT. CANDY STORE - NIGHT SAL and ANGIE leaving. DOYLE Whatta you know - he's takin' his wife out for a change. DOYLE and RUSSO in parked car.", "INT. LEATHER FACTORY - DAY Across street from Candy Store. DOYLE and RUSSO at the printing machine. DOYLE -LRB- at leather printing machine. -RRB- Got a job for me when this is over, Mrs. Levene? They have a view of the Candy Store across street. Various people go in and out. Next to DOYLE, at a stamping machine, is MRS. LEVENE, the factory owner. MRS. LEVENE What are you fellows looking for? What do you want from that nice candy store? DOYLE We have reason to believe it's a front for the biggest counterfeiting operation in the country. MRS. LEVENE What? DOYLE That's right. They're trying to steal the formula for Hershey bars - DOYLE continues his work at the print - out machine, while observing the candy store. We see SAL leaving the store. He crosses to his car, near the RUSSO car. As he passes it, he sees RUSSO locked in embrace with a lady in a babushka. As SAL drives off, we get a closer look at the `` LADY'' in the babushka : DETECTIVE JAMES DOYLE.", "INT. RUSSO'S CAR ON TRIBORO BRIDGE CROSSING TO WARD'S ISLAND DOYLE What the hell am I drivin' for? I'm a first grade Detective. You're a second grade guinea. RUSSO I'm wounded. Oh, oh. SAL up ahead in the Mercury. DOYLE -LRB- at the wheel. -RRB- What?", "EXT. WARD'S ISLAND - BRIDGE The Mercury crossing the bridge to the Island. RUSSO He's goin' to Ward's Island. We'll get spotted. What the hell's he goin' there? DOYLE - RUSSO car B.G. DOYLE Maybe he's goin' to see his brother. DOYLE Or could be another drop. I guess he gets a free ride.", "EXT. BROOKLYN STREET - DAY A Brooklyn slum street on a morning in November. It is about 11 o'clock and relatively quiet. A scattering of tenement URCHINS give the street some sound and life. There are a couple of dark shops on the street and a bar, all appearing to be closed. We look down the street and pick up DOYLE and RUSSO coming down it, walking very quickly. They are heading toward the bar. A young man is coming out - they grab him and throw him back.", "INT. BAR ROOM - DAY The Young Man is thrown in, followed by DOYLE and RUSSO. There are about 20 or 30 PUETRO RICAN and BLACK MEN in the joint, a couple of BLACK WOMEN. They are in all manner of dress. Half of them are wearing shades. The bar is noisy with conversation, laughter and music. DOYLE and RUSSO standing in the doorway, DOYLE slightly to the left, RUSSO a little behind him. DOYLE's arms are at his sides. RUSSO's right hand is crossed over his belt, under his jacket and on the butt of his.38, ready, waiting to back his partner's play or respond to any move within the bar. DOYLE moving into the bar alone. He pulls the plug out of the Juke Box, plunging the room to silence. DOYLE Hands on your heads. Popeye's here! Twenty men raise hands to their heads as one. The raggle - taggle swarm plays a kind of human chicken, refusing to move until the last moment then stepping out of his way. One of the customers does n't. DOYLE What's my name? 1ST MAN Doyle. DOYLE What? 1ST MAN Mr. Doyle. DOYLE Ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie? 1ST MAN What? DOYLE raises his left arm and pushes the MAN aside. The MAN's eyes go to RUSSO, off - camera at the door, and back to DOYLE. He does n't resist ; he gets in line with the rest of them, a line formed about four or five feet from the bar, running the length of it. Close of DOYLE at the bar, holding an ashcan and skimming the metal underrailing with one finger, knocking off the magnetized key boxes into the ashcan. He is n't even looking at them. His eyes are across the bar, staring down the customers. Close shot of the ashcan and the little metal boxes clinking into it. Close shot of DOYLE, the ashcan now on the bar, opening one of the boxes, taking out the ten dollar bill, putting it on the bar. Then, opening another, taking out the glassine deck of heroin. Then another, containing a glassine deck. He empties the glassine envelopes on the bar into a cocktail mixer which he proceeds to shake. The shaker is half - filled with tomato juice. DOYLE leaning over the bar toward the glaring crowd, pours the mixture into the ashcan. DOYLE Milk shake anyone? He wiggles his finger. It is a command for THREE MEN to step forward. The MEN do not move at first. DOYLE Move ass when I tell you. They move, shuffling, hesitatingly. But they move - TWO BLACKS and A PUETRO RICAN. DOYLE Put it on the bar. Hands of the THREE MEN going into pockets. Close of a miscellany of keys, coins, cigarettes going onto the bar - with two hypodermics, six or eight marijuana cigarettes, a small plastic vial of barbiturates. DOYLE -LRB- collecting the works. -RRB- All right, you three clowns step into those phone booths, you're goin' in. Go on. Stand in there till I'm ready for you. The three men turn and enter the individual phone booths. They stand, waiting, like contestants in the $ 64 Question. DOYLE Everybody goes when the whistle blows. RUSSO is with another man from whom he's just taken a set of works. RUSSO What's your story? DANCER Gim me a break, Mr. Russo. I'm in show business. RUSSO You're in show business. DANCER S'right. DOYLE What do you do in show business? DANCER I'm a dancer. RUSSO All right, get up on that bar and dance. DANCER What? RUSSO Get up on the bar and show me how you work. If I like it you do n't have to go in. DANCER You're for real? JERRY LEON Hey man, why do n't you let the fella alone. RUSSO -LRB- a shout. -RRB- Am I talkin' to you - JERRY LEON No, but I'm talkin' to you. RUSSO I'm tellin' you to shut up and stand over there. RUSSO -LRB- to Dancer. -RRB- Get up there. The man climbs up on the bar. DANCER I got no music! RUSSO Fake it. The man goes into a fast tap dance. But he only gets in a few steps - DOYLE All right, that's enough, you're under arrest. RUSSO pulls the man off the bar, sends him into one of the phone booths. DOYLE coming down the front of the bar. He stops before another man, who has just come out of the toilet. DOYLE What about you? Can you stand a toss? 2ND MAN I'm clean. DOYLE You do n't use shit? 2ND MAN No. -LRB- he goes for his wallet. -RRB- DOYLE Did I say you could move that hand - I'm not gon na get stuck am I? 2ND MAN No - no. DOYLE Cause if I do. DOYLE frisks the man. Comes up with vial of pills and two roaches. DOYLE Wise guy, huh? Let's see what else you got. -LRB- to RUSSO. -RRB- - Buddy! He collars the man and shoves him towards the toilet. RUSSO, eyes moving everywhere, hand on the gun. RUSSO If I see any shit on the floor, it's yours, so keep your eye on your neighbor. Inside the toilet of the bar. The MAN is up against the wall. DOYLE is only inches away. The MAN is an AGENT and this is the only way DOYLE can get immediate information from him without destroying the man's cover. Their conversation is in whispers. And very fast. DOYLE How's everything? 2ND MAN Everything is everything. DOYLE How come there's nothing out there? That stuff is all milk. 2ND MAN There's nothing around. Nobody's holding. DOYLE I got a name - Sal Boca, Brooklyn. 2ND MAN Boca? DOYLE B.O.C.A. 2ND MAN Does n't register. DOYLE Got a wife named Angie. 2ND MAN No, nothing. There's only some talk. DOYLE What? 2ND MAN Coming in this week, week after. Everybody going to get well. DOYLE Who brings it? 2ND MAN Who knows? DOYLE Where do you want it? 2ND MAN This side. Door of toilet. There is a hell of a crash and slamming behind it. Door opens and DOYLE steps out over the crumpled prostrate form of the INFORMER. He has just decked the man to continue the protection of the cover. He pauses halfway down the line as if he's speculating on beating up another one because he did n't get any information. But he decides that would be futile too. DOYLE I'm goin' check on this address in the Bronx, if you're bullshitting me, it's your ass. RUSSO Tell everybody we'll be back in an hour. DOYLE -LRB- to all. -RRB- We're goin' now! Goodbye.", "EXT. PASSENGER SHIP - DAY Close shot of DEVEREAUX, New York harbor in the background, being interviewed by television reporters on his arrival in the U.S. abroad a passenger ship. He is smiling, jovial, charming. REPORTER 1 How long will you be here? DEVEREAUX Not long enough. Two. perhaps three. weeks at most. Medium close shot of DEVEREAUX and THREE TV REPORTERS, as they talk, a crane moves into action behind them and lifts out of hold. LA VALLE is with DEVEREAUX as Translator and Interpreter. GIRL TV REPORTER Why did you come by ship, Mr. Devereaux? DEVEREAUX The next several weeks will be very difficult and the middle of the ocean is the only place where the telephone is n't ringing all the time. REPORTER What will be the viewpoint of your documentary. DEVEREAUX To make a Frenchman feel what it is like to be a New Yorker. LA VALLE That's enough now, ladies and gentlemen. M. Devereaux is due at his hotel in half an hour. Overhead the Lincoln comes down from the hold of the ship.", "EXT. WEST SIDE DRIVE - DAY A long view of the pier from the opposite -LRB- east -RRB- side of West Street, beneath the steel trusses and girders of the West Side Drive and through the forest of cars that are parked there, the jam of traffic that develops around every unloading vessel. It is a view that takes in the front end of the Lincoln inching off the pier. HENRI DEVEREAUX at the wheel, turns to his right. We watch until the point of view on the sidewalk. ALAIN CHARNIER and PIERRE NICOLI are standing there watching. When the car -LRB- off - camera -RRB- turns east on the way to the garage, NICOLI glances to CHARNIER. CHARNIER does not look back.", "EXT. DORAL HOTEL - LINCOLN PULLS IN - DAY", "INT. POLICE OFFICE - NIGHT Close shot of WALTER SIMONSON at desk in the large square office he occupies as a Lieutenant of Detectives in charge of the Manhattan Narcotics Bureau. He is the immediate superior of RUSSO and DOYLE, head of the 200 - man narcotics squad that polices Manhattan. SIMONSON -LRB- with coffee cup. -RRB- All that is great - but you guys work Bed - Stuy. You're not supposed to be in Ridgewood. DOYLE, RUSSO and SIMONSON DOYLE Detach us. Let us have a shot at it, at least until we see if there's anything here or not. Everybody wants Weinstock, right? So maybe here's a lead. We deserve it. SIMONSON You could n't burn a three - time loser with what you're bringing in here. You know you stiffs could run yourselves an entrapment rap. The guy has done nothing - Brooklyn is full of Candy Store guys with two cars who like to go to nightclubs. RUSSO Put this little candy hustler together with Joel Weinstock and it could be we stumbled into a big score. SIMONSON -LRB- moves to window. -RRB- Big score! He's dealin' a few bags here and there on the side. DOYLE Simonson, I would n't be infringing on your coffee break if I thought he was a nickel and dimer. SIMONSON Your hunches have backfired before, Doyle. DOYLE, close, no comment. Back to SIMONSON. SIMONSON -LRB- moves back to stand at desk. -RRB- Jimmy, what the hell's happening with you lately? -LRB- pause. -RRB- You got more collars than any Narc in the bureau. What was it. Over 100 last year? Terrific. But who? F You stop and shake down a bellboy because he's got three joints in his sock. You hit a high school kid in short pants who looks like he's got a twitch. RUSSO. Getting it back on the track. RUSSO -LRB- moves in to desk. -RRB- We got information that there's no shit in the street - it's like a desert full of junkies with a big score coming in to make everybody well. DOYLE DOYLE This could be it, Walter. This Candy Store guy, putting on a big show in a fancy nightclub with known connections all over him. Then on our own, after working the whole day and night, we tail him out to Brooklyn and sit on him for a week practically, and who do we come up with? Joel Weinstock. -LRB- he leans forward. -RRB- You got ta let us have it. THREE SHOT - RUSSO, DOYLE, SIMONSON SIMONSON -LRB- pause, he turns to RUSSO. -RRB- You really believe all this crap? RUSSO I go with my partner. A pause. SIMONSON What'll it take? RUSSO First a wire. DOYLE Two wires. One on the store and one on his house. SIMONSON You know I have to get a court order for wiretaps. RUSSO Try. okay? DOYLE We know you can do it, Walter. They start to leave. Close on SIMONSON. SIMONSON Popeye. Close on DOYLE at the door. RUSSO beside him. Back to SIMONSON SIMONSON You still pickin' your feet in Poughkeepsie? WIRETAP SEQUENCE `` A''", "INT. BASEMENT RUSSO on phones - checking notes on SAL. DOYLE reading comics on cot. Tape machine clicks on - tape is activated. RUSSO sits attentively.", "EXT. CANDY STORE - DAY Shot of wire. SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- What's this crap. I just spoke to my wife and she says you're raisin' me a halfa cent on the cups. WHOLESALER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yeah, well you know I shoulda raised this here a long time ago. We got a inflation period. SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I got your inflation. I can get the same cups on Delancey Street for what I been payin' you for the last year - That's all I got ta do with you guys - next time it'll be two cents on the cones, then two cents on the seltzer - WHOLESALER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- C'mon Sal, I got my orders, too - SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Well, if you ca n't do better than that, you can stick the cups. RUSSO -LRB- He raps on table with a coffee cup. Doyle gets up. -RRB- C'mere and lissen to your big connection. -LRB- DOYLE comes over. -RRB- He's fightin' with somebody about a halfa cent. DOYLE How we gon na keep Simonson from hearin' this? RUSSO If he does, we'll be back in Bed - Stuyvesant tomorrow.", "EXT. AUTO GRAVEYARD (HUNTS POINT AND EAST RIVER) - DAY HIGH ANGLE : Close shot of CHARNIER, MARIE and LA VALLE walking slowly together toward the camera. They are at the auto graveyard and the scene of an auction of cars towed off New York streets by the Police Department. About twenty other men are walking around, looking at the cars. A POLICEMAN blows a whistle and the prospective car buyers gather around the auction trailer in the b.g. LA VALLE There are four auto graveyards like this one in the other boroughs, handling about a thousand vehicles a month. Those that are n't claimed are auctioned here once a month. MARIE Just for mistakes of parking? LA VALLE No. Many are involved in crimes and confiscated. or just abandoned. This is, as you know, your prime source of scrap metal, M. Charnier. MARIE -LRB- off camera. -RRB- Darling, may I have this one? Medium close shot MARIE, standing next to an LTD.. MARIE It looks so lonesome here. CHARNIER and LA VALLE approach her. CHARNIER It would look even more lonesome in our garage.", "INT. THE AUCTION TRAILER - DAY Within the large trailer, about TWENTY MEN are seated at two long benches to each side. Some are standing to the rear. At the front, an AUCTIONEER stands at a lectern. To his left sits a CLERK at a small table. The AUCTIONEER wears a sweater and hat. The buyers are tough types, young and old. All have inventory lists. The atmosphere is informal. The CHARNIERS and LA VALLE enter the trailer at the back. AUCTIONEER Every car sold today must be removed at the purchaser's own expense. We have no keys or anything to start the vehicles with. You buy'em as you see'em and where you see'em. All right, the first car offered is Number 24398. A Plymouth sedan. Do I hear fifteen dollars? The bidding goes up to forty dollars. A large BURLY MAN wins the bid. He goes up to the CLERK and accepts the bill of sale. AUCTIONEER We go to 24399 - A Pontiac Station wagon. Do I hear ten dollars? LA VALLE -LRB- aside to CHARNIER. -RRB- Notice he will never mention the year of the car. AUCTIONEER I got a fifteen dollar bid going. Do I hear anymore. Eighteen. who'll say Eighteen? Twenty. Twenty - three. Anymore. Twenty - five. Twenty - five once - Do I hear twenty - eight. All right, last call for twenty - five. Close shot of CHARNIER CHARNIER -LRB- aside of LA VALLE. -RRB- And these are the cars we're buying for shipment? Close shot of CHARNIER, MARIE and LA VALLE. They are facing the AUCTIONEER. LA VALLE Yes, sir. That man in the dark jacket is our buyer. Close shot of THE BUYER, LOU BOCA. He is very active and wins the present bid. WIRETAP SEQUENCE `` B''", "INT. BASEMENT DOYLE and RUSSO playing Gin Rummy, listening at each end of one phone - breaking up.", "EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT Shot of wire. ANGIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- sleepy. -RRB- Where are you? SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Takin' care o' business, honey. ANGIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Takin' care o' business - it's after midnight. SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You know I hadda meet some people tonight - ANGIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- - Well finish all your meetin' people and get back here now - and bring a pizza with you. SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Where'm I goinna get a pizza this time o' night? ANGIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Well try, okay? SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I do n't know where I'm gon na find a pizza joint open. ANGIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sal - SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yeah? ANGIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Do n't forget anchovies. -LRB- she hangs up. -RRB- SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This broad's crazy!", "EXT. WARD'S ISLAND (UNDER WEST ABUTMENT OF THE HELLGATE BRIDGE) Pick up CHARNIER, MARIE and MAURICE LAVALLE As the camera plays over the bridge : -LRB- in French -RRB- CHARNIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's beautiful. LA VALLE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It was built in 1917 - and was one of the two heaviest bridges in the world. The arch is still the largest in the world. CHARNIER Who financed it? LA VALLE Two railroads as part of a connecting railway which provided passage from New England to the South. It was actually the first railroad through New York City. MARIE Why is it called Hellgate? LA VALLE The river at this point is the most dangerous on the East Coast. Years ago, hundreds of ships went down here. CHARNIER If this bridge were in Europe, it would be on every tourist's sight - seeing list. LA VALLE Most New Yorkers never notice it - most Americans have never heard of it. CHARNIER Look how gracefully they conceived that arch. Like a bowstring. It was built from both ends. With no support in the middle. Beautiful. LA VALLE Mmm. MARIE Alain is the only man I know who can become as enthusiastic about a bridge as he can about a woman. CHARNIER Not any woman, Marie. Just one.", "EXT. OLD ROAD IN WARD'S ISLAND CHARNIER, MARIE and LA VALLE walking. -LRB- NEAR GARAGE -RRB- LA VALLE I'm afraid the rest of Ward's Island is n't nearly as romantic - a pollution plant, a hospital, a training school for garbage men and that area over there, where the old cars are kept, prior to being processed for shipment to, among other places, The Charnier Shipping Company, of Marseilles, France. -LRB- NEAR CREMATORIUM -RRB- MARIE What is that old building? LA VALLE Oh, it's been abandoned for years. MARIE What was it? LA VALLE It was a crematorium. MARIE For garbage? LA VALLE For dead bodies. WIRETAP SEQUENCE `` C''", "INT. BASEMENT DOYLE on phones. CHARNIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Allo. Salvatore. SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Who's this - CHARNIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Salvatore? RUSSO enters with a bag of sandwiches and cigarettes. DOYLE waves him to the phone. SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Oh. yes. yeah. hello. this is Sal. How are ya CHARNIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Very well. you meet me Wednesday at the hotel. Okay? SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Good. good. great! CHARNIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Will I expect you? SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- What time? CHARNIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Twelve o'clock. yes. SAL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yes - RUSSO Who is it? DOYLE Sounds like a foreigner. RUSSO -LRB- listening at the other phone. -RRB- French. It's a Frenchman. DOYLE This is what we been waitin' for - the stuff is here! It's here! The phone clicks off. DOYLE and RUSSO round each other and jump up and down like two kids.", "INT. WHIP GIRL'S APT. Close shot of NICOLI's face. He's being whipped, and is caught in an ecstasy of pain and pleasure. The tempo of the strokes rises. Suddenly it reaches a crescendo and he screams out in orgasm. Close, full - length shot of a nude BLONDE GIRL, wearing only black boots and silk panties. She's walking away from the camera, throwing aside a small cat - o - nine - tails flagellant whip. We can hear NICOLI's heavy breathing until the girl speaks as she moves toward a couch. Medium close shot of NICOLI, tying his tie shrugging into overcoat. Medium close shot of NICOLI, looking at the bills with a pause to sort out the currency differences, then taking out five twenties. Close shot of the WHIP GIRL taking the five then moving up to the look of annoyance and disappointment on her face. WHIP GIRL You're Fifty Dollars short. The look of anger turns to one of consternation as NICOLI reacts to her. WHIP GIRL M'sieru - the tab for this scene is a hundred and a half. -LRB- he moves to door. -RRB- Hey Frenchie - if you do n't come up with the scratch, you're gon na run into my man downstairs. Medium close shot of NICOLI advancing on the WHIP GIRL as she backs away and begins to cringe. He grabs her and hurls her back across the couch. Close shot of the GIRL. WHIP GIRL Do n't hit me. Do n't. Please. We hear the door slam as she sobs. WHIP GIRL You filthy faggot sonofabitch.", "INT. CUTTING ROOM - DAY Close shot of two pro football players smearing each other on the field, others falling on top of them. Medium close shot of DEVEREAUX at a Movie - ola working out his narration -LRB- DIALOGUE IN FRENCH -RRB- DEVEREAUX This is the new American religion, professional football. It is where everybody goes instead of church on Sunday to express that peculiar American taste for bloodshed and violence. Several close shots of the violent action. Intercut with faces of the crowd. Close shot of DEVEREAUX. DEVEREAUX These men, playing a `` game'' - make more money each year than many important business leaders, artists or government officials. -LRB- zoom out. -RRB- It tells us something about this country and how its men live, or go to war with a smile, and sometimes die without a cause. The phone rings - it is CHARNIER. EDITOR It's for you - Alain Charnier. Hold close up of DEVEREAUX.", "INT. MUTCHIE'S BAR - NIGHT In Lower Manhattan. There are SIX or EIGHT MATRONS still there, stevedores and truck drivers. Most of them are clustered at the far end of the bar, where MUTCHIE, a gray - haired gone - to - paunch Irishman with spectacles as thick as pop - bottle bottoms stands behind the mahogany bar. The cluster of customers is involved in a typical New York saloon argument. DOYLE is ignoring the debate and watching the television. He is approached by a small MAN in a long coat and baggy suit with suspenders. This is JESUS THE BOOSTER. JESUS Hey, Bo. DOYLE Hiya, Jesus. JESUS Can you use a new suit for Christmans? DOYLE Whatta you got? JESUS reaches into his trousers and pulls out three suits -LRB- jackets and pants -RRB-. They are of the latest style and color, and still on hangers! JESUS Whatta you? a 44. 46? DOYLE examines one of the jackets. DOYLE Where'd you get this fag shit? JESUS This is what the tough guys are wearin'. You know I only steal from the best. It's Bonwit Teller. DOYLE Pass. JESUS Forty dollars - was $ 250. DOYLE Why n't you get it dry cleaned and burned. JESUS blends into the crowd and we pick up the dialogue of MUTCHIE and his cronies, BAD EDDIE, LEE and PUGGY. MUTCHIE A big man could alluz beat a little man. That's why Wilt Chamberlain could murder Jim Brown if they ever fought. BAD EDDIE No chance. Brown'd kill him. MUTCHIE Chamberlain's seven foot tall, right? He's got a twelve - foot reach. It's geophysics. He's punchin' down on you with leverage. He cave your chest in. BAD EDDIE Best I ever seen was The Rock. He was the calmest and the meanest. Guys like Sugar'd be pukin' before a fight. Jake LaMotta'd be pukin'. Marciano was calm like he was goin' to church. What about the night he fought LaStarza? He hit him so hard he broke the blood vessels in LaStarza's arms. He was the strongest meanest bastard ever lived. PUGGY Hey, Mutchie, give us another bullet. MUTCHIE pours him a straight Scotch in a shotglass. MUTCHIE Blackjack Burns coulds been the greatest ever - PUGGY - He was a stone tanker. MUTCHIE That's right, he could n't fight legit. One night at the Garden about 1950,'51 - he fought either Jake LaMotta or Gus Lesnevich, I think it was - he took one o' those cream puff punches in the sixth - the laziest left you ever seen - missed him entirely. Down goes Blackjack without even workin' up a sweat and the whole Garden gets up in its feet and I swear to Christ, everybody starts singin' `` Dance With Me Henry.'' LEE I fought a guy in Cleveland once. I knew he was a dirty fighter so I stick a crowbar in my crotch. Right here. Second round he gives me a shot - Boom - he breaks his hand, the fight's over. PUGGY Fuck it, I like nitroglycerin, that's my game. MUTCHIE What about you, Doyle? Who's the best fighter you ever seen? DOYLE -LRB- a few drinks behind him. -RRB- Willie Mays. BAD EDDIE & LEE Willie Mays?! DOYLE With a baseball bat! One swing! Knock your fuckin' head off. TIME LAPSE. The DRINKERS are gone. MUTCHIE is at the bar cleaning up. DOYLE is in the open adjoining kitchen area cooking breakfast. MUTCHIE What ya doin' out so late? Hidin' from the cops? DOYLE I hear the health department is going to close this joint for selling dirty beer. I come by to help you carry out your money. MUTCHIE They'll close you down if they ever get a look at those busted - valise broads you run with. DOYLE You want some eggs. MUTCHIE Why not? DOYLE -LRB- looking around for bacon. -RRB- Hey, Mutch! You want bacon? MUTCHIE Yeah! DOYLE -LRB- rattling pans, looking around. -RRB- Where the hell is it? MUTCHIE Where the hell do you think it is, potato head? DOYLE opens the door to the icebox. MUTCHIE No wonder there's so many Mafia around. Ya could n't find a Puerto Rican in Spanish Harlem. TIME LAPSE. Almost morning. Close on DOYLE and MUTCHIE eating bacon and eggs. MUTCHIE is standing behind the bar as he eats, DOYLE is sitting in front of it. They both have a bottle of beer. MUTCHIE I got this little chick I'm tryin' to hit on. She's about 20, 21. I take her to Jilly's last night and she's tellin' me about how she wants to settle down one day, get married. I says, `` Hey, this is 1971, baby, I'm just a dirty old man lookin' to score with some pussy.'' DOYLE Strike out, eh? MUTCHIE Yeah. In the late innings. Ya look like a night's sleep would n't kill ya. DOYLE A piece of ass would n't kill me. MUTCHIE When ya go back on? DOYLE Morning. Sometime. MUTCHIE Why n't ya stretch out on the pool table for a couple hours. The kid comes in at six will wake ya. A couple eggs and a beer is cheaper than keepin' a dog around the joint.", "EXT. MUTCHIE'S BAR - DAY Close of DOYLE going to his car. He stops for a light. DOYLE is red - eyed and in need of a shave. He fidgets through his pockets looking for a cigarette but does n't find one. As he drives along a GIRL CYCLIST comes into view alongside. Our view is DOYLE's view of her long, lean tapered legs. If he looks further, and DOYLE always looks further, he will see there is a bra - band sweater covering her well - formed breasts. The pendulous swing is there as she bends over the handlebars. Close front view of DOYLE looking back to the light, then back to the legs. Close outside view, the cyclist, of DOYLE leaning out the window with his badge in his hand. DOYLE You got a pedaller's license? GIRL What? DOYLE You're under arrest.", "INT. SIMONSON OFFICE - DAY Medium close shot of RUSSO and SIMONSON. PHIL KLEIN, a federal narcotics agent, is reading aloud from an article in the New York Daily News. MULDERIG is listening and sipping coffee. Close shot of BILL MULDERIG, a Fed narcotics agent. MULDERIG Whatta you got - four more years, Walter? Medium close of SIMONSON and RUSSO SIMONSON Three. Close shot of MULDERIG. MULDERIG Christ, by the time you get out all this shit'll be legal. Wide shot of room, taking in SIMONSON, RUSSO, MULDERIG and PHIL KLEIN. SIMONSON hands BUDDY a stack of warrants. SIMONSON -LRB- rises, to RUSSO. -RRB- The judge gave you ten days on these. Klein and Mulderig will be sitting in for the Federals. Tell Doyle they'll make all the buys, and that they're to be kept informed of everything that goes down. SIMONSON turns to MULDERIG. SIMONSON You know Doyle, do n't you Bill? Close of MULDERIG. MULDERIG -LRB- rises. -RRB- Sure, I know Popeye. The Master of undercover, whose brilliant idea of disguise is to limp into a room on his left foot and limp out on his right. Whose brilliant hunches cost the death of a good officer - Close of RUSSO RUSSO If that's how you're coming in, why not stay home and save us all a lot of grief. MULDERIG, close. MULDERIG That's just my opinion. RUSSO, close. RUSSO Why n't you shove it up your ass!", "EXT. DOYLE'S APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY Long shot of RUSSO approaching housing project group of buildings. This is where DOYLE lives.", "INT. HALLWAY TO DOYLE'S APARTMENT RUSSO rings the bell. No response. He knocks. Again nothing. He hears a shower working inside the apartment. RUSSO Popeye. No answer. RUSSO Popeye. DOYLE -LRB- off, weakly. -RRB- Yeah. RUSSO It's Cloudy. Open the door. DOYLE -LRB- off. -RRB- I ca n't. RUSSO Why not? DOYLE -LRB- off. -RRB- Let yourself in. RUSSO reaches into his jacket pocket and gets a celluloid card, his PBA card, which he slides into the door at the lock. He gives it a juggle and the lock is free but the door moves grudgingly.", "INT. DOYLE'S APARTMENT - DAY The door to DOYLE's apartment, a close view from inside. There's a bike propped against it and BUDDY RUSSO is trying to push it open from the outside. RUSSO -LRB- behind door. -RRB- What the hell you got holding the door? The bike teeters and falls with a crash and RUSSO comes into the room puzzled, exasperated.", "INT. APARTMENT - RUSSO'S POV - DAY DOYLE is anklecuffed to the bedpost at the foot of the bed. RUSSO What happened to you? DOYLE -LRB- sleepy. -RRB- The crazy kid handcuffed me to the bed. With my own cuffs. The shower goes off. RUSSO puts the bike upright on its stand and squeezes the horn, which makes a loud beep. The BIKE GIRL appears in the bathroom door, wrapped in a towel. BIKE GIRL Oh! RUSSO sees key on dresser - tosses it to DOYLE. There are clothes all over the place, the GIRL's cycling outfit, DOYLE's pants and shoes and socks. The decor is completely impersonal. RUSSO looks up. RUSSO -LRB- looking at scrapbook on dresser. -RRB- You oughta get plastic covers for this stuff like I did - your scrapbook's a mess like everything else in your life. RUSSO goes to chair. DOYLE Gim me my pants. RUSSO, who is half sitting on them, pulls the pants loose and hands them to DOYLE. DOYLE You got the warrant? RUSSO -LRB- sitting. -RRB- We also got Bill Mulderig and Phil Klein. Close on DOYLE, buttoning his pants. DOYLE What do we need those pricks for? Medium close on RUSSO picking around through the clothes, coming up with a pair of panties. He holds them out. RUSSO Because by actual count our bureau has exactly nine hundred eighteen dollars and fifty - four cents to make buys and Mulderig's Feds can get all of Uncle Sam's money he wants by just asking. DOYLE sitting on bed, strapping the holster on his ankle. He checks his gun. DOYLE Throw'em in the bathroom, will you? How good are the warrants? RUSSO -LRB- on the move down hall, at bathroom door. -RRB- Sixty days. Here. Do n't mention it. DOYLE is checking various items that go in his briefcase - notebook, handcuffs, book of laws, field reports, pencils, binoculars, candy bars, etc.. Medium close shot of RUSSO looking toward the bathroom door. RUSSO Hi! RUSSO looks back to DOYLE. There is the sound of a kickstand being kicked back in place, the door opening and the GIRL leaving. Medium close shot of DOYLE tying the shoes, wincing. Looking up to the departing GIRL. RUSSO Drive carefully!", "EXT/INT. RUSSO'S CAR - DAY Close shot of BILL MULDERIG in back seat. BUDDY is in front, next to DOYLE at the wheel. MULDERIG Strictly small potatoes. We can see DOYLE working to keep up with the black Mercury as they cross the Brooklyn Bridge in fairly heavy traffic. The Mercury cuts around in and out, DOYLE plunges after him. MULDERIG You really know how to pick'em, Doyle. RUSSO turns his head in anger. MULDERIG Still wearing your gun on your ankle? No answer. MULDERIG Somebody told me the reason you did that was so's when you met a chick and rubbed against her she would n't know you were a cop. No answer. MULDERIG I said that was bullshit. It must be some kind of fast - draw gimmick or something. RUSSO Knock it off, Bill. MULDERIG He's gettin' too far ahead. You're gon na lose him. DOYLE cuts into the next lane to a lot of horn - blowing and comes to a dead, screeching stop. DOYLE sits up sharply erect in the seat, craning to see where SAL is going. He throws open the door and hurls himself out.", "EXT. BROOKLYN BRIDGE - DAY Rear medium close shot of DOYLE climbing up on the side of the car to look ahead, then jumping down and running off. DOYLE running as hard as he can. Medium close side shot of SAL turning off the bridge onto the FDR Drive, moving quickly and smoothly uptown. DOYLE running to a stop, and staring ahead. Breathing hard, horns are blowing on the bridge and they drown out the words as he curses, `` Dirty Sonofabitch.''", "INT. RUSSO'S CAR - DAY RUSSO is on the blower. RUSSO Phil - it's Cloudy - we lost him - Static comes over the two - way radio.", "EXT. BOCA'S CAR COMES OFF RAMP, PAN TO", "INT. KLEIN'S CAR - DAY KLEIN is parked on Pearl Street below the Brooklyn Bridge. RUSSO -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He just got off the Bridge - He's all yours if you can find him. Sonofabitch! KLEIN starts his car.", "EXT. A PARKING GARAGE IN THE EAST 40'S - DAY SAL emerges from the garage and heads toward Madison Avenue. He passes a man looking in a store window, PHIL KLEIN. KLEIN follows him.", "EXT. A STREET IN THE EAST 40'S - DAY SAL stops abruptly at the corner and turns around. KLEIN is forced to pass him and cross the street. SAL crosses the street to his left, at a right angle to KLEIN.", "EXT. MADISON AVENUE - LATE DAY SAL moving north on Madison Avenue. He is walking in a triangular trap of foot surveillance. We begin to learn this when we fall back twenty feet behind SAL and pick up the figure of JIMMY DOYLE, moving at exactly the same pace. While he keeps looking forward after SAL, he also looks regularly to the left, across to the West side of Madison where we quickly zoom in on the figure of BILL MULDERIG, who is on an even line opposite SAL and moving almost precisely in step with the subject of their surveillance. MULDERIG keeps an eye on SAL but is also glancing north ahead of SAL to BUDDY RUSSO, who is 20 or 30 feet ahead of SAL, thus forming the triangle of the A - B - C tail. SAL bobbing along. DOYLE following. MULDERIG keeping pace. RUSSO up front. SAL suddenly turning East at the Northeast corner of 46th Street, the block occupied by the Roosevelt Hotel. MULDERIG yanking at his right ear. RUSSO spinning around, hurrying back toward the corner. DOYLE turning East at the Southeast corner of 46th Street. RUSSO coming around the corner looking to DOYLE. DOYLE indicating the Roosevelt entrance with his chin while MULDERIG comes up to join DOYLE. RUSSO moving quickly into the Roosevelt entrance on 46th Street between Madison and Vanderbilt.", "INT. ROOSEVELT LOBBY - DAY Roosevelt lobby stairs with ALAIN CHARNIER, PIERRE NICOLI, SAL greeting. CHARNIER Excuse me. RUSSO -LRB- he is moving through the jam they form on the stairs. -RRB- Excuse me. We move into the lobby of the Roosevelt and then spin around quickly, to watch CHARNIER, NICOLI and SAL moving upstairs and out the door.", "EXT. DAY A distant view from the Northeast corner of 46th Street and Madison Avenue of the Roosevelt Hotel marquee and the three men under it, CHARNIER, NICOLI and SAL. They are in animated conversation. DOYLE and MULDERIG on the point - of - view corner across Madison, MULDERIG with his back to the camera, DOYLE talking and watching over Mulderig's shoulder. Close shot DOYLE's face, eyes bright with excitement. Long view of CHARNIER, NICOLI and SAL under the marquee from DOYLE's view, zooming in on CHARNIER, who continues to talk, look up, then look back to SAL. DOYLE You take Sal. I'll stick with the beard if they split.", "EXT. MADISON AVENUE - DAY Rear view of ALAIN CHARNIER and PIERRE NICOLI strolling slowly down Madison Avenue in the Forties. An overhead view of the pair, CHARNIER and NICOLI, including DOYLE 20 or 30 yards behind, RUSSO across the street, even with him. CHARNIER and NICOLI window - shopping at Walter's Electric, 49th and 3rd Avenue. RUSSO looking quizzically, puzzled, from a doorway. CHARNIER and NICOLI are engaged in a running conversation that we can not hear. But what CHARNIER is saying is simply that he wants to get a pack of cigarettes before they turn back and stop for dinner. RUSSO looking to DOYLE for a signal.", "EXT. A CIGAR STORE - DAY DOYLE already beginning to feel the cold, rubbing his hands together, at the front of the place CHARNIER and NICOLI have entered, trying to figure it out as CHARNIER and NICOLI emerge, CHARNIER ripping the cellophane off a pack of cigarettes, and they turn back in DOYLE's direction. DOYLE, face to face with CHARNIER and NICOLI. Straining to hear, he picks up a few words of French. Without losing stride he steps off the curb and cuts across the street, moving south, away from them, as they come north. But halfway across the street, we pick up RUSSO coming in his direction, sharp enough to pick up the tail where DOYLE had to drop it.", "EXT. RESTAURANT - DAY Medium close view through window of ALAIN CHARNIER and PIERRE NICOLI sitting at a table near the front windows of a small restaurant.", "EXT. STREET - DAY A long shot of street zooming in on JIMMY DOYLE who is freezing his ass off in the shadows of a doorway across the street from the restaurant. He is dancing from one foot to the other, his shoulders hunched, occasionally cupping his hands to his ears.", "INT. RESTAURANT - DAY A medium close shot of WAITER holding a bottle of Sainte Emillion out for CHARNIER's inspection. CHARNIER looks, frowns, shakes head negatively. DOYLE's feet. He's standing on one foot, the other raised and he's squeezing it with a chapped hand, as if trying to get circulation back into it.", "INT. RESTAURANT - DAY Medium close shot of NICOLI watching the WAITER scoop coq au vin onto his plate. Close shot of CHARNIER taking a large forkful of food into his mouth, chewing and nodding at NICOLI.", "EXT. STREET - DAY Medium shot of DOYLE looking up to RUSSO who comes bearing a paper bag which he hands to DOYLE. Medium close shot of RUSSO standing in front of DOYLE while DOYLE fishes a piece of pizza out of the bag and lets it fold into his mouth, then licks his fingers. RUSSO You want the red or the white? DOYLE Pour it in your ear.", "EXT. RESTAURANT - DAY Medium close view of CHARNIER through the window of the restaurant, sipping expresso.", "INT. RESTAURANT - DAY Close shot of the pastry tray, rows of Napoleons, strawberry and peach tarts, a frothing - frenzied rum cake, etc.. NICOLI close, looking like he's about to have an orgasm, glancing toward CHARNIER and then the tray.", "EXT. RESTAURANT - DAY Close shot of RUSSO peering at the restaurant. DOYLE's face right behind him, peering over RUSSO's shoulder, trying to drink coffee from a paper container and also moving slightly against the cold and the pain of the shoes.", "EXT. FIRST AVENUE - DAY (EXT. COPAIN) Rear long view of CHARNIER and NICOLI on Madison in the Forties strolling to a corner where NICOLI is splitting for the Edison Hotel -LRB- West 46th Street -RRB- while CHARNIER goes on to the Westbury on upper Madison. They part with a wave and a nod. Hold on them as BUDDY RUSSO comes into view, moving off after NICOLI. DOYLE follow CHARNIER.", "EXT. WESTBURY HOTEL - CHARNIER ENTERS - DAY", "INT. WESTBURY HOTEL - DAY Close shot of the elevator floor indicator rising from 1 to 6. Medium close shot of DOYLE turning away from the elevator doors and walking toward the registration desk. Close shot of the DESK CLERK. DESK CLERK Yes sir? Medium close shot of DOYLE leaning on elbow on the counter, half - turned to keep an eye on the elevators. DOYLE That guy just walked in. What's his name? Close on CLERK and DOYLE. DESK CLERK I'm sorry, I do n't know who you mean. DOYLE -LRB- showing badge. -RRB- He got off on six. DESK CLERK We have four rooms and six suites on six. There's a man in almost every one of them. Close of DOYLE. DOYLE Little shorter than me. Well - dressed. About forty - five or fifty with salt - and - pepper hair, a beard. Close of CLERK. Thinks it over. DESK CLERK There's nobody like that on six. DOYLE AND CLERK DESK CLERK Perhaps he's visiting a guest. DOYLE No, I figure he stays here. Where's your registration? CLERK gets out registration log book, goes through list as DOYLE waits. DESK CLERK There may be two. no, three who could fit it. DOYLE Names. DESK CLERK A Mr. Paul Ganapolos, he's here alone. DOYLE Where from? DESK CLERK Des Moines. DOYLE What's he do? DESK CLERK Businessman. Owns a department store in Des Moines, I think. DOYLE is taking down the information on a pad. DESK CLERK Mr. and Mrs. Alain Charnier, would be another. He's in shipping. DOYLE Yeh? Who else? DESK CLERK And a Mr. Michael Lowenstein, I do n't know what he does. DOYLE This Charnier guy. He's in shipping? DESK CLERK I think so. But they're in Room 408. On the fourth floor. Close of DOYLE. DOYLE Where's he from? CLERK DESK CLERK Marseilles. DOYLE AND CLERK DOYLE -LRB- gives him a dumb look. -RRB- DESK CLERK That's in France. DOYLE Yeah, I know.", "EXT. WESTBURY HOTEL ON MADISON AVENUE - NIGHT Medium close shot of DOYLE standing in another doorway, this one in Madison Avenue, opposite and a little up the street from the Westbury. It is about 2 o'clock in the morning and there's not much traffic. DOYLE looks like a man almost too tired to stand. We hear a car pull up -LRB- off camera -RRB-.", "INT. RUSSO'S CAR - NIGHT View from the front seat of a sedan of DOYLE falling into the corner of the back seat. RUSSO reaches across the seat from the camera to hand DOYLE a brown paper container of coffee. He opens it between his knees and scalds his mouth with it. RUSSO hands over another gift, a pint of Canadian Club. DOYLE takes a big swig. Rear close view of BILL MULDERIG at the wheel of the car, looking at DOYLE in the rear - view mirror. MULDERIG You about ready for a break? A view of MULDERIG at the wheel, RUSSO twisted around in the seat, looking back at DOYLE and putting the cap back on the bottle. When DOYLE is n't sipping at the coffee - whiskey, he's looking out the window of the car at the entrance of the hotel. He looks beat. DOYLE The guy's a frog - I'm pretty sure. Also he made me. Stayin' on four but went up to six - cute. RUSSO The other guy's a frog too. Checked in at the Edison. Had a hooker sent up. MULDERIG Christ you should o' collared him right there. DOYLE Who's on him? RUSSO Phil Klein. DOYLE What about Sal? RUSSO RUSSO We put him to bed for the night. MULDERIG MULDERIG Why do n't you do the same, Doyle? You look like shit. DOYLE AND MULDERIG - INTERCUT DOYLE -LRB- to MULDERIG. -RRB- Look. My partner and I found this case and I do n't want no Feds screwing it up. MULDERIG Case? So far I have n't seen a damn thing. DOYLE Bill, keep shootin' your mouth off and I'll knock you into the middle of next week. RUSSO, close. RUSSO Jimmy, cool it. Nothin's goin' down tonight. Cop a few zzz's while you can. Close shot, DOYLE.", "INT. WEINSTOCK'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Close shot of CHEMIST with a small lab layout spread in front of him - burner, test tubes, etc.. The MAN's wearing an ordinary business suit and both the table and the background indicate that this is not a lab, but somebody's library or den - and a fashionable one, with photos, a signed picture of Lyndon Johnson, etc., on the panelled walls. The CHEMIST is running a Thiele test on a small mound of powder. Heroin from CHARNIER's shipment. Medium close shot of JOEL WEINSTOCK and SAL BOCA sitting opposite the CHEMIST. SAL has a glass of beer in front of him, WEINSTOCK a brandy snifter containing a splash of amber cognac. Both are interested ; SAL quite nervously. The CHEMIST immerses a capillary tube, a tiny instrument the size of a needle into an open kilo of heroin. He pours a small quantity of mineral oil into a burnmeister test tube and preheats the oil over the open flame of a tiny alcohol lamp. He removes a 15 - in thermometer from its leather case, fastens the capillary tuve -LRB- now totally immersed in the heroin -RRB- to the bulb of the thermometer with a rubber band. He places the bulb, with capillary attached, into an open rubber stop and inserts the entire apparatus into the burnmeister tube, about three inches in. With a small metal clamp he holds the rig over the lamp. We watch closely with the CHEMIST, WEINSTOCK and BOCA as the white heroin powder slowly, agonizingly dissolves into the mineral oil and The mercury rises slowly up the thermometer to 220 \u00b0 - 230 \u00b0. The faces of the three men are filled with wonder and anxiety. As the mercury continues to rise they become a cheering section, rooting the hometeam home. The longer it takes for the powder to dissolve, the purer the heroin. The mercury stops at 240 \u00b0! CHEMIST Absolutely dynamite! 89.5 proof! Best I've ever seen! If the rest is like this, you'll be dealing for two years on this load. Close on WEINSTOCK, relaxed, smoking a large cigar. WEINSTOCK Retail is not my end of the business. Are you telling me it's worth the half million? Medium close of the CHEMIST. CHEMIST How many kilos? SAL Sixty. CHEMIST Six kilos at eight big ones a kilo. -LRB- he nods. -RRB- I'd say it should be able to take a seven to one hit in the street. SAL By the time it gets down to nickel bags it's at least thirty - two million! Medium close of WEINSTOCK and BOCA. WEINSTOCK Thank you, Howard. Take what's left there with you and goodnight. The CHEMIST packs his apparatus and leaves. SAL I guess we got a deal, eh? Medium close shot of WEINSTOCK alone, appraising BOCA. WEINSTOCK We got a test. A deal for half a million dollars, maybe. SAL, whose cool is easily shattered. SAL Joel, the man is in a hurry. He wants the bread and he wants to go back to France. He ai n't gon na hang around and play games. He's one o' the shrewdest cats I ever run across. WEINSTOCK, close. WEINSTOCK What am I, a shmuck? What's the hurry? He could see a couple of shows and visit the top of the Empire State Building. INTERCUT SAL, WEINSTOCK SAL Joel, do n't jerk me. I spent a lot o' time settin' this one up. WEINSTOCK So whatta you want a badge? It's your first major league game Sal. One thing I learned, move calmly, move cautiously. You'll never be sorry. SAL I been damn careful up to now. WEINSTOCK Which is why your phone lines are tapped and the Feds are crawlin' all over you like flies. SAL I'm straight, Joel. They have n't got shit on me. Look, I'm tellin' you, he'll take the deal somewhere else. WEINSTOCK WEINSTOCK He could go someplace else with his sixty kilos of heroin and see how easy it is to pull together a half million cash. He would n't find there was any hurry to do this kind of business. SAL, a little desperate. SAL Look, the stuff is here. We could set up the switch in an hour. I'm tellin' you, Mr. Weinstock, he'll split if we do n't move. This guy is everything they say he is. WEINSTOCK taking SAL apart with his eyes over the cigar. WEINSTOCK What about you, Sal? Are you everything they say you are? Close of SAL's worried face.", "EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD STREET - NIGHT Close side view of DOYLE driving ; popeyeing right and left, looking for everything and nothing. View over DOYLE's right shoulder through windshield of a young Black HOOKER leaning against a lamppost, smiling at a passing PEDESTRIAN. Hold on her as the car moves on, DOYLE's head turning as he continues to move with the traffic. Rear close view of DOYLE leaning over the back seat, looking as he backs the car. Close shot of the HOOKER looking up smiling, then the smile fading. Medium close view of DOYLE and the HOOKER. DOYLE You own that lamppost? HOOKER No. DOYLE Then how come you're leaning on it. Close shot of HOOKER. DOYLE I ever bust you? HOOKER I never seen you before. DOYLE and the HOOKER. DOYLE Get your ass in the car. DOYLE looking right and left, the form of the GIRL climbing into the vehicle. He puts surveillance hat on back seat.", "INT. DAN'S LUNCH - DAY DOYLE is standing at an island counter in a coffee - doughnuts joint. The COUNTERMAN is paying no attention to him but is instead emptying coffee from a large dispenser into a pot. DOYLE You gon na wait on me or am I gon na sit here all day? The COUNTERMAN responds quickly to DOYLE's voice. Close shot of DOYLE biting into a huge jelly doughnut, the jelly squeezing out onto his fingers. A kid pushes a broom past, getting rid of a collection of cigarette butts, etc.. DOYLE Hey! Close shot of KID, about 16, looking up from the broom toward DOYLE. DOYLE -LRB- off camera. -RRB- C'mere. C'mere! Medium close shot of DOYLE and the KID, DOYLE eating and drinking. DOYLE Can you stand a toss, Hector? KID What you mean? DOYLE You still dealin' shit? KID Jesus, no, Doyle. I'm clean. I'm working twelve hours a day here. Close shot of DOYLE talking around a mouthful of doughnut. DOYLE When they going to make you chairman of the board? Medium close shot of DOYLE and the KID. DOYLE puts down the coffee cup. Waves the KID closer. The KID moves closer, DOYLE frisks him quickly, expertly, then rips up the kid's jacket and takes a 12 - inch toadsticker out of the kid's waistband. Close shot of DOYLE looking at the knife, snapping the button and watching the blade flash out. DOYLE You clean your fingernails with this. Close shot of KID. KID Rather be caught with it than without it. DOYLE, pushing button and letting the blade fall into closed position. DOYLE Yeah, I guess so. DOYLE hands the knife back to the kid. HECTOR goes back to work. DOYLE eats.", "EXT. DAN'S LUNCH - DAY DOYLE climbing back into his car, knees on the seat, reaching over into the back. Close shot over the rear seat of DOYLE picking up the straw hat, which has been jammed into the corner by the contours of the Hooker's tail. He straightens it as much as possible and throws it under the driver's seat.", "EXT. MADISON AVENUE - DAY Medium shot of DOYLE on foot popeyeing up Madison Avenue in the vicinity of the Westbury. As unobtrusively as possible, he's looking for the tail that should be there covering CHARNIER. DOYLE is on the East side of the street, and the Westbury is on the West. He pokes his head into a couple of doorways, checks the cars parked at the curb, looks up to a couple of the mezzanine shops along the street. He sees PHIL KLEIN and ANOTHER AGENT talking together totally oblivious to the front entrance. MULDERIG in a cigar store looks to his wristwatch, then goes inside the store. Close shot of DOYLE frowning, puzzled. There does n't seem to be anybody alert. He looks over to the hotel. Westbury Hotel entrance from DOYLE's Point of View. CHARNIER steps out of hotel entrance, turns south. The two AGENTS and MULDERIG have not seen his exit. Close on DOYLE in a doorway. CHARNIER, carrying an umbrella, strolling blithely down the street, in DOYLE's direction but on the opposite side of the street. Zoom in on his face, reflecting no concern, no problems, then zoom back to DOYLE's position. Pan to the hotel entrance as DOYLE looks for somebody else. Where the hell is CHARNIER's surveillance? Very quickly, DOYLE's nervous glances. CHARNIER close. A long view of the street. CHARNIER moving along. The hotel entrance. Close shot of DOYLE going through the glancing movements, his eyes showing CHARNIER getting farther and farther down Madison Avenue. But there's still nobody following him. Medium close shot of DOYLE scrambling out of the doorway and moving down the street after CHARNIER. Rear view of CHARNIER stopping at a newsstand, buying a copy of the Times. DOYLE in a doorway, peering out and down the street. Medium close front view of CHARNIER strolling along, glancing at the headlines of the Times, an umbrella hooked over his left forearm as he walks. Close shot of CHARNIER's polished shoes, moving quickly down subway entrance stairs. Hold on the empty stairs. Then DOYLE's painful, scuffed shoes, follow.", "EXT. SUBWAY PLATFORM - DAY Close shot CHARNIER standing on the subway platform, looking at the Times, glancing toward the tracks and the rumble of a train in the distance. Side rear view of CHARNIER close in the foreground, DOYLE moving into view in the background, not looking toward CHARNIER, keeping his face turned mostly away from the Frenchman. Long shot of the platform. DOYLE right, CHARNIER left as the train pulls in. CHARNIER is folding up his paper to board. DOYLE is moving toward the train.", "INT. TRAIN CHARNIER getting on train toward camera. Close side shot DOYLE getting on train, leaning over to look after CHARNIER's movements.", "EXT. SUBWAY PLATFORM CHARNIER getting off train. DOYLE puzzled, hesitating, then getting off his car. Long shot of CHARNIER opening the Times again. Medium shot of DOYLE moving quickly to phone booth against the wall. DOYLE close, barking into the phone. DOYLE I'm sittin' on Frog One. MULDERIG in phone booth at Westbury. MULDERIG Yeah, we got the Westbury covered like a tent. DOYLE DOYLE The Westbury? Balls. I got him down at the subway at Times Square. What the hell's goin' on? I make him coming right out of the hotel free as a bird. Not a soul awake. Close shot of CHARNIER strolling past the telephone booth, DOYLE looking down. DOYLE I do n't care how many bartenders are sick. I do n't work in that joint. What the hell kind of a union are you running down there? Long view of CHARNIER and DOYLE about thirty feet apart on the platform, a second train approaching.", "INT. SUBWAY TRAIN A close view of DOYLE just inside the doors of the car sneaking a peek at the platform. We can see that CHARNIER is not there. He's on the train. Suddenly CHARNIER reappears on the platform. DOYLE steps off.", "EXT. SUBWAY PLATFORM Long view from DOYLE's vantage point of CHARNIER standing with his back to the train, looking up like a man who ca n't make up his mind, then turning to his left, away from DOYLE and getting back on the train.", "INT. SUBWAY TRAIN View from interior of DOYLE car of JIMMY DOYLE nipping back onto car.", "INT. TRAIN - CHARNIER'S CAR Close view of subway doors hissing shut and an umbrella being raised at the last moment by an off - camera hand -LRB- CHARNIER's -RRB-. The doors jerk open in the safety spasm. There is a blur of the a fabric moving across the camera, blocking the view of the doors. It is only a moment. When it clears, the doors are closed again, the umbrella is gone. But we do n't know what happened and the train is n't moving.", "INT. SUBWAY TRAIN - DOYLE'S CAR Rear close view of DOYLE peeking into the forward car to see where CHARNIER is sitting.", "INT. TRAIN - CHARNIER'S CAR Quick, shocked close view of that car, revealing that CHARNIER is n't there among the twenty passengers dozing or moping in their seats. There is a blurred flash as if DOYLE's own eyes are spinning frantically back to the windows of his own car.", "EXT. SUBWAY PLATFORM Medium shot of DOYLE jumping out of train, CHARNIER jumping back on - train takes off.", "INT. SUBWAY TRAIN - CHARNIER'S CAR A close view of CHARNIER's face. He is smiling directly at DOYLE. He gives him a little wave. A view from CHARNIER's position of DOYLE chasing the train, anger and hatred and frustration storming across his face.", "EXT. HENRY HUDSON PARKWAY - MOSHOLU EXIT A long view from the bottom of the steep embankments above Harlem River Drive in Washington Heights. Sprayed along the face of the cliff is a disaster - an overturned city bus and a car with which it apparently collided. The scene is lighted with flares. Police rescue WORKERS and FIREMEN are scrambling up and down the face of the cliff. They are carrying BODIES out of the bus and the car, COPS pulling them out through the windows, leading them on stretchers. There are shouted orders and some moans and cries from the wreckage. In the foreground is LT. WALTER SIMONSON, involved in the operation, but also involved in a hassle with DOYLE, MULDERIG and RUSSO who are standing with him. An officer approaches SIMONSON with a set of heroin works. OFFICER -LRB- to SIMONSON. -RRB- This belonged to the kid who was drivin' the sports car. 17 years old. His girlfriend OD'd in the car. We found this set of works in her arm. Medium close shot of DOYLE and SIMONSON. DOYLE could n't care if Rome was burning on the hill ; he's only interested in his case. DOYLE -LRB- to MULDERIG. -RRB- Where the hell was the surveillance? `` Go to bed.'' That's all you could say. You could n't keep track of a bleeding elephant in a snowbank. SIMONSON, eyes on the hill, glancing to DOYLE with irritation. SIMONSON Jimmy, it does n't matter anymore. If there was a deal it must have gone down by now. We blew it! We blew our cover and we blew the warrants - MULDERIG Charnier and his wife checked out of the Westbury. Nicoli checked out of the Edison - RUSSO This fella Nicoli's got a record in France, Walter. He's wanted for questioning in the murder of a French cop. DOYLE I say we keep sittin' on Boca. MULDERIG That's crazy. You lost the Frog in the subway and you blew our cover. If they have n't moved already they're not gon na move now. DOYLE Walter, I can make this case if the Feds will get the hell out of my way. MULDERIG With pleasure - it's all yours. Walter, if anything develops outta this charade give me a call. Medium shot of SIMONSON, DOYLE, MULDERIG and RUSSO. Lights flashing around them ; stretchers going by with bodies. RUSSO -LRB- to MULDERIG. -RRB- My ass. The only reason you're in this is because you've got a big expense account for buying junk and you like to see your picture in the papers. DOYLE -LRB- to SIMONSON. -RRB- This is my case. Get these guys off my back and let me handle it. SIMONSON SIMONSON For chrissake, will you come off that `` my case'' bullshit. This has been a whore's dream from the start. DOYLE, close. DOYLE The deal has n't gone down yet Walter - I know it, I can feel it. Close shot of MULDERIG MULDERIG The last time you were dead certain we ended up with a dead cop. A fist, DOYLE's, comes from off - camera and connects with MULDERIG's chin. As his head flies back. DOYLE and MULDERIG slugging and grappling with each other, RUSSO leaping in to yank them apart. SIMONSON grabbing MULDERIG's arm and holding him back. SIMONSON, close. SIMONSON -LRB- roaring. -RRB- That's enough. Get the hell out of here. DOYLE Shot of SIMONSON, MULDERIG, DOYLE, RUSSO, in a cluster. SIMONSON -LRB- on way up hill, turning back. -RRB- Jimmy, you wasted two months - no collars are comin' in while you two been out jerkin' off. Now go back to work, you're off Special Assignment.", "EXT. LA GUARDIA AIRPORT - DAY Medium close side view of SAL BOCA's Mercury pulling to the Washington - Boston shuttle parking lot at La Guardia airport. SAL takes his ticket from the automatic vendor and drives in. We hold for the next car driven by PHIL KLEIN, a federal narcotics agent who is on his tail.", "INT. AIRPORT - DAY Medium close shot of SAL BOCA writing out the ticket order form. Close shot of the form ; SAL filling it out in an almost illiterate scrawl. Under destination SAL fills in Washing. and the camera raises its eye to a close shot of PHIL KLEIN on the opposite side of the counter, filling in his form. Close side shot of PHIL KLEIN standing right behind SAL in the shuttle line.", "EXT. DEPT. OF COMMERCE, WASHINGTON, D.C. - DAY CHARNIER and an UNDERSECRETARY on the steps of the building, shaking hands. Two other OFFICIALS are on hand and while we do n't hear their conversation, their manner is extremely attentive to CHARNIER. CHARNIER It has been highly informative and a personal pleasure to see you again. UNDERSECRETARY I only hope we cut through to some meaningful proposals in the next month or so. The pleasure was mine, Mr. Charnier. When will we see you again? CHARNIER Soon, probably in the Spring. Close shot of CHARNIER. CHARNIER Goodbye. UNDERSECRETARY -LRB- off camera. -RRB- Goodbye. Good trip home.", "EXT. WASHINGTON STREET - DAY Medium long shot of CHARNIER walking across street, diagonally toward the camera, removing the identification card from his lapel. Rear close shot of CHARNIER joining SAL BOCA on the sidewalk and the two of them moving off together. Close shot of SAL, somewhat nervous about trying to peddle his problems to CHARNIER. SAL Everything's smooth. Beautiful. I will need a few more days though, the boys think we oughta cool it for awhile - make sure there's no heat. CHARNIER -LRB- manner outwardly pleasant. -RRB- You must take me for an imbecile. Why do you think I asked you to meet me in Washington? I have n't spent five minutes in New York City without the company of a gendarme. SAL Look, I'll level with you - I need a little more time - I got to shift gears. CHARNIER Are you having trouble raising the half million? SAL Hell no - my end is covered - my associates just feel we ought to wait for a more opportune time to make the switch. Stop, Cover. CHARNIER It has to be by the end of this week. SAL Look, Mr. Charnier, you got to be reasonable. CHARNIER It's your problem. SAL It's yours too! Full length shot of CHARNIER and BOCA, CHARNIER leaning over to shake his hand. CHARNIER So nice to have seen you again. CHARNIER turns and walks off, leaving SAL looking after him as we zoom back to a Point of View about a hundred yards down the street. Close of PHIL KLEIN, just watching.", "INT. AIRPLANE - DAY Close shot of MRS. CHARNIER, sitting by the window of two seats on the shuttle, looking out and babbling at CHARNIER. -LRB- DIALOGUE IN FRENCH -RRB-. MARIE Look, darling, they sell these at the Smithsonian. She extracts a necklace and bracelet of shark's teeth from an elegant alligator bag. Camera moves back to take in CHARNIER looking from the Wall Street Journal to the native craft bracelets. CHARNIER Are you sure it is dead? MARIE I'm going to put them on the cat. CHARNIER That's a relief. Close shot of CHARNIER, tenderly, lovingly. CHARNIER You did find something for yourself, of course. MARIE, close. MARIE Of course. But I am not going to tell you what it is until we are back in Marseilles. CHARNIER and MARIE. He folds up the paper, smiling at her. CHARNIER Excuse me a moment, darling. CHARNIER's view of the plane interior, walking back toward the rear of the cabin. The seats are occupied by military - business - government TYPES making the shuttle run. Not every seat is filled. We come to an empty one on which someone has deposited an attache case. It is the seat next to PIERRE NICOLI, whose hand reaches out to remove it and we follow the arm to NICOLI's face. Close shot of CHARNIER and NICOLI sitting. -LRB- DIALOGUE IN FRENCH -RRB- CHARNIER I'm afraid they've become a bit. over - cautious. Our American friends. NICOLI What happens to the schedule? CHARNIER We must follow it. NICOLI But will they? CHARNIER shrugs. CHARNIER I do n't know. Boca is scared. He's not strong enough. He sees policemen in his soup. NICOLI He is not wrong. CHARNIER Mmmmm. That bastard who followed me on the subway, he's the eager one. NICOLI Let me take him out. Close of CHARNIER. CHARNIER There'll be someone else. NICOLI What difference does it make? We'll be out of the country Friday. Close shot of CHARNIER alone.", "EXT. SIDEWALK OUTSIDE DOYLE'S APARTMENT BLDG. - DAY A complex of buildings similar to Lefrak City. A medium close view of a LITTLE GIRL about to run DOYLE down with a two - wheel bicycle. Two shots ring out in quick succession and tear up the concrete at a point where he would have been walking a moment earlier. DOYLE diving for the cover of a tree. The rifle goes off a third time and MOTHERS begin to scream on the benches of the playground area. DOYLE -LRB- yelling. -RRB- Everybody, down! Get down on the ground! DOYLE behind the tree, pulling his gun out of the ankle holster. He holds the gun ready and tries to look around. Ping, another shot that drives him back. Long panning view, DOYLE's view, from the ground, of all the rooftops in the area. A blank. The background sound is still screaming crying. `` Call the police.'' `` The man's got a gun.'' `` Help! Help!'' The view is still slow, careful under the pressure of the panic. There's another shot. Long shot of rifle smoke rising from NICOLI's sniper position. Exterior view of the concrete tunnels, DOYLE running from them toward the building, dodging and ducking behind playground equipment and benches as he does. He's shouting as he runs. DOYLE Get down! It's a sniper. Get down! Medium shot of DOYLE dashing into the lobby of his building to a Spanish kid in the window of building.", "EXT. ROOFTOP - DAY Exterior shot of rooftop door opening slowly, DOYLE coming through the opening, gun at the ready. Panning shot of the rooftop, DOYLE's view, stopping for a beat at the rifle and box of cartridges lying beside the parapet, moving on. The roof's empty. DOYLE sees NICOLI below, grabs rifle and cartridge. DOYLE running to the parapet, looking over. Shot of the street, traffic, elevated tracks in the distance. Long searching look of the streets and the people. The view, which is DOYLE's, passes over one man in a dark suit, stops and goes back. Zap! It's NICOLI walking quickly but not in any panic toward the El. DOYLE's face. He runs to parapet, fires at NICOLI. Misses. DOYLE running across the roof and through the door. DOYLE bursting out of the elevator at the bottom, through a crowd of WOMEN and KIDS who scream as they did in the playground. Medium close view of DOYLE running as fast as he can. Medium close shot of the entrance to the El. DOYLE coming into view from off - camera, running to a stop deciding which to take. He runs across the street to the downtown side from which he saw train approaching. DOYLE going over the turnstiles in a leap, gun still in his right hand.", "EXT. PLATFORM OF EL - DAY Broad view of platform, DOYLE emerging looking right and left. DOYLE's view across tracks. There's NICOLI, standing with a group of people. DOYLE looking up tracks to see if he can get across. Training pulling in an opposite side. Train pulling in right in front of DOYLE. DOYLE Stop that guy. He's wanted by the police! Side medium close shot of DOYLE turning and plunging back through the doorway of platform exit.", "INT. TRAIN CAR - DAY In one corner of the train is a transit policeman. He's observed Doyle shouting and gesturing at NICOLI who sits nervously aware of the policeman's presence. Long longs between them. Finally, the officer decides to approach NICOLI. NICOLI panics and runs. The officer goes after him and traps him against the door between cars.", "INT. TOKEN BOOTH - DAY Close shot of DOYLE with badge at token booth. DOYLE Where's the next stop? Going into the city? TOKEN ATTENDANT -LRB- glancing out in direction the train was hurtling. -RRB- 25th Avenue.", "INT. TRAIN - DAY NICOLI and the TRANSIT POLICEMAN struggle, as the handful of passengers watch. NICOLI pulls his.45 and clobbers the officer on the side of the head. Close of NICOLI going from one car to another, opening doors on the rear, moving through yet another crowd.", "EXT. STREET - DAY Medium close shot of DOYLE running into the street, forcing a driver to stop. DOYLE moving so hard he falls against the hood of the car then dashes around to the door and jerks it open. DOYLE Police! Medium close shot of DOYLE dragging MIDDLE - AGED MALE DRIVER out from behind the wheel as he shouts. DRIVER What the hell? DOYLE -LRB- diving behind the wheel. -RRB- Police! Emergency! DOYLE has a pistol in his hand. The man falls back sputtering. DOYLE jams car into gear and it roars off.", "INT. SUBWAY TRAIN CAR - DAY NICOLI pounds on the door of the Motorman's cab with his gun. After a long moment - the door cracks open. Close shot NICOLI pushing his way into the cab of the subway MOTORMAN, sixtyish, worn and frail looking. MOTORMAN looks down. He follows the glance to NICOLI's.45.", "EXT. STREET - DAY Side close view of DOYLE screeching to a stop to avoid plunging into a panel truck. DOYLE sticks his head out the window to look up at the tracks as the DRIVER of the truck screams. TRUCK DRIVER Blind sonofabitch! Overhead view of the tracks, train roaring along them. DOYLE's view.", "INT. SUBWAY TRAIN - DAY The tracks racing by from the view of the train. We're approaching a station.", "INT. MOTORMAN'S CABIN - DAY NICOLI's close view of the MOTORMAN, the gun on the man. NICOLI Do n't stop! Continue on to the next station! MOTORMAN I got to stop. NICOLI Touch the brake and I'll blow you in half. MOTORMAN The signal lights are automatic. If I go through a red I'll be automatically braked. The MOTORMAN pales, his hand goes to his left side in a gesture of anxiety, possibly pain.", "EXT. SUBWAY ENTRANCE - DAY Side close view of DOYLE screeching to a stop, the car bumping up on the sidewalk and DOYLE plunging out the door which he leaves hanging open. He races around the car for the steps to the El.", "EXT. SUBWAY PLATFORM - DAY Side view of train roaring through the station without stopping.", "INT. SUBWAY TRAIN - DAY Medium close shot of CROWD on train pushing toward the MOTORMAN's cab. They are upset over the missed stop. The CONDUCTOR seems to be the most annoyed. He's pushing hardest toward the camera to complain. VOICES Did n't stop. Went right through there. Hey, man, that's my station. Where the hell's he going? Hey, stop the car. Close shot of NICOLI's back, half in the MOTORMAN's cab, as he faces the CROWD. Now the cries turn to : VOICES He's got a gun. The motorman's gone crazy. Oh my God! NICOLI Get back. CONDUCTOR Hey, you ca n't. Side view of NICOLI, the MOTORMAN in the background the CONDUCTOR leaping at NICOLI. NICOLI burns him ; one gut shot. The car turns to pandemonium of screams. The CONDUCTOR is hurled back into the crowd by force of the blast. The MOTORMAN throws back his head in fright, and the beginning of a coronary.", "EXT/INT. DOYLE'S CAR - DAY Close shot of DOYLE from back seat, twisting, turning the car in a wild demonstration of pursuit driving around cars, braking, roaring ahead. We move out through the windshield for a lurching, spinning, twisting view of the tracks overhead, the street signs and lights flashing by in a reeling montage of movement, the train roaring above it all.", "INT. SUBWAY TRAIN - DAY Close side shot of NICOLI turning to cover the MOTORMAN, who is clutching in pain, slumping toward the controls. MOTORMAN -LRB- gasping. -RRB- I ca n't breathe. NICOLI glances quickly to his left, out the window to the next station. Long, low view of the tracks, partially NICOLI's view. There are red blinkers on the side of the tracks. Red lights up ahead. That's the back of another train. It has stopped and we're hurtling toward it. Wide shot of screaming pack of subway riders, fighting their way back from NICOLI, succeeding only in turning themselves into a tightly contained mob. Now the words they cry are : VOICES We'll crash. Wo n't somebody please help me. Murder He's a killer. Crash. We'll crash! Stop. Stop the train.", "EXT. DOYLE'S CAR - DAY Side close view of DOYLE driving while he's looking up. He skids through a red light, narrowly missing a pedestrian and an oncoming group of cars. Long, low view of the train from DOYLE's position.", "INT. SUBWAY TRAIN - DAY Close shot of cord dangling above a sign that says `` Pull for Emergency Stop Only.'' It just dangles, wobbles, forgotten in the panic.", "EXT. DOYLE'S CAR - DAY Close side shot of DOYLE driving, skidding on streetcar tracks, panning upward to show the car pulling ahead of the train.", "INT. SUBWAY TRAIN - DAY Close shot of NICOLI from behind, looking out the window of the car where we see ourselves hurtling toward the other train, now only about 100 yards away. Hold on the train ahead. The MOTORMAN collapses over the throttle. Rear close shot of NICOLI plunging into the panicky riders with gun in hand, trying to get out with them to some rear car.", "EXT. SUBWAY STATION - DAY Medium close of DOYLE arriving at the station.", "INT. SUBWAY CAR - DAY Back end of subway car looming up at high speed.", "EXT. 62ND STREET STATION - THE TRACKS - DAY The leader train sits waiting about twenty yards out of the station. As the onrushing train approaches, it passes through the yellow signal light at the rear of the station.", "EXT. CLOSE SHOT THE TRIP LOCK - DAY As the onrushing car pulls equal to the red signal light at the front of the station, the tiny trip lock on the track springs up, activating the safety brake. The trains avoid collision by a few feet as the front car screeches to a halt.", "INT. THE ONRUSHING TRAIN - DAY The passengers are thrown violently to the ground. NICOLI gets to his feet and forces open one of the doors.", "EXT. 62ND STREET TRACKS - DAY NICOLI makes his way out of the train and runs along the tracks for a few yards, narrowly avoiding the third rail. He climbs onto the station platform, to the shock and amazement of several onlookers. He is dazed and disheveled, no longer a hunter.", "EXT. ENTRANCE TO THE 62ND STREET STATION - DAY NICOLI staggers down the stairs to the street, unarmed. DOYLE is waiting at the foot of the stairs. NICOLI sees him, turns in desperation to run back up. DOYLE has his.38 drawn. He fires three shots into NICOLI's back. NICOLI stiffens and falls backward coming to rest at DOYLE's feet. DOYLE collapses next to him.", "EXT. CANDY STORE - DAY SAL and ANGIE emerge and get into the Mercury.", "EXT. MANHATTAN STREET - DAY Long shot of the Mercury stopped. SAL gets out and walks quickly to the garage entrance and down the ramp as ANGIE drives off in the Mercury. Pan to", "EXT/INT. DOYLE'S CAR - DAY Close shot of DOYLE and RUSSO from the front. DOYLE looks after ANGIE's car.", "INT. GARAGE - DAY Medium close shot of RUSSO from the rear as he walks down the ramp toward a glass attendant's booth in the background. We pan around the garage looking for SAL but do n't find him. As RUSSO approaches the booth, we see the figure of a man partially obscured by the door and the entrance framework. Close shot of RUSSO from the front. RUSSO Hey, Mac, have you seen? Close shot of the man turning. It is SAL BOCA. Close shot of RUSSO and BOCA in face - to - face confrontation. RUSSO the guy who runs this joint? There's a tense pause as BOCA looks at RUSSO. Close shot of BOCA. SAL Yeh. He's over getting my car. Medium close shot of GARAGE ATTENDANT holding the door of the Lincoln open for SAL, shutting it and taking the ticket from the windshield. As BOCA puts car in gear and drives off, we pan to BUDDY RUSSO standing there watching. The ATTENDANT walks up. ATTENDANT Can I help you? Medium close shot of ATTENDANT and RUSSO. BUDDY, ignoring the ATTENDANT, watching the Lincoln take off, then breaking loose and running toward the ramp. Close shot of RUSSO from DOYLE's viewpoint, piling into the car. RUSSO He's in the brown Lincoln - foreign plates. Close shot of DOYLE throwing the car into gear and shooting down the street. Long view of the street from DOYLE's windshield of the Lincoln in the distance. We pick up speed and weave through traffic in pursuit.", "EXT. STREETS - DAY Impressionistic shot of Lincoln and DOYLE's car winding through Brooklyn streets. Long shot of the Lincoln, SAL BOCA parking it, getting out and locking the doors, looking around and walking away. The Mercury comes around a corner, ANGIE at the wheel. The car stops and SAL gets in. As the Mercury takes off, Detective PHIL KLEIN follows in his car. Close shot of DOYLE and RUSSO in their car parked several car lengths and across the street from the Lincoln. NIGHT Long shot of the Lincoln, zooming on the glittering car. In the BG, eight youngsters are playing a game of street hockey.", "INT. DOYLE'S CAR - NIGHT Close shot through windshield of DOYLE and RUSSO. MULDERIG and KLEIN in their car. DOYLE Timezit? RUSSO Four.", "EXT. DOYLE'S CAR - NIGHT Long view over the hood of DOYLE's car to the street. We can see the Lincoln. The lights of a car appear on the left and come down the street past the Lincoln, slowly, like a man looking for a place to park. We can make out, but just barely with the help of the street lights, four people in the car. DOYLE in close profile, the foreground, picking up a corner of the Lincoln in the background. While we are looking in silence, there is a glimmering flow in the far corner, the beginning of approaching headlights again. They grown brighter and DOYLE's foreground profile turns to watch it come. DOYLE -LRB- softly. -RRB- Same car. RUSSO Third time around. RUSSO and MULDERIG straightening up, leaning close to window to peer out. Long view over the hood of DOYLE's car of the approaching vehicle, which suddenly switches off its lights and turns on its parking blinkers. It comes abreast of the Lincoln and stops. The men get out and chase the Lincoln. View through windshield at the four men. DOYLE is now up straight and at the wheel. He's leaning forward, his hand on the key of the car. He glances back to MULDERIG. DOYLE -LRB- to car radio. -RRB- Let's him'em. View of the hood. All hell breaks loose, headlights, including DOYLE's flash on and form a spotlight on the Lincoln and the figures around it. Frozen in the headlights, confused, startled, and disbelieving are FIVE PUERTO RICANS with a variety of auto - stripping tools in their hands : lug wrenches, tire irons, pinch bars, monkey wrenches, etc.. DOYLE drives right up to them. The camera leaps out of the car with him and runs toward the men. We hear voices shouting. VOICES Police! Do n't move. get you. hands up. you're under arrest.", "EXT. STREET - NIGHT Close view of DOYLE holding his gun on one of the terrorized - looking Puerto Ricans. The KID's hands are rising tentatively. He's too scared to move. DOYLE Up! Up, you sonofabitch! In the background, the scene is being duplicated by two or three others. Overhead view of this headlight and flashlight arena of about 10 or 12 DETECTIVES forming small clusters, throwing these guys up against cars, pulling their arms around behind them and throwing cuffs on them while others rapidly frisk them for weapons, taking away one pistol, a couple of knives. MULDERIG and DOYLE looking at their MAN up against the Lincoln as RUSSO finishes snapping handcuffs on him. DOYLE Of all the goddam cars they had to pick to steal hubcaps. Close shot of the front end of the Lincoln, upended on a hoist attached to a police tow truck. The area is less brightly lighted by headlights now. Some cars have departed with the Puerto Rican AUTO STRIPPERS. DOYLE's interest focuses on the car. We pick him up as we pan to him sitting on the running board of the tow truck, talking with its DRIVER, who is making a report on a clipboard. MULDERIG and RUSSO are standing nearby, talking to TWO PLAINCLOTHESMEN. DOYLE -LRB- looking up and around. -RRB- A bunch of lousy little spic car thieves. MULDERIG Nothing in there except a New York street map. DOYLE Tumble it. One end to the other. RUSSO jotting in his note pad, then glancing up to the off - camera DOYLE. DOYLE, medium close, hands jamming into his pockets, staring at the ground with RUSSO and MULDERIG.", "INT. POLICE GARAGE - DAY A montage as the Lincoln is being disassembled. First it is weighed. We then see the MECHANIC drain the gas, pull apart the transmission and check through the brake drums, rip out the seats. MECHANIC ducking out from under the car, moving toward off - camera DOYLE. MECHANIC Nobody's been under there with anything but a grease gun since if came off the line. DOYLE's hand reaches out from off - camera and takes a cigarette package out of the MECHANIC's pocket. DOYLE I do n't buy it. The stuff is on this car. MECHANIC Then you find it. I ca n't.", "INT. POLICE SERGEANT'S OFFICE AT GARAGE - DAY Shot of DEVEREAUX and LA VALLE. LA VALLE The car was lost sometime this evening. First they send us to Pier One - then they send us here - DESK SERGEANT I do n't understand why you had it parked on the waterfront. You're staying at the Doral and you lose your car somewhere out by the Brooklyn Bridge. LA VALLE In point of fact, M. Devereaux is scouting locations for a film for French Television. He left the car to look at some point of interest. DEVEREAUX -LRB- moving, excitable. -RRB- We were told by the Police Commissioner's office that the car was brought to this garage. I demand its immediate return. DESK SERGEANT If you'll be patient, Mr. Devereaux. DEVEREAUX -LRB- moving. -RRB- I have been patient enough. There is no reason I should have to waste time with this red tape. LA VALLE Mr. Devereaux is an extremely important guest of this country. He is working with the absolute cooperation and participation of your government. Here are his credentials from the French Consulate. -LRB- showing them. -RRB- Unless you wish to see this episode portrayed in his film I suggest you locate his car immediately. Shot of DOYLE and RUSSO near the Lincoln, now up on hoists. Police MECHANIC in background. MECHANIC What are you looking for? Is it as big as an orange or an elephant's ass? I've been over every inch - top to bottom. If you could give me a club - to the size. RUSSO -LRB- doing rough figures on a piece of scratch paper. -RRB- What was the weight of the car when you got it, Irv? MECHANIC -LRB- consulting his notes. -RRB- 4,839 pounds. RUSSO -LRB- consulting Lincoln Specification Book. -RRB- You're sure? -LRB- he does quick addition. -RRB- The manufacturer's spec says it should weigh 4,719 pounds. This one's carrying roughly 120 extra pounds somewhere. He produces a copy of a ship's manifold. RUSSO When it was booked in at Marseilles it weighed the same. 120 pounds overweight. Jimmy has to be right. The THREE MEN turn again to stare at the Lincoln. The MECHANIC lowers the hoist, thoughtfully. MECHANIC I ripped everything out except the Rocker panels. DEVEREAUX What's that? They look at each other for a long moment. MECHANIC starts to undo the side Rocker pans. JIMMY pulls the pan off and sticks his arm into the enclosure. Feeling around inside he pulls out the first kilo - sized plastic container as several others start tumbling out after. BUDDY and DOYLE are smiling at each other as they continue to pull the bags out. Several of the other MECHANICS in the garage are gathered around the happy moment. They repeat this action on the other side of the car. RUSSO enters garage sergeant's bullpen. DEVEREAUX and LA VALLE are still arguing with the SERGEANT. RUSSO Got it for you, Randy - it just came in from downtown. Who's Devereaux? LA VALLE This is M. Devereaux. RUSSO I'm sorry, Mr. Devereaux, but we get reports on a couple hundred vehicles a night. Sometimes it's a little tough to keep track. DEVEREAUX You mean the car's here now? RUSSO Yeah - fine - it's okay - not even a scratch. You're all set. -LRB- handing DEVEREAUX keys. -RRB- RUSSO walking with DEVEREAUX and LA VALLE. RUSSO Someone stole it right off the street, huh? You're gon na have to pay the tow away charge. DEVEREAUX I was told these things happen in New York - but one never expects it. RUSSO Yeah. Well, it's in perfect shape. You must lead a charming life.", "INT. HOTEL LOBBY - DORAL - DAY Medium close shot of DEVEREAUX striding through the lobby toward the camera. -LRB- DIALOGUE IN FRENCH -RRB- CHARNIER Henri. Medium close shot of DEVEREAUX turning to face CHARNIER, who has been waiting for him. CHARNIER Did you pick up the car? DEVEREAUX It is waiting for you in the garage. CHARNIER Did they follow you? DEVEREAUX I was n't looking. CHARNIER Henri. I need one more favor from you. I know I am imposing. DEVEREAUX My friend, I am not sure about what is going on - but for me, I am finished. CHARNIER Not quite - you are in it whether you like it or not. The police know you brought the car into the country. This makes you an accomplice. DEVEREAUX An accomplice to what?! What have you gotten me into, Alain? You asked me to do you a favor - and I did what you asked - but you've taken advantage of me. I have my reputation - CHARNIER pulls DEVEREAUX further aside. CHARNIER Calm down - Henri! You must trust me - this is an extremely complicated situation to which there is a simple solution if you do exactly what I tell you. It's worth more money to you. DEVEREAUX Goodbye. DEVEREAUX turns and walks into the crowded lobby leaving ALAIN standing alone.", "EXT. HOTEL STREET - DAY Medium close shot of the Lincoln. We ca n't see the driver immediately. As we follow the car, it hesitates ; horns sound and it moves ahead with a jerk.", "INT. LINCOLN - DAY Close shot of CHARNIER at the wheel of the Lincoln, trying to make out street signs and directions.", "EXT. TRIBORO BRIDGE - DAY Medium shot of the Lincoln going across the Triboro Bridge.", "EXT. WARD'S ISLAND - DAY CHARNIER's view through the windshield as he drives along the new road and turns left on the old service road.", "EXT. OLD SERVICE ROAD - WARD'S ISLAND - DAY Hellgate Bridge overhead in BG. Lincoln drives along old road and into abandoned garage.", "INT. WARD'S ISLAND GARAGE - DAY View from CHARNIER's POV out the window of the building. Faces appear beside the car. First BOCA's, then WEINSTOCK's, then LOU BOCA and two MECHANICS. BOCA Keep going. Right in there. FIRST MECHANIC Over there. On the right. SECOND MECHANIC The clear spot.", "INT. GARAGE - DAY Medium close shot of the Lincoln. The Rocker panels are open and the junk is being unloaded. CHARNIER is standing by two suitcases of cash. He takes a bundle out of the suitcase, riffs the deck of bills with his fingers to make sure it's money all the way through ; puts it in a separate stack that will go into the rocker panels of a nearby junk car. WEINSTOCK is standing next to the CHEMIST, with his testing equipment. The MECHANICS are under the Lincoln and passing out the kilos of heroin, BOCA is helping them. The kilos are concealed in the floor boards of the old garage. Close shot of CHARNIER's hands, working on the money. Close shot of the CHEMIST taking a sniff, then a taste. Close shot of SAL BOCA and MECHANICS continuing to unload packet after packet after packet of heroin. Close shot of CHARNIER as the stacks of money are loaded into the car. Close shot of BOCA taking a bottle of Seagram's Seven Crown out of a brown paper bag. CHARNIER extends his hand. WEINSTOCK takes it ; they shake. CHARNIER close, looking back at the car as the rocker panels are restored to the Lincoln. The junk car with the money secreted is removed. Medium shot of SAL BOCA and CHARNIER getting in the Lincoln. In the b.g. a tow truck hauls the battered junk car out to await shipment.", "EXT. WARD'S ISLAND BRIDGE - DAY Long view from the bridge of the Lincoln coming toward the camera over a small rise. View from Lincoln, between SAL and CHARNIER, over the hood of the car and to the entrance to the bridge. There is a police blockade. Standing in front of it are DOYLE, RUSSO, MULDERIG and PHIL KLEIN. CLOSE - UP CHARNIER. CLOSE - UP DOYLE. He gives CHARNIER a little wave. Long view of the Lincoln stopping in the middle of the bridge. Zoom in on it as SAL hurriedly turns it around, smashing into the side of the bridge as he does. Medium shot of the Lincoln racing back across the island. The Mercury roars past WEINSTOCK's car, heading toward the bridge. WEINSTOCK's car coming to a stop. Close shot of the CHEMIST and WEINSTOCK in the car, turning back to the island.", "INT. LINCOLN - DAY Close shot of CHARNIER and SAL. SAL driving, CHARNIER looking out the back window. The police cars, slowly, begin to gun engines and start the pursuit. The sirens begin to wail.", "INT. GARAGE - DAY The Lincoln roaring into the asylum toward the camera, screeching to a stop. SAL and CHARNIER leaping out. They run toward Crematorium Building. Medium long shot of SAL running off. SAL -LRB- shouting. -RRB- Bulls! CHARNIER hesitates. Then runs into the darkness of the Crematorium.", "EXT. CREMATORIUM - DAY Police cars screeching to a halt around the building. Some circling to the back to cut it off. DOYLE, RUSSO, MULDERIG, KLEIN and others getting out and running toward the entrance, taken by the Lincoln.", "EXT. JUNK GRAVEYARD - DAY Close shot SAL BOCA and the two MECHANICS at the auto graveyard. The MECHANICS start to run and are pursued by KLEIN and TWO OTHER COPS. SAL decides to shoot it out. RUSSO in pursuit. After a chase around the graveyard RUSSO burns SAL who dies among the wrecked cars. WEINSTOCK and the CHEMIST emerge from the cars. Hands in the air. They give up without a struggle. RUSSO Phil, you take that side, Bill, go around the other way.", "INT. CREMATORIUM - DAY Long shot, we can see somebody running, hear his footsteps, but ca n't tell who it is. Shot of DOYLE entering. Shot of DOYLE, gun in hand, going around corner of long corridor, looking down it. Shot of MULDERIG running down one of the corridors and into a cell littered with abandoned furniture, sinks, toilets, etc.. Long view of the hallway. Halfway down, LOU pops out and fires wildly at the camera. DOYLE close, pulling back, then leaning out and blazing away twice. Long shot of LOU, staffering into the corridor and collapsing. DOYLE running down the corridor leaping over LOU's body and continuing to run to bisecting corridor.", "INT. CELLAR - DAY DOYLE comes down the stairs and into the cellar. In the foreground, behind a pile of ripped - out wall and floorboards, there appears to be the crouched silhouette of a man. DOYLE exits. DOYLE's view down second corridor. At far end of it a figure flitting past. RUSSO Jimmy? Close shot of RUSSO at the head of a flight of stairs. RUSSO Jimmy? DOYLE's P.O.V. : A shadow figure ducks into one of the rooms. Close of DOYLE up against a wall. DOYLE -LRB- a whisper. -RRB- Cover the other side - Frog Number One is down there. RUSSO scrambling along the Crematorium wall. DOYLE moving slowly down the opposite wall. Medium shot of DOYLE approaching the end rooms. A figure slips out of one of them, shrouded with shadows. Close of DOYLE firing twice into the camera. Close shot of the figure. It's AGENT BILL MULDERIG spinning, dropping, his own service revolver clattering on the concrete. Medium close shot of DOYLE standing over MULDERIG's body, two or three COPS coming up, including RUSSO. RUSSO -LRB- leaning over the body. -RRB- He's gone, Jimmy. Bill is dead. DOYLE full figure, close. A long pause - and then - DOYLE The sonofabitch is in here somewhere. I saw him - I'm gon na get him. DOYLE exits down the corridor. The others staring after him.", "EXT. CREMATORIUM Within the building no one is visible. Overhead, the Hellgate Bridge, sounds of New York, jets, auto traffic, and an approaching Penn Central train. THE END"], "labels": [1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "In Marseille, an undercover police detective follows Alain Charnier, who runs the world's largest heroin-smuggling syndicate. The policeman is assassinated by Charnier's hitman, Pierre Nicoli. Charnier plans to smuggle $32 million of heroin into the United States by hiding it in the car of his unsuspecting friend, television personality Henri Devereaux, who is traveling to New York City by ship. In New York City, detectives Jimmy \"Popeye\" Doyle and Buddy \"Cloudy\" Russo go out for drinks at the Copacabana. Popeye notices Salvatore \"Sal\" Boca and his young wife, Angie, entertaining mobsters involved in narcotics. They tail the couple and establish a link between the Bocas and lawyer Joel Weinstock, who is part of the narcotics underworld. Popeye learns from an informant that a massive shipment of heroin will arrive in the next two weeks. The detectives convince their supervisor to wiretap the Bocas' phones. Popeye and Cloudy are joined by federal agents Mulderig and Klein. Devereaux's vehicle arrives in New York City. Boca is impatient to make the purchase\u2014reflecting Charnier's desire to return to France as soon as possible\u2014while Weinstock, with more experience in smuggling, urges patience, knowing Boca's phone is tapped and that they are being investigated. Charnier realizes he is being observed. He \"makes\" Popeye and escapes on a departing subway shuttle. To avoid being tailed, he has Boca meet him in Washington D.C., where Boca asks for a delay to avoid the police. Charnier, however, wants to conclude the deal quickly. On the flight back to New York City, Nicoli offers to kill Popeye, but Charnier objects, knowing that Popeye would be replaced by another policeman. Nicoli insists, however, saying they will be back in France before a replacement is assigned. Soon after, Nicoli attempts to shoot Popeye but misses. Popeye chases Nicoli, who boards an elevated train. Popeye commandeers a car and gives chase. Realizing he is being pursued, Nicoli works his way forward through the carriages, shoots a policeman who tries to intervene and hijacks the motorman at gunpoint, forcing him to drive straight through the next station, also shooting the train conductor. The motorman passes out and they are just about to slam into a stationary train when an emergency trackside brake engages, hurling the assassin against a glass window. Popeye arrives to see the killer descending from the platform. When the killer sees Popeye, he turns to run but is shot dead by Popeye. After a lengthy stakeout, Popeye impounds Devereaux's Lincoln Continental. He and his team take it apart searching for the drugs, but come up empty-handed. Cloudy notes that the vehicle's shipping weight is 120 pounds over its listed manufacturer's weight. They remove the rocker panels and discover the heroin concealed therein. The police restore the car to its original condition and return it to Devereaux, who delivers the Lincoln Continental to Charnier. Charnier drives to an old factory on Wards Island to meet Weinstock and deliver the drugs. After Charnier has the rocker panels removed, Weinstock's chemist tests one of the bags and confirms its quality. Charnier removes the drugs and hides the money, concealing it beneath the rocker panels of another car purchased at an auction of junk cars, which he will take back to France. Charnier and Sal drive off in the Lincoln, but hit a roadblock with a large contingent of police led by Popeye. The police chase the Lincoln back to the factory, where Boca is killed during a shootout while most of the other criminals surrender. Charnier escapes into the warehouse with Popeye and Cloudy in pursuit. Popeye sees a shadowy figure in the distance and opens fire a split-second after shouting a warning, killing Mulderig. Undaunted, Popeye tells Cloudy that he will get Charnier. After reloading his gun, Popeye runs into another room and a single gunshot is heard. Title cards note that Weinstock was indicted but his case dismissed for \"lack of proper evidence\"; Angie Boca received a suspended sentence for an unspecified misdemeanor; Lou Boca received a reduced sentence; Devereaux served four years in a federal penitentiary for conspiracy; and Charnier was never caught. Popeye and Cloudy were transferred out of the narcotics division and reassigned.", "name": "The_French_Connection_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["EXT.  MOJAVE DESERT - DAY (TELEVISION IMAGE) A LONG LENS SHOT of a far distant metallic object hovering just above the ground - maybe two or three miles away. The heat waves and the light refraction off the desert - scape make the object undulate rhythmically, keeping its true shape and appearance indistinct. The VIDEO CAMERA recording this scene zooms back, then pans over - revealing a semicircle of US Army vehicles and personnel. Army Engineers with their tripod - mounted scopes and binoculars are shoulder to shoulder with the armed infantry. Everyone stares off at the same point on the horizon. Waiting. The VIDEO CAMERA movements are HANDHELD, unsteady, as it moves through the line of Army personnel to reveal a second, less organized semicircle of observers fifty yards behind the Army. LOCALS from nearby towns perch in truck beds and on car roofs, Budweiser and Fritos at hand, eyes glued to the distant object. The VIDEO CAMERA image climbs up onto the roof of a parked local TV van, finds the object again in the distance, zooms in, and waits, like everyone else. Abruptly the VIDEO IMAGE contracts, becoming a box CHROMAKEYED behind CNN reporter DUNCAN CRAIS. CRAIS That was the scene in California's Mojave Desert three years ago today - the historic first view of the Newcomer ship upon its dramatic arrival. As with the assassination of John Kennedy, who among us does not remember exactly where he was that October nineteenth morning, when news first broke : that people have landed. from another star. We PULL BACK from a large television set to reveal.", "INT.  A CROWDED BAR - LOS ANGELES - NIGHT The Hollowpoint Lounge - a cop bar. The off - duty uniformed and plainclothes cops are mostly ignoring the TV, except for two detectives, FEDORCHUK and ALTEREZ, who are waiting for the ball scores. FEDORCHUK I remember where I was - pissing off my balcony at the neighbor's dog! Others laugh. ALTEREZ -LRB- yells at Crais on TV. -RRB- Get to the goddamn ball scores! ON THE TV SCREEN, an on - location interview with a CAL - TECH PROFESSOR comes up. Her name and title appear across the bottom of the screen. CAL-TECH PROFESSOR From the time mankind first gazed up at the stars there had been speculation about a visit by people from `` out there.'' How ironic that when that first contact was made, the two hundred and sixty thousand occupants aboard the craft were as surprised as we were about their arrival. That they awakened from frozen hibernation to find their malfunctioning autopilot had landed them here by mistake. The CNN reporter, Duncan Crais, appears again. CRAIS These `` Newcomers,'' we soon learned, were a genetically - engineered race, adapted for hard labor in almost any environmental condition. In effect, their ship was a slave ship. washed ashore on Earth with no way to get back to where they came from. A dishwasher tray filled with beer glasses CUTS ACROSS FRAME, and we PAN WITH IT as it is slammed down on the countertop. Now an interview with a FRESNO HOUSEWIFE standing outside a supermarket comes on the TV SCREEN. FRESNO HOUSEWIFE When the Newcomers were first let out of the ship, they were quarantined in a camp not ten miles from the town here. You can imagine how the people around here felt about that. But once they were releases from the camp and we got a chance to know them, we saw what nice, quiet people they really are. WIDER revealing a MASSIVE ALIEN FIGURE in a filthy white busboy's uniform. His back is to us as he picks up two trays from the counter. The bartender is dwarfed by this Newcomer, but works around him without apparent concern. Fedorchuk addresses the alien busboy. FEDORCHUK Hey, Henry, how you doin' tonight? Workin' hard? The Newcomer turns - his face is humanoid, but disturbingly alien. FEDORCHUK You got your green card, buddy? You did n't leave home without it? The cops at the bar crack up. Henry looks at Fedorchuk - his eyes carrying no malice. or pain. He merely blinks.", "INT./ EXT.  SLUG-MOBILE - STREET - NIGHT An explosion of color and movement as OPENING TITLES PLAY very quickly. We're TRAVELING the streets in a n.d. sedan, getting MOVING GLIMPSES of the aliens living among us now : - A coffee shop where aliens eat at some window tables. - A Newcomer leaving a night school with an armload of books. - A city park where a number of alien families have gathered to play some arcane alien game. SYKES Jeez. they call that gang - bang a game? - A billboard for Pepsi featuring an alien. - The sedan has pulled to a stop at a red light. Suddenly a hand thumps against the glass next to Sykes' head. and alien hand. Sykes jumps. It's a NEWCOMER DERELICT standing there, weaving, mumbling in his own language. In one filthy hand holds a quart carton of milk. We know immediately what he wants. Sykes rolls down the window. SYKES Take a hike. Sykes gets a whiff of the derelict's breath as the light changes and the sedan pulls away, leaving him in the street. Sykes grimaces at the smell. SYKES Why's it have to be sour milk that these guys get wasted on? What the hell's wrong with Jack Daniels, or Thunderbird for chrissakes? -LRB- beat ; disgusted. -RRB- Slagtown. Shit. - Aliens hanging around outside their homes. - Alien hookers plying their trade. SYKES Hope their plumbing's the same. TUGGLE It is. -LRB- and Sykes gives him a look. -RRB- - A Newcomer lowrider pulls up beside the slug - mobile. - An alien couple exit a theater playing `` Terminator III''. - An alien wig shop. ANGLE TITLES END, and we start to PULL BACK into the slug - mobile and HEAR : TUGGLE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- So you gon na go, or you not gon na go?", "INT.  SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT The dashboard is littered with fast - food detritus and two coffees in styrofoam cups making fog circles on the windshield. A hand picks up one of the coffees and we FOLLOW IT to a face, a forty - year - old cop face that's seen some wear and tear - behind the wheel is MATT SYKES. Beside him is his partner of nine years, BILL TUGGLE. Tuggle expertly munches on a slice of pizza as he talks. SYKES How can I go? TUGGLE Put on your wash - and - wear suit and your clip - on tie, have your landlady tie your shoes for you, and show up at the church. Simple. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Me and Carol are going. SYKES What? TUGGLE Hey, look - we've known Kristin since. since she was conceived in that cabin up in Big Bear. Remember? You and Edie banged the wall so hard, me and Carol were picking plaster out of our hair for a week. SYKES Goddammit, Tug - I want to see Kristin get married, okay? But - TUGGLE But you're bummed because your ex and her new husband are paying for the whole thing. SYKES Shit, if Kristin had to get married where I could afford it, we'd be holding the reception at Buddy's Burgers. Sykes stares out the window, wallowing in his pissed - off mood. Then he spots something that twinges his street - cop radar. SYKES Uh - oh. Check it out. THROUGH THE WINDOW Tuggle sees what Sykes sees : two ALIENS in long coats moving down the sidewalk, entering a mom - and - pop mini - mart on the corner. One of them wears dark glasses and a red bandana -LRB- KIPLING -RRB- : the other has on a black vinyl raincoat. SYKES Does that look at all suspicious to you? TUGGLE Whatever gave you that idea?", "EXT.  STREET - NIGHT Sykes continues up a quarter of a block, pulls to the curb among other parked cars.", "INT.  SEDAN - NIGHT Sykes is already pulling his gun. Tuggle quickly reaches for the radio in the glovebox. TUGGLE This is one - Henry - seven, we've got a possible two - eleven in progress at Porter's Mini - Mart, corner of Court and Alvarado. Requesting backup. Impulsive Sykes is already opening his door and climbing out. SYKES Let's do it, partner. Tuggle drops the radio mike and follows Sykes as the Radio Dispatcher confirms the call.", "EXT.  STREET - NIGHT The two cops, guns in hand, move along the row of parked cars across the street from the mini - mart. Through the store window they see the old alien PROPRIETOR behind the counter. His eyes go wide as Kipling whips back his coat and yanks out a short combat pump - shotgun and aims it right at him. The Raincoat alien pulls an identical gun and covers the door. Sykes and Tuggle react to the firepower inside. SYKES You got your vest? TUGGLE Of course. Right in the trunk of the car. SYKES Yeah, that's comforting. Mine, too. Through the store window the robbery continues in pantomime. Kipling gestures viciously with the shotgun, yelling orders in the alien language. The Proprietor is quickly filling a paper bag with cash from the register. The PROPRIETOR'S WIFE, a middle - aged alien woman, stands in the doorway from the back, frozen in fear. The Raincoat alien dances from foot to foot, antsy, wired. Sykes and Tuggle crouch at the car directly across the street from the store entrance. TUGGLE Watch the driver. I'm going for a better angle on the door. SYKES I got him. Do n't get pinned. Tuggle leaves the cover provided by the car, runs cater - corner across the intersection. Through the store window Sykes sees Kipling grab the bag of cash, shove it in his coat pocket. Bills fall out, but he does n't care. Then, without warning, Kipling whips up the twelve gauge and blows a hole in the Proprietor's chest! The Proprietor slams back against the shelves, slides to the floor. Kipling leans over the counter and FIRES another round into the Proprietor. SYKES -LRB- under his breath. -RRB- Aw, shit. Tuggle is almost across the street when he hears the shots. The human DRIVER of the getaway car -LRB- parked at the curb a few doors down from the mini - mart -RRB- glances up, spots Tuggle. He leans on the HORN, reaches for a machine pistol on the seat next to him.", "INT.  MINI-MART - NIGHT Kipling and Raincoat alien react to the horn honk. They spot Tuggle through the store window and open fire - BLASTING THROUGH THE GLASS. A civilian car enters the intersection. The engine is hit by shotgun fire, and the car skids to a stop in the intersection, steam rising from the radiator.", "EXT.  STREET - NIGHT Tuggle dives behind a lamp post. The Driver is out of the car now, brings up the machine pistol to fire at Tuggle. Sykes sees this and opens fire at the Driver. The Driver turns and fires at Sykes. Sykes ducks down, and the car he's hiding behind is sprayed with bullets. A forty - foot moving van pulls down the street between Sykes and the Driver. Once the truck is past, Sykes is standing behind the bullet - riddled car, gun ready. He rapid - fires - creaming the human Driver. Tuggle is pinned down behind the thin lamp post by the shotgun fire from Kipling and Raincoat alien. SYKES Get outta there! TUGGLE I ca n't! Do you mind! SYKES I'll cover you! Get outta there! Sykes rises and runs across the street toward the getaway car, firing toward the store as he goes. Kipling and Raincoat dodge behind cover. Tuggle seizes the opportunity, jumps from behind the lamp post and runs to the stalled civilian car. He slides across the hood and drops behind the car for cover. Tuggle slowly pokes his head up to peer through the car window. His gaze is met by the face of the OLD MAN driver who is still inside the car. OLD MAN Can I get out now? TUGGLE Move it! Sykes does n't have a clear firing line on the aliens in the store. As he considers his next move - Tuggle fires at the two aliens. They return fire and he slides down to safety behind the car. Or so he thinks. Glass rains down on him as the car windows are cremated by the shotgun blasts. He flinches as another blast hits the car. He looks over. There's a big exit hole in the fender beside him. THE SHOT WENT RIGHT THROUGH THE CAR. Another exit hole is BLASTED, inches from his shoulder. Panicked, he scrambles along the side of the car - BLASTS and exit holes following him until he reaches the front of the car. He has nowhere left to go and - - a BLAST comes through the car and catches him squarely in the chest throwing him back onto the street. Sykes' head jerks around - in time to see his partner of nine years blown away. Kipling keeps firing in Tuggle's direction until his shotgun CLICKS empty.", "INT.  MINI-MART - NIGHT Kipling grabs Raincoat and throws him toward the back exit of the store. The shotgun falls from Raincoat's hands. The two of them run out the back.", "EXT.  STREET - NIGHT Sykes runs to Tuggle's spread - eagled body. One glance is enough. Nobody ever looked deader. SYKES Aw shit, Tug, Jesus! Goddamn it! He stares, shocked and incredulous. He ca n't find a way to think or feel about this. Then we see him going crazy right before our eyes, the rage revving. He takes off toward the store as SIRENS are HEARD rapidly approaching in background.", "INT.  MINI-MART - NIGHT Sykes moves through like a locomotive skidding on broken glass, bangs through the exit.", "EXT.  ALLEY - NIGHT Sykes catches sight of the two aliens just as they round the corner at the far end of the alley. He takes off, quickly cranking up to full speed.", "EXT.  BACK STREET - NIGHT Sykes rounds the corner. Does n't see them anymore. He slows. moves along this street with some caution. Lots of shadows, lots of hiding places. Sykes HEARS a NOISE, looks up. just in time to see Raincoat on a high, huge billboard. He cuts loose with the shotgun. Sykes dives. Huge chunks of the crate he dives behind fly off into the night. Sykes, on his belly, scrambles deeper among the crates. Raincoat's shotgun CLICKS empty now. He drops it, swings down off the fire escape, runs off. Sykes is up again in a flash, pounding after him.", "EXT.  TUNNEL STREET - NIGHT Sykes rounds this second corner, races down the street. The only route they could've taken is through a tunnel up ahead. Sykes approaches the tunnel, all senses wide open.", "INT.  TUNNEL - NIGHT The murkiness of the tunnel engulfs him as he moves through the mouth. He tries to control his breathing so he can hear. The only SOUND is his own shoes scuffing along the asphalt. Then he HEARS - another set of FOOTSTEPS. Rapid footsteps, coming toward him, ECHOING. He ca n't tell from which direction! He spins, just as a LARGE SHAPE lunges for him with an alien CRY. It's the wired Raincoat alien. Sykes gets his gun up just in time and FIRES - once, twice, three times. Raincoat alien is knocked backwards to the wet asphalt by the blasts. Sykes approaches the body slowly. With an inhuman ROAR, the alien snaps forward, lunging at Sykes with outstretched arms. Sykes jumps back, startled, and FIRES twice more at the pale figure. Raincoat goes down and stays down. Sykes relaxes for the briefest moment. Then he HEARS it. a distinctive CLICKING SOUND, metal on metal. Sykes looks up and - Kipling drops down on him from directly above! Sykes goes down in a heap. He's managed to hold onto the gun and as Kipling comes for him, he swings the gun hand around. Kipling sees it, lashes out, slamming the gun from Sykes' hand. Sykes tries to get to his feet, but the alien grabs him and flings him down the tunnel. A SIREN is HEARD approaching in background. Kipling moves in to deliver the coup de grace. As he draws near, Sykes HEARS that distinctive CLICKING SOUND again. SYKES' P.O.V. Though his vision is BLURRED, Sykes still gets a good look at an exotic silver bracelet on the alien's wrist. The strands of this bracelet are what make the CLINKING NOISE. ANGLE The alien rears back, and as he does, the approaching SIREN suddenly WAILS louder as a backup patrol car swings onto the street heading this way. Kipling sees this and leaves Sykes, running off down the dark tunnel. ON SYKES dazed, struggling to rise. WE HEAR running FOOTSTEPS approaching. Sykes turns, his eyes wild and unfocused. SYKES' P.O.V.. An OUT - OF - FOCUS ALIEN FACE looming over him. ANGLE Sykes whips around in a roundhouse swing with all his weight on it, pistoning his fist straight into the alien face. The alien, caught by surprise and off balance, sprawls backward OUT OF FRAME. Sykes is grabbed by a human uniformed cop, as he tries to swing again. HUMAN COP Whoa, whoa. hold it. Take it easy. -LRB- to alien on the ground. -RRB- You okay? Sykes stops struggling, and his eyes focus. He looks at the alien he just decked, sprawled on his ass ten feet away. The alien is a uniformed cop. his name is JETSON. JETSON I am all right. He gets up. A trickle of purple blood runs from his nose. HUMAN COP I better call in. He moves off. Jetson moves toward Sykes and the Raincoat alien's body. Sykes tenses, thinking Jetson might retaliate in some way. But Jetson simply steps past him to kneel beside the dead alien. He checks for a pulse on the underside of the dead alien's upper arm. Nothing. Sykes is holding his punching hand in obvious pain. He struggles to rise. Jetson gets an arm around him to help him up. JETSON Your hand will require attention. Sykes roughly jerks himself free of Jetson's grip. SYKES Get the hell away from me! I do n't need your goddamn help. He almost loses his balance and has to steady himself against the tunnel wall. Sykes leans there, the picture of impotent rage and frustration. Jetson looks at him, with that slight inquisitive expression aliens exhibit when trying to understand human nature.", "EXT.  MINI-MART - NIGHT OPEN on Tuggle's body, as the body bag is zipped up over his face, and the litter is lifted into the back of the Coroner's wagon. WIDEN to reveal Sykes, standing nearby, watching. The Wagon pulls out, and Sykes turns, moving past all the LAPD black - and - whites and forensics wagons, and COPS -LRB- two of them aliens -RRB- and DETECTIVES, and RUBBERNECKERS -LRB- some alien -RRB-. He moves into :", "INT.  MINI-MART - NIGHT The CRIME SCENE TEAM is checking for prints, digging slugs out of the wall, photographing everything. Several UNIFORMED COPS mill around. Sykes moves aimlessly around the room like a stranger at a party. The Proprietor's Wife stands near the body in a strange rigid posture, a thin, mournful KEENING SOUND coming from her lips. A harried female uniformed cop is trying to get her away from the body, but ca n't get her to budge. MINKLER, a ballistics guy, is tagging the pump - shotgun the Raincoat alien dropped here. NATUZZI, a mean - looking veteran uniform cop is with him. NATUZZI Looks like a standard combat pump - action. MINKLER It is. NATUZZI So what punched holes clear through that car out there? Minkler pulls an evidence baggie from his work box. Inside are four unfired twelve gauge shells. MINKLER BRI Sabot slugs. These puppies are nasty. Two plastic sabots fall away in flight leaving a fifty - caliber slug going two thousand feet per second. Tug might as well've been hiding behind a rosebush. Minkler senses somebody has just stepped up beside him. He looks. It's Sykes. NATUZZI Pretty heavy artillery for knocking over a liquor store. A new voice enters the conversation. JETSON -LRB- O.S. -RRB- An identical round was used in the shooting of a Newcomer named Hubley, two days ago. Sykes turns - surprised, and not especially pleased to see the voice is Jetson's. MINKLER Yeah? So why the extra fire power? JETSON Perhaps because even the larger caliber handguns are n't always effective against my people. SYKES -LRB- mulls this, then. -RRB- You saying there's some connection to this other homicide? Before Jetson can say, the female cop who was talking to the Proprietor's Wife steps up. FEMALE COP Hey, give me a hand with this woman, will ya Jetson? We've got to get her to Division for her statement and she wo n't budge. JETSON -LRB- to Sykes. -RRB- Excuse me. And he moves off with his partner. Sykes calls after him, but Jetson is already approaching the woman and does n't turn. SYKES So, you think there's a connection, or what? Hey!", "EXT.  SYKES' APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT The slug - mobile pulls up. A drained Sykes moves up the walk to his front door.", "INT.  SYKES' APARTMENT - NIGHT Sykes enters his apartment, an untidy bachelor place decorated with negative taste. It's obviously the maid's decade off. By rote, he hits the rewind switch on the answering machine on his way into the kitchen. The tape rewinds. He opens the fridge. Not much here. Left - over take - out pizza carton. Left - over take - out Chinese food cartons. Left - over take - out burger wrappers. The answering machine message begins - he glances over his shoulder as he HEARS his daughter's VOICE. During the following, he reaches the fridge. Brings out a milk carton that's in his way, sets it on the counter. Reaches in again and this time brings out a bottle of Stoly. Then searches for a semi - clean glass. KRISTIN'S VOICE -LRB- bouncy, bride - to - be happy. -RRB- Hi, Daddy, it's me. I'm over at Danny's parents' house. talking about Sunday. I thought maybe you'd be home by now. Anyway, uh, nothing really. I just wanted to call and say I love you. I love you, Daddy. -LRB- she giggles. -RRB- Uh - oh, I should n't' a done that. Knowing you, you'll probably pull this tape out of your machine and save it - in that drawer where you keep every card I ever gave you, and all of my old baby teeth. gross! Anyway, Daddy, do n't save this tape - but I do love you, and I'll talk to you before Sunday. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Oh, Tug and Carol came by and met Danny last week. -LRB- Sykes stiffens. -RRB- Danny thought Tug was the greatest - but, then, who does n't? Anyway, love you, talk to you soon. ` Bye. The machine BEEPS and HISSES. Sykes take the glass and the bottle of vodka, crosses back toward the living room, switching off the answering machine as he goes. Then he stops, turns back, takes the message tape out of the machine and tosses it into a drawer.", "INT.  DETECTIVE SQUAD ROOM - DAY Sykes enters, stirring a jumbo coffee. He's slept about four hours, and his face looks like he went a few with Hagler. He crosses straight to Fedorchuk's desk. SYKES So what've you got on Tuggle's killers? FEDORCHUK Jesus, Sykes - it's been less than ten hours. Me and Alterez are on it, okay? SYKES You do n't have squat. FEDORCHUK You ever try to make a case in Slagtown? The list of Newcomer informants is about as long as the list of Mexican war heroes. ALTEREZ Up yours. FEDORCHUK Nobody talks to nobody down there. Half of them do n't speak English and the other half only when it suits them. It's gon na take some time. SYKES Yeah, I know it's gon na take time. Like until the Ice Capades opens in Hell, with you two on it. Across the room, the Captain's door BANGS open and CAPTAIN WARNER pounds out, his deep voice booming through the squad room. WARNER Nobody wanders off! I got an announcement. Get your asses back in here. Two detectives on their way out, stop, and head back into the room. Everybody gathers around, curious, as Warner stands holding a sheet of paper. WARNER I'll make this short. This is a directive from Chief Evaner, who is acting on orders from the Mayor, who is under mandate from the Federal Bureau of Newcomer Relations. As of nine o'clock this morning, one Newcomer uniform officer has been promoted to the rank of Detective, third grade. The detectives GROAN. some angrier ones grumble, `` This is bullshit!'' , etc.. WARNER And we've got him, gentleman. -LRB- more groans. -RRB- Volunteers for duty with the new detective should see me in my office. otherwise I will choose a volunteer myself. That is all. He turns and heads back to his office in the wake of continued grumbling from the detectives. Sykes, standing to one side, absently watches Warner return to his glass - walled office. Waiting inside are a balding man and an alien in a grey suit. Sykes reacts. The alien in the suit is Jetson. The grumbling continues around him as Sykes considers something. FEDORCHUK Unbelievable bullshit. ALTEREZ How long has this Slag been on the force? A year, max - right? DETECTIVE I do n't know about the rest of you, but I sure as hell ai n't gon na sit still for this. I'm calling the union, pronto. Others grumble. `` Yeah!'' . Meanwhile, Sykes has decided something. He heads toward Warner's office. Fedorchuk sees this. FEDORCHUK Where the hell is he going?", "INT.  WARNER'S OFFICE - DAY Sykes KNOCKS and enters. WARNER Yeah, Sykes? SYKES Captain. I'd like to volunteer for duty with the new detective. Warner is surprised. He never expected Sykes. WARNER All right. Detective Sergeant Sykes, this is Detective. Jetson. JETSON We have met. Warner looks up, clocking this. He looks at Sykes, starting to smell something fishy. The balding man, GOLDRUP, rises to shake their hands. GOLDRUP Victor Goldrup, Mayor's office. Congratulations, gentlemen. Warner is starting to suspect what Sykes is up to. WARNER -LRB- to Sykes. -RRB- You are to have nothing to do with the investigation into Bill Tuggle's death. You know that. Leave that for Fedorchuk. SYKES -LRB- nodding. -RRB- Departmental policy. WARNER -LRB- to Jetson. -RRB- You? JETSON Yes, sir. WARNER Good. SYKES There's another case I'd like to take. A homicide - a Newcomer named Hubley. Jetson looks over at Sykes, knows he's up to something. Sykes avoids his look. WARNER Granger and Pitts are already on it. SYKES Granger and Pitts have one hell of a caseload. and I would have thought with Jetson here being the first Newcomer plainclothes, and Hubley's body being found over in the Newcomer community. WARNER Do n't tell me what to think. GOLDRUP He's got a point. That's the sort of thing we should be doing with this early advancement program. Long - suffering Warner looks up at Goldrup, then finally sighs with resignation. Sykes grins.", "INT.  STAIRWELL - FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - DAY The steel door BANGS open and Sykes and Jetson exit. Next to Sykes' slept - in look, Jetson in his grey suit looks like a Jehovah's Witness canvasser. They move past all the black - and - whites pulling out on p.m. watch during : SYKES and we work my hours. I'll do the driving, you do the paperwork. You got ta learn it so you might as well do it all. JETSON -LRB- after a moment. -RRB- Sergeant. I'd like to thank you for what you're doing. SYKES What's that? -LRB- then realizing. -RRB- Look, Jetson. Get this straight in your head. We're not pals, we're not married, and we ai n't gon na take long moonlight walks together. We're just partners. And do n't call me Sergeant. Call me Sykes. or Matt if you have to. JETSON I am George. Sykes nods absently, and they walk on. four and a half steps to be exact. Then it hits Sykes. He seizes up cold. SYKES Wait a minute. George? George Jetson? Jetson nods. he's used to this. Sykes cracks up. SYKES -LRB- between laughs. -RRB- Man, somebody really hung one on you! I've heard some good ones for you guys. Humphrey Bogart, Harley Davidson. I guess the people at immigration got a little punchy after a while, coming up with names for a quarter of a million of you. You were n't at the back of the line, were you, George? JETSON My true name is Ss ` tangya T'ssorentsa'. SYKES Gesundheit. You do n't mind if I stick to George, do you?", "EXT.  POLICE STATION PARKING AREA - DAY They approach Sykes' ugly sedan, the slug - mobile. SYKES Anyway, what's it matter to you if we think it's funny, right? Whatta you care? JETSON That is exactly so. -LRB- completely deadpan. -RRB- It is like your name. Sykes. I'm sure it does n't bother you at all that it sounds like `` ss ` ai k ` ss'', two words in my language which mean `` excrement'' and `` cranium''. Sykes looks at him, perplexed. JETSON `` Shit. head''. Jetson gets in and slams the door, leaving Sykes standing there, the smirk dropping from his face.", "INT.  SLUG-MOBILE - DAY They're cruising along in downtown traffic. Sykes drives. Jetson is somewhat cramped in the passenger seat. SYKES Let's talk Hubley. JETSON -LRB- refers to a folder he holds. -RRB- His body was discovered three days ago, in an alley off of Central Avenue, near downtown. SYKES With two BRI Sabot slugs in the chest. JETSON -LRB- gently correcting him. -RRB- Through the chest. Rupturing both the primary and secondary hearts. SYKES -LRB- out the window. -RRB- Nice signal, dickwad! Jetson is momentarily thrown by this outburst from Sykes. Then. JETSON He was employed at the Northwest Petroleum Refinery in Torrance. He was manager of the Methane Facility. He was also a principle partner in a real estate venture to develop low - cost housing for Newcomers. Sykes grimaces at the mention of `` Newcomer housing''. SYKES Terrific. A real pillar of the community. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Was Hubley missing anything when they found him? Was he ripped off? JETSON -LRB- checks file. -RRB- There was no wallet. but he was still wearing a watch and two rings. SYKES The guys at the mini - mart last night made a half - assed stab at the money in the till - but I do n't think that's what they were there for. I think we got us a couple'a executions on our hands, George. JETSON The murder at the mini - mart is not our case. The Captain said - Sykes looks over at Jetson, pissed. SYKES Look, you want to fit in here, right? You want to learn how to get along? JETSON Yes. SYKES Well, there's a thing about partners, about being somebody's partner. You do for each other. And other people's rules do n't mean shit. It's the rules set up between the two of you, that's all that counts. Understand? -LRB- Jetson nods. -RRB- Okay. Well, my friend and partner was shot last night and I'm after the shitbag that did it. As my partner, I'm asking you to respect me and help me find him. Jetson considers this several moments, then - JETSON And as my partner, I ask you to respect me and my desire not to break with procedure. Sykes stares at him, exasperated. Without warning, he slams the car to a stop right in the middle of heavy traffic, puts it in `` Park.'' Jetson, who is already a little too close to the dashboard, bangs up against it. HORNS instantly go crazy behind them. JETSON What is wrong? SYKES -LRB- very calm. -RRB- Nothing's wrong. I just want to get something straight. You agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are somehow related, right? YELLING joins the HORNS outside. Jetson is visibly unsettled by the chaos. JETSON Well. yes, quite possibly. SYKES Possibly. Good. Well, would you be willing to accept the theory, George, that. possibly. by examining the evidence from one case we might shed some small ray of light on the other? Does that sound unreasonable to you? JETSON Yes. no, it is not unreasonable. Although I - SYKES Great. -LRB- a relieved sigh. -RRB- Well, I'm sure glad that's settled, are n't you? And with that he puts the car in gear and pulls rapidly out. SYKES I think we're really starting to click now, George - hmmm? Jetson does n't know what to think - he just holds on.", "INT.  HALLWAY - L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY WINTER, a deputy Medical Examiner -LRB- human -RRB-, is leading Sykes and Jetson along the hall. He reads on the fly from a case file in his hand. WINTER You know I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and Alterez this morning. SYKES Come on. You got nothin' better to do, cushy county job like yours.", "INT.  AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY They enter briskly through a swinging door. They move among the tables -LRB- some occupied, some not -RRB- during : WINTER Yeah, right. Do n't push your luck. Anyway, according to the sheet, the guy you nailed outside by the car - SYKES The human? WINTER Yeah. he was one Martin Helder. White male, twenty - seven. Let's see. wrap sheet shows one armed robbery conviction, a couple for sale of a controlled substance. Oh yeah, and he was wired on coke when you stopped his clock. They have reached a table holding a covered body. Winter unceremoniously throws back the cover. There lies the pale naked body of the Raincoat alien. JETSON Have you identified this one? WINTER So far he's a John Doe. Or a Sam Slag, if you like. Jetson smiles slightly out of politeness. WINTER No I.D. on him and - well, you know, no fingerprints - so it could be tough. Your buddies this morning went through the mug book but could n't make a facial match. SYKES Fedorchuk could n't find his ass with his hands in his back pockets. Jetson nonchalantly looks over the alien body while Winter and Sykes continue talking off to one side. WINTER -LRB- referring to Raincoat alien. -RRB- You took this gut out, too, did n't you? SYKES Yeah. WINTER Lucky for you, you got him in both of his. well, what we loosely refer to as. hearts. SYKES Lucky nothing. I had to empty my damn gun into him. WINTER That's the way these people are. You do n't hit both pumps you just piss them off. During this, Jetson has turned the dead alien's hand over - sees something that brings a frown of curiosity to his face. He leans closer, examining the palm carefully. Then he peels back the alien's upper lip. Jetson frowns anew, with concern this time. He looks around, spots a Newcomer lab assistant nearby - BENTNER. Jetson motions him over. Jetson begins questioning him using the alien language. Sykes and Winter nearby, remain oblivious. WINTER Oh, here's an extra headshot if you need one. -LRB- hands Sykes a polariod of dead alien's face. -RRB- We're just about to start cutting in. You're welcome to stick around if you want. It's really fascinating stuff. SYKES Yeah, I'll bet. Sykes looks over, now noticing Jetson and Bentner in earnest conversation. He only catches snatches of the alien language. Bentner appears very unsettled by what Jetson is telling him. In response to Jetson's final statement, Bentner nods - as if agreeing to do something Jetson has requested. Sykes goes over to Jetson. SYKES What's this? What's going on? JETSON Nothing. SYKES -LRB- really suspicious now. -RRB- Nothing? JETSON -LRB- looking away. -RRB- Should n't we examine their personal effects? Jetson moves off, leaving Sykes there wondering.", "INT.  PROPERTY ROOM - COUNTY MORGUE - DAY Two large plastic packets are dumped of their contents onto a formica counter. Sykes looks through the dead alien's effects while Jetson goes through the human's. ORTIZ, the college girl working the property counter, sits nearby doing homework. Jetson holds up a little foil packet with a puzzled frown. JETSON What is this? SYKES -LRB- looks, then. -RRB- A rubber. A condom. You know. Coney Island whitefish? -LRB- Jetson does n't know what one is. -RRB- Men, human men, put them on their, uh - penises - to protect against having babies. -LRB- Jetson still does n't get it ; Sykes turns to Ortiz. -RRB- You need this for anything? ORTIZ Nope, got my own. Anything you guys do n't use gets stuffed away in storage. Sykes tears open the packet, unrolls the condom, dangles it before Jetson. SYKES Get the picture? JETSON -LRB- frowning. -RRB- And that fits? SYKES Well. Yeah, it's rubber. It stretches. JETSON And still it fits? Sykes looks at Jetson's serious expression. He tosses the condom and packet back into the counter and continues searching. A beat, then he ca n't stop himself - he steals a glance at Jetson's crotch. Still searching, Sykes picks up one of the dead alien's well - worn heavy work boots. He grimaces. the sides and soles are painted with a viscous black substance. He very tentatively sniffs it. and is grateful that it's not what he thought it might be. SYKES What is this stuff? Sykes gets some on his hands, does n't know where to wipe it. Jetson glances over. JETSON It is a resin. Sykes looks at him. surprised that he knows. JETSON -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Newcomers working near methane gasses at oil refineries must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks. SYKES How the hell do you know that? JETSON A large number of my people were hired by refineries because the methane fumes are not harmful to us. My spouse's brother is one. SYKES So the Slag they're cutting into upstairs worked at a refinery just like Hubley worked at a refinery. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'd say that `` possible'' connection between the two cases just got a hell of a lot more possible. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Okay, next step - I got ta go talk to the wife of the Slag store owner blown away last night. JETSON I believe I should interview the widow alone. SYKES Why the hell -?! -LRB- realizes it's because of his lack of `` bedside manner''. -RRB- Great, fine. You talk to the wife.", "INT./ EXT.  MINI-MART - LATE AFTERNOON The shattered windows have been covered with plywood. Through the open doorway we see Jetson talking to the Proprietor's Wife. She studies a photo Jetson shows her, nods her head, speaking rapidly in the alien language.", "EXT.  REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Sykes drives along beside the mammoth, steaming network of buildings and pipes that make up the refinery.", "INT.  REFINERY - LATE AFTERNOON Through the loud and smoky refinery we see Sykes walking with the newly promoted Methane Section manager, O'NEAL, in tie and shirtsleeves. The workmen around them are both human and Newcomer. O'NEAL -LRB- yelling over the roar. -RRB- Mr. Hubley was an all right guy - and a damn good manager. The men liked him. I'm really gon na have to scramble to fill his shoes. SYKES Well, one of the men did n't like him so much. They stop and Sykes hands O'Neal the polariod photo of Raincoat alien. They have stopped near the heavy refrigeration - type door leading to the `` METHANE SECTION''. Newcomer workers move in and out through the door during : O'NEAL -LRB- looking at photo. -RRB- You think this is the guy who did it? SYKES We think he could' a been involved, yeah. You know him? O'NEAL To be honest, it's hard to say. I hate to admit it but - they all still kinda look alike to me. SYKES -LRB- impatient. -RRB- Who else can I ask around here? O'NEAL -LRB- looking at photo again. -RRB- Wait. You know who it looks like? Yeah. Anderson. Uh. James Anderson. He is n't in today. He took the afternoon off. SYKES I think you're gon na find he's taken the rest of his life off. O'Neal reacts. Sykes notices the door to the Methane Section. SYKES That where Anderson worked? O'NEAL Yes it is. -LRB- some alien workers come through the door. -RRB- Thirty - five percent pure Methane gas in there. I do n't know how these fellas do it. Sykes watches two more alien workers pass back through the door. O'Neal watches Sykes' expression for signs of suspicion. HIGH ANGLE SHOT - SYKES AND O'NEAL We see Sykes hand O'Neal a card, then move off. O'Neal watches him briefly, then crosses to some steps and starts up this way. We PAN with him as he enters a door here on the second level.", "INT.  METHANE SECTION CONTROL ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON O'Neal enters, moves to a telephone, begins to dial. Beyond is a glass wall overlooking the Methane Section. ANGLE - BELOW CAMERA TRACKS through the Methane Section. past the alien workers in lab whites. past all the arcane equipment and chemical procedures. ending in an EXTREME CLOSE UP of a small cylindrical dispenser as it fills slowly with a pale blue, viscous liquid.", "INT./ EXT.  SLUG-MOBILE - JETSON'S STREET - DUSK We're SHOOTING THROUGH the slug - mobile window as Sykes pulls up in front of Jetson's modest but immaculately maintained home on the outskirts of Slagtown. Jetson's WIFE, an attractive alien woman, stands watering the lawn with a garden hose. Jetson's son, age six, rides his bicycle along the walkway. Jetson, dressed in his suit for work, crouches near the walkway, playing with his son. Sykes pulls the car toward the curb, rolls his eyes. SYKES Jesus. Welcome back Ozzie and Harriet. He HONKS the horn. Jetson looks up, then moves to his wife and kisses her goodbye. Moves to his son, kisses him on the top of his head. Sykes watches all this. and as he does, slowly his derisive expression softens. As corny as this tableau may be, there's something very appealing about the innocence of it. even to an unrepentant cynic like Sykes. Jetson starts to climb into the car, and we -", "INT.  RESTROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT CLOSE on an alien hand as it removes one of the drug dispensers from a tuxedo pocket. As the hand brings the dispenser toward the face, we immediately recognize the exotic silver bracelet worn by Kipling the night before. It makes that distinctive CLINKING NOISE. We PAN with the hand to reveal Kipling's face. sans bandana and sunglasses now. He wears a black tuxedo. He lets a small dab of the blue gel curl from the dispenser onto his tongue. He swallows. and reacts as the rush from the drug hits him. The door to the men's room bangs open and a MIDDLE AGED POLITICO enters, obviously drunk. Kipling quickly pockets the dispenser, moves past the Politico to the exit.", "INT.  SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes drives, heading for the Biltmore Hotel. JETSON Mrs. Porter is not taking her husband's death well. SYKES -LRB- impatient. -RRB- Did you learn anything? JETSON A week ago two men came to see her husband. After they left, he was very frightened. She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Hubley. SYKES Aw - right. What about the other guy? JETSON She did n't know him. But she said her son might. SYKES Did you talk to him? JETSON He has not been home since that day. But she told me where to find him. Sykes nods.", "INT.  MAIN BALLROOM - BILTMORE HOTEL - NIGHT The men are in tuxedos, the women in evening gowns. Only two of three Newcomers faces present. Kipling threads his way among the tables as the MAYOR, at the speaker's platform, addresses the assembly. MAYOR Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community and for his community in such a short period of time. And I must say, as the founder of the first Newcomer owned and operated corporation in Southern California, he certainly has come quite far in the last few years. Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los Angeles. There is laughter from the VIPs. Kipling slides into a seat at one of the front tables. He leans over and whispers something into the ear of the person seated to his right. We see this CLOSE UP, and do n't see who he is whispering to yet. Whoever it is, nods. MAYOR -LRB- continuing. -RRB- As Mayor of this city, it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has so readily made our city his home. and all of us who live here, his friends. Ladies and gentlemen, William Harcourt. The VIPs applaud as the spotlight sweeps over to a front table. At first it hits Kipling, then it adjusts to capture WILLIAM HARCOURT, seated to Kipling's right. Harcourt is an exemplar of the successful Newcomer entrepreneur. handsome, charming, with cool blue eyes that glint with his piercing intellect. He rises, smiling warmly, steps past his striking ALIEN DATE seated to his right, to make his way to the podium. He shields his eyes somewhat from the bright spotlight. Once behind the podium, he slips his notes from a breast pocket as the applause ebbs. HARCOURT Thank you all for that very warm reception. -LRB- pauses, smiles. -RRB- I'm particularly grateful because I actually had the gall to write that in my notes : `` Thank you all for that very warm reception''. Imagine how embarrassed I would've been if it had n't have been such a warm reception. The VIPs laugh. He's won them over instantly with his charm and candor.", "INT.  BILTMORE HOTEL - FOYER - NIGHT Sykes, followed by a reluctant Jetson, bears down on Harcourt, who is exiting the hotel with his Date, and Kipling. We see Kipling recognize Sykes from their fight two nights before. but because Kipling looks so different, Sykes does n't recognize him outright. Still, during this, Sykes senses something, though he's not sure what. SYKES William Harcourt? HARCOURT Yes. SYKES I'm Sergeant Sykes, and this is Detective Jetson, Los Angeles Police Department. HARCOURT -LRB- nodding greeting. -RRB- Sergeant. Detective. I was n't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of Detective yet. JETSON I am the first. HARCOURT Congratulations. This is my administrative assistant, Rudyard Kipling. SYKES -LRB- throw away. -RRB- Rudyard Kipling? No shit? -LRB- to Harcourt. -RRB- Listen, we just need a minute of your time. JETSON We'd like to ask you about a business associate of your, Warren Hubley. HARCOURT Yes, I heard about poor Warren. Tragic. SYKES You were partners with him on some Slag - uh, Newcomer real estate thing. HARCOURT That's right. He and I, along with seven or eight others. Listen, gentlemen, I will be happy to assist you in any way I can - unfortunately, at the moment, I'm overdue at another function. Suddenly there's a voice from O.S. : MAYOR -LRB- O.S. -RRB- William. Harcourt turns as the Mayor and his WIFE step up. HARCOURT Mr. Mayor. MAYOR William, I was wondering if you would n't rather ride with Luisa and me. Two limousines trying to make it across town in all this traffic, we're bound to be later than we already are. HARCOURT Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your police officers. Detective Jetson and Sykes. MAYOR -LRB- shaking their hands, dismissively. -RRB- A pleasure. -LRB- to Harcourt. -RRB- We really should be going. The wind is knocked from Sykes' sails by the presence of the Mayor with a very impatient expression. Harcourt smiles. HARCOURT -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Please feel free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment. -LRB- to Jetson. -RRB- Congratulations again on your promotion, Detective. Remember. you're out there setting an example in our community. I'll be keeping an eye on you. Harcourt is smiling as he says this last, but his eyes are penetrating. telegraphing a subliminal warning. Harcourt and entourage move off. leaving Sykes steaming.", "EXT.  BILTMORE HOTEL - HARCOURT AND KIPLING - NIGHT Walking behind the others. They speak in very low voices ; Harcourt continuing to nod and smile to other passing VIPs during : KIPLING That cop, the human, he was the one who killed Anderson and the driver. HARCOURT This is becoming a serious breach of security. KIPLING He did n't recognize me. HARCOURT It is his new partner that I'm worried about.", "INT.  POLICE FIRING RANGE - FRONT DESK - NIGHT MAFFET, the stocky retired cop behind the counter, hands Jetson a bag of reloads and some silhouette targets. Sykes nods to Jetson, motioning him toward the firing line. SYKES Go on ahead. I'll be right in. -LRB- to Maffet, low. -RRB- What'd you dig up for me? Maffet slides open a drawer, takes out a paper bag containing a massive pistol with an enormous bore. By his manner this deal is definitely not kosher. Sykes hefts the weapon. MAFFET You said you wanted the biggest thing I could find. Well, this is it. SYKES What is it? MAFFET Casull.454 Magnum. You're talking twice the impact energy of.44 Magnum hot loads. SYKES -LRB- flips open cylinder. -RRB- Only holds five. MAFFET Yeah, the shells are too big for six in an cylinder. Hell, Matt, you do n't need but one. SYKES -LRB- sighting. -RRB- No. two.", "EXT.  SHOOTING RANGE - FIRING LINE - NIGHT Jetson, looking bizarre in his ear - protectors, is taking careful aim with his.38 as Sykes walks up. Jetson slips the protectors down. SYKES Well, let's see what you got, Cochise. Gim me six, rapid fire. Jetson, a little nervous at this command performance, turns, sets, and FIRES at the silhouette target. It's a large, sloppy grouping. SYKES -LRB- continuing. -RRB- How long you been shooting? That's pitiful. Whattya gon na do if somebody draws down on you, wave your scores on the written exam at'em? Sykes starts loading the thumb - sized bullets into the Casull. JETSON Why did you do it? SYKES Why'd I do what? JETSON Agree to work with me? You do n't like me. you do n't like any of us. You have nothing but contempt for us. And yet you become an outcast from your club of detectives by making me your partner. SYKES My partner is dead! Because one of you bastards killed him - then disappeared into a rathole down in Slagtown, where he's home and dry,'cause nobody sees nothing, nobody says nothing. Sykes grabs a bullet - proof vest from nearby, slaps it onto the hanging target form. He hits the switch, running the target down to the end of the lane. SYKES -LRB- continuing. -RRB- But he did n't figure on you, George. You're going to get me through that wall of silence. You're going to make them talk to me. You're going to help me find that Slag son - of - a - bitch. Comprendo? And if Fedorchuk and the boys in the bullpen do n't like it, screw them. and if the Captain does n't like it, screw him. and if all the Slags down in Slagtown do n't like it. well screw them too! Sykes raises the Casull, fires. KA - BOOM! The shell rockets clean through the bullet - proof vest on the target form. The recoil slams Sykes back, jerks his arm up. KA - BOOM! again, and another hole is drilled through the vest. Other shooters look over. Sykes sets the gun down. sees his hand is bleeding. Jetson absorbs all this, as we -", "EXT.  \"X\" BAR - NIGHT A violet neon `` X'' FILLS FRAME, flashing hypnotically. It's a bar catering to rough - trade Newcomer clientele. Several ALIEN MEN, brute laborer - types, lounge around out front. They glare with antagonism as Sykes and Jetson climb out of their car. SYKES -LRB- to Jetson. -RRB- Okay, just stay back and do what I do. Watch and learn, watch and learn.", "INT.  \"X\" BAR - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson walk into the almost total blackness of this all - Newcomer place. A few near - infrared indigo lamps dot the blackness. SYKES I ca n't see dick in here. We can dimly make out booths along one wall, some tables, and the bar. There are maybe twenty figures seated or standing in the darkness. The room falls silent in a wave as Sykes' presence becomes noticed. Sykes saunters forward, commanding the space with his unhurried movements. SYKES -LRB- calling into the dark silence. -RRB- Which one'a you Slags is Porter? VOICE -LRB- from the back of the bar. -RRB- Who wants to know? Sykes squints into the darkness, then - SYKES -LRB- aside to Jetson. -RRB- Who said that? JETSON -LRB- tilts his head to indicate. -RRB- At the end of the bar. Sykes nods, starts in that direction. SYKES My name is Sykes. I'm - ALIEN VOICE Ss ` ai k ` ss? The whole place roars with LAUGHTER. Too late Sykes remembers what his name sounds like to them. He continues down the bar and a figure in one of the booths sticks his leg out and trips Sykes with his size 16 work boot. Sykes stumbles, then recovers and pivots on the offender. Hoots and derisive LAUGHTER. He sees only shadows. OFFENDER -LRB- merely a voice in the dark. -RRB- Careful, ss ` loka', you might hurt yourself. More laughter. Sykes gives the darkness where the offender sits a hard stare, then turns and shoulders his way to the end of the bar. Jetson follows. Sykes stops behind a big Newcomer in greasy work clothes. ANGLE The punk Newcomer in the next seat is keeping his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He glances over at the two cops. his expression shifting to recognition as he spots Jetson. BACK TO SCENE Sykes speaks to the Big Newcomer's back. SYKES You Porter? The Big Newcomer continues to sip his mug of sour milk. Does n't turn. Sykes grabs him by the shoulder and turns him around. The alien grabs Sykes' hand off, rising to his full height. He and Sykes lock eyes. Meanwhile. the punk Newcomer -LRB- PORTER -RRB- has started to slip away unnoticed. Jetson spots him, reaches out with one arm, and grabs him by the jacket. JETSON No, Matthew. I believe this is the one you want. He pulls Porter back into play. Now Jetson sees Porter's face. and he, too, reacts with recognition. Sykes gives Jetson a sour look, releases the Big Newcomer, and turns his malice on the punk Newcomer. SYKES Your name would n't happen to be Porter, would it? JETSON Uh, Matthew. SYKES -LRB- over his shoulder to Jetson. -RRB- Back off, George. JETSON But I -. -LRB- know this man. -RRB-. SYKES I'll handle it. Jetson backs off, letting him handle it. SYKES -LRB- to Porter. -RRB- Jesus, are the questions too tough for you already? Let's try again -. -LRB- slowly. -RRB- Is your name Porter? PORTER Ss ` kya ` ta'. SYKES -LRB- to Jetson. -RRB- What's that? JETSON Screw you. SYKES -LRB- back to Porter. -RRB- Screw me? That ca n't be right. PORTER Ss ` kya ta' ss ` loka'. Ss ` trokya' ss ` lato na'! JETSON -LRB- to Sykes, low. -RRB- You do n't want to know. SYKES Tell me. JETSON Your mother mates out of season. SYKES -LRB- to Porter. -RRB- That's very colorful. But see - now I've got a problem. I do n't seem to be getting much cooperation from you, Porter. So I guess we're gon na have to take this little session down to my office, ya know? And instantly Sykes whips out this flashlight, snaps on the beam, and arcs it into the faces of the aliens around him. Jetson gets a blast of it, too. The aliens are momentarily blinded. Sykes has Porter pinned to the bar, the flashlight in his face, as he starts to handcuff him. But Porter gets a hand free and crushes the head of the flashlight. Darkness falls. along with Sykes' expression of satisfaction. Porter hurls Sykes back, slamming him into a table. The crowd HOOTS and CHEERS. Sykes finds his way to his feet. JETSON Matthew, you do n't have to -. -LRB- do this. -RRB-. SYKES Stay back! I'm okay. He charges Porter, brandishing the flashlight like a club. The two of them battle, then Sykes sees his opportunity and brings his knee up viciously into the alien's groin. Porter doubles over in feigned agony, then slowly rises again - smiling. PORTER Do n't they teach you anything about us in cop school, little ss ` loka'? Porter grabs Sykes by the shirt front, is about to deliver a crushing blow, when another arm cuts into FRAME, locking with Porter's, blocking the punch. It is Jetson. JETSON Enough. PORTER -LRB- eyeing Jetson. -RRB- Ss ` tangya T'ssorentsa'. You're a cop. -LRB- with some contempt. -RRB- It fits you. Jetson says something to him in the alien language. Porter gives him a hard stare, then moves toward the back exit. Sykes stumbles over to Jetson. SYKES You know that guy? JETSON -LRB- nods. -RRB- From quarantine, when my people first arrived here. He and I were housed together. SYKES How could a straight - arrow like you ever pick a roommate like him? JETSON In the camps, we were lodged four to a room. The selection process was entirely random. We did not get to stay with our friends. or families. And he moves toward the back exit. Sykes watches him go.", "EXT.  \"X\" BAR - NIGHT Porter leans against an alley wall. He speaks English learned on the streets. JETSON You do n't know what your father and these two men were arguing about? PORTER I told you - I was in the back of the store. I just heard voices, muffled like. SYKES One of the two men was Hubley, right? What about the other one? Did you know him? PORTER Yeah. I seen him around. High - roller dude named Strader. Joshua Strader. Runs a club on the west side. Encounters. SYKES Yeah, I heard of it. PORTER That's all I know. You want anything more, you ask somebody else. He pushes away from the wall, heads for the door to the bar. JETSON I am sorry about your father. Porter throws him a look over his shoulder, then disappears through the door. Sykes and Jetson start down the alley. JETSON If I may make a suggestion. We have different weak spots than you do. Next time, a blow to the nerve plexus under the arm, here, will produce the effect I think you were looking for. SYKES Yeah, sure. I knew that.", "EXT.  BURGER STAND - NIGHT The wall - mounted menu is in English and the Alien Language. The SERVERS are teen aged humans and aliens. Sykes and Jetson stand at the counter awaiting their order. KID -LRB- serving them. -RRB- Six forty - two. They both put money on the counter. The kid goes to put the order together. Sykes looks at the alien characters on the menu. SYKES I do n't think I could ever learn to read that shit. -LRB- beat. -RRB- How long did it take you to learn English? JETSON Three months. -LRB- off Sykes' look. -RRB- We learn quickly. We adapt. It is our strength. what we were bred for, to adapt to hostile environments. The Serving Kid puts their bags on the counter. JETSON -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Thank you. They take the bags and walk off, digging the food out of the bags as they talk : SYKES My neighbor's kid has a Newcomer girl in his class. She's six years old and in seventh grade already. They climb into the car.", "INT.  SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson does n't respond. some things are better left unaddressed. Meanwhile, Sykes has unwrapped his food and recoils in disgust. SYKES Oh, God. I think I got yours here. He holds up two strips of raw meat with patches of animal fur still on them. Jetson meanwhile is grimacing at the dripping cheeseburger he's just unwrapped. They quickly trade. SYKES -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Which one is that? Raw what? JETSON -LRB- eating a strip. -RRB- This is mole. It's good. SYKES I'll bet. -LRB- winces, watching him chew. -RRB- Would it really put you out if they tossed that on the grill for a minute or two? JETSON Our bodies do not assimilate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. Jetson looks over at him, smiling. SYKES Oh, that's real attractive. You got fur in your teeth, George. Come on, man, we're gon na be talking to people. jeez. Sykes looks at his burger, his appetite gone, shoves it back into the sack and tosses it into the back seat.", "INT./ EXT.  SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT As Sykes pulls onto the street. SYKES So what was that other word for Human. Slow ka? JETSON Ss ` loka'. It means literally `` small but intelligent creature''. -LRB- Sykes looks over, does n't know if he likes this. -RRB- It loses much in the translation. SYKES And what was that one about my mother? That was a good one. JETSON Ss ` trokya ss ` lato ` na'. SYKES Yeah, that's it. Say it slow. Jetson pronounces the words and Sykes follows along haltingly. After several tries, he can say it passably well.", "INT.  ENCOUNTERS - NIGHT An upscale, mostly yuppie - human dance club. The antithesis of the `` X'' bar. A human HOSTESS in a slit dress has just finished seating Sykes and Jetson at a table. She moves off. The two cops look up at the stage. REVERSE ANGLE revealing the exotic alien dancer named CASSANDRA. She moves with a feline blend of strength and grace. Framing her face is a silvery nylon wig that she tosses like a mane as she undulates to the MUSIC. Sykes watches with fascination. The MUSIC ends and Cassandra steps down from the stage, to be replaced by a human DANCER as the next SONG cranks up. Sykes and Jetson quickly intercept her as she heads backstage. JETSON You are Cassandra? CASSANDRA That's right. JETSON We are with the Police Department. This is Sergeant Sykes, and I am - CASSANDRA -LRB- laughing. -RRB- Ss ` ai k ` ss? Perfect. SYKES We're looking for your boss - Strader. She eyes the two of them warily, then moves backstage, assuming they will follow.", "INT.  BACKSTAGE - NIGHT She moves along the narrow corridor. CASSANDRA He's not here. Why ask me? JETSON The young woman at the front said you might know where he is. CASSANDRA She did, did she? Well, she was wrong. Excuse me, I have to change. SYKES No problem. She moves through a door. Sykes follows closely so does Jetson.", "INT.  ENCOUNTERS - DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT Cassandra grabs some clothes and goes into a stall. SYKES Look, we're not here doing an interview for the school paper. This is a homicide investigation. and if you do n't stop jerkin' us around, I'm ready to start playin' hardball. Jetson has waited politely half - in half - out of the room. Sykes rapidly motions to him to `` go look around''. Jetson mimes back, `` Huh?'' CASSANDRA -LRB- slipping out of her dance costume. -RRB- Oooh. Hardball. That sounds interesting. Are you going to strike me? You could tie me up and then do whatever you want with me. I've got my own ropes. SYKES -LRB- still miming to Jetson. -RRB- Does that cost extra or you throw them in? CASSANDRA You've got me all wrong. I do n't charge money for something that I myself find pleasurable. Finally Jetson gets what Sykes is trying to tell him. He says in the uncertain, stagy voice of a bad liar : JETSON I am going out to the car. I will meet you there. Sykes rolls his eyes as Jetson exits into the corridor. Cassandra emerges from the stall, wearing a long, stylish, low - cut dress. CASSANDRA Look, I do n't know where Mr. Strader might be. He comes and he goes. SYKES -LRB- starting to feel a little uncomfortable. -RRB- The girl out front mentioned Strader's assistant, somebody named Watson. Maybe he knows. CASSANDRA -LRB- tensing slightly. -RRB- Todd? Todd does n't know either. She is very close to Sykes now. She fingers the lapel of his jacket. CASSANDRA -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I know. Why do n't you hang around for a while, let me entertain you? It's Matt, right? Now tell me the truth, have you ever. made it. with one of us? SYKES Not unless I got real drunk and nobody told me about it later. CASSANDRA A virgin. I find that very arousing.", "INT.  SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR - NIGHT MUSIC drifts up from downstairs. Jetson moves along the corridor, scoping things out. He tries a door. Locked. Tries another one. Open. He eases it wider, then enters the darkened office.", "INT.  OFFICE - SECOND FLOOR - NIGHT Jetson moves into the office. Looks around. Makes his way to the cluttered desk top. Pushes things around. all the usual stuff. He starts to turn away, then his eye catches something sticking out from behind a row of ledger books. He reaches for it. A small dispenser - of the kind we saw being filled at the refinery. Jetson studies it, his suspicions growing. Opening it, he finds only the barest trace of a viscous substance. He smells it. not enough to tell for certain what it is. But enough that he is very concerned about what it could be.", "INT.  CASSANDRA'S DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT Cassandra is practically melting herself into Sykes now. She takes his hand and guides his fingertips over her facial ridges. She shudders with pleasure. Sykes begins to perspire. SYKES There's lots of things I have n't done, but his ai n't high on the list. Do n't take it personally. CASSANDRA I think you're just a little scared now, about what you might find once the lights go out. A little scared. and a lot curious. Maybe more than you want to admit. But does n't that turn you on, that curiosity and fear, swirling together? -LRB- coos. -RRB- Think of it as broadening your horizons. SYKES I like my horizons narrow. CASSANDRA -LRB- pressing herself into him. -RRB- Your voice is saying no, but your body is saying yes. He quickly disengages from her. SYKES My voice, body, and everything else is saying I'll be back in two hours for Strader, and he better damn well be here. He shoves a business card at her, then retreats through the door.", "INT.  CORRIDOR - NIGHT Sykes closes the door and lets out his breath.", "INT.  CASSANDRA'S DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT Cassandra's expression instantly turns to worry and she quickly crosses to a phone and punches the intercom button.", "INT.  OFFICE - SECOND FLOOR - NIGHT Jetson, looking through a desk drawer, hears the intercom BUZZ in the next room. Through the wall - WATSON -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- tentatively. -RRB- Yes? CASSANDRA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- over the intercom, breathless. -RRB- Todd, it's me. The police were just here. looking for Strader. And asking about you. Jetson moves toward the door to the adjoining office, drawing his gun. The floor squeaks beneath his feet. He looks down, then continues toward the door.", "INT.  OFFICE - SECOND FLOOR - NIGHT Jetson eases open the door. It's the manager's private office. Jetson sees the phone receiver resting on the desk, the desk lamp on, a lit cigarette in an ashtray - but no one behind the desk. Jetson eases through the door and - - a chair crashes down on him from behind the door! Jetson goes down, his gun skittering out of his hand.", "INT.  PRIVATE OFFICE - NIGHT Jetson and his assailant battle in the well - appointed office.", "INT.  OFFICE - SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR - NIGHT Sykes hears the fight through the private office door. He throws the door open.", "INT.  PRIVATE OFFICE - NIGHT Sykes stands in the doorway, the Casull straight - armed at Jetson's assailant. SYKES Freeze! Now! The assailant does. He looks at Sykes, scared, breathing hard. He's a Newcomer in a snappy Armani suit. This is TODD WATSON. Jetson, on the floor, starts to rise. Suddenly somebody flies at Sykes from the side, knocking him sideways down the corridor. It's Cassandra. Watson seizes the moment and shoves the off - balance Jetson into some furniture and dives for the door.", "INT.  SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR - NIGHT Watson runs down the corridor, ducking onto a fire escape. Meanwhile Sykes wrestles with Cassandra. She's as strong as he is, but he has the edge in experience. Jetson, disheveled, appears in the private office doorway, ready to chase Watson, but not knowing which way he went. SYKES -LRB- struggling with Cassandra. -RRB- Fire escape! End of the hall! Jetson nods, takes off down the corridor. Sykes manges to get one handcuff on Cassandra's wrist, the other cuff around a pipe sticking out of the wall. She SCREECHES at him in the alien language as he collects the Casull and charges down the corridor.", "EXT.  FIRE ESCAPE - OUTSIDE ENCOUNTERS - NIGHT Jetson pounds down the fire escape. Below him, he sees Watson reach the ground and take off running for the parking area. Jetson reaches the ground and gives chase.", "EXT.  ENCOUNTERS PARKING LOT - NIGHT Watson zig - zags through the parked cars, Jetson cutting down other rows trying to make up the distance between them.", "EXT.  FIRE ESCAPE - OUTSIDE ENCOUNTERS - NIGHT Sykes bangs down the fire escape, leaping the last fifteen feet to the ground.", "EXT.  ENCOUNTERS PARKING LOT - NIGHT Watson reaches his Alfa Romeo, yanks open the door, fires it up. Jetson slides up, ten feet behind the car, pulls his gun, aims. The white reverse - lights flash on. Jetson stands there, gun aimed - but he hesitates to shoot. In that split second hesitation, Watson floors it. Jetson jumping to avoid being hit.", "INT.  ALFA ROMEO - NIGHT Watson throws the car into Drive, looks up, and sees Sykes standing right in front of the car. He hits the gas. Sykes has no choice then to leap onto the hood of the car. Watson, with Sykes' face on the other side of the glass, panics and -", "EXT.  ENCOUNTERS PARKING LOT - NIGHT - plows the Alfa into some parked cars. Sykes is up in a flash - yanks Watson out of the car. Watson rears back to swing at Sykes, when Sykes swings his arms around in two wide arcs, his fists landing two direct hits in the nerve centers under Watson's arms. Watson folds over with a `` ooowwph'' sound and drops to his knees. SYKES -LRB- breathing hard. -RRB- I'll be damned. It worked. -LRB- sees Jetson run up. -RRB- How'd you like that, huh? Whammo! Both barrels. Dropped him like a bag of cement. Jetson picks up Watson's fallen wallet. He looks at the I.D. SYKES Who is he? JETSON Todd Watson. The assistant manager. Watson is still doubled over, just trying to draw one agonized breath. WATSON I do n't believe this. Look at my suit. Look at what you made me do to my car. SYKES -LRB- laughing. -RRB- Your girlfriend put up a better fight than you did, pal. JETSON We are looking for your employer, Joshua Strader. WATSON He's out of town. JETSON Why did you run? WATSON Because you two were chasing me. SYKES We were chasing you because you ran, you dumb son - of - a - bitch. JETSON When will Strader return? WATSON Who knows. He's the boss - he does n't have to check in with me. SYKES -LRB- wearily. -RRB- Watson. this is my partner here's first coupla days, and he wants to make a good impression. Me, though, the way I feel - this could be my last day, know what I mean? And I'm ready to rain on you like a cow pissin' on a flat rock. WATSON Look - Mr. Strader has n't been around for a coupla days. He did n't tell me where he was going or when he'd be back. I swear it. SYKES -LRB- to Jetson. -RRB- What do you think? JETSON I believe he is probably lying. SYKES Through his ass. -LRB- to Watson. -RRB- Next time you see him, tell him to call me. unless you want us to keep coming back on you like a bad case of herpes. Sykes shoves a business card in Watson's breast pocket. They walk away and Watson slumps against his car. ANGLE - MOVING WITH SYKES AND JETSON as they walk wearily to the slug - mobile. SYKES George, you can handle the women from now on, you mind?", "EXT.  ENCOUNTERS PARKING LOT - NIGHT Watson is alone, surveying the damage to his Alfa, when he hears footsteps. He turns with a `` What now?'' expression and - a shotgun butt is slammed into his forehead. He goes down. Kipling stands over him, flanked by FOUR HUMAN THUGS. One of these is QUINT, senior human in Harcourt's employ. QUINT -LRB- to other Thugs. -RRB- Okay, scrape him up.", "EXT.  ZUMA BEACH APPROACH _ NIGHT Harcourt's private limo glides down the narrow access road, passing a lookout car attended by two alien Thugs. The limo moves down to the beach, parking near an n.d. van. Harcourt exits the limo, walks onto the sand to the back of the van. Here he finds Kipling and Quint and the three human Thugs. They have Watson chained to the van's rear bumper, facing the sea, and have been working him over with a tire iron. He's bruised and bloody, but still conscious. HARCOURT Any progress? QUINT My arm's gettin' tired and so far, zip. KIPLING He is ss ` verdlatya ss ` alo to Strader. QUINT What's that mean? KIPLING Duty - bonded. His allegiance to Strader is above pain or life. QUINT You tellin' me this guy would die before he'd screw his boss and work for us? Nobody's that dumb. KIPLING It is something you could n't comprehend, Quint. Harcourt approaches Watson, kneels beside him, careful to keep the knee of his designer pants out of the sand. HARCOURT I understand you have been resisting my offer Mr. Watson. Your sense of duty to Mr. Strader is noble, but - no longer an issue, I'm afraid. Harcourt signals and the two Thugs drag an alien body from the back if the van : a middle - aged alien, Strader, shot twice through the front of his silk suit. Watson's eyes widen in fear. HARCOURT -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I will not make this offer again. I want you to work for me, to manage the nightclub as Strader's successor. If you do, you will know a wealth and comfort our people never dared imagine. Watson stares at Harcourt, scared but defiant. WATSON Sss ` k' a ta'! Harcourt studies Watson a moment, perhaps even admiring his resolve. Then - HARCOURT It is such a pity to die for an outmoded value. -LRB- rising. -RRB- Mr. Quint, I believe it's time for our friend's swimming lesson. Watson freaks out, howling and lashing against the chains. HARCOURT -LRB- to Watson. -RRB- It's important to learn new skills. Essential to your growth as a person. Quint and the Thugs free Watson from the bumper. He bucks and lunges as they drag him toward the surf. Quint addresses one of the Thugs, a new guy. QUINT You never seen this before, have you, Billy? oh, man, you ai n't gon na believe it. seawater is like battery acid to these guys. I do n't know what it is, some kinds chemical reaction. Whatta you think it is, Watson? Whoa, hold him. -LRB- a wave breaks outside, the foam rolls in. -RRB- What I love about the surf is you can never tell how far up it's going to come until it. whoops, got a little wet there. The wave just sloshes over Watson's lower legs. He screams. Flailing, one of his hands dips below the surface of the water. He howls and yanks out his hand. We see the alien hand dripping seawater. then a thousand droplets of purple alien blood begin to bead all over the hand. The Thugs get Watson swinging. QUINT Last call, sucker. One. two. THREE! Watson is flung into the surf. ANGLE Harcourt and Kipling have walked down almost to the waterline. We HEAR Watson's GURGLES and SCREAMS. then nothing. Kipling is very nervous this close to the water. Harcourt seems unperturbed. KIPLING When we picked him up, he was talking to those two cops - the two who came to question you about Hubley. HARCOURT This is getting out of hand. I want you to deal with it. Immediately. A wave rushes up the sand. Kipling quickly steps back. Harcourt stands firm, staring it down, and the foam stops six inches from his dress shoes. HARCOURT -LRB- continuing. -RRB- We must learn to embrace the things we fear. and from that grow strong. A moment, then he turns and starts back toward the limo. He motions to Strader's body and the surf. The Thugs grab the body and heave it into the waves.", "INT.  SYKES' APARTMENT - NIGHT Jetson is talking rapidly in the alien language on the kitchen wall phone. Sykes, foreground, takes the bottle of vodka from the refrigerator, throws some ice in a glass, pours himself a shot. As Jetson is talking, he spots the carton of milk that Sykes inadvertently left out of the refrigerator two nights ago. He sniffs it. his eyebrows do an involuntary movement. He finishes with his wife and hangs up. He watches Sykes take a long pull on the vodka. JETSON -LRB- holds up milk carton. -RRB- Would you mind? Sykes shrugs, tosses him a glass. Jetson pours the semi - lumpy milk and takes a big swallow. Sykes grimaces. Then - SYKES -LRB- indicates phone. -RRB- So, she keeps you on a pretty short leash, does she? JETSON My wife? She worries about me. Sykes leans against the counter, getting comfortable, his voice more weary then bitter. SYKES Yeah. I know the routine. JETSON You are married? SYKES Was. Divorced. JETSON We mate for life. Divorce. is a strange concept to us. SYKES It's like having an eleventh finger removed. It hurts like hell, but you never really needed the damn thing in the first place. Jetson nods - even though he does n't really understand this. They drink. Jetson gazes around. JETSON Your home is quite disordered. I thought perhaps you had been burglarized when I walked in. SYKES -LRB- growling. -RRB- I appreciate your honesty, George. He smacks his glass against Jetson's. They drink.", "INT.  SYKES' APARTMENT - LATER Sykes has his wallet out. showing Jetson a dog - eared photo. SYKES Ignore the bitch on the left, that's Edie. I call her Edi Amin. This is Kristin, my daughter. It's kinda an old picture. she's twenty now. Getting married, in fact. on Sunday. Jetson sitting across the table from Sykes, looks at the proffered photo. They're both a little drunk now. JETSON Human children can be very beautiful. -LRB- then. -RRB- Getting married? Congratulations. You will be taking Sunday off, then. SYKES -LRB- uneasy. -RRB- Maybe not. I do n't know. I'm not sure I'm gon na go. -LRB- mumbles. -RRB- She does n't need her burn - out of a father there. Jetson looks at him. Sees something he never thought possible in Sykes. Vulnerability. Trying to break the melancholy mood, Jetson reaches for his wallet. JETSON -LRB- upbeat. -RRB- I must show you. -LRB- flips open wallet, shows four crisp photos of his wife. -RRB- And this is Richard. My son. He's four years old. We named him after the former President, Richard Nixon. Sykes looks at all the photos sprawled out on the table. and has to laugh. He looks up at Jetson's sincere face. He may be starting to like this guy. SYKES You open to a piece of advice? Tell people you named him after Richard Burton, the actor. Just take my word for it. And he clacks his glass against Jetson's sitting on the table, and -", "INT.  SYKES' APARTMENT - LATER They are quite a bit drunker. Jetson has doffed his jacket and tie, leans in, listening intently to Sykes. SYKES and so, and so the doctor says, `` If this is the thermometer, then where'd I leave the pen?''. -LRB- laughs raucously, Jetson does n't react. -RRB- You're not. you do n't think that's funny? George, work with me, I always get a laugh with that one. Look, if the doctor's got the thermometer in his hand, then where's his pen got ta be? JETSON -LRB- straight - faced. -RRB- In the other man's rectum. SYKES -LRB- laughing. -RRB- Sticking out of his ass. yeah! See, that's what makes it a joke. There's like a surprise, and your mind fills in the funny picture. Here's this guy with a pen stuck in his ass and he thinks it's a thermometer. -LRB- Jetson just blinks. -RRB- Nada, huh? Jetson shrugs apologetically. Sykes pours them each another round. SYKES -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Your health. JETSON Ta ss ` trakyona'. They CLACK glasses, and -", "INT.  SYKES' APARTMENT - LATER STILL The party has moves into the living room floor, around the coffee table. It's a quieter moment. JETSON There is so much our two peoples do n't understand about each other. SYKES No shit, Holmes. You're only from another goddamn planet, for chrissakes. JETSON You humans are very curious to us. You invite us to live among you, in an atmosphere of equality we've never known before. You lay before us a beautiful green world, full of freedoms and opportunities. You give us ownership of our lives for the first time. and you ask no more of us than you do of yourselves : to live by the rules. rules that are n't made to keep one people subordinate to another, but rules that exist to preserve equality. You aspire to very high ideals here. Sykes is watching Jetson, mesmerized. The guy's never said this much at one time before. If he was n't drunk, Jetson would never let himself open up to a human like this. JETSON -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I hope you can understand how special your world is. how unique a people you humans are. So it us all the more painful and confusing to us that so few of you seem capable of living up the the ideals you set for yourselves. SYKES Do n't count on me, George. I never had any ideals. Jetson smiles a little. He knows that's bullshit. JETSON We do n't understand the hatred, the contempt. But we must bear it. we must not react in anger. because our situation here is still fragile. The separationists would see us returned to the quarantine camps. The fundamentalists say we have no more human rights than dogs or cats. But the prejudice we face here is so insignificant compared to the pain that we've known before. And that is why we are so grateful. Sykes studies him a long time through heavy - lidded eyes. Finally - SYKES Yeah, well. except I did hear you eat your dead. Jetson looks at him a long beat, then - JETSON -LRB- deadpan. -RRB- Only on Fridays. Sykes stares at him for about five seconds and then explodes with laughter. SYKES You son - of - a - bitch. You're okay. Jetson stands unsteadily, and announces : JETSON I'm going home. SYKES Yeah, go home. Get some sleep. You do sleep, do n't you? Jetson, going out the front door, just waves over his shoulder without turning around. He's gone. SYKES What a wildman. Sykes, stands there wobbling, then he collapses backward onto the sofa, unconscious. And we MATCH DISSOLVE TO -", "INT.  SYKES' APARTMENT - DAWN The first hues of dawn stream through the window. Sykes remains passed out on the sofa where we left him.", "EXT.  STREET - FRONT OF SYKES' BUILDING - DAWN The slug - mobile parked at the curb. Silence, then the RUMBLE of a heavy truck. and a tow truck turns onto this street at the corner. The tow truck glides to the curb in front of the slug - mobile. The driver stays inside as his passenger alights carrying a tool kit and a paper bag. The human is Quint. Quint uses a slim - jim to open the slug - mobile door, then slides behind the wheel.", "INT.  SLUG-MOBILE - DAWN Quint slides the contents from the paper bag. It is a packet of C - 4 plastic explosives, with a primer cap, and two lead wires with their ends bared. Quint bends down, starts to work under the dash. As his head disappears from FRAME, suddenly another head appears above the seats. George Jetson sitting up groggily in the back seat. A blanket slips off his head and shoulders. He sits there blinking, rubbing his eyes, feeling lousy. Under the dash, Quint starts to whistle as he works. Mistake. Jetson, with a puzzled expression, leans forward and sees this guy in the front seat. Before he can jump - start his brain, Quint sits up, sees him, and hammers him in the face with his fist. Jetson is knocked back, holding his face. That was the last thing he needed.", "EXT.  STREET - FRONT OF SYKES' BUILDING - DAWN Meanwhile Quint is shouting and bailing out of the car. He runs and leaps into the already moving tow truck. It is sliding around the corner out of sight just as Jetson stumbles out of the car. He whips out his gun from the unfamiliar shoulder rig and it flies out of his hand. Jetson sags against the side of the car, mumbles an alien phrase, clearly the equivalent of `` Fuck it.'' .", "INT.  SYKES' APARTMENT - DAY Sykes is in the fetal position on the couch where we left him. Someone is POUNDING on the door. He regains consciousness reluctantly. SYKES This better be good news or money. He shambles to the door and gets it open, admitting Jetson. Jetson holds the C - 4 charge in a handkerchief with one hand and gives it to Sykes. JETSON Hold this. -LRB- lurching to the sink. -RRB- I feel very terrible. Sykes registers what he's holding. He moves to Jetson, who is running his head under the tap. SYKES Where'd you get this?! JETSON A man, a human, was wiring it to your car. I did n't get a good look at him. -LRB- then, registering that it's day ; panicked. -RRB- I must call my wife.", "INT.  PRECINCT FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - DAY Jetson is starting to take on Sykes' looks, his clothing rumpled and a day old. Sykes has showered and changed so he's not suffering as much by comparison. They approach Sykes' desk. JETSON She's going to divorce me. SYKES George, she's not gon na divorce you. You mate for life, remember? JETSON She's very progressive. I'm certain she's considering it. ANGLE - A UNIFORMED SECRETARY distributing phone slips nearby notices Sykes. SECRETARY You guys are looking for somebody named Strader, right? SYKES Yeah. SECRETARY Fedorchuk and Alterez just phoned in. They found him. -LRB- Sykes and Jetson react. -RRB- Or at least what's left of him, washed up on the beach at Zuma. Sykes and Jetson react again. SECRETARY -LRB- continuing ; handing over the message slip. -RRB- They're still there if you wan na catch them. She moves off. SYKES Well, let's roll, George. JETSON -LRB- with a stricken expression. -RRB- To the. to the beach? SYKES Come on, let's go, dude. Surf's up!", "EXT.  PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY - ZUMA BEACH - DUSK CRANE SHOT, nice and WIDE, showing the slug - mobile turning off P.C.H. onto a gravel road which curves down the the beach. The following is V.O. as the car approaches the water. JETSON -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Stop the car. SYKES -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Why? JETSON -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Please, I must get out here. SYKES -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Come on, you wo n't have to get near the water. JETSON -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Stop the car! We see the car pull to a stop in a cloud of dust.", "INT.  SLUG-MOBILE - DUSK SYKES All right, okay. Keep your pantyhose on. Jeez, when in doubt, freak out, for chrissake. Sykes sees that his partner is covered with a sudden sheen of sweat, his hands shaking. Sykes softens. SYKES -LRB- continuing. -RRB- It's all right, George. It's cool. Just wait here, all right? I'll be back in a coupla minutes. JETSON Thank you. He climbs out and Sykes drives down to the beach. toward a cluster of vehicles : a Sheriff's black - and - white, a coroner's wagon, and Fedorchuk's unmarked sedan.", "EXT.  BEACH - DUSK A quick glimpse of a pile of dark yuck in the shape of a person, black and skeletal beneath the remains of a silk suit. Wound around the corpse are streamers of kelp and other high tide detritus. ANGLE ON SYKES, FEDORCHUK, AND ALTEREZ looking down at the body. A CORONER'S TECHNICIAN is doing a closer inspection. FEDORCHUK Found his wallet in his jacket pocket. Joshua Strader, big as life. CORONER'S TECH Jesus, what a mess. It's gon na be a bear to make a positive determination, but it looks to me like he was shot before being tossed in the drink. At least twice -. -LRB- indicates where hearts would've been on the body. -RRB- - here, and here. Sykes absorbs this. He rises along with Fedorchuk and Alterez. SYKES How're you two doing on Tuggle's killer? ALTEREZ The store owner's son is in a street gang, so now we're thinking maybe it's gang related. SYKES Yeah, that's real good. You guys follow up on that for a coupla months. Fedorchuk looks up at Jetson standing on the bluff above. FEDORCHUK Look at your dildo partner. He's too scared to even come down to the sand. -LRB- calls up to Jetson, even though he's too far away to hear. -RRB- You're not gon na get wet standing here, moron! SYKES I'd like to see you next to a sea of hydrochloric acid, Fedorchuk. see how much surfin' you'd do. Alterez shoots a polaroid of the body. Sykes grabs it as it emerges from the camera and walks back toward the car. Fedorchuk flips him the bird. As Sykes rounds the car, he sees that someone has drawn on the door in yellow liquid chalk marker a big star with `` E.T. P.D.'' printed inside it. Sykes looks around. Fedorchuk and the others stand together chuckling, conspicuously not looking in his direction. SYKES Cute.", "EXT.  BEACH ROAD - DUSK Sykes has stopped to pick Jetson up. He's wiping the `` E.T. P.D.'' from the door as Jetson approaches from the edge of the bluff. Fedorchuk pulls up alongside in his n.d. sedan. He calls off to Jetson, who is still twenty yards away. FEDORCHUK Well, if it is n't Detective Jetson. Forget you hip waders, big guy? SYKES Lay off, asshole. FEDORCHUK I may be an asshole, but at least I'm a real detective, not some outer shit space thing. Sykes, his face neutral, which we should by now know to be highly dangerous, saunters to Fedorchuk's car and leans against it. SYKES Yeah? you're a real honest - to - god detective? Sykes grabs the back of Fedorchuk's head and slams it into the steering wheel, BAM - HONK! , and in doing so, has hurt his hand again -LRB- the hand he hit Jetson with -RRB-. He shakes that hand while lunging in and grabbing Fedorchuk's car keys with the other. SYKES -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Then detect these! Fedorchuk, holding his bloody nose, watches as his car keys sail out in an arc out over the bluff. Jetson, just climbing into the slug - mobile, witnesses the last of this scene without knowing how it began.", "INT.  SLUG-MOBILE - DUSK Sykes gets in, slams the door. His hand hurts as he grabs the wheel. He holds the wheel gingerly as he slams the car into gear and hurls gravel up the road toward P.C.H. Jetson looks over, curious. JETSON What was that about? SYKES -LRB- embarrassed that he defended Jetson. -RRB- Nothing. On Jetson's confused expression, we -", "EXT.  BURGER STAND - NIGHT A different burger stand. Sykes and Jetson sit across from each other at one of the outdoor tables. Sykes with his greasy burger, Jetson with his mole strips. This time they have no trouble eating in front of each other as they talk. SYKES So we've got three guys dead. All Newcomers, all killed the same way - execution style. JETSON Warren Hubley was in middle management at a refinery. Joshua Strader operated a successful bar and nightclub. SYKES and Porter ran a piece of shit mom - and - pop mini - mart. -LRB- beat. -RRB- So what the hell's the connection?", "INT.  PATHOLOGY LAB OFFICE - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson enter the cluttered lab office. Winter is here eating take - out chicken at his cluttered desk. SYKES You guys finished the postmortem on Strader yet? WINTER -LRB- his mouth full. -RRB- You mean the Blob? They're finishing up now. JETSON Is Bentner here? I must speak with him. WINTER He went home early - his kid was sick. Jetson frowns. WINTER -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Yeah, but he left something for you. He wipes his greasy fingers on a napkin, then finds an envelope on the desk and hands it to Jetson. Jetson tears open the sealed envelope. The message inside is written in the alien language. WINTER -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Does this have something to do with the test he ran that he would n't tell me about? CLOSE ON - JETSON His expression grows stricken as he reads the message. BACK TO SCENE SYKES -LRB- getting very curious and suspicious now. -RRB- What kind of test? WINTER Looking for some foreign compound in the blood of that alien you dropped the other day. SYKES Did he find anything? Winter shrugs, indicates the message Jetson reads, as if to say, `` Maybe it says in there''. SYKES -LRB- to Jetson. -RRB- Well? Jetson refolds the paper and puts it in his pocket. He is clearly disturbed by what he has read. He looks at Sykes a moment, then quickly breaks eye contact. JETSON It is nothing. Jetson quickly moves off. Sykes hurries off after him.", "INT.  HALLWAY - NIGHT Sykes hurries to catch up with the fast walking Jetson. They eventually reach the elevators and Jetson jabs the button during : SYKES What's this nothing shit? It was n't nothing yesterday when you asked Bentner to run that test and he looked like he was about to shit peach pits, and it's not nothing now. Do n't lie to me, George, you're bad at it. JETSON -LRB- distant, closed. -RRB- You must leave me alone on this. The elevator arrives, he steps in. Sykes follows.", "INT.  ELEVATOR - NIGHT They enter the empty elevator. Jetson presses the button to descend. SYKES No, see, I do n't leave you alone. I'm your partner. I do n't work that way. Tug did n't work that way. Jetson remains steadfast. Sykes, about to explode, slams his palm against the red Emergency Stop button and the elevator lurches to a halt between floors. SYKES -LRB- continuing. -RRB- No secrets, goddammit! You do n't hold back from me. Whatever is going on, you're gon na tell me now! JETSON -LRB- agonizing. -RRB- No. I can not involve you. This is not your concern. SYKES The hell it is n't, when somebody wires up enough C - 4 explosive to my car to turn me into pink mist! -LRB- beat. -RRB- That Slag was on something, and not sour milk, either? Am I right? -LRB- he has backed Jetson to the wall by sheer force of will. -RRB- TELL ME! What is it? JETSON -LRB- finally. -RRB-. It is called ss ` jabroka'. To us it is a potent narcotic. SYKES How potent? JETSON Like your cocaine, I suppose. The `` high'' lasts several hours. We would receive small amounts of it. as a reward for our labor. SYKES We? You've taken it? JETSON We all did. SYKES Where did he get it? Was there any of it on the ship? JETSON No. I am sure not. That is why I am so concerned. someone must now be producing it here. -LRB- emphatically. -RRB- But none of my people know how to make it. The process was carefully guarded. SYKES -LRB- as the enormity sinks in. -RRB- Jesus, this is major. -LRB- then. -RRB- Why did n't you tell me sooner? Why'd you hold out on me? JETSON Your people do n't know about this part of out past. And they ca n't know - It would threaten our entire existence here. The voltage runs out of Sykes. He seems to understand Jetson's dilemma. SYKES George. look me in the eye. George, you do n't ever lie to me again. JETSON I must trust you, Matthew. I can not stop this without you. Sykes stare at Jetson. absorbing the enormity of the earth - shattering secret this alien has asked him to keep.", "EXT.  COUNTY MORGUE - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson move quickly to the slug - mobile. Sykes reaches for the driver's door handle with his punching hand. He winces in pain. the son - of - a - bitch still hurts. He looks across at Jetson opening the passenger door. SYKES George? How about you drive. Jetson looks over at him. gently reacting to this vote of confidence. They walk quickly around to the opposite doors, climb in.", "INT.  CORRIDOR - BUREAU OF NEWCOMER AFFAIRS - NIGHT Sykes and Jetson move down this government - building corridor. SYKES There's got ta be some other connection. They enter a door marked BUREAU OF NEWCOMER AFFAIRS.", "INT.  BUREAU OF NEWCOMER AFFAIRS - NIGHT HIGH SHOT showing the maze of partitioned cubicles filling this huge room. It's all but deserted. Sykes and Jetson are off to one side with a heavyset woman -LRB- human -RRB- COMPUTER OPERATOR, who they're shanghaied into helping them after hours. CLOSER - AT COMPUTER OPERATOR'S DESK She sits at her computer terminal. Sykes and Jetson stand behind her as she types in commands and information. She types : Hubley, Warren. The computer screen flashes past various information, then settles on a screen full of information of HUBLEY, WARREN. OPERATOR Here's Hubley. -LRB- scanning it. -RRB- Left Quarantine on November thirtieth, relocated first to Riverside, then moved to Los Angeles early in February the following year. Field of expertise : chemical manufacturing. Looks like he passed up several other better paying jobs waiting for that one at the refinery. SYKES Try Joshua Strader, will ya, darlin'? OPERATOR For you, anything. The Operator punches up STRADER, JOSHUA. The screen fills with information. OPERATOR -LRB- continuing, reading from screen. -RRB- Released on November twenty - ninth. Came immediately to L.A. Ten weeks after arriving he took over the abandoned club which is now Encounters. JETSON -LRB- to Operator. -RRB- Now the store owner, please. Cecil Porter. She types it in. OPERATOR Released December one. He and his wife moved first to Modesto, then Coalinga, California - wherever that is - settled in L.A. in April. Field of expertise : organic chemical engineering. He and his wife have one child, a son. SYKES Yeah - we met him. Wonderful boy. close personal friend of George's here. OPERATOR I'm sorry, Matt. Nothing here seems to be matching up. But Sykes was n't listening. He's starting off. an idea forming. He stands there a moment, considering it, his face looking like he's chewing something sour. It's so off - the - wall it takes a moment for him to assimilate it. Then - SYKES Holy shit. -LRB- to Jetson. -RRB- Look what we're staring at : three Newcomers with nothing in common, right? What if it's just one other guy who killed these three? -LRB- Jetson looks at him blankly. -RRB- Three and one make four. Four Newcomers. of totally different backgrounds. -LRB- Jetson still does n't get it. -RRB- You and the store owner's son - that punker! Suddenly the realization hits Jetson, too. He looks at Sykes. JETSON Quarantine. Sykes spins to the Operator, excited. SYKES Can you dig up their Quarantine records in this thing? OPERATOR Sure. Just a minute. She moves up a screen to the top of Porter's information. OPERATOR -LRB- to herself. -RRB- Porter was in Lodge seven seven two. She rapidly types in additional information. The screen shifts as she jumps files. Finally she gets a line that reads : ENTER LODGE NUMBER : She types : 7 - 7 - 2. Sykes and Jetson lean in as the screen goes blank. then information flashes past as the computer searches. then, finally : Occupants, Quarantine Lodge 772 : HUBLEY, WARREN. STRADER, JOSHUA. Sykes and Jetson react - their hunch is coming true. On the computer screen :. PORTER, CECIL. Sykes and Jetson, their faces bathed in the green kick of the screen, stare without blinking, waiting for that forth name. On the computer screen :. HARCOURT, WILLIAM. CLOSE ON - SYKES AND JETSON reacting to the name.", "EXT.  ENCOUNTERS - NIGHT CLOSE on a limousine door as it opens and a tall figure rises from the back seat. We TILT UP to reveal William Harcourt. We MOVE with him as he walks to the n.d. van -LRB- from the beach scene -RRB- parked in front of the limousine. Kipling is just sliding out of the passenger side of the cab. Quint exits the driver door. Kipling slides open the van's side panel, reaches in for - - a large black suitcase. He slides it out. Harcourt nods. He and Kipling start into the club, followed by Quint.", "INT.  ENCOUNTERS - NIGHT The club is deserted tonight as Harcourt and entourage move toward the back.", "EXT.  SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR - NIGHT Harcourt and the others move up the stairs to the second floor. Cassandra, wearing a slinky dress, is at the top of the stairs waiting for them. She's very uncomfortable dealing with Harcourt. Kipling and Quint continue on toward the office door. Harcourt pauses with Cassandra. He touches her neckline of her dress, letting his fingers linger against her flesh. HARCOURT Quite lovely. -LRB- best. -RRB- What is your name again? CASSANDRA -LRB- flinching involuntarily at his touch. -RRB- Cassandra. HARCOURT -LRB- a chilling smile. -RRB- I will have to remember that. He continues down toward the office door. Cassandra watches him go.", "INT.  SLUG-MOBILE - MOVING - NIGHT JETSON They had months in quarantine to develop the plan. Porter, with his chemistry background, must have somehow come up with the formula for the drug. Hubley manufactured it - at the refinery. Strader, through the nightclub, established a distribution network. And Harcourt - SYKES Harcourt was the brain who brought it all together.", "EXT.  REFINERY - ESTABLISHING SHOT - NIGHT", "EXT.  REFINERY - NIGHT The slug - mobile skids to a stop at the loading dock entrance. Sykes and Jetson climb out. They hop up onto the loading platform and move purposefully into the well - lit interior through the open door.", "INT.  REFINERY - NIGHT It is Saturday night, the plant is barely operational - only a few WORKERS around. Sykes and Jetson move purposefully toward the back. SYKES Okay, George - we got ta play this real smart. JETSON If the drug is here, we must destroy it. SYKES No, George - you're missing the point. The drug is evidence. We need to have the evidence, ya know? Jetson does n't reply - he's focused beyond what Sykes is saying. Sykes spots O'Neal up ahead by the refrigeration door to the METHANE SECTION. SYKES -LRB- continuing. -RRB- That's the guy. O'Neal recognizes Sykes and does n't wait around for the big Newcomer bearing down on him. He dodges quickly through the refrigeration door and swings it closed. Jetson's hand hits the door an instant later, before it is latched, and he pushes it open despite O'Neal's body weight against the other side.", "INT.  METHANE ROOM - NIGHT Jetson grabs O'Neal by the collar and drags him deeper into the deserted room. O'NEAL Hey, what are you, crazy?! You ca n't come in here like this! Hey! Sykes reaches the doorway, stops and stares. SYKES So much for playing it smart. O'Neal's feet are barely touching the ground as Jetson moves along the row of drug - manufacturing equipment. Finally he reaches a stainless steel tub. he runs a long finger along the inside, comes up with some residue of the drug. It glistens blue on his finger. It holds him mesmerized for several moments. his expression that of a former junkie beholding the stuff he used to covet so. SYKES -LRB- tentatively stepping closer. -RRB- Is that it? A beat, than Jetson explodes - he sweeps a rack of equipment off the worktable, savagely wipes the drug from his hand onto O'Neal's shirt - front as he slams and pins the bug - eyed O'Neal to the wall. SYKES Uh, George. JETSON -LRB- in O'Neal's face. -RRB- Where is the drug? Where have they taken it? O'NEAL -LRB- choking. -RRB- What drug? This is an oil refinery, you. JETSON -LRB- pushing harder. -RRB- WHERE?! O'NEAL -LRB- unable to breathe. -RRB- You. ca n't do. this! SYKES George, uh. you're gon na break his little chest bones. JETSON Stay out of this, Matthew. -LRB- to O'Neal. -RRB- Tell me where the drug has been taken or I will crush your lungs against this wall. O'Neal is experiencing real fear now. Sykes has decided to back Jetson up, for better or worse. He takes the `` good cop'' role. SYKES Do n't piss him off, O'Neal. When he gets like this, I ca n't control him. I've seen this before. He got like this once - I saw him jerk a guy's spine out and show it to him. Nothing I could do. I hadda go throw up. O'NEAL -LRB- at length, with great effort. -RRB-. They took the stuff out, all of it - this afternoon. JETSON How much? O'NEAL About fifty kilos. of concentrate. and some street grade. in tubes. Jetson reacts to this. then increases the pressure. O'Neal is really in bad trouble now. Even Sykes takes a half - step forward - thinking Jetson might actually crush this man. JETSON Where have they taken it? O'NEAL Encount. Encounters Club. Finally, Jetson eases off. O'Neal slumps to the floor, gasping for air.", "EXT.  REFINERY - NIGHT This time Jetson is the Juggernaut. his expression set and hard. as he strides to the car. Sykes practically has to run to keep up. SYKES George, c'mon - lighten up. It's a beauty of a case. Do n't sweat it - we got him by the short hairs. He ai n't gon na make any more of the shit. JETSON The fifty kilos, Matthew. I have to find it. I ca n't let it get out on the street. SYKES Why? What's the big goddamn deal? Jetson has reached the driver's door of the slug - mobile, yanks it open. SYKES -LRB- continuing ; as Jetson starts the car You destroy that drug, you destroy the case. Do n't blow the whole thing now by not following procedure. JETSON -LRB- through the open driver's window. -RRB- Fuck procedure. And to Sykes' shock, he throws the car in gear and peels out. SYKES Hey! Jetson accelerates toward the security gate. The guard in the shack starts yelling and runs out as the slug - mobile bashes through the barricade bar. SYKES GEORGE! GODDAMMIT! Sykes stands there like a moron - with no partner, no car. A pickup truck carrying a Worker just getting off his shift starts ambling past. Sykes runs in front of it, waving his badge. The pickup skids to a stop. SYKES Police. Get out. I need this thing. Out, now! The poor guy bails out and Sykes jumps in, jamming it into gear. The truck has seen better days. it does n't have much power to give as Sykes floors it toward the exit.", "INT.  SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT As Jetson races along the freeway, whipping past other traffic. He takes a hand off the wheel, reaches over and pops open the glovebox. He shoves some maps and garbage aside, reaches deeper inside for something - we do n't see what.", "INT.  ENCOUNTERS - NIGHT Cassandra walks a trio of well - dressed DRUG DEALERS -LRB- two alien, one human -RRB- through the deserted club.", "INT.  SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR - NIGHT She leads them to the office door, opens it, then lets them enter ahead of her. A couple of them smile at her lasciviously as they brush past. She is about to enter herself when an alien hand flashes in behind her, covering her mouth, pulling her backward away from the door. It is Jetson. He had been hiding behind some crates stacked here in the corridor. He pins Cassandra powerfully to the wall, keeping one hand over her mouth. She struggles until she sees who it is. JETSON I am here to take Harcourt. Where is he? She hesitates, then decides to cooperate, indicates with a nod toward the office door. CASSANDRA In there. JETSON -LRB- pulling his gun. -RRB- Show me.", "INT.  CONFERENCE ROOM - NIGHT The large suitcase rests on the expansive conference table. A manicured alien hand reaches in and slowly opens it. Inside are fifty one - kilo glass tubes full of the viscous blue drug. Also several of the small, individual dispensers. It is Harcourt, standing behind the table in a pool of light, who has opened the suitcase. He is flanked by Kipling. with Quint elsewhere in the room. The room is lit by track light, creating pools of light and dark. The two alien Dealers' eyes widen at the sight of the drug. The human dealer does n't know what it is. HARCOURT -LRB- to alien dealers. -RRB- It's been a long time, has n't it, gentlemen? HUMAN DEALER What is it? HARCOURT A sweet indulgence from out past. resurrected for our future. Harcourt sees the hungering expressions on the alien Dealers' faces. smiles knowingly. He slides one of the dispensers from the suitcase. HARCOURT -LRB- continuing ; to alien dealers. -RRB- Please feel free to sample the quality. The experience will be everything you remember it to be. One of the alien Dealers takes the dispenser, brings it to his tongue. The other alien dealer turns to Harcourt - ALIEN DEALER Where'd you get it? HARCOURT I arranged to spend some time with three very resourceful men. With a certain amount of coaxing, one of them was able to reconstitute the formula for me. -LRB- beat. -RRB- They worked very well together. Unfortunately, they are no longer with us. but I was fortunate enough to reap the benefit of their endeavor. He indicates the drug. The first alien Dealer sways gently, enjoying the sensation. The second alien Dealer takes his hit. shudders as the first rush washes over him. The human Dealer is no fool. he grabs the dispenser. HUMAN DEALER Let me try some. -LRB- he does, immediately spits it out. -RRB- Jesus! Tastes like detergent! HARCOURT And that's all the effect it will have on you. But when my fellow Newcomers learn they can obtain it here, they will work very hard. to make as much money as they can. to give it to me. Suddenly, a voice from the shadows near the open door to the other office : VOICE You have n't told him all of it. Harcourt and the others react. Quint leaps to his feet, caught off guard. Kipling reaches for his shoulder holster. A silhouette beside the open door to the outer office nudges Cassandra into the light of the room, then steps out himself. It is Jetson. Quint gets his gun out, is about to aim. when his eyes go wide at the sight of something Jetson holds. It is the plastic explosive charge that Quint was wiring to the slug - mobile. The wires are connected and Jetson's finger squeezes down hard on the detonation push - switch. QUINT He's got the C - 4 charge! Jetson moves forward slowly, holding the bomb in front of him. He is sweating rivers. The others quickly join him. He nudges Cassandra ahead of himself, keeping her where he can see her. QUINT -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Just take it real casual, buddy. Keep your finger on that button and do n't do nothing squirrely. HARCOURT If you release that button, you not only kill us, but yourself. JETSON To get you and that -. -LRB- indicates drug in suitcase. -RRB- - I would do it. He says it with such straightforward eye contact, that Harcourt -LRB- and we -RRB- know he is n't bluffing. JETSON Everyone up against that wall. Very slowly. -LRB- to Harcourt. -RRB- Except you. Harcourt remains behind the desk. Cassandra stays where she is, near Jetson. The others move to the wall. Kipling in particular is going nuts, letting this happen. Jetson takes the `` sample'' dispenser from the table, tosses it into the suitcase, then closes the lid and locks it. All the while keeping his eye on Harcourt and the others. HARCOURT One small matter seems to have escaped your attention. That -. -LRB- indicates suitcase. -RRB- - is not on any books as a controlled substance. Legally it might as well be fifty kilos of. grape jelly. JETSON The charge is murder. and conspiracy to commit murder. Hubley, Porter, Strader. probably others. There's a flicker of concern behind Harcourt's icy blue eyes. Cassandra stares at Harcourt. CASSANDRA You. you killed Strader? Cassandra runs to Harcourt grabbing his jacket. CASSANDRA Where's Todd?! Did you do something to Todd?! Harcourt looks down at her, totally uninvolved. HARCOURT Todd? Who is Todd. -LRB- then remembers ; smiles. -RRB- Ah, poor Mr. Watson. Cassandra's eyes go wide as the horror of what he said sinks in. Jetson nudges Harcourt with the suitcase. They start out. Cassandra, wild with rage, grabs Quint's.357 and with a KEENING WAIL, brings it up toward Harcourt's face. JETSON NOOO! Jetson drops the suitcase as he lunges for the gun. He manages to knock it away just as she fires - the bullet going into the wall behind Harcourt. Striking like a mongoose, Kipling leaps forward, grabbing the two lead wires on the bomb in Jetson's hand and jerking them apart. Jetson reacts an instant late. releasing the switch. and nothing happens. KIPLING I got it! Kipling tackles Jetson and they both go crashing to the floor. Quint grabs the gun from Cassandra and hammers her with it, hard. She drops to her knees and Quint viciously hits her again. Meanwhile, Jetson struggles to regain his feet. Kipling rears back and delivers a crushing blow under Jetson's arm - to the nerve plexus. Jetson instantly folds over forward and Kipling savagely brings up his knee into Jetson's face, flipping him back. Kipling slams him into the wall face - first, pinning him there. HARCOURT Kill them both. KIPLING Here? HARCOURT -LRB- raging. -RRB- Do it! Quint brings the gun up, places the muzzle against the base of Cassandra's skull, starts to squeeze the trigger. There's a loud BLAM! and Cassandra flinches. then looks up. Quint is blown backward away from her. Sykes stand in the doorway from the private office, the Casull smoking in his hand. Quint hits the wall behind him - only it's not a solid wall, but the huge window overlooking the club. He crashes through it. ANGLE FROM DANCE FLOOR as the wall of mirror explodes IN SLOW MOTION and Quint cartwheels to the floor in a shower of diamonds. ANGLE - IN THE OFFICE Kipling shoves Jetson aside, draws his gun and fires at Sykes. Sykes dodges into the private office for cover. The three Dealers dive behind any available furniture. Harcourt snatches up the suitcase and rushes to the door leading into the adjoining outer office. Sykes swings around the edge of the private office door, straight - arms the Casull into the office and fires. Kipling fires back, crossing toward the outer office door, covering Harcourt's back. Sykes ducks back down. An unsteady Jetson rises from the floor, sees Harcourt and Kipling escaping, and takes off after them. Sykes straight - arms the gun into the room again. sees Jetson disappearing through the adjoining office door. He moves into the room as the three drug Dealers, arms up in surrender, rise from behind the furniture. ALIEN DEALER Do n't shoot, man - we're unarmed - look! Sykes looks at these harmless wimps. then at Cassandra. SYKES You okay? CASSANDRA -LRB- dazed, but all right. -RRB- Yeah. And he charges out the adjoining office door.", "EXT.  FIRE ESCAPE - ENCOUNTERS - NIGHT Harcourt and Kipling bang down the metal stairs. Jetson is ten feet above them. Sykes flies out onto the fire escape, a few steps behind Jetson. A POLICE CAR SIREN is HEARD arriving O.S.", "EXT.  ALLEY - BEHIND ENCOUNTER - NIGHT Two UNIFORMED OFFICERS bound from their unit and run into the back entrance of the club, leaving the unit running. Two seconds later, Harcourt and Kipling leap down from the fire escape, find themselves near the unit. HARCOURT Here! He throws the suitcase into the passenger side door, jumps in. Kipling dives in behind the wheel, slams it into gear and floors it. Jetson and Sykes hit the ground just as the unit peels out. Sykes raises the Casull and fires at the fleeing car. One slug shatters a tail light, others pepper the rear of the trunk, but the car keeps going. JETSON This way! He indicates the slug - mobile parked nearby. They race to it, jump in. Sykes driving. He burns rubber as he pulls out. A second arriving police unit pulls into the alley, heading straight for the slug - mobile. Sykes has to grate between the alley wall and the arriving police unit to get past.", "EXT.  WEST SIDE STREET - NIGHT Harcourt and Kipling in the first police unit come thundering down the street zig - zagging through traffic. The slug - mobile is three - quarters of a block behind them. INSIDE THE BLACK - AND - WHITE Harcourt begins fumbling with the dash switches. eventually hitting the right ones and the roof lights and SIREN blast on.", "EXT.  WEST SIDE STREET - NIGHT It looks like a backwards chase, the slug - mobile chasing the howling police car through traffic. Jetson alertly eyes the approaching traffic - calls it out to Sykes the way he was trained at the academy. JETSON Slow traffic on your right. you're clear at the left rear. -LRB- Sykes changes lanes. -RRB- Careful, red light ahead. With Jetson's help, Sykes is able to dice through the cross - traffic without incident.", "EXT.  WEST SIDE STREET - NIGHT The traffic ahead of the police car peels off in response to the approaching lights and SIREN. Kipling dodges around the stopped traffic easily. The same traffic that has pulled over for the police car now starts easing back onto the street, cutting off the slug - mobile.", "INT.  SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes' expression tells us he's slipped into the same juggernaut mode we saw during the foot chase in the alley. JETSON Yellow light ahead turning red. But Sykes does n't slow - instead he floors it. JETSON -LRB- continuing ; wide - eyed. -RRB- Red light! Red light!", "EXT.  WEST SIDE STREET - NIGHT Sykes peels around the merging traffic, cuts across the intersection, and continues the chase. On the wrong side of the road, head - on into traffic. Headlights peel off in front of them as they charge along the wrong side. They eventually catch up to the police unit, racing parallel to it, but with the divider between them. Sykes keeps one hand on the wheel and draws the Casull with the other. He brings it up and around right in front of Jetson's nose, pointing it through the passenger window at Kipling. At that moment, Kipling glances over and reacts to the bore of this huge gun staring him in the kisser. Jetson reacts to the gun in his face. then reacts to something else he sees beyond it. JETSON Green light, Matthew. -LRB- Sykes does n't respond. -RRB- Green light! Now Sykes looks. The light at the intersection has just turned green - and the rows of the cars that were waiting start coming. It's a wall of headlights coming right for the slug - mobile. SYKES Shit! JETSON Ss - ai!", "EXT.  WEST SIDE STREET - NIGHT Sykes locks up the brakes. Kipling veers around a couple of cars and speeds away. Because of the other traffic, Sykes has only one course of action. He skids a left onto a side street.", "EXT.  SIDE STREET - NIGHT Sykes burns rubber down this quieter street, squeals a right onto another street that parallels the street the police unit is on. At the first street available, he cuts back in behind the police unit.", "EXT.  FIRST STREET OVERPASS - NIGHT Sykes' car tears along below the overpass - with the police unit directly above them! An on - ramp approaches for the slug - mobile and Sykes floors it.", "INT.  BLACK-AND-WHITE - NIGHT Harcourt turns in his seat just in time to see the slug - mobile airborne as it flies from the on - ramp, landing a few feet behind the black - and - white's bumper.", "EXT.  FIRST STREET OVERPASS - NIGHT With the slug - mobile now, the police unit hangs a right, cuts through a parking lot, and bounces onto -", "EXT.  SECOND STREET AND TUNNEL - NIGHT The police unit hangs a u - turn into the Second Street tunnel. It clips one of the civilian cars, causing a pile - up of traffic behind the police unit. The slug - mobile skids to a stop, blocked by the clog of traffic in the tunnel. Sykes is out of the drivers door in a flash, stand on the door frame, and yells - SYKES Move your goddamned cars! People climb out of their cars dazed and bewildered - ignoring Sykes. Sykes slides behind the wheel, bangs his bumper into the car in front of him, and pushes the car far enough forward to get around. He speeds off.", "INT./ EXT.  BLACK-AND-WHITE - FREEWAY - NIGHT Kipling rockets up a freeway on - ramp. Harcourt smiles with satisfaction - there's no sign of the slug - mobile behind them. Kipling eases off, blends into the flow of traffic.", "EXT.  FREEWAY - NIGHT Sykes slaloms the slug - mobile through the civilian traffic like Mario Andretti lapping the pack at Indianapolis.", "INT.  SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Jetson spots the police unit in the right hand lane ahead. JETSON There! Sykes sees it. Thinking fast, he eases off, using another car as a blind. He waits until the police unit is parallel to an off - ramp, then guns ahead and swings right, directly for the police unit. Kipling looks over, reacts, just as the slug - mobile broadsides the police unit. Sykes forces the police unit up the off - ramp.", "EXT.  INTERSECTION - NIGHT Door handle to door handle, the two cars slue to the right. The police unit breaks out in front, but Sykes stays right on its ass. They charge up onto -", "EXT.  VINCENT THOMAS BRIDGE - NIGHT The police unit and slug - mobile - bumper to bumper at 80 MPH.", "INT.  SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT As the cars scream along, Jetson cranes out the side window, looking in distress at the inky seawater flashing past below.", "EXT.  VINCENT THOMAS BRIDGE - NIGHT They reach the far end of the bridge and skid wide onto -", "EXT.  HENRY FORD BOULEVARD - NIGHT A clear two lane straightaway near the ocean. Sykes pushes the slug - mobile to its limits, pulls alongside the police unit. The two cars trade blows at 90 + MPH. Kipling manages to send Sykes onto the dirt shoulder, slowing him down.", "INT.  BLACK-AND-WHITE - NIGHT Kipling watches the slug - mobile in the rearview mirror, then looks back out the front to see the end of the road coming up fast! Harcourt bellows to Kipling, who slams on the brakes.", "EXT.  END OF BOULEVARD - NIGHT The police unit skids to a stop before hitting a chain link fence where the road ends. An abandoned drawbridge and the ocean are on the other side of the fence. With nowhere else to go, Harcourt yells something at Kipling and Kipling floors it back the way they came.", "EXT.  HENRY FORD BOULEVARD - NIGHT The two cars are racing for a full head - on. At the last instant, Sykes wrenches the wheel, throws the slug - mobile sideways, passenger side first. The police unit smashes into the rear door and fender of the slug - mobile, both cars skidding madly to a stop. A fire ignites under the hood of the police unit.", "INT.  SLUG-MOBILE - NIGHT Sykes sits stunned behind the wheel. Disoriented but conscious, he raises his head, looks over. sees Jetson out cold, his forehead gashed and bleeding. Then he looks over and sees the fire growing under the police unit's hood which is crunched up against the rear of the slug - mobile - near the gas tank.", "EXT.  HENRY FORD BOULEVARD - NIGHT Sykes slides out of the driver's door, stumbles to Jetson's door, wrenches it open, and drags the huge unconscious alien away from the cars. He's still dragging Jetson away when he spots Harcourt pulling himself through the smashed police unit window. Bruised and bleeding, Harcourt reaches in for the suitcase, then starts to run with it. With Jetson a safe distance away from the cars, Sykes clambers to his feet, draws the Casull, and starts off after Harcourt. Harcourt reaches the chain link fence leading to the closed drawbridge. He heaves the suitcase over, then starts to climb. Sykes lumbers past the burning police unit. Kipling is still behind the wheel, his head slumped forward. Sykes is just past the cars when they explode - sending hoods and door panels and glass flying in all directions. Harcourt, on the other side of the fence, grabs the suitcase and limps off into the shadowy world of the abandoned drawbridge. Sykes reaches the fence. Instead of climbing, he simply blows the lock to hell with the Casull, and kicks open the gate.", "EXT.  ABANDONED DRAWBRIDGE - NIGHT The end of the bridge is in the `` up'' position. a huge asphalt slab stabbing up into the night sky. Harcourt runs along the pools of light and dark at the edge of the bridge, the black seawater drifting past beside him. His foot slips once and he almost goes over the side. Sykes - backlit by the burning cars, the big Casull a prominent part of the silhouette - just keeps coming. Harcourt reaches the shadows at the end of the bridge - and has nowhere to go. He is backed into a corner, with seawater on two side of him. Harcourt pivots frantically, sees Sykes coming this way. Harcourt is a trapped animal. His chest heaves in panic. Then his gaze falls on the suitcase behind him. and slowly. finally. a look of resolve comes into his eye. ON SYKES He eases cautiously toward the shadows where he knows Harcourt is. There's some movement among the shadows, and Sykes straight - arms the Casull, his finger white against the trigger. Perspiration drips into Sykes' eye, but he does n't blink. A long moment then - ANGLE - THE SHADOWS Harcourt emerges from the darkness. His face is composed, the superior glint is back in his eye. His arms are held away from his sides at 30 degree angles, clearly in surrender. Sykes cat - steps forward slowly. Harcourt stares at Sykes' eyes, and the desire there that Harcourt will give him an excuse. Harcourt simply. smiles. SYKES Move a finger, Harcourt, and you're history. HARCOURT No, Sergeant - not history. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Eternity. And now Sykes sees it - Harcourt has been holding one of the one - kilo glass cylinders of the drug concealed behind his arm. He brings it up over his head, grins at Sykes, then tilts back his head and cracks the cylinder open. The blue gel pours into his mouth and down his chin. His mouth fills. He looks back at Sykes, making eye contact. his eyes mad, defiant. And - he swallows. Long hold - then the wallop of the overdose hits him. his face contorts in agony as he begins to convulse. Sykes, wide - eyed, lowers the Casull and watches as Harcourt drops to the ground and goes into a massive violent seizure. His limbs hammer against the deck. his back arches fiercely. It is a brutal, agonizing ten seconds. Then, finally, his body becomes still. Sykes, stunned at what he's just witnessed slowly goes to him and takes his pulse the way he saw Jetson do it. HIGH ANGLE SHOT - THE ENTIRE AREA Sykes stands. He notices the suitcase nearby, latches it, and hefts it. He carries it with him back toward the inferno of the wrecked cars, the Casull hanging heavy and cold in his hand. ANGLE FOLLOWING SYKES He approaches the burning cars, heading for Jetson. As he passes the burning cars, we have a half - second to register that the driver's door of the police unit is now open before - - a dark figure hurtles at Sykes' back from O.S! Sykes is thrown forward. The suitcase crashes to the ground, and the Casull goes skittering off. Sykes looks up - to be met by the singed and bleeding nightmare visage of Kipling! Kipling reaches down for the suitcase then Sykes hears it - the telltale CLINKING SOUND. He looks - and sees the exotic silver bracelet on Kipling's wrist. It connects for him ; this is the bandana alien - the one who killed Bill Tuggle! Kipling brings the suitcase above his head. He is a half - second from hurling it down on Sykes' skull when - a GUN ROARS. Kipling is thrown back by the chest wound. Sykes looks. ANGLE Jetson, half sitting up, holds the smoking Casull. Kipling recovers enough to come at Sykes again with the suitcase again. Jetson, shaking but determined, fires again, and again, and again. Kipling is driven backward by the fusillade, the suitcase still over his head. until he is blasted at last and forever, suitcase and all, into the molten core of the inferno. Sykes rises, makes his way to Jetson's side. Jetson has let the weight of the gun carry his hand to the ground. Sykes kneels beside him, gently taking the gun from the alien's hand. The two partners remain like this, bathed in the orange flickering glow of the fire. HIGH WIDE SHOT of the drawbridge, the debris, the carnage, and our two cops.", "EXT.  HENRY FORD BOULEVARD - NIGHT The police mop - up is winding down. Cop cars, coroner's wagons, fire trucks. We MOVE through it all to find Sykes and Jetson seated on the curb, away from the railing. JETSON With Harcourt and Kipling dead, I assume you will be requesting reassignment now. SYKES -LRB- cool. -RRB- It'd be for your own good. I think you'd be better off with a partner who's a little more. by the book. -LRB- smiles. -RRB-. Still, I got ta tell you, George, for a quiet guy, you're sure hell on wheels once you get going. I'd kinda hate to miss your next two days as a detective. Jetson smiles. He glances up as they are bathed in red and blue light. A patrol car has pulled up next to them. Inside is Wiltey, a uniformed cop. WILTEY I'll give you guys a lift to the station. They're waiting to take your statements on the shootings. SYKES -LRB- to Jetson. -RRB- Let's go, partner. -LRB- then casually correcting Wiltey as he rises. -RRB- And it's shooting. Singular. WILTEY They said two. SYKES Nope. I did n't shoot Harcourt. he o.d.'d. SHOCK CUT - JETSON We rapidly PUSH IN ON HIM as his head snaps around toward Sykes. His expression tells us his blood has just turned to ice.", "INT.  CORONER'S WAGON - NIGHT ANGLE FORWARD, shooting from the rear of the wagon, toward the DRIVER and ATTENDANT up front. DRIVER So it's just me and her left in the hot tub, right? ATTENDANT You and the blonde? DRIVER No, man, the redhead. The blonde's gone in the house with some other guy. But a few minutes later she comes back out, alone, when me and the redhead are going at it fast and furious in the tub, ya know. and she sees us, and. she climbs right in with us. ATTENDANT You're full of shit! DRIVER I swear it! If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'. And, without warning, A LARGE INHUMAN HAND FLIES UP IN F.G., having ripped through the sealed body bag just below FRAME.", "INT.  SQUAD CAR - NIGHT Jetson is up front with Wiltey ; Sykes sits in the back, though he is on the edge of the seat, leaning forward toward the front. Jetson is intently, nervously scanning ahead and to both sides. JETSON You are certain this is the route they would have taken? WILTEY I'm not positive - but probably. SYKES -LRB- warily. -RRB- What's this about, George? I know that look. JETSON -LRB- spots something out a side window. -RRB- There! Go back. Down that side street. Wiltey brakes, backs up, then turns into the side street. ANGLE THROUGH WINDSHIELD as they approach an eerie scene. The coroner's wagon is stopped at an angle in the middle of the intersection, headlights and roof lights cutting into the night, the back doors wide open. A patrol car is also here, on the other side of the wagon. There is no movement anywhere near the two vehicles. Wiltey pulls the car up, his eyes like saucers at the eerie scene. He reaches for the radio hand mike. Jetson quickly covers it with a large hand. JETSON No! -LRB- both Sykes and Wiltey look at him. -RRB- We must do this alone. SYKES Do what?! George -?! Jetson is already sliding out of the car.", "EXT.  STREET NEAR DOCKS - NIGHT Jetson, Sykes, and Wiltey move warily forward, their guns drawn. They reach the van and Sykes takes Wiltey's flashlight, shines it through the open back doors. The doors are bent outward, smashed half off their hinges. One of the body bags is ripped open, literally split from end to end. The blue and red lightbar on the other patrol car can be seen through the wagon's front windshield. Jetson starts around the wagon toward the patrol car, Sykes and Wiltey follow. Lights all ablaze, it too is abandoned. One door has been wrenched off its hinges and lays in the street, and the front windshield is smashed. Our three cops approach the car, then Wiltey spots something beyond the unit. WILTEY Oh, God. Sykes and Jetson look. The bodies of the coroner wagon Driver and Attendant, as well as the two OFFICERS from the patrol car, are crushed and beaten and stretched out on the asphalt. Their arms are twisted as though by a mad force - each pointing down the street toward the dock warehouses ahead. Wiltey stumbles away, backward. WILTEY I'm calling for back up, now. JETSON Wiltey, no. But Wiltey is going. Jetson starts after him. but Sykes grabs his arm, hard, and spins him. SYKES What is this?! JETSON -LRB- low. -RRB-. It's Harcourt. SYKES Harcourt is dead. JETSON No he's not. Not if he overdosed on the drug. -LRB- searches for the words. -RRB- Massive amounts trigger a. a change. Your body functions seize up, you appear to be dead, but it's really a state of incubation. When you emerge you're. SYKES -LRB- looks at the four bodies sprawled before him. -RRB- Tell me about it.", "EXT.  STREET NEAR DOCKS - NIGHT One minute later. OPEN CLOSE on a light shining into CAMERA, then WIDEN to reveal it is one of the door - mounted spotlights on Wiltey's patrol car. Wiltey eases the car down the center of the street. Sykes and Jetson, guns ready, walk slowly along on either side of the car. eyes everywhere. MOVING POV as they move past the shadowy dock warehouses. watching for any signs of movement. BACK TO SCENE Sykes and Jetson converse across the hood of the car as they walk. Their eyes everywhere. SYKES I never thought I'd say this, but - for once in my life I think I'm willing to wait for back - up. JETSON We ca n't let him get away. SYKES Why the hell are you so dead set against back - up? JETSON -LRB- a difficult admission. -RRB- Because. because of what will happen if humans see what we are capable of becoming. SYKES But there's no more drug. JETSON You understand that. But how many others will? Sykes looks across at Jetson's troubled expression. Just then, Wiltey spots a flit of movement cutting across his headlight beams fifty yards ahead. Whatever it was, was large and fast. It darted into an open warehouse door. WILTEY There he is! And Wiltey floors it. Sykes and Jetson watch, unable to stop him. JETSON Wiltey! He and Sykes take off running. Wiltey skids to the left, rockets in through the open warehouse door, out of sight. Sykes and Jetson pour it on. They hear a SCREECH OF BRAKES. They reach the warehouse door and race through.", "INT.  WAREHOUSE - NIGHT LOW ANGLE, SHOOTING ACROSS the underside of Wiltey's stopped patrol car as Sykes' and Jetson's feet appear around the corner of the warehouse door. The car is still running - the exhaust pipe still RUMBLING and expelling fumes. The feet slow. then cautiously start around the car. We PAN with them as they move around the side of the car. A dark liquid begins dripping in EXTREME F.G.. We MOVE UP, to a CLOSE UP of the car bumper. The dark liquid is blood, dripping deep red on the shiny chrome. We MOVE UP farther, and - - there is Wiltey's severed head. IN CLOSE UP, resting on the hood of the patrol car. Sykes and Jetson stop dead at the sight. Wiltey's body lies in a heap on the floor near the car. They both stare, then Sykes looks around the shadowy interior of the warehouse, his expression saying : what the hell could have done this so fast? THEIR POV There are two paths to go. Both dark and scary as hell. The sound of a distant FOG HORN blends with the CREAKS and DRIPS of this waterfront building. ANGLE - SYKES AND JETSON Jetson reaches into the patrol car and pulls the shotgun from the dash mount. He checks the chamber as Sykes checks the Casull. They exchange a knowing look. then wordlessly, they split up. Sykes takes the path to the left, Jetson to the right. WITH JETSON As he moves into a dark area. He slowly picks his way along a long wall, having to step over all sorts of piled debris, heading toward us. We PAN slightly to the left to HOLD a door in CLOSE UP. The door, already ajar, eases open slightly wider. Jetson hears this. He reaches the door, sets himself, then spins and kicks the door open all the way. There's nothing inside. now. Jetson looks up, sees movement in the distance. It is Sykes, quite far away, in another section of the warehouse. Sykes leaves Jetson's field of view.", "INT.  WAREHOUSE - GUARD'S AREA - NIGHT Sykes walks around a corner - freezes, and cocks his head as he hears VOICES - followed, curiously, by LAUGHTER. He eases forward, peers around a bend, and sees - a table and a chair. On the table is a mini - television, tuned to some local late night talk show. There's a thermos, a steaming cup of coffee, and a Twinkie with a single bite out of it beside the TV. The chair is empty, except for a jacket slung across the back, the word SECURITY stitched on the breast. The guard is nowhere in sight. Sykes moves toward the table, taking in this eerie sight. He looks around, then continues on.", "INT.  WAREHOUSE - APPROACHING STAIRS - NIGHT Jetson moves among the dark nooks and crannies, comes to a set of stairs leading to an upper floor. The top of the stairs is pitch black. Jetson adjusts his grip on the shotgun, slowly starts up the stairs.", "INT.  WAREHOUSE - AT FISH NETS - NIGHT Sykes comes to rack upon rack of drying fish nets, hanging from the ceiling. He has no alternate route - he begins pushing through them. SYKES' POV - MOVING THROUGH FISH NETS Because of the dimness, he ca n't see much beyond each rack of nets immediately before him. He keeps wading through - it's like a house of mirrors, he ca n't tell now much farther he has to go to get out of the nets, and the deeper in he gets, the harder it would be to go back the way he came. He pushes past one particular rack of nets and looming out of the darkness ahead of him is - - a terrifying face! ON SYKES He stumbles back, gets tangled in the nets, brings up the Casull, is about to fire when. he sees what the face is. It's the maiden's figurehead from the bow of an old ship. The wood is worm - eaten and decayed, creating a hideous visage. Sykes stands there a moment, trying to jump - start his heart again.", "INT.  SECOND FLOOR LANDING - NIGHT Jetson moves along the rickety planks. He comes to a door. He eases it open, enters.", "INT.  SECOND FLOOR ROOM - NIGHT Jetson moves into the shadowy confines. He hears an incessant drip from a sink faucet in the corner. He moves to it. Turns the spigot, stopping the drip. Other drips are HEARD from a dozen other hidden recesses all around him. He glances up at the filthy mirror attached to the wall above the sink. Suddenly he sees the movement of something behind him. He spins with the shotgun. A huge shadow moves along the wall. He pivots the shotgun again - toward the source of the shadow. It's a length of black tarp, torn and flapping from the ceiling. Jetson lets out a deep breath.", "INT.  STORAGE ROOM - NIGHT ANGLE down a short passageway to an intersecting hallway. A strand of something hangs in FRAME in OUT OF FOCUS F.G.. It makes an indistinct, rhythmic CLINKING SOUND. Sykes moves along the intersecting hallway. The CLINKING SOUND catches his attention. He stops, listens, then starts down the passageway, toward us. He comes forward into the storage room, having to get very close to the strand of something before he sees what it is. It's a double strand of chain, CLINKING gently against itself. Sykes reaches out, steadies the chain, silencing it. He considers. It could've been a natural occurrence. or something could have brushed against it, setting it in motion. He tightens his grip on the Casull, backing away from the chain. He senses something behind him and spins. Nothing there. He relaxes. However - Behind him now, in SOFT FOCUS, we glimpse movement at the other end of the short passageway. It is a figure, moving slowly forward down the passageway, back - lit by the hallway light behind it, its shadow filling the passageway as it approaches Sykes. It stops, inside the room now, directly behind Sykes. Close enough to reach out and touch him. It is an alien silhouette, but larger, more powerful. Suddenly, Sykes senses something is there. He turns, slowly, and - SHOCK CUT - HARCOURT as he steps from the shadows - just like he did the last time Sykes saw him on the abandoned drawbridge. Only this time it is a horribly transformed Harcourt. His eyes are red - rimmed and piggish. His head is lumpen, his skin thick and hard. His neck muscles are corded - giving him a kind of hellish cobra's cowl. There is still intelligence behind the eyes - but it is a feral intelligence now. HARCOURT -LRB- his voice a guttural rumble. -RRB- Looking for me, Sergeant? Sykes stumbles back several steps, wildly brings up the Casull, and fires. The powerful Casull round catches Harcourt in the shoulder, jerking him back.", "EXT.  WORK SHED AREA - NIGHT Jetson, in another area of the docks, hears the echoing blast of the Casull. He gauges as best he can the direction it came from and takes off running.", "INT.  STORAGE ROOM - NIGHT Harcourt recovers from the jolt of the bullet impact. The cloth of his disheveled shirt is shredded and powder - burned, but the bullet could n't pierce his plated skin. Harcourt smiles with grotesquely altered teeth, starts toward Sykes. Scared shitless, Sykes rapid - fires. One of his shots misses, shattering a crate beside Harcourt's head. The remaining shots strike Harcourt full on. Harcourt is jerked by the impact of the bullets each time, SNARLING in anger - but none of the hits stop him. The Casull is empty and Harcourt keeps coming. Sykes stumbles back, but Harcourt is on him in a flash. Harcourt grabs Sykes' arm holding the gun, yanks hard. We HEAR the POP as the shoulder dislocates. Sykes HOLLERS, and the gun jumps out of his hand.", "INT.  WAREHOUSE - GUARD'S AREA - NIGHT Jetson races in, shotgun ready. The last of Sykes' shots are still ECHOING. Jetson looks around, frustrated, unable to tell exactly where they are coming from. He sees the likely path and charges that way.", "EXT.  DOCK - AT STAIRS - NIGHT On the CUT, Sykes' body is already tumbling down these rickety stairs attached to the side of the warehouse, having been thrown ruthlessly from above. As Sykes' body sprawls on the dock, the massive figure of Harcourt appears at the top of the stairs. Sykes, scraped and bruised, struggles to his feet. Harcourt moves down the stairs, then vaults over the railing the last fifteen feet. Harcourt lurches forward and, with a taloned grip on Sykes' shoulders, propels him down the docks.", "EXT.  STREET NEAR DOCKS - NIGHT The first two arriving black - and - whites skid to stops at the coroner's wagon. The Officers leap out, flagging other arriving units to continue on toward the warehouses.", "EXT.  DOCKS - NIGHT Sykes is on his feet, but his knees buckle, and he almost collapses again. Harcourt comes at him. Then Sykes sees it - - a fishing boat chugging along past the end of one of the jetties. Sykes makes a break for it.", "EXT.  WAREHOUSE - AT STAIRS - NIGHT Jetson charges out at the top of the rickety stairs, frantically scanning for any sign of Sykes. Then, in the distance, he spots the two figures running along the jetty - Sykes being chased by the re - formed Harcourt. Jetson gives the water surrounding the docks an apprehensive look, then gathers up his courage, and races down the stairs to help Sykes.", "EXT.  JETTY - NIGHT Sykes lumbers along the narrow jetty. The fishing boat is already passing the end of the jetty. Harcourt is fast behind Sykes as he reaches the end of the jetty and vaults off toward the stern of the boat - landing on the fishing net piled on the rear deck. He yells in pain as his ankle twists under his weight.", "EXT.  FISHING BOAT - NIGHT Sykes lies there, holding his arm, breathing hard, relieved that he has escaped.", "EXT.  JETTY - NIGHT Harcourt ca n't reach the boat from the same jetty Sykes did, so he jumps on a platform beside this jetty, then onto a second jetty. And from here, he vaults across the seawater onto the boat.", "EXT.  FISHING BOAT - NIGHT Sykes sees the phantom figure land on the boat near the cabin. The fishing boat chugs up the channel toward the open sea.", "EXT.  DOCKS - NIGHT Jetson sees this and is shitting bricks. Suddenly the stark BEAM of a police helicopter sun - gun stabs down from above. Jetson looks up to see the chopper coming in low, the sun - gun washing over the docks.", "INT.  HELICOPTER - NIGHT The sun - gun hits Jetson standing on the dock, frantically waving his badge at the ` copter, signaling it down. The Pilot starts to take it down.", "EXT.  FISHING BOAT - NIGHT Sykes is on all fours, clawing his way up the fishing net toward the back of the boat. Harcourt gets one hand on his leg. Sykes jerks his leg away, and Harcourt's claws dig deep through Sykes' pants into his legs as he pulls away. Sykes BELLOWS in pain.", "INT.  HELICOPTER - NIGHT Jetson is barely in the seat as it lifts away from the dock. He has to catch himself from falling out the open door. Below, uniformed cops are now seen rushing out onto the dock. JETSON On that boat - out there! Jetson indicates the fishing boat headed toward the mouth of the channel. The helicopter tilts forward and goes.", "EXT.  FISHING BOAT - NIGHT Sykes manages to pull himself up into the dinghy hanging over the stern of the fishing boat. He pushes to the back of the dinghy as Harcourt's savage visage appears at the bow. Harcourt grins - the predator with his prey trapped.", "INT.  HELICOPTER - NIGHT Jetson's face is bathed in sweat as he looks out at the channel water racing past beneath. They come up on the boat and the Pilot plays the sun - gun onto the deck, looking for movement, finally pinning Sykes and Harcourt at the stern dinghy.", "EXT.  BRIDGE OF FISHING BOAT - NIGHT The Captain reacts to the helicopter overhead, looks back at what the sun - gun spotlights. He sees Harcourt standing at the bow of the dinghy, starting to clamber in. CAPTAIN Hey!", "EXT.  FISHING BOAT - NIGHT Harcourt turns, sees the Captain on the bridge above him. He reaches for a wood - handled gaff nearby. He rears back with it and lets it fly like a spear.", "EXT.  BRIDGE OF FISHING BOAT - NIGHT The gaff impales the Captain, off - center in his chest. The Captain, his face frozen in shock, is thrown back against the throttle. The boat lunges forward as the engines REV loudly.", "EXT.  FISHING BOAT - NIGHT Harcourt is thrown into the dinghy with Sykes. As Harcourt recovers, Sykes spots the release for the tie line on the dinghy. He lunges forward, throwing the ratchet. The line plays out, and the dinghy slides backward into water!", "INT.  HELICOPTER - NIGHT Jetson watches this happen.", "EXT.  DINGHY - NIGHT The dinghy bangs along -LRB- at the end of the ten foot tie line -RRB- in the wake of the speeding fishing boat. Harcourt claws his way toward Sykes. Water is already splashing in over the stern transom. the dinghy is sinking. Harcourt grabs Sykes' leg and pulls him toward him. Sykes holds on to the stern cleats with all his might. Harcourt yanks him free. Sykes kicks wildly at the ratchet release, trying to free the remainder of the line. Harcourt is coming in for the kill when - - Sykes' foot connects with the ratchet lever. The rest of the tie line snakes through the ratchet, freeing the dinghy from the fishing boat! The dinghy is rocking wildly, sinking fast. A wave from the fishing boat's wake splashes in over the side. Some of it hits Harcourt - he HOWLS and falls away. Sykes sees this, tries to clamber over the side, but Harcourt is on him again. Sykes' body weight at the side of the dinghy coupled with the rocking motion cause more water to wash in over the transom.", "INT.  HELICOPTER - NIGHT Jetson reacts to Sykes and Harcourt battling in the dinghy below.", "EXT.  DINGHY - NIGHT Harcourt, who is getting more and more wet, HOWLS in agony, thick blood beginning to bead wherever the water touches. Sykes is taking one hell of a beating. Harcourt sweeps Sykes up in a bear hug, is about to crush his rib cage, when Sykes shifts his body weight, knocking Harcourt off balance. Harcourt wobbles, fear on his face for the first time - then he finally loses it, and the two of them tumble overboard into the water, capsizing the dinghy.", "EXT.  WATER - NIGHT Sykes breaks the surface, gasping for air, frantically clawing with his one good arm at the wedge of dinghy still above the water. Suddenly, behind him, Harcourt's partially melted form erupts from the water, lunges on top of Sykes, and drags him under.", "INT.  HELICOPTER - NIGHT Jetson hangs in the open door, watching in horror, wanting to help, knowing he ca n't.", "EXT.  WATER - NIGHT Sykes breaks the surface, Harcourt's misshapen lump of a body unmoving but still on top of him. Sykes shoves it away, struggling to stay afloat. His head keeps dunking under. He's drowning.", "INT.  HELICOPTER - NIGHT Jetson screws up his courage and turns to the Pilot. JETSON Take it down! Take it down!", "EXT.  WATER AND HELICOPTER - NIGHT The helicopter moves down toward the turbulent water. Jetson hangs in the doorway, watching Sykes' head dunking under again. The helicopter's skids are three feet above the water. JETSON -LRB- to Pilot. -RRB- ALL THE WAY! PILOT I CA N'T IT'LL DITCH! Sykes' outreached hand stretches up from the water, but the skid is just too high. Jetson has no alternative, and he does the bravest thing he has ever done. He moves out onto the narrow helicopter skid. Hanging on, three feet above the water, he reaches down for Sykes' up reaching hand. The fingertips of the two hands waver mere inches from each other. Jetson stretches farther, farther. and the two hands meet! Jetson winces from the pain of the seawater on Sykes' hand. He starts pulling Sykes up. When - HARCOURT'S HEAD BREAKS THE SURFACE A FOOT FROM SYKES' FACE. His eye sockets are empty and his skin is mostly gone. The nearly skeletal body heaves blindly onto Sykes, breaking his grip from Jetson's, and dragging him under again. Jetson is frantic. He keeps waiting - but this time Sykes does n't come up. Jetson does n't know what to do. Finally - he leans down as far as he can, his face a foot from the water, SCREAMS to block the pain, and plunges his own arm below the surface! He feels around, gets hold of something, and pulls. It is Sykes' wrist. He pulls hard, bringing the sputtering Sykes up out of the water. JETSON -LRB- to Pilot. -RRB- Take it up! The Pilot does. Sykes comes up out of the water. His feet are just clear of the surface when - Harcourt's hand and arm rocket out of the water, grabbing Sykes' ankle. Sykes looks down in horror. The helicopter keeps moving up, and before Harcourt's body breaks the surface, the arm tears away from the torso at the shoulder. Sykes wildly shakes the clinging severed arm from his ankle, and it falls back into the water below. Jetson continues pulling him up into the helicopter as it moves off toward shore.", "INT.  HELICOPTER - NIGHT Sykes plops on the floor, soaked, battered, holding his limp arm. Jetson is quickly whipping off his jacket, wrapping the dry part around his own arm, wincing in pain. The Pilot stare down at the circle of water where they just pulled Sykes from. PILOT What the hell was that down there? It was weird. Jetson looks at Sykes, wondering if he will say. Sykes looks at Jetson a long moment, then - SYKES Looked like every other damn slag to me. Just plain ugly. Despite the pain, Jetson smiles.", "INT.  CHURCH ANTEROOM - DAY We are CLOSE on Sykes, who is having a hell of a time, trying to tie a tuxedo tie with one arm in a sling. A PAIR OF ALIEN ARMS reach into FRAME to help him. One of the alien arms is also in a sling. ANGLE WIDENS to reveal the alien is Jetson. Both men wear tuxedos. SYKES How do I look? JETSON You look very good. There's a knock at the door. Sykes opens it. There stands Sykes' daughter, KRISTIN, twenty years old, looking radiant in her wedding dress. She is in a foyer, and behind her is the interior of the church with all the assembled guests, including Mrs. Jetson & son. KRISTIN Ready, Daddy? Sykes' heart melts. Before moving to the door : SYKES George, uh. I want to apologize now, in advance, for all the rotten things I'll ever say or do to you over the years. Sykes moves to join his daughter. As he does : JETSON That is all right, Matthew. After all, you are only human. Sykes, caught off guard, has to laugh. SYKES -LRB- under his breath. -RRB- What a wildman. Sykes takes his daughter's arm and the two of them start down the aisle. FADE OUT. THE END"], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "The year is 1991; three years since an unidentified flying object bearing 300,000 enslaved aliens, the Newcomers, landed in the Mojave Desert on planet Earth. Los Angeles later becomes their new home. Matthew Sykes (Caan), a police detective, loses his partner Bill Tuggle (Brown) in a shootout; the detectives had been trying to stop two Newcomer criminals murdering another Newcomer named Porter at a grocery, in what appeared to be a robbery. The next day, Sykes' superior Captain Warner (McCarthy), informs his squad that they will have to work with the newly promoted Newcomer detective Sam Francisco (Patinkin). Although biased, Sykes enlists to work with Francisco to investigate a similar homicide with a Newcomer named Warren Hubely, feeling that if he investigates that crime, he will also find opportunities to investigate his partner's death (which he is officially forbidden to do). While at a crime lab, trying unobtrusively to establish a connection between the two cases, Francisco detects an abnormality on the body of one of the Newcomer criminals who was killed in the robbery. Later, Sykes and Francisco are led to a nightclub to investigate a link in the killings with a Newcomer named Joshua Strader (Kober). However, they end up interviewing his girlfriend instead, after Strader is murdered by a criminal ring led by Newcomer businessman William Harcourt (Stamp) and his henchman Rudyard Kipling (Howard). Harcourt is in the latter stages of launching advanced plans to exploit the alien race by attempting to mass-produce and sell a drug called Jabroka. The drug was used in the past to pacify the Newcomers when they were slaves, but has no effect on humans. The abnormality noticed by Francisco on the body of the Newcomer criminal earlier turns out to have been a visual sign of the drug's influence. In addition, the Newcomers Hubley, Porter and Strader were involved in the planning phases of the operation, but were later murdered due to Harcourt's desire to exclude them from any future financial rewards. Ultimately, Sykes and Francisco track down Harcourt, where he is secretly negotiating a timetable for a release of the potent narcotic. The detectives attempt to foil his plans, as they are later led on a car chase with Harcourt and his cohort Kipling through the streets of downtown Los Angeles. Following a head-on collision where both parties are injured, Harcourt attempts an escape on foot. Sykes pursues and corners Harcourt onto a desolate drawbridge. Harcourt then purposely overdoses on a sample of the stimulant. As Sykes mistakenly believes that Harcourt has died, Harcourt is taken away by an ambulance, but later mutates into a significantly larger and more muscular Newcomer intent on causing violence. The duo pursue Harcourt, catching up with him near a fishing pier. Sykes later ends up in a physical confrontation with Harcourt in the open sea. Harcourt dies, as his body disintegrates due to the effects of direct contact with salt water, which is hazardous to Newcomer physiology. Francisco commandeers a police helicopter, and rescues Sykes from the water. With the Tuggle and Newcomer murder cases solved, the authorities dismantle Harcourt's illicit scheme. Later, Sykes and Francisco \u2013 now friends \u2013 attend Sykes's daughter's wedding together.", "name": "Alien_Nation_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["THE DARK KNIGHT BURNING. Massive flames. A dark shape emerges - The BAT SYMBOL. Growing. Filling the screen with BLACKNESS. DAYLIGHT. Moving over the towers of downtown Gotham. Closing in on an office building. On a large window. Which SHATTERS to reveal -", "INT. OFFICE, HIGH RISE -- DAY A man in a CLOWN MASK holding a SMOKING SILENCED PISTOL ejects a shell casing. This is DOPEY. He turns to a second man, HAPPY, also in clown mask, who steps forward with a CABLE LAUNCHER, aims at a lower roof across the street and FIRES a cable across. Dopey secures the line to an I - beam line - CLAMP on - sends a KIT BAG out then steps OUT the window.", "EXT. HIGH-RISE -- DAY into space. The men SLIDE across the DIZZYING DROP. landing on the lower roof across the street.", "EXT. DOWNTOWN GOTHAM -- DAY A MAN on the corner, back to us, holding a CLOWN MASK. An SUV pulls up. The man gets in, puts on his mask. Inside the car - two other men wearing CLOWN MASKS. GRUMPY Three of a kind. Let's do this. One of the Clowns looks up from loading his automatic weapon. CHUCKLES That's it? Three guys? GRUMPY There's two on the roof. Every guy is an extra share. Five shares is plenty. CHUCKLES Six shares. Do n't forget the guy who planned the job. GRUMPY Yeah? He thinks he can sit it out and still take a slice, then I get why they call him the Joker. Grumpy cocks his weapon. Bozo pulls the car over in front of the GOTHAM FIRST NATIONAL BANK.", "EXT. ROOFTOP, BANK -- CONTINUOUS Dopey PRIES open an access panel - HAPPY Why do they call him the Joker? DOPEY I heard he wears make - up. HAPPY Make - up? Dopey pulls out thick bundles of blue CAT 5 cables. DOPEY Yeah. To scare people. War paint.", "EXT. BANK -- CONTINUOUS Grumpy, Chuckles and Bozo get out of the car and march into the bank CARRYING ASSAULT RIFLES -", "INT. BANK -- DAY The Security Guard looks up - Grumpy FIRES into the ceiling. Customers SCREAM. Chuckles CRACKS the Security Guard. As Grumpy and Bozo round up the hostages, one of the TELLERS presses a button mounted beneath her window - a SILENT ALARM.", "EXT. ROOFTOP -- DAY Dopey watches the alarm PING his handheld. DOPEY Here comes the silent alarm. -LRB- touches a button. -RRB- And there it goes. That's funny. It did n't dial out to 911 - it was trying to reach a private number. Behind him, Happy RAISES his silenced HANDGUN. HAPPY Is it a problem? DOPEY No, no. I'm done here. Happy SHOOTS. Dopey SLUMPS. Happy picks up his bag and FORCES OPEN the roof access door.", "INT. STAIRWELL, BANK -- DAY and speeds down the stairs, to the basement. He SLAMS open the door.", "INT. VAULT ROOM, BANK -- DAY and comes face to face with a huge VAULT.", "INT. LOBBY, BANK -- DAY Bozo and Grumpy move down the line of hostages - Bozo hands each Hostage OBJECTS from a bag. A GRENADE. Grumpy follows, PULLING THE PINS. GRUMPY Obviously, we do n't want you doing anything with your hands other than holding on for dear life. BLAM. Chuckles is BLOWN OFF HIS FEET - Grumpy and Bozo DIVE for cover - the Bank Manager steps out of his office, SHOTGUN in hand. Hostages SCRAMBLE, CLINGING their grenades.", "INT. VAULT ROOM, BANK -- DAY Happy CLAMPS a DRILL to the vault - the bit SPINS - SLIDES into the metal door - a BOLT of ELECTRICITY RIPS THROUGH THE DRILL, THROWING HAPPY TO THE FLOOR -", "INT. LOBBY, BANK -- DAY Grumpy and Bozo cower as the Bank Manager FIRES again. GRUMPY He's got three left? Bozo raises TWO fingers. Grumpy squeezes off a SHOT. The Bank Manager FIRES. FIRES again. Grumpy looks at Bozo, who nods. Grumpy JUMPS UP. The Bank Manager FIRES - Grumpy GRUNTS as buckshot CLIPS his shoulder. FALLS. The Bank Manager moves in for the kill, FUMBLING for new shells. Bozo STANDS - SHOOTS him. Bozo picks up the shotgun. Grumpy checks his wound - it's superficial. He struggles to his feet. GRUMPY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Where'd you learn to count?! Bozo's mask stares him down. Grumpy heads for the stairs in the back. Bozo starts loading fresh shells into the shotgun. BANK MANAGER You have any idea who you're stealing from? You and your friends are dead. Bozo looks down at him. Says nothing.", "INT. VAULT ROOM, BANK -- DAY Happy at the vault door, barefoot, turning the tumblers with hands stuffed into his SNEAKERS. Grumpy walks in. HAPPY They wired this thing up with 5,000 volts. What kind of bank does that? GRUMPY A mob bank. Guess the Joker's as crazy as they say. Happy shrugs. Grips the WHEEL BOLT and SPINS it. GRUMPY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Where's the alarm guy? HAPPY Boss told me when the guy was done I should take him out. One less share. GRUMPY Funny, he told me something similar. Happy FREEZES. The wheel SPINS to a STOP - the vault DOOR CLUNKS OPEN - Happy GRABS for his weapon - SPINS to see Grumpy SHOOT. Grumpy steps over Happy into the vault.", "INT. VAULT, BANK -- DAY which is filled with an eight - foot MOUNTAIN OF CASH.", "INT. LOBBY, BANK -- DAY Grumpy walks into the lobby, straining under several DUFFELS filled with cash. He DUMPS them. Looks at Bozo. LAUGHS. GRUMPY C'mon, there's a lot to carry.", "INT. LOBBY, BANK -- DAY Bozo walks back into the lobby with two more DUFFELS. Sets them down on an ENORMOUS PILE. Grumpy looks at it. GRUMPY If this guy was so smart he would have had us bring a bigger car. Grumpy JABS his pistol in Bozo's back. Takes his weapon. GRUMPY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm betting the Joker told you to kill me soon as we loaded the cash. BOZO -LRB- shakes head. -RRB- No. I kill the bus driver. GRUMPY Bus driver? What bus - Bozo steps backwards. SMASH. Hostages SCREAM as the TAIL END OF A YELLOW SCHOOL BUS ROCKETS through the front of the bank, SLAMMING Grumpy into the teller's window. Bozo picks up Grumpy's weapon. Another clown OPENS the rear door of the bus. Bozo SHOOTS him. Then loads the bags onto the bus. The wounded Bank Manager watches him. In the distance : SIRENS. BANK MANAGER Think you're smart, huh? Well, the guy who hired you's just do the same to you. Bozo slowly shakes his head. BANK MANAGER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Sure he will. Criminals in this town used to believe in things. Bozo turns back to the Bank Manager. Crouches over him. BANK MANAGER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Honor. Respect. What do you believe, huh? What do you bel - Bozo slides a GRENADE into the man's mouth. A PURPLE THREAD is knotted around the pin. THE JOKER I believe that what does n't kill you. Bozo PULLS off his MASK. The Bank Manager GASPS. In the reflections of the glass DEBRIS behind the Bank Manager we see GLIMPSES of a SCARRED MOUTH and CLOWN MAKEUP. THE JOKER. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- simply makes you stranger. The Bank Manager's eyes go wide. The Joker rises, strolls towards the bus, the purple thread attached to the grenade pin UNRAVELING FROM THE PURPLE LINING of his jacket as he walks. The Joker climbs into the bus, SHUTS the rear door, TRAPPING THE PURPLE THREAD.", "EXT. SCHOOL, GOTHAM -- DAY Kids pour out, heading onto a long line of school buses.", "INT. BANK -- CONTINUOUS As the bus pulls out, the purple thread PULLS THE PIN - hostages scream and scurry away from the Bank Manager, who shakes with fear as, with a FIZZ, the grenade does not explode, but SPEWS RED SMOKE.", "EXT. BANK -- DAY The School Bus pulls free of the Bank wall and pulls out onto the street, SLIDING INTO THE LINE OF IDENTICAL BUSES HEADING PAST THE BANK. The buses trundle past COP CARS racing up the street. and we -", "EXT. MOVING OVER GOTHAM -- NIGHT From the top of a brick building a SHAFT OF LIGHT comes on.", "EXT. VARIOUS LOCATIONS -- CONTINUOUS A PATROLMAN looks up at the BAT - SIGNAL. Smiles. A DEALER standing beside a car spots the signal. Steps back. DEALER No, man. I do n't like it tonight. BUYER What're you, superstitious? You got more chance of winning the powerball than running into him.", "INT. MAJOR CRIMES UNIT, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT DETECTIVE RAMIREZ, female, rookie detective, 30's, makes coffee, watching a news show on the television. ON SCREEN : The host, MIKE ENGEL, lays into the MAYOR. ENGEL Mr Mayor, you were elected on a campaign to clean up the city. when are you going to start? MAYOR Well, Mike - ENGEL Like this so - called Batman - a lot of people say he's doing some good that criminals are running scared. but I say NO. What kind of hero needs to wear a mask? You do n't let vigilantes run around breaking the law. where does it end? Yet, we hear rumors that instead of trying to arrest him the cops are using him to do their dirty work. MAYOR I'm told our men in the Major Crimes Unit are close to an arrest. RAMIREZ Hey, Wuertz - the Mayor says you're closing in on the Batman. WUERTZ looks up, listless. Crumples up a paper. WUERTZ The investigation is ongoing. He throws the paper at the trash. It rebounds off a board headed ` BATMAN : SUSPECTS.' Lined with pictures : Abraham Lincoln. Elvis. The Abominable Snowman.", "EXT. ROOFTOP, MAJOR CRIMES UNIT -- NIGHT Ramirez comes out onto the roof. LIEUTENANT GORDON sits by a SEARCHLIGHT. She hands Gordon a cup of coffee. RAMIREZ Ever intending to see your wife again, Lieutenant? GORDON I thought you had to go look after your mother, detective. RAMIREZ They checked her back into hospital. GORDON I'm sorry. RAMIREZ -LRB- making light. -RRB- Least there she's got someone round the clock. Unlike your wife. -LRB- looks at bat - signal. -RRB- He has n't shown? Gordon gets up. Looks into the sky at the bat - signal. GORDON Often does n't. But I like reminding everybody that he's out there. RAMIREZ Why would n't he come? GORDON Hopefully. Because he's busy.", "EXT. PARKING GARAGE -- NIGHT Two black SUV's pull onto the top floor. A large man emerges - the CHECHEN. A BODYGUARD points at the sky. The Chechen peers up at the BAT - SIGNAL. Shrugs. CHECHEN That's why we bring dogs. BODYGUARD 2 opens the back door - three enormous ROTWEILERS emerge, GROWLING. The Chechen crouches, KISSING the dogs. CHECHEN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- My little princes. -LRB- to bodyguards. -RRB- The Batman's invisible to you fools. but my little princes. they can find human meat in complete darkness. The Chechen moves to the second SUV, reaches in and DRAGS out a skinny, wild - eyed JUNKIE by his hair. JUNKIE -LRB- babbling. -RRB- No! No get'em off me! Off me! The Chechen drags the Junkie towards a battered white van. The van's REAR DOORS OPEN. two armed THUGS emerge, carrying BARRELS. a third hovers in the dark interior. CHECHEN Look! Look what your drugs did to my customers! VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Buyer beware. The figure emerges : SCARECROW. Wearing his mask. SCARECROW I told your man my compound would take you places. I never said they'd be places you wanted to go. CHECHEN My business is repeat customers. SCARECROW If you do n't like what I have to offer, buy from someone else. Assuming Batman left anyone else to buy from. The Chechen frowns. THE DOGS START BARKING. BODYGUARD -LRB- nervous. -RRB- He's here. A BURLY THUG at the periphery is suddenly SUCKED into the darkness. In his place a shadow straightens, revealing POINTED BAT - EARS against the glittering skyline. CHECHEN Come on, sonofbitch - my dogs are hungry, pity there's only one of you. A BODYGUARD to the side DISAPPEARS with a scream, and a SECOND BAT - SHADOW appears. The Chechen looks taken aback. Three more BAT - SHADOWS appear. even the dogs stop growling. BOOM! A hole appears in the SUV next to the Chechen. The first bat - shadow steps into the light carrying a SHOTGUN. CHAOS as men scatter and the rooftop erupts in GUNFIRE. The Chechen TURNS as he hears one of his men SCREAM. CHECHEN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Loose the dogs! A Bodyguard releases the DOGS - they RACE, SALIVATING, into the darkness. The Dogs RACE towards a Bat - Shadow - the first dog LEAPS, gets its JAWS around the Bat - Shadow's throat. Scarecrow ducks behind the van - holes PUNCHED in the side by shotgun blasts right behind him. He starts to climb into the driver's seat - The muzzle of a shotgun is pressed to the back of his head - a bat - shadow is behind him - he SPRAYS him with FEAR TOXIN - the bat - shadow collapses to the ground, SCREAMING. The Chechen, cowering from gunfire, looks down at him. SCARECROW Not the real thing. CHECHEN How you know? SCARECROW We're old friends. A HUGE BLACK SHAPE SLAMS down onto a row of parked cars. The BATMOBILE. SCARECROW -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- That's more like it. The Chechen's men BLAST away at the front of the car : the bullets SPARK off its monstrous surface harmlessly.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS The cockpit is EMPTY. One of the screens reads `` LOITER''. The shooting STOPS. The screen switches to `` INTIMIDATE''", "EXT. PARKING GARAGE -- CONTINUOUS The men STARE at the Batmobile for a quiet moment. BOOM! The Batmobile CANNONS blast cars all around the men - A bat - shadow lines up his shotgun on a running bodyguard - CLUNK - a BLACK GAUNTLET grasps the barrel and BENDS it upwards with a HOWL of tortured steel - the bat - shadow looks into the face of the Batman. The REAL BATMAN. The Bat - shadow STUMBLES BACKWARDS in terror, leaving the bent shotgun in Batman's hand. Batman OPENS his hand, revealing a PNEUMATIC MANGLE hidden in his palm - Batman bears down on the dogs mauling another bat - shadow - DRAWS his GRAPPLING GUN and SHOOTS his grapple into the fake Batman's leg and RIPS him from the dogs, one dog HANGING ON as Batman pulls the unconscious man away. the Chechen RUNS down the ramp towards the exit. As Batman KICKS the dog off the fake Batman - the Chechen gets into his SUV - another dog LOCKS ITS JAWS around Batman's forearm, RIPPING, TEARING - Batman SWINGS THE DOG OVER HIS HEAD - SMASHES it against the ground - its jaws OPEN. Batman rises, an engine RACES behind him - he ca n't turn in time - BLAM - he's SLAMMED sideways by the speeding van.", "INT. VAN -- CONTINUOUS Scarecrow, driving, NODS at him and hits the gas. Batman raises his hand, revealing his jointed mangle and pistons. The mangle STRAIGHTENS and ROTATES from his palm to the knife edge of his opened hand. Batman CHOPS straight through the windshield - pulls his hand out and CHOPS again - the mangle gets STUCK - Scarecrow steers towards a column.", "EXT. PARKING GARAGE -- CONTINUOUS Batman ca n't free himself - he turns a dial on his forearm piston - EXPLOSIVE BOLTS blow, freeing his gauntlet from the mangle - he ROLLS free of the van as it SCRAPES the column and barrels down the circular exit ramp. Batman rises. A phony batman lying on the ground watches as Batman climbs up to the edge of the ten - story corkscrew ramp and stands there, waiting for something. After a moment he JUMPS. and falls. ten stories. He's about to hit the exit ramp - the van appears - his cape POPS OPEN - he SLAMS into the roof, CRUSHING the cab.", "EXT. ROOFTOP, PARKING GARAGE -- MOMENTS LATER The Chechen's men are lined up against the wall, bound with zip - ties. So are the fake batmen. Batman DUMPS Scarecrow next to the three `` Batmen'', RIPS his mask off. \"BATMAN\" We're trying to help you! BATMAN I do n't need help. SCARECROW Not my diagnosis. Batman silences Scarecrow with his boot. Turns to `` Batman'' BATMAN Do n't let me find you out here again. Batman moves towards the Batmobile. \"BATMAN\" You need us! There's only one of you - it's war out here! Batman gets into the Batmobile. \"BATMAN\" -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What gives you the right?! What's the difference between you and me?! As the Canopy hisses shut - BATMAN I'm not wearing hockey pads. The `` Batman'' looks down at his makeshift costume as the Batmobile ROARS past.", "EXT. BANK -- NIGHT LIEUTENANT GORDON ducks the barrage of SHOUTED QUESTIONS from press and picks his way into the lobby of the bank.", "INT. LOBBY, BANK -- NIGHT FORENSIC SPECIALISTS work the room. Ramirez hands Gordon PRINTS - indicates the surveillance cameras. RAMIREZ He ca n't resist showing us his face. Gordon looks at the grainy blow - up of THE JOKER'S FACE : sweating clown makeup plastered thick around the mouth. GORDON Put this out, by morning we can put a big top over central holding and sell tickets. What's he hiding under that makeup? Gordon approaches a FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHER shooting Grumpy's body. Gordon crouches to look at his clown mask. Batman steps from the shadows. Gordon nods at Ramirez. RAMIREZ Give us a minute, please, people! The Forensic team and Ramirez leave. Gordon hands Batman the blow - up of the Joker. BATMAN Him again. Who are the others? GORDON Another bunch of small timers. Batman pulls a DEVICE from his belt - moves to the bundles of cash scattered near the clown's body. The device PINGS. Batman picks up a BUNDLE. Hands it to Gordon. BATMAN Some of the marked bills I gave you. GORDON My detectives have been making drug buys with them for weeks. This bank was another drop for the mob. That makes five banks - we've found the bulk of their dirty cash. BATMAN Time to move in. Gordon waves the photo. GORDON What about this Joker guy? BATMAN One man or the entire mob? He can wait. GORDON We'll have to hit all banks simultaneously. SWAT teams, backup. Gordon holds up the bundle of banknotes. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- When the new D.A. gets wind of this, he'll want in. BATMAN Do you trust him? GORDON Be hard to keep him out. Gordon bags the cash. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I hear he's as stubborn as you. But Batman is already gone.", "INT. WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- MORNING Alfred walks past soaring downtown views as he carries a breakfast tray through the vast, empty penthouse. He stops, looking at a still - made bed. Alfred sighs, turns.", "EXT. RAIL YARDS -- MORNING Alfred gets out of the Rolls carrying a thermos. He walks towards a RAILWAY BRIDGE, stops at a FREIGHT CONTAINER sitting, lopsided, on blocks. Alfred unlocks the RUSTY PADLOCK AND CHAIN. Steps inside.", "INT. FREIGHT CONTAINER -- CONTINUOUS Alfred FUMBLES in the dark - bangs his elbow - A HISS as the FLOOR LOWERS. Alfred sinks down into.", "INT. BAT-BUNKER -- CONTINUOUS The container floor lowers on a giant PISTON. Alfred steps off into a large, LOW - CEILINGED CONCRETE CHAMBER. The Batmobile sits in the middle. Machines - 3D printers, power tools - dot the high - tech space. At one end, Wayne sits at a bank of monitors watching CCTV footage of the bank robbery. ALFRED Be nice when Wayne Manor's rebuilt and you can swap not sleeping in a penthouse for not sleeping in a mansion. Alfred places a cup of coffee in front of Wayne, who is STITCHING up a cut on his arm. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- takes needle. -RRB- When you stitch yourself up you make a bloody mess. WAYNE But I learn from my mistakes. ALFRED You ought to be pretty knowledgeable by now, then. WAYNE My armor. I'm carrying too much weight - I need to be faster. ALFRED I'm sure Mr. Fox can oblige. -LRB- looks at wound. -RRB- Did you get mauled by a tiger? WAYNE A dog. -LRB- off look. -RRB- A big dog. There were more copycats last night, Alfred. With guns. ALFRED Perhaps you could hire some of them and take weekends off. WAYNE This was n't exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted to inspire people. ALFRED I know. But things are improving. Look at the new District Attorney. Wayne indicates a monitor : a handsome MAN in a suit. WAYNE I am. Closely. I need to know if he can be trusted. Alfred looks at other images - the D.A. at a meeting. Campaigning. Helping someone out of a cab : RACHEL. ALFRED Are you interested in his character. or his social circle? WAYNE Who Rachel spends her time with is her business. ALFRED Well, I trust you're not following me on my day off. WAYNE If you ever took one, I might. Alfred bites the thread. Examines his stitches. Looks at the SCARS criss - crossing Wayne's shoulders. ALFRED Know your limits, Master Wayne. WAYNE Batman has no limits. ALFRED Well, you do, sir. WAYNE I ca n't afford to know them. ALFRED And what happens the day you find out? WAYNE We all know how much you like to say' I told you so'. ALFRED That day, Master Wayne, even I wo n't want to. Probably.", "INT. COURTROOM, SUPERIOR COURT -- DAY HARVEY DENT bursts into the courtroom. Assistant D.A. RACHEL DAWES, look up, ANNOYED. DENT Sorry I'm late, folks. Rachel leans in to Dent, speaking under her breath. RACHEL Where were you? DENT Worried you'd have to step up? RACHEL I know the briefs backwards. Dent pulls a large silver dollar out of his pocket. Grins. DENT Well, then, fair's fair : heads, I'll take it. Tails, he's all yours. Dent FLIPS. Shows it to Rachel - heads. RACHEL You're flipping coins to see who leads? DENT My father's lucky coin. As I recall, it got me my first date with you. RACHEL I'm serious, Harvey, you do n't leave things like this to chance. DENT I do n't. -LRB- sincere. -RRB- I make my own luck. Dent looks across at the defendant - SAL MARONI. MARONI I thought the DA just played golf with the Mayor, things like that. DENT Tee - off's 1:30. More than enough time to put you away for life, Sally. The BAILIFFS lead a THIN MAN into the witness box. ROSSI.", "INT. COURTROOM, SUPERIOR COURT -- DAY Rossi takes a SIP of water. Dent works the room. DENT With Carmine Falcone in Arkham, someone must've stepped up to run the so - called family. -LRB- Rossi nods. -RRB- Is this man in the courtroom today? -LRB- Rossi nods again. -RRB- Could you identify him for us, please? Dent turns to Maroni, who is poker - faced. Dent smiles. ROSSI You win, counselor. It was me. Dent's smile disappears. He turns back to Rossi. DENT I've got a sworn statement from you that this man, Salvatore Maroni, is the new head of the Falcone crime family. ROSSI Maroni? He's a fall guy. I'm the brains of the organization. LAUGHS from the gallery. Dent turns to the JUDGE. DENT Permission to treat the witness as hostile? ROSSI Hostile? I'll show you hostile. Rossi JUMPS UP, points a GUN at Dent's face. SCREAMS from the gallery. Rossi PULLS the TRIGGER - the gun MISFIRES with a POP. Dent steps forward, grabs the GUN - DECKS Rossi with a RIGHT CROSS - unloads the GUN and sets it down in front of Maroni. DENT Ceramic 28 caliber. Made in China. If you want to kill a public servant, Mr. Maroni, I recommend you buy American. Everyone STARES, open - mouthed, as Dent adjusts his tie. The Bailiffs are wrestling Rossi from the box - DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- But, your honor, I'm not done.", "INT. LOBBY, DENT'S OFFICE, DA'S -- DAY Rachel, excited, leads Dent through the lobby. RACHEL We'll never link the gun to Maroni, so we ca n't charge him, but I'll tell you one thing - the fact they tried to kill you means we're getting to them. DENT Glad you're so pleased, Rachel. I'm fine by the way. Rachel turns to Dent. Smooths his lapels. RACHEL Harvey, you're Gotham's D.A. - if you're not getting shot at, you're not doing your job. -LRB- smiles. -RRB- ` Course if you said you were rattled we could take the rest of the day. DENT Ca n't. I dragged the head of the Major Crimes Unit down here. RACHEL Jim Gordon? He's a friend - try to be nice.", "INT. DENT'S OFFICE -- DAY Gordon stands as Dent enters. The two men shake. GORDON Word is you've got a hell of a right cross. Shame Sal's going to walk. DENT Well, good thing about the mob is they keep giving you second chances. Dent picks up a bundle of bills from the heist. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Lightly irradiated bills. Fancy stuff for a city cop. Have help? GORDON We liaise with various agencies - DENT Save it, Gordon. I want to meet him. GORDON Official policy is to arrest the vigilante known as Batman on sight. DENT And that flood light on top of M.C.U? GORDON If you have any concerns about. malfunctioning equipment. take them up with maintenance, counselor. Dent tosses the bills back onto his desk. Annoyed. DENT I've put every known money launderer in Gotham behind bars. But the mob is still getting its money out. I think you and your `` friend'' have found the last game in town and you're trying to hit'em where it hurts : their wallets. Bold. You gon na count me in? GORDON In this town, the fewer people know something, the safer the operation. DENT Gordon, I do n't like that you've got your own special unit, and I do n't like that it's full of cops I investigated at internal affairs. GORDON If I did n't work with cops you'd investigated while you were making your name at I.A. - I'd be working alone. I do n't get political points for being an idealist - I have to do the best I can with what I have. Dent looks at Gordon. Considering how to proceed. DENT You want me to back warrants for search and seizure on five banks without telling me who we're after? GORDON I can give you the names of the banks. DENT Well, that's a start. I'll get you your warrants. But I want your trust. GORDON -LRB- rises. -RRB- You do n't have to sell me, Dent. We all know you're Gotham's white knight. DENT -LRB- grins. -RRB- I hear they've got a different nickname for me down at M.C.U. Gordon smiles.", "INT. BOARDROOM, WAYNE ENTERPRISES -- DAY LUCIUS FOX, CEO of Wayne Enterprises, and the board listen to LAU, 40s, CEO of L.S.I. Holdings. LAU In China L.S.I. Holdings stands for dynamic new growth. A joint Chinese venture with Wayne Enterprises will be a powerhouse. FOX Well, Mr. Lau, I speak for the rest of the board, and Mr. Wayne, in expressing our own excitement. The Chinese look to the head of the table : Wayne, ASLEEP.", "INT. HALLWAY, WAYNE ENTERPRISES -- DAY Fox shows Lau to the elevator. He's joined by, REESE, 30s, an ambitious M and A consultant lawyer. LAU It's OK, Mr. Fox. Everyone knows who really runs Wayne Enterprises. FOX We'll be in touch as soon as our people have wrapped up the diligence. The elevator doors close. Reese frowns. REESE Sir, I know Mr. Wayne's curious how his trust fund gets replenished but frankly. it's embarrassing. Fox heads for his office, Reese in tow. FOX You worry about the diligence, Mr. Reese. I'll worry about Bruce Wayne. REESE It's done - the numbers are solid. FOX -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Do it again. Would n't want the trust fund to run out, would we?", "INT. BOARDROOM, WAYNE ENTERPRISES -- CONTINUOUS Wayne is standing by the window. FOX Another long night? -LRB- Wayne smiles. -RRB- This joint venture was your idea, and the consultants love it, but I'm not convinced. L.S.I.'s grown 8 percent annually, like clockwork. They must have a revenue stream that's off the books. Maybe even illegal. WAYNE OK. Cancel the deal. FOX -LRB- looks at Wayne. -RRB- You already knew. WAYNE I needed a closer look at their books. Fox looks at Wayne. Wry. FOX Anything else you can trouble me for? WAYNE I need a new suit. FOX -LRB- looks him over. -RRB- Three buttons is a little nineties. WAYNE I'm not talking about fashion, Mr.Fox, so much as function. Wayne pulls some diagrams. Fox looks them over. FOX You want to be able to turn your head? WAYNE Sure make backing out of the driveway easier. FOX I'll see what I can do.", "INT. RESTAURANT -- NIGHT Rachel and Dent at a table. Dent looks a little intimidated by the surroundings. DENT It took three weeks to get a reservation and I had to tell them I worked for the government. RACHEL Really? DENT This city health inspector's not afraid to pull strings. Rachel smiles. Then, over Dent's shoulder, she sees Wayne enter, accompanied by a beautiful woman. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What? WAYNE Rachel! Fancy that. RACHEL Yes, Bruce. Fancy that. WAYNE Rachel, Natascha. Natascha, Rachel. NATASCHA -LRB- Russian accent. -RRB- Hello. DENT The famous Bruce Wayne. Rachel's told me everything about you. WAYNE I certainly hope not. RACHEL Bruce, this is Harvey Dent. WAYNE Let's put a couple tables together. DENT I do n't know if they'll let us - WAYNE They should! I own the place. RACHEL For how long? About three weeks? WAYNE How'd you know? RACHEL Natascha, are n't you? WAYNE Prima ballerina for the Moscow Ballet. RACHEL Harvey's taking me next week. WAYNE You're into ballet, Harvey? RACHEL No. He knows I am. An extra table arrives.", "INT. SAME -- LATER They finish up dinner. NATASCHA No, come on - how could you want to raise children in a city like this? WAYNE I was raised here. I turned out OK. DENT Is Wayne Manor in the city limits? Rachel gives Dent a withering look. WAYNE The Palisades? Sure. You know, as our new D.A. you might want to figure out where your jurisdiction ends. NATASCHA I'm talking about the kind of city that idolizes a masked vigilante. DENT Gotham's proud of an ordinary man standing up for what's right. NATASCHA Gotham needs heroes like you - elected officials, not a man who thinks he's above the law. WAYNE Exactly. Who appointed the Batman? DENT We did. All of us who stood by and let scum take control of our city. Wayne watches Dent. Sees his passion. NATASCHA But this is a democracy, Harvey. DENT When their enemies were at the gate, the Romans would suspend democracy and appoint one man to protect the city. It was n't considered an honor. It was considered public service. RACHEL And the last man they asked to protect the republic was named Caesar. He never gave up that power. DENT Well, I guess you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Look, whoever the Batman is, he does n't want to spend the rest of his life doing this. How could he? Batman's looking for someone to take up his mantle. NATASCHA Someone like you, Mr. Dent? DENT Maybe. If I'm up to it. Natascha reaches up and covers the top half of Dent's face. NATASCHA But what if Harvey Dent is the caped crusader? DENT If I were sneaking out every night someone would've noticed by now. Dent takes Rachel's hand. Rachel glances at Wayne. Awkward. WAYNE Well, you've sold me, Dent. I'm gon na throw you a fundraiser. DENT That's nice of you, Bruce, but I'm not up for reelection for three years. That stuff wo n't start for - WAYNE I do n't think you understand. One fundraiser with my pals, you'll never need another cent.", "EXT. BACK ALLEY, HOTEL, DOWNTOWN -- DAY A line of high - end AUTOS dispenses well dressed GANGSTERS.", "INT. KITCHEN, HOTEL -- DAY The Chechen walks through a METAL DETECTOR manned by two CHINESE. A lean, African - American man, 50's, is being wanded. This is GAMBOL. He nods at the Chechen, wary.", "INT. CONFERENCE ROOM, HOTEL -- CONTINUOUS Gotham's most notorious GANGSTERS. A door opens, and two BURLY CHINESE enter, carrying a TV. They set it down on the end of the table. CRIME BOSS The hell is this? The screen flickers to life : Lau. The room ERUPTS. LAU -LRB- ON T.V. -RRB- Gentlemen, please. As you're all aware, one of our deposits was stolen. A relatively small amount : 68 million. CHECHEN Who's stupid enough steal from us? LAU I'm told the man who arranged the heist calls himself Joker. CHECHEN Who the hell is that? MARONI Two - bit whack - job wears a cheap purple suit and make - up. He's not the problem - he's a nobody. -LRB- looks at Lau. -RRB- The problem is our money being tracked by the cops. Murmurs of surprise. LAU Thanks to Mr. Maroni's well - placed sources we know that police have indeed identified our banks using marked bills and are planning to seize your funds today - Everyone starts SHOUTING at once.", "EXT. VARIOUS DOWNTOWN BANKS -- CONTINUOUS Gordon sits in a SWAT van outside a bank. Stephens is outside another. Ramirez a third. SWAT teams CHECK WEAPONS and prepare move.", "INT. SOCIAL CLUB, DOWNTOWN -- CONTINUOUS Lau waits for the noise to subside. CHECHEN You promised safe, clean money launder - LAU With the investigation ongoing, none of you can risk hanging on to your own proceeds. And since the enthusiastic new D.A. has put all my competitors out of business, I'm your only option. MARONI So what are you proposing? LAU Moving all deposits to one secure location. Not a bank. GAMBOL Where, then? LAU Obviously, no one can know but me. If the police were to gain leverage over one of you everyone's money would be at stake. CHECHEN What stops them getting to you? LAU As the money is moved I go to Hong Kong. Far from Dent's jurisdiction. And the Chinese will not extradite one of their own. From the back of the room comes LAUGHTER. It grows and grows, until it fills the room. All eyes turn : The Joker. Sweaty clown makeup obscuring the AWFUL SCARS which widen his mouth into a PERMANENT, GHOULISH SMILE. THE JOKER I thought I told bad jokes. GAMBOL Give me one reason I should n't have my boy here pull your head off. The Joker pulls out a freshly sharpened pencil. THE JOKER How about a magic trick? The Joker SLAMS the pencil into the table, leaving it UPRIGHT. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'll make this pencil disappear. Gambol nods. His BODYGUARD MOVES at the Joker - who SIDESTEPS - GRIPS his head - SLAMS it, FACE DOWN, onto the table. The Bodyguard goes LIMP and slides off of the table. The PENCIL is gone. MAGIC. The Joker BOWS. Grins at Gambol. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And by the way, the suit was n't cheap. You should know. You bought it. Gambol STANDS, furious. The Chechen stops him. CHECHEN Sit. I wan na hear proposition. The Joker nods his thanks. Rises. THE JOKER A year ago these cops and lawyers would n't dare cross any of you. What happened? Did your balls drop off? See, a guy like me - GAMBOL A freak. Laughs. Which the Joker tries to ignore. THE JOKER A guy like me. I know why you're holding your little group therapy session in broad daylight. I know why you're afraid to go out at night. Batman. He's shown Gotham your true colors. And Dent's just the beginning. -LRB- indicates Lau. -RRB- And as for his so - called plan - Batman has no jurisdiction. He'll find him and make him squeal. -LRB- smiles at Lau. -RRB- I can tell the squealers every time. CHECHEN What you propose? THE JOKER It's simple. Kill the Batman. Jeers. Laughter. MARONI If it's so easy why have n't you done it already? THE JOKER Like my mother used to tell me - if you're good at something, never do it for free. CHECHEN How much you want? THE JOKER Half. Laughter. The Joker shrugs. Rises. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You do n't deal with this now, soon Gambol wo n't even be able to get a nickel for his grandma - GAMBOL Enough from the clown. Gambol gets up, MOVING at the Joker, who casually opens his coat, revealing EXPLOSIVES wired to his chest. Gambol stops. THE JOKER Let's not blow this out of all proportion. Gambol stares at the Joker. Hard. GAMBOL You think you can steal from us and just walk away? I'm putting the word out - 5 hundred grand for this clown dead. A million alive, so I get to teach him some manners, first. The Joker shrugs. Turns to the assembled. THE JOKER Let me know when you change your minds. The Joker strolls out. Maroni turns to Lau. MARONI How soon can you move the money?", "EXT. VARIOUS BANKS DOWNTOWN -- CONTINUOUS Gordon hurries up the steps to a bank. SWAT teams rush the various banks. LAU I already have.", "EXT. UNDERPASS, GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS A CHINESE MAN finishes loading a TRACTOR TRAILER with cash boxes. The truck pulls out into a CONVOY.", "INT. BANK VAULT -- CONTINUOUS Gordon stands in an almost empty bank vault. Furious. LAU For obvious reasons I could n't wait for your permission.", "INT. SOCIAL CLUB, DOWNTOWN -- CONTINUOUS The shot of Lau on the TV widens. LAU Rest assured, your money is safe. He is already on his private jet. IN THE SKY : THE BAT SIGNAL.", "EXT. ROOF, POLICE STATION -- NIGHT Batman emerges from the shadows. The man next to the glowing spotlight turns : DENT. DENT You're a hard man to reach. Gordon BURSTS onto the rooftop, weapon drawn. Sees Dent. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Lau's halfway to Hong Kong - if you'd asked, I could have taken his passport - I told you to keep me in the loop. GORDON Yeah? All that was left in the vaults were the marked bills - they knew we were coming! As soon as your office got involved, there's a leak - DENT My office?! You're sitting down here with scum like Wuertz and Ramirez. -LRB- off look. -RRB- Oh, yeah, Gordon - I almost had your rookie cold on a racketeering beef. GORDON Do n't try to cloud the fact that clearly Maroni's got people in your office, Dent. Dent turns to Batman. DENT We need Lau back, but the Chinese wo n't extradite a national under any circumstances. BATMAN If I get him to you, can you get him to talk? DENT I'll get him to sing. GORDON We're going after the mob's life savings. Things will get ugly. DENT I knew the risks when I took this job, lieutenant. Same as you. -LRB- turns to Batman. -RRB- How will you get him back, anyway? Batman is gone. Dent looks around, startled. Gordon smirks. GORDON He does that.", "INT. FOX'S OFFICE, WAYNE INDUSTRIES -- DAY Fox gets up from behind his desk. FOX Our Chinese friend left town before I could tell him the deal is off. WAYNE I'm sure you've always wanted to go to Hong Kong. Fox opens the door to a private elevator.", "INT. PRIVATE ELEVATOR -- CONTINUOUS Fox turns a key. FOX What's wrong with a phone call? WAYNE I think Mr. Lau deserves a more personal touch.", "INT. APPLIED SCIENCES DIVISION -- CONTINUOUS Fox leads Wayne off the elevator and into the vast space. FOX For high altitude jumps, you need oxygen and stabilizers. I must say - compared to your usual requests, jumping out of an airplane is pretty straightforward. Lucius stops at a cabinet, pulls open a drawer and hauls out an oxygen tank and ribbed rubber hosing. WAYNE How about getting back into the plane? FOX I can recommend a good travel agent. WAYNE Without it landing. FOX That's more like it, Mr. Wayne. He shuts the drawer. Moves off, thinking. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I do n't think I have anything here. The CIA had a program in the'60s for getting their people out of hot spots. Called Sky Hook. Now - Fox opens a cabinet to reveal COMPONENTS OF A NEW BAT - SUIT. ARMORED PLATING secured to mesh. Wayne lifts an arm. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Hardened kevlar plates on a titanium - dipped fiber tri - weave for flexibility. Wayne examines DOUBLE BLADE SCALLOPS on the gauntlet. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You'll be lighter, faster, more agile. Wayne flinches as the BLADES FIRE, SPINNING LIKE THROWING STARS, NARROWLY MISSING his ear, embedding themselves in a filing cabinet. Fox looks at him. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Perhaps you should read the instructions, first. WAYNE Sorry. Fox picks up the chest, demonstrating its flexibility. FOX Now, there's a trade - off. the spread of the plates gives you weak spots. You'll be more vulnerable to gunfire and knives. WAYNE We would n't want things getting too easy, would we? -LRB- picks up suit. -RRB- How will it hold up against dogs? Fox looks at him quizzically. FOX You talking chihuahuas or rotweilers? -LRB- Wayne smiles. -RRB- It should do fine against cats.", "INT. BAT-BUNKER -- DAY Wayne examines a parachute harness. Alfred unfolds a diagram of a NAVY CARGO PLANE with a giant `` V'' mounted on the front. ALFRED I found one. In Arizona. Very nice man says it will take him a week to get it running. And he takes cash. What about a flight crew? WAYNE South Korean smugglers. They run flights into Pyongyang, below radar the whole way. Did you think of an alibi? Alfred looks quite pleased with himself. ALFRED Oh, yes.", "EXT. BALLET -- NIGHT Rachel and Dent arrive to find the box office SHUTTERED. A sign : ` PERFORMANCE CANCELED.' A newspaper story is taped to the glass. Over a picture of BRUCE WAYNE ON A YACHT : LOVE BOAT - Billionaire absconds with entire Moscow ballet.", "EXT. DECK, WAYNE'S YACHT, THE CARIBBEAN -- DAY Alfred, picks his way over twelve SUNBATHING BALLERINAS. Wayne looks up from a newspaper. Alfred points to a SEAPLANE gently touching down across the bay. ALFRED I believe your plane is here. WAYNE You look tired, Alfred. Will you be all right without me? A Ballerina rolls over - waves the suntan lotion at Alfred. ALFRED If you can tell me the Russian for ` apply your own bloody suntan lotion.' Wayne tosses a large, waterproof kit bag into the water and JUMPS in after it. Begins swimming over to the sea - plane.", "INT. POOL HALL -- NIGHT Gambol racks up. A bodyguard steps into the room. BODYGUARD Somebody here for you. Gambol looks to the back - three rough customers are waiting. BODYGUARD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- They say they've killed the Joker. They've come for the reward. GAMBOL They bring proof? BODYGUARD They say they've brought the body. The bodyguards FLOP a BODY wrapped in garbage bags onto the table. The BOUNTY HUNTERS wait in the corner. Gambol pulls back one of the garbage bags, revealing the Joker's bloodied face. Gambol spits. Turns to face the bounty hunters. GAMBOL So. Dead you get five hundred - Behind Gambol, the Joker SITS UP - THRUSTS knives into the bodyguards' chests. Gambol spins to see a crazy grin on the Joker's spit - dribbled face - THE JOKER How about alive? The Joker gets a switchblade in Gambol's mouth - SHARP METAL PULLING THE CHEEK TAUT. The Bounty Hunters subdue the remaining bodyguards. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Wan na know how I got these scars? My father was a drinker and a fiend. He'd beat mommy right in front of me. One night he goes off crazier than usual, mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He does n't like that. Not. One. Bit. The Joker TUGS Gambols cheek with the blade. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. Turns to me and says ` why so serious?' Comes at me with the knife - ` why so serious?' Sticks the blade in my mouth - ` Let's put a smile on that face' and. The Joker looks up at the ASHEN FACES of the remaining Body Guards. Smiles. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Why so serious? The Joker FLICKS his wrist - the Body Guards flinch as Gambol goes down. The Joker turns to them. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Now, our organization is small, but we've got a lot of potential for aggressive expansion. so which of you fine gentlemen would like to join our team? The three bodyguards all nod. The Joker SNAPS a pool cue. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Only one slot open right now - so we're going to have try - outs. The Joker drops the broken cue in the middle of the men. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Make it fast. The men stare at each other. Then at the jagged pool cue.", "EXT. PENINSULA HOTEL, HONG KONG -- DAY A HELICOPTER touches down on one of the hotel's twin helipads. Two L.S.I. VPs approach, heads ducked. Fox gets out - they shake hands, shouting over the engine - VP Welcome to Hong Kong, Mr. Fox! Mr. Lau regrets he is unable to meet you in person. But with his current legal difficulties! FOX I understand!", "INT. LOBBY, L.S.I.HOLDINGS -- DAY The VPs usher Fox towards security. VP I'm afraid for security reasons I have to ask for your mobile phone. Lucius hands his phone to a SECURITY GUARD, who puts the phone in a box underneath his station.", "INT. L.S.I.HOLDINGS -- DAY Fox and Lau eat lunch in a dining room overlooking the city. LAU I must apologize for leaving Gotham in the middle of our negotiations. This misunderstanding with the Gotham police force. I could n't let such a thing threaten my company. A businessman of your stature will understand. But with you here. we can continue. FOX Well, it was good of you to bring me out here in such style, Mr. Lau. But I've actually come. A CELL PHONE rings. Fox pulls out a second, identical, phone. Fox presses the off switch and places the phone by his plate. LAU We do not allow cell phones in - FOX Sorry. Forgot I had it. So, I've come to explain why we're going to have to put our deal on hold. Lau stares at Fox. Clearly furious. Fox smiles. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- We ca n't afford to be seen to do business with. well, whatever it is you're accused of being. A businessman of your stature will understand. Lau gets up. Silent. Fox retrieves his phone. Stands. LAU -LRB- cold. -RRB- I think, Mr. Fox, that a simple phone call might have sufficed. FOX Well, I do love Chinese food. And Mr. Wayne did n't want you to think we'd been deliberately wasting your time. LAU Just accidentally wasting it. FOX -LRB- laughs. -RRB- That's very good - `` accidentally.'' Very good. I'll be sure and tell Mr. Wayne that he was wrong about you not having a sense of humor.", "INT. LOBBY, L.S.I.HOLDINGS -- DAY Lucius walks back through security. Nods at the VP, who bows, offering Lucius his cell phone. Lucius shakes his head, holds up the IDENTICAL PHONE. The VP smiles, nods, puts the phone back into the tray with several others.", "INT. HOLD, C-130 CARGO HAULER -- DAWN Two SMUGGLERS steal glances at Wayne, crouched at the rear in balaclava and flight suit. The COPILOT signals Wayne, who pulls on his oxygen mask and stands up. The rear of the plane OPENS. Wayne steps to the edge, then JUMPS.", "EXT. SKIES ABOVE HONG KONG -- DAWN Moving across the water towards Hong Kong harbor. tiny figure DROPS into frame, PLUMMETING towards the water - SPEEDING past the highest floors of skyscrapers, seconds from impact. Wayne PULLS the chute - DROPS into the water.", "EXT. BENEATH FREEWAY, HONG KONG HARBOR -- DAY Wayne pulls himself out of the water, dragging up his pack.", "EXT. CENTRAL ESCALATORS -- DAY Wayne stops halfway up the crowded commuter escalator. He takes a camera and lines up a shot like any tourist. FOX -LRB- O.S. -RRB- There's a better view from the peak tram. Wayne turns to find Fox standing there, street map out. WAYNE How's the view from L.S.I. Holdings? FOX Restricted. Lau's holed up in there good and tight. Here. Fox shows Wayne the phone. The display : a 3 - D map of Lau's office suite. Wayne takes the phone, impressed. WAYNE What's this? FOX I had R and D work it up - it sends out high frequencies and records the response time to map an environment. WAYNE -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Sonar. Just like a b - FOX Submarine. Like a submarine. WAYNE And the other device? FOX In place. Wayne nods, moves away. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Mr. Wayne? -LRB- Wayne turns. -RRB- Good luck.", "EXT. HONG KONG -- NIGHT Moving towards the tallest building in the glittering skyline to find Wayne, crouched on the roof. The blades of his gauntlets CLICK into place. He dons the helmet - like cowl. His `` cape'' is in the form of a hard faceted PACK. He stands - pulls two black boxes from his belt, CLICKS them together and UNFOLDS them into a RIFLE - LIKE DEVICE. Batman SCOPES a second, lower building. Adjust a setting and FIRES - four times. Four small STICKY BOMBS SLAP onto the glass of the lower building. They have visible timers which are COUNTING DOWN.", "INT. LOBBY, L.S.I.HOLDINGS -- NIGHT Lucius' cell phone GLOWS in the box under the Security Guard's desk. CHARACTERS race across the screen. Then the monitor FLICKERS off, the lights DIM and all of the security doors in the front of the building OPEN at once. The Guard grabs his radio - CALLS FOR HELP.", "EXT. ROOFTOP OVERLOOKING L.S.I.HOLDINGS Batman LAUNCHES into the glittering night, DROPPING from the tall tower. his pack BURSTS OPEN, becoming his BAT WINGS - he GLIDES down to the lower building, STREAKING around it, BANKING HARD to line up with a window in the rear.", "INT. LAU'S OFFICE, L.S.I. HOLDINGS -- NIGHT Lau is talking on the phone, staring at a profit projection on a flat screen monitor. Suddenly the room goes dark.", "EXT. L.S.I. HOLDINGS -- CONTINUOUS As Batman HURTLES towards the glass he COLLAPSES his wings, WRAPPING his cape around himself and CANNONBALLING THROUGH THE GLASS -", "INT. LAU'S OFFICE SUITE, L.S.I. HOLDINGS -- NIGHT ROLLING across the floor in a flurry of broken glass.", "INT. LAU'S OFFICE, TOP FLOOR, L.S.I. HOLDINGS -- NIGHT Lau pulls out a HANDGUN.", "INT. HALLWAY, L.S.I. HOLDINGS -- NIGHT Lau steps into the hallway. His BODYGUARDS are waiting for him, carrying FLASHLIGHTS. LAU Where the hell are the cops? BODYGUARD Coming. LAU What the hell am I paying them for? They head for the stairwell.", "EXT. L.S.I. HOLDINGS -- NIGHT A small ARMY of Hong Kong police lead by a HONG KONG DETECTIVE descends on the building.", "INT. MEZZANINE LEVEL, L.S.I. HOLDINGS -- NIGHT Lau and his men make their way out onto the mezzanine. Across the room, something makes a CRASHING SOUND. Lau's men fan out, trying to cover the room with their flashlights. Suddenly, one of the flashlights goes DARK. Then another. Someone SCREAMS. Lau FIRES. Then FIRES again. The muzzle flash from his weapon STROBES the room.", "EXT. L.S.I. HOLDINGS, HONG KONG -- NIGHT Cops SWARM into the building. A LOBBY SECURITY GUARD directs the Hong Kong Detective where to go.", "INT. OFFICE, L.S.I.HOLDINGS -- NIGHT Lau LOCKS the door. RELOADS. The door is KICKED open. Lau FIRES. No one is there. Lau stares, finger restless on the trigger. From his right - a NOISE. He turns and FIRES. In the muzzle FLASH : Batman, bearing down on him like a demon. Lau FIRES, and FIRES again as Batman TACKLES him. Batman pulls out a SMALL PACK - STRAPS it onto Lau - The COUNTER on the sticky bombs hits 0 - The Hong Kong Detective and the Cops BURST into the room - the WALL AND CEILING BEHIND BATMAN AND LAU EXPLODES - revealing the dawn sky above Hong Kong. The Detective looks around as he hears a LOW RUMBLE. Batman JERKS the RIPCORD on Lau's pack. Cops cower as a WEATHER BALLOON EXPLODES out of the pack, unreeling high - test nylon. The Cops cock their weapons. Lau looks up. Bemused. The weather balloon is two hundred feet up, swaying gently. The RUMBLE BUILDS. Suddenly, a MASSIVE C - 130 ROARS over. The large V on the front of the plane SNAGS the line - Lau and BATMAN are YANKED THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE CEILING - Lau SCREAMS as he and Batman SOAR UP INTO THE DAWN SKY. The Detective looks up. Batman and Lau are gone.", "INT. GORDON'S OFFICE, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- DAY Gordon is looking through case files. Ramirez walks in. RAMIREZ You're gon na want to see this.", "EXT. MCU -- DAY Gordon follows Ramirez through a CROWD of excited cops. On the ground, trussed like a chicken - Lau. A sign taped to his chest : ` Please deliver to Lieutenant Gordon.'", "INT. INTERROGATION ROOM, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- DAY Lau sits next to his sleazy lawyer, EVANS. Rachel walks in. RACHEL Give us the money and we'll deal. LAU The money is the only reason I'm still alive. Rachel leans forward, speaking softly. Clearly. RACHEL You mean when they hear that you've helped us they're going to kill you? EVANS Are you threatening my client? RACHEL No, I'm just assuming your client's cooperation with this investigation. As will everyone. -LRB- moves to the door. -RRB- Enjoy your stay in County, Mr.Lau. LAU Wait. -LRB- Rachel stops. -RRB- I wo n't give you the money, but I'll give you my clients. All of them. RACHEL You were a glorified accountant - what could you have on all of them that we could charge? LAU I'm good with calculation - I handled all their investments. One big pot.", "INT. OBSERVATION ROOM, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- DAY Dent hits a buzzer. Turns to Gordon. DENT I've got it. RICO. If their money was pooled we can charge all of them as one criminal conspiracy. GORDON Charge them with what? Rachel enters. DENT In a RICO case if we can charge any of the conspirators with a felony - RACHEL We can charge all of them with it. Dent nods at Rachel, excited.", "INT. INTERROGATION ROOM, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- DAY Rachel comes back in. RACHEL Mr. Lau, do you have details of this communal fund? Ledgers, notebooks? LAU -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Immunity, protection and a chartered plane back to Hong Kong. RACHEL Once you've testified in open court. So with your clients locked up, what happens to all that money? LAU Like I said - I'm good with calculation.", "INT. OBSERVATION ROOM, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- CONTINUOUS Dent and Gordon watch Lau. GORDON He ca n't go to County. I'll keep him here in the holding cells. DENT What is this Gordon, your fortress? GORDON You trust them over at County? DENT I do n't trust them here. GORDON Lau stays. DENT It's your call, Lieutenant. Be right. GORDON I am, counselor.", "EXT. CITY HALL -- DAY Dent stands in front of a small crowd of reporters. REPORTER The Chinese government claim their international rights have been broken. DENT I do n't know about Mr. Lau's travel arrangements.", "INT. RESTAURANT -- CONTINUOUS Dent's press conference plays on a TV in the corner. DENT -LRB- grins. -RRB-. but I'm sure glad he's back. Maroni and the Chechen are watching the TV. CHECHEN I put word out. We hire the clown. -LRB- off look. -RRB- He was right. We have to fix real problem. Batman. Maroni shakes his head. Spots Gordon walking over dangling a pair of handcuffs. Nods at the TV. GORDON Our boy looks good on the tube. MARONI You sure you want to embarrass me in front of my friends, Lieutenant? GORDON Do n't worry, they're coming, too. Gordon points out the window to a PRISON BUS.", "EXT. VARIOUS DOWNTOWN AND OUTLYING LOCATIONS -- DAY Prison buses in every neighborhood. COPS load them with CRIMINALS. Stephens puts Crime Boss in a prison bus.", "INT. COURTROOM A, GOTHAM MUNICIPAL COURTHOUSE -- DAY JUDGE SURRILLO reads the list of charges. JUDGE SURRILLO 849 counts racketeering, 246 counts fraud, 87 counts conspiracy murder. Judge Surrillo turns the page. A PLAYING CARD sits there. A Joker. He glances at it, curious, puts it to one side. JUDGE SURRILLO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- how do the defendants plead? An ARMY of DEFENSE LAWYERS jostle YELLING ALL AT ONCE. The STENOGRAPHER looks up, helpless.", "INT. MAYOR'S OFFICE -- DAY The MAYOR, COMMISSIONER LOEB, and Gordon look up as Dent enters. MAYOR DENT! What was that circus?! DENT I asked Gordon to make some arrests. LOEB -LRB- looks at report. -RRB- Five hundred and - GORDON Forty - nine, sir. Gordon nods at Dent, approving. Dent grins back. MAYOR 549 criminals at once?! How did you convince Surrillo to hear this farce? DENT She shares my enthusiasm for justice. After all, she is a judge. MAYOR Even if you blow enough smoke to get convictions out of Surrillo, you'll set a new record at appeals for quickest kick in the ass. DENT It wo n't matter. The head guys make bail, sure. but the mid - level guys, they ca n't, and they ca n't afford to be off the streets long enough for trial and appeal. They'll cut deals that include some jail time. Think of all you could do with 18 months of clean streets. The Mayor waves Gordon and Loeb out. MAYOR The public likes you, Dent. That's the only reason this might fly. But that means it's on you. They're all coming after you, now. Not just the mob. politicians, journalists, cops - anyone whose wallet's about to get lighter. Are you up to it? -LRB- Dent smiles. -RRB- You better be. They get anything on you. those criminals will be back on the streets. The Mayor turns to look out of the window. Quiet. MAYOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Followed swiftly by you and me - BANG! A DARK SHAPE CRACKS THE GLASS in front of the Mayor's nose. Dent rushes to the window, looks out.", "EXT. CITY HALL -- CONTINUOUS PEDESTRIANS look up, someone SCREAMS, someone POINTS - five stories up. SWINGING from a FLAGPOLE. BATMAN. HANGING BY HIS NECK. DEAD. His mouth roughly painted in a DEMONIC CLOWN SMILE.", "EXT. CITY HALL -- MOMENTS LATER `` Batman'' is lowered from the flagpole. The same fake Batman we saw earlier. Pinned to his chest by a KNIFE, a PLAYING CARD. A Joker. Gordon moves closer to the body. The card has writing on it : WILL THE REAL BATMAN PLEASE STAND UP?", "INT. WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- DAY Wayne comes into the living room, excited. Alfred is supervising party arrangements. WAYNE How's it going? ALFRED I think your fundraiser will be a great success, sir. WAYNE And why do you think I wanted to hold a party for Harvey Dent? ALFRED I assumed it was your usual reason for socialising beyond myself and the scum of Gotham's underbelly : to try and impress Miss Dawes. WAYNE Very droll. But very wrong. Actually it's Dent. You see - MAYOR Wayne trails off as he spots something on the television : the Batman HANGING as from a NEWS CAMERA, framed by a graphic that reads ` BATMAN DEAD?'. Image cuts to Engel in the studio. ENGEL Police released video footage found concealed on the body. Sensitive viewers be aware : it is disturbing. The image cuts to a BLINDFOLDED MAN, wearing a makeshift Batman costume - face bruised and bloody. In some kind of bright, fluorescent - lit room. VOICE Tell them your name. MAN -LRB- weak. -RRB- Brian Douglas. VOICE Are you the real Batman? MAN No. VOICE Why do you dress up like him? MAN He's a symbol. that we do n't have to be afraid of scum like you. VOICE But you do, Brian. You really do. You think the Batman's helped Gotham? Brian nods uncertainly. VOICE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Look at me. -LRB- Brian looks down. -RRB- LOOK AT ME! Brian looks up - the camera swings into the face of the Joker, in CHALK - WHITE makeup, RED SMEAR of lipstick on his SCARS. THE JOKER This is how crazy Batman's made Gotham. You want order in Gotham? Batman has to go. So. -LRB- leans in. -RRB- Batman must take off his mask, and turn himself in. Every day he does n't. people will die. Starting tonight. I'm a man of my word. The tape cuts to STATIC. Wayne turns to Alfred. Silent.", "INT. WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- EVENING Dent and Rachel get off the lift. Dent stands in awe of the penthouse and its guests. RACHEL Now I've seen it all : Harvey Dent, scourge of the underworld, scared stiff by the trust fund brigade. Rachel spots someone and darts off - DENT Rachel - ALFRED A little liquid courage, Mr. Dent? Dent turns to see Alfred with drinks on a silver tray. DENT Thanks. Alfred, right? ALFRED Yes, sir. DENT Rachel talks about you all the time. You've known her her whole life? ALFRED Not yet, sir. DENT -LRB- smiles, surveys crowd. -RRB- Any psychotic ex - boyfriends I should be aware of? ALFRED Oh, you have no idea. Alfred leaves Dent standing there, puzzled. The crowd REACTS as a LOUD ROAR drowns conversation. Dent looks out -", "EXT. HELIPAD, WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- CONTINUOUS Wayne's CHOPPER touches down. He spills out with a clutch of SUPERMODELS.", "INT. WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- CONTINUOUS Wayne and the supermodels come out of the helipad elevator - WAYNE Sorry, I'm late - glad you started without me! Where's Rachel?! Rachel cringes slightly. Wayne spots her. WAYNE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Rachel Dawes - my oldest friend. When she told me she was dating Harvey Dent, I had one thing to say. the guy from those god - awful campaign commercials? Laughter. Dent shifts, embarrassed. WAYNE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- II Believe in Harvey Dent.' Nice slogan, Harvey. Certainly caught Rachel's attention. But then I started paying attention to Harvey, and all he's been doing as our new D.A., and you know what? I believe in Harvey Dent. On his watch, Gotham can feel a little safer. A little more optimistic. So get out your checkbooks and let's make sure that he stays right where all of Gotham wants him. -LRB- raises his glass. -RRB- All except Gotham's criminals, of course. To the face of Gotham's bright future - Harvey Dent. Dent smiles accepting the toast.", "INT. CORRIDOR, MCU -- EVENING Ramirez catches up to Gordon, holding paperwork. RAMIREZ That Joker card pinned to the body? Forensics found three sets of D.N.A. GORDON Any matches? RAMIREZ All three. Gordon STOPS. Turns to face her. RAMIREZ -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- The D.N.A. belongs to Judge Surrillo, Harvey Dent and Commissioner Loeb. GORDON The Joker's telling us who he's targeting - get a unit to Surrillo's house, tell Wuertz to find Dent - get them both into protective custody. Where's the Commissioner? RAMIREZ City hall. GORDON Seal the building. No one in or out till I get there.", "EXT. DECK, WAYNE'S PENTHOUSE -- EVENING Wayne walks out to the edge of the balcony and looks over Gotham. Hears someone behind him - Rachel. RACHEL Harvey may not know you well enough to understand when you're making fun of him. But I do. WAYNE -LRB- shakes his head. -RRB- I meant every word. Wayne moves closer to Rachel. Takes her arm. WAYNE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- The day you once told me about, the day when Gotham no longer needs Batman. It's coming. Rachel looks at Wayne. Conflicted. He moves closer. RACHEL You ca n't ask me to wait for that. Wayne takes Rachel's arms, looking at her, excited. WAYNE It's happening now - Harvey is that hero. He locked up half the city's criminals, and he did it without wearing a mask. Gotham needs a hero with a face. DENT You can throw a party, Wayne, I'll give you that. Thanks again. Mind if I borrow Rachel? Rachel glances back at Wayne as she moves to Dent. Wayne watches them head inside.", "EXT. STREET, GOTHAM HEIGHTS -- EVENING Two MEN in suits knock at a Brownstone. The door is opened by Judge Surrillo. The two Men hold up BADGES.", "EXT. CITY HALL -- EVENING Gordon enters through a tight police presence at the doors.", "INT. POLICE COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE -- EVENING Gordon enters to find Loeb, flanked by armed cops. COMMISSIONER LOEB Gordon, what are you playing at? Gordon checks the window. Turns to his men. GORDON We're secure. I want a floor - by - floor search of the entire building. -LRB- turns to Loeb. -RRB- I'm sorry, sir. We believe the Joker has made a threat against your life. LOEB Gordon, you're unlikely to discover this for yourself, so take my word - the Police Commissioner earns a lot of threats. Loeb pulls a bottle of whisky and a tumbler from a drawer. LOEB -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I found the appropriate response to these situations a long time ago.", "EXT. STREET, GOTHAM HEIGHTS -- EVENING The second man is waiting by the Judge's car. SURRILLO Gordon wants me to go right now? MAN 1 These are dangerous people, Judge. Even we do n't know where you're going. He hands Surrillo a sealed envelope. Opens the car door. MAN 2 Get in, then open the envelope. It'll tell you where you're headed. Surrillo climbs in. Watches them drive away. She opens the envelope - pulls out a sheet of paper. One word on it : ` UP'. Surrillo's car EXPLODES, heaving the car upwards on a FIREBALL. A PASSERBY is thrown to the ground. After a moment, BURNING DEBRIS flutters down on him. PLAYING CARDS. JOKERS.", "INT. POLICE COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE -- CONTINUOUS Loeb pours himself a glass of whisky. LOEB You get to explain to my wife why I'm late for dinner, Lieutenant. GORDON Sir, the Joker card had a trace of your D.N.A. on it - A bang at the door. Gordon pulls his weapon, then opens it. STEPHENS Just the normal number of bad guys in the building - and they're all city employees. Here's a list. LOEB How'd they get my D.N.A? Gordon looks at Stephens's list. GORDON Somebody with access to your house or office must've lifted a tissue or a glass. Gordon, realizing, spins around - GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Wait - But Loeb is already CHOKING - he DROPS his tumbler onto the desk - the spilled whiskey is SMOKING, eating into the wood. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Get a medic! Loeb COLLAPSES.", "INT. KITCHEN, WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- EVENING Dent pulls Rachel into the kitchen, away from the crowd. DENT You can not leave me on my own with these people. RACHEL The whole mob's after you and you're worried about these guys? DENT Compared to this, the mob does n't scare me. Although, I will say : them gunning for you makes you see things clearly. RACHEL Oh, yeah? DENT Yeah. It makes you think about what you could n't stand losing. And who you want to spend the rest of your life with. Rachel looks at Dent. Smiles. RACHEL The rest of your life, huh? That's a pretty big commitment. DENT Not if the mob has their way. RACHEL Do n't. DENT Okay. Let's be serious. What's your answer? Rachel looks at him. RACHEL I do n't have an answer.", "INT. LIVING ROOM, PENTHOUSE -- NIGHT Half the guests are on their cell phones. An ASSISTANT DA turns to his COLLEAGUE. ASSISTANT DA Surrillo and Loeb? There is a KNOCK at the front door. Alfred opens it - find Detective Wuertz, who holds up his badge. Alfred beckons him in - there is a SHOTGUN at the back of his head held by - The Joker - purple suit, make up. With friends. The Joker SMASHES Wuertz over the head - steps over him, RACKING the shotgun. THE JOKER Good evening. We're the entertainment.", "INT. KITCHEN, WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- NIGHT Rachel is looking at Dent. Torn. DENT I guess no answer is n't `` no''. RACHEL I'm sorry, Harvey. I just. DENT It's someone else, is n't it? Wayne is moving up behind him. Fast - DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Just tell me it's not Wayne. The guy's a complete - Rachel's eyes go wide as Wayne puts Dent in a SLEEPER HOLD - RACHEL What are you doing?! Dent SLUMPS, unconscious in Wayne's arms. WAYNE They've come for him. From the main room - A SHOTGUN BLAST followed by SCREAMS. Wayne stuffs Dent in a closet - puts a mop through the handles. Rushes past Rachel - WAYNE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Stay hidden.", "INT. LIVING ROOM, WAYNE'S PENTHOUSE -- NIGHT The Joker and his THUGS pour into the room, weapons raised.", "INT. HALLWAY, WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- NIGHT A THUG appears in front of Wayne, toting a shotgun. THUG Hands up, pretty boy. Wayne FLIPS the shotgun around in the man's hands - uses it as a fulcrum to SNAP his forearm - SMASHES him in the jaw with the stock without breaking step, field stripping the shotgun and tossing the pieces in different directions.", "INT. LIVING ROOM, WAYNE'S PENTHOUSE -- NIGHT The Joker moves through the terrified guests. Smiling. THE JOKER I only have one question : where is Harvey Dent? -LRB- silence. -RRB- I'll settle for his loved ones. A distinguished Gentleman steps into the Joker's path. GENTLEMAN We're not intimidated by thugs. The Joker stops. Stares at the man. SMILES AFFECTIONATELY. THE JOKER You know, you remind me of my father. -LRB- GRABS him. -RRB- I hated my father. The Joker has his blade in the Gentleman's mouth. RACHEL Stop! The Joker drops the Gentleman. Turns to Rachel. THE JOKER Hello, beautiful. You must be Harvey's squeeze. -LRB- runs his knife across her cheek. -RRB- And you are beautiful. You look nervous - it's the scars is n't it? Wan na know how I got them? I had a wife, beautiful like you. Who tells me I worry too much. Who says I need to smile more. Who gambles. And gets in deep with the sharks. One day they carve her face, and we've got no money for surgeries. She ca n't take it. -LRB- presses knife into her cheek. -RRB- I just want to see her smile again. I just want her to know I do n't care about the scars. So I put a razor in my mouth and do this to myself. And you know what? -LRB- starts laughing. -RRB- She ca n't stand the sight of me. -LRB- or crying. -RRB- She leaves! See, now I see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling.", "INT. MASTER BEDROOM, WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- NIGHT Wayne walks in. A COUPLE are hastily putting themselves back together, alerted by the noise. MALE GUEST What's going on out there, Wayne? Wayne does n't answer. He walks into a closet and pulls at a FALSE WALL. Wayne steps into the safe room. FEMALE GUEST Thank god - you've got a panic room. The door SLAMS shut and seals with a HISS. MALE GUEST Wait! You ca n't - FEMALE GUEST You've got to be kidding me.", "INT. LIVING ROOM, WAYNE'S PENTHOUSE -- NIGHT The Joker raises his knife from Rachel's cheek. She SLUGS him. He smiles. THE JOKER A little fight in you. I like that. BATMAN Then you're going to love me. The Joker turns. Batman catches him with a BLOW, spins him down and DISARMS him - the Joker's men jump him - Batman takes them out two at a time - DISARMING thugs - BREAKING forearms - the Joker CLICKS a BLADE from the toe of his shoe and KICKS - JABBING BETWEEN THE PLATES OF ARMOR covering Batman's ribcage - Batman HURLS the Joker across the room. One of the Joker's men LUNGES - Batman lays him out cold. The Joker has another knife pressed to Rachel's neck. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Drop the knife. THE JOKER Sure. Just take off your mask and show us all who you are. Rachel shakes her head at Batman. The Joker raises his shotgun to the side and BLOWS OUT the pane of glass next to him. The Joker dangles Rachel out the window. BATMAN Let her go. THE JOKER -LRB- laughs. -RRB- Very poor choice of words. He lets her DROP - Rachel falls onto a SLOPING GLASS ROOF - sliding towards the edge. Batman DIVES after her -", "EXT. BUILDING -- NIGHT They DROP - Batman FIRES his grapple, SNAGGING Rachel's ankle - activates one wing of his cape - They SPIN and SLOW - Batman envelopes Rachel - they SLAM into the hood of a passing taxi.", "INT. TAXI -- CONTINUOUS The DRIVER SCREAMS as Batman and Rachel hit the roof - ROLL down the windshield - onto the pavement. Alive.", "INT. CAR -- CONTINUOUS The Joker looks back as his car SPEEDS away. He's breathing hard, EXHILARATED. He touches the blood running down his sweaty white makeup. SMACKS the back of the driver's seat - DRIVER What do we do about Dent? THE JOKER I'm a man of my word.", "EXT. TAXI -- CONTINUOUS Rachel opens her eyes. BATMAN Are you alright? RACHEL Let's not do that again, okay? -LRB- looks around. -RRB- Is Harvey -? BATMAN He's safe. Rachel lies back, breathing. Looks up at Batman. RACHEL Thank you.", "INT. MAJOR CRIMES UNIT, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- DAY STEPHENS is talking to Gordon, subdued. STEPHENS Jim, it's over. GORDON As long as they do n't get to Lau, we've cut off their funds. STEPHENS But the prosecution's over. STEPHENS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- No - one's standing up in front of a Judge while judges and police commissioners are getting blown away. GORDON What about Dent? STEPHENS If he's got any sense, Dent's halfway to Mexico by now. The door BURSTS OPEN. Dent. Fire in his eyes. DENT So where do you keep your trash? Gordon looks at Dent. Impressed.", "INT. SPECIAL HOLDING AREA, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- DAY Lau looks up as Dent walks in, holding a bullet proof vest. DENT You're due in court - I need you alive long enough to get you on the record. LAU No way. You ca n't protect me - you ca n't even protect yourselves. Dent THROWS the heavy vest at Lau. DENT Refuse to cooperate on the stand - you wo n't be coming back here - you'll go to county. How long do you calculate you'll last in there?", "INT. BAT-BUNKER -- DAY Wayne sits at his video screens - they all play the Joker's video with different IMAGE TREATMENTS and SOUND TUNINGS. Wayne turns to Alfred. Indicates the screens. WAYNE Targeting me wo n't get their money back. I knew the mob would n't go down without a fight, but this is different. They've crossed a line. ALFRED You crossed it first, sir. You've hammered them, squeezed them to the point of desperation. And now, in their desperation they've turned to a man they do n't fully understand. Wayne gets up from his monitors, raises the bat - cabinet. WAYNE Criminals are n't complicated, Alfred. We just have to figure out what he's after. ALFRED Respectfully, Master Wayne, perhaps this is a man you do n't fully understand, either. -LRB- looks at Wayne. -RRB- I was in Burma. A long time ago. My friends and I were working for the local government. They were trying to buy the loyalty of tribal leaders, bribing them with precious stones. But their caravans were being raided in a forest north of Rangoon by a bandit. We were asked to take care of the problem, so we started looking for the stones But after six months, we could n't find anyone who had traded with him. WAYNE What were you missing? ALFRED One day I found a child playing with a ruby as big as a tangerine. -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- The bandit had been throwing the stones away. WAYNE So why was he stealing them? ALFRED Because he thought it was good sport. Because some men are n't looking for anything logical, like money. they ca n't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. -LRB- grave. -RRB- Some men just want to watch the world burn. Wayne stares at Alfred. Reaches for the bat - suit.", "EXT. SKYLINE OF GOTHAM -- DAWN MOVING over the city we hear myriad RADIO CALLS going out over the ether. CLOSE IN on a lonely figure on top of a skyscraper. The Batman. Listening with his million dollar earpieces. From the babble, ONE VOICE EMERGES. DISPATCH -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Your name, sir. Please state - VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- 8th at orchard. You'll find Harvey Dent there.", "EXT. 8TH STREET AT ORCHARD -- DAWN An UNMARKED and a SQUAD CAR screech to a halt. Gordon and Ramirez get out, lead two UNIFORMS into the building.", "INT. APARTMENT, EIGHT AVE. -- CONTINUOUS The door SMASHES OPEN, Gordon - gun drawn - takes in the scene. TWO DEAD MEN sitting at the kitchen table. They each have a HAND OF CARDS, as if in the middle of a game. ALL JOKERS. Gordon and Ramirez STARE at the CRUDE LEERS carved into their faces. Their DRIVERS LICENSES are pinned to their chests. VOICE Check the names. GORDON -LRB- checks licenses. -RRB- Patrick Harvey. Richard Dent. RAMIREZ Harvey Dent. BATMAN I need ten minutes with the scene before your men contaminate it. RAMIREZ Us contaminate it? It's because of you that these guys are dead in the first place - GORDON Ramirez. She stands down. Batman moves past the bodies to the wall. Finds an embedded stray bullet. He pulls a SAWING DEVICE from his belt - THRUSTS it into the wall and starts cutting around the bullet. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- That's brick - you're gon na try and take ballistics off a shattered bullet? BATMAN No. Fingerprints. Ramirez looks at Gordon. Is he serious? Gordon points - GORDON Whatever you're gon na do, do it fast, ` cos we know his next target. Batman looks - a campaign poster : RE - ELECT MAYOR GARCIA. The Mayor's image has a MANIC CLOWN'S GRIN and `` HA, HA, HA''.", "INT. FOX'S OFFICE, WAYNE ENTERPRISES -- DAY Fox is at his desk. Reese enters. FOX What can I do for you, Mr. Reese? REESE You asked me to do the diligence on the L.S.I. Holdings deal again. I found irregularities. FOX Their CEO is in police custody. REESE Not with their numbers. With yours. A whole division of Wayne Industries disappeared, overnight. So I went down to the archives and started pulling old files. He pulls out a folded blueprint. Slides it across the desk. REESE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- My kids love the Batman. I thought he was pretty cool, too. Out there, kicking some ass. Fox picks up the piece of paper. Unfolds it. It's an old BLUEPRINT. The image is unmistakable : THE TUMBLER. REESE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Changes things when you know it's just a rich kid playing dress up. Reese points to the approval box in the corner of the page. REESE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Your project. Do n't tell me you did n't recognize your baby pancaking cop cars on the evening news. Now you're getting sloppy. Applied Sciences was a small, dead department - who'd notice? But now you've got the entire R and D department burning cash, claiming it's related to cell phones for the army. What are you building him now? A rocket ship? I want ten million a year. For the rest of my life. Fox looks at him. Even. Folds up the blueprint. FOX Let me get this straight. You think that your client, one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the world, is secretly a vigilante who spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands. -LRB- deadpan. -RRB- And now your plan is to blackmail this person? Reese stares at Fox. Who smiles. And slides the blueprint across the desk. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Good luck. Reese looks at it. Then at Fox. Swallows. Slides it back.", "INT. BAT-BUNKER -- DAY Wayne hands Alfred a RIFLE BULLET scribed with a GRID. He slots it into a clip, then loads it into a COMPUTER CONTROLLED GATTLING GUN. He puts on ear protectors. Hits a button. The rifle WHIRS to life - dollying sideways, BLASTING BULLETS into a series of identical BRICK WALL SAMPLES. ALFRED I'm not sure you made it loud enough, sir. As the wall samples still smoke, Wayne steps up, carrying the sample from the crime scene. Comparing its spread to the new samples, he selects two and carries them to an X - RAY SCANNER. The machine gives the samples a 3 - axis scan - HI - RES 3 - D IMAGES of the bullet fragment arrays come up on the screen.", "INT. APPLIED SCIENCES DIVISION -- DAY The same image of the bullet fragment on a screen. Fox hits a key and the computer ` reassembles' the bullets according to the identifying grid on each fragment. FOX Here's your original scan. REESE A bullet fragment array pops on screen. FOX Here's it reverse - engineered. Fox hits a button and the unmarked bullet fragments are reassembled. Wayne spins the roughly - shaped bullet puzzle - WAYNE And here's a thumb print. Fox looks at the screen, impressed. Thinks. FOX I'll make you a copy. -LRB- troubled. -RRB- Mr. Wayne, did you reassign R and D? WAYNE Yes. Government telecommunications project. FOX I was n't aware we had any new government contracts. Can you - WAYNE Lucius. I'm playing this one pretty close to the chest. FOX Fair enough. Fox looks at Wayne as he leaves. Uneasy.", "INT. BAT-BUNKER -- CONTINUOUS -- INTERCUT Wayne examines the fingerprint - WAYNE I've run it through all the databases and came up with four possibles. Wayne gets up to let Alfred sit. WAYNE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Cross - reference the addresses. Look for Parkside and around. Wayne opens a HYDRAULIC DOOR, revealing a gleaming MV AUGUSTA BRUTALE. As he moves the bike onto the lift. ALFRED Got one. Melvin White, aggravated assault, moved to Arkham twice - 1502 Randolph Apartments, just off State - WAYNE Overlooking the parade. Wayne and the bike rise on the lift.", "EXT. PARKSIDE AVENUE -- DAY The avenue has been blocked off. Onlookers line the sidewalks. POLICE march past in dress uniform. Engel does a stand - up on the sidewalk. ENGEL With no word from the Batman - even as they mourn Commissioner Loeb, these cops have to be wondering if the Joker is going to make good on his threat to kill the Mayor today. On the buildings above, POLICE SNIPERS scan the crowd. Gordon keys his radio - GORDON How's it looking up top? POLICE SNIPER We're tight. But frankly. there's a lot of windows up here. Gordon looks up at the myriad buildings overlooking the podium.", "EXT. GOTHAM STREETS -- CONTINUOUS Wayne maneuvers the Ducati through the traffic. He pulls up near a parade barricade - dismounts and slips into an alley.", "INT. TENEMENT -- CONTINUOUS Some of the building's hard - luck TENANTS eye Wayne as he counts doors down the hallway. He finds 1502.", "EXT. PARKSIDE AVENUE -- LATER A SEA OF POLICE fills the Avenue. In the center, three grieving families and an HONOR GUARD. The Mayor at the podium. Gordon behind. Dent is seated with Rachel. MAYOR and as we recognize the sacrifice of these officers, we must remember that vigilance is the price of safety.", "INT. TENEMENT -- CONTINUOUS Wayne enters : EIGHT MEN IN UNDERSHIRTS, bound, gagged, blindfolded. A SNIPER SCOPE on a tripod at the window. Wayne moves to the first man, RIPS the tape from his mouth. MAN -LRB- breathing hard. -RRB- Took. they took our guns, our uniforms.", "EXT. PARKSIDE AVENUE -- CONTINUOUS Gordon scans the crowd. The Mayor wraps up - the Honor Guard steps forward, raises weapons.", "EXT. ROOFTOP OVERLOOKING PARKSIDE -- CONTINUOUS A POLICE SNIPER scans the windows of the tenement.", "INT. TENEMENT -- CONTINUOUS Wayne RACES to the window, looks through the SCOPE to see :", "EXT. STATE STREET -- CONTINUOUS THE HONOR GUARD TURN THEIR WEAPONS ON THE MAYOR. One SMILES, flesh - colored makeup over his scars. THE JOKER. Gordon LEAPS FORWARD - they FIRE - GORDON TAKES SHOTS TO THE BACK as he SLAMS the Mayor to the ground -", "EXT. ROOFTOP OVERLOOKING PARKSIDE -- CONTINUOUS The Police Sniper SPOTS Wayne at the window - SHOOTS", "INT. TENEMENT -- CONTINUOUS Wayne DUCKS as SHOTS erupt around the window -", "EXT. PARKSIDE -- CONTINUOUS PANDEMONIUM erupts - One of the honor guard is TAGGED IN THE LEG - GOES DOWN. The others MELT into the CHAOS. On the podium, Stephens rolls Gordon over. he is not moving.", "EXT. SIDE STREET OFF PARKSIDE -- MOMENTS LATER CHAOS. Dent approaches an ambulance sitting in the alley. Two cops jump out and run over to their commander. Dent steps up into the back.", "INT. AMBULANCE -- CONTINUOUS The Joker's thug sits there. Handcuffed. A PARAMEDIC bandages his leg. Cops run past, barking orders. DENT Tell me what you know about the Joker. The Joker's thug looks at Dent. Smirks. Dent looks down. Exasperated. Looks back up at the Joker's Thug. Spots something - moves closer - the man's uniform. his name tag. OFFICER RACHEL DAWES. Dent, breathing hard, looks around : the paramedic jumps out, rushing to help a FALLEN OFFICER. Dent spies the keys in the ignition. Jumps into the driver's seat.", "EXT. GORDON'S HOUSE -- DUSK Barbara Gordon stands in the doorway, scared. Stephens and a UNIFORMED OFFICER stand in front of her. STEPHENS I'm sorry, Barbara. James Gordon pushes past his mother to look at Stephens. Barbara tries to push him back inside. BARBARA Jimmy, go play with your sister. James stays just inside the door. STEPHENS I'm sorry. Barbara stares at Stephens. Then looks past him. BARBARA Are you out there?! Are you?! James spots something - Batman, perched in the shadows. BARBARA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You brought this on us! This craziness! You did! You brought this! She collapses into Stephens's arms. Batman hangs his head.", "EXT. ROOF, MCU -- NIGHT Detectives from MCU stand around the lit bat - signal. STEPHENS Switch it off - he ai n't coming He does n't want to talk to us. God help whoever he does want to talk to -", "INT. NIGHTCLUB -- NIGHT Strobe lights. Pounding music. Maroni is in a booth at the side with his MISTRESS. His bodyguards are around the table. MISTRESS -LRB- shouting over music. -RRB- Ca n't we go someplace quieter! We ca n't hear each other talk! MARONI I do n't wan na hear you talk. MISTRESS -LRB- ca n't hear. -RRB- What?! One of Maroni's Bodyguards DROPS - Maroni looks over - in the strobe lights - Batman SAVAGES his bodyguards - people RUN, TERRIFIED. Maroni starts to get out of his seat - Batman LANDS like a panther on the table in front of him -", "INT. MCU -- NIGHT Rachel moves through the chaotic bullpen at MCU - EYEWITNESSES, civilian and cop are being questioned. Rachel's phone rings. RACHEL Harvey, where are you?! INTERCUT with Dent in an INDISTINCT interior setting. DENT Where are you? RACHEL Where you should be - at Major Crimes trying to sort through all the - DENT Rachel, listen to me. You're not safe there. RACHEL This is Gordon's unit, Harvey - DENT Gordon's gone, Rachel. RACHEL He vouched for these men - DENT And he's gone. The Joker's named you next. Rachel looks around the bullpen. Eyeing the detectives. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Rachel, I ca n't let anything happen to you. I love you too much. Is there someone, anyone in this city we can trust? RACHEL Bruce. We can trust Bruce Wayne. DENT Rachel, I know he's your friend but - RACHEL Trust me, Harvey, Bruce's penthouse is now the safest place in the city. DENT Okay. Go straight there. Do n't tell anyone where you're going. I'll find you there. Wider shows us we are -", "INT. BASEMENT, CONDEMNED BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS DENT I love you. Dent hangs up the phone. TAPED to a chair in front of Dent - the Joker's Thug, blindfolded. Dent RIPS off the blindfold.", "EXT. FIRE ESCAPE -- NIGHT Maroni opens his eyes. Batman is holding him by the collar. BATMAN I want the Joker. MARONI -LRB- looks down. -RRB- From one professional to another - if you're trying to scare someone, pick a better spot. From this height the fall would n't kill me. BATMAN I'm counting on it. Batman lets go. Maroni FALLS. And SCREAMS.", "EXT. SIDEWALK -- NIGHT Maroni NAILS the pavement. CLUTCHES at his leg, which is badly broken. Batman FLIES down, landing over him - hauls him up. Maroni HOLLERS in pain. BATMAN Where is he? MARONI Do n't know, he found us - BATMAN He must have friends. MARONI Friends? You met this guy? BATMAN Someone knows where he is. Maroni looks up at Batman. Sneering. MARONI No one's gon na tell you anything - they're wise to your act - you got rules. the Joker, he's got no rules. No one's gon na cross him for you. You want this guy, you got one way. And you already know what that is. Just take off that mask and let him come find you. Batman DROPS Maroni. MARONI -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Or you want to let a couple more people get killed while you make up your mind?", "INT. BASEMENT, CONDEMNED BUILDING -- NIGHT Dent shows the Joker's Thug a GUN. Bullets. Loads the gun. SHOVES it in his face - DENT You wan na play games? Dent PUSHES the gun against the thug's head with REAL MALICE. Pulls it away and FIRES. The Thug FLINCHES. Dent puts the gun barrel against the thug's temple - JOKER'S THUG -LRB- rattled. -RRB- You would n't. And pulls his lucky coin out of his pocket. DENT No. I would n't. That's why I'm not going to leave it up to me. -LRB- shows him coin. -RRB- Heads - you get to keep your head. Tails. not so lucky. So, you want to tell me about the Joker? The Thug, scared, says nothing. Dent FLICKS the coin into the air. SLAPS it onto the back of his gun hand -LRB- aiming with wrist horizontal -RRB-. Dent shows him the coin. Heads. The Thug exhales, SHAKING. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Go again? JOKER'S THUG -LRB- sobbing. -RRB- I do n't know anything! DENT You're not playing the odds, friend. Dent tosses the coin again. This time IT DOES N'T LAND. Dent Looks up. Batman is there. BATMAN You'd leave a man's life to chance? DENT Not exactly. BATMAN His name's Schiff, Thomas. He's a paranoid schizophrenic, a former patient at Arkham. The kind of mind the Joker attracts. Batman moves away from Schiff. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What do expect to learn from him? Dent is shivering with frustration. DENT The Joker killed Gordon - and, and Loeb. He's going to kill Rachel. BATMAN You're the symbol of hope that I could never be. Your stand against organized crime is the first legitimate ray of light in Gotham for decades. If anyone saw this, everything would be undone - all the criminals you got off the streets would be released. And Jim Gordon will have died for nothing. Batman hands Dent his lucky coin. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You're going to call a press conference. Tomorrow morning. DENT Why? BATMAN No one else will die because of me. Gotham is in your hands, now. DENT You ca n't! You ca n't give in! But Batman is gone.", "INT. BEDROOM, WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- NIGHT Rachel watches Gotham through the window. Wayne enters. RACHEL Harvey called. He says Batman is going to turn himself in. WAYNE I have no choice. RACHEL You honestly think it's going to stop the Joker from killing? WAYNE Perhaps not. But I've got enough blood on my hands. I've seen, now, what I would have to become to stop men like him. Rachel looks at Wayne. She can not help him. WAYNE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You once told me that if the day came when I was finished. Wayne moves towards her. WAYNE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- We'd be together. RACHEL Bruce, do n't make me your one hope for a normal life - Wayne takes her in his arms. WAYNE But did you mean it? RACHEL Yes. They kiss. Then separate. She looks sadly into his eyes. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- But they wo n't let us be together after you turn yourself in. Wayne nods. Leaves. She watches him go.", "INT. BAT-BUNKER -- DAWN Alfred shovels DOCUMENTS into an incinerator - blueprints, designs, files. He pauses, looking down at a book. ALFRED Even the logs? WAYNE Anything that could lead back to Lucius or Rachel. Alfred tosses the book onto the fire. STARES at Wayne. WAYNE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- People are dying, Alfred. What would you have me do? Alfred looks into Wayne's eyes with a fearsome gaze. ALFRED Endure, Master Wayne. Take it. They'll hate you for it, but that's the point of Batman. he can be the outcast. He can make the choice no one else can face. The right choice. Wayne shakes his head. WAYNE Today I've found out what Batman ca n't do. He ca n't endure this. -LRB- rueful smile. -RRB- Today you get to say II told you so'. ALFRED Today, I do n't want to. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Although I did bloody tell you. Wayne sinks the Bat - suit, Alfred closes the incinerator. They head for the lift. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I suppose they'll lock me up as well. Your accomplice. WAYNE Accomplice? I'm going to tell them the whole thing was your idea. They power down, leaving the Bat - bunker in darkness.", "INT. PRESS ROOM, SUPERIOR COURT -- DAY A capacity crowd of REPORTERS, COPS, and PUBLIC. Dent is at the podium. Wayne sits in the crowd. DENT Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming. I've called this press conference for two reasons. Firstly, to assure the citizens of Gotham that everything that can be done over the Joker killing is being done. Secondly, because the Batman has offered to turn himself in - The crowd REACTS HECKLER So where is he?! DENT But first. Let's consider the situation : should we give in to this terrorist's demands? Do we really think that - REPORTER You'd rather protect an outlaw vigilante than the lives of citizens?! The crowd noisily assents. Dent calmly motions quiet. DENT The Batman is an outlaw.", "INT. WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- CONTINUOUS Rachel is watching the press conference on TV. DENT -LRB- O.S. -RRB- But that's not why we're demanding he turn himself in. We're doing it because we're scared. We've been happy to let Batman clean up our Streets for us until now -", "INT. PRESS ROOM, SUPERIOR COURT -- CONTINUOUS HECKLER Things are worse than ever! Wayne looks at the Heckler. At the angry crowd. Dent leans over the podium. Impassioned. DENT Yes. They are. But the night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming. -LRB- the crowd quiets. -RRB- One day, the Batman will have to answer for the laws he's broken - but to us, not to this madman. The crowd seems moved by his words, then, a CHANT - COP HECKLER NO MORE DEAD COPS! Appreciative noise. REPORTER WHERE IS THE BATMAN? People take up the chant. Dent has lost them. He knows it. DENT So be it. -LRB- turns to officers. -RRB- Take the Batman into custody. At this, a HUSH DESCENDS. Wayne is sitting towards the back. Hungry eyes scan the room. Wayne starts to rise. DENT OFFERS HIS OWN WRISTS TO THE OFFICERS DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I am the Batman. A beat. Wayne stares.", "INT. WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- CONTINUOUS Rachel STARES as Dent is arrested on TV. Appalled.", "INT. WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- DAY Rachel comes up to Alfred. Upset. RACHEL Why is he letting Harvey do this, Alfred? ALFRED I do n't know. He went down to the press conference - RACHEL And just stood by?! ALFRED Perhaps both Bruce and Mr. Dent believe that Batman stands for something more important than a terrorist's whims, Miss Dawes, even if everyone hates him for it. DENT That's the sacrifice he's making - to not be a hero. To be something more. RACHEL Well, you're right about one thing - letting Harvey take the fall is not heroic. Rachel holds out an ENVELOPE. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You know Bruce best, Alfred. give it to him when the time is right. ALFRED How will I know? RACHEL It's not sealed. Alfred takes the envelope. Rachel gives him a kiss. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Goodbye, Alfred. ALFRED Goodbye, Rachel.", "INT. CELL, MCU -- EVENING A Detective unlocks the cell and lets Rachel inside. DENT I'm sorry, I did n't have time to talk this through with you. RACHEL Do n't offer yourself as bait, Harvey. DENT They're transferring me to central holding. This is the Joker's chance, and when he attacks, Batman will take him down. RACHEL No. This is too dangerous - The Detective knocks. Dent rises.", "EXT. COURTYARD MCU -- EVENING Detectives stare at Dent as he is led, shackled, to the waiting CONVOY. Stephens begins CLAPPING - a handful join in, but most remain silent. Rachel follows him to the back of an armored vehicle. RACHEL He's using you as bait - but he does n't know if he can get the Joker - he's failed so far. DENT How do you know what he's thinking? RACHEL -LRB- beat. -RRB- I just do, okay? Harvey, this is n't just about you, what about all the people counting on you to turn this city around? Tell everyone the truth - Dent kisses her. Pulls out his LUCKY COIN - DENT Heads I go through with it. RACHEL This is your life. you do n't leave something like this to chance. Dent tosses it at her - Rachel catches it. Looks. Heads. DENT -LRB- sincere. -RRB- I'm not. She turns it over : IT IS DOUBLE - HEADED. She looks up - the DOORS CLOSE on his smile. She shakes her head. Torn. RACHEL You make your own luck. As SWATS file into the back of the support vehicles - ACTING COMISSIONER We get this guy to County and he's their problem. The streets along your route will be cleared. The convoy stops FOR NO REASON.", "INT. ARMORED CAR -- CONTINUOUS A Swat with a shotgun climbs into the cab. Pulls on his mask. Looks over at the DRIVER, who's already wearing his. SHOTGUN SWAT Hope you've got some moves.", "EXT. TENTH AVENUE, DOWNTOWN -- CONTINUOUS The convoy ROCKETS past a roadblock.", "INT. ARMORED CAR -- CONTINUOUS The Swats are staring at Dent, fascinated. He smiles.", "EXT. INTERSECTION -- CONTINUOUS An Officer holding up traffic. A TRUCK pulls up. OFFICER You wait like everybody else, pal. A SHOTGUN BLAST sends the Officer flying. A second blast illuminates the shooter's face : the Joker.", "INT. LEAD PATROL CAR, CONVOY -- CONTINUOUS The SWAT behind the wheel of the lead black - and - white slows as he sees something burning in the intersection ahead.", "EXT. AVENUE -- CONTINUOUS Overhead, a police HELICOPTER checks the route, hovering above a burning FIRE TRUCK, BLOCKING the road.", "INT. ARMORED CAR -- CONTINUOUS The Driver is all business. The radio CRACKLES. RADIO All units, be advised. All units will exit down Cheviot west and proceed north on lower 5th avenue. SHOTGUN SWAT Lower 5th? We'll be like ducks in a barrel down there.", "EXT. SURFACE STREETS -- CONTINUOUS The convoy disappears down the exit ramp.", "EXT. LOWER FIFTH AVENUE -- NIGHT The convoy rolls through the subterranean streets. A GARBAGE TRUCK pulls up behind and casually SWIPES the rear vehicles of the convoy off the road.", "INT. ARMORED CAR -- CONTINUOUS SHOTGUN SWAT Get us out of here! The Driver NAILS the gas -", "EXT. LOWER FIFTH -- CONTINUOUS The Garbage Truck pushes hard on the armored car, ramming its rear bumper, FORCING it forward.", "INT. ARMORED CAR -- NIGHT The Driver watches the Truck fill his rear view. Shotgun Swat picks up the radio. SHOTGUN SWAT We've got company back here -", "EXT. LOWER FIFTH AVENUE -- NIGHT A SECOND TRUCK SMASHES into the SWAT van at the head of the convoy, SMASHING it through the concrete barriers and INTO THE RIVER. The truck is branded `` LAUGHTER'' but an `` S'' has been sprayed at the front to make `` SLAUGHTER'' with `` HA, HA, HA'' all over the side. The Joker's Truck DODGES between the support columns and into the oncoming lane - pulls alongside the armored car. The Driver looks over. The cargo door on the truck slides open. Inside, the Joker, holding a machine gun. The armored car LOCKS up its brakes, but the garbage truck pushes it forward as the Joker fires - BULLETS slamming into The side of the vehicle -", "INT. REAR CABIN, ARMORED CAR -- CONTINUOUS Dent is calm as the SWATS FLINCH from the bullet indentations -", "INT. UP FRONT, ARMORED CAR -- CONTINUOUS Shotgun SWAT STARES at the Joker.", "INT. REAR TRAILER OF TRUCK -- NIGHT The Joker drops his machine gun and picks up an RPG. He stops - SEES something up ahead, racing towards the second truck - the BATMOBILE. The Joker stares, fascinated, as -", "EXT. LOWER FIFTH -- CONTINUOUS - THE BATMOBILE PLOWS STRAIGHT INTO THE SECOND TRUCK - the low - profile car sending the truck UP INTO THE CONCRETE CEILING - the Batmobile carries on through, as the TRUCK DISINTEGRATES.", "INT. TRUCK -- NIGHT The Joker looks back to the batmobile, amused. JOKER'S THUG Is that him -? THE JOKER Anyone could be driving that thing - stay on Dent. The Joker lines up his RPG and prepares to fire -", "INT. ARMORED CAR -- CONTINUOUS Shotgun SWAT's eyes go wide at the Joker's weapon - the Driver JAMS the brakes -", "EXT. LOWER FIFTH -- CONTINUOUS The Armored Car CRASHES BACK against the Garbage Truck, BRAKING, SCRAPING, SLOWING just enough - the RPG SLAMS into the SQUAD CAR in front of them and EXPLODES - the armored car BURSTS through the fireball and continues.", "EXT. LOWER FIFTH -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile SPINS around to rejoin the pursuit.", "INT. JOKER'S TRUCK -- NIGHT The Joker turns his men to RELOAD his RPG THE JOKER Do me up - Turns back - levels his RPG out the window. Aims.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- NIGHT Batman watches as the Joker prepares to fire. Several rows of cars separate them. He toggles the afterburner.", "INT. PASSENGER CAR -- NIGHT Two small children in the back of the car watch as the Batmobile ROCKETS overhead.", "EXT. LOWER LEVEL STREET -- NIGHT The Joker steadies the RPG and FIRES - the Batmobile CRASHES down into the open space between the two vehicles - taking the hit from the RPG which EXPLODES - The rear of the Batmobile EXPLODES - SPINNING the FLAMING car -", "INT. ARMORED CAR -- NIGHT SWATS react to the EXPLOSION. Dent is calm.", "INT. CAB OF JOKER'S TRUCK -- CONTINUOUS The Driver takes a DEBRIS HIT to the head -", "INT. TRUCK -- CONTINUOUS The Joker CACKLES with delight as he is THROWN AROUND the rear of the trailer -", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Batman WRESTLES the pod controls, SPINNING on the GYRO -", "EXT. LOWER LEVEL STREET -- CONTINUOUS The Batmobile flips over to come to rest in a smoking heap - the front end intact, rear wheels scattered across the roadway. A small crowd gathers.", "EXT. LOWER LEVEL STREET -- CONTINUOUS The Joker JUMPS down from the truck, still giggling like a kid - looks back at the Batmobile's destruction - THE JOKER Whoever he was. he ai n't now. The Joker YANKS his dead driver out of the cab, JUMPS over him to take the wheel and pull back onto the roadway.", "EXT. LOWER LEVEL STREET -- CONTINUOUS The armored car pulls ahead, the Joker's truck in hot pursuit.", "INT. ARMORED CAR -- CONTINUOUS Shotgun SWAT glances in the rear view mirror, slaps the dash - SHOTGUN SWAT Let's get topside - we need that air support!", "EXT. LOWER LEVEL STREET -- CONTINUOUS The armored car PULLS onto a RAMP, heading up. The Joker's Truck follows.", "EXT. LOWER LEVEL STREET -- CONTINUOUS People stare at the smoking wreck, inching closer.", "INT. BATMOBILE -- CONTINUOUS Batman adjusts his position. Hits a button - BATMOBILE VOICE Damage catastrophic. Initiate eject and self - destruct. Arm guards GRAB Batman's forearms as EXPLOSIVE BOLTS FIRE all around the pod. BATMOBILE VOICE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Goodbye.", "EXT. LOWER LEVEL STREET -- CONTINUOUS The crowd JUMPS - PANELS of the front of the car BLOW OUT - The crowd stares, OPEN - MOUTHED, as Batman EMERGES, HOISTED UP AND OUT of the flaming car by the FRONT POD - LEVERING OVER the FRONT WHEEL. the pod PUSHES the OTHER WHEEL IN FRONT to form a type of MOTORCYCLE - The BAT - POD SHOOTS FORWARD, bursting free as the Batmobile DETONATES, DYING in a MASSIVE FIREBALL. Batman's cape SUCKS TOGETHER, forming a TIGHT PACK on his shoulders, clear of the CHURNING REAR TIRE of the bat - pod.", "EXT. PARKSIDE -- CONTINUOUS The armored car races down the street - the CHOPPER dips low. PILOT We're back on point - and ready to give some of their own medicine -", "INT. POLICE CHOPPER -- CONTINUOUS Cop pulls out an ASSAULT RIFLE. COCKS it -", "INT. CAB OF JOKER'S TRUCK -- CONTINUOUS The Joker FIGHTS with the truck's gearbox, turns to his Thug - THE JOKER Tee'em up. The Thug GRABS his radio.", "EXT. FIRE ESCAPE -- CONTINUOUS A Joker Thug in clown mask loads up the cable gun seen in the bank heist.", "EXT. SECOND FIRE ESCAPE -- CONTINUOUS Another thug loads his own cable gun.", "INT. PASSENGER CAR, LOWER LEVEL STREET -- NIGHT A motorist stares through his rear - view mirror, transfixed, as the bat - pod TEARS past. He YELPS as the bat - pod SMASHES the wing mirror from his car.", "EXT. LOWER LEVEL STREET -- NIGHT Batman accelerates, oblivious to the STACCATO of CLEAVED wing mirrors as the bat - pod RAZORS through traffic - CROSSES a BUSY INTERSECTION - The bat - pod CUTS off the crowded lower level street, ROARING over into the PARKING LANES - Batman squeezes his triggers - BLASTING at PARKED CARS, BLOWING them out of the way, literally CANNONING A PATH for the pod.", "EXT. TRAIN STATION -- CONTINUOUS The Bat - Pod CANNONS through the glass doors and RACES through the station/mall - COMMUTERS screaming and diving out of the way - The Bat - Pod races up the stairs and onto the upper street -", "EXT. PARKSIDE -- CONTINUOUS The Joker's Thugs FIRE THE CABLES ACROSS THE STREET AT SEVENTH FLOOR LEVEL. they pull TAUT as the Chopper approaches, unawares. the Chopper CATCHES on the cables, GOING DOWN in a FIERY BALL that BARRELS along the street towards the armored car.", "INT. ARMORED CAR -- CONTINUOUS The Driver steers around the flaming wreckage as the Shotgun SWAT SHUTS HIS EYES -", "EXT. NARROW ALLEY -- CONTINUOUS The Bat - pod TEARS down a narrow alley blocked with DUMPSTERS - CANNONS the dumpsters to make a path -", "INT. CAB OF JOKER'S TRUCK -- NIGHT The Joker hands the wheel to his man - takes a submachine gun - THUG Boss? The Joker looks ahead to see the Bat - pod emerge from the alley in a cloud of fire, SKIDDING SIDEWAYS IMPOSSIBLY - it RACES TOWARDS THEM - THE JOKER Guess it was him.", "EXT. PARKSIDE -- NIGHT The Bat - pod RACES straight at the Joker's truck - FIRES A HARPOON at the Joker's truck - it IMPACTS low, below the bumper -", "INT. TRUCK -- CONTINUOUS The Joker's Thug DUCKS, then comes back up, beaming. JOKER'S THUG He missed!", "EXT. PARKSIDE -- CONTINUOUS Batman SWERVES past the Joker's truck, SLALOMS, wrapping the CABLES around a LAMP POST, SPINNING to a halt to watch.", "EXT. PARKSIDE -- CONTINUOUS The cable goes TAUT, RIPPING one post from its foundation - the TRUCK'S FRONT WHEELS CATCH, FLIPPING IT END OVER END. The Joker crawls from the wreckage. He jumps over the median and starts waving his pistol at oncoming traffic. Batman GUNS the bat - pod and rides it up and over the median.", "INT. ARMORED CAR -- NIGHT The Driver slows the car, pulls to the side. SHOTGUN SWAT What the hell are you doing?", "EXT. PARKSIDE -- NIGHT The Joker walks towards the Bat - pod, which SPEEDS towards him. He is FIRING his gun RANDOMLY at the oncoming traffic. THE JOKER Hit me. Come on. Hit me. Batman watches as the Joker holds out his arms. Waiting for impact. There is no room to go around him. Batman LOCKS UP THE BRAKES. The Joker watches as Batman DUMPS the bike, rather than Smashing into him. Batman SLAMS into the wall. The Joker's thug reach Batman first. He is unconscious. The first Thug pulls at the mask. An ELECTRIC SHOCK from the batsuit THROWS him back. The Joker LAUGHS. Flicks his switchblade. Crouches - VOICE Drop it. THE JOKER Just give me a second. The gun is COCKED. The Joker drops the knife. Sits. Looks back. Behind them is the armored car. The man standing over him is the Driver. He pulls off his helmet. It's JIM GORDON. Back from the dead. GORDON We got you, you son of a bitch.", "INT. ARMORED CAR -- MOMENTS LATER Dent looks up as the door swings open to reveal Gordon. Dent GRINS. DENT Lieutenant, you do like to play it pretty close to the chest. GORDON We got him, Harvey. Dent nods. Respect in his eyes. They shake hands.", "EXT. PARKSIDE -- NIGHT A small army of cops have sealed off the roadway. Gordon pulls away in the squad car containing the Joker. REPORTERS clamor for an interview with Dent, who is being helped out of the van by the SWATS. Ramirez pushes through the pack, shoving reporters aside. RAMIREZ Let him be! He's been through enough - Dent follows Ramirez to a squad car - Wuertz is in the driver's seat. Dent smiles at Ramirez as she opens the rear door. DENT Thanks, detective - I've got a date with a pretty upset fianc\u00e9e. RAMIREZ I figured, counselor. Ramirez shuts the door on Dent. Signals Wuertz to pull out.", "INT. HOLDING, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT The Joker sits in a holding cage. His makeup has run, his clothes a mess - but his calm lends him an odd dignity. COPS SMASH their night sticks against the bars near the Joker's head. The Joker does not flinch. GORDON Stand away! All of you. I do n't want anything for his mob lawyer to use, understand? Handle this guy like he's made of glass. The Mayor walks in. Shakes Gordon's hand. MAYOR Back from the dead. GORDON I could n't chance my family's safety. The Mayor looks over at the Joker in his cage. MAYOR What do we got? GORDON Nothing. No matches on prints, DNA, dental. Clothing is custom, no labels. Nothing in his pockets but knives and lint. No name, no other alias. nothing. MAYOR Go home, Gordon. The clown'll keep till morning. Get some rest - you're going to need it. Tomorrow, you take the big job. -LRB- off look. -RRB- You do n't have any say in the matter. -LRB- louder, for all. -RRB- Commissioner Gordon. The cops in M.C.U. start CHEERING.", "EXT. GORDON HOME -- NIGHT Gordon rings the bell. Barbara answers it, dressed in black. GORDON Could n't tell you. I could n't risk - She SLAPS Gordon. He grabs her, holds her tight as she sobs.", "INT. HOLDING, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT The Joker's men are processed. In the harsh light, the men look a little ridiculous in their clown make - up. DETECTIVE MURPHY turns to Stephens. DETECTIVE MURPHY Look at these ugly bastards. One of the men, walks over, clutching at his belly. FAT THUG I do n't feel good. DETECTIVE MURPHY You're a cop killer. You're lucky to be feeling anything below the neck. Alone in his cage, the Joker smiles at this.", "INT. KIDS' BEDROOM, GORDON HOME -- NIGHT Gordon crouches by his son's beside. He reaches out to touch James Jr's cheek. James's eyes open. Staring at his dad as if still dreaming. JAMES -LRB- whispers. -RRB- Did Batman save you, dad? Gordon looks at his son. A little pride seeps in. GORDON Actually, this time I saved him. Gordon's phone rings -", "INT. MAJOR CRIMES UNIT, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT Gordon PUSHES through the swarm of detectives crowded into the observation room. The Joker can be seen through the glass, as well as on a large MONITOR. Sitting there. Calm. GORDON Has he said anything, yet? Ramirez shakes her head. Gordon PUSHES through a door.", "INT. INTERROGATION, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT The Joker, in near darkness. Gordon walks in. Sits. THE JOKER Evening, Commissioner. GORDON Harvey Dent never made it home. THE JOKER Of course not. GORDON What have you done with him? THE JOKER -LRB- laughs. -RRB- Me? I was right here. Who did you leave him with? Your people? Assuming, of course, that they are your people not Maroni's. -LRB- off look. -RRB- Does it depress you, Lieutenant, to know how alone you are? Gordon ca n't help glancing at the mounted CAMERA. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Does it make you feel responsible for Harvey Dent's current predicament? GORDON Where is he? THE JOKER What time is it? GORDON What difference does that make? THE JOKER Depending on the time, he might be in one spot. -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Or several. Gordon stands. Moves to the Joker. Undoes his handcuffs. GORDON If we're going to play games, I'm going to need a cup of coffee. THE JOKER The good cop, bad cop routine? Gordon pauses, hand on the doorknob. GORDON Not exactly. Gordon steps out. The overhead lights COME ON. BATMAN IS BEHIND HIM. The Joker BLINKS in the HARSH WHITE LIGHT. WHAM! The Joker's face HITS the table - comes up for air - CRACK! CRACK! To the head. Batman is in front of him. The Joker stares, fascinated. Bleeding. THE JOKER Never start with the head. victim gets fuzzy. Ca n't feel the next - CRACK! Batman's fist SMACKS down on the Joker's fingers. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- calm. -RRB- See? BATMAN You wanted me. Here I am. THE JOKER I wanted to see what you'd do. And you did n't disappoint. -LRB- laughs. -RRB- You let five people die. Then you let Dent take your place. Even to a guy like me. that's cold - BATMAN Where's Dent? THE JOKER Those mob fools want you gone so they can get back to the way things were. But I know the truth - there's no going back. You've changed things. Forever. BATMAN Then why do you want to kill me? The Joker starts LAUGHING. After a moment he's laughing so hard it sounds like SOBBING. THE JOKER Kill you? I do n't want to kill you. What would I do without you? Go back to ripping off Mob dealers? No you. -LRB- points. -RRB- You. Complete. Me. BATMAN You're garbage who kills for money. THE JOKER Do n't talk like one of them - you're not, even if you'd like to be. To them you're a freak like me. they just need you right now. He regards Batman with something approaching pity. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- But as soon as they do n't, they'll cast you out like a leper. The Joker looks into Batman's eyes. Searching. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Their morals, their code. it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. You'll see - I'll show you. when the chips are down, these civilized people. they'll eat each other. -LRB- grins. -RRB- See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve. Batman GRABS the Joker and pulls him upright.", "INT. OBSERVATION ROOM, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT One of the Detectives moves for the door. Gordon stops him. GORDON He's in control.", "INT. INTERROGATION ROOM, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT Batman HOISTS the Joker up by the neck. BATMAN Where's Dent? THE JOKER You have these rules. And you think they'll save you. BATMAN I have one rule. THE JOKER Then that's the one you'll have to break. To know the truth. BATMAN Which is? THE JOKER -LRB- smiles. -RRB- The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules. Tonight you're going to break your one rule. Batman leans in to the Joker. BATMAN I'm considering it. THE JOKER There are just minutes left - so, you'll have to play my little game if you want to save. -LRB- with relish. -RRB-. one of them. BATMAN Them? THE JOKER For a while I thought you really were Dent, the way you threw yourself after her - Batman DROPS the Joker - RIPS up a bolted - down chair -", "INT. OBSERVATION ROOM, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT Gordon MOVES for the door -", "INT. OBSERVATION ROOM, MCU -- CONTINUOUS Batman JAMS the chair under the doorknob - PICKS up the Joker and HURLS him into the two - way glass. The glass SPIDERS.", "INT. INTERROGATION ROOM, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT The Joker, bleeding from nose and mouth, LAUGHS at Batman. THE JOKER Look at you go. does Harvey know about you and his -? The Joker SMASHES into the wall - SLIDES to the floor. Batman stands over him, a man possessed - BATMAN WHERE ARE THEY?! He GRABS the Joker, holding him close - THE JOKER Killing is making a choice. Batman PUNCHES the Joker across the face. HARD. BATMAN WHERE ARE THEY?! The Joker FEEDS off Batman's anger. Loving it. THE JOKER you choose one life over the other. Your friend, the district attorney. Or his blushing bride - to - be. Batman PUNCHES the Joker again. The Joker LAUGHS. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You have nothing. Nothing to threaten me with. Nothing to do with all your strength. -LRB- spits a tooth. -RRB- But do n't worry, I'm going to tell you where they are. Both of them, and that's the point - you'll have to choose. The Batman stares at the Joker. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- He's at 250 52nd Boulevard. And she's on avenue X at Cicero. Batman DROPS him.", "INT. OBSERVATION ROOM, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT Batman RACES past Gordon. GORDON Which one are you - BATMAN Dent knew the risks. Gordon looks back - the Joker is bloody, but grinning.", "EXT. MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT Several cops see Batman climb onto the bat - pod and TEAR off.", "EXT. STREETS, GOTHAM -- NIGHT Batman SWERVES into oncoming traffic, CHAOS in his wake.", "EXT. GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT Gordon and his men SCRAMBLE into their cars.", "INT. BASEMENT APARTMENT -- NIGHT Black. RACHEL Can anyone hear me? Harvey Dent opens his eyes. He's bound to a chair in a dingy, unfurnished basement apartment. DENT Rachel? Rachel is that you? RACHEL -LRB- sobbing. -RRB- Harvey. You're OK. I thought. Her voice is coming from a speakerphone on the floor. DENT It's OK, Rachel. Everything's going to be just fine. He looks around. Behind him, metal BARRELS, hooked up to a car battery, with a TIMER counting down : five minutes.", "INT. INTERROGATION ROOM, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT The Joker sits, smiling, content. Stephens guards the door. THE JOKER I want my phone call. STEPHENS That's nice. THE JOKER How many of your friends have I killed? STEPHENS I'm a twenty year man. I can tell the difference between punks who need a little lesson in manners, and the freaks like you who would just enjoy it. -LRB- quiet. -RRB- And you killed six of my friends.", "INT. HOLDING AREA, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT The Fat Thug shuffles to the bars, where a COP stands guard. FAT THUG -LRB- agony. -RRB- Please. My insides hurt. COP Step away from the bars. FAT THUG The boss said he would make the voices go away. He said he would go inside and replace them with bright lights. Like Christmas. COP That's great. Please step - The Fat Thug COLLAPSES. The Cop grabs his radio.", "INT. WAREHOUSE -- NIGHT Rachel is bound to a chair. Behind her are barrels identical to the ones behind Dent. DENT Can you move your chair? RACHEL No. Harvey, we do n't have much time - The timer connected to the bomb reads 2.47. 2.46.", "INT. BASEMENT APARTMENT -- NIGHT Dent DRAGS his chair, inching closer to the barrels. DENT Look for something to free yourself. The chair JAMS against a ridge in the floor. Dent STRAINS to reach the timer. Inches shy. RACHEL They said only one of us was going to make it. That they'd let our. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Our friends choose. Dent strains. THE CHAIR, AND DENT, TOPPLE OVER - KNOCKING OVER A BARREL. RACHEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Harvey? What's happening? Dent, one side of his face pressed against the bare floor, watches the open barrel SPEW DIESEL FUEL around him - DENT Nothing. I'm trying to. Dent contorts his head to keep from swallowing any.", "EXT. STREETS, GOTHAM -- NIGHT The bat - pod SKIDS SIDEWAYS, WHEELS FLIPPING as the gyro keeps Batman upright on the tumbling bike - it comes to rest - guns lined up with a fire exit - BLOWS the door off its hinges - JUMPS off the bike -", "EXT. 52ND STREET, GOTHAM -- NIGHT Gridlock. Gordon SWERVES onto the sidewalk. People SCATTER.", "INT. INTERROGATION ROOM, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT The Joker sits like a kid kept after class. He smiles. THE JOKER You know why I use a knife, Detective? Guns are too quick. You do n't get to savor all the little emotions. See, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. Stephens tries hard to ignore him. It is n't working. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- So, in a way, I knew your friends better than you ever did. -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Would you like to know which of them were really cowards? STEPHENS -LRB- rolls up sleeves. -RRB- I know you're going to enjoy this. But I'm going to enjoy it more. Stephens PUNCHES the Joker in the gut.", "INT. BASEMENT APARTMENT -- NIGHT Dent is half submerged in diesel fuel. RACHEL Harvey, in case. I want you to know something. Dent CHOKES, his emotions overwhelming him. DENT Do n't think like that, Rachel. They're coming for you. RACHEL I know, but I do n't want them to.", "INT. WAREHOUSE -- NIGHT Rachel looks at the timer. Ten seconds left. RACHEL I do n't want to live without you. Because I do have an answer, and my answer is yes.", "INT. HOLDING AREA, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT A MEDIC CUTS away the Fat Thug's shirt - his belly has large INCISION, which has been closed with crude looking STITCHES - MEDIC He's got some kind of. contusion. A RECTANGULAR SHAPE is visible under the skin above his navel.", "INT. DETECTIVE'S ROOM, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT Stephens shuffles out into the room, a piece of BROKEN GLASS held to his THROAT by the Joker. Cops draw their weapons. STEPHENS This is my own damn fault. Just shoot him. DETECTIVE MURPHY What do you want? THE JOKER I want my phone call. The Detectives look at each other. One of them pulls out his cell phone. TOSSES it to the Joker, who begins to dial.", "INT. HOLDING AREA, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT The Medic gingerly PRESSES the rectangle. It illuminates, a soft blue light visible through the skin. COP Is that a. phone?", "INT. DETECTIVE'S ROOM, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT The Joker presses SEND. At the end of the room, the door to the holding area EXPLODES -", "INT. HALLWAY, TENEMENT -- NIGHT Batman SPRINTS down the hall - stops at a door - KICKS it -", "EXT. 52ND STREET, GOTHAM -- NIGHT Cars PULL UP - Gordon gets out, carrying a fire ax -", "INT. HALLWAY, TENEMENT -- NIGHT Batman KICKS - the door gives - Batman SMASHES it open -", "INT. BASEMENT APARTMENT -- NIGHT Batman BURSTS through the door - Dent looks up in horror - DENT NO! Not me. Why did you come for me?! Batman STARES at Dent. The Joker lied. The counter hits 5 Seconds. Batman DRAGS Dent out - Dent FIGHTS to stay - DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- RACHEL! RACHEL Harvey? Harvey, it's okay. DENT RACHEL!", "EXT. 52ND STREET, GOTHAM -- NIGHT Gordon, axe in hand, RUNS towards the entrance -", "INT. WAREHOUSE -- NIGHT Rachel can hear Dent. The counter runs out. RACHEL -LRB- calm. -RRB- Somewhere - AN EXPLOSION. ALL - CONSUMING.", "EXT. 52ND STREET, GOTHAM -- NIGHT The BLAST HURLS Gordon backward onto the hood of his car - THE ENTIRE WAREHOUSE IS AN ENORMOUS EXPLOSION -", "INT. BASEMENT APARTMENT -- NIGHT Batman wraps his cape around Dent and hurls them both through the door. Dent is SCREAMING -", "EXT. 52ND STREET, GOTHAM -- NIGHT Gordon picks himself up. The warehouse is an inferno. He heads for it anyway. Five of his men have to RESTRAIN HIM.", "EXT. ALLEYWAY, GOTHAM -- NIGHT A SECOND EXPLOSION - Batman COVERS Dent as the FIREBALL HITS them - IGNITING the diesel soaking Dent's left side - he starts BURNING. And stops screaming. Batman ROLLS Dent on the wet pavement. Dent SIZZLES. Silent.", "INT. SPECIAL HOLDING AREA, MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- NIGHT The Joker walks to the bars of another cell. Grins. THE JOKER Hello there. In his cell. Terrified. Lau.", "EXT. AMBULANCE -- CONTINUOUS Dent is wheeled into an ambulance, bandages held to his face. His one visible eye STARES BLANKLY, oblivious to the panic -", "EXT. 52ND STREET -- CONTINUOUS Gordon watches the fire. DEBRIS blows across the asphalt. Gordon picks up two pieces : SINGED JOKER CARDS. In place of the Joker's face is a PHOTO OF LAU. A POLICE SERGEANT approaches. SERGEANT Dent's alive, Jim. Just. But back at M.C.U. the Joker's gone. GORDON With Lau? -LRB- the Cop nods. -RRB- The Joker planned to be caught. He wanted me to lock him up in M.C.U.", "EXT. STREET, DOWNTOWN GOTHAM -- DAWN A squad car BLAZES down the street. The Joker sticks his head out the window like a dog, feeling the wind.", "INT. KITCHEN, WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- DAWN Alfred sits at a table reading the letter from Rachel. RACHEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Dear Bruce, I need to explain.", "EXT. 52ND STREET -- DAWN Water. Smoldering blackness. The FIRE CREWS extinguish the last flames of the devastated building. A FIREMAN nudges his COLLEAGUE, pointing out something in the devastation. RACHEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I need to be honest and clear. I'm going to marry Harvey Dent.", "INT. INTENSIVE CARE UNIT -- DAWN Glimpses of Dent's damaged face as SURGEONS surround him. RACHEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I love him, I want to spend the rest of my life with him.", "EXT. 52ND STREET -- DAWN The Firemen watch a statue - like figure amidst the charred ruins. The Batman. RACHEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- When I told you that if Gotham no longer needed Batman we could be together, I meant it.", "INT. MCU, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- DAY Gordon surveys the wreckage of MCU. The bodies. RACHEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But I'm not sure the day will come.", "EXT. 52ND STREET -- DAWN Batman bends to the ground on one knee, his black glove spread against the smoldering debris. RACHEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- when you no longer need Batman. I hope it does, and if it does I will be there. He spots something. DENT'S TWO - HEADED COIN. Blackened, SCARRED. Batman turns it over. The other side is PRISTINE.", "INT. KITCHEN, WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- DAWN Alfred reads. RACHEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- but as your friend. I'm sorry to let you down.", "INT. HOSPITAL ROOM -- DAWN Dent, heavily bandaged, hooked up to various machines. Batman stands at the foot of his bed. Watching. RACHEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- If you lose your faith in me, please keep your faith in people. BATMAN I'm sorry, Harvey. Batman puts DENT'S DAMAGED COIN on the bedside table.", "INT. KITCHEN, WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- CONTINUOUS RACHEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Love, now and always, Rachel. Alfred finishes the letter. Tears in his eyes, he folds it back into its envelope. Places it on the breakfast tray.", "INT. WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- DAWN Alfred moves through the silent space, stepping past the cowl and gauntlets lying on the cold marble. He approaches Wayne, half - undressed, slumped in a chair, watching Gotham. ALFRED I prepared a little breakfast. Nothing. Alfred sets down the tray. The envelope is propped against the silver teapot. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Very well. WAYNE Alfred? ALFRED Yes, Master Wayne? Wayne turns, a desperate look in his eye. WAYNE Did I bring this on us? On her? I thought I would inspire good, not madness - ALFRED You have inspired good. But you spat in the face of Gotham's criminals - did n't you think there might be casualties? Things were always going to have to get worse before they got better. WAYNE But Rachel, Alfred. ALFRED Rachel believed in what you stood for. What we stand for. Wayne looks up at Alfred. Alfred picks up the cowl. ALFRED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Gotham needs you. WAYNE Gotham needs its hero. And I let the Joker blow him half to hell - ALFRED Which is why for now, they'll have to make do with you. Alfred hands him the cowl. Wayne looks at him. WAYNE She was going to wait for me. Dent does n't know. He can never know. Alfred glances at the envelope. Takes it off the tray. WAYNE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What's that? ALFRED It can wait. Alfred puts the envelope in his pocket. WAYNE That bandit, in the forest in Burma. Did you catch him? -LRB- Alfred nods. -RRB- How? ALFRED -LRB- uneasy. -RRB- We burned the forest down.", "EXT. DOWNTOWN GOTHAM -- DAY A national guard helicopter ROARS over Gotham General.", "INT. HOSPITAL ROOM -- DAY Dent. Bandaged. Sedated. Coming up for air. Sees something on the table : his coin. He fumbles for it, marvelling at its shiny face. Remembering. INSERT CUT : RACHEL CATCHES THE COIN. Dent turns the coin over. The other side is devastated. He STARES at the scarred face. Starts ripping his bandages.", "INT. WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- DAY Alfred comes up to Wayne. Points him to the TV. ALFRED You need to see this. On screen : Engel, in his studio, addresses the camera. ENGEL he's a credible source - an A and M lawyer for a prestigious consultancy. He says he's waited as long as he can for the Batman to do the right thing. The shot cuts to REESE, nodding. ENGEL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Now he's taking matters into his own hands. We'll be live at five with the true identity of the Batman, stay with us.", "INT. HOSPITAL ROOM -- CONTINUOUS Gordon ENTERS. Dent STARES to one side. He looks normal. GORDON I'm sorry about Rachel. -LRB- nothing. -RRB- The Doctor says you're in agonizing pain but you wo n't accept medication. That you're refusing skin grafts - DENT Remember the name you all had for me when I was at Internal Affairs? What was it, Gordon? GORDON Harvey, I ca n't - DENT SAY IT! Dent's anger makes Gordon flinch. He looks away. Ashamed. GORDON -LRB- small. -RRB- Two - face. Harvey two - face. Dent turns to face Gordon - the left side of Dent's face is DESTROYED - skin blackened and shriveled. Molars visible. The eye a ball and socket. Dent manages a small smile with the good side of his face. DENT Why should I hide who I am? GORDON I. I know you tried to warn me. I'm sorry. Wuertz picked you up - was he working for them? -LRB- nothing. -RRB- Do you know who picked up Rachel? -LRB- nothing. -RRB- Harvey, I need to know which of my men I can trust. Dent looks at Gordon. Cold. DENT Why would you listen to me now? GORDON I'm sorry, Harvey. DENT No. No you're not. Not yet. Gordon takes a last look at Dent. Then leaves.", "INT. CORRIDOR, HOSPITAL -- CONTINUOUS Gordon steps out. Someone is there. Maroni. On crutches. Gordon stares at him. Cold. Maroni shifts, awkward. MARONI This craziness. This is too much. GORDON You should have thought of that before you let the clown out of the box. MARONI You want him, I can tell you where he'll be this afternoon.", "EXT. ABANDONED DOCKS -- DAY The Chechen gets out of his SUV. Looks at a RUSTED HULK. The Chechen, bodyguards, and dogs, head up the gangplank.", "INT. RUSTED HULK -- CONTINUOUS They pass into a huge hold. In the middle : A BILLION DOLLARS. The pile is thirty feet high. Standing on top - the Joker. At his feet, bound, is Lau. The Chechen laughs. CHECHEN Like I say - not so crazy as you look. The Joker jumps from the top, slides down the pile. THE JOKER I told you - I'm a man of my word. -LRB- looks around. -RRB- Where's the Italian? The Chechen shrugs. Pulls out a cigar. Lights it. CHECHEN More for us. What you do with all your money, Mr. Joker? The Joker GRABS a can of GASOLINE from his thug. THE JOKER I'm a man of simple tastes. I like gunpowder. Dynamite. He is SPLASHING gasoline onto the money. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- gasoline. The Chechen, FURIOUS, steps forwards. The Joker turns. JABS his gun in the Chechen's face. The Chechen's bodyguards REACT. The Joker's men DRAW on them. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And you know what they have in common? They're cheap. CHECHEN You said you were a man of your word. The Joker PLUCKS the cigar from the Chechen's lips. THE JOKER I am. The Joker tosses the cigar at the pile. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm only burning my half. The Chechen watches the money catch fire. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- All you care about is money. This city deserves a better class of criminal, and I'm going to give it to them. This is my town now. Tell your men they work for me. The Joker crouches down to the Chechen's dogs. They GROWL. CHECHEN They wo n't work for a freak. The Joker takes out a knife. Tosses it to his man. THE JOKER Cut him up and offer him to his little Princes. Let's show him just how loyal a hungry dog is. The Joker's men GRAB the Chechen. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It's not about money. It's about sending a message. The Joker watches the towering FLAMES. Lau screams. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Everything. Burns. The Joker pulls out a phone.", "INT. TELEVISION STUDIO -- DAY Reese has a confident air. Engel is taking calls. CALLER 1 -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I wan na how much they're gon na pay you to say who Batman really is. REESE That's simply not why I'm doing this. ENGEL Caller, you're on the air. CALLER 2 -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Harvey Dent did n't want us to give in to this maniac - you think you know better than him? ENGEL Guy's got a point - Dent did n't want Batman to give himself up, is this the right thing to do? REESE If we could talk to Dent now he might feel differently - ENGEL And we wish him a speedy recovery. God knows we need him, now. Let's take another call - OLD LADY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Mr. Reese, what's more valuable : one life, or a hundred? REESE I guess it would depend on the life. OLD LADY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- OK. Let's say it's your life. Is it worth more than the lives of several hundred others? REESE Of course not. OLD LADY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I'm glad you feel that way. Because I've put a bomb in one of the city's hospitals. It's going off in sixty minutes unless someone kills you. ENGEL Who is this? OLD LADY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Just a concerned citizen -. -LRB- drops pitch to the JOKER'S VOICE. -RRB- - and regular guy.", "INT. MAJOR CRIMES UNIT, GOTHAM CENTRAL -- CONTINUOUS Gordon and his men are gearing up to take down the Joker. A Detective turns up the TV in the bullpen - THE JOKER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I had a vision. Of a world without Batman. The mob ground out a little profit and the police tried to shut them down, one block at a time. and it was so. boring. I've had a change of heart. I do n't want Mr. Reese spoiling everything, but why should I have all the fun? Let's give someone else a chance. Reese looks around, twitching. Sweating. THE JOKER -LRB- O.S. ; CONT'D. -RRB- If Coleman Reese is n't dead in sixty minutes, then I blow up a hospital. Of course, you could always kill yourself, Mr. Reese. But that would be the noble thing to do. And you're a lawyer. The line rings off. Engel is speechless. Gordon turns to the uniform COPS. GORDON Call in every officer - tell them to head to their nearest hospital and start evac and search. Call the transit authority, school board, prisons - get every available bus down to a hospital - the priority is Gotham General - wheel everybody out of that place right now - my hunch is that's where the bomb is. DETECTIVE MURPHY Why? GORDON That's where Harvey Dent is. The Uniforms SPRINT off. Gordon turns to his Detectives. UNIFORMED COP Where are we going, sir? On screen : Reese is a deer in the headlights. GORDON To get Reese.", "INT. WAYNE PENTHOUSE -- DAY Wayne and Alfred move to the elevator. WAYNE I need you plugged in, checking Gordon's men and their families. ALFRED Looking for? WAYNE Hospital admissions. ALFRED Will you be taking the batpod, sir? WAYNE In the middle of the day? Not very subtle, Alfred. ALFRED The Lamborghini then. -LRB- watches Wayne go. -RRB- Much more subtle.", "EXT. GOTHAM STREETS -- DAY Wayne's Lamborghini TEARS through downtown.", "INT. HOSPITAL -- CONTINUOUS CHAOS. PATIENTS and STAFF running around. COPS and TRAFFIC WARDENS try to manage the evacuation. The COPS stationed outside Dent's room, look around, unsure - NURSE Sir, are you going to help?! Two Cops move to help wheel gurneys around the corner.", "INT. LOBBY, TELEVISION STUDIO -- DAY Gordon and his men escort Reese out of the elevator - Engel follows with a camera crew. As they approach the glass doors Gordon looks out at an angry crowd. ENGEL Commissioner?! You really think someone would try to - Gordon SPOTS an OLD MAN raising a PISTOL - Gordon THROWS Reese to the ground as SHOTS SHATTER the laminated glass of the lobby. The Crowd SURGES in all directions - GORDON Get the cars around back! Gordon hauls Reese to the stairwell.", "INT. LAMBORGHINI -- CONTINUOUS Wayne SLOWS past the chaos outside the television station. WAYNE I saw O'Brien and Richards.", "INT. BAT-BUNKER -- CONTINUOUS Alfred types at the computer station. ALFRED Nothing on them. No immediate family members admitted to a Gotham hospital.", "INT. STAIRWELL, TELEVISION STUDIO -- CONTINUOUS Gordon pulls the shaken Reese down the stairs. REESE -LRB- shaken. -RRB- They're trying to kill me. and into a police VAN.", "INT. POLICE VAN -- CONTINUOUS Gordon throws Reese in the back. Smiles. GORDON Well, maybe Batman will save you. The van PEELS out. Heads onto the streets.", "EXT. HOSPITAL -- CONTINUOUS Cops load patients onto BUSES. A TV van pulls up, Engel and his Cameraman jump out. One of Dent's guards, POLK, looks into a SCHOOL BUS. Turns to the Cop loading it. POLK Okay, do n't put anyone else on. -LRB- gets on radio. -RRB- Davis, I got space, bring him out. -LRB- no answer. -RRB- Davis? Polk heads back towards the hospital, against the flow.", "INT. LAMBORGHINI -- CONTINUOUS Wayne trails the police van from a distance. WAYNE I saw Burns and Zachary. and a patrolman I do n't know. ALFRED Burns is clean. Zachary. WAYNE There's at least one I do n't know - send the information to Gordon -", "INT. POLICE VAN -- CONTINUOUS Gordon's phone BEEPS. He looks at a text : WATCH OUT. COPS WITH RELATIVES IN GOTHAM HOSPITALS - BURKE, RAMIREZ, TILL.", "INT. DENT'S HOSPITAL ROOM -- CONTINUOUS Polk enters the room. No Davis. Just a REDHEADED NURSE, back towards him, reading Dent's chart. POLK Ma'am, we're going to have to move him, now. -LRB- nothing. -RRB- Ma'am? The Redhead TURNS - it is the Joker, silenced pistol in hand. He FIRES.", "EXT. GOTHAM STREETS -- CONTINUOUS The Lamborghini zips around a car to get closer to the van.", "INT. POLICE VAN -- CONTINUOUS Gordon is reading his phone : ERIKSON, BERG. Gordon looks up sharply. Considers the uniformed cop nervously fingering his shotgun. GORDON Berg, is n't it? The young cop, BERG, looks up. Sweating. BERG Commissioner? GORDON You okay, son? Berg nods. Looks at his watch.", "INT. HOSPITAL ROOM -- DAY The Joker draws closer to Dent's bed. Dent STRAINS at the leather cuffs binding him to the bed. THE JOKER I do n't want there to be any hard feelings between us, Harvey. The Joker loosens Dent's restraints. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- When you and Rachel were being abducted I was sitting in Gordon's cage. I did n't rig those charges - DENT Your men. Your plan. THE JOKER Do I really look like a guy with a plan, Harvey? I do n't have a plan. The mob has plans, the cops have plans. You know what I am, Harvey? Dent's hand is TREMBLING. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm a dog chasing cars. I would n't know what to do with one if I caught it. I just do things. I'm just the wrench in the gears. I hate plans. Yours, theirs, everyone's. Maroni has plans. Gordon has plans. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I'm not a schemer, I show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are. So when I say that you and your girlfriend was nothing personal, you know I'm telling the truth. Hands him the pistol. Dent holds it to the Joker's head.", "EXT. INTERSECTION, GOTHAM STREETS -- CONTINUOUS Wayne ROARS past a line of traffic to settle in a few cars back from the police van, sitting at a red light.", "INT. LAMBORGHINI -- CONTINUOUS Wayne studies the intersection - spots a PICKUP jostling for position on the cross street.", "INT. POLICE VAN -- CONTINUOUS Gordon watches Berg, mentally tracing the trajectory of his shotgun barrel as Berg fiddles with his gun. Gordon starts trying to subtly unholster his own weapon. GORDON I'm gon na need your weapon, son. Berg looks at Gordon. BERG What?", "INT. LAMBORGHINI -- CONTINUOUS Wayne watches the driver of the pickup staring intently at the police van. Lining it up.", "INT. POLICE VAN -- CONTINUOUS Reese looks from Berg to Gordon. Berg looks at Gordon, trembling, the barrel of his gun inching lower in the car. BERG Why? Because my wife's in hospital? GORDON Yeah. That would be why.", "INT. DENT'S HOSPITAL ROOM -- CONTINUOUS The Joker leans in, pressing his head to the gun's barrel. THE JOKER It's the schemers who put you where you are. You were a schemer. You had plans. Look where it got you. I just did what I do best - I took your plan, and I turned it on itself. Look what I've done to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets. Nobody panics when the expected people get killed. Nobody panics when things go according to plan, even if the plan is horrifying. If I tell the press that tomorrow a gangbanger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics. Because it's all part of the plan. But when I say that one little old mayor will die, everybody loses their minds! Introduce a little anarchy, you upset the established order and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. And you know the thing about chaos, Harvey? Dent looks into the Joker's eyes. Finding meaning. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It's fair. Dent looks down at the coin in his hands. Turns it over, feels it's comforting weight. Shows the Joker the good side. DENT You live. He turns the coin over. The flip side is deeply SCARRED. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You die. The Joker looks at the coin. Looks at Dent, admiringly. THE JOKER Now you're talking. Dent FLICKS the coin into the air. Catches it. Looks.", "EXT. INTERSECTION, GOTHAM STREETS -- CONTINUOUS The light turns GREEN. The police van pulls into the intersection - the pickup GUNS IT, RACING AT IT.", "INT. LAMBORGHINI -- CONTINUOUS Wayne FLOORS it, YANKS the wheel to pull up onto the sidewalk -", "INT. POLICE VAN -- CONTINUOUS Berg licks his lips, nervous. BERG Mr. Reese?", "EXT. INTERSECTION, GOTHAM STREETS -- CONTINUOUS The pickup BARRELS at the van, FULL TILT - at the last second Wayne's Lamborghini SLIPS alongside the van - the pickup SMASHES INTO THE LAMBORGHINI", "INT. POLICE VAN -- CONTINUOUS As the van JOLTS with the impact Gordon LEAPS forward, PUSHING UP Berg's shotgun barrel, which FIRES into the roof - Gordon SMASHES Berg on the head with his sidearm.", "EXT. INTERSECTION, GOTHAM STREETS -- CONTINUOUS Gordon's men pull the pickup driver from his cab - Gordon crouches down to the Lamborghini wreck to help pull Wayne from the car. Gordon recognizes him as he pulls him free. GORDON You okay, Mr. Wayne? Wayne looks at him, woozy. Sits on the curb. WAYNE Call me Bruce. I think so. GORDON That was a brave thing, you did. WAYNE Trying to catch the light? GORDON You were n't protecting the van? Wayne turns - sees the police van as if for the first time. Reese steps down, dazed. WAYNE Why? Who's in it? Reese locks eyes with Wayne. Nods. Gordon sizes up Bruce Wayne and his crushed sports car. GORDON You do n't watch a whole lot of news, do you, Mr. Wayne? WAYNE -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- It can get a little intense. Think I should go to hospital? GORDON Not today, I would n't.", "INT. CORRIDOR, HOSPITAL -- CONTINUOUS The Joker walks calmly through the mostly deserted building. As he walks he pulls a DETONATOR from his pocket. Strolling along he PUSHES THE BUTTON. STAGGERED EXPLOSIONS BURST INTO THE CORRIDOR BEHIND HIM LIKE DEMOLITION BLASTS. the Joker just walks out the door.", "EXT. HOSPITAL -- CONTINUOUS The Joker STROLLS down the steps - WINDOWS BLOW OUT IN SERIES - People DIVE for cover - Engel PILES into a school bus - The Joker walks across the parking lot - THE BUILDING COLLAPSING BEHIND HIM.", "EXT. INTERSECTION, GOTHAM STREETS -- CONTINUOUS Gordon hears the EXPLOSION. GORDON Gotham general. -LRB- grabs his phone. -RRB- Did you get Dent out? COP -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I think so -", "EXT. HOSPITAL -- CONTINUOUS The Cop cowers as DEBRIS and SMOKE BLAST across the street -", "INT. SCHOOL BUS -- CONTINUOUS The Joker gets onto the bus. Nods at his man at the wheel.", "EXT. HOSPITAL -- CONTINUOUS All eyes are on the collapsed building. One school bus pulls out from the line of other buses. Heads down the street.", "INT. BAR, GOTHAM HEIGHTS -- DAY An empty neighborhood dive, the local DRUNK passed out at the bar, BARTENDER, watching BREAKING NEWS on the TV. BARTENDER Sweet Jesus. D'you see this, Mike? They blew up a hospital. Detective Wuertz, at a booth looks up at the TV, bored. BARTENDER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Should n't you be out there, you know, doing something? WUERTZ It's my day off. The Bartender shuts the register. BARTENDER I got ta take a leak, keep an eye on things, will ya? The Bartender steps out. The back door OPENS again. WUERTZ What? You need me to shake it for - He TRAILS off as someone sticks a gun in his face : Harvey Dent. Standing in shadow. He sits. DENT Hello. WUERTZ Dent, I thought you was. dead. Dent leans into the light. The left side of his face is HIDEOUSLY BURNED, cheek gone, blackened teeth and gums. DENT Half. Dent picks up Wuertz's drink. Takes a SIP. Wuertz watches the bare muscles RETRACT as Dent SWALLOWS. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Who picked up Rachel, Wuertz? WUERTZ It must've been Maroni's men - Dent SLAMS the glass back on the table - Wuertz FLINCHES. DENT You, of all people, are gon na protect the other traitor in Gordon's unit? WUERTZ I do n't know - he'd never tell me. -LRB- stares at Dent. -RRB- I swear to God, I did n't know what they were gon na do to you - DENT Funny, I do n't know what's going to happen to you, either. Dent pulls his coin from his pocket. FLIPS it. Wuertz watches it SPIN. It lands on the table. Scarred side up. The drunk at the bar STIRS at the GUNSHOT.", "EXT. GOTHAM GENERAL -- DAY Gordon, manic, surveys the scene with a Cop - GORDON You must know how many were inside - you've got patient lists, roll calls - COP Sir! Sir. Take a look at what we're dealing with. Cops, National Guard -. -LRB- gestures at buses. -RRB- We're showing 50 missing - but that building was clear. These buses are heading off to other hospitals - my guess is we missed one. GORDON Yeah? What's your guess about where Harvey Dent is? The cop says nothing. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Keep looking. Keep it to yourself.", "INT. FOX'S OFFICE WAYNE INDUSTRIES -- DAY Fox is watching the news. His intercom buzzes. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Mr. Fox? Security is showing a break - in at the R and D department.", "INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT -- DAY Fox watches two security men force the door. He enters alone.", "INT. LAB, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT -- DAY Fox enters the dimly - lit room. At one end is an extraordinary array of thousands of tiny monitors. Fox approaches, fascinated, as they quietly display architectural patterns individually and in concert. The images become a MAP. BATMAN Beautiful. Is n't it? Fox nods, staring at the monitors as Batman approaches. FOX Beautiful. Unethical. Dangerous. You've turned every phone in the city into a microphone. Lucius presses a key. The BABBLE of a MILLION CONVERSATIONS at once fills the room. Every cell phone in the city. BATMAN And high frequency generator/receiver. FOX Like the phone I gave you in Hong Kong. You took my sonar concept and applied it to everybody's phone in the City. With half the city feeding you sonar you can image all of Gotham. -LRB- turns to Batman. -RRB- This is wrong. BATMAN I've got to find this man, Lucius. FOX But at what cost? BATMAN The database is null - key encrypted. It can only be accessed by one person. FOX No one should have that kind of power. WAYNE That's why I gave it to you. Only you can use it. Lucius looks at Batman. Hard. FOX Spying on thirty million people was n't in my job description. Batman points to a TV screen. Fox turns. ON SCREEN : the Joker shakes his head above a graphic `` LATEST THREAT''. THE JOKER What does it take to make you people want to join in?", "EXT. SITUATION TENT AT GOTHAM GENERAL -- CONTINUOUS Gordon watches a screen. Grave. THE JOKER You failed to kill the lawyer. I've got to get you off the bench and into the game. So, here it is.", "INT. BAR, DOWNTOWN -- CONTINUOUS The bar, packed with business people watches the TV. SILENT. THE JOKER Come nightfall, this city is mine, and anyone left here plays by my rules. If you do n't want to be in the game, get out now. Bar patrons start moving. The Joker reaches for the camera - THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- But the bridge - and - tunnel crowd are in for a surprise. CUT TO STATIC. The bar patrons look around, confused.", "INT. LAB, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT -- CONTINUOUS Fox turns from the TV to look at Batman. BATMAN Trust me. Fox stares at Batman. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- This is the audio sample. He plugs a USB dongle into the console. A sample of the Joker's voice from the call - in news program plays. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- If he talks within range of any phone in the city, you'll be able to triangulate his position. Lucius toggles a menu. The city is an open book - People working, eating, sleeping. Lucius shakes his head. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- When you've finished, type your name to switch it off. FOX I'll help you this one time. Lucius sits at the console. Batman moves off - FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- But consider this my resignation. Batman turns. Fox looks at him, serious. FOX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- As long as this machine is at Wayne Industries, I wo n't be.", "EXT. VARIOUS LOCATIONS -- DUSK Gothamites POUR out of the city, on foot and by car. the BRIDGES and TUNNELS are deserted, but for BOMB SQUAD search teams.", "INT. CITY HALL -- CONTINUOUS Gordon briefs the Mayor. GORDON My officers are going over every inch of the tunnels and bridges, but with the Joker's threat they're not and option. MAYOR Land routes East? GORDON Backed up for hours. Which leaves the ferries with thirty thousand waiting to board. Plus, corrections are at capacity, so I want to use a ferry to take some prisoners off the island. MAYOR The men you and Dent put away? Those are n't people I'm worried about. GORDON You should be - they're the people you least want to be stuck with in an emergency. Whatever the Joker's planning, it's a good bet that Harvey's prisoners might be involved. I want'em out of here.", "EXT. FERRY TERMINAL -- DUSK At the ferry terminal, National Guardsman watch over the THIRTY THOUSAND jostling, scared people waiting to board the two MASSIVE FERRIES to Seven Sisters. Grumbles turn to YELLS as 800 PRISONERS are loaded onto a ferry by shotgun - toting CORRECTIONS OFFICERS. CIVILIAN That ai n't right! We should be on that boat. NATIONAL GUARDSMAN You want to ride across with them, be my guest.", "EXT. BROWNSTONE -- DUSK Maroni climbs into the back of a limo.", "INT. LIMO -- DUSK Maroni settles back into his seat. The car pulls away. MARONI Do n't stop for lights, cops, nothing. DENT Going to join your wife? Maroni STARTS. Someone is in here with him. Harvey Dent - Two Face - leans forward, clutching a pistol. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You love her? MARONI Yes. DENT Can you imagine what it would be like to listen to her die? MARONI Take it up with the Joker. He killed your woman. Made you. like this. DENT The Joker's just a mad dog. I want whoever let him off the leash. Maroni looks at Dent. Worried. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I took care of Wuertz, but who was your other man inside Gordon's unit? Who picked up Rachel? It must've been someone she trusted. MARONI If I tell you, will you let me go? DENT It ca n't hurt your chances. MARONI It was Ramirez. Pulls out his coin. Dent cocks the pistol. MARONI -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- But you said - DENT I said it could n't hurt your chances. Dent FLIPS it. Looks : good side. He shrugs. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Lucky guy. Maroni looks confused. Dent FLIPS the coin again. Looks down at the coin. Shakes his head. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- But he's not. MARONI Who? Dent smiles. PUTS HIS SEAT BELT ON. DENT Your driver. Dent presses the barrel of the revolver behind the shadow of the driver. Maroni LUNGES, SCREAMING. Dent FIRES.", "EXT. BRIDGE -- DUSK The Limo SWERVES off of the bridge, SOARS out over the canal, and PANCAKES into the RETAINING WALL.", "EXT. FERRY TERMINAL -- DUSK CIVILIANS CRAM their way onto one ferry. Finally, the COMMANDER of the National Guard unit SIGNALS to his men to STOP BOARDING and CAST OFF. The two FERRIES set off across the river, heading for the lights of the distant shore of the mainland.", "INT. BRIDGE, PRISONER FERRY -- NIGHT The FIRST MATE looks out the window, at the second ferry. It is DEAD in the WATER. He turns to the PILOT -LSB- PRISON FERRY -RSB-. FIRST MATE They've lost their engines. PILOT [PRISON FERRY] Get on the radio and tell'em we'll come back for them once we dump these Scumbags - Suddenly, the control panel FLICKERS and DIES. PILOT [PRISON FERRY] -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Get down to the engine room.", "INT. PASSENGER LOUNGE, PRISONER FERRY -- NIGHT The First Mate skirts around the PRISONERS and CORRECTIONS OFFICERS.", "INT. ACCESS CORRIDOR, PRISONER FERRY -- NIGHT The First Mate opens the door to the engine room. STOPS. HUNDREDS OF BARRELS OF DIESEL FUEL. And a small, wrapped PRESENT, topped with a BOW.", "INT. BRIDGE, PRISONER FERRY -- NIGHT The Pilot -LSB- Prison Ferry -RSB- is holding the small present. His radio CRACKLES. PILOT [PASSENGER FERRY] -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Same thing over here - enough diesel to blow us sky high. And a present.", "EXT. ELEVATED ROADWAY, DOWTOWN GOTHAM -- CONTINUOUS Batman sits on the bat - pod, cape blowing. Listening. BATMAN Fox? There's something going on on the ferries.", "INT. PASSENGER LOUNGE, COMMUTER FERRY -- NIGHT As cold scared Families watch, the NATIONAL GUARD COMMANDER UNWRAPS that ferry's present. Inside, he finds a crude REMOTE DETONATOR. NATIONAL GUARD COMMANDER Why would they give us the detonator to our own bomb? Up in the wiring at the ceiling, a CELL PHONE taped in to the P.A. rings and answers. THE JOKER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Tonight, you're all going to be part of a social experiment. ON BOTH FERRIES : CIVILIANS, PRISONERS, CREW, AND NATIONAL GUARDSMEN ALL LISTEN AS THE JOKER'S VOICE RINGS OUT.", "INT. LAB, WAYNE ENTERPRISES -- NIGHT Lucius Fox looks up as the console CHIMES. FOX I'm zeroing in. THE JOKER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Through the magic of diesel fuel and ammonium nitrate, I'm ready right now to blow you all sky high. Anyone attempts to get off their boat, you all die. FOX His voice is on the ferry, but that's not the source.", "EXT. ROOFTOPS ABOVE GOTHAM -- NIGHT Batman looks out, across the entire city skyline. BATMAN Do you have a location on the Joker? FOX It's west. Batman FIRES UP the bat - pod - his cape SHRINKS into its pack form as he PEELS OUT, ROARING into the night. THE JOKER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- But we're going to make things a little more interesting than that. Tonight, we're going to learn a little bit about ourselves.", "INT. GORDON HOME -- CONTINUOUS Barbara Gordon answers the phone. RAMIREZ -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Barbara, it's Anna Ramirez - BARBARA Hi, Anna - RAMIREZ -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Listen carefully, there's no time. Jim needs you to pack up and get the kids in the car right away. BARBARA But the units outside - RAMIREZ -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Barbara, those cops ca n't be trusted. Jim needs you away from them as soon as possible. I'll call them off for 10 minutes, you'll have to move fast - BARBARA But where - RAMIREZ -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I'm going to give you an address - Jim will meet you there.", "EXT. MCU -- CONTINUOUS Ramirez is holding the phone. RAMIREZ 250, 52nd street. Leave as soon as the patrol car pulls out. Dent is holding a gun at Ramirez's head. She hangs up. DENT She believe you? Ramirez nods. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- She trusts you. Just like Rachel did. RAMIREZ I did n't know - DENT ` What they were gon na do'? You're the second cop to say that to me. What, exactly, did you think they were going to do? RAMIREZ I'm sorry - they got me early on. My mother's medical bills and my - DENT Do n't! Dent FLIPS his coin. RAMIREZ I took a little from them - once they've got you, they keep you. I'm sorry. Dent looks at his coin. Good side. DENT Live to fight another day, officer. Dent CRACKS her on the head with his gun.", "INT. BRIDGE, PRISONER FERRY -- NIGHT The Pilot -LSB- Prison Ferry -RSB- tries the radio. It's DEAD. PILOT [PRISON FERRY] He killed the radio. THE JOKER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- There's no need for all of you to die. That would be a waste. So I've left you both a little present.", "EXT. PENTHOUSE, PREWITT BUILDING -- NIGHT The Joker stares out over the harbor, at the ferries. Talking into a cell phone. Holding a detonator, with TWO BUTTONS. THE JOKER Each of you has a remote to blow up the other boat.", "INT. PASSENGER LOUNGE, PRISONER FERRY -- NIGHT The Prisoners and Corrections Officers listen. Appalled. THE JOKER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- At midnight, I blow you all up. If, however, one of you presses the button, I'll let that boat live. You Choose. So who's it going to be - Harvey Dent's most wanted scumbag collection. or the sweet innocent civilians? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Oh, and you might want to decide quickly, because the people on the other boat may not be quite so noble. The Joker HANGS UP. The Pilot -LSB- Prisoner Ferry -RSB- looks down at the remote in his hands. Prisoners begin YELLING and PUSHING. The WARDEN takes the remote from the Pilot - COCKS his shotgun. His men level their weapons at the crowd.", "EXT. FERRY TERMINAL -- CONTINUOUS Gordon looks out at the ferries. His phone rings. BATMAN Have the Joker's location -", "EXT. GOTHAM STREETS -- CONTINUOUS Batman ROARS along on the bat - pod. BATMAN Prewitt building. Assemble on the building opposite.", "INT. PASSENGER LOUNGE, COMMUTER FERRY -- NIGHT The National Guard Commander is holding the remote. Several passengers take a step towards him. He PULLS his weapon. NATIONAL GUARD COMMANDER Stay back. A BUSINESSMAN clutching his briefcase speaks up. BUSINESSMAN Who are you to decide? We ought to talk it over, at least. Other passengers agree. A MOTHER with two KIDS speaks up. MOTHER We do n't all have to die. Why should my babies die? Those men had their chance - NATIONAL GUARD COMMANDER We're not talking about this. PASSENGER 1 They're talking over the same exact thing on the other boat. PASSENGER 2 If they're even bothering to talk. Let's put it to a vote.", "INT. PASSENGER LOUNGE, PRISONER FERRY -- NIGHT As the Prisoners grow angrier, a CORRECTIONS OFFICER FIRES his shotgun into the air. The Prisoners back off. Slightly.", "INT. PASSENGER LOUNGE, COMMUTER FERRY -- NIGHT A GUARDSMAN on this boat passes around a hat. People drop CHITS into it. Passengers filling out chits eye each other. People on their phones say goodbye to loved ones. The Pilot -LSB- Passenger Ferry -RSB- looks out across the water to the other Ferry. Looks up at the clock. Ten to midnight. STARES down at his blank chit.", "EXT. ROOFTOP OVERLOOKING PREWITT BUILDING -- NIGHT Gordon and his SWAT team leaders set up SNIPER and SCOPE positions on the balustrade.", "INT. GARAGE, PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS A SWAT stands beside the empty school bus. SWAT We've found our missing bus.", "EXT. ROOFTOP OVERLOOKING PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS Gordon looks at the SWAT LEADER. GORDON Then we have a hostage situation. They look across at the large windows of the Prewitt Building. The Joker's men, in crude, homemade CLOWN MASKS are clearly visible, automatic weapons in hand. SWAT SNIPER I got hostages! They look through his scope. Crouched deeper in the room, PATIENTS, DOCTORS, and NURSES, huddled. GORDON It's a shooting gallery. Why'd he choose a spot with such big windows? BATMAN He likes the view. Batman gestures towards the view of the ferries. SWAT LEADER We have clear shots on five clowns Snipers take them out, smash the windows - a team rappels in, a team moves in by the stairwells. 2 or 3 or three casualties, max. GORDON -LRB- barely hesitates. -RRB- Let's do it. BATMAN It's not that simple. With the Joker, it never is. GORDON What's simple, is that every second we do n't take him, those people on the ferries get closer to blowing each other up! BATMAN That wo n't happen. GORDON Then he'll blow them both up! There's no time - we have to go in now - BATMAN There's always a catch with him - GORDON That's why we ca n't wait - we ca n't play his games - Batman turns. BATMAN I need five minutes. Alone - GORDON No. There's no time. We have clear shots. Gordon pulls his gun. Batman turns back. The SWATS watch. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Dent's in there with them. We have to save Dent! I have to save Dent! -LRB- to SWAT Leader. -RRB- Get ready - Batman LEAPS from the building, OPENS his cape - SOARS across the gulf between the two buildings - Gordon puts his weapon away. Curses softly. Turns to the SWAT leader. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Two minutes. Then you breach.", "EXT. PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS Batman LANDS against the glass two floors below - BATMAN Fox. I need picture.", "INT. LAB, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT -- CONTINUOUS Fox hits some keys - FOX You've got POV. on alpha channel, omni on beta -", "EXT. PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS SMOKED GLASS EYEPIECES slip down over Batman's eye holes. Batman's SONAR POV. : the layers of the building dissolve, levels of TRANSPARENCY PULSING rhythmically. Batman can see the people inside the building.", "INT. PENTHOUSE, PREWITT BUILDING -- NIGHT The Joker is standing by the window, looking out at his handiwork. The Chechen's DOGS start BARKING. He SMILES.", "EXT. PENTHOUSE, PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS Batman reaches into his utility belt, SPRAYS PLASTIC onto the glass - lets it harden - PUNCHES the window - which BREAKS QUIETLY as the pieces stick to the laminate - he slips inside -", "INT. PENTHOUSE, PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS Batman's eyes glow white as he uses his sonar to look THROUGH the corner : AN ARMED CLOWN IS LEANING AGAINST THE CORNER.", "EXT. ROOFTOP, PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS A six man SWAT team prepares to rappel from the roof.", "INT. STAIRWELL, PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS A SWAT team moves up the stairs.", "EXT. ROOFTOP OVERLOOKING PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS Gordon's phone rings. GORDON Hello? Barbara, calm down - DENT -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Hello, Jim. GORDON Harvey? What the hell's going on? DENT -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You're about to know what my suffering is really like. Gordon looks across at the Prewitt penthouse. GORDON -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Where are you? Where's my family?! DENT Where my family died. Click. Gordon looks at the SWAT leader. Pale. SWAT LEADER Red Team. Go! Gordon moves to the door off the roof.", "INT. PENTHOUSE, PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS Batman GRABS the Armed Clown, drops him, silently. He goes to disarm him - THE WEAPON IS DUCT - TAPED TO THE CLOWN'S HANDS. Batman RIPS off the clown mask : STARING, FRIGHTENED EYES - MOUTH DUCT - TAPED SHUT. it's ENGEL. Batman looks up : Four more clowns line the windows, weapons duct - taped to their hands. On SONAR : he looks into where the hostages are crouched. the `` PATIENTS'' and `` DOCTORS'' are carrying weapons - these are the Joker's men. Above them SWATS RAPPEL FROM THE ROOFTOP. In the stairwells, two more teams prepping. BATMAN Do n't. Move. Engel nods, terrified.", "EXT. ROOFTOP OVERLOOKING PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS The SWATS line up the clowns in their sights.", "INT. STAIRWELL, PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS The SWAT team arrives at the penthouse fire exit. They spread CHARGES across the inner wall -", "EXT. ROOFTOP OVERLOOKING PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS The SWAT Leader checks his watch. SWAT LEADER Go! Go! Go! A SWAT Sniper zeroes in on a clown - the clown DISAPPEARS - the Sniper looks up, confused -", "INT. PENTHOUSE, PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS Batman yanks the clown along the floor using his grapple gun - the clown takes down the two next to him - Batman leaps for the nearest two as SHOTS SHATTER the glass -", "EXT. PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS The SWATS rappel down the building - SWING in through the broken windows -", "INT. PENTHOUSE, PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS The `` hostages'' reel from the BLAST - The SWATS SWOOP in, aiming weapons at the clowns, throwing PERCUSSION GRENADES - Batman takes out the SWATS with fists and BATARANGS - The last SWAT aims at BATMAN - behind him a `` DOCTOR'' raises a shotgun. behind the `` Doctor'' Batman can see through the wall at SWATS preparing to breach. Batman VAULTS over the SWAT into a two - foot kick into the `` Doctor's'' chest -", "INT. STAIRWELL, PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS The Swats BLAST OUT THE WALL - the team leader steps up to the hole. the BAT - GRAPPLE FIRES out - lodging in his kevlar vest. he is YANKED, SCREAMING, through the door. The rest of his team look at each other. Steel themselves. Move in through the hole.", "INT. PENTHOUSE, PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS As the SWATS race in they find Engel, terrified, next to a pile of unconscious `` hostages'', and their team leader, one end of an absailing rope tied around his waist. Batman is on them, weaving KICKING, PUNCHING, and, with one hand, clipping carabinners looped to the absailing rope onto their webbing of vests. Batman steps back - picks up the team leader - SWAT weapons aim at him - he hurls the Team Leader out the window. the SWATS watch him go. the rope pays out. one by one they are YANKED out of the window.", "EXT. ROOFTOP OVERLOOKING PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS A SNIPER watches through his scope as the six man SWAT team soars out of the window and drops. The line snaps taut and they hang, like a mountaineering team in crisis. Batman, crouched in the broken window, secures the line. SNIPER What the hell's he doing? Batman looks right at the sniper - Raises his grapple gun - BAM. The bat grapple smashes into the Sniper's scope - the rifle is YANKED out of his hands.", "INT. PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS Batman races past a dazed Engel. ENGEL -LRB- pathetic. -RRB- Thanks. into the main office. The Joker is there. THE JOKER You came. I'm touched. BATMAN Where's the detonator? The Dogs LEAP at Batman - SMASH him to the ground.", "INT. PASSENGER LOUNGE, COMMUTER FERRY -- NIGHT The Pilot -LSB- Passenger Ferry -RSB- finishes counting the votes. Reads the verdict. PILOT [PASSENGER FERRY] The tally is 196 votes against. -LRB- looks down. -RRB- And 340 votes for. The passengers avoid eye contact with each other.", "INT. PASSENGER LOUNGE, PRISONER FERRY -- NIGHT The Corrections Officers are in a phalanx in the corner, facing off against hundreds of menacing Prisoners. PRISONER 1 Do you wan na die! The Warden and his men look at each other. At the clock.", "INT. PENTHOUSE, PREWITT BUILDING -- NIGHT Batman WRESTLES with the Rotweilers - a blinding mass of Batman, black fur and bared teeth - The Joker POPS a switchblade. Moves in to the mass - Batman KICKS OFF the last of the dogs - the Joker JABS his knife into Batman's RIBS - THE JOKER All the old familiar places. Batman recoils in pain. The Joker BUTTS him - KNEES him - ENERGY explodes from his lean frame - he KICKS the injured Batman back towards the glass.", "INT. PASSENGER LOUNGE, COMMUTER FERRY -- NIGHT The Pilot -LSB- Passenger Ferry -RSB- looks at the remote in his hands. PILOT [PASSENGER FERRY] I voted for it. Same as most of you. Does n't seem right that we should all die. Someone calls out from the back. PASSENGER 3 So do it! PILOT [PASSENGER FERRY] I did n't say I'd do it. Do n't forget. We're still here. Which means they have n't killed us, yet, either. He sets the remote down on a bench in the front of the lounge. The other passengers and guardsmen stare at it.", "INT. PASSENGER LOUNGE, PRISONER FERRY -- NIGHT A HUGE, TATTOOED PRISONER pushes his way to the front. He walks towards the Warden, who is sweating, looking at the remote. TATTOOED PRISONER You do n't wan na die. But you do n't know how to take a life. Give it to me. The Warden looks at the remote. At the clock. TATTOOED PRISONER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- These men will kill you and take it, anyway. Give it to me, you can tell people I took it by force. give it to me and I'll do what you should have done ten minutes ago.", "INT. PASSENGER LOUNGE, COMMUTER FERRY -- NIGHT Everyone stares at the remote. One minute left. The Businessman stands. Walks over and picks it up. BUSINESSMAN No one wants to get their hands dirty. Fine. I'll do it. Those men on that boat made their choices. They chose to murder and steal. It makes no sense for us to die, too. He looks at the other passengers. No one makes eye contact.", "INT. PASSENGER LOUNGE, PRISONER FERRY -- NIGHT The Warden slowly hands him the REMOTE. The Prisoner looks at it. He looks the Warden in the eye. Then TOSSES the remote out the window. Warden, prisoners and officers are stunned.", "EXT. PENTHOUSE, PREWITT BUILDING -- NIGHT Batman FLIES backwards THROUGH THE WINDOW - glass flying - the Joker KICKS out a wooden brace holding up the STEEL FRAME - Batman's arms fly up as it comes crashing down onto his neck - saved by his protective gauntlets. Batman GRUNTS as the Joker STEPS onto the steel beam. THE JOKER If we do n't stop fighting, we're going to miss the fireworks. BATMAN There wo n't be any fireworks. Batman STRUGGLES to keep the beam from CRUSHING his neck.", "INT. PASSENGER LOUNGE, COMMUTER FERRY -- NIGHT The Businessman stares at the remote in his hands. Finally, he puts it down. Sits down. Waits to die. The clock strikes MIDNIGHT.", "EXT. PENTHOUSE, PREWITT BUILDING -- NIGHT Batman indicates the clock. twelve o'clock. BATMAN What were you hoping to prove? That deep down, we're all as ugly as you? The Joker looks at the clock.", "INT. BOTH FERRIES -- CONTINUOUS The Passengers brace. Look at the clock. Confused.", "INT. PREWITT BUILDING -- CONTINUOUS The smile disappears from the Joker's face. BATMAN You're alone. The Joker CROUCHES down, hovering above Batman's face and arms. Shows him the remote. THE JOKER Ca n't rely on anyone these days. The Joker ARMS the remote. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Have to do everything yourself. I always have - and it's not always easy. -LRB- smiles, remembering. -RRB- You know how I got these scars? Batman looks up at him. BATMAN No. But I know how you get these - Batman's SCALLOP BLADES FIRE OUT OF HIS GAUNTLET, nailing the Joker in the chest and arm - he STAGGERS back - Batman, freed, leaps forward - KICKS HIM OVER THE EDGE - GRABS the remote - The Joker GIGGLES as he FALLS, enjoying the ride. Something SLAMS into his leg, and he JERKS to a stop - BATMAN'S GRAPPLE. The Joker HOLLERS in pain as Batman HAULS him up. THE JOKER Just could n't let me go, could you? I guess this is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, are n't you? Batman secures the Joker UPSIDE DOWN. The Joker is LAUGHING. THE JOKER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You wo n't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self - righteousness. and I wo n't kill you because you're too much fun. We're going to do this forever. BATMAN You'll be in a padded cell, forever. THE JOKER Maybe we can share it. They'll need to double up, the rate this city's inhabitants are losing their minds. BATMAN This city just showed you it's full of people ready to believe in good. The Joker looks up at him. A twinkle in his eye. THE JOKER Till their spirit breaks completely. Until they find out what I did with the best of them. Until they get a good look at the real Harvey Dent, and all the heroic things he's done. -LRB- indicates ferry. -RRB- Then those criminals will be straight back onto the streets and Gotham will understand the true nature of heroism. -LRB- off look. -RRB- You did n't think I'd risk losing the battle for the soul of Gotham in a fist fight with you? You've got to have an ace in the hole. Mine's Harvey. Batman hauls the Joker up, nose to nose. BATMAN What did you do? THE JOKER I took Gotham's white knight. And I brought him down to my level. It was n't hard - madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push. Joker laughs. Batman leaves him to the SWATS. BATMAN Lucius. Find Harvey Dent.", "EXT. BURNT WAREHOUSE, 52ND STREET -- NIGHT Gordon gets out of his car, gun drawn. Makes his way into the blackened wreck of a building.", "INT. BURNT WAREHOUSE, 52ND STREET -- NIGHT Gordon peers into the darkness. GORDON Dent? No reply. Gordon makes his way deeper. Up the stairs.", "INT. SECOND FLOOR, BURNT WAREHOUSE -- NIGHT Gordon spots Barbara and their two children huddled together. He moves towards them - Barbara is shaking her head - WHAM! Dent cracks Gordon over the head with his gun. Dent disarms Gordon, rolls him over. He turns to look at the ENORMOUS hole in the floor. From this side, in the moonlight, Dent looks completely normal. DENT This is where they brought her, Gordon. After your people handed her over. This is where they bound her. This is where she suffered. This is where she died. GORDON I know. I was here. Trying to save her. Dent TURNS, revealing his dark side. DENT But you did n't, did you? GORDON I could n't. DENT Yes, you could. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- If you'd listened to me - if you'd stood up against corruption instead of doing your deal with the devil. GORDON I was trying to fight the mob - Dent MOVES towards Gordon. DENT You would n't dare try to justify yourself if you knew what I'd lost. Have you ever had to talk to the person you love most, wondering if you're about to listen to them die? You ever had to lie to that person? Tell them it's going to be all right, when you know it's not? Well, you're about to find out what that feels like. Then you'll be able to look me in the eye and tell me you're sorry. Dent turns - steps over to Barbara - puts the gun to her temple - GORDON Harvey. Put the gun down. You're not going to hurt my family. DENT No, just the person you need most. -LRB- cocks gun. -RRB- So is it your wife? GORDON Put the gun down. Dent moves the gun to point at Gordon's little girl. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Please, Harvey. Dent moves to James Gordon. Brushes the hair out of the boy's eyes with the muzzle. Gordon SNAPS. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Goddamit. Stop pointing that gun at my family, Dent. DENT We have a winner. Dent pulls the boy away from his mother. BARBARA No! Jim stop him! Do n't let him! Dent walks James past Gordon to the edge of the burnt floor. He touches the raw wood at the edge of the floor. GORDON I'm sorry, Harvey. For everything. But, please. Please do n't hurt him. SIRENS.", "EXT. BURNT WAREHOUSE, 52ND STREET -- CONTINUOUS Cop cars descend on the warehouse.", "INT. SECOND FLOOR, BURNT WAREHOUSE -- CONTINUOUS Dent looks at Gordon, FURIOUS. DENT You brought your cops? GORDON All they know is there's a situation. They do n't know who, or what. They're just creating a perimeter. DENT You think I want to escape?! There's No escape from this - Dent indicates his face. His suffering. GORDON No one needs to escape, because no one's done anything wrong. And nobody has to. Dent chuckles. A macabre sight. DENT I've done plenty wrong, Gordon. Just not quite enough. Yet. Dent squeezes the gun a little tighter against the little boy's neck. The boy WHIMPERS. BATMAN You do n't want to hurt the boy, Dent. Dent turns. Batman steps from the shadows. DENT It's not about what I want. It's about what's fair. -LRB- to Gordon and Batman. -RRB- You thought we could be decent men in an indecent world. You thought we could lead by example. You thought the rules could be bent but not break. you were wrong. The world is cruel. -LRB- shows his coin. -RRB- And the only morality in a cruel world is chance. Unbiased. Unprejudiced. Fair. BATMAN Nothing fair ever came out of the barrel of a gun, Dent. DENT -LRB- shows the coin. -RRB- His boy's got the same chance she had. Fifty - fifty. Batman steps closer, desperate, trying to reach Dent. BATMAN What happened to Rachel was n't chance. We decided to act. We three. We knew the risks and we acted as one. We are all responsible for the consequences. Dent looks at Batman. Pleading. DENT Then why was it only me who lost everything? Batman looks into Dent's eyes. Emotional. BATMAN It was n't. DENT -LRB- furious. -RRB- The Joker chose me! BATMAN Because you were the best of us. He wanted to prove that even someone as good as you could fall. DENT -LRB- bitter. -RRB- And he was right. BATMAN But you're fooling yourself if you think you're letting chance decide. You're the one pointing the gun, Harvey. So point it at the people who were responsible. We all acted as one. Gordon. Me. And you. Dent is listening, the wheels in his deranged mind turning. DENT Fair enough. Dent eases his grip on the boy. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You first. He points the gun at Batman. FLIPS the coin. TAILS. He SHOOTS. Batman COLLAPSES to the ground, clutching his gut. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- My turn. He points the gun at his own head. FLIPS the coin. HEADS. He looks a little disappointed. Finally, he points the gun back at Gordon's son. DENT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Your turn, Gordon. GORDON You're right, Harvey. Rachel's death Was my fault. But punish me - DENT I'm about to. Tell your son it's going to be all right, Gordon. Lie. Like I lied. Gordon looks up. Pained. Locks eyes with his son. GORDON It's going to be all right, son. Dent FLIPS the coin. High. Dent's eyes FOLLOW the coin up - Batman HURLS himself at Dent and the boy. All three of them VANISH over the edge. A TERRIBLE CRASH - then silence, but for the sound of DENT'S COIN, SPINNING on the floor at the edge of the hole. Gordon, horrified, RUNS to the edge - peers down - Dent lies at the bottom of the hole, his neck broken. DEAD. The coin stops spinning, GOOD SIDE UP. Gordon's son swings into view, HANGING from Batman, who is holding onto a JOIST with all his strength. Gordon reaches down to GRAB his son - HAULS him up. Batman FALLS. , dropping and dropping, SMASHING THROUGH protruding WOOD and PIPES. He lands HARD near Dent.", "EXT. BURNT WAREHOUSE, 52ND STREET -- CONTINUOUS The cops prepare to STORM the front door.", "INT. BURNT WAREHOUSE, 52ND STREET -- CONTINUOUS Gordon races down the stairs. Rushes over to Batman. JAMES Dad, is he okay? Gordon crouches at Batman's side. The Batman GRASPS Gordon's arm. STAGGERS to his feet. GORDON Thank - you. BATMAN You do n't have to - GORDON Yes, I do. Gordon and Batman stare down at Dent's body. Grave. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- The Joker won. Gordon stares down at SCARRED SIDE of Harvey Dent. GORDON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Harvey's prosecution, everything he fought for, everything Rachel died for. Undone. Whatever chance Gotham had of fixing itself. whatever chance you gave us of fixing our city. dies with Harvey's reputation. We bet it all on him. The Joker took the best of us and tore him down. People will lose all hope. BATMAN No. They wo n't. -LRB- looks at Gordon. -RRB- They can never know what he did. GORDON -LRB- incredulous. -RRB- Five dead? Two of them cops? We ca n't sweep that under - BATMAN No. But the Joker can not win. Batman crouches to Dent's body. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Gotham needs its true hero. Gently, he turns Dent's head so the good side of his face is up. Gordon looks from Dent's face to Batman. Understanding. GORDON You? You ca n't - BATMAN Yes, I can. Batman stands. Faces Gordon. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I can do those things because I'm not a hero, like Dent. I killed those people. That's what I can be. GORDON -LRB- angry. -RRB- No, you ca n't! You're not! Batman hands Gordon his police radio. BATMAN I'm whatever Gotham needs me to be. INSERT CUT : GORDON STANDS AT A PODIUM AT DENT'S FUNERAL. BEHIND HIM IS A LARGE PHOTOGRAPH OF DENT SMILING. GORDON a hero. Not the hero we deserved - the hero we needed. Nothing less than a knight. Shining. GORDON -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- They'll hunt you. BATMAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You'll hunt me. INSERT CUT : GORDON, ON THE ROOF OF GOTHAM CENTRAL, AXE IN HAND, WATCHED BY AN ASSORTMENT OF COPS AND REPORTERS. BATMAN -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- You'll condemn me, set the dogs on me. GORDON TAKES THE AXE TO THE BAT SYMBOL - SPARKING, SMASHING. BATMAN -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- because it's what needs to happen. INSERT CUT : ALFRED HOLDS THE LETTER FROM RACHEL. THINKING. BATMAN -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- Because sometimes the truth is n't good enough. INSERT CUT : ALFRED BURNS THE ENVELOPE FROM RACHEL. BATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- sometimes, people deserve more. INSERT CUT : LUCIUS FOX TYPES HIS NAME INTO THE SONAR MACHINE. INSERT CUT : FOX HITS THE `` X''. THE MACHINE FLASHES RED `` SELF - DESTRUCT WARNINGS''. THEN DIES. FOX SMILES TO HIMSELF. Batman hurries off. LIMPING into the shadows. JAMES Batman?! James RUNS down the stairs to join father - JAMES -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Why's he running, Dad?! Gordon stares after Batman. GORDON Because we have to chase him.", "EXT. WAREHOUSE -- CONTINUOUS As Cops race into the buildings the DOGS get the scent and pull away from the doorway, following the SHADOW into the stacks of shipping containers.", "INT. WAREHOUSE -- CONTINUOUS James looks at his father, confused. JAMES He did n't do anything wrong! Gordon stares after the Batman. The sound of the dogs becoming louder and more ferocious. JAMES -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Why, dad? Why?! GORDON Because.", "EXT. DOCKSIDE ROOFTOPS -- CONTINUOUS The Batman LURCHES between shipping containers. STUMBLING. BLEEDING. He makes it to the bat - pod. GORDON -LRB- V.O. -RRB- he's the hero Gotham deserves. but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. The bat - pod streaks through Gotham's underground streets, the Batman's cape fluttering behind. A wraith. GORDON -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- he's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. a dark knight. The Batman races up a ramp into a blinding light - CUT TO BLACK. CREDITS. 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Batman, District Attorney Harvey Dent and Lieutenant James Gordon form an alliance to rid Gotham City of organized crime. Bruce Wayne believes that with Dent as Gotham's protector, he can retire from being Batman and lead a normal life with Rachel Dawes \u2013 even though she and Dent are dating. Mob bosses Sal Maroni, Gambol, and the Chechen hold a video conference with their corrupt accountant, Lau, who has taken their funds for safekeeping and fled to Hong Kong. The Joker interrupts the meeting to warn them that since Batman is unhindered by the law, he would find Lau, who would give up the mob's money for a plea bargain. Joker offers to kill Batman in exchange for half of their money. The mob bosses disagree, and Gambol places a bounty on the Joker. The Joker finds and kills Gambol, taking over his gang. The mob decides to take the Joker up on his offer. Batman finds Lau in Hong Kong and brings him back to Gotham to testify, allowing Dent to apprehend the entire mob. The Joker threatens to kill people unless Batman reveals his identity, and starts by murdering Police Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb and the judge presiding over the mob trial. The Joker also tries to kill Mayor Anthony Garcia, but Gordon sacrifices himself to stop the assassination. Dent kidnaps one of Joker's henchmen and threatens him with a seemingly deadly game of heads or tails until Batman intervenes, warning Dent that all the criminals he has convicted would be released if anyone found out. Dent learns that Rachel is Joker's next target. Bruce decides to reveal his secret identity to prevent more deaths. Before he can, however, Dent falsely announces that he is Batman to lure the Joker out. Dent is taken into protective custody, but the Joker appears and attacks the convoy. Batman comes to Dent's rescue and Gordon, who faked his death, apprehends the Joker, securing a promotion to Commissioner. Rachel and Dent are escorted away by detectives on Maroni's payroll; Gordon later learns that they never arrived home. Batman interrogates the Joker, who reveals that they have been trapped in separate locations rigged with explosives and that Batman must choose one to save. Batman races to save Rachel, while Gordon attempts to rescue Dent. Batman arrives at the building, but realizes that the Joker has sent him to Dent's location instead. Both buildings explode, killing Rachel and disfiguring Dent. The Joker escapes with Lau, who leads him to the Mob's funds. The Joker burns his share of the money and kills Lau and the Chechen. Coleman Reese, an accountant at Wayne Enterprises, deduces that Bruce is Batman and threatens to publicize the information. Not wanting Reese's revelation to interfere with his plans, the Joker threatens to destroy a hospital unless Reese is killed within an hour. All hospitals are evacuated and Gordon travels to secure Reese. The Joker, disguised as a hospital nurse, discovers Dent's ward and hands him a gun, convincing him to seek revenge for Rachel's death. The Joker destroys the hospital and escapes with a busload of hostages. Dent goes on a killing spree, deciding the fates of people he holds responsible for Rachel's death by flipping his lucky coin, one face of which was corroded in the explosion. Dent eventually apprehends Gordon's family, believing Gordon's love for his family parallels his love for Rachel. After announcing that Gotham City will be subject to his rule by nightfall, the Joker rigs two evacuating ferries with explosives; one carrying civilians and the other prisoners. The passengers have been supplied with a trigger to the other boat's explosives, and the Joker announces through an intercom that he will blow both ferries if one of them has not been destroyed by midnight. Batman finds the Joker by using a sonar device that spies on the entire city, with the reluctant help of Lucius Fox. The civilians and the prisoners refuse to kill each other, while Batman apprehends the Joker after a fight. Before the police arrive to take the Joker into custody, he gloats that Gotham's citizens will lose hope once Dent's rampage becomes public knowledge. Gordon and Batman arrive at the building where Rachel died and find Dent threatening to kill Gordon's family. Dent again flips his coin and shoots Batman, spares himself, and aims to kill Gordon's son, claiming that Gordon's negligence is responsible for Rachel's death. Batman, who was wearing body armor, tackles Dent off the building to his death. Batman persuades Gordon to let him take responsibility for the killing spree to preserve Dent's heroic image. As the police launch a manhunt for Batman, Gordon destroys the Bat-signal, Fox watches as the sonar device self-destructs, and Alfred burns a letter from Rachel saying she plans to marry Dent.", "name": "The_Dark_Knight_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["INT. BASEMENT - EVENING A NAKED LIGHTBULB SPARKS TO LIFE. It dangles from the ceiling of a basement. LIGHT, QUICK FOOTSTEPS AS ANNA CROWE moves down the stairs. Anna is the rare combination of beauty and innocence. She stands in the chilly basement in an elegant summer dress that outlines her slender body. Her gentle eyes move across the empty room and come to rest on a rack of wine bottles covering one entire wall. She walks to the bottles. Her fingertips slide over the labels. She stops when she finds just the right one. A tiny smile as she slides it out. Anna turns to leave. Stops. She stares at the shadowy basement. It's an unsettling place. She stands very still and watches her breath form a TINY CLOUD IN THE COLD AIR. She's visibly uncomfortable. Anna Crowe moves for the staircase in a hurry. Each step faster than the next. She climbs out of the basement in another burst of LIGHT, QUICK FOOTSTEPS. WE HEAR HER HIT THE LIGHT SWITCH. THE LIGHTBULB DIES. DRIPPING BLACK DEVOURS THE ROOM.", "INT. DINING ROOM - EVENING Two place settings are arranged on the living room coffee table. Take - out Chinese food sits half eaten on good china. An empty bottle of red wine sits between boxes of Chinese food. Anna arrives with the backup bottle and is now wearing a sweater. She hands a collegiate rowing team sweatshirt to Malcolm. ANNA It's getting cold. MALCOLM CROWE sits on the floor at the coffee table, his vest and tie on the sofa behind him. A jacket and an overcoat lay on a brirfcase next to him. Malcolm is in his thirties with thick, wavy hair and striking, intelligent eyes that squint from years of intense study. His charming, easy - going smile spreads across his face. He points. MALCOLM That's one fine frame. A fine frame it is. Malcolm points to the HUGE FRAMED CERTIFICATE propped up on a dining room chair. It's printed on aged parchment - type paper. The frame is a polished mahogany. He slips on the sweatshirt. MALCOLM How much does a fine frame like that cost, you think? Anna hands the backup bottle over to Malcolm. ANNA -LRB- smiling. -RRB- I've never told you. but you sound a little like Dr. Seuss when you're drunk. Malcolm uncorks the wine and starts pouring in the empty glass. MALCOLM Anna, I'm serious. Serious I am, Anna. Anna giggles. She's clearly buzzed herself. Malcolm does n't get it. Anna takes a few calming sips of her wine. Her attention slowly moves to the framed certificate. ANNA Mahogany. I'd say that cost at least a couple hundred. Maybe three. MALCOLM Three? We should hock it. Buy a C.D. rack for the bedroom. ANNA Do you know how important this is? This is big time. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'm going to read it for you, doctor. MALCOLM Do I really sound like Dr. Seuss? Anna ignores Malcolm and clears her throat. She leans forward her seat and reads the certificate out loud as Malcolm tries to tickle her. ANNA In recognition for his outstanding achievement in the field of child psychology, his dedication to his work, and his continuing efforts to improve the quality of life for countless children and their families, the City of Philadelphia proudly bestows upon its son Dr. Malcolm Crowe. That's you. the Mayor's Citation for Professional Excellence. Beat. The power of the words sobers the two of them. ANNA Wow. They called you their son. MALCOLM We can keep it in the bathroom. Anna turns to Malcolm. He smiles. MALCOLM It's not real, Anna. Some secretary wrote that up. Do n't tell me you thought it was real? Anna's expression becomes serious. MALCOLM What? She just keeps staring. Beat. MALCOLM Do n't do the quiet thing. You know I hate it. Beat. ANNA This is an important night for us. Finally someone is recognizing the sacrifices you made. That you have put everything second, including me, for those families they're talking about. Malcolm plays softly with her face. Anna takes his hands and holds them steady. ANNA They're also saying that my husband has a gift. Not an ordinary gift that allows him to hit a ball over a fence. Or a gift that lets him produce beautiful images on a canvas. Your gift teaches children how to be strong in situations where most adults would piss on themselves. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Yes, I believe what they wrote about you. Anna lets go of his hands. Anna's eyes are emotional. Malcolm smiles softly. MALCOLM Thank you. Anna leans towards him. They hold each other tight. Beat. MALCOLM What are we hugging about again? Anna laughs as she wipes her eyes. ANNA Nothing. There was n't supposed to be any crying at this celebration. Just a lot of drinking and sex. Malcolm's charming, easy - going smile returns. MALCOLM I would like some red wine in a glass. Anna hands him his glass. He stares at it. MALCOLM I would not like it in a mug. I would not like it in a jug. Malcolm looks at Anna surprised at what he said. They crack up laughing. THEIR SWEET LAUGHTER FILLS THE HOUSE.", "INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT TWO GIGGLING SHADOWS APPEAR IN THE BEDROOM DOORWAY. They try to turn on the light. It does n't come on. MALCOLM Bulb's out. Anna giggles some more as Malcolm's shadow stumbles across the bedroom. MALCOLM TURNS ON THE BATHROOM LIGHT. A SHAFT OF LIGHT falls on Anna as she stands in the corner of the room. Anna smiles playfully and pulls off her sweater. She sways to a pretend striptease song. Malcolm ca n't hold back his grin. He joins in - slowly peeling off the sweat - shirt. He looks back to Anna. She's stopped her playful dance. She's facing away from him. He walks towards her. HIS GRIN QUIETLY DISAPPEARS. Malcolm's face turns to rock as his attention is drawn to the SHATTERED WINDOW in their bedroom. The wind moves through the room. A lamp lays broken on the ground by the window. Malcolm kneels down. Beat. Anna's eyes fill with a quiet awareness. ANNA He's still in the house. A SHADOW FROM THE BATHROOM FLATS OVER BOTH OF THEM. ANNA SCREAMS. Malcolm spins around. His heart stops. Malcolm and Anna stare at the bathroom doorwary. They know someone is inside. Beat. Malcolm slowly starts towards the door. The first thing that comes into view are the clothes on the bathroom floor. Then the figure of a man comes into view. A STRANGER stands bare chested in the back of the bathroom. NO ONE MAKES A SOUND. The STRANGER is about nineteen. Drugged out. Pitch black eyes bulging. His body is covered in scars and bruises. His hands are folded in front of him. He shakes ever so slightly. He has a patch of white in his hair. Malcolm speaks in a very calm voice. Never takes his eyes off the stranger. MALCOLM Anna, do n't move. Do n't say a word. Anna barely nods her understanding. MALCOLM -LRB- to the stranger. -RRB- This is forty - seven Locust Street. You have broken a window and entered a private residence. Do you understand what I'm saying? The stranger slowly looks up for the first time. His eyes lock on Malcolm. STRANGER You do n't know so many things. Beat. MALCOLM There are no needles or prescription drugs of any kind in this house. The stranger suddenly comes forward into the doorway. Malcolm stumbles back onto the edge of the bed. Anna sees the stranger for the first time. Her face drains of color. The stranger looks at Malcolm. He half grins. STRANGER Are you drunk? The stranger's stare slides to Anna. STRANGER Did you get him drunk? The stranger gazes at Anna. Gazes directly into her eyes. A penetrating, unwavering stare. STRANGER Do you know why you're scared when you're alone? Anna's expression instanly changes. STRANGER I know. BEAT. THE ROOM GOES SILENT. MALCOLM What do you want? I do n't understand what you want. The stranger turns and glares at Malcolm. STRANGER What you promised. Malcolm stops all movement. ANNA - My God. MALCOLM - Do I know you? STRANGER Let's all celebrate, Dr. Malcolm Crowe. Recipient of awards from the Mayor on the news. Dr. Malcolm Crowe, he's helped so many children. And he does n't even remember my name? Malcolm ca n't speak. Beat. The stranger's face starts to tremble. STRANGER I was ten when you worked with me. Beat. Malcolm's intelligent eyes race for answers. STRANGER Downtown clinic? Single parent family? -LRB- beat. -RRB- I had a possible mood disorder. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I had no friends. you said I was socially isolated. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I was afraid - you called it acute anxiety. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You were wrong. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Come on, clear your head. Male, nine. Single parent. Mood discorder. Acute anxiety. Malcolm looks like someone hit him with a sledgehammer. STRANGER I'm nineteen. I have drugs in my system twenty - four hours a day. I still have no friends. I still have no peace. I'm still afraid. Tears jump into the stranger's eyes. STRANGER I'm still afraid. Malcolm stands. MALCOLM Please give me a second to think. Malcolm's shaking hands touch his mouth as he stares at the stranger. Beat. MALCOLM Bed Freidken? STRANGER Some people call me freak. MALCOLM Ronald. Ronald Sumner? Tears fall down the stranger's face. STRANGER I am a freak. Malcolm looks up at the sound of those words. Something clicks in his head. MALCOLM - Vincent? THE ROOM GOES SILENT AGAIN. MALCOLM Vincent Gray? VINCENT GRAY stares with surprise through his tears. Malcolm lets out a deep breath like he just emerged from deep waters. MALCOLM I do remember you, Vincent. You were a good kid. Very smart. Quiet. Compassionate. Unusually compassionate. Vincent's eyes burn at Malcolm. VINCENT You forgot cursed. VINCENT is fully crying now. VINCENT You failed me. MALCOLM -LRB- whispers. -RRB- Vincent. I'm sorry I did n't help you. I can try to help you now. Vincent turns to the sink. His hand goes in. He turns arund and raises a gun at Malcolm. He FIRES. A VIOLENT, EAR - SHATTERING ECHO. Malcolm clutches his stomach and folds like a rag doll onto the bed. Vincent instantly moves the gun to his own head. ANOTHER HORRIFIC BLAST SPIKES THE AIR. Vincent crumples onto the bathroom floor. ANNA'S CHILLING SCREAMS FILL THEIR HOME.", "EXT. BENCH - AFTERNOON The legend, `` Two Years Later'' appears. A man flips open a worn file folder on his lap. Handwritten notes fill every line. At the top of the first page reads, `` Vincent Gray, age 10, Referred January 19, 1989.'' The man's hand touches the name almost reverently. He glances through the page. Words and phrases are circled throughout the file.'' . Acute anxiety''''. Socially isolated''''. Possible mood disorder''''. Parent status - Divorced''''. Communication difficulty between mother - child dyad'' The man's hands flip the page. At the top of this new page reads, `` Cole Sear, age 8, Referred September 1998.'' As the man's fingers move through the notes we again see words and phrases circled throughout this new case history.'' . Acute anxiety''''. Socially isolated''''. Possible mood disorder''''. Parent status - Divorced''''. Communication difficulty between mother - child dyad'' The hands close the notepad. The hands are slightly shaking now. WE PULL BACK to reveal the shaking hands belong to Dr. Malcolm Crowe. Malcolm sits on a sidewalk bench facing a row of brownstone homes across the street. He gazes blankly at the brownstones. Beat. A door opens. Malcolm is brought out of his trance. COLE SEAR steps out his front door. Cole is a munchkin of a boy with large, black eyes that seem to take in everything around him. His hair is dark, with a small patch of jet white on the side. Cole carefully locks the door behind him. He moves to the bottom of the stairs and looks around nervously. Anxiously. The eight - year - old child reaches into his pocket and slips on a pair of VERY LARGE GLASSES. They look comical on him. Malcolm rises to his feet. He smooths out his shirt. Looks down and buttons his jacket. When he looks up, Cole is gone. Malcolm barely catches a glimpse of the boy. Cole runs at full speed down the street and turns the corner. TINY SNEAKERS SCREECHING ON THE SIDEWALK. For a second, Malcolm does n't react. The second passes. He stuffs the file in his bag and starts running too.", "EXT. STREET - DAY Malcolm hauls down the sidewalk. He comes to a hard stop at a street intersection. Searches. Spots Cole running into a parking lot. COLE sprints across the empty lot and reaches the doors of a building. He has to use all his strength to push open the highly ornate doors. He slips inside. Malcolm jogs into the parking area. His pace slows to a walk and then to stillness as he gazes up at the building. Its old stone and huge towers make it stand out from the modern buildings all around it. Malcolm stares up at the historic Philadelphia church quietly. A SHOOTING PAIN PIERCES HIS SIDE. Malcolm's hand goes to it quickly. He waits for it to pass before starting for the ornate doors.", "INT. CHURCH - DAY Only a few people sit and pray in the sea of oak pews. Malcolm scans the majestic room and finds what he's looking for in the last row of the church. He moves down the center aisle towards the back. Malcolm finds Cole playing in his pew with a set of green and beige plastic soldiers. Cole makes the soldiers talk to each other. COLE -LRB- soft. -RRB- Pro. Fun. Add. The words are unintelligible. Cole senses someone. He looks up and sees Malcolm staring at him. The boy immediately goes white. Every cell of his body still with fear. MALCOLM It's okay, Cole. Do n't be frightened. Cole stays rigid. Hands clutching a handful of plastic riflemen. MALCOLM My name is Dr. Malcolm Crowe. I was supposed to meet you today. Sorry I missed our appointment. Malcolm waits for a response. None comes. MALCOLM Do you mind if I sit down? I have this injury from a couple of years ago and it flares up every once in a while just so I wo n't forget it. Beat. Cole slowly slides down the pew, giving Malcolm most of the seat. Malcolm sits. Cole fidgets with his soldiers. Beat. Malcolm looks over and stares at Cole's glasses. He leans forward to inspect them more carefully. MALCOLM Your eye frames. They do n't seem to have any lenses in them. COLE -LRB- soft. -RRB- They're my dad's. The lenses hurt my eyes. MALCOLM I knew there was a sound explanation. Malcolm returns to staring at his lap. Beat. MALCOLM What was that you were saying before with your soldiers? Day pro fun. COLE De profundis clamo ad te domine. Malcolm stares surprised. COLE It's called Latin. It's a language. Malcolm nods at the information. MALCOLM All your soldiers speak Latin? COLE No, just one. Malcolm smiles at Cole. His eyes drift down to Cole's arms. Malcolm's smile slowly disappears. Cole's arms are covered in TINY CUTS AND BRUISES. Some almost healed. Some fresh. Malcolm looks around to gather himself. Beat. MALCOLM I like churches, too. -LRB- beat. -RRB- In olden times, in Europe, people used to hide in churches. Claim sanctuary. Cole looks up. COLE What were they hiding from? MALCOLM Oh, lots of things, I suppose. Bad people for one. People who wanted to imprison them. Hurt them. COLE Nothing bad can happen in a church, right? Malcolm studies Cole's anxious face. MALCOLM Right. Malcolm and Cole just stare at each other. COLE I forgot your name. MALCOLM Dr. Crowe. COLE You're a doctor. What kind? MALCOLM I work with young people who might be sad or upset or just want to talk. I try to help them figure things out. Beat. COLE Are you a good doctor? Malcolm smiles. MALCOLM I got an award once. From the Mayor. COLE Congratulations. MALCOLM Thank you. It was a long time ago. I've kind of been retired for a while. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You're my very first client back. COLE You use needles? MALCOLM No. COLE Not even little ones that are n't supposed to hurt? MALCOLM No. COLE That's good. Cole pockets his soldiers and rises from his pew. COLE I'm going to see you again, right? MALCOLM If it's okay with you? Cole thinks it over carefully. COLE It's okay with me. Cole and Malcolm just stare at each other. MALCOLM And Cole, next time I wo n't be late for you. COLE Next time I wo n't be scared of you. Cole turns and starts to the rear of the church. Malcolm loses himself in his thoughts. When Malcolm looks back, he sees Cole stop by the exit doors and take a tiny STATUE OF JESUS off the back table. Cole pockets the statue and quietly leaves the church. Malcolm just sits and stares.", "INT. MALCOLM'S HOME - EVENING The house is dimly lit. Malcolm has to turn on the HALLWAY LIGHT. MALCOLM It's me. He stops before a pile of mail collecting on a thin table. He stares at it blankly. Almost every envelope has `` Over Due'' or `` Final Notice'' stamped on it.", "INT. DINING TABLE - EVENING Malcolm stares down at the remains of a meal on the only place setting on the table.", "INT. BEDROOM - EVENING Malcolm quietly walks into his bedroom. Only A READING LIGHT IS ON. THE SOFT LIGHT FALLS ON ANNA AS SHE SLEEPS. Malcolm moves to her side. The sight of her stops him. He stares at his wife. She huddles under a blanket, a wad of tissues in her hand. He takes it in silently. His eyes move to her face. One wisp of hair falls over her soft lips. OUTLINED IN THE SOFT READING LIGHT, Anna Crowe truly looks like an angel. Malcolm forms a tiny smile.", "INT. HALL - NIGHT Malcolm turns and moves for a narrow door in the hallway. THE DOOR KNOB. He tries to open it. IT'S LOCKED. Malcolm reaches into his pockets. Searches for his keys.", "INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT The empty basement is no longer empty. It's piled with file cabinets and boxes of psychology and medical books. A desk sits in the corner next to the wine racks. The room still feels unsettling. Malcolm hunches over one of the books. Rifles through a stack of dusty books. Pulls out a thick text. The spine of the text reads, `` The Meridian Latin Dictionary.'' Malcolm sits back at his desk and opens Cole's file. Handwritten on the first page are the words, `` De profundis calms ad te, domine'' Malcolm starts working through the Latin text. As he comes to each word, he jots it down underneath the Latin. Malcolm translates the last word. He stares quietly at the paper. The new words reads. `` Out of the depths, I cry to you Lord.'' Beat. MALCOLM -LRB- whispers. -RRB-. The mass for the dead. The words seem to hang in the air forever.", "EXT. PHILADELPHIA - DAWN Old Philadelphia awakens. For a moment, it's like we're back in time. A golden sun dances on the waters of Penns Landing. Historical old ships sit docked in its harbor. The dark bronze surface of the Liberty Bell reflects the dawn. A majestic Independence Hall stands watch as its city begins to stir. A thirty foot statue of Ben Franklin makes a proud silhouette against the morning sky. AND THEN 1997 COMES CRASHING IN. FLUORESCENT HOUSE LIGHTS COME ON IN WINDOWS. Jeeps and hatchbacks start roaming the cobblestone streets. Neon restaurants signs flicker to life. Traffic helicopters make their rounds. CAR ALARMS PIERCE THE AIR.", "INT. LAUNDRY ROOM - MORNING A hand turns off a radio, shutting off the morning news. A small dog with two different colored eyes sticks his head out of the dryer, where he plays with the newly - dried clothes. LYNN SEAR reaches in and pulls out a blouse. She shakes it in the air and slips it on as she dresses hurriedly for work. Lynn is a woman in her late twenties. One hundred percent South Philly. Hair teased. She chews on an early morning piece of Trident. Under all of it, Lynn Sear is an attractive and sweet - looking young woman. Lynn enters THE KITCHEN through a swinging door. A bowl of cereal and milk sit on a table in an empty kitchen. Lynn stares at a handful of kitchen CABINETS and DRAWERS that are open. Lynn shakes her head. LYNN Cole. She closes them one at a time before moving to the coffee machine. Lynn shivers a little. She leans over the thermostat and raises the heat. She returns to her post at the coffee machine. TINY FOOTSTEPS. Lynn turns to see Cole standing in his private school uniform. LYNN Your Cocoa Puffs are getting soggy. Lynn walks over to Cole. Checks his tie. LYNN You got a spot. Lynn unclips the tie. Cole takes a seat at the kitchen table as Lynn walks back into the laundry room. The dog is gone now. Lynn reaches into the dryer, digging for a new tie. She finds one, then turns and steps back into the kitchen and SCREAMS AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS. Every cabinet and every drawer is wide open. Cole sits at the kitchen table. His hands are pressed flat on the tabletop. He looks shaken. Neither says anything for a beat. LYNN -LRB- shaken. -RRB- Something you were looking for, baby? Beat. COLE -LRB- shaken. -RRB- Pop Tarts. Lynn looks over to the open cabinet near the sink. The pop tarts are clearly visible. LYNN They're right here. COLE Oh. Cole gets up from the table. Takes his pop tarts. Does n't make eye contact. COLE What are you thinking, Momma? LYNN Lots of things. COLE Anything bad about me? Lynn leans down. LYNN Look at my face. Cole does. LYNN I was n't thinking anything bad about you, got it? He looks at her eyes. Beat. COLE Got it. THE DOOR BELL RINGS. COLE -LRB- soft. -RRB- That's Tommy, Momma. Cole quietly kisses his mother on the cheek and starts out. LYNN Do n't you want this? Cole turns to see Lynn holding the pop tarts. He walks back and takes them from her before leaving. Beat. Lynn glances to the kitchen table. Her gaze stops on the TWO TINY HAND PRINTS OF SWEAT formed on the table's surface. Lynn stands motionless in the kitchen. She looks up and wraps her arms around her shivering shoulders.", "EXT. BROWNSTONE STREET - MORNING TOMMY TAMMISIMO is a tough - looking, eight - year - old Italian kid who waits at the bottom of Cole's brownstone stairs in his school uniform. Cole emerges from the brownstone and moves down the steps. Lynn's face appears in the kitchen window. The two boys begin their walk down the street to school. Tommy puts his arm around Cole. Lynn waves. Cole waves back. When the two boys turn the corner and are out of Lynn's sight, Tommy rips his arm away. TOMMY Hey freak, how'd you like the `` arm around your shoulder'' bit. I just made it up. Went with it. That's what great actors do. It's called improv. Tommy starts to run ahead, he turns and back pedals. TOMMY -LRB- taunting. -RRB- Be careful. I hope no one jumps out and gets you. Tommy runs away. Beat. Cole looks around nervously.", "EXT. ST. ANTHONY'S ACADEMY - MORNING The last uniformed boys and girls rush into the front doors of St. Anthony's Academy as the FINAL BELL SOUNDS. Cole is the last one to go in. He stands alone on the sidewalk. He looks like he'd rather be anywhere but there. Beat. He buries his hands in his pockets and begins a quiet walk by himself into the school.", "INT. COLE'S HOME - AFTERNOON The front door CREAKS open as Cole walks in after school. He looks around before closing the door. His eyes stop on Lynn seated in the open doorway of the den. Malcolm is seated with her. They both look up. Lynn comes out. She reaches Cole - kneels down in front of him. LYNN -LRB- whispers. -RRB- How was school, baby? Cole shrugs. LYNN -LRB- whispers. -RRB- You know, you can tell me things if you need to. Cole does n't respond. Beat. LYNN -LRB- whispers. -RRB- Well, you know what I did today? Cole shakes his head `` No.'' LYNN -LRB- whispers. -RRB- I won the Pennsylvania Lottery in the morning. I quit my jobs. Ate a big picnic in the park with lots of chocolate mouses pie and then swam in the fountain all afternoon. -LRB- smiling. -RRB- What did you do? Cole starts to smile too. He thinks. COLE -LRB- whispers. -RRB- I was picked first for kickball teams at recess. I hit a grand slam to win the game and everyone lifted me up on their shoulders and carried me around cheering. Cole and Lynn smile at each other. Beat. Lynn tries to hide the utter sadness behind her smile. LYNN I'll make triangle pancakes. You got an hour. Lynn takes Cole's school bag and jacket before moving to the kitchen.", "INT. DEN - AFTERNOON The den doubles as a playroom. Boxes of old toys sit in the corner. A small, plastic, multi - colored table sits on the rug. Cole appears in the doorway. Malcolm sits up and smiles. He points to the chair on the other side of the coffee table. MALCOLM You want to sit? Cole nods very softly, `` No.'' MALCOLM Do n't feel like talking right now? Cole nods again very softly, `` No.'' MALCOLM How about we play a game first? Cole looks a little more interested. MALCOLM It's a mind - reading game. Did I mention I could read minds? Cole nods, `` No.'' MALCOLM Here's the game. I'll read your mind. If what I say is right, you take a step forwards the chair. If I'm wrong, you take a step backwards the doorway. If you reach the chair, you sit. If you reach the door, you can go. Deal? Cole tilts his head, then nods, `` Yes.'' Malcolm presses his fingers to his temples like a vaudeville magician. He closes his eyes tight. MALCOLM Just after your mom and dad were divorced, your mom went to a doctor like me and it did n't help her. And so you think I'm not going to help you. Beat. Cole, surprised, takes a small step forward. MALCOLM You're worried because she said she told him things. Things she could n't tell anybody else. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Secrets. Cole takes a step. Malcolm opens his eyes. He looks right at Cole. MALCOLM You have a secret. But you do n't want to tell me. Beat. Cole takes another step. The next step will put him at the chair. Malcolm lowers his fingers from his temple. MALCOLM -LRB- whispers. -RRB- You do n't have to tell me your secret if you do n't want to. Malcolm smiles. Returns his fingers to the mind - reading position. Malcolm looks to Cole's arm. Cole is wearing A LARGE SILVER WATCH. It swims on his thin wrist. It could probably slide up to his shoulder. Malcolm closes his eyes. MALCOLM Your father gave you that watch as a present before he left. Cole takes a step BACK. Beat. Malcolm lowers his hands surprised. COLE He forgot it in a drawer. It does n't work. Beat. Malcolm puts his fingers to his temple. This time a little bit slower. He gazes at Cole's school uniform. MALCOLM You do n't like to say much at school. You're an excellent student however. You've never been in any kind of serious trouble. Beat. Cole takes a slow step back. Beat. COLE We were supposed to draw a picture. Anything we wanted. I drew a man. He got hurt in the neck by another man with a screwdriver. AN UNCOMFORTABLE SILENCE OVERTAKES THE DEN. MALCOLM You saw that on T.V., Cole? Cole answers by taking a small step back. Beat. COLE Everybody got upset. They had a meeting. Momma started crying. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I do n't draw like that anymore. MALCOLM How do you draw now? COLE I draw people with smiles, dogs running, and rainbows. -LRB- beat. -RRB- They do n't have meetings about rainbows. MALCOLM -LRB- soft. -RRB- I guess they do n't. Malcolm looks down at Cole's feet. They're almost at the doorway. One more step and he's there. Cole is very still. He does n't move at all. COLE -LRB- whispers. -RRB- What am I thinking now? Malcolm takes his time before speaking. He just stares. No fingers to the temple. No games. He just stares. Beat. MALCOLM You're thinking. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I do n't know what you're thinking, Cole. Cole quietly takes a step back into the doorway of the other room. COLE -LRB- whispers. -RRB- I was thinking. you're nice. -LRB- beat. -RRB- But you ca n't help me. Cole's tiny figure steps away. Malcolm stares helplessly at the empty doorway where his client used to stand. THE DEN IS SUFFOCATED WITH SILENCE.", "INT. RESTAURANT - EVENING Malcolm hurriedly enters a spacious, dimly - lit Italian restaurant. He stops in the dining room and searches the many candle - lit tables. He finds Anna. Anna sits alone at a corner table. The remains of her half - eaten dinner lay on the only place setting on the table. A small PIECE OF CAKE WITH A CANDLE in it sits untouched. Anna stirs sugar in her coffee as Malcolm sits in the seat across from her. She gently stops stirring, but does n't look up. Beat. MALCOLM I thought you meant the other Italian restaurant I asked you to marry me in. Anna is n't laughing. Not even close. MALCOLM I'm so sorry. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I ca n't seem to keep track of time. Anna quietly takes a sip from her coffee. MALCOLM It did n't go well today. Spent some time after trying to get my head together. Anna looks around for the waiter. MALCOLM They're so similar, Anna. They have the same mannerisms. The same expressions. The same thing hanging over them. -LRB- beat. -RRB- It might be some kind of abuse. That makes Anna turn back. She glances across the table, then looks down. MALCOLM There are cuts on Cole's arms. Fingernail marks, I think. Looks like defensive cuts. Malcolm demonstrates by holding up his arm to shield his face. MALCOLM -LRB- beat. -RRB- Possibly a teacher, neighbor. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I do n't think it's the mother. Just a gut thing. The way she deals with him. It does n't fit. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Hard to say this early. Could just be a child climbing a lot of trees. Malcolm loses himself in his thoughts. The waiter drops off the check on the table. Anna grabs it before Malcolm and quickly signs it. MALCOLM I know I've been kind of out of it for a long while and you resent it. You do. I know you're mad. I know it's put some distance between us. Beat. MALCOLM But I'm getting a second chance here. I ca n't let it slip away. Anna waits till he's done and rises from the table. She pushes her chair in hard and walks away without a word. Malcolm sits alone and stares at the piece of cake with a candle on it. MALCOLM -LRB- soft. -RRB-. Happy Anniversary.", "EXT. FRONT STEPS - AFTERNOON Cole is seated on the front stoop of his brownstone. On the steps and on the landing are his plastic soldiers in the grips of a war. Malcolm sits with his bag and overcoat on the step next to him. Malcolm just observes quietly. Beat. Cole glances up as he plays. Sees Malcolm's expression. COLE You want to ask me a question? MALCOLM See, this is why I lose at poker. Yes, I do have a question. On the step are two rows of soldiers facing each other. To one side are a couple soldiers covered by a tissue. Malcolm points to them. MALCOLM What happened to those two? Being under tissue paper ca n't be a good thing. Cole removes the tissue. COLE That's Private Jenkins and Private Kinney. They got killed. Private Jenkins has a baby girl that was born seven pounds, six ounces. He's never seen her. He wanted to get back to Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and hold her. Cole points to the other soldier. COLE Private Kinney's wife is really sick - she has something called a brain anism. MALCOLM -LRB- soft. -RRB- You mean aneurysm. COLE Yeah, Private Kinney needed to get back safe to take care of her. Beat. Cole's face becomes emotional. Tears fill his eyes. COLE It's sad they died, is n't it? Malcolm falls into silence and stares at his client. Beat. Cole wipes his eyes quickly. COLE Do n't look at me. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I do n't like people looking at me like that. Malcolm takes in Cole's gesture and expression. COLE Stop looking at me. Malcolm looks down. MALCOLM Where should I look then, Cole? COLE Look over there. Cole points to the corner of the street. Malcolm slowly turns. He sits in profile to Cole. Beat. MALCOLM It's very unusual for someone your age to understand the kind of problems that Private Jenkins and Private Kinney have or even to be thinking about them at all. Malcolm continues to stare at the street. Beat. MALCOLM It is okay if I look back now? Cole does n't answer. MALCOLM Tap the foot once for `` No'' and twice for `` Yes.'' Cole taps his foot once. Malcolm sits patiently. Beat. They do n't say anything for a while. MALCOLM You would n't want to take a walk, would you? Cole looks up from his soldiers. Malcolm stares at the far side of the street. Cole taps his foot twice.", "EXT. STREET - AFTERNOON The two of them walk down a row of brownstones across from a park where children Cole's age are playing. COLE I walk this way to school with Tommy Tammisimo. MALCOLM He your best buddy? Cole almost smiles. COLE He hates me. MALCOLM You hate him? Cole shakes his head, `` No! Malcolm thinks for a bit. MALCOLM Your mom set that up? Cole nods `` Yes.'' MALCOLM You ever tell her about how it is with Tommy? COLE I do n't tell her a thing. MALCOLM Why? COLE Cause she does n't look at me like everybody and I do n't want her to. I do n't want her to know. MALCOLM Know what? COLE That I'm a freak. Malcolm stops walking. The words hit him hard. He stares at Cole. MALCOLM Listen to me. You are not a freak. Do n't you believe anybody that tells you that. It's bullshit and you do n't have to grow up believing that. Beat. Cole is surprised. COLE You said the `` s'' word. MALCOLM Yeah. Sorry. Malcolm's face is filled with emotion. Cole is suddenly hit by Malcolm's passion. Beat. Cole nods slowly as he looks at Malcolm with different eyes. They start walking again in silence. They turn a corner and move down another street. Cole spots an old man with a cane standing at the gate of a brownstone. COLE Is it okay if I do something? I have to do something. Malcolm nods `` yes'' as they continue walking. Cole slows as they approach the old man. As we get closer, we make out the man can barely see. COLE Hi, Mr. Marschal. MR. MARSCHAL leans over his gate and stares at Cole for a few seconds. MR. MARSCHAL Guten Tag, Cole. Mr. Marschal has a thick German accent. The old man squints down the block with a concerned expression. COLE What's wrong? MR. MARSCHAL Mrs. Marschal. She went food shopping. She's running late. Beat. COLE Ich Habe Durst. Malcolm's eyes dart to Cole. MR. MARSCHAL Wunderbar! Where did you learn to speak German? COLE I just know a couple lines. MR. MARSCHAL Yes, you may have a drink. What would you like? COLE Lemonade, please. Mr. Marschal smiles at Cole before walking back inside his house. Cole turns back to Malcolm. COLE -LRB- sad. -RRB- Mr. Marschal gets real lonely. MALCOLM What about Mrs. Marschal? COLE -LRB- whispers. -RRB- She died a long time ago.", "INT. MR. MARSCHAL'S LIVING ROOM - MORNING This brownstone has been home to the Marschal's for many, many years. It's filled with a lifetime of memories. Memories shared by two people. Two rocking chairs sit side by side near the windows that overlook the street. A corner table displays fancy wooden chess set. The game half - finished, frozen in a layer of dust. An easel stands before a piano. The incomplete water color painting of a smiling elderly woman sitting on the piano bench sits sadly on the faded yellow paper. Malcolm takes in the living room silently. He stands near the open door. Cole walks through the room. Tiny eyes searching carefully. He leans behind the sofa looking for something. Malcolm watches Cole with a crinkled brow. Cole peeks behind the old piano crammed against the wall. MR. MARSCHAL Maybe Jill will play for us when she gets back. Cole turns to find Mr. Marschal standing with a glass of lemonade. Cole takes it from his shaking hands. COLE Thank you. Mr. Marschal shuffles over to the sofa. Takes a seat. Cole begins surveying the room again. Beat. His eyes finally come to rest on a plant seated in the corner. He stares at it. THE LEAVES OF THE PLANT SHAKE SLIGHTLY FROM A BREEZE. Cole puts down his glass on a table and walks over to the plant. Cole kneels down and starts to push the potted plant aside. THE POT SCREECHES ON THE WOODEN FLOOR. Malcolm calls to Cole under his breath. MALCOLM Cole - MR. MARSCHAL What's going on there? Mr. Marschal strains to see across the room. Cole does n't answer either of them. Instead, he continues to push the plant aside revealing AN AIR VENT. Cole gently reaches over and takes off the metal face. It slips right off. Cole's hands disappear into the darkness of the vent. They reemerge holding a STACK OF NOTEBOOKS. Malcolm becomes very still. Cole rises to his feet and carries the notebooks over to Mr. Marschal. Cole carefully places them on his lap. MR. MARSCHAL Is this for me? Mr. Marschal fingers the notebooks then reaches for his thick glasses hanging from his neck. He places them on the tip of his nose and inspects the notebooks six inches from his face. MR. MASCHAL What's this? Jill's keeping a diary. Malcolm takes an involuntary step forward. Mr. Marschal starts flipping through the notebooks. MR. MARSCHAL She's full of surprises. He gets to the last book. His hands become still as he stares at the final page of writing. MR. MARSCHAL -LRB- whispers. -RRB- She has n't written anything for some time. Beat. Mr. Marschal slowly looks up from the notebooks. Looks up to Cole. Cole just stands quietly. Mr. Marschal's eyes slowly fill with tears of realization. They gently spill down his weathered face. MR. MARSCHAL Oh no. Cole takes a deep breath. Trying hard not to cry himself. The sight of Mr. Marschal weeping shakes Cole. Cole softly lays his hand on Mr. Marschal's silver hair. Mr. Marschal reaches up and clutches his small hand. They stay like that for a while. Beat. Mr. Marschal lets go and brings the notebooks tighter to his body. Cole quietly walks to Malcolm who stands motionless. He stares down at Cole in a daze. Cole turns his head, crying. COLE -LRB- softly. -RRB- Stop looking at me.", "INT. BASEMENT OFFICE - NIGHT Malcolm sits still in his office chair. His eyes are fixed at a point in space. He brings a slim, black tape recorder to his mouth. CLICK. MALCOLM April or March of Eighty - seven. Two weeks into sessions with Vincent Gray. I was treating a couple, Donald and Robin Wagner, who had lost their child to Leukemia. They were waiting with Vincent in the reception room of the downtown clinic. They were alone together maybe fifteen minutes. When I entered the room, all three were crying. The Wagner's progress from that afternoon was dramatic and sudden. As if some door had been opened for them. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'm not at all clear what happened in those fifteen minutes. But I now believe Vincent tried to tell me something, show me something and I did n't listen. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Cole Sear allowed me to witness something today. -LRB- beat. -RRB- This time I'm going to listen. A long silence. CLICK. The tape recorder turns off.", "INT. BROWNSTONE - NIGHT Lynn holds a laundry basket on her hip as she fiddles with the thermostat in the hall. The house is cold. Lynn wears a winter jacket in the house. Lynn turns and moves into the shadowy hallway. No lights. The house seems somewhat ominous. Beat. Lynn's eyes dart to an open guest room like she just saw something. She stares in the doorway until a SOUND TURNS HER IN THE DIRECTION OF THE FAMILY ROOM. She picks up balled - up boy's sweat socks and dirty T - shirts laying on the carpet. When she reaches the end of the hall, she HITS A LIGHT SWITCH. The hall LIGHTS UP REVEALING A WALL OF PHOTOS. Lynn forms a tiny smile. Snapshots of Cole and Lynn's life hang before her eyes. Cole's birthday parties. Lynn and Cole at an amusement park. Cole under the Christmas tree. Cole on Lynn's shoulders in a pool. Cole with a group of neighbors at a barbecue. Lynn takes a step forward. Lynn's face betrays the fact that she notices something she never noticed before. She touches a photo of three - year - old Cole. WE MOVE INTO THE PHOTO - COLE'S FACE SMILES AT US. LYNN'S FINGER GENTLY BRUSHES A THIN STREAKS OF LIGHT THAT CURVES IN THE BACKGROUND BEHIND COLE. THE STREAK OF LIGHT IS BLURRED, LIKE SOMETHING CAUGHT IN MOTION. Lynn looks to the adjacent photo - the barbecue photo - Everyone stands with hot dogs and sodas. Lynn searches the picture. Her eyes suddenly stop at the TINIEST BLUR OF WHITE LIGHT STREAKING AROUND COLE. WE MOVE FROM FRAMED PHOTO TO FRAMED PHOTO - EACH THE SAME - SOMEWHERE HIDDEN IN THE FRAME, SOMEWHERE NOT EASILY SEEN, LYNN FINDS A BLUR. Lynn takes it all in curiously.", "INT. COLE'S BEDROOM - AFTERNOON Lynn moves into Cole's room with the laundry basket balanced on her hip. The Walkman headphones on her head blares A MUFFLED TECHNO DANCE BEAT. Lynn starts picking clothes up around Cole's room. This bedroom is an eerie place. The shadows seem to make shapes and figures. All the furniture is wood - old fashioned. The lamps, the paintings on the wall - antiques as well. The most striking feature of the room, however, is the homemade tent created from bedsheets and blankets tied to chairs and bureaus. It takes up a large corner of the room. A sign hangs over the bedsheets. `` DO NOT ENTER'' Lynn grabs the spiderman P.J.s that drape over the tent. A German Shepherd Puppy sleeps on the pillow. SEBASTIAN lifts his head sleepily and peers at Lynn before returning to his slumber. Lynn slowly reaches for a picture frame that peeks out from under Cole's pillow. Slides it out. It's a VACATION PHOTO of a couple. Lynn and Cole and a man. The man looks in every way a larger version of Cole. The picture has a visible effect on Lynn. She lets out a shaky breath before returning the photo to its hiding place. Lynn pulls a pair of school uniform pants off the wooden roll cover desk next to the bed. The desk is covered with loose leaf papers filled with writings. Lynn's eyes are drawn to the papers. Her curious gaze turns serious. Her mouth opens a tiny bit involuntarily. THE PAPERS are strewn with lines of handwriting. Countless lines. Thousands of words. Some horizontal, some vertical. The writing moves in arcs and flows in various size - written at great speed - every word connected by a single pen stroke - everything written in one continuous motion. Lynn slowly spins the papers, taking in some of the phrases. Christ break the freaking glass oh no God no what the hell is going on Quiet the damn baby I'll cut you I swear it someone stop the burning I'll kill you I'll kill all you bastard. The words go on and on. Lynn removes her hands from the paper. She pulls her headphones off slowly. THE MUFFLED TECHNO DANCE BEAT FILLS THE DEAD SILENCE OF THE EERIE ROOM.", "INT. DEN - AFTERNOON Malcolm stares as the rain pelts the windows of the den. MALCOLM So your dad lives in Pittsburgh with a lady who works in a toll booth. COLE -LRB- o.s. -RRB- What if she has to pee when she's working? You think she just holds it? MALCOLM I do n't know. I was just thinking the same thing. Beat. COLE -LRB- o.s. -RRB- You ask a lot of questions about my dad today. How come? Cole is playing behind the couch. All we see is the top of his head. MALCOLM Sometimes, we do n't even know it, but we do things to draw attention. Do things so we can express how we feel about issues. Divorce or whatever. Every now and then we get glimpses of things Cole is playing with peeking over the back of the couch, but we ca n't quite make out what he's doing. MALCOLM One night, as an example. leave something on a desk for someone to find. The top of Cole's head stops moving. MALCOLM Cole, have you ever heard of something called free - writing? Or free - association writing? Cole shakes his head, `` No.'' MALCOLM It's when you put a pencil in your hand and put the pencil to a paper and you just start writing. You do n't think about what you're writing. You do n't read over what you're writing. You just keep your hand moving. Cole has become very still. He looks right at Malcolm. MALCOLM After awhile if you keep your hand moving long enough, words and thoughts start coming out you did n't even know you had in you. Sometimes they're things you heard from somewhere. Sometimes they're feelings deep inside. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Have you ever done any free - association writing, Cole? Beat. Cole nods, `` Yes.'' MALCOLM What'd you write? COLE Words. MALCOLM What kind of words? COLE Upset words. Beat. MALCOLM Did you ever write any upset words before your father left? Beat. COLE I do n't remember. Malcolm watches him carefully. Beat. Malcolm waves the question off casually. MALCOLM Can you do something for me? Malcolm smiles. He rises and grabs his coat. MALCOLM Think about what you want from our time together. What our goal should be? COLE Something I want? MALCOLM If we could change something in your life, anything at all, what would you like that to be? Cole's brow furrows as he thinks about it carefully. MALCOLM You do n't have to answer now. Malcolm heads for the door, stops when Cole emerges from behind the couch. Cole is wearing his father's jacket, it hangs to the ground like a dress. COLE Instead of something I want, can I have something I do n't want? Malcolm turns back to Cole. Malcolm nods `` Yes.'' Beat. COLE I do n't want to be scared anymore. Cole's sad eyes stare up at Malcolm.", "INT. BASEMENT OFFICE - NIGHT The surface of Malcolm's desk is covered with open texts. Malcolm pours over a thick reference book. He circles a phrase.'' . resulting bruises and abrasions on arms and legs may, in fact, be self - inflicted.'' Malcolm appears disturbed by the thoughts running through his head. ANNA'S MUFFLED VOICE CARRIES DOWN THE STAIRS. His face turns up to the ceiling. MALCOLM -LRB- loud. -RRB- Are you calling me? WE HEAR ANNA'S FOOTSTEPS MOVE ACROSS THE BASEMENT CEILING. WE HEAR THE FRONT DOOR OPEN. ANNA -LRB- o.s. -RRB- What? You do n't see enough of me at the store? Malcolm gets up and moves closer to their voices as he stretches his legs. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- o.s. -RRB- On my way to the flea market in Amish country. Thought maybe you want to come. Show me how to buy at these things. ANNA -LRB- o.s. -RRB- I trust you. Besides, I do n't know if I'm up for the Amish today. You ca n't curse or spit or anything around them. Malcolm smiles at Anna. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- o.s. -RRB- I thought you'd want to get out. You've been kind of down. Malcolm slowly stops smiling. ANNA -LRB- o.s. -RRB- That's very sweet. I'm okay. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Do you think I should stop by on my way back? Show you what I got? It's not a problem. Malcolm shakes his head in disbelief. ANNA -LRB- o.s. -RRB- You know that's probably not the best idea. I'll just wait to see them in the store. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Okay. Fine. Understood. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'm off then. ANNA -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Do n't step in the horse manure. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Thanks. WE HEAR THE FRONT DOOR SHUT. Malcolm moves to the narrow basement window.", "INT./EXT. MALCOLM'S HOUSE - DAY We see SEAN, an attractive young man in his late twenties. He gets into his car across the street. He just sits there for a moment before putting his forehead to the steering wheel. MALCOLM -LRB- under his breath. -RRB- Give it up, kid. Malcolm turns away from the window as Sean's car starts up and pulls away from Malcolm's house.", "INT. CLASSROOM - DAY STANLEY CUNNINGHAM is a teacher in his late forties. He writes a question on the board. MR. CUNNINGHAM Can anyone guess what city was the capital of the United States of America from 1790 to 1800? Mr. Cunningham turns and stares at his class of eight and nine year old private school students. They stare back at him blankly. Cole rests his chin on his desk and watches the class with big eyes. MR. CUNNINGHAM I'll give you a hint, it's the city you live in. The class says the answer in unison. CLASS Philadelphia. MR. CUNNINGHAM Right. Philadelphia is one of the oldest cities in the country. A lot of generations have lived and died in this city. Almost every place you visit has a history and a story behind it. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Even this school and the grounds they sit on. Can anyone guess what this building was used for a hundred years ago, before you went here, before I went to this school even? Stanley Cunningham looks over the class of blank faces. He's just about to answer his own question when he sees a hand go up. Mr. Cunningham looks surprised to see who it is. MR. CUNNINGHAM Yes, Cole? COLE They used to hang people here. Mr. Cunningham furrows his brow. Beat. MR. CUNNINGHAM That's not correct. Where'd you hear that? COLE They'd pull the people in crying and kissing their families bye. People watching would spit at them. Beat. MR. CUNNINGHAM Cole, this was a legal courthouse. Laws were passed here. Some of the first laws of this country. This building was full of lawyers. Lawmakers. COLE They were the ones who hanged everybody. Mr. Cunningham chuckles. Cole's face turns cement grey. MR. CUNNINGHAM I do n't know which one of these guys told you that, but they were just trying to scare you, I think. Tommy Tammisimo leads the class in a wave of snickering. Cole glances up. Sees all the eyes on him. He glances at the teacher who is still staring. COLE I do n't like people looking at me like that. MR. CUNNINGHAM Like what? COLE Stop it! Mr. Cunningham sees the traumatized expression on Cole's face and instantly stops smiling. MR. CUNNINGHAM I do n't know how else to look - COLE You're a stuttering Stanley! Mr. Cunningham's face becomes still. So does the classroom. MR. CUNNINGHAM Excuse me? COLE You talked funny when you went to school here. You talked funny all the way to high school! The class falls into stunned silence. Mr. Cunningham takes an involuntary step towards Cole's desk. MR. CUNNINGHAM What - COLE You should n't laugh at people. It makes them feel bad. Mr. Cunningham moves closer to Cole. MR. CUNNINGHAM How did you -? COLE Stop looking at me. Cole covers his eyes with his hands. MR. CUNNINGHAM Who have you been s - speaking to? We see Cole's mouth under his covered eyes. COLE Stuttering Stanley! Stuttering Stanley! MR. CUNNINGHAM Who! Mr. Cunningham is standing right over Cole's desk now. COLE Stuttering Stanley! MR. CUNNINGHAM S - ssstop that! COLE Stuttering Stanley! Stuttering Stanley! MR. CUNNINGHAM S - ssssstop it! COLE Stuttering - MR. CUNNINGHAM - Shhhhhhut upppp you fffffffreak! MR. CUNNINGHAM SLAMS HIS HAND ON COLE'S DESK. Cole's hands drop from his eyes. The teacher's face is burning red. The children in the room are frozen. Completely startled. Cole's eyes are filled with tears. Mr. Cunningham's expression drains of anger as Cole Sear begins to cry.", "INT. ANTHONY'S LIBRARY - SAME AFTERNOON Cole is seated in the school library by himself. He sits at a long center table near the windows. His head is laying on his folded arms on the table. Malcolm peeks his head in the door - unsure if he's in the right place. He spots Cole and enters the room. He silently takes a seat across from Cole. The eight - year - old looks up. Cole's eyes are hard - filled with anger. MALCOLM Hey, big guy. Cole stares for a second. COLE I do n't want to talk about anything. Cole lowers his head. Malcolm just sits and thinks. THE SOUND OF BOYS PLAYING SPORTS ON THE FIELD OUTSIDE FILTER IN THROUGH THE LIBRARY WINDOWS. Cole turns his head and stares at the windows. Malcolm takes in the sad vision of this boy. It affects him. Beat. MALCOLM Do you like magic? Cole's face softens a bit. He turns from the windows and looks to Malcolm. Beat. Cole nods, `` Yes.'' Malcolm pulls out a penny from his pocket. He places it in his right hand. MALCOLM Watch the penny closely. Malcolm closes his hand around the penny. MALCOLM I do the magic shake. Malcolm shakes his hand in circles. Cole watches his hand carefully. MALCOLM And suddenly the penny has magically traveled to my left hand. Cole looks to Malcolm's closed left hand. Malcolm does n't open it. MALCOLM But that's not the end of the trick. With another magic shake, the penny travels into my shirt pocket. Cole's eyes lock on Malcolm's shirt. Malcolm taps the pocket but does n't open it. MALCOLM But that's still not the end! I do a final magic shake. and suddenly. The penny returns to the hand where it started from. Malcolm opens his right hand. The penny sits quietly in the center of his palm. Cole looks at the penny and then up to Malcolm's face. Beat. Cole cracks a smile. COLE That is n't magic. MALCOLM What? COLE You just kept the penny in that hand the whole time. MALCOLM Who me? Malcolm smiles a mischievous smile. He places the penny on the table. Cole stares at it and then looks to Malcolm. COLE I did n't know you were funny. MALCOLM I forgot myself. Malcolm and Cole share a warm look. THE SOUNDS OF KIDS LAUGHING AND PLAYING OUT ON THE FIELD COME POURING INTO THE ROOM AGAIN. Cole's expression changes back to sadness as he looks to the windows. Malcolm leans across the table and whispers. MALCOLM Cole. Cole looks at Malcolm. MALCOLM One day. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You're going to sound just like them. Beat. Cole's chin starts to tremble. His voice cracks. COLE -LRB- whispers. -RRB- Promise? Beat. MALCOLM -LRB- whispers. -RRB- Promise. Malcolm and Cole sit in silence and listen to THE SOUND OF CHILDREN PLAYING.", "INT. HALLWAY - EVENING Malcolm sorts through the many bills on the mail table. WOMAN -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Malcolm, sit your cute butt down and listen up. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Are you listening? Malcolm turns AT THE SOUND OF THE WOMAN, and moves into the empty living room where the T.V. is on. A blanket lays crumpled on the sofa. THE WOMAN'S VOICE IS COMING FROM A VIDEO PLAYING ON THE VCR. IT'S A WEDDING VIDEO. A LARGE WOMAN IN A BRIDESMAID DRESS STANDS HOLDING THE MICROPHONE. IN THE BACKGROUND, WE CAN SEE THE DANCE FLOOR. BRIDESMAID -LRB- T.V. -RRB- No doubt about it. Anna's like my sister. You better make her happy. And I'm not talking about - mmm this tastes like real butter - kind of happy. I'm talking about Julie Andrews twirling around like a mental patient on a mountain top - kind of happy. THE LARGE BRIDESMAID BECOMES VERY EMOTIONAL. BRIDESMAID -LRB- T.V. -RRB- You're really lucky. She's got so much love for you. Do n't tell her I told you, but she said she loved you from the first time she met you on the street. She'd do anything for you. -LRB- crying. -RRB- I love you guys. -LRB- more crying. -RRB- My nose is running. Why is n't someone getting me a tissue? THE WOMAN HANDS THE MICROPHONE TO SOMEONE OFF SCREEN. THE CAMERA PANS AWAY FROM HER AND ZOOMS IN ON THE DANCE FLOOR. MALCOLM AND ANNA ARE SLOW DANCING. THEY'RE WHISPERING AND LAUGHING WITH EACH OTHER. THE HAPPINESS FROM THEM IS TANGIBLE. Malcolm ca n't help smiling as he stares at the flickering images. He turns and looks down the hall to their bedroom.", "INT. BEDROOM - EVENING Malcolm moves into their bedroom. THE SOUND OF A SHOWER CAN BE HEARD FROM THE BATHROOM. Malcolm moves to the bathroom door and opens it slowly.", "INT. BATHROOM - EVENING Malcolm steps into the bathroom quietly. He stares at the silhouette of Anna's body through the smoked glass of the shower. Anna stands still, her head tilted back. Malcolm watches quietly. By his experience, it's clear he's taken by his wife's beauty. Malcolm starts towards the shower when his eyes glance to the sink. Malcolm locks on a tiny bottle resting on the marble surface. He reaches out and picks it up. The label on the plastic bottle reads, `` Zoloft Anti - depressant'' `` To be taken twice daily'' Malcolm gently puts down the plastic bottle. He gazes at the still figure of his wife as the water covers her. Malcolm leaves the bathroom. He makes sure not to make a noise with the door as he closes it shut.", "EXT. DARREN'S HOUSE - DAY Colorful balloons flutter in the wind in front of an old grey stone home.", "INT. DINING ROOM - DAY Cole and an overweight boy named BOBBY are seated at a dining table covered in colorful paper. A stack of birthday presents are sitting on the table next to a cake. The house is filled with the SOUND OF CHILDREN PLAYING AND LAUGHING. Cole and the overweight boy are the only ones in the dining room. Bobby watches with a dull expression as Cole moves his hand in circles in the air. COLE Then you do the magic shake. And now the penny moves from my pocket all the way to the hand it started in. Cole smiles and holds out his hand. His fingers open to reveal the penny. Bobby stares. BOBBY That's stupid. Cole loses his smile. COLE It's supposed to be funny. BOBBY It's stupid. Cole and the overweight boy stare at each other. BOBBY Give me my penny back. Cole gives the boy his penny. Beat. Cole gazes at Bobby. COLE -LRB- almost inaudible. -RRB-. Do n't be sad. Bobby looks up sharply. BOBBY -LRB- hard. -RRB- What'd you say? COLE -LRB- shaken. -RRB-. Nothing. Bobby stares down at him before returning his attention to his tattered napkin. The two boys sit in silence.", "INT. KITCHEN - AFTERNOON Cole sits alone in the corner of the living room. The open kitchen doorway is next to him. Inside the kitchen are Lynn and DARREN'S MOM speaking. It's clear they're from different worlds. Lynn is wearing tight clothes with hair teased to dramatic heights. Darren's mom is in a designer suit. LYNN He does n't get invited places. DARREN'S MOM It's our pleasure. LYNN The last time was a Chuck E. Cheese party a year ago. He hid in one of those purple plastic tunnels and did n't come out. DARREN'S MOM Chuck E. who? LYNN Cheese. It's a kid's place. Darren's mom smiles formally and turns to give the catering people instructions on how to lay out the food on her sterling silver trays. LYNN He's my whole life. Darren's mom turns back to Lynn, the forced smile on her face. LYNN I work at an insurance place and at Penny's, so Cole can go to that good school. DARREN'S MOM J. C. Jenny's? Lynn nods `` Yes.'' DARREN'S MOM -LRB- bullshit. -RRB- Good for you. LYNN I wish I could be like my momma though. She always knew what was wrong. Knew just what to say. Darren's mom glances at her expensive watch. LYNN Cole's going through something bad. He wo n't talk to me. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'm his momma. -LRB- emotional. -RRB- And I do n't know what's wrong and I do n't know what to say. Lynn drowns in her thoughts. Cole moves away from the kitchen with sad eyes.", "INT. HALL - AFTERNOON Cole walks past two expensively - dressed mothers eating hors d'oeuvres as they move down the hallway. MRS. WESTON Did you have the Brie? MRS. SAUNDERS It tasted like cheese whiz. They pass when Cole moves down the shiny mahogany wood hallway. The women's conversation FADES AWAY behind him. Cole turns a corner and comes to a dead stop. He turns white as he stares at an open CRAWL SPACE CLOSET a few feet away. Cole's eyes are riveted in the darkness of the closet. Beat. THE HALLWAY ERUPTS WITH NOISE AS THE CHILDREN RUN IN FROM THE BACKYARD. Tommy Tammisimo is one of the children. He talks with the birthday boy, DARREN, a skinny kid in a party hat. TOMMY I even got a trailer. DARREN For what? You only had one line. TOMMY You're slow, you know that. The star of the commercial always has his own trailer. You need to think about your character alone. Tommy glances down the hall and sees Cole standing frozen staring at the crawl space closet. Tommy grabs Darren. TOMMY Darren, check it out. DARREN looks down the hall to Cole. DARREN My dad made me invite him. Tommy nudges Darren to move down the hall. Cole breaks from his trance as Tommy and Darren walk up. COLE Happy birthday, Darren. TOMMY Something you want to see in there? Tommy points to the crawl space. COLE -LRB- too quick. -RRB- - No. Beat. Tommy looks to Darren and then back to Cole. TOMMY We're going to put on a pretend play. You want to be in it? Beat. COLE Okay. TOMMY It's called, `` Locked in the Dungeon.'' Tommy stares at Darren. Darren finally gets it. DARREN Yeah, Cole. you get to be the one locked in the dungeon. It happens too quick for Cole to react. Darren and Tommy shove Cole backwards. He stumbles into the darkness of the crawl space. COLE Do n't! Tommy slams the door closed. Darren turns the lock. They crack smiles at each other as Cole bangs on the door. The BANGING GOES ON FOR A FEW SECONDS AND THEN IT JUST STOPS. SILENCE. Darren and Tommy look at each other and then back at the crawl space door. Then THE SCREAMING BEGINS. Darren and Tommy back away from the door as COLE SCREAMS IN TERROR at the top of his lungs. He CRASHES OVER AND OVER against the door. HIS BODY SLAMMING AGAINST THE WOOD. The DOOR RATTLES like it's going to break off its hinges. The two boys are statues as Cole's BLOOD - CHILLING YELLS FILL THE HALLWAY. FOOTSTEPS SPIKE THE AIR AS children and mothers come running down the hall. Lynn is one of them. Darren's mother turns the corner. DARREN'S MOTHER Who's making that noise? She looks to the closet. THE HIGH - PITCHED SCREAMS CUT THROUGH THE HALL. LYNN Cole! Lynn and Darren's mom rush to the door and turn the knob. The door flies open. Lynn reaches in and pulls out Cole. He's UNCONSCIOUS. Darren's mom looks into the crawl space - there's nothing inside except a couple packing boxes in the back. She looks to Lynn. She turns around with Cole in her arms. LYNN -LRB- desperate whispers. -RRB- Help me get him in the car.", "INT. HOSPITAL RECEPTION AREA - AFTERNOON Colorful murals don the curved walls of the pediatric reception area. A spattering of children accompanied by adults sit and wait. Lynn and Malcolm are seated at a children's play table. A game made of a maze of wires sit on the table in front of them. A young resident DR. HILL takes a seat at the table with them. He opens up his notes. LYNN What's wrong with Cole? Beat. DR. HILL The tests indicate he did not have a seizure. In fact he's doing fine. After some rest, he could go home tonight. Lynn closes her eyes. Lets out a tense breath. Beat. Malcolm eyes the doctor as he glances back to an academic - looking woman standing at the reception room door. MALCOLM There's something else going on, Lynn. Lynn opens her eyes and catches the doctor's expression. LYNN What is it? DR. HILL There are some scratches and bruises on your son that concern me. MALCOLM Oh, man. LYNN Those are from sports, from playing. He's not the most coordinated kid, but I do n't want him to stop trying, you know what I mean? Doctor Hill gestures to the woman standing near the doorway. DR. HILL Mrs. Sloan over there is our social worker at the hospital. She's going to ask you some procedural questions. LYNN You think I hurt my child? -LRB- emotional. -RRB- You think I'm a bad mother? DR. HILL At this point it's just procedure. And you should probably calm down. MALCOLM How do you expect her to react? LYNN You want me to answer your questions? DR. HILL -LRB- sarcastic. -RRB- I'm sorry if I was being vague - yes, I do. LYNN Who's going to answer mine, you dick. Dr. Hill stares at her before closing up his files. LYNN -LRB- raising voice. -RRB- What happened to my child today? Dr. Hill gets up. LYNN Something was happening to him - physically happening. Something was very wrong. Dr. Hill hands his files to MRS. SLOAN and exits the reception room without looking back. Everyone in the reception room stares at Lynn. Mrs. Sloan walks up to the table and waits. Lynn takes a second. Wipes her eyes. Gathers her considerable strength. Beat. LYNN How long will these questions take?", "INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT Cole lays rigid in the hospital bed. Blankets bundled around him as if to shield him. Cole's eyes fixed out the window. Malcolm quietly enters through the half - opened door to the room. Cole spots him. Visibly relaxes. MALCOLM I've decided we should n't schedule sessions anymore. I'll just follow you around. Cole smiles weakly as Malcolm takes a seat on a rolling metal chair. Malcolm notices Cole's legs emerging from under the hospital gown. Cole is wearing A MAN'S DRESS SOCK. The baggy folds ride up all the way to his knees. MALCOLM Your father ever tell you bedtime stories? COLE Yes. Malcolm looks at Cole. Malcolm makes a decision. He rolls in the chair across the room as he thinks. Beat. MALCOLM Once upon a time there was a prince, who was being driven around. He drove around for a long, long time. Driving and driving. It was a long trip. He fell asleep. -LRB- beat. -RRB- When he woke up, they were still driving. The long drive went on - COLE Dr. Crowe. MALCOLM Yes. COLE You have n't told bedtime stories before? MALCOLM No. COLE You have to add some twists and stuff. Maybe they run out of gas. MALCOLM No gas. Hey, that's good. They sit in silence. Malcolm works on a new plot in his head. COLE Tell me a story about why you're sad. Beat. MALCOLM Do you think I'm sad? Cole nods, `` Yes.'' MALCOLM What makes you think that? COLE Your eyes told me. Beat. Malcolm's affected by his client. MALCOLM -LRB- rote. -RRB- I'm not supposed to talk about stuff like that. Cole smiles softly. Malcolm stares at the tired child sitting before him in the hospital bed. Malcolm rolls his stool away from his client as he thinks. Beat. He slowly moves the rolling chair closer to Cole's bed. MALCOLM Once upon a time there was this person named Malcolm. He worked with children. Loved it more than anything. -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Then one night, he finds out he made a mistake with one of them. Did n't help that one at all. He thinks about that one a lot. Ca n't forget. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Ever since then, things have been different. He's become messed up. Confused. Angry. Not the same person he used to be. -LRB- beat. -RRB- His wife does n't like the person he's become. They do n't speak anymore. They're like strangers. Malcolm breaks from his thoughts and looks at Cole who watches him with unwavering attention. Malcolm smiles. MALCOLM And then one day this person Malcolm meets a wonderful boy who reminds him of that one. Reminds him a lot of that one. Malcolm decides to try to help this new boy. He thinks maybe if he can help this boy, it would be like helping that one too. Malcolm leans forward, whispers with emotional eyes. MALCOLM I do n't know how the story ends. I hope it's a happy ending. COLE Me too. Cole looks at Malcolm's caring eyes. Cole stares at Malcolm a long time. EVERYTHING THAT'S SAID FROM THIS POINT ON IS WHISPERED. COLE I want to tell you my secret now. Malcolm blinks very slowly. MALCOLM Okay. Cole takes an eternal pause. A silent tension engulfs them both. COLE I see people. Malcolm just gazes quietly. COLE I see dead people. Some of them scare me. Beat. MALCOLM In your dreams? Cole shakes his head, `` No.'' MALCOLM When you're awake? Cole nods, `` Yes.'' MALCOLM Dead people, like in graves and coffins? COLE No, walking around, like regular people. They ca n't see each other. Some of them do n't know they're dead. MALCOLM They do n't know they're dead? Beat. COLE I see ghosts. Malcolm becomes completely motionless. Works to hide his shock. He and Cole stare at each other a long time. COLE They tell me stories. Things that happened to them. Things that happened to people they know. Beat. Malcolm's words are extra - controlled. Revealing nothing. MALCOLM How often do you see them? COLE All the time. They're everywhere. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You wo n't tell anyone my secret, right? Beat. MALCOLM No. COLE Will you stay here till I fall asleep? Malcolm nods, `` Yes.'' Cole pulls the covers up to his chin and turns to the window in the room. Malcolm is very still and stares at Cole. MALCOLM'S EYES - slowly turn and survey the room. They find nothing. Malcolm returns to watching Cole. COLE'S EYES LOOK AROUND THE ROOM WARILY. WE MOVE IN ON THEM - TILL HIS EYES FILL THE FRAME. Beat. And then we see what he's staring at. Through Cole's hospital room window we see the adjacent wing of the hospital building. Rows of hospital room windows are visible. In the windows are patients. SOME OLD, SOME YOUNG. SOME ARE DRESSED IN MODERN HOSPITAL GOWNS. SOME FROM DECADES PAST. THEY STAND UNNATURALLY STILL IN THEIR WINDOWS. WATCHING, WAITING.", "EXT. STREET CORNER - NIGHT Malcolm hails a cab. He steps off the sidewalk lost in his thoughts. Steam rises from a street vent. HEADLIGHTS. A CAR SUDDENLY EMERGES FROM THE STEAM, NARROWLY MISSING MALCOLM. Malcolm jerks out of the way. His briefcase falls to the ground. His tape recorder falls to the sidewalk. Beat. Malcolm reaches down and picks it up. MALCOLM Cole. -LRB- beat. -RRB- His pathology is more severe than initially assessed. -LRB- beat. -RRB- He's suffering from visual hallucinations, paranoia - Symptoms of some kind of school age Schizophrenia. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Medication and hospitalization may be required. CLICK. Malcolm's hand with the tape recorder drops to his side. MALCOLM -LRB- whispers. -RRB- I'm not helping him. Malcolm stares into the night. He stands alone as thoughts crash like thunder in his head.", "INT. CAR - NIGHT The STREETS TURN RED as Lynn drives home from the hospital in silence. She glances down to her right. Cole is curled up asleep on the passenger seat, back in his regular clothes, a tiny party hat clutched in his hand. He looks like a four - year - old. The sight of him exhausted and still, hits Lynn hard. Lynn's face drowns in deep concern. She lays a hand on Cole's head as she drives.", "INT. COLE'S HOUSE - NIGHT The front door opens, Lynn carries Cole in. He's asleep on her shoulder. She carries him down the hall to his BEDROOM. Lynn lays Cole gently on his bed next to his German Shepherd Puppy. Cole curls up with Sebastian. Lynn watches the two youngsters sleep for a moment. Cole is curled up asleep with a tiny party hat clutched in his hands. He looks like a four - year - old. Lynn has been carrying Cole's sweater from over her shoulder. She pulls it off and begins to fold it. Her attention is drawn to the sweater. She fingers the fabric of the back. IT'S RIPPED. Her eyes move to Cole. In the middle of the back of his T - shirt are THREE SMALL TEARS. Lynn pushes the fabric open with her fingers and sees DEEP FINGERNAIL LIKE SCRATCHES on his skin. Lynn looks around helplessly, fear creeping into her eyes.", "INT. HALL - NIGHT Lynn emerges from Cole's room. She turns OFF THE HALL LIGHTS as she moves into her room and closes the door. WE HEAR LYNN PICK UP A PHONE AND DIAL. Beat. LYNN Hi, this is Lynn Sear, Cole's mother. I wonder if we could talk about your son and his friends keeping their goddamn hands off my boy? The thermostat on the wall reads seventy - eight degrees.", "INT. HALL - NIGHT A few hours later. The house seems threateningly still. Too still.", "INT. COLE'S HOUSE - NIGHT An unnatural silence fills each room of the house. The thermostat on the wall now reads, fifty - two degrees. A LIGHT TURNS ON FROM UNDER COLE'S DOOR. The door opens a crack. Cole's tiny face peeks out. Eyes scan the darkness. The door opens a little bit more. Cole's knees are pressed together. His body dances a little. Cole has to pee. He moves cautiously into the hall. Cole moves briskly to a door halfway down the corridor. Opens it. Cole turns on the LIGHT IN THE BATHROOM. He checks behind the shower curtain, before he turns his back and pees into the toilet. A LARGE FIGURE MOVES PAST THE DOORWAY. Cole instantly stops peeing. His body becomes very still. He slowly reaches for the toilet handle and flushes. He closes his pants and turns. He does n't come out of the bathroom at first. He just stands there and stares into the darkness of the hall. HIS BREATH FORMS TINY CLOUDS IN THE COLD AIR. Beat. Cole finally steps out into the hallway. His eyes catch a SLANT OF LIGHT now coming from the kitchen. Cole hesitates before being drawn to the kitchen. He moves down the hall and turns the corner - coming to a stop in the doorway of the kitchen.", "INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Cole stares at the back of a person cooking food on the stove. Cole's fear slowly fades away. Beat. COLE Momma? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Dream about daddy again? The person turns. It's not Lynn. It's a strange woman. The woman's face is demented. A purple gash cuts across her forehead. ALL THE CABINETS AND DRAWERS ARE OPEN BEHIND HER. WOMAN DINNER'S - NOT - READY! Cole's face turns the color of ash. WOMAN What are you going to do? Cole backs up to the doorway. WOMAN You ca n't hurt me anymore! The woman smiles menacingly as she thrusts her wrists forward. They've been savagely cut.", "INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Cole turns and runs down the hall.", "INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT Cole runs across his room. He heads right for the homemade tent seated in the corner with the `` DO NOT TOUCH'' sign on it. He scurries in. His legs disappear as the bedsheets flap closed behind him. The crazed woman stands at the end of the hall. Does n't come any closer.", "INT. TENT - NIGHT Cole is curled up in the tent. He lays still for a moment reaching over and FLICKING ON A FLASHLIGHT. The red interior of the tent gets LIP UP. It's a striking sight. The bedsheet walls of the tent are lined with religious pictures taped to the walls. Tiny statues of saints surround the interior perimeter. We see the statue Cole stole from the church is in here. This tent is a sanctuary made by an eight - year - old to hide in.", "INT. AUDITORIUM STAGE - AFTERNOON THE LIGHTS IN THE GYM GO DOWN. THE SPOT LIGHT OPENS ON THE STAGE AS THE CURTAINS MOVE TO THE SIDES. A sign to the side of the stage reads, `` The third and fourth grade presents - Rudyard Kipling's `` The Jungle Book.'' The parents APPLAUD AS TOMMY TAMMISIMO WALKS OUT ON STAGE in a villager's outfit. TOMMY -LRB- Decent British accent. -RRB- There once was a boy, very different than other boys. He lived in the jungle, and he could talk with the animals. BACKSTAGE, Mr. Cunningham cues the rest of the children. THE AUDIENCE APPLAUDS AS THE FULL CAST OF THE ACTORS COME OUT. Some are villagers, others are dressed as trees and animals. Cole comes on stage holding a painted cardboard monkey. MALCOLM APPLAUDS FROM THE BACK OF THE AUDITORIUM.", "INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR - AFTERNOON The arched halls of the private school are lined with posted drawings and test papers. Cole and Malcolm walk down an empty hall. COLE Did you think the play sucked big time? MALCOLM What? COLE Tommy Tammisimo acted in a cough syrup commercial. He thought everybody was self - conscious and unrealistic. He said the play sucked big time. MALCOLM I know every child is special in their own way, but Tommy sounds like a punk. -LRB- Cole smiles. -RRB- I thought the play was excellent. Better than Cats. COLE Cats? MALCOLM Never mind. Beat. They continue down the hall in silence. Malcolm takes his time. MALCOLM Cole, I was really interested in what you told me in the hospital, I'd like to hear more about it. Malcolm stops at a set of doors at the end of the hall - realizes Cole is no longer next to him. Malcolm turns to find Cole frozen about ten feet back. Malcolm walks to him. He notices Cole's expression as he gets closer. MALCOLM What's wrong? Cole points to the doors. MALCOLM Is something in there? Cole does n't say anything. Beat.", "INT. GYMNASIUM - AFTERNOON It's a large shadowy GYM. Climbing ropes hang from the wood beamed ceiling. Cole is trembling slightly as he stands next to Malcolm. MALCOLM What is it? Malcolm follows the child's gaze to the ceiling of the gym. MALCOLM I do n't see. Beat. COLE Be real still. Malcolm looks to Cole and then turns back to the ceiling. Malcolm's body becomes very still. Beat. COLE Sometimes you feel it inside. Like you're falling down real fast, but you're really just standing still. Malcolm looks at the wood beams and climbing ropes. COLE You ever feel prickly things on the back of your neck? Beat. MALCOLM Yes? COLE And the tiny hairs on your arm. Are they all standing up? Malcolm glances at Cole. Surprise on his face. MALCOLM - Yes. Beat. COLE -LRB- whispers. -RRB- When they get mad, it gets cold. MALCOLM Them? Malcolm looks at the empty stairwell and then back to Cole. Nothing is said for a few moments. MALCOLM I do n't see anything. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Are you sure they're there? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Cole? Malcolm turns back to Cole, he finds the child with tears in his eyes. Cole looks at Malcolm desperately. COLE Please make them leave. Malcolm stares helplessly. MALCOLM -LRB- whispers. -RRB- I'm working on it. Malcolm gently leads Cole away from the stairs. COLE GLANCES BACK AS HE MOVES OUT OF THE STAIRWELL. COLE'S P.O.V. - The ropes and school banners dangling at the top of the stairs sways a little. But so do THE THREE BODIES HANGING BY THEIR NECKS FROM A WOODEN BEAM. It's a truly horrific sight. A BLACK MAN in britches and no shirt, face beaten to a pulp, hangs in the center. A WHITE WOMAN in a torn white frilly dress - tears soaking her face, hangs to the right. A small MIXED RACE CHILD in half pants, hangs to their left. The family stares at Cole. They follow Cole with their tortured eyes as he exits the stairwell.", "EXT. HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA - NIGHT Malcolm walks from the bus stop over the cobblestone streets in front of Head House Square. The streets are quiet and dark. Night time has fallen over the city. He slowly comes to a stop in front of an old building. He holds his arm up. Uses his other hand to gently touch his hairs on his arm's surface. Malcolm looks up slowly. Looks around. The dark shadows fill the corners of the historic building. Malcolm stares into the darkness. Beat. MALCOLM -LRB- whispers. -RRB-. Is anyone there? A long moment as he waits. The shadows seem to move, then becomes still. Malcolm shakes off the moment. He returns his hands to his pockets as he moves through the dark streets of Philadelphia to his home.", "INT. HALL - NIGHT The doorway to Malcolm and Anna's bedroom is open. STRAINED VOICES SPILL OUT INTO THE HALLWAY. MALCOLM -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Look, he's an eight - year - old child. He's my only client. If he invites me to his play, I'm not thinking about how late I get back. I go. I have to go. You know that. That's the only way I know how to work. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Vincent said I failed him. -LRB- raising his voice. -RRB- I WO N'T GIVE COLE A CHANCE TO SAY THOSE WORDS TO ME! I WO N'T! Beat. THE PORTABLE PHONE RINGS OUT IN THE HALL. MALCOLM -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Please let it ring. WE HEAR MOVEMENT. Anna emerges from the bedroom. Eyes raw. She wipes her tears. She picks up the phone and moves down the stairs. Malcolm walks out into the hall. Stops at the top of the stairs. ANNA'S VOICE CAN BE HEARD SPEAKING ON THE PHONE from downstairs. ANNA I ca n't talk now. Malcolm does n't hear anything as Anna listens to the person on the phone. She smiles as she wipes her tears. He starts for the basement door again. ANNA -LRB- whispers. -RRB- I thought about you too. Malcolm turns. He stands frozen at the top of the stairs. Anna's HUSHED WORDS RISING IN THE AIR LIKE A GUN BLAST.", "INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Lynn adjusts the thermostat as she tries to keep herself warm. LYNN I do n't care what they say, this thing is definitely broken. Lynn fiddles with the dials. Cole is standing before the beat - up twelve inch kitchen T.V. ON THE TELEVISION SCREEN is Tommy Tammisimo. He stands in his pajamas in a doorway. He coughs. TOMMY -LRB- on T.V. -RRB- Mommy, my throat hurts. Cole watches as Tommy's T.V. mother and father give him a spoonful of medicine. NARRATOR -LRB- on T.V. -RRB- Pediaease Cough Suppressant. gentle, fast, effective. Cole watches Tommy running around in his T.V. background, the very next T.V. morning. He's not sick anymore. Tommy waves to the camera smiling and healthy. The T.V. goes BLACK as Cole throws his shoe at the power button. He moves to the dinner table where Lynn is seated. Cole sits. His hands go on the table. He's wearing a pair of his father's extra large LEATHER GLOVES. Cole's small hands do n't even fill the palm area. Cole has difficulty trying to pick up his milk glass with the gloves. LYNN Take'em off. Cole removes the gloves from his hand and places them next to his plate. LYNN I do n't want them on my table. Cole moves them to the floor. Lynn is irritated, this is a sore point between them. Lynn and Cole eat quietly. Beat. LYNN I saw what was in your bureau drawer when I was cleaning. Cole looks up. An anxious expression on his face. Beat. LYNN You got something you want to confess? Cole just stares. LYNN The bumble bee pendant. Why do you keep taking it? Cole looks down at his lap. LYNN It was Grandma's. It's not for playing. -LRB- beat. -RRB- What if it broke? You know how sad I'd be. COLE You'd cry. Cause you miss grandma so much. LYNN -LRB- soft. -RRB- That's right. So why do you take it, sweetheart? COLE Sometimes people think they lose things and they did n't really lose them. It just gets moved. LYNN Did you move the bumble bee pendant? Cole shakes his head, `` No.'' Lynn just stares. LYNN You did n't take it before. You did n't take it the time after that. And now, you did n't take it again? COLE Do n't get mad. LYNN So who moved it? Cole does n't answer. LYNN There's only two of us. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Maybe someone came in our house - took the bumble bee pendant out of my closet, and then laid it nicely in your drawer? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Is that what happened? COLE -LRB- soft. -RRB- Maybe. Lynn just stares at Cole. LYNN I'm so tired, Cole. I'm tired in my body. I'm tired in my mind. I'm tired in my heart. I need a little help here. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I do n't know if you noticed - but our little family is n't doing so good. Lynn folds her napkin quietly. LYNN I'm praying for us, but I must not be praying right. -LRB- beat. -RRB- It looks like we're just going to have to answer each other's prayers. If we ca n't talk to each other - we're not going to make it. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Now baby, tell me. I wo n't be mad, honey. Did you take the bumble bee pendant? Beat. Cole's eyes start to water up. COLE No. Lynn goes cold. LYNN You've had enough roast beef. You need to leave the table. Cole just stares at his mother's expression. LYNN -LRB- yells. -RRB- Go! Cole gets up - never taking his eyes off his mother - and leaves the room.", "INT. HALL - NIGHT Cole enters the DARK HALLWAY. He gets startled by the SOUND OF HIS PUPPY GROWLING. Sebastian comes racing down the hall and scurries past Cole. Cole watches his puppy dart into the living room and under a couch. Cole slowly turns back and looks down the hall. THE DOOR TO COLE'S ROOM SITS AT THE END OF THE CORRIDOR. IT'S ALMOST SHUT. COLE WATCHES AS THE DOOR BEGINS TO OPEN VERY SLOWLY. IT OPENS WIDE. COLE DOES N'T MOVE AN INCH. SUDDENLY IN THE STILLNESS AND THE DARKNESS, A SMALL FIGURE SCURRIES FROM ANOTHER BEDROOM INTO THE BLACKNESS OF COLE'S ROOM. IT HAPPENS LIKE A FLASH. Cole stops breathing. THE FIGURE SLOWLY STEPS OUT FROM COLE'S DOORWAY. IT'S A BOY. A FEW YEARS OLDER THAN COLE. THE BOY WHISPERS IN A LOW, HOARSE VOICE. BOY Come on. I'll show you where my dad keeps his gun. Come on. THE BOY TURNS. WE SEE THAT THE BACK OF HIS HEAD IS MISSING AS HE DISAPPEARS INTO THE DARKNESS OF COLE'S ROOM. Cole is too terrified to move.", "INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Lynn is kneeling on the kitchen floor trying to coax the puppy out of the broom closet. COLE -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Momma. Lynn turns - surprised to hear her son's voice. Lynn's eyes are red from crying. She wipes them quickly with the back of her hand. Mother and son look at each other. Beat. COLE If you're not very mad. Can I sleep in your room tonight? Lynn fights back some tears. LYNN Look at my face, Cole. Cole does. Lynn smiles at her son. LYNN I'm not very mad. Lynn hugs him. Beat. LYNN Baby. Why are you shaking? Cole does n't answer. LYNN Cole, what's wrong? Cole just closes his eyes and holds his mom tight. LYNN -LRB- desperate. -RRB-. Please tell me. Cole does n't say a word. LYNN -LRB- crying. -RRB- Please.", "INT. ANTIQUE STORE - DAY We are in an antique store. Filled floor to ceiling with furniture and knickknacks. Anna stands with a YOUNG COUPLE. All three lean over and peer into a glass cabinet. An antique engagement ring sits on a velvet stand. ANNA It's Edwardian. Beautifully worked. Entirely platinum with a mine cut diamond and an actual color Burmese Sapphire. It's timeless. YOUNG MAN You got anything a little plainer? The young woman looks at her beau. YOUNG WOMAN Plainer? You want a plain ring to go with your plain fiance. Is that how it is? YOUNG MAN No, baby. Do n't get in a tizzy. It's just. you're so beautiful. you're like a Burmese Sapphire all by yourself. You do n't need all that. YOUNG WOMAN -LRB- disbelief. -RRB- Uh - huh. Anna smiles as she takes the ring out of the cabinet. ANNA Why do n't you two hold it? She places it in their hands. ANNA Do you feel longing? YOUNG WOMAN Excuse me? ANNA When I touch this piece I feel a longing. I imagine the woman who owned this, loved a man deeply she could n't be with. The young woman looks at Anna with great intrigue. YOUNG WOMAN Did he have wavy hair and broad shoulders? The young man throws an odd glance at his fiance. ANNA I do n't know. But maybe. -LRB- beat. -RRB- A lot of the pieces in this store give me feelings. I think maybe when people own things and then they pass away - a part of themselves gets printed on those things - like fingerprints. Beat. The young man and the young woman gaze at Anna silently. They look down at the ring. They place their hands on it reverently, delicately - like checking for a pulse. Anna ca n't hold back her sweet smile.", "INT. ANTIQUE STORE - DAY Anna moves to the back desk where SEAN comes out. He's carrying an antique bench in his arms. He places it down and takes a much needed seat. SEAN You do n't need someone with a masters. You need a wrestler guy whose neck is larger than his head. ANNA I need a wrestler with a masters. Anna fills out the paperwork for the ring. SEAN What's this? Anna looks over to find Sean standing at his desk where a BIRTHDAY PRESENT sits on his tabletop. Sean looks at her. SEAN From you? Anna nods, `` yes.'' SEAN Is it wrestling tights? Anna smiles as she moves to his desk. Sean begins to tear off the wrapping paper like a kid at Christmas. Anna laughs. Sean holds up a weathered hardback copy of `` THE GREAT GATSBY.'' Beat. ANNA It's a first edition. SEAN Wow, this is too much. It's perfect, Anna. Sean puts down the book and hugs her. He pulls back a little, still holding her. They smile at each other. Beat. The moment goes on just that crucial fraction of a second too long. Their smiles slowly melt away as they continue to hold each other. Nothing happens for the longest time. CRASH! A SHATTERING DOOR SLAM ECHOES THROUGH THE STORE. Anna and Jeffery pull apart. They rush past the young man and the young woman to the front of the store. They find the glass front door cracked in a spider web pattern. They carefully push open the door and step out onto the sidewalk. Look around. No one in sight. Anna stares down the empty street. A concerned expression on her face.", "EXT. STREET - DAY Malcolm walks angrily down the sidewalk. He stops as his hand goes to his side. He winces with pain as he keeps walking.", "EXT. SUPERMARKET - DAY Lynn and Cole emerge from the supermarket. Cole rides inside the shopping cart tucked between bags of food. Mother and son are quiet as they move towards their car. Beat. Lynn leans over, looks at the side of her son's pensive face. She starts pushing the cart faster. Cole wakes from his thoughts as his hair flutters in the wind. He looks back. Lynn is smiling as she pushes. Cole turns and raises his hands in the air like he's on a roller coaster. Beat. They slow and come to a rest at the bumper of their car. Lynn leans over - sees the side of Cole's face smiling. Lynn's face shows a little happiness for the first time. A little hope enters her eyes as she starts to load the groceries into the car.", "INT. CAR - DAY Cole and Lynn ride home with a back seat full of groceries. Cole finishes off a cherry popsicle as he watches out the window. Lynn looks over. LYNN Let's rent a movie. Cole bites off the last of the popsicle and glances at his mom. LYNN Your pick. Cole stares at his mom quietly. LYNN It can even have Jean Claude Van Damme in it if you want. Cole smiles at that. He nods, `` Yes'' joyfully. His smile fades away as he notices his mother fiddling with the HEATER controls. Cole gazes out the front windshield as the car moves towards home. Suddenly a piece of paper sticks to the windshield. It's a page from a Playbill. A 1941 Playbill. It flies away revealing a woman in a flowing flowery dress from the 40's suddenly walks into the middle of the street as the pages of her Playbill swirl in the air. COLE -LRB- yells. -RRB- Momma, look out! The woman in the flowery dress turns. Her hand rests on her stomach. WE SEE SHE IS PREGNANT. Playbills stick to the windshield obstructing the view. Lynn slams the brakes. Too late. THE WOMAN SMASHES INTO THE FRONT GRILL OF THE CAR. HER TERROR - STRICKEN FACE COMES OVER THE HOOD AND CRASHES RIGHT THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD IN A SHOWER OF BLOOD AND GLASS. COLE SCREAMS. LYNN SCREAMS. THE CAR SCREECHES TO A STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONGESTED INTERSECTION. The line of cars behind them suddenly hit their brakes and swerve to one side avoiding a mass collision. After a few seconds, the entire intersection has come to a halt. Cole who has shut his eyes. slowly opens them. He looks around fearfully. His eyes move to the windshield. No broken glass. No blood. And no woman. Cole looks out through the pristine windshield onto the street where cars are stopped and staring all around them. Cole slowly looks over to his mother. He finds her staring at him in complete and utter disbelief. Her hands clutch the wheel. The whites of her knuckles showing her fear. She has no idea why he screamed.", "INT. DEN - AFTERNOON The den is very quiet. Cole and Malcolm sit around the multi - colored table. Malcolm leans back in his small plastic chair - arms folded over his chest. Cole sits slumped over the table - eyes peering out over his arms. They both look like shit. COLE You do n't wan na ask me questions today? Malcolm nods, `` No.'' Beat. COLE Can I ask you then? MALCOLM Yes. COLE What do you want more than anything? MALCOLM I do n't know. COLE I told you what I want. MALCOLM I do n't know, Cole. COLE Why do n't you think about it for a while? Malcolm does n't respond. Cole watches him. Beat. MALCOLM I know what I want. -LRB- beat. -RRB- My goal is to speak to my wife. The way she and I used to speak. Like there was no one in the world but us. Beat. COLE -LRB- soft. -RRB- How are you going to do that? Beat. MALCOLM -LRB- whispers. -RRB- I ca n't be your doctor anymore. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I have n't given my family enough attention. Bad things happen when you do that. Do you understand? The room falls into silence again. Cole speaks extra soft. COLE You want to go home? Malcolm stares across at Cole. MALCOLM I have to. COLE When? MALCOLM Soon. One week. Malcolm looks down at his eyes full with emotion. MALCOLM I'm going to transfer you. I know two psychologists that are exceptional - COLE -LRB- whispers. -RRB- Do n't fail me. Malcolm looks up sharply. MALCOLM - What? COLE Do n't give up. You're the only one who can help me. I know it. Beat. Malcolm tries to stay composed. It does n't work. MALCOLM You want to know a secret? I was a paper champion. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Do you know what that means? Cole shake his head, `` No.'' Tears fall down Malcolm's cheeks. COLE Do n't cry. MALCOLM I means I was n't what everyone thought I was. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I was a fake. COLE You were n't a paper champion. MALCOLM Someone else can help you. Someone else can make you happy. Cole is crying now. Cole wipes his eyes with his sleeve. They sit quietly and stare at each other. Beat. Cole whispers. COLE Dr. Crowe? MALCOLM Yes. COLE You believe me, right? A long pause. COLE Dr. Crowe, you believe my secret, right? They both just stare. MALCOLM I do n't know how to answer that. Cole searches for the answer in Malcolm's eyes. He finds it. It's not the one he wanted. Malcolm looks down. COLE How can you help me if you do n't believe me? Cole reaches into his pocket. Pulls out a PENNY. Cole pushes it across the table. Malcolm gazes at it, then looks up at Cole's pained eyes. Beat. COLE -LRB- whispers. -RRB- Some magic's real.", "INT. BASEMENT - AFTERNOON Malcolm sits stoically at his desk in his basement. His eyes gaze at the dusty FRAMED CERTIFICATE FROM THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA shoved between two packing boxes. Malcolm leans his head back against the chair. Stares into the shadows. Drowns in his thoughts. Beat. THE CHAIR CREAKS as he slowly sits up again. Malcolm's eyes scan the room and come to a stop on a box marked with the label. `` SESSION TAPES - VINCENT GRAY''", "INT. BASEMENT - AFTERNOON A tape slides into the tape player seated on Malcolm's desk. Malcolm hits play. THE SOUND OF A DOOR OPENING AND CLOSING IS HEARD. MALCOLM -LRB- on tape. -RRB- Sorry about that. Hope I did n't leave you alone too long. Wow, it's cold in here. WE HEAR A CHAIR MOVE AS MALCOLM SITS DOWN. And then SILENCE. Beat. MALCOLM -LRB- on tape. -RRB- Vincent. Why are you crying? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Vincent? A TEN - YEAR - OLD'S VOICE ANSWERS. VINCENT -LRB- on tape crying. -RRB- Yes? MALCOLM -LRB- on tape. -RRB- What happened? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Did something upset you? Beat. VINCENT SNIFFLES. VINCENT -LRB- on tape. -RRB- You wo n't believe. MALCOLM -LRB- on tape. -RRB- I wo n't believe what? Beat. VINCENT -LRB- on tape. -RRB- I do n't want to talk anymore. I want to go home, okay? I want to go home. Beat. MALCOLM -LRB- on tape. -RRB- Okay, Vincent, you can go home. CLICK. THE TAPE GOES TO SILENCE. Malcolm just sits in the shadowy basement. He does n't move for a while. Then he hits the rewind button. Stops it. Presses play. MALCOLM -LRB- on tape. -RRB- - about that. Hope I did n't leave you too long. Wow, it's cold in here - Malcolm hits the rewind button again. Lets it rewind for a while. Presses play. MALCOLM -LRB- on tape. -RRB- - like needles either. When I was a kid, I had this blood test down - threw up chill cheese fries all over this male nurse. WE HEAR VINCENT CHUCKLE SOFTLY. THE SOUND OF A DOOR OPENING IS HEARD. SECRETARY -LRB- on tape. -RRB- Excuse me, Doctor Reed is on line two. MALCOLM -LRB- on tape. -RRB- Vincent, I have to take this. Give me a minute. VINCENT -LRB- on tape. -RRB- Okay. FOOTSTEPS AS MALCOLM AND THE SECRETARY LEAVE THE ROOM. THE DOOR CLOSES. AND THE SILENCE. Nothing happens for a long time. AND THEN WE HEAR A SUDDEN CHAIR SCREECH ACROSS THE FLOOR. VINCENT'S BREATHING QUICKENS. A SLIGHT STATIC STARTS TO FILTER IN ON THE TAPE. Malcolm's eyes are locked on the spool of audio tape as it spins in the player. Malcolm's fingers move to the volume dial. He turns it way up. THE STATIC NOISE FROM THE TAPE FILLS THE BASEMENT. Malcolm leans closer to the tape player. Closes his eyes and listens. Beat. DEEP IN THE STATIC. ANOTHER SOUND EMERGES, WHISPERING. A MAN'S VOICE IS HEARD IN THE ROOM WITH VINCENT MAN'S WHISPERING -LRB- on tape. -RRB- Familia. No dejen que esto me pase. Mi familia. Yo no quiero morir. Familia. Malcolm's mouth opens in disbelief. MALCOLM Jesus Christ.", "EXT. STREET - AFTERNOON Malcolm stands on a familiar sidewalk. He stares into the bay window of Mr. Marschal's brownstone. Inside the window we see Mr. Marschal seated with a group of older gentlemen his age. They sit around a table eating sandwiches and talking. Malcolm watches as Mr. Marschal tells a story to his friends. WE CA N'T HEAR WHAT HE'S SAYING, but when he finishes everyone at the table laughs. Mr. Marschal smiles. Malcolm ca n't help smiling as well. This is not the same man he saw before. Life has returned to this house. Beat. Malcolm turns and moves down the street. Each step faster than the next.", "INT. CHURCH - LATE AFTERNOON Malcolm moves to the front of the church down the center aisle. His eyes scan the empty seats. No one in sight in any direction. Malcolm stands in the aisle a little out of breath. He holds his hand to his side as he winces a bit. Malcolm's eyes float up to the balcony where toy soldiers sit on the bannister. Cole's head pops up. MALCOLM Hello again. He looks down and studies Malcolm. COLE You been running around? Malcolm nods, `` Yes.'' COLE It makes you feel better? Malcolm nods, `` Yes'' again. COLE I like to run around. It's good exercise. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You want to ask me questions now? Malcolm shakes his head, `` No.'' COLE You want to be a lance corporal in Company M, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines? We're being dispatched to the Quang Nam province. Cole holds up his plastic rifleman. Malcolm's eyes show he understands now. MALCOLM Maybe later. Beat. COLE Something happened, did n't it? MALCOLM Yes, it did. COLE Are you wigging out? MALCOLM Yes, I am. COLE We're not gon na start crying again, are we? MALCOLM No, we're not. COLE What happened? Beat. Malcolm glances around the empty church before looking back up to Cole. MALCOLM These people. People that died and are still hanging around. Maybe they were n't ready to go. Cole studies Malcolm's passionate face. A new face. COLE You really look better. MALCOLM Maybe they wake up that morning thinking they have a thousand things to do and a thousand days left to do them in. And then all of a sudden, it's all taken away. No one asked them. It's just gone. COLE You have nice red in your cheeks now. MALCOLM Do you know what ` Yo no quiero morir' is? Cole shakes his head, `` No.'' MALCOLM It's Spanish. It means.' I do n't want to die.'. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Not all the ghosts are scary, are they? Like Mrs. Marschal? COLE No. MALCOLM What do those ghosts want when they talk to you? Think real careful now, Cole. Cole stops moving. He looks over the balcony railing at Malcolm. COLE Just help. MALCOLM Yes! I think that's right! I think they all want that. Even the scary ones. COLE You believe now? Malcolm's stare is unwavering. MALCOLM I believe both of you now. -LRB- beat. -RRB- And I think I might know how to make them go away. COLE You do? Malcolm nods `` Yes.'' MALCOLM I think they know you're one of those guys rare people can see them. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You need to help them. Each one of them. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Everyone wants to be heard. Everyone. Cole takes a big sigh. Fiddles with his riflemen. COLE What if they do n't want help? What if they're just angry and they want to hurt somebody? MALCOLM I do n't think that's the way it works, Cole. Cole looks nervous. COLE How do you know for sure? Malcolm's eyes are drawn to Cole's arm. Peeking out from under his shirt sleeve are a set of cuts. Malcolm gazes at them. MALCOLM I do n't. Cole and Malcolm stand silently in the center aisle of the back of the church.", "EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT Malcolm moves around the corner on his street. His mind surges with thoughts. And then he glances up. His steps slow to a complete stop. Further down the sidewalk, coming out of the front door of his house is SEAN. Malcolm's face turns to stone. He watches as Sean comes down the front stairs and starts across the street. A sudden rage surges up. Malcolm moves towards Sean fast. Sean reaches his car and enters it. He does n't notice the figure closing in on him. THE ENGINE STARTS. Malcolm reaches the car a second late. Sean pulls away into traffic almost hitting another car as he does. Malcolm watches the car disappear down the next street. Beat. Malcolm turns and looks up at his home with unchecked anger and overwhelming pain erupting his eyes.", "INT. HOUSE - NIGHT Malcolm stands in his foyer. Anna is sitting on the stairs, phone in her hand. She faces away from the front. Malcolm's a ball of tension as he listens to Anna talk into the phone. ANNA You just walked out. You're probably on your way home. I'm leaving this message. I just did n't get to say what I meant. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I know you're confused. It's just. I'm not prepared to do this, Sean. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I do n't want to be ashamed of that. I do n't want to have to make excuses for that. -LRB- beat. -RRB- And I wanted to tell you. I bought your present wholesale from a friend. I did n't even pay tax on it. You do n't need someone cheap like that. -LRB- beat. -RRB- By the way, it's a non - refundable item, it's scratched on the bottom. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Are you smiling? I hope you're smiling. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'll see you at the store. Beat. A long silence. Then WE HEAR ANNA GENTLY HANG UP. Malcolm leans back against an old radiator. Beat. His eyes close as the SOUND OF HIS WIFE'S FOOTSTEPS RISES UP THE STAIRS.", "INT. BROWNSTONE - NIGHT The house is silent. No movement. Cole is in his pajamas asleep on the floor of the TENT. Curled up next to him is Sebastian. They sleep surrounded by statues and pictures. Cole's eyes open as he hears HIS MOTHER'S DISTANT VOICE. LYNN Cole. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Cole, what's happening. Cole quickly gets up and rushes out of the tent. His foot catches one of the chairs the tent is fastened to. He stumbles out. He does n't realize one of the bedsheets comes loose. It folds to the ground.", "INT. HALL - NIGHT He does n't stop as he moves through the shadowy hall and pushes open his mother's bedroom door.", "INT. LYNN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Cole stands in the doorway to his mother's bedroom. He looks over the room carefully. Everything is still. Lynn's room is sparse. No paintings, no accessaries. A bed without a frame sits in the corner. A table with a sewing machine fills the other side of the room. HIS MOTHER'S VOICE turns his attention back to the bed. LYNN Cole, what's happening to you? Cole looks down and finds his mother laying in her bed. Her face contorted in deep sadness as she speaks in her sleep. LYNN Is someone hurting you? I'll beat their asses. Cole smiles at his mother as he moves to her side. Touches her face with his tiny fingers. COLE -LRB- whispers. -RRB- Momma, you sleep now. His touch seems to have an effect. Lynn becomes still in her sleep. Cole watches her carefully.", "INT. HALL - NIGHT Cole closes the door to his mother's bedroom shut. He stands still in the hallway. Lets out a heavy sigh. HIS BREATH ROLLS IN A TINY CLOUD IN FRONT OF HIM. Cole's brow furrows. He breathes again. This time intentionally. Watches as his breath materializes in the suddenly ice cold air. Every muscle in Cole's eight - year - old body becomes rigid. He takes a second before moving through the inky darkness of the hall.", "INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT Cole hurries to fix his tent. He ties the collapsed bedsheet in a knot on the edge of the chair. He checks it carefully before entering the tent.", "INT. TENT - NIGHT When Cole turns around, he stops breathing. AN EIGHT - YEAR - OLD GIRL VOMITS ON HERSELF IN HIS TENT. She finishes and looks up at Cole with drawn eyes. GIRL I'm feeling much better now. The girl reaches out with her withered and emaciated hands - tiny tubes hang from her wrists. She scratches Cole as he tumbles back terrified out of the tent. The whole tent collapses -", "INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Cole runs hard out of his bedroom and down the hall to the living room. He gets down to the ground and slides under the wooden - legged couch. Sebastian is already huddled in fear under the couch. Cole presses as far back as he can and waits. COLE'S P.O.V. - is of the living room floor. Chair legs. Coffee table base. Rugs. Everything is still. Cole holds his breath. He waits. Beat. Nothing happens. He takes his first short breaths and watches the room for any sign of movement.", "INT. COLE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT A few minutes later. Cole is now standing in his doorway. He stares at the hunched figure covered by the collapsed tent. BEAT. Cole makes a decision. He looks like he is going to cry - fights it back. He walks towards it. Reaches down and slowly pulls the sheet off the figure. The girl vomits one more time before looking up at Cole. GIRL I'm feeling much better. Cole and the little girl stare silently at each other. Cole holds her stare with trembling eyes. He opens his mouth - it takes a while before the words come out. COLE Do you want to tell me something?", "INT. PUBLIC BUS - DAY A downtown Septa public bus. Malcolm and Cole are among the spattering of passengers. They're both wearing suits. Cole leans his head against the glass of the scratched window. Cole's large eyes drink in the passing scenery. COLE'S P.O.V. - A dark, abandoned building stretches for an entire block on one side. A MAN IN A GREY, FULL - BODIED UNIFORM WITH NUMBERS PRINTED ACROSS HIS CHEST. RISES OUT OF THE TALL WEEDS IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING. HE HOBBLES HIS WAY DESPERATELY TOWARDS THE BUS. HIS HANDS AND LEGS ARE SHACKLED. HE LUNGES OUT FOR COLE IN THE PASSING WINDOW. SHACKLED MAN My name's not Sullivan! A GUNSHOT ECHOES IN THE AIR. THE MAN'S CHEST EXPLODES IN RED AS HE FALLS TO HIS KNEES SCREAMING. Cole jerks back from the window. The bus quietly drives past THE OLD PRISON BUILDING. Cole stares down at his lap and tries not to look up anymore. Beat. COLE She came a long way to visit me, did n't she? MALCOLM I guess she did. Cole falls into deep thoughts as he stares down at his dress shoes. Malcolm slips back into silence. The city bus slithers through the old Philadelphia streets working its way downtown.", "EXT. HOME - AFTERNOON A modest home sits on a corner. Its small lawn, groomed carefully. Rows of parked cars spill out from the driveway onto the streets. People in suits and dark dresses move somberly in and out of the front door of the home. Cole and Malcolm join the visitors as they walk slowly towards the doors. A frail, little girl about four years of age sits in a dark dress on the swings in front of the house. Visitors say hello to her as they pass. She does n't say anything back. MALCOLM Her little sister? Cole nods, `` Yes.'' Malcolm and Cole watch her for a moment before following others into the modest corner home.", "INT. HOME - AFTERNOON The home is packed with people. The gathering of mourners is standing room only. The AIR IS FILLED WITH DOZENS OF HUSHED CONVERSATIONS. VISITOR #1 can you imagine being a child in a bed for two years? We move to. VISITOR #2 I think it was six. We move to. VISITOR #3 Six separate doctors? We move to. VISITOR #4 -LRB- whispers. -RRB-. the little one's falling ill now. We move to. VISITOR #5 God help them. A FAMILY PORTRAIT HANGS NEAR THE FRONT DOOR. Two girls, one bigger, one smaller sit on the ground in front of their mother and father. Their smiling faces welcome the mourners. Malcolm and Cole are standing at the bottom of a staircase. Waiting. The front door opens as another group arrives. Malcolm nods to Cole as the foyer fills up. The two of them quietly disappear upstairs.", "INT. HALLWAY - AFTERNOON The narrow hall is lined with boxes of medical supplies. I.V. stands, sterile needles and pads are in the process of being taken away. The boxes are piled outside a closed bedroom door. Cole stares at the shut door like he does n't want to go in. His eyes move to the large, colorful map of the world that dons the hallway wall. He gazes at the many countries and continents. Beat. COLE I wish I were somewhere else. MALCOLM -LRB- soft. -RRB- Where will you go, where no one has died? Cole stares at the map and then turns to Malcolm. COLE Do n't go home, okay? MALCOLM I definitely wo n't. Cole turns and stares quietly at the door. He waits a long time before reaching for the doorknob.", "INT. GIRL'S BEDROOM - AFTERNOON Cole closes the door behind him. He turns and gazes at the girl's bedroom. There's a hospital bed near the window. The walls are covered with get - well cards and drawings from family, friends, and school children. Her shelves are filled with puppets. All shapes and sizes of puppets. Next to the shelf is a puppet stage and a camcorder on a mini tripod sitting next to it. Cole walks to the shelf and picks up a FINGER PUPPET DANCER. He places it in his pocket. On the girl's desk, is a large collection of video cassettes. The labels read, `` Puppet Show Christmas 96,'' `` Puppet Show Birthday party,'' `` Puppet Show class trip''. Cole reads the labels carefully before moving towards the closets. He passes the bed. AN EMACIATED HAND REACHES OUT FROM BENEATH THE BED AND GRABS COLE'S ANKLE. Cole jerks back startled. He watches as the girl's hand slips back under the bed. Cole stays very still. Waits. Nothing happens. He slowly bends down. His hands touch the floor. He tilts his head and looks under the bed. The emaciated little girl who came to his tent lays curled on the floor. Her bulging eyes glare at Cole. She moves suddenly. Thrusts a jewelry box forward. It slides across the wooden floor and stops just before Cole. Cole and the sickly girl stare at each other. Neither of them say a word.", "INT. LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOON The room is thick with mourners. Most are gathered around the GIRL'S MOTHER, a young woman in her late twenties. As she moves through the room to the kitchen, she receives the many cards, hugs, and flowers that are offered as condolence. Mrs. Collins leaves the living room. Malcolm watches breathlessly from the doorway as Cole moves through the many adults across the room. The girl's father, MR. COLLINS, a thin man in his late twenties, is seated on the reading chair next to a T.V. His face is granite. No one in the room dares to talk to him. He stares statue - like at an abstract point in the room. COLE Mister? The man does n't react. Some of the guests look oddly at the little boy standing before the man. COLE Excuse me, Mister. Beat. The man slowly turns and looks down at the boy standing next to him. Cole is very shaky. Malcolm watches everything anxiously. Cole stares at Mr. Collins. COLE Are you Kyra's daddy? The man's face begins to crumble. Beat. He nods, `` yes'' softly. Cole holds out the jewelry box. It trembles with his hands. The father just stares at it. Beat. COLE It's for you. -LRB- beat. -RRB- She wanted to tell you something. The father becomes very still. His eyes fill with a storm of confusion and pain. After the longest time, the father reaches and gently takes the box out of Cole's small hands. Cole begins to back away. The father gazes at Cole as he melts into the crowd. Cole reaches Malcolm and the two then slip out of the house. The father looks down in a daze. He goes to open the jewelry box. His movements are slow and strained. He lifts the latch and open the box. Mr. Collins stares at an unlabeled video cassette.", "INT. LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOON People in the room start to turn as the T.V. comes on. Mr. Collins is seated now. THE STATIC SNOW ON THE SCREEN IS QUICKLY REPLACED BY AN IMAGE. TWO PUPPETS DANCE ON STAGE. WE HEAR KYRA'S VOICE SING FOR THE PUPPETS AS THEY DANCE AROUND. Her father's face forms the most heartbreaking of smiles as he watches the performance. The entire room has stopped what they were doing. T.V. SCREEN WE HEAR FOOTSTEPS COMING UP THE STAIRS. The puppets go limp. The entire stage gets lifted up. We see it carried away by Kyra. We can view the whole bedroom now. The camera is seated on her desk in the corner. Kyra climbs in bed and pretends to be sleeping when the door opens. It's Mrs. Collins. She carries in a tray of soup and a sandwich. LIVING ROOM The crowd watches in riveted silence. The father never takes his eyes off of the screen. The image of the mother prepares the meal. She uncovers the fruit and the soup. Places a straw into the drink. And then it happens. The image of the mother walks to a closet. Opens it. An assortment of household cleaners and sponges are kept inside. She pulls out a bottle of floor cleaner. Reads the label for the ingredients. Walks back to the food tray, where she unscrews the cap on the floor cleaner. The mother pours some into the cap. Checks it. MRS. COLLINS -LRB- video tape. -RRB- That's too much. The mother pours some into the bottle. The remainder goes into the child's soup. She replaces the cap and puts the bottle back in the closet. The image of the mother turns to the bed carrying the tray. She places the food on a metallic rolling table and swings it over the bed. MRS. COLLINS -LRB- video tape. -RRB- Kyra, time for lunch. Kyra pretends to wake from a deep sleep. KYRA -LRB- video tape. -RRB- I'm feeling much better now. The image of the mother smiles. MRS. COLLINGS -LRB- video tape. -RRB- I'm glad, honey. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Time for your food. KYRA -LRB- video tape. -RRB- Can I go outside, if I eat this? MRS. COLLINS -LRB- video tape. -RRB- We'll see. You know how you get sick in the afternoon. Kyra picks up the spoon and takes a sip. Her face crinkles at the taste. She looks up at her mother. MRS. COLLINS -LRB- video tape. -RRB- Do n't say it tastes funny. You know I do n't like to hear that. Kyra slowly brings the spoon to her mouth and swallows another spoonful. The father SHUTS OFF THE TELEVISION with his trembling hands. He presses his hands to his eyes like they're burning. The ROOM IS UTTERLY SILENT.", "INT. DINING ROOM - AFTERNOON Mrs. Collins is seated at the dining room surrounded by friends and family. She fixes one of the many bouquets of flowers on the table. It takes her a beat before she feels the stare. She looks up. Standing in the doorway to the dining room is Mr. Collins. A group of ashen faced guests stand in the distance behind him. Husband and wife's eyes meet. Mrs. Collins smiles softly. Mr. Collins' eyes tremble with tears. MR. COLLINS -LRB- soft. -RRB- You were keeping her sick. The whole world stops. The mother's face registers confusion at first. Then slow realization. Her eyes glace at the many faces around her. She looks back at her husband. His glare is painful. Rage filling every cell of his body. Tears falling faster down his cheeks. Mrs. Collins turns her attention back to the flowers. She concentrates with all her strength. Beat. Her hands begin to shake. MRS. COLLINS -LRB- to no one. -RRB- I took care of her. Her words are met with ice cold stares. The first tears stream down her face. The pretty flowers of consolation in her hand tumble to the floor.", "EXT. HOUSE - AFTERNOON Cole sits on the swings next to Kyra's four - year - old sister. She does n't look up. Malcolm waits in the driveway. Watches them from a distance. Cole reaches into his pocket and pulls out the little FINGER PUPPET. He holds it out. COLE You liked it, she said. The four - year - old stares at the finger puppet, then quietly takes it in her small hands. The two children do n't say anything for a while. Malcolm glances to the house, where all movements in and out of the home has ceased. Cole turns to the four - year - old. COLE She watched out for you. The little girl finally looks up. She has the saddest eyes. FOUR YEAR OLD Kyra's not coming back. Beat. COLE Not anymore. The little girl stares down at the finger puppet. Cole lightly places a hand on her shoulder. Nothing else is said. Nothing else is done. Malcolm looks across the two children on the swings. One mourning. One consoling. Malcolm takes it in, overwhelmed.", "INT. PROP ROOM - AFTERNOON Stanley Cunningham moves between two curtains and comes to a prop room door in the back. He puts an ear to the door, listens and then knocks. After a second, he enters. Mr. Cunningham finds Cole sitting in a poor villager costume as a FEMALE TEACHER kneels next to him and makes final adjustments. Cole and the woman glance at Mr. Cunningham. MR. CUNNINGHAM They're calling for the stable boy. Mr. Cunningham looks around the room and then directly at Cole. MR. CUNNINGHAM Who were you talking to? The Female Teacher looks to Cole and nods. FEMALE TEACHER Poor Stanley. She stands up. The entire left side of her face has been burnt horribly. Grotesquely disfigured. FEMALE TEACHER My favorite student. THE FIGURE OF THE WOMAN MOVES PAST MR. CUNNINGHAM IN THE DOORWAY. SHE DISAPPEARS INTO THE DARKNESS. Cole puts on his tattered hat. COLE Thanks for giving me this part, Mr. Cunningham. Mr. Cunningham smiles. MR. CUNNINGHAM You're welcome, Cole. They share a look before walking out of the prop room and entering the hall. We see them walking away. MR. CUNNINGHAM You know when I was in school, there was a terrible fire in this section of the theater. They rebuilt the whole thing. Beat. COLE I know.", "EXT. SCHOOL - AFTERNOON It begins to rain. Malcolm pulls his jacket over his head as he scurries up the stairs of the school.", "INT. HALL - AFTERNOON Malcolm stands and catches his breath in the corridor of St. Anthony's Academy. A teacher rushes in the hall with an armload of costumes. MALCOLM Has the play started yet? The teacher hurries past Malcolm and down the hall without saying a word. MALCOLM Is that a yes? The teacher scurries around a corner. Malcolm watches her curiously.", "INT. AUDITORIUM - AFTERNOON Malcolm moves quickly to a set of double doors and opens them. He steps into the DARKNESS OF THE AUDITORIUM. The play is in full swing. Cole and a large group of costumed children are on stage. Cole holds a broom and wears a worn - down costume. He stands to the side - hidden by others. A boy in a shiny - armored costume walks to the center of the stage where a large cardboard stone is seated. A sparkling HANDLE sticks out of the top. The armored boy tries to lift it. It wo n't budge. Bobby, the chubby boy from the party, is dressed in a magician's costume. He is Merlin. He steps forward. MERLIN Only he who is pure of heart can take the sword from the stone. Merlin looks to the group on stage. Looks right at Cole. MERLIN Let the boy try. The group of villagers on the stage LAUGH AND MOCK THE SUGGESTION. Tommy Tammisimo is dressed in a mismatched costume - he hops around, clearly embarrassed. TOMMY -LRB- half - heartedly. -RRB- But he's the stable boy. He cleans after the horses. MERLIN Silence village idiot! Let the boy step forward. Tommy turns a deep shade of red and hobbles off the stage. Merlin looks to Cole. He smiles a true friend's smile. MERLIN Arthur. Cole hesitates. Not because he's acting. He really hesitates. It takes him a moment before he steps forward. Cole steps up to the stone. He places his hand around the handle. Begins to pull. The sword starts to come out. The villagers GASP. Cole raises the shiny sword out of the stone and high above his head. Merlin and everyone on stage bows. A SILENCE FILLS THE AUDITORIUM. Malcolm watches his client, standing unafraid in the spot light for the first time. The villagers rise and rush to Cole. They scoop him up and carry him around the stage in celebration. Cole chuckles and then starts laughing as the group of eight - year - olds try unsuccessfully to keep him up. They slowly sag and then collapse. All the students are laughing as they try to untangle themselves. Malcolm watches with utter joy as Cole becomes indistinguishable among of a group of twenty children giggling and enjoying themselves on stage.", "INT. SCHOOL LOBBY - LATE AFTERNOON The rain comes down a little stronger now on the stained glass window. Malcolm sits on the stairs in the lobby. Cole walks back and forth in front of him. Cole still holds the sword from the play. COLE How come we're so quiet? Malcolm shrugs his shoulders. MALCOLM I think we said everything we needed to say. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Maybe it's time to say things to someone else? Someone close to you? COLE Maybe. Cole keeps moving. Beat. COLE I'm not going to see you anymore, am I? Malcolm does n't respond for a while. He shakes his head, `` No.'' Beat. MALCOLM You were great in the play, Cole. COLE Really? MALCOLM And you know what else? COLE What? MALCOLM Tommy Tammisimo sucked big time. Cole smiles huge. Beat. Cole's sword drags on the tile as he continues to circle around the hall. We get the idea he does n't want to be still. COLE Maybe we can pretend we're going to see each other tomorrow? Cole glances at Malcolm. COLE Just for pretend. Beat. Malcolm exhales very slowly as he gets up. MALCOLM Okay, Cole, I'm going to go now. I'll see you tomorrow. Cole watches as Malcolm walks down the stairs to the entrance. Cole stops moving. COLE -LRB- soft. -RRB- See you tomorrow. Malcolm's face shows his losing battle against his emotions. He does n't turn to look back.", "EXT. CAR - LATE AFTERNOON A rain - soaked bridge. A two - lane road merges to one lane around a severe car accident. A rear - ended car has jumped the sidewalk and hit the guard rail of the bridge. The driver is helped out by police. He's shaken but okay. Police flares guide the cars as they crawl by. Lynn and Cole are standing still in bumper - to - bumper traffic. Lynn leans her chin on the steering wheel. She tries to stare through the layer of water on the glass. She hits the windshield wipers. LYNN I hope nobody got hurt. Beat. Lynn glances over to Cole who sits in his seat silently. LYNN You're very quiet. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You're mad I missed the play, are n't you? Cole shakes his head, `` No.'' LYNN I have two jobs, baby. You know how important they are for us. Beat. LYNN I'd give anything to have been there. COLE I'm ready to communicate with you now. Beat. LYNN Communicate? COLE Tell you my secrets. The way he says the words gives Lynn a chill. LYNN What is it? Cole takes a long time. COLE You know that accident up there? LYNN -LRB- confused. -RRB- Yeah. COLE Someone got hurt. LYNN They did? COLE A lady. She died. LYNN Oh my God. Lynn leans over the steering wheel. She wipes the windshield with her palm to see better. LYNN You can see her? COLE Yes. Lynn gazes out the windshield at the line of red tail lights. Beat. LYNN Where is she? COLE Standing next to my window. A WOMAN IN HER LATE FORTIES, HELMET CRACKED, HAIR MATTED WITH RAIN AND BLOOD, STANDS STARING THROUGH COLE'S PASSENGER WINDOW. Lynn looks over slowly. She does n't see anything outside his window. She eyes Cole. LYNN Cole, you're scaring me. COLE They scare me too sometimes. LYNN They? COLE Dead people. LYNN Dead people? COLE Ghosts. Beat. LYNN You see ghosts, Cole? COLE They want me to do things for them. LYNN They talk to you? Cole nods, `` Yes.'' LYNN They tell you to do things? Cole nods `` Yes'' again. Lynn becomes upset. She nods with grave understanding. Cole watches her. COLE What are you thinking, Momma? LYNN I do n't know. COLE You think I'm a freak? Lynn's eyes moves to Cole. LYNN Look at my face. Cole gazes at her intense expression. LYNN I would never think that about you. ever. Got it? COLE Got it. BEAT. Cole smiles a tiny smile. Lynn glances down. LYNN Just let me think for a second. She drowns in her thoughts. Beat. COLE Grandma says hi. Lynn looks up sharply. COLE She says she's sorry for taking the bumble bee pendant. She just likes it a lot. LYNN What? COLE Grandma comes to visit me sometimes. Lynn becomes still. Her face is unreadable. When she speaks, her words are extremely controlled. LYNN Cole, that's very wrong. Grandma's gone. You know that. COLE I know. Beat. COLE She wanted me to tell you - LYNN -LRB- soft. -RRB- Cole, please stop. COLE She wanted me to tell you, she saw you dance. Lynn's eyes lock on Cole's. COLE She said when you were little, you and her had a fight right before your dance recital. You thought she did n't come to see you dance. She did. Lynn brings her hands to her mouth. COLE She hid in the back so you would n't see. She said you were like an angel. Lynn begins to cry. COLE She said, you came to her where they buried her. Asked her a question. She said the answer is `` Everyday.'' Lynn covers her face with her hands. The tears roll out through her fingers. COLE -LRB- whispers. -RRB- What did you ask? Beat. Lynn looks at her son. She barely gets the words out. LYNN -LRB- crying. -RRB- Do I make her proud? Cole moves closer to Lynn. She cradles him in her arms. Mother and son hold each other tight. WE PULL BACK FROM THE WINDSHIELD, BACK PAST THE FRONT BUMPER WHERE THE FIGURE OF THE BLOODED WOMAN STANDS STARING AT COLE AND HIS MOTHER. WE SEE A MANGLED BIKE PULLED OUT FROM THE REAR - ENDED CAR ON THE SIDEWALK. WE MOVE UP AND AWAY FROM THE RAIN - SOAKED BRIDGE.", "EXT. MALCOLM'S HOUSE - NIGHT Malcolm walks quietly down the sidewalk towards his home.", "INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Malcolm enters the living room and smiles at what he sees. Anna is asleep in a chair. She's curled up in a ball. In a way, she looks like a little girl. Their WEDDING VIDEO PLAYS SOFTLY ON THE TELEVISION. Malcolm watches himself and Anna cutting their wedding cake. THE CROWD APPLAUDS AS THEY FEED EACH OTHER PIECES. Malcolm turns from the television and takes a seat next to Anna. He gazes upon his wife softly. MALCOLM -LRB- whispers. -RRB- Anna, I've been so lost. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I need my best friend. Silence. Malcolm gazes for a beat before looking down. ANNA I miss you. Malcolm's eyes move back up. He looks at his sleeping wife. ANNA'S TALKING IN HER SLEEP. Malcolm ca n't believe it. MALCOLM I miss you. Beat. Her lips move again. Eyes never open. ANNA Why, Malcolm? MALCOLM What, Anna? What did I do? What's made you so sad? Beat. ANNA Why did you leave me? MALCOLM I did n't leave you. Beat. She becomes silent. Anna falls back into deep sleep, her arm slides down. SOMETHING SHINY FALLS OUT AND ROLLS ON THE GROUND. Malcolm's eyes watch as it comes to a stop. Beat. He gazes curiously at a GOLD WEDDING BAND laying on the wood floor. Confusion washes over his face. He looks to Anna's hand. An identical gold wedding ring sits on her finger. Beat. Malcolm looks down at his own hand. HIS WEDDING RING IS GONE. Malcolm is completely lost. He takes a couple steps back. Looks around in confusion. His eyes come to rest on the door to his basement office. He looks in disbelief at the set of DEAD BOLT LOCKS on the door. Malcolm does n't know what the hell's going on. His eyes are drawn to the dining table. Only ONE PLACE SETTING is out on the tabletop. His eyes search again - they finally lock on the WEDDING VIDEO PLAYING. Malcolm watches images of himself on the screen. His eyes fill with a storm of emotions. Malcolm looks to Anna's face and becomes very still. Beat. CLOSE ON ANNA. TILL HER SLEEPING FACE FILLS THE FRAME. IT'S NOW WE NOTICE FOR THE FIRST TIME, THAT ANNA'S BREATHS ARE FORMING TINY CLOUDS IN THE COLD AIR. MALCOLM -LRB- like he's falling down a deep hole. -RRB- No. FLASHBACK : INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT VIOLENT GUN SHOTS RING THROUGH THE BEDROOM. Anna rushes across the room to a crumpled Malcolm laying on the floor. Malcolm's hands are clutched at his side. Anna pries his hands away to reveal the tiniest tear in his shirt. Anna's eyes catch something dark - moving. A POOL OF BLOOD IS FORMING UNDER MALCOLM. She slowly turns him over on his side. A horrific sight. An enormous exit wound on his lower back pours out blood uncontrollably. Malcolm's jaw is locked open. His breaths are long and strained. ANNA IS SCREAMING, BUT HER VOICE SOUNDS FAR AWAY. Malcolm's open jaw releases a long strained breath and then becomes silent. Anna tries to cover the wound with her hands desperately. PRESENT : INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT MALCOLM -LRB- screaming. -RRB- ANNA! MALCOLM'S VOICE SHAKES THE ROOM. Anna just sleeps. Malcolm staggers back. His breathing erratic. He takes a seat across from her. He looks at his wife and suddenly becomes very still. Anna's still curled up asleep, but tears are falling from her shut eyes. Beat. MALCOLM Do n't cry. Anna does n't move, but her tears seem to fall a little faster. MALCOLM I think I have to go. Malcolm's mind is racing. MALCOLM -LRB- realizing. -RRB- I just needed to do a couple of things. -LRB- beat. -RRB- And I needed to tell you something. ANNA Tell me. Beat. MALCOLM You were never second. Ever. Malcolm gazes at his wife. Tears fall from both their eyes. MALCOLM You sleep now, Anna. Everything will be different in the morning. Anna lays still. ANNA Goodnight, Malcolm. MALCOLM Goodnight, sweetheart. The room falls into silence. Malcolm sits still across from his wife. He drinks her in with his eyes. Malcolm leans back in the chair. Slowly closes his eyes. They close shut. WE ARE TIGHT ON ANNA. WE SEE HER SOFT BREATHS FORMING A TINY CLOUD IN THE COLD AIR. WITH EACH BREATH, THEY BECOME LESS AND LESS VISIBLE. THE ROOM BECOMING LESS AND LESS COLD. SOON HER BREATHS ARE N'T VISIBLE AT ALL. SHE BREATHES GENTLY, FALLING BACK INTO A PEACEFUL SLEEP. WE PULL BACK to reveal Anna alone in the living room. THE WEDDING VIDEO PLAYS ITS LAST SCENES. MALCOLM IS AT THE MICROPHONE ON THE DANCE FLOOR IN FRONT OF ALL THE GUESTS. HE'S HOLDING A GLASS OF WINE. MALCOLM -LRB- on tape. -RRB-. I think I've had too much to drink. Malcolm smiles as he takes a sip. The guests chuckle as they watch. Beat. MALCOLM -LRB- on tape. -RRB- I just have to say, this day today has been one very special day. I wish we all could stay and play. The crowd erupts in LAUGHTER. MALCOLM -LRB- on tape. -RRB- What? Malcolm looks around at everyone's smiling faces. Beat. Malcolm takes his time. He looks just past the camera. MALCOLM Anna, I never thought I'd feel the things I'm feeling. I never thought I'd be able to stand up in front of my friends and family and tell them what's inside me. Today I can. Malcolm's eyes fill with water. MALCOLM -LRB- softly. -RRB- Anna Crowe. I am in love. In love I am. THE END"], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist in Philadelphia, returns home one night with his wife Anna after having been honored for his work. A young man appears in their bathroom and accuses Malcolm of failing him. Malcolm recognizes him as Vincent Grey, a former patient he treated as a child for hallucinations, but before he can talk Vincent down, Vincent shoots him and then himself. The next fall, Malcolm begins working with Cole Sear, a young boy. Malcolm feels he must help him in order to rectify his failure and reconcile with his wife, who has become distant and cold. Cole's mother Lynn worries about his social skills, especially after seeing signs of physical harm. Cole eventually confides his secret to Malcolm: he sees ghosts walking around like the living, unaware that they are dead. Initially, Malcolm thinks Cole is delusional and considers dropping his case. After listening to an audiotape from a session with Vincent, Malcolm hears a weeping man begging for help in Spanish and believes that Cole is telling the truth. He suggests that Cole try to find a purpose for his gift by communicating with the ghosts and helping them finish their business. Cole is unwilling at first, then finally agrees to try to help. Cole awakens one night to discover a ghost girl vomiting. After finding out who she is, Cole goes with Malcolm to the funeral reception at her home where he is directed to a box holding a videotape, which he gives to her father. The tape shows the girl's mother poisoning her daughter's food. By doing this, Cole has saved the girl's younger sister from the same fate. Learning to live with the ghosts he sees, Cole begins to fit in at school and is cast as the lead in the school play. Before departing, Cole suggests that Malcolm should try speaking to Anna while she is asleep. Stuck in traffic, Cole tells his mother his secret, and says that someone died in an accident down the road. When Lynn doesn't believe him, Cole tells her his grandmother visits him and describes how she saw Lynn in a dance performance when she was a child, giving details he could not have known. Malcolm returns home to find his wife asleep and their wedding video playing. While still asleep, Anna asks why he left her and drops Malcolm's wedding ring. Recalling what Cole told him about how dead people only see what they want to see, Malcolm starts to see things he did not see earlier. Malcolm suddenly remembers being shot and locates his gunshot wound that reveals he was actually killed by Vincent and he has been dead the whole time. Malcolm tells his wife she was never second to anything and that he loves her. Because of Cole's efforts, Malcolm's business is finally complete, and his spirit departs in a flash of light.", "name": "The_Sixth_Sense"}
{"scenes": ["FADE IN : TOP HATS. Clustered in a small glade. As we SUPER TITLES, a BLACK CAT slinks its way through them. As TITLES END- BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Are you watching closely? A SECOND BLACK CAT races into frame, HISSING, SPITTING, CHASING the first cat into the woods beyond and we- CUT TO : INT. CLUTTERED WORKSHOP -- DAY Moving along a row of CANARIES in CAGES. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Every magic trick consists of three part, or acts... Stop at a cage. Weathered HANDS envelope the canary. Hands and voice belongs to a man in his 60's- CUTTER. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The first part is called the Pledge... A LITTLE GIRL pershes on a chest in the workshop, watching. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... the magician shows you something ordinary- Cutter moves to a small ORNATE CAGE resting on a prop table. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- A deck of cards, ar a bird...", "INT. SCALA THEATRE, LONDON -- NIGHT A packed house. Many hands raised. Move in on a BEARDED MAN, his gloved hand tentatively rising into the air. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... or a man. A GLAMOROUS ASSISTANT beckons Bearded Man from the aisle. He shuffles along his row towards her. Embarrassed. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- He show you this object, and pledges to you its utter normality... Bearbed Man and four other VOLUNTEERS follow the Assistant down towards the stage... On which stands the magician, leaning on his cane, smiling. This is ROBERT ANGIER, 35, an American. Looming over him is a large and complex ELETRICAL MACHINE. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Perhaps he asks you to inspect it... Bearbed Man, FASCINATED, and other Volunteers look over the vast machine. As angier GESTURES theatrically at the various features of the metal and glass apparatus. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... to see that it is indeed real... As the Assistant leads the Volunteers off the stage, Bearded Man slips through the gap at the side of the curtains- CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... unaltered...", "INT. STAGE THEATRE, BACKSTAGE -- CONTINUOUS -looks around, DISORIENTED, then darts for some stairs leagind below stage where he runs into a burly STAGEHAND. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... normal. STAGEHAND Where'd you think you're going?! CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But, of course, it probably is n't... Bearded Man pulls off his beard, revealing the face of ALFRED BORDEN, mid 30's. BEARDED MAN I'm part of the act, you fool! The Stagehand raises his eyebrows and steps aside. Borden RACES down below the stage. Cutter approaches the Stagehand. CUTTER Who was that?", "INT. SCALA THEATRE, ONSTAGE -- CONTINUOUS As the machine GROANS to life. SPARKING and CRACKLING, Angier gazes at it, forgettig his audience. Entranced. Possessed.", "INT. BENEATH THE STAGE -- CONTINUOUS Borden fumbles through the darkned area, lit by flashes and sparks through gaps in the boards of the stage above. He GASPS as a flash illuminates a STAGEHAND with SOLID WHITE EYES sitting nearby. Borden waves a hand in front of the", "INT. WORKSHOP -- DAY Cutter gently places the canary into the ornate cage. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The second act is called the Turn...", "INT. SCALA THEATRE, ONSTAGE -- NIGHT Angier, facing the audience, steps into the machine. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The magician takes the ordinary something...", "INT. BENEATH THE STAGE -- CONTINUOUS Borden lights a MATCH. In front of him is a LARGE GLASS TANK FILLED WITH WATER, ITs LID PROPPED OPEN. Borden frowns. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... and makes it do something extraordianry.", "INT. WORKSHOP -- DAY Cutter places a SILK SHAWL over the cage. Then SLAMS his hands down on the shawl, which FLATTENS- The Little Girl FLINCHES. Then STARES, FASCINATED. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now you're looking for the secret.", "INT. SCALA THEATRE, ONSTAGE -- NIGHT Bolts of electicity draw inwards, wrapping Angier in a ball of light which CRACKS- CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But you wo n't find it...", "INT. BENEATH THE STAGE -- CONTINUOUS The ROOM fills with light as a TRAPDOOR snaps open and a BODY DROPS INTO THE TANK. CUTTER Because of course, you're not really looking... The lid of the tank and trapdoor above SNAP SHUT, leaving the tank, and Borden, in complete DARKNESS. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... you do n't really want to know.", "INT. WORKSHOP -- DAY Cutter WHIPS the shawl from the table. Cage and bird have DISAPPEARED. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... you want to be fooled. The Little Girl stares, EXPECTANT. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- But you could n't clap yet. Because making something disappear is n't enough... you have to bring it back.", "INT. SCALA THEATRE, ONSTAGE -- CONTINUOUS The MACHINE sputters to a stop. Angier is GONE. The audience sits, WAITING. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That's why every magic trick has a third act. The hardest part..,", "INT. WORKSHOP -- DAY Cutter forms a fist. Drapes the shawl over it. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... the part we call... Cutter WHIPS the shawl away to reveal- the CANARY. The Little Girl CLAPS.", "INT. BENEATH THE STAGE -- NIGHT Borden LIGHTS another match. Stares in HORROR- CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... The Prestige. Inside the tank, ANGIER IS DROWNING. His rolling EYES fixes on BORDEN, he POUNDS desperately on the thick glass, SCREAMING BUBBLES... The screen fades to BLACK. PROSECUTOR -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The Prestige...?", "INT. COURTROOM -- DAY The PROSECUTOR turns to face the witness in the box : Cutter. PROSECUTOR And did Robert Angier, the Great Danton, your employer, get to that final part of his trick that night? CUTTER No, sir. Something went wrong. PROSECUTOR What went wrong? CUTTER I saw a someone head below the stage... I followed... and I found Borden- Cutter points at the dock : Borden is there, CHAINED TO THE FLOOR. FLANKED BY GUARDS. Cutter POINTS. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -watching Mr. Angier drown in a tank. PROSECUTOR Would you describe your occupation to the jury please, Mr.Cutter? CUTTER I'm an ingeneur. I design illusions and construct the apparatus necessary for perfoming them. PROSECUTOR And for how long had you been Mr.Angier's `` ingeneur''? CUTTER Eight years. I was privvy to the secrets of his entire act. PROSECUTOR So, Mr.Cutter, was this water-filled tank beneath the stage part of Mr.Angier's illusion- the illusion billed as `` THE REAL TRANSPORTED MAN''? CUTTER No, sir. The tank had been used for the first trick, then taken offstage. Borden must have put it under the trap door after the interval. Cutter looks across at Borden, who is absently tapping his hand against the rail- it is MUTILATED, MISSING 2 1/2 FINGERS. The DEFENDER STANDS. DEFENDER How large was this tank? CUTTER The sort of tank used for underwater escapes- four or five hundred gallons. DEFENDER How do you think Mr.Borden was able to move the tank under the trap door without anyone noticing? CUTTER Ask him- he's the magician. Titters from the gallery. The Defenser turns to the JUDGE. DEFENDER -LRB- impatient -RRB- I ask again that this man explain the mechanics of Mr.Angier's illusion. CUTTER -LRB- angry -RRB- If I reveal my magician's secrets here in open court, I'll be unemployable and the secrets will be worthless. The Real Transported Man is the most sought-after illusion in the business and I have te right to sell it on. The Judge considers this. He looks at Cutter. Sympathetic. JUDGE Mr.Cutter, I see your predicament but we are talking about a capital offence- Alfred Borden's life hangs in the balance. Cutter looks down. Quiet. JUDGE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- If you were prepared to disclose the details to me in private, I might be able to judge their relevance to the case. -LRB- addresses lawyers -RRB- Might this be an acceptable compromisse? Amid murmurs of assent, the Judge ADJOURNS the proceedings. As the Guards begin the complex ritual of unlocking Borden's chainsa from the floor, Borden's looks across the courtroom : The LITTLE GIRL from the opening stands in the gallery, looking back at him. Borden gives her a little WAVE. She waves back, then is GUIDED OUT by a man wearing GLOVES and BOWLER HAT- this is FALLON. He nods at Borden.", "EXT. PRISON YARD, NEWGATE PRISON -- DAY OWENS, 50's a lawyer, stands at the entry gate. The CAPTAIN of the guard walks out to greet him. CAPTAIN I'm going to have to ask you to turn out your pockets. Owens raises his eyebrows. CAPTAIN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Not my idea, sir. The Warden saw his show in Manchester last year where he vanished into thin air- he's convinced he'll try an escape. Owens smiles as he hands over his pocket watch ans wallet. They walk along a hall wrought iron fence. The PRISON looms over them. A door in the prison opens and Borden emerges, trussed absurdly in chains held by two WARDERS. The other INMATES begin cattle-calling and whistling as BOrden is paraded up to a WOODEN SECTION of the fence. CAPTAIN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I told him the only way Borden's going to disappear is if I leave him out with the others immates. At the fence, the Warders lock the ends of their chains to a thick eye hook set into the ground. CAPTAIN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- to warders -RRB- Check the locks. Twice. They check the locks. Then retreat to allow privacy. The Captain marches away. Borden looks at Owens. Bored. OWENS My name is Owens- I'm a solicitor. Borden says nothing. OWENS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I represent Lord Caldlow, and accomplished amateur magician and historian of magic- BORDEN How much? OWENS Lord Caldlow is interested in- BORDEN -LRB- cold -RRB- How much for my tricks? OWENS Five thousand pounds. BORDEN Talk to Fallon, my ingenuer- the money's for him. OWENS I did. He offered to sell all of your tricks... except the most valuable one - The Transported Man. BORDEN I'd never forgive myself for selling my greatest trick. Borden signals the Wardens to come and unlock him. OWENS Even for your daughter? Borden looks up. Owens moves closer, quietly assertive. OWENS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- If the newspapers are right, and you're for the drop, your daughter's going to need looking after BORDEN Fallon can take care of- OWENS Bernard Fallon? A man with a past even more obscure than your own? The court have already motioned to have the girl removed from his `` care''. No, the girl is to be an orphan. I've been to the work house... Owens looks around the prison yard. Shrugs. OWENS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It's better than this. Borden looks at Owens, hard. The Warders unlock Borden. OWENS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'm offering you a way to warp up your affairs with dignity, and I'm offering your daughter a future. As Lord Caldlow's ward she will want for nothing. Ever. -LRB- hands him a card -RRB- Think it over. Borden absently VANISHES the card as a REFLEX. OWENS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Lord Caldlow wanted you to have this- -LRB- produces a leather bound JOURNAL -RRB- As a show of good faith. He thought it might be of interest. A SULLEN WALDER TALKS the journal, flicks through it. OWENS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Robert Angier's diary... It includes the time he spent in Colorado learning your trick... Sullen hands the journal to Borden. Borden takes it. BORDEN Angier never learned my trick. OWENS Really? When he returned from Colorado he mounted a version of the Transported Man that the papers said was better, even... -LRB- with relish -RRB- Than your original. BORDEN -LRB- acid -RRB- If you want Angier's secret you can dig him up and ask him for yourself. Borden TURNS, dragging the Warders with him. OWENS I want your secret, Mr.Borden... -LRB- louder -RRB- Consider your daughter!", "INT. CELL, NEWGATE PRISON -- DAY Borden, on the bed, opens Angier's JOURNAL. Starts to read... ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- A cypher. An enigma... CUT TO : LETTERS ON A PAGE. IN MEANINGLESS COMBINATIONS. GIBBERISH.", "INT. TRAIN, MOUNTAINS -- DUSK Aniger, with a SIGH, closes a CARDBOARD-COVERED NOTEBOOK. OPENS his LEATHER-BOUND JOURNAL. Starts to write. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... Borden's cypher is simple- unraveled by a single word. Now it takes only patience. And a passion to know his mind. Angier lloks up at his own reflection in the train window.", "EXT. TRAIN STATION -- DUSK No platform, no office, no sign. Just an electric streetlight which, as Angier watches, FLICKERS ON. Angier, leaning heavily on his cane limps over to the light and stares up at it as he's never seen one before. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Mr.Angier? Welcome to Colorado Springs. Angier looks back and smiles. A driver is looking down expectantly from atop a STAGECOACH. Angier hands his cane up to the driver nd, with some difficulty, hitches his way up to the roof of the rig. As he does, the town of Colorado Springs rises into view, a few hundred yards down the road, lit brightly with ELECTRIC STREETLIGHTS. ANGIER -LRB- disbelief -RRB- The whole town has electricity? The driver nods and WHIPS the horses into action.", "EXT. ROAD, PIKE'S PEAK -- EVENING The Stagecoach flies along, inches from a precipitious drop. It rounds a corner and pulls to a halt in front of the CLIFF HOUSE INN, equal parts log cabin and crystal palace.", "INT. CLIFF HOUSE INN -- CONTINUOUS The lobby is cavernous and immaculate. The entire STAFF of the hotel - BELLBOYS, MAIDS, COOKS, and GARDENERS - are lined up along the sides like a regiment of soldiers. Angier reaches the reception desk and the smiling MANAGER. ANGIER Quit a reception. MANAGER You're our first guest of the season, Mr.Angier. -LRB- opens guest book -RRB- Your telegram did n't indicate how long you would be staying with us. ANGIER As long as it takes. -LRB- signs book -RRB- I'll need a coach tomorrow to take me up the mountain. MANAGER The peak is closed, sit. For scientific experimentation. ANGIER -LRB- smiles -RRB- That's why I'm here.", "EXT. ROAD, PIKE'S PEAK -- MORNING A stagecoach rumbles along a dirt track, The driver pulls on his reigns and the coach pulls to a stop. DRIVER You have to walk the reat, I'm afraid, sir. Angier nods. Lowers himself down to the roadway.", "EXT. CLEARING, PIKE'S PEAK -- MORNING Angier comes through the trees to find a wire fence with a sign : EXTREME DANGER- NO TRESPASSING Beyond the fence is a COMPOUND of three BARNS. Rising from the center barn is a 200ft steel TOWER capped with a GIANT STEEL BALL. GIANT ARCING BOLTS of electricity run down the tower from the ball. The windows of the building RADIATH with BLUE EXPLOSIONS. Angier stops forwards, entranced, and threads his fingers through the fence. He is sent FLYING backwards -- the fence has been electrified. The tower is SHUT OFF- a door opens and a stout little MAN, shotgun under one arm, MARCHES up to the fence. He uses a RUBBER PAD to pry open the fence and stands over Angier, who is CURLED on the ground, GROWNLING in pain, trying to stand. SHOTGUN I'm amazed at how many of you newspaper writers ca n't read mu sign. Shotgun picks up Angier's cane and hands it to him. ANGIER Not the welcome I was expecting. Shotgun RECOGNIZES Angier, AMAZED. SHOTGUN I know you. You're that magician-the Great Danton. -LRB- helps Angier up -RRB- I'm Alley. I saw your show. IN London. Seven times- you guessed every object the audience had in their pockets. Angier leans on his cane and gently brushes off the dirt. ALLEY I'm sorry about the fence. People keep interfering with our work. ANGIER I've come to see Tesla. ALLEY Why? ANGIER He built a machine for a- for a colleague of mine. A long time ago. Can you get me a meeting with him? -LRB- off his look -RRB- I've come a very long way. ALLEY Impossible, I'm afraid. ANGIER I've brought a lot of money. Beat. ALLEY I'm sorry, Mr.Angier. I simply ca n't help you. Alley pulls the fence closed. ANGIER I'll be staying at the hotel. Indefinitely. Alley watches Angier walk away. He pulls something from his pocket. ALLEY What am I holding? Angier does n't look back. ANGIER Your watch. Alley GRINS, opening his hand. He is holding a gold watch.", "INT. HOTEL ROOM, COLORADO -- DAY Angier sits, the cardboard-bound notebook on the table in front of him. He makes a notations in his own journal as he deciphers Borden's words. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- April 3rd, 1893... a few days after he first met me... Angier runs his finger along the first line, translating... BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We were too young men at the start of a great career...", "INT. THEATRE -- NIGHT Borden sits in the audience. Younger- both hands intact. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Two young man devoted to an illusion... Two rows in front sits Angier. Similarly youthful. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Two young men who never intended to hurt anyone. Onstage is a TANK. Standing beside the tank is a beautiful young magician's assistant. JULIA. The magician, MILTOn, adress the audience. MILTON Which of you brave souls is willing to bind this lovely young woman... Milton GESTURES to Julia- the MEN in the crowd go wild- hands in the air, catcalls. Smiling radiantly, Julia selects two young men, who SCRAMBLE up to the stage- ANGIER and BORDEN : younger, full of energy- Angier has no limp. They spring onto stage, beside Julia and take the ROPE she offers them. Milton GRABS a HOOK that descends from the flies on a chain. Cutter is watching fron the wings. MILTON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Are either of you two gentlemen gailors? Both shakes their hands as they start to bind Julia with the ropes, Borden wrapping the rope around her wrists, Angier the one around her ankles. MILTON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Well, I'm sure you can both tie a strong knot... As Borden finishes his knot tests it, it SLIPS APART. Borden frowns, hastly RETYING it, covering. Cutter NOTICES. Borden finishes, glancing at julia who gives a small sign of assent with her eyes. As Angier finishes tying her ankles he sneaks a light KISS on her ankle. She frowns at him and raises her arms. Milton hooks the rope onto the chain. Milton gesticulates in the wings, Cutter signals to a stagehand who starts HOISTING Julia into the air. Milton wheels the tank under Julia's bare feet. Cutter feels for the handle of an AXE placed by his feet and pulls out a STOPWATCH. JULIA looks down at Angier. They smile at each other. Julia DROPS into the tank with a massive splash- Milton SLAMS the lid shut, PADLOCKS it and raises a curtain around the tank... Cutter checks his stopwatch, grips the handle of the axe... A grand GESTURE from Milton- the curtain around the tank DROPS- Julia is GONE. Milton raises the curtain again, then with another flourish, DROPS it to reveal JULIA, beside the tank, one arm in the air, dripping wet, smiling. The audience erupts in APPLAUSE. Angier smiles produly.", "INT. DRESSING ROOM -- NIGHT Angier, Borden and Julia sit around the cluttered room. Borden is in the middle of a passionate rant- BORDEN Milton's squadering their goodwill or a bunch of tired second-hand tricks- ANGIER -LRB- amused -RRB- Old favourites, please. BORDEN What about something fresh? He wo n't even try a bullet catch- CUTTER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Bullet catch is suicide. They turn. Cutter stands in the doorway, counting out money. CUTTER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- All it takes is a smart-arse volunteer dropping a button down the barrel... BORDEN -LRB- indicates himself and Angier -RRB- Use plants- ANGIER He ca n't use plants for every trick. JULIA There'd be no seats left for the punters. BORDEN Fine- no bullet catch. But a real magician tries to invent something new, something other magicians scratch their heads over- CUTTER They sells it to them for a small fortune. Cutter hands Angier some money. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I suposse you have such a trick, Mr.Borden? ANGIER Actually, I do. CUTTER Care to sell it? BORDEN No one else could do my trick. ANGIER I could. BORDEN You do n't even know what it is. ANGIER Show it to me twice, I'll do it. Cutter looks at Borden, thoughtful. CUTTER I admire your spirit, Mr.Angier. But if Borden here really has invented his masterpiece it might well be something only he can do. ANGIER Why? CUTTER It might be something only he is prepared to do. -LRB- gestures to the props -RRB- my illusions employer, Mr.Milton, is a skilled showman. But Borden's right- he wo n't get his hands dirty. You want to see what it takes to make real magic- go to the Tenley. There's a Chinaman there who's got what it takes. ANGIER Chung Ling Soo. BORDEN Tickets are pricey. CUTTER I know a lad on the door. You two watch his show- whoever tells me how he does his goldfish bowl trick gets the prize. ANGIER Which is? Cutter gives a sly smile. CUTTER Ten minutes onstage in front of my old friend, Mr.Ackerman. Angier and Borden prick up at the name. JULIA Who's Ackerman? BORDEN The most powerful theatrical agent in London. Cutter holds out money to Borden, who reaches for it- Cutter grabs his wrist. Serious. CUTTER I saw you drop the knot again, Borden. JULIA I think I had my wrist turned- CUTTER -LRB- ignoring Julia -RRB- Some nights you just ca n't get it, can you? If that knot slips when Julia's on the hoist she'll break a leg. BORDEN -LRB- defensive -RRB- It's the wrong knot. A Langford double would hold tighter. CUTTER The Langford double's not a wet knot it's too dangerous. The ropes could swell and she'd never slip it- JULIA I can slip a Lanford underwater. BORDEN We've been practiced it- ANGIER -LRB- cutting in -RRB- He said no. Julia glances at Angier. CUTTER -LRB- to Borden -RRB- No more mistakes. Borden stares at Cutter. Leaves. Angier watches him go. ANGIER Where's he from? CUTTER Where are you from? Angier nods. Fair enough. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- He shuffles props for Virgil at the Hall. ANGIER He works for another magician? Are n't you worried he'll steal your tricks? CUTTER -LRB- shakes head -RRB- He does n't deal in methods. ANGIER How do you know? CUTTER -LRB- sly smile -RRB- Because I hired him to try and find out Virgil's orange trick. ANGIER I do n't know if I trust him. CUTTER He's a natural magician. Of course you ca n't trust him. JULIA I think he's alright. Angier turns to Julia. Smiles. ANGIER You think everyone's alright. JULIA Even you. Julia kisses Angier. Cutter rises. CUTTER And Mr.Angier...? -LRB- Angier looks up -RRB- Learn your aight lines- if I can see you sneaking a peck on your wife's ankle from the wings, the blokes on each end of rows 3 and 4 can, too.", "INT. THEATRE, CONVENT GARDEN -- EVENING Borden watches from the wings. Onstage, a magician, Virgil, locks a CANARY into a cage then covers the cage with a SHAWL. Borden notices a beautiful YOUNG WOMAN in the front row with a little BOY who is watching Virgil's act, spellbound. Virgil SLAMS the SHAWL down onto the table, as if nothing were beneath it, then WHIPS it away- BIRD and CAGE are gone. The little BOY begins to WAIL and CRY. Borden watches as the young woman tries to make him stop. Virgil takes the flower from his lapel, covers it with the shawl, and SNAPS it away- the flower has become the CANARY. The audience bursts into enthusiastic APPLAUSE, but the little boy is still CRYING INCONSOLABLY. Virgil takes bows and walks off, handing Borden the canary as he passes backstage. As the audience leaves, Borden climbs off the stage and hols the bird in front of the boy. BORDEN Look- he's all right. He's fine. BOY -LRB- sniffs -RRB- But where's his brother? Borden is at a loss. He turns to the young woman. BORDEN Sharp lad, your son. YOUNG WOMAN -LRB- laughs -RRB- My brother. Borden smiles back.", "INT. WORKSHOP -- LATER Borden gently strokes the bird's feathered head. BORDEN You're the lucky one tonight. Borden walks to a wall of DOZENS of bird cages -- each one with an identical canary. He puts the bird into its cage and returns to the cart props. He taps on the top of the TABLE- a panel POPS open, revealing the FLATTENDED BIRD CAGE. Borden insefts a ROD into the bird cage and PRIES it apart. A TRICKLE of BLOOD emerges, dripping into a bucket below. Borden SLAPS the cage. And the FLATTENED CARCASS of the ORIGINAL BIRD slides out and SPLASHES into the bucket.", "EXT. STAGE DOOR -- EVENING Borden exits. The young woman, SARAH, is there with her brother. BORDEN -LRB- to the brother -RRB- Are you watching closely? Borden reaches to the Boy's ear. Casually produces a coin. The Boy marvels as he takes the coin then looks at Borden. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Look closer. BOY It's got two heads. Sarah smiles. Borden crouches to address the Boy, grave. BORDEN Never. Show. Anyone. The Boy looks at him, a little afraid. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- They'll beg you and flatter you for the secret- but as soon as you give it up you'll be nothing to them. Understand? Nothing. The secret impresses no one- the trick you use it for is everything. Borden looks into the boy's staring eyes. Then SMILES and pets him on the head. he stands. Sarah smiles at him. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Where do you two live? SARAH He lives with Mum. BORDEN And you?", "INT. STAIRWELL -- EVENING Sarah lingers at the top of the stairs to her flat. Borden tries to KISS her, but she pushes him back. He tests the LOCK of the open door. BORDEN Enough to keep me out? SARAH I think so. Wil I see you again? Borden SHRUGS and turns to go back down the stairs. Sarah looks after him, about to change her min. Hesitates.", "INT. SARAH'S FLAT -- CONTINUOUS She closes the door and LOCKS it, smiling. After a moment she pads through living/kitchen area, draws back the curtain to her bedroom and SHRIEKS : Borden is there, smiling. Sarah moves towards him, giggling.", "INT. TENLEY THEATRE -- NIGHT Onstage, CHUNG LING SOO, 60's, wearing a long silk robe, HOBBLES painfully to the center of the stage. Clearly CRIPPLED. In the audience, Borden and Angier watch intently. Soo lays a silk SHAWL and a BARE TABLE. He WHIPS it up, revealing a BOUQUET OF ROSES. So repeats the trick again and again, producing a different object each time. Finally, with a drum roll, Soo whips the shawl aside to reveal a MASSIVE GOLDFISH BOWL, complete with GOLDFISH. To THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE, Soo bows and HOBBLES off the stage. Angier, clapping, shakes his head, utterly baffled. He turns to Borden. Who has a small, knowing, smile.", "EXT. RESTAURANT -- NIGHT Borden and Angier watch Soo being helped down from his carriege by HANDLERS who treat him with great gentleness. ANGIER You're wrong. It ca n't be. BORDEN It is. He carries the bowl between his knees for the entire performance. ANGIER but look at the man! BORDEN -LRB- points -RRB- This is the trick. This is why no one detectes his method. Soo hobbles into the restaurant, frail, and fragile. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Total devotion to his art... -LRB- looks at Angier -RRB- Utter self-sacrifice. It's the only way to escape this. Borden SLAPS the bricks of the wall behind them.", "INT. BEDSIT -- NIGHT Julia, in bed, watches Angier, SHEET wrapped around him like a robe, HOBBLING. He pulls up the sheeyt- between his knees is a goldfish bowl. ANGIER I can barely lift this thing and it's not even filled with water. Or fish. He must be strong as an ox. JULIA -LRB- incredulous -RRB- He's been preteding to be an cripple for years? ANGIER Any time he's in public. Any time he goes out. It's unthinkable. Angier puts the bowl down with a flourish. Climbs into bed. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Borden saw it at once. I could n't fathom it- living your whole life pretending to be someone else. JULIA You're pretending to be someone else. ANGIER I do n't think changing your name compares. JULIA Not just your name- who you are, where you're from... ANGIER I promised my family I would n't embarrass them with my theatrical endeavors. Angier cuddles up to Julia. JULIA I came up with a name for you... `` The Great Danton'' -LRB- Angier frowns -RRB- You do n't like it? It's sophisticated. ANGIER It's French.", "INT. BEDSIT -- DAY Sarah unlocks the door, but has to PUSH against MAGICAL PROPS stacked against it- the bedsit is FILLED with DEVICES. SARAH Alfred?! Sarah surveys the confusion- spots Borden across the flat deep in conversation with another man. Borden spots her- BORDEN We have our routine for Ackerman! The other man turns- it is Fallon. SARAH -LRB- cold -RRB- We have n't had the pleasure. Fallon nods. Borden comes over, holding a DUELING PISTOL. BORDEN Mr.Fallon is my ingeneur- SARAH Where did yo get all of- BORDEN Begged, borrowed and do n't ask. Mr.Fallon's an enterprising soul. SARAH I need talk to you. Fallon slips past Sarah with a nod to Borden. Exits. Sarah looks at Borden. TENSE. SARAH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We ca n't afford to pay him- BORDEN We'll start making money once we have our audience- SARAH And until then? What I earn is barely enough for us. BORDEN -LRB- shrugs -RRB- I'll give him half of my food. Sarah looks meaningfully at Borden. SARAH You're already going to be sharing it with someone else. Borden looks at her, confused. Then realizes. BORDEN You're...? SARAH Having a baby. Borden freezes. Then SMILES, taking her in his arms. She FLINCHES against the gun he is holding. SARAH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What's this? BORDEN The trick to wake up Ackerman at the end of my audition. SARAH Your great trick? The `` masterpiece that will make our fortunes''? BORDEN No. The world is n't ready for that one, yet. Borden moves to the bureau and starts LOADING the gun. Pouring in SHOT, then WADDING... BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- This is merely a run-of-the-mill daring and spectacular bullet catch- Borden drops the BULLET into the barrel... SARAH I'm not letting you get shot. Borden RAMS the bullet and charge down then removes the RAMROD and hands the pistol to Sarah. BORDEN It's perfectly safe. Shoot me. Sarah looks at Borden then down at the pistol. She aims at Borden. Then sims off, at a mirror beside him. BANG. Borden's hand SNAPS out to `` catch'' the bullet. The mirror is intact. Borden looks at Sarah, grave, as he reveals the bullet in his hand. SARAH Show me. -LRB- Borden shakes head -RRB- Then you're not doing it. I ca n't raise a child on my own, Alfred. Borden looks at her. Takes the bullet from her and places it on the bureau. BORDEN The bullet goes in the gun. Then comes the ramrod. He takes the RAMROD and PUSHES it down onto the bullet, which disappears. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- And voils- He points the ramrod at Sarah- she pulls the bullet out of the HOLLOW TIP. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The buller's not even in the gun when the charge is fired. Sarah looks at ramrod with disdain. SARAH Once you know it's so obvious. Borden BRISTLES slightly. Takes the bullet back. BORDEN Yes, well, people still get killed perfoming it. SARAH How? BORDEN Sme smart-arse drops something down the barrel. SARAH Such as? BORDEN A penny, or a button. Or, of course, a bullet. -LRB- off worried look -RRB- But do n't fret- Borden embraces her, putting his hand on her belly. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'm not letting anything happen- I love you too much. Sarah grabs his face, looking at his eyes, smiling. SARAH Say it again. BORDEN I love you. SARAH -LRB- matter-of-fact -RRB- Nope. Not today. BORDEN What? SARAH -LRB- smiles -RRB- Some days, it's not true. Todayt you do n't mean it. Maybe today you're more in love with magic than me. -LRB- off look -RRB- It's alright. I like being able to tell the difference- it makes the days it is true mean something. Borden shakes his head, grinning.", "INT. HOTEL ROOM, COLORADO -- NIGHT Angier closes Borden's notebook. He looks across at a photograph of julia on the table. Reaches for his own diary. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Borden writes as if no one but he understood the true nature of magic...", "INT. CELL, NEWGATE PRISON -- DAY Borden sits on his cot reading Angier's journal. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... but what does he know of self- sacrifice more than the rest of us? Borden looks up from Angier's journal. BORDEN Bloody fool. Borden TOSSES the book across the cell.", "INT. EVIDENCE ROOM, WARHOUSE -- DAY A POLICEMAN opens the door for the Judge and Cutter. POLICEMAN -LRB- pointing -RRB- It's all laid out down the end, you honour. The Judge NODS. The Policeman exits, LOCKING them inside. The Judge follows Cutter, approaching a collection of magical apparatus, including a MASSIVE CRATE. Cutter looks up at it with AWE, touching the side where it says `` COLORADO SPRINGS''. JUDGE What's in there? Cutter OPENS it, revealing metal and glass MACHINERY within. CUTTER Angier's machine. JUDGE You built this, Mr.Cutter? CUTTER -LRB- shakes head -RRB- Oh no. This was n't built by a magician... it was built by a wizard. -LRB- off look -RRB- A man who can actually do the things a magician pretends to... Cutter closes the crats. The JUDGE turns to other props. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- your honour, what will happen to these things when the trial is over? The Judge is staring at a large glass tank. JUDGE They've benn sold to a Lord Caldlo. An avid collector, apparently very interested in the case. CUTTER Do n't let him take this. The Judge looks over. Cutter is touching the crate. JUDGE Why ever not? CUTTER It's dangerous. JUDGE I'm sure beneath its bells and whistles it's get some simple and disappointing trick. CUTTER The most disappointing of all- it has no trick. It's real. The Judge looks at Cutter. Smiles indulgently. Turns. JUDGE This is the tank Angier drowned in? Cutter turns to look at the empty, smashed glass of the tank. Nods. Cutter indicates the top of the tank, where there is a PADLOCK. Cutter pushes down on a panel of the lid- CUTTER This lets the performer's hands reach the trick padlock... -a small section POPS open. JUDGE A standard magical apparatus for escapes? CUTTER With one important difference... Cutter grabs the PADLOCK. Rattles it. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- This is n't a trick lock... it's been switched out for a real one. The Judge stares at the tank, appaled. JUDGE What a way to kill someone. Why in God's name go to such lengths? CUTTER These are magicians, you honour. Showmen. Men who live by dressing up plain and sometimes brutal truths to amaze. To shock. JUDGE Even without and audience? Cutter stares at the tank- INSERT CUT : ANGIER SCREAMING BUBBLES. CUTTER There was and audience. -LRB- looks at Judge -RRB- See, the water tank had a particular signinficance for the two men...", "INT. THEATRE -- EVENING Onstage, A SIMILAR TANK FILLED WITH WATER. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- A particular awful significance... Julia stands next to the tank. Milton adresses the audience. MILTON Which of you brave souls is willing bind this lovely young woman? Milton gestures to Julia- the crowd goes wild. Julia makes a show of deciding. She picks up Angier and Borden, who are made up to look different from the last performance. As they leap up onto stage, Borden makes eye contact with Cutter in the wings- Cutter's is a WARNING GLANCE. As Angier ties Julia's ankles he ca n't resist tickling just under her toes- she KICKS him in the chin. Borden starts to wrap the rope around Julia's wrists in a particular fashion. Stops. Reconsiders. Julia NODS at him, encouring. Borden starts RETRYING the knot. Cutter watches. His hand checking for the axe handle. Borden tests the rope- it is tight. Julia gives him the sign with her eyes- he steps back. Angier rises to his feet, grinning at Julia. As she raises her arms to the hook, she ca n't quite hide her smile back at him. Milton gives the sign and Julia is HOISTED into the air. Cutter slips his STOPWATCH out of his pocket as Milton moes the tank under Julia's bare feet. Angier looks up at Julia. Proud. She stares out over the audience, preparing herself. Looks down at Angier, smiling... Julia PLUNGES into the tank- Milton SLAMS the lid shut- Cutter checks his stopwatch, hand caressing the axe handle... Milton raises the curtain around the tank, then circles it, working his `` magic''. Angier shifts a little. Time passing... Milton looks at Cutter- TOO MUCH TIME... Cutter GRASPS his axe and SPRINT at the tank- Milton RIPS the curtain down- Julia, one arm free, is CONVULSING... Angier and Borden look on in HORROR as Cutter SWINGS his axe into the glass- which CRACKS... cutter SWINGS again and again- the web of crackes GROWING, Julia's convulsions SLOWING, her eyes PLEADING with Angier's, until- CRASH- the glass gives way, FLOODING the stage- Cutter and Angier GRASP at Julia- FULL her onto the stage- Cutter ELBOWS Angier out of the way to POUND on Julia's chest- Borden wacthes, stunned, as Julia FLOPS, LIFELESS, onto the boards. Cutter looks up at Angier, stricken. Angier takes Julia in his arms, looking down at her staring eyes. He desperately BRUSHES water from Julias cheeks and forehead. Borden looks on, shen. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- How often I've fought with my self over that night.. one half of me swearing bling that i tied a simple slip knot... the other half convinced that I tied the Langford double. I suppose I'll never know for sure-", "INT. HOTEL ROOM, COLORADO -- DAY Angier looks up from Borden's journal, despairing. ANGIER How can be not know?! Angier FLINGS Borden's journal across the room. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- He must know what he did. He must.", "INT. PRISON CELL -- DAY Borden smiles as he reads Angier's dairy. BORDEN `` How can be not know?!'' -LRB- starts lauhing -RRB- Because, Angier, life is complicated, people are complicated, knots are complicated- PRISONER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Shit it, Professor, or I'll shut it for you. Borden quiets. Looking at the journal. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- How could I not know? How can you read my story and not understand?", "INT. COURTROOM -- DAY Cutter sits in the CROWDED GALLERY. Borden, in the dock, SCANS the crowd. Finally SPOTS Fallon pushing to the front- he is alone. Borden stares at him. Fallon shakes his dead. Borden is prompted to stand by two GUARDS as the Judge enters. The JUDGE has a piece of black cloth draped over his wig. JUDGE Alfred Borden, you have been found guilty of the murder of Robert Angier. You will, in one month's time, be hanged by the neck until dead. May the Lord have mercy on your soul. Borden barely reacts.", "EXT. PRISON YARD, NEWGATE PRISON -- DAY Borden stands at the fence with Fallon BORDEN They took her away? -LRB- Fallon nods -RRB- To the workhouse? Another slow nod. Borden closes his eyes with despair. Then opens them and hands Fallon OWENS' CARD. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Tell him I've reconsidered. -LRB- off look -RRB- It's for the best.", "INT. DINING ROOM, CLIFF HOUSE INN, COLORADO SPRING -- DUSK Angier stares down at the NOTEBOOK, making notes on a napkin. Through large windows a THUNDERSTORM batters Pike's Peak. Angier is the only guest in the hotel's massive dining room. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Mind if I join you? Angier looks around. Alley is standing by the table. ALLEY Tesla sends me down here during the storms. Perfect excuse to come shere a drink with the Great Danton. Alley sits, gesturing to a waiter. ALLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Have you tried our Bourbon yet, Mr. Angier? It matches the scenery nicely. -LRB- to waiter -RRB- Two of'em. -LRB- to Angier -RRB- Beautiful, is n't it? I do miss New York, though. ANGIER Why are you here? ALLEY The lightning lives here. And noit much else- our work is secret. Alley glances down at the notebook and Agier's scribbles. ALLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- A cypher? Angier nods as Alley lifts the cardboard notebook. ANGIER My profession also deals in secrets. Alley looks at the gibberish on the pages of the notebook. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It's a rotating transposition that shifts every day of the dairy. Simple but time-consuming to translate once you have the five-letter keyword. ALLEY Which is? Angier smiles as he reaches for the notebook. ANGIER We magicians have a circle of trust. ALLEY You have a circle of trust with someone whose dairy you stole? ANGIER Maybe I bought it. ALLEY Magicians sell their secrets? ANGIER It's how we pay for our retirements and how greats tricks outlive us. Alley considers this. Taps the cover of the notebook. ALLEY You're hoping to find a great secretin there? ANGIER I've already found it. That's why I'm here. Angier reaches in his pocket and removes his own, leather- bound journal. He tears a PAGE from it and hands it to Alley. Who unfolds it ans stares at it. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Tesla built one for another magician. ALLEY Why would you want the same thing? ANGIER Call it a professional rivalry. ALLEY Tesla has built unusual machines for unusual people, but he would never talk about it. ANGIER I understand discretion. I just want the machine. Alley looks at Angier. Thinking. ALLEY Finish your drink. You'll have a special appreciation for our work. ANGIER I thought it was a secret. ALLEY -LRB- smiles -RRB- You're a magician. Who's going to believe you?", "EXT. FIELDS, COLORADO SPRINGS -- NIGHT The storm has abated. Angier's cane into the muddy ground as he follows Alley through the moonlit field. There are large glass GLOBES pushing out of the soil as if planted all around them. They stop in the middle of the field, looking down at the electric LIGHTS of the town. ALLEY We do our tests when the townspeople are asleep- Mr.Tesla does n't want to scare anyone. Alley checks his wacth by the moonlight. ALLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Not long now. As they watch, the lights of Colorado Springs DISAPPEAR. ALLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Our equipment requires a great deal of current. Tesla eletrified the whole town in exchange for using the generators when we need to. The field around them EXPLODES with DAZZLING LIGHT. Angier laughs out in surprise- the field is full of a thousand large LIGHTBULBS, all glowing together. Alley bends down and picks up the nearest lightbulb -- as he does, the light in it extinguises. He tosses the bulb to Angier. Except for the size, it's a normal lightbulb. ANGIER Where are the wires? ALLEY Exactly. Angier bends and gently PUSHES the lightbulb into a random spot in the wet soil. The lightbulb FLICKERS on again. ANGIER Where's the generator? ALLEY You saw it last week. ANGIER But that must be ten miles from here. ALLEY Fifteen. And I have to ride all of them before I get to bed. -LRB- turns to leave -RRB- I'll send word for you in a few days, Mr.Angier. Angier bends to pick up his lightbulb. As he does, the light FADES in all of them, and the lights in town come back on. Angier is alone.", "INT. BATHROOM, LONDON -- DAY Angier has his head SUBMERGED in a sink full of water. He BURSTS FREE, GASPING- COLLA ` PSES to the floor, SOBBING.", "INT. BATHROOM -- LATER Angier lays out MAKE-UP SUPPLIES. He takes out a BULLE. Places it on the sink next to a FALSE MOUNSTAGE.", "EXT. PRINCE'S ARMS BAR AND THEATRE Rough. Unwelcoming. Crowded. A small `` stage'' at one end : Borden works his way through the Chinese rings. The crowd is JEERING. VOICE Get out your gun, Professor! Someone BURLS a bottle at the stage- it narrowly misses. Borden GLARES out into the audience. Pulls out his GUN. BORDEN A volunteer. The crowd SURGES forward with EAGER VOLUNTEERS. Fallon scans the crowd, passing over too-eager and too-drunk before settling on a MOUNSTACHED MAN and bringing him up onstage. Borden LOADS the pistol, hands it to Moustache and steps backwards, pulling his coat apart, CHALLENGING. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Are you man enought, sir? MOUSTACHE -LRB- quiet -RRB- Yes. Something in Moustache's tone makes Borden looks closely- behind the moustache... Angier. QUIVERING WITH TENSION. Borden looks at the trembling gun. Then at Angier. Spreads his hands, inviting. BORDEN -LRB- smiles -RRB- I think not. Angier purses his lips, straining to pull the trigger. INSERT CUT : JULIA'S FACE, SCREAMING BUBBLES... Angier's eyes are almost closed as he SQUEEZES the TRIGGER- Fallon HITS Angier JUMPS to Borden's side, GRABBING his BLEEDING HAND. The DROWS is SCREAMING, PUSHING for the door, os STRAINING for a closer look at Borden. Aniger, SHOCKED, melts into the crowd.", "INT. PUB -- DAY Angier sits at the bar. Staring. He raises his pint glass. Downs it, then STOPS, looking at the bottom- there is a PLAYING CARD. He loos around. Cutter is sitting at a table with two fresh pints in front of him. Angier heads over. ANGIER Never thought I'd find an answer at the bottom of a pint glass. CUTTER Has n't stopped you looking. -LRB- Angier sits -RRB- I heard about a booking. Nice little theatre. Good up-and-coming magician. ANGIER Who? CUTTER You. ANGIER You got me a booking? Why? Cutter looks down into his beer. CUTTER Because I want to keep working... -LRB- looks up at Angier -RRB- And who's going to hire the ingeneur who killed Julia McCullough in front of a sellout crowd at the Orpheum? Angier looks back at Cutter. ANGIER Someone who know that it was n't your fault. Someone who knows Alfred Borden and his repertoire of exotic knots. CUTTER Heard he had a spot of bad luck doing a bullet catch South of the river. Angier looks down at the liquid in his glass. ANGIER To die like that. Locked in water... lungs screaming... -LRB- shakes head -RRB- What did she go through, Cutter? Cutter watches Angier's distress. CUTTER I knew an old sailor. Told me about a time he got pulled over the side tangled in the sheets... they dragged him out, but it was five minutes before he coughed... Angier stares at Cutter. Hanging. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- He said it was like... going home. Angier considers this. Collects himself. ANGIER Which knot did Borden tie that night? CUTTER He would n't say. ANGIER Would n't say?! CUTTER It was as if... as if he did n't know.", "INT. WORKSHOP -- DAY Angier and Cutter isspect a large empty room. CUTTER We'll have to whitewash the windows to cofound the more curious members of your audience... -LRB- looks around -RRB- But this should do. ANGIER We should see about an assistant. CUTTER I've made arrangements. Have you settled on a name? ANGIER Yes, I have. The Great Danton. CUTTER Hmm. Bit old-fashioned? Angier smiles gently at Cutter. ANGIER No. It's sophisticated.", "INT. ANGIER'S WORKSHOP -- DAY Angier is sitting at a worktable, pensive. He is moving one hand across the other, making a ROSE appear and disappear. The windows have been WHITEWASHED and the room has filled with an array of magical apparati : cabinets, costumes, props. On the other side of the room Cutter watches as OLIVIA WENSCOMBE, 20s, equal parts grace and mischief, squeezes herself into a tall cabinet, looking past Cutter to Angier. OLIVIA What's so hard about this? Cutter leans into the cabinet and pops up a TRICK PANEl in the floor, revealing a tiny chamber. CUTTER In here, Miss Wenscombe. No point meeting Mr.Angier unless you fit. Olivia shrugs and hands Cutter her hat, then her thick skirts, and folds herself into the bottom of the box. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Breathe as little as possible. Cutter closes the lid over her and walks over to Angier. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Not much experience, but she knows the basics. She knows how to present herself and a pretty assistant's the most effective from of misdirection. Angier nods. There is a small SNEEZE from inside the cabinet. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- smiles -RRB- I suppose I should let her out.", "INT. SARAH'S FLAT -- DAY Sarah is frantcally REDRESSIN Borden's injured hand. BLOOD has SEEPED trough the bandages. SARAH I do n't understand, Alfred. How can it be bleeding again? She examines the wounds : 2 1/2 FINGERS ARE MISSING. The injuries are black, but wet and fresh. SARAH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What have you been doing to it? It looks as had as the day it happened. We need to get the doctot back- BORDEN -LRB- snaps -RRB- We can' afford the doctor back! A BABY STARTS CRYING in the bedroom. Sarah glares at Borden. SARAH You've woken her. BORDEN I'm sorry. I just need this to heal so I can het back to work. Sarah looks at Borden. Reluctantly. SARAH Alfred, you have to face things. What tricks could you peform with this kind of injury? BORDEN Some of the card pulls, prop tricks... -LRB- leans forward, excited -RRB- And the trick I've been telling you about. The trick they'll remember me for.", "INT. ANGIER'S WORKSHOP -- DAY Angier and Cutter at the workbench, examine a BIRD CAGE. Cutter is wearing a strange LEATHER HARNESS over his shirt it has LARGE SPRINGS and small PULLEYS on the back. ANGIER The bird cage ca n't be our climax- everybody knows it. CUTTER Not like this, they do n't. ANGIER And I do n't want to kill doves. CUTTER -LRB- snaps -RRB- Then stay off the stage. ( glares at Angier ) You're a magician, not a wizard- you have to get your hands dirty to achieve the impossible. ANGIER You sound like him. CUTTER -LRB- holds up cage -RRB- Put your hands on the sides...", "INT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE -- DAY A heavy, disinterested man slouches in the third row of the empty theatre with a newspaper- MERRIT, the stage manager. Onstage, Angier energetically YANKS coloured handkerchiefs from a hat and TOSSING them into the air. Olivia, in the glamorous, revealing costume of Magician's Assistant, darts back and forth PLUCKING the handkerchiefs from the air. Angier finishes with a flourish. Merrit shrugs. Angier places an ORNATE CAGE onto the table. ANGIER I need a volunteer. Merrit rolls his eyes. Climbs to his feet. Angier produces a DOVE. Places it in the cage.", "INT. ANGIER'S WORKSHOP -- DAY Now Angier is wearing the harness. He places a dove in the cage and picks it up. Close on : HOOKS concealed on Angier's palm slip into CATCHES on the bars of the cage. CUTTER Hang on, hang on... Cutter reaches in and slips a NOOSE around the bird's ankle... CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- There we go. Now you tell the volunteer to put his hands here... Cutter pleases his hands on the TOP and BOTTOM of the cage...", "INT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE -- NIGHT Merrit places his hands on the TOP and BOTTOM of the bird cage. Angier's hands are on the sides. Olivia reaches around Merrit to place her hands on the remaining two sides. Merrit looks up at Angier over his glasses. MERRIT You'd beat not be intending to hut this animal, Mr.Angier. ANGIER Of course not. Angier raises and lowers their hands in a rythm... ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- And one, two... THREE! The bird cage, and the dove, VANISH.", "INT. ANGIER'S WORKSHOP -- DAY Angier and Cutter have their hands on the bird cage. ANGIER... THREE! The bird cage BREAKS APART, WHIPPING UP ANGIER'S FOREARMS. WHERE SLEEVES WOULD BE, YANKED BY THE HARNESS. Angier smiles. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Bloody marvelous, Cutter. CUTTER And the best part... Cutter reaches to Angier's armpit... pulls up the DOVE, HANGING BY ITS ANKLE, ALIVE. ANGIER Thought you said I had to get my hands dirty. CUTTER Someday, perhaps you will. I needed to know that you can.", "INT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE -- DAY Merrit nods, impressed, stepping backwards. Angier REACHES into Merrit's pocket. Removes a dove. MERRIT Very nice. Very nice indeed. Olivia packs up the props. Cutter approaches from the wings. ANGIER -LRB- smiling -RRB- I have n't had a chance to compliment you on your beautiful theatre yet, Mr.Merrit. MERRIT A lot more beautiful when it's full, Mr.Angier. ANGIER Do n't worry. MERRIT You all say that. Why sould I worry? If your tricks do n't get'em in, someone else's will. Maybe someone willing to do a bullet catch or a water scape. CUTTER cheap thrills, Mr.Merrit. People hoping for an accident- and quite likely to see one, too. What would that do for your business? MERRIT -LRB- shrugs -RRB- You've got a week.", "EXT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE -- EVENING A line a PATRONS runs from the box office to the street. The marquee above the theatre reads : `` THE GREAT DANTON PERFOMS FEATS OF MISTERY AND IMAGINATION''", "INT. THEATRE -- EVENING Angier is perfoming to a good crowd. He steps forward. ANGIER You sir, in the hat. Could you show us your handkerchief? A MAN in the audience STANDS and pulls a HANDKERCHIEF from his pocket. He stares at it, CONFUSED. The audience LAUGHS. MAN This is n't mine. ANGIER Perhaps you'd be so good as to return it to the other man. He has yours. Another man stands and pulls out a handkerchief. APPLAUSE. Angier dows and walks quickly off the stage, past the squad of DANCING GIRLS who run on to entertain in the break.", "INT. BACKSTAGE -- EVENING Cutter and Olivia are waiting for Angier as he comes off. OLIVIA I'm so nervous- I'm sorry, I'm making mistakes. Cutter quickly REMOVES Angier's coat... ANGIER The audience does n't seem to be responding much, Cutter. Cutter puts he LEATHER HARNESS over Angier's arms... CUTTER This is a grand theatre with a sophisticated audience- They've seen most of these tricks before. But not this next one. You'll see. Cutter checks the SPRINGS of the harness and replaces Angier's coat. He spots a STAGEHAND poking his head around the flies. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You! Piss off out it! The dancers are wrapping up. ANGIER Wish us luc, Cutter. CUTTER -LRB- smiling -RRB- I'll have the champagne ready. Angier, followed by Olivia, steps out onto the stage.", "INT. STAGE -- CONTINUOUS Angier steps to the table center stage. Pulls out the bird cage. There are one or two groans from the audience. Angier SMILES as he produces a DOVE with a FLOURISH. ANGIER You've seen this one before? HECKLER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Seen'em all before, mate! Laughter. ANGIER Well, I'll make it a little harder, shall I? In the wings, Cutter smiles and nods at Angier's showmanship. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Two volunteers, please. A lady and a gentleman to hold this cage with me... Hands go up. Olivia pulls an ELEGANT LADY from the audience. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'll perform this feat in a manner never before seen by yourselves or by any other audience anywhere in the worth... Olivi brings Elegant Lady onto the stage along with a RED- BEARDED MAN. The audience is getting interested. Angier is on role... ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Any magician can make this cage disappear... that's why I'll ask this good lady and fine gentleman to place their hands firmly on the cage... Olivia guides Elegant Lady's hands onto the sides of the cage. Red-beard places a hand underneath the cage. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... to ensure that no trickery whatsover is employed. Angier RAISES the bird cage. The audience is RAPT. Red beard's other hand appears on the top of the cage- it is MUTILATED, missing fingers. Angier FREEZES- looks up at Red Beard... IT IS BORDEN Borden SMILES as he WORMS his little finger into the cage mechanism... SNAP! HALP THE CAGE WHIPS UP ANGIER'S SLEEVE- THE OTHER HALF COLLAPSES ON THE DOVE AND THE ELEGANT LADY'S FINGERS- SHE SCREAMS- BIRD BLOOD SPLATTERS ONTO THE THREE OF THEN- THE AUDIENCE GOES CRAZY- Borden smiles at Angier through his blood-spattered fake beard and retreats into the chaos surrounding the Elefant Lady who is still SCREAMING as Angier tries to free her fingers from the mechanism.", "INT. BACKSTAGE -- LATER Angier and Cutter watch the STAGEHANDS clear the stage. ANGIER I should've spotted him. CUTTER You had a lot of plates spinning. Angier looks down at the harness in his hands. ANGIER Do n't suppose they'll let us do this one again. CUTTER No. ANGIER So what's the climax of our show? MERRIT -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Show? You do n't have a show. ANGIER Mr.Merrit, we have a week's engagment- MERRIT To perform magic- not butcher birds and break my costomer's fingers! Clear out, anything here in the morning gets burned. Cutter puts his hand on Merrit's arms. CUTTER Mr.Merrit- MERRIT It's done, John. I've hired a comedian. You know I hate comedians, which should indicate the may I felel about your friend's future as a stage magician. Cutter nods. Merrit leaves. Cutter turns to Angier. CUTTER There are plenty of good theatres... if we can come up with another trick and change the name of the act- ANGIER The name stays. Cutter sees Angier's resolve. CUTTER Right. Well, the new trick will have to be irresistible, then. I've a couple of methods to try out, but we'll need a fresh angle on the presentation. Angier nods. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- If you need inspiration, there's a technical exposition at the Albert Hall this week. Scientists and engineers. That sort of thing captures the popular imagination.", "EXT. ROYAL ALBERT HALL -- AFTERNOON The large concert hall is surrounded by crowds and covered in banners advertising a Technical Exposition. Angier makes his way past a giant STEAM ENGINE and into the building.", "INT. ALBERT HALL -- AFTERNOON THe lobby if filled with displays and models. Angiers pokes around, looking thouroughly disinterested until he comes to an information booth plastered with illustrations of electrical bolts. TICKET HAWKER Would you like to know the future, sir? The man who kill change the world is speaking right now. Continents divided no more. Free, clean power. The mysteries of the world solved. The posters show a tall, handsome man bathed in lightning and standing astride the world like colossus. In bold print it says : THE WONDERS OF `` ALTERNATING CURRENT''... NIKOLA TESLA", "INT. AUDITORIUM, ALBERT HALL -- CONTINUOUS The hall is completely darkened, but bright blue FLASHES illuminate ANGIER as he pushes his way to a seat. On the stage, a tall rod capped with a steel ball is transmitting a steady, sparking stream of electricity onto a matched ball across the stage. A FIGURE walks around from behind the machine and the audience GASPS as a shower of sparks bounce off of his immaculate evening wear. This is TESLA- but Angier is too far from the stage to get a good look at him. TESLA With a system like this I could have the entire city electrified whitin two years. The audience breaks into LAUGHTER. The spell is broken. Tesla must be a lunatic. TESLA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Mr. Edison's direct current system is flawed and dangerous. With my alternating current devices- Someone from the audience chimes in : AUDIENCE MEMBER -LRB- yells -RRB- Fraud. Angier turns to look. The man who called out is leaving he's not alone. Angier FREEZES, staring down at aisle- Borden is sitting there, RAPT, lit by FLASHES from the machinery on stage. As tesla continues his demonstration, Angier STARES at Borden.", "EXT. STREET -- DAY Borden walks down the street. Angier is following him. Borden meets Sarah, pushing a PRAM. Borden looks down at the baby then up at Sarah. BORDEN I love you. Sarah smiles. SARAH See? Today, it's true. Angier watches Borden kiss wife then his baby. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I saw hapiness...", "INT. HOTEL ROOM, COLORADO -- NIGHT Angier writing in his leather-bound journal. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... hapiness that should have been mine. But I was wrong. Angier glances at Borden's notebook sitting on the desk. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Reading his account I realize that he never had the life I envied. Angier flips open the notebook. Staring at the coded writing. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The family life he craves one minute he rails against the next, demanding freedom. His mind is a divided one...", "INT. PRISON CELL -- DAY Borden sits on his cot. Reading Angier's journal. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- His soul restless. His wife and child tormented by his fickle and contradictory nature... Borden is crying. He puts the journal down and jumps to his feet BANGING on the cell door. BORDEN Guard! Guard!! The viewing slot slides open. GUARD What do want, Professor? BORDEN Paper and pencil. Please.", "INT. PRISON LIBRARY, NEWGATE PRISON -- DAY Te library is long and titled, with two long tables. It looks as if it used to be a latrine. Borden sits at a table. Writing on a stack of notepaper. His arms have been unbound, but long chains runs from his ellbows to where Sullen Gaurd sits smoking, craning his nek to read Borden's writing. SULLEN Let me see? Sullen SNATCHES up the papers. Borden makes no move to stop him. The top sheet is a sketch of a cabinet. SULLEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'm going to know all of the Professor's secrets. BORDEN -LRB- smiling -RRB- Only if I teach you how to read. Sullen mashes the papers into a ball and drops them. SULLEN Just stupid tricks, right? Have n't helped you get out of here- -LRB- tugs chains -RRB- Have they? Or ca n't you open real locks, Professor? BORDEN Perhaps I'm just biding my time. Perhaps one day I'll just hold up my hand- Borden produces a RUBBER BALL in front of Sullen's face. Sullen stares. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -get you attention. Then quietly say- -LRB- whispers -RRB- `` are you wacthing closely''... perhaps say a magic word or two... then I'll be gone. Borden VANISHES the ball, but FUMBLES it, it drops to Borden's feet. Sullebn LAUGHS as Borden SCRABBLEs around his ankles to retrieve the ball. SULLEN How'd you get so famous, then? Borden STANDS. BORDEN Magic. Borden TURNS, NO LONGER CHAINED. Sullen JUMPS to his feet to follow, but HIS ANKLE IS CHAINED TO THE TABLE. The other PRISONERS are LAUGHING and CHEERING. SULLEN Oi, Borden, get back here! Sullen FUMBLES with his keys as Borden takes a BOW. Another warder CRACKS Borden over the head with a TRUNCHEON. Sullen, now free, KICKS Borden in the ribs. CUT TO : CLOSE ON AN ADVERTISSIMENT : `` the professor has DEFIED DEATH to return with a new SPECTACULAR!'' Pull wider-", "INT. ANGIER'S WORKSHOP -- NIGHT A NEWSPAPER on the makeup table. Angier sits at the mirror. He hubs BROWN PASTE into his hair and then combs it out. Then he chooses a beard, seats it on his chin and begins to adjust it. He drops the BOTTLE of spirit gum as he looks in the mirror and sees OLIVIA standing behind him. ANGIER -LRB- embarrassed -RRB- I thought you'd gone. Olivia shifts. Embarrassed. OLIVIA I do n't really.... have anywhere to go. Angier slips the newspaper from the table. ANGIER You've been sleeping here? OLIVIA Cutter said it would be okay till we get another booking. -LRB- beat -RRB- What are you doing? ANGIER Researching. Part of a magician's job is to watch his competition, to see what illusions they're- OLIVIA You're going to do something to that man, are n't you? Olivia moves closer. Angier is quiet. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Cutter's hopig you'll let things life. He says if Borden thinks things are even between you then we can- ANGIER Even? My wife for a couple of his fingers? He has a child now. And he's perfoming again. -LRB- bitter -RRB- Borden is out there, living his life just as he always intended. As if nothing had happened. And look at me. I'm alone. And no theatre will touch me. OLIVIA Us. Olivia moves towards him. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You're going to need a better disguise. Olivia reaches for Angier's beard.", "INT. TINY, GRUBBY THEATRE -- NIGHT Angier, almost unrecognizanle as a blonde, slips into the back of the theatre, which is as rough and unwelcoming as Borden's last venue. On the small raised stage, Borden works through his way through the Chinese rings with GLOVED HANDS to hide his damaged fingers. The tough crowd is JEERING AT HIM. Borden puts the rings down on a table and PICKS UP a bag. BORDEN I need a volunteer. Angier takes a few steps towards the stage. Borden produces a RUBBER BALL. he TOSSES the ball to Angier. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- As you can see, it's just a rubber ball. But it's not normal at all. Angier examines the ball. Hands it back to Borden who shows no sign of recognizing Angier. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Thank you. Angier notices that two TALL BLACK CABINETS are standing twenty feet apart on the stage. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- to audience -RRB- You're not impressed? Borden BOUNCES the BALL on the ground and catches it. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It's a magic ball. Borden continues to BOUNCE the ball on the floor. The audience looks bored, waiting for something to happen. OLIVIA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- What happened?", "INT. ANGIER'S WORKSHOP -- NIGHT Angier still in disguise, is slumped in an armchair, drink in hand. He is SMILING, remembering. Olivia, sitting on the workbench, waits for him to continue. OLIVIA What happened, Robert? ANGIER He had a new trick. OLIVIA Was it good? Angier looks at her...", "INT. TINY, GRUBBY THEATRE -- EVENING Now it's CUTTER standing in the audience, watching. Onstage, Borden BOUNCES the ball over and over again. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It was the greatest magic trick I have ever seen. Borden walks to one side of the stage and OPENS the door to one of the cabinets. It's empty. He CLOSES it again and crosses the stage, BOUNCING the ball the whole way. At the far cabinet, Borden repeats the process, OPENING the door to the empty cabinet. This time, however, he leaves the door open. He steps forwards and GENTLY BOUNCES the ball SIDEWAYS, across the stage... Borden STEPS into the CABINET behind him, CLOSING the door. With no one on stage, the audience watches as the ball continues to BOUNCE across the stage. BOUNCE. BOUNCE. BOUNCE. The ball loses seep and height... Just as reaches the second cabinet, something IMPOSSIBLE happens. THE DOOR TO THE SECOND CABINET OPENS AND BORDEN STEPS OUT, CATCHING THE BALL. Cutter FLINCHES, then studies Borden. The audience is BEMUSED. Finally, a trickle of applause.", "INT. ANGIER'S WORKSHOP -- DAY Angier is talking to Cutter. Olivia is watching. ANGIER Did they applaud when you saw it? CUTTER Not very enthusiastically.", "INT. TINY, GRUBBY THEATRE -- NIGHT Angier is disguise, starts CLAPPING loudly, FIRMLY, as if he ca n't help it, LEADING the applause. Borden BOUNCES the ball once again, then BOWS deeply. The APPLAUSE peters out. Borden walks off the stage.", "INT. ANGIER'S WORKSHOP -- DAY Angier turns to Cutter. CUTTER The trick is too good -- too simple- the audience harly knows what they've seen. ANGIER He's a dreadful magician. CUTTER He's a wonderfull magician- he's a dreadful showman. He does n't know how to dress it up, how to sell the trick. ANGIER How does he do it? CUTTER He uses a double. ANGIER -LRB- shakes head -RRB- It's not that simple. This is a complex illusion. CUTTER You think that because you do n't know the method. It's a double who comes out at the end. It's the only way. ANGIER I've seen his perfom ir three times now, Mr. Cutter- the Prestige is the same man- CUTTER It's not- ANGIER The same man comes out of the second cabinet. I promise you. OLIVIA It is the same man. They both turn to look at Olivia. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- He wears padded gloves to hide his damaged fingers, but if you look closely you can tell. Angier looks at Cutter. ANGIER He does n't know how to sell his trick to an audience. But I do. CUTTER -LRB- nods -RRB- It would give us our climax. ANGIER The man stole my life. I'm going to steal his trick. CUTTER We'll have to find someone who can look like you on a stage. ANGIER He does n't use a double- CUTTER -LRB- impacient -RRB- I do n't know how Borden does it, Robert. So either you wait for Borden to retire and buy his secret, or you can listen to how I would do this trick. -LRB- Angier nods -RRB- Ang the only way I know is to find you a bloody good double. Angier smiles. Turns to Olivia, pointing to his face. ANGIER Take a good look- let's get out there and find me.", "EXT. ROAD, PIKE'S PEAK -- MORNING Angier, swinging his cane, walks slowly up the mountain road.", "EXT. TESLA'S LABORATORY -- CONTINUOUS The lab is illuminated by thirty fot STREAMERS of electrical DISCHARGE that pour from the base of the tower. Angier stops, fearful. ALLEY It's perfectly safe. As Angier stares, a MAN begins to emerge from the very center of the CONFLAGRATION. Bolts SNAP and TRAIL after the man as he walks, in SILHOUETTE, towards Angier. TESLA So this is the Great Danton. Tesla emerges from the ball of electricity, dressed as if he were on his way to the opera. He brushes SPARKS from the sleeve of his jacket as he extends a band to Angier. TESLA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Mr. Alley has effused about your act to me on any number of occasions. Something you did with pockets? Angier returns the handshake. ANGIER I saw a lecture you gave in London, several years ago. I'm flattered you agreed to see me. Tesla keeps hold as Angier's hand. Angier, confused, does so. Alley hands him a lightbulb, which starts to glow as he grasps its metal base. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What's conducting the electricity? TESLA Our bodies, Mr. Angier, are quite capable of conducting, and indeed, producing energy. Tesla release Angier's hand. The bulb goes out. Alley takes it from the Angier who looks at the palms of his hands. TESLA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Have you eaten, Mr. Angier?", "EXT. DECK, LABORATORY -- MORNING Angier, Alley and Tesla are seated around a table on a decl overlooking a spectacular view. They are eating sandwiches. TESLA Alley has explained that you require a very interesting device. ANGIER I need something impossible. TESLA You're familiar with a phrase'Man's reach exceeds his grasp'? -LRB- MORE -RRB- TESLA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- off his look -RRB- It's a lie. Man's grasp exceeds his nerve. The only limits on scientific progress are these imposed by society. Tesla looks out at the mountains. TESLA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The first time I changed the world I was hailed as a visionary. The second time I was asked politely to retire. The world only tolerates one change at a time. And so here I am. -LRB- gestures at laboratory -RRB- Enjoying `` retirement''. -LRB- looking at Angier -RRB- Nothing is impossible, Mr. Angier. What you want is simply expensive. Tesla rises, washing his hands in a basin on a side table. TESLA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Alley says you are a stage magician. If a built you this device, you would be presenting it only as an illusion? ANGIER If people thought the things I did on stage were real, they would n't clap- they'd scream. Think of saving a woman in half. Tesla nods. Considering. TESLA Mr.Angier, the cost of such a machine- ANGIER Price is not an object. TESLA Perhaps not. But have you considered the cost? ANGIER I'm noit sure I follow. TESLA I can make your machine, Mr. Angier. But I can also give you some advice... -LRB- pointed -RRB- Go home. Forget this thing. I can recognize an obsession. As Mr. Alley could tell you, I myself an given to one now and then. It will not do you any good. ANGIER Have your obsessions done you no good? TESLA At first. But I've followed them too long- I am their slave. Their whipping boy. And one day they may choose to destroy me. Angier looks into Tesla's eyes. ANGIER if you understand an obsession then you know you wo n't change my mind. TESLA -LRB- smiles -RRB- So be it. ANGIER Will you build it? TESLA I have already begun to build it, Mr. Angier. I hope you enjoy the mountain air. This will take time. Tesla disappears into the lab.", "INT. GREEN ROOM DRINKING CLUB -- EVENING The club is warm and dark. Olivia, Cutter and Angier make their way to the bar. Olivia points to the far end of the bar, to a TRAMP in tattered clothing, curled over a pint. OLIVIA -LRB- to tramp -RRB- Gerry? The tramp sees Olivia, hoists himself up and spills his way down the bar to them. As he draws closer, we understand why Olivia has brought them here. Underneath the filth and matted hair, this man is SPITTING IMAGE of Robert Angier- HE IS PLAYED BY THE SAME ACTOR OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Mr. Angier, Mr. Cutter, I would like you to meet Mr. Gerald Root. ROOT A pleasure to meet you fine gentlemen. Angier is staring a little too much. Root throws an ARM over Angier's shoulder and draws him in. ROOT -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- whisper -RRB- Would you like for me to tell you a little joke? Angier smiles unconfortably. Sunddely Root WRAPS this hands around Angier's neck and begins to THROTTLE him. Cutter breaks it up and pushes Root back. ROOT -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- yelling -RRB- Are you laughing? Angier is shaken. Root picks up his hat off the bar and disappears onto the street. ANGIER He's out of his mind. OLIVIA He's an out-of-work actor- of course he's out of his mind. CUTTER He's perfect. A little work, mind you, but when I'm done with him he could be your brother. ANGIER I do n't need him to be my brother. I need him to be me.", "EXT. NORTH HILL -- DAY Borden escorts Sarah and their TODDLER, a girl, up the three lined street. Borden stops abruptly. Crouches to his daugther. BORDEN Would you like to see a magic trick? Borden reaches up and pushes a wayward LOCK a her hair over her ear. When his hands returns, it's holding a KEY. He stands, places the key in Sarah's hand. SARAH What is this for? Borden takes her gently by the shoulders and turns her around until she's facing a modest two-story HOUSE. She looks down at the key in her hand. SARAH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- When I asked last week you said we could n't afford. BORDEN You caught me in the wrong mood. SARAH But you want through all the- BORDEN Sarah, I'm allowed to change my mind, are n't I? The act is taking off, maybe soon I'll get us into a bigger theatre. Things will work. Sarah turns and embraces her husband.", "INT. EMPIRE THEATRE The auditoruim is empty. Two doors is simple frames have been erected in the middle of the stage. Angier fiddles with one, opening it, walking through it. Olivia is watching. OLIVIA You walk through this one- then...? Angier stands Olivia in front of the door. he pushes the door all way open. Suddenly, a TRAP-DOOR set into the floor POPS open. Angier JUMPS through it-", "INT. EMPIRE THEATRE -- CONTINUOUS Olivia gathers up her skirts and DROPS through the hole-", "INT. BENEATH THE EMPIRE STAGE -- CONTINUOUS -LANDING beside Angier on the straw matterss. OLIVIA Oof. Could n't you find a softer one? ANGIER -LRB- smiles -RRB- It's not for sleeping on. Olivia looks around the below stage area. OLIVIA And Root goes up through there? She gestures at a LIFT twenty feet away with a TRAP DOOR MECHANISM above it. Angier nods. Olivia looks at Angier. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It's going to be amazing, Robert. ANGIER It has to be. Borden's trick is getting noticed. The place was packed today. Olivia looks at him strangely. OLIVIA You went and saw his show again? Angier looks away, embarrassed. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You becoming obsessed, Robert. CUTTER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Ready to meet yourself, Mr. Robert. Angier and Olivia look up to see Cutter at the trap door.", "INT. EMPIRE THEATRE -- MOMENTS LATER Angier and Olivia sit in the front row. Cutter beckons Root onstage. He's been clened up and dressed in Angier's stage costume. he TRIPS on his way across the stage. ANGIER All I have to do is keep myself stinking drunk all the time and no one will be able to tell the difference. CUTTER A little faith, sir. Could you favor us with a perfomance. Mr. Root? Root picks himself up and dusts himself off. Suddenly, ROOT HAS BECOME ANGIER. he is channeling everything from his facial expressions to his walk. Angier nods, starting to believe this might work. The illusion is PERFECT -- till he opens his mouth. ROOT You would drink, too, if you know the world half so well as I do. Angier hops up onto stage, examining Root from different angles. Root starts APING his every movement. Olivia starts laughing. Angier is getting uncomfortable. ROOT -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Did you think you were unique, Mr. Angier? I have been Cassar. I have been Faust. How difficult could it possibly be to play'The Great Danton?' CUTTER You can go back to being yourself. Root. For free.. Root looks challengingly at both men. ROOT I'd rather be him, for now. I find it amusing. Root WAVES his hands across his chest, in the same manner that Angier does onstage. He produces a bottle of Gin from thin air, and takes a long swallow and jumps down to Olivia. CUTTER Root has to keep a low profile -- anyone sees him the game's up. ANGIER -LRB- watching Root -RRB- I do n't know how you do these things, Cutter. I'm not sure I want to know. CUTTER Have you thought about what we should call the trick? ANGIER No point being coy. Borden calls his trick'The Transported Man'? Cutter nods.", "EXT. LEICESTER SQUARE -- EVENING The enormous MARQUEE of the Empire Theatre :'The Great Danton perfoms THE NEW TRANSPORTED MAN' Beneath it, a CROWD. Fallon amongest them. STARING up at the sign.", "INT. EMPIRE THEATRE -- EVENING Angier is onstage, nearing the end of his show, SMILING BROADLY as he pulls dozens of FLOWERS from thin air and tosses them to the crowd. APPLAUSE fills the theatre. The DOORFRAMES are wheeld out on either side of the stage. Angier approaches the edge of the stage to address the audience with a suddenly SOLEMN demeanor. ANGIER Ladies and gentlemen, much of what you've seen tonight can be termed illusions. Entertaining trifles of the sort you may have seen other magicians perform. Angier puts on a TOP HAT. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Alas, I can not claim this next feat as illusion. Watch carefully- you will see no trickery, for no trickery is being employed. Merely a techique familiar to certain citizens of the orient and various holy men of the Himalyas. Indeed, some of you may be familiar with this technique, but for those of you who are n't, do not be alarmed, what you are about to see is considered safe... Angier gracefully TURNS and heads upstage to the right-hand door, opens it, SLAPS it to show that is sold. Then strolls through crossing the stage- -to the other door, which he opens, SLAPPING to show its solidity, then walking trough the frame. Angier removes his TOP HAT and THROWS it high into the air. It sails back down to him and he catches it. Angier THROWS the HAT again, even harder this time, and it disappears uo into the rafters. After a beat, it is clear it's not coming back down. LAUGHTER. Angier snaps his fingers and the hat is dropped back down to him. He catches it. Angier movies to the first door and THROWS HIS HAT in a HIGH ARC across the stage. He OPENS the door- steps behind it... The second DOOR, FAR ACROSS THE STAGE, IMMEDIATELY opens and ANGIER/ROOT EMERGES, REACHING UP TO CATCH THE HAT. BOTH DOORS SLAMS SHUT behind him. He puts on the hat. The AUDIENCE ERUPTS- A STANDING OVATION, Fallon the only one in his seat as Angier/Root takes his BOWS.", "INT. UNDER THE STAGE -- CONTINUOUS Angier, hearing the MASSIVE APPLAUSE, climbs off the straw mattress, PEERING up through the cracks in the floorboards. Smiling, Angier turns to the unseen audience and BOWS.", "INT. DRESSING ROOM -- EVENING Angier, Olivia, and Cutter are CELEBRATING their sucess. Empty bottles of champagne line the makeup table. OLIVIA -LRB- toast -RRB- To our achivement. They drink. CUTTER The manager said he's never seen a reaction like it. Angier smiles, rueful. ANGIER At least he got to see it. I spent the ovation hidden under the stage. No one cares about the man who disappears, the man who goes into the box. They care about the man who comes out the other side. OLIVIA I care about the man in the box. Angier turns to Olivia, raises his glass. ANGIER Thank you. -LRB- to Cutter -RRB- Maybe we could switch before the trick. That way I could be the Prestige and Root ends up below stage. CUTTER -LRB- shakes head -RRB- The antecipation of the trick is everything- it needs your showmanship to built suspense. If Root opens his mouth, it's all over- he ca n't introduce the trick. ROOT -LRB- O.S. -RRB- of course I can. I'm the Great Danton. They turn. Root is lying behind a trunk, still in costume. CUTTER Root, you bloody fool, get that costume and makeup off right now, anyone could walk in here! Cutter is SLAPPING Root to his feet. He grabs his collar and turns to Angier and Olivia. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Congratulation, all. Cutter DRAGS Root out. Olivia slides onto the makeup table. ANGIER I suppose I should get more rest. OLIVIA Life is not full of these moments, Robbie. Olivia pours him some more champagne. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We've worked hard for this, and we need to celebrate properly. Angier looks up at her with a gentle smile. She pulls him in closer and they KISS. She wraps her legs around him. They kiss again. Angier pulls back. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What's wrong? -LRB- softly -RRB- It is your wife? Angier shakes his head, distracted. ANGIER The trick is n't good enough. Olivia stares at him. OLIVIA Did n't you see the audience? ANGIER No. OLIVIA Well, they loved it. ANGIER It's not as good as his trick. OLIVIA Borden's trick is nothing compared to ours. He does n't have any style- ANGIER He does n't have to spend the finale hiding under the stage. Angier rises, turning out of her embrace. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I need to know how he does it. OLIVIA Why? ANGIER So that I can do it better. Angier turns to her. Looks her in the eye. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I need you to go and work for him. OLIVIA Work for him? Are you joking ANGIER You'll be my spy. OLIVIA -LRB- taken aback -RRB- We just got our start and you want me to leave? ANGIER It's how we advance. Angier moves to Olivia, placing his hands on her shoulders. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Think of it, Olivia... we've got people excited about Cutter's version of the trick- imagine what we could do with the real illusion. We'll have the greatest magic act anyone's ever seen. OLIVIA -LRB- frustated -RRB- He knows I work for you. ANGIER Exactly why he'll want to hire you. He'll want my secrets. OLIVIA Why would he trust me? Angier thinks for a second. Then smiles. ANGIER Because you're going to tell him the truth.", "INT. TESLA'S LABORATORY -- DAY Alley shows Angier in. Tesla is sitting, reading. TESLA You must be curious to see what so much money had bought you, Mr. Angier. Tesla RISES. Leads Angier to a back corner at the room and pulls a SHEET from a ten-foot tall apparatus- the ELECTRICAL MACHINE Angier used on stage in the opening of the film. TESLA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Fitting that you should be here for the maiden voyage. Alley FIRES a GENERATOR connected by thick cables to the machine. It RUMBLES into life, smoke pouring from the slats. TESLA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Your hat. Angier takes off his hat and tries to hand it to Tesla. Alley intercepts the hat and lays it on a chalk hasmark directly underneath the machine. He returns to the controls. ALLEY You might want to stand back. TESLA No, no. It will be fine. Mr. Alley, please proceed. Without further ceremony, Alley FIRES the machine. Nothing happens. Then, as they watch, the GLOBE on top of the tripped FLASHES whits hot. BOLTS shooting out of it, wrapping themselves around the legs of the tripod. The CHARGE reaches a FREEZY and then emits a loud BANG, as if it has broken the sound barrier. Suddenly the room is still. Tesla walks forward. Looks down into the pit. Alley joins him at the edge of the pit. Angier, limping, is the last to arrive, locking into the pit- -at the TOP HAT, which has n't moved an inch. ANGIER I do n't understand- Tesla STARES at the hat as if trying to melt it with CONCENTRARION. Alley pulls Angier away from the pit. ALLEY Perhaps it would be best if you left us to it. We'll see you next week? Angier begins to protest but Alley gestures towards the door.", "INT. BORDEN'S WORKSHOP -- DAY A small, disused shop off an arcade, crowed with tools, cabinetry and props, windows plastered with playbills. Borden is sitting at a workbench, sleeves rolled up, working a lathe. Fallon enters, Olivia behind him. Borden looks back at her, turns back to the table, instinctively putting on his gloves. OLIVIA -LRB- looking around -RRB- Interesting workshop. BORDEN We make do. OLIVIA My name is Olivia Wenscombe. BORDEN I know who you are. Are you here to steal the rest of my show? Olivia sees one of the theatrical notices that litter the shop : `` THE GREAT DANTON BREAKS RECORD WITH HIS ASTONISHING NEW TRICK'' OLIVIA No. I'm here to give your show what is missing. BORDEN And what might that be? OLIVIA Me. BORDEN -LRB- to Fallon -RRB- Was n't I just saying that, Bernard? A woman's touch. Fallon leaves, closing the door. OLIVIA I've left Angier. I want a job. Borden sits there. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I know you have no reason to trust me- BORDEN Why on earth should n't I trust you? The mistress of my enemy. Olivia is taken aback. Chanes tack. OLIVIA Mr.Borden- BORDEN Alfred. OLIVIA Alfred. I'm going to tell you the truth. BORDEN Ah. The truth. A slippery notion in our life of work, Miss Wenscombe. OLIVIA I'm here because he sent me here. He wants me to come and work for you and steal your secret. BORDEN What does he need my secret for? His trick is top notch. The Great Danton vanishes and isntantly reappears on the other side of the stage -- mute, overweight, and, unless I'm mistaken, rather drunk. Borden rises, moves closer to Olivia. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Tell me, Olivia. Does he like taking his bows under the stage? Olivia meets his gaze. OLIVIA No. It's killing him. he's obsessed with discovering your method. He thinks of nothing else, and takes no pleasure in our sucess. I've had enough. There's no future with him. He sent me here to steal your secrets, but I've actually come to offer you his. BORDEN He has no secrets from me. Borden stares at her, unsure. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- And this is the truth? She gives Borden a challenging smile/shrug.", "INT. BACKSTAGE -- DAY Cutter is fixing a prop mechanism. Angier approaches, in his undershirt, looks over his shoulder. Cutter glances up. CUTTER Best be getting changed for the martinee, sir. - Angier nods. Cutter REALIZES. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- ROOT! You're late. -LRB- sniffs -RRB- And even more drunk than usual. Get yourself below stairs, right away! ROOT No. CUTTER No?! Root looks at Cutter with genuine malice. ROOT We need to have a chat, Mr.Cutter.", "INT. DRESSING ROOM -- DAY Angier is applying his makeup. Cutter enters. Angier looks at him through the mirror. ANGIER We have a problem, Cutter. He holds up the paper, folded to an advertisement : PANTAGES THEATRE- FROM NEXT WEEK- THE PROFESSOR WILL DEMONSTRATE THE ORIGINAL TRANSPORTED MAN- ACCEPT NO CHEAP IMITATIONS!! ! ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- He'll be perfoming right across the street. CUTTER We have a bigger problem. Root. ANGIER Do n't tell me he fell over again. CUTTER Worse. He realized he can make demands. ANGIER He's blackmailing us? CUTTER In a word, yes. I'm surprised, to be honest- it usually takes them a lot longer to figure it out. ANGIER How much does he want? CUTTER It makes no difference- we have to stop doing the trick. ANGIER -LRB- wields paper -RRB- Stop doing the trick? Look at this. CUTTER Look at yesterday's. And last week's, where they called you `` London's premiere stage performer'', not `` magician'' mind. Performer. Of any kind. ANGIER What's the point? CUTTER My point, Robert, is that you've climbed too high to get away with any kind of professional embarrassament. We're not doing any tricks we ca n't control. Angier considers this. Nods. Thinking. ANGIER Pay him whatever he wants, for now. We keep doing the trick till Borden opens, then we'll phase it out.", "INT. BENEATH THE EMPIRE STAGE -- NIGHT Root smokes a cigarette. PULL BACK to reveal he is standing on the LIFT beneath the stage... The trapdoor OPENS and Angier DROPS onto the straw mattress. He looks over to see Root finishing his cigarette. ANGIER -LRB- hisses -RRB- Get up there!! Root smirks at Angier- TOSSES the cigarette and CATAPULTS up-", "INT. STAGE, EMPIRE THEATRE -- CONTINUOUS -onto the stage and STEPS/STUMBLES out from behind the door to LOUD APPLAUSE. Root has a SLOPPY GRIN as he STRUTS acroos the stage, milking the applause from every angle, blowing kisses, winking... loving it. He turns to Cutter in the wings. Blows him a kiss. Cutter GLARES. Then TURNS to a stagehand. CUTTER Get it down! ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Cutter was always surprised how fast Root turned bad. The stagehand starts LOWERING THE CURTAIN.", "INT. RESTAURANT, CLIFF HOUSE INN -- DAY Angier sits with Borden's dairy. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We paid him enough to keep him in beer- you would n't expect him to rock the boat. Today I learned Borden's view on the episode...", "INT. TAVERN -- EVENING The bar is dark and seedy, packed with an unpromising lot. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... and his account suggests a reason. Root is hanging precariously from his barstool, head lolling towards his empty glass. He is in his own clothes, but cleaned up to look like Angier. A full PINT arrives in front of him. Root turns to face his benefactor- BORDEN. Root takes several large GULPS, staring at Borden. Suppresses a belch. ROOT To what do I owe the pleasure of this rather welcome pint of ale? BORDEN You are the Great Danton, are n't you? Root gestures silence, glancing around them. ROOT Of course I am. But do n't advertise it- I'll be mobbed with fans. -LRB- grins at Borden -RRB- And who might you be? BORDEN Just a humble admirer. And fellow practitioner. ROOT Ah, very good. Root DOWNS the rest of his new pint, placing the empty glass in front of Borden with an emphatic THUNK. BORDEN Another? ROOT If you insist. I'm not perfoming tonight. Well, only one show, and, to be frank, my people pretty much run things these days. BORDEN You could probably do it blindfolded. ROOT Bloody good idea. BORDEN Have it. ROOT Thanks. A new pint arrives. Root sips. BORDEN Actually, there's something I might warn you about. ROOT Oh? BORDEN Well, it's your Transported Man illusion. Now, I'm noit claiming to know your method... but I had a similar trick in my act- and I used... -LRB- looks around, whispering -RRB-... a double. ROOT Oh, I see, very good. BORDEN At first. Then it went bad. You se, I had n't counted on the fact that once I incorporated this bloke into my act, he had complete power over me. ROOT Complete power, you say? BORDEN -LRB- nodding gravely -RRB- Weel, he was the secret, you see. And the more successful I became, the more outrageous his demands became. He practically backrupted me. In the end I had to stop performing the illusion completely. -LRB- looks at Root -RRB- You must be very careful about giving someone that power over you. Root looks at Borden. Drunken whells spinning. ROOT Thanks for the warning.", "INT. STAGE, EMPIRE THEATRE -- EVENING Angier is almost all the way through his act. ANGIER... some of you may be familiar with this technique, but for those of you who are n't, do not be alarmed, what you are about to see is considered safe... Angier takes his time, confident, MILKING IT. He throws his HAT into the air, catches it.", "INT. UNDER THE STAGE -- CONTINUOUS Angier DROPS ten feet to the concrete floor. But there is NOTHING to break his fall- He SMASHES painfully to the ground. CLUTCHING his leg in AGONY, he looks up and sees SOMEONE standing on the lift twenty feet away... BORDEN.", "INT. STAGE -- CONTINUOUS The first door slams shut. The audience turns their attention to second door. The door remains closed. The HAT falls gently to the floor. SILENCE, broken by a COUGH in the audience.", "INT. UNDER THE STAGE -- CONTINUOUS BORDEN bows to Angier- the LIFT ROCKETS BORDEN UP THROUGH THE STAGE FLOOR.", "INT. STAGE -- CONTINUOUS The second door OPENS, and BORDEN steps through, looking all around, CONFUSED, as if he does n't know where he is. He looks back at the door, then picks up the HAT...", "INT. UNDER THE STAGE -- CONTINUOUS Angier looks at his leg- a nasty COMPOUND FRACTURE. As he chokes on pain he can hear LAUGHTER from the AUDIENCE.", "INT. STAGE -- CONTINUOUS As Borden mugs with the hat, trying it on and finding it too small, something is LOWERED from the flies above : ANGIER/ROOT, BOUND AND GAGGED, HANGS from a chain. A sign around his neck reads : `` OPENING AT PANTAGE- THE PROFESSOR'' Borden looks up behind him. BORDEN Great Danton, I must apologize! I simply had too much magic for my stage at the Pantages! The Great Danton comes to rest three feet above the stage. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Pardon my intrusion! Borden places the top hat and ANGIER/ROOT at a JAUNTY ANGLE. THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE and LAUGHTER. Borden BOWS, hops down off the stage, and walks up the aisle, bowing, enjoying it all the way.", "INT. STAGE -- LATER Cutter crouches over Angier, fixing a LONG SPLINT to his broken leg. Behind them, Root still hangs above the stage, groaning in protest. CUTTER I do n't see how Borden found him- I had him under wraps, I was careful. ANGIER Well, he did. Cutter helps Angier to his feet. CUTTER Sit, do you think it might be her? Olivia? Angier stops to look at Cutter. ANGIER No. I do n't. Cutter gestures at Root. CUTTER Shall we cut him down? ANGIER He's the Great Danton. Let him cut himself down.", "EXT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE -- NIGHT Angier, thinly disguised, leg in long metal brace, pushes through the crowd outside the box office. The marquee : The Professor Performs His Masterpiece- THE ORIGINAL TRANSPORTED MAN!! On the box office : SOLD OUT THRU SUNDAY. Angier STARES. SCALPER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Need tickets, sir? Angier turns to the SCALPER. Nods.", "INT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE -- EVENING Angier slumps into a seat at the back of the PACKED theatre. ONSTAGE : Borden works through his show with a SUPERIOR DEGREE OF SHOWMANSHIP, even cracking a smile when called for. Working WITHOUT GLOVES, he makes much of performing tricks ONE-HANDED. He is assisted by Olivia, who looks STUNNING. Borden performs ths Transported Man. Borden HAS DRESSED IT UP WITH ELECTRICAL APPARATUS. Two large glass balls transmit SPARKS between one cabinet and the other along BARE WIRES. Another watches, anger rising as he watches Olivia's close RAPPORT with Borden.", "INT. APARTAMENT -- EVENING Olivia enters in to the darkness bedroom. She strikes a match and lights one of the gaslights...... and SCREAMS as the gaslight illuminates Angier, sitting in an armchair, cane leaning against the arm of the chair. ANGIER You were n't expecting me? OLIVIA I was expecting you sooner, Robbie. Your message said `` afternoon''. ANGIER Well, it takes a bit for me to get around these days... Angier RAPS his leg brace with his cane. HOISTS himself up. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- He's taken everything from me. My wife, my career... now you. OLIVIA What do you mean? You sent me to- Angier takes her by the shoulders, ROUGHLY. ANGIER I sent you to steal his secret- not to improve his act- OLIVIA That's my job-! ANGIER Or to fall in love with him! OLIVIA You abandoned me to him! Angier SLAPS her. She shakes her head at him. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I did everything you asked. ANGIER -LRB- challenging -RRB- Yes? Then how does he do it?! OLIVIA Cutter was right- it's a double. Angier shakes his head, furious. ANGIER Of course Borden said that- OLIVIA He did n't say anything- he'd never say. I've seen things- make-up, glasses, wigs. We do n't use any of it for the show, but I've found it hidden backstage. ANGIER -LRB- scorn -RRB- It's misdirection- he leaves those things lying around to make you think he's using a double. OLIVIA All the time? He does n't know when I'm looking- ANGIER All the time, Olivia- that's who he is, that's what it takes- he lives his act, do n't you see?! -LRB- beat -RRB- And just because you're sleeping with him does n't mean he trusts you. Olivia glares athim, tears forming in her eyes. OLIVIA You thing you can see everything, do n't you? She moves to her bed, REACHING below the mattress. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- But the Great Danton, is a blind fool. Olivia tosses something at Angier : a CARDBOARD-BOUND NOTEBOOK. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- His notebook. Angier starts leafing desperately through pages. ANGIER You stole it? OLIVIA I borrowed it for tonight. I thought you'd be able to translate some of it, but now I realize- ANGIER I ca n't. OLIVIA -LRB- scorn -RRB- You ca n't. ANGIER Olivia, no one could- -LRB- studies pages -RRB- It's a cypher- with a transposition that probably shifts every day of the diary. Even with the keyword it would take months to decode... OLIVIA And without the keyword? ANGIER Perhaps never. We'll see. Angier puts the cardboard-bound notebook into his pocket. Olivia, worried, holds out her hand for the notebook. OLIVIA No, we won't- if I do n't get that back tomorrow morning, he'll know I took it. Angier looks at her, incredulous. ANGIER You can' r possibly think I'd let this go? This is his diary, Olivia. All of his secrets are right here, in my hands. OLIVIA -LRB- pleading -RRB- Do n't do this do me, Robert! ANGIER -LRB- shrugs -RRB- Leave him. OLIVIA He knows where I live! ANGIER I need to know his method. OLIVIA -LRB- desperate -RRB- It wo n't get your wife back, Robert. ANGIER I do n't care about my wife- I care about his secret! Angier stops, realizing what he said. Calms himself. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Look, I'll go to his workshop and stage a break-in- OLIVIA He'll know it was you- Angier puts his hands GENTLY on her shoulders. ANGIER Yes, me, not you. Understand? Olivia nods, crying. Still scared. Angier drags his leg to the door. She watches him go, torn. OLIVIA Robert? I have fallen in love with him. Angier looks at her, sympathetic. ANGIER Then I know how hard this had been hard for you.", "INT. BORDEN'S WORKSHOP -- DAY CLOSE ON : SHATTERED GLASS, BROKEN PROPS AND CABINETRY. Borden and Fallon survey the WRECKAGE of their shop. Borden looks at Fallon. BORDEN Notebook. Fallon nods. Borden sighs. Weary. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Then he's just getting started.", "EXT. STAGEDOOR, PANTAGE'S THEATRE -- EVENING A small CROWD of autograph SEEKERS crowd the stagedoor. A BODYGUARD steps through the door and begins unshering them away as Fallon and Borden follow him through the door. The bodyguard hold the door to a carriage open and Fallon steps up. Borden stops at the door. BORDEN I'm walking tonight, gentlemen. Fallon looks concerned. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Let him come. I do n't care. Borden doffs his hat and walks onto the crowd street. Fallon steps down, reaches into the bodyguard's jacket and pulls out a PISTOL. He checks that it's loaded and slips it into his own jacket. Then he sets off after Borden.", "EXT. STREETS, WEST END -- EVENING Fallon continues to follow Borden at a distance. Borden steps into a tobacconist's. Fallon stops and idles at the street corner. As Fallon watches, acrooss the street, another man STOPS. Fallon slips back around the corner and looks : It's Angier, leaning on his cane. Borden emerges from the tobacconist and continues down the street, a cloud of pipe smoke drifting after him. Fallon waits for Angier to set off after Borden, then follows both men from a distance. Borden crosses to the same side of the street as Angier. Fallon picks up his pace and tries to cross the street but is HELD UP for a second by passing traffi. As he reaches the other side, Borden is gone, but he sees Angier dissappear down and alleyway.", "EXT. ALLEY -- CONTINUOUS Fallon rounds the cornder and stops. The alleyway is EMPTY. -- he has lost them. Finally, he sees an open, darkned doorway towards the end of the alleyway.", "INT. HALLWAY -- CONTINUOUS Fallon stops at the doorway, his gloved hand gripping te doorframe. Angier stands at the other end of the hallway, watching him. Fallon takes a step towards him and CRASHES through the rotten floor to the basement below.", "INT. BASEMENT -- CONTINUOUS Fallon drops heavily into an almost-vertical OPEN COFFIN. DISORIENTED, Fallon just glimpses CUTTER DROP THE LID INTO PLACE, shutting him in. Cutter starts NAILING it down. A GUNSHOT TEARS through the lid of the box. Cutter falls back, but is caught by Angier. Angier rolls Cutter off to one side. He is clutching at a BLOODY WOUND on his arm. CUTTER I'll live. -LRB- to coffin -RRB- You save me the trouble to making you an air hole! Angie picks up the hammer and continues NAILING.", "EXT. HIGHGATE CEMETARY -- MORNING Borden picks up his way through the overgrown cemetary. He hears a KNOCKING and turns : Angier is behind him, RAPPING on a broken headstone with the head of his cane. BORDEN I'm impressed. ANGIER Why's that? BORDEN You're finally getting your hands dirty. This is what a good trick costs, Angier. Risk. Sacrifice. ANGIER The sacrifice, I'm afraid, is all going to be yours. Unless you give me what I want. BORDEN Which is? ANGIER Your secret. Borden tries to gauge Angier's expression. BORDEN My secret? ANGIER Your method for the Transported Man. Fallon would n't tell me. In fact, he does n't talk at all. BORDEN -LRB- shrugs -RRB- You have my notebook. ANGIER Useless without the keyword. Angier pulls a sheaf of writing paper and a pencil stub from his pocket. He offers them to Borden. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Write down your method Mr. Borden. Describe it in full. Borden takes the paper and pencil and stares Angier in the eye, gauging him. Beat. Borden writes a SINGLE WORD on the top page and folds it up. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I want the method not the keyword- I do n't even know if the secret is in you notebook. Borden looks at Angier with a glint in his eye. BORDEN The keyword is the method. Angier reaches for the folded paper, which Borden lifts out of reach. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Where is my ingeneur? Angier pulls a SHOVEL free from a pile of dirt beside him. He STAKES it into a fresh pile of dirt in front of Borden. Borden looks at Angier, CONCERNED. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Is he Angier plucks the folded paper from Borden's hand. ANGIER How fast can you gid? Angier movies away through the headstone, leaning heavily on his cane. Borden begins to DIG.", "INT. HOSPITAL -- EVENING Cutter is slumped in a chair by the wall, his arm bandaged. He smiles up at Angier, who sits down next to him. ANGIER How's the arm? CUTTER Still attached. Did you get your answer? Angier holds up the folded paper. ANGIER Our answer, Cutter. I have n't looked yet, I wanted you to share this. Cutter looks curiously at Angier. CUTTER I already know how he does it, Robert. The same way he always has, the same way we do. You just want it to be something more. Angier looks at Cutter, uneasy. ANGIER Well, let's find out, shall we? Angier opens the piece of paper. A large GRIN spreads across his face. he turns it to Cutter- it reads- - T E S L A - Cutter frowns, confused. CUTTER What does it mean? ANGIER -LRB- excited -RRB- It means, Cutter, that we have a journey ahead of us. To America. Cutter watches Angier's excitement. Awkward. CUTTER Robert, listen to me. -LRB- gentle, but definite -RRB- Obssession is a young man's game, I ca n't follow you any farther in this. Angier looks at Cutter, uncomprehending. He considers saying something. Stops. Restraining himself. ANGIER Then the rest is up to me.", "INT. ELEGANT RESTAURANT -- EVENING Sarah sits by herself at a table for two. Borden ENTERS with a swagger, Olivia beside him, Fallon behind. The MAITRE D' hurries over, signaling WAITERS. Sarah looks up. UNCOMFORTABLE. SARAH I did n't know we'd be joined for dinner. BORDEN Absolutely. We're celebrating. The Waiters spirit another table and chairs to join Sarah's. Borden pulls out a chair for Olivia. SARAH Miss Wenscombe. Mr.Fallon. Olivia smiles cheerfully. Fallon nods, embarrassed. BORDEN -LRB- to wine waiter -RRB- Champagne. Your finest SARAH What are we celebrating, dear? BORDEN Well, we've hit upon a new trick, have n't we, Fallon? OLIVIA What trick, Freddy? SARAH -LRB- brittle -RRB- Yes, `` Freddy''. What trick? The WAITER presents a bottle of champagne. Borden nods without looking at it. BORDEN -LRB- loud -RRB- I'm going to bury myself alive. Every night. Then someone's going to come along and dig me up! OTHER DINERS are glancing over. The waiter uncorks the bottle with a muffled POP and pours champagne into Borden's glass. SARAH -LRB- to waiter -RRB- I'm not sure my husband needs- BORDEN Who are you to tell me what?! Awkward silence. Olivia shifts in her seat. OLIVIA Perhaps- SARAH Perhaps, Mr.Fallon, you might escort Miss Wenscombe home. My husband's being a bore. I see no reason for the two of you to suffer as well. Fallon is on his feet, pulling back Olivia's chair. OLIVIA Good-night, Mrs.Borden. Good-night, Freddy. They leave. Borden glares at his wife. SARAH `` Freddy''? BORDEN It's my name. SARAH Not at home. BORDEN I'm not always at home. Sarah is clearly on the verge of tears. SARAH Alfred, why are you being like this? Borden, seeing her fistress, softnes. BORDEN Sarah, I had a terrible ordeal today. I thought I'd lost something very precious to me. SARAH What? Borden looks at her speechless. Shrugs helplessly. SARAH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I see. More secrets. BORDEN Secrets are my life, Sarah. Our life. Sarah brushes away a tear. SARAH When you're like this, Alfred, I'm not seeing the real you. You're treating me like your audience. Performing. I ca n't live with that. Borden just sits there. Offering nothing.", "EXT. CLIFF HOUSE INN -- DAY Angier walks up to the hotel. A MOTORCAR is parked in front and TWO MEN are unloading it. One of the men STARES at Angier as he enters the hotel.", "INT. CLIFF HOUSE INN Angier walks to the reception desk. ANGIER I thought I had the place to myself. MANAGER Unexpected guests. -LRB- looks out the window at the men ) Not very polite. A lot of questions. At first I thought they might work for the government. ANGIER No? MANAGER -LRB- lowers voice -RRB- Worse. They work for Thomas Edison. Angier starts out the windo at the men unloading equipment.", "INT. HOTEL ROOM, COLORADO -- CONTINUOUS Angier sits at the desk, deciphering Borden's diary. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Today, a most curious development...", "INT. BORDEN'S WORKSHOP -- DAY Borden turns to see Fallon show in Olivia. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- His assistent come to us with a proposition... They start to speak as Borden's V.O. continues. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Obviously Angier has sent her, and told her to admit as much... BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Tell me Olivia. Does he like taking his bows under the stage? Olivia meets his gaze. OLIVIA No. It's killing him. He's obssessed with discovering your method. he thinks of nothing else, and takes no pleasure in our success. I've had enough. There is no future with him. He sent me here to steal your secrets, but I've actually come to offer you his. BORDEN He has no secrets from me. Borden stares at her, unsure. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- This is the `` truth'' you spoke of? She gives him a sly smile. OLIVIA No. This is what he told me to tell you. Beat. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The truth is that I loved him. And stood by him. And he sent me to you like he'd send a stagehand to pick up his shirts. -LRB- looks him in the eye -RRB- I hate him for that. They sit there in silence, appraising each other. BORDEN I can spot Angier's methods from the back of the theatre. What could you possibly have to offer me? Olivia smiles, moves to Borden, reaching for his gloved hand. Borden flinches, surprised. OLIVIA You may know he does his tricks... but you ca n't understand why no one can see that yours are better. She tenderly PEELS OFF his padded glove revealing his mutiladed hand. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You hide this. I had to look closely to spot it when you performed the Transported Man. -LRB- looks into his eyes -RRB- But this makes you unique... it shows the audience that you are n't using a double ; You mus n't hide it, you must display it proudly... -LRB- looks at hand -RRB- I'm sure it takes great skill to perform illusions with one good hand. BORDEN -LRB- quietly -RRB- It does. OLIVIA Then let people know. You can be so much more then he is. I can show you how. Borden looks into her eyes. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I think she is telling the truth.", "INT. BEDROOM, BORDEN'S WORKSHOP -- NIGHT Borden and Olivia are in bed together. It is raining outside. He watching her get out of bed and moves to the window to smoke a cigarette. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I think we can not trust her. But I love her. I need her. We need her. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- How could he send you away? He must be blind, deaf and dumb. She smiles quietly at this. OLIVIA Robbie's blinded by his jealosy. He'd do anything for you secret. Sending me away was the least of it. Borden considers this. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Trust is not the point- love is the point... who have we ever trusted? To open myself to such a relationship,", "EXT. NARROW ALLEYWAY -- DAY Olivia makes her way past crowed MARKET STALLS. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... to the dangers of such an affair... I need assurances of fidelity. Of love. Fallon is SHADOWING her from a distance. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- But how to be sure when truth is layered like the skin of an onion? I know a way... she must help me rid ourselves of Angier. It is the only way to kow her mind.", "INT. HOTEL ROOM, COLORADO -- DAY Angier looks up from Borden's diary. Pale. He flips pages and pages forward TO THE LAST ENTRY... BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Today my mistress proves her truthfulness. Not to me, you understand. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I have been convinced since she led me to Root... today, Olivia proves her love for me to you, Angier. Angier looks up from the notebook. Mind reeling. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Yes, Angier. She gave you this noteboook at my request. Yes, she led me to Root, and yes, Tesla is merely the key to my dairy, not to my trick. Did you really think I would part with my secret so easily after so much? Good-bye, Angier, may you find solace for your thwarted ambition back in yout American home. Angier STARES at the pages, unblinking. JUMPS to his feet...", "INT. TESLA'S LABORATORY -- DAY Angier STRIDES up to the fence. ANGIER TESLA! -LRB- nothing -RRB- TESLA!! Angier takes his cane and starts running its METAL TIP across the eletrified fence- causing SPARKING and CRACKLING. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- ALLEY, GET OUT HERE AND LET ME IN!! Alley emerges from the building, consufed.", "INT. TESLA'S LABORATORY -- DAY Alley opens the door- Angier BURSTS IN past him, ENRAGED. ANGIER I've veen played for a fool! ALLEY Who by? ANGIER Tesla never made a machine like the one I asked for. ALLEY We never said he had. ANGIER You let me believe that he had, Alley! -LRB- MORE -RRB- ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You stole my money because your funding was cut off- you've been shooting sparks at my top hat, laughing at me all along while you use my money to stave off ruin. I've seen Edison's men- ALLEY Where? ANGIER In the hotel. I've every mind to bring them up here myself- TESLA That would be unwise, Mr.Angier. Tesla is holding a cage containing a large tabby CAT. TESLA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It is true, sir, that you are your one remaining financier. But we have not stolen your money... ALLEY Sir, my cat? Tesla silences Alley with a tiny GLANCE. ALLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- When I told you I could make your machine I spoke the simple truth. Science is just a name for the art of rendering the exotic mundane. It has no boundaries- its very purpose is to destroy boundaries. ANGIER Then why is n't the machine working? Tesla gives Angier the slightest of smiles. TESLA Because exact science, Mr.Angier, is not an exact science. The machine simply does not operate as expected. It needs continued examination. ANGIER Where did my top hat go? ALLEY Nowhere. Alley points to the top hat, which is sitting on a workbench. ALLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We've tried the damn thing a dozen times. And the hat went nowhere. TESLA Which is why we need to rey a different material. It may provoke a different result. Tesla opens the cage and points the open end at Alley. TESLA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You do n't expect me to handle the thing myself? Alley reluctantly reaches into the cage and pulls out the TERRIFIED CAT. He jumps down into the pit and secures the animal bu its collar to a eye-hook sunk into the ground. ALLEY You are responsible for whatever happens to this animal, Doctor. Alley pulls himself out of the pit, and Tesla CHARGES the generator. The cat stares up at the machine around it and HISSES. Without ceremony, Tesla FIRES the machine. As before, large BOLTS spew from the head of the machine, down towards the unseen cat. The machine build to a DEAFENING ROAR, then sputters out. Silence. The three men begin edging towards the pit. Suddenly, a terrifying SCREECH. The cat is still there, still tied to the hook. Alley breathes a sigh of relief and starts to free the car. Tesla looks frustated. Suddenly, the cat bursts free of Alley and ROCJETS through the open side door of the lab. ANGIER I'll go. Angier limps after the cat.", "EXT. TESLA'S LABORATORY -- CONTINUOUS Angier sees the cat disappearing along the edge of the building and into the forest beyond. Angier follows.", "EXT. FOREST -- CONTINUOUS Angier pushes his way through the dense undergrowth, trying to keep up, but the cat has disappeared. ANGIER Here, kitty, kitty. Suddenly, a HORRIBLE SCREECHING reaches Angier. He begins to follow the noise. He stops at the opening of a tiny GLADE, no more than ten feet across. Two IDENTICAL CATS are fighting viciously in front of Angier. He tries to separate the two animals, and succeeds in grabbing one. The other cat RACES off. Angier takes a few steps after it, then FREEZES, staring at- TOP HATS. Clustered in a small glads. The first cat slinks its way through them. The SECOND BLACK cat jumps from Angier's hands- RACES into the glade, HISSING, SPITTING, CHASING the first cat into the woods beyond- Angier is left alone in the clearing, staring at the pile of dozens of IDENTICAL TOP HATS.", "EXT. PORCH, TESLA'S LABORATORY -- DAY The top hats are in a pile on the dark. Tesla is at the table, measuring two HATS with a pair of Calipers. Angier and Alley are watching. ANGIER So the machine was working? ALLEY I never bothered to check the calibration. The hat never moved. TESLA These things never quite work as you expect them to, Mr. Angier. That's one of the principal beauties of science. Tesla looks carefully at the hat in his hands. It has a tiny TEAR on the inside of the brim. He picks up another hat. It has the same TEAR. TESLA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We'll need a couple of weeks to iron out the- -LRB- looks at hats -RRB- -problems with the machine. I'll send word when it's ready. Angier, still dazed, takes his cane and heads for the door. TESLA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Do n't forget your hat. Angier stops and looks at the pile of hats. ANGIER Which one is mine? TESLA They are all your hat, Mr. Angier. Tesla smiles at him.", "INT. BORDEN'S WORKSHOP -- DAY Borden's daughter, JESS, now four, runs into the room and tries to hop up into his lap. Laughing, he helps her up. JESS Are we going to the zoo this afternoon, daddy? BORDEN Daddy's got some business this afternoon. JESS But you promised. BORDEN Did I? Jess nods at him, solemly. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Then go to the zoo we shall. Borden holds the newspaper open for her to look at. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- gestures to newspaper -RRB- Who's that? A large advertisement features a picture of Borden : The Professor- England's premiere magician! JESS That's you, daddy? Borden picks up the girl off of his lap and stands. BORDEN Daddy has some errands to run. I'll be back before you know it, so get ready. Borden walks to the door. As he does, Sarah enters, avoiding his eyes, then ducking him as he tries to kiss her. She reaches for the sherry decanter. He watches her pour. Sarah looks at him, eyes red from crying. SARAH We each have our vices. Borden moves to her, gentle concern in his eyes. BORDEN Sarah. Whatever you may think, your only competitions for my affections is my little girl. I love you. I will always love you, and you alone. She looks into his eyes. Fascinated. SARAH You mean it today. BORDEN Absolutely. SARAH That makes it so much harder when you do n't. She turns from him. Borden watches her sadly. Leaves.", "EXT. CANAL -- AFTERNOON Borden walks along a disused strecth of industrial canal that snakes through the poorer neighborhoods of the city. Borden wanders into a tunel. Another man is waiting for him -- Fallon. Fallon hands Borden a folded piece of paper. He studies it. BORDEN More shopping. She does n't like the smell of money, does n't she? Fallon looks away. Borden tears up the paper. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The little lady wants to visit the Zoo, I thought you could take her. I'll do it tomorrow, if not. -LRB- looks at his feet -RRB- Sarah... she knows. At least, she knows things are n't right. -LRB- looks at Fallon, pleading -RRB- Help me with her. Try and convince her that I love her. Please. Borden, embarrassed, pats Fallon on the shoulder and makes off down the path. Fallon sets off in the opposite direction.", "INT. OLIVIA'S APARTMENT Olivia, barely wearing a dressing gown, answers the door to Borden. She pulls him in, trying to draw him into a kiss, but he backs away. OLIVIA What is it. Freddy? BORDEN Please do n't call me that. It's nothing, just... sometimes things seem... wrong. Olivia looks at him. Cold. OLIVIA Freddy, I've told you before. When you're with me, you're with me. Leave your family at home where they belong. BORDEN I'm trying, Olivia. Please. OLIVIA I'll get dressed. Borden watches her move down the hall. OLIVIA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I saw Fallon hanging around my house again, after you left. Olivia comes back in, half-dressed. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- There's something about him I do n't trust. BORDEN You trust me? -LRB- off her look -RRB- Then trust Fallon- he protects the things I care about.", "EXT. CLIFF HOUSE INN -- MORNING Angier walks out from the lobby. The two MEN he saw before are loading up their automobile. Smiling, laughing.", "EXT. ROAD, PIKE'S PEAK -- MORNING The coach pulls to a stop. Angier and the driver look up. A plume of SMOKE is rising from further up the hill.", "EXT. CLEARING, PIKE'S PEAK -- MOMENTS LATER Angier rounds the bend in the road and comes into view of the laboratory. He FREEZES. The fence has been TORN DOWN. Beyond it, the LAB has been BURNED TO THE GROUND. The metal tower is in SMOLDERING PIECES. Everything else is gone. Angier notices a piece of metal lying in the road near him, and, using his cane, flips it over. It's Alley's sign warning trespassers to keep out.", "INT. ANGIER'S ROOM, CLIFF HOUSE INN -- EVENING Angier takes down the picture of Julia from the mantel. He studies it a second then puts it in the top of his packed suitcase.", "INT. LOBBY, CLIFF HOUSE INN -- MORNING The BELLBOYS wrestle with Angier's cases as Angier walks to the reception desk. The manager smiles up at him. MANAGER We're sorry to see you go, Mr. Angier. Angier takes out his wallet and begins laying down bills. MANAGER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We are sorry to see Mr. Tesla leave as well. He was very good to Colorado Springs. A very generous man. Angier smiles up at him, absently and begins to leave. MANAGER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Mr. Angier? -LRB- Angier turns -RRB- I did n't feel it was necessary to tell the other men about the box. Angier stops. ANGIER What box? The manager smiles.", "INT. HALLWAY, CLIFF HOUSE INN -- MORNING Angier follows the manager down a darkened hallway. MANAGER We never use these rooms in the off - season. It's a shame. The manager stops at a set of DOUBLE DOORS and unlocks them. He pushes them open and ushers Angier through.", "INT. BALLROOM, CLIFF HOUSE INN -- CONTINUOUS Angier steps into the massive, elegant room. Standing on the dance floor is an ENORMOUS SHIPPING CRATE. Stencilled on one side `` COLORADO SPRINGS'' Angier walks up to the huge crate, awestruck. An envelope addressed to him has been stuck to the front. Angier stops it and begins to read. TESLA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- My dear Angier, you will find what you were looking for in the box. I apologize for leaving without saying goodbye...", "EXT. TESLA'S LABORATORY -- NIGHT -- FLASHBACK Under cover of night, a group of FIGURES ransack the laboratory. TESLA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But I seem to have outstayed my welcome in Colorado. The figure begin setting FIRE to the sides of the laboratory. TESLA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The extraordinary is not permitted in science and industry. Perhaps you'll have more luck in your field, mystified. As to the use of the machine...", "INT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- NIGHT The open crate sits empty at the side of a derelict stage. Angier, in shirt sleeves is running cables to the MACHINE, which is standing center stage. TESLA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Alley has written you a thorough set of instructions. I add only one suggestion on using the machine-", "EXT. COLORADO SPRINGS -- NIGHT -- FLASHBACK Alley holds open the door to a coach. Tesla steps up into it and looks back from the coach's open door, up the mountain. TESLA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -Destroy it. Drop it to the bottom of the deepest ocean. High on the mountain, the laboratory is ABLAZE. TESLA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Such thing will only bring you misery. Tesla folds himself into the coach, shutting the door as it moes off down the mountain.", "INT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- NIGHT Angier moves to one side of the stage where he makes a hash mark with a piece of chalk. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Tesla's warning is as unheard as he knew it would be. Today I tested the machine... He loads A GUN and places it next to the machine. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Taking precautions in case Tesla had n't ironed out the kinks in its operation... Angier THROWS THE SWITCH. The machine GROANS into LIFE- SPARKING and GLOWING as it gets up to full power. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... if it went wrong I would not want to live like that for long... Angier closes his eyes for an instant, listening to its power, then THROWS HIMSELF INTO THE MACHINE. HE IS CONSUMED BY LIGHT... WHITE SCEEN- ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- But here, at the Turn, I must leave you, Borden... The WHITS becomes handwriting an a page and we are-", "INT. PRISON CELL -- DAY Borden STARES at Angier's journal in disbelief. ANGIER Yes, you, Borden. Sitting there, in your cell, reading my diary. Awaiting your death. For my murder. Borden SLAMS the journal shut. Staring at it.", "EXT. PRISON CELL, NEWGATE PRISON -- DAY BORDEN stands at the fence again. OWENS Lord Caldlow was happy to hear that you'd reconsidered his offer. BORDEN Angier's journal, the `` gesture of good faith''? It's a fake. OWENS -LRB- surprised -RRB- I assure you it's not. BORDEN It has to be- it refers to events that happened after his death. OWENS Clever predictions, I'm sure. The provenance of the journal is clear and under no doubt. It's written in Angier own hand, of which we have numerous examples. -LRB- looks at Borden -RRB- What makes you think it's a fake? Borden looks away, uncomfortable. BORDEN It does n't matter. Borden leans forward and stuffs ROLLED PAPERS through the fence. Owens takes them carefully. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- My tricks. All of them. OWENS Including the Transported Man? Lord Caldlow will be very pleased. BORDEN No he wo n't. They're not complete- you only have the Pledge and Turn for each. Owens leafs through the papers, annoyed. OWENS Without the Prestige for each trick these are wothless. BORDEN You'll get the rest after you bring my daughter here. Owens looks at Borden. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I want to say goodbye.", "INT. BORDEN'S HOUSE -- NIGHT Jess sits at the foot of the stairs, listening to her parents SHOUT at each other in the living room. She is CRYING. BORDEN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Stop it! Just stop it! SARAH Deny it all you want- I know!", "INT. LIVING ROOM, BORDEN'S HOUSE -- CONTINUOUS Sarah is WILD, eyes red, hair a mess. Utterly DISTRAUGHT Borden is trying to calm her. BORDEN Sarah, it's not true! I've told you Olivia means nothing to me! SARAH I'll go yo her! I know what you really are, Alfred! BORDEN -LRB- quietly firm -RRB- Sarah. You ca n't do that.", "INT. HALLWAY, BORDEN'S HOUSE -- CONTINUOUS Jess looks up. Fallon is standing above her. Listening. SARAH -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I'll do what I have to! Jess reaches up a hand. Fallon takes it in his. BORDEN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Sarah, you ca n't talk like this!", "INT. LIVING ROOM, BORDEN'S HOUSE -- CONTINUOUS Sarah turn to face Borden. Deperate. SARAH I ca n't live like this! BORDEN -LRB- angry -RRB- What do you want from me! Sarah pauses. Catches her breath. SARAH -LRB- quiet -RRB- I want you to be honest with me. No tricks, no lies, no secrets. Borden calms. Looks into her eyes. Nods. SARAH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Do you love me? Borden looks into her eyes. Sincere. BORDEN Not today. Sarah takes this in. Borden watches, helpless. SARAH -LRB- whispers -RRB- Thank you. Borden watches her turn away from him.", "INT. HALLWAY, BORDEN'S HOUSE -- CONTINUOUS Jess reaches up to Fallon with her other hand. He takes her gently in his arms. We stay on Jess's tear-stained face over Fallon's shoulder as he carries her up the stairs.", "INT. BORDEN'S WORKSHOP -- MORNING CLOSE ON A POSTER : Borden, in costume, looking intense : THE PROFESSOR- MASTER OF DARK FORCES. As we PULL BACK we hear a GENTLE CREAKING... PULL BACK past a hanging PAIR OF FEET, one shoe missing... wider shows up that it is SARAH, HANGING BY HER NECK FROM A BEAM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SHOP. Gently swinging.", "INT. PUBLIC HOUSE -- NIGHT Cutter is finishing his meal at the bar. He goes to take a swig from his pint and FREEZES- at the bottom of the glass : A PLAYING CARD. He looks around the bar. No one he recognizes. He reaches into the glass. Cutter pulls out the card- an ADDRESS is written up one side.", "EXT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- NIGHT Cutter walks along labyrinthine streets. Stops at an ABANDONED THEATRE. He looks up at the building, then enters.", "INT. ALBERT HALL -- EVENING Cutter makes his way past the tattered box office and into the derelivt auditorium. In the middle of the room is the CRATE. Cutter stands and stares at it. MALE VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Who's there Cutter turns. A STAGEHAND. His eyes are solid white. The man is clearly BLIND. CUTTER I- I'm looking for an old friend- ANGIER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I heard about a booking... Cutter turns. Angier is behind him, leaning on his cane. Beside Angier is a SECOND BLIND STAGEHAND. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Nice little theatre. Good up-and- coming magician. CUTTER You came back. ANGIER It's a good to see you, John. Cutter sizes Angier up. Looks around the theatre. CUTTER Good rehearsal space. Blind stagehands. I like it- -LRB- knowing smile -RRB- You always had an eye for publicity. Angier sits in one of the stalls. Cutter follows suit. ANGIER I need your help, John. My last show. A limited engagement. CUTTER Your last show? ANGIER A wise man once told me that obsession was a young man's game. I'm almost done. One thing left... -LRB- points at crate -RRB- The real Transported Man. Cutter stares at the crate. CUTTER You want to design a show around it? ANGIER i do n't want you backstage, I need you front of house, managing. Cutter considers this. Uncertain. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- i need you calling in any favours and connections you have left to get us the right booking for the run. CUTTER What sort of booking are you after? ANGIER The sort that Borden ca n't ignore. Cutter looks at Angier. Nods.", "EXT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- DAY A long, expensive CARRIEGE creeps out to a halt outside the abandoned theatre, and the confused driver pulls over. DRIVER This is the address, sir. The carriage opens, an imposing man in his 50's steps out, looks the place up and down, then heads inside.", "INT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- CONTINUOUS The man enters the auditoruim and stares downat the BRIGHTLY LIT STAGE. Cutter moves quickly up the aisle, hand outstretched. CUTTER Mr.Ackerman. It's an honor to see you again, sir. Ackerman shakes Cutter's hand. ACKERMAN When you said you only wanted to show me one trick it piqued my interest. CUTTER It's a very special trick. Mr.Ackerman. Angier has appeared. ANGIER Pleased to meet you, Mr. Ackerman. ACKERMAN Likewise, I'm sure. Let's get on, shall we? Angier smiles. CUTTER -LRB- down to stage -RRB- Turn it on, please. After a moment, the machine SPARKS INTO LIFE. ELECTRIC BOLTS CASCADE from the GLOBE and SPLASH on the stage. ACKERMAN Very pretty. Angier smiles at Cutter and head back down the stage. he STEPS himself into the machine and DISAPPEARS. The machine SPUTTERS out and is silent. ACKERMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- That's it, Cutter? He simply disappears? That's not a trick. He has to come back. There has to be a- VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -a Prestige? ACKERMAN Exactly- Ackerman begins to turn around- then STOPS- ANGIER IS STANDING DIRECTLY BEHIND HIM. Ackerman is dumfounded. He looks back down at the stage. ACKERMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- quiet, haunted -RRB- Pardon me. It's very rare to see... real magic. it's been many years since I've seen... Anckerman steadies himself ; ANGIER Are you interested in helping us? ACKERMAN -LRB- nods -RRB- Yes. But you'll have to dress it up a little. Disguise it. Give them enough reason to doubt it.", "INT. STAGE MANAGER'S OFFICE, PANTAGE'S THEATRE -- DAY Merrit sits eating a sandwich. The door to his office opens and ACKERMAN strides in. Merrit STRUGGLES to his feet. MERRIT -LRB- surprised -RRB- Mr. Ackerman. When they said... I did n't think you'd be here in person. Ackerman sits without being asked to. ACKERMAN I have an act for your venue. MERRIT -LRB- flustered -RRB- Well, of course, sir... But I'm afraid I'm booked. The Moscow Ballet. They're playing through next year. ACKERMAN Get rid of them. This is a magical act. An excellent one. I believe you booked his first engagement several years ago. The Great Danton. MERRIT You really want me to- Ackerman stands. MERRIT -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'll do it. Of course. Ackerman picks up a pen and paper from Merrit's desk. ACKERMAN -LRB- smiles -RRB- There will be one hundred performances. No more, no less. Five perfomances a week. No matinees, no weekends. Ackerman scribbles onto the paper and hands it to Merrit. ACKERMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- smiles -RRB- And that's what you'll be charging for each ticket. Good day. Ackerman sweeps out of the room, leaving Merrit dumbfounded, staring at the scrap of paper in his hands.", "INT. RESTAURANT -- EVENING Olivia and Borden are seated across from each other, finishing their meal. Olivia watches Borden eat. OLIVIA You have n't spopken about her, Freddy. Not once. BORDEN Who? OLIVIA Do n't be cruel. BORDEN Why would I talk about her to you? OLIVIA Because she was part of your life and now she's gone. Borden says nothing. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- She wanted to meet me the day before she killed herself. Said she had something to tell me about you. -LRB- looks away -RRB- I was such a coward, I could n't bring myself to face her. -LRB- looks at Borden -RRB- What would she have said, I wonder? BORDEN -LRB- snaps -RRB- You want the truth about me, Olivia? -LRB- she nods, wary -RRB- I never loved Sarah. OLIVIA -LRB- appalled -RRB- You married her, had a child with her- BORDEN Part of me loved her. But part of me did n't. The part that found you. The part that's sitting here now. I love you. That is the truth that matters. Olivia tosses her napkin on her plate. OLIVIA You could be sitting in some other restaurant talking to some other woman about me that way. It's unhuman to be so cold. Borden watches her rise from the table. She looks at him. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- By the way, have you seen who's opened at the Pantages? -LRB- Borden shakes head -RRB- The Great Danton. BORDEN He's back? OLIVIA After two years. And he has a new trick. They're saying it's the best that London's ever seen. Borden can not hide his reaction. OLIVIA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- If you could see the look on your face, Professor. You should go to him- you deserve each other. Olivia smiles at him and leaves.", "INT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE -- EVENING Borden, in disguise, takes his seat halfway along the aisle. The lights dim. Curtains RISE on a simple stage. Bare except for a WATER-FILLED GLASS TANK. Borden STIFFENS in his seat, perplexed. Angier limps onto the stage. Addresses the audience. ANGIER Ladies and gentlemen, my first trick of the evening is one that involves considerable risk. -LRB- removes his coat -RRB- Anyone in the audience who would be irrevocable damaged by seeing a man drown should leave now, for when I tell you that the young lady who taught performing it, you will understand the seriousness of the danger involved. Borden watches the hook descend from the flies. Remembering. INSERT CUT : Borden STARES as Angier desperately BRUSHES the water from Julia's face.", "INT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE -- LATER Angier steps forward as another curtain is drawn up behind him, revealing TESLA'S MACHINE. ANGIER In my travels I have seen the future, and it is a strange future indeed. The world is on the brink of new and terrifying possibilities. The audience RECOILS in terror as the MACHINE is STARTED and BOLTS fly from it. SMOKE drift over the audience. Borden inches forward in his seat. Angier stands in front of the machine, silhouetted by the FRENZY of electricity behind him. He TOSSES his cane to his assistant and steps into the machine. The audience SCREAMS as large bolts BLAST from the machine and wrap themselves around ANGIER'S ARMS and legs. Borden is watching very carefully. Angier is almost impossible to see as the machine builds to a climax, but, just before it does ; Borden catches a glimpse of ANGIER'S BODY FALLING THROUGH A TRAP DOOR. The machine sputters out. Angier has DISAPPEARED. The lights are dim. A FOLLOW SPOT FIRES into the BOXES, audience looks up with a gathering commotion- ANGIER IS STANDING ON THE RAIL OF THE ROYAL BOX, thirtyfeet above stalls. He smiles down at the audience. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Man's reach exceeds his IMAGINATION! The audience breaks into a MASSIVE STANDING OVATION.", "INT. BORDEN'S WORKSHOP -- DAY Fallon is at the workbench, staring at a sketch of Tesla's machine. Borden paces, AGITATED. BORDEN Why only 100 performances? Do his methods dictate it, or is it simply a publicity move? Borden walks back and stares at the sketch. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Fifty yards in a second. And all I know is that he uses a trapdoor. What's going on under that stage?", "EXT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE -- NIGHT The theatre is closed, and tree BLIND STAGEHANDS are wreastling a TARP-WRAPPED BOX onto a cart in the alleyway behind the theatre. Fallon is watching from the shadows.", "EXT. LABYRINTHINE STREETS -- CONTINUOUS Fallon shadows the cart as it slowly makes its way.", "EXT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- LATER Fallon watches from further down in the alley as the Blind Stagehands unload the box onto a dolly and wheel it through the stage door. He moves closer, then STOPS. Seeing something. CUTTER has emerged from a nearby doorway and slipped through the stage door.", "INT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- CONTINUOUS The blind stagehand wheel the tarp-covered box to two LARGE METAL DOORS in the floor of the auditorium and start hooking it up to a winch. The metal doors open with a metal HOWL... Cutter slips down the aisle. WATCHING. BLIND STAGEHAND WHO'S THERE! The man turns precisely to Cutter, flasing his white eyes. CUTTER It's Cutter. BLIND STAGEHAND What do you want? CUTTER I'm looking for Angier. ANGIER You found him. Cutter turns. Angier approaches. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I told you, John- I do n't want you backstage on this one. CUTTER What are they doing? ANGIER Disposing of the Prestige materials. Cutter looks down at the BLACK HOLE in the floor. CUTTER What's down there? Angier looks at him, serious. ANGIER Do you really want to know? Cutter considers Angier's grave tone. CUTTER Perhaps not. Cutter leaves by the stage door.", "INT. BORDEN'S WORKSHOP -- DAY Borden sits at his work bench. Fallon fiddles with his howler hat. BORDEN They do this every night. After each performance? Fallon nods. Borden gets to his feet with a sigh. Turns to a POSTER on the wall- `` The Great Danton Perform THE REAL TRANSPORTED MAN- 100 SHOWS ONLY'' He studies the image of Angier. There is a small DEVIL looking over his shoulder. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We're done. -LRB- turns to Fallon -RRB- Let him have this trick. You're not to go back there. I do n't need to know his secret. Leave him alone. Fallon puts on his hat with a shrug.", "INT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE -- EVENING A packed house. Many hands raised. Move in on a BEARDED MAN, his gloved hand tentatively rising into the air. IT IS BORDEN. A GLAMOROUS ASSISTANT beckons Borden from the aisle. He shuffles along his row towards her. Embarrassed. Borden and four other VOLUNTEERS follow the Assistant down towards the stage... On which stands Angier, leaning on his cane, smiling. Looming over him is the large and complex ELECTRICAL MACHINE. Borden STARES at the machine as he mounts the stage. Borden, FASCINATED, and the other volunteers look over the vast machine. As Angier GESTURES theatrically at the various features of the metal and glass apparatus. As the Assistant leads the Volunteers to the side of the stage, Borden slips through the gas at the side of the curtains-", "INT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE, BACKSTAGE -- CONTINUOUS -looks around, disoriented, then darts for some stairs leading below stage where he runs into a burly STAGEHAND. STAGEHAND Where'd you think you're going? Borden pulls off his beard. BORDEN I'm part of the act, you fool! The Stagehand raises his eyebrows and steps aside. Borden RACES down below the stage. Cutter approaches the Stagehand. CUTTER Who was that?", "INT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE, ONSTAGE -- CONTINUOUS Angier throws switches on his machine. As it GROANS into life, SPARKING and CRACKLING, Angier gares at it, forgetting his audience. Entraced. Possessed.", "INT. BENEATH THE STAGE -- CONTINUOUS Borden fumbles through the darkned area, lit by flashes and sparks through gaps in the boards of the stage above. He GASPS as a flash illuminates a STAGEHAND with SOLID WHITE EYES sitting nearby. Borden waves a hand in front of the Stagehand's face. He is BLIND. Borden moves on.", "INT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE, ONSTAGE -- NIGHT Angier, facing the audience, steps backwards into the machine. He looks up at the electricity sparking just above him.", "INT. BENEATH THE STAGE -- CONTINUOUS Borden lights a MATCH. In front of him is a LARGE GLASS TANK FILLED WITH WATER, ITS LID PROPPED OPEN. Borden frowns.", "INT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE, ONSTAGE -- CONTINUOUS BOLTS of electricity draw inwards, wrapping Angier in a ball of LIGHTING which CRACKS-", "INT. BENEATH THE STAGE -- CONTINUOUS The ROOM fills with lIGHT as a TRAPDOOR snaps open and a BODY DROPS INTO THE TANK. The lid of the tank and trapdoor above SNAP SHUT, leaving the tank, and Borden, in complete DARKNESS.", "INT. PANTAGE'S THEATRE, ONSTAGE -- CONTINUOUS The Machine sputters to a stop. Angier is GONE. The audience sits, WAITING.", "INT. BENEATH THE STAGE -- NIGHT Borden the tank, ANGIER IS DROWING. His rolling EYES fixed on Borden, he POUNDS desperetely on the thick glass, SCREAMING BUBBLES... Borden, HORROFIED, tries forcing the lif ot the tank open. It's sealed shut. He leaves the tank and begins searching around under the stage. He finds a SPANNER. Borden SMASHES again and again at the glass of the tank, which spiders, then CRACKS, and finally GIVES WAY. WATER bursts from the tank, sweeping Angier's body into Borden, and both of them onto gournd. Above them we can hear YELLING. Borden rolls Angier onto his side and POUNDS on his back. Water and blood OOZE from the man's lungs. His eyes are dilated and lifeless : ANGIER IS DEAD. Borden is frozen, unable to move. Cutter appears behind him, SHOCKED by what he sees. Borden turns to look at him, his eyes wild with confusion. CUTTER What did you do?", "INT. MORQUE -- EVENING A MORTICIAN pulls back a sheet draped over a CORPSE. Angier's lifeless eyes stare up at us. Cutter looks at Angier, the up at the Mortician. Nods. JUDGE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Alfred Borden, you have been found guilty of the murder of Robert Angier...", "INT. COURTROOM -- DAY borden stands chained to the dock. The JUDGE has a piece of black cloth draped over his wig. JUDGE You will, in one month's time, be hanged by the neck until dead. May the Lord have mercy on your soul.", "INT. EVIDENCE ROOM, WAREHOUSE -- DAY A POLICEMAN shows Owens into the room, walking him past all of the equipment to the far end where Cutter stands staring at the MACHINE'S CRATE. OWENS Mr.Cutter? -LRB- Cutter turns -RRB- Owens. They shake hands. CUTTER Thank you for coming, Mr.Owens. It's fallen to me to dispose of Mr.Angier's equipment. Looking at the manifest, it's cleat that Lord Caldlow has purchased the bulk of the items. OWENS Mr.Cutter, if you needed to know where to deliver the items you surely could have just- CUTTER It's not just that, Mr.Owens. There is a particular item ( turns to crate ) This time, in fact, that I wish to... well, that is to say, I want to- OWENS You wnat to buy it instead. CUTTER I suppose so, yes. Owens moves closer to the crate. Sees the COLORADO SPRINGS stencil. OWENS This is the machine? -LRB- off look -RRB- I'm afraid Lord Caldlow was adamant about procuring this particular item. CUTTER Perhaps if I dould talk to Lord Caldlow in person. OWENS Out of the question, I'm afraid. Cutter nods. Owens starts to walk away. Turns. OWENS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- of course, I suppose... if, in the course of your delivery arrangements your paths were to cross... I ca n't stop you from speaking your mind. Cutter nods.", "INT. CONDEMNED MAN'S CELL, NEWGATE PRISON -- MORNING Borden is sitting quietlt in a large cell. Sullen opens the door. SULLEN -LRB- sardonic -RRB- Still here, Borden? Borden looks up. BORDEN For now. SULLEN Got a visitor. Lord Caldlow. With a little girl. Borden HURRIES to his feet.", "EXT. PRISON YARD, NEWGATE PRISON -- DAY Borden, clutching an envelope, is escorted across the yard, PEERING at the fence. He catches a glimpse of this daughter waling beside a man on the wooden section. As Borden reaches the fence he CROUCHES to greet his little girl, forcing the Sullen and the other Warder to crouch to undo his chains. BORDEN Jess, how are you? Jess SMILES at him and reaches through the fence. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Are you alright? She nods. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I've missed you. Fallon's missed you. We both have. Borden drinks in her gace, her hair. She grasps the fence. JESS Can I come in there, Daddy? BORDEN Everything's going to be okay. It is only then that he notices the HAND ON HER SHOULDER. He rises to come face-to-face with Lord Caldlow- BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You must be Lord- -who is ROBERT ANGIER. Risen from the dead. ANGIER -LRB- English accent -RRB- Caldlow. Yes, I am. I always have been. Borden STARES at Angier. BORDEN I saw you die. Angier just SMILES. ANGIER They flatter you with all those chains, Alfred. Do n't they know you ca n't escape without your little rubber ball? Borden says nothing. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- All I wanted to do was prove that I was the better magician. But you could n't leave me alone. BORDEN You were always afraid to get your hands dirty... -LRB- looks down at his Jess -RRB- Not anymore. ANGIER No. Not anymore. And I win. Because no one cares about the man in the box, the man who disappears. BORDEN You win. But do n't take my little girl... Angier looks at Borden. Bitter ANGIER I know how hard it is to have someone so precious taken away, do n't I -LRB- MORE -RRB- ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Borden? But you ca n't take her with you know, can you? She'll be looked after. Good-bye, Professor. Angier gently pulls Jess back from the fence. She PROTESTS Desperate, Borden holds out the envelope. BORDEN Wait. Do n't you want this? You paid for it. ANGIER Your secret. Borden nods. Angier steps up, takes the envelope. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You always were the better magician, Borden. We both know that. HE TEARS the envelope in half. Then again. And again... ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- But whatever your secret was, you'll have to agree- He tosses the peices on the ground. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- victorious -RRB- -mine is better. Angier TURNS. BORDEN Angier! Let me say good-bye. Please. Angier stops. Lets Jess come to fence. She is crying. JESS When are you taking me home, Daddy? BORDEN Soon. I promise. Soon. ANGIER For God's sake, Borden. BORDEN Daddy's coming, I promise. I promise. Here- Borden PRODUCES his RUBBER BALL. Jess looks at it. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I promise. Borden VANISHES the rubber ball. ANgier pulls Jess back from the fence and starts walking away. Borden rises. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You think this place can hold me, Angier? Angier continues walking Jess away. Shaking this head. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Angier! Borden is alone. He watches as the wind scatters the pieces of his prestige over the muddy yard.", "EXT. LARGE COUNTRY ESTATE -- EVENING Angier steps out of an ornate carriage with Jess.", "INT. LARGE COUNTRY ESTATE -- EVENING Angier steps inside with Jess. The HOUSEKEEPER comes to take her. HOUSEKEEPER Come here, love. -LRB- to Angier -RRB- Sir, there's gentleman waiting. Angier looks at her, surprised.", "INT. DRAWING ROOM, COUNTRY ESTATE -- CONTINUOUS Cutter is in the drawing room, looking at the carriage clock on the mantle. Angier enters. Cutter spots his reflection. CAPTAIN Dead God. ANGIER Hello, Cutter. CUTTER You're alive. -LRB- Angier nods -RRB- You're Lord Caldlow. -LRB- Angier nods again -RRB- How? ANGIER -LRB- shrugs -RRB- I learned an American accent from- CUTTER -LRB- Angry -RRB- How are you alive, Robert?! I saw you on the slab, for God's sake. Angier fixes Cutter with a steady gaze. ANGIER I magician never reveals his secrets. The Housekeeper appears with Jess at her side. HOUSEKEEPER Go on, child. Angier smiles kindly at her. ANGIER Good night, Jess. They leave. CUTTER Who's the girl? Angier says nothing. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I've seen her. I've seen her in court with Fallon... Cutter, realizing, looks at Angier, SHOCKED. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- quiet -RRB- What have you done? ANGIER She needs looking after- CUTTER She needs her father, but you're letting him hang. And I helped you. Cutter moves to the door. In a daze. Pauses. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I came here tonight to beg Lord Caldlow to let me destroy that machine. But I wo n't beg you for anything. ANGIER You do n't have to. I'm going to make sure the machine. is never used again. -LRB- shrugs -RRB- A good magician never repeats his tricks. Cutter considers this. Makes a decision. CUTTER Then, Lord Caldlow, where would like me to deliver it? ANGIER My theatre. It belongs with the Prestige materials. Cutter lookd at Angier. Sad. CUTTER I once told you about the sailor who described drowing to me... ANGIER -LRB- nods -RRB- He said it was like going home. CUTTER I was lying. He said it was agony. Cutter opens the door. Angier watches him go.", "EXT. PRISON YARD, NEWGATE PRISON -- MORNING Borden is at the fence. Fallon is on the other side. BORDEN We go alone now- both of us. Only I do n't have as far to go as you. Borden looks down at his feet. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You were right. I should've left him to his damned trick... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for so many things. For Sarah. I did n't want to hurt her. Fallon wipes tears from his face. Borden looks at him. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Do n't cry. Not for me. Go live your life in full. For both of us. Borden pulls the RUBBER BALL from his pocket and BOUNCES it up and down. He TURNS to be led back into the prison, DROPPING the ball. The ball bounces gently past the fence. Fallon catches it.", "INT. PRISON CORRIDOR, NEWGATE PRISON -- MORNING Borden is led along the empty corridor, braced by six guards. The procession stops at a large windowless metal door, sunk deep into the wall. Sullen opens the door and Borden is led inside. As Borden passes Sullen he leans in to his ear- BORDEN -LRB- quiet -RRB- Are you watching closely? Sullen stares back at him, terrified.", "INT. DEATH CHAMBER, NEWGATE PRISON -- CONTINUOUS The room is low and small. Two parallel beams, eight feet high, run from one wall to the other. Hanging from the center of the beams is a chain. Below the chian is a trap door. Sullen locks the door to the chamber.", "EXT. LARGE COUNTRY ESTATE -- DAY Jess is playing in the grounds. A NURSEMAID some distance off chats to a GARDENER. Jess looks up from playing. Someone is there. Cutter.", "EXT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- EVENING A CART pulls up to the side of the theatre. Cutter and two WORKMEN step down from the cart and move to the back of it. Cutter pulls the tarp off the back of the cart. Underneath it is the MACHINE's CRATE.", "INT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- EVENING The crate is sitting on the dolly in the auditorium. CUTTER Thank-you gents. WORKMAN Where do you want it? CUTTER Do n't worry. Someone's coming to help. The workmen levae. Cutter looks at the crate. Angier emerges from the darkness.", "INT. DEATH CHAMBER The warders remove Borden's chains and shackles and replace them with strong leather belts that bind his feet together and his hands to his sides. They shuffle him forward onto the trapdoor.", "INT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- NIGHT Angier and Cutter load the crate onto a platform suspended by a rope. Angier pulls open the two metal doors sunk into the floor. Cutter begins turning a WHICH, lowering the crate into the HOLE. Angier indicates a pile of bricks and a bag of sand. CUTTER I'm bringing this over after we're done. ANGIER Cautions as ever, Cutter. No one's going to use the place. I own it.", "INT. CELLAR, ABANDONED THEATRE -- EVENING Angier slowly climbs down a ladder from the hole to join Cutter in the darkness below. Cutter is standing next to the platform and the crate. The only night comes from a LANTERN Angier is carrying. We can see only a small flicker of the high moldy walls of the cellar, but it is a large open space. CUTTER No room left- you could n't have acommodated 100 performances. ANGIER It's a good thing I retired early then. Angier puts the lattern and his cane on the lif of the crate and the two men heft ir off the platform. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We'll put it down the end. Angier and Cutter move into the darkness with the crate. From the small pool of light afforded by the lattern, we can see that they are navigating their way through a large space filled with LARGE GLASS BOXES. They arrive at the end and set the crate down. CUTTER I'll go mix the cement. Cutter looks at Angier, cold. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Take a minute to consider your achiviement. Cutter turns. ANGIER Cutter, I tried not to involve you. Cutter looks at Angier. Nods. Then disappears into darkness.", "INT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- MOMENTS LATER Cutter comes across the stage and up through the auditorium. Fallon is coming in the other direction. As they pass they nod gravely at each other.", "INT. DEATH CHAMBER, NEWGATE PRISON -- DAY Borden is held in place by the trapdoor by two warders. The HANGMAN walks up behind him and attaches a NOOSE to the chain hanging above Borden. He slips the other end of the noose over Borden's neck. Positions it under Borden's jaw.", "INT. CELLAR, ABANDONED THEATRE -- CONTINUOUS Angier is alone bather in the lgiht of the lantern. He turns to the nearest glass box and smoothes a hand along its face. ANGIER -LRB- whisper -RRB- No one cares about the man in the box. Behind him, a NOISE. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- calling -RRB- Cutter? No responses.", "INT. DEATH CHAMBER, NEWGATE PRISON -- DAY They WRDEN looks at Borden. WARDEN Alfred borden, on this day, in the name of the King and the high court of England, you will meet your end. Do you have anything to say for yourself. Borden saus nothing. The Warden gestures to the HANGMAn who begins to PULL the lever. BORDEN -LRB- whisper -RRB- Abacadabra. The trap DROPS from under Borden and he FALLS into the room below. His rope SNAPS to a halt-", "INT. CELLAR, ABANDONED THEATRE -- NIGHT Angier PEERS down the row of glass boxes with the lantern. ANGIER -LRB- tense -RRB- CUTTER? Angier FREEZES. He can hear a small THUD, THUD, THUD getting closer, approaching from the darkness... Angier FLINCHES as a RUBBER BALL bounces into the light- Angier DROPS his cane to CATCH the ball. He turns it around in his hands, confused. Light EXPLODES around him as a GUNSHOT rings out. Angier stands for a moment, confused, staring at the ball, then COLLAPSES to the ground, clutching at his stomach. Fallon's BOWLER HAT breaks into the circle of light. he is holding a smoking pistol... Angier drops the ball and it rolls across the floor, coming to rest at Fallon's feet. But it is not Fallon's gloved hand that picks up the ball- -it is a MUTILATED HAND, WITH 2 1/2 FINGERS MISSING. Angier looks up : ALFRED BORDEN REMOVES THE BOWLER HAT AND TAKES A BOW. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- weak -RRB- You- you died. Borden shakes his head. Realization sweeps over Angier like a nightmare. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- A brother. A Twin.", "INT. BASEMENT -- CONTINUOUS -- FLASHBACK Fallon DROPS into the coffin. As fallon stares up at us, WE SEE, FOR THE FIRST TIME, SOMETHING FAMILIAR IN HIS FACE -- FALLON IS REALLY BORDEN IN DISGUISE. ANGIER You were Fallon. The whole time... Fallon/Borden's face disappears as Cutter seals his coffin.", "INT. CELLAR, ABANDONED THEATRE Borden smiles. BORDEN We were both Fallon. And we were both Borden. Angier considers this. Minds spinning. ANGIER Were you the one who went into the box-", "INT. STAGE -- EVENING -- FLASHBACK As the ball bounces acroos the stage, Borden steps into the cabinet, shutting the door behind him. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -or the one who come back out? Borden steps out of the second cabinet and catches the ball.", "INT. DRESSING ROOM -- EVENING -- FLASHBACK A stagehand wheels the two stage cabinets into the dressing room and leaves. Borden holts the door after him. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We took turns. The trick is where we would swap... Borden opens the first cabinet and pulls up the false bottom. His TWIN BROTHER, in indentical stage clothes, uncurls himself from the hidden compartment and hauls himself out.", "INT. DRESSING ROOM -- LATER -- FLASHBACK Fallon and Borden are seated at the makeup table. Fallon begins removing pieces of his costume and makeup and handing them to the other brother. As we watch, THEY SWITHC INDENTITIES.", "INT. CELLAR, ABANDONED THEATRE -- EVENING Angier stares up at Borden. Appalled. ANGIER Cutter knew. But I told him it was too simple. Too easy. BORDEN Simple, maybe. But not easy.", "INT. WORKSHOP -- EVENING -- FLASHBACK Both Bordens are standing at the workbench. One brother is gripping the other by his wrist and placing a CHISEL on his finger. He checks the placemen of the chisel against his own mutilated fingers, adjust the chisel's position, them picks up the hammer. BORDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Nothing easy about two men sharing one life. The second brother SWIGS from a gin bottle, then BITES down a padded stick as the first brother BRINGS DOWN THE HAMMER-", "INT. CELLAR, ABANDONED THEATRE -- EVENING Borden stares at his mutilated hand clasping the rubber ball. ANGIER What about Olivia? And your wife? BORDEN We each loved one of them. We each had half a full life. Enough for us, but not for them. Borden puts the ball in his pocket. Tears in his eyes. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Sacrifice, Robert- that's the price of a good trick. Borden looks down at Angier with contempt. BORDEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- But you would n't know anything about that, would you? Angier is dying. He opens his mouth to talk, but his voice is so wak that Borden has to stoop to hear him. ANGIER -LRB- very quiet -RRB- I've made sacrificies. BORDEN It takes nothing to steal someone else's work. ANGIER It takes everything.", "INT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- DAY -- FLASHBACK Angier stands in front of Tesla's machine. Loading the pistol. He places the pistol by the machine... Angier takes off his jacket and steps towards the HISSING machine. BOTLS curl themselves around him. ANGIER HURLS HIMSELF INTO THE LIGHT. This time we do not cut away. The machine sputters out. ANGIER IS STILL STANDING BENEATH IT. ANGIER -LRB- confused -RRB- It did n't work. VOICE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yes it did. Angier turns... ANOTHER ANGIER is standing on the chalk hashmark, STEAM rising off his shoulders. The first Angier lunges for the pistol and levels it at the second Angier. SECOND ANGIER -LRB- horrified -RRB- No, wait! I'm the- BANG! BANG! The firt Angier FIRES TWO SHOTS and, grim- faced, drops the pistol. SHOCKED. He stumbles back, in a daze, clothes still steaming.", "INT. CELLAR, ABANDONED THEATRE -- NIGHT Angier looks down, a slight smile on his face. He gestures to the lantern. ANGIER -LRB- weaker -RRB- Do you want to see what it cost me? You did n't see where you are, did you? Let me show you. Angier slumps to the floor as he tries to reach for the lantern. He ca n't his hand to obey him. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It took courage to climb into that machine every night...", "INT. UNDER THE STAGE -- EVENING -- FLASHBACK A drowing tank, identical to the one we have already seen. A blind stagehand sits behind it, smoking. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Not knowing if I'd be the Prestige.... Suddenly, a trap door flashes open as Angier falls from the stage door and SPLASHES into the tank. The lid snaps shut. ANGIER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Or the man in the box... Angier pounds on the glass, frantic. The blind stagehand continues smoking. Oblivious.", "INT. WORKSHOP -- DAY -- FLASHBACK Two hands SLAM shut on the lid of a birdcage. The blind stagehand are wrestling a LARGE CRATE onto a cart in the alleyway behind the theatre.", "INT. CELLAR, ABANDONED THEATRE -- NIGHT Angier stops trying tomove and leans back, resigned. BORDEN -LRB- scorn -RRB- You went halfway around the world. You spent a fortune. You did terrible things... and all of it for nothing. Angier looks up at him with his last spark of competitiveness. ANGIER Nothing? You never understood, id you? Why we did this? -LRB- coughs -RRB- The audience knows the truth- that the world is simple. Miserable. Solid all the way through. But if you could fool them, even for a second, you could make them wonder. Then you got to see something very special... -LRB- coughs, looks up -RRB- You really do n't know? Borden just stares at Angier. Who smiles. ANGIER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It was the look on their faced. Angier's body TOPPLES over, KNOCKING over the lantern. Borden steps back as the oil spreads, flamming, fro the lantern. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Every magic trick consists of three parts, or acts... Borden watches Angier for a moment, then turns to leave.", "INT. WORKSHOP -- DAY The workshop from the opening of the film. We now recognize it as Borden's. Cutter performs the bird cage trick for the Little Girl we now know as Jess. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The first part is called the Pledge. Cutter is showing far the canary.", "INT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- NIGHT The burning lamp oil SPREADS LIGHT through the cellar... CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The second part is called the Turn. I take the ordinary something... Angier lies in his pooling blood. Angier's eyes move around, looking at the shapes around him increasing illuminated by the hellish light...", "INT. WORKSHOP -- DAY Cutter WHIPS the shawl away- cage and bird have disappeared. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But you would n't clap yet. Jess stares, EXPECTANT. Cutter hols up his handkerchief- covered hand... CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Because making something disappear is n't enough... Cutter whips the handkerchief from his hand, revealing a canary. Just then, Jess SEES something and JUMPS off the chest, running past him... CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You have to bring it back. BORDEN IS IN THE DOORWAY- JESS LEAPS INTO HIS ARMS. Borden holds her tight. Looks at Cutter, who is putting on his coat. Nods. Cutter leaves. Borden reaches into his pocket and hand Jess his rubber ball. She smiles, then buries her head in his neck.", "INT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- NIGHT Borden STOPS at the ladder. He notices the shadows from the burning oil playing on the walls... CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now you're looking for the secret... Borden turns slowly to look back into the cellar, PEERING into the flickering light of the burning lamp oil. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- But you wo n't find it... Borden stares back into the cellar. What he sees puts a look on his face that is beyond words : LARGE GLASS TANKS. DOZENS OF THEM. ROW AFTER ROW STRECHING INTO THE CAVERNOUS CELLAR. CUTTER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... because you do n't really want to know... FLOATING IN BACH AND EVERY TANK, DRESSED IN ROTTING STAGE CLOTHES, IS YET ANOTHER ROBERT ANGIER.", "INT. ABANDONED THEATRE -- DAY Cutter spreads MORTAT on the last BRICK of the wall he has built in the opening to the cellar. He places the brick in the wall, sealing it up.", "EXT. FOREST -- DAY -- FLASHBACK A cat slinks its way through a pile of top harts, knocking one over as it disappears into the forest beyond. CUTTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... you want to be fooled. We are left alone in the glade, staring at the top hats- FADE OUT. CREDITS. END."], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0], "summary": "In 1890s London, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden work as shills for a magician under the mentorship of John Cutter, an engineer who designs stage magic. During a water tank trick, Angier's wife Julia fails to escape and drowns. Angier, devastated, blames Borden for using a riskier knot, causing her death. When Angier asks Borden which knot he used, Borden claims not to know. The two become bitter enemies and rivals. Angier and Borden launch their own magic careers, with Angier working with Cutter, and Borden with the mysterious Fallon. Angier sabotages one of  Borden's performances when he slips a real bullet into Borden's pistol during a bullet-catch trick, resulting in Borden losing two of his fingers. Borden reciprocates by sabotaging Angier's disappearing bird act, killing the bird on stage and injuring a volunteer from the audience. Borden develops a trick he calls the Transported Man, in which he appears to travel instantly between two wardrobes on opposite ends of the stage. Unable to discern Borden's method, Angier hires a double, Gerald Root, to perform his own version of the trick. The imitation is a greater success, but Angier is dissatisfied, as he ends the trick hidden under the stage while Root basks in the applause. Root threatens to blackmail Angier and Cutter after being approached by Borden. Angier has his assistant, Olivia, spy on Borden to learn how he performs the Transported Man. However, Olivia falls in love with Borden and becomes his assistant. With her help, Borden sabotages Angier's act, crippling his leg in the process. Confronted by Angier, Olivia gives him a copy of Borden's encoded diary. Olivia begins to see that Angier's obsession over his competition with Borden has caused him to be more selfish and forget about his wife. Angier acquires the keyword to decode it, \"TESLA\", by threatening to kill Fallon. The diary takes Angier to America to meet scientist Nikola Tesla, who Angier believes built a machine for Borden. Tesla becomes suspicious towards Angier as he knows that he is obsessed with the machine but agrees to create the machine for him. Angier realizes the diary is fraudulent, created as a distraction. Tesla builds the machine for him, but instead of teleporting objects, Tesla's machine duplicates anything placed inside it a short distance away. Tesla is driven from Colorado Springs by agents of his rival, Thomas Edison, but has the machine delivered to Angier. He advises Angier to destroy it, saying it will bring him only misery. Borden's wife, Sarah, is driven to suicide by his contradictory personality. Borden reveals to Olivia that he never loved Sarah, and that he loves her more. Tired of Borden and Angier's feud, Olivia leaves. In London, Angier debuts the \"Real Transported Man\" using Tesla's machine, appearing to have teleported across the theater. Borden sneaks backstage and witnesses Angier fall through a trapdoor and drown in a tank. He is discovered by Cutter and turned over to the police. Unable to prove his innocence, Borden is found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. Tesla's machine is sold off to the wealthy Lord Caldlow, who is revealed to be the true identity of a seemingly still alive Angier. Angier visits Borden in prison, accompanied by Borden's daughter Jess. In exchange for his tricks, Borden asks Angier to let his daughter go, but Angier leaves with Jess. When Cutter realizes that Angier is still alive, he is disgusted that Angier allowed Borden to be sentenced to death, but agrees to help dispose of Tesla's machine. Borden is hanged for Angier's murder. Angier goes back to the theatre. A stranger enters and shoots Angier, revealing himself as Alfred Borden. Angier discovers \"Borden\" was an identity shared by a pair of identical twins. The brothers performed the original Transported Man together; when one was \"Borden\", the other was disguised as \"Fallon\". Alfred loved Sarah while his dead brother had loved Olivia. While Angier uses Tesla's machine, every performance creates a new Angier, while the original drowns in a tank beneath the stage. Angier dies and drops his lantern, setting the theatre alight. Borden leaves and picks up Jess at Cutter's workshop. In the burning theatre, rows of tanks hold dead Angiers.", "name": "The_Prestige"}
{"scenes": ["EXT. FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE -- DUSK Silence - complete silence for the urbanite, though the oncoming darkness is punctuated by the sounds of farm country - a few birds, a distant rumble of thunder from some heavy clouds on the horizon, a dog's barking. CAMERA PANS the green, squared - off flatland, lit only by a fine sunset in its final throes. Then, gradually, starting from nothing, a rumble is heard, quickly growing louder and louder until the sound of a train can be recognized. CAMERA PANS quickly, discovering the railroad line atop a man - made rise of land, and the speeding passenger train is upon us, flashing by with a roar. Then, as if from nowhere, the figure of a man hits the embankment and rolls crazily down to the bottom into the thick underbrush alongside the tracks. CLOSE SHOT - BODY It lies in the bushes, still, unmoving - dead. CAMERA PANS AWAY to the quiet peaceful countryside as the sound of the train fades off until there is silence once more. TITLE MUSIC begins with a crash. -LRB- MAIN TITLES -RRB- DELETED", "EXT. MEGEVE -- DAY A handsome and elegant hotel perched on the mountain - side overlooking the French resort town. A large, open sun deck - tables, gaily colored parasols, sun bathers. One of the latter is REGINA LAMPERT, a lovely young girl. She is, besides taking in the sun, involved in her favorite activity - eating. Then - a dark, ominous shape intrudes in the f.g. FOCUS CHANGES to bring into sharp relief a revolver - shining, black and ugly in the sunlight. REGGIE, unaware of her danger, continues to eat. The finger tightens around the trigger and finally the gun shoots - a stream of water arcs, with unerring aim, straight into REGGIE's face. ANOTHER ANGLE Including JEAN - LOUIS, a French boy of six or so. REGGIE looks at him sternly. JEAN-LOUIS -LRB- in for trouble. -RRB- Oh, la.. REGGIE Do n't tell me you did n't know it was loaded. -LRB- calling. -RRB- Sylvie! WIDER ANGLE SYLVIE GAUDET, French, attractive, blonde, in her early thirties, comes from the railing of the sun deck to join REGGIE and JEAN - LOUIS. REGGIE Is n't there something constructive he can do - like start an avalanche? SYLVIE -LRB- to JEAN - LOUIS. -RRB- Va jouer, mon ange. JEAN - LOUIS scampers off, content to have gotten off so lightly. SYLVIE notices REGGIE's lunch which consists of cold chicken, potato salad, rolls and butter, wine and coffee. SYLVIE When you start to eat like this something is the matter. No answer from REGGIE. SYLVIE begins reading a magazine as REGGIE continues eating. REGGIE Sylvie - I'm getting a divorce. SYLVIE \u00c7a alors! From Charles? REGGIE He's the only husband I've got. I tried to make it work, I really have - but - SYLVIE But what? REGGIE I do n't know how to explain it. I'm just too miserable. REGGIE picks up a chicken leg and starts off. SYLVIE regards the devastated table before following. SYLVIE It is infuriating that your unhappiness does not turn to fat!", "INT. SWIMMING POOL -- DAY A magnificent indoor, glass - enclosed pool, the vista of snow - covered mountains seen through the ceiling - high windows beyond. REGGIE and SYLVIE are passing through, their conversation continuing. SYLVIE But why do you want a divorce? REGGIE Because I do n't love him. SYLVIE But that is no reason to get a divorce!", "EXT. HOTEL TERRACE -- DAY An open balcony running around two sides of the pool, sun - worshippers lying in deck - chairs. REGGIE and SYLVIE appear, their conversation continuing. SYLVIE With a rich husband and this year's clothes you will not find it difficult to make some new friends. REGGIE -LRB- sitting. -RRB- I admit I moved to Paris because I was tired of American Provincial, but that does n't mean I'm ready for French Traditional. I loathe the idea of divorce, Sylvie, but - if only Charles had been honest with me - that's all I ask of anybody - the simple truth. But with him, everything is secrecy and lies. He's hiding something - something frightening - something terrible - and evil. She stops as she is aware of a weird figure hovering over her. She wheels, terrified. CLOSE SHOT - PERUVIAN SNOW - MASK A strange, grotesque knitted mask that completely covers the face except for eyes, nose and mouth. The eyes inside this particular mask stare down at REGGIE. MAN Does this belong to you? CAMERA PANS down to include JEAN - LOUIS, his hand held firmly by the man in the mask. WIDER ANGLE Including REGGIE, MAN, SYLVIE and JEAN - LOUIS. REGGIE is too terrified to answer. Realizing this, the man, PETER JOSHUA, takes off the snow - mask to reveal a handsome, tanned face. PETER Oh, forgive me. -LRB- indicating JEAN - LOUIS. -RRB- Is this yours? REGGIE -LRB- indicating SYLVIE. -RRB- It's hers. Where'd you find him, robbing a bank? PETER He was throwing snowballs at Baron Rothschild. -LRB- a pause. -RRB- We do n't know each other, do we? REGGIE Why, do you think we're going to? PETER I do n't know - how would I know? REGGIE I'm afraid I already know a great many people. Until one of them dies I could n't possibly meet anyone else. PETER -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Yes, of course. But you will let me know if anyone goes on the critical list. -LRB- he starts off. -RRB- REGGIE Quitter. PETER -LRB- turning. -RRB- How's that? REGGIE You give up awfully easy, do n't you? Eyeing one, then the other, SYLVIE sizes up the situation and rises. SYLVIE Viens, Jean - Louis, let us take a walk. I have never seen a Rothschild before. SYLVIE and JEAN - LOUIS start off, but not before the boy squirts PETER with his pistol. PETER -LRB- drying. -RRB- Clever fellow - almost missed me. REGGIE I'm afraid you're blocking my view. PETER -LRB- moving. -RRB- Sorry. Which view would you like? REGGIE The one you're blocking. This is the last chance I have - I'm flying back to Paris this afternoon. What's your name? PETER Peter Joshua. REGGIE I'm Regina Lampert. PETER Is there a Mr. Lampert? REGGIE Yes. PETER Good for you. REGGIE No, it is n't. I'm getting a divorce. PETER Please, not on my account. REGGIE No, you see, I do n't really love him. PETER Well, you're honest, anyway. REGGIE Yes, I am - I'm compulsive about it - dishonesty infuriates me. Like when you go into a drugstore. PETER I'm not sure I - REGGIE Well, you go in and you ask for some toothpaste - the small size - and the man brings you the large size. You tell him you wanted the small size but he says the large size is the small size. I always thought the large size was the largest size, but he says that the family size, the economy size and the giant size are all larger than the large size - that the large size is the smallest size there is. PETER Oh. I guess. REGGIE Is there a Mrs. Joshua? PETER Yes, but we're divorced. REGGIE That was n't a proposal - I was just curious. PETER Is your husband with you? REGGIE Oh, Charles is hardly ever with me. First it was separate rooms - now we're trying it with cities. What do people call you - Pete? PETER Mr. Joshua. -LRB- turning to go. -RRB- Well, I've enjoyed talking with you. REGGIE Now you're angry. PETER No, I'm not - I've got some packing to do. I'm also going back to Paris today. REGGIE Oh. Well, was n't it Shakespeare who said : `` When strangers do meet they should erelong see one another again''? PETER Shakespeare never said that. REGGIE How do you know? PETER It's terrible - you just made it up. REGGIE Well, the idea's right, anyway. Are you going to call me? PETER Are you in the book? REGGIE Charles is. PETER Is there only one Charles Lampert? DELETED CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE Her face clouding. REGGIE Lord, I hope so.", "EXT. AVENUE FOCH -- LAMPERT APARTMENT HOUSE -- DAY The Arc de Triomphe at the far end of the Avenue. CAMERA PANS to pick up a TAXI as it pulls up before the handsome building. Inside are REGGIE, SYLVIE and JEAN - LOUIS. MED. SHOT - TAXI - LAMPERT APARTMENT HOUSE As REGGIE climbs out and the DRIVER begins unloading her suitcases. REGGIE Goodbye, Sylvie, and thanks. -LRB- She turns toward the house. -RRB- JEAN - LOUIS sticks his head out of the taxi window. JEAN-LOUIS When you get your divorce will you be going back to America? MED. SHOT - THE TAXI REGGIE looks at SYLVIE, surprised. SYLVIE He knows everything. REGGIE -LRB- to JEAN - LOUIS. -RRB- Do n't you want me to stay? JEAN-LOUIS Yes, of course - but if you went back and wrote me a letter - REGGIE - you could have the stamps. I'll get you some here, okay? JEAN-LOUIS Okay. REGGIE walks toward the house with the driver, who carries her cases. She presses the button that electrically opens the front door. DELETED", "INT. APARTMENT LANDING -- DAY As the elevator rises REGGIE gets out, followed by the driver. He puts down the bags in front of the apartment door. REGGIE -LRB- handing him a tip. -RRB- Merci. The driver leaves. She goes to the door and presses the minuterie, the button that turns on the time - light, and the lights come on. Then she rings the doorbell. There is no answer. She rings again. Still nothing. Sighing, she digs out her keys and starts to fit it into the lock. At this moment the minuterie expires, plunging the scene into darkness. REGGIE'S VOICE Wonderful. She finds the button and the light goes on again. She inserts the key and turns it.", "INT. LAMPERT APARTMENT -- ENTRANCE HALL -- DAY CLOSE SHOT - DOOR as it opens and REGGIE steps into the CLOSE SHOT. She stops, her expression changing. REVERSE SHOT From REGGIE's p.o.v. as CAMERA PANS the entrance hall. It is bare - no furniture, no rug, no pictures, no nothing. MED. SHOT - REGGIE She stares for a moment, then goes back out into the landing.", "INT. APARTMENT LANDING -- DAY As REGGIE steps back outside. She looks at the nameplate beside the door. INSERT NAMEPLATE It reads `` MR. AND MRS. CHARLES LAMPERT.''", "INT. APARTMENT LANDING -- DAY REGGIE looks at the plate in disbelief, then turns and hurries back into the apartment.", "INT. LAMPERT APARTMENT -- DAY As REGGIE hurries into the entrance hall. REGGIE Honorine -! No answer. Now, CAMERA FOLLOWING, she goes into the Salon. It is also empty - stripped bare. There are squares of the wall's original color where paintings used to hang, the hooks still in the wall. She rushes now, going into the bedroom, CAMERA FOLLOWING crazily, lurching and careening behind her. The bedroom, too, is empty. She goes to the built - in wardrobe closets and throws open all the doors. Only some hangers remain. She pulls open the drawers - nothing! REGGIE Charles -! She turns, and running now, goes through another door to the library, CAMERA FOLLOWING. The rows of shelves are as empty as the rest of the apartment. She begins to turn in a circle, looking for something, anything. In a panic she turns and runs out, colliding suddenly with a MAN whom she -LRB- and we -RRB- have not noticed until the moment of impact. REGGIE screams. CLOSE SHOT - INSPECTOR GRANDPIERRE A heavy - set man of no particular age with tobacco - colored hair, and thick glasses. GRANDPIERRE Madame Charles Lampert? WIDER ANGLE Including REGGIE, in a state of near - shock. REGGIE Yes. GRANDPIERRE I am Inspector Edouard Grandpierre of the Police Judiciaire. Would you be so kind as to come with me, please?", "INT. MORGUE -- DAY We see a large metal drawer being opened and an all - too - familiar shape outlined under a damp sheet of muslin. ANOTHER ANGLE - OVERHEAD Looking straight down at the tops of REGGIE's, GRANDPIERRE's and an ATTENDANT's head and smack into the open drawer. GRANDPIERRE lifts a corner of the sheet at the bottom and reveals a bare foot with a ticket tied to its big toe. He stoops to read it. Satisfied, he recovers the foot, then moves to the other end to uncover the head. As the sheet starts to lift : REVERSE SHOT REGGIE as she looks down into the CAMERA. She closes her eyes for a moment, then looks again. GRANDPIERRE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Well, Madame -? She nods. GRANDPIERRE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You are positive? She nods again. GRANDPIERRE moves into the SHOT. GRANDPIERRE You loved him? REGGIE I'm very cold. GRANDPIERRE nods as he turns to the unseen ATTENDANT. CAMERA suddenly moves as the ` drawer' is slid back into the wall. BLACKNESS comes with a loud clang and continues while the echo dies.", "INT. GRANDPIERRE'S OFFICE -- DAY CLOSE SHOT - DESK DRAWER -LRB- FROM ABOVE -RRB- as it is pulled open. A photograph of Charles Lampert lies face up in the drawer. A hand reaches in and pulls it out. WIDER ANGLE Including GRANDPIERRE sitting behind his desk, and REGGIE, sitting across from him. The office is as bare as most policemen's offices. GRANDPIERRE studies the photo. GRANDPIERRE We discovered your husband's body lying next to the tracks of the Paris - Bourdeaux railroad line. He was dressed only in his pajamas. Do you know of any reason why he might have wished to leave France? REGGIE Leave? GRANDPIERRE Your husband possessed a ticket of passage on the ` Maranguape.' It sailed from Bordeaux for Maracaibo this morning at seven. REGGIE -LRB- a pause. -RRB- I'm very confused. She starts to rummage through her bag. GRANDPIERRE shoves a package of French cigarettes across the desk to her. But she pulls a package of nuts out of her bag. She begins separating the shells with her thumb nail and eating the nuts, depositing the shells in the ashtray. GRANDPIERRE watches this for an instant. GRANDPIERRE He was American? REGGIE Swiss. GRANDPIERRE Oh. Swiss. His profession? REGGIE He did n't have one. GRANDPIERRE He was a wealthy man? REGGIE I do n't know. I suppose so. GRANDPIERRE About how wealthy would you say? REGGIE I do n't know. GRANDPIERRE Where did he keep his money? REGGIE I do n't know. GRANDPIERRE Besides yourself, who is his nearest relation? REGGIE I do n't know. GRANDPIERRE -LRB- exploding. -RRB- C'est absurde, Madame. To - tale - ment absurde! REGGIE I know. -LRB- pause. -RRB- I'm sorry. GRANDPIERRE It is all right. GRANDPIERRE sighs, puts down his pencil and pushes a button on the desk. He removes a cigar from his desk and inserts it into his mouth. GRANDPIERRE Is it all right? REGGIE I wish you would n't. He rips the cigar out of his mouth and slams it back into the drawer, closing it fiercely. A UNIFORMED POLICEMAN sticks his head in the door. GRANDPIERRE Les effets de Lampert. The POLICEMAN leaves and closes the door. GRANDPIERRE On Wednesday last your husband sold the entire contents of the apartment at public auction. Furniture, clothing, kitchenware - everything. The gallery, in complying with his wishes, paid him in cash. One million two hundred and fifty thousand New Francs. In dollars, a quarter of a million. The authorities in Bordeaux have searched his compartment on the train. They have searched it thoroughly. They did not find $ 250,000, Madame. He opens the desk drawer, puts the cigar back in his mouth and lights a match by scratching it against the glass desk - top before he remembers REGGIE's request. He puts it back in the drawer again. The door opens and the POLICEMAN enters again, this time carrying a wicker basket which he deposits on GRANDPIERRE's desk, and leaves. GRANDPIERRE peers into the basket. GRANDPIERRE These few things are all that was found in the train compartment. There was no other baggage. Your husband must have been in a great hurry. He begins to take them out, placing them on the desk, identifying each item as he does. GRANDPIERRE One wallet containing four thousand francs - one agenda -. -LRB- pausing, he opens the notebook. -RRB- - his last notation was made yesterday - Thursday -. -LRB- reading. -RRB- `` Five p.m. - Jardin des Champs - Elys\u00e9es''. -LRB- looking up. -RRB- Why there? REGGIE I do n't know. Perhaps he met somebody. GRANDPIERRE -LRB- dryly. -RRB- Obviously. -LRB- returning to the items in the basket. -RRB- One ticket of passage to South America - one letter, stamped but unsealed, addressed to you - REGGIE -LRB- lighting up. -RRB- A letter? May I see it? GRANDPIERRE hands her the letter and watches her closely as she reads it. REGGIE -LRB- reading. -RRB- `` My dear Regina : I hope you are enjoying your holiday. Megeve can be so lovely this time of year. The days pass very slowly and I hope to see you soon. As always, Charles. P.S. Your dentist called yesterday. Your appointment has been changed.'' -LRB- she looks up, puzzled. -RRB- Not very much, is it? GRANDPIERRE We took the liberty of calling your dentist - we thought, perhaps, we would learn something. REGGIE Did you? GRANDPIERRE Yes. Your appointment has been changed. -LRB- he smiles at his little joke, then returns to the basket. -RRB- One key to your apartment - one comb - one fountain pen - one toothbrush - one tin of tooth powder. -LRB- he looks up. -RRB- - that is all. He slides a sheet of paper and pen across to her, then starts to put the things back into the basket while he speaks : GRANDPIERRE If you will sign this list you may take the things with you. REGGIE -LRB- sighing. -RRB- Is that all? Can I go now? GRANDPIERRE One more question. Is this your husband's passport? He reaches into the desk drawer and pulls out a passport which he hands to her. INSERT - PASSPORT The cover indicates that it is Swiss. REGGIE's hand opens it to a picture of a man - the man we saw in GRANDPIERRE's photo. Under it is the name : `` CHARLES LAMPERT.'' MED. SHOT - REGGIE AND GRANDPIERRE REGGIE Of course it is. GRANDPIERRE And this? He hands her another passport. INSERT - SECOND PASSPORT The cover is American. When it is opened, we see the identical picture, but the name under it reads : `` CHARLES VOSS.'' MED. SHOT - REGGIE AND GRANDPIERRE REGGIE I do n't understand. GRANDPIERRE And this? And this? He hands her, one at a time, two more passports. INSERT - THIRD AND FOURTH PASSPORTS One is Italian which, when opened, shows the same photo with the name `` CARLO FABRI.'' The other is Venezuelan, the same photo, and the name `` CARLOS MORENO.'' MED. SHOT - REGGIE AND GRANDPIERRE GRANDPIERRE Have you nothing to say, Madame? REGGIE looks down at the four passports, then back to GRANDPIERRE. REGGIE -LRB- hopefully. -RRB- It's all right if you want to smoke your cigar now.", "INT. LAMPERT APARTMENT -- DUSK The house is empty as before. Now it is silent, the late afternoon light coming from outside. REGGIE stands by a window. A canvas airline bag rests on the floor nearby. Suddenly there is the noise of a DOOR OPENING. CLOSER SHOT - REGGIE As her head turns, in alarm, toward the noise. There is a moment of silence, then FOOTSTEPS are heard, coming closer. ANOTHER ANGLE As PETER enters. REGGIE -LRB- surprised. -RRB- What are you doing here? PETER I phoned but nobody answered. I wanted to tell you how sorry I am - and to find out if there was anything I could do. REGGIE How did you find out? PETER It's in all the afternoon papers. I'm very sorry. REGGIE Thank you. A silence. PETER I rang the bell but I do n't think it's working. REGGIE Yes it is - I heard it this morning. He looks around for the light switch, then goes to it and flicks it on - nothing happens. He flicks it a few more times. REGGIE They must have turned off the electricity. She shakes her head. PETER looks around. PETER Where did everything go? REGGIE Charles sold it all - at auction. PETER Do you know what you're going to do? REGGIE Try and get my old job back at UNESCO, I suppose. PETER Doing what? REGGIE I'm a simultaneous translator - like Sylvie, only she's English to French - I'm French to English. That's what I did before I married Charles. The police probably think I killed him. PETER Instant divorce you mean? REGGIE Something like that. But I'm sorry it ended like this - tossed off a train like a sack of third - class mail. PETER -LRB- Taking her hand. -RRB- Come on. You ca n't stay here. REGGIE I do n't know where to go. PETER We'll find you a hotel. REGGIE Not too expensive - I'm not a lady of leisure anymore. PETER Something modest but clean - and near enough to UNESCO so you can take a cab when it rains - okay? She nods. He picks up the airlines bag and they start out. REGGIE stops at the door and looks back. REGGIE I loved this room - but Charles never saw it - only what was in it. All those exquisite things -. -LRB- looking around. -RRB- I think I prefer it like this.", "INT. FUNERAL CHAPEL -- DAY CLOSE SHOT of a phonograph. A hand appears, starts the record on it spinning, then places the arm at the beginning. An instant later ORGAN MUSIC starts with a roar.", "INT. FUNERAL CHAPEL -- DAY CLOSE SHOT of the coffin. It rests on a low platform, with a bouquet or two of flowers near the head, the lid open. Inside, the face made up to look lifelike -LRB- but failing -RRB-, lie the remnants of Charles Lampert. CLOSE SHOT - GRANDPIERRE The INSPECTOR sits quietly, eyes downcast, staring at his hands in a prayer - like attitude. CAMERA PULLS BACK, revealing row after row of empty wooden bench - like seats in the large, dimly - lit, high - ceilinged room. Finally, in the first row, REGGIE and SYLVIE are discovered. Besides GRANDPIERRE, they are the only ones present. REGGIE turns around to look at the empty room. They speak in whispers. REGGIE It's not exactly what I'd call a large turn - out. SYLVIE Did n't Charles have any friends? REGGIE Do n't ask me - I'm only the widow. -LRB- indicating GRANDPIERRE. -RRB- If Charles had died in bed we would n't even have him. SYLVIE At least he knows how to behave at funerals. CLOSE SHOT - GRANDPIERRE His eyes still lowered. CAMERA PANS DOWN to feature his hands - he is methodically trimming his nails with a small clipper. TWO SHOT - SYLVIE AND REGGIE SYLVIE Have you no idea who could have done it? REGGIE Until two days ago all I really knew about Charles was his name - now it turns out I did n't even know that. The front DOOR of the Chapel is heard opening and a shaft of daylight streams in. The WOMEN turn. MED. SHOT - CHAPEL DOOR The short, heavy - set figure of a MAN is outlined against the bright outdoor light. He stands for a moment, then closes the door after him. LEOPOLD GIDEON, short - sighted, bald, in his middle forties, glances around nervously, like a barnyard bird. Then he walks down one of the side aisles of the Chapel. CLOSE SHOT - GRANDPIERRE As he watches GIDEON. CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE As she watches him. MED. SHOT - THE BIER GIDEON arrives at the coffin. He stops, looks down at LAMPERT's body for a moment. Then, suddenly, in rapid succession, he sneezes six times. He takes a small bottle from his pocket, shakes a pill from it and swallows it dry. He turns and walks back up the aisle, looking for a place to sit. He comes face to face with GRANDPIERRE, stops, turns to sit somewhere else. TWO SHOT - REGGIE AND SYLVIE SYLVIE Do you know him? REGGIE I've never seen him before. SYLVIE He must have known Charles pretty well. REGGIE How can you tell? SYLVIE He's allergic to him. SYLVIE turns and glances at GIDEON. Again, the sound of the DOOR opening interrupts them. They turn to look. MED. SHOT - CHAPEL DOOR Again the figure of a MAN is outlined in silhouette against the outside brightness. When he closes the door we can see `` TEX'' PENTHOLLOW, a slim, rangy man with sandy - colored hair, a weatherbeaten face, washed - out blue - eyes - also in his forties. He wears a velvet - corduroy suit, string tie and a bright yellow flower in his lapel. A bulldurham tag hangs from his outside breast pocket, dangling from its string. He starts down the aisle toward the bier, CAMERA LEADING him, and we notice his unsteady gait. He turns to look at the others present. TRAVELING SHOT - TEX'S P.O.V. MOVING down the aisle. GRANDPIERRE's face, then GIDEON's, then REGGIE's and SYLVIE's - all staring at CAMERA. MED. SHOT - THE BIER As TEX arrives. He stands staring at LAMPERT's body, swaying on his feet until he reaches out and grabs the side of the coffin to steady himself. Then he takes the flower from his lapel and throws it into the open box. CLOSE SHOT - TEX TEX -LRB- heavy Texas accent. -RRB- Ariva durchy, Charlie. WIDER ANGLE As TEX turns away from the coffin and approaches REGGIE and SYLVIE, addressing the latter - after having first reached for his hat which he discovers he is n't wearing. TEX Miz Lampert, ma'am. SYLVIE points to REGGIE. Unruffled, TEX starts over. addressing REGGIE this time. TEX Miz Lampert, ma'am. REGGIE Yes? TEX Charlie had no call to handling it this - a - way. He sure did n't. No siree. REGGIE I do n't understa - But TEX has nodded his head and moved off to find a seat. When he spots GIDEON, the two men stare at each other. Finally, TEX chooses a seat away from him and sits. MED. SHOT - CHAPEL DOOR It flies open, this time with a bang, and the large MAN who appears almost fills the frame. CLOSER SHOT - TEX As the loud noise awakens him with a snort, mid - snore. MED. SHOT - THE DOOR Closing the door, we see HERMAN SCOBIE, a heavy - weight - tall and wide, but not fat - with black hair combed straight back and heavy bushy eyebrows of a matching color, which meet over his nose and join up. About the same age as the first two men, SCOBIE is dressed in a battered raincoat, his hands thrust deep in the pockets. He marches down the aisle. Looking straight ahead, CAMERA PANNING with him. He stops before the coffin and stares into it. CLOSE SHOT - SCOBIE As he stares down into the coffin, his tongue trying to dislodge a bit of food caught in his teeth. He stares hard at the body, squinting his eyes. Then he removes one hand from his pocket, removes a pin from the inside of his lapel, picks his teeth with it, then slowly lets the hand down, into the coffin. CLOSE SHOT - SCOBIE'S HAND The pin held between thumb and forefinger, he jabs it slowly but positively deep into the back of one of the dead man's hands. There is no reaction. CLOSE SHOT - SCOBIE He watches the dead man carefully, still squinting. Then finally satisfied, he returns the pin to his lapel and walks back up the aisle and out of the door, slamming it after him. CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE Having watched SCOBIE exit. Suddenly a hand falls on her shoulder. She jumps in alarm and utters a little cry of fright. ANOTHER ANGLE Featuring a funeral ATTENDANT, a cadaverous type -LRB- are n't they all -RRB- with a black cut - away coat and an over - solicitous, unctuous manner. He is eternally bent at the waist, in a sort of half bow. He offers REGGIE a letter which she takes. REGGIE Merci, Monsieur. ATTENDANT Pas du tout, madame, pardon - pardon - pardon. He backs off and is gone. REGGIE looks at the letter, back and front, then starts to open it. SYLVIE Who is it from? REGGIE The American Embassy. She pulls out the letter and starts to read it. INSERT - THE LETTER It bears the Great Seal as a letterhead and the typed message reads : `` Dear Mrs. Lampert : Please drop by my office tomorrow at noon - thirty. I am anxious to discuss the matter of your late husband's death. Sincerely, -LRB- signed -RRB- H. Bartholomew.'' TWO SHOT - REGGIE AND SYLVIE SYLVIE has been reading over REGGIE's shoulder. SYLVIE What is it about? REGGIE I do n't know. But if this is a sample of American diplomacy I'm buying a fallout shelter.", "EXT. THE AMERICAN EMBASSY -- ESTABLISHING -- DAY The fine old building in the Rue Gabriel. DELETED", "INT. EMBASSY CORRIDOR -- DAY As REGGIE leaves the elevator two young DIPLOMATIC TYPES step in, immersed in conversation. 1ST DIPLOMATIC TYPE I bluffed the Old Man out of the last pot - with a pair of deuces. 2ND DIPLOMATIC TYPE What's so depressing about that? 1ST DIPLOMATIC TYPE If I can do it, what are the Russians doing to him? The elevator door closes on them. REGGIE reacts to this and starts down the hall, finally stopping at the door. MED. SHOT - DOOR It is marked `` 307 - A H. BARTHOLOMEW.'' REGGIE checks the letter, then opens the door.", "INT. BARTHOLOMEW'S OUTER OFFICE -- DAY The office is empty, the typewriter on the secretary's desk is covered with its plastic shroud. REGGIE enters, looks for somebody, notices that the door to the private office is slightly ajar. REGGIE -LRB- tentatively. -RRB- Hello -? -LRB- there is no answer. -RRB- Hello? BARTHOLOMEW'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- from the private office. -RRB- Is there anything wrong, Miss Tompkins? REGGIE Uh - Miss Tompkins is n't here. BARTHOLOMEW comes to the door and looks in. He is a pale grey - haired man who looks, on first examination, older than his forty - odd years. Sickly would be the word that describes him best - pallid, consumptive - looking. He wears heavy tortoise - framed glasses which fall down his nose and cause him to push them back in place every so often with a quick automatic motion. BARTHOLOMEW I'm sorry - my secretary must have gone to lunch. You are -? REGGIE Mrs. Lampert - Mrs. Charles Lampert. BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- looking at his watch. -RRB- Come in, Mrs. Lampert. You're quite late. He motions for her to enter, standing aside to let her do so.", "INT. BARTHOLOMEW'S PRIVATE OFFICE -- DAY A small cubicle - there is a silver - framed photo of three kids on the desk. BARTHOLOMEW indicates a chair, then goes behind his desk and sits. A can of lighter fluid stands open on the desk and a crumpled hankie beside it. BARTHOLOMEW Excuse me for a moment, Mrs. Lampert - it's a stubborn little devil. He works at a stain on his necktie with lighter fluid and hankie. BARTHOLOMEW Dry - cleaningwise, things are all fouled up. I had a good man - an excellent man on the Rue Ponthieu, but H.Q. asked us to use the plant here in the building - to ease the gold outflow. REGGIE Mr. Bartholomew - are you sure you know who I am? BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- looking up. -RRB- Charles Lampert's widow - yes? -LRB- going back to the tie. -RRB- Last time I sent out a tie only the spot came back. He looks up at her, laughs silently, then goes back to his tie. BARTHOLOMEW Voil\u00e0! As they say. He puts away the lighter fluid in a desk drawer, smells the hankie, passes on it, then sticks it in his pocket. He opens another drawer and pulls out various sandwiches wrapped in waxpaper, a salt and pepper shaker, a tube of mustard, a bottle of red wine and two Dixie cups. BARTHOLOMEW Have some, please. I've got. -LRB- checking. -RRB-. liverwurst - liverwurst - chicken and - liverwurst. REGGIE No thanks. He uncorks the wine, fills a cup and begins eating. BARTHOLOMEW Do you know what C.I.A. is, Mrs. Lampert? REGGIE I do n't suppose it's an airline, is it? BARTHOLOMEW Central Intelligence Agency - C.I.A. REGGIE You mean spies and things like that? BARTHOLOMEW Only we call them agents. REGGIE We? You mean you're -? BARTHOLOMEW Someone has to do it, Mrs. Lampert - REGGIE I'm sorry, it's just that I did n't think that you people were supposed to admit - BARTHOLOMEW I'm not an agent, Mrs. Lampert - I'm an administrator - a desk jockey - trying to run a bureau of overworked men with under - allocated funds. Congress seems to think that all a spy needs - REGGIE Agent. BARTHOLOMEW Yes - That all he needs is a code book and a cyanide pill and he's in business. REGGIE What's all this got to do with me, Mr. Bartholomew? BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- his mouth full. -RRB- Your husband was wanted by the U. S. government. REGGIE May I have a sandwich, please? He hands her a sandwich and fills a wine - cup for her. BARTHOLOMEW To be more specific, he was wanted by this agency. REGGIE -LRB- eating. -RRB- So that was it. BARTHOLOMEW Yes. We knew him, of course, by his real name. REGGIE -LRB- almost choking. -RRB- His - real -? BARTHOLOMEW Voss - Charles Voss. All right, Mrs. Voss -. -LRB- taking a photo from his desk. -RRB- - I'd like you to look at this photograph, please - by the way, you saw this one, did n't you? -LRB- indicating the kids on the desk. -RRB- Scott, Cathy, and Ham, Jr.. REGGIE Very sweet. BARTHOLOMEW Are n't they? Now look at this one, Mrs. Voss, and - REGGIE Stop calling me that! Lampert's the name on the marriage license. BARTHOLOMEW Yes - and tell me if you recognize anyone. Just a moment. Have a good look. He reaches back into the drawer and pulls out a glass which he gives her. CLOSE SHOT - PHOTO FOUR MEN, all in army uniform, sitting behind a table. The glass is held over the first, magnifying the face. CLOSER SHOT - PHOTO It's a photo of a young CHARLES LAMPERT. REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It's Charles! BARTHOLOMEW'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Very good. REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- He looks so young - when was this taken? BARTHOLOMEW'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- 1944. The next face, please. The glass and CAMERA move to the next man - a young TEX.. REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It's the man who came to the funeral yesterday - I'm sure of it - a tall man in a corduroy suit and string tie. BARTHOLOMEW'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Does the name Tex Penthollow mean anything to you? REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- No. BARTHOLOMEW'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Next, please. The glass and CAMERA move to the third face - a young GIDEON. REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Yes - and he was there, too - a little fatter now - and less hair - but it's the same one. BARTHOLOMEW'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Do you know him, Mrs. Vo - Mrs. Lampert? Leopold W. Gideon? REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- No. BARTHOLOMEW'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- The last one, please. The glass and CAMERA move to the fourth face - a young SCOBIE. REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- That's a face you do n't forget - he was there too - BARTHOLOMEW'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Herman Scobie. And you've never seen him before, either? REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- No, thank heaven. MED. SHOT - REGGIE AND BARTHOLOMEW BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- a pause, regarding her. -RRB- Mrs. Lampert, I'm afraid you're in a great deal of danger. REGGIE Danger? Why should I be in any danger? BARTHOLOMEW You're Charles Voss's wife - now that he's dead you're their only lead. REGGIE Mr. Bartholomew - if you're trying to frighten me you're doing a really first - rate job! -LRB- she takes another sandwich. -RRB- BARTHOLOMEW Please, do what we ask, Mrs. Lampert - it's your only chance. REGGIE Gladly, only I do n't know what you want! You have n't told me. BARTHOLOMEW Oh, have n't I? The money - Mrs. Lampert - the money. The $ 250,000 Charles Voss received from the auction. Those three men want it, too - they want it very badly. REGGIE But it's Charles's money, not theirs. BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- laughing. -RRB- Oh, Mrs. Lampert! I'd love to see you try and convince them of that! -LRB- drying his eyes. -RRB- Oh, dear. REGGIE Then whose is it? His or theirs? BARTHOLOMEW Ours. REGGIE -LRB- she looks at him for a moment. -RRB- Oh, I see. BARTHOLOMEW And I'm afraid we want it back. REGGIE But I do n't have it. BARTHOLOMEW That's impossible. You're the only one who could have it. REGGIE I'm sorry it's impossible. It's the truth. BARTHOLOMEW is silent for a moment, thinking. BARTHOLOMEW I believe you. REGGIE Thanks very much. BARTHOLOMEW Oh, you've got the money all right - you just do n't know you've got it. REGGIE Mr. Bartholomew - if I had a quarter of a million dollars, believe me, I'd know it. BARTHOLOMEW Nevertheless, Mrs Lampert - you've got it. REGGIE You mean it's just lying around someplace - all that cash? BARTHOLOMEW Or a safe deposit key, a certified check, a baggage claim - you look for it, Mrs. Lampert - I'm quite sure you'll find it. REGGIE But - BARTHOLOMEW Look for it, Mrs. Lampert - look just as hard and as fast as you can. You may not have a great deal of time. Those men know you have it just as surely as we do. You wo n't be safe until the money's in our hands. Is that clear? REGGIE nods. He writes something on a pad of paper and tears it off, handing it to her. BARTHOLOMEW Here's where you're to call me - day or night. It's a direct line to both my office and my apartment. Do n't lose it, Mrs. Lampert - and please do n't tell anyone about coming to see me. It could prove fatal for them as well as yourself. REGGIE Wait a minute - you think those three men killed Charles, do n't you? BARTHOLOMEW We've no proof, of course, but we rather think so, yes. REGGIE Well, there you are! Charles had the money with him - so whoever killed him has it - they have it! BARTHOLOMEW shakes his head. REGGIE Why not? BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- grimly. -RRB- Because they're still here. REGGIE Oh. BARTHOLOMEW Like I said, Mrs Lampert - I'm afraid you're in a great deal of danger. Remember what happened to Charles. REGGIE takes the last sandwich and begins eating furiously. DELETED", "EXT. ESPLANADE DES CHAMPS-ELY\u00c9ES -- DAY MED. SHOT - GUIGNOL. One of the French Punch and Judy shows set up on certain days in the small park alongside the broad avenue between the Rond Point and the Place de la Concorde. At the moment, Judy, as always, is beating Punch with a bat. The sound of CHILDREN laughing and screaming can be heard. VARIOUS CLOSE SHOTS - THE CHILDREN Sitting on small benches lined up to face the stage. Their attention is fixed on the show, their belief totally suspended by the play as only children's can be - laughing at the slapstick, booing the villain, frightened by the perils. MED. SHOT - REGGIE Sitting on the last bench, next to some CHILDREN. They are laughing but she is n't - she just watches, her attention caught up but her face void of emotion. The bench is too low for her, forcing her knees up almost under her chin. After a moment, PETER comes up behind her and, stepping over the benches, sits beside her. She does n't seem to notice. -LSB- Throughout the following scene the CHILDREN and the ACTORS can be heard in the b.g. -RSB- PETER Reggie -? She turns and looks at him for a moment. REGGIE -LRB- vaguely. -RRB- Hallo, Peter. PETER You telephoned me to meet you. I've been standing on the corner back there - waiting for you. REGGIE I'm sorry - I heard the children laughing. A ROAR from the CHILDREN. REGGIE and PETER turn toward the stage. MED. SHOT - GUIGNOL PUNCH and JUDY are arguing loudly. TWO SHOT - REGGIE AND PETER PETER What's going on? REGGIE Do n't you understand French? PETER I'm still having trouble with English. REGGIE The man and the woman are married - CLOSE SHOT - GUIGNOL STAGE PUNCH and JUDY are batting each other on the head. PETER'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Yes, I can see that - they're batting each other over the head with clubs. Finally, JUDY knocks Punch out of sight and a PUPPET wearing a three - cornered hat appears. PETER'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Who's that with the hat? MED SHOT - GRANDPIERRE Wearing a hat, he stands off in the background, watching. REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- That's the policeman - he wants to arrest Judy for killing Punch. CLOSE SHOT - GUIGNOL STAGE JUDY and the POLICEMAN are batting one another. PETER'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What's she saying now? REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- That she's innocent - she did n't do it. PETER'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- She did it, all right - take it from me. REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I believe her. PUNCH's head appears on the other side of the stage, says something, then ducks out. PETER'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Who was that? REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Punch, of course. TWO SHOT - REGGIE AND PETER PETER Of course? I thought he was dead. REGGIE He's only pretending, to teach her a lesson - only -. -LRB- her face clouding. -RRB- only he is dead, Peter - I saw him - he's not pretending. Somebody threw him off a train. What am I going to do? Charles was mixed up in something terrible. PETER I wish you'd let me help you. Whatever it is, it does n't sound like the sort of thing that a woman can handle all by herself. CLOSE SHOT - GUIGNOL STAGE JUDY has gotten the upper hand is now batting the POLICEMAN's brains out. CLOSE SHOT - GRANDPIERRE as he winces. TWO SHOT - REGGIE AND PETER PETER Have you got a mirror? -LRB- she nods. -RRB- Give it to me. She hands it to him and he holds it in front of her face. PETER Right there, between your eyes - see? Worry lines. You're much too young and too pretty to have anything like that. How about making me vice - president in charge of cheering you up? REGGIE -LRB- jumping at the suggesting. -RRB- Starting tonight?", "INT. NIGHTCLUB -- NIGHT MED. SHOT - EMCEE. He stands on the dance floor in front of a five piece Latin dance band, a spotlight on him, wearing his professional smile as he speaks into a mike. EMCEE Bonsoir mesdames et messieurs, good evening ladies and gentlemen, guten Abend, meine Damen und Herren - ce soir, comme tous les soirs, l'attraction ici, au Black Sheep Club, c'est vous! Venez, mesdames et messieurs, step right up, ladies and gentlemen, kommen Sie her, meine Damen en Herren, avanti, signore e signori - avanti! MED. SHOT - REGGIE AND PETER At their table. REGGIE is dressed in a lovely Givenchy dress. PETER What was all that? REGGIE Fun and games. Evidently we're the floorshow. PETER You mean you and me? REGGIE No, everyone. Come on - avanti, avanti! She rises and pulls him along. WIDE ANGLE Including the dance floor as most of the patrons go to it, laughing self - consciously and looking around. EMCEE \u00c9coutez bien - les r\u00e8gles sont tres simples - the rules are very easy - deux \u00e9quipes - two teams - each with one orange - une orange - eine apfelsine - un' arrancia - held under the chin, like so -. -LRB- does it. -RRB- comme \u00e7a - and passed to the player behind you - sans vous servir de vos mains - using nothing but the chin - no hands - and keeping the orange at all costs from touching the floor. Commencez, Mesdames et Messieurs - begin, ladies and gentlemen - signore e signori, comminciate! The EMCEE now circulates, forming teams, telling the patrons to line up, making sure there is a woman next to every man. REGGIE and PETER are the second couple in their line. Then the EMCEE picks up a basket of oranges and places one under the chin, held securely against the chest, of each man at the head of the line. Blowing a whistle, a signal for the game to begin and the band to play, the men turn to the women behind them and attempt to transfer the oranges from under their chins to under the chins of the women - without using their hands. -LRB- This maneuver can only be accomplished by embracing one's partner passionately and firmly pressing the orange against the partner's throat until he or she can grip it tightly enough with the chin to turn and offer it to the person next in line, where the process begins anew. However, the slightest miscalculation, which can be brought about by any number of human frailties - haste, modesty, inhibition or lack of co - ordination - will surely result in losing control of the orange so that it either falls to the floor -LSB- where it can only be picked up by the chin -RSB- or it starts to roll and slide from its proper place to some other, less proper, spot on the human anatomy, forcing the man or the woman to retrieve it - again, with the chin only. This latter is an activity which can prove extremely satisfying to old friends, or even new friends who wish to become old friends, but can only be a torment for total strangers and/or the English -RRB-. VARIOUS SHOTS - ORANGE GAME Some of the couples in various states of confusion, entanglement and intimacy - all of them, naturally, hilarious. TWO SHOT - PETER AND GIRL It is his turn to take the orange from a very short, but quite shapely young girl in a strapless dress -LRB- held up by an abundance of cantilever -RRB-. PETER ` takes' when he sees the twin obstacles which might - and probably will - encumber the game but increase his worldly experience. The contest begins : because of her stature he is forced to move in low, making the ordinary embrace needed for success difficult, if not impossible. Then, inexorably, the orange starts to slip down the GIRL's front. Manfully he goes after it. CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE She is enjoying it thoroughly. TWO SHOT - PETER AND GIRL Bending over backwards, in a sort of frontal half - nelson, PETER makes a last valiant effort and voil\u00e0, grips the orange under his chin - amid much cheering and congratulations from members of his TEAM. Now he turns to REGGIE and they face one another for a moment. PETER En garde. REGGIE Lay on, MacDuff. They go at it, working their bodies together to make it all possible. Then, for a moment, the game and the onlookers seem less important than their proximity. But, alas, they are too good despite themselves and the transfer is accomplished - again with appreciative cheers from the TEAM. REGGIE, with the orange now tucked firmly under her chin, turns to the next team - member in line and is locked in an embrace before she realizes her partner is LEOPOLD GIDEON, the short, fat, balding man seen at the funeral and later in BARTHOLOMEW's photo. REGGIE starts to draw back but GIDEON holds her tightly. Putting his chin around the orange he is able to speak quietly in REGGIE's ear. CLOSE TWO SHOT - REGGIE AND GIDEON Her eyes show her fright as he whispers : GIDEON Mrs. Lampert - REGGIE What do you want? GIDEON Did n't Charles tell you, Mrs. Lampert? REGGIE Tell me what? GIDEON It does n't belong to you, Mrs. Lampert - you do know that, do n't you? REGGIE I do n't know anything. GIDEON Mrs. Lampert, any morning now you could wake up dead. REGGIE Leave me alone -! GIDEON Dead, Mrs. Lampert - like last week's news - like Charles, Mrs. Lampert - REGGIE -LRB- SHOUTING. -RRB- Stop it! CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE'S AND GIDEON'S FEET As REGGIE hauls off and kicks GIDEON full in the shin. CLOSE SHOT - GIDEON He stiffens as the pain registers. Instead of shouting he merely closes his eyes. WIDER ANGLE Including REGGIE and GIDEON and PETER standing by, as well as some spectators. PETER comes quickly forward. PETER Reggie - what's the trouble? REGGIE realizes that GIDEON no longer offers any resistance. She steps back, leaving GIDEON holding the orange, foolishly, under his chin, his eyes still closed. REGGIE stares at him for a moment. REGGIE He - he was stepping on my foot. CLOSE SHOT - GIDEON Slowly, his eyes open and tears stream from them, rolling down his cheeks. He speaks while holding the orange. GIDEON Forgive me - it was quite unintentional, I'm sure. WIDER ANGLE GIDEON turns to the woman behind him and the game resumes. REGGIE -LRB- starting off. -RRB- Wait for me - I wo n't be long. She goes off toward the rear of the club and starts down a flight of stairs. CLOSE SHOT - PETER Watching her go, a concerned look on his face.", "INT. NIGHTCLUB LOUNGE -- NIGHT A small, dimly lit area with a door to the combination men's - women's room and a ` phone cabin with a solid door. The music and shouting from upstairs float down. REGGIE comes down the stairs and goes to the ` phone, flicking on the light and closing the door after her.", "INT. PHONE BOOTH -- NIGHT REGGIE takes a jeton -LRB- ` phone token -RRB- from her bag and drops it in the slot. Then she takes out a slip of paper -LRB- the one given her by BARTHOLOMEW -RRB- and dials the number written on it. She listens to it ring, then evidently he answers. REGGIE -LRB- into ` phone. -RRB- Mr. Bartholomew - it's me, Reggie Lampert - listen Mr. Bartholomew : I've seen one of the. -LRB- she stops. -RRB- Mr. Bartholomew? Can you hear me? She realizes she has not pushed the button which takes her coin and allows the party at the other end to hear her voice. REGGIE Hello - Mr. Bartholomew - it's me, Regina Lam. Suddenly the door of the booth opens and REGGIE wheels to look, slamming the receiver down as she does. REVERSE SHOT - ` PHONE BOOTH - NIGHT TEX PENTHOLLOW, the second man from the funeral -LRB- and photo -RRB-, the man in the corduroy suit and string tie, stands in the doorway, his face calm, a hand - rolled but unlit cigarette in his mouth. He has put one foot up against the side of the door so she ca n't leave. REGGIE stares at him, terrified. TEX Howdy, Miz Lampert. REGGIE Wha - what do you want? TEX takes a book of matches from his pocket. TEX You know what I want, Miz Lampert. REGGIE No - no, I'm do n't. TEX Come on now - sure you do. An' you'd better give it to me, Miz Lampert - cuz I ai n't foolin'. No sireebob! He strikes a match and lights his cigarette, holding the burning match in his hand afterward. REGGIE I do n't know what - TEX, without a word, throws the still - lit match into the booth, onto REGGIE's lap. She beats it out frantically. REGGIE What are you doing? TEX lights another match and throws it into her lap. She beats this one out too. REGGIE Stop that! TEX Do n't make too much noise, Miz Lampert - He lights another match and reaches out toward her hair with it. She shrinks back. TEX It could get a whole lot worse. Then he throws it into her lap. As he continues to speak he punctuates each phrase or so with another lit match. REGGIE is too busy beating them out to do anything else. TEX It belongs to me, Miz Lampert - an' if you do n't give it to me your life ai n't gon na be worth the paper it's printed on. You savvy what I'm sayin', Miz Lampert? REGGIE Please stop - please! TEX You think on it real careful - like, Miz Lampert - y' hear? CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE As she frantically beats out the matches, her eyes on her work. REGGIE You're insane, absolutely insane! She looks up, then blinks her eyes.", "INT.'PHONE BOOTH OVER REGGIE'S SHOULDER There is no one there. REGGIE rises and steps out of the booth.", "INT. NIGHTCLUB LOUNGE -- NIGHT As REGGIE looks around. There is no one there.", "INT. PHONE BOOTH As REGGIE returns, sits and starts to put another jeton into the slot. She notices her hand is shaking. She reaches back into her bag, removes a piece of candy, puts it into her mouth and leans her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. Suddenly the door opens and REGGIE shrieks - but this time it is PETER. PETER What are you doing in here? REGGIE -LRB- a sigh of relief. -RRB- Having a nervous breakdown.", "INT. HOTEL LOBBY -- NIGHT REGGIE and PETER enter the deserted lobby. PETER You have n't said a word since we left the club - what happened back there? REGGIE I - I'm not sure if I'm supposed to tell you or not. PETER I do n't think I follow you. REGGIE He said if I told anybody it could prove fatal for them as well as me. PETER Who said? REGGIE That's what I'm not supposed to say. PETER Stop this nonsense! If you're in some sort of trouble I want to know about it. REGGIE Stop bullying me. Everybody's bullying me. PETER I was n't - REGGIE Yes, you were - you called it nonsense. Being murdered in cold blood is n't nonsense. Wait until it happens to you sometime. She goes to the desk, followed by PETER, where the NIGHT CLERK greets them sleepily. NIGHT CLERK Bonsoir. REGGIE Bonsoir. Quarante - deux, s ` il vous plait. The NIGHT CLERK gets the key off a hook and hands it to REGGIE. NIGHT CLERK Bonne nuit. REGGIE -LRB- to PETER. -RRB- Would you mind seeing me to the door? PETER Of course not. They go to the elevator where he opens the door for her.", "INT. ELEVATOR -- NIGHT As REGGIE and PETER enter the small cage. It is somewhat cramped, forcing them to stand close together. REGGIE This is quite a place for making friends, is n't it? He presses the button and the elevator starts to rise. PETER You said this afternoon that your husband was mixed up in something. REGGIE -LRB- busy examining the cleft in his chin. -RRB- How do you shave in there? PETER What was it? REGGIE What was what? PETER What your husband was mixed up in. REGGIE Look, I know it's asking you to stretch your imagination, but ca n't you pretend for a moment that I'm a woman and that you're a - PETER Do n't you know I could already be arrested for transporting a minor above the first floor? The elevator stops. PETER We're here. REGGIE Where? PETER On the street where you live. REGGIE How about once more around the park? He reaches across her and opens the door. PETER Out.", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR THIRD LANDING -- NIGHT As REGGIE leaves the elevator, followed by PETER. They walk to her door. There is a moment of silence as she looks at him. REGGIE -LRB- imitating PETER. -RRB- Him : ` Do you mind if I come in for a nightcap, Reggie?' Her : ` Well - it is awfully late.' Him : ` Just one, all right?' Her : ` Promise you'll behave yourself.' Him : ` Sorry, baby, I never make promises I ca n't keep.' PETER How would you like a spanking? REGGIE How would you like a punch in the nose? Stop treating me like a child. PETER Then stop acting like one. If you're really in some kind of trouble, I'd like to hear about it. Otherwise, it's late, I'm tired and I'm going home to bed. REGGIE Do you know what's wrong with you? PETER What? REGGIE Nothing. Good night. PETER Good night. He turns and leaves. She smiles slightly, then turns and puts the key into the door and opens it.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT Featuring the door. REGGIE enters, then stops abruptly, the doorknob still in her hand. ANOTHER ANGLE The room has been torn apart. And standing in the center is HERMAN SCOBIE, the large man in the battered raincoat. He starts slowly advancing toward REGGIE. SCOBIE Where is it, lady - where've you got it? CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE REGGIE -LRB- terrified. -RRB- I do n't know - I do n't know! I do n't - She stops as she sees something. CLOSE SHOT - SCOBIE'S HAND Instead of a human hand there is a twin - pronged metal one. WIDER ANGLE SCOBIE sees where REGGIE is staring ; looks down at it himself, then lunges at her, raising the hand to strike. SCOBIE I want it - give it to me - it's mine! The hand is starting to come down. REGGIE, moving quickly, turns and flies out. REGGIE -LRB- screaming. -RRB- Peter -! Peter -!", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR THIRD LANDING -- NIGHT As REGGIE runs out, slamming the door after her, the metal hand crashes against the wooden panel inside the door and splinters through it, visible on this side now. Petrified with fear, REGGIE can only stare dumbly at the protruding claw. ANOTHER ANGLE As PETER comes running up to her. He sees the metal hand. REGGIE A man - he tried to kill me! Pulling her aside, PETER takes hold of the key -LRB- still in the outside lock -RRB- and turns it slowly and quietly. Then, using all his weight, he slams the door open as far as it will go, making sure to hold it that way as he steps in.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT Inside, PETER pulls back the door and slugs the startled SCOBIE full on the jaw. His head bangs against the wall but he manages to raise a foot and push PETER violently away, sending him sprawling back, toppling across the bed and over, head first, onto the floor on the other side, where he disappears. Hurrying, SCOBIE puts his foot against the door and pushes it away, ripping his metal hand free. He then rushes to the open window and climbs out.", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR THIRD LANDING -- NIGHT REGGIE waits anxiously. When she hears nothing, she gingerly looks into the room.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE -LRB- entering cautiously. -RRB- Peter -? -LRB- alarmed. -RRB- Peter! Where are you? ANOTHER ANGLE Showing the disarranged room, empty of people. Then, slowly PETER's hand appears from behind the bed, shaking groggily. REGGIE rushes to him and helps him sit on the bed. REGGIE Peter - are you all right? PETER I think I sprained my pride. -LRB- He looks around. -RRB- Where'd he go? REGGIE Out of the window, I guess - I did n't see him. PETER goes, unsteady on his feet, to the window and looks out. He then turns back. PETER Lock the door and the window - and do n't let anyone in except me. I'll be back in a minute. REGGIE Be careful, Peter. PETER -LRB- one leg over the sill. -RRB- You took the words right out of my mouth. He climbs out.", "EXT. HOTEL WINDOW THIRD FLOOR -- NIGHT Outside the window to REGGIE's room is a small, false balcony, consisting mostly of railing, with barely enough room between it and the building's facade for a man to stand. PETER appears and looks down over the railing.", "EXT. HOTEL SIDEWALK (FROM ABOVE) -- NIGHT SHOOTING STRAIGHT DOWN ; there is no one on the street and it is too far to jump. MED. SHOT - PETER - BALCONY He now looks around. REGGIE's is the last such balcony on one side, but there are two or three on the other. PETER climbs over the railing and, holding on to it with one hand, reaches for the railing on the next balcony. CLOSE SHOT - PETER'S HAND As it stretches for the railing ; it is several inches short of touching it. MED. SHOT - PETER As he straightens up and prepares to jump.", "EXT. HOTEL FACADE -- NIGHT From the GROUND. PETER, high above, jumps to the next balcony. MED. SHOT - PETER As he climbs over the railing of the second balcony. He sees a light coming through the window and looks in. WOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Oh! PETER leaves the window quickly, climbing over the railing on his way to the next balcony. As he does, the following exchange is heard -LRB- in British English -RRB-. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What is it now, Pamela? WOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It happened again, Henry - another strange man peered in the window at me and then went away. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Bad luck, Pamela.", "EXT. HOTEL FACADE -- NIGHT From the GROUND as PETER jumps to the next balcony. MED. SHOT - PETER As he climbs over the rail to the third balcony. There is a light coming from this window, too. PETER looks in. MED. SHOT - WINDOW - OVER PETER'S SHOULDER Inside the room are GIDEON, TEX, and SCOBIE in the midst of a heated discussion. GIDEON That was a dumb move, Herman - a dumb move. TEX And then some. If you'd only told us you was goin' to her room we could've kept'em busy -", "INT. GIDEON'S HOTEL ROOM -- NIGHT TEX - but sneakin' in there on your own that - a - way, why, man, you was bound to get yore tokus kicked. I mean, what'd you think he'd do - walk up'n' shake you by that hand o' yores? PETER'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- That's right, Herman - you did n't leave me much choice. They all turn toward the window. WIDER ANGLE As PETER climbs in through the window and joins them. PETER -LRB- to SCOBIE. -RRB- I did n't hurt you, did I? SCOBIE shakes his head and turns away. GIDEON -LRB- eagerly. -RRB- Never mind that - did you get the money? PETER How could I with the three Marx Brothers breathing down my neck? You said you'd let me handle it alone -! The girl trusts me. If she's got it, I'll find out about it. But you've got to leave me alone. SCOBIE -LRB- to GIDEON and TEX. -RRB- We took all the chances. The money belongs to us, not him! TEX Do n't be un - neighborly - like, Herman - do n't forget he done us a little ol' favor. SCOBIE Yeah? What's that? TEX He took care of Charlie for us. GIDEON -LRB- to PETER. -RRB- We appreciate it, really we do. SCOBIE But who asked him? Three shares are enough - I'd say he's out! PETER A third of nothing is nothing, Herman. Make up your minds - she's waiting for me. GIDEON -LRB- thoughtfully. -RRB- I do n't see how another twenty - four hours could hurt. TEX Shoot no, not after all these years. SCOBIE Then he gets it out of your share, not mine! Not mine! SCOBIE turns and storms out of the door, slamming it. GIDEON begins sneezing, takes a bottle of pills from his pocket and swallows two white tablets. GIDEON I suggest you get about your business - nothing soothes Herman like success. TEX -LRB- chuckling. -RRB- That's right - it's like ticklin' a alligator's belly. PETER Who's got the room next to hers? TEX Me. How come? PETER Get another one, will you? I'm going to need it. PETER starts for the door. TEX If you do find the money - you wo n't forget t' tell us about it, will you, fella? PETER -LRB- turning at the door. -RRB- Do n't worry. TEX Oh, I ai n't worryin' - but see this pudgy little fella here? -LRB- indicating GIDEON. -RRB- He worries - an' he's even meaner'n I am.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT As she waits anxiously, smoking a cigarette. There is a KNOCK at the door. REGGIE Who is it? PETER'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It's me. Peter. REGGIE unlocks the door and opens it. PETER enters and she closes the door again - PETER There was no trace of him. All right, Reggie - suppose you tell me what this is all about. REGGIE There are three men - he's one of them - they think I have something that belongs to them. PETER What? REGGIE A quarter of a million dollars. PETER is silent for a moment. PETER Go on. REGGIE That's all. PETER No, it is n't - where's the money? REGGIE I do n't know. Those men killed Charles to get it. But he must not have had it with him on the train. PETER So they think he left it with you. REGGIE But he did n't! I've looked everywhere -. -LRB- tears welling. -RRB- And if I do n't find it -. -LRB- wailing. -RRB- Those men going to kill me. She falls in his arms to be comforted. PETER No, they wo n't - I wo n't let them. REGGIE -LRB- sobbing. -RRB- Please help me, Peter - you're the only one I can trust. PETER Of course I'll help - I told you I would, did n't I? Come on now - He takes out his handkerchief and dries her eyes. REGGIE I'm so hungry I could faint. -LRB- trying to smile. -RRB- I've - I've gotten your suit all wet. PETER That's all right - it's a drip - dry. REGGIE Peter, you've got to promise me something. Promise you'll never lie the way Charles did. Why do people have to tell lies? PETER Usually it's because they want something - and they're afraid the truth wo n't get it for them. REGGIE Do you tell lies? A pause. The phone rings. REGGIE answers it. REGGIE -LRB- into the phone. -RRB- Hello?", "INT. OUTDOOR'PHONE BOOTH -- NIGHT SCOBIE holds the receiver in his metal hand. SCOBIE Mrs. Lampert? - it's me - the man who was in your room a few minutes ago -", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- What do you want? PETER -LRB- whispering. -RRB- Who is it? REGGIE -LRB- covering the receiver. -RRB- The man you had the fight with.", "INT. PHONE BOOTH -- NIGHT SCOBIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- Is Dyle with you?", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE REGGIE Who?", "INT. PHONE BOOTH -- NIGHT SCOBIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- The man who hit me, lady - Dyle - that's his name. What's wrong - is he still there?", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE's back is turned to PETER so he ca n't see her face. He watches her. REGGIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- Yes - that's right. PETER What is it, Reggie - what's he saying? She shakes her head.", "INT. PHONE BOOTH -- NIGHT SCOBIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- Do n't trust him - do n't tell him anything. He's after the money. He hangs up.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT Slowly, REGGIE lowers the ` phone from her ear and hangs it up. She hesitates a moment. PETER What'd he say? REGGIE He - he said if I did n't give the money, he'll kill me. PETER I would n't take that too seriously. REGGIE I believe what he said. PETER They're only trying to scare you, that's all. REGGIE How do you know what they're doing? PETER I do n't - but as long as they think you have the money, or know where it is, or have it without knowing where it is, or do n't even know you have it - REGGIE What are you talking about? PETER You must n't let what he said bother you. It was only words. REGGIE -LRB- softly. -RRB- Words can hurt very much. PETER -LRB- a pause. -RRB- Go to sleep - I'll see you in the morning. REGGIE Do n't put yourself out. PETER Hey - I'm on your side. Remember that. REGGIE Yes, I'll remember. Good night. PETER Good night. He starts out, pausing by the door and examining the hole SCOBIE made in it. PETER But if you'll take my advice -. -LRB- smiling. -RRB- You'll undress in the closet. Oh, and if you need me, just bang on the wall. I'll be next door.", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR -- THIRD LANDING -- NIGHT As PETER -LRB- now called DYLE -RRB- leaves REGGIE's room and closes the door. He pauses for a moment, listening, hears nothing, then bends down and starts pulling at a loose thread in one of his socks. As usual, the thread unravels - and unravels - and unravels some more until it seems that the entire sock has come unknit. Now, taking the long thread, he bends down near the door and, taking his tie - pin, attaches one end of the thread to the bottom of REGGIE's door. He then runs the thread along the floor to his door -LRB- next door -RRB- and works it underneath.", "INT. DYLE'S ROOM -- NIGHT As DYLE enters, the thread in his hand. He goes to a nearby table where he attaches the thread to the heavy room key, which he then balances on the extreme edge of the table.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE is on the phone. REGGIE -LRB- excited. -RRB- - But I am calm, Mr. Bartholomew - what I called to tell you was there's someone else - someone who was n't in that photograph you showed me. He says his name is Peter Joshua - but it is n't - it's Dyle. -LRB- a pause. -RRB- Mr. Bartholomew? - are you still there?", "INT. BARTHOLOMEW'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT BARTHOLOMEW on the phone. He is silent for a moment, his face troubled. BARTHOLOMEW I do n't know who this Mr. Dyle is, but it's just possible we were wrong about who killed your husband.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- You mean he might have - Mr. Bartholomew, I'm catching the next plane out of here - I'm not going to sit here and wait for someone to make chopped liver out of me! DELETED", "INT. BARTHOLOMEW'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- Where are you now - can you meet me? Do you know Les Halles?", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- Yes, where? -LRB- a pause. -RRB- - in fifteen minutes. I'll be there. DELETED", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE hangs up the phone, picks up her bag, checks her hair in the mirror, then starts for the door. She stops as she notices the connecting door leading to the room next door, DYLE's room. She goes to it, silently slips out the key and bends to peer through the keyhole.", "INT. DYLE'S ROOM -- NIGHT (THROUGH KEYHOLE) DYLE is removing his coat. Before he lays it over a chair, he takes a gun from the inside pocket, checks it, and tucks it into his belt.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE reacts in surprise and fright, jumps quickly away from the door. She hurries to the door leading to the hall and reaches for the knob.", "INT. DYLE'S ROOM -- NIGHT CLOSE SHOT - ROOM KEY. The thread attached to it is pulled -LRB- by the action of REGGIE's door opening -RRB- and the key falls to the floor with a clatter. WIDE ANGLE Including DYLE as he reacts, his head wheeling to look at the key. Snatching his coat, he runs for the door.", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR -- THIRD LANDING -- NIGHT As REGGIE sneaks past DYLE's door. When she has passed, the door opens and DYLE appears. REGGIE takes off on the run, turning the corner and starting down the stairs. DYLE Reggie -! He starts after her.", "INT. HOTEL LOBBY -- NIGHT It is deserted, except for the sleeping NIGHT PORTER, as REGGIE comes running down the stairs. DYLE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Reggie! She turns, looking back towards the sound of his voice, but does not slacken her speed. She runs out the front door.", "EXT. HOTEL ENTRANCE -- NIGHT As REGGIE runs out. She looks up the street, sees a TAXI and hails it. REGGIE Taxi -! It pulls over to the curb. Looking once more over her shoulder she takes a bill out of her pocket, opens the cab door, slams it loudly without getting in and hands the bill to the driver. REGGIE N'importe o\u00f9 - vite! Allez - y! She jumps back into the shadows of a nearby doorway as the TAXI pulls away. At the same time DYLE runs out of the hotel. Another TAXI is coming down the street. DYLE hails it frantically. DYLE Taxi -! Taxi -! It pulls up and DYLE opens the door. DYLE -LRB- pointing. -RRB- Follow that taxi. DRIVER Comment? DYLE Taxi! Follow! DRIVER Je ne comprends rien. Desperately, DYLE reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a small dictionary and begins flipping through the pages. CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE In the shadows. She lifts her eyes in annoyance. MED. SHOT - TAXI DYLE -LRB- finding the word. -RRB- Suivre - el taxi! DRIVER Ah! Oui, Monsieur. ANOTHER ANGLE REGGIE comes out of the shadows, looks after DYLE's taxi, then hails another one which pulls up. REGGIE -LRB- to DRIVER. -RRB- Aux Halles - vite! DELETED", "EXT. LES HALLES -- NIGHT REGGIE and BARTHOLOMEW walking. The Central Market is teeming with activity - trucks creeping around other trucks, cases of fruit and vegetables stacked on every inch of sidewalk, WORKERS of all types milling around, unloading trucks and stacking crates, little electric carts scooting in and out - and nearby, one of the huge, high - roofed sheds where the butchers work. TWO SHOT - REGGIE AND BARTHOLOMEW CAMERA LEADING them as they walk. BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- looking around. -RRB- Incredible, is n't it? Zola called it ` le ventre de Paris' - the womb of Paris, the belly. She takes a banana from a nearby stall. REGGIE -LRB- peeling it. -RRB- What did you want to see me about, Mr. Bartholomew? BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- leaves a coin on the crate. -RRB- Were you followed? REGGIE Yes, but I lost him. I really did it quite brilliantly. I'm beginning to think women make the best spies. BARTHOLOMEW Agents. REGGIE He has a gun, Mr. Bartholomew - I saw it. BARTHOLOMEW Who? REGGIE Dyle, or whatever his name is. BARTHOLOMEW What does your Mr. Dyle look like, Mrs. Lampert? REGGIE He's hardly my Mr. Dyle. BARTHOLOMEW Describe him. REGGIE Well - he's tall - over six feet - rather thin - in good physical shape, I'd say - dark eyes - quite handsome, really. BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- shaking his head. -RRB- No. REGGIE No, what? BARTHOLOMEW That's not Carson Dyle. REGGIE -LRB- stopping. -RRB- Carson? BARTHOLOMEW There's only one Dyle connected with this affair, Mrs. Lampert - that's Carson. REGGIE You mean you've known about him all along? Why did n't you tell me? BARTHOLOMEW looks at her for a moment, then glances around ; his attention is drawn inside the doorway. BARTHOLOMEW It's enough to make you a vegetarian, is n't it?", "INT. LES HALLES BUTCHERS' SHED -- NIGHT Almost as far as the eye can see, row upon row of beef sides, hung on hooks. TWO SHOT - REGGIE AND BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- TRAVELING -RRB- As REGGIE looks at the hanging beef. REGGIE It's just lucky that I'm not hanging next to one of those things right now. She shudders, throws away her banana and turns back to BARTHOLOMEW. REGGIE Mr. Bartholomew - why did n't you tell me you knew about Dyle? BARTHOLOMEW I did n't see any point. Dyle's dead. REGGIE Dead? Mr. Bartholomew - maybe you'd better tell me what this thing's all about. DELETED", "INT. LES HALLES BISTRO -- NIGHT Lined up at a zinc bar are several BUTCHERS, their white smocks stained with blood. REGGIE and BARTHOLOMEW sit at the table. BARTHOLOMEW I suppose you're old enough to have heard of World War Two? REGGIE Barely, yes. BARTHOLOMEW In 1944, five members of the O.S.S. - the military espionage unit - were ordered behind the German lines for the purpose of delivering $ 250,000 in gold to the French Underground. The five men - A WAITER arrives. WAITER Vous d\u00e9sirez? REGGIE -LRB- smiling. -RRB- They always do that. BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- to the WAITER. -RRB- Caf\u00e9. REGGIE Gratin\u00e9e, choucroute garnie, salade de pommes - et un ballon de rouge. BARTHOLOMEW Mrs. Lampert, I really had n't planned on spending the entire night here. REGGIE Can I at least keep the onion soup? BARTHOLOMEW shrugs. REGGIE -LRB- to the WAITER. -RRB- La soupe tout simplement. The WAITER nods and goes. REGGIE -LRB- anxiously. -RRB- Go on, please - five men - $ 250,000 - the French Underground - BARTHOLOMEW Yes. The five men. They were, of course, your husband, Charles, the three men who showed up at his funeral yesterday, and Carson Dyle. But something went wrong and they were unable to locate their contact. It must have been at that point that they decided to steal the money. REGGIE Steal it how? BARTHOLOMEW By burying it, and then reporting that the Germans had captured it. All they had to do was come back after the war, dig it up and split it five ways - a quarter of a million dollars with no questions asked. REGGIE -LRB- fascinated. -RRB- May I have a cigarette, please? BARTHOLOMEW pulls out a package and she takes one, looks at it and rips off the filter tip. He winces. REGGIE I hate these things - it's like drinking coffee through a veil. She puts the other end in her mouth, then picks up the matches and lights it. BARTHOLOMEW Everything went smoothly enough until after the gold was buried - then, before they could get out, they were ambushed by a German patrol. A machine gun separated Scobie from his right hand - and caught Carson Dyle full in the stomach. REGGIE takes another cigarette from his pack, rips off the filter -LRB- he winces again -RRB- and puts it into her mouth. BARTHOLOMEW What's wrong with that one? He points to the cigarette she just lit, still practically brand - new in the ashtray. REGGIE Oh. Nothing, I guess. What happened then? She hands over the newer one to BARTHOLOMEW, who sadly examines its mutilated end while REGGIE returns to the first cigarette. BARTHOLOMEW Have you any idea what these things cost over here? REGGIE Please go on, Mr. Bartholomew - what happened then? BARTHOLOMEW Scobie was able to travel, but Carson Dyle was clearly dying, so they - The WAITER returns with the coffee and onion soup. WAITER La soupe, c'est pour qui? REGGIE Pour moi. Go on, Mr. Bartholomew. The WAITER puts down the cup and bowl and leaves. BARTHOLOMEW Carson was dying so they were forced to leave him. They finally got back to the base, made their report, and waited for the war to end. Only Charles could n't wait quite as long as the others. He beat them back to the gold, took everything for himself and disappeared. It's taken Gideon, Tex and Scobie all this time to catch up with him again. REGGIE But if they stole all that money - why ca n't you arrest them? BARTHOLOMEW We know what happened from the bits and pieces we were able to paste together - but we still have no proof. REGGIE But what has all this got to do with the C.I.O? BARTHOLOMEW C.I.A., Mrs. Lampert. We're an extension of the wartime O.S.S.. It was our money and we want it back. REGGIE I'm sorry, Mr. Bartholomew, but nothing you've told me has changed my mind. I still intend leaving Paris - tonight. BARTHOLOMEW I would n't advise that, Mrs. Lampert. You'd better consider what happened to your husband when he tried to leave. Those men wo n't be very far away - no matter where you go. In fact, I do n't even see any point in your changing hotels. Please help us, Mrs. Lampert. Your government is counting on you. REGGIE Well, if I'm going to die, I might as well do it for my country. BARTHOLOMEW That's the spirit. REGGIE Oh, stop it. What do you want me to do? BARTHOLOMEW We're anxious to know who this man is - the one calling himself Dyle. REGGIE Maybe he really is Dyle. He could still be alive. BARTHOLOMEW No, Mrs. Lampert. REGGIE But no one actually saw him die. BARTHOLOMEW No, Mrs. Lampert. His death is registered with the War Department in Washington. REGGIE Oh. Then who's this one? BARTHOLOMEW I do n't know - but I think you'd better find out, do n't you? REGGIE Me? Why me? BARTHOLOMEW You're in an ideal position - he trusts you. -LRB- grinning. -RRB- Besides, you said yourself, women make the best spies. REGGIE -LRB- resigned. -RRB- Agents.", "EXT. HOTEL (PLACE ST. ANDR\u00c9 DES ARTS) -- LATE AFTERNOON DYLE leaves the hotel and turns into the Place. A moment later, REGGIE comes cautiously from the hotel. As she watches DYLE, a SANDWICH - MAN advertising a driving school passes the hotel. REGGIE falls in behind him, his tall placard hiding her from view.", "EXT. PLACE ST. ANDR\u00c9 DES ARTS -- LATE AFTERNOON First comes DYLE, passing a sidewalk cafe on the corner, then the SANDWICH - MAN and REGGIE. The SANDWICH - MAN turns off, leaving REGGIE out in the open. A moment later, DYLE passes a GIRL painting a canvas, her easel set up in the middle of the sidewalk. He stops when he has passed her and turns to look at her work. REGGIE, not knowing what to do, and afraid she will be seen by DYLE, who is now looking her way, spins and sits at the sidewalk cafe's nearest table, her back to DYLE. It is already occupied by a middle - aged TOURIST. TWO SHOT - REGGIE AND TOURIST The TOURIST, complete with camera, beret and guide book, looks up from his coffee, surprised. He stares at REGGIE and she stares back. Finally, not knowing what else to do, she smiles, then takes a portion of his brioche and eats it. He smiles back emptily, not knowing what to make of her. REGGIE turns to look at DYLE. MED. SHOT - DYLE He has made his judgment of the painting and now moves on. TWO SHOT - REGGIE AND TOURIST The TOURIST has finally found the courage to speak. As he opens his mouth to make a sound, REGGIE, her eyes on DYLE, rises quickly from the table and goes, leaving a very confused TOURIST with his mouth open. He blinks, then leaves some money on the table and starts after her.", "EXT. PLACE ST. ANDR\u00c9 DES ARTS -- LATE AFTERNOON REGGIE following DYLE. As she passes the GIRL painting, she can not resist turning to see the work. CLOSE SHOT - PAINTING An abstract jumble, nothing recognizable. CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE As she looks from the painting to reality.", "EXT. PLACE ST. ANDR\u00c9 DES ARTS -- LATE AFTERNOON As the scene really looks. MED. SHOT - REGGIE She shrugs, continues after DYLE. Now we see that the TOURIST, in turn, is following her. TOURIST -LRB- calling. -RRB- Fraulein - REGGIE does n't stop. TOURIST Fraulein - REGGIE -LRB- turning but continuing. -RRB- What are you doing, following me? Stop it - we're going to look like a parade. She continues after DYLE. The TOURIST hesitates, then continues after her. MED. SHOT - DYLE He goes to the curb and starts to step off, attempting to cross the Rue Danton, but finds the light against him. He turns back in REGGIE's direction. MED. SHOT - REGGIE Realizing she has to do something before DYLE spots her, she turns and takes the TOURIST's arm and starts walking with him back toward the cafe. REGGIE -LRB- smiling and rattling on. -RRB- How are you? When did you arrive in town? Are you enjoying Paris? It's lovely, is n't it? So many wonderful things to see and do, it makes one's head spin to think of it. She looks back over her shoulder and sees that DYLE is now crossing the Rue Danton, heading for the platform of a bus now stopped at the curb. TOURIST -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Fraulein - REGGIE pulls away from him. REGGIE If you do n't stop following me I'll call the police. She leaves him standing there, more confused than ever, as she starts after DYLE again. DYLE has hopped on the back of the bus as it pulls away. REGGIE hurries across the street, hailing a taxi. REGGIE Taxi -!", "INT. AMERICAN EXPRESS -- LATE AFTERNOON DYLE enters. CAMERA PANNING with him to the head of a stairway leading downstairs, a sign indicating that it leads to the `` MAIL ROOM & TELEPHONES.'' CAMERA PANS back to the door as REGGIE enters. DELETED", "INT. AMERICAN EXPRESS MAIL ROOM -- LATE AFTERNOON DYLE walks to one of several windows. A sign over it reading : `` A - D.'' MED. SHOT - STAIRS REGGIE comes down the stairs. Suddenly she stops. MED. SHOT - DYLE CAMERA ZOOMS in to sign on `` D.'' CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE A confused look on her face. MED. SHOT - DYLE As his turn comes, he addresses the CLERK DYLE Dyle, please. D - Y - L - E. CLERK Yes, Mr. Dyle. I remember. CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE Watching. MED. SHOT - MAIL WINDOW The CLERK takes out a bundle of letters and quickly sorts through it. CLERK I'm sorry, Mr. Dyle - nothing today. DYLE Thanks - see you soon. He turns and heads out, starting up the stairs where REGGIE was but is no longer. As he reaches the fourth or fifth step, a VOICE is heard over the loudspeaker. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Mr. Dyle, please - you're wanted on the telephone - Mr. Dyle. Cabin 4. DYLE stops in his tracks, pondering what to do. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Mr. Dyle. Cabin 4, please. He stops and comes down the stairs, going to the back of the room and into the cabin marked `` 4.'' DYLE -LRB- picking up the phone. -RRB- Yes? CAMERA DOLLIES across an empty cabin to discover REGGIE in the third one, on the phone.", "INT. REGGIE'S CABIN REGGIE on the phone.", "INT. DYLE'S CABIN DYLE on the phone. REGGIE Good morning, Mr. Dyle. DYLE Reggie? REGGIE It's the only name I've got. How about you? DYLE No cat and mouse - you've got me. What do you want to know? REGGIE Why you lied to me. DYLE I had to - for all I knew you could have been in on the whole thing. REGGIE Well, you know now, so please tell me who you are. DYLE But you know my name - it's Dyle. REGGIE Carson Dyle is dead. DYLE Yes, he is. He was my brother. REGGIE Your - DYLE The army thinks he was killed in action by the Germans, but I think they did it - Tex, Gideon and Scobie - and your husband - because he would n't go along with their scheme to steal the gold. I think he threatened to turn them in and they killed him. I'm trying to prove it. They think I'm working with them. But I'm not, and that's the truth. I'm on your side, Reggie - please believe that. REGGIE How can I? You lied to me - the way Charles did - and after promising you would n't. Oh, I want to believe you, Peter. oh, but I ca n't call you that anymore, can I? It will take me a while to get used to your new name - which I do n't even know yet. What is it? -LRB- pause. -RRB- Are n't you going to tell me? -LRB- pause. -RRB- Hello -? She opens the door of the cabin and starts out. MED. SHOT - PHONE CABINS As REGGIE steps out of her cabin and starts looking in the others. They are all occupied except one and she looks inside it. CLOSE SHOT - EMPTY CABIN The receiver hangs by its cord, swinging back and forth. MED. SHOT - REGGIE As she looks at it, confused.", "INT. AMERICAN EXPRESS -- DAY DYLE and SCOBIE stand together, waiting for the elevator, SCOBIE clearly holding a gun in the pocket of his raincoat. SCOBIE -LRB- quietly. -RRB- If you do anything funny, or try to talk to anyone, I'll kill you, Dyle - here and now. Okay? DYLE You'll wreck your raincoat. The self - service elevator doors open, one or two PASSENGERS come out and DYLE and SCOBIE enter. A young GIRL starts in after them. SCOBIE Next car, please. He reaches out and presses the top button with his metal hand. The doors close. DELETED", "INT. TOP FLOOR LANDING -- LATE AFTERNOON As SCOBIE follows DYLE out of the elevator. SCOBIE looks around - there is an open door at the end of a short hall. He and DYLE go to it, CAMERA FOLLOWING. Through the door, which SCOBIE closes behind them, is a flight of stairs, leading up to a second floor. SCOBIE Okay - turn around. DYLE turns to find SCOBIE's gun out of the pocket and pointing at him. SCOBIE now transfers it to his metal hand and goes to DYLE, where he proceeds to frisk him. Finding the gun DYLE carries in his inside coat pocket, SCOBIE removes it. During the following conversation he will shake open the revolving magazine and let the bullets fall out onto the floor before handing back the emptied gun to DYLE. Then he will transfer his own gun back to his good hand. SCOBIE Sit down. Shrugging, DYLE sits on the third step. DYLE What now? SCOBIE We wait - with our mouths shut.", "INT. AMERICAN EXPRESS -- NIGHT The last EMPLOYEES leave the building as the WATCHMAN locks the front door after them.", "INT. TOP FLOOR LANDING -- NIGHT In the semi - darkness, DYLE is still sitting on the third step, SCOBIE still facing him with a gun. DYLE How long do you intend -? SCOBIE I said with the mouth shut. DYLE yawns wide. DYLE Sorry about that. SCOBIE Okay - up there. DYLE gets to his feet and starts up the stairs, followed by SCOBIE. DYLE stops at the door. DYLE Do I knock or something? SCOBIE Open it. DYLE opens the door. The stairs continue up. SCOBIE Keep going. DYLE The view had better be worth it.", "EXT. AMERICAN EXPRESS -- ROOFTOP -- NIGHT A spectacular view of the Paris rooftops and the city lights beyond. DYLE and SCOBIE come out onto a level portion of roof. On the street side, the roof angles down abruptly into a steep, slate - covered pitch, broken only by two widely separated oval - shaped dormer windows. Below these is a rain gutter, then nothing - for seven stories. DYLE Very pretty. Now what? SCOBIE I'll give you a chance, Dyle - which is more than you'd give me. Where's the money? DYLE Is that why you dragged me all the way up here - to ask me that? She has it - you know that. SCOBIE And I say maybe you both have it! One more time, Dyle - where is it? DYLE Supposing I did have it - which I do n't - do you really think I'd hand it over? SCOBIE You're out, Dyle - right now! SCOBIE aims the gun and starts advancing toward DYLE. SCOBIE Step back. DYLE turns and looks - there is nothing behind him but a sheer drop to the street. DYLE Back where? SCOBIE That's the idea. Moving quickly, DYLE lashes out and hacks SCOBIE's gun hand with the side of his palm and the gun falls to the roof. Following through, DYLE punches the large man full in the jaw, but instead of falling, SCOBIE wraps his arm around DYLE, holding on tightly until his head clears. Then, to his amazement, DYLE is lifted into the air and, unable to break the bear - hold, carried toward the edge of the roof. Working his arms between their two bodies, DYLE suddenly flails them out with all his strength and the hold is broken, but at the price of his coat and the flesh on his back as SCOBIE's metal claw rips through both, a wound extending from the center of DYLE's back to his shoulder. Both men look around for the gun, spot it simultaneously and leap for it, both landing short of the mark. Now they grapple with one another, each trying to break free and reach for the gun. CLOSE SHOT - THEIR HANDS Two hands, one real, one metal, inch toward the gun. MED. SHOT - DYLE AND SCOBIE The battle is going to SCOBIE whose weight and strength are beginning to tire DYLE, who is now on his back, trying to stop SCOBIE from crawling over him. He has the large man by both lapels of the raincoat in a last - ditch effort to hold him. But SCOBIE, his face horribly distorted from the strain, continues to inch forward toward the gun. Suddenly, DYLE releases his hold. With nothing restraining him, SCOBIE lurches forward, tumbling past the gun, his momentum carrying him onto the sloping part of the roof, where he begins sliding down. SCOBIE beats wildly at the the slate with his claw, trying to gouge a grip. CLOSE SHOT - SCOBIE'S CLAW As it slides across the slate, making a hideous scratching sound and causing sparks to fly. MED. SHOT - SCOBIE As he slides over the edge and disappears. CLOSE SHOT - DYLE As he watches, hypnotized. CLOSE SHOT - ROOF EDGE There appears to be no sign of SCOBIE. Then CAMERA ZOOMS IN FOR A TIGHT CLOSE SHOT OF SCOBIE'S metal hand, gripping the rain gutter at the very edge. MED. SHOT - DYLE Having seen the claw, he rises and walks to the very edge of the level part of the roof. DYLE Herman? MED. SHOT - SCOBIE As he hangs, seven stories over the street, by his metal hand. SCOBIE Yeah? MED. SHOT - DYLE He finds it hard to believe. DYLE How are you doing? SCOBIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- How do you think? DYLE If you get bored, try writing ` Love thy neighbor' a hundred times on the side of the building. DYLE turns and leaves going down the stairs.", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR -- THIRD LANDING -- NIGHT The HOTEL MANAGER is busy taping a piece of cardboard over the hole ripped in REGGIE's door by SCOBIE's metal hand the night before. DYLE leaves the elevator and goes to his own door. The MANAGER eyes him coldly. DYLE `` takes'' the look. DYLE I did n't do it. MANAGER The next time madame forgets her key, there is another one at the desk. DYLE smiles, then enters his room.", "INT. DYLE'S ROOM -- NIGHT He closes the door and starts to remove his torn coat, wincing.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE, smoking on the bed, sits up when she hears DYLE moving about in his room. She goes to the connecting door, unlocks her side, tries the knob, finds it still bolted from his side and knocks. REGGIE Is that you?", "INT. DYLE'S ROOM -- NIGHT DYLE goes to the door, throws back the bolt and opens the door. REGGIE enters. REGGIE Did n't anyone ever tell you it's impolite to -. -LRB- seeing his injured back. -RRB- What happened? DYLE I met a man with sharp nails. REGGIE Scobie? DYLE I left him hanging around the American Express. REGGIE Come on - I've got something that stings like crazy. She leads him into her room.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT As REGGIE and DYLE enter from his room. She leads him to the bed. REGGIE Take off your shirt and lie down. As REGGIE goes to the bathroom, DYLE takes off his torn shirt, revealing a torn and bloody T - shirt. He lies face downwards on the bed. REGGIE returns, carrying cotton, gauze, tape, scissors, and disinfectant. She sits next to him and lifts up his T - shirt to examine the wound. DYLE -LRB- wincing. -RRB- Listen - all I really want is an estimate. REGGIE It's not so bad. You may not be able to lie on your back for a few days - but, then, you can lie from any position, ca n't you? She wets the cotton with disinfectant and begins cleaning the wound. He winces. REGGIE Does it hurt? DYLE Have n't you got a bullet I can bite? She continues working on his back, cleaning it, then bandaging it while they talk. REGGIE Are you really Carson Dyle's brother? DYLE Would you like to see my passport? REGGIE Your passport! What kind of a proof is that? DYLE Would you like to see where I was tattooed? REGGIE Sure. DYLE Okay, I'll drive you around there some day. -LRB- his back stinging. -RRB- Ouch! REGGIE Ha ha. You could at least tell me what your first name is these days. DYLE Alexander. REGGIE Is there a Mrs. Dyle? DYLE Yes, but we're divorced. REGGIE I thought that was Peter Joshua. DYLE -LRB- smiling. -RRB- I'm no easier to live with than he was. REGGIE -LRB- finishing the bandage. -RRB- There - you're a new man. As they continue talking, he rises from the bed and goes into his own room. REGGIE remains on the bed, watching him through the open door as he puts on a fresh T - shirt and shirt. DYLE I'm sorry I could n't tell you the truth, but I had to find out your part in all this. REGGIE Alex - how can you tell if someone is lying or not? DYLE You ca n't. REGGIE There must be some way. DYLE There's an old riddle about two tribes of Indians - the Whitefeet always tell the truth and the Blackfeet always lie. So one day you meet an Indian, you ask him if he's a truthful Whitefoot or a lying Blackfoot? He tells you he's a truthful Whitefoot, but which one is he? REGGIE Why could n't you just look at his feet? DYLE Because he's wearing moccasins. REGGIE Oh. Well, then he's a truthful Whitefoot, of course. DYLE Why not a lying Blackfoot? REGGIE -LRB- confused. -RRB- Which one are you? DYLE -LRB- entering, smiling. -RRB- Whitefoot, of course. REGGIE Come here. He goes to the bed. REGGIE Sit down. He sits. REGGIE I hope it turns out you're a Whitefoot, Alex - I could be very happy hanging around the tepee. DYLE Reggie - listen to me - REGGIE Oh - oh - here it comes. The fatherly talk. You forget I'm already a widow. DYLE So was Juliet - at fifteen. REGGIE I'm not fifteen. DYLE Well, there's your trouble right there - you're too old for me. REGGIE Why ca n't you be serious? DYLE There, you said it. REGGIE Said what? DYLE Serious. When a man gets to be my age that's the last word he ever wants to hear. I do n't want to be serious - and I especially do n't want you to be. REGGIE Okay - I'll tell you what - we'll just sit around all day long being frivolous - how about that? She starts kissing him on the neck, on the chin, on the cheek. DYLE Now please, Reggie - cut it out. REGGIE -LRB- pulling back. -RRB- Okay. DYLE What are you doing? REGGIE Cutting it out. DYLE Who told you to do that? REGGIE You did. DYLE But I'm not through complaining yet. REGGIE Oh. -LRB- She starts kissing him again. -RRB- DYLE Now please, Reggie - cut it out. REGGIE I think I love you, Alex - She kisses him on the mouth. The phone rings. He tries to talk as she continues kissing him. DYLE -LRB- mumbling. -RRB- The phone's ringing - REGGIE Whoever it is wo n't give up - and neither will I. The phone continues to ring and she continues to kiss him. Finally, REGGIE reaches out to the bedstand and takes the phone off the hook. She brings the receiver up to their mouths and mumbles into it. REGGIE -LRB- on phone. -RRB- Sorry - I was just - uh - nibbling on something.", "INT. TEX'S ROOM -- NIGHT TEX speaks into the phone. TEX Miz Lampert, my buddies'n me, we'd oblige it mighty highly if you could mosey on across the hall'n chew the fat with us for a spell.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT DYLE is watching her. REGGIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- Can you give me one good reason why I should?", "INT. TEX'S ROOM -- NIGHT TEX -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- Yes, ma'am. A little one - ` bout seven or eight years old. Th' little tyke keeps callin' you his Aunt Reggie - ai n't that cute?", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT She covers the phone and turns to DYLE in alarm. REGGIE They've got Jean - Louis! DYLE That sounds like their problem. REGGIE -LRB- into the phone. -RRB- I'll be right there.", "INT. TEX'S ROOM -- NIGHT TEX -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- We'll be waitin' in room forty - seven, Miz Lampert - so you just wiggle on over.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT As REGGIE hangs up. REGGIE What day is it? DYLE Tuesday. REGGIE Lord, I forgot all about it - Sylvie works late Tuesday nights - she always leaves him with me. They would n't do anything to a little boy, would they? DYLE I do n't know - it depends on whether or not they've already eaten.", "INT. TEX'S ROOM -- NIGHT CLOSE SHOT - JEAN - LOUIS. He looks around, uncertainly, first one way, then the other. CAMERA PULLS BACK to show him sitting on SCOBIE's knee, the large man holding him with his good hand, the metal one in his pocket. TEX sits next to them while GIDEON nervously paces the floor. When GIDEON begins sneezing he takes the small bottle of pills from his pocket and downs one or two, swallowing some water. SCOBIE Hey, Tex - move the kid to the other knee or something, will you? My leg's going to sleep. TEX lifts JEAN - LOUIS and puts him down on SCOBIE's other knee. TEX Upsy - daisy. JEAN-LOUIS Are you a real cowboy? TEX Sure am. JEAN-LOUIS Then where is your gun? TEX -LRB- taking out his gun. -RRB- Right here - see? GIDEON Will you put that thing away! A KNOCK at the door. GIDEON goes to open it. REGGIE and DYLE enter. She sees JEAN - LOUIS and TEX's gun. REGGIE Jean - Louis! She snatches him off SCOBIE's lap. TEX Howdy, Miz Lampert. SCOBIE -LRB- glaring at DYLE. -RRB- Who invited you? DYLE Hello, Herman, it was a happy landing, I see. REGGIE I'd better call Sylvie - she must be frantic. She starts for the door with JEAN - LOUIS. GIDEON blocks her way. GIDEON I'm afraid that will have to wait, Mrs. Lampert. REGGIE But his mother - GIDEON She is n't going to be anybody's mother unless you answer some questions. TEX This ai n't no game, Miz Lampert. SCOBIE We want that money - now! DYLE -LRB- forcefully. -RRB- Be quiet, all of you! The THREE MEN look at him, surprised by his tone. DYLE And stop threatening that boy. He does n't have the money. Mrs. Lampert does n't either. SCOBIE Then who does? DYLE I do n't know, Herman - maybe you do. SCOBIE Me? DYLE -LRB- to TEX. -RRB- Or you -. -LRB- to GIDEON. -RRB- Or you - GIDEON, TEX & SCOBIE -LRB- together. -RRB- That's the most ridiculous -! You gone loco? Listen to the man! DYLE Slowly. Suppose one of you found Charles here in Paris, followed him, cornered him on the train, threw him out the window and took the money. SCOBIE -LRB- after a pause. -RRB- That's a crock! If one of us did that he would n't hang around here waiting for the other two to wise up. DYLE But he'd have to. If he left he'd be admitting his guilt - and the others would know what happened. Whoever it is has to wait here, pretending to look for the money, waiting for the rest of us to give up and go home. That's when he'll be safe and not a minute before. A pause as the THREE MEN look at one another. GIDEON Up till now we always figured she had the money - but you know so much about it, maybe you've got it. DYLE Then what am I doing here? You did n't know anything about me - I'm the only one who could have taken it and kept right on going. SCOBIE He's just tryin' to throw us off! They've got it, I tell you! Why do n't we search their rooms? DYLE -LRB- exchanging looks with REGGIE. -RRB- It's all right with us - TEX -LRB- rising. -RRB- What are we wastin' time for? Let's go. DYLE And while we're waiting, we might as well go through yours. SCOBIE -LRB- stopping. -RRB- Not my room! DYLE What's wrong, Herman - have you got something to hide? -LRB- a pause, then smiling. -RRB- Then I take it there are no objections. The THREE MEN look at one another unhappily. DYLE We'd better exchange keys. Here's mine. SCOBIE I'll take that. He takes DYLE's key and gives DYLE his. GIDEON goes to REGGIE, takes her key and gives her his own. TEX Mine's in the door. Ariva durchy, y' all. The THREE MEN file out. DYLE and REGGIE exchange looks. DYLE Come on - let's get busy. Who gets your vote? REGGIE Scobie - he's the one that objected. DYLE -LRB- handing her the boy. -RRB- He's all yours. I'll do Tex and Gideon. Take Jean - Louis with you - and make sure you bolt the door from inside. REGGIE Viens, Jean - Louis - we're going to have a treasure hunt. JEAN-LOUIS -LRB- joining them. -RRB- Oh, la! If I find the treasure, will I win a prize? REGGIE -LRB- to DYLE. -RRB- What should we give him? DYLE How about $ 25,000? Or do you think it would spoil him? She smiles, takes JEAN - LOUIS' hand and leaves. DYLE turns to survey TEX's room. He goes first to the drawer in the night table - empty ; and the bed, looking in it and under it. Then he goes to the desk and opens the drawers - also empty. The bureau is next - he opens all three double drawers and they, too, are completely empty. Frowning, he goes to the armoire and opens it - shelves and hanging bar are likewise bare. Then, CAMERA PANNING DOWN, he sees the only thing he's found so far in the room - a pair of fine cowboy boots.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT CLOSE SHOT - AIRLINES BAG. CAMERA PULLS BACK to include GIDEON, staring down at it as it lies on the table in the center of the room. GIDEON -LRB- eyes on the bag. -RRB- Tex? ANOTHER ANGLE Including TEX, busy going through the bureau. He looks up, then joins GIDEON. TEX What's that? GIDEON empties the contents of the bag on the table, then starts examining the various items. He opens the wallet. INSERT - WALLET Inside, the initials `` C.L.'' are printed in gold. TEX'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Charlie's stuff? GIDEON'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Looks like it. MED. SHOT - TEX & GIDEON TEX Mebbe we'd better call Herman. GIDEON has put the wallet aside and now picks up the letter, removing it from the envelope and reading it. GIDEON What for? If it's not here, why bother him? TEX And if it is? GIDEON -LRB- a pause. -RRB- Why bother him? A broad grin from TEX.. They continue going through the items from the bag. TEX You sure nuthin's missin'? GIDEON No. The police have kindly provided us with a list. TEX takes the list, examines it, then folds it and puts it in his pocket. They finish with the items from the bag. TEX There sure ai n't nothin' here worth no quarter of a million. GIDEON Not unless we're blind. TEX -LRB- staring at GIDEON. -RRB- You think that mebbe we're fishin' the wrong stream? GIDEON Meaning what? TEX You do n't s ` pose one o' us has it, like the man said - I mean, that'd be pretty distasteful - us bein' vet ` rans o' the same war'n' all. GIDEON -LRB- very sincerely. -RRB- You know I'd tell you if I had it. TEX Nachurly. Jus' like I'd tell you. GIDEON Nachurly. And that goes for Herman, too. TEX & GIDEON -LRB- together. -RRB- Nachurly! The TWO MEN look at one another, then smile - then laugh. DELETED", "INT. SCOBIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE on the phone, JEAN - LOUIS standing by. REGGIE - He's all right, Sylvie, honestly. Just hurry up and get here. She hangs up and turns to JEAN - LOUIS. REGGIE Come on, now - if you wanted to hide something, where would you put it? JEAN-LOUIS I know. I would bury it in the garden. REGGIE Swell - only this man does n't have a garden. JEAN-LOUIS Oh. -LRB- Afterthought. -RRB- Neither do I. -LRB- Seeing something. -RRB- Voil\u00e0! REGGIE Voil\u00e0 what? JEAN-LOUIS -LRB- pointing. -RRB- Up there! I would put it up there! REGGIE looks to where JEAN - LOUIS is pointing - to the top of the high armoire. REGGIE You know something, cookie? Why not? Taking one of the straight chairs to the armoire, she stands on it. Although she is still not high enough to see anything, by standing on tip - toes she is able to reach with her hand over the top and grope around blindly. REGGIE I hope I do n't find any little hairy things living up here - wait! There is something! If I can just - yes, I'm getting it - a case of some sort - it's heavy. JEAN-LOUIS -LRB- jumping up and down. -RRB- I found it! I found it! REGGIE If you think you're getting credit for this, you're crazy. JEAN-LOUIS -LRB- ecstatic. -RRB- We won! We won! REGGIE has finally managed to pull down the case - a rectangular black bag about the size and shape of a trombone case. As he climbs off the chair, JEAN - LOUIS suddenly runs to the door, unbolts it and runs into the hall, CAMERA PANNING with him.", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR - THIRD LANDING - NIGHT As JEAN - LOUIS runs out into the hall, shouting. JEAN-LOUIS We found it! We found it! DYLE is the first one to appear, coming out of GIDEON's room. TEX has also appeared from REGGIE's room, followed by GIDEON. JEAN-LOUIS We found it! The THREE MEN rush by JEAN - LOUIS and squeeze simultaneously into SCOBIE's room.", "INT. SCOBIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT As DYLE, TEX and GIDEON enter, REGGIE is placing the little straight black chair to its original position. There is no sign of the black case. DYLE Reggie -? Did you find it? REGGIE No. GIDEON What do you mean, no? TEX The kid said - JEAN-LOUIS -LRB- pointing atop the armoire. -RRB- Up there! It is up there! REGGIE No, Jean - Louis. TEX grabs the chair and moves it to the armoire, climbing up on it and grabbing the bag. REGGIE It's nothing, I tell you! He brings it to the table as DYLE and GIDEON crowd around him, anxious to see. CLOSE SHOTS -LRB- PANNING -RRB- The ring of faces, one at a time. TEX, his jaw muscles working feverishly ; DYLE, his eyes unblinking, a slight smile on his lips ; GIDEON, his mouth open greedily. GROUP SHOT As TEX finally springs the latches and opens the lid. CLOSE SHOT - CASE Inside, neatly packed in velvet fittings, like the parts of a musical instrument, are various portions of and attachments for a metal artificial hand. TEX'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Jumpin' frejoles - it's Herman's spare. GROUP SHOT - THE THREE MEN As they stare at the case, surprised and just a little embarrassed. Slowly TEX lowers the lid. The MEN avoid looking at one another. WIDER ANGLE Including REGGIE and JEAN - LOUIS by the door. REGGIE Where is he? The MEN look at one another. TEX Hey, that's right! DYLE -LRB- already running. -RRB- He's in my room. The THREE MEN hurry past REGGIE and JEAN - LOUIS and out of the door. JEAN-LOUIS What is the matter?", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR -- THIRD LANDING -- NIGHT DYLE, TEX, and GIDEON, followed by REGGIE and JEAN - LOUIS cross the hall to DYLE's room. DYLE turns the key which is still in the door. He enters, followed by the others.", "INT. DYLE'S ROOM -- NIGHT DYLE, TEX and GIDEON stand in the center of the room, looking around. REGGIE and JEAN - LOUIS wait in the open doorway. The room looks like a cyclone hit the place, but there is no sign of SCOBIE. The sound of running water can be heard coming from behind the closed door to the bathroom and DYLE is the first to notice the water beginning to leak out from under the door. DYLE Reggie - you and the boy better wait here.", "INT. BATH -- NIGHT SCOBIE, still dressed in his raincoat, lies face up, his head submerged in the filled tub, the water now pouring over the edge. His face is distorted. DYLE's hand appears and turns off the water. DELETED REVERSE SHOT DYLE, TEX and GIDEON staring at CAMERA. TEX Now who ` da done a mean thing like that? DYLE -LRB- looking carefully at both. -RRB- I'm not quite sure. TEX This ai n't my room. GIDEON Mine, either. DYLE -LRB- considering the situation. -RRB- The police are n't going to like this one bit. GIDEON -LRB- helpful. -RRB- We could dry him off and take him down the hall to his own room. -LRB- looking at the body. -RRB- He really does n't look so bad. TEX We could put him to bed'n let one o' them fem - de - chambers find him in the mornin'. DYLE and GIDEON look at one another. TEX Poor ol' Herman - him'n good luck always was strangers. Maybe now he'll meet up with his other hand someplace - but I sure hope it ai n't waitin' for him in Heaven.", "INT. SCOBIE'S ROOM -- DAY CLOSE SHOT - SCOBIE. The dead man's eyes are open, his jaw hanging, his head lying crazily on the pillow. CAMERA PULLS BACK to show him lying in bed, dressed in his pajamas. CAMERA WHIRLS for a TIGHT CLOSE SHOT of a MAID, her eyes widening as the realization that the man is dead strikes her. Then she screams.", "INT. GRANDPIERRE'S OFFICE -- LATE AFTERNOON CLOSE SHOT - GRANDPIERRE. The policeman is apoplectic. GRANDPIERRE No! No! No! No! CAMERA PULLS BACK to include, REGGIE, DYLE, TEX and GIDEON, all sitting silently in the INSPECTOR's office. GRANDPIERRE A man drowned in his bed - impossible! And in his pajamas - the second one in his pajamas - c'est trop b\u00eate! Stop lying to me -. -LRB- Tapping the side of his nose. -RRB- this nose tells me when you are lying - it is never mistaken, not in twenty - three years - this nose will make me commissaire of police. -LRB- Tapping his fingers on his desk. -RRB- Mr. Dyle or Mr. Joshua - which is it? DYLE Dyle. GRANDPIERRE And yet you registered in Megeve as Mr. Joshua. Do you know it is against the law to register under an assumed name? DYLE No, I did n't. REGGIE It's done in America all the time. GRANDPIERRE raps for silence on his desk. During the pause, he looks into each face in turn. GRANDPIERRE None of you will be permitted to leave Paris - until this matter is cleared up. Only I warn you - I will be watching. We use the guillotine in this country - I have always suspected that the blade coming down causes no more than a slight tickling sensation on the back of the neck. It is only a guess, of course - I hope none of you ever finds out for certain. DELETED", "EXT. QUAI MONTEBELLO -- LATE AFTERNOON (TRAVELING) REGGIE and DYLE walking along the quai, next to the Seine, CAMERA LEADING. REGGIE Who do you think did it - Gideon? DYLE Maybe. REGGIE Or Tex? DYLE Maybe. REGGIE You're a big help. Can I have one of those? They have passed an ice - cream wagon on the corner of the Pont au Double. DYLE shrugs. REGGIE -LRB- to the VENDOR. -RRB- Vanille - chocolat. During the following, the VENDOR makes a double - decker cone and hands it to REGGIE. DYLE pays and they resume their walk - all with no break in the dialogue. REGGIE I think Tex did it. DYLE Why? REGGIE Because I really suspect Gideon - and it is always the person you do n't suspect. DYLE Do women think it's feminine to be so illogical - or ca n't they help it? REGGIE What's so illogical about that? DYLE A. -RRB- It's always the person you do n't suspect ; B. -RRB- that means you think it's Tex because you really suspect Gideon ; therefore C. -RRB- if you think it's Tex, it has to be someone else - Gideon. REGGIE Oh. I guess they just ca n't help it. DYLE Who? REGGIE Women. You know, I ca n't help feeling rather sorry for Scobie. -LRB- a pause. -RRB- Would n't it be nice if we were like that? DYLE What - like Scobie? REGGIE No - Gene Kelly. Remember the way he danced down there next to the river in ` American in Paris' - without a care in the world? This is good, want some? She offers him her cone, thrusting it forward with enough force to dislodge the ice - cream. It lands right next to his lapel, over his outside breast pocket. DYLE -LRB- frowning. -RRB- I'd love some, thanks. REGGIE I'm sorry. He pulls open the pocket with two sticky fingers and looks inside, then shakes his head sadly at what he sees. REGGIE still holds the empty cone, not knowing what to do with it. Seeing this, he takes it and sticks it into his pocket. DYLE No sense messing up the streets. REGGIE Alex - DYLE Hm? REGGIE I'm scared. DYLE Do n't worry, I'm not going to hit you. REGGIE No, about Scobie, I mean. I ca n't think of any reason why he was killed. They resume walking. DYLE Maybe somebody felt that four shares were too many - REGGIE What makes you think that this somebody will be satisfied with three? He wants it all, Alex - that means we're in his way, too. DYLE Yes, I know. REGGIE First your brother, then Charles, now Scobie - we've got to do something! Any minute now we could be assassinated! Would you do anything like that? DYLE -LRB- surprised. -RRB- What? Assassinate somebody? REGGIE No - ANOTHER ANGLE Including the Cathedral of NOTRE DAME in the background. REGGIE - swing down from there on a rope to save the woman you love - like Charles Laughton in ` The Hunchback of Notre Dame'?", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR -- THIRD LANDING -- LATE AFTERNOON As REGGIE and DYLE step from the elevator. REGGIE Hurry up and change - I'm starved. DYLE Let me know what you want - I'll pick a suit that matches. He goes into his room and she goes into hers. DELETED", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- LATE AFTERNOON She enters, fixes her hair in the mirror, then goes to the door connecting her room with DYLE's. She unlocks it, tries to open it, but finds it locked. Disappointed, she knocks. DYLE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What do you want? REGGIE It's the house detective - why have n't you got a girl in there?", "INT. DYLE'S ROOM -- LATE AFTERNOON He calls to her through the closed door as he empties his pockets. DYLE Lord, you're a pest. REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Can I come in? DYLE I'd like to take a bath.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- LATE AFTERNOON REGGIE Would n't it be better if you did it in my room? DYLE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What for? REGGIE I would n't want to use that tub. Besides, I do n't want to be alone. I'm afraid.", "INT. DYLE'S ROOM -- LATE AFTERNOON DYLE I'm only next door - if anything happens, holler. He sits down to take off his shoes, but is interrupted by the sound of REGGIE screaming. He races for the connecting door, pulls back the bolt and rushes in. DELETED", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- LATE AFTERNOON As DYLE enters. DYLE Reggie! He wheels as the door is slammed and REGGIE, who had been standing behind it, locks it and pockets the key. REGGIE Got you. DYLE Did you ever hear the story of the boy who cried wolf? REGGIE The shower's in there. He goes to the door leading to the hall and finds that locked as well. She smiles at him. DYLE -LRB- warning. -RRB- Reggie - open the door. REGGIE This is a ludicrous situation. There must be dozens of men dying to use my shower. DYLE Then I suggest you call one of them. REGGIE I dare you. DYLE looks at her, then sits down and starts to remove his shoes. REGGIE -LRB- has she gone too far? -RRB- What are you doing? DYLE Have you ever heard of anyone taking a shower with his shoes on? -LRB- to himself. -RRB- What a nut. Shoes off, DYLE starts for the bathroom, humming. DYLE I usually sing a medley of old favorites when I bathe - any requests? REGGIE Shut the door! DYLE I do n't think I know that one. Testing the water with his hand, he now steps in fully dressed. REGGIE ca n't believe her eyes. She goes to the open door for a closer look. REGGIE What on earth are you doing?", "INT. BATHROOM -- LATE AFTERNOON MED. SHOT - DYLE In the shower, making sure his suit gets uniformly soaked. DYLE -LRB- explaining pleasantly. -RRB- Drip - dry! He takes the soap and begins washing as if he were washing himself without the suit. DYLE The suit needs it more than I do, anyway. REGGIE How often do you go through this little ritual? As he takes out his handkerchief and rinses it. DYLE Every day. The manufacturer recommends it. REGGIE I do n't believe it. He opens his coat and reads a label inside. DYLE `` Wearing this suit during washing will help protect its shape.'' He flicks a little water in her face, then takes the nail - brush and scrubs his watch and watch - band. He holds up his wrist so she can see the watch. DYLE Waterproof. He begins unbuttoning his suit. She turns and leaves, slamming the door after her. DELETED", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- LATE AFTERNOON As REGGIE goes to the armoire to select a dress. The PHONE rings and she answers it. REGGIE -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Yes -?", "INT. BARTHOLOMEW'S APARTMENT -- LATE AFTERNOON CLOSE SHOT - BARTHOLOMEW BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- Mrs. Lampert? - Bartholomew. I've spoken to Washington, Mrs. Lampert -", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- LATE AFTERNOON REGGIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- Go ahead, Mr. Bartholomew - I'm listening.", "INT. BARTHOLOMEW'S APARTMENT -- LATE AFTERNOON BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- I told them what you said - about this man being Carson Dyle's brother. I asked them what they knew about it and they told me - you're not gon na like this, Mrs. Lampert - they told me Carson Dyle has no brother.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- LATE AFTERNOON CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE on the phone, looking like the rug has been pulled out from under her. REGGIE -LRB- pause, quietly. -RRB- Are you sure there's no mistake?", "INT. BARTHOLOMEW'S APARTMENT -- LATE AFTERNOON BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- None whatsoever. Please, Mrs. Lampert - be careful.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- LATE AFTERNOON REGGIE slowly lowers the phone to its cradle, a worried expression on her face. Then the bathroom door opens and DYLE appears dressed in a large bath towel. Her back is to him. DYLE I left all my drip - dry dripping - is it all right? She does n't answer. DYLE Reggie - is something wrong? She shakes her head. DYLE You're probably weak from hunger. You've only had five meals today. Hurry up and we'll go out. She turns and looks at him. REGGIE Do you mind if we go someplace crowded? I - I feel like lots of people tonight.", "EXT. SEINE - B\u00c2TEAU MOUCHE -- DUSK The large motor launch, moving along the river, gaily ablaze with lights. MED. SHOT - REGGIE AND DYLE -LRB- PROCESS -RRB- At a table for two by the rail, the city slowly passing in the b.g. DYLE Reggie - you have n't spoken a word in twenty minutes. REGGIE I keep thinking about Charles and Scobie - and the one who's going to be next - me? DYLE Nothing's going to happen to you while I'm around - I want you to believe that. REGGIE How can I believe it when you do n't even know who the killer is? I've got that right, have n't I? You do n't know who did it. DYLE No - not yet. REGGIE But then if we sit back and wait, the field should start narrowing down, should n't it? Whoever's left alive at the end will pretty well have sewn up the nomination, would n't you say so? DYLE Are you trying to say that I might have killed Charles and Scobie? She does n't answer. DYLE What do I have to do to satisfy you - become the next victim? REGGIE It's a start, anyway. DYLE I do n't understand you at all - one minute you're chasing me around the shower room and the next you're accusing me of murder. REGGIE Carson Dyle did n't have a brother. WIDER ANGLE She rises from the table and walks away. DYLE hesitates a moment, then follows. DYLE I can explain if you'll just listen. Will you listen? REGGIE -LRB- looking at the river. -RRB- I ca n't very well leave without a pair of water wings. DYLE Okay. Then get set for the story of my life - not that it would ever make the best - seller list. REGGIE Fiction or non - fiction? DYLE Why do n't you shut up! REGGIE Well! DYLE Are you going to listen? REGGIE Go on. DYLE After I graduated college I was all set to go into my father business. Umbrella frames - that's what he made. It was a sensible business, I suppose, but I did n't have the sense to be interested in anything sensible. REGGIE I suppose all this is leading somewhere? DYLE It led me away from umbrella frames, for one thing. But that left me without any honest means of support. REGGIE What do you mean? DYLE When a man has no profession except the one he loathes, what's left? I began looking for people with more money than they'd ever need - including some they'd barely miss. REGGIE -LRB- astonished. -RRB- You mean, you're a thief? DYLE Well, it is n't exactly the term I'd have chosen, but I suppose it captures the spirit of the thing. REGGIE I do n't believe it. DYLE Well, I ca n't really blame you - not now. REGGIE But I do believe it - that's what I do n't believe. So it's goodbye Alexander Dyle - Welcome home Peter Joshua. DYLE Sorry, the name's Adam Canfield. REGGIE Adam Canfield. Wonderful. Do you realize you've had three names in the past two days? I do n't even know who I'm talking to any more. DYLE -LRB- now called ADAM. -RRB- The man's the same, even if the name is n't. REGGIE No - he's not the same. Alexander Dyle was interested in clearing up his brother's death. Adam Canfield is a crook. And with all the advantages you've got - brains, charm, education, a handsome face - ADAM Oh, come on! REGGIE - there has to be a darn good reason for living the way you do. I want to know what it is. ADAM It's simple. I like what I do - I enjoy doing it. There are n't many men who love their work as much as I do. Look around some time. REGGIE Is there a Mrs. Canfield? ADAM Yes, but - ADAM AND REGGIE -LRB- together. -RRB- - we're divorced. ADAM Right. Now go eat your dinner. ANOTHER ANGLE They walk back to the table, where a WAITER is busy putting food on it, mostly on REGGIE's side. REGGIE -LRB- miserably. -RRB- I could eat a horse. ADAM -LRB- looking at all the food. -RRB- I think that's what you ordered. REGGIE Do n't you dare to be civil with me! All this time you were leading me on - ADAM How was I leading you on? REGGIE All that marvelous rejection - you knew I could n't resist it. Now it turns out you were only interested in the money. ADAM That's right. REGGIE -LRB- HURT. -RRB- Oh! ADAM What would you like me to say - that a pretty girl with an outrageous manner means more to an old pro like me than a quarter of a million dollars? REGGIE No - I guess not. ADAM It's a toss - up, I can tell you that. REGGIE What? ADAM Do n't you know I'm having a tough time keeping my eyes off of you? REGGIE reacts in surprise. ADAM Oh, you should see your face. REGGIE What about it? ADAM -LRB- taking her hand, nicely. -RRB- It's lovely. She looks at him with happy amazement, then pushes her plate away. ADAM What's the matter? REGGIE I'm not hungry - is n't it glorious? The lights go out. REGGIE -LRB- alarmed. -RRB- Adam! ADAM It's all right - look.", "EXT. SEINE B\u00c2TEAU MOUCHE -- NIGHT A searchlight near the boat's bridge has gone on and now begins sweeping the river banks. On benches by the water's edge, lovers are surprised by the bright light which suddenly and without warning discovers them in various attitudes of mutual affection. Some are embarrassed, some are amused and some -LRB- the most intimate -RRB- damn annoyed. One even shakes his fist at the light. MED. SHOT - REGGIE AND ADAM Who, like everyone else, leave the table and stand together at the rail watching. REGGIE You do n't look so bad in this light. ADAM Why do you think I brought you here? REGGIE -LRB- indicating the lovers. -RRB- I thought maybe you wanted me to see the kind of work the competition was turning out. ADAM Pretty good, huh? I taught them everything they do. REGGIE Oh? Did they do that sort of thing way back in your day? ADAM How do you think I got here? She rises on tip - toes and kisses him gently ; his only reaction is to look at her. REGGIE Are n't you allowed to kiss back? ADAM No. The doctor said it would be bad for my - thermostat. She kisses him again. He responds a little better. ADAM When you come on, you really come on. REGGIE Well - come on. She starts to kiss him again, but he stops her. REGGIE I know why you're not taken - no one can catch up with you. ADAM Relax - you're gaining. DELETED", "INT. GIDEON'S ROOM -- NIGHT MED. SHOT - GIDEON. As he sits bolt upright in bed, startled. The room is dark and the phone is ringing. He switches on the lamp, looks at the clock -LRB- it reads 3:30 -RRB- and shakes his head before picking up the receiver. GIDEON Huh? You must be crazy - it's three - thirty in the morning - you mean now? - all right - I'll be down in a minute. He hangs up, swings his feet out of bed and spears his slippers, reaching for his robe at the same time. Then he shuffles sleepily to the door.", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR -- THIRD FLOOR LANDING -- NIGHT As GIDEON comes out of his room and goes to the elevator. The cage is there. He opens the door and enters.", "INT. ELEVATOR -- NIGHT GIDEON closes the sliding grill and presses a button. The cage starts down. GIDEON begins sneezing. Suddenly the elevator stops between floors and the lights go out. GIDEON Hey! Turn on the lights! Just as suddenly the lights go back on and the elevator starts moving down again. GIDEON shakes his head and leans back, whistling again. The cage comes to his floor and starts past it. Seeing this, GIDEON looks confused.", "INT. HOTEL LOBBY -- NIGHT The NIGHT PORTER is asleep behind the desk. The elevator, GIDEON inside, keeps coming down. It passes the lobby level and keeps right on going, toward the basement. GIDEON Hey! How do you stop this thing? The elevator passes out of sight, still going down. There is a silence as the motor stops, and then a series of sneezes that ends with a terrifying shriek. The NIGHT PORTER, rudely awakened, runs to the elevator shaft, his shoes squeaking horribly. He looks up, sees nothing, then looks down. He presses the call button and the motor starts. An instant later the cage appears and stops. The NIGHT PORTER opens the gate, pulls back the grill and the CAMERA RUSHES PAST him to pick up GIDEON. His body is sitting on the floor of the cage, its grotesque sprawling attitude resembling a puppet's with its strings cut. Except that GIDEON has no strings to cut - only a throat. From ear to ear.", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR -- NIGHT CLOSE SHOT - GRANDPIERRE. He is now doubly apoplectic. GRANDPIERRE Three of them - all in their pajamas! C'est ridicule! What is it, some new American fad? CAMERA PULLS BACK to reveal REGGIE and ADAM, in their bathrobes. GRANDPIERRE And now your friend - the one from Texas - he has disappeared - checked out - pouf! into thin air! Where is he? ADAM I do n't know. GRANDPIERRE Madame? REGGIE shrugs. GRANDPIERRE Tell me, Mr. Dyle - where were you at three - thirty? ADAM In my room, asleep. GRANDPIERRE And you, Mrs. Lampert? REGGIE I was, too. GRANDPIERRE In Mr. Dyle's room? REGGIE -LRB- bitterly. -RRB- No - in my room. GRANDPIERRE -LRB- pause, lighting cigar. -RRB- It stands to reason you are telling the truth - for why would you invent such a ridiculous story? REGGIE and ADAM exchange looks. GRANDPIERRE And if I were you, I would not stay in my pajamas. Good night. GRANDPIERRE turns and leaves. REGGIE and ADAM start down the hall toward their own rooms. ADAM That wraps it up - Tex has the money. Go back to bed - I'll let you know when I've found him. REGGIE You're going to look for him - now? ADAM If the police find him first they're not very likely to turn over a quarter of a million dollars to us, are they? REGGIE Adam - ADAM There's no time - I'll call you in the morning. ADAM disappears into his own room.", "INT. ADAM'S ROOM -- NIGHT As ADAM enters, going to the closet to remove his suit. The phone rings. He answers it. ADAM Yes?", "INT. PHONE BOOTH -- NIGHT CLOSE SHOT - TEX.. As he speaks on the phone. TEX Now Dyle, you listen to me - my mama did n't raise no stupid children. I know who's got the money'n I ai n't disappearing till I got my share -'n' my share's growin' a whole lot bigger ev'ry day.", "INT. ADAM'S ROOM -- NIGHT ADAM -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- Where are you, ol' buddy?", "INT. PHONE BOOTH -- NIGHT TEX -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- -LRB- laughs. -RRB- I'll tell you what, fella - you want t' find me, you jus' turn ` round - from now on I'll be right behind you. -LRB- hangs up. -RRB-", "INT. ADAM'S ROOM -- NIGHT ADAM, before hanging up, reflects on TEX's words, then looks behind him. Smiling softly, he hangs up the phone and starts for REGGIE's door.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE slips back into her robe and goes to the connecting door. REGGIE What is it? ADAM Open up. She undoes the bolt and opens the door. ADAM enters. ADAM I think we were wrong about Tex having the money. REGGIE Why? ADAM I just heard from him - he's still hungry. That means killing Gideon did n't get it for him - so he's narrowed it down to us. You've got it. REGGIE I've looked, Adam - you know I have - ADAM Where's that airlines bag? REGGIE Lord, you're stubborn. ADAM I sure am. Get it. She goes to the closet and gets the bag. ADAM Charles must have had the money with him on the train, and Tex missed it. He takes the bag to the bed where he dumps out the contents. REGGIE But everyone and his Aunt Lilian's been through that bag. Somebody would have seen it. ADAM Let's look anyway. REGGIE Lord, you're stubborn. ADAM I mean, it's there, Reggie. If only we could see it. We're looking at it right now. CLOSE SHOT - BED WITH CHARLES' BELONGINGS ADAM'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Something on that bed is worth a quarter of a million dollars. REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Yes, but what? ADAM'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I do n't know - I just do n't know. MED. SHOT - REGGIE AND ADAM As ADAM begins to examine the items one by one. ADAM Electric razor - comb - steamship ticket - fountain pen - four passports - toothbrush - wallet -. -LRB- He goes through the wallet, finds nothing. -RRB- key - what about that? REGGIE To the apartment - it matches mine perfectly. ADAM The letter - He takes it out of the envelope and takes out his glasses before reading it. REGGIE I'll bet you do n't really need those. He hands her the glasses and she looks through them. REGGIE You need them. -LRB- She hands them back. -RRB- ADAM -LRB- reading the letter. -RRB- It still does n't make sense, but it is n't worth any quarter of a million either. Have we forgotten anything? REGGIE The tooth powder. Wait a minute - could you recognize heroin just by tasting it? He shakes some powder into his hand and tastes it. REGGIE watches expectantly. ADAM Heroin - peppermint - flavored heroin. REGGIE Well, I guess that's it - dead end. ADAM Go to bed. You've got to be at work in the morning. There's nothing more we can do tonight. REGGIE -LRB- pause. -RRB- I love you, Adam. ADAM Yes, you told me. REGGIE No - last time I said `` I love you, Alex.''", "EXT. UNESCO BUILDING -- ESTABLISHING -- DAY The ultra - modern glass and concrete structure behind the Ecole Militaire.", "INT. UNESCO CONFERENCE ROOM -- DAY SEVERAL DELEGATES identified by little plaques in front of them listing their respective nations, and their AIDES, sit around the large table. They are all wearing earphones. The ITALIAN DELEGATE is speaking. ITALIAN DELEGATE - di conseguenza, il Governo Italiano \u00e8 decisamente a favore per l'incoraggiamento, in accordo con le tradizioni etniche rispettive delle culture basilari dei passi in via di sviluppo. Per esempio, pregare i Vietnamiti di aggiungere alle loro risaie ed ai loro campi di soja tradizionali una raccolta di semola, non solo sconvolgerebbe le loro secolari tradizioni ma, oltre tutto, e questo \u00e8 molto importante per il Governo che io ho l'onore di rappresentare disturberebbe l'esportazione delle derrate farinose italiane in questa parte del mondo. Signori Delegati vi ringrazio della vostra attenzione.", "INT. REGGIE'S BOOTH -- DAY REGGIE, wearing her headset, is talking with SYLVIE. REGGIE I hope Jean - Louis understands about last night - it's just not safe for him to be around me right now. SYLVIE Do n't be silly - he would not do anything. He is not yet old enough to be interested in girls. He says collecting stamps is much more satisfying to a man of his age. REGGIE Hold it - Italy just finished. They're recognizing Great Britain. SYLVIE Oh la vache! SYLVIE jumps up and rushes next door into her booth, shutting the door after her.", "INT. CONFERENCE ROOM -- DAY The BRITISH DELEGATE rises to speak, continuing through the next scene. BRITISH DELEGATE Mr. Chairman, fellow delegates - my distinguished colleague from Italy. Her Majesty's delegation has listened with great patience to the Southern European position on this problem, and while we find it charmingly stated, we can not possibly agree with its content. In 1937, in the British colonies of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika - and, if I'm not mistaken, more or less in Somaliland - a programme of crop rotation was instituted vis - \u00e0 - vis arable land which had never before known the plough, beginning before the soil was able to know the sort of fatigue now plaguing most of Western Europe. In 1937, therefore, Her Majesty's Government - at that time His Majesty's Government - was able to properly assay the situation. We therefore oppose the resolution.", "INT. REGGIE'S BOOTH -- DAY The door from the hall opens and ADAM enters. ADAM Reggie - I think I've found -. -LRB- stopping. -RRB- are you on? REGGIE No, it's all right. What's wrong, Adam? ADAM Nothing's wrong. I think I found something. I was snooping around Tex's room and I found this in the waste basket. I've stuck it back together. He hands her a paper. INSERT - POLICE RECEIPT The one GRANDPIERRE gave REGGIE. It has been torn in half and scotch - taped back together. REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It's the receipt Inspector Grandpierre gave me - for Charles's things. I do n't see how that's going to - MED. SHOT - REGGIE AND ADAM ADAM You did n't look. Last night, when we went through the airlines bag, something was missing. See -? -LRB- showing her the list. -RRB- `` One agenda.'' It was n't there. REGGIE You're right. I remember Grandpierre looking through it. But there was nothing in it - at least, nothing that the police thought was very important. ADAM Can you remember anything at all? REGGIE Grandpierre asked me about an appointment Charles had - on the day he was killed. ADAM With whom? Where? REGGIE I think it only said where - but I ca n't - ADAM Think, Reggie, you've got to think - it may be what we're looking for. REGGIE That money's not ours, Adam - if we keep it, we'll be breaking the law. ADAM Nonsense. We did n't steal it. There's no law against stealing stolen money. REGGIE Of course there is! ADAM There is? Well, I ca n't say I think very much of a silly law like that. Think, Reggie - please think - what was written in Charles' notebook? REGGIE Well - it was a place - a street corner, I think. But I do n't -. -LRB- hearing something through her earpiece. -RRB- Hold it. I'm on. She turns back to the conference, flips a switch and starts speaking into her headset. REGGIE -LRB- translating. -RRB- Mr. Chairman, fellow delegates - my distinguished colleague from Great Britain -", "INT. CONFERENCE ROOM -- DAY The FRENCH DELEGATE is speaking. FRENCH DELEGATE Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, Messieurs les d\u00e9l\u00e9gu\u00e9s - mon distingu\u00e9 coll\u00e8gue de la Grande Bretagne - le probl\u00e8me vu par mon Gouvernement n'est pas aussi simple que nos amis les Anglais voudraient nous le faire croire. Mais leur pays n'est pas, apr\u00e8s tout, un pays agricole, n'est - ce pas? La position fran\u00e7aise, ainsi que nous l'avons soulign\u00e9e dans le rapport num\u00e9ro trente - neuf bar oblique cinquante - deux de la Conf\u00e9rence de l'h\u00e9misph\u00e8re occidental qui a eu lieu le 22 mars -", "INT. REGGIE'S BOOTH -- DAY REGGIE is busy translating. REGGIE as outlined in report number three - nine - stroke - five - two of the Western Hemisphere Conference held on March 22 -. -LRB- she stops. -RRB- no wait! It was last Thursday, five o'clock at the Jardin des Champs - \u00c9lys\u00e9es! Adam - that was it! The garden! ADAM It's Thursday today - and it's almost five - come on! MED. SHOT - CONFERENCE TABLE From REGGIE'S and ADAM'S ANGLE. All the DELEGATES and their AIDES suddenly turn, surprised, and look at CAMERA. REVERSE SHOT - WINDOW From the DELEGATE'S ANGLE. Inside the booth, REGGIE and ADAM can be seen heading for the door in a hurry. MED. SHOT - CONFERENCE TABLE As the DELEGATES look at one another, confused.", "EXT. GUIGNOL -- LATE AFTERNOON TWO SHOT - REGGIE AND ADAM By the locked gate. REGGIE Now what? ADAM Five o'clock - Thursday - the Garden - it's got to be something around here. REGGIE But Charles' appointment was last week, not - ADAM I know, but this is all we've got left. REGGIE Well, you're right there. Ten minutes ago I had a job. ADAM Stop grousing. If we find the money I'll buy you an international conference all your own. Now start looking. You take this side and I'll poke around over there. VARIOUS SHOTS - WHAT THEY SEE A quick succession of shots showing : 1. Children's Merry - go - round 2. Rond Point de Champs - Elys\u00e9es with fountains playing 3. Children's swings 4. Restaurant Laurent 5. Balloon salesman", "EXT. FOUNTAIN -- LATE AFTERNOON ADAM stands by the large fountain, staring off at something as REGGIE joins him. REGGIE It's hopeless - I do n't even know what we're looking for. ADAM It's all right - I do n't think Tex does, either. REGGIE Tex? You mean he's here, too? ADAM Look. MED. SHOT - TEX He stands near the merry - go - round, looking at something in his hand : Charles' agenda. Now he closes it and moves off, disappearing behind a hedge. TWO SHOT - REGGIE AND ADAM ADAM I'd better see what he's up to. Stay here - I wo n't be long. ADAM starts off. REGGIE -LRB- concerned. -RRB- Be careful, Adam - please. He's already killed three men. DELETED", "EXT. RUE GABRIEL -- LATE AFTERNOON Between the curb and the Jardin, several temporary wooden booths have been set up. They have collected quite a CROWD. Into this area comes TEX, followed at a safe distance by ADAM. Suddenly TEX stops. DELETED CLOSE SHOT - TEX As he stares wide - eyed at something. CLOSE SHOT - STAMPS Neatly displayed on a counter of one of the booths. CLOSE SHOT - TEX As he wheels to look at another booth. CLOSE SHOT - MORE STAMPS In another arrangement. CLOSE SHOT - TEX He turns crazily to look at another booth, then another. CLOSE SHOT - EVEN MORE STAMPS Various FLASH SHOTS of stamps of all sizes, shapes and colors. MED. SHOT - TEX As he understands. He turns to rush off and bumps smack into ADAM. TEX is startled. TEX Sorry, fella - He rushes off past ADAM, who watches him for a moment, confused, then turns toward the booth, not yet having seen the stamps. MED. SHOT - BOOTH From ADAM's angle. There are one or two persons standing at the booth. CAMERA ZOOMS in on the display of stamps. CLOSE SHOT - ADAM ADAM -LRB- amazed. -RRB- The letter. He quickly turns to find TEX.. MED. SHOT - TEX As he hops into the back of a TAXI and it pulls away from the curb. ADAM runs toward another TAXI. ADAM Taxi! - Taxi! DELETED", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR -- THIRD FLOOR LANDING -- LATE AFTERNOON As ADAM comes up the stairs and goes to REGGIE's door. Whipping out his gun, he flings open the door.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- LATE AFTERNOON From ADAM's angle. TEX sits in the armchair, staring at CAMERA. Next to him is the airlines bag, its contents dumped on the floor. ANOTHER ANGLE Including ADAM as he enters, his gun trained on TEX.. Without speaking he goes to the airlines bag, then stoops down to go through the spilled contents, keeping one eye all the time on TEX.. But he ca n't find what he's looking for. ADAM -LRB- quietly. -RRB- All right - where's the letter? TEX The letter? The letter ai n't worth nuthin'. ADAM You know what I mean - the envelope with the stamps. I want it. TEX -LRB- a pause, then beginning to laugh. -RRB- You greenhorn - you half - witted, thick - skulled, hare - brained, greenhorn! They wuz both too smart for us! ADAM What are you talking about? TEX First her husband, now her - she hoodwinked you! She batted all them big eyes and you went'n fell for it - like a egg from a tall chicken! Here! -LRB- holding out the envelope. -RRB- You want? Here - it's yours! ADAM takes it and looks at it. INSERT - ENVELOPE The corner containing the stamps is missing, torn off. MED. SHOT - ADAM AND TEX TEX sees the expression on ADAM's face and begins laughing, hysterically. TEX Look at you! Horn - swoggled by a purty face'n all them sweet words! You killed all three of'em for nothin'! You greenhorn! You block - headed jackass! You clod - you booby - you nincompoop -!", "EXT. ROND POINT -- LATE AFTERNOON REGGIE is looking around for ADAM. She sees something across the street. CAMERA SPINS AROUND to discover SYLVIE, sitting alone on a bench near the stamp market, reading a newspaper. MED. SHOT - SYLVIE As REGGIE approaches her. REGGIE Sylvie -? What are you doing here? SYLVIE -LRB- looking up. -RRB- Hello, Reggie - I am waiting for Jean - Louis. REGGIE -LRB- looking around. -RRB- What's he up to? SYLVIE He was so excited - when he got the stamps you gave him this morning. He said he had never seen any like them. REGGIE I'm glad. But what's all this? SYLVIE The stamp market, of course - it is here every Thursday afternoon. This is where Jean - Louis trades his - REGGIE -LRB- as it dawns. -RRB- Good Lord! The stamps! Where is he? Sylvie - we've got to find him! SYLVIE What's the matter, ch\u00e9rie? REGGIE Those stamps - they're worth a fortune! SYLVIE -LRB- jumping up. -RRB- What? REGGIE A fortune! Hurry - we've got to find him! They rush off into the market. TWO SHOT - REGGIE AND SYLVIE As they stop among the booths, looking around. REGGIE I do n't see him. SYLVIE We will separate - you look over there. They go off in opposite directions. MED. SHOT - REGGIE As she hurries along a row of stalls, weaving around small groups of MEN standing together, showing each other stamps. MED. SHOT - SYLVIE Searching in another section of the market. SYLVIE -LRB- calling. -RRB- Jean - Louis -? MED. SHOT - REGGIE Spotting a BOY, she runs to him and spins him around. REGGIE Jean - Louis! But it is n't. MED. SHOT - SYLVIE Looking everywhere. Suddenly she sees something. CLOSE SHOT - GROUP OF MEN - THEIR LEGS Only a small boy's elbow and part of his arm show, the rest hidden by all the legs. MED. SHOT - SYLVIE She recognizes him from these fragments. SYLVIE Jean - Louis! She rushes to him, CAMERA PANNING WITH HER. JEAN - LOUIS stands looking at some stamps. SYLVIE grabs him. SYLVIE Jean - Louis - les timbr\u00e9s - o\u00f9 sont - ils? Smiling, JEAN - LOUIS holds up an enormous sack of assorted stamps - hundreds of them. SYLVIE Oh, zut! -LRB- calling. -RRB- Reggie - Reggie -! REGGIE runs up and joins them. REGGIE Jean - Louis - thank heavens! Do you have -! -LRB- spotting the sack of stamps. -RRB- What's that? JEAN-LOUIS A man traded with me - all those for only four. REGGIE Oh no! What man, Jean - Louis - where? JEAN - LOUIS looks in one direction, then in the other, trying to remember. SYLVIE Vite, mon ange - vite! JEAN-LOUIS L\u00e0 bas - Monsieur F\u00e9lix. They all run off down the line of booths. JEAN - LOUIS stops and points off. JEAN-LOUIS Il est l\u00e0! MED. SHOT - STAMP BOOTH Closed, deserted, empty. MED. SHOT - REGGIE, SYLVIE AND JEAN - LOUIS JEAN-LOUIS But he is gone. REGGIE I do n't blame him. Jean - Louis - do you know where this Monsieur F\u00e9lix lives? JEAN-LOUIS No - but I will ask. He goes to the closest booth and shakes the coat sleeve of the proprietor. JEAN-LOUIS Monsieur Th\u00e9ophile - TH\u00c9OPHILE Oui, jeune homme? JEAN-LOUIS Monsieur F\u00e9lix, o\u00f9 habite - il? TH\u00c9OPHILE A Montmartre - demande \u00e0 Monsieur August au Bar des Artistes - Place Blanche. JEAN-LOUIS Merci, Monsieur Th\u00e9ophile. -LRB- returning to REGGIE and SYLVIE. -RRB- He says to ask Monsieur August at the - Before he can finish, SYLVIE, who has heard TH\u00c9OPHILE, has JEAN - LOUIS by the hand, dragging him off at full speed, REGGIE right alongside. DELETED", "INT. F\u00c9LIX'S ROOM -- DUSK A bare, unkempt little room. F\u00c9LIX, a man in his sixties, sits at a table, smoking a pipe. There are stamps and albums everywhere. He holds a magnifying glass in his hand, busy studying something on the table. There is a KNOCK. He looks up. Another KNOCK. F\u00c9LIX Entrez. The door opens and REGGIE, followed by SYLVIE and JEAN - LOUIS, enters. REGGIE Monsieur F\u00e9lix -? F\u00c9LIX -LRB- without looking up. -RRB- I was expecting you. You are American too, of course. REGGIE -LRB- looking at SYLVIE. -RRB- Yes. F\u00c9LIX The man who bought them last week was American. I did not see him but I heard. I knew you would come. He gestures for REGGIE to come closer. Together with SYLVIE and JEAN - LOUIS, she goes to the table and looks at the stamps. F\u00c9LIX Look at them, Madame. INSERT - STAMPS Four of them - a red, a yellow, a blue, and a green, still attached to the portion of the torn envelope. F\u00c9LIX -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Have you ever, in your entire life, seen anything so beautiful? MED. SHOT - REGGIE, F\u00c9LIX, SYLVIE AND JEAN - LOUIS REGGIE I'm - I'm sorry - I do n't know anything about stamps. F\u00c9LIX I know them as one knows his own face, even though I have never seen them. This yellow one - a Swedish four shilling - called ` De Gula Fyraskillingen' - issued in 1854. REGGIE How much is it worth? F\u00c9LIX The money is unimportant. REGGIE I'm afraid it is important. F\u00c9LIX -LRB- shrugging. -RRB- In your money, perhaps $ 65,000. REGGIE Do you mind if I sit down? -LRB- she sits. -RRB- What about the blue one? F\u00c9LIX It is called ` The Hawaiian Blue' and there are only seven left. In 1894 the owner of one was murdered by a rival collector who was obsessed to own it. REGGIE What's its value today? F\u00c9LIX In human life? In greed? In suffering? REGGIE In money. F\u00c9LIX Forty - five thousand. REGGIE -LRB- to SYLVIE. -RRB- Do you have anything to eat? -LRB- to F\u00c9LIX. -RRB- And the orange one - what about the orange one? F\u00c9LIX A two - penny Mauritius - issued in 1856. Not so rare as the others - $ 30,000 perhaps. REGGIE And the last one? F\u00c9LIX The best for the last - le chef - d'oeuvre de la collection. The masterpiece. It is the most valuable stamp in the world. It is called ` The Gazette Guyanne.' It was printed by hand on colored paper in 1852 and marked with the initials of the printer. -LRB- looking at it through the glass. -RRB- Today it has a value of $ 100,000. -LRB- a pause. -RRB- Eh, bien - I am not a thief. I knew there was some mistake. Take them. REGGIE -LRB- hesitating. -RRB- You gave the boy quite a lot of stamps in return, Monsieur F\u00e9lix - are they for sale now? F\u00c9LIX -LRB- looking at the large bag. -RRB- Let me see. There are 350 European, 200 Asian, 175 American, 100 African and twelve Princess Grace commemorative - which comes to nine francs fifty. REGGIE -LRB- fishing money from her purse. -RRB- Here's ten. F\u00c9LIX goes to his wallet for the change. REGGIE Please keep it. F\u00c9LIX I am a tradesman, Madame, not a doorman. And do n't forget these. He hands her the four stamps and her change. REGGIE I'm - I'm sorry. CLOSE SHOT - F\u00c9LIX F\u00c9LIX No. For a few minutes they were mine - that is enough.", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR -- THIRD FLOOR LANDING -- NIGHT As REGGIE comes hurrying up the stairs. She goes first to ADAM's room and knocks. REGGIE Adam? Adam? It's me, Reggie -! There is no answer. She goes to her own door and, to her surprise, finds it an inch or two ajar.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT As REGGIE enters. She freezes, having seen something on the floor. MED. SHOT - TEX His dead body lies on the floor, the wrists of his extended arms tied to the leg of the bed, his ankles to the steam radiator. And tied around his head is a plastic, transparent bag, inside of which the suffocated man's face, the eyes bulging against the plastic clinging tight to his features, can be seen all too clearly. REGGIE enters the shot, bending down to see if he's alive. Then she sees something beside his hands near the leg of the bed. CLOSE SHOT - CARPET With his dying effort, TEX has traced a name against the grain of the maroon carpet - ` DYLE.' CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE Astonished and horrified. REGGIE -LRB- gasping. -RRB- Dyle - WIDER ANGLE As she gets to her feet and hurries to the phone. REGGIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- Hello - Balzac 30 - 04, s ` il vous plait -. -LRB- waiting. -RRB- Mr. Bartholomew! Thank God you're there! Tex is dead, Mr. Bartholomew - smothered - and Adam did it - he killed them all!", "INT. BARTHOLOMEW'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT BARTHOLOMEW, his face lathered for a shaving, is on the phone. BARTHOLOMEW Just a minute, Mrs. Lampert - you'd better give that to me slowly. Who's Adam?", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- The one who said he was Dyle's brother - of course I'm sure - Tex wrote the word ` Dyle' before he died. He's the murderer I tell you - he's the only one left! You've got to do something!", "INT. BARTHOLOMEW'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- Calm down, Mrs. Lampert - please. Does he have the money?", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- No, I do - it was the stamps on that letter Charles had with him on the train. They were in plain sight all the time, but no one ever bothered looking at the envelope.", "INT. BARTHOLOMEW'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT BARTHOLOMEW -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- The envelope - imagine that. Mrs. Lampert, listen to me - you're not safe as long as you've got these stamps. Go to the Embassy right away - wait, I'd better meet you halfway - it's quicker. Now, let's see - do you know the center garden at the Palais Royal? - yes, by the colonnade - as soon as you can get there. Hurry, Mrs. Lampert.", "INT. REGGIE'S ROOM -- NIGHT REGGIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- Yes, I'm leaving now - goodbye. She hangs up, looks briefly at TEX's body, shudders, then hurries to the door.", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR -- THIRD LANDING -- NIGHT As REGGIE leaves her room and goes to the elevator. She presses the button, then notices it is in use. She goes to the stairs and starts down.", "INT. HOTEL STAIRCASE -- NIGHT Between the landings. The stairs curve around the open elevator shaft. As REGGIE comes down the stairs, the cage rises into view. Inside is ADAM. For a moment, she stops and their eyes meet. ADAM Reggie - the stamps - what've you done with -? REGGIE starts running downstairs. ADAM Where are you going? Wait! ADAM pushes the emergency stop button and then starts the cage down. ADAM Reggie!", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR -- SECOND LANDING -- NIGHT As REGGIE comes off the stairs, passes the elevator gate and starts down toward the lobby, the cage a few feet behind her. ADAM Reggie!", "INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR -- FIRST LANDING -- NIGHT As REGGIE continues to run.", "INT. HOTEL STAIRWAY -- NIGHT Between the first landing and the lobby. REGGIE running, the elevator following. ADAM Reggie - stop! REGGIE Why? So you can kill me too? Tex is dead, I've seen him! He said Dyle did it! ADAM I'm not Dyle - you know that! REGGIE But Tex did n't - he still thought -! ADAM Do n't be an idiot!", "INT. HOTEL LOBBY -- NIGHT REGGIE reaches the lobby first and, without hesitation, races toward the front door and out. The confused hotel MANAGER behind the desk can only stare in surprise. The elevator, ADAM inside, has not yet reached the bottom. ADAM Reggie -! I want those stamps!", "EXT. HOTEL LOBBY -- NIGHT A taxi stands by the curb. REGGIE leaves the hotel and runs to it. REGGIE -LRB- indicating the direction. -RRB- Palais Royal - vite! Calmly, the DRIVER points to the little printed sign on his windshield reading `` ITALIE.'' DRIVER -LRB- pointing the other way. -RRB- Porte d'Italie, moi. REGGIE Mais c'est tr\u00e8s vite! On veut me teur! DRIVER -LRB- shaking his head. -RRB- Italie. She looks around and sees ADAM come out of the hotel and straight toward her. She turns and runs off toward the Place St. Michel.", "EXT. PLACE ST. MICHEL -- NIGHT As REGGIE comes to the corner. She stops, sees the M\u00e9tro station -LRB- `` St. Michel'' -RRB- and rushes to it, scampering down the stairs. ADAM is behind her.", "INT. ST. MICHEL M\u00c9TRO STATION -- NIGHT REGGIE comes flying down the stairs and runs past the ticket booth, fishing in her bag for her carnet -LRB- booklet of tickets -RRB-, casting a quick look behind her. CAMERA PANS QUICKLY TO ADAM just coming off the stairs, who runs after her. DELETED", "INT. M\u00c9TRO TICKET GATE -- NIGHT REGGIE gets to the gate ahead of ADAM and manages to crowd in front of some OTHERS about to pass through. Barely stopping, she holds out her ticket to the GUARD to be punched, then heads down the platform, still running. ADAM gets to the gate but the GUARD stops him as he tries to pass through. GUARD Billet, Monsieur. ADAM -LRB- breathless. -RRB- I do n't want to go anywhere - I'm only trying - GUARD -LRB- pointing off. -RRB- Billet, Monsieur. ADAM tries to look past him, to see REGGIE, but gives it up and goes back toward the ticket booth, on the run.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO PASSAGEWAY -- NIGHT CAMERA LEADING REGGIE as she runs - the passageway is nearly empty. Her footsteps echo against the tile and concrete walls. CLOSE SHOT - PASSAGEWAY WALL -LRB- TRAVELING -RRB- The jumble of advertising posters as it passes rapidly, forming a moving band of letters, women, cartoons and colors.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO PASSAGEWAY -- NIGHT REGGIE stops and pauses for a moment at a sign indicating two different directions, an arrow for each. `` DIRECTION : Pte D'ORL\u00c9ANS Pte DE CLIGNANCOURT -'' Choosing `` Clignancourt,'' she runs off. CAMERA PANS SHARPLY, 180 degrees, to pick up ADAM rounding the corner in hot pursuit.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO PLATFORM -- NIGHT REGGIE starts down the platform, looking behind her every few steps. Suddenly she looks up in surprise - there, across the tracks on the opposite platform is ADAM. He has evidently made the wrong turn back in the passageway. They stare at each other for a moment. Then the bell rings, announcing the arrival of a train. ADAM turns, running back through the exit behind him. Not knowing what to do, REGGIE looks into the darkness of the tunnel. The approaching train can be heard. REGGIE -LRB- to herself. -RRB- Come on - please - She turns to look at the gate - slowly, the pneumatic door starts to close. As it does, the train roars into the station.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO PASSAGEWAY -- NIGHT The gate can be seen slowly closing. ADAM runs to it, tries to force it back but can not. Finally, he jumps up and, commando style, vaults over it.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO PLATFORM -- NIGHT REGGIE is just entering the red center car -LRB- the two on either side are dark green -RRB-. ADAM runs for the red car and just manages to make it as the doors shut in unison, the latches falling with a concerted click and the little whistle blowing to inform the motor - man to depart. The train starts to move.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO CAR -- NIGHT The entire length of the car separates ADAM and REGGIE. For a moment, their eyes meet, then ADAM starts to weave his way past the other PASSENGERS, on his way to her. Suddenly, he is stopped. ADAM turns to see a TRAIN GUARD. TRAIN GUARD Billet, Monsieur. ADAM shows him his yellow ticket and starts past him, but again the TRAIN GUARD stops him. TRAIN GUARD Vous \u00eates dans le premier classe, Monsieur. ADAM What? TRAIN GUARD -LRB- heavy accent. -RRB- This car is for first class only - you have a second - class ticket. ADAM But that's what they gave me. He tries to pull away from the TRAIN GUARD and finds himself staring into the serious face of a GENDARME. GENDARME Monsieur -? ADAM looks at the GENDARME, then at REGGIE.", "INT. \"PALAIS-ROYAL\" M\u00c9TRO PLATFORM -- NIGHT As the TRAIN pulls in and comes to a stop.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO CAR -- NIGHT The GENDARME opens the door for ADAM and escorts him out. ADAM turns once more to look at REGGIE as he goes. She remains in the car.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO PLATFORM -- NIGHT The GENDARME gestures for ADAM to enter the green, second - class car behind the red, first - class one. Reluctantly, ADAM does.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO CAR -- NIGHT As ADAM enters and goes to the door through which he can see REGGIE in the car ahead. She is gone. Moving quickly, he returns to the exit door and looks at the platform.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO PLATFORM -- NIGHT From ADAM'S P.O.V.. She is hurrying toward an exit marked `` SORTIE.'' ANOTHER ANGLE Featuring ADAM as he hurries from the car. He finds his way blocked by FIVE NUNS in large, white butterfly hats. It takes him a few precious seconds to work his way around them. DELETED", "INT. M\u00c9TRO SORTIE -- NIGHT REGGIE has entered an area leading to the exit. But as she reaches the stairway leading up to the street level, she is confronted with an iron grill barring her way. She tries to open it, but it is firmly padlocked. A sign hung on it reads `` FERM\u00c9 LES WEEKENDS.'' She turns, desperately looking for some way out.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO PLATFORM -- NIGHT ADAM is off the train. He stands on the platform as the train doors slam shut, the latches click, the whistle blows and the train pulls out. He looks around in all directions, looking for some sign of REGGIE. He spots the exit marked `` SORTIE'' -LRB- the same one used by REGGIE -RRB- and starts toward it.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO SORTIE -- NIGHT As ADAM enters the deserted area. There is, miraculously, no sign of REGGIE. He goes to the locked grill and tries it, testing the padlock. CAMERA PANS to a phone booth -LRB- solid door with a window in the upper half -RRB- and we see REGGIE's hand reaching up to dial a number.", "INT. PHONE BOOTH -- NIGHT REGGIE sits on the floor of the booth, dialing. REGGIE -LRB- to herself, as she dials. -RRB- Balzac 3 - 0 - 0 - 4. She holds the receiver to her ear. The number can be heard ringing but no one answers. She hangs up and reaches for the phone book, leafing through its pages. REGGIE Embassies - embassies -", "INT. M\u00c9TRO SORTIE -- NIGHT ADAM stands for a minute, looking around, not knowing what to do.", "INT. PHONE BOOTH -- NIGHT REGGIE has finished dialing her number and now pushes the button. It clicks loudly. REGGIE Shh. -LRB- into the phone, whispering. -RRB- American Embassy? Mr. Bartholomew's office, please - Mr. Bartholomew's office -", "INT. EMBASSY SWITCHBOARD -- NIGHT An OPERATOR speaking into a headset. OPERATOR Could you speak out, please? I ca n't quite hear you.", "INT. PHONE BOOTH -- NIGHT REGGIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- No, I ca n't speak any louder - Hamilton Bartholomew - B as in - uh - Bartholomew - that's right, and the rest as in Bartholomew!", "INT. EMBASSY SWITCHBOARD -- NIGHT OPERATOR -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- I'm sorry, but Mr. Bartholomew has left for the day.", "INT. PHONE BOOTH -- NIGHT REGGIE -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- But someone's trying to kill me - you've got to send word to him - in the center garden of the Palais Royal, by the colonnade - tell him I'm trapped in a phone booth, below him in the M\u00e9tro station. And my name's Lampert.", "INT. EMBASSY SWITCHBOARD -- NIGHT OPERATOR -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- All right, Mrs. Lampert - I'll see what I can do. Goodbye. She unplugs the call, plugs in another one and dials quickly. OPERATOR Hello, Mr. Bartholomew? - there was a call for you just now, Mr. Bartholomew - it sounded quite urgent - a Mrs. Lampert.", "INT. BARTHOLOMEW'S STUDY -- NIGHT It is a man we've never seen before, the physical opposite of the old BARTHOLOMEW. REAL BARTHOLOMEW Lampert? I do n't know any Mrs. Lampert - trapped in a M\u00e9tro station? Who does she think I am, the C.I.A? All right, you'd better call the French police.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO SORTIE -- NIGHT MED. SHOT - PHONE BOOTH. As REGGIE's head appears, peeking cautiously over the bottom of the window. REVERSE SHOT From inside the phone booth. Through the glass ADAM can be seen, leaving the Sortie area. MED. SHOT - PHONE BOOTH Carefully, REGGIE opens the door and comes out. She goes to the corner and looks around it.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO PLATFORM -- NIGHT From REGGIE'S P.O.V. as ADAM walks away from CAMERA, down the platform. CAMERA PANS TO REGGIE, peeking around the corner. She looks the opposite way, sees another exit at the other end of the platform -LRB- also marked `` SORTIE'' -RRB-. She looks back once more at ADAM, then makes up her mind and starts running towards the exit. MED. SHOT - ADAM As the bell rings announcing the next train. He turns to look and sees REGGIE. ADAM -LRB- calling. -RRB- Reggie -! He takes off, running after her. MED. SHOT - REGGIE As she runs, ADAM several yards behind her. ADAM -LRB- in b.g., calling. -RRB- Reggie - wait! She turns into the exit.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO STAIRWAY -- NIGHT As REGGIE starts up the long, steep flight of stone steps leading to the street level. ADAM appears behind her, climbing two at a time and gaining. ADAM Reggie - why wo n't you listen? REGGIE I'm through listening to you! He is rapidly closing the gap between them. It is clear that REGGIE is tiring. ADAM But I did n't kill anybody. REGGIE Then who did? You're the only one left. PASSERSBY, descending the stairs, stand aside to let the two strange Americans pass, watching in wonderment. ADAM is only a few steps behind now. ADAM Reggie - please believe me! REGGIE No! As REGGIE wearily gains the top, ADAM lunges for her. He manages to grab her foot as he falls forward, but all he winds up with is a shoe which has come loose in his hand. REGGIE shrieks, then regaining her balance, continues running, limping in her one shoe. ADAM scrambles to his feet and starts after her again.", "INT. M\u00c9TRO TICKET BOOTH AREA -- NIGHT As REGGIE, still hobbling, runs through and toward the stairs, leading to the street. CAMERA PANS TO ADAM, as he, too, runs through. He is again several yards behind her.", "EXT. PLACE PALAIS ROYAL -- NIGHT As REGGIE comes up the stairs from the M\u00e9tro. She stops long enough to kick off her other shoe, then runs across the street, ignoring the traffic, toward the Rue de Valois -LRB- which forms one side of the Palais Royal -RRB-. ADAM is gaining on her again.", "EXT. PALAIS ROYAL COURTYARD -- COLONNADE -- NIGHT The smaller court at the Com\u00e9die - Fran\u00e7aise end of the Palais gardens, separated from the larger garden by a double peristyle consisting of two twin rows -LRB- these separated from each other by a small marble court -RRB- of twenty columns each - in all, eighty columns. The only person in sight is the man we have known as BARTHOLOMEW, waiting at the far end of the columns, looking at his watch impatiently. Then, from the Rue de Valois side of the Palais, REGGIE runs into the court. She spots `` BARTHOLOMEW'' and fishes in her bag for the stamps as she runs, taking them out and waving them. REGGIE Mr. Bartholomew - he's chasing me! ADAM has run into the court and now skids to a stop at the near end of the colonnade as he spots `` BARTHOLOMEW.'' REGGIE, still running, is halfway between the two men. `` BARTHOLOMEW'' draws his gun but ca n't get a shot at ADAM, who has ducked in among the columns. ADAM Reggie - stop! That's Carson Dyle! This news hits REGGIE hard and she stops, in alarm. REGGIE -LRB- breathless. -RRB- Carson -? She looks at `` BARTHOLOMEW,'' then back at ADAM, who has drawn his own gun. -LRB- NOTE : Both `` BARTHOLOMEW'' and ADAM are in among the stone columns at opposite ends of the colonnade, keeping out of each other's sight. REGGIE stands out in the open, the stamps in her hand, confused as to which man she should go to -RRB-. \"BARTHOLOMEW\" -LRB- calmly. -RRB- We all know Carson Dyle is dead, Mrs. Lampert. ADAM It's Carson Dyle, I tell you! \"BARTHOLOMEW\" You're not going to believe him, Mrs. Lampert - it's too fantastic. He's trying to trick you again. REGGIE looks at one, then the other, not knowing what to do. ADAM Tex recognized him - that's why he said Dyle. If you give him those stamps, he'll kill you too! REGGIE takes a step toward ADAM. \"BARTHOLOMEW\" Mrs. Lampert - if I'm who he said, what's preventing me from killing you right now? REGGIE stops, turns back to `` BARTHOLOMEW.'' ADAM Because he'd have to come out to get the stamps - he knows he'd never make it. \"BARTHOLOMEW\" What's the matter with you, Mrs. Lampert? Are you going to believe every lie he tells you? He wants the money for himself - that's all he's ever wanted. REGGIE -LRB- to ADAM, explaining. -RRB- He's - with the C.I.A. - I've seen him at the Embassy. ADAM Do n't be a fool! He's Carson Dyle! \"BARTHOLOMEW\" That's right, Mrs. Lampert - I'm a dead man - look at me. REGGIE I do n't know who anybody is any more! ADAM Reggie - listen to me! REGGIE You lied to me so many times - ADAM -LRB- gently. -RRB- Reggie - trust me once more - please. REGGIE Can I really believe you this time, Adam? ADAM -LRB- a pause. -RRB- There's not a reason on earth why you should. She looks toward ADAM for a moment, then back to `` BARTHOLOMEW'', then slowly starts toward ADAM. REGGIE All right, Adam. \"BARTHOLOMEW\" Stop right now, Mrs. Lampert, or I'll kill you. REGGIE stops in alarm. ADAM It wo n't get you the stamps, Dyle - You'll have to come out to get them, and I'm not likely to miss at this range. \"BARTHOLOMEW\" -LRB- now called CARSON. -RRB- Maybe not - but it takes a lot of bullets to kill me. They left me there with five of them in my legs and my stomach - they knew I was still alive but they left me. I spent ten months in a German camp - with nothing to stop the pain and no food - they were willing to take all these chances for the money, but not for me. They deserved to die! MED. SHOT - ADAM During the following, he looks around, looking for some way out. REGGIE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- But I did n't have anything to do with - CARSON'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You've got the money. It belongs to me now! Please believe me, Mrs. Lampert - I'll kill you - a little more blood wo n't matter. During this ADAM has moved out from behind the columns, creeping cautiously across the open space between the two colonnades and finally, behind the second. MED. SHOT - REGGIE AND CARSON CARSON I'll give you five to make up your mind, Mrs. Lampert. She has seen ADAM's move from her angle, but does n't know quite what to do. REGGIE Wait, please! I need some time to think! CARSON One - MED. SHOT - ADAM As he slowly moves along behind the second colonnade, his gun ready, trying to get an angle on CARSON. CARSON'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- - two - Suddenly ADAM stops - he has caught sight of CARSON through the columns. But he will have a difficult shot. CARSON'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- - three - CLOSE SHOT - CARSON CARSON - four - CAMERA PANS DOWN to his gun. As his finger tightens on the trigger and the hammer moves slowly back. CLOSE SHOT - REGGIE REGGIE Adam - please! MED. SHOT - ADAM As he aims carefully and fires. CLOSE SHOT - COLUMN As the bullet creases it. CLOSE SHOT - CARSON As the deflected bullet rips the shoulder of his coat, leaving him unharmed. He wheels. MED. SHOT - ADAM With CARSON in the b.g., who fires at him. ADAM ducks behind the column as the bullet hits it and screams off. Quickly, he peers back out and throws another shot. MED. SHOT - REGGIE Seeing CARSON otherwise occupied, she turns and runs toward the open stage door of the Com\u00e9die Fran\u00e7aise behind her. -LRB- Beside the door is a poster announcing the forthcoming schedule of presentations. -RRB- ANOTHER ANGLE Including CARSON who, seeing REGGIE running to the door, turns and fires at her. But he is too late - she is safely inside. CARSON looks quickly back toward ADAM, then takes off after REGGIE. MED. SHOT - ADAM Over his shoulder we see a broken picture of CARSON running toward the theatre door, flashing by the near and far columns. ADAM tries to get a shot at him, but ca n't. Finally he runs after him.", "INT. COM\u00c9DIE FRAN\u00c7AISE -- BACKSTAGE -- NIGHT As CARSON enters and slams the door behind him, locking it.", "INT. COM\u00c9DIE FRAN\u00c7AISE -- STAGE DOOR -- NIGHT ADAM arriving at the door, bangs on it, then looks around, frustrated. Several yards away he sees a short stairway leading down to a door below the street level. He runs to it, tries the door and enters.", "INT. COM\u00c9DIE FRAN\u00c7AISE -- ORCHESTRA -- NIGHT As CARSON enters the auditorium and looks around. CARSON'S P.O.V.. As the CAMERA SWEEPS the magnificent old theatre - boxes, seats, stage, but there is no sign of REGGIE. ANOTHER ANGLE As CARSON walks up the aisle checking between the rows of seats.", "INT. COM\u00c9DIE FRAN\u00c7AISE -- TRAPROOM -- NIGHT A large room, lit by a single bare bulb, under the stage. ADAM appears, moving cautiously, gun ready. He creeps along next to the wall, looking around at all the various scenic pieces which fill the room.", "INT. COM\u00c9DIE FRAN\u00c7AISE -- STAGE -- NIGHT As CARSON moves carefully across the darkened stage near the footlights, looking for REGGIE. At mid - stage, CAMERA PANS DOWN to his feet, only a few inches from the prompter's box. Inside, huddling down, is a terrified REGGIE, holding her breath as she watches him. ANOTHER ANGLE As CARSON moves into the opposite wings, sees the light board and throws on all the switches. The stage is bathed in light. He returns to the stage.", "INT. TRAPROOM -- NIGHT ADAM is looking up, having heard the footsteps on the stage over his head - and hearing them now. He looks around and sees a narrow, curving staircase leading up. He goes to it, and, starting up, finds a door. He tries the knob - the door is locked.", "INT. PROMPTER'S BOX -- NIGHT REGGIE, cringing back from the bright light, notices the doorknob turning. It makes a slight clicking sound.", "INT. COM\u00c9DIE FRAN\u00c7AISE -- STAGE -- NIGHT CARSON, upstage, looking behind a piece of classic scenery, hears the doorknob and turns suddenly. CARSON'S P.O.V.. We catch a quick glimpse of REGGIE as she ducks down out of sight. Too late. CLOSE SHOT - CARSON CARSON All right, Mrs. Lampert. The game's over. Come out of there. WIDER ANGLE REGGIE does not appear. CARSON I do n't want to kill you, Mrs. Lampert - but I will -", "INT. TRAPROOM -- NIGHT ADAM comes down the stairs from the prompter's box and looks up at the ceiling. MED. SHOT - CEILING It is divided into thirty - six square sections, each numbered and lettered - from 1A to 6F. They are trapdoors. MED. SHOT - ADAM He looks from the ceiling to a row of levers on one wall. CLOSE SHOT - LEVERS Thirty - six of them, numbered and lettered to correspond to the traps.", "INT. COM\u00c9DIE FRAN\u00c7AISE -- STAGE -- NIGHT As CARSON takes a few steps towards the prompter's box, his gun ready. CARSON Did you hear me, Mrs. Lampert -?", "INT. PROMPTER'S BOX -- NIGHT REGGIE huddled inside.", "INT. TRAPROOM -- NIGHT ADAM is listening carefully, trying to figure out where CARSON is standing, watching the ceiling. CLOSE SHOT - TRAP It is marked C - 4. CARSON'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I wo n't wait much longer, Mrs. Lampert MED. SHOT - ADAM As he turns to the levers and reaches for the one marked C - 4. He is about to pull it.", "INT. COM\u00c9DIE FRAN\u00c7AISE -- STAGE -- NIGHT CARSON takes a few more steps forward.", "INT. TRAPROOM -- NIGHT ADAM stops himself from pulling the lever just in time. He lets his held breath escape. He looks back at the ceiling. CLOSE SHOT - TRAP The one marked C - 4. As CARSON's voice is heard, CAMERA MOVES to the next trap, marked D - 4. CARSON'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I know you're in there, Mrs. Lampert - MED. SHOT - ADAM He looks at the lever marked D - 4. He is perspiring heavily. Now he slowly reaches for the lever.", "INT. COM\u00c9DIE FRAN\u00c7AISE -- STAGE -- NIGHT CARSON is about to move closer to the prompter's box when suddenly the stage under him opens and he plummets through out of sight. At the same time we hear a shot. CLOSE SHOT - PROMPTER'S BOX As REGGIE slowly peers out. REGGIE'S P.O.V.. The empty stage, without being able to see the open trap from this low angle. MED. SHOT - REGGIE As she climbs out of the booth and, seeing the open trap now, runs to it, looking down through it. MED. SHOT - OPEN TRAP FROM ABOVE, over REGGIE's head. She can see CARSON sprawled on the floor below, face down and dead. ADAM stands beside the body, looking up at REGGIE and smiling. ANOTHER ANGLE As GRANDPIERRE and his TWO ASSISTANTS, guns drawn, walk onto the stage from the wings. They go to the open trap and look down at ADAM. GRANDPIERRE Mr. Dyle - you are under arrest for the murders of Charles Lampert, Herman Scobie, Joseph Penthollow, Leopold Gideon, and whoever that is down there. ADAM is surprised, then shakes his head. ADAM Reggie - you'd better tell him. He would n't dare hit a girl.", "EXT. RUE DE RIVOLI -- NIGHT As a TAXI rolls by the arcades, CAMERA PANNING with it.", "INT. TAXI -- NIGHT (PROCESS) REGGIE and ADAM in the rear of the cab. REGGIE has one of her feet in her hand, shoe off, rubbing it. REGGIE You did n't have to chase me so hard - ADAM Here, give it to me. He starts to take the foot but she pulls it back and offers him the other one. REGGIE That one's done - start on this one. He takes the foot and begins rubbing it. REGGIE I'm sorry I thought you were the murderer, Adam - how did I know that he was as big a liar as you are? ADAM And that's all the gratitude I get for saving your hide. REGGIE The truth, now - was it my hide - or the stamps? ADAM What a terrible thing to say. How could you even think that? REGGIE All right, prove it to me - tell me to go to the Embassy first thing in the morning and turn in those stamps. ADAM says nothing. REGGIE I said, tell me to go to the - ADAM I heard you, I heard you. REGGIE Then say it. ADAM Reggie - listen to me - REGGIE Never mind - I'll go by myself. ADAM What makes you think they're even interested? It's only a quarter of a million - it'll cost more than that to fix up their bookkeeping. As a taxpayer -", "EXT. AMERICAN EMBASSY -- MAIN ENTRANCE -- DAY As REGGIE and ADAM approach the MARINE in full - dress uniform always on guard at the Embassy. REGGIE -LRB- to ADAM. -RRB- Who's a taxpayer? Crooks do n't pay taxes. Excuse me, soldier - MARINE Marine, ma'am. REGGIE Forgive me. Whom would I see regarding the return of stolen Government money? MARINE You might try the Treasury Department, ma'am - Room 216, second floor, Mr. Cruikshank. REGGIE Cruikshank, 216. Thank you, Marine.", "INT. EMBASSY CORRIDOR -- DAY Featuring a door marked `` 216.'' REGGIE and ADAM appear. ADAM Do you mind if I wait out here? The sight of all that money being given away might make me break out.", "INT. EMBASSY TREASURY OFFICE -- DAY A SECRETARY sits behind a desk. She looks up as REGGIE enters. REGGIE Mr. Cruikshank, please - my name is Lampert. The SECRETARY picks up her phone and presses a button. SECRETARY Mr. Cruikshank, a Miss - REGGIE Mrs. SECRETARY - a Mrs. Lampert to see you - yes sir. -LRB- to REGGIE. -RRB- Go right in. REGGIE goes to the door leading to the private office.", "INT. CRUIKSHANK'S OFFICE -- DAY Featuring the door as REGGIE enters. She stops suddenly. ANOTHER ANGLE Featuring the desk. Behind it sits ADAM -LRB- now CRUIKSHANK -RRB-. REGGIE stares at him, unbelievingly, then looks around, confused. By way of explanation he indicates the door to the hall. REGGIE -LRB- blowing up. -RRB- Well, of all the mean, rotten, contemptible, crooked - CRUIKSHANK Crooked? I should think you'd be glad to find out I was n't crooked. REGGIE You could n't even be honest about being dishonest. Why did n't you say something? CRUIKSHANK We're not allowed to tell. May I have the stamps, please? REGGIE -LRB- reaching into her bag. -RRB- Here -. -LRB- hesitating. -RRB- Wait a minute - how did Carson Dyle get an office in here, anyway? CRUIKSHANK When did you see him - what time, I mean? REGGIE Around one. CRUIKSHANK The lunch hour. He probably worked it out in advance. He found an office that was usually left open and just moved in for the time you were here. REGGIE Then how do I know this is your office? CRUIKSHANK -LRB- picking up the phone. -RRB- Mrs. Foster - send a memo to Bartholomew at Security recommending that - REGGIE Bartholomew? CRUIKSHANK - recommending that all Embassy offices be locked during the lunch hour. REGGIE Starting with his own. CRUIKSHANK -LRB- hanging up. -RRB- Okay, now - hand over those stamps. REGGIE What's your first name today? CRUIKSHANK Brian. REGGIE Brian Cruikshank - it would serve me right if I got stuck with that one. CRUIKSHANK Who asked you to get stuck with any of them? REGGIE Is there a Mrs. Cruikshank? CRUIKSHANK Yes. REGGIE But you're - divorced? CRUIKSHANK No. REGGIE -LRB- crestfallen. -RRB- Oh. CRUIKSHANK My mother - she lives in Detroit. Come on now - give me those stamps. REGGIE Only if you can prove to me that you're really Brian Cruikshank. CRUIKSHANK How about if next week some time I put it on a marriage license - that ought to - REGGIE Quit stalling - I want to see some identification - now! CRUIKSHANK I would n't lie on a thing like that - I could go to jail. REGGIE You'd lie about anything. CRUIKSHANK Well, maybe we'd better forget about it, then. REGGIE You ca n't prove it, can you? You're still trying to -. -LRB- the coin drops into the slot. -RRB- marriage license! Did you say -? CRUIKSHANK I did n't say anything. Will you give me those stamps? REGGIE You did too say it - I heard you. Oh, I love you Adam - I mean Alex - er, Peter - Brian. I hope we have lots of boys - we can name them all after you. CRUIKSHANK Before we start on that, do you mind handing over the stamps? THE END"], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "While on a skiing holiday, simultaneous interpreter Regina \"Reggie\" Lampert tells her friend Sylvie that she has decided to divorce her husband Charles. She also meets a charming American stranger, Peter Joshua. On her return to Paris, she finds her apartment stripped bare. A police inspector notifies her that Charles sold off their belongings, then was murdered while trying to leave Paris. The money is missing. Reggie is given her husband's travel bag, containing a letter addressed to her, a ticket to Venezuela, passports in multiple names and other items. At Charles's sparsely attended wake, three men show up to view the body. Each of them tests the body to ensure that he is dead. Reggie is summoned to meet CIA administrator Hamilton Bartholomew at the U.S. Embassy. She learns that the three men at the wake are Tex Panthollow, Herman Scobie and Leopold W. Gideon. In World War II, they, Charles, and Carson Dyle went on an OSS operation to deliver $250,000 in gold to the French Resistance, but instead, they stole it for themselves. Dyle was fatally wounded in a German ambush, and Charles double-crossed the others and took all the gold. The three survivors are after the missing money, as is the U.S. government. Bartholomew insists that Reggie has it, even if she does not know where it is.  He tells her she is likely in great danger. Peter locates Reggie and helps her move into a hotel. The three criminals separately threaten her, each convinced that she knows where the money is. Scobie then shocks Reggie by claiming that Peter is in league with the trio, after which Peter confesses to her that he is really Carson Dyle's brother, Alexander, intent on bringing the other men to justice because he believes they murdered Carson. As the hunt for the money continues, first Scobie is found murdered, then Gideon. Then Bartholomew informs Reggie that Carson Dyle had no brother. When she confronts him, Alexander admits he is actually Adam Canfield, a professional thief. Although frustrated by his dishonesty, Reggie still finds herself trusting him. Reggie and Adam go to the location of Charles's last appointment and find an outdoor market. When they spot Tex there, Adam follows him. At the sight of stamp-selling booths, Adam and Tex each realize that Charles must have bought several extremely rare and valuable stamps which he affixed to an envelope that has been in plain sight among his possessions. Both men race back to Reggie's hotel room, only to find that Reggie has given the stamps to Sylvie's son Jean-Louis for his collection. At the market, Reggie also realizes the envelope's significance. She learns that Jean-Louis sold the stamps to a trader, who gave the boy 10 francs' worth of stamps in return. The trader admits that the valuable stamps are worth $250,000 in total and returns them to her. Back at the hotel, Reggie finds Tex's body with the name \"Dyle\" scrawled next to it. Convinced that Adam is the murderer after all, a frightened Reggie telephones Bartholomew, who tells her to meet him at the Colonnade at the Palais-Royal. As she leaves the hotel, Adam spots her and gives chase. At the Colonnade, Reggie is caught out in the open between the two men. Adam tells her that Bartholomew is really Carson Dyle; he survived the German ambush and became obsessed with exacting revenge on his ex-comrades and reclaiming the treasure. After another chase that ends in an empty theatre, Reggie hides in the prompt box. Dyle discovers her and is about to shoot when Adam activates a trapdoor beneath his feet, causing Dyle to fall to his death. The next day, Reggie and Adam go to the embassy to turn over the stamps, but Adam refuses to go in. Inside, Reggie discovers that Adam is really Brian Cruikshank, the government official responsible for recovering stolen property. His true identity revealed, he proposes marriage. The film ends with a split-screen grid showing flashback shots of Brian's four identities, while Reggie says she hopes that they have lots of boys, so they can name them all after him.", "name": "Charade_(1963_film)"}
{"scenes": ["EXT. NEW YORK CITY - BLOOMINGDALE'S - DAY The busy block between 59th and 60th - Streets in the middle of a weekday afternoon. Buses, taxis, trucks ; shoppers, messengers, teenagers. In one corner of the screen the time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 1:52'' Now a man -LRB- GREEN -RRB- is ZOOMED IN on - little of his actual face is visible because of his thick white hair, large bushy white mustache, dark glasses and slouch hat. The rest of him is encased in a knee - length raincoat. He wears gloves and is carrying a large, brown - paper - covered package by a wooden handle attached to the twine securing it. The box has been addressed in black felt marker - `` Everest Printing Corp., 826. Lafayette St.'' - and appears quite heavy. But Green has the gait of a man. younger than he appears. As he turns and heads down a flight of stairs, CAMERA ZOOMS IN even more to the single word on a sign : `` SUBWAY.''", "INT. SUBWAY - 59TH ST. CHANGE BOOTH - DAY A level above the locals, two above the express trains. Green appears and joins the line waiting to buy tokens. Wordlessly he shoves two coins under the grille, receives his token, moves on, drops it into the slot, pushes through the turnstile and heads for one of the descending stairways. CAMERA HOLDS on a sign identifying his choice : `` IRT. LEX. AVE. LOCAL. DOWNTOWN.''", "INT. SUBWAY PLATFORM - 59TH ST. DOWNTOWN LOCAL - DAY Green comes off the stairs and arrives on a line with a placard that hangs over the edge of the platform bearing the number `` 10'', black on a white ground, indicating the point where the front of a ten - car train stops. Now the sound of a distant rumbling, growing louder, makes Green turn,. cross to the platform's edge, lean out over the track and peer into the darkness of the tunnel beyond the far end of the platform. SUBWAY TUNNEL - GREEN'S POV as the four lights - amber and white markers over white sealed - beam headlights - come into view and the train roars and clatters into the station. CAMERA PANS with the head car as it stops, its breaks sighing, and a pair of doors in EXTREME FOREGROUND, rattles open. CAMERA now MOVES forward, into the car, then TURNS and through the still - open door, focuses on the T.A. Cop, still standing on the platform, regarding Green -LRB- CAMERA -RRB-. MED. SHOT - FIFTH CAR From the platform, featuring the conductor -LRB- BUD CARMODY -RRB- as he leans out of his window surveying the station. He has a young, boyish face surrounded by long, curly red hair.", "INT. FIFTH CAR The door to the conductor's cab is open as Bud continues to lean out the window. Directly, behind him is MATSON, an older Conductor of retirement age who is busy instructing the younger man. MATSON C'mon, kid - out loud so's I can hear what you're doin'. BUD I'm checking the passengers getting on and off - front and back - okay, it's all clear - I'm shut - ting the doors ; -. rear section FIRST -. -LRB- pushes a button. -RRB- - then the front section -. -LRB- PUSHES ANOTHER. -RRB- - and - the doors are closed. He pulls his head in and checks a row of lights on a panel. BUD Now I'm checking the indicator box to make sure that the doors are all locked - okay. The train starts with a jerk. BUD Igo back out the window -. -LRB- HE DOES. -RRB- - for a distance of three car - lengths to see that nobody's being dragged -. -LRB- RETURNING. -RRB- - I remove my door key - and then the skate key - and then I hit the transmitter button. -LRB- into a mike. -RRB- Fifty - first Street' next stop - the next stop is Fifty - first Street. -LRB- turning to Matson. -RRB- How'd I do? MATSON How come you wan na be a conductor, anyway? Do n't you know the con - ductor's sittin' in the goddam hotseat? BUD What do you mean, Mr. Matson? MATSON You're visible, for God's sake! Anything goes wrong - anyone's got a gripe - you're the one they see. Hell, in my twen' y - nine years o' stickin' my head out there I been slugged, spit on, hit by purses, fruit, rolled - up newspapers, baseball mitts - an'. I been god - dam lucky! I never been puked on by a drunk like Charlie Boltzen was on the Parkchester line - or stabbed in the neck like I heard one fella was on the Astoria BMT - BUD -LRB- QUIETLY. -RRB- Jesus. MATSON You take my advice, kid - serve your six months an' then put in for Motorman. Watch it, we're cumin' in. Bud looks quickly off, sees the approaching station and hits his transmitter button. BUD -LRB- ANNOUNCING. -RRB- FIFTY - NINTH STREET MATSON No it ai n't BUD -LRB- CORRECTING. -RRB- Fifty - first Street, sorry the station is Fifty - first Street. MATSON Never say you're sorry, kid - somebody'll come back here an' bust your goddam nose. Bud sticks his head out the window, remembers what Matson told him and pulls it partially back in.", "51ST ST. STATION - BUD'S POV SHOOTING THROUGH the conductor's window as the train enters the station. We flash by the `` rear - enders'' -LRB- those waiting for the last car -RRB- and gradually slow until we stop - and we are looking right into the face of a man -LRB- GREY -RRB- whose frame and features, while entirely different from Green's, are covered by the same identical externals - thick white hair, bushy white mustache, dark glasses, slouch hat, gloves and raincoat. He looks at the conduc - tor -LRB- CAMERA -RRB- for an instant, then darts away. PLATFORM - GREY RIDERS entering and exiting the train as Grey heads down - track. He carries a large tan valise trimmed in dark brown.", "INT. FOURTH CAR Grey just makes it to the car as the doors close, holding them back until he's squeezed through. The train starts with a lurch as he heads for the rear of the car and takes up a position, leaning his back against the storm door and placing his valise on the floor, between his feet. He surveys the car with cold, heavy - lidded eyes.", "INT. FIRST CAR Green has a seat opposite the shut steel door of the motorman's cab. His package is on the floor, between his knees, his arms resting on its top. TWO BOYS, ten and twelve, brothers, are at the window of the front storm door, their eyes glued to the track and tunnel before them, playing. : at driving the train.", "INT. FIFTH CAR - CONDUCTOR'S CAB Bud is removing his key and activating his mike. BUD -LRB- ANNOUNCING. -RRB- Grand Central Station, next stop - the next stop is Grand Central. MATSON Yeah - if I was you I'd start studyin' for that motorman's exam right now. BUD To tell you the truth, Mr. Matson, I have been. Want to hear some - thing? -LRB- RECITING. -RRB- Every car on the IRT is seventy - two feet long, cost $ 250,000 and weighs 75,000 pounds. It holds 44 seats with room for 136 standing. MATSON ` Cept at rush hour when you can push in another 20, at least. Honest to God, I. know personally of a case where this guy on a number 5 train dies of a heart attack at Union Square and he has t' wait until the Grand Concourse in the Bronx before enough people get off so's he can fall down. -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- Honest to God. BUD Mr. D'Agostino who rode with me last week said that happened on a double - A train on the West Side. MATSON Yeah? Who y' gon na believe? A wop or an American? -LRB- LOOKING OUT. -RRB- Here's where I'm gettin' off - think you can get to Brooklyn Bridge all by yourself? BUD -LRB- GRINNING. -RRB- Long as I do n't have ` to drive - MATSON Stick with it, kid - you're doin' great. See ya t ` morrow. He crosses to the nearest door as the train decelerates. Bud activates. his mike and announces, waving to Matson as he does. BUD Grand Central Station - change for the express. This is Grand Central. The train stops, the doors open and Matson steps out, colliding with a very large man -LRB- BROW ^? PN -RRB- who is in a hurry to get aboard. His face is adorned with a large, white, bushy mustache, dark glasses, a lot of white hair, a slouch hat and, covering the rest of him, a raincoat. He carries an outsized florist's box, big enough for several dozen - long - stemmed roses, under his. arm, and wears gloves. MATSON What's your hurry, chief? We wo n't leave without you. Brown says nothing to Matson, does not look at him, does not even seem aware of their cohtact. Matson goes off into the crowd on the platform and Brown heads for the front of the car.", "INT. FIRST CAR - GREEN Still sitting, still facing the motorman's cab. The two boys continue to play at the front window. The doors can be heard slamming shut and the train jerks into motion. BUD'S VOICE -LRB- AMPLIFIED. -RRB- Thirty - third Street - next stop is Thirty - third Street. Suddenly Green's hand, clutches at his shirt collar, unbut - toning the top button and loosening his tie. He breathes a sigh of relief,' then notices that his left leg is vibrat - ing. He quickly stills it by placing a hand on his knee.", "INT. FOURTH CAR - GREY Leaning back against the storm door. Now he picks up his valise, turns and looks through the door, across the platform between the cars, into the fifth car, and catches sight of Brown who nods, almost imperceptively. Grey makes no sign of recognition at all. He turns and starts forward through the car, heading for the third car. At the far end a MAN is standing in front of the door, leaning down to talk to a seated GIRL. Grey stops and waits a moment. Finally : GREY Your ass. The man looks around and surveys Grey. MAN What about it? GREY Move it. The man glances at Grey for a moment, then moves it. Grey opens the door and steps out onto the platform between the two cars.", "TWENTY-EIGHTH STREET PLATFORM CLOSE SHOT - STATION DESIGNATION The tile mosaics spelling out `` 28TH STREET.'' CAMERA now DOLLIES to a TIGHT CLOSE SHOT of still another man with a white bushy mustache, white hair, dark glasses, slouch hat, gloves and raincoat - BLUE. The time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 2a 01.'' WIDER ANGLE Blue stands at the downtown end of the platform, near the number 10 placard, carrying a bulging canvas valpac in one hazed and a trombone case in the other. A rumbling sound is heard, building, until a train roars through on the northbound express track, its lights flashing between the pillars. In a moment it is gone and the sound dies. Now a young black,. dressed in the latest extravagant PIMP's fashions - flaring double - knit trousers, three - inch heels, wide - lapeled jacket and white, extra - wide - brimmed hat, swaggers, loose - jointed, to a spot near Blue and waits, cool and relaxed. He becomes aware of Blue observing him. PIMP What's wrong, dude - ai n't you never seen a sunset before? Blue - smiles softly and looks uptrack.", "INT. FIRST CAR - GREEN BUD'S VOICE -LRB- AMPLIFIED. -RRB- Twenty - eighth Street - next stop is Twenty - eighth Street. Green glances at his watch, then turns to look at the storm door at the far end of the car. GREY - GREEN' S POV The far storm door - with Grey's face seen through the glass. TIGHT CLOSE SHOT - GREEN as he nods to Grey.", "INT. SECOND CAR as Grey comes back inside, closes the door and wedges his hip securely against the brass handle. TWENTY - EIGHTH ST. PLATFORM - LOCAL TRACK as the train roars in, brakes,' and grinds to a stop. CAMERA ZOOMS IN on a sign on the side of the first car : `` PELHAM BAY PARK'' until only `` PELHAM'' fills the SCREEN. MED. SHOT - BLUE He hangs back until everyone has gotten on or off the train, then, without haste, carrying the valpac in one hand and the trombone in the other, he approaches the front of the first car. The Motorman -LRB- DENNY DOYLE -RRB-, a middle - aged man with a ruddy face and wearing pin - striped overalls, is leaning far gut of his window, looking back along the platform. Blue puts down his bags, puts his right hand into his raincoat pocket and leans against the train with his left shoulder, blocking Doyle's view of the rest of the train. DOYLE Hey - how do you expect me to -? He stops, suddenly aware that Blue has removed a very large army automatic from his raincoat pocket and has placed the muzzle against his -LRB- Doyle's -RRB- head. Doyle jerks his head back, suddenly, banging it hard against the windowframe. Blue crooks his hand inside the window and now places the gun against the Motorman's cheek, directly under his right eye. DOYLE -LRB- TERRIFIED. -RRB- For God's sake - what do you want? BLUE I'm taking your train. FREEZE FRAME. -LRB- MAIN TITLE SEQUENCE BEGINS -RRB- MED. SHOT - BUD as he hangs out his window of the fifth car, looking down - track, trying to see Doyle. TRAIN & PLATFORM - BUD'S POV Blue's Lack, by the head car, blocking any sight of the Motorman. CLOSE SHOT - BUD Confused for a moment - then : BROWN'S VOICE Turn around - I've got some - thing to show you. Bud turns back, inside the car, then looks down. CLOSE SHOT - REVOLVER The snub - nosed weapon has been pushed into Bud' s midsec - tion. FREEZE FRAME. -LRB- MAIN TITLE CONTINUES -RRB- MED. CLOSE SHOT - BLUE & DOYLE Blue's.45 still against Doyle's cheek. Blue speaks calmly and quietly. BLUE Unlock your cab or. Doyle seems dazed, in a trance. Blue presses on the barrel of his gun, depressing Doyle's cheek. BLUE Pay attention to me. Open your cab door or I'11 kill you. FREEZE FRAME. -LRB- MAIN TITLE CONTINUES -RRB-", "INT. FITH CAR - CONDUCTOR'S CAE MED. SHOT - BROWN & BUD BROWN Come in and turn around - slow. Brown, florist's box and all, has moved into the small cubicle. When Bud pulls his head in from outside they are very close. CLOSE SHOT - DOYLE'S HAND as it gropes blindly for the latch, finds it and turns it with a click. The door opens and CAMERA TILTS UP to dis - cover Green standing outside. FREEZE FRAME. -LRB- MAIN TITLE SEQUENCE ENDS -RRB-", "INT. FIFTH CAR - CONDUCTOR'S CAB Brown's gun is still pressed into Bud's side. BROWN Go back out the window and tell me what you see. Bud nods, licks his.dry lips and leans out, looking to the left, downtrack. FRONT CARS - BUD' S POV Blue is still leaning against the head car, his back to us. BUD'S VOICE There's someone leaning against the head car. BROWN'S VOICE The second he comes aboard shut the doors. Now Blue turns, picks up his valpac and trombone, enters the train and the doors close.", "INT. FIRST CAR - MOTORMAN' S CAB as Green has moved in with his large package, a gun in his hand. Doyle stares at him, still terrified. GREEN Get rid of your seat. Doyle springs to his feet and swats up the folding seat with a clatter. DOYLE Yes, sir! GREEN Just take it easy. Now move over to the window - and if you try to touch the mike pedal with your foot I'll shoot it off. A sharp rapping at the door and Green opens it. Blue squeezes in, placing his bags atop Green's package. it is becoming very crowded in the cab as Blue again pockets his gun. BLUE All right, Mr. Green? GREEN A hundred percent. BLUE Then get it started. Green moves over to face the controls. He stares down at them for a moment, then reaches with his left hand to the controller, his right to the brake handle. Pressing down firmly on the controller, he nudges it to the left. TWENTY - EIGHTH ST. PLATFORM as the train starts to move forward - slowly.", "INT. FIFTH CAR - CONDUCTOR'S CAB Brown still holding his gun on Bud. BROWN Okay - announce the next station. Bud presses the transmitter button. BUD -LRB- ANNOUNCING. -RRB- Twenty - third Street - next STOP IS His voice croaks then fails - he ca n't finish. Brown prods him with his gun. Bud clears his throat, then tries again. I BUD -LRB- ANNOUNCING. -RRB- Next stop is Twenty - third Street. BROWN Come on - we're. taking a walk up front.", "INT. SUBWAY TUNNEL as the train crawls slowly through the darkened tunnel.", "INT. FIRST CAR - MOTORMAN'S CAB Green's eyes are on the controls as Blue and Doyle watch the track. GREEN You say when, Mr. Blue. BLUE Keep going - DOYLE You're still in switching. Why do n't you peg it up to series? You're green all the way through. GREEN We're in no hurry. Suddenly there's a popping sound and the power fails for a moment. BLUE What happened? GREEN She must've bucked. BLUE You said you could drive this thing. GREEN It was n't me! DOYLE It's the train - she bucks all the time - especially in switching. She's a dog. Green glances quickly at Doyle and grins. GREEN What's your name, motorman? DOYLE Denny Doyle, sir. GREEN You ever been written up? DOYLE Yes, sir - once. GREEN What for? DOYLE Running a red signal. The trippers stopped us cold and I hadda climb down and reset'em by hand but by that time Control knew I was lying dead. I never got written up since. How about you? GREEN Twice. - once on the Canarsie - BLUE That's right, Mr. Green - tell him all about yourself. Green stops and looks at Blue. BLUE -LRB- LOOKING OUT. -RRB- There's the emergency power box. Green knocks off his controller and eases the brake handle to the right.", "INT. TUNNEZ as the train slows and screeches to a stop.", "INT. MOTORMAN'S CAB GREEN Yeah - I'm taking the brake handle and the reverse key, Denny - and I want your cutting key, too. He pulls the reverse key out of its receptacle and holds out his hand. Doyle fishes into his overalls, pulls out the large key and gives it to Green who puts the brake handle and the two bulky keys into his two raincoat pockets, then squeezes by Blue and the packages and goes out.", "INT. FIRST CAR as Green comes out of the cab and closes the door after him. The two Boys are still there. He smiles at them and starts back, through the car. A COUPLE OF PASSENGERS glance at him but without interest.", "INT. MOTORMAN'S CAB Blue and Doyle. BLUE You'll be hearing from Command Center in a minute. -RRB- r two but you'll ignore the call - you wo n't answer - is that perfectly clear? DOYLE Yes, sir. -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- They can call all they. want. to - I'm deaf. -LRB- ANOTHER PAUSE. -RRB- Yes, sir. I want to stay alive. BLUE Keep still!", "INT. FIRST CAR as Green nears the storm door, Grey, who stands guard in front of it, glides to one side and opens the door for him. GREEN Thanks, Mr. Grey. GREY -LRB- EXAGGERATED. -RRB- Do n't mention it, Mr. Green.", "INT. SECOND CAR Brown slides open the door for Green, then slides it shut again. They speak in low tones. GREEN -LRB- TO BUD. -RRB- Give me your cab key. BROWN -LRB- as Bud hesitates. -RRB- You got three seconds to live, conductor - one - two - Bud whips the key from his pocket and hands it to Green, who unlocks the cab door they're standing next to and enters, closing the door after him. BUD What's he going to do? BROWN You would n't want me to spoil the surprise.", "INT. SECOND CAR - CAB as Green seats himself before the panel and begins arming it. He fits the brake handle into place, then fishes. the reverse key out of his pocket - it is five inches long, with a shiny surface, and a wrench - type handle that fits into a receptacle on the flat portion of the controller - and finally inserts the cutting key - similar to the reverse key but with a slightly smaller head, and turns it. CLOSE SHOT - SUBWAY TRAIN COUPLIb1GS as they disengage.", "INT. FIRST CAR - MOTORMAN'S CAB Blue and Doyle, waiting, neither saying anything. SUDDENLY : CORRELL -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Command Center calling Pelham One Two Three - come in, please - Doyle's foot moves toward the mike pedal and Blue kicks him hard in the ankle. DOYLE Owl I'm sorry - Z could n't help it - it's automatic - CORRELL -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Pelham One Two Three, do you read me? Come in, Pelham One Two Three - Doyle looks imploringly but Blue shakes his head. Finally : CORRELL -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Pelham One Two Three1 Where the fuck are you?", "INT. GRAND CENTRAL SHUTTLE STATION Two men are walking at a rapid pace : CAZ DOLOWICZ, Super - vising Towerman, an overweight man in his fifties, and a PLUMBER, a short man dressed in overalls and a cap, carry - ing a long wooden box of wrenches ; he struggles to keep up with Dolowicz. The time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 2:07.'' PLUMBER What's the goddam hurry? CAZ I told you - one of my towermen dropped his wedding ring - down the john. PLUMBER Yeah, but what're we runnin' for? CAZ -LRB- RUNNING. -RRB- Who's runnin'? They pass the Nedick's stand and Caz pushes through a gate marked : `` TO SUPER'S OFFICE''. PLUMBER How come that gate ai n't locked? CAZ Who's gon na steal a subway train?", "INT. TUNNEL RAMP as Caz and the Plumber hurry along. - PLUMBER Christ, it stinks down herel Where the hell are we goin'? CAZ To the Tower. PLUMBER Tower? Then what're we goin' down Hey, slow up, will ya? CAZ That's it up ahead - those windows. PLUMBER What kinda tower? They've come to the door of the Tower Room. They turn, go up some steps and disappear inside.", "INT. TOWER ROOM A long, unadorned room with a row of desks with phones, and a door marked `` TOILET''. Several TOWERMEN -LRB- and MRS. JENKINS, a black Towerwoman -RRB- sit at the desks before the flashing phone consoles, talking to dispatchers, trainmasters and other Towers. The predominant feature of the room, however, i is the electronic Model Board, stretched high across one wall, recording in colored slashes of light the movements of every train that passes through the sector, all of it superimposed on a painted map showing the line's track routes and stations. One of the Towermen, MARINO, rushes over to Caz as he and the Plumber enter. MARINO Jesus Christ, Caz, you picked a helluva day to be late - CAZ You wanted a plumber down here, did n't you? Whose goddam wedding ring was it? MARINO -LRB- POINTING. -RRB- Who else? Mrs. Jenkins. MRS. JENKINS I'm sorry, Mr. Dolowicz - it just slipped off. CAZ What were you doin' r with your hand in the john, anyway? MRS. JENKINS -LRB- indignant. -RRB-. My hand - was n't in the john, Mr. Dolowicz - it was over the john. CAZ What's the difference? -LRB- to the Plumber. -RRB- Go fish it out, will ya? As the Plumber heads off, Caz turns to Marino. CAZ The classification's been open to women for only a month and already we're in the goddam toilet! -LRB- glancing at the BOARD. -RRB- What the hell's that? MARINO That's what I've been tryin' - to tell you, Caz - a southbound local. He's laying down between 28th and 23rd. CAZ What the hell for? MARINO Dunno yet. CAZ How long? MARINO Couple - three minutes. Command Center's been trying to raise him but so far he do n't answer the radio. Jesus, Caz - why do n't he answer the radio? CAZ Take it easy, Marino - there's lots o' reasons. Maybe he jumped a ball and hadda leave the cab to reset a tripper - or a door got hung and he hadda go fix it. Any - thing more serious and he'd' a called in for a car knocker. MARINO It's been too long, Caz - CAZ Then maybe his radio's busted and the sonuvabitch is too lazy to climb down and use a telephone! I'm gon na write him up for this, goddammit - I'm gon na have his ass. TOWERMAN Hey - it's moving! Everyone wheels around to stare up at the Board. CAZ For Jesus Christ sake! The dumb bastard's moving backwards!", "INT. SUBWAY TUNNEL Slowly, the second to the tenth cars are moving away from the first car which continues to lie motionless on the track. The rear cars roll about a hundred feet.", "INT. SECOND CAR - CAB as Green, leaning out the window and looking behind him, now applies the brake handle and the train grinds to a halt.", "INT. TOWER ROOM Caz, Marino and the others are staring up at the Model Board. MARINO He's stopped again! CAZ Stopped is better than backwards.", "INT. SECOND CAR - CAB as Green removes the brake handle and the two keys, stuffs them back into his pockets and leaves the cab.", "INT. SECOND CAR Brown and Bud are waiting as Green steps out. Bud stares at him. GREEN What's wrong with you? BUD I did n't know these things'd could go backwards! BROWN -LRB- IMPATIENTLY. -RRB- Let's go, Mr. Green. He opens the storm door and holds it as Green goes through first.", "INT. TUNP'EL as Green comes out onto the threshold plate, crouches low to ease the impact, then jumps down onto the concrete roadbed. Bud is next and Green helps him down. Then Brown. They walk quickly through ` the tunnel to the first car. Grey has opened the storm door for them and steps out onto the plate to help them up.", "INT. FIRST CAR - MOTORMAN'S CAB Blue and Doyle, the latter watching wide - eyed as the former opens his trombone case and removes a submachine gun. He checks it then sets it aside and removes the cord from Green's package. CORRELL -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Come in, Pelham One Two Three for Chrissake come in - I Blue opens the package, removing a second, identical automatic weapon. As he checks it out, a rapping sounds at the metal door and Blue opens it. Green squeezes in. BLUE Any trouble, Mr. ` Green? GREEN Smooth as silk, Mr. Blue. BLUE I unpacked your weapon. Get this thing moving - we're run - ning almost two minutes behind. Picking up his submachine gun, and holding it vertically along his pants leg, Blue eases himself through the door and shuts it after him. CORRELL -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- -LRB- WEARY. -RRB- Pelham One Two Three - can you hear me, Pelham Ond Two Three -? Green quickly replaces the brake handle and eases the controller to the left.", "INT. TUNNEL as the single subway car starts to move slowly forward.", "INT. TOWER ROOM CLOSE SHOT - MODEL BOARD as a set of red slashes begin to flicker. REVERSE SHOT All eyes staring up at the Board -LRB- CAMERA -RRB-. MARINO She's moving again - forward this time! CAZ I got eyes, have n't I? MARINO Well - whatever it was, he's okay now, thank God.", "INT. FIRST CAR it is moving slowly. Blue stands by the cab, his gun still held hidden behind his leg. He looks down the length of the car. MED. SHOT - BROWN, He undoes his flower box and removes another submachine gun. MED. SHOT - GREY He has opened his valise and has taken out still another submachine gun which he grins at, happily. MED. SHOT - BLUE He comes forward to the center of the car, now, making no attempt at inconspicuousness any more. BLUE -LRB- LOUDLY. -RRB- Attention, please! Some faster than others, the Passengers in the car are either distracted from their reading or talking, or around from their limbo of subway dead - headedness. Registering different degrees of interest, surprise, confusion, or -LRB- in some cases, upon seeing the guns -RRB- fright and even terror, they turn to face Blue.' There are some sixteen of - The black, modishly - dressed Pimp, in his 30's, seen earlier on the station platform. - A plump MOTHER, forty - ish, high - strung, the parent of the the Boys seen earlier playing motorman. - A Puerto Rican DELIVERY BOY, 20, - with acne, wearing a lumberman's wool jacket, a small hat, and carrying a large manila envelope. - A black SECRETARY, 25, attractive, with a natural, and well - dressed, who's been reading a book. - A HIPPIE type, 24, with shoulder - length blond Jesus Christ hair and a beard to match, wearing a Navajo - patterned woolen poncho, a headband, leather sandals and a zonked - out expression. - A black MAID, 50's, overweight, tired, wearing a wig and an old fur - collared coat, end carrying two Blooming - dale's shopping bags. - A HOOKER, 32, white, flashy, dark - haired, wearing a short skirt, no bra and an Anzac - type hat. A W.A.S.P. type, 40's, short - hair, wearing a brown tweed jacket and a narrow tie. - A black SALESMAN, 35, with a, sample case and an order book, wearing glasses. - A woman WINO, a derelict of indeterminate age, with rolled down stockings, layered in ratty coats and sweaters, wearing wool gloves with the fingers out, missing most of her teeth, her hair stringy, her eyes red - rimmed, her complexion sallow, carrying a pint bottle in a paper bag, passed out, dead to the world. - An OLD MAN, 70's, tiny and alert, dressed in an expen - sive but old - fashioned cashmere overcoat. - TWO CO - EDS, 18 and 19, scrubbed, pretty, serious -LRB- Hunter College, 68th St. Station -RRB-, carrying briefcases. - A black FAG, 25, his hair straightened and pompadoured, his eyebrows plucked and redrawn, his figure trim, his clothes calculated to attract other men, his mouth con - stantly pouting, carrying a shoulder bag and listening to a transistor radio. In all, SIXTEEN - seven men, two boys, seven women ; ten white, five black and one Puerto Rican. Center - car, Blue addresses them. He holds his submachine gun in the crook of his arm, the barrel resting on his right hand. BLUE You will all remain - seated. Anyone who tries to rise will be shot. PASSENGERS Oh my God What'd he say? What's going on? I do n't believe it. -LRB- Etc. -RRB- BLUE And you will remain silent! There will be no further warning - any - one who moves or speaks without permission is going to be killed. There is immediate silence as he - looks around. BLUE This weapon fires 450 rounds of.45 calibre ammunition per minute. In other words, if all of you de - cided to rush me simultaneously, not a single one, of you would get any closer than you are right now. Is that understood? This news is met in stony, awe - struck, terrified silence. Except for the Pimp who smiles, seemingly relaxed. PIMP I should' a know'd you was the main man, man.", "INT. TUNNEL as the slowly moving car comes to a stop.", "INT. TOWER ROOM CLOSE SHOT - CAZ He is staring up at the Board. CAZ He stopped again! The crazy, dumb - assed sonuvabitch stopped again! WIDER ANGLE Including Marino, Mrs. Jenkins and the other Towermen. MARINO What's he doing now? He's half - way between stations. CAZ A pure mental case. I'm gon na nail his pecker to the goddam wall for this! MARINO -LRB- indicating Mrs. JENKINS. -RRB- Hey, Caz, take it easy, will you? CAZ If I got ta watch my language just because they let a few broads in' I'm gon na quit! How the hell. can you run a goddam railroad without swearing?! CORRELL -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Grand Central Tower - this is the Desk Trainmaster - who the fuck's in charge down there? Caz glances at Mrs. Jenkins, grins, and leans over a desk to flip on a mike. CAZ It's me, Frank - Caz Dolowicz. We're watching it on the Board. CORRELL -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- What good's watching it, for Chris - sake? We got trains piling up behind it. Get some goddam super - vision down there! CAZ On my way, Frank. -LRB- AN AFTERTHOUGHT. -RRB- Oh, and Frank - please do n't say `` fuck'' anymore on the radio - we got some ladies down here now - and you know how it is with ladies, Frank - the cunts do n't like it. He flips off the key and walks out the door.", "INT. SUBC47AY -. FIRST CAR Blue maintains his position in min? - car. He turns now to the rear section. BLUE Everybody in this half of the car - that's from here on back - move up front, please. Everybody. -LRB- as they hesitate. -RRB- Right now - upi As the. six or seven passengers in the rear section rise and move forward, the cab door opens and Doyle comes out, i followed by Green who is covering him with his gun. BLUE Get going, Mr. Green. Green nods and goes to the front, uses a key to slide open the storm door, steps out and closes it again, then jumps down onto the tracks. BLUE Motorman - come here. DOYLE Yes, sir? BLUE I want you to walk uptrack and collect all the passengers in the nine cars we out loose, and lead them back to the 28th St. Station - is that clear? DOYLE People hate getting off in the middle of a tunnel - BLUE Just do as you're told : The Hooker raises her hand. HOOKER Can I go with them, please? I've got this important appointment, you see, and - BLUE No. No one else can leave. MOTHER I'm sure you would n't mind if the children were to go - BLUE Nobody leaves! OLD MAN -LRB- raising his hand. -RRB- Excuse me, mister - do n't you think we should be let in on what's happening? BLUE Yes. What's happening is that you're all being held by four dangerous men with machine guns. OLD MAN -LRB- SMILING. -RRB- I suppose if you ask a foolish QUESTION The fluorescent lights suddenly go out and the emergency, incandescent bulbs immediately go on, thereby diminishing the brightness in the car by half. There's a general stirring among the Passengers as they look around them, their alarm peaking again. BLUE Please be quiet - nothing's going to happen if you do as you're told. Get going, Motorman. As Doyle leaves at one end of the train, Green reappears at the other. BLUE All right, Mr. Green? GREEN All power's out between 14th and 33rd Streets on all four tracks, local and express, north - and southbound. BLUE I still see some tunnel lights. GREEN Emergency. They're on A.C. like the signals. BLUE -LRB- a pause. -RRB-. Stay here - and leave the cab door open so you can hear the radio. Blue returns to the center of the car but CAMERA stays on Green as he opens the cab door. CORRELL -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Command Center to Pelham one two Three - did you cut the power down there? - without calling Power Central to explain? All right, Pelham One Two Three - cut this shit right now and answer me! You're fucking up the whole goddam New York Subway System!", "EXT. M.T.A. HEADQUARTERS - BROOKLYN - DAY The large, granite - f aced building in the Borough Hall complex. The following legend is SUPERIMPOSED : `` TRANSIT AUTHORITY 370 JAY ST. BROOKLYN''", "INT. T.A. HDQRS. -- SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR - DAY Elevators and the Information Desk. CLIVE PRESCOTT, a black plainclothes lieutenant in the Transit Police, is pacing, waiting. The time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 2:09.'' A uniformed TRANSIT COP sits behind the desk, watching him. Finally : an elevator door opens and a smart, efficient SECRETARY emerges, followed by FOUR JAPANESE in business suits. SECRETARY Ah, Lieut. Prescott - it was nice of you to leave your duties long enough to show our distinguished guests around the facilities. May I present Mr. Yashimura, Mr. Mat - sumoto, Mr. Tomashita, and Mr. NAKABASHI The small - framed Orientals bow in turn. SECRETARY - who are all Directors of the Tokyo Metropolitan Subway System. Gentlemen, this is Lieut. Clive Prescott of our own Transit Authority Police. PRESCOTT A pleasure, gentlemen. SECRETARY When you're through the Chairman would like to say goodbye per - sonally so send them up to thirteen, will you? PRESCOTT I sure will. She smiles at the Japanese and walks back to the elevators, pressing the UP button. Prescott looks at the four men for a moment, uncertainly, then goes after the Secretary and speaks to her in low tones. PRESCOTT THEY speak English, do n't they? SECRETARY We're not sure. PRESCOTT You're not. SECRETARY We've been proceeding on the assumption that they do. PRESCOTT You have. The elevator door opens and - she steps in, smiling sweetly. SECRETARY Sayonara. The door closes. Prescott shrugs, then turns and smiles at the visitors. They smile back. He takes a deep breath, then begins. PRESCOTT The New York City Subway System is the largest ` in the world, with 237 miles of track and seven thousand cars that carry over a billion and a third passengers every year, making it also the busiest railroad in, the world. I can see that this last fact surprises you. The Japanese look anything but surprised. Prescott goes on, resolutely. PRESCOTT Yes. Well - Grand Central is the busiest station passenger - wise - train - wise, it's West 4th St. on the I.N.D. line. Now, if you'll step this way, gentlemen - They step no way at all. Prescott gestures broadly. PRESCOTT This way - He hurries ahead of them to open the door and hold it for them as they finally follow. PRESCOTT We are entering the headquarters of the Transit Police, occupying the entire second floor of this building. We call it the Nerve Center.", "INT. OPERATIONS - DAY CLOSE SHOT - STATUS BOARD A huge police map covering one wall, divided into pastel shadings of yellow, red, orange, blue and green, showing the various areas of the system. Colored lights - red an & yellow - are continually changing and flickering. PRESCOTT'S VOICE The Status Board pinpoints the disposition of every Transit Authority policeman presently in the field. Things are usually jumping pretty good in here. CAMERA begins to ZOOM BACK, revealing the scene : a large room, cut. up by glass dividers into a maze of squares and rectangles manned by uniformed T.A. POLICEMEN, sitting at desks with telephone consoles. The place is absolutely dead - some reading, some eating, some sleeping. PRESCOTT'S VOICE We have one of our own T.A. cops on every station and every train in the entire system between the hours of eight P.M. and four A.M.. Since we instituted this watch, we've out crime in the subways by about 60 %. CAMERA has finished its ZOOM and now PANS to include Prescott and his four Japanese. PRESCOTT I'm sure you have your own share of crime on the Tokyo subway, right? They merely stare at Prescott and smile. PRESCOTT Right. He clears his throat, loosens his tie and looks around for help. PRESCOTT Uh - follow me, gentlemen, PLEASE - He starts off through the room, the Japanese following. PRESCOTT These are the assignment desks, one for each of the three lines - the I.R.T., the B.M.T. and the I.N.D. - and.over here, the Oper - ations Lieutenant, Sol Garber. Prescott has stopped beside a desk. GARBER, 40, stocky, dour, with a dark stubble that requires shaving twice a day, is absorbed reading the Village Voice. PRESCOTT Uh - Sol - I'd like you to meet some friends of the Chairman. Garber looks up over his paper for a moment. GARBER HI YAA PRESCOTT Good friends of the Chairman. GARBER Hi ya. PRESCOTT They're - uh - directors of the Tokyo Subway. GARBER -LRB- FLATLY. -RRB- You do n't say. PRESCOTT I do say. I - uh - told them things are usually jumping. like crazy in here. GARBER Jumping. Right. PRESCOTT Tell them about some of the excit - ing things that have been happening lately, Sol - GARBER Yeah, well - we had a bomb scare in the Bronx yesterday - but it turned out to be a cantaloupe. He and Prescott look at the Japanese. Nothing. PRESCOTT How about another one, Sol? GARBER Well - uh - Thursday there were three unrelated knife fights in a single half hour - two dead and three wounded -. -LRB- PAUSE. -RRB- - one critical? The Japanese smile. GARBER I'm busy, Clive, okay? He goes back to his newspaper as Prescott leads his four charges away. PRESCOTT In the course of a normal week the T.A. Police have to deal with such crimes as robbery, assault, murder, drunkenness, injury, illness, vandalism, abusiveness, sexual molestation and exhibitionism. -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- You know, flashing? To illustrate, he waves a bottom corner of his jacket at the Japanese who nod appreciatively. Then he lifts a pistol from his shoulder holster, just far enough to show the handle. PRESCOTT We carry firearms, of course - off duty as well as on. -LRB- RETURNS IT. -RRB- - and we're fully empowered to make arrests. -LRB- A THOUGHT. -RRB- in fact - you're all four under arrest right now. You get me? I'm tossing you all in the pokey and throwing away the key. He smiles and they smile back. He feels much better. PRESCOTT -LRB- GAYLY. -RRB- All right, you creeps, let's go upstairs to the Command Center. They start off.", "EXT. PARK AVE. - 28TH ST. SUBWAY ENTRANCE -.DAY as a Taxi pulls up and Caz jumps out after paying the DRIVER. DRIVER Hey! These are subway tokens : CAZ -LRB- CALLING BACK. -RRB- Sounder than the U.S. Dollar! He disappears down the steps.", "28TH ST. PLATFORM - TRAVELLING A train is standing with its doors open, and lit within only by the emergency bulbs. Caz hurries south along the platform, heading for the first car, his ample stomach bouncing over his low - slung belt, CAMERA LEADING him until he comes to the front of the train and stops to talk to the MOTORMAN, a grizzled old - timer who needs a shave. CAZ When did the power go? MOTORMAN Who wants to know? CAZ The Supervisor of the Grand Central Tower wants to know! MOTORMAN Oh - sure - it went a ` couple of minutes ago. He starts off. MOTORMAN What happened down there - a man under? CAZ Who wants to know?", "INT. TUNNEL as Caz comes to the end of the platform, climbs down to the roadbed and starts through the darkened tunnel. He breaks into a trot, only to slow to a walk and then stop as he sees something approaching in the darkness : a large CROWD of people, being guided by Doyle who uses a flashlight. Caz scratches his head. CAZ What now, for Chripsake?", "INT. SUBWAY - FIRST CAR as Blue surveys.the scene. The rear section is empty. The Sixteen remaining Passengers and Bud are sitting quietly. Brown and Grey stand mid - car, guarding from that side. Now Blue joins Green at the front end. BLUE What time've you got, Mr. Green? GREEN -LRB- CHECKING. -RRB- Two - ten. BLUE Correct. Time to start. Any - thing you want to say first? GREEN -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- I'm going to die today, BLUE -LRB- ANOTHER PAUSE. -RRB- Could be. He turns and enters the Motorman's cab. CORRELL -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Pelham One Two Three - do you read me now -?", "INT. T.A. BLDG. - THIRD FLOOR COMMAND CENTER - DAY CLOSE SHOT - FROM ABOVE SHOOTING DOT1N at the enormous, block - long, high - ceilinged area in which the three Divisional units -LRB- IRT, BAIT and IND -RRB- are scattered widely, using so little of the space that the arrangement looks provisional. Over this, one VOICE can be heard, Correll's, continuing from the previous scene. CORRELL'S VOICE - Come in, Pelham One Two Three - if you can receive and not transmit please use a phone - CA14FRA now ZOOMS IN on Correll, the desk trainmaster, seated at a steel desk, talking over a two - way radio / telephone console. CORRELL - Come in, Pelham One Two Three -. -LRB- punches a button. -RRB- Power Central - have you restored Lex 14 - 33 yet? RADIO Not yet, Command Center. Still working. CORRELL -LRB- PUNCHING ANOTHER BUTTON. -RRB- Grand Central Tourer - any movement on Pelham One Two Three? MRS. JENKINS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Still lying dead, Command Center. CORRELL -LRB- PUNCHING ANOTHER BUTTON. -RRB- Maintenance - how about a report, for Chrissake? RADIO On what, Command Center? CORRELL How many trains we got laying down, you dumb bastard? CAMERA PANS to pick up Prescott as he leads his four Japanese through the room, moving and speaking rapidly. PRESCOTT Each train is identified by the name of its terminus and the time of its departure - thus, an express leaving Woodlawn at 6:30 P.M. would be Woodlawn Six Three Oh, while on its return trip its new destination might be Flathush Eight Two Five. I hope you're memorizing all this junk - I'm going to ask questions later. He has said this within earshot of a DISPATCHER who now reacts. DISPATCHER Jesus, Prescott, have you lost your marbles or what? PRESCOTT Do n't worry - they do n't under - stand a word. -LRB- to the Japanese. -RRB- Come on, you dummies - get the lead out. MED. - SHOT - CORRELL Bent over his console, shouting into the boom mike curling out of it, as Prescott and the Japanese arrive. CORRELL Pelham One Two Three - come in, Pelham One Two Three - Goddanmit, why do n't you answer your fucking radio?! PRESCOTT There he is, gentlemen - Train - master Frank Correll, the Lord Byron of the New York Subway System. Observe the way smoke and fire shoot out of his ears. CORRELL Do n't bug me, Prescott - I've got trouble here. PRESCOTT What's the matter, Frank? CORRELL Oh, nothing much - a train's down, its radio's dead, the power.'s off and it's dumped its load. Other than that everything's ginger peachy. PRESCOTT No idea what's wrong? CORRELL I told you - his goddam radio's NOT - RADIO Pelham One Two Three to Command Center - this is Pelham One Two Three - do you read me -? CORRELL There he is -! -LRB- punching a button. -RRB- I read you, you sonuvabitch - where the hell have you been? What are you trying to do, screw up this entire railroad single - handedly? - Come in, you bastard, and start explaining - and you'd better make it good! Pelham One Two Three - to Command Center - your train has been taken - repeat, your train has been TAKEN - Correll looks at Prescott in astonishment, then wheels to shout at the room. CORRELL Shut up in here! I said shut it - everybody! REACTION SHOTS as EVERYONE in the room turns to look at Correll. MED. SHOT - CORRELL Into the radio : CORRELL Pelham One Two Three - what the fuck do you mean the train's been taken?! Are you the Motorman? Negative. CORRELL Then who the hell are you? No one's authorized to be in that cab except the goddam motorman! Identify yourself! Listen to me, Trainmaster - your train has been hijacked by a group of heavily - armed men - CORRELL It what?! - We are holding sixteen passengers and the Conductor hostage in the first car and we will not hesitate to kill any or all of them if you do not do precisely as we say. Do I make myself clear, Trainmaster? CORRELL You're out of your fucking mind! Be that as it may, are you ready to take down our list of demands? CORRELL -LRB- FLUSTERED. -RRB- No - wait a minute - stand by -. -LRB- DISCONNECTING ; THEN TO PRESCOTT. -RRB- Why would anybody want to hijack a goddam subway train for? PRESCOTT Hit your six button, will you, Frank? I want T.A. Police in on this. CORRELL -LRB- NOTICING. -RRB- What the hell are all those Chinamen doing in here? PRESCOTT Holy Christ, I forgot! -LRB- LOOKING AROUND. -RRB- Somebody take these monkeys up to Thirteen, will you -? FIRST JAPANESE It is all right, Lieut. Prescott - I'm sure we can find it by our - selves. SECOND JAPANESE -LRB- BOWING. -RRB- Thank you for a most instructive visit, Lieutenant. THIRD JAPANESE And most exciting, too. They all bow low and file out. Prescott watches them in a near state of shock. PRESCOTT Since this is my last day on the job, I might as well make it a good one. He leans over Correll and, pushing a button, speaks into the mike. PRESCOTT Prescott to Garber - GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is Garber - PRESCOTT Sol - plug everything you've got into the I.R.T. Trainmaster's circuit, will you? - an all - unit stand - by, on the d -. -RRB- uble. And call in the city cops - put it on a 9 - 11 so their computer gets it. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- What's up, Clive? PRESCOTT You wo n't believe it. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- You know me - I'll believe anything. PRESCOTT A train's been hijacked. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- I do n't believe it.", "INT. SUBWAY - FIRST CAR - MOTORMAN'S CAB Blue waits at the radio, calmly doing one of the crossword puzzles in a book of them. There's a knock and he opens the door. Green sticks his head, in. BLUE What do you want, Mr. Green? GREEN How's it going? BLUE All right. GREEN Did you tell them? BLUE Part of it. GREEN What are they doing now? BLUE Recovering. They sounded a little upsat. GREEN -LRB- SMILING. -RRB- Yeah - I guess they would. BLUE Go back outside - I do n't want Mr. Brown and Mr. Grey left alone with the passengers any longer than we have to. GREEN Do n't you trust them? BLUE I trust Mr. Brown - Mr. Grey's another matter. He's a cocky little pain in the ass who could turn out to be real trouble if we do n't watch him. GREEN Where'd you find him, anyway? BLUE He was recommended. CORRELL -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Pelham One Two Three, this is Command Center - come in, Pelham One Two Three - BLUE Go on -. -LRB- as Green goes ; into the mike. -RRB- This is Pelham One Two Three, Trainmaster - are you ready to take down the list of our demands? CORRELL -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- I'm listening, you shitheel - what do you want? BLUE Do you have a pencil? CORRELL -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Go on, goddammitii BLUE To begin with it is important that you understand three things : One -", "INT. COMMAND CENTER - DAY MED. SHOT - TRAINMASTER'S DESK Prescott and OTHERS grouped around Correll at his desk, everyone straining to hear. BLUE - Pelham One Two Three is completely in our control. Two - we are armed with fully auto - matic weapons. Three - we have no scruples whatsoever about killing. Do you read me so far? CORRELL I read you, you goddam lunatic - you'll never get away with this, you know - BLUE Please inform - the Mayor that we demand one million dollars in cash for the release of the car and all of the hostages - CORRELL That'll be the day - BLUE The time is now 2:13. The money must be in our hands no later than 3:13 - one hour from now. If it is not, we will kill one hostage for every' minute you are late. CORRELL Keep dreaming, maniac - BLUE Furthermore, if anyone attempts to interfere - anyone -. in any way - we will begin killing the hostages immediately. Confirm, PLEASE - CORRELL Look, I'm only the Trainmaster around here - I do n't know any - thing about contacting the goddam Mayor! -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- BLUE All right - patch me into the Transit Police. CORRELL Hold on - I've got one here now. He disconnects and turns to Prescott. CORRELL He's all yours, the sonuvabitch. -LRB- as Prescott reaches for the mike. -RRB- Not here, for Chrissake - Take it over there! He points to another, empty desk. Prescott goes to it and sits, then punches in a line on the console and speaks into the mike. PRESCOTT Pelham One Two Three - can you hear me? BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is Pelham. Identify your - self, please. PRESCOTT Lieut. Prescott of the Transit Police. Identify yourself. BLUE I'm the man who stole your train. PRESCOTT There's no way you can get away with it - you're underground, in a tunnel. BLUE Why do you concern yourself with that, Lieutenant? At precisely 3:13 we will begin executing the passengers. Do n't you think you'd better contact the Mayor without wasting any more time? The moment you've done it report back to me for further instructions. Signing off. There is a click as the line goes dead. Prescott pushes another button. PRESCOTT Sol - did you get all that? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- I only get your end but I could piece the rest of it together. Jesus, it's crazy! PRESCOTT What about the city cops? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- They've got two cars from the 14th precinct on the way now. PRESCOTT Two cars - you sure they can spare that many? What about our own men? We got anyone at 28th St?", "INT. OPERATIONS - DAY Garber at his desk as he swivels to regard the Status Board. GARBER Just checking on that - uh - yeah, he's around there somewhere. PRESCOTT -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- You'd better tell him to hold the fort - it's liable to be a couple of hours before any city cops show up. GARBER Will do, Clive. He disconnects, turns and shouts. GARBER Sargent - get me our guy at Lex 281", "INT. 28TH ST. PLATFORM Bedlam. The train still stands idly, empty now, its doors closed. There's a CROWD milling about, some pounding futilely at the doors of the train, others just standing around, waiting. ARTIS JAMES, a black T.A. cop is talking to a small group of irate citizens. He carries a radio on a strap over his shoulder. JAMES I'm sorry, lady, I do n't know how long the delay will be - it's just a minor technical problem. MAN Anybody hurt? 2ND MAN How many killed? JAMES Look - everybody just calm down. -LRB- his radio BEEPS. -RRB- Hold on - He turns away and lifts the radio to his face. JAMES Patrolman James - GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is Lieut. Garber in Opera - tions. Where are you now? JAMES Twenty - eighth southbound. Every - thing's shut down, Lieutenant - what's going on? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Look, do n't react to this - but a train's been hijacked - JAMES Holy shit. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Exactly. Try and maintain order on the platform and for God's sake do n't say anything! Oh, and there's a Supervisor from Grand Central Tower around there some - where - see if you can find him. JAMES I saw him a couple of minutes ago, Lieutenant - he was headed down - track on foot. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- - Oh Jesus! You'd better go after him - see if you can turn him back.", "INT. TUNNEL Caz is hot in conversation with Doyle as the long line of Passengers files by, on their way out of the tunnel. CAZ I do n't give a goddam what they were armed with - your job is to. stay on that train until you get authorization to leave! DOYLE They said they'd kill me, for God's sake! CAZ You're like the captain of a ship - you're supposed to go down with it. PASSENGER -LRB- as he passes. -RRB- Bullshit. CAZ Butt out! -LRB- TO DOYLE. -RRB- All right - tell Command Center I'm on my way to investigate. DOYLE You're going down there? Hey, I would n't, if I were you. CAZ I know you would n't. He leaves Doyle and starts down the track. A few Passengers in the line call to him. 2ND PASSENGER You work for the subway? Tell'em I'm gon na sue this time - I really mean it - I'm gon na sue! M E D. SHOT - JAMES He is trotting, following Caz, passing the line of Passengers headed the other way. 3RD PASSENGER -LRB- TO 6TH. -RRB- I'll tell you whose goddam fault it is - it's the Mayor's goddam fault. 4TH' PASSENGER Why's it his fault? 3RD PASSENGER ` Cuz he's the head o' the city, ai n't he? That makes him respon - sible. They oughta impeach the bum!", "INT. TUNNEL - CAZ as he sees the first car ahead of him - and as he gets closer, the silhouette of a man -LRB- Grey -RRB- through the rear storm door window.", "INT. FIRST CAR - GREY He stands guard at the rear storm door. Now he sees some - thing moving in the tunnel and slides open the door, calling. GREY Stop right there, cowboy -! REACTIONS SHOTS - GREEN AND BROWN as they look around, surprised.", "INT. TUNNEL - CAZ CAZ -LRB- SHOUTING BACK. -RRB- Who the hell are you? The voices echo and distort in the tunnel. GREY You'll find out if you take another step -! MED. SHOT - JAMES He is scooting along, crouched, hearing the voices, advancing from pillar to pillar, using each for a brief instant of concealment. CAZ' VOICE I'm warning you, mister - that's city property you're fooling around with - I GREY'S VOICE That's just too fucking bad!", "INT. TUNNEL - CAZ CAZ Why did n't you ga grab a goddam airplane like everybody else?! GREY We're afraid of flying. Now I'm. tellin' you, buster - clear out or I Ill shoot your ass off! CAZ Stand back - I'm coming on board -! He starts forward. GREY I warned you, stupid - I MED. SHOT - GREY CAZ' POV -LRB- SLOW MOTION & SILENT -RRB- Dead silence as CAMERA ADVANCES toward Grey. Now the sub - machine gun he's pointing at Caz -LRB- CAMERA -RRB- begins spitting fire and spewing out the spent shells. CLOSE SHOT - CAZ -LRB- SLOW MOTION & SILENT -RRB- Only his face - as his eyes and mouth open wide in shock and disbelief and sudden death. CLOSE SHOT - JAMES -LRB- SLOW MOTION & SILENT -RRB- His face peeking out from behind - a pillar, the flashes from Grey's gun reflected in his eyes and on the pillar. MED. SHOT - GREY -LRB- SLOW MOTION & SILENT -RRB- as he continues firing. FLASH CUTS - GREEN, BROWN, PASSENGERS -LRB- SLOW MOTION & SILENT -RRB- Astonished ; unfeeling ; horror - struck. MED. CLOSE SHOT - CAZ -LRB- SLOW MOTION & SILENT -RRB- as his dead body hits the ground, bounces, and rolls over, face up, eyes still - open.", "INT. FIRST CAR - BLUE (TRAVELLING) The SOUND returns with a rush. Blue rushes out of the Motorman's cab and runs down the length of the car, CAMERA FOLLOWING as he goes past Green and Brown without speaking to them. He looks out the rear or for a moment, at the dead body. GREY I warned the bastard but he kept on coming anyway. BLUE Was he alone? GREY I did n't see anybody else. -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- I guess I got us on the scoreboard, huh? Without a word, Blue moves to Brown at mid - car. BLUE Take over back there. I want Mr. Grey up closer to me so I dan keep an eye on him. BROWN He's a little trigger - happy. BLUE Maybe it was necessary - I did n't see it. BROWN He loved every minute of it.", "INT. TUNNEL - JAMES as he - peers around the pillar he's hiding behind. Smoke from the gun still hangs in the air. He ducks back behind the pillar, unslings his radio and, holding it close to his mouth, whispers into it. JAMES Patrolman James calling Operations GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is Garber - It comes in too loud and James frantically lowers the volume. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- - what's going on? Did you find that Supervisor? JAMES He's dead, Lieutenant. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Speak up, will you? I ca n't hear you. JAMES I ca n't - I'm only about 20 yards from the hijacked train. They just shot him. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Shot who? JAMES The Supervisor - with a motherfuckin' machine gun! GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Is he dead? JAMES Would n't you be? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- But you're not sure. JAMES What do you want me to do, Lieutenant - go out there and feel his pulse?", "INT. OPERATIONS - DAY Garber at his console. GARBER All right - stay put and keep an eye on things. -LRB- punches a button. -RRB- Clive - they just drew first blood. That Tower Supervisor from Grand Central - we do n't know his name - they just killed him.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER,- DAY Prescott at his console. PRESCOTT Oh, God -. -LRB- TURNING. -RRB- Frank - do you knew who went down to 28th Street from Grand Central? CORRELL Yeah - Caz Dolowitz. It7hy? PRESCOTT Jesus - I knew him - CORRELL What do you mean knew him? PRESCOTT They just shot him. CORRELL -LRB- UNBELIEVING. -RRB- Caz? Fat Caz? -LRB- slams his fist down. -RRB- Christ! COSTELLO -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Lieutenant. Prescott - are you there, Clive -? PRESCOTT -LRB- pushing a button. -RRB- Who's this? COSTELLO -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Costello. PRESCOTT Yes, Captain. COSTELLO -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- I'm putting you in charge at this end, Clive - I'm going down to 28th Street. If I do n't show up pretty quick the city cops Ill hog all the action. They've ordered up a major mobilization, calling in units from four of the five boroughs - there's even one on board the train - one of the hostages. PRESCOTT You're kidding! A cop? How do you know? COSTELLO -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- There were two of'em - one got off at 33rd Street and called in later when the news got out. That means the other one's still on the damn thing. PRESCOTT Plainclothes? COSTELLO -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- That's right. PRESCOTT Man or woman? COSTELLO -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- You know something? I never thought to ask. PRESCOTT Male Chauvinist Pig - sir. COSTELLO -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Yeah. Keep in touch with'em, Clive - do n't let communications break clown. Tell l em the wheels are grinding - tell'em the Commissioner's on his way up to see the Mayor - tell'em we need more time - tell'em - oh, shit, I do n't know what to tell'em. Jesus, what a city! PRESCOTT Captain - I would n't mind getting over there myself. COSTELLO -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Out of the question, Clive - we need you here. Incidentally, the Chairman asked me to thank you. PRESCOTT What for? COSTELLO -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- The way you treated those four Japs. They said they had a great time - the highlight of their whole trip. PRESCOTT What do you know.", "EXT. GRACIE MANSION - DAY The Mayor's splendid residence on the East River. The following TITLE is SUPERIMPOSED : `` GRACIE MANSION. THE MAYOR'S RESIDENCE.'' Then, the time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 2:21''.", "INT. MAYOR'S BEDROOM - DAY MICRO - CLOSE SHOT - THERMOMETER Being held between a NURSE's fingers, slowly turning so the mercury catches the light. MAYOR'S VOICE What does it say? NURSE'S VOICE 103 - point - 4. WIDER ANGLE Including the MAYOR, a short, swarthy, roly - poly man with a fringe of dark hair and modish aviator's glasses ;. un - shaven, lying in bed, the covers. pulled up to his chin ; suffering from the flu ; a glass, of juice on his bedside table along with sprays and vials of pills ; and the Nurse, an elderly, white - haired we nan who, in case of invasion, could hold off the Mongols single handedly. MAYOR 103 - point - 4?! It was - only 102 - point - 9 the last time! NURSE Last time it was orally. Orally is generally a half a degree lower. MAYOR Do n't remind me. All I know is I've got a chill, my bones ache, my head is ready to come off and my nose is a disaster area I'm the Mayor of the goddam city of New York, the second most important elective office in the entire United States - are you telling me that I have to lie here feeling lousy like every other zhlub in the country? NURSE -LRB- unperturbed, as she goes. -RRB- Do n't forget to drink your juice at three. And take two of the blue pills. MAYOR Orally? -LRB- but she's gone. -RRB- Boy - boy oh boy - He picks up the remote - control clicker and raises the sound of his TV set. EMCEE'S VOICE Couple number two, Arthur and Eleanor - you have twenty points - answer the bonus question correctly and you'll move into first place - The phone rings and he clicks the sound off with one hand and lifts the receiver with the other. MAYOR Yeah. WARREN'S VOICE -LRB- PHONE FILTER. -RRB- Hello, Nate, it's Warren - I'm coming upstairs. MAYOR No! WARREN'S VOICE Sorry, Nate, it ca n't be helped. MAYOR Yes it can - I'll already be dead when you get here. WARREN'S VOICE Hang on a little longer, will you, Nate? We've got a real bitch on our hands. MAYOR Do n't tell me, I do n't want to know. WARREN'S VOICE I'm coming up. MAYOR Ca n't you handle it, Warren? WARREN'S VOICE Sure I can handle it - like I handle every other rotten filthy job in this miserable city - but I wo n't : MAYOR What do you mean you wo n't? You're the goddam Deputy Mayor - of course YOU WILL. WARREN'S VOICE This one you've got to handle your - self, Nate. MAYOR What is it, another strike? That's all right - I can take another STRIKE - WARREN'S VOICE A gang of men has hijacked a subway TRAIN - MAYOR What?! WARREN'S VOICE they want a million dollars for it. MAYOR -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- Come on up. -LRB- HANGS UP. -RRB- Shit. Shit, piss, fuck. He clicks the TV back on. EMCEE'S VOICE - And that means couple number one, Tom and Rusty, are the winners of today's Newlywed Game! MAYOR I missed it. He clicks off the TV as WARREN LASALLE enters, a tall, lean, no - nonsense executive with long, blond hair, sideburns and a large blond mustache. MAYOR I thought it over, Warren - you know what we're gon na do? WARREN No, tell me. MAYOR Let'em keep the goddam subway train. Hell, we've got plenty more just like it - we'll never miss it. WARREN How about the seventeen hostages - will we miss them? MAYOR Oh. Dammit, Warren, the city has n't got a million dollars! WARREN Then you'd better empty out one of your Swiss bank accounts because there's no other way out. MAYOR Do n't we even get to think about it? WARREN There's no time! In -. -LRB- checking the time. -RRB- - exactly forty - nine minutes they're gon na start shooting those hostages. How would that look in the Daily News? - `` 1NEW YORKERS DIE WHILE MAYOR THINKS!'' MAYOR I still want the full picture. Get the Police Commissioner, the Chairman of the Transit Authority, and that putz we've got for a CONTROLLER - WARREN They're on their way over now. But it's no good running to them, Nate - you're the Mayor - which means You're gon na do it my way - just like always. MAYOR -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- Shit. Shit, piss, fuck.", "INT. T.A. COMMAND CENTER - DAY Prescott at his console, Correll in the b.g. PRESCOTT Command Center calling Pelham One Two Three - come in, Pelham One Two Three -. -LRB- TURNING. -RRB- Hey, Frank - you're hogging all my circuits! CORRELL What do you want me to do? I got motormen calling in from all along the line trying to find out what the hell's going on! PRESCOTT Tell'em to shut up and get off the air - I need some more lines open! CORRELL I never thought I'd see the day when talking to murderers got priority over running a railroad. PRESCOTT Oh, get off it, Frank - our priority is trying to save the lives of those passengers! CORRELL Screw the goddam passengers! What do they expect for their lousy thirty - five cents - to live forever?! PRESCOTT Oh, you're beautiful. -LRB- into the mike. -RRB- Do you read me, Pelham One Two Three -? CORRELL If I were handling it I'd go storming in there with guns and tear gas and I blast'em outl PRESCOTT Yeah, well, you're not handling it so why do n't you start doing your own work and let the police do theirs. CORRELL Like that lily - livered cop who's on the train? Why hast n't he started shooting yet? PRESCOTT We do n't. even know it is a he -. -LRB- into the mike. -RRB- Do you read me, Pelham One Two Three -? CORRELL Goddam woman cops - what the hell good are they? She probably ca n't find her gun in her goddam purse! This is Pelham One Two Three - do you have any news to report? INTERCUT - PRESCOTT & BLUE PRESCOTT Nothing yet. BLUE What were you' calling about? PRESCOTT We need more time. BLUE It's 2:24, Lieutenant - you still have 49 minutes. PRESCOTT Be reasonable, will you? We're trying to cooperate but you're not giving us enough time to work with. BLUE 49 minutes. PRESCOTT We're dealing with City Hall, for God's sake - you know what a mass of red tape that is! BLUE 49 minutes. PRESCOTT Look, I know how to tell time, too, but we are n't gon na get anywhere if all you do is repeat 49 minutes! BLUE 48 minutes. MED. SHOT - PRESCOTT Sobered and subdued. PRESCOTT Yeah. All right, we'll get back as soon as we can. He disconnects and sits back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. CORRELL Christ - to hear you pleading with that chickenshit - it makes me ashamed to be an American. PRESCOTT Go away, Frank - go play with your trains.", "INT. FIRST CAR as Blue steps out of the cab. Green is staring at the hostages, nervously. BLUE Everything quiet out here, Mr. Green? GREEN Yeah - except I think we've got our - selves a cop. BLUE what do you mean? GREEN One of the hostages - fuzz if I ever saw it. BLUE Which one? GREEN -LRB- POINTING. -RRB- On the right - PANNING SHOT - HOSTAGES On the right side of the car, from face to face. GREEN'S VOICE - the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh - that's him, next to the freak - It's the W.A.S.P. type, who is staring off into space, I sitting next to the Hippie who seems hypnotized by his own wiggling toes. GREEN'S VOICE You ever see anybody look more like a cop? MED. SHOT - BLUE & GREEN BLUE I'd better frisk him. Cover me. He walks slowly down the aisle and stops. in front of the W.A.S.P. BLUE On your feet. W.A.S.P. What? BLUE You heard me - stand up! Nervously, the man stands. Blue frisks him, quickly and expertly. When he fails to find a weapon, he takes the man's wallet. BLUE Okay - you can sit down. As the man sits, Blue looks through the wallet. BLUE School teacher. W.A.S.P. That's right. BLUE You ever been told you look like a policeman? W.A.S.P. All the time - but I ca n't help it. Blue tosses the wallet back into the teacher's lap, then turns to face the other hostages. BLUE Listen to me, everybody. I'm sure you've' all figured out what' happening by now - you're hostages. VARIOUS REACTION SHOTS The Passengers - some groaning - some frightened - the Puerto Rican crossing himself - the Hippie smiling softly - etc.. MED. SHOT - BLUE BLUE That means when we get what we, want you'll be released unharmed. Until then, you will continue doing precisely as you're told. OLD MAN And if you do n't get what you want? What'll happen to us? BLUE -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- We expect to get it.", "EXT. EAST RIVER DRIVE - DAY The Brooklyn Bridge and the myriad ramps leading onto the Drive. An official city limousine curves around a ramp and heads uptown, its siren wailing. The time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 2:27''.", "INT. LIMOUSINE - DAY The POLICE COMMISSIONER sits alone in the back seat. He's. on the phone. From the front seat, MUSIC can be heard coming from the radio. COMMISSIONER This is the Police Commissioner - get me theBorough Commander. -LRB- to the DRIVER. -RRB- Turn off that goddam music, will you, George? -LRB- INTO PHONE. -RRB- Harry? I'm heading up to see the Mayor right now. What's it look like down there?", "EXT. PARK AVENUE - 28TH STREET SUBWAY STATION - DAY The BOROUGH COMMANDER sits on the front seat of a prowl car, his feet hanging out the open door, talking on the phone. Around him : SPECTATORS, COPS, activity, noise and confusion. BOROUGH COMMANDER It's murder, Phil - as usual, they're coming out of the woodwork. I would n't be surprised if we got a couple of thousand thrill - seekers - they really smell blood on this one. COMMISSIONER -LRB- PHONE. -RRB- Your barriers up? BOROUGH COMMANDER Hell yes - and we're pushing the overflow into the side - streets. We are n't gon na win any new friends, PHIL - COMMISSIONER -LRB- PHONE. -RRB- Do we ever? How about traffic? BOROUGH COMMANDER I stuck a patrolman at every inter - section from 14th to 34th, and crosstown from 2nd to 5th. COMMISSIONER -LRB- PHONE. -RRB- Who's your Number Two? BOROUGH COMMANDER Deputy Chief Inspector Daniels - from Special Operations. He's a good man, Phil - he handled that protest at Bryant Park last month. COMMISSIONER -LRB- PHONE. -RRB- How are you deployed? BOROUGH COMMANDER I've got about fifty men inside the TUNNEL -", "INT. SUBWAY TUNNEL - VARIOUS SHOTS as we see what the Borough Commander describes - RIOT POLICE, armored and helmeted, scurrying into positions, resembling a commando raid. BOROUGH COMMANDER'S VOICE - north and south of the train, well concealed - all wearing vests and armed with machine and sub - machine guns, shot guns, riot guns, hand guns, tear gas grenades - and a half - dozen snipers with night scopes. We could fight the goddam third world war down there. COMMISSIONER -LRB- PHONE. -RRB- Just make sure they stay out of sight - if the hijackers see them we may have a massacre on our hands. BOROUGH COMMANDER'S VOICE We have a sniper's report that they're moving around inside the car pretty freely - and the one in the motorman's cab is fully exposed and a damn easy shot.", "INT. COMMISSIONER'S CAR COMMISSIONER No! Under no circumstances! Do you understand me, Phil? Absolutely no! We're taking their threats seariously. What've you got above ground?", "EXT. 28th STREET - BOROUGH COMMANDER Again, if feasible, we can see what he describes. BOROUGH COMMANDER Trucks, cars, emergency, medical and rescue units, searchlights, bullhorns - the works, Phil. I've got two men stationed at every emergency exit as far south as Union Square. COMMISSIONER -LRB- PHONE. -RRB- Any direct communications with the hijackers? BOROUGH COMMANDER Negative. It's awkward as hell. The T.A. Command Center in Brooklyn has the only direct contact. INTO COMMISSIONER'S CAR COMMISSIONER Harry, tell me something, will you? They're in a tunnel - surrounded on all sides, top and bottom - how the hell do they expect to get away? BOROUGH COMMANDER -LRB- PHONE. -RRB- Beats the shit out of me, Phil.", "EXT. GRACIE MANSION - DAY as the Commissioner's car swings into the circular drive leading to the side entrance and comes to a lurching stop, the siren trailing off, behind three other official black limousines. The Commissioner jumps out and trots up onto the verandah.", "INT. MAYOR'S BEDROOM - DAY CLOSE SHOT - THE MAYOR as he - sneezes into a Kleenex. As CAMERA PULLS BACK he dries off his upper lip, wads the tissue and throws it. onto the floor. JESSIE, his wife, with frosted hair and harlequin glasses, jumps up from a chair and retrieves it. JESSIE Nate, for God's sake. She baskets it, then turns to Warren LaSalle. JESSIE Warren - tell him other Mayors have to use the house after we're gone. There's a knock and Warren hurries to open the door. in walk three men : The Commissioner, the CONTROLLER and the CHAIRMAN of the Transit Authority. WARREN Thanks for coming up on short notice, fellas - you all know Jessie, do n't you? The Police Commissioner - the Controller - the Chairman of the Transit Authority -? JESSIE Yes, it's nice to see you again. COMMISSIONER Mrs. Mayor - CONTROLLER Hi, Jess - CHAIRMAN Good afternoon. - JESSIE Coffee for everybody - and some cake? WARREN Uh - better skip it, Jessie - we're running a little short of time. We all know what's going on underground, right? So the main issue is whether to pay the ransom or not. All the rest is secondary. Phil? What do you think? COMMISSIONER Well - we're fully mobilized - I can go down there any time you say with enough firepower to wipe out an army - but I ca n't guarantee the safety of the ` hostages. WARREN In other words, you're for paying the ransom. COMMISSIONER We do n't want another Attica on our hands, do we? WARREN So your vote is -? COMMISSIONER I abstain. WARREN Shit. Barny? CHAIRMAN The safety of the passengers is the only concern of the Transit Authority. WARREN Your vote? CHAIRMAN Pay the two dollars. CONTROLLER Sure - two dollars I'd pay! But it's a million, Barfly - a one with six zeroes! Is it coming out of your pocket? WARREN Come on, Sid - save the poor - mouth for later. How do you vote? CONTROLLER I'm not through discussing it yet. WARREN Yes you are. Now vote. CONTROLLER My concern is with the taxpayers - someone's oughta be. `` Millions for defense but not one cent for tribute!'' WARREN So that's a no. All right, Nate - you've heard from the Three Wise Men - what do you say? Everyone turns to the Mayor. He sneezes into a Kleenex and tosses it onto the floor. MAYOR What're they gon na say, Warren? WARREN They who? MAYOR Everybody - the press, the man on the street - JESSIE He means the voters. WARREN Just what you'd expect - the Times will support you on purely humani - tarian grounds - the News'11 knock you for coddling criminals - and the Post will take both sides at the same time. As for public opinion - you'll carry Manhattan, lose Queens and Staten Island, and split down the middle in Brooklyn and the Bronx. The rich'11 support you - likewise the blacks - the Puerto Ricans wo n't give a shit. So how about it, Nate? - quit stalling. MAYOR Stop trying to bully everybody, Warren - this is supposed to be a democracy! WARREN Wise up, for Chrissake! We're trying to run a city, not a goddam democracy! JESSIE Nate! Stop farting around! We've got to pay! MAYOR -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- What do you say, Jess? JESSIE I know a million dollars is a lot of money - but just think what you'll, get in return. MAYOR What? JESSIE Seventeen sure votes. MAYOR -LRB- SMILING. -RRB- Go ahead, Warren - arrange for the pay - off. WARREN Halleluja! -LRB- as everyone rises. -RRB- You heard it, fellas. Phil - pass the word to the bad guys that we're coughing up. COMMISSIONER -LRB- GOING. -RRB- Will do. WARREN Sid - what bank do we do the most business with? CONTROLLER City National Trust - I'll give'em a call. WARREN I'll call - you're liable to spend an hour trying to knock down the interest rate. Come on - everyone downstairs - let's move it! The Mayor and Jessie are left alone. She picks up the crumpled Kleenex. MAYOR I thought I handled it all right. JESSIE A regular Fiorello LaGuardia.", "INT. SUBWAY - FIRST CAR - MOTORMAN'S CAB CLOSE SHOT - CROSSWORD PUZZLE as Blue's hand is busy filling in a word. A knock is heard and CAMERA PULLS BACK as Blue opens the door. Green enters. GREEN Nothing yet? -LRB- as Blue shakes his head. -RRB- They're sure taking their time. BLUE Do n't worry - they're going to pay. They have no choice. GREEN The hostages. Yeah. At first I thought to myself, `` Five of'em are spades - who's gon na pay anything for spades?'' But they do n't know who we've got, do they? BLUE It would n't matter if all seventeen were dope pushers - they have to pay, so relax. GREEN I know they have to - but what if they do n't? BLUE Then a lot of people are going to die. GREEN Including us. BLUE Either you live or you die. GREEN Living's better. BLUE It depends. It's not better than trying to sell mutual funds, for example. GREEN Did you do that? BLUE I tried. GREEN I thought you were in the army. BLUE I was. That's where I developed my expensive tastes. GREEN In the army? Sure' - on three - fifty a month. BLUE The Biafrans paid me twenty - five hundred for leading a battalion. GREEN A month? Holy Christ! Why'd you ever get out of that? BLUE The market dried up. GREEN At least you were n't fired. But shit, I did n't mind - who wants to drive a goddam subway train for the rest of his life? BLUE What'd they nail you for? GREEN Nothing! They framed me - the goddam Beakies had to find a fall - guy and they - BLUE Beakies? GREEN Transit inspectors - undercover men. They got wind of a gang passing dope - you know, transporting it from downtown to uptown, giving it to a motorman, and then someone picking it up in Harlem. The Beakies tried to pin it on me, but they never had any evidence. BLUE You were innocent? GREEN Hell yes, I was innocent! Do you think I'd do anything like that? BLUE Yes.", "INT. GRACIE MANSION - LASALLE' S OFFICE - DAY Warren sits on the edge of his desk, on the phone. WARREN City National Trust? - the Chairman of the Board, please? -. -LRB- WAITS. -RRB- This is Warren LaSalle in the mayor's office - may I speak to the Chairman, please? SECRETARY -LRB- PHONE. -RRB- The Chairman is on an overseas call at the moment - WARREN I do n't care if he's talking to the moon - get your ass inside that of fice and put him on the line! He lights a cigarette while he waits. CHAIRMAN -LRB- PHONE. -RRB- Good afternoon, Mr. LaSalle - what is it I can do for you? WARREN A subway train's been hijacked. Unless we can deliver a million dollars within -. -LRB- checks his watch. -RRB- - twenty - eight minutes, seventeen people will be assassinated.", "INT. BANK CHAIRMAN'S OFFICE - DAY The BANK CHAIRMAN is a silver - haired man in his sixties, sitting behind a large desk ; on the phone. BANK CHAIRMAN A subway train - how very original. A million, you say? INTERCUT - WARREN & BANK CHAIRMAN WARREN Yes, sir - is there any problem about that much cash being available? BANK CHAIRMAN None whatsoever. We're members of the Federal Reserve. WARREN Swell. Then will you arrange for us to be given that amount right away? BANK CHAIRMAN Given? I'm not sure I understand what you mean by `` given,'' Mr. LaSalle. WARREN -LRB- VOICE RISING. -RRB- Lent, of course - I did n't expect it as a gift - BANK CHAIRMAN Lent to whom, Mr. LaSalle? WARREN To us, goddammit - the sovereign city of New York - BANK CHAIRMAN Yes, well, there are certain techni - calities involved in such a trans - action, Mr. LaSalle - terms, duration, signatures - WARREN There is n't time for all that - I BANK CHAIRMAN -LRB- CHUCKLING. -RRB- But `` all that'', as you put it, happens to be what we do for a living, Mr. LaSalle - WARREN Listen to me, you stupid goddam piece of shit! if you do n't come through in five seconds flat I will personally find a violation in every inch ofplumbing and wiring in every branch you've got in this whole fucking city! The Chairman looks as though he's been struck between the eyes. After a pause, he speaks quietly : BANK CHAIRMAN Do you know something, Mr. LaSalle? In my entire sixty - seven years no one's ever spoken to me like that.", "EXT. EAST RIVER DRIVE - UN BUILDING - DAY as the Police Commissioner's limousine is now heading downtown on the F.D.R. Drive, passing the Sutton Place apartment houses and approaching the United Nations, siren screaming.", "INT. COMMISSIONER'S LIMOUSINE - DRY He is in back, on the phone. COMMISSIONER Harry -? I'm on my way down. We just got the green light.", "EXT. PARK AVENUE & 28TH STREET - DAY The Borough Commander, on the phone. BOROUGH COMMANDER Green light - you mean we can rush'em? Jesus, Phil, that's great news - the men are raring to go -! COMMISSIONER -LRB- PHONE. -RRB- Not you asshole! - we're paying the ransom money! Pass the word along to the hijackers. BOROUGH COMMANDER -LRB- DISGRUNTLED. -RRB- Roger. -LRB- clicks a phone button. -RRB- Borough Commander - to 28th Street Platform - Daniels - do you read me -?", "INT. 28th STREET SUBWAY PLATFORM FEATURING the motorman's cab of the stalled train. DANIELS, a beefy cop wearing riot gear and helmet, now hears the voice coming over his walky - talky. BOROUGH COMMANDER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- come in D. C. I. Daniels - this is the Borough Commander - I DANIELS -LRB- INTO WALKY - TALKY. -RRB- This is Daniels - BOROUGH COMMANDER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Pass the word along : the Mayor's agreed to pay. Let the hijackers know right away, will you? DANIELS Roger. He sets the hand radio aside and activates the subway transmitter. DANIELS Command Center, this is 28th Street - do you read me, Command Center -?", "INT. COMMAND CENTER - DAY Prescott at his desk and console. He pushes a button. PRESCOTT This is Command Center - DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is Daniels - the Mayor's agreed to pay - inform the hijackers right away. PRESCOTT Will do. -LRB- punching another button. -RRB- Command Center calling Pelham One Two Three - come in, Pelham One Two Three - BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is Pelham - rgo ahead, Prescott - PRESCOTT We agree to pay the ransom - repeat, we agree to pay.", "INT. SUBWAY FIRST CAR-- MOTORMAN'S CAB CLOSE SHOT - BLUE as he greets this news calmly. PRESCOTT -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Do you read me, Pelham -? BLUE I read you. Please take down the next set of instructions. As before, they're to be obeyed to the letter. First - the money is to be paid in the following denominations : five hundred thousand dollars in fifties, five hundred thousand dollars in hundreds. INTERCUT - PRESCOTT & BLUE PRESCOTT -LRB- WRITING. -RRB- Five hundred thousand in fifties, five hundred thousand in hundreds - BLUE Making a total of ten thousand fifty dollar bills and five thousand hundred dollar bills - which will then be put up in stacks of two hundred bills each, bound with a thick rubber band lengthwise and another widthwise. PRESCOTT -LRB- writing. -RRB-. Ten thousand fifties, five thousand hundreds, in packs of two hundred, bound fore and aft with rubber bands BLUE Point two : all of the bills will be old bills, their serial numbers to be random. PRESCOTT -LRB- WRITING. -RRB- Old bills and no serial number sequences - BLUE That's all for now. When the delivery arrives we will contact you with further instructions. PRESCOTT About your getaway? BLUE I'm signing off now. PRESCOTT It might interest you to know I've figured out how you're going to do it BLUE -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- Yes - it would interest me. PRESCOTT You're going to make every man, woman and child in New York City close their eyes and count to a hundred. BLUE It's two - forty - seven, Prescott you have twenty - six minutes. PRESCOTT What? Do n't be stupid - we've agreed to pay the money. Now turn off the clock. BLUE Twenty - six minutes, Prescott. MED. SHOT - PRESCOTT PRESCOTT Look - your instructions are complicated! The money has to be counted, stacked, tied, transported all the way uptown - it just is n't physically possible! BLUE You'd be surprised what's physically possible. The clock's running, Prescott. PRESCOTT -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- All right. At least let us pick up that man you shot. We want to send a stretcher for him. BLUE Negative. PRESCOTT But he may still be alive BLUE He's dead. PRESCOTT But you ca n't be sure - BLUE Very well - we'll put another half dozen rounds into him so everyone can be sure. Over and out. Prescott turns and sees that the others, at nearby desks, have been watching and listening. He stares back at them for a moment., then checks his watch. PRESCOTT Twenty - five minutes - after that we can start scratching them off - one per minute.", "INT. SUBWAY - FIRST CAR - PASSENGERS - BLUE'S POV SHOOTING down the length of the car. Most of the Passengers excepting the Wino Lady and the Hippie. Both are enjoying their own reveries. BLUE'S VOICE Your attention please - At the far end, Brown guards the rear door. At mid - car, Grey stands with his legs astride. ANOTHER ANGLE Including Blue and, behind him, at the front storm door, Green. BLUE The city has agreed to pay for your release. No one quite knows how to greet this news - except the Pimp who slowly, mockingly, claps his hands together. PIMP -LRB- DRAWLING. -RRB- Far out, man - Blue starts forward, walking slowly, looking at passengers on both sides of the aisle as he goes. MOTHER As soon as the money gets here - will you let us go? BLUE No - but soon afterwards. OLD MAN Do you mind telling us now how much you're getting? BLUE What difference does it make? OLD MAN A person likes to know his worth. BLUE A million dollars. OLD MAN Each? BLUE Altogether. OLD MAN -LRB- DISAPPOINTED. -RRB- That's not so terrific. Blue, still walking toward mid - car, stops at the Hippie's estended legs and taps the soles of his sandals with the muzzle of his submachine gun. BLUE Pull in your feet - someone's liable to get hurt. The. Hippie looks up at him, smiles, and slides his feet back. Blue continues until he comes to Grey. He speaks quietly to him. BLUE Stop fooling around with that girl, Mr. Grey. GREY What's the big deal? She's a twenty buck a trick hooker. BLUE I said leave her alone. GREY Do n't worry - I could do this job and hump that broad at the same time - without missing a stroke. BLUE -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- I once ordered a man shot for talking to me that way. GREY That's the difference between us, Mr. Blue - I've always done my own killing. BLUE Maybe we'll get a chance to work that out.", "EXT. LIBERTY STREET - FEDERAL RESERVE BANK - DAY Number 33, the large, stone fortress occupying the entire block, its ground floor windows barred. The following `` FEDERAL RESERVE BANK of N.Y.'' `` 2 : 51''", "INT. FEDERAL RESERVE - PRESIDENT'S OFFICE - DAY The PRESIDENT stands in the middle of his large green rug, putting golfbaLls at a gadget that automatically catapaults them back. As he finishes lining up a long one, and is just about to stroke, the office intercom buzzes. A little annoyed, he crosses to his desk. PRESIDENT Yes -? SECRETARY -LRB- INTERCOM. -RRB- The Chairman of the City National Trust on five - seven - he said it's important. The President pushes a button putting the call on the speaker - phone and he returns to his golf. PRESIDENT Hello, Ben - what can I do for you? BANK CHAIRMAN -LRB- SPEAKERPHONE. -RRB- I need a million, Henry. PRESIDENT A million what? BANK CHAIRMAN -LRB- SPEAKERPHONE. -RRB- Dollars, of course. PRESIDENT -LRB- stops golfing, surprised. -RRB- A million ones? BANK CHAIRMAN -LRB- SPEAKERPHONE. -RRB- No, not in ones - in fifties and hundreds. PRESIDENT -LRB- PUTTING AGAIN. -RRB- I got you now, Ben - a million fifties and hundreds. That's more like it. When can you pick it up? BANK CHAIRMAN -LRB- SPEAKERPHONE. -RRB- I do n't think you're following me, Henry - a million dollars, that's all - in fifties and hundreds. PRESIDENT -LRB- STOPPING AGAIN. -RRB- One million? My secretary said it was important. What are you calling me about petty cash for? BANK CHAIRMAN -LRB- SPEAKERPHONE. -RRB- It's ransom money - a subway train's been hijacked - they've threatened to kill all the passengers. PRESIDENT -LRB- going to his desk. -RRB- Why the hell did n't you say so? Tell me how you want it and have a truck at the Maiden Lane loading platform in ten minutes.", "EXT. PARK AVENUE. & 28TH STREET - DAY T. V. INTERVIEWS A seriea of head - on television interviews with various individuals in the large crowd gathered at the scene. They all speak directly to CAMERA with the VOICE of a well - known Six O'Clock News PERSONALITY O. S. ROGER'S VOICE This is Roger Grimsby for Eye - witness News, here at the inter - section of 28th Street and Park Avenue South, the scene of this incredible subway hijack - 1. TACTICAL POLICE A group of the blue - helmeted COPS manning the lines and pushing back part of the crowd. ROGER'S VOICE You're looking now at members of the T. P. F. - the Tactical Police Force - as they attempt to deal with this enormous crowd which is con - tinuing to grow every minute. Officer - officer - this is Eyewitness News - An OFFICER turns to CAMERA. ROGER'S VOICE Officer, how would you estimate the size of this very large crowd? OFFICER Very large. ROGER'S VOICE Would you describe it as unruly? OFFICER Compared to some I've seen, Roger, I'd have to say it was ruly. Definitely ruly. 2. A WOMAN Middle - aged, overweight,. dyed blond hair. ROGER'S VOICE Excuse me, madam - do you have any comment on the drama that's unfolding beneath our feet at this very moment? WOMAN What particular part of the drama do you want me to comment on? ROGER'S VOICE Some people feel that our subways have becomes jungles. Any comment on that? WOMAN In my opinion, Roger, our subways have become jungles. 3. TEEN - AGE GIRL Wearing glasses and braces. ROGER'S VOICE Would you feel more secure if, instead of eight hours a day, the trains and platforms were manned by the Transit Police twenty - four hours a day? TEEN-AGE GIRL -LRB- THINKS. -RRB- Twenty - four hours minimum. 4. BLACK DELIVERY BOY DELIVERY BOY Dogs - all they got ta do is loose a pack of Doberman Pinchers an' sic'em onto that train - 5. FASHION MODEL MODEL Yeah - I definitely heard it on the radio - they're asking a million dollars for each passenger. That makes sixty - five million dollars in all - 6. CONSTRUCTION WORKER WORKER You know how they're gon na get away? The sewers - they got a map of the sewers - just like that French guy, the Count of Monte Carlo 7. HOUSEWIFE HOUSEWIFE I met you before, Roger - remember two years ago? - at that three - alarm fire in Crown Heights -? 8. HOTDOG VENDOR Under his yellow and red umbrella, doing a land - office business. ROGER'S VOICE Excuse me, sir - from the looks of things, you could use another pair of hands. I s this your regular corner? VENDOR -LRB- ACCENT. -RRB- For seventeen years. ROGER'S VOICE What do you think of all this? VENDOR Terrific - really terrific! What's going on, a parade?", "INT. FEDERAL RESERVE - THIRD FLOOR - DAY (SILENT) The President comes out of an elevator, is let through an iron gate by a GUARD who unlocks it, locks it again, then turns to unlock a second gate, allowing the President to pass into a corridor. MED. SHOT - TX. MONITORS -LRB- SILENT -RRB- A bank showing various areas of the building on closed circuit. CAMERA ZOOMS IN on one monitor : the.Presid ent is seen walking down the corridor.", "INT. THIRD FLOOR CORRIDOR (SILENT) The President passes a few wooden trucks on wheels being pushed by armed GUARDS. Farther, on his left, cages marked `` PAYING/RECEIVING'' ; on the right, `` SORTING/COUNTING.'' He turns right.", "INT. TUNNEL - PATROLMAN JAMES Still stuck behind the pillar, standing rigidly so as not to be seen from the other side. Now he lifts his radio and speaks softly into it. JAMES Patrolman James calling operations - come in, operations - GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is Garber - what's going on? JAMES That's what I want to know, Lieutenant - standing here like a statue - it's drivin' me bananas! GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Just sit tight, James - it wo n't be much longer. JAMES I just want to know one thing, Lieutenant - there's a whole mess of feet runnin' around out there in the dark - I can hear'em. I figure it's a couple of dozen snipers and sharpshooters - am I right? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- I would n't be surprised. JAMES Yeah, well, would you make sure they know about' me standin' here between them and the hijackers?", "INT. FEDERAL RESERVE - SORTING/COUNTING - DAY (SILENT) Several COMITERS, mostly men, are breaking open the seals on dirty grey canvas money bags, and spilling out the contents - currency tied into packets - and start counting the packets.", "INT. GRACIE MANSION - MAYOR'S BEDROOM - DAY His Honor is getting a shot in the rear - end from a DOCTOR as Warren enters without knocking. WARREN Pull your pants up, Nate - we're going downtown. DOCTOR It's totally out of the question, Mr. LaSalle. WARREN Nobody asked you! MAYOR Warren, for Chrissake, I'm sick as a goat. What's the point? WARREN The point, you dumb cluck, is that the Mayor of the City of New York, trailing by twenty - two points in all the polls, cares enough about seven - teen citizens in jeopardy to make a personal appearance in their behalf! MAYOR You know what'll happen - what always happens - I'll get booed. The Doctor starts taking the Mayor's pulse. DOCTOR This is a very sick man. WARREN -LRB- slapping his hand. -RRB- Let go of that! You're off the case! Look, Nate, all you have to do is say a few words to the hi - jackers over a bullhorn - make a dignified plea for mercy MAYOR Do you think it will help? WARREN Of course it'll help! MAYOR -LRB- HOPEFULLY. -RRB- The hostages? WARREN No, You. MAYOR Warren - suppose the hijackers start shooting at me - WARREN Will you stop? They've got no reason to shoot at you. MAYOR -LRB- SMILING. -RRB- You mean they're from out - of - town?", "INT. FEDERAL RESERVE - COUNTING/SORTING - DAY (SILENT) The SORTERS, mostly women, occupy a large office of. the bull - pen variety. Each is sorting bills by denomination from a batch in her hand, separating them almost faster than the eye can see into the slots of a counting machine, deviating only to throw old, overused bills away into a basket.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER - DAY CLOSE SHOT - WALL CLOCK It reads : 2:58. CAMERA PANS to Correll, in his shirtsleeves and sweating now, jumping around, checking teletype messages and bits of scratch paper, talking over several phones at once. CORRELL - Shut up and listen to me! All Lexington Avenue trains departing from Dyer Avenue and 180th Street in the Bronx. are diverted to the West Side tracks at 149th Street and the Grand Concourse -! CAMERA PANS to Prescott, who is sitting at his desk, watching Correll and shaking his head. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- CLIVE - PRESCOTT -LRB- punching a button. -RRB- Yeah, who's this? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- It's Sol - what're we waiting for, Clive? PRESCOTT I'll be goddamned if I know. Jesus! How long does it take to get that money together? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- We'll never make it. The passengers are dead ducks. PRESCOTT There's still fifteen minutes. I'm signing off, Sol. -LRB- pushing another button. -RRB- Command Center calling 28th Street - can you read me, Daniels -? DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is Daniels - come in, Command Center - PRESCOTT Has the money left yet? DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Not yet. PRESCOTT Well for God's sake, give then a goose, will you? We're running out of time! -LRB- pushing, another button. -RRB- Command Center calling Pelham One Two Three - come in, Pelham - BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is Pelham One To Three - PRESCOTT This is Prescott. Listen - we're moving too slowly at this end. We need some more time. BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Sorry - no more time. Prescott's face hardens, his jaw muscles tense. CORRELL - Here's the flex south of 14th Street - I want the expresses run off into Brooklyn - PRESCOTT -LRB- COVERING MIKE. -RRB- Hold it down, will you, Frank -? CORRELL - and all locals `` sent around the loop at South Ferry and shot up the West Side from Bowling Green - PRESCOTT I said knock it off! I'm trying to buy some more time! A silence in the room as everyone turns to watch Prescott as he speaks into the mike. PRESCOTT All we want is another fifteen minutes, all right? A lousy fifteen minutes! BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Negative. PRESCOTT Ten minutes, then - what difference can ten minutes make? BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Negative. PRESCOTT -LRB- QUIETLY. -RRB- You son of a bitch.", "INT. FEDERAL RESERVE - COUNTING - DAY (SILENT) A single CLERK is now assembling the ransom money. He selects ten bundles of fifties and five bundles of hundreds - each bundle containing ten packets of one hundred bills - and, after cutting the strings holding the bundles together, proceeds to pair the packets into two hundred bill thicknesses -LRB- one inch -RRB- and fasten on the two rubber bands.", "INT. SUBWAY - FIRST CAR - MOTORMAN'S CAB Blue, as Green enters the cab. GREEN I heard you on the radio - anything wrong, Mr. Blue? BLUE They've requested more time. GREEN How much more? BLUE Ten minutes. GREEN I guess it wo n't hurt anything. BLUE I did n't give it to them. GREEN -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- Suppose they ca n't make it? BLUE Then we do what we said we'd do. There's no other way. GREEN Maybe an hour was n't enough time BLUE An hour's plenty! You know how the system works - you give them two hours and they take two - three and they take three. An hour's plenty! GREEN And what if it is n't? -LRB- NO ANSWER. -RRB- Do you think we'll actually have to do it? BLUE I do n't know. They're running pretty late.", "INT. FEDERAL RESERVE - COUNTING - DAY (SILENT) CLOSE SHOT - MILLION DOLLARS It is now neatly piled together - the fifteen thousand bills make a block approximately twenty inches high and twelve inches deep. CAMERA PULLS BACK as the clerk stuffs the money into a canvas bag, then pushes it through a raised window.", "INT. ADJOINING ROOM - TRAVELLING (SILENT) TWO GUARDS take the bag, leave the room, CARA FOLLOWING, and hurry down a corridor to the right. Another GUARD opens a gate leading to the security elevators.", "EXT. FEDERAL RESERVE - MAIDEN LANE SIDE - DAY A police panel truck, its motor running, parked at the side - walk in front of the loading bays. In front of the truck, eight police MOTORCYCLISTS, astride their bikes, the engines also running, and occasionally racing them with a flick of the accelerator. The time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 3:03''.", "INT. POLICE TRUCK - DAY It is manned by two patrolmen of the Special Operations Divison - WENTWORTH, the driver, a young, red - headed man with a boyish face, and RICCI, slightly older, on the moody side. RICCI it sure is taking them a helluva long time - WENTWORTH It's a lot of money, Albert. Do you realize how many times you've got to wet your thumb when you're counting out a million? RICCI That's right - kid around. But you know damn well that if we do n't get it up there on time they're gon na blame us for it - you know they're gon na blame us for it. WENTWORTH Look out there, Albert - eight cycles - just for us - and I hear there's gon na be a cop at every single intersection all the way uptown. RICCI Yeah, and while we're tying up the entire New York Police Force, the whole East Side's gon na be ripped off. WENTWORTH Albert, this might be the biggest day of my life and you're determined to spoil it, are n't you? BOROUGH COMMANDER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is the Borough Commander - come in, Car Fourteen - David - RICCI -LRB- grabbing the mike. -RRB- This is Fourteen - David - BOROUGH COMMANDER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Jesus Christi Are n't you guys moving yet? What the hell's going on down there - do you know what the goddam time is? RICCI -LRB- rolling his eyes AT WENTWORTH. -RRB- Yes, sir - we're still waiting for the money to come out, sir -", "EXT. PARK AVENUE & 28TH STREET - BOROUGH COMMANDER - DAY Be' s on the radio. BOROUGH COMMANDER Yeah? Well if it's not there in thirty seconds you have my permission to go in after it! A LIEUTENANT interrupts him. LIEUTENANT Sir - we just got word that the Mayor's on his way down. BOROUGH COMMANDER Terrific. Tell him we'll hold the crowd'til he gets here. -LRB- into the mike. -RRB- I'm warning you two guys - if I do n't see your faces before the deadline, I do n't ` want to see them at all! Ever! He slams down the mike.", "INT. POLICE TRUCK RICCI What'd I tell you? It's all gon na be our fault.", "EXT. LOADING BAY - DAY as the two Guards run out of the Federal Reserve, each holding one end of the money sack, each with his gun drawn, and head for the Police Truck. The time is `` 3:05 \u00b0. They throw it into the front seat on Ricci's side and slam the door. The motorcycles are already starting to move, shoving off, their sirens wailing and the truck starts after them.", "EXT. MAIDEN LANE & NASSAU STREET - DAY A COP on the corner waves the procession - motorcycles and truck - right on Nassau, one of the narrowest streets in the city - cars are parked half up on the sidewalk - and they head uphill toward John Street. OVERHEAD SHOT From the roof of one of the office buildings, as the police truck continues along Nassau, past john, Fulton, Ann, and on toward Beekman, the eight motorcycles leading it.", "EXT. PARR. ROW - DAY CAMERA PANNING with the truck as it follows the cycles out of Nassau, a swing to the right at Spruce, and then enter - ing Park Row -LRB- with City Hall on their left -RRB- heading up the wrong way, against the traffic, COPS at every intersection.", "INT. POLICE TRUCK WENTWORTH'S POV -LRB- UNDERCRANKED -RRB- SHOOTING through the windshield from the Driver's point - of - view - the eight cycles clearing the way, the oncoming traffic pulling over -LRB- and the expressions on the drivers' faces -RRB- as the truck careens through.", "INT. POLICE TRUCK - WENTWORTH & RICCI Wentworth is grinning, really enjoying himself. Ricci, holding the sack of money on his lap, is scowling. WENTWORTH Beautiful - really beautiful! I've always wanted to do this - we're scaring the shit out of everybody. RICCI Including me. WENTWORTH What's wrong with you, Albert? This is something you can tell your kids about some day. RICCI -LRB- CHECKING WATCH. -RRB- Eight minutes. We're never gon na make it.", "EXT. MUNICIPAL BUILDING - DAY as, tires screeching, the truck swings over to the right side of the street. Traffic coming off the Brooklyn Bridge is being held up at the ramp. The time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 3:06'' CAMERA PANS with the truck as it passes Chambers Street and heads up Centre.", "EXT. CENTRE STREET - DAY as the cycles, sirens screaming, followed by the truck, race past the Federal Court Building, the City Courthouse and the Criminal Courts Building.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER - DAY MED. SHOT - PRESCOTT He's on the radio. PRESCOTT Where are they now, Daniels -? DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Centre Street, just north of Chambers. PRESCOTT What've we got -? -LRB- CHECKS CLOCK. -RRB- - seven minutes. Christ, it's just not enough. DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Even if they make it up here to 28th Street in time - we've still got ta carry it down track on foot. PRESCOTT No way. -LRB- punches a button. -RRB- Pelham One Two Three - this is BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is Pelham One Two Three - PRESCOTT The money's en route - making pretty good time, too - but it wo n't get to you by 3:13. BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- I'm sorry to hear that. PRESCOTT Listen - suppose we get it to the station entrance by then - will you change the deadline from delivery to you to arrival at 28th Street? Will you do that at least -? -LRB- NO ANSWER. -RRB- Pelham One Two Three - do you read -? BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- I'm here, Prescott. -LRB- ANOTHER PAUSE. -RRB- All right. I agree. But no more concessions, is that clear? PRESCOTT Clear, clear. -LRB- punches a button. -RRB- Daniels - they bought it. If we get it to the station entrance by 3:13 we'll be okay. DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Good job, Prescott. PRESCOTT Except for one thing - DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- What's that? PRESCOTT We still wo n't make it.", "EXT. CANAL STREET - DAY as a COP at the corner waves the cycles and truck left on Canal, the traffic ahead on Centre being too heavy. The time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 3:09''.", "INT. POLICE TRUCK - DAY Wentworth and Ricci, the latter on the radio. RICCI - proceeding west on Canal Street on our way to Lafayette. Traffic heavy. Over. RADIO Keep it coming - you've got five minutes. RICCI We'll make it. -LRB- hangs up mike. -RRB- We'll never make it. WENTWORTH Five minutes? No sweat, Albert - you want to stop for a beer? RICCI Jesus! Look out -", "EXT. CANAL & LAFAYETTE - DAY as the cyclists turn right onto Lafayette, against the on - coming traffic -LRB- Lafayette is one - way downtown at this point -RRB- the two lead bikes sideswipe each other and, going out of `` control, topple over, sending their drivers sprawling. The truck slams on its brakes,. screeching to a stop just short of the pile - up.", "EXT. PARK AVENUE & 28TH STREET - DAY A SERGEANT manning the radio at the Command Post shouts to the Borough Commander who is off to one side, issuing orders to a small squad of policemen. SERGEANT Sir - there's been an accident - BOROUGH COMMANDER Jesus Christ, I do n't believe it! He starts for the radio in one of the vehicles. The time `` 3:10'' He grabs the mike. BOROUGH COMMANDER This is the Borough Commander - what the hell happened? RICCI -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Two cycles went down - both riders got banged up - pretty bad. They'll need an ambulance. BOROUGH COMMANDER Never mind! Drop off two more bikes to look after them and keep going - do you hear me? Keep going.", "EXT. LAFAYETTE STREET - DAY as the truck, led by only four cyclists now, continues speeding north. The time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 3:11''.", "INT. POLICE TRUCK RICCI -LRB- ON RADIO. -RRB- Fourteen - David heading north on Lafayette, approaching Vannrnare. RADIO Get the lead out, for Chrissake! RICCI -LRB- hanging up mike. -RRB- Why do n't they face it - it just ca n't be done! WENTWORTH You know something, Albert - you're absolutely right. Next corner we're turning right, crossing the bridge to Brooklyn and you and me, we got ourselves a fast million bucks, free and clear. RICCI Are ou crazy?! -LRB- looks at him. -RRB- You're kidding around again. WENTWORTH But I had you going there for a minute, did n't I, Albert?", "INT. SUBWAY TUNNEL - FIRST CAR as it sits in the darkness. The time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 3:11.34'' as now the seconds are shown, running - `` 35 - 36 - 37 - 38 -'' and will continue to do so throughout the following scenes.", "INT. MOTORMAN'S CAB as the SUPERIMPOSED time continues running - `` 3:11.39 - 40 - 41 - 42 -'' and Blue regards his watch. Then he opens the cab door. BLUE Mr. Green - GREEN -LRB- appearing at. door. -RRB- What? BLUE Coming up on one minute. GREEN -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- Have you decided which one it's gon na be? BLUE -LRB- SHRUGGING. -RRB- Does it make any difference? GREEN I guess not. -LRB- A PAUSE. -RRB- Who's gon na do it? BLUE Mr. Brown. GREEN Does he know? BLUE He wo n't mind. GREEN Neither would Mr. Grey. BLUE Mr. Brown's better. With hint it's just a job - not kicks. He looks at his watch as the.SUPERIMPOSED time continues to run : `` 3:12.07 - 08 - 09 -'' BLUE Fifty seconds - then we erase one.", "EXT. LAFAYETTE & HOUSTON - DAY as the four motorcycles and the truck, sirens all going, whip through the intersection against the light, a COP holding traffic. The SUPERIMPOSED time continues running : `` 3:12.10 - 11 - 12 - 13 -''", "INT. POLICE TRUCK RICCI -LRB- ON RADIO. -RRB- Fourteen - David crossing Houston, heading for Cooper square - You've still got twenty - eight blocks - floor the sonovabitch! Wentworth is bent over the wheel, all determination now. WENTWORTH Tell him I'm doing over sixty now! RICCI Holy Christ : - the street's blocked! WENTWORTH Hold on - I'm going through -! WENTWORTH'S POV SHOOTING THROUGH the windshield. -LRB- as the SUPERIMPOSED time continues to run : `` 3:12.26 - 27 - 28 - 29 -'' -RRB- The tail - lights of the cycles are twinkling red ` as they begin braking - a tractor - trailer is stretched across the street, lining up its rear - end with the narrow opening of a loading bay, in preparation for backing into it. Now the truck starts backing, and while there is still some space open. -LRB- on the sidewalk. -RRB- it is closing fast. The cycles screech to a stop but it is clear that the truck does n't intend to as it bumps up onto the sidewalk, and starts for the opening. But it is now too narrow. The screeching brakes of the truck are heard as it starts to skid around, the panorama flashing by sickeningly and, perhaps, a crash and, perhaps, the scene flopping over as the truck, perhaps, rolls over onto one side.", "EXT. LAFAYETTE STREET - DAY The Police Truck lying on its side, its wheels still spinning, the siren still running eerily. And the SUPER - IMPOSED time still running : `` 3:12.38 - 39 - 40 - 41 -''", "INT. COMMAND CENTER - DAY CLOSE SHOT - PRESCOTT On the radio - the time still SUPERIMPOSED and running : `` 2:12.42 - 43 - 44 - 45 -'' PRESCOTT Daniels - for God's sake answer me! Where's that goddam money -?! DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Hello, Prescott - the truck's been wrecked - somewhere on Lafayette Street. Their radio's gone dead - PRESCOTT what the hell are you talking about?! It ca n't be wrecked - we're out of time, goddammit! DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- What do you want me to do?! We could n't make it, that's all! PRESCOTT What do you mean, that's all?! They're just about to shoot some poor sonuvabitch - DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- What do they expect us to do? If they know we're wrecked how can they ask us to - PRESCOTT They do n't know anything, for Chrissake! How can they know anything down where they - Holy shit, that's it! He punches a button on the console as the SUPERIMPOSED numbers now reflect the time down to the tenth of a second : `` 3:12.55 -LRB- 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 -RRB- - 56 -LRB- 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 -RRB- - 57. -LRB- 0 - 1 - 2 -. -RRB- PRESCOTT -LRB- shouting into radio. -RRB- Pelham One Two. Three -! The money's arrived - repeat, the money's arrived! BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- -LRB- SHORT PAUSE. -RRB- You made it just in time, Prescott. The SUPERIMPOSED time freezes : 1:12:59'' Prescott exhales sharply and sits back in his chair, exhausted. The SUPERIMPOSED numbers disappear. BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- You still there, Prescott? PRESCOTT Yeah. I'm still here. Tell me something - if we were a couple of seconds late - you'd have knocked off an innocent person? BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Affirmative. Now if you're ready, I'll give you instructions for the delivery of the money. Again, I'll have to insist you follow them to the letter. PRESCOTT Go ahead. BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Two unarmed policemen will walk down the track - one with the money, the other with a light which he'll flash continuously from side to side in a sweeping motion. When they reach the car the rear door will open and the one with the money will throw it in onto the floor. Then they will both turn and walk back to the 28th Street Station. Acknowledge. PRESCOTT I've got it. Is that all? BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- For now. But keep it in mind that the same ground rules apply - any wrong move by anyone and we'll kill a hostage. PRESCOTT I could've guessed that part. BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- You have ten minutes to deliver the money. If it is n't here by then - PRESCOTT Yeah, I know - - it's getting mono - tonous. I do n't suppose you'll give us longer than ten minutes - BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Ten's more than enough, Prescott unless you were n't telling the truth about the money having arrived PRESCOTT -LRB- QUICKLY. -RRB- It's all right, ten minutes is fine. BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- No further discussions then. When we have the money in hand I'll call you with the final set of instructions. PRESCOTT You do n't really think you're gon na get out of there, do you? BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- The clock's running, Prescott I've got three - fourteen - you've got until three - twenty - four. Over. PRESCOTT Over. Over, you bastard.", "EXT. PARK AVENUE & 28TH STREET - DAY as two motorcycles, sirens blasting, push their way through the crowd and stop at the Borough Commander's command post. One driver alights and goes to help the other remove the canvas sack of money off the back of the second bike. They carry it together to the Borough Commander. BOROUGH COMMANDER Well, it's about fucking time! -LRB- TURNING. -RRB- You two - He has addressed two uniformed men - a Transit Cop -LRB- MISKOWSKY -RRB- and.a Tactical Policeman -LRB- O'KEEFE -RRB- - standing together drinking coffee out of containers. They hurry over and salute. BOROUGH COMMMADER Which one has the flashlight? MISKOWSKY I do, sir - He shows it hanging from his belt. BOROUGH COMMMADER All right - then you. -LRB- O'KEEFE. -RRB- carry the money. Now move it - you've only got about eight and a half minutes. -LRB- as they salute. -RRB- Never mind the goddam salutes just get going! They take the sack from. the cyclists, hike it up onto O'Keefe's shoulder and hurry off, running down the steps into the subway. Now a chorus of booing is heaxd. BOROUGH COMMMADER Christ, it's the goddam Mayor! SERGEANT -LRB- CRANING. -RRB- I do n't see him - BOROUGH COMMANDER No, but I can sure hear him - WIDER ANGLE The Mayor, wrapped in a blanket, is smiling and nodding as he passes through the crowd, led by a wedge of COPS, flanked on one side by the Commissioner, and on the other by Warren LaSalle. The BoroughrCommander waits for him, shaking his head in disgust. BOROUGH COMMANDER And to think that I voted for the bastard. The Mayor and entourage join him. WARREN Hello, Commander - His Honor wants to go down into the tunnel with a bullhorn and make a personal appeal to the hijackers. BOROUGH COMMANDER I'm afraid not. WARREN I was n't asking for your permission - all you have to do is clear the way. The Commander looks at the Commissioner who stares right back, blankly. Then he turns to the Mayor. BOROUGH COMMANDER I appreciate your wanting to help, sir, but you've come at a very bad time. WARREN Mr. Commissioner, will you order your man to comply? MAYOR Cool it, Warren' - the Commander knows the situation here and we do n't. WARREN Nate - I'm warning you - MAYOR I feel shitty, Warren - I'm going back to bed. The Mayor turns and starts back through the crowd, Warren chasing after him. WARREN Nate -! For God's sake, Nate -!", "INT. SUBWAY TUNNEL All that can be seen in the darkness is a flashlight, its beam swinging back and forth, coming toward CAMERA. The time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 3:18''. ANOTHER ANGLE -LRB- TRAVELLING -RRB- Miskowsky and O'Keefe walking along the roadbed, between the rails, Miskowsky swinging the flash, O'Keefe. carrying the sack on his shoulder, both looking around nervously, CAMERA MOVING with them. Finally : MISKOWSKY My name's Miskowsky. What's yours? O'KEEFE O'Keefe. MISKOWSKY Pleased t' meet ya. Tactical Force? O'KEEFE That's right. MISKOWSKY You get the feelin' we're not alone down here? O'KEEFE What do you mean? MISKOWSKY I thought I saw ` someone - a couple of times in fact - O'KEEFE Sharpshooters - we got a couple dozen of'em spread all over the place. There's one - MED. SHOT - SHARPSHOOTER MISKOWSKY'S POV -LRB- TRAVELLING -RRB- A FIGURE in the shadows, standing behind a pillar, seen only in silhouette as CAMERA PASSES him - his helmet, his high - powered rifle, etc.. - looking very menacing. MED. SHOT - MISKOWSKY & O'KEEFE -LRB- TRAVELLING -RRB- MISKOWSKY You realize we got four submachine guns ahead of us and all those jokers behind us? I feel like I'm walkin' into the fuckin' O.K. Corral. O'KEEFE Look - there it is - I can see it. There's somebody standin' in the rear door. LONG SHOT - FIRST CAR - O'KEEFE'S POV The lone car, lit from within - and the silhouette of Brown at the rear storm door. MED. CLOSE SHOT - JAMES Standing behind his pillar. Now he turns his peaked cap around and, turning his face to the pillar, slowly moves his head to one side. MED. SHOT - FIRST CAR - JAMES' POV SHOOTING from behind the pillar. As the CAMERA slowly CRABS, the subway car comes into view - and we see Brown standing at the rear door, much more clearly than before. MED. CLOSE SHOT - JAMES as he. peeks around the pillar. Now, slowly, he brings his right hand up and, pointing his index finger.like a gun, `` fires.'' JAMES P'choo, p ` choo, p ` choo - He blows imaginary smoke from the end of his finger, pleased with himself. JAMES Shiiiiiit. ANOTHER ANGLE From the other side of the pillar as James ducks back behind it, turns his back to it and looks around for another way of amusing himself. He notices his real gun in a holster at his belt and unbuttons the strap, freeing it. Then he assumes the stance of a gunfighter, hand poised over it, knees slightly bent. Then, moving suddenly, he slaps his holster, wheels, fires without aiming - and there's a reverberating BANG, the shattering of glass and the figure in the subway car reels back. James looks at his hand in amazement - there's no gun in it. Then, at the same - time, Brown has recovered his balance and begins firing his submachine gun, the bullets ricocheting off the metal pillars. MED. SHOT - MISKOWSKY & O'KEEFE as they drop onto the roadbed, bullets whining all around them. MISKOWSKY For Chrissake, they're shooting at us! O'Keefe pushes the sack of money in front of them and they press flat behind it.", "INT. FIRST CAR Blue is hurrying from the Conductor's cab to the rear of the car, passing between the two rows of stunned passengers who watch in silence. The storm door window has been smashed and there is glass all over the floor nearby. Brown is just in the process of sitting heavily in the single isolated seat near the door, a dark red patch blossoming on his sleeve, just below the right shoulder, his sub - machine gun resting in his lap. He begins examining his wound with his left hand. Grey s - ands at the rear door, pressed flat against the wall, peering out. BLUE Return to your position, Mr. Grey. GREY Maybe they're not through - BLUE You heard me, Mr. Grey! I do n't think there'll be any more. Reluctantly, Grey goes back to mid - car. BROWN It's not too bad - I think it went right through. Blue spots something, bends and picks up a lump of metal which he tosses to Brown who watches it in his bloodied left hand, glances at it, then throws it away. BLUE How does it feel? BROWN Okay - I never feel pain too much. BLUE How many shots were there? BROWN Just one - the rest was me. I did n't see anything - I guess I just got mad - no sense to it - BLUE -LRB- THINKING. -RRB- Somebody got nervous - or bored - they've been out there a long time. We ca n't let it pass. BROWN I'm not mad any more - forget it. BLUE We ca n't afford to. -LRB- looking around, at the Passengers. -RRB- I'll go pick one out.", "INT. TUNNEL - JAMES His back to the pillar, ` he has his radio up to his face, whispering into it. JAMES - I do n't know who did it, Lieutenant - it came from behind me somewhere - in the dark. It hadda be one of them snipers they got down here - GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Acting on whose orders? JAMES I do n't know - maybe nobody's. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- You mean somebody just took it into his head to fire? On his own? How could he do such a thing? JAMES -LRB- THINKING. -RRB- Easy - real easy. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Can you see what's going on inside the train? JAMES Not too good. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- What do you think - they'll do? JAMES I do n't know - but I'd sure hate to be in there finding out.", "INT. FIRST CAR - PASSENGERS - BLUE'S POV CAMERA PANNING the Passengers sitting on one side of the car, the Passengers staring back at CAMERA -LRB- Blue -RRB-, then we cross the aisle and PAN BACK up the other side. CLOSE SHOT - BLUE BLUE -LRB- CALMLY. -RRB- You. Stand up, please. REACTION SHOTS - PASSENGERS as they turn to look at whomever Blue has indicated. CLOSE SHOT - BUD The conductor as he looks up and touches his chest with a finger. BUD You mean me -? WIDER ANGLE BLUE That's right, conductor. Would you come along with me, please? BUD Why? - what are you going to do? BLUE There's something you can help us with. Bud still hesitates. BLUE Do n't worry, conductor - come along. He leads Bud by the arm back to the rear of the car, every Passen gar's eye on the conductor as he passes, his free hand moving from overhead strap to strap. BLUE All you have to do is walk uptrack about a hundred feet and wait for the men delivering the money. They have reached the rear where Bud manages to avoid looking at Brown while Blue slides open the door. BLUE I'll help you down onto the track. BUD Why do I have to go -? BLUE -LRB- LEVEL GAZE. -RRB- I told you - there's nothing to worry about. -LRB- FIRMLY. -RRB- Now please go. Bud looks at him, then accepts Blue's offer of help as he starts to swing down onto the roadbed.", "INT. TUNNEL - MISKOWSKY & O'REEFE Still face down behind the canvas sack. Now O'Keefe raises his head. O'KEEFE Look - somebody's being helped down onto the track - MISKOWSKY -LRB- PEEKING. -RRB- Christ, he's coming this way - he's headed straight for us -! LONG SHOT - FIRST CAR - MISKOWSKY'S POV as the conductor heads for CAMERA. He hesitates, turns back to the subway car behind him, then continues walking. Suddenly Brown looms in the doorway, his submachine gun poised, and now fires a short burst, the muzzle flashing. MED. SHOT - BUD as he staggers, reaches upward, then crumples as he passes CAMERA, falling forward, CAMERA following him down. One of his outstretched hands comes to rest near a pillar and a black shoe. CAMERA then PANS UP to James' terrified face.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER - DAY Prescott on the radio. PRESCOTT What the hell are you talking about, Sol? How do you know they shot a hostage? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Because one of our own cops is right there! The body almost landed on him, for Chris sake! PRESCOTT But why?! We're still under the delivery deadline - GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Somebody threw a shot at them - now they're showing us they're men of their word. PRESCOTT Who the hell fired at them? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Nobody knows. My bet is we never will. PRESCOTT How far did the money get? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Our guys says about fifteen yards back of him. It stopped when the shooting started. What do we do now, Clive? PRESCOTT I better find out. Christ, what a fucking mess! -LRB- punching another button. -RRB- Pelham One Two Three - come in, Pelham, this is Prescott - BLUE -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is Pelham - go ahead, Prescott - PRESCOTT Did you have to do it, you bastard?", "INT. SUBWAY - FIRST CAR - MOTORMAN'S CAB BLUE One of my people was shot - I warned you what the penalty would be. PRESCOTT -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- I'm going to get you, you know - me personally. BLUE In the meantime, where's the money? -LRB- CHECKING WATCH. -RRB- You only have three minutes left.", "INT. TUNNEL - MISKOV7SKY & O'KEEFE Still lying behind the sack of money. O'KEEFE What do we do now? MISKOWSKY Pray that a million bucks is bullet - proof. JAMES' VOICE Hey, you guys - MISKOWSKY -LRB- draws his gun. -RRB- Jesus, who's that -? JAMES' VOICE Transit cop - I'm up ahead. I got orders for you. Resume your delivery. MISKOWSKY I do n't suppose we could have it in writing - JAMES' VOICE Get going - the orders are make it snappy. Miskowsky and O'Keefe regard one another, then get slowly to their feet and brush themselves off. MISKOWSKY I'll never get this crap off. One of these days they oughta clean up this subway. He switches on his flashlight.", "INT. FIRST CAR Brown at the rear door, watching the track. Now he turns and calls. - BROWN Mr. Blue - there's the light. Blue returns to the rear and stands watching with Brown.", "INT. TUNNEL - MISKOWSKY & O'KEEFE as they proceed, Miskowsky sweeping the light from side to side, and O'Keefe carrying the sack. Now Miskowsky's light picks out Bud's dead body on the track - and then Caz Dolowitz. MISKOWSKY It looks like Vietnam down here. They continue toward the first car.", "INT. FIRST CAR Blue now opens the rear door as the flashlight's beam sweeps across the back end of the car. Now Miskowsky and O'Keefe appear - only their faces peering into the car. O'Keefe tosses the sack off his shoulder onto the car's floor and it lands with a thud. Miskowsky and O' I : eefe look up at Blue and Brown who merely stare back. No one speaks. Then the two policemen turn and go. Blue now busies himself with opening the neck of the sack, then lifting the other end so that the 75 bricks of money spill out onto the floor in a heap. REACTION SHOTS - In rapid succession : Blue, Brown, Grey and Green, their eyes glued on the money - and then Various Passengers : the Pimp, the Hooker, the Old Dian, the Drama Critic, the Hippie, the Puerto Rican, the Fag. MED. SHOT - REAR OF CAR BLUE Mr. Grey - He gestures for Grey to join them which he does, his eyes on the money all the time. GREY Well - will you look at that, now - BLUE Get your things off - both of you - and start loading up. Blue watches while both Grey and : Brown remove their raincoats, jackets and finally their shirts. Brown has a blood - stained kerchief tied around his right upper arm. Both wear what can only be called money vests : canvas, sleeveless, fitting over the head like a Mae West, with ties on the sides, and containing pockets, 20 in all, front and back. BLUE Jr.. Grey, you do Mr. Brown, then he'll do you - nineteen packets each. Blue continues to observe for a mc -, ment as Grey starts inserting packets of pills, one to a pocket, into Brown's vest, as Brown stands stiffly, his hands at his sides. Then Blue walks to the front end of the car, joining Green. GREEN All that money - I ca n't believe it. BLUE When they're finished it'll be your turn. Mr. Grey will load you up. But do n't go down there until Mr. Brown has come here to take your place. I'll load up as soon as I talk to Prescott. GREEN I just wish it was all over already. BLUE Pretty soon now. He goes into the motorman's cab and shuts the door.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER - DAY Prescott at his desk, waiting. Then : This is Pelham One Two Three - do you read me, Prescott -? PRESCOTT -LRB- punching a button. -RRB- This is Prescott - INTERCUT - BLUE & PRESCOTT BLUE I'm going to give you five specific instructions. Each one is to be followed precisely - is that clear? PRESCOTT So far. BLUE One : at the end of this conversation you will restore power to the entire sector. PRESCOTT -LRB- WRITING. -RRB- Restore power - BLUE Two : you will clear the local track all the way from 28th Street to South Ferry. By clear I mean switches properly set and all signals green. I emphasize green, Prescott - if I even so much as see a red light, let alone get tripped by one, we will shoot a hostage. PRESCOTT -LRB- WRITING. -RRB- Local track cleared to South Ferry and all signals green - BLUE Three : all southbound trains behind us, local and express, are to remain lying dead. Likewise all northbound between South Ferry and here. PRESCOTT -LRB- WRITING. -RRB- Got it - BLUE Four : you will contact me as soon as the track is clear and all signals are green. PRESCOTT -LRB- WRITING. -RRB- Go ahead - BLUE Five : you will remove all police personnel from the tunnel. If we see a single cop between here and South Ferry we will shoot a hostage. In fact, any deviation from these instructions and we will shoot a hostage. PIED. SHOT - PRESCOTT PRESCOTT Are you aware that you're insane? BLUE -LRB- after a pause. -RRB- Let me know when all five points have been complied with. Over and out. Prescott sits back for a moment, thinking. Then he punches a button. PRESCOTT Sol - you there -? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- I'm here, Clive, what's up? PRESCOTT Hold on while I cut in the city COPS -. -LRB- punches a button. -RRB- Daniels -? This is Prescott - DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Come in, Prescott, this is Daniels - PRESCOTT Daniels, I've got Lieutenant Garber of the Transit Police on the line with us. I have the latest instructions from the hijackera\u00e2 $ cents. They want power restored, the tracks cleared, all signals green as far as South Ferry, and no cops anywhere. Okay, so we go along - we have to - but then what? What do you think they've got in mind? -LRB- A SILENCE. -RRB- Do n't all talk at once. INTERCUT - PRESCOTT, GARBER & DANIELS GARBER Beats hell out of me, Clive. I would n't've picked a tunnel to make my getaway from in the first place. PRESCOTT But they did pick it' - and since everything they've done so far has been organized down to tha smallest detail, it stands to reason they've got the rest worked out, too. GARBER Power restored and the track cleared - so they're gon na move their car, obviously. But why South Ferry? DANIELS If I remember right it comes after Bowling Green - what comes after South Ferry? GARBER Bowling Green again - the track loops around and heads back uptown. PRESCOTT All they'll do is bottle themselves up. That's no good. DANIELS So that means they want South Ferry. Why? PRESCOTT Do you think it's the water, Sol? Maybe they've got a boat waiting in the harbor - or a seaplane - GARBER Who knows? We'd better play it a step at a time. Clive, you see about restoring power and clearing the track. Daniels and I'll start pulling our units out of the tunnel. We can follow them just as well up above, on the street. DANIELS How'll we know where they are? PRESCOTT Grand Central Tower has'em on their model board - we can see every move they make. If they stop anywhere before South Ferry we'll know about it. DANIELS We'd better put some men on all of the emergency exits just in case. I'll check back in when I've found a squad car I can use. GARBER Wait a minute! I think I just figured out how they're gon na get away! PRESCOTT I'm listening - GARBER They're gon na fly the train to Cuba! MED. SHOT - PRESCOTT PRESCOTT -LRB- SMILING. -RRB- You're a sick man, Sol. He disconnects, then rises and crosses to Frank Correll who's still frantically leafing through teletype dispatches and shouting into a phone. CORRELL What do you want me to do, for Chrissake? - the goddam power's still off! You'll have to move them by bus - what do you mean you do n't have any buses?! - go hijack some! He slams the receiver down, then notices Prescott looking down ` at him. CORRELL What's going on, Prescott - do I get my trains back now or do n't I? PRESCOTT You do n't - not yet. CORRELL Jesus! Do you realize that in less than an hour the goddam rush hour starts? PRESCOTT Will you shut up and listen? I've got a new set of instructions. CORRELL -LRB- TURNING AWAY. -RRB- I do n't give a rat's ass for your fucking instructions! I'm not doing anything to help the killers of Caz Dolowitz! Prescott reaches into his pocket, removes his service revolver and, grabbing Correll by the chin, pushes his head back and places the muzzle of the gun into his eye. PRESCOTT If you do n't do what I tell you, Frank, you'll be having dinner tonight with Caz Dolowitz.", "INT. SUBPAY TUNNEL - FIRST CAR It stands, as before. in the semi - darkness. Then, suddenly, the lights in the tunnel and inside the car flash on - the power has been restored. The time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 3:28''", "INT. FIRST CAR All lights are on and the Passengers react to the sudden brightness. Brown, fully dressed again but looking even bulkier with the addition of the money, stands at the front end of the car now. Grey.is at mid - car, also dressed again. Blue and Green are at the rear end, the latter having just finished filling the former's money vest and now helps him on with his jacket and raincoat. Blue moves to the center of the car. BLUE Your attention, please - in a moment we're going to start moving again. You will all remain seated and quiet. We expect to release you unharmed in a short while, but until then you must continue doing exactly as you're told. Come along, Mr. Green. He heads for the motorman's cab, Green right behind him. The Pimp looks at Grey for a moment. PIMP Hey, dude. - long as you goin' downtown anyway, you mind droppin' me off at Fulton Street? GREY Smart - assed nigger - PIMP You pretty, smart too, baby - long as you holdin' that piece. FAG Will you please?!", "INT. MOTORMAN'S CAB Blue stands to one side as Green sets up at the controls and checks the track ahead. GREEN Green all the way down. BLUE Go ahead then. GREEN This is gon na hand'em a jolt, you know - moving before they expect it. BLUE Go ahead, Mr. Green. Green edges the controller forward and the car responds.", "INT. TUNNEL As the car starts to move.", "INT. GRAND CENTRAL TOWER CLOSE SHOT - MODEL BOARD as the red slashes representing Pelham One Two Three are moving. WIDER ANGLE Featuring Marino who is staring up at the Board. MARINO Holy Christ, she's moving! -LRB- TURNING. -RRB- What the hell's goin' on? They said they'd wait until we'd cleared the track all the way down! Jenkins - get the Command Center. MRS. JENKINS -LRB- INTO MIKE. -RRB- Grand Central Tower calling Command Center -", "INT. COMMAND CENTER - PRESCOTT - DAY PRESCOTT Come in, Grand Central Tower MRS. JENKINS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- She's moving. PRESCOTT Who's moving? MRS. JENKINS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Pelham One Two Three PRESCOTT What?! Since when? MRS. JENKINS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- She just started. PRESCOTT Hold on -. -LRB- Punches a button. -RRB- Sol - she's moving! GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Who's moving? PRESCOTT Who the hell do you think?! Pelham! What's she doing now, Grand Central? MRS. JENKINS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Still moving - pretty slow, but no sign of stopping. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- It's too goddam soon! We're not set up yet! PRESCOTT Which is probably why they did it. You heard from Daniels yet? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Yeah. He's in a squad car on Park Avenue South. Try him on seven - five PRESCOTT -LRB- punching another button. -RRB- Daniels -? It's Prescott - DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- I read you, Prescott - what's up? PRESCOTT She's moving. DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Who's moving? PRESCOTT What's the matter with everybody?! How many hijacked trains we got around here? DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- You mean Pelham? But they're not supposed to do that yet - how far have they gone? PRESCOTT Grand Central -? MRS. JENKINS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- They're coming up on the 23rd Street Station. DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Oh shit, I'd better clear the cops off that platform. Signing off. PRESCOTT All right, everybody - listen to me! They jumped the gun on us but we're gonna.stick right with'em. That means every single person in every department's gon na shake his ass, do you get that? MRS. JENKINS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Do n't worry, Lieutenant - it's shakin'.", "INT. SUBWAY. TUNNEL as Pelham One Two Three rolls slowly along.", "INT. FIRST CAR - MOTORMAN'S CAB Blue and Green. GREEN We're coming in to 23rd Street. BLUE Keep it steady. GREEN I'm still in switching - can I push it up a notch? BLUE No - steady as she goes. GREEN'S POV SHOOTING through the windshield. Ahead, the 23rd Street Platform is drawing nearer - and there is a CROWD waiting, many leaning over to look uptrack at the approaching train. GREEN'S VOICE Jesus - look at'em hanging over the edge. When I was a motorman I had nightmares about them falling off in front of me.", "INT. 28TH STREET PLATFORM as the lone car passes slowly through. The long - stranded would - be RIDERS start to shout, whistle and bang on the windows and side of the. slowly passing car.", "INT. FIRST. CAR The. terrified Passengers and the uncertain Brown and Grey as the car runs the gauntlet of the irate crowd outside ; they all shy from the poundi ng fists.", "INT. GRAND CENTRAL TOWER - MODEL BOARD The red lights moving past 23rd Street. CAMERA WHIP PANS to Mrs. Jenkins on t : : e radio. MRS. JENKINS Pelham One Two Three passing 23rd Street Station -", "EXT. PARK AVENUE SOUTH & 23RD STREET - DAY A police squad car inches along, crossing 23rd Street, heading downtos'm.", "INT. SQUAD CAR - DAY Daniels and a uniformed police DRIVER. DANIELS -LRB- INTO MIKE. -RRB- Speed? MRS. JENKINS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Continuing slow, at around five miles per hour - what they call the switching position. DANIELS Prescott -? PRESCOTT -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Go ahead, Daniels. - DANIELS I just had a terrible thought : what if they're not on the train? What if they set the throttle and jumped off? While we're chasing the train they're sneaking out an emergency exit somewhere behind us. PRESCOTT -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Ingenious - except for one thing : it's impossible. DANIELS Why? PRESCOTT -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- A little gizmo called the - dead man's feature. It was built into the controller handle in case a motorman should ever drop dead. It has to have a man's hand pressing down on it at all times in order to work. Otherwise the train stops cold. DANIELS Yeah? PRESCOTT -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Nice try, though. But in case you're still worried, I was just about to call them. I'll let you know if I get their answering service.", "INT. SUBWAY - FIRST CAR - MOTORMAN'S CAB CLOSE SHOT - CONTROLLER HANDLE Green's hand pressed down on it. PRESCOTT -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Command Center calling Pelham One Two Three - CAMERA PULLS BACK to include Green and Blue. BLUE -LRB- INTO MIKE. -RRB- This is Pelham. PRESCOTT -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- What's going on? The track is n't clear to South Ferry yet - how come you're moving? BLUE Slight change of plan. We decided to put some distance between us and all those cops you had hidden in the tunnel back there. PRESCOTT -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- If you keep moving you're gon na start running into red signals. I do n't want you to blame us for it. BLUE We'll be stopping soon. Just get back when you've cleared the rest of the track. Signing off. GREEN Do you think he's figured anything out? All those questions - BLUE Perfectly natural under the circumstances. They're thinking just the way we want them to.", "INT. 18TH STREET PLATFORM Closed down for some years, the station platform is no more brightly lit than the rest of the tunnel, giving it an eerie look. The first car of Pelham One Two Three rolls slowly through.", "INT. MOTORMAN'S CAB BLUE Look sharp now - it's coming up Blue and Green are straining their eyes against the darkened tunnel ahead. BLUE Do you see it? GREEN It's that white light about a hundred feet ahead. BLUE All right - this is close enough. Green starts to apply the brake.", "INT. GRAND CENTRAL TOWER - MODEL BOARD The red lights representing Pelham One Two Three stop. CAMERA PULLS BACK to include Marino, Mrs. Jenkins and some of the Towermen, all watching the board. MARINO She's shut down again. Pass it along. MRS. JENKINS -LRB- INTO MIKE. -RRB- Grand Central ` Tower calling Command Center - come in, Command Center -", "INT. COMMAND CENTER - PRESCOTT - DAY at his console. He punches a button and speaks into the mike. PRESCOTT This is Command Center - MRS. JENKINS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- She's stopped again, Lieutenant - just below the 18th Street Station. PRESCOTT Gotcha, thanks. -LRB- pushing a button. -RRB- Daniels? Come in, Daniels this is Prescott - DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is Daniels. PRESCOTT They've stopped again. Where are you? DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Just crossing 17th Street. PRESCOTT Pull over - you're right above them. DANIELS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- And then what? PRESCOTT It's up to them. I'll get back to you. -LRB- punches a button. -RRB- Pelham One Two Three - this is PRESCOTT -. -LRB- NO ANSWER. -RRB- Pelham One Two Three - do you read me -?", "INT. SUBWAY - FIRST CAR - MOTORMAN'S CAB Blue is hanging the mike back on its hook before lending Green a hand with the bulky valpac that originally came onto the train with Blue. PRESCOTT -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Come in, Pelham One Two Three this is Prescott calling - can you hear me, Pelham One Two Three -? BLUE Ignore him - he'll get tired and quit after a while. Let's get this stuff unpacked - there is n't much time. They are unbuckling the straps and unfolding the canvas bag, then attacking the zippers. PRESCOTT -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Come in, Pelham One Two Three -", "INT. COIiTiAND CENTER - PRE- SCOTT - DAY PRESCOTT -LRB- INTO MIKE. -RRB- Goddaranit, Pelham One Two Three, what the hell's wrong with you -?! Still no answer. He sits back and thinks for a moment. Then he turns to Correll. PRESCOTT Frank - how long before you're clear all the way to South Ferry? CORRELL You mean before this railroad is so totally fucked up that it'll take a goddam computer, to put it back together? PRESCOTT Right, Frank, that's what I meant. CORRELL Five or six minutes. I've got a snag at Brooklyn Bridge. PRESCOTT -LRB- pushing a button. -RRB- SOL - GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Yeah, Clive - PRESCOTT Something's going on down there - I have n't the faintest idea what but I'm gon na go'over and join Daniels at 17th Street. Come on up here and take over on the radio - but do n't tell'em the track's clear until I check in with you. I do n't want them starting up again before I get there.", "INT. SUBWAY - FIRST CAR - IHiOTORF,IAN' S CAB CLOSE SHOT - GLZ11CK as it is pulled from the valpac - a cast - iron, shoe - like form with a molded, hollowed - out area on one side. It is clearly heavy enough to require both of Green's hands to heft it. CAMERA PULLS BACK to reveal him, grunting, setting it over the controller handle which it fits perfectly. Blue stands by, watching. GREEN Perfect fit. Blue now hands him a length of pipe, some six inches in length. Green takes it, fits one end into a socket on top of the gimmick, facing toward the windshield, and screws it in. Then Blue hands him his submachine gun. Green looks at him for reassurance. BLUE Go ahead. Green attacks the windshield with tine stock of the gun, opening a great splintered hole.", "INT. SUBWAY CAR as the Passengers react to the sounds of breaking.glass coming from within the i iotorman's cab.", "INT. 14OTMMM'S CAB The front window is almost completely out - only a few pieces of glass cling to the frame. BLUE Get it all - it's got to look right. Green uses the gun's barrel to scrape around the edges, clearing away the last traces of glass. Blue now hands Green another length of pipe - this one about three feet long. Green fits one end over the protruding end of the attached short pipe - not screwing it, merely fitting it. The other end extends straight out the glassless windshield. BLUE Try it once - make sure it comes away clean. Green yanks at the long pipe and it separates from the shorter one. GREEN Perfect. He reattaches it. BLUE Okay. Now jump down - Ill hand the other piece through. Green leaves the cab. FRONT STORM DOOR Brown standing guard as Green comes out of the cab. The two men exchange glances but no words as Green opens the storm door, stepping out.", "INT. TUNNEL As Green jumps onto the roadbed and comes around in front of the car, his shoes crunching the broken glass. % Lbove, from the cab, Blue hands Green down still a third pipe, this one the same length -LRB- three feet -RRB- as the second. Green now screws one end of the third to the protruding end of the second, but at such an angle that the construction now. turns sharply left, extending toward the tunnel wall, beyond the side line of the train. BLUE Make sure its tight. GREEN I did. BLUE Come on back in. Green returns to the storm door c There Brown extends his left hand and pulls Green back up into the car.", "INT. MZOTORIIAN' S C B Blue is inspecting. the placement of the gimmick over the controller as Green enters. GREEN It's all set to go. I only wish we were. BLUE Do n't worry - ten minutes from now we'll be free and clear.", "EXT. PARK AVENUE SOUTH & 16TH STREET - DAY Union Square Park. A police squad car sits at the curb. The time is SUPERIiIPOSED : `` 3:41''", "INT. SQUAD CAR - DAY Daniels on the radio. BOROUGH COMMANDER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- This is the Borough Commander, Daniels, what the hell's going on? DANIELS Not very much at the moment, sir - they're sitting down there and we're sitting up here. BOROUGH COMMANDER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- That's swell. What are you trying to do, starve them out? DANIELS No, sir - but it's their move. We're just waiting for them to make it. BOROUGH COMMANDER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- All right - keep me posted. As Daniels hangs up the mike the rear door opens and Prescott sticks his head inside. PRESCOTT Daniels? DANIELS Who the hell are you? PRESCOTT Prescott. DANIELS Prescott? I thought - I do n't know what I thought. Get in. Prescott climbs into the back and closes the door. PRESCOTT Anything happening? DANIELS No. They're still down there. If the street collapsed we'd probably land right on top of them. PRESCOTT -LRB- grabbing the mike. -RRB- Prescott to Command Center Garber? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Yeah, Clive - the tracks been clear for a couple of minutes. Can I call the hijackers? PRESCOTT Let'em know. And let us know when they start moving. -LRB- hangs up mike. -RRB- DANIELS What do we do - wait or get started? If they ever get up to speed we're. gon na have trouble staying with them. PRESCOTT -LRB- THINKING. -RRB- Let's go - for once we'll be a step ahead of them.", "EXT. SQUAD CAR as it pulls away from the curb.", "INT. SUBWAY FIRST CAR - MOTORMAN'S CAB Blue and Green. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Command Center to Pelham One Two Three - come in, Pelham - GREEN That's not Prescott - BLUE -LRB- INTO MIKE. -RRB- This is Pelham - what happened to Prescott? GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Even stars have to pee. Just letting you know the track's clear - all the way to South Ferry. BLUE Thanks, Command Center. Give Prescott our regards. GARBER -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- You can do it youraelf - at the arraignment. BLUE Over and out. He gives the mike a strong tug and - snaps the wire. BLUE I want this train moving in thirty seconds. Tell Mr. Brown and Mr. Grey they can cut the emergency brake cords. Green leaves the cab. Blue examines the gimmick one last time, then follows Green out.", "INT. SUBWAY CAR CLOSE SHOT - EMERGENCY BRAKE CORD as the rope with the red wooden handle, which dangles some six inches from a hole in the ceiling of the car, is cut by a pair of clippers inserted into the hole. CAMERA PULLS BACK to include Brown, standing on a seat behind the Motorman's cab. WIDER ANGLE Including Grey who is cutting the brake cord at the other end of the car. Now, submachine gun in hand, Brown opens the front storm door, crouches and drops out of sight. Then Grey starts for the rear door, hesitates, returns to the Hooker and bends to whisper something in her ear. HOOKER You and what army? Snickering, he returns to the rear door, opens it and disappears. At the front of.the car, Green backs out of the door, closing it after him, and is helped down to the roadbed by Brown from below. Only Blue is left. He holds his submachine gun easily cradled in one arm as he moves through the car. BLUE You will remain in your seats. Do n't try to get up. MAID You mean ever? BLUE I mean remain seated. He has reached the rear, walking backwards, and now gropes behind him for the door handle. OLD MAN Are n't you going to tell us what a great bunch of hostages we've been? Blue does n't answer as he opens the door and backs out onto the metal landing. Then he closes the door and drops down to the track. The Passengers, left alone, look at one another uncertainly.", "INT. TUNNEL The four hijackers are deployed along the side of the car - Green in front with Brown, Blue in back with Grey. BLUE All right, Mr. Green - Green, a hand on the protruding pipe connected to the controller handle inside the Motorman's cab, now grabs it with both hands and pushes inward, toward the train.", "INT. MOTOR11AN' S CAB CLOSE SHOT - CONTROLLER HANDLE as it is moved clockwise, through switching, into the series position.", "INT. TUNNEL The train starts to move. As it does, Green tugs sharply back on the pipe and the two longer sections, angled together, disengage and come loose in his hand. He starts to lose his balance but Brawn grabs him and pulls him back to the tunnel wall. The train it picking up speed rapidly as it slides by them.", "INT. FIRST CAR as it accelerates. The Passengers continue looking around, not sure what's happening. Suddenly, without warning, the Hippie jumps to his feet and, running in a crouch toward the rear of the car, draws a revolver. MOTHER They said to remain seated - I HIPPIE I'm a police officer -! He slides open the rear door of the now - rapidly - moving car and dives out, leaving the Passengers even more confused.", "INT. TUNNEL - HIPPIE as the car rattles away and he lands hard, rolling over -LRB- perhaps hitting a pillar -RRB-, dropping his gun and sustaining arm and head lacerations. He lies, face upwards, semi - conscious, fairly bloody. MED. SHOT - BLUE, GREEN, BROWN & GREY as they group. BLUE Let's move along, gentlemen - there's no time to waste. You all remember the drill. What's wrong, Mr. Brown? BROWN -LRB- LOOKING DOWNTRACK. -RRB- I thought I saw something fall out the back of the train. BLUE What did it look like? BROWN I do n't know - a shadow - could've been a person - I'm not a hundred percent sure I saw it. GREY -LRB- hefting his gun. -RRB- Want me to go check? BLUE -LRB- peering aid thinking. -RRB- Forget it - there's no time.", "INT. GRAND CENTRAL TOWER - MODEL BOARD The red blips are moving. Mrs. JENKINS' VOICE Grand Central Toner to Cozna.nd Center - Pelham One Two Three in motion -", "INT. SQUAD CAR - DAY Prescott still in the back seat, Daniels up front with the Driver. JENKINS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- - passing 14th St. station and running. Speed approaching 35 miles per hour. DANIELS We're right on top of her. PRESCOTT It does n't make any sense - they know we're monitoring their position - that we've got to be following THIN - DANIELS So? PRESCOTT So it's dumb. DANIELS Whoever said crooks were smart? PRESCOTT But these have been - up to now, that is. They have n't made a single mistake. I tell you we're overlooking something", "INT. TUNNEL - EMERGENCY EXIT Blue, Green, Brown and Grey have moved to the door leading to the exit chamber -LRB- under a grating in the street above -RRB-, beneath the bare white bulb. BLUE All right, we do it exactly as we did in the drill - by the numbers. GREY Drills, numbers - it's all chicken - shit. Why do n't we just do it? BLUE Shut up and do what you're told. SUBMACHINE GUNS They set them down on the roadbed. BLUE Hats, glasses, wigs and mustaches - They remove their disguises anal we see their faces for the first time.", "INT. SUBWAY CAR as it bumps and rattles along. The Passengers have remained seated. MOTHER Can you imagine? That beatnik being a policeman? OLD MAN Hippie - they do n't call them beatniks any more. CO-ED They do n't call them hippies any more, either. MOTHER How can they let policemen dress like that? OLD MAN That's his job - he's in cognito. W.A.S.P. He's also dead, most likely. We were moving pretty fast by the time he jumped off. SALESMAN They're trained to do that. PIMP Jump headfirst off a subway? Shiiit. MOTHER Where do you think they're taking us now? OLD MAN Do n't worry - they'll let us go pretty soon. The Hooker has been looking around with growing anxiety and now, she stands up. HOOKER You dumb bastards - ca n't anybody count?! They all four got off - there's nobody driving the fucking train! There's a moment's silence as everyone digests this news. Then the Mother screams.", "INT. ASTOR PLACE PLATFORM as the lone car hurtles through the station.", "INT. TUNNEL - HIPPIE He raises himself on one elbow and shakes his head. He wipes some blood off his face and looks at his fingers. BLUE'S VOICE Remove your coats - turn inside - out - and put back on. He looks off. EMERGENCY EXIT - HIPPIE'S POV as Blue, Green, Brown and Grey take off their coats and begin turning them inside out - illuminated by the over - head bulb. CLOSE SHOT - HIPPIE He blink, still in a foa. He lcoks at his empty hand for. a moment, trying to remember what should still be in it but is n't. Then he begins groping around on the ground, and whispering to himself, barely audibly. HIPPIE Gun - got ta find my gun - NED. SHOT - BLUE, GREEN, BROWN & GREY as they are putting their coats on again. Grey's is now a light beige poplin ; Brown's a mediumn grey with fur collar ; Green's a tan herringbone ; weed ; Blue's a salt and pepper Donegal. BLUE HATS - They remove new hats from their coat pockets - Grey's a powder blue low - crowned golfing hat ; Brown's a grey with short upturned brim ; Green's a grey Russian astrakhan ; Blue's a brown cap with short visor. BLUE Remove gloves -", "EXT. ASTOR PLACE - DAY as the squad car goes through, siren screaming.", "INT. SQUAD CAR - DAY JENKINS -LRB- RADIO. -RRB- Pelham One Two Three reported halfway, between Astor Place and Bleeker, speed increasing - DANIELS Christ, they're gaining on us! PRESCOTT it has something to do with that short move they surprised us with - from 28th to 17th St. - DANIELS What does? PRESCOTT Their scheme - it's tied up some - how with that move - it has to be. But why'd they do it? DANIELS I give up. PRESCOTT To get away from the cops in the tunnel, that's what they said - all right, why not? Suppose they were doing something they did n't want anybody to see? DANIELS Like what? CLOSE SHOT - PRESCOTT PRESCOTT -LRB- softly and evenly. -RRB- Like getting off the train. Daniels - turn around, we're going back. WIDER ANGLE Including Daniels. DANIELS Like hell we are. PRESCOTT They're not on the train - I'm sure of it! DANIELS Look, Presoctt - I'm the one who suggested that in the first place - but you shot me down - something about a `` dead man's feature'' - PRESCOTT They figured out how to beat it - that's their plan - that's what they started with! Daniels considers for an instant, then turns to the Driver. DANIELS Turn it around - and burn rubber!", "EXT. SQUAD CAR as it pulls a U - turn in the middle of the block -LRB- Broadway -RRB-, tires squealing, barely avoiding a bus. The time is `` 3:48.'' INTO TUNNEL Blue, Green, Brown and Grey. BLUE Check handguns in coat pocket - They each remove a snub - nosed pistol, check it, then return it. BLUE Remove magazines from submachine guns. All of them pick up their submachine guns but only three remove the magazines and then place the guns back dcwn again. Grey merely watches the other three,. continuing to hold his gun under his arm, a slight smile on his face. BLUE Did you hear me, Mr. Grey? Disarm your gun and put it down so we can I get out of here. GREY I'm not leaving it - it goes out with me. BLUE Put it down, Mr. Grey - GREY What if something's gone wrong? What if they're waiting for us up there? I want more'n just a dinky pea - shooter! BLUE Nothing's gone wrong. The plan depends on our walking away un - noticed. You ca n't do that carry - ing a submachine gun. GREY I wo n't just carry it - I'll hold it under my coat - GREEN This is crazy! Do what he says so we can get going! BLUE You're leaving your gun here, Mr. GREY - GREY -LRB- SMILES INSOLENTLY. -RRB- In a pig's ass, Mr. Blue - Without any warning, Blue, whose Wright hand has been in his pocket, fires his pistol through his coat, catching f Grey full in the chest. He staggers back, bumps against the tunnel wall and collapses, landing on his side. Blue bends, pries the submachine gun ` Loose from Grey's death grip, removes the magazine, pockets it, and tosses the gun away. Green has watched all this in near panic. GREEN Oh my God - Brown watches with a detachment bordering on disinterest. BROWN What about his money vest? BLUE Mr. Green will put it on over his own. GREEN Me? Why me? BLUE You're the thinnest one - it'll show less. Hurry up and undress. Mr. Brown - help me with Mr. Grey. They start to work on the dead body as Green starts undressing.", "INT. GRAND CENTRAL TOWER - MODEL BOARD The red lights progressing. CA14ERA PULLS BACK. MRS. JENKINS She's passing Canal St., doing around fifty miles. MARINO That's a pretty good clip - I hope they know what they're doing. MRS. JENKINS Only four more stations to South Ferry.", "INT. CANAL ST. PLATFORM as the single car roars through the station, the darkened front window divulges nothing.", "INT. FIRST CAR Some of the Passengers have gone to the front of the car. The W.A.S.P. is trying to open the door to the Motorman's cab, but there's no outside handle so all he can do is pound impotently against it. The Mother remains in her seat holding her two boys pressed against her. Now the Old Man starts pushing his way up front. OLD MAN My friends - please - the situa - tion is n't as lousy as it looks - FAG Just a little lousy's good enough for me. W.A.S.P. I never knew these things went so fast. MOTHER We're going to be killed! OLD MAN No - no we wo n't! I admit that right now we're on a run - away train, but it's only temporary - The car careens into a curve and sways wildly as the metal wheels scrape and screech. There's a good deal of scream - ing and shouting from the Passengers as several fall down. The Old Man starts to topple but the Pimp steadies him. OLD MAN Thank you, brother. W.A.S.P. Ahelluva lot you know - OLD MAN But I do know - I've been riding the subways for over sixty years - I'm an expert! HOOKER Why do n't we cut all this crap and beat down that goddam door, for CHRISSAKE! OLD MAN It is n't necessary! They got something called stoppers or trippers or stickers or something like that - so whenever a train goes through a red light these things automatically stop it. PIMP -LRB- looking out the FRONT WINDOW. -RRB- There's jest one thing, baby - OLD MAN -LRB- TURNING. -RRB- What's that? PIMP They all green. THE TUNNEL -LRB- UNDERCRANKED -RRB- SHOOTING straight ahead from the - front of the train. Nothing but green lights ahead as the train races along.", "INT. TUNNEL - HIPPIE Propped up now against a pillar, straining to look at something, off. HIJACKERS - HIPPIE'S POV Blue and Brown are tying the second money vest on Green, then help him on with his shirt 4nd coat. MED. SHOT - HIPPIE He returns his attention to the business of locating his gun. He scrapes the heel of an extended leg -LRB- to his extreme discomfort -RRB- along the ground hoping to discover it - and does. Seeing it, he now goes through the painful exercise of reaching for it - finally managing this, too. Now, lifting one knee as a gun mount, he holds the revolver in both hands and starts to take aim. HIJACKERS - HIPPIE'S POV with the gun in the foreground, its sight being shifted as the three men are preparing to leave through the emergency exit. Now the Hippie's vision -LRB- FOCUS -RRB- blurs for a moment, and when it clears, Green has already disappeared through the door and Brown is right behind him. The gunsight centers on Brown's broad back - and the gun fires. Brown convulses and topples backwards.", "EXT. BROADWAY - DAY The Squad Car, racing uptown now.", "INT. SQUAD CAR DANIELS You'd better be right about this, PRESCOTT. PRESCOTT Even if I am, we're probably gon na be too late.", "INT. TUNNEL Blue stands behind a pillar, his gun in hand, peering into the darkness, trying to locate the marksman. Green is in the well of the emergency exit, beside the metal ladder that leads up through a grate and out onto the street. Between them, before the open doorway to the well, Brown's body lies face up on the ground. Green now gestures for Blue to come across the open area separating then. GREEN Come on - i BLUE I'd never make it -. -LRB- POINTING DOWNTRACK. -RRB- It came from down there someplace - I've got to get him. Go on up! Green hesitates, looks up the ladder, looks back at Blue. GREEN I - I'll wait for you - Blue looks at him fora moment, then checks his pistol and, slowly, steps out from behind the pillar. A shot rings out immediately and the ricochet off the pillar zings loudly. Blue calmly fires twice at the muzzle flash. MED. SHOT - HIPPIE Both shots have connected, one hitting his arm and sending the pistol flying away, the other into his upper chest, below the right shoulder. He topples over, sprawling across one rail, onto the roadbed. ICED, SHOT - BLUE He has stepped back behind his pillar again to listen. Silence. GREEN Did you hit him -?! BLUE Quiet! He listens again, then leaves his pillar, and hurries downtrack to the next where he again waits and listens, MED. SHOT - HIPPIE Inadvertently, he groans. MED. SHOT - BLUE He has heard. Now he steps out from behind the pillar and starts forward to the next, a - little more secure.", "INT. WALL ST. PLATFORM as the single car flashes through the station. THE TUNNEL -LRB- UNDERCRANKED -RRB- As before, SHOOTING straight ahead from the front of the train. Still nothing but green lights.", "INT. FIRST CAR Most of the passengers are now packed at the front of the car, staring out at the track - ahead. W.A.S.P. Where are the goddam red lights?! SALESMAN There are n't any! MOTHER We're not stopping - we're going to be killed! OLD MAN There's gon na be a red light - there has to be! HOOKER And what if there is n't -?! OLD MAN -LRB- LESS SURE. -RRB- There has to be -", "INT. TUNNEL - BLUE Now he can see the Hippie lying across the track ahead. He slowly starts toward him, calm, his pistol at his side. BLUE Mr. Green -! It's all right! Go on up - I'll be right with you -! MED. SHOT - GREEN as he climbs up the ladder and starts pushing up the grating above his head.' MED. SHOT - HIPPIE Barely conscioous, unable to move, he watches Blue approach. MED. SHOT - BLUE as he continues walking, unhurried, toward the Hippie. Finally he arrives, stops, looks down at the injured man. BLUE You were on the train. Are you a cop? Almost imperceptibly, the Hippie nods - just once. BLUE Then the Mayor will come to your funeral. He lifts his gun to aim and fire and the Hippie manages to turn his head away. Then there's a shot - and Blue crumples to the ground, dead. ANOTHER ANGLE as Prescott comes up and stands looking down at Blue's body. Then he turns his attention to the Hippie, bending beside him. All he can see is the long blond hair. PRESCOTT I'll have an ambulance here in no time at all, Miss - every - thing's going to be all right.", "INT. SOUTH FERRY PLATFORM CLOSE SHOT - SIGN Identifying the stop - `` SOUTH FERRY''. CAMERA Ti7HIP PANS to the track as the lone car of Pelham One Two Three roars in and, speed undiminished, roars out.", "INT. FIRST CAR The old man is sitting now, his head in his hands. The W.A.S.P., the Hooker, the Pimp and one or two others, are still jammed up against the window.' HOOKER My God - look -! THE TUNNEL - HOOKER' S POV -LRB- UNDERCRANKED -RRB- A sharp curve ahead. W.A.S.P.'S VOICE We're going too fast to make it - The train rushes into the curve and then, as the wheels start to screech, a red signal comes into view - and CAMERA ZOOMS IN on it. HOOKER'S VOICE Look - I It's red! INSERT - SUBWAY CAR WHEELS If possible, showing the trippers working on the car to stop it.", "INT. FIRST CAR With a hissing sound, and as everyone is thrown forward, the car decelerates quickly and finally stops - and there is complete silence. VARIOUS REACTION SHOTS - PASSENGERS - The Puerto Rican crossing himself. - The Mother hugging her two sons to her, weeping. - The Pimp, sitting, his head back, staring at the ceiling. - The W.A.S.P. lightin_g. a, cigarette with trembling. hand. - Etc.. MED. SHOT - OLD MAN & HOOKER He slowly looks up, then around, finally at the Hooker and he smiles. OLD MAN I told you it would stop, did n't I? HOOKER You win, pop. CLOSE SHOT - WINO LADY She opens her rheumy eyes for the first time. WINO LADY Forty - secon' stree' aw ` ready -?", "EXT. PARK AVE. SO. & 16TH ST. - DUSK TRAVELLING with Prescott as he walks and surveys the scene : Several squad cars standing at the curb, their red lights flashing and revolving ; and now an ambulance, siren wailing, pulling up. A couple of COPS help the ATTENDANTS with their wheeled stretcher and hurry off with it. Prescott heads for one of the squad cars and the time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 4:06'' He arrives at the car and leans in to talk to Daniels. PRESCOTT What about the train? DANIELS Stopped itself just past South Ferry. Everybody's okay. PRESCOTT That's a break. So what's the score? DANIELS On our side - two' dead and a long - haired cop on the critical list. Their side? PRESCOTT Three dead. DANIELS And do n't forget him. He indicates the back seat with his thumb. CAMERA PANS to pick up Green, sitting sadly, staring at nothing in particular.", "INT. COMMAND CENTER - CORRELL - NIGHT At his desk, operating furiously on the phone, the radio, with dispatches, his sweat - soaked shirt clinging to him. CORRELL - Maintenance - you got those trippers reset yet? - well, it's about fucking time! - Nevins St. Tower - the South Ferry loop's open again, repeat, South Ferry loop open - Operations, this is my last warning - if all your cops are n't out of the tunnel at 16th St. in thirty seconds I'm gon na run'em down - what? - well, why the hell did n't you say so?! - to all Motormen, to all Motormen - resume normal routes and schedules, effective immedi - ately! He shuts off all his lines and sits back, looking around. His RELIEF MAN is standing by. CORRELL Okay, Augie - I'm givin' you back your railroad - full ser - vice restored - try and keep it that way, will you? He rises wearily, takes his coat off the back of his chair, and watches as the Relief Man slips into the seat. RELIEF MAN Great job, Frank - great job. Correll nods and starts out. TRAINMASTER It's gon na be pretty dull around here tomorrow, Frank - what're you gon na do for an encore? CORRELL Bring charges against that nigger cop. He waves and starts off, across the large room. The others watch him go. TRAINMASTER With that mouth he eats? The time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 8:21''", "INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT HIPPIE'S POV - BLURRED Then coming into FOCUS - a group of men -LRB- the Mayor, the Commissioner, Warren LaSalle and a DOCTOR -RRB- are standing looking down at the Hippie -LRB- CAMERA -RRB- lying in bed. DOCTOR I believe he's awake now - ANOTHER ANGLE including the Hippie in bed and a NEWS CAMERMAN standing by. The Mayor is wrapped. in a heavy overcoat, a woolen muffler and a fur hat with ear - muffs. MAYOR Congratulations, Patrolman - UH - COMMISSIONER Berry - Robert G. MAYOR - Patrolman Berry - all right if I call you Bob? You performed an act of extraordinary valor, Bob - the people of the city of New York are in your debt. -LRB- HE SNEEZES. -RRB- WARREN Shake his hand, Nate - The Mayor reaches out to shake hands, but the Hippie is too weak to lift his - so the Mayor picks it up from atop the covers and pumps it. A flashbulb pops from the Photo - grapher's camera. Then the Mayor sneezes again. COMMISSIONER Splendid work, Berry - the Department's very proud of you. I've already put you in for pro - motion. HIPPIE -LRB- WEAKLY. -RRB- Thank you, sir - I only did what any other man on the force would've - MAYOR So long now, Bob - hurry up and get well, will you, fella? And congratulations again. HIPPIE Thank you, sir - I only did what any other man on the force But they're already moving toward the door. MAYOR He looks better than I do - probably feels better, too. The Hippie's eyes slowly close as he goes back to sleep. The time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 9:03.''", "EXT. TRANSIT AUTHORITY BLDG. - J AY ST. - NIGHT as Prescott comes down the front steps, alone, wearing a raincoat against the night's chill. He starts off down the street.", "EXT. FULTON ST. - NIGHT Most of the stores closed, their iron grills drawn, as Pres - cott walks along. He stops at a corner newsstand that's just being boarded up by an OLD WOMAN. He spots the Daily News headline - `` I.R.T. TRAIN HIJACKED!'' - and buys one. OLD WOMAN Know what's gon na go next? The Empire State Building. PRESCOTT -LRB- SMILING. -RRB- I would n't be surprised. He starts off down the street again, having folded back the front page and now reading the third page. Suddenly he crumples the paper into a ball between his two hands, fakes dribbling it along the sidewalk, makes a good move, fakes one man, spins away from another and, hooking a high arching shot at a wire mesh trash basket, watches it hit the rim and bounce away, onto the pavement. PRESCOTT -LRB- SOFTLY. -RRB- Shit. He keeps on walking as the time is SUPERIMPOSED : `` 10:14.'' FADE OUT. THE END"], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0], "summary": "In New York City, four men wearing similar disguises and carrying concealed weapons board the same downtown 6 train, Pelham 1-2-3, at different stations. Using codenames Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, Mr. Grey, and Mr. Brown, they take 18 people, including the conductor and an undercover police officer, hostage in the first car. They uncouple the car from the train and park it down the tunnel below 28th Street. Communicating over the radio with Zachary Garber, a New York City Transit Authority police lieutenant, Blue demands a $1 million ransom to be delivered within one hour or he'll kill one hostage for every minute it is late. Green sneezes periodically, to which Garber always responds, \"Gesundheit.\" Garber, his co-worker Lt. Rico Patrone, and others cooperate while speculating about the hijackers' escape plan. Garber surmises that one hijacker must be a former motorman since they were able to drive the car down the tunnel. Conversations between the hijackers reveal that Blue was an officer in a mercenary army in Africa; Green was a motorman caught in a drug bust; and Blue does not trust Grey, who was ousted from the mafia for being too violent. Just then, Grey shoots and kills a supervisor sent to investigate the stalled train. The ransom is transported uptown in a speeding police car that crashes well before it reaches 28th Street. As the deadline arrives, Garber bluffs Blue by telling him that the money has reached the station and just has to be walked down the tunnel to the train. Blue accepts this and spares a hostage. A police motorcycle arrives with the ransom. As two patrolmen carry the money down the tunnel, one of many police snipers in the tunnel shoots at Brown, and the hijackers exchange gunfire with the police. In retaliation, Blue kills the conductor. The money is delivered and divided among the hijackers. Blue orders Garber to restore power to the subway line; set the signals to green all the way to South Ferry; and clear the police from stations along the route. Garber warns that this will take time. Before the process is complete, however, Green moves the train farther south. When Garber becomes alarmed, Blue explains that he wanted more distance from the police inside the tunnel. The hijackers override the dead-man's switch so that the train will run without anyone at the controls. Garber joins Inspector Daniels above ground where the train stopped. When the route is clear, the hijackers set the train in motion and get off. As they make their way to the tunnel's emergency exit, the undercover officer jumps off the train and hides between the rails. Unaware that the hijackers left the train, Garber and Daniels drive south above the train's route. With no one at the controls, the train gains speed. The hijackers collect their disguises and weapons for disposal, but Grey refuses to surrender his gun, resulting in a stand-off with Blue, who shoots him dead. The undercover officer shoots and kills Brown. While Green escapes through the emergency exit onto the street, Blue exchanges fire with the officer. Garber, contemplating the train's last suspicious movement, concludes that the hijackers defeated the dead-man feature and are no longer on board. He returns to where the train had stopped, enters the same emergency exit from street level, and confronts Blue as he is about to kill the undercover officer. Blue deliberately places his foot against the third rail and electrocutes himself. Meanwhile, Pelham 1-2-3 hurtles through the southbound tunnel. When it enters the South Ferry loop, its speed triggers the automatic safeties. It screeches to a halt, leaving the hostages bruised but safe. Since none of the three dead hijackers were transit employees, Garber surmises that the lone survivor must be the one. Working their way through a list of recently discharged motormen, Garber and Patrone knock on the door of Harold Longman (Green). After hastily hiding the loot, Longman lets them in, bluffs his way through their interrogation, and complains indignantly about being suspected. Garber vows to return with a search warrant. As Garber closes the door behind him, Longman sneezes and Garber reflexively says \"Gesundheit\". Recalling the sneezes he heard over the radio, Garber re-opens the door and gives Longman a caustic stare.", "name": "The_Taking_of_Pelham_One_Two_Three_(1974_film)"}
{"scenes": ["FROM BLACK, VOICES EMERGE -- We hear the actual recorded emergency calls made by World Trade Center office workers to police and fire departments after the planes struck on 9/11, just before the buildings collapsed. TITLE OVER : SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 We listen to fragments from a number of these calls... starting with pleas for help, building to a panic, ending with the caller's grim acceptance that help will not arrive, that the situation is hopeless, that they are about to die. CUT TO : TITLE OVER : TWO YEARS LATER INT. BLACK SITE - INTERROGATION ROOM DANIEL I own you, Ammar. You belong to me. Look at me. This is DANIEL STANTON, the CIA's man in Islamabad - a big American, late 30's, with a long, anarchical beard snaking down to his tattooed neck. He looks like a paramilitary hipster, a punk rocker with a Glock. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- explaining the rules -RRB- If you do n't look at me when I talk to you, I hurt you. If you step off this mat, I hurt you. If you lie to me, I'm gon na hurt you. Now, Look at me. His prisoner, AMMAR, stands on a decaying gym mat, surrounded by four GUARDS whose faces are covered in ski masks. Ammar looks down. Instantly : the guards rush Ammar, punching and kicking. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Look at me, Ammar. Notably, one of the GUARDS wearing a ski mask does not take part in the beating.", "EXT. BLACK SITE - LATER Daniel and the masked figures emerge from the interrogation room into the light of day. They remove their masks and we see that one is a beautiful young woman in her mid-twenties. She has a pale, milky innocence and bright blue eyes, thin and somewhat frail looking, yet possessing a steely core that we will come to realize is off-the-charts. This is MAYA, a CIA targeter and subject-matter expert on her first overseas assignment. DANIEL -LRB- to the guard -RRB- Are we gon na board up these windows or what? -LRB- TO MAYA -RRB- Just off the plane from Washington, you're rocking your best suit for your first interrogation, and then you get this guy. It's not always this intense. MAYA I'm fine. She's not. DANIEL Just so you know, it's going to take awhile. He has to learn how helpless he is. Let's get a coffee. MAYA No, we should go back in. Something about the strange intensity of her expression makes Daniel reconsider and he turns back to the interrogation room. DANIEL You know, there's no shame if you wan na watch from the monitor. She shakes her head. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Alright. At the door, Daniel hands the ski mask back to Maya. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You might want to put this on. MAYA You're not wearing one. Is he ever getting out? DANIEL Never. CUT TO :", "INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - LATER SUPERIMPOSE : CIA BLACK SITE - UNDISCLOSED LOCATION Ammar, bruised from the beating, is restrained with ropes. Maya stands a few feet behind Daniel, attentive, wary of what is to come. This is her first interrogation and she is on the verge of vomiting from the stench in the room. She looks around at the sound-proofed walls, the puddles of water on the floor. DANIEL Right now, this is about you coming to terms with your situation. It's you and me, bro. I want you to understand that I know you, that I've been studying you for a very long time. I could have had you killed Karachi. But I let you live so you and I could talk. AMMAR -LRB- RESISTANT -RRB- You beat me when my hands are tied. I wo n't talk to you. DANIEL Life is n't always fair, my friend. Did you really think that when we got you, I'd be a nice fucking guy? AMMAR You're a mid-level guy. You're a garbage man in a corporation. Why should I respect you? DANIEL And you're a money man. A paperboy! Daniel paces around Ammar, anger rising. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- A disgrace to humanity! -LRB- MORE -RRB- DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You and your uncle murdered three thousand innocent people. I have your name on a five-thousand dollar transfer via Western Union to a 9/11 hijacker. He leans into Ammar's ear. Uncomfortably close. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- And you got popped with 150 kilograms of high explosives in your house! AND THEN YOU DARE QUESTION ME?! And then Daniel smiles, laughs. Mercurial. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'm just fucking with you. Beat. He laughs again. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I do n't want to talk about 9/11. What I want to focus on is the Saudi group. Daniel shows him a photo. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- That there is Hazem al-Kashmiri. And I know this dude is up to some serious shit, and what I want from you is his Saudi email. -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- Feel free to jump in. -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- Ammar, bro, I know that you know this dude, just give me his email... and I will give you a blanket. I will give you a blanket and some solid food. No response from Ammar. Daniel starts putting on his gloves. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I know that you know him. AMMAR I told you before, I wo n't talk to you. DANIEL Have it your way. -LRB- MORE -RRB- DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- to the masks -RRB- Let's go. It all happens in a flash : in one swift motion, Daniel pushes Ammar to the floor, the guards pin his limbs, and Daniel smothers Ammar's face with a towel. Ammar thrashes. Daniel considers his next move. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- TO MAYA -RRB- Grab the bucket. Maya follows Daniel's gesture to the corner of the room, where there's an ICE CHEST filled with WATER and a PLASTIC PITCHER. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Put some water in it. She dips the pitcher in the water, hands shaking. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- C'mon, let's go. The stress and strain on her face is enormous as she brings the bucket back to Daniel. Daniel starts pouring the water on Ammar's face, which is now covered by a towel. Ammar thrashes with rising panic. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Hazem was a friend of Ramzi Yousef, you guys met in Tunisia back in the 70s. AMMAR -LRB- gasping for breath -RRB- I do n't know, you asshole. Maya shakes her head `` no.'' MAYA That's not credible. AMMAR -LRB- SCREAMING -RRB- Why are you doing this to me? DANIEL You're a terrorist, that's why I'm doing it to you. AMMAR Fuck you. Daniel pours water over the towel so it hits Ammar's nose. DANIEL I want emails of the rest of the Saudi group. Give me emails of the rest of the Saudi group! Give me one email, and I will stop this! Ammar does n't speak. He ca n't. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Who's in the Saudi group, and what's the target? Where was the last time you saw bin Laden? WHERE WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW BIN LADEN? Daniel throws the pitcher, rips the rag off Ammar's mouth : and water spurts out - Ammar nearly drowned. He gasps for air. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- This is what defeat looks like, bro. Your jihad is over. Daniel stands. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Get him up. The guards bring Ammar to his feet. Daniel, shifting his persona yet again, touches Ammar's face and speaks to him with the comforting tenor of a therapist. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Try to understand the concept here. I have time, you do n't. I have other things to do, you do n't. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- It's cool that you're strong. I respect it, I do. But in the end, everybody breaks, bro. It's biology. Dan and Maya exit. They've learned nothing. CUT TO :", "EXT. ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - MORNING SUPERIMPOSE : ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN A colorful, dusty city. Busy markets. Poor children. Dense traffic. Meanwhile, across town :", "EXT. DIPLOMATIC QUARTER - ISLAMABAD - DAY National flags. Imposing buildings. Armed guards. The outpost of a superpower. Maya drives through the checkpoint and up to the main gate. SUPERIMPOSE : UNITED STATES EMBASSY, ISLAMABAD CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STAIRCASE - ISLAMABAD Descending the lobby staircase with Daniel is JOSEPH BRADLEY, Chief of Station, Pakistan, a smooth, vain, sophisticated former case officer who has n't quite buffed all the blood out of his fingernails. BRADLEY How did it go the other night? DANIEL It was good. The local cops need tactical help. But he's Tier fucking One, baby. There's your money maker. BRADLEY This is the guy that's KSM's nephew? What's his issue? DANIEL He's being a dick. BRADLEY If he's trying to outsmart you, tell him about your PhD. DANIEL I am going to have to turn up the heat. He needs to give us the Saudi group now. They reach the lobby, where they can see Maya sitting in the holding area. They walk towards her as Bradley considers what Daniel is asking for.", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STAIRCASE/LOBBY BRADLEY He's got ta have that - given the family ties. Permission granted, Daniel reassures his boss. DANIEL Tight with his uncle, prints all over the 9/11 money. Daniel knocks on the glass for Maya to come in. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- to Bradley, clocking her good looks ) Was I lying or what? The guard opens the door and Maya comes through - not many females come through that door. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- TO MAYA -RRB- Maya, this is Joseph Bradley, our illustrious station chief. -LRB- as they shake hands -RRB- Joe and I did Iraq together. BRADLEY And we continue our Christian mission here. Nice to meet you. MAYA You too, Sir. BRADLEY How was your flight? They walk down the lobby towards the Secure Wing. MAYA Fine. DANIEL She's been having a great time ever since she got in, is n't that right? BRADLEY How do you like Pakistan so far? MAYA It's kinda fucked up. BRADLEY You volunteered for this did n't you? MAYA No. Bradley smiles. He knew she did n't volunteer. They reach a secure area and Bradley checks Maya through an electronic door. BRADLEY -LRB- TO MAYA -RRB- Third floor, northeast corner. She goes through and Daniel and Bradley watch her walk away. DANIEL Do n't you think she's a little young for the hard stuff? BRADLEY Washington says she's a killer. DANIEL The children's crusade. BRADLEY They want the next generation on the field. Listen, I have a meeting with ISI in twenty minutes. DANIEL They're slow rolling us in Lahore - you might want to bitch about that. BRADLEY Did you see the cable from London? DANIEL Dude, I've been in a dark room with another man for the last two days. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE Maya finds her desk. It's covered with grime. She tries to clean it as best she can, then sits and looks at the blank log-in screen of her computer.", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - CONFERENCE ROOM A group of thirty-somethings filing in for a meeting, chatting, comradery, taking seats around a conference table. We will get to know : JACK, mid-40s, a scruffy teddy bear, the liaison from the National Security Agency ( NSA ). JESSICA, 30s, an experienced targeter, and the only woman in the station who wears a skirt. JACK Some dude tells the Malaysian station that his nephew works with a guy who knows a guy -- JESSICA Here we go. JACK Hold on - He goes to a big feast in Bangkok about a year ago. The guest of honor? Usama bin Laden. Laughter in the room. JACK -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- So I say, was Tupac there too? JESSICA Right, but you forgot - you forgot Mullah Omar. J.J. and JEREMY, two case officers, continue the banter : JEREMY -LRB- SARCASTICALLY -RRB- This is worth 5 million bucks. J.J. You know we're going to have to chase it down. JEREMY That's me, man. No job too small. JACK That's why I have a gift for you, my friend. Jack hands Jeremy a piece of paper. Daniel and Maya enter, a little late. DANIEL Everyone, this is Maya. Maya, everyone. -LRB- MORE -RRB- DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Please do n't ask how it's going with Ammar because she's not going to fucking tell you. JESSICA Ammar is withholding? Daniel nods. JESSICA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- reading from her FILE ) Washington assesses that Abu Faraj is officially our new number three - JESSICA moves to a wall chart of AQ leadership and repositions Abu Faraj's mugshot to number three in the line, two down from Usama bin Laden. Meanwhile, in the background, the riffs continue - DANIEL - Best man for it. JACK -LRB- O.S. -RRB- London station is already asking if we think he's in contact with anyone in the U.K. JEREMY Like we're just keeping it from them. Jessica sits back down and gets down to business. JESSICA The Jordanians are being really helpful with Ammar's transit papers. Jessica passes Daniel a file. DANIEL Any imminent threats in here? JESSICA They want the Consulate, the Marriott, it's low security. And they've got Majid Kahn talking about gas stations in the US. DANIEL And that's a conversation? Jessica shrugs. At this point, she believes that it is merely a conversation - not a fully realized plot. JESSICA Honestly? There are six hundred questions in there. I'd concentrate on Heathrow. The Saudis. Does it matter what Faraj thinks about Heathrow? How much latitude does he get to pick targets? DANIEL I think he'll give up the Saudis. But Heathrow is gon na be tough. Anyway. Anything from last night? J.J. Quetta base thinks they have a bead on the Arabs that escaped, and they're going to meet with the ISI this afternoon, hopefully to set up a raid down there. DANIEL Great. JEREMY And Lahore reporting ISI down there was painfully slow last night. Again. I'm beginning to think it's not incompetence. DANIEL I agree, I spoke to the Chief about that. Anything on bin Laden? JESSICA -LRB- reading from a cable -RRB- A farmer on the Afghan border near Tora Bora reports : a diamond shaped pattern in the hills, tall male in the center of the diamond, flanked by four guards. It's consistent with UBL's movements. JEREMY That's supposed to be his royal guard? MAYA That's pre-9/11 behavior. Jessica does n't appreciate the challenge. JESSICA -LRB- CHILLY -RRB- We do n't have reason to believe he's changed security tactics. MAYA We invaded Afghanistan. That's a reason. And so the rivalry begins. J.J. Hey, boss, I got a guy for five thousand bucks, he can set up a taxi stand and snoop around a bit. DANIEL No, do n't need him, the diamond sighting is bullshit. See if the Paks will send someone to talk to the farmer. Anything else? We need to be putting runs on the board against Faraj. Speak to the case officers who did n't see fit to make it today. And thank them.", "INT. MAYA'S APARTMENT - ISLAMABAD The loud WAILING of the early morning call to prayer from the loudspeakers of a nearby mosque wakes Maya on the couch. CUT TO :", "INT. BLACK SITE - AFTERNOON Daniel and the guards enter Ammar's cell with Maya. Daniel switches on a floodlight, awakening Ammar. DANIEL Let's take it easy today, huh? Daniel hands Ammar a bottle of orange juice and a bag of falafel. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Hungry? The food in here sucks so I got you some of this. Ammar grabs the lunch sack and scarfs down the falafels. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Richard Reid, wow. I was thinking about him. The guy gets a bomb in his shoe on a plane. Unbelievable. You know him, do n't you? Slowly, Ammar nods. AMMAR Yes. DANIEL I'm glad you said that. I have an email from you to him. I've had all your coms for years, bro. Who else is in your Saudi group? AMMAR I just handed out some cash for them. I did n't know who the guys were. DANIEL When you lie to me, I hurt you. AMMAR Please. DANIEL I believe you. I do, I believe you. Beat. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Do you want the water again, or do you want something else? AMMAR Please. DANIEL Just give me a name. AMMAR I DO N'T -- Daniel jumps up. AMMAR -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I do n't know. Daniel kicks out the chair from under Ammar. The masked guards walk to the rope pulleys. DANIEL You see how this works? You do n't mind if my female colleague sees your junk, do you? Daniel pulls down Ammar's pants. Maya flinches at the bare nakedness. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Dude, you shit your pants. Daniel turns to Maya - DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You stay here, I'll be back. Daniel goes out, leaving Maya standing alone in front of the naked, chained man. Ammar looks at her imploringly and she struggles to meet his eyes. AMMAR Your friend is an animal. Please, help me. Please. A long beat. MAYA You can help yourself by being truthful. The door handle turns. It occurs to Maya that perhaps Daniel was testing her resilience, too, as Daniel re-enters with a DOG COLLAR in his hand. DANIEL This is a dog collar. Daniel unhooks Ammar, snaps the collar and leash around his neck, as Ammar cries out against the humiliation. Maya flinches. Daniel is relentless : DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You determine how I treat you. Now Daniel drags Ammar on all fours, pulling him by the leash. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'm going to walk you. Maya watches in horror as Daniel walks Ammar to a far corner of the room, then leans down to address his victim : DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What the fuck do you think is going on, Ammar? Wahleed has already told me that you know. At last, Daniel reaches an area of the room where there is a large wooden box resting on a platform. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- This box sucks. I'm going to put you in it. Ammar tries to speak but ca n't get a word out. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- When is the attack? AMMAR -LRB- VERY SOFTLY -RRB- Sunday. DANIEL Sunday? Sunday where? This Sunday or next Sunday? Ammar mumbles, almost inaudibly. AMMAR Monday. DANIEL Is it Sunday or Monday? Ammar does n't answer. The masked men approach. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Which day is it? Partial information is treated as a lie. AMMAR Saturday. Beat. The masked men open the box. AMMAR -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Sunday! The guards grab Ammar and carry him to his wooden tomb. He shouts with his last reserve of energy : AMMAR -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Monday! DANIEL Ammar, which day? AMMAR -LRB- MUMBLING -RRB- Monday, Tuesday, Beat. AMMAR -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Thursday. Beat. AMMAR -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Friday. Daniel slams the box shut. Once again, he's learned nothing. CUT TO :", "EXT. KHOBAR TOWERS - SAUDI ARABIA - DAY ECU : a magazine CLICKS into the receiver of a black assault rifle. The weapon, carried by a BEARDED ARAB MAN dressed in street clothes, rises to shoulder height.", "INT. KHOBAR TOWERS - DAY - The man enters the hallway of the KHOBAR RESIDENTIAL TOWERS - And immediately opens fire on TWO WESTERN MEN he happens to find inside, killing them both. TITLE OVER : MAY 29, 2004 - The CRACK of the shots sends the rest of the residents into a panicky, screaming dash for cover - As he strides quickly down the hall, he finds three other RESIDENTS scrambling for safety, and shoots and kills them all. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - CONFERENCE ROOM CU TV : news footage of the massacre. Daniel, Jessica, and Maya look on in defeat. The `` Saudi'' attack they tried to prevent by pressuring Ammar has occurred. JESSICA -LRB- TO DANIEL -RRB- Do n't worry about the Saudis, they'll take care of business. DANIEL Yeah, now. JESSICA You warned them - they did n't take you seriously - this is what happens. It's not on you. DANIEL Who said that? Zied? Fuck him. This is on me. Ammar is on me!! And it's on her!! -LRB- pointing to Maya -RRB- We ca n't let this be a win-win for AQ. JESSICA No, no, no. You had - what - days - brief custody - and an unresponsive ally. The way you do this is you look ahead. London. Heathrow. Mass casualties. That plan is still active. MAYA Ammar does n't have a clue about what happened. JESSICA He knows. MAYA How? JESSICA You have to be really careful with people in KSM's circle - they're devious. MAYA He's not going to talk about attacks on the homeland. He's going to withhold operational details on the KSM network and probably on bin Laden. -LRB- flipping her argument -RRB- But he's been in complete isolation, he does n't know we failed. We can tell him anything. DANIEL Bluff him? MAYA He has n't slept, Dan. He's clueless. CUT TO :", "EXT. BLACK SITE - AFTERNOON DANIEL -LRB- PRE-LAP -RRB- You do n't remember, do you? You - me : same same. Bad memory. While GUARDS move in the deep b.g., Daniel and Maya are seated at a picnic table with an appetizing spread of Arabic food. DANIEL -LRB- PRE-LAP -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Short term memory loss is a side effect of sleep deprivation. It should come back to you. The Guards bring a prisoner to the table and remove his hood : Ammar. He stares weakly at the table. AMMAR -LRB- CAREFULLY -RRB- I do n't know. How can I remember? MAYA After we kept you awake for 96 hours, you gave us names of some of your brothers and saved the lives of a lot of innocent people. DANIEL Which is the smart thing to do, you're starting to think for yourself. Ammar is lost. But the food is tempting. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Eat up! You earned it. Ammar eats. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- So you flew via Amman to Kabul to hang out with your uncle? Mukhtar. AMMAR How did you know that? DANIEL I told you man, I know you. Alright, you got me - flight manifests. It must've been pretty fucked up for you guys after 9/11. What did you do after the invasion and before you went back to Pesh? AMMAR After 9/11 I had to choose : fight, to protect our turf - or run. DANIEL -LRB- SYMPATHETIC -RRB- You chose to fight. Ammar looks Daniel right in the eyes. AMMAR I wanted to kill Americans. We tried to get into Tora Bora but the bombing was too high. We could n't cross. MAYA Sorry, who is the `` we'' in that sentence? AMMAR Me and some guys who were hanging around at that time. DANIEL -LRB- CASUALLY -RRB- I can eat with some other dude and hook you back up to the ceiling? AMMAR Hamza Rabia, Khabab al-Masri, and Abu Ahmed. Maya makes notes on her pad. MAYA Who's Abu Ahmed? I've heard of the other guys. AMMAR He was a computer guy with us at the time. After Tora Bora, I went back to Pesh - as you know - and he went North, I think, to Kunar. MAYA What's his family name? AMMAR Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti. MAYA Abu Ahmed means `` father of Ahmed'', it's a kunya. -LRB- MORE -RRB- MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Ammar, I know the difference between a war name and an Arabic name. DANIEL She got you there, dude. AMMAR I swear to you both : I do n't know his family name. I would have never asked him something like that. It's not how my uncle worked. My uncle told me he worked for bin Laden. I did see him, once, about a year ago, in Karachi. He read us all a letter from the Sheikh. MAYA A letter? DANIEL What did it say? Daniel offers Ammar a smoke. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Cigarette? Ammar accepts. Daniel's lights it. AMMAR It said `` Continue the jihad. The work will go on for a hundred years.'' CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - RESEARCH ROOM We fade into a dimly lit research room, where Maya is alone watching interrogation video recordings on an array of monitors. Some of the videos are rough ; but most simply depict two people talking. The video she's watching now shows a hooded prisoner sitting in a filthy room, the walls smeared with red stains. CU SCREEN : SOLDIER INTERROGATOR You and I are gon na talk about some of the guys in the training camps, yeah? The prisoner sits in a chair. He's hooded, but relaxed. PRISONER Ok. SOLDIER INTERROGATOR Some of these brothers have done some bad things, and what I want to do is I want to separate them from the people like you. PRISONER Definitely, yeah. SOLDIER INTERROGATOR There was a guy called Abu Ahmed from Kuwait. PRISONER Yes, I remember him. A nice guy. SOLDIER INTERROGATOR How close was he? What was his relationship to the leadership? PRISONER I do n't know. SOLDIER INTERROGATOR Did he eat with you guys - did he eat with the good guys - or did he eat with the leadership? PRISONER I do n't know, sir. I have no idea about things like that. SOLDIER INTERROGATOR Yes you do, you do n't need an idea ABOUT THINGS- Maya hits pause and we see that her desk is filled with open windows of interrogations : she is analyzing ten videos simultaneously, comparing them to each other.", "INT. RESEARCH ROOM - MOMENTS LATER She plays another video showing a Turkish prison. TURKISH INTERROGATOR When you met with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was this one of the facilitators? The Interrogator flashes a picture. The prisoner moans. TURKISH INTERROGATOR -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Is this Abu Ahmed? PRISONER Yes. CUT TO :", "INT. RESEARCH ROOM - LATER She fast forwards a video - shot in a Polish facility. The prisoner appears to be cold. INTERROGATOR KSM, your boss. PRISONER Mukhtar? INTERROGATOR Mukhtar,'potato', you say'potahto'. I say'fucking KSM', but yeah,'Mukhtar.' After Mukhtar was captured, what did Abu Ahmed do? PRISONER Abu Ahmed, I believe he went to work for The Sheikh.", "INT. RESEARCH ROOM - LATER Maya is still in the research room. She's been going at this for hours and looks fatigued. CU SCREEN : a different INTERROGATOR from the previous video ; PRISONER is an older man chained to a desk. The exchange is in Arabic with an English subtitle on the screen : PRISONER In Karachi, in 2003 or 2004. INTERROGATOR He was carrying a letter from bin Laden? CUT TO :", "INT. RESEARCH ROOM - LATER Still going, looking exhausted now, Maya manipulates the controls of yet another video clip with a different INTERROGATOR and PRISONER. We're now in a Moroccan facility. The interrogator shows him a photograph of a bearded man. Henceforth, The Photograph. INTERROGATOR Is that him? PRISONER -LRB- NODS -RRB- Abu Ahmed. The interrogator holds The Photograph right in front of the prisoner's face, allowing us to see it as well. INTERROGATOR Say again? PRISONER Abu Ahmed. Abu Ahmed. Abu Ahmed. Freeze frame. CUT TO :", "INT. RESEARCH ROOM - LATER A Yemeni prison - the dialogue is a mix of French and English : INTERROGATOR Abu Ahmed - is he the courier for bin Laden? PRISONER Who knows who works directly for bin Laden? Let's say he's part of the mix. INTERROGATOR Were there other people who carried messages from bin Laden? PRISONER Sure. INTERROGATOR How many other people? PRISONER -LRB- THINKING -RRB- Four or five. INTERROGATOR Let's talk about them -- The image freezes. Maya stares at the screen.", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - KITCHEN Maya is in the kitchen grabbing something to eat. Jessica, the only other person working this late, walks in, pours herself some coffee. JESSICA How's the needle in the haystack? MAYA Fine. JESSICA Facilitators come and go, but one thing you can count on in life is that everyone wants money. The rivalry is in full bloom. Sometimes it's friendly. Sometimes it's not so friendly. MAYA -LRB- SMILING -RRB- You're assuming that Al Qaeda members are motivated by financial rewards. They're radicals. JESSICA -LRB- BIGGER SMILE -RRB- Correct. You're assuming that greed wo n't override ideology in some of the weaker members. MAYA Money for walk-ins worked great in the cold war, I'll give you that. JESSICA Thank you. MAYA Just not sure those tactics are applicable to the Middle East. CUT TO :", "INT. MAYA'S APARTMENT Maya hastily throws her clothes and a wig into a suitcase - the world's fastest packing job - CUT TO :", "EXT. WARSAW SHIPYARD - POLAND - DAY SUPERIMPOSE : CIA BLACK SITE - WARSAW, POLAND A sprawling shipyard in an industrial area. A large MILITARY FRIGATE sits in the harbor. A dark haired WOMAN and a MAN board the ship. CUT TO :", "INT. FRIGATE - BLACK SITE - POLAND - DAY At first we do n't recognize the woman with heavy makeup walking down the narrow corridor, and then we realize it's Maya in disguise. She enters a vast cavernous hold accompanied by a middle aged Afghan man, thick shouldered with years of hard experience in his kind, somewhat sad eyes. This fatherly man is HAKIM, a former political prisoner in Afghanistan and one of the CIA's most important assets. In the galley, a PRISONER is chained to a table. Hakim slides him The Photograph. The prisoner speaks in Arabic. HAKIM -LRB- TRANSLATING -RRB- He says he looks like Abu Ahmed. MAYA Who did he work for? Hakim translates. Then the prisoner speaks. HAKIM -LRB- TRANSLATING -RRB- It was mostly with Abu Faraj - they were always together. MAYA What did he do for Faraj? HAKIM -LRB- TRANSLATING -RRB- He carried messages from Faraj to bin Laden and from bin Laden back to Faraj. Maya leans into Hakim - MAYA We need to ask him something to see if he's telling the truth. We do n't know if he really knew Faraj. Hakim speaks to the prisoner. HAKIM He just told me the names of all of Faraj's children. I think he's telling the truth. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - CIA SECTION Maya is pitching Bradley in his office. Bradley sits with his feet up on his desk, holding The Photograph. Daniel is slouched on the couch in back. Jessica is perched on the arm of the couch, bare legs crossed. Bradley notices. Maya stands. MAYA Twenty detainees recognize that photo of Abu Ahmed. They say he's part of the inner circle of guys who were hanging out in Afghanistan pre-9/11. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- A lot of them say that after 9/11, he went to work for KSM. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- When KSM got captured, he went to work for Abu Faraj, primarily as a courier from Faraj to bin Laden. BRADLEY Well, that's good. You still- MAYA Yeah, we do n't know if Abu is on the outside of the network - part of a series of cutouts and dead drops - or if he has a direct connection to bin Laden. Does bin Laden invite him into the living room and hand him a letter directly? Or is Abu just the last guy in a long line of couriers, so that's why everybody knows him? BRADLEY That's not all you do n't know. You do n't have his true name, and you do n't have a clue of where he is. MAYA We know that he's important. The fact that everybody's heard of Abu Ahmed but nobody will tell me where he is suggests that. BRADLEY Maybe. Detainees could withhold his location for any number of reasons. Perhaps they do n't know ; perhaps this Abu is just a cover story and he's really a fucking unicorn. The withholding does n't reveal what you want it to - does it? MAYA No. BRADLEY And if you did find him, you do n't know that he'd be with bin Laden. DANIEL We do n't know what we do n't know. BRADLEY -LRB- TO DANIEL -RRB- What the fuck is that supposed to mean? DANIEL It's a tautology. BRADLEY -LRB- back to Maya -RRB- Listen, not one single detainee has said that he's located with the big guy, just that he delivers messages. Am I wrong? MAYA No. BRADLEY No. It's still good work. -LRB- MORE -RRB- BRADLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Let me know when you've got some actionable intelligence, preferably something that leads to a strike. CUT TO :", "EXT. TAVISTOCK SQUARE - LONDON - EARLY MORNING The city is in full swing on this bright mid-summer morning. CARS and BUSES roll through the crowded streets.", "INT./EXT. DOUBLE DECKER BUS TITLE OVER : LONDON - JULY 7, 2005 Passengers inside the bus read newspapers, listen to music... another ordinary day. Then, the bus explodes! CUT TO : CU : TV SCREEN File footage of the aftermath : REPORTER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- This is what remains of the # 10 bus, which was traveling through Tavistock Square...", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE - NIGHT Joseph Bradley sits at his desk. The weight of the world on his shoulders. On the television in the background, the news report continues, showing disaster footage of PEOPLE bloodied, screaming. CUT TO :", "EXT. BLACK SITE - AFGHANISTAN The war on terror is growing and spreading, like an octopus, throughout the base. We trace the new tentacles of the CIA facility - more hangars, vehicles, PEOPLE moving to and fro. REPORTER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- All around, groups of Londoners are standing on corners asking themselves -LRB- MORE -RRB- REPORTER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- what has happened here, and who could possibly have done this? We find Daniel trying to catch a moment of solitude... eating an ice cream cone and standing in front of a makeshift cage filled with wild MONKEYS. The monkeys are watching Daniel intently, their hands gripping the wire cage. Daniel playfully feeds them some of his ice cream. A CIA GUARD approaches Daniel CIA GUARD -LRB- re : the monkeys -RRB- You Agency guys are twisted. The detainee is ready. Daniel nods, weary. Then a monkey reaches through the bars and steals the remainder of Daniel's ice cream cone. He looks at the monkey and laughs. CUT TO :", "EXT. ISLAMABAD TRAFFIC - YEARS LATER Rain pelts the brown city, turning the gutter water black. MAYA -LRB- PRE-LAP -RRB- I want you to understand that I know you. I have been following you and studying you for a long time. I chased you in Lahore. We find Maya entering the gates of a Pakistani prison. The weather makes the place seem especially bleak. SUPERIMPOSE : MILITARY DETENTION CENTER - ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN", "INT. PAKISTANI DETENTION AREA - CONTINUOUS HASSAN GHUL, Al Qaeda financier, sits manacled to a desk. MAYA I had you picked up instead of killing you because you're not a violent man and you do n't deserve to die. GHUL Thank you. MAYA But you do have deep ties to Al Qaeda that I want to ask you about before you get sent to your next location, which might be Israel. Ghul looks ashen. MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- However, depending on how candid you are today, I may be able to keep you in Pakistan. GHUL What do you want to know? MAYA I'm going to ask you a series of questions based on your knowledge of Al Qaeda and your position as key financier for the organization. GHUL I have dealt with the mukhabarat, I have no wish to be tortured again. Ask me a question, I can answer it. MAYA What can you tell me about Atiyah Abd al-Rahman. GHUL He works for Zawahiri. He's in charge of military tactics. MAYA In what context have you ever heard the name Abu Ahmed? GHUL He works for Faraj and bin Laden. He is his most trusted courier. Maya works hard to hide how pleased she is to have this confirmation. She's not entirely successful. MAYA What makes you say that? GHUL He brought me many messages from the Sheikh. MAYA Where did you last see him, and where is he now? GHUL You will never find him. MAYA Why is that? GHUL Even I could n't find him. He always contacted me out of the blue. He is one of the disappeared ones. CUT TO :", "EXT. GARDEN COMPLEX - PAKISTAN - DAY Pakistani families enjoy a fine summer day.", "INT. GARDEN VILLA A BOMB is being strapped to a MAN'S leg by a PAKISTANI POLICEMAN. PAKISTANI POLICEMAN -LRB- IN URDU -RRB- You know how this works? The man is terrified. PAKISTANI POLICEMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Just act naturally. The Policeman finishes securing the bomb, and sends the man out the door ( who we will later deduce is Abu Faraj's courier ). CUT TO :", "EXT. GARDEN COMPLEX - DAY Faraj's Courier walks past playing children... while from a nearby tower, Daniel observes. After a moment, ABU FARAJ, who we recognize from his photograph, appears at the south end of the park. Faraj walks in the direction of his courier, noting his SURROUNDINGS : CHILDREN playing. Several people in BLACK BURKHAS. BRIGHT SUN. At last Faraj reaches an open area where he can see his courier face to face. They exchange a nervous glance that conveys the danger : It's a trap. Faraj spins to flee, but it's too late. The black BURKHAS descend on him. It turns out they are heavily armed Pakistani agents. From on high, Daniel watches his captured prey. CUT TO :", "EXT. BLACK SITE - AFGHANISTAN - DAY Daniel and an armed guard escort a hooded and handcuffed Faraj to his cell. DANIEL What do you like? Bob Marley? Reggae? Egyptian music? Just let me know, if there's music you like, I can make a call.", "INT. INTERROGATION AREA - CONTINUOUS Daniel and the guards take Faraj to a cell laced with barbed wire and lock him inside. DANIEL Can I be honest with you? I'm bad news. I'm not your friend. I'm not gon na help you. I'm gon na break you. Beat. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I've done it before. -LRB- Faraj dozes, weak -RRB- Hey, wake up. You have n't eaten in 18 hours, we've got to keep your energy up. You hungry? CUT TO :", "INT. CELL Guards force feed Faraj through a feeding tube. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - DAY Bradley approaches Maya at her cubicle. BRADLEY You're in luck, I got you a one-on- one with Faraj. MAYA Seriously? Thank you. BRADLEY Do n't thank me until you hear what I want for it. He drops a folder on her desk. BRADLEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I want you to take care of all of this before your favorite subject. MAYA Deal. BRADLEY Do n't you want to see what's in the folder? MAYA You want family ties, financial networks, media sources, disgruntled employees, imminent threats, homeland plots, BRADLEY -LRB- WALKING AWAY -RRB- Thank you. MAYA Foreign cells, health status, trade craft, recruiting tactics -- anything else? CUT TO :", "INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - MORNING Both Maya and Faraj look tired. This has been going on for hours. MAYA A lot of brothers told us Abu Ahmed was bin Laden's courier and that he worked very closely with you. FARAJ You're thinking of Abu Khalid. MAYA Who? FARAJ Al Buluchi. My courier for the Sheikh. MAYA Okay, so you're telling me that all the other brothers are wrong, and there's some famous Buluchi guy that is working for you and bin Laden that I've never even heard of? FARAJ Why should you have heard of him? MAYA What does this Buluchi guy look like? FARAJ Tall, long white beard, thin. He uses a cane. MAYA Kind of like Gandolf? FARAJ Who? MAYA When was the last time you saw him? FARAJ A month ago, in Karachi, but I do n't know where he is now. Sometimes I would n't even see him, he would just tell me where to leave the messages. MAYA I do n't believe you. The GUARD in the room with them leans forward and SLAPS Faraj across the face. Faraj's expression does n't change and Maya herself remains flat and steady, unmoved by the violence. She's not quite the same young lady she was a few years ago. MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You're not being fulsome in your replies. FARAJ You ca n't force me to tell you something I do n't know. MAYA You do realize this is not a normal prison. You determine how you are treated, and your life will be very uncomfortable until you give me information I need. The guard slaps Faraj again. Faraj is impassive. CUT TO :", "INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - LATER Maya looks on impassively as Faraj is subjected to harsh treatment. CUT TO :", "INT. BLACK SITE - BATHROOM Maya is retching in the stall. CUT TO :", "EXT. BLACK SITE - PRE-DAWN Maya walks around the facility, quiet at this hour, and finds another insomniac, Daniel, by the monkey cage. The cage is empty. MAYA Faraj is completely denying knowing Abu Ahmed, and that's using every measure we have. DANIEL He's either going to withhold or die from the pressure you're putting on him. MAYA Do you want to take a run at him? DANIEL No. MAYA No? Since when? DANIEL You know, I've been meaning to tell you : I'm getting outta here. MAYA What? You okay? DANIEL I'm fine. I've just seen too many guys naked. It's got ta be over a hundred at this point. I need to go do something normal for awhile. MAYA Like what? DANIEL Go to Washington, do the dance, see how that environment works. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- You should come with me. Be my number two. You're looking a little strung out yourself. Maya looks at Dan. No longer the man he once was. She does n't hide her disappointment. MAYA I'm not going to find Abu Ahmed from D.C. They both look at the empty cage, clocking the irony. DANIEL They killed my monkeys. Something about an escape. Can you fucking believe that? MAYA Sorry, Dan. DANIEL Look, Maya, you got ta be really careful with detainees now. The politics are changing and you do n't want to be the last one holding a dog collar when the oversight committee comes. MAYA I know. DANIEL And watch your back when you get back to Pakistan. Everyone knows you there now. CUT TO :", "EXT. ISLAMABAD - NIGHT Back in Pakistan, the country has indeed changed to a more militarized police state, and as we establish the new environment, we find Maya's grey sedan...", "EXT. ISLAMABAD - NEAR THE MARRIOTT HOTEL - NIGHT The car pulls up to a checkpoint manned by PAKISTANI POLICE. The Policeman look at the car - look at the plate - the plate is diplomatic - they walk around the car and stop at the window - shine their bright light right into Maya's eyes. A POLICEMAN motions for her to roll down her window. POLICEMAN Where are you going? MAYA To the Marriott. I assume you noticed the dip plates. POLICEMAN But you have a bag - The policeman motions to a DUFFEL BAG resting on the rear seat. MAYA It's a gym bag. Maya does not get out of the car. She stares at him defiantly. He advances forward a bit. She rolls up her window, flicks the door lock, and starts dialing her cell phone. The policeman walks away to rejoin his group. The police confer. The original policeman returns, this time with several other cops. They knock on the glass. Hard. Maya stares straight ahead. CUT TO :", "INT. MARRIOTT HOTEL RESTAURANT - NIGHT Jessica is waiting at the table in a beautifully appointed room. SUPERIMPOSE : MARRIOTT HOTEL - ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - SEPTEMBER 20, 2008 Maya walks in, flustered. MAYA Fucking checkpoints. Maya sits down, absorbed in her Blackberry. JESSICA Maya? MAYA Yeah. JESSICA We're socializing. Be social. Maya puts away her blackberry. MAYA -LRB- HALFHEARTEDLY -RRB- Okay. JESSICA Look, I know Abu Ahmed is your baby, but it's time to cut the umbilical cord. MAYA No, it's not. JESSICA So Faraj went south on you - it happens. There are still cells in London and Spain planning the next round of attacks. MAYA I can work on it at the same time - plus I think it's a good thing that he lied. JESSICA No, not at the expense of protecting the homeland, you ca n't. Wait a minute, why is it a good thing? MAYA You sound just like Bradley. He does n't believe in my lead either. -LRB- MORE -RRB- MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- BEAT -RRB- It's a good thing because the fact that Faraj withheld on Abu Ahmed is revealing. The only other thing he lied about was the location of bin Laden himself. That means Faraj thinks Abu Ahmed in as important to protect as bin Laden. That confirms my lead. JESSICA Or it's confirmation bias.  -LRB- BEAT -RRB- We're all just worried about you, okay? Is that okay to say? Maya rubs her eyes, not liking where the conversation is going. She forces a smile. JESSICA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Where's Jack? MAYA He's probably stuck in some check- point somewhere. JESSICA You two hooked up yet? MAYA Hello, I work with him. I'm not that girl, that fucks. It's unbecoming. JESSICA So? A little foolin' around would n't hurt you.  -LRB- BEAT -RRB- So no boyfriend. Do you have any friends at all? She does n't. Jessica's phone rings - JESSICA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It's Jack.  -LRB- INTO PHONE -RRB- Hey - that's okay - SUDDENLY, AN EXPLOSION RIPS THROUGH THE RESTAURANT. -- SHATTERS THE WINDOWS -- DESTROYS TABLES AND LIGHTS -- MAYA, JESSICA, AND OTHERS TOSSED TO THE GROUND, SOME FATALLY. -- SMOKE FILLS THE ROOM As alarms wail, Maya struggles to her feet, grabs Jessica by the arm, and they stumble to safety.", "INT. MARRIOTT - DINING ROOM Toward the destroyed kitchen, helping each other over obstacles, twisted metal, gaps in the concrete, etc, past injured workers and burning flames.", "INT. MARRIOTT HOTEL - KITCHEN - LATER They continue moving through the debris as the smoke intensifies. They find each other's hands and grab tightly. CUT TO : C.U. : TV SCREEN The destroyed Marriott. REPORTER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- The blast left a crater 10 meters wide in front of the hotel. The Marriott, one of the most popular destinations for locals and Westerners... FADE TO BLACK.", "EXT. MOUNTAINOUS TRIBAL AREA - PAKISTAN - DAY We're high above the wild hinterlands of the Hindu Kush, gliding over the rocky slopes and the pine forests. SUPERIMPOSE : TRIBAL TERRITORIES, NORTHERN PAKISTAN We move from peak to peak until we find a remote valley, and we zoom down... and nestled in the valley we can just make out the barest outlines of a tiny village of mud huts.", "INT. TRIBAL VILLAGE HUT Now we are inside a hut and we've shifted to the perspective of a hand held camera, as if someone inside this stone age interior is filming on our behalf, and we see a hard floor, thin gaps in the walls, and FIVE TRIBAL ELDERS talking casually, eating and drinking tea. We pan across the weathered faces, long beards, and see a video recorder resting on a ledge. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - ISLAMABAD - DAY Jessica strides excitedly, almost breaking into a run, through the warren of cubicles that lead to Maya's desk.", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - DAY Jessica beaming as she approaches Maya. JESSICA The Jords have a mole! MAYA What? Jessica pops a CD into Maya's computer, loads a file that plays the same video clip we have just seen. JESSICA He made this video to prove his bona fides. MAYA Shut the fuck up! The camera stops on one man, BALAWI. JESSICA -LRB- POINTING -RRB- Humam Khalil al-Balawi, he's a Jordanian doctor. He's really motivated. Maya practically bolts out of her chair. Together, they start walking towards Bradley's office - MAYA This could be it! JESSICA This is it.", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS Bradley has just finished watching the video. Maya and Jessica are in his office waiting for his verdict. JESSICA He's right there in the inner circle. BRADLEY I do n't buy it. Did n't you tell me yourself nobody turns on Al Qaeda? JESSICA The Jords worked him for a year. Dinners, money. They've convinced him that it's his patriotic duty to turn on Al Qaeda and get rich doing it. BRADLEY Yeah, so the Jords say. MAYA -LRB- TO BRADLEY -RRB- You're right. We ca n't rely on the Jords. We have to evaluate him face to face. JESSICA -LRB- CATCHING ON -RRB- He may not be that smart. He may be full of shit - but we have to talk to him to find out. MAYA The key is to meet him so we can figure out for ourselves what he can actually do. BRADLEY He really asked for a dialysis machine? You can fill the damn thing with poison. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY ISLAMABAD - BRIEFING ROOM - NIGHT Maya and a few analysts are watching TV - President-elect Obama is being interviewed on 60 Minutes when Jessica comes into the room with disappointing news - JESSICA The meeting with Balawi is off. He ca n't come here to Islamabad. MAYA Ca n't or wo n't? JESSICA He's not going to travel - security RISK - The TV interview with Obama reaches the subject of enhanced interrogation, and the women pause to listen to the President- elect declare, `` America does not torture.'' Then they continue : JESSICA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- He wants us to go to him. He'll meet in Miram Sha or the tribals. MAYA He knows we're white. You'll get kidnapped up there. DAVID, an analyst, adds his two cents to the conversation - DAVID We could do it somewhere else - Germany, or the UK? He's got a clean passport. JESSICA He's not going to travel out of Al Qaeda territory. DAVID And you're not going to him. JESSICA I'm not. Believe me.  -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- We're stuck. DAVID What about Camp Chapman? Afghanistan. That could be safe territory. CUT TO :", "EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN CIA COMPOUND - KHOST, AFGHANISTAN - DAY We survey the sprawling base from above. SUPERIMPOSE : CAMP CHAPMAN - KHOST, AFGHANISTAN Helicopters and Humvees traverse the base.", "INT. CAMP CHAPMAN - KITCHEN - MORNING Jessica applies icing to a birthday cake as she cradles a SATELLITE PHONE. JESSICA -LRB- INTO PHONE -RRB- This may be going overboard, but I baked him a cake! MAYA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Muslim's do n't celebrate with cake. JESSICA Do n't be so literal. Everyone likes cake. It's not too late for you to come, you know. It will be fun. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - PREDATOR BAY Maya sits in front of a series of monitors. She watches a live Predator feed. MAYA I do n't want to be a straphangar. It's your show. You were the first to see the potential in this. JESSICA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Come on! We've got lots of wine! The target on Maya's monitor disappears in a puff of smoke. MAYA Cool. Bring me back a bottle. JESSICA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I will. CUT TO :", "INT. DINING AREA Jessica pours two glasses of wine and raises a toast to her colleague, JOHN. JESSICA Not to get technical, but this guy is actually the first big break we've had since 9/11. To big breaks and the little people that make them happen. Clink. JESSICA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- So far, everything he's said we've cross checked and it's proved legit... and I think the money is persuasive. 25 million dollars?! That buys a new life. JOHN Do you think he might be exaggerating his access? JESSICA Possibly. But Al Qaeda needs doctors and they are short staffed and that could explain his rise. In six months to a year, if he does n't fuck up, he could be called in to treat bin Laden. And at that moment, with 25 mil on the table, I think he gives up the Big Man. And if he does n't, we kill him. CUT TO :", "EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN CIA COMPOUND - AFTERNOON The same gathering as the day before, waiting under the merciless sun. SUPERIMPOSE : DECEMBER 30, 2009 Jessica turns to her crew, which includes LAUREN, a young operative, ZIED, a Jordanian intelligence agent, and the base's CIA SECURITY GUARD, among others. They rehearse the impending meeting. JESSICA So John? -LRB- John turns to her -RRB- When he arrives, I'll set the tone, and then I'll flip it to you - and you'll talk about asset protection. JOHN Roger that. JESSICA Then Lauren, I know you want to get some questions in there - but give Balawi time after John speaks. We'll cover the basics and have his birthday cake, then we'll get to the nitty gritty. Jessica turns to Zied. JESSICA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Is that order okay, or do you want to introduce everyone? ZIED I'll introduce you, and you introduce your team. He knows this is a high level meeting. SECURTY GUARD Quick question : all is taking place inside our main building? JESSICA Right. And Lauren? Washington will want real time updates so please stay on top of that. Be concise. The Director is in the loop. And I would n't be surprised if he does n't update the President. LAUREN Yeah, I'm on it. They take in the possibilities. JESSICA Now, I just need to get Balawi's ass down here. LATER - Waiting and waiting. No cars approach. The sun beats down. CUT TO :", "EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - ROAD TO SOUTH GATE Several hundred yards before the Camp entrance is a beat-up SEDAN. The car pulls up to the checkpoint but does n't proceed. JESSICA -LRB- to the Security Gyard -RRB- Why are there gate guards there? We talked about this, no one is supposed to be there when my source arrives. You might have spooked him already! SECURTY GUARD Procedures only work if we follow them every time. JESSICA This time is different - I'm sorry I ca n't explain, but it's for a good cause. SECURTY GUARD Look, I'm responsible for everyone's safety, okay? It's not just about you. JESSICA I just need them to go away for a minute. You can search him as soon as he gets here. The Security Guard pauses, then into his radio : SECURTY GUARD -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- All stations, go ahead and stand down. CHECKPOINT GUARD -LRB- OVER RADIO -RRB- Roger.", "EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - GUARD POST The guards move away from their post. The sedan drives past the gate into a maze of barriers. We follow the car as it navigates the maze of HESCO barriers, kicking up a cloud of dust.", "EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - CIA COMPOUND Jessica runs back to her team and flashes a thumbs up. She smiles and pulls out her phone, sending a text. ECU : PHONE TEXT : He's here. Brb MAYA Cool! The car navigates the second set of barriers.", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - MAYA'S CUBICLE - SECONDS LATER Maya types on her computer : Wassup you talking yet?", "EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - CIA COMPOUND Jessica looks up to see the car approaching and puts the phone back in her pocket. The sedan is now 50 yards away. SECURTY GUARD Okay, he's coming. We're gon na search him when he gets here. Everyone prepares. The car gets closer and closer, a driver in front and a passenger in back.", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - MAYA'S CUBICLE Maya texts again :? Answer when you can.", "EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - CIA COMPOUND The sedan pulls to a stop. A BLACKWATER GUARD taps on the backseat window. Balawi exits on the passenger side. His free hand is in his pocket. BLACKWATER GUARD -LRB- to the other guard -RRB- Is he supposed to limp like that? SECURTY GUARD Take your hand out of your pocket! Hey! BALAWI Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar BLACKWATER GUARD -LRB- raising his M4 -RRB- Get you hand out of your pocket! BALAWI Allahu Akbar. Jessica's smile fades And Balawi detonates a suicide vest hidden under this jacket and the resulting shrapnel storm pulps the crowd, massacring them all - CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY ISLAMABAD, CIA SECTION - CONTINUOUS Maya looks at her computer screen. She sees her last instant message..And waits for a response. Beat. Maya looks up, concern on her face. CUT TO :", "EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - DAY The explosion smoke still hovers over Camp Chapman. News reporting of the attack plays over the horrific image.", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - LATER Maya huddles on the floor under the corner of her desk.", "INT. MAYA'S CUBICLE - LATER The office has thinned out, and most people have gone home for the day. Maya is crouched in the corner. A wounded animal. Jeremy, the case officer from the conference room, approaches and gives Maya a computer disc. JEREMY You okay? No response. JEREMY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I did n't think this day could get any worse, but bad news from Saudi intelligence. The courier guy, Abu Ahmed, is dead. It's a detainee video. Maya still fighting to contain her grief, takes the file as an almost welcome distraction. She puts the disc into her computer and hits play. CU COMPUTER SCREEN : A PRISONER being interviewed by a CIA CASE OFFICER holds the photo of Abu Ahmed we've seen so many times. PRISONER He's dead, in Afghanistan, 2001. I buried him with my own hands. INTERROGATOR Where? PRISONER Kabul. Maya stares at the screen. MAYA I do n't believe this. JEREMY Sorry, Maya, I always liked this lead. Jeremy leaves Maya at her computer. She continues to stare at the screen.", "INT. MAYA'S CUBICLE - NIGHT Maya is still by herself. Her friend Jack approaches - JACK -LRB- CONSOLING -RRB- Hey. Sorry, I just got here. What are you gon na do? MAYA I'm going to smoke everybody involved in this op, and then I'm going to kill bin Laden. Off the darkness in her eyes we - FADE TO BLACK. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY ISLAMABAD - CIA SECTION - A YEAR LATER The staff has gathered to hear a word from the boss in a large conference room ; it's packed shoulder to shoulder with dozens of people, including Maya, Jim, Jack, Hakim, and Bradley at the front. GEORGE WRIGHT, Chief of the Afghanistan Pakistan Department, has just flown in from D.C. A big man, striding quickly into the room with the street roll of the Bronx projects he grew up in, George looks ready for a brawl. GEORGE I want to make something absolutely clear. -LRB- MORE -RRB- GEORGE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- If you thought there was some secret cell somewhere working Al Qaeda, I want you to know that you're wrong. This is it. There's no working group coming to the rescue. He stares at his staff. GEORGE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- There's nobody else, hidden away on some other floor. There is just us. And we are failing. We're spending billions of dollars. People are dying. We're still no closer to defeating our enemy. -LRB- PACING NOW -RRB- GEORGE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- They attacked us on land in 98, by sea in 2000, and from the air in 2001. They murdered three thousand of our citizens in cold blood, and they've slaughtered our forward deployed. And what the fuck have we done about it? -LRB- YELLING NOW -RRB- What have we done?  -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- We have twenty leadership names and we've only eliminated four of them. Beat. GEORGE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I want targets! Do your fucking jobs, bring me people to kill!", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - LATER The office has grown bigger and busier and the cubicle maze is filled with many new faces of young agents excited to be in Pakistan. Sitting alone at her desk we find Maya just as she's finishing a report. She gets up, crosses the room and goes to the desk of a young woman who reminds us in her idealistic enthusiasm of the way Maya was six years ago. This is DEBBIE. DEBBIE Hi. I painstakingly combed through everything in the system and found this. She hands Maya a file. DEBBIE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It's him. He was one of ten names on a watch list sent to us by the Moroccans after 9/11 : Ibrahim Sayeed. They told us to watch out for him, apparently they think his whole family and extended family is bad and has ties to KSM.  -LRB- BEAT -RRB- He was picked up for fake papers and a doctored exit visa leaving Afghanistan, traveling through Morocco en route to Kuwait. Abu Ahmed al- Kuwaiti. This must be Abu Ahmed. MAYA Does n't matter, but I wish I had that five years ago. How come I never saw it before? DEBBIE Nobody saw it, most likely. There was a lot of white noise after 9/11, countries wanting to help out, we got millions of tips and... -LRB- SHRUGS -RRB- Things got lost in the shuffle. Human error. Maya turns her attention back to the WHITE BOARD and as Debbie keeps talking we follow Maya's gaze across the row of MUG SHOTS of Al Qaeda personnel. While a few of the men are African or are distinctive looking for other reasons, most of them look fairly similar in that they're all wearing the same type of clothes and have the same trademark long gnarly beards. DEBBIE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- PRESSING ON -RRB- Anyway I thought you should know about it. -LRB- PLUS -RRB- I just want to say I've heard a lot about you. You inspired me to come to Pakistan. Maya's eyes narrow. She keeps looking at the WHITE BOARD DEBBIE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Maybe you'll let me buy you a kabob sometime? MAYA -LRB- DISTRACTEDLY -RRB- Do n't eat out. It's too dangerous. Maya stares at the Al Quaeda mugshots - a thought crosses her mind. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - BRIEFING ROOM - NIGHT Maya on the speaker phone to Daniel. We intercut. Daniel is now a suit in Langley. MAYA -LRB- OVER SPEAKER -RRB- Dan, Debbie found Abu Ahmed! DANIEL Fuck. Really? MAYA -LRB- OVER SPEAKER -RRB- He was in the files this whole time. The family name is Sayeed. DANIEL Ok, but he's dead. So does n't that make him a little less interesting to you? MAYA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- He may not be. We now know that Abu Ahmed is one of eight brothers. All the brothers in the family look alike. Three of them went to Afghanistan. Is n't it possible that when the three eldest brothers grew beards in Afghanistan, they started to look alike? I think the one calling himself Abu Ahmed is still alive. The picture we've been using is wrong. It's of his older brother, Habeeb. He's the one that's is dead. DANIEL Okay, what are you basing this on?", "INT. BRIEFING ROOM - CONTINUOUS MAYA We have no intercepts about Abu Ahmed dying. -LRB- MORE -RRB- MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We just have a detainee who buried somebody who looked like Abu Ahmed. But if somebody as important as Abu Ahmed had died, they'd be talking about it online in chat rooms all over the place. Plus, the detainee said that Habeeb died in 2001. We know that Abu Ahmed was alive then, trying to get into Tora Bora with Ammar. That means it's probably one of the other brothers that's dead. DANIEL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- In other words, you want it to be -LRB- true. -RRB- MAYA Yes, I fucking want it to be true. Maya slams the desk. DANIEL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Calm down. Beat. MAYA I am calm. DANIEL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- State your request. MAYA Move heaven and earth and bring me this fucking Sayeed family's phone number. CUT TO :", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS, COUNTER TERRORISM CENTER DIRECTOR - LANGLEY, VA. - DAY A dark ( window shades down ) executive office, where in the shadows a white American man in a nice suit is kneeling on a prayer rug and saying the Islamic daily prayers. Daniel waits as the man recites the prayers and presses his pale forehead to the carpet. This is WOLF. He is the head of the agency's COUNTER TERRORISM CENTER ( George's boss ). DANIEL As-Salamu alaykum. WOLF Alaykum salam. DANIEL I need a couple hundred thousand. Four max. WOLF Where you gon na get that? DANIEL From you. WOLF You think so? DANIEL This could crack open the facilitator Maya's been looking for by giving us a phone number.  -LRB- BEAT -RRB- She's your killer, Wolf. You put her on the field. -LRB- reciting a phrase from the KORAN, in Arabic, then loosely TRANSLATING -RRB- Allah rewards those who strive and fight over those that sit behind a desk. WOLF nods. If the blatant attempt to play on his Muslim belief bothers him, he does n't show it at all. WOLF As you know, Abu Ghraib and Gitmo fucked us. The detainee program is now fly paper. We got senators jumping out of our asses, and the Director is very concerned. They will not stop until they have a body. There it is. The quid pro quo. There's a reason he's called The Wolf. Daniel considers all that he'll go through if he volunteers to be the fall guy for the controversial program. DANIEL I ran it. I'll defend it. CUT TO :", "INT. KUWAITI UNDERGROUND HOOKER BAR - NIGHT SUPERIMPOSE : KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT Daniel and a KUWAITI BUSINESS MAN in a suit are drinking and ogling the RUSSIAN GIRLS prowling the place. After a few sips of his drink. DANIEL It's good to be back in Kuwait. It's good to see you again, it's been awhile. The businessman does n't answer. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I need a favor. KUWAITI BUSINESSMAN Why should I help you? DANIEL Because we're friends. KUWAITI BUSINESSMAN You say we are friends. How come you only call me when you need help? But when I need something - you are too busy to pick up the phone. I do n't think we are friends. DANIEL Fair enough. How about a V10 Lamborghini? How's that for friendship?", "EXT. LAMBORGHINI DEALERSHIP - KUWAIT CITY - NIGHT They wait while a Lamborghini SALESMAN, disheveled, clearly just awakened, unlocks the door of the dealership. DANIEL -LRB- to the Kuwaiti BUSINESSMAN -RRB- The poor fucker had to get out of bed. -LRB- to the Salesman -RRB- As-salamu alaykum. Thanks my friend.", "INT. LAMBORGHINI DEALERSHIP They step inside and the salesman flicks on the lights revealing shiny cars displayed like jewels on rotating platforms. While the Kuwaiti businessman peers inside a silver model, Daniel confers with the salesman like he's bought twenty of these cars. DANIEL Is this a Balboni? Fuck me. This is nice. What are you thinking? KUWAITI BUSINESSMAN I think I'll choose this one. The salesman retreats to a back office. DANIEL That's a nice choice, my friend. Daniel gives the Kuwaiti a slip of paper. KUWAITI MAN Who is it? DANIEL Who do you think? The guy's a terrorist. His mother lives here. I just need her phone number. KUWAITI MAN There will be no repercussions in Kuwait? DANIEL Somebody might die at some point in Pakistan. They shake hands. CUT TO :", "INT. SERVER ROOM - DAY SUPERIMPOSE : TRADECRAFT Sound graphs of phone calls fill the screen. We cruise through rows upon rows of server facilities, a single monitor in front traces a call to Rawalpindi, Pakistan. CUT TO :", "EXT. ISLAMABAD EMBASSY - THIRD STORY BALCONY - DAY Maya chews on a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. Jack calls her on her cell. MAYA Hey, Jack. JACK You're not gon na like this, he's on the phone, but there's no team to deploy right now. MAYA Fuck. She dashes out runs down the hall to an Exit sign - bursts through the door to a staircase -", "INT. EMBASSY STAIRCASE - Flies down the staircase - down to another floor, barges through the door -", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - SECURITY BAY - DAY The station's surveillance team leader, LARRY, unstraps his flack vest. He looks like the kind of guy you do n't mess with....so of course Maya barges into his space like a locomotive. MAYA How come you have n't deployed a team to stay in Rawalpindi? LARRY For one thing, it's dangerous. For another, the area is too congested for us to be effective without some predictive intelligence. MAYA That's why you should forward deploy - so you can shorten your response time. LARRY Still, it would n't work. MAYA Why? LARRY The guy never stays on the phone long enough. MAYA You have n't tried. LARRY Look, I do n't have the personnel. MAYA That's bullshit. LARRY As it is, my guys do n't get any sleep tracking the threats within Pakistan. Larry pushes past her to leave, and she follows him. MAYA Right, I understand. But I do n't really care if your guys get sleep or not. Maya looks at Larry's team sleeping on the couch.", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY AMERICAN BAR - LATER The conversation continues in the bar, for Maya has not relented, although the tone is softer now. She offers Larry a beer. He takes it. LARRY This guy you're obsessed with, what's his name again? MAYA Abu Ahmed al Kuwaiti is the nom de guerre. His true name, we think, is Ibraheem Sayeed. His family lives in Kuwait. LARRY Was n't it, like, eight brothers - and a million cousins - that we know about - anyone could be calling home - MAYA I know - LARRY - It's not like he's saying, `` Hey mom, it's me, the terrorist.'' MAYA Over the course of two months, he's called home from six different pay phones, from two different cities, never using the same phone twice. And when his mother asked him where he was, he lied. He said that he was in a place in the country with bad cell reception -- implying he was in the Tribals -- but he was in -LRB- MORE -RRB- MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- a market in Peshawar. I'm sorry, but that's not normal guy behavior. That's tradecraft. LARRY Maybe he just does n't like his mom?  -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- Look, if he talks about an operation, or refers to anything remotely fishy, I'll get on him. Okay? MAYA No. Not okay. Look, Abu Ahmed is too smart to tip his hand by talking about ops on the phone : he works for bin Laden. The guys that talk about ops on the phone do n't get that job. Larry looks away. MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- A lot of my friends have died trying to do this.  -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- I believe I was spared so I could finish the job. The girl is a true believer - as pure as they come. Larry looks at her. Her sincerity is persuasive. And just like that, he decides to help her. CUT TO :", "INT. KOTLI CALL CENTER - RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN Hakim walks through a crowded call center. Larry joins him from a back entrance. They look around : nothing.", "EXT. RAWAL CALL CENTER - PAKISTAN Hakim parks in front of the Rawal Call Center.", "INT. RAWAL CALL CENTER - PAKISTAN - ANOTHER DAY The call center is arranged into two rows of cubby-holes, each separated by a privacy wall. Hakim searches the place, finds nothing. CUT TO : CU TV SCREEN : News reports of the attemped NYC bombing. REPORTER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It is in surveillance video and pictures like this of the explosive- laden vehicle just moments before it was parked, that police hope to find the man who wanted so badly last night to leave a body count in Times Square. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION CUBICLE HALLWAY The TV news report continues playing in the bg. Bradley is moving as fast down a hallway. Coming towards him like a shark from the other end of the hallway : Maya. Bradley looks determined not to deal with her right now, and lowers his head, but she spreads her arms slightly and basically blocks his passage through the hallway MAYA I really need to talk to you about beefing up our surveillance operation on the caller. BRADLEY We do n't have a surveillance operation on the caller.  -LRB- TURNING TO MAYA -RRB- Someone just tried to blow up Times Square and you're talking to me about some facilitator who some detainee seven years ago said might have been working with Al Qaeda? Maya is practically shaking with zealous rage at her inability to bend Bradley to her will. MAYA He's the key to bin Laden. BRADLEY I do n't fucking care about bin Laden. I care about the next attack. You're going to start working on American Al Qaeda cells. Protect the homeland. MAYA bin Laden is the one who keeps telling them to attack the homeland. -LRB- MORE -RRB- MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- If it was n't for him, Al Qaeda would still be focused on overseas targets. If you really want to protect the homeland, you need to get bin Laden. BRADLEY -LRB- ANGRY -RRB- This guy never met bin Laden. This guy is a free lancer working off the fucking internet. No one has even talked to bin Laden in four years : he's out of the game, he may you're doing? You're chasing a ghost while the whole fucking network grows all around you! well even be dead but you know what For a moment she is silenced by Bradley's reprimand but then Maya's obsession speaks for her - and like a woman possessed she recklessly goes at him : MAYA You just want me to nail some low level Mullah-crack-a-dulla so that you can check that box on your resume that says while you were in Pakistan you got a real terrorist. But the truth is you do n't understand Pakistan, and you do n't know Al Qaeda. Either give me the team I need to follow this lead, or the other thing you're gon na have on your resume is being the first Station Chief to be called before a congressional committee for subverting the efforts to capture or kill bin Laden. BRADLEY You're fucking out of your mind. MAYA I need four techs in a safe house in Rawalpindi and four techs in a safe house in Peshawar. Either send them out or send me back to DC and explain to the Director why you did it. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY AMERICAN BAR - NIGHT Maya, despondent, sits at the bar, drinking a beer. Jack approaches. JACK Fuck the mom, we got the man himself. Jack puts a cell phone down on the counter. JACK -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Yesterday your caller bought himself a cell phone. And every time his phone rings - -LRB- he taps the cell PHONE -RRB- - This phone will ring. Did I hook you up? Maya throws her arms around him. MAYA I love you! CUT TO :", "EXT. RAWALPINDI - ROAD - DAY Larry drives his team around the narrow streets of Rawalpindi. In the backseat, the COMPUTER TECH studies his laptop-like tracking device. MAYA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- My guess is that he lives close to where he's making the calls, and it makes sense he'd be living in Rawalpindi because there's an Al Jezerra office there.", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - BRIEFING ROOM We focus on a MAP of Pakistan on the wall. Maya is indicating neighborhoods in Rawalpindi. She's briefing Bradley, Hakim, Larry and a few other people. MAYA It would be convenient for him to drop tapes off if he's sending either from bin Laden or from an intermediary. When he wants to make a call, he leaves the house, walks a few blocks, then switches on the phone. We need to keep canvassing the neighborhood until we find him.", "EXT. STREETS OF RAWALPINDI / MINIVAN - CONTINUOUS Larry is at the wheel, moving slowly through a dangerous part of town. The streets narrow. Two motorcycles suddenly pull around in front of Larry's van and stop. The riders pull out guns.", "INT. MINIVAN - CONTINUOUS LARRY We got a shooter! Larry tries reversing but a compact car wheels in right behind them, and Larry slams on the brakes. The TECH raises an M4. TECH We're blocked. HAKIM Let me talk to them.", "EXT. STREETS OF RAWALPINDI Hakim gets out of the car and walks toward the men. We ca n't hear what they're saying. At last, Hakim comes back to the car.", "INT. MINIVAN HAKIM They said white faces do n't belong here. If they do n't move, shoot them. A tense beat while the men stare, then finally leave.", "INT. U.S. EMBASSY - ISLAMABAD - CUBICLE MAZE - DAY On a large wall map, Maya circles `` Peshawar'' in red. CUT TO :", "EXT. ROADS/HIGHWAY - PAKISTAN Larry's SUV speeds onto a highway, weaving in and out of dense traffic. SUPERIMPOSE : PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN", "INT. SUV In the backseat, the Computer Tech is getting tossed around, trying to hang onto the Geo Locating device in his lap. The Geo Locator starts to BEEP - a blinking red light. COMPUTER TECH He's east of us. Try the market.", "EXT./INT. MINIVAN The congestion thickens. They slow to a crawl. The SUV, stuck in traffic. Ca n't move. Larry leaps out of the car and heads into an open air market -", "EXT. OPEN AIR MARKET - PESHAWAR - CONTINUOUS It's packed. All MEN - most with traditional beards worn by Al Qaeda members - many talking on cell phones. Impossible to tell who is who. Impossible to find this needle in a haystack. CUT TO :", "EXT. MARKET - LATE AFTERNOON - ANOTHER DAY The search continues... Hakim prowls a back alley. Then goes up on a rooftop to survey the activity below.", "EXT. STREETS - TIPU ROAD - LATER Hakim is on a street corner conducting surveillance. We follow him into a crowd and then lose sight... We find him again, another street, another fruitless search. As Hakim goes from street to street, we hear : JACK -LRB- O.S. -RRB- We got a signal on Tipu Road for ten minutes. Then he went to Umar Road for five minutes. Nogaza Road. Darya Abad. That's in the Umar Road area. In Rawalpindi : Haider Road, Roomi Road. He went to the Convoy Road, which is near the hospital. So that's Haider, Roomi Road, Said, No Gaza, Taimur. He made a call from Haifa Street, that's the spice district. CUT TO :", "INT. U.S. EMBASSY - ISLAMABAD - MAYA'S DESK Jack and Maya click through the tracking maps on her computer screen. JACK Lahore street, which is also in Pesh, thirty minutes. Wazir Bag Road, five. Nishterabad, five. Phandu Road, five minutes, the Grand Trunk Road, forty five seconds. There's no pattern. Sometimes he calls every two weeks - sometimes every three - there's no consistency - I ca n't predict when he's gon na make another call because the guy's erratic. MAYA Do you think its intentional? JACK It might be. Maybe it just looks erratic to us. I just ca n't tell.", "INT. MAYA'S APARTMENT - ISLAMABAD Wearing a black burkha, Maya walks into her house and sinks into the couch. She pulls off the head covering but does n't bother to remove the burkha. She switches on the TV. If you did n't know her better, you'd think she'd gone native.", "EXT. AMERICAN EMBASSY STREET - ISLAMABAD Find Maya driving up to a check point mobbed with PROTESTERS carrying signs - Joseph Bradley IS A CIA SPY! KILL THE SPY! Bradley is CIA, etc. REPORTER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Meanwhile, our chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel, confirms the CIA's top spy in Pakistan has been pulled out of there.", "INT. MAYA'S CAR The PROTESTERS have blocked the embassy check point. It's going to take a long time to get through. REPORTER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- He's been receiving death threats after being named publicly in a lawsuit by the family of a victim of a U.S. drone attack.", "EXT. MAYA'S CAR Several protesters notice her - they move to her car and start banging on it. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE - LATER Maya and Bradley and several other STAFFERS watch the protest through a window -", "EXT. AMERICAN EMBASSY STREET The CROWD grows larger and more unruly.", "INT. STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE MAYA ISI fucked you. I'm so sorry Joseph. It's the first time she's addressed him by his first name. Startling, to hear kindness in her voice. Joseph turns to reply then thinks better of it and walks away. CUT TO :", "INT./ EXT LARRY'S MINIVAN - STREETS OF PESHAWAR - MORNING Larry's minivan chugs through the crowded markets. TECH Still on tower three! Five. Signal getting stronger. Ten! Larry continues driving straight down the main road. TECH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Fifteen. Ten. Signal's getting weaker. -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- We lost him - no signal. LARRY Heading South. The van passes horse-drawn carts, men on cell phones, fruit stands. The Tech studies his screen. TECH He's up at five again. Fifteen. Twenty. -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- Weaker now, he's shifted. We're back to five. I do n't get it. LARRY He's driving in circles. Larry now drives very fast back to the main road. LARRY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- No change? TECH No. MAIN ROAD And now Larry stops in the middle of the market. LARRY Let's hope he comes back around. Beat. TECH Twenty. Thirty. Forty! Fifty - we're within ten meters of him. Larry scans the street - sees a half dozen guys on cell phones. TECH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- He's really close. LARRY Look at the cars. He's in a vehicle. Larry spots something : LARRY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The guy with the phone in the white SUV. They snap a photograph of a WHITE POTAHAR SUV. LARRY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Is that him? TECH Could be. LARRY You got him? TECH I got him. LARRY I'm breaking off - The grey minivan pulls away. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - DAY Larry's photograph of the WHITE POTAHAR SUV plops on Maya's desk. MAYA Is this what I think it is? LARRY The guy you've been looking for, geo- located on his cell phone in his white car. MAYA Thank you! LARRY If you're right, the whole world's gon na want in on this, so you got ta stick to your guns now. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE The new Chief of Station, TIM ALEXANDER, barely looks up from his desk as Maya enters. ALEXANDER -LRB- INTO PHONE -RRB- I'm amazed that you're still here. -LRB- looks at his watch, INTO PHONE -RRB- When can we grab lunch? He sees that Maya, who hovers annoyingly over his desk, is n't gon na wait. MAYA I need a picket line along the GT highway and men spaced at intervals along the road and at every exit. ALEXANDER Maya, I know - MAYA So you agree with me now. This is important? ALEXANDER No, I've just learned from my predecessor that life is better when I do n't disagree with you. CUT TO :", "EXT. GRAND TRUNK ROAD - PAKISTAN - DAY A two lane highway. Tucked on the side of the road is an OLD MAN with a cart of mangoes. MAYA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Our current hypothesis is that he lives somewhere along the highway, in one of the towns, or a medium sized city called Abbottabod, or up near Kashmir. ECU : mango cart. Nestled among the fruit is a BLACK RADIO.", "EXT. FARTHER DOWN GRAND TRUCK ROAD/HIGHWAY - CONTINUOUS Squatting in the dirt near a bus stop is another OLD MAN, watching passengers disembark from a bus. MAYA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Kashmir is interesting because it's a way station for the Tribals. We stay with the old man for a while. At last, the white POTAHAR SUV drives past. He makes a note in his pad. CUT TO :", "EXT. HIGHWAY - MAJOR EXIT - DAY A nut seller, another CIA look out, scoops a handful of nuts into a bag for a CUSTOMER as he keeps an eye on CARS exiting the highway. He takes note as the white POTAHAR passes him. MAYA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Abbottabod is interesting because we know from detainee reporting that Faraj stayed there, briefly in 2003. CUT TO :", "EXT. PAKISTANI STREET - DAY The street is filled with compact cars. MAYA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The good news is he's driving a white SUV. SUV's are actually pretty rare in Pakistan. If he was driving a sedan or a compact, we'd be fucked. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - NIGHT MAYA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Obviously this assumes he does n't change vehicles. Maya at her desk working and we realize that she has been typing all this in a cable she will email to Washington. CUT TO :", "EXT. MAYA'S APARTMENT BUILDING - ISLAMABAD - PRE DAWN The building GUARD sees Maya heading out to her car. GUARD Good morning. MAYA Good morning, Amad. Maya gets in her car. The gate opens. As she starts pulling out onto the street, suddenly a car drives up in front of her and THREE SHOOTERS come out and hammer Maya's Toyota.", "INT. MAYA'S CAR - CONTINUOUS - Bullets spider webbing the glass as Maya slams the car into reverse -", "EXT. MAYA'S CAR - CONTINUOUS - Maya's guard starts returning fire, but his aim is terrible. - SHOOTERS bear down on Maya, pumping bullets into her armored car. The gate closes, saving her, at the last possible moment.", "INT. MAYA'S CAR - CONTINUOUS Maya shakes inside her vehicle. MAYA -LRB- PRE-LAP -RRB- -LRB- PROTESTING -RRB- Any American in Pakistan is a target, they do n't necessarily know I'm CIA. CUT TO :", "INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE - ISLAMABAD - MORNING ALEXANDER Does n't matter. You're on a list. Next time there might not be bulletproof glass to save you. MAYA Yeah. ALEXANDER And you, of all people, should know that once you are on their list, you never get off.  -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- We'll keep up on the surveillance, as best we can. CUT TO :", "EXT. RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD - ABBOTTABAD, PAKISTAN - DAY Hakim paces on a street as the POTAHAR we've been following drives past him. Hakim watches the vehicle enter a gated COMPOUND. CUT TO :", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS PREDATOR BAY - LANGLEY - EVENING The Langley Predator Bay is an impressive sight, a command center bristling with high-tech equipment. The room is filled with TECHNICIANS. George is in the center, where he belongs, directing traffic. People come up and give him new pieces of information. The big screen displays a single image : The overhead satellite image of the compound in Abbottabod. SUPERIMPOSE : PREDATOR BAY - CIA HEADQUARTERS From the back of the room, Maya enters, and watches the activity unfold without her... without her input. George notices her, gives a thumbs up and then turns back to his troops. STEVE, early 40s, a senior manager and one of George's top deputies, joins Maya. STEVE Basically we had a guy who rolled with Al Qaeda and did services for them. We lost him for seven years and now we found him again -- and boy does he have a really nice house. Is that it? MAYA Pretty much. STEVE Okay, let's go talk to the boss. CUT TO :", "INT. LANGLEY BRIEFING ROOM Maya and Steve are the first to arrive in the wood panelled conference room. A detailed TABLE TOP MODEL of the compound sits in the center of the conference table, right next to a poster-sized satellite image of the compound. She starts to sit in one of the chairs. STEVE -LRB- GENTLE -RRB- You should sit back there... sorry. Steve points her to the back of the room. STEVE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- They're gon na ask : if bin Laden is at the end of this rainbow - is the Pak military with him? MAYA The question is n't are the Paks protecting bin Laden?' -LRB- MORE -RRB- MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The question is,'would he allow himself to be protected by the Paks?' I mean, why would he trust them? He tried to kill Musharaf. Steve considers a reply, but the meeting principals are filing in, including Daniel, and when Steve sees the CIA DIRECTOR enter the room, he clears the head of the table. CIA DIRECTOR Go ahead. STEVE If you take a right out of Islamabad and drive about forty-five minutes North, you'll find yourself here in Abbottabad. A middle class community - some ex-military - not particularly interesting to us. Except we did find this compound, which is unique. We got a sixteen foot wall around the entire perimeter, the windows are blacked out. It's a fortress. CIA DIRECTOR Ca n't you put a camera somewhere - in the trees - to get a look into the main house? GEORGE It will probably be discovered. CIA DIRECTOR We have to get a look into the house. The Director moves to the satellite image. CIA DIRECTOR -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Alright, what's this? This cluster of buildings down here. GEORGE The PMA - The Pakistan Military Academy. It's their West Point. CIA DIRECTOR And how close is that to the house? GEORGE About a mile. A WOMAN'S voice from the back of the room. MAYA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- 4,221 feet. It's closer to eight- tenths of a mile. CIA DIRECTOR Who are you? MAYA I'm the motherfucker that found this place, Sir. The boss studies her for a moment then turns back to the model. CIA DIRECTOR I want to know more about who's inside this house by the end of the week. The brass files out, leaving Steve and Maya. STEVE `` Motherfucker?'' Really? CUT TO :", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - AF/PAK DIVISION - DAY Maya sits at her desk, frustrated, then walks down the aisle of cubicles to the glass wall of George's office. She grabs a red marker. MAYA -LRB- through the glass -RRB- Morning, George. In red magic marker, Maya writes the number 21 on the glass. Then circles it. George looks up. MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Twenty-one days. It's been twenty- one days since we found the house and nothing's happened!", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - PREDATOR BAY - NIGHT We see a drone-fed overhead IMAGE of the bin Laden house in real time with a resolution of 100 feet. Maya stares at the screen, trying to decipher the shapes moving beneath her, thousands of miles away. The BLIPS move in increments, shadows lengthen. CUT TO :", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - AF/PAK DIVISION - DAY ECU - Maya erases the `` 51'' on George's wall and replaces it with `` 52.'' George looks away.", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS MAYA'S DESK - LATER Maya sits at her desk. Her phone rings. MAYA -LRB- INTO PHONE -RRB- Yeah?", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - PREDATOR BAY STEVE stares at drone image of the COMPOUND, which is under the joystick control of an IMAGERY TECHNICIAN. STEVE Swing by, I want to show you something.", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS MAYA'S DESK Maya jumps up from her desk.", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - PREDATOR BAY - MOMENTS LATER Maya walks in. Steve shows her images on the large monitor. STEVE This is from a few minutes ago. We've got two males, two females, and seven kids. Maya points to one of the shapes in the courtyard. MAYA Who's that? STEVE I'm saying that's Bushra. The brother's wife. MAYA How do you know the gender? STEVE -LRB- points on screen, to a thin line ) This is a clothes-line here, for laundry. Men do n't mess with the wash. We watch that shape move away from the clothes-line and back to the house. STEVE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It takes her about four seconds to move from there to the front door. So she's on the older side. MAYA What's that up there? -LRB- pointing to the other SHAPES -RRB- STEVE Those are kids. They're shuffling around, sword-fighting or something with sticks. -LRB- POINTING AGAIN -RRB- You can see their height relative to this - these are cows - so they're probably between seven and nine. Boys. Another FIGURE comes out of the house and moves to the clothes- line and grabs some laundry. MAYA Your female is moving fast. STEVE That's what I wanted to show you. -LRB- to the Imagery TECHNICIAN -RRB- Can we pause this please? -LRB- TO MAYA -RRB- That's not the same lady. That's female # 3. MAYA So you found two males, three females? STEVE That's correct. Maya suddenly gets it. MAYA You're missing a male. STEVE Yes we are. MAYA Wow.", "INT. WHITE HOUSE - NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL S.C.I.F. - CONTINUOUS George is on one side of a conference table, on the other side is the DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR, THE SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR, and the NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR. GEORGE If there are three females, there ought to be three males. Observant Muslim women either live with parents or with their husbands. We think there's a third family living in the house. SUPERIMPOSE : SITUATION ROOM - THE WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR So this third male that you've identified as possibly being bin Laden, do I just give up all hope of ever seeing a photograph of him? GEORGE Hope? Hope is not a targeting layer. You give up your hope right now. We scanned for heat signatures, but we ca n't validate if it's a man or a woman up there. We found a safe house, but we ca n't get a vantage point to fire a telescope over the balcony wall.", "EXT. COMPOUND - ABBOTTABAD - MORNING A DOCTOR comes to the compound offering immunizations. One of the women let's him in, and he offers polio vaccines to the children. GEORGE We talked about burrowing a pin hole camera but there's a high risk of discovery. -LRB- MORE -RRB- GEORGE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We have explored the possibility of digging tunnels, of sending hot air balloons, of re-routing supply C- 130's to take a peek, but that might be too alerting. We've looked for ways of collecting available DNA from his trash - you know, looking for his toothbrush, but they burn the trash. We started a vaccination program, we sent a doctor to the house, to see if he could pull blood. A lady in a black burkha rushes out and angrily shoos the doctor away. GEORGE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- That did n't work out. We thought about sending a guy with a bucket to pull a sample from the sewer to analyze his fecal matter. SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE ADVISOR What was wrong with that, exactly? He looks up. GEORGE What was wrong with that? The sample would be too diluted. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR And it's asking too much to get a voice confirmation with him on the phone? GEORGE They do n't make telephone calls from the compound. We pulled the cell tower nearby. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR And I'm also going to give up hope that he might ever get in that white SUV and drive around a bit and we could see him? Do n't they get groceries. GEORGE The unidentified third male does not get groceries. He does not leave the compound. He does not present himself for photographs. -LRB- MORE -RRB- GEORGE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- When he needs fresh air, he paces around beneath a grape arbor, but the leaves are so thick they obscure our satellite views. This is a professional attempt to avoid detection - real tradecraft. The only people we've seen behave this way are other top level Al Qaeda operatives. The National Security Advisor nods to his Special Assistant who slides a big folder across his desk to George. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR We did a Red Team on your analysis. According to them, this behavior could belong to someone other than Al Qaeda. DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR They did give a forty percent chance that the unidentified third man is a senior Al Qaeda operative. But they also said there's a thirty-five percent chance he's a Saudi drug DEALER -LRB- reading from the BINDER -RRB- A fifteen percent chance that he's a Kuwaiti arms smuggler, a ten percent chance that he's one of the relatives of the brothers. SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE ADVISOR Basically, we agree with you, the house screams security, it screams someone who wants privacy, it even screams'bad guy', but it does not scream bin Laden. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR You get the point. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- If you ca n't prove it's bin Laden, at least prove it's not somebody else, like a drug dealer. Beat. The meeting is adjourned. As they walk out -- GEORGE You know we lost our ability to prove that when we lost the detainee program. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Who the hell am I supposed to ask? Some guy in Gitmo who is all lawyered up? He'll just tell his lawyer to warn bin Laden. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR You'll think of something. CUT TO :", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - AF/PAK DIVISION - DAY Maya is back at George's office, keeping track of time for us by writing each passing day on the window of George's office. We watch as she erases the numbers in red and writes new ones. 78. Time passes. 98. 99. 100. 100 days. She underscores the numerals in thick magic marker. CUT TO :", "INT. WHITE HOUSE - NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL S.C.I.F. - DAY The same group around the same conference table. GEORGE He'd be the first successful drug dealer never to have dealt drugs. He has no internet access to the house. He makes no phone calls either in or out. Who's he selling to, who's he buying from, how's he making his money? And if you're going to say he's retired, I'd say where's his swimming pool, where's the gold cage with the falcons? And why does he send his courier to the two cities in Pakistan we most associate with Al Qaeda, that have nothing particularly to do with heroin production? The National Security Advisor taps his pencil impatiently. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR The President is a thoughtful, analytical guy. He needs proof. CUT TO :", "INT. WHITE HOUSE HALLWAY The National Security Advisor and his team file out. George approaches. GEORGE I have to admit, I just do n't get the rhythms of politics. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR You think this is political? If this was political we'd be having this conversation in October when there's an election bump. This is pure risk. Based on deductive reasoning, inference, supposition and the only human reporting you have is six years old, from detainees who are questioned under duress. The political move here is to tell you to go fuck yourself, and remind you that I was in the room when your old boss pitched WMD Iraq... at least there you guys brought photographs. GEORGE You know, you're right, I agree with everything you just said. What I meant was, a man in your position, how do you evaluate the risk of not doing something, the risk of potentially letting bin Laden slip through your fingers? George shakes his head with an `` aww shucks'' kind of shake. GEORGE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- That is a fascinating question. George walks away. After a beat, the National Security advisor calls after him. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR Hey. George turns around. The National Security Advisor approaches him. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- lowering his voice -RRB- I'm not saying we're gon na do it. But the President wants to know : if we were going to act, how would we do it? Give us options. CUT TO :", "EXT. AIR FORCE BASE - AIRPLANE HANGAR - DAY SUPERIMPOSE : AREA 51 - SOUTHERN NEVADA Doors of a HANGAR open in front of a large crowd that includes several White House guys, a General, and a squadron of Navy SEALs, including PATRICK, JUSTIN, JARED, SABER, TWO SOAR PILOTS, and some members of the Af-Pak department, George, Daniel, Hakim, and of course, Maya. The doors grind open to reveal : TWO STEALTH BLACKHAWKS GENERAL I actually tried to kill this program a couple of times. They've gone through an initial round of testing, and they have excellent radar defeat - we just have n't tested them with people in them yet. The General continues his briefing.. GENERAL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You'll notice these stealth panels similar to what we use on the B2 - -LRB- pointing to the rotors -RRB- - The rotors have been muffled with decibel killers - it's slower than a Blackhawk and lacks the offense. But it can hide. JUSTIN Excuse me. Can I ask a question? What do we need this for in Libya? Gaddafi's anti-air is virtually non- existent. Maya looks over, not sure what to say. GEORGE Gentlemen, can I have your attention? My name is George. I run the Af-Pak division at CTC, and I'm primary on this for the agency. This is a title fifty operation. -LRB- MORE -RRB- GEORGE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Some of us have worked together before. This is a good one. Maya, do you want to brief them? Maya looks at the SEALs. Folds her arms. This is n't going to be easy. MAYA There are two narratives about the location of Osama bin Laden. This registers on the SEALs. MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The one that you're most familiar with is that UBL is hiding in a cave in the Tribal Areas, that he's surrounded by a large contingent of loyal fighters. Beat. MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- But that narrative is pre- 9/11 understanding of UBL. The second narrative is that he's living in a city - living in a city with multiple points of egress and entries and with access to communications so that he can keep in touch with the organization. You ca n't run a global network of inter- connected cells from a cave. Beat. MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We've located an individual we believe based on detainee reporting is bin Laden's courier. He's living in a house in Abbottabod, Pakistan. And we assess that one of the other occupants of the house is UBL. JUSTIN Excuse me. You got an intel source on the ground? MAYA No. JUSTIN No? Okay, so how do you know it's bin Laden? We've been on this op before, you know. MAYA Bin Laden uses a courier to interact with the outside world. By locating the courier, we've located bin Laden. PATRICK That's really the intel? That's it? MAYA Quite frankly, I did n't even want to use you guys, with your dip and your velcro and all your gear bullshit. I wanted to drop a bomb but people did n't believe in this lead enough to drop a bomb, so they're using you guys as canaries on the theory that if bin Laden is n't there, you can sneak away and no one will be the wiser. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- But bin Laden is there - and you're going to kill him for me. PATRICK -LRB- SOFTENING -RRB- Bullets are cheap. CUT TO :", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - GEORGE'S OFFICE - DAY George is shaking his head as he talks to Wolf. GEORGE They are nervous downtown. I do n't think we'll get approval this decision cycle. They look up and notice that Maya is standing outside George's office staring at them through the glass. She angrily wipes the number 128 off the window and changes it to 129. Wolf nods. WOLF It's her against the world. GEORGE Oh yeah. CUT TO :", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - CAFETERIA - DAY George is pulling his tray away from the food service court when Maya ambushes him. MAYA We've spun up the SEALs - we've done everything humanly possible to collect on the compound, and the collection is not going to get any better. GEORGE We have to keep working it. MAYA You're going to come into work one day, and there's going to be a black moving van and a'for sale' sign in front of that compound. George drops his tray down. GEORGE Maya, you did n't prove it.", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - 7TH FLOOR - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY Sitting around the table are the CIA Director, JEREMY, Wolf, the DEPUTY DIRECTOR, George, Daniel, Steve and a few other people we do n't know. At the far end of the table are back benchers, including Maya. CIA DIRECTOR I'm about to go look the President in the eye and what I'd like to know, no fucking bullshit, is where everyone stands on this thing. Now, very simply. Is he there or is he not fucking there? He looks to the Deputy Director. DEPUTY DIRECTOR We all come at this through the filter of our own past experiences. I remember Iraq WMD very clearly, I fronted that and I can tell you the case for that was much stronger than this case. CIA DIRECTOR Yes or no. DEPUTY DIRECTOR We do n't deal in certainty, we deal in probability. I'd say there's a sixty percent probability he's there. The CIA Director points to Wolf. WOLF I concur. Sixty percent. GEORGE I'm at eighty percent. Their OPSEC is what convinces me. CIA DIRECTOR You guys ever agree on anything? DANIEL Well, I agree with sixty, we're basing this mostly on detainee reporting and I spent a bunch of time in those rooms - who knows? Maya shoots Daniel a look. What a traitor. DANIEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'd say it's a soft sixty, sir. I'm virtually certain there's some high value target there, I'm just not sure it's bin Laden. The CIA Director leans back in his chair. CIA DIRECTOR This is a cluster-fuck, is n't it? JEREMY I'd like to know what Maya thinks. DEPUTY DIRECTOR We're all incorporating her assessment into ours. Maya ca n't take it anymore : MAYA One hundred percent, he's there - okay, fine, ninety-five percent because I know certainty freaks you guys out - but it's a hundred!", "INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - 7TH FLOOR - HALLWAY The CIA Director walks with Jeremy towards the elevator. CIA DIRECTOR They're all cowed. What do you think of the girl? JEREMY I think she's fucking smart. As the door closes. CIA DIRECTOR We're all smart, Jeremy.", "INT. LANGELY CAFETERIA Maya is eating lunch by herself when she's startled to see the CIA Director standing by her table. CIA DIRECTOR May I join you? She nods, gulps. CIA DIRECTOR -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- SITTING -RRB- How long have you worked for the CIA? MAYA Twelve years. I was recruited out of high school. CIA DIRECTOR Do you know why we did that? MAYA I do n't think I can answer that question, sir. I do n't think I'm allowed to answer. CIA DIRECTOR What else have you done for us besides bin Laden? MAYA Nothing. I've done nothing else. He evaluates her... weighing her certainty against his decades of Washington experience. CIA DIRECTOR Well, you certainly have a flare for it. FADE TO BLACK : SUPERIMPOSE : THE CANARIES", "EXT. JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - AFGHANISTAN - DAY Jalalabad Airfield : nestled against the rugged mountains of the Pakistan border. SUPERIMPOSE : FORWARD OPERATING BASE - JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN - MAY 1, 2011 Everything in motion, SOLDIERS, CONTRACTORS, AVIATION ASSETS, PATROLS coming and going.", "EXT. JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - AFTERNOON Patrick and Justin are playing horseshoes. Maya, happy for the first time since we've met her, watches them JUSTIN So, Patrick, be honest with me. You really believe this story? -LRB- TO MAYA -RRB- No offense. PATRICK I do. JUSTIN What part convinced you? Patrick motions to Maya. PATRICK Her confidence. Maya smiles, laughs. JUSTIN Really? Okay. That's the kind of concrete data point I'm looking for. He shakes his head. JUSTIN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- If her confidence is the one thing that's keeping me from getting ass- raped in a Pakistani prison... I do n't know. I'm gon na be honest with you though, I guess I'm cool with it. They bump fists, laughing. Maya's cell phone rings. She moves aside to answer it. We INTERCUT with George in his Langley office. GEORGE Maya, I wanted you to hear it first. You know that thing we talked about? It's going to happen. MAYA When? GEORGE Tonight. Good luck. She hangs up, turns back to the SEALs, who are still playing horseshoes with the grace of young guys in their prime. Their lives are in her hands. CUT TO :", "INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - DAY The small space is filled with personnel and telecommunications gear. At the back of the room Maya sits quietly, adjusting a headset and speaking calmly into a secure line. From the corner Hakim watches her. MAYA Testing - testing 1 - 2 - 3 - A SEAL with his com set on gives her the thumbs up. She looks around at all the impressive technology in the makeshift Command Center. She walks over to Hakim and they leave together.", "EXT. JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - DUSK MAYA Thank you for coming with me. HAKIM Of course. I'll go with you where ever you want. A few hundred feet in front of them they can see SEALs preparing their gear. MAYA Fuck Hakim, what if I'm wrong? -LRB- MORE -RRB- MAYA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I wish we could have just dropped a bomb. HAKIM Please do n't drop it while we're in the house. MAYA I'm serious. HAKIM Me too. Do n't drop anything while I'm inside. Off her anxious smile -- CUT TO :", "EXT. FORWARD OPERATING BASE JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN - OUTER LZ - NIGHT Blinding white lights - rigged to chain link fencing, like a space shuttle launch - Silhouetted shapes behind the lights and the thump-thump- thump SOUND of high-dollar helicopters - Now push through the glare and the fence into -", "EXT. FORWARD OPERATING BASE JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN - INNER LZ A top-secret LZ. Where twenty-two SEALs in full battle rattle and an attack DOG load into TWO STEALTH BLACKHAWK helicopters Moving fast, wordlessly, loading weapons and gear - under the intense bright white light, then - - Doors slam, engines whine - Fifty yards away, Maya stands alone, looking on. - And the HELOS rise above the lights and disappear into the night.", "INT. STEALTH BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER - PRINCE 52 - PILOT'S CABIN Hands feather the controls as the pilot -- one the famed Nightstalker's from the Special Operations Aviation Regiment ( SOAR ) 160th -- flies without lights, using only his NODs for night vision.", "EXT. STEALTH BLACKHAWK HELICOPTERS PRINCE 51 AND PRINCE 52 Flying in formation, barely visible in the moonless sky, no flying lights. The helos near the Tora Bora mountain range : dimly visible bulks rising in front of the helos.", "INT. PRINCE 51 - CABIN The SEALs gently bounce inside the bellies of the churning beasts. PRINCE 51 PILOT Thirty seconds to first turn. JARED Hey Justin, what are you listening to? JUSTIN Tony Robbins. JARED Tony Robbins? JUSTIN You should listen to it. I got plans for after this. I want to talk to you guys about it. It's not selling. You become a representative. Everyone chuckles. PRINCE 51 CO-PILOT Hard left.", "EXT. PRINCE 51 AND PRINCE 52 - FLYING IN FORMATION The stealths take a sharp turn. Skimming the mountain. PATRICK Who here's been in a helo crash before? Everyone raises their hands. PATRICK -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Okay, so we're all good. CUT TO :", "INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - EVENING Technicians track the helos on an array of computer screens. PRINCE 52 PILOT -LRB- OVER RADIO -RRB- Now entering Pakistan. Maya is here, too, working. She's always working. MAYA -LRB- INTO HEADSET -RRB- Pakistani coms, no chatter.", "EXT. TORA BORA MOUNTAINS - LATER Find the HELICOPTERS navigating tight mountain passes. NOTE : Throughout the flying sequence that follows the helicopters fly very close to the ground, with a margin of error less then twenty feet. CUT TO : PILOT POV : The terrain zooms by as we travel through a twisty mountain PASS - - Looming straight ahead on a collision course is a GIANT MOUNTAIN. They zoom closer. We can see individual rocks now -", "INT. PRINCE 51 PRINCE 51 PILOT -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- Big left!", "EXT. TORA BORA MOUNTAINS Seconds before impact, the HELICOPTERS bank into a hard left turn. DUST blows off the mountain. CUT TO :", "INT. PRINCE 51 - LATER The dog PANTS - sitting in its handler's lap in the dim cabin - PILOT Ten minutes. CUT TO :", "INT. PRINCE 51 - LATER PILOT Three mikes to target. Standby for doors open. Inside the dim interior, illuminated by only blinking instrumentation, the men are tense, quiet. We pass slowly from face to face, noting each SEAL's contemplation of the mission that lies ahead. Some of them are anonymous soldiers. Many we've come to know : Justin, joyfully bobbing his head, grooving to his iPod... Saber's eyes fixed on a thousand-yard stare... Hakim struggles to get comfortable and control his anxiety, wipes away sweat... Patrick checks his gear for the hundredth time. CO-PILOT Two minutes.", "EXT. STEALTH BLACKHAWKS - PRINCE 51 AND PRINCE 52 - Outside : Darkness....just a THUMP THUMP THUMP... And then we see them : flying in tight formation, the oddly rectangular helos, with their black stealth panels and sharp edges, like two alien spaceships advancing.", "INT. EXT STEALTH BLACKHAWK - NIGHT PILOT -LRB- OVER INTERCOM -RRB- Should be coming up just off our nose, 3 o'clock. Everyone grabs onto their gear, getting ready to fast rope. DOOR Patrick flings open the side door. Night wind rushes in -", "EXT. ABBOTTABAD, PAKISTAN - NIGHT Small cottages mixed in with larger suburban homes. Among them, swimming pools. The water shimmering. Surreal. Then : rows of green fields. A stand of trees. It appears : AC 1. It is massive - six or seven times larger than any other nearby structure - with sixteen foot high walls and a gated interior. A fortress.", "INT. PRINCE 51 - CONTINUOUS PILOT Thirty seconds. Patrick leans out for a visual as the wind rips his face -", "EXT. PRINCE 51 AND PRINCE 52 The helos circle the COMPOUND, kicking up dust, and begin to descend.", "INT./EXT. STEALTH BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER PRINCE 51 - NIGHT Cross cutting all that follows : - At thirty feet above the ground the helicopter begins to shudder and lose stability. Instead of descending in a straight path, the bird drifts sideways PATRICK -LRB- shouting to pilot -RRB- Hey! Slide right. - Then lurches down, falling to within 15 feet of the swirling ground, rotors churning the dust, creating near BROWNOUT conditions, a dust hurricane", "INT. PRINCE 51 CU : Pilot finessing the controls - not good enough PRINCE 51 PILOT Power!", "EXT. COMPOUND - NIGHT ECU : rear rotor blades edging closer to the wall, inch by inch. -- Engines straining LOUDLY in the thin, hot air -- The bird loses control, SPINS to a hard landing", "INT. PRINCE 51 ECU : Pilot thrusts stick", "EXT. COMPOUND -- TAIL crashes hard on the WALL, in a awful screech of twisting metal and sheared concrete -", "INT. PRINCE 51 -- Tossing the men inside the helo around like rag dolls. CUT TO :", "INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - EVENING The command tent watches the helicopter crash. PRINCE 52 PILOT -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Prince 51 is down. Blackhawk down in the animal pen. Maya stands, crestfallen.", "EXT. HELO CRASH The dust settles to reveal... a twisted wreck. PRINCE 51 has crash landed into a precarious position, with the back half of the helicopter wedged into the top of the wall and the front of it in the ground, leaving the passengers inside suspended more then ten feet off the ground.", "INT./EXT. PRINCE 51 Although he's wearing a heavy pack and carrying gear, Patrick jumps down, landing with a knee-shattering combat roll. Several SEALs follow him.", "EXT. INNER COURTYARD Patrick pulls out of his roll and turns around to face the house, looming ominously ahead of him.", "INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATIN G BASE - EVENING PRINCE 52 PILOT -LRB- OVER RADIO -RRB- This mission is still a go. Off Maya's relief -", "INT./EXT. PRINCE 52 - CONTINUOUS The second helo passes over but a storm of debris and garbage from the rooftop creates another flight risk and the helo banks away. CUT TO :", "EXT. COMPOUND - FIRST GATE Patrick, Justin and SIX other SEALs cluster near the First Gate in the animal pen. One of the SEALs places a charge on the gate, while others check the Prayer Room. Boom! The charge partially blows open the metal swing doors of the gate, leaving a very narrow gap. Not ideal. The SEALs muscle and squeeze their way through the narrow opening in the jagged metal as the SNIPER climbs up on the roof of the prayer room.", "EXT. GUEST HOUSE - NIGHT Patrick and Jared arrive at the guest house but ca n't see inside - the windows and doors are covered with sheets. Patrick kneels down to place a charge at the front door handle when the door erupts with gunfire - Bullets fly out of the wooden door. One skims Patrick's shoulder as he kneels lower. Patrick fires back at the house, putting a dozen rounds inside. A moment passes. They wait for a response. The door handle unlocks. ABU AHMED'S WIFE appears at the doorway and walks out. JARED Ir-fah ee-dek! ABU AHMED'S WIFE -LRB- IN ENGLISH -RRB- You killed him.", "INT. GUEST HOUSE - CONTINUOUS The SEALs peer inside and see ABU AHMED lying dead in a pool of blood. Patrick and Jared pump safety rounds into the body. FOUR KIDS are cowering in the corner. Jared moves them out of the house.", "EXT. COMPOUND - DIEGO CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS The rest of the P51 SEALS breach a gate to the courtyard of the Main House. The gate flies open in a fiery ball. CUT TO :", "EXT. COMPOUND WALLS OUTSIDE MAIN GATE - CONTINUOUS SEALs jump out of P52, rush to the outer wall and set breaching charges on a gate... While Hakim, the DOG HANDLER, and another SEAL peel off down the block Saber and his team stand by as BOOM!! !, The gate charges go off... only to reveal a BRICK WALL behind the gate. SABER That's not a door. SEAL Failed breach. They hustle to the next entry way and prepare another breach CUT TO :", "EXT. MAIN HOUSE - COURTYARD The COMMANDING OFFICER hears that the SEALs outside are preparing a charge. SEAL MIKE radios in SEAL MIKE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- This is Echo 11, we're going to breach the main gate. COMMANDING OFFICER -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- Negative. I'm internal, I'll let you in. The Commanding Officer opens the gate and the other SEALs walk inside. As a group, they move towards the main house, arriving at the South side front door. The door is open and they enter -", "INT. MAIN HOUSE FIRST FLOOR - CONTINUOUS Piercing the first floor darkness with their infra red lights, the SEALs advance slowly into the first floor hallway. Piles of household clutter, stacked high in bizarre shapes, greet them like the innards of a haunted house. One of the SEAL's catches movement : A figure with an AK-47 scrambling through clutter, then disappearing around a corner. JUSTIN Abrar! The figure, Abu Ahmed's brother, ABRAR, re-appears at the end of the hallway. He pokes his head out - - And is shot by Justin. He falls out of view, whimpering in pain.", "INT. MAIN HOUSE - FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS Justin walks quickly to Abrar.", "INT. MAIN HOUSE - FIRST FLOOR SIDE ROOM - CONTINUOUS ABRAR is down, bleeding. - Justin fires another round into Abrar as ABRAR'S WIFE comes flying in from the sleeping quarters and shields him with her body. - Justin shoots her. She falls... Abrar is underneath her - he is still breathing, gasping and - Justin shoots him again, silencing him - Then looks to his wife and assesses her condition - Badly wounded, faint breathing, life fading from her eyes... - Justin turns away", "INT. MAIN HOUSE - FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS Justin and a BREACHER proceed down the hall to the heavy gate that blocks access to the stairway while another SEAL stays behind. Somewhere, children are screaming. JUSTIN Shut those fucking kids up. O.S. the kids quiet down. JUSTIN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Talk to me. BREACHER There's no fucking way we want to blow this thing. The gate is solid. MIKE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- OVER RADIO -RRB- This is Echo 11 - we're at our primary set point, prepping to breach. JUSTIN -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- Wait, Echo 11 - we're internal on the south side - this is a negative breach. MIKE -LRB- OVER RADIO -RRB- Roger. We're ready to make our entry out here. JUSTIN -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- Roger that, we're coming to meet you. -LRB- to the Breacher -RRB- Stay with these kids. Do n't let them in the back room. CUT TO :", "EXT. MAIN HOUSE - A MOMENT LATER In the regrouping that occurs on the side of the main house, Justin and Patrick find themselves side by side - and the old friends take a moment to reconnect while the rest of the team places charges and prepares for the next phase of the assault. PATRICK -LRB- QUIETLY -RRB- You good? JUSTIN Yeah. I forgot... were we supposed to crash that helo? Patrick allows himself a smile. PATRICK Ibrahim tried to shoot me through the door. I popped him from the outside. JUSTIN I fucking smoked Abrar and his wife. -LRB- SHIFTING TONE -RRB- alt : I think she was PREGNANT PATRICK Still alive? JUSTIN She's gon na bleed out. PATRICK What a fuckin' mess - The door blows - and they keep moving -", "INT. MAIN HOUSE - FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS The SEALs reach the staircase, which is sealed off by a separate metal gate than the one inside the hallway. SEAL Breacher up. A charge is prepared. Justin, who is now inside one of the side rooms, sees Jared standing close to the door. JUSTIN Hey man, move! Jared moves just as -", "EXT. MAIN HOUSE FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS - Boooom! -- The door FLIES like a missile right into where Jared had been standing. JARED -LRB- TO JUSTIN -RRB- Thanks. JUSTIN Yeah. CUT TO :", "INT. MAIN HOUSE - STAIRCASE TO SECOND FLOOR - CONTINUOUS Saber goes up the staircase, Patrick following closely behind him, climbing up to see -", "INT. MAIN HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR - CONTINUOUS A man ducks out of sight. Saber calls to him. SABER Khaled! Saber waits with his carbine raised. Anxiety crosses his face. He's vulnerable here, an easy target if Khaled were to come out blasting. SABER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- KHALED! CUT TO :", "INT. SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY Khaled hears his name being called from below. A few feet away from him in the dimly lit hall is a loaded AK-47. He goes to the gun and picks it up. He hears his name again, `` Khaled!'' And the voice sounds friendly, urgent. Perhaps thinking that he can surrender peacefully, Khaled puts the gun down, resting it against a wall, and turns and heads back to the sound of his name. Saber sees Khaled poke his head around the corner of the stairway and fires - killing him instantly. Saber pushes past the body, Patrick following, and they climb the staircase leading to the third floor. CUT TO :", "EXT. COMPOUND - STREET The neighborhood, awakened by the crash and gunfire, stirs to life. Hakim and the SEALs notice LIGHTS flipping on. And down the block, a group of several young men appear on a roof. SEAL -LRB- raising his weapon -RRB- This is Echo 05, I've got unknowns gathering on the Southwest Rooftops. Hakim, move those guys back. HAKIM -LRB- speaking in Pashto -RRB- Go back brothers, this is official government business, and there is nothing to see here!! SEAL I'm going to start wasting them. HAKIM Please! They will kill you! The onlookers pause. SEAL aiming lasers dance across their chests. HAKIM -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- They will kill you! They turn and go.", "INT. MAIN HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR - HALLWAY - SEALs clear the SECOND floor as women and children flow into the hallway... A SEAL grabs one of the wives and pulls her out into the hallway, while another female disappears behind a large REFRIGERATOR, and he grabs her too.", "INT. MEDIA ROOM - SECOND FLOOR - CONTINUOUS Justin opens a file cabinet, stuffed with documents.", "INT. MAIN HOUSE SECOND TO THIRD FLOOR STAIRWAY Saber is climbing the stairs, gun up, towards the third floor, when he sees a flash of movement across the landing above him. He stops climbing and - SABER -LRB- CALLING OUT -RRB- Osama! Osama!? Beat. Beat. Sweat on Saber's face SABER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Osama!? A man appears at the end of the third floor hallway. -- Ssssht! a bullet strikes him in the head - knocking him back into a bedroom - Saber fires again, missing - And proceeds down the hallway, going full speed now, Patrick right behind him, sprinting into the bedroom", "INT. MAIN HOUSE OSAMA'S LIVING QUARTERS Two women stand at the entrance of the room. Saber rushes them and with a football tackle, slams them into the wall. Patrick enters the room and fires several rounds into the man on the floor. PATRICK -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- Possible jackpot. The women Saber is restraining are wailing, struggling to get to their husband, as a ten year-old boy rushes up to the body. Patrick pushes him away and kneels down to get a better look at the body. PATRICK -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- TO SABER -RRB- Dude, do you realize what you just did? CUT TO :", "INT. MAIN HOUSE - THIRD FLOOR ROOM - HALLWAY JARED questions the wives. JARED -LRB- IN ARABIC -RRB- Who is he? WOMAN He is al Noori Hasan. JARED -LRB- shouting back to PATRICK -RRB- She says it's not him. PATRICK Talk to a kid. Jared kneels down next to a nine year-old girl huddled in the corner and snaps open a chem light. He gives her the glowing green wand. JARED -LRB- IN ARABIC -RRB- Daughter, what is his name? The girl makes no reply. CUT TO :", "INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - EVENING COMMANDING OFFICER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- through the radio -RRB- For God and Country, Geronimo. Maya gasps.", "EXT. DIEGO CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS The Commanding Officer issues orders. COMMANDING OFFICER -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- All Stations : target secure, target secure.", "INT. THIRD FLOOR - MASTER BEDROOM PATRICK -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- Roger. Copy. Target Secure. COMMANDING OFFICER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Target Secure - commence SSE.", "INT. SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM Justin flicks on the lights. Moving fast he picks up a COMPUTER tower and throws it to the floor, cracking it open, rips out the HARD DRIVE and tosses that into the bag. As we pull back and realize the enormity of the task in front of him - The lights show an organized office, crammed with information, stacks of files, disks, video equipment. Twenty years of jihad. JUSTIN -LRB- to his team -RRB- Do not leave a hard drive. The SEALs gather everything they can.", "INT. MAIN HOUSE - THIRD TO SECOND FLOOR STAIRWAY Saber walks down the staircase in a daze. We stay with him as he descends, noting the faraway look in his eyes -", "INT. MAIN HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM Saber walks into the office where the SSE ( Sensitive Sight Exploitation ) is underway. JUSTIN -LRB- TO SABER -RRB- What's up? SABER I shot the third floor guy. JUSTIN Good for you. You want to help? Justin tosses him an SSE bag. CUT TO :", "INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - EVENING The command team studies their monitors. PRINCE 52 PILOT -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- OVER RADIO -RRB- QRF inbound. CUT TO :", "EXT. DIEGO CORRIDOR The COMMANDING OFFICER is talking on two radios at once - one to his men, the other to brass back at Jalalabad base. COMMANDING OFFICER -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- Echo 05, this is Red 02, how long do you need for SSE?", "INT. SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM JUSTIN -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- At least ten minutes.", "EXT. DIEGO CORRIDOR COMMANDING OFFICER -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- You have four.", "INT. SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM JUSTIN -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- This is a gold mine, I need more time than that.", "EXT. DIEGO CORRIDOR COMMANDING OFFICER -LRB- INTO RADIO -RRB- If you're not at the LZ in four, I'm going to leave your ass behind.", "INT. SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM Justin yells to his team. JUSTIN Four minutes! CUT TO :", "EXT. HELO CRASH Hakim arrives at the crashed helo. He crawls into the interior and finds a BLACK BODY BAG. We follow this bag :", "INT. MAIN HOUSE FIRST FLOOR Hakim jogs into the main house with the BODY BAG, and through his POV, we see slow down for the first time since the raid began, noting the destruction : - blood stains on the walls, - Bodies pierced with bullets, - Wailing children. HAKIM -LRB- INTO COMS -RRB- Where do you need the bag? SEAL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Third floor. CUT TO :", "INT. THIRD FLOOR - MASTER BEDROOM SEALs roll the body into the BAG as Patrick and another SEAL collect articles of interest. Two SEALs zip up the bag and carry it out. Just as...", "INT. MEDIA ROOM - SECOND FLOOR Justin's team leaves the office.", "EXT. MAIN COURTYARD - A MOMENT LATER The body bag is laid in the courtyard.", "EXT. HELO CRASH - CONTINUOUS The EOD SEAL slides into the belly of Prince 51. While he places charges, another SEAL climbs up to affix charges to the roof and rotors... and like a tight roper, he walks out on the tail of the helicopter, when suddenly his foot slips, piercing the tail's thin skin, and he nearly falls off. He manages to place a last charge - but the remainder of the tail piece will not be detonated.", "EXT. COMPOUND - POTATO FIELD Back at the whirling helicopter, the SEALs shove the BODY BAG into the interior compartment and jump in after it. The helo rises into the night. CUT TO :", "EXT. HELO CRASH - CONTINUOUS PRINCE 51 explodes, sending shrapnel and a fireball high into the air", "EXT./INT PRINCE 52 - CONTINUOUS The SEALs watch the flames as the compound shrinks beneath THEM", "EXT. COMPOUND - ANIMAL PEN - CONTINUOUS The fire of the exploded crashed helo blazes in the night.", "INT. PRINCE 52 - A MOMENT LATER The SEALs sit silent in the cabin, body bag at their feet. CUT TO :", "EXT. LANDING ZONE - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - LATER Bathed in the bright white lights, Maya waits for the helo. Concern on her face. At last, she hears it. A moment later, PRINCE 52 hovers into view and lands. Patrick and several SEALs run out, carrying the bag...", "INT. HANGAR The place is swarming with SOLDIERS, SEALs, and FBI agents with large bio-metric scanners - loud shouting everywhere : `` mark media, first floor, who has a pen, etc.''", "EXT. LANDING ZONE Maya makes her way towards the hangar tent.", "INT. HANGAR She pushes through the busy SEALs. Maya sees it now - way in the corner of the hangar. She walks and walks towards the bag. She is alone with it now. She unzips the BAG CU : Maya. Seven years telescoping to this moment. The end of a journey. She stares at the body for a moment then turns to look across the room where ADMIRAL MCRAVEN meets her eye. She nods. ADMIRAL MCRAVEN -LRB- INTO PHONE -RRB- Sir, the agency expert gave a visual confirmation. Yes, Sir, the girl. Hundred percent. Maya gazes at the bloodied face, then turns away and zips the bag... and leaves the tent. Her eyes afire. CUT TO :", "EXT. JALALABAD AIRSTRIP - EARLY DAWN Maya waits on the tarmac, alone. A C-17, one of the largest most impressive planes in the American fleet, rolls to a stop and the hatch opens. She climbs the ladder -", "INT. C-17 - CONTINUOUS The cavernous cargo plane is empty of passengers. The pilot motions to the seats. PILOT Are you Maya? MAYA Yeah. PILOT That's the only name they gave me. -LRB- ODD -RRB- You can sit wherever you want, you're the only one on the manifest. Maya sits down, buckles in. The PILOT heads back to the CABIN PILOT -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You must be pretty important, you got the whole plane to yourself! Beat. PILOT -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Where do you want to go? She's speechless. Overwhelmed. Finally, she lets go. Those luminous eyes become pools of relief and pain. CUT TO : BLACK"], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "Maya Harris is a CIA analyst tasked with finding the al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. In 2003, she is stationed at the U.S. embassy in Pakistan. She and CIA officer Dan Fuller attend the black site interrogations of Ammar (Reda Kateb), a detainee with suspected links to several of the hijackers in the September 11 attacks and who is subjected to approved torture interrogation techniques. Ammar provides unreliable information on a suspected attack in Saudi Arabia, but reveals the name of the personal courier for bin Laden, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti. Other detainee intelligence connects courier traffic by Abu Ahmed between Abu Faraj al-Libbi and bin Laden. In 2005, Faraj denies knowing about a courier named Abu Ahmed; Maya interprets this as an attempt by Faraj to conceal the importance of Abu Ahmed. In 2009, Maya's fellow officer and friend Jessica travels to a US base in Afghanistan to meet a Jordanian doctor, highly placed in al-Qaeda, who has offered to become a US spy for $25 million. Instead, he turns out to be a triple agent loyal to al-Qaeda, and Jessica is killed, along with several other CIA officers, when he detonates a suicide vest in what will come to be known as the Camp Chapman attack, the worst attack on CIA personnel in 25 years. Thomas, an analyst who linked the Abu Ahmed lead, shares with Maya an interrogation of a Jordanian detainee claiming to have buried Abu Ahmed in 2001. Maya learns what the CIA was told five years earlier: Ibrahim Sayeed traveled under the name of Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti. Realizing her lead may be alive, Maya contacts Dan, now a senior officer at the CIA headquarters. She speculates that the CIA's photograph of Ahmed is that of his brother, Habeeb, who was killed in Afghanistan. Maya says that their beards and native clothes make the brothers look alike, explaining the account of Ahmed's \"death\" in 2001. A Kuwaiti prince trades the phone number of Sayeed's mother to Dan for a Lamborghini Gallardo Bicolore. Maya and her CIA team in Pakistan use electronic methods to eventually pinpoint a caller in a moving vehicle who exhibits behaviors that delay confirmation of his identity (which Maya calls tradecraft, thus confirming that the subject is likely a senior courier). They track the vehicle to a large urban compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. After gunmen attack Maya while she is in her vehicle, she is recalled to Washington, D.C. as her cover is believed blown. The CIA puts the compound under surveillance, but obtains no conclusive identification of bin Laden. The President's National Security Advisor tasks the CIA with creating a plan to capture or kill bin Laden. Before briefing President Barack Obama, the CIA director holds a meeting of his senior officers, who estimate that bin Laden is 60\u201380% likely to be in the compound. Maya, also in the meeting, places her confidence at 100%. On May 2, 2011, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment flies two stealth helicopters from Afghanistan into Pakistan with members of DEVGRU and the CIA's Special Activities Division to raid the compound. The SEALs gain entry and kill a number of people in the compound, including a man whom they believe is bin Laden. At a U.S. base in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Maya confirms the identity of the corpse. She boards a military transport back to the U.S., the sole passenger. She is asked where she wants to go and begins to cry.", "name": "Zero_Dark_Thirty"}
{"scenes": ["`` I now predict that I was wrong.'' STEPHEN HAWKING RUN OPENING TITLES OVER : INT. EMPIRE ROOM, BUCKINGHAM PALACE - DAY (LATE 1980'S) TWO BESPECTACLED EYES. Blinking. Alert. Male. Middle-aged. Reflected in his shiny GLASSES - a WOMAN, middle-aged, ( JANE HAWKING ) removing the glasses from his nose. CUT TO : The MAN's POV, as - - his vision goes from FOCUSED to BLURRY as the GLASSES are removed. - his BLURRY POV of the WOMAN's hands POLISHING his glasses with a cloth. - his BLURRY POV then shifts ( as she steps aside ) onto a SMALL PERSON in the distance jumping up and down. - his BLURRY POV of the GLASSES then being replaced on his nose, and - - with this, his VISION comes abruptly into FOCUS, and the SMALL PERSON is revealed to be -- a BOY ( 10 ) playing HOPSCOTCH in the RED-CARPETED CORRIDOR. - Beyond the BOY, TWO RED-COATED EQUERRIES begin ( unceremoniously ) to prepare the HALLWAY for a ceremony. They lay out potted-plants and drape velvet ropes. One blows his nose. TIGHT ON : The eyes behind the glasses watching, his eyes finally looking downward... as we hear a metallic CLICKING sound - `` CLICK, CLICK, CLICK...'' - ANGLE ON : HIS HAND, which is clicking a CLICKER-PLATE... - then on a COMPUTER MONITOR ( mounted to the CHAIR ), words form out of a streaming alphabet with each'CLICK'. The man is at work, selecting LETTERS, then WHOLE WORDS from a MENU... making sentences by these means. - OTHER PARTIAL VIEWS ( ECUs ) of this MAN in his WHEELCHAIR. We see... a TUFT of BROWN HAIR... his HAND on chair arm-rest... his FEET on a wheelchair's foot-rests... JANE's HANDS arrange the BROWN HAIR... adjust his THIN ARMS... but never do we see the full man, as - - the TWO EQUERRIES open TWO LARGE ORNATE DOORS and motion the PARTY forward. TIGHT ON : the MAN's HAND, pushing a TOGGLE-STICK CONTROLLER, putting the CHAIR in motion, to the sound of a small electric motor. END OPENING TITLES - TIGHT ON : The WHEELS of the WHEELCHAIR, turning... MATCH CUT TO :", "EXT. CAMBRIDGE STREETS - DAY (EARLY-MID 1960'S) ... the FRONT WHEEL of STEPHEN's BICYCLE, SPINNING VERY VERY FAST... STEPHEN HAWKING ( in his early 20s ) and his friend, BRIAN ( same age ), race each other recklessly through the NARROW, WINDING LANES. It looks VERY DANGEROUS. They are neck and neck. And they are loving it. STEPHEN HAWKING, his face almost entirely covered with spectacles and floppy hair, slight of frame, a velvet jacket and velvet bow tie, eccentric-looking. STEPHEN is a fun- loving, playful, active, young student. BRIAN, STEPHEN's best friend. More interested in life than studies, as we shall see.", "EXT. STUDENT PARTY,CAMBRIDGE - DUSK STEPHEN and BRIAN arrive at the party, dismount at speed and, running to a walk, crash their BIKES into a HEDGE. BRIAN wins the race, raises arms aloft as - they enter the PARTY. We follow them in... ( CONTINUOUS SHOT )", "INT. STUDENT PARTY,CAMBRIDGE - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS ... STEPHEN and BRIAN enter, and the CAMERA finally follows them into the main room of the PARTY. STEPHEN and BRIAN come to a halt in the doorway as they OBSERVE - - a CROWDED ROOM engaged in lively bubbly conversation. In the background suitably elegant music plays. BRIAN First to find a drink. STEPHEN and BRIAN make their way through the GUESTS, looking for the BAR. BRIAN eyes the PRETTY GIRLS he passes... BRIAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'm sure the secret of the universe has something to do with sex. There you go -- why do n't you do your doctorate on that? The physics of love. STEPHEN More your field, I think. BRIAN You'd better decide on your subject. I'm serious -- they'll boot you out. They reach the PUNCH-BOWL. BRIAN tastes the PUNCH with his finger, and UNIMPRESSED, fills TWO GLASSES. CUT TO : A YOUNG WOMAN, JANE WILDE, ( 18 ) arrives at the door with her friend DIANA. DIANA is unimpressed by the party. JANE, shy, has her hair up in a fashionable bouffant roll. DIANA is more vivacious, and touches up her lipstick. DIANA Scientists! Do n't worry. We do n't have to stay long. Looks mortifyingly dull. -LRB- seeing a boy -RRB- Oh, hang on -- -LRB- waves to the boy -RRB- Be right back, okay? Okay? JANE nods, as DIANA goes over to GREET the boy and then walk off together with him into the crowd. ANGLE ON : JANE, marooned. CUT TO : At the PUNCH-BOWL, drinking punch. STEPHEN I applied for a job. BRIAN Did you? STEPHEN Civil Service. BRIAN Well, it's a back-up plan -- in your case not a bad idea. Did they accept you? ANGLE ON : STEPHEN's POV of JANE, standing across the room, now holding a WINE-GLASS. STEPHEN Unfortunately, that I'll never know. Morning of their exam, I... -LRB- smiles -RRB- BRIAN - slept in. Well, thank Christ, the world has lost a promising pay- clerk. BRIAN holds out a FULL PUNCH GLASS for STEPHEN but STEPHEN still has his eye on JANE. BRIAN follows STEPHEN's GAZE as - - STEPHEN and JANE's eyes meet. They hold this look, until she shyly looks away. BRIAN has observed this exchange. BRIAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- LATIN -RRB- Quo est femella? STEPHEN I was going to ask you. BRIAN Actually -- I think she's -- yes -- Basil's sister. Wilde -- Jane Wilde. -LRB- RUSSIAN ACCENT -RRB- `` So. You like for me I introduce?'' STEPHEN contemplates this, as we - CUT TO : DIANA changes the RECORD - to BOP JAZZ. GUESTS immediately take the DANCE-FLOOR and start DANCING. DIANA returns to JANE. DIANA That's better. JANE Who is that guy? DIANA -LRB- looking at Stephen -RRB- Oh. He's strange, clever, goes on Ban The Bomb marches. -LRB- spying another boy -RRB- Oh, there's David. Come on. DIANA goes over to DAVID, but JANE stays where she is. CUT TO : BRIAN walks off to talk to another GIRL, while - - STEPHEN, left alone, decides to slowly approach JANE. JANE has hardly touched her wine. STEPHEN has a beer. They look around the room together, and then - STEPHEN Hello. JANE Hello. STEPHEN Science? JANE Arts. More silence. They look elsewhere. JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- So what do you-? STEPHEN Cosmologist. I'm a cosmologist. JANE What's a cosmologist? STEPHEN It's a kind of religion -- for intelligent atheists. -LRB- SUSPICIOUSLY -RRB- You're not religious, are you? JANE C of E. Church of England. STEPHEN -LRB- SIMULTANEOUSLY -RRB- - England. -LRB- SMILES CHEEKILY -RRB- I suppose someone has to be. JANE is not sure whether to take offence. JANE So -- what do cosmologists worship then? STEPHEN -LRB- GRINS -RRB- A single unifying equation that explains everything in the universe. JANE -LRB- AMUSED -RRB- Really? So what's the equation? STEPHEN smiles. STEPHEN That is the question. CUT TO : The NEEDLE on the RECORD PLAYER now drops onto a ROLLING STONES record - `` TIME IS ON OUR SIDE'' Few people remain at the party now. The tables are empty - the food is gone. The punch bowl is drained dry. DIANA is still talking to DAVID, laughing. ANGLE ON : JANE, now listening intently to STEPHEN. JANE Why did n't you stay at Oxford? STEPHEN My finals papers were such a shambles the examiners called me in for a'Viva' and I told them - JANE What's a viva? STEPHEN A mildly terrifying face-to-face thingy. An interrogation. So I told them that if they gave me a 2nd class degree I'd stay with them and do my research at Oxford, but if they gave me the 1st I needed to get into Cambridge, then they'd never have to see me again. JANE They gave you the 1st. STEPHEN They gave me the 1st. JANE laughs. STEPHEN grins - it's a GREAT GRIN, as - - DIANA approaches. DIANA This party is officially deceased! Come on -- I've fixed you up a ride home. DAVID and DAVID's HANDSOME FRIEND wait by the door. JANE barely has time to speak before she is dragged away by DIANA. JANE Well, I hope you find your equation. STEPHEN stands there, forlorn. But then JANE returns, stuffs something in his hand, and then runs away. It's a NAPKIN. On it - a PHONE NUMBER. He stares at it, delighted, so much so that he taps one foot.", "INT. SEMINAR ROOM/TRINITY HALL/CAMBRIDGE - DAY STEPHEN reads a CHESS BOOK that lies on his LAP out of sight under the table, while the professor, DR. DENNIS SCIAMA, ( LATE 30s ), with a wicked smirk on his face, passes out a set of mathematical problems to BRIAN, CARTER, ELLIS, REES and several other YOUNG PHYSICISTS. SCIAMA A little challenge for you all, as you embark on your separate doctoral journeys - -LRB- handing paper to STEPHEN -RRB- - whatever they may be, Mr Hawking - STEPHEN looks up, winces, knowing he's way behind schedule. SCIAMA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Something to sort -- the men from the boys -- the wheat from the chaff -- the mesons from the pi-mesons -- the quarks from the quacks -- ten questions -- each more impregnable than the last. Good luck. You'll need it. Shall we say, Friday 3 o'clock? BRIAN -LRB- aside, gloomy, to STEPHEN -RRB- This is going to hospitalize me. STEPHEN crumples the paper in his pocket and continues to read the CHESS BOOK as he shuffles out of the tutorial.", "EXT. QUAD/ TRINITY HALL / CAMBRIDGE UNI. - DAY BRIAN runs across the QUAD.", "INT. STEPHEN'S ROOM/DORM, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY - DAY (1963) BRIAN knocks, enters, finds STEPHEN asleep in bed. BRIAN Oh come on, get up. How many have you got? BRIAN goes to STEPHEN's desk, looking through papers to find his answers. How many have you done? STEPHEN Morning, Brian. BRIAN Afternoon, Stephen. Where are they? Where are you hiding them? Your answers. STEPHEN Brian, I have no idea what you're talking about. BRIAN How many of Sciama's questions have you done? STEPHEN None. BRIAN You liar! STEPHEN I was going do them later. BRIAN Later? You mean you have n't even started? Beat. BRIAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Stephen, are you aware you have voluntarily embarked on a PHD in physics at one of the most prestigious colleges in England? STEPHEN Yes. BRIAN Oh, good. Thought maybe you'd slept through the induction or something. BRIAN starts to leave STEPHEN -LRB- to Brian at the door -RRB- Bri-? BRIAN What? STEPHEN Can you whip on some Wagner? BRIAN Sod off. BRIAN exits, giving up on his pal. STEPHEN, hung-over, sits on his bed and yawns. He gets out of bed and turns on his ANCIENT TAPE-MACHINE. WAGNER starts to play, loudly. Later. Pouring milk into a cup of TEA, while listening to a TAPED RECORDING of `` THE RING CYCLE'' by Wagner, and still in his pyjamas, the dishevelled STEPHEN digs out the QUESTIONS from a pile of TRASH on his desk. First he finds all manner of chocolate wrappers, concert tickets, etc, until he finally settles down with a clean pad and a pencil. He looks at the clock. It reads -- 1:00PM. He sighs and looks out his window at teeming university life, as he ponders. He then starts to WRITE on a PAD, rapidly, effortlessly, the CALCULATIONS pouring out of him, his writing hand adroit and swift. Distracted, he then reaches for his TEA and clumsily KNOCKS THE CUP OVER. The tea washes over his only pad. He hurriedly wipes it off, but it's too late. He looks around for another pad, but to no avail.", "INT. SEMINAR ROOM, TRINITY COLLEGE - DAY The PhD STUDENTS are gathered, minus STEPHEN as SCIAMA hands back the classes answers. SCIAMA -LRB- PASSING PAPER -RRB- John, this so illegible I'm not quite sure how wrong it is -- I suspect very -- and Brian...  -LRB- TOSSING PAPERS -RRB-... that's just -- baffling. STEPHEN arrives late - SCIAMA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Stephen, glad you could join us. STEPHEN Sorry. STEPHEN sets TWO TRAIN TIMETABLES on the table. Others push the TIME-TABLES down the desk to SCIAMA, who picks them up. SCIAMA Train timetables? Stephen, these are totally unacceptable -- they expired a month ago. Laughter. STEPHEN Sorry. It's on the back. Had a little accident. SCIAMA turns them over and looks at them. TIGHT ON : the TIMETABLES, then are filled with tiny formulas and calculations. SCIAMA registers growing amazement, then looks up at STEPHEN - STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I could only do nine. End on SCIAMA and fellow students reaction - startled, speechless, everyone staring at STEPHEN. SCIAMA Well... I see... well thank God. Well done Stephen. BRIAN -LRB- SILENTLY MOUTHS -RRB- Nine?", "EXT. RIVER - DAY OARS powerfully cut the WATER as a TWO-BOAT PRACTICE RACE unfolds. The TWO CREWS are from the same CLUB. PAN DOWN one BOAT : EIGHT LARGE POWERFUL ROWERS, culminating in PETE, DAN, RAFF, BRIAN and finally the thin, boyish, STEPHEN, in the role of COX, facing the rowers, calling out the stroke-rate using a coxswain's loud-hailer. STEPHEN Full, give me twenty - One, drive! - Two, drive! - Three, big legs! - Four, press! - Five, boom! - Hook, send! - Catch, big send! - Hold at 32! - Big legs, Brian! - Big legs! -LRB- MORE -RRB- STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- - Stay long, Brian! - Stay long Brian!!!... BRIAN -LRB- exhausted, speaks one word on each stroke ) You! - complete! - and! - utter! bastard!", "INT. PUB ON RIVER - DAY Rowdy tables of graduates and undergraduates and rowers, males and females. Beer flows. Playing PINBALL are BRIAN, REES, ELLIS and CARTER. STEPHEN watches, drinking a beer, distracted. CARTER No, no, listen, listen, pay attention. A man enters a lift, wanting to go to the fiftieth floor but only gets as far as the 46th. Why? BRIAN -LRB- EXHAUSTED -RRB- Erm - there was a naked girl in the lift. Collective groan. BRIAN is clipped around the ears. BRIAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Hey -- it's the closest I'll get to a unifying theory, leave me alone. ALL then silently ponder the RIDDLE. BRIAN, deep in thought himself, finally notices STEPHEN, bursting to provide the answer. BRIAN acts to SILENCE STEPHEN - BRIAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- raising a finger -RRB- Uh!!! ELLIS No -- we give up. No idea. STEPHEN He was too short to reach the button for the fiftieth floor. STEPHEN rises, triumphant, as the others groan. BRIAN Okay, I've got one. Okay, okay -- A naked girl enters a lift - STEPHEN, at the bar, opens JANE's NAPKIN. Looks at the number. STEPHEN -LRB- TO BARMAN -RRB- Do you have change for the pay- phone? BARMAN Sure. The BARMAN takes STEPHEN's POUND and glances at the NAPKIN. BARMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'd commit that number to memory if I were you. STEPHEN smiles - then glances at the mirror-backed bar. Reflected - a WOMAN who looks like JANE. Is he imagining this? TIGHT ON : STEPHEN's face : we see JANE's reflection appear and disappear in the glass of his glasses as she crosses the room. The BARMAN's voice is distant... BARMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Here you go... STEPHEN snaps out of it - stares at the BARMAN holding out CHANGE - a smile DAWNING. BARMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Sir? Are you okay? STEPHEN Uh - my napkin just walked in. CUT TO : JANE and DIANA and two other FRIENDS sit with TWO OTHER YOUNG MEN at a table. She looks reluctant and unhappy to be with them. As one YOUNG MAN pours them beers she hands her beer to someone else. And then - STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Hi. STEPHEN is not afraid to stand in front of this crowd of Girls and Jocks and stare straight at JANE. The others fall silent and stare at STEPHEN, but JANE's eyes light up. JANE Hello. REACTION : DIANA : Not impressed. STEPHEN What's the probability? JANE Reasonably low.  -LRB- TO OTHERS -RRB- Uh - this is - Stephen. He smiles at her. The OTHERS look back and forth between JANE and STEPHEN. JANE perks up, interested. STEPHEN Croquet. Do you play croquet? JANE -LRB- INTERESTED -RRB- Um. Not recently. STEPHEN Sunday morning? JANE I'm actually busy Sunday mornings. STEPHEN Oh. Of course. -LRB- POINTING HEAVEN-WARD -RRB- Him. STEPHEN turns and just walks away. JANE is perplexed, disappointed - stares at him, as do the others.", "INT. CORRIDOR/DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND THEORETICAL PHYSICS ( DAMTP ), CAMBRIDGE - DAY STEPHEN approaches SCIAMA's office, plucks up his courage, and knocks -", "INT. SCIAMA'S OFFICE/DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND THEORETICAL PHYSICS ( DAMTP ), CAMBRIDGE - DAY SCIAMA Stephen, come in. Sit down. Now -- we're all rather concerned -- about your choice of subject. What it's going to be. STEPHEN I ca n't decide. SCIAMA Any ideas? One of SCIAMA's PENS sits precariously on the edge of the desk, and in shuffling papers, knocks it off. The PEN rolls off the DESK and falls on the FLOOR in front of STEPHEN. STEPHEN stares at the PEN as it comes to a STOP. STEPHEN Umm -- No. SCIAMA studies him, rises, take a BIG OLD KEY from the desk drawer. SCIAMA Come with me.", "INT. CAVENDISH LAB, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY - DAY SCIAMA shows STEPHEN the famous lab. SCIAMA This lab is where JJ Thomson discovered the electron, where Rutherford split the atom. One of the great rewards of this job is that you never know from where the next great leap forward is going to come, or from whom. SCIAMA takes out a pen and writes on a pad, tears it off and gives it to STEPHEN. SCIAMA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Next Friday. I'm taking a few graduates of merit to London, to attend a talk by the mathematician Roger Penrose. Come along if you're interested. -LRB- EXITING -RRB- Oh, and close the door as you leave. SCIAMA exits. STEPHEN looks around at the empty LAB. He goes to the BLACKBOARD, picks up a piece of CHALK, looks at the BLANK BOARD, but then puts the CHALK back down and then begins to study, with RAPT AWE, the ancient LABORATORY EQUIPMENT.", "EXT. ANGLICAN CHURCH STEPS - DAY STEPHEN is now sitting on a STONE WALL, waiting as - - the WILDES emerge, in the SUNDAY FINERY. JANE peels off from her family to talk to STEPHEN. She is pleased to see him. JANE So I gather you've never been to church? STEPHEN Once upon a time. He smiles wryly at this Fairy Tale reference. JANE Tempted to convert? He thinks about this. STEPHEN I have a problem with the whole Celestial Dictator premise. What are you doing for lunch? Ma makes a cracking roast.", "INT. DINING ROOM, HAWKING FAMILY HOME - DAY Sunday family lunch. A noisy, eccentric, bohemian atmosphere. STEPHEN's father, FRANK opens his HOME-MADE WINE. His sister PHILIPPA ( 17 ) passes the plates. MARY ( 20 ) reads a BOOK. FRANK HAWKING And Jane? What are you studying? JANE Arts. Languages, poetry. I'm thinking of doing a PhD eventually. FRANK HAWKING Oh? What in? The HAWKINGS, impressed, nod approvingly at STEPHEN. JANE -LRB- ENCOURAGED -RRB- Medieval poetry of the Iberian Peninsula. PHILIPPA snorts back laughter, whilst the other HAWKINGS stare blankly at JANE for a moment, before silently returning to setting the table. FRANK rescues the mood - FRANK HAWKING Arts. So, what painters do you like? JANE Well, I like -- Turner... FRANK HAWKING Really? Turner? To me they all look as if they've been left out in the rain. STEPHEN laughs. JANE shoots him a surprised look, as FRANK pours a glass of wine. JANE And... William Blake. PHILLIPA Good heavens. Surely not! FRANK HAWKING -LRB- TO JANE -RRB- Will you try my elderflower wine? JANE Yes, please. STEPHEN -LRB- TO JANE -RRB- Do n't touch it, do n't touch it Jane. Enter ISOBEL, STEPHEN's mother, with a ROAST CHICKEN. As FRANK passes wine, JANE looks nervously at STEPHEN, who smiles at her. FRANK picks up the CARVING KNIFE and starts to SHARPEN it. FRANK HAWKING Stephen does n't like my homemade wine. Philistine. -LRB- TO STEPHEN -RRB- If you do n't watch out I'll send you back with a couple of bottles. PHILLIPA So Stephen, you've been to church with a good woman. Are you feeling holier than thou? STEPHEN Positively saintly, thank you. JANE -LRB- TO STEPHEN -RRB- You've never said why you do n't believe in God. STEPHEN A physicist ca n't allow his calculations to be muddled by a belief in a supernatural creator. STEPHEN smiles, pleased with himself, and his mother and father seem pleased with it too. JANE notices - JANE Sounds less of an argument against God than against physicists. JANE 1, STEPHEN O. She eats her food. FRANK HAWKING -LRB- IMPRESSED -RRB- Light or dark? -LRB- Re : the chicken -RRB- Jane? Light meat or dark? JANE Er - light, please. STEPHEN I'll wing it. As usual. The old family PUNNING game has begun. PHILLIPA Boooo. FRANK HAWKING How plucky of you. PHILLIPA Ohh, fowl play! Fowl play. STEPHEN Stop egging him on! FRANK HAWKING It's so nicely cocked. Hawking laughter. Ha! Ha! JANE is bemused. ISOBEL -LRB- sympathetic, to JANE -RRB- Do n't worry about them. They're pun mad. FRANK is about to place a slice of CHICKEN BREAST on JANE's PLATE - JANE That's okay - -LRB- TENTATIVELY -RRB- - the breast is yet to come. FRANK guffaws, as he plates her chicken. FRANK HAWKING HA! Marvelous! Very good. `` The breast is yet to come!'' Indeed it is! Well done. STEPHEN Oh! - I'm inviting Jane to be my partner for the May Ball. It's news to JANE : shocked - but then pleased as he shoots her a quick look and mouths... STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- SILENTLY MOUTHING -RRB- Will you? She SMILES and NODS, delighted.", "EXT. WILDE HOUSE - NIGHT Standing by his PARENT's CAR, STEPHEN watches ( SMITTEN ) as - - JANE, in a GORGEOUS GOWN, walks down the path toward him.", "EXT. COUNTRY ROADS - NIGHT To the blaring strains of WAGNER, the HAWKING car careens across the countryside.", "EXT. GONVILLE & CAIUS COLLEGE/MAY BALL - NIGHT On the GRAND FRONT LAWN of the COLLEGE, a fairy-tale party - LIGHTS IN THE TREES, a throng of GOWNED YOUNG WOMEN, and YOUNG MEN IN BLACK TIE and TAILS, all sip CHAMPAGNE on the sequestered CROQUET LAWNS, as if from a by-gone age. A BATHTUB is full of CHAMPAGNE BOTTLES ON ICE. Through this STEPHEN and JANE drift.", "INT. GONVILLE & CAIUS COLLEGE/ MAY BALL - NIGHT STEPHEN and JANE stand and watch the swirling couples on the dance-floor, sipping PUNCH. The MAY BALL is now in full and magical swing, as couples float across the lawns before the great facade of the college. JANE Should we dance, do you think? STEPHEN Oh, no, no. Happy to observe the phenomenon -- but I ca n't possibly imagine participating. JANE I absolutely agree. I mean, who would want to dance? STEPHEN No, I'm quite serious. I do n't dance. JANE has a wistful look of disappointment. AWKWARD SILENCE. Just then - A BLUE UV LIGHT comes on. This causes great excitement on the dance-floor. All the other couples `` ooh'' and `` ahh'' and even more people take to the floor - not so, STEPHEN and JANE. STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- SOFTLY -RRB- Do you see how the men's cuffs and shirt-fronts, how they glow more than the dresses? JANE -LRB- smiles, expectant -RRB- Yes... STEPHEN Do you know why? JANE Why? STEPHEN `` TIDE.'' JANE The washing powder? STEPHEN The fluorescence in the washing powder is caught by the UV light. JANE Why do you know that? STEPHEN -LRB- GRINS -RRB- When stars are born and when they die, they emit UV radiation. So if we could see the night sky in ultraviolet light, almost all the stars would disappear -- and all we'd see would be these spectacular births and deaths. And I reckon -- it would look a little - JANE stares at the glowing swirling people with STEPHEN's eyes. JANE - like that. They watch, impressed, as - FIREWORKS are suddenly heard, EXPLODING LOUDLY.", "EXT. TERRACE/LAWNS/RIVERBANK - G&C COLLEGE - NIGHT (1963) MONTAGE : A ) A FIRE-WORK DISPLAY - STEPHEN and JANE watch as SKY- ROCKETS light up the sky. B ) A CAROUSEL - JANE and STEPHEN ride the CAROUSEL. STEPHEN watches JANE, captivated by her happiness in this moment. C ) A CHAMPAGNE TENT - JANE selects a FLUTE OF CHAMPAGNE and takes a BIG SIP, to the sound of a NEARBY 1920's CHICAGO JAZZ SWING band. The GATSBY-THEMED BAR-STAFF are dressed in 1920's TUXEDOS and FLAPPER-DRESSES. STEPHEN So why...  -LRB- PASSING CHAMPAGNE -RRB-... why... JANE Why? STEPHEN Why medieval Spanish poetry? JANE surveys the gay party, sipping her champagne - JANE -LRB- HAPPILY -RRB- I suppose I like to time travel. STEPHEN And what particular time periods do you visit? JANE takes the CHAMPAGNE STEPHEN has just chosen and pours half of his into her glass. JANE The Twenties is always fun. STEPHEN The roaring twenties! Cheers! They CLINK GLASSES and sip their champagne, laughing. STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- So -- The 1920's. A good time for poetry was it? JANE `` Seek then/ No learning/ from Starry Men! / Who follow with Optic Glass/ The Whirling Ways of Stars that Pass.'' STEPHEN Ouch. JANE Was it - They move off across the NEARBY DANCE-FLOOR, and PASS the JAZZ BAND en route to the LIGHTED FOOT-BRIDGE spanning a river under which LIGHTED PUNTS drift by. JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- - was it a good time for science? STEPHEN A smashing time actually. Spacetime was born. JANE Spacetime... STEPHEN Space and Time finally got together. People always thought they were too dissimilar, could n't possibly work out. But then along comes Einstein, the ultimate match- maker, and decided that space and time, not only had a future, but had been married all along. JANE The perfect couple! They arrive at the FOOT-BRIDGE, with its view of the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. PUNTS with CATHERINE WHEELS are moored nearby. D ) FOOT-BRIDGE. JANE and STEPHEN stop in the middle of the bridge. STEPHEN looks up at the STARS, bright, sparkling. JANE does the same. STEPHEN Well that's astonishing, is n't it? Silence, then - JANE -LRB- SERIOUSLY -RRB- `` In the beginning was the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form, and darkness -- darkness was upon the face of the deep.'' STEPHEN, moved, looks at her. STEPHEN Would you dance with me? He takes her hand and starts to DANCE with her to the music, and then tilts his head and KISSES her. CAMERA pulls back to reveal the couple kissing on the FOOTBRIDGE, the punts floating underneath, the night magical, the lovely slow jazz drifting over the scene.", "EXT. FRONT DOOR / WILDE FAMILY HOUSE - DAY MORNING LIGHT on the WILDE FRONT DOOR. JANE, in bathrobe, opens the door to get the MILK. Looks down. PAN down to - a BOX of `` TIDE'' WASHING POWDER. She picks it up - looks around for STEPHEN - smiles, delighted - IN LOVE.", "EXT. PLATFORM, CAMBRIDGE TRAIN STATION - DAY SCIAMA and STEPHEN and PHYSICISTS 1,2 and 3 arrive late on the platform. The train is already pulling in. SCIAMA, and the OTHER THREE all run for it. But STEPHEN is making his way up the steps, not running - putting on a brave face. When STEPHEN arrives, just in time, the PHYSICISTS 1,2,3, pull STEPHEN on to the train.", "INT. MOVING TRAIN COMPARTMENT - DAY As they whistle along, English countryside in the background. SCIAMA studies STEPHEN then returns his attention to his newspaper when he meets his eyes.", "INT. KING'S COLLEGE CLASSROOM -   LONDON - DAY ROGER PENROSE, MATHEMATICIAN, gives a passionate talk before a small audience in a small room. The blackboard is crammed with calculations and diagrams. ROGER PENROSE So what do we know? Let me rephrase that -- what do the equations tell us, finally? He turns the blackboard over. A blank board. ROGER PENROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- How about a simple diagram? Smiles, small laughter from the audience. STEPHEN looks especially relieved. ROGER PENROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- A star, more than three times the size of our sun... He draws a circle on the board. ROGER PENROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... ought to end its life, how? With a collapse, the gravitational forces of the entire mass overcoming the electromagnetic forces of individual atoms, and so collapsing inwards. If the star is massive enough, it will continue this collapse, creating a black hole - where the warping of spacetime is so great that nothing can escape... not even light. It gets... He draws a smaller circle, inside the first. ROGER PENROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Smaller, smaller... An even smaller circle. ROGER PENROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The star, in fact, gets denser as atoms -- even subatomic particles -- get literally crushed, smashed into smaller and smaller space. And at its end point what are we left with? He draws a point. ROGER PENROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- A point. A spacetime singularity... STEPHEN is captivated. ROGER PENROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- With extraordinary properties! Infinite density. Space and time come to a stop. All of the known laws of science -- they just stop working. -LRB- MORE -RRB- ROGER PENROSE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What I've just shown is that this happens in every black hole. Its really happening, out there. To real stars -- and its happening right now! STEPHEN smiles - seeing his future revealed.", "INT. MOVING TRAIN COMPARTMENT - NIGHT SCIAMA and his students, returning home. As his friends talk excitedly, STEPHEN is silently staring down at the CIRCULATING COFFEE in front of him, into which he pours CREAM... SLOWLY, CLOCKWISE - the cream is spread outward by the circulating coffee until it looks like a SPIRAL GALAXY. As he stares, deep in thought, the SPIRAL of CREAM pulses with LIGHT - he is having an epiphany here - a major insight...... and then TIME GOES INTO REVERSE. As it does so, the CREAM CHANGES DIRECTION, goes ANTI-CLOCKWISE now, the SPIRAL once more returning to its original central dollop, and then vanishing. The coffee creamless. STEPHEN looks up... STEPHEN -LRB- TO SCIAMA -RRB- I wonder what would happen -- if -- I wonder what would happen -- Sensing his protege is on to something, perhaps even a small smile. SCIAMA Go on. If? STEPHEN If you applied Penrose's theory about black holes to -- the entire universe? SCIAMA stares at him.", "EXT. RIVERBANK, CAMBRIDGE - SUNSET STEPHEN excitedly expands on his new idea to a DELIGHTED, SMILING JANE as they WALK side by side. STEPHEN If -- if -- so -- If -- Einstein is right, if -- general relativity is correct, then the universe is expanding, yes? - JANE - Alright - STEPHEN - which means - that -- if you reverse time, the universe would get smaller and smaller. So what if -- if I reverse the process all the way to see what happened at the beginning of Time itself? The universe, smaller and smaller, denser and denser, hotter and hotter as we approach its birth. Wind back the clock... JANE grabs his hands and begins to SWIRL him around. STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What are you doing? JANE Winding back the clock! STEPHEN -LRB- LAUGHING -RRB- Is that what you're doing? JANE That's what I'm doing. STEPHEN Well keep winding! You've got quite a way to go. Keep winding, Jane! Keep winding... back to the beginning of Time... Keep winding... They SPIN faster and faster until they almost trip and only save themselves by clasping each other closely... STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- SUDDENLY SERIOUS -RRB-... until you get -", "INT. SCIAMA'S OFFICE/DAMTP, CAMBRIDGE - DAY STEPHEN at the blackboard makes a DOT on the blackboard. SCIAMA A singularity. STEPHEN A spacetime singularity. At the beginning of time. SCIAMA stares at him. STEPHEN smiles. STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The universe born from a black hole exploding. SCIAMA -LRB- FINALLY -RRB- Keep going. STEPHEN Keep going? You mean go further back, Professor? Before the universe began? SCIAMA Keep going. Develop the mathematics. STEPHEN I do n't know how. SCIAMA takes the KEY for the RUTHERFORD LAB out of the drawer and hands it to him.", "INT. RUTHERFORD LAB LECTURE HALL STEPHEN writes, inspired, formula on the famous blackboard. He stops, thinks, continues, then deletes a bit, and writes again, faster, faster, his mind racing, even as his fingers begin to betray him, growing weaker, weaker...", "EXT. TRINITY HALL, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY - DAY The swirl of CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY life. Dons on bicycles. Purposeful students. Every building looking like a STATELY HOME. STEPHEN walks quickly and excitedly, with still CHALKY FINGERS, across campus but then suddenly, trips - FALLS - falls hard. His head smashing onto the hard paving stones. His GLASSES fly off his face. He is unconscious immediately. STUDENTS rush to his aid. MONTAGE : A ) X-RAY DEPARTMENT. STEPHEN, his face GRAZED and BRUISED, lies on a tilting bed as X-rays are taken. B ) Blood is taken from his arm. C ) In a PUBLIC WARD, STEPHEN, sitting on the edge of a bed in a HOSPITAL SMOCK, turns and looks at a SICK YOUNG MAN in the next bed, who looks GRAVELY ILL. D ) Dexterity Test - Stephen struggles to bring his little finger to meet his thumb. Stephen, lying down, as the doctor violently jerks his knee up. Stephen lying prone in foetal postion as a doctor performs a lumbar puncture and extracts fluid from his spine. STEPHEN What is it? What's wrong with me? E ) STEPHEN lies in the PUBLIC WARD while the SICK YOUNG MAN in the next bed is discovered DEAD. Nurses rush the SICK YOUNG MAN away, as STEPHEN watches. He is very moved by this. F ) INT. WARD/ HOSPITAL - DAY The DOCTOR is dismissive and unsentimental. SENIOR DOCTOR It's called motor neuron disease. STEPHEN What's that? The DOCTOR, despite his unsentimental nature, draws a deep breath. This is not the speech he wants to make... SENIOR DOCTOR It's a progressive neurological disorder that destroys the cells in the brain that control essential muscle activity such as speaking, walking -- breathing -- swallowing. The signals that muscles must receive in order to move are disrupted, cut off. The result is -- gradual muscle decay, a wasting away. Eventually, the ability to control voluntary movement is -- lost -- entirely. SHOCK sets in as STEPHEN watches other patients taking EXERCISE, stretching - walking. STEPHEN Is -- is -- is there a cure? Some --? Is -- can you --? SENIOR DOCTOR Improvement should not be expected. -LRB- MORE -RRB- SENIOR DOCTOR -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- I'm afraid average life expectancy is two years. STEPHEN is rocked to the core by this news - SENIOR DOCTOR -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- There's nothing I can do for you, I'm terribly sorry. Silence. The SENIOR DOCTOR rises to go - STEPHEN Wait! What about -- what about the brain? SENIOR DOCTOR The brain is n't affected. Your thoughts wo n't change -- it's just- STEPHEN What? SENIOR DOCTOR Eventually -- no-one will know what they are. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Ever so sorry. The DOCTOR walks away. REACTION : STEPHEN, devastated. Frozen. People walk past him and he does n't move, does n't react.", "INT. BATHROOM, TRINITY HALL - DAY WATER drips in SLOW MO from an old TAP. STEPHEN lies in a bath, in a TRANCE, knees drawn up, hair wet, not moving, in a STATE OF SHOCK, as he stares at the DRIPPING TAP, until - - his eyes are drawn to his ARM where he sees a weird PHENOMENON - it's called FASCICULATION - a visible throbbing that travels underneath the skin.", "INT. COLLEGE STAIR-WELL - DAY BRIAN rushes up the SPIRAL STAIRS, past the `` BEDDER'' - a woman who looks after the STUDENTS domestic needs. BRIAN -LRB- TO BEDDER -RRB- Is he up yet?", "INT. STEPHEN'S DORM ROOM/CAMBRIDGE UNI   - DAY (EM60'S) Suddenly, a pounding on his door, and then BRIAN enters STEPHEN's room. WAGNER is playing INCREDIBLY LOUDLY on an old TAPE-DECK. BRIAN shuts it off and looks at - - STEPHEN, in the corner, in his pyjamas, his MATRESS now on the floor ( rather than on the HIGH BUNK as before ) legs drawn up, reading a book of CHESS. BRIAN `` Welcome -- to this week's episode of The Natural World, where we explain the extraordinary hibernation patterns of the rare Cambridge Physicist -- seen here in his wonderful plumage...'' Silence. BRIAN waits for STEPHEN to speak. BRIAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- So? What did they say? Your wrist. What did they say? STEPHEN I have a disease, Bri. BRIAN -LRB- WHISPERS -RRB- Is it -- venereal, Stephen? STEPHEN No. Motor neuron disease. Lou Gehrig's Disease. He was a baseball player. BRIAN Motor what? Sorry, I'm lagging behind in my pioneering work on rare automotive and baseball diseases. Come on, let's go to the pub. BRIAN tries to pull STEPHEN to his feet. STEPHEN -LRB- IMPASSIVELY -RRB- I have two years to live.  -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- Sounds strange, does n't it, when you say it out loud. BRIAN What? I -- I do n't understand. It's not possible! It's ridiculous! -LRB- MORE -RRB- BRIAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You were fine a couple of days ago.  -LRB- SILENCE -RRB- Steve? You're fine. What did they say...? STEPHEN Will you leave me Brian? BRIAN I'm sorry, look, I was just being a berk... I'm so... The BEDDER knocks and enters. BEDDER Stephen! Phone for you! It's a girl. BRIAN has no choice. He is badly shaken by the news. BRIAN Right. OK. So -- see you soon, yeah? STEPHEN does his best to smile. Brian exits. BEDDER -LRB- TO STEPHEN -RRB- She's waiting.", "INT. HALLWAY, WILDE FAMILY HOME - DAY JANE on phone. JANE Stephen? Hi. It's me. -LRB- CLICK! -RRB- Stephen? She holds the DEAD RECEIVER in her hand.", "EXT. TRINITY HALL, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY - DAY Through the swirl of UNIVERSITY life comes - JANE WILDE.", "INT. HALLWAY/STEPHEN'S DORM ROOM - DAY JANE knocks - gets no answer. JANE STEPHEN?!  -LRB- KNOCKS -RRB- STEPHEN!", "INT. STEPHEN'S ROOM / OXFORD UNIVERSITY - DAY STEPHEN, huddled against the door, refused to answer it.", "EXT. CROQUET LAWN, CAMBRIDGE - DAY JANE walks past the empty lawn.", "INT. PUB ON THE RIVER, CAMBRIDGE - DAY Full of undergraduates. JANE enters, looks around for STEPHEN. Ca n't see him. BRIAN, seated with the other YOUNG PHYSICISTS, spots her. BRIAN Jane! JANE comes up the young men. JANE Brian -- have you seen Stephen? BRIAN Jane, have a seat. JANE sits. JANE What is it? BRIAN I understand you saw him. You know he was in hospital... JANE nods, as the CAMERA pulls back from the scene, leaving BRIAN ( sensitively ) to pass the terrible news to JANE.", "INT. COMBINATION ROOM/TRINITY HALL/CAMBRIDGE - DAY JANE walks in, sees STEPHEN, slumped in an armchair watching TV in the common room. At a distance, JANE stops, shocked. He looks woebegone, depressed, physically reduced already. She summons up a cheerful demeanor, however, and advances. JANE Something educational? STEPHEN -LRB- without looking at her -RRB- Very. -LRB- MORE -RRB- STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- John is having an affair with Martha. But Martha is in love with Alan. And I think Alan is homosexual by the look of his shirts. I'm trying to work out the mathematical probability of happiness. JANE Are you close? STEPHEN It's some integer of zero, but I'm not there yet. JANE STEPHEN? STEPHEN You just missed him. He was here earlier. JANE Do n't do this. STEPHEN What? JANE Cut me off. STEPHEN Go. JANE Teach me croquet.  -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- Come on. Teach me.  -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- What is this? STEPHEN I believe you poetry under- graduate types call it...'' a slough of despond.'' JANE If you do n't get up and play a game with me I wo n't come back here again. Ever. Silence. He finally looks at her. ANGRILY he rises. And walks off ahead of her. She watches him.", "EXT. CROQUET LAWN - JANE AIMS, STRIKES, hits a FEEBLE SHOT. STEPHEN My turn. STEPHEN AIMS, HITS his BALL through the FIRST HOOP, then walks, as best he can, off toward his BALL, using his MALLET as a WALKING STICK. With his second shot he hits her BALL. He then picks up his BALL, places it beside hers so that it touches, puts his foot on his ball, then smacks his BALL HARD with his MALLET, blasting her ball down to the next hoop. He proceeds to play a MASTER GAME that will not allow JANE another shot, enlisting her ball to advance his own from HOOP to HOOP, until - - he knocks his ball and hits the finishing peg. JANE has been watching all this, her eyes FLOODING WITH TEARS, until she can bear it no longer, and walks up to him and picks up his ball, stopping the game. They stare into each others eyes, until he can bear it no longer and he walks off ( as best he can ) back to his room. She watches him, then follows determinedly.", "INT. STEPHEN'S DORM ROOM/CAMBRIDGE UNI - DAY He enters ANGRILY, SLAMS the door behind him, then tries to break a CHAIR by throwing it against the wall - just as JANE enters. STEPHEN Go away. More knocks. JANE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- STEPHEN? Let me in. Please. Please let me in.", "INT. HALLWAY/STEPHEN'S DORM/CAMBRIDGE UNI - DAY STEPHEN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Go away! JANE Are you going to talk about this or not? Silence. STEPHEN There's nothing to say -- just... ( go ) JANE Is that what you want? STEPHEN That's what I want. I have n't got time for you. So - if you care about me at all - go. JANE moves closer and closer to STEPHEN during this whole interchange - almost trapping STEPHEN, who is gallantly trying to resist being taken into her life. JANE I ca n't. STEPHEN I've got two years. I need to work. JANE I ca n't. His eyes widen. He ca n't believe his ears. He looks at her. JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I think -- I've fallen in love with you. He ca n't speak now. This STUNS him. JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I know. Strange. Inexplicable. STEPHEN You've -- you've leapt to -- a false conclusion... JANE My chances are probably -  -LRB- SHRUGS -RRB- - well, some `` integer of zero'', but I think we can make a go of this. I want us to be together, for as long as we've got. And if that's not very long then - well, that's just how it is. It will have to do. STEPHEN You do n't realise what's coming. It'll affect everything. She advances, and kisses him on the lips. He is still speechless. She stares into his eyes, with love -- JANE Your glasses are always dirty. She takes them off, cleans them on her dress. His heart is exploding with joy and hope. She slips his GLASSES gently back on his nose. JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- There. That's better. Is n't it? STEPHEN -LRB- POWERFULLY MOVED -RRB- Yes. It is.", "INT. SCIAMA'S OFFICE, DAMTP/CAMBRIDGE - DAY SCIAMA is giving a TUTORIAL to FOUR UNDERGRADS - SCIAMA... the solutions to the Schrodinger equation must vanish at the boundary of the box, so we have... STEPHEN enters - STEPHEN -LRB- cutting him off -RRB- Time! SCIAMA Time. That's your subject? Any aspect of it, in particular? STEPHEN Time. STEPHEN exits.", "INT. KITCHEN - HAWKING FAMILY HOME - NIGHT JANE is seated, watching FRANK as he ominously shuts the door. FRANK HAWKING You do n't realize what lies ahead. His life is going to be very short. So. Be careful. Science is against you. And it's not going to be a fight, Jane. It's going to be a very heavy defeat. For all of us. JANE I know -- I know what you all think. That I do n't look a terribly strong person. But I love him. And he loves me. We're going to fight this illness -- all of us.", "EXT. TRINITY HALL - CAMBRIDGE UNI- DAY SUPER-8 FOOTAGE ( MONTAGE ) of - - STEPHEN and JANE are married. They pose for their WEDDING PHOTO, STEPHEN in black suit, tie, leaning on a SINGLE WALKING STICK ; JANE in white, happy, as - - FLOWER PETALS drift down on them. Supered on BLUE sky : `` TWO YEARS LATER'' ____________________________________________________________", "EXT. STEPHEN & JANE'S HOUSE, LITTLE ST MARY'S LANE, CAMBRIDGE - DAY SUPER-8 FOOTAGE ( MONTAGE ) of - - a small terrace house - a MINI parked outside.", "INT. DINING ROOM/LITTLE ST MARY'S LANE - DAY SUPER-8 FOOTAGE ( MONTAGE ) of - - a ONE YEAR-OLD BABY ( ROBERT ) is set into STEPHEN's arms. He is delighted.", "INT. LOUNGE, LITTLE ST MARY'S LANE - DAY STEPHEN SLIDES ON HIS BACK, down the STAIRS, dressed in a SUIT. He laughs at how ridiculous this is. JANE is there to meet him, to help him to his feet, to straighten his bow-tie. Both look nervous. Tenderly, she touches his face. JANE Ready. Good luck. Are you sure I ca n't drive you? STEPHEN smiles, gently shakes his head. She gives him his TWO WALKING STICKS.", "INT. CAMBRIDGE CLOISTER - DAY STEPHEN walks with great difficulty up the hallway, using ( for the first time ) TWO WALKING STICKS.", "INT. HALLWAY, DAMTP - DAY STEPHEN stops outside SCIAMA's office. Knocks with a stick.", "INT. SEMINAR ROOM,TRINITY HALL,CAMBRIDGE - DAY SCIAMA and ROGER PENROSE and an American, KIP THORNE, face STEPHEN. SCIAMA Come in Stephen. STEPHEN makes his way slowly, laboriously, to stand in front of the three examiners. SCIAMA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- How are you? STEPHEN -LRB- his speech has worsened -RRB- Fine. SCIAMA Would you like to sit down? STEPHEN No thankyou. SCIAMA So. Chapters One -- full of holes and lacks mathematical support. -LRB- to KIP THORNE -RRB- Professor Thorne? KIP THORNE Chapter Two -- not really original -- uses a lot of Roger's ideas. PENROSE Well at least you run with them. Chapter Three? Too many unanswered questions. SCIAMA But Four? Silence. STEPHEN waits, as the PANEL turn the pages of his thesis. STEPHEN grows WORRIED. SCIAMA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- A black hole at the beginning of Time. KIP THORNE A spacetime singularity? SCIAMA and PENROSE and KIP THORNE look at each other. STEPHEN ca n't breath for the tension. SCIAMA Brilliant. It's brilliant Stephen. So all that remains to be said is... well done. Or should I say, well done Doctor. And extraordinary theory. STEPHEN Thankyou. STEPHEN sighs with RELIEF, and smiles. SCIAMA So, what now? STEPHEN Prove it. Prove... with a single equation, that Time has a beginning. Would n't that be nice Professor? One single elegant equation to explain everything? SCIAMA Yes. It would. It would indeed.", "INT. LOUNGE, LITTLE ST MARY'S LANE - EVENING CHAMPAGNE is OPENED and POURED. A celebrational dinner party, attended by JANE, BRIAN, ELLIS, REES, CARTER and two of their GIRLFRIENDS. JANE rises to give a TOAST. JANE TO DOCTOR- BRIAN -Who? Over laughter - JANE To Doctor Stephen Hawking. CUT TO : BRIAN holds forth on a funny story about him and Stephen, as he uncorks a bottle of wine - BRIAN What's astonishing is that for Stephen and I, `` work'' was the worst four-letter word, the worst. -LRB- LAUGHTER -RRB- Stephen probably averaged, what was it? -- an hour a day your entire university career? -LRB- LAUGHTER -RRB- Unbelievable levels of sloth! As the conversation turns into a HUBBUB of chatter, STEPHEN, smiling, drops his FORK. JANE, in conversation now with one of the GIRLFRIENDS, picks up the fork without barely looking at STEPHEN and put it back in front of him. STEPHEN watches everybody talking, eating, drinking, being wonderfully, effortlessly dextrous. FRUSTRATED, ENVIOUS, and saddened, STEPHEN watches closely then, before emotion breaks through, rises, grabs his TWO WALKING STICKS and starts to leave. JANE -LRB- CONCERNED -RRB- Stephen? STEPHEN I'm sorry. Everyone watches him go with concern. It's a painful sight to see how hard it is for him to walk now. When he is gone only a few seconds, the guests stop their chatter when they hear a huge THUMP. Several men are about to rise to his aid when JANE signals for everyone to remain in their place. Everyone understands and settles again.", "INT. HALL, LITTLE ST MARY'S LANE - EVENING STEPHEN tries to pull himself up the stairs by the spokes of the balustrade. It takes him many seconds just to get up the first stairs but we see his determination.", "INT. LOUNGE, LITTLE ST MARY'S LANE - EVENING The DINNER guests are now eating DESSERT, and talking quietly.", "INT. HALL, LITTLE ST MARY'S LANE - NIGHT STEPHEN is only halfway up the STAIRS, using his last heroic energies. Finally, he STOPS, EXHAUSTED. Hearing something, he looks up - The TWO YEAR-OLD ROBERT has woken, and stands in his pajamas at the BABY-GATE at the top of the stairs, looking down at his father. STEPHEN It's okay Robert. For the first time - with his head resting on the step, and with his eyes turning back to look through the balusters at the REFLECTION in a DINING ROOM mirror of the dinner party ( his POV : tilted at 90 degrees ) TEARS fall out of his eyes. A PRIVATE MOMENT of great despair. FADE TO BLACK.", "INT. KITCHEN, LITTLE ST MARY'S LANE - DAY JANE and STEPHEN sip tea. Holding a cup is extremely difficult for him. A new tension exists between them. She watches him. Finally - she gets up, goes into the kitchen and then returns with... A WHEELCHAIR. She sets it before him. He stares at it. Is this his future? Is it an aid, or an enemy? She returns to the kitchen to wash some dishes while he stares at the chair... eventually rising, turning, poising above it, and then falling with a CRASH into it. JANE comes back to his side, realising the momentousness of this moment. STEPHEN This -- is -- temporary. JANE Of course.", "INT. DINING ROOM,LITTLE ST MARY'S LANE - NIGHT JANE comes down the stairs, in her NIGHTIE, dressed for bed, carrying pillows. The MASTER BED now is erected in the little DINING ROOM, and STEPHEN is propped up in it, smiling, waiting... ( STEPHEN can no longer manage the stair-climb. ) STEPHEN Well, it's convenient for breakfast! She puts an extra pillow behind him, then they look into each other's faces. STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Thank you. JANE -LRB- PLAYFULLY -RRB- Excuse me, did you say something? STEPHEN I said -- thankyou. They smile at each other. They kiss...", "INT. POST-NATAL WARD - DAY A NEW-BORN BABY is put into STEPHEN's LAP for him to hold.", "INT. DINING ROOM,LITTLE ST MARY'S LANE - NIGHT The NEW BABY'S CRIES carry ( from UPSTAIRS ) as JANE helps STEPHEN on with his PYJAMA TOP. She struggles to pull it down over his head when the BABY's cries grow too urgent. STEPHEN Go Jane. JANE One second. JANE runs out to go to the baby, runs up the stairs. STEPHEN struggles to pull on the PYJAMA himself. CUT TO : INSIDE HIS PYJAMA. It's dark. STEPHEN, helpless. His eyes are wide open, looking through the grain in the fabric at the OPEN FIRE, burning in the FIREPLACE. STEPHEN JANE? Silence. He waits... The pin points of fire-light through the fabric, SLOWLY MORPH into STARS and a NIGHT SKY. This is what STEPHEN is visualizing. We see what he sees -- The LIFE OF THE UNIVERSE IN REVERSE... STARS being pulled back together, toward a single POINT, a SINGULARITY. As the SINGULARITY takes SHAPE, a DARK CIRCLE FORMS AROUND IT, rimmed by a GLOWING CIRCULAR HORIZON. FINALLY - A BLACK HOLE has FORMED. A POINT IN SPACE, GOBBLING STARS, ILLUMINATED ONLY AT ITS EDGES ( EVENT HORIZON ) BY AN AMBIENT GLOW - A RING of LIGHT. The REVERIE ends as JANE eases the PYJAMA down over his head, returning STEPHEN back into the real world. He stares at his wife, AWESTRUCK. JANE Are you alright? STEPHEN -LRB- breathless, stunned -RRB- I've got an idea. I've got an idea Jane!", "INT. DAMTP, STAIRS/TUTORIAL ROOM    - DAY SCIAMA runs, in great excitement, past KIP THORNE. SCIAMA Kip! He's done it, Kip! He's - KIP THORNE What is it? SCIAMA Stephen! He's changed everything! SCIAMA runs on, informing a mopping JANITOR - SCIAMA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- TO JANITOR -RRB- Black Holes are n't black! And they explode!  -LRB- RUNNING OFF -RRB- They explode!!... REACTION : KIP THORNE, confusion.", "INT. LOBBY, RUTHERFORD LAB - DAY STEPHEN is about to present his ideas to the conference. He is SURROUNDED by his PEERS. SCIAMA All set? STEPHEN nods - nervous. SCIAMA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You'll do fine. AT A DISTANCE - at a TEA TABLE - excluded, and looking EXHAUSTED after a LONG NIGHT - JANE sits near TWO CLEANERS IN WHITE, and overhears the female gossip about STEPHEN's condition. CHAR 1 Look at him. It's awful, i n't it? He's falling apart at the seams. JANE reacts, says nothing but bites her lips and frowns indignantly, as the CLEANERS walk away. JANE then approaches STEPHEN, nervously. But when he looks up at her, his EYES are BLAZING WITH LIGHT and passion - this pulls her out of her SADNESS. JANE -LRB- LOVINGLY -RRB- Good luck! He SMILES back at her, as the ENTRY DOORS to the HALL open, and REVEAL a PACKED EXPECTANT ROOM. It's daunting! SCIAMA Ready or not. SCIAMA PUSHES STEPHEN into the HALL, as - - JANE hurries to gather STEPHEN's NOTES, his WATER-BOTTLE, his BLANKET and her HANDBAG, only just slipping through the CLOSING DOORS.", "INT. LECTURE HALL/RUTHERFORD LAB/CAMBRIDGE - DAY Before his peers, STEPHEN finishes his address. SCIAMA sits with JOHN TAYLOR in the front row. JANE sits toward the BACK. STEPHEN -LRB- SLURRING SLIGHTLY -RRB-... allowing us to predict that some particles can in fact escape a black hole. Black holes are n't black at all, but glow with heat radiation. Stony, sceptical faces greet this outrageous idea. As STEPHEN continues his speech, ANGLE ON SCIAMA and TAYLOR. SCIAMA -LRB- aside, to TAYLOR -RRB- He's unifying Relativity -- plus Quantum Mechanics and Thermodynamics. For the first time. JOHN TAYLOR -LRB- shakes head, to SCIAMA -RRB- Thermodynamics? Last used to describe the steam engine. During this exchange ( O.S ) STEPHEN has been saying : STEPHEN In other words -- the steady emission of heat energy causes black holes to slowly lose mass, they evaporate, eventually disappearing in a spectacular explosion. So... INTERCUT THIS LECTURE SCENE ( as necessary ) with the FOLLOWING SCENE :", "INT. PUB ON RIVER, CAMBRIDGE - NIGHT BRIAN and REES, CARTER and ELLIS discuss STEPHEN's theory. BRIAN No, no! What he's saying is -- just as a hot body loses heat -- right? - REES Second law of thermodynamics. BRIAN - that a black hole - BRIAN dips a finger in the FROTH of REES's BEER and draws a CIRCLE on the TABLETOP. REES - thanks - BRIAN - that if it is losing particles, then, then over time -", "INT. LECTURE HALL/RUTHERFORD LAB/CAMBRIDGE - DAY STEPHEN - it must eventually disappear. No applause at all as STEPHEN shuffles his notes. JANE looks nervous. SCIAMA also. The general reaction is guarded. STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- First a star vanishes into a black hole, but then the black hole must itself -- vanish.", "INT. PUB ON RIVER - CAMBRIDGE - NIGHT BRIAN Gone! From nothing -- into nothing. REES You owe me another beer. CARTER Me too. BRIAN He's just told us that - -LRB- eating REES's CRISPS -RRB- - Time! Had a beginning! He shown us how - ELLIS -LRB- GETTING IT -RRB- - the universe was born and how it will end. REES Bang. BRIAN crushes the precious bag of crisps. BRIAN Crunch!  -LRB- ENTRAPTURED -RRB- It's beautiful! It's racy! It's totally, totally - SMASHCUT TO :", "INT. LECTURE HALL/RUTHERFORD LAB/CAMBRIDGE - DAY CLOSE ON : The stoney faces of the ACADEMIC AUDIENCE, all silent and unconvinced. STEPHEN on stage - looks at these blank faces. JANE and SCIAMA appear as nervous as JOHN TAYLOR, who rises then to his feet... JOHN TAYLOR I'm afraid -- this is complete nonsense. It's preposterous. TAYLOR drags a fellow colleague to his feet and WALKS OUT. STEPHEN Was it something I said? SCIAMA rises to his feet, to defend STEPHEN - SCIAMA I- But then a BIG VOICE booms out - and stops TAYLOR and co in their tracks. KHALATNIKOV STOP! Please. KHALATNIKOV makes his way to the STAGE, stopping beside STEPHEN. He addresses the audience gravely... KHALATNIKOV -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- My name -- is Professor Khalatnikov, from Soviet Academy of Sciences. My field is evolution of the hot universe -- the properties of microwave background radiation, and theory of the black holes. To be honest, I came here today expecting to hear a lot of nonsense. I go home disappointed. -LRB- pause, points -RRB- The little one here, has done it. -LRB- HE SMILES -RRB- He has done it! Applause finally begins, small, then grows large. KHALATNIKOV -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- HE! - HAS DONE IT! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ya Ya! He has done it! ( Shakes Stephen's hand. ) He has done it! REACTION JANE : Relief. REACTION STEPHEN : the famous grin appearing, as - STEPHEN is swamped by WELL-WISHERS. The AUDITORIUM empties on to the stage, where STEPHEN is SURROUNDED. ANGLE ON : JANE, alone suddenly in the AUDITORIUM, trying to see STEPHEN, as he is borne out of the room on a tide of fame.", "EXT. CAMBRIDGE STREETS - NIGHT STEPHEN is being pushed by BRIAN over the cobbled streets while REES, CARTER and ELLIS cavort around them. They are in a PARTY/CELEBRATORY MOOD, singing as they go. GREAT FUN. CUT TO : At the base of a large flight of STEPS, the YOUNG PHYSICISTS all RACE EACH OTHER up the STEPS and disappear. BRIAN is left alone with STEPHEN and the WHEELCHAIR. BRIAN BASTARDS! BRIAN lifts STEPHEN out of his chair. He's heavy. BRIAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Jeez! -- uhhhh! -- how the hell does Jane manage? He starts to carry STEPHEN up... up... up... STEPHEN Big legs! Big legs Brian! BRIAN So, tell me, this Motor Neuron Disease, does it effect, y'know... STEPHEN What? BRIAN Everything..? BRIAN indicates'down there'. STEPHEN Different system. Automatic. BRIAN That's kinda wonderful, actually. And it explains a great deal about men. BRIAN and STEPHEN then disappears over the top of the STEPS. After a few beats BRIAN reappears and runs down the steps to reclaim the wheelchair. He picks it up and starts up the steps with it. CUT TO : STEPHEN, cradled in the giant arms of a seated MARBLE STATUE!!! ( maybe Queen Victoria ) - cradled like a baby, waiting for BRIAN to return.", "INT. UNIVERSITY BOOKSHOP - DAY The SHELVES are being restocked. The latest issue of `` NATURE'' MAGAZINE is set on the stand by a STOCKIST. The COVER reads : `` HAWKING RADIATION'' ____________________________________________________________", "EXT. WEST ROAD FLAT, CAM B RIDGE - DAY CLOSE ON : STEPHEN. Waiting in his WHEELCHAIR on the front LAWN. About 8 YEARS have passed since we last saw him. His physical deterioration is marked. His body is thinner and powerless. His legs are bent and his face is slightly asymmetric. WIDE : Beside him is STACKED a mountain of FAMILY HOLIDAY LUGGAGE ( umbrellas, beach balls, plastic cricket set, tent etc. ) In the Background, the NEW WEST ROAD FLAT - a LARGE VICTORIAN HOUSE. The sign in front reads `` GONVILLE and CAIUS COLLEGE''. On the LAWN the children ( ROBERT, now 9 - and LUCY, now 5 ) PLAY with BEACH TOYS, until - - JANE ( with a new haircut and fashion befitting the LATE 1970's ) yells - JANE Get in the car! Get! In! The Car! Come on! Let's go see Gran and Grandad! The CHILDREN obey, and jump into the now OLD MINI parked at the kerb, as - - JANE confronts the MOUNTAIN OF STUFF, including STEPHEN, that must somehow be stowed. No way. LATER - back and forth JANE goes between LUGGAGE and MINI. STEPHEN can only watch her load the stuff into the car and onto the ROOF-RACK. Finally - REVEAL the LOADED MINI - it looks ridiculously burdened! JANE takes a deep, exhausted, breath, then turns back for STEPHEN. He sits there in his wheelchair, looking at her... ROBERT and JANE together, with GREAT DIFFICULTY, get STEPHEN into the front seat and shut the door. ROBERT struggles to COLLAPSE the WHEELCHAIR, until JANE comes and together they muscle it onto the ROOF-RACK.", "EXT. WELSH COTTAGE - WALES - DAY FRANK & ISOBEL HAWKING's tumble-down WELSH COTTAGE high above on a STEEP HILLSIDE, only reached by an ENORMOUS FLIGHT of STEPS. REACTION JANE : Exasperation! ISOBEL descends to greet them, followed by FRANK. ISOBEL Is n't it marvellous? We can rent it every year! JANE Yes. I see. But what about all the steps, Frank? FRANK HAWKING Oh, it's nothing. The climb is absolutely worth it. You get the luggage. FRANK backs STEPHEN ( in his wheelchair ) up the STEPS, one at a time, while ISOBEL runs up ahead with the CHILDREN, leaving JANE, alone, with ALL THE LUGGAGE. REACTION, JANE : Speechless in defeat, she sighs deeply. Finally, she slowly starts to unload the MINI.", "EXT. PATIO - WELSH COTTAGE - DAY TEA and CAKES al fresco. The CHILDREN play CHARADES. FRANK is feeding STPHEN, but his attention is on... ROBERT, whose turn it is... ROBERT acts being cold, that it's snowing... FRANK HAWKING Oh -- Rain? -- Falling? -- Rain Falling Down? -- Shivering? -- Uhhhrrrrr -- - ISOBEL Very cold... STEPHEN suffers an horrendous CHOKING FIT, which can not be staunched. STEPHEN's parents, and little ROBERT watch in horror, as JANE tries in vain to subdue it, banging his back roughly, loosening his tie. JANE He needs to see a doctor. This keeps happening! STEPHEN No doctors! FRANK HAWKING Very well, no doctors. JANE, stressed, looks ready to break-down, and turns away, hiding her frailty, a little angry also at the lack of support.", "EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY JANE walks slowly along path to the WOOD and sits down on a STONE. Head in hands. She WEEPS.", "INT. MINI - TRAVELLING - DAY JANE is driving them home. JANE I need help. I keep -- I keep looking for a way -- to make this work -- but I ca n't find it. STEPHEN -LRB- forcefully, but with a SLURRED VOICE -RRB- We're fine -- we're just a normal family. JANE -LRB- UPSET -RRB- WE'RE NOT A NORMAL FAMILY!!! We're not a normal family. STEPHEN -LRB- turns to ROBERT -RRB- Robert -- your mother's very angry at me. -LRB- SMILES -RRB- JANE -LRB- TEARFUL -RRB- Thanks.", "INT. MASTER BEDROOM - WEST ROAD FLAT/ CAMBRIDGE - DAY A worried JANE cradles and sooths STEPHEN to sleep.", "INT. KITCHEN/HALLWAY/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY STEPHEN in his old wheelchair is pushed from the KITCHEN by JANE up to the doors to the LIVING ROOM. She has a surprise for him. JANE Ready? The doors then burst open and it's ROBERT and LUCY aboard- AN ELECTRIC MOTORIZED WHEELCHAIR. ROBERT Surprise! Look Daddy Look! STEPHEN stares as ROBERT makes the CHAIR turn by pulling and pushing a toggle. JANE It's an electric wheelchair. We can take it back -- if you do n't like it. STEPHEN stares at it, unsure at first...", "INT. KITCHEN - WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - NIGHT While making dinner, JANE hears happy screams from the other end of the house. She goes through to discover --", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - NIGHT STEPHEN, in his motorized wheelchair, chasing ROBERT and LUCY from room to room at full speed! He looks extremely thrilled with the chair as he smashes into furniture. JANE, at the table, trying to work on her THESIS, tries to smile. STEPHEN motors away, chasing the squealing children. JANE WINCES as she hears - the sound ( O.S. ) of a SMASHING VASE.", "EXT. TRINITY LANE FOOT-BRIDGE - DAY STEPHEN happily MOTORS at speed over the FOOT-BRIDGE, grinning.", "INT. CORRIDOR, DAMTP, CAMBRIDGE UNI - DAY    (L70-M80'S) STEPHEN is motoring along with SCIAMA. CAMBRIDGE DONS and STUDENTS step aside to make way. SCIAMA I do n't get it. You've spent years assuming Black Holes exist -- you believe Cygnus X-1 will turn out to be the first black hole we can actually observe==and yet you bet Kip Thorne that it is n't a black hole? STEPHEN -LRB- SLURRING -RRB- Yes, a magazine subscription. SCIAMA Why would you bet against yourself? -LRB- PAUSE -RRB- -LRB- MORE -RRB- SCIAMA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- A subscription to what? Nature magazine? STEPHEN Pent-house. That way even if I'm wrong, I still win! SCIAMA laughs heartily as - - STEPHEN grins, at the same time SPYING - up ahead, TWO ATTRACTIVE UNDER-GRADUATE GIRLS about to enter the LIFT. STEPHEN hits the GAS! - and SPEEDS toward the LIFT... SCIAMA Penthouse? STEPHEN SPEEDS toward the LIFT, whose DOORS ARE READY TO CLOSE. SCIAMA winces in expectation of a horrible accident. WIDE : it looks suicidal but the chair just flies through the GAP in the last split second before the DOORS CLOSE - the doors shaving the wheels, with a small spark.", "INT. LIFT, DAMTP, G&C COLLEGE - DAY STEPHEN, in there with the TWO UNDERGRADUATE GIRLS, SMILES at them.", "INT. LIVING ROOM,WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY JANE picks up pieces of a BROKEN POTTED PLANT, dirt spilled over the carpet, then violently VACUUMES as BERYL comes in with a tea-tray. BERYL Jane -- Jane? Jane? Jane! STOP! JANE keeps VACUUMING. BERYL pulls the PLUG on the VACUUM CLEANER. JANE stares at her Mum. BERYL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Sit down. Sit. BERYL pours TEA for the exhausted JANE. JANE sits. BERYL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Now -- I'd like to make a suggestion -- it might sound unusual -- but I've seen it work wonders. I think -- you should consider - -LRB- BEAT -RRB- - joining the church choir. REACTION JANE : Momentarily SPEECHLESS - JANE Mum -- I think that is possibly the most English thing anyone has ever said. BERYL Maybe so. JANE I used to love singing. BERYL You're very good at it. JANE I do n't know about that. BERYL Go. ( pause ) It's one hour a week. They sip tea in silence.", "INT. CHURCH - EVENING (LATE 70'S-M80'S) JANE walks in - and up the AISLE - as we hear CHORAL MUSIC. JANE takes a pew, and then her eyes widen slightly as she recognizes the CHOIR MASTER. It's the BEARDED MAN from the supermarket car-park. She studies him, as he gently instructs and then conducts the CHOIR. CUT TO : After the rehearsal, the CHOIR file past JANE. JONATHAN recognizes her at once. JONATHAN Oh, hello. JANE Hello. JONATHAN Are you here to sing? JANE I um -- I just came to -- JONATHAN Soprano? Soprano. JANE I wish. JONATHAN Mezzo? JANE -LRB- POINTING DOWNWARDS -RRB- Alto. JONATHAN Well -- Just what we need. -LRB- to last departing CHORISTER -RRB-'Bye, Kate.  -LRB- TO JANE -RRB- Where have you been hiding? JANE Good question. JONATHAN Well, you're here now. And just in time. JANE -LRB- SMILES -RRB- Am I? JONATHAN Yes. So tell me. -LRB- squints, thinking -RRB- Chopin! Yes? Your repertoire. JANE I would n't call it a repertoire. Brahms -- I know a little- JONATHAN Brahms! Wonderful. Perfect. We - JONATHAN gets an idea, he moves then stops... JONATHAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Okay. Which...? JANE Well, I have sung --'' Immer leiser.'' JONATHAN Ah! `` My sleep grows evermore peaceful.'' Come on. Follow me. Come on. Let me hear you. Come on. He sets off up to the front of the church. She turns, smiling, as he WAVES for her to follow him. She follows.", "INT. FRONT AREA, CHURCH - EVENING At the front of the church she sees that he is already sitting at the piano. Without sheet music he begins to play `` Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer''... JONATHAN -LRB- over the music -RRB- Jonathan. Jonathan Hellyer Jones. She gingerly approaches. JANE Jane. Jane Hawking. JONATHAN In C-sharp minor? The introduction, so lovely. From the top? JANE Now? JONATHAN `` Living on the edge.''  -LRB- SMILES -RRB- Ready?  -LRB- BEAT -RRB- If you're not in the mood we could absolutely forget - JANE No, no. No, no. Just let me remember the lyrics. In English. JONATHAN Fabulous. JANE Okay. JONATHAN Okay?  -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Two, three... JANE -LRB- SINGS -RRB- My sleep grows ever quieter only my grief, like a veil, lies trembling over me. I often hear you in my dreams calling outside my door... ( etc )", "EXT. CHURCH - NIGHT JANE and JONATHAN emerge from the church - JONATHAN locks the doors. JONATHAN Actually, no, I go for the Gospel of St. Mark. JANE None of that wishy-washy do-gooder stuff -- Matthew, Luke. JONATHAN Exactly. With Mark you roll up your sleeves and get stuck in. No standing on the sidelines. They shake hands. JANE stares into his face - realizing she has found a friend. JANE Well I should be going. JONATHAN Well met. Oh, and if your daughter would like those piano lessons. JANE Absolutely. My husband loves music too. JONATHAN I could teach him as well. JANE Well, that's a long story.'Night.", "EXT. WEST ROAD FLAT, CAMBRIDGE - DAY STEPHEN motors down the street, fast, and swings up the ramp in front of the door. He BANGS into the front door. Then waits. He hears PIANO music - a lesson in progress.", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY As STEPHEN and JANE watch - JONATHAN gives ROBERT ( 11 ) a piano lesson. JANE smiles at STEPHEN, who remains cautious.", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - NIGHT JONATHAN is eating dinner with JANE and STEPHEN. JANE feeds STEPHEN a forkful of food. STEPHEN chews slowly. STEPHEN sneaks glances at JONATHAN. JONATHAN shoots a SMILE at JANE. She smiles back in return. STEPHEN catches sight of both these smiles, and sees the GROWING INTIMACY. JANE Water. She exits. JONATHAN smiles at STEPHEN who is staring back at him. JONATHAN -LRB- TO STEPHEN -RRB- So - Stephen. Er - Jane tells me... JONATHAN picks up STEPHEN's fork, spears a cube of steak. JONATHAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... you have a beautiful theorem that proves that... JONATHAN offers up the steak, but STEPHEN's glare makes him aware this is n't welcome. He lowers the fork again. JONATHAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... that -- that the universe had a beginning? JANE returns with the a JUG OF WATER and GLASSES on a TRAY. STEPHEN -LRB- testily, his slurring not easily understood ) That was my - PhD thesis. JONATHAN looks to JANE for a translation. JONATHAN Your...? JANE PhD thesis. STEPHEN My new project - disproves it. JONATHAN Disproves it? Really? -LRB- as JANE nods -RRB- -LRB- MORE -RRB- JONATHAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You no longer believe in the Creation? STEPHEN What one believes - - is irrelevant -- in physics. JANE                             JONATHAN... is irrelevant... is irrelevant JANE... in physics. JONATHAN looks to JANE, hoping he has not caused offence. JONATHAN Oh, is that so? JANE -LRB- ANNOYANCE SHOWING -RRB- Stephen's done a U-turn. The big new idea is that the universe has no boundaries at all. No boundaries, no beginning. No BEGINNING - JONATHAN - no God? Really? -LRB- TO STEPHEN -RRB- Fascinating. Because I'd understood you'd proven the need for a Creator. My mistake. STEPHEN No. Mine. JONATHAN -LRB- UNDERSTANDING THIS -RRB- Yours. Your mistake? JONATHAN is surprised by this sharp reply. ( He also sees that this matter is a CAUSE OF DIVISION between JANE and STEPHEN. ) JANE Stephen is looking for a single law that governs all the forces in the universe. So God must die. JONATHAN Why must God die? I do n't see. STEPHEN does n't react, so JANE spears a PEA on her FORK, then picks up a SECOND FORK and spears a LARGE BOILED POTATO with the other. JANE The two great pillars of physics ARE - -LRB- THE PEA -RRB- - Quantum Theory, the laws that govern the very small -- electrons, particles so on -- and General Relativity... JONATHAN Oh, yes - Einstein. JANE... Einstein's theory.  -LRB- THE POTATO -RRB- Which governs the very large, planets and such -- but Quantum - -LRB- raises the PEA -RRB- AND - -LRB- raises the POTATO -RRB- Relativity... JONATHAN They're -- different? JANE They do n't remotely play by the same rules. Peas are chaotic, and do n't behave predictably at all - With her'pea' fork she stirs some more peas on her plate - creates'chaos'. JONATHAN UNLIKE -- POTATOES - JANE Which you can set your watch by. STEPHEN -LRB- SMILING -RRB- Very good. Even STEPHEN has begun to begrudgingly enjoy this, even as he starts COUGHING. JANE gets up and goes to pat STEPHEN's back over the FOLLOWING : JANE If the world were all potatoes, easy -- you could trace a precise beginning, as Stephen once did, a moment of Creation. Hallelujah, God lives. -LRB- MORE -RRB- JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- But if you want to incorporate peas into the menu, which Stephen now wants to do, then it all goes - STEPHEN Tits up. JONATHAN looks to JANE for translation again - JANE Tits up. Haywire. Becomes a Godless mess. JONATHAN Oh, dear. JANE Einstein hated peas, Quantum Theory. `` God does n't play dice with the universe'', he said. STEPHEN Seems he not only plays dice - JANE Seems he not only plays dice - STEPHEN - he throws them - where we ca n't find them. -LRB- SMILES -RRB- JANE - he throws them - JONATHAN - where we ca n't find them. How inconvenient! JANE Stephen's swapped his telescope -LRB- un-spears the spud -RRB- - for a microscope. -LRB- eats the pea -RRB- Order for chaos -- hoping to find a law to cover both. JONATHAN, impressed, looks at STEPHEN. JONATHAN Looking for `` the world in a grain of sand.'' JANE God is back on the endangered species list. JONATHAN I expect he'll cope. STEPHEN But physics -- is back in business. JANE Physics is back in business. Stephen thinks it a fair exchange. STEPHEN -LRB- TO JANE -RRB- It's the final -- challenge. We'll know everything. JONATHAN The final challenge? JANE -LRB- to JONATHAN, ignoring STEPHEN -RRB- More wine? JONATHAN declines, troubled by the tension between the couple. JONATHAN No, thank you. JANE -LRB- RESIGNED -RRB- We'll know everything.", "EXT. GARDEN/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - NIGHT Under a STARRY sky - JONATHAN helps STEPHEN sip his coffee. STEPHEN accepts this now. JONATHAN It was leukaemia. Coming up on a year ago. She fought it, I nursed her, but in the end... Music is my salvation. Teaching and playing. I've struggled with loneliness, of course. Tyranny of the empty room, all that. Music is a consolation, although my career... Well, I'm not very ambitious. -LRB- SMILES -RRB- Is that a sin? STEPHEN Wrong guy to ask.", "INT. HALLWAY, WEST ROAD FLAT, CAMBRIDGE - NIGHT JONATHAN puts on his JACKET to go - JANE and STEPHEN see him off. JANE Thank you for coming. JONATHAN No. Thank you. It was wonderful. -LRB- starts to go, then stops -RRB- And if -- if there was anything I can do. To be of service. To you, your family. I have no children, no commitments. If I could help you, I believe I would find a purpose that would alleviate my own situation. It would be a privilege. STEPHEN looks to JANE for her reaction. JANE senses EMOTIONAL DANGER and, frightened, merely smiles. JONATHAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Night then. He exits. JANE shuts the door.", "INT. MASTER BED./WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - NIGHT JANE puts PILLOWS behind STEPHEN, who now sleeps almost upright in bed. She then takes off her BATHROBE and gets into bed herself. STEPHEN I understand you need more help. And if there is - someone - who is prepared to offer it - I wo n't object, as long - as long as you continue to love me. JANE Of course. For infinity. Beside him in bed, she kisses his cheek and then lays her head on his frail chest. MUSIC UP : BACH PRELUDE, as played by JONATHAN on PIANO, over - MONTAGE : A ) ( MOVED TO : POSITION `` G'' in MONTAGE ) A1 ) The CAM RIVER. A PUNT on a SUNNY DAY drifts under the BRIDGE OF SIGHS - in the front of the PUNT, JANE cradles STEPHEN and ROBERT and LUCY. JANE smiles at - - JONATHAN, who is POLING them. He smiles back at her. B ) HAWKING FRONT ROOM. JONATHAN plays the BACH PRELUDE divinely on JANE's PIANO, as - JANE, BESIDE HIM on the piano stool, turns the pages. STEPHEN watches without jealousy and with enjoyment. C ) HAWKING BATHROOM. JONATHAN takes STEPHEN to the TOILET. D ) When JONATHAN and JANE pass each other in the KITCHEN, and JONATHAN quite naturally takes her hand. JANE, surprised, looks at him. He SMILES at her. Their FIRST TOUCH! We can see that the temptation to act further on their feelings is now HUGE for both of them, but they do nothing. JANE forces herself to break away, hurries into the next room to be with STEPHEN, the kids and a train set. JONATHAN is left to deal with his feelings. He sighs, sublimates them, then returns to his domestics. E ) BRANCASTER BEACH. SUPER-8 FOOTAGE of their day at the beach... STEPHEN's wheelchair sits on the sand at the water's edge, his trousers rolled up, water lapping his naked feet. STEPHEN helplessly watches from his wheelchair as JONATHAN engages in some playful rough and tumble with ROBERT and LUCY, kicking a FOOTBALL back and forth. JANE watches on. JONATHAN cradles STEPHEN as they sit there and look out to sea, both men carefree and happy, STEPHEN accepting of JONATHAN's care now. They appear as FRIENDS now.", "INT. CHURCH - NIGHT The CHOIR sings a beautiful CAROL. The CAMERA finds JANE - singing nervously - the only SINGER NOT LOOKING at JONATHAN - her eyes are glued on her hymn sheet. In DENIAL. CUT TO : After the Rehearsal, the CHOIR leaves. JANE and JONATHAN clear up the hymn sheets. She passes her pile to him. He puts his hand on hers. She withdraws her hand. JANE I have to tell you something. JONATHAN Is anything the matter? She looks at him for the first time that evening - JANE I'm um -- I'm pregnant. JONATHAN Oh.  -LRB- WOUNDED -RRB- I see. I presumed -- stupid really -- that you and Stephen...  -LRB- COURAGEOUSLY -RRB- Well, then...  -LRB- AWKWARDLY -RRB- Congratulations are in order. JANE Does it make a difference? JONATHAN -LRB- NOBLY -RRB- Of course not. He takes her by the arm, and leads her out of the church.", "EXT. GARDEN - WEST ROAD FLAT - CAMBRIDGE - DAY Everyone is gathered for the CHRISTENING PARTY - STEPHEN, JANE, their PARENTS, ROBERT, LUCY. BRIAN takes PHOTOS of EVERYONE. JANE places the new BABY ( TIMOTHY ) into STEPHEN's LAP ( and carefully holds TIM there as STEPHEN can no longer hold a baby ) as - - JONATHAN takes a PHOTO of the MOMENT. ANGLE ON : FRANK HAWKING, scowling at JONATHAN.", "EXT. GARDEN - WEST ROAD FLAT - CAMBRIDGE - DAY LATER. As the party continues, FRANK sits with STEPHEN. FRANK glances at JONATHAN, who brings drinks for the ladies. He turns to his son. FRANK HAWKING I've always supported you in your choice not to have home help, but now, you need a permanent solution. This -- this current'situation' ca n't go on. You need a proper live- in nurse immediately. STEPHEN We have help. FRANK HAWKING You know what I'm talking about. STEPHEN glances at JONATHAN. STEPHEN -LRB- SLURRED SPEECH -RRB- Ca n't afford -- live-in nurse. FRANK HAWKING You ca n't afford to --  -LRB- STOPS HIMSELF -RRB- There must be a way. You need to find a way. For your family's sake. You're world famous - STEPHEN For black holes -- not rock concerts. FRANK HAWKING I believe it's urgent.", "INT. KITCHEN/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY ISOBEL HAWKING follows JANE into the kitchen. ISOBEL You know very well what I'm talking about. JANE No. I do n't. ISOBEL We do have a right to know. We have a right to know, Jane. JANE Know what?! ISOBEL Whose child Timothy is. Stephen's, or Jonathan's? JANE, turning, wheeling on ISOBEL, shocked. JANE That's what you think of me? ANGLE ON JONATHAN, appearing at the door, unseen by the WOMEN. He overhears the following. JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- There is no way that Timothy could have any other father than Stephen. None. And for the record -- I will never leave Stephen. JANE turns - sees that JONATHAN is standing in the DOORWAY. JONATHAN exits...", "EXT. WEST ROAD FLAT - CAMBRIDGE - DAY JANE chases JONATHAN - stops him. JONATHAN I need to go. I ca n't... JANE Please do n't go. JONATHAN Everyone's talking. It's - JANE So. What does it matter? JONATHAN Well, there are other things too. I - I - just - -LRB- BEAT -RRB- I have feelings for you. JANE I have feelings for you, too. JONATHAN It's - it's difficult for me! JANE I know, I know. JONATHAN You have no - for the children. JANE It's so wonderful, for me, JONATHAN I have to go. I do n't think I CAN - JANE Please, please - JONATHAN Perhaps the right thing is for me to just -- step back. He walks off. REACTION JANE : Distressed. ANGLE ON : STEPHEN, at the WINDOW, watching this - CONCERNED.", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY JANE does her daily NURSE chores, among these applying hand lotion quickly to STEPHEN's hands - she does this ROUTINELY. ( This will contrast, later, with how Elaine applies the hand lotion. ) STEPHEN I've just been invited - JANE Invited? Where? STEPHEN Geneva. JANE Geneva? STEPHEN Students can accompany me. JANE What students? STEPHEN I know how much you hate - JANE You know how much I hate - STEPHEN - to fly. JANE nods, sensing they are at a crossroads. She looks away, on the verge of tears. JANE To fly. Yes. STEPHEN I was thinking - that you and the CHILDREN - JANE - Me and the children -- go on? STEPHEN could bring the car - JANE - bring the car - STEPHEN - meet me in Bayreuth - JANE Bayreuth? How can I manage that? On my own? STEPHEN Bring Jonathan. JANE looks up at him. Her thoughts racing. BOTH understand the significance of this. She looks into his eyes to establish if he is sure. The look he gives her confirms this. JANE I doubt he would be willing.", "INT. CHURCH - NIGHT STEPHEN motors up the CHURCH AISLE with TWO BOTTLES OF BEER in a PAPER BAG at his side going `` CLINK, CLINK, CLINK''. JONATHAN clearing up after a CHOIR PRACTICE turns - stares at STEPHEN. CUT TO : FRONT ROW of the PEWS. JONATHAN and STEPHEN, side-by-side, stare at the ALTAR. JONATHAN spots the BEER BOTTLES in STEPHEN's LAP. STEPHEN Is -- this okay? JONATHAN Well -- I wo n't tell if you do n't. JONATHAN opens the TWO BEER BOTTLES, tucks his handkerchief under STEPHEN's chin, and then tips the beer into STEPHEN's mouth. JONATHON Not too much -- bearing in mind you have to drive. STEPHEN grins. The two men stare at the ALTAR, aware of the significance of this moment. STEPHEN sneaks a glance at JONATHAN. And then - STEPHEN Jane -- needs -- help. JONATHAN sighs deeply.", "EXT. WEST ROAD FLAT, CAMBRIDGE - DAY A YOUNG MALE STUDENT CARER, loads the last of STEPHEN's LUGGAGE into a TAXI. STEPHEN is already in the back of the TAXI with SARAH, a carer. JANE supervises, worried. JANE And please please remember, 5 milligrams of Riluzole before and after the flight. She then goes to STEPHEN's open window. STEPHEN -LRB- JAUNTY -RRB- See you - in Bayreuth. JANE Travel safely. She kisses his cheek. The MALE STUDENT and SARAH get in the cab, which DRIVES OFF. JANE smiles and waves till the cab has gone. She slowly turns and re-enters her home.", "EXT. BACK GARDEN - WEST ROAD FLAT - DAY JANE, the two youngest CHILDREN and JONATHAN play hide-and- seek in the college garden. JANE Forty-nine... Fifty. Coming ready or not! JANE searches for the CHILDREN... she instead sees - through the undergrowth - MEN's SHOES! She rises. It's JONATHAN standing there. They look into each other's eyes. What will they do now?", "EXT. FRENCH HIGHWAY - DAY JONATHAN drives, ROBERT is in the PASSENGER SEAT. JANE is in the BACK SEAT with LUCY - ( TIMOTHY is absent ). JANE and JONATHAN make eye-contact via the rear-view mirror.", "INT. THEATRE, BAYREUTH - DAY Before the show starts, STEPHEN in his WHEELCHAIR in the AISLE, happy, as we hear the ORCHESTRA tuning. He is flanked by SARAH and the MALE STUDENT.", "EXT. GERMAN CAMP SITE - DAY They erect TWO TENTS. Jane and the kids one, Jonathan the other.", "EXT. GERMAN CAMP SITE - NIGHT LATER - JANE creeps out of the tent in which LUCY and TIM are sleeping. There is a third sleeping bag in there - her own. JANE then goes to the adjoining tent - JONATHAN's. JANE PAUSES for a moment, bites her lip, breathless, unable to make herself enter the TENT. Just then, JONATHAN unzips his tent and emerges. They LOCK EYES on each other - an incredibly charged attraction between them. He reaches for her HAND. She is shaking. TOGETHER they go into JONATHAN's tent. END ON : the zip being closed again.", "INT. THEATRE, BAYREUTH - NIGHT STEPHEN coughs a few times as he listens to the PRELUDE of the RING CYCLE. HIS POV of : The DARKENED STAGE, a black void, but for a BURNING RING at its centre. STEPHEN begins to cough a little harder, then a little harder. The CARER, SARAH, at his side, finally takes note and holds a WHITE HANDKERCHIEF up to his MOUTH. He SUDDENLY COUGHS BLOOD!", "INT. THEATRE, BAYREUTH - LATER STEPHEN's POV of the THEATRE CEILING as he is stretchered out of there.", "EXT. PHONEBOX - GERMAN CAMPSITE -   MORNING JANE stands in a phonebox, then slams down the PHONE and rushes back to the CAMPSITE in panic.", "EXT. AUTOBAHN - NIGHT The VOLVO drives through the night. Takes an exit marked `` GENEVA''.", "INT. INTENSIVE CARE UNIT/GENEVA HOSPITAL - DAY STEPHEN lies quiet and still, his eyes closed. JANE looks down on him. She has GUILTY tears in her eyes. The SWISS DOCTOR enters, speaks with JANE... Tout en Francais... with ENGLISH SUBTLTLES. SWISS DOCTOR -LRB- IN FRENCH -RRB- He has pneumonia. He is on a life- support machine. I am not certain how long he will live. -LRB- MORE -RRB- SWISS DOCTOR -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I need to know whether my staff should disconnect the ventilator? JANE switches to ENGLISH - JANE -LRB- IN ENGLISH -RRB- What are you talking about? SWISS DOCTOR -LRB- IN ENGLISH -RRB- If we try to bring him round from the anaesthetic it is not sure he will survive resuscitation. JANE Stephen must live! You have to bring him round from the anaesthetic! SWISS DOCTOR Are you sure this is what you want? The only way of weaning him off the ventilator would be to give him a tracheotomy, a hole in the neck, by-passing the throat. He will never speak again. JANE stares at him - deeply upset but finally manages to SAY - JANE There's no question. Stephen must live. I will see he gets everything he needs. I will have him transferred back to Cambridge. SWISS DOCTOR He may not survive the journey. JANE looks pale and weaker than we have ever seen her.", "EXT. AIRPORT, GENEVA - DAY On the tarmac, the two HAWKING children are led toward a BA FLIGHT ( in the far distance ) by an AIR-HOSTESS. Meanwhile, A small AIR-RESCUE PLANE nearby awaits JANE and STEPHEN. STEPHEN is just then being loaded on board. JANE turns and faces JONATHAN. A private moment. Her LOOK OF SADNESS speaks volumes. He NODS - he KNOWS. JONATHAN I'll step back. She NODS, SADLY. Her eyes start to well up. His too. It's a break-up. Turning to look back to the plane... JANE Drive -- safely, yes? Did you get everything in the car? His chair, equipment... JONATHAN nods. She KISSES him on the cheek and he presses his cheek against hers. They both hold onto each other for a moment, knowing it's their final embrace, and then she hurries, tearfully, toward the WAITING PLANE, leaving him standing there.", "INT. OBSERVATION ROOM/SURGICAL THEATRE/ADDENBROOKES - DAY JANE, is gowned for theatre. With an ENGLISH DOCTOR she watches the OP through a window. ENGLISH DOCTOR It'll take a miracle. ANGLE ON : JANE's POV - of the surgeon picking up a MARKER- PEN...", "INT. SURGICAL THEATRE/ADDENBROOKES HOSP. - DAY ... A SURGEON prepares to perform a TRACHEOTOMY on STEPHEN - marking the spot on his neck with the MARKER PEN, and then picks up the SCALPEL... about to make the INCISION...", "INT. OBSERVATION ROOM/ADDENBROOKES - DAY REACTION JANE : as - she WINCES, then GASPS in horror.", "INT. RECOVERY ROOM - ADDENBROOKES HOSPITAL - DAY STEPHEN opens his eyes, looks around him. He is alone. He opens his mouth to speak. We hear only a slow exhale of air, through the off-screen tracheotomy hole. He PANICS, and has to be soothed by a NURSE.", "INT. RECOVERY ROOM, ADDENBROOKES HOSPITAL - DAY LATER. STEPHEN is turned on his side, his back to camera. JANE enters. APPROACHES. ANGLE ON : Her POV of STEPHEN as she approaches, revealing the side of his face, and then finally, his neck with the TRACHEOTOMY HOLE. She ca n't help it. Her hand JUMPS UP to cover her mouth as she gasps.", "INT. DAY-ROOM - ADDENBROOKES HOSPITAL - DAY Recuperating in his chair in the sun, staring out of the window at - a BIRD PERCHED which alights a branch. STEPHEN has never looked more depressed. Or alone. There is a plastic FLANGE over the TRACHEOTOMY HOLE. ANGLE ON the FINGERS of his right hand, resting on the arm of the wheelchair. These, at least, can still move. JANE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Stephen? JANE moves into STEPHEN's limited POV - holding a CLEAR PLASTIC SCREEN - an E-TRAN `` SPELLING'' BOARD, on which 6 groups of characters are arranged. JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- This is a Spelling Board. First, you tell me what letter you want by blinking when I say the colour of the group that contains that letter. Once I know the group, you can choose the character inside that group by blinking again when I go through the colours of each letter in that group. Apparently. Okay? Let's just try. STEPHEN says nothing. JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- So... Green, Yellow, Blue, White, Black, Red. -LRB- SILENCE -RRB- Blink to choose the group that contains the letter you want? Green? Yellow? Blue? White? Black? Red? As JANE's eyes fill with TEARS... STEPHEN just keeps looking at her... then TRIES TO SPEAK. His mouth moves... but nothing - nothing ever again! - will ever come out! It's a heart-breaking moment -- for both of them -- and when TEARS appear in his eyes, she ca n't stop her own TEARS from falling.", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY STEPHEN gloomily reads a newspaper with the help of a READING FRAME, when - JANE enters. JANE She's here. Okay. Promise not to eat her alive... Enter : ELAINE MASON. She is attractive. Exit : JANE, touching ELAINE supportively on the shoulder. ELAINE So then - Professor. How are you? My name is Elaine. I'm going to be your nurse, would you like that? No? Well- we'll work it out. He stares at her, as - - ELAINE goes and gets a CHAIR, taking an interest in her, UNTIL - - ELAINE turns and catches him look at her. Swiftly, STEPHEN turns his eyes back to the NEWSPAPER. ELAINE looks at him a moment longer, surprises to see that STEPHEN is not unlike any other man in this regard. A faint smile appears. She sits in front of him. ELAINE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- So then...", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY ELAINE holds the E-TRAN BOARD and writes down a letter, then looks up at STEPHEN - sees through the clear perspex immediately what group he is looking at. She does n't have to call out the colours - knows them. ( See her POV of him through the board so we establish the eye-line principle. ) She is BRILLIANT at this. STEPHEN's eyes FLICK from GROUP to GROUP, no BLINKING going on. ELAINE -LRB- RAPIDLY -RRB- Red group -- Yellow letter. T. Green group -- Black letter. E. Green -- Green. A....T.E.A. Tea. -LRB- SMILES -RRB- You're good. You want tea. What type of tea? They look at each other. And then she has an IDEA. She PUTS DOWN THE BOARD. They look at each other... ELAINE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You've memorised the board. Of course you have. What kind of tea? Blink when I say the group that has the letter you want. Green, Yellow, Blue, White, Black, Red... -LRB- BEAT -RRB- I have n't got all day. Green- -LRB- HE BLINKS -RRB- Green group. And the letter in that group? You know their colours, I know you do. Green, Yellow - He BLINKS. She has MEMORISED the BOARD too - ELAINE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Yellow? Green, yellow -- that's B. A breakthrough. They are both EXPERT. ELAINE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- A tea beginning with B? Builder's tea! Right? He GRINS. She SMILES. She goes to get him some TEA.", "INT. HALLWAY/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY ELAINE, smiling, enters hall ( from the LIVING ROOM ) and bumps into JANE, who has just arrived home with GROCERIES. They stop in front of each other. ELAINE -LRB- CHUCKLING -RRB- I think he's the most brilliant man I've ever met. You're very lucky. JANE Thank you. ELAINE You must worship the ground beneath HIS - JANE - wheels. JANE ca n't fail to see how enthralled ELAINE is. ELAINE And he's the perfect patient. Looking after him is so much easier than other patients I've had. -LRB- MORE -RRB- ELAINE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- And sooo funny, oh my God. When you read about him people do n't tell YOU - JANE -LRB- cutting her off -RRB- You only do two shifts a week, Elaine.", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY STEPHEN sits in the armchair, propped up by cushions, while a TECHNICIAN bolts the NEW COMPUTER SCREEN onto STEPHEN's WHEELCHAIR. JANE watches. TECHNICIAN Almost there! JANE How does it work? TECHNICIAN A guy called Walt Woltosz invented the software. Uses a very simple interface that scans through the alphabet and allows each letter to be selected one by one. Using this technique, the Professor can expect to write at about four words per minute. ELAINE enters - JANE -LRB- After initial dismay -RRB- Better than one a minute. TECHNICIAN What I've done is -- use components from a telephone answering system actually -- to convert the written text into synthesized speech. The voice sounds a bit robotic, but... -LRB- IT'S READY -RRB- Okay. Shall we give it a try? CUT TO : JANE and ELAINE hoist STEPHEN into the new chair. TECHNICIAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- There we go.  -LRB- GRANDLY -RRB- Welcome to the future! The TECHNICIAN sets a pressure-sensitive'clicker' in STEPHEN's hand. The SCREEN suddenly floods with COMPUTER CODE. REFLECTED in the glass is the WIDE-EYED FACE OF STEPHEN. JANE and ELAINE sit on the couch together watching - The TECHNICIAN demonstrates - builds a sentence for STEPHEN, selecting one LETTER at a time. STEPHEN is all concentration, observing how it is done. TECHNICIAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- All set. Then you just click'PLAY', like this - STEPHEN looks back at the screen, then CLICKS ONCE. The COMPUTER comes to life and says STEPHEN's first words in months. STEPHEN -LRB- electronic voice, strong American accent ) My -- name -- is -- Stee -- ven -- Hawking. STEPHEN stares at JANE - incredulous. JANE stares back at STEPHEN - horrified. JANE It's American! Oh, my Goodness. -LRB- TO TECHNICIAN -RRB- Are there any other voices? TECHNICIAN That's all they have at the moment. Is that a problem? ELAINE I think it's great! STEPHEN looks bewildered.", "INT. MASTER BED./WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - NIGHT In a quiet moment, STEPHEN sits alone, trying out the new device. His face shows SADNESS, BLEAKNESS. His eyes move back to the COMPUTER SCREEN. His fingers CLICK-CLICK-CLICK on the monitor. And finally we hear - his sadly moving homage ( to `` 2001 : A Space Odyssey'' ). STEPHEN Daisy. Daisy.  -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Give Me Your Answer Do. Finally - he SMILES. He has cheered himself up.", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY STEPHEN motors through the house, as we hear - STEPHEN Frankly my dear, I do n't give a damn.", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY Through the OPEN DOORS into the LIVING ROOM we hear TIMOTHY squealing with joyous delight, then see him run out - As TIM passes out of shot we hear then see STEPHEN slowly motor out of the LIVING ROOM, chasing him, with - - a LARGE BROWN PAPER GROCERY BAG OVER HIS HEAD ( TWO EYE- HOLES cut in it, a SMILE DRAWN over the mouth ) as STEPHEN's voice-synthesizer loudly proclaims the DALEK war-cry from DOCTOR WHO as STEPHEN chases his son around : STEPHEN Ex-terminate..! Ex-terminate..! Ex-terminate..!", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD /CAMBRIDGE - NIGHT JANE approaches as STEPHEN writes, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. His eyes turn to her as she hears : STEPHEN I will write. A Book. JANE At four words a minute? About what? STEPHEN clicks. She moves to look at his SCREEN. TIGHT ON SCREEN as he selects : T I M E. JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- TIME. STEPHEN Time... She smiles at him. MONTAGE : A ) The HANDS ON A CLOCK turn very quickly, TIME running fast. B ) STEPHEN motors down the cloisters of his college. STEPHEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- What is the nature of Time? C ) His PALSIED RIGHT HAND clicks the CLICKER, as he works at home at night. STEPHEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Will it ever come to an end? D ) A PRINTER prints out the text we hear in V/O - STEPHEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Can we go back in time? E ) He works in office at DAMPTP. STEPHEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Some day these answers may seem as obvious to us as the earth orbiting the sun, or perhaps as ridiculous as a tower of tortoises. He SMILES. F ) He motors by the college at sunset. STEPHEN Only Time, whatever that may be, will tell.", "INT. DAMTP, CAMBRIDGE - NIGHT ELAINE opens his LETTERS, and looks at him. STEPHEN works on his book - it's slow laborious work. CLICK, CLICK, CLICk... ELAINE picks up, from the mail, a SEALED COPY of PENTHOUSE MAGAZINE ( Addressed to : `` KIP THORNE c/- PROF.S.HAWKING'' ). ELAINE -LRB- SURPRISED -RRB- Professor? STEPHEN looks over at her - sees the MAGAZINE, that ELAINE, smiling, is starting to UNWRAP. He urgently types a voice message - click, click, click - but he is n't fast enough - she has opened it. Too late he clicks `` PLAY'' - STEPHEN It is for a friend. ELAINE'Course it is. That's what they all say. She surprises him by crossing the room and opening the PAGES of the MAGAZINE for him. ELAINE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You do n't have to be embarrassed around me, Professor. I know what men are like. SURPRISED, STEPHEN finds himself with the PENTHOUSE open before him. He looks at the MAGAZINE, then at ELAINE, then at the MAGAZINE. Just then - office DOOR OPENS. Enter, SCIAMA. He stops when he sees the MAGAZINE. SCIAMA Oh. I'm sorry. He exits, blushing. STEPHEN grins. ELAINE bursts out laughing. ELAINE Next one? He SMILES at her - falling in love with her. She detects this, happily. ELAINE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What?", "INT. WEST ROAD FLAT/ CAMBRIDGE - NIGHT STEPHEN, alone, continues to write, one painstaking word at a time.", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY JANE, exhausted, rubbing her eyes as she PROOF-READS STEPHEN's text, like the old days. She pauses, looks up, into the next room, at - - ELAINE laughing at something the grinning STEPHEN has said. JANE resumes work on STEPHEN's BOOK.", "INT. DAMTP, CAMBRIDGE - DAY STEPHEN still working - CLICK, CLICK, CLICK... TIGHT ON SCREEN : `` A HISTORY OF TIME'' He ponders this. Then has an idea. CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. He inserts `` BRIEF'' into the title. He stares at the screen.", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY TITLE PAGE is spat out of PRINTER : `` A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME.'' While reading the LAST PAGE manuscript for his book, JANE stops and is stunned by something she reads. She rises, and rushes - with the LAST PAGE - into the next room where -", "INT. MASTER BED./WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE   - DAY CLOSE ON : A PHOTO of STEPHEN and a MARILYN MONROE LOOK-A- LIKE, hangs on the wall. STEPHEN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- So I said - I have long been looking for a model of the universe. I finally found her. Beside the PHOTO, ELAINE finishes SHAVING STEPHEN - then steps away to pick up some HAND LOTION. She inadvertently show him some LEG. STEPHEN notices. ELAINE laughs, and starts to massage LOTION, almost lovingly, into his HAND. JANE announce her presence. JANE Elaine? Can we -? ELAINE comes over to JANE, still chuckling. JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Would you mind if I spoke with Stephen alone for a moment? ELAINE We're not quite finished -- can you come back in ten minutes? REACTION JANE : Slightly ruffled feathers. She exits.", "INT. MASTER BED./WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY JANE walks in, holding a page from the MANUSCRIPT. STEPHEN is'typing' a message. JANE -LRB- READS -RRB- `` Who are we? Why are we here? If we ever learn this, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason, for then we would know the mind of God.'' -LRB- TO HIM -RRB-'GOD'? Do you really mean this? STEPHEN types his reply. STEPHEN Yes. -LRB- TYPES -RRB- Of course. JANE So you're acknowledging him? But as he continues to CLICK, feverishly, she excitedly exits, before he can add another word. He tries to generate the next word before she disappears but he is alone again by the time his computer belatedly spits out - STEPHEN HOWEVER -- He sags, frustrated that he was not fast enough to set her straight - but then she comes back in - JANE Did you just say something? STEPHEN decides not to respond. JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- So you're actually going to let me have this moment. STEPHEN click-click-clicks, then - STEPHEN You - are - welcome. She smiles. She kisses him on the cheek, and then as she starts to leave - - on his SCREEN - STEPHEN selects the message he was writing earlier... clicks `` PLAY.'' We hear - STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- E-laine has offered to travel with me to A-merica. She will look after me. JANE -LRB- IMMENSELY HURT -RRB- Will she? STEPHEN Do n't worry. He clicks `` STOP''. She nods, sadly. He smiles, sweetly. Both accept what is happening, but sadly. JANE America? -LRB- BEAT -RRB- You always used to tell me when an invitation came in. CLICKS'PLAY.' STEPHEN -LRB- the old grin -RRB- A-nother a-ward. What can you do? JANE smiles, warmly. STEPHEN writes. STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Everything will be okay. She tries to smile. STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- How many years? STEPHEN writes. She waits. His eyes flick between his screen and her. JANE They said - two. We've had so many. The look in his eyes is his eloquent reply. Emotion overcomes JANE. Can this really be how it ends? It's so sad and bizarre and they both realise it in this moment. She tries to hide her tears by walking away from him and turning her back, hiding her face. STEPHEN watches her, as aware of the enormous significance of this moment as she - then slowly - slowly - motors toward her. He stops just behind her, then nudges her leg, ever so gently, with his own lifeless foot, the way a pony will nudge its familiar rider. He clicks `` PLAY'' - STEPHEN Be. Happy. She turns back, CROUCHES, comes down to his level - right in front of him, eye to eye - JANE I have loved you.  -LRB- BEAT -RRB- I did my best. As TEARS form in his own eyes, he BLINKS ONCE at her - the only form of communication that feels right in that moment, and she understands all that it means. She smiles through her tears as she SMOOTHS HIS HAIR. Finally - words are not needed.", "INT. WEST ROAD FLAT - DAY TWO MOVERS pack STEPHEN's PRIZES and MEDALS, lifting them from the SIDEBOARD, as - JANE watches, hiding her emotions.", "EXT. BOOKSHOP - DAY The window is dominated by a single display for STEPHEN's book - A Brief History Of Time.", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY CLOSE ON : The SUNDAY TIMES NEWSPAPER. The BEST-SELLER LIST. ECU on : A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME, at NUMBER 1. Weeks : 8 WIDE. JANE and her MOTHER, BERYL, at the dining table, the PAPER spread out before them. BERYL Remarkable. How is he? JANE He wants to marry her. BERYL Do n't blame yourself. We're proud of you. JANE is touched. JANE I'm trying hard not to think of this as a failure. BERYL But it was n't a failure. JANE But it feels like it! It feels like it, Mum. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Was it inevitable? BERYL does n't know what to say. Yes it was. BERYL Perhaps too many people were drawn in? -LRB- SILENCE -RRB- What will Stephen do next? JANE -LRB- SHRUGS -RRB- He's gone back to looking for his Theory Of Everything, his single equation. Well, it'll have to explain human relationships too. BERYL ponders this : JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It's going to have to be a wonderful piece of mathematics. -LRB- PONDERS -RRB- All the accidents... BERYL All the unexpected forces... attractions... JANE looks at her mother quickly - `` attractions''? BERYL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- wistful, dreamy -RRB- A attracts B -- JANE And vice versa. BERYL Of course. JANE Then add Time - Adversity - BERYL Yes. Adversity over time -- JANE - until the situation becomes unstable, heats up. BERYL Bang! JANE And the whole thing starts over. Whole new galaxies. BERYL gently grabs JANE's wrist - BERYL Darling, I think we've cracked it. Shall we phone the Nobel committee now or shall we have another cup of tea first? JANE, wipes her eyes, smiles sadly.", "EXT. CHURCH - DAY The CHURCH in winter - a dusting of snow on everything. To the sound of ORGAN, SINGING CHOIR and CONGREGATION, the front doors open, and the VICAR appears to shake the hands of the first departing church-goers.", "INT. CHURCH - DAY The SERVICE is over. The congregation departs, revealing - - JANE in her seat, still reading a prayer book, as - - JONATHAN walks up the nave, toward her, chatting with the departing CHORISTERS. It seems that he has n't noticed JANE and he passes close by, seemingly without seeing her. She averts her eyes. Then suddenly she feels a HAND brush her shoulder. When she turns to look, JONATHAN has walked past, and is still avidly talking to the CHORISTERS, heading for the main doors. JANE, with a beating heart, turns forward again and hears - - the FRONT DOORS of the church close. She is alone. She starts to cry in the empty church - thinking she has lost him forever, but then -- -- she hears SOFT PIANO MUSIC. She turns. Yes, music is coming from above. She rises, and moves toward the sound.", "INT. FRONT OF CHURCH - DAY (LATE 1970'S - MID 1980'S) JANE slowly walks TOWARD THE SOUND OF THE PIANO, which slowly grows louder, louder, until - - with a pounding heart, she discovers JONATHAN, at the piano, gently playing his beloved Bach. Only eventually does he raise his eyes and smile at her, a smile which expresses his hope that she would come to him. She smiles back, her heart ready to burst. ___________________________________________________________", "INT. HALLWAY/COCKCROFT LECTURE ROOM/CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY DAY      (LATE 1980'S ) STEPHEN, accompanied by ELAINE, motors down the HALLWAY/LOBBY TOWARD - - FANS and PRESS, waiting at the DOORWAY to the AUDITORIUM. Some FANS, autograph hunters, hold copies of `` BRIEF HISTORY'' for STEPHEN to sign. Others just want to take PHOTOS. The general impression? STEPHEN is now a ROCK STAR. After a MALE FAN gets his PHOTO taken with STEPHEN - a FEMALE FAN ( at the head of a sudden queue of FANS bearing copies of `` BRIEF HISTORY'' ) holds out a PEN to STEPHEN... FEMALE FAN Professor? Could you please sign a copy for me? ELAINE, gestures for STEPHEN to give his standard reply. He mouse-clicks once. STEPHEN I can not sign copies of my book -- but if you like -- I could drive over it. The FANS all laugh and all say `` YES, YES, YES!''", "INT. COCKCROFT LECTURE ROOM/CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY - DAY AUDIENCE APPLAUSE, continues over - a CU on the blackboard of the word : `` TIME.'' WIDE : A packed lecture hall. ANGLE ON : ELAINE, watching from the side of the stage. ANGLE ON : SCIAMA and a COLLEAGUE. SCIAMA now steps forward, to applause. SCIAMA Thankyou. I first met -- the Professor -- was it really 1963? Time- -where does it go? Back then, he was kind of annoying. -LRB- LAUGHTER -RRB- He knew things that his woeful work ethic should not have allowed him to know. -LRB- LAUGHTER -RRB- -LRB- MORE -RRB- SCIAMA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- But it's been -- really -- one of the great joys of my life to watch this man defy every expectation, both scientific and personal. So it's with no small pride that I ask him to return to the stage once more, to continue to do what he has always done - answer your questions. My most irritating student, my esteemed colleague, my good friend -- Professor Hawking. As STEPHEN motors onto the stage, to applause - SCIAMA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The first pre-selected question, please! GUEST 1, stands and reads her question from a SLIP OF PAPER. ( All the Questioners will do the same. ) GUEST 1 How have you been able to deal with all the physical challenges you face? STEPHEN stares at the AUDIENCE, who wait awkwardly for a reply. It's as if STEPHEN wishes to speak with his own voice, and is struggling to do so. In failure his eyes turn sadly to his screen, and then clicks the pad in his hand. WE HEAR : STEPHEN Can you hear me? -LRB- AUDIENCE LAUGHTER -RRB- There are some things I can not do. But. They are mostly the things I do n't particularly want to do anyway. GUEST 2 Now you are recognized everywhere, how do you deal with all the attention? STEPHEN I was stopped recently by a tourist in Cambridge who asked if I was'the real Stephen Hawking.' I replied that I was not, and said the real one was -- much better looking. Laughter. STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- He believed me. Even bigger LAUGH. APPLAUSE. GUEST 3 In 1979 you talked about the possibility of a theory of everything being discovered before the end of the century. STEPHEN I now predict -- that I was wrong. LAUGHTER. GUEST 4 Is Time Travel possible? LAUGHTER. STEPHEN I have experimental evidence that Time Travel is not possible. I gave a party for Time-Travellers but no- one came. LAUGHTER. As GUEST 5 rises and starts to speak, the volume goes down on this question... GUEST 5 Professor Hawking, you have said you do n't believe in God... CLOSE ON STEPHEN, slipping into a reverie as - he notices the CAP of a YOUNG LADY's PEN falls off the front lecture bench and drops to the floor... ( in SLO MO ). STEPHEN stares at the fallen CAP. ANGLE ON : GUEST 5, MUTED, his mouth still moving... ANGLE ON STEPHEN gets an idea. He wants to go and pick up that fallen CAP... Miraculously, the muscles in his slackened face start to stir... slowly his distorted expression straightens... his slumped head stirs and moves... his fingers stir... his feet... his legs... he slowly, slowly straightens in his wheelchair, and not only this... he even begins to rise painfully out of it, at last standing on his own... Standing, he crosses the floor, picks up the fallen CAP, and holds it out the pretty YOUNG LADY. She smiles at him, not at all astonished! CUT TO : GUEST 5 - we can hear him now. GUEST 5 -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You have said you do not believe in God. Do you have a philosophy of life that helps you? ANGLE ON : STEPHEN - back in his chair, as at the start of the scene, heart-breakingly unable to do what he wishes. STEPHEN It is clear that we are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies... ANGLE ON : The CAP on the floor, just where it had fallen. ANGLE ON : STEPHEN, in his chair - then on MEMBERS of the AUDIENCE, being greatly stirred by the following words - STEPHEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB-... but -- ever since the dawn of civilisation, people have craved for an understanding of the underlying order of the world. There ought to be something very special about the boundary conditions of the universe - and what can be more special than that there is no boundary? And there should be no boundary to human endeavour. We are all different. There is no such thing as a standard or run of the mill human being -- but we share the same human spirit. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there's life, there is hope. APPLAUSE, STANDING OVATION. ANGLE ON : ELAINE, clapping - proud. ANGLE ON : STEPHEN, in his chair, on the stage, sees ELAINE. Smiles. ANGLE ON : BRIAN and SCIAMA clapping. ANGLE ON : STEPHEN, surprised by the reaction.", "INT. LIVING ROOM/WEST ROAD FLAT/CAMBRIDGE - DAY JANE is studying again, going through her IBERIAN POEMS, when JONATHAN walks in with the MAIL, and sets one LETTER in front of her. JANE opens it. JANE It's from Stephen. -LRB- READING -RRB- He's -- he has invited -- the children and I -- to accompany him. JONATHAN reads her card, and then look at her, surprised. JONATHAN Gosh.", "EXT. BUCKINGHAM PALACE, LONDON - DAY The PALACE.", "INT. EMPIRE ROOM, BUCKINGHAM PALACE - DAY We are BACK in the FIRST SCENE OF THE MOVIE. JANE moves close to STEPHEN. They look at each other in the eyes for the first time in a long while. They finally SMILE tenderly, and then - JANE Your glasses are always dirty. STEPHEN'S POV as - his glasses are removed from his nose by JANE, cleaned, and then replaced on his nose. He is moved by this old ritual. The HAWKINGS then sit silently, but happily, surrounded by exquisite paintings and furniture.", "INT. GRAND HALLWAY/BUCKINGHAM PALACE - DAY - LATER STEPHEN and family - JANE, ROBERT ( 23 ), LUCY ( 19 ) and TIM ( 10 ) - roll up past pillars toward a SET OF ORNATE DOORS which open magically to reveal - QUEEN ELIZABETH II standing by a distant mantelpiece.", "EXT. QUEEN'S PRIVATE GARDEN,BUCKINGHAM PALACE - DAY In the garden, the HAWKING children play as freely as in their own, while STEPHEN is lifted to the bottom of a set of steps by two EQUERRIES. Left unattended, he motors forward a short distance and stops to watch his children. Fulfillment floods into his expression. A moment of deep satisfaction. He then looks around for JANE, finally making his CHAIR turn around. He sees her - some distance away. She has detained one of the EQUERRIES. JANE -LRB- TO EQUERRY -RRB- I'll leave a card. There's a number you can call. They can install ramps in a day. It really would be helpful. JANE hands the EQUERRY a card, and smiles. The EQUERRY nods, retires. JANE sees STEPHEN. She walks up to him. Together they watch their children. TIGHT ON STEPHEN : His eyes move from the kids, playing in this paradise, to the screen, where he types something... JANE sees he is writing something. She crouches beside his wheel-chair as the LETTERS FORM. JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- CONGRATULATIONS -- MY COMPANION -- OF Honour. Not bad for an old liberal SOCIALIST -- -LRB- WHISPERS -RRB- Do n't worry, you can decline the knighthood. He smiles, stops writing, looks at her with warmth, and she at him. She KISSES him on the cheek. JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Thank you. For today. It's been extraordinary. It's all just been rather extraordinary though, has n't it? They look into each other's eyes, and then starts writing AGAIN - JANE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What are you writing? ANGLE ON SCREEN : as he chooses letters from the streaming alphabet. As each word forms it drops onto the line where he builds this following sentence - `` L O O K WHAT WE MADE'' On his next click - `` PLAY'' - we - SNAP TO :", "EXT. GRAPHIC/UNIVERSE A BIG CRUNCH galactic moment - a supernova in reverse, from explosion to reconstituted star, then cut to - A CG MODEL OF THE UNIVERSE contracting - the stars converging, moving back together, toward the universe's first moment. TIME'S ARROW has been REVERSED... MONTAGE - sweeping us backward through TIME, a series of scenes from the film in reverse chronology... A ) REWIND FLASHBACK TO : STEPHEN's silent, wheelchair-bound tender look of love after JANE has said `` I have loved you'' B ) Where before the doctors marked Stephen's throat for the tracheotomy operation, in reverse we now see the mark DISAPPEAR. C ) Where before Jane supported the new born baby Timothy in Stephen's lap then scooped the baby up and out of frame -- in reverse we see the baby magically land in Stephen's lap. D ) Where before Lucy and Robert are sat on Stephen's lap and then jumped off and ran away as Stephen chased them in his electric wheel chair -- in reverse, they run backwards into his lap. E ) In reverse, we see STEPHEN walk backwards and first sit down into the wheel chair. F ) Where before Stephen dropped his fork during the dinner party -- in reverse, the fork leaps from the table and back into Stephen's hand. G ) The wedding tableaux with ROSE PETALS now in reverse, the petals travel upwards. I ) Where before STEPHEN stumbled and fell hard in the quad -- in reverse, he is lifted off the ground. J ) Where before STEPHEN and JANE beheld the fireworks at the May Ball -- in reverse the fireworks implode into black holes. K ) Where before STEPHEN knocked over a cup of tea whilst working at his desk -- in reverse, the liquid leaps back into his cup. L ) At the MAY-BALL, they KISS, then DANCE on the BRIDGE. M ) At their first meeting at the party, JANE stands at the door, and SEES STEPHEN for the FIRST TIME. He SMILES at her. FREEZE-FRAME on this....and then - N ) We JUMP INTO SPACE - TRAVEL FORWARD THROUGH SPACE, through the NEBULAE and COSMIC MATTER, travelling at the speed of LIGHT, approaching a single point in space, a SINGULARITY, a BLACK HOLE. As we disappear into it... SNAP TO BLACK. INSERT TWO CARDS : CARD ONE : A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME HAS SOLD MORE THAN 10 MILLION COPIES WORLDWIDE. AT 72 YEARS OLD, STEPHEN HAS NO PLANS TO RETIRE AND CONTINUES TO SEEK A THEORY OF EVERYTHING. HE DECLINED THE OFFER OF A KNIGHTHOOD FROM THE QUEEN. CARD TWO : JANE HAS HER PHD IN MEDIEVAL SPANISH POETRY. SHE AND JONATHAN ARE HAPPILY MARRIED. JANE AND STEPHEN REMAIN FRIENDS AND NOW HAVE 3 GRANDCHILDREN ROLL END CREDITS. ENDS"], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "University of Cambridge astrophysics student Stephen Hawking begins a relationship with literature student Jane Wilde. Although Stephen is intelligent, his friends and professors are concerned about his lack of a thesis topic. After he and his professor Dennis Sciama attend a lecture on black holes, Stephen speculates that black holes may have been part of the creation of the universe, and decides to write his thesis on them. However, Stephen's muscles begin to fail, giving him decreasing coordination with his body. He learns he has motor neuron disease, which will eventually leave him unable to move, swallow, and even breathe. There are no treatments, and he has approximately two years to live. The doctor assures Stephen that his brain will not be affected, so his thoughts and intelligence will remain intact, but eventually, he will be unable to communicate them. As Stephen becomes reclusive, focusing on his work, Jane confesses she loves him. She tells his father she intends to stay with Stephen even as his condition worsens. They marry and have their first son, Robert. Stephen presents his thesis to the examination board, arguing that a black hole created the universe in a Big Bang, that it will emit heat, and end in a Big Crunch. He begins using a wheelchair after his walking ability deteriorates. After the Hawkings have their daughter Lucy, Stephen develops a theory about the visibility of black holes and becomes a world-renowned physicist. Jane, focusing on the children as well as Stephen's health and increasing fame, is unable to work on her own thesis and becomes frustrated. Stephen tells her he will understand if she needs help. She joins a church choir, where she meets widower Jonathan and they become close friends. She employs him as a piano teacher for Robert, and Jonathan befriends the entire family, helping Stephen with his illness, supporting Jane, and playing with the children. When Jane gives birth to another son, Timothy, Stephen's mother asks Jane if the baby is Jonathan's, which she denies. Jonathan is appalled, but when he and Jane are alone, they admit their feelings for one another. He distances himself from the family, but Stephen tells him Jane needs him. While attending an opera performance in Bordeaux, Stephen is taken ill and rushed to a hospital. The doctor informs Jane that he has pneumonia, and that he needs a tracheotomy to survive, but it will leave him mute. She agrees to the surgery. Stephen learns to use a spelling board, and uses it to communicate with Elaine, his new nurse. He receives a computer with a built-in voice synthesizer, and uses it to write a book, A Brief History of Time (1988), which becomes an international best-seller. Stephen tells Jane he has been invited to the United States to accept an award and will be taking Elaine with him. Jane faces the realization that the marriage has not been working, telling him she \"did her best\", and they agree to divorce. Stephen goes to the lecture with Elaine, the two have fallen in love, and Jane and Jonathan reunite. At the lecture, Stephen sees a student drop a pen; he imagines getting up to return it, almost crying at the reminder of how his disease has affected him. He goes on to give a speech telling audiences to pursue their ambitions despite the harsh reality of life: \"While there's life, there is hope\". Stephen invites Jane to meet Queen Elizabeth II with him when being made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour; they share a happy day together with their grandchildren. An extended closing series comprises select moments from the film; shown in reverse, back to the moment Stephen first saw Jane; the reversal is reminiscent of Stephen's research methodology of reversing time to understand the beginning of the universe. Later, Jane and Jonathan marry, and she completes her Doctor of Philosophy. She and Stephen remain close friends. Stephen declines a knighthood from the Queen and continues his research, with no plans to retire in the near future.", "name": "The_Theory_of_Everything"}
{"scenes": ["Starship Troppers FROM THE FEDERAL NET - NOTICE - JOIN UP NOW! Proud YOUNG PEOPLE in uniform, the bloom of human evolution. YOUNG PEOPLE I'm doing my part. Me, too. Are you? The mobile infantery logo : LIGHTNING BOLTS ON A BLACK SHIELD. OFFICIAL VOICE Join the mobile infantery and save the world! Service guarantees citizen - ship. Would you like to know more? Behold actual pictures of a METEOR, this one a mile across, as it hurtles past an observation ship. OFFICIAL VOICE The Bugs send another meteor our way! A BRIGHT EXPLOSION in space out beyond the moon. OFFICIAL VOICE But this time we are ready! Planetary defenses are better than ever! Would you like to know more? KLENDATHU - WHY WE HAVE TO FIGHT! Klendathu, a fierce orange planet ringed by an asteroid belt, orbits a double star. OFFICIAL VOICE Klendathu, source of the bug meteor attacks, orbits a twin star system whose brutal gravitational forces produce an unlimited supply of meteorites. A `` You are here'' map of the KNOWN GALAXY shows the Earth in relationship to the BUG PLANETARY SYSTEM and Klendathu. OFFICIAL VOICE To ensure the safety of our solar system, Klendathu must be eliminated! Would you like to know more? LIVE BROADCAST - FROM ORBIT - THE INVASION OF KLENDATHU! For BATTLE GROUPS, sixty STARSHPS strong, orbit the orange planet. Graphics : KLENDATHU : THE INVASION OFFICIAL VOICE We break net now and take you live to Klendathu the invasion has begun!", "EXT.     KLENDATHU -- NIGHT -- THE CAMERA takes the Mobile Infantery CAP TROOPERS wearing fully armed Marauder POWER SUITS as they move up the line, the pans to the NET CORRESPONDENT NET CORRESPONDENT We've just landes here on whar cap troopres are calling `` Big K'' with the 6th Mobile Infantery division. It's an ugly planet, a bug planet, a planet hostile to life as we iGKKKKKK! Blood hits the lens as the Correspondent is cut in half. The CAMERA catches a glimpse of HUGE CLAWS as Cap Trooper JOHNNY RICO, 18, blows away SOMETHING BIG big with his pulse cannon. JOHNNY Com ` on, let's go! ON THE BOUNCE The cap troopers move out, among them DIZZY FLORES, 18, ACE LEVY, 19, and KITTEN SMITH, 18. The CAMERA pauses, unsure. FED NET CENTRAL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- FOLLOW THEM! GO! GO! The CAMERA follows. The PULSE of BUG BATTERIES is blinding. Cap Troopers scream as they are torn apart right and left by an enemy seen only in disorientating glimpses. JOHNNY THIS WAY! The group splits into two, and the CAMERA follows Johnny. Something slices Kitten Smith, and he goes down screaming. JOHNNY KITTEN! Johnny stops to help his comrade. A CLAW slashes into him. JOHNNY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Now something grabs the CAMERA, spinning it around. We glimpse the hideous jaws of an ARACHNID WARRIOR. CAMERAMAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! The CAMERA hits the ground. Johnny, badly wounded, bleeding from the mouth, crawls into CAMERA, trying to get away from the dark INSECT SHAPES that close in on him. JOHNNY Oh, God. Oh, God, help me. please help me. His eyes glaze over as he remembers", "INT.     NEW UNI HIGH - CLASSROOM - DAY - CARMEN IBANEZ is beautiful, just 18, and quite pleased with herself because Johnny Rico is clearly infatuated with her. RASCZAK -LRB- O.S. -RRB- The end of another school year, and for me no doubt another failure. Rico, pay attention! The teacher JEAN RASCZAK, 38, a rugged veteran who proudly displays his missing hand, scowls at Johnny, bemused. JOHNNY Sorry, Mr. Rasczak. But as soon as Rasczak turns back to the class, Johnny begins to sketch a cartoon on his desk's touch screen. RASCZAK Here in History and Moral Philosophy we've explored the decline of Democracy when social scientists brought the world to the brink of chaos, and how the veterans took control and imposed a stability that has lasted for generations since. You know these facts but have I taught you anything of value? You. Why are only citizens allowed to vote? Rasczak points at LANNY, 17, with his stump. LANNY It's a reward. what the Federation gives you for doing Federal Service. Rasczak is crestfallen, makes a big show of patience. RASCZAK No. Something given has no value! Have n't I taught you dimwits anything? I guess they ought to revoke my teaching credential. Laughter. Johnny's cartoon, meanwhile, is taking shape : Johnny and Carmen flying round planet Venus in a space ship. RASCZAK When you vote, you're exercising political authority. You're using force. And force, my friends, is violence, the supreme authority from which all other authority derives. CARL JENKINS, 18, a superintelligent geek, jumps in. CARL Gee, we always thought you were the supreme authority, Mr. Rasczak. Laughter. Rasczak grins. RASCZAK In my classroom, you bet. Whether it's exerted by ten or ten billion, political authority is violence by degree. The people we call citizens have earned the right to wield it. DIZZY FLORES, 18, athletic, pretty, no nonsense, chimes in. DIZZY My mother always says that violence never solves anything. RASCZAK Really? I wonder what the city fathers of Hiroshima would have to say about that. You. Rasczak points at Carmen. CARMEN They probably would n't say anything. Hiroshima was destroyed. Johnny presses `` SEND'' on his desk, and the cartoon appears across the way on Carmen's screen. RASCZAK Correct. Naked force has settled more issues in history than any other factor. The contrary opinion ` violence never solves anything' is wishful thinking at its worst. While Rasczak looks away, Carmen throws Johnny her wonderful smile, and Johnny's gone, checked out, flying round Venus. RASCZAK People who forget that always pay. They pay with their lives and their freedom. Dizzy notices the dreamy look on Johnny's face. So does Rasczak. He points at him with his stump, snaps Johnny to. RASCZAK You. Tell me the moral difference, if any, between the citizen and the civilian? JOHNNY The difference lies in the field of civic virtue. A citizen accepts personal responsibility for the safety of the body politic, of which he is a member, defending it, if need be, with his life. The civilian does not. RASCZAK The exact words of the text. But do you understand it? Do you believe it? JOHNNY Uh, I do n't know. RASCZAK Of course you do n't. I doubt if any of you here would recognize ` civic virtue' if it bit you in the ass. A bell rings. Rasczak shrugs, indifferent. RASCZAK Well, that's it. Have a nice life.", "EXT.     NEW UNI HIGH - HALLWAY - DAY - JOHNNY AND CARMEN walk with their friends. Several COUPLES hold hands. Johnny tries to take Carmen's hand, but she demurs. Johnny broods. CARMEN C'mon, let's see if they've posted the math final test yet. STUDENT Hey, Rico, we gon na take Tesla? JOHNNY How should I know? STUDENT You're captain of the team!", "EXT.     QUAD - DAY - JOHNNY AND CARMEN join other students around a MULTI - SCREEN KIOSK. CARMEN First thing Fleet Academy looks at is your math scores. Wish me luck! Carmen enters her name, receives her score : 97 %! She beams. JOHNNY Good for you. CARMEN Your turn. Then she spots Carl across the way talking with MARCO, 17. CARMEN Hold on. I wan na talk to Marco. His sister's at Fleet! Carmen rushes off. Johnny checks his score : 35 %! Crushed, he makes sure no none else has seen. Carl walks up to him. CARL You still have n't kissed her yet? Do n't lie. JOHNNY What's the hurry? CARL Others are waiting. Carl points out Dizzy, talking with friends. JOHNNY Did you read her mind? CARL Do n't have to. Some mating semaphore is pretty hard to miss. It's true. You can tell by the way she looks at Johnny. JOHNNY Yeah, but I want Carmen. CARL You got it bad. Carmen returns to Johnny as Carls heads off. CARL Do n't forget about this afternoon. -LRB- to Carmen. -RRB- He's always late when he walks you home to fish for a kiss. Carmen blushes, covers. CARMEN She's flying starships! JOHNNY Who? CARMEN Marco's sister. Can you imagine maneuvering half a million tons through crwoded space lanes. You got ta have nerves of steel! Reflexes are critical JOHNNY I have good reflexes. Carmen notices the way Dizzy's looking at Johnny, does n't like it one bit, takes Johnny's arm. CARMEN C'mon Johnny, we'll be late for Biology.", "INT.     BIOLOGY LAB  -- DAY - THE BIOLOGY TEACHER is an older woman, very spry, also blind. Johnny, Carmen and other students gather around covered lab tables. BIOLOGY TEACHER For our final today, please identify the mouthparts, the abdominal organs, and for extra credit, locate the nerve cord and count the ganglia. You may begin. The students remove the cover to reveal large alien bugs, 60 centimeter ARKELLIAN SAND BEETLES laid out for dissection. CARMEN Eeuch! JOHNNY Aw, c'mon, it's just a bug. BIOLOGY TEACHER Just a bug, eh? We humans like to think we are Nature's finest achievement. I'm afraid it is n't true. This Arkellian Sand Beetle is superior in many ways. It has fewer moving parts, can reproduce itself in vast numbers, and unboud by concerns of ego and mortality, makes the perfect selfless member of society. JOHNNY Better put your goggles on. Johnny slices the abdomen open with asurgical laser. Green fluid sprays from the slit. Carmen turns away looking ill. BIOLOGY TEACHER Our galaxy is teaming with insect life. We have identified over two billion species so far. Human, life, it would seem, is the anomaly. CARMEN But we're intelligent. Human minds have invented art, mathematics and interstellar travel. BIOLOGY TEACHER True, we know of no insect society that has produced a Shakespeare, an Einstein or a Cherynkov, but before you let that go to your head, take the example of the Arachnids, a highly organized, highly evolved insect society. She points to an insect evolution chart that starts with a common ant and ends with a two meter tall ARACHNID WARRIOR. BIOLOGY TEACHER They are relatively stupid by human standards. Workers have an IQ of 12, warriors around 35, and yet the Arachnids have colonized planets. Over a million years of evolution, Nature has provided the Arachnids with the biological means to hurl their spore into space. Johnny applies a spreader and jacks the insects abdominal cavity open with aresounding crack. Bug guts gush out. JOHNNY Well, if that's the crop, that must be the gastric caecal. CARMEN Excuse me! She heads for the door, hand over her mouth.", "EXT.     CIVIC PARK - DAY - JOHNNY AND CARMEN walk home from school together. JOHNNY 35 % on the math final! No one could be that dumb with numbers. CARMEN Well, at least you did n't lose your lunch over a bug. How embarassing. JOHNNY Who cares about bugs? You ca n't go anywhere if you do n't know math. CARMEN Do n't be so sure. I like you even if you are dumb with numbers. JOHNNY Then how come you wo n't hold hands with me at school? CARMEN I do n't want everyone to see. JOHNNY Why wo n't you kiss me when we're all alone? CARMEN How come that's all you talk about anymore? JOHNNY It's all I think about anymore. Indeed, they are all alone now. The look in Johnny's eye says how about it. Carmen grins, reaches for Johnny's hand.", "EXT.     PUPLIC TRANSPORTATION - DAY - CARMEN and Johnny stand together near a bank of TRANSPORTERS. CARMEN You ca n't walk me home. JOHNNY Why not? CARMEN I thought you were going to help Carl. JOHNNY Carl can wait. CARMEN Johnny, my Dad's home today. Johnny's face darkens with frustration. JOHNNY What's he got against me. I mean, I'm a teenager. You ca n't be a citizen when you're only a teenager! CARMEN It's not you, Johnny. Your parents are rich they do n't need to be citizens, and that stuff means a lot to my dad. He's a veteran. JOHNNY Well, if your dad does n't like me, how come we're such good friends? CARMEN Sometimes I do what I want, eh? Carmen steps into the flux. ZAPPP! She's gone. Johnny grins, happy to be in love.", "INT.     CARL'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY - JOHNNY is hard - wired to the stacks of processing units that comprise Carl's basement workshop. Carl concentrates on the image of a playing card, the six of diamonds, displayed on a monitor. CARL Do n't think about it. go on instinct. JOHNNY Ace of spades. The ace of spades appears, and the computer indicates `` no match''. Carl puts another card up, the jack of diamonds. CARL Statistically speaking you should've accidentally right by know. JOHNNY In addition to `` psychic dolt'' this test also proves I'm unlucky? Two of hearts. Wrong again. CARL Luck is not a factor. No one really knows why some people are sensitive and some are n't. Federal studies like this might provide a clue. The next card up is the nine of clubs. JOHNNY I would n't want to know what everyone was thinking. Four of spades. Suddenly, A GIANT YELLOW FROG jumps onto the keyboard, fritzing the monitor. Johnny removes the blindfold. CARL Cyrano, you big yellow turd! Johnny knows this frog, scratches him on the neck. JOHNNY He just wants attention. You do n't play with him like you used to. Carl concentrates for a moment. CARL Go bug Mom, Cyrano. Cyrano's eyes widen. He hops off the table and up the stairs two at a time. Carl clears the screen. JOHNNY How do you make him do that? CARL I gave him the impression that there was a fly crawling up my mom's leg. He is going to go eat it. From upstairs, CARL'S MOM shrieks. MOM -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Get out! Get out! CARL! JOHNNY Carl, promise me you wo n't ever do anything like that to me. CARL Do n't be afraid. Ca n't do humans. yet. C'mon let's go. Carl, puts up more cards, Johnny misses them all. JOHNNY Ten of clubs. You still gon na sign up for Starside R&D? CARL Passport to the Universe. Who would n't want that? JOHNNY I've been thinking about applying for Federal Service, too. Fleet, maybe. CARL Your father will never let you. JOHNNY I'm eighteen. It's my decision, I think I'd make a pretty good pilot. I've good great reflexes. You need that for maneuvering, you know. CARL Only 1 in 14 male applicants make it through stellar navigation. So what do you think your chances are? JOHNNY Eight point. no, uh, seven. CARL If you ca n't do those numbers, you have n't got a chance. JOHNNY All I know is Carmen's going to be a citizen, and I do n't think it'll work out for us if I'm not. CARL Love. how excruciatingly pathetic. Now try and pay attention. Carl puts a card up. JOHNNY Queen of hearts. The computer indicates a match. Johnny peers around at the monitor. It is the Queen of hearts. CARL Well, what do you know about that!", "EXT.     ATHLETIC FIELD - STANDS - DAY - CARMEN and other students wearing orange and black sing the `` Uni High Song''. The SCOREBOARD says : REGIONAL FINAL. Across the field, fans wear red and gold and sing another song.", "INT.     LOCKER ROOM - DAY - JOHNNY and other UNI HIGH TIGERS, all exceptionally robust young man and women, suit up in their orange and black uniforms. DIZZY Tesla's tough. They tumble good and they hit HARD. Dizzy bounces a JUMP SHOE to Johnny. The spring fires and vaults it high into the air. Johnny catches it, puts it on, smiles cocky at the TESLA GIANTS who suit up in red and gold. JOHNNY We tumble good, too.", "EXT.     ATHLETIC FIELD - DAY - WHAM! -- TIGERS AND GIANTS Powered by jump shoes, the play is gymnastic. Johnny moves the ball, high in the air over the Giant defensive line, makes ten meters before he is down.", "EXT.     STANDS - DAY - THE CROWD cheers as Johnny runs back to join his team. He sees Carmen waving, glad that Johnny has seen her among all the people.", "EXT.     HUDDLE - DAY - JOHNNY and other Tigers listen as quarterback Dizzy calls the plays. DIZZY Kick three, fade left. On two. They make fists, then breal for thevline of scrimmage.", "EXT.     SCRIMMAGE LINE - DAY - THE TIGERS have the ball. The Giant's QUARTERBACKassigns ZANDER BARCALOW, 18, handsome, super - confident, to guard Johnny. ZANDER Time's running out. Zander points. The SCOREBOARD shows TIGERS 19, GIANTS 20, three minutes and counting on the clock. Johnny grins. JOHNNY A lot can happen in three minutes. DIZZY Hut. hut! Johnny takes the handoff, flips over a gauntlet of Giant guards. Zander hurls himself at Johnny, misses. Johnny scores. Zander tumbles into the crowd, loses a jump shoe.", "EXT.     SIDELINES - DAY-ZANDER looks up and sees Carmen, smiling as she offers him a hand. She helps him up. He holds her hand longer than necessary. CARMEN Are you alright? ZANDER I'm getting better.", "EXT.     ATHLETIC FIELD - DAY - JOHNNY runs back to join his team as the crowd cheers. The Tigers lead 21 - 20. Johnny frowns when he sees Carmen talking to Zander on the sidelines, shaking his head, smiling.", "EXT.     SIDELINE - DAY - ZANDER finds his shoe, straps it on. ZANDER So what are you doing later? CARMEN Everyone is going to the dance. Are n't you? ZANDER I do n't know. It's my last night as acivilian. I ship out for Tereshkova tomorrow. Zander heads for the field. Carmen follows, interested. CARMEN You're going to the Academy? That's where I want to go. I'd love to talk to you abou that. A REFEREE blows his whistle at Zander, signalling impatiently. ZANDER I'm all ears. CARMEN Do n't you have to finish the game?", "EXT.     SCRIMMAGE LINE - DAY-THE GIANTS are in possession. Zander lands hard in front of Johnny. JOHNNY Do n't get any ideas. She's my girl. ZANDER You can never be sure. Johnny scowls at Zander, turns his head to look back at Carmen. She waves, smiling. The Giants pull ablitz. DIZZY WATCH THE BLITZ! Zander knocks Johnny on his ass, and the Giants score. It's TIGERS 21, GIANTS 22 and less than a minute to go.", "EXT.     HUDDLE -- DAY -- DIZZY orders up the next play. Johnny keeps looking over his shoulder because Zander's back talking to Carmen again. DIZZY Flip six, three hole. Rico? Hey! Dizzy slams Johnny upside his helmet with her forearm. JOHNNY What? DIZZY You were drifting. Flip six, three hole. On one, got it? JOHNNY Just throw me the ball, Diz. They make fists and break.", "EXT.     SCRIMMAGE LINE -- DAY -- JOHNNY takes position again across the line from Zander who now grins at Johnny broadly. Johnny does n't grin back. DIZZY Hut! At the snap, Johnny breaks for open field. Dizzy throws, Johnny catches it, trips Zander up painfully, and hurls himself into the end zone as a horn sounds the game's finish.", "EXT.     ATHLETIC FIELD - DAY - CHEERING UNI FANS rush onto the field as the school band strikes up a victory march. Tigers do flips in the air. Giants look dejected. Zander picks himself up, watches Johnny leave with Carmen.", "INT.     JOHNNY'S HOUSE - NIGHT - JOHNNY walks throuh rooms filled with elegant furniture. He's all spiffed up for the big dance. His MOTHER catches him preening in front of a mirror by the TRANSPORTER in the hall. MOTHER Who said you could grow up so fast? Last time I checked you were only five years old. You had such a bright little face. JOHNNY Aw, do n't get mushy. Johnny's FATHER enters carrying a FEDERAL SERVICE CATALOGUE. FATHER This came for you today. I presume on your request. JOHNNY A lot of my friends are doing Federal Service. MOTHER You are n't thinking of applying? Johnny shrugs. FATHER Have you lost you lost your mind? I'd rather take ten lashes in Public Square than see you ruin your life. JOHNNY It's aterm of service, not a career. I just want to get out on my own and see the Galaxy for a couple of years. MOTHER Johnny, people get hurt. people get killed in the Federal Service. If something happened to you I do n't know what I would do. FATHER Who gave you this idea? It's that teacher. What's his name? You know the one I mean. JOHNNY Mr. Rasczak. FATHER Rasczak. Silly name. There ought to be a law against using a school as a recruiting station! JOHNNY No, Mr. Rasczak does n't do that at all. He sorta discourages you really. FATHER Good, because you're going to Harvard, and that's the end of it. JOHNNY I'm eighteen. It's my decision. FATHER is that how it is? MOTHER Wait you two. Dad and I have a surprise for you that will settle this. Can you guess what it is? JOHNNY Uh, no. FATHER A trip to the Outer Rings. Whad ` ya think of that? JOHNNY Wow! Santori and Zegema Beach, I've always wanted to go there. MOTHER Good good, then it's all settled. FATHER A year at Harvard and you'll see this `` Federal Service'' is just menial training for inferior people so they can call themselves `` citizens'' and take airs for the rest of their lives. JOHNNY Wait a minute! Carl is doing his Federal and he is n't inferior. He's the smartest kid at school! FATHER Sorry. Carl's a fine boy. Johnny puts on his jacket. JOHNNY I do n't know what they teach at Harvard, but I think I'm pretty good enough the way I am! MOTHER Johnny, please. Calm yourself. JOHNNY Well, that's what you're saying! You're saying that I'm not good enough the way I am now! Johnny stomps out, the transporter goes ZAPPP! MOTHER Why did you go and do that? He was all ready to go Zegema Beach! FATHER Teenagers!", "INT.     UNI HIGH GYMNASIUM - NIGHT - EVERYONE at the `` Farewell Dance'' is dressed up. Rasczak and other TEACHERS chaperon. A spotlight finds the BAND LEADER. BAND LEADER Alright, everybody, this is the last dance, so let's turn down the lights and make it a slow one. The lights go down. Dizzy, dressed pretty, brightens when she sees Johnny standing alone near the dance floor. DIZZY Hey, Rico, wan na dance? JOHNNY Actually, Diz, I promised Carmen. DIZZY Too bad for her if she's not around. Dizzy pulls him onto the floor, holds him close. DIZZY You know, it's sad. Most of us probably wo n't see each other again after tonight. There is an invitation here. Johnny does n't take it. JOHNNY You still gon na play for Brazil? DIZZY Looks like, unless Tokyo lets me start. JOHNNY Well, anyone who gets you is lucky. DIZZY How come we never got together? Dizzy looks at Johnny meaningfully. He's distracted. Carmen crosses the room, stunning in her formal. JOHNNY Ca n't we just be friends, Diz? DIZZY Sure. JOHNNY Uh, look, Diz. DIZZY Guess you got ta go. JOHNNY You're the best. Johnny heads for Carmen. Dizzy watches jealously as Carmen takes his hand. She looks around for someone to dance with. Carl, a nerd in a tux, waves shyly.", "INT.     GYMNASIUM - DANCE FLOOR - NIGHT - CARMEN AND JOHNNY dance. Johnny wants to kiss her, Carmen playfully avoids. JOHNNY Is n't it great to be in love? CARMEN How do I know if this is love? JOHNNY It would n't be so romantic if we were n't. CARL Outa the way you two! Carl and Dizzy dance by, Dizzy smiling bravely because Carl is a terrible dancer. Johnny goes in for the kiss again. CARMEN Romance is just a vestigial biological response to procreation. JOHNNY Aw, you're in love with me. You just dont know it yet. Johnny's confidence makes her smile. Johnny moves in to kiss her, but the music ends. Everyone applauds. The lights come up and people head for the doors. Johnny sees Rasczak. JOHNNY Wait, I want to talk to Mr. Rasczak. CARMEN I'll meet you outside. Johnny heads over to Rasczak. JOHNNY Mister Rasczak? RASCZAK What is it, Rico? JOHNNY I just wanted to say thanks'cause History and Moral Philosophy was the best class I had this year. RASCZAK -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Well, it's not really my job to please. Hope you learned something. JOHNNY I wan na join up, Mr. Rasczak. I think I have what it take to be a citizen. RASCZAK Good for you. Go find out. JOHNNY Well, my parents are against it, and I know it's my choice, but I was wondering. What would you do if you were me? RASCZAK Figuring things out for yourself is the only freedom anyone really has. Use that freedom. Make your own choice, Rico.", "EXT.     UNI HIGH GYMNASIUM - NIGHT - JOHNNY walks out and finds Carmen talking with Zander. He wears the blue uniform of a Fleet pilot trainee. Carmen examines his FLEET PIN, a pair of silver wings. CARMEN Johnny, this is Zander. ZANDER Yeah, we know each other from the game. No hard feeling, eh, chum? JOHNNY None at all. We won. CARMEN Good luck at the academy. Zander takes back the wings and pins the to his tunic. ZANDER Always.", "EXT.     PROMENADE - NIGHT - JOHNNY AND CARMEN walk together along the river holding hands. CARMEN He just got accepted to the Fleet Academy. Is n't that great? JOHNNY Yeah, sure, I guess. CARMEN No, I mean if he can get in, maybe I have a chance. JOHNNY What are you talking about? We both know you're gon na be a pilot. CARMEN Zander is going for pilot, too. JOHNNY You two have so much in common. Carmen pulls Johnny to a stop, looks him in the eye. CARMEN Johnny Rico, you're jealous! JOHNNY I ca n't help it. CARMEN He's nothing like you. JOHNNY I do n't even know if you're my girl. Carmen smiles, leans in close to Johnny. CARMEN Are you the boy for me? JOHNNY I'm gon na do it, Carmen. I'm gon na sign up for Federal Service. They kiss, tentatively, but the passion grows and they break apart, breathless. CARMEN Oh, Johnny.", "EXT.     PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION - NIGHT - JOHNNY AND CARMEN making out as they wait their turn. There are a few other people around including a POLICEMAN. CARMEN Everyone's looking. we should n't. JOHNNY Who cares? CARMEN You're right. Let's never stop. POLICEMAN Hey, you, there's a place for that! Without stopping, Johnny pulls Carmen into the flux. ZAPPP!", "INT.     FEDERAL HOUSING - NIGHT - JOHNNY AND CARMEN kissing at her front door. Johnny moves his hand tenatively to Carmen's breast. She takes his hand, smiling, puts it under her shirt. JOHNNY I love you, Carmen. CARMEN Shhh. She puts her mouth on his and they melt together. The door flies open, and CARMEN'S DAD stands there. CARMEN'S DAD Carmen, it's late. Get inside. CARMEN Sorry, Dad. See you, Johnny. Carmen ducks inside. Her father looks Johnny over. He carries a terrible battle scar oon his face. CARMEN'S DAD I do n't want you around Carmen anymore. Get me? JOHNNY Maybe Carmen's gon na make her own decisions from now on, Mr. Ibanez. Carmen's Dad reddens. He'd like to punch Johnny out. CARMEN'S DAD Carmen's gon na be a citizen. She do n't need you and your rich family. The Federation'll give her everything she needs. CARMEN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Dad, leave him alone. Carmen's Dad slams the door in Johnny's face.", "EXT.     FEDERAL BUILDING - DAY - JOHNNY AND CARMEN meet Carl in front of the induction center where a staedy flow of prospective citizens file through the main doors.", "INT.     LOBBY - DAY - THE RECRUITING SERGEANT is missing one arm. He smiles broadly at the three teenagers. RECRUITING SERGEANT Fresh meat for the grinder, eh? CARL That's us. Where do we sign? He turns in his chair to grab the forms. Johnny and his friends see that he is also missing both legs. The Recruiting Sergeant catches them looking, smiles even wider. RECRUITING SERGEANT Here and here and here. As he signs, Johnny looks at the campaign ribbons on the Recruiting Sergeant's chest. We hear MUSIC : `` The Mobile Infantery Anthem'' plays softly in honor of distant battles. RECRUITING SERGEANT Welcome to the adventure of Federal Service. Follow the blue line.", "INT.     PROCESSING HALL - DAY - JOHNNY, CARMEN AND CARL are routed into different lines, joining other hopeful civilians. A COLONEL makes a speech over the loudspeaker. COLONEL There is no guarantee of service. We do n't need all of you. It costs a great deal to train human beings for useful tasks. Many jobs are hazardous to your health. If you are chosen and do not wish to serve you may resign at anytime simply by completing form 1240/A. Thank you for exercising you constitutonal rights.", "INT.     CHANGING ROOM -- DAY -- JOHNNY and others in the line strip down. The guy in front of Johnny is DON, 18, athletic and cheerful. DON They took my sister, they'll take anybody.", "INT.     TESTING FACILITY -- DAY -- JOHNNY grimaces as a TECHNICIAN installs an INTERFACE PLATE on his side, drawing fluids. DON Oh, this is the part that hurts! A PSYCH OFFICER sits down across from each candidate. PSYCH OFFICER No talking please. I'm going to ask you some questions. Please answer all questions truthfully. We'll know if you do n't. Birthplace? JOHNNY Here in Buenos Aires. The Psych Officer checks Johnny's response on a meter.", "INT.     VARIOUS TESTING STATIONS - DAY - JOHNNY is poked and prodded, subjected to aural, visual and pharmacological stimuli, and scanned from head to toe. PSYCH OFFICER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Are your parents currently citizens? JOHNNY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- No, sir. PSYCH OFFICER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Which do you think is more important, courage or confidence? JOHNNY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Courage, I guess. PSYCH OFFICER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Please complete this sentence. I want to be citizen because. JOHNNY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I want to be a citizen because. well, because of my girl, sir.", "INT.     DEBRIEF - DAY - JOHNNY sits across from a MAJOR who views a list on a monitor Johnny ca n't see. MAJOR I'm happy to tell you that you've been accepted for Federal Service. JOHNNY Wow, that's great. MAJOR Looks like you're quite an athlete. Boy, look at those reaction stats. The Major clucks his tongue as he highlights the last category on his list : MOBILE INFANTERY. MAJOR My job is to dertermine what you're best suited for. JOHNNY I want to be a pilot, sir. MAJOR Sorry, son, no way. Your school records say you do n't have the math skills. Johnny swallows this. He knew it was coming. The Major deletes `` Pilot'' from the list, then several other items. MAJOR That rules out the scientific and engineering applications, and I'm afraid we reserve non - military options for candidates who are frankly less able - bodied than you are, son. He turns the monitor around and shows Johnny the list. The only thing left is MOBILE INFANTERY. MAJOR It looks like the only thing you're good for is cannon fodder. I'm putting you down for the Mobile Infantery.", "INT.     AUDITORIUM - DAY - CARMEN proudly takes the Federal Service oath with about twenty - five other people, a gleaming silver FLEET PIN on her chest. She looks around for Johnny, sees him grinning at her. JOHNNY ET AL of my own free will, without promise, coercion, or inducement, after having been duly advised and warned of the meaning and consequence of this oath, do now enroll in the Federal Service of the Terran Federation for not less than two years and as much longer as may be required by the needs of the Service.", "INT.     FEDERAL BUILDING - LOBBY - DAY - JOHNNY AND CARMEN walk out together happily, hand in hand. CARMEN I wonder where Carl is. You do n't suppose? JOHNNY Naw, I made it, Carl made it. Just then, Don rushes past, shamefaced, crying. JOHNNY He was in the group with me. I guess he did n't. CARMEN Shhh! Do n't make him feel worse. The Recruiting Sergeant is getting ready to go home. He's got legs now, and he takes a prosthetic arm from its case and snaps it on. He grins when he sees them staring. RECRUITING SERGEANT They put me out front to discourage the weak - hearted, but at the end of the day I go home. How'd you kids do? CARMEN I'm gon na go for pilot. RECRUITING SERGEANT Good for you. We need every pilot we can get. Johnny holds the door for Carmen and the Recruiting Sergeant. Suddenly Carl appears looking a little paler than usual. CARMEN Hey, Carl, what's wrong? JOHNNY Did you get Starside R&D? CARL No.", "EXT.     FEDERAL BUILDING - DAY - JOHNNY AND CARMEN are stunned. JOHNNY I do n't believe it! CARL I got Games & Theory. Well, everyone's a little impressed by this. CARMEN Games & Theory? That's Military Intelligence. Oh, Carl! JOHNNY Whoa! Way to go, boy - yo! RECRUITING SERGEANT Next time we meet, I'll probably have to salute you. What about you, son? JOHNNY Infantery, sir. The Recruiting Sergeant beams, offers a prosthetic hand. RECRUITING SERGEANT Well, good for you. The Mobile Infantery made me the man I am today. Just what Johnny wanted to hear. They watch the old Sergeant walk away. MUSIC : `` The Mobile Infantery Theme''. Carmen takes Johnny and Carl by the arm as they walk. CARMEN Let's all make a vow. Let's swear we'll always be friends no matter what. JOHNNY I'll go for that. CARL Well, we're gon na be millions of light years away from each other, and chances are we'll never see each other again, but sure. CARMEN I ca n't wait to tell my Dad I'm in. He's gon na be so happy! JOHNNY My father's probably gon na kill me.", "INT.     JOHNNY'S HOUSE - STUDY - NIGHT - JOHNNY stands sullenly as his Father rages at him. FATHER You'll resign, and that's all there is to it. It might look bad, but if that's the worst you suffer. JOHNNY I wo n't quit! FATHER I'm telling you, you will! You're not going back. You're going to go on vacation! JOHNNY I'm not going on vacation! I want to be acitizen! It's my decision. I made it. Johnny turns for the door. His father throws his last shot. FATHER You walk out that door, you're cut off, young man. You understand me? Alright, THAT'S IT, YOU'RE.", "INT.     JOHNNY'S HOUSE - HALLWAY - NIGHT--JOHNNY walks out, grim, sees his mother, tears in her eyes. FATHER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- CUT OFF! MOTHER Johnny, why wo n't you change your mind? Does citizenship mean so much to you? JOHNNY Well, yeah, sure. MOTHER I hope so. I hope you do n't ruin your life over some silly little girl who wants to look handsome in a uniform. Johnny's face reddens. JOHNNY Do n't talk about my girl that way. Johnny turns on his heel, heads for the transporter. ZAPPP!", "EXT.     FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION HUB - DAY - JOHNNY looks for Carmen among hundreds of young people bound for Federal Service destinations. Recruits wear civilian clothes. Everyone else is in uniform. P.A. -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Outbound group 1380, Ursa Minor and Tyko, now transporting at bank 17. Now he sees her entering struggling with luggage. Johnny rushes to help her and soon he is carrying all her bags. JOHNNY You're late. CARMEN My Dad had to help me pack. Suddenly he's afraid he's never gon na see me again or something. It was sweet, but it took forever. Anyway, I guess I'm ready to go. At the freight station, Carmen enters her Federal I.D. card and gets numbered tags for her bags. JOHNNY Me, too. I'm wearing everything I own. Johnny loads them onto a conveyor belt. CARMEN Poor boy. I'm sorry your parents were so mad. JOHNNY Who cares! The Federation'll give me everything I need for the next two years, right? Carmen's already moved to the next line. Johnny follows. CARMEN You talk to Carl? JOHNNY He left this morning. He could n't say where. Carmen logs in, enters her destination : LUNA - TERESHKOVA FLEET ACADEMY. The tickets station spits out a pass. CARMEN It's exciting, but it's scary, too is n't it. Going someplace new where you do n't anyone. Carmen heads toward a bank of transporters. Johnny stops her, takes her by the arms. JOHNNY I'm gon na miss you. CARMEN I'll miss you, too, Johnny. JOHNNY I love you. P.A. -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Outbound group 948A, Tereshkova, all sections, transporting at bank 5. CARMEN Oh, that's me. She scans her pass, but Johnny stops her again. JOHNNY Com ` on, just say it. Try it on for size. CARMEN Alright, I love you. Carmen kisses him, jumps into the transporter. JOHNNY Do you mean it? CARMEN I said it. Is n't that enough? Do n't forget to write! ZAPPP! The last thing he sees are her beautiful eyes. FROM THE FEDERAL NET - A WORLD THAT WORKS! People are doing Federal Service jobs all over the known Galaxy. OFFICIAL VOICE From all over the known Galaxy, prospectice citizens work together to make a better tomorrow! Would you like to know more? CRIME & PUNISHMENT - TONIGHT! A CRIMINAL stands before a FEDERAL COURT OFFICIAL VOICE A murderer was captured and tried today. Sentence : DEATH. Tonight at six, all net, all channels. Would you like to know more? NOTICE - ARE YOU PSYCHIC? A Federal clinic specializing in psycic research. OFFICIAL VOICE If you think you are psychic, maybe you are. Harness your unique abilities and take advantage of the many Federal benefits available for psychic citizens. Would you like to know more? TRAVEL ADVISORY - INSECT TRAGEDY ON TANGO URILLA A prefab township sits on the shores of a tranquil alien bay. Then, a `` You Are Here'' map of the Known Universe. OFFICIAL VOICE Disregarding Federal warnings, Mormon extremists established Port Joe Smith, a settlement of 300 on Tango Urilla, a system just inside the Arachnid Quarantine Zone. Archival pictures of a captive two meter ARACHNID WARRIOR, multiple eyes, cutting mouthparts and claws. Wary SCIENTISTS keep their distance as it eats a COW. OFFICIAL VOICE Too late they realized tha Tango Urilla had already been chosen by other colonists - Arachnids! Now body parts litter the ruined streets of Port Joe Smith. OFFICIAL VOICE The council asks future colonists to obey all official Federal warnings. Would you like to know more?", "EXT.     CAMP CURRIE - PARADE GROUND - DAY - SERGEANT ZIM is 40, astoundingly fit, and like all drill instructors, he carries a small baton. He addresses sixty shorn RECRUITS. ZIM The problem with you is that none of you are good enough the way you are. Johnny stands in formation with his squad, among them : BRECKINRIDGE, 18, DJANA'D, 19, KATRINA McINTIRE, 18, ACE LEVY, 18, SHUJUMI, 18, and KITTEN SMITH, 18. ZIM I am your senior drill instructor, Career Sergeant Zim. -LRB- then. -RRB- TO THINK THIS HAD TO HAPPEN TO ME! What a bunch of apes. No, strike that. You do n't rate that good. you sunken - chested, slack - bellied, drooling refugees from apron strings! In my whole life I've never seen such a disgraceful huddle of momma's spoiled little darlings! Suck in those guts! You there, EYES FRONT! Zim gives Kitten Smith the hairy eyeball. Smith cracks up. ZIM Do you think I'm funny? Do I make you laugh? Do you think I'm a comedian? Kitten Smith shake his head `` no'', but he ca n't stifle himself. KITTEN SMITH Sorry! ZIM The first and last words out of your stinking holes will be `` sir''. Do you get me? KITTEN SMITH Sir, sorry. sir. ZIM See the armory? Run around it! Kitten Smith squints. Out in the distance, a tiny building. Zim smacks him on the leg with his baton. KITTEN SMITH YEOW! ZIM RUN, I SAID. Bronski, keep pace! Kitten Smith runs. Big CORPORAL BRONSKI, 28, takes out after him, laying a baton across his backside every time he slows. ZIM You are now all brothers and sisters in the same family, my family, the Mobile Infantery. I will be your mother. I will be your father. If you do not please me I will throw you out of my family because I hate all slackers and negative hackers. Do you get me? JOHNNY ET AL Sir, yes, sir! Zim points at the little WHITE PICKET FENCE leading to a transporter near the front gate. ZIM Anytime you think I'm being to tough, anytime you think I'm being unfair. QUIT! Grab your gear and take a stroll down `` Washout Lane''. Get me? JOHNNY ET AL Sir, yes, sir! ZIM I wonder if there's a handful of guts in the whole bunch. Who thinks they've got what it takes to knock me down? Breckinridge, a big guy from a farm planet, steps forward. BRECKINRIDGE Sir, I guess maybe I do, sir. Zim crooks afinger at him. Breckinridge charges. Zim knocks him flat. Breckinridge holds his arm, twisted now. ZIM You alright, Breckinridge? BRECKINRIDGE Sir, yes, sir. It's my arm. I think it's broken, sir. ZIM MEDIC! A MEDIC charges up, checks Breckinridge's arm, grins. MEDIC Clean break. Doc'll have him back on active duty by tomorrow. ZIM Good. Who's next? Shujumi steps up, assumes a fighting stance. Zim looks him over. There's not not much to him. Shujumi attacks Zim, counters his counter, dances out of range. DJANA'D Lookit the little guy go! Now Zim attacks. Shujumi flip kicks Zim in the head. JOHNNY He's good alright. KATRINA I'll bet he makes squad leader. ACE He'll have to get past me. The recruits check Ace out. Zim sweeps Shujumi's legs, puts a knee in the little man's throat. Shujumi passes out. ZIM MEDIC!", "EXT.     OBSTACLE COURSE - DAY - THE RECRUITES tumble a brutal obstacle course using JUMP BOOTS. ZIM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Some of you may not make it. Djana'd hits a tower and falls to the deck hard, dropping her rifle. She holds her knee, hurt. Zim races over to her. ZIM WHY IS THAT WEAPON ON THE GROUND? YOUR WEAPON IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU ARE! PICK IT UP! PICK IT UP! Zim begins to kick her because she does n't move fast enough. ZIM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You might think I am unfair.", "EXT.     ZERO GRAVITY COMBAT - DAY - THE RECRUITES watch poor Kitten Smith spar with Zim. Kitten Smith whacks Zim across the jaw. Zim does n't even flinch. ZIM Is that all you got? You hit like kitten, Smith! This is a punch. WHAM! Zim knocks Kitten Smith for a loop. ZIM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You will not like me.", "INT.     HYPERPHYSICAL TRAINING ENVIRONMENTS - DAY - ZIM watches the recruits face simulated 3 - D OFF - WORLD FOES. In one room, CYCLOPS SOLDIERS of Antilles, in another, red DEATH WALKERS, and in a third, screeching ARACHNID WARRIORS. ZIM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But if you survive you will thank me because you will be born again hard. You will be a new person. You will be a Cap Trooper. And then, MAYBE, you'll be good enough.", "EXT.     COMBAT KNIFE PRACTICE - DAY - ZIM throws a knife, buries the point in a narrow post. ZIM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- to serve in my family. ACE Sir, I do n't understands who needs a knife in a nuke fight anyway. All you got ta do is push a button, sir! Zim yanks the knife out of the post. ZIM Put your hand on the post, private. Ace obeys. Zim throws, sticks his hand to the post. ACE AWK! ZIM The enemy can not push a button if you disable his hand. MEDIC! Zim pays no attention to Ace who remains stuck to the post. A recruit trots up. Johnny stares, surprised. It's Dizzy. DIZZY Sir, recruit Flores, reporting for duty, sir. She snaps Zim a salute and hands him her orders. ZIM I see you specifically requested transfer from Fort Cronkite to this training group. Dizzy grins self - consciously at Johnny. DIZZY Sir, I heard it was the best, sir! ZIM It is the best. BUT WHAT MAKES YOU YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH? YOUR BELLY AND GIVE ME RECRUIT! Dizzy hits the deck and starts doing push - ups, counting off as MEDICS arrive and go to work on Ace's hand.", "INT.     MESS HALL - DAY - THE RECRUITES line up for mess piled four - square together on a single plate, meat on the bottom, ice cream on top. ACE I'd like to disable Zim! KATRINA Improper Attitude! They'll kick you out for talking like that. DJANA'D They can kick you out for anything. Improper Conduct, Unsatisfactory Performance. KITTEN SMITH Off you go down Washout Lane, bye - bye! Ace cuts into the front off the mess line. ACE Aw, you either got what it takes or you do n't. DJANA'D C'mon Ace, wait your turn! ACE At ease, soldier. It's all the same muck. JOHNNY Better get in line like everyone else, Ace. Silence. There could be a fight. Zim, standing nearby, watches with interest. Ace opens his hand. ACE You got some guts for a rich kid. I guess you and me could be buddies. JOHNNY What an honor. ACE Hey, do n't laugh. Everyone oughta have a friend like me! Ace makes a big friendly show of trading places with Johnny. BRECKINRIDGE Come on, Ace, back off the line! Bacl off the line! Now everyone's laughing, pushing Ace to the back of the line. Johnny has his grub. Dizzy comes up with her tray. DIZZY Hey, amigo, come chow with me. JOHNNY No thanks, Diz. DIZZY What's your malfunction, Rico? JOHNNY You are. I joined up to get out on my own. And you had to tag along. DIZZY What? You think I joined the Mobile Infantery because of you? JOHNNY You saying you did n't? Johnny turns away. Dizzy watches him go, hurt.", "EXT.     OBSTACLE COURSE - DAY - THE RECRUITS tumble down the difficult course in their power suits. At the head of the pack, breathing hard, Johnny and Ace race. ACE What makes you think. you'll make. squad leader, Rico? JOHNNY Something. I've got. you do n't. ACE You rich kids. are all the same! JOHNNY It is n't about rich. It's about who's best! They come to a trap, prepare to leap. DIZZY Coming through! Dizzy jumps over them from behind. Johnny and Ace tumble into the mud. They watch, chagrined, as Dizzy reaches the end of the course effortlessly. ZIM C'mon, move it, you apes!", "INT.     SHOWERS - NIGHT - DIZZY enters as the recruits scrub down. KITTEN SMITH We all have one thing in common. We were all stupid enough to sign up for Mobile Infanterie. What's your excuse, Breckinridge? BRECKINRIDGE Well, my family is all farmers. I hate farming. Mobile Infantery's pure picnic by comparison. KITTEN SMITH So the grow'em big and dumb on the farm planet, eh? Djana'd? DJANA'D I'm going in for politics. You got ta be a citizen for that. So here I am. KITTEN SMITH C'mon, keep it going. Katrina! KATRINA I wan na be a mom. It's easier to get a licence if you've served. ACE I'm going career. officer's training. That's why I wan na be squad leader. They look for that. JOHNNY Wanting it does n't make you the best one for the job. ACE Oh, yeah? I do n't see anyone else here with the chops to lead. JOHNNY Well, maybe you better look again. SHUJUMI Federation's gon na give me a scholarship when my hitch is up. I wan na be a neurologist, study brain chemisty and associated stimulus. Dizzy dresses down. Johnny and all the other guys check her out. She has a fabulous body. Dizzy cathes Johnny looking. He turns his back as she steps into the shower next to him. KITTEN SMITH Your turn, Rico! JOHNNY Aw, who asked you to be so nosey? KITTEN SMITH Me, I got plans to be writer, and a writer's got a right to be nosey. Flores, you know Rico from Buenos Aires. What's his story? Dizzy uses her hand to divert the shower spray towards Johnny's crotch. DIZZY Well, some say he turned his back on the family fortune to be a citizen, others say he did it for a girl. missed a spot there, bucko. which is funny because Johnny says I joined up to be with him, but why would I do that? He does n't even like me. BRECKINRIDGE Do n't look that way to me. Everyone look down at Johnny's crotch, laughing. Johnny blushes, grabs a towel and exits the shower.", "INT. BARRACKS - NIGHT - INTO CAMERA - JOHNNY pans the barracks with a little handcam, neat bunks in a row, other recruits lounging around in their skivvies. JOHNNY I know it's not much, but it's home. Over there's my bunk where I dream about you every night. Ace, Kitten Smith, Shujumi and Breckinridge dance around and moon the camera. JOHNNY Hey, do you mind? Johnny moves the camera away from the guys. Katrina walks by from the shower with Dizzy, mugs into frame. KATRINA Hey, what's going on? DIZZY I bet it's that girl I was talking about. Her name's Carmen, I think. ACE AND THE OTHERS Carmen! Ooh la la, Carmencita! KATRINA Hi, Carmen! Johnny heads for the door. ACE AND THE OTHERS Hey, where you going? Come back! He's getting awy. Grab him! The picture goes all screwy, comes up again on :", "EXT.     BARRACKS - NIGHT - INTO CAMERA - JOHNNY talk quietly now outside the barracks door. JOHNNY Boot's pretty tough, and sometimes I think I wo n't make it, but then I imagine you're watching me, and that gives me someting. I try harder. Thanks to you, I think I might have a shot at squad leader. The barracks lights go out. Taps plays over the public address. Johnny lowers his voice. JOHNNY Uh - oh, I got ta pack it in. I hope you're having fun, hope you're careful. No training accidents for you, eh? -LRB- leaning into camera. -RRB- I want to kiss you so badly. I want to feel you next to me, I - Behind him, someone begins to sing, badly. ACE I love you truly, so truly, dear! Ace, the singer, and the other guys peer down from the transom over the door, giggling, delighted with themselves.", "INT.     TERESHKOVA FLIGHT ACADEMY - DAY - CARMEN watches the end of Johnny's letter. Ace continues to sing. ACE Our love will grow, dear, year by year. JOHNNY Bye! Write me! I'm gon na kill you guys! The letter ends. Carmen smiles. A BALD CADET PILOT smacks her on the arm as she runs by in a sleek blue pressure suit. BALD CADET Orbit in five, Ibanez! First one there gets to fly! Grinning, Carmen grabs her duffel, takes off after her.", "INT.     BOARDING CORRIDOR - DAY - CARMEN and the bald cadet race for the hatch past other recruits.", "INT.     BOAT - DAY CYCLE-CARMEN gets there first, jumps into the pilot seat. The Bald Pilot takes second seat. CARMEN Looking it down! Two LATE CADETS duck in through the closing hatch door. LATE CADET Oh no, not Ibanez again, she's crazy! CARMEN On my mark, in three, two, one.", "EXT.     LUNAR ORBIT - THE BOAT straeks upward from the lunar floor past orbitting training platforms where CADETS in brightly colored pressure suits float against the Earth which hangs beyond the horizon. CARMEN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- GO!", "INT.     BOAT - LUNAR ORBIT - CARMEN blasts past a DESTROYER orbiting in dock, zips between CORVETTES and other slower fleet traffic in the crowded space lanes of Luna. The two late cadets are terrified. BALD CADET Geez, I thought I liked to fly fast! CARMEN This is nothing. Today, I get to fly that! She points. Now visible from behind a host of smaller ships, STARSHIP ATHENA, of older design, but impressive.", "INT.     ATHENA - COMMAND AND CONTROL - DAY CYCLE - CARMEN arrives on the bridge, dark, cramped, all - business. She salutes the instructor, CAPTAIN DELADIER, 40s. CARMEN Pilot Trainee Ibanez reporting for duty, ma'am. DELADIER Take the number one chair, Ibanez. Follow all instructions of you supervisor. CARMEN Yes, ma'am! Carmen turns for her station, but stops in her tracks. Her supervisor is Zander Barcalow, now a 2nd Lieutenant. CARMEN Hey! What are you doing here? ZANDER I'm the guy who's gon na teach you to fly this crate. Carmen logs on. The ship recognizes her as a pilot trainee. CARMEN Assistant insructor. You must be some kind of a hot stick. Should I call you `` sir''? ZANDER Only when I give you an order. DELADIER Prepare for departure. Carmen and Zander go to work. CARMEN It's amazing, us running into each other like this. Maybe it's fate. ZANDER Maybe not. I heard about this crazy girl coming through the academy, solid math, a little wild on the stick, but a natural. When it turned out it was you, I made sure we'd run into each other. DELADIER Alright, take her out, Ibanez. CARMEN Yes, ma'am. All eyes are on carmen as she grabs the stick. The ship shudders under her hand. She winks at Zander. CARMEN In simulation, my supervisors could never keep up. ZANDER This is n't simulation anymore. Take'er out easy, cadet. CARMEN Oh, yes, sir. Vector? ZANDER Twenty - five by five, roll seven. And do n't exceed port speed. Carmen rocks the stick, and the view from the bridge spins smoothly away from the dense orbiting yards os Luna toward the outer system. CARMEN Or? ZANDER They revoke our flight status. CARMEN Oh, I see. teamwork. Carmen jogs past lumbering freighters. Zander's impressed. DELADIER Steady as she goes, number one. Prepare for warp. Number two, design for Jupiter orbit. ZANDER Yes, ma'am. Star drive in three. two. one. Space appears to bend. Zander and Carmen share a smile. They blur together, becoming one, then : WHAM!", "EXT.     LUNA - STARSHIP ATHENA disappears in a flash of blinding light.", "EXT.     WAR GAMES COURSE - DAY - THE RECRUITS have been divided into two teams. RED TEAM includes Ace, Katrina, Breckinridge, and Djana'd. Johnny, Shujumi, Kitten Smith, and Dizzy are part of BLUE TEAM. ZIM The object of this exercise is to capture your enemy's flag before your enemy captures yours. Bronski passes out Morita SmartRifles. ZIM These weapons have been modified for this exercise. If your enemy hits you, your suit will fail. You will be unable to move. You will be as good as dead.", "EXT.     WAR GAMES COURSE - LATER - DJANA'D bumps the magnification of her heads up display to survey Blue Team's flag guarded by two recruits. She jumps down to joining other Red Team members on the move. DJANA'D It's right over the next ridge. Only two guards. Johnny, Kitten Smith, and Dizzy open fire from athicket as they pass. Djana'd and the others collapse as their suits fail, Djana'd laughing because playing at war seems funny. KITTEN SMITH You are now prisoners of the Blue Team. Tell us your plans or die! DJANA'D Oh no! Name, rank, and mind your own business is all you get from me!", "EXT.     RED TEAM FLAG - DAY - RED TEAM opens fire as the Blue Team appears. Shujumi and other Blue Team members go down in an ambush led by Breckinridge. Johnny dives for cover, and finds himself sharing it with Dizzy. KITTEN SMITH I'm going in! Let's go! Kitten Smith makes arun for the flag with a rifle team. Ace and Katrina open fire from two new hidden Red Team positions, taking Kitten and his team down with a cross fire. JOHNNY Man, they're defended. no way in. DIZZY Flip six, three hole. JOHNNY What? DIZZY High school. remember? Run a flip six, three hole play, and you might score. Johnny looks at the course in a new way, nods. JOHNNY Cover me. DIZZY You got it. Johnny tumbles open ground, vaults into the air. Dizzy takes out Breckinridge as he rises to fire. Johnny lands, knocks out Katrina, then Ace. He picks up Ace's fallen Morita. JOHNNY Thanks, pal.", "EXT.     OBSERVATION TOWER - DAY - ZIM AND CORPORAL BRONSKI watch Johnny firing both Moritas simultanously and taking out the remaining Red Team defenders. He grabs the Red Team flag and hurls it into the air like spear. ZIM Kid's got some moves.", "INT.     AIRBORNE SKIMMER - DAY - THE RECRUITS line up in the door of a SKIMMER, the military's standard utility aircraft, to practice drops from altitude. ZIM Smith, GO! McIntire, GO! Flores, GO! Rico, I'm making you sqaud leader! JOHNNY Sir, thank you, sir! ZIM Do n't stand there dumb. GO! Johnny jumps, plummeting toward the earth. JOHNNY YEEEE - Haaaaaaaaaaaaa! Next in line, Ace scowls.", "INT.     BARRACKS - NIGHT - THE RECRUITS have some free time. Johnny makes a big show of polishing the chevrons that designate him as Squad Leader. KITTEN SMITH Look at him. Do you think anyone has ever been so pleased with himself? ACE Zim hadda choose someone to be his brown nose, I guess. JOHNNY I just want you guys to know that I'll never do anything that I have n't asked you to do first. Johnny approaches Dizzy. JOHNNY Could n't've done it without you, Diz. Friends? Dizzy smiles, shakes. DIZZY Yeah, sure. friends. Bronski walks through with the mail. BRONSKI Levy. Shujumi. Rico. Johnny grabs the E - disk, pops it into his handcam. The Fleet Mail logo appears : APPROVED MESSAGE JOHNNY Bet it's from my girl. Johnny's pals gather for a look. Carmen appears, dressed down to skivvies, in her quarters aboard starship Athena. CARMEN Hi, Johnny, I would've written sooner, but they've really got us going every moment here. ACE Yeow, Rico, you do n't deserve that! JOHNNY Shhhh! CARMEN I'm glad you're doing so well. If they have n't made you squad leader by now, I'm sure you will. Johnny holds up his squad leader chevrons victoriously. JOHNNY All it takes is the love of a good woman. The image changes abrupltly. Now Carmen's wearing a trim blue flight suit. She stands the camera on Athena's gunnery deck. Outside, the rings of Saturn sparkle in bright solar light. CARMEN Look at that. Is n't it beautiful? I had to show you. It's great to be out here on my own. I'm just not some little girl from Buenos Aires anymore. I'm gon na be a starship pilot, and I'm gon na see the universe. -LRB- she sighs. -RRB- And that's also the problem because I do n't really want to get married, Johnny. I do n't want to have kids. I want a command, a ship of my own, and you know, I do n't think that's gon na leave a lot of room for you and me. Johnny is stunned. All the other recruits suddenly seem to have something else to do. CARMEN I know that's not what you wanted to hear. but I have to follow my heart. I'm sorry. I'm afraid you'll hate me, and I could n't stand that. Write me, alright? Write me, so I'll know that we'll always be friends. The Fleet Mail logo appears again : END OF MESSAGE. Johnny shuts the handcam off. Ace puts a hand on his shoulder. ACE Funny how they always want to be your friends after they kick your guts out. JOHNNY It's what I deserve. ACE Whad ` ya talkin about? JOHNNY I joined up for her. I would n't even be here if it was n't for her. I'm a fool. ACE You made squad leader on your own, and, hey, you still got me to kick around. Johnny smiles in spite of himself. JOHNNY Thanks, Ace. Johnny turns for the door, flipping the chevrons like a coin. Dizzy watches him leave. She'd so like to comfort him.", "EXT.     LIVE FIRE COMBAT RANGE - DAY - THE RECRUITS arm their Marauder power suits. Zim and Bronski wear Command model suits with rank designations. Johnny checks weapons, scans the electronics on each squad member's power suit. ZIM With the Marauder's visual capabilities, all you have to do is look at something to hit it, so you will exercise EXTREME CARE on my firing line. Do you get me? RECRUITS Sir, yes, sir! ZIM The live firing combat range is the closest simulation of actual combat we can provide. If you do not hit your target, it will shoot you. Fifty blackened AUTOMATED TARGET DRONES fitted with pulse guns are presently visible along a gauntlet of low walls, gullies, and three - story building facades. ZIM The Marauder power suit will prevent serious injury, but if you are hit, you will be non - operational and your team score will suffer accordingly. Rico, has each member of your squad completed a weapons safety check? JOHNNY Sir, yes, sir! On a signal from Zim, the Live Fire Combat Range comes to life as the target drones take cover and disappear from view. ZIM Perfect score for this exercise is 300. B company came through last week with 285. I expect you to do better.", "EXT.     LIVE FIRE COMBAT RANGE - DAY - THE RECRUITS take out the target drones as they appear. Halfway through the course, a recruit takes a hit and goes down, immobilized. Djana'd has a clear shot, but Breckinridge gets in her way. DJANA'D You're in my line of fire, Breckinridge Before the others can react, a second drone appears. JOHNNY CROSSFIRE! EVERYBODY DOWN! Everyone kisses dirt. Pulses from the two drones fly thick overhead. Shujumi rises to fire, a round slams him back to the ground. Johnny and Djana'd knock out the two drones. JOHNNY Alright, no more screw ups. Ace takes point. Diz, you and Kitten Smith cover the flanks. Djana'd, you're rear guard. Move out. The squad resumes ist advance. Breckinridge bangs on his helmet. There is something wrong with his `` head up'' display. JOHNNY What's the problem? BRECKINRIDGE Dunno. Display's fritzed. DJANA'D Lose another rifle, we're gon na mess up our score. JOHNNY Let me see. Breckinridge takes off helmet, hands it to Johnny. Djana'd turns on Breckinridge. Her `` head up'' zeroes him. DJANA'D How come when something goes wrong, it's always you, Breckinridge? That's when Djana'd trips on a loose stone. She fumbles her rifle and it discharges. The round tears the top of Breckinridge's head off. The recruits stare in horror. JOHNNY Oh, God. uh. MEDIC! Zim arrives with Bronski on the bounce. ZIM Rico, you are relieved of squad command. Levy, McIntire you will escort private Rico to the C.O.'s Office. The recruits watch Johnny leave, stare aghast at their dead comrade. No one looks at Djana'd, who stands alone sobbing.", "INT.     C.O.'S OFFICE - DAY - JOHNNY stands before the C.O. braced by Katrina and Ace. Zim and the C.O. are both saddened by the proceedings. C.O. Rico, did you give the recruit permission to remove his helmet? JOHNNY Sir, yes, sir. Breckinridge reported a helmet malfunction, and I asked him to show it to me, sir. C.O. Are you rated to repair a Marauder power suit, Rico? JOHNNY Sir, no, sir. C.O. Then why did you order your man to remove his helmet during a live fire exercise? JOHNNY Sir, I needed everyone in my squad operational, sir. I. I wanted to win, sir. C.O: -LRB- sigh. -RRB- You disobeyed safety regulation 21 - 404. You may, of course, demand trial by court martial. JOHNNY Sir, no, sir! C.O. Do you freely admit to the charges made against you? JOHNNY Sir. I guess I do, sir. Zim looks out the window. Djana'd, dressed for travel, in civilian clothes, crying as she heads off down Washout Lane. C.O. Sergeant, we've lost two recruits over this incident already. is there any possibility of salvaging this man? Zim I believe so, sir. C.O. Alright. We'll try administrative punishment. Until then you are confined to your quarters, Rico.", "INT.     BARRACKS - SUNSET - JOHNNY looks out the window to the parade ground where a POST has been erected. The recruits look up as Zim enters. ZIM Alright, let's go, Rico. Johnny takes off his shirt. Ace who now holds the chevrons of squad leader, watches, feels bad for his pal.", "EXT.     PARADE GROUND - SUNSET - THE RECRUITS stand with recruits from other platoons. Johnny is led to the post and strung up as the C.O. reads the charge. C.O. For incompetence of command, for failure to abide by safety regulations in a live fire exercise, for negligence which contributed to the death of a teammate. Zim steps up to Johnny, offers him a red rubber mouthpiece. ZIM Bite on this. It helps. I know. C.O. recruit trainee John Rico is sentenced to administrative punishment. Ten lashes. Johnny takes it in his mouth. His tear away shirt is torn away. Johnny stands at the post alone. Corporal Bronski, a big man with an unhappy task, unrolls his whip. C.O. You may carry out the sentence. BRONSKI One. CRACK! Johnny's face wrenched by pain, spontanous tears, a terrible sound stifled by the bright red mouthpiece. BRONSKI Two. CRACK! Again. Dizzy flinches for Johnny. BRONSKI Three. CRACK! Ace looks away. BRONSKI Four. CRACK! Zim watches without any apparent emotion. BRONSKI Five. CRACK! Johnny faints, sagging against his tether. FADE OUT", "EXT.     OUTER SYSTEM - STARSHIP ATHENA cruises past, 600,000 metric tons of star class destroyer, FIGHTERS and LANDING BOATS lining her open hangar deck.", "INT.     ATHENA - COMMAND AND CONTROL - NIGHT CYCLE - CARMEN works alone on the empty bridge. She yawns. Zander brings coffee for himself and Carmen. CARMEN Thanks. You read my mind. Third watch always seems to last forever. ZANDER Oh, I do n't know. Depends on who you are spending it with. He caresses her hair. She kisses his hand. Zander notices the plot map. ZANDER Profile's wrong. there. CARMEN No, I replotted the course. It's more efficient this way. ZANDER Three weeks aboard a starship and you know it all, huh? CARMEN Hey, check it. Zander slides into his chair, runs a check. ZANDER You know I was talking to Captain, Deladier, and she said. CARMEN Do n't change the subject. Am I right? ZANDER Well, whad ` ya know. CARMEN Do n't mess with the boss. So what'd the captain say? ZANDER She got a command. and she thinks we oughta team up officially and crew for her. She thinks we're good together. CARMEN You and me, huh? Zander turns his chair so they are very close, moves a finger along her hand, up her arm and playfully around her breasts. ZANDER I have a feeling about us. We're good together, way ahead of the curve in every department. I seem to be able to anticipate your needs. You know what I want. Carmen grabs him between his legs. CARMEN No, what do you want? Zander pulls her to him and they kiss passionately. She brteaks it off, gets serious for amoment. CARMEN I want to be part of the best flight team in the Fleet. ZANDER Me, too. Day and Night - Cycle. They start to caress again when suddenly ALARMS sound. Captain Deladier appears on the hot screen, still waking up. DELADIER Report. ZANDER Captain, we are in the path of an unidentified object moving at near light speed. Carmen and Zander frantically check their displays. CARMEN WHERE IS IT? ZANDER THERE! GRAVITY FIELD. IT'S BIG! CARMEN It looks like an. asteroid. DELADIER In this part of the system? Carmen and Zander see it through the front screens : A huge ASTEROID tumbles directly towards them at terrific speed. ZANDER Sweet Jesus! Carmen breaks glass that reads EMERGENCY RETROS, arms the switch within and fires the rockets.", "EXT.     OUTER SYSTEM - STARSHIP ATHENA torques to one side. The asteroid grazes the ship, cutting ahuge gash in Athena's hull. Ice and rock travelling in ist wake shreds COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT.", "INT.     COMMAND AND CONTROL - NIGHT CYCLE - CARMEN AND Zander brace themseves as diamond hard particles pound the front screens. The ship continues to tumble.", "EXT.     ATHENA - FLIGHT DECK - A FIGHTER loses it's mooring, tumbling into other craft, explosions ripping the deck.", "INT.     ATHENA -VARIOUS - NIGHT CYCLE - CREWMEN are sucked into space. Others hang on frantically as automatic doors seal Athena's wound and their fates.", "INT.     COMMAND AND CONTROL - NIGHT CYCLE - CAPTAIN Deladier arrives on the bridge, now crowded as other FLIGHT OFFICERS rush to their stations. Zander's going through star charts. DELADIER Where'd it come from? ZANDER Trajectory indicates it came out of the Arachnid Quarantine Zone. DELADIER Number 4, contact Fleet and tell'em there's a loose asteroid headed their way. COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER Communications are down, ma'am. DELADIER Engineering. Damage assessment. ENGINEERING OFFICER Hull's compromised. We're lucky to be alive, ma'am. Deladier notices Carmen staring at a monitor, stunned. A DEAD CAP TROOPER trails in the wreckage of the flight deck. DELADIER Good work, Number 1. You'll do. CARMEN Thank you, ma'am.", "INT.     BARRACK'S - DAY - JOHNNY wears his civilian clothes, pcks as the other recruits get ready for the day's training. No one says anything. He moves stiffly, careful of his back. DIZZY It stinks, you goin. JOHNNY I do n't stay where I'm not wanted. DIZZY If they did n't want you, they woulda kicked you out, amigo. JOHNNY Hey, they humiliated me in front of everyone! I'm just supposed to take it, huh? Well, I'm not gon na, and I guess that proves I just ca n't cut it. Corporal Bronski leans in, impassive. BRONSKI Your call's going through, Rico. Take it there. A nearby VU - PHONE lights up. The screen flashes : RINGING His mother appears when she picks up the other end. MOTHER Hello. Oh, Johnny! JOHNNY Hi, mom. MOTHER Bill. pick up. it's Johnny! You little rat. You have n't called, you have n't written. It's been so lonely here without you. The screen splits as Johnny's father activates an extension. FATHER Johnny! Where's your uniform? Johnny's mother makes a face to shut him up. FATHER Well, it's just good to hear from you. What's up, son? JOHNNY It's not really working out for me here, dad. I was thinking. I was hoping it would be alright if I came home. MOTHER Well, of course you should come home immedietly! JOHNNY I've made a mess of things. I've been so stupid. FATHER Do n't talk like that. Get yourself home as fast as you can. MOTHER We'll all have dinner. I'll fix your favorite. FATHER Yeah! We'll talk it out and have a good glass of wine. and. well, we love you, son. The sky in Buenos Aires seems to darken perceptively. Johnny's mother looks out the window. MOTHER Oh, my, what's that? FATHER Looks like rain. MOTHER This time of the year? The transmission ends abruptly. A phone company logo appears : TRANSMISSION TERMINATED. VU-PHONE VOICE Your transmission has been terminated due to atmospheric interference. Please try your call again later. Johnny zips his duffel, hefts it gingerly over his shoulder. JOHNNY Well, see ya. DIZZY You take the stroll down Washout Lane, you're only proving one thing, Johnny. JOHNNY What's that, Diz? DIZZY That you do n't have what it takes to be acitizen! Dizzy turns on her heel and marches away.", "INT.     THE C.O.'S OFFICE - DAY - JOHNNY signs form 1240/A. Zim stands as witness. C.O. Now you, Sergeant. Zim signs bitterly. The C.O. sighs. C.O. That's it, son. You can go. The C.O. and Zim turn to other things. Johnny picks up his duffel and heads out the door.", "EXT.     PARADE GROUND - DAY - JOHNNY walks alone, sad. A skimmer hums by overhead and he looks after it. Out across the parade ground he sees the glint of Marauder power suits as recruits tumble the obstacle course.", "EXT.     WASHOUT LANE -- DAY - JOHNNY reaches the little white fence that leads to the transporter. He turns back for one last look and notices people running to the Comminications shack. Kitten Smith runs by. JOHNNY Hey, Kitten, what's going on? KITTEN It's war!", "EXT.     COMMUNICATION - DAY - JOHNNY joins others to see what's on the Federal Net. Recruits, non - coms, and officers gather without any sense of military decorum. People cry openly, among them Corporal Bronski. OFFICIAL VOICE early estimates. Millions dead, a city in ruins. On screen, the smoldering ruins of what was once a huge city. JOHNNY Oh, jeez, is that Geneva? KATRINA Goddam bugs whacked us, Johnny. OFFICIAL VOICE Buenos Aires has been wiped of the Earth. Nothing lives in what was once called the Latin Paradise. Johnny is horrified. Dizzy is suddenly standing next to him. DIZZY Aw, Johnny, geez. It's home. OFFICIAL VOICE The Federal Court met moments ago and voted unanimously for mobilization to destroy the Arachnid threat. Johnny sets his jaw, turns and runs for the C.O.'s office.", "INT.     C.O.'S OFFICE -DAY - THE C.O: AND ZIM and other staffers watch the grim news unfold. Animation illustrates the insect treachery. OFFICIAL VOICE The meteor derived from here, near Klendathu, in the Arachnid's home system. ZIM I'm serious, sir. I'll go anywhere. I want combat. C.O. Forget it, Zim. We're gon na need you here. The only way you'll get a combat assignment is if you bust yourself to private. You get me? ZIM Yes, sir, I get you. C.O. What can I do for you, Rico? JOHNNY Sir, I wish to reconsider my request to drop out, sir. C.O. Sorry, son. I ca n't do it. You signed the 1240/A. It would be illegal. JOHNNY Sir, i know it was wrong. I did n't learn from one mistake and I made another, sir. -LRB- then. -RRB- Sir, my family. my whole family was in Buenos Aires, sir. Zim picks up Johnny's 1240/A off the C.O.'s desk. ZIM Is that your signature, Rico? JOHNNY Sir, yes it is, sir. ZIM Does n't look like it to me. Zim gives the C.O. a look. The C.O. shrugs, turns away, watching the news of the coming war. Zim tears up the 1240/A. ZIM Get outa here, private. FROM THE FEDERAL NET - HUMANKIND GOES TO WAR! Actual pictures of Buenos Aires : SURVIVORS pick through rubble, people wail, kids play tag in the ruins. OFFICIAL VOICE Out of the ashes of Buenos Aires comes first sorrow, then ANGER! ANGRY PERSON The only good bug is a dead bug! OFFICIAL VOICE Would you like to know more? COMBAT - VICTORY ON DANTANA! A wounded CAP TROOPER, grim smile, flashes `` V'' for victory as his weary comrades carry him off the field. OFFICIAL VOICE Cap Troopers establish a foothold on Dantana, a planet system at the outer edge of the Arachnid Quarantine Zone. Casualties are high, but casualties wo n't stop the Mobile Infantery! Would you like to know more? HOME FRONT - KIDS KILL BUGS AND MOM IS GLAD! MOM smiles as her CUTE KIDS stomp insects in the garden. FACTORY WORKERS turn out ordnance. PEOPLE line up to enlist. OFFICIAL VOICE Everyone's doing their share. Are you? The war effort needs your effort at work, at home, in your community. Would you like to know more? LEADERSHIP - SKY MARSHALL ANNOUNCES OFFENSIVE! SKY MARSHALL DIENES, 72, addresses the FEDERAL COUNCIL. SKY MARSHALL DIENES We are a generation commanded by fate to defend humankind! We must meet the threat with our valor, our blood, with our very lives, to insure that human civilization, not insect, dominates this galaxy now and always. The council rises to its feet for a standing ovation. OFFICIAL VOICE Sky Marshall Dienes announces plans for an offensive against Klendathu, source of the bug meteor that destroyed Buenos Aires. LIVE BROADCAST - AQZ - FLEET BATTLE STATION TICONDEROGA is a sprawling pre - fab structure covering several square kilometers of space where STARSHIPS are stacked in berths. Super title : COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY. OFFICIAL VOICE We now break net and take you live to Fleet Battle Station Ticonderoga deep inside the Arachnid Quarantine Zone.", "INT.     BATTLE STATION - NIGHT CYCLE - THE CAMERA follows the Net Correspondentas he works a corridor crowded with MOBILE INFANTERY and FLEET PERSONNEL. NET CORRESPONDENT No one here in the AQZ knows when the invasion of Kendathu will occur, but everyone's talking about it, and the talk says tomorrow! Newly minted cap troopres Johnny, Dizzy, Ace, and Kitten Smith happen along. NET CORRESPONDENT Here's a bunch of M.I. kids who look like they eat bugs for lunch! DIZZY Yum, yum yum! NET CORRESPONDENT So you're not to worried about fighting the Arachnids? ACE Hey, shoot a nuke down a bug hole, lotta dead bugs, am I right? KITTEN SMITH I just hope it's not over before we get in it! NET CORRESPONDENT Some say the bugs were provoked by human attempts to colonize within the AQZ, that a `` live and let live'' policy is preferable to war with the bugs. JOHNNY Yeah, well, I'm from Buenos Aires, and I say kill'em all!", "INT.     RECREATION DECK - NIGHT CYCLE - JOHNNY and his friends drink at a crowded bar. Around the room there's singing and dancing, a mad sort of revelry bred of fear and excitement, but nearby a VETERAN drinks alone. KITTEN SMITH That guy's been in it. JOHNNY How can you tell? KITTEN SMITH The eyes. He's got the 1000 meters stare. He's hard and humorless, all wised up. Ace admires his LASER CUT TATTOOS. Dizzy eyes his skull and crossbone earring. ACE Great scars. DIZZY I like the jewelry. Hey, amigo, where can I get an earring like yours? VETERAN Port Joe Smith, Outer Rings, Dantana. Every time I come back from a drop, my gunny gives me a bone. I got three now. You do n't see a lot of guys with three. JOHNNY Waht's it like. combat? VETERAN I guess it's not so bad. I mean as long as you do n't get any on you. KITTEN SMITH Get any what on you? VETERAN Oh, you'll know when it happens. See you on the bounce. The veteran pays his tab and heads out. ACE I say we all go to the laser parlor and get cut together. JOHNNY What do I want with a scar? DIZZY What, your skin's too pretty? C'mon, everyone's doing it! CARMEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Hey Johnny! Johnny Rico! Johnny looks up and sees Carmen. She lloks graet in uniform with the hat and the lieutenant's bars on her shoulders. JOHNNY Carmen? Johnny remembers himself, snaps to attention, salutes. Dizzy and the others follow suit. Carmen salutes back, sheepish. CARMEN Oh. at ease. Guess I oughta lose the hat when I'm off duty, eh? Dizzy, disgusted, turns back to Ace and Kitten Smith. Carmen tucks her hat under her arm. Her hair is very short. JOHNNY What happened to your hair? CARMEN What do you think? Everyone did it when we got our wings. You do n't like it, do you? JOHNNY It's alright, I guess. You hear from anyone made it out of B.A. alive? Carmen shakes her head, sadly. CARMEN It's funny. Sometimes I forget. Then it hits me, and I ca n't stop crying. JOHNNY I try just to be happy I'm still alive. CARMEN You do n't look very happy to see me. JOHNNY Should I be? CARMEN Johnny. Life is so different from the way it was. One day you'll see what I did was best for both of us. Zander leaves a group of FLEET OFFICERS to join them. ZANDER Everything coposetic, Lieutenant? CARMEN Zander, you remember Johnny? Zander and I are a flight team now. Zander puts his arm around Carmen, gives her a squeeze. ZANDER Best in the Fleet! JOHNNY I get it. This is the part that's best for both of us. Do n't do me anymore favors, eh? Johnny turns to leave. CARMEN Johnny, wait. ZANDER Forget it, Carmen. The Mobile Infantery does a thankless, dirty job, so they naturally tend to be short - tempered, thoughtless and rude. Johnny turns back to face Zander. JOHNNY You got something to say about the Mobile Infantery? ZANDER You heard me. Wan na make something out of it, private? JOHNNY Not with an officer, no, sir. The M.I. does n't mint stupid cap troopers. Everyone can see what's about to happen. A circle is forming, Fleet on one side, Mobile Infantery on the other. ZANDER Let's disregaed rank. Everybody hear that? Rank is not an issue here. CARMEN Zander, please. Let's go! Zander takes off his hat. ZANDER It's alright. What's he gon na do? WHAM! Johnny punches him right in the nose. Zander goes down, bleeding. Ace and Kitten Smith grab Johnny. ACE Whoa, easy there, buddy. Nice punch. Zander staggers to his feet, ready to fight, but Fleet Officers pull him back. Carmen looks at Johnny, the hate in his eye, the blood on his fist. CARMEN What's wrong with you? JOHNNY Hey, it's just a vestigal response to procreation. bitch. Carmen turns away, stung. Johnny immediately regrets. Dizzy, for her part, could n't be happier. DIZZY Forget it, Johnny. Cap Troopers and Fleet were n't meant to mix!", "INT.     LASER PARLOR - NIGHT CYCLE - JOHNNY grinds his teeth as a laser mounted on a robot arm finishes slicing an intricate pattern into his arm. JOHNNY It hurts! Dizzy, Ace, and Kitten Smith awtch, grinning, passing a bottle. Ace pours booze directly into the fresh wound. ACE No, this hurts. JOHNNY YAAAAAAAA! KITTEN SMITH Well, here's to it! We're gon na fightn, and we're gon na win! They put their arms side by side. Each has a similiar scar : Lightning bolts on a shield and the words : DEATH FROM ABOVE. ACE Mobile Infantery rules! JOHNNY Death to all bugs! DIZZY Do n't get any on you!", "EXT.     KLENDATHU - FROM SPACE - FLEET STARSHIPS of every class maneuver in tight orbit around the orange planet. The `` Mobile Infantery Anthem'' plays loke Holst, pounding and relentless. The invasion has begun!", "INT.     BULL RUN - DROP ROOM - JOHNNY and his platoon, wearing fully armed MARAUDER POWER SUITS, wait to drop with other cap troopers. Their mood is grim. LIEUTENANT WILLY, 35, easy - going and confident, enters. ACE Officer on deck! Everyone snaps to attention. LT. WILLY At ease. Alright. we got hot poop straight from the top : Willy's Wildcats is in with the first wave. Means more bugs for us to kill. This does nothing to break the tension. Lt. Willy reassures. LT. WILLY Now if you follow orders and remember your training, I guarantee you'll make it back alive. Any questions? There are none. LT. WILLY Alright. next we got a little last minute briefing from Military Intelli - gence I think you're gon na like. The briefingplays on `` head up'' displays and the ready room screens. A captive BUG WARRIOR clicks and shrieks as FEDERAL SCIENTISTS torture it. The troopers cheer. OFFICIAL VOICE Everyday Federal scientists are looking for new ways to kill bugs and you can help. The head scientists turns and speaks to camera. It's Carl. Johnny and Dizzy share an amazed grin, noticing a difference in their old friend, something that speaks of. authority. CARL To defeat the enemy, we must know the enemy. Take for instance your basic Arachnid warrior. Minimal IQ, armored, completely lethal. You can blow a limb off. Carl picks up apulse gun and blows one of the bugs legs off. The insect screams. CARL and it's still 86 % combat effec - tive. But here's a tip : Aim for the nerve stem and put it down for good. Carl fires again. The bug kicks and squeals as it dies. Carl tosses the pulse gun aside. CARL Now while you are out killing bugs, we want you to be our eyes and ears. The bugs use some kind of plasma burst to divert meteors and aim them toward Earth. We need to know how they do this. If you encounter any plasma, report it immediately to your superior. Good luck and good hunting! The briefing ends as klaxons sound. P.A. -LRB- O.S. -RRB- This is the Captain speaking. All personnel prepare for drop.We are at D minus three and counting. LT. WILLY Move out! Johnny and the other troopers climb into capsules on the port track. Dizzy gives him `` thumbs up''. The capsule seals as it moves with the others down the firing tube.", "INT.     CAPSULE - JOHNNY gets the shakes as the capsule bumps and booms toward the firing tube. Lt. Willy appears on the `` head up'' display. LT. WILLY Smash the entire area, kill anything that has more'n a couple legs, and do n't any of you loafers come back aboard with unexpended bombs. Get me? JOHNNY ET AL Yes, sir! FIRE CONTROL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Five seconds. Sweat rolls down his face, hyperventilation. WHAM!", "EXT.     SPACE - KLENDATHU ORBIT - SILVER CAPSULES stream toward Klendathu from the rear tubes starships of Bull Run. We move down the line past Mannerheim, Dauntless, George Marshall, and Yamamoto to the Rodger Young.", "INT.     RODGER YOUNG - COMMAND AND CONTROL - CARMEN holds Rodger Young in tight maneuver. Suddenly, a burst of BLUE BUG PLASMA rips past the starboard bow. CARMEN Plasma, ma'am. from the planet. DELADIER Bug Batteries. According to Military Intelligence, it'll be random and light. Drop status? ZANDER Drop is 35 % complete, ma'am. Two more bursts of bug plasma streak past. DELADIER Steady as she goes, Number 1.", "EXT.     KLENDATHU - HIGH ATMOSPERE - NIGHT - THE CAPSULES burn when they hit atmosphere, outer skin tearing away in big silver sheets.", "INT.     CAPSULE - NIGHT - JOHNNY takes in ENTRY DATA from the heads up display. GUIDANCE COMPUTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- surface in twenty - fivr seconds. LZ has been identified. beacon is in place.", "INT.     RODGER YOUNG - COMMAND AND CONTROL - CARMEN watches nervously as deadly bursts of bug plasma fill the heavens around the battle group. Below, the surface of Klendathu fairly bistles with outgoing defensive fire. DELADIER This is n't random or light. Someone made amistake! ZANDER That's it, we're empty ma'am! Out the front screens, a blast from below hits George Marshall amidships and it reels into Yamamoto. Both starships begin to burn. DELADIER Someone made a big goddam mistake! Get us out of here, Number 1! Carmen dodges past burning ships, avoids collision with Dauntless, and then KA - WHAM! they're hit. Carmen flies out of her station and into CAMERA hard.", "EXT.     KLENDATHU - CLOUD LAYER - NIGHT - THE SECOND SKIN tears away. Johnny is sitting on air. GUIDANCE COMPUTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- surface in fifteen seconds. deploying chute now. The chute pops. Across the sky, lit by outgoing bug plasma, he can see hundreds of cap troopers in ordered rows drifting down into the cloud layer. It's quiet in the clouds, then :", "EXT.     KLENDATHU - NIGHT - FROM THE AIR - JOHNNY looks down as he passes out of the clouds and sees the battlefield. Plasma blasts exploode into the sky. THOUSANDS OF BUGS boil out of the ground to defend against the invader. GUIDANCE COMPUTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- surface in five. four. three. Johnny burns his chute off, drops the last hundred feet and lands on the bounce.", "EXT.     KLENDATHU - NIGHT - JOHNNY'S POV - THE FLASH PULSE of bug batteries, screaming voices on the com, concussions shaking the ground. None of it compares to the sound of his own racing HEARTBEAT. Lieutenant Willy shouts. LIEUTENANT WILLY Up there on the ridge! We'll nuke those bug positions from theAAAAAAAA! A HOPPER -LRB- an airborne Arachnid warrior with powerful rear legs and `` pop out'' wings for gliding -RRB- lands on Lieutenant Willy and cracks his head like a nut. ACE KILL IT! Johnny and Ace open fire, backing away. Pulse rounds tear it apart, bug guts gushing. JOHNNY Lieutenant's bought the farm. Where's the Sarge? ACE I did n't see him! Now comes a flood of WORKERS building ever advancing fortifications, and with them, hundreds of deadly ARACHNID WARRIORS. KITTEN SMITH Here they come! DIZZY Ace, what're we doing? ACE I uh. uh. Dizzy and the others open fire simultanously. The whole area goes white hot in the magnesium flash of so many pulse cannons. Shujumi fires wildly at advancing insects. SHUJUMI You want some? Here's some! C'MON! JOHNNY Do n't waste your ammon on the workers! Shujumi ca n't hear. A warrior finds him, rips his leg off, hurls him back into the waiting jaws of the oncoming bugs. SHUJUMI AAAAAAAAAAAA! He fights, screaming. A claw reaches for his face, ripping the top of his head off. KATRINA Let's get out of here! Now the ground opens behind her and a huge -LRB- 6 meters -RRB- TANKER BUG lumbers out of the ground, it's funnel - shaped snout extruding above multiple eyes. DIZZY Look out! The tanker bug sprays and hits Katrina. She screams, as her legs melt out from under her. KATRINA AAAAAAAAAAAAA! Warriors converge to feed on her. Ace wants to help her, but Johnny blocks him. JOHNNY C'mon, Katrina was right. We got ta get out of here!", "EXT.     KLENDATHU - NIGHT - JOHNNY and the other survivors on the bounce. The entire surface of Klendathu seems to be churning with insects as more and more bugs come to the surface to repel the invasion. JOHNNY It's a general retreat! The boats are coming down. They come to the rear lines where the Net Correspondent and his CAMERAMAN are doing live coverage of the invasion. NET CORRESPONDENT We've just landed here on what cap troopers are calling the `` Big K'' with the 6th Mobile Infantery Division. It's an ugly planet, a bug planet, a planet hostile to life as we kow iGKKKKK! The Correspondent is cut in half by a warrior. Johnny blows it away. JOHNNY C'mon, let's go! ON THE BOUNCE! The cap troopers move out. Kitten Smith looks up as a purple beacon streaks acroos thr sky. KITTEN SMITH I can see the beacon! ACE Retrieval! A hopper pounces on Kitten Smithm, and he goes down screaming. JOHNNY KITTEN! Johnny touches down, stares in horror as Kitten Smith's head rolls past his fee. Johnny opens up with his pulse cannon. The hopper attacks, puts a claw right through Johnny's thigh. JOHNNY AAAAAAAAAAAAA! Crushing jaws close around him, crushing, cutting his flesh. Johnny brings the muzzle of the pulse gun under the hopper's nerve stem and SPLAT! blows its head apart. DIZZY Johnny! JOHNNY! WHERE ARE YOU? JOHNNY! Johnny! But Dizzy ca n't find Johnny, and soon she's lost in the smoke. Johnny looks down at the terrible hole in his leg where bright arterial blood gushes. JOHNNY Medic. MEDIC! Now two more Arachnid warriors close in on him through the enveloping smoke. He fires his pulse rifle empty, and dropping it, crawls desperately, dragging his useless leg. JOHNNY Oh, God. Oh, God, help me. please help me! A third Arachnid warrior rears up in front of him, deadly jaws slashing down toward him, when suddenly it is blown to pieces in the blinding blast of a point - blank pulse cannon. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Take my hand! Johnny reaches out. A STEEL HAND takes his, dragging him back as bugs attack. His rescuers's pulse cannon thunders overhead. Bug parts fly as insects swarm in for the kill. FADE OUT FROM THE FEDERAL NET - 100, 000 DEAD IN ONE HOUR! Actual pictures of the battlefield, man and insect lying dead together on the blood drenched plains of Klendathu. OFFICIAL VOICE Crsisis for Humankind! Fleet official admit they underestimated the Arachnid's defensive capability. Would you like to know more? SKY MARSHALL RESIGNS! Sky Marshall Dienes salutes incoming SKY MARSHALL TEHAT MERU, 75, bfore a gathering of the Federal Council. OFFICIAL VOICE Accepting responsibility for Klendathu, Sky Marshall Dienes resigns. His successor, Sky Marshall Tahat Meru, outlines her new strategy. SKY MARSHALL MERU Until we understand the bug better, we must proceed with caution. We can ill afford another Klendathu. SCIENTISTS SUSPECT MYSTERIOUS BRAIN BUGS! FEDERAL SCIENTISTS display an organizational chart of the Arachnid species topped by a QUESTION MARK. OFFICIAL VOICE To explain the intelligent military actions of the Arachnids, Federal Scientists postulate the existence of a leadership caste. BRAIN BUGS! SOMETIMES LOVED ONES DIE FOR A GOOD REASON! Names scroll by designated KIA, WIA, and MIA accordingly. OFFICIAL VOICE Families oof those who have died or become incapacitated by Federal Service are entitled to benefits! If you see the name of a loved one, please do not call. A Federation official will call you. Would you like to know more?", "EXT.     FLEET BATTLE STATION TICONDEROGA - THE RODGER YOUNG limps to port, a huge chunk ripped out of its mid - section. Although stable, she flies inverted. CARMEN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Ticonderoga, this is Rodger Young requesting approach vector. TICONDEROGA C&C -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Affirmative, Rodger Young. one zero zero niner five two. welcome back.", "INT.     RODGER YOUNG - COMMAND AND CONTROL - ZANDER AND CARMEN stare at the BATTLE - SCARED STARSHIPS and BURNT - OUT HULKS that line the docks of Ticonderoga. CARMEN You know, we're lucky to be alive. A bloody bandage wraps Carmen's head. Zander nods grimly.", "INT.     RODGER YOUNG - GANGWAY - THE DEAD BODIES of CREWMEN and CAP TROOPERS are being off - loaded via conveyer belt. Zander and Carmen make their way up the steep companionway beside the ghastly conveyer belt. ZANDER Give me hand, willya? Carmen takes his hand. Zander kisses her. ZANDER I was thinking. Maybe we should get married, Carmen. CARMEN You were n't thinking. you were dreaming! ZANDER If we're gon na be a team, why not be a real team? CARMEN There's a war on. I want a command, I want my own ship, you do, too. ZANDER So? CARMEN So who's got time to get married? Carmen lets his hand go and leaps through the hatch. Zander falls back onto the conveyer belt, finds himself eyeball - to - eyeball with a horribly maimed trooper, scrambles to get off.", "INT.     BATTLE STATION TICONDEROGA - COMMON AREA - ZANDER joins Carmen in the crowded common area where dead bodies compete for space with wounded awaiting triage. Survivors watch casualty lists scroll ba on a Federal Net terminal. ZANDER Fleet encourages marriages among flight officers. You'd probably get a promotion out of it. CARMEN Funny. ZANDER I'm not kidding. Marriage is - CARMEN No, funny there's almost no wounded at all. ZANDER Hey, bugs do n't take prisoners. Carmen looks at the words at the Net terminal : WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE? She bites her lip, enters Johnny's name. In an instant, she has the news : RICO, JOHN D. - KIA CARMEN Oh no. Tears fill her eyes. ZANDER Carmen? CARMEN Excuse me! She rushes away. Zander looks at Johnny's name on the screen, shrugs, presses the ERASE button.", "INT.     TICONDEROGA - CORRIDOR - ZANDER finds Carmen, sagging against a wall, weepimg. ZANDER I'm sorry, Carmen. CARMEN Please, I. Everybody's lost someone by now. This should n't be any different. Zander puts an arm around her. She holds on tight. CARMEN No, I. Oh, Zander, I'm a fool. ZANDER You're upset, that's alright. Zander kisses her hair. Tears roll down her face. CARMEN No, do n't you see? No one can wait for anything anymore. You're right. We should get married. Zander holds Carmen as she sobs, feeling lucky. 120 INT. STASIS TANK - DAY CYCLE - JOHNNY'S BODY floats, suspended in fluid, mouth hanging open, his skin white as death. A low underwater KNOCKING wakes him. He opens his eyes and sees Ace and Dizzy outside the tank. Ace holds up a KIA list, pointing at Johnny's name, laughing : Rico, John V - KIA. Their voices are distant and garbled. Dizzy cups her hands against the side of the tank. DIZZY Two more days. Johnny's wounds are now mostly scars except for his leg where delicate robotic arms culture layers of new tissue. Johnny gives a weak thumbs up. The knocking sound continues. Johnny turns. A STEEL HAND taps the side of the tank. Johnny grins, astonished. The man wearing it is his former high school teacher, now a Lieutenant, Jean Rasczak.", "EXT.     SPACE - AQZ - A BATTLE GROUP consisting of STARSHIPS, their tender, FREIGHTERS and other SUPPLY CRAFT.", "INT.     TROOP TRANSPORT - M.I. QUARTERS - JOHNNY stows his gear along with Ace and Dizzy. Acroos the room, a collection of battle - hardened vets check out the newcomers. ACE Dizzy says you two knew this Rasczak character in Buenos Aires. JOHNNY He was our teacher. He was great. ACE Yeah, well, I hear he's a real nutbuster. DIZZY The Roughnecks killed more bugs than any other outfit in 2nd Brigade. Only took 15 % casualties on Big K. They size up the Roughnecks. There are scars, power prosthetics, and one, big SUGAR WATKINS, 26, wears a bug claw on a chain around his neck. JOHNNY Seeing as how we're about all that's left of 1st Brigade, you'd have to call that an improvement. -LRB- to Sugar Watkins. -RRB- You top kick? SUGAR WATKINS Are you kidding? They always get killed. You want the job? JOHNNY I would n't mind. CORPORAL BIRDIE, 24, turns, gives Johnny the once over. BIRDIE I would. Nice earring. Dizzy looks her over. Not too big, but she's tough. DIZZY Where you been besides Big K? BIRDIE Outer rings. Zegema Beach. JOHNNY I always wanted to go to Zegema Beach. SUGAR WATKINS Good luck. It's not there anymore. ACE Is your Lieutenant as bad as they say? Birdie belts him, and Ace goes down. BIRDIE No one talks about the Lieutenant that way. He saved my life! Ace jumps up, ready to fight, but other Roughnecks block him. SUGAR WATKINS Mine, too. OTHER ROUGHNECKS Same for me. me, too. Johnny and Dizzy shrug. Ace's on his own. ACE Sounds like he is quite a guy. SERGEANT GILLESPIE, 28, steps into the room. GILLESPIE Attention! Everyone snaps to. Rasczak enters. RASCZAK This is for you new people. I only have two rules. Rule one, everyone fights. Rule two, no one quits. If you do n't do your job, I'll kill you myself. Do you get me? JOHNNY, DIZZY AND ACE We get you, sir! He points at Johnny's earring with his steel hand. RASCZAK Get rid of the jewelry. I hate it. Welcome to the Roughnecks. BIRDIE Rasczak's Roughnecks! The Roughnecks cheer. Rasczak smiles vaguely. RASCZAK Alright. There's a new Sky Marshall and a new plan. We're gon na clean out the systems outlying Klendathu one planet at a time. Tomorrow we hit Tango Urilla. After Fleet glasses the planet, M.I. mops up.", "EXT.     TANGO URILLA - DAY - BUG WARRIORS stand sentry on earthworks that tower the entrance to their colony where an endless line of WORKERS enter bearing foodstuff appropriate to this exotic jungle planet. A distant sound. A warrior looks up, curious. Suddenly a FORMATION OF TAC FIGHTERS screams down from high orbit and a white hot nuclear firestorm burns consumes the landscape. Bugs scream as they twist and kick in the wall of flame. Heat melts the dirt into dark glass. Ash turns the sky red. The out of the smoke come Rasczak and his Roughnecks. RASCZAK Spread out, teams of three. When you locate a bug hole, secure it, gas it, and close it.", "EXT.     TANGO URILLA - FLATS - DAY - TAC FIGHTERS streak by overhead. On the ground, Johnny, Dizzy and Ace are on the bounce. Ace spots a bug hole where workers and warrors have broken through the glassed surface. ACE There. Rockets take out warriors. Bug guts go flying. Dizzy sets workers on fire. Johnnx and Ace step over burning bug carcasses to the rim of the hole and fire their gas rounds. JOHNNY Fire in the hole! Johnny drops an H.E. round, and they're in the air when the explosion collapses the entrance to the bug city. BIRDIE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You new guys over there. WE could use some help.", "EXT.     TANGO URILLA - MOUNTAINS - BUGS boil out of the ground. Birdie, Sugar Watkins and other Roughnecks are about to be overrun when Johnny touches down wuth Ace and Dizzy. JOHNNY Looks like you've got a little bug problem, ma'am. BIRDIE Stow it, trooper. Give it verything you've got! The cao troopers let the bugs have it, but the insects keep coming, the living crawling over the dead, and now, trudging up out of the ground, comes a TANKER BUG. JOHNNY WATCH OUT! The tanker bug starts to spray, creating a toxic perimeter around the hole. Rasczak arrives just as Birdie takes a chemical hit, falling to ground minus an arm, screaming. BIRDIE AAAAAAAAAAAAA! Johnny jumps, landing behind the tanker bug in the mouth of the hole. It turns with surprising speed. Johnny flips up onto its back, cracks its armor with his pulse cannon. RASCZAK Sugar, in for pick up! Rasczak and Sugar Watkins pull Birdie to safety. Johnny fires a rocket into the hole he's made in the tanker bug's back, and jumps clear. KA - WHAP! The big bug explodes. RASCZAK Gas that hole and close it! The Roughnecks fire gas rockets into the bug hole. Johnny touches down beside Rasczak. RASCZAK Where'd you learn to do that, soldier? JOHNNY Uni High Tigers, sir. Do n't you remember? I was captain of the team. RASCZAK I'm not interested in nostalgia, Rico, I need a corporal. You're it until you're dead or I find someone better. Rasczak turns away, gives Birdie prosthetic thumps up as she is carried past to meet an arriving skimmer. RASCZAK Do n't worry, Birdie, your next arm comes with a factory guarantee! Dizzy and Ace gather around Johnny, clap him on the back. DIZZY Way to go, amigo! JOHNNY I'm gon na need a squad leader. ACE No way. Big K taught me I ai n't executive material. JOHNNY What about it, Diz? DIZZY -LRB- a snappy salute. -RRB- Looks like I'm your girl, sir. Tac Fighters reel by over head. WOMP! Suddenly, BUG PLASMA shoots skyward from the flatlands below. Several Tac Fighters are blown out of the air. Flaming debris rains down. RASCZAK Saddle up, Roughnecks. That's our trash! Roughnecks head out on the bounce.", "EXT.     TANGO URILLA - RIDGE - DAY - JOHNNY and the others look down a sheer cliff on the bug battery, a charred circular pit some ten meters across. Inside, something is moving. JOHNNY What kind of stinkin' bug is that? Johnny jumps the magnification on his `` head up''. Down in the pit, a giant translucent PLASMA BUG rears out of one of the subterranean tunnels that ring the battery. SUGAR WATKINS You never seen how they do it before? Johnny shakes his head. Swollen BREEDER BUGS gather around the plasma bug to inject it with their catalytic jelly. ACE Agghh! It's making me sick! The plasma bug writhes in pain and begins to swell, color changing from yellow to blue in accordance with some violent internal chemical reaction. SUGAR WATKINS It's gon na pop! WOMP! The plasma bug explodes in its cauldron. A blast of bug plasma streaks past them towards the heavens. Now a new plasma bug crawls into the pit to begin the cycle anew. GILLESPIE Sir, look! Sergeant Gillespie points. A hole opens near the battery and dozens of warriors rampage out of the ground and up the cliff face toward the Roughneck position. RASCZAK We must be right over the colony. Let's get some air support, eh? GILLESPIE Yes, sir! Fleet, this is Roughneck patrol, over? Rasczak moves off down the line giving orders. RASCZAK Corporal, I want pulse cannons there and there! Rifle teams, spread out along the ridge! Sugar, bring up that flame thrower! GILLESPIE Fleet's pulling the battle group back to safe distance. They'd like us to knock out those batteries, sir. RASCZAK They'd rather spend our lives than risk their ships. Who's got the nuke? DIZZY That'd be me, sir. RASCZAK Heat it up. Dizzy activates a tactical nuke. It makes a distinctive HIGHPITCHED SQUEAL. RASCZAK Roughnecks, you may fire at will. The Roughnecks open fire. Bugs are blown to pieces but they keep climbing. A warrior breeches their line. Sugar Watkins torches it. The nuke's ready light flashes. DIZZY I'm hot, sir! RASCZAK FIRE! BLAST SHIELDS DOWN! Johnny blows a warrior away from the edge. Dizzy leans over and fires. The rocket streaks down toward the battery. RASCZAK HIT THE DIRT! An explosion in the two kiloton range turns the world black and white. When color returns Johnny and the others look down on the smoldering crater which was once the bug battery. GILLESPIE Now comes the part I hate the most. JOHNNY What's that? GILLESPIE We go down into the colony and make sure all the queens are dead.", "INT.     TUNNELS - DAY - THE ROUGHNECKS fight their way down gassed - out tunnels into bug city. They meet warrors at every turn and kill them. Helmet lamps make weird shadows of dead bugs piled everywhere along the way. SUGAR WATKINS You knew the Lieutenant before the war. What was he like? JOHNNY He was a teacher, kind of a know it all. Always had this little smile. SUGAR WATKINS Geez, I do n't think I've ever seen him smile. JOHNNY Must fill your bottle up real quick when your wife and kids get smeared. Johnny joins Rasczak, Ace and Dizzy and they blow away several warriors guarding the entrance of a large chamber.", "INT.     BUG NURSERY - DAY - THE QUEENS are eight meters long with corpulent bodies and tiny heads. Only one survives, and though she is herself dying, her abdomen, rippled by life within, continues to undulate. JOHNNY All dead except one, sir. RASCZAK Kill the bitch. JOHNNY Yes, sir. Johnny signals. Dizzy's pulse cannon rips open the dying queen. Thousands of wriggling premature bugs come spilling out. Horrified, knee - deep Roughnecks set them afire.", "EXT.     TANGO URILLA - BASE CAMP - DAY - FLEET ENGINEERS unload PRE - FAB BARRACKS from HERCULES CARGO BOATS. Roughnecks eat. Rasczak stands, banging a spoon on his mess kit. RASCZAK Tango Urilla is now bug free. Means the Roughnecks have killed a helluva lotta bugs! Roughnecks cheer. Rasczak kicks open a CARGO MODULE. Beer kegs rool out. He kicks open a second module. Inside, musical instruments. Ace picks up a violin. RASCZAK I expect the best, but I give the best. Habve some fun. That's an order!", "EXT.     BASE CAMP - NIGHT - LATER - ACE leads a little quartet, plays a sweet fiddle. Roughnecks laugh and dance. Dizzy tries to pull Johnny into the fun. DIZZY C'mon. JOHNNY Nah, I do n't do that anymore. DIZZY You used to dance. JOHNNY I said no. Want me to pull rank? DIZZY Well, excuse me, sir. Dizzy heads back to the others. Johnny turns and finds Rasczak regarding him with an odd, sad smile. RASCZAK Yopu asked me some advice once, Rico. Want some now? JOHNNY Yes, sir. RASCZAK Never pass up a good thing, eh? Gillespie appears. GILLESPIE Lieutenant, Brigade's on the com. Rasczak heads away. Johnny joins Dizzy. JOHNNY Hey, Diz. DIZZY What? Johnny takes her hand, bows implishly. JOHNNY May I have the honor? He pulls her out among the others and they begin to dance. Ace watches with a grin, puts some spirit in his fiddle.", "INT.     COMMUNICATIONS - NIGHT - RASCZAK is in holo conference with an INTELLIGENCE OFFICER INTELLIGENCE OFFICER At 0821 we received a distress call from Planet P, priority code, requesting reinforcement. RASCZAK I thought 4th brigade cleaned out P. INTELLIGENCE OFFICER Owen reported the eradication of a low generation colony a month ago. That's why MICOM wants onsite assessment. RASCZAK Sounds more like some idiot at Military Intelligence Command wants to get me and my cap troopers killed. The Intelligence Officer reddens. INTELLIGENCE OFFICER Take your group down to P and have a look see. Leave the thinking to us, Lieutenant. That's not your job. RASCZAK My job is to protect the lives of my soldiers so they can kill bugs, Major, and if you're walking me into a trap - INTELLIGENCE OFFICER Bugs do n't lay traps. They are n't intelligent! Unlike you, they're stupid enough to follow orders! VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- That'll be all, Major. Dismissed. The Intelligence Officer disappears abruptly. A new hologram appears. Rasczak's jaw drops. It's his former student Carl Jenkins, now a Colonel, weary and pissed off. CARL This conference is over. Do your duty, Lieutenant. That's an order. Rasczak recovers, salutes stiffly. RASCZAK Yes, sir.", "INT.     PRE-FAB SLEEPING UNIT - DAY - JOHNNY AND DIZZY are making love. The door pops open. Rasczak stands there. Dizzy ducks under the covers. Johnny manages a salute. RASCZAK Corporal, the Roughnecks are moving out for Planet P immediately. Get yourself squared away and report to Gillespie for logistics. JOHNNY Yes, sir! RASCZAK Who's that with you? Dizzy shows herself, grinning. RASCZAK Report in ten minutes. Rasczak slams the door shut on them. They fall back into one anothers arms, laughing as they resume lovemaking. DIZZY Planet P? What kind of name is that? JOHNNY They ran out of names a long time ago in this part of the galaxy.", "EXT.     PLANET P - BAD LANDS - DAY - THE ROUGHNECKS move through canyons of towering wind - carved rock formations. Gillespie carries the communications package. GILLESPIE I do n't understand it, Lieutenant. It's not getting anything from 4th Brigade. not even their transponder. RASCZAK Keep trying, Sergeant.", "EXT.     CANYON FLOOR - CONTINUING - DAY - THE ROUGHNECKS walk in a column far below. Something is watching from the above. HOPPERS, lots of them, moving from rock to rock for better position.", "EXT.     CANYON FLOOR - CONTINUING - DAY - ACE sees something out of the corner of his eye. JOHNNY BUGS! The hoppers hit. Several Roughnecks go down. Everyone opens up. Dive - bombing bugs are blown to bits. Roughnecks set them on fire when they hit the ground. DIZZY Johnny, watch out! A burning bug hurls itself at Johnny. Johnny jumps out of the way as Dizzy fires, blowing it apart. The deadly hoppers seem to be everywhere above them in the rocks. RASCZAK LET'S GO! ON THE BOUNCE!", "EXT.     FLAT LANDS - DAY - THE ROUGHNECKS move out into the open. In the distance they see 4th Brigade HQ, a walled compound and partially constructed landing pad. RASCZAK Gillespie, put in call for retrieval. We're off this rock. Gillespie, do you read me? GILLESPIE AAAAAAAAAAA! Two hoppers are pulling Gillespie up into the rocks where other bugs join to feast. RASCZAK Throw a rifle! Dizzy tosses her Morita to Rasczak. Gillespie writhes in the hopper's claws. Rasczak fires, killing Gillespie. RASCZAK I expext any one here to do the same for me. Rico, Watkins, Flores, Levy prepare for rear guard action. The rest of you make for 4th Brigade. Johnny and the others cover the Roughneck retreat as hoppers soar down on the flat lands from the canyon walls. RASCZAK FIRE! Johnny and the others blast bugs out of the air. RASCZAK FALL BACK 100 METERS! A second wave of hoppers come in. RASCZAK AND FIRE! For now, the sky is clear. RASCZAK 4TH BRIGADE HQ! ON THE BOUNCE!", "EXT.     4TH BRIGADE HQ - DAY - THE OUTPOST is 50 meters by 100, standard issue pre - fab. The Roughnecks land on the compound wall. Inside, WORKER BUGS graze on the remains of 200 dead cap troopers strewn over the complex. RASCZAK Jeez, Command really humped the bunk on this one. Rasczak turns away. Roughnecks engage in the sport of methodically killing the workers. RASCZAK Rico, you're acting Sergeant now. My last Sergeant lost the com pack. Put together a search team and find the radio shack. We need retrieval. JOHNNY Yes, sir.", "INT.     4TH BRIGADE HQ - OFFICE COMPLEX - DAY - JOHNNY surveys the aftermath of the last stand with Rasczak, insect and human dead everywhere. DIZZY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It's here, sir.", "INT.     COMMINICATIONS - DAY - RASCZAK AND JOHNNY enter the radio room. A DEAD MAJOR is slumped over the console with hole in the back of his head. Johnny checks the equipment. It' dead, too. JOHNNY Diz, see what you can do. DIZZY I'm on it! Dizzy goes to work. Rasczak checks the wound in the back of the dead major's head. RASCZAK What's that look like to you, Rico? JOHNNY Looks like a bug was in his brain, sir. ACE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Lieutenant, I think you're gon na wan na see this, sir.", "INT.     MESS HALL - DAY - A BUG HOLE in the middle of the floor is surrounded by carnage. ACE Dirty bugs came in right when they were having chow! RASCZAK Gas that hole and seal it. Then they hear a sound. Tap tap tap. Rasczak signals for quiet. Tap tap tap tap. It's coming from the kitchen.", "INT.     KITCHEN - DAY - THE ROUGHNECKS enter cautiously. The noise is coming from a freezer. Ace stands ready to fire. Johnny levers open the door, jumps back as GENERAL OWEN, 60, tumbles out face first. ACE Officer on the deck, sir. RASCZAK Pick up the general! Roughnecks prop him up. General Owen tries to talk, but no words come out. Rasczak bends down to listen. GENERAL OWEN Get out. you got ta get me out! RASCZAK General Owen, sir? The old man grins, hugely relieved. GENERAL OWEN At ease, Lieutenant. Thank God for you, for all of you. this is grand. so where's the boat?", "INT.     COMMUNICATIONS - HALLWAY - DAY - JOHNNY AND RASCZAK help the old General, now wrapped in a blanket, rambling. GENERAL OWEN I was forced to hide, of course. The security of the Federation in this theater of operations was at stake! JOHNNY Diz, what's with the uplink? Dizzy lokks up from where she is working on the radio controls. DIZZY Workin on it! GENERAL OWEN They get in your mind. they make you do things! Look here. They did it to Farley! He points at the hole of the dead major's head. RASCZAK The distress call. The bugs wanted us to rescue you! GENERAL OWEN Oh, you can be sure of it! They were biding their time. waiting for the most opportune moment! Rasczak's lost interest in the general. He's on the com. RASCZAK To all Roughnecks, this is Rasczak. Prepare for attack. Repeat. We are going to be attacked! GENERAL OWEN They were n't gon na do it to me. Oh no! I know too many secrets! Rasczak looks at General Owen with contempt. SUGAR WATKINS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Fire in the hole! An explosion in the mess hall closes the bug hole.", "EXT.     OFFICE COMPLEX - DAY - GENERAL OWEN blinks as he steps out into the light. Roughnecks snap to attention. General Owen looks at the carnage that was once his command and begins to keen, collapsing to his knees. GENERAL OWEN Oh God! My soldiers! All of my boys and girls! The Roughnecks are shocked. They've never seen a general break down before. Lieutenant Rasczak slaps Owen hard. LT. RASCZAK Shut up! Your soldier's dead and you're not! GENERAL OWEN I know. I wish you'd shoot me. LT. RASCZAK I oughta! And it looks like Rasczak just might, but just then Ace touches down next to Johnny and Rasczak. ACE Lieutenant, we got trouble!", "EXT.     RAMPARTS - DAY - RASCZAK and Johnny join other stunned Roughnecks to see THOUSANDS OF BUGS on the march from every direction. Bug batteries open up in the distance. RASCZAK Warm it all up! Everything you got! Levy, collect the big guns from the towers. Watkins, put General Owen with the wounded. Rico, where's my communications? JOHNNY What's going on, Diz? DIZZY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I got power! Gim me a minute! Johnny runs for the communications room. JOHNNY We do n't have a minute!", "INT.     COMMUNICATIONS - DAY - DIZZY has the board up. Outside the battle has begun. Nukes go WOMP! and pulse guns chatter. DIZZY What frequency? JOHNNY All bands. DIZZY Roughneck patrol to battle group. Roughneck patrol to battle group. RODGER YOUNG -LRB- O.S. -RRB- This is Rodger Young. What's going on down there? We're taking plasma! We have Orion P - 11 as clear! JOHNNY SHUT UP, SIR! We need pick up now! RODGER YOUNG -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What is your position? JOHNNY Landing zone is extremely hostile. Come down on this transmission! RODGER YOUNG -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Inside 4th brigade compound? That's crazy! JOHNNY Then I hope you have a crazy pilot! Keep the line open, Dizzy! Johnny races out the door.", "EXT.     4TH BRIGADE HQ - DAY - THE COMPOUND is white hot as Roughnecks on the walls unload nukes. Johnny crosses the compound, lands next to Rasczak on the wall. JOHNNY Boat coming down, sir! The Roughnecks stop firing as they run out of nukes. ROUGHNECKS I'm empty. all nuked out. Me, too! Johnny scans the battlefield. Nukes have turned the surface into dark glass. Now, out of the smoke, come the bugs, steaming glass cracking beneath millions of marching feet. ACE Jeez, we musta killed a million already! JOHNNY Not enough, I guess. Sugar Watkins sees Genera Owen in the compound below, stumbling aimlessly among his dead soldiers. SUGAR WATKINS General! GENERAL, stay with the wounded. Sir, the general! RASCZAK Ah, the hell with him. Hoppers sweep into the compound. The Roughnecks open fire. General Owen make easy pickings for ones that get through. RASCZAK Fall back. form a circle! If no living bug comes over that wall, we can not be harmed. Dizzy arrives on thr bounce as the Roughnecks fall back into the compound. Bugs pile in over the walls. The circle affords them 360 degrees of kill zone. RASCZAK Rico, Flores, Watkins, Levy! We control the sky until retrieval! JOHNNY ET AL Yes, sir! Rasczak, Sugar Watkins, Johnny and Dizzy stand back - to - back in the center of the circle, sweeping the skies with the heavy guns from the towers. Hoppers are blown to pieces. ACE Getting low here, sir! DIZZY 300 rounds and counting, sir! RASCZAK Make every shot count! Johnny looks up. A RETRIEVAL BOAT hurtles down through bursts of bug plasma, takes a grazing hit, rights itself with retros and lands within the circle. Roughnecks cheer, saved! RASCZAK Sergeant, secure the boat! JOHNNY Yes, sir! Roughnecks move to protect the boat. The hatch blows open. RASCZAK Board the wounded! Dead bugs ring the compound walls, forming ramps for living insect soldiers to enter the compound in greater numbers. RASCZAK Move to retrieval on my command! First group, now! The circle shrinks as Roughnecks fall back and board the boat. More and more bugs pile in over the compound walls. RASCZAK Alright, Flores! Levy! Rico! Suddenly, the ground collapses under Rasczak. He falls in to his waist, vomits blood as something chews on him from below. RASCZAK AAAAAAAAAAAA! JOHNNY Cover us, Ace! Ace and the others fire from the boat. Johnny and Dizzy fire at the ground around Rasczak. Rasczak stops screaming. They try to pull him free. JOHNNY Hit your jets, sir! RASCZAK I ca n't My legs are gone. Get on the boat. The compund wall collapses. A wave of bugs charges in. RASCZAK Rico, tell'em to glass this goddam planet. I've never seen so many bugs upstairs at the same time. JOHNNY We're not leaving you here, sir! Weakly, Rasczak picks up his pulse gun, checks the power. RASCZAK This is my farm. Get on the boat, NOW! That's an order, Sergeant. JOHNNY Give'em hell, sir! Johnny and Dizzy run for the boat. Rasczak opens fire, picking his shots, but soon the bugs are all over him. RASCZAK C'mon you sons of bitches! There's no bug alive can kill a real mAAAAAAA! At the boat, Dizzy turns to look back at Rasczak. A hopper swoops down on Dizzy, it's claws ripping into her abdomen. DIZZY AAAAAAA! GET IT OFF ME GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT AAAAAAAAAA! Johnny blows the bug off her back. Blood sprays from a deep gash in her neck. Johnny picks her up, tries to stop the blood with his hand. The life is leaving her eyes. JOHNNY Hang on, Diz. do n't die on me. A TANKER BUG breaches the broken wall. Ace jumps out to help his friends. The hatch closes just as the tanker bug sprays. The boat blasts off, dripping metal.", "INT.     CARGO BAY - DAY - JOHNNY holds Dizzy in his arms, drenched in her blood, fighting G - forces as the boats heads for orbit. DIZZY I bought the farm, did n't I, Johnny? JOHNNY No, you're gon na be alright, Diz! DIZZY It's alright'cause I got to have you, Johnny. MEDICS push Johnny aside, go to work on Dizzy.", "INT.     BOAT - COCKPIT - DAY - JOHNNY slams into the cockpit. Out the front screen, violent bursts of BUG PLASMA fill the sky as they break atmosphere. JOHNNY Get on the com and tell Fleet to glass that rock! The co - pilot turns around. It's Zander. His eyes narrow. ZANDER On whose authority, Corporal? JOHNNY This would be mine, sir. Acting Sergeant John Rico. I've assumed command on this mission. The pilot turns around. It's Carmen. CARMEN Johnny! I thought you were dead! JOHNNY I'm not, but alot of my soldiers are. Glass the planet! Johnny leaves. Carmen punches up Fleet Command. CARMEN Rodger Young, this is inbound shuttle De Ruyter with an official request from the Mobile Infantery to bombard Planet P - 11.", "INT.     BOAT - CARGO BAY - DAY - JOHNNY returns to Dizzy's side as the medics struggle to save her. Blood pours out of her mouth. Her body thrashes. DIZZY JOHNNY HEH HEH CA N'T HEH BREATHE GOD JOHNNY CA N'T HEH HEH HEH HEH! Dizzy dies. A Medic slaps her. Her head lolls, mouth open, eyes blank. They drop her and move on to the next casualty. Johnny sits there, stunned. Carmen enters from the cockpit. CARMEN Negative on your request. Fleet Command has the battle group on standby. Carmen sees Dizzy lying dead on the deck. CARMEN I'm sorry. JOHNNY We got ta choke on the mud and the blood and Fleet ca n't be bothered to spit. CARMEN No, I think something's up. The Sky Marshall's here. She points out for a viewing port. Johnny looks. Fifteen battle groups, 100 ships strong, lay off Planet P, all of them dwarfed by the Sky Marshall's flagship, Buenos Aires. CARMEN I thought you were KIA, Johnny. JOHNNY That was just a mix up. CARMEN You look so. I do n't know, you look like you've really been in it. JOHNNY What happened to your eye? Carmen touches the scar over her eye. CARMEN Almost got knocked out of the sky over Big K. JOHNNY I like it. It's kinda. you.", "EXT.     BATTLE GROUP - ORION SYSTEM - THE BOAT lands on the flight deck of the Rodger Young in the midst of the flotilla.", "INT.     OFFICERS QUARTERS - DAY CYCLE - ZANDER enters, watches Carmen dress. She hums as she checks herself in the mirror, touches thr scar over her eye, smiles. ZANDER Where are you going? CARMEN A funeral. ZANDER That girl who died on the way up. his girl? CARMEN Yeah. ZANDER How do you feel about him now? CARMEN I do n't know, Zander. ZANDER I do.", "INT.     RODGER YOUNG - GUNNERY DECK - CARMEN enters as Johnny speaks. Dizzy is laid out in dress gray. The surviving Roughnecks have gathered to pay final respects. JOHNNY Dizzy bought the farm. She was my good friend, and friens are the best luck anyone gets. But in war, we must go on without our friends. We take with us their memory, and we are left to wonder if there is meaning in their death. Let me tell you what it is : Dizzy bough the farm so we can keep on fighting. Several INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS march into the bay. JOHNNY Officer on deck! Everyone snaps to attention. Colonel Carl Jenkins strides into the room. His eyes are hollow, and he looks grim. He returns Johnny's salute, nods to Carmen. CARL Please continue, Sergeant. JOHNNY Dizzy would n't want our tears. She'd want us to remember her. with a vengeance. So go out and kill a bug for Dizzy. Kill as many as you can. You are her revenge, and every bug you kill honors her death. Johnny nods to the GUNNERY CREW. They load Dizzy's body into a tube. Johnny steps back, salutes Dizzy. Everyone salutes. JOHNNY Womb to tomb, cap trooper! ROUGHNECKS Womb to tomb! The CREW CHIEF fires the tube. Out the viewports, A PULSE OF LIGHT disperses into space. The Roughnecks file out. Carl approaches. Carmen takes Johnny and Carl by the hand. CARMEN Well, look at this. The three of us back together again. JOHNNY How are you, Carl? CARL Johnny, I'm sorry it had to be your unit on Planet P. That mission had a very low survival probability. JOHNNY Bugs laid a trap, did n't they? CARL Elegant proof of intelligence, is n't it? We thought there might be a brain on P. CARMEN You knew and you sent them anyway? CARL A colony has to reach a certain size before it produces a Brain. we think 300 generations. Woulda too expensive to launch an operation if there was n't a Brain. Carl sees the way Carmen is looking at him, like he's a bug. CARL You do n't approve. Well, too bad. We're in this for the species, boys and girls. It's simple numbers, they have more, and everyday I have to make decisions that send hundreds of people like you to their deaths. JOHNNY Did n't they tell you, Colonel? That's what cap troopres are good for. Carl allows himself a tiny smile. CARL Hope you're ready for more. We're going back to P to capture that Brain. JOHNNY The Roughnecks are always ready, sir. CARL I hear they need a new Lieutenant. Want the job? JOHNNY I'll take it. until I get killed or you find someone better. KLAXONS sound. Suddenly, everyone has someplace to go. CARMEN Hope you get your Brain Bug, Carl. CARL It's good to see you two. It reminds me of the way things were before. Carl turns abruptly and heads away. His entourage follows. CARMEN Take care, wilya Johnny? JOHNNY See you on the bounce!", "INT.     RODGER YOUNG - COMMAND & CONTROL - CARMEN steps onto the bridge. There's a new NUMBER 2 sitting in Zander's chair. She's right out of Tereshkova, and she looks scared. Carmen turns to Captain Deladier. CARMEN Where's Lieutenant Barcalow? DELADIER He requested a combat assignment. There's always a need for experienced pilots on the ground. I had no choice but to let him go. He said you'd understand. Carmen bites her lip, takes first chair. Deladier feels bad for her, knows she's made a painful decision.", "INT.     RODGER YOUNG - DROP ROOM - ROUGHNECKS are suiting up. Ace enters. ACE Officer on the deck! Roughnecks fall in. Johnny steps into the room. There are many new and much younger faces. JOHNNY I only have two rules. Rule one, everyone fights. Rule two, no one quits. If you do n't do your job, I'll kill you myself. Do you get me? ROUGHNECKS We get you, sir! JOHNNY -LRB- to Ace, sotto voce. -RRB- Who're all these kids? ACE We got reinforced. Most of'em just got outa boot. JOHNNY We're the old men, Ace.", "EXT.     PLANET P - 4TH BRIGADE HQ - DAY - CARGO SHIPS have landed. Cap troopers set fire to huge piles of dead bugs. BULLDOZERS push bodies into a mass grave, among them Rasczak. Johnny walks past with his team. JOHNNY We'll take this high ground. Lookouts there and therte and up there. If the bugs come upstairs in this neighbor - hood, we'll be the first to know. ACE Got it. Fleet tactical wants to know where they can deploy the skimmers. JOHNNY Down there on the flats, eh? Listen up, Roughnecks! Our primary objective is to assist our friends from the Fleet. Roughnecks boo. JOHNNY Alright, cut it out. We will deploy from skimmers in teams of six. If the bugs open up a battery, we put it out of business. Any questions? A HERCULES CARGO BOAT hurtles out of the sky and lands on the high ground Johnny has intended forb his H.Q. Johnny scowls, marches over to the boat and confronts a FLEET OFFICER. JOHNNY Would ` ya mind moving your boat? FLEET OFFICER Better talk to the boss. The cargo bays open to deploy FLEET SKIMMERS. Zander jumps down to oversee the operation. JOHNNY You're standing on my H.Q., Lieutenant! ZANDER This is a Fleet - driven operation, son, and the Fleet thinks my boat will be safer on the high ground. You can have everything else, eh? JOHNNY You heard the Sky Marshall. Move it all down - Suddenly, in the distance, bug batteries open fire, not one but twenty. Zander and Johnny share a look of concern. ZANDER Rodger Young, prepare to receice outgoing fire! -LRB- to his crew chief. -RRB- I'll take the first group. JOHNNY Saddle up, boys, that's our trash!", "EXT.     SPACE - PLANET P ORBIT - BUG PLASMA begins to take a toll on the battle group as the orbiting ships lay their eggs. Cap Troopers are scliced as they drop.", "EXT.     RODGER YOUNG - BRIDGE - CAPTAIN DELADIER turns to Carmen. DELADIER Evasive action! Carmen dodges other starships, turns to her new number 2. CARMEN Prepare for warp! NEW NUMBER 2 Yes, ma'am! Warp in 5. 4. 3! KA - WHAM! The Rodger Young takes a direct hit.", "EXT.     RODGER YOUNG - PLANET P ORBIT - THE RODGER YOUNG is cut in two. The rear section explodes, the forward section begins to burn towards the bridge.", "INT.     RODGER YOUNG - BRIDGE - CAPTAIN DELADIER calmy evacuates the bridge. Power fails and so does the gravity. CARMEN This is Rodger Young, we're going down. Repeat, this is Rodger Young, we're going down! DELADIER Ibanez. LET'S GO!", "INT.     RODGER YOUNG - ESCAPE CORRIDOR - CARMEN and Captain Deladier run for the lifepods. An explosion flips the corridor. Captain Deladier's leg is crushed when an airlock closes on her. DELADIER AAAAAAAAAAA! Carmen hits the release, pulls her free. Deladier pushes Carmen away. DELADIER Leave me, Lieutenant! That's an order! CARMEN No way, ma'am!", "INT.     RODGER YOUNG - LIFE POD BAY - CARMEN pushes into the chaotic life pod bay. PANICKED CREW shoving, screaming, fighting. The ship pitches. They tumble, landing near a pod. Carmen jumps for it, pulls Deladier in after.", "EXT.     RODGER YOUNG - PLANET P ORBIT - THE RODGER YOUNG disintegrates as lifepods shoot away toward the planet.", "INT.     LIFEPOD - PLANET P ORBIT - CARMEN navigates through a graveyard of floating wreckage, dead cap troopers, someone's trombone. She sets her beacon and the pod plummets downward. CARMEN Mayday, mayday! This is Lieutenant Carmen Ibanez in lifepod RY63. I'm going in.", "EXT.     PLANET P - BASE CAMP - DAY - ROUGHNECKS board the Skimmers. Zander approaches Johnny, upset. JOHNNY What's your problem now, Lieutenant? ZANDER The Rodger Young just burned up. Johnny's face falls. JOHNNY Any survivors? Zander points. Far in the distance, a glowing pod plummets toward the planet. Johnny tracks it on his `` head up''.", "INT.     LIFEPOD - ATMOSPHERE - DAY - CARMEN is shaken violently as the pod hits atmosphere.", "EXT.     PLANET P - DAY - CARMEN'S POD hits and goes straight through the crust of Planet P.", "INT.     BUG CITY TUNNELS - DAY - THE POD comes to rest. Carmen blows the hatch, pulls Deladier out, grabs a Morita pulse rifle. Tunnels lead in every direction. CARMEN This is Lieutenant Carmen Ibanez. Is anyone receiving?", "EXT.     BASE CAMP - DAY - JOHNNY grabs the handset from Ace. JOHNNY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Affirmative! Carmen, this is Roughneck base camp. What is your present location?", "INT.     BUG CITY TUNNELS - DAY - CARMEN sees a warrior coming at her from out of the shadows. Carmen fires a burst and kills it. Now there are two. Carmen backs up firing, but there are too many. CARMEN My present location is 42 degrees South by 176 degrees East. situation is extremely hostile. I. AAAAAAAAA! They have her. She puts the barrel of the Morita in her mouth, but a claw cut her trigger finger off at the knuckle.", "EXT.     PLANET P - ROUGHNECK BASE CAMP - DAY - JOHNNY and Zander are horrified by what they hear. CARMEN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- AAAAAAAAAAAAAA! JOHNNY We've got ta go get her! ZANDER You know as well as I do she's probably already dead. Johnny knows it's true, swallows bitterly, turns away. That's when he sees it. Nearby, the ground shifts, a claw breaks through, a hole opens up and bugs boil up out of the ground. SUGAR WATKINS Here they come! They turn and see a second bug hole open up. JOHNNY We're outa here. Lieutenant, get your men into the skimmers. This real estate's about to go buggy. ZANDER Hey, just calm down, I'm giving the orders here - The entire area underneath the base camp collapses to form a huge new canyon. The Hercules boat topples, crushing Skimmers and unfortunate Fleet personnnel.", "EXT.     NEW CANYON - DAY - JOHNNY and the surviving Roughnecks pick themselves up. The are now 30 meters below the planet's surface. Above them, bugs line the wide rim of the newly formed canyon. JOHNNY Form a perimeter! Through the dust, exposed bug tunnels can be seen in the canyon walls and piling out of them by the score, deadly Arachnid warriors. Johnny throws Zander a pulse cannon. JOHNNY Make yourself useful, fly boy. PREPARE TO REPEL BUGS! The Roughnecks open fire at the charging bug horde. Warriors are blown to pieces. Gas grenades fly and H.E. rounds close tunnels. A maimed warrior gets through and heads for Zander. ZANDER AAAAAAAAAAA! Johnny and Ace team up to blow it away. Zander takes a deep breath, loos around, impressed. The Roughnecks have killed a great many bugs. JOHNNY Ace, get on the com. Tell Fleet we need retrieval. Sugar, salvage some armor and suit up Lieutenant Barcalow. Sugar Watkins tosses a bloody jump boot his way. ZANDER Thanks. ACE Fleet Command says retrieval's no go. The battle group's at safe distance. and we got another problem. Ace points out a Tanker bug that's been brough up to the rim. Johnny sees another. JOHNNY Looks like they're gon na hose us down. Johnny chews on this. JOHNNY Alright. Listen up, Roughnecks. We're gon na head west down through bug city, pick up any Rodger Young survivors we run across, and join A Company. Get me? ROUGHNECKS We get you, sir! Zander, awkward in a power suit, confronts Johnny. ZANDER What do you think you're doing? JOHNNY I'm gon na save Carmen. ZANDER That would mean a comlete disregard for the mission objective. They hang you for that, Rico. JOHNNY Yeah, that's right. Johnny and Zander stare each other down. ZANDER Let's go. JOHNNY Move out. Johnny starts for the gaping mouth of an exposed bug tunnel and the others fall in behind him. ACE Bug hunt! ROUGHNECKS BUG HUNT!", "INT.     TUNNEL - DAY - JOHNNY leads his deadly force through enemy territory. The Roughnecks kill everything that gets in their way. Zander lends his inexperienced hand. JOHNNY Mr. Barcalow, save power, do n't waste it on workers. Ace, tell Aardvark we're on our way. ACE Yes, sir! Warriors appear in the tunnel behind them. JOHNNY Sugar, close the tunnel! SUGAR Fire in the hole! Sugar Watkins fires an H.E. round and seals the tunnel.", "INT.     BUG CITY - FEEDING PIT - DAY - CARMEN opens her eyes. She can hear BUGS CLICKING. She's in a pit filled with human dead. A nearby carcass wears a uniform from 4th Brigade Off in the dark she hears HUMAN MOANING. She crawls over rotting corpses toward the sound. The moaning turns to SCREAMING. It's coming from outside the pit. She pulls herself up to peer over the edge.", "INT.     BUG CITY - THE ROYAL COURT - DAY - CARMEN sees hundred of bugs at work, WARRIORS, WORKERS and dozens of small -LRB- 2 meters -RRB- CHARIOT BUGS. Aworker walks pas, stepping on her, but pays her no attention. She sees the source of the screaming : Captain Deladier is hold between two warriors, and she's screaming because of what she sees, DELADIER NAAAAAAAA! OH PLEASE. The BRAIN BUG is huge -LRB- 5 meters -RRB- and pulpy. I has vestigial legs that can not support ist weight, and so it must be moved by a shifting carpet of chariot bugs. DELADIER OH GOD AAAAAAAAAAAAA! A thorn - like PALP unfolds out of the brain bug and strikes, driving deep into Deladier's head and sucks her brains out. DELADIER AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Carmen watches horrified as Deladier dies. The suddenly a warrior grabs her from above and drags her out of the pit. She screams as its claws slice into her limbs. CARMEN AAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Now the brain bug comes for her. She sees the palp unfold, the thorn - like spike coming toward her. Carmen is no longer looking for escape. All she wants to do is die. Suddenly, every bug in the chamber stops as though to listen. Carmen hears it. A HIGH - PITCHED SQUEAL, getting louder. Johnny enters the chamber alone. The warriors move toward him. He holds up a NUKE, source of the high - pitched tone. The ready light flashes. The Brain Bug emits a series of harsh clicks. The warriors freeze. JOHNNY You know what this is? Johnny makes an explosive sound. The Brain Bug slowly withdraws its palp. JOHNNY Sure you do. You're a big fat smart bug, are n't you? Johnny moves toward Carmen. The Brain Bug's multiple eyes track him. The warriors holding Carmen threaten. Johnny turns on the brain bug, his finger on the nuke's trigger. JOHNNY I'll take you with me. The Brain Bug clicks. The warriors back off. Carmen collapses. Johnny reaches for her. JOHNNY Take my hand! Chariot bugs move the Brain Bug down a hole. Workers seal the hole behind it with amazing speed. Johnny drags Carmen back toward the tunnel he entered from. The warriors charge. JOHNNY Roughnecks. NOW! Johnny throws himself on top of Carmen as the Roughnecks burst into the chamber, guns blazing. The fight is furious, point blank, deadly to bug and Roughneck alike. Sugar Watkins screams as a warrior rips his arm off. Zander takes a claw through the gut. ZANDER AAAAAAAAAAAAA! He blows it away, sees his intestines hanging out of the wound, shoves them back inside and keeps on fighting. A warrior rears up over Johnny and Carmen. JOHNNY Weapon! Ace throws him a Morita. Johnny catches it, pumps three rounds into the bug's nerve stem. He struggles out from under the dead warrior. Every bug in the chamber is dead. JOHNNY Are you hurt? Carmen throws her arms around Johnny. CARMEN Johnny! Zander takes this in. Carmen sees him, then his wound. CARMEN Zander! Oh, you're hurt. Ace takes a look at his wound, makes a face. ACE Ah geez. Zander pushes him away, struggles to his feet. JOHNNY Can you walk? ZANDER -LRB- clenched teeth. -RRB- Not a problem. JOHNNY Let's get some armor on her, and the we'll get outa this stinkin bug hole! Various components are gladly passed forward. Johnny and Ace help her putting it on. CARMEN I thought I was dead. Lucky for me you jokers showed up, eh? ZANDER It was n't luck. Rico ignored the mission objective to rescue you. CARMEN Is it true? JOHNNY Yeah, if I live through this, they'll probably hang me. Now com ` on, let's move out!", "INT.     BUG CITY TUNNELS - DAY - THE ROUGHNECKS double - time it, racing for the surface. They come to a fork. CARMEN Which way? JOHNNY Up. We got ta be near A Company by now. The tunnel floor drops out. FIVE ROUGHNECKS disappear into the hole. WARRIORS climb up into the tunnel. JOHNNY FALL BACK! The Roughnecks bachk up fast, shooting. Zander staggers, collapses. Johnny drops to his side, rolls him over. JOHNNY How bad are you, pal? ZANDER Been better, buddy. Johnny sees warriors coming up into the tunnel by the score. JOHNNY Alright, we're gon na carry you. ZANDER Nah, I figureyou folks oughta get upstairs before it's too late. Gimmee the nuke. Zander checks his pulse cannon's available power. JOHNNY Do n't be a hero. ZANDER This is my farm. Now c'mon, give me what you got and get out of here. Johnny nods, hands him the nuke. Carmen sees what's happening. CARMEN Zander, what are you doing? ZANDER Just giving you something to remember me by, baby. CARMEN Zander, no! He grabs her and kisses her. Johnny drags Carmen away. Zander opens fire as the first warriors reach his position.", "INT.     BUG CITY - INCLINED TUNNEL - DAY - JOHNNY AND CARMEN race desperately for the surface. They hear the chatter of Zander's pulse cannon and the screams of dying bugs. JOHNNY GO.GO GO GO GO! Tears stream down from Carmen's face.", "EXT.     PLANET P - DAY - JOHNNY AND CARMEN and the surviving Roughnecks make it to the surface. WOMP! A subterrenean nuclear explosion blows a column of earth and stone into the air.", "EXT.     PLANET P - A COMPANY BASE CAMP - JOHNNY and the others enter A Company's perimeter. No one notices their arrival because everyone's gathered in a big circle watching the Brain Bug. CARMEN Look. they got it. Several of its delicate legs were apparently broken during the capture. Carl approaches it without fear, puts his hand on the thing. GENERAL What's it thinking, Colonel? Carl smiles in a cruel way. CARL It's afraid. Johnny and Carmen approach the General. JOHNNY Sir, I'd like to turn myself in. Dereliction of duty by an officer during wartime. GENERAL And you freely admit to it? JOHNNY Yes, sir. GENERAL Is what this man says true, Lieutenant? CARMEN To the best of my understanding, it is, sir. The General sighs, turns to his AIDE. GENERAL Round up a field court martial, wilya? Carl steps in. CARL It's alright, sir. Acting Lieutenant Rico was under my orders. psi - orders. The General smiles, relieved. MAJOR Oh, I see. Well, that's completely different. That's classified. The General heads away. Carl winks at his friends. JOHNNY You always told me you could n't do human. CARL I ca n't. but like I told you, it's a number's game. The Federation needs all the pilots it can get. CARMEN I do n't know why, but every time the three of us are together I feel like everything's gon na be alright. CARL I hope you're right, Carmen. We've got one of their brains now. Pretty soon we'll know how they think, and then we'll know how to beat them. One day it'll be over, and everyone will forget that this was the moment. This is when it turned. And it was n't the mighty Fleet, it was n't any fancy new weapon, it was a cap trooper named Zim who captured a brain. JOHNNY Zim? Johhny sees a knot of soldiers around Zim, who is smiling, selfconscious and admirers shake his hand, pound his back. Johnny rushes to congratulate him. JOHNNY Hey, Sergeant Zim. Good job! Zim turns, gives Johnny a wry look. He wears the single stripes of a private. ZIM Thank you, sir. Zim snaps to attention, salutes. Johnny has to smile. JOHNNY Carry on, private! FROM THE FEDERAL NET - AND SO THE WAR GOES ON! Starships parked row - by - row in the floating yards above Luna. Meanwhile, at Camp Currie, cap troopers train. OFFICIAL VOICE Armed with more soldiers, more ships, and with a unity unmatched in all of human history, the Federation marches on! TECHNOLOGY - NEW WEAPONS! Federation scientists are hard at work. OFFICIAL VOICE Better gas to kill bugs with and, soon, the capacity to crack a planet in half with just one bomb! ENLIST NOW! Proud YOUNG PEOPLE in uniform, the bloom of human evolution. OFFICIAL VOICE Citizenship now guaranteed to all able applicants. Put your plans on hold to fight for the future! Protect your continued right to evolve! Would you like to know more?", "INT.     STARSHIP SPARTA - THE BRIDGE - CAPTAIN CARMEN IBANEZ stands on the bridge of a brand new starship, the Sparta. CARMEN We're over the target area now, Lieutenant!", "INT.     SPARTA - DROP ROOM - LIEUTENANT JOHNNY RICO looks his Roughnecks over before the drop. JOHNNY Saddle up, Roughnecks! ACE You heard the Lieutenant! On the bounce, troopers! One thing's for sure : They'll keep fighting, and they'll win! END"], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "In the 23rd century, while colonizing new planets, humans have encountered a hostile non-technological insectoid species known as Arachnids or \"Bugs\". In the Federation, citizenship is earned by performing such activities as military service, which grants individuals opportunities prohibited to basic civilians. After graduating from high school in Buenos Aires, John \"Johnny\" Rico, his girlfriend Carmen Iba\u00f1ez, and psychic best friend Carl Jenkins enlist in the Federal Service, despite Rico's parents' disapproval of military service. Carmen becomes a spaceship pilot, while Carl joins Military Intelligence. Rico enlists in the Mobile Infantry and is surprised to find Isabelle \"Dizzy\" Flores, his fellow ex-student, has deliberately transferred to his squad. In Mobile Infantry basic training, Career Sgt. Zim ruthlessly trains the recruits. Rico befriends fellow cadet Ace Levy and is later promoted to squad leader. He subsequently receives a Dear John letter from Carmen, as she desires a career with the fleet and now serves under Rico's high-school sports rival, Zander Barcalow. Following a live-fire training incident that kills one of Rico's squad members and causes another to quit out of guilt, Rico is demoted and flogged. He resigns and calls his parents to ask them if he can return home, but rescinds his resignation after an asteroid, reported to be launched by the Arachnids, obliterates Buenos Aires, killing his parents and millions of others. An invasion force is deployed to Klendathu, the Arachnids' home planet, but the operation severely underestimates the Arachnids and is a total disaster. Rico is severely wounded and mistakenly reported KIA. After recovering, he, Ace, and Dizzy are reassigned to the \"Roughnecks\", an elite unit commanded by Lt. Jean Rasczak, Rico's former high-school teacher. He quickly gains the respect of his peers and is promoted to the rank of Corporal after taking out a tanker bug. His relationship with Dizzy continues to grow, and they have sex during their night on Tango Urilla. The Roughnecks respond to a distress call from Planet \"P\", where they reconnoiter an outpost that has been devastated by Bugs. They soon realize that the distress call is a trap, and the Arachnids swarm the outpost. Rico, now an acting sergeant, euthanizes a mortally wounded Rasczak after a buried Bug bites off his legs. Dizzy is killed, but the surviving Roughnecks are rescued by Carmen and Zander. Rico and Carmen encounter Carl, now a high-ranking intelligence officer, at Dizzy's funeral. Carl reveals that there is reason to believe an intelligent \"brain bug\" is directing the other Bugs and has been learning how to fight humans. He field-promotes Rico to lieutenant and gives him command of the Roughnecks, ordering the Mobile Infantry units under his control to return to \"P\" in an attempt to capture the brain bug. The Fleet encounters unexpected heavy fire from the Bugs and Carmen's ship is destroyed. Carmen and Zander's escape pod crashes into a Bug tunnel system near Rico. They are surrounded by Bugs and a brain bug uses its proboscis to pierce Zander's skull and eat his brain. As it is about to do the same to Carmen, she cuts off its proboscis with a knife. Rico, Watkins and Ace arrive and threaten the Bugs with a small nuclear bomb, which the brain bug recognizes. They flee while the brain bug makes its escape. Arachnids pursue them and Watkins, mortally wounded, sacrifices himself by detonating the bomb to enable the others to escape. After returning to the surface, they find that former Sergeant Zim, who had requested a demotion to private so that he could serve at the front, has captured the brain bug. Carl tells Rico and Carmen that the humans will soon be victorious now that Military Intelligence can study the brain bug. Carl mentally scans the Bug and reveals that it is afraid, to the cheers of the troops. A propaganda clip shows Carmen, Ace, and Rico as model servicemen, encouraging viewers to enlist in the armed forces.", "name": "Starship_Troopers_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["THE BIJOU (The Majestic) ''. the magic is all around you. All the time. Everywhere. In every thing. The trick. is to see it.'' IN BLACK. the insistent, persistent, eight - to - the - bar beat of BOOGIE - WOOGIE. Hot, exciting, pulsating rhythm, ramping up. THEN. in the blackness, falling s - l - o - w - l - y, tumbling g - e - n - t - l - y, a picture - postcard : `` GREETINGS FROM HOLLYWOOD!'' Then another. and another, each one dropping through frame, a gentle rain. In these old postcards, Hollywood is a dream town where movie stars glide out of big cars to press their hands - and - footprints in the wet cement. Another postcard : `` I'M MEETING THE STARS AT HOLLYWOOD & VINE!'' In this postcard myth, you'd toddle down to Hollywood and Vine, bump into Bogie and Bacall, and join them for dinner at the Brown Derby. Or Ciro's. Or the Coconut Grove. More postcards. Pictures of movie theaters, but not the ones that you and I know today. These are palaces. Temples. Grauman's Chinese and Egyptian. The Carthay Circle. The Paramount, the Million Dollar. From a time when moviegoing was a complete experience, not a trip to the local mall. The ushers were friendly and helpful and wore gold brocaded jackets and guided you to your seat. The popcorn was hot and fresh and buttered with real butter, not 30 - weight motor oil. THE PILE OF POSTCARDS a wild jumble. Then, one LAST POSTCARD drops lazily on top of the pile. It's a view of Hollywood at night, a carpet of lights under the yawning, protective smile of Mt. Lee's most famous resident, the fully - lit HOLLYWOOD SIGN. We PUSH INTO THE PICTURE OF THE SIGN, DISSOLVING UNTIL WE'RE. PUSHING INTO THE REAL HOLLYWOOD SIGN, closer and closer, until we fly right through it - then crazily loop up and behind it until we're looking down at.", "EXT.  HOLLYWOOD (AERIAL VIEW) - NIGHT SUPER TITLE : 1951 A gigantic aerial shot. Postwar autos fill the muggy midsummer evening air with the sounds of thousands of HONKING HORNS, a mere precursor to the traffic yet to come. Darkened outlying neighborhoods are evidence of the postwar home construction boom, as scores of stucco bungalows are being built in the areas surrounding the beating heart of the town, a swath of garishly bright concrete called HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD. PETE'S NARRATION -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Of course, it's not like the postcards say it is. This is what it's like. I'm Pete Appleton, and this is my town. Still in the same shot, we rocket down into the center of the intersection of Hollywood and Vine, then head west along the boulevard, skimming just above the traffic - past Musso and Frank's Grill and the Hollywood Canteen, past the Egyptian Theater and a rumbling Pacific Electric Red Car, across Highland Avenue, past the Paramount Theater, and across the street to GRAUMAN'S CHINESE THEATER. PETE'S NARRATION -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Born and raised here, thank you very much. Sometimes, it seems like everyone here is from somewhere else. But everyone loves the movies, so Hollywood is everyone's town, and they come here by the busload. To them, Grauman's Chinese Theater is just about the most exciting place on the planet. To me, it's the theater that's playing `` The African Queen.'' And like the man said, the film on the marquee is `` THE AFRICAN QUEEN.'' Still the same shot, buses disgorge TOURISTS, who move into the forecourt of the theater. The MEN doff their hats and mop their brows. The WOMEN pull their blouses away from their chests, fanning themselves with movie - star maps as they marvel at the signed cement blocks. We MOVE AMONG THEM, until we pick up A COUPLE, and we stay behind them as they work their way through the crowd, on their way to THE THEATER ENTRANCE, where an ornately attired DOORMAN smiles and tears their tickets. DOORMAN Newsreel's just starting, folks. PETE'S NARRATION -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That's me and my girlfriend. Her name is Sandra Sinclair, and this is her town, too - she's from Cleveland. She came out here to be an actress, and that's just what she's doing. The first picture I ever wrote, a little potboiler called `` Sand Pirates of the Sahara.'' Okay, it ai n't `` Citizen Kane,'' but you got ta start somewhere. MOVING INTO THE LOBBY an explosion of glitz mixed with Chinese myth and legend. Everywhere you look, it's red and orange and plush carpeting and golden light. We MOVE THROUGH the lobby, still in the same shot, still tracking the couple, heading for the auditorium doors, which are swept open by two ramrod - erect USHERS and we move into THE DARKENED THEATER. As the couple, Pete and Sandra, find seats, we HEAR the soundtrack of the film before we see the screen, the unmistakable strains of a march, and then - still in the same shot - we see the screen. A NEWSREEL. As the march SWELLS to a crescendo, we HEAR THE NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER'S SONOROUS VOICE : NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER Bringing the news of the world to you! Over a newsreel shot of a packed Congressional Committee Hearing Room, a title blares `` HOLLYWOOD REDS GO TO JAIL!'' NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER Four years ago, in one of filmland's darkest hours, ten men, the so - called `` Hollywood Ten,'' were called to testify before the House Committee of Un - American Activities, investigating the proliferation of the dreaded Red Menace in Hollywood. We see several shots of WITNESSES engaged in heated verbal battles with congressmen, especially Committee Chairman T. JOHNSTON DOYLE and the Majority Counsel, ELVIN CLYDE. NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER Refusing to answer the lawmaker's questions, cowering behind the Fifth Amendment's protection against self - incrimination, the ten motion picture writers dared Congress to come after them. Well, come after them they did! And after years of court wrangling, it's now time to pay the piper! Over shots of several of the `` Hollywood Ten'' being led to jail in handcuffs, the newsreel narration continues. NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER And so, it's off to jail, the charge : Contempt of Congress! This should give you fellas something to write about now! A new round of investigations begins this fall, the mandate : Get the reds out of Hollywood! In the audience, one man YELLS `` Lock up the commie bastards! ,'' and a few others cheer and laugh. As the newsreel moves on to a somewhat more innocuous subject, we WHEEL AROUND AND. ENDFRAME ON PETE APPLETON AND SANDRA SINCLAIR. Pete's a handsome fellow in his 30s, and Sandra's a starlet pretty girl in her mid - 20s. As she rummages in her purse, Pete watches the newsreel. SANDRA Pete, there's time before the picture starts, you want to get some popcorn? PETE You bet, honey. Pete kisses Sandra on the cheek, then stands and sprints up the aisle to the concession stand, a big unworried grin on his face. PETE'S NARRATION -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We were young, we were in love, and we were working in pictures. Life. was good.", "EXT.  UNITED PICTURES STUDIOS - MAIN GATE - MORNING Pete pulls up to the guard kiosk in his spiffy yellow convertible Plymouth. The Guard, RAY, steps out to meet him. Pete lights up a cigarette. We get a better sense of him now. Though earnest, he's jocular, and a bit of a fast talker. PETE -LRB- very chipper. -RRB- Mornin', Ray. Whaddya know whaddya say? Me and Sandra caught `` The African Queen'' at the Chinese last night. Great picture, great picture. Ray is nonplussed. Tips his hat. Regards Pete suspiciously. RAY Mr. Appleton. PETE What's with this `` Mr. Appleton'' crap? Your boss hiding in there? RAY You're clear to go in. PETE What's that mean? Ray heads back to his kiosk, shaking his head. RAY Have a pleasant day. Pete, covering his worry well, drives onto the lot.", "EXT.  UNITED PICTURES STUDIOS - WRITER'S BUILDING - MORNING Pete pulls up, hops out, grinds out his cigarette, looks around and goes inside.", "INT.  WRITER'S BUILDING HALLWAY - MORNING Pete comes down the hall a few steps, stops. Something's wrong. It's awfully quiet. He pokes his head into the door marked `` TYPING POOL.''", "INT.  TYPING POOL - MORNING A sea of black Underwoods - all silent. The lights in the room are off, and hard shafts of morning sun stream in through the windows. One typists, LOUISE, is going from machine to machine, pulling covers over them. PETE Louise. what gives? She looks up, startled. LOUISE Oh Pete. they, uh, they gave everybody the day off. while they sort things out. PETE Sort what out? Are my pages done? LOUISE They took'em. PETE They took'em? Who took'em? Louise, what's going on. LOUISE Pete, I'm not even supposed to be talking to you. She rushes past him. Pete does n't quite know what to think. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Good morning, Peter. Pete turns. The voice belongs to Pete's agent, LEO KUBELSKY, a rotund man in his fifties. He wears a perfectly tailored silk suit. PETE Leo. what's going on?", "EXT.  STUDIO STREET - DAY FROM FAR AWAY, we watch as Leo and Pete come out of the Writer's Building and join a flood of DRESS EXTRAS, all done up in Puritan pilgrim garb and heading for the commissary. As they move through the mob and emerge on the other side, it's clear that Pete is reeling from something he's just been told. PETE AND LEO LEO Peter, their hands are tied. You see that, do n't you? PETE I. I do n't believe this. LEO Are you saying it's a mistake, that you did n't go to any meetings? They say you did. PETE Who the hell is this `` they?'' LEO Congress, the FBI, Red Channels, it do n't matter who the hell `` they'' is. `` They'' know who `` they'' are, that's all that matters. -LRB- deliberately. -RRB- Now, did you go to any meetings? PETE -LRB- on the spot. -RRB- No. Yeah. I. I do n't know. Maybe I did. Leo, this was before Pearl Harbor. I was in college. It was a bunch of kids, and I was just one of'em. I did n't believe in what they were saying. Hell, I did n't even know what they were saying! LEO So, you're saying that it's true. You went to a meeting of a known communist organization. PETE Leo, I was trying to impress a skirt. You know me, I'm non - political. Republican, Democrat, Communist, there's not a dime's worth of difference between'em anyway. LEO You should watch what you say. PETE I do n't know who fingered me, but I'm not a communist! LEO Kid, that cuts no ice with them. PETE -LRB- frustrated. -RRB- What? That I'm accused of being a communist when I do n't happen to be one? LEO They know you were at that meeting, Peter. They've been told, and they know. PETE Leo, you're my agent. Tell `` them'' to take a flyin' piss. I did n't do anything wrong. I fought in the war, for crissakes! LEO Fought? Come on, Pete, you ran the PX at Fort Dix. PETE I was decorated. LEO I know. A Purple Heart. PETE Exactly. LEO You broke your arm. You were coming out of a bar. You were drunk. PETE At least I was on our side! Look, they want me to testify? I'll testify. I'll tell'em anything they want to hear! Jesus, Leo, this is my career! LEO You ca n't testify. PETE Why not? Leo takes a gold cigarette care from his breast pocket, offers a cigarette to Pete and takes one for himself. LEO Do n't take this personally, kid. If it were up to me, I'd have you testify wearing your uniform and your medal, wrapped in a flag with one hand on your heart and the other hand on a bible. What can I say? I like you. Leo lights Pete's cigarette and his own. Puts a fatherly hand on his shoulder. LEO They do n't want you to testify because you're not a big enough fish for them. They just do n't want you writing pictures for now. That's all. PETE -LRB- under his breath. -RRB- Yeah, well, that's enough. LEO Peter, I believe in you. More to the point, I read your new script. um. PETE `` Ashes To Ashes?'' LEO That's the one, `` Ashes To Ashes.'' I think it's great. But it'll never get made with this communist business hanging over your head. You ca n't work until you're cleared - and believe me, starting right now, I'm gon na do everything I can to make that happen. PETE So, it is a blacklist. LEO -LRB- defensive. -RRB- Do n't say that. There is no such thing as a blacklist. -LRB- calm. -RRB- Now, are you gon na play ball? PETE -LRB- sullenly. -RRB- Yes. -LRB- then, pissed. -RRB- Leo, goddammit. this is n't fair! Leo blows out a thin stream of smoke. LEO -LRB- hand on Pete's shoulder. -RRB- Kid, this is the United States Government we're talkin' about. Fair ai n't the point.", "INT.  WRITER'S BUILDING/PETE'S OFFICE - DAY Prominent on the wall is a framed `` SAND PIRATES OF THE SAHARA'' poster. Pete reaches up and takes it down. He leans it up against the desk, then sits heavily in the wooden swivel chair. He swivels around to see A STUDIO SECURITY GUARD standing by the door. He's watching Pete's every move. Two boxes sit on the desk, partially packed with Pete's belongings. Pete lights a cigarette and opens the lower desk drawer. He pulls out a stack of scripts and sets them on the desk. He looks at the cover of the first one : `` SAND PIRATES OF THE SAHARA'' By Peter Appleton. A United Pictures Production. February 19, 1951. Pete shuffles the scripts and looks at the cover of the second one : `` ASHES TO ASHES'' By Peter Appleton. He jams the scripts into one box and turns to the other box, which contains somewhat more personal items. A ragged gold pillow with tassels. Legal pads of notes. An old tin - toy fire truck, its bright red paint chipped and worn. He turns it around in his hands. PETE -LRB- musing. -RRB- Huh. Red. Footsteps approach, and Pete swivels toward the door. SANDRA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Pete? Pete? Sandra appears in the doorway. She's in costume - a Louis XIV courtier. She bustles past the Guard, rushes to Pete and embraces him. SANDRA Oh, Pete. They kiss. The Guard watches their every move. SANDRA What happened? PETE What exactly did you hear? SANDRA That you got let go. PETE I was n't alone. Was n't Frankie Ruskin directing the picture you're in? SANDRA He was, but he got sick. We got a new director today. Why? PETE Well, whatever Frankie's got, it's catching. SANDRA You mean, he was. let go, too? PETE -LRB- sotto, an appeal. -RRB- They're saying I'm a communist, Sandy. But I'm not, you know that. I'm gon na fight'em, and I'm gon na win, but I'll need your help. During this last, Sandra has been ever - so - slightly pulling away from Pete. PETE A lot of good people are being accused of things they did n't do. Hell, even if I was a communist, this is America, goddammit, a person should be able to be whatever they want to be! Right? Sandra glances at the Guard, who is watching everything. SANDRA -LRB- nervously. -RRB- Of course, but I. I do n't know how I. how much help I can be to you. This is the sort of thing. someone saying you're a communist. it can ruin your career. Pete sees where this is going. She's edging toward the door. PETE Will you help me, Sandy? SANDRA I'll have to think about this. I have to get back. I should go. And she's out the door and gone in the blink of an eye. Pete looks at the Guard. PETE So nice to be a pariah. The Guard turns away. Pete moves back toward the boxes. Rummaging again, he comes up with a bottle of Jack Daniels with barely one swig left. He regards the bottle for a moment, looks to see if the Guard is watching -LRB- he is n't -RRB-, pops the cork, puts it to his lips and drains it. He looks at it thoughtfully as we A HALF - FULL BOTTLE OF JACK DANIELS setting down on a bartop. WIDER", "INT.  THE FROLIC ROOM - NIGHT The bottle is in front of Pete, who sits at the bar, quietly getting stewed. The Frolic Room is a classic Hollywood dive, dimly lit and full of character and characters. It's a quiet night and getting quieter, as several PATRONS are just leaving, waving goodbye to the bartender, JERRY, early 40s. Jerry turns to Pete, eyes him suspiciously from the end of the bar. Pete picks up the bottle and pours another shot. Good boy, he got most of it in the glass. JERRY Pete. You think maybe you've had enough? PETE Bought the bottle, did n't I? -LRB- raises the shot. -RRB- To the United States of America. Long my she wave. He knocks it back and Jerry pours him another. PETE -LRB- trying to light a smoke. -RRB- Thanks, Jerry. Tell me something. JERRY What. PETE You tight with J. Edgar Hoover? JERRY -LRB- helps Pete light his cigarette. -RRB- The G - man? PETE -LRB- thickly. -RRB- Zackly. JERRY Pete, if J. Edgar Hoover walked in here wearing a dress, I would n't know him. PETE Too bad. He says I'm a communist. JERRY -LRB- glancing around. -RRB- You should watch what you say. You do n't know who's listening. PETE You know I'm not a communist, do n't you, Jer? JERRY Sure, I suppose. That why you're on a bender? PETE This is not a bender yet. This is the start of a bender. But I can see how you were confused, they look a lot alike. Pete drains his shotglass, puts it back on the bar. He watches Jerry, who is not about to refill it. Pete reaches for the bottle, but Jerry is faster. JERRY Pete. go home. Come on, I'll call that girlfriend of yours, what's her name. Sandy? PETE -LRB- laughs. -RRB- Sandra Sinclair. JERRY Gimmee her number, I'll have her pick you up. PETE Sandra Sinclair. Wan na know her real name? Bella Iskowitz. No one's who they really are, Jer. Everyone's someone else. Even you. Even me. Especially me. I'm Peter Appleton, the communist who's not really a communist. JERRY I wan na close up soon. C'mon, let's call her. Peter stands, stubs out his smoke, drops a few crumpled bills on the bar and grabs his hat. PETE Nope. Ca n't. We're through. JERRY Then I'll call you a cab. PETE I'll save you the trouble. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'm a cab. There. Did it myself. Pete's preoccupied with putting on his hat and getting his car keys out of his coat pocket, a daunting task in his condition. PETE ` Sides, car's right outside. I'll be seein' ya, Jer. JERRY Pete. And he's out the door.", "EXT.  FROLIC ROOM - NIGHT Pete takes a few steps, stumbles, stops, takes a deep breath, then totters briskly towards his car. He hauls the door open and sits inside heavily.", "INT./ EXT.  PETE'S CAR - NIGHT Sitting slumped against the steering wheel, Pete looks as though he could fall asleep right there, which would probably be a good idea. PETE -LRB- mumbling. -RRB- Drive. Drive. Bad idea. Too drunk to drive. He looks at his watch. PETE One - thirty. Huh! Early. Ca n't go home yet. He turns the key and hits the starter. The engine hums to life. Pete sits up, opens his eyes wide, shakes off the haze and puts the car in gear. The Plymouth lurches forward a few yards, screeches to a halt and stalls. PETE Oops. He re - starts the car, puts it in gear, and pulls away and down the deserted boulevard.", "EXT.  SANTA MONICA BEACH, AMUSEMENT PIER - NIGHT The full moon is low over the ocean. Pete's car is parked at the edge of the sand, the water fifty yards away. The ferris wheel and the roller coaster of the amusement pier are dark and eerie silhouettes, lit only by moonlight. Pete is asleep in the driver's seat, head tilted back, his hat covering his face, snoring. The waves CRASH against the pilings and startle Pete awake. PETE Huh? Whatsa. Instantly, he grabs his head. PETE'S NARRATION -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I had no idea how I got to Santa Monica, but it certainly was a good idea. I do n't think I could've faced the headache I had alone in my apartment. At least I had the ocean air. Pete takes a deep breath. and starts coughing. He gets out his cigarettes and lights up. He takes a puff and glances at his watch. PETE'S NARRATION -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Three forty - five. I had only been there for a couple of hours at most. Truth be told, I was still fairly drunk. He starts the car and heads for the highway. PETE'S NARRATION -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'd head north until the sun came up or I ran out of gas, whichever came first.", "EXT.  PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY - NIGHT Pete drives along the moonlit two - lane blacktop. Waves crash to the shore below the roadway.", "INT./ EXT.  PETE'S CAR (DRIVING) - NIGHT Pete is finally relaxed. He takes off his hat and jams it down in the back seat. He takes a deep breath - with the wind in his hair, a smile grows on his face and he seems at peace. He glances down at the speedometer - then at the fuel gauge. INSERT - FUEL GAUGE Pinning on `` empty.'' PETE Shit. PETE'S NARRATION -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Guess which came first. He scans the road ahead - nothing. Glances to his right. PETE'S POV The lights of a small town can be seen off in the distance. Pete veers the car off the highway and makes the turn that will take him toward the lights. He passes a hand - painted sign that gives him hope : `` GAS - 1 MI.''", "EXT.  RORY'S GAS STATION - NIGHT Pete's car rolls up and stops. There's a light on the sign and another in the station's window, but the place is deserted. PETE'S NARRATION -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I should've known better than to think that a service station in the sticks would be open at this hour, but it was n't like I had a lot of choices. Pete looks ahead toward the town. Its few lights twinkle in the distance. PETE'S NARRATION -LRB- V.O. -RRB- What the hell. At least there'd be a diner opening in a couple of hours. I'd get some pie and coffee, and then I could worry about the gas. Pete pulls out onto the road.", "EXT.  ROAD - NIGHT Pete's car trundles along, blowing past a hand - painted roadside sign which reads : SLOW! NARROW BRIDGE - SINGLE LANE - NO GUARDRAIL. USE CAUTION!", "INT./ EXT.  PETE'S CAR (DRIVING) - NIGHT Pete's headlights catch a glimpse of another sign, reading `` LAWSON WASH,'' just in front of a small wooden auto bridge. Barely reducing his speed, Pete heads onto the bridge. HIS POV - THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD. his headlights pick up the glowing eyes of a hapless possum. Pete swerves to avoid the animal, and a wheel drops off the edge.", "EXT.  BRIDGE - NIGHT and the Plymouth careens over the side of the bridge and into the rapidly - moving water below!", "EXT.  UNDERWATER - NIGHT The water is flowing very quickly, and the current is intense. Pete pulls himself out of the driver's seat -LRB- thankfully, it's a convertible -RRB- and swims over the windshield. But. his left sleeve is caught on the door handle. Nearly out of breath and panicking, Pete shucks off the jacket and heads for the surface.", "EXT.  THE WASH - NIGHT Pete breaks the surface and gasps for air. His fight is n't over yet, as the current is pulling him rapidly downstream. He swims with all his might toward the far bank.", "EXT.  FAR BANK OF THE WASH - NIGHT Drained, Pete pulls himself out of the water and staggers to his feet. PETE -LRB- gasping. -RRB- Oh my god! I do n't believe. oh my god. He stumbles along backwards a couple of steps. and his heel hits a rock. Pete falls backward - and his head strikes a glancing blow on another rock. He rolls down the bank, unconscious, and lands face down in the mud. CUT TO BLACK. IN BLACK, we slowly become aware of a panting, breathing sound - the sound of a dog. ON A DOG'S FACE A yellow labrador, full frame. It takes a couple more sniffs, then starts licking furiously. OLD MAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Maggie, whatcha got there? Huh, girl? Whatcha find?", "EXT.  FAR BANK OF THE WASH - DAWN Pete is still laying face down on the bank, being fervently licked in the face by the dog. ON THE OLD MAN A no - nonsense sort in his late - 60s, he wears overalls and an old railroad cap. He comes down to Pete, and using his walking stick, pokes him in the side. OLD MAN Mister, who are ya? my dog likes you, but that do n't mean much, she likes skunks, too. Sweet n'stupid, that's why I keep her. Pete blinks up at the Old Man, his mouth gaping open. OLD MAN Mister, you okay? You look wet. You in an accident or somethin'? PETE I. I do n't know. He sits up, and the Old Man gets a look at his head, which is caked with mud and blood on one side. OLD MAN You best come with me. Can ya walk? PETE I. yes, I think so. He stands up shakily. The Old Man gives Pete a hand. OLD MAN Come on, we'll have the Doc look you over. PETE My head hurts. OLD MAN I should n't be surprises. You smell like that was quite a night before you had there. -LRB- to the dog. -RRB- Maggie! Let's go now! And they head toward the road to town. BOOMING UP, we SEE them pass a roadside sign : WELCOME TO LAWSON, CALIFORNIA. EST. 1869. ELEV. 275. POP. 1755. THE TOWN THAT GAVE ITS ALL. OLD MAN -LRB- STANTON. -RRB- Name's Stanton Lawson. My ancestors founded this town. PETE Ancestors? STANTON Actually, my grandpap. But `` ancestors'' sounds better, do n't it? -LRB- hands Pete a handkerchief. -RRB- Here. Pete takes the handkerchief and wipes the mud and some of the blood off his face. PETE I suppose. Thanks. STANTON You look familiar, fella. What's your name? Pete stops, thinks for a moment. PETE I'm. I. I honestly do n't know.", "EXT.  COMMERCE STREET - LAWSON, CALIFORNIA - DAY Pete and Stanton walk along Commerce Street, the main drag through the center of the small town. Lawson is a bit run down, creeping inexorably toward decrepit. Despite that, there's a timeless quality to the small buildings, a familiar All - American feel. Several of the PEOPLE walking along the street take notice of Pete and nod to Stanton, who nods back. PETE They all know you? STANTON ` Course they all know me. And I know all them. Town's got my name, do n't it? They pass the window of the drug store, COLE'S PHARMACY. Pete looks down and sees TWO FADED GOLD STARS in the window with two faded photos, all decked in tattered black crepe. Two boys, no more than 18 and 19, who went off to war and did n't come back. Stanton notes Pete stopping to look at the stars and photos. STANTON Ernie Cole here just got himself elected mayor. Lost both his boys in the war. Kenny at Anzio and Willie at Normandy. PETE -LRB- thinking. -RRB- The war. STANTON -LRB- points across the street. -RRB- Mabel over there at the diner lost her husband Max. Okinawa, I believe. ANGLE - MABEL'S DINER A typical small - town greasy spoon - with one faded star prominent in the window. CLOSER On MABEL LANIER, a sweet - faced woman in her 30s. She stares vacantly into space, her reverie broken by a customer needing a coffee refill. STANTON All told, this little town gave sixty - two of its finest to the war. Seventeen of'em at Normandy alone. More'n its share, I should say. Got us a letter from President Truman. City council commissioned a war memorial. Been sittin' in the basement of city hall these six years. Town never had the heart to put it up. Place just has n't been the same since the war. STANTON AND PETE Pete looks longingly toward the diner. Stanton takes note. STANTON You hungry, son? PETE Yes. Very. STANTON Got any money? Pete rummages in his pants pockets, and comes up with three quarters. STANTON Six bits. More'n enough to buy some breakfast. C'mon. And they head across the street. A PLATE WITH TWO PIECES OF APPLE PIE A fork comes into frame and tears into one of the slices. WIDER", "INT.  MABEL'S DINER - DAY Pete is fairly shoveling the pie into his mouth, pausing only to wash it down with gulps of coffee. MABEL stands nearby, watching in amazement as her pie is consumed in record time. Pete notices that Stanton and Mabel - and the other PATRONS, for that matter - are watching his feeding frenzy. He stops in his tracks, and starts chewing leisurely. He smiles at Mabel. PETE -LRB- mouth full. -RRB- Pie's. good. MABEL -LRB- wryly. -RRB- Like you could tell. -LRB- to Stanton. -RRB- Where'd you find him? STANTON Down by the wash. MABEL We got ta put a rail on that thing before someone else gets killed. -LRB- to Pete. -RRB- Three people have died there, Mister. You're lucky to be alive. PETE -LRB- draining the coffee cup. -RRB- Thanks. More coffee? Mabel obliges. As she pours the coffee, she looks at Pete. MABEL You know, you look familiar. You ever been in here before? Pete shakes his head. STANTON He do n't remember who he is, Mabel. Gon na take him to the Doc, as soon as he gets in. MABEL -LRB- distractedly. -RRB- Doc should be in for his coffee and bear claw any minute. -LRB- to Pete. -RRB- You sure you never been in here? Pete looks up at Mabel and smiles winningly. PETE I'd remember this pie. Mabel, thoroughly charmed, smiles back at Pete. MABEL -LRB- patting his hand. -RRB- I'll just get you another piece.", "EXT.  COMMERCE STREET - DAY A stoop - shouldered little man in his late 60s, HARRY TRUMBO shambles along the street, headed for Mabel's Diner. There's a sadness about Harry, the world - weary melancholy of a man who has little to smile about because he has little to care about. After a couple of steps, he's met up by DOC BEN LARDNER, a vigorous man in his 50s. He comes up behind Harry and claps him on the back. LARDNER ` Mornin' Harry. Fine day, is n't it? HARRY Morning, Doc. Yes, yes it looks just fine. LARDNER Plenty to do today? HARRY -LRB- vaguely. -RRB- Oh, yes, plenty. Plenty. They're at the door of the diner. Doc opens it for Harry. LARDNER After you.", "INT.  MABEL'S DINER - DAY Lardner comes over to Mabel, who hands him a tall paper cup of coffee and bags him a bear claw. LARDNER Mornin' Mabel, Stan. MABEL Mornin' Doc. Got some new business for you today. Lardner and Pete make eye contact, and the doctor notices the bump on his head. LARDNER Hello, son. How'd that happen? STANTON He do n't know. And he do n't know his name, neither. Found him down by the wash. LARDNER You'd better come with me, son. -LRB- to Mabel, indicating the coffee and danish. -RRB- On my tab? MABEL You bet. Lardner, Stanton and Pete rise and move to the door. Pete turns back, takes the three quarters out of his pocket, and puts them on the counter, smiling brightly at Mabel. PETE Thanks. Great pie. MABEL -LRB- blushing. -RRB- You're welcome. Come again. ON HARRY seated at the opposite end of the counter. He glances up at Pete. HARRY'S POV as Pete smiles at Mabel and turns to go. ON HARRY His mouth falls open, his hand moves to cover it. He's just seen a ghost. HARRY'S POV - SLOW MOTION. as the three men pass by the diner's window. CLOSE - HARRY HARRY -LRB- wide eyed. -RRB- Sweet Jesus. A FINGER - moving left - to - right, right - to - left through space. LARDNER'S VOICE Follow my finger. Just use your eyes. That's it. Good. WIDER", "INT.  EXAMINATION ROOM - DAY Doc Lardner is checking Pete's eyes. Pete sits on an examination table, his shirt off, his head freshly bandaged. Stanton lurks in the corner, Maggie curled at his feet. STANTON He was passed out cold. Maggie woke ` im. LARDNER Uh - huh. He looks familiar. -LRB- to Pete. -RRB- Open your mouth. Say `` ah.'' Pete does. Lardner has a look as Stanton pulls out a pocket watch. STANTON Said as much myself, Doc. Ca n't place him, though. To look at him, you'd think the cheese slid off his cracker. -LRB- looks at his watch. -RRB- Well, morning's half - over. I'm off. PETE Thank you, Mr. Lawson. STANTON Do n't mention it. Whoever - you - are. Stanton and Maggie exit. Lardner checks Pete's ears. LARDNER Any idea how you got here, son? PETE No, sir. Lardner sniffs him. LARDNER Been drinkin' a bit, have we? PETE I do n't remember. I guess so. Smells like it. -LRB- smacks his lips and frowns. -RRB- Tastes like it. LARDNER Well, you've been wet to the skin. You must've fallen in. PETE I guess I did. LARDNER Lucky you got out, that water's got quite a pull, and it empties straight into the ocean. Lardner takes a shirt off his counter and hands it to Pete. LARDNER Here, one of mine. PETE Thanks. Pete puts on the shirt. LARDNER Do you remember if you were driving a car? Maybe you went over the bridge. No guard rail there, it's easy to do. It's happened before. PETE It's possible. I just do n't remember. LARDNER And you do n't know your name or who you are, that right? PETE -LRB- frustrated. -RRB- I. no, I. I just ca n't. LARDNER -LRB- gently. -RRB- It's okay, son. We just need to call you something. That's all. Pete stifles a laugh. LARDNER What is it? PETE Call me. Ishmael? LARDNER Well, at least you remember `` Moby Dick.''", "INT.  DOC LARDNER'S PRIVATE OFFICE - DAY Lardner is on the phone, sipping his coffee and nibbling his bear claw. Pete is standing, nosing around the office - diplomas, photographs, knick - knacks. He zeros in on one photo in particular. ON THE PHOTO one of Lardner and a beautiful YOUNG WOMAN. They've been fishing, and the young woman displays a much larger catch than Lardner. LARDNER -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Stanton found him by the wash. Not hurt too bad, but he took a nasty bump on the head and he ca n't remember who he is. We both think he looks familiar, but we ca n't place him. You bet. He'll be here. Lardner hangs up and watches Pete looking at the pictures. LARDNER That's me and my daughter Adele. My pride and joy. Charms the fish right out of the lake, she does. PETE She's very pretty. LARDNER Thanks. Well, Sheriff's on his way over, and maybe we can get to the bottom of who you are. Lardner stares at him. Pete takes note, turns toward him. LARDNER sorry ` bout that, but you do look familiar to me. PETE Wish I could say the same thing.", "EXT.  DOC LARDNER'S OFFICE - DAY The Sheriff's sedan pulls up to the office and SHERIFF CECIL ELDRIDGE, 45, gets out. As he gets a few steps from the door, Harry Trumbo jumps out from around the side of the building and stops him. HARRY -LRB- excited. -RRB- Cecil! Cecil, there's a young man in there. ELDRIDGE -LRB- startled. -RRB- Lord love a duck, Harry, you wan na give me a heart attack right in front of the doctor's office? HARRY Listen to me! The young man in there. Eldridge keeps moving to the door. ELDRIDGE -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- Stan Lawson found him unconscious by the wash this morning, and I'm here to investigate, and if we find anything interesting, it'll be in the paper, so why do n't you just. Harry jumps in front of Eldridge and grabs him by the shoulders. HARRY Cecil, listen to me! The sheriff stops. HARRY -LRB- breathless. -RRB- It's Luke.", "INT.  DOC LARDNER'S PRIVATE OFFICE - DAY Sheriff Eldridge is seated across from Pete. He's staring at him intently. Silence. ELDRIDGE No wallet, huh? LARDNER No identification at all. -LRB- beat. -RRB- What're you thinkin', Cecil? ELDRIDGE What I'm thinkin' is we got us one a ` two things here. A mystery or a damn miracle. And by god I ca n't tell which. -LRB- to Pete. -RRB- Boy, you say you have no idea who you are? That right? PETE Yes. ELDRIDGE You ever been in this town before, to your knowledge? PETE No. But. ELDRIDGE But what? PETE Well, this place sorta reminds me of something. ELDRIDGE What's that? PETE `` It's a Wonderful Life.'' ELDRIDGE The Jimmy Stewart picture? I remember that one. Saw it over at the Bijou. So, you remember that, huh? PETE `` It's a Wonderful Life?'' ELDRIDGE Or the Bijou. Either one. PETE I remember the picture. but I do n't remember where I saw it. The Sheriff rises and crosses to the door. ELDRIDGE Doc, with your permission, I want to bring someone in here. Maybe it'll jar this young man's memory. LARDNER By all means. Eldridge opens the door. ELDRIDGE -LRB- to someone offscreen. -RRB- Harry, why do n't you come on in here. Harry enters the office, doffs his hat, revealing a full head of snow - white hair. He nods to Eldridge and Lardner, and slowly turns to face Pete. He looks closer. and closer. Hesitantly, he takes a couple of steps towards Pete, who slowly rises out of his chair to meet the old man's gaze. Finally, they're standing practically toe - to - toe. PETE looks a bit puzzled, but the old man has such a sweet face. HARRY has tears forming in his eyes. A smile turns up the corners of his mouth, and quickly lights up his whole face. LARDNER -LRB- softly, to Eldridge. -RRB- Are you saying that he's. ELDRIDGE -LRB- smiling broadly. -RRB- Shhhhhh. Harry takes Pete in his arms and hugs him tightly, burying his face in Pete's shoulder and sobbing. HARRY I knew all along. I knew you were alive! Oh, Luke. Pete does n't quite know what to think. He clearly has no idea who this old man is. LARDNER -LRB- mouth agape in disbelief. -RRB- Mother o'god. ELDRIDGE -LRB- to Pete. -RRB- Give the man a hug, boy! That's your father! Pete looks at Harry. It's not so much that he remembers anything - he's swept up in the moment. PETE My father? Pete wraps his arms around Harry and hugs him tightly, glancing over at ELDRIDGE AND LARDNER who look on goofily, fighting back tears. They smile at Pete, who smiles back tentatively.", "EXT.  DOC LARDNER'S OFFICE - DAY Harry, Pete, Eldridge and Lardner come outside. ELDRIDGE C'mon, I'll give you two a lift back to the Bijou. PETE The Bijou? LARDNER That's where you live. PETE We live in a theater? HARRY Only one in town. -LRB- he opens the car door for Pete. -RRB- Get in, son. ELDRIDGE -LRB- sotto, to Lardner. -RRB- Ben, when's Delly due back? LARDNER -LRB- sotto. -RRB- Tomorrow afternoon. -LRB- seized by a thought. -RRB-. oh my god. ELDRIDGE -LRB- sotto. -RRB- Exactly. Break it to her gently. Eldridge and Harry get in the car. Lardner comes over to Pete's back seat window. LARDNER Get plenty of rest, Luke. You took a pretty big wallop there. He turns to move away, then turns back. LARDNER Good to have you back. Eldridge starts the car and they drive away. -LRB- NOTE : Henceforth, `` PETE'' will be known as `` LUKE.'' It'll be easier to keep track of things, since everyone's now calling him Luke, anyway. Trust me. -RRB-", "INT.  ELDRIDGE'S CAR (DRIVING) - DAY Harry sits next to the Sheriff, and Luke has the back seat all to himself. He leans forward toward the front seat and taps Harry on the shoulder. LUKE Excuse me. what's your, um, your name? HARRY Harry, son. Harry. LUKE And. what's my name again? HARRY Albert Lucas Trumbo. But you've been `` Luke'' since you were a baby. LUKE Ah. -LRB- taking it for a spin. -RRB- Luke. Luke. I like it. Luke looks at the town as they drive down Commerce Street. HIS POV Shops are open for business, TOWNSPEOPLE are going about their lives. A few stop and watch as the Sheriff's car goes by. LUKE How long have I been gone? Eldridge looks at Harry, who stares ahead. LUKE How long? Pause. The silence is too thick, and Harry has to answer. He turns around in his seat and faces Luke. HARRY -LRB- gently. -RRB- You never came back from the war. We were told you were missing and presumed dead. LUKE When did I leave? HARRY You joined up one month to the day after Pearl Harbor. January seventh. nineteen forty - two. Luke sits back against the back seat and lets this sink in. HARRY Nine and - a - half years ago. LUKE Nine and - a - half years. ELDRIDGE Comin' up on the Bijou, gents.", "EXT.  IN FRONT OF THE BIJOU - DAY Eldridge's car rounds the corner, pulls up and stops. ELDRIDGE Here we are. HARRY Well, son, you're home! Luke peers across the street. his mouth gapes open. HIS POV - THE BIJOU. The Bijou is a decaying, Dada - esque, grab - bag of building styles. It's as though the architect took random parts of a Chinese temple, a Mosque, a Pagoda, a Sphinx, a symphony hall and a slaughterhouse, put them in a bag, gave it a good shake, tossed the contents out onto a blueprint and promptly built the result. As a matter of fact, if you did n't know that the place was `` The Bijou,'' you'd probably wonder what the cryptic message'' HE B J U'' was trying to convey from atop the crumbling parapet. And now, the reason for the deteriorated state of the'' HE B J U'' sign becomes apparent. Train tracks run right behind the building on an elevated trestle. As we watch, a TRAIN ROARS BY. Everything shakes. It's not an earthquake, it's a trainquake. The `` J'' teeters at a jaunty angle, threatening to dislodge and tumble down to join its fallen brothers. LUKE stares at the monstrosity. His face is ashen. His heart has sunk to somewhere below his knees. The Bijou. Harry jumps out of the car excitedly. HARRY Thanks for the lift, Cecil. ELDRIDGE Do n't mention it. Welcome home, Luke. LUKE -LRB- faint smile. -RRB- Thanks. Luke opens the back door and slowly steps out. Harry grabs his arm and pulls a ring of keys from his pocket. HARRY Wait'll you see the inside! LUKE -LRB- deadpan. -RRB- Ca n't wait.", "INT.  BIJOU LOBBY - DAY The interior of the theater fulfills every promise made by the exterior. Moth - eaten velvet - flocked wallpaper hangs in shards and pieces from the walls. It's sort of a cross between a gaudy cathouse and a mausoleum, served up with generous helpings of dust and grime, an almost unbeatable combination of questionable taste and neglect. Above the center of the lobby hangs what was - and is - probably the only truly beautiful item in the whole theater - A DELICATE CRYSTAL CHANDELIER. Even under a veneer of dust, the fragile droplets of cut crystal seem to pick up every available point of light and scatter it in a hundred directions. TILT DOWN TO REVEAL Luke and Harry standing below. Luke is lost in a gulf somewhere between surprise and disgust. HARRY We've been closed for a while. LUKE -LRB- smiling wanly. -RRB- Ah. Luke walks toward the auditorium doors and slowly, cracks one open.", "INT.  AUDITORIUM - DAY The ocean of two hundred or so seats on the main floor seem to be, for the most part, intact - although the occasional row seems to have loosed itself from its moorings and heaved itself up against the row behind or in front. THE SCREEN is really not much more than a tatty bit of yellowing muslin, framed by ragged red velveteen drapery. In the tiny orchestra pit, as we will see later, is an old upright piano. Luke walks a few steps down the aisle. He picks a seat on the aisle near the middle of the theater and sits. As he does, a CAT, an orange tabby, leaps out from under another seat, jets past Luke and disappears down the aisle and backstage. Harry comes over and sits behind him. LUKE -LRB- turning to Harry. -RRB- Exactly how long has the Bijou been closed? HARRY Hmmmm. after you left, it was difficult, and then Lily - that's your mother - she took ill and died. we have n't shown a picture since forty - eight. LUKE Why? HARRY -LRB- deep breath. -RRB- Well, after the war, with so many of the town's boys killed, people around here did n't much feel like going to the movies, I guess. Some of'em moved away - Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco. Was n't much to keep'em here, I expect. And now with this `` television'' thing - people just are n't going out as much as they used to. LUKE Did n't you have any help? HARRY Oh, I had Irene and Old Tim but they really could n't help much. Broke their hearts when we closed up. Broke mine, too. -LRB- brightening. -RRB- But now that you're back, well, things will be different around here, that's for sure. -LRB- rises, grabs Luke's arm. -RRB- C'mon, I'll show you where we live.", "INT.  BIJOU APARTMENT - DAY The small apartment above the projection booth is quite a contrast to the rest of the theater. It's neat as a pin, and fairly lit, as Harry has just pulled back the curtains, allowing the sun to flood the room. A beam of golden light falls across a table, atop which are SEVERAL FRAMED PHOTOS. One of the photos is of the real, much - younger Luke. It's a Norman Rockwell scene, at a train depot, with an army - issue olive drab duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He has one arm around Harry and the other around his mother. -LRB- And by the way, Pete's resemblance to the real Luke - even in a nearly 10 year old photo - is pretty damn startling. -RRB- HARRY The day you shipped out. That was a proud day for your mother and me. Last time you saw her. Last time I saw you. He smiles. HARRY Till today. Luke sets it down and picks up another photo, that of a fine looking woman. It's a formal portrait, dating perhaps from the 30's. HARRY That's Lily. Your mother, rest her soul. LUKE -LRB- repeating. -RRB- Mother. -LRB- to Harry. -RRB- She's beautiful. HARRY -LRB- coming over. -RRB- Well, yes, that she was. She certainly made this place a home. He takes the picture from Luke, kisses it, and gently replaces it on the table. Luke goes over to the sofa and sits. HARRY -LRB- brightly. -RRB- Can I get you anything? I can put some coffee on or some. Harry looks at Luke, who has almost instantly fallen asleep on the sofa. He goes to him, gently picks his feet off the floor, lifts them onto the sofa. Removes his shoes, sets them on the floor. A BLANKET being drawn up Luke's chest. HARRY stands, looks down warmly at his son. Then, suddenly, he's seized by a thought. He turns and crosses to the window. CLOSE - THE WINDOW There's a small picture frame in the window. Harry reaches down, gingerly picks it up and turns it around. ON THE FRAME It's a single, faded gold star. One war casualty. Harry clutches it to his chest, looks over at the sleeping Luke and smiles. HARRY -LRB- softly. -RRB- When I woke up this morning, my son was dead. Now, I have my boy again. -LRB- closes his eyes. -RRB- I have my boy again. FADE TO BLACK.", "INT.  BIJOU APARTMENT - MORNING It's early morning. Luke is sound asleep, still in his clothes. In the distance, a train sounds its HORN. Luke rolls over on his back, still asleep, snoring lightly. Slowly, he starts to wake up, eyes still closed. Something's strange, though. He frowns. The train is GETTING CLOSER. Luke's eyes POP OPEN. LUKE'S POV As the train RUMBLES BY, shaking everything in the room, Luke looks up to see three ancient cherubs staring down at him. Harry, an elderly WOMAN, and an elderly BLACK MAN. HARRY -LRB- smiling. -RRB- ` Morning, Son. ELDERLY WOMAN -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Good morning, Luke. ELDERLY BLACK MAN -LRB- no expression. -RRB- ` Mornin'. HARRY Sleep well? Luke is speechless. It he dreaming this? HARRY They could n't wait to see you. LUKE Who. are they? HARRY This is the staff of the Bijou. LUKE Oh. What. what time is it? HARRY Six - thirty. I thought we'd get an early start. Luke sits up on the sofa and tries to get a little more awake. He rubs the side of his head that is still bandaged. The elderly woman nudges Harry gently. HARRY Oh, I'm sorry, they know you, but you do n't. you need to be re - introduced. Luke, this is Mrs. Irene Terwilliger. Luke stands and shakes MRS. TERWILLIGER'S hand. She's tiny, seventy if she's a day. She smiles and curtsies slightly. Her eyes sparkle brightly, her manner almost coquettish. MRS. TERWILLIGER Head cashier and refreshments clerk. So glad to have you back, my boy! -LRB- to Harry. -RRB- Much more handsome than I remember him. HARRY And this fine fellow is our head usher, resident fix - it man and custodian. Luke, meet Old Tim. -LRB- to Old Tim. -RRB- You remember Luke, do n't you? OLT TIM is - well, old. His clothes are a tad shabby, but well maintained, though they hang loosely on his gangly frame. He wears an old blue knit cap, which he quickly removes as he shakes Luke's hand. He's a man of few words, his manner is painfully shy - and he never smiles. LUKE Is there a young Tim? OLD TIM No. LUKE Well, then, why do they call you `` Old Tim?'' Pause. OLD TIM I'm old. Harry steps forward, takes Luke's arm. HARRY Well, lots to do, so we'd better get a move on.", "INT.  AUDITORIUM - DAY Luke, Harry and Mrs. Terwilliger walk down the aisle toward the screen. Old Time lags a few steps behind. At the orchestra pit, Harry climbs the steps, crosses the pit. The screen is a sea of repair patches. Harry pats it. Dust flies. HARRY ` Fraid this has seen better days. Well, I was meaning to get a new screen, anyway. OLD TIM I n - need me a new uniform. Luke looks at Old Tim, then at Harry. HARRY -LRB- to Luke. -RRB- I promised him a new uniform when we re - opened. -LRB- to Old Tim. -RRB- And you'll get one, too. LUKE You know, I hate to bring this up, but screens and uniforms and paint and repairs are going to take money, which I'm willing to bet none of us has. Silence from the group. LUKE I thought so. Beat. Harry brightens, clambers down the steps and races up the aisle. HARRY Anyone want to see the projector? TWO CARBON ARCS are squeakily being cranked together above the din of a fan motor. A puff of smoke, then - BZZZZZZZZZTT - LIGHT. A metal door is closed over the arcs.", "INT.  PROJECTION BOOTH - DAY Harry dances around to the other side of the projector and adjusts the focus on the beam of light. The others look on as he gazes at the screen through the tiny window. HARRY Beautiful. Bright and even from edge to edge. See for yourself. The carbons sputter and die. The light flickers out. Harry is crestfallen, turns off the motor. HARRY She's always been a bit tricky.", "INT.  BIJOU LOBBY - DAY Mrs. Terwilliger is dusting the concession stand with a ragged feather duster, a hopeless task. Old Tim is on a rickety ladder, replacing burned - out bulbs in the chandelier. The orange tabby cat scratches itself on the leg of the ladder. Old Tim climbs down and catches his breath. Mrs. Terwilliger sneezes. OLD TIM Bless. MRS. TERWILLIGER Thank you, Timothy. They both stop their work and glance warily at the door marked `` OFFICE.'' MRS. TERWILLIGER -LRB- sotto. -RRB- What do you suppose they're talking about? OLD TIM Dunno. Boy's smart. MRS. TERWILLIGER -LRB- brightly. -RRB- Yes, he seems to be. OLD TIM Bad for us.", "INT.  BIJOU OFFICE - DAY Luke is poring over the ledger books, adding up figures on an old manual adding machine. LUKE Um. Harry? Did I ever keep the books here? HARRY No, your mother did, then I did after she passed. LUKE Well, I'm the first one to admit that I do n't know anything about bookkeeping, but there are some very interesting things in here. He scans down a page. LUKE -LRB- reading. -RRB- `` February 10, 1942. Picture ` Ball of Fire.''' HARRY -LRB- appreciatively. -RRB- Gary Cooper. And Barbara Stanwyck. Yowsa. LUKE -LRB- reading. -RRB- `` Eight p.m. showtime, ninety - six admissions, receipts including concessions, $ 84.75. plus one fryer and two - dozen eggs.'' He closes the book and looks expectantly at Harry. HARRY Yes? LUKE `` one fryer and two - dozen eggs?'' HARRY Forty - two was a lean year around here. The war had just started. you were gone less than a month. and we were coming off a bit of a drought as I recall. Not everyone could ante up the price of a ticket, and a chicken's as good as money if you ask me. At that time, it meant a lot to the folks around here to be able to come to the pictures. LUKE Yeah, I know, but poultry? HARRY -LRB- rhapsodically. -RRB- I know it's hard to believe, son, but this place, this little place this was n't a theater then, this was a palace! Any man, woman, child, you, me, it did n't matter, you bought your ticket and you walked in and you. Harry puts his hand on his chest and sighs. HARRY you were in a palace. It was like a dream. It was like heaven, like you died and went to a palace in heaven, that's what it was like. And spotless, too. Inspired, Harry stands, takes Luke by the arm. HARRY Come with me! He drags him out of the office and into the lobby.", "INT.  BIJOU LOBBY - DAY Mrs. Terwilliger and Old Tim watch as Harry leads Luke through the lobby. HARRY -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Maybe you had problems and worries out there, but once you came through that door, they did n't matter anymore. In here, you were safe. Maybe it was just an escape from reality, but. oh, god. it was beautiful. Harry leads Luke into the auditorium. The car follows, but Mrs. Terwilliger and Old Tim stay behind.", "INT.  AUDITORIUM - DAY Harry trots down the aisle and looks up at the screen. HARRY -LRB- exuberant. -RRB- Charlie Chaplin. Keaton and Lloyd. Swanson. And later on, Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert and Jimmy Stewart and James Cagney and Bogart and Becall and Judy and Mickey. and Fred and Ginger. He turns to Luke. HARRY -LRB- emphatically. -RRB- They. were. like. gods! He points to the screen. HARRY And that. was the altar. Would you remember if I told you, we felt lucky to be here, to have the privilege of watching them? -LRB- sadly. -RRB- This television thing. Why would you want to sit at home and watch a little box with a little screen? Because it's convenient? Because you do n't have to get dressed and put on a coat and a tie and a hat? Because you can just. sit there? How can you call that `` entertainment,'' all alone in your living room? Where are the other people? Where's the audience? Harry comes over to Luke. HARRY -LRB- emphatically. -RRB- Where's the magic? He stands behind Luke and whispers in his ear. HARRY I'll tell you. In a place like this, the magic is all around you. All the time. Everywhere. In every thing. He turns Luke around and looks him in the eye. HARRY The trick. is to see it. Pause. LUKE But I. HARRY Son, I think you loved the Bijou even more than I did. You've got to remember that. You've got to. Still looking at Luke, Harry takes a step back, then slowly walks up the aisle, disappearing into the lobby. Luke walks down the aisle. At the edge of the orchestra pit, he stands looking up at the screen. The orange tabby cat MEOWS, and Luke glances toward it, standing onstage by the edge of the screen. They exchange looks as we", "INT.  LARDNER LIVING ROOM - EVENING Doc Lardner is seated in an easy chair, his feet up, reading Life magazine. The radio is on, and Patti Page is singing `` The Tennessee Waltz.'' There's a noise offscreen, and Lardner looks up. In the entrance hall, the front door opens. ADELE `` DELLY'' LARDNER enters. She's a strikingly beautiful woman in her late 20s. She takes off a felt cap, and her long, auburn hair cascades down. ADELE Dad? LARDNER Delly? In here. Lardner rises as Adele comes into the living room. They embrace warmly. LARDNER How'd it go? ADELE Not as bad as I thought it would. I think I passed. LARDNER -LRB- kisses her forehead. -RRB- That's my girl! -LRB- he hugs her again. -RRB- Did you? ADELE No hiccups, which was good. Who wants an attorney who gets the hiccups when she gets nervous? -LRB- `` serious'' lawyer voice. -RRB- `` Your. -LRB- hic! -RRB- honor, I. -LRB- hic! -RRB- object!'' They laugh. LARDNER I always told you, baby. -LRB- taps her head. -RRB-. it's all up here. Lardner gives her an extra squeeze, continues to hold onto her just a bit too long. Adele detects something amiss. ADELE Dad? What is it? Beat. LARDNER Well, it's. Adele breaks away from him. ADELE -LRB- extreme concern. -RRB- Oh my god. who died? A GLASS OF WATER on a kitchen table. Offscreen, we HEAR A HICCUP. Then another. Adele's hand reaches into frame. WIDER", "INT.  LARDNER KITCHEN - EVENING Lardner stands over Adele, who is seated at the table, holding the glass of water. LARDNER Drink slowly. She raises the glass to her lips. LARDNER From the other side of the glass. It's a particularly gymnastic way in which to drink water, but Adele accomplishes it with aplomb. She waits for a moment - then hiccups again. ADELE I think. -LRB- hic! -RRB- it's worse. -LRB- hic! -RRB- now. LARDNER That always used to work. ADELE Yeah, well it's not everyday you get. -LRB- hic! -RRB- news like this. You're sure he's. -LRB- hic! -RRB- okay? Other than the. -LRB- hic! -RRB- bump on the head? LARDNER -LRB- hedging. -RRB- Well. ADELE -LRB- hic! -RRB- Dad. -LRB- hic! -RRB- Lardner sits at the table and takes Adele's hand. LARDNER He does n't remember anything, Delly. Does n't know how he got here, does n't remember his father, the town, the Bijou, anyone. ADELE including me. Right? -LRB- hic! -RRB- LARDNER I'm afraid not. He looked right at your picture without batting an eye. But it's probably temporary. He got all the way to Lawson, so he clearly knew who he was and what he was doing until he hit his head. I'm sure it'll all come back to him. It just takes a catalyst. ADELE You mean. -LRB- hic! -RRB- me? LARDNER It's possible. Off Adele's thoughtful hiccuping, we", "EXT.  COMMERCE STREET - EVENING Luke and Harry, walking along, make a turn onto Commerce Street, heading for Mabel's. It's still light out, and a soft breeze skitters some leaves along the sidewalk. HARRY I take breakfast and supper at Mabel's every day except Sunday. Have for years, since Lily died. If it were n't for Mabel, I'd probably starve to death. ERNIE COLE, a slight, balding man in his 50s, is locking the door of his pharmacy across the street, when he spots Harry and Luke. ERNIE Harry! Hold on a second! Ernie runs across the street and, slightly winded, stands before Luke, staring. Luke shoots a glance at Harry, who taps Ernie on the shoulder. HARRY It's really him, Ernie. ERNIE -LRB- agape. -RRB- Well, I'll be. He sticks his hand out and Luke takes it. Ernie pumps it enthusiastically. ERNIE By god, Luke, if it is n't good to see you again. LUKE -LRB- uncertain. -RRB- Uh, thanks. Good to see you again, too, uh. HARRY Ernie. LUKE Ernie. ERNIE -LRB- still at a lose. -RRB- Well, I'll be. HARRY We were just gon na get some supper. Would you like to join us? ERNIE Would I ever! The three walk toward the diner, but before they get two steps, they hear : WOMAN'S VOICE Is that Luke Trumbo? They turn to see a stout woman, KATIE RUTHERFORD, 40s, rushing toward them. She rushes right into a very surprised Luke's arms and hugs him tightly. KATIE Oh, Luke, it's so good to have you back! HARRY Katie, would you like to join us for dinner? The more, the merrier.", "EXT.  MABEL'S DINER - NIGHT The diner is packed. In addition to Ernie and Katie, MEN, WOMEN and CHILDREN occupy every seat and table, and many more are standing, even hanging out the door. At the focus of the crowd are Luke and Harry, seated at the counter. Harry is leisurely eating a chicken dinner, while Luke is working on a steak. A young man seated at the opposite side of the counter is speaking. He's CARL LEFFERT, 30s. CARL -LRB- eagerly. -RRB- Hey, Luke, remember the time you and me, we was playing with firecrackers and the one you was lighting blew up too soon and singed all the hair offa my head? A few people shake their heads, smile and laugh. LUKE Uh, no. What happened? CARL -LRB- deflated. -RRB- Well. um, all the hair got singed offa my head. It was pretty funny. A couple of TITTERS are heard. LUKE Oh. CARL Even my eyebrows. But they grew back. Luke leans toward Harry, who never looks up from his chicken. HARRY Carl. Friend of yours from high school. Everybody calls him `` Cueball.'' LUKE -LRB- sincerely. -RRB- Oh, hi Cue. Carl. Sorry. CARL -LRB- brightening. -RRB- Oh, heck, that's all right. It's just good to have you back. Is n't that right, Bob? Hey, Luke, you remember my brother Bob? You two joined up the same day. Luke smiles and nods at the young man sitting next to Carl. BOB LEFFERT is a good - looking fellow, a few years older than Carl. His face is pale and downcast, and he wears a cap pulled down on his forehead. He looks up at Luke with hollow eyes. Brings his right hand up, pushes the brim of his cap up. Except there's no hand there - it's a hook. LUKE -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Hey, Bob. Good to meet you. Bob does n't react. He glances away, and for a moment, his eyes meet Mabel's. She smiles warmly. He turns away. Ernie Cole pipes up. ERNIE Luke, I know there's a question that's on everybody's mind. LUKE What's that? ERNIE Well, now that you're back, what're your plans? All eyes on Luke. He freezes, having just taken a forkful of food in his mouth. Harry jumps in. HARRY Gon na re - open the Bijou, that's what. A MURMUR goes through the crowd. Stanton Lawson, standing behind Luke, taps him on the shoulder. STANTON That true? LUKE -LRB- on the spot. -RRB- Well. we're gon na try. ERNIE That's a lot of work, son. Place's been closed, what, three, four years now. Gon na be tough. HARRY If it's tough, that means it's worth doing. Someone shouts `` That's the spirit! ,'' another shouts `` Hear, hear! ,'' and a chorus of VOICES join in agreement. ERNIE Hey, where's Spencer Wyatt? SPENCER'S VOICE Uh, back here, Mr. Mayor. ERNIE Well, come on out here so's we can see you. SPENCER WYATT steps around from the back of the crowd near the door. He's a tall, dark - haired, gangly, bespectacled kid, no more than 19 or 20. Painfully shy, he clutches a clarinet case to his chest. He timidly smiles and waves at Luke, who smiles and nods back. SPENCER Hey, Luke. LUKE Hi, Spencer. ERNIE Spence, that band of yours - you think they're ready to play? -LRB- to Luke. -RRB- Spencer and his pals went ahead and got together a good ol' big band. SPENCER We've been practicing. uh, sure, I guess. ERNIE Well, how about tomorrow night, eight p.m., in city hall square? What I'm proposin' is a `` Welcome Home Luke'' celebration. Vociferous general AGREEMENT from the crowd - which is quickly quieted by a MURMUR, which starts at the front door. The crowd parts and grow silent, revealing a woman standing in the doorway. ADELE She locks eyes with Luke. Her hand goes to her mouth and her eyes well up. Slowly, she moves around the counter, the crowd moving aside for her. She stands in front of Luke, who has stood up to meet her. Her eyes moist, she looks up at him. ADELE Do you. remember me? LUKE I've seen you before. Your picture. Mabel, clutching a napkin, leans over to Katie. MABEL -LRB- sotto. -RRB- Look! LUKE but I do n't think I remember you. Adele leans up and kisses him softly. He looks at her. LUKE But I'll sure try. As Mabel and Katie dab at their eyes, we", "EXT.  COMMERCE STREET - NIGHT Adele and Luke stroll down the street side by side. She looks at him for a long moment. LUKE What. ADELE No, I. I just wondering where you've been all this time. LUKE Me too. ADELE You look. different. LUKE I do? ADELE Yeah, a little. I think you grew an inch or so. And you've lost weight. LUKE I did? Huh! Tentatively, she takes his hand and holds it. From behind them, we HEAR A SHUFFLING SOUND. Adele turns. ADELE'S POV Keeping a discreet distance, EVERYONE from the diner is following them. Adele turns and addresses the crowd. ADELE -LRB- to the group. -RRB- You can all go home, now. He's not going anywhere. LUKE Go on home, folks. And thanks for the welcome. Harry comes over. LUKE I'll be home in a little while, Harry. Do n't wait up. HARRY You two have a lot of catching up to do, I guess. LUKE You bet. HARRY Goodnight, son. -LRB- tips his hat. -RRB- ` Night, Delly. And the rest of the crowd disperses, variously wishing the pair goodnight. Luke and Adele watch them disperse. LUKE There. We're alone. They turn and start walking. ADELE Then why do I feel like we're still being shadowed? LUKE Well. where can we go? Adele brightens. ADELE I know a place. Come on! She grabs his hand and they run toward the town square.", "EXT.  LAWSON CITY HALL - NIGHT Adele and Luke stand by the front steps. LUKE City hall? ADELE You must not remember anything. Come on. She grabs his hand and they run to the side of the building.", "EXT.  SIDE OF CITY HALL - NIGHT Adele and Luke stand by a basement window, inches off the ground. She looks around. Certain the coast is clear, she pounds on the window in three `` special'' places, and it pops up and open. She looks at Luke. ADELE You first. LUKE Why me? ADELE Be a gentleman. You have to help me down. AS LUKE CLIMBS IN, WE A LARGE, MUSLIN - COVERED OBJECT. Slowly, the muslin is drawn off, revealing A STATUE OF A KNEELING SOLIDER, praying before a soldier's grave. We slowly PAN DOWN from the top of the statue.", "INT.  CITY HALL BASEMENT STORAGE ROOM - NIGHT ADELE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- When we were kids, my Dad was mayor, and you and me and a bunch of others used to come down here all the time. ON ADELE AND LUKE looking up at the statue in this city hall basement storage room, lit only by a single shaft of moonlight from the window. The muslin covering lay bunched at their feet. ADELE Of course, there was a lot more room before they stuck the memorial down here. LUKE -LRB- looks at the door. -RRB- How'd they get it inside? ADELE Through the door. It comes apart. She moves to the memorial. Squinting, she examines its base. ADELE Your name's on here. See? Luke comes over. ON THE BASE OF THE MEMORIAL - LUKE'S NAME ADELE Right here. `` Albert Lucas Trumbo.'' And all the others. I knew them all. So did you. We went to school with most of them. LUKE It does n't seem right, this being down here. It ought to be where people can see it. ADELE After they commissioned it, no one could ever agree on where to put it. The Methodists wanted it in front of the Methodist Church, the Presbyterians wanted it in front of the Presbyterian Church, the city council wanted it in the lobby of City Hall. Everyone finally got tired of the fighting. So they stuck it down here. He looks at her for a long moment. There's an electricity between them, and they both feel it. LUKE So, you're really gon na be a lawyer? ADELE -LRB- suddenly defensive. -RRB- And why not? LUKE Whoa. ADELE -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Sorry. You do n't know how many times I've heard that. `` A lady lawyer? Are you crazy?'' Like a woman could n't be as good a lawyer as a man. Or better, in fact. LUKE Have you always wanted to be a lawyer? ADELE You. do n't remember, but yes, ever since I was a little girl. LUKE What did. what did I want to be? ADELE -LRB- gently. -RRB- Oh, well. I guess you. in high school, you were a pretty good first baseman. And we were on the debate team together. But. I think you were gon na run the Bijou. You were brought up there, and you loved it so much. And I think you knew how much the town needed a place like that. He turns away, rubs his head. LUKE I just wish I could remember some of this. He turns back to her. LUKE You do n't have a boyfriend or anyone. you know. like that? ADELE Actually, I was married. For four years. But. well, we did n't fit together. I'm divorced now. LUKE I'm sorry. ADELE No, it's okay. See, when two people belong together, the other person should be the. the key that unlocks the rest of you. I'm not making sense, am I? LUKE -LRB- moving toward her. -RRB- No, you are. I know exactly what you mean. It's not that you're missing something. It's that the other person gives something to you. that you had all the time. You just did n't see it until they came along. ADELE -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Yeah. Pause. LUKE We were in love. were n't we? ADELE -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Yes. -LRB- then :. -RRB- Hic! She instantly covers her mouth, but it's no good. She has the hiccups again. LUKE What was that? ADELE Nothing. -LRB- hic! -RRB- LUKE Do you have the. ADELE I'm. -LRB- hic! -RRB- fine. Really. -LRB- hic! -RRB- Luke smiles and watches Adele as she makes the decision to not struggle against the hiccups. She has them, and that's just the way it is. LUKE Were we going to get married? ADELE Eventually. We were going to be. -LRB- hic! -RRB- engaged. when you came back from. -LRB- hic! -RRB- overseas. He looks at her. She's strikingly beautiful at this particular moment and in this particular light - hiccups and all. He moves closer to her. She moves closer to him. ADELE -LRB- breathless. -RRB-. but you had to go. serve. -LRB- hic! -RRB- your country. They kiss passionately. She reaches up and puts her arms around him. He starts kissing her neck, and she suddenly realizes - she's stopped hiccuping. ADELE Hey. it worked. And as she smiles and kisses him again we", "EXT.  THE BIJOU - NIGHT Luke comes down the street and heads for the front door. He has a definite spring in his step as he pulls out his keys and enters.", "INT.  BIJOU LOBBY - NIGHT It's very dark. Luke is about to swing shut the heavy door, when he looks down and sees THE ORANGE TABBY CAT shoot into the lobby, stopping in the middle of the floor. It looks at Luke, and PURRS. Luke closes the door and moves to the cat. He crouches down and pets it, and its back rises to meet his hand. LUKE Hey, fella. So you live here, too, huh? How come Harry did n't mention that? The cat moves to the auditorium door, pausing to look back at Luke. Curiosity piqued, Luke follows the cat.", "INT.  BIJOU BASEMENT HALLWAY - NIGHT In the dim light, we SEE an old mop and pail, some dirty film cans, and a large beat - up cardboard standee of `` The Tramp'' with the legend, `` Chaplin Short To - Day.'' The cat comes around a corner and disappears through a door at the end of a hallway. Luke, following the cat, comes around the same corner and looks at THE DOOR. Slightly ajar, there's a light coming from within, as well as the sound of Old Tim softly humming `` It's a Long Way to Tipperary.'' Luke moves to the door and knocks. LUKE Um, Old Tim? Sorry, it's late. It's Luke. Can I come in? The humming stops, and after a moment, the door swings open, revealing Old Tim, a pipe in his mouth, holding the cat, stroking its fur. OLD TIM Found me. LUKE Yeah. I hope you do n't mind. I did n't know anyone lived here. well, besides Harry. And me. Old Tim moves into the room and gestures for Luke to follow him.", "INT.  OLD TIM'S ROOM - NIGHT The room is lit by a small table lamp next to the neat cot, which is perfectly made, military - style. OLD TIM Not used to visitors. -LRB- gesturing. -RRB- Sit. Old Tim points to a ragged, overstuffed easy chair next to the `` kitchen'' area - a sink, dishes and utensils, a tiny icebox. Luke sits in the chair, and Old Tim sits on the cot, facing him. Silence. Luke glances up at a photo atop the bureau. ON THE PHOTO It's a much younger Old Tim, looking quite serious and handsome in his Great War doughboy's uniform. The cat jumps down from Old Tim's arms and moves to Luke. He rubs against his legs, purring. Luke leans down to pet him. LUKE So I guess this fellow belongs to you. What's his name? OLD TIM Cat. LUKE Cat. That's simple. I like it. -LRB- pets Cat. -RRB- Hi, Cat. OLD TIM -LRB- sudden change - of - subject. -RRB- We thought you was dead, you know. -LRB- another new thought. -RRB- It's okay that I live here? LUKE Of course. Pause, then suddenly. OLD TIM Do you think I'll get me a new u - u uniform? Luke looks up at the old man, who stammers when he speaks more than a couple of words. LUKE I'll do everything I can. Old Tim puffs on his pipe, strangely detached. OLD TIM T - t - thank you. Thank you. I. I always. I always wanted to wear my uniform from the Great War, but your daddy, he always said no, that's not an usher's u - u - uniform, that's an army uniform and the Bijou, she's not the army. They give me a medal, but I lost it in the h - h - hospital. I forget things sometimes. Since the w - w - war. LUKE Yeah. me too.", "INT.  PETE'S APARTMENT (L.A.) - DAY It's a pretty typical bachelor's apartment. The `` SAND PIRATES'' poster leans up against a chair. Pete's two boxes of belongings from the studio are on the coffee table, the empty bottle of Jack Daniels on top. There's an insistent KNOCK at the door. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Mr. Appleton? Mr. Appleton? You in there? This is the Super, I have the master key and I'm coming in! We HEAR the key in the lock and the door swings open, revealing the building SUPER, 50s. Behind him is Leo Kubelsky. They enter the room, and the Super sniffs the air. LEO You smell gas? SUPER Do n't smell nothin'. He must not be dead in here. LEO Jesus. SUPER Hey, it's the best way to tell. Leo moves to the boxes and rummages through them. He picks up the empty bottle, examines it. SUPER You think he's drunk somewhere? LEO -LRB- under his breath. -RRB- Would n't blame him if he was. SUPER Well, his rent's past due and he said to call you in case of an emergency. He lose his job or somethin'? LEO -LRB- holding out his folding money. -RRB- What's his rent? SUPER Thirty a month. Leo peels off a hundred - dollar bill. LEO Here's three months rent, and a ten spot for no more questions and to keep an eye on his place. Now, I need a moment alone. SUPER -LRB- examining the bill. -RRB- Huh? LEO Take a hike. Am - scray. SUPER Huh? Oh, sure. Just pull the door shut when you leave. The Super exits and Leo crosses to the phone and dials `` O.'' LEO -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Police department. I want to report a missing person.", "INT.  JUSTICE DEPARTMENT HALLWAY - DAY ON A DOOR It reads : `` OFFICE OF THE MAJORITY COUNSEL - MR. ELVIN CLYDE'' AGENT WALTER SAUNDERS and AGENT STEVEN BRETT, both 30s and G - men to the core, hustle into the office.", "INT.  ELVIN CLYDE'S OFFICE - DAY ELVIN CLYDE is 35, a small, thin - lipped, reptilian man in the Roy Cohn mold. He's on the phone at the moment. CLYDE -LRB- into phone. -RRB- You say you know nothing about it. You say this, yet you offer no proof. How am I supposed to believe you? Clyde's SECRETARY knocks on the door, sticks her head in. SECRETARY Mr. Clyde? Agents Saunders and Brett need to see you. CLYDE -LRB- covering the phone. -RRB- You do see that I'm busy, do you not? SECRETARY It's about Appleton. Clyde's eyes brighten. CLYDE Tell them to come in. -LRB- into phone. -RRB- I'll have to call you back. I love you too, Mother. Saunders and Brett stride into the office. SAUNDERS We've got a situation developing. CLYDE -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- Will you take those goddamn hats off? They stop, shuck off their hats. Saunders starts over again. SAUNDERS We've got a situation developing out on the coast. Appleton's just been reported missing. Clyde grins darkly. CLYDE This is good. This is very good. BRETT Los Angeles Police Department investigated. His car's missing. No signs of forced entry or struggle at his apartment. Clyde considers this for a beat, then : CLYDE You two are on this as of now. Tell the LAPD their investigation has been federalized on my order. You find me this Appleton. -LRB- leans back, smiling. -RRB- I want to see what this one has to say.", "INT.  BIJOU OFFICE - DAY Luke is sitting at the desk, making notes and adding up some figures. He puts his pencil down and rubs his eyes, then looks up at HARRY AND OLD TIM who are sitting on the floor, going through piles of lobby cards and folded one - sheets like little boys fascinated with their baseball cards. He shifts his gaze to MRS. TERWILLIGER who is straightening out and dusting the tops of the two or three file cabinets in the corner of the office. As she works, she hums an old song, occasionally breaking into the lyrics : MRS. TERWILLIGER -LRB- sings. -RRB- `` The object of my affection, Can change my complexion, From white to rosy red.'' Luke takes a breath : LUKE Well. HARRY Yes? LUKE Between a new screen, paint, plumbing for the concession stand, and about a hundred other repairs around the theater. it's going to cost at least nine hundred dollars to get the Bijou into shape to open up. MRS. TERWILLIGER Oh, my. HARRY -LRB- taken aback. -RRB- Nine hundred. LUKE And you have sixty - eight dollars and thirty - seven cents in the bank. Your only source of income are my veteran's death benefit of forty dollars a month, to which you're no longer entitled since I'm alive, and these ten dollar a month cash deposits you make. What are those? HARRY -LRB- glances at Old Tim. -RRB- They're. OLD TIM That's my r - r - rent. LUKE Oh. HARRY It's all my fault. I was neglectful and this is the price of that. MRS. TERWILLIGER Do n't say that. HARRY Well, it's true. Wanting to open this place back up. It's folly, Irene, pure and simple. Might as well just call it what it is. Off everyone's worried looks, we A TV SCREEN It's tiny, with rounded corners, black - and - white, and a hopeless chaos of horizontal bars and snow. WIDER", "INT.  LARDNER LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Doc Lardner is fiddling with a brand - new console television set, trying vainly to tune in a clear picture of `` Your Show of Shows.'' He adjusts the dials, fiddles with the rabbit ears, steps back - and is successful. SID CAESAR And IMOGENE COCA are involved in an elaborate pantomime sketch, and Lardner fairly roars with laughter. He turns to go back to his chair, but the second he does so, the reception goes haywire. He returns to the spot in front of the TV, and the picture is perfect again. The DOORBELL RINGS. He's torn - if he moves, the picture will break up. The doorbell RINGS again, and we HEAR Adele's voice from upstairs : ADELE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Daddy, that's Luke, can you let him in? I'll be right down. LARDNER Honey, I. I ca n't. it's the. There's a KNOCK at the door. LARDNER -LRB- giving in. -RRB- Oh, hell. He moves from his spot. The reception goes bad, and he marches to the door. He opens it, and Luke is standing there, wearing a slightly out - of - date coat and tie. LARDNER Evening, Luke. LUKE Evening, Doctor Lardner. Lardner freezes, staring at Luke. LUKE What's wrong? LARDNER -LRB- shaken from his reverie. -RRB- Uh, no. just seeing you standing there, it reminded me. there's a word for it. LUKE Oh, you mean the suit. Harry kept all my old clothes. Fits okay, but it's a little big. Adele comes down the stairs. Halfway down, she stops suddenly and stares at Luke. ADELE Oh. Awkward pause. Adele's staring at Luke, Lardner's staring at Luke, and Luke's getting nervous. LUKE I should n't have worn the suit. Adele comes down the stairs. ADELE No. you were wearing that suit the last time we went out before. LUKE Oh. ADELE and It's just. well, deja vu. LARDNER That's it. Deja vu. Another awkward pause as Adele and Luke stare at each other. Lardner breaks it. LARDNER You kids off to the dance? LUKE Are n't you coming? LARDNER No, I'm not much of a dancer. ADELE -LRB- chidingly. -RRB- Besides, Daddy's still trying to figure out how to get his new television set working. LARDNER I had it, a minute ago. He glances at the TV set. The picture is suddenly crystal clear. LARDNER ooooh, It's back. -LRB- encouraging them toward the door. -RRB- Well, you kids have fun now. Adele takes Luke's arm and they exit, exchanging goodnights with Lardner, who closes the door and turns toward the living room. S - l - o - w - l - y, he sneaks into the room, watching the TV carefully all the while. The reception is staying perfect. Caesar and Coca are involved in an intricate bit of business, and Lardner wants to laugh, but he's afraid to. He stifles his urge, and heads for his chair. Gingerly, he sits. Still perfect. Satisfied, he finally LAUGHS out loud and puts his feet up. The picture goes completely haywire again. LARDNER Aw, crap.", "EXT.  STREET - NIGHT Adele and Luke walk along, arm - in - arm. ADELE This is strange. Do you feel it? LUKE What? ADELE We've done this before, so many times. The last time was so long ago, but it feels like yesterday. LUKE Oh. Pause. ADELE You know, everyone's so excited about the Bijou re - opening. LUKE -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- It's gon na cost over nine hundred dollars to open the place, Delly. ADELE -LRB- shocked. -RRB- Nine hundred. LUKE Yeah, and needless to say, none of us has that kind of money lying around. ADELE What about a loan? You could go to the bank? LUKE A loan to a man who ran his business into the ground and his son who ca n't account for the last nine - and - a - half years of his life? Not likely. ADELE Well, there's got to be a way. LUKE -LRB- suddenly. -RRB- Have you got a cigarette? Adele stops. ADELE When did you start smoking? LUKE I do n't smoke? ADELE You tried to once. It was pretty pitiful. LUKE Oh. Adele glances curiously at Luke as we A CLARINET launching into the opening bars of `` Do n't Be That Way,'' an old Benny Goodman tune.", "EXT.  CITY HALL SQUARE - DAY Spencer Wyatt's big ban is comprised of a dozen or so MUSICIANS about Spencer's age - except for the drummer, AVERY WYATT, 40s, Spencer's dad. Though no Gene Krupa, he pounds the skins pretty well, all the while smiling proudly as his son plays clarinet and leads the band. Despite the last minute decorations, the Square looks nice, hung with multicolored paper lanterns and colored lights. ON LUKE AND ADELE dancing to the music, along with several other COUPLES. LUKE -LRB- nodding toward the band. -RRB- They're not bad. ADELE No, they're not. I'd say your investment was paying dividends. LUKE My what? ADELE Back in' 37, you heard Benny Goodman play for the first time, so you went out and got a used clarinet. You wanted nothing more than to be able to play like him. You tried hard, but it was n't long before it was clear that Benny Goodman would never be looking over his shoulder. So you gave the clarinet to Spencer. LUKE Huh. That was nice of me. ADELE You had a hidden agenda, though. See, when he was five or six, little Spence used to follow you around like a puppy. Bothered the hell out of you. But as soon as you gave him the clarinet. LUKE he started practicing, and he left me alone from then on. ADELE Exactly. And he got good. LUKE No kidding. They dance a bit. ADELE Now, did you remember that, or. LUKE Nope. Just filling in the blanks. ADELE Oh. Okay. And as they dance away, we THE SAME - LATER ON THE REFRESHMENTS TABLE Luke is pouring two glasses of punch, while Adele is being shyly admired -LRB- and having her ear bent -RRB- by two twin brothers, ALEX and CHARLIE MCKENNA, mid - 20s. ALEX You're the luckiest guy in town, Luke. Delly's ` bout the prettiest thing ever come outta Lawson. LUKE -LRB- to Alex. -RRB- Thanks, Charlie. ALEX I'm Alex. He's Charlie. CHARLIE I'm Charlie. ALEX Yessir, ` bout the prettiest thing we ever seen, ai n't that right, Charlie? CHARLIE You bet. ADELE -LRB- ala Mae West. -RRB- Thanks boys, ya flatter me no end. The brothers laugh goofily. CHARLIE Hey, she's doin' that movie star, what's her name? ALEX -LRB- ignoring his brother. -RRB- Hey, Delly, what was that test you was outta town takin'? ADELE It's called the State Bar Exam. CHARLIE Shoot! ALEX Imagine that, Charlie! A lady bartender! THE SAME - LATER Adele and Luke are slow dancing to `` Thanks for the Memory.'' LUKE How do you tell those two apart, anyway? ADELE Alex and Charlie? Simple. Alex is the smarter one. LUKE That's. pretty frightening. They laugh and dance a bit more. ADELE Your dancing's very good. LUKE Thanks. ADELE It never used to be. You were two left feet on the dance floor. Like pulling teeth to get you to do a little box step. LUKE Guess I must've learned. Luke dances Adele away, a slightly nonplussed expression on her face. The band finishes the song, and everyone enthusiastically APPLAUDS. Spencer bows shyly, blushing slightly. He nods to the band, and they bow before he motions for the crowd's attention. SPENCER -LRB- nervously. -RRB- Thanks, folks. Gee, can you tell we never played in front of people before? The crowd yells `` No! ,'' `` You guys sound great! ,'' etc.. SPENCER Well, this is our first time, and it's really all because of Luke. I mean, it's because of Luke coming back that we're here tonight - but I'm talking about this. He holds up the clarinet and scans the crowd until he sees Luke. SPENCER -LRB- to Luke. -RRB- When you did n't come back, I learned how to play this so I could remember you. And now that you're back, well, I'll never forget you. -LRB- to the crowd. -RRB- Luke gave me this clarinet, but he gave this night to all of us. The crowd APPLAUDS warmly. SPENCER Okay folks, here's Mayor Cole! The crowd APPLAUDS as Ernie Cole mounts the band riser. He turns and addresses Avery Wyatt, on drums. ERNIE Pretty proud of your boy, Avery? Avery smiles broadly and beats the KICK DRUM five or six times to register his reaction. ON THE KICK DRUM - `` WYATT'S HARDWARE, LAWSON, CALIF.'' ERNIE Looks like you might have to find someone else to mix paint at the store,'cause I think Spencer's got a big career ahead of him. APPLAUSE again, and Ernie waits for it to settle. As soon as he starts speaking, the crowd becomes totally silent. ERNIE You know folks, here in Lawson, we gave a lot for our country. A lot. And we never complained and we never faltered. And we never forgot. Ernie's voice cracks slightly with emotion. He clears his throat and continues. ERNIE We never forgot. And so when one of our own came back to us, I got ta tell you folks, it was like a miracle. Luke, seein' you walking down the street, it was. well, it was kinda like seein' one of my boys alive again. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that not a day goes by when we do n't keep our boys' memories alive. But Luke, having you back among us. well, it helps us keep their spirits alive, too. God bless you, son. The crowd APPLAUDS. Adele takes Luke's hand and smiles. Ernie wipes his eyes and changes the subject. ERNIE All right, enough a ` that. This is a celebration, so let's have us a good time - but not too good a time,'cause I see just about every member of the city council here tonight, and we have an eight a.m. council meeting tomorrow morning, and I expect y' all to be there! All right, take it away, Spencer! And Spencer kicks the band into the next tune as we THE SAME - LATER Luke and Adele come over to Harry and Mrs. Terwilliger, standing at the periphery. Old Tim stands a few feet back. LUKE Why do n't you two get out there and dance? HARRY Oh, no, I. Mrs. Terwilliger blushes. MRS. TERWILLIGER I have n't danced with another man since Mr. Terwilliger passed. LUKE When was that? MRS. TERWILLIGER Nineteen - oh - nine. Harry touches Luke's arm. HARRY Son, we're gon na go. You two kids have a lovely time. Goodnights are exchanged, and the trio leaves. Alex McKenna comes up to Adele and taps her on the shoulder. ALEX Delly, can I have a dance? ADELE Sure. Alex leads her to the dance floor as Adele shoots Luke a little `` help me!'' look. Luke smiles back and watches the dancing crowd. After a moment, a man in a white suit and bow tie, ROSCOE FITTS, 40s, comes over to Luke and extends his hand. FITTS Luke, you probably do n't remember me, Roscoe Fitts, I'm the grocer here in town. LUKE -LRB- shakes his hand. -RRB- Good to meet you. Again. FITTS Like Ernie said, we're all glad to have you back. LUKE Thanks. FITTS And I hear you and Harry are planning on re - opening the Bijou. LUKE We're gon na try. Place needs a lot of work. FITTS I can only imagine. You know, I spoke with your Dad last year about maybe taking the Bijou off his hands. I do n't think he gave it very much thought. LUKE Well, he loves the place. It's his home. FITTS Luke, I'm hopping you can help him see the reality of the situation. I'll come to the point. I want to buy the property, and I'm prepared to offer six - thousand dollars for it. And that's just for the property, mind you. If you want, I'll leave it to you and your father to dismantle and liquidate the building for whatever salvage value it has, and you keep those proceeds. I just want the land. LUKE -LRB- taken aback. -RRB- That's. well, that's very generous, but if you've already got a store? FITTS The days of the storefront grocery are numbered. I plan on putting up a free - standing supermarket. LUKE -LRB- it's an alien word. -RRB- A super market. Huh. FITTS You think it over. No reason to risk financial ruin for the sake of a crumbling old building. Fitts takes Luke's hand and shakes it. FITTS Good to have you back, Luke. As Luke watches Fitts walk off, we THE SAME - LATER ON SPENCER SPENCER Last dance, folks! The crowd MOANS slightly, and Spencer kicks the band into `` Moonlight Serenade,'' slow and easy. ON ADELE AND LUKE As they hold each other close and dance. Adele rests her head on Luke's shoulder, her eyes closed. Luke strokes her hair and sways her gently to the music. Luke looks toward the edge of the dance floor. LUKE'S POV Bob Leffert is standing there, staring at the band. Mabel comes up behind him and taps him on the shoulder. She's asking him if he would like to dance. Bob looks down at the ground, self - consciously shoves his hook - hand in his pocket and moves away, leaving Mabel standing there. As Luke watches and the MUSIC CONTINUES OVER, WE Luke and Adele dancing. walking slowly arm - in - arm down Adele's street, up her walk to her door. kissing passionately on her doorstep. Adele going inside and Luke walking away, each unable to take their eyes off the other. Luke walking the quiet streets of Lawson, smiling beatifically.", "EXT.  THE BIJOU - NIGHT Luke turns the corner and heads for the theater door. He pulls out his keys and enters.", "INT.  BIJOU LOBBY - NIGHT Luke's about to close the door, when he looks down and sees CAT MEOWING at him from the sidewalk. He holds the door open, and Cat shoots into the lobby, disappearing into the auditorium. Luke closes the door. and stops. He HEARS something, and so do we. Soft and faraway, it's a PIANO. The melody is soft, lilting - almost a lullaby. Luke turns toward the music, which is coming from the auditorium. The piano continues, building slightly in volume. He moves to the auditorium doors and tentatively pushes one open.", "INT.  AUDITORIUM - NIGHT Luke enters, his face bathed in the soft, flickering, reflected light of THE SCREEN. The movie is `` The Big Parade.'' The old, decomposing nitrate print is badly scratched and stained. A young, beautiful Renee Adoree is bidding a tearful farewell to her lover, John Gilbert, as he marches off to fight the Great War. Luke stares at the screen. The look on his face is one of bewilderment - and awe. ANGLE - THE PIANO The rickety old upright is tinny - sounding and slightly out - of - tune. But it really does n't matter. CLOSER Mrs. Terwilliger is playing passionately. She never takes her eyes - which are full of tears - off the tattered screen, except to close them when she is overcome with emotion. Even so, she never misses a beat. HER HANDS fairly dance upon the keys. Stiff and wrinkled as they are, they manage to elicit every possible fragment of sensitivity that the old piano can muster. Luke is moved by what he's witnessing. This is the magic. WIDER ANGLE - THE CENTER SECTION To the right of Luke, sitting in the center of a row, is Old Tim. Stroking Cat, Old Tim stares at the poignant scene unfolding on the screen, pausing only to wipe his eyes and nose with a handkerchief. He does n't notice LUKE who looks up towards the projection booth. A BRIGHT, WHITE, FLICKERING LIGHT, filling the frame. We're looking directly into the beam of light radiating from the projector. PUSHING INTO THE LIGHT, we get closer to the windows of the booth. We come out of the beam and can just barely make out the figure of Harry, framed in a small window next to the projector. WE CONTINUE PUSHING IN - closer and closer - until Harry's face fills the screen. He is watching the film ; his eyes are wide and moist, as though he's experiencing the magic that's unfolding on the screen for the very first time. The warning bell on the projector CHIMES THREE TIMES, signaling the end of the reel. Harry moves away from the window.", "INT.  PROJECTION BOOTH - NIGHT Never taking his eyes off the screen, Harry watches as the film comes to an end and flap! falp! falps! out of the projector. He kills the motor and cranks the carbon arcs apart, and the bright beam dies. It's not the end of the movie, but it is the end of the only fragment they have. Harry moves to the house lights rheostat, and slowly fades them up. This done, he pulls a handkerchief from his back pocket and blows his nose loudly. He crosses back to the projector, unlatches the full take - up reel and takes it down. He's about to move away, when he senses that he's not alone. He looks over the projector to see LUKE, standing there. Their eyes meet. Someone should say something - both men search for words. Suddenly, Luke feels very out - of - place, almost embarrassed - as though he's interrupted a very private ritual. Harry senses this. Clutching the precious reel of film tightly to his chest, he searches Luke's face and smiles warmly. HARRY Beautiful, was n't it? LUKE -LRB- softly. -RRB- Yes. HARRY Well, son, I wish I could've shown you more, but this is all that's left. Just this one reel that never got sent back from a picture we showed here a long time ago. Nineteen twenty - five, to be exact. LUKE Dad, I. HARRY -LRB- a tiny laugh. -RRB- Ha! LUKE what? HARRY You know, since you've been back, that's the first time you've called me `` Dad.'' Father and son look at each other for a long moment - searching each other's eyes. Harry smiles a sort - of half - smile at Luke, and, still clutching the reel, crosses to the rewind bench. Methodically, he mounts it and threads the end of the film onto an empty reel. Slowly, he begins to turn the crank, rewinding the film. He stops and looks to where Luke was standing. but he's not there. ANGLE - PROJECTION BOOTH DOOR Luke is leaning up against the wall just outside of the projection booth. ONE LUKE As he closes his eyes. FADE TO BLACK. ON HARRY In bed, sound asleep, snoring. A HAND reaches into frame and shakes him awake. LUKE'S VOICE Harry. Dad, wake up. Wake up. Harry opens his eyes and looks up.", "INT.  HARRY'S BEDROOM - DAY HARRY -LRB- bleary. -RRB- Luke. what time is it? LUKE Six - thirty. -LRB- smiles. -RRB- I thought we'd get an early start.", "INT.  CITY COUNCIL MEETING ROOM - DAY A meeting of the Lawson City Council is in session, Mayor Cole presiding. Of the dozen council MEMBERS, we also recognize Avery Wyatt and Roscoe Fitts. VERA DWIGHT, the council secretary, a cherubic woman in her 40s, is reading the minutes of the last meeting. VERA Finally, Roscoe Fitts moved, and Red Curtis seconded, that the council form a committee to investigate the adoption of a new property taxation structure. Motion carried, nine to two, one abstention. As Vera speaks, the meeting room door opens and Luke, Harry, Old Time and Mrs. Terwilliger slip inside and take seats on the unoccupied benches. ERNIE Thanks, Vera. Ernie notices Luke and the trio. ERNIE Well, the chair notes the presence this morning of Luke and Harry Trumbo and the rest of the Bijou staff. Frankly, the chair notes the presence of just about anyone who ever finds their way into one of these meetings. G'moring, folks. LUKE & THE TRIO Good morning. ERNIE I'm just guessing, but I bet it's not a sudden interest in Lawson politics that brings you all here. Luke stands. LUKE Well, no. -LRB- clears his throat. -RRB- I wanted to thank you all for giving me such a nice welcome, and making me feel at home. But I. we're. actually here on business of a sort. DALEY THORNHILL, 30s, the council parliamentarian, pipes up. He's waving a copy of `` Roberts Rules of Order.'' DALEY Point of order, Mr. Mayor, this comes under the heading `` New Business,'' and this is not the time. ERNIE I think we can make an exception here, Daley. DALEY It'll need to be moved and seconded. Ernie rolls his eyes, then quickly and mechanically, without inflection : ERNIE All right, motion to hear the speaker out of order. WYATT Seconded. ERNIE Motion on the floor, discussion open, discussion closed, all those in favor signify by saying `` aye.'' ALL Aye. ERNIE Opposed? Hearing no opposition, the motion is carried. Pause. Ernie turns to Luke and smiles. ERNIE Go ahead, son. LUKE Thanks. Well, I'll make this short and sweet. The Bijou needs a lot of repairs, and the truth of the matter is, Harry, um, that is, Dad and me, Mrs. Terwilliger and Old Tim, we ca n't possible afford them all. So, I'd like to ask your help to. well, to scrounge around a bit, and see if you have anything that might help us out. WYATT What kinds of things are you talking about? LUKE Oh, paint, brushes, plaster, light bulbs, yardage, and if you ca n't come up with any of that, we can use some old - fashioned elbow grease. Fitts leans forward. FITTS So. you do intend to fix the place up after all? LUKE Mr. Fitts, with all due respect, I think Lawson needs the Bijou a bit more than it needs a super market. And I think Lawson deserves the Bijou. There's not a lot that can be done to help us get past the pain we've all felt. He looks at Harry and smiles. LUKE but I think a good dose of magic is as good a place as any to start. The council members MURMUR amongst themselves, then : WYATT -LRB- eagerly. -RRB- Motion to encourage the citizenry of Lawson to help out the Bijou in any way they can. DALEY -LRB- a subtle reminder. -RRB-. short of the allocation of city funds. WYATT -LRB- agreeing. -RRB-. short of allocation of city funds. DALEY -LRB- enthusiastically. -RRB- Seconded! ERNIE -LRB- brightly. -RRB- Motion on the floor, discussion open, discussion closed, all those in favor signify by saying `` aye.'' ALL AYE! ERNIE Hearing no opposition, the motion is carried! Congratulations, Luke, you got yourself a town to help you out!", "INT.  CITY HALL BASEMENT STORAGE ROOM - DAY As the entire city council and the Bijou trio looks on, Luke moves to the memorial and pulls down the huge piece of muslin covering it. Harry steps forward and gathers some of it in his arms. Ernie and Daley step forward and look up at the monument. Ernie touches the names of his two sones inscribed on the base of the monument. ERNIE -LRB- slowly. -RRB- You know, this really ought to be out where people can see it. Luke overhears this last, and as he smiles, he turns to Harry, who brightens as he pulls a large section of the muslin taut between his outstretched arms. MONTAGE - WITH SOME HARD - DRIVING BOOGIE - WOOGIE UNDER. ANGLE - THE SCREEN Harry's on a ladder, snipping the cords holding up the old screen, which is dropping, bit - by - bit, into the arms of Luke and Adele, who are surrounded by a group of LITTLE KIDS, watching the goings - on in wide - eyed awe. Harry snips the last line, and the rest of the old screen drops down on Luke's head. Suddenly. LUKE'S A GHOST! He raises his arms and plays the bogeyman for the kids, who scream in mock terror and scatter, as Harry and Adele laugh.", "INT.  AUDITORIUM - DAY Old Tim and Harry carry a dilapidated row of seats up the aisle, as Adele and Mabel move in, tearing up the rotten carpeting and sweeping up the dust and debris. The men are having a tough time carrying the seats, and just as they're about to drop the row, someone rushes in next to Harry and grabs his end. It's Carl Leffert. A second later, someone else grabs Old Tim's end. BOB LEFFERT has a good purchase on the seats with his good hand and his hook. He nods to Old Tim, who steps away, mopping his brow. Luke smiles as he sees this from the front of the auditorium.", "INT.  BIJOU LOBBY - DAY Harry, Stanton and Mrs. Terwilliger, with the help of Avery Wyatt and his son Spencer, tear down the rotting draperies and scrape off the wallpaper covering the lobby walls. Then, as Harry, Spencer and Stanton sand down the walls, Avery and Mrs. Terwilliger hand them freshly - mixed cans of red wall paint and brushes. Immediately, they all set to work painting.", "EXT.  THE BIJOU SIGN - DAY Luke is on the roof of the theater, pliers in hand and tool box nearby. He's just straightened out the `` J'' and he steps back. carefully. to admire his handiwork. For the first time in a long time, the sign actually reads, `` THE BIJOU.'' But not for long. Luke tenses. the building starts shaking. and the train passes by behind the theater. Luke lunges out of the way as three letters shake lose and fall. Once again, the sign reads,'' HE B J U.'' Luke winces.", "EXT.  CITY HALL SQUARE - DAY Ernie Cole and Avery Wyatt stand solemnly at the front of a small group gazing at the base of the war memorial, as it takes shape in a prominent place in the square.", "INT.  AUDITORIUM - DAY Harry is on a ladder, attaching the final spring stretcher to a corner of the muslin. It snaps into place, and voila - new screen! Luke, Adele, Doc Lardner, and Sheriff Eldridge, standing below, applaud enthusiastically.", "INT.  ORCHESTRA PIT - DAY As work progresses all around her, Mrs. Terwilliger has just finished dusting off the piano. She opens the keyboard cover and trails her hand delicately over the keys. She sits, closes her eyes, and begins to play - Chopin's Op. 10 Etude No. 3 - delicate, flowing music. Even though the piano is a bit out of tune, it's still beautiful. As she plays, all the work slowly comes to a halt. Before long, all eyes are on her. Everyone's listening. Transported. After a moment, she stops. Overcome. Everyone applauds. Surprised, Mrs. Terwilliger stands, and, blushing, bows. LUKE That was beautiful. MRS. TERWILLIGER I taught you that. LUKE I can play the piano? MRS. TERWILLIGER -LRB- all fluttery. -RRB- Oh dear, yes. You were an excellent student, before all that clarinet nonsense. You loved Chopin. You used to call it `` heaven music.'' `` Teach me some heaven music,'' you used to say. She sits at the piano. MRS. TERWILLIGER Sit. Play with me. LUKE No, I. MRS. TERWILLIGER Some of it might come back to you. Reluctantly, Luke sits down to her left. As she begins to play a Chopin waltz, she encourages him to keep the 3/4 time. MRS. TERWILLIGER That's good. that's good. But it's clear Luke has no idea what he's doing. He's just plunking bass notes. But after a moment, the bass figures he's improvising start to change - and before long, it's transformed into the eight - to - the - bar figure of a boogie woogie beat. Mrs. Terwilliger stops playing, annoyed. MRS. TERWILLIGER Really, Luke! That's no way to treat Mr. Chopin! She stands and moves away. Luke keeps playing, grinning madly - he's loving it! After a moment, Spencer Wyatt runs over and takes Mrs. Terwilliger's place, improvising the top half to Luke's bass line. OLD TIM is tapping his foot to the beat. He turns to Adele and says : OLD TIM I taught him that. Off Adele cracking up. THE MONTAGE CONTINUES.", "EXT.  THE BIJOU SIGN - DAY Luke and all the letters up again. He steps back, checks his watch, and like clockwork, the rumbling begins and a train goes by. This time, however, only the `` J'' tips over at a jaunty angle. Luke smiles.", "INT.  MABEL'S DINER - DAY Luke, Adele and Harry, wearing coveralls, sit at the counter, devouring hefty plates of turkey with dressing and mashed potatoes and gravy. Luke's and Adele's hair is practically white from plaster dust and Harry's face and hands are stained with paint specks. At the other side of the counter, Mabel is chatting amiably with Bob Leffert. She smiles at him warmly, then turns to refill Harry's coffee cup. Harry thanks her, then turns back to the newspaper he's reading. INSERT - THE FRONT PAGE OF THE LAWSON JOURNAL - AMERICAN Prominent is the black - and - white photo of a little boy and a policeman holding up Pete's jacket, with the accompanying headline : BOY, 5, FINDS SUSPECTED RED'S JACKET ON SANTA BARBARA BEACH. Hollywood Writer Feared Dead. Were Red Agents Involved?", "EXT.  THE BIJOU SIGN - NIGHT Luke's standing near the sign. He yells to Adele, down below on the ground. She, in turn, yells to Harry, standing near a switch panel behind the candy counter. He throws the switch. and the sign lights up beautifully! Then, they all feel the rumble - the train rolls past, and, although they rattle and shake, no letters fall. A CHEER goes up from Adele, Harry, and the small crowd of ONLOOKERS below. Delighted, Luke takes a formal bow. The boogie - woogie ends as we", "EXT.  CITY HALL SQUARE - DAY ON THE MEMORIAL Complete and polished, standing proudly in the center of the square. WIDER It's a clear, balmy day, and the whole town is turned out. Mayor Ernie Cole is at the podium. He finishes his remarks, then picks up the two faded gold stars representing the lost lives of his sons. He holds them up, high above his head. ON THE CROWD One - by - one, the gold stars of the town's boys are solemnly held aloft by their loved ones. Luke and Harry stand at the side of the square, looking out at the sea of four or five dozen gold stars being held aloft. Luke catches a glimpse of a man in an army uniform. LUKE'S POV It's Bob Leffert, standing with Mabel, looking very sharp in his dress greens. He brings his hook - hand up and salutes smartly. Mabel takes his good hand, squeezes it as she blinks back tears. Luke smiles at this scene as Harry wipes his eyes and puts his arm around Luke's shoulder, pulls him close and kisses him on the forehead. THE SAME - LATER The Lawson High School Marching Band is set up on the steps of City Hall, playing the `` Star Spangled Banner.'' They are being conducted by their director, MR. PHILLIPS. Luke and Harry, hands over their hearts, watch and sing along. Then, Luke takes a closer look at the DRUM MAJOR. ON THE DRUM MAJOR, a tall young man wearing an ornate brocaded red and white uniform with `` LHS'' emblazoned across the chest. ON LUKE He has an idea. The anthem ends, and Luke excuses himself and moves forward, buttonholing Mr. Phillips as he comes down the steps.", "EXT.  BIJOU - DAY Luke and Adele are on ladders, hanging letters on the marquee, which reads : GRAND RE - OPENING TONIGHT! GENE KELLY, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS. Harry comes outside and gets their attention. Grandly, he gestures toward the door, and out strides OLD TIM, wearing his new uniform - it's the Lawson High School drum major's uniform, modified here and there. `` B - I - J - O - U'' is proudly emblazoned across his chest in gold brocaded letters. Luke and Adele applaud. Old Time looks up at them - AND SMILES!", "INT.  BIJOU LOBBY - NIGHT Old Tim stands at attention, clutching the front door handle. Mrs. Terwilliger, wearing a new dress, her hair newly and perfectly coiffed, stands at the ready at her candy counter, ready to sell tickets and refreshments. Harry and Luke nervously pace the lobby. Luke checks his watch. It's time. He shakes Harry's hand, and nods to Old Tim, who swings the door open. ON THE DOOR Immediately, PATRONS come flooding into the theater. Luke exchanges surprised glances with Harry - then walks outside. OUTSIDE THE THEATER Luke comes out and looks down the block. HIS POV The line of PATRONS stretches two deep down the block and around the corner. Luke smiles. Success. THE BIJOU'S MARQUEE - `` FRED ASTAIRE - ROYAL WEDDING''", "INT.  BIJOU LOBBY - DAY Luke's selling tickets from behind the candy counter while Mrs. Terwilliger sells refreshments to a line of CUSTOMERS. Luke sells a ticket to a WOMAN, who moves away, revealing BOB LEFFERT AND MABEL. Luke smiles at Bob, who smiles back, his eyes now fairly dancing with life. He plunks down his admission, and Luke hands him two tickets, which he takes with his hook - hand. Mabel smiles at Luke, takes Bob's good hand, and they move away, revealing A FARMER AND HIS WIFE, 50s. The Farmer steps up and holds out a plucked chicken by its neck. Luke, surprised, jumps back - then smiles, pulls off two tickets, and exchanges them for the chicken. THE BIJOU'S MARQUEE - `` THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL''", "INT.  BEHIND THE SCREEN - NIGHT The only light back here is the light of the movie, spilling through the screen. Luke is straightening up the backstage storage area, when Adele taps him on the shoulder. He turns, and she throws her arms around his neck and kisses him. She hands him a paper to read. ON THE PAPER Luke angles it so he can read it by the light of the screen. It says : California State Bar Association. ADELE LOUISE LARDNER has PASSED the State Bar examination. Luke, thrilled, grabs Adele and picks her up, twirling her around with joy. He sets her down and kisses her passionately. THE BIJOU'S MARQUEE - `` SAND PIRATES OF THE SAHARA''", "INT.  PROJECTION BOOTH - NIGHT Harry is frantically threading the changeover projector. The bell on the running projector DINGS! once, signalling that the reel is coming to an end. Harry looks out the window at the screen, then back to the task at hand.", "INT.  BIJOU LOBBY - NIGHT Luke comes out of the office carrying a folded movie poster. With a satisfied smile, he walks through the lobby, admiring how handsome the old place looks. Old Tim, snappily attired in his uniform, is sweeping a tiny pile of debris into a dustpan. Mrs. Terwilliger is straightening up the candy counter. All is well. Luke goes to the lobby's poster case. He opens it, and unfolds a brand - new one - sheet poster for `` SAND PIRATES'' - the same design as the one - sheet we saw in Pete's apartment. Methodically, he thumbtacks the poster up and closes the case. As Luke passes the auditorium doors, a MAN comes out of the theater and crosses to the candy counter. The door stays open for a moment, and Luke decides to duck inside and catch a bit of the picture.", "INT.  AUDITORIUM - NIGHT ON THE SCREEN - `` SAND PIRATES OF THE SAHARA'' The second - to - last reel of a black - and - white early - 50's programmer. It's nighttime in the desert. A huge full moon hangs over a B - movie soundstage version of the pyramids. GREGORY, a dark, handsome leading man in a pith helmet is engaged in a fierce swordfight with KHALID, the villain. Pete takes a seat on the aisle near the door. GREGORY -LRB- ONSCREEN. -RRB- You do n't think you can win this, do you? Khalid lunges and draws Gregory's blood. LUKE -LRB- ala `` Khalid''. -RRB- `` Ha! I'd say I was winning!'' KHALID -LRB- ONSCREEN. -RRB- Ha! I'd say I was winning! Luke's look is `` How did I know he was gon na say that?'' Onscreen, an EVIL HENCHMAN is sneaking up behind Gregory. LUKE `` Gregory! Look out!'' WOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- ONSCREEN. -RRB- Gregory! Look out! Pete did it again. Onscreen, Gregory turns and kills the Henchman, then quickly dispatches Khalid. He stands over the body, catches his breath and says : GREGORY -LRB- ONSCREEN. -RRB- It's all right, Rebecca. WOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- ONSCREEN. -RRB- Is he dead? GREGORY -LRB- ONSCREEN. -RRB- Yes, Rebecca. He's dead. REBECCA, a beautiful American woman, comes into view and takes our attention because she's being played by Sandra Sinclair, Pete Appleton's ex - girlfriend. ON LUKE His mouth is gaping open. He stares at the screen. LUKE -LRB- a whisper. -RRB- Sandra? Luke stands. Confused, he stumbles backward, moving into the lobby as the Man goes back into the auditorium with his popcorn and the door closes.", "INT.  BIJOU LOBBY - NIGHT Luke is staring at the closed auditorium doors. Old Tim and Mrs. Terwilliger take note of his odd behavior. MRS. TERWILLIGER Luke? Dear, are you all right? Without answering, Luke turns and runs to the poster case. ON THE POSTER - `` SAND PIRATES OF THE SAHARA'' Forget the cheesy B - movie artwork. As Luke looks at the poster, it's clear that he's remembering something. He looks at the picture of Sandra - then scans down to the credits block at the bottom of the poster. His eyes lock upon WRITTEN BY PETER APPLETON. LUKE My god. my god. no. Suddenly, all of Pete Appleton's worries have come crashing down on him. because he remembers.", "INT.  PROJECTION BOOTH - NIGHT The warning bell DINGS! twice, but the changeover projector's carbon arcs keep sputtering and the motor keeps dying. HARRY -LRB- pleading. -RRB- Oh, baby, make your daddy happy. Harry's trying to keep the projector going, as the previous reel is about to end. Given no other choice, he finally gives the changeover projector a good swift kick. It hums to life. A perfect changeover. Harry pets the projector. HARRY You're a good girl. No matter what I say. As he turns away, he feels a sudden, sharp pain in his left arm. Wincing, he grabs his arm, staggers back towards a chair, and sits heavily. He tries to clear his throat, but it dissolves into a hacking, choking COUGH. He tries to stand, but drops to his knees, clutching his left arm harder than before. HARRY -LRB- in pain. -RRB- Oh, Jesus. Harry falls to the floor, and as he does THE FILM breaks in the projector gate. flap! flap! flap!", "INT.  BIJOU LOBBY - NIGHT Luke is still staring at the poster, lost in thought. Offscreen, we HEAR the audience WHISTLING AND HOOTING in reaction to the broken film. Mrs. Terwilliger has been calling Luke's name, but he does n't come out of his stupor until Old Tim comes up behind him and spins him around. OLD TIM Mr. Luke! Luke stares wide - eyed at the old man. MRS. TERWILLIGER Luke! Luke, something's wrong! The film broke, and I ca n't raise Harry on the house phone! LUKE -LRB- still dazed. -RRB- What? MRS. TERWILLIGER You've got to talk to them before they tear the theater apart! Finally, Luke pulls himself together, hears the audience noise, and moves toward the auditorium doors.", "INT.  AUDITORIUM - NIGHT Amid the shouting and tossing of popcorn and debris, Luke tries to regain his composure as he strides down the aisle toward the stage. LUKE Come on, folks, this happens every once in a while, just settle down. The crowd quiets down a bit. Luke shields his eyes from the light and calls up to the projection booth. LUKE Harry! Harry, why do n't you cut the projector and bring up the house lights? No reaction. Just the flickering beam of light. LUKE Harry? Harry? Luke, gripped by a sudden fear, rushes up the aisle and into the lobby. The crowd goes silent.", "INT.  BIJOU LOBBY - NIGHT Old Tim and Mrs. Terwilliger watch as Luke tears into the lobby and makes for the balcony stairs.", "INT.  BALCONY - NIGHT and charges between the seats and up the stairs to the projection booth.", "INT.  PROJECTION BOOTH - NIGHT Luke bursts in the sees Harry on the floor. He rushes over and kneels down next to him. LUKE Jesus. HARRY -LRB- with difficulty. -RRB- The film broke. LUKE I know, I know. keep still. A MAN pops his head into the projection booth door. LUKE -LRB- to the man. -RRB- Get Doc Lardner.", "INT.  HARRY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Harry is in bed, eyes closed. Doc Lardner has a stethoscope to his chest. He leans up and pats Harry's hand. He stands and comes over to Luke and Adele, who are near the door. Just outside, angling for a view into the room, are Old Tim and Mrs. Terwilliger. LARDNER It's a pretty massive heart attack. His lungs have filled with fluid, and, well. it seems as though his body is just. shutting down. LUKE Can we get him to the hospital? LARDNER Even if we could, and the move did n't kill him, there'd be very little we could do there that we ca n't do here. -LRB- puts his hand on Luke's shoulder. -RRB- I'm sorry. Harry's eyelids flutter. HARRY -LRB- weakly. -RRB- Did you. did you. Luke rushes to Harry's side and takes his hand. LUKE I'm here. HARRY Did you. did you. LUKE Did I what? HARRY -LRB- irritated. -RRB- Did you fix the damn film? It broke in the last reel. LUKE I know. Everyone went home. We offered them refunds. HARRY Anybody take it? LUKE A few. HARRY -LRB- closes his eyes. -RRB- Vultures. Luke smiles. HARRY I'm not happy about this, mind you, but if I have to go, at least I'm going in my own bed, the same bed my Lily died in, and. knowing that my son is alive. That's not too shabby, is it? LUKE You're not going anywhere, Harry. HARRY Do n't tell me, I know about these things. I've seen it before. It's all right. It's. all right. You're here. Oh, God, I love you, son. Harry smiles. Luke kisses his hand and leans up, whispering in Harry's ear : LUKE And I love you. Dad. Harry smiles faintly, looks at Luke. He nods, then closes his eyes. HARRY -LRB- softly. -RRB- Oh, so. much. lighter. Slowly, Harry exhales. His face relaxes, completely at peace. He does n't breathe again. Luke looks at Harry's face for a moment. Then as the tears well up, he leans over and ever - so - gently places a kiss on Harry's forehead.", "EXT.  LAWSON CEMETERY - DAY It's a beautiful, bright, sunny day. Luke and Adele stand at the front of the large group of mourners. REVEREND COLEMAN, 50s, conducts the service. COLEMAN We commit to the earth the mortal remains of Harry Bernard Trumbo, safe in the knowledge that his immortal soul is at peace and at last reunited with his beloved Lillian in the bosom of the Lord. Let us pray. Everyone bows their heads. COLEMAN `` The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, he maketh me to lie down in green pastures.'' Luke looks up at the sky, then steps forward and lays a single rose on Harry's casket. Then, as everyone surreptitiously watches, he turns and walks away from the gravesite, toward the cemetery entrance. Adele watches Luke depart. ANOTHER ANGLE. and she's not alone. Agents Saunders and Brett are watching everything from their car, which is parked nearby. As Luke walks away, Saunders snaps his photo with a long - lens camera. THE BASE OF THE WAR MEMORIAL, and Luke's name inscribed there.", "EXT.  CITY HALL SQUARE - DUSK Luke stands in front of the memorial, head bowed. After a moment, he sits, leaning against the memorial. ON LUKE Lost in thought, he buries his face in his hands. ADELE'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Mind if I join you? Luke looks up, squinting. Adele stands above him, backlit by the golden light of the sundown. LUKE Sure. She sits next to him. Tentatively, she touches his shoulder. He leans into her, and she enfolds her arm in his. Pause. LUKE Your father said. that I would start to remember things. Suddenly, Adele feels as though she's walking on eggshells. ADELE -LRB- slowly. -RRB- What. do you remember? LUKE Well. everything. It started coming back a couple of days ago. I remember everything now. ADELE I see. LUKE Delly. I'm. I'm not. Harry was n't my father. And I'm not. I'm not Luke. She closes her eyes. All her suspicions are suddenly confirmed. ADELE -LRB- adrift. -RRB- Oh. Her tears start, and she moves to hug Luke - but instead, she starts hitting him, flailing, beating on his chest. He hugs her tightly, and she completely lets go. ADELE -LRB- crying. -RRB- Oh, god, I knew! I knew! I knew from the start! I wanted you to be Luke! I wanted you to be alive! You're so much like him, you have no idea. No wonder everyone else accepted you! You do n't know what you - what Luke meant to this town, suddenly being alive! You do n't know what this town lost! You just do n't know. She pulls away, stands, and looks him in the eye. Luke rises. ADELE -LRB- sobbing uncontrollably. -RRB- I knew you were n't Luke! And I tried not to fall in love with you! And. I do n't even know your name! Oh, god. Luke moves toward her. She backs away. LUKE I fell in love with you, too, Delly. Only now I do n't know how I feel, about you or about anything. I only think I know how Luke would feel. She's still sobbing. He moves to her, takes her in his arms. LUKE Delly, shhhhhh. ADELE -LRB- pulling away. -RRB- No. I ca n't. I have to. I ca n't. She runs off, crying.", "INT.  MABEL'S DINER - DAY ON SHERIFF ELDRIDGE, making short work of a steak and eggs. As he powers down his meal, Agents Saunders and Brett, distinctly out - of - place in their dark suits and hats, enter the diner. They take note of Eldridge, and come over. SAUNDERS Are you the sheriff? ELDRIDGE And I got the uniform to prove it. SAUNDERS I'm Special Agent Walter Saunders, this is Special Agent Steven Brett, FBI. May we have a word with you? They flash identification, which Eldridge notes. ELDRIDGE -LRB- gesturing. -RRB- Please, sit. They sit across from Eldridge. As Saunders speaks, Agent Brett pulls a photo from his coat pocket. SAUNDERS A couple of days ago, a county flood control maintenance crew pulled a car out of the Lawson Wash ocean outlet. They checked its registration, and when the owner was identified, they notified us. Agent Brett slides the photo toward Eldridge. ON THE PHOTO It's Peter Appleton - Luke. ELDRIDGE -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Well, that'd be Luke Trumbo. Looks like you boys've solved a little mystery we've had going on for a few months. BRETT Sir, that's a photo of man named Peter Appleton. He's been missing from Los Angeles for close to three months now. ELDRIDGE What? No, there's got to be a. SAUNDERS Sheriff - this man is a suspected communist.", "INT.  SHERIFF'S OFFICE - DAY -LRB- Oh, and by the way, from here on, he's PETE again. -RRB- Pete sits across from Eldridge, Saunders and Brett. The silence in the room is thick. PETE Am I under arrest? Eldridge glances at Agent Saunders, who stares at Pete impassively. ELDRIDGE Well, no, but these gentlemen would like to get some answers. PETE I do n't know what else to tell you. I was n't hiding out. I hit my head and I did n't remember anything until a few days ago. SAUNDERS Now that you remember who you are, were you planning on telling anyone your true identity? PETE I already have. SAUNDERS Who? PETE My girlfriend. If she still is. SAUNDERS -LRB- checking his notebook. -RRB- Would that be Miss Sinclair? PETE -LRB- ironic smile. -RRB- No. No, not Miss Sinclair. I'm talking about Adele Lardner. Agent Saunders glances at Eldridge. ELDRIDGE The doctor's daughter. She was Luke Trumbo's sweetheart. Pause. SAUNDERS Mr. Appleton, I have reason to believe you're holding something back, and that just rubs me the wrong way. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Sir, are you a communist? PETE -LRB- firmly. -RRB- No. Absolutely not. SAUNDERS All right. All right. We'll see.", "EXT.  SHERIFF'S STATION - DAY Pete comes out into the bright midday sun. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust, and when they do, he becomes aware of perhaps TWENTY PEOPLE lining the sidewalk in front of the station. PETE'S POV We recognize several of the people. Carl Leffert. Bob Leffert and Mabel Lanier. Daley Thornhill. Katie Rutherford. Stanton Lawson. Now, there's nothing in the least bit threatening about the gathering - and that's what's so disturbing about it. They're not an angry mob, they're just standing there, running the gamut of emotions. Shock. Disillusionment. Betrayal. It's an awkward moment. Pete does n't quite know how to react. He wants to go over and talk to them, but he would n't know what to say. He wishes one of them would talk to him, just say something, anything. But no one does. Then, Bob Leffert turns away from Pete. He shoves his hook hand into his pocket and sullenly moves away, followed by Mabel, then his brother, then the others. leaving Pete alone.", "INT.  BIJOU LOBBY - NIGHT Old Tim, in his doorman's uniform, stands by the open, empty door. Mrs. Terwilliger, behind the candy counter, wipes up an imaginary spill, a full wheel of unsold tickets by her elbow. Pete anxiously paces the lobby. He looks into THE AUDITORIUM. Every seat is empty. He glances at his watch, then turns to Old Tim and Mrs. Terwilliger : PETE Let's close up. As Mrs. Terwilliger and Old Tim silently shamble off, Pete goes over and flips OFF several light switches. Most of the theater goes dark.", "EXT.  THE BIJOU SIGN - NIGHT Pete sits leaning up against the base of the dark sign. A gentle breeze tousles his hair as he gazes up at the stars. After a moment, he HEARS footsteps coming up the ladder to the roof. PETE Who's that? ADELE'S VOICE It's me. Adele climbs onto the roof, comes over and sits down next to Pete. ADELE Hi. PETE Hi. Pause. ADELE I'm sure a lot of people down in L.A. are worried sick about you. PETE Yeah? I'm sure a lot more people down in L.A. want a piece of me. He turns to her. PETE This Luke was a pretty good guy, was n't he? ADELE -LRB- wistful smile. -RRB- Oh, yes. Yes, he was. PETE Well. let me tell you, I'm not Luke. I know who I am now, and you do n't. And. I do n't like me very much. ADELE -LRB- changing the subject. -RRB- You know, it's going to take me a while to get used to calling you Pete. -LRB- she takes it for a spin. -RRB- Pete. Pete. It's a nice name. PETE Thanks, I like it. I think. Pause. PETE Delly, I want to do the right thing. Pete ca n't believe he just said that - but he did. ADELE I believe you. PETE The truth is, I'm a lot of things, but communist is n't one of them. ADELE But if you only went to one meeting, why does anyone care? Besides, why should it even matter if you were a communist? PETE Come on, Delly, look at the country today. We're fighting communists in Korea, we're paranoid about the Russians, we've got this thing with the Rosenbergs and the atomic bomb. -LRB- bitterly. -RRB- You think they want `` suspected communists'' entertaining the American public with party propaganda like, gosh I do n't know, `` Sand Pirates of the Sahara?'' ADELE Forget about all that. You want to do the right thing? Then defend your name. If someone says something about you that's untrue, you have to stand up and say so. I know the law, and the law's on your side. Beat. PETE What about you, Delly? ADELE I am, too. Pete smiles and puts his arms around her. PETE You'll stand by me? ADELE Whatever happens. They kiss, and we", "EXT.  RORY'S GAS STATION - MORNING There's a thick bank of coastal fog just down the road, obscuring any view of the ocean a mile away. It's deadly quiet as gas station owner RORY, late 60s, pulls up and parks his Model A truck. He gets out, and an big old German Shepherd, LOTTIE, jumps out of the truck bed. Rory moves to the door, and is about to put his key in the lock, when Lottie starts whining, looking toward the fog bank and sniffing the air expectantly. RORY Whatsit, girl? He stops - he hears something, too - a LOW RUMBLE. Lottie starts BARKING. The RUMBLE is getting LOUDER. Rory's getting worried. He looks at THE FOG BANK. It's starting to GLOW from within. Lottie's barking gets LOUDER and angrier. Suddenly, a large black car punches out of the fog bank and tears down the road. It's followed by another, and another - and perhaps a dozen more cars and trucks, all heading hell - bent - for - leather toward the town. Rory moves toward Lottie, trying to quiet her as the cars fly past the station. RORY Shhhhh. I know, Lottie. This time, I thought it was the Martians for sure.", "EXT.  COMMERCE STREET - DAY The place is bedlam, overflowing with REPORTERS, NEWSREEL CAMERA CREWS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, you name it. A RADIO CREW is broadcasting in front of Mabel's Diner. The REPORTER is on - the - air, hugging his microphone, speaking above the din. Mabel stands next to him, his hand on her shoulder. Bob Leffert stands nearby, grim. REPORTER I'm here with Mabel Lanier, the owner of the diner here on Commerce Street where Appleton often took meals. Mrs. Lanier, tell me, what are your thoughts about having such a celebrated suspected communist in your midst all this time? MABEL Well, its kinds hard to believe,'cause Luke - I mean Peter - is such a. I mean, since he's been back, I've never seen the town so happy and all. It's like he gave us some. I do n't know. some hope, I guess. REPORTER What she's referring to folks, is yet another bizarre twist in this story. Not only is Appleton alive, but he's been suffering from amnesia and living here in Lawson, where, due to a startling resemblance, everyone in town for the last three months has taken him for one of Lawson's dead war heroes, Albert Trumbo. MABEL -LRB- a catch in her voice. -RRB- Luke. We always called him Luke. Mabel glances at Bob, who lowers his head.", "INT.  BIJOU OFFICE - DAY Pete is at the desk, staring into space. Adele leans against the radiator behind him. The silence in the room is thick. Across the desk from Pete sits Leo Kubelsky. LEO The FBI ca n't arrest you, because you have n't done anything wrong. PETE Well, that's a relief. I understand they usually do n't let that stop them. LEO However. you're gon na be subpoenaed to testify before the Un - American Activities Committee when they open hearings in Los Angeles. Now, if you play ball and tell them what they want to hear, they'll clear you. PETE And I wo n't be a communist anymore. LEO Exactly. PETE So it does n't make any difference that I'm not one now, and have never been one. Leo stands and walks to the window. LEO Kid, do n't get philosophical with me. This is a game, but it's not your game. You play by their rules, or they'll ruin you. And they have the power to do it. ADELE Does n't it bother anyone that this is a perversion of democracy? Leo turns to her and smiles. His tone is charmingly matter - of - factly, not condescending in the least. LEO Darling, do n't kid yourself. We do n't have a `` democracy'' in this country. The Declaration of Independence? The Constitution? These are pieces of paper with signatures on'em. And you know what a piece of paper with a signature is? It's a contract. And you know what a contract is? Something that can be re - negotiated at any time. It just so happens that the House Un - American Activities Committee is re - negotiating the contract this time around. Leo takes out a cigarette, lights it. LEO Next time, it might be the FBI. The time after that, it might be the President. But it'll always be someone. Count on it. PETE That's not the country Luke fought for. LEO Lest we forget, Peter, your own military career was somewhat less illustrious than Luke's. PETE It's wrong, Leo. LEO Peter, do n't let that stop you all of a sudden. Leo pulls a folded paper from his coat pocket and hands it to Pete. LEO Here. When you're called, read this to them. Just tell the bastards what they want to hear, and we can all get on with our lives. There's a knock at the door. Leo opens it. Standing there is a small MAN wearing a serious suit and an even more serious fedora. THE MAN Peter Appleton? PETE -LRB- standing. -RRB- You found him. The Man reaches into his breast pocket and withdraws a blue backed folded document, which he hands to Pete. As he does, a FLASH lights the room. At the door, a pair of PHOTOGRAPHERS and a NEWSREEL CAMERAMAN are jockeying for position. Pete rolls his eyes. THE MAN Peter Appleton, you are hereby subpoenaed to appear as a witness before a special session of the House Committee on Un - American Activities. You are to appear in Los Angeles, California, at the Biltmore Hotel, at the date and time specified herein. Pete takes the subpoena. There's an awkward moment, as the newsreel camera is still rolling. Pete cradles the subpoena like an Oscar statuette and smiles into the lens. PETE -LRB- `` on''. -RRB- This is a great honor. I'll treasure this always. Thank you. THE SUBPOENA in a partially - packed suitcase. WIDER", "INT.  PETE'S BEDROOM - DAY Pete is sitting in a chair, reading the statement Leo gave him. PETE -LRB- softly. -RRB- `` I, Peter Appleton, do hereby renounce my membership in the American Communist Party, and by way of purging myself of my indiscretion, wish to provide the following names of fellow members to this committee, so that those persons may have the opportunity to do as I have done.'' He scans down the page. It's a long list. PETE Jesus. He HEARS a `` meow!'' And turns to look. CAT is standing in the bedroom doorway. He folds up and pockets the list. PETE Old Tim? After a moment, Old Tim appears in the doorway, wringing his knit cap in his hands. OLD TIM Can I. Can I t - t - talk to you? PETE Sure. Come on in. I was just packing. Pete stands, gestures Old Tim to the chair, as he sits on the bed. PETE Please, sit. OLD TIM Thanks. He sits. Pause. OLD TIM They'll come back, you know. They'll all c - c - come back. PETE The customers? I do n't know. OLD TIM They will. They w - w - will. Pete turns to Old Tim, fixes him in the eye. PETE Tim, I have to tell you something. OLD TIM Oh. PETE It's about me. OLD TIM Oh. Pause, as Pete gathers courage and tries to find the words. PETE I'm. I'm not Luke. Luke is dead. He died in the war. He's not coming back, and I'm not him. I do n't even belong here. This whole thing started out as an accident, and that's all it is. An accident. OLD TIM Oh. PETE My name is n't Luke. It's Peter. Peter Appleton. Old Tim stands and looks askance at Pete. Pause. OLD TIM Did you think I did n't kn - kn - know that? PETE -LRB- taken aback. -RRB- I thought you. OLD TIM I know more than you give me c - c - credit, that's for sure. Do n't you see, it do n't m - m - matter who you are? All that matters is what you g - g - gave us. And you ca n't take that away now. You're wrong, Peter Appleton. You do belong here. He leans down to Pete. OLD TIM You hafta give us back the B - B - Bijou. Old Tim straightens up, nods at Pete. Then, silently, he picks up Cat and exits.", "EXT.  LAWSON PASSENGER DEPOT - DAY Pete and Adele walk slowly down the platform toward the waiting train. ADELE You've got everything? PETE Yeah. Except a chance in hell of coming out of this intact. ADELE You'll be fine. No matter what Leo Kubelsky says, you've got a hundred and seventy - five years of American law on your side. Do n't forget that. PETE I wish you were coming with me. ADELE And who's gon na run the projector until you get back? Mrs. Terwilliger? PETE Maybe we could train Cat to run the projector. You know, a system of scratching posts, and gears, and levers. They both smile as the train's HORN blows. CONDUCTOR Board! Pete picks up his suitcase and they walk toward the passenger compartment. ADELE Did you bring along something to read? PETE Damn. Adele pulls a pocket - sized leather - bound book out of her purse and hands it to Pete. ADELE I did n't think so. Here. This is mine, you can borrow it. INSERT - THE BOOK Well - worn and scuffed, nevertheless the title is clear : CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, ANNOTATED EDITION. Pete looks at the book, then at Adele. ADELE Not exactly light reading, I know. Believe it or not, I've read this since high school, and it got me all the way through law school. Besides, there's something in there that'll help you. You wo n't have to get very far, it's near the beginning. PETE -LRB- clearly touched. -RRB- Delly. thanks, thank you. I'll take good care of this. ADELE Just remember two things. First, the law is a living thing. It made us free and it keeps us free. Sometimes it gets twisted around by people for their own purposes. Sometimes it makes mistakes, sometimes big mistakes. But in the end, the law prevails for the just. Sometimes, it takes a while. PETE Okay. What's the second thing? She thinks for a moment. She needs the right words. ADELE I'll be here. if you come back. The train pulls out. Adele and Pete exchange waves as we", "INT.  BILTMORE HOTEL GRAND BALLROOM (LOS ANGELES) - DAY The House Committee on Un - American Activities has effectively taken over the Grand Ballroom of this magnificent hotel, and the joint is packed to the rafters. Members of the AUDIENCE crane their necks to see out into the hallway, from where the witnesses will be entering. The COMMITTEE MEMBERS are seated at their dais, brightly lit by the dozens of newsreel and TV lights. Elvin Clyde is seated at the far right. Dead center of the dais is the Chairman, CONGRESSMAN T. JOHNSTON DOYLE of Wisconsin, a husky man in his late 50s. He SLAMS his gavel down several times and the room goes quiet - the talking stops, and the cameras start whirring.", "INT.  LARDNER LIVING ROOM - DAY Adele's in a chair, eyes glues to the TV set. Mrs. Terwilliger and Old Tim sit on the couch, watching attentively. Doc Lardner's in a straight - backed chair at a jaunty angle to the set, holding the rabbit ears uncomfortably high aloft. ADELE That's perfect, Dad. DOYLE -LRB- ON TV. -RRB- The committee and the chamber will come to order. Lardner forces a smile at Mrs. Terwilliger and Old Tim. LARDNER -LRB- sweating and wincing. -RRB- This television's a grand little invention, is n't it?", "INT.  BILTMORE HOTEL GRAND BALLROOM - DAY DOYLE The agenda for this morning's special session of the House Committee on Un - American Activities shows a number of witnesses, and I'd like to admonish those that are here to view the testimony of our first witness to keep order at all times, or this chamber will be closed. I'm referring especially to the ladies and gentlemen of the press. I hope that's clear. Beat. Doyle scans the room. He clearly means business. DOYLE Call Peter Appleton. All eyes and cameras swing toward the door. ON PETE As he enters the chamber, dozens of FLASHBULBS fire as every eye and every camera follows him silently to his seat. As he sits, he glances behind him. PETE'S POV Leo Kubelsky is sitting in the front row of spectators. He smiles and nods at Pete. Pete does n't acknowledge him, and turns back. DOYLE The witness will please stand and raise his right hand. Pete does as instructed. DOYLE Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give before this committee of the United States House of Representatives will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god? PETE I do. DOYLE Be seated and state your full name and place of residence for the record. PETE Peter Kenneth Appleton. Hollywood, California. DOYLE The chair notes that you are appearing without the benefit of counsel today, Mr. Appleton. We certainly hope this means that you intend to be fully forthcoming with this committee? PETE -LRB- faint smile. -RRB- I'll do my best, Mr. Chairman. DOYLE Now, we're informed that you have a statement you'd like to read, is that correct? PETE -LRB- innocently. -RRB- A statement? Doyle and Clyde exchange glances. DOYLE Yes. A prepared statement. PETE Um. no. I do n't have a statement at this time. Pete turns in his chair and winks at Leo. Leo rolls his eyes and shakes his head.", "INT.  LARDNER LIVING ROOM - DAY Adele breathes a sigh of relief. MRS. TERWILLIGER I think he's doing very well, so far. ADELE They have n't called out the dogs yet. DOYLE -LRB- ON TV. -RRB- Very well then, the questions will be asked by the Majority Counsel, Mr. Clyde. The TV shot swings to see Elvin Clyde. He puts on his glasses and fixes Pete with an oily grin. ADELE I spoke too soon. CLYDE -LRB- ON TV. -RRB- Thank you Mr. Chairman, and thank you Mr. Appleton, for appearing today.", "INT.  BILTMORE HOTEL GRAND BALLROOM - DAY CLYDE Mr. Appleton, you mention that your home is Hollywood, California. But is n't it true that for the last several months, you've made your home in a town called Lawson, California? PETE Sir, that is true. CLYDE Mr. Appleton, do you know an `` Albert Lucas Trumbo?'' PETE Luke Trumbo? We never met. But I'd like to think I know him. CLYDE Is that because you were masquerading as Luke Trumbo while you were in Lawson? PETE Mr. Clyde you're twisting things around. I was n't masquerading. Luke Trumbo. Luke was a good man who gave his life for his country. I just. happen to look a little bit like him. That's all. CLYDE -LRB- referring to notes. -RRB- Yes, I see that Private Trumbo was reported missing in action and is presumed dead. I also see that you were posted stateside during the war. Fort Dix? PETE Yes, sir. CLYDE Well, I'm sure we're all glad to see you came through it all right. A few spectators titter.", "INT.  MABEL'S DINER - DAY Mabel and Bob listen to the hearing on a radio in the packed diner. CLYDE -LRB- ON RADIO. -RRB- Now, I see that you've been running a movie theater in Lawson called `` The Bijou,'' is that also true? PETE -LRB- ON RADIO. -RRB- Yes sir. But I did n't go to Lawson to run The Bijou, that was. that was something that just happened. You see, I was involved in an accident in Lawson, and I spent some time recovering there.", "INT.  BILTMORE HOTEL GRAND BALLROOM - DAY Clyde holds up copies of the Los Angeles Examiner and Los Angeles Times with Pete's picture on the front page. CLYDE Anyone who reads the newspaper is quite familiar with your. `` accident,'' Mr. Appleton. An accident which, conveniently, came hard upon your dismissal from United Pictures. Tell us, this `` accident'' of yours, are we given to understand that it affected your memory? PETE Yes. CLYDE And what is the state of your memory now? Beat. Pete smiles. PETE I'm sorry, what was the question? The audience LAUGHS. Clyde nods at Pete, forces a tight smile. CLYDE We. appreciate. your little note of levity, Mr. Appleton, but this is a very serious matter, and it merits your fullest attention. -LRB- back to business. -RRB- That state of your memory now, Mr. Appleton?", "INT.  WYATT'S HARDWARE - DAY Avery Wyatt listens to the hearing on a store radio. Spencer comes around the paint aisle, wiping his hands on his apron. He moves to the radio and listens solemnly. PETE -LRB- ON RADIO. -RRB- Sir, are you referring to the fact that I was suffering from amnesia, and I've since recovered my memory?", "INT.  BILTMORE HOTEL GRAND BALLROOM - DAY CLYDE -LRB- impatient. -RRB- I'm interested in knowing if you remember things you did in your past, or if they've been conveniently `` blotted out'' as a result of your `` accident.'' PETE -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Mr. Clyde, I remember everything. CLYDE Good. Good. -LRB- holds up a piece of paper. -RRB- Now, I hold in my hand a photostatic copy of the attendance roster for the `` Bread Instead of Bullets Club'' of the University of California, Los Angeles, dated October 11, 1935. A copy of this paper is before you, Mr. Appleton. Do you recognize it? Pete looks on the table and finds the roster. He's surprised to see it. PETE Yes. yes, I do. CLYDE Referring to line thirty - seven of the document, does your printed name and signature appear there? PETE Yes it does. CLYDE Mr. Appleton, please tell this committee what was the nature and purpose of the `` Bread Instead of Bullets Club?'' PETE Mr. Clyde, do you want to know what I knew then, or do you want to know what I know now? They're two different things? CLYDE Start with what you knew then. PETE Well, I'd direct the attention of counsel and committee to line thirty - six of the document, and the name printed and signed there. CLYDE We see it. For the record, it reads `` Lucille Angstrom.'' What's the point of this? PETE Well, that's what I knew then. Or who I knew, I should say. You see, I was trying to court Miss Angstrom. I went to the meeting to impress her. CLYDE -LRB- grinning. -RRB- Are you asking this committee to believe that you attended a meeting of a communist party front organization in order to impress a girl? PETE -LRB- slyly. -RRB- Well, if you'd seen Miss Angstrom. The audience LAUGHS. Doyle BANGS his gavel. PETE You asked for the truth. That's the truth. I had no idea what the meeting was about. I just sat through it so I could be near her. I'm sure even a Majority Counsel like yourself is familiar with the concept of impressing a girl. The audience LAUGHS. Clyde shoots a look at Doyle, who BANGS his gavel. DOYLE Chamber will come to order. Clyde shuffles some papers and looks back at Pete. CLYDE All right, Mr. Appleton. That was what you knew then. What do you know now? PETE -LRB- takes a deep breath. -RRB- Well, I know that I lost my job because of one meeting I went to when I was a kid in college. I know that I've been branded a communist, which I'm not, but even if I was, it should n't matter, or what do we have a Bill Of Rights for? CLYDE Mr. Chairman, the witness is being non - responsive. A few members of the audience APPLAUD. As Pete speaks, their numbers grow. PETE -LRB- passionately. -RRB- I know that a lot of good, honest, decent people, people that I consider my true friends, feel betrayed by me, not because of who and what I am, but because of what you say I am! I know that I. Doyle BANGS his gavel several times. Pete stops and the room falls quiet. DOYLE -LRB- emphatically. -RRB- Mr. Appleton, you will respond to the questions of this committee without elaboration or speechmaking, or the chair will find you in Contempt Of Congress. You will not be warned again, is that clear? -LRB- he lets this sink in, then. -RRB- Continue, Mr. Clyde. CLYDE -LRB- looking down at his desk. -RRB- Mr. Appleton. Clyde takes a long pause for effect, then looks up at Pete. CLYDE Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the communist party? PETE No, sir. CLYDE -LRB- holding up the roster. -RRB- Are you refuting this evidence and your previous testimony? PETE I'm not refuting anything. CLYDE Yet you're contradicting yourself. You earlier testified that you attended a meeting of a communist party - run organization, yet you just said, under oath, that you were not now - nor ever - a member of the communist party. PETE That's not a contradiction at all, sir. I went to the meeting, but I did n't go as a member. CLYDE Well, then, as what did you go? Beat. Pete smiles. PETE I'm a little hesitant to say. DOYLE The witness need not be hesitant to say anything before this committee, as long as it's the truth. Pete shifts in his chair, then leans into the microphone. PETE Well, I went as. a horny young man. The chamber erupts in LAUGHTER. Even the other COMMITTEE MEMBERS are laughing, except Clyde and Doyle, who BANGS his gavel vigorously.", "INT.  SHERIFF'S OFFICE - DAY Sheriff Eldridge and Daley Thornhill listen to the hearing on the radio. They are both laughing at Pete's last comment. ELDRIDGE Damn, he do n't wan na spar with these boys. They'll eat him alive.", "INT.  BILTMORE HOTEL GRAND BALLROOM - DAY The room settles. Doyle wags his finger accusingly at Pete. DOYLE -LRB- angry. -RRB- Mr. Appleton, you are making light of a legally constituted committee of the United States Congress. Believe you me, you do not want to incur our wrath. PETE -LRB- matter - of - factly. -RRB- I'm sorry, sir, I have no intention of making light of this committee. And I have no intention of incurring your wrath, Mr. Chairman. I have a few friends who have already incurred your wrath. They've sent me letters from jail. CLYDE -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- Mr. Chairman! Mr. Chairman, the witness is making another speech. I would ask that Mr. Appleton be admonished. DOYLE -LRB- indifferent. -RRB- Mr. Appleton, there is no question before you at this time, but I'm sure Mr. Clyde has plenty more prepared, and if you'd like to either answer them or plead the Fifth Amendment, we can at least get on with the business of this committee.", "INT.  LARDNER LIVING ROOM - DAY Adele moves to within inches of the TV screen. ADELE Tell them Pete. Tell them. PETE -LRB- ON TV. -RRB- -LRB- wrestling with this. -RRB- Mr. Chairman, as I understand it, the Fifth Amendment pertains to self - incrimination, and I ca n't incriminate myself because I've done nothing wrong. Besides, incrimination is why you have Mr. Clyde working for you. CLYDE -LRB- ON TV. -RRB- Mr. Chairman.", "INT.  BILTMORE HOTEL GRAND BALLROOM - DAY Clyde is still protesting, but Doyle waves him off. DOYLE Well then, Mr. Appleton, just what is your intention? Pete's sweating under the lights. He's bluffed his last bluff, and he's on the ropes. He reaches into his pocket. and takes out the prepared statement.", "INT.  LARDNER LIVING ROOM - DAY PETE -LRB- ON TV. -RRB- I. Mr. Chairman, I have a prepared statement I'd like to read. ADELE Her hand goes to her mouth. ADELE Oh, Pete. No.", "INT.  BILTMORE HOTEL GRAND BALLROOM - DAY DOYLE Go ahead, Mr. Appleton. PETE -LRB- slowly reading. -RRB- `` I, Peter Appleton, do hereby.'' He stops suddenly. Pause. DOYLE Mr. Appleton? Mr. Appleton? PETE I. I need a drink of water. DOYLE Go ahead, son. Pete fills a glass from the pitcher. Nervously, he spills a bit, and is splashes onto his coat. As some of the spectators chuckle, Pete brushes the water off. He reaches into his pocket, and pulls out Adele's copy of the constitution. The cover is wet. He wipes it off and sets it down on the table. He takes a sip of water. Looks at the book. Picks it up. Pete's terrified, but in control. He speaks slowly - he's making this up and thinking it out as he goes. PETE Mr. Chairman. there's. another Amendment. that I'd like to invoke at this time, but it's not the Fifth Amendment. I wonder if you're familiar with it. DOYLE Mr. Appleton, you will. He opens the book and reads, tentatively at first. PETE `` Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.'' Pause. Silence in the room. ADELE She's smiling at the TV. Her eyes are filled with tears. PETE He looks up at Chairman Doyle. Now fully confident. PETE That's the First Amendment, Mr. Chairman. It's the backbone of this nation. It's everything that gives us the potential to be right and good and just - if only we'd live up to that potential. It's what gives me the right to sit in this chair and say my piece before this committee without fear. It's the most important part of the contract that every citizen has with this country. And even though this contract. -LRB- he holds up the book. -RRB-. the Constitution and the Bill of Rights - even though they're just pieces of paper with signatures on them - they're the only contracts we have that are most definitely not subject to renegotiation. Not by you, Mr. Chairman, not by you, Mr. Clyde, not by any member of this committee - or anyone else - ever. Pin - drop silence in the room. Pete scans the faces of the panel. All betray anger. ON LEO He ca n't help but smile and nod appreciatively. PETE And when you get right down to it, that's really all I have to say to this committee. Good morning. And with that, Pete closes the book, picks up the prepared statement, rips it up, pushes back his chair, stands and walks toward the door. The cameras swing with him, and FLASHBULBS fire like machine guns. Doyle BANGS his gavel insistently. DOYLE The witness will resume his seat! Did you hear me?! You are not excused, Mr. Appleton! And then, slowly, APPLAUSE builds in the chamber, reaching a crescendo as Pete reaches the door and exits. CLYDE Mr. Chairman! Mr. Chairman!", "EXT.  BILTMORE HOTEL - DAY As Pete exits the hotel, a DOZEN REPORTERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS have him completely surrounded. FLASHBULBS pop. He's taken aback, flustered. FIRST REPORTER -LRB- seeing Pete. -RRB- There he is! SECOND REPORTER Pete! Are you going back to writing pictures? PETE I do n't know. THIRD REPORTER You a commie, Pete? PETE No, of course not. SECOND REPORTER What about the girl, Pete? You gon na marry her? Is she coming to Hollywood, or are you. PETE Look, fellas, I do n't have anything to say. Pete is trapped in the crowd, when he feels a hand on his shoulder. LEO spins him around, and pushes him through the crowd toward the curb. LEO Come on, kid. At the curb is a black Cadillac limousine. Leo hauls open the back door and pushes Pete in, before climbing in himself. The limo drives away, as the reporters give chase.", "INT.  LIMO (MOVING) - DAY Leo and Pete sit side - by - side in silence for a moment. Leo breaks it. LEO That was quite a show you gave them today. We shoulda sold tickets. PETE I'm not sorry for what I said. LEO No, of course not, why should you be sorry? You're the new Peter Appleton. You exercised your rights as a solid citizen, first amendment, freedom of speech, all that. Very noble. They sit in silence again for a moment until Leo reaches into his pocket and withdraws a gold cigarette case, which he opens and offers to Pete. LEO Cigarette? PETE No thanks. Leo takes one for himself and lights up. Pete takes off his hat and nervously scratches his head. LEO When'd you quit smoking? PETE Luke did n't smoke. LEO Oh, I see. But you're not Luke. You're Peter Appleton, the picture writer. PETE -LRB- laughs. -RRB- Not any more. LEO Why not? PETE Leo, you were in there, you saw what I did. You think they're gon na let me write pictures? Hell, they're probably gon na throw my ass in jail. LEO -LRB- with a smile. -RRB- Not at all. PETE Besides, I do n't even know if I want to write anymore. LEO -LRB- snickering. -RRB- What, you're going to go back to that hick town and run the projector and marry the doctor's daughter? But before Pete can answer. LEO Peter, I'm an agent. I buy lunches and get deals made for guys like you. That's what I do. You're a writer. You write pictures. That's what you do. And trust me, you'll be back doing it again tomorrow morning. PETE What do you mean? LEO Kid, you gave them what they wanted. This committee, it feeds on names. The more names, the better. But for some high - profile witnesses, like yourself, any name will do. PETE Leo, I did n't give them the names. I would n't do that. LEO What, all of a sudden, `` Lucille Angstrom'' is n't a name? Pete freezes. He slowly turns to Leo. PETE -LRB- warily. -RRB- Her name was right there in front of them. They gave it to me, I did n't give it to them. LEO Well, that's not what they think. PETE Leo, she was. she was a girl I knew in college. LEO You should keep track of your old school chums. Turns out she eventually joined the communist party. -LRB- takes a puff. -RRB- On top of which, she's Lucy Angstrom Hirschfeld now, and she happens to be a writer for `` Studio One'' on CBS. PETE -LRB- realization dawning. -RRB- Oh god, oh, god, no, I. LEO So, our lawyers had a talk with the Committee's lawyers. That Elvin Clyde fella wo n't be too happy about it, but we cut a deal. They cleared you - and they're gon na thank you publicly for your testimony purging yourself. PETE Thank me publicly? For what? For ruining this woman's life? LEO -LRB- dismissive. -RRB- Climb down off your cross. They already knew about her. -LRB- off his look. -RRB- She was subpoenaed six months ago! Who the hell do you think named you? Pete is dumbstruck. He slumps in his seat, ashen. LEO -LRB- he could n't be happier. -RRB- All of which means. `` Ashes To Ashes'' is gon na be made, and you've got your job back. -LRB- takes a puff. -RRB- Congratulations, kid. Pete's breathing shallowly, on the verge of tears or screaming - or both.", "EXT.  PETE'S APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY The limo pulls up, and Leo opens the door. Pete vacantly grabs his suitcase and gets out. Leo shuts the door and calls after him, waving Pete's hat. LEO Peter! Your hat! Pete comes back and takes his hat. Leo grabs his hand. LEO I was lookin' out for you all the time, kid. You did good. I'm real proud of you. -LRB- to the driver. -RRB- Okay, let's go. -LRB- to Pete. -RRB- Get some rest, kid! As the limo pulls away, we", "INT.  PETE'S APARTMENT (L.A.) - DAY The door opens, revealing the Super, followed by a sullen Pete, carrying his suitcases and hat. He sets them down and goes to the coffee table, where his boxes of belongings from the studio have been gathering dust these last three months. SUPER -LRB- handing him a key. -RRB- Here's a new key for ya. That Mr. Kubelsky, he's got you paid up through this month. You got one swell friend there. The Super moves to the door and turns back. SUPER Good to have you back, Pete. He exits as Pete reaches into one of the boxes and pulls out the tin - toy fire truck. Distractedly, Pete puts the toy back in the box and replies too late : PETE Thanks. He sets his suitcase down and takes off his coat. As he does, Adele's copy of the Constitution slips out of his coat pocket and falls open to the floor. Pete picks it up and absently turns it over - and the inscription inside the front cover catches his eye : TO DELLY, THE GIRL WITH ALL THE ANSWERS. LOVE, LUKE. Pete closes the book. He thinks for a moment, then glances over at the phone. He picks it up and dials `` 0.'' PETE Western Union, please.", "EXT.  TRAIN (MOVING) - DAY Our view of the moving train is from outside, as it speeds up the spectacular coastline north of Santa Barbara. Looking into one of the train's windows, we SEE Pete sitting, staring out at the passing scenery. PETE'S NARRATION -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Dear Adele, on my way back to Lawson STOP. That is, if they'll have me STOP. Train arrives four p.m. STOP. Hope you can be there STOP. Pete.", "EXT.  LAWSON PASSENGER DEPOT - LATE AFTERNOON The train is just pulling in to Lawson. As it SHUDDERS to a halt, the door of the passenger compartment opens and Pete steps out - looks - and his jaw drops open. HIS POV The ENTIRE TOWN has turned out. They're all there, smiling broadly. A large, hand - lettered banner reads : WELCOME HOME PETE! LAWSON'S FAVORITE SON. A CHEER goes up from the crowd, breaking the silence. Pete descends from the train and moves into the throng. The first two people he encounters are Bob Leffert and Mabel Lanier. bob sticks out his good hand and Pete takes it, both smiling as they shake hands vigorously. BOB Luke. um, I mean, Pete, if it were n't for you, I would n't have had the nerve to ask this fine woman to marry me. Mabel's mouth drops open. PETE Bob, congratulations! When'd you ask her? MABEL Holy moley! Just now! -LRB- to Bob. -RRB- Yes, Bob! Yes! As Mabel kisses Bob for all she's worth, Pete continues into the crowd, where he's kissed, embraced, patted on the back. ADELE is at the back of the crowd, working her way to the front. She rushes into Pete's arms, and they kiss. Another CHEER goes up. PETE I see you got the telegram. ADELE Pete, I'm so sorry about what they did to you. I did n't think you'd come back, I thought you'd want to write again. PETE Dell, I ca n't write unless I'm happy, and I ca n't be happy unless I'm here - and with you. -LRB- grabs her shoulders. -RRB- This is me, Delly. Pete Appleton. And I love you! ADELE -LRB- tears in her eyes. -RRB- And. -LRB- hic! -RRB- I love you, Pete! They kiss again. Pete pulls away and looks at his watch. PETE -LRB- smiling. -RRB- C'mon, Dell, we got ta go. Showtime in fifteen minutes. The train whistle BLOWS as it slowly pulls out of the station. PETE'S NARRATION -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Happily ever after'' is a relative term, folks. My world is much smaller now, and my dreams are very different than they were. But I have something now that I never had before : I have the magic. And it's for sale at the Bijou, every day of the year. All you need is the price of a ticket. We BOOM UP to see Pete and Adele moving into and being enveloped by the crowd. Spencer Wyatt's band is assembled in front of the depot office, and they kick into some up - tempo boogie - woogie as we move up and away - still in the same shot - moving over the town, settling down again to grab a shot of the Bijou's marquee. The neon chaser lights POP ON, illuminating the sign, which reads : THE END Then, the letters on the marquee START SHAKING. We BOOM UP TO THE TOP OF THE THEATER, and the `` BIJOU'' sign. as the train RUMBLES BY behind the theater. and the `` J'' teeters loose and swings by a thread. and we IRIS DOWN ON IT AND. CUT TO BLACK."], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "In 1951, in the midst of the Second Red Scare, Peter Appleton is an up and coming young screenwriter in Hollywood. He learns from studio lawyer Leo Kubelsky and his own attorney Kevin Bannerman that he has been accused of being a communist, because he attended an antiwar meeting in his college years, a meeting he claims he only attended to impress a girl. In an instant, Peter's new film Ashes to Ashes is pushed back for a few months, the credit is given to someone else, his movie star girlfriend Sandra Sinclair leaves him, and his contract with the studio is dropped. Peter gets drunk and goes for a drive up the coast, where he accidentally drives his car off a bridge to avoid an opossum. He comes to on an ocean beach experiencing amnesia. Peter is found by Stan Keller who helps him to the nearby town of Lawson, California, and the local doctor, Doc Stanton, tends to his wounds. As the town welcomes him, Harry Trimble arrives and believes Peter to be his son Luke, who went MIA during World War II nine years ago. Due to his amnesia, Peter accepts himself being treated as Luke by the rest of the town, led by Mayor Ernie Cole, as Sheriff Cecil Coleman tells Doc to \"tell her slowly.\" Peter warms up to the town, including getting to know Harry and also Luke's girlfriend Adele, who is the Doc's daughter. Peter adjusts to the new life and helps to renovate The Majestic, a movie theater that had become derelict due to hard times. Bob Leffert, a veteran of the war who knew Luke, does not believe Peter is Luke, and fears Peter may be setting the town up for heartbreak, given they had lost sixty other young men during the war. Despite this, Peter helps to restore the theater, invigorate the town, and encourages Mayor Cole to display a memorial, commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after the war, that the town did not previously have the heart to display. Meanwhile, Peter's disappearance leads Congressional committee member Elvin Clyde to believe Peter is a communist, and he sends two federal agents Ellerby and Saunders to California to search for him where they follow a lead on his car showing up on a beach. Peter recovers from his amnesia when The Majestic shows his first movie Sand Pirates of the Sahara. Harry suffers from a fatal heart attack before the reel change. After examining him, Doc reports that Harry's time is short. Peter cannot come to admit the truth, allowing Harry to die believing he is Luke. After the funeral, Peter admits the truth to Adele, who had already suspected it and supports his decision to tell the rest of town. Before he can do so, federal agents Ellery and Saunders, as well as Leo and some police officers, arrive. When Sheriff Coleman asks if they need any help with anything, the federal agents reveal Peter's true identity to the whole town and give him a summons to appear before a congressional committee in Los Angeles. During their meeting, Leo advises Peter to agree to reveal a list of other named \"communists\" in order to clear his own name. The next day, Peter has an argument with Adele over this decision, and she gives him a letter she had gotten from the real Luke, as he boards the train. On the train, Peter reads the letter which contains Luke stating his awareness that he might die in the war for a real cause, as well as a pocket sized version of the U.S. Constitution. Peter changes his mind at the session, which is watched by all of Lawson, and confronts Congressman Doyle during the televised session. Peter gives an impassioned speech about American ideals, which sways the crowd and forces the lawmakers to let him go free. As Peter discusses the result with Kevin, he learns that the girl he met in college was the one that had named him to the committee. Peter attempts to return to his former career, but finds he cannot deal with the ridiculousness of the studio executives' ideas, and leaves Hollywood. Peter instead returns to Lawson, fearing an unwelcome reception. Instead, he receives a hero's welcome from the town's citizens who have come to respect him as an individual. Peter then resumes ownership and management of The Majestic, gets married to Adele, and they have a son together.", "name": "The_Majestic_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["Something Borrowed CLOSE ON A WOMAN'S FACE, BEAUTIFUL AND STRONG. SHE'S CRYING.", "INT. KAT'S BEDROOM - NEW YORK CITY - DAY The woman is KAT ELLIS, 30. Tears stream down her face as she sits cross - legged amid the detritus of a packing frenzy. There is an unfortunate green bridesmaid's dress hanging on the back of the door. Kat's pain is palpable. She buries her head in her lap. Suddenly, the doorbell RINGS. Kat sits bolt upright, wide eyed. She looks around in disbelief. How did this happen? What is she doing on the floor? KAT -LRB- sweetly. -RRB- Hold on!", "INT. HALLWAY A BIKE MESSENGER stands outside Kat's door. He busts a covert ipod dance while he waits. KAT -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Coming!", "INT. KAT'S FOYER Kat wipes her face and inhales, summoning deep calm.", "INT. HALLWAY The Bike Messenger looks up as the door swings open. Kat is a changed woman. Nothing like the girl we saw on the floor. You'd never know she had been crying. Or that she even knows how. KAT I'm so sorry. I was n't quite ready for you. Kat props the door open with her foot as she slides a plane ticket into an envelope. She scribbles a name on the envelope, seals it, and hands it to him. BIKE MESSENGER Lady, you said this was a rush. I ca n't rush anything anywhere if you do n't give it to me. Kat looks down at the envelope, she's still holding on to it. KAT It's a plane ticket. BIKE MESSENGER So it is. KAT For a date. -LRB- beat. -RRB- For my date. To my sister's wedding. In London. -LRB- beat. -RRB- He's never met my family. BIKE MESSENGER I hear that noise. Kat wills herself to surrender the envelope. BIKE MESSENGER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You need to let go. KAT Yeah. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You're going to have to help me. The Bike Messenger gently tugs the envelope out of her hand. Kat smiles. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Thank you. The Bike Messenger looks at her with genuine concern.", "INT. KAT'S APARTMENT Racing against time, Kat throws open a linen closet to reveal three neat rows of plastic bins, all perfectly labeled. Kat reaches into the bin marked `` TRAVEL'' and pulls out a prepacked toiletry kit. Kat pulls a box marked `` LONDON'' out from underneath her bed. She opens it. Pushing aside an old private school uniform and some letters, she pulls out a worn London A - Z, a Ziploc marked `` ADAPTERS,'' and her passport. She's about to close the box when she sees an old photo. In it, a GORGEOUS GUY kisses Kat on the cheek. He's holding the camera himself - it's blurred and goofy, but full of love. Kat jams it back in the box and shoves it under the bed.", "EXT. NEW YORK STREET The Bike Messenger darts in and out of traffic, avoiding the throngs of NEW YORKERS enjoying this crisp fall day.", "INT. KAT'S APARTMENT Kat races through her apartment, packing, cleaning, getting ready. Her place is small yet put together. It's Crate and Barrel meets Martha. But in a good way.", "INT. KAT'S BATHROOM Kat, finally still, stares into the mirror as she brushes her teeth. There's a strange intensity to it, like she's scrubbing away the last of her distress.", "EXT. BROWNSTONE APARTMENT The Bike Messenger passes a waiting Town Car as he pulls up to a stoop. He hefts his bike, runs up the stairs, and slips the envelope into the door of.", "INT. BROWNSTONE APARTMENT A tasteful flat. Stylish yet masculine. A MAN stoops to pick up the envelope. We do n't see his face, just his ordered, minimalist apartment as he zips his carry - on and walks out the door.", "EXT. NEW YORK STREET His face obscured, the man steps into the purring Town Car.", "EXT. KAT'S APARTMENT BUILDING A TAXI DRIVER slams his trunk as Kat gets in. Kat's apprehensive face peers out the window as they pull away.", "INT. JFK AIRPORT A ridiculously long line snakes towards the X - Ray machines. Latte in hand, Kat cuts right through the middle. Irate PASSENGERS scowl at her. Kat does this every day. She should be used to the looks by now. She's not. She pointedly flashes the crowd her AIRPORT EMPLOYEE BADGE as she sails through security.", "INT. CUSTOMER SERVICE - JFK AIRPORT Kat enters the Virgin Atlantic customer service hub. It's as cramped as it is busy. A FEMALE EMPLOYEE approaches with a question. Kat puts up her hand. KAT I'm off duty. I do not exist. Do n't even look at me. The lady backs off. As Kat hurries away, a HARRIED EMPLOYEE matches her step and launches in. HARRIED EMPLOYEE I've got a tour group from Taipei trapped in customs, a dead poodle in Cargo parked at T9, and a lost grandmother staggering around International asking for her mommy. Oh, and there's a guy on two who was stuck with his in - laws for a week because we could n't get him out of Dulles. The in - laws are n't speaking to him anymore and, for some reason, he's pissed. Kat's trying not to get sucked in. KAT I would love to help you. Sincerely. But my sister's getting married this weekend, I have n't seen my family in two years, and my flight leaves in fifteen minutes. The Harried Employee looks like he's going to lose it. Kat struggles, then caves. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You take Taipei. Tammy's schnauzer just had puppies. Put her on the dead dog. Park reps with wheelchairs at every john in T8. If Grandma just got off a trans - con, she's got ta go sometime. Kat starts to walk away. HARRIED EMPLOYEE What about line two? Kat spins around and glares at him.", "INT. OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER On the phone, Kat is in the middle of saying way too much. KAT -LRB- into phone. -RRB- I completely understand, sir. You just want your in - laws to see you the way you see yourself. Or at least the way you would see yourself if you did n't feel so victimized by them. At that moment, a CLIPBOARD manager walks by. He overhears Kat's diatribe and is incredulous. CLIPBOARD Hello? Calls may be monitored for quality control? KAT Huh? CLIPBOARD Over - share! Kat waves him off. Then, by rote : KAT -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Mr. Rajagopal, we regret that you were snowed in at Dulles but snowstorms fall under a category called force majeure. Along with earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods. In short, we're not liable. Kat checks to make sure the Clipboard has moved on. Then, she continues, softly but very quickly. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- into phone. -RRB- But just this once, I'm going to refund the full price of your ticket and credit you 10,000 frequent flyer miles. Thank you for calling Virgin Atlantic!", "INT. CABIN - PLANE Kat sits in first class, absently scanning the safety card. A PRETTY WOMAN across the aisle notices and smiles. PRETTY WOMAN Your first trip? Kat realizes she's been reading the safety card. She laughs and puts it back in the seat pocket. As she often does, Kat feels compelled to explain. KAT Hardly. My family moved to England when I was fourteen. My stepdad's a professor at University College, London. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'm going back for my sister's wedding. and the best man's my ex. In case I chicken out, I want to know where all the exits are. Kat eyes the front door, nervously. PRETTY WOMAN I do n't believe in marriage. I believe in hot sex. Of course, that draws men to me like flies to shit. Kat does n't know what to say, but then a HOT GUY walks up the aisle. Kat looks at the empty seat next to her and smiles at him. He returns the smile but sits next to the Pretty Woman. HOT GUY Hello, my sweet darling. He gives the Pretty Woman a `` madly in love'' kiss. The Pretty Woman rolls her eyes to Kat - what did I tell you?", "INT. GALLEY - PLANE Kat is hiding out. She tries to calm her nerves as a MALE FLIGHT ATTENDANT pours her a cup of water. KAT I'm not a knuckler. I fly all the time. In fact, I transferred from Heathrow two years ago and now I run Bags and Nags here at Kennedy, so things are going really well for me. The reason I ca n't feel my legs is that any minute, my date is going to walk in that door. And I need him to look really, really good today. MALE FLIGHT ATTENDANT -LRB- not listening. -RRB- I wish I could n't feel my legs. Kat peeks around the corner and spots the back of the mysterious MAN from the opening as he loads the overhead bin above Kat's seat. Kat gasps, ducking back. KAT Oh, no. He's here. The Male Flight Attendant looks out at the Man, who leans against Kat's seat as he chats with a FEMALE FLIGHT ATTENDANT. Kat's in a panic. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What do you think? Does he look hot, and is it the kinda hot that'll translate overseas? MALE FLIGHT ATTENDANT I resent your stereotyping of a man in my profession but. He checks out the guy again. MALE FLIGHT ATTENDANT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- darling, he'd be hot on Mars. I'd like to unwrap him like a Harrod's gift basket. Kat smiles, relieved.", "INT. CABIN - PLANE The mystery man is NICK MERCER, 32, commanding and classy, yet somehow totally genuine. He carries his'40s - crooner good looks like he has no idea that men just are n't made that way anymore. Nick takes two glasses of champagne from the blushing Female Flight Attendant. NICK Thank you, Lisa. He turns around to take his seat and finds Kat standing there, awkwardly. KAT Hi. Hey. NICK Kat. Nick kisses Kat warmly on the cheek and hands her a glass of champagne. Nick's totally at ease. This may as well be a candle - lit bar. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Let's sit. Kat awkwardly negotiates her drink as they take their seats. KAT I'm glad you found it okay. The airport. The plane, I mean. Nick notices Kat's anxiety, tries to settle her. NICK I really am sorry I could n't leave earlier. I know you would have loved a few hours to settle in before the party. Kat melts a little. That's just what she was thinking. KAT Work must be crazy right now. Nick gives Kat a quizzical look. There's something going on here. Though it's not clear what. Kat fills the space. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I've got ta warn you, you know those families where everyone's out of their minds but at the end of the day, they're family, so you love them? -LRB- off his nod. -RRB- Mine's not like that. The Flight Attendant appears with a small tray. Kat notices the woman's cheeks flush as she fumbles Nick's drink. Nick smiles warmly, but deftly ends the moment. He's like a famous person who has learned to manage his adoring fans with casual grace. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I love my dad. But since he's my stepdad, he's technically not family. He's more like a hostage. Kat tries to find her seat belt. It's under Nick. She reaches beneath him, tentatively, then pulls back, embarrassed. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- My seat belt, it's. Nick pulls out the seat belt and hands it to her. Kat buckles up, checks that it's snug, then checks again. They sit in silence as the plane starts barreling down the runway. As they pick up speed, Nick takes Kat's hand. She finds comfort in his touch, her need to talk abates momentarily. She is safe. Kat closes her eyes as the plane levels off, then peeks over at Nick, who's calmly staring out the window. She closes her eyes again, this time for good.", "EXT. LONDON - ESTABLISHING - DAY", "INT. BAGGAGE CLAIM - HEATHROW Nick and Kat wait at the baggage claim. She looks at his tie, then down at her dress. They are the exact same color. KAT -LRB- concerned. -RRB- Please tell me you're not wearing that tonight. Her dress is indeed the exact same color as Nick's tie. KAT It's no big deal. Really. It just looks like a tailor cut off a yard of my dress and made your tie out of it. Nick does n't get it. He heaves one of Kat's suitcases onto a trolley full of matching suitcases. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Do n't get me wrong, matching's fine. It's `` matchy matchy'' you've got to watch out for. -LRB- re : outfits. -RRB- This is matchy - matchy. Nick, amused, tugs the last of the bags off the carousel and adds it to a pile of what appears to be an entire floor model of matching luggage. NICK You think we look like we're trying too hard. KAT Exactly. I want us to look like we fit, but not like we're trying too hard to look like we fit. -LRB- beat. -RRB- It's welcome cocktails, not prom. With this level of matchy - matchy, we should be drinking peach schnapps under a bleacher somewhere. Nick laughs at Kat. Then fixes her with an intense stare. NICK I'll teach you a trick. If you look people in the eye, they'll never even notice what you have on. Kat, overwhelmed by his charisma, is mesmerized. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What color are my shoes? KAT -LRB- dreamily. -RRB- You have feet? Nick smiles sweetly and touches her cheek.", "EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - OUTSIDE LONDON - DAY The Heathrow Express thunders towards London.", "INT. HEATHROW EXPRESS - [MOVING] - DAY Nick stands by the W.C., flipping through Cosmo. He can do that without looking gay. He talks to Kat through the door. NICK I understand how important this is to you, but you're a beautiful woman and you've got everything in the world going for you. I could n't care less what you have on. Kat comes out modeling a black strapless. KAT Do n't patronize me. They've clearly been at this a while. NICK You're funny. KAT Yeah, but I feel like crap. And if you feel like crap, it's way better to look hot while you're doing it. He checks her out. NICK Mission accomplished. KAT Really? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Do n't get too attached. She bolts back to the bathroom, nearly knocking over a ZITTY TEENAGER who's waiting his turn. ZITTY TEENAGER I liked the red one better. NICK I'll let her know.", "INT. W.C. - HEATHROW EXPRESS Kat, alone in the W.C., meticulously rearranges a layer of paper towel on the floor so she can step out of her shoes. She expertly slides off the first dress while simultaneously pulling another one on - not an inch of skin shows. She struggles as the train rocks back and forth. NICK -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- through the door. -RRB- I bet you're doing that girl thing, where you get undressed without showing any skin. Kat looks around suspiciously. KAT No, I'm not. How'd he know?", "INT. HEATHROW EXPRESS - CONTINUOUS Kat emerges from the bathroom wearing the new dress. Nick checks it out. NICK Mmm. KAT Mmm, nice dress? Or mmm -. -LRB- British accent. -RRB- Gorgeous, I was insane to let you go! NICK Both. Kat looks to the Zitty Teenager for his opinion. ZITTY TEENAGER I'd do you. -LRB- to Nick. -RRB- I mean, if it was all right with you. Kat gives the passenger an appreciative smile, then flies back into the bathroom. Nick, amused by her antics, steps closer to the door. NICK You know, they say you can tell everything you need to know about a person from the way they act when they're naked. KAT -LRB- popping her head out. -RRB- I do n't do naked. My sister? She does naked. Kat ducks back into the bathroom. MUSIC UP. NAKED MONTAGE :", "INT. W.C. - HEATHROW EXPRESS Kat pulls her dress over her head. ANOTHER WOMAN, PULLING OFF HER DRESS.", "INT. AMY'S BATHROOM The woman is Kat's sister, AMY ELLIS, 28. She graces a bath mat in all her infinite nakedness. Totally nude, she gently places her veil on her head and begins the ablutions of a Greek goddess. A dot of bath oil, a pure white towel, one squirt self - tanner, one squirt lotion. Finally, she pulls out a bottle of olive oil, pours two drops into her hands and rubs them together. Then she stares in the mirror, regarding herself with a look so blank it could be anything from admiration to revulsion. Just then, a KNOCK. The groom, EDWARD FLETCHER - WOOTEN, 31, enters, wearing a robe. He flashes Amy as he does a silly dance then smothers her inside his robe. Amy giggles and tries to break free. At first she's laughing, but then she turns on a dime and shoves him off more forcefully than she meant to. She kisses him on the lips, trying to cover, and shoos him out the door.", "INT. BUNNY'S DRESSING ROOM The mother of the bride, BUNNY ELLIS, 60, drops her robe on the floor. She is about to put on a bra when she catches her reflection in a full - length mirror on the door. She is momentarily surprised by what she sees. She turns and faces her image. This is not the woman she is in her head. This is an old woman with uncooperative skin. With one swift movement, she slams the door.", "INT. ELLIS HOUSE - ST. JOHN'S WOOD The father of the bride, VICTOR ELLIS, 65, wearing only a pair of socks, walks downstairs. He's completely comfortable in his nakedness and trots around as if he's fully clothed. He sings to himself. The words of the song are incomprehensible but he sings with an unrestrained Sinatra sass. Victor enters the kitchen, opens the fridge and starts scrounging. Inside the fridge door, Victor bends over and his bare butt sticks out. As he closes the fridge door, we cut to. A SHOWER DOOR SLIDING OPEN.", "INT. JEFFREY'S FLAT Inside, the best man, JEFFREY JOHNSON, 31, the guy from the snapshot under Kat's bed, glistens with a post - shower flush. Jeffrey towels off with a miniscule washcloth. Stepping out of the bathroom, Jeffrey notices an 18 - year - old NYMPHETTE watching him through her kitchen window. He crosses to the window but instead of closing the blinds, he opens them wider and jumps up onto a pull - up bar. The Nymphette blushes and looks away. As he starts pumping and his manhood rises dangerously close to frame, we.", "EXT. LANESBOROUGH HOTEL - ESTABLISHING - DAY Upscale cars deliver upscale people to this stately hotel in Central London.", "INT. LOBBY - LANESBOROUGH HOTEL Nick pays the BELLHOP, who trolleys away their bags. He turns to find Kat. She's wearing the red dress. The Zitty Teenager was right. It's really hot. Kat starts doing a yoga breath of fire, trying to relax. Nick takes Kat's hand and pulls her close. NICK You okay, hon? Kat nods, clearly not okay. Nick smooths a piece of hair behind her ear. There is a practiced intimacy to the way he touches her and Kat is almost settled by it. KAT I'm not sure I can do this. Nick moves towards Kat as if he's going to kiss her, but then he whispers in her ear. NICK You're never going to be sure of anything, but we still have to go inside. Just then, Kat's mother appears. BUNNY -LRB- singing. -RRB- `` Baby love, my baby love.'' A few BRITS dart looks at this very American display. KAT Please, Mom. This is not the time to be yourself. Bunny folds Kat and Nick into a drunken embrace. Bunny gives Nick the once - over. BUNNY -LRB- to Nick. -RRB- And who might this be? Kat's mortified but Nick quickly saves her. NICK I'm the new guy. -LRB- kissing Bunny. -RRB- It's great to meet you. Bunny throws Kat an unsubtle, `` I'm impressed'' look and leads them into the party.", "INT. LANESBOROUGH HOTEL Bunny, Kat and Nick emerge into a sea of Burberry, floppy hair, and unspoken judgments. Bunny turns to Nick and Kat, all business. BUNNY This is a marathon, not a sprint. After welcome cocktails, you've got the hen party. Tomorrow, there's a picnic and the rehearsal dinner and since you've conveniently left no margin for jet lag -. -LRB- squeezing Kat's cheek. -RRB- I need you to hydrate, baby. Nick and Kat are stunned. Bunny hops away as Victor approaches. Kat throws her arms around her stepfather. KAT Dad! VICTOR Hi, kiddo. KAT Meet Nick. NICK Sir. They shake hands. Just then, Kat's sister, Amy, dressed to the nines, strikes a pose in the doorway. AMY I'm getting MARRIED! As Kat and Amy squeal loudly and hug, Victor leans into Nick. VICTOR I find a good, strong drink helps. Nick smiles, looks at Victor's glass. NICK Can I get you a refill, sir? Victor hands Nick the glass. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- sniffing the glass. -RRB- I'm guessing MacCallum, 18 years. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Neat, with a water - back. VICTOR Is there any other way to take it? Nick heads toward the bar and Victor turns to Kat. VICTOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Where'd you find this guy? Kat smiles, appreciatively. KAT The Yellow Pages. Victor laughs. Across the room, Bunny has found a microphone. She taps a knife on the side of a glass to get everyone's attention. BUNNY Welcome, friends and family! Then she taps the mic, which squeals. ON KAT, panic stricken. KAT Sweet Jesus, who gave that woman an amp? ON BUNNY, drunk with happiness. BUNNY Victor and I would especially like to thank our out - of - town guests for coming to celebrate with us as we welcome Edward and the Fletcher - Wootens into our family. THE CAMERA ID's LYDIA and GEORGE FLETCHER - WOOTEN, 60's. George shifts uncomfortably. Lydia waves as though addressing a room full of her subjects. ON JEFFREY, searching the crowd for someone. His eyes land on Kat. She does n't see him. He stares at her meaningfully. BUNNY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It's funny. We always thought we'd marry off Kat first. We came close once, but that crashed and burned. Nervous laughter from the crowd. Kat smiles through the pain. Jeffrey winces sympathetically. His mind working, he spots a piano nearby. BUNNY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Still, we had reason to hope. She was always one of the more `` active'' girls at the American school, and that's saying a lot. Suddenly, a loud, lovely arpeggio from the piano. Bunny looks over, surprised. Then she smiles. ANGLE ON JEFFREY, sitting at the piano, playing. BUNNY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Okay, okay. I get the hint! Anyway, imagine our surprise when Ed moved in next door and fell in love with. the girl next door. Our Amy. Lucky for us, he had no idea it was an unforgiveable clich\u00e9. -LRB- raising her glass. -RRB- A toast to the bride and groom to be. Congratulations, babies! Everyone claps as Jeffrey plays a final flourish.", "INT. NEAR W.C. - LANESBOROUGH HOTEL - LATER Kat is sneaking towards the ladies room when Jeffrey comes out of the men's room. Their eyes meet. Both stop dead. Neither can find words or even a smile. Kat pretends that seeing him is n't a gut - punch, forces a silly grin. KAT Thanks for, you know, with the piano. It was really. Hm. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I have to pee. Kat slithers past Jeffrey into the W.C.", "INT. W.C. - LANESBOROUGH HOTEL Kat wills her breath back. She turns on the water as if she were washing her hands. Then she confronts herself in the mirror and applies a coat of lipstick like she's putting on a suit of armor.", "INT. NEAR W.C. - LANESBOROUGH HOTEL Jeffrey, a dashing Brit, is not a man who likes to wait, but wait he has. Kat emerges from the W.C. as if she had n't seen him before. KAT Why, Jeffrey. Hello. JEFFREY Hello, Katmandu. As Jeffrey kisses her on the cheek, Kat's eyes close and she takes in his smell. It's like coming home. She does n't want it to, but something inside her stirs. JEFFREY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You look well, Gorgeous. All he has to do is look her in the eyes and her big plans fly out the window. Kat blushes. JEFFREY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Seeing you again. KAT Yeah? Just then, TJ, 30, Kat's cousin, appears, wrapping Kat in a hug. TJ's deb - of - the - year perkiness is undercut by her Longshoreman's tongue. TJ Kat Ellis! We live two hundred miles away from each other but I have to fly all the way to London to see you. You have n't visited me once in D.C. Where the hell have you been? I have gynecologists that call more often. KAT You have more than one gynecologist? TJ Sure. You've got to play them against each other. Otherwise they think you're easy. TJ turns on Jeffrey like she just realized he was there. TJ -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Hey, asshole, since you dumped my cousin brutally and without cause, you wo n't mind if I steal her away? I have all kinds of interesting things to tell her. TJ darts Jeffrey a dirty look and drags Kat away.", "INT. LANESBOROUGH HOTEL - CONTINUOUS Arms locked, Kat and TJ rejoin the party. KAT You did n't have to do that. TJ I was n't saving you from him. I was saving you from yourself. You're too fucking nice. KAT Do n't worry. I'm so over him. -LRB- beat. -RRB- By the way, do you know if he's seeing anyone? They spot Nick talking to Bunny, surrounded by OCTOGENARIANS. He does n't look the least bit lost. In fact, he's charming the Dockers off them. TJ Why waste ten more seconds on the slimy limey when Mr. Tie - Me - Up - Tie - Me - Down is waiting for you at the bar? ANGLE ON NICK, listening patiently as Bunny pours her heart out. BUNNY After Kat's father died and I married Victor, I was so desperate for my little girl to love him. It never occurred to me that she might love him more. ANGLE ON KAT AND TJ, still staring at Nick. TJ What's he do anyway? KAT Therapist. Just then, Nick looks up and gives Kat an intimate, `` get over here'' look. TJ sighs audibly. TJ I think I just came.", "INT. LANESBOROUGH HOTEL - LATER Nick stands with Kat at the bar. The BARTENDER hands Kat a drink. AMY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Can I have that? Kat looks over and sees Amy. She puts her drink on the bar, but Amy ca n't quite reach it from her stool. Amy makes an exaggerated reaching gesture and whimpers. Nick takes note as Kat slides the drink closer. Amy sips it through the straw without picking it up. AMY You know what I love about all this? KAT There's finally a reason for the whole world to revolve around you? AMY Exactly! Today's my day. Tomorrow will be my day. And the day after that? My day. As Amy gloats, Ed dances over. He's a refreshingly unaffected upper - class Brit. ED How's the future Mrs? Amy kisses him on the lips. AMY Perfect. All ginny. KAT Except it's Scotch. AMY -LRB- ignoring Kat. -RRB- But I'm not taking your name, buster. I'm a feminist! -LRB- shaking her drink. -RRB- I need icey! Mr. husband - man, get me more icey! ED All right, then kiss me. -LRB- she kisses him. -RRB- God, I'm a lucky sod. Ed lifts Amy off the stool and spins her around. He does an awkward dance move and steps on her toe. AMY See what happens when you put off dance lessons til two days before the wedding? Ed looks to Nick for support. ED Who's ever heard of dance lessons for a wedding, honestly? NICK Um, just about everyone. ED You are taking the piss? Ed looks to Kat, who shakes her head. NICK We'll go with you guys tomorrow. I suck too. It'll be fun. Amy kisses Nick's cheek. AMY I do n't even know you, hunky - dunky, and I love you already. Kat throws Amy a dark look. ED -LRB- to no one. -RRB- Dance lessons. Right.", "EXT. BALCONY - LANESBOROUGH HOTEL Escaping, Nick steps outside and bumps into Jeffrey, who teeters on the railing. NICK Hey. JEFFREY Oh, hello. Jeffrey looks upset. Nick tries to break the ice. NICK A wedding is a sacrament. a joyous celebration of love and commitment. In Utopia. In the real world. it's an excuse to drink excessively and say things you should n't say. JEFFREY Ah, a philosopher. NICK Shrink, actually. JEFFREY Crikey. NICK What? JEFFREY Nothing, nothing. NICK No, tell me. JEFFREY You Yanks and your therapy. It's great. -LRB- beat. -RRB- It's all a bit too touchy - feely for me. A beat as Jeffrey watches the party. He sees Kat and Amy at the bar and slowly turns to Nick. With difficulty, he begins to unburden himself to his new therapist. JEFFREY It's just, there's this girl I care for - God, I suppose I could even say I love her - and the bugger is, of course, she's here with someone else. Bollocks! Nick hides his surprise as Jeffrey raises his glass in a silent toast to his misery. Nick is just clinking glasses with him when Kat appears and slips her arm in his. KAT Here you are. Jeffrey is horrified. Stares at Nick, aghast. JEFFREY Hey, Kat. KAT Hey, yourself. -LRB- to Nick. -RRB- I see you've met my ex. They all stand there, awkwardly. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Did I interrupt something? Jeffrey looks desperately at Nick. Nick hesitates, then covers. NICK I was just telling Jeffrey how we met. Kat gives Nick a confused look. Nick smiles warmly - NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- The Knicks game? We both wanted the last hot dog? KAT Oh, yeah. -LRB- pointedly, to Jeffrey. -RRB- So we split it. You know, as in `` share.'' People do that. JEFFREY You hate sports. Kat squeezes Nick's arm, adoringly. KAT Not when Nick explains them. Jeffrey's desperate to get out of there. JEFFREY -LRB- to Nick. -RRB- Right. I should be going. Good to meet you. Perhaps I'll see you at the stag party. My place. -LRB- to Kat. -RRB- You know the address. Kat watches him rejoin the party. KAT Well, he looks miserable. What were you talking about? NICK Love. Kat and Nick walk back into the party.", "INT. LANESBOROUGH HOTEL - CONTINUOUS They walk arm and arm. After the confrontation with Jeffrey, Kat's excitement is almost manic. KAT Jeffrey knows love like he knows macram\u00e9. NICK He was pretty drunk, but I think he's still crazy about you. KAT Of course he is. I'm here with my new man. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I love it! Your magic's already working. Let the suffering begin. Nick stops Kat and faces her. He is quiet but intense. NICK The only one suffering here is you. You need to stop worrying about everyone else. You think you can do that? Kat takes a deep, calming breath. KAT No. She turns and surveys the room, trying to calm down. But then slowly her face begins to tense. KAT What did he say exactly? I mean, you do n't think he wants me back? NICK I do n't know. KAT What does your gut say? NICK You're too good for him.", "EXT. ST. JOHN'S WOOD - LATER Nick drives slowly down St. John's Wood's tree - lined main street. Nick looks out the window as they pass a corner market, a flower shop, pubs, restaurants.", "EXT. ELLIS HOUSE - ST. JOHN'S WOOD A charming period house in a row of identical houses. You'd never know where the Americans lived but for a conspicuous boat trailer parked in the driveway. Victor and Bunny try to help Nick unload Kat's many bags from the taxi. He wo n't let them. As Nick lugs the bags up the driveway, he reads the name, `` JACK SHIP,'' off the back of the dilapidated cabin cruiser.", "INT. HALLWAY - ELLIS HOUSE Nick struggles with Kat's many bags as Kat's parents escort them upstairs. Kat stops by her bedroom door, does n't go in. KAT Well, here we are. They stand there, awkwardly sandwiched into the small space. NICK -LRB- to Bunny and Victor. -RRB- Thanks again for having me. BUNNY Do n't be silly. It's wonderful to finally meet you. Although, technically, I had no idea you existed because when my daughter turned twelve, she stopped talking to me, except when she needed money. So let me rephrase that. It was nice to discover you existed and then finally meet you all at once. I love surprises. VICTOR Okay, Bun. That's enough. Kat gives them a look, but does n't open her bedroom door. KAT Where's Nick sleeping? BUNNY Why, with you. KAT -LRB- not listening. -RRB- My mother has a rule about men and women sleeping in the same room without a ring in the picture. She thinks it's - Kat puts her fingers up to do air quotes, then suddenly realizes what her mother just said. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Huh? BUNNY -LRB- twinkling at Nick. -RRB- I'm not as square as my daughter thinks. As Kat's parents walk away, Bunny flirtatiously sidles up to Victor and pulls him into their bedroom. KAT She must have drowned her rules in the Chardonnay. With that, Kat closes the door.", "INT. KAT'S ROOM The door CLICKS shut and the happy couple separates instantly. Kat to one side of the room, Nick to the other. Kat's childhood bedroom has an aggressively floral decor. KAT Sorry about the creepy room. I went through a painfully earnest Laura - Ashley phase. Kat takes a brown envelope out of her purse, opens it, and removes A STACK OF HUNDREDS. She hands the pile of money to Nick. KAT Count it. Six thousand even. Nick does n't look at the money, just tucks it into his bag. NICK I trust you. Kat almost lets it go, but then. KAT No, count it, anyway. NICK Why? KAT I'm compulsive and weird? Nick humors her. Pulls out the stack of bills and counts it. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Six thousand, right? NICK On the nose. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I tell you what, because you're so cute, I'll take care of our incidentals. KAT How does it feel to get that much money just for being you? NICK -LRB- wryly. -RRB- Great, with the occasional stabs of shame. Now, listen, this covers the weekend, but as we discussed, if you want to be intimate, we talk money before anything happens. KAT That wo n't be an issue, believe me. I find the idea of sex for money morally repugnant. -LRB- realizing. -RRB- No offense. NICK It's okay. Hell, I've never paid for it. But please do n't feel like you have to explain yourself to me. Kat walks over to an old dollhouse. Its rooms have been gutted, their mini furnishings replaced with a teenager's cassette - tape collection. Kat pulls out Guns and Roses' `` Appetite for Destruction'' and opens it. There's no tape inside, just some nicotine patches. Nick watches as she opens one up and slaps it on. NICK You quitting? KAT I'm desperate to start but I do n't have an addictive personality. Except for approval. That, I ca n't get enough of. Nick notices an ` 80s poster of two guys with guitars, all big hair and laser light shows. NICK Who are they? KAT Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock. Nick thinks about those names for a second, then his face twists. NICK Air Supply? Embarrassed, Kat hastily rips down the poster and stuffs it in the closet. KAT My parents had a German exchange student a few years back. He must have left it here. Nick hides a smile as Kat ducks into the bathroom.", "INT. KAT'S BATHROOM Kat has left the door open a crack as she gets ready for a shower. Unbeknownst to her, Nick watches from the bed, enjoying the ritual. KAT -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Everyone knows their greatest hits but some of their lesser - known ballads are surprisingly poignant. Inexplicably, Kat stands on her tiptoes as she looks into the mirror. It's a little thing, maybe the tiles are cold, but it gives her an innocence that makes Nick smile. KAT What? NICK It's cute. KAT What is? NICK You stand on your tiptoes. KAT I do? Kat looks down, she never noticed before. NICK Is it an old habit from ballet class or a childhood spent walking on eggshells? She throws him a glance, impressed with the sharpness of his mind. KAT I never took ballet. She smiles and kicks the door closed with her foot.", "INT. KAT'S ROOM - LATER Nick hangs up his tux. It's definitely not a rental. Kat comes out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel. KAT Have you ever done anything like this before? NICK A weekend? KAT A wedding. Nick thinks about that. Kat wonders what's taking him so long. NICK No. Though strangely, I've done quite a few funerals. Kat makes a face. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Not the way you're thinking. The women wanted me there for support. You can understand that. KAT I think that's disgusting. Kat immediately backpedals. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Not you. You're not disgusting. You're lovely. Just the idea that they'd bring an escort. I mean, a stranger who, um, did n't. who never. I mean, someone's dead. NICK That's right. Imagine facing it alone. Kat blanches. KAT Sorry. I'm a little nervous. I never thought something like this would happen to me. NICK This happened to you? KAT Well, happen, in the sense that I picked up the phone, tracked you down, flew you here and gave you six grand out of my 401K. Nick laughs at her. Kat pulls something out of her purse. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Can I ask you something? Nick sees what she's unfolding. It's a crinkled New Yorker article. The artsy photo shows the FACE OF A MAN, blurred against a neon cityscape. The title : `` Discretion Assured : Diary of a Male Escort.'' NICK How did you know that was me? KAT I have a friend at the magazine. NICK -LRB- sharply. -RRB- Your `` friend'' guaranteed my anonymity. KAT If it makes you feel any better, to get your number, I had to cough up two round - trip tickets to Amsterdam and a case of mini - Baileys. Nick shakes his head at her and pulls off his shirt. Kat instinctively looks away. NICK You can look. It's part of the package. Kat ca n't tell if he's joking. She sneaks a look as Nick disappears into the shower. Wow. Kat looks down at the papers in her hand. She moves towards the bathroom but at the last minute, shies away. NICK -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Would you grab my shampoo? KAT Shampoo, got it! Kat grabs the shampoo and rushes into the bathroom.", "INT. KAT'S BATHROOM Without looking in the shower, Kat hands him the shampoo and hurries out, way too quickly. Nick peeks out of the shower curtain. She's gone. He shakes his head and closes the curtain. Suddenly, Kat reappears. She stands by the door. KAT The part where you were a sexual surrogate and then started to, um, freelance. Is that really how it happened? Kat pretends to straighten things up as she moves closer to the shower. NICK The real story is that my mother was a hippie. And a stripper. She was insanely inappropriate with me. She used to wash her lingerie in my bathwater. While I was still in the bath. KAT Oh, no. NICK Yeah. As an adult, I needed to find some way to experience intimacy and sex, but with rules that could n't be violated. Kat's totally engrossed now. She closes the toilet lid and sits down. KAT Wow. Nick pokes his head out. NICK Yeah. Nick sees that Kat's heartbroken for him, feels bad. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm just screwing with you. Kat throws a towel at him. KAT You shit! NICK I have a different story for every woman who asks. I look at her and figure out what she needs to hear to feel okay about being with me. KAT And you thought I'd respond to the hippie stripper with no boundaries? NICK Admit it. You were disturbed, but ultimately moved. Kat gives him a dirty look, then examines the article again. KAT This part here. You say, and I quote. `` Each woman has the exact love life she wants.'' -LRB- beat. -RRB- That seems like a pretty broad generalization. Nick steps out of the shower. Kat, her eyes at the level of his manhood, covers her subtle jaw - drop. Nick wraps a towel around his waist as Kat tries to pull it together. She looks down at the article, tapping it indignantly - KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- So. what was I. oh, yeah. Do you honestly think that I want to be single and miserable? That I want to be obsessed with some asshole who led me on for years then - out of the blue - shattered my heart. NICK First of all, it's never out of the blue. And second of all - Nick levels his gaze at her. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Yes. KAT What?! NICK When you're ready to let go, to be unsingle and unmiserable, you will. Until then. Nick shrugs and walks out of the room.", "INT. STAIRWELL - ELLIS HOUSE - LATER Nick and Kat walk downstairs, ready for a night out. Kat's wearing an over - the - top sexy golf outfit - pleated mini skirt, tight white oxford, plaid vest. On the bottom step, Kat stops short. KAT -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Is it always women? Nick looks at her like she's crazy. NICK Are you asking me if I'm gay for pay? KAT I guess so. NICK What do you think? Nick confronts her. She takes him in. KAT Got it.", "INT. SITTING ROOM - ELLIS HOUSE Victor reads a book as Bunny scratches hieroglyphics on a white board featuring an elaborate chart of information. Kat and Nick enter, see the chart. KAT -LRB- to Nick. -RRB- Mom's refining her strategy for DDay. BUNNY I'm sure General Eisenhower never had to master the finer points of the seating chart and centerpieces. -LRB- pointing proudly. -RRB- Oh, and tomorrow afternoon you are carpooling to the country with the Fletcher - Wootens. KAT Sir, yes, sir! She turns on her heel like a soldier, walks to Victor, and holds out her hand, BUNNY Make sure you show Nick Regents Park. -LRB- winking. -RRB- It's romantic at night. Victor does n't look up, just pulls the car keys out of his pocket and tosses them past Kat to Nick. VICTOR Better him on the wrong side of the road than you behind the wheel. Kat huffs grumpily and they head out.", "EXT. ELLIS HOUSE - NIGHT Kat and Nick walk toward the car. KAT So, um. What about testing? Nick opens Kat's door for her. NICK There's a guy on 81st and Madison. You get your results in 24 hours. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Do you make your lovers get tested before you sleep with them? KAT My sixth - grade science project was entitled, `` Love Hurts : The Heartbreak of Human Papillomavirus.'' Trust me, I'm careful. Kat gets in the car and Nick shuts her door.", "INT./EXT. CAR - LATER Nick drives while Kat navigates. They crawl down a small street, which bustles with activity. PATRONS of London's many pubs spill out onto the pavement. NICK I love that you're asking questions, but do you really want to get into all of this? KAT This is awkward for me. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Talking about it makes me feel better. Nick looks over at Kat, who gets quiet. She picks at nothing on her skirt. The TICK TICK TICK of the indicator fills the silence as Nick changes lanes. NICK Hey. Kat looks at him. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Do n't stop asking questions, okay? KAT Okay. Kat smiles, but stays quiet. Then - KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Do you pay taxes?", "EXT. QUIET SIDE-STREET - CONTINUOUS Nick holds the door open for Kat as she gets out. NICK -LRB- with a laugh. -RRB- I swear. I do n't have a signature move. KAT Oh, come on. You're like the Yoda of escorts. KAT -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Getting you on the phone was harder than getting into college. Nick turns off the car, gets out, walks around, and opens the door for Kat. She gets out and stands by the door. NICK I do n't have gimmicks or play games. It's way more. Nick rubs two fingers together, he ca n't think of the word. KAT Subtle? NICK I disappear. It's not about me. It's about you. Nick is standing very, very close to Kat now. She did n't even see him move but there he is. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It's hard to explain. KAT Show me. Nick shakes his head. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Come on. NICK I've got this bad taste in my mouth. What is it? I think it's the words : `` morally repugnant.'' Kat tugs urgently on his waist. KAT Show me. Nick does n't say anything for a moment. Then he pushes her up against the car. It's a gentle movement, but firm. Kat breathes in sharply from the power of it. NICK Close your eyes. Kat's hesitant. She looks around the empty parking lot but Nick takes her cheek and guides her eyes to his. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Close your eyes. She does. Nick leans in close and begins whispering into her ear with a hypnotic intensity. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm not going to kiss you. You can relax. You're safe. Nick takes Kat's head in his hands and moves his lips across the contours of her face. It's incredibly intimate. His mouth hovers over hers but their lips do n't touch. They breathe each other in. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm not going to kiss you. Trust me. All you have to do is listen to my voice. Kat's body starts to relax. Slowly, she slumps back against the car. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- He's going to be so sorry he let you go. He moves his lips across her eyelids. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- He'll look at you with your sexy dress and your perfect date but it wo n't matter because it's not about him. It's about you. As Nick slowly talks, he moves his lips across Kat's forehead, then her cheek, then her nose : NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I want you to let go of the hurt. the insecurity. the past. When you do, he'll see you the way I see you, and, in that moment, he'll finally understand what he lost. Nick tips Kat's chin towards him. She opens her eyes. Nick is suddenly serious. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- But by then, the amazing thing is. you wo n't care. Kat shudders, and gradually comes to. Her eyes are lazy, she feels off balance. KAT Holy crap. You're worth every penny. Nick gives her a half smile. NICK You better get going. Kat is turned on and ca n't seem to move. KAT Okay, Yoda. Silence. NICK Go. Nick turns Kat around and points her toward the bar next door. Wearing an almost dopey look of pleasure, she adjusts her underwear, and stumbles towards the bar. A sly smile creeps across her lips as we. A LINE OF TWENTY SHOTS BEING SET AFLAME. WIDEN TO REVEAL -", "INT. THE COCK & BOTTLE Kat passes out the shots to a pack of WOMEN all wearing hybrid golf - slut outfits : ass - tight polo shirts and plaid Capri pants abound. It's `` Society Girls Gone Wild.'' KAT Yo, ladies! Listen up! The bride has made the foolhardy and perhaps fatal request, that we play Pub Golf tonight. -LRB- holding up a shot. -RRB- Behold hole one. There's a twostroke penalty for failure to finish a hole and a three - stroke penalty for barfing. Yell `` Fore!'' before you barf and it's only two strokes. The girls are scared shitless. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- We've got eight more holes waiting at eight more bars, so in the name of all things sacred, pace yourselves! -LRB- raising her shot. -RRB- To Amy! Amy loves the attention. AMY To me! Cheering, the girls blow out their shots and do their best to down them in one go. Just then, Nick walks in. All eyes are drawn to him. The WORLD SLOWS as he beelines for Kat. He hands Kat her purse. NICK I thought you might need this. Kat gives Nick a shy smile. KAT Silly me, where was my head? Kat ca n't help noticing that the group of girls has subtly clustered around Nick. TJ Stay. Have a fiery drink with us. NICK I do n't know. A SMITTEN GIRL puts a drink in Nick's hand. SMITTEN GIRL Stay. Nick looks to Kat, she smiles. Amy furrows her brow theatrically. Unfortunately, no one sees her.", "INT. THE COCK & BOTTLE - LATER Nick is surrounded by women and completely at ease. Amy's drunk and pouty. TJ stands between Kat and Amy. Oblivious to the brewing tension, she's eating beer nuts and staring at Nick. TJ It's like the director's cut of `` 9\u00a01/2 Weeks.'' She pops a nut in her mouth. TJ -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- The thing about Nick is, you're either looking at him, or you're pretending not to. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Me? I'm looking. -LRB- to Amy. -RRB- Can you believe Kat gets to sleep with this guy? Amy sneers. TJ turns back to Kat. TJ -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Honestly, you should send God a bottle of wine or a muffin basket. TJ clinks glasses with Kat. Kat appreciates the attention. Amy appreciates it less. She suddenly wails. AMY Why is he still here?! This snaps Kat out of her reverie. She scurries into problemsolving mode. KAT Oh, sorry. You're right. Girls only. Kat turns and throws Nick a look. Nick, ever sensitive to nuances, easily catches the hint and puts on his coat to go. NICK Ladies, thank you for granting me this rare glimpse into a timeless female ritual. -LRB- raising his glass. -RRB- To the husbands who won you, the losers who lost you, and to the lucky bastards who have yet to meet you. They all clink glasses. Kat beams, until. AMY -LRB- sour. -RRB- And to the cock in the hen house. Nick kisses Kat on the cheek and smoothly departs. They all watch him walk out. TJ is still watching the door, as if Nick's essence has lingered. TJ I ca n't believe you met him first. It's so depressing. Somebody buy my wooha a drink. Kat raises her drink to TJ's nether region. KAT To TJ's lady business. And to Amy! GUYS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- To Ed!", "INT. JEFFREY'S FLAT - SAME A DOZEN MEN down their shots. Jeffrey immediately refills their glasses with tequila. Alcohol and alpha abound. Nick walks in the front door. He takes off his suit coat and tries not to feel like the chaperone at a frat party. Over by the bar, Jeffrey stands with Ed, eyeing Nick. JEFFREY What's his problem? ED What? JEFFREY There's something about him that's just a bit odd. ED Other than, he's shagging your exgirlfriend? JEFFREY No, that's not it. Jeffrey pours Ed another drink. JEFFREY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You are a tosser. Jeffrey's suddenly emotional. JEFFREY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Remember when we went hiking in the lake district and Amy was wearing that little bikini thing. ED No. JEFFREY It was before you started going out. We had lunch at that inn on the lake. ED Oh, yes. Right. The Rat and Parrot. JEFFREY And Kat was fully clothed. ED But, somehow, it was Kat's arse that was stung by nettles. And you rubbed it with a dandelion leaf. JEFFREY That's when I realized I wanted to be a doctor. ED Oh, shut up. You're an optician. JEFFREY Lasik surgeon, actually. Jeffrey takes a thoughtful sip of beer. JEFFREY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I did n't deserve her back then. ED And you do now? Jeffrey looks genuinely pained, then something dawns on him. JEFFREY Maybe I hate women. Nick appears. NICK All women or just the two - legged ones who steal your money, screw your friends, and vacuum during the World Cup? Jeffrey laughs. He has no idea Nick is making fun of him. ED Jeff was just reminiscing about your girlfriend's backside. Ed crosses away and Jeffrey glances nervously at Nick. JEFFREY Look, the thing is. About that love - of - my - life nonsense. I would appreciate it if you did n't say anything to Kat. It was silly. It's all rather complicated. Nick is about to respond when the music CRESCENDOS and a STRIPPER strides in from the back room. Spotting Ed, Jeffrey clothes - lines him and drags him off into a chorus of GUYH OWLS and CHEERS.", "INT. WOODY'S WATERING HOLE - LATER The bachelorette - party girls CHEER as they down drink number seven at bar number seven, an Australian outback - themed pub. Things have gone way downhill - or uphill - depending on how you look at it. Kat sits at the bar. In the background, Amy dances drunkenly with TJ. WOODY, the dorky, sexy Australian bartender, appears behind the bar with a drink for Kat. WOODY This one's on the house. Kat grabs his sleeve. KAT I'm worried. Amy's not good at drinking. She gets sooo drunk sooo fast. Does free alcohol get you less drunk or more drunker? -LRB- to herself. -RRB- Is it ` drunker' or ` drunker - er'? WOODY Just drunk enough. Woody dumps out the free drink and exchanges it with a bottle of water. WOODY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- If you switch now, you might be able to stand up for the ceremony. Kat looks at him for the first time and realizes she knows him. KAT Woody? Woody just smiles. WOODY `` Not yet.'' KAT. but it's getting there.'' Kat clumsily lunges across the bar to hug him, knocking over a bottle of beer, which Woody deftly catches. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I thought you were living in San Francisco. Or was it Nepal? WOODY Close. Sydney. Turns out, I missed the rain. They take each other in. Her smile is bleary. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You look so much better. Woody's trying not to feel shy around Kat. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Is this what you're doing? Bartending? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Not that it's not great. It's just, you used to have dreams and plans. Woody proudly points to Kat's cocktail napkin. It says, WOODY'S WATERING HOLE. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Whoa! Good for you! Woody's weighing something. He decides to say it. WOODY I always wondered what happened with us. KAT -LRB- taken aback. -RRB- I have n't thought about that in years. Just then, Amy comes up behind Kat. AMY Did Kat tell you she dumped you because of your funky breath? KAT Did Amy tell you she keeps her Homecoming tiara by the bed? To Kat's annoyance, Amy laughs. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- She's drunk. - er than me. But I did n't really dump you, did I? WOODY Hard. Woody smiles, sweetly. WOODY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Which was understandable - you were one of the hottest girls at the American School, but I sort of thought you ` d be nicer. at least tell me why.'cause we were friends first. Kat's on the spot. Embarrassed. Amy's drunk - dancing and mumbling to herself. AMY And we know Kat was the hottest expat in school because she was voted Best Eyes, Brightest Smile, and Most Likely to Age Well. No, wait. That was me. Never mind. Kat ca n't take it. KAT Christ, Amy. AMY Oh, shut up and be happy. It's always this or that. You're never happy, you frowny - faced Grumplestilskin. KAT Drunk is n't the same thing as happy, Amy. They both know they're serious but Amy pouts and throws her arms around Kat. AMY You're my half sister, but I whole love you. Kat's furious but she forces a smile. KAT Why do n't you get my half sister her seventh hole? AMY Bacardi 151. Woody disappears just as Amy teeters and catches herself on the bar. KAT Are you okay? Amy's drunkenness turns. Tears well up in her eyes. AMY I do n't think I can go through with this. KAT Pub Golf? AMY The wedding. -LRB- loud whisper. -RRB- I am so, so bad! I do n't think I should be allowed to get married. Kat is blindsided. KAT What are you talking about? Then, as quickly as she went into the darkness, Amy pops out. She yells over to TJ. AMY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- TJ! Virginia Slim! TJ comes dancing up, hands Amy a cigarette and a lighter. The crowd watches as Amy puts the cigarette in her lips, pours the shot into TJ's open mouth and lights it on fire with her lighter. Then she leans over and LIGHTS HER CIGARETTE ON THE FLAMES COMING OUT OF TJ'S MOUTH. The bar erupts in CHEERS but Kat is left worried, troubled by Amy's confession. A beat, then she downs her shot.", "EXT. ED'S HOUSE - LATER The cheers ECHO in the night as Nick helps Ed walk towards his house. Ed navigates the pavement like it's made of water. They reach the front door. NICK -LRB- propping Ed up. -RRB- You're okay. You got it. Ed wobbles, then stands up by himself. Nick unlocks the door. ED Just because some slag's been paid for, does n't mean you've got to. you know. NICK It's been my experience that the people who hire a prostitute, need a prostitute. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You did the right thing. Ed blinks at Nick. ED I think I love you, mate. -LRB- beat. -RRB- How do you know so much about so much? NICK I'm a hooker. Ed bursts out laughing, pats him on the back, and walks into his house.", "EXT./INT. LONDON STREET [DRIVING] - LATER The bachelorette girls ride home in `` The Pub Prowler.'' It's a senior citizen med - van that's been pimped out with a full bar and an all - shag - all - the - time interior. The girls are drunk and rowdy. Kat climbs up behind the DRIVER and taps her on the shoulder. KAT Can you pull over at the next seven ATMs? The Driver gives Kat a dubious look, then pulls up to a bank.", "EXT. STREET [VARIOUS] - Kat jumps out of The Pub Prowler and clumsily slots her ATM card into the machine. - Kat checks her lipstick in The mirrored security camera of a different ATM machine then flips through a stack of credit cards. She pulls out a different card and slips it in. - ECU on screen : MAXIMUM WITHDRAWAL # 200. Kat's at another ATM. In the Prowler, a couple of girls heckle passers - by as Kat rifles through her cards, desperate for some un - maxed plastic. - The Prowler drops off a couple more girls. Kat walks back from an ATM and gets in.", "EXT. TJ'S HOTEL - NIGHT Kat and Amy wave at TJ as she trips out of the Prowler and stumbles towards her hotel. TJ waves back with a bright, happy smile - TJ That was awesome! How much do we rock? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Fore! She whips around and throws up in a topiary. In the Prowler, Amy and Kat wince. TJ whips back up. TJ -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I WIN! She waves at Kat and Amy and trots past the STOIC DOORMAN, who holds the door open for her.", "EXT. ELLIS HOUSE Kat and Amy stand in the driveway. They watch as the Prowler pulls away. Amy is about to head next door, when she turns to Kat. AMY It was a great party. Thank you. Amy reaches out to hug Kat. Kat was n't expecting the hug and it's awkward. Amy senses it and pulls away. KAT Do you want to come in for a minute? We could talk about - AMY When I freaked out at the pub? -LRB- she hiccups. -RRB- That was nothing, just nerves. Do n't worry about it. KAT But I do. I will. You're my sister. With a post - Bacardi 151 suddenness, Amy's face contorts with shame. She recoils, an angry tear running down her face. AMY God, Kat! Please. Do n't be nice to me. I can take anything right now but you being nice to me. KAT -LRB- wildly confused. -RRB- What? Why? What do you mean? Amy is suddenly in terrible distress. AMY I should get going. KAT Are you sure you're okay? AMY I'm fine. I promise. Kat wants to say more but Amy is already walking away. Kat turns towards the house and just catches the light shutting off in her upstairs room.", "INT. HALL - ELLIS HOUSE Kat shuts the front door. She leans against it for a moment to get her balance, clear her head.", "INT. KITCHEN - ELLIS HOUSE Kat sits at the kitchen table, a glass of water in front of her. She downs three aspirin and stares into the darkness.", "INT. HALL - ELLIS HOUSE - LATER Kat starts up the stairs. The first step CREAKS loudly. Remembering countless school - age sneak - ins, Kat flattens her foot against the back of each step and soundlessly walks up the stairs.", "INT. KAT'S ROOM - ELLIS HOUSE Nick is asleep in Kat's bed, bare - chested under a single sheet. The CAMERA FINDS Kat standing with her back to the door, staring at Nick. Nick stirs, opens his eyes, and rises onto one arm. NICK You okay? Kat walks to him, takes his hand. KAT -LRB- whispering. -RRB- Shhhh.", "EXT. DRIVEWAY - ELLIS HOUSE Kat leads Nick down the driveway towards the BOAT TRAILER. On it, the twenty - six - foot CABIN CRUISER with peeling paint. Kat unbuttons the weathered cover and peels it back. She climbs up a ladder and hoists herself into the boat. Nick smiles at the strangeness of this, then climbs in after her.", "INT. BOAT In the cabin, Kat flicks a couple of switches and a row of lights flicker on. She flicks another switch and a piercing sea - horn BLARES the `` William Tell Overture.'' She scrambles to turn it off and checks the house for activity. A dog BARKS in the distance. Relieved, Kat pushes a tape into an old radio. MUSIC limps through hollow speakers. Kat leads Nick into the cabin and onto the bed. Without taking her eyes off him, Kat starts to slowly undress. Her shirt drops to the floor. Then, a moment later, her skirt. Kat breathes deeply then reaches behind her back and flicks open her bra. We watch Kat's face as she lets it fall to the floor. Kat is indeed a woman who does n't do naked - this is killing her. On the bed, Nick does n't say anything, just watches. Kat wants to read something into his stare. Longing, desire, anything. But he's utterly inscrutable. It's both unnerving and extremely sexy. Kat steels herself and removes her underwear. She loses her nerve momentarily and pulls them up again. Finally, she slips them off and tries not to laugh as she scurries onto the bed. Hovering lazily in the waking dream of interrupted sleep, Nick gazes at Kat. In a trick of light, the cabin windows glow liquid, as though the moon were reflecting off water. Nick runs his hand across Kat's waist. She's trying to hold back. He knows it and likes it. He takes her face in his hands and kisses her. It's amazing. A different kind of kiss. They pull back and look at each other. In one swift movement, he flips Kat underneath him. Suddenly, the space between them collapses and they attack each other.", "EXT. DRIVEWAY - ELLIS HOUSE - DAWN Kat's house beams in the scarlet light of dawn. Two BIN - MEN walk down the driveway toward the bins. They grab three bins and drag them noisily past the boat parked in the driveway.", "INT. BOAT CLOSE ON Kat and Nick, asleep, their faces pressed up against each other. We PULL BACK to reveal Kat and Nick entwined, naked. We PULL BACK further to reveal that they're covered with a fleece blanket and a pile of life vests. Nick opens his eyes and looks at Kat, who is as calm and content as we've seen her. Then, he realizes where he is. It's like waking up in a strange hotel room, only weirder because it's a boat. in a driveway. in London. Nick carefully extricates himself and begins to dress. We've seen this scene a thousand times before, but Nick's escape is breathtakingly precise and practiced.", "EXT. DRIVEWAY - ELLIS HOUSE Nick climbs down the ladder of the boat just as the Bin - Men are returning the empty bins beside the garage. Nick gives them a nod. NICK Morning. The guys nod back and finish their job as Nick sneaks toward the house.", "INT. KITCHEN - ELLIS HOUSE Victor and Bunny sit at the kitchen table. Victor's buried in the International Herald Tribune crossword puzzle. Bunny looks out the window and sees Nick creeping towards the house, shoes in hand. BUNNY She still thinks we do n't know about the boat thing. Victor looks up from his paper. He sees Nick, snorts, and goes back to his crossword.", "INT. BOAT - LATER Kat's eyes flutter open. Her hair is plastered into an impromptu quasi - beehive. She looks down at her `` pillow.'' It's a buoy. Kat suddenly sits bolt upright. She grabs a life vest to cover her naked chest and looks around in horror. Then her eyes widen as she remembers the rest of the night.", "EXT. DRIVEWAY - ELLIS HOUSE Kat slinks towards the house, retreading Nick's walk of shame.", "INT. KITCHEN - ELLIS HOUSE Victor looks up from his paper and sees Kat.", "EXT. DRIVEWAY - ELLIS HOUSE Kat's almost to the house when she hears a loud, POUNDING. She looks up to see HER FATHER tapping on the window and laughing at her. Kat's mortified, but ca n't help smiling. She waves and keeps walking.", "INT. KAT'S ROOM Kat looks around frantically for something. She finds her purse and checks to see if the ATM money is still there. It is. She breathes a sigh of relief, then, hearing footsteps, hastily stuffs the wad back in. Nick opens the door, carrying a breakfast - in - bed tray. Kat spins around, guiltily. NICK I was n't sure what works for you, so I've got a pack of Saltines, a bottle of Pedialyte - preferred by infants and rock stars - an eggand - cheese sandwich, a black coffee, and a Bloody Mary. Kat slumps onto the bed. She has n't gotten her land legs back yet. KAT This is really sweet of you, but I need to ask you something. -LRB- desperately. -RRB- What happened last night? Nick is taken aback. He sets down the tray. He's not sure what to say, then makes a decision. NICK Nothing. Kat looks surprised, then skeptical. KAT Are you sure? NICK We kissed. Made out a little. Then you passed out. She stares at him long and hard. KAT Whether it's true or not, thank you. Kat disappears and Nick bites into a Saltine as the shower HISSES on. Then something catches his eye. It's Kat's purse lying next to the bed. Stuffed on top, A WAD OF MONEY. His brow furrows, Nick picks it up and leafs through the stack of pounds and euros.", "INT. KAT'S BATHROOM In the shower, Kat lets the scorching water punish and purify her. NICK -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What's this? Startled, Kat peeks her head out of the shower curtain and sees Nick holding the pile of money. KAT Oh. Shoot. I - She retreats into the shower, yanking the curtain closed. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- mouthing words. -RRB- Shit! Shit! Shit! Nick pulls open the curtain and Kat instantly stops her pantomimed self - flagellation. NICK Is this for last night? KAT Of course not. How. how could it be? Nothing happened. NICK If I was going to charge you, I would have told you beforehand. I thought I explained that. Naked in front of Nick, Kat is trying not to flinch. KAT I did n't want you to think I was expecting anything to be free or that I was expecting something at all. Well, clearly I was expecting something or I would n't have stopped at all those ATMs on the way home. -LRB- beat. -RRB- By the way, would it have been enough? I mean, if something had happened. Which it did n't? Kat wants to slip down the drainpipe. Nick looks at her, considers his words carefully. NICK Do n't they have a limit at those machines? KAT -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Not if you take an advance on your credit card. Now Nick has to really try to stifle a laugh. Nick puts the money on the sink. He goes to leave, then turns back. NICK You're three hundred short. With that, he walks out. In the shower, Kat gently bangs her head against the tile. She looks down and notices something. KAT And my Brazilian wax looks like. Brazil. -LRB- resting against the tile. -RRB- Awesome.", "INT. KITCHEN - ELLIS HOUSE Nick and Victor are eating breakfast, the newspaper spread out between them. Victor's still working on the crossword puzzle. VICTOR What's a four letter word for daughter defiler? -LRB- beat, writing it in. -RRB- Oh. N - I - C - K. Before Nick can react - VICTOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You a boating man, son? Victor's expression is inscrutable. Nick weighs his options and then - NICK I am now, sir. VICTOR -LRB- laughing. -RRB- At least somebody's using the damn thing. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I was gon na fix her up but we took one trip and the kids fought so much, we never launched her again. Just then, Kat walks in with an air of feigned nonchalance. KAT That's not true. We checked for leaks a few years back. -LRB- kisses her father. -RRB- Good morning. VICTOR Ahoy! Kat throws him a look. He chuckles. As Nick gets up to get himself some orange juice, Kat corners him behind the refrigerator door. KAT -LRB- hushed. -RRB- So you're telling me. If something had happened last night. it would have cost me fourteen hundred dollars? That's a down payment on a Ford Focus! NICK Not dollars. Pounds. Nick pours a glass of juice and offers it to Kat. Kat shakes her head. NICK My rate is n't arbitrary. It was determined by prevailing market conditions. By the way, it includes oral. That's the extra three hundred. Pounds. He smiles and sips his juice. She is outraged by his presumption - KAT And what if I did n't want you to. to do that to me? NICK No, no. The three hundred is for you doing it to me. KAT What? NICK Believe me, if anything had happened, that would have been one of the highlights. For you. KAT But nothing did. NICK Yup. That's why you get to keep your money. Nick walks away. Sits down next to Victor. Kat glares daggers at him. Nick smiles and toasts her with his juice. Just then, Amy enters in a flurry of cheerfulness, as if last night never happened. Bunny follows, carrying a clipboard. AMY Hey, Ginger! Hey, Gilligan! How much do I love all this? I'm going to get divorced and remarried over and over again so it'll last forever. Kat, be a sweetie, and go help with the rings. No way Jeffrey's going to get it right. Amy breezes out. KAT -LRB- to no one. -RRB- I'd be happy to. You're welcome. BUNNY Oh, do n't be that way. VICTOR -LRB- sticking up for Kat. -RRB- Come on, Bun. Leave her alone. BUNNY -LRB- to Kat. -RRB- It's not always about you, sweetie. Kat's stung. Nick watches out of the corner of his eye. KAT How could you say that? Of course it's not about me. It's never about me when she's in the room because you two are on a special team. You might as well have Tshirts made up. Kat lowers her voice. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm sorry. I do n't know why I'm being so sensitive. I just get tired of being odd man out. Bunny looks over at Victor. BUNNY Tell me about it. Bunny squeezes Kat's cheek and kisses her. BUNNY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh honey, it's not that I love Amy more. It's that she lets me love her. This flip comment hits Kat hard. BUNNY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- obliviously. -RRB- I'm off. Ta - ta! As Bunny walks out, Victor raises an eyebrow, then goes back to his crossword. Kat stands a moment, feeling awkward. KAT -LRB- to Nick. -RRB- Okay, then. I'll catch up with you at the dance thing. Sweetie. Nick gives Kat a casual nod. She exits. Behind the BUSINESS section, Nick's face is a mask. Then he smiles. This girl is nuts. A door BUZZES.", "INT. JEWELRY STORE - ST. JOHN'S WOOD Kat enters and approaches SAL, 60, a tough - talking, Cockney teddy bear. KAT Hey, Sal. SAL I heard you were back in town, kitty cat. You're here for the highland flings, I bet. KAT I get all the glamour jobs. He smiles and heads into the back. Kat casually looks into the counter. Her face is blank as she scans row after row of engagement rings. Sal reemerges with two ring boxes. Kat takes the rings and smiles. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Thanks, Sally. She turns to go. SAL The one I made for you is the cherries. You hang onto it or give it back? KAT Give it back? Are you nuts? SAL You pawned it. KAT Not exactly. I wear it. -LRB- defiantly. -RRB- On my right hand. And only rarely. Just then, the door BUZZES. Kat turns. It's Jeffrey, tugging on the handle. Sal scowls. SAL You want I nut him in the boat? KAT Yes? No. What? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Save the patter for the tourists. SAL You want me to let him in? KAT Of course, do n't be silly. Sal BUZZES Jeffrey in and gives him the dirty eye before he disappears into the back. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Hey, you! JEFFREY Let me guess. Amy presumed I'd forget the rings. -LRB- off her look. -RRB- I think I'm her least favorite person. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You know, I am sorry. KAT -LRB- warming. -RRB- Maybe not her least. There's always - KAT/JEFFREY Ed's mother. They share a moment. KAT So, tell me, how's unmarried life? JEFFREY I have regrets. Kat jumps down his throat, instantly abandoning her false largesse. KAT Whoa, Jeffrey. Slow down. You and me, we're the past. I'm not sure if you noticed, but I'm here with someone else. JEFFREY Kat, we must talk. This guy, there's something not quite right. KAT It's called character. God, you're predictable. JEFFREY Is that why you brought him? Because of me. Kat laughs way too hard. KAT Do n't be absurd. Kat is about to walk out the door, but she ca n't help herself. She stops. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I brought him here because he's my boyfriend. Because I adore him. Because late at night he takes me in his arms and. Kat leans in and whispers something into Jeffrey's ear. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'd stick around and explain what that means, but even if I give you the instruction manual, it does n't mean you've got the tools to get the job done. Kat tries not to do a little `` fuck - you'' jig as she walks out the door.", "EXT. STREET - ST. JOHN'S WOOD Kat strides away but Jeffrey catches up to her. She secretly smiles at the power she is exerting over him. JEFFREY Kat, wait. I do n't want you hating me. We've never had this talk. You know how crap I am at this. KAT Um, news flash : I do n't give a shit. JEFFREY Kat, stop it. You do. You ca n't even look me in the eye. You went back to the States when we split up. Jeffrey sees Kat flinch. He knows he's hit something. She looks away. KAT That was a long time ago. JEFFREY It was. And it took your sister getting married to get you back here. KAT -LRB- wavering. -RRB- So, what's your point? JEFFREY I should have told you why I broke up with you. I was a coward. You deserve to know. Just then Nick walks up. He puts a protective hand on Kat's back and shakes Jeffrey's hand. NICK Hey, man. JEFFREY Sorry, can you give us a moment? NICK No, I ca n't. We're late for a dance lesson. I guess you'll have to finish up later. Kat gives Nick an angry look as he pulls her away.", "INT. DANCE CLUB STAIRCASE Kat, furious, charges up the stairs - NICK Hello, goodbye, I want you, I hate you. It's all just words. None of it means anything. What matters is what you do. You either stay put or you walk away. If you look back, you're not walking away! KAT Oh, cut the crap! NICK I just hate seeing you so stuck. KAT He was about to un - stick me! -LRB- hissing. -RRB- I paid you to help me get closure. NICK You paid me for a lot of reasons. Closure was n't one of them. Kat is infuriated. She huffs and pushes open the door.", "INT. STEP-BALL-CHANGE DANCE CLUB Nick and Kat burst in, late. Glistening hardwood floors, mirrored walls. Eyes closed and hands clasped, Amy and Ed stand in a circle with SONJA, late 50's, the melodramatic dance teacher. Kat and Nick join the circle. KAT -LRB- mumbling. -RRB- Sorry. Sonja barely tolerates the interruption, closes her eyes and breathes in deeply. SONJA The wedding dance is, sans doubte, the most important dance - moment in a person's life. Ed cracks open his eyes to see if anyone else thinks this is a crock of shit. Nick catches Ed's eye. Amy darts Ed a `` pay attention'' look. SONJA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- A room full of friends, family, enemies. watching, smiling, betting on how long the marriage will last. All you'll have is each other and whatever skills you acquire today. Kat's grip on Nick's hand tightens. Ed cracks open his eyes again. This time, he looks unnerved. SONJA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- There are people who will tell you that the wedding dance is symbolic of a couple's compatibility. Of a rapport that can not be faked. That an unskilled man on the dance floor is a man who lacks grace in bed. -LRB- beat. -RRB- These people are right. Sonja claps three times. SONJA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Eyes open and pair off! They all open their eyes wide.", "INT. STEP-BALL-CHANGE DANCE CLUB - MOMENTS LATER Ed and Amy dance awkwardly to a standard as Sonja gives them instructions. ANGLE ON KAT AND NICK, dancing sedately, if awkwardly. There is still tension between them. Kat, contrite, dares a glance into his eyes. KAT I'm sorry I was such a bitch. I really appreciate your doing this. NICK -LRB- simply. -RRB- It's my job. Kat gazes deep into his eyes. A long look. The longest she's been able to sustain since the boat. She ca n't read him. SONJA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- to Amy and Ed. -RRB- She knows you better than anyone. You know her better than she knows herself. Where does that feeling live? I do n't care if it's your heart, your head, or your crotch. Find that place and dance from it. KAT You know what pisses me off? I've been spilling my guts all weekend but I do n't know anything about you. Not one thing. Nick looks down at her, considering. NICK I'm allergic to fabric softener, I majored in Comparative Literature at Brown, and I think I'd miss you even if we had never met. Kat blinks, the power of his words hitting her hard. They dance a moment in silence. KAT Now will you tell me how you became an escort? Nick smiles enigmatically. Then without warning - NICK SPINS KAT AROUND, THEN REELS HER IN TIGHT. In a hyper - romantic cinematic flourish, THE FLOOR SWELLS AND THE WALLS DISAPPEAR. The music sharpens as if it's no longer coming from an old record player but from a classic MGM soundtrack. Nick and Kat are weightless as they glide across the floor. Their eyes stay locked on each other as though it were this connection, and not gravity, that keeps them on earth. Kat and Nick seem to slow down but the world stays at normal speed. ON SONJA, astonished. She stops and watches. ON AMY AND ED, as they notice what's going on. They stop dancing and stare, too, slacked - jawed, as Nick and Kat float past, completely wrapped up in each other. Nick and Kat are incredible together. The music CRESCENDOS as Nick gracefully spins Kat to a perfect stop. ED So you ca n't dance, eh? Bloody liar. Nick and Kat crash back to earth. They stop dancing. The walls close in and the music sucks back into the speakers. ED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I thought you said you were crap. NICK I had to say something to get you here. ED Fair enough, but I'm stepping on toes here and you're waltzing around like. AMY Fred Astaire and what's her face! NICK It's not me. I swear. It's her. She's magic. Kat blushes. Sonja claps her hands, happily. SONJA And, switch partners!", "EXT. STEP-BALL-CHANGE DANCE CLUB - LATER Nick, Kat, Amy, and Ed walk out of the studio. Ed skips down the steps and onto the street. Then he realizes what he's doing and abruptly stops. ED You'd better get going. My parents will be ` round to cart you off to the country. AMY Whatever you do, do n't mention Italy. Or politics. Or baby buggies. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Or Edith Piaf. ED Your probably best off pretending you're asleep. Ed grabs Amy by the neck and pulls her away. Amy laughs but Kat catches a look on her sister's face. It's not quite nervousness. It's something closer to panic. Amy waves over her shoulder as they walk away. A BOAT SAILING ACROSS FRAME, WIDER TO REVEAL -", "EXT. KAT'S HOUSE - ST. JOHN'S WOOD Victor tows the boat with an annoyed Bunny in the passenger seat. As they pull out of the driveway, they wave to Nick, who sits on a stone wall in front of the house. Nick talks on his cell phone, Kat's bags piled high next to him, as Pigeons walk and flap around him. Kat appears carrying two bottles of water. When Nick sees Kat, he hangs up too quickly. Kat pretends not to notice. She eyes the pigeons suspiciously. KAT Pigeons creep me out. They're like dirty doves. plotting something. Nick playfully pulls Kat down next to him. Spooked by the increasing number of pigeons, Kat inches away from them and closer to Nick. Kat frowns, suddenly pensive. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- How do you have real relationships? You know, ones you do n't get paid for? Nick is n't sure he wants to get into this. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You have had girlfriends? NICK Sure, but it's never easy. They say they're okay with it, and they are. for a while. Then one day, they're not. They sit in silence. It's not awkward, it's nice. London beams under a rare cloudless sky. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- When I said I'd never done a wedding before, I did n't say that no one ever asked. I just never said yes. KAT So, why'd you say yes to me? NICK There was something in your voice on the phone that day. KAT Desperation? Nick does n't acknowledge her joke. Kat sneaks a look at him. NICK I think it was hope. Kat hides a smile as her leg touches his. They are both keenly aware of the contact. KAT What would you do if you were n't an escort? NICK Make out with you for free. Nick puts his arm around her. Kat laughs. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What would you do if you stopped worrying about what other people think? KAT Spontaneously combust? They sit in silence a moment. Just then, Ed's parents drive up in a beautiful old Bentley. Ed's mother reaches over her embarrassed husband and HOOTS the horn.", "INT/EXT. BENTLEY [DRIVING]- LATER George drives through the lush countryside while Lydia carries on. In the back seat, Kat drops her head on Nick's shoulder ; they've clearly been enduring this awhile. KAT, NICK, AND ED'S PARENTS - SCENE FORTHCOMING.", "EXT. FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE Nick, Kat, and Ed's parents unload the Bentley and carry their bags up the steps of a stately stone mansion.", "EXT. BOATHOUSE - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - LATER A small boathouse sits at the edge of a charming lake that borders the main property. Nearby, `` Jack Ship'' struggles to say afloat as PASTY KIDS sun themselves on the moored junker. Ed mans an elaborate grill as GUESTS in summer hats mill about. AT A PICNIC TABLE, Victor plays poker with Nick, Kat, and TJ. From the pile of money in front of him, it's clear Victor's kicking ass. Victor throws in ten pounds. TJ -LRB- shrewd poker voice. -RRB- You know, I might just call you. but if I did. I would lose. because my hand blows. She throws down her cards. Kat studies her hand and tosses in a bill. KAT Call. All eyes are on Nick. VICTOR Let's see what kind of a man my daughter's found for herself. Nick looks down at his money. Ten pounds. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a HUGE WAD OF CASH. Everyone is in shock but he does n't notice. He strips off a hundred, tosses it in the pot, and takes back sixty. NICK Raise you thirty. Victor raises an eyebrow. ON TJ, looking at Nick. She leans over to Kat and whispers - TJ -LRB- re : Nick's penis. -RRB- Can I see it? Just for a sec? Kat laughs and hits TJ. TJ -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Come on, it's so not fair. At least describe it to me. Just then, Nick's cell phone RINGS. Victor plucks the phone out of Nick's hand. Kat darts a worried look at Nick and reaches for the phone. KAT Daddy! Victor wo n't give it up. He answers. VICTOR -LRB- into phone. -RRB- I'm sorry, Nick's about to win a pile of my money. He's gon na have to call you back. Kat and Nick are frozen as Victor listens. VICTOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Thank you for your understanding, ma'am. And good luck putting out that fire. He hangs up the cell phone and looks quizzically at Nick. VICTOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What is it you do again? NICK What would you say if I told you I was a member of an elite task force employed to safeguard our nation's most precious resource : your daughter. Victor snorts. VICTOR Oh, yeah, shrink. Call. Kat hides her relief. Victor throws in the cash. VICTOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Let me save you some trouble. My old man hit the bottle like it was his job and he had a mean streak as wide as the English Channel. So, me? I drink in moderation and have never raised my voice around a kid. Kat throws in thirty pounds. Victor lays down a PAIR OF ACES AND TWOS. VICTOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What do you say to that? NICK I say that feeling compelled to do the opposite of your parents is as enslaving as emulating them. Nick lays down his hand. THREE KINGS. Victor shakes his head. Nick glances at Kat. She twinkles at him, then lays down a LOW STRAIGHT. VICTOR That's my girl! She does a little dance as she swipes the pile of money toward her. Nick ca n't believe it. VICTOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Best thing about being a dad is when your kid starts kicking your ass - NICK - and The ass of The man who adores her. Nick rises from the table, but his comment lingers. Kat searches his face, wondering if he was serious. He holds her gaze a moment, then begins picking up the cards. Ed appears holding a plate piled high with bangers. ED Anybody seen my future - wife? -LRB- re : sausages. -RRB- She'll kill me if I do n't serve her first. KAT Have you guys ever had a real, honest - to - God fight? Ed thinks about that. ED -LRB- lying. -RRB- Of course. KAT Yeah, right. ED I hear that make - up sex is the best kind. Unfortunately, I'll never know. Victor calls out to Nick - VICTOR Hey, Sigmund, you think you could rustle up the bride and tell her to join the party? NICK Will do. Nick smiles at Kat and heads toward the boathouse. Kat watches with a hint of apprehension. FOLLOW NICK, walking across a carpet of pine needles. He passes through a latticework of shadows and steps into the boathouse -", "INT. BOATHOUSE - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - SAME NICK'S POV : Amy and Jeffrey, their backs turned, are in the middle of an argument. AMY -LRB- pulling her arm away. -RRB- I said no! I'm getting married tomorrow! What do you want from me? Amy turns and sees Nick. Her face falls. Jeffrey sees him, too, and blanches, then badly covers - JEFFREY Right, then. I'll get you a Tofurky Burger instead. Jeffrey walks out stiffly and Amy, mortified, turns and stares blankly out the window. NICK Sorry to interrupt. Your dad sent me. AMY What for? NICK To make sure you're okay. Amy turns around and looks at the tiny boathouse. Although it had looked perfect to us before, under her gaze, we see all the cracks and dirt. AMY You know all that `` if these walls could talk'' stuff? Do you believe it? That a place has a memory? NICK Actually, I do. Amy's expression clouds as her eyes fall on the bedroom door. Through the open door, Nick can see a small bed surrounded by bookshelves. AMY This place has been in Ed's family forever. We used to spend weekends out here every summer. -LRB- with a sigh. -RRB- God, I hope it does n't remember everything. LAUGHTER floats in from outside, an ironic soundtrack to Amy's desperation. Nick pushes out the chair across from him. Amy looks at him a moment, then sits down.", "EXT. LAKE Kat is standing with her mother, absentmindedly looking for Nick, when Jeffrey approaches. JEFFREY May I have a word? It'll be just a minute. BUNNY Let me think. You stole seven years of her life with your charm and your bullshit and now you want a couple more minutes? Sure. Go right ahead. As Jeffrey walks away, Kat whispers to her mother. KAT Thanks for the solidarity, but next time? A little less information. Kat follows Jeffrey toward the lake.", "INT. BOATHOUSE - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE Amy is now sitting across from Nick at the kitchen table. Nick is shell - shocked. NICK Does Kat know? Amy does n't even bother shaking her head. AMY It was such a long time ago. NICK Still - AMY If Ed ever found out. NICK Or Kat. AMY And she wonders why I swim to the bottom of a Lemondrop every time I see her. Nick pushes back from the table. He's at a loss for words.", "EXT. LAKE Jeffrey speaks to Kat with disarming sincerity. Kat tries to keep her guard up, but despite herself, she's listening. JEFFREY You were so good to me. I swear I never meant to hurt you. We were together what, five years? KAT Seven if you count the on - and - off years. Which I do. JEFFREY Right. Seven. -LRB- realizing. -RRB- Christ, that's a long time, is n't it? KAT Not for a dog. JEFFREY Well, we had a lot of good years, but then. Jeffrey fumbles. KAT Is this supposed to be an apology? JEFFREY It's not supposed to be anything, Kat. It's just my rather feeble attempt to. Oh, I do n't know. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You see, I thought I could deny my feelings - Something catches Kat's eye : Nick exiting the boathouse. Even from this distance, she knows that something is wrong. JEFFREY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You're not even listening. KAT When we were together I was `` too here,'' now I'm not here enough. FOLLOW KAT, as she walks away from Jeffrey through a stand of trees and meets Nick. In the background, Jeffrey watches, confused, then walks away. Kat reaches out and touches Nick's arm, tentatively. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Are you okay? Kat's tenderness finds its way into Nick. It takes him a moment to recover. NICK Yeah. You? KAT Yeah. They look at each other a moment. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Let's go.", "EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY Nick and Kat walk back to the main house. Side by side, they cut through a picturesque glen. Nick shoots Kat an anxious glance, deciding whether to reveal what he knows. Kat catches him and smiles back, sweetly. Nick takes her hand and kisses it, surprising her. His eyes turn back toward the house but he does n't let go of her hand.", "INT. BATHROOM - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - NIGHT Kat is getting ready. She's up on her tiptoes, doing her make - up in the mirror. The radio is blaring Air Supply. Kat sings along, passionately, embarrassingly. Kat was clearly lying about not liking the cheesy greatest hits. She knows every word. Somehow, she seems different, freer. She's singing like she means it.", "EXT. BALCONY - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE Nick and Victor, sipping cocktails, stand on a back balcony overlooking the party preparations. In the backyard below, Bunny zips around, hissing orders at the STAFF. BUNNY You, with the hair and all the bright ideas. Paper lantern plus open flame equals no - no. VICTOR That woman is insane. God damn if I do n't love her. Nick wants to come clean but ca n't find the courage. He chooses his words carefully. NICK Kat does this thing. She stands on her tiptoes when she's looking in the mirror. You ever notice that? Victor smiles, he knows what Nick's talking about. VICTOR I remember the day I met Kat. It was in New York. I'd been dating Bunny for a few months, and she finally trusted me enough to introduce me to her kid. So I'm over at her place and in walks this little monster that wo n't stop talking. -LRB- remembering. -RRB- She hands me a walkie - talkie made out of an orange juice can and drags me over to her fort. The fort was this lop - sided mess of blankets and the walkie - talkie almost took my ear off, but she was having the time of her life. -LRB- shaking his head. -RRB- That was it. I was a goner. A wave of nostalgia passes over him. VICTOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- That was the day I became a dad. And from that moment on, I just knew. I'd give that little girl everything she ever needed, I'd love her unconditionally, and I would n't let her out of the house until she was thirty. Nick laughs. VICTOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You think it's going to get easier when they get older. That you're going to worry about them less. Or trust the world more. But that's just not how it goes. They stand in silence a moment. NICK I'm not sure if this is going to make sense to you, Sir, but I'd like to ask permission to date your daughter. Victor gives Nick an intense but unreadable look. VICTOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- The ladies are fond of you, Nick. I can see that. I also see that whatever else you are, you're a helluva good guy. -LRB- beat. -RRB- She paid a real price dating Jeffrey. This will be different, wo n't it? Nick's not sure what Victor knows. He wants to assure him, to make promises. Instead, he says nothing. Victor and Nick look at each other, a silent understanding between them.", "EXT. GARDEN - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - LATER The rehearsal dinner is underway. Strung with paper lanterns, the yard looks enchanted. The usual suspects are packed around a candle - lit table, absorbed in lively conversation. Jeffrey, brooding, does n't engage, just drinks heavily. At the center of it all, Nick is quietly relishing being a part of this family dinner. Kat and Nick make eye contact. They've finally caught up with the couple they were pretending to be at the beginning of the weekend. Bunny's voice cuts through the din like a knife - BUNNY I blame Tony Pee - Pants! KAT Oh, no. -LRB- to Nick. -RRB- She tells this story at every major holiday. BUNNY Why should this be any different? -LRB- taking Nick's arm. -RRB- Besides, I have to initiate Nick into the family. -LRB- to Nick. -RRB- I blame Tony for why my two girls ca n't seem to get along. Kat and Amy moan, here we go. BUNNY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh, do n't deny it. You barely tolerate each other. TJ It's true. All you have in common is that you both secretly want to be me. -LRB- raising her glass. -RRB- Cheers. KAT -LRB- to Nick. -RRB- She blames Tony Pee - Pants Pinterello for everything. The fall of the British Empire, the Cold War, the internet. BUNNY It was just after we moved here. My little girls got in a fight over Tony Pee - Pants and they have n't made up since. Amy rolls her eyes, saves them all from Bunny by telling the story herself. AMY Apparently, Kat and I were inseparable. BUNNY If Kat ate a banana, Amy threw it up. TJ If Amy threw it up, Kat ate it. Lydia is vaguely disgusted. She pulls a face. Bunny waves a hand in front of her eyes. This story always kills her. KAT We were eating and puking together in harmony until one day, Tony walked me home from school. He was my first boyfriend. -LRB- pointedly. -RRB- I was fourteen. AMY So Tony Pee - Pants starts ignoring Kat. He wanted to play with me. KAT You practically bribed him with your erector set. NICK -LRB- aside, to Kat. -RRB- Fourteen and he's hoodwinked by a an erector set? KAT I did n't say he was worth it. They share a private smile. AMY Whatever. The point is, Tony ended up with a chair in his face. BUNNY -LRB- in her defense. -RRB- It was plastic. And child - sized. But there were some stitches involved. TJ Like fifteen. KAT Dad made me go over and apologize the next day. BUNNY I'm an American and in America, people sue. So to prevent a lawsuit, I baked a tart. And I do n't bake. KAT So Dad rang the bell and when Tony Pee - Pants opened the door, I threw the tart at him and popped his stitches. Victor laughs, remembering. Bunny hits him on the arm. VICTOR Sorry. He chuckles again. VICTOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You should have seen his face -. -LRB- he makes a surprised face. -RRB- Then, boom. Right in the kisser. BUNNY -LRB- shaking her head. -RRB- What happened to my little angels? Amy and Kat both ignore their mother, who's misting up. NICK And that's when he peed in his pants? After the tart? KAT He bled a bunch, but no, there was no peeing. NICK So what's with the nickname? They all think about that. BUNNY I have absolutely no idea. Everyone laughs.", "EXT. GARDEN - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - LATER Many of the guests have gone. Empty bottles of wine litter the table. Only the immediate family, TJ, Nick and Jeffrey remain. Jeffrey's still drinking heavily and Kat's not at the table.", "INT. WINE CELLAR - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE Kat pulls a bottle of wine off the top shelf just as someone comes up behind her. Kat feels a hand on her back, spins around and drops the bottle. Jeffrey reaches out and grabs it before it drops. She looks at his somber face, takes the bottle, and sets it back on the shelf. KAT Okay, let's do this. What's the big confession?", "EXT. GARDEN - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - SAME Nick looks for Kat. Concern crosses his face as he notices that Jeffrey's gone, too. Nick picks up a couple of empty wine bottles off the table.", "INT. KITCHEN - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - MOMENTS LATER Nick drops the bottles into a recycling bin then looks over at the basement door.", "INT. WINE CELLAR - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - SAME Nick stands at the top of the cellar stairs. He's eavesdropping, partially concealed by the half - open door. JEFFREY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Well, in a way, you were right. The prob was, you were in love. I wanted to be. But I was n't. JEFFREY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- If I'd have confessed, you would have forgiven me. But the truth is, I did n't want to be forgiven. I sort of just needed it to end. Kat processes Jeffrey's words, tries to be open. JEFFREY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Bollocks, I'm sorry. I had no idea this would be so difficult. KAT Relax. Take a breath and just say it. It's no big deal. I promise. JEFFREY Brilliant. KAT Well, it was a big deal. As late as. yesterday. Or this morning. -LRB- beat. -RRB- But not anymore. Nick smiles. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And you were right - it is why I brought Nick with me. because I wanted to drive you insane. To torture you slowly, for the entire weekend. But then something happened. I started to fall for him. And now, and I hope this does n't hurt your feelings, now I'm sick of you and me, of our story. Nick, almost giddy with happiness, moves away from the door, then back towards it again. Finally, he closes it quietly and leaves. Downstairs, Kat takes Jeffrey's hand. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It's the past. It's nothing but ghosts. So just get it off your chest, then let's go back upstairs and eat some tiramisu. JEFFREY I slept with your sister. Silence. KAT I'm sorry? JEFFREY I shagged Amy. Two years ago. That's why I ended it. And then, after you left, sod it, we kept at it like rabbits until we both realized it was absolutely mad. And, you know, morally wrong. Then there was that one other time. And that was it. Kat stares at him, blood pounding in her ears. JEFFREY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Last Christmas when Ed proposed, I realized. I'm in love with her. I ca n't lose her. She feels like she's trapped in a horror movie. She's got to get out of here. In a daze, she turns around and heads toward the stairs. JEFFREY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What? Good lord, say something. You said I should tell you the truth. Kat stops dead, her jaw stiffens. When she turns and looks at him, her face is filled with loathing. KAT I wasted two years grieving this? Kat laughs. It is so close to tears, that the sound catches in her throat. She shakes her head, wearily, and mechanically walks up the stairs.", "EXT. GARDEN - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE Kat emerges like a sleepwalker. She looks for Nick, does n't find him anywhere. She drifts toward the table. Jeffrey appears in the doorway behind her. TJ is the first to look up. She sees Kat's face, sees Jeffrey, and knows what happened. TJ goes to Kat. TJ Oh, no. He told you. KAT You knew? TJ I'm so sorry. Kat shakes her head and looks past TJ to Amy. Amy meets her sister's gaze and instantly gets it. Desperate to keep this from Ed, she heads Kat off. AMY Please do n't say anything. Kat looks at Amy like they've never met. Amy's eyes are wild, silently pleading. AMY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Please. Kat has never felt more alone. She looks everywhere for Nick. He finally emerges from the house and comes to Kat's rescue, folding her in his arms. Kat holds onto him for dear life. Then - AMY -LRB- to Nick. -RRB- I ca n't believe you told her! Kat pulls away from Nick, confused. As she stumbles backwards, all she sees is Nick's face. All she hears is Amy's voice, miles away. AMY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You said your job was discretion. You could n't wait until you got back to New York? Bunny and Victor watch, confused, as Kat runs out. Nick runs after her as Ed approaches Jeffrey. ED What's going on? Jeffrey looks straight at his best friend. JEFFREY Nothing. ED -LRB- skeptical. -RRB- Does n't look like nothing. Jeffrey puts his arm around Ed. JEFFREY Now is not the time to catch on. -LRB- re : Ed's empty glass. -RRB- It is, however, time for another round.", "EXT. FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE Kat staggers down the moonlit lane. She's barely staving off a breakdown. Nick runs up behind her. NICK Kat! Kat charges forward, blindly, as Nick follows. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Come on! Do n't be - Kat's anger swells, she spins around. KAT What?! I ca n't believe I trusted you! How could you not tell me!? Nick sees the pain in Kat's face. It's pain for Jeffrey, for the past. NICK -LRB- angrily. -RRB- Jesus, Kat. What did you want me to say? That your sister slept with your fianc\u00e9? That everybody knew and no one respected you enough to tell you? Nick is not used to being angry. He grows uneasy, hedges - NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Besides, you hired me for my discretion. KAT You've always got that to hide behind, do n't you? It's just business! NICK Yeah! For all I know, come Monday morning, we'll go back to the real world and. and you'll be hiring me for your best friend! Kat's face fills with hurt. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I mean, come on. Did you actually think we'd be boyfriend and girlfriend? This stops Kat a moment, then - KAT You let me make a fool of myself! You lied to me! I do n't know why that surprises me because lying is what you do. It's your job. It's who you are. How would you even know if something were real? NICK You're judging me?! Oh, that's a good one. You're lying to me, you're lying to your family, and you're lying to yourself. But you're going to stand there and point a finger at me? The man you hired to pretend to be your boyfriend? Silence. Each wants the other to fight for it. But neither does. Kat gives up. KAT You're right. I was so desperate to make everyone believe I was happy that I spent six grand on a lie. And after all that? The only one who ended up falling for it was me. NICK Go ahead, Kat. Hate me. You were running out of steam on the whole Jeffrey thing. Maybe now you'll be able to hold onto this just long enough to ruin your next relationship. Nick's had enough. He turns and walks away, leaving Kat stunned.", "EXT. FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - LATER The party is over, the house lights low. Moonlight washes over Nick as he carries his packed suitcase to his car. Ed comes out of the house, jogs up to Nick. NICK I'll just check into a hotel. ED Do n't be ridiculous. It's late and the place is empty. Just take my car. Ed hands him a set of keys. ED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I do n't know what's going on with you two, but I'm sure it'll work out. You could n't be more perfect for her if she picked you out of a catalogue. Nick smiles, wearily. NICK Thanks, man. Nick tosses his bag in back and gets in the car.", "INT. SITTING ROOM - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - SAME Kat stands at the window, her eyes puffy. She watches as Nick drives away, then she turns around. Her mom and dad wait in the darkened living room. Kat tries to be strong, but then she goes to her father, burying herself in his arms. Bunny hides a pang of disappointment as she gently touches Kat's head.", "INT. KAT'S ROOM - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - LATER Kat straightens up her room. A KNOCK on the door and Amy walks in. AMY Hey. KAT Hey. Kat keeps cleaning up. AMY I just wanted to say thank you. For not outing me in front of Ed. I want to tell him. Just not on the night before our wedding. With these kind of things, timing is everything. Kat turns on her sister, she's smiling. KAT You're right. You should really time it right so when he hears that you repeatedly screwed his best friend, he does n't feel like the world is collapsing around him and there's no escape because you tricked him into marrying you. Amy was n't ready for Kat's intensity, she backs towards the door. AMY You know what? I'm not having this conversation right now. KAT Sure, disappear. We've been walking away our whole lives. Amy turns around and faces Kat, willing to hear anything. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm not even going to discuss the fact that you screwed my fianc\u00e9 because you've always been a spoiled, amoral, little princess. Amy looks horrified but Kat's not backing down. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- But I put up with all of it because I really believed that deep down, you loved me and you were a good person. I really thought you deserved someone like Ed. God I envied you guys. Somehow, he made your selfish bullshit seem okay. Almost endearing. Amy looks at Kat with tears in her eyes. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And now I know. You did n't deserve any of it. You were just lucky. Kat looks at her sister, sadly. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Do n't worry, Amy. Your wedding will be perfect. Tomorrow, I'll smile and say all the right things and you'll deal with Ed when you're ready. But right now, tonight, I ca n't pretend it's okay. Amy, stricken, exits. As she leaves, her shoulders start to shake. She is crying. Kat's reflex is to go to her, but she stops herself. It's too soon to forgive. She walks over and closes the door.", "INT. BOATHOUSE - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - SAME Nick stands, alone in the darkened boathouse, speaking on his cell phone. NICK And that's the first flight out? He writes something down on a piece of paper. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- All right, thank you. He hangs up and sits down on the edge of the bed. He looks at the floor. At nothing.", "INT. KAT'S ROOM - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE Kat lies in bed. She stares at the ceiling. At nothing.", "INT. KAT'S ROOM - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - MORNING Kat's eyes flutter open. She's not refreshed and she does n't feel better. The only thing that's changed is that it's morning. Kat looks up at the ceiling. KAT -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I'm okay. CU ON KAT'S FACE, STARING INTO CAMERA. SHE SEES NOTHING.", "INT. HAIR DRESSER - DAY Kat's make - up is flawless and her hair is perfect but her eyes are clouded with pain and sleeplessness. BUNNY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I do n't believe you. Bunny sits next to Kat in a barber's chair. KAT No, I'm fine, really. Nothing a bottle of Jack and a straight razor ca n't fix. Kat's trying to be light, but her eyes are a dead giveaway. Kat draws in a long breath, trying to summon some semblance of joy. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Anyway, it does n't matter. Today's Amy's day. She braves a glance at her mother's face. Bunny's not buying.", "EXT. CAR PARK - HAIR DRESSER Kat stands in the car park behind the salon, furtively sucking on a cigarette as she pulls off an old nicotine patch. Choking, she throws down the cigarette as the salon door opens and Bunny steps out. BUNNY What's going on with you two? KAT I was pretty hard on her last night. -LRB- welling up. -RRB- And now she's getting married. BUNNY There's a reason I always tell that Tony Pee - Pants story, you know. KAT Trust me. This is bigger than Tony Pee - Pants. BUNNY -LRB- pressing on. -RRB- Before Tony, you and your sister were best friends. I could n't split you up. If your sister ate the spinach, you ate the spinach. If you threw up -. KAT Mom, please. BUNNY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Anyway, when that boy came over, it was the first time you ever did anything without her. -LRB- beat. -RRB- And Amy was n't just jealous. she was sad and lonely. She missed you. KAT She did? BUNNY So she flirted with Tony, and you got mad and sent him away. Who did that leave? -LRB- beat. -RRB- You and Amy. Reunited. Kat stands, stunned, as Bunny brushes her hand against Kat's cheek. BUNNY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I wish I had known it would go by so fast. Kat watches, full of emotion, as Bunny leaves with tears in her eyes.", "INT. CHURCH A series of images as Wedding preparations transform the austere church. A carpet is unrolled down the aisle. A bouquet is affixed to a pew. Programs are laid out. A HAND ZIPPING UP A SUITCASE.", "INT. BOATHOUSE - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE Bag in hand, Nick locks up the boathouse and sets the keys on top of the door frame.", "EXT. FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE Limos wait outside both Kat's house and the house next door. Bunny fusses with Amy's dress as they walk toward the car. Victor and Kat follow, arm in arm. ANGLE ON VICTOR AND KAT. Victor looks at Kat, who is trying to be brave. It's almost working.", "INT. ANNEX - CHURCH Amy nervously fusses with her dress when Kat walks in. Kat stops when she sees her sister, glowing in a beam of dusty light. It takes Kat's breath away. KAT Wow. You look beautiful. AMY Yeah. Most important day of my life. Whatever. Listen, I chose you to be my Maid of Honor for a lot of reasons : I love you, you're my favorite, and only, half - sister, blah blah blah. But the main reason I picked you is because you've been so miserable for the past few years, I knew you would n't outshine me. -LRB- beat. -RRB- But here it is, my big day. My big day. And something does n't feel right. Maybe it was that pep talk you gave me last night, I do n't know, but your misery just is n't working for me anymore. Amy tries to keep up her tough attitude but when she levels her gaze at Kat, her eyes cloud with a regret deeper than we thought her capable of. AMY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It was a horrible thing I did to you. I'm really sorry. Amy takes her sister's hand. Then lets it drop. AMY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I know you hate when I get what I want. But right now, all I want is for you to be happy. ON KAT as this sinks in.", "EXT. CHURCH Kat pushes open the heavy church doors. Organ music floods out as Kat surreptitiously looks up and down the street. Victor appears behind her. Kat looks at her dad and forces a smile. Victor knows she's upset. VICTOR So why'd you let him go? KAT It's complicated, Dad. VICTOR -LRB- ironically. -RRB- Oh, well, then. It probably wo n't work out. Victor stops and faces her, his voice full of meaning. VICTOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I read a fascinating article in the New Yorker once and this guy said : `` Every woman has the exact love life she wants.'' You know what? I agree. And I refuse to believe that this is what you want. Kat is overwhelmed but Victor continues. VICTOR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Ever since you were a little kid, you've been trying to please other people. And in return for your services, all they've done is disappoint you. -LRB- beat. -RRB- So tell me, is this the guy for you? Kat thinks about this. KAT Yeah. VICTOR Then for once in your life, do something for yourself. Kat looks at him gratefully and makes a silent decision.", "INT. CAR [DRIVING] Kat speeds down the road in her parents' car. The empty boat trailer clatters behind her.", "INT. CHURCH Amy watches through a crack in the door as the GUESTS take their seats.", "INT. ANNEX - CHURCH Amy paces nervously. Ed knocks and enters, covering his eyes so he does n't see her dress. ED Your mother said you'd like a quick word. Amy takes Ed's hands away from his eyes. From the look on her face, Ed knows something is wrong.", "INT. WOODS Kat races through the woods, trying to keep her dress from catching on the branches that whip at her on all sides.", "INT. CHURCH The Guests are all seated now, and the organ has begun its mood music. In the atrium just outside the church, the entire wedding party, minus Amy and Ed, is gathered, waiting.", "EXT. BOATHOUSE - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE Kat bursts into the clearing, her hair tousled, her dress nightmarish. She tries to catch her breath as she looks up to the porch of the boathouse. This is supposed to be the part where she sees Nick and they live happily ever after.", "INT. BOATHOUSE - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE Kat desperately searches the rooms of the boathouse. By the time she gets to the kitchen, she knows it's going to be empty. She opens the door, anyway. Nick's gone. On the kitchen table, a brown envelope. Kat picks it up. Written on the front : KAT. She turns it over to open it. On the back it reads : `` IT'S ALL THERE, TRUST ME.'' Kat laughs at how well Nick knows her. Her eyes fill with love.", "INT./EXT. CAR [DRIVING] Inside the car, Nick's face is stoic as he drives, his carryon on the seat next to him.", "INT. ANNEX - CHURCH Amy faces Ed, her eyes red and puffy. AMY I was too scared to tell you. I thought you'd never speak to me again. I'm so sorry. Ed is reeling, he just stares at Amy, saying nothing. Amy's finally doing her penance. The silence is killing her. AMY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Say something. Please. ED I knew you were still seeing someone else when we finally got together. I never in a million years would have dreamt it was Jeffrey. Ed shakes his head, trying to understand. ED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Does Kat know? AMY Jeffrey told her last night. ED Last night? Ed winces, remembering, then lets out a growl. ED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- That worthless bastard! Ed staggers towards the door.", "INT. CHURCH Ed slams the door on his way out of the annex. He charges up the aisle, past the pews full of guests. Guests MURMUR in surprise. Ed picks up speed. He's like a heat - seeking missile that's found its mark : JEFFREY, stands at the back, chatting up a DUMPY BRIDESMAID. He turns just in time to see Ed running up the aisle. TJ spots Ed, too. Jeffrey's seen this movie before -- - he knows he's about to get his ass kicked. Jeffrey drops everything and starts running. At that moment, TJ grabs a FLOWER GIRL and uses the little girl to trip Jeffrey. He falls, scrambles back up and keeps running.", "EXT. STREET Kat trudges up the church steps, her head down. Just then, the door bursts open and Jeffrey flies out of the church and races down the street. Moments later, Ed explodes from the church and takes off after Jeffrey. Kat watches them run down the street, confused, then goes inside.", "INT./EXT. CAR [DRIVING] Nick's staring straight ahead when something STREAKS PAST HIS WINDOW. Nick thinks he's seeing things, looks in the rear - view mirror to investigate. Just then, ANOTHER FORM STREAKS PAST. Nick looks out the back window and sees Ed chasing Jeffrey down the street. Nick shakes his head, but keeps driving. This family is not his problem anymore. Nick wills his eyes to stay on the road, but then he ca n't help it. He looks into the rear - view mirror again. Almost despite himself, Nick throws the car into a U - turn. He catches up and pulls alongside Ed, who's still chasing Jeffrey. NICK Hey. Ed looks over at Nick, but keeps running, his tuxedo flailing. Nick keeps pace. ED -LRB- winded. -RRB- I look like a total wanker, do n't I? NICK Yeah, kind of. Ed keeps running. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Only way to beat that guy is to take yourself out of the game. Ed finally stops running. Wheezing, he bends over to catch his breath. Nick pulls over.", "INT. ANNEX - CHURCH Back inside, Amy nervously awaits her fate. Kat enters. She wants to hug Amy, but offers her a tissue instead. Amy takes it gratefully.", "INT./EXT. CAR \u2013 LATER Nick and Ed pull up to the church. Nick turns off the car. Neither one of them gets out. ED You heading to the train station? NICK I figured you could pick up your car tomorrow. ED Yeah. They sit in silence, the church looming in front of them. ED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I felt sorry for you last night. I was sitting there like some smug arse thinking how lucky I am. Ed's clearly struggling. Nick lets him talk. ED -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I forgave her when I thought it was just some bloke. Bugger it. Why Jeffrey? -LRB- beat. -RRB- I've had her up on a pedestal ever since. since the day I put her up there. It's going to take a long time for me to get over this. Nick tries to find the right words of encouragement. Finally, he takes his best shot. NICK Think about it this way : you get to spend the rest of your life having make - up sex. Ed thinks on this a moment. Then he turns to Nick. ED Listen, mate, are you coming to this wedding or not?", "EXT. CHURCH Kat pushes open the heavy doors to take one last look. She steps outside and the door closes, revealing - NICK, now dressed in his tux. He smiles at her. NICK Hi. KAT Hi. They take each other in. NICK When we were fighting last night, it hit me. No one had ever cared about me as much as you cared about Jeffrey. That's why I was so angry. I'm sorry I took it out on you - I did n't mean to hurt you. -LRB- beat. -RRB- And then, I was going to get out of here and leave you alone, but halfway to the station, I realized - From inside, the WEDDING MARCH begins to play. Nick takes her face in his hands. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'd rather fight with you than make love to anyone else. Kat is speechless. Nick leans down and kisses her like he's going to keep on kissing her forever. But then, he breaks away. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I should go. KAT What?! No, no. You ca n't - NICK I have to. -LRB- he smiles. -RRB- I'm the best man.", "INT. HALLWAY - CHURCH Nick and Kat stand in a dark doorway, facing the closed door. They share a secret smile in the dark. Just then, the USHER opens the door and Nick leads Kat down the aisle. As they walk, they exchange sidelong glances. Both are as nervous and excited as school kids. Behind them, Victor and Amy beam as they await their turn. Nick leans over and whispers in her ear.", "INT. CHURCH \u2013 LATER In the background, Amy and Ed stand at the altar. They hold hands tightly, grateful to have lost and found each other. Nick and Kat peek across at each other. They both smile. KAT -LRB- O.S. -RRB- `` Today is a day for love and for beauty. But most of all, it's a day for truth.''", "INT. TENT - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - AFTERNOON Kat speaks into a microphone, trying to deliver her speech. All around her, she sees faces : Mom, Dad, Amy, Ed, TJ. Kat looks down at a crumpled scrap of paper. KAT I've been working on this speech since these two got engaged. It was supposed to be touching and funny. Kat looks at Nick. He does n't have to do anything. He just is support. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I thought I'd come back to England and have an epiphany. I'd see Amy and the perfect thing would pop into my head and it would encapsulate how and why I love my sister. But I came home and everything was a mess and the truth and beauty line was all I could come up with. -LRB- beat. -RRB- And I think I stole that from the back of an in - flight magazine. The GUESTS laugh. Kat looks at her mom. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- A wonderful woman once said about Amy : `` It's not that I love her more, it's that she lets me love her.'' Kat raises her glass in a toast. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- to Ed and Amy. -RRB- It can be the scariest thing in the world to let someone love you and to know how to love them back. Take good care of each other. I love you both. Everyone clinks glasses. A few people sniffle or kiss their dates. Kat and Amy hold each other's gaze. Nearby, Bunny watches her little girls with tears in her eyes.", "INT. TENT - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - DUSK The STAFF has already started packing up. Ed's Father whispers something to the BANDLEADER and pulls his wife out on the dance floor. He spins her around as `` Ma Vie en Rose'' begins to play. She smiles, happily, as they dance. Ed tries to keep a very drunk Amy away from the present table. Slouching on the piano, TJ makes out with her date, Woody, the bartender. The CAMERA FINDS Kat and Nick on the dance floor. NICK Nice speech. I thought it was `` touching''. and `` funny.'' KAT Thank you. Nick gracefully spins Kat around ; they really do dance beautifully together. KAT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Since I've generously agreed to go out with you, I think it's only fair that you tell me how you got into the business? Kat smiles mischievously. Nick pulls her close. He's finally going to tell her. NICK You know why I never tell the real story of how I got into this? Kat shakes her head, `` no.'' Nick swings her around in an elaborate dip and kisses her on the neck. NICK -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Because it's boring. -LRB- Kat laughs. -RRB- Now if you want to hear a good story, let me tell you the one about how I got out of it. Kat and Nick smile at each other as their dancing grows more effortless. In the background, Ed tugs a half - opened present out of Amy's hands and puts it back on the table. She jumps up on his back and he happily carts her off to the loo. A HAND COUNTING MONEY IN THE BROWN ENVELOPE.", "EXT. BOATHOUSE - FLETCHER-WOOTEN ESTATE - SAME A WORKER finishes counting the money, closes the envelope, and tucks it in his pocket. The CAMERA PULLS BACK as he walks over to TWO OTHER WORKERS, who are scraping paint off a hoisted - up `` JACK SHIP.'' As the first star appears in the night sky, the music swells and we slowly make out the sounds of the greatest make - up sex of all time, echoing in the distance. FADE TO BLACK."], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0], "summary": "Kat Ellis (Debra Messing) is a single New Yorker who returns to her parents' house in London to be the maid of honor at her younger half sister Amy's (Amy Adams) wedding. The best man is none other than her former fianc\u00e9, who unexpectedly dumped her two years ago.  Anxious about confronting him and eager to impress him, she hires suave escort Nick Mercer (Dermot Mulroney) to pose as her boyfriend. Kat intends to make her former flame, Jeffrey (Jeremy Sheffield), jealous, but her plan backfires when Nick convinces everyone, including her, that they are madly in love. Kat then feels herself, too, falling for Nick as he slowly falls for her. The night before the wedding, Kat discovers Amy slept with Jeffrey when they were still together, and that Jeffrey dumped Kat because he believed he was in love with Amy. Nick had discovered this fact a day earlier, and when Kat finds that out, she feels betrayed from all sides, and puts Nick off. He decides to return to America, and leaves Kat the money she had paid him. On the wedding day, seeing Kat distressed, her step-father (Peter Egan) asks Kat if Nick 'is the guy for you', and Kat realizes he is, so she sets off to find him. Meanwhile, just before the wedding, Amy confesses her betrayal to her fianc\u00e9, Ed (Jack Davenport), but professes her love for him. Ed, upset, chases Jeffrey out of the church and down the road. Jeffrey in distress of the chase, said he gave up on Amy and believes he's done nothing wrong. To which Ed, calls him a \"back-stabbing weasel\", though Jeffrey believes he's still done nothing wrong because he slept with Amy before they dated. Ed shouts out that he was engaged to Kat, proving he was still in the wrong for what he did to Kat. Nick, driving away, picks up Ed as Jeffrey disappears into the woods. Nick and Ed talk about love, and Ed decides he loves Amy more than he is angry. To make it more clear that he should go back, Nick tells Ed if he went back the couple would end up having great make-up sex. To which, Nick helps urge him more to return to the church, so they end up getting married, with Nick as 'new' best man. Just before the ceremony, Nick tells Kat he realized he'd \"... rather fight with you than make love with anyone else\", and they kiss passionately. Kat and Nick begin a real relationship together. Amy and Kat now reconcile and Kat lets go of her anger and forgives Amy since she confessed the truth to Ed. TJ (Sarah Parish), Kat's cousin also apparently enjoys a moment with Woody (Jolyon James) after the wedding. Jeffrey, the main cause of all the trouble, learns absolutely nothing. At the end he is seen trying to get the attentions of a female neighbor.", "name": "The_Wedding_Date"}
{"scenes": ["INT -- CABIN -- NIGHT (1946) A dark, empty room. The door bursts open. A MAN and WOMAN enter, drunk and giggling, horny as hell. No sooner is the door shut than they're all over each other, ripping at clothes, pawing at flesh, mouths locked together. He gropes for a lamp, tries to turn it on, knocks it over instead. Hell with it. He's got more urgent things to do, like getting her blouse open and his hands on her breasts. She arches, moaning, fumbling with his fly. He slams her against the wall, ripping her skirt. We hear fabric tear. He enters her right then and there, roughly, up against the wall. She cries out, hitting her head against the wall but not caring, grinding against him, clawing his back, shivering with the sensations running through her. He carries her across the room with her legs wrapped around him. They fall onto the bed. CAMERA PULLS BACK, exiting through the window, traveling smoothly outside.", "EXT. -- CABIN -- NIGHT (1946) to reveal the bungalow, remote in a wooded area, the lovers' cries spilling into the night. and we drift down a wooded path, the sounds of rutting passion growing fainter, mingling now with the night sounds of crickets and hoot owls. and we begin to hear FAINT MUSIC in the woods, tinny and incongruous, and still we keep PULLING BACK until. a car is revealed. A 1946 Plymouth. Parked in a clearing.", "INT. -- PLYMOUTH -- NIGHT (1946) ANDY DUFRESNE, mid - 20's, wire rim glasses, three - piece suit. Under normal circumstances a respectable, solid citizen ; hardly dangerous, perhaps even meek. But these circumstances are far from normal. He is disheveled, unshaven, and very drunk. A cigarette smolders in his mouth. His eyes, flinty and hard, are riveted to the bungalow up the path. He can hear them fucking from here. He raises a bottle of bourbon and knocks it back. The radio plays softly, painfully romantic, taunting him : You stepped out of a dream. You are too wonderful. To be what you seem. He opens the glove compartment, pulls out an object wrapped in a rag. He lays it in his lap and unwraps it carefully - - revealing a.38 revolver. Oily, black, evil. He grabs a box of bullets. Spills them everywhere, all over the seats and floor. Clumsy. He picks bullets off his lap, loading them into the gun, one by one, methodical and grim. Six in the chamber. His gaze goes back to the bungalow. He shuts off the radio. Abrupt silence, except for the distant lovers' moans. He takes another shot of bourbon courage, then opens the door and steps from the car.", "EXT. -- PLYMOUTH -- NIGHT (1946) His wingtip shoes crunch on gravel. Loose bullets scatter to the ground. The bourbon bottle drops and shatters. He starts up the path, unsteady on his feet. The closer he gets, the louder the lovemaking becomes. Louder and more frenzied. The lovers are reaching a climax, their sounds of passion degenerating into rhythmic gasps and grunts. WOMAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Oh god. oh god. oh god. Andy lurches to a stop, listening. The woman cries out in orgasm. The sound slams into Andy's brain like an icepick. He shuts his eyes tightly, wishing the sound would stop. It finally does, dying away like a siren until all that's left is the shallow gasping and panting of post - coitus. We hear languorous laughter, moans of satisfaction. WOMAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Oh god. that's sooo good. you're the best. the best I ever had. Andy just stands and listens, devastated. He does n't look like much of a killer now ; he's just a sad little man on a dirt path in the woods, tears streaming down his face, a loaded gun held loosely at his side. A pathetic figure, really. FADE TO BLACK : 1ST TITLE UP", "INT. -- COURTROOM -- DAY (1946) THE JURY listens like a gallery of mannequins on display, pale - faced and stupefied. D.A. -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Mr. Dufresne, describe the confrontation you had with your wife the night she was murdered. ANDY DUFRESNE is on the witness stand, hands folded, suit and tie pressed, hair meticulously combed. He speaks in soft, measured tones : ANDY It was very bitter. She said she was glad I knew, that she hated all the sneaking around. She said she wanted a divorce in Reno. D.A. What was your response? ANDY I told her I would not grant one. D.A. -LRB- refers to his notes. -RRB- I'll see you in Hell before I see you in Reno. Those were the words you used, Mr. Dufresne, according to the testimony of your neighbors. ANDY If they say so. I really do n't remember. I was upset. FADE TO BLACK : 2ND TITLE UP D.A. What happened after you and your wife argued? ANDY She packed a bag and went to stay with Mr. Quentin. D.A. Glenn Quentin. The golf pro at the Falmouth Hills Country Club. The man you had recently discovered was her lover. -LRB- Andy nods. -RRB- Did you follow her? ANDY I went to a few bars first. Later, I decided to drive to Mr. Quentin's home and confront them. They were n't there. so I parked my car in the turnout. and waited. D.A. With what intention? ANDY I'm not sure. I was confused. Drunk. I think mostly I wanted to scare them. D.A. You had a gun with you? ANDY Yes. I did. FADE TO BLACK : 3RD TITLE UP D.A. When they arrived, you went up to the house and murdered them? ANDY No. I was sobering up. I realized she was n't worth it. I decided to let her have her quickie divorce. D.A. Quickie divorce indeed. A.38 caliber divorce, wrapped in a handtowel to muffle the shots, is n't that what you mean? And then you shot her lover! ANDY I did not. I got back in the car and drove home to sleep it off. Along the way, I stopped and threw my gun into the Royal River. I feel I've been very clear on this point. D.A. Yes, you have. Where I get hazy, though, is the part where the cleaning woman shows up the next morning and finds your wife and her lover in bed, riddled with.38 caliber bullets. Does that strike you as a fantastic coincidence, Mr. Dufresne, or is it just me? ANDY -LRB- softly. -RRB- Yes. It does. D.A. I'm sorry, Mr. Dufresne, I do n't think the jury heard that. ANDY Yes. It does. D.A. Does what? ANDY Strike me as a fantastic coincidence. D.A. On that, sir, we are in accord. FADE TO BLACK! 4TH TITLE UP D.A. You claim you threw your gun into the Royal River before the murders took place. That's rather convenient. ANDY It's the truth. D.A. You recall Lt. Mincher's testimony? He and his men dragged that river for three days and nary a gun was found. So no comparison can be made between your gun and the bullets taken from the bloodstained corpses of the victims. That's also rather convenient, is n't it, Mr. Dufresne? ANDY -LRB- faint, bitter smile. -RRB- Since I am innocent of this crime, sir, I find it decidedly inconvenient the gun was never found. FADE TO BLACK : STH TITLE UP", "INT. -- COURTROOM -- DAY (1946) The D.A. holds the jury spellbound with his closing summation : D.A. Ladies and gentlemen, you've heard all the evidence, you know all the facts. We have the accused at the scene of the crime. We have foot prints. Tire tracks. Bullets scattered on the ground which bear his fingerprints. A broken bourbon bottle, likewise with fingerprints. Most of all, we have a beautiful young woman and her lover lying dead in each other's arms. They had sinned. But was their crime so great as to merit a death sentence? He gestures to Andy sitting quietly with his ATTORNEY. D.A. I suspect Mr. Dufresne's answer to that would be yes. I further suspect he carried out that sentence on the night of September 21st, this year of our Lord, 1946, by pumping four bullets into his wife and another four into Glenn Quentin. And while you think about that, think about this. He picks up a revolver, spins the cylinder before their eyes like a carnival barker spinning a wheel of fortune. D.A. A revolver holds six bullets, not eight. I submit to you this was not a hot - blooded crime of passion! That could at least be understood, if not condoned. No, this was revenge of a much more brutal and cold - blooded nature. Consider! Four bullets per victim! Not six shots fired, but eight! That means he fired the gun empty. and then stopped to reload so he could shoot each of them again! An extra bullet per lover. right in the head. -LRB- a few JURORS shiver. -RRB- I'm done talking. You people are all decent, God - fearing Christian folk. You know what to do. FADE TO BLACK : 6TH TITLE UP", "INT. -- JURY ROOM -- DAY (1946) CAMERA TRACKS down a long table, moving from one JUROR to the next. These decent, God - fearing Christians are chowing down on a nice fried chicken dinner provided them by the county, smacking greasy lips and gnawing cobbettes of corn. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. We find the FOREMAN at the head of the table, sorting votes. FADE TO BLACK : 7TH TITLE UP", "INT. -- COURTROOM -- DAY (1946) Andy stands before the dias. THE JUDGE peers down, framed by a carved frieze of blind Lady Justice on the wall. JUDGE You strike me as a particularly icy and remorseless man, Mr. Dufresne. It chills my blood just to look at you. By the power vested in me by the State of Maine, I hereby order you to serve two life sentences, back to back, one for each of your victims. So be it. He raps his gavel as we CRASH TO BLACK : LAST TITLE UP. AN IRON - BARRED DOOR 9 slides open with an enormous CLANG. A stark room waits beyond. CAMERA PUSHES through. SEVEN HUMORLESS MEN sit side by side at a long table. An empty chair faces them. We are now in :", "INT. -- SHAWSHANK HEARINGS ROOM -- DAY (1947) RED enters, removes his cap and waits by the chair. MAN #1 Sit. Red sits, tries not to slouch. The chair is uncomfortable. MAN #2 We see by your file you've served twenty years of a life sentence. MAN #3 You feel you've been rehabilitated? RED Yes, sir. Absolutely. I've learned my lesson. I can honestly say I'm a changed man. I'm no longer a danger to society. That's the God's honest truth. No doubt about it. The men just stare at him. One stifles a yawn. CLOSEUP - PAROLE FORM A big rubber stamp slams down : `` REJECTED'' in red ink.", "EXT. -- EXERCISE YARD -- SHAWSHANK PRISON -- DUSK (1947) High stone walls topped with snaky concertina wire, set off at intervals by looming guard towers. Over a hundred CONS are in the yard. Playing catch, shooting craps, jawing at each other, making deals. Exercise period. RED emerges into fading daylight, slouches low - key through the activity, worn cap on his head, exchanging hellos and doing minor business. He's an important man here. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- There's a con like me in every prison in America, I guess. I'm the guy who can get it for you. Cigarettes, a bag of reefer if you're partial, a bottle of brandy to celebrate your kid's high school graduation. Damn near anything, within reason. He slips somebody a pack of smokes, smooth sleight - of - hand. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yes sir, I'm a regular Sears & Roebuck. TWO SHORT SIREN BLASTS issue from the main tower, drawing everybody's attention to the loading dock. The outer gate swings open. revealing a gray prison bus outside. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So when Andy Dufresne came to me in 1949 and asked me to smuggle Rita Hayworth into the prison for him, I told him no problem. And it was n't. CON Fresh fish! Fresh fish today! Red is joined by HEYWOOD, SKEET, FLOYD, JIGGER, ERNIE, SNOOZE. Most cons crowd to the fence to gawk and jeer, but Red and his group mount the bleachers and settle in comfortably.", "INT. -- PRISON BUS -- DUSK (1947) Andy sits in back, wearing steel collar and chains. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Andy came to Shawshank Prison in early 1947 for murdering his wife and the fella she was bangin'. The bus lurches forward, RUMBLES through the gates. Andy gazes around, swallowed by prison walls. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- On the outside, he'd been vice - president of a large Portland bank. Good work for a man as young as he was, when you consider how conservative banks were back then. TOWER GUARD All clear! GUARDS approach the bus with carbines. The door jerks open. The new fish disembark, chained together single - file, blinking sourly at their surroundings. Andy stumbles against the MAN in front of him, almost drags him down. BYRON HADLEY, captain of the guard, slams his baton into Andy's back. Andy goes to his knees, gasping in pain. JEERS and SHOUTS from the spectators. HADLEY On your feet before I fuck you up so bad you never walk again. ON THE BLEACHERS 13 RED There they are, boys. The Human Charm Bracelet. HEYWOOD Never seen such a sorry - lookin' heap of maggot shit in my life. JIGGER Comin' from you, Heywood, you being so pretty and all. FLOYD Takin' bets today, Red? RED -LRB- pulls notepad and pencil. -RRB- Bear Catholic? Pope shit in the woods? Smokes or coin, bettor's choice. FLOYD Smokes. Put me down for two. RED High roller. Who's your horse? FLOYD That gangly sack of shit, third from the front. He'll be the first. HEYWOOD Bullshit. I'll take that action. ERNIE Me too. Other hands go up. Red jots the names. HEYWOOD You're out some smokes, son. Take my word. FLOYD You're so smart, you call it. HEYWOOD I say that chubby fat - ass. let's see. fifth from the front. Put me down for a quarter deck. RED That's five cigarettes on Fat - Ass. Any takers? More hands go up. Andy and the others are paraded along, forced by their chains to take tiny baby steps, flinching under the barrage of jeers and shouts. The old - timers are shaking the fence, trying to make the newcomers shit their pants. Some of the new fish shout back, but mostly they look terrified. Especially Andy. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I must admit I did n't think much of Andy first time I laid eyes on him. He might' a been important on the outside, but in here he was just a little turd in prison grays. Looked like a stiff breeze could blow him over. That was my first impression of the man. SKEET What say, Red? RED Little fella on the end. Definitely. I stake half a pack. Any takers? SNOOZE Rich bet. RED C'mon, boys, who's gon na prove me wrong? -LRB- hands go up. -RRB- Floyd, Skeet, Joe, Heywood. Four brave souls, ten smokes apiece. That's it, gentlemen, this window's closed. Red pockets his notepad. A VOICE comes over the P.A. speakers : VOICE -LRB- amplified. -RRB- Return to your cellblocks for evening count.", "INT. -- ADMITTING AREA -- DUSK (1947) The new fish are marched in. Guards unlock the shackles. The chains drop away, rattling to the stone floor. HADLEY Eyes front. WARDEN SAMUEL NORTON strolls forth, a colorless man in a gray suit and a church pin in his lapel. He looks like he could piss ice water. He appraises the newcomers with flinty eyes. NORTON This is Mr. Hadley, captain of the guard. I am Mr. Norton, the warden. You are sinners and scum, that's why they sent you to me. Rule number one : no blaspheming. I'll not have the Lord's name taken in vain in my prison. The other rules you'll figure out as you go along. Any questions? CON When do we eat? Cued by Norton's glance, Hadley steps up to the con and screams right in his face : HADLEY YOU EAT WHEN WE SAY YOU EAT! YOU PISS WHEN WE SAY YOU PISS! YOU SHIT WHEN WE SAY YOU SHIT! YOU SLEEP WHEN WE SAY YOU SLEEP! YOU MAGGOT - DICK MOTHERFUCKER! Hadley rams the tip of his club into the con's belly. The man falls to his knees, gasping and clutching himself. Hadley takes his place at Norton's side again. Softly : NORTON Any other questions? -LRB- there are none. -RRB- I believe in two things. Discipline and the Bible. Here, you'll receive both. -LRB- holds up a Bible. -RRB- Put your faith in the Lord. Your ass belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank. HADLEY Off with them clothes! And I did n't say take all day doing it, did I? The men shed their clothes. Within seconds, all stand naked. HADLEY First man into the shower! Hadley shoves the FIRST CON into a steel cage open at the front. TWO GUARDS open up with a fire hose. The con is slammed against the back of the cage, sputtering and hollering. Seconds later, the water is cut and the con yanked out. HADLEY Delouse that piece of shit! Next man in! The con gets a huge scoop of white delousing powder thrown all over him. Gasping and coughing, blinking powder from his eyes, he gets shoved to a trustee's cage. The TRUSTEE slides a short stack of items through the slot - prison clothes and a Bible. All the men are processed quickly - a blast of water, powder, clothes and a Bible.", "INT. -- INFIRMARY -- NIGHT (1947) A naked CON steps before a DOCTOR and gets a cursory exam. A penlight is shined in his eyes, ears, nose, and throat. DOCTOR Bend over. The con does. A GUARD with a penlight in his teeth spreads his cheeks, peers up his ass, and nods. Andy is next up. He gets the same treatment.", "INT. -- PRISON CHAPEL -- NIGHT (1947) CAMERA TRACKS the naked newcomers shivering on hard wooden chairs, clothes on their laps, Bibles open. CHAPLAIN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul.", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- NIGHT (1947) Three tiers to a side, concrete and steel, gray and imposing. Andy and the others are marched in, still naked, carrying their clothes and Bibles. The CONS in their cells greet them with TAUNTS, JEERS, and LAUGHTER. One by one, the new men are shown to their cells and locked in with a CLANG OF STEEL. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The first night's the toughest, no doubt about it. They march you in naked as the day you're born, fresh from a Bible reading, skin burning and half - blind from that delousing shit they throw on you. Red watches from his cell, arms slung over the crossbars, cigarette dangling from his fingers. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- and when they put you in that cell, when those bars slam home, that's when you know it's for real. Old life blown away in the blink of an eye. a long cold season in hell stretching out ahead. nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it. Red listens to the CLANGING below. He watches Andy and a few others being brought up to the 2nd tier. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Most new fish come close to madness the first night. Somebody always breaks down crying. Happens every time. The only question is, who's it gon na be? Andy is led past and given a cell at the end of the tier. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's as good a thing to bet on as any, I guess. I had my money on Andy Dufresne.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947) The bars slam home. Andy is alone in his cell, clutching his clothes. He gazes around at his new surroundings, taking it in. He slowly begins to dress himself.", "EXT. -- SHAWSHANK PRISON -- NIGHT (1947) A malignant stone growth on the Maine landscape. The moon hangs low and baleful in a dead sky. The headlight of a PASSING TRAIN cuts through the night.", "INT. -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947) Red lies on his bunk below us, tossing his baseball toward the ceiling and catching it again. He pauses, listening. FOOTSTEPS approach below, unhurried, echoing hollowly on stone.", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- NIGHT (1947) LOW ANGLE. A CELLBLOCK GUARD strolls into frame. GUARD That's lights out! Good night, ladies. The lights bump off in sequence. The guard exits, footsteps echoing away. Darkness now. Silence. CAMERA CRANES UP the tiers toward Red's cell. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I remember my first night. Seems a long time ago now. Red looms from the darkness, leans on the bars. Listens. Waits. From somewhere below comes faint, ghastly tittering. VOICES drift through the cellblock, taunting : VARIOUS VOICES -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Fishee fishee fisheeee. You're gon na like it here, new fish. A whooole lot. Make you wish your daddies never dicked your mommies. You takin' this down, new fish? Gon na be a quiz later. -LRB- somebody LAUGHS. -RRB- Sshhh. Keep it down. The screws'll hear. Fishee fishee fisheeee. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The boys always go fishin' with first - timers. and they do n't quit till they reel someone in. The VOICES keep on, sly and creepy in the dark.", "INT. -- VARIOUS CELLS -- NIGHT (1947) thru thru 25 2g. while the new cons go quietly crazy in their cells. One man paces like a caged animal. another sits gnawing his cuticles bloody. a third is weeping silently. a fourth is dry - heaving into the toilet.", "INT. -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947) Red waits at the bars. Smoking. Listening. He cranes his head, peers down toward Andy's cell. Nothing. Not a peep. HEYWOOD -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Fat - Ass. oh, Faaaat - Ass. Talk to me, boy. I know you're in there. I can hear you breathin'. Now do n't you listen to these nitwits, hear?", "INT. -- FAT-ASS' CELL -- NIGHT (1947) Fat - Ass is crying, trying not to hyperventilate. HEYWOOD -LRB- O.S. -RRB- This ai n't such a bad place. I'll introduce you around, make you feel right at home. I know some big ol' bull queers who'd love to make your acquaintance. especially that big white mushy butt of yours. And that's it. Fat - Ass lets out a LOUD WAIL of despair : FAT-ASS OH GOD! I DO N'T BELONG HERE! I WAN NA GO HOME!", "INT. -- HEYWOOD'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947) HEYWOOD AND IT'S FAT - ASS BY A NOSE.'", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK -- NIGHT (1947) The place goes nuts. Fat - Ass throws himself screaming against the bars. The entire block starts CHANTING : VOICES Fresh fish. fresh fish. fresh fish. fresh fish. FAT-ASS I WAN NA GO HOME! I WANT MY MOTHER.' VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I had your mother! She was n't that great! The lights bump on. GUARDS pour in, led by Hadley himself. HADLEY What the Christ is this happy shit? VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- He took the Lord's name in vain! I'm tellin' the warden! HADLEY -LRB- to the unseen wit. -RRB- You'll be tellin' him with my baton up your ass! Hadley arrives at Fat - Ass' cell, bellowing through the bars : HADLEY What's your malfunction you fat fuckin' barrel of monkey - spunk? FAT-ASS PLEASE! THIS AI N'T RIGHT! I AI N'T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! NOT ME! HADLEY I ai n't gon na count to three! Not even to one! Now shut the fuck up ` fore I sing you a lullabye! Fat - Ass keeps blubbering and wailing. Total freak - out. Hadley draws his baton, gestures to his men. Open it. A GUARD unlocks the cell. Hadley pulls Fat - Ass out and starts beating him with the baton, brutally raining blows. Fat - Ass falls, tries to crawl. The place goes dead silent. All we hear now is the dull THWACK - THWACK - THWACK of the baton. Fat - ass passes out. Hadley gets in a few more licks and finally stops. HADLEY Get this tub of shit down to the infirmary. -LRB- peers around. -RRB- If I hear so much as a mouse fart in here the rest of the night, by God and Sonny Jesus, you'll all visit the infirmary. Every last motherfucker here. The guards wrestle Fat - Ass onto a stretcher and carry him off. FOOTSTEPS echo away. Lights off. Darkness again. Silence.", "INT. -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947) Red stares through the bars at the main floor below, eyes riveted to the small puddle of blood where Fat - Ass went down. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- His first night in the joint, Andy Dufresne cost me two packs of cigarettes. He never made a sound.", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- MORNING (1947) LOUD BUZZER. The master locks are thrown - KA - THUMP! The cons step from their cells, lining the tiers. The GUARDS holler their head - counts to the HEAD BULL, who jots on a clipboard. Red peers at Andy, checking him out. Andy stands in line, collar buttoned, hair combed.", "INT. -- MESS HALL -- MORNING (1947) Andy goes through the breakfast line, gets a scoop of glop on his tray. WE PAN ANDY through the noise and confusion. and discover BOGS DIAMOND and ROOSTER MacBRIDE watching Andy go by. Bogs sizes Andy up with a salacious gleam in his eye, mutters something to Rooster. Rooster laughs. Andy finds a table occupied by Red and his regulars, chooses a spot at the end where nobody is sitting. Ignoring their stares, he picks up his spoon - and pauses, seeing something in his food. He carefully fishes it out with his fingers. It's a squirming maggot. Andy grimaces, unsure what to do with it. BROOKS HATLEN is sitting closest to Andy. At age 65, he's a senior citizen, a long - standing resident. BROOKS You gon na eat that? ANDY Had n't planned on it. BROOKS You mind? Andy passes the maggot to Brooks. Brooks examines it, rolling it between his fingertips like a man checking out a fine cigar. Andy is riveted with apprehension. BROOKS Mmm. Nice and ripe. Andy ca n't bear to watch. Brooks opens up his sweater and feeds the maggot to a baby crow nestled in an inside pocket. Andy breathes a sigh of relief. BROOKS Jake says thanks. Fell out of his nest over by the plate shop. I'm lookin' after him till he's old enough to fly. Andy nods, proceeds to eat. Carefully. Heywood approaches. JIGGER Oh, Christ, here he comes. HEYWOOD Mornin', boys. It's a fine mornin'. You know why it's fine? Heywood plops his tray down, sits. The men start pulling out cigarettes and handing them down. HEYWOOD That's right, send'em all down. I wan na see'em lined up in a row, pretty as a chorus line. An impressive pile forms. Heywood bends down and inhales deeply, smelling the aroma. Rapture. FLOYD Smell my ass. HEYWOOD Gee, Red. Terrible shame, your horse comin' in last and all. Hell, I sure do love that horse of mine. I believe I owe that boy a big sloppy kiss when I see him. RED Give him some'a your cigarettes instead, cheap bastard. HEYWOOD Say Tyrell, you pull infirmary duty this week? How's that winnin' horse of mine, anyway? TYRELL Dead. -LRB- the men fall silent. -RRB- Hadley busted his head pretty good. Doc already went home for the night. Poor bastard lay there till this morning. By then. He shakes his head, turns back to his food. The silence mounts. Heywood glances around. Men resume eating. Softly : ANDY What was his name? HEYWOOD What? What'd you say? ANDY I was wondering if anyone knew his name. HEYWOOD What the fuck you care, new fish? -LRB- resumes eating. -RRB- Does n't matter what his fuckin' name was. He's dead.", "INT. -- PRISON LAUNDRY -- DAY (1947) A DEAFENING NOISE of industrial washers and presses. Andy works the laundry line. A nightmarish job. He's new at it. BOB, the con foreman, elbows him aside and shows him how it's done.", "INT. -- SHOWERS -- DAY (1947) Shower heads mounted in bare concrete. Andy showers with a dozen or more men. No modesty here. At least the water is good and hot, soothing his tortured muscles. Bogs looms from the billowing steam, smiling, checking Andy up and down. Rooster and PETE appear from the sides. The Sisters. BOGS You're some sweet punk. You been broke in yet? Andy tries to step past them. He gets shoved around, nothing serious, just some slap and tickle. Jackals sizing up prey. BOGS Hard to get. I like that. Andy breaks free, flushed and shaking. He hurries off, leaving the three Sisters laughing.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947) Andy lies staring at the darkness, unable to sleep.", "EXT. -- EXERCISE YARD -- DAY (1947) Exercise period. Red plays catch with Heywood and Jigger, lazily tossing a baseball around. Red notices Andy off to the side. Nods hello. Andy takes this as a cue to amble over. Heywood and Jigger pause, watching. ANDY -LRB- offers his hand. -RRB- Hello. I'm Andy Dufresne. Red glances at the hand, ignores it. The game continues. RED The wife - killin' banker. ANDY How do you know that? RED I keep my ear to the ground. Why'd you do it? ANDY I did n't, since you ask. RED Hell, you'll fit right in, then. -LRB- off Andy's look. -RRB- Everyone's innocent in here, do n't you know that? Heywood! What are you in for, boy? HEYWOOD Did n't do it! Lawyer fucked me! Red gives Andy a look. See? ANDY What else have you heard? RED People say you're a cold fish. They say you think your shit smells sweeter than ordinary. That true? ANDY What do you think? RED Ai n't made up my mind yet. Heywood nudges Jigger. Watch this. He winds up and throws the ball hard - right at Andy's head. Andy sees it coming out of the corner of his eye, whirls and catches it. Beat. He sends the ball right back, zinging it into Heywood's hands. Heywood drops the ball and grimaces, wringing his stung hands. ANDY I understand you're a man who knows how to get things. RED I'm known to locate certain things from time to time. They seem to fall into my hands. Maybe it's'cause I'm Irish. ANDY I wonder if you could get me a rock - hammer? RED What is it and why? ANDY You make your customers' motives a part of your business? RED If you wanted a toothbrush, I would n't ask questions. I'd just quote a price. A toothbrush, see, is a non - lethal sort of object. ANDY Fair enough. A rock - hammer is about eight or nine inches long. Looks like a miniature pickaxe, with a small sharp pick on one end, and a blunt hammerhead on the other. It's for rocks. RED Rocks. Andy squats, motions Red to join him. Andy grabs a handful of dirt and sifts it through his hands. He finds a pebble and rubs it clean. It has a nice milky glow. He tosses it to Red. RED Quartz? ANDY Quartz, sure. And look. Mica. Shale. Silted granite. There's some graded limestone, from when they cut this place out of the hill. RED So? ANDY I'm a rockhound. At least I was, in my old life. I'd like to be again, on a limited scale. RED Yeah, that or maybe plant your toy in somebody's skull? ANDY I have no enemies here. RED No? Just wait. Red flicks his gaze past Andy. Bogs is watching them. RED Word gets around. The Sisters have taken a real shine to you, yes they have. Especially Bogs. ANDY Tell me something. Would it help if I explained to them I'm not homosexual? RED Neither are they. You have to be human first. They do n't qualify. -LRB- off Andy's look. -RRB- Bull queers take by force, that's all they want or understand. I'd grow eyes in the back of my head if I were you. ANDY Thanks for the advice. RED That comes free. But you understand my concern. ANDY If there's trouble, I doubt a rock - hammer will do me any good. RED Then I guess you wan na escape. Tunnel under the wall maybe? -LRB- Andy laughs politely. -RRB- I miss the joke. What's so funny? ANDY You'll know when you see the rock - hammer. RED What's this item usually go for? ANDY Seven dollars in any rock and gem shop. RED My standard mark - up's twenty percent, but we're talkin' about a special object. Risk goes up, price goes up. Call it ten bucks even. ANDY Ten it is. RED I'll see what I can do. -LRB- rises, slapping dust. -RRB- But it's a waste of money. ANDY Oh? RED Folks who run this place love surprise inspections. They turn a blind eye to some things, but not a gadget like that. They'll find it, and you'll lose it. Mention my name, we'll never do business again. Not for a pair of shoelaces or a stick of gum. ANDY I understand. Thank you, Mr? RED Red. The name's Red. ANDY Red. I'm Andy. Pleasure doing business with you. They shake. Andy strolls off. Red watches him go. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I could see why some of the boys took him for snobby. He had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that just was n't normal around here. He strolled. like a man in a park without a care or worry. Like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place. -LRB- resumes playing catch. -RRB- Yes, I think it would be fair to say I liked Andy from the start.", "INT. -- MESS HALL -- DAY (1947) Red gets his breakfast and heads for a table. Andy falls in step, slips him a tightly - folded square of paper.", "INT. -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947) Lying on his bunk, Red unfolds the square. A ten dollar bill. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He was a man who adapted fast.", "EXT. -- LOADING DOCK -- DAY (1947) Under watchful supervision, CONS are off - loading bags of dirty laundry from an `` Eliot Nursing Home'' truck. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Years later, I found out he'd brought in quite a bit more than just ten dollars. A certain bag hits the ground. The TRUCK DRIVER shoots a look at a black con, LEONARD, then ambles over to a GUARD to shoot the shit. Leonard loads the bag onto a cart.", "INT. -- PRISON LAUNDRY -- DAY (1947) Bags are being unloaded. We find Leonard working the line. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- When they check you into this hotel, one of the bellhops bends you over and looks up your works, just to make sure you're not carrying anything. But a truly determined man can get an object quite a ways up there. Leonard slips a small paper - wrapped package out of the laundry bag, hides it under his apron, and keeps sorting. 4l INT - PRISON LAUNDRY EXCHANGE - DAY -LRB- 1947 -RRB- 41 Red deposits his dirty bundle and moves down the line to where the clean sheets are being handed out. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That's how Andy joined our happy little Shawshank family with more than five hundred dollars on his person. Determination. Leonard catches Red's eye, turns and grabs a specific stack of clean sheets. He hands it across to Red - TIGHT ANGLE - and more than clean laundry changes hands. Two packs of cigarettes slide out of Red's hand into Leonard's.", "INT. -- RED'S CELL -- DAY (1947) Red slips the package out of his sheets, carefully checks to make sure nobody's coming, then rips it open. He pulls out the rock - hammer. It's just as Andy described. Red laughs softly. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Andy was right. I finally got the joke. It would take a man about six hundred years to tunnel under the wall with one of these.", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- 2ND TIER -- NIGHT (1947) Brooks Hatlen pushes a cart of books from cell to cell. The rolling library. He finds Red waiting for him. Red slips the rock - hammer, wrapped in a towel, through the bars and onto the cart. Next comes six cigarettes to pay for postage. RED Dufresne. Brooks nods, never missing a beat. He rolls his cart to Andy's cell, mutters through the bars : BROOKS Middle shelf, wrapped in a towel. Andy's hand snakes through the bars and makes the object disappear. The hand comes back and deposits a small slip of folded paper along with more cigarettes. Brooks turns his cart around and goes back. He pauses, sorting his books long enough for Red to snag the slip of paper. Brooks continues on, scooping the cigarettes off the cart and into his pocket.", "INT. -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947) Red unfolds the slip of paper. Penciled neatly on it is a single word : `` Thanks.''", "INT. -- PRISON LAUNDRY -- DAY (1947) We are assaulted by the deafening noise of the laundry line. Andy is doing his job, getting good at it. BOB DUFRESNE! WE'RE LOW ON HEXLITE! HEAD ON BACK AND FETCH US UP SOME! Andy nods. He leaves the line, weaving his way through the laundry room and into -", "INT. -- BACK ROOMS/STOCK AREA -- DAY (1947) - a dark, tangled maze of rooms and corridors, boilers and furnaces, sump pumps, old washing machines, pallets of cleaning supplies and detergents, you name it. Andy hefts a cardboard drum of Hexlite off the stack, turns around - - and finds Bogs Diamond in the aisle. blocking his way. Rooster looms from the shadows to his right, Pete Verness on the left. A frozen beat. Andy slams the Hexlite to the floor, rips off the top, and scoops out a double handful. ANDY You get this in your eyes, it blinds you. BOGS Honey, hush. Andy backs up, holding them at bay, trying to maneuver through the maze. The Sisters keep coming, tense and guarded, eyes riveted and gauging his every move, trying to outflank him. Andy trips on some old gaint sugglies. That's all it takes. They're on him in an instant, kicking and stomping. Andy gets yanked to his feet. Bogs applies a chokehold from behind. They propel him across the room and slam him against an old four - pocket machine, bending him over it. Rooster jams a rag into Andy's mouth and secures it with a steel pipe, like a horse bit. Andy kicks and struggles, but Rooster and Pete have his arms firmly pinned. Bogs whispers in Andy's ear : BOGS That's it, fight. Better that way. Andy starts screaming, muffled by the rag. CAMERA PULLS BACK, SLOWLY WIDENING. The big Washex blocks our view. All we see is Andy's screaming face and the men holding him down. and CAMERA DRIFTS FROM THE ROOM, leaving the dark place and the dingy act behind. MOVING up empty corridors, past concrete walls and steel pipes. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I wish I could tell you that Andy fought the good fight, and the Sisters let him be. I wish I could tell you that, but prison is no fairy - tale world. WE EMERGE into the prison laundry past a guard, WIDENING for a final view of the line. The giant steel `` mangler'' is slapping down in brutal rhythm. The sound is deafening. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He never said who did it. but we all knew. PRISON MONTAGE : -LRB- 1947 through 1949 -RRB- ANDY PLODS THROUGH HIS DAYS. WORKING. EATING. CHIPPING AND 47 shaping his rocks after lights - out. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Things went on like that for a while. Prison life consists of routine, and then more routine. ANDY WALKS THE YARD, FACE SWOLLEN AND BRUISED. 48 RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Every so often, Andy would show up with fresh bruises. ANDY EATS BREAKFAST. A FEW TABLES OVER, BOGS BLOWS HIM A KISS. 49 RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The Sisters kept at him. Sometimes he was able to fight them off. sometimes not. ANDY BACKS INTO A CORNER IN SOME DINGY PART OF THE PRISON, wildly swinging a rake at his tormentors. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He always fought, that's what I remember. He fought because he knew if he did n't fight, it would make it that much easier not to fight the next time. The rake connects, snapping off over somebody's skull. They beat the hell out of him. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Half the time it landed him in the infirmary.", "INT. -- SOLITARY CONFINEMENT (\"THE HOLE\") -- NIGHT (1949) 51 A stone closet. No bed, sink, or lights. Just a toilet with no seat. Andy sits on bare concrete, bruised face lit by a faint ray of light falling through the tiny slit in the steel door. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- the other half, it landed him in solitary. Warden Norton's `` grain & drain'' vacation. Bread, water, and all the privacy you could want.", "INT. -- PRISON LAUNDRY -- DAY (1949) Andy is working the line. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And that's how it went for Andy. That was his routine. I do believe those first two years were the worst for him. And I also believe if things had gone on that way, this place would have got the best of him. But then, in the spring of 1949, the powers - that - be decided that.", "EXT. -- PRISON YARD -- DAY (1949) Warden Norton addresses the assembled cons via bullhorn : NORTON the roof of the license - plate factory needs resurfacing. I need a dozen volunteers for a week's work. We're gon na be taking names in this steel bucket here. Red glances around at his friends. Andy also catches his eye. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It was outdoor detail, and May is one damn fine month to be workin' outdoors.", "EXT. -- PRISON YARD -- DAY (1949) Cons shuffle past, dropping slips of paper into a bucket. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- More than a hundred men volunteered for the job. Red saunters to a guard named TIM YOUNGBLOOD, mutters discreetly in his ear.", "EXT. -- PRISON YARD -- DAY (1949) Youngblood is pulling names and reading them off. Red exchanges grins with Andy and the others. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Would n't you know it? Me and some fellas I know were among the names called.", "INT. -- PRISON CORRIDOR -- NIGHT (1949) Red slips Youngblood six packs of cigarettes. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Only cost us a pack of smokes per man. I made my usual twenty percent, of course.", "EXT. -- LICENSE PLATE FACTORY -- DAY (1949) A tar - cooker bubbles and smokes. TWO CONS dip up a bucket of tar and tie a rope to the handle. The rope goes taught. CAMERA FOLLOWS the bucket of tar up the side of the building to - THE ROOF 58 - where it is relayed to the work detail. the men are dipping big Padd brushes and spreading the tar. ANGLZ OVER to Byron Hadley bitching sourly to his fellow guards : HADLEY so this shithead lawyer calls long distance from Texas, and he says, Byron Hadley? I say, yeah. He says, sorry to inform you, but your brother just died. YOUNGBLOOD Damn, Byron. Sorry to hear that. HADLEY I ai n't. He was an asshole. Run off years ago, family ai n't heard of him since. Figured him for dead anyway. So this lawyer prick says, your brother died a rich man. Oil wells and shit, close to a million bucks. Jesus, it's frigging incredible how lucky some assholes can get. TROUT A million bucks? Jeez - Louise! You get any of that? HADLEY Thirty five thousand. That's what he left me. TROUT Dollars? Holy shit, that's great! Like winnin' a lottery. -LRB- off Hadley's shitty look. -RRB-. ai n't it? HADLEY Dumbshit. What do you figger the government's gon na do to me? Take a big wet bite out of my ass, is what. TROUT Oh. Had n't thought of that. HADLEY Maybe leave me enough to buy a new car with. Then what happens? You pay tax on the car. Repairs and maintenance. Goddamn kids pesterin' you to take'em for a ride. MERT And drive it, if they're old enough. HADLEY That's right, wanting to drive it, wanting to learn on it, f ` Chrissake! Then at the end of the year, if you figured the tax wrong, they make you pay out of your own pocket. Uncle Sam puts his hand in your shirt and squeezes your tit till it's purple. Always get the short end. That's a fact. -LRB- spits over the side. -RRB- Some brother. Shit. The prisoners keep spreading tar, eyes on their work. HEYWOOD Poor Byron. What terrible fuckin' luck. Imagine inheriting thirty five thousand dollars. RED Crying shame. Some folks got it awful bad. Red glances over - and is shocked to see Andy standing up, listening to the guards talk. RED Hey, you nuts? Keep your eyes on your pail! Andy tosses his Padd in the bucket and strolls toward Hadley. RED Andy! Come back! Shit! SNOOZE What's he doing? FLOYD Gettin' himself killed. RED God damn it. HEYWOOD Just keep spreadin' tar. The guards stiffen at Andy's approach. Youngblood's hand goes to his holster. The tower guards CLICK - CLACK their rifle bolts. Hadley turns, stupefied to find Andy there. ANDY Mr. Hadley. Do you trust your wife? HADLEY That's funny. You're gon na look funnier suckin' my dick with no fuckin' teeth. ANDY What I mean is, do you think she'd go behind your back? Try to hamstring you? HADLEY That's it! Step aside, Mert. This fucker's havin' hisself an accident. Hadley grabs Andy's collar and propels him violently toward the edge of the roof. The cons furiously keep spreading tar. HEYWOOD Oh God, he's gon na do it, he's gon na throw him off the roof. SNOOZE Oh shit, oh fuck, oh Jesus. ANDY Because if you do trust her, there's no reason in the world you ca n't keep every cent of that money. Hadley abruptly jerks Andy to a stop right at the edge. In fact, Andy's past the edge, beyond his balance, shoetips scraping the roof. The only thing between him and an ugly drop to the concrete is Hadley's grip on the front of his shirt. HADLEY You better start making sense. ANDY If you want to keep that money, all of it, just give it to your wife. See, the IRS allows you a one - time - only gift to your spouse. It's good up to sixty thousand dollars. HADLEY Naw, that ai n't right! Tax free? ANDY Tax free. IRS ca n't touch one cent. The cons are pausing work, stunned by this business discussion. HADLEY You're the smart banker what shot his wife. Why should I believe a smart banker like you? So's I can wind up in here with you? ANDY It's perfectly legal. Go ask the IRS, they'll say the same thing. Actually, I feel silly telling you all this. I'm sure you would have investigated the matter yourself. HADLEY Fuckin' - A. I do n't need no smart wife - killin' banker to show me where the bear shit in the buckwheat. ANDY Of course not. But you will need somebody to set up the tax - free gift, and that'll cost you. A lawyer, for example. HADLEY Ambulance - chaaing, highway - robbing cocksuckers! ANDY or come to think of it, I suppose I could set it up for you. That would save you some money. I'll write down the forms you need, you can pick them up, and I'll prepare them for your signature. nearly free of charge. -LRB- off Hadley's look. -RRB- I'd only ask three beers apiece for my co - workers, if that seems fair. TROUT -LRB- guffawing. -RRB- Co - workers! Get him! That's rich, ai n't it? Co - workers. Hadley freezes him with a look. Andy presses on : ANDY I think a nan working outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a bottle of suds. That's only my opinion. The convicts stand gaping, all pretense of work gone. They look like they've been pole - axed. Hadley shoots them a look. HADLEY What are you jimmies starin' at? Back to work, goddamn it!", "EXT. -- LICENSE PLATE FACTORY -- DAY (1949) As before, an object is hauled up the side of the building by rope - only this time, it's a cooler of beer and ice. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And that's how it came to pass, that on the second - to - last day of the job, the convict crew that tarred the plate factory roof in the spring of'49.", "EXT. -- ROOF -- SHORTLY LATER (1949) The cons are taking the sun and drinking beer. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- wound up sitting in a row at ten o'clock in the morning, drinking icy cold Black Label beer courtesy of the hardest screw that ever walked a turn at Shawshank State Prison. HADLEY Drink up, boys. While it's cold. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The colossal prick even managed to sound magnanimous. Red knocks back another sip, enjoying the bitter cold on his tongue and the warm sun on face. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We sat and drank with the sun on our shoulders, and felt like free men. We could' a been tarring the roof of one of our own houses. We were the Lords of all Creation. He glances over to Andy squatting apart from the others. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- As for Andy, he spent that break hunkered in the shade, a strange little smile on his face, watching us drink his beer. HEYWOOD -LRB- approaches with a beer. -RRB- Here's a cold one, Andy. ANDY No thanks. I gave up drinking. Heywood drifts back to others, giving them a look. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You could argue he'd done it to curry favor with the guards. Or maybe make a few friends among us cons. Me, I think he did it just to feel normal again. if only for a short while.", "EXT. -- PRISON YARD -- THE BLEACHERS -- DAY (1949) Andy and Red play checkers. Red makes his move. RED King me. ANDY Chess. Now there's a game of kings. Civilized. strategic. RED and totally fuckin' inexplicable. Hate that game. ANDY Maybe you'll let me teach you someday. I've been thinking of getting a board together. RED You come to the right place. I'm the man who can get things. ANDY We might do business on a board. But the pieces, I'd like to carve those myself. One side done in quartz. the opposing side in limestone. RED That'd take you years. ANDY Years I've got. What I do n't have are the rocks. Pickings here in the exercise yard are pretty slim. RED How's that rock - hammer workin' out anyway? Scratch your name on your wall yet? ANDY -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Not yet. I suppose I should. RED Andy? I guess we're gettin' to be friends, ai n't we? ANDY I suppose we are. RED I ask a question? Why'd you do it? ANDY I'm innocent, remember? Just like everybody else here. Red takes this as a gentle rebuff, keeps playing. ANDY What are you in for, Red? RED Murder. Same as you. ANDY Innocent? RED The only guilty man in Shawshank.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1949) Andy lies in his bunk after lights out, polishing a fragment of quartz by the light of the moon. He pauses, glancing at all the names scratched in the wall. He rises, makes sure the coast is clear, and starts scratching his name into the cement with his rock - hammer, adding to the record. RAY MILLAND 63 fills the screen in glorious -LRB- and scratchy -RRB- black & white, suffering a bad case of DT's.", "INT. -- PRISON AUDITORIUM -- NIGHT (1949) while a CONVICT AUDIENCE hoots and catcalls, talking back to the screen. We find Red slouched in a folding chair, watching the movie. Andy enters, backlit by the flickering glare of the projector, and takes a seat next to him. RED Here's the good part. Bugs come out of the walls to get his ass. ANDY I know. I've seen it three times this month already. Ray Milland starts SCREAMING. The entire audience SCREAMS with him, high - pitched and hysterical. Andy fidgets. ANDY Can we talk business? RED Sure. What do you want? ANDY Rita Hayworth. Can you get her? RED No problem. Take a few weeks. ANDY Weeks? RED Do n't have her stuffed down my pants this very moment, sorry to say. Relax. What are you so nervous about? She's just a woman. Andy nods, embarrassed. He gets up and hurries out. Red grins, turns back to the movie.", "INT. -- AUDITORIUM CORRIDOR -- NIGHT (1949) Andy exits the theater and freezes in his tracks. Two dark figures loom in the corridor, blocking his path. Rooster and Pete. Andy turns back - and runs right into Bogs. Instant bear hug. The Sisters are on him like a flash. They kick a door open and drag him into - THE PROJECTION BOOTH 66 - where they confront the startled PROJECTIONIST, an old con blinking at them through thick bifocals. BOGS Take a walk. PROJECTIONIST I have to change reels. BOGS I said fuck off. Terrified, the old man darts past and out the door. Pete slams and locks it. Bogs shoves Andy to the center of the room. ANDY I know. I've seen it three times this month already. Ray Milland starts SCREAMING. The entire audience SCREAMS witt him, high - pitched and hysterical. Andy fidgets. ANDY Can we talk business? RED Sure. What do you want? ANDY Rita Hayworth. Can you get her? RED No problem. Take a few weeks. ANDY Weeks? RED Do n't have her stuffed down my pants this very moment, sorry to say. Relax. What are you so nervous about? She's just a woman. Andy nods, embarrassed. He gets up and hurries out. Red grins, turns back to the movie.", "INT. -- AUDITORIUM CORRIDOR -- NIGHT (1949) Andy exits the theater and freezes in his tracks. Two dark figures loom in the corridor, blocking his path. Rooster and Pete. Andy turns back - and runs right into Bogs. Instant bear hug. The Sisters are on him like a flash. They kick a door open and drag him into - THE PROJECTION BOOTH 66 - where they confront the startled PROJECTIONIST, an old con blinking at them through thick bifocals. BOGS Take a walk. PROJECTIONIST I have to change reels. BOGS I said fuck off. Terrified, the old man darts past and out the door. Pete slams and locks it. Bogs shoves Andy to the center of the room. BOGS Ai n't you gon na scream? Andy sighs, cocks his head at the projector. ANDY They'd never hear me over that. Let's get this over with. Seemingly resigned, Andy turns around, leans on the rewind bench - and curls his fingers around a full 1.000 foot reel of 35mm film. Rooster licks his lips, pushes past the others. ROOSTER Me first. ANDY Okay. Andy whips the reel of film around in a vicious arc, smashing it into Rooster's face and bouncing him off the wall. ROOSTER Fuck! Shit! He broke my nose! Andy fights like hell, but is soon overpowered and forced to his knees. Bogs steps to Andy, pulls out an awl with a vicious eight - inch spike, gives him a good long look at it. BOGS Now I'm gon na open my fly, and you're gon na swallow what I give you to swallow. And when you d mine, you gon na swallow Rooster's. You done broke his nose, so he ought to have somethin' to show for it. ANDY Anything you put in my mouth, you're going to lose. BOGS You do n't understand. You do that, I'll put all eight inches of this steel ii your ear. ANDY Okay. But you should know that sudden serious brain injury causes the victim to bite down. Hard. -LRB- faint smile. -RRB- In fact, I understand the bite - reflex is so strong the victim's jaws have to be pried open with a crowbar. The Sisters consider this carefully. The film runs out of the projector, flapping on the reel. The screen goes white. BOGS You little fuck. Andy gets a bootheel in the face. The Sisters start kicking and beating the living shit out of him with anything they can get their hands on. In the theater, the convicts are CHANTING AND CLAPPING for the movie to come back on. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Bogs did n't put anything in Andy's mouth, and neither did his friends. What they did do is beat him within an inch of his life.", "INT. -- INFIRMARY -- DAY (1949) Andy lies wrapped in bandages. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Andy spent a month in traction.", "INT. -- SOLITARY CONFINEMENT -- DAY (1949) RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Bogs spent a week in the hole. Bogs sits on bare concrete. The steel door slides open. GUARD Time's up, Bogs.", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- 3RD TIER -- DUSK (1949) Bogs comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. Not many cons around ; the place is virtually deserted. A VOICE echoes dimly over the P.A. system : VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Return to your cellblocks for evening count. Bogs enters his cell. Dark in here. He fumbles for the light cord, yanks it. The sudden light reveals Captain Hadley six inches from his face, waiting for him. Mert steps in behind Bogs. hemming him. Before Bogs can even open his mouth to say `` what the fuck,'' Hadley rams the tip of his baton brutally into his solar plexus. Bogs doubles over, gagging his wind out. GROUND FLOOR 70 Ernie comes slowly around the corner, rolling a steel mop cart loaded with supplies. 2ND TIER 71 Red is darning a sock in his open cell. He pauses, frowning, hearing strange THUMPING sounds. What the hell is that? 3RD TIER 72 It's Hadley and Mert methodically and brutally pulping Bogs with their batons, and kicking the shit out of him for good measure. He feebly tries to ward them off. 2ND TIER 73 Puzzled, Red steps from his cell, following the sound. It dawns on him that it's coming from above. He moves to the railing and leans out, craning around to look up - RED'S POV 74 - just as Bogs flips over the railing and comes sailing directly toward us, eyes bugging out, SCREAMING as he falls. RED -LRB- SLOW MOTION -RRB- 75 jumps back as Bogs plummets past, missing him by inches, arms swimming and trying to grab the railing -LRB- but missing that too -RRB-, SCREAMING aaaaalll the way down - GROUND FLOOR 76 - and impacting on Ernie's gassing mop cart in an enormous eruption of solvents and cleansers. The cart is squashed flat, shooting out from under Bogs and skidding across the cellblock floor like a tiddly wink, kicking up sparks for thirty yards. Ernie is left gaping in shock at Bogs and all the Bogs - related wreckage at his feet. 2ND TIER 77 Red is stunned. He very tentatively leans out and looks up. Above him, Hadley and Mert lean on the 3rd tier railing. Hadley tilts the cap back on his head, shakes his head. MERT Damn, Byron. Look' a that. HADLEY Poor fella must' a tripped. A tiny drop of blood drips off the toe of Hadley's shoe and splashes across Red's upturned cheek. He wipes it off, then looks down at Bogs. Cons and guards are racing to the scene. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Two things never happened again after that. The Sisters never laid a finger on Andy again. 7B EXT - PRISON YARD/LOADING DOCK - DAY -LRB- 1949 -RRB- 78 Bogs, wheelchair - bound and wearing a neck brace, is loaded onto an ambulance for transport. Behind the fence stand Red and his friends, watching. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- and Bogs never walked again. They transferred him to a minimum security hospital upstate. To my knowledge, he lived out the rest of his days drinking his food through a straw. RED I'm thinkin' Andy could use a nice welcome back when he gets out of the infirmary. HEYWOOD Sounds good to us. Figure we owe him for the beer. RED Man likes to play chess. Let's get him some rocks.", "EXT. -- FIELD -- DAY (1949) A HUNDRED CONS at work. Hoes rise and fall in long waves. GUARDS patrol on horseback. Heywood turns up a rocky chunk, quickly shoves it down his pants. He maneuvers to Red and the others, pulls out the chunk and shows it to them. FLOYD That ai n't quartz. Nor limestone. HEYWOOD What are you, fuckin' geologist? SNOOZE He's right, it ai n't. HEYWOOD What the hell is it then? RED Horse apple. HEYWOOD Bullshit. RED No, horse shit. Petrified. Cackling, the men go back to work. Heywood stares at the rock. He crumbles it in his hands. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Despite a few hitches, the boys came through in fine style.", "INT. -- PRISON LAUNDRY -- BACK ROOM -- DAY (1949) A huge detergent box is filled with rocks, hidden in the shadows behind a boiler furnace. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- and by the week Andy was due back, we had enough rocks saved up to keep him busy till Rapture. ANGLE SHIFTS to Red as he plops a bag of `` laundry'' on the floor. Leonard and Bob toss a few more down. Red starts pulling out contraband, giving them their commissions. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Also got a big shipment in that week. Cigarettes, chewing gum, shoelaces, playing cards with naked ladies on'em, you name it. -LRB- pulls a cardboard tube. -RRB-. and, of course, the most important item.", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- NIGHT (1949) Andy, limping a bit, returns from the infirmary. Red watches from his cell as Andy is brought up and locked away.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1949) Andy finds the cardboard tube lying on his bunk. GUARD -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Lights out! The lights go off. Andy opens the tube and pulls out a large rolled poster. He lets it uncurl to the floor. A small scrap of paper flutters out, landing at his feet. The poster is the famous Rita Hayworth pin - up - one hand behind her head, eyes half closed, sulky lips parted. Andy picks up the scrap of paper. It reads : `` No charge. Welcome back.'' Alone in the dark, Andy smiles.", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- MORNING (1949) The BUZZER SOUNDS, the cells SLAM OPEN. Cons step from their cells. Andy catches Red's eye, nods his thanks. As the men shuffle down to breakfast, Red glances into Andy's cell - RED'S POV - DOLLYING PAST 84 - and sees Rita in her new place of honor on Andy's wall. Sunlight casts a harsh barred shadow across her lovely face.", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- NIGHT (1949) Ernie is mopping the floor. He glances back and sees Warden Norton approach the cellblock with an entourage of a DOZEN GUARDS. Still mopping, Ernie mutters to the nearest cell : ERNIE Heads up. They're tossin' cells. Word travels fast from cell to cell. Cons scramble to tidy up and hide things. Norton enters, nods to his men. The guards pair off in all directions, making their choices at random. GUARD What kind' a contraband you hiding in there, boy? Cells are opened, occupants displaced, items scattered, mattresses overturned. Whatever contraband is found gets tossed out onto the cellblock floor. Mostly harmless stuff. A GUARD pulls a sharpened screwdriver out of a mattress, shoots a nasty look at the CON responsible. NORTON Solitary. A week. Make sure he takes his Bible. CON Too goddamn dark to read down there. NORTON Add another week for blasphemy. The man is taken away. Norton's gaze goes up. NORTON Let's try the second tier. 2ND TIER 86 Norton arrives, makes a thin show of picking a cell at random. He motions at Andy on his bunk, reading his Bible. The door is unlocked. Norton enters, trailed by his men. Andy rises. ANDY Good evening. Norton gives a curt nod. Hadley and Trout start tossing the cell in a thorough search. Norton keeps his eyes on Andy, looking for a wrong glance or nervous blink. He takes the Bible out of Andy's hand. NORTON I'm pleased to see you reading this. Any favorite passages? ANDY Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the master of the house cometh. NORTON -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Luke. Chapter 13, verse 35. I've always liked that one. -LRB- strolls the cell. -RRB- But I prefer : `` I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.'' ANDY John. Chapter 8, verse 12. NORTON I hear you're good with numbers. How nice. A man should have a skill. HADLEY You wan na explain this? Andy glances over. Hadley is holding up a rock blanket, a polishing cloth roughly the size of an oven mitt. ANDY It's called a rock blanket. It's for shaping and polishing rocks. Little hobby of mine. Hadley glances at the rocks lining the window sill, turns to Norton. HADLEY Looks pretty clean. Some contraband here, nothing to get in a twist over. Norton nods, strolls to the poster of Rita. NORTON I ca n't say I approve of this. -LRB- turns to Andy. -RRB-. but I suppose exceptions can always be made. Norton exits, the guards follow. The cell door is slammed and locked. Norton pauses, turns back. NORTON I almost forgot. He reaches through the bars and returns the Bible to Andy. NORTON I'd hate to deprive you of this. Salvation lies within. Norton and his men walk away. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Tossin' cells was just an excuse. Truth is, Norton wanted to size Andy up.", "INT. -- PRISON LAUNDRY -- DAY (1949) Andy is working the line. Hadley enters and confers briefly with Bob. Bob nods, crosses to Andy, taps him. Andy turns, removes an earplug. Bob shouts over the machine noise : BOB DUFRESNE! YOU'RE OFF THE LINE!", "INT. -- WARDEN NORTON'S OFFICE -- DAY (1949) Andy is led in. Norton is at his desk doing paperwork. Andy's eyes go to a framed needle - point sampler on the wall behind him that reads : `` HIS JUDGMENT COMETH AND THAT RIGHT SOON.'' NORTON My wife made that in church group. ANDY It's very pretty, sir. NORTON You like working in the laundry? ANDY No, sir. Not especially. NORTON Perhaps we can find something more befitting a man of your education.", "INT. -- MAIN BUILDING -- STORAGE ROOMS -- DAY (1949) A series of bleak rooms stacked high with unused filing cabinets, desks, paint supplies, etc.. Andy enters. He hears a FLUTTER OF WINGS. An adult crow lands on a filing cabinet and struts back and forth, checking him out. Andy smiles. ANDY Hey, Jake. Where's Brooks? Brooks Hatlen pokes his head out of the back room. BROOKS Andy! Thought I heard you out here! ANDY I've been reassigned to you. BROOKS I know, they told me. Ai n't that a kick in the ass? Come on in, I'll give you the dime tour.", "INT. -- SHAWSHANK PRISON LIBRARY -- DAY (1949) Brooks leads Andy into the bleakest back room of all. Rough plank shelves are lined with books. Brooks' private domain. BROOKS Here she is, the Shawshank Prison Library. Along this side, we got the National Geographics. That side, the Reader's Digest Condensed books. Bottom shelf there, some Louis L'Amours and Erle Stanley Gardners. Every night I pile the cart and make my rounds. I write down the names on this clipboard here. Well, that's it. Easy, peasy, Japanesey. Any questions? Andy pauses. Something about this does n't make any sense. ANDY Brooks? How long have you been librarian? BROOKS Since 1912. Yuh, over 37 years. ANDY In all that time, have you ever had an assistant? BROOKS Never needed one. Not much to it, is there? ANDY So why now? Why me? BROOKS I dunno. Be nice to have some comp ` ny down here for a change. HADLEY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Dufresne! ANDY STEPS BACK INTO THE OUTER ROOMS AND FINDS HADLEY WITH 91 another GUARD, a huge fellow named DEKINS. HADLEY That's him. That's the one. Hadley exits. Dekins approaches Andy ominously. Andy stands his ground, waiting for whatever comes next. Finally : DEKINS I'm Dekins. I been, uh, thinkin' ` bout maybe settin' up some kinda trust fund for my kids' educations. Andy covers his surprise. Glances at Brooks. Brooks smiles. ANDY I see. Well. Why do n't we have a seat and talk it over? BROOKS Pull down one'a them desks there. Andy and Dekins grab a desk standing on end and tilt it to the floor. They find chairs and settle in. Brooks returns with a tablet of paper and a pen, slides them before Andy. ANDY What did you have in mind? A weekly draw on your pay? DEKINS Yuh. I figured just stick it in the bank, but Captain Hadley said check with you first. ANDY He was right. You do n't want your money in a bank. DEKINS I do n't? ANDY What's that gon na earn you? Two and a half, three percent a year? We can do a lot better than that. -LRB- wets his pen. -RRB- So tell me, Mr. Dekins. Where do you want to send your kids? Harvard? Yale?", "INT. -- MESS HALL -- DAY (1949) FLOYD He did n't say that! BROOKS God is my witness. And Dekins, he just blinks for a second, then laughs his ass off. Afterward, he actually shook Andy's hand. HEYWOOD My ass! BROOKS Shook his fuckin' hand. Just about shit myself. All Andy needed was a suit and tie, a jiggly little hula girl on his desk, he would' a been Mister Dufresne, if you please. RED Makin' yourself some friends, Andy. ANDY I would n't say `` friends.'' I'm a convicted murderer who provides sound financial planning. That's a wonderful pet to have. RED Got you out of the laundry, did n't it? ANDY Maybe it can do more than that. -LRB- off their looks. -RRB- How about expanding the library? Get some new books in there. HEYWOOD How you ` spect to do that, `` Mr. Dufresne - if - you - please?'' ANDY Ask the warden for funds. LAUGHTER all around. Andy blinks at them. BROOKS Son, I've had six wardens through here during my tenure, and I have learned one great immutable truth of the universe : ai n't one of'em been born whose asshole do n't pucker up tight as a snare drum when you ask for funds.", "INT. -- MAIN BUILDING HALLWAY -- DAY (1949) DOLLYING Norton and Andy up the hall : NORTON Not a dime. My budget's stretched thin as it is. ANDY I see. Perhaps I could write to the State Senate and request funds directly from them. NORTON Far as them Republican boys in Augusta are concerned, there's only three ways to spend the taxpayer's hard - earned when it come to prisons. More walls. More bars. More guards. ANDY Still, I'd like to try, with your permission. I'll send a letter a week. They ca n't ignore me forever. NORTON They sure can, but you write your letters if it makes you happy. I'll even mail'em for you, how's that?", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1949) Andy is on his bunk, writing a letter. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So Andy started writing a letter a week, just like he said.", "INT. -- GUARD DESK/NORTON'S OUTER OFFICE -- DAY (1949) Andy pops his head in. The GUARD shakes his head. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And just like Norton said, Andy got no answers. But still he kept on.", "INT. -- PRISON LIBRARY/ANDY'S OFFICE -- DAY (1950) Andy is doing taxes. Mert Entwhistle is seated across from him. Other off - duty guards are waiting their turn. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The following April, Andy did tax returns for half the guards at Shawshank.", "INT. -- PRISON LIBRARY -- ONE YEAR LATER (1951) Tax time again. Even more guards are waiting. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Year after that, he did them all. including the warden's.", "EXT. -- BASEBALL DIAMOND -- DAY (1952) A BATTER in a `` Noresby Marauders'' baseball uniform WHACKS the ball high into left field and races for first. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Year after that, they rescheduled the start of the intramural season to coincide with tax season.", "INT. -- PRISON LIBRARY/ANDY'S OFFICE -- DAY (1952) The Batter sits across from Andy. The line winds out the door. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The guards on the opposing teams all remembered to bring their W - 2's. ANDY Moresby Prison issued you that gun, but you actually had to pay for it? THE BATTER Damn right, and the holster too. ANDY See, that's all deductible. You get to write that off. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yes sir, Andy was a regular H&R Block. In fact, he got so busy at tax time, he was allowed a staff. ANGLE SHIFTS to reveal Red and Brooks doing filing chores. ANDY Say Red, could you hand me a stack of those 1040s? RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Got me out of the wood shop a month out of the year, and that was fine by me.", "INT. -- GUARD DESK/NORTON'S OUTER OFFICE -- DAY (1953) Andy enters and drops a letter on the outgoing stack. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And still he kept sending those letters.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1953) Dark. Andy's in his bunk, polishing a four - inch length of quartz. It's a beautifully - crafted chess piece in the shape of a horse's head, poise and nobility captured in gleaming stone. He puts the knight on a chess board by his bed, adding it to four pieces already there : a king, a queen, and two bishops. He turns to Rita. Moonlight casts bars across her face.", "EXT. -- EXERCISE YARD -- DAY (1954) Floyd runs into the yard, scared and winded. He finds Andy and Red on the bleachers. FLOYD Red? Andy? It's Brooks.", "INT. -- PRISON LIBRARY/ANDY'S OFFICE -- DAY (1954) Floyd rushes in with Andy and Red at his heels. They find Jigger and Snooze trying to calm Brooks, who has Heywood in a chokehold and a knife to his throat. Heywood is terrified. JIGGER C'mon, Brooksie, why do n't you just calm the fuck down, okay? BROOKS Goddamn miserable puke - eatin' sons of whores! He kicks a table over. Tax files explode through the air. RED What the hell's going on? SNOOZE You tell me, man. One second he was fine, then out came the knife. I better get the guards. RED No. We'll handle this. Ai n't that right, Brooks? Just settle down and we'll talk about it, okay? BROOKS Nothing left to talk about! It's all talked out! Nothing left now but to cut his fuckin' throat! RED Why? What's Heywood done to you? BROOKS That's what they want! It's the price I got ta pay! Andy steps forward, rivets Brooks with a gaze. Softly : ANDY Brooks, you're not going to hurt Heywood, we all know that. Even Heywood knows it, right Heywood? HEYWOOD -LRB- nods, terrified. -RRB- Sure. I know that. Sure. ANDY Why? Ask anyone, they'll tell you. Brooks Hatlen is a reasonable man. RED -LRB- cuing nods all around. -RRB- Yeah, that's right. That's what everybody says. ANDY You're not fooling anybody, so just put the damn knife down and stop scaring the shit out of people. BROOKS But it's the only way they'll let me stay. Brooks bursts into tears. The storm is over. Heywood staggers free, gasping for air. Andy takes the knife, passes it to Red. Brooks dissolves into Andy's arms with great heaving sobs. ANDY Take it easy. You'll be all right. HEYWOOD Him? What about me? Crazy old fool! Goddamn near slit my throat! RED You've had worse from shaving. What'd you do to set him off? HEYWOOD Nothin'! Just came in to say fare - thee - well. -LRB- off their looks. -RRB- Ai n't you heard? His parole came through! Red and Andy exchange a surprised look. Andy wants to understand. Red just motions to let it be for now. He puts his arm around Brooks, who sobs inconsolably. Softly : RED Ai n't that bad, old hoss. Wo n't be long till you're squiring pretty young girls on your arm and telling'em lies.", "EXT. -- PRISON YARD BLEACHERS -- DUSK (1954) ANDY I just do n't understand what happened in there, that's all. HEYWOOD Old man's crazy as a rat in a tin shithouse, is what. RED Heywood, enough. Ai n't nothing wrong with Brooksie. He's just institutionalized, that's all. HEYWOOD Institutionalized, my ass. RED Man's been here fifty years. This place is all he knows. In here, he's an important man, an educated man. A librarian. Out there, he's nothing but a used - up old con with arthritis in both hands. Could n't even get a library card if he applied. You see what I'm saying? FLOYD Red, I do believe you're talking out of your ass. RED Believe what you want. These walls are funny. First you hate'em, then you get used to'em. After long enough, you get so you depend on'em. That's `` institutionalized.'' JIGGER Shit. I could never get that way. ERNIE -LRB- softly. -RRB- Say that when you been inside as long as Brooks has. RED Goddamn right. They send you here for life, and that's just what they take. Part that counts, anyway.", "EXT. -- SHAWSHANK PRISON -- DAWN (1954) The sun rises over gray stone.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- DAWN (1954) ANGLE ON RITA POSTER. Sexy as ever. The rising sun sends fingers of rosy light creeping across her face.", "INT. -- LIBRARY -- DAWN (1954) Brooks stands on a chair, poised at the bars of a window, cradling Jake in his hands. BROOKS I ca n't take care of you no more. You go on now. You're free. He tosses Jake through the bars. The crow flaps away.", "EXT. -- SHAWSHANK PRISON -- MAIN GATE -- DAY (1954) TWO SHORT SIREN BLASTS herald the opening of the gate. It swings hugely open, revealing Brooks standing in his cheap suit, carrying a cheap bag, wearing a cheap hat. Brooks walks out, tears streaming down his face. He looks back. Red, Andy, and others stand at the inner fence, seeing him off. The massive gate closes, wiping them from view.", "INT. -- BUS -- DAY (1954) Brooks is riding the bus, clutching the seat before him, gripped by terror of speed and motion. BROOKS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Dear Fellas. I ca n't believe how fast things move on the outside.", "EXT. -- STREET -- PORTLAND, MAINE -- DAY (1954) Brooks looks like a kid trying to cross the street without his parents. People and traffic a blur. BROOKS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I saw an automobile once when I was young. Now they're everywhere.", "EXT. -- BREWSTER HOTEL -- DAY (1954) Brooks comes trudging up the sidewalk. He glances up as a prop - driven airliner streaks in low overhead. BROOKS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry. He arrives at the Brewster. It ai n't much to look at.", "INT. -- BREWSTER HOTEL -- DAY (1954) A WOMAN leads Brooks up the stairs toward the top floor. He has trouble climbing so many stairs. WOMAN No music in your room after eight p.m. No guests after nine. No cooking except on the hotplate. BROOKS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- People even talk faster. And louder.", "INT. -- BROOKS' ROOM -- DAY (1954) Brooks enters. The room is small, old, dingy. Heavy wooden beams cross the ceiling. An arched window affords a view of Congress Street. Traffic noise drifts in. Brooks sets his bag down. He does n't quite know what to do. He just stands there, like a man waiting for a bus. BROOKS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The parole board got me into this halfway house called the Brewster, and a job bagging groceries at the Foodway.", "INT. -- FOODWAY MARKET -- DAY (1954) Loud. Jangling with PEOPLE and NOISE. Brooks is bagging groceries. Registers are humming, kids are shrieking. WOMAN Make sure he double - bags. Last time your man did n't double - bag and the bottom near came out. MANAGER You double - bag like the lady says, understand? BROOKS Yes sir, double - bag, surely will. BROOKS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's hard work. I try to keep up, but my hands hurt most of the time. I do n't think the store manager likes me very much.", "EXT. -- PARK -- DAY (1954) Brooks sits alone on a bench, feeding pigeons. BROOKS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sometimes after work I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might show up and say hello, but he never does. I hope wherever he is, he's doing okay and making new friends.", "INT. -- BROOKS' ROOM -- NIGHT (1954) Dark. Traffic outside. Brooks wakes up. Disoriented. Afraid. Somewhere in the night, a LOUD ARGUMENT is taking place. BROOKS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I have trouble sleeping at night. The bed is too big. I have bad dreams, like I'm falling. I wake up scared. Sometimes it takes me a while to remember where I am.", "INT. -- FOODWAY -- DAY (1954) BROOKS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Maybe I should get me a gun and rob the Foodway, so they'd send me home. I could shoot the manager while I was at it, sort of like a bonus.", "INT. -- BROOKS' ROOM -- DAY (1954) Brooks is packing his worldly possessions into the carry bag. Undershirts, socks, etc.. BROOKS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But I guess I'm too old for that sort of nonsense anymore.", "INT. -- BROOKS' ROOM -- SHORTLY LATER (1954) Brooks is dressed in his suit. He finishes knotting his tie, puts his hat on his head. The letter lies on the desk, stampe3 and ready for mailing. His bag is by the door. BROOKS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I do n't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay. He takes one last look around. Only one thing left to do. He steps to a wooden chair in the center of the room, pulls out s pocketknife, and glances up at the ceiling beam. He steps up onto the chair. It wobbles queasily. Now facing the beam, he carves a message into the wood : `` Brooks Hatlen was here.'' He smiles with a sort of inner peace. BROOKS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me. TIGHT ON CHAIR 120 His weight shifts on the wobbly chair - and it goes out from under him. His feet remain where they are, kicking feebly in mid - air. His hat falls to the floor. ANGLE WIDENS. Brooks has hanged himself. He swings gently, facing the open window. Traffic noise floats up from below.", "EXT. -- EXERCISE YARD -- SHAWSHANK -- DAY (1954) Andy reads the letter to Red and the others : ANDY P.S. Tell Heywood I'm sorry I put a knife to his throat. No hard feelings. A long silence. Andy folds the letter, puts it away. Softly : RED He should' a died in here, goddamn it.", "INT. -- PRISON LIBRARY -- DAY (1954) Andy is sorting books on the cart. He replaces a stack on the shelf - and pauses, noticing a line of ants crawling up the wood. He glances up. The ants disappear over the top. He pulls a chair over and stands on it, peers cautiously over. ANDY Red! Red steps in with an armload of files. Andy gingerly reaches in, grabs a black feathered wing, and pulls out a dead crow. RED -LRB- softly. -RRB- Is that Jake?", "INT. -- WOOD SHOP -- DAY (1954) Red is making something at his bench, sanding and planing. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It never would have occurred to us, if not for Andy. It was his idea. We all agreed it was the right thing to do.", "EXT. -- FIELDS -- DAY (1954) Low hilly terrain all around. A HUNDRED CONS are at work in the fields. GUARDS patrol with carbines, keeping a sharp eye. We find Andy, Red, and the boys working with picks and shovels. They glance over to the pickup truck. Hadley's chewing the fat with Mert and Youngblood. A WHISTLE BLOWS. GUARD Water break! Five minutes! The work stops. Cons head for the pickup truck, where water is dispensed with dipper and pail. Red and the boys look to Andy. Andy nods. Now's the time. The group moves off through the confusion, using it as cover. They head up the slope of a nearby hill and quickly decide on a suitable spot. The guards have n't noticed. Jigger and Floyd start swinging picks into the soft earth, quickly ripping out a hole. Red reaches into his jacket and pulls out a beautiful wooden box, carefully stained and varnished. He shows it around to nods of approval. ANDY That's real pretty, Red. Nice work. HEYWOOD Shovel man in. Watch the dirt. CONTINUED 124 Heywood jumps in and starts spading out the hole. BY THE TRUCK 125 Youngblood glances up and sees the men on the slope. YOUNGBLOOD What the fuck. HADLEY -LRB- follows his gaze. -RRB- HEY.' YOU MEN UP THERE.' GET YOUR ASSES OFF THAT SLOPE! -LRB- works his rifle bolt. -RRB- YOU HAPPY ASSHOLES GONE DEAF? YOU GOT FIVE SECONDS ` FORE I SHOOT SOMEBODY! Suddenly, other cons start breaking away in groups, dozens of them heading toward the slope. The guards look around. HADLEY What am I, talkin' to myself? ON THE SLOPE 126 Andy pulls a towel - wrapped bundle from his jacket and unfolds it. Jake. Andy lays him in the box, followed by Brook's letter. Red places the casket in the hole. A moment of silence. Andy gives Red with an encouraging nod. RED Lord. Brooks was a sinner. Jake was just a crow. Neither was much to look at. Both got institutionalized. See what you can do for'em. Amen. Muttered `` amens'' all around. The boys shovel dirt onto the small grave and tamp it down.", "INT. -- SHAWSHANK CORRIDORS -- DAY (1955) RAPID DOLLY with Hadley. He's striding, pissed - off, a man on e mission. He straight - arms a door and emerges onto -", "EXT. -- SHAWSHANK PRISON WALL -- DAY (1955) - the wall overlooking the exercise yard. He leans on the railing, scans the yard, sees Andy chatting with Red. HADLEY Dufresne! What the fuck did you do? -LRB- Andy looks up. -RRB- Your ass, warden's office, now! Andy shoots a worried look at Red, then heads off.", "INT. -- GUARD DESK/WARDEN'S OUTER OFFICE -- DAY (1955) Dozens of parcel boxes litter the floor. WILEY, the duty guard, picks through them. Hadley enters, trailed by Andy. ANDY What is all this? HADLEY You tell me, fuck - stick! They're addressed to you, every damn one! Wiley thrusts an envelope at Andy. Andy just stares at it. WILEY Well, take it. Andy takes the envelope, pulls out a letter, reads : ANDY Dear Mr. Dufresne. In response to your repeated inquiries, the State Senate has allocated the enclosed funds for your library project.''. -LRB- stunned, examines check. -RRB- This is two hundred dollars. Wiley grins. Hadley glares at him. The grin vanishes. ANDY In addition, the Library District has generously responded with a charitable donation of used books and sundries. We trust this will fill your needs. We now consider the matter closed. Please stop sending us letters. Yours truly, the State Comptroller's Office. Andy gazes around at the boxes. The riches of the world lay at his feet. His eyes mist with emotion at the sight. HADLEY I want all this cleared out before the warden gets back, I shit you not. Hadley exits. Andy touches the boxes like a love - struck man touching a beautiful woman. Wiley grins. WILEY Good for you, Andy. ANDY Only took six years. -LRB- beat. -RRB- From now on, I send two letters a week instead of one. WILEY -LRB- laughs, shakes his head. -RRB- I believe you're crazy enough. You better get this stuff downstairs like the Captain said. I'm gon na go pinch a loaf. When I get back, this is all gone, right? Andy nods. Wiley disappears into the toilet, Jughead Comix in hand. Alone now, Andy starts going through the boxes like a starving man exploring packages of food. He does n't know where to turn first. He gets giddy, ripping boxes open and pulling out books, touching them, smelling them. He rips open another box. This one contains an old phonograph player, industrial gray and green, the words `` Portland Public School District'' stenciled on the side. The box also contains stacks and stacks of used record albums. Andy reverently slips a stack from the box and starts flipping through them. Used Nat King Coles, Bing Crosbys, etc.. He comes across a certain album - Mozart's `` Le Nozze de Figaro.'' He pulls it from the stack, gazing upon it as a man transfixed. It is a thing of beauty. It is the Grail.", "INT. -- BATHROOM -- DAY (1955) Wiley sits in one of the stalls, Jughead comic on his knees.", "INT. -- GUARD STATION/OUTER OFFICE -- DAY (1955) Andy wrestles the phonograph player onto the guards' desk, sweeping things onto the floor in his haste. He plugs the machine in. A red light warms up. The platter starts spinning. He slides the Mozart album from its sleeve, lays it on the platter, and lowers the tone arm to his favorite cut. The needle HISSES in the groove. and the MUSIC begins, lilting and gorgeous. Andy sinks into Wiley's chair, overcome by its beauty. It is `` Deutino : Che soave zeffiretto,'' a duet sung by Susanna and the Contessa.", "INT. -- BATHROOM -- DAY (1955) Wiley pauses reading, puzzled. He thinks he hears music. WILEY Andy? You hear that?", "INT. -- GUARD STATION/OUTER OFFICE -- DAY (1955) Andy shoots a look at the bathroom. and smiles. Go for broke. He lunges to his feet and barricades the front door, then the bathroom. He returns to the desk and positions the P.A. microphone. He works up his courage, then flicks all the toggles to `` on.'' A SQUEAL OF FEEDBACK echoes briefly. 134 INT/EXT - VARIOUS P.A. SPEAKERS - DAY -LRB- 1955 -RRB- 134. and the Mozart is suddenly broadcast all over the prison.", "INT. -- BATHROOM -- DAY (1955) Wiley lunges to his feet, pants tangling around his ankles. 136 INT/EXT - SHAWSHANK PRISON - VARIOUS LOCATIONS - DAY -LRB- 1955 -RRB- 136 Cons all over the prison stop whatever they're doing, freezing in mid - step to listen, gazing up at the speakers. THE STAMPING MACHINES IN THE PLATE SHOP ARE SHUT DOWN. 137 THE LAUNDRY LINE GOES SILENT, GRINDING TO A HALT. 138 THE WOOD SHOP MACHINES ARE TURNED OFF, BUZZING TO A STOP. 139 THE MOTOR POOL. THE KITCHEN. THE LOADING DOCK. THE EXERCISE 140 thru yard. the numbing routine of prison life itself. all grinds thru TO A STUTTERING HALT. NOBODY MOVES, NOBODY SPEAKS. EVERYBODY 143 just stands in place, listening to the MUSIC, hypnotized.", "INT. -- GUARD STATION -- DAY (1955) Andy is reclined in the chair, transported, arms fluidly conducting the music. Ecstasy and rapture. Shawshank no longer exists. It has been banished from the mind of men.", "EXT. -- EXERCISE YARD -- DAY (1955) CAMERA TRACKS along groups of men, all riveted. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I have no idea to this day what them two Italian ladies were singin' about. Truth is, I do n't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I like to think they were singin' about something so beautiful it ca n't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. CAMERA brings us to Red. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I tell you, those voices soared. Higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away. and for the briefest of moments - every last man at Shawshank felt free.", "INT. -- PRISON CORRIDOR -- DAY (1955) FAST DOLLY with Norton striding up the hallway with Hadley. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It pissed the warden off something terrible.", "INT. -- GUARD STATION/OUTER OFFICE -- DAY (1955) Norton and Hadley break the door in. Andy looks up with a sublime smile. We hear Wiley POUNDING on the bathroom door : WILEY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- LET ME OUUUUT!", "INT. -- SOLITARY WING -- DAY (1955) LOW ANGLE SLOW PUSH IN on the massive, rust - streaked steel door. God, this is a terrible place to be. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Andy got two weeks in the hole for that little stunt.", "INT. -- SOLITARY CONFINEMENT -- DAY (1955) Andy does n't seem to mind. His arms sweep to the music still playing in his head. We hear a FAINT ECHO of the soaring duet.", "INT. -- MESS HALL -- DAY (1955) 1 HEYWOOD Could n't play somethin' good, huh? Hank Williams? ANDY They broke the door down before I could take requests. FLOYD Was it worth two weeks in the hole? ANDY Easiest time I ever did. HEYWOOD Shit. No such thing as easy time in the hole. A week seems like a year. ANDY I had Mr. Mozart to keep me company. Hardly felt the time at all. RED Oh, they let you tote that record player down there, huh? I could' a swore they confiscated that stuff. ANDY -LRB- taps his heart, his head. -RRB- The music was here. and here. That's the one thing they ca n't confiscate, not ever. That's the beauty of it. Have n't you ever felt that way about music, Red? RED Played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost my taste for it. Did n't make much sense on the inside. ANDY Here's where it makes most sense. We need it so we do n't forget. RED Forget? ANDY That there are things in this world not carved out of gray stone. That there's a small place inside of us they can never lock away, and that place is called hope. RED Hope is a dangerous thing. Drive a man insane. It's got no place here. Better get used to the idea. ANDY -LRB- softly. -RRB- Like Brooks did? FADE TO BLACK AN IRON - BARRED DOOR 151 slides open with an enormous CLANG. A stark room beyond. CAMERA PUSHES through. SEVEN HUMORLESS MEN sit at a long table. An empty chair faces them. We are again in :", "INT. -- SHAWSHANK HEARINGS ROOM -- DAY (1957) Red enters, ten years older than when we first saw him at a parole hearing. He removes his cap and sits. MAN #l It says here you've served thirty years of a life sentence. MAN #2 You feel you've been rehabilitated? RED Yes sir, without a doubt. I can say I'm a changed man. No danger to society, that's the God's honest truth. Absolutely rehabilitated. CLOSEUP - PAROLE FORM A big rubber stamp slams down : `` REJECTED.''", "EXT. -- PRISON YARD -- DUSK (1957) Red emerges into fading daylight. Andy's waiting for him. RED Same old, same old. Thirty years. Jesus. When you say it like that. ANDY You wonder where it went. I wonder where ten years went. Red nods, solemn. They settle in on the bleachers. Andy pulls a small box from his sweater, hands it to Red. ANDY Anniversary gift. Open it. Red does. Inside the box, on a thin layer of cotton, is a shiny new harmonica, bright aluminum and circus - red. ANDY Had to go through one of your competitors. Hope you do n't mind. Wanted it to be a surprise. RED It's very pretty, Andy. Thank you. ANDY You gon na play something? - Red considers it, shakes his head. Softly : RED Not today.", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK FIVE/ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1957) Men line the tiers as the evening count is completed. The convicts step into their cells. The master switch is thrown and all the doors slam shut - KA - THUMP! Andy finds a cardboard tube on his bunk. The note reads : `` A new girl for your 10 year anniversary. From your pal. Red.''", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- LATER (1957) Marilyn Monroe's face fills the screen. SLOW PULL BACK reveals the new poster : the famous shot from `` The Seven Year Itch,'' on the subway grate with skirt billowing up. Andy sits gazing at her as lights - out commences.", "INT. -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1957) and we find Red gazing blankly as darkness takes the cellblock. Adding up the months, weeks, days. He regards the harmonica like a man confronted with a Martian artifact. He considers trying it out - even holds it briefly to his lips, almost embarrassed - but puts it back in its box untested. And there the harmonica will stay. FADE TO BLACK WE HOLD IN BLACKNESS as THUMPING SOUNDS grow louder. 156 RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Andy was as good as his word. He kept writing to the State Senate. Two letters a week instead of one. and the BLACKNESS disintegrates as a wall tumbles before our eyes, revealing a WORK CREW with picks and sledgehammers, faces obscured outlaw - style with kerchiefs against the dust. Behind them are GUARDS overseeing the work. Andy yanks his kerchief down, grinning in exhilaration. Red and the others follow suit. They step through the hole in the wall, exploring what used to be a sealed - off storage room. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- In 1959, the folks up Augusta way finally clued in to the fact they could n't buy him off with just a 200 dollar check. Appropriations Committee voted an annual payment of 500 dollars, just to shut him up.", "INT. -- PRISON LIBRARY -- DAY (1960) TRACKING the construction. Walls have been knocked down. Men are painting, plastering, hammering. Lots of shelves going up. Red is head carpenter. We find him discussing plans with Andy. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Those checks came once a year like clockwork.", "INT. -- PRISON LIBRARY -- DAY (1960) Red and the boys are opening boxes, pulling out books. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You'd be amazed how far Andy could stretch it. He made deals with book clubs, charity groups. he bought remaindered books by the pound. HEYWOOD Treasure Island. Robert Louis. ANDY -LRB- jotting. -RRB-. Stevenson. Next? RED I got here an auto repair manual, and a book on soap carving. ANDY Trade skills and hobbies, those go under educational. Stack right behind you. HEYWOOD The Count of Monte Crisco. FLOYD Cristo, you dumbshit. HEYWOOD by Alexandree Dumb - ass. ANDY Dumas. You boys'll like that one. It's about a prison break. Floyd tries to take the book. Heywood yanks it back. I saw it first. Red shoots Andy a look. RED Maybe that should go under educational too.", "INT. -- WOOD SHOP -- DAY (1961) Red is making a sign, carefully routing letters into a long plank of wood. It turns out to be -", "INT. -- PRISON LIBRARY -- DAY (1963) - the varnished wood sign over the archway : `` Brooks Hatlen Memorial Library.'' TILT DOWN to reveal the library in all its completed glory : shelves lined with books, tables and chairs, even a few potted plants. Heywood is wearing headphones, listening to Hank Williams on the record player. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- By the year Kennedy was shot, Andy had transformed a broom closet smelling of turpentine into the best prison library in New England.", "EXT. -- SHAWSHANK PRISON -- DAY (1963) FLASHBULBS POP as Norton addresses MEMBERS OF THE PRESS : RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That was also the year Warden Norton instituted his famous `` Inside - Out'' program. You may remember reading about it. It made all the papers and got his picture in LIFE magazine. NORTON a genuine, progressive advance in corrections and rehabilitation. Our inmates, properly supervised, will be put to work outside these walls performing all manner of public service. Cutting pulpwood, repairing bridges and causeways, digging storm drains. ANGLE TO Red and the boys listening from behind the fence. NORTON These men can learn the value of an honest day's labor while providing a valuable service to the community - and at a bare minimum of expense to Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Taxpayer! HEYWOOD Sounds like road - gangin', you ask me. RED Nobody asked you.", "EXT. -- HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION SITE -- DAY (1963) A ROAD - GANG is grading a culvert with picks. There's dust and the smell of sweat in the air. GUARDS patrol with sniper rifles, A pushy WOMAN REPORTER in an ugly hat bustles up the grade, trailed by a PHOTOGRAPHER. WOMAN REPORTER You there! You men! We're gon na take your picture now! HEYWOOD Give us a break, lady. WOMAN REPORTER Do n't you know who I am? I'm from LIFE magazine! I was told I'd get some co - operation out here! You want me to report you to your warden? Is that what you want? HEYWOOD -LRB- sighs. -RRB- No, ma'am. WOMAN REPORTER That's more like it! Now I want you all in a row with big bright smiles on your faces! Grab hold of your tools and show'em to me! She turns, motioning her photographer up the grade. Heywood glances around at the other men. HEYWOOD You heard the lady. Heywood unzips his pants, reaches inside. The others do likewise. The woman turns back and is greeted by the sight of a dozen men displaying their penises and smiling brightly. Her legs go wobbly and she sits heavily down on the dirt grade. HEYWOOD C'mon! We're showin' our tools and grinnin' like fools! Take the damn picture!", "INT. -- SOLITARY CONFINZMENT -- NIGHT (1963) Heywood sits alone in the dark. He sighs. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- None of the inmates were invited to express their views.", "EXT. -- WOODED FIELDS -- DAY (1965) A ROAD - GANG is pulling stumps, bogged down in mud. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- ` Course, Norton failed to mention to the press that `` bare minimum of expense'' is a fairly loose term. There are a hundred different ways to skim off the top. Men, materials, you name it. And, oh my Lord, how the money rolled in. Norton strolls into view with NED GRIMES at his heels. NED This keeps up, you're gon na put me out of business! With this pool of slave labor you got, you can underbid any contractor in town. NORTON Ned, we're providing a valuable community service. NED That's fine for the papers, but I got a family to feed. The State do n't pay my salary. Sam, we go back a long way. I need this new highway contract. I do n't get it, I go under. That's a fact. -LRB- hands him a box. -RRB- Now you just have some'a this fine pie my missus baked specially for you, and you think about that. Norton opens the box. Alongside the pie is an envelope. He runs his thumb across the thick stack of cash it contains. IN THE BACKGROUND, a winch cable SNAPS and whips through the air, damn near severing a man's leg. He goes down, screaming in mud and blood, pinned by a fallen tree stump. Men rush over to help him. Norton barely takes notice. NORTON Ned, I would n't worry too much over this contract. Seems to me I've already got my boys committed elsewhere. You be sure and thank Maisie for this fine pie.", "INT. -- NORTON'S OFFICE -- NIGHT (1965) ANGLE on Maisie's pie. Several pieces gone. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And behind every shady deal, behind every dollar earned. TILT UP to Andy at the desk, munching thoughtfully as he totals up figures on an adding machine. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- there was Andy, keeping the books. Andy finishes preparing two bank deposits. Norton hovers near the desk, keeping a watchful eye. ANDY Two deposits, Casco Bank and New England First. Night drop, like always. Norton pockets the envelopes. Andy crosses to the wall safe and shoves the ledger and sundry files inside. Norton locks the safe, swings his wife's framed sampler back into place. He cocks his thumb at some laundry and two suits in the corner. NORTON Get my stuff down t ` laundry. Two suits for dry - clean and a bag of whatnot. Tell'em if they over - starch my shirts again, they're gon na hear about it from me. -LRB- adjusts his tie. -RRB- How do I look? ANDY Very nice. NORTON Big charity to - do up Portland way. Governor's gon na be there. -LRB- indicates pie. -RRB- Want the rest of that? Woman ca n't bake worth shit.", "INT. -- PRISON CORRIDOR -- NIGHT (1965) Andy trudges down the corridor with Norton's laundry, the pie box under his arm.", "INT. -- LIBRARY -- DAY (1965) TILT UP FROM PIE to find Red munching away as he helps Andy sort books on the shelves. RED Got his fingers in a lot of pies, from what I hear. ANDY What you hear is n't half of it. He's got scams you have n't dreamed of. Kickbacks on his kickbacks. There's a river of dirty money flowing through this place. RED Money like that can be a problem. Sooner or later you got ta explain where it came from. ANDY That's where I come in. I channel it, funnel it, filter it. stocks, securities, tax free municipals. I send that money out into the big world. And when it comes back. RED It's clean as a virgin's whistle? ANDY Cleaner. By the time Norton retires, I will have made him a millionaire. RED Jesus. They ever catch on, he's gon na wind up wearing a number himself. ANDY -LRB- smiles. -RRB- I thought you had more faith in me than that. RED I'm sure you're good, but all that paper leaves a trail. Anybody gets too curious - FBI, IRS, whatever - that trail's gon na lead to somebody. ANDY Sure it will. But not to me, and certainly not to the warden. RED Who then? ANDY Peter Stevens. RED Who? ANDY The silent, silent partner. He's the guilty one, your Honor. The man with the bank accounts. That's where the filtering process starts. They trace it back, all they're gon na find is him. RED Yeah, okay, but who the hell is he? ANDY A phantom. An apparition. Second cousin to Harvey the Rabbit. -LRB- off Red's look. -RRB- I conjured him out of thin air. He does n't exist. except on paper. RED You ca n't just make a person up. ANDY Sure you can, if you know how the system works, and where the cracks are. It's amazing what you can accomplish by mail. Mr. Stevens has a birth certificate, social security card, driver's license. They ever track those accounts, they'll wind up chasing a figment of my imagination. RED Jesus. Did I say you were good? You're Rembrandt. ANDY It's funny. On the outside, I was an honest man. Straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.", "EXT. -- PRISON YARD -- DUSK (1965) RED Does it ever bother you? ANDY I do n't run the scams, Red, I just process the profits. That's a fine line, maybe. But I've also built that library, and used it to help a dozen guys get their high school diplomas. Why do you think the warden lets me do all that? RED To keep you happy and doing the laundry. Money instead of sheets. ANDY I work cheap. That's the trade - off. TWO SIREN BLASTS draw their attention to the main gate. It swings open, revealing a prison bus waiting outside.", "INT. -- PRISON BUS -- DUSK (1965) Among those on board is TOMMY WILLIAMS, a damn good - looking kid in his mid - 20's. The bus RUMBLES through the gate.", "EXT. -- PRISON YARD -- DUSK (1965) The new fish disembark, chained together single - file. The old - timers holler and shake the fence. A deafening gauntlet.", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK EIGHT -- NIGHT (1965) Tommy and the others are marched in naked and shivering, covered with delousing powder, greeted by TAUNTS and JEERS.", "INT. -- TOMMY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1965) The bars slam with a STEEL CLANG. Tommy and his new CELLMATE take in their new surroundings. TOMMY Well. Ai n't this for shit?", "INT. -- PRISON CORRIDOR -- DAY (1965) DOLLYING Tommy as he struts along, combing his ducktail, cigarette behind his ear. -LRB- We definitely need The Coasters or Del Vikings on the soundtrack here. Maybe Jerry Lee Lewis. -RRB- RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Tommy Williams came to Shawshank in 1965 on a two year stretch for B&E. Cops caught him sneakin' TV sets out the back door of a JC Penney.", "INT. -- WOOD SHOP -- DAY (1965) A SHRIEKING BUZZSAW slices ten - foot lengths of wood. Red runs the machine while some other OLD - TIMERS feed the wood. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Young punk, Mr. Rock n' Roll, cocky as hell. Tommy is hauling the cut wood off the conveyor and stacking it, It's a ball - busting job, but the kid's a blur. TOMMY -LRB- slapping his gloves. -RRB- C'mon there, old boys! Movin' like molasses! Makin' me look bad! The old guys just grin and shake their heads. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We liked him immediately.", "INT. -- MESS HALL -- DAY (1965) Tommy regales the old boys with his exploits : TOMMY so I'm backin' out the door, right? Had the TV like this. -LRB- mimes his grip. -RRB- Big ol' thing. Could n't see shit. Suddenly, here's this voice : Freeze kid! Hands in the air! Well I just stand there holdin' on to that TV, so the voice says : `` You hear what I said, boy?'' And I say, Yes sir, I sure did! But if I drop this fuckin' thing, you got me on destruction of property too! The whole table falls about laughing.", "INT. -- LIBRARY -- DAY (1965) Poker game in progress. Tommy, Andy, Red and the boys. HEYWOOD You did a stretch in Cashman too? TOMMY Yeah. That was an easy ride, let me tell you. Work programs, weekend furloughs. Not like here. SNOOZE Sounds like you done time all over New England. TOMNY Been in and out since I was 13. Name the place, chances are I been there. ANDY Perhaps it's time you considered a new profession. -LRB- the game stalls. -RRB- What I mean is, you do n't seem to be a very good thief. Maybe you should try something else. TOMMY What the hell you know about it, Capone? What are you in for? ANDY -LRB- wry glance to Red. -RRB- Everyone's innocent in here. Do n't you know that? The tension breaks. Everyone laughs.", "INT. -- VISITOR'S ROOM -- DAY (1965) CAMERA TRAVELS the room. Chaotic. CONS are waiting their turn or talking to visitors through a thick plexi shield. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- As it turns out, Tommy had himself a young wife and new baby girl. Tommy's at the end of the row, phone to his ear. Other side of the glass is BETH, near tears, fussing with a BABY on her lap. BETH. said we can stay with them, but Joey's gettin' out of the service next month, and they barely got enough room as it is. Plus they got Poppa workin' double shifts and the baby cries half the night. I just do n't know where we're gon na go. PUSH IN on Tommy's face as he listens. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Maybe it was the thought of them on the streets. or his child growing up not knowing her daddy.", "INT. -- LIBRARY -- DAY (1965) Tommy enters, the strut gone from his step. A little scared. He finds Andy filing library cards. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Whatever it was, something lit a fire under that boy's ass. TOMMY I'm thinkin' maybe I should try for high school equivalency. Hear you helped some fellas with that. ANDY I do n't waste time on losers, Tommy. TOMNY -LRB- tight. -RRB- I ai n't no goddamn loser. ANDY That's a good start. If we do this, we do it all the way. One hundred percent. Nothing half - assed. Tommy thinks about it, nods. TOMMY Thing is, see. -LRB- leans in, mutters. -RRB-. I do n't read all that good. ANDY -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Well. You've come to the right place then.", "INT. -- LIBRARY -- DAY (1965) We find Andy giving an impassioned reading : ANDY and the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor. and my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, shall be lifted nevermore!'' Andy slaps the book shut, immensely pleased with himself. TOMMY So this raven just sits there and wo n't go away? ANDY That's right. TOMMY -LRB- beat. -RRB- Why do n't that fella get hisself a 12 - gauge and dust the fucker?", "INT. -- LIBRARY -- DAY (1965) Tommy tries to read as Andy looks on : TOMMY The cat sh - The cat shh. -LRB- glances up. -RRB- The cat shat on the welcome mat? Andy shakes his head. Not exactly.", "INT. -- LIBRARY -- DAY (1965) Andy chalks the alphabet on a blackboard. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So Andy took Tommy under his wing. Started walking him through his ABCs.", "INT. -- MESS HALL -- DAY (1965) TRACK the table to Tommy and Andy. Discussing a book. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Tommy took to it pretty well, too. Boy found brains he never knew he had.", "EXT. -- EXERCISE YARD BLEACHERS -- DAY (1965) TOMNY The cat sh - shh - shimmied up the tree and crept st - stel - stealthily out on the limb.", "INT. -- WOOD SHOP -- DAY (1965) Tommy intent on a paperback, mouthing the words. Behind him, wood is piling up on the conveyor belt. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- After a while, you could n't pry those books out of hands. RED Ass in gear, son! You're putting us behind! Tommy shoves the book in his back pocket and hurries over.", "INT. -- LIBRARY -- DAY (1965) Tommy writes a sentence on the blackboard. Andy steps in, shows him how to reconstruct it. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Before long, Andy started him on his course requirements. He really liked the kid, that was part of it. Gave him a thrill to help a youngster crawl off the shitheap. But that was n't the only reason.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1966) TIGHT ANGLE on chessboard. Most of the pieces complete. PAN TO Andy lying in his bunk, carefully polishing. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Prison time is slow time. Sometimes it feels like stop - time. So you do what you can to keep going. and we keep going past Andy in a SLOW PAN of the cell. Sink. Toilet. Books. Outside the window bars, we hear another TRAIN passing in the night. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Some fellas collect stamps. Others build matchstick houses. Andy built a library. Now he needed a new project. Tommy was it. It was the same reason he spent years shaping and polishing those rocks. The same reason he hung his fantasy girlies on the wall. STILL PANNING, past a chair, a sweater on a hook. and finally to the place of honor on the wall. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- In prison, a man'll do most anything to keep his mind occupied. where the latest poster turns out to be Racquel Welch ins fur bikini. Gorgeous. `` One Million Years, B. C.'' SLOW PUSH IN, RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- By 1966. right about the time Tommy was getting ready to take his exams. it was lovely Racquel.", "INT. -- LIBRARY -- DAY (1966) Tommy's taking the big test. Andy's monitoring the time. Deep silence, save for Tommy's pencil - scribbling. A few old - timers are browsing the shelves, sneaking looks their way. Tommy tries to ignore them. Concentrate. Andy clears his throat. Time's up. Tommy puts his pencil down, ANDY Well? TOMMY Well. It's for shit. -LRB- gets up in disgust. -RRB- Wasted a whole fuckin' year of my time with this bullshit! ANDY May not be as bad as you think. TOMMY It's worse! I did n't get a fuckin' thing right! Might as well be in Chinese! ANDY We'll see how the score comes out. TOMMY I'll tell you how the goddamn score comes out. Tommy grabs the test, wads it, slam - dunks it into the trash. TOMMY Two points! Right there! There's your goddamn score! -LRB- storms out. -RRB- Goddamn cats crawlin' up trees, 5 times 5 is 25, fuck this place, fuck it! Tommy is gone. Red and others stare. Andy gets up, pulls the test from the trash, smoothes it out on the desk.", "INT. -- WOOD SHOP -- DAY (1966) Rest break. Tommy and Red sipping Cokes. TOMMY I feel bad. I let him down. RED That's crap, son. He's proud of you. Proud as a hen. -LRB- off Tommy's look. -RRB- We been friends a long time. I know him as good as anybody. TOMMY Smart fella, ai n't he? RED Smart as they come. Used to be a banker on the outside. TOMMY What's he in for anyway? RED Murder. TOMMY The hell you say. RED You would n't think, lookin' at him. Caught his wife in bed with some golf pro. Greased'em both. C'mon, boy, back to work. SMASH! Red turns back. Tommy's Coke has slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor. The kid's gone white as a sheet. TOMMY -LRB- bare whisper. -RRB- Oh my God.", "INT. -- LIBRARY -- DAY (1966) Tommy sits before Andy and Red : TOMMY ` Bout four years ago, I was in Thomaston on a 2 to 3 stretch. Stole a car. Dumbfuck thing to do. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Few months left to go, I get a new cellmate in. Elmo Blatch. Big twitchy fucker. Crazy eyes. Kind of roomie you pray you do n't get, know what I'm sayin'? 6 to 12 for armed burglary. Said he done hundreds of jobs. Hard to believe, high - strung as he was. Cut a loud fart, he'd go three feet in the air. Talked all the time, too, that's the other thing. Never shut up. Places he'd been, jobs he pulled, women he fucked. Even people he killed. People that gave him shit, that's how he put it. One night, like a joke, I say : `` Yeah? Who'd you kill?'' So he says. BLATCH I got me this job one time bussin' tables at a country club. So I could case all the big rich pricks that come in. I pick out this guy, go in one night and do his place. He wakes up and gives me shit. So I killed him. Him and the tasty bitch he was with. -LRB- starts laughing. -RRB- That's the best part! She's fuckin' this prick, see, this golf pro, but she's married to some other guy! Some hotshot banker. He's the one they pinned it on! They got him down - Maine somewhere doin' time for the crime! Ai n't that choice? He throws his head back and ROARS with laughter.", "INT. -- PRISON LIBRARY -- DAY (1966) Silence. Tommy has finished his story. Red is stunned. but Andy looks like he's been smacked with a two by four. RED Andy? Andy says nothing. Walks stiffly away. Does n't look back.", "INT. -- NORTON'S OFFICE -- DAY (1966) NORTON Well. I have to say, that's the most amazing story I ever heard. What amazes me most is you were taken in by it. ANDY Sir? NORTON It's obvious this fellow Williams is impressed with you. He hears your tale of woe and quite naturally wants to cheer you up. He's young, not terribly bright. Not surprising he did n't know what a state he'd put you in. ANDY I think he's telling the truth. NORTON Let's say for a moment Blatch does exist. You think he'd just fall to his knees and cry, `` Yes, I did it! I confess! By all means, please add a life term to my sentence!'' ANDY It would n't matter. With Tommy's testimony, I can get a new trial. NORTON That's assuming Blatch is even still there. Chances are excellent he'd be released by now. Excellent. ANDY They'd have his last known address. Names of relatives. -LRB- Norton shakes his head. -RRB- Well it's a chance. is n't it? How can you be so obtuse? NORTON What? What did you call me? ANDY Obtuse! Is it deliberate? The country club will have his old time cards! W - 2s with his name on them! NORTON -LRB- rises. -RRB- Dufresne, if you want to indulge this fantasy, that's your business. Do n't make it mine. This meeting's over. ANDY Look, if it's the squeeze, do n't worry. I'd never say what goes on in here. I'd be just as indictable as you for laundering the money! NORTON Do n't you ever mention money to me again, you sorry son of a bitch! Not in this office, not anywhere! -LRB- slaps intercom. -RRB- Get in here! Now! ANDY I was just trying to rest your mind at ease, that's all. NORTON -LRB- as GUARDS enter. -RRB- Solitary! A month! Andy gets dragged away, kicking and screaming : ANDY What's the matter with you? It's my chance to get out, do n't you see that? It's my life! Do n't you understand it's my life?", "EXT. -- PRISON YARD -- DAY (1966) Mail call. Men crowd around as names are called out. Red and the boys are parked on the bleachers. FLOYD A month in the hole. Longest damn stretch I ever heard of. TOMMY It's my fault. RED Like hell. You did n't pull the trigger, and you did n't convict him. HEYWOOD Red? You saying Andy's innocent? I mean for real innocent? -LRB- Red nods. -RRB- Sweet Jesus. How long's he been in here? RED Since' 47. Going on nineteen years. MAIL CALLER Thomas Williams! Tommy raises his hand. The envelope gets tossed to him. He stares at it. Red peers over his shoulder. RED Board of Education. TOMMY The son of a bitch mailed it. RED Looks that way. You gon na open it or stick your thumb up your butt? TOMMY Thumb up my butt sounds better. He gets hemmed in by the older men. Red snatches the letter. TOMMY C'mon, just throw it away. Will you please? Just throw it away? Red rips it open, scans the letter. Expressionless. RED Well, shit.", "INT. -- VISITOR'S ROOM -- DAY (1966) Tommy makes his way through the chaos, finds Beth and the baby waiting behind the thick plexi shield. He sits, does n't pick up the phone. Just stares at Beth. She does n't know what to make of it. He presses a piece of paper against the glass. A high school diploma. Her face lights up, blinking back tears.", "INT. -- SOLITARY WING -- NIGHT (1966) LOW ANGLE on steel door. Somewhere behind it, unseen, is Andy, A rat scurries along the wall. FOOTSTEPS approach slowly.", "INT. -- SOLITARY -- NIGHT (1966) Andy listens in darkness. The FOOTSTEPS pause outside his door. The slot opens. An ELDERLY GUARD peers in. ELDERLY GUARD Kid passed. C - plus average. Thought you'd like to know. The slot closes. The FOOTSTEPS recede. Andy smiles.", "INT. -- PRISON CORRIDOR -- NIGHT (1966) We find Tommy on evening work detail, mopping the floors with bucket and pail. Mert Entwhistle comes into view. MERT Warden wants to talk.", "EXT. -- PRISON -- NIGHT (1966) A steel door rattles open. Mert leads Tommy outside to a gate, unlocks it. Tommy looks around. TOMMY Out here? MERT That's what the man said. Mert swings the gate open, sends Tommy through, turns and heads back inside. Tommy proceeds out across a loading - dock access for the shops and mills. Some vehicles parked. The place is deserted. He stops, sensing a presence. TOMMY Warden? Norton steps into the light. NORTON Tommy, we've got a situation here. I think you can appreciate that. TOMMY Yes sir, I sure can. NORTON I tell you, son, this really came along and knocked my wind out. It's got me up nights, that's the truth. Norton pulls a pack of cigarettes, offers Tommy a smoke. Tommy takes one. Norton lights both cigarettes, pockets his lighter. NORTON The right decision. Sometimes it's hard to figure out what that is. You understand? -LRB- Tommy nods. -RRB- Think hard, Tommy. If I'm gon na move on this, there ca n't be the least little shred of doubt. I have to know if you what you told Dufresne was the truth. TOMMY Yes sir. Absolutely. NORTON Would you be willing to swear before a judge and jury. having placed your hand on the Good Book and taken an oath before Almighty God Himself? TOMMY Just gim me that chance. NORTON That's what I thought. Norton drops his cigarette. Crushes it out with the toe of his shoe. Glances up toward the plate shop roof as - HIGH ANGLE FROM PLATE SHOP ROOF -LRB- SNIPER POV -RRB- 199 - a rifle scope pops up into frame, jumping Tommy's image into startling magnification, framed in the crosshairs. THE SNIPER 200 rapid - fires a carbine - BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! - his face lit up by the muzzle flashes. Captain Hadley. TOMMY 201 gets chewed to pieces by the gunfire. He smacks the ground in a twitching, thrashing heap. Eyes wide and staring. Dead. Surprise still stamped on his face. Silence now. Norton turns, strolls into darkness.", "INT. -- SOLITARY WING -- DAY (1966) GUARDS approach Andy's cell. The door is unlocked. Andy emerges slowly, blinking painfully at the light. 203 INT/EXT - PRISON - DAY -LRB- 1966 -RRB- 203 Andy is marched along. Convicts stop to stare.", "INT. -- NORTON'S OFFICE -- DAY (1966) Andy is led in. The door is closed. Alone with Norton. Softly, NORTON Terrible thing. Man that young, less than a year to go, trying to escape. Broke Captain Hadley's heart to shoot him, truly it did. ANDY I'm done. It stops right now. Get H&R Block to declare your income. Norton lunges to his feet, eyes sparkling with rage. NORTON Nothing stops! NOTHING! -LRB- tight. -RRB- Or you will do the hardest time there is. No more protection from the guards. I'll pull you out of that one - bunk Hilton and put you in with the biggest bull queer I can find. You'll think you got fucked by a train! And the library? Gone! Sealed off brick by brick! We'll have us a little book - barbecue in the yard! They'll see the flames for miles! We'll dance around it like wild Indians! Do you understand me? Are you catching my drift? SLOW PUSH IN on Andy's face. Eyes hollow. His beaten expression says it all.", "EXT. -- PRISON YARD -- DAY (1966) Red finds Andy sitting in the shadow of the high stone wall, poking listlessly through the dust for small pebbles. Red waits for some acknowledgment. Andy does n't even look up. Red hunkers down and joins him. Nothing is said for the longest time. And then, softly : ANDY My wife used to say I'm a hard man to know. Like a closed book. Complained about it all the time. -LRB- pause. -RRB- She was beautiful. I loved her. But I guess I could n't show it enough. -LRB- softly. -RRB- I killed her, Red. Andy finally glances to Red, seeking a reaction. Silence. ANDY I did n't pull the trigger. But I drove her away. That's why she died. Because of me, the way I am. RED That do n't make you a murderer. Bad husband, maybe. Andy smiles faintly in spite of himself. Red gives his shoulder a squeeze. RED Feel bad about it if you want. But you did n't pull the trigger. ANDY No. I did n't. Someone else did, and I wound up here. Bad luck, I guess. RED Bad luck? Jesus. ANDY It floats around. Has to land on somebody. Say a storm comes through. Some folks sit in their living rooms and enjoy the rain. The house next door gets torn out of the ground and smashed flat. It was my turn, that's all. I was in the path of the tornado. -LRB- softly. -RRB- I just had no idea the storm would go on as long as it has. -LRB- glances to him. -RRB- Think you'll ever get out of here? RED Sure. When I got a long white beard and about three marbles left rolling around upstairs. ANDY Tell you where I'd go. Zihuatanejo. RED Zihuatanejo? ANDY Mexico. Little place right on the Pacific. You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific? They say it has no memory. That's where I'd like to finish out my life, Red. A warm place with no memory. Open a little hotel right on the beach. Buy some worthless old boat and fix it up like new. Take my guests out charter fishing. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You know, a place like that, I'd need a man who can get things. Red stares at Andy, laughs. RED Jesus, Andy. I could n't hack it on the outside. Been in here too long. I'm an institutional man now. Like old Brooks Hatlen was. ANDY You underestimate yourself. - RED Bullshit. In here I'm the guy who can get it for you. Out there, all you need are Yellow Pages. I would n't know where to begin. -LRB- derisive snort. -RRB- Pacific Ocean? Hell. Like to scare me to death, somethin' that big. ANDY Not me. I did n't shoot my wife and I did n't shoot her lover, and whatever mistakes I made I've paid for and then some. That hotel and that boat. I do n't think it's too much to want. To look at the stars just after sunset. Touch the sand. Wade in the water. Feel free. RED Goddamn it, Andy, stop! Do n't do that to yourself! Talking shitty pipedreams! Mexico's down there, and you're in here, and that's the way it is! ANDY You're right. It's down there, and I'm in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying. Red snaps a look. What the hell does that mean? Andy rises and walks away. Red lunges to his feet. RED Andy? ANDY -LRB- turns back. -RRB- Red, if you ever get out of here, do me a favor. There's this big hayfield up near Buxton. You know where Buxton is? RED -LRB- nods. -RRB- Lots of hayfields there. ANDY One in particular. Got a long rock wall with a big oak at the north end. Like something out of a Robert Frost poem. It's where I asked my wife to marry me. We'd gone for a picnic. We made love under that tree. I asked and she said yes. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Promise me, Red. If you ever get out, find that spot. In the base of that wall you'll find a rock that has no earthly business in a Maine hayfield. A piece of black volcanic glass. You'll find something buried under it I want you to have. RED What? What's buried there? ANDY You'll just have to pry up that rock and see. Andy turns and walks away.", "INT. -- MESS HALL -- DAY (1966) RED I tell you, the man was talkin' crazy. I'm worried, I truly am. SKEET We ought to keep an eye on him. JIGGER That's fine, during the day. But at night he's got that cell all to himself. HEYWOOD Oh Lord. Andy come down to the loading dock today. Asked me for a length of rope. Six foot long. SNOOZE Shit! You gave it to him? HEYWOOD Sure I did. I mean why would n't I? FLOYD Christ! Remember Brooks Hatlen? HEYWOOD How the hell was I s ` pose to know? JIGGER Andy'd never do that. Never. They all look to Red. RED Every man's got a breaking point.", "EXT. -- PRISON YARD -- ANGLE ON P.A. -- DUSK (1966) VOICE -LRB- over P.A. -RRB- Report to your cellblocks for evening count. BOOM DOWN to Red and the boys. Convicts drift past them. FLOYD Where the hell is he? HEYWOOD Probably still up in the warden's. TOWER GUARD -LRB- via bullhorn. -RRB- YOU MEN! YOU HEAR THAT ANNOUNCEMENT OR ZUST TOO STUPID TO UNDERSTAND? SKEET Christ. What do we do? FLOYD Nothing we can do. Not tonight. HEYWOOD Let's pull him aside tomorrow, all of us. Have a word with him. Ai n't that right, Red? RED -LRB- unconvinced. -RRB- Yeah. Sure. That's right. 20B INT - NORTON'S OFFICE - NIGHT -LRB- 1966 -RRB- 208 Andy's working away. Norton pokes his head in. NORTON Lickety - split. I wan na get home. ANDY Just about done, sir. We follow Norton to his wife's sampler. He swings it aside, works the combination dial, opens the wall safe. Andy moves up, shoves in the black ledger and files. Norton shuts the safe. ANDY Three deposits tonight. Andy hands him the envelopes. Norton heads for the door. NORTON Get my stuff down t ` laundry. And shine my shoes. I want'em lookin' like mirrors. -LRB- pauses at door. -RRB- Nice havin' you back, Andy. Place just was n't the same without you. Norton exits. Andy turns to the laundry. He opens the shoebox. Nice pair of dress shoes inside. He sighs, glances down at the old ragged pair of work shoes on his own feet.", "INT. -- NORTON'S OFFICE -- NIGHT (1966) Andy is diligently shining Norton's shoes.", "INT. -- PRISON CORRIDOR -- NIGHT (1966) Andy trudges down the hallway, laundry slung over his shoulder,", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- NIGHT (1966) Andy nods to the GUARD. The guard BUZZES him through.", "INT. -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1966) Red hears Andy coming, moves to the bars. He watches Andy come up to the second tier and pause before his cell. GUARD -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Open number twelve! Andy gazes directly at Red. A beat of eye contact. Red shakes his head. Do n't do it. Andy smiles, eerily calm. and enters his cell. The door closes. KA - THUMP! We hold on Red's face.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1966) Andy is polishing a chess piece. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Lights out! The lights bump off. He finishes polishing, holds up the piece to admire. A pawn. He sets it down with the others - and we realize it's the final glance for the board. A full set. He gazes up at Racquel and smiles. Pulls a six foot length of rope from under his pillow. Lets it uncoil to the floor.", "INT. -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1966) Red sits in the dark, a bundle of nerves, trying to hold himself still. He feels like he might scream or shake to pieces. The seconds tick by, each an eternity. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I have had some long nights in stir. Alone in the dark with nothing but your thoughts, time can draw out like a blade. A FLASH OF LIGHTNING outside his window sends harsh barred shadows jittering across the cell. A storm breaking. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That was the longest night of my life.", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- MORNING (1966) KA - THUMP! The master lock is thrown. The cons emerge from their cells and the headcount begins. Red looks back to see if Andy's in line. He's not. Suddenly the count stalls : GUARD Man missing on tier two! Cell 12! The head bull, HAIG, checks his list : HAIG Dufresne? Get your ass out here, boy! You're holding up the show! -LRB- no answer. -RRB- Do n't make me come down there now! I'll thump your skull for you! Still no answer. Glaring, Haig stalks down the tier, clipboard in hand. His men fall in behind. HAIG Dufresne, dammit, you're putting me behind! You better be sick or dead in there, I shit you not! They arrive at bars. Their faces go slack. Stunned. Softly : HAIG Oh my Holy God. REVERSE ANGLE 216 reveals the cell is empty. Everything neat and tidy. Even the bunk is stowed. They wrench the door open and rush in, tossing the cell in a panic as if Andy might be lurking under the Kleenex or the toothpaste. CAMERA ROCKETS IN on Haig as he spins toward us, bellowing at the top of his lungs : HAIG WHAT THE FUCK!", "INT. -- NORTON'S OFFICE -- MORNING (1966) Norton is kicking back with the morning paper. He notices ha dingy his shoes are. He glances at the shoebox on the desk. kicks his shoes off, opens the box - and gulls out Andy's o grimy work shoes. He stares blankly. What the fuck indeed. An ALARM STARTS BLARING throughout the prison. He looks up.", "EXT. -- PRISON -- DAY (1966) Norton and Hadley stride across the grounds, ALARM BLARING. NORTON I want every man on that cellblock questioned! Start with that friend of his! HADLEY who?", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- RED'S CELL -- DAY (1966) Red watches as Norton storms up with an entourage of guards. NORTON Him. Red's eyes widen. Guards yank him from his cell.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- DAY (1966) Norton steps to the center of the room, working himself up into a fine rage : NORTON What do you mean `` he just was n't here?'' Do n't say that to me, Haig! Do n't say that to me again! HAIG But sir! He was n't! He is n't! NORTON I can see that, Haig! You think I'm blind? Is that what you're saying? Am I blind, Haig? HAIG No sir! Norton grabs the clipboard and thrusts it at Hadley. NORTON What about you? You blind? Tell me what this is! HADLEY Last night's count. NORTON You see Dufresne's name? I sure do! Right there, see? `` Dufresne.'' He was in his cell at lights out! Stands to reason he'd still be here this morning! I want him found! Not tomorrow, not after breakfast! Now! Haig scurries out, gathering men. Norton spins to Red. NORTON Well? RED Well what? NORTON I see you two all the time, you're thick as thieves, you are! He must' a said something! RED No sir, he did n't! Norton spreads his arms evangelist - style, spins slowly around. NORTON Lord! It's a miracle! Man up and vanished like a fart in the wind! Nothin' left but some damn rocks on the windowsill and that cupcake on the wall! Let's ask her! Maybe she knows! What say there, Fuzzy - Britches? Feel like talking? Guess not. Why should you be different? Red exchanges looks with the guards. Even they're nervous. Norton scoops a handful rocks off the sill. He hurls them at the wall one at a time, shattering them, punctuating his words : NORTON It's a conspiracy! -LRB- SMASH. -RRB- That's what this is! -LRB- SMASH. -RRB- It's one big damn conspiracy! -LRB- SMASH. -RRB- And everyone's in on it! -LRB- SMASH. -RRB- Including her! He sends the last rock whizzing right at Racquel. No smash. It takes a moment for this to sink in. All eyes go to her. The rock went through her. There's a small hole in the poster where her navel used to be. You could hear a pin drop. Norton reaches up, sinks his finger into the hole. He keeps pushing. and his entire hand disappears into the wall. ANGLE FROM BEHIND POSTER 221 as Norton rips the poster from before our eyes. Stunned faces peer in. CAMERA PULLS SLOWLY BACK. to reveal the long crumbling tunnel in the wall.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- MINUTES LATER (1966) RORY TREMONT, a guard barely out of his teens, tries not to look nervous as they lash a rope around his chest. He's getting instructions from six different people at once. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- They got this skinny kid named Rory Tremont to go in the hole. He was n't much in the brains department, but he possessed the one most important qualification for the job. -LRB- they slap a flashlight in his hands. -RRB-. he was willing to go.", "INT. -- TUNNEL -- DAY (1966) Rory squeezes down the tunnel on his belly. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Probably thought he'd win a Bronze Star or something.", "INT. -- VERTICAL SHAFT -- DAY (1966) Dark as midnight. Concrete walls rise on both sides. If you imagine them as two huge slices of bread, the meat of this particular sandwich is about three feet of airspace and a dark tangle of pipes between the cellblocks. Rory's appears, shining his flashlight down the shaft. Somewhere, a rat SQUEAKS. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It was his third day on the job. RORY Warden? There's a space here between the walls ` bout three feet across! Smells pretty damn bad! NORTON -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I do n't care what it smells like! HADLEY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Go on, boy! We got a hold of you! Looking none too happy about it, Rory squeezes from the tunnel and dangles into the shaft. He gets lowered, shining his light, smothered by darkness. Not having a good time. RORY Hoo - whee! Smell's gettin' worse! NORTON -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Never mind, I said! Just keep going! RORY Smells pretty damn bad, Warden! In fact, it smells just like shit. His feet touch the ground - or what he assumed was the ground. It's not. In fact, it's just what it smells like. He sinks in past his ankles. He slips and sits heavily in it. RORY Oh God, that's what it is, it's shit. oh my God it's shit. pull me out ` fore I blow my groceries, oh shit it's shit, oh my Gawwwwwwd!", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- DAY (1966) Red and others listen to violent barfing from below. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And then came the unmistakable sound of Rory Tremont losing his last few meals. The whole cellblock heard it. I mean, it echoed. That's it for Red. He starts laughing. Laughing, hell, he's bellowing laughter, laughing so hard he has to hold himself, laughing so hard tears are pouring down his cheeks. The look of rage on Norton's face makes him laugh all the harder.", "INT. -- SOLITARY WING -- NIGHT (1966) Abrupt silence. LOW ANGLE on steel door. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I laughed myself right into solitary. Two week stretch.", "INT. -- SOLITARY -- NIGHT (1966) RED It's shit, it's shit, oh my God it's shit. He starts laughing all over again, fit to split. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Andy once talked about doing easy time in the hole. Now I knew what he meant.", "EXT. -- SHAWSHANK PRISON -- WIDE SHOT -- DAY (1966) Virgin landscape. Charming rural road. Suddenly, State Police cruisers rocket up the road with SIRENS AND LIGHTS. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- In 1966, Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank Prison.", "EXT. -- FIELD -- DAY (1966) Shawshank is half a mile distant. WE TRACK ALONG a muddy creel as STATE TROOPERS and PRISON GUARDS scour the brush. A TROOPEE fishes a prison uniform out of the creek with a long stick. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- All they found of him was a muddy set of prison clothes, a bar of soap, and an old rock - hammer damn near worn down to the nub. TROOPER g2 pulls the rock - hammer from the weeds. SWISH PAN to a POLICE PHOTOGRAPHER. His FLASHBULB GLARE produces : A BLACK AND WHITE STILL PHOTO 230 of the hapless cops posing with Andy's reeking uniform and the worn rock - hammer. PUSH IN on the hammer. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I remember thinking it would take a man six hundred years to tunnel through the wall with it. Andy did it in less than twenty.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1949) Once again, we see Andy using the rock - hammer to scratch his name into the cement. Suddenly, a palm - sized chunk of cement pops free and hits the floor. He stares down at it.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1949) Andy lies in the dark, studying the chunk of concrete in his hands. Considering the possibilities. Wrestling with hope. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, a million years of mountain - building there, plates of bedrock grinding against each other over a span of millennia.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1949) Andy stands peering at the small hole left by the fallen chunk. Carefully runs his fingertip over it. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes, really. Pressure and time.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1951) Rita is now on the wall, hanging down over Andy's back. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That and a big damn poster. TRACK IN to reveal Andy scraping patiently at the concrete. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Like I said. In prison, a man'll do most anything to keep his mind occupied. He hears FOOTSTEPS approaching. He smoothes the poster down and dives into bed. A GUARD strolls by a moment later, shining his flashlight into the cell.", "EXT. -- PRISON YARD -- DAY (1953) Andy strolls along, whistling softly, hands in both pockets. TILT DOWN to his pantleg. Concrete grit trickles out. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It turns out Andy's favorite hobby was totin' his wall out into the exercise yard a handful at a time.", "INT. -- 2ND TIER -- NIGHT (1962) A GUARD strolls the tier, shining his flashlight into the cells. He pauses at Andy's bars, playing the beam over the sleeping form huddled under the blankets. p37 REVERSE ANGLE -LRB- FROM INS1DE ANDY'S CELL -RRB- 237 We see what the guard does n't : instead of Andy's head under the blanket, it's a wadded - up pillow. The flashlight plays across the cell, pinning Marilyn Monroe in a circle of light. ANGLE FROM BEHIND POSTER 238 The light illuminates her face through the paper. WIDEN to reveal Andy lying in his tunnel, holding his breath. The light clicks off. The FOOTSTEPS move on. He gets back to work. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- While the rest of us slept, Andy spent years workin' the nightshift.", "INT. -- SHAFT -- NIGHT (1965) BOOMING SLOWLY UP the shaft. Rats scurry the pipes. Suddenly, r piece of concrete the size of a quarter jumps free and plummets down the shaft as the rock - hammer pushes through. The pick withdraws, replaced by Andy's peering eye. A SERIES OF DISSOLVES -LRB- 1965 through 1966 -RRB- 240 takes us through the widening of the hole. First as big as a tea cup. Then a saucer. Then a dinner plate. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Probably took him most of a year just to get his head through. Andy finally gets his head through, scraping his ears. He's got a penlight clenched in his teeth. He peers down into the shaft. At the very bottom, maybe 20 feet down, a big ceramic pipe runs the length of the cellblock. Beneath its coat of grime and dust, the word `` SEWER'' is stenciled.", "EXT. -- LOADING DOCK ACCESS -- NIGHT (1966) ANGLE LOOKING STRAIGHT DOWN. Below us, Tommy Williams lies facedown at Norton's feet. Blood is spreading, fanning out oa the pavement. Norton turns, strolls out of frame. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I guess after Tommy was killed, Andy decided he'd been here just about long enough. Again we see : Andy working. Norton pokes his head in. NORTON Lickety - split. I wan na get home. ANDY Just about done, sir. Norton crosses to the wall safe and works the dial, his back turned. This time, though, we stay on Andy : He pulls up his sweater, yanks out a large black book and a stack of files, lays them on the desk. He then grabs the real ledger and files, jams them down his pants and smoothes his sweater down. He picks up the bogus stack, crosses to Norton, and shoves everything in.", "INT. -- HALLWAY -- NIGHT (1966) Norton exits his office and strolls off whistling. PUSH IN on the open door. We see Andy at the guard's desk, pulling Norton's dress shoes from their box. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Andy did like he was told. Buffed those shoes to a high mirror shine.", "INT. -- NORTON'S OFFICE -- MINUTES LATER (1966) Andy sorts through Norton's three suits. He pauses, checking the gray pinstripe. Nice.", "INT. -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- NIGHT (1966) The guard BUZZES Andy through. Andy walks toward us. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The guard simply did n't notice. Neither did I. I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a man's shoes? TILT DOWN as he passes by. Yep, he's wearing Norton's shoes.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1966) The lights go out. Andy places the last chess piece. Gazes up at Racquel. Smiles. Pulls the rope from under his pillow. He stands and unbuttons his prison shirt, revealing Norton's gray pinstripe suit underneath. A FLASH OF LIGHTNING floods the cell, throwing wild shadows.", "INT. -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1966) The storm rages. Andy, naked, carefully slips Norton's folded suit into a large industrial Zip - Lock bag. Next to go in are the shoes, chess pieces -LRB- already in a smaller bag -RRB-, black ledger en files. Last but not least, a bar of soap wrapped in a towel.", "INT. -- TUNNEL -- NIGHT (1966) Andy, again wearing prison clothes, inches down the tunnel.", "INT. -- SHAFT -- NIGHT (1966) Andy squeezes through the hole head - first, emerges to the waist, He reaches for the opposite wall, manages to snag a steel conduit with his fingers. Suddenly, a huge rat darts for his hand. Andy yanks away and almost plummets head - first down the shaft. He dangles wildly upside - down for a moment, arms windmilling, then gets his hands pressed firmly against the opposite wall. The rat scurries off, pissed. Andy snags the conduit again. He contorts out of the hole and dangles into the shaft. We now see the purpose for the rope : the plastic bag hangs from his ankle with about two feet of slack, He kicks his legs across the shaft, gets his feet braced. Wit3 his back against one wall and feet against the other, he starts down the shaft. Sliding dangerously. Using pipes for handholds. Flinching as rats dart this way and that, scurrying in the shadows. He drops the last few feet to the bottom. He approaches the ceramic sewer pipe and kneels before it. Pulls out the rock - hammer and says a quick silent prayer. Raises the rock - hammer high and swings it down with all his might. Once, twice - third time lucky. An enormous eruption of sewage cascades into the air as if rocket - propelled, the Mount St. Helens of shit. Andy is instantly coated black. He turns away and heaves his guts out. The shit keeps coming.", "INT. -- SEWER PIPE -- NIGHT (1966) Andy peers down through the hole, playing his penlight aroun5, The inside diameter is no more than two feet. Tight squeeze. Coated with crud. It seems to go on for miles. No turning back. He wriggles into the pipe and starts crawling, plastic bag dragging behind. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Andy crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of shit - smelling foulness I ca n't even imagine. Or maybe I just do n't want to.", "EXT. -- FIELD -- NIGHT (1966) Rain is falling in solid sheets. Shawshank is half a mile distant. BOOM DOWN to reveal the creek. and PUSH IN toward the mouth of the sewer pipe that feeds into it. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Five hundred yards. The length of five football fields. Just shy of half a mile. Fingers appear, thrusting through the heavy - gauge wire mesh covering the mouth of the pipe. Andy's face looms from the darkness, peering out at freedom. He wrenches the mesh loose, pushes himself out, and plunges head - first into the creek. He comes up sputtering for breath. The water is waist - deep. He wades upstream, ripping his clothes from his body. He gets his shirt off, spins it through the air over his head, flings the shirt away. He raises his arms to the sky, turning slowly, feeling the rain washing him clean. Exultant. Triumphant. A FLASH OF LIGHTNING arcs from horizon to horizon.", "INT. -- ANDY'S TUNNEL -- DAY (1966) Once again, we see stunned faces as CAMERA PULLS BACK. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The next morning, right about the time Racquel was spilling her little secret.", "INT. -- CASCO BANK OF PORTLAND -- MORNING (1966) The door opens. Spit - shined shoes enter. DOLLY the shoes to the counter. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- a man nobody ever laid eyes on before strolled into the Casco Bank of Portland. Until that moment, he did n't exist - except on paper. FEMALE TELLER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- May I help you? TILT UP to Andy. Smiling in Norton's gray pinstripe suit. ANDY My name is Peter Stevens. I've come to close out some accounts.", "INT. -- BANK -- SHORTLY LATER (1966) The teller is cutting a cashier's check while the MANAGER carefully examines Mr. Stevens' various I.D.s. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He had all the proper I.D. Driver's license, birth certificate, social security card. The signature was a spot - on match. MANAGER I must say I'm sorry to be losing your business. I hope you'll enjoy living abroad. ANDY Thank you. I'm sure I will. TELLER Here's your cashier's check, sir. Will there be anything else? ANDY Please. Would you add this to your outgoing mail? He hands her a package, stamped and addressed. Gives them a pleasant smile. Turns and strolls from the bank. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Mr. Stevens visited nearly a dozen banks in the Portland area that morning. All told, he blew town with better than 370 thousand dollars of Warden Norton's money. Severance pay for nineteen years.", "INT. -- OFFICE -- DAY (1966) A MAN in shirtsleeves is going through the mail on his desk. He finds Andy's package, rips it open. Pulls out the black ledger and files. Scans a cover letter. Holy shit. He dashes to his door and yanks it open, revealing the words on the glass : `` PORTLAND DAILY BUGLE - Editor In Chief.'' MAN Hal! Dave! Get your butts in here!", "INT. -- SHAWSHANK PRISON -- DAY (1966) Norton walks slowly toward his office. Dazed. The morning paper in his hand. He goes wordlessly past the DUTY GUARD into his office. Shuts the door. Lays the paper on his desk. The headline reads : `` CORRUPTION AND MURDER AT SHAWSHANK.'' Below that, the sub - headline : `` D.A. Has Ledger. Indictments Expected.'' Norton looks up as SIRENS SWELL in the distance.", "EXT. -- SHAWSHANK PRISON -- WIDE SHOT -- DAY (1966) For the second time, State Police cruisers go rocketing up the road with SIRENS AND LIGHTS.", "INT. -- NORTON'S OFFICE -- DAY (1966) Norton opens his safe and pulls out the `` ledger'' - it's Andy's Bible. The title page is inscribed by hand : `` Dear Warden. You were right. Salvation lay within.'' Norton flips to the center of the book - and finds the pages hollowed out in the shape of a rock - hammer.", "EXT. -- PRISON -- DAY (1966) Police cruisers everywhere. A media circus. REPORTERS jostle for position. A colorless DISTRICT ATTORNEY steps forward into CLOSEUP, flanked by a contingent of S.ATE TROOPERS. D.A. Byron Hadley? ANGLE SHIFTS to reveal Captain Hadley. Staring. Waiting. D.A. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right, anything you say will be used against you in court. TROOPERS move in, cuffing Hadley's hands behind his back. The D.A. drones on. FLASHBULBS POP. Hadley says nothing. His face scrunches up. He begins to cry. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I was n't there to see it, but I hear Byron Hadley was sobbing like a little girl when they took him away. Hadley sobs all the way to the car. The D.A. snaps a gaze up toward Norton's window, motions his men to follow.", "INT. -- NORTON'S OFFICE -- DAY (1966) Norton is staring out the window as they approach the building. He goes to his desk, opens a drawer. Inside lies a revolver and a box of shells. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Norton had no intention of goin' that quietly.", "INT. -- PRISON CORRIDORS -- DAY (1966) The D.A. marches along amidst a phalanx of TROOPERS.", "INT. -- NORTON'S OFFICE -- DAY (1966) Norton sits blankly at his desk, revolver before him. The doorknob rattles, a VOICE is heard : D.A. -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Samuel Norton? We have a warrant for your arrest! Open up! The POUNDING starts. Norton dumps the box of bullets out on thr desk. He starts sorting them to see which ones he likes. OUTSIDE HIS OFFICE 263 Troopers hustle the hapless duty guard to Norton's door as he fumbles nervously with a huge key ring. DUTY GUARD I'm not sure which one it is. He starts trying keys in the lock. And as the keys go sliding in one after another.", "INT. -- NORTON'S OFFICE -- DAY (1966) so do the bullets. Norton is riveted to the door. For every key, he loads another bullet. Methodical and grim. He gets the final bullet in just as the right key slams home. The door bursts open. Men muscle in. Somebody SHOUTS. Troopers dive in all directions as Norton raises the gun - - and jams it under his chin. his head snaps back as the wall goes red. His swivel chair does a slow half - turn and creaks to a final stop. Troopers rise slowly, gazing in horror. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I like to think the last thing that went through his head. other than that bullet. was to wonder how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him. PUSH SLOWLY to the wall to reveal Mrs. Norton's framed sampler trickling blood and brains. and we get our final Bible lesson for today : `` HIS JUDGMENT COMETH AND THAT RIGHT SOON.''", "EXT. -- PRISON YARD -- DAY (1966) Mail call. Red hears his name. They pass him a postcard. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Not long after the warden deprived us of his company, I got a postcard in the mail. It was blank. But the postmark said, `` McNary, Texas.''", "INT. -- LIBRARY -- DAY (1966) Red sits with an atlas, tracing his finger down the page. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- McNary. Right on the border. That's where Andy crossed. -LRB- shuts the book. -RRB- When I picture him heading south in his own car with the top down, it makes me laugh all over again.", "EXT. -- MEXICO -- HIGHWAY -- DAY (1966) A red convertible rips along with Andy at the wheel, cigar jutting from his grin, warm wind fluttering his tie. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Andy Dufresne, who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side. Andy Dufresne, headed for the Pacific.", "INT. -- MESS HALL -- DAY (1966) Heywood is regaling the table with some anecdote about Andy. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Those of us who knew him best talk about him often. I swear, the stuff he pulled. It always makes us laugh. A wild burst of laughter. PUSH IN on Red. Feeling melancholy. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sometimes it makes me sad, though, Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds are n't meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are just too bright.", "EXT. -- FIELDS -- LATE DAY (1966) Convicts hoe the fields. Guards patrol on horseback. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- and when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. but still, the place you live is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. A DISTANT RUMBLE OF THUNDER. Red pauses, gazes off. Storm clouds coming in, backlit by the sun. A light drizzle begins. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I guess I just miss my friend.", "INT. -- PRISON CELL -- NIGHT (1966) Red is sleeping. He wakes with a start. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But there are times I curse him for the dreams he left behind. He senses a presence, looks over his shoulder. There's a Rita Hayworth poster on his wall. He gets out of bed. Rita just keeps smiling, inscrutable. As Red watches, a brilliant round glow builds behind the poster, shining from the tunnel. The poster rips free, charred to ash in the blink of an eye as a shaft of holy white light stabs into the cell. Sunlight. Red staggers back against the glare. A whirlwind kicks up, whipping everything into the air. The hole in the wall is like a giant vacuum cleaner - papers, book, toiletries, bedding - if it ai n't nailed down, it gets sucked down the hole toward the light. Red fights it, but the suction drags him closer and closer. RED'S POV 271. and CAMERA rockets into the hole, getting sucked down an endless tunnel at impossible speed, the ROAR of air mixing with his drawn - out SCREAM, closer and closer to the light. and erupting out the other side into total silence and a beautiful white beach. The Pacific Ocean before us. Enormous. Mind - blowing. Beautiful beyond description. All we hear now are the gentle sound of waves. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- dreams where I am lost in a warm place with no memory. A lone figure stands at water's edge. CAMERA KEEPS MOVING, coming up behind him and TRACKING AROUND to reveal - Red. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- An ocean so big it strikes me dumb. Waves so quiet they strike me deaf. Sunshine so bright it strikes me blind. It is a place that is blue beyond reason. Bluer than can possibly exist. Bluer than my mind can possibly grasp. AERIAL SHOT 272 Nothing for a million miles but beach, sky, and water. Red is a tiny speck at water's edge. Just another grain of sand. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I am terrified. There is no way home.", "INT. -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1966) Red wakes from the nightmare. He gets out of bed. Moves to the barred window of his cell. Peers up at the stars. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Andy. I know you're in that place. Look at the stars for me just after sunset. Touch the sand. wade in the water. and feel free. FADE TO BLACK AN IRON - BARRED DOOR 274 slides open with an enormous CLANG. A stark room beyond. CAMERA PUSHES through. SIX MEN AND ONE WOMAN sit at a long table. An empty chair faces them. We are again in :", "INT. -- SHAWSHANK HEARINGS ROOM -- DAY (1967) Red enters, sits. 20 years older than when we first saw him. MAN #1 Your file says you've served forty years of a life sentence. You feel you've been rehabilitated? Red does n't answer. Just stares off. Seconds tick by. The parole board exchanges glances. Somebody clears his throat. MAN #1 Shall I repeat the question? RED I heard you. Rehabilitated. Let's see now. You know, come to think of it, I have no idea what that means. MAN #2 Well, it means you're ready to rejoin society as a - RED I know what you think it means. Me, I think it's a made - up word, a poli - tician's word. A word so young fellas like you can wear a suit and tie and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did? - MAN g2 Well. are you? RED Not a day goes by I do n't feel regret, and not because I'm in here or because you think I should. I look back on myself the way I was. stupid kid who did that terrible crime. wish I could talk sense to him. Tell him how things are. But I ca n't. That kid's long gone, this old man is all that's left, and I have to live with that. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Rehabilitated? That's a bullshit word, so you just go on ahead and stamp that form there, sonny, and stop wasting my damn time. Truth is, I do n't give a shit. The parole board just stares. Red sits drumming his fingers. CLOSEUP - PAROLE FORM A big rubber stamp SLAMS down - and lifts away to reveal the word `` APPROVED'' in red ink.", "EXT. -- SHAWSHANK PRISON -- DAY 275 TWO SHORT SIREN BLASTS herald the opening of the main gate. It swings hugely open, revealing Red standing in his cheap suit, carrying a cheap bag, wearing a cheap hat. He walks out, still looking stunned.", "INT. -- BUS -- DAY 276 Red rides the bus, clutching the seat before him, gripped by terror of speed and motion.", "EXT. -- BREWSTER HOTEL -- LATE AFTERNOON 277 Red arrives at the Brewster, three stories high and even less to look at than it used to be. 27B INT - BREWSTER - LATE DAY 278 A BLACK WOMAN leads Red up the stairs toward the top floor.", "INT. -- RED'S ROOM -- LATE DAY 279 Small, old, dingy. An arched window with a view of Congress Street. Traffic noise floats up. Red enters and pauses, staring up at the ceiling beam. Carved into the wood are the words : `` Brooks Hatlen was here.''", "INT. -- FOODWAY MARKET -- DAY Loud. Jangling with PEOPLE and NOISE. We find Red bagging groceries. Registers are humming, kids are shrieking. Red calls to the STORE MANAGER : RED Sir? Restroom break sir? MANAGER -LRB- motions him over. -RRB- You do n't need to ask me every time you go take a piss. Just go. Understand? 28l INT - EMPLOYEE RESTROOM - DAY 281 Red steps to the urinal, stares at himself in the wall mirror. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Thirty years I've been asking permission to piss. I ca n't squeeze a drop without say - so. A strange east Indian guitar - whine begins. The Beatles. George Harrison's `` Within You Without You.''", "EXT. -- STREET -- DAY which carries through as Red walks. People and traffic. He keeps looking at the women. An alien species. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Women, too, that's the other thing. I forgot they were half the human race. There's women everywhere, every shape and size. I find myself semi - hard most of the time, cursing myself for a dirty old man. TWO YOUNG WOMEN stroll by in cut - offs and t - shirts. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Not a brassiere to be seen, nipples poking out at the world. Jeezus, pleeze - us. Back in my day, a woman out in public like that would have been arrested and given a sanity hearing.", "EXT. -- PARK -- DUSK Red finds the park filled with HIPPIES. Hanging out. Happening. Here's the source of the music : a radio. A HIPPIE GIRL gyrates to the Beatles, stoned, in her own world. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- They're calling this the Summer of Love. Summer of Loonies, you ask me.", "INT. -- PAROLE OFFICE -- DAY Red sits across from his PAROLE OFFICER. The P.O. is filling out his report. P.O. You staying out of the bars, Red? RED Yes sir. That I am. P.O. How you doing otherwise? Adjusting okay? RED Things got different out here. P.O. Tell me about it. Young punks protesting the war. You imagine? Even my own kid. Oughtta bust his fuckin' skull. RED Guess the world moved on.", "INT. -- FOODWAY -- DAY Bagging groceries. CHILDREN underfoot. One points a toy gun at Red, pumping the trigger. Red focuses on the gun, listening to it CLICKETY - CLACK. Sparky wheel grinding. The kids get swept off by MOM. Red starts bagging the next customer. SLOW PUSH IN on Red. Surrounded by MOTION and NOISE. Feeling like the eye of a hurricane. People everywhere, whipping around him like a gale. Strange. Loud. Dizzying. It gets distorted and weird, slow and thick, pressing in on him from all sides. The noise level intensifies. The hollering of children deepens and distends into LOW EERIE HOWLS. He's in the grip of a major anxiety attack. Tries to shake himself out of it. Ca n't. Fumbles the final items into the bag. Walks away. Trying not to panic. Trying not to run. He makes his way through the store. Blinking sweat. He bumps into a lady's cart, mumbles an apology, keeps going. Breaks into a trot. Down the aisle, cut to the left, through the door into the back rooms, faster and faster, running now, slamming through a door marked `` Employees Only'' into -", "INT. -- EMPLOYEE RESTROOM -- DAY - where he slams the door and leans heavily against it, shutting everything out, breathing heavily. Alone now. He goes to the sink, splashes his face, tries to calm down. He can still hear them out there. They wo n't go away. He glances around the restroom. Small. Not small enough. He enters a stall. Locks the door. Puts the toilet lid down and sits on the john. Better. He can actually reach out and touch the walls now. They're close. Safe. Almost small enough. He draws his feet up so he ca n't be seen if somebody walks in. He'll just sit here for a while. Until he calms down.", "EXT. -- STREET -- DUSK Red is walking home. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- There is a harsh truth to face. No way I'm gon na make it on the outside. He pauses at a pawnshop window. An array of handguns. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- All I do anymore is think of ways to break my parole. The SHOPKEEPER appears at the glass, locking the door and flipping the sign : CLOSED.", "INT. -- RED'S ROOM -- NIGHT Red lies smoking in bed. Unable to sleep. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Terrible thing, to live in fear. Brooks Hatlen knew it. Knew it all too well. All I want is to be back where things make sense. Where I wo n't have to be afraid all the time. He glances up at the ceiling beam. `` Brooks Hatlen was here.'' RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Only one thing stops me. A promise I made to Andy.", "EXT. -- COUNTRY ROAD -- MORNING A pickup truck rattles up the road trailing dust and pulls to a stop. Red hops off the back, waves his thanks. The truck drives on. Red starts walking. PAN TO a roadside sign : BUXTON.", "EXT. -- MAINE COUNTRYSIDE -- DAY High white clouds in a blazing blue sky. The trees fiery with autumn color. Red walks the fields and back - roads, cheap compass in hand. Looking for a certain hayfield.", "EXT. -- COUNTRYSIDE -- DAY Walking. Searching. The day turning late. Red finds himself staring at a distant field. There's a long rock wall, like something out o f a Robert Frost poem. Big oak tree. Red checks his compass. North end. He crosses a dirt road into the field.", "EXT. -- HAYFIELD -- DAY Red walks the long rock wall, nearing the tree. A squirrel scolds him from a low branch, scurries up higher. Red studies the base of the wall. Nothing unusual here. Just a bunch of rocks set in stone. He sighs. Fool's errand. Turns to go. Something catches his eye. He walks back, squats, peering closer. Wets a fingertip and rubs a stone. A layer of dust comes off. Volcanic glass. Gleaming black. He tries to get the rock out, anticipation growing. It wo n't come ; it's too smooth. He pulls a pocketknife and levers the rock free. It tumbles at his feet, leaving a ragged hole. Red leans down and solves the mystery at last, staring at the object buried under the rock. Stunned. It's an envelope wrapped in plastic. Written on it is a single word : `` Red.'' Red pulls the envelope out and rises. He just stares at it for a while, almost afraid to open it. But open it he does. Inside is a smaller envelope and a letter. Red begins to read : ANDY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Dear Red. If you're reading this, you've gotten out. And if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further. You remember the name of the town, do n't you? I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I'll keep an eye out for you and the chessboard ready. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well. Your friend. Andy. By now, tears are spilling silently down Red's cheeks. He opens the other envelope and fans out a stack of new fifty - dollar bills. Twenty of them. A thousand dollars.", "INT. -- RED'S ROOM -- DAY (1967) Red is dressed in his suit. He finishes knotting his tie, puts his hat on. His bag is by the door. He takes one last look around. Only one thing left to do. He pulls a wooden chair to the center of the room and gazes up at the ceiling beam. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Get busy living or get busy dying. That is goddamn right. He steps up on the chair. It wobbles under his weight.", "INT. -- BREWSTER -- RED'S DOOR -- DAY (1967) The door opens. Red exits with his bag and heads down the stairs, leaving the door open. CAMERA PUSHES through, BOOMING UP to the ceiling beam which reads : `` Brooks Hatlen was here.'' A new message has been carved alongside the old : `` So was Red.''", "INT. -- GREYHOUND BUS STATION -- DAY (1967) TRACKING SHOT reveals a long line of people at the counter. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- For the second time in my life, I am guilty of committing a crime. CAMERA brings us to Red, next in line, bag by his feet. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Parole violation. I doubt they'll toss up any roadblocks for that. Not for an old crook like me. RED -LRB- steps up. -RRB- McNary, Texas?", "EXT. -- TRAVELING SHOT -- DAY (1967) A gorgeous New England landscape whizzes by, fields and trees a blur of motion. ANGLE SHIFTS to reveal a Greyhound Sceni - Cruiser barreling up the road, pulling abreast of us. CAMERA TRAVELS from window to window, passing faces. We finally come to Red gazing out at the passing landscape. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I find I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. 297 THE BUS 297 ROARS past camera, dwindling to a mere speck on the horizon. RED -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I hope.", "EXT. -- BEACH -- WIDE PANORAMIC SHOT -- DAY (1967) A distant boat lies on its side in the sand like an old wreck that's been left to rot in the sun. There's someone out there. CLOSER ON BOAT 299 A MAN is meticulously stripping the old paint and varnish by hand, face hidden with goggles and kerchief mask. Red appears b.g., a distant figure walking out across the sand, wearing his cheap suit and carrying his cheap bag. The man on the boat pauses. Turns slowly around. Red arrives with a smile as wide as the horizon. The other man raises his goggles and pulls down his mask. Andy, of course. ANDY You look like a man who knows how to get things. RED I'm known to locate certain things from time to time. Red shrugs off his jacket and picks up a sander. Together, they start sanding the hull as we FADE OUT THE END"], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "In 1947 Portland, Maine, banker Andy Dufresne is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences at the Shawshank State Penitentiary. He is befriended by Ellis \"Red\" Redding, an inmate and prison contraband smuggler serving a life sentence. Red procures a rock hammer and a large poster of Rita Hayworth for Andy. Assigned to work in the prison laundry, Andy is frequently sexually assaulted by \"the Sisters\" and their leader, Bogs. In 1949, Andy overhears the captain of the guards, Byron Hadley, complaining about being taxed on an inheritance and offers to help him shelter the money legally. After an assault by the Sisters nearly kills Andy, Hadley beats and cripples Bogs, who is subsequently transferred to another prison. Andy is not attacked again. Warden Samuel Norton meets Andy and reassigns him to the prison library to assist elderly inmate Brooks Hatlen, a front to allow Andy to manage financial matters for other prison staff, guards from other prisons, and the warden himself. Andy begins writing weekly letters to the state legislature requesting funds to improve the prison's decaying library. Brooks is paroled in 1954 after serving 50 years, but he cannot adjust to the outside world and eventually hangs himself. The legislature sends a library donation that includes a recording of The Marriage of Figaro; Andy plays an excerpt over the public address system and is punished with solitary confinement. After his release from solitary, Andy explains that hope is what gets him through his time, a concept that Red dismisses. In 1963, Norton begins exploiting prison labor for public works, profiting by undercutting skilled labor costs and receiving bribes. Andy launders the money using the alias \"Randall Stephens\". Tommy Williams is incarcerated for burglary in 1965. Andy and Red befriend him, and Andy helps him pass his GED exam. A year later, Tommy reveals to Red and Andy that his cellmate at another prison had claimed responsibility for the murders for which Andy was convicted. Andy approaches Norton with this information, but Norton refuses to listen, and when Andy mentions the money laundering, Norton sends him back to solitary confinement. Norton has Hadley murder Tommy under the guise of an escape attempt. Andy attempts to discontinue the laundering, but relents after Norton threatens to destroy the library, remove Andy's protection from the guards, and move him to worse conditions. Andy is released from solitary confinement after two months, and he tells a skeptical Red that he dreams of living in Zihuatanejo, a Mexican coastal town. Andy also tells him of a specific hayfield near Buxton, asking Red\u2014once he is released\u2014to retrieve a package that Andy buried there. Red worries about Andy's well-being, especially when he learns Andy asked a fellow inmate for 6 ft (1.8 m) of rope. At the next day's roll call, the guards find Andy's cell empty. An irate Norton throws a rock at a poster of Raquel Welch hanging on the cell wall, revealing a tunnel that Andy dug with his rock hammer over the previous 19 years. The previous night, Andy used the rope to escape through the tunnel and prison sewage pipe, taking Norton's suit, shoes, and ledger, containing proof of the money laundering. While guards search for him, Andy poses as Randall Stephens, withdraws the laundered money from several banks, and mails the ledger and other evidence of the corruption and murders at Shawshank to a local newspaper. State police arrive at Shawshank and take Hadley into custody, while Norton commits suicide to avoid arrest. After serving 40 years, Red is finally paroled. He struggles to adapt to life outside prison and fears that he never will. Remembering his promise to Andy, he visits Buxton and finds a cache containing money and a letter asking him to come to Zihuatanejo. Red violates his parole by traveling to Fort Hancock, Texas, and crossing the border into Mexico, admitting that he finally feels hope. He finds Andy on a beach in Zihuatanejo, and the two reunited friends happily embrace.", "name": "The_Shawshank_Redemption"}
{"scenes": ["INT. ALICE'S ROOM - NIGHT NIGHT IN ALICE'S ROOM. A little bit of moonlight coming in through the tiny window might make a highlight here and there but that's about all. Words begin to crawl across the screen : WRITTEN WORDS -LRB- crawl. -RRB- Of good family, albeit one of modest means, she was a comely young woman and not without prospects. Therefore it was at once heartbreaking and astonishing to her mother that she would enter into marriage with William Munny, a known thief and murderer, a man of notoriously vicious and intemperate disposition. We can HEAR STRAWBERRY ALICE and DAVEY BUNTING breathing heavily and the bed creaking. WRITTEN WORDS -LRB- crawl. -RRB- They were married in St. Louis in 1870 and they traveled North to Kansas where he engaged in farming and swine husbandry. Davey and Alice are picking up speed now, breathing faster and even snorting a little, and it's cold as Jesus in Nebraska in the winter so when the blanket slips, Alice snarls and gasps. ALICE The blanket, for chrissake, cowboy, the blanket. There are six of these little rooms. one for each whore. behind Greely's Beer Garden and Billiards and the walls are just boards so you can hear what's happening in the other rooms and right now, from DELILAH'S room, you can hear a high - pitched, merry little giggle and that's important. WRITTEN WORDS -LRB- crawl contd. -RRB- She bore him two children in the eight years of their marriage and when she died, it was not at his hands as her mother might have expected, but of smallpox. That was in 1878. DELILAH'S VOICE o.s. No, please. No, no goddamn you. Alice and Davey have stopped fucking and started listening but they do n't move. WRITTEN WORDS -LRB- Crawl cont'd. -RRB- It was n't until 1881. three yeats later. that a cowboy named Mike cut up a whore in Big Whiskey, Nebraska in the Niobrara River country. -LRB- end crawl. -RRB- MIKE'S VOICE o.s. Davey, come a runnin' lad an' hold the thieving cunt. A blur of action as Davey leaps from the bed and dashes out of the room naked. MIKE'S VOICE o.s. brand you like a damn steer, bitch. and Alice is right behind him, wrapping herself in a blanket as she goes.", "INT. DELILAH'S ROOM - NIGHT DELILAH is backed up against the wall, her face bleeding, and she is throwing the contents of her chamber pot on MIKE who is advancing on her with an open barlow knife and Davey busts into the room naked and Alice follows him and people are shouting in other rooms. MIKE -LRB- wiping shit off himself. -RRB- Hold the bitch, Davey, hold her. The one coal oil lamp in the room gives off just enough light that you can make all this out. Certainly you can see that Mike, who is wearing leggings and no shirt, is a big tough man, unshaven, eyes inflamed with whiskey. MIKE HOLD HER, DAMMIT, DAVEY! If you do n't hold her I'll cut her tits off. LITTLE SUE, a fifteen year old whore, is in the doorway, eyes wide with terror and Alice screams at her. ALICE Get Skinny, for God's sake! SKINNY! Davey is reluctant about the whole thing but he is afraid of Mike and he gets behind Delilah and grabs her. DAVEY Wh - what you gon na do, Mike? Mike is doing it now and Delilah is screaming while he carves her face with the barlow knife and blood is all over, splashing on Davey and Davey, who is just a kid, after all, nineteen with a big shock of unruly red hair and innocent blue eyes, is horrified. MIKE Thieving cunt, I'll. DAVEY Mike, do n't, Jesus, do n't. ALICE SKINNY! Bring your gun. Alice ca n't wait for Skinny and she jumps on Mike's back and brings the big man down and she fights him though she's not a big woman. Alice is twenty - five but she's been around some, whored some tough cow - towns, and she has too much bone and character in her face to be outright pretty but she attracts men like flies. Sure she has some smallpox scars on her face, but they're common and there are only a few of them, not like on Skinny whose mean little face is eaten right up with them. VIEW ON SKINNY DUBOIS STANDING THERE IN THE DOORWAY, his nasty face eaten with smallpox scars and he is looking at Delilah who is a fountain of blood, looking at her coldly, and looking down at the melee on the floor and, pointing the big Navy Colt in his hand, he says, SKINNY Get offa her, asshole. And he says it so cold and with such authority that everything goes quiet.", "EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY SNOW/MOONLIGHT/THE SHADOWY BUILDINGS and the silence of the Nebraska winter except for the sound of the snowshoes. The snow has obliterated the Main Street of Big Whiskey giving the impression that the dark, low buildings are scattered at random. The only structure with any sign of life is Greely's Beer Garden and Billiards which shows a glowing window and two horses out front and that is a hundred yards away from the struggling silhouettes of the two men on snowshoes. The big one is LITTLE BILL DAGGETT and he is very big, wrapped in a huge bearskin robe. The smaller one is CLYDE LEDBETTER who is n't small though he has only one arm. LITTLE BILL would n't let you settle it, huh? CLYDE Hell, you know how Skinny is. Says he's gon na shoot'em. an I says, `` Skinny, you ca n't do that,'' an' he says, `` Well, then get Little Bill down here an' let's settle this'' an' I says, `` Bill's sleepin', Skinny,'' an'. They make their way in silence through the snow, getting close now, close to Greely's and the lights.", "INT. DELILAH'S ROOM - NIGHT DELILAH ON HER BED, her face covered with blood - soaked rags except for her eyes. Alice has hot water and is ministering to her and Little Bill is looking down at her from his enormous height, still in his bearskin. He looks disgusted. LITTLE BILL She ai n't gon na die, huh? You can now see fear in Delilah's eyes, and the other whores. CROW CREEK KATE with crazy pop - eyes and frizzy hair, and LITTLE SUE who is fifteen and meek even when she is n't terrified, and FAITH who is the oldest of them and not very attractive and SILKY who is blonde and the prettiest. are watching from vantage points in the doorway or in the room. ALICE -LRB- determined. -RRB- She's gon na live. -LRB- Little Bill turns to go. -RRB- She did n't steal nothin', She did n't touch his poke. LITTLE BILL -LRB- stopping and turning. -RRB- No? ALICE All she done was. when she seen he had a teensy little pecker. she gave a giggle. That's all. She did n't know no better. Little Bill turns away, disgusted, and starts out of the room and Alice gets up and follows him. ALICE You gon na hang'em, Little Bill?", "INT. BAR ROOM - NIGHT Davey sitting naked on the floor of the bar room and Mike is sitting near him, still in his leggings and both men are shivering because they are fifteen feet from the potbellied stove where Clyde is standing watching them. It is a big room, with a crude bar and four tables and some moose and elk heads on the wall. The door near the rear where it says `` Billiard Room'' leads not to a Billiard Room but to the six little `` rooms'' that are the whorehouse and and now you can hear Delilah groaning from there. And Little Bill enters from the back of the bar room, stooping to pass through the doorway under the sign that says `` Billiard Room.'' Little Bill is huge and ominous. Some say he acquired the bearskin by staring the bear to death and others say he drowned the animal in spit. Anyhow, he's big with a drooping moustache and he is sucking on his church warden's clay pipe and you know he is n't scared of anything. And the two cowboys are scared to death, not just shivering from the cold, and Bill just looks down at them and sucks on his pipe and Alice comes in from the back way too and then Skinny and a couple of the whores gather in the doorway. LITTLE BILL Clyde, step across to the German's an' fetch up one of his bullwhips. Stark terror on the faces of Davey and Mike as Clyde exits. ALICE A whippin'? That's all they get? After what they done? LITTLE BILL -LRB- sucking on his pipe. -RRB- Whippin' ai n't a little thing, Alice. ALICE But what they done, they. SKINNY -LRB- he has a piece of paper in his hand. -RRB- Shut up, Alice. Little Bill, a whippin' ai n't gon na settle this. LITTLE BILL No? SKINNY -LRB- showing the paper. -RRB- This here's a lawful contract. betwixt me an' Delilah Fitzgerald, the cut - whore. Now I brung her clear from Boston, paid her expenses an' all, an' I got a contract which represents an investment of capital. LITTLE BILL -LRB- sympathetic to the argument. -RRB- Property. SKINNY Damaged property. Like if I was to hamstring one of their cow ponies. LITTLE BILL You figure nobody'll want to fuck her. SKINNY Hell no. Leastways, they wo n't pay to do it. Alice is listening to this and her eyes are like coals and you can hear Delilah moaning in the other room. SKINNY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- She could maybe clean up around the place or somethin', but nobody's gon na pay good money for a cut - up whore. LITTLE BILL -LRB- making up his mind and turning to the shivering cowboys. -RRB- You boys are off of the Spade Outfit. Got your own string of ponies? DAVEY -LRB- nodding. -RRB- I. I got f - f - f - four. LITTLE BILL You? MIKE -LRB- sullenly. -RRB- Six. Skinny nods, pleased, and Alice watches, her eyes still hot. LITTLE BILL Guess you boys just as soon not have no trial an' fuss, huh? Davey and Mike nod, willing to say anything Little Bill wants. LITTLE BILL cont'd -LRB- to Mike. -RRB- Alright. You done the cuttin'. Come the thaw, you bring in five of them ponies an' give'em over to Skinny here. MIKE Five! LITTLE BILL -LRB- to Davey. -RRB- An' you. you give over two ponies, hear? - Clyde bangs in out of the snow with a buggy whip in his hand. CLYDE I could n't find no bullwhips, Bill. The German. LITTLE BILL Do n't matter, we do n't need no whips. -LRB- to Mike and Davey. -RRB- Spring comes an' Skinny do n't have them ponies, I'm gon na. ALICE You. you ai n't even gon na. whip'em? LITTLE BILL I fined'em instead. ALICE For what they done? Skinny gets some ponies an' that's? LITTLE BILL -LRB- approaching her. -RRB- Ai n't you seen enough blood for one night? Hell, Alice, they ai n't loafers nor tramps nor bad men. They're hard workin' boys that was foolish. Why if they was given over to wickedness in a regular way. ALICE -LRB- furious. -RRB- Like whores? SKINNY Alice, tend to Delilah. For a long moment Alice just stands there glaring.", "INT. DELILAH'S ROOM - DAY DAYLIGHT AND A BASIN OF BLOODY WATER and Little Sue is just dipping another towel in the hot water next to Delilah's bed, changing the bandages. All the whores are there in various states of dress, lounging on the floor, leaning against the wall. SILKY -LRB- to Alice. -RRB- If Delilah do n't care one way or the other, what're you so riled about? ALICE -LRB- passionately. -RRB- Just because them smelly assholes like to ride us like horses do n't mean we got to let'em brand us like we're horses. Maybe we ai n't nothin' but whores, but by God we ai n't horses. Silky is thinking it over, frowning, and then she makes her decision. SILKY -LRB- to Alice. -RRB- I got a hundred an' twelve dollars. That's everythin'. ALICE What about you, Faith? FAITH -LRB- reluctantly. -RRB- Two hundred. -LRB- there are gasps. -RRB- Two hundred an' forty. ALICE -LRB- laughing. -RRB- Jesus, Faith, what you been doin', givin' Skinny somethin' special? All the women laugh and Delilah through her bandages makes a gurgling sound and Little Sue's eyes light up. LITTLE SUE -LRB- indicating Delilah. -RRB- She laughed. ALICE With what Kate got, Silky got some, an' mine, an' Little S. SILKY -LRB- soberly. -RRB- It ai n't enough. ALICE -LRB- determined. -RRB- Not yet maybe.", "EXT. HOG PEN - DAY The hog in the mud, snorting and squealing, ugly as hell and BILL MUNNY in the mud with him, pushing and shoving, trying to move the stubborn animal and Munny goes down face first and comes up more covered with mud than he already was and the words on the screen say, WRITTEN WORDS -LRB- super. -RRB- Some months later, Hodgeman County, Kansas. Munny is thirty - five or forty years old, his hair is thinning and his moustache droops glumly over his stubbled jaw. If it were not for his eyes he would look like any pig farmer with his canvas overalls tucked in his boots pushing on a hog. He is pushing on the hog again, grunting with the effort, when he hears the voice. THE KID'S VOICE o.s. You do n't look like no rootin', tootin', sonofabitchin', cold - blooded assassin. MUNNY -LRB- looking up, startled. -RRB- Huh? THE KID is only six feet away, the sun behind him, sitting on a very big and very ancient Morgan horse. He's wearing a wide - brimmed Texas hat, a vest, a holstered pistol, and he is a wiry kid, maybe twenty years old, with scraggly blonde hair, four of his upper front teeth missing, and a funny, squinty way of looking out of his watery blue eyes. Most of all, he does n't look very prosperous. THE KID I seen how you got only three fingers on your left hand, though, so I guess you're calling yourself Mister Bill Munny. Munny does indeed have three fingers on his left hand and he does n't like this conversation at all. MUNNY William Munny, yeah. THE KID Same one as shot Charlie Pepper in Lake County? A VOICE Paw! Hey, Paw! The voice belongs to WILL, a skinny ten - year - old who dashes up with his seven - year - old sister, PENNY, right on his heels. The kids are ragged and dirty, they do n't look well fed or even very healthy. Even as Will speaks to his father, Munny, his eyes, and Penny's too, go to The Kid. They do n't see many strangers. MUNNY What is it, son? WILL Two more hogs got the fever. Munny winces. The Kid ignores the interruption. THE KID You shot Charlie Pepper, did n't you? And you're the one killed William Harbey an' robbed the train over. MUNNY -LRB- sharply. -RRB- Hold on, mister. -LRB- to Will. -RRB- Son, this here pig got ta be moved outta this pen, away from them others. Penny, you give yer brother a hand. PENNY -LRB- emotional. -RRB- This one's sick too? Munny ignores the question, already on his way to the miserable - looking shack. MUNNY Let's talk inside, mister.", "INT. SOD HUT - DAY Munny selects a tin cup from a wash pan of dirty dishes. It is dark and cool inside his one room sod hut. and poor. The Kid checks one of the three chairs for stability before sitting down. MUNNY You're Pete Sothow's nephew, huh? Hell, I thought maybe you was someone come to kill me. -LRB- he has the cups and he crosses to the fire. -RRB-. for somethin' I done in the old days. THE KID -LRB- sitting. -RRB- I could of. easy. MUNNY Yeah, I guess so. THE KID Like I was sayin' you do n't look like no meaner than hell cold - blooded damn killer. MUNNY Maybe I ai n't. THE KID Well, Uncle Pete said you was the goddamndest meanest sonofabitch ever lived an' if I ever wanted a partner for a killin', you was the worst one. Meanin' the best. On account of you're cold as snow an' do n't have no weak nerve nor fear. Munny serves the coffee gloomily and sits down. It appears his feelings are hurt but The Kid does n't notices. MUNNY He said that, huh? THE KID I'm a damn killer myself, only I ai n't killed so many as you because of my youth. Schofield Kid, they call me. MUNNY Schofield? You from Schofield? THE KID -LRB- laying his Smith & Wesson Schofield.45 on the table. -RRB- On account of my Schofield model Smith and Wesson pistol. MUNNY Oh. THE KID Well, how about it? MUNNY About what? THE KID Bein' my partner. I'm headin' North up around the Niobrara in Nebraska. Gon na kill a couple of no good cowboys. MUNNY What for? THE KID For cuttin' up a lady. They cut up her face an' cut her eyes out, cut her ears off an' her tits too. MUNNY -LRB- horrified. -RRB- Jesus! THE KID -LRB- pleased with the reaction. -RRB- Thousand dollars of reward. Five hundred a piece. WILL Paw, I ca n't move that damn pig. Will has slipped into the house with Penny in tow and they are both covered with mud and Will is swearing toshow off to the stranger. MUNNY -LRB- embarrassed. -RRB- No cussin' now, Will. Go on out the pump an' clean up some an' I'll be along. Check them other pens. The two kids back out the door, eyes on the pistol and the stranger, and Munny walks over near the beds with his back to The Kid. MUNNY I ai n't like that no more, Kid. Whiskey done it as much as anythin' I guess. -LRB- turning to The Kid. -RRB- I ai n't touched a drop in ten years. My wife, she cured me of it. cured me of drink an' wickedness. THE KID Well. you do n't look so prosper - ous. Hell, you could buy her a new dress out of your half. We could kill them two an' you could buy your wife one of them fancy. MUNNY She's passed on, Kid. THE KID Huh? MUNNY Been gone near three years now. THE KID -LRB- staring stupidly. -RRB- Oh.", "EXT. SOD HUT - DAY Will and Penny in front of the house, looking up at The Kid who is mounted again and Munny is standing there taking leave of The Kid. THE KID Do n't tell nobody about the reward an' all. Do n't need no other gunmen tryin' to collect. MUNNY I do n't never see nobody anyhow. THE KID -LRB- riding away. -RRB- If you was to change your mind, might be you could catch me. due West to the Western Trail an' North to Ogallala. Munny waves at The Kid and for a long moment watches him trot across the flat, grassy fields. Then he turns back to his shabby farm and the squealing pigs and the two children who are looking up at him. WILL Who's he? MUNNY -LRB- turning away. -RRB- Best we move that pig.", "EXT. HOG PEN - DAY Munny in the mud and the pig squealing and Will is there pushing too and Munny goes in face first again and when he comes up he slowly wipes mud from his face and, turning, he looks across the fields. VIEW ON PENNY Coming up beside the pen. PENNY Paw. two of them others. I think they got the fever. Munny frowns and looks off at the horizon, lost in thought. VIEW ON THE KID Way off in the distance, disappearing on the horizon.", "EXT. BIG WHISKEY HILL - DAY EXTREME CLOSE UP ON DELILAH Delilah's face! The cut - whore. Skeins of criss - crossing raised flesh, a vicious web of scars dominated by her eyes that are deep and beautiful. She's hanging clothes on a clothes line on Big Whiskey Hill, the gentle slope above the town. Alice, Little Sue, Silky, Kate, and Faith are close by, hanging clothes or washing them in the gurgling stream. Faith is the first to glance down the hill toward the town and to notice. She draws in her breath and turns to Alice and catches her eye and Alice looks down.", "EXT. MUDDY NORTH ROAD The muddy North Road and the two riders, and they are Quick Mike and Davey Bunting leading their ponies in, passing a crudely painted sign that says : `` Ordinance 14. No firearms in Big Whiskey. Deposit them at County Office. By Order of Sheriff.''", "EXT. BIG WHISKEY HILL - DAY The whores on the hill. One by one, with no words exchanged, they feel the silence and turn and exchange glances and they glance at Delilah. She winces and turns back to hanging clothes. VIEW ON A HORSE'S OPEN MOUTH AND SKINNY Inspecting. SKINNY You boys took a while. Couple more days I was gon na call on the Sheriff. The horses are gathered in front of Greely's and Skinny moves among them inspecting them while the two cowboys remain mounted. DAVEY River was swole so we could n't cross her. Davey is holding the halter of a little paint and when SKINNY starts to inspect the pain, Davey pulls the pony away. DAVEY You got two of mine. This here one ai n't yours. Skinny and Davey lock eyes and Skinny is wondering how far to push it when SPLAT! Davey gets a face full of mud. The three men turn to see the whores coming around the side of Greely's, all except Delilah, and they are throwing mud, scooping it from the sloppy street and. MIKE gets a hit on the chest and then on the face and he gives an ugly look and wheels his horse and digs in his spurs and heads North at a trot and mud continues to rain on him as the whores jeer. SKINNY Damn you. -LRB- SPLAT. -RRB- That ai n't no way to behave. -LRB- SPLAT. -RRB- Quit that. Surprisingly, Davey turns his horse right into the barrage of mud and taking it in the face and on the chest he dismounts. His paint takes a big gob of mud on one eye and Davey wipes the mud off tenderly. DAVEY This here pony. I brung it for the lady. the one my partner cut. The whores stop throwing mud abruptly. There is a pause. and they can see that he is just a kid, and that he is sorry as hell and that he is about to cry and they are touched, especially Little Sue. DAVEY It's the best of the lot. better than the ones I give him. -LRB- indicating Skinny. -RRB- She could sell it or. what she wants. ALICE -LRB- recovering. -RRB- A pony! She ai n't got no face left an' you're gon na give her a goddamn mangy pony. DAVEY He ai n't m - m - mangy, ma'am, he. SLOP. Davey gets it in the face with a big gob of mud as Alice resumes fire and SPLAT, the paint gets it. Faith and Silky and Kate hesitate just a moment. and then they dig in and start jeering and throwing again and Little Sue bends down slowly and picks up some mud and then she just stands there with it, almost crying, and watches the cowboy turn away under a barrage of mud and mount his pony and ride out, mud hitting him all over and the women jeering and running after him in the muddy street. VIEW ON DELILAH Hanging clothes up on the hill and she canhear the shouting in the distance and she turns and looks down with the beautiful eyes and sees the cowboy riding out of town slowly, chased by the jeering women.", "INT. SOD HUT - DAY CLOSE on a photograph of CLAUDIA in Munny's hands. He is inside, kneeling on the floor beside an open truck and he is studying reverently the old photo of Claudia, smiling radiantly in her best dress. Finally Munny puts the picture down and digs in the trunk among folded dresses that belonged to her until he feels something metal and he sees the blue steel among the white cloth and then he pulls it out. an old Starr.44 Pistol.", "EXT. SOD HUT - DAY CLOSE on a Mojav coffee tin as Munny places it on the fence behind his sod hut. Munny has the Starr in his right hand and he turns and walks back toward the house 15 yards away. Will and Penny are watching. They know something is going on, but they do n't know how to ask what it is. Munny faces the coffee tin and solemnly extends his pistol arm straight out and carefuly sights along the barrel. BAM! A burst of flame and a puff of black smoke from the gun. The Mojav tin has n't moved. Slowly, carefully, Munny raises the gun again and aims with great deliberation. BAM! The coffee tin does n't move. Munny shakes his head slowly in disgust and aims again. BAM! Missed again. Munny gives a quick sheepish glance in the direction of the children. There is a lot of smoke. He aims again and BAM! He misses. Munny is irritated and he aims and fires hastily and flame bursts from the gun and smoke and The tin is unmoved. Will looks at his feet, embarrassed, not wanting to meet his father's eyes. Munny stuffs the pistol in his waistband and disappears into the house. Will and Penny look at one another nervously, wondering what's happening. PENNY Did Paw used to kill folks? Will does n't answer and then he looks up because Munny steps out of the house again, a sawed off Remington 10 gauge shotgun in his hands. Munny raises the double barreled weapon to his shoulder and aims carefully and. BARRRROOOOOM! The can flies away in pieces and some of the fence, too.", "EXT. SHADE TREES - DAY A HEADSTONE. It says : `` CLAUDIA FEATHERS MUNNY Born, March 11, 1849 Died, August 6, 1878, aged 29 years, in the full enjoyment of that love which constrained her to leave all for Christ and heathen souls Lo, we have left all and followed thee : What shall we leave therefore. 19:25'' The headstone is under a couple of shade trees fifty yards from the sod hut. MUNNY is sitting on a rock under the trees looking at the headstone and he has on a cheap black suit now. He twists the hat, tormented. and he starts to say something out loud but he ca n't because men do n't talk to stones. So finally he gets up, slumped in defeat, and he puts a little bouquet of flowers on the grave and he turns away unhappily.", "EXT. SOD HUT - DAY The ALBINO MARE snorting and shying, anxious to lose the saddle. Will has her by the halter, holding her with effort, in front of the house. WILL She ai n't hardly a saddle horse no more, Paw. She ai n't used to the feel. Munny walks up and puts his hand on Penny's head fondly. MUNNY Them flowers, Penny, I could tell your Maw liked them, hear? -LRB- turning to Will. -RRB- Take care of your sister, son. You can kill three chickens if you need, not no more. Keep the hogs that got fever separate if you can. An' if you need help, go see Sally Two - Trees over to Ned Logan's. Then he turns to the mare and shoves a foot in the stirrup to mount but the horse shies and Munny goes down in the dust looking very undignified. And Penny is horrified and humiliated for her father whom she worships and Will's eyes are big because Munny's coat came open and he caught a quick glimpse of the Starr pistol stuck in the waist band. MUNNY -LRB- brushing himself off, embarrassed. -RRB- Ai n't felt a saddle in a while myself. Then Munny has one foot in the stirrup and the horse starts to shy and Munny has to hop around with one foot stirruped and the other not. and when he tries to swing aboard he falls back. MUNNY Easy old gal, easy. And he still ca n't make it, so to cover his embarrassment he talks to the kids while he hops around desperately trying to mount. MUNNY Now this here horse is gettin' even on me. hold on gal. for the sins of my youth. In my youth. before I met. your dear departed mother. I was weak an' givin' to mistreatin' horses an' such. An' this here horse. an' that ole pig, too, I guess. is my comeuppance for my cruelty. At last he is in the saddle and takes a deep breath. MUNNY Used to be I could cuss an' hurt an animal. til your departed mother, God rest her, showed me the error of my ways. Munny turns the Albino mare and starts out the gate going Weat toward the fields. MUNNY -LRB- over his shoulder. -RRB- I wo n't be no longer than a couple of weeks. Remember how the spirit of your departed maw watches over you. Will and Penny are watching him go and Will is fighting back the tears but Penny has lost the battle and she is crying and the horse whinnies. VIEW ON MUNNY Twenty yards away getting up off the ground and trying to catch the shying, prancing horse on foot, his dignity a shambles.", "INT. ALICE'S ROOM - NIGHT Alice IN PAIN because Skinny is twisting her arm and they are in Alice's room. it is still night. and the other whores are there, scared, nervous. SKINNY -LRB- furious. -RRB- Where'd you get the money, huh? ALICE -LRB- in pain. -RRB- We ai n't got it. We ai n't got no money. SKINNY You told them cowboys you had it. ALICE We was. lyin'. SKINNY -LRB- lets her go. -RRB- What you gon na do when somebody comes to collect? -LRB- yelling. -RRB- FUCK'EM? FUCK'EM A THOUSAND TIMES? -LRB- goes to door, then stops. -RRB- The kind of people who'll come after that thousand, they wo n't tolerate if you do n't have it. They wo n't just cut your face up a little. -LRB- screaming. -RRB- STUPID CUNTS!", "EXT. LITTLE BILL'S HOUSE - DAY VIEW on HOT SUN blazing down. BANG BANG BANG, HAMMER ON NAIL and the fingers holding the nail are swollen and purple and then. WHUP Hammer on flesh. LITTLE BILL Oh, shit, shit an' damn, oh fuck my mother and my father, o damn an' jesus. Little Bill is hopping around in his hat and boots and nothing else in front of his brand new one story, four room, frame house that has n't been painted it's so new and does n't have a porch yet, though that is being begun. sort of. In fact. the house does n't look quite right. looks a little lopsided. Skinny Dubois is standing there, in the clearing wiping his brow and catching his breath and watching Little Bill. SKINNY Hit your finger, huh? LITTLE BILL -LRB- surprised. -RRB- Huh? Hullo, Skinny. Snuck up on me. -LRB- indicating the house proudly. -RRB- How do you like her? SKINNY -LRB- looking critically. -RRB- Heard you done the roof yourself. LITTLE BILL Roof? Jesus, Skinny, I done practically every damn thing myself. Roberts boy hauled wood, that's all. SKINNY What's all that wood? LITTLE BILL -LRB- enthusiastically. -RRB- Porch. I'm puttin' a porch on her so's I can puff my pipe of an evening an' drink my coffee an' watch the sun set. Little Bill is back at it, hauling a four by six into position. LITTLE BILL -LRB- over his shoulder, proudly. -RRB- You come clear up here just to get a look at her? The train whistle screams loudly below in the valley and turning nervously, Skinny can see a puff of steam above the distant trees. SKINNY Them whores. -LRB- he pauses, reluctant to go on. -RRB- Little Bill is n't really paying attention to anything but his house. LITTLE BILL Yeah? SKINNY Them whores, they been fuckin' an' fuckin' all them cowboys that come into town the last two weeks. LITTLE BILL -LRB- chuckling. -RRB- Shit, Skinny, we got railroad barons an' cattle barons, but you' re gon na be the first of the billiard barons. SKINNY -LRB- ignoring him. -RRB-. They been fuckin''em, ` an tellin' every bow - legged one of'em how they're payin' a thousand dollars to whatever sonofabitch kills them two boys which cut up Delilah. Little Bill drops the board he's holding up and turns sharply to Skinny. Down in the valley the train whistle screams and after a long, tense moment, Little Bill turns and looks out over the valley, frowning. LITTLE BILL An' all them cowboys been riding that beef down to Kansas an' Cheyenne? SKINNY -LRB- unhappily, dropping his eyes. -RRB- Yup. LITTLE BILL All week? SKINNY -LRB- apologetically. -RRB- I did n't hear nothin' till last night. LITTLE BILL Word must have got all the way to Texas by now. SKINNY -LRB- quickly. -RRB- Oh, shit, Bill, I guess nobody's gon na come clear from Texas. LITTLE BILL -LRB- sitting down. -RRB- They really got all that money, them whores? SKINNY -LRB- sitting beside Bill. -RRB- You know how women kin lie. I knock'em around a little, ask'em where the money is, they say they do n't have none? but they coulda squirreled away that much, the five of'em. Maybe. -LRB- pause. -RRB- LITTLE BILL That much, huh? SKINNY -LRB- hopeful. -RRB- You could run off them two cowboys. LITTLE BILL -LRB- sharply. -RRB- I could run off them whores. SKINNY -LRB- after a pause. -RRB- Well, I guess they'll just up an' run anyhow, them two. LITTLE BILL -LRB- glumly. -RRB- Nope. They'll stay out on the Spade country where they got friends. The train whistle screams down in the valley and the train is chugging in the distance, pulling out, headed South. SKINNY Shit, Bill, could be nobody wo n't come at all.", "EXT. LOGAN HOUSE - DAY SALLY TWO TREES, weeding under a hot sun. She is an Indian woman about forty years old, heavy, and she is pulling weeds from a neat garden near the Logan House and she looks up and she sees something and frowns and keeps looking and does n't like what she sees, A MAN IN THE DISTANCE RIDING AN ALBINO MARE, making his way slowly through the prosperous fields of young corn. VIEW ON SALLY She looks over at her husband, NED LOGAN, who is working not far away and he seems to `` hear'' her look because he turns to her and, seeing her troubled expression, he follows her look and he too sees the rider on the Albino mare. NED I'll be damned. It's Billy Munny. Ned is about forty, balding, a farmer, but not as seedy looking as his old friend, Bill Munny. VIEW ON MUNNY Trying to dismount and the Albino prancing and Munny staggering and Sally looking at the scene grimly. MUNNY -LRB- awkwardly. -RRB- Hullo Sally. I. uh, I ai n't seen you in near as long as this, uh. as this horse ai n't felt the saddle. Munny gets up out of the dust looking uncomfortable and Sally just stares at him coldly. NED -LRB- warmly. -RRB- Come on in outta the sun, Bill. Sally, you see to Bill's horse. Munny nods an uncomfortable thank - you to Sally as Ned leads him toward a house that is very different from Munny's. It is a two story frame house freshly painted and surrounded by a well - tended garden, a tool shed, a barn and lush fields. As the men disappear into the house Sally leads the Albino toward the barn. Her sharp eyes do n't miss the stock of the shotgun where it protrudes slightly from the bedroll. Her eyes seem to see even into the future. and all they see is trouble.", "INT. LOGAN HOUSE - DAY CLOSE on CLEAN CERAMIC COFFEE MUGS as NED takes them from a tidy cabinet in his cozy kitchen with the cast iron stove, the solid table. Munny is sitting at the table looking moodily into space. NED -LRB- earnestly. -RRB- We ai n't bad men no more, Bill. Hell, we're farmers. MUNNY -LRB- thoughtfully. -RRB- Should be easy killin' em. supposin' they do n't run off to Texas first. NED -LRB- taking the pot from the stove. -RRB- How long since you shot a gun at a man? -LRB- pause. -RRB- Nine. ten years? MUNNY Eleven. NED Easy, huh? Hell, I do n't know that it was all that easy then. an' we was young an' full of beans. -LRB- pouring coffee. -RRB- Bill. if you was mad at'em. if they done you wrong. I could see shootin''em. MUNNY -LRB- looking Ned in the eye. -RRB- We done stuff before for money, Ned. NED -LRB- sitting down. -RRB- Well, we thought we was doin' it for money. -LRB- he pauses, remembering. -RRB- What'd they do anyhow? Cheat at cards, steal some strays, spit on a rich fella? MUNNY Cut up a woman. Cut her eyes out, cut her tits off, cut her fingers off. done everythin' but cut up her cunny, I guess. NED -LRB- after chewing on that one. -RRB- Well, I guess they got it comin'. -LRB- and he pauses and looks Munny in the eye. -RRB- But you would n't go if Claudia was alive. It hits Munny like salt in a wound and he just takes it. They both know Ned is right and they think about it silently. Finally Munny speaks glumly. MUNNY -LRB- getting up and going to the door. -RRB- I guess you would n't mind to look in on my youngsters next week. Might be you could help them move a couple of them pigs if they got to separate'em more. Ned has been thinking about it while Munny's talking, wrestling with it and now Munny is out the door. NED How long you gon na be, Bill? MUNNY Two weeks, I guess. NED This Kid, what's he like? Munny turns and looks at Ned and their eyes meet and Munny realizes Ned is coming. NED Three ways? MUNNY Yup. You still got the Spencer rifle? NED -LRB- grinning. -RRB- Yeah, an' I could still hit a bird in the eye flyin'.", "EXT. LOGAN HOUSE - DAY Munny landing with a thud in the dust and picking himself up hurriedly and casting a sheepish glance over his shoulder at Ned as he makes another awkward effort to mount the mare. NED -LRB- amazed at this per - formance. -RRB- Jesus, Bill. CLOSE VIEW The sad, wise eyes of Sally Two Trees as she watches the two riders disappearing in the distance. her eyes are saying good - bye.", "EXT. PATH - DAY THE RIDERS IN THE DISTANCE. One horse is walking and the white one is prancing and shying in an unruly manner while her rider fights desperately for control.", "EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - DAY SUNSET, and Ned and Munny riding in open country. NED He musta been movin' right along. MUNNY We'll come across him tomorra, I guess.", "EXT. CAMP - NIGHT Night and the sizzling campfire as Ned empties the grease from the frying pan into the fire. Munny is already lying down, fussing in his blankets to get comfortable and the crickets are chirping up a storm. MUNNY Got used to my bed. Ai n't gon na feel to home out here. NED -LRB- getting into his blankets. -RRB- Well, it ai n't just the bed I'm gon na miss. I'm. -LRB- he stops suddenly. -RRB- Hell, Billy, I'm sorry. I did n't mean. MUNNY It ai n't nothin', do n't fret it. -LRB- pause. -RRB- She do n't like it much, you goin' off with me. NED Sally? MUNNY She gave me the evil eye. NED It's just. she's a Indian an' Indians ai n't. overfriendly. MUNNY I ai n't blamin' her, Ned, I ai n't holdin' it against her. -LRB- pause. -RRB- She knew me back then. an' she seen what a no good sonofabitch I was. an' she wo n't allow how I've changed. She just do n't know how I ai n't like that no more. NED Well, she. MUNNY -LRB- urgently. -RRB- I ai n't the same, Ned. Claudia, she. straightened me up, got me clear of the whiskey an' all. Us goin' to do this killin'. that do n't mean I'm back to like I was. I just need the money. for a new start. for them youngsters. -LRB- long pause. -RRB- Remember that drover, the one I shot in the mouth so's the teeth come out the back of his head? I dream about him now an' again. I did n't have no reason to shoot him. not one I could remember when I sobered up. NED You was a. a crazy sonofabitch. MUNNY Nobody liked me. none of the boys. They was scared of me. figured I might shoot'em out of pure meanness. NED You ai n't like that no more. MUNNY Eagle. he hated my guts. Bonaparte did n't like me none. NED Nor Quincy, I guess. MUNNY Quincy, he was always watchin' me. Scared. NED You ai n't like that no more. MUNNY Hell, no. I'm just a fella now. ai n't no different from anyone else no more. After a pause, Ned rolls over to go to sleep and says something kind by way of saying goodnight. NED Hell, Bill, I always liked you. even back then. Ned settles in his covers and so does Munny and the crickets chirp for a long moment but Munny ca n't sleep with the lie. MUNNY No you did n't. You was n't no different, Ned. -LRB- and we. -RRB-", "EXT. TRAIN - DAY DAYLIGHT and a train whistle SCREAMING.", "INT. RAILROAD COACH - DAY The headline on the newspaper says `` President Garfield Wounded.'' FUZZY, a cowboy, is sitting in the rocking coach reading the paper with great effort, partly because of the motion of the train and partly because Fuzzy ca n't read very well. but CROCKER, the rough looking cowboy on the seat next to him ca n't read at all. CROCKER All I want to know is what sonof - abitch shot him, that's all. Was it one of them John Bull assholes? Across the aisle two well dressed gentlemen are sitting. The one by the window, the lean one in the frock coat and slouch hat, is WW BEAUCHAMP and the one on the aisle, pudgy, pinkcheeked, with neat muttonchop whiskers, wearing a frock coat and waistcoat and a silk slouch hat in spite of the heat, is ENGLISH BOB. English Bob has beady blue eyes, is about thirty - five and pulls constantly on a good cigar. ENGLISH BOB -LRB- in a rich English accent. -RRB- No, sir, I believe the would - be murderer is a gentleman of French ancestry. or so it would seem. I hope I wo n't give offense if I observe that the French are known to be a race of assassins, though they ca n't shoot worth a damn. any Frenchman among the present company excluded of course. Crocker, not liking or understanding the interruption, gives English Bob a hard stare. FUZZY -LRB- to Crocker. -RRB- Says here a fellow by the name of `` Gitto.'' `` G - U - I - T.'' CROCKER -LRB- eyes on Bob. -RRB- Sounds like a damn John Bull to me. `` Gitto.'' THIRSTY, a cowboy sitting behind Crocker, turns in his seat, sensing the tension in the air and WW feels it too and shifts uneasily. but English Bob is unperturbed and he puffs cheerfully on his cigar. ENGLISH BOB Well, sirs. again not wishing to give offense. it might be a good idea if the country were to choose a Queen. or even a King. rather than a president. One is n't as quick to take a shot at a King or a Queen. The majesty of royalty, you see. CROCKER -LRB- provocative. -RRB- Maybe you do n't wish to give offense, sir, but you are givin' it pretty thick. This country do n't need no queens whatsoever, I guess. Crocker is shifting in his seat so that the revolver in his holster is prominent and there is uneasy stirring among the nearby passengers. A DRUMMER looks around for exits. CROCKER As a matter of fact, what I heard about Queens. THURSTON Shut up, Joe. CROCKER -LRB- to Thurston. -RRB- Huh? What's got up your ass, Thirsty? This dude asshole. THURSTON -LRB- to Crocker, but his eyes on Bob. -RRB- Might be the `` dude'' is English Bob. the one who works for the Union Pacific shootin' Chinamen. Might be he wants for some dumb cowboy to touch his pistol. so's he can shoot him down. English Bob, unperturbed, just pulls on his cigar. CROCKER -LRB- sobered. -RRB- That a fact, mister? You English Bob? ENGLISH BOB -LRB- affably. -RRB- Why do n't we shoot some turkeys, friend? Ten shots. a dollar a turkey. I'll shoot for the Queen, and you can shoot for. whomever.", "EXT. TRAIN - DAY Turkeys bursting from long Nebrasks grass as the train whistle screams. BLAM! A turkey plummets to earth. BLAM! Another goes down. VIEW ON ENGLISH BOB On the swaying platform between cars, his pistol smoking and BOB brings it up again fast and sights and BLAM! AN EXPLOSION OF FEATHERS plummeting down and disappearing in the long grass. VIEW ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLATFORM Where WW Beauchamp, Crocker, Thurston, Fuzzy and the nervous Drummer, in a cheap bowler, are standing. They are all impressed with the fact that English Bob is one hell of a shot with a pistol. ENGLISH BOB -LRB- to Crocker. -RRB- I believe that's eight for me. to one for you. A matter of seven of your American dollars. CROCKER -LRB- grudgingly counting silver dollars. -RRB- Pretty damn good shootin'. -LRB- daring. -RRB- for a John Bull. ENGLISH BOB -LRB- accepting the money cheerfully. -RRB- No doubt your aim was affected by your grief over the injury to your. uh. president.", "EXT. TRAIN STOP - DAY Bawling cattle milling in the pens south of Big Whiskey, and the train hissing and steaming at a standstill. CLOSE VIEW Two leather valises and a leather rifle case as MUDDY CHANDLER tosses them on his mud wagon, a sort of open stagecoach. The scene is one of chaos as the train steams and hisses and baggage is tossed off and more is tossed on. CHANDLER It's a nickel up to Big Whiskey, gentlemen. WW hands Chandler the money and, as he and English Bob climb into the mud wagon, they are accosted by GERMANY JOE SCHULTZ who runs the livery stable and does horse business with railway passengers on the side. GERMANY JOE I godd nize horzes I zell you, boyce. Nize prizes for Independence Day, boyce.", "EXT. MUD WAGON - DAY English Bob and WW riding in the mud wagon, bouncing uncomfortably in spite of the slow pace, and eating dust and sweating profusely. ENGLISH BOB -LRB- irritably. -RRB- It's the climate does it. That and the infernal distances. WW Does what? ENGLISH BOB Induces people to shoot persons in high places. -LRB- mopping his brow with his. -LRB- handkerchief. -RRB- It's a savage country. That's the second one shot in twenty years. It's uncivilized shooting people of substance. The mud wagon rattles past the South Road sign. It is similar to the one of the North Road and says : No Firearms in Big Whiskey. Ordinance 14. Deposit pistols and rifles County Office.", "EXT. BIG WHISKY INN - DAY Deputy ANDY RUSSELL stepping out of the County Office as the mud wagon clatters to a stop in front of the Big Whisky Inn. Andy is just twenty, a good looking kid with a badge on his vest and a holstered pistol. He watches the passengers climb out of the mud wagon and, as English Bob alights, his frock coat parts and gives ANDY just the quickest glimpse of a holstered pistol under the coat. ANDY Pardon me, gentlemen, but local ordinance obliges you to surrender your sidearms to proper authority for the duration of your visit. WW looks at English Bob and English Bob turns and looks Andy up and down very coolly. ENGLISH BOB Proper authority eh? -LRB- breezily. -RRB- Well, sir. neither my companion nor I carry firearms on our persons. Rather, we trust in the goodwill of our fellow man and the forbearance of reptiles. And English Bob gives a smart bow, turns with a swirl of coat - tails that allows a brief glimpse of not one, but two holstered pistols, and marches off. As WW follows English Bob, he glances nervously back to see what young Andy will do but Andy just stares nonplussed. In that quick glimpse, Andy saw how the weapons were tied down with thongs, meaning the owner wanted a quick pull. and this shit is out of his league.", "INT. COUNTY OFFICE - DAY KER - CHICK, CLACK, A HENRY RIFLE COCKED and the action checked. Andy is cleaning the weapon in the County Office. ANDY Unarmed, my ass. SHUCK, KA - CHAK. CHARLEY HECKER breaks open a single barreled shotgun and moves a shell in. CHARLEY -LRB- wiping his brow nervously. -RRB- Christ, it's hot. FATTY -LRB- -LRB- cheerfully. -RRB- If I'm gon na get shot, I druther it was hot then cold. Everythin' hurts more in the cold. Fatty is sitting in a chair in front of the empty jail cell cleaning a revolver, oblivious to the tension. FATTY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- You know how if you hit your thumb in the cold, how it? CHARLEY Shut up, Fatty. FATTY I only said. Outside a horse clatters up fast and Andy jumps nervously to the window. ANDY Clyde's back. CHARLEY Little Bill with him? ANDY No. CHARLEY -LRB- worried. -RRB- Shit. Clyde bursts in the door. He is wearing two gun - belts crossed, with a holster on each side. Since he has only one arm, he carries one pistol butt forward and the other butt back. CLYDE You boys clean my Remington? FATTY -LRB- holding it up. -RRB- Cleaned an' loaded. CHARLEY Where's Little Bill for Christ sake? CLYDE -LRB- inspecting the pistol. -RRB- Ha. He was building his fucking porch. CHARLEY Building his porch! FATTY If you was to get shot, Andy, would you like it better to be a hot day or? ANDY -LRB- sharply. -RRB- I ai n't gon na get shot. CHARLEY -LRB- to Clyde. -RRB- He's coming ai n't he? CLYDE -LRB- ejecting shells. -RRB- ` Course he's coming. FATTY Hey, I just loaded her. Watcha doin? CLYDE I do n't trust nobody to load my guns, not for a shootin'. CHARLEY What'd he say? CLYDE Little Bill? He did n't say nothing. Like I said, he was buildin' his porch. Have you seen that thing? FATTY -LRB- sulking. -RRB- It was all loaded. Jesus, Clyde, you got three pistols an' only one arm for Christ sake. CLYDE -LRB- to Fatty. -RRB- I just do n't wan na get killed for lack of shootin' back. -LRB- to Charley. -RRB- You know there ai n't a straight angle in that whole goddamn porch. or in the whole house for that matter. He's the worst fucking carpenter. CHARLEY -LRB- worried. -RRB- He did n't say nothin', huh? CLYDE -LRB- putting the 3rd pistol in his belt. -RRB- Asked what they looked like, that's all. Christ, maybe he's tough but he sure ai n't no carpenter. CHARLEY Maybe he ai n't so tough. Clyde looks up, surprised. There is a sudden silence. ANDY -LRB- blurting it. -RRB- He seem like. like he was. scared? CLYDE -LRB- amazed. -RRB- Little Bill? Him scared? CHARLEY We never seen him up against any. like these ones. killers. CLYDE -LRB- looking at the frightened faces of Charley and Andy. -RRB- Little Bill come out of Kansas an' Texas, boys. He worked them tough towns. CHARLEY -LRB- ashamed. -RRB- Just wondered. Anybody could be scared. Andy drops his eyes and looks away from Clyde. CLYDE -LRB- with meaning. -RRB- No. He was n't scared, boys. He just ai n't a good carpenter.", "INT. BARBERSHOP - DAY English Bob, delighting in the smooth feel of his freshly shaved pink cheeks, climbs cheerfully out of the barber chair, still chattering at the poor BARBER. ENGLISH BOB can see that there's a dignity in royalty. a majesty. that precludes the likelihood of assassination. The Barber is applying his little whisk broom to Bob's waistcoat while WW pulls out his purse to make payment. ENGLISH BOB contd. says. Why, if you were to point a pistol at a King or a Queen, sir, I can assure you your hand would shake as though palsied. BARBER -LRB- looking at Bob's pistols. -RRB- I would n't point no pistol at nobody, sir. ENGLISH BOB -LRB- putting on his frock coat over his guns. -RRB- A wise policy. But if you did, I can assure you, the sight of royalty would cause you to dismiss all thoughts of bloodshed and stand. in awe. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Whereas, a president. I mean, why not shoot a president? The Barber does n't know how to take this guy, and just ogles him. ENGLISH BOB Now this Strawberry Alice person, tell me again. BARBER Down the street and across. Greely's Beer Garden and Billiard parlor. Just ask for Alice and say you want a game of billiards. ENGLISH BOB -LRB- about to exit. -RRB- Billiards, eh? Even though I do n't really wish to play? BARBER Do n't matter. They burned the table in'78 for firewood. ENGLISH BOB Ah, I see. WW has already stepped out and English Bob follows him out the door.", "EXT. BARBERSHOP/MAIN STREET - DAY English Bob steps out the door. ENGLISH BOB Come on, WW. Let's. Something's wrong! There is a funny quiet and WW is frozen like a ramrod. English Bob looks around. VIEW ON CHARLIE HECKER Ten yards to Bob's right, pointing a 12 gauge shotgun and Fatty Rossiter a few feet away pointing his old Enfield. VIEW ON ANDY RUSSELL On Bob's left, pale and tense, pointing his Henry, and Clyde Ledbetter kneeling near him, leveling one of his pistols. VIEW ON LITTLE BILL Standing ten yards away in the empty dusty street where the Fourth of July flags are flapping. LITTLE BILL Hullo, Bob. Boys, this here is English Bob. ENGLISH BOB -LRB- under his breath. -RRB- Shit and fried eggs. LITTLE BILL Been a long time, Bob. You run out of Chinamen? ENGLISH BOB -LRB- recovering his composure. -RRB- Little Bill, I thought you were dead. I see you shaved off your chin whiskers. LITTLE BILL -LRB- feeling his chin. -RRB- Well, I was always tasting the soup two hours after I et it. VIEW ON THE STREET Empty, silent. VIEW FACES IN THE WINDOW of the Blue Bottle restaurant. EGGS ANDERSON, TOM LUCKINBILL, MRS. PEEVEY, HOPPITY THOMAS, peering out. VIEW Alice, Kate and Little Sue in Greely's window and, in the open doorway, ready to duck for cover, Skinny and Germany Joe Schultz and PADDY McGEE, the cooper. VIEW ON ENGLISH BOB ENGLISH BOB What I heard was that you fell off your horse drunk and broke your neck. LITTLE BILL I heard that one myself, Bob. Hell, I even thought I was dead til I found out it was just I was in Nebraska. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Who's your friend? ENGLISH BOB WW Beauchamp. Little Bill Daggett and. `` friends.'' WW -LRB- nervous. -RRB- From N - n - newton? and H - hays and A - a - abilene? ENGLISH BOB -LRB- dryly. -RRB- The same. Charley is taking all this in wide - eyed. LITTLE BILL You work for the railroads too, Mister Beauchamp? WW -LRB- scared to death. -RRB- N - no. I wr - wr - wr - write. I wr - wr - write. LITTLE BILL Letters? ENGLISH BOB Books. He's my biographer. LITTLE BILL -LRB- fighting amazement. -RRB- Oh. And WW is reaching for a pocket. VIEW Andy and Charley and Clyde and Fatty tensing to fire. VIEW ON ENGLISH BOB ENGLISH BOB I would n't do it, WW. WW freezes, terrified. and a puddle of urine forms at his feet. WW It's only a b - b - b - book. LITTLE BILL -LRB- his pistol half - drawn. -RRB- A book, huh? -LRB- returning his pistol and glancing at the piss. -RRB- I guess that means you can read. An' I guess you boys seen them signs about surrendering your firearms. But then, like you told old Andy there, you ai n't armed, are you, Bob? ENGLISH BOB Not really. -LRB- shrugging. -RRB- Maybe a couple of Peacemakers. -LRB- bargaining. -RRB- I imagine you could overlook those, eh, Bill? If you did n't see them. or hear them? LITTLE BILL -LRB- cold as ice. -RRB- I guess not, Bob. I do n't like guns around. With a sardonic glance at the arsenal trained on him English Bob gives a shrug and holds open his coat in surrender, exposing two fancy holstered pistols. Little Bill gives Andy a head signal and Andy steps forward and takes the pistols from English Bob's holsters. LITTLE BILL Charley, see what kind of `` books'' Mister Beauchamp is packing. but watch you do n't get wet. ENGLISH BOB -LRB- to Andy. -RRB- Be careful with those, sonny. Onlookers are stepping out of doorways now and moving timidly into the street forming a large semi - circle. The whores are among them. CHARLEY No shit, Little Bill, all he's got is this here book. Charley holds up a dime novel with a lurid cover showing a gentleman in a top hat protecting a woman with his body while firing two pistols at seven disheveled looking `` Western types.'' The title is `` The Duke of Death.'' LITTLE BILL -LRB- reading with effort. -RRB- The. Duck of Death. WW D - d - d - duke. The D - d - duke of Death. English Bob starts to go but Little Bill puts a hand on his shoulder. LITTLE BILL Give me the.32, Bob. Furious, English Bob turns and looks into Bill's eyes and then, seeing no alternative, opens his vest esposing a small pistol. ENGLISH BOB You leave me at the mercy of my enemies. LITTLE BILL -LRB- taking the pistol. -RRB- Enemies, Bob? You been talking about the Queen again? On Independence Day? A lot of the tension has gone out of the occasion and the crowd is beginning to murmur and people are starting to move and a couple of kids are running when suddenly. CRUNCH! English Bob's face seems to cave in with the force of Little Bill's fist and Bob literally flies backward and slams into the side of the barber shop. VIEW Alice gasping. Andy's jaw drops. Little Sue's eyes bulge. Charley gulps. VIEW ON ENGLISH BOB Slumped against the wall, blood pouring from his unhinged jaw, amazed. ENGLISH BOB Wh. what? Little Bill walks calmly up to him and WHAM. kicks him hard in the chest. VIEW Silky having a hard time swallowing and Mrs. Peevey turning away and Eggs horrified and Alice's scared face. VIEW ON ENGLISH BOB Bloody, on all fours, pulling a knife from his waistcoat. but the whole effort is painful and hopeless. He has n't a chance. Little Bill looks down at him for a moment from his enormous height, watching the smaller man's pitiful effort, then SLAM! Little Bill kicks him in the ribs hard and you can hear air going out of Bob, and Bill steps hard on Bob's knofe hand and the bones crunch loudly. VIEW WW, white as a ghost and Andy is trying not to vomit. There is the sound of another brutal blow. VIEW English Bob on all fours in the dusty street now, barely conscious. KA - WHUMP! Little Bill kicks him again, not angrily, but hard. LITTLE BILL I guess you think I'm kickin' you, Bob. but it ai n't so. -LRB- WHAM, another kick. -RRB- What I'm doin' is talkin', hear? I'm talkin' to all them villains down in Kansas an' them villains in Cheyenne. -LRB- WHUMP. -RRB- Lettin' em know there ai n't no whores' gold. Little Bill turns and looks hard at the whores and Alice is sick from the violence and Little Sue is biting her lip and Silky has tears in her eyes. LITTLE BILL -LRB- turning back to Bob and kicking him. -RRB-. an' how if there was. how they would n't want to come lookin' for it anyhow. Little Bill looks down with eyes as cold as ice and English Bob grovels in the bloody dust, barely conscious.", "EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - DAY Open country under a hot sun and Munny and Ned riding their horses at a walk and the saddles creaking and birds chirping in the five foot high grass. It is late morning in Northern Kansas and they have been riding since dawn, mostly in silence, but Ned has something on his mind and he glances at Munny and frowns and then finally he blurts his question. NED Say, Bill. You ever. ever go into town. an' all? MUNNY -LRB- surprised at the question. -RRB- Sure, I got to. Got to get supplies. NED No. I mean. -LRB- embarrassed. -RRB-. an' get yourself a woman? You know? Munny looks away quickly, embarrassed, and it seems like he is n't going to answer and then, when he finally does, he keeps his eyes on the horizon. MUNNY Naw. Naw, I do n't ever go into town for that. -LRB- pause. -RRB- A man like me. A man like me ca n't get no woman but one he's gon na pay for. an' that ai n't right. buyin' flesh. -LRB- looking at Ned. -RRB- Claudia, God rest her soul, she would n't have wanted me doin' nothin' like that, me bein' a father, an' all. -LRB- he looks away again. -RRB- NED -LRB- rhetorically. -RRB- Whaddaya do, just use your hand? MUNNY -LRB- after a nervous glance at Ned. -RRB- Sometimes. yeah. -LRB- looking at the horizon. -RRB- I do n't miss it all that much. Ned is shaking his head, wondering at the transformation of his old friend when. CRACK! A RIFLE SHOT and the Albino mare rears violently, whinnying and hurling Munny out of the saddle and. Ned's roan bolts at full speed, Ned barely staying aboard. CRACK! another shot. VIEW ON MUNNY On all fours in the tall grass. He feels his forehead and wipes away a little blood, and shakes his head to clear it. Then he hears rustling in the long grass and he whirls and pulls the Starr out of his belt and sitting back he aims at where he heard the noise and he pulls back the hammer with a loud click. NED'S VOICE -LRB- a whisper. -RRB- Billy. Billy. MUNNY -LRB- lowering the pistol, relieved. -RRB- Yeah. Ned crawls out of the grass next to Munny. NED Some fucker's shootin' at us. MUNNY Yeah. NED -LRB- alarmed, seeing blood. -RRB- He hit you? MUNNY Naw. I bumped my head fallin' off of my horse. CRACK, another shot. Ned looks puzzled and he lifts his head up and tries to look around without exposing himself. A hundred yards away Ned can see a clump of four or five trees and there is a little cloud of black smoke still hanging in the air there and then a sudden flash of fire, smoke and CRACK! Ned does n't even duck, he just frowns. NED He ai n't shootin' our way no more. -LRB- indicating the left. -RRB- He's shootin' over that way. Who's he shootin' at over that way? MUNNY Beats the hell out of me. NED You suppose maybe we're in somebody's field? MUNNY I did n't see nothin' planted. CRACK. Another shot. Ned ducks urgently. NED Fuck, he's shootin' at us again. CRACK, CRACK, CRACK. NED Jesus, he's shootin' up the whole fucking horizon. Munny is thinkinh about it, has an idea, weighs it and gives it a try. MUNNY -LRB- shouting. -RRB- HEY. NED You're marking us, Bill. MUNNY -LRB- ignoring him. -RRB- HEY, KID. NED Kid? The Kid's shootin at us? MUNNY IS THAT YOU, KID? NED Why would the Kid shoot at us? MUNNY HEY KID, IT'S ME, BILL MUNNY.", "EXT. TREES - DAY The Kid rifle at his cheek is crouched behind one of the trees. His horse is standing nearby. MUNNY'S VOICE o.s. Hey, Kid, is that you? It's me, Bill Munny. The Kid is frowning and finally he makes up his mind. THE KID -LRB- shouting. -RRB- YEAH. IT'S ME. MUNNY'S VOICE o.s. Do n't shoot at us no more, okay? The Kid is peering around the tree and squinting ferociously. The field. It is one big blur. He ca n't see worth a shit. The Kid squinting and peering and worrying. THE KID WHO YOU GOT WITH YOU? MUNNY'S VOICE o.s. Ned Logan. My old partner, Ned Logan. Do n't you shoot no more, okay? The Kid does n't like it, he's nervous and twitching, trying desperately to see what's going on out there. MUNNY'S VOICE o.s. We're gon na collect our horses an' come on over. You ai n't gon na shoot no more, are you? THE KID NO, I AI N'T.", "EXT. TREES - DAY VIEW ON MUNNY Bedraggled and sweaty, walking into the clump of trees leading his horse and Ned, behind him, leading his roan and looking just as bad. MUNNY Had to chase the damn horse a mile. The Kid is sitting under the shade tree looking sullen. NED -LRB- angry. -RRB- What was you shootin' at us for, anyhow? THE KID Thought you was followin' me. MUNNY Well, we was. Like you said, I changed my mind an'. THE KID Was n't nothin' said about no partner. NED Well, this here's Ned Logan. Ned, this here's the Schofield Kid, nephew of Pete Sothow an'. THE KID I seen two fellas followin' me, I guessed they come to kill me. -LRB- pause. -RRB- We did n't talk about no other fella. MUNNY -LRB- squatting in front of The Kid, talking in a persuasive tone. -RRB- Well, now Kid, there's two of these cowboys, ai n't that so? Better there's three of us. maybe them cowboys got friends. Maybe. THE KID I was gon na kill them two by myself. It do n't take three. Ned walks over to where The Kid's rifle is leaning against the tree and The Kid is watching nervously. MUNNY Now Ned's a hell of a shot with a rifle. Hell, he can hit a bird in the eye flyin'. NED -LRB- picking up The Kid's rifle. -RRB- Better'n you anyhow, Kid. You was n't comin' close. THE KID Keep your damn hands offa that rifle, Mister. The Kid is touching his pistol and Ned puts the rifle down, annoyed. NED I was only checkin' it for you. Thought maybe somethin' was bent. THE KID Nothin's bent. NED Well, you was shootin' every which way an'. THE KID -LRB- to Munny. -RRB- You gon na share your half with him? MUNNY Three ways, I figured. THE KID No. MUNNY -LRB- to Ned. -RRB- Sorry, Ned. Guess I wasted your time. See ya, Kid! Munny turns to go and Ned gives The Kid a disgusted look and turns away. THE KID -LRB- to Munny. -RRB- You're goin' back with him? MUNNY -LRB- turning. -RRB- He's my partner. He do n't go, I do n't. Ned is mounted and Munny starts to mount too, but the mare is as reluctant as ever, shying and prancing while MUNNY hops awkwardly with one foot in the stirrup. THE KID What's it come to, three ways? Munny turns and looks at The Kid.", "EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - DAY The three of them riding across open country. The Kid looks like he still has a thorn up his ass and the only sound is the creaking of saddles. Storm clouds are gathering behind them on the horizon. MUNNY Oh shit. And The Kid looks back but of course he ca n't figure out what it is they saw. THE KID What the hell are you pissin' about, I'd like to know? MUNNY -LRB- astonished. -RRB- Huh? THE KID Well, what were you lookin' at anyhow? MUNNY Lookin' at? NED Clouds, Kid. We was lookin' at them clouds on account of we got a storm ridin' up our ass. THE KID -LRB- looking back. -RRB- Oh, them. -LRB- petulantly. -RRB- Hell, I seen them. Ned frowns and looks at The Kid and something is bothering Ned.", "EXT. STREAM BED - DAY A dry stream bed and the three men are riding single file now with The Kid in the lead but Ned has been thinking and, trotting with his horse, he pulls alongside The Kid. NED You was right to change your mind, Kid. THE KID -LRB- surly, suspicious. -RRB- Yeah? NED -LRB- proudly. -RRB- I'm a damn good shot. -LRB- looking up. -RRB- See that hawk up there? I could kill that hawk with one shot. VIEW on the empty sky. There is n't any hawk. VIEW on Munny who is right beside them is looking up and he does n't see any hawk and he looks at Ned like he thought Ned was crazy and he frowns. The Kid just looks up and squints and looks ahead at the trail and keeps riding. THE KID Hell, I could hit it too if I did n't mind wasting a shot. And Munny looks up again, amazed, because they must be crazy, both of them. And Ned reins his horse hard. NED There ai n't no hawk up there, Kid. And the Kid reins and turns and he locks eyes with Ned. He knows he's been found out. NED Ca n't see worth a shit, can you? The Kid is furious, his eyes flick around and he spots something and he pulls out the Schofield. THE KID See them fucking turtles? VIEW ON THREE TURTLES Making their way up the stream bed ten yards away. VIEW ON THE KID His Schofield spitting fire and smoke BLAM, BLAM. VIEW ON THE TURTLE BLAM, the third turtle exploding and following the other two to oblivion. VIEW ON THE MEN MUNNY -LRB- impressed. -RRB- Shit. NED -LRB- impressed but holding back. -RRB- How far kin you see? THE KID Far enough. NED We ai n't goin' to Nebraska on no turtle hunt. A hundred yards? THE KID More. NED -LRB- testing. -RRB- See that scrub oak yonder? THE KID -LRB- furious. -RRB- Fuck you. NED -LRB- to Munny. -RRB- He's blind, for Chri. THE KID -LRB- pointing his pistol at Ned. -RRB- I ai n't blind, you asshole. MUNNY Now hold on, boys, hold on. Now, Kid, you kin see fifty yards, ca n't you? THE KID Bet your ass I kin see fifty yards an' I kin shoot this sonofabitch. MUNNY Easy, Kid, easy. -LRB- looking Ned in the eye. -RRB- Now, you hear that, Ned? The Kid can see fifty yards fine, hear? NED -LRB- under his breath. -RRB- Jesus. MUNNY Fifty yards ai n't bad. -LRB- glancing at the horizon. -RRB- Guess we better get along.", "EXT. SKY - DAY STORM CLOUDS building behind them on the horizon.", "INT. COUNTY OFFICE - NIGHT CLOSE ON A BOOK The lurid cover, `` The Duke of Death'' by W. W. Beauchamp. Little Bill is looking at the cover, his feet propped on his desk in the county office. It is night and the office is lit with an oil lamp. LITTLE BILL -LRB- referring to the book. -RRB- Them boys look like real hard cases. Did you kill all seven of'em dead, Bob. or did you just wing some of'em? English Bob is lying on his back on a cot in the little cell a few feet away. He turns his head toward Little Bill and his swollen face is horrible to behold. Of course, he does n't answer except with the nasty eye. LITTLE BILL That is you there, ai n't it, Bob? The Duck of Death? WW -LRB- daring. -RRB- Uh. Duke. WW is in the little cell next to English Bob's. LITTLE BILL Oh yeah. Duke. Well, Bob, you always was hell an' Jesus with a pistol. but seven of'em, an' you protectin' the lady too. How'd you do it? English Bob just turns his malignant stare away but WW screws up his courage and asserts himself. sort of. WW Uh. It's. uh. generally considered desirable in the publishing business to. ah. take certain license in depicting the cover scene. for. ah. purposes involving the. ah, market place. LITTLE BILL Well, Mister Beauchamp. from what I read of this here book, I'd have to say the writin' ai n't a whole lot different from the pitcher. WW -LRB- sweating, but with dignity. -RRB- Uh. I can assure you, Mister Daggett. the events described within are based. on the accounts of eye witnesses and. LITTLE BILL -LRB- opening the book. -RRB- Meaning the duck himself, I guess. WW Duke. LITTLE BILL -LRB- harshly. -RRB- Duck, I says. -LRB- reading badly. -RRB- `` You have insulted the honor of this beautiful woman, Corcoran,'' said the duck. `` You must apologize.'' But Two Gun Corcoran would have none of it and, cursing, he reached for his pistols and would have killed them but The Duck was faster and hot lead blazed from his smoking sixguns.'' -LRB- he tosses the book on the desk, disgusted. -RRB- WW -LRB- with dignity. -RRB- I believe that to be an accurate description of the events, sir. albeit there is a certain poetry to the language which. LITTLE BILL -LRB- standing up. -RRB- Well, Mister Beauchamp, I was at the Blue Bottle Saloon in Wichita the night English Bob killed Corky Corcoran. an' I did n't see you there. nor no woman, nor no two - gun shooters nor nothin' like that. WW -LRB- amazed. -RRB- You were there? WW looks to English Bob for confirmation but Bob's stare just gets nastier. Little Bill is warming to the subject though, standing in front of the cell. LITTLE BILL First off. Corky did n't carry two pistols, though he should of. WW But he was called. LITTLE BILL Some folks did call Old Corky `` Two Gun'' but not because he was sportin' two pistols but because he had a dick so big it was longer than the barrel on that Walker Colt he carried. An' the only insultin' he done was stickin' that big dick of his in some French Lady that Old Bob was sweet on. Well, one day Corky walked into the Blue Bottle and before he knows what's happening Bob takes a shot at him. and misses on account of he's drunker than hell. WW is fascinated and he looks to Bob and BOB'S eye is blazing and he looks back at Little Bill who is beginning to act out the scene. LITTLE BILL Well, that bullet whizzin' by panicked Corky, an' he done the wrong thing! Pulled his gun in such a damn hurry he shot off his own toe. Meantime, Bob aims good and squeezes off another. but he's so drunk he misses again an' hits the thousand dollar mirror behind the bar. Well, now the Duck of Death is good as dead'cause this time Corky does right an' aims real good, no hurry. WW -LRB- beside himself. -RRB- And? LITTLE BILL Bam! That Walker Colt blew up in his hand. which was a failing common to that model. Now if Corky would have really had two guns instead of just a big dick he could have defended himself to the end. WW You. you mean. -LRB- looking at Bob. -RRB- English Bob killed him while? LITTLE BILL Well he was n't gon na wait for Corky to grow no new hand. He walked over real close, bein' drunk, an' shot him through the liver. WW stares first at English Bob and then at Little Bill, appalled.", "EXT. WOODS - NIGHT Night in the woods and Ned fussing around with his blankets not far from the campfire. NED -LRB- irritably. -RRB- No sir, I did not give up robbin' an' stealin' on account of I got religion. I give it up'cause I got too old for all this here nature. Munny is lying in his blankets a few feet away, exhausted and dirty and not a bit interested in Ned's complaints. NED -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- I give it up'cause I hate sleepin' out in the air. fuckin' sticks in my food. an' fuckin' bugs in my food. an' fuckin' rocks under my back. -LRB- crawling into the blankets. -RRB- Shit, I sure do miss my fuckin' bed. MUNNY -LRB- irritably. -RRB- Yeah. you said that last night. NED Last night I said I missed my fuckin' wife. tonight I just miss my fuckin' bed. Lightning flashes and a horse whinnies and then the thunder cracks and rolls. MUNNY Well, I guess you're gon na miss your fuckin' roof soon enough.", "EXT. BY THE HORSES - NIGHT The horses, shying and skittish, and The Kid is rubbing his face tenderly on the Morgan and whispering in a soothing voice.", "EXT. CAMP - NIGHT Munny and Ned lying near the campfire and The Kid walks up and starts to fix his blankets. He looks at Munny thoughtfully. Something's bothering him, and finally he blurts it out as he climbs into his own blankets. THE KID Say, Bill. That business in Jackson County. did that really happen? I mean how they say it happened? MUNNY What business? THE KID -LRB- a frown, a pause, then. -RRB- An' how there was two deputies up close pointin' rifles at you. had you dead to rights. an' how you pulled out a pistol an' blew them both away to hell. an' only took a scratch yourself. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Uncle Pete told me he never seen nothin' like it, shootin' your way out of a scrape like that. MUNNY -LRB- uncomfortable. -RRB- Well. I do n't recollect. THE KID -LRB- amazed and dubious. -RRB- You do n't recollect! The Kid does n't know whether he's been rebuffed or what, but seeing after a moment that his conversation with Munny is not getting anywhere he decides to have a try at Ned. THE KID Say, Ned? NED -LRB- curt. -RRB- Yeah. THE KID How many men you killed? -LRB- after a long pause. -RRB- Ai n't you gon na answer? NED I do n't like the question. THE KID -LRB- indignant. -RRB- Well, I got ta know what kind of fellas I'm ridin' with, do n't I? In case of a scrape. NED How many you killed, Kid? THE KID Five. I killed five of'em. -LRB- pause. -RRB- That counts a Mexican I killed. -LRB- pause. -RRB- He come at me with a knife. There is a long pause and then a flash of lightning and a roll of thunder and the nervous whinnies of the horses. MUNNY Get some sleep, Kid. THE KID You boys are crotchety as a couple of hens. Just then the rain starts and it sizzles in the campfire and the horses snort and Ned covers his head with his blankets. NED Aw shit!", "INT. COUNTY OFFICE - NIGHT WW Actually, then, Mister Corcoran was faster on the draw than the D. English Bob? WW is sitting at Little Bill's desk writing furiously with a quill pen. It is still night and Little Bill is lounging in a chair and English Bob is moaning and snoring in the cell. LITTLE BILL Faster? Fast was his mistake. If he had n't of been in such a goddamn hurry he would not have shot off his toe with his first shot and he would have killed old Bob. -LRB- lecturing. -RRB- See, son, bein' a good shot an' bein' quick with a pistol. that do n't do no harm. but it ai n't much next to bein' cool. Little Bill pulls out his pistol very deliberately. not slowly, but not like a Hollywood fast draw. LITTLE BILL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- A man who will keep his head an' not get rattled under fire. he will kill you like as not. Little Bill is pointing his pistol, aiming. WW But if the other fellow is quicker and fires first. LITTLE BILL He will be hurryin' and he will miss. That there is as fast as I can pull an' aim an' hit anythin' more'n ten feet away. unless it's a barn. WW But. if he does n't miss? LITTLE BILL -LRB- laughing and holstering his pistol. -RRB- Then he will kill you. That is why there are so few dangerous men like old Bob there. an' like me. It ai n't so easy to shoot a man anyhow. an' if the sonofabitch is shootin' back at you. well, it'll unnerve most fellas. -LRB- struck with an idea. -RRB- Look here, let me show you somethin'. -LRB- he reaches into a drawer in the desk and pulls out a pistol. -RRB- See this here pistol? WW looks at the pistol uneasily and over in the cell English Bob's one eye opens and he moves his head slightly because he senses something is happening. Little Bill holds the pistols out to WW. LITTLE BILL Take it. -LRB- WW hesitates. -RRB- Go on, take a hold. Nervously WW accepts the gun as though it were hot. Little Bill pulls some keys out of a drawer and tosses them on the desk. LITTLE BILL Them's the keys. All you got ta do is shoot me an' you an' English Bob can ride out free as birds. WW -LRB- shaking. -RRB- Is. is it. loaded? LITTLE BILL Would n't be no good if it was n't. You got to cock it though. WW looks nervously over at English Bob and Bob's eye says `` Do it, do it, do it.'' WW gulps and he pulls back the hammer and stands up and looks at Bob again and Bob is nodding `` Yes, yes, do it.'' LITTLE BILL An' you got to point it. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Go on, point it. Slowly, with trembling hand WW raises the gun and points it at Little Bill who looks calmly back at him. LITTLE BILL All you got ta do is pull on the trigger, mister. WW gulps and sweat comes off his forehead and he points the shaking gun and Bob nods `` Yes'' and WW bites his lip and then. WW lowers the gun slowly. He ca n't do it. He wipes his forehead. LITTLE BILL Hot, ai n't it? -LRB- reaching for the gun. -RRB- You never even put your finger on the trigger. Little Bill is reaching for the pistol but WW has a frightening idea and instead of giving up the pistol he steps backward toward the cell. WW What if. what if I gave it to. him. -LRB- and he indicates Bob. -RRB- Little Bill's eyes narrow like slits and tension fills the air. LITTLE BILL Go ahead. give it to him. English Bob's eye lights up in anticipation and he tries to get up on one elbow. WW -LRB- gulping. -RRB- R - r - r - really? You r - r - really w - w - want? LITTLE BILL -LRB- like ice. -RRB- Give it to him. English Bob is sitting up and reaching for the gun and his eye is on Little Bill and WW reaches out with a shaking hand and ENGLISH BOB'S hand just touches the gun and. Little Bill drops his right hand to his own gun and grips the butt and. ENGLISH BOB hesitates, his gaze locked with LITTLE BILL'S and the two men eye each other. Then, furious, ENGLISH BOB withdraws his hand. empty. LITTLE BILL -LRB- grinning. -RRB- Guess he do n't want it, Mister Beauchamp. Little Bill accepts the pistol from the trembling WW and, looking straight into ENGLISH BOB'S angry eye, LITTLE BILL ejects five cartridges from the chambers of the pistol. LITTLE BILL You was right not to take it, Bob. I would of killed you. WW collapses into a chair and wipes sweat from his brow. LITTLE BILL'S VOICE o.s. We could use some rain, eh, Mister Beauchamp?", "EXT. CAMP - DAY BARRRRROOM! THUNDER, LIGHTNING, RAIN IN SHEETS and the Albino mare rearing and screaming and Munny landing in the mud. MUNNY You fucking no - good goddamn shit - faced pig fucking dirty whore. It is daylight but the rain is so thick you ca n't see more than five feet and Munny crawls up out of the mud wearing a slicker and looking like hell, already full of remorse for his outburst. Ned rides up out of the rain leading Munny's horse and Munny tries to mount again. MUNNY I did n't mean it, old gal. The Albino rears but Ned is helping and he holds the horse and then grabs the seat of Munny's muddy pants and half shoves him into the saddle. Up ahead, barely visible in the rain, The Kid is holding back his horse impatiently. THE KID Let's go.", "EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - DAY A LITTLE LATER. RAIN. Ned and Munny riding side by side through the downpour and The Kid twenty yards ahead, barely visible. Munny looks like shit and Ned looks at him with concern, deliberates, then reaches into his saddle bag and pulls out a bottle of whiskey and offers it. NED I brung this for when we had to kill them fellows. -LRB- Munny glances at it and looks away. -RRB- I guess we could use some now. MUNNY Not for me. I do n't touch it no more. NED -LRB- exasperated. -RRB- God damn it, Bill, it's rainin'. MUNNY I know it's rainin'. -LRB- looking ahead. -RRB- Give the Kid a drink, why dontcha? Ned takes a long pull on the bottle, re - corks it and puts it in his saddle bag. He looks sympathetically at his friend hunched unhappily in his saddle. NED You think the Kid really killed five men? Munny just shrugs and looks back at the trail and keeps riding. MUNNY -LRB- after a while. -RRB- No. NED What he was talkin' about. how them deputies had the drop on you an' Pete. MUNNY Yeah? NED I remember how there was three of them deputies you shot. not two. MUNNY -LRB- dismissing it. -RRB- Well, I ai n't like that no more, Ned. I ai n't no crazy, killin' fool. NED -LRB- after a while. -RRB- You still think it'll be easy shootin' them cowboys? Munny shrugs and looks straight ahead into the rain. Of course, it wo n't be easy. and they both know it. MUNNY If we do n't drown first.", "EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY A blazing hot day and English Bob's battered face staring out of the mud wagon which is being loaded up by Chandler. In the distance the train whistle toots eagerly. LITTLE BILL -LRB- to Chandler. -RRB- Give them keys to the conductor and tell him he can loose the cuffs off of Bob soon as he's out of the county. Little Bill is standing beside the mud wagon and WW is standing next to him and a little knot of onlookers forms a semi circle. ENGLISH BOB -LRB- talking through closed teeth. -RRB- Mmmm pistols. LITTLE BILL Oh yeah. Little Bill unwraps a cloth and produces the ivory - handled peacemakers. smashed and hopelessly bent. And he gives them to Bob and looks him in his one furious eye. LITTLE BILL I guess you know, Bob, how if I see you again I'll just start shootin' right off an' figure it's self - defense. That's fine with English Bob. He glares back and the two men understand each other perfectly and then Chandler whips the horses and the wagon starts to roll. LITTLE BILL I ai n't stealin' your biographer, Bob. Stayin' on was his idea. And WW stands there beside Little Bill and gives Bob a shit - eating look and English Bob just glares and rolls away.", "EXT. MAIN STREET - MOMENTS LATER As the mud wagon rattles down the dusty street English Bob sticks his horrid swollen face out the window and screams insanely : ENGLISH BOB A plague on you! A plague on the whole stinking lot of you! You're uncivilized vermin, without laws or morals! You're worthless savages! I curse you! You're cursed! Cursed! The whores, fanning themselves on Greeley's porch, stare dumbfounded as the madman rolls by raving. Then he's gone. All that remains is the sound of his ranting, diminishing in the distance and a cloud of dust settling on the hot street. Sitting next to Faith on the porch, Alice fans herself grimly. ALICE Nobody's gon na come. FAITH Huh? ALICE After what Little Bill done to the Englishman. Skinny steps out the door and blinks in the dazzling light and wipes his face. SKINNY Delilah, them tables ai n't clean. Ca n't you get'em clean? Delilah gets up and goes in, angrily brushing past Skinny in the doorway. SKINNY -LRB- after her. -RRB- Well, if you'd cover up your face, maybe somebody'd want to fuck with you an' you would n't have to do all the cleanin'. -LRB- to the others. -RRB- Whaddaya call them things that cover the face? FAITH -LRB- looking straight ahead. -RRB- A veil. SKINNY Yeah, a veil. Christ it's hot. There is a distant roll of thunder and Skinny looks off at the Southern horizon where storm clouds are gathering. ALICE -LRB- listlessly. -RRB- Rain's coming. SKINNY -LRB- emphatically. -RRB- Thank God.", "EXT. TRAIN TRACKS - DAY THUNDER AND LIGHTNING and the train chugging through the storm. A second flash of lightning reveals three drenched riders near the tracks and one of them is having trouble controlling his white horse. Of course it is Munny and as he tries to hold the shying mare a flash of lightning lights up a passing railroad coach and Munny gets just a glimpse of a strange battered face in the window. The Kid is handing the whiskey bottle back to Ned and Ned offers it to Munny again. NED You sure, Bill? And Munny just shakes his head and wipes rain from his eyes.", "EXT. SOUTH ROAD - NIGHT NIGHT AND RAIN and The Kid is chuckling drunkenly and handing the bottle back to Ned who looks at it and tilts it way back. They are riding along the South road in the dark. THE KID -LRB- cheerfully. -RRB- I left you some. about a drop. Munny is hunched in his saddle, shivering, his teeth chattering. NED You alright, Bill? Munny does n't look alright. He looks like shit. looks sick. He does n't answer and Ned looks worried and takes the last drops from the bottle and tosses it in the road near the ordinance sign which is too dark to read.", "INT. ALICE'S ROOM - NIGHT Alice's room at night, the sound of rain beating hard on the roof. Alice is playing cards with Silky and Faith when Little Sue sticks her head in the door. LITTLE SUE A fella's askin' for you, Alice. ALICE Tonight? You ai n't joshin'? LITTLE SUE -LRB- looking behind her. -RRB- This way, mister. Silky and Faith pick up the cards to leave. ALICE Must be randy as hell to come out in this shit. And then they look up because a water soaked young man with very few front teeth and a ragged stubble is standing in the doorway squinting. It is the Kid.", "INT. LITTLE BILL'S HOUSE - DAY DRIP DRIP DRIP. A chamber pot on the floor of Little Bill's house collecting water from a leak in the roof and Little Bill is walking about in stocking feet, making a speech. LITTLE BILL `` No,'' he says, `` you are wrong Little Bill. That there is no Curly J but a bobbed J.'' He had worked it over, you see? WW Beauchamp is sitting in a chair scratching frantic notes with a quill pen. and a splotch of water hits the paper and he glances up because there is a new leak. LITTLE BILL -LRB- continuing, oblivious. -RRB- `` Jim,'' I says, `` You are a liar and a horsethief.'' Now - when he seen them others was n't gon na help him none - he started in to cryin' and sobbin' and sayin'. -LRB- mimicking. -RRB- `` Do n't kill me, Little Bill, do n't kill me, please do n't kill me.'' WW is trying to write and trying to slide away from the leak without interrupting Little Bill who is delighting in his own narration, oblivious to the new leak. LITTLE BILL -LRB- in his own voice. -RRB- `` Well, Jim,'' I says, `` it makes me sick to see a man struttin' around and packin' two pistols an' a Henry rifle and cryin' like a baby.'' WW Did you. kill him? LITTLE BILL No,. but I ca n't abide them kind. an' you will find a lot of them in the saloons. tramps an' drunk teamsters an' crazy miners. sportin' pistols like they was bad men, but not having no sand nor character. not even bad character. WW is really getting wet and he is moving the chair. LITTLE BILL -LRB- on his own wave length. -RRB- I do not like assassins an' men of low character like your friend English Bob. but Bob ai n't no coward who will cry to your face an' then. WW Uh. Sheriff. Uh. LITTLE BILL Huh? Oh. -LRB- looking up sadly. -RRB- Another one, huh? Shit, I guess I'm clean out of receptacles. WW -LRB- trying a joke with effort. -RRB- Maybe you should. hang the carpenter. LITTLE BILL -LRB- jaw dropping. -RRB- What? WW -LRB- uneasy. -RRB- Uh. hang the. uh. carpenter. I. There is a sudden loud knocking on the door and Bill turns and goes to the door. LITTLE BILL On a night like this? What the hell? Opening the door he reveals Charlie Hecker, wearing a slicker and shedding water like a waterfall. CHARLEY Three seedy lookin' fellas come inta town, Bill. They're down to Greely's an' at least two of'em got guns.", "INT. BAR ROOM - NIGHT CLOSE on the whiskey bottle and Ned is pouring the bright liquid into his glass and Munny is mesmerized by the dazzling highlights. The two of them are sitting at a table in Greely's smokey, dimly lit bar room and the rain is beating on the roof and there is a checker game at a table fifteen feet away attended by Germany Joe Schultz, Tom Luckinbill, a farmer, Eggs Anderson, the local restauranteur and Paddy McGee the cooper. All of them are sneaking occasional, furtive glances at the strangers, as is Fatty who is talking to Skinny at the bar. NED in hell's takin' The Kid so long? You suppose he. -LRB- seeing Munny. -RRB- Jesus, Bill you look like shit. Munny looks dazed and shakes his head to clear it. MUNNY You. you remember Eagle Hendershot? NED -LRB- startled. -RRB- Huh? Uh. yeah. MUNNY I seen him. NED He's dead, Bill. MUNNY His head was all busted open so's you could see the inside. NED Jesus, Bill, you got fever. Take a drink, will you? MUNNY -LRB- ignoring Ned. -RRB- Worms was comin' out. NED -LRB- getting up. -RRB- Listen, Bill, I'm gon na see what's takin' The Kid so long. Must be he's gettin' an advance offa them sportin' ladies. Ned starts for the back room, then stops and goes back. NED Say, Bill. If I was to. take a little while myself. I guess you. I guess you. I guess you do n't want to come? Munny shakes his head `` no'' and, as Ned departs for the Billiard Room, Munny stares vacantly at the whiskey bottle. LITTLE BILL'S VOICE o.s. me your pistol, mister. MUNNY -LRB- looking up, startled. -RRB- Huh? The big man in the dripping slicker is standing only ten feet away. Little Bill. And Little Bill is looking at him. Munny can feel everybody in the room staring at him. LITTLE BILL I says, `` You'll want to give over your pistol.'' Munny can see Charley moving slowly along the wall on the left for position. and Fatty is over on the right, Skinny beside him. and WW is by the door shifting nervously and the checker players are frozen in their seats and Munny can feel them all. watching him. MUNNY Uh, no. No, I ai n't drunk. LITTLE BILL -LRB- almost friendly. -RRB- Ordinance says you got to turn in your firearms to the County office day or night. I guess you did n't read it with the weather an' all. MUNNY -LRB- nervously. -RRB- Well. uh. I. I ai n't got no, uh, firearms. LITTLE BILL -LRB- not friendly any more. -RRB- Them friends of yours in the back, they carryin' pistols? MUNNY I. dunno. I mean, I guess not. No, they ai n't carryin' no guns. LITTLE BILL You're spillin' your whiskey, mister. MUNNY Like I said, I. LITTLE BILL What's your name? MUNNY Uh, William. uh. Hendershot. Little Sue looks timidly in from the Billiard Room, bites her lip, and retreats quickly. LITTLE BILL Well, Mister Hendershot, if I was to call you a no good sonofabitch an' a liar, an' if I was to say you shit in your pants on account of a cowardly soul. well, I guess then, you would show me your pistol right quick an' shoot me dead, ai n't that so? MUNNY -LRB- trapped. -RRB- I. I guess I might. but like I said, I ai n't armed. Little Bill pulls out his pistol and points it at Munny and makes a little motion with the barrel that means `` get up'' and Munny gets up. Little Bill steps close to him and reaches out with his left hand and opens Munny's coat revealing the Starr tucked in his belt. LITTLE BILL I guess you just carry it for snakes an' such. MUNNY Uh. yeah. Yeah. LITTLE BILL -LRB- cold. -RRB- There ai n't no snakes in here, Mister Hendershot. MUNNY Well, uh. it ai n't loaded. Little Bill takes the pistol out of Munny's belt and slowly and deliberately ejects five cartridges and he looks at Munny who is sweating and Munny just wants a way out. MUNNY Well, the powder's wet an. WHACK! Little Bill brings the muzzle of the gun across Munny's temple and blood flows and Munny goes to one knee and Little Bill kicks him hard, WHUMP! LITTLE BILL -LRB- turning to WW. -RRB- Mister Beauchamp, this here is the sort of trash I was speakin' of. Munny is struggling to his feet and staggering weak - kneed to the table where he grabs the whiskey bottle and breaks it off and turns groggily to face Little Bill. Little Bill, unperturbed, advances on him and when Munny strikes desperately with the bottle, Little Bill blocks his blow easily and slams him hard with the muzzle of the pistol and Munny goes down again. LITTLE BILL -LRB- to WW. -RRB- You will find these kind in the saloons of your prosperous communities. -LRB- WHUMP, he kicks Munny. -RRB- But you will not find none of them in Big Whiskey. Munny is on the floor on all fours, trying gamely to get up.", "EXT. ALICE'S ROOM - NIGHT Ned pushing The Kid out the window of Alice's room and The Kid is n't fully dressed and neither is Ned but he pushes him frantically into the rainy night anyway and Alice is urging them on and Little Sue looks ready to wet her pants. ALICE -LRB- to Ned. -RRB- Hurry. -LRB- to Little Sue. -RRB- You know what to say to Little Bill? Little Sue nods `` yes'' but she is speechless with terror and Alice hands Ned's boots out the window to him.", "EXT. ALICE'S WINDOW - NIGHT Outside the window, NIGHT, RAIN, and Ned and The Kid trying to get dressed in the mud and Alice sticks her head out the window. ALICE You got to look sharp for that old oak. You miss the oak an' you ai n't gon na find it. NED -LRB- to The Kid. -RRB- Never mind your shirt, get them boots on. Ned is trying to get his own boots on and he goes down on his ass in the mud. ALICE The roof ai n't much but. THE KID What about Bill? What we gon na do about. NED Come on, Kid. I hope them horses is still there.", "INT. BAR ROOM - NIGHT Munny crawling along the floor of the bar room, covered with blood, heading for the door. LITTLE BILL Let the man out, WW. He is desiring to leave the hospitality of Big Whiskey behind him. Munny is crawling past WW's legs and WW looks down at the miserable semi - conscious creature and he sees clearly the left hand and the three fingers as they fight for traction and then WW steps to the door and opens it and Munny crawls into the rain and the night.", "INT. ALICE'S ROOM - NIGHT SLAP! Alice gets Little Bill's big hand across the face. SKINNY Easy, Little Bill, she's got ta work, she's got ta turn a dollar a time. Little Bill glares at Skinny. They are in Alice's room and Charley is there and Little Sue and WW and it is pretty crowded. LITTLE BILL -LRB- to Alice. -RRB- If they was just here for the fuckin', how come they lit out the back window? ALICE -LRB- defiant. -RRB- On account of they seen you was beatin' on their friend. LITTLE SUE -LRB- bravely. -RRB- Th - th - they just c - c - come for the b - b - billiards, Little Bill, honest. LITTLE BILL -LRB- snorting. -RRB- Billiards! -LRB- to Little Sue. -RRB- An' they was just passin' through? LITTLE SUE Th - th - they was g - g - goin to F - f - fort B - b - buford t - t - to. ALICE -LRB- nasty. -RRB- You just kicked the shit out of a innocent man, you big asshole. LITTLE BILL Innocent of what?", "EXT. SOUTH END OF TOWN - NIGHT The south end of town, NIGHT, RAIN and the Albino mare walking aimlessly with Munny slumped in the saddle and then two riders come from between two shadowy buildings and it is The Kid and Ned and they come alongside Munny, one on each side of him and Ned lifts his slumped head up and looks at the battered face and winces and says with his eyes what The Kid says with his tongue. THE KID Oh, Jesus. Oh, Jesus.", "INT. SHED - NIGHT CANDLELIGHT, Ned and The Kid, and Ned is sewing Munny's face with a needle and thread. NED Hold him, dammit. It is some sort of straw - filled shed and they have stuck a candle on a board. THE KID -LRB- sickened. -RRB- Jesus. -LRB- pause. -RRB- You done this before? NED -LRB- working. -RRB- Plenty of times. Munny is only semi - conscious and The Kid is holding his face still. THE KID His pistol must of jammed. NED Move the candle closer, I ca n't see. THE KID He would n't of took no beating like that if it had n't of jammed. He would n't just give it over an' not shoot no one.", "INT. SHED - DAY DAYLIGHT in the shed and Munny's face, waxy yellow, crude stitching, hideous swelling eyes vacant, breathing heavy. He is lying in the straw and The Kid is looking down at him with distaste. The Kid is only partly dressed. THE KID He do n't look so good. The sound of the rain is different : it's still coming but it is n't a storm any more. The shed is an irregular shelter because one wall and various parts of the roof have collapsed and the woods outside are clearly visible. Silky is sitting on some straw straightening her clothes and Ned and Alice are climbing out of a corner where they have obviously been at it and are in various states of dress. THE KID -LRB- to Alice. -RRB- He did n't even pull his pistol, huh? NED -LRB- irritated. -RRB- He ai n't as tough as you, Kid. THE KID Well, I guess I woulda at least pulled my pistol an. NED Shit, Kid, you pulled your pistol. right outta the lady an' out the back window. THE KID That was your idea, I wanted to. SILKY -LRB- getting up and smooth - ing herself. -RRB- We got ta go. THE KID Huh? Already? Hey, I'm near ready for another advance. SILKY You're gon na use it all up before you get it. ALICE -LRB- about to leave. -RRB- No more advances on what you ai n't done yet. THE KID Well, we're just waitin' on the weather. If the weather breaks tomorrow we could. NED -LRB- to Alice. -RRB- We're gon na need more food. at least three days worth. THE KID Three days? We could kill'em tomorrow. NED -LRB- a sharp look at The Kid. -RRB- I do n't kill nobody without him. -LRB- indicating Munny. -RRB- THE KID -LRB- frustrated. -RRB- We do n't need him. The two of us could do it. The horses are partly under the roof and Alice and Silky are leading theirs out and nobody is paying attention to The Kid. THE KID -LRB- petulantly. -RRB- He ai n't nothin' but a broken down pig farmer. ALICE -LRB- mounting her horse, to Ned. -RRB- One of us'll bring food in the morning. I guess you'll want some whiskey. NED An' medicine if you got it. The Kid walks over to the edge of the broken wall and from the other corner Munny moans loudly and then screams. MUNNY Ohhhhh, ooohhhh no. No, I did n't do nothin'. Ned hurries over to Munny and The Kid is left there with the two Whores who are both mounted now and The Kid is embarrassed. THE KID Do n't it make you sick, hearin' him like that? -LRB- The Whores turn their horses. -RRB- Do n't you ladies worry none. Me an' Ned, we'll kill those two fuckers. And The Kid has picked up two pieces of paper that the whores gave them earlier and they are charcoal sketches, one of Davey Bunting and the other of Quick Mike and they are pretty fair likenesses.", "INT. SHED - NIGHT CLOSE on a lantern hanging from a beam in the shed and it is night again and the rain has stopped though you can still hear water dripping from the eaves. THE KID It was a lot of shit what my uncle told me, huh? They are playing cards on the straw floor, Ned and The Kid and Ned does n't look up from his cards. NED Depends what he told you. -LRB- pause. -RRB- About Bill, you mean? THE KID All of it. About him, an' you an' Uncle Pete. about robbin' the Rock Island Pacific. an' about them Missouri Banks. NED We done that stuff. THE KID Well I guess Bill Munny was n't no fearless killer an' bank robber like he said. In the other corner of the room Munny gives a loud moan and both men look at him and then back to their cards. NED Kid, it ai n't gon na mean nothin' to you, but the roof I built on my house, it do n't have a leak in it. not one. -LRB- The Kid looks perplexed. -RRB- Most folks think a school house is the first sign of civilizin'. but I say it's a good roof. Well, that amazes The Kid, being stuck here with these train robber - bad men and now this shit about roofs and he just stares. MUNNY'S VOICE o.s. Claudia. No. Oh, Jesus, Claudia, ohh. Ned gets up and takes the lantern over to where Munny is lying and kneels beside him. Munny looks ghastly, at death's door. NED Claudia. ai n't here, Bill. MUNNY -LRB- reaching. -RRB- Ned. Is that you, Ned? -LRB- holding Ned's arm. -RRB- Ned, I seen. death. NED Easy, Bill. MUNNY I seen the angel of death Ned, an' I seen the river. -LRB- panicked. -RRB- He's a snake, he got. snake eyes. NED Who, Bill? Who got snake eyes? MUNNY The angel. the angel of death. I'm scared, Ned. Ned, I'm gon na die. NED Easy, Bill, easy. The Kid has walked over and is watching and it fascinates and scares him and he watches and swallows hard. MUNNY I seen her. I seen Claudia too. NED -LRB- soothing. -RRB- Well, that's good now, ai n't it, Bill? Seein' Claudia an? MUNNY She was all covered with worms. Oh, Ned, I'm scared of dyin'. The Kid ca n't takes any more and he turns and walks away and Ned tries to comfort Munny and Munny grabs him and pulls him close. MUNNY Ned. do n't tell nobody. do n't tell the kids. do n't tell'em none of. none of the things I done. And Ned has tears in his eyes and Munny's eyes are staring and he is seeing something horrible and we", "EXT. SHED - DAY A VISION, DAYLIGHT and the horse horribly bloody, screaming silently in agony while the sound is the sound of night and the shed and the rain dripping but that does n't diminish the agony of the bloody animal as the whip falls on the head and the eyes and we see the YOUNG MAN cruelly wielding the whip. It is Munny fifteen years earlier and it is a picture of unbelievable cruelty and viciousness. because that is what he was like and what he remembers.", "INT. SHED - NIGHT NIGHT in the shed, a little moonlight coming in through the open wall. The lantern is out and the sound is the sound of Munny's labored breathing and Ned and The Kid are in their blankets. THE KID He's gon na die, ai n't he? NED Maybe. THE KID Well, suppose he does? NED -LRB- after a pause. -RRB- We'll bury him. THE KID That ai n't what I mean. NED You mean, am I gon na help you kill them cowboys? THE KID I ca n't spot'em myself but you could. That red - haired one, you could spot a half - mile off, I bet. NED An' if I spot'em? THE KID I'll ride up close an' shoot'em! NED Just like that? THE KID I told you I'm a damn killer. I done it before. -LRB- pause, you can hear Munny breathing. -RRB- I'm more killer than him. NED Yeah? THE KID Hell, yeah.", "INT. SHED - DAY DAYLIGHT and the cut - whore's face. Delilah is leaning over Munny wiping his brow. He is lying in the straw looking up at her and he looks like shit. his face ghastly pale and stubbled and covered with horrible cuts and bad stitching. but his eyes are clear. MUNNY I thought. you was an angel. DELILAH -LRB- embarrassed, getting up. -RRB- You ai n't dead. Delilah goes over to her horse and gets some packages out of the saddle bags. Munny tries to sit up weakly. MUNNY Some big guy beat the shit out of me. -LRB- feeling his sore face. -RRB- I guess I must look a lot like you, huh? DELILAH -LRB- angry, hurt. -RRB- You do n't look nothin' like me, mister. MUNNY I did n't mean no offense. -LRB- she does n't answer. -RRB- I guess you're the one them cowboys cut up. -LRB- no answer. -RRB- Ned an' The Kid, my partners, are they? DELILAH -LRB- coldly. -RRB- They went out scouting when they saw your fever broke. MUNNY Scouting? DELILAH On the Bar T. looking for. them. MUNNY Oh. How long I been here? DELILAH -LRB- still cold. -RRB- Three days. Are you hungry? MUNNY Three days? I must be.", "EXT. WOODS NEAR SHED - DAY CLOSE on robins, four of them in the woods near the shed and Munny is watching them where he sits wolfing chicken hungrily, his back against the shed. Delilah is watching him eat. MUNNY I thought I was gone. See them birds? Most times I would n't even notice them birds much. But I'm noticin''em real good'cause I thought I was dead. DELILAH I brought your hat. You. left it down at Greely's. MUNNY That big guy lookin' for me? As he looks over at her Munny's eye falls briefly on her exposed ankle and Delilah feels the look. DELILAH Little Bill? He thinks you went North. Munny ca n't help it and his eye flicks back to the ankle. DELILAH Are you really going to kill them? MUNNY -LRB- unenthusiastically. -RRB- Yeah, I guess. -LRB- suddenly. -RRB- There's still a payment, ai n't there? She nods and she moves so that more ankle is showing, but Munny's eye is drawn to her breasts as she moves, then he looks away quickly, guiltily and they sit there silently until. DELILAH Them other two, they been takin' advances on the payment. MUNNY Advances? He ca n't help looking at her body and she knows it. DELILAH -LRB- shyly. -RRB- Free ones. Her body is getting to him. MUNNY -LRB- stupidly. -RRB- Free ones? DELILAH Alice an' Silky gave them. free ones. MUNNY -LRB- understanding, embarrassed. -RRB- Oh. Yeah. DELILAH -LRB- shy, timid. -RRB- You want. a free one. MUNNY -LRB- looking away, embarrassed. -RRB- Me? No. No, I guess not. And Delilah is hurt. crushed. She gets up and covers it by picking up the remains of the chicken and Munny is too embarrassed to look at her. DELILAH -LRB- covering her hurt. -RRB- I did n't mean. with me. Alice and Silky, they'll give you one. if you want. MUNNY I. I guess not. -LRB- unusually perceptive suddenly. -RRB- I did n't mean I did n't want one'cause of you bein' cut up. I did n't mean that. Delilah keeps her back to him. MUNNY -LRB- trying to get up. -RRB- It ai n't that at all. You're a beautiful woman. What I said before, how I might look like you. I did n't mean you was ugly like me, hell no. I only meant how we both had scars. He is standing weakly, supporting himself on the wall and his speech is so sincere and Delilah wants to believe it. MUNNY You're a beautiful woman an'. if I was to want a free one, I guess I'd want you more than them others. It ai n't. See. I ca n't have no free one on account of my wife. DELILAH Your wife? MUNNY Yeah. See? DELILAH -LRB- after a pause. -RRB- I admire that, you being true to your wife. I've seen a lot of. of men. who were n't. MUNNY -LRB- pleased and embarrassed. -RRB- Yeah, I guess. DELILAH She back in Kansas? MUNNY Uh. yeah. Yeah. She's uh. watchin' over the little ones. And Munny gives her what for him is his best social smile. sort of like a pig strangling.", "EXT. BOX CANYON - DAY VIEW on the BAWLING CALF and the red hot iron coming out of the fire. It is midday in the box canyon and the four cowboys, Texas Slim, Johnny Foley, Lippy Macgregor and Davey Bunting are branding strays and Johnny has the calf down ready for the pigging string but the calf kicks loose and knocks Johnny into the fire and the other three cowboys are guffawing, their sweaty faces full of the camaraderie of hardworking men who might get irritable by the end of the day but not yet. And then like a flash, still laughing, young Davey is on his paint and riding like hell after the stray and it is beautiful to watch because he and the paint are like one. CRACK! A rifle shot and the pony does a violent somersault and Davey goes over in a spray of dirt and fifty yards away Texas Slim, Lippy and Johnny stare in frozen horror. The downed pony spurts blood from his nostrils, and Davey's right leg is pinned under the dying paint's flank and they are maybe fifteen yards from the edge of the canyon and Davey's first thought is the pony. DAVEY Oh, Jesus, fella. -LRB- shouting. -RRB- Boys, my pony's hurt. And turning he sees the three cowboys standing fifty yards away, frozen in their tracks. DAVEY Boys. And they suddenly turn and run away toward some rocks and it is only then that the terror hits Davey and in a sudden panic he tries to get free of the horse. DAVEY Oh, Jesus, boys, my leg's broke. I'm pinned, boys.", "EXT. BOULDERS - DAY VIEW on Ned, his face covered with sweat, the Spencer against his cheek and he is crouched among some boulders up the canyon wall about three hundred yards from Davey and Munny is looking over Ned's shoulder and The Kid is trying to see, too, squinting desperately, but he ca n't see shit. MUNNY Finish him, Ned. THE KID He ai n't dead? You did n't get him? MUNNY -LRB- to the Kid, without turning. -RRB- He got the boy's horse. Looking down the barrel of the rifle Ned can see Davey struggling frantically to get free of the horse and it is an easy shot and Ned is sweating, his hand is shaking and he can hear Munny's voice. MUNNY'S VOICE o.s. Better get him ` fore he gets clear of the horse, Ned. And Ned is shaking and CRACK, he fires.", "EXT. BOX CANYON - DAY VIEW on Davey and dust kicking up a foot away and the extra terror gives him the strength to pull free of the horse. JOHNNY'S VOICE o.s. -LRB- distant, shouting. -RRB- Assassin assholes. You dirty asshole sonsabitches.", "EXT. BOULDERS - DAY Munny and Ned and The Kid and Ned is shaking. THE KID Did you kill him? MUNNY He's clear of the horse, Ned. Better get him.", "EXT. BOX CANYON - DAY VIEW on Davey and he is crawling clear of the horse but his leg is broken and it's hard and he looks toward the rocks where his friends are hiding sixty yards away. TEXAS SLIM'S VOICE -LRB- from behind rock. -RRB- Behind you, Davey. Go for them rocks behind you. And turning, Davey can see a couple of boulders only fifteen yards away that will provide cover.", "EXT. BOULDERS - DAY Ned aiming and shaking. THE KID What happened? He ai n't dead? What's goin' on? MUNNY -LRB- to Ned. -RRB- If he gets behind them rocks we ai n't gon na get him. not without we go down there. THE KID What rocks? Why do n't you shoot? What's goin' on? JOHNNY'S VOICE o.s. Fuckin' bushwhackin' assholes. And looking down the barrel Ned can see Davey crawling for the rocks and it is an easy shot and he ca n't do it and he looks up at Munny and the agony in his eyes says it all. THE KID Ai n't you gon na shoot? Is he dead? Munny grabs the rifle and Ned moves aside and slumps against a rock and Munny looks down the barrel and aims. MUNNY I ai n't much of a shot.", "EXT. BOX CANYON - DAY Davey crawling and CRACK! The dust kicks up eight feet away. He is ten yards from the boulders and it is agony to crawl. LIPPY'S VOICE o.s. Keep goin', Davey boy. CRACK! Dust puffs up three feet from Davey's head.", "EXT. BOULDERS - DAY Munny, the rifle at his cheek and The Kid leaning frantically over his shoulder, trying to see. MUNNY Shit! THE KID What happened, did you hit him? BANG! BANG! Pistol shots from below and the bullets ping harmlessly among the rocks. THE KID They're shootin' at us. JOHNNY'S VOICE o.s. We'll kill you, you assholes. Munny is aiming, he can see Davey, nearer shelter now. CRACK! He fires and sees the dust spurt near Davey. LIPPY'S VOICE o.s. You assholes. you stinking ambushing assholes. THE KID Did you get him? Where is he?", "EXT. BOX CANYON - DAY Davey crawling frantically and CRACK! dust explodes only inches from his head and he is pulling himself frantically and he is only three yards from safety.", "EXT. BOULDERS - DAY CLOSE on Munny and he is sweating. MUNNY How many shots I got, Ned? Ned is sitting there dazed, staring vacantly. BANG, BANG, BANG, return fire pings off the rocks. MUNNY -LRB- aiming. -RRB- HOW MANY LEFT GODDAMIT? NED Two. And looking down the rifle Munny can see Davey's head disappear behind the boulder and CRACK, Munny fires again. THE KID Did you get him? BANG BANG BANG the pistol fire. TEXAS SLIM'S VOICE o.s. Keep goin', Davey. Munny is cocking and aiming for his last shot and he can see Davey's legs sticking out from the rock and they're not moving. THE KID Tell me. Christ. JOHNNY'S VOICE o.s. murderin' bastards. LIPPY'S VOICE o.s. fuckin' skunks. CRACK, Munny fires.", "EXT. BOX CANYON - DAY VIEW ON dust puffing as Davey's legs disappear behind the boulder, and there is a low groan.", "EXT. BOULDERS - DAY VIEW on Munnt sitting back against the rock, exhausted, covered with sweat and he holds the rifle up to The Kid. MUNNY Better re - load it. THE KID You missed him? You did n't? MUNNY I got him. DAVEY'S VOICE o.s. -LRB- scared, hurt. -RRB- Jesus, boys, I'm shot. they shot me. TEXAS SLIM'S VOICE o.s. You tramps. you murderin' tramps. THE KID -LRB- shaken. -RRB- He ai n't killed. MUNNY -LRB- washed out. -RRB- Maybe, maybe not. Got him in the gut, I think.", "EXT. BOX CANYON - DAY Davey lying behind the boulder and the whole front of him is soaking in bright red blood and the sun is beating down. DAVEY Oh Jesus. I'm hurt. I'm hurt. They shot me.", "EXT. BOULDERS - DAY Munny sitting there, his back against the rock, staring vacantly and Ned looks the same. THE KID -LRB- derisively. -RRB- Them assholes ca n't hit us up here. Just wastin' bullets. The cowboys must realize that because they stop shooting and you can hear Davey moaning and Ned and Munny just sit there and sweat and The Kid is pacing up and down. THE KID You think he's gon na die? You think we killed him? Ned and Munny look into each other's eyes. DAVEY'S VOICE o.s. Help me, boys, help me. MUNNY -LRB- flatly. -RRB- Yup. we killed him, I guess. DAVEY'S VOICE o.s. Oh, Jesus, help me boys, I do n't want to die. I do n't want to die. THE KID -LRB- rattled, shouting. -RRB- SHOULD N'T OF CUT UP NO WOMAN, YOU ASSHOLE.", "EXT. BOX CANYON - DAY Davey is lying there behind the boulder drenched in blood, looking up at the blazing noonday sun. DAVEY -LRB- shouting. -RRB- I'M DYIN', BOYS. He pauses then, and then he speaks in a normal voice, as though to himself, to express his amazement, to test reality. DAVEY I'm dyin'. -LRB- pause. -RRB- I'm dyin'. -LRB- shouting, panicked. -RRB- BOYS, I'M DYIN'!", "EXT. BOULDERS - DAY Munny sweating and looking up at the sun, and Ned staring vacantly. DAVEY'S VOICE o.s. I'm thirsty, Slim, Jesus, I'm thirsty. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Bring me a drink wo n't you, Slim? One drink, Slim. I'm dyin', Slim. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Boys, bring me a drink. it is getting to all three of them and Munny looks up at the sun and then Ned gets up and he walks over to a rock and he vomits. DAVEY'S VOICE o.s. One drink. please, boys. just one d. MUNNY -LRB- leaping up, shouting. -RRB- BRING HIM SOME GODDAMN WATER, YOU ASSHOLES. THE BOULDERS. Nothing happens, you ca n't tell if the cowboys are behind there or not. DAVEY'S VOICE o.s. Please boys. I'm shot in the gut. I'm bleedin'. bring me. MUNNY -LRB- shouting. -RRB- WILL YOU TAKE HIM A FUCKING DRINK FOR CHRIST SAKE! WE AI N'T GON NA SHOOT. There is a pause and Munny looks down at the boulders where the cowboys are hiding. TEXAS SLIM'S VOICE -LRB- from behind the boulder. -RRB- You ai n't gon na shoot? MUNNY No. And then, after a long moment, Munny sees Texas Slim come out from behind the boulder and run nervously toward the rock where Davey lies and he is carrying a canteen. JOHNNY'S VOICE o.s. Do n't you shoot him, you assholes. The Kid is trying to see but of course he ca n't. THE KID They takin' water? MUNNY Yeah. Munny is watching and he sees Texas Slim disappear behind the boulder where Davey is lying and there is a moment of silence. and then the voice, a scream of grief and anguish. TEXAS SLIM'S VOICE -LRB- from behind the boulder. -RRB- Oh, Jesus, Johnny, they've killed him. they've shot up his gut. oh Jesus, they've killed young Davey. oh, those murderin' bastards, they've killed our Davey. And The Kid spits in the dust and Ned wipes his forehead with his bandanna and Munny scuffs the dirt with his boot. HOOVES ON FLAT ROCK and the three riders, Munny, Ned and The Kid, are trotting their horses over a smooth slab of rock near a hill. They are silent, glum, then, THE KID When we gon na double back? MUNNY After a ways. NED -LRB- not looking at them. -RRB- Not me. Munny looks up sharply but Ned just looks straight ahead. NED I'm goin' on down to Kansas. MUNNY We got to kill this other one first. -LRB- Ned does n't answer. -RRB- Shit, Ned, if we're lucky, we could kill him by nightfall. or maybe tomorrow morning. Then we could head back, all three of us, with the money. Ned reins in his horse and Munny pulls up too and then The Kid. NED -LRB- looking him in the eye. -RRB- You want the Spencer, Bill? -LRB- he holds out the rifle. -RRB- MUNNY -LRB- lamely. -RRB- Shit, Ned, this ai n't the time to quit. THE KID You're gon na lose your share. If you do n't. MUNNY Shut up, Kid. Ned just holds out the rifle and after a moment Munny takes it and Ned takes a box of cartridges from his pocket and hands them over. NED I'll see you, Bill. See you, Kid. And he turns his horse and heads off across open country at a trot and Munny watches him go till he's about fifty yards away. MUNNY -LRB- shouting. -RRB- HOLD ON, NED. And Ned reins up and Munny gallops up to him and holds out the Spencer and the bullets. MUNNY I ai n't worth a shit with it. Ned takes the rifle, sheathes it, gives a curt nod and turns to go. MUNNY Me an' the Kid, we'll head over to the ranch an' as soon as we find him, we'll shoot him. Then we'll come back an' the three of us pick up the money an' head South together. NED Supposin' he do n't go to the ranch? MUNNY I'll bet anything he wo n't go to town nor he wo n't ride out on the range. Right off he'll hole up at the ranch. NED -LRB- turning away. -RRB- I ai n't waitin', Bill. -LRB- looking back. -RRB- I'll look in on your youngsters when I get back. MUNNY -LRB- calling after him. -RRB- Ned, do n't pay no mind to what the Kid said about the money. I'll bring your share along, hear? The Kid's full of shit, hear?", "EXT. LITTLE BILL'S HOUSE - DAY VIEW on the roof, late afternoon, and Little Bill is crawling around up there with a bucket of tar which he has got on his moustache and his face and he looks up because he hears the clatter of hooves. VIEW ON CHARLEY HECKLER Galloping his horse up to Little Bill's house and Charley is very excited and he swings off the horse in front of the porch and the porch is at once closer to completion and closer to collapse than last we saw it. CHARLEY -LRB- looking around, breathless. -RRB- Little Bill, Little Bill. LITTLE BILL'S VOICE o.s. Yeah. Charley looks up, startled and Little Bill is looking down at him over the eaves. LITTLE BILL -LRB- sheepish. -RRB- Makin' some repairs. CHARLEY -LRB- breathless. -RRB- The killed one of them cowboys.", "EXT. MAIN STREET - NIGHT NIGHT, CLOSE VIEW on torchlight flickering on Davey's waxy face and dead eyes as Eggs, Germany Joe and Paddy haul the blood - caked body from the back of a buckboard. WW is looking on queasily, taking notes, and behind him the street is alive. WIGGENS' VOICE o.s. an' Parsons said how he seen three men right after sun - up headed out East an' one was ridin' a old blue Morgan an' another was on a white mare, only he did n't. And only a few yards away from the buckboard, in front of the County Office, Little Bill is being besieged by Deputies and Townsmen. FATTY Amos over at the stable says to ask you if the County's payin' feed for ALL the horses or if. CHARLEY Witherspoon says he ai n't gon na sell us no more thirty - thirty shells without we pay. And the dogs, snarling, fangs bared, pulling at the leash and Tom Luckinbill is trying to keep control. TOM use the dogs then the county's got ta take responsibility for. LITTLE BILL -LRB- calmly. -RRB- Never mind about them horses, Fatty. Just you ride out to the Bar T an' make sure that other cowboy stays put an' do n't expose himself, hear?", "INT. ALICE'S ROOM - NIGHT Alice's room and the whores. They are sitting glumly in the dim light of a simple lamp. Little Sue is wiping tears away and Delilah is staring blankly. DELILAH -LRB- to no one in particular. -RRB- I did n't think they'd really do it. ALICE -LRB- nasty. -RRB- What did you think, they come clear up from Kansas to fuck us? DELILAH -LRB- vacantly. -RRB- That Kid. he's just a. boy. And that other one, Bill, being true to his wife. ALICE What wife? He do n't have no wife. DELILAH -LRB- shocked, hurt. -RRB- He said. ALICE I told you, he do n't have no wife, not aboveground, anyhow. Delilah just eats the pain raw and just then. SMASH! A rock comes through the window and you can hear someone shouting. VOICE OUTSIDE o.s. You fuckin' murderin' whores. And they all sit there stunned and then Alice recovers and gets up and goes to the window and hurls the rock back. ALICE -LRB- shouting. -RRB- HE HAD IT COMING! HE HAD IT COMING FOR WHAT HE DID. AND THAT OTHER ONE TOO. BOTH OF THEM. FOR WHAT THEY DONE.", "EXT. COUNTY OFFICE - NIGHT Little Bill and the crowd and the torches outside the County Office and suddenly there is a commotion and shouting and everybody turns North and. Fuzzy is riding into town at full gallop shouting at the top of his lungs. FUZZY We got one. We got one of them fuckers, we got one. Bystanders part as Fuzzy brings the horse up in front of the County Office and reins hard and addresses himself breathlessly to Little Bill. FUZZY We got one of them fuckers, Sheriff, out by Cow Creek, we. LITTLE BILL Alive? FUZZY Hell, yeah. A bunch of us Bar T boys went out lookin' on account of them killin' one of our own. We come across this fucker on a roan goin' South an'. LITTLE BILL He admit it? FUZZY No. but I guess he will soon enough. Had a Spencer rifle on him an' he was. LITTLE BILL Those cowboys messin' him up? FUZZY Uh. a little, maybe. LITTLE BILL -LRB- to Clyde. -RRB- You an' Andy get the hell out there. Find out where them other two went.", "EXT. OUTHOUSE - DAWN DAWN, the outhouse, birds chirping cheerily and the outhouse door opens and BUCK BARTHOL steps out and stretches luxuriously. VIEW on bushes and The Kid holding his nose. The bushes are right behind the outhouse and the stink is terrible. The Kid is crouched there and he is doing an elaborate pantomime of his suffering for Munny's benefit.", "INT. BUNKHOUSE - DAY VIEW on Buck coming into the bunkhouse. There is n't much light and the shadowy sleeping figures are more easily discernable by the snorts and snores they make than by their shapes. except for THIRSTY and Quick Mike who are sitting, half dressed at a table rolling cigarettes. THIRSTY See anythin' out there, Buck? BUCK Hell, yes I did. -LRB- Mike looks up nervously. -RRB- Seen about two hundred fellers packin' rifles. Fuckers got the place surrounded, says they want Quick Mike's ass. I says, `` How much?'' They says, `` About five.'' I says, `` Dollars?'' They says, `` Cents.'' I says, `` Sold.'' MIKE Well I ai n't worried I got protection. -LRB- he indicates a nearby bunk. -RRB- Fatty snoring on the bunk near Quick Mike.", "EXT. MAIN STREET - NIGHT CLOSE on Ned's face, nose bloodied, eye blackened, as he rides down the Main Street of Big Whiskey escorted by six cowboys -LRB- including Texas Slim, Johnny Foley and Lippy MacGregor -RRB- and Clyde and Andy. Ned's wrists are tied and he looks sullen and. scared. Little Bill and WW Beauchamp are standing on the porch of the County Office when the little group pulls up attended by numerous onlookers. Little Bill looks Ned over coolly as he addresses Clyde. LITTLE BILL He tell you where them others is? CLYDE Nope. LITTLE BILL He give'em names? CLYDE Did n't give us nothin' but his own name. Ned Roundtree. LITTLE BILL Well, Ned, you'll want to tell me an' Mister Beauchamp here all about them two villainous friends of yours, I guess. -LRB- to Clyde and Andy. -RRB- Bring him in, boys, for I will be glad to know the names and the whereabouts of those other two murdering sonsofbitches.", "EXT. OUTHOUSE - DAY VIEW on the mid day sun blazing from on high and an enormous farting sound. VIEW ON THE OUTHOUSE After a pause, another vigorous fart and then silence broken only by the buzzing of flies, and then the sound of newspaper and suddenly the door opens and Thirsty steps out and heads up toward the bunkhouse. VIEW ON THE KID In the bushes reacting to the smell and the flies are buzzing furiously. THE KID Sure is fuckin' ripe. I wish we'd get a breeze. Munny wipes sweat from his face and looks up at the blazing sun. MUNNY It's gon na get riper yet. THE KID You still think he's in there? MUNNY -LRB- his eyes on the bunkhouse. -RRB- Yeah, he's in there. THE KID Well, he's holding on to his shit like it was money. MUNNY He's in there. THE KID Tell me right off if you see him. MUNNY Yup. THE KID You. you ai n't gon na shoot him yourownself? MUNNY -LRB- tired of saying it. -RRB- You can shoot him. The Kid nods, satisfied, but he's keyed up something ferocious and his fingers play nervously with his pistol.", "INT. JAIL - DAY CLOSE on Ned's face jammed against the bars of the cell in the County Office. He has been tied to the bars outside the cell so that he is, more or less, spread - eagled in an upright position with his bare back exposed to Little Bill and Charley Hecker and WW Beauchamp. LITTLE BILL Now then, Ned. you an'. uh. Mister Quincy an' uh. What was that young feller's name? NED Tate. Elroy Tate. WW shakes his head at Little Bill and holds out his notebook for Little Bill to see. LITTLE BILL That ai n't what you said before, Ned. Little Bill empties hot coals from the bowl of his pipe on Ned's shoulders and Ned writhes and grots his teeth. NED Hellif it ai n't. LITTLE BILL -LRB- looking at WW's notes. -RRB- Before you said Elroy Quincy out of Medicine Hat an' Henry Tate out of Cheyenne. NED Fuck if I did. LITTLE BILL -LRB- refilling his pipe. -RRB- Charley, go bring them whores here that fucked these boys the night of the storm. CHARLEY Strawberry Alice an' Silky? LITTLE BILL Yeah. an' fetch a bullwhip out of the German's. Ned's face against the bars is covered with perspiration and etched with fear as he hears the door close behind Charley. LITTLE BILL -LRB- lighting his pipe. -RRB- Now, Ned. them whores are gon na lie different lies than you. an' when your lie ai n't the same as their lie. I ai n't gon na hurt no woman, I'm gon na hurt you. not gentle like I been doin' but. baaaad. Ned swallows hard and sweats and waits.", "INT. BUNKHOUSE - DAY CLOSE on cards. They are playing at the little table in the bunkhouse, Quick Mike, Buck, Thirsty, Fatty Rossiter and OLAF HARKEN and Quick Mike does n't even have a pair and tosses his cards down in disgust and walks over to his bunk and starts to put on his boots. BUCK -LRB- to Mike. -RRB- Where you goin'? QUICK MIKE Take a shit. FATTY -LRB- he has two kings. -RRB- Lemmee finish this hand, will you? QUICK MIKE You gon na protect me while I take a shit? Quick Mike walks over to a peg and hangs a gunbelt over his bare shoulder. BUCK You could get bushwhacked. QUICK MIKE -LRB- heading for the door. -RRB- I'll fart on'em. THIRSTY -LRB- starting to get up. -RRB- I'll go with him. QUICK MIKE You could wipe my ass, Thirsty. THIRSTY -LRB- sitting down. -RRB- Hell with him. Man ai n't polite, he oughta get shot.", "EXT. OUTHOUSE - DAY The Kid in the bushes and he hears the door slamming shut up at the bunkhouse and he squints anxiously. THE KID -LRB- whispering. -RRB- Is it him? MUNNY -LRB- watching Mike. -RRB- Yup. The Kid is beside himself, his throat goes dry and he gulps for air and he brings the hammer back on his pistol and squints anxiusly. Mike out of focus approaching from The Kid's POV and gradually Mike comes into focus walking closer and we VIEW ON THE KID Sweating, tensed for action and Munny looks over at him. MUNNY -LRB- whispering. -RRB- He's yours, Kid. Can you get him? And The Kid is biting his lip and does n't answer and Quick Mike is very close and The Kid brings up his pistol and gulps and does n't shoot and then it is too late because Mike has entered the outhouse. Munny is disgusted and he cocks the shotgun to do it himself. The Kid is walking on eggshells approaching the door of the outhouse, pistol in his right hand and he reaches his left hand to open the door but he is hesitant and. Munny sees Fatty Rossiter step casually out of the bunkhouse and Munny raises the shotgun and Fatty sees The Kid and screams. FATTY ASSASSINS, BOYS, ASSASSINS! BAWHOOM! Munny lets go with the shotgun and Fatty dives back into the bunkhouse and. The Kid is startled and looks over his shoulder. MUNNY SHOOT HIM, KID! and The Kid grabs the door with his left hand and opens it and there is Mike sitting on the crapper astonished and one hand is on his holstered pistol but he's frozen and The Kid is pointing the Schofield at him but The Kid is frozen too. MIKE NO! NO! BLAM! The Schofield jumps in The Kid's hand and Mike gets it in the chest and there is smoke all over and The Kid stares at Mike amazed and Mike who has a big splotch of blood on his chest stares back at The Kid amazed also and then. BLAM, The Kid shoots him again, this time in the face. BANG! BANG! shots from the bunkhouse and. BAWHOOM! Munny blasts the bunkhouse with shotgun. MUNNY Come on, Kid. BLAM, The Kid shoots Mike's slumping body a third time and he seems hypnotized but. BANG BANG shots are coming from the bunkhouse and Munny is screaming and The Kid tears himself away.", "EXT. BUSHES - DAY Munny crashing through the bushes and The Kid is a few yards behind him and Munny stumbles and scrambles to his feet. MUNNY Did. you. get. him? THE KID -LRB- amazed. -RRB- Yeah.", "EXT. OUTHOUSE - DAY The outhouse and Mike's body and Fatty and Thirsty and Buck dashing past, waving their guns.", "EXT. WOODS - DAY The albino mare and the Morgan in the woods and Munny and The Kid dash up to the horses, gasping for breath, and Munny tries to mount still holding the shotgun and the horse starts to prance around and Munny ca n't mount. MUNNY Hold still. BANG, BANG, BANG shots are whistling around them and looking back Munny can see his pursuers firing from cover fifty yards away. Munny shoves two shells in the shotgun and hands it to The Kid who has mounted. MUNNY Cover me, Kid, while I mount. THE KID -LRB- panicked. -RRB- I ca n't see'em. BANG BANG BANG MUNNY Just SHOOT! And KA BLAMMM, The Kid lets go both barrels in the general direction of the enemy and then Munny gallops away half on his horse, half - off, in an undignified escape, bullets whistling around his horse and The Kid behind him shouting. THE KID Where are you, Bill, where are you, I ca n't see you. Wait for me. and then they disappear and gradually the shooting atops.", "EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - DAY Open country at sundown seen from a low hill, and you can barely make out a lone RIDER approaching in the extreme distance. VIEW ON MUNNY Standing on the rise and watching the rider in the distance. THE KID Is that what it was like, Bill, in the old days. ridin' out with everybody shootin'. smoke all over an' folks yellin' an' bullets whizzin' by? The Kis is behind Bill sitting under a large oak drinking from a whiskey bottle. MUNNY -LRB- absently. -RRB- Yeah, I guess so. THE KID Shit. I thought they was gon na get us. I was even. scared a little. just for a minute. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Was you ever scared in them days? Munny turns from watching the rider's slow approach and walks over to The Kid who ca n't see the rider from where he's sitting. MUNNY I do n't remember, Kid. I was drunk most of the time. Give me a pull on that bottle, will you? Munny takes a big pull on the bottle, returns it to The Kid, and walks back to the edge of the rise to resume his vigil. The rider is a little closer now and the sun is a little lower. It is very beautiful. THE KID -LRB- drinking heavy. -RRB- I shot that fucker three times. He was takin' a shit. He went for his pistol an' I blazed away. first shot got him in the chest. The Kid wipes whiskey from his chin. He has been working hard to make the hysteria he feels into a high. but it wo n't quite come. THE KID Say, Bill. MUNNY Yeah. Munny is watching the rider and the rider is closer. THE KID That was. the first one. MUNNY First one what? THE KID First one I ever killed. MUNNY -LRB- preoccupied with his vigil. -RRB- Yeah? THE KID How I said I shot five men. it was n't true. -LRB- long pause. -RRB- That Mexican. the one that come at me with a knife. I busted his leg with a shovel. I did n't shoot him or nothin'. Munny is watching the rider and the rider is much closer but coming at a walk and Munny goes back over to The Kid for a pull on the bottle and he's trying to make The Kid feel okay when he says. MUNNY Well, that fella today, you shot him alright. THE KID -LRB- forced bravado. -RRB- H - hell yeah. I killed the hell out of him. three shots. he was takin' a sh - sh - shit an'. an'. The Kid is shaking, becoming hysterical, he ca n't go on, and Munny hands the bottle back. MUNNY Take a drink, Kid. THE KID -LRB- breaking down, crying. -RRB- Oh Ch - ch - christ. it do n't. it do n't seem. real. How he's. DEAD. how he ai n't gon na breathe no more. n - n - never. Or the other one neither. On account of. of just. pullin' a trigger. Munny walks back to the edge of the rise and watches the rider and it is a lovely sunset happening and he is talking to no one in particular. MUNNY It's a hell of a thing, ai n't it, killin' a man. You take everythin' he's got. an' everythin' he's ever gon na have. THE KID -LRB- trying to pull him - self together. -RRB- Well, I gu - guess they had it. comin'. MUNNY We all got it comin', Kid. VIEW on the rider at the foot of the rise and it is Little Sue and VIEW on Munny pulling the saddle bags off and Little Sue is still mounted. They are under the oak tree and it is dusk and The Kid is just sitting there with his bottle. MUNNY I was watchin' you. seein' if you was followed. LITTLE SUE -LRB- scared to death. -RRB- Silky an' Faith, they rode off to the East an' two deputies was followin' them. Munny has lit a little candle and spread a blanket and he is opening the bags to count the money. MUNNY -LRB- pouring out the coins and bills. -RRB- You wan na help me count, Kid? The Kid is leaning against the tree in a semi - stupor. THE KID I trust you, Bill. MUNNY Well, you do n't wan na trust me too much. We'll take Ned his share together so you do n't figure I run off with it. LITTLE SUE -LRB- startled. -RRB- Ned's share? MUNNY -LRB- counting. -RRB- Yeah, he went South ahead of us. I guess we'll catch him before. LITTLE SUE -LRB- blurting it out. -RRB- He's. he's dead. MUNNY -LRB- counting. -RRB- No he ai n't. He went South yesterday. LITTLE SUE They. they killed him. I. thought you know that. I thought you knew because. MUNNY -LRB- looking up. -RRB- Nobody did n't kill Ned, he went South yesterday. He did n't even kill nobody. Why would anybody kill Ned? Little Sue just looks back at him, scared, trembling. MUNNY -LRB- realizing. -RRB- Who killed him? LITTLE SUE Little Bill. The. the Bar T boys caught him and Little Bill. MUNNY He hanged him? -LRB- Little Sue shakes her head `` no''. -RRB- Shot him down? LITTLE SUE N - no. He. he beat him up. He was making him. answer questions. and beating him up. and then. Ned just died. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Little Bill did n't mean to kill him. he said he was sorry an' all. but he said it was a good example anyhow. MUNNY -LRB- outraged. -RRB- Good example! Good example of what I'd like to know? He did n't even kill nobody. he could n't do it no more. LITTLE SUE They got. a sign on him says he was a killer. MUNNY -LRB- flabbergasted. -RRB- A sign on him? LITTLE SUE In front of Greely's. It says, `` This here is what happens to.'' MUNNY -LRB- incredulous. -RRB- They got a sign on him in front of Greely's? The Kid just has his head in his hands, it's too much for him and Little Sue is scared shitless of Munny. MUNNY The questions Little Bill asked him. what sort of questions was they? LITTLE SUE About where you an' him. -LRB- indicating The Kid. -RRB- was. an' where you was from. an' what your names was. an'. MUNNY What'd Ned say? LITTLE SUE L - lies. at first. About how you was just passin' through and did n't kill nobody. an' Little Bill kept askin' questions, mixin' him up, catchin' lies. an' then he'd beat on Ned an' Ned would cry and lie some more an' then. then. MUNNY Then. what? LITTLE SUE A cowboy come in sayin' you killed Quick Mike in the shit house at the Bar T. MUNNY An' Little Bill killed Ned for what I done? LITTLE SUE Not on purpose. But he started hurtin' him worse. makin' him tell stuff. First ned would n't say nothin'. but Little Bill hurt him so bad he said who you was. Munny looks up sharply. Little Sue is scared, her voice quavers. LITTLE SUE contd. says. He said how you was really Three Fingered Jack out of Missouri. an' Bill said `` Same Three Fingered Jack that dynamited the Rock Island and Pacific in'69 killin' women and children an' all?'' An' Ned says you done a lot worse than that, said you was more cold blooded than William Bonney or Clay Alisson or the James Brothers an' how if he hurt Ned again you was gon na come an' kill him like you killed a U.S. Marshall in' 73. MUNNY Did n't scare Little Bill though, did it? LITTLE SUE N - no, sir? MUNNY Lemmee see that Schofield, Kid. THE KID Wha. what f - for? MUNNY -LRB- sharply. -RRB- Lemmee see it. THE KID -LRB- giving it to him. -RRB- Sure. Sure, Bill. Munny takes the pistol and begins to check it methodically, inspecting the load first. and The Kid watches nervously, shifting from foot to foot. THE KID You. you could keep it, Bill. I ai n't. gon na use it no more, I ai n't gon na kill nobody. Munny, still checking the gun, glances up and meets The Kid's uneasy gaze. THE KID I. I ai n't like you, Bill. Munny looks back at the pistol, checks the sights. THE KID You. gon na take. the money? MUNNY -LRB- to Little Sue. -RRB- You better get on back, Miss.. And Little Sue, still mounted, breathes an enormous silent sigh of relief and turns her horse away hastily and Munny, satisfied with the pistol, sticks it in his belt and walks over to the horse and pulls his sawed - off shotgun out of the bedroll. THE KID You could have it. All of it. MUNNY I thought you wanted to buy spectacles an' fancy clothes an' all. THE KID I'd rather be blind and ragged than dead, I guess. Munny looks at The Kid who is behaving bravely but is trembling anyway, scared, and Munny's eyes are full of brutally painful memories. MUNNY Shit, Kid. I ai n't gon na kill you. You're. the only friend I got.", "EXT. NORTH ROAD - NIGHT MOONLIGHT on the ordinance # 14 sign on the North Road and two riders come up slow, Munny and The Kid, and Munny reins up and then The Kid does too. Munny takes the saddle bags off his horse. MUNNY -LRB- giving The Kid the bags. -RRB- This here money, take my share an' Ned's an' leave it with my youngsters. Tell'em half goes to Sally Two Trees if I ai n't back in a week. The rest is yours. you could buy them spectacles. THE KID Are you. Are you gon na. kill Little Bill? MUNNY -LRB- holding up the whiskey bottle. -RRB- I guess you wo n't mind my keepin' the bottle. THE KID You're gon na kill him, ai n't you? MUNNY Stay clear of folks you might see. There's plenty out lookin' to hang you. Go on now, skedaddle. Munny slaps The Kid's horse and The Kid sets out at a trot and Munny watches him disappear into the night. When he is alone and he ca n't hear The Kid's horse any more, Munny uncorks the bottle and takes a long deep drink.", "EXT. GREELY'S PORCH - NIGHT VIEW on Ned's body in the upright coffin in the flickering light of a torch standing next to it and, of course, Ned looks bad and the crudely scrawled sign over the coffin says, `` This is what happens to assassins around here.''", "INT. BAR ROOM - NIGHT VIEW on Little Bill in the crowded bar and he is shouting to make himself heard over the din. LITTLE BILL Alright, I'm gon na say just one more time so it's all clear an' then do n't ask me no more. The place is packed with tired, dusty men and they are not really jubilant so much as they are excited by the hysteria of events. LITTLE BILL -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Now each of you that posse'd today has got one drink comin' off the county budget. THIRSTY Yahoo. LITTLE BILL an' whoever rode yesterday, gets one drink for that. PADDY Yippee. EGGS I told yuh two, I. LITTLE BILL Hold it hold it. After them two, it's outta your own pocket. hear me, Skinny? an' we're pullin' out early tomorrow an' chase these fellas clear to Texas so I would n't spend much of your own money. There is a general whoop and hubbub as Little Bill turns back to his conversation at the bar with Charley, Fatty, Clyde, Andy and WW Beauchamp. LITTLE BILL Now if we divide up into four parties an' hit all the farms an' trails in a circle, we're bound to find some one who seen them skunks an'. Little Bill is suddenly conscious of his own loud voice in a sudden silence that has swept the bar like a brushfire and turning he sees what everybody is staring at. Munny, with his ten - gauge shotgun leveled from the shoulder, is standing thirty feet away in the doorway. Taking a couple of sideways steps to get the door from behind his back and sweeping the twin barrels in an ominous arc, he surveys the scene. MUNNY -LRB- a little drunk. -RRB- Which fucker owns this shithole? Nobosy says a thing. Skinny stares pop - eyed from behind the bar and the sweat starts on his forehead and Little Bill is thinking coolly and everybody else is swallowing hard and looking at the shotgun. MUNNY -LRB- to Fatty. -RRB- You there, fat man, speak up. Fatty gulps and then Skinny screws up his courage and steps from behind the bar and gives it every bit of dignity his fear will permit. SKINNY I. I own this establishment. I bought it from Greely for a thous. MUNNY -LRB- to the men round Skinny. -RRB- Better step clear, boys. And Skinny looks from side to side as people step away from him and he wants to say something desperately, he wants to live, he wants. LITTLE BILL Hold on, mist. BAH - WHOOM! Munny fires and smoke belches and. Skinny is blown back against the wall and falls to the floor a bloody mess and. Little Bill is reaching for the Spencer which is leaning against the bar near his leg but he freezes because. Munny has turned the shotgun on him and Munny sees Ned's Spencer there and his eyes show how he feels about it. For a moment while the smoke clears the bar is silent and there are nervous glances cast at the bloody body of Skinny but Little Bill keeps his eyes on Munny. LITTLE BILL Well sir. You are a cowardly sonofabitch because you have just shot down an unarmed man. It has become a very formal moment and there are, figuratively speaking, only two people in the room, Munny and Little Bill. and WW Beauchamp is watching them, scared to death, but this is it, what all those Easterners dreamed about, the showdown in the saloon. MUNNY -LRB- the shotgun pointed right at Little Bill. -RRB- He should have armed himself if he was gon na decorate his saloon with the body of my friend. LITTLE BILL I guess you are Three - Fingered Jack out of Missouri, killer of women and children. MUNNY -LRB- a little drunkenly. -RRB- I have done that. killed women and children. I have killed most everything that walks or crawls an' now I have come to kill you, Little Bill, for what you done to Ned. -LRB- to the others. -RRB- Now step aside. boys. And as the deputies nervously move aside Little Bill helps to isolate himself by stepping forward boldly. LITTLE BILL He's got one barrel left, gentlemen. After he has used it, pull your pistols and shoot him down like the cowardly, drunken scoundrel he is. Little Bill looks back at Munny bravely and. Munny looks down the barrel at Little Bill and after a tense moment he pulls the trigger. CLICK. The hammer falls but it is a misfire and what happens next happens in maybe five seconds as all hell breaks loose. LITTLE BILL -LRB- drawing. -RRB- Misfire! Kill the sonofabitch! And Little Bill aims carefully and. Munny hurls the shotgun at him and. BLAM! Little Bill fires wildly as the shotgun hits him and. Clyde has his pistol out and is pointing it at Munny and. Munny is pulling the pistol from his own belt and he drops to one knee and. BLAM! Clyde fires and misses and. Little Bill is about to squeeze the trigger when. BLAM! Munny shoots him and. BLAM! Little Bill shoots just as he is hit in the chest and. BLAM! BLAM! Fatty fires wildly and. Munny is aiming too and BLAM! Clyde gets it in the face and. BLAM! BLAM! Fatty is n't even aiming while. Andy aims carefully, he can kill Munny but. Munny turns and points his weapon at Andy and. Instead of firing Andy panics and tries to turn his body sideways to ward off the blow and. BLAM! Munny fires and. Andy gets it high in the rib cage and. Charley turns and runs for the back and. BLAM! BLAM! Fatty is backing up and firing from the hip and then he turns to run and. Munny aims deliberately from one knee and BLAM! Fatty goes down, shot in the back. And suddenly. there is a terrible silence that is broken only by the awful, dying groans of Clyde and the coughing of the bystanders hiding behind tables and chairs in the thick black smoke and. Munny is still down on one knee pointing his pistol and looking through the thick smoke for someone to shoot but it seems there are no threats left. MUNNY Every asshole that does n't want to get shot best clear out the back quick. And they scramble over each other dashing toward the Billiard Room and Munny stands up and looks around and he looks at Clyde who is groaning, his face covered with blood and everyone else, Little Bill, Andy and Fatty are still, and then Fatty seems to move and Munny levels his pistol and what happens is WW crawls out from half - under Fatty and WW is covered with blood and he is shaking like a leaf. WW I. I. think I'm. shot. MUNNY You ai n't shot. WW -LRB- seeing the pistol. -RRB- P - p - p - please, I'm not armed. -LRB- as Munny lowers the pistol, WW looks around. -RRB- M - m - my G - god. You killed. Little Bill. MUNNY -LRB- suspicious. -RRB- You sure you ai n't armed? WW I never c - c - carry arms. I'm. a writer. MUNNY A writer? What do you write. letters an' such? WW B - b - books. -LRB- amazed. -RRB- You. you killed five men. singlehanded. MUNNY -LRB- wearily. -RRB- Yeah. Munny walks over to the bar, keeping his eye suspiciously on WW, and reaches for a bottle with his left hand. The hand is shaking like palsy and he tilts the bottle and drinks sloppily with effort, the pistol still in his right hand. WW Wh - wh - who did you kill first? MUNNY Huh? WW -LRB- reciting. -RRB- Wh - wh - when confronted by superior numbers, the experienced gunfighter will fire on the best shots first. MUNNY -LRB- drinking. -RRB- Yeah? Unnoticed on the floor, Little Bill is conscious though blood is coming out of his mouth and he has been written off. One hand is shifting on his pistol and he can hear Clyde moaning sporadically. WW Little Bill told me that. You killed him first, did n't you? On the floor, Little Bill is fighting for consciousness, fingering his pistol. MUNNY I was lucky in the order. -LRB- bitterly. -RRB- I always been lucky killin' folks. WW Who was next? Clyde? Or was it? MUNNY -LRB- suddely ominous, pistol pointing. -RRB- I could tell you who was last, mister. WW's eyes pop as he gets the idea and he backs up fast, and then he turns and bolts out the back, and watching him go, Munny turns his back on the fallen body of Little Bill. Little Bill, on the floor, raises up his pistol in his shaking hand and aims at Munny's back maybe six feet away and he is shaking bad as he draws the hammer back and. Munny hears the click and he turns and sees Little Bill aiming but it is too late and. BLAM! Smoke and fire from Little Bill's pistol and Little Bill's arm collapses from the effort and the pistol falls with a bang. MUNNY Missed again, asshole. And Munny steps over to him and kicks the pistol away from Little Bill's outstretched hand. Little Bill is bleeding from the mouth having taken a shot in the lung and he is very weak and all he can do is look up at Munny and speak weakly. LITTLE BILL I do n't. deserve this. to die this way. I was. building a house. MUNNY -LRB- aiming his pistol point blank. -RRB- `` Deserve'' do n't mean shit, Little Bill. LITTLE BILL -LRB- the pistol in his face. -RRB- I'll see you. in hell, you three - fingered asshole. BLAM! Munny shoots Little Bill and then he looks around and Clyde is still groaning and that is the only sound. Then, suddenly, he is all business. He walks quickly over to Clyde and shoots him once with the Spencer and the groaning stops. Then he goes to Little Bill's body and pokes around in the pockets and pulls out some shells for the Spencer. He shoves those in his pocket and he goes to the bar and picks up the bottle of whiskey and walks over to the door. Standing to one side, he kicks it open. Then he sets down the rifle and the bottle and starts to reload the Schofield and while he loads it he shouts out the door. MUNNY I'm comin' outta here. an' any fucker I see out there, I'm gon na kill him. an' any fucker takes a shot at me, I ai n't just gon na kill him, but I'm gon na kill his wife an' all his friends an' burn his fucking house, hear? The pistol is loaded and Munny sticks it in his belt and he takes a long pull on the whiskey bottle and wipes the dribble from his chin. Then he picks up the rifle in the other hand and looks out the door.", "EXT. MAIN STREET/GREELY'S - NIGHT The street and it is dark and quiet, shadowy buildings, the knot of tethered horses, a couple of torches stuck in the ground sputtering. MUNNY'S VOICE o.s. Nobody better shoot on account of I'm as mean as I say. maybe meaner. I am a damn badman an' you will not find a worse one in hell. And Munny steps out the door warily, and looks around and all he sees are the shadowy buildings and all he hears are his own boots on the wooden porch. Glancing nervously at the dark buildings' blank stares he walks past the upright coffin where the waxy face of Ned stares gruesomely in the light of the flickering torch and he gives it a glance, wanting to say he's sorry, but the idea is ludicrous and he steps off the porch and walks toward the white mare.", "EXT. ALLEYWAY - NIGHT WW Beauchamp and Charley Hecker and Germany Joe crouched in the alleyway between two buildings across the street and Charley has a rifle and they can see Munny mounting his horse. GERMANY JOE -LRB- whispering. -RRB- Go ahead, shoot him. Charley just shakes his head and offers the rifle to Germany Joe. And Germany Joe does n't want it. GERMANY JOE I endt no dehpoody. WW is watching Munny's unbelievably awkward and prolonged mounting procedure and he ca n't believe it, he ca n't believe what the Old West is like and it shows on his face.", "EXT. MAIN STREET - NIGHT Munny riding down the dark, lonely street at a trot and he starts to shout at the top of his lungs. MUNNY You boys better bury old Ned right. and you better not carve up nor otherwise harm no whores. or I will come back an' kill more sonsabitches, hear? And there are tears running down Munny's cheeks.", "EXT. SOD HUT - DAY DAYLIGHT and Penny sweeping in the doorway of Munny's sod hut in Kansas. She is intent on her work until she hears the snort of a horse and looks up and her jaw drops, and her face lights up like the sun itself and, dropping the broom, she dashes toward him. VIEW ON MUNNY Munny walking across the field, leading the mare. He is covered with dust and heavily stubbled from the trip. Penny dashes up to him and throws her arms around him and he is overjoyed but he does n't have any way to express it except through awkwardness and embarrassment. MUNNY -LRB- fondly. -RRB- Ai n't you a lady! And he puts his arm around her and they walk toward the house.", "EXT. HOG PENS - DAY VIEW ON WILL Working in the hog pens in back, concentrating on the job. MUNNY Place looks good. And Will whirls around and sees Munny standing there beside the house and his first instinct is to run to him and then he remembers his dignity and stands there like a man, but the grin is liable to break his face. WILL Hullo, paw. MUNNY I guess you lost some hogs to the fever. WILL Three. MUNNY Three? That ai n't bad considerin'. Will is pissing in his pants with pride and pleasure and he joins his father and they walk around the house together. WILL That fella come by. Tom. MUNNY -LRB- stopping. -RRB- Tom? WILL The one you rode out after. the one that had the pistol. MUNNY The Kid, yeah. WILL Only he was n't carryin' no pistol this time.", "INT. SHED - DAY Will and Munny in te shed and Will is digging deep into a huge pile of straw. MUNNY -LRB- worried. -RRB- He say anythin'. The Kid? WILL -LRB- digging. -RRB- Tom? Only how. how if you did n't. did n't come back in a week. -LRB- upset. -RRB- how we was to take half the money to Sally an' say you was. MUNNY -LRB- gently. -RRB- Well, I come back, did n't I? And Will has exposed the saddle bags and Munny moves in and opens them and gold coins and wads of bills spill out. WILL -LRB- upset. -RRB- Did you. did you? MUNNY -LRB- counting. -RRB- Did I what? WILL All that money. I mean. did you? MUNNY -LRB- counting. -RRB- Steal it? Naw, I did n't steal it. WILL No. I meant. MUNNY -LRB- turning. -RRB- What? WILL K - k - kill somebody? MUNNY Who said that? WILL N - nobody. only you took your shotgun an' that pistol an'. MUNNY -LRB- bothered, putting his arm around Will's shoulders. -RRB- Before I met your maw, God rest her soul, it used to be I was kinda. wicked. drinkin' spirits an' gettin' into scrapes an' all. Only she made me see the error of my ways an'. I ai n't like I was no more. WILL -LRB- relieved. -RRB- I guess you did n't kill nobody then. MUNNY -LRB- it is an effort. -RRB- Naw, son, I did n't kill nobody.", "EXT. GRAVE - DAY The grave of Claudia under the trees and Munny walks up to it and maybe we hear music or maybe just the wind, but the words begin to crawl across the screen, supered. WRITTEN WORDS -LRB- crawl. -RRB- They were married in St. Louis in 1B70 and they traveled North to Kansas where he engaged in farming and swine husbandry. She bore him two children in the eight years of their marriage and when she died, it was not at his hands as her mother might have expected, but of smallpox. VIEW ON MUNNY We are looking at him by now and there is nothing easy on his face, no big emotions, he is just looking at the grave. WRITTEN WORDS -LRB- crawl cont'd. -RRB- Some years later, Mrs. Ansonia Feathers made the arduous journey to Hodgeman County to visit the last resting place of her only daughter. VIEW ON THE GRAVE We are looking at the stone now and the words continue. WRITTEN WORDS -LRB- crawl cont'd. -RRB- William Munny had long since sold the place and disappeared with the children. some said to San Francisco where it was rumored he prospered as a dry goods merchant under a different name. CLOSE ON THE EYES OF WILLIAM MUNNY The eyes of the husband and the pig - farmer and the man who shot down five men in the Big Whiskey saloon. WRITTEN WORDS -LRB- crawl cont'd. -RRB- And there was nothing on the stone to explain to Mrs. Feathers why her only daughter had married a known thief and murderer, a man of notoriously vicious and intemperate disposition. THE END"], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "In 1880 in Big Whiskey, Wyoming, two cowboys\u2014Quick Mike and \"Davey-Boy\" Bunting\u2014attack and disfigure prostitute Delilah Fitzgerald with a knife after she laughs at Quick Mike's small penis. As punishment, local sheriff \"Little Bill\" Daggett orders the cowboys to bring several horses as compensation for the brothel owner, Skinny Dubois. The rest of the prostitutes are outraged by the sheriff's decision, and offer a $1,000 reward to anyone who kills the cowboys. In Hodgeman County, Kansas, a boastful young man calling himself the \"Schofield Kid\" visits the pig farm of William Munny, seeking to recruit him to help kill the cowboys and claim the reward. In his youth, Munny was a notorious outlaw and murderer, but he is now a repentant widower raising two children. After initially refusing to help, Munny recognizes that his farm is failing and jeopardizing his children's future, so he reconsiders. Munny recruits his friend Ned Logan, another retired outlaw, and they catch up with the Kid. Back in Wyoming, British-born gunfighter \"English Bob\", an old acquaintance and rival of Little Bill, is also seeking the reward. He arrives in Big Whiskey with biographer W. W. Beauchamp, who naively believes Bob's exaggerated tales of his exploits. Enforcing the town's anti-gun law, Little Bill and his deputies disarm Bob and Bill beats him savagely, hoping to discourage other would-be assassins from attempting to claim the bounty. Bill ejects Bob from town the next morning, but Beauchamp decides to stay and write about Bill, who debunks many of the romantic notions Beauchamp has about the wild west. Munny, Logan, and the Kid arrive in town during a rainstorm, and head into the saloon. While Logan and the Kid meet with the prostitutes upstairs, a feverish Munny is sitting alone in the saloon when Little Bill and his deputies confront him. Not realizing Munny's identity, Bill beats him up and kicks him out of the saloon for carrying a pistol. Logan and the Kid escape through a back window, and the three regroup at a barn outside town, where they nurse Munny back to health. A few days later, the trio ambush and kill Bunting in front of his friends. Logan, who wounded Bunting but lost his nerve while attempting to finish him off, resolves to return home; Munny feels they must finish the job and does so using Logan's rifle. Munny and the Kid then head towards the cowboys' ranch, where the Kid ambushes Quick Mike in an outhouse and kills him. After they escape, a distraught Kid confesses he had never killed anyone before and renounces life as a gunfighter. When one of the prostitutes arrives to give them the reward, they learn that Logan had been captured and tortured to death by Bill, but not before revealing Munny's identity. The Kid heads back to Kansas with the reward; Munny heads back to Big Whiskey to take revenge on Little Bill. That night, Munny arrives and sees Logan's corpse displayed in a coffin outside the saloon with a sign warning this is what happens to assassins in the town of Big Whiskey. Inside, Little Bill has assembled a posse to pursue Munny and the Kid. Munny walks in alone to confront the posse and kills Dubois. In the ensuing shootout, Munny shoots Bill and kills several of his deputies before ordering the bystanders to leave the saloon. Critically wounded, Bill promises to see Munny in hell before Munny executes him. Munny then leaves Big Whiskey, warning the townsfolk that he will return for more vengeance if Logan is not buried properly or if any of the prostitutes are harmed. During the epilogue, a title card states that Munny and his children leave the pig farm and are rumored to have moved to San Francisco, prospering in dry goods.", "name": "Unforgiven"}
{"scenes": ["INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. DAY. SKY. Over which a title `` LONDON - SUMMER 1593'' appears. Title card : In the glory days of the Elizabethan theatre two playhouses were fighting it out for writers and audiences. North of the city was the Curtain Theatre, home to England's most famous actor, Richard Burbage. Across the river was the competition, built by Philip Henslowe, a business with a cash flow problem. The Rose. Gradually a building is revealed, The Rose Theatre, three - tiered, open to the elements and empty. On the floor, roughly printed, a poster - torn, soiled, out of date. It says : SEPT. 7TH & 8TH AT NOON. MR. EDWARD ALLEYN AND THE ADMIRAL'S MEN AT THE ROSE THEATRE, BANKSIDE THE LAMENTABLE TRAGEDIE OF THE MONEYLENDER REVENG'D OVER THIS the screams of a man under torture. The screams are coming from the curtained stage. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You Mongrel! Why do you howl When it is I who am bitten?", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. The theatre owner, PHILLIP HENSLOWE, is the man screaming. HENSLOWE'S boots are on fire. He is pinioned in a chair, with his feet stuck out over the hot colas of a fire burning in a brazier. He is being held in that position by LAMBERT, who is a thug employed by FENNYMAN, who is the owner of the VOICE. The fourth man, FREES, is FENNYMAN'S bookkeeper. FENNYMAN What am I, Mr. Lambert? LAMBERT Bitten, Mr. Fennyman. FENNYMAN How badly bitten, Mr. Frees? FREES Twelve pounds, one shilling and four pence, Mr. Fennyman, including interest. HENSLOWE Aaagh! I can pay you! FENNYMAN When? HENSLOWE Two weeks, three at the most, Aaaagh! For pity's sake. FENNYMAN Take his feet out. Where will you get FREES -LRB- the mathematical genius with a notebook. -RRB- Sixteen pounds, five shillings and nine pence FENNYMAN including interest in three weeks? HENSLOWE I have a wonderful new play! FENNYMAN Put his feet in. HENSLOWE It's a comedy. FENNYMAN Cut his nose off. HENSLOWE A new comedy. By Will Shakespeare! FENNYMAN And his ears. HENSLOWE And a share. We will be partners, Mr. Fennyman! FENNYMAN -LRB- hesitating. -RRB- Partners! HENSLOWE It's a crowd - tickler - mistaken identities, a shipwreck, a pirate king, a bit with a dog, and love triumphant. LAMBERT I think I've seen it. I did n't like it. HENSLOWE This time it is by Shakespeare. FENNYMAN What's the title? HENSLOWE Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter. FENNYMAN Good title. FENNYMAN snaps his fingers at FREES and LAMBERT. LAMBERT unties HENSLOWE, FREES starts writing a contract. FENNYMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- A play takes time. Find actors... rehearsals... let's say open in three weeks. That's - what - five hundred groundlings at tuppence each, in addition four hundred groundlings tuppence each, in addition four hundred backsides at three pence - a penny extra for a cushion, call it two hundred cushions, say two performance for safety how much is that Mr. Frees? FREES Twenty pounds to the penny, Mr. Fennyman. FENNYMAN Correct! HENSLOWE But I have to pay the actors and the authors. FENNYMAN A share of the profits. HENSLOWE There's never any FENNYMAN Of course not! HENSLOWE -LRB- impressed. -RRB- Mr. Fennyman, I think you may have hit on something. FENNYMAN slaps a contract down on the table next to n ink - pot and quill. FENNYMAN Sign here. HENSLOWE takes the quill and signs. FENNYMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Romeo and Ethel The Pirate's Daughter... Almost finished? HENSLOWE Without doubt he is completing it at this very moment.", "INT. WILL'S ROOM. DAY A small cramped space in the eaves of a building. A cluttered shelf containing various objects, wedged between crumpled pieces of paper. Among those we have time to observe : a skull, a mug that says A PRESENT FROM STRATFORD - UPON - AVON. At infrequent intervals further pieces of crumpled paper are tossed towards the shelf. The man who is throwing them, WILL SHAKESPEARE, is bent over a table, writing studiously with a quill. Now we see what he is writing : Will is practising his signature, over and over again. `` Will Shagsbeard... W Shakspur... William Shasper...'' Each time he is dissatisfied, and each time he crumples, and tosses it away. Suddenly WILL becomes impatient. He jumps up and goes to the loft area in the rafters, where he sleeps, and starts to pull on his boots. At this point the door opens and HENSLOWE walks in. He is out of breath and his feet hurt. HENSLOWE Will! Where is my play? Tell me you have it nearly done! Tell me you have it started. -LRB- desperately. -RRB- You have begun? WILL -LRB- struggling with his boots. -RRB- Doubt that the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move HENSLOWE No, no, we have n't the time. Talk prose. Where is my play? WILL -LRB- tapping his forehead and heading out the door. -RRB- It is all locked safe in here HENSLOWE God be praised! -LRB- then doubt. -RRB- Locked? WILL As soon as I have found my muse", "EXT. STREET. OUTSIDE WILL'S HOUSE. DAY. WILL lives in a crowded area of the city. Hawkers are crying their wares, tract - sellers, delivery boys, and merchants go about their business. HENSLOWE catches up with WILL as he strides purposefully along. HENSLOWE -LRB- catching up. -RRB- Who is she this time?! WILL She is always Aphrodite. HENSLOWE Aphrodite Baggot who does it behind the Dog and Trumpet? WILL Henslowe, you have no soul so how can you understand the emptiness that seeks a soulmate? HENSLOWE Well, I am a dead man and buggered to boot. My theatre is close by the plague these twelve weeks, my company is playing the inn - yards of England, while Burbage and the Chamberlain's Men are invited to court and receive ten pounds to play your piece, written for my theatre, by my writer, at my risk when you were green and grateful - WILL What piece? Richard Crookback? HENSLOWE No - it's comedy they want, Will! Comedy! Like Romeo and Ethel? WILL Who wrote that? HENSLOWE Nobody! You are writing it for me! I gave you three pounds a month since. WILL Half what you owed me. I am still due for One Gentleman of Verona.", "EXT. ANOTHER STREET. DAY HENSLOWE'S hardly paused in his appeal. HENSLOWE Will! What is money to you and me? I, your patron, you my wordwright! When the plague lifts Burbage will have a new Christopher Marlowe for the Curtain and I have nothing for the Rose. WILL stops. WILL Mr. Henslowe, will you lend me fifty pounds? HENSLOWE -LRB- staggered. -RRB- Fifty pounds? What for? WILL Burbage offers me a partnership in the Chamberlain's Men. For fifty pounds my hired player days are over. HENSLOWE Cut out my heart! Throw my liver to the dogs! WILL -LRB- answering for him. -RRB- No, then. WILL turns down a side street.", "EXT. MARKETPLACE. DAY. HENSLOWE and WILL are crossing a crowded marketplace where a Puritan preacher, MAKEPEACE, is haranguing anyone who will listen. MAKEPEACE and the Lord shall smite them! Yea, harken to me. The theatres are handmaidens of the devil! Under the name of the Curtain, the players breed lewdness in your wives, rebellion in your servants, idleness in your apprentices and wickedness in your children! And the Rose smells thusly rank by any name! I say a plague on both their houses! As he passes WILL gratefully makes a mental note.", "EXT. DR. MOTH'S HOUSE. DAY. WILL turns into a narrow street and walks toward a doorway. HENSLOWE Where are you going? WILL To my weekly confession. As HENSLOWE arrives the door closes in his face. A sign identifies the place as the premises of Dr. MOTH, apothecary, alchemist, astrologer, seer, interpreter of dreams, and priest of psyche. HENSLOWE looks puzzled.", "INT. DR. MOTH'S HOUSE. DAY A stuffed alligator hangs from the ceiling, pills, potions, amulets and charms, star charts and mystic paraphernalia festoon the place. Testimonials and framed degrees hang on the walls. WILL lying on a couch, on his back. His eyes are closed DR. MOTH sits by the couch, listening to WILL and occasionally making a note on a pad he holds on his knee. What we have here is nothing less than the false dawn of analysis. The session is being timed by an hourglass. WILL Words, words, words... once, I had the gift... I could make love out of words as a potter makes cups out of clay love that overthrows empires, love that binds two hearts together come hellfire and brimstones... for sixpence a line, I could cause a riot in a nunnery... but now DR. MOTH And yet you tell me you lie with women? WILL seems unwiling to respond. DR. MOTH refers to his notes. DR. MOTH -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Black Sue, Fat Phoebe, Rosaline, Burbage's seamstress ; Aphrodite, who does it behind the Dog and WILL -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- Aye, now and again, but what of it? I have lost my gift. DR. MOTH I am here to help you. Tell me in your own words. WILL I have lost my gift. -LRB- not finding this easy. -RRB- It's as if my quill is broken. As if the organ of the imagination has dried up. As if the proud tower of my genius has collapsed. DR. MOTH Interesting. WILL Nothing comes. DR. MOTH Most interesting. WILL It is like trying to a pick a lock with a wet herring. DR. MOTH -LRB- shrewdly. -RRB- Tell me, are you lately humbled in the act of love? WILL turns towards him. How did he know that? DR. MOTH -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- How long has it been? WILL A goodly length in times past, but lately DR. MOTH No, no. You have a wife, children The sand runs through the hourglass. LATER Not much sand left. WILL I was a lad of eighteen. Anne Hathaway was a woman, half as old again. DR. MOTH A woman of property? WILL -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- She had a cottage. One day, she was three months gone with child, so DR. MOTH And your relations? WILL On my mother's side the Ardens DR. MOTH No, your marriage bed. WILL Four years and a hundred miles away in Stratford. A cold bed too, since the twins were born. Banishment was a blessing. DR. MOTH So now you are free to love WILL yet can not love nor write it. DR. MOTH reaches for a glass snake bracelet. DR. MOTH Here is a bangle found in Psyche's temple on Olympus cheap at four pence. Write your name on a paper and feed it in the snake. WILL looks at the snake bangle in wonder. WILL Will it restore my gift? DR. MOTH The woman who wears the snake will dream of you, and your gift will return. Words will flow like a river. I will see you in a week. He holds out his hand. WILL drops a sovereign into it, and takes the bracelet.", "EXT. DR. MOTH'S HOUSE. DAY. WILL comes out. HENSLOWE is waiting, standing in a horse trough to ease his feet. WILL walks straight past him, and HENSLOWE follows. HENSLOWE Now where? Will? WILL To the Palace at Whitehall.", "INT. WHITEHALL PALACE. BACKSTAGE. DAY. WHITEHALL means nothing yet. We are behind closed curtains on a stage busy with preparations for the imminent performance of Two Gentlemen of Verona. This is not a theatre but a banqueting hall, as we will see. RICHARD BURBAGE is to play `` PROTEUS.'' A BOY PLAYER will play `` SILVIA,'' and last minute improvements to his makeup etc. are being applied by BURBAGE'S mistress ROSALINE. `` LAUNCE,'' one of the clowns, is the famous comedian WILL KEMPE. `` LAUNCE'S'' dog, CRAB is in KEMPE'S charge and is not helping much. There is no set. A helpful placard reading VERONA - AN OPEN PLACE, is ready to hand. MUSICIANS can be heard tuning their instruments. From the other side of the curtain there is an expectant bubbub. KEMPE leads the dog into the wings and rummages in a box of proops. He finds a skull. He has one foot on the box, his elbow on his knee, he looks at the skull... in other words he reminds us of Hamlet. We see this from the POV of WILL, who is just entering through a door backstage. WILL -LRB- approaching. -RRB- Prithee, Mr. Kempe, break a leg. You too, good Crab. KEMPE Crab is nervous. He has never played the Palace. When will you write me a tragedy, Will? I could do it. WILL No, they would laugh at Seneca if you played it. WILL'S attention has been caught by ROSALINE, BURBAGE'S mistress. ROSALINE is big breasted, dark - eyed, dark - haired, sexual. BURBAGE -LRB- to ROSALINE. -RRB- My sleeve wants for a button, Mistress Rosaline, where were my seamstress's eyes? BURBAGE kisses her mouth and slaps her behind. He comes over to greet WILL. BURBAGE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- There is no dog in the first scene, Will Kempe, thank you. How goes it Will? WILL I am still owed money for this play, Burbage. BURBAGE Not from me. I only stole it. When are you coming over to the Chamberlain's Men? WILL When I have fifty pounds. ROSALINE brings over the last elements of BURBAGE'S costume and helps him into them. BURBAGE Are you writing? WILL -LRB- nods somewhat defensively. -RRB- A comedy. All but done, a pirate comedy, wonderful. BURBAGE What is the chief part? WILL Romeo. Wit, swordsman, lover. BURBAGE The title? WILL Romeo BURBAGE I will play him. Bring it tomorrow. WILL It's for Henslowe. He paid me. BURBAGE How much? WILL Ten pounds. BURBAGE You're a liar. BURBAGE digs under his costume for his purse, which is on a waistband, over his corset. WILL I swear it. He wants Romeo for Ned and the Admiral's Men. BURBAGE Ned is wrong for it. WILL turns to see HENSLOWE approaching. BURBAGE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- to WILL. -RRB- Here is two sovereigns - I'll give you two more when you show me the pages. WILL Done. HENSLOWE -LRB- arriving. -RRB- Burbage, I will see you hanged for a pickpocket. BURBAGE The Queen has commanded, she loves a comedy and the Master of the Revels favours us. HENSLOWE And what favour does Mr. Tilney receive from you? BURBAGE Ask him. The Master of the Revels -LRB- TILNEY -RRB- comes through the curtain officiously. TILNEY She comes! He disappears back through the curtains. The hubbub falls silent, rather dramatically, and all the busy PLAYERS know what that means : they all crowd to the curtain and find places to peep through.", "INT. WHITEHALL PALACE. BANQUETING HALL. FRONT OF HOUSE/STAGE. DAY. THE POV OF THE PLAYERS. The arrival of QUEEN ELIZABETH, aged sixty, coming to take her place in the audience at front centre. The hill is crowded with lords and ladies, bowing ELIZABETH to her seat, which is raised high on a pedestal, affording the QUEEN an uninterrupted view of the play, and the audience an uninterrupted view of the QUEEN. Trumpets sound. Close on a small piece of paper : a quill is writing `` W. Shakespeare.'' WILL rolls the paper up carefully and slips it into the mouth of the snake bangle. The curtain draws back and CONDELL as `` VALENTINE'' and BURBAGE as `` PROTEUS'' begin the play. CONDELL AS VALENTINE `` Cease to persuade, my loving Proteus ; Home - keeping youth have ever homely wits...''", "INT. WHITEHALL PALACE. BANQUETING HALL. THE WINGS/BACKSTAGE. DAY. With BURBAGES'S presence accounted for on stage, ROSALINE curls an arm around WILL'S neck. They kiss hungrily. After a moment, WILL pulls back. ROSALINE When will you write me a sonnet, Will? WILL I have lost my gift. ROSALINE You left it in my bed. Come to look for it again. WILL Are you to be my muse, ROSALINE? ROSALINE Burbage has my keeping but you have my heart. WILL takes the snake bracelet and slips it onto her arm. ROSALINE looks at it, then at WILL. Then they kiss again, but WILL is distracted by the sound of coughing from the auditorium. WILL You see? The consumptives plot against me. `` Will Shakespeare has a play, let us go and cough through it.''", "INT. WHITEHALL PALACE. BANQUETING HALL. STAGE. DAY. `` VALENTINE'' is on stage with `` PROTEUS.'' CONDELL AS VALENTINE `` To be in love, where scorn is bought with groans : Coy looks with heart sore sighs ; One fading moment's mirth With twenty watchful, weary, tedious nights...'' As the scene continues, WILL appears at the back of the hall and finds himself next to HENSLOWE. WILL I feel a scene coming on. HENSLOWE Is it about a pirate's daughter?", "INT. WHITEHALL PALACE. BACK OF THE BANQUETING HALL/STAGE. DAY. Laughter. It is later, and KEMPE is now on stage with his dog. The audience is roaring. HENSLOWE You see? Comedy. QUEEN ELIZABETH'S idiosyncratic laugh rises above the others. QUEEN Well played, Master Crab, I commend you. She throws a sweetheart on the stage and the dog wolfs it down. Everyone applauds. HENSLOWE Love and a bit with a dog, that's what they like. Now we meet VIOLA. VIOLA DE LESSEPS is twenty - five and beautiful, and she is laughing with great natural enjoyment. She sits slightly apart from her small family group - her parents, SIR ROBERT DE LESSEPS and LADY MARGARET DE LESSEPS. Part of the group but seated behind as befits her lower status is VIOLA'S NURSE. Elsewhere is LORD WESSEX, our villain. WESSEX is in his forties, dark cruel, self - important. He has noticed VIOLA. The nurse notices him.", "INT. WHITEHALL PALACE. BANQUETING HALL. FRONT OF HOUSE/STAGE. DAY. LATER. `` VALENTINE'' is on stage alone. He is speaking the speech rather more coarsely than the version we hear later. CONDELL AS VALENTINE `` What light is light if Silvia be not seen? What joy is joy, if Silvia be not by? Unless it be to think that she is by And feed upon the shadow of perfection...'' Now we see that VIOLA knows the speech by heart, and is silently mouthing it with the actor. HENSLOWE There's a lady knows your play by heart. But when he turns to WILL he finds that WILL has gone.", "INT. WILL'S ROOM. DAY. WILL comes into his room, goes straight to his table in the window, and arranges pen, ink, and paper. Now he has his ritual : he spins round once in a circle, rubs his hands together and spits on the floor. Then he sits down, picks up his pen, and stares in front of him. PAUSE. Then he begins to write.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. The NURSE is undressing her, though VIOLA tries intermittently to push her away. She is still bright with excitement. VIOLA Did you like Proteus or Valentine best? Proteus for speaking, Valentine for looks. NURSE I liked the dog, for laughs. VIOLA But Silvia I did not care for much. His fingers were red from fighting and he spoke like a schoolboy at lessons. Stage love will never be true love while the law of the land has our heroines played by pipsqueak boys in petticoats! Oh, when can we see another? NURSE When the Queen commands it. VIOLA But at the playhouse. Nurse? NURSE Be still. Now the NURSE is cleaning VIOLA'S ears, one by one, of course. She has an ear - cleaning implement for this. VIOLA submits. NURSE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Playhouses are not for well - born ladies. VIOLA I am not so well - born. NURSE Well - monied is the same as well - born and well - married is more so. Lord Wessex was looking at you tonight. VIOLA All the men at court are without poetry. If they look at me they see my father's fortune. I will have poetry in my life. And adventure. And love. Love above all. NURSE Like Valentine and Silvia? VIOLA No. not the artful postures of love, but love that over - throws life. Unbiddable, ungovernable, like a riot in the heart, and nothing to be done, come ruin or rapture. Love like there has never been in a play. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I will have love or I will end my days as a. NURSE As a nurse. VIOLA -LRB- kissing her. -RRB- But I would be Valentine and Silvia too. Good Nurse, God save you and good night. I would stay asleep my whole life if I could dream myself into a company of players. VIOLA goes over to the window.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. The NURSE thrusts a twig to her face. NURSE Clean your teeth while you dream, then. Automatically, VIOLA takes the twig and begins brushing her teeth, all the while looking downriver towards the Rose. The NURSE attends her with a beaker of water, and a bowl. NURSE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Now spit VIOLA gazes longingly towards the Rose... And, there and then, she makes a plan.", "EXT. SQUARE IN FRONT OF THE ROSE THEATRE. DAY. HENSLOWE is making his way from the theatre to the market place when FENNYMAN and LAMBERT appear at either shoulder and propel him back the way he came. FREES follows behind. FENNYMAN This time we take your boots off! HENSLOWE What have I done, Mr. Fennyman? FENNYMAN The theatres are all closed by the plague! HENSLOWE Oh, that. FENNYMAN by order of the Master of the Revels! HENSLOWE Mr. Fennyman, let me explain about the theatre business. -LRB- they stop. -RRB- The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster. Believe me, to be close by the plague is a bagatelle in the ups and downs of owning a theatre. FENNYMAN So what do we do? HENSLOWE Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well. FENNYMAN How? HENSLOWE I do n't know. It's a mystery. LAMBERT -LRB- dumbly. -RRB- Should I kill him, Mr. Fennyman? At this point din is heard in the background. a messenger, ringing a bell, is running though the street. MESSENGER The theatres are reopened. By order of the Master of the Revels, the theatres are reopened FENNYMAN is intrigued. FREES Mr. Fennyman! Mr. Tilney has opened the playhouses. FENNYMAN Yes I heard. HENSLOWE plays his temporary advantage modestly, shrugging himself free of LAMBERT'S grip. HENSLOWE -LRB- to LAMBERT. -RRB- If you would n't mind HENSLOWE continues on his way. FENNYMAN watches HENSLOWE, curious. FENNYMAN Where is the play? HENSLOWE Oh, it's coming, it's coming.", "INT. WILL'S ROOM. DAY. It is. WILL is writing furiously. A burnt - down candle is still alight, although it is day outside the window. He has been writing all night. He has written about ten pages. Pleased with himself and excited, he gathers them up and leaves the room like a man with a mission.", "EXT. WILL'S HOUSE. DAY. Leaving the house, pages in hand, WILL nearly knocks down HENSLOWE who has come to see him. HENSLOWE Will! The theatres are Before he can finish, WILL brandishes the pages in his hand. WILL Romeo and Rosaline. Scene One! God, I'm good! HENSLOWE Rosaline? You mean Ethel. WILL has gone.", "EXT. BURBAGE'S HOUSE. DAY. BURBAGE lives in another part of the city. WILL bangs through the door without ceremony. WILL -LRB- shouting. -RRB- Richard!", "INT. BURBAGE'S HOUSE. DAY. WILL enters and calls out. WILL Burbage?", "INT. BURBAGE'S BEDROOM. DAY. WILL charges into the bedroom. ROSALINE is in bed. The Master of the Revels is pulling up his breeches. WILL is shattered. WILL Mr. Tilney The unsuccessful snake bracelet glints at him from ROSALINE'S arm. TILNEY Like you, I found him not at home! WILL So this is the favour you find in the Chamberlain's Men. ROSALINE Will! WILL -LRB- to ROSALINE. -RRB- I would have made you immortal. -LRB- turning to go. -RRB- Tell Burbage he has lost a new play by Will Shakespeare. TILNEY What does Burbage care of that? He is readying the Curtain for Kit Marlowe. WILL You have opened the playhouses? TILNEY I have, Master Shakespeare. WILL But the plague TILNEY -LRB- sighs. -RRB- Yes, I know. But he was always hanging around the house. A bell can be heard ringing outside. ROSALINE -LRB- to WILL, leaving. -RRB- Will... you're the only one, Will! - in my heart.", "EXT. STREET. OUTSIDE BURBAGE'S HOUSE. DAY. WILL emerges looking distraught. A burning brazier stands by the wall. WILL thrusts the pages into the coals. He watches for a moment as the pages catch fire.", "INT. TAVERN. DAY. WILL walks in to find the place in an uproar of celebration. A handsome young serving man -LRB- NOL -RRB- is bumping through with a tray of tankards. NOL -LRB- excitedly. -RRB- Mr. Henslowe! HENSLOWE Yes, I heard. The theatres are open. But where is my playwright? HENSLOWE finds a seat, and takes a tankard off NOL'S tray. HENSLOWE Chalk it up, Nol. I'm hungry, too. NOL The special today is a pig's foot marinated in juniper - berry vinegar, served with a buckwheat pancake which has been They are interrupted by WILL who joins them. He looks distracted. HENSLOWE Will! Have you finished? WILL Yes. Nearly. -LRB- he taps his forehead. -RRB- It's all locked safe in here. We need Ralph for the Pirate King. Good morning, Master Nol. You will have a nice little part. NOL shouts for you, takes off his apron and flings it behind the bar. HENSLOWE jumps up and embraces WILL. The entire staff and half the customers are now crowding around, actors the lot of them. HENSLOWE bangs the table to shut them all up. HENSLOWE Ned Alleyn and the Admiral's Men are out on tour. I need actors. Those here who are unknown will have a chance to be known. ACTOR What about the money, Mr. Henslowe? HENSLOWE It wo n't cost you a penny! Auditions in half - an - hour! The din of excited chatter returns. He sweeps grandly to the tavern door... where he meets RALPH BASHFORD, a big, burly, middle - aged actor. HENSLOWE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Ralph Bashford! I'd have a part for you but, alas, I hear you are a drunkard's drunkard. RALPH Never when I'm working.", "INT. TAVERN. DAY. WILL has remained behind, aghast now at his predicament. He goes to the bar. WILL Give me to drink mandragora. BARMAN Straight up, Will? VOICE Give my friend a beaker of your best brandy. WILL turns towards a figure further down the bar. It's CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE. WILL Kit MARLOWE How goes it, Will? WILL Wonderful, wonderful. MARLOWE Burbage says you have a play. WILL I have. And chinks to show for it. His drink arrives. WILL places a sovereign on the bar. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I insist - and a beaker for Mr. Marlowe. The BARMAN does the business. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I hear you have a new play for the Curtain. MARLOWE Not new - my Doctor Faustus. WILL I love your early work. `` Was this the face that launched a thousand ships and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?'' MARLOWE I have a new one nearly done, and better. The Massacre at Paris. WILL Good title. MARLOWE And yours? WILL Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter. -LRB- beat, sighs despondently. -RRB- Yes, I know. MARLOWE What is the story? WILL Well, there's a pirate. -LRB- confesses. -RRB- In truth, I have not written a word. MARLOWE Romeo is... Italian. Always in and out of love. WILL Yes, that's good. Until he meets MARLOWE Ethel. WILL Do you think? MARLOWE The daughter of his enemy. WILL -LRB- thoughtfully. -RRB- The daughter of his enemy. MARLOWE His best friend is killed in a duel by Ethel's brother or something. His name is Mercutio. WILL Mercutio... good name. NOL hurries back to WILL'S side. NOL Will - they're waiting for you! WILL I'm coming. He drains his glass. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Good luck with yours, Kit. MARLOWE I thought your play was for Burbage. WILL This is a different one. MARLOWE -LRB- trying to work it out. -RRB- A different one you have n't written? WILL makes a helpless gesture and hurries after NOL.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. GALLERY/STAGE/AUDITORIUM. DAY. HENSLOWE and WILL are sitting in the gallery, listening to a YOUNG ACTOR auditioning. YOUNG ACTOR... Was this the face that launched a thousand ships, And burnt the topless towers of Ilium? Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss!'' HENSLOWE Thank you. HENSLOWE and WILL look a bit deflated. The YOUNG ACTOR leaves and is replaced by a SECOND ACTOR. SECOND ACTOR I would like to give you something from Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. HENSLOWE How refreshing. SECOND ACTOR `` Was this the face that launched a thousand ships, And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?'' HENSLOWE and WILL let him continue a bit further, but exchange despairing looks. A succession of would - be actors offer their version of Marlowe's lines, each as inappropriate as the other. Among them is a small URCHIN. URCHIN... the topless towers of Ilium? Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a -?'' HENSLOWE -LRB- bellows. -RRB- Thank you! The URCHIN leaves, glowering furiously, and is replaced by a beanpole of a man -LRB- WASBASH -RRB-. WABASH has a bad stutter. WABASH `` W - w - w - w - was th - th - this th - th - the f - f - f - face...'' HENSLOWE -LRB- unexpectedly. -RRB- Very good, Mr. Wabash. Excellent. Report to the property master. WILL looks at HENSLOWE in outrage. HENSLOWE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- apologetically. -RRB- My tailor. Wants to be an actor. I have a few debts here and there. Well, that seems to be everybody. Did you see a Romeo? WILL I did not. HENSLOWE Well, I to my work, you to yours. When can I see pages? WILL Tomorrow HENSLOWE leaves him. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- a prayer. -RRB- please God. WILL sits brooding alone for a moment. Then he realizes he is being addressed from the stage. ANOTHER ACTOR. ACTOR May I begin, sir? WILL looks at the stage and sees a handsome young man, with a hat shadowing his eyes. WILL Your name? VIOLA AS THOMAS Thomas Kent. I would like to do a speech by a writer who commands the heart of every player. WILL can hardly manage a nod. VIOLA AS THOMAS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- `` What light is light, if Silvia be not seen, What joy is joy, if Silvia be not by? Unless it be to think that she is by And feed upon the shadow of perfection. It does not take four lines of `` VALENTINE'S'' speech to confirm for us, if confirmation be needed, that THOMAS is VIOLA. For WILL, amazement at hearing his own words soon gives away to something else. He is captivated. He has found his `` ROMEO''. VIOLA AS THOMAS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB-''... except I be by Silvia in the night, There is no music in the nightingale. Unless I look on Silvia in the day, There is no day for me to look upon.'' WILL interrupts `` him.'' WILL Take off your hat. VIOLA AS THOMAS My hat? WILL Where did you learn how to do that? VIOLA AS THOMAS I. WILL Wait there. VIOLA AS THOMAS Are you Mr. Shakespeare? WILL Let me see you. Take off your hat. THOMAS begins to panic. WILL jumps down to ground level. THOMAS runs offstage, to WILL'S bewilderment. WILL hurries after him. We go with WILL as he crosses the stage, then backstage, then into the", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. RETIRING ROOM. DAY. RETIRING ROOM which is crowded with actors and HENSLOWE'S lieutenant, property manager, copier, and general factotum who is a new character, PETER. ACTOR What are we playing? NOL Where are the pages? WILL enters into the middle of this. WILL -LRB- shouts. -RRB- Where's the boy? NOBODY knows what he is talking about. WABASH, the stutterer, grabs Will's hand and shakes it excitedly. WABASH B - b - b - b - break a l - l - l - leg! The street door is swinging shut. WILL sees it. He fights his way through the men to get to the door.", "EXT. THE ROSE THEATRE. BANKSIDE. DAY. WILL emerges from the theatre into a street throbbing with nefarious life. Whores, cutpurses, hawkers, urchins, tract - sellers, riffraff of all kinds in an area of stews -LRB- lowdown pubs -RRB-, brothels and slums. It is some time before WILL spots THOMAS, way ahead of him in the crowded street. The chase is taking them to the riverbank.", "EXT. THE RIVER. DAY. When WILL gets to the riverbank he sees that THOMAS is in a smallish boat being rowed upriver and in midstream. The river is quite busy, and among the boats there are a number of waiting `` taxis.'' WILL jumps into the nearest one and shouts at the `` Taxi Driver'' BOATMAN. WILL Follow that boat! BOATMAN Right you are, governor! WILL sits in the stern of the boat and the BOATMAN sits facing him, rowing lustily. BOATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I know your face. Are you an actor? WILL -LRB- oh God, here we go again. -RRB- Yes. BOATMAN Yes, I've seen you in something. That one about a king. WILL Really? BOATMAN I had the Christopher Marlowe in my boat once.", "EXT. THE RIVER. DAY. LATER. The BOATMAN is puffing. WILL is looking ahead to where THOMAS'S boat has reached a jetty on the farther shore, a private jetty attached to a rich house on the north bank. WILL sees THOMAS jump out of his boat and run toward the house. WILL Do you know that house? BOATMAN Sir Robert De Lesseps.", "EXT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. DAY. WILL runs towards the house.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES'S HOUSE. DAY. THOMAS rushes up the back stairs, removing his hat. Her hair tumbles down about her shoulders, so we will call her VIOLA again.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. DAY. Her mother LADY DE LESSEPS, is talking to the NURSE. LADY DE LESSEPS Where is she? Our guests are upon us, Lord Wessex too, bargaining for a bride. My husband will have it settled tonight. Behind her, the door opens revealing VIOLA as THOMAS to the NURSES view, but only for a moment. The door closes again as LADY DE LESSEPS turns. LADY DE LESSEPS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Tomorrow he drags me off to the country and it will be three weeks gone before we return from our estates. A different door communicating to the next room, opens and VIOLA comes in after a lightning dress change into a robe. She curtseys to her mother. VIOLA God save you, mother. -LRB- to NURSE. -RRB- Ho water, nurse. The NURSE looks at her, round - eyed.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. KITCHEN. DAY. From a cauldron on the stove, hot water is poured into two pails, by the a KITCHEN BOY under the NURSE'S command. SCULLERY MAID -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Thomas Kent, sir? No sir. WILL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- The actor NURSE Who asks for him? WILL has come to the kitchen door with a letter. WILL William Shakespeare, actor, poet, and playwright of the Rose. The NURSE sends the SCULLERY MAID back to work. NURSE Master Kent is... my nephew. WILL -LRB- giving her the letter. -RRB- I will wait. NURSE Much god may it do you.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BATHROOM. EVENING. VIOLA in her bath, reads WILL'S letter. The NURSE is adding hot water to the tub. VIOLA -LRB- delighted. -RRB- He sees himself in me! Romeo Montague, a young man of Verona. NURSE -LRB- unimpressed. -RRB- Verona again. VIOLA -LRB- devouring the letter. -RRB- A comedy of quarreling families reconciled in the discovery of Romeo to be the very same Capulet cousin stolen from the cradle and fostered to manhood by his Montague mother that was robbed of her own child by the Pirate King!", "EXT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. NIGHT. WILL waits hopefully. The kitchen door opens and a SERVANT flings a bucket of dirty water in the general direction of the gutter. WILL hops nimbly aside and escapes a soaking. SERVANT Be off!", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. The NURSE is helping VIOLA into her party dress. NURSE Your mother, and your father VIOLA -LRB- gaily. -RRB- From tomorrow, away in the country for three weeks! Is Master Shakespeare not handsome? NURSE He looks well enough for a mountebank. VIOLA Oh, Nurse! He would give Thomas Kent the life of Viola De Lesseps's dreaming. NURSE -LRB- firmly. -RRB- My lady, this play will end badly. I will tell. VIOLA -LRB- twice as firmly. -RRB- You will not tell. As you love me and as I love you, you will bind my breast and buy me a boy's wig!", "EXT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. NIGHT. WILL spots a gaggle of MUSICIANS approaching, carrying instruments. WILL recognizes them. WILL Master Plum! What business here? MUSICIAN A five shilling business, Will. We play for the dancing. The sound of hooves gives hardly any warning as a GALLOPING HORSEMAN thunders through the MUSICIANS who have to leap out of the way. It is WESSEX arriving at the house, with his usual good manners. Will watches WESSEX skid to a halt and enter the house.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. BANQUETING ROOM. NIGHT. WILL has got in with the MUSICIANS. Competently enough he strums along with them on the bandstand. Two dozen guests are enough to crowd the space for dancing. WILL glances around, looking for THOMAS KENT. He stops a passing SERVANT, helping himself to a snack off the man's tray. SERVANT Musicians do n't eat, Sir Robert's orders. WILL I seek Master Thomas Kent. It means nothing to the SERVANT who moves on. ANGLE ON WESSEX and SIR ROBERT. SIR ROBERT She is a beauty, my lord, as would take a king to church for a dowry of a nutmeg. WESSEX My plantations in Virginia are not mortgaged for a nutmeg. I have an ancient name that will bring you preferment when your grandson is a Wessex. Is she fertile? SIR ROBERT She will breed. If she do not, send her back. WESSEX Is she obedient? SIR ROBERT As any mule in Christendom. But if you are the man to rider her, their are rubies in the saddlebag. WESSEX I like her. ANGLE on WILL - watching the dancing. Then he sees VIOLA in the crowd. He turns to blood. Love at first sight, no doubt about it. VIOLA has not seen him. She is doing a daughter's duty among her parents' friends. The guests form up to begin a changing - partners dance -LRB- the very same one you get in every ROMEO and JULIET -RRB-. WILL -LRB- to Musician. -RRB- By all the stars in heaven, who is she? MUSICIAN Viola de Lesseps. Dream on, Will. WILL leaves the bandstand and is moving trancelike to keep her in view between the dancers and onlookers. VIOLA moves through patterns of the dance until... as night follows day, she finds WILL opposite her. He has insinuated himself into the dance. VIOLA gasps. VIOLA Master Shakespeare WILL reacts, surprised by her reaction. The dance separates them. VIOLA finds herself opposite WESSEX. WESSEX My lady Viola. VIOLA My lord. WESSEX I have spoken with your father. VIOLA So my lord? I speak with him every day. WESSEX scowls. The dance separates them. VIOLA finds herself opposite WILL again. WILL stares at her entranced. VIOLA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Good sir...? WILL has lost his tongue. VIOLA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I heard you are a poet. WILL nods in his trance and she smiles at him. VIOLA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- But a poet of no words? WILL tries to speak but the silver tongue wo n't work. He is dumb with adoration. Suddenly WESSEX takes him affably by the elbow and leads him into an alcove. WESSEX -LRB- smiling evilly. -RRB- `` Poet?'' WILL -LRB- coming round form the anaesthetic and not noticing the danger. -RRB- I was a poet till now, but I have seen beauty that puts my poems at one with the talking ravens at the Tower. To his surprise he finds a lordly dagger at this throat. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- startled. -RRB- How do I offend, my lord? WESSEX By coveting my property. I can not shed blood in her house but I will cut your throat anon. You have a name? WILL -LRB- gulps. -RRB- Christopher Marlowe at your service. WESSEX shoves him through the nearest door. VIOLA'S eyes are searching the room for WILL. She finds WESSEX smiling at her. She looks away.", "EXT. DE LESSEPS' GARDEN/VIOLA'S BALCONY. NIGHT There is a lighted window on the balcony. VIOLA, dressed for bed, and the NURSE pass across the lighted space. WILL is in the garden. He sees her. The light in the room is extinguished. WILL sighs. Then VIOLA comes out onto the balcony in the moonlight. WILL gasps. He watches her. VIOLA sighs dreamily. VIOLA Romeo, Romeo. a young man of Verona. A comedy. By William Shakespeare. WILL reckons that's a good enough cue. He comes out of hiding, and approaches the balcony. WILL -LRB- whispers. -RRB- My lady! VIOLA -LRB- gasps. -RRB- Who is there? WILL Will Shakespeare! The NURSE calls `` Madam!'' from inside the room. VIOLA Anon, good nurse. Anon. -LRB- to WILL. -RRB- Master Shakespeare?! WILL The same, alas. VIOLA Oh but why `` alas?'' WILL A lowly player. VIOLA Alas indeed, for I thought you the highest poet of my esteem and a writer of plays that capture my heart. WILL Oh - I am him too! The NURSE calls again. VIOLA -LRB- to NURSE. -RRB- Anon, anon! -LRB- to WILL. -RRB- I will come again. She goes inside for a moment. WILL -LRB- to himself. -RRB- Oh, I am fortune's fool, I will be punished for this! VIOLA returns. WILL comes forward again. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh my lady, my love! VIOLA If they find you here they will kill you. WILL You can bring them with a word. VIOLA Oh, not for the world! The NURSE calls her again : `` Madam!'' VIOLA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Anon, nurse! But she goes inside. WILL looks around and sees that there is, as ever a convenient tree. He starts to climb up toward the balcony. When his head is nearly level, a soft figure comes once more onto the balcony. WILL pops his head over the parapet and is face to face with the NURSE. The NURSE gives a yell. WILL falls out of the tree.", "EXT. DE LEESEPSES' HOUSE. NIGHT. Male voice shout to each other inside the house, candle flames appear in different windows, the garden door is flung open, revealing SIR ROBERT with candelabra in one hand and sword in the other. By this time WILL is on top of the garden wall and he drops safely out of sight. He could have written it better.", "INT. WILL'S ROOM. DAWN. WILL is burning the midnight oil - literally and metaphorically. His quill has already covered a dozen sheets. He is inspired.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE/AUDITORIUM. DAY. It is day one. THE COMPANY is on stage. PETER is passing pages around a bunch of actors. JOHN, JAMES, and NOL are looking through their pages. JOHN `` Draw if you be men! -LRB- to JAMES. -RRB- Gregory, remember thy washing blow.'' NOL `` Part, fools, put up your swords.'' WILL is going around pumping hands and slapping shoulders, flushed with excitement. HENSLOWE is reading his pages, worried. RALPH BASHFORD is next to him. HENSLOWE It starts well, and then it's all long - faced about some Rosaline. Where's the comedy, Will. Where's the dog? -LRB- to RALPH. -RRB- Do you think it is funny? RALPH I was a Pirate King, now I'm a Nurse. That's funny WILL pulls HENSLOWE aside. WILL We are at least six men short, and those we have will be overparted, ranters and stutterers who should be sent back to the stews. My Romeo has let me down. I see disaster. HENSLOWE We are at least four acts short, Will, if you are looking for disaster. WILL as notices a young scruffy thirteen - year - old actor, the URCHIN we met before. WILL Who are you, master? URCHIN I am Ethel, sir, the Pirate's daughter. WILL -LRB- furiously. -RRB- I'll be damned if you are! And he helps the URCHIN off with a kick. The URCHIN glowers with resentment. HENSLOWE finds himself face to face with FENNYMAN. FENNYMAN Is it going well? HENSLOWE Very well. FENNYMAN But nothing is happening. HENSLOWE Yes, but very well. WILL -LRB- shouts. -RRB- Gentlemen! Thank you! You are welcome. FENNYMAN Who is that? HENSLOWE Nobody. The author. WILL We are about to embark on a great voyage. HENSLOWE It is customary to make a little speech on the first day. It does no harm and authors like it. WILL You want to know what parts you are to receive. All will be settled as we go That's as far as he gets before there is a dramatic interruption - the public entrance door is flung open and SIX MEN make a loud entrance, headed by NED ALLEYN, the actor, who is a handsome piratical figure with a big voice and a big sword. ALLEYN Huzzah! The Admiral's Men are returned to the house! He gets various reactions. HENSLOWE and WILL shout his name joyfully, some of the actors are friends with the new group and behave accordingly, others know they are out of a job. FENNYMAN recovers, or tries to. FENNYMAN Who is this? ALLEYN slaps him aside with his sword. ALLEYN -LRB- roars. -RRB- Silence, you god! I am Hieronimo! I am Tamburlaine! I am Faustus! I am Barrabas, the Jew of Malta - of yes, Master Will, and I am Henry VI. What is the play, and what is my part? FENNYMAN is impressed. FENNYMAN A moment, sir! ALLEYN -LRB- roars. -RRB- Who are you? FENNYMAN -LRB- bleating. -RRB- I am the money! ALLEYN Then you may remain so long as you remain silent. Pay attention and you will see how genius creates a legend. FENNYMAN -LRB- respectfully. -RRB- Thank you, sir. WILL We are in desperate want of a Mercutio, Ned, a young nobleman of Verona ALLEYN And the title of this piece? WILL Mercutio HENSLOWE Is it? ALLEYN I will play him! Half a dozen of the ADMIRAL'S MEN will be given roles in our play and we meet them and identify them as WILL enthusiastically shakes hands. WILL Mr. Pope! Mr. Phillips! Welcome, George Bryan! James Armitage! -LRB- and now greeting SAM GOSSE, the female star of the Admiral's Men. -RRB- Sam! My pretty one! Are you ready to fall in love again? SAM -LRB- hoarsely. -RRB- I am, Master Shakespeare. WILL -LRB- concerned. -RRB- But your voice. -LRB- he thrust a hand between SAM'S legs. -RRB- Have they dropped? SAM -LRB- a girlie voice now. -RRB- No, no, a touch of cold only. We suspect he is lying but WILL has turned away. WILL Master Henslowe, you have your actors. He leaves, passing by the humbled FENNYMAN. FENNYMAN I saw his Tamburlaine, you know. Wonderful. WILL Yes, I saw it. FENNYMAN Of course, it was mighty writing. There is no one like Marlowe WILL is used to it. He goes.", "EXT. RIVERBANK. DAY. WILL arrives in a hurry at the wharfside, and looks vainly in the direction of the DE LESSEPSES' house : no THOMAS.", "EXT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE DOOR. DAY. WILL looks down the alley : - no THOMAS. He turns away. The URCHIN, the short - lived Ethel, is sitting in the alley. WILL Better fortune, boy. URCHIN -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- I was in a play. They cut my head off in Titus Andronicus. When I write plays, they will be like Titus. WILL -LRB- pleased. -RRB- You admire it? The URCHIN nods grimly. URCHIN I like it when they cut heads off. And the daughter mutilated with knives. WILL Oh. What is your name? URCHIN. says. John Webster. Here, kitty, kitty. Because a stray cat is nearby. The cat show an interest. The URCHIN passes a white mouse to the cat and watches the result with sober interest. URCHIN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Plenty of blood. That is the only writing. WILL backs away, unnerved by the boy. URCHIN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Wait, you'll see the cat bites his head off. WILL I have to get back.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE/AUDITORIUM. DAY. On stage. the actors carry their parts. NOL AS BENVOLIO `` See where he comes. So please you step aside ; I'll know his grievance or be much denied.'' MONTAGUE `` I would thou wert so happy by thy stay To hear true shrift. Come, madam, let's away.'' Onstage `` MONTAGUE'' and `` LADY MONTAGUE'' make their exit. Offstage, WILL appears next to HENSLOWE. WILL Cut round him for now. HENSLOWE -LRB- not understanding. -RRB- What? Who? WILL Romeo. HENSLOWE The one who came with your letter? WILL What? NOL AS BENVOLIO -LRB- O.S. -RRB- `` Good morrow, cousin.'' VIOLA AS ROMEO -LRB- O.S. -RRB- `` Is the day so young?'' The voice is THOMAS'S. WILL turns back to the stage and sees him. Today THOMAS has a wig as well as his small mustache. NOL AS BENVOLIO `` But new struck nine.'' VIOLA AS ROMEO `` Ay me, sad hours seem long. Was that my father that went hence so fast?'' NOL AS BENVOLIO It was. What sadness lengthens Romeo's hours?'' VIOLA AS ROMEO `` Not having that which, having, makes them short.'' WILL Good NOL AS BENVOLIO `` In love?'' VIOLA AS ROMEO `` Out.'' NOL AS BENVOLIO `` Of love?'' VIOLA AS ROMEO `` Out of her favour where I am in love.'' WILL -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- No, no, no... Do n't spend it all at once! The rehearsal stops. VIOLA AS THOMAS Yes, sir. WILL Do you understand me? VIOLA AS THOMAS No, sir. WILL He is speaking about a baggage we never even meet! What will be left in your purse when he meets his Juliet? HENSLOWE Juliet? You mean Ethel. WILL -LRB- rounding on him. -RRB- God's teeth, am I to suffer this constant stream of interruption?! -LRB- to THOMAS. -RRB- What will you do in Act Two when he meets the love of his life? VIOLA AS THOMAS -LRB- timidly - looking through his few sheets of paper. -RRB- I am very sorry, sir, I have not seen Act Two. WILL Of course you have not! I have not written it! Alone in the auditorium, FENNYMAN looks and listens, fascinated. So this is theatre! WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Go once more! NED ALLEYN comes out of the wings, frowning over his manuscript. ALLEYN Will... Where is Mercutio? WILL -LRB- tapping his forehead. -RRB- Locked safe in here. I leave the scene in your safe keeping, Ned, I have a sonnet to write. WILL moves back into the wings where HENSLOWE is looking anxious. HENSLOWE A sonnet? You mean a play. WILL moves on, ignoring him. As he goes, we see that VIOLA is love - struck by him, a riot in the heart.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. STAIRCASE. DAY. VIOLA still dressed as THOMAS, sonnet in hand, runs up the stairs to her room. From the other end of the house WESSEX can be heard ranting.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. HALL. NIGHT. LORD WESSEX is being kept waiting. The NURSE is bearing the brunt of his impatience. WESSEX Two hours at prayer! NURSE Lady Viola is pious, my lord. WESSEX Piety is for Sunday! And two hours at prayer is not piety, it is self - importance! NURSE It would be better that you return tomorrow, my lord. WESSEX It would be better that you tell her to get off her knees and show some civility to her six - day lord and master. VIOLA opens the door. She has changed hurriedly - too hurriedly : the effect of her glorious hair falling to her bare shoulders is spoiled by her mustache. Fortunately, the NURSE spots her before WESSEX does and by coming forward to greet her, the NURSE manages to shield Viola from view, communicate the problem, and announce WESSEX'S presence, so that by the time the NURSE has passed by VIOLA and let herself out of the room, the moustache has disappeared. WESSEX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- My lady VIOLA. VIOLA Lord Wessex. You have been waiting. WESSEX I am aware of it, but it is beauty's privilege. VIOLA You flatter, my lord. WESSEX No. I have spoken to the Queen. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Her majesty's consent is requisite when a Wessex takes a wife, and once gained, her consent is her command. VIOLA Do you intend to marry, my lord? WESSEX Your father should keep you better informed. He has bought me for you. He returns from his estates to see us married two weeks from Saturday. -LRB- pause. -RRB- You are allowed to show your pleasure. VIOLA I do not love you, my lord. WESSEX How your mind hops about! Your father was a shopkeeper, your children will bear arms, and I will recover my fortune. That is the only matter under discussion today. You will like Virginia. VIOLA Virginia?! WESSEX Why, yes! My fortune lies in my plantations. The tobacco weed. I need four thousand pounds to fit out a ship and put my investments to work - I fancy tobacco has a future. We will not stay there long, three or four years. VIOLA But why me? WESSEX It was your eyes. No, your lips. He kisses her with more passion than ceremony. VIOLA recoils, and slaps him. WESSEX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Will you defy your father and your Queen? VIOLA The Queen has consented? WESSEX She wants to inspect you. At Greenwich, come Sunday. Be submissive, modest, grateful and brief. VIOLA -LRB- forced to submit. -RRB- I will do my duty, my lord.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. She is writing to WILL. His letter - poem is on her table. We can read part of it. `` Shall I compare thee to a summer's day...'' Now we see what VIOLA is writing. INSERT : `` Master Will, poet dearest to my heart, I beseech you, banish me from yours - I am to marry Lord Wessex - a daughter's duty...'' She sheds a romantic, unhappy tear.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. SAM is now `` JULIET.'' The play has evidently reached Act I Scene 5. We are witnessing the meeting of `` ROMEO'' and `` JULIET'' in a simplified version of the changing - partners dance we saw at VIOLA'S house. NED ALLEYN is in charge. ALLEYN Gentlemen upstage, ladies downstage! The dance goes wrong. it is THOMAS'S fault. ALLEYN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- furious. -RRB- Gentlemen upstage! Ladies downstage! Are you a lady, Mr. Kent? THOMAS mutters a blushing apology. WILL arrives the bystanders, clutching fresh pages. He gives these to PETER. NED ALLEYN sees him and comes over to start an argument. WILL -LRB- preempting. -RRB- You did not like the speech? ALLEYN The speech is excellent. -LRB- he does the first line impressively. -RRB- `` Oh, then I see Queen Mab hath been with you!'' Excellent and a good length. But then he disappears for the length of a bible. WILL points significantly at the pages he has given PETER. WILL There you have his duel, a skirmish of words and swords such as I never wrote, nor anyone. He dies with such passion and poetry as your ever heard : `` a plague on both your houses!'' NED nods satisfied and turns back to work. Then he turns back. ALLEYN He dies? But the author has escaped.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. WRITER'S CORNER. DAY. Up aloft, WILL has a Writer's Corner where he settle down to work. We see his private superstition : he spins round in a circle, rubs his hands together, and spits on the floor. That done, he picks up his pen.", "EXT. STREET. NIGHT. WILL is charging down a narrow alley, and bumps into BURBAGE who is emerging from the door of a tavern. BURBAGE Will! WILL is in too much of a hurry to stop. BURBAGE calls after him. BURBAGE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And where are my pages. WILL hurries on.", "EXT. RIVERBANK. DUSK. VIOLA as THOMAS is being rowed across the river. From behind, in the direction of Bankside, `` he'' hears shouting. WILL -LRB- O.S. shouting. -RRB- Did you give her my letter? VIOLA as THOMAS turns to see WILL some way behind, following in another boat. She takes a letter from her coat and holds it aloft. VIOLA AS THOMAS -LRB- calling. -RRB- And this for you.", "EXT. THE RIVER. VIOLA'S BOAT. NIGHT. WILL has climbed aboard VIOLA'S boat and is tearing open the letter. What he reads causes him great pain. He collapses into the stern seat next to VIOLA. WILL Oh, Thomas! She has cut my strings! I am unmanned, unmended, and unmade, like a puppet in a box. BOATMAN Writer, is he? WILL turns on him savagely WILL Row your boat.", "EXT. THE RIVER. VIOLA'S BOAT. NIGHT. WILL turns back to VIOLA. They have their conversation intimately, disregarding the lack of intimacy. The BOATMAN is hardly an arm's length away, but they ignore him. WILL She tells me to keep away. She is to marry Lord Wessex. What should I do? VIOLA AS THOMAS If you love her, you must do what she asks. WILL And break her heart and mine? VIOLA AS THOMAS It is only ours you can know. WILL She loves me, Thomas! VIOLA AS THOMAS Does she say so? WILL No. And yet she does where the ink has run with tears. Was she weeping when she gave you this? VIOLA AS THOMAS I... Her letter came to me by the nurse. WILL Your aunt? VIOLA AS THOMAS -LRB- catching up. -RRB- Yes, my aunt. But perhaps she wept a little. Tell me how you love her, Will. WILL Like a sickness and its cure together. VIOLA AS THOMAS Yes, like rain and sun, like cold and heat. -LRB- collecting herself. -RRB- Is your lady beautiful? Since I came to visit from the country, I have not seen her close. Tell me, is she beautiful? WILL Oh, if I could write the beauty of her eyes! I was born to look in them and know myself. He is looking into VIOLA'S eyes. She holds his look, but WILL belies his words. VIOLA AS THOMAS And her lips? WILL Oh, Thomas, her lips! The early morning rose would wither on the branch, if it could feel envy! VIOLA AS THOMAS And her voice? Like lark song? WILL Deeper. Softer. None of your twittering larks! I would banish nightingales from her garden before they interrupt her song. VIOLA AS THOMAS She sings too? WILL Constantly. Without doubt. And plays the lute, she has a natural ear. And her bosom - did I mention her bosom? VIOLA AS THOMAS -LRB- glinting. -RRB- What of her bosom? WILL Oh Thomas, a pair of pippins! As round and rare as golden apples! VIOLA AS THOMAS I think the lady is wise to keep your love at a distance. For what lady could live up to it close to, when her eyes and lips and voice may be no more beautiful than mine? Besides, can a lady born to wealth and noble marriage love happily with a Bankside poet and player? WILL -LRB- fervently. -RRB- Yes, by God! Love knows nothing of rank or riverbank! It will spark between a queen and the poor vagabond who plays the king, and their love should be minded by each, for love denied blights the soul we owe to God! So tell my lady, William Shakespeare waits for her in the garden! VIOLA AS THOMAS But what of Lord Wessex? WILL For one kiss, I would defy a thousand Wessexes! The boat scrapes on the jetty of the DE LESSEPSES' house. The bump throws THOMAS into WILL'S arms. He holds her round the shoulders. His words have almost unmasked her. The closeness does the rest. She kisses him on the mouth and jumps out of the boat. VIOLA Oh, Will! She throws a coin to the BOATMAN and runs towards the house. BOATMAN Thank you, my lady! WILL -LRB- stunned. -RRB- Lady? BOATMAN Viola De Lesseps. Known her since she was this high. Would n't deceive a child. WILL gets out of the boat. BOATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- reaching under his seat. -RRB- Strangely enough, I'm a bit of a writer myself. The BOATMAN produces his memoirs in manuscript. BOATMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It would n't take you long to read it, I expect you know all the booksellers. But WILL has gone.", "EXT. DE LESSEPSES' GARDEN. NIGHT. WILL drops over the wall into the garden and without hesitation starts climbing up to her balcony.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. WILL comes in through the window, just as VIOLA enters by the door. They stare at each other across the room. WILL Can you love a fool? VIOLA Can you love a player? They run together and fall into a passionate kiss. WILL -LRB- springs back. -RRB- Wait! You are still a maid and perhaps as mistook in me as I was mistook in Thomas Kent. VIOLA Answer me only this : are you the author of the plays of William Shakespeare? WILL I am. VIOLA Then kiss me again for I am not mistook. They run together and fall into a passionate kiss. VIOLA fumbles with his clothing, he with hers. VIOLA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I do not know how to undress a man. WILL It is strange to me, too.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. OUTSIDE VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. The NURSE has come to listen. She puts her ear against the door. Because she hears muffled voices, she looks startled.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. WILL is half - naked. VIOLA is down to her petticoat, and chemise. The petticoat comes away. WILL flings it aside. He takes off her chemise. He is startled to find that she is tightly bandaged round the bosom. WILL finds the loose end and spins her naked.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. OUTSIDE VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. The NURSE, drags a chair - a rocker - outside the bedroom door, and takes up her position. She sits down, keeping guard. Pretty soon there comes the regular creak of VIOLA'S bed. The NURSE fans herself furiously with her little lacy fan. She crosses herself. A CHAMBERMAID comes along the gallery outside the bedroom door. She is dusting her way along. The CHAMBERMAID becomes aware of the regular creaking. She pauses. The NURSE begins to rock in her chair, keeping time with the creaking from within. The CHAMBERMAID stares at the NURSE. The NURSE stares at the CHAMBERMAID. NURSE Go to, go to.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT WILL and VIOLA have finished making love, and lie in each other's arms. VIOLA I would not have thought it. There is something better than a play. WILL There is. VIOLA Even your play. WILL -LRB- frowns. -RRB- Oh VIOLA And that was only my first try. WILL Well perhaps better than my first. -LRB- he kisses her again. -RRB-", "EXT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. DAWN. Dawn is breaking. The sun lacing the severing clouds with envious streaks.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. OUTSIDE VIOLA'S BEDROOM. DAWN The NURSE has fallen asleep in her rocking chair.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. DAWN. A rooster crows at some distance. VIOLA and WILL are in bed. She stirs drowsily. VIOLA, coming awake, speaks his name and he kisses her. VIOLA Will Then he starts to get out of bed. VIOLA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You would not leave me? WILL I must. Look - how pale the window. VIOLA -LRB- pulling him down. -RRB- Moonlight! WILL No, the morning rooster woke me. VIOLA It was the owl - come to bed She is winning. She kisses him and pulls the bedclothes around them. WILL -LRB- giving in. -RRB- Oh, let Henslowe wait. VIOLA -LRB- pausing, pushing him away. -RRB- Mr. Henslowe? WILL -LRB- persisting. -RRB- Let him be damned for his pages! VIOLA Oh - no, no! WILL -LRB- kissing her. -RRB- There is time. It is still dark. VIOLA It is broad day! -LRB- the rooster crows again. -RRB- The rooster tells us so! WILL It was the owl. Believe me, love, it was the owl. He kisses her and starts to make love to her again. VIOLA gives him a shove which pushes him onto the floor. She sits up and pulls on her gown. VIOLA You would leave us players without a scene to read today?! There's a knock at the door.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE VIOLA'S BEDROOM/VIOLA'S BEDROOM. DAWN. The NURSE is knocking. VIOLA comes to the door. NURSE My lady, the house is stirring, it is a new day. VIOLA looks beautified by the hours that have passed. VIOLA It is a new world!", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE/AUDITORIUM. DAY. The cut is to the middle of a rehearsal. We are coming up to the moment when `` ROMEO'' and `` JULIET'' kiss for the first time -LRB- Act I Scene V -RRB- NED ALLEYN is in charge but WILL is watching. His life has turned perfect. VIOLA AS ROMEO... Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?'' SAM AS JULIET `` Ay pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.'' VIOLA AS ROMEO `` Oh then, dear saint, let lips do what hands to : They pray : grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.'' WILL is in her eye - line. Her eyes flash an intimate secret look to him. SAM AS JULIET `` Saints do not move, though grant for prayer's sake.'' And VIOLA misses her cue as a result. SAM -LRB- prompting her. -RRB- It's you. ALLEYN -LRB- roars. -RRB- Suffering cats! VIOLA guiltily picks up her line. VIOLA AS ROMEO `` Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.'' In character, VIOLA kisses SAM, demurely, but apparently not demurely enough for WILL, who gives a twitch. VIOLA AS ROMEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- `` Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purg'd.'' SAM AS JULIET `` Then have my lips the sin that they have took.'' VIOLA AS ROMEO `` Sin from my lips? Oh trespass sweetly urg'd. Give me my sin again.'' VIOLA kisses SAM again. WILL gives a major twitch, which in fact catapults his body onto the stage. Everybody looks at him in surprise. WILL Yes... yes... er... not quite right... it is more let me. -LRB- as JULIET. -RRB- `` Then have my lips the sin that they have took.'' VIOLA AS ROMEO Sin from my lips? Oh trespass sweetly urg'd. Give me my sin again.'' VIOLA kisses WILL. They lose themselves for a fraction of a moment. As VIOLA withdraws her lips, WILL'S lips are going for it again. VIOLA AS ROMEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- `` You kiss by th' book.'' ALLEYN -LRB- to Will, sarcastically. -RRB- Well! It was lucky you were here! Why do not I write the rest of your play while you WILL -LRB- apologising, retreating. -RRB- Yes, yes... continue. Now the Nurse. Where is Ralph? RALPH has been ready and waiting. RALPH AS NURSE `` Madam, your mother craves a word with you.'' VIOLA AS ROMEO `` What is her mother?'' RALPH AS NURSE `` Marry bachelor, Her mother is the lady of the house...'' WILL has retreated to", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. BACKSTAGE. DAY. He is behind the curtain now. RALPH AS NURSE -LRB- O.S. -RRB-''... And a good lady, and wise and virtuous. I nurse her daughter that you talk'd withal...'' During RALPH'S lines -LRB- which are continuous -RRB- WILL stands in the shadow behind the curtain, alone, agitated.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. RALPH AS NURSE `` I tell you, he that can lay hold of her -LRB- he makes the money sign -RRB- Shall have the chinks.'' VIOLA AS ROMEO `` Is she a Capulet'' Oh dear account. My life is my foe's debt.'' NOL, AS `` BENVOLIO,'' at a party, carrying a goblet, tipsy, enters the scene. NOL AS BENVOLIO -LRB- to ROMEO. -RRB- `` Away, be gone, the sport is at best.'' VIOLA, about to make her exit, has her hand holding the curtain at the gap.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. BEHIND THE CURTAIN. DAY. WILL is kissing her hand.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. VIOLA AS ROMEO `` Ay, so I fear ; the more is my unrest.''", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. BEHIND THE CURTAIN. DAY. VIOLA comes through the curtain. WILL and VIOLA kiss, dangerously - they are in a narrow space, hidden from the general backstage area. SAM AS JULIET -LRB- O.S. -RRB- `` Come hither nurse. What is yond gentleman?'' VIOLA -LRB- to Will. -RRB- Oh let it be night!", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. RALPH AS NURSE `` I know not.'' SAM AS JULIET `` Go ask his name - If he be married, My grave is like to be my wedding bed.''", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. BEHIND THE CURTAIN. DAY. `` JULIET'S'' line bits WILL between the eyes. WILL pulls away. VIOLA Oh, do not go WILL I must. I must", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. BACKSTAGE. DAY. As WILL races up the ladder to his writer's corner, the rehearsal can be heard continuing. RALPH AS NURSE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- `` His name is Romeo, and a Montague, The only son of your great enemy.'' ALLEYN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- roaring from the audience. -RRB- Terrible!", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. WRITER'S CORNER. DAY. WILL arrives at the top of the building in his writer's corner. He spins around once in a circle, rubs his hands together and spits on the floor. His manuscript is all over the table. We take a peak at the lines he has already written. INSERT MANUSCRIPT : `` But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun.'' VIOLA'S VOICE OVER speaks the line. VIOLA -LRB- VO. -RRB- `` But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun!''", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. EVENING. VIOLA -LRB- reading. -RRB- `` Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon Who is already sick and pale with grief That thou her maid art far more fair than she...'' VIOLA is in bed, reading the lines from the manuscript page. WILL is in bed with her, reading with her. VIOLA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh, Will! WILL Yes, some of it is speakable. She has to speak through WILL'S kisses, he is nibbling at her neck and shoulders and she has to bat him away with the pages. VIOLA -LRB- continuing reading. -RRB- `` It is my lady, O it is my love! O that she knew she were!''", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. VIOLA continues the speech, edge - to - edge, now in rehearsal, with SAM as `` JULIET'' sighing on the balcony above her. VIOLA AS ROMEO `` The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars As daylight doth a lamp. Her eyes in heaven Would through the airy region stream so bright That birds would sing and think it were not night. See how she leans her cheek upon her hand. O that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek. SAM AS JULIET -LRB- above. -RRB- `` Ay me.'' VIOLA AS ROMEO `` She speaks. Oh speak again bright angel...'' We have abandoned real time. The scene continues CROSS CUT between the STAGE and VIOLA'S BED.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. EVENING. WILL -LRB- reading through VIOLA'S kisses. -RRB- `` Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name.''", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE. DAY SAM AS JULIET `` Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love And I'll no longer be a Capulet.'' VIOLA AS ROMEO -LRB- below. -RRB- `` Shall I hear more or shall I speak at this?''", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. WILL and VIOLA in bed. WILL `` What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night So stumblest on my counsel?''", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE/AUDITORIUM. NIGHT. It's become late and the rehearsal is continuing by torchlight. VIOLA AS ROMEO... By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am : My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself Because it is an enemy to thee...'' We see that a group of the other actors have drifted `` out front,'' drawn by the scene. FENNYMAN is there entranced. Clearly, this stuff is a cut above the normal.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT WILL, undressed, strides around the room, feeding `` JULIET'S'' lines to VIOLA in bed. WILL `` The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, And the place death, considering who thou art, If any of my kinsmen find thee here. If they do see thee, they will murder thee.''", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE. NIGHT. VIOLA AS ROMEO `` Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye, Than twenty of their swords! Look thou but sweet, And I am proof against their enmity.'' SAM AS JULIET I would not for the world! VIOLA AS ROMEO I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes ; And but thou love me, let them find me here.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. WILL and VIOLA are both out of bed, halfway though dressing. Still rehearsing. WILL `` Good night, good night. As sweet repose and rest Come to thy heart as that within my breast. O wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?'' VIOLA That's my line! WILL Oh, but it is mine too!", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE. NIGHT. VIOLA AS ROMEO `` O wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?'' SAM AS JULIET `` What satisfaction can ` st thou have tonight?'' VIOLA AS ROMEO `` The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine.''", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. WILL and VIOLA are back on the bed, kissing and making love. WILL `` My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep : VIOLA AND WILL -LRB- continuing the speech with him. -RRB- the more I give to thee The more I have, for both are infinite.'' Outside the NURSE is knocking on the door and calling.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. SAM AS JULIET `` I hear some noise within. Dear love, adieu.'' RALPH, the Nurse, call's `` JULIET!'' off stage.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT VIOLA -LRB- calling to the NURSE who is outside. -RRB- Anon, good Nurse", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. OUTSIDE VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. The NURSE listens at the door.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. SAM AS JULIET `` Anon, good Nurse - Sweet Montague be true.''", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. WILL `` Stay but a little, I will come again.'' VIOLA slaps him playfully for his vulgarity, and then kisses him.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. SAM AS JULIET `` Stay but a little, I will come again.'' SAM leaves the balcony through the curtain. VIOLA AS ROMEO `` Oh blessed blessed night.''", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. It is night. They have just made love. Suddenly it is very still. VIOLA -LRB- almost to herself. -RRB- `` I am feared, Being in night, all this but a dream, Too flattering - sweet to be substantial.''", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. BACKSTAGE. DAY. Onstage, the scene continues. Backstage NED ALLEYN is working his way upstairs. He passes by RALPH -LRB- the Nurse -RRB- who has a couple of words `` of,'' as it were, in `` JULIET'S'' chamber. SAM AS JULIET -LRB- O.S. -RRB-''... All my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay, And follow thee my lord throughout the world.'' RALPH AS NURSE `` Madam!'' SAM AS JULIET -LRB- O.S. -RRB- `` I come, anon - But if thou meanest not well, I do beseech thee -'' RALPH AS NURSE `` Madam!'' SAM AS JULIET -LRB- O.S. -RRB- By and by I come to cease thy strife and leave me to my grief. A thousand times good night!'' SAM exits -LRB- i.e. enters to us -RRB- through the curtain. SAM -LRB- to NED. -RRB- I can not move in this dress! and it makes me look like a pig! I have no neck in this pig dress! -LRB- and then hearing his cue from `` ROMEO''. -RRB- Oh, she's off again! She says she's going and then she does n't", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. WRITER'S CORNER. DAY. NED is arriving. WILL is busy writing. PETER is there, holding the pages WILL has completed, and waiting for WILL to finish his page. PETER is reading his pages. WILL sees NED arrive. He gives his page to PETER. WILL -LRB- to PETER. -RRB- How is it? PETER -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- It's all right. Typical! , says WILL'S face. Peter departs, leaving the field to NED. WILL braces himself. WILL Ned... I know... I know ALLEYN It's good. WILL Oh ALLEYN The title wo n't do. WILL Ah ALLEYN Romeo and Juliet - just a suggestion. WILL Thank you, Ned. The whole exchange is in ironic code, between old soldiers. NED nods curtly and turns to descend. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You are a gentleman. ALLEYN And you are a Warwickshire shit - house.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE/AUDITORIUM. DAY. PETER is just handing the pages HENSLOWE in the auditorium. HENSLOWE has acquired a performing dog. The dog does somersaults tirelessly. As PETER hands over the pages, he shakes his head. HENSLOWE -LRB- in disbelief. -RRB- You mean, no dog of any kind? FENNYMAN, the born - again theatre groupie shushes HENSLOWE and looks daggers at him. PETER -LRB- to HENSLOWE. -RRB- The Friar married them in secret, then Ned gets into a fight with one of the Capulets, Romeo tries to stop them, he gets in Ned's way, I mean in Mercutio's way, so Tybalt kills Mercutio and then Romeo kills Tybalt. Then the Prince banishes him from Verona. HENSLOWE -LRB- much relieved. -RRB- That must be when he goes on the voyage and gets shipwrecked on the island of the Pirate King. FENNYMAN ca n't hear it. He storms over. Kicks the dog, roars at HENSLOWE. FENNYMAN Cease your prattling! Get out! -LRB- to the stage where the action has paused. -RRB- A thousand apologies! SAM AS JULIET `` Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow That I shall say good night till it be morrow.''", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. MORNING. A sunbeam wakes the lovers. Sunday morning. Church bells. VIOLA wakes with a start. Something is bothering her, she ca n't think what. WILL calms her. WILL Sunday... it is Sunday. He brings her back down to the pillow. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I found something in my sleep. The Friar who married them will take up their destinies. VIOLA Oh, but it will end well for love? WILL In heaven, perhaps. It is not a comedy I am writing now. A broad river divides my lovers - family, duty, fate - as unchangeable as nature. VIOLA -LRB- sobered. -RRB- Yes, this is not life, Will. This is a stolen season. Suddenly there is a great racket heard from downstairs... a man shouting. WESSEX -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Not ready? Where is she? NURSE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Be patient, my lord, she is dressing. WESSEX -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Will you ask Her Majesty to be patient?! VIOLA remembers. She jumps up and gives a cry. VIOLA Sunday! Greenwich!", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. OUTSIDE VIOLA'S BEDROOM. MORNING. The NURSE is barring the stairs to WESSEX. WESSEX Now, pay attention, Nursy. The Queen, Gloriana Regina, God's Chosen Vessel, the Radiant One, who shines her light on us, is at Greenwich today, and prepared, during the evening's festivities, to bestow her gracious favour on my choice of wife - and if we're late for lunch, the old boot will not forgive. So you get you to my lady's chamber and produce her with or without her undergarments.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. MORNING. VIOLA has her dress on and is putting on her shoes. WILL, in his underwear is in mid - argument. WILL You can not! Not for the Queen herself! VIOLA What will you have me do? Marry you instead? WILL -LRB- brought up short. -RRB- To be the wife of a poor player? - can I wish that for Lady Viola, except in my dreams? And yet I would, if I were free to follow my desire in the harsh light of day. VIOLA -LRB- tartly. -RRB- You follow your desire freely enough in the night. So, if that is all, to Greenwich I go. WILL Then I will go with you. VIOLA You can not, Wessex will kill you WILL I know how to fight! VIOLA -LRB- now fixing her hair. -RRB- Stage fighting! -LRB- turn to him. -RRB- Oh, Will! As Thomas Kent my heart belongs to you but as Viola the river divides us, and I will marry Wessex a week from Saturday.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. OUTSIDE VIOLA'S BEDROOM DOWNSTAIRS HALL. MORNING. The ranting from WESSEX has continued WESSEX -LRB- ranting. -RRB- By heaven, I will drag her down, by the Queen's command And is cut off short as VIOLA'S door opens at the top of the stairs. VIOLA Good morning, my lord! WESSEX -LRB- impressed by her appearance. -RRB- Ah! My lady! The tide waits for no man, but I swear it would wait for you! VIOLA comes down the stairs. Behind her WILL appears gowned and bonneted. He has also assumed a country accent. WILL Here we come at last, my lord! WESSEX -LRB- taken aback. -RRB- Are you bringing your laundry woman? WILL Her chaperone. My lady's country cousin. -LRB- arriving with a curtsey. -RRB- My, but you be a handsome gallant, just as she said! You may call me Miss Wilhelmina! WESSEX On a more fortuitous occasion, perhaps WILL Oh, my lord, you will not shake me off, she never needed me more, I sear by your breeches!", "EXT. GREENWICH PALACE. NIGHT. Fireworks explode in the evening sky over Greenwich, a royal palace, crowded now with noble guests.", "EXT. GREENWICH PALACE. TERRACE. NIGHT. The way these royal routs work is that guest mill about, chatting, bowing and generally behaving gallantly, while QUEEN ELIZABETH creates a vortex around her as she passes through the throng, occasionally honouring somebody with a couple of words, until she arrives thankfully at the best chair... where she establishes a headquarters. Her current LORD IN WAITING ferries the lucky few forward to a brief audience with the QUEEN, each giving way to the next. VIOLA and WESSEX are, respectively, dipping and bowing as they are greeted by people who know them... Will, in close attendance, joins in gratuitously, bowing until VIOLA nudges him and reminds him to curtsey instead. The QUEEN'S LORD IN WAITING plucks WESSEX'S sleeve. WESSEX -LRB- to him. -RRB- Now? LORD IN WAITING Now. WESSEX -LRB- to Viola. -RRB- The Queen asks for you. Answer well. The LORD IN WAITING ushers VIOLA through the crowd. WILL starts to follow. WESSEX takes him by the arm. WESSEX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Is there a man? WILL A man, my lord? WESSEX -LRB- impatiently. -RRB- There was a man, poet - a theatre poet, I heard - does he come to the house? WILL A theatre poet? WESSEX An insolent penny - a - page rogue, Marlowe, he said, Christopher Marlowe - has he been to the house? WILL Marlowe? Oh yes, he is the one, lovely waistcoat, shame about the poetry. WESSEX -LRB- venomously. -RRB- That dog! ANGLE on the QUEEN. The LORD IN WAITING has presented VIOLA. VIOLA speaks from a frozen curtsey. VIOLA Your Majesty. QUEEN Stand up straight, girl. VIOLA straightens. The QUEEN examines her. QUEEN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I have seen you. You are the one who comes to all the plays - at Whitehall, at Richmond. VIOLA -LRB- agreeing. -RRB- Your Majesty. QUEEN What do you love so much? VIOLA Your Majesty QUEEN Speak out! I know who I am. Do you love stories of kings and queens? Feats of arms? Or is it courtly love? VIOLA I love theatre. To have stories acted for me by a company of fellows is indeed QUEEN -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- They are not acted for you, they are acted for me. VIOLA remains silent, in apology. ANGLE on WILL. He is watching and listening. He has never seen the QUEEN so close. He is fascinated. QUEEN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And -? VIOLA And I love poetry above all. QUEEN Above Lord Wessex? She looks over VIOLA'S shoulder and VIOLA realises WESSEX has moved up behind her. WESSEX bows. QUEEN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- to WESSEX. -RRB- My Lord - when you can not find your wife you had better look for her at the playhouse. The COURTIERS titter at her pleasantry. QUEEN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- But playwrights teach nothing about love, they make it pretty, they make it comical, or they make it lust. They can not make it true. VIOLA -LRB- blurts. -RRB- Oh, but they can! She has forgotten herself. The COURTIERS gasp. The QUEEN considers her. WESSEX looks furious. WILL is touched. VIOLA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I mean... Your Majesty, they do not, they have not, but I believe there is one who can WESSEX Lady Viola is... young in the world. Your Majesty is wise in it. Nature and truth are the very enemies of playacting. I'll wager my fortune. QUEEN I thought you were here because you had none. Titters again. WESSEX could kill somebody. QUEEN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- by way of dismissing him. -RRB- Well, no one will take your wager, it seems. WILL Fifty pounds! Shock and horror. QUEEN ELIZABETH is the only person amused. QUEEN Fifty pounds! A very worthy sum on a very worthy question. Can a play show us the very truth and nature of love? I bear witness to the wager, and will be the judge of it as occasion arises. -LRB- which wins a scatter of applause. She gathers her skirts and stands. -RRB- I have not seen anything to settle it yet. -LRB- she moves away, everybody bowing and scraping. -RRB- So - the fireworks will be soothing after the excitements of Lady Viola's audience. -LRB- and now she is next to WESSEX who is bowing low. Intimately to him. -RRB- Have her then, but you are a lordly fool. She has been plucked since I saw her last, and not by you. It takes a woman to know it. The QUEEN passes by, and as WESSEX comes vertical again, we see his face a mask of furious realisation. WESSEX -LRB- to himself. -RRB- Marlowe!", "INT. BURBAGE'S HOUSE. ENTRANCE. DAY. CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE shuts the door behind him. Above him, the ceiling creaks to the rhythm of copulation. He has a sheaf of manuscript pages in his hand. He goes to the stairs. MARLOWE Burbage! The creaking stops. BURBAGE'S VOICE Who's there?", "INT. BURBAGE'S HOUSE. STAIRS. DAY. MARLOWE ascends. MARLOWE Marlowe. BURBAGE'S VOICE Kit!", "INT. BURBAGE'S HOUSE. BEDROOM. DAY. MARLOWE enters, ignoring the situation on the bed where ROSALINE is astride BURBAGE. MARLOWE You are playing my Faustus this afternoon. Do n't spend yourself in sport. ROSALINE -LRB- working hard. -RRB- This afternoon! - we'll still be here this afternoon. BURBAGE What do you want, Kit? MARLOWE My Massacre at Paris is complete. BURBAGE You have the last act? MARLOWE You have the money? BURBAGE Tomorrow. MARLOWE -LRB- leaving. -RRB- Then tomorrow you will have the pages. BURBAGE Wait! -LRB- to ROSALINE. -RRB- Will you desist! MARLOWE Twenty pounds on delivery BURBAGE What is money to me like us? Besides, if I need a play, I have another waiting, a comedy by Shakespeare. MARLOWE Romeo? - he gave it to Henslowe. BURBAGE Never! MARLOWE Well, I am to Deptford now, I leave my respects, Miss Rosaline. BURBAGE I gave Shakespeare two sovereigns for Romeo! MARLOWE -LRB- leaving. -RRB- You did. But Ned Alleyn and the Admiral's Men have the playing of it as the Rose. BURBAGE Treachery! BURBAGE rouses himself violently, throwing ROSALINE off the bed. The glass bracelet is flung from her wrist. It breaks on the floor, releasing a strip of paper. BURBAGE picks it up. What he reads on it does not please him : it is WILL'S signature. BURBAGE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Traitor and thief!", "EXT. STREETS. DAY. BURBAGE and a solid wedge of the CHAMBERLAIN'S MEND are cleaving a path through the crowds. Their faces are grim.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE/AUDITORIUM/UNDER THE STAGE. DAY. We are in Act III Scene I. NED ALLEYN as `` MERCUTIO'' and NOL as `` BENVOLIO'', and two `` MONTAGUE'' sidekicks are in occupation of the stage, when the `` CAPULETS'' swagger in, four of them headed by JAMES HEMMINGS as `` TYBALT.'' NOL AS BENVOLIO `` By my head, here comes the Capulets.'' ALLEYN AS MERCUTIO `` By my heel, I care not.'' JAMES HEMMINGS AS TYBALT `` Follow me close, for I will speak to them. -LRB- with bombast to `` MERCUTIO''. -RRB- Gentlemen, good e ` en : a word with one of you.'' NED comes out of character. ALLEYN Are you going to do it like that? And before the humbled actor can reply NED continues. ALLEYN -LRB- AS MECUTIO. -RRB- And but one word with one of us? Couple it with something, make it a word and a blow. But suddenly six more men and a dog invade the stage, ready to fight. BURBAGE and the CHAMBERLAIN'S MEN have arrived to avenge BURBAGE'S honour with swords, clubs, and a bucket -LRB- containing pig swill -RRB-. BURBAGE Where is that thieving hack who ca n't keep his pen in his own ink pot!? WILL has already leapt up onto the stage. WILL What is this rabble?! BURBAGE aims a blow at WILL, who ducks and grabs a stave from the nearest actor, and parries the blow. He swings at BURBAGE, a CHAMBERLAIN'S MAN swings at WILL, THOMAS cries out, someone else slashes the stage hangings bringing down the drapes, and in a moment the ADMIRAL'S MEN and the CHAMBERLAIN'S MEN, using their much rehearsed skills, are brawling with weapons and fist, using everything short of unbuttoned rapiers. CRAB, the dog, is yapping and snapping at any legs he can reach. HENSLOWE, a little slow to catch up on the situation, checks the page in his hand. FENNYMAN, much slower to catch up, watches enthralled. FENNYMAN -LRB- to HENSLOWE. -RRB- Wonderful, wonderful! And a dog! But now HENSLOWE has worked out that these actors do n't belong, nor does the scene. he enters the fray, but his interest is protecting his property. Big burly RALPH is using a couple of unlit torches as weapons ; he breaks one of them over an enemy's back and HENSLOWE turns on RALPH HENSLOWE Not with my props! VIOLA is doing well enough, tripping up an enemy with a well - judged stave, and then using it to deflect a blow aimed at WILL VIOLA Will! What -? WILL A literary feud. Quite normal. Then he is smashed over the head. He falls off the stage taking VIOLA with him. Under the stage is a space -LRB- known as Hell -RRB- and WILL shoves VIOLA into this space. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Stay hid! He gets back onto the stage, where the goings on are worthy of the Four Musketeers and Robin Hood combined, with SAM GOSSE, dressed as `` JULIET,'' fighting with the best of them. There is a stack of cushions, stored for the expensive seats, and as the stack s knocked over, NED ALLEYN and others grab cushions to use as shields. Soon cushions are being ripped, and the air is full of flying feathers. The trap door in the stage opens, VIOLA'S head pops up. She looks around and, surrounded by milling legs and floating feathers, a boot catches her sideways and half knocks her wig off. In danger of having her cover blown, she ducks down again, leaving the trap open just nicely for Will to plummet down it.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. UNDER THE STAGE. DAY. WILL I dreamed last night of a shipwreck. You were cast ashore in a far country. They embrace and kiss. In a moment they are in a world of their own.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. UNDER THE STAGE. DAY. The battle rages. FENNYMAN, alone now in the auditorium, continues to watch entranced. It's the greatest show he's ever seen. HENSLOWE is desperately trying to rescue odd props that have been seconded to the fight. Someone picks up a tree that is to be used in Romeo. HENSLOWE yells. HENSLOWE We need that for the balcony scene! FENNYMAN notices this, and it rings a distant bell. He looks around the realises that some of these faces are unfamiliar. The tree comes crashing down on RALPH'S head. FENNYMAN looks at HENSLOWE. HENSLOWE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- in despair. -RRB- My poor Rose! He collapses on to a broken bench. FENNYMAN comes over to him, grabs the script pages from his pocket, and consults them to confirm what he has now begun to suspect : that this scene is not in them. FENNYMAN -LRB- horrified. -RRB- My investment! LAMBERT! LAMBERT has been sleeping peacefully through this, but wakes to his master's call. FENNYMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- points at the fray. -RRB- VENGEANCE! HENSLOWE attempts to intervene. HENSLOWE I want no more trouble, Mr. Fennyman. As I explained to you, the theatre business FENNYMAN Henslowe, you pound of tripe, in my business I would be out of business if I had your courage, so do n't tell me about business And he delivers a telling blow to a passing CHAMBERLAIN'S MAN, who wheels off the stage. LAMBERT meanwhile is making short work of the rest of the opposition, receiving help with the thorny business of identification from SAM. Stray members of the CHAMBERLAIN'S MEN are running from the theatre, as BURBAGE, fighting a heroic last stand, is tipped backwards by FENNYMAN off the stage and into a bucket of swill. A PAUSE. Then NED starts applauding. The others, weary from fighting, start applauding too, from all levels of the theatre. FENNYMAN looks around, starting to beam, as a din of encores and bravos engulf him. A star!", "INT. BROTHEL. NIGHT. The victorious army of actors bursts into the brothel, FENNYMAN at their head. He owns the brothel. The place is already crowded with WHORES and CUSTOMERS. It's a party. FENNYMAN -LRB- shouts. -RRB- A famous victory! Kegs and legs. Open and on the house! Oh what happy hour! -LRB- and grabbing a RADDLED WHORE. -RRB- Poxy Pol! You keep yourself to yourself I'll not have you infecting my investment! VIOLA AS THOMAS -LRB- looking around guardedly. To WILL. -RRB- Is this a tavern? WILL It is also a tavern. WILL sits her down in THE COMPANY and takes the chair next to her A PRETTY WHORE immediately sits on WILL'S knee and kisses him. PRETTY WHORE I remember you! The poet! VIOLA furiously pulls the PRETTY WHORE off WILL'S lap. PRETTY WHORE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- One at a time, one at a time! SECOND WHORE -LRB- to VIOLA. -RRB- Oh, he's a pretty one! Tell me your story while I tickle your fancy! VIOLA AS THOMAS Oh! - it's - it's - oh, it's a house of ill - repute! WILL It is, Thomas, but of good reputation. Come, there is no harm in a drink. Glasses are shoved into their hands. Everyone has a glass. Except RALPH RALPH -LRB- declining the glass. -RRB- Never when I'm working! The PRETTY WHORE has turned her attention to SAM. SAM looks uncomfortable PRETTY WHORE Never tried it? Never? -LRB- groping him. -RRB- I think you are ready, Sam! FENNYMAN shouts a toast. FENNYMAN -LRB- raising his glass. -RRB- You are welcome to my best house! Here's to the Admiral's Men! Everybody drinks. VIOLA drinks too. She decides too. She decides to enjoy it. She bangs down her glass. VIOLA AS THOMAS -LRB- shouts. -RRB- The Admiral's Men! WILL toasts with her. He sees that she feels one of THE COMPANY.", "EXT. STREET. NIGHT. A figure is running desperately through the streets. He comes into the square and runs towards the Rose.", "EXT. BROTHEL. NIGHT. Half THE COMPANY are singing. NOL and a WHORE are tumbling down the stairs together. He is without his trousers. An awful lot of drink has gone down. SAM -LRB- to the PRETTIEST WHORE. -RRB- I... quite liked it. VIOLA, bright eyed, is banging her glass on the table in time to a song which is being drunkenly delivered by a barbershop quartet of actors. FENNYMAN reels into VIOLA. FENNYMAN Master Kent! You have not dipped your wick? VIOLA AS THOMAS -LRB- baffled. -RRB- My wick? WILL -LRB- saving her. -RRB- Mr. Fennyman, because you love the theatre you must have a part in my play. I am writing an Apothecary, a small but vital role. FENNYMAN -LRB- embracing WILL. -RRB- By heaven, I thank you! I will be your Apothecary! In his general enthusiasm, he embraces the next man, who is RALPH, stone cold sober. FENNYMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I am to be in your play. WHORE -LRB- to RALPH. -RRB- And what is this play about? RALPH Well, there's this Nurse FENNYMAN, beside himself, shouts for silence, announcing FENNYMAN Mr. Shakespeare has given me the part of the Apothecary! HENSLOWE The Apothecary? Will, what is the story? Where is the shipwreck? How does the comedy end? WILL By God, I wish I knew. HENSLOWE By God, Will, if you do not, who does? Let us have pirates, clowns, and a happy ending, or we will send you back to Stratford to your wife! That goes down every well with the entire COMPANY... except for VIOLA and WILL. He looks at her, helplessly, then makes as if to say something. VIOLA ducks away from him and blunders blindly out of the street door, in tears. VIOLA passes PETER who is coming in from the street. WILL, attempting to follow VIOLA, is grabbed round the shoulders by PETER... who, we now see, is in a highly emotional state. WILL tries to fight him off but PETER has the strength of the news he brings. PETER -LRB- shouts. -RRB- Will! Mr. Henslowe! Gentlemen all! He brings the room to silence. PETER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- A black day for us all! There is news come up river from Deptford. Marlowe is dead. There are general gasps and cries for information. PETER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Stabbed! Stabbed to death in a tavern at Deptford! No one is more affected than WILL. This second blow is worse than the first. He stands horror - stricken. WILL Oh... what have I done? ALLEYN -LRB- standing up. -RRB- He was the first man among us. A great light has gone out.", "EXT. BROTHEL. NIGHT. WILL comes staggering out into the street. WILL It was I who killed him! God forgive me, God forgive me! He falls into a stagnant puddle, a deep gutter of water and garbage. He gets up and staggers on.", "EXT. CHURCH TOWER. NIGHT. A church tower looms up in the night sky.", "INT. CHURCH. NIGHT. This is where WILL has come. The church is empty, but for the demented, grieving figure of SHAKESPEARE, kneeling, praying, weeping, banging his head, in his private purgatory, dimly lit by tallow candles, gazed upon by effigies of the dead and images of his Redeemer. He is wet, bedraggled, weeds and leaves in his hair.", "EXT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. DAY. A lovely sunny morning. The church bells are ringing. VIOLA and the NURSE, mounted, approach. VIOLA rides sidesaddle on a beautiful horse, and is followed, rather like Quixote by Sancho, by the NURSE on a less impressive animal. Riding in the opposite direction, is WESSEX. And what a happy day it is. He sings and hums to himself merrily. Here is a man who has heard wonderful news. He sees VIOLA and greets her merrily. WESSEX You look sad, my lady! Let me take you riding. VIOLA It is not my riding day, my lord. WESSEX Bless me, I thought it was a horse. VIOLA I am going to church. WESSEX -LRB- recomposing his features to solemnity. -RRB- I understand of course. It is to be expected. VIOLA It is to be expected on a Sunday. WESSEX And on a day of mourning. I never met the fellow but once at your house. VIOLA -LRB- can not take this in. -RRB- Mourning? Who is dead, my lord? WESSEX Oh! - dear God, I did not think it would be me to tell you. A great loss to playwriting, and to dancing. VIOLA almost faints. The NURSE steadies her. VIOLA -LRB- faintly. -RRB- He is dead? WESSEX -LRB- cheerfully solemn. -RRB- Killed last night, in a tavern! Come, then, we'll say a prayer for his soul VIOLA gives a silent cry. The NURSE is speaking to her in distress. NURSE My lady... my lady... now is the time to show your breeding.", "INT. CHURCH. DAY. The NURSE is holding VIOLA up as they enter the church. VIOLA seems catatonic. The NURSE lowers her onto a seat and sits down next to her. As they sit, the CHOIR enters singing. WESSEX, who is sitting in the next pew, looks about him with interest. He has n't been in a church for years. What he sees turns him to jelly. He sees WILL SHAKESPEARE. ANGLE on WILL. WILL is a spectral, bedraggled figure, backlit by a great shaft of light, he would look like a ghost at the best of times, and this is the worst. Bleeding from where he has banged his head, bedraggled and ravaged by the night, he stands in a side chapel staring at WESSEX. WESSEX gasps and sweats, and sees WILL raise a quivering accusatory finger at him. WESSEX cracks. He starts to mumble. WESSEX Oh, spare me, dear ghost, spare me for the love of Christ! Now VIOLA sees WILL. She is still paralysed, and seems at first unable to take him in. She watches with detachment as WESSEX starts to back out of the church, finally running in terror. WESSEX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- screaming. -RRB- Spare me! The CHOIR continues to sing, but the scream brings VIOLA to her senses and she runs to a side door where WILL is leaving.", "EXT. CHURCH. DAY. Outside, VIOLA sees WILL, staggering away from the church. She calls his name. VIOLA Will! He does not answer. She runs after him. VIOLA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh, my love, I thought you were dead! She claps him to her. They told each other for a moment then WILL pulls back. WILL It is worse. I have killed a man.", "EXT. MEADOW. DAY. VIOLA'S horse grazes. WILL lies on his back, still sobered and full of guilt. VIOLA sits on the grass among the buttercups and looks down at him. VIOLA is plaiting a finger - ring from stems of grass. She has not yet revealed her feelings. WILL Marlowe's touch was in my Titus Andronicus and my Henry VI was a house built on his foundations. VIOLA You never spoke so well of him. WILL He was not dead before. I would exchange all my plays to come for all of his that will never come. VIOLA You lie. WILL turns to look at her. VIOLA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You lie in your meadow as you lied in my bed. WILL My love is no lie. I have a wife, yes, and I can not marry the daughter of Sir Robert de Lesseps. It needed no wife come from Stratford to tell you that. And yet you let me come to your bed. VIOLA Calf love. I loved the writer, and gave up the prize for a sonnet. WILL I was the more deceived. VOILA Yes - you were deceived. For I never loved you till now. WILL Now? VIOLA -LRB- declaring herself. -RRB- I love you, Will, beyond poetry. WILL Oh, my love. -LRB- he kisses her. -RRB- You ran from me before. VIOLA You were not dead before. When I thought you dead, I did not care about all the plays that will never come, only that I would never see your face. I saw our end, and it will come. WILL You can not marry Wessex! VIOLA If not Wessex the Queen will know the cause and there will be no more Will Shakespeare. They kiss again, passionately. WILL No... no. VIOLA -LRB- through his kisses. -RRB- But I will go to Wessex as a widow from these vows, as solemn as they are unsanctified. And as their desperate kisses turn into lovemaking we cut to :", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE/AUDITORIUM. DAY. WILL -LRB- he is mid speech. -RRB- For killing Juliet's kinsman Tybalt, the one who killed Romeo's friend Mercutio, Romeo is banished He is on the stage of the Rose. The entire COMPANY is assembled, HENSLOWE and FENNYMAN included, holding pages of manuscript, which they are sharing together, examining the separated pages, passing pages to each other, etc.. WILL'S mood is intense and focused. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- but the Friar who married Romeo and Juliet ACTOR -LRB- EDWARD. -RRB- Is that me. Will? WILL You, Edward. The Friar who married them gives Juliet a potion to drink. It is a secret potion. It makes her seeming dead. She is placed in the tomb of the Capulets. She will awake to life and love when Romeo comes to her side again. THE COMPANY murmurs approval. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I have not said all. By malign fate, the message goes astray which would tell Romeo of the Friar's plan. He hears only that Juliet is dead. And thus he goes to the Apothecary. FENNYMAN That's me. WILL And buys a deadly poison. He enters the tomb to say farewell to Juliet who lies there cold as death. He drinks the poison. He dies by her side. And then she wakes and sees him dead. HENSLOWE is fascinated and appalled. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And so Juliet takes his dagger and kills herself. PAUSE. WILL is staring at VIOLA HENSLOWE Well, that will have them rolling in the aisles. FENNYMAN Sad and wonderful! I have a blue velvet cap which will do well, I have seen apothecary with a cap just so. ALLEYN -LRB- to WILL. -RRB- Yes - it will serve. But there's a scene missing between marriage and death. WILL is still staring at VIOLA. Aware, suddenly, of the others watching, she breaks his gaze and drops her head. WILL looks at NED.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. EVENING. WILL and VIOLA. VIOLA dressed as THOMAS. He has present for her - a neatly written manuscript of his play, on sheets folded to octavo size. WILL The play. All written out for you. I had the clerk at Bridewell do it, he has a good fist for lettering. She wants to accept the present with joy, but something in his mood restrains her. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- There's a new scene He turns the pages and shows her. VIOLA Will you read it for me? WILL -LRB- he knows it. -RRB- `` Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day > It was the nightingale and not the lark That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear. Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate tree. Believe me, love, it was the nightingale.'' VIOLA -LRB- reading. -RRB- `` It was the lark, the herald of the morn, No nightingale. Look, love, what envious streaks Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east. Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. I must be gone and live, or stay and die.'' The words of the scene become WILL'S and VIOLA'S, their way of saying the farewells they can not utter. WILL `` Yon light is not daylight, I know it, I. It is some meteor that the sun exhales To be to thee this night a torchbearer...''", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. BACKSTAGE. DAY. But the scene is continuing with VIOLA dressed as `` THOMAS.'' Somewhere behind and up above the stage, in a deserted corner among rigging, bits of scenery, etc., they speak the lines and we hardly know ourselves whether it is rehearsal or lovemaking. But after a few moments it is definitely lovemaking. Their clothes start coming away, their words interrupted by kisses. WILL... thou need ` st not to be gone.'' VIOLA `` I have more care to stay than will to go. Come death, and welcome. Juliet wills it so. How is' t my soul? Let's talk. It is not day.'' By now, her loosened bosom - bandage has been pulled away and WILL passionately embraces her nakedness. And into this heaving composition comes a little white mouse, unseen my them, climbing through a knot hole in the planking behind VIOLA'S head. An adjacent knot hole reveals a human eye and we do not need to be told it is JOHN WEBSTER'S. WEBSTER takes his eye away from the peephole, and frowns, thinking it out.", "EXT. ALLEWAY. DAY. TILNEY puts a coin in WEBSTER'S hand. TILNEY You will go far, I fear. TILNEY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I hope we work together again. Tilney walks away.", "EXT. THE ROSE THEATRE. DAY. A man is pacing up and down, in a sort of agony. He is muttering. He is glancing at a sheet of paper. He is FENNYMAN rehearsing the important role of the Apothecary, for which he has a special voice. FENNYMAN `` Such mortal drugs I have but Mantua's law Is death to any he that utters them.'' Then him. Then me. `` Put this in any liquid thing you will And...'' - something He has dried up. He curses - the terror and despair. FENNYMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- `` Such mortal drugs I have...'' What is it? What is it? He is so wrapped up in all this that he simply does not notice when WESSEX rides up to the main entrance dismounts and walks inside.", "INT. THE ROSE THEATRE. STAGE/AUDITORIUM. DAY. Onstage, the rehearsal continues. WESSEX strides in. Among the audience are HENSLOWE, a few actors... and JOHN WEBSTER... who sees WESSEX and jumps up and goes to him. WEBSTER My lord! WESSEX knocks him aside and continues. WESSEX -LRB- shouts. -RRB- Shakespeare! Everything stops. WESSEX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You upstart inky pup! Now I will show you your place, which is in hell! WILL You are on my ground. WESSEX -LRB- drawing his sword. -RRB- By God, I'll fight the lot of you WILL draws his sword. WILL I am more than enough. VIOLA reacts. She almost gives herself away. But the fight has started. WESSEX slashes at WILL. WILL knows how to fight. He parries and thrusts. WESSEX is surprised. The fight goes fast and furious around the stage, until WILL thrusts accurately at WESSEX'S chest... and would have killed him but for the button on his sword - point. WESSEX grapples with him, and now it becomes a parody of the Hamlet duel ; WESSEX'S unbuttoned sword falls to the ground, WILL puts his foot on it, tosses WESSEX his own safe sword, picks up Wessex's sword and continues the fight until he has WESSEX at his mercy. WILL has fought with a passionate rage that has everybody staring at him. Now the look in his eyes is merciless. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Absent friends! -LRB- to the assembly. -RRB- This is the murderer of Kit Marlowe! NED ALLEYN comes forward looking worried and dubious. ALLEYN Will WESSEX I rejoiced at his death because I thought it was yours. That is all I know of Marlowe. ALLEYN It's true, Will - it was a tavern brawl... Marlowe attacked, and got his own knife in the eye. A quarrel about the bill HENSLOWE The bill! Oh, vanity, vanity! ALLEYN Not the billing, the bill! WILL steps back, and sinks to his knees. His relief could not be greater. WILL -LRB- to the heavens. -RRB- Oh God, I am free of it! WESSEX gets to his feet. TILNEY enters the auditorium from the public entrance. WESSEX Close it! TILNEY My Lord Wessex! WESSEX -LRB- foaming. -RRB- Close it! Take it down stone by stone! I want it ploughed into the ground, and sown with quick lime! WESSEX storms out past the bewildered TILNEY. HENSLOWE Mr. Tilney, what is this? TILNEY Sedition and indecency! HENSLOWE What?! WEBSTER Master of the Revels, sir, over here, sir. TILNEY -LRB- to WEBSTER. -RRB- Where, boy? WEBSTER -LRB- points. -RRB- I saw her bubbies! TILNEY -LRB- shocked and gratified. -RRB- A woman on the stage? A woman? WEBSTER I swear it! THE COMPANY of actors are dumbstruck. None more than VIOLA. TILNEY So, Henslowe! I say this theatre is closed! On the authority of the powers invested in my by the court - I close this theatre! HENSLOWE Why so? TILNEY -LRB- triumphantly. -RRB- For lewdness and unshamefacedness! For displaying a female on the public stage! TILNEY is unstoppable. He jumps on the stage... and seizes SAM GOSSE. Before WEBSTER or anyone can intervene, TILNEY pulls up his skirt, ignoring SAM'S rather gutteral yell of protest and pulls down SAM'S drawers. TILNEY'S face is a study. So is everybody else's. WEBSTER rolls his eyes -LRB- oh, these stupid grown - ups! -RRB- and deftly throws one of his mice onto `` ROMEO'S'' hair. VIOLA gives a shrill scream, the startled mouse descends her neck via VIOLA'S ear, and seeks an entry into her collar. By which time VIOLA has gone berserk and torn off her wig. Her hair is pinned up but there is no question her gender. WILL is paralysed. VIOLA gives him a look of terrible despair and apology. WEBSTER -LRB- pointing at SAM. -RRB- Not him. -LRB- pointing at VIOLA. -RRB- her. HENSLOWE He's a woman! By now the scene is playing to a crowded theatre, or so it seems. TILNEY That's who I meant! This theatre is closed! Notice will be posted! SAM has picked himself up, and his drawers. HENSLOWE -LRB- to NED. -RRB- Ned, I swear I knew nothing of this! VIOLA -LRB- hoping to protect WILL. -RRB- Nobody knew! WEBSTER -LRB- pointing at WILL. -RRB- He did! I saw him kissing her bubbies! Everybody looks at WILL, who stares at VIOLA, helpless. TILNEY Closed! Closed, mark you, Henslowe! TILNEY turns on his heel and leaves in triumph. THE COMPANY is still polaxed. HENSLOWE -LRB- in despair. -RRB- It is over. VIOLA I am so sorry, Mr. Henslowe. I wanted to be an actor. -LRB- she turns to WILL. -RRB- I am sorry, Will. WILL shakes his head. This can not be the end. VIOLA walks away, leaving by the public entrance. They all let her go, watching her silently. As she passes WABASH WABASH Y - y - y - you w - w - w - were w - w - w - w - wonderful. VIOLA Thank you. As she is leaving, WILL comes to life. He starts off towards her... but his progress is halted by a sock to the jaw from NED ALLEYN. WILL falls down in the dust. FENNYMAN enters, still bent over his sheet of paper, mumbling his precious lines. When he reaches the groundlings yard, he finds to his surprise the whole COMPANY is standing about in attitudes of despair or worse. FENNYMAN looks around. FENNYMAN Everything all right?", "EXT. THE ROSE THEATRE. EVENING. The closure notice is nailed to the door.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. VIOLA, in her nightdress, is reading by candlelight. She is reading her private manuscript of Romeo and Juliet... and rereading. Next to her is a tray of covered dishes. the NURSE enters and looks at her sympathetically. She lifts the tray. She realises it is heavy. She puts it down and raises the covers and sees that VIOLA has eaten nothing. She looks at VIOLA'S tears, but there is nothing to be said.", "INT. TAVERN. DAY. They are all there - the ADMIRAL'S MEN, including WILL and HENSLOWE, drowning their sorrows. Everyone is drunk. FENNYMAN is also there, taking the disaster somewhat selfishly. FENNYMAN -LRB- muttering. -RRB- I would have been good... I would have been great. He hands a flask to RALPH who is in a similar mood. RALPH So would I. We both would. RALPH contemplates the flask, and, since he's not working, takes a swig. A moment later, he keels over, rigid as a pole. The street door crashes open. BURBAGE enters. Behind him enter a solid wedge of the CHAMBERLAIN'S MEN, sober - faced, several with black eyes and bandages round their heads. FENNYMAN -LRB- shouts. -RRB- Lambert! LAMBERT, FENNYMAN'S henchman and killer, puts down his tankard and comes forward, casually kicking chairs and tables out of his way. FENNYMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Kill him! LAMBERT reaches up to the wall over the bar and takes down once of the ceremonial weapons hanging there - a battle - axe. But BURBAGE has flintlock pistol stuck into his sash. BURBAGE draws and the pistol roars, shooting flame, LAMBERT curses, drops the axe, nurses his wounded hand. BURBAGE puts the pistol back into his sash. NED ALLEYN is half - drunk at a table. He staggers to his feet. He faces BURBAGE. ALLEYN Well, Burbage - you never did know when your scene was over. BURBAGE That can wait. The Master of the Revels despises us for vagrants, tinkers, and peddlers of bombast. But my father, James Burbage, had the first licence to make a company of players from Her Majesty, and he drew from poets the literature of the age. Their fame will be our fame. So let them all know, we are men of parts. We are a brotherhood, and we will be a profession. Will Shakespeare has a play. I have a theatre. The Curtain is yours.", "EXT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. DAY. A strong wind is blowing through the trees. A BOY with a paste - pot and a bundle of flyers, is having trouble pasting a flyer on the wall of the building. A gust of wind scatters the bundle and sends a couple of dozen flyers flying into the sky. The BOY with the paste - pot runs around, trying to recover those he can. We look at the poster. It says BY PERMISSION OF MR. BURBAGE A HUGH FENNYMAN PRODUCTION OF MR. HENSLOWE'S PRESENTATION OF THE ADMIRAL'S MEN IN PERFORMANCE OF THE EXCELLENT AND LAMENTABLE TRAGEDY OF ROMEO AND JULIET with Mr. Fennyman as the Apothecary WILL comes out of the theatre, and passes the poster. He walks on without looking at it. A voice calls after him : HENSLOWE Will! WILL does not turn to look at him. HENSLOWE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- We'll be needing a Romeo WILL carries on walking.", "EXT. STREETS. DAY. WILL is pushing through the crowds on his way to the river.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. VIOLA'S BEDROOM. DAY. The NURSE is helping VIOLA to dress - in a wedding dress. The NURSE is in tears. VIOLA submits to the task impassively.", "EXT. THE RIVER. DAY. WILL is climbing down the ladder to the waiting boats.", "INT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. HALL. DAY. WESSEX, dressed to be a bridegroom is concluding his negotiations with DE LESSEPS, while LADY DE LESSEPS weeps. DE LESSEPS is signing papers. There is a money chest, too. WESSEX My ship is moored at Bankside, bound for Virginia on the afternoon tide - please do not weep, Lady De Lesseps, you are gaining a colony. DE LESSEPS And you are gaining five thousand pounds, my lord... by these drafts in my hand. WESSEX Would you oblige me with fifty or so in gold? - just to settle my accounts at the dockside? DE LESSEPS sighs and unlocks his money chest. WESSEX places his empty purse on the desk. WESSEX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Ah! - Look, she comes! VIOLA has appeared at the top of the stairs with the NURSE. VIOLA Good morning, my lord. I see you are open for business so let's to church.", "EXT. DE LESSEPSES' HOUSE. DAY. WILL is running across the grass towards the house. As he crosses the bridge over the moat, a carriage bears down on him, and he has to flatten himself against the wall of the gatehouse as the carriage passes, taking WESSEX and his bride to church. WILL'S face, as he watches the carriage disappear. Distant bells begin to peal", "EXT. CHURCH DOOR. DAY. The bells announce the completion of the marriage - as WESSEX and the new LADY WESSEX leave the church. VIOLA'S veil is flying in the wind, and beneath it we can just see VIOLA'S unhappy face. The DE LESSEPS FAMILY entourage is applauding. WESSEX beams with satisfaction. Suddenly the sky and the wind deliver a message - a flyer from the Curtain slaps against WESSEX'S face. He claws at it and tries to throw it away. The wind delivers it to VIOLA'S bosom. She takes it up and reads it. And passes it to the NURSE. WESSEX descends the steps to where the curtained carriage awaits the bride and groom. He gallantly holds the door for VIOLA to enter. She climbs aboard. WESSEX makes to follow her. NURSE My lord! The NURSE grasps him in a moving embrace, to WESSEX'S discomfort. NURSE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Be good to her, my lord! WESSEX I will. He tries to disengage. She wo n't have it. NURSE God bless you! WESSEX Thank you. Let go, there's a good nurse. After a couple of further attempts, WESSEX extricates himself. WESSEX -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- The tide will not wait. Farewell! WESSEX pulls aside the curtain and gets in.", "INT. CARRIAGE. DAY. It takes a moment for WESSEX to realise he is alone in there. He looks around but VIOLA has fled.", "EXT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. DAY. Hundreds of people are converging on the theatre. Among them is the Puritan MAKEPEACE, vainly exhorting the crowds to run away from sin MAKEPEACE Licentiousness is made a show, vice is made a show, vanity and pride likewise made a show! This is the very business of show But MAKEPEACE is being carried inexorably through the main doors of the theatre.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. BACKSTAGE. DAY. The ADMIRAL'S MEN are all in costume, and are in a buzz of nervous excitement. ALLEYN, dressed for `` MERCUTIO,'' is giving last minute instructions to PETER. JAMES and JOHN HEMMINGS are arguing about the timing of their entrance. FENNYMAN in his apothecary's cap is agonising over his lines. WABASH is stuttering over his. Alone in his dejection in the midst of all this, is WILL, dressed for \"ROMEO.\" says. FENNYMAN approaches him, apothecary's cap in hand. FENNYMAN Is this all right? WILL nods, miserable. SAM has found a private corner. He is gargling into a basin. He looks worried and furtive.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. AUDITORIUM. DAY. The audience is gathering.", "EXT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. DAY. Word has got around. Even rich people are coming. They arrive by carriage and by palanquin. Some of them are cloaked and hooded, slumming incognito. A cannon booms from the Curtain. The flag of the ADMIRAL'S MEN flutters above.", "EXT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. ENTRANCE. DAY. LAMBERT and FREES are taking the entrance money.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. AUDITORIUM. DAY. The auditorium is now packed. Among them, sheepish, is MAKEPEACE.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. BACKSTAGE. DAY. Everything is ready. NED signals the musicians. Trumpets and drums sound. The house falls silent.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. THE WINGS. DAY. WABASH seems to be important at the beginning. We have never been told what part he plays. He is still muttering lines and stuttering them. WABASH -LRB- mutter. -RRB- T - t - t - two h - h - households b - both alike in d - d - d - dignity. WILL listens to him in agony. He finds HENSLOWE next to him. WILL -LRB- to HENSLOWE. -RRB- We are lost. HENSLOWE No, it will turn out well. WILL How will it? HENSLOWE I do n't know, it's a mystery. And off we go. HENSLOWE claps WABASH on the shoulder and sends him through the curtain. ANGLE on WABASH", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. The audience waits expectantly. WABASH gathers himself. WABASH AS THE CHORUS T - t - t - t - two", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. BACKSTAGE. DAY. WILL shuts his eyes and prays.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE/AUDITORIUM. DAY. WABASH launches himself into a perfect audacious delivery like a star. WABASH AS THE CHORUS... Household both alike in dignity. -LRB- in fair Verona where we lay our scene. -RRB- From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star - cross'd lovers take their life, Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents' strife...''", "EXT. STREET. DAY. VIOLA and the NURSE, hurrying toward the Curtain.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. BACKSTAGE. DAY. HEMMINGS BROTHERS are ready to go on as `` SAMPSON'' and `` GROCERY,'' Act I Scene I. They shake hands. Beyond the curtain, the audience applauds the Prologue as WABASH comes through the curtain backstage. WILL -LRB- to WABASH. -RRB- Wonderful! WABASH W - w - w - was it g - g - g - good? The HEMMINGS BROTHERS enter the arena and the play begins. POV : from THE WINGS : JOHN HEMMINGS AS SAMPSON `` Gregory, on my word we'll not carry coals.'' JAMES HEMMINGS AS GREGORY `` No, for then we should be colliers.'' WILL looks as if he would rather be dead. SAM GOSSE approaches WILL, nervously. SAM -LRB- nervously - in a deep bass guttural hoarse voice. -RRB- Master Shakespeare WILL -LRB- absently. -RRB- Luck be with you, Sam. -LRB- as the awful truth gets through to him. -RRB- Sam...? SAM -LRB- in the same voice. -RRB- It is not my fault, Master Shakespeare. I could do it yesterday. WILL Sam! Do me a speech, do me a line. SAM -LRB- the effect is horrible. -RRB- `` Parting is such sweet sorrow...'' HENSLOWE has been overhearing. HENSLOWE Another little problem. WILL What do we do now? HENSLOWE The show must... you know WILL Go on. HENSLOWE Juliet does not come on for twenty pages. It will be all right. WILL How will it? HENSLOWE I do n't know. It's a mystery. And he makes his way towards the front of the house.", "EXT. STREET. DAY. A furious WESSEX is hurrying along the road to the theatre.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. AUDITORIUM/STAGE. DAY. VIOLA and the NURSE are arriving, and looking for a seat in the gallery. BURBAGE and his MEN are standing at the back, behind the people seated in the gallery. The first scene of the play is continuing ARMITAGE AS ABRAM `` Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?'' JOHN HEMMINGS AS SAMPSON `` I do bite my thumb, sir.'' BURBAGE finds HENSLOWE plucking agitatedly at his sleeve. HENSLOWE Can we talk? They are standing behind the back row of the gallery seats. The spectator in front of them is the NURSE. She turns round and shushes HENSLOWE up. HENSLOWE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- whispering to BURBAGE. -RRB- We have no Juliet! BURBAGE -LRB- forgetting to whisper. -RRB- No Juliet?! VIOLA -LRB- turning. -RRB- No Juliet?! HENSLOWE it will be all right, madam. VIOLA What happened to Sam? HENSLOWE Who are you? VIOLA Thomas Kent! Their whispers are causing black looks and hushing noises from the neighbours. HENSLOWE pulls VIOLA from her seat, luckily an aisle seat. HENSLOWE Do you know it? VIOLA -LRB- showing the manuscript. -RRB- Every word. HENSLOWE and BURBAGE look at each other. CUT TO :", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. PHILIP AS LADY CAPULET `` Nurse, where is my daughter? Call her forth to me.'' RALPH AS NURSE `` Now by my maidenhead at twelve year old, I bade her come. What, lamb. What ladybird.''", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. THE WINGS/STAGE. DAY. SAM who gathers himself, to make his entrance, quietly and horribly practising `` How now, who calls?'' RALPH AS NURSE -LRB- on stage. -RRB- `` God forbid. Where's this girl? The author and star, WILL SHAKESPEARE, has his back to the stage, his hands over his ears. He is cowering in dread anticipation. RALPH AS NURSE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- `` What, Juliet!'' As SAM is about to enter HENSLOWE'S hand yanks him by the collar, and VIOLA overtakes him and steps on stage. Enter `` JULIET.'' VIOLA is not wearing the been hidden from us by her cloak. VIOLA AS JULIET `` How now, who calls?'' RALPH AS NURSE `` Your mother.'' VIOLA AS JULIET `` Madam. I am here, what is your will?", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. AUDITORIUM. DAY. There is a collective gasp. Nobody has ever seen a BOY PLAYER like this.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. THE WINGS. DAY. WILL takes his hands from his ears, and turns round in amazement at the sound of VIOLA'S voice.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. AUDITORIUM/STAGE. DAY. WESSEX has just arrived in the auditorium and jumps as if he has been shot. He seems about to intervene, but looking around at the rapt faces he realises he can not.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. THE WINGS. DAY. HENSLOWE and BURBAGE look at each other. BURBAGE We will all be put in the clink. HENSLOWE -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- See you in jail.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. BACKSTAGE. DAY. FENNYMAN, oblivious to the drama, is practising his lines in a fever of nervousness. FENNYMAN `` Such mortal drugs I have but Mantua's Law Is death to any he that utters them.'' Then him. Then me.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. Swordplay. An amazing performance that holds the audience spellbound. `` TYBALT'' kills `` MERCUTIO.'' ALLEYN AS MERCUTIO -LRB- to ROMEO. -RRB- `` I am hurt. WILL AS ROMEO Courage man. The hurt can not be much. ALLEYN A MERCUTIO Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man.'' A roll of thunder. Over the heads of the audience, far above the thatched roof of the theatre, clouds are gathering in the sky. On stage `` MERCUTIO'' is in ` ROMEO'S'' arms, but the tone of the playing is unlike anything we have seen before : without bombast, intense and real. And the audience is quiet and attentive. ALLEYN AS MERCUTIO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB-''... - Why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arms.''", "EXT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. DAY. In the semirural view towards the City of London, there can be discerned a gaggle of approaching MEN and three is something orderly about them. As they come closer, we see that they are a company of PIKE MEN, marching toward the theatre, led by the Master of the Revels, TILNEY. Thunder rolls.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. Figures are running across the stage, in the panic that follows `` TYBALT'' death. ACTOR AS BENVOLIO `` Romeo, away, be gone! The citizens are up and Tybalt slain. Stand not amazed. The prince will doom thee death If thou art taken. Hence, be gone away!'' WILL AS ROMEO `` I am fortune's fool!'' ACTOR AS BENVOLIO `` Why dost thou stay!''", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. BACKSTAGE. DAY. WILL has just ` killed' `` TYBALT.'' He is still breathless from fighting. he stands face to face with VIOLA. WILL I am fortune's fool. They stare at each other, transfixed. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You are married? PAUSE. She can not answer. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- If you be married, my gave is like to be my wedding bed. The implication of her silence fills the air. WILL does not move.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. We can not tell whether this is the play or their life. The audience, and the rest of the world, might as well not exist. WILL turn from her and begins to descend from the ` balcony.' VIOLA AS JULIET `` Art thou gone so? WILL stops. VIOLA AS JULIET -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Love, lord, ay husband, friend, I must hear from thee every day in the hour, For in a minute there are many days. O, by this count I shall be much in years Ere I again behold my Romeo...'' WILL as `` ROMEO'' seems unable to speak. Then he says : WILL AS ROMEO... Farewell...'' All other sounds drain away, and time seems to stop. VIOLA AS JULIET `` O think ` st thou we shall ever meet again...? Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low, As one dead in the bottom of a tomb. Either my eyesight fails, or thou lookest pale.'' WILL AS ROMEO `` Trust me, love, in my eyes so do you. Dry sorrow drinks our blood. Adieu. Adieu''", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. Now the FRIAR is giving `` JULIET' his potion. EDWARD AS FRIAR `` No warmth, no breath shall testify thou livest And in this borrow'd likeness of shrunk death Thou shall continue two and forty hours And then awake as from a pleasant sleep...''", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. It's FENNYMAN'S moment. The `` APOTHECARY'' and `` ROMEO.'' WILL AS ROMEO `` Come hither, man. I see that thou art poor. Hold, there is forty ducats. Let me have A dram of poison -'' FENNYMAN AS APOTHECARY `` Such mortal drugs I have but Mantua's law is death to any he that utters them!'' FENNYMAN has cut in several lines early, but his conviction is astonishing. FENNYMAN AS APOTHECARY `` My poverty but not my will consents.'' WILL AS ROMEO `` I pay thy poverty and not thy will.''", "EXT. STREET. NEAR THE CURTAIN THEATRE. DAY. TILNEY, on the march. His hand grips a copy of the Curtain flyer.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. `` JULIET'' lies `` dead.'' She lies on top of her tomb, `` lying in stage,'' her best dress, her hair done, her hands in prayer at her breast, her eyes closed. `` ROMEO'' has found her like this. WILL AS ROMEO `` Eyes, look your last! Arms, take your last embrace! and lips, Oh you The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss A dateless bargain to engrossing death! Come, bitter conduct ; come, unsavory guide! Thou desparate pilot, now at once run on The dashing rocks thy seasick weary bark!'' As WILL embraces her, VIOLA'S eyes flicker open -LRB- shielded by WILL from the audience -RRB- and the lovers look at each other for a moment as WILL and VIOLA rather than as `` ROMEO'' and `` JULIET.'' Their eyes are wet with tears.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. AUDITORIUM. DAY. BURBAGE and ROSALINE are watching.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. AUDITORIUM. DAY. KEMPE is watching.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. AUDITORIUM. DAY. We see that in the audience are several of the WHORES we recognise from the brothel. They are weeping openly.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. WILL is raising the fatal drug in a last toast. WILL AS ROMEO `` Here's to my love. -LRB- he drinks. -RRB- O true Apothecary.''", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. THE WINGS. DAY. FENNYMAN, moved but proud in the wings. FENNYMAN -LRB- whispers to himself. -RRB- I was good. I was great.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. WILL AS ROMEO `` Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.'' -LRB- and he dies. -RRB-", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. AUDITORIUM. DAY. The NURSE is weeping too.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. `` JULIET'' wakes up with a start. VIOLA AS JULIET... Where is my lord? I do remember well where I should be, And there I am. Where is my Romeo?''", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. AUDITORIUM. DAY. NURSE -LRB- involuntarily. -RRB- Dead!", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. VIOLA AS JULIET `` What here? A cup clos'd in my true love's hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end.''", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. `` JULIET'' takes `` ROMEO'S'' dagger. VIOLA AS JULIET... O happy dagger This is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die.'' She stabs herself and dies. The `` inner curtain'' closes over the tomb.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE/AUDITORIUM. DAY. HIGH ANGLE on audience and stage. `` THE PRINCE'' played by WABASH is having the last word. THE PRINCE `` For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.'' The end. There is complete silence. The ACTORS are worried. But then the audience goes mad with applause.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. THE INNER CURTAIN/STAGE. DAY. The inner curtain opens, but WILL and VIOLA, are in a play of their own... embracing and kissing passionately, making their own farewell. HENSLOWE is too stunned and moved to react at first. Then he looks at the audience and the penny drops. It's a hit.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. AUDITORIUM/STAGE. DAY. The audience roars. WILL, VIOLA, and THE COMPANY come forward to meet the applause. TILNEY and his MEN burst in. TILNEY jumps up onto the stage, where the ADMIRAL'S MEN are taking their bows. TILNEY'S `` COPS'' ring the stage, facing inwards. TILNEY -LRB- shouts triumphantly. -RRB- I arrest you in the name of Queen Elizabeth! The AUDIENCE goes quiet. BURBAGE jumps out of the audience onto the stage. BURBAGE Arrest who, Mr. Tilney? TILNEY Everybody! The Admiral's Men, The Chamberlain's Men and everyone of you ne'er - do - wells who stands in contempt of the authority invested in me by her Majesty. BURBAGE Contempt? You closed the Rose - I have not opened it. TILNEY is at a loss but only for a moment. TILNEY -LRB- he points a `` j' accuse'' finger at VIOLA. -RRB- That woman is a woman! The entire audience and the actors, recoil and gasp. The NURSE crosses herself. ALLEYN What?! A woman?! You mean that goat?! He points at VIOLA, brazening it out without much chance. TILNEY I'll see you all in the clink! In the same of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth And an authoritative voice from the audience interrupts him. VOICE Mr. Tilney...! It is QUEEN ELIZABETH herself, descending now, her hood and cloak thrown back. She is an awesome sight. A shaft of sunlight hits her. QUEEN Have a care with my name, you will wear it out. There is a general parting of the waves, soldiers and actors, a general backing off and bowing as QUEEN ELIZABETH takes the limelight. QUEEN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- The Queen of England does not attend exhibitions of public lewdness so something is out of joint. Come here, Master Kent. Let me look at you. VIOLA comes forward, and is about to curtsey when she catches the QUEEN'S eye, an arresting eye, which arrests the curtsey and turns it into a sweeping bow. QUEEN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Yes, the illusion is remarkable and your error, Mr. Tilney, easily forgiven, but I know something of a woman in a man's profession, yes, by God, I do know about that. That is enough from you, Maser Kent. If only Lord Wessex were here. VOICE He is, Ma'am. The voice belongs to JOHN WEBSTER. He points firmly at a figure in the audience, WESSEX, trying to look inconspicuous. WESSEX -LRB- weakly. -RRB- Your Majesty QUEEN There was a wager, I remember... as to whether a play can show the very truth and nature of love. I think you lost it today. -LRB- turning to WEBSTER. -RRB- You are an eager boy. Did you like the play? WEBSTER I liked it when she stabbed herself, your Majesty. The QUEEN fixes WILL with a beady eye. QUEEN Master Shakespeare. Next time to you come to Greenwich, Come as yourself and we will speak some more. WILL bows deeply. The QUEEN turns to leave. The waves part for her.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. MAIN ENTRANCE. DAY. The QUEEN is bowed out through the doors.", "EXT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. DAY. A gaggle of the QUEEN'S favoured courtiers wait by her carriage. WESSEX is hurrying down the exterior staircase as the QUEEN emerges from the theatre. During the following a general egress from the Auditorium is taking place, including some of the actors crowding to see her off. WESSEX bows out of breath. WESSEX Your Majesty! QUEEN Why, Lord Wessex! Lost your wife so soon? WESSEX Indeed I am a bride short. How is this to end? VIOLA has come out of the theatre, amongst some of the other players. The QUEEN catches her eye. QUEEN As stories must when love's denied - with tears and a journey. Those whom God has joined in marriage, not even I can put asunder. QUEEN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- she turns to VIOLA. -RRB- Lord Wessex, as I foretold, has lost his wife in the play - house - go make your farewell and send her out. It's time to settle accounts. -LRB- to WESSEX. -RRB- How much was the wager? WESSEX Fifty shillings. -LRB- the QUEEN gives him a look. -RRB- Pounds. QUEEN Give it to Master Kent. He will see it rightfully home. WESSEX gives his purse to VIOLA. QUEEN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- to VIOLA. -RRB- And tell Shakespeare something more cheerful next time for Twelfth Night. The QUEEN proceeds towards her carriage. There is an enormous puddle between her and her carriage. The QUEEN hesitates for a fraction and then marches through the puddle as cloaks descend upon it. QUEEN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Too late, too late. She splashes her way into her carriage, which departs.", "INT. THE CURTAIN THEATRE. STAGE. DAY. WILL -LRB- heartbroken, testing her name. -RRB- My Lady Wessex? VIOLA nods, heartbroken too. For a long moment they can not say anything to each other. The she holds up Wessex's purse. VIOLA A hired player no longer. Fifty pounds, Will, for the poet of true love. WILL I am done with theatre. The playhouse is for dreamers. Look where the dream has brought us. VIOLA It was we ourselves did that. And for my life to come I would not have it otherwise. WILL I have hurt you and I am sorry for it. VIOLA If my hurt is to be that you will write no more, then I shall be the sorrier. WILL looks at her. VIOLA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- The Queen commands a comedy, Will for Twelfth Night. WILL -LRB- harshly. -RRB- A comedy! What will my hero be but the saddest wretch in the kingdom, sick with love? VIOLA An excellent beginning. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- Let him be... a duke. And your heroine? WILL -LRB- bitterly. -RRB- Sold in marriage and half way to America. VIOLA -LRB- adjusting. -RRB- At sea, then - a voyage to a new world?... she lands upon a vast and empty shore. She is brought to the duke... Orsino. WILL -LRB- despite himself. -RRB- Orsino... good name VIOLA But fearful of her virtue, she comes to him dressed as a boy WILL -LRB- Catching it. -RRB- and thus unable to declare her love Pause. They look at each other. Suddenly the conversation seems to be about them. VIOLA But all ends well. WILL How does it? VIOLA I do n't know. It's a mystery WILL half smiles. Then he's serious. They look deeply at each other... and rush into each other's arm. WILL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You will never age for me, nor fade, nor die. VIOLA Nor you for me. WILL Good bye, my love, a thousand times good bye. VIOLA Write me well. She kisses him with finality. Then turns and runs from him. WILL watches as she goes.", "INT. WILL'S ROOM. DAY. A blank page. A hand is writing : TWELFTH NIGHT. We see WILL sitting at his table. WILL -LRB- VO. -RRB- My story starts at sea... a perilous voyage to an unknown land... a shipwreck", "EXT. UNDERWATER. DAY. Two figures plunge into the water WILL -LRB- VO. -RRB- the wild waters roar and heave... the brave vessel is dashed all to pieces, and all the helpless souls within her drowned", "INT. WILL'S ROOM. DAY. WILL at his table writing WILL -LRB- VO. -RRB- all save one... a lady", "EXT. UNDERWATER. DAY. VIOLA in the water WILL -LRB- VO. -RRB- whose soul is greater than the ocean... and her spirit stronger than the sea's embrace... not for her watery end, but a new life beginning on a stranger shore", "EXT. BEACH. DAY. VIOLA is walking up a vast and empty beach.... WILL -LRB- VO CONTINUED. -RRB- It will be a love story... for she will be my heroine for all time", "INT. WILL'S ROOM. DAY. WILL looks up from the table. WILL -LRB- VO CONTINUED. -RRB- and her name will be... Viola. He looks down at the paper, and writes : `` Viola'' Then : `` What country friends is this?''", "EXT. BEACH. DAY. DISSOLVE slowly to VIOLA, walking away up the beach towards her brave new world. THE END"], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0], "summary": "In 1593 London, William Shakespeare is a sometime player in the Lord Chamberlain's Men and playwright for Philip Henslowe, owner of The Rose Theatre. Suffering from writer's block with a new comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter, Shakespeare attempts to seduce Rosaline, mistress of Richard Burbage, owner of the rival Curtain Theatre, and to convince Burbage to buy the play from Henslowe. Shakespeare receives advice from rival playwright Christopher Marlowe, but is despondent to learn Rosaline is sleeping with Master of the Revels Edmund Tilney. The desperate Henslowe, in debt to ruthless moneylender Fennyman, begins auditions anyway. Viola de Lesseps, daughter of a wealthy merchant, who has seen Shakespeare's plays at court, disguises herself as a man named Thomas Kent to audition. \"He\" gains Shakespeare's interest with a speech from Two Gentlemen of Verona, but runs away when Shakespeare questions her. He pursues Kent to Viola's house and leaves a note with her nurse, asking Kent to begin rehearsals at the Rose. Shakespeare sneaks into a ball at the house, where Viola's parents arrange her betrothal to impoverished aristocrat Lord Wessex. Dancing with Viola, Shakespeare is struck speechless and ejected by Wessex, who threatens to kill him, leading Shakespeare to say that he is Christopher Marlowe. He finds Viola on her balcony, where they confess their mutual attraction before he is discovered by her nurse and flees. Inspired by Viola, Shakespeare quickly transforms the play into what will become Romeo and Juliet. Rehearsals begin, with \"Thomas Kent\" as Romeo, the leading tragedian Ned Alleyn as Mercutio, and the stagestruck Fennyman in a small role. Shakespeare discovers Viola's true identity, and they begin a secret affair. Viola is summoned to court to receive approval for her proposed marriage to Wessex. Shakespeare accompanies her, disguised as her female cousin, and persuades Wessex to wager \u00a350 that a play can capture the true nature of love, the amount Shakespeare requires to buy a share in the Chamberlain's Men. Queen Elizabeth I declares that she will judge the matter. Burbage learns Shakespeare has seduced Rosaline and cheated him out of payment for the play, and starts a brawl at the Rose with his company. The Rose players repel Burbage and his men and celebrate at the pub, where a drunken Henslowe lets slip to Viola that Shakespeare is married, albeit separated from his wife. News arrives that Marlowe has been murdered, and a guilt-ridden Shakespeare assumes Wessex had Marlowe killed, believing him to be Viola's lover. Viola believes Shakespeare has been murdered but he appears at her church, terrifying Wessex who believes he is a ghost. Viola confesses her love for Shakespeare, but both recognize she cannot escape her duty to marry Wessex. John Webster, an unpleasant boy who hangs around the theatre, spies on Shakespeare and Viola making love and informs Tilney, who closes the Rose for breaking the ban on women actors. Viola's identity is exposed, leaving them without a stage or lead actor, until Burbage offers his theatre and the heartbroken Shakespeare takes the role of Romeo. Following her wedding, Viola learns the play will be performed that day, and runs away to the Curtain. She overhears that the boy playing Juliet cannot perform, his voice having broken, and Henslowe asks her to replace him. She plays Juliet to Shakespeare's Romeo to an enthralled audience. Tilney arrives to arrest everyone for indecency due to Viola's presence, but the Queen reveals herself in attendance and restrains him, instead asserting that Kent's resemblance to a woman is \u201cremarkable\u201d. Powerless to end a lawful marriage, she orders Kent to \"fetch\" Viola to sail with Wessex to the Colony of Virginia. The Queen tells Wessex, who followed Viola to the theatre, that Romeo and Juliet has won the bet for Shakespeare, and has Kent deliver his \u00a350 with instructions to write something \"a little more cheerful next time, for Twelfth Night\". Viola and Shakespeare say their goodbyes, and he vows to immortalise her, as he imagines the beginning of Twelfth Night, in character as a castaway disguised as a man after a voyage to a strange land.", "name": "Shakespeare_in_Love"}
{"scenes": ["EXT. NEW YORK - DECEMBER 1999 - LATE NIGHT We are moving through a thicket of skyscrapers. In the dim light we see one building, then its reflection against another building. We swoop past the Empire State Building lit in Christmas red and green, catch a glimpse of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. On screen we see : NEW YORK CITY DECEMBER 15 1999. High atop a tall glass building we find another Christmas tree. We close on the Thief whose face is concealed behind a sleek black - visored helmet with night - vision goggles. From a pack, the Thief takes a climbing rope, clamps it with a carabiner around a post, then dials a distance into the special ratchet mechanism. The Thief steps to the edge and LEAPS over, plunging past the glass windows. After a terrifying free fall, suddenly the rope gears down smoothly, bringing the Thief to a stop at a window pane, a dizzying sixty floors above the street. Through the glass, we see a CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS. The Thief drills out bolts holding the window in place. Then one is stuck! In a heartstopping move the Thief turns upside down, torques on the recalcitrant bolt! Uhnnn! It comes free! The Thief replaces the existing bolts with custom bolts buffered with rollers, pries at the window corners and pops the pane free. Then the Thief rolls the pane onto the rollers, leaving just enough room to slip into.", "INT. PETROTEX CORP - LATE NIGHT The Board of Directors Suite of a large multinational corporation, dominated by an obsidian table ringed with leather chairs. An Alarm Box softly pulses. The Thief points a Remote at the alarm. The Remote runs possible codes at speed on display panel, until the right one stops. The Thief clicks the Remote. Off. The kind of art that gilds greed with taste lines the walls. Ignoring it, the Thief picks up a VASE OF LILIES and carries it across the room to a side table by the window. The Thief carefully tilts the stems so that the lilies hang over the lip of the vase, away from the window, then exits the Board Room.", "INT. RECEPTION AREA - LATE NIGHT A Lichtenstein, some plants, a large map of the world with tiny red lights indicating branch offices around the world. A Christmas tree with some uniformly wrapped presents carefully arranged beneath it. Keeping an eye on a set of double glass entry doors, the Thief pauses behind a Henry Moore sculpture. Through the doors we see a desk where sits a SECURITY GUARD, his back to us.", "INT. HALL/ INT. RECEPTION ROOM - INTERCUT The Security Guard reads and half - watches the Monitors. On one we see the Reception Area and the vaguest shadow of the Thief. The Guard looks at his book, the Thief begins to move. The Guard glances back at the Monitor, the Thief jumps back. Then the Guard returns to the book. On the Monitor the Thief darts across the room and into a door.", "INT. BATHROOM - SAME Which is a bathroom. Hmmm. But that is exactly where the Thief wants to be. Out of the backpack the Thief takes a small drill and begins to make a hole high on the wall.", "INT. HALLWAY - SAME Above the Security Guard, the drill pierces the wall, leaving just a dusting of sheetrock on the floor.", "INT. BATHROOM - SAME The Thief feeds a tiny tube up to the edge of the just - drilled hole. Turns a valve on a small canister.", "INT. HALL - NIGHT The Security guard yawns, tries to focus on his reading.", "EXT. NEW YORK BUILDING - LATE NIGHT From a distant perspective we see the shadowy Thief exit the bathroom as the Security Guard puts his head down on the desk. The Thief enters another room off the Reception area - the Chairman's Office.", "INT. CHAIRMAN'S OFFICE - NIGHT Pictures of the Chairman with politicians and celebrities line one wall. Across from the desk, a Jasper Johns map of the United States. Above the desk, a SMALL PAINTING in an old gilt frame. A REMBRANDT. The pride of the collection, a nude woman reading a letter. The Thief takes out a small periscope mirror and some right angled cutters. Carefully slides the mirror behind the painting, manipulates the mirror with one hand, the cutters with another. Finds the alarm. Snips it. Moving quickly now. The Thief rolls the canvas in acid - free paper. Takes a cylindrical tube from the backpack, pulls out another Canvas, fits it carefully into the stolen painting's now - empty frame. The Thief stares at it through the opaque helmet visor. Approves. Slips the rolled - up stolen canvas into the empty tube. Leaves. Before we follow the thief, we linger to see the replacement canvas. ELVIS. On black velvet.", "INT. HALLWAY - LATE NIGHT With the Thief now, out the reception area and into the hall, where the drugged guard sleeps, to a Mail Chute built into the wall. As the Thief opens the chute we hold on the last line of a mailing label : KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA. The Thief pops the labeled tube down the chute.", "EXT. BUILDING WINDOW - NIGHT The Thief disappears out the open window. The window closes, becoming.", "EXT. BUILDING WINDOW - NIGHT Another window, in which we see reflected the lens of a telescope and, in that lens, the image of the office where the thief has just been. A silhouetted FIGURE is looking through the telescope. Through the scope's lens. Close detail of the Office where the thief had been. We see light fall into the room as the Figure exits a door and softly closes it. The Image lightens and DISSOLVES INTO :", "INT. PETROTEX HEADQUARTERS - VIDEO - DAY The Board Suite on VIDEO, daytime, with COPS and INVESTIGATORS combing the crime scene. The Security Guard being interviewed, lots of activity. FIRST TECHNICIAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Look at those assholes.", "INT. WEBBER INSURANCE - MAIN OFFICE - DAY The video plays live on a large monitor in a big bullpen of a room, all Herman Miller partitions and work stations butted together, row upon row of them. This is where the world's biggest insurance companies track down major theft losses. FOUR TECHNICIANS work at computer monitors, calling up security plans, art data, details on possible suspects. HECTOR CRUZ enters, crisp, professional, an ex - FBI man who thinks he's smarter than anybody else, and is almost right. Cruz glances at the cops working in the Board Suite, knows they'll never figure this out. CRUZ If the Rembrandt were lying on the table, they'd toss their donuts on it. Another Technician manipulates computer representations of the system on screen. SECOND TECHNICIAN We did a hundred simulations. No way anyone could have got in. CRUZ Too bad someone did. The other Technician scrolls faces on his screen. SECOND TECHNICIAN We're checking airline and immigration records against known aliases. Cruz turns to the Third Technician. CRUZ How much we in for? THIRD TECHNICIAN Twenty four million. This does not make Cruz happy. CRUZ Baker here yet? FIRST TECHNICIAN -LRB- nods. -RRB- She's been doing her own thing. Cruz walks away before he can hear the rest. SECOND TECHNICIAN as usual.", "INT. WEBBER ASSURANCE - GIN'S CUBICLE - DAY One of dozens of identical work stations. VIRGINIA BAKER, early thirties, sits at the work station where she spends most of her life. She's dressed in typical no - nonsense insurance attire. Cruz peers over the partition. CRUZ Where were you? I called at 4:30 this morning. GIN There are times when you do n't answer the phone. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Besides I hardly knew the guy. She pulls up security schematics, technical specs. CRUZ Why be rude to strangers. Cruz has an easy, ironic demeanor that hides a steel will. There's something eerie about him : he seems to be right inside Gin's head. GIN Exactly. He gestures at the video feed of the crime scene. CRUZ Perhaps you could find time - in your busy personal life - to figure out how the Lone Ranger broke through our best system. GIN He came in the window. CRUZ If he's Spiderman. This was sixty stories up. Those windows are smart glass. 400 pounds a pop. GIN What if he drilled out the existing bolts, replaced them with custom - fit rollers - rolled the window aside? CRUZ And then just. flew away, leaving angel dust behind. She looks up at the live feed on the monitor and clicks the remote as she murmurs something in Chinese. CRUZ -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Ordering Chinese again? GIN Let a thousand flowers bloom. Chairman Mao. She manipulates the camera, zooming in on the Vase of lilies by the window. All the flowers are tilted in one direction : away from the window. GIN He left the window open when he came in. His only mistake. Cruz is with her now. CRUZ The draft blew over the flowers. GIN Put the bolts on that window under a scope. I'm betting you'll find wrench scratches on them. CRUZ Here's a dollar. Buy yourself a cup of coffee. GIN Keep digging. I'm going to tell you who did it. He fishes in his pocket for more money. She hits the remote, changing the monitor to :", "INT. SOTHEBY'S - DAY The Auction House is filled with buyers. GIN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Four weeks ago, when our client bought the painting. Paintings on the block. We recognize our REMBRANDT. GIN Bathsheba reading King David's letter. She hits a button. The view SNAPS to tight resolution. The image of ROBERT MACDOUGAL, 60 : tall, wide shoulders, the build of an ex - sailor and the elegance of a diplomat. Between him and Cruz is some ancient enmity. CRUZ Robert MacDougal. He says the name like Ahab when talking about Moby Dick. GIN He marked the buyer, then stole the painting a month later. CRUZ Look at that smile. I hate that smile. GIN And let's not forget the calling card - She hits the remote again, back to the crime scene. The image of Elvis in the Rembrandt frame appears. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Elvis has not left the building. CRUZ I do n't buy it. MacDougal's a Frank Sinatra kind of guy. Besides, every art thief from Oslo to Copenhagen imitates his m.o. GIN Copies are copies. This is a MacDougal. I can feel it. CRUZ You can `` feel'' it. But it's better than anything else he has, so he reaches for the phone. CRUZ -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- All right. I'll get in touch with London and Geneva, get Europol and the ALR on it. GIN And you'll kiss catching Mac goodbye. CRUZ You got a better idea? GIN Someone who could get close to him. Win his trust. Catch him in the act. She begins to smile. CRUZ You? GIN Me. CRUZ In case it slipped your mind - this guy's the best thief in the world. And he's never, ever been caught. GIN I've never tried. She crosses her very long legs. Cruz thinks. Hmm. Maybe she does have something extra. Cruz puts the phone down. GIN I'd need an introduction. From someone he trusts. CRUZ And you have in mind - GIN Romy Goriot. CRUZ Who we've got a hook into. -LRB- beat. -RRB- And you'd need the file on a piece of art Mac could n't resist. Of course. GIN Come on, it's almost a new century. Give a girl a shot. CRUZ Okay. okay. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Check in every day. I want to know everything. God is in the details. Hello? She's trying to listen, but the fact that he's going to let her do this fills her with unquenchable enthusiasm. CRUZ This guy can charm the chrome off a trailer hitch. But get in his way - you'll end up a grease spot on the highway. -LRB- softens a little. -RRB- So be careful. I'd never find anyone as good as you for your salary. He walks away. She stands up in her carrel, looks around at the narrow confines of her life, at the identical cookie - cutter work stations surrounding her. She slides the keyboard into the drawer with a soft thwatch of finality. She whoops with joy, which plays over -", "EXT. LONDON - BOAT - DAY SMASH CUT to Gin, finishing her yell in the bow of a large speed boat in the middle of the Thames. The wind is in her face, London before her in all its glory. She's out of the office. On the case. On her own!", "EXT. SOTHEBY'S - DAY A black London cab stops in front of the famous auction house. Nervous, Gin gets out, fumbles with her change, drops some on the street. She approaches the sliding glass doors, takes a deep shaky breath, pulls herself together. She enters the building. The glass doors close behind them. On the doors is etched the Sotheby name.", "INT. SOTHEBY'S - DAY Beneath a banner announcing `` The Summerfield Collection - Treasures of Ancient China'', an AUCTIONEER takes bids from an international big - money crowd, including a formidable Chinese WOMAN with a dog, and Robert MacDougal. He's bidding on a 6th Century temple scroll. GIN -LRB- from behind ; subtitled Chinese. -RRB- Do n't do it. You're already over value. By fifteen percent. Not even turning around, he subtly ups the bid. GIN -LRB- continuing ; subtitled Chinese. -RRB- Twenty percent. You know what they say about a fool and his money. Mac turns very slowly, sees Gin, acknowledges nothing. He turns back and raises his Chinese rival again. MAC -LRB- subtitled Chinese. -RRB- I have a question. GIN -LRB- subtitled Chinese. -RRB- Who am I? MAC -LRB- subtitled Chinese. -RRB- That is of no interest. And now he turns and looks straight into her eyes. MAC -LRB- continuing ; subtitled Chinese. -RRB- Why are we speaking Chinese? GIN -LRB- English now. -RRB- Uh. I'm showing off. MAC More than a billion people speak Chinese. So do n't be too impressed with yourself. As for that scroll, I can resell it for double. In 30 minutes. GIN No - you ca n't. MAC I ca n't? GIN It's sold. Mac turns to see the Chinese woman flushed with victory. He stares for a long moment, a philosophical veneer almost masking his anger. Then he stands up. MAC Are you a confederate of my adversaries? Or are you merely stupid? Gin's smile fades. GIN How about if I try humility? MAC How about if you try disappearing. Mac is gone. GIN -LRB- to herself. -RRB- Catch you later.", "INT. RITZ HOTEL TEA ROOM - LONDON - LATER THAT DAY A STRING TRIO of middle - aged women plays Christmas carols. We see trays of triangle sandwiches and scones with clotted cream. Very civilized. Mac is having tea with ROMY GORIOT, an elegant, cynical European woman in her mid - forties. Mac puts away some photographs we ca n't quite see. ROMY My darling, they guard them like the Crown Jewels. It's all techno - security - frighteningly efficient things I can not even pronounce. I can get you in, but only God can get you out. Mac smiles at her, holds out his hand to take hers, as if they were talking about something entirely different. MAC Speaking of getting in - Romy smiles flirtatiously, holds out her hand for a sensual touch. When they remove their hands something is in Mac's. A high - tech card. He glances at it. The card is his photo with horned - rim glasses. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Not the glasses again. She sets a glasses case on the table. ROMY They make you look very scientifique. MAC They make me look like Clark Kent. He glances at the clock, stands up, casually picks up the glasses case. ROMY Do n't be in such a rush. I told you there was someone I want you to meet. MAC He's late. And I have a few things to do this afternoon, or did it slip your mind? ROMY She's - Romy scans the room, then sees who she's looking for. ROMY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- - just arrived. Gin appears at their table. ROMY This is - Gin holds out her hand to Mac. GIN Virginia Baker. Nice to meet you officially. MAC -LRB- to Romy. -RRB- You're joking, surely. ROMY Not at all. I told you, she's one of us. Romy gives Gin the once - over as only another woman can. ROMY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- I'm sure you two will find each other fascinating. Now if you will excuse me. -LRB- to Mac. -RRB- A la prochaine, Cherie. She says it with an intimation of intimacy, then leaves. Mac glances at his watch, looks for the waiter. GIN I do n't want to waste your time. MAC Then do n't. Bill, please, Richard. WAITER Right away Mr. MacDougal. Gin's chance is slipping away. GIN We share an interest in Chinese art - the kind you do n't buy at auctions. He looks her over, makes a quick decision. MAC You have a car? GIN Uh, yes? He signs the bill. MAC Meet me in front. Four minutes. He gets up and without a word, leaves.", "EXT. HOTEL - DAY Lines of Rolls Royces and Mercedes. The parking attendant pulls up next to Gin in a small Ford. Mac emerges in full stride, heads for the driver's side. MAC Nice car. Gin's a little embarrassed. GIN It's a rental. MAC Get in. A little flustered, Gin slips into the passenger seat. GIN You're not authorized to drive it. Mac puts the car in gear. MAC Live dangerously. Mac drives away.", "INT. CAR - STREETS OF LONDON - DAY Mac driving in silence. Gin stealing glances at him. GIN Are you going to tell me where we're going? Suddenly and smoothly, he reaches down and grabs her bag. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Hey! One eye on the road, he begins to rummage. We approach a large MODERN BUILDING with a CHRISTMAS TREE in front. A police kiosk guards the entrance. MAC Just want to see who I'm with. Ca n't be too careful. She snatches the bag away from him, he grabs it back, the car swerves and crashes violently into the Christmas tree! The tree falls across the street. MAC Oh, dear.", "EXT. KOMITSU BUILDING - DAYY Mac and Gin get out of the car. She goes to inspect the damage and we go with her. She stares at the dented car, then looks up to see Mac walking away toward the building. GIN Hey! Bystanders gather around. So does the cop from the kiosk. COP Is this your car, Miss? GIN Yes, dammit, but I was n't driving -. -LRB- yelling at Mac. -RRB- Come back! A crowd has begun to gather around the fallen Christmas tree. Traffic backs up. Horns sound. In the b.g. Mac strides toward the modern building. We hear a police siren, coming towards us.", "EXT. KOMITSU BUILDING - DAY As Mac enters the building, he clips on a the high - tech i.d. badge Romy gave him. Slips on the horn - rimmed glasses. Does look a little like Clark Kent.", "INT. KOMITSU BUILDING - DAY Mac approaches a security desk where a GUARD sits next to a large TV screen. On the walls are blowups of computer chips and large photographs of the production process. Mac slips his i.d. card into the reader. We see his photograph. CLEARED. The Guard glances at Mac, then at the screen, then at the hubbub outside around the fallen tree. MAC Looks like they took down our Christmas tree a little early this year. The Guard pushes a buzzer. Mac goes inside.", "EXT. KOMITSU BUILDING - DAY - TEN MINUTES LATER A wrecker winches the Christmas tree out of the road. A policewoman has just asked an exasperated Gin to count backwards by twos. GIN - eight, six, four, two - Her cell phone rings. GIN Hello? POLICEMAN Can you touch your nose? GIN Of course I can touch my nose! CRUZ -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I never thought you could n't.", "EXT. KOMITSU/INT. WEBBER INSURANCE - INTERCUT Cruz is in his office, a big photograph of Mac on the wall behind him. CRUZ So how's it going? Gin sticks her finger toward her nose, fumbles a little with the phone. This does not impress the policewoman. CRUZ Gin? GIN Great! Terrific! To Gin's dismay, the policewoman pulls out a Breathalyzer. Covering the mouthpiece, Gin protests to the policewoman. GIN But I was n't driving. POLICEWOMAN You'll have to breathe into this, Miss.. GIN -LRB- to Cruz. -RRB- Excuse me, one second. She breathes into the tube. Suddenly we hear ALARMS from inside the Komitsu building! AHOOGAH! AHOOGAH! The police leave Gin and rush toward the building. CRUZ Did I remind you to keep a low profile? GIN I am. CRUZ Good. Romy said she made the intro. What's Mac like? GIN Putty in my hands. ALARMS screech! In the b.g. a panicky crowd of employees flee the building! We hear screaming, yelling. CRUZ I'm filled with confidence. Remember, this guy has more moves than a black cat in a graveyard. Do n't roll your hole card till you see what he's holding. In the b.g. Gin sees Mac exit as the police battle past him to get inside. GIN Whatever that means, believe me, I wo n't. She clicks off the phone. As a frazzled Gin stares at the crowd, she sees Mac get into a cab and drive away.", "INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Gin enters her dingy, corporate rate room, a complete contract to the exuberant girl we saw arrive on the Thames. It's been a bad day. She stops, surprised. Looks around the room. No luggage. Nothing. Checks the number on her key. GIN Shit.", "INT. HOTEL - MAC'S ROOM - NIGHT Wearing reading glasses, Mac sits quietly reading an art book. There's a loud pounding on his door. Carrying his art book, Mac comes to the door, opens it for Gin. GIN You wrecked my car! You left me there! MAC You seemed to be handling things quite nicely. GIN Nicely? They gave me a Breathalyzer! MAC You passed, surely? GIN Of course I passed. And then I get back and my luggage's been stolen! MAC -LRB- genuinely concerned. -RRB- You're joking. Really? GIN Yes. No. I mean, no I'm not joking. MAC That's terrible. Come in, come in. She enters, paces, still upset. MAC It's amazing what's getting stolen these days. Your bags. That Rembrandt. GIN Excuse me? MAC Only the most valuable painting stolen in years. If you do n't keep up on the trade gossip, you miss all the jokes. He pours some whiskey. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Speaking of art, was n't there something you wanted to discuss with me? GIN Well, yes - MAC Have a drink. Do you good. She takes a sip. Ahh. Still flustered, she reaches into her bag, trying to make the transition to business. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Surely you do n't want to go back to that room, do you? After all this? There's a pirate's smile on his face. Gin thinks she gets it. Okay, here it comes. The usual pass. She puts her folder back into the bag. GIN Not really - He looks into her eyes. She is quite beautiful. MAC If it would make you feel any better, you can sleep here if you like. GIN Very direct, are n't we? MAC Just trying to be helpful. In a way I got you into all this. GIN I do n't mind at all. Being into this. She means him. She smiles, very close now. MAC May I say something, quite personal? GIN Please. She's turning on all the charm now. MAC You've got lipstick on your teeth. Nightmare! Embarrassed, Gin closes her mouth, runs her tongue over her teeth. Mac heads for the bedroom door, not entirely hiding that pirate smile. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I'll just slip into something a little more comfortable. He shuts the door. She checks herself in the mirror. Suddenly the bedroom door bursts open! Out comes Mac, his jacket on. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Do n't worry about the bill. It's all taken care of. GIN You ca n't leave. MAC Of course I can. I have a note from mother. Desperate, she pulls a photo out of her bag. GIN Mac! He's already opened the door, but he turns. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Recognize this? MAC Of course. The Mask of the Emperor's Consort. GIN Currently at the Imperial Gallery in Blenheim Palace, on its first and only visit outside China. MAC Jade, rubies, gold and carved rhinoceros horn. Very politically incorrect. GIN Very priceless. MAC And very well guarded. GIN By its own random access security code. Changed daily. -LRB- beat. -RRB- To which I have the key. MAC Good for you. Then why do you need me? GIN Because you can get in. And out. Because you're the best. Mac thinks for a moment. Makes another quick decision. MAC Meet me in front of the hotel, tomorrow morning, nine a.m. -LRB- beat. -RRB- And buy yourself some clothes. He's really leaving now. GIN Hey, how do I know you'll be there? MAC My dear girl, if I tell you I'll be there, I'll be there. I'm never late. If I'm late, I'm dead. And he's gone.", "EXT. BOROUGH MARKET - DAY Mac's Jaguar drives up to the market. Gin is incredulous. GIN How about I get your laundry too? MAC If I ca n't trust you to pick up a simple vase, how can I trust you with the most valuable piece of Chinese art in the world? It's a challenge. It only takes her a moment to decide. GIN Fine. I'll do it. MAC Go into that warehouse right there. Ask for Haas. It's 200,000 pounds. You can pay with this. He hands her a credit card. Gin takes it, gets out of the car. He hands her a cellular phone. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I'll be right here. Just hit 1 if you need me.", "EXT. BOROUGH MARKET - DAY Gin passes through the crowds of vendors and customers and enters the warehouse. By the door are parked a Jeep Cherokee and a large Triumph motorcycle.", "INT. HAAS WAREHOUSE - DAY Filled with architectural scavenging. A large sinister MAN -LRB- QUINN -RRB- moves a mantel away from the entrance. GIN Mr. Haas? Quinn looks blank, a little menacing. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Are you Mr. Haas? QUINN Up the stairs. Quinn stares at her as she goes.", "EXT. BOROUGH MARKET/INT. HAAS OFFICE - INTERCUT Approaching Mac's car is A MAN passing out leaflets and wearing a sandwich board reading `` Repent, the Millennium is at Hand''. And then, `` 13 Days until the End of the World''. The 13 is scrawled on a sheet of paper tacked to the sign. In HAAS' office. A few MOUSE TRAPS on the floor, some antique letter openers and knives on the desk. In contrast to Quinn, HAAS is small and feral. HAAS Who the hell are you? GIN Mac sent me. HAAS I only deal with Mac. Where's Mac? GIN I believe you have a Qing vase for me. Two hundred thousand pounds. HAAS Where's the money? GIN Where's the vase? He pulls out the vase from beneath the desk, hands it to her. GIN Okay, show me the real one. HAAS This is as real as it gets, lady. The phone rings. MAC Have you made the transaction? Gin turns away from Haas. GIN It's a cheap Victorian knockoff. MAC Look inside. She puts her hand in the case, pulls out a film canister. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- That's what we're buying. Now give him the card. GIN But - MAC Can you follow simple directions? GIN -LRB- to Haas. -RRB- We'll take it. Fumbling with one hand and just a little pissed, she pulls the card out of her purse. Haas stares at the card as if it's roadkill. HAAS What's that? GIN A credit card. HAAS I know it's a credit card. What do you think this is, fucking Harrod's? GIN No. I've never seen rats at Harrod's. The tension makes her smile. And that infuriates Haas. he rips an antique knife out of its scabbard. HAAS Ever see one of these? It's a Gurkha knife. You're not meant to put it back without drawing blood. We're back on Mac, who's still on his cell phone. MAC Is there a problem? Haas has stuck his knife under Gin's chin. She can barely talk. GIN He says he wo n't take a credit card. He sticks it even more, forcing her up on her tiptoes. The hand holding the phone drops to her side. MAC Tell him it was just a joke. I'll bring up the money. But the phone is at Gin's side. She ca n't hear him. The Millennium Man walks up to Mac's car, spewing fire and brimstone. Mac rolls the window up, sets down the phone, turns to the back seat to get a briefcase. GIN My bag. The money's in my bag. HAAS I'll get it. Mac has the case with the money in it in his hand. Talks again into the phone. MAC Tell him I'm on my way. But no one hears. Holding the knife under her chin, Haas looks down into the bag. HAAS -LRB- mocks her. -RRB- `` No rats at Harrod's.'' -LRB- dead serious. -RRB- I may bloody stick you anyway. That'd be a laugher, eh? He means it. As he looks through her bag she swings the vase and SMASHES it against the side of his hand! Over the phone, Mac hears the crash! Snaps to, alert! MAC Gin? Gin! But his voice comes out of a phone lying on the floor next to Haas's inert body.", "INT. HAAS WAREHOUSE - DAY - MOMENTS LATER Carrying her bag and grasping the film case in her hand, Gin runs down the back stairs! Quinn charges at her, blocking the way out the front, where Mac is. She heads into a narrow concrete passage! Quinn is right behind her, implacable, scary, a half smile on his face like he is enjoying this. She runs up some concrete steps, hits a padlocked gate, covered over the top with a mesh screen. She shakes it like a caged animal. And here comes Quinn, honing in on her! She scrambles up, kicks upward at the wire cage above the gate, knocks it off! Just as Quinn reaches the gate, she lurches over, falls down on top of a parked car. Thump! Jumps onto the top of another car. Thud! Then runs toward the market!", "EXT. BOROUGH MARKET - DAY Gin runs down one row of stalls and up another. It's a maze. Quinn is right behind her. She scrambles over a huge mound of onions, leaps down into another stall. But Quinn keeps coming. She runs down an alley. Turns a corner. Dead end! Quinn is right behind her! She scrambles up a fence, but he kicks the supporting post out, and the fence collapses! She struggles to her feet, runs over the fallen fence. Quinn throws it out of the way and keeps after her. She's in a maze of pillars now, dodging from one to another. Out of breath, she pauses behind a pillar. No Quinn. Trains rattle overhead. Traffic speeds by on the other side of an impassable partition. Getting her breath, she darts out again, but Quinn is right there! He grabs her roughly, steers her into an empty stall. Quinn pulls out a scary looking knife. This ca n't be happening. Not in the middle of a public market. But it is. No one is paying any attention. Quinn readies the knife. QUINN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Take a good look. I'm the last face you'll ever see. His evil grin. Gin looks over his shoulder. QUINN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Nice try, Love. But he turns and BAM! Mac has driven up in the car, holds out his fist, smashes Quinn in the kidneys! Quinn goes down! Gin jumps into the car. Quinn struggles to his feet. Still without getting out of the car, Mac jams his elbow into Quinn's stomach! Mac pulls away, but he can barely drive faster than a walk. It's claustrophobic and scary. All these people are in the way! And here comes Quinn, through the crowd, implacable fury on his face. He leaps forward and stabs at the canvas roof with his knife. RIP! The blade slices through the roof! Right by Gin's head! Gin screams! Mac swerves the Jag! MAC What the hell did you do? GIN Me? Me!? Quinn cuts around behind the stalls. Speeding up, Mac drives right down the fish aisle. Suddenly Quinn appears right in front of them, wielding a pipe from some scaffolding. Crash! He smashes the tail light! CRASH! He smashes the side window! They're trapped in the damn car! Mac spots an opening in the crowd, steps on the accelerator and pulls away from Quinn. MAC Did you at least get the film? She displays a small canister in her hand. GIN What is it, your beach vacation? MAC The complete plans to Blenheim Palace - security system, everything. The Jag bounces over the pavers in front of Haas's warehouse, back where they started. GIN You're doing the job? MAC Congratulations, partner. GIN Then why could n't you have just given me the damn cash?! MAC Wanted to see how you handled a bit of pressure. GIN It was a fucking test!? You bastard! At that moment Haas emerges from the warehouse, blood on his face, pistol in hand. BANG! He fires at the car. Gin screams. People in the market hurl themselves to the ground, all except the Millennium Man. Mac throws the Jag into reverse and swerves into a tight turn. Screech! The car narrowly misses the Millennium Man, whose leaflets go flying. Mac guns into the carpark. Haas jumps into the Grand Cherokee. Quinn lowers the barriers. Mac's trapped! Mac swerves through the carpark, a maze of pillars crisscrossed by overpasses. Haas races behind him in the Cherokee. And then so does Quinn, on the motorbike! The Grand Cherokee and the motorcycle are right behind them! Mac is corralled! Hemmed in! He races into a warehouse. Ahead we see the STEEL DOORS coming down. Mac guns the Jaguar toward the doorway. MAC You might put your head down. Mac races for the narrowing opening! GIN Noooo! Mac tears under the closing steel door! It RIPS the top off the Jaguar! Gin raises her head, the wind now in her face. MAC That's coming out of your share. Quinn slides the bike on its side, squeezes under the closing gate and stays on their tail. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- There's a turn just up here. He races down a narrow street, then swings the Jag to the right. WHOA! He screeches to a stop. The road dead - ends into a modern building. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Was a turn. He throws the car into reverse. Mac races forward, confronted by a Truck pulling out of an alley. Mac slams on brakes! Gin is thrown forward. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I must give you full marks for initiative. Gin sits back up again. GIN Thanks a lot. MAC So how'd you get in the business?", "EXT. BOROUGH MARKET - STREETS - DAY Gin is thrown from side to side as the Jaguar races on. GIN My father - Zooom! Down a narrow street, just wide enough for a single vehicle. Mac sees a delivery truck being unloaded by a forklift, dead ahead! GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- My father went to prison. Embezzlement. The Jaguar does a 270 degree spin and heads down another street, the Grand Cherokee suddenly right behind them again! MAC So you learned at Daddy's knee. GIN I learned not to get caught. Mac screeches faster past the Prison Museum, then bursts out into a larger street which leads down into a tunnel. The motorcycle and Cherokee are right behind them! Mac is caught between two slow moving vehicles, unable to pass them. He's helpless to prevent Haas pulling alongside them. Haas' window rolls down. His gun is pointed directly at Gin's head. There's only one way out! Mac swerves to the right and heads down the tunnel the wrong way!", "INT. TUNNEL - SAME The Jag heads into the semi - darkness.", "EXT. TUNNEL - SAME Haas and Quinn pull up by the median, stare into the tunnel. HAAS No way I'm going in there.", "INT. TUNNEL - SAME Mac is in the tunnel, weaving through the incoming traffic from one lane to the other! It's incredibly dangerous. GIN Look, I hate to state the obvious, but is n't this a one way? MAC -LRB- thoroughly enjoying himself. -RRB- We're only going one way. Then we race around a bend and there, coming right at us, are two huge semis, side by side. Mac's face falls. GIN We're going to die, are n't we? MAC I'm not the one to ask. Steam brakes scream, horns shriek! Mac hits his brakes, hard! The huge trucks fill the screen, thirty tons of angry chrome and steel, coming right at them!", "EXT. TUNNEL - SAME Haas and Quinn listen to the panicked horn, the squealing of brakes. Haas grins. HAAS Bye - bye, Mac. Boom! Suddenly we see Mac blowing out of the tunnel at 60 m.p.h., IN REVERSE! He jerks the wheel to the left, throwing the Jag dead into the motorbike! It bounces off Haas's Grand Cherokee and back into the roadway. Haas bangs on the door, trying to get it open, but it's banged shut. Quinn jumps out to recover the bike from the road but then the huge trucks emerge from the tunnel and smash over the bike, crushing it!", "EXT. SPECTACULAR LONDON BUILDING - DAY The Jag pulls up. Mac and Gin get out. Mac gives one last look at his battered car as he opens the trunk. MAC That's four thousand for the top, six thousand for the bumpers, God knows how much for the body work, you have to go to art school to work on one of these - He pulls a valise out of the trunk. GIN Just put it on my bill. MAC You'll find some warmer clothes in here. GIN What about yours? MAC I never carry baggage. They head inside.", "EXT. BUILDING - DAY They emerge up some concrete steps onto the roof. Saint Paul's is spread out beneath them. GIN Where to now, Bungee Jumping? MAC Perhaps. He turns her toward a helicopter waiting on a pad. As they walk toward it she opens the valise. GIN I ca n't wait to see what you picked out for me. She checks out the valise, astonishment on her face. GIN These are my clothes. MAC Certainly not mine. GIN You stole my luggage? You -!? MAC I'm a thief, sue me. GIN You bastard! MAC When you were dealing with the wreck of your rental car, I did a little job. Four prototype copper super chips, value, five million each. Come on, get in. She gets in the helicopter. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Your bag is in Hotel Security. One of those chips is inside. An anonymous phone call from me, your rental car at the crime scene, it's not a pretty picture. The rotors are turning fast now. GIN That's entrapment. MAC No. Entrapment is what cops do to robbers. Blackmail is what robbers do to schmucks. Off Gin's look, Mac lifts the stick up. The helicopter plunges off the top of the building, gains airspeed, and flies away.", "INT. HELICOPTER - MAGIC HOUR The long steady vibration has put Gin to sleep. Mac nudges her awake. She looks around, eyes barely open, still half asleep. He gestures down at the ground. She looks, and then her eyes open wide. It is. dramatic.", "EXT. SAFEHOUSE - MAGIC HOUR Deer running across a heath, crumbling stone walls, and then a stunningly beautiful small castle, walls glowing lavender in the twilight, set next to a coal gray loch rimmed with mountains wreathed in a purple haze. It is so hauntingly lonely, that Gin is speechless.", "EXT. SAFEHOUSE - FRONT DOOR - MAGIC HOUR The helicopter in the b.g., Mac and Gin walk up to the castle. Like its owner, the house is craggy and forbidding on the outside. Mac turns the knob and walks in. No key, no code, no nothing. GIN No security? Not even a lock? MAC Perhaps I have a more optimistic view of human nature than you do.", "INT. SAFEHOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT They enter what was once a baronial hall. Warm stone walls glowing golden in firelight from a walk - in stone fireplace. An eclectic mixture of contemporary and antique furnishings, nothing ostentatious, everything carefully selected for its uniqueness and comfort, all fitting together in harmony. On the walls are a few classic paintings. A Renoir. A Turner. A regimental banner from a Scottish regiment. Every item reveals a piece of Mac's life and who he is. This is our first glimpse of the private man. Gin lingers, looking at everything, overwhelmed by this amazing place. GIN I've never seen anything like this. MAC I do n't suppose you have. Let's keep moving, shall we?", "INT. SAFEHOUSE - GIN'S ROOM - NIGHT - MOMENTS LATER He sets her bag down on the bed in a guest room decorated with neutral colors and lined with bookcases bulging with old books, all of which look read. MAC Good night. He turns to go. GIN Wait. She comes closer to him. She's in the post - adrenaline buzz of an amazing day, the castle is incredibly romantic, and so is he. MAC Yes? GIN I never thanked you for saving my life. MAC Do n't mention it. She's vulnerable now, does n't even bring up that it was his fault she was in danger in the first place. He turns to go. GIN Do n't I get a bedtime story? She really is hard to resist. MAC Like what? Prince Charming? GIN Actually, I always preferred the big, bad wolf. She's being outrageous now, she ca n't help it. MAC My dear girl, I'm old enough to be your father. She's beyond outrageous now. GIN He always tucked me in. Oh boy. Mac does n't want to touch that with a ten - foot pole. MAC Hmmm. Well, you'll have to tuck yourself in. GIN But it's so early. The pouty little girl now. Nothing seems to be working. MAC Never mix business with pleasure. GIN What about Romy? MAC Romy? Oh, she's strictly business. GIN Really? MAC Really. Breakfast at six. Bring your bungee gear. He leaves. She stands in the doorway, watching him go, totally unable to figure him out.", "EXT. SAFEHOUSE - LOCH - EARLY MORNING Mac is swimming in the gray early morning light. Gin watches Mac swim for a moment as she takes in the grounds : the stone walls, the hedgerows, the green lawn stretching down to the loch. Mac gets out, throws on a robe over his wetsuit. MAC You're late. GIN I'm dressed. She pointedly looks at his wetsuit. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And good morning. MAC Morning. Let's get started. He heads away.", "INT. SAFEHOUSE-PLANNING ROOM - DAY - MOMENTS LATER A converted snooker room. Tools in the cue racks. A long table top with candlesticks. Specially designed hooks and bins for gear, large bulletin boards, various monitors and bits of electronic equipment. Mac stands next to a bulletin board covered with photographs of the castle and sets of plans, all marked up with red magic marker. MAC Twelve seconds - GIN Twelve seconds. He writes 12 sec on the plans. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- - to cut through eight inches of concrete or three inches of steel door - He writes 8'' conc, 3'' stl. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- - remove the marble floor, all without exceeding three decibels of noise level - He writes 3db. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Then we have six minutes before the guard checks the Mask Room - He writes 6 min on the board. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- - to neutralize a state of the art set of interlocking PIRs - GIN With only 20 centimeters of initial clearance. He writes 20 cm on the plans. MAC - to get into the Mask case with its unbreakable code - GIN Which I have. MAC Which you hope you have. And then get back out through the same security system. Still without making a bloody sound. GIN Right. We expect him to say that is the craziest damn thing I ever heard. He pauses for a moment, as if trying to find words to express this. But he does n't. MAC Hmmmm. Interesting. He stares at the plans, lost in thought. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And the exhibit ends -? GIN Christmas night, with a party in honor of the Mask. MAC A week. We'll need every single day. We'll got that party for a final recce. This is most definitely not her plan. GIN We ca n't. We've got to go sooner. MAC One week. GIN But why? It's risky. And we have all the plans. MAC Prepare for surprises, you wo n't be surprised. He studies the drawings and the photographs, then points to a lake in front of the castle. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- That's the way in. GIN That's the lake. MAC I know it's the lake, dear. He draws a line from the lake to the Palace. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- The first Duke dug a tunnel as an escape route - just in case. They made the lake a hundred years later. Flooded the tunnel. GIN We go underwater? She does n't like that idea. MAC What's with the `` we'', Tonto? GIN We're partners. MAC Precisely. I steal the Mask, you get a finders fee. At ten percent, that should be worth two or three million. Not too bad. GIN Look, I've got the code for the Mask security. MAC That's why you're here. Give it to me. GIN No. MAC Fine. It's almost been interesting meeting you. He starts taking down the plans, the photographs, putting things away. GIN This is a two - man job. You need a sensor expert. Me. MAC This is n't some Rocky Mountain print you steal from a Burger King, my dear. GIN I'm not your dear! You arrogant bastard! You do n't have any idea how lucky you are! MAC That's been a lifelong problem. GIN No, dammit! I mean me! That Rembrandt. that Rembrandt! He looks up at her. She has his attention now. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I stole it! What the hell? MAC Look, you're a smart girl, but you're an amateur. Whoever stole that Rembrandt was a professional, not some wee slip of a girl. So let's not kid each other. Mac sits down at the end of the table and begins to put away some of the documents lying on it. Furious, Gin stares at him. He is so maddening and dismissive. Nothing she says is going to change his mind. She takes the table cloth runner, grasps it in her hands, and jerks it off the table! Books, papers, candlesticks fly. Mac's eyebrow goes up. You have my attention. She walks to the end of the room, takes the measure of the table, then runs toward it and BOOM! BOOM! Does two front handsprings! Coming right at him! Then does a full twisting layout vault! Right over his head! Lands on her feet behind him! MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Pretty good. GIN For a wee slip of a girl. She's won him over. MAC The Rembrandt - that was very impressive. GIN It was perfect. MAC Perfect was it? He gets up, makes a show of walking slowly and creakily over to the corner. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- How'd you get the painting out? GIN I mailed it. Down their own mail tube. Simple. Effective. Safe. MAC Very, very impressive. He takes out a rolled - up canvas. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Would you be referring to this Rembrandt? He displays the familiar painting. Now it's her turn to be shocked. And ours as well. GIN Oh my God. No. MAC Why rob the Penthouse when the mailroom is on the ground floor? -LRB- enjoying himself. -RRB- You're too easily impressed with yourself. I believe I've mentioned that before. Gin reaches for the Rembrandt. GIN Someone was expecting that. He studies the mailing label. MAC Obviously Mister Conrad Greene? But why Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia? GIN We get the mask I'll tell you why. MAC A partner with secrets is n't much of a partner. GIN Without the mask it does n't matter. MAC Could it be a downpayment? On a bigger job? He's interested now. GIN Something like that. MAC What could you possibly want to steal in Malaysia? GIN Let's just see how we do. For the first time she's caught him off - balance. MAC Are you testing me now? GIN Oh, I think you can do it. Probably. She smiles sweetly at him.", "EXT. SAFEHOUSE - DAY - LATER A delivery van drives up. A TRADESMAN steps out. He's mid - forties, black. Mac meets him at the door. TRADESMAN Delivery for Robert MacDougal, Esquire. He says it with just a bit too much deference. MAC Just take it around the back, would you?", "EXT. SAFEHOUSE - DAY - MOMENTS LATER Carrying a box, the Tradesman walks into the kitchen. This is THIBADEAUX, a Cajun who carries himself with authority. The Tradesman veneer did n't fit him too well : he's too dangerous. Mac is there to meet him. THIBADEAUX What the hell did you do to that Jag? You have any idea what it cost? MAC Actually, I do. Thibadeaux sets down the box. THIBADEAUX You said small pneumatics, I got small pneumatics. Got to be an elf to use these. Mac opens the box, picks up some flat black miniature tools, handles them with expert ease. THIBADEAUX -LRB- continuing. -RRB- They work off the O2 tank. MAC And the blade det cord? THIBADEAUX In the van. That is bad shit. You do n't want to go mixing it with nothing else. Mac checks off the tools. They look very cool. MAC decibel meter. comm kits. lasers with magic arms. got the IR/Thermo camera? THIBADEAUX Had to get a liquid plasma screen. MAC How'm I supposed to do this without the right tools? THIBADEAUX You're not the one trying to get all this shit. You think they've got a Crooks R Us on every corner? MAC You are a miracle worker. THIBADEAUX Where's the girl? MAC In the loch. Training. THIBADEAUX So when do we do the dirty? MAC We might not want to cash in our chips just yet. She has another job after this one. THIBADEAUX That's what they all say, right before they disappear with the swag. MAC A really big job. THIBADEAUX This is big enough. MAC It's never big enough.", "EXT. SAFEHOUSE - LOCH - HIS VIEW Gin gets out of the loch onto a rock. Caught unaware, she looks incredibly beautiful.", "INT. SAFEHOUSE - KITCHEN - SAME Thibadeaux is watching her through the telescope. An idea, call it a suspicion, comes to him. THIBADEAUX You are keeping this business, right? Mac gives nothing away. MAC I need you to get one more thing for me. A dress, elegant but sexy. I'd say she's a size six who wears a size four. Maybe a Chanel. THIBADEAUX Chanel? He gets a good laugh out of this. THIBADEAUX -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I buy my mama Chanel. MAC It's been a while since I bought a woman a dress. That lies there for a moment. Beneath their toughness there's some real connection between the two of them. THIBADEAUX I know what you mean. But it's not a place they like going. THIBADEAUX -LRB- continuing. -RRB- My Tina, she used to say, the dress makes the woman. And I'd tell her, no, baby, the woman makes the dress. MAC Tina, she was something else. The `` was'' is the sad and operative word here. THIBADEAUX Do n't go getting sentimental. You're no damn good at it. MAC Tina was worth it. Meaning worth all the trouble women can be. THIBADEAUX This better be worth it. Mac looks out to Gin. MAC Oh, it is. The job? The girl? THIBADEAUX It better be worth it to me. And that is the nitty gritty, dead serious end to it.", "EXT. SAFEHOUSE - DAY Thibadeaux's delivery van drives away. Getting out of the loch, Gin walks toward the house and catches just a glimpse of the van and its driver.", "INT. SAFEHOUSE - DAY - FEW MINUTES LATER Her hair still wet from swimming, Gin stares at the furnishings and casually arranged mementos, the way a woman considers how a place is decorated to be a window into the owner's soul. Mac enters, carrying a box of gear. MAC Our gear has arrived. GIN Who delivered it? MAC Delivery man. GIN You were in there a long time. MAC Suspicious are we? GIN Comes with the territory. He heads across the living room with the box. Her eyes go around the room, curious, taking in every detail. MAC You coming, or are you casing the joint? She comes to a realization. GIN A woman did this. MAC Nonsense. I did it all myself. GIN Women can tell these things. MAC Which is why I live alone. GIN Who was she? MAC I should get this place redone. It's his way of telling her to buzz off. GIN A partner with secrets is n't much of a partner. She throws his line back at him. MAC Bullshit I'm afraid. Secrets are what make us human. GIN I like your face when you do that. It's like this house. You think it hides who you are, but it does exactly the opposite. MAC Can we please get to work? That box is getting heavy. GIN Oh, did I get too personal? MAC Yes you did. There are vast Greenlands of buried emotion here. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Unless physical labor is beneath you, there are more boxes in the kitchen.", "EXT. SAFE HOUSE/INT. SAFE HOUSE - DAY/NIGHT - INTERCUT Measuring precisely, Gin and Mac string red yarn into a maze in the living room. Mac runs blade det cord along a piece of concrete. Boom! The det cord explodes. Mac checks a decibel meter. Mac checks the depth of the cut in the concrete with a ruler, makes some notes in his Notebook. Mac and Gin squat underneath some planks set on scaffolding five feet off the floor. Mac begins to chant, rhythmically, as he tapes strips of blade det cord over a square 18'' on a side outlined on the wood with magic marker. MAC A one and a two and a three and a four. Stand back! Gin moves out of the way, but not fast enough for Mac. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Get bloody well back! We only have four seconds for the concrete! He stays after as they set up again. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And where's the air bag? That's on five, or did you forget five comes after four? She bites her tongue. The maze of red yarn at complete. Some fruit cartons have been stacked in the middle, atop which rests a Halloween mask indicating the real Mask. Attached to the yarn are small bells, the kind that go on cat collars. Blindfolded, Gin tries to navigate through the yarn at Mac's direction. He will be able to see it, but she can not. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Okay, right arm to the left about six inches. She moves her left arm, touches the yarn, the bell jingles. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Your other right arm! She pulls off her blindfold. GIN I need a break. MAC Get it right first. She puts the blindfold back on, starts over. Under the planks again. Gin has the air bag in proper position this time. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And five - inflate! Gin yanks a valve and a mylar bag inflates slowly - too slowly - beneath them. MAC Then change the valve! She stares at him, fuming. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Now, six, lever! They rip out small steel levers and mimic some action that looks like prying. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Seven - drop - They rotate off to the side. It's evening. They're jogging around the grounds. He runs briskly ahead, turns and motions to her. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Come on! Come on! She jogs by him. For just an instant he takes a breath and guts it up. This is hard for him, but damned if he'll let her see that. Nighttime. They're around the table, with the remains of dinner, going over plans. Their heads are very close. She's got her hair up in a bun, held in place with a pencil. She pulls out the pencil to make a mark on the plans, and her hair falls down. She's concentrating, so she does n't notice her hair brush past his cheek, the touch and the smell right in his face. Early morning. They're back under the planks. MAC Eight - deflate - They wrestle the pneumatics in place - a ram powered by the slice pack. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And nine - move it, move it! - ten - get the air! Okay, stop. Stop! Am I supposed to hammer this with my willy? Gin's had enough of his hectoring. GIN I do n't care what you do with your damn willy! Just do n't worry about me! I'll be there! MAC I just meant to say, if you ca n't do it in practice, you ca n't do it for real. He's calm, conciliatory, realizing he's pushed her too hard. The curtains are drawn in the hall. The fire burns. Dressed in a tight unitard, Gin moves through the maze of yarn. This time it's like tai chi. Half - cat, half - ballerina, she negotiates the maze with consummate skill and grace. We see Mac watching her, knowing that blindfolded she ca n't see him. The way he watches is the pride of a mentor for his protege, but it's much more. For the first time we see how this amazing, maddening girl is getting under his skin. And then she's at the Mask case. She rips off her blindfold, pure joy on her face. GIN I did it! Mac opens the curtains. Light falls into the room. MAC In practice. GIN Oh come on sourpuss. Admit it. We're ready. He produces a box. He gestures at her. Open it. As she opens it, as any man would he tries to protect himself. MAC It's by some Italian. Supposed to be very trendy. I thought with your hair, the color - There's a beautiful dress inside. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- I hope it's your size. She holds it up to herself. GIN A Christmas present. For me? She loves it. Given how hard he's been on her through the training, she's genuinely touched. MAC It comes out of your share. GIN I do n't know what to say. MAC -LRB- helpful. -RRB- Thank you. GIN Thank you. There's a held moment between them. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I have n't got you anything. He waves his hand - hardly necessary. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- No, no, I want to. I'll just go into the village. MAC It's not a village. There's nothing there. GIN Wo n't take any time. She puts the box under her arm, gives him a big smile, and departs. On his face is the slightest trace of suspicion.", "EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY Gin rides a bicycle down an isolated country lane.", "EXT. VILLAGE - DAY A small pub. A tiny post office and store. A phone call box. Gin leans the bicycle against the phone box.", "INT. SAFEHOUSE - DAY Mac works a monitoring device.", "EXT. VILLAGE - DAY Gin dials a number. High up in the box we notice a tiny microphone. VOICE Webber Insurance.", "INT. MAC'S ROOM - DAY We see him listening to the phone call. GIN Hector Cruz.", "INT. MAC'S ROOM - DAY And we see his face, as he listens. VOICE Connecting.", "INT. WEBBER INSURANCE/EXT. VILLAGE - DAY - INTERCUT Cruz comes on the line. There's an edge to his voice. CRUZ I believe we agreed on a simple feedback loop. You call me? Check in? GIN This was my first chance. I ca n't exactly use my cell phone. CRUZ Field men who do n't check in - they end up pushing papers or pushing daisies. GIN I got the message the first time. CRUZ Make it up to me. Give me some news I can use. GIN He's got the Rembrandt. CRUZ Bingo. We nail him right now. GIN For what? Possession? He's onto something big. After the Mask. CRUZ He's a thief. He's always onto something big. GIN We parlay the Mask into some big job, roll up MacDougal, his fences, everything. CRUZ In Vegas they call that the slow surrender of resolve to desperate hope. You win a dollar, you lose five trying to win another one. GIN Do you want to sound smart on the office tape or do you want to nail the bastard? CRUZ -LRB- tough now. -RRB- Do I want to nail him? Every night I dream of catching him and every morning I wake up pissed off I have n't. -LRB- and softer. -RRB- So listen to me. You've done a great job. I never thought you'd get him, but you did. I'll give you the raise we had to put off. GIN You're pulling me in? CRUZ Just tell me where you are. I'll take care of the rest. GIN I'll send you a postcard. She hangs up the phone. Cruz is not a man to trifle with, and he has n't finished. CRUZ Gin? Gin? He slowly sets down the phone, lost in thought. CUT TO : Mac, another man not to be trifled with. He hangs up his own phone, his face scary and dead as the line.", "EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY On her bicycle, Gin passes a lonely country cottage. Suddenly she stops and stares at the cottage. Inside, on the ledge of the kitchen window, she sees a vase of beautiful roses. Ah ha.", "INT. SAFEHOUSE - DAY - MINUTES LATER The shadows are lengthening as Gin enters the Safehouse. There's an empty feeling. GIN Mac? She looks for him through the house, comes to a door that we have never seen opened. It's half ajar. She opens it farther. A cold breeze makes her shiver.", "INT. SAFEHOUSE - STAIRWAY - DUSK She climbs up a narrow curving stone staircase. It's shadowy, scary. This romantic castle has suddenly become Gothic and spooky.", "EXT. SAFEHOUSE - BATTLEMENT - DUSK She emerges on a battlement high above the loch. GIN Mac? There's no one there. The wind blows a chill into her bones. Suddenly a hand grasps her shoulder! She starts in fear. MAC Cold up here, is n't it? We see his face, that matter of her phone call. GIN Is anything wrong? MAC Not a thing. Mac opens a box. Inside is an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne. His back to her, he pours them each a glass. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- To the Mask. To our. partnership. He turns to face her, hands her a glass, looking at her like a butterfly he is about to pin. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Anything on your mind? Anything you need to tell me? He seems to know everything. Really spooked now, she shakes her head. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Come over her. He leads her over to the battlements. Almost forces her to look over the edge. It's a long way down. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- What would it be like to jump off? Would you burst like a melon on the rocks, or would you just fly away? Her hand shakes as she drinks from the glass. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Do n't tell me you're scared - She nods. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Then how'd you do that Rembrandt? GIN I had a lifeline. MAC None now, though. She shakes her head, shivers again. GIN I'm cold. His face is dark. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I never come up here without dropping something off. She's right by the edge. He's behind her. Big, strong, menacing. He takes her champagne glass. She wonders : does he mean her? He leans her over the battlement. There's a long beat. He tosses first one glass, then the other, over the side. We watch them break on the rocks below. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Supposed to be good luck. And he gives her his best smile.", "INT.  GIN'S ROOM - NIGHT Getting hold of herself, Gin checks her face in the mirror.", "INT. GREAT HALL - NIGHT - SAME Dressed in his tuxedo, Mac waits at the bottom of the stairs. MAC Gin, we're four minutes late! GIN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I'm coming. The door opens at the top of the stairs and out she comes, wearing the dress. She looks truly beautiful. We watch him watch her come down the stairs. GIN How do I look? MAC Very beautiful - for a crook. GIN I've got something for you. She takes out a rose that looks suspiciously like one of the roses from the farmhouse. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- So I'll recognize you. Would n't want to go home with the wrong man by mistake. She pins it on his lapel, very close to him. He can smell her perfume, her hair. She steps back, examines him. GIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Perfect. She smiles at him, not looking away. There are several ways to take that, most of which make him a bit self - conscious. Then he gives her a Masquerade mask. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- It's a masked ball. We all go as someone else.", "EXT. BLENHEIM PALACE - NIGHT We swoop in on the Palace in all its magnificence. Rolls Royces and Limousines drive over the bridge and disgorge their guests at the tent by the entry. Over the gates is draped a banner proclaiming THE MASK Two Thousand Years of Chinese Art.", "EXT. PALACE - NIGHT Closer now. Guests getting out of cars. Gin and Mac sweep in with the rest of the crowd as security guards check names against a guest list. After their names are checked, the guests don their masks and enter. Mac nods and exchanges small talk with other guests. A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN recognizes Mac. BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Robert - MAC Daphne. There is history here. A lot. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Lady Ashcroft, Virginia Baker. Lady Ashcroft gives Gin the full up - and - down. BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Hmmm. Yes. Youth will be served. She leaves. GIN Business or pleasure? MAC Strictly pleasure.", "INT. PALACE - NIGHT A great hall. Musicians in the balcony. Mac and Gin stroll in. We see a huge CLOCK against the back wall, one of those mechanical wonders where dogs dressed like humans rotate around, banging on gongs to announce the hour. It says 9:45. Gin's fidgety. MAC Relax. You act like you're here to steal something. She ca n't relax. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Go get a drink. I'll look over the security guard check points, meet you back here. She nods, walks away. He strolls into the crowd.", "INT. PALACE - ANOTHER CORRIDOR Mac examines a display of tin soldiers next to a security check - in box. Thibadeaux appears in a Chinese mandarin's outfit. He's agitated, worried about Gin catching them. THIBADEAUX Have you seen the setup in there? MAC I said a masked ball, not a costume party. THIBADEAUX You did n't tell me only the women were supposed to dress like Chinks. MAC No ethnic slurs, please. THIBADEAUX The damn mask, man, it's made of cotton candy. What if you break it? What if she is selling you a pig in a poke? MAC What if we drop it in the lake? It could melt. THIBADEAUX Jesus, you got ta call this off. MAC Patience Thib, patience. Trust me. THIBADEAUX Remind me why. MAC Because it pays off. THIBADEAUX It's not your damn ass on the line. Thibadeaux spots Gin coming up, disappears into the crowd. MAC -LRB- to himself. -RRB- Oh, but it is. -LRB- to Gin. -RRB- Have n't I seen him before? MAC You mean Charlie Chan? He was looking for number two son. GIN What? MAC Before your time. The music changes to something very danceable. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- We could dance, if you knew how. She stares at him. GIN Try me.", "INT. PALACE - GREAT HALL - DAY The music begins. Mac reaches out his hand to Gin. She's had to overcome a lot to get here. Her fear, the incredible pressure of the job, his impossible behavior. But here she is, Cinderella at the Ball. She reaches out her hand to take his. And as she takes it time stops. For the first time they are truly touching, truly connected. They stare at each other. And then they take the floor, tentative at first like new lovers. He takes her in his arms and then, expecting nothing, he leads her into one combination, then another. She follows him effortlessly, her eyes never leaving his face, as if to say, is that all you've got? He takes her into more complicated moves, but she's right there, in his arms, not missing a beat. Anyone looking would believe they were completely in love. MAC Where did you learn to do this? She smiles, teasing him. GIN My father. MAC Of course. Dear. old. dad. We are absorbed in their absorption with each other. It's as if the force between them clears a space around them. And then we see Thibadeaux watching them, watching intently, gauging just how close these two seem to have become. And he does n't like it. The other dancers disappear into a swirl of color and movement. We only see them now, and it's hot and beautiful. They see only each other. Suddenly the clock strikes 10. The little figures swing out and begin pounding the chimes. Dong. Dong. Dong. The reminder of time, of their job, makes her stumble. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- About to turn into a pumpkin, princess? As the chimes continue, they stare at each other, the spell not quite broken. Neither expected this surge of feeling. Neither knows what to say. Mac offers her his arm. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- It would be rude to leave without paying a visit to the guest of honor. Meaning - the Mask. She nods and takes his arm.", "INT. PALACE - MOMENTS LATER We are strolling down a long hall with other couples going to see the Mask. The Gallery is just ahead, around that corner there's a security guard's clock and there's. oh no! Greeting them is a pair of GLASS DOORS. GIN Where are the damn steel doors? MAC Replaced obviously. Armored smart glass at a guess. In front of them, on a special pedestal, covered with a dome of clear glass, is the MASK. The first time we have seen it for real. It is right there, so close. But Glass Doors! Panicked, Gin hisses at Mac under her breath. GIN We ca n't do this in a fishbowl! -LRB- beat. -RRB- It's off! MAC It's on. Something always goes wrong. At least we know going in what it is. As he talks, he kneels down to check his show, quickly peeling off a tiny silver disc with tape backing and leaving it in the center of a square of marble. MAC Besides, you're good. You told me. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Now smile. And she does as they walk out through the very clear glass doors, the Mask gleaming in its case behind them.", "EXT. PALACE LAKE - NIGHT CRANE DOWN from bridge as a car exits the now - quiet Palace and crosses to reveal a SMALL BLACK ZODIAC in which we find Mac and Gin, dressed in dark silver mylar thermal suits, diving bags carrying all their gear. They both have lights mounted on head bands. MAC Ready? GIN -LRB- beat. -RRB- Ready. Mac pulls on his face mask, slides backwards into the black water. Gin follows behind him.", "EXT. PALACE LAKE - UNDER WATER Mac swims through the murky water. Once he gets under the bridge he switches on his head lamp. Up ahead, in the dim light, we see a window covered with rusted bars. Mac pulls out his slice pack, turns on the valve, and begins to burn the bars.", "EXT. LAKE - NIGHT - MOMENTS LATER They swim through the now - cut gate, toward us, shining their light through the dark dirty water. They enter a narrow tube, their feet disappear and then the light dims into blackness.", "INT. TUNNEL - NIGHT They emerge from the water. Gin leads as they belly crawl up a dank tunnel that narrows as they go. This is creepy, scary hard. We hear their breathing. Gin's headlight picks out a reddish glint. Holy shit. A rat. She's overcome with claustrophobic panic! Her mouth goes dry at cotton. Her breath comes in gasps. She ca n't move. She can barely get the words out. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- There's a rat. MAC There's a bigger bloody rat behind you! Get your ass in gear! She takes a breath, begins to crawl again.", "INT. PALACE - TUNNEL - NIGHT They reach a rusted steel door. Mac pushes it in. An old shelving unit on the other side falls to the floor.", "INT. CASTLE BASEMENT - MOMENTS LATER They make their way through the maze of a class foundation - hand - laid brick piers supporting thick cut beams, over which has been laid a wood sub - floor.", "INT. GREAT HALL - NIGHT The party - goers are leaving. The clock hands jerk closer to midnight. It's 11:58.", "INT. CASTLE BASEMENT/INT. PALACE/INT. MASK ROOM - INTERCUT They reach a chamber where all the piers and beams are reinforced steel, the floor solid concrete. We are beneath the Imperial Gallery. They move urgently now. Mac takes out a receiver, homes in on the signal from the mini - transmitter he taped to the floor. He measures out a certain distance one way as she measures the other. He carefully marks the square on the concrete, eighteen inches on a side. As they work Gin pops some bubble gum into her mouth. MAC Less than a minute. Gin hands Mac the blade det cord. Mac quickly squeezes it onto the concrete. Gin sets up the decibel meter. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Five, four, three, two, one. DONG! goes the big clock chime and BOOM! in perfect synch goes the first explosion. MAC And two - DONG! Boom. We now see what they've been practicing. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And three - DONG. Boom. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And four - DONG. Boom. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And five - Inflate! DONG. As they jump back, Gin pops the valve on the mylar air bag. They stick levers into two of the holes. DONG. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And six - They pry the two sides. DONG. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And seven - CRACK the concrete square falls onto the inflated air bag, revealing the marble square of the floor. DONG. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And deflate! - Eight - They move the ram into position. DONG. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Nine - air! Gin works the valve. BAM! The ram strikes against the marble. DONG. The decibel meter jumps, coming perilously close to a read line drawn on it. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Ten - More air! In the Mask Room we see the slightest bit of dust rise from one of the marble squares on the floor. DONG. GIN It's too loud! MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Eleven - More! Gin turns the valve even more, her eye on the decibel meter. Mac carefully shifts the ram striking point. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And twelve. DONG. Bam. The ram hits the last time. In the Mask Room, one of the marble squares floats slightly above the floor. A GUARD walks through the Great Hall. He enters a card into a check - in box, which beeps quietly. Then he continues his rounds through the debris of the party. Mac has his hands on the marble. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Rollers. She hands him black pipes which he places under the marble. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Gently, very gently. They lower the marble onto the rollers, then roll it away. The basement is bathed in the dim light of the Mask room. Mac carefully extends the 20 centimeter rod. They know they ca n't go above that. Mac positions the camera, which comes oh so close to the top of the rod. He opens a palm top computer with a mouse that lets him control the camera, tests it, surveys the room on his screen. He positions the tripod with its laser magic arms, carefully sets it. She mounts the first light. They are head to head, extremely close, in the narrow opening. GIN Contact. She turns on the laser. On Mac's screen we see a red beam stream out directly into the PIR sensor. The guard has made his way closer to the Mask room. He inserts his card into the next checkpoint. In the Great Hall, the hands of the clock move to 12:02. Mac positions the next tripod through the small opening. On Mac's palm top monitor we now see a maze of red lights exactly like the yarn on his floor. Mac turns to Gin. It either works now or it does n't. They share a long look, then she crawls up through the narrow opening, into the room. He looks at his watch. MAC Less than four minutes now. For a moment she lies on the floor, still, the Mask looming over her on the other side of the room. We hear her breathing. As he talks her through, MOS, she begins the delicate tai chi around the beams which only Mac can see. If she breaks one, she sets off the alarm. We are on her face, then his. The concentration is intense. He is dancing through the beams using her body. It is as intimate, if not more so, as their dance. The Guard checks in at another checkpoint. The clock says 12:04. Finally she makes it to the Mask, pulls out a tiny palm top, scans a series of numbers, then enters them into the keypad. Very slowly the canopy above the Mask begins to rise. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Thank you God. MAC Watch the pressure switch. She has a knife in one hand, ready to slide it carefully under the Mask. But her hand begins to shake. Pulls back. Tries again. Damn! Worse! Mac does n't bully her now. He talks softly and confidently, mentor to protege, professional to professional. MAC We all get the shakes. Deep breath now. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. She tries, but her hand still shakes. The Guard enters the room before the corridor leading to the Mask Room. The Great Hall Clock says 12:05. Mac glances at his watch. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Okay, think of a beach, palm trees swaying in the wind, the gentle sound of the surf. Think of nothing. She closes her eyes, tries to imagine. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Or a great big rat, about to take a bite out of your ass. She opens her eyes, grinning and determined. She sticks her hand with the knife toward the base of the Mask again. It shakes, but she steadies it, slips it under the Mask! Ahhh. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Good girl. No hurry, but the guard's coming down the corridor. The Guard turns into the corridor leading to the glass doors. Gin carefully lifts the Mask, holding the knife under it. The Guard approaches the Mask Room. We see the double doors, but not the Mask case. He stops and takes a sip of champagne from a half - empty glass. Gin slowly slides the Mask over to the edge of its pedestal and into her bag while holding the knife down. GIN Preparing pressure switch neutralization device. The we have a wonderful low - tech moment. She takes the BUBBLE GUM out of her mouth, sticks it on the Mask mount, then lifts her hand away. Success. MAC Just speed it up a bit. The big clock says 12:07. The Guard idly glances into the Mask Room. He does a double take. What the bloody hell?! There's a mask there, but it's Gin's party mask. The real Mask is gone.", "EXT. PALACE LAKE - NIGHT Splash! Mac bursts through the surface of the lake! He climbs into the Zodiac, slips off his mask. Splash! Woof! Gin comes up, gasping, thrilled. GIN Oh God! Oh God! MAC Give me the Mask. She undoes it from around her neck, lifts it up to him. She reaches up her hand, expecting him to help her in. He does n't. He stares at her, dark, baleful. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Now's when you tell me who you really are. He grabs her by the hair, then shoves her under! She comes up gasping. MAC You work for Hector Cruz at Webber Insurance. You're a bloody cop. She treads water, tries to talk through her sputtering and choking. WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP! An alarm goes off in the Palace. Lights pop on all around the building. In the b.g. we see people running toward the Palace. GIN I'm not! He shoves her under again! Lifts her back out! She's gasping for breath, terrified, desperate. GIN The insurance job, it was cover. That's how I got the code! The boat has drifted out into the light. Police cars race over the bridge right above them. Mac pays them no attention. GIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- For God sake, the cops! He stares at her. Impenetrable and menacing. MAC So you're playing both sides of the street. Keep the Mask, turn me in. Down under the dark water again! Then up! GIN Please! I'm a thief! Like you! Mac thinks for a moment. MAC Okay, you're a thief. GIN Yes! Yes! MAC What do I need a thief for? I've got the Mask. He shoves her under again! For a long time! When she comes up this time she's terrified now. GIN The big job. MAC There is no big job. He starts to shove her under again. This is very scary. GIN It's a billion! MAC A billion what? GIN Dollars. He's about to dunk her again, for the final terrible time. GIN That's just your share. Mac stares at her for a long beat. GIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Please. Trust me. What is he going to do? We do n't know. His face is hard, gives us nothing. MAC Get the hell in. He pulls her unceremoniously into the boat. She lies gasping on the floor like a fish, rolls over and faces the night sky. WHAAOOO! WHAAOO! More police cars race across the bridge, their sirens screaming. Totally unflappable and always unpredictable, Mac reaches down into the boat and pulls out a bottle. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Whiskey? Gin can barely get her breath. A moment ago he was about to drown her. GIN No. thank you. Mac savors his. The sirens increase! More police cars! GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Can we celebrate somewhere else? MAC If you want, certainly. Where to? GIN Start paddling, we've got a long way to go. He paddles the boat out of frame and the dark lake DISSOLVES", "EXT. KUALA LUMPUR - DAY The prow of a boat enters the frame. Gin and Mac are in a small river craft on a narrow brown stream overhung with palm trees and tropical vegetation. As the boat docks, the two of them continue a discussion they have obviously been having for quite some time. GIN Come on. You mean a billion is n't enough? MAC Depends. GIN If you absolutely have to know - MAC Trust me, I do. Beyond them is an extraordinary sight : supermodern buildings, set against deep green tropical mountains : the architectural design laboratory that is Kuala Lumpur, city of the third millennium. GIN Amazing, is n't it? Gin is putting Mac off a little, having her fun now. MAC Extraordinary. He's not even looking. He wants his answer. GIN Eight. The whole job is 8 billion.", "INT. TAXI - KUALA LUMPUR - DAY The taxi makes its way through open air markets shoe - horned between sleek white towers. MAC I'm getting less than fifteen percent! GIN You're not happy? I'll make it 80 - 20.", "EXT. KUALA LUMPUR - CROWDED DISTRICT - DAY The taxi stops. Gin and Mac get out. Gin pays the driver. They walk toward the unmarked door of an unmarked warehouse. MAC To be fair, it's your plan, you should get at least 30 per cent - GIN My eighty, your twenty, smart guy - MAC It's fifty - fifty. Gin flips down a metal cover on the warehouse wall, revealing a control panel into which she enters a code. The door opens, revealing circular stairs. Gin heads up. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- What can you do with six billion dollars you ca n't do with four? GIN Hold the record. Alone. On Mac's face we see grudging respect. MAC That's my girl.", "INT. GIN'S LOFT - DAY The stairs lead us into a huge loft, hardwood floors stretching to shuttered windows. Not a single personal item anywhere. MAC It's. homey. Gin unpacks the Mask, opens a closet along the wall, pulls back a row of men's clothes. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Finally, a personal detail. Boyfriend? GIN No. I do n't carry baggage. The echo with his line is deliberate. She's dialing in the safe combination, she's constantly moving. MAC Smart girl. He examines some men's work overalls and a tuxedo. MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Hmmm, 44 long. GIN That is your size, is n't it? She puts the Mask into the safe, then closes it back up. MAC So we're here. What's the job? She goes to the windows, throws open the shutters. Framed in the windows is a matched pair of ivory towers that seem to rise into the heavens. Connecting them is an airy sky bridge of glass and metal. It's a truly incredible sight. GIN The Petronas Towers. World's tallest building. MAC We're going to steal it? Interesting. She holds out her hand. GIN I need the Rembrandt. Mac produces the tube with the painting. MAC What for? She hands him a stack of photographs, notebooks, maps. GIN Some homework for you. There's food in the fridge. Briefing at six. Do n't be late. She leaves. We stay on Mac's face. Okay, I'll play along for a while.", "EXT. KUALA LUMPUR - DAY In long shot we see Gin arrive at the headquarters of CONRAD GREENE, ex - CIA Asia hand, now the expatriate head of a business of questionable legality.", "INT. GREENE'S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER A POCKMARKED YOUTH escorts Gin into Greene's office. Greene is mopping his face with a scarf. GREENE The damn heat. Rots the flesh. Rots the soul. It's a shame colder countries do such good police work. He holds out his hand to Gin, who takes it. GIN We all live with injustice. CLICK. CLICK. We hear the sound of a camera shutter.", "EXT. GREENE'S OFFICE - SAME Thibadeaux takes Gin's picture through the window as she shakes hands with Greene.", "INT. GREENE'S OFFICE - SAME She hands him the mailing tube. GIN I wanted to deliver it personally. He takes it out, stares at it. GREENE A true masterpiece. He hands her an identical mailing tube. GIN -LRB- re : the painting. -RRB- So who's getting that? GREENE I'm thinking my old CIA friends will peddle it to Russia for a little plutonium. The plutonium to an unmentionable Middle Eastern Country - in return for embargoed oil on tankers for delivery to me. Elegant, no? GIN You are the scum of the earth. GREENE Gin, Gin, you flatter me. GIN I need the rest tomorrow. It has to be tomorrow. Or forget the Mask. GREENE Always in a rush. She stands up, her business over. But there's a reptilian evil behind Greene's oily demeanor. GREEN Oh Gin, if you do n't come through. We'll be making a - shall we say - more up - to - date death mask. Do I make myself clear? His unctuous smile.", "INT. GIN'S PLACE - MAGIC HOUR Gin returns, carrying the metal canister. The place has that empty feel. GIN Mac? No Mac. She paces for a moment, does n't want to think what she's thinking, ca n't avoid it. She walks to the closet. The safe's slightly open. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Please Jesus no. She opens the safe. EMPTY. Except for a note : IOU 1 MASK. She stabs at her message machine. No messages. She bangs the machine! Damn! She dials Mac's number. MAC -LRB- message. -RRB- I'm not in. You can leave a message but I wo n't call back. She throws the phone down! She rips through the clothes, throwing them onto the floor! She throws out everything in the cabinets! Empties the drawers! No Mask. Nowhere. Devastated, she slumps to the floor. This is as bad as it gets.", "EXT. MALAKA MARKET - SAME On piers by the brown water we see locals gobbling their meals. At a narrow table we find Mac, chopsticks in hand, mouth full. On his plate is a whole fish. Thibadeaux sits down beside him, looks at the bowling ball bag. THIBADEAUX This your bowling night? MAC Check out my ball. Thibadeaux does not lift out the Mask. THIBADEAUX I did n't think I would see this baby again. Talk about plug ugly. Thibadeaux is not one to appreciate art. THIBADEAUX -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Who'd pay 50 million for this? MAC People of taste and judgement. THIBADEAUX People with more money than sense. MAC It's not just art. Dear boy. It's history. Something you Americans do n't care about - because you have n't got any. THIBADEAUX That's because we live in the future. Dear boy. Which is what's on my mind. He spreads out the photographs of Gin and Greene. THIBADEAUX -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Your girlfriend. Mac picks up the photographs, looks at Gin's image. MAC She's not my girlfriend. Thibadeaux studies his face, not quite buying it. THIBADEAUX Uh huh. What's she doing with our old friend Conrad Greene? MAC Her job? THIBADEAUX What is her job? MAC It's a bank job that's all I know. You've got to have faith Thibs. THIBADEAUX Faith is angels dancing on the head of a pin. I've got to have trust. You would n't be thinking of changing partners, would you? You change partners, you change the rules. MAC Thibs, after all these years together - THIBADEAUX -LRB- passionately. -RRB- I do n't want this girl to fuck you over. MAC I wo n't let her. THIBADEAUX Look, we've got what we need. -LRB- meaning : the Mask. -RRB- Mac examines the Mask. MAC A touch of immortality. -LRB- beat. -RRB- That's why art is all that matters. It lasts. We do n't.", "INT. GIN'S PLACE - NIGHT The place is dark. The only light comes from the Kuala Lumpur skyline. We can feel Gin's presence in the darkness. Hear the freight elevator. Mac enters. MAC -LRB- Ralph Cramden. -RRB- Hi, honey, I'm home. BAM! Someone coldcocks him! Stunned, he falls to his knees. Looks up woozily. Standing over him is - Gin. Furious. GIN You bastard! Then she swings at him again. This woman does n't fight like a girl. BAM! Really connects this time. He goes down like a sack of potatoes and the momentum of her swing carries her down onto the floor with him! GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Sonofabitch bastard! She keeps trying to beat on him. MAC Stop for a bloody second! GIN I trusted you! I TRUSTED YOU! He holds her tight, trying to subdue her. MAC It's in the bag, the Mask is in the bag. She catches her breath. He lets her up, she sees the bag. GIN Oh my God, I thought - She's embarrassed and relieved. But what really upset her is not only losing the Mask but losing him and that realization comes in a long moment of silence. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I thought you'd gone. She struggles to get control of her uncontrollable emotions. GIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Get out! Just get out! Get the fuck out! Get out! As she pushes him away, the tears come. MAC Hey. hey. He starts to hold her, she pushes him away, then all the hurt and anger goes out of her and she lets him hold her. Their faces are so close, hers streaked with tears. And it's her who kisses him first. He holds back for a moment but only for a moment and then he kisses her and then all the emotion they've held in flows out. And then, breathing hard, she pulls back. GIN I've got to know something. He stares at her. GIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- At the Palace, in the lake -? MAC Would I really have drowned you? She nods. Yes, that's it. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Absolutely. And he says it so simply and so honestly that she begins to smile. GIN Good. I'd have done the same thing. MAC Any more questions? She gently closes his nostrils with her fingers. GIN Now I'm going to drown you. She kisses him, covering his mouth over and over, so he ca n't breathe. And that goes from playful to for real. Her hand goes under his shirt, his under her blouse. Legs intertwine, breathing gets heavy. We see skin and then more skin and two bodies becoming one.", "INT. GIN'S APARTMENT - NEXT MORNING Splash! Water goes on Mac's face. For a long moment he looks at himself in the mirror. He's broken all his rules.", "INT. GIN'S APARTMENT - KUALA LUMPUR Mac walks back into the apartment. Gin lies naked in the bed, her back to him. He sits down on the bed. Stares at the curve of her body. He reaches out and traces the line of her back. We go to Gin, who we think is still asleep. But her eyes are open and filled with emotion. The night together has been as powerful and confusing for her as it was for him. She rolls over and into Mac's arms. For a moment they hold each other, no irony, no distance. MAC Did you ever wish - you could trade all your secrets - straight up, with someone? Just once? She does n't know how to respond, so tries to find some solid ground by trying to treat her deep feelings with a light touch. GIN What would that make us, in love or something? And then it's his turn to retreat. MAC Or something. For a moment their eyes meet, but the emotions have gotten ahead of the words. There's an emotional nakedness that needs a fig leaf. And when the words come they seem simple and honest and without guile. GIN We broke the rules, did n't we? MAC Yes we did. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Time for business, I think. GIN I think so, too. She wraps the sheet around herself.", "INT. GIN'S APARTMENT - KUALA LUMPUR - LATER THAT MORNING Coffee cups half drunk. The remains of breakfast. Gin has a large map of the world up on the wall. GIN Here. The Headquarters of the World Bank in Washington, D.C. From the World Bank - She draws lines with a pen. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Hackproof, firewalled, dedicated lines to computers in its branch offices around the world. Sydney, Tokyo, Geneva, London and - Kuala Lumpur. The only access is in the control room in Washington or in the totally secure computer in the branch office. He's smiling at her, a big undeniable smile. They're out of the emotional deep water. He's the old Mac again. GIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Are you paying attention to what I'm saying, Mr MacDougal? MAC I love it when you talk technical. She pulls down a photo of the Petronas Towers. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And I have n't even got to the sexiest part yet. That computer is on the 86th floor of this tower. Every floor above 75 is accessible only through tight security. The final vault can be entered only with a randomly changed key code that is unbreakable. Only one man has free access. She puts up the photograph of a CHINESE MAN.", "EXT. PETRONAS TOWERS - DAY We see that very man exit the Petronas Towers, accompanied by bodyguards. They head for a waiting Mercedes, but are distracted by a melee among workers putting up decorations for the big New Year's eve party. GIN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Lee Feihong. The Chairman of the World Bank of Kuala Lumpur. Suddenly the Pockmarked Youth we saw in Greene's office rushes out of the shadows! Sprays something in the chairman's face!", "INT. GIN'S APARTMENT - KUALA LUMPUR - SAME Gin continues her briefing. GIN Now thanks to our friend the Millennium Bug the World Bank ca n't risk chaos tomorrow night when the computers switch over to the year 2000. So they're going to run integrity tests.", "INT. WORLD BANK - WASHINGTON - REHEARSAL A war room. We see big clocks on the wall, each with a different label corresponding to the regional centers. GIN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- just before midnight local time they're going to shut down the main frame in each zone for thirty seconds - The DIRECTOR runs the operation. He wears a headset and talks to OPERATORS working a bank of terminals. DIRECTOR All right people, ready for full rehearsal? I want this running smooth as shit out of a duck. OPERATOR Ten seconds to shutdown in Sydney. We see the clock marked Sydney illuminated with a red light. It is at 11:59:25 and counting. OPERATOR 2 Two, one. Sydney shut down. DIRECTOR Run test programs. GIN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- While they're running the test programs, every financial institution plugged into the main frame is out of commission. The Director paces, drinking coffee. OPERATOR All systems check. The Sydney clock reads 11:59:50. OPERATOR 2 Ten seconds til resumption. Five, four, three, two, one. The clock hits 12:00:00 DIRECTOR Are we on line? Everyone checks their terminals. OPERATOR On line. DIRECTOR Okay, everybody. That was absolutely perfect. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Let's do it again.", "INT. GIN'S APARTMENT - KUALA LUMPUR Gin turns to Mac. MAC Very interesting. What's the gig? GIN This. She takes an Enya CD out of her bag. MAC We're going to steal Enya from the Petronas Towers. I like it. She's trying not to laugh. GIN I spent five years at Webber Insurance - five years tied down, cooped up - It's not a pleasant memory. GIN To steal all the confirmation codes I put on this. It tells the World Bank computer to transfer a few million dollars from hundreds of accounts all over Southeast Asia - into my account. MAC You mean our account. GIN Right. Total : Eight Billion and change. Laundered so clean even the Mafia could n't find it. It will be months before they even figure out it's missing. MAC Clever girl. GIN All we have to do is get this CD into that computer. She taps a photograph of the computer room, then glances at her watch.", "INT. OPHTHALMOLOGIST'S OFFICE - DAY - SAME A DOCTOR moves a Retinal Scanner against the Chairman's face. The Doctor looks into a box to view a Laser scan the pupil, up and down, side to side. GIN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Which is being taken care of right now. The Doctor moves to a computer monitor with a graphic rendering of the banker's retina, which he enlarges and studies for a moment, face grave.", "INT. GIN'S APARTMENT--KUALA LUMPUR Mac gets the picture. But there's still a big problem. MAC You get us into the computer. How do we get into the building? Gin opens the tube Greene gave her. GIN That's your department. And out comes roll after roll of plans.", "INT. GIN'S APARTMENT--KUALA LUMPUR--MONTAGE--TIME PASSING Mac pores over the plans. We see diagrams of elevator shafts, security systems, air - conditioning ducts. Wiring schematics. It's getting dark. Mac has covered the plans with neat drawings and bold magic marker lines and key words. We see arrows running from one section to another, times in parentheses. Gin comes by, looks over his shoulder, gently touches him, but he keeps marking the plans. As he works he talks to himself and runs a stopwatch. His movements are graceful, like a sculptor's. The sun is coming up. Mac has all the plans organized. Stacks of notes to one side. Diagrams neatly arranged. A time schedule written up. Gin brings a cup of coffee. Looks at him. Well? MAC It's doable. She smiles. Great! MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- We need two weeks. GIN I told you. It's got to be tonight. MAC Impossible. There's a long beat while she stares at him and he stares back, unblinking. GIN Fifty - fifty. MAC Say that again, a little louder. GIN You heard me. Four billion dollars, your share. Mac thinks that over. MAC Plus the cost of the Jag. GIN Okay. Yes. There's a twinkle in his eye. You got to love this girl. MAC Just doable. He hands her a list. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- I'm going sightseeing. You do the shopping. He sounds like a suburban hubby discussing shores. She takes a small satellite dish out of a cabinet. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And could you do an errand for me, dear? Put this up on top of the north tower, pointed at the south one? MAC A microwave? GIN I've already put up its twin on the roof of a building near the World Bank in D.C.. The Bank's computer gets its time from the Atomic Clock in Denver by guess what? Microwave. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I need thirty seconds to connect my laptop to the computer and hook up Enya. And I need ten seconds to download our money before the other banks start using the computer again. MAC The thirty seconds is coming from the integrity checks, where do the ten seconds come from? GIN We're going to steal them. She grins and taps the microwave dish.", "EXT. PETRONAS TOWERS - DAY Playing tourist, Mac videotapes the building as trucks arrive at the DELIVERY DOCKS.", "INT. PETRONAS TOWERS - DAY He strides through the ATRIUM, his eyes scanning the security guards, the party preparations, everything. He joins a group of tourists riding up the GLASS ELEVATORS in the Atrium. As they all stand in front, facing out, he stands in back and stealthily raises his arm under the video camera and velcros his own camera right beneath it.", "INT. PETRONAS TOWERS - DAY Mac is the last one out of the elevator. Through his camera we see the image of an empty elevator car.", "EXT. PETRONAS TOWERS - DAY Mac walks across the SKY BRIDGE with the tour group. It's all glass and steel, on two levels, like two train cars on top of each other. From the main building to the large STEEP STRUTS underlying the bridge STRINGS OF LIGHTS are being hung for the Millennium party. Mac's on a parapet. He takes the Microwave Dish out of his bag and positions it beneath a cranny by the air conditioning equipment. He aims it at the tower across the way. Sets a timing device. The GUIDE comes out, looking for him. Shakes his finger. You ca n't be out here. Mac grins, points to the opposite tower. MAC It's very big.", "INT. GREEN'S OFFICE - CLOSEUP - MASK We are tight on the Mask, which has - eyes inside it. Hands come off, take the Mask away. The eyes belong to Greene, who has been trying the Mask on. GREENE For a moment there, I felt what it must have been like to be the Emperor's consort. He hands Gin a pair of strange skin - colored goggles with the retinal scan built in. GREENE -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Your shades, my dear. He hands her a card. GREENE -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And a copy of the Chairman's access card to the 86th floor. Gin tries on the retinal glasses. GIN Anything else I need to know? GREENE As a matter of fact, yes. Confucius, he say : Do n't use a hatchet to kill a gnat in your eye. She takes off the glasses.", "EXT. KUALA LUMPUR - DAY Gin leaves Greene's office. We track with her down the street, through the preparations for the big party that night. Street musicians play, the street noise rises. It's festive. Normal life. Suddenly, TWO TOUGH GUYS snatch her right off the sidewalk! Muscle her into a little noodle joint!", "INT. NOODLE JOINT - MOMENTS LATER There, sipping some tea, is Cruz. CRUZ Surprise. GIN What are you doing here? CRUZ Helping you. GIN I'm so close, do n't you dare screw this up! CRUZ There's no art in MacDougal's league here. What's he up to? GIN I do n't know. CRUZ You do n't know. GIN He has n't told me yet. CRUZ He has n't told you. His echo of her words makes them sound hollow and false. GIN He does n't trust me enough. CRUZ Why not? GIN Because he's MacDougal. He can smell mold on cheese a mile away. CRUZ He's setting you up. GIN I do n't think so. CRUZ You're too close to see it. I'm pulling you out. GIN You ca n't. CRUZ Tell me why. GIN Because if you do you'll never get this close again. He stares at her. Long pause. She's got him. GIN Can I get back to work now? CRUZ Sure. Of course. Do your stuff. She gets up to leave. CRUZ -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Do n't worry. I'll be right there. GIN That's a relief. CRUZ -LRB- beat. -RRB- You would n't be thinking about leaving the reservation, would you? GIN You do n't even trust yourself, do you? That's not even worth a response. CRUZ Baker? Remember - this is for keeps. He lets the cold finality of that sink in. She nods. I will. As she leaves, two other STREET GUYS enter. They look sharp and competent and dangerous. CRUZ -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Follow her.", "INT. GIN'S APARTMENT - KUALA LUMPUR A long table filled with gear. Mac and Gin are going through their last check list. It's that pre - combat, pre - performance moment, the last chance to be sure they're ready, on every level of equipment and emotion. MAC Comm kits. GIN Receivers. Transmitters. Charged. MAC So what are you going to do with your share? GIN Disappear. I'm going to turn into a swallow. Just fly away. MAC Sounds lonely. GIN Sounds safe. Sounds free. Mac thinks about that as he keeps checking the tools. MAC Oscilloscope. GIN Calibrated. MAC New millennium, new life. That it? So much is coming to an end. The century, the millennium, their job. Gin's given him her dream, but it's her old dream. Something has happened between the two of them. Are they coming to an end as well? GIN That's it. -LRB- beat. -RRB- That was it. All of a sudden, staring at him, she does n't sound completely convinced. MAC All good things come to an end. GIN They do n't have to. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Video over - rides. MAC Wired. Socket pins set. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Just because you kiss a frog, he does n't become a prince. GIN You did. MAC -LRB- beat. -RRB- Plan B packs. GIN Plan B? We do n't need a Plan B. MAC We always need a Plan B. GIN So what is it? MAC We need it, I'll tell you. GIN What about you? This your last job? MAC Your life - it's all ahead of you. This is my life. It's all I've got. GIN You've got - They stare at each other. She wants to say, you have me, but she ca n't. GIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- We've got a lot to do.", "EXT. PETRONAS TOWERS - NIGHT The party of the Millennium - Kuala Lumpur version. A pan - Pacific cross - section of formal dress - Western and all types of Asian. A STRETCH LIMO approaches the back of the building. Following discretely behind it is another car, in which we catch a glimpse of the Street Men Cruz sent to follow Gin.", "INT. STRETCH LIMO - SAME We see Gin in a beautiful dress, then Mac in a workman's overalls with both operations bags. MAC I've never felt so underdressed in all my life. Gin glances at her GPS watch. GIN Synchronize. They punch in the same atomic time. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- And now - our dishes should be coming on line. And now - our dishes should be coming on line.", "EXT. PETRONAS TOWERS - NIGHT On the dish Mac had set out a small LED comes on.", "EXT. WORLD BANK - WASHINGTON - SAME - DAY Still daylight. On an office building with a view of the World Bank, another identical dish switches on. GIN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Every minute we steal a tenth of a second.", "INT. WORLD BANK - WASHINGTON - SAME Amidst the war room bustle, we catch a glimpse of the Malaysia clock, which reads 10:45:00 PM. And is it our imagination, or do the seconds tick just a tad slower?", "INT. STRETCH LIMO The Limo approaches the loading dock. GIN This is your stop. There's a moment between them, like performers backstage just before the biggest show of their lives. They look at each other. It's intense. Mac starts to say something, she gently touches his lips. GIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Do n't try. She holds out her hand for him to shake. He stares at it, then takes it. For a moment their grip lingers. They stare at each other one last time before they separate. Then Mac gets out. As he does he gives a casual look to the car following them.", "EXT. LOADING DOCK - MOMENTS LATER Trucks pass Mac to enter the loading dock. Each one has to stop to go over a speed bump. One of the Street Men has gotten out of the following car and has his eyes discreetly on Mac. A truck stops, blocks his view for a moment, then starts again. And Mac is gone. The Street Man looks around, flummoxed. Then speaks into his transmitter.", "INT. LOADING DOCK - MOMENTS LATER A metal mesh elevator raises to an internal loading platform. The truck drives off, the driver waves to the Guard. Then the truck backs into position. As it begins to unload, in the b.g. we see a figure exit through a pair of double doors. Mac.", "EXT. PETRONAS TOWERS - NIGHT Standing in a long line of guests, Gin presents an invitation to a SECURITY GUARD.", "INT. PETRONAS TOWERS - COCKTAIL PARTY - NIGHT Carrying a flute of champagne, Gin moves towards an hors d'oeuvre station in the ATRIUM.", "INT. BANK SURVEILLANCE ROOM - NIGHT THREE SECURITY GUARDS observe the party on forty monitors. GUARD ONE offers commentary on the party guests. GUARD TWO watches real - time video of offices, hallways, elevators, etc.. GUARD THREE converses with GUARD FOUR in the atrium.", "INT. PETRONAS TOWERS - NIGHT Mac approaches the door to the Engineering Room, picks the lock. We hear a soft click as Mac enters the room.", "INT. ENGINEERING ROOM - NIGHT Electrical boxes and the hum of central security system. Mac closes the door. Talks into transmitter. MAC I'm in.", "INT. COCKTAIL PARTY - NIGHT Gin is accosted by a DRUNKEN GUEST, an overbearing, florid ex - patriot of Britain who is drunk enough to believe he's God's gift to the world. DRUNKEN GUEST Well hellooo. What's a nice girl like you doing at a party like this? Gin rolls her eyes and does her best to look amused. Her eyes flick nervously to the clock.", "INT. ENGINEERING ROOM - NIGHT Hundreds of cables, each one representing the video feed from cameras throughout the bank. Mac finds a cable labeled 86TH FLOOR, glances at his watch, barks into the micro - transmitter. MAC Elevator. One minute.", "INT. TOWERS LOBBY - NIGHT Twin banks of elevators. Stainless steel and marble in Islamic geometry. Gin approaches and leans nonchalantly against the door of the elevator next to the service door. She's got something behind her back. A group of party - goers get into a nearby lift and invite Gin in. She waves them on. She checks her watch. 11:42.", "INT. MAINTENANCE AREA - NIGHT `` Closed for Maintenance'' reads the sign that Mac places in front of the service elevator. He walks in, the steel door closes behind him.", "INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT Opening the service panel Mac attaches the cable of the engineer's remote control.", "INT. LOBBY - NIGHT Gin waits in the lift lobby. Checks her watch again. Where is he? She reminds herself to breath.", "INT. SHAFT - NIGHT Mac climbs out of the elevator hatch. Punches a number into the keypad of the remote. The elevator moves upwards to the first floor. Through the wire mesh panels lining the shaft of the counterweight Mac can now see the roof of Gin's elevator. Using the remote control he inches his elevator up until the two elevator roofs are level. Mac speaks into his headset. mac In position. Two minutes for the panels.", "INT. LOBBY - NIGHT Gin listens to the voice in her earpiece. Another group of partygoers approach her elevator. She stands away from the door revealing. an `` out of service'' sign. She shrugs sympathetically as the party folk choose another lift. We also see what they do n't. A small key has been inserted into the lift call panel.", "INT. LIFT SHAFT - NIGHT A compact power - wrench whirs. Mac removes the last of the bolts holding a mesh screen panel. With difficulty he climbs through the small opening into the shaft that carries the counterweight. The basement is a hundred feet below, the counterweight a thousand feet above him. Straddling the narrow shaft he begins to unscrew the bolts holding the screen that separates him from the roof of Gin's elevator. MAC -LRB- into headset. -RRB- One minute.", "INT. LOBBY - NIGHT A quick look around and Gin turns and removes her key. The doors open and she steps into the elevator she's been guarding. Mindful of the security camera above her she furtively pulls out the STOP button. Presses `` doors close''. The polished doors slide shut. almost shut. THWANG! A foot is thrust through the closing gap, closely followed by the flushed face of the DRUNKEN GUEST who accosted her earlier. DRUNKEN GUEST -LRB- with arch innocence. -RRB- Well! What a lovely surprise!", "INT. LIFT SHAFT - NIGHT Mac removes the last bolt. Starts to climb through the narrow opening.", "INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT Delighted with his captive audience the Drunken Guest suddenly pauses mid - pleasantry as he realizes : DRUNKEN GUEST We're not moving! Before Gin has time to protest he turns to the control panel, pushes back the stop button and punches 75! Unable to prevent herself Gin blurts out GIN Mac!", "INT. SHAFT - NIGHT Mac is halfway through the opening. Alerted by Gin's warning and by the whine of the machinery he desperately scrambles back to avoid having his head literally torn off by the upcoming elevator. As he pulls himself through, the elevator catches his hand. Rips the wrench away from him. It tumbles into the darkness below. In the narrow coffin - wide counterweight shaft Mac now fights to prevent himself sliding after his wrench. Desperately he hooks his fingers into the mesh. His fingers tear at the openings. and hold.", "INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT Barely able to breathe, Gin stares at the Drunken Guest as he lurches towards her. DRUNKEN GUEST Well I'd say that fixed it! So who's Mac?", "INT. SHAFT - NIGHT Mac is in deep trouble. Five hundred feet above him and now hurtling downwards are thirty tons of concrete counterweight. Six feet above him is the opening he must now reach - or he's road - kill. He struggles painfully to the opening, look sup. The counterweight is two hundred feet above him and falling like a guillotine. No wrench. No time to get himself through the narrow opening he grasps the ledge above. Swings back and kicks frantically at the mesh screen below. With the downdraft of the weight roaring in his ears, Mac kicks again and again until the screen buckles and falls. Mac lands on the service elevator roof as the weight sweeps down behind him, crushing the protruding screen with sickening ease.", "INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT Seemingly answering the Drunken Guest's question. Gin touches her earlobe talks into her watchstrap mike. GIN Mac? DRUNKEN GUEST Yes, Mac! And then Gin hears what she's been waiting for. MAC I'm okay. But we've lost time. What floor are you on? Unable to suppress a smile at hearing that familiar gruff voice Gin looks at the Drunken Guest and says GIN 75th? Misunderstanding the smile and the apparent question the Drunken Guest leans into Gin pinning her back against the side wall. DRUNKEN GUEST Absolutely. All the way. Now maybe you could help a chap see in the New Year with a bang. What do you say?", "INT. SHAFT - NIGHT MAC -LRB- into headset. -RRB- I say you get rid of Boy Wonder really fast before our New Year goes bang. Now listen fast.", "INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT Gin does. Meanwhile the Drunken Guest who thinks he has her total attention blathers luridly about making fireworks together. Gin looks up at the video camera.", "INT. SURVEILLANCE ROOM - NIGHT In the black and white image on the monitor this looks like just another drunken boy meets girl kind of thing. The guards grin at each other. Looks like interesting viewing. SECURITY GUARD 1 Ten Marlboro say he get kiss.", "INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT In mid - flight about the sparks that are going to fly between them the Drunken Guest's face suddenly undergoes a strange change. An alcohol - anesthetized body suddenly perceiving. pain. Unseen by the video camera Gin literally has him by the balls. Never letting the camera smile leave her face she talks firmly and evenly to him. GIN Now listen buddy. You just nearly hurt a very good friend of mine. Now if you do n't want me to hurt a very good friend of yours you'll just get out right now and walk away as fast as you can. Capeesh? The elevator has stopped. The shocked Drunken Guest nods mutely and stumbles painfully away. The Chinese security guard sees her still in the lift. chinese security guard Ca n't go no higher. Only VIP. Gin mutters something about the wrong floor and hits the button for a lower floor. She whispers into her mike. GIN On my way.", "INT. SHAFT - NIGHT Mac is pulling on heavy work gloves. His face is tomahawk - sharp with anticipation. In front of his face the heavy greased cable of the counterweight throbs as the weight speeds up towards him. MAC -LRB- into mike. -RRB- Not forty - one. Not forty. Exactly between. Alright kiddo?", "INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT 70. 69. 68. Gin looks at the red LED level indicator as it drops with frightening speed.", "INT. SHAFT - NIGHT And now the counterweight just visible, sweeping upwards from the darkness below. Without hesitation Mac reaches forward, grabs the vibrating cable and using his gloved hands as a brake, slides down the cable to meet the on - coming weight. Mac has to slow down if he's not going to meet the weight at free - fall velocity. Smoke seeps from his gloves as the friction bites. His face contorts with the effort but his feet hit the weight and suddenly he's being swept upward at the frightening speed.", "INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT 54. 53. 52. Gin's stopped breathing again.", "INT. SHAFT - NIGHT At this level, there's no mesh screen between the counterweight and main elevator shaft - only a series of horizontal bracing girders. They flash past Mac's face as he looks up. The elevator is now coming down towards him like Dorothy's house in the tornado.", "INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT ECU Level Indicator. 46. 45. Gin's hand hovers by the stop button. Here come the shakes again.", "INT. SHAFT - NIGHT And now the lift and counterweight are drawing level at huge closing speed. MAC Now!", "INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT Gin yanks the stop button. The elevator bucks and judders as it slows. 42. 41.", "INT. SHAFT--NIGHT Mac stands poised to jump as the weight slows. The elevator draws level but a girder blocks the way! To make the jump he must wait for a precious second as the gap between him and the elevator roof starts to widen. And now he's clear. He launches himself into the growing void.", "INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT Gin winces with the sound of Mac's body hitting the elevator roof. The car shudders to a standstill and everything is suddenly eerily quiet. GIN Mac? Nothing. GIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Say something.", "INT. SHAFT - NIGHT Sprawled on the elevator roof Mac lies inert. Close on his face. And then his eyes open and wince closed again. MAC We've got six minutes to Doomsday. Move your arse woman.", "INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT Gin breathes again. Masking the panel from the camera she hits the button for the 74th floor.", "INT. SURVEILLANCE ROOM - NIGHT The security guards look perplexed. GUARD 1 is suddenly hopeful of winning his ten Marlboro again. SECURITY GUARD 1 -LRB- knowingly. -RRB- She go back for kiss.", "INT. SHAFT - NIGHT On top of the moving elevator Mac has now removed a small portable video player. On the screen we see the image of the empty elevator. He squats by a connection box, cable to the video player in hand.", "INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT The level indicator bleeps out 73. 74. and stops. The doors swish open. Gin steps forward.", "INT. SURVEILLANCE ROOM - NIGHT The guards watch as Gin steps out of the elevator and the doors begin to close behind her. And now in fast succession. Mac pulls out the camera cable. The monitor in the surveillance room shows the briefest glitch as. Gin presses the elevator call button and the doors open immediately and. Mac inserts the cable from his video player and. The monitor resumes showing just what it showed before - an empty elevator, doors closed. The guards shrug. Nothing too unusual.", "INT. ELEVATOR--NIGHT Gin looks up at the hatch above her expectantly. Mac swings down through the hatch and lands next to her. MAC Next time we rehearse. He hands her her ops bag. Gin pulls out the access card Greene gave her, slips it into the reader. A green light blips, the level indicator displays `` Executive Floor 86''. Access Granted. The elevator rolls upwards. Gin looks at her watch. GIN There is no next time.", "INT. BANK SURVEILLANCE ROOM - NIGHT Cruz listens into his receiver, barks out to the surveillance guards. CRUZ We lost her. You got her on the elevator? GUARD She was on D - 6, but she must have got off. It's empty now. They look at the screen. The elevator appears empty. CRUZ I smell something and it's not roses. Look, get me a list of every piece of valuable art in this building, every painting, every statue, every safe deposit box. And you better have your SWAT team stand by. The Police Officer gives orders into his own transmitter.", "INT. PARTY ELEVATOR - NIGHT The doors open on the 86th floor. Out comes the periscope mirror, snakes just outside the elevator door. THEIR POV : a long corridor with a secured containment door at the end. Four video cameras are strategically placed to expose intruders, while an ultra - sonic alarm covers the floor. Mac checks his watch : 11:45. MAC Time runs backwards now.", "INT. ENGINEERING AREA Where Mac had worked the wires, we see a light go on a video device.", "INT. BANK SURVEILLANCE ROOM - NIGHT REVERSE POV : the corridor of the 86th floor, where the elevator doors are still closed. In the lower corner of the monitor the digital clock ticks backwards, as the security tape now plays in reverse.", "INT. PARTY ELEVATOR - NIGHT Mac directs the oscilloscope around the walls and ceiling, listening. Gin hands him the canister of Argon gas. He vents it close to the floor. A blue/green vapor spews from the canister and flows down the corridor. As each sensor in the floor emits a pulse it ripples through the argon fog in a rhythmic pattern. Mac holds out his hand for her. MAC Shall we dance?", "INT. BANK CORRIDOR--NIGHT Standing behind her and wrapping both arms around her waist, he moves her forward, legs entwined. The sensor nearest them emits a pulse into the fog, which then dissipates. They step into the fog like a sensual ballet.", "EXT. PETRONAS TOWERS Black Mariahs pull up. SWAT teams stealthily deploy. A police helicopter's blades begin to turn.", "INT. BANK CORRIDOR - NIGHT Mac and Gin negotiate the last pulse before the door, which has a security keypad with a grid of Chinese Characters. Gin dusts it with ultraviolet powder, revealing smudged fingerprints on several keys. MAC It's an anagram. You have the code? GIN Do n't you? They look at each other. Start translating the characters. MAC Mosquito. ax. eye. Gin gets it. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Do n't use a hatchet to kill a gnat in your eye. MAC How'd you know that? GIN Confucius say. MAC You are good. They enter the anagram. The door opens, revealing a steel lined ante - chamber leading to the BANK VAULT. Round, huge, heavy steel.", "INT. BANK ANTECHAMBER - NIGHT Next to the Vault is a small computer terminal and a mirrored plate with two apertures the width of eyes. Gin hits a key. ON the screen see WELCOME. AUTHORIZATION MODE PLEASE. Two boxes for PASSWORD and SCAN. She hits SCAN. Gin takes out the magic sunglasses, puts them on, then leans to hit her goggled eyes in place. A red scanning light. Vertical track. BEEP. Horizontal track. And the monitor announces. WELCOME CHAIRMAN FEIHONG. And then. a soft CLICK. Gin rips off the glasses, a look of joy on her face : we did it! Mac reaches to Grasp the handle, and the door swings OPEN.", "INT. BANK VAULT - NIGHT Icy blue light, a windowless room. The towers of a large Cray supercomputer hum behind a glass wall. In the open area a canopy of smoky armored glass slowly rises, revealing a high - tech terminal with a large flat screen and a junction box on the floor. Mac looks around, shakes his head. MAC In the old days, banks had stacks of gold bullion, safety deposit boxes chock with jewels, huge bundles of cash. Stuff you could get your hands on. Now they've taken all the fun out of it. There's no loot. Gin points at the computer. GIN The loot is right in there. A large clock on the wall matches the one in Washington. Both those clocks say 11:59:20. GIN Time? MAC Eleven fifty nine ten. GIN It's working.", "INT. BANK VAULT/INT. WORLD BANK/INT. PARTY/EXT. PETRONAS TOWERS/INT. KUALA LUMPUR TRADING FLOOR - INTERCUT Immediately they set to work, wiring their mini - laptop into the junction box. The Street Men push through the VIP party, looking for Gin. The SWAT team takes up positions. Cruz barks into his transmitter. No one's found Gin. In Washington the Director prepares for the countdown. DIRECTOR Okay people, prepare to go offline in KL. OPERATOR - five, four - On a TRADING DESK in Kuala Lumpur TRADERS work their phones and computers frantically as above them a large trading chandelier announces trades and displays the time, which is 11:58:18. Suddenly their computer screens go dead! On the chandelier a large computer sign flashes : TRADING SUSPENDED. TRADER ONE They're ten seconds early! TRADER TWO Americans. Always in a hurry. The lights go out on the mainframe. Gin and Mac are frantically hooking up the mini - computer. MAC Does this PMC - 12 go here? GIN I think so. MAC You think so? In the World Bank the operators report to the Director. OPERATOR Checks successful. Ten seconds to resumption. Gin and Mac connect the last wires. It looks like they wo n't make it! OPERATOR - three - two - one! In Washington the clock hits 12:00:00. The computer's ready! Gin poises above the keyboard. DIRECTOR Happy New Year, Malaysia! OPERATOR Six hours till Frankfurt. On the trading floor, the Traders sit, poised to begin trading. Their clock says 11:59:50. Gin and Mac check their watches. MAC Go. Go. Gin types the codes in, hits the button. It's tense. They do n't know if it's going to work. For a split second nothing happens, then the big screen begins to flash : DOWNLOADING : TRANSFERRING TO ACCOUNT 642Q10. GIN Come on baby, come on. MAC Six seconds. Series of numbers scroll down the screen. The crowds begin chanting down the millennium. CROWD Five! Four! Three! Gin and Mac join the countdown. GIN/MAC Two. One. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Fireworks explode into the air! The towers are wreathed in cascading, incredible fireworks! On the trading floor, the computer screens come back on! TRADING RESUMED flashes on the big chandelier. In the vault the computer reads TRANSFER COMPLETED. The camera circles Gin and Mac, who stare at each other. There are no words for this. And then they kiss, a warm, total kiss. The kiss of the millennium. GIN That was perfect. They disengage, still flush with victory and joy. We follow Gin's hand down as she gently hits the eject on the CD ROM. As the tray comes out - ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE! ALARMS! KLAXONS! SYSTEM INTEGRITY BREACH! SYSTEM INTEGRITY BREACH! Flashes on the monitor! The armored glass visor over the terminal starts to come down! Right over their computer! GIN Oh my God! Oh my God! She grabs at the visor, but its servo just keeps grinding the visor down! GIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- We've got to stop it! Everything's on that disc! Mac grabs the wrench from his pack, jams it under the visor! The servo motor grinds, the wrench vibrates but holds! Mac jabs his hand in, grabs out the disc! In the surveillance room, pandemonium. Lights are flashing! CRUZ Where is that?! POLICE OFFICER World Bank computer vault. CRUZ Goddammit! Right under my nose! Go operational! Now! Mac pulls a Kenny G CD from his pocket, slips it in. MAC Was wondering where to leave this. SWAT Teams charge into the building as a huge party goes on outside. Fireworks, revellers, celebration. Mac and Gin ride down the elevator as he takes off his overalls to reveal his tuxedo underneath. Cruz scans the elevator display. CRUZ Why is that elevator still moving? GUARD ONE Maybe someone called it. GUARD TWO It's empty, sir. They stare at the empty elevator image. Cruz gets it. CRUZ He's looped it. Shut it down! Shut it down! The elevator bumps to a stop on floor 50. The lights inside go out. MAC We may be celebrating a bit too early. Cruz issues orders. CRUZ Intitiate flanking movements! Vertical! Targets on floor 50! Mac and Gin pry open the top of the elevator. Climb out, begin prying open the doors. Mac and Gin run down a hallway, into an empty office. There's a deep, pulsating, vibrating sound. Whop - whop. MAC Blackhawk. And just then the HELICOPTER rises into frame, right outside the window. BLAM! An RPG with a tear gas warhead crashes through the window! The room fills with gas! They begin to cough and wheeze! Gas masks on, SWAT Teams run up the stairs! Gin and Mac head for the stairs! Ca n't go that way! Cruz watches on the monitors. CRUZ Rats in a trap. Coughing and wheezing, Mac leads Gin right back into the tear gas! By the entry hole of the RPG there's a draft of fresh air. Mac picks up a chair, bangs it on the hole, breaks out more glass! Through the hole we see the cable of lights stretching across to the Sky Bridge. Outside the building, fireworks continue. The helicopter hovers on the outside of the tower. But there, wait a minute! The lights strung between the buildings seem to be moving. We go closer. Gin and Mac are going hand over hand! Across the lights, heading for the struts of the Sky Bridge. We're close on them now. Hands on the wire. Faces concentrating. This is too hard! Fireworks burst above them! Far down below we see crowds celebrating. Then the cable sags a little! It's not made for their weight. The support starts to give way! MAC Go! Go! They're close to the strut, they try to speed up, but the cable sags again! The support pulls out of its mooring! The cable pulls free! They swing out, toward the strut, almost smash into it! Then swing back, pendulum out again, head straight for the strut! And Mac grabs it! Wraps his leg around it! Pulls Gin in! Safe! But then the wire swings back, spurting angry sparks from its torn end! It's live! Mac makes two quick turns of his climbing rope, clips on a carabiner, and climbs back down to Gin. The wire swings wide, then heads back. MAC Hang on! He grabs Gin, then kicks away from the highly conductive steel strut, just as - right where they were - the wire hits it in an angry shower of sparks! Mac and Gin swing wide on the rope, high above the ground. Her bag rips off her shoulder and arcs high into the air and then disappears on the way to the ground. GIN Shiiittt! Mac swings back, grabs at the strut, ca n't hold, spins, kicks hard at it with his foot, swings back again. Gin is barely hanging on. She ca n't do another swing. Mac grabs desperately onto the handhold, swings a leg around, and she grabs on as well. Safe. Sort of. Mac and Gin are dwarfed by the struts. Behind them is the black sky laced with fireworks and the stark geometric design of the building. Far below them the celebration on the street continues. The people look like ants. Swat team members run across the lower level of the Sky Bridge. Just beneath them, on the struts, are Gin and Mac. They enter a trap door, climb up an interior ladder. They emerge on the lower level. The SWAT teams are above them now, on the second level. Mac and Gin climb out to the roof, all the while just avoiding being seen by the SWAT teams running back and forth! They're on the roof! Sixty floors above the street! mac points to the big air conditioning ducts. MAC We need to get there. Slowly they begin negotiating the web of steel girders, heading for the opposite tower. Suddenly, FLASH! The helicopter searchlight catches them. LOUDSPEAKER Stop where you are! Gin stops in the lights, like a deer. GIN Shit! Mac grabs her arm. MAC If you ca n't have fun now, you never will! He steers her, on the run, across the glass roof of the Sky Bridge, hundreds of feet above the ground, caught in the lights of the hovering helicopter! Cruz watches from the monitoring room. LOUDSPEAKER Police! Stop where you are! Still fixed in the searchlights, Gin and Mac run over the steep frame, closing in on the other tower! LOUDSPEAKER Stop at once! You have been duly warned! GIN They're going to shoot us! MAC I do n't think so. The other building is only a few feet away! Cruz has a big choice to make. Everyone stares at him. POLICE OFFICER We're losing them! My team leader has a clear shot! I'm authorizing him to take it. The pressure on Cruz is unbelievable. He takes off his headset, like Pilate washing his hands of responsibility. CRUZ Your country. Your call. Gin and Mac leap into the building just as BLAM! BLAM! Bullets shatter the glass right by them. Gin is terrified. Mac's whole demeanor changes. This is for keeps now. He slams a steel door to the Sky Bridge, shutting the SWAT teams out. They race through the corridors of the building. Doubling back, out again to where the huge stainless steel air - conditioning shafts vent into the air. They run to the giant intakes. It's too high for her! Mac Makes a cup of his hands, boosts her up! But the helicopter's back! The wind from its rotors almost blow them over. Gin reaches her hand out to help Mac up. BLAM! He's hit in the side, spun around! With superhuman strength, she jerks him up into the funnel, out of the line of fire. He lies on the floor of the funnel, bleeding. GIN Oh my God. Right behind them the shaft makes a right angle turn and plunges to the street. Above them a huge fan gently turns, fracturing the searchlight from the helicopter. In the b.g. we see the SWAT teams burst out onto the roof! MAC Get to the edge. Mac struggles up, they go to the edge of the black abyss. The wind whistles up in their faces. He hands her a pack. MAC Plan B. Starts to strap it on her. GIN What? Jump in there? You crazy? MAC You got a better idea? GIN We go together! MAC This chute only works in the updraft! With two of us we'd drop like a stone! GIN I'm not leaving you! She stares at him. He's bent over, bleeding. GIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Mac! Mac! MAC Meet me tomorrow morning, six - thirty, at the Tonga tube station. GIN How do I know you'll be there? MAC I'm never late. If I'm late - GIN I know. You're dead. She ca n't finish the thought. There are tears in her eyes. He pushes her over the edge! MAC Pull the cord! We hear her scream. And then, inside the shaft, we see the chute pop open! Mac turns, framed in the stainless steel tube, and faces the SWAT team, weapons drawn. MAC Gentlemen, I know you've heard this before, but you're making a terrible mistake.", "EXT. PETRONAS TOWERS - NIGHT Gin emerges on the ground and blends into the crowd spilling out into the street. She looks up at the two giant towers etches against the sky, fireworks still blossoming all around them. High on the building, helicopters hover like malevolent insects by the air conditioning shaft. As Gin walks, we stay on her face. Gradually the music and the fireworks fade away.", "EXT. KUALA LUMPUR - EARLY MORNING A ghost town. Empty wet streets strewn with the debris of celebration. The only person on the street is a Chinese street cleaner, who wears a rice hat and a green plastic garbage bag for a raincoat against the gentle drizzle.", "INT. RAILROAD STATION - DAY The station clock ticks to 6:35. The station is completely deserted except for Gin, who is sitting on a platform seat watching the clock. No Mac. Gin's eyes fill with tears. We know what it means if he's late. But she is determined to give him a few more minutes. It's 6:40. There's scuffing on the pavement behind her. She turns. It's Mac! She leaps up, joyful, runs to him. He's walking stiffly toward her. She throws her arms around him, covers him with kisses. GIN You're late! You're never late! MAC Mind the ribs, darling. GIN My god! My god! I thought you were - She's half - laughing, half - crying. The camera moves around. We see Mac's face. it's stone cold. He gently disengages her arms. Touches the tear on her cheek. MAC Virginia Baker, you're under arrest for grand larceny. Anything you say may be taken down in evidence - She starts to laugh. GIN Mac! MAC - and used against you in a court of law. She looks beyond him, then looks over his shoulder and sees some COPS moving into position on the platform. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- You have the right to an attorney - Turns, sees two more by the exit. And two more by the entrance. Realizes the truth. GIN No. NO. MAC I tried telling you, be prepared for surprises. She sags, unable to stand, the wind knocked out of her. On the opposite platform a train rumbles in. And then we see Thibadeaux emerge from among the gathered cops. GIN The man from Blenheim Palace. MAC Special Agent Aaron Thibadeaux. The cop I work for every now and then. Catching thieves - the really good ones. Like you. And then Gin sees another man emerge next to Thibadeaux. CRUZ. Gin stares at Cruz, starting to lose it. MAC They've been onto you for a while. GIN You gave them back our money. MAC I gave them Greene, the Rembrandt, the Mask, and the full seven billion. GIN Seven? What does Mac mean? Did he take the other billion? Did he leave it for her? MAC You'll just have to make do with one. A train rattles into the station. The cops are ready to move. Frantic, Gin looks around : nowhere to run! MAC -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Do n't worry. They wo n't move until I tell them. He turns slightly, shielding her from Thibadeaux's view. Talks under his breath. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- In my pocket is a packet. Get it. Confused, she does. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Passport, visa, ticket on the Eastern end Orient Express to Bangkok. From there - anywhere. Gin tries to process this, does this mean what she thinks is does? MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Even the surprises have a surprise. She studies his face. GIN Two tickets? MAC Just one. True sentiment is hard for him. But he does it. He gives her his best gift - her freedom. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Everything you wanted - you'll have it. Be that swallow. Fly away, Kid. Just fly away. She is overcome, wants to thank him, to argue, to keep him by her side a minute longer. But there's danger all around and Mac has a very clear agenda. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- -LRB- beat. -RRB- Now reach into my other pocket - Cruz and Thibadeaux watch as Mac talks to Gin, partly shielding her from their view. Cruz does n't like this. CRUZ What is he doing? Thibadeaux puts his hand out to restrain Cruz. He's clearly in charge. THIBADEAUX We do it Mac's way. The subway train cars open with a whoosh. Gin rips a gun out of Mac's pocket! Points it at his head. GIN -LRB- continuing. -RRB- You move, I'll blow his head off! The cops on the platform freeze. Mac slowly raises his hands. Gin backs toward the open doors of the subway cars. Cruz pulls out his pistol, aims it right at them. CRUZ Put down the gun! Thibadeaux reaches up and pulls Cruz's gun down. THIBADEAUX You put down the gun, asshole. The doors start to close. Gin gives Mac a shove and leaps in, just as the doors slam shut. The cops run toward the car. Cruz races up, banging on the car doors! But the train pulls away. CRUZ Goddammitt! Mac sags to the bench. Cruz barks into his walkie - talkie. THIBADEAUX You okay? Mac nods. Cruz turns to Mac, eyes narrowed and suspicious. CRUZ I know you, MacDougal. I do n't know what it is, but you've done something. MAC I've done your job for you. And you got me shot. Cruz's walkie - talkie buzzes. He barks into it. CRUZ Block the whole damn station off! I'll be right there! -LRB- to Mac. -RRB- This is n't over. He runs toward the steps. Thibadeaux sits wearily down beside Mac. THIBADEAUX He wo n't quit. MAC Bless him for that. Thibadeaux stares at his old friend. THIBADEAUX What kind of cop are you? Letting that girl get away? He means that in more ways than one. MAC Thibs - So much to say, so few words for it. He shakes his head. MAC -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Someone else will have to catch her. Thibadeaux chooses his words carefully. THIBADEAUX It does n't happen often, maybe never, but you nab the right one. You just hold on tight with all you've fucking got. And then you thank the good Lord for every minute you have. Their eyes meet for a long beat. THIBADEAUX What you said about the Mask. You said, art was what matters because it lasts. I thought about that - a lot. And you know something? It's bullshit. People do n't last. That's why they matter more than anything. They think about that, about Tina, about Gin. MAC Anyway. She's gone. THIBADEAUX You're no good to me like this. Take a long vacation. Hell, forget that. I'm firing your ass. Mac stares at Thibadeaux, who is doing for Mac what mac did for Gin. he is setting him free. MAC Do n't I get a pension? THIBADEAUX Shit. He grins. It's a parting moment. MAC See you. THIBADEAUX I damn sure better not. And he walks away, leaving Mac sitting on the bench. We move across the platform, watching Mac sit there. Another train comes in. People get off. People get on. Very slowly he checks his watch. We track into Mac's eye, dissolve from the image of the train in it to -", "INT. TRANS-CHINA EXPRESS - Dusk - Mac's vision Another train, a passenger train. Gin is sitting by the window, staring out at the sunset. She's dressed differently, her hair is different. Thailand passes by outside, but she really does n't see it. She leafs through the packet Mac gave her. Tickets, passports, and - a pressed red rose, the one she gave him at Blenheim. She picks it up, tries to smell its faint memory. We take a long beat of wistfulness at what might have been.", "INT. RAILROAD STATION - DAY The clatter of a train pulling in brings Mac out of his reverie. People stream off. His very bones feel weary now. He loved her. He set her free. He's alone again. The train departs, leaving the tracks empty. And there, standing alone on the other platform, is Gin. Mac sees her. Very slowly he stands up, his eyes never leave her face. She came back. For him. They both begin to smile. We hold on them there, staring at each other. BEGIN END CREDITS.", "INT. RAILWAY STATION - MOMENTS LATER We are square on the space between the tracks. In the b.g. the rails emerge out of a tunnel into the bright sunlight. Mac and Gin come together into frame. They kiss. And then we are behind them as they walk toward the light. GIN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I've got an idea. Do n't laugh. The Crown Jewels. MAC -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- beat. -RRB- The Crown Jewels. Hmmm. Funny you should mention that. And they walk out the tunnel and into the light. THE END"], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0], "summary": "Virginia \"Gin\" Baker (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is an investigator for \"Waverly Insurance\". Robert \"Mac\" MacDougal (Sean Connery) is a professional thief who specializes in international art. A priceless Rembrandt painting is stolen from an office building in New York one night, and Gin is sent undercover to investigate Mac as the chief suspect. She tries to entrap him with a proposition, claiming that she is a professional thief herself, and promises that she will help him steal a priceless Chinese mask from the well-guarded Bedford Palace. Before agreeing, Mac tells Gin his 'Rule Number One': \"Never carry a gun: You carry a gun, you may be tempted to use it.\" They travel to Scotland and plan the very complicated theft at Mac's hideout, an isolated castle. Aaron Thibadeaux (Ving Rhames), apparently the only ally that Mac trusts, arrives with supplies for the heist. While Mac is busy making final preparations, Gin contacts her boss, Hector Cruz (Will Patton), from a payphone, and informs him of Mac's whereabouts. Little does she know that the whole island is bugged, allowing Mac to eavesdrop on their conversation.  Mac also makes sure to keep Gin's romantic advances at bay, unsure if she is a true partner in crime or an ambitious career woman on a mission. After they have stolen the mask, Mac accuses Gin of planning to sell the mask to a buyer in Kuala Lumpur and then turn him in. Gin convinces him that her insurance agency job is the real cover and that she has planned an even bigger heist in Kuala Lumpur: $8 billion from the \"International Clearance Bank\" in the North Tower of the Petronas Towers. During their set-up, Cruz and his team (with the guidance of the stealthy Thibadeaux) track down Gin and confirm that she is still on mission to bring Mac in. Despite the presence of Cruz and other security watching the building, the theft takes place in the final seconds of the new 2000 millennium countdown. Gin pulls the plug on her laptop prematurely and sets off alarms. They narrowly escape the computer vault and are forced to cross the lights hung from the bottom of the bridge linking the two towers. Following a death-defying escape when the cable breaks, Gin and Mac make their way to a ventilation shaft, where Mac explains \"Plan B.\" Using mini-parachutes, they were going to escape down the shaft. Gin has lost her parachute earlier in the escape, so Mac gives her his. He tells her to meet him the next morning at the Pudu train station. Gin arrives at the station waiting for Mac. He shows up late with Aaron Thibadeaux, who reveals himself with fellow FBI agents. He explains that Cruz is here and that the FBI has been looking for her for some time. Two years ago when Agent Thibadeaux caught and arrested him, Mac made a deal to help the FBI arrest Gin, as she was the primary target all along. However, the aging thief has another plan: to help her escape. Mac slips Gin a gun and quietly explains that he returned only seven of the eight billion dollars they had stolen electronically in the heist. Gin then pretends to hold Mac hostage at gunpoint, threatening to shoot him if the agents follow her. She boards a train and the FBI heads to the next station. Gin jumps trains mid-station and arrives back at Pudu. She tells Mac that she needs him for another job and they both board a train.", "name": "Entrapment_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["FADE IN: Middle - aged FACES looking up, in quiet shock, listening. A WOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- upper - class English accent. -RRB-. the world was stunned today by the death of Diego Ricardo, the youngest person on the planet.", "INT. CAFE - DAY MORE SAD FACES, and now we see we're in a crowded cafe. Standing room only. Everyone staring upward, O.S., listening. WOMAN'S VOICE Baby Diego was killed in a bar fight in Buenos Aires after refusing to sign an autograph. A man enters he coffee shop, making his way through the transfixed crowd : THEO FARON -LRB- 55, American -RRB-, wearing a worn suit and tie, glasses. Theo is a veteran of hopelessness. He gave up before the world did. Theo wedges his way through the packed bodies to the counter. He orders : THEO Coffee. Black. Next to him, a 50 - year - old woman stares upward, cradling a small dog, a tear rolling down her face. Theo follows her gaze : an old plasma TV is mounted above the counter. A REPORTER delivering the breaking news. Theo watches with little interest. WOMAN REPORTER -LRB- TV. -RRB- He struggled his entire life with the celebrity status thrust upon him as the world's youngest person. ON TV : The face of `` Baby'' DIEGO -LRB- 18 -RRB-, the most famous boy in the world, a fair - haired teenager who never lacked anything, smiling a practiced smile. WOMAN REPORTER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Witnesses say Diego spat in the face of a fan who asked for an autograph. The incident escalated into the brawl that ended with Diego's demise. The fan was trampled to death by the angry crowd shortly thereafter. Theo's coffee arrives. He lays exact change on the counter and makes his way back toward the door, weaving through the crowd, past people crying. WOMAN REPORTER -LRB- TV ; CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- solemnly. -RRB- Diego Ricardo, the youngest person on earth, was 18 years, 4 months, 2 days, 16 hours and 8 minutes old.", "EXT. STREET - DAY Theo walks outside with his coffee. All around him, people have stopped, their faces turned upward, transfixed by the news. Atop some buildings, old billboard style LED screens display the coverage. Some of the pixels are burnt out. On a nearby wall, a mural of the country's current leader, known only as the `` Warden.'' A stoic visage with steely, watchful eyes. SUPER : LONDON, NOVEMBER 17, 2026 A.D. Theo continues past dusty storefronts. Homeless huddle in doorways, bundled in threadbare blankets. Pedestrians hurry by, on their Monday morning rush to work. Theo sets his coffee cup atop a post box. A few cars roll by. Mostly `` older'' vehicles - 2008's, a couple of 18's. Some motorized rickshaws, a double - decker bus with metal mesh on the windows. Bicycles. He takes a flask from his pocket, unscrews the top, about to pour into his coffee, when behind him - BOOM! A BOMB EXPLODES inside the cafe, blowing out the windows, shaking the ground. Theo's knocked off his feet. Smoke pours through the shattered facade of the cafe. The counter where Theo stood moments before, simply gone. WAILS of pain as people stagger out of the blackened wreckage, bleeding, covered in debris. A woman splattered in blood, holding her own severed hand. Theo gets up, shell - shocked, hands pressed against his ears. SHRIEKING ALARMS from nearby buildings blending with the `` Eeeeeeeee'' of his ringing ears. BLACK SILENCE now, except for the `` Eeeeeeeee'' of Theo's ringing ears. Title : `` CHILDREN OF MEN''", "EXT./INT. MINISTRY OF ENERGY BUILDING - LOBBY - DAY The LOUD RUMBLE of steel wheels on a stone floor, aged MAINTENANCE WORKER rolls a heavy bin out the front doors of the lobby. He passes Theo who is on the other side of the open doors. Theo, looking lost, disheveled, walks in and approaches the SECURITY GUARD. He displays his ID, looks into a retinal scanner and moves toward the metal detector. Absently, he begins to empty his pockets - then stops, pressing his palms against his ringing ears, staring off with a lost expression. A beat. He notices the guard looking at him expectantly. He then continues through the metal detector.", "INT. MINISTRY OF ENERGY BUILDING - SECOND FLOOR - DAY Theo walks into a vast work space. There are two hundred identical cubicles on the floor, but only half are occupied. visible consequence of downsizing. A painting of the Warden dominates the front wall. Theo heads down an aisle, passing SEVERAL EMPLOYEES who have windows open on their computer screens, watching reports of Baby Diego's death. We catch a bit of the reports as he walks by. COMPUTER MONITOR A NEWS REPORTER. TV REPORTER Diego resisted being identified as a Zed, the label given to those of the final generation. He felt the term Zed had become primarily associated with the youthful gangs who have formed their own nihilistic and violent societies. But clearly' as youngest of the young. Theo passes another cubicle. 2ND REPORTER his tragic passing now makes Vladimir Raskovich the world's youngest human being, at 18 years, 4 months, 2 days. Vladimir was born in small town outside of Kazan, Russia. Theo arrives at his cubicle, sits down at his desk. It's devoid of any personal touches, except a little plastic palm tree stuck on his computer monitor. Etched into the base of the palm tree are are the words `` Pair A Dice.'' He looks up and watches SHIRLEY, a heavyset woman across the aisle, sobbing softly into a Kleenex. He turns away, once again presses his hands against his ringing ears and. PETER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Broken up over Baby Diego, eh, Theo? PETER has wheeled a cart up to Theo's desk. Although he has an office boy's job, Peter is at least forty. Theo stares, considers setting Peter straight but. THEO The only thing on my mind, Peter. Peter places a few file folders on Theo's desk, then moves on with his cart. Theo gets up from his chair.", "INT. MR. GRIFFITHS'S OFFICE - DAY Bare walls. Empty shelves. The fluorescent overhead flickers. The office of a middle manager. Mr. Griffiths -LRB- 40's -RRB- is watching coverage of Baby Diego on his computer screen. He looks up, sees Theo standing in his doorway. GRIFFITHS Faron. THEO Mr. Griffiths. I seem to be more affected by Baby Diego's death than I realized. Sir, if you would n't mind, I'd like to finish the day's work at home. Griffiths considers the request.", "INT. OFFICE CORRIDOR - DAY Heading down the hallway, Theo glances at the elevators, Then turns a corner and stops in - front of a locked door. He puts his eye up to a retinal scanner. The laser beam shines across his pupil. A door clicks open.", "INT. SAFE ROOM - DAY A wall of locked drawers, like safe deposit boxes. Block letters spell out : AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. Theo slips a small key into one of the boxes and slides out a long metal tray containing stacks of coupons. On the side of the tray, a digital readout : 1,028. Theo takes out five coupons, and the readout instantly reflects the change : 1,023. Tearing a corner from a piece of paper, Theo fashions three tiny spitballs and, with a quick glance over his shoulder, slips them between the remaining coupons. The readout turns back to 1,028. Satisfied, Theo slips the pilfered coupons into his pocket.", "EXT. STREET - WOOLWICH - DAY Old red - brick apartments interspersed with a few empty shops. A state poster on a hotel wall reads : `` ENGLISH IS OUR LANGUAGE.'' Theo crosses the empty street, heading for The Snake & The Flute, an old - school corner pub. A bicycle chained to a lamp post out front. RUDY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- A reliable source says the Warden'll be allowin' selective wireless service again, end of this year.", "INT. THE SNAKE AND THE FLUTE - DAY From a canvas backpack, RUDY pulls out a cell phone and places it on a table next to two dented tins of tuna. WIDER : Theo in a booth with Rudy -LRB- 30's -RRB-, who has the qualities of a street hustler. Beers in front of them. Theo stares at the cell phone a moment, then picks it up and examines it. RUDY Get the internet back up as well. Theo twirls the phone in his hand. THEO -LRB- ironically. -RRB- And he'll hold free elections too. and places it back on the table THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I need something for a woman. Something nice. RUDY -LRB- raises an eyebrow. -RRB- A new development? Sure, I got something for ya, Theo. Rudy lifts a black teddy from his bag. RUDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Keep you both warm on a cold night, eh? But Theo has noticed something else in Rudy's backpack. Theo pulls out a red scarf. THEO How much? RUDY You got a good eye, my friend. 100 % Chinese silk - THEO How much? RUDY Ai n't made nothing of that quality in fifteen years. Vintage stock, that is. - THEO -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- Rudy, I got a train to catch in twenty minutes. RUDY I'll let it go for fifty. Theo slides a packet of his purloined petrol coupons across the table. THEO -LRB- off Rudy's look. -RRB- Two months petrol rations. For the scarf. and the tuna. Rudy reaches for the packet of coupons - but Theo puts his hand on them. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- - And I need you to place a bet for me. With Freddie. RUDY I ca n't do that. I do n't want Freddie up my arse. A beat, then Theo lets Rudy retrieve the coupons. RUDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Fuck, you do n't want Freddie up your arse either. -LRB- holds up coupons. -RRB- If you got access to these, use'em to pay'em off, instead of getting in even deeper. And from O.S. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- ` Tis his wrath we are feeling! Theo turns : A street - corner evangelist stands on a chair. STREET-CORNER EVANGELIST -LRB- ranting. -RRB- ` Tis your derogate ways that keeps this plague upon us! You disappoint our Lord! My wounds will make amends for your reprobate - And he opens his shirt, revealing strands of barbed wire wrapped around his waist, pin - pricks of blood dotting his skin. CLOSE ON A FLAT - SCREEN MONITOR A state propaganda loop of a quick montage of cities in turmoil. A mushroom cloud over Beijing. The battered Eiffel Tower surrounded by ruins. Tanks in the streets at Washington Square. Militias on the march in Oslo. Riots in the streets of Rio. Only one Petronas Tower still standing in Kuala Lumpur. The montage ends with an image of Big Ben, still ticking, its famous chimes BOOMING on the soundtrack. Title : `` OTHER - COUNTRIES FALTER. ENGLAND SHOULDERS ON.'' Then, superimposed over this, the ghostly, domineering face of the Warden.", "INT. TRAIN - DAY Theo sitting next to the window of a passenger train, watching the flat screen mounted on the back of the seat in front of him. His eyes begin to close as the soundtrack's PATRIOTIC MUSIC swells. Then. POCK! POCK! Rocks smack against the side of the train, jolting Theo out of his sleepy moment. He looks out. A GANG is hurling rocks and bottles. Some of the faces are covered in war paint. They're mostly `` ZEDS'' - 20 - year - olds, members of the final generation. The gang disappears behind a billboard : `` IS YOUR NEIGHBOR A TERRORIST? REPORT ALL SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY.'' Another billboard flashes by : `` AVOIDING FERTILITY TESTS IS A CRIME!'' Graffiti on a wall : `` LAST ONE TO DIE PLEASE TURN OUT THE LIGHT.''", "EXT. TRAIN STATION - AFTERNOON Stepping off the train, Theo passes police officers patrolling with German Shepherds. A pleasant female VOICE on a taped loop announces : `` Transit Papers must be current and verifiable. Travel to Zone One requires a valid Zone One pass. Travel to Zone Two requires.'' Theo joins a queue to exit the station. Up ahead, passengers swipe ID cards and push through turnstiles. Off to one side, police stand guard over detained TRAVELERS -LRB- early 30's -RRB-, some sitting on their luggage. Tears roll down the face of one woman as she WHINES to the others in Dutch. Theo glances at the woman, then looks away. When he reaches the front of the line, he pulls out his ID card - fastened to a self - coiling chain - and swipes through the turnstile.", "EXT. TRAIN STATION - PARKING LOT - DAY Theo spots an OLDER MAN across the way and walks toward him, waving. The older man's eyes light up as he waves - JASPER Hey, amigo! JASPER PALMER, a teenager in the 60's, has refused to let go of his youth. Thick glasses, wispy beard, long hair, he is probably the coolest 75 - year - old on the planet. The two old friends greet each other with a warm embrace. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Good to see you. THEO You too, Jasper.", "EXT. RURAL ROAD - DUSK Abandoned fields, ruined farms and barns. A pair of headlights cut through the darkening sky, illuminating machinery rusting on the fallow land. The car is a Volvo sedan, circa 2009, not mint but still reliable. JASPER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- How many were killed? THEO -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Fuck knows, the place was packed.", "INT. VOLVO - SAME Theo's in the passenger seat, Jasper driving. JASPER Who do you think did it? THEO -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- Pick a number. JASPER They'll blame the usual bunch. Muslims, the Five Fishes, the IRA. but I'm sure the Warden is behind some of these bombings. It would n't be the first time. THEO All I know is my ears are still ringing. JASPER I'm glad you do n't take cream or sugar, amigo. Losing you and Baby Diego on the same day would be too much to bear. THEO Baby Diego was a wanker. JASPER Very true, but he was the youngest wanker on earth.", "EXT. RURAL ROAD - SAME The Volvo sailing along the country road. A cyclone fence on one side cordons off a vast stretch of land - one of the Evacuated Zones. Behind the Volvo, a black bus escorted by Saracen tanks bears down on them.", "INT. VOLVO - SAME Jasper slows, hugging the left side of the road to allow the tanks and bus to pass. Theo watches the bus overtake them. JASPER -LRB- re : the bus. -RRB- Fewgees - taking them to Bexhill. You see buses all the time now. The overcrowded bus has steel mesh over the windows, the driver separated from his passengers by a metal cage. A glimpse of a few arms handcuffed to the overhead railing. Sad faces pressed to the steel mesh, looking out. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Poor devils. Things must be awfully grim in Europe to want to come here and be hunted down like foxes. Through the windshield, the bus speeds toward the horizon, passing a road sign : BEXHILL 22 miles. The Volvo slows down, turns off the road into a heavily wooded area.", "EXT. ROAD - DUSK Jasper and Theo get out, Jasper looking both ways to make sure the coast is clear. They walk toward some bushes. Jasper lifts one up - it's not rooted. JASPER I was surprised you called. We were n't expecting to see you for a few weeks. THEO Yeah, they gave me the day off. They remove the rest of the fake bushes - revealing a dirt road. Jasper gets back in behind the wheel and drives through. Theo replaces the fake bushes and gets in the car.", "INT JASPER'S CAR - SAME The car drives into the woods, up the small dirt trail. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- How's Sandra doing : JASPER She's lovely. -LRB- beat. -RRB- She's had better days, though. Back in her own world at the moment. Through the windshield, in a clearing through the trees. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Last week I found her down by the creek. Mud all over her nightgown. Poor thing, shivering her death of cold. a low - tech, jury - rigged eco - house, complete with primitive solar panels and a grass roof. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- When she's more her normal self, she cries, started talking about Quietus. -LRB- off Theo's look. -RRB- Thinks she's a burden. I tell her be patient, the curtain will lift. CLOSE ON SANDRA She sits in a chair, staring ahead. The light is gone from her eyes, her face a blank mask.", "INT. JASPER'S HOUSE - NIGHT Theo and Jasper are standing in front of her. JASPER Hi, Sweetie. Jasper kisses her. Sandra does not react. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Theo's here. Remember? Your Rebel with a Lost Cause? He came early this month. THEO Hi, Sandra. I brought you something. In her hand he carefully places the brightly colored scarf we saw earlier. No response from Sandra. She's still staring at something O.S. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- re : the scarf. -RRB- I think you like red, do n't you? Sandra just holds the scarf. Says nothing. JASPER It's her favorite color. A beat, then. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- She came out of it for a moment last week. Grabbed my hand and apologized to me for writing that article. She suffers unspeakable hell inside the Warden's prisons - a hell she ca n't leave behind, and she apologize to me. -LRB- to Sandra, tenderly. -RRB- Every line you wrote came true, my love. Theo follows Sandra's eyes. She's staring at a wall of photographs. The photos evoke a warm and keen observation of life's little moments, while also documenting Jasper's and Sandra's hippy past : Children with grinning painted faces at Woodstock ; Jasper carrying a peace banner at the Hyde Park anti - Iraq War rally in' 03 ; a pair of young girls at a piano in the middle of a field. There are few shots of Sandra, and when there are, she always has a camera in hand. Among the photos, a long - haired, defiant - looking Theo, arm - in - arm with a striking YOUNG WOMAN with the same attitude.", "INT. JASPER'S GREENHOUSE - NIGHT It's a makeshift affair. Grow lights coax marijuana plants into bloom. Electronic MUSIC with an infectious, driving beat plays softly on a vintage stereo. Nearby, a bank of video monitors display infrared images of Jasper's property. Jasper is rolling a monster joint ; Theo sips from his flask. JASPER Business has been slow. Daddy government hands out pills and anti - depressants as part of your ration. Jasper holds up the joint for emphasis. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- and the Buddha is still illegal! Most of my weed now goes to Bexhill bloke buys it from me, smuggles it inside. Guess what he does? His real job? THEO Immigration cop? JASPER Bravo! One of the many perks of having a refugee camp in the neighborhood. Jasper fires up the joint. Theo toasts Jasper with his flask. Theo drinks deeply. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- telling a joke. -RRB-. -RRB- So, the Human Project is having this big dinner. All the brightest minds - THEO -LRB- scoffing. -RRB- C'mon, Jasper, the Human Project does n't exist - JASPER I'm trying to tell a joke, Theo. THEO ah. Right. Okay. JASPER Anyway, there's this big dinner. Scientists and sages, all gathered together. They're throwing around theories, asking the ultimate question : why have n't there been any babies born in 18 years? -LRB- beat. -RRB- The bioethicist blames genetic experiments. The environmentalist argues it's pollution and pesticides. Minister says God is pissed, right? Same old, same old. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Then they look at this Englishman who has n't said a word, just keeps tucking into his entree. So they ask him, `` What do you think? Why do n't people have babies anymore?'' The Englishman looks at them, he's chewing on a wing. -LRB- thick English accent. -RRB- `` I have n't a clue,'' he says, `` but this stork is quite tasty, eh?'' Jasper playfully hits Theo. LAUGHS. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Haaa! Get it? He's eating a stork! THEO -LRB- flat. -RRB- Stork. That's funny. Jasper takes another hit. JASPER No, I suppose not. We made a bollocks of the whole thing, did n't we? I would have hoped we might've held it together a little better. THEO Do n't take it so personally, Jasper. JASPER In sixty years, humanity will be gone. THEO Ninety - eight percent of the species that roamed the earth are extinct. What makes us so goddamn special? Just because we left behind a few piles of rock? JASPER A few really brilliant piles of rock. And some books. really awesome books. And some smashing symphonies. THEO True, but maybe the planet's ready for a little peace and quiet. Jasper turns to the old hi - fi system behind him. JASPER But not quiet yet. He cranks the volume, music blasting from the speakers.", "EXT. JASPER'S HOME - NIGHT WIDE on Jasper's home in the woods. Light spilling from the greenhouse. The MUSIC continuing over. SLOW FADE OUT. Now we become aware of another sound. The SOUND OF THE SURF. We slowly fade in on.", "EXT. BEACH - DAY A beautiful sunlit beach. Waves crashing in the b.g., palm trees, a gentle breeze. A female form approaches wearing a sarong. She's carrying a tray with one perfectly designed tropical drink centered on it. The sun is behind her, partly silhouetting her. When sh - reaches us, she smiles, impossibly beautiful, youthful, the sun glistening behind her long hair. REVERSE : Theo lying on the sand, relaxing, looks up. He likes what he sees, smiles back. She begins to speak. GIRL BBC World Report. The time is now seven hundred Greenwich mean time. Theo opens his eyes but.", "INT. THEO'S APARTMENT - MORNING now he's on his bed, in his apartment. He blinks, looks over at the TV as the ANCHORWOMAN recites the morning news. ANCHORWOMAN A dirty bomb has exploded in Copenhagen. CLICK. A light comes on, reflected in the screen of the TV. ANCHORWOMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And in the United States, the siege of Philadelphia is in its two hundred and thirtieth day. Theo gets up, shakes out the cobwebs. The news program cuts to a commercial. Soothing music, a smiling older couple. walking through a field of daises. SOOTHING VOICE Quietus. It's your choice. It's your decision. It's your final destination. IMAGES of elderly people greeted by smiling Quietus attendants dressed in white. SOOTHING VOICE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Trained, compassionate professionals tend to your every need as you make the transition within luxurious and soothing surroundings. Quietus. You deserve it. CLICK. Theo shuts off the TV.", "EXT. STARBUCKS - DAY Dressed for work, Theo walks out of Starbucks with his coffee in hand. A bit of visual deja vu as he stops at a mailbox to pour some whisky from his flask into his cup. He takes a sip and heads down the street", "EXT. STREET - DAY Theo passes a row of apartment buildings. As we move with him, the multicolored facades behind him casually give way to a wall of riot shields. He seems oblivious as he app - roaches the intersection, where. Police Officers butted next to each other block off the cross street. Theo barely glances at the human barricade, when a Police Dog lunges at him, SNARLING. Theo jumps back, dropping his coffee, spilling it everywhere - THEO Jesus! He now notices the activity on the street beyond the barricade : Bewildered faces of frightened NORTH AFRICAN MEN and WOMEN, some with scarves around their heads, being lead out of their homes by uniformed officers. a school bus, painted over black, waiting for them in front of the building. Then, someone YELLING. Theo looks up to see objects, personal possessions being thrown out of an upper - floor window. A jewelry box smashes onto the street. A policeman trying to keep order. POLICE OFFICER Keep moving! Keep moving! Theo moves on.", "INT. MINISTRY OF ENERGY BUILDING - SECOND FLOOR - DAY Theo at his desk, bored, killing time, staring impassively at the baby figurines and other trappings on Shirley's monitor. Peter approaches, places a thick folder on Theo's desk. THEO What's this? PETER Forms 22 B and C need your authorization. You might want to read them first. Theo looks up at Peter. Then, without saying a word, he opens the folder, picks up a stamp and stamps the various forms, barely glancing at the pages. He then signs them, closes the folder and hands it back to Peter. THEO Anything else? A beat. Then Peter turns away. As Peter heads out into the hallway, TWO MEN pass him on their way in. One is a head taller and a foot wider than Theo, dressed in a baggy maroon jogging suit. The other is smaller, slickly dressed with gold inlays in his teeth. Theo quickly shrinks down in his chair and slips under his desk, huddling there, listening to the SOUND of approaching footsteps. The footsteps stop near his desk. SMALLER MAN Pardon me, darlin'. We've come to visit our good friend, Mr. Faron. SHIRLEY Well, that's Theo's cubicle there. The big man moves dangerously close to Theo's desk. SMALLER MAN Do n't tell me ` e's gone fishing on us? Shirley giggles. SHIRLEY You might try the library on the third floor, though I've never seen him there. SMALLER MAN Thank you, turtle dove. Theo listens to the SOUND of RETREATING FOOTSTEPS. After a moment, he crawls out from under his desk. He straightens his jacket and heads for the door.", "EXT. MINISTRY OF ENERGY BUILDING - ALLEY - DAY Theo bangs out a side door and hurries down the alley.", "EXT. STREET - DAY Quickly putting as much distance between the office and himself as he can. He rounds a corner, slows down, trying to catch his breath. Up ahead, a MOTHER -LRB- 30's -RRB- is pushing a pram down the street. A YOUNG COUPLE approach, crouching to look at the infant and cooing `` Lovely, lovely baby.'' Suddenly, the YOUNG MAN grabs the infant and runs. The mother chases after him SCREAMING. and the man TOSSES the WAILING baby to his GIRLFRIEND. The mother lunges at the girlfriend, PLEADING, but she LAUGHS and tosses the flailing baby back to her boyfriend - playing a horrific version of keepaway. The frantic mother does her best to stop them when, abruptly, the man raises the baby over his head and SLAMS it head - first into the pavement. The baby shatters. porcelain and springs and computer chips flying. a tiny blue eye rolls to a stop. The mother crumbles to her knees, wailing as she gathers the pieces. Theo watches the pranksters dart off LAUGHING. He does n't notice TWO MEN coming up behind him, pulling on ski masks. Then, they're on him - MALE VOICE Keep walking. Theo does as ordered. THEO C'mon guys, I'm gon na pay! Tell Freddie, I swear I'll have his money, all of it - 2ND MAN Shut up. THEO By the end or the week - Monday at the latest Theo's rapped on the back of the head with a gun. 2ND MAN Shut up! Shut up! A van pulls up alongside them, the door sliding open. Theo is shoved inside. A motorcycle skids to a stop nearby. The gunman hops on the bike, and the motorcycle speeds off, racing against traffic along the one - way street. The van takes off in the opposite direction.", "INT. VAN - DAY Theo stares at four masked faces. He's frightened and confused. Clearly these are not the men who were after him earlier. A burlap sack is whipped over Theo's head and we. BLACK. SILENCE. THEN. A VOICE ECHOING, as if in a vast space. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- LUKE. -RRB- You are under the jurisdiction of the 5 Fishes. Your basic human rights will be respected. SECOND MAN'S VOICE -LRB- PATRIC. -RRB- The 5 Fishes have eyes and ears everywhere. We keep the truth flowing. WOMAN'S VOICE Why is he handcuffed? MAN'S VOICE -LRB- LUKE. -RRB- It's procedure. WOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- an order. -RRB- Uncuff him. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- PATRIC. -RRB- The prisoner should remain cuffed at all times. WOMAN'S VOICE I do n't care. Uncuff him. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- LUKE. -RRB- Do it. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- PATRIC ; CONT'D. -RRB- She does n't have the authority. MAN'S VOICE -LRB- LUKE ; CONT'D. -RRB- Uncuff him. From Theo's POV. as the burlap sack comes off his head, the BLACK SCREEN becomes a blurry whitish image and.", "INT. ABANDONED FACTORY - DAY a fuzzy, overexposed silhouette moving in front of a light, reaching around to remove his handcuffs. A second human shape moving closer, right up to his face and. slowly coming into focus : He's looking at the face of an angel. JULIAN TAYLOR is about Theo's age. Life on the run has taken its toll, but she still has the radiance of someone who believes in her cause. Julian is the woman in Sandra's photographs. A scar runs down the side of her face. Theo blinks, everything corning into focus, a few shafts of daylight in the otherwise huge, darkened space. Silhouettes of his four abductors, still wearing their ski masks, standing in the shadows. JULIAN Hello, Theo. Theo staring, clearly shocked to see her. SILENCE. SILENCE. SILENCE. THEO I thought you were dead. JULIAN Sorry about the theatrics, but it was for your safety as much as ours. THEO How'd you get that nasty scar? Or should n't I ask? JULIAN A close call. THEO And that did n't knock any sense into you? JULIAN Walk with me, Theo. She nods toward the cavernous warehouse floor. Theo seems tentative. JULIAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I wo n't bite. She holds out her hand. Theo takes it - Luke steps forward and Julian waves him off with a subtle gesture. They walk off - the Fishes following at a discreet distance. THEO I'm trying to think. I ca n't remember the last time I saw you. JULIAN You're not going to reprimand me for not calling? THEO Never crossed my mind. JULIAN It would have made things dangerous for you. THEO You're flattering yourself, Julian. It never crossed my mind. JULIAN Okay. -LRB- then. -RRB- How've you been? THEO Never better. JULIAN And Jasper and Sandra? THEO They're lovely. JULIAN How's Sandra doing? THEO She's brilliant. Julian tries to light a cigarette. The lighter sparks, and sparks, but no flame. Theo does nothing to help her. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And how about you and your boyfriends? -LRB- looks back at the Fishes. -RRB- Been busy with all these bombings around town? Luke steps up, lights her cigarette, turns to Theo. LUKE You know that's the Warden's handiwork, not ours. We're his scapegoat. THEO Right. kidnapping's more your style. Luke leans toward Theo, his eyes cool behind his mask. LUKE Sorry if we frightened you. Theo turns to Julian THEO Why am I here, Julian? JULIAN I need transit papers. Not for me. A girl. She's illegal. She has to get to the coast, past the security checkpoints. Her life depends on it. LUKE We'll pay you 10,000 pounds. Julian shoots Luke a look. A beat, and Luke retreats to the other Fishes. THEO Why come to me? JULIAN You have connections. THEO Not anymore. It's a brave new world. In case you have n't noticed. JULIAN You could rekindle an old friendship. THEO Nobody's handing out transit papers and they're impossible to steal. JULIAN You could find a way. THEO I'm flattered. Maybe one of your other ex - lovers could help. You could toss their names in a hat ; pick out the lucky winner. Julian looks at Theo a moment, then. JULIAN `` The only reason to breathe is to make a difference.'' Theo stops short. This seems to have an effect on him. She faces him squarely : JULIAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- `` The only reason to breathe is to make a difference.'' -LRB- beat. -RRB- You remember who told me that? THEO Wan na know the truth? I got it off a fortune cookie. There's a look of disappointment in her face, a sadness in her voice. JULIAN Sorry to trouble you, Theo. My mistake. She turns and starts back to her comrades. Then - JULIAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- turning back. -RRB- Ramona's. The Italian place in Camden. Six years ago. It was my thirty - seventh birthday. You had a little too much to drink and fell asleep in the booth. That was the last time I saw you. And she continues walking, leaving four masked men alone with Theo.", "INT. VAN - DUSK Theo riding with his four captors. The van jolts as it speeds along the dilapidated road. Luke stares at Theo. LUKE I told Julian that appealing to your conscience would be a waste of time. But you'll do what we want. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I know you need the money to pay your debts. -LRB- off Theo's look. -RRB- The Five Fishes have eyes and ears everywhere.", "EXT. BUS STOP - DUSK Deserted, empty street. The van rounds a corner, pulls up in front of the bus stop. The sliding door opens. Luke addresses Theo : LUKE So when you change your mind. Luke hands Theo an index card. LUKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- pin this card on the notice board at the entrance to the Camden tube. We'll do the rest. Theo looks down at the index card : Lost Dog, Black and White Shelty, answers to the name of Scottie,'' etcetera. THEO Right. Been a genuine pleasure, fellas. He starts to get out. And Patric gives him a shove into the street. Luke tosses some coins at him. LUKE Bus fare. The 5 Fishes hope you were n't too inconvenienced. The door slams shut, and the van speeds away. Theo watches it disappear. WIDER : The empty street. Theo looks in both directions, bends down and picks up the coins.", "EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT Theo steps around a homeless woman sleeping on the stoop of his apartment building. He punches in a security code.", "INT. LOBBY - NIGHT Dimly lit, paint peeling off the walls. Theo walks past the elevator, does n't even look at the faded sign that reads `` Out of Order'' and starts up a narrow staircase.", "INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT He stops outside his door, fumbling for his keys. He hears a creak and looks up - the BIG MAN in the jogging suit is charging him. Before Theo has time to react, the thug slugs him in the stomach, knocking him backwards. Theo falls on the steps, tumbling down. Theo comes to a stop on the next landing, and he's hauled to his feet by the big thug who drags him back up the stairs to face his smaller partner. THEO I'm getting the money together SMALLER MAN -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- Are ya now? THEO -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- - Tuesday. The Smaller Man grabs Theo's hand, twists Theo's fingers back. He SCREAMS in pain. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Wednesday at the latest - A door opens - the Smaller Man stops, stares at a SKINNY MIDDLE - AGED MAN looking out. A long beat. SMALLER MAN May I help you? The door quickly slams shut. SMALLER MAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- back to Theo. -RRB- Ya think we got nothin' better to do ` an chase after the likes of you, do ya? -LRB- shakes his head. -RRB- I could be ` ome and warm watching a Franky Vaughan. And Andrew could be playing a bit a snooker. Instead, we're ` ere all evening waitin' and waitin' for you. And the Small Man jerks Theo's ring finger back, SNAPS the bone. Theo SCREAMS in agony. The big man lets go of Theo, and Theo crumbles to the floor, cradling his hand. The small man puts his foot on the Theo's hands. He presses down on Theo's broken finger. SMALLER MAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Now. ya know what I'm gon na say and I know what you're gon na say. So let's not bore each other to death. -LRB- and. -RRB- Do n't make me come back. A beat, and the Smaller Man releases Theo's hand. The SOUND of FOOTSTEPS receding. Theo crawls painfully down the hallway to his door. He struggles to his knees, leaning against the - wall. He then reaches inside his jacket with his good hand and pulls out - his flask. He manages to unscrew the top and gulp the booze down his aching throat.", "INT. MINISTRY OF ENERGY BUILDING - SECOND FLOOR - DAY Theo walks down the hall with a bit of a limp. There's a small Band - Aid above his eye and a splint on his finger. Theo enters, walks with purpose toward the wall of locked drawers, his key in hand. and stops. There are two WORKMEN in the back of the safe room. One is on a ladder, the other passing him some tools. WORKMAN -LRB- greets Theo. -RRB- Morning to you. THEO Something broken? WORKMAN TWO Installing a camera is all. Theo considers this, then turns back toward the exit.", "INT. HALLWAY - DAY Theo spots Peter and approaches him. THEO Peter. PETER -LRB- seeing Theo's condition. -RRB- Jealous husband, I suppose? THEO -LRB- motions toward safe room. -RRB- What's going on? PETER Someone's been stealing petrol coupons. THEO -LRB- a beat. -RRB- Huh. Wow. Stealing. PETER Keep your ears open. There's a thousand pound reward for any information. THEO Would n't want to be in that poor bastard's shoes. TNT. MINISTRY OF ENERGY BUILDING - SECOND FLOOR - DAY Theo approaches his cubicle. He stands there, pondering his next move, and. SHIRLEY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- conspiratorially. -RRB- I know who it is. He turns, faces Shirley. THEO Really? SHIRLEY Yes, it's that Allison Hammer. Her son's a mongoloid, you know, retarded. Their medical bills are through the bloomin' roof. He's forty years and acts just terrible. I was alone with ` im for ten minutes at a Christmas party and he showed me his member! You tell me what you hear and I'll split the reward. Theo has been looking at her with a blank expression. SHIRLEY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Keep your ears open. She starts back to her cubicle, then remembers something SHIRLEY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh. Some gentleman was paging you. I connected him to your voice mail. Theo remains frozen for a moment, before moving to his phone. He keys in his code, listens to the message.", "EXT. STREET - NIGHT Theo frantically pushes past pedestrians, limping as he runs through the park.", "EXT. ALBERT HALL - NIGHT The famous concert hall is now a Quietus Auditorium - a large banner flaps in the wind, the word `` Quietus'' next to an enormous Union Jack. Theo rushes towards the building.", "INT. ALBERT HALL - AUDITORIUM - NIGHT Rolling clouds across a glorious blue sky. You almost do n't notice the pixels. FACES lying on soft mats, staring at the clouds projected on the ceiling. Mostly older men and women, some middle - aged. Soothing music suffuses the ambiance, and a gentle female voice : VOICE Forgiveness. Experience forgiveness. Dwell in forgiveness. Forgiveness towards those who intentionally cause you pain. Forgiveness. Forgiveness for those who unwittingly caused you pain. Forgiveness. It's peaceful. It's inviting. It's Quietus. The participants on the floor are gently dying. FIND Sandra among the others. Her face is not the blank mask it was before. Her eyes are now moist with profound awareness. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLASS are the stands. A few dozen people on the bleacher seats. Some are there to observe loved ones make their final passage. Others are just looking for a warm place to sleep. In the b.g., Theo rushes in and finds. Jasper pressed against the glass, watching the event unfold. Jasper turns as Theo approaches, gives a small shake of his head. JASPER She left a note. I did n't get here in time. -LRB- off Theo's look. -RRB- They wo n't let you in. I tried. Jasper looks at Theo's bandaged hand. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What happened to you? Theo dismisses the question with a shake of his head. Jasper looks back through the glass at Sandra. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- They say it's a peaceful way to go. God knows she deserves some peace after what they did to her. THEO SAYS NOTHING. THEY WATCH THROUGH THE WINDOW AS - BELOW - ON THE MAIN FLOOR An ATTENDANT approaches Sandra and offers her a cup. Sandra reaches for it, her hand shaking. The Attendant steadies her and Sandra drinks. VOICE Gratitude. Immerse yourself in gratitude. Gratitude. Gratitude for those who brought you joy. Gratitude. Gratitude for those who brought you pain. Gratitude. Gratitude for your unique journey. Gratitude. Dwell in gratitude. IN THE STANDS Jasper and Theo, watching silently as Sandra's grip slips from the cup. Her entire body relaxes as the attendant helps her lie back down. JASPER We just moved to Paris. We did n't have anything, a mattress, two cups. We were so broke. One day I finished early at the Sorbonne and I saw her from the window, coming home, carrying flowers. There was a curtain that was our closet, and I hid behind it. I was going to surprise her. Behind them, past the glass, a disturbance : An OLD MAN is resisting, he knocks away the cup as it's offered. The lights dim. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- She came in, put flowers in a drinking glass, and she sat on the sofa just looking at them. Daffodils. She was twenty - seven. Her hair was dark brown. So much of it, it would fill your hands. She was so beautiful. The lights fade up on the main floor, everything returned to its state of peace. The old man lies completely still. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- She was humming `` I Love Paris In the Springtime.'' Very softly. And she stayed there, just like that. Looking at the flowers. For a long time. And you know what she was doing? She was picking her nose. -LRB- smiles, back in the moment. -RRB- She always did that when she thought no one was watching her. Did you ever notice? THEO -LRB- lying. -RRB- No. JASPER That's what she did. She picked her nose. -LRB- shows his little finger. -RRB- With her pinky. Jasper looks down at Sandra. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- She's gone. BELOW - ON THE MAIN FLOOR Sandra stares up at the clouds rolling across the ceiling. VOICE Experience the light. The light is soothing. The light is comforting. The light is love. It's a light that shines forever.", "INT. PICK-UP OFFICE - QUIETUS - NIGHT Theo waiting on a plastic couch in the simple white room. People at the counter, picking up paper bags that resemble sacks of flour. Jasper returns from the counter, holding one of the paper sacks. Theo stands to meet him. JASPER -LRB- re : brown sack. -RRB- She's still warm.", "EXT. QUIETUS - NIGHT Outside, the street is quiet. Theo and Jasper walk. Jasper, stoic, holding the bag of Sandra's ashes. Sudden -RCB- y - Jasper breaks down. Crying. All of his 75 years now revealed, all at once an old man.", "INT. ROLLS ROYCE - DRIVING - DAY A uniformed chauffeur pilots the Rolls. Theo in the back. His worn suit has been cleaned and pressed. On the London Mall, well - dressed citizens on their afternoon outing, some walking their dogs. Some dressed in chaps, riding horses. A woman walking, holding the hand of a young chimp in toddler's clothing. The privileged minority. A restricted zone. SOUTHWARK BRIDGE CHECKPOINT - DAY The chauffeur stops at a security gate at the entrance to the Southwark bridge. He hands papers to a security officer. Guards check under the car with mirrors. Dogs sniff for bombs. They are waved through.", "INT. ROLLS ROYCE - DRIVING - DAY Coming over the bridge : an imposing brick structure, its square tower dominating the gloomy sky : the Battersea Power Station.", "INT. BATTERSEA POWER STATION - GREAT HALL - CONTINUOUS A team of SECURITY GUARDS watches Theo walk through a metal detector and look into a retinal scanner. Then one of the guards leads Theo through an enormous hall. SECURITY GUARD Wait here. And the Security Guard walks out, leaving him there, alone. Theo looks further down the hallway - he's awed. In the middle of the marble hall, under the soft glow of a skylight dome, in its perfection : Michelangelo's David. Theo is drawn to the sculpture - WOOF! Two Irish Wolfhounds laying on the floor in front of the David. Theo does n't speak dog, but knows that means stop. Deep growls, the Wolfhounds standing up. From behind the David, a man dressed in T - shirt and jeans appears. COLIN PHILLIPS is Theo's age, but looks younger. COLIN -LRB- Oxford accent. -RRB- We could n't save `` La Pieta,'' it was already smashed by the time we go there. But this is pretty rummy, eh? THEO My mom had a plastic one in the bathroom. It was a lamp. Colin approaches Theo. They embrace. COLIN Hey, bro. I was surprised to hear from you. Told Mum you called - she sends her love. THEO How's she doing? COLIN Holding the respirator.", "INT. REMBRANDT HALL - BATTERSEA POWER STATION - DAY An endless corridor with masterpieces on both walls. Colin throws tennis ball, and the Wolfhounds chase after it, shrinking in the distance. Colin and Theo carry drinks. Rembrandt's self - portraits age as they pass. COLIN the self - portraits. We have most of them. We lost the one at the Frick. That thing in New York was a real blow to Art. THEO Not to mention people. -LRB- then. -RRB- You've got ta admit it's a kind of perverse. The world's gone to shit and here you are assembling the world's greatest art collection. COLIN Might as well save what made us great. -LRB- indicates a painting. -RRB- His last. He stops in front of Rembrandt's final self - portrait. COLIN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Look at him. Old Dutch bastard. He's saying something. Can you tell what he's saying? Theo looks at the portrait. THEO `` Oh, well.'' COLIN Exactly. This bloke did some of the wickedest masterpieces in history, and here he is, looking at you at the end of his days. Regretful, mischievous. `` Oh, well.'' The old Rembrandt looks down at them.", "INT. PICASSO HALL - BATTERSEA POWER STATION - DAY Planes drop bombs on civilians. Black and white cubist mayhem. Theo and Colin stand in front of Picasso's Guernica.'' The Wolfhounds sit nearby. COLIN Things good at work, bra? THEO I ca n't thank you enough for making that possible. COLIN Thank your mum. I could n't have done a thing if you did n't have a British passport. THEO Actually, I feel stupid for asking. but I need another favor. Colin raises an eyebrow. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I have a new girlfriend. a bit of a Francophile. -LRB- sheepishly. -RRB- I promised her a trip to Paris. In a moment of passion, if you know what I mean. I have the money. But I was hoping you could get us the transit papers. COLIN Transit papers? That's quite a favor. THEO I know. I'm sorry. COLIN Is n't your girlfriend aware Paris is n't what it used to be? Paris n'est plus la ville des amants. THEO Her brother's there. She has n't seen him in five years and he's not doing too well. Not too well at all. -LRB- off Colin's look. -RRB- Colin, she's the one decent thing that' happened to me. She kind of looks to me for stuff like this. Colin chews on this. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Maybe I could pick up some art for you. COLIN There's nothing left but second - rate junk. THEO I guess I got myself in over my head. I did n't have anyone else to go to. Colin embraces the power of helping the little guy. COLIN Well. I ca n't exactly promise anything. THEO -LRB- brightening. -RRB- You're a lifesaver, Colin. COLIN Nonsense, bro. Mummy loved your mum. And times like these. Well. Vive le petit mort. THEO Amen. Colin opens a small silver case. He takes out a pill, offering it to Theo, who shakes his head, staring at him. COLIN What? THEO You amaze me. A hundred years from now, there wo n't be one sad fuck to look at any of this. What keeps you going? COLIN You want to know what it is, bra? 1 just do n't think about it. Colin pops the pill, washing it down with wine.", "INT. PUB - NIGHT ON TV : A PRETTY REPORTER outside the fence surrounding Bexhill, speaking to a COLONEL in camouflage fatigues. PRETTY REPORTER -LRB- TV. -RRB- but there are some who'll ask : is n't there a more humane way of dealing with refugees than to lock them in Bexhill and force them to fend for themselves. FROM 0. S., CHANTING PROTESTS, the BANGING of POTS and PANS. Some sort of demonstration past the prison gates. COLONEL -LRB- TV. -RRB- We've been tolerant to the point of drawing criticism. Force is the only thing stopping Bexhill from becoming a breeding ground for terrorists. THEO sits alone at a table in a crowded pub, watching the TV. He glances at rowdy patrons arguing over a game of darts. PATRIC -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You're in the company of the 5 Fishes. Theo turns and sees Patric, Luke and another Fish standing behind him. They sit down. Patric rambles on. PATRIC -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- The 5 Fishes have eyes and ears everywhere. The 5 Fishes keep the truth flowing. Theo looks from one Fish to the other. THEO One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Patric does n't understand. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- to Patric. -RRB- Dr. Seuss. You ought to do a little more reading, mate. Patric's eyes flair. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I can see why you guys opt for the masks. Luke stares at Theo, sees his bandaged finger. LUKE Looks like your friends caught up with you. THEO -LRB- ignores him. -RRB- Everything's moving ahead, but I'll need a photo of the girl and her name. LUKE -LRB- hands him an envelope. -RRB- It's all in here. THEO - And an extra 5,000 pounds for my trouble. LUKE We agreed on ten. THEO All I could get were joint transit papers, which means I'll have to escort the girl. Extra time means extra money. So now it's fifteen. LUKE Ten's as high as we can go. THEO Find another sucker then. Theo rises to leave. Luke grabs his arm. LUKE Twelve, take it or leave it. Theo stares a beat. LUKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Thirteen. THEO Fifteen's my lucky number. PATRIC The hell with the fuckin' Yank. THEO If you're short, you could always kidnap somebody. Rob from the rich, give to the poor, is n't that what you guys do? Luke stares at Theo, then gets up to leave. The other Fishes follow. Theo watches them walk off, then sits back down. He takes a swallow of his pint, turns his attention to the TV. ON TV : Footage from a surveillance camera. A man walking alone down a remote, poorly illuminated street. Emerging from the darkness. dozens of wilding Zeds. TV VOICE a security camera capturing the horrific assault of a 43 - year - old man from Shoreditch by a gang of Zed hoodlums. The Zeds swarm around the man, who disappears under their onslaught. A moment later, the Zeds withdraw into the night. One Zed left behind, holding a deep gash, staggering. TV VOICE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- it's not clear if the Zed was stabbed by the victim or by one of his own gang. The wounded Zed takes one step and falls to his knees beside the victim, who lies motionless on the sidewalk, half - naked, picked clean. OVER : The CHANT of English football.", "EXT. ENGLISH FOOTBALL MATCH - DAY KICK! A cleated foot propels the ball into the air. Men fight their way to it. We're well into a hard - fought English football match. Players smeared in sweat and mud. Theo watching the match. Drinking a beer - hair of the dog. An OLDER WOMAN, 60's, stands in a front row, blocking his view - she casually moves her long gray hair from her neck revealing an image penned on her neck : five fish. She walks off. Theo gets up and follows her. On the walls, a billboard : `` REPORT ANY SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY.''", "EXT. EXIT TUNNEL - STADIUM - DAY The older woman walks through a tunnel, exiting the stadium. Theo follows, losing her in the shadows for a moment as his eyes adjust to the darkness, then. suddenly Julian is beside him. The older woman heads in another direction. JULIAN Smile. -LRB- discreetly motions toward a security camera. -RRB- You look good in that shirt. THEO You bought it for me, remember? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Is all this cloak and dagger necessary? JULIAN Yes. Have to be sure we're not followed. A pair of cops appear in he blinding light at the end of the tunnel. She holds out her hand. JULIAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Take my hand. Theo hesitates. JULIAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Lends credibility. She leans into his shoulder, hiding the scar on her face from the two cops who pass in the opposite direction.", "EXT. STADIUM - DAY The crowd ROARS as one of the teams scores. Julian leads Theo to a bus stop. A double - decker starting to leave. She tugs Theo's arm and they run, catching up to it, jumping on through the rear door.", "INT. DOUBLE-DECKER BUS - CONTINUOUS Theo and Julian sit at the front of the bus, their backs - toward the overhead security camera. Theo is a bit out of breath. She looks over at him, playful, seductive. JULIAN -LRB- whispers in his ear. -RRB- Remember when we used to ride the buses? Her hand tightens around his, passion in her gesture impossible to tell if it's real. or an act.", "EXT. STREET - DAY The double - decker chugs through the outskirts of London. Very few people. Shuttered stores. Abandoned flats.", "EXT. BUS STOP - CITY OUTSKIRTS - DAY The bus rolls away revealing Julian and Theo. They cross the street. She puts her arm around him. He looks at her, and for a second it seems he might kiss her. A FIAT MULTIPLA passenger wagon comes around the corner, stops in front of Julian and Theo. The back door opens. LUKE Get in.", "INT. MULTIPLA - CONTINUOUS Julian gets in the front. Theo climbs in the back, looks around. Luke at the wheel, two other women in the backseat. THEO So this is the elite unit? No response. Luke shifts into gear, drives off. Theo glances at the woman beside him. KEE -LRB- 19 -RRB-, brown skin, North African descent. The world was already falling apart by the time she was born. She's a Zed. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- to Julian. -RRB- Is this the girl? JULIAN Kee, this is Theo. Theo locks eyes with the Zed. KEE Fuck you staring at? THEO Apparently the pleasure is all mine. Julian looks around the car, past Luke to the third woman. JULIAN This is Miriam. MIRIAM -LCB- 40s, black, simply dressed. She looks at him, nods. LUKE We're going with you to Canterbury Road. It's before the first checkpoint. THEO Why? LUKE Because we want to. We'll take the old road and you'll drop us where we say. After that, the two of you will be on your own. THEO Are n't you forgetting something? Luke reaches down and tosses a black bag onto Theo's lap. Theo look inside at stacks of notes. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Did you roll an old lady? Luke glares at him through the rear - view mirror. LUKE We took up a collection for your soul. THEO Hallelujah. He turns to look at Julian. The sunlight plays in her hair, her smile like the Mona Lisa. He looks past her, out the window, the bright sunlight bleeding in as we FADE TO WHITE. THE WHITE SLOWLY BECOMING OCEAN FOAM. The sound of. THE SURF. A glistening blue wave, rolling luxuriously toward the beach. The backlit woman in the sarong, her beautiful form moving closer. Theo in the sand, smiling, in heaven. as she approaches. Theo shades his eyes as she nears. and now we see. the woman is Julian Julian's face is soft and beautiful, her hair is flowing in the breeze. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Jules. She lowers her tray with the drink toward him, smiles and. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What do You want from me, Jules? JULIAN -LRB- tender reprimand. -RRB- Theo. -LRB- then. -RRB- You're snoring.", "INT. CAR - DRIVING - DAY Theo asleep. A hand reaches over and nudges him awake. JULIAN Hey there. You're snoring. THEO -LRB- coming to. -RRB- No I was n't. JULIAN How would you know? -LRB- to the others. -RRB- He always snored. THEO I did not. Where are we? JULIAN Canterbury. Theo looks over at Kee. THEO So why's it so important to get this girl out of the country? She rob a train, kill a cop, blow up a building? No one responds. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You're right, I do n't want to know anyway. Kee turns from Theo to Julian KEE -LRB- to Julian, re : Theo. -RRB- You once was dotage for this berk? JULIAN Two or three lifetimes ago. We met in the states. We were n't much older than you. Theo was an activist then. Miriam LAUGHS, ca n't believe it. Theo ignores the slight. THEO An activist was what you wanted me to be. I just wanted to get laid. JULIAN We were at Berkeley. Theo was pissed that all the money for health and education was going to defense contractors. So he had this idea : Let's go to Seattle and chain ourselves to the sculpture in front of Boeing's corporate headquarters. Naked. THEO Naked was your idea. JULIAN We got shy, stopped at our underwear, thank God, and we chained ourselves to the sculpture, and we threw away the key. Total commitment. So we're waiting for the employees to arrive. Waiting for the TV cameras to show up. And it's cold. And nobody is coming. And it keeps. getting colder. So we start yelling : Hello? Help? I mean, where's a surveillance camera when you need one? Finally a patrol car drives up. The cops get out, they're staring at us. We're chained, we're shivering, we're in our underwear. Julian and Theo looking at each other, reliving this moment. JULIAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- laughing. -RRB- Cop says, `` What are you doing?'' And you say, `` Protesting.'' Cop says `` Come back tomorrow.'' And I said, `` Why?'' Cop says - THEO `` It's Columbus Day.'' JULIAN Yeah. -LRB- and. -RRB- A week later we ran off and got married. MIRIAM Married! THEO And six months later we ran off and got divorced. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Julian was used to giving herself to the masses. JULIAN -LRB- amused. -RRB- You're really still there, eh? Miriam spots something out the window. MIRIAM Look out! Through the windshield, up ahead : a BURNING CAR rolling down a hill, toward the road they're travelling on. Luke accelerates, the Multipla responds grudgingly. MIRIAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What are you doing?! LUKE We can make it! The Multipla gaining speed - The burning car careening down toward the road. It looks like they may beat it. THEO Go! But instead, Luke slams the brakes, screeching to a stop, just misses - ON THE ROAD - the burning car as it cuts them off and - SMASH! - crashes into a parked, abandoned vehicle. Flames rise from the car, blocking off the narrow Road. INSIDE THE MULTIPLA Tense silence. LUKE This is not good. Then : WAR CRIES. EMERGING FROM THE WOODS ZEDS. Faces painted, armed with stones, sticks and knives. The gang moves in a wave, like a tribe of hunters, running toward the car - INSIDE THE MULTIPLA CRACK! The first stone hits the window. JULIAN Go around! Instead, Luke throws the car into reverse, screeching the vehicle backwards. The Zeds race after the car. CRACK! Sticks and fists pounding, bodies piling on. Luke keeps the pedal to metal, screeching away in reverse, the last Zeds dropping off, giving chase, but ca n't catch up. A lone MOTORCYCLE emerges from behind the burning car, two riders in masks weaving through the running Zeds. It speeds towards the Multipla, gaining on them. INSIDE THE MULTIPLA Luke ca n't go any faster in reverse, the motorcycle closes in, alongside them now. The Zed on back, eyes visible for an instant through his black mask. The motorcycle drops back, riding now in front of the car and. Theo sees the Zed on back of the motorcycle straighten aiming a high - powered RIFLE. THEO He's got a gun - BAM! The bullet crashes through the windshield - Julian rocked by the impact, blood spraying. Everyone SCREAMING in terror and disbelief : VOICES -LRB- in car. -RRB- She's hit! She's hit! LUKE -LRB- screaming to Miriam. -RRB- Get Kee down! Miriam covers Kee with her own body. Theo moves to Julian She's been hit in the neck, bleeding badly. Her eyes are open, alive. Barely. MIRIAM Put pressure on the wound! THEO Godammit, godammit! MIRIAM Stop the bleeding! Use your hand! ROAD The motorcycle accelerates again, moving back alongside them. INSIDE THE MULTIPLA Theo sees the motorcycle approach, the Zed on back, pointing the gun at him, about to shoot and. He throws open his door - ROAD WHACK! Theo's car door SLAMS into the motorcycle. The bike wobbles. The driver trying to keep balance, but. The motorcycle tilts and falls, throwing the gunman into the grass, the driver bouncing across the pavement, leaving a lot of skin behind. INSIDE THE MULTIPLA Luke slows the car just enough to turn, spinning a 180, heading away from he ambush, finally driving forward. LUKE How is she? How's Julian? She's bleeding a lot. Theo holds her throat wound with both hands, trying to dam the blood with his fingers. THEO Hang on, Jules, hang on. Julian reaches toward her throat, grabbing one of Theo's hands. She squeezes it. Holding his hand tightly. Miriam rubs her palms together, laying healing hands onto Julian's head. Holding them there. MIRIAM She's making her transition. Julian's grip on Theo's hand loosens. She is dead. Everyone is silent. Then In the distance, SIRENS. THEO Jesus. A police caravan, two squad cars and a van, coming from the opposite direction. Luke plays it cool, maintaining his speed, as the caravan heads right toward them. The caravan flies past, heading toward the scene of the ambush. There's a moment of relief. Until - In Luke's rearview mirror : one of the police cars splits from the caravan, turning around, coming back. LUKE Jesus. Sirens screaming, the police car closing in. Luke is sweating. Neither slowing nor speeding up. KEE Go, go, go, go, go! MIRIAM You have to pull off! The Police are right on their tail. They have no choice. Luke eases the car to a stop. ROAD The police car skids to stop behind the Multipla. Two POLICE OFFICERS instantly out of their car, guns drawn : COP 1 Let's see your hands! COP 2 Your hands, let's see your hands! IN THE MULTIPLA Luke watches the two police officers approach. COP 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Get out of the vehicle! Miriam opens her door, Theo opens his, starts to get out. ROAD Luke swings his door open and stands. One hand raised in the air. LUKE We were attacked by Zeds - COP 1 Your hands! Luke pulls his other hand from the car - BAM! Luke's other hand is holding a gun, and he's shot the First Cop through the heart. Before the Second Cop can react, Luke swivels BAM! Luke gets off another shot. And the Second Cop crumples to the ground. but manages to fire a round - BAM! Luke finishes him off. The echo of the gunfire dissipates. Theo standing there. Looking at the two cops bleeding on the ground. Silence. KEE The fuck? LUKE Let's go. THEO -LRB- stunned. -RRB- What did you do? MIRIAM Let's go! Theo does n't move. Still reeling. Luke levels the gun at Theo. LUKE Let's go. Luke holding the gun on Theo. Theo glaring back at him. Miriam sees how close Luke is to pulling the trigger and. MIRIAM Luke! No! -LRB- firmly to Theo. -RRB- Get in. Now! Theo gets in the car. Luke hands the gun to Miriam.", "INT. MULTIPLA - DRIVING - DAY Luke driving off. All business, taking control. LUKE We'll need a new car. We have to get off the main roads - THEO You just killed two men. LUKE Had no choice. THEO No choice -? MIRIAM He's right. LUKE We need to find a safe house. Miriam reaches forward, brushes her hand over Julian's eyes, closing them. Theo looks at the blood on his hands.", "EXT. WOODS - DAY Theo carries Julian's body through the woods, Miriam following. He lays Julian down between two trees. Theo looks at Julian's pale, bloody corpse. A sensation begins to form : anguish. MIRIAM She's at peace. Theo turns to Miriam. She has tears in her eyes. THEO She's dead. MIRIAM All is well. She died for something she believed in. THEO She died for nothing! MIRIAM If that's what you choose to believe, Mr. Faron. Kee is waiting down the hill, next to the Multipla. KEE He's coming. HONK! HONK! An old Vauxhaul sedan pulling up. Luke at the wheel. Miriam and Kee start toward the car. Theo lingers, alone, in private grief, looking at Julian's body. Then he walks off, the satchel of money in his hand.", "INT. VAUXHAUL - DRIVING - NIGHT Cold rain beats steadily against the windshield. Theo sits in front, the wipers scraping shadows across his face. In the back, the shadows from the rain on the windows play on Miriam and Kee' faces, blending with their tears. Luke puts on the turn signal. Getting off the main road.", "EXT. MUDDY ROAD - CONTINUOUS The Vauxhaul struggling up a muddy, rutted road.", "INT. VAUXHAUL - NIGHT Luke honks three times. Through the windshield. the headlights illuminate an old farmhouse. Two men walk out the door. One of them holding a rifle. LUKE Tom and Ian. They're loyal Fishes.", "EXT. FARMHOUSE - CONTINUOUS The Vauxhaul parks in front of the stone farmhouse. Luke turns the car off. The two men approach. TOM -LRB- 58 -RRB-, strong, dark features, a farmer with the wrinkles and weathered skin that comes from working the soil. IAN -LRB- 40 -RRB-, shorter, fine features, small - town bureaucrat, the pale skin of a man who shuffles paper under fluorescent light. Tom holds a rifle, an AK 49, the next generation. IAN Everything's been taken care of. TOM It's an honor, sir. LUKE Hide the car, Tom. Do n't block it. We have to push - start it. TOM Yes, sir. LUKE -LRB- Re : Kee and Miriam. -RRB- This is Kee, this is Miriam. They'll need a place to wash up and rest. We need to convene. KEE How ` bout Julian's mate? IAN We'll watch him. LUKE He needs a scrub. Get him a clean shirt. Luke looks at the black satchel in Theo's hand. LUKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I believe that belongs to the Fishes. -LRB- off Theo's look. -RRB- Clearly you wo n't be fulfilling your part of the bargain. Luke holds cut his hand. A beat. Theo gives him the satchel. LUKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Tomorrow we'll give you a lift back to London.", "INT. BATHROOM - FARMHOUSE - NIGHT The bathroom is small, dank, unkept. Theo stands in front of the mirror after his shower. He wipes the mist off the mirror and looks at himself. Reflected in the mirror, he sees something on the wall behind him. He turns. AN OLD PHOTO. A weathered portrait from thirty years back, taken in front of the same farmhouse : a man, a woman. and their five chldren. All five kids hanging on a tire hung from a large tree. Testament to a world now gone.", "INT. BEDROOM - FARMHOUSE - NIGHT Theo walking out of the bathroom wearing a fresh shirt. Tom is seated in a chair, waiting, holding his rifle. TOM Shirt fit? THEO It's fine, thanks. TOM -LRB- proud. -RRB- We've got an important meeting going on. Fishes from all over the place. Beyond, through the window, a car driving up. Ian greeting the TWO MEN who step out. TOM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Luke sent this for you. Tom hands him a bottle of whiskey. Theo accepts it with the sad smile of someone aware he's being bought. THEO You thank him for me. Theo heads for the door. TOM If you're going out, take a coat. Catch a cold in this weather. Tom points to the coat rack. Theo crosses to it and glances through an open door into the next room : Luke is putting the black satchel in a closet.", "EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT The rain has stopped. Theo, wearing a long tweed coat, stands outside the farmhouse. He takes the first sip from the bottle. Tom catches up, rifle in hand. TOM I'm in charge of watching you. THEO You're doing a good job, Tom. Theo offers him the bottle. Tom shakes his head. TOM Alcohol is a tool of the government to numb the people. Theo takes another swallow THEO This your farm? TOM House is mine. and the cows. Consortium took the land They pay me shite. Theo notices the old tree. THEO That used to be a swing, right? A tire swing. TOM Yeh. A frayed rope dangles from a thick branch, moving with the breeze. A faint smile on Tom's face, a memory. TOM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Children's stuff. THEO Yeah, children's stuff. From a short distance, Miriam shouts to Theo : MIRIAM Mr. Faron, Kee would like a word with you. She's in the barn. -LRB- to Tom. -RRB- It's okay, Tom. I'll watch him. Theo gives a nod to Tom, then starts walking toward Miriam. TOM Mr. Faron? THEO Yeah? TOM You're from America? THEO Yeah. TOM I'm sorry about what happened there. THEO Thank you, Tom.", "INT. BARN - NIGHT Theo steps through the wooden door. Miriam stops at the threshold. MIRIAM I'll wait outside. Miriam closes the door. The old stone barn houses forty cows and industrial milking equipment. Theo spots Kee standing among the cows in the back. He starts toward her and. KEE You know they chop the poor cow's tits? They do - zzzt. Gone. Only leave four. To fit the machine. Why not make machines to fit the cow? Wacko, eh? He stops, a few yards from her now. THEO Something on your mind, Kee? KEE Julian said anything goes spooky, I could talk to you. Said to trust you. Said you'd get me out of England. THEO Sorry, Kee, it's out of my hands. You got plenty of friends, they'll take care of you. KEE But Julian said only trust you. THEO Yeah, well, Julian was wrong. Theo turns to leave. KEE You ca n't go. Kee begins to unbutton the front of her dress. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You ca n't leave me. THEO Do n't. KEE Got to help me. Theo wants no part of this. THEO -LRB- annoyed. -RRB- Do n't. Kee steps from behind the cow. Her arm covering her swollen breasts, her hand covering her panties. She's staring straight into his eyes. Theo is paralyzed at the sight of her naked form. The curve of her hip. Her hair dangling over her shoulders. Her taut belly. A million possibilities flash through his mind, but there can only be one explanation : Kee is pregnant. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- stunned. -RRB- Jesus Christ. And BAM! - The barn door behind Theo slams open. Luke walks in. Ian and Miriam hurrying in after him. LUKE What's going on here? Kee immediately retreats behind the cow, covering herself up. LUKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What is this then? Miriam steps forward. MIRIAM She wanted him to know. LUKE And who is she? Nobody authorized it. MIRIAM It's her body. Luke looks at Miriam. Seems to consider this. Then : LUKE We're meeting in five minutes. Luke turns an eaves.", "INT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT ON TV : Grainy footage of the Multipla approaching from the opposite direction, the windshield blasted out. The image is blurry. Then a series of FREEZE FRAMES : Kee, Luke, Miriam, Julian, and Theo. NEWSWOMAN'S VOICE Any citizens with information regarding the identity of these killers should report to the Ministry of Security immediately. Scrolling below the images : `` 20,000 pound reward for information leading to the arrest of each of these criminals.'' NEWSWOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Do not try and approach them directly : they are considered armed and extremely dangerous. Luke shuts off the TV with the remote and turns to the - assembly of the Five Fishes - about fifteen men, a few women - gathered in the musty living room. Theo stands in back. LUKE This was broadcast an hour ago. It's only a matter of time before identifications are made. For the present, it's too dangerous to proceed with the original plan. Kee squeezes Miriam's hand. MIRIAM But Julian wanted her to go to Iceland. FISH 1 Not all of us agreed on that. LUKE It's too dangerous THEO -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- Make it public! Theo's uninvited opinion draws glares from around the room. FISH 2 She is public - She was on the telly! A dead cop! LUKE The Warden would never let the people know that an illegal became pregnant. He'd lock Kee up, take the child and parade an Englishwoman as the mother. -LRB- beat. -RRB- And a baby in the hands of the Warden would perpetuate the regime. MIRIAM That's why we must go to Iceland! FISH 4 Yes - The Human Project! They're all waiting for her. The scientists. LUKE It's too late for that. Our faces are on TV, we'd never be able to reach the coast. It was agreed that getting Kee to Iceland was the best choice, but the reality has changed. We will have to adapt to it : The baby will have to be born here. After the birth, when the time is right, we will show the country we can do what the government can not -. -LRB- pauses for effect. -RRB- Deliver. MIRIAM Julian said this should n't be about politics. He turns to Miriam. LUKE I loved Julian We'll follow the spirit of her thinking, but we must salvage what we can from an untenable situation. He looks out at the others. LUKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- We have all suffered under the tyrant's heel. Our brothers and sisters have been tortured, imprisoned, murdered, because their hearts burned with the flame of truth. It's this flame the Warden fears. It is this flame that spreads. We have been handed a torch in the form of a child. As the flame of truth obliterates darkness, so shall this new flame destroy the Warden and his regime! SHOUTS of `` Yes!'' ; `` He's right!'' LUKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- The Uprising is assured! More CHEERS from the crowd as they look to Luke, unified - the Fishes have found their new leader. Theo turns to Tom, standing beside him. THEO Quite a speech. TOM Luke spent some time at the pulpit. He was a minister. THEO A man of God.", "EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT Quiet. One light burns in the living room. Tom keeping guard at the door. The hum of a motorcycle in the distance, growing closer. Faintly, its HORN sounds three times.", "INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT Theo asleep, lying in a lower bunk. A CREAK. Past Theo's face, a FOOT descends the bunked ladder. Theo's eyes open : Fish 1 is covertly climbing down the ladder. He quietly joins Fish 2 who is freshly out of bed and is looking out the window. From outside, MUFFLED VOICES. The two Fish slip quickly out of the room. Theo gets up, moves to the window. Theo's POV : Two Zeds on a motorcycle. the driver straddling the bike, the rider slumped over, clinging to him. Theo recognizes the driver : Patric. Cut, bloody, clothes torn, soaked to the bone. Patric is pleading with Luke and Ian. PATRIC quickly! quickly! He needs to be treated. Fish 1 and 2 -LRB- from Theo's room -RRB- join them. Ian motions toward the slumped figure. IAN Take him to the barn. FISH 1 Aye, sir. IAN Stay on high alert. Luke, Ian and Patric head toward the house, disappearing from Theo's view.", "INT. HALLWAY Theo's bare feet coming down the stairs. He stops when he sees Luke and Ian step into the front hall. IAN -LRB- to Tom. -RRB- You have a First - Aid kit - medicine? TOM Mostly for cows. IAN Hydrogen peroxide, bandages, clean towels, whatever you have, bring it to the barn. And for God's sake, hide that fucking motorcycle. Tom disappears into the bathroom. Luke, Patric, and Ian head into the kitchen and close the door. Theo starts down the stairs, toward the back door as. Tom steps out of the bathroom with an armful of medicine and supplies. No place to hide. Theo backs against the wall, waiting for Tom to pass. Tom walks out the front door.", "EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT Theo steps out the back door. SQUISH! Theo's expression his socks are soaked in the cold mud. He sloshes quietly alongside the farmhouse, no coat, shivering in the cold. He reaches the kitchen window and sees : Luke pacing, Patric in a chair, Ian leaning on the table. LUKE What were you thinking? You realize you put the whole mission in jeopardy? PATRIC What was I supposed to do? You saw how he was! Bloody piece of pulp. And all the fuckn' police coming. We had to hide in the woods for hours! LUKE You should n't have come! PATRIC But he's my cousin! I do n't know what's wrong, I think he's all broken inside, I'm telling you, he needs a doctor. LUKE -LRB- softens. -RRB- Do n't worry, we'll take care of him. PATRIC Where's the American Bastard? I'm goinq to kill him! LUKE You can do that, but tomorrow - after we move `` the girl. Theo has seen enough. He moves away from the window, sloshing back along the side of the house.", "INT. FARMHOUSE - HALLWAY - NIGHT Theo walks stealthily down the hallway. Stops at the door to a room. Checks to make sure it's safe, then enters :", "INT. ANOTHER BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS Miriam sits up in bed. MIRIAM What do you want? THEO Shhhh. Kee awakening - KEE What's going on'? THEO Luke killed Julian MIRIAM Ballocks. THEO That was Patric on the motorcycle. I'm getting the hell out of here. I suggest you come with me. The two women exchange a look. But do n't move. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Suit yourselves. Theo walks back out the door. The two women, looking at each other, unsure.", "INT./EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT Theo dons the tweed overcoat, looks out the side door : There's a row of six cars parked in front of him. Two Fishes standing nearby. Activity in the barn. Theo steps out the door. SQUISH! Theo's expression - he forgot to get his shoes. He continues, moving quietly to the car in front of him. He opens the door. INSIDE THE FIRST CAR Through the windshield, Theo sees the Fishes up ahead. He reaches down to the hood release - POOK! The hood pops open. The Fishes do n't hear it. OUTSIDE THE FIRST CAR Theo squatting, sneaking around to the front of the vehicle. Lifting the hood quietly. Reaching in. YANKING OUT the distributor cap. He gently lets the hood down. INSIDE THE SECOND CAR Theo repeating the operation. Reaching for the hood latch, when : Fish 2 returns from the barn, on a beeline for the car. His hands and coat stained with blood. Theo hunches on the car floor. FISH 2 -LRB- to the nearby Fishes. -RRB- Shite, he looks bloody awful. Fish 2 reaches in the car, just above Theo's head, feeling for : a pack of cigarettes on the dash. FISH 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- His bones are sticking out, no skin, no way to hold the blood in. Fish 2 snags the cigarettes, walks off. Theo watches them recede, then tugs the hood release. FOOK! OUTSIDE THE SIXTH CAR Theo has the hood up on the last car, he slips the distributor cap in his coat pocket, eases the hood down, glances over at. THE FARMHOUSE - NIGHT Two Fish are turned away, standing near the front door, trying to stay alert, trying to stay warm. THEO backs away from the car and. A HAND reaches for his shoulder. He jumps - spins o see Miriam and Kee. His reflex causing Miriam to GASP and. THE FARMHOUSE - NIGHT One of the two Fish standing guard turns toward them. THEO gestures down! And Miriam and Kee duck below the fender. Theo's pissed off. THEO -LRB- low. -RRB- Shit. O.S., the sound of FOOTSTEPS approaching. The FOOTSTEPS stop. A beat. Then the FOOTSTEPS recede. Theo inches back up, looking over the fender to see.", "EXT. FARMHOUSE NIGHT The two Fishes are near the front door again, turned away. THEO Okay. Let's go. And Theo leads Kee and Miriam to the Vauxhaul, the first car parked in the row. Quietly opens the back door for Kee. She slips in, while Miriam moves to the front passenger seat. They silently shut the doors without letting them latch. INSIDE THE VAUXHAUL MIRIAM Theo? Theo turns to her and. THEO Stay put. Keep quiet. Theo opens the door to leave. MIRIAM But - And he's gone.", "INT. FARMHOUSE - KITCHEN/HALLWAY - NIGHT Theo grabs a butcher knife off the kitchen table, he moves quickly and silently down the hall to Luke's room. Opens the bedroom door and moves toward the closet. WITH THEO CLOSE as the butcher knife slides between the door and door frame. The lock snaps and the closet door opens, revealing. THE SATCHEL OF MONEY. INSIDE THE VAUXHAUL The driver's door opens, Theo gets in and tosses the satchel down at Miriam's feet. MIRIAM You're risking our lives for that? He gives her a look and turns the key in the ignition and HARUMPH! After the first spark, the engine dies. Through the windshield : Two nearby Fishes REACT to the sputter. THEO -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Shit! Miriam stares at him, angry and scared. Theo tries again HARUMPH! Nothing. MIRIAM What happened? THEO Battery's dead. Through the windshield : the Fishes start walking to the car. FISH 6 Mark? Theo releases the brake and pushes in the clutch. The car starts rolling slowly down the steep, muddy road. In the direction of the approaching Fishes. THEO Shut the doors! Miriam and Kee and Theo pull their doors shut. Miriam hits a switch - FWICK! The car doors lock. FISH 6 Mark? TOP OF DRIVEWAY The Vauxhaul picking up a little speed, bouncing down the steep, rutted road, heading right at the Fishes. FISH 6 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- shouting the alarm. -RRB- Alert! Theo checks the speedometer : 5 mph. MIDDLE OF DRIVEWAY Fish 5 stands in the muddy track holding up his gun, pointing it at the oncoming car. FISH 5 STOP! The car still coming. Fish 5 about to shoot. HOUSE Luke steps out of the door LUKE NO! DO N'T SHOOT! MIDDLE OF DRIVEWAY Fish 5 looks confused, lowers his gun, the car still rolling toward them. He and Fish 6 try stopping the car with their hands, but the weight and momentum of the car is too much for them. They're forced to step aside. More Fishes come running from the barn. Patric tearing out of the house. LUKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- The girl's in the car! Do n't shoot! IAN Somebody get a car! MIDDLE OF DRIVEWAY Fish 5 and 6 chase down the slow - moving car, grabbing the doors, but they're locked. Fish 5 sticks his hand through the half - open window, trying to pull the car to a stop. INSIDE VAUXHAUL Kee punches the intruding hand, trying to break its grip, but Fish 5 hangs on. TOP OF DRIVEWAY More Fishes join the chase. So does Patric, running down the muddy road after the car. Two other Fish head for the row of parked cars. INSIDE VAUXHAUL Kee bites the intruding hand. Fish 5 yelps, releasing his grip, and the car gains momentum. Fish 6 slips down in the mud. TOP OF DRIVEWAY Fish 2 hops out of the second car. FISH 2 It wo n't start! INSIDE VAUXHAUL Theo turns : they now have some distance from their pursuers. He checks the speedometer - 10 mph. THEO Here we go. Theo shifts into second gear, releases the clutch : Ha - RUMPH! The car shudders, but does n't start. He tries it again - HA - RUMPH! No success. And the car slows, nearly stops. Kee looks out the back window : the Fishes are gaining. KEE They're coming! Theo puts in the clutch and the car starts rolling again. THEO -LRB- begging the car. -RRB- Go, go, go, go, go. The Fishes getting closer. Patric is racing full tilt, running faster than the rest. TOP OF DRIVEWAY At the row of cars, two Fishes push the second car, getting it rolling. As it picks up speed, the Fishes jump in, the momentum carrying them downhill. INSIDE VAUXHAUL They approach the end of the muddy track, one big ditch, right before it intersects the paved road. Speedometer : 9 mph. Theo shifts into second gear, about to release the clutch, when he turns to see : Patric has caught up, running even with the back bumper, gaining. MIDDLE OF DRIVEWAY The second car coming downhill picks up speed. INSIDE VAUXHAUL Theo ca n't afford to slow down, lets the car keep rolling. Patric catching up, keeping pace, focusing on Theo, raising a pistol. PATRIC -LRB- shouting. -RRB- Got a shot! Got a clean shot! Theo in disbelief, Patric running alongside, about to shoot him at close range, when Kee kicks open her door and - FWAK! Kee's door hits Patric's back, tripping him up, sending him tumbling, bouncing hard across the mud and rocks. The car headed right for the ditch - THEO Hold on -! BOTTOM OF DRIVEWAY The car crashes into the ditch, throwing up mud. The momentum carries the car through the ditch, flying up onto the paved road, where it bounces to a complete stop. INSIDE VAUXHAUL Theo looks back to see. BOTTOM OF DRIVEWAY The Fishes still running down toward them. The second car is coming fast, right behind the pursuing Fishes. PAVED ROAD Theo jumps out of the Vauxhaul. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- to Miriam. -RRB- You know how to push - start a car? Miriam slides over to the driver's seat. MIRIAM Just push! Push! Theo runs to the back of his car. He's wearing only socks. He starts pushing. As the car starts picking up a little speed - HA - RUMPH! Miriam releases the clutch. Stopping the car. THEO -LRB- annoyed. -RRB- Wait till it goes faster! Theo looks back : BOTTOM OF DRIVEWAY The Fishes part like the Red Sea, making way for the fast approaching second car. Fish 2 does n't get the message, still in front of the car. VOICES Move! Get off the road - Too late. The second car runs down Fish 2, just as it SMASHES into the ditch, the momentum carrying it to : PAVED ROAD The second car bounces to a stop. Not thirty yards from Theo. DOWN THE PAVED ROAD Theo is pushing for all he's worth. His socks are bloody. Gritting as he strains his broken finger. The Vauxhaul picking up speed. He turns to see : The Fishes have jumped out of the second car, running toward them, catching up. THEO -LRB- to Miriam. -RRB- Now! Now! The car shudders, the reluctant engine hesitating a moment, before - VA - ROOM! The engine finally roars to life. The Vauxhaul now pulling away from Theo. He turns : the Fishes are gaining. Miriam stops the Vauxhaul, ten yards ahead, Theo gasping, - trying to make it. One of the Fishes pulls out a gun, aiming. Kee looking out the back window. FISH 4 -LRB- seeing Kee. -RRB- Do n't shoot! Behind them, more fishes have reached the paved road, joining the chase. Theo reaches the car, the door swings open for him. INSIDE VAUXHAUL Theo jumps in. THEO Go, go, go, go! Miriam shifts it into gear, the car lurching forward. Through the back window we see the Fishes receding. MIRIAM Now what? Theo about to vomit, out of shape, out of breath - on the verge of complete collapse. THEO Just drive, damnit! Miriam floors it, then glances back at Kee. Kee looks pale, still worked up from the escape. MIRIAM -LRB- to Kee. -RRB- Breathe, Kee. Long deep breaths. Breaeethe. Breeeethe. Theo finally catching his breath. adrenaline dissipating. THEO -LRB- low. -RRB- Jesus Christ. Theo looks down at the satchel of money, then leans back in his seat. HOLD on Theo. as the car travels ON and ON. HOLD, HOLD, HOLD. then a flicker in his eye and. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- urgently. -RRB- Miriam! Get off the road! Pull into the woods! Miriam turns, confused. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Now! Miriam slows, pulling off onto the shoulder and.", "EXT. WOODED AREA the Vauxhaul rolls through a field and into the trees.", "INT. VAUXHAUL Theo reaches over and snaps off the headlights. THEO Leave it running. MIRIAM But - THEO Shh! And then we hear it. the ROAR of a MOTORCYCLE ENGINE growing closer. they watch through the windshield, as the motorcycle speeds down the road in the direction they were heading. A glimpse of two riders on the bike, Patric and another Fish. Miriam looks at Theo. MIRIAM Should we go back the other way? THEO Just give me a moment to think. Theo takes out his flask, takes a long pull. MIRIAM -LRB- re : Theo's drinking. -RRB- Right. -LRB- then. -RRB- We might try another safe house nearby. THEO The last one was real safe. I think we'll skip the Fishes, Miriam. MIRIAM If what you have said is true, and Luke pulled off a coup d'etat, there would still be others who are loyal to - THEO Wait, wait, wait : If what I say is true? -LRB- off Miriam's look. -RRB- Luke had Julian killed! MIRIAM We only have your word on that. But say it is true. then there was a coup d'etat - THEO What about all your pals waving guns at us, you only have my word on that too! MIRIAM They likely thought you were kidnapping Kee! THEO Why did n't you just stay with them! MIRIAM Where Kee goes, I go! KEE SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! They both turn around, looking at Kee. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm fuckin' cold and I'm fuckin' hungry and you two bitchin' ai n't getting us nowhere! We need to meet the boat, Miriam. MIRIAM I know, sweetie. THEO What boat? MIRIAM The Human Project sent a boat from Iceland - we're supposed to meet it tomorrow in Dover. THEO What is this nonsense about the Human Project and Iceland? MIRIAM Scientists from all over the world gathered in Reyjkavik to cure infertility. Kee could be their answer. THEO And they're all living next door to Jerry Garcia. KEE Jerry Gar -? MIRIAM -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- The Human Project is real. THEO Iceland is completely radioactive! MIRIAM That's the Warden's propaganda! He wants you to believe that he's the only choice. That everywhere else has failed. THEO Says who? KEE Says Julian And that stops Theo. Then, from the road, the SOUND of a motorcycle. They watch as the motorcycle speeds toward them. and continues on, back toward the farm. THEO Okay. Theo gets out of the car, walks around to the driver's side, opens the door and THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Scoot over. A beat. Then Miriam slides over. Theo starts the car, pulls out of the trees. MIRIAM If I may just be permitted to ask. Where are you taking us? THEO Do n't worry. I know a safe place.", "EXT. ROAD - DAY The Vauxhaul sails down a country road. We hear Miriam's Voice : `` Om Bhavan Namah. Om Bhavan Namah.'' Then Kee's voice joins in : `` Om Bhavan Narnah.'' THROUGH THE DRIVER SIDE WINDOW - MOVING Theo at the wheel, rolling his eyes in disbelief as the women continue chanting.", "EXT. SIDE OF THE ROAD - DAY The Vauxhaul pulls up and stops, Theo gets out, walks to he middle of the road, making sure no one is coming. Then he hurries to Jasper's fake hedge, lifting the bushes.", "EXT. WOODS - DAY The car approaches Jasper's house. MIRIAM You're certain we can trust this man? THEO Julian trusted him. That good enough for you?", "EXT. JASPER'S HOUSE - DAY The Vauxhaul stops in front of Jasper's home. Theo climbs out, goes to the front door and knocks. THEO Jasper. Hello? Theo opens the door -", "INT. JASPER'S HOUSE - steps inside. THEO Jasper? The house is a mess. Glasses and dirty plates, books left strewn around. He walks into : JASPER'S STUDIO From behind : Jasper on the sofa, his hand dangling lifelessly off the armrest. a bottle of pills spilled on the floor. On Theo's face, as he hesitantly approaches Jasper, walking around the couch. Jasper lays in peaceful repose, his long hair partially obscuring his face. A picture of Sandra in his hand. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- low. -RRB- No. Theo leans in closer. Pushes the hair out of Jasper's face, and. JASPER Huh? Theo jumps back and - THEO Fuck! JASPER Fuck you! The two men share a look - they've nearly scared each other to death. A hint of Jasper's old mischief flashes in his eyes. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Amigo. But it fades away, and Jasper breaks down, sobbing. Theo leans down and hugs his old friend. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I ca n't do it, Theo. There's no point without her. Kee and Miriam walk into the room. THEO Jasper. Meet Miriam. And Kee. Jasper turns, looking at Miriam and then at Kee - disbelief, recognition. awe.", "INT. JASPER'S HOUSE - DAY Jasper is at the stove, frying eggs. Energized. JASPER They're sending a boat? Jasper delivers Kee a plate of eggs. Past her, Theo is soaking his bruised and cut feet in a big pot. MIRIAM -LRB- nods. -RRB- Traveling under the guise of a fishing vessel. KEE `` The Tomorrow.'' MIRIAM We were to board at Dover, but instead, Theo brought us here and - THEO No one's going to Dover. We're fugitives. We'd be stopped at the first checkpoint. Miriam looks over at Theo, who is gingerly, painfully, adjusting his soaking feet. She offers the olive branch : MIRIAM -LRB- to Theo. -RRB- Would you allow me to try something? She approaches him and begins massaging his shoulders. THEO Um, Miriam, it's my problem. MIRIAM Pain is pain. It would help if you try and relax. This will get your healing energy flowing. Theo's expression : His energy is not flowing. JASPER -LRB- to Miriam. -RRB- Anywhere else you could possibly board the ship? THEO Do n't encourage them, Jasper. MIRIAM -LRB- ignoring Theo. -RRB- If we fail to board at Dover, it will stop at the last two weather buoys along the route : tomorrow off the coast of Windsmore and - THEO It's impossible to get within five miles of the coast without hitting a checkpoint. MIRIAM - the following day at Bexhill. THEO There you go - impossible! JASPER Theo, why are you so afraid of hope? THEO It's not hope I'm afraid of - it's bullets! JASPER Right. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Why do n't you have a drink while the rest of us sort this all out. All too willing to play the part of the drunk. THEO Do n't mind if I do. Theo lifts his feet from the water, dripping as he hobbles on his tender feet toward the liquor cabinet. Jasper unfolds a map on the table. JASPER It's too late for Windsmore - we would n't make it in time. MIRIAM But it's our only chance. We ca n't get into Bexhill. THEO -LRB- looking through the cabinet. -RRB- All you have is gin? JASPER -LRB- to Theo. -RRB- You polished off the scotch. MIRIAM -LRB- to Jasper. -RRB- Bexhill's a refugee camp. KEE Refugee camp, my sharries. A jeezey death camp, that. Theo unscrews the top to the gin. Pours himself a hearty shot. THEO Too bad you're not fewgees - that way you could get yourself rounded up and tossed in. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Then again, if you were fewgees, cops'd just as likely shoot you on the spot. MIRIAM -LRB- to Theo. -RRB- Could you please -? JASPER -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- Brilliant! They all turn to Jasper. He's so thrilled by whatever he's thinking that he ca n't keep still. He grabs his coat, turns back to Kee. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Kee, your baby is the miracle the whole world has been praying for! Hallelujah, hosanna, shanti, shanti, shanti! The old man starts for the door. THEO Where the hell you going? JASPER Wo n't be a tick. -LRB- to Kee. -RRB-. -RRB- You rest. With any luck, you'll need all your energy. They all watch as Jasper goes out the door. Theo downs his gin, looks up to see the women staring at him. THEO Anybody care to join me?", "INT. JASPER'S BEDROOM - LATER A battered foot inches into one of Jasper's loafers. Theo, sitting on the bed, grimaces trying to squeeze his feet in the shoes which are two sizes too small. THEO -LRB- low. -RRB- Ow. He gives up, rummages through the closet and comes up with a pair of flip - flops. He slips his feet into them. The flipflops are also two sizes too small, but they'll have to do. He walks gingerly out of the room, his flip - flops slapping against the floor.", "INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY Theo reaches for the bottle of gin, pours another drink. He glances out the window : Miriam is outside, doing Thai - Chi exercises. KEE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- She doin' her craze? Theo turns. Kee is stretched out on the couch, her belly is exposed and propped on a pillow. A fire blazing behind her. THEO She's doin' something. KEE She smited me with that. Said it was good for my baby. Theo grumbles, starts to take a swallow of gin but. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- She look posh to you? Or gawky? Theo lowers the drink. Outside, Miriam is standing on one foot, suspending her other leg in the air, trying to keep her balance. THEO She looks earnest. Theo turns. Kee's beautiful belly in the soft light of the fire. He's about to sip from his glass, but stops. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- How long have. how many months -? KEE Eight. -LRB- off his look. -RRB- Takes nine months. THEO Right. A beat. Silence. KEE -LRB- sharp. -RRB- Father? That what you wan na know? THEO Uh - huh. KEE Whiffet. I'm a virgin. THEO Huh? KEE Cha, be wicked, eh? Theo smiles. THEO That it would. KEE Fuck knows. Omar. Sammy. Phil. Do n't recall most of the wanker's names. Did some for quid, some for drugs. Some. Fuck knows, I was bored, horny. You know the cock'n bull. Theo clears his throat, has got the general idea, still holding his glass, not drinking. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- When I started puking, thought I catch the pest. And I think - `` bitch, you are whoppingly fucked.'' But then my belly start gettin' big, and I think, `` this is no big fart stuck in my belly!'' No, this fuckin' spooky. Never seen a pregnant woman. Nobody ever told me these things. But I knew. Got a baby in me tummy. Cheedo, eh? THEO Uh - huh. KEE Felt like a freak. Embarrassed. Afraid. Did n't tell nobody. I thought about that Quietus thing. ` Sposed to be suave. Pretty music and all that. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Then the baby kicked. She breaks into a big smile, her mood now bright. Through the window, Theo sees Jasper's car pulling up. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Little bastard was alive. Me Too! I was alive. -LRB- then. -RRB- Did n't know what to do. Talked to me best girl, she knew the Fishes. Told me they would help me. I met Julian. She was suave. Outside, Jasper is excited, says something to Miriam who follows him toward the porch. THEO She was suave. The door flies open and Jasper hurries into the room. He grabs Theo and kisses him on both cheeks. JASPER You're a genius, Theo! THEO Now I'm a genius? JASPER -LRB- to Kee. -RRB- You're going to Iceland tomorrow! Cheedo, eh? KEE How? JASPER Just like Theo said - we get ourselves arrested! THEO Oh, Jesus! JASPER Syd, the border cop I sell to. he's agreed to get us in. Theo GROANS. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Nicely ironic, is n't it? Breaking into a prison. -LRB- points to a spot on his map. -RRB- We'll meet him in Rye, tomorrow afternoon. -LRB- to Theo. -RRB- By the way, I'll need four thousand quid from your little black bag. THEO Excuse me? JASPER Syd's fee for getting us in, I'm afraid. Theo just stares at him. Then. THEO We'll never make it. Jasper takes this in, nods soberly. JASPER Perhaps. But I'd like to think we would. He hobbles out of the room.", "EXT. JASPER'S HOUSE - DUSK The woods past Jasper's home becoming dark, shadowy shapes as the last rays of daylight fade. Smoke wafts from Jasper's stone chimney. THROUGH THE WINDOW : Miriam sitting on the couch by the fire. Kee by the kitchen where Jasper is making tea. THROUGH A SECOND WINDOW : Theo alone in the hallway.", "INT. JASPER'S HOUSE - HALL/LIVING ROOM - DUSK examining the tweed overcoat he took from the farm. It does n't have a lining. He tosses it on a chair and rifles through the other coats in Jasper's closet. He pulls out a navy pea coat, checks the lining and measures it for size. Past him, in the living room, Miriam has joined Kee who is inspecting Jasper's wall of photographs. Jasper walks up to - them with the tea. KEE How long have you known Theo? JASPER Met in him oh eight. The three of them looking at the wall of photographs. MIRIAM Was he the same tosser back then? JASPER A different kind of tosser. Jasper's eyes fall on the photo of Theo and Julian JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- He claimed to have fled America because of the Patriot Act witch hunts that were going on at the time. But it was obvious he came to Pembroke for Julian Theo calls out from across the hallway. THEO Can I have this? -LRB- re : peacoat. -RRB- JASPER Be my guest. Theo crosses to the table in the corner of the living room and begins to rip out the seam of the coat lining. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- back to the girls. -RRB- Theo was reading P.P.E. -LRB- off Kee's look. -RRB- Politics, Philosophy, Economics. Miriam and Kee look at a photo of Theo in his robe on the Pembroke campus. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- He wrote this amazing paper. `` The ripple effect of class and racial prejudice on the low - income worker.'' He was gifted. But he chose to drown his talent in single malt Scotch. Miriam glances at Theo, who is absorbed with his work on the pea coat, ripping open the lining. KEE Because of Julian? JASPER Perhaps. She was a good excuse. But it would have happened anyway. Everyone gave up. -LRB- off Kee's look. -RRB- Not right away - in the beginning, most of us held on. Things changed slowly. Despair grew as the noise from the playgrounds faded. He looks at Sandra's photo of a pair of young girls gathering shells on the beach. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Very odd, what happens in a world without children's voices. Theo is busy stuffing his money under the pea coat's lining.", "EXT. BEACH - DAY A glistening blue wave, rolling luxuriously toward the beach. The wave slowly ebbs. and we become aware of a figure lying in the sand. perhaps asleep. Empty liquor bottles poke up from the sand. Another frothy wave rolls in, just reaching the still, prone figure, his back to us. Past him, a woman is hurrying out of the surf, her shorts and top soaked. She's smiling, lifts a beach ball from the sand And we can make out, now, that it's Sandra. SANDRA Hey. rebel with a lost cause - And she tosses the beach ball playfully at the prone figure. Then, oddly she starts singing. SANDRA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- singing. -RRB- London calling to the faraway towns / Now that war is declared - and battle come down / London calling to the underworld / Come out of the cupboard, all you boys and girls - The figure slowly turns over, and we see that it is Theo. He looks hung over, confused. He squints up at Sandra, into the blinding daylight.", "INT. JASPER'S HOUSE - NIGHT Theo opens his eyes. Jasper is shaking him awake. The driving beat of the Clash's `` London Calling'' louder now. JASPER Theo. wake up. THEO Wha - what? Theo looks around, getting his bearings. The MUSIC is some sort of alarm.", "INT. GREENHOUSE - DAYBREAK Dark. The door flies open and Jasper and Theo rush in. Miriam a few feet behind them. Theo and Jasper stare at a bank of video monitors. MIRIAM What is it? ON THE SCREEN, the vague infrared image of a car pulling up to the perimeter of Jasper's property. Then, a second car. Both cars rolling slowly forward with their headlights off. The first car stops. The passenger door opens, and a man gets out and stares at the fake bushes that obscure the road to Jasper's home. The man gazes upward. it's Luke. THEO Shit. Jasper turns to a second monitor : More Fishes piling out of the two cars. Patric and Ian join Luke and have a discussion. Luke gestures toward Jasper's fake bushes.", "EXT. JASPER'S HOUSE - DAYBREAK Jasper is behind the wheel of the Vauxhaul. Theo, at the back of the car, pushing it down the drive. The Vauxhaul gains momentum and Jasper pops the clutch. The car shutters, then - VA - ROOM! Theo breathes a little easier. Miriam and Kee hurry out the door of the house. Theo swings Open the passenger door for them. Jasper gets out of the car and. JASPER -LRB- to Theo. -RRB- You drive. Jasper removes a fake hedge from the back of his yard. Behind the hedge : a path through the woods. Theo slides behind the wheel, pulls onto the path. From the other direction, the SOUND of cars approaching. THEO Jasper! C'mon! Jasper rushes to the passenger's side door. He passes Theo his backpack through the open window. JASPER Follow this path to the main road. Then make a right and follow the map I gave Miriam. THEO What are you talking about? Get in. JASPER Wait for Syd on Watchbell Street - in Rye. He'll find you. Just give him the money and do as he says. THEO Get in! Jasper shakes his head no. JASPER I'm not going, Theo. Jasper's tone is matter - of - fact. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You'll need time. This way I can stall them. It's the best plan, amigo. Theo leaps out of the car, hustles up to Jasper. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'll convince them you went off toward Windsmore. THEO Get in the car! Theo tries to grab him but the old man ducks away. JASPER Theo, you'll get us all killed! You know I'm right! The RUMBLE OF the Fishes' cars growing closer. JASPER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I've talked myself out of worse. Miriam pokes her head out the window. MIRIAM Hurry! Again Theo lunges and again Jasper dodges, but now Theo gets him by the arm. JASPER `` The only reason we breathe is to make a difference.'' Your words - not mine. Theo is lost. He loosens his grip. Jasper backs away. He replaces the fake hedge behind the Vauxhaul, blocking the view of the car and the trail. WITH THEO Grim expression on his face as he gets into the Vauxhaul. Pulls out onto the trail.", "INT. VAUXHAUL - DAYBREAK The Vauxhaul climbs the slope, following the trail, and is soon obscured by the trees. JASPER'S HOUSE - DAY Jasper enters the living room. He flicks on the stereo, cranks the volume, BLASTING `` Ruby Tuesday. He sits down in his chair facing his wall of photos, his eyes on one of Sandra. Through the windows - the dark shape of the Fishes' car.", "INT. VAUXHAUL - DAYBREAK Theo at the wheel. Miriam and Kee in back. Theo's face is set as the car winds up a steep path through the woods, emerging out on the.", "EXT. HILLTOP - DAYBREAK hilltop. Theo stops at the top of the hill. He gets out of the car, hurries to the edge of the ridge. In the distance he can see Jasper's home. A couple of Fishes stand outside the door. Jasper between them, seems to be calmly deflecting their questions. From here, they look slightly larger than black dots. Then, Patric hurries out the door, holding the tweed overcoat Theo took from the farmhouse. He shoves Jasper now, shouting questions. The Fishes circling Jasper ; someone pushes him roughly to the ground. One of the Fishes pulls a revolver, and we hear the flat POP of a gunshot. They shoot Jasper in the foot. He crumbles in pain. They continue to question him. Unhappy with Jasper's answers, they shoot him again, in the hand this time. Theo watches helplessly, the ordeal tearing his heart out. Patric lifts Jasper from the ground and the old man appears to break, yelling out and pointing down the road. The Fishes seem satisfied. Luke moves in, takes the pistol from one of the others and aims it at Jasper's heart. POP. and it's over. Theo stares.", "INT. VAUXHAUL - DAYBREAK Theo slides in, looks at Miriam and Kee. KEE Jasper? Theo does n't respond. MIRIAM Where's Jasper? A long beat, then Theo releases the brake. MIRIAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Theo. Jasper? Theo answers with a look. Not another word. Theo puts it in gear, floors the accelerator. The Vauxhaul bounces through the woods, out onto. AN ABANDONED COUNTRY ROAD. and speeds down the wide, deserted road, toward Rye.", "INT. VAUXHAUL - DAYBREAK Theo staring silently and darkly out the windshield. Miriam and Kee consumed by grief. Shadows from the muddy windshield pass over their faces like tears.", "EXT. RYE - DAY The Vauxhaul putters down the empty streets of the - ghost town suburb. Turns left, down a narrow street. THE SUN A bright orb high in the sky. Cicadas DRONING. THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD Part of a windshield wiper. past it, the sky. A bee buzzes, banging against the glass. THEO in the driver's seat, waking up. He's alone in the car. He watches the bee beating its head against the windshield, trying to get out.", "EXT. ABANDONED SUBURB - DAY WIDE as the car door opens and Theo gets out, looks around at a vast, empty suburb. Handsome homes with overgrown yards stretch out as far as the eye can see. Theo stares out at the empty streets, empty yards. It's eerily quiet. Miriam and Kee are nowhere to be seen. Christmas decorations adorn the overgrown lawn of the nearest house : gnomes and giant mushrooms and lawn elves. The front door is missing. Inside, a flash of movement.", "EXT. TWO-STORY HOUSE - DAY Theo steps up on the porch of the door - less, two - story home and peers inside.", "INT. HOUSE - SAME Dust particles in the sunlight. The house looks untouched. large rooms full of dusty furniture. Paintings on the walls. Apparently once the home of the well - to - do. Theo walks inside. spots Miriam in the kitchen, snooping around. He watches as she PINGS various pots and pans that are hanging from a rack. She turns on the faucets, nothing comes out. Theo looks around the empty living room in silence.", "EXT. PORCH Theo steps out on the porch. He sees Kee by the side of the house, walking across an overgrown lawn toward a wooden fence. She seem drawn to something. a child's swing. Kee slips though a hole in the fence and walks over to it and sits. FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING. it's Miriam. She joins Theo. MIRIAM Three o'clock. He should be here in half an hour. Theo is still looking at Kee in the swing. Miriam follows his gaze. both of them looking at Kee : a picture of innocence. MIRIAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I was 27, a midwife in the maternity department of the John Radcliffe. I was doing a stint in the antenatal clinic. Three of my patients miscarried in the same week. The mothers were in their fifth and sixth month. We were able to save two of the poor babies. The following week we had five more miscarriages. Then, the miscarriages began to occur earlier. Kee gets out of the swing, walk behind a tree. Theo averts his eyes as she squats to pee. MIRIAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I remember booking a patient for her next appointment and noticing that the page seven months ahead was blank. Women usually booked after they'd missed a second period, some as soon as they missed one. But there it was - Not a single name. -LRB- turns to Theo. -RRB- You can relax. She's finished. Kee is approaching them now. Miriam looks back at the child's swing, still swaying slightly. MIRIAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I thought, what's happening to the women in this city? So I rang a friend who was working at Queen Charlotte's. She did n't have any new pregnancies either. She then telephoned her sister in Sydney. It was the same there. Behind them, moving down the street on a distant slope, unnoticed, some sort of vehicle approaches. MIRIAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I often wonder if I was one of the first to know. I was there at the end. -LRB- looks at Kee. -RRB- Now I shall be there at the beginning. Theo notices the vehicle now - a Humvee - intermittently visible past the homes. Miriam turns, Kee looks up. They all watch as the Humvee moves ominously closer. THEO Let's hope Syd's in the habit of showing up early. And he leads them out onto the street, into the open. KEE So it's him then? MIRIAM Who else would it be? Miriam raising her hand to wave. Apparently the driver sees them - because the vehicle speeds up. They watch in silence as the Humvee races down the street toward them. The Humvee is almost on them when. TAT! TAT! TAT! TAT! TAT! - as the remote machine gun on the cab swivels - Bullets sail over their heads. THEO Fuck! To the house! Theo grabs Kee's hand, pulls her toward the house and. VOICE -LRB- SPEAKER. -RRB- Stop! And TAT! TAT! TAT! Shingles fly from the roof of the home behind them. VOICE -LRB- SPEAKER ; CONT'D. -RRB- Or I'll shoot to kill! Theo, Kee and Miriam freeze. They turn toward the Humvee. but ca n't see through the tinted windows. VOICE -LRB- SPEAKER ; CONT'D. -RRB- Hands where I can see them! Get down on the ground! MIRIAM We're looking for Syd! VOICE -LRB- SPEAKER. -RRB- ON THE GROUND! KEE Jasper told us to come! A beat, then. VOICE -LRB- SPEAKER. -RRB- You have something for Syd? Theo holds up Jasper's backpack. The tinted driver's window lowers. VOICE -LRB- SPEAKER ; CONT'D. -RRB- Toss it inside! Theo tosses the backpack through the open window. The window rolls back up. Theo, Miriam and Kee, exchange looks. The window rolls down. A BORDER COP leans out, smiles. BORDER COP/SYD -LRB- extends his hand. -RRB- Say hi to Syd.", "EXT. ROAD - DAY A Humvee moving along a muddy road.", "INT. HUMVEE - DAY Syd is behind the wheel, smoking a cigarette. Mid - 50's, stout, lifelong cop. He loves his mother but would sell her for the right price. SYD Wiggy old bastard. So proud of his weed. Always asking more than it was worth. Theo, Kee and Miriam sit in back, behind a metal mesh divider. SYD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Could get the same shit - way cheaper - from the Zeds, but Syd likes buying from him. Straight chap, a true gentleman. God bless him. Kee MOANS with sudden pain. She shoots a look of alarm at Miriam. SYD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What's with the Zed? She sick? MIRIAM Nothing. Miriam takes Kee's hand, reassuring. SYD She's not going to puke, is she? Ca n't wash out puke. Smell never goes away. MIRIAM She's fine. The Humvee rolls alongside a cyclone fence topped with a swirl of razor wire. SYD Usually it's people trying to get out of Bexhill, not in. Syd does n't know why you want to get in, Syd does n't wan na know, Syd does n't care. Theo and the others look past the fence : two miles away, the sad town of Bexhill. Beyond that, the sea. SYD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- When they release you, stroll out with the rest of the detainees. You'll see a statue of a soldier. There you'll meet Marichka. She's an Arab, gypsy or something, always has an annoying piece'a shite little dog with her. She'll arrange fine accommodations for the night. Through the windshield, up ahead, a gate in the outer fence. A pair of Immigration Control buses waits next to a small outcrop of buildings. Syd glances back at his passengers. SYD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You're fewgees now. So show Syd a big sad face, come on, let's see them. -LRB- shows them a sad face. -RRB- C'mon, sad fewgee face. And do n't speak English. No such thing as an English fewgee. Syd pulls to an abrupt stop outside the gate. SYD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It's been Syd's privilege to serve you.", "EXT. GATE IN THE OUTER FENCE - DAY Syd gets out of the Humvee, addresses the DOZEN SOLDIERS who are waiting near the buses, finishing their smokes.", "INT. HUMVEE - CONTINUOUS Theo looks at Kee with concern. Kee suddenly doubles over, reacting to a sharp pain. THEO What's wrong with her? MIRIAM She had a contraction. It's normal. Probably from the exertion. Syd YANKS the doors open. SYD All right, fewgees. Out! Move!", "EXT. ROAD -- CONTINUOUS Theo slides out of the Humvee, helping Kee down, Miriam following. Walking to the `` IMMIGRATION CONTROL'' bus - an old school bus, painted over black, bars on the windows. SYD Go on, get in.", "INT. IMMIGRATION CONTROL BUS - DAY The steel cage door opens and the trio climbs on board. They make their way down the aisle, looking for a seat. Forlorn, malnourished, desperate, trapped faces of captured refugees stare back at them. The bus lurches forward. Kee MOANS as she's rocked by the sudden jolt. Miriam steadies her, finds her an empty seat. MIRIAM Here. She helps Kee into a seat and sits next to her. Theo sits across the aisle. Theo feels a tug on his shirt. He turns : it's a withered old COUPLE, filthy, pitiful, hungry. The Old Woman puts her fingers to her mouth, pleading for food, utters a few words in German. Theo turns away, staring out the window.", "EXT. ROAD - DUSK The bus traveling down the road - approaching Bexhill.", "INT. IMMIGRATION CONTROL BUS - DUSK Theo looking out at the ghetto - city. He turns to Miriam. THEO What time are we supposed to meet the boat? MIRIAM Sunset - Tomorrow. THEO How can we be sure Luke has n't diverted the boat back to Iceland? MIRIAM -LRB- shakes her head. -RRB- Luke has no way to contact the Human Project. Nor does anyone else. This seems to satisfy him for a moment. then. THEO Come again? MIRIAM Communication with the Human Project is done through mirrors. Julian was one of the mirrors. THEO You lost me, Miriam. MIRIAM Mirrors. Someone contacts one of our cells. That cell contacts another and so on. down the line until word reaches Julian and Luke. Theo lets this all sink in. THEO You mean you never actually talked to any of them? Like a game of telephone? KEE Uhh! Kee reacts to a shooting pain. THEO -LRB- low, to Miriam. -RRB- Do n't fucking tell me you never even talked to them! But Miriam is focused on Kee, who doubles over as her contraction peaks. KEE Uhhh! Other refugees turn. Theo realizes Kee is drawing attention. THEO -LRB- whispers to Miriam. -RRB- You sure this is normal? MIRIAM -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Should n't be this frequent. She's only in her eighth month. -LRB- to Kee. -RRB- Breathe through them. Just breathe. KEE Ca n't fuckin' breathe - Theo looks outside : the bus stops at a CHECKPOINT illuminated with spotlights. One bus already ahead of them. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Miriam. I'm all wet. Water drips down her leg, forming a tint puddle on the floor. MIRIAM Her water broke. This baby's coming. THEO She ca n't have the baby now. MIRIAM -LRB- glares at Theo. -RRB- You want to tell that to the baby? Kee reacts to the beginning of a new contraction. KEE -LRB- gritting. -RRB- Uhhh. MIRIAM Just breathe, sweetie. Breathe in. breathe out. Everything is perfect. Remember, the knowledge or all women who've ever given birth is with us. -LRB- to Theo. -RRB- How long until we're there? THEO They're checking a bus ahead of us.", "EXT. CHECKPOINT - CONTINUOUS Theo's bus is stopped behind another bus. The checkpoint is wired off with steel fence, trimmed with razor wire. From the bus in front, Police violently yank off three black refugees, vicious dogs barking at them.", "INT. IMMIGRATION CONTROL BUS - CONTINUOUS Kee breathing through a contraction. MIRIAM What's going on? THEO I do n't know. Theo looks out the window and sees Police forcing the black refugees to their knees. Dogs barking. Refugees pleading. One of the Police hits a refugee with a rifle butt - the man collapses. Another Police Officer kicks the fallen victim. INSIDE The overhead lights flick ON, shine harshly on the passengers. Kee is still breathing through her contraction. Two POLICE OFFICERS enter the bus, one holding a guard dog on a leash. They walk slowly down the aisle, checking the faces of refugees. A couple of refugees react to Kee's labored breathing, looking back at her. Theo and Miriam turn to Kee, concerned. MIRIAM Shhh. The 1ST POLICE OFFICER glares at a REFUGEE, who averts his eyes. 1ST POLICE OFFICER Look up! -LRB- no response from refugee. -RRB- Look up, you piece of shite! The 1st Police Officer pulls the refugee up by his hair. 1ST POLICE OFFICER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Out! REFUGEE -LRB- pleading. -RRB- Pieta', pieta', no, no, no, ti prego, un po' id compassione. The 1st Police Officer keeps walking. The 2ND POLICE OFFICER drags the Refugee to the front of the bus, pushing him out the door. Now, the guard dog starts BARKING. Theo, Miriam and Kee tense, as the dog pulls the 1st Police Officer forward. The dog stops in front of Kee, BARKING at her, smelling something it has never smelled before. The 1st Police Officer scrutinizes Kee : she is breathing hard, Clutching the seat in front of her, looking at the floor, in the middle of a contraction. 1ST POLICE OFFICER -LRB- to Miriam. -RRB- What's wrong with her? Miriam frozen with fear. The dog barking. The Officer hands the dog's leash to his partner and steps closer. 1ST POLICE OFFICER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- angry. -RRB- I said, what's wrong with her? The Police Officer grabs Kee's hair, twisting her face toward him. Kee's eyes wide, wet, terrified. Miriam springs up. MIRIAM -LRB- shakes her head no. -RRB- Rien! Rien! The Police Officer lets go of Kee. Theo watches but there's nothing he can do as the cop turns his attention to Miriam. 1ST POLICE OFFICER Sit down before I slap you down. Miriam holds her ground. MIRIAM Elle est bien! S'est necessaire que elle dorme. Laisse elle tranquille! The cop stares at her a moment. 1ST POLICE OFFICER Are you French? Fran - say? MIRIAM Oui! Laisse elle tranquille! S'il vous plait! 1ST POLICE OFFICER -LRB- to his partner. -RRB- A Fuckin' Frog, Teddy. The 2nd Officer approaches. The 1st cop tuns back to Kee. 1ST POLICE OFFICER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You. Get up! Theo's mind is racing as the cop reaches for Kee and. THEO -LRB- with an accent. -RRB- Caca! The Police Officer turns to Theo. 1ST POLICE OFFICER What? THEO Cacao Caca, piss. Theo points to the floor. The Police Officer sees the puddle. Does n't want to get his shoes dirty. Steps back away from Kee. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Caca, piss, girl, big mess. Smell! The Police Officer recoils. 1ST POLICE OFFICER Smell it yourself. Jesus almighty! A beat and the cop turns away disgusted, starts off, then turns to his partner, seems to have just remembered Miriam and. 1ST POLICE OFFICER Get the French monkey outta my sight! And the second cop grabs Miriam by the hair - THEO -LRB- under his breath. -RRB- No. Miriam, shoots a parting look at Kee as she takes the bullet, does n't resist as the cop drags her out the door of the bus. Theo and Kee watch in shock. The doors close, the bus jerks forward. Theo looks out the back window and sees Miriam, standing with the rest of the detained refugees. In the b.g., a second bus waits. KEE What's going to happen to Miriam? THEO I do n't know. The image of Miriam receding as the bus pulls away.", "EXT. BEXHILL - GATE - DUSK The bus pulls up Too the BEXHILL FENCE - the high steel fence that walls off the prison city. Hopeless faces peer out through the gaps. The bus doors open. Refugees pile out, guard dogs nipping at their heels. Theo helps Kee down. Chaos. Guards wield nightsticks, herding the group through the final gate into.", "EXT. RUINED SQUARE - CONTINUOUS Bexhill. Theo and Kee look around, disoriented, lost. surrounded by a teeming mass of humanity. Hustlers and touts rush the fresh arrivals SHOUTING at them in a myriad of languages, aggressively looking for easy scores. A TOUT wearing glasses with a cracked lens moves in front of Kee. TOUT -LRB- Norwegian accent. -RRB- You need a room? Room? Kee and Theo ignore him, pushing past. but he's suddenly in her face again. TOUT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Nice room for you! THEO Fuck off! Theo leads Kee through the cacophony of strange sounds, smells. Kee suddenly stops, doubles over - a new contraction. The flow of refugees keeps pushing behind them, Kee trying to mask her pain, but. KEE BLOODY HELL! Theo holding Kee for support. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I ca n't stay here, Theo! Theo looks out at the crowd. A roiling sea of humanity. For a moment, Theo looks lost. THEO Just hang on He rip. into the crowd, moving past improvised tent - like structures. He spots a statue of a soldier, nearly hidden by a pile of debris. Theo circles the statue, a WWI soldier holding a bayonet rifle, charging. The plaque reads : `` The Lost Generation.'' YAP! YAP! A tiny runt dog nips at his heels, scaring the hell out of him. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Shit. Theo turns to see a WOMAN : olive skin, 40, the exhausted eyes of someone who accepts life's hardship as fate. She's learned when to duck. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Marichka?", "EXT. STREETS OF BEXHILL - NIGHT The rickshaw crosses through the dark streets. Theo and Kee in the back. MARICHKA in front, wrapped in an old wool coat. The dog on the handlebars, enjoying the breeze. Kee looks out at Bexhill. Remnants of the happy times : a sign for a fun house, what's left of the facade of the Bexhill Aquarium. Small, Jury - rigged plastic tents around the sidewalks. People warming their hands around scattered piles of burning rubbish, watching the passing rickshaw ; suspicion in their eyes. Theo notices graffiti spray - painted on the side of a building. the words `` The Uprising'' above a drawing of 5 fish lined up in a row. Before he can consider the implications. Kee is struck by another painful contraction. KEE -LRB- in pain. -RRB- FUCK! Kee doubles over. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You have to help me, Theo. THEO Sure, sure. We'll be fine. Kee grabs his hand, grips it tightly. Theo forces the most reassuring smile he can muster, then he looks away, and we see it on his face - fear.", "INT. STAIRWAY - BUILDING - NIGHT The dog hopping up the stairs, Marichka next, holding a butane lantern, leading them up the dark stairwell. Kee stops suddenly, holding herself against the wall, in pain. KEE FUCKING! LITTLE SHIT! BASTARD! THEO Breathe through it. KEE FUCK! THEO That's It! One more flight. Marichka starts prattling to them in Romanian -", "INT. BARE APARTMENT - NIGHT The door opens. The little dog scampers inside, uses a chair as a springboard, leaps onto the table and, through the broken window, yaps his presence to the dogs barking outside. Theo helps Kee on the table. Marichka sets the butane lamp in the table. The room is bare, peeling walls, broken window panes, a rough mat on the floor. Cold enough to see your breath. Theo immediately pulls the mat to the center of the room. Kee doubles up with another contraction - KEE Fuck all! Marichka trying to explain something they can not understand, pointing at two BUCKETS of water, the dog yapping and yapping. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- to Theo, re : Marichka. -RRB- Make her go. Theo move to Marichka, escorts her out the door into the hallway.", "INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS From inside the room, Kee screams. Marichka looks at Theo, alarmed. THEO -LRB- to Marichka. -RRB- She's fine, she's fine. Marichka stares at him blankly. KEE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Get her fucking out! Marichka is still staring, concern in her eyes. THEO -LRB- to Marichka. -RRB- Go! Look for Miriam. -LRB- hands her money. -RRB- Mir - ia - am. MARICHKA Santo! The little dog comes bounding outside. Theo shuts the door.", "INT. BARE APARTMENT - SAME Theo helps Kee lower herself onto a mat. He removes his jacket, putting it under her head. THEO Just relax, now. KEE You know ` bout this? THEO Oh sure. In the old days, in New York, I did a stint as a cab driver. Bunch of times : couple's on the way to the hospital, we get stuck in traffic, I deliver the baby in the backseat. Bunch of times. He looks at her, then slowly adjusts her knees in what might be a proper position. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- tentatively. -RRB- I'm uh. just gon na see what's happening. See how things are progressing. Theo slowly hikes up her dress. His expression : as if he were looking at a half - assembled engine. He does n't know where to begin. KEE Well? THEO You're uh. pretty far along. That's good. Theo looks toward the door, waiting for a miracle, hoping Miriam will walk through it. Nothing but silence. He goes to the window, looks out the dirty pane into the street. Deserted. He waits, still nothing. Another painful MOAN from Kee. He takes out his flask, looks like he wants to drink it, but instead, pours the alcohol over his hands, washing them. He walks back over to Kee, looks down. THEO -LRB- CONT' D ; CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- low, lost in his own world. -RRB- Jesus Christ. KEE What? THEO -LRB- snapping out of it. -RRB- I think you're pretty close. Kee writhes in pain, SCREAMS. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Now just lie there and let your body take over. Get in touch with your body like Miriam said, that thing about tension. KEE I ca n't! THEO You can! Just breathe, breathe like Miriam taught you. relax, and when you feel like it, push! KEE I ca n't fucking do it! THEO Yes you can! Breathe and push! KEE Fuck you! It hurts! THEO Fuck you! Push! -LRB- then. -RRB- All the women who've ever given birth are with you! Kee pushes - her breath visible in the cold room. KEE Fuck all! THEO That's it. Just like that. Keep breathing. Breathe in. breathe out. Kee clutches Theo's hands harder - although we can see her breath, she is covered in sweat. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- bending lower. -RRB- Push! It's working goddamnit. I think it's actually working! Kee pushes with all her might. Theo witnesses this, utterly amazed. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I can see its head! Kee screams - excruciating pain - fear. She pushes - the head stretching open the vagina, coming through. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Push! Theo holding onto Kee, blown away. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You're doing great. Kee looks up at Theo, her face wet with sweat and tears, a little reassured. Theo watches : the baby's blue head emerges completely. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Keep doing what you're doing. Kee pushing - the rest of the baby's body flowing out in a stream of blood. Theo supporting the emerging infant. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Here he comes, here he comes. KEE PUSHING MIGHTILY - THEO You're nearly there. Kee screaming as she taps a reservoir of female strength, giving her body over to the new life coming through it, to life itself, the miracle KEE FUCKING GOD! - the baby bursts forth, a bloody explosion of life. Theo pulling it free, still hooked by the umbilical cord, the placenta spilling out in a bloody finale - There is a moment, a pause. For the first time in eighteen years, four months, two days, sixteen hours and eight minutes, a human child has been born. Theo holds the newborn baby, all blue, covered in white specks, steam rising from the tiny body in the cold room. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- How is he? But Theo does n't answer. he's stunned, holding the baby. then. THEO Actually, it's a girl. KEE Lem me see her! Theo helps Kee lie back dom on the mat. Gives her the baby. He walks to the broken window and plucks a shard of glass. He pulls out his flask, takes a quick drink then pours the rest of the alcohol over the glass. THEO I have to cut the cord. I do n't think It's gon na hurt. Theo moves the shard of glass from one spot on the umbilical cord to another - unsure where to cut it. Then takes a breath and makes a decision and SLICES. The cord splits, spurting a bit of blood. Theo takes a bracelet from Kee's wrist, ties it to the stump left on the baby. Theo takes off his shirt and cleans the white, cheese - like residue from the baby. KEE Hey you. my boo, bloo. look at you. The baby CRIES, a strident, rhythmic scream that shatters the night. Kee puts the baby to her breast. Instinctively, the child nurses. Theo watches, amazed. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Cheedo, eh?", "EXT. BEXHILL - NIGHT The Bexhill skyline. Battered three and four - story buildings blending into the black night. It's silent. Even the dogs have stopped barking. In one small window, a dim light glows - the silhouettes of Theo and Kee beholding this new life. The SOUND OF THE SURF FADES IN.", "EXT. BEACH - DAY WHITE OCEAN FOAM tops a wave, blue and glistening, rolling luxuriously toward the beach. The backlit woman in the sarong, her beautiful form moving closer. Theo in the sand, smiling, in heaven. as she approaches. Theo shades his eyes as she nears. and now we see. the woman is Kee, but she's not carrying a drink. She's carrying a baby, smiling and laughing. She walks right by Theo. He looks down the beach after her, is blinded by a blazing sun. Theo leans back - the texture of the sun and sky decays. seems less real, like a mixture of reality and watercolor, and the sounds of the rolling surf slowly give way to distant HELICOPTERS. sporadic GUNFIRE. and a dog YAPPING.", "INT. BARE APARTMENT - EARLY MORNING YAP! YAP! Theo opens his eyes, waking up on the floor, his coat pulled over him, getting his bearings : The first morning sun seeping into the empty room. Kee still sleeping on the mat, the baby on her chest. YAP! YAP! The barking is now outside the door. FOOTSTEPS following. Theo creakily gets to his feet. Someone PUSHES the door. But a chair wedged against it holds it shut. Kee is awake now, looking at Theo. Whoever is outside gives the door a powerful shove, and the chair skids forward, about to give. VOICE -LRB- outside. -RRB- C'mon, we do n't have much time! Open the bloody door! THEO Who is it? Kee wraps her cloak around the baby, hiding her. In the distance, a staccato burst of gunfire. SYD -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It's the Queen of England, can you spare a cup of tea? It's Syd, you fool. Open the door. Theo pulls the chair away and Syd shoves his way in, Marichka behind him. SYD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Did n't you hear the bomb last night? City's gone to hell. Santo is now running around inside, yelping. SYD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What's with the Zed? THEO She's fine. Some woman's thing. Santo is on the scent, sniffing at Kee, yelping. SYD A few hours ago part of the fence got blown up, and a group of fewgees escaped. The army came in, they're trying to control the situation. But Syd happens to know that hole in the fence is not about the fewgees getting out, it's how the Fishes get in. KEE -LRB- to Theo. -RRB- Luke? SYD -LRB- ignoring Kee. -RRB- Syd does n't know what they want, but the Fishes have guns and the fewgees are armed to the teeth - It's gon na be a fucking mess and this time the army will bomb the shit out of this place. Syd's got ta get you out of here. THEO We have to get to a boat. Santo keeps yapping at Kee. KEE -LRB- to dog. -RRB- Go on, piss off. Santo wo n't leave. Kee kicks him. Santo yelps, retreating. Marichka yells at Kee. Then - CRYING. From the baby. Rhythmic, loud. The dog comes charging again. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Get your fuckin' dog! Kee kicks the dog again. MARICHKA Santo! Marichka grabs her dog. The baby still crying loudly. Kee puts the baby to her breast. The baby quiets, nursing. SYD The hell was that? Santo still yapping in Marichka's arms. Marichka gives Santo a little slap, shutting the dog up. Silence - except for the sound of the baby nursing. SYD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What is that? THEO I'll explain - can you get us a boat? SYD what you got there? Let Syd have a look. He moves closer. Pulls back Kee's cloak, revealing the BABY, at her breast. SYD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Bloody Christ. Marichka approaches. Kneeling, seeing.the baby, stunned. SYD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It's a fuckin' baby! THEO That's right. We've got a baby. Now we need a rowboat. Syd starts pacing. Theo pulls out a wad of bills, puts them in Syd's hand. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- firmly. -RRB- Today. Oddly, Syd hardly notices the bills in his hand, keeps pacing. SYD Hush! Hush! Syd's trying to think here! Marichka reaches out with her finger. She looks to Kee, who nods her permission. Marichka touches the baby. Her face lights up, her eyes well with tears - she has touched a miracle. SYD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Okay, okay. Get her up. We've got to go right now. THEO Can you get us to the boat? SYD Sure, sure, sure. Just get her up! Come on, do it! Kee wraps the baby to her breast with her shawl. From outside, another burst of gunfire, closer. Marichka turns to Syd, talking to him, animated, adamant. THEO What's she saying? SYD Fuck knows. Marichka turns to Theo and Kee, prattling on, urgent. Marichka insistent, grabbing Syd's sleeve SYD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Shut up! Basta! Syd pulls free of Marichka's grip. SYD -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Let's go. MARICHKA No! -LRB- points to Syd. -RRB- Bad! Bad, bad! KEE She does n't want us to go. Syd pulls out a gun. Marichka instinctively ducks to the floor, covering her head, pleading. SYD Okay, move. Let's go. KEE No! A standoff. In the distance, a mob chanting. THEO What do you want, Syd? BANG! Syd shoots he floor by Santo's feet. The dog yelps, scampering for Marichka's protection. Syd points his gun at Kee's forehead. SYD Move! THEO She's going. Theo turns to Kee. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'll help you.", "INT. STAIRWELL - DAY Theo carries Kee down the stairs, his flip - flops SLAPPING against the steps. Syd follows behind, gun trained on Theo. Marichka at Syd's side, still prattling on. SYD Last night, Syd gets home. Mommy's sleeping in front of the telly. She always does that, my sweet soul. Syd kisses her good - night. She has cancer, my mommy. Syd's about to turn off the telly - and there's your mugs. On the news. Couple of nasty pricks gunning down these cops - bam! bam! - you fuckers! Big reward. Then Syd finds out the Fishes are looking for you too. So Syd thinks, the cops are looking for them, the Fishes are looking for them, these blokes are bang - up commodities. And a baby? That's capital!", "INT. STAIRS / LOBBY - CONTINUOUS The group descends the final flight of stairs into the empty lobby. Syd one step behind. Marichka next to him, ranting even louder. Santo yapping - SYD -LRB- to Marichka. -RRB- Shut the fuck up! He slaps her hard, silencing her. But as he turns back toward Theo, Marichka gives Syd a forceful shove and. he trips down the last few steps. his gun hand folding under him as he tries to break his fall and. Theo quickly puts Kee down, leaps toward Syd, who gets a SHOT off in the air before Theo lands. Theo's weight snaps Syd's head against the floor. Syd's stunned, his gun hand flailing like a snake as he struggles with Theo. THEO GO! And Marichka grabs Kee, guiding her toward the back hallway while Theo and Syd struggle for control of the pistol. Theo's hand - trying to muscle the gun away while Syd tries to point it back toward Theo. Theo's bandaged finger getting bent back - Theo screaming in AGONY as he pulls the trigger BAM! BAM! BAM! The bullets fly into the wall, plaster falling - BAM! BAM! two more shells - barely missing Theo's head, until the chamber CLICKS. CLICK. Empty. Syd drops the gun, reaches for Theo's throat. Theo gasps, trying to break Syd's grip. IN THE CORRIDOR Kee turns to Marichka. KEE Go - go help him! Marichka hurries back toward Theo. Kee leans against the wall, making sure her baby's okay. Syd tightens his grip around Theo's neck. Marichka spots the gun on the floor, grabbing the barrel and roundhousing it - SMACK! into Syd's face. Syd falls backwards. Marichka helps Theo get to his feet. Theo's still gasping for air as he looks down at Syd. Syd seems to be out cold. Theo and Marichka join Kee at the mouth of the corridor - they rush down the passageway and reach a door at the end of the hall. It's blocked with boxes and junk. Theo forces the door open. just enough space to pass. Marichka snakes through, out to a small alley, Santo following her. Then it's Kee's turn, but she ca n't fit through while holding the baby. From the alley, Marichka extends her hands. MARICHKA Baby, Marichka! Kee hesitates. Behind them, in the lobby, a groggy Syd getting up off the floor. Picking up his gun, loading it. Kee passes the baby through the doorway, fearing the worst. Marichka takes the baby. The point of no return. A moment. Marichka motions for Kee to follow. MARICHKA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Come! Kee squeezes through the opening. Down the corridor, Syd stumbling toward them, gun in hand. Theo trying to squeeze out, but no one is helping with the door. And BAM! a bullet flies past his head.", "EXT. ALLEY - CONTINUOUS Theo slips into the trash - strewn alley. SQUISH! Theo's expression - he's lost one of his flip - flops. His bare foot sinking in a mound of rotting garbage. Then POCK! POCK! POCK! Bullets pierce the door. He looks at Kee and Marichka. Both are on the left side of the door, while he's on right side. and POCK! POCK! two more bullets cut holes in the door. THEO -LRB- to the women. -RRB- Go! The women hurry down the alley. POCK! Another bullet pierces the door. Desperate, Theo digs through the trash at his feet. Worthless plastic, rotting food, a heavy old electric mixer. The door jerks open - Syd's face appears. He looks at Theo, furiously shoving his way out and. Theo swings the rusty iron mixer - SMACK! into Syd's face. Syd falls back inside. Theo stares at the door, ready for another round, mixer in hand. But there's no movement from inside. Theo drops the mixer and hurries to catch up with the others, one flip - flop on, one flip - flip off. AT THE END OF THE ALLEY Kee leaning against the wall, gathering her strength. Marichka peering around the edge of the building. Theo approaches. `` La Marseilles'' can be heard, chanted by an approaching mob. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You okay? KEE It hurts. THEO -LRB- to Marichka. -RRB- We need a boat. Theo picks up a stick, draws a rowboat in the sandy street. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- A boat. Un bateau. Das boot. Capice? Marichka nods, points in a direction. Theo and Marichka take either side of Kee, helping her walk, Santo following. Theo's one bare foot bleeding. They turn the corner and. A mob marches toward them, more than fifty. A large flag billows, blue, white and red. VOICES Alons enfants de la patrie. They pass the mob, heading in the opposite direction. Passionate chanting, some wearing masks, all carry guns - modern semi - automatics, a few old Glocks. Theo and Kee stare : Nothing is surprising anymore. They pass a wall spray - painted with graffiti : five fish and the words `` The Uprising.'' Theo and Kee exchange a look.", "EXT. FORMER BANK - DAY This street seems quiet, `` La Marseilles'' now distant. Marichka gestures, leading them into what once was the city courthouse, now covered with graffiti. Further down the street, on rooftops, men with rifles dart from building to building.", "INT. FORMER BANK - CONTINUOUS Theo, Kee with the baby, Marichka and Santo, enter. Dozens of old shoes on the floor, neatly paired. They hear CHANTING - rhythmic prayers. It was once a bank, but now it's just skeletal remains : a few teller windows, pieces of tumbled Plexiglas. Past them, they see men kneeling on a carpeted floor, bowing toward Mecca in humble prayer. The bank now a makeshift mosque. Marichka guides Kee toward stairs at the end of the hall. Theo is still staring at the shoes.", "INT. FORMER BANK - SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS At the end of the dark corridor, Marichka is bent down at a metal door, talking to someone through a low eye - slit. A tiny flashlight shines through the opening, at her face. A trembly voice on the other side of the door, in Russian : GEORGIAN MAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Nyet. Theo and Kee watch from the other end of the corridor. Kee leans on Theo, resting. On Theo's feet, a very worn pair of slippers. He looks up as Marichka waves forward, insistent, prattling. Theo helps Kee down the dim hallway. GEORGIAN MAN -LRB- O.S. ; CONT'D. -RRB- Nyet, nyet. As they approach the secure metal door, the flashlight from the eye slit shines in Theo's face. Marichka grabs Kee's cloak. The light shifts to Kee's face as she resists, but the cloak opens. The light tilts down, shining on the baby, eyes closed, feeding on Kee's breast. From the eye - slit, the flashlight shaking, a gasp.", "INT. GEORGIAN MAN'S APARTMENT - DAY The ancient GEORGIAN MAN -LRB- 90 -RRB- stands beside his wife. The pale, withered WOMAN -LRB- 87 -RRB-, sitting in a wheelchair, hums a folk song as she carves the final touches onto an orange that she's cut into a swan. She presents the swan to Kee, who lays in bed eating some sort of potato stew, the baby asleep at her side. KEE Look at that. We're in a simple home that was once a banker's office. One table, two chairs, a gas burner, photos, a reproduction of Chagall's cow on the farm. And, in the clean, big windows, a few potted plants. Classical music playing. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- calls out. -RRB- Theo, they love my baby. Theo sits at the table, also eating stew, across from the old Georgian man. Marichka stands nearby, wolfing hers down - THEO We need a boat. The Georgian Man speaks in a trembly voice with thick accent. GEORGIAN MAN Why boat? THEO The Human Project is sending a ship for Kee. We have to be out in the bay at sunset. Theo holds out a handful of bills. A SOFT RAP at the door and the Old Georgian Woman hobbles for it. GEORGIAN MAN Human Project real? THEO It better be. The old woman opens the door. A MAN carrying a rifle steps in, thirties, Slavic features. He's an imposing figure, tall and broad. The butt of an automatic pistol is visible in his waistband. The Georgian Man wheels over to him. Theo watches the two men converse quietly in Russian. The younger man looks over at Theo with cold eyes. An amplified voice echoes from the street. VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- over loudspeaker. -RRB- The Warden has declared a State of Emergency! Everyone remain indoors! A curfew is now in effect! Theo moves to the window, looks out : A caravan of armored carriers and tanks move slowly down the empty streets. VOICE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- over loudspeaker. -RRB- Anyone on the streets will be considered hostile and shot! England supports you and provides you shelter. Do not support terrorists. Then the same message repeated, translated into French. On top of the building across the street, men in masks armed with rifles run in the opposite direction of the tanks. KEE Theo? She's holding up her baby. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Come hold her. Theo walks to her. THEO I'd probably break her. Let Marichka. KEE I'm going to name her Froley. THEO Froley? KEE You do n't like it? THEO The first baby born in twenty years and you want to call her Froley? It sounds like a dog's name. KEE It's a good name. I like Froley. She smiles to hersellrf, her eyes closing. The Georgian Man and the Younger Man, SERGIUS, approach. Sergius stares in awe at child, finally turning to Theo. SERGIUS Sunset is five - thirty. Sergius's eyes sparkle disarmingly. GEORGIAN MAN Stay here for now. In one hour, you go. SERGIUS -LRB- mimics rowing. -RRB- I have boat. Theo holds out a fistful of 100 pound bills. Sergius closes Theo's fist on the money, not interested in it. Theo looks over at Kee ; she's fallen asleep nursing the baby.", "EXT. FORMER BANK - DAY (HOURS LATER) Fog rolling in now. Sergius stands in the middle of the street, his senses on alert. Sporadic gunfire and shouting in the distance, but the street seems safe. He signals, and moves off. Theo pushes Kee from the bank in the Georgian Man's wheelchair. Marichka with them.", "EXT. BAY STREET - DAY They move down the fog - shrouded street. A RUMBLING is heard. Santo stops, turns around and starts barking. The ground shakes. Through the fog. a silhouette slowly taking form. mammoth. A mechanical clatter drowning out Santo's barking. THEO Shit. IT'S AN ENORMOUS TANK. And it's close, coming right at them. Sergius darts into a cross street, turns to the others. SERGIUS This way! Theo pushes Kee toward the cross street. Marichka following behind. She looks back : Santo is still holding his ground, barking at the metal monster. Marichka races back for him. THEO Marichka! The tank looming closer, appearing larger. Santo losing his courage, whimpering, backing off. Marichka snatches up the dog and runs back toward the others, trying to catch up. DOWN BAY STREET They pass a long metal pole wedged in a sewer, buttressed by a mountain of broken concrete and debris - a barricade. Sergius gestures toward a narrow alley. Theo turns the wheelchair, veers toward the alley and stops. seeing a Basque man holding a machine gun. Sergius has seen him too. Theo follows Sergius's gaze. finds another armed Basque man. and another. and another. They are surrounded. A beat then. BASQUE MAN -LRB- in Basque. -RRB- Down! Down! Theo and The others scurry into the alley as the tank rolls down Bay Street - A metallic CREAK as the tank runs up against the metal barricade pole. The tank's tracks churn, but the pole holds fast. The Basque Man signals - BASQUE MAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Now! Now! The Basque men swarm into the street. ACROSS THE STREET More men surge forward - a flaming bottle hurled from a building EXPLODES against the tank. The ambush is on. NARROW ALLEY Sergius guides Theo and Kee through the alley. The distance and fog mask the carnage, but not the SCREAMS OF THE WOUNDED AND DYING.", "EXT. WHARF STREET - DAY Three armored carriers cruise by. Theo and the others, huddled in a doorway, waiting for the formation to disappear into the fog. THEO -LRB- low, to Sergius. -RRB- Time? Sergius shows Theo his watch. SERGIUS Is okay. Close. The coast clear, Sergius leads Theo, Kee and Marichka into a quiet alleyway.", "EXT. ALLEYWAY - DAY The alley seems a sanctuary from the fighting. The SHOOTING seems MUFFLED, distant now, fog obscuring the far end of the street. They stop near a courtyard with a small fountain. Sergius bends to lift a manhole cover near the fountain. SERGIUS Here. Theo helps Sergius pry the manhole cover up. Then, FOOTSTEPS. They drop the manhole cover as, from both ends of the alley, vague figures appear in the fog and circle around them. VOICES Drop your gun! Drop your gun! Drop your gun! Sergius spins, weapon in hand. Theo blocks Kee and the baby with his body. THEO Do n't shoot! Do n't shoot. VOICE Then drop the gun! Sergius lays the weapon down. SERGIUS Is safe! No gun. A man rushes in and grabs Sergius's gun - it's Patric. Other armed men surround the group. Patric moves to Theo and THUD! - slams his rifle into Theo's gut, knocks him to the ground. KEE Patric! From the fog, more FOOTSTEPS. Luke walking toward them, out of the mist. The tout with the cracked eyeglasses behind him. LUKE Get the girl. KEE NOOOOOO! And Patric and Ian subdue Kee. Luke squats down, eye level with Kee in the wheelchair. LUKE -LRB- to Kee. -RRB- You're safe now. Are you all right? Kee SPITS in his face. Luke suppresses his anger and takes out a handkerchief to wipe his cheek. THEO -LRB- struggling to his feet. -RRB- Let her go, Luke! You do n't know what you're doing! LUKE Oh no? Look around, Faron. It's happening! I did what Julian could n't. I called for The Uprising. And the people are responding. He gestures vaguely out at the sound of the gunfire. LUKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- They're following me. And they have n't even seen the baby. -LRB- turns to Ian. -RRB- Detain Theo and the others. When Kee and I are far enough away and they can no longer cause trouble - let them go. He turns back to Kee, speaking in a gentle tone. LUKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Theo has been nothing but a thorn in my side, yet, I hold no malice toward him. -LRB- then. -RRB- Now we must go. -LRB- to the others. -RRB- Help her. Kee struggles, SCREAMS, as two of the Fishes grab her, holding her in the wheelchair as they hustle her away. Luke holds back, one last look at Theo and Marichka before turning to Patric LUKE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- low. -RRB- Wait until we're far enough away. Patric understands. Luke leaves the quiet of the alley. Patric cocks his pistol, looks out into the street, waiting for Kee and Luke to turn the corner. As they disappear from sight. MARICHKA -LRB- begging. -RRB- Please, please, please. Patric points the gun at Sergius and POP! Shoots him in the head. Sergius falls backward, and Patric aims the pistol at Theo, finger on the trigger, and. BAM! BAM! Shots ring out. FROM THE OTHER END OF THE ALLEY An armored carrier is rolling toward them, two soldiers shooting from the turret. Patric fires back - POP! POP! Theo grabs Marichka and hustles her back to Wharf Street. He guides her to a doorway, Theo looks down the street and. FURTHER AHEAD. He sees Luke and his men pushing Kee, rounding the CORNER onto 3rd Street and. A TANK Shielding the group of soldiers SHOOTING at Ian and his men. THE CORNER Ian and his men hold their position, FIRING BACK, but are unable to stop the advancing tank. IAN -LRB- to the men. -RRB- Go! The two men peel off after Luke. Ian fires a few more rounds, then follows. WITH THEO Theo looks to his right : the tank advancing, soldiers marching, holding their fire, weapons trained, focused. And he musters his courage, runs out into the open, chasing after Luke and Kee. The soldiers are caught by surprise, a double - take before they BLAST AWAY. WHARF STREET. Theo runs, makes it across Wharf Street turning the CORNER He presses himself against the wall, catching his breath. He looks out and sees. UP AHEAD Luke and the Fishes fleeing with Kee. Ian and his men, not far behind. Theo trails after them. IAN turns, fires at Theo. THEO dives behind a stoop. AN ARMORED CARRIER emerges from the fog, cutting off the Fishes' escape. Luke gestures, leading Kee and the Fishes into a modern apartment building. Theo in hot pursuit when. Soldiers fire the back. TAT - TAT - TAT - TAT! One of Ian's men is hit in the back. Theo dives into a burned - out double - decker abandoned on the sidewalk across the street from the apartment building and.", "INT. BURNED-OUT DOUBLE-DECKER falls on top of people huddled inside. SCREAMS of fear in SPANISH as bodies scramble away. Theo gets up. He's just crashed into crowded makeshift living quarters : mats butted along the floor of the bus, a stove in the middle of them. The inhabitants ducking for cover, a few peering out through the cardboard - covered windows. Theo bends the cardboard back from the window, looking out : OUTSIDE Soldiers fire as Ian and the last Fish make it to the. MODERN APARTMENT BUILDING. bullets RIDDLING the concrete facade as the Fishes slip through the doorway. The Soldiers rush the apartment building, disappearing inside. and a fierce fire - fight ensues - TAT - TAT - TAT - TAT! Flashes of GUNFIRE visible in the doorway. SCREAMS. Soldiers stagger back out of the doorway, some wounded, retreating from the opposing gunfire.", "INT. BURNED-OUT DOUBLE-DECKER Stray bullets strafe the bus. Theo ducks out of the way. BACK OUTSIDE A TANK rumbles into position behind the soldiers, its gun turret cranks slowly toward the apartment building. THEO realizes the tank is about to fire on the apartment building with Kee and the baby inside. THEO No, no, no, no. He runs out of the bus into the street soldier positioned near the tank open hits the ground and. BOOM! The tank recoils with the blast, the explosion rips a gaping hole in the building. Theo rolls out of the way of falling concrete. He looks up at the apartment building - White sheets and clothes wave from windows, desperate pleas for mercy from tenants still in the building as. from the floor above, Fishes open fire on the soldiers. Someone throws a Molotov cocktail. it explodes in the street. Soldiers return fire - Tenants streaming out the front doors, hands in the air, SCREAMING SURRENDER in a dozen languages and TAT - TAT - TAT - TAT - the soldiers gunfire CUTS THEM DOWN. A few survivors scramble back into the building. The tank tilts its big gun up, aiming at the snipers on the fourth floor. BOOM! The tank shell blasts another hole into the building. In the silence of the aftershock, a thick cloud of dust in the air Theo gets up and races for the apartment building He's almost at the doorway when a soldier spots him through the haze and opens fire - BULLETS RAKE the entrance. Theo sidesteps the bodies of dead soldiers and refugees, makes it inside and.", "INT. APARTMENT BUILDING slips on the blood - slicked cement, crawling in panic further into the blood - splattered building. Staying low, he moves through the lobby, desperately searching for any sign of Kee when - Gunfire erupts from the staircase. Theo takes cover behind a pillar - it's Ian who's firing at him, but bullets from one of the soldiers in the street tear into him. Theo spots Kee's wheelchair, abandoned at the foot of the stairs, and heads up.", "INT. SECOND FLOOR STAIRCASE He reaches the second floor landing - looks down the hallway. A few tenants huddled in the dim shadows, staying low, keeping away from the windows. A man crying in agony bleeding badly. The heavy gunfire is playing out on the upper floors. Theo continues up.", "INT. THIRD FLOOR STAIRCASE Theo steps out onto the third floor. Tenants on the ground covering their heads, a few wounded, screaming. Theo spots Patric in a blown - out apartment, firing at the street below. Soldiers' bullets strafe the room, and Patric bursts out into the hallway. Theo hides as Patric pushes past tenants. PATRIC Fuck outta my way, fuck outta my way! and kicks open the door of another apartment. Theo starts after him but then he hears, faintly. THE MUFFLED CRY OF A BABY. It's coming from the floor above. Theo heads for the stairs.", "INT. FOURTH FLOOR CORRIDOR Theo emerges on the fourth floor, moves toward the MUFFLED CRIES. Following the sound into.", "INT. FOURTH FLOOR APARTMENT The apartment has been tattered by bullets, glass shattered, everything upended. Kee in a corner, protecting her baby girl with her body. Luke lays by the window in a pool of his own blood, with his back toward Kee, firing out the window. Theo steps into the room, moves to Kee and her crying baby. THEO -LRB- low. -RRB- You okay? KEE Yeh. THEO How is she? KEE Pissed off. Theo helps Kee up. THEO Easy. We're gon na make it. Shots from outside RIDDLE the wall near them. At the window, Luke fires back at the soldiers. Theo and Kee making their way across the ruined room to the door. Luke turns and sees them. He points his gun. Theo freezes. LUKE I was carrying her up the stairs and I started crying. The baby. A girl. THEO Yeah, it's a girl. LUKE I forgot what they looked like. So tiny. Theo begins to inch Kee to the doorway, wary of Luke. THEO We need to get her out of here. LUKE No, no, no. You do n't understand, Faron. This child must stay with us. She can unite us. She's our flag. KEE Fuck she is! Theo and Kee at the doorway. LUKE She's our beginning. THEO Luke, she'll be killed if she stays here. We have to go. BAM! Luke shoots. Theo grimaces TAT - TAT - TAT. Glass shatters as guns fire from the outside, ripping Luke to pieces.", "INT. FOURTH FLOOR HALLWAY Theo walks out the door, Kee following. He's in momentary shock, clutching his gut, looking at a trickle of blood spreading across the fabric of his shirt. THEO Shit. KEE Fucker shot you. THEO I'm okay. Bullet went through. -LRB- gritting through pain. -RRB- We got ta move. Theo breathing through the pain, holding up Kee, walking down the hall, the baby still crying. A volley of bullets from outside tear through the walls. The ROAR of the GUNFIRE is punctuated by the BABY'S CRIES. People huddled in the corridor, looking in disbelief. A WOMAN falls to her knees. WOMAN -LRB- praying. -RRB- Dios te salve Maria, llena eres de gracia, el senor es contigo, bendita eres entre 1as mujeres. Theo and Kee approach the stairwell. Bullets are still flying, but people seem fearless, poking their heads from doors, risking their lives to get a closer look. The baby's crying gives Theo and Kee a sense of security. They are no longer dodging bullets but are walking straight down the hall. A man breaks into tears. An old woman, bleeding to death on the floor, reaches her gnarled finger to touch the baby's blanket. She smiles as they pass - she has heard the song of an angel. Theo and Kee reach the stairs. Kee starts down the steps, but Theo stops her. THEO Come on. KEE You're shot. THEO I can do it. Kee allows Theo to pick her up. He strains to lift her, then starts down the stairs.", "INT. FOURTH FLOOR STAIRWELL The baby's cry echoes through the stairwell. Theo slowly carrying Kee down. People huddled on the stairs, amazed, eyes glued to the baby. Others looking down at them from the upper. floors. TAT - TAT - TAT. A gun battle, moving up the stairs toward them. It's Patric and two other Fishes - backing up the stairs, battling pursuing soldiers. Patric hears crying, turning, pointing his gun at. Theo and Kee. No place to hide. Patric points the gun at Theo's head, about to pull the trigger. But the baby is wailing in Kee's arm. Patric looking at the baby in stunned disbelief. Then he lowers his gun. He and the Fishes back away, staring at the infant as Theo and Kee continue down the stairs.", "INT. THIRD FLOOR STAIRWELL Gunfire from below forces people against the wall. Theo and Kee continue their descent. A SOLDIER surges up the stairs, pointing his gun at the newborn girl, who wails away. Theo and Kee walk past him. The Soldier breathless, the baby's cry clashing with his adrenaline. SOLDIER Hold positions and hold fire! Theo continues carrying Kee down. People on the stairs standing up, getting a look. More soldiers, holding their weapons in silence, immobilized by the baby's cry.", "INT. APARTMENT BUILDING The baby's cries echo through the lobby, now held by the military. Soldiers hold strategic positions, watching Theo and Kee pass, glimpsing the child in confusion, awe. At the shattered doorway, Theo staggers. Kee sees his sweat, his pain. His shirt is covered in blood. KEE Put me down. Theo hesitates. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I wan na walk. Theo sets her down. Kee walks slowly, resolutely, leaning on Theo for support. They pass through the shattered doorway.", "EXT. APARTMENT BLOCK PLAZA Theo, Kee and the baby step into the murky light of the foggy day. An impenetrable line of soldiers positioned in the plaza face them, their weapons pointed, ready. The heavy machinery of war silenced by the cries of a baby. Theo and Kee walk forward, toward the soldiers. The weapons aimed at them begin to lower. An instinctive shuffle to the side, as if commanded by the cry, creating a space for them. Kee carrying her child, Theo at her side as the soldiers part like the Red Sea. Somber faces watching as they pass, touched by the baby's crying. BAM! BAM! BAM! Rifle shots from the fourth floor window shatter the silence. Two soldiers behind Theo are hit. Theo covers Kee as soldiers open fire on the apartment building. A new battle flares. Theo and Kee walk on, ignored by the soldiers who race forward, taking up new positions. BOOM! The tank blasts a massive hole in the fourth floor. CORNER - WHARF & 3RD Leaving the battle behind, Kee and Theo hurry down the street. Marichka emerges from a blown - out doorway, holding Santo, greeting them with a crooked smile.", "EXT. THE LITTLE FOUNTAIN - A LITTLE LATER With great effort, Theo pries off the sewer lid. They all disappear down the hole.", "INT. SEWER A ceiling lamp illuminates a concrete sewer drain, a narrow channel of foul water running through it. Boxes of contraband stacked to one side : alcohol, batteries, medicine, cans of food, electrical wire. Theo holds Kee's arm as she steps into a wooden launch. Marichka lights the candle fixed to the bow of the boat. She prattles on, Santo on her shoulders, tears in her eyes, gesturing toward the end of the tunnel where ambient light filters in. MARICHKA Go, go boat. Theo extends his hand to help Marichka into the launch. MARICHKA Marichka no go. Marichka smiles. Theo nods a thank you. And he climbs in the boat and sets the oars. Marichka gives the boat a shove. Theo puts the candle into a holder and starts to row. They glimpse graffiti on the walls, like cave paintings, as they pass. AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL A breeze from outside extinguishes the candle. Theo rows - toward the light. Passing through a metal grate which has been cut away.", "EXT. SEA'S EDGE - TWILIGHT The launch emerges into the fog at the end of a large harbor. Behind them, misty air cloaks the back side of the Bexhill Fence which runs the length of shoreline, separating the prison - city from the sea. The MUFFLED SOUNDS of the riot. Theo rows steadily, painfully. Dead calm, but the tide is on their side. What lays beyond is obscured by milky fog and growing darkness.", "EXT. OPEN SEA - DUSK Theo is rowing slower now, his strength waning. The fog has enveloped the city behind them, the riots a distant echo. The world around them has disappeared. From somewhere off, the sound of a BELL. KEE The buoy! Theo, the buoy! Ahead of them, through the fog, patches of dull orange sunlight. The buoy visible in the distance. Theo rows once more, groans with the effort. KEE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What time is it? THEO Late. The launch gains momentum, then slows. The sun touching the horizon, the day ending. No sign of any boats anywhere on the desolate sea. KEE They'll come back. The SOUND of the bell is drowned out by the WHINE of JETS high in the sky. Followed by the ROAR of EXPLOSIONS - POOF POOF POOF and, behind them, a glowing light, expanding in the fog. Theo rests, exhausted. He feels his gut, which has been steadily oozing from the bullet wound. His eyes drop down to his hands, now covered in blood. Something is poking through the ripped lining of his pea coat - He lifts a hundred pound note, staring at it. The sounds of the sea gently lapping at the boat. Kee looking around, anxious. The buoy rocking rhythmically, splashing water. no trace of a boat. THEO I am sorry, Kee. I am so sorry. KEE We gon na make it. He shakes his head. His eyes are watery. THEO I'm not gon na make it. Kee looks at him. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And I'll never know if you make it. Theo smiles at her. THEO -LRB- CONT' D ; CONT'D. -RRB- But I want to believe that you will. Tears well in Kee's eyes. KEE I will. THEO Promise? KEE -LRB- through tears. -RRB- Fuckin' yeah. Cheedo. THEO Theo in pain, genuinely smiles. THEO -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- looks at the baby. -RRB- Froley. That's a fine name. Theo musters all he's got left, reaching the oars back, wood cutting through water, propelling the launch a little further. He closes his eyes. HOLD as the SOUND of the surf fades in. THE CLOUDS PARTING - REVEALING A RED SKY Theo is sitting in his chair on the white sandy beach, watching a mother and child in the blue water, laughing and splashing in the waves. The mother is Kee but her child is now a toddler. Then, two other woman rush down to the beach, planting their infants on the sand, letting the foamy waves lap at their baby's feet. Kee looks from the babies to Theo and waves. A smile slowly comes to Theo's face. He is happy, content. KEE'S VOICE -LRB- a whisper. -RRB- Theo. BACK TO SCENE Kee looking at Theo. He's slumped over, dead. The launch drifting. No direction. Drifting. Drifting. Kee is still, silent. The baby begins to CRY. A light flickers, piercing the fog - Kee looks up KEE Theo. The fog gives way, revealing purple sky. Cutting through the water toward them, A LIGHT, A BOAT. The wooden vessel approaching, nets and gear - A FISHING BOAT. The name painted on the stern. `` THE TOMORROW.'' FADE OUT"], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "In 2027, after 18 years of global human infertility and depression, the world is on the brink of collapse and humanity faces extinction. The United Kingdom, one of the few nations with a functioning government (the only other known functioning government is Angola), is deluged by asylum seekers fleeing radiation and plague. In response, the UK has become a police state as the British Army rounds up and executes immigrants. Theo Faron, a former activist turned cynical bureaucrat, is kidnapped by the Fishes, a militant immigrants' rights group. They are led by Theo's estranged wife, Julian Taylor, from whom he separated after their son's death during a 2008 flu pandemic. Julian offers Theo money to acquire transit papers for a young refugee, Kee. Theo obtains the papers from his cousin, a government minister who runs a state-sponsored collection of salvaged art. Theo agrees to escort Kee in exchange for a large sum. Luke, a Fishes member, drives Theo, Kee, and former midwife Miriam towards Canterbury. They are ambushed by an armed gang, and Julian is killed. When the group is stopped by the police, Luke kills the officers and the group hides Julian's body before heading to a Fishes safehouse. Kee reveals to Theo that she is pregnant. Julian had intended to hand Kee to the Human Project, a supposed scientific group in the Azores dedicated to curing infertility. However, Luke persuades Kee to stay and is voted as the new leader of the Fishes. That night, Theo eavesdrops on a discussion and learns that Julian's death was orchestrated by the Fishes so that Luke could become leader; they intend to kill Theo and use the baby as a political tool to support the coming revolution. Theo wakes Kee and Miriam, and they steal a car, escaping to the secluded hideaway of Theo's ageing friend Jasper Palmer, a former political cartoonist turned pot dealer. The group makes plans to board the Human Project ship, the Tomorrow, which will arrive offshore from a refugee camp at Bexhill-on-Sea. Jasper proposes having Syd, a camp border guard to whom he frequently sells drugs, smuggle them into Bexhill, masquerading as refugees. When the Fishes discover Jasper's house, the group flees while Jasper stays behind to stall the Fishes. Luke shoots and kills Jasper as Theo watches from the woods. The group meets Syd at an abandoned school, and he helps them board a bus to Bexhill. When Kee experiences contractions at a checkpoint, Miriam distracts a guard by feigning religious mania and is taken away. Inside the camp, Theo and Kee meet a Romanian woman, Marichka, who provides a room where Kee gives birth to a baby girl. The next day, Syd informs Theo and Kee that war has broken out between the British military and the refugees, led by the Fishes. Having learned that they have a bounty on their heads, Syd attempts to capture them, but Theo kills him with a car battery and they escape. Amidst the fighting, the Fishes capture Kee and the baby. Theo tracks them to an apartment building under heavy fire; he confronts Luke, who is killed in an explosion, and escorts Kee and the baby out. Awed by the baby, the British soldiers and Fishes temporarily stop fighting and allow the trio to leave. Marichka leads them to a hidden boat, but stays behind as they depart, despite Theo imploring her to come along. As British fighter jets bomb Bexhill from a distance, Theo reveals that he was mortally wounded by Luke. He tells Kee how to soothe her baby, and Kee tells Theo she will name her Dylan after Theo and Julian's lost son. Theo dies as the Tomorrow approaches and Kee tries to wake him to see that they've been saved. As the credits roll, the sound of children laughing and playing can be heard in the background, possibly implying that the fertility crisis was solved thanks to Kee.", "name": "Children_of_Men"}
{"scenes": ["EXT. SWEDEN - DAY A Christmas card vista is spoiled by a black line of railroad tracks stitched onto the snowy landscape like a scar pointing north to icy desolation. A phone rings -", "EXT. CABIN - ESTABLISHING", "INT. CABIN - LAKE SILJAN - DAY An elderly man who lives alone in this rustic cabin - a retired policeman - regards the phone, both expecting and dreading the call. He picks up the receiver. MORELL What kind is it? VANGER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I do n't know. White. MORELL And the frame? VANGER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Dark. MORELL Postmark? VANGER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Same as last time. MORELL No note. VANGER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- No.", "INT. VANGER'S STUDY - SAME TIME Henrik Vanger - at 82, even older than Morell - listens to the silence from his end of the line in a wood - paneled room as baronial as the policeman's was spartan. VANGER I ca n't take it anymore. MORELL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I know. I'm sorry, Henrik. There's nothing more to say. Vanger sets the receiver down and regards a dried white flower in a 6'' x 11'' frame resting on the brown paper it was wrapped and mailed in. It's somehow ominous, like the dark storm clouds that now burst outside -", "INT. COURTHOUSE - STOCKHOLM - DAY Mikael Blomkvist - 40's - regards the gauntlet of reporters he'll have to pass to get out of the building. As he strides toward them, microphones and cameras swing in his direction. Without stopping - BLOMKVIST What is this, the media event of the year? REPORTER 1 Do n't try to play it down, Mikael, it wo n't work. BLOMKVIST Do n't try to play it up, that wo n't either.", "EXT. COURTHOUSE - STOCKHOLM - DAY - CONTINUOUS Feeling a bit like he's fleeing the scene of a crime, which in a way he is, Blomkvist steps outside opening his umbrella. A couple of the reporters come out after him - REPORTER 2 Will you appeal? BLOMKVIST I'll appeal to you, Viggo : Find a real story to cover. He hurries off in the rain. NEWSCASTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist was found guilty today on 16 counts of aggravated libel against financier Hans - Erik Wennerstrom.", "INT. CAFE - STOCKHOLM - DAY At a table with a pre - made sandwich and cup of coffee, and a long court judgement, Blomkvist watches himself fleeing the reporters on the cafe's TV. He's the only one there who watches it - no one else is interested - which only makes it worse. TV NEWSCASTER In an article published earlier this year, Blomkvist claimed Wennerstrom - founder and president of The Wennerstrom Group - used State funds intended for industrial development in Poland for an arms deal with the right - wing Ustashe in Croatia. The report cuts to a shot of Wennerstrom outside the courthouse in an Armani suit, surrounded by his legal team, confidently addressing the reporters - WENNERSTROM ON TV I have nothing against Mr. Blomkvist. He's a good journalist who I do n't believe is guided by malice. But what he wrote was inaccurate, and inaccuracies ca n't go unanswered. He - all journalists - have to accept like the rest of us, actions have consequences. Done with his sandwich, Blomkvist goes to the counter. BLOMKVIST Marlboro Red. and a lighter.", "EXT. CAFE - MOMENTS LATER - DAY He comes out tamping the pack. Extracts a cigarette. Tosses the pack in a sidewalk trash bin. Flicks at the lighter but ca n't get it to fire in the wind and rain. Hunches his body around it, coaxes it to life. TV NEWSCASTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Blomkvist was ordered to pay 600 thousand SKE in damages and all court costs, which could be significantly more. He takes a long drag that dizzies him. A wonderful feeling. He regards the trash bin. Fishes around it, finds the pack, puts it in his coat pocket.", "EXT. MILLENNIUM OFFICES, STOCKHOLM - DAY - ESTABLISHING", "INT. MILLENNIUM'S OFFICES - DAY He comes through past Christmas decorations and a mostly - young staff. They try not to regard him as a dead - man - walking, but are n't entirely successful. He enters the editor's office. ERIKA Where you been? Erika Berger is about Blomkvist's age, and - like the IKEA furniture - sends a mixed message : a feminist in a mini - skirt. BLOMKVIST Walking. Thinking. ERIKA Smoking? BLOMKVIST Just one. He sits, exhausted and depressed, in a cheap Poang chair. ERIKA TV4 called. I told them no statement until we've read the judgment in its entirety. BLOMKVIST I have. Who else? ERIKA Everyone who's ever wanted to see you humiliated. BLOMKVIST You've been on the phone all day then. ERIKA I'm as much to blame for this as you. BLOMKVIST You are? You wrote it? ERIKA I read it. I ran it. BLOMKVIST Not the same. ERIKA Our credibility is n't dead, Mikael. BLOMKVIST Mine is. They regard each other in another silence. Then - BLOMKVIST I'm tired. I feel like climbing under a duvet and sleeping for a week. ERIKA Alone? He thinks about it. shakes his head ` no.' ERIKA I already called Greger and told him I would n't be home tonight.", "EXT. STOCKHOLM - SAME TIME - DAY A motorcycle dives down a driveway that burrows under a three - story building.", "INT. ARMANSKY'S OFFICE - MILTON SECURITY - DAY Dragan Armansky, 40's, who looks more like a boss of a New Jersey crime family than CEO of a high - tech security firm, sits behind his desk, waiting with an older client. ARMANSKY It's possible we could wait forever. FRODE You called her, I thought. You spoke to her. ARMANSKY I'm afraid that does n't mean much. FRODE I do n't understand. ARMANSKY No one here likes her. So it's better if she works at home. FRODE But you told her I wanted to meet her. ARMANSKY But I've told her many more times I prefer her not to meet clients.", "INT. MILTON SECURITY - SAME TIME - DAY The figure from the motorcycle crosses the lobby. From behind we ca n't see him/her well, but can see wary looks from others emerging from and getting into the elevator. FRODE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But you like her. ARMANSKY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Very much. She's one of the best investigators I have. As you saw from her report -", "INT. ARMANSKY'S OFFICE - SAME TIME - CONTINUED The report on Armansky's desk is 200 pages long. INSERT : Printed on its cover : Mikael Blomkvist, a case number and, smaller, its author, Lisbeth Salander. FRODE But. ARMANSKY I'm concerned you wo n't like her. She's different. FRODE In what way. ARMANSKY In every way.", "INT. MILTON SECURITY - STOCKHOLM - SAME TIME - DAY The black - clad figure - from behind again - strides past coworkers who look away.", "INT. ARMANSKY'S OFFICE - SAME TIME - CONTINUED SECRETARY/INTERCOM Ms. Salander's here. Armansky breathes a defeated sigh, taps the intercom button twice to say ` okay, let her in.' Lisbeth Salander walks in : A small, pale, anorexic - looking waif in her early 20's. Short black - dyed hair - pierced eyelid - tattoo of a wasp on her neck ; probably several more under her black leather jacket - black t - shirt, black jeans, black Caterpillar boots. Frode is only middlingly successful in concealing his initial reaction to her. This is n't punk fashion. This is someone saying, Stay the fuck away from me. ARMANSKY Lisbeth, Mr. Dirch Frode. FRODE How do you do? She does n't shake Frode's hand, but does address him : SALANDER Something wrong with the report? FRODE No. It seems quite thorough. There's a wealth of data here. But I'm also interested to know what's not in it. SALANDER There's nothing not in it. FRODE Your opinion of him is n't. SALANDER I'm not paid to give my opinion. FRODE So you do n't have one? Salander sends Armansky a weary look. His look back begs her not to say anything unpleasant. Eventually - SALANDER He's clean. In my opinion. FRODE He's - excuse me? SALANDER He's honest. He's who he presents himself to be. In his business, that's an asset. FRODE There's less in his asset column after his conviction today. SALANDER That's true. He made a fool of himself with that. If it happened that way. Frode looks at Armansky. What's that supposed to mean? SALANDER If he made up the story, that's out of character. So is giving up without a fight. People do n't do things that are out of character. FRODE Are you saying he was set up? SALANDER That was n't part of my assignment. And, apparently, she has no opinion on it either. FRODE You're quite right he made a fool of himself professionally. How big of a fool did he make of himself financially? SALANDER The judgement will just about empty his savings. This seems to please Frode more than anything else that has been said, and Salander sees it. SALANDER May I go? FRODE Your report is light in another area. His personal life. Anything you chose not to include? SALANDER Nothing that warranted inclusion. FRODE I'm not sure if that means yes or no. ARMANSKY I think what Ms. Salander means, and I agree, is that everyone has a right to a certain amount of privacy, even when they're being investigated. FRODE Not in this case. I have to know if there's anything about him I might find unsavory - even if she does n't. Armansky's look to her at once apologizes for Frode, and encourages her to speak. She finally relents but puts no more spin on it than any other piece of raw data - SALANDER He's had a long sexual relationship with his co - editor. It wrecked his marriage, but not hers. Her husband accepts it. Sometimes she sleeps at Blomkvist's, sometimes at home. Frode thinks about that, perhaps imagining how much simpler his own life would be with such an arrangement. FRODE You were right not to include that. SALANDER I know. FRODE Anything else? SALANDER No. FRODE Please think before you say no. SALANDER I did. FRODE I do n't want to be surprised by something later. Salander offers nothing more. FRODE So. Nothing else. In the personal department. You're sure. SALANDER -LRB- pause. -RRB- He likes sandwiches.", "EXT. BLOMKVIST'S APARTMENT - ESTABLISHING", "INT. BLOMKVIST'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Blomkvist is n't sentimental, but does have a few framed snapshots : his daughter, his sister, and one with Erika - in their 20's - in which he's wearing a black leather jacket. She wakes up alone in his bed. Pads to the darkened living room to find him typing on his laptop, a half - eaten sandwich and glass of water next to it. ERIKA Usually when I wake up in a cold bed, it's at home. BLOMKVIST Sorry. ERIKA What are you doing? BLOMKVIST Writing the press release. ERIKA Saying - BLOMKVIST You're taking over as publisher. You're sorry for any nuisance Wennerstrom was caused. I ca n't be reached for comment. ERIKA You're giving up. BLOMKVIST Just taking a few steps aside. For you. ERIKA This makes me sick.", "INT. MCDONALD'S - STOCKHOLM - DAY Salander sits alone at a table waiting for someone with a coffee and a gift haphazardly wrapped with a Christmas bow, the price tag still on it, a paperback book - My 60 Memorable Games, by Bobby Fischer. She notices the price tag is still on it. Peels it off. Dials a call on her cell. Hangs up when it goes to voice mail.", "EXT. PALMGREN'S APARTMENT - ESTABLISHING", "INT. PALMGREN'S APARTMENT - STOCKHOLM - DAY She knocks on a door. Hears classical music playing softly inside, but no one answers. She tries the door. It's unlocked. The gift in hand, she pushes it open. She comes into an apartment which looks like it could belong to a professor. Sees a chess piece on the floor. Then a trail of them that lead her to an overturned chess table and, next to it, a body. The gash on the old man's head could have been caused by a fall into the corner of the table, or from a blow to it. She quickly tries to determine if he's breathing. Calls for an ambulance.", "INT. BLOMKVIST'S APARTMENT - STOCKHOLM - EVENING It's doubtful there's a stranger Christmas gathering going on anywhere in the world. Standing around with eggnog are : Blomkvist ; his teenage daughter Pernilla ; his sister Annika and her Italian husband ; Erika and her weirdly understanding artist husband Greger, whose arm is around her waist ; a few other friends -LRB- and perhaps lovers -RRB-. GREGER You needed a better attorney. You needed your sister. BLOMKVIST She offered. ANNIKA He declined. BLOMKVIST As she hoped. ANNIKA Never a good idea mixing family and business. BLOMKVIST And I still would have lost. GREGOR Did you have. anything on him. BLOMKVIST I had a lot. It just was n't any good. ERIKA It was n't even about Mikael. It was Wennerstrom sending a message to the press as a whole - and the FSA : Do n't ask questions. Blomkvist's daughter seems concerned for him. BLOMKVIST I'm fine, Nilla. You do n't have to worry about me. PERNILLA Mom's worried. BLOMKVIST About me? PERNILLA About all that money.", "INT. SODER HOSPITAL - STOCKHOLM - NIGHT Outside the ICU, Salander sits on the floor like a dog who wo n't leave the spot its master told it to wait. For the first time since we've met her, she looks vulnerable. The doors swing open. A doctor steps out. Salander gets up to hear his report - DOCTOR You're Mr. Palmgren's daughter? SALANDER His ward. He does n't have a daughter. The doctor is n't sure then if he should talk to her. SALANDER Please.", "INT. ICU - SODER HOSPITAL - LATER - NIGHT Not allowed to go inside, she peers through glass at Palmgren, who is unaware of her, or the nurse attending him, or even himself. A spiderweb of tubes emerge from his neck and wrists ; oxygen tubes from his nostrils. DOCTOR -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He's had severe cerebral hemorrhaging. Either from the fall itself, or a stroke that led to the fall. His blood pressure is still high. I'm hopeful he'll regain consciousness, but that's not assured. And it's possible, if he does, there will be neurological damage.", "INT. BLOMKVIST'S APARTMENT - STOCKHOLM - NIGHT They're around the dinner table now, passing platters around. Blomkvist notices his daughter's head is bowed in silent prayer. BLOMKVIST Nilla? What are you doing? PERNILLA Nothing. BLOMKVIST -LRB- pause. -RRB- You're not serious. PERNILLA I do n't want to talk about it since I know you wo n't approve. BLOMKVIST Of -. -LRB- she does n't say. -RRB- Nilla. PERNILLA Light of Life. BLOMKVIST Light of - what? -LRB- she does n't repeat it. -RRB- What is that? PERNILLA You think it's all senseless but it is n't. It's more natural to believe in something than not to. She begins eating. Blomkvist stares at her, feeling a little sick. A cell phone rings. No one can tell - as you never can - whose it is, and so all pull them out. It's Blomkvist's. BLOMKVIST Excuse me. Looking back at his daughter with some concern, he steps away to take the call. BLOMKVIST Hello. FRODE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Mr. Blomkvist? BLOMKVIST Yes. FRODE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Forgive me for intruding on your Christmas. My name is Dirch Frode. I'm an attorney. I represent Henrik Vanger. Perhaps you've heard of. -LRB- him. -RRB- - BLOMKVIST Of course. FRODE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- He'd like to speak to you about a private matter. BLOMKVIST You know, you're calling at an awkward time. FRODE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I'm sorry. I'm about to sit down to Christmas dinner myself. BLOMKVIST That's not what I mean. FRODE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You're referring to your recent legal trouble. That has provided Mr. Vanger with some entertainment. BLOMKVIST Excuse me? FRODE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- He does n't care for Wennerstrom either. Frode, in his polite, deliberate way, is reeling Blomkvist in like a perch. BLOMKVIST Have him call me. FRODE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- He'd like to meet in person if that's okay. Up north. Hedestad. BLOMKVIST No. Sorry. FRODE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- He's much too old to make a trip to Stockholm, Mr. Blomkvist. Please. If you'd be so kind as to consider. Blomkvist is n't sure what to do, or say. FRODE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Hedestad is lovely in winter. Like a Christmas card.", "INT. METRO - MOVING - STOCKHOLM - MORNING Salander rides a crowded underground train, but feels even more cut off from the people around her than usual ; completely alone.", "EXT. NORRLAND COAST - DAY A passenger train, barely visible in a severe snowstorm, makes its way north. This is no Christmas card.", "INT. SJ TRAIN - MOVING - DAY Blomkvist stares out at the bleak, northern landscape.", "EXT. TRAIN STATION - HEDESTAD - DAY Blomkivist disembarks to find Frode - who he can only assume is Frode - beyond a veil of snow, waving to him from outside a Mercedes. Unlike Blomkvist, he's dressed for this God - awful weather in a fur - collared topcoat.", "INT/EXT. MERCEDES / HEDESTAD - DAY Frode's Mercedes comes across a long bridge linking the old industrial town to a rocky island. FRODE First time in Hedestad? BLOMKVIST And last, I'm sure. FRODE It's lovely in the spring. BLOMKVIST You said it was lovely in winter. FRODE This is unseasonable. BLOMKVIST I'll be on the 4:30 train back to Stockholm. FRODE Unless we get snowed in. I'm joking. You'll be home tonight, if that's what you wish.", "INT/EXT. MERCEDES - HEDEBY ISLAND - DAY The car comes up a long, bare - tree - lined drive, leading to a stately manor. As Frode and Blomkvist climb out, a distant gunshot echoes, but neither Frode nor the old man who appears at the front door of the manor pays it any attention ; just someone hunting. VANGER Welcome. Come inside. It's warm.", "INT. VANGER MANOR - DAY It is warm inside. There are fires in the fireplaces. And Vanger himself is warm in nature, yet speaks quickly as they come through the house - VANGER Thank you for coming way out here. Anna, take Mr. Blomkvist's insufficient coat. Would you like to freshen up? We'll be having dinner later. For now, hot tea is waiting. Unless you'd like a drink instead. What would you like? FRODE Mr. Blomkvist would like to be on the 4:30 train back to Stockholm. VANGER What? BLOMKVIST I ca n't stay for dinner. Vanger looks thoroughly disappointed. Or hurt. VANGER Oh. I guess I'd better be quick then. Thank you, Dirch. Mikael, this way.", "INT. VANGER'S STUDY - DAY Tea service and pastries on a coffee table separate Blomkvist from Vanger, whose elderly frame is in danger of being swallowed up by a wing - back chair. VANGER What do you know about me? BLOMKVIST That you used to run one of the biggest industrial firms in the country. VANGER Used to. That's correct. There are framed black and white photographs on a wall - factories and trains figuring into all of them. VANGER My grandfather forged the tracks the 4:30 train will take you home on - and most of the other pre - state - owned rail lines. We stitched this country together. We made the steel and milled the lumber that built modern Sweden. -LRB- pause. -RRB- You know what our most profitable product now is? -LRB- Blomkvist does n't. -RRB- Fertilizer. Blomkvist imagines he's meant to offer a wistful shrug. VANGER I'm not obsessed with the declining health of the company, but I am with the settling of accounts - and the clock is ticking. I need your help. BLOMKVIST Doing. VANGER Officially, assisting me with my memoirs. But what you'd really be doing is solving a mystery. And you'd do that by doing what you do so well - this recent legal mishap of yours notwithstanding. You'd be investigating thieves, misers, bullies, and malcontents - the most detestable collection of people you'll ever meet. my family.", "EXT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - ESTABLISHING", "INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - DAY She exhumes an unwashed bowl from a sinkful of dirty dishes, fills it with tap water without rinsing it, dumps a packet of ramen noodles in, puts it in a microwave. She takes a Coke can from an anemically - stocked fridge to a desk in her so - called living room, a clutter of full ashtrays, fast food wrappers, empty soda cans, paperwork, unwashed laundry. The only things of any value here are her MacBook and several external hard drives. NOTE : Changes below are INSERTS only : She types Dirch Frode in the search window. Clicks on the top result which takes her to Frode's bio on Vanger Industries' site with its distinctive V.I. logo. His official company photo accompanies his profile : Uppsala University Law School. Assistant Counsel, Vanger Industries, 1965 - 1972. Head Counsel, 1972 - present. She types in another search - Hans - Erik Wennerstrom. Clicks on his Wikipedia page, which shows a photo of him alongside his bio. She skims it - President of the investment firm, Wennerstrom - gruppen. personal wealth of 12 billion dollars -LRB- 80 billion kronor -RRB-. 82 - foot yacht, villa on the island of Varmdo. She does a third search, types : Wennerstrom + Vanger Industries - and hits the ` cached' option - There are only a couple of results that include both terms. She goes to one of them, a body of text of some old page with the cached terms highlighted in yellow and blue, and reads -. Hans - Erik Wennerstrom, CPA, Vanger Industries Accounting Dept., 1971 - 1972. Hmmm.", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - DAY - 1960 The children of the `` thieves, misers, bullies and incompetents'' play on a beach. A shutter blinks freezing a 12 - year - old girl in foreground in black and white - VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This is Harriet. The granddaughter of my brother Richard.", "INT. VANGER'S STUDY - DAY The same photograph of Harriet in a photo album Vanger shows Blomkvist. VANGER Richard, who I may as well start with to get it out of the way, was a Nazi of the first order - joining the Nationalist Socialist Freedom League when he was 17. A page in the album turns to reveal a photo of a young man in a uniform with a Nazi pin. VANGER Is n't it interesting how fascists always steal the word freedom. -LRB- Blomkvist checks his watch. -RRB- The 4:30. Yes. Okay. Anyway, Richard died a martyr to the Nazi cause in 1940 - missed all the real excitement - but not the opportunity to regularly beat his wife Margareta and their son, Gottfried. We see photos of Gottfried, a handsome young man. VANGER Now, Gottfried - Harriet's father - was what people used to call a Good - Time - Charlie. BLOMKVIST They're still called that. VANGER Are they? Okay. INSERT : Close on a photo of Gottfried. VANGER He was a charmer, a ladies man, a drunk. In other words, a born salesman - which is what he did for the company - traveling around, taking clients out to dinner and so on. BLOMKVIST Someone has to do it. VANGER That's right. Anyway, he died in 1965. Drowned. Drunk. Here on the island. A studio photo : Gottfried with his wife and two children. VANGER His wife Isabella - who was pretty much useless before as a parent - became even more so after his death - which is when I began looking after their children - Martin - who runs Vanger Industries now that I'm retired - and Harriet. A photo of a much younger Vanger and 15 - year - old Harriet. VANGER She was bright and curious, a winning combination in any person. BLOMKVIST And beautiful. Vanger nods as he regards the photo. BLOMKVIST Something happened to her? Vanger nods again ; is silent for several moments. VANGER Someone in the family murdered Harriet and for the last forty years has been trying to drive me insane.", "EXT. TRAIN STATION - HEDESTAD - DUSK The 4:30 train leaves the station without Blomkvist.", "INT. VANGER'S STUDY - DUSK Anna gathers the cups and leaves with the tea tray. VANGER It was September 21st, 1966. A Saturday. Harriet was 16.", "EXT. VANGER ESTATE - DAY - 1966 Three generations of Vangers dot the grounds. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- My brothers - along with their wives, children and grandchildren - had gathered here for our loathsome annual board meeting and dinner. It was also the day the Yacht Club held its Autumn parade.", "EXT. HEDESTAD - DAY - 1966 And we see the parade, and, among the spectators lining the town's main street, Harriet with other teenage girls. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Harriet and a couple of school friends had gone into town to watch it. She returned a little after two o'clock.", "INT. VANGER'S PARLOR - DAY - 1966 A clock in the room reads, 2:10. Vanger and a few family members sip afternoon cocktails. Harriet appears. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She came to the parlor. She asked if she could talk to me. I honestly do n't remember what I was doing that I thought was more important, but I told her to give me a few minutes. She leaves. He returns to the others in the room. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But in a few minutes, before I could go upstairs to talk to her, something else occurred.", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - DAY - 1966 A car and a fuel truck, both going too fast, collide on the bridge. The truck rolls onto its side crushing the car and spewing gasoline. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The accident had nothing to do with Harriet - and everything.", "INT. VANGER'S FAMILY ROOM - DAY - 1966 Vanger and the others react to the noise of the crash. Out the large window they can see the bridge and many of those on the grounds trotting down to get a closer look. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It was chaos as everyone dropped what they were doing.", "EXT. THE BRIDGE - DAY - 1966 People and vehicles converge on both sides of the bridge. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Police, an ambulance, fire brigade, reporter, photographer and onlookers quickly arrived from town, as those of us on the island - the family - hurried to the bridge from our side. The truck driver has managed to climb out of his cab, but the other motorist is trapped. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The driver of the car - a Mr. Aronsson - was pinned and severely injured. All we could do was try to pry him out with our hands - since metal tools could spark. A local newspaper photographer and another man, snap pictures as Vanger and others try without success to pry the injured driver from his car. As the chaos ensues - VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- About twenty minutes after the crash, Harriet was in the kitchen. Anna herself saw her.", "INT. KITCHEN - VANGER MANOR - DAY - 1966 Anna glances to Harriet as she comes in, then back out the window to the bridge. Harriet passes a clock that reads 2:35, steps outside, walks toward the woods.", "EXT. THE BRIDGE - DUSK - 1966 As the sun sets, Vanger and the others on the bridge make progress extracting the driver from the car. A young man coming from the town side takes off his jacket to help. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We finally got poor Aronsson out of his car and off to the hospital, and those of us on our side drifted back to the house.", "INT. VANGER MANOR - NIGHT - 1966 The family has assembled at a long dining table. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The sun was down, the excitement over, we sat down to dinner. That's when I noticed Harriet was n't there. Vanger considers an empty chair as everyone else, including the young man from the bridge, his jacket draped on his chair, passes platters of food around. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And she was n't there the next morning. Or the next. Or the next forty years.", "INT. VANGER'S MANOR - DUSK - PRESENT DAY Vanger has the same look of concern on his face now as he leads Blomkvist up some stairs. VANGER What was she going to tell me? Why did n't I make time for her? Why did n't I listen? BLOMKVIST She could n't have run away? VANGER Not without being seen.", "EXT. THE BRIDGE - NIGHT - 1966 The crews continue their work under lights. VANGER Firemen stayed on the bridge all night pumping out the gasoline. And no one swam across, or took a row boat. All of them were still tied up on this side Sunday. Believe me, we checked.", "INT. VANGER MANOR - DUSK - PRESENT DAY BLOMKVIST She could n't have fallen and drowned? VANGER The currents are n't strong here. Anything that falls into the water turns up nearby. Like her father. His body did n't drift more than ten meters when he drowned the year before. Vanger's pauses at a landing to steady himself and his labored breathing. VANGER No. Someone killed her, Mr. Blomkvist. Someone on the island that day. Someone close enough to know what she used to give me each year on my birthday. He unlocks the door of the attic and pushes it open to reveal a cluster of nine dusty framed dried flowers on a wall. VANGER These were from her. And, on another wall, forty similarly - framed flowers - VANGER These, from her killer. Blomkvist regards the forty. BLOMKVIST Who knows about these? VANGER Me, the police, the murderer. and now you.", "EXT. STOCKHOLM - DUSK It's raining as an elegantly - dressed woman slows before a luxurious apartment building. Salander approaches from the other direction. Passing, she notes the four number tones the woman keys in the code lock. The door buzzes open and the woman disappears inside. Salander doubles back and keys the same four number tones in the Milton Security lock.", "INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - STOCKHOLM - CONTINUOUS Opulent foyer. Security camera. Antique elevator cage whose cables pull the woman upstairs. Salander comes to an unlocked service door and takes stairs to a basement machine room. Examines tangles of phone lines, meters, Wi - Fi routers. Photographs them with a digital camera. She climbs the stairs back up to the foyer. The front door buzzes, and a man in a suit on the sidewalk pushes it open, sees her, holds it wide enough for her to pass. The man is a driver/bodyguard. He continues to hold the door for his employer who now emerges from the back of an idling car and crosses to it in the rain. Wennerstrom.", "EXT. VANGER'S MANOR - NIGHT The rain here is icier and more punishing. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- When the police investigation petered out, I kept at it -", "INT. VANGER MANOR - NIGHT They're eating dinner now in the dining room. VANGER - studying their reports and interviews, all the information there was, and it's a lot. I've spent half my life examining the events of a single day. And for all that, he's no closer to the truth. BLOMKVIST I understand your frustration. But what you're asking me to do is a waste of money. VANGER We have n't discussed your fee. BLOMKVIST We do n't need to. I ca n't find something you have n't been able to in forty years. VANGER You do n't know that. You have a very keen investigative mind. Blomkvist wonders why he ever agreed to come here as Vanger refills his wine glass. VANGER Here's what I propose : You come stay on the island. I have a nice little cottage by the water you can use. You study the material I give you. You find something I've missed - or you do n't. BLOMKVIST You want me to set aside my life and career for something that's a complete waste of time. VANGER Think of it as a well deserved vacation. A way of avoiding all the people you want to avoid right now. -LRB- nothing from Blomkvist. -RRB- As for compensation, I'll pay you twice your salary for as many months as it takes. I'll quadruple it if you solve the mystery. BLOMKVIST Mr. -LRB- Vanger. -RRB- - VANGER I'm not done. I'll throw in one more thing - even though you're a terrible negotiator. It's what you want more than anything else and it ca n't be bought at any price. I'll give it to you. Hans - Erik Wennerstrom. He pushes toward Blomkvist a plate : the carcass of the fresh - killed and cooked duck they've been eating. It and the mention of Wennerstrom's name clouds, at least for a moment, Blomkvist's memory of the train he missed. VANGER He began his career working for me. And I've followed it with interest, shall we say, ever since. You were right about him. You just could n't prove it.", "EXT. PLAGUE'S APARTMENT - ESTABLISHING", "INT. PLAGUE'S APARTMENT - STOCKHOLM - NIGHT Salander climbs a flight of stairs in a building that could n't be more different than Wennerstrom's. Knocks on a door, waits, listens to some dead - bolts unlocking. It opens, but remains impassable by a figure weighing over 300 pounds. He offers her no greeting. Fades back into the shadows of his dark apartment. PLAGUE Would you like to sit? I could possibly clear a place if necessary. It's hard to imagine how he or anyone might accomplish that. The place is like a junkyard. Even the unmade bed is covered with stuff. SALANDER Did you make it? PLAGUE Have you something for me? She takes some cash from a pocket, hands it to him. He counts it and is unimpressed with its total. PLAGUE I'm on welfare ; I do n't administer it. This is n't enough. SALANDER I had to pay three months back rent and eat a little bit. It's all I have right now. PLAGUE I find that so poignant. So much so that he does nothing more than look at her. She reaches to take the money back, but he pockets it and moves across the dark room to a work table where high - end computers fight for space with debris. Finds and gives her a small homemade electronic box, which she turns over in her hands. While it's clear both these people are deficient in behavior that governs polite society, it's hard to tell which lacks it more. PLAGUE No ` thank you?'", "INT. MILLENNIUM OFFICE - EARLY MORNING Erika, first to arrive this morning, or so she thinks, comes through the empty offices with a Wayne's Coffee to - go cup - but Blomkvist is already there, packing supplies from his desk, books from his shelf. A second suitcase, presumably full of clothes, sits on the floor. ERIKA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You ca n't be serious -", "INT/EXT. MILLENNIUM'S OFFICES - EARLY MORNING - LATER He zips the suitcase with the supplies in it closed and gathers the rest. ERIKA We're in our worst crisis ever and you're writing a memoir? BLOMKVIST You fired me ; I need something to do. ERIKA You fired you ; I need you here, not the North Pole. You know what this is going to look like. BLOMKVIST Like I've been gutted. Like I'm running away. I am. They cross through the building, he with his cases, she with her coffee cup. BLOMKVIST Wennerstrom wants to see me waving a white flag, not a red one. And the more it looks like there's a problem between you and me, the more it'll satisfy him. ERIKA There is a problem between us. He wo n't be satisfied until he shuts us down, and you're leaving me to fight him alone. He kisses her but gets back no more than he would from a statue - and steps outside. BLOMKVIST It's four hours by train. It's not the North Pole.", "EXT. TRAIN STATION - HEDESTAD - DAY The depot thermometer reads 0. Blomkvist disembarks with two suitcases. This time, Frode is n't there to meet him. He struggles with his luggage through the snow to a taxi stand.", "INT. TAXI - MOVING - DAY As a taxi passes a gas station by the bridge, Blomkvist regards the Middle Eastern driver's eyes which regard him in the rear view mirror. BLOMKVIST Think this snow's going to let up anytime soon? HUSSEIN This is the North Pole.", "EXT. COTTAGE - HEDEBY ISLAND - DAY The taxi deposits Blomkvist outside a cottage. From here he can see Vanger's manor and couple other houses. The taxi drives off and disappears into the snow.", "INT. COTTAGE - DAY Two rooms. Fireplace. Pile of wood. A realtor would call it cozy. In truth it's just tiny and freezing cold. Blomkvist unpacks. Puts clothes in a wardrobe, sets out books, note pads, pens, CD's, a CD player, his laptop and a small printer. He flips open his cell phone to make a call. Gets no reception bars. Hears a faint, plaintive cry and traces it to a window, beyond which, on the sill outside, stands a cat peering in. He opens the door, and the cat heads straight for the kitchenette. Then looks at him. BLOMKVIST What. Milk? He opens the old fridge. No milk. Nothing.", "EXT. COTTAGE - DAY He comes out into falling snow holding his cell phone out in front of him like a dowser divining ground water. Moves around trying to get a signal. Ca n't.", "INT. MARKET - HEDESTAD - DUSK He purchases milk, butter, a loaf of sliced bread, some packaged lunch meats and a few cans of cat food.", "EXT. HEDESTAD - DUSK He walks along the street through wind - whipping snow, cradling the grocery bag, cell out in front of him again. Any of the locals could tell him he could do this forever - there are no cell towers anywhere around here.", "EXT. HEDESTAD - DUSK Grocery bag at his feet, he dials a call with fingers he can no longer feel on the gas station pay phone by the end of the bridge. It goes to Erika's voice mail. BLOMKVIST It's me. I'm here. It's fucking cold and I'm on a pay phone. If you tried to call, the reception sucks, and if you tried to email, there's none of that either, so - so - I'm here - and - I ca n't even speak it's so fucking cold. He hangs up, open the same pack of cigarettes from before. Eighteen in there. Struggles to get one lit in the wind and snow, hurries off toward the bridge.", "INT. COTTAGE - NIGHT As the cat laps at milk on a plate, Blomkvist tries to get a fire going using pages ripped from a book. It's a struggle he's going to lose ; he's no Boy Scout.", "EXT. WENNERSTROM'S BUILDING - NIGHT Salander appears and keys in the four lock tones.", "INT. WENNERSTROM'S BUILDING - NIGHT In the machine room again, she pulls one cable away from the others and wires to it to Plague's electronic box.", "EXT. HEDESTAD - DAWN The bell in the church tower clangs -", "INT. COTTAGE - DAWN But it's a knock that draws Blomkvist awake. Having forgotten where he is, he regards the cat sleeping with him, then the room, and groans. He pads to the door in the freezing cold. Opens it to find a rugged older man on his doorstep with a handcart loaded with file boxes. NILSSON I'm Gunner. The caretaker.", "INT. COTTAGE - LATER - DAWN As Gunner expertly builds a fire in the fireplace for him, Blomkvist works at unpacking the boxes - documents, fat police reports, notebooks, folders, photo albums. NILSSON You're an author. BLOMKVIST I'm writing a biography of Mr. Vanger, yes. Nilsson nods, but is n't sure he believes it. Maybe he took a look inside the boxes before he brought them down. NILSSON I saw you on television. BLOMKVIST That's unfortunate. NILSSON Bit of trouble, I guess. Blomkvist nods and hopes that's enough to put an end to the subject. It is n't. NILSSON No jail time, though. That's good. Cost you a lot of money though, yeah? Blomkvist shares his annoyance with the cat. Nilsson dusts himself off, satisfied with the fire he's made. NILSSON There.", "EXT. VANGER ESTATE - DAY Vanger has ventured outside to show Blomkvist around the estate. Smoke from chimneys rise into bitter cold grey skies, weather for which Blomkvist, unlike the old man, is inadequately dressed. VANGER The island is owned by my family. Your closest neighbor is my brother Harald, another Nazi if you can believe. Two in the family. He's detestable to put it nicely, but you'll probably never see him. He's a recluse. BLOMKVIST He was there that day? VANGER Indeed he was. Vanger's look to Blomkvist adds, ` so consider him a suspect.' He indicates another house on the grounds - VANGER That's his daughter Cecilia's house. They do n't speak. BLOMKVIST Does anyone speak to anyone on this island? VANGER Actually, Isabella - Harriet's mother - who lives there -. -LRB- points. -RRB- - she speaks to Harald - which is one of reasons I do n't speak to her. -LRB- points. -RRB- Cecilia's brother Birger lives there. BLOMKVIST Who does n't he speak to? VANGER You, probably. Not that you'd want him to. He can be as unpleasant as Harald. BLOMKVIST I'm quickly losing track who's who. VANGER Oh, how you'll wish were it always so. Soon you'll know us all only too well - with my apologies. -LRB- points. -RRB- Out there is my nephew Martin's house ; Harriet's brother. It's a modern house - lots of glass - out on the point. BLOMKVIST Who speaks to him? VANGER I speak to him. He runs the company now, as I think I told you. They hear a distant rifle crack and echo. It startles Blomkvist a bit, but not Vanger. VANGER Someone shooting their dinner. Gunner probably. The caretaker. BLOMKVIST I just met him. VANGER He was 19 when Harriet disappeared. Old enough, Blomkvist gathers, to be considered a suspect. Vanger points off - VANGER He lives over there. Shivering in the cold, Blomkvist turns. BLOMKVIST And you live here. VANGER Sorry? BLOMKVIST Your house. For a moment, Vanger is n't sure what Blomkvist means. Then he is, and is pleased by it. VANGER Yes, you're right. The man who hires the detective should always be kept on the suspects list.", "INT. PALMGREN'S APARTMENT - DAY A nurse takes a tray away, leaving Salander alone with Palmgren, separated by the chess table they wo n't playing a game on. She wipes his mouth with her sleeve. SALANDER I got a call from social welfare. I've been assigned a new guardian. It's unlikely he understands what she has said. It's unlikely he even knows she's there.", "INT. COTTAGE - NIGHT Tacked to a wall, a map of the island on which Blomkvist has written the names of the living Vanger family members and staff in the approximate locations of their houses. Next to it - 3x5 cards and photos - a Vanger family tree - which doubles as a suspects list. On some of the cards is the word, ` deceased.' He makes a sandwich. Refills a coffee cup. Begins reading the police reports. The first is a photocopy of a note when the call from Vanger came in : `` Officer Morell informed by telephone of situation, 10:19 p.m.''", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - NIGHT - 1966 Gustaf Morell stands at the bow of a patrol boat slowly motoring past the bridge where the fire brigade works to pump the gasoline from the overturned truck. INTERCUT : Blomkvist reads, `` Morell on site, Hedeby Island, 11:42 p.m.''", "INT. VANGER MANOR - NIGHT - 1966 Morell, feeling like he's entered an Agatha Christie locked room mystery, regards the extended Vanger clan sitting in the living room looking suitably worried. MORELL I'd like to see the girl's room. VANGER It's down the hall. MORELL I thought this was your house. VANGER It is. She lives with me. MORELL Are her parents alive? VANGER Her mother is. Vanger points Isabella out. Slender, overdressed and smoking a Sobranie, she immediately strikes Morell as a woman as venomous as she is beautiful. VANGER This way. Morell follows Vanger down a hall - INTERCUT : Blomkvist reads, `` Approx. 12:05, inspected missing girl's bedroom. Found -''", "INT. HARRIET'S ROOM - VANGER MANOR - DAWN - 1966 A purse on the desk in Harriet's room. Morell carefully removes the contents : Comb, pocket mirror, handkerchief, wallet containing a few kronor, her ID, and her address book. He leafs through this. DET. MORELL I want to speak to everyone here. That'll take all night so you might want someone to put some coffee on. YOUNGER VANGER What about the search? MORELL First thing in the morning. YOUNGER VANGER No. We should do it now. She could be hurt out there. Vanger is either a good actor or has nothing to hide. VANGER Please. I beg you. INTERCUT : Blomkvist reads, `` authorized our patrol boat and two volunteer craft to begin 12:20 a.m. - G. Morell.''", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - NIGHT - 1966 The police patrol boat and two Peterssons motor around the island, spotlighting the shore and rocky cliffs.", "INT. VANGER MANOR - NIGHT - 1966 The weird tableaux of characters, awaiting their interviews with Morell. At the moment, he's across the room with Harald Vanger, taking notes, drinking coffee. INTERCUT : Blomkvist reads, `` Patrol 014 and Orienteering Club volunteers assembled, 6:40 a.m.''", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - DAWN - 1966 Search parties crisscross the island, wade through ditches, check old barns, shine flashlights up chimneys. Woodsmen with blood hounds comb through woods. MORELL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We searched for days.", "EXT/INT. TRAIN - MOVING - LAKE SILJAN - PRESENT DAY A train bisects the landscape. Blomkvist looks out. MORELL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Eventually, much to his dismay - and mine - I had to talk to Henrik about calling it off -", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - DUSK - 1966 As the search continues, Morell, looking like he has n't slept - which he has n't - peers down a rocky cliff to the water. Somehow he knows they're never going to find her. MORELL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The fact that I never found a body did n't surprise me. You ca n't dig up an entire island.", "INT. CABIN - LAKE SILJAN - DAY The same face - forty years older - the man who spoke to Vanger on the phone about the dried flowers - now speaks with Blomkvist as he scrapes out the bowl of his pipe. MORELL But I also could n't find a motive. Was it spontaneous? Was it planned? Did she know something someone wished she did n't? Was it about business? BLOMKVIST Business? She was sixteen. MORELL And very bright. Henrik told me he could easily imagine her running the business someday, which would mean someone else would n't. BLOMKVIST She was with some friends that day. At a parade. You must have talked to them. MORELL She told them she was n't feeling well. She left early. But they also said she kept secrets from them, too. The main thing I learned talking to them for hours is that teenage girls are complicated. BLOMKVIST I have one. MORELL So you know. -LRB- Blomkvist does indeed. -RRB- Did you bring the last gift Henrik received? BLOMKVIST It's at the National Forensic Lab. MORELL I can tell you what their report will say now : It's a flower common to Europe. All of them are. No prints. No DNA. He lights the pipe. Blomkvist watches the tobacco glow. BLOMKVIST I wanted to ask you about this. He produces an old address book from his jacket pocket. Of course, Morell has seen it before, and handles it delicately. The decades have dried out its pages. MORELL She received this from Henrik the Christmas before. I studied it more times than I can say. I know every page of it. BLOMKVIST It's the last page I'm curious about. MORELL As was I. BLOMKVIST The only names not alphabetized. Morell nods that he knows that only too well as he turns to that last page. On it, in neat handwriting : Magda 32016 Sara 32109 R.J. 30114 R.L. 32027 Mari 32018 MORELL They're local Hedestad phone numbers. The first belonged to a woman named Margot, whose mother was Magda, who claimed she did n't know Harriet. The fourth, R.L., belonged to Rosemarie Larsson, an elderly woman who died a few years before. The other three were unconnected in any way that I could find. He hands the address book back. It, and everything else about the case, clearly trouble him still. BLOMKVIST I've reminded you of things you'd rather forget. I'm sorry. MORELL I ca n't forget it. It's my Rebecka Case. Blomkvist is n't sure what that means. MORELL Every policeman has at least one unsolved case. Back then it was old Torstensson. Year after year he kept returning to one - taking out the files - uselessly studying them. As young men, we had to laugh. BLOMKVIST Was this also a missing girl case? MORELL No, that's not why I mention it. The Rebecka Case is something that happened before Harriet was born. I'm talking about the soul of a policeman. Poor Torstensson could never solve it, and could never let it go. And neither can poor Morell with his Harriet case.", "EXT. STOCKHOLM - DAY An unexciting social welfare building.", "INT. BJURMAN'S OFFICE - DAY As a man behind a desk reviews a thick file, Salander reviews him : About 50 ; spends money on suits, thinking that might disguise his public servant status ; no wedding ring ; typical creep, as far as she's concerned. BJURMAN How's Mr. Palmgren doing? I was told he had a stroke of some kind. -LRB- nothing from Salander. -RRB- Terrible. It is, but she can tell he could n't care less. He leafs through her file - BJURMAN What exactly do you do at this security company? SALANDER Make coffee and sort mail. BJURMAN But not full - time. Not even part - time consistently. They somehow got along without coffee or mail in July and August? Nothing from her. BJURMAN How much do you earn there? SALANDER Enough. BJURMAN How much is your rent? SALANDER I pay my rent. BJURMAN When's the last time you were late? SALANDER Never. BJURMAN Do you think that ring in your eyelid makes you attractive? Salander, who's had to suffer insufferable officials all her life, does n't dignify the question with an answer. BJURMAN Here's the problem. There a discrepancy between the obligation of Mr. Palmgren's guardianship and the management of your finances. SALANDER It is n't a discrepancy or a problem. It was clear to him I could manage my own finances. BJURMAN But that's not clear to me. SALANDER I'm not a child. BJURMAN No. You're not. -LRB- looks at her too long. -RRB- But you were. And between then and now -. -LRB- indicating the files. -RRB- - two years in the locked ward at St. Stephens, for violent aggression - failure to adapt to four foster homes and seven schools - arrested twice for intoxication, twice for narcotics use, and most recently for assault : a bottle smashed into a man's face. You may have conned Mr. Palmgren into thinking you've improved, but looking at this -. -LRB- the file. -RRB- - not to mention how you're looking at me now - I can see you have n't. So the Good - Old - Mr - Palmgren - Days are over. Starting now, you'll be given a monthly allowance. You'll provide me with receipts for your expenses. If the numbers do n't balance, I'll have to assume the difference is going to drugs. SALANDER I've been on my own since I was twelve. BJURMAN No. You've been a persistent burden to the State since you were twelve. She wo n't look at him any more - not that there's anything even remotely interesting to see if she did. BJURMAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Ms. Salander? Please look at me. Because this is important. She does. in a way that says, I'd like to kill you. BJURMAN This behavior you're displaying right now is elaborately documented here -. -LRB- in the file. -RRB- - so it would come as a shock to no one if I chose an alternative to the lenient arrangement I just outlined. Is that what you're saying with your silence? You'd prefer institutionalization?", "INT. BJURMAN'S OFFICE BUILDING - DAY Salander steps into the elevator, hits the down button. As the doors close -", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - EVENING Martin's house did n't look so far away, but the road Blomkvist has to climb to reach it, and the fact he, like all writers, is out of shape, taxes him. A car driven by an attractive woman in her 30's pulls alongside him. LIV Mikael? -LRB- he manages a nod. -RRB- We're going to the same place. Hop in.", "EXT. MARTIN'S HOUSE - EVENING Martin, wearing an apron, opens the door to find both his dinner guests on the porch. LIV I found him at death's door halfway up the hill. BLOMKVIST I'm afraid I'm a bit out of shape. MARTIN No, it's a climb for anyone. I should've warned you. Come on in. Blomkvist puts a bottle of aquavit in Martin's hand.", "INT. MARTIN'S HOUSE - NIGHT The place is far cry from Vanger's manor. It's modern. Martin, Liv and Blomkvist work on the dinner Martin has prepared. Soft jazz music issues from somewhere. LIV I used to work in the company's petrochemical division in Goteborg. When it was sold, I went with it. MARTIN A dark day. LIV I live in Hong Kong now, but come back to Stockholm for family events, and when I do, I drive up to spend a couple days with Martin. MARTIN She comes for the moose steak. BLOMKVIST Is that what this is? They all glance away to a sound : A soft, strange, wailing wind. Martin drains the last of a bottle of wine in Blomkvist's glass and gets up. MARTIN Something's open. You like this one, or would you like to try something else? BLOMKVIST That one's good. Martin heads off to the kitchen. Blomkvist and Liv, left with each other, seem unsure what to talk about. LIV I saw you on Sky News a while ago. BLOMKVIST That was a dark day. LIV Sorry to remind you of it. BLOMKVIST It's okay. There are worse things than libel - though I ca n't immediately think of one in my business. LIV You're writing a book now, Martin said. BLOMKVIST Henrik's biography. LIV I love Henrik. He's fascinating. Martin, too. Together they're the Old Sweden and the New. BLOMKVIST They are. LIV You know about Harriet, right? Blomkvist does n't say. The sound of the wind stops. LIV You do n't? BLOMKVIST I do. Martin emerges from the cellar with a bottle of wine in hand and returns with it to the dining room. LIV -LRB- O.S. -RRB- The family does n't like to talk about it, but it ca n't just be swept under the rug. MARTIN What ca n't. LIV Harriet. Martin does n't comment. Just nods. Silence. Then - BLOMKVIST Maybe we could talk about that later. MARTIN We can talk about it now. -LRB- Blomkvist glances to Liv. -RRB- Liv knows everything about my crazy family. Which is why she'll never marry me. LIV That's one reason. She holds up her left hand. A wedding ring is on it. The couple seems very comfortable with each other, not unlike Blomkvist and Erika. MARTIN Do n't put that in your book. Anything else is fine. Harriet certainly. Everything changed after that. Not just the family, but the company. BLOMKVIST How so. MARTIN We're not Nordea or Ericsson, but we're still the largest family - owned company in the country. At the height, we had 40,000 employees. We have about half that now, and that downward slide - anyone can tell you - began after my sister's death. It broke Henrik's entrepreneurial spirit, and his heart. And Martin's, too, clearly. Blomkvist dares to ask, as innocently as possible - BLOMKVIST You were here that day? MARTIN Everyone was here, though I did n't get in until after the accident on the bridge. The 4:30 train. BLOMKVIST I know it well. MARTIN It was a terrible day. And the days after - searching and not finding her - were even worse. Liv sets her hand atop her boyfriend's. MARTIN This event, Mikael, has to be a big part of your book. Blomkvist promises him with a nod that it will.", "INT. STOCKHOLM METRO - DAY As Salander moves with a crowd toward the doors of a subway car, someone behind her roughly yanks the strap of her messenger bag from her shoulder - She gives chase, pushes past people, catches up with the junkie, grapples with him. He slugs her. She goes down, but does n't give up. Catches up with him on the escalator, throws him back down it. The bag slams onto the metal stairs, too, but at least she has it now. She does n't run. She waits at the top and watches the junkie drag himself up and think about trying again. He wisely decides to let it go, hops to the down - escalator and disappears into the underground station.", "INT/EXT. COTTAGE - DAY Blomkvist sifts through a box containing some of Harriet's personal belongings : school papers, textbooks, a Bible, the address book, her wallet and ID. A knock on the door. He puts the box in a closet on top of others, kicks it closed, opens the front door to find a not unattractive woman in her 50's on his porch. CECILIA Hi. I thought I'd come over and say hello. I'm Cecilia.", "INT. COTTAGE - DAY Cecilia regards Blomkvist's Vanger family tree on the wall. Wherever he only has an old photo, there's a Post - It next to it that reads : Recent Photo? INSERT of Cecilia's photo, taken when she was a teenager, and a Post - It with her name on it. CECILIA We're all uncomfortable with the idea of a chronicle of our family. BLOMKVIST It's not about the family. It's about Henrik and the company. CECILIA Like I said. BLOMKVIST It's not my intention to present a malicious portrait of anyone. CECILIA Unlike the one that landed you in court. BLOMKVIST Unlike that one. Correct. CECILIA So, what you're saying is, you're not really here to look into what happened to Harriet. Silence. Then - BLOMKVIST I ca n't ignore such a dramatic event, but no, that's not by any means my focus. CECILIA So all those boxes Gunner carted down here - which are where? - in the closet now? - were n't Henrik's private investigation. -LRB- Blomkvist ca n't think fast enough to respond. -RRB- I wonder sometimes who's crazier - my Nazi father or my obsessed uncle. INSERT of the photo of Young Harald in his Nazi uniform on the wall. BLOMKVIST Since we're talking about it, since you brought it up, what was Harriet like? CECILIA I'm sure Henrik has told you. BLOMKVIST He was my age then, and so could n't know what was really going on with a teenager any more than I can with my own daughter. You were her age. CECILIA Actually, my sister Anita was closer to her in age. INSERT of the photo on the wall of Anita, taken when she was about 17 years old. CECILIA She knew Harriet better than anyone - certainly better than I did. You should talk to her. BLOMKVIST I'd love to, where is she. CECILIA If I had to guess - London. BLOMKVIST You do n't know where your own sister lives? CECILIA I have n't seen her in years. We never really got along. BLOMKVIST I'm getting used to that comment. CECILIA That's the way it is when you're always after the same boys. BLOMKVIST People generally get over that sort of thing at a certain point. CECILIA Oh, I'm long over it, and wo n't ever have to worry about it again. She hates this place even more than I do. She left, moved to London and that was it. You could n't pay her to send a Christmas card, much less visit. BLOMKVIST I'll try to track her down for you. CECILIA Do n't bother. BLOMKVIST For myself then. He smiles. She studies him. Maybe he's not so bad. CECILIA If you do, and try talking to her about us, do n't be surprised if she tells you to fuck off.", "INT. MACJESUS - DAY A tech tries to get beyond the dreaded blinking''?'' on the laptop's cracked screen. TECH You backed up? SALANDER Hard drives at home, yeah. TECH That's good. This one's dead.", "EXT. MACJESUS - DAY Salander against the store window, cell phone to her ear. SECRETARY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'm sorry, he's booked all day. SALANDER It'll take five minutes. It's important. SECRETARY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Hold, please. Salander waits. Watches people stare at her like they always do. The secretary comes back on. SECRETARY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Seven o'clock.", "INT. OFFICE BUILDING - STOCKHOLM - NIGHT Salander comes past a janitor waxing a long, otherwise empty corridor. At the far end, she opens her new guardian's office door.", "INT. BJURMAN'S OFFICE - NIGHT As Bjurman reviews a McJesus invoice, Salander waits. The thick atmosphere reminds her of all the others she has sat in with school principals, shrinks and cops. BJURMAN Have you ever had an STD? -LRB- nothing from her. -RRB- When's the last time you were tested for HIV? -LRB- nothing. -RRB- How many partners have you had in the last month? -LRB- nothing. -RRB- How many were men? That last one seems to amuse him ; none amuse her. BJURMAN I'm required to ask you these things. It's a matter of health. SALANDER Write down anything you want. Bjurman sighs. Sets the form aside and looks at the McJesus invoice again. BJURMAN Why do you need such an expensive computer? SALANDER For work. BJURMAN Making coffee and sorting mail. SALANDER I should n't even have to ask. I should have control of my money like before. BJURMAN And you will. Once you show me you can be sociable and get along with people. Can you do that? -LRB- nothing from her. -RRB- Shall we start with me? -LRB- pause. -RRB- Shall we start now? As he comes around the desk, she eyes a sharp letter opener sticking out above some pens in a coffee mug a child has painted with the word, ` daddy.' BJURMAN If you're nice to me, I'll be nice to you. That's how normal people are. He stands in front of her, his crotch at her eye level. BJURMAN You've done this before. You know what to do. -LRB- she does n't do anything. -RRB- Do you want this computer or not? He takes her hand and places it on the crotch of his trousers. BJURMAN You feel that? That's gaberdine. Unzip them. -LRB- she does. -RRB- And. -LRB- she tugs at his underwear. -RRB- And. -LRB- she does n't move ; he smiles. -RRB- I like the reticence. I prefer a whore who pretends she is n't. It's almost convincing. He grabs her hair and roughly pulls her head toward him.", "INT. BJURMAN'S OFFICE - LATER - NIGHT Salander eats some toothpaste in Bjurman's private bathroom. When she returns to the office, she finds him calmly writing a check. BJURMAN Here you go. As promised. He holds it out to her, but when she reaches for it, pulls it back a little. BJURMAN I know you're not thinking about telling anyone about our date. Enjoy your computer games. She takes the check and leaves.", "INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - LATER - NIGHT She sits cross - legged in the dark. Thinking. Or plotting. The dragon tattoo visible on her bare back.", "INT. AIRLINE - IN FLIGHT - DAY Blomkvist, who does n't care for flying, pours two mini - bottles of vodka into a plastic cup.", "EXT. LONDON - DAY He sprays Binaca in his mouth. Then, careful to look both ways, crosses the street to an investment bank.", "INT. OFFICE - INVESTMENT BANK - DAY Blomkvist approaches a desk. The brass name plate on it reads, Anita Vanger. BLOMKVIST Excuse me. I'm sure I should have made an appointment. ANITA It's fine. Please. Have a seat. The accent is all British. She's been here much longer than her home country. No trace of Swedish anymore. He offers his hand - BLOMKVIST I'm Mikael. ANITA Mikael. How do you do. As he sits, she regards him a little more carefully. ANITA You're looking for investment counseling, Mikael? BLOMKVIST I would if had any money to invest. ANITA Excuse me? BLOMKVIST I'm writing a biography of your uncle Henrik. That's why I'm here. She stares at him. He waits for the response Cecilia predicted, but it does n't come.", "EXT. CAFE - LONDON - DAY They sit together at a little table on the sidewalk. ANITA How is Henrik? BLOMKVIST Good. Engaging. I like him. She does, too. ANITA I have n't seen him in over 30 years. Or my sister. Or anyone else in my family. BLOMKVIST Most of what I'm writing about predates that, so your recollections are valid. ANITA I would n't know where to start, if that was a question. BLOMKVIST I can narrow it. I've gotten up to the 1960s. To the event that altered everything in Henrik's life. ANITA Harriet. -LRB- he nods. -RRB- Everything I knew about that I told to - whatever his name was - that policeman - when it happened. BLOMKVIST Morell. ANITA My recollections then were a lot better than they are now. BLOMKVIST I'm not speaking of the crime itself. I'm trying to get a clearer sense of what Harriet was like. Particularly, toward the end. ANITA She was messed up. Like all us Vanger kids. Crazy mother. Drunken father. At least hers was n't a Nazi like mine. BLOMKVIST Was he abusive? ANITA Mine? BLOMKVIST Hers. ANITA I never saw it myself, but you could tell something was going on. One day she'd be withdrawn. The next she'd be putting on makeup and wearing the tightest sweater she had to school. The next she'd be studying a Bible like a nun - no Vanger was ever religious - can you imagine? Obviously, she was very unhappy. BLOMKVIST She never confided in you what about, specifically? ANITA There was no specifically. It was everything. It was being part of that family. Henrik's the only decent person in it. BLOMKVIST What do you think happened to her? ANITA Everyone knows what. BLOMKVIST But you have no. thoughts about why, or who. ANITA All I know is I always felt sorry for her. Even more than for myself. I got out of there when I was 18 and never went back. She would have done the same but did n't make it to 18.", "EXT. STOCKHOLM - DAY Salander, on a park bench, debates with herself if she wants to make the call on the cell in her hand. She scrolls to `` NB'' and hits send. It connects. SALANDER Mr. Bjurman, please. It's Lisbeth Salander. -LRB- the call is put through. -RRB-. I'm fine. I'm sorry I missed our appointment. I had a lot of work. no, nothing to be concerned about. I need another advance on my allowance. Can I come to your office tonight? I do n't need a pen, what's the address?", "EXT/INT. HEDEBY ISLAND - TAXI - MOVING - DUSK The taxi that first brought him here to the island, crosses the bridge. Again, Blomkvist regards the Middle Eastern driver, who regards him in the rearview mirror.", "EXT. BJURMAN'S APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT Outside the building's entrance with a backpack slung over her shoulder, Salander presses an apartment button. As she waits, she notes there's no security camera. BJURMAN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Yes? SALANDER It's me. The door buzzes. She pushes it open.", "INT. BJURMAN'S APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT She moves along a hallway with both purpose and dread. Knocks on his door. It opens, revealing him in a robe. BJURMAN Come on in.", "INT. BJURMAN'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS She takes in the layout quickly : living room, dining area, kitchen, short hallway to a closed door. BJURMAN Like it? SALANDER It's nice. BJURMAN It's home. -LRB- pause. -RRB- So, what do you need money for this time? Grand Theft Auto 5? SALANDER Food. He smiles. Steps toward her. Lifts her chin. BJURMAN How are you? Been thinking about last time? Decided you wanted to see me again? SALANDER I just want my money. BJURMAN Well, let's see if I can help you out with that. He walks to the hallway. She does n't. He holds out his hand. She finally joins him. As they step into the bedroom, he roughly pushes her toward the bed. SALANDER Wait. She puts her backpack and leather jacket on a chair. Sits on the edge of the bed. He stands over her. She knows what she's supposed to do, but seems unable to. BJURMAN Is there a problem? SALANDER I just want to know, am I going to have to do this every time I need money to eat? BJURMAN It's so cute when you do that surly thing. Take my hand She reaches out to it and before she can react, there's a handcuff around the wrist. He quickly cuffs the other to his own wrist. This is bad. She tries to get out. He gets her in a strangle hold and chokes her into unconsciousness.", "INT. BJURMAN'S APARTMENT - LATER - NIGHT She comes to, on her stomach, sees her wrists cuffed to the headboard posts, her ankles secured to the foot posts with silk ties, and scissors slicing her jeans off. She starts to scream and he stuffs her mouth with her underwear. BJURMAN Please. I have neighbors. He lights a couple candles. Switches on some New Age music. BJURMAN What we're going to do now is teach you the value of money. He watches her struggle. But she's not going anywhere. He tears open a condom package with his teeth. BJURMAN I forget - did I ask you before if you liked anal sex? He crams a pillow under her stomach and climbs on top of her. She keeps fighting but there's not much she can do handcuffed. Eventually, she retreats to another place inside herself. She's had to go here before in her life ; it's the only place to go in such situations.", "INT. COTTAGE - NIGHT The cat turns its head to a sound Blomkvist ca n't hear. He has Harriet's box of belongings out again and looks at photos of her school friends in her wallet. Then picks up the Bible. Handwritten on the inside cover is Harriet Vanger. He opens it at random. Hebrews : HARRIET -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Through faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God - and that what is seen was not made of things that are visible. He sets it down. Rubs his eyes. Everything - his daughter, his life, this cabin, the word of God - is depressing.", "INT. BJURMAN'S APARTMENT - DAWN Dawn light outside the living room window. Bjurman, at his dining table with a glass of orange juice, writing out a check. In the bedroom, Salander slips on her leather jacket, shoulders her backpack, hobbles out to the living room. BJURMAN I'll drive you home. SALANDER I can get home on my own. BJURMAN Are you sure? It's bizarre : his manner seems to be one of genuine concern. She nods. He hands her the check. Then opens the door for her like a perfect gentleman. BJURMAN So, next Saturday, here? She nods. Leaves. The door closes.", "EXT. STOCKHOLM - DAWN A lone figure hobbles through the empty streets.", "INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - DAWN She sets a check down. On the memo line he's neatly written, `` for food.'' She takes a bottle of water from the fridge and drinks.", "INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - DAWN Shower water hits the dragon tattoo on her shoulder blade and runs down past several others. By the time the water reaches the drain it has turned red.", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - DAY Coming through trees with a bag of groceries, Blomkvist sees a BMW parked outside his cottage.", "EXT. COTTAGE - MOMENTS LATER - DAY Blomkvist taps on the car's fogged - up driver's window. A hand inside wipes at it, revealing Erika. She lowers it a crack. ERIKA Is it any warmer inside? BLOMKVIST No.", "INT. COTTAGE - DAY As he tries to get some logs in the fireplace going, using more pages torn from one of his books, Erika wraps herself in a blanket. The cat, who has no trouble with the cold, naps on the paperwork on the desk. BLOMKVIST What have I missed besides you? ERIKA The steady exodus of two - thirds of our advertisers. BLOMKVIST Seriously? ERIKA Is that hard to believe? Sitting up here in Lappland with your cat? BLOMKVIST I'm not. I'm working. ERIKA I can see. What she can see is the Vanger research covering the walls and table surfaces, and that the threads of the family tree lead to a photograph of Vanger at the top. BLOMKVIST Would you like to meet him? ERIKA Maybe in about an hour. If you're interested. He is.", "INT. VANGER MANOR - EVENING Vanger and Martin all but ignore Blomkvist as they chat with Erika over dinner. They seem charmed by her. VANGER I apologize if you're having financial problems at the magazine in Mikael's absence. ERIKA We'll work through them. VANGER Are you sure? Erika looks at Blomkvist, but he has n't talked to them about this. MARTIN How long do you think you can hang on? Six months or so? ERIKA That sounds about right. VANGER -LRB- cheerfully. -RRB- You know, I used to be in the newspaper business. We owned six dailies back in the 50's. MARTIN We still own one. The Courier, here in town. VANGER I let my nephew Birger run it since he ca n't run anything else. Erika nods politely. MARTIN So what do you say to taking on a partner? ERIKA We've never considered it before. We value our independence. MARTIN Your independence is dependant on advertisers - if we're being honest. However much you think that is, you'd retain. We do n't care about content. Blomkvist suddenly feels like someone coming late to a party. BLOMKVIST Excuse me. Did I miss something? VANGER We're talking about an investment in the magazine. BLOMKVIST I gather. Why would you want to do that? MARTIN Not for the return, that's for sure. VANGER -LRB- to Erika. -RRB- I feel bad that I've take Mikael away from you at the worst possible time. This is the right thing to do. The moral thing. That's one reason. ERIKA And. VANGER The enemies of my friends are my enemies. I hate Wennerstrom as much as you hate what he's done to you. Silence. VANGER So what do you say? Erika half - shrugs to say she'll consider it. VANGER Is that a maybe? She nods. VANGER Wonderful! More wine, Anna. Blomkvist looks at Erika, but she glances away to Vanger. VANGER I think Mikael is adapting well to rustic life, by the way. ERIKA Have you seen him try to make a fire? VANGER Put the logs on end, like this. He makes a teepee shape with his hands, like praying.", "INT. COTTAGE - LATER - NIGHT Erika lights a teepee of logs in the fireplace. BLOMKVIST How long have you been discussing this with them? ERIKA I have n't been. They asked me to come up yesterday. BLOMKVIST Why did n't you tell me? ERIKA Why would I. You live in the woods. BLOMKVIST So I deserve to be treated like an idiot? ERIKA I wanted to hear what they had to say. You would've said no before they could. BLOMKVIST I'm saying it now. It's not a good idea. ERIKA You heard me tell them we could hang on for six months. I was lying. Without their money we'll be out of business in three. BLOMKVIST You do n't know this family. They're crazy. ERIKA We're not marrying into it. BLOMKVIST We are if we do this. It's exactly what we're doing. ERIKA You want to say no? Let's say no. Instead of 50 percent of something, let's own 100 percent of nothing. The logs crackle as flames climb them. She gets up, comes past him, unbuttoning her shirt as she disappears into the bedroom. He stares at the fire. ERIKA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Mikael? BLOMKVIST What. ERIKA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I'm leaving this God - forsaken island in the morning. BLOMKVIST So? ERIKA So are you coming to bed or not.", "INT. TATTOO PARLOR - DAY Salander regards a selection of forearm tattoos : barbed wire, Celtic bands, strings of leaves and flowers. TATTOO ARTIST You thinking one arm or both? SALANDER Wrists and ankles. But none of these. Just a plain band, like handcuffs. TATTOO ARTIST It's sensitive there. Particularly the ankles. It's gon na hurt. That does n't bother her in the least. She rolls up her sleeves and watches him ready the tattoo gun. SALANDER How much do one of those cost? A bland financial announcer reading the news. The graphic to the side of him is the distinctive V.I. logo of Vanger Industries. ANNOUNCER Petrochemical manufacturer Vanger Industries has acquired a controlling interest in Millennium magazine which according to analysts has been in financial trouble since last December when its cofounder Mikael Blomkvist was found guilty of libel against Hans - Erik Wennerstrom -", "INT. MILLENNIUM'S OFFICES - DAY A news crew has crammed itself inside Erika's office, where a reporter interviews her - ERIKA We made a serious mistake last year, and we regret it. But we're moving forward, and this is the first step. REPORTER 2 You would n't say the first step was your sacking of Mr. Blomkvist? ERIKA That's inaccurate. Read the original press release, Viggo. I did n't fire him. He's on sabbatical. REPORTER 2 Where. ERIKA I'm not sure, to be honest with you.", "INT/EXT. COTTAGE - DAY He's at his desk, the cat in his lap, reviewing the album of photos taken on the day Harriet disappeared. They're arranged chronologically, and Vanger has noted the approximate time of day of each. The first several were taken on the manor grounds, by family members of each other. The next couple taken in town of the parade. Then dozens taken on and around the bridge of the dramatic accident. He hears the sound and glances out to see a television news van driving toward Vanger's manor -", "EXT. VANGER MANOR - DAY A crew is set up in the yard by the water, interviewing Henrik and Martin. Under his suit jacket Henrik wears a cheerful yellow shirt. Birger unhappily looks on. MARTIN Millennium is an excellent magazine. We also think it's undervalued right now, which is good business for us. REPORTER 3 Is any magazine really undervalued today. How many will be around tomorrow? VANGER There's another reason. I do n't like bullies. REPORTER 3 Are you referring to Mr. Wennerstrom? VANGER I'm referring to anyone who tries to sue their enemies into submission. If Mr. Wennerstrom would like to try it again, he'll find himself fighting a company that can afford to fight back. REPORTER 3 You're enjoying this. VANGER Already it's the most fun I've had in years.", "INT. HARDWARE STORE - STOCKHOLM - DAY As a clerk rings up the items Salander is buying - bright yellow duct tape and a plastic protective mask - she watches a shot on a TV here of Wennerstrom being interviewed outside his offices - WENNERSTROM ON TV I've always admired Henrik Vanger. He's a titan - and a gentleman. But he's also quite old now - which may explain how he could be taken in by a convicted liar. The report segues to another story. The clerk hands Salander her receipt.", "INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - LATER Her hardware store purchases, along with some fresh DVD - R's, a couple of plastic bottles of ink, and McDonald's Kids Meal wrappers, sit by her laptop. She's not typing on its keyboard, but characters are appearing nonetheless as someone somewhere else, writes an email : The From box reads : h wennerstrom The To box reads : l jansson 116 INT. COTTAGE - DAY - CONTINUED 116 Blomkvist has returned to the accident photos. Pauses on a blurry one of the fire crew, the focus inadvertently on the background - Vanger's manor. What caught his attention is a figure in one of the upstairs windows. He checks a scribbled floor plan of the manor and sees that it's Harriet's bedroom. But he's not sure if it's Harriet. The figure is too soft to identify - even with a magnifying glass - but is wearing a light - colored dress and has light hair. He glances to the family tree on the wall - the teenage Vanger girls' photos - Three INSERTS : Harriet. Cecelia. Anita. They all have light hair, and, frankly, all look alike. He moves on to the parade pictures. To the one Vanger said before was the last picture taken of Harriet alive. It's not really of her. It's a wide shot of the parade itself - but she can be seen in the background across the street with her friends, watching a float - atop which some women in harem outfits dance - pass by. He slips it from its corner - fasteners and turns it over. There's a Hedestad Courier copyright printed on the back. He turns it over again and looks at the photo itself.", "EXT. HEDESTAD - DAY Guided by the photo, he walks along the town's main street to the approximate place from which it was taken - outside a haberdashery window - but it's still not right. The photo was shot from a higher than street level angle. He looks to a second story window above the store. Then crosses the street to where Harriet was standing when the picture was taken. Looks back at the haberdashery where, now, the owner peers out at him.", "EXT. HEDESTAD - LATER - DAY On the pay phone outside the gas station - BLOMKVIST I want to look at what the paper has in its archive on the parade. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You already have what it has. In the album. BLOMKVIST I do n't think so. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Why. BLOMKVIST Because no photographer at any newspaper in the world takes just two photos of anything - especially after having to climb a flight of stairs. VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The bridge accident happened during the parade. He rushed over. BLOMKVIST Maybe. Silence. Then - VANGER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Mikael, what have you found? BLOMKVIST Nothing probably. But I know photographers. They're the most insecure people on earth. If it's out of focus, or they do n't like the framing, they bury it.", "EXT. HEDESTAD COURIER - ESTABLISHING", "INT. HEDESTAD COURIER - DAY Blomkvist follows the paper's youngish photo editor up narrow stairs to an attic. PHOTO EDITOR The current archive is on CD's, naturally. The older stuff, still negatives. What general period are you interested in? BLOMKVIST September, 1966. She glances back at him. The date means something to her, but she chooses not to comment.", "INT. COURIER ATTIC - DAY She pulls four thick binders off a shelf from September 1966 alone, proving Blomkvist's point about photographers - and piles them up next to a light - box and scanner. BLOMKVIST Thank you. He waits for her to leave. She seems reluctant to. PHOTO EDITOR Is this about Harriet Vanger? BLOMKVIST You're too young to know about that. PHOTO EDITOR Everyone here grows up knowing about her. It's how we're taught about strangers.", "INT. BJURMAN'S APARTMENT - STOCKHOLM - NIGHT The door opens revealing Salander. Bjurman seems a little surprised to see her at his doorstep. BJURMAN My dear Lisbeth, how are you? SALANDER I need more money. I need to pay my rent. She looks like a schoolgirl with her little backpack over her shoulder. How did he ever get so lucky? BJURMAN Come on in. She steps inside. He takes her hand and leads her toward the bedroom. Her other hand slips into her jacket pocket. BJURMAN Since we're still figuring out what you like, I went shopping for some new toys. SALANDER Me, too. BJURMAN You, too? What did you buy? She pulls a Taser from her pocket and jams it under his chin, firing off 75,000 volts -", "EXT. COTTAGE - NIGHT Set down on the rugged landscape under an almost moonless night sky, the cottage looks vulnerable.", "INT. COTTAGE - NIGHT The cat, curled up on a chair, jerks its head up at a sound neither we nor Blomkvist can hear, and stays absolutely still, listening. Blomkvist scrolls through the Courier negatives he has converted into positives and has loaded into Photoshop. He was right. Many more parade pictures were shot that day. Several at street level - a marching band, floats, children with balloons, some in better focus than others. He reaches the first of the higher - angle shots from the floor above the haberdashery, scans the crowd lining the street. Harriet is n't in it. But in the next she appears at the edge of the frame with her school friends. In the next, she's further into frame. And the next, standing in the same spot he stood earlier today.", "INT. COTTAGE - NIGHT Blomkvist selects all 18 of the high - angle parade photographs, transfers them to an iPhoto file, and reopens them as a ` slide show.' The first few, accompanied by the default music, Minuet in G, dissolve at two - second intervals. Too long. Too distracting with the music. And too wide. He adjusts the size function - closer on Harriet gets rid of the dissolve effect and music and reduces the time - interval to make the transitions as quick as possible. He hits ` play' again and watches a short jerky ` silent film' - a kind of electronic flip - book : Harriet arrives with her friends. Moves along the street. Stops and faces the parade. Says something to her friends. Laughs. Watches the float with the harem girls on it. Smiles. Sees something to her left. Turns her head slightly toward it. Her eyes widen in fear. She looks down. She moves off. Her friends look after her confused. And then she's gone. Blomkvist backs up to the frame of Harriet looking off with fear in her eyes, and for the first time believes without a doubt what Vanger has believed for 40 years : She was murdered. Whoever she saw across the street followed her and killed her. The cat watches him.", "INT. BJURMAN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Bjurman slowly comes to. SALANDER Good. You're alive. It takes him a moment to realize it's true. Another to realize it might be better if he was n't since he's naked on the floor, face - up, wrists and ankles bound. He tries to cry out and realizes he's also gagged. She emerges from the shadows, stands over him, and he sees that her eyes are ringed in black mascara like some kind of ghoulish raccoon. She looks insane. As she steps out of his field of view, and his hands struggle against the restraints. SALANDER Recognize this? He cranes his neck to see she's by her backpack that's resting on a chair. SALANDER I had it with me last time. I set it here. Remember? -LRB- he does n't. -RRB- See this snap? It's not a snap. It's a wide - angle micro - lens. She takes a DVD - R from the backpack, puts it in his player, flips his plasma TV on with a remote. She got it all - what he did to her - the rape - in HD. SALANDER This shows you sodomizing a mentally impaired girl. If it's ever seen outside this room, who'll be institutionalized then? He starts to whimper. SALANDER Here's what's going to happen. Pay attention. He ca n't. He ca n't even look at her. His life is over. He weeps into the gag. SALANDER Look at me. He wo n't. She strides to her backpack. Takes out a large dildo. Gets on her knees, and works it into his ass. She can only get it about halfway up. She has to stand up and kick it the rest of the way with her boot. He howls into the gag. SALANDER Do I have your attention now? She does indeed. He vigorously nods his head, now, and after everything she says - SALANDER When you can walk again, which I admit could be a while, we're going to my bank. You'll tell them I alone have access to my account. After that, you'll never contact me again. Each month you'll write a report of a meeting we wo n't have. You'll describe how well I'm doing, how sociable I'm becoming. Then you'll negotiate with the court to have my declaration of incompetence lifted. If you fail, this video will spread across the Internet like a virus. -LRB- he stares in horror. -RRB- If something happens to me - if I get hit by a car - if you hit me with a car - same thing, it uploads automatically. She fishes his apartment keys from his trousers. Shows him that she has them. SALANDER I'm taking these with me. I'll be checking on you. If I ever find anyone in here with you, whether she came of her own free will or not - His eyes dart to the TV as he nods that he understands. SALANDER No. Not the video. She kicks him. Then straddles his fat gut and looks him in the eye. SALANDER I will kill you. And he knows she means it. SALANDER Do you doubt anything I've said? -LRB- he shakes his head no. -RRB- Do you doubt what's in the reports about me? What do they say when you sum them up? They say I'm insane. -LRB- he shakes his head no. -RRB- No, it okay. You can nod because it's true. I am insane. She gets up off him, rummages through her backpack again. SALANDER I know it'll be hard for you to abide by my rules. Especially no more sex. I'm going to make it easier for you. She puts on a plastic surgical mask. He fears the next thing he'll see is a pair of scissors in her hand, but it is n't. It's something else he does n't recognize. She straddles him again. He squirms under her weight. SALANDER Lie still. I've never done this before. He sees that the thing in her hand is some kind of surgical device, a shiny stripped - down gun with a sharp point and a plastic ink bottle where the bullets would go. SALANDER There will be some blood. He struggles to twist his body away, but it's useless. She digs the tattooing gun's needle into his chest and begins dragging it back and forth. He screams as dots of blood spatter her plastic mask.", "EXT. BJURMAN'S APARTMENT - DAWN - ESTABLISHING", "INT. BJURMAN'S APARTMENT - DAWN The job has taken her all night. The sky outside the living room window is beginning to lighten. She drinks a glass of water in the kitchen, wipes her prints from it. She crosses to the bedroom where Bjurman's toys have been wiped cleaned and put back in the dresser. Picks up her backpack. Looks at him. He's unconscious. She sets handcuff key next to a dark stain on his stomach. We stay on the key as she leaves the room. Hearing the front door open and close, we rise up to see his entire naked body on the bed. Tattooed into his skin in big letters, from his nipples to his groin, is : I AM A RAPIST PIG", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - DAY Returning from a walk and a smoke, Blomkvist sees - sitting outside the cottage, petting his cat - Harriet. Of course it ca n't be her, but it is a teenage girl who resembles the old pictures of her. Seeing him, she waves. It's his daughter. PERNILLA Hi. BLOMKVIST Hi. What are you doing here? PERNILLA On my way to Skelleftea. I can only stay a couple hours. He arrives and gives her a hug. BLOMKVIST What's in Skelleftea? PERNILLA Light of Life Bible Camp. Blomkvist tries to hide his dismay.", "INT. COTTAGE - DAY He's made them some coffee, and, of course, sandwiches. Patiently waits for her to finish her silent prayer, and smiles bravely. PERNILLA They're not dangerous. BLOMKVIST It's fine, Nilla. Whatever you want to do is fine. Everybody needs something. PERNILLA Just so long as it's not God. BLOMKVIST I did n't say that. As they eat in silence, Blomkvist ca n't help but think about Harriet and what Vanger said about not giving her his attention when she needed it. BLOMKVIST I'm not around enough to know everything that's going on with you, and I apologize for that. But I'd never want you to not tell me something, even if you think I might not want to hear it. PERNILLA -LRB- smiles. -RRB- That's what I'm doing.", "EXT. TRAIN STATION - HEDESTAD - DAY The afternoon train is boarding. It's not crowded. BLOMKVIST It should have been me visiting you. I'm sorry. PERNILLA It's okay. Everything's good. He nods but does n't believe it any more than she believes he's okay with Bible Camp. She climbs aboard. Waves. PERNILLA Bye. BLOMKVIST Bye. The train begins to move. PERNILLA Do n't go too hard on the Catholics. BLOMKVIST What? PERNILLA The article you're writing. BLOMKVIST What are you talking. -LRB- about. -RRB- - PERNILLA The Bible quotes on your desk. BLOMKVIST What? The train clears the platform. He watches after it. What was she talking about? He glances absently to the taxi stand. Hussein points to his taxi. Ride?", "INT. COTTAGE - LATER - DAY Blomkvist comes in, goes straight to his desk, sifts through the paperwork on it, then sees the Xerox of the last page of Harriet's address book - the unknown phone numbers - he taped to the lamp - Magda 32016 Sara 32109 R.J. 30114 R.L. 32027 Mari 32018 It could be a coincidence they're Bible names - Magdalene, Sarah, Mary - or maybe not. He digs through Harriet's personal things for her Bible. Since all the number sequences begin with' 3,' he goes to the third chapter - Leviticus - notices that its first facing page is faintly dog - eared - finds R.J's verse - 1:14 - on it : HARRIET -LRB- V.O. -RRB- If a dove is the sinner's offering, the priest shall wring off its head, cleave its wings, and burn it upon the altar.", "EXT. COTTAGE - DAY Pinching a cigarette in a shaking hand, Blomkvist pokes numbers on his cell phone. Instead of ringing he hears a beep. `` Retry?'' appears on the cell screen.", "EXT. HEDESTAD - DAY Back across the bridge by the gas station, he makes the call on the pay phone. BLOMKVIST Detective Morell, it's Mikael Blomkvist. MORELL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- How are you? Not still in Hedestad I hope for your sake. BLOMKVIST The Rebecka Case you mentioned. What was her last name if you recall. MORELL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Of course I do, but what would it have to do with anything? BLOMKVIST Nothing probably. As Blomkvist glances to the last page in Harriet's address book, to R.J. 30114 - MORELL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Jacobsson. Rebecka Jacobsson. BLOMKVIST How was she killed? MORELL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Decapitated. Arms cut off. Burned. Like the Leviticus dove. A siren. Ambulance coming past, headed for the bridge. MORELL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- But this happened in the 1940's - BLOMKVIST Hang on a second. He watches the ambulance speed across the bridge. BLOMKVIST I'm going to call you back. MORELL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What have you. -LRB- found. -RRB- - Blomkvist hangs up and takes off at a trot toward the bridge -", "EXT. VANGER MANOR - LATER He reaches the manor just as the ambulance is leaving and Martin is climbing into his Range Rover. He looks undone. BLOMKVIST What's happened? MARTIN We were talking. He started rubbing at his arm. Then collapsed. BLOMKVIST Is he. -LRB- conscious. -RRB- - MARTIN I ca n't talk, Mikael, I have to. -LRB- go. -RRB- - BLOMKVIST Go. Martin pulls out to follow the ambulance to the hospital. Blomkvist watches after them.", "INT. COTTAGE - EVENING The cat naps while Blomkvist looks up the other Leviticus quotes from Harriet's list in her dog - eared Bible - HARRIET -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The daughter of any priest who profanes herself by playing the harlot, profanes her father, and shall be burned with fire - HARRIET -LRB- V.O. -RRB- A woman who is a medium or sorcerer shall be put to death by stoning - There's a knock. He tucks the list in the Bible, sets aside and answers the door. Frode comes in. FRODE The good news is he survived. How he does now, we have to see. He's in ICU. Can I have one of those? He points to the table. BLOMKVIST A sandwich? FRODE A Scotch. Blomkvist pours him one, and another for himself. BLOMKVIST I do n't want to be indelicate. But Henrik promised me something when I agreed to do this. FRODE Wennerstrom. BLOMKVIST -LRB- nods. -RRB- I need to know what he has on him. Now. In case. FRODE In case he dies? That is indelicate. BLOMKVIST And I apologize. FRODE I do n't know what he has on him, if you're asking me. And he ca n't tell you in the condition he's in. So. is that it then? Silence. Blomkvist drinks. Eventually - BLOMKVIST We also never discussed who I'd report to if something happened to him. FRODE You'd report to me, but does it matter? We both know nothing's going to come of this. BLOMKVIST I'm not so sure. Frode looks at Blomkvist a little more intently. FRODE What do you mean? BLOMKVIST I may have found something. FRODE -LRB- pause. -RRB- You're joking. -LRB- Blomkvist is n't. -RRB- What did you find? Now it's Blomkvist who studies Frode. He's not sure he wants to tell him. And even less so the longer he looks. BLOMKVIST The last time I reported something before I was sure of it, it cost me my savings. Frode studies him again - wondering perhaps if Blomkvist suspects him. BLOMKVIST I need a research assistant. Can you authorize that? FRODE Yes. Do you have one? BLOMKVIST I can find one. FRODE I know a good one. She did the background check on you. BLOMKVIST The. FRODE Do you think we'd hire anyone for something like this without doing one? Blomkvist's brain tries to quickly inventory his life, pausing at its darker recesses. Frode nods. FRODE Yes, it was quite thorough. BLOMKVIST I want to read it. FRODE That I could n't authorize. Blomkvist is n't sure how to play this. Then he is. Sets his napkin down, gets up and begins taking things down from the wall. Frode watches. Then sighs.", "EXT. STOCKHOLM - DUSK Only a few lights on in the Milton Security building.", "INT. ARMANSKY'S OFFICE - DUSK It is n't often a subject of an investigation shows up in his office, but is always awkward when one does. BLOMKVIST Mr. Frode was kind enough to share your report with me. -LRB- it rests on his lap. -RRB- The investigator's name is on it, but I can find no record of her, and I'm pretty good at that sort of thing. ARMANSKY Would it really matter what her name is? BLOMKVIST It would if I wanted to speak to her, which I do. ARMANSKY Against policy. BLOMKVIST You sure? ARMANSKY Just like your sources. You understand. BLOMKVIST Let me give you a name then. He jots `` Annika Giannini'' on one of Armansky's Post - Its. BLOMKVIST My sister. She's a lawyer. -LRB- gestures to the report. -RRB- There's information in here that could only have come from one place. I think you know what I mean. Silence. Armansky tries not to look sick. Then - ARMANSKY The reason you can find no record of her is because her records have been sealed. She's a ward of the State. BLOMKVIST What does that have to do with anything. ARMANSKY She's had a rough life. Can we not make it rougher on her? Blomkvist just sits there, the picture of calm.", "INT. THE MILL - STOCKHOLM - NIGHT Cacophony of loud techno and a fringe clientele. Alone at a table drinking, Salander seems comfortable with the noise and her dateless status, but does n't avoid a glance from an Asian girl at the bar, and does n't tell her to go away when she comes over and motions to the empty chair.", "INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - MORNING Salander and the girl from the club, asleep in bed, entwined like snakes. Salander wakes, disentangles herself, and is padding to the bathroom when there's a knock on her door. She stares it. No one ever knocks on her door. But someone knocks on it again. She crosses to it, wrapping herself in a blanket. SALANDER Who is it? BLOMKVIST -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Mikael Blomkvist. Her mind races, as Blomkvist's did to the news someone had invaded his privacy. She unlocks the door. Cracks it enough to see him. He smiles, but it's disconcerting. She's not sure it's a harmless one. BLOMKVIST May I come in? SALANDER Actually I'm not really up. -LRB- yet. -RRB- - BLOMKVIST That's okay. He pushes the door enough to pass. Has a paper bag and satchel with him. Takes in the place, including the girl in the bedroom, in a glance as he heads for the kitchen. BLOMKVIST I assumed you would n't have had breakfast yet so I brought some bagel sandwiches. And tomato juice. Good for hangovers. Where do you keep the coffee? SALANDER Hey. Hey -. -LRB- he stops ; looks back. -RRB- Who do you think you are? BLOMKVIST I'm the guy you know better than my closest friends do. He opens cabinets looking for the coffee. She stares. BLOMKVIST We have a lot to talk about, so why do n't you take a shower, put on some clothes and get rid of your girlfriend.", "INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - LATER Blomkvist, plunging a French press, watches as the girlfriend lets herself out. In the bedroom, Salander finishes getting dressed, sticks her Taser in the back pocket of her jeans and comes out to find a table setting that's more formal than she, or anyone who lives alone, is used to. BLOMKVIST You're awake. Good. Breakfast is ready. He pours her, and then himself, coffee. BLOMKVIST I guess I alarmed you showing up like this. SALANDER If you touch me, I'll more than alarm you. BLOMKVIST That wo n't be necessary. He smiles. His eyes are not unkind. As he helps himself to one of the bagels - BLOMKVIST Your report on me was quite detailed but for me not very entertaining. A copy of it sits next to his plate. SALANDER It was n't meant to be. BLOMKVIST When I write about people, I try to entertain the reader. SALANDER Wennerstrom was n't entertained. Blomkvist lets it go. BLOMKVIST Your boss Armansky tells me you only work on things that interest you. I guess I should be flattered. He also says you're the one he goes to for jobs that are, ` sensitive' is the word he used. I'll use ` illegal,' since that what it was when you hacked into my computer. -LRB- they study each other. -RRB- I'm not going to do anything about that. I could but I wo n't. What I'm going to do is tell you a story. If it entertains you, maybe you'll decide to help me research it further. If it does n't, I'll wash the dishes and leave. Are you going to even touch your food? SALANDER What kind of research? BLOMKVIST Lisbeth - may I call you Lisbeth? I want you to help me catch a killer of women.", "INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - LATER - DAY He's arranged some of his research on the floor, and watches Salander kneeling before it, her eyes passing over photographs of the Vanger clan, the accident on the bridge, Xeroxes of the Leviticus list and verses. BLOMKVIST I've identified R.J.. Her name's Rebecka Jacobsson. I have no idea who the others are - or how they're connected to the death of a 16 year old girl - but they have to be. His eyes settle on her blue - black `` handcuffs'' as hers settle on a copy of an old Hedestad Courier front page : the article about the grisly murder of Rebecka Jacobsson. BLOMKVIST We need to somehow figure out who they are, what happened to them, what the Leviticus verses have to do with. -LRB- anything. -RRB- - She gets up, goes to her desk, begins jotting something down, ignoring him. BLOMKVIST What are you doing? SALANDER Getting started. You can keep talking if you want. Blomkvist, slightly taken aback, picks up the Leviticus Xerox from the floor. BLOMKVIST Would you like this? SALANDER Got it. That's what she's jotting down, from memory : the names, initials and Leviticus numbers. She wakes her laptop -", "EXT. THE BRIDGE - NIGHT Hussein's taxi brings Blomkvist across to the island.", "EXT/INT. COTTAGE - NIGHT He gets out with his satchel. Whistles for the cat - BLOMKVIST I'm home. He picks up the bowl of food he left on the porch, unlocks the door, goes inside, and sees the cat napping on his desk. He stares at it. Then at the door he just came through. Then the windows : all shut. Nothing has been disturbed as far as he can tell, but someone has been in here.", "INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - DAY A window on Salander's laptop shows a map of Sweden divided into its 21 counties : Stockholm, Vasterbotten, Uppsala, etc.. She starts with Skane. Hacks * however one does that * into its police department's crime database -LRB- or various county newspapers' databases -RRB-. She fills in the year field with - 1947 - 1966 - and continues to types quickly. When we see what that is, she's in the middle of typing this filters list - Homicide. Female. Rape. Decapitation. Dismemberment. Fire. Altar. Priest. Prostitute. Unsolved. Mari. Magda. Sara. R.L.. The search produces a screen showing matches to some of the filter words - the rest of the case synopses greyed out. But also, with all of them, there's this message : Full Police Report Not Digitized.", "INT/EXT. COTTAGE - DAY - (PLACEMENT CHANGE ONLY) Blomkvist watches a Hedestad locksmith install a dead - bolt on his front door.", "EXT. STOCKHOLM - NIGHT Salander comes out of her apartment building onto an empty street. Everyone is asleep. No lights on. It must be about 3am. She ties a duffel bag down, climbs onto the motorcycle, kick - starts it, races off into the night.", "EXT. VARMLAND - SWEDEN - DAWN Salander's Honda races past a pastoral agricultural landscape.", "EXT. POLICE STATION - ESTABLISHING - MORNING", "INT. POLICE STATION - KARLSTAD - MORNING An old police detective considers Salander's driver's license, her Milton Security ID, and a letter signed by the giant security firm's CEO, Dragan Armansky. DET. ISAKSSON No one's asked me about Magda in over 40 years. No one here even remembers her. He waits for her to say something, but she does n't seem to understand conversational dynamics, so it's up to him. DET. ISAKSSON Why would a young lady like you want to know about such a brutal killing. SALANDER It interests me. DET. ISAKSSON Does it. She nods. He's not sure which he finds stranger - her appearance or her sincerity. He touches his own neck to indicate the tattoo on hers. DET. ISAKSSON What's that. A wasp? SALANDER A friend of mine calls me that. DET. ISAKSSON So you tattoo it on your neck? He'd be horrified if one of his grandchildren did that, but she just shrugs like it's no big deal. DET. ISAKSSON Who's this friend? SALANDER My trainer. DET. ISAKSSON Aerobics? SALANDER Boxing. Hard for him to picture. But, upon reflection - DET. ISAKSSON I have a feeling you're pretty good at that, even though you weigh - what - ninety pounds? -LRB- nothing from her. -RRB- Float like a butterfly. SALANDER What? DET. ISAKSSON -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Come with me, Muhammad.", "INT. KARLSTAD POLICE FILE ROOM - DAY The old man rummages through an old file cabinet. DET. ISAKSSON Her husband was our first suspect - the husband is always the first suspect, and usually the last - but not this time. We moved on to a neighbor. Then a vagrant - He pulls a thick, yellowed folder out and sits with it and her at a table. DET. ISAKSSON Once you get to strangers, it's only a matter of time before you get to gypsies, and you know you're never going to solve it. And that troubles him still, that he never solved it. SALANDER How exactly was she killed? DET. ISAKSSON Miss - I'm sorry - SALANDER Salander. DET. ISAKSSON Miss Salander, if you do n't mind my asking, when's the last time you ate? SALANDER I have a high metabolism. I ca n't put on weight. DET. ISAKSSON That's not why I ask. I ask because it's better to look at what I'm about to show you on an empty stomach. He pushes the folder across the table to her.", "INT. HEDESTAD HOSPITAL - DAY Blomkvist comes in to find - like Morell did 40 years ago - a strange tableaux of suspects - two of whom he's only yet seen in photographs on his cottage wall - Birger, Cecilia, Frode, Martin, Gunnar, Anna, and, looking like an aging overdressed vampire, Isabella, smoking a cigarette. BLOMKVIST -LRB- to Frode. -RRB- How is he? Frode takes Blomkvist aside. FRODE He needs surgery and there's no DNR. So it's up to the family to decide to resuscitate or not, and they're not good at decisions. He glances over to them. Isabella's staring back. FRODE How'd it go with Ms. Salander? BLOMKVIST She said yes. Isabella gets up to come over - BLOMVIST -LRB- to Frode. -RRB- Can I see Henrik? FRODE He was asleep when I last looked in. We can check. ISABELLA No, you ca n't check. You can instruct him to pack his things and leave. MARTIN Mother - ISABELLA Do n't use that tone with me. -LRB- to Blomkvist. -RRB- This family's had enough tragedy without you dredging it all up again. FRODE Actually, Isabella, Mr. Blomkvist works for Henrik. ISABELLA And who do you work for, Dirch? Remind me who pays your salary? BIRGER We should put this to a vote. MARTIN Do n't be an idiot, Birger. BIRGER It's a family decision like any other. Cecilia? CECILIA What. BIRGER Am I right? CECILIA You are so seldom right about anything, it's hard for me to say yes. But. -LRB- yes. -RRB- - MARTIN No. We should do what Henrik wants, and we know what he wants. ISABELLA Henrik - is in there fighting for his life. This -. -LRB- points to Blomkvist like he's an object. -RRB- - is the last thing he needs. A nurse chooses this - the absolute worst time - to approach Isabella. NURSE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Excuse me, Mrs. Vanger, you ca n't smoke in here. Isabella gives the nurse a look so hard it's almost frightening - calmly flicks an ash on the floor - waits for the nurse to leave - and looks back at Blomkvist. ISABELLA Go back to Stockholm. When we want a false chronicle of the family written by a libelist, we know who to call.", "INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY As Frode guessed, Henrik is asleep, wired up to monitors, and does n't stir as Blomkvist looks in on him.", "EXT. YOUTH HOSTEL - NIGHT Salander's motorcycle parked outside.", "INT. YOUTH HOSTEL - NIGHT As young travelers with huge backpacks try to sleep around her, Salander reads to herself from a Bible by flashlight. Leviticus 4:32 - HARRIET/PERNILLA If a man's offering is a lamb, it shall be a female without blemish. He shall lay his hand upon it's head. slaughter it. empty it's blood on the base of the altar. and he shall be forgiven.", "EXT. UDDEVALLA- DAY Another police station.", "INT. KARLSTAD POLICE STATION - DAY Det. Isaksson is on the phone - DET. ISAKSSON Forget what she looks like, I vouch for her -", "INT. POLICE STATION - UDDEVALLA - DAY Another old police detective has Salander's credentials and a phone in hand - DET. ISAKSSON -LRB- O.S. -RRB- She's smart. And she's serious about this. The old Uddevalla detective regards Salander waiting at the counter. Into the phone - UDDEVALLY DETECTIVE -LRB- convinced but just barely. -RRB- All right. Thanks. He hangs up. To Salander - UDDEVALLA DETECTIVE This way, Miss.. He escorts her to the file room.", "INT. FILE ROOM - POLICE STATION - UDDEVALLA - DAY Just like Isaksson, the Uddevalla detective pulls open an old cabinet drawer, finds a particular ancient folder in it and hands it to Salander. She begins flipping through the reports and crime photos inside it, but we do n't see them. SALANDER Can I make copies? UDDEVALLA DETECTIVE I can make them for you if our machine's been repaired. SALANDER That's okay. She begins photographing the reports and crime scene pictures with her camera as the detective watches her, not without some kind of strange sense of admiration.", "INT. COTTAGE - EVENING Blomkvist considers Birger's photo on his wall : Brother of Cecilia, son of Harald the Nazi, 21 - years - old when his cousin Harriet disappeared.", "EXT. COTTAGE - EVENING Blomkvist and Martin drink Skane. Martin's normally breezy demeanor seems to have suffered from his mother's public displays. Embarrassed by them and her, he's more serious now. MARTIN My family is impossible. It's why the company is such a mess. Please accept my apology for my mother's behavior. BLOMKVIST It's all right. MARTIN It's not all right, she's unbearable. But it has nothing to do with you. It's between her and Henrik. She lost it when my father died. The drinking - her state of mind - it all got so bad Henrik took me and my sister away from her, leaving her alone in our old house on the other side of the island like she was excommunicated. She's never forgiven him. And he seems as lost now as he must have been then. MARTIN You have to stay and keep working. You're Henrik's last chance at some kind of resolution. Put this to rest for him one way of the other, and I'll try to keep my mother away. But, please, do it as quickly as you can. BLOMKVIST I'll. -LRB- try. -RRB- - They glance off to the sound of a motorcycle. It appears, roars up, parks. Salander climbs off it and shoulders a duffel bag. Blomkvist seems surprised to see her. BLOMKVIST Lisbeth, this is Martin Vanger. MARTIN How do you do. SALANDER Fine. She comes past them without another word. Martin ca n't help noticing her wasp and handcuff tattoos. Looks after her as she disappears into the cottage. It's hard to believe, but he has to ask : MARTIN Girlfriend? BLOMKVIST Assistant.", "INT. COTTAGE - MOMENTS LATER Blomkvist comes in as Martin drives off. Salander is already unpacking her things - laptop, charger, change of clothes. What's she doing, moving in? BLOMKVIST Any trouble finding the place? SALANDER Everyone in town knows who and where you are. BLOMKVIST That's comforting. Are you hungry? Want a sandwich? SALANDER No. Busy setting up her laptop on his desk, starting it up, sitting down at it, she's all but ignoring him. BLOMKVIST I used to have a motorcycle. When I was 19. SALANDER I know. She hands him her own dog - eared Bible and a copy of the list of names and initials he gave her - SALANDER The five cases from Harriet's list. And five more she missed - three I'm sure about. Five more? Blomkvist stares at her but she's turned back to her laptop, bringing up police reports and crime scene photos. SALANDER Rebecka was the first, like you thought. M.H., is Mari Holmberg - a prostitute in Kalmar - murdered in 1954. Leviticus verse 20, line 18. BLOMKVIST -LRB- reading from it. -RRB- `` If a man lies with a woman having her sickness, he has made naked her fountain and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood.'' Blomkvist does n't see a connection. SALANDER She was raped and stabbed, but the cause of death was suffocation with a sanitary napkin. R.L. Rakel Lunde, 1957 - Salander brings up more crime photos - SALANDER Cleaning woman and part - time palm reader, tied up with a clothesline, gagged, raped, head crushed with a rock. Leviticus 20:27. BLOMKVIST `` A woman who is a medium or sorcerer shall be put to death by stoning.'' She's lit a cigarette and brings up the next photos - BLOMKVIST I only smoke outside. SALANDER -LRB- ignoring the comment. -RRB- Sara Witt, 1964. Daughter of a pastor. Tied to her bed, raped, charred in the fire that burned down her house. Leviticus - BLOMKVIST 21:9. `` The daughter of any priest who profanes herself by playing the harlot, profanes her father and shall be burned with. -LRB- fire. -RRB- - SALANDER -LRB- on top of his last word. -RRB- Magda Lovisa Sjoberg, 1960 - Several photos of a dead woman and dead cow - SALANDER Found in a barn, stabbed and raped with farm tools. A cow in the next stall with its throat slit, its blood splashed on her, hers on it. BLOMKVIST Leviticus 20:16 - `` If a woman lies with any beast, you shall kill the woman and the beast, their blood is upon. -LRB- them. -RRB- - SALANDER -LRB- again on his last word. -RRB- Lea Persson, 1962 - A photo of a pretty girl in riding jodhpurs, petting a horse, and several more of her dead naked body on a wet cement floor surrounded by tropical fish. SALANDER Found by her sister in their pet shop - raped, beaten. The killer uncaged the animals, smashed the aquariums. There was a parakeet inside her. Leviticus 26:21 / 22. Before Blomkvist can find the verse, she's on to the next ones. More photos of murdered girls - SALANDER Eva Gustavsson, 1960. A runaway. Raped, strangled, a burnt pigeon tied around her neck. Lena Andersson, 1967, a student. Raped, stabbed, decapitated - BLOMKVIST Okay - SALANDER I'm not done - BLOMKVIST It's all right, we're looking for a serial murderer. But what does it have to do with a 16 - year - old girl on an island? Salander, as we know, is not paid to give her opinion. She's a hunter/gatherer, not an analyst. But Blomkvist asked, so she gives it - SALANDER She was looking for him, too.", "EXT. COTTAGE - LATER - NIGHT The silence they just left has followed them out here. The island, more than ever, feels haunted as Blomkvist looks off, smoking. BLOMKVIST Rape. Torture. Fire. Animals. Religion. Anything I'm missing? SALANDER The names. They're all Biblical. The first woman, the whore, the Virgin Mary - Sara, Rakel - all from the Old Testament. BLOMKVIST Which means they're Jewish names. He glances off to Harald's dark house. BLOMKVIST If there's one thing the Vangers have more than their share of, it's Nazis. There's one of them. The Nazi's shadowy form crosses behind the shades.", "INT. COTTAGE - LATER - NIGHT He pokes at embers in the fireplace to try coax some flames. BLOMKVIST I can see why Armansky values you so highly. Your work is very good. SALANDER It interests me. He takes a blanket from the back of a chair. BLOMKVIST I'll take the couch. You can have the bed. SALANDER I can sleep on a couch. BLOMKVIST So can I. She takes the blanket from him and sits with it on the couch. He watches her a moment. BLOMKVIST Okay. -LRB- heads off to the bedroom. -RRB- Good night. SALANDER Night. She switches off the lamp. Then, in a moment, in the dark - SALANDER Harriet's name is n't. BLOMKVIST Is n't what. SALANDER Jewish.", "EXT. COTTAGE - MORNING - ESTABLISHING", "INT. COTTAGE - MORNING Salander browses through an iPhoto album of old photographs of Blomkvist and the motorcycle he mentioned. In some of them, Erika is with him. In all of them, he's wearing a leather jacket not unlike Salander's. BLOMKVIST -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What are you doing? He's just woken up in a tangle of blankets on the couch to see her at his laptop. She closes the album, leaving on the screen what she was looking at before : his iMovie of the parade and some annotated police files. SALANDER Going over your notes. BLOMKVIST They're encrypted. She gives him a do n't - be - a - child look. SALANDER Have some coffee. BLOMKVIST I will. And then we'll have a talk about what's yours and what's mine. Blomkvist drags himself up, pours himself some coffee, adds some milk. SALANDER It's amazing what you figured out from the parade photos. BLOMKVIST Thank you. SALANDER Too bad you do n't have hers. BLOMKVIST Whose. She does n't say. He comes over. She plays the iMovie, stops on a frame before Harriet turns her head. Points to a young couple standing among the people behind her. The woman has an Instamatic camera in her hand. SALANDER Her. She advances to the next frame : The woman has raised the camera to her eye. And the next : Harriet turning her head in foreground while in the background the flash cube atop the woman's Instamatic flares slightly. Blomkvist is stunned, by both the fact he did n't notice it before, and what it means : Though the woman is taking a snapshot of the parade, she could have inadvertently included in it whatever - whoever - Harriet saw at that moment across the street. BLOMKVIST Excuse me. He takes over his laptop from her, finds the later Courier photos he did n't include in his iMovie, after Harriet has left. In one, the couple is moving off the other way. In another, they're getting in a parked car to leave. He sharpens the Photoshop contrast. The rear license plate is partly visible, but too small for him to make out even by squinting. BLOMKVIST Can you read that? SALANDER A, C, Three - the rest is blocked. He focuses on a decal on the car's back window. The letters are even small and blurrier, but she thinks she can make out - SALANDER N, something, R, S, J - BLOMKVIST Norsjo. SALANDER Then something, K, something, R, I, F, something, I - BLOMKVIST Carpentry. -LRB- points below the letters. -RRB- Is that a phone number? SALANDER Too small to read. He gets up. Heads for the front door to smoke his cigarette outside - BLOMKVIST -LRB- ADR. -RRB- I'm going to have to go to Norsjo. He opens the door to leave and sees on the porch - The charred corpse of the cat. Its legs - sawn off and arranged in the shape of a swastika - lie in the middle of a dark circle of blood. He seems too startled to move, but when Salander sees it, she immediately gets her camera and begins framing close - ups of the cat parts, and its head resting atop the seat of her motorcycle. Blomkvist stares off at Harald's house.", "INT. HEDESTAD HOSPITAL CAFETERIA - DAY As Frode scrolls through the photos of the dismembered cat on Salander's camera, horrified by them, she regards at a table across the room : Birger, Isabella and Gunner. BLOMKVIST I would n't think Harald would sign his name like this, would you? FRODE I ca n't say I know how he thinks. He might. BLOMKVIST Has anyone spoken to him about me since I've been here? FRODE Maybe Isabella. No one else. BLOMKVIST Could she do something like this? Frode glances off to her. She's staring at Salander. And turns to Birger. ISABELLA Who's this creature now? Frode takes one more look at the photos before - FRODE I'm calling this off. BLOMKVIST No. You're authorizing me to rent a car.", "INT. HOSPITAL - LATER - DAY Blomkvist and Salander coming down a corridor on their way out. BLOMKVIST I'm sorry if that was uncomfortable. SALANDER They do n't bother me. BLOMKVIST I'm sure they're not used to people who look like you. SALANDER They do n't like you either.", "EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY A car and a motorcycle split apart at an interchange - the Volvo to the north, Salander's Honda to the south.", "EXT. STOCKHOLM - DAY Salander pulls her Honda into an underground garage.", "INT. MILTON SECURITY - DAY No one says hello to her - nor she to them - as she strides through the place to the tech room. INSERT : Cases snapped open revealing sophisticated surveillance equipment - several cameras, mounts, hand monitor, cables. TECH CLERK I ca n't give you any of this stuff without authorization from Mr. Armansky. SALANDER So call him. The clerk picks up a phone, but then sets it back down. Picks up the list again. TECH CLERK Next time, I'd prefer you fill out the proper paperwork.", "EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY A Volvo speeds along a rural highway, far from Hedestad and the Vangers.", "INT. VOLVO - MOVING - DAY On the passenger seat - INSERT : the car rental agreement - a print of the parade photo of the couple getting into the car he was looking at with Salander on his laptop - and a hand - written note that reads - NORSJO SNICKERIFABRIK", "EXT/INT. HIGHWAY / VOLVO - DAY A POV through the windshield of a highway sign alerts him the Norsjo exit is coming up.", "EXT. NORSJO - DAY The main street of a very small town. The Volvo pulls to a stop outside its only hardware store.", "INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY An ancient place with narrow aisles crammed with stuff. CLERK 1 Can I help you? The clerk - for what Blomkvist needs - is too young. BLOMKVIST I'm waiting for the older gentleman, thanks. He gestures to a clerk in his 60's helping a customer.", "INT. HARDWARE STORE - LATER The older clerk looks at the parade photo of the couple. BLOMKVIST The carpentry shop is gone. I do n't know if he worked there or not. If he did, maybe he used to buy hardware here. CLERK 2 I do n't recognize him. Sorry. BLOMKVIST I had to start somewhere. Thanks. As he gathers up the photos to leave - CLERK 2 I'm no detective, but I think I would've started at the retirement home. Blomkvist looks up. Not a bad idea.", "INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - STOCKHOLM - DAY Salander checks a ` mirror' of Bjurman's computer on her laptop. Skims one of the monthly reports she instructed him to write.", "EXT. RETIREMENT HOME - NORSJO - ESTABLISHING", "INT. RETIREMENT HOME - NORSJO - DAY A group of elderly men and women in a rec room pass Blomkvist's photos around. One old man offers - FORSMAN This is Brannlund's kid. He was a contractor, the father. BLOMKVIST Brannlund. FORSMAN Assar. Blomkvist writes the name down. BLOMKVIST You would n't happen to know where I could find him, the son? FORSMAN Next to his father at the cemetery. He was killed in an accident on a job site years ago. But she might be alive -. -LRB- the woman in the picture. -RRB- His widow.", "EXT. BRANNLUND HOUSE - ESTABLISHING", "INT. BRANNLUND HOUSE - DAY She is still alive, and sitting across from Blomkvist in her living room as he takes out his photos - BLOMKVIST In 1966, you were in Hedestad with your husband. He shows her one of the photos. MILDRED Oh, my goodness, there we are. Who took this? BLOMKVIST Photographer at the local paper. She smiles at the picture ; it brings back good memories. BLOMKVIST You were taking pictures, too. Which I'd very much like to see if by some miracle you still have them. MILDRED It would n't be a miracle. We were on our honeymoon. But why? Blomkvist thinks about making something up. Decides not to. Indicates Harriet in the photo - BLOMKVIST This girl was killed that day, soon after seeing something across the street that frightened her. MILDRED How awful. Blomkvist nods ; Mildred takes a closer look at the photo. MILDRED She does look terrified. Mildred gets up with purpose, goes into another room, returns with a photo album. Leafs past wedding photos, to honeymoon photos and stops on the only one she took of the parade. She hands the album to Blomkvist. The snapshot shows the float with the harem girls in foreground, and - in the background, across the street - several out of focus figures - BLOMKVIST Would you mind if I made a copy of this?", "EXT. BJURMAN'S OFFICE BUILDING - LATE AFTERNOON Establish.", "INT. BJURMAN'S OFFICE BUILDING - LATE AFTERNOON He gets in the elevator without really looking at the figure already in it. BJURMAN Ground, please. A finger presses it. The doors close and the elevator starts down. SALANDER How's your sex life? Bjurman, terrified, backs into a corner. She presses a button and the elevator jerks to a stop between floors. SALANDER I did n't care much for your last report. -LRB- which she has in hand. -RRB- It felt perfunctory, like your heart was n't in it. Let's see a little more enthusiasm for my recovery in next month's. BJURMAN I under -LRB- stand. -RRB- - SALANDER Do n't speak. I do n't want to hear your voice. Just nod. He nods. SALANDER Start looking for a shrink you can bribe to swear under oath he can find absolutely nothing wrong with me. He nods. She gets the elevator going again and steps closer to him. He tries bowing his head like a dog being scolded. She lifts his chin like he did to her before he raped her. SALANDER And stop visiting tattoo removal websites or I'll do it again - right here. She touches his forehead. He backs away. The doors open and she steps out, leaving him in there, looking too frightened to move. The doors close.", "INT. COTTAGE - LATE AFTERNOON Having returned and scanned Mildred's snapshot into Photoshop, Blomkvist better defines on his laptop its background and the people in frame across the street from where Harriet was standing : INSERT : Couples, kids, a clown. INSERT : The watch repair shop clock that reads, 2:00. INSERT : A figure standing slightly apart from the other people. It's too blurry to make out his face or age, but he has light brown hair, dark slacks, and a dark blazer with some kind of patch on the pocket.", "EXT. STOCKHOLM - LATE AFTERNOON Salander blasts onto the highway headed north.", "INT COTTAGE - AFTERNOON Blomkvist regards Isabella's two photos on the wall. In one she's a stunning young woman. In the other, the old wreck she's become. He glances to her husband Gottfried's photo. Where a second more current photo of him should go is a Courier article about his drowning in 1965. That's when Isabella changed - and this is where it happened - in this old house out on the point. He untacks the article -", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - LATE AFTERNOON The boathouse has n't fared well. Neither has the dock Blomkvist has to walk on to reach it. He glances inside - no boat, just dark water slapping against the pilings - looks back to the shore at the long - uninhabited cabin.", "INT. CABIN - LATER - LATE AFTERNOON No electricity but enough light spills through the open door for him to see the neglected, shadowy interior : Beds with bare, or no, mattresses. Sticks of furniture. Old water - stained books strewn around. Beer bottles and other debris left by intrepid Hedestad teenagers. It's creepy, even if you were n't alone in it, knowing what you know. He kneels to look at some of the books. Mickey Spillane, a bird guidebook, something called The Evil Empire about the USSR, a children's book. He opens this last one and sees `` Harriet'' scrawled in a very young child's hand.", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - LATE AFTERNOON Having climbed the cliff above the cabin, he finds himself at the highest point on the island. Stops to rest at the ruins of a fort. A piece of the stone wall next to his head suddenly erupts. As fragments tear into his scalp, he hears the delayed crack and echo of the rifle shot - He throws himself to the ground. Crawls desperately around and behind the ruins. Sees his shirt is bloody but ca n't feel a wound under it. Touches his face and finds the blood is coming from his forehead. He can see no one, and is almost relieved since if he could it would mean they were walking toward him, which would mean he would soon be shot dead, point blank. He has to get out of here before that happens. Behind him - the rocky cliff he just climbed. Ahead of him - a clearing leading to woods. Really only one choice - He runs for the trees. Dives through a curtain of thicket and stinging nettles that tear at his arms and hands. Crawls the rest of the way to the woods on his elbows and toes like an infantryman. Safe for the moment, he figures, hidden in the woods, he looks at the sun low in the sky, and decides to wait.", "INT/EXT. COTTAGE - EVENING Salander, returned from Stockholm, moves around the cottage - inside and out - installing the equipment she brought from Milton Security : Motion detectors - security cameras - software that bisects a PC screen into quadrants showing night - vision views of each corner of the cottage.", "INT/EXT. COTTAGE - NIGHT A figure appears on a quadrant of Salander's surveillance PC. Comes past the motorcycle and nearly reaches the porch before she hears - BLOMKVIST -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It's me. She opens the door to see him covered in blood, pressing a torn piece of his shirt to his bleeding head - and almost gasps. BLOMKVIST It's that bad?", "INT. COTTAGE - NIGHT She turns the bathtub's hot water tap - BLOMKVIST Is it still bleeding? -LRB- touches the wound. -RRB- It's still bleeding. why is it still bleeding. She pulls a length of dental floss from its case - BLOMKVIST -LRB- ADR. -RRB- Is that dental floss? SALANDER Yes. Splits it in two thinner lengths with her chewed finger nails - Feeds one of the lengths of floss through the eye of a needle - BLOMKVIST What is that -. -LRB- he can see it's a needle. -RRB- Is that necessary? SALANDER Yes. BLOMKVIST We ca n't just tape it? SALANDER No. She perches on the edge of the tub where he sits - still in his pants - half - submerged in tepid water - bottle of vodka in his hand. BLOMKVIST Did you sterilize that? SALANDER No. BLOMKVIST You did n't? She splashes some of the vodka on the needle. Most of it goes in the water. Hands the bottle back to him. SALANDER Drink some more. He takes a swig from the vodka bottle. She reaches to his face with the needle and floss - BLOMKVIST Careful, it's my eye. SALANDER Do n't move. It takes all he's got not to move, and even that is n't enough as she first sticks the needle through the flesh. He pulls away with a groan. She just looks at him. Waits for him to take another swig of vodka to steel himself. She pierces him a second time, draws the floss through the skin. And after that it does n't seem to be so bad. As she works, his eyes glance to hers with a mixture of dread and gratitude, but hers are focused on the work. Hers then briefly glance to his, but now his are down.", "INT. COTTAGE - A FEW MINUTES LATER - NIGHT He comes out of the bathroom in his soaking wet pants and collapses on the bed. She works to pull his pants off. BLOMKVIST What am I doing here. why did I ever come up here. He touches the wound and looks at his fingers - BLOMKVIST It's too dark to see. did it stop bleeding. I think maybe it has. it still fucking hurts.", "INT. COTTAGE - A FEW MINUTES LATER - NIGHT She regards the surveillance monitor, the night - vision views of the cottage. She ca n't believe it but she feels vigilant more for his sake than her own. She goes to a window and looks out. Sees her own reflection in the glass and studies it. Then kicks her boots off.", "INT. COTTAGE - MOMENTS LATER - NIGHT She comes into the bedroom in her t - shirt and underwear. He's still muttering without looking at her. BLOMKVIST It was n't an accident. Somebody was shooting at me. It's insane. these people are insane. SALANDER No one's shooting at you now. She pulls her t - shirt over his stitched - up head, cocooning it against her breasts. Silence. Then - BLOMKVIST I'm pretty sure this is n't a good idea. SALANDER Why. He extracts his head from the cocoon and looks at her. BLOMKVIST Apart from the fact that I'm old, we work together. SALANDER You work with what's - her - name. That's worked out for you. He nods. That's true. Then - BLOMKVIST I have some standards of behavior, believe it or not. SALANDER You need to stop talking. She climbs on top of him.", "INT. COTTAGE - LATER - NIGHT Afterwards. She opens his dwindling pack of cigarettes. Lights one. Glances over to him lying next to her. He's not looking at the smoke but rather the startling tattoos on her bare legs and arms. Eventually - SALANDER You want me to open a window? He shakes his head no. Reaches for the cigarette. Takes a drag. Hands it back.", "INT. COTTAGE - MORNING He wakes. Comes out to find a proper place setting on the table. Sits with Salander. Listens to that awkward, but not altogether unpleasant silence you always hear in this situation the next morning. She breaks it - SALANDER I like working with you. BLOMKVIST I like working with you, too.", "EXT. MARTIN'S HOUSE - DAY Establish.", "INT. MARTIN'S HOUSE - DAY Frode and Martin stare at Blomkvist's unprofessionally sutured head wound ; Salander near him like an emaciated bodyguard. FRODE People hunt on the island, Mikael. Gunner's out there shooting something almost every day for his dinner. It could have been a stray shot. MARTIN Not from Gunner. If he wanted to shoot him, he'd have shot him. FRODE We get poachers. They're not always such great shots. MARTIN Or he's right, Dirch. What if he is? This has to stop. Frode regards Blomkvist. FRODE Do you want to stop? BLOMKVIST I have police reports, photos, Henrik's notes, my own notes, and Lisbeth's research. What I do n't have are Vanger Industries records. That's what I want. FRODE Why? Blomkvist does n't say. Only - BLOMKVIST Will you authorize it? FRODE I could but why on earth would I? BLOMKVIST Because I'm asking. FRODE The private corporate records. -LRB- Blomkvist nods. -RRB- How far back? BLOMKVIST All the way. Frode exchanges a look with Martin. BLOMKVIST Henrik said I have access to everything I need. This is what I need. FRODE That's not what he meant. BLOMKVIST Let's ask him. FRODE He's not well enough to ask. BLOMKVIST I'd be happy to sign a nondisclosure statement, if that helps you. FRODE Excuse us a moment. Frode and Martin step away to confer in private. MARTIN I think Henrik would say yes. FRODE That's why he has me. To protect him from himself. This is insane. MARTIN What do we have to hide? FRODE Over the course of 120 years of doing business? Plenty. MARTIN If he needs this to do his job, he should have permission. This goes against every privileged, confidential bone in the lawyer's body. He can only stare at Blomkvist and Salander across the room, wondering why he hired either one of them.", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - LATER - DAY Blomkvist and Salander walk down the road from Martin's house. SALANDER What am I looking for? BLOMKVIST Any connections between the company's holdings and the towns where the women were killed. and everything about Frode.", "EXT. HEDESTAD - DAY Vanger Industries' corporate archives are kept in the oldest building in the town's warehouse district. The rumble of Salander's motorcycle announces her arrival.", "INT. COTTAGE - SAME TIME - DAY Like someone visiting a relative they never liked, Blomkvist reviews yet again the photos from ` that day' - scrolling through the bridge accident shots - He stops. One of the figures has something in his hand he had n't noticed before. It and the figure are somewhat blurred in movement - but it looks like a gun. He sharpens the contrast to reveal that the gun is in fact a Hasselblad - type camera. Looks at the man's face - then at his wall of Vanger family photos - unhappy to see it matches Harald.", "INT. VANGER INDUSTRIES - LATER - DAY Carbon - copied or original documents from the 50's and 60's surround Salander like the water around the island : Financial analyses, annual reports, internal memoranda, trade union agreements, brittle news clippings, corporate staff photographs, one of which she's regarding now : A much younger Frode, posing against a wall of law books.", "INT. COTTAGE - DAY The photo of Harald in his Nazi uniform on the wall. BLOMKVIST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Your father was taking pictures that day no one has seen.", "INT. CECILIA'S HOUSE - DAY Cecilia looks at the blurred bridge photo of Harald with the camera in his hand. Then at Blomkvist, coolly. BLOMKVIST I'd like to if I could. CECILIA So ask him. BLOMKVIST I was wondering if you could do that. CECILIA I do n't speak to him, as you know. BLOMKVIST You could n't make an exception in my case. He gives her his most disarming smile. It usually works with women, but does n't seem to have much affect on her. CECILIA Are you afraid to be in the same room with him? I'm not saying you should n't be. BLOMKVIST You wo n't help me? CECILIA Sorry.", "INT. VANGER INDUSTRIES - DAY Salander gets up and crosses to an anteroom where an unhappy older woman - the archive manager - seems to be doing nothing but waiting for the strange girl to leave. LINDGREN Are you finished? SALANDER No. I need to know where all the factories, offices and projects were from 1949 to 1966. LINDGREN You already have everything. SALANDER I do n't. Nothing on subsidiary corporations, partnerships, or suppliers. LINDGREN Then you'll have to do without. SALANDER Mr. Frode said I have access to whatever I need, and I need this. LINDGREN He said you have access to this floor. SALANDER Call him. The woman stares at her for a long moment, then picks up the phone.", "INT. ARCHIVES - DAY Stairs lead them to a higher floor. The woman climbs a step - stool. Pulls a couple of large binders from a high shelf. Salander does n't help her off the stool and the woman looks at her even more unhappily than before.", "INT. HARALD'S DEN - DAY The blinds, as usual, closed. Couple of lamps throw shadows on the walls which display hunting and military trophies - wild game heads, sabers and vintage firearms - some of Harald's dearer photographs - some photographs in dusty frames. Blomkvist, alone in the room, looks at them : Swedish Nazi leader in the 1930's. HARALD Sven Olof Lindholm. The 92 - year - old comes into the room from the kitchen, followed by a housekeeper with a tea tray. Indicates the younger man in the photo, also in a Nazi uniform, that Blomkvist is looking at. HARALD Me. Blomkvist nods. Has no idea what to say. But Harald waits for more of a response. Finally - BLOMKVIST Handsome. HARALD -LRB- taps another. -RRB- Birger Furugard. Me. -LRB- and another. -RRB- Per Engdahl. -LRB- and another. -RRB- Me. Blomkvist's eyes shift to a bolt - action Mauser infantry rifle displayed on a shelf. HARALD But your interest is in my more candid photographic work.", "INT. ARCHIVES - DAY Spread out on the desk : A map of Sweden showing the factory sites and other Vanger holdings - and one she made earlier where the nine women were murdered. Dots appear at the same locations on both. On a handwritten list of the victims, she puts a check next to Rebecka Jacobsson, 1949, Hedestad - moves on to Mari Holmberg, 1954, Kalmar - begins sifting through the mountain of Vanger Industries clippings from that year -", "INT. HARALD'S DEN - DAY A bony Nazi pouring tea in a shadowy room with you is bad, but the rabbit - print tea cozy only makes it worse. Blomkvist tries to ignore him settling back in his worn leather chair with his chipped cup, and sifts through an old shoebox of unsorted photographs : A holiday at Lake Como, early 1950's judging from the cars ; a Vanger family gathering long ago ; some men posing by a slain wild boar dangling from a rope. Harald holds out a pack of cigarettes. Blomkvist comes over, pulls one out. HARALD Blom. kvist. -LRB- lights the cigarette. -RRB- With an ` o' - or a ` u.' BLOMKVIST ` o.' HARALD An ` o.' Blom - kvist. Harald does n't say it, but his nod means, ` not Jewish then. Good' Blomkvist returns to the photos, glancing up occasionally to the smoke curling up past Harald's face as he examines the journalist at work. HARALD I'm not a recluse. I do n't close my door to anyone. They just do n't visit. BLOMKVIST Perhaps if you redecorated. HARALD Hide the past like they do. Under a thin, shiny veneer. Like an Ikea table. -LRB- Blomkvist shrugs. -RRB- I'm the most honest of all of them. BLOMKVIST The family. HARALD Sweden. Blomkvist opens another shoebox. Lying on top is a photograph of the bridge accident, and, under it, a few more. He takes them out and angles them toward a lamp. HARALD Two point eight. BLOMKVIST Pardon me? HARALD The Zeiss Tessar on my Hasselblad. Excellent lens. Blomkvist tries to nod appreciatively, but the bridge photos do n't tell him anything he does n't already know. He finds several more that appear to be a hunting expedition - men and blood hounds - but then sees Morell in one, more policemen, and a stricken Henrik in boots and raincoat, and realizes this is the search party. Off to the side, a young man, head turned half away, wearing a dark blazer with a gold patch, which that 2.8 Zeiss lens makes clear is a prep school insignia. A lion. HARALD Landscape? Some nice landscapes there. BLOMKVIST No, it's - I ca n't tell who it is from this angle. He takes the photo over to the Nazi who only has to glance at it a moment to recognize his late nephew's son : HARALD That's Gottfried's boy. BLOMKVIST Martin? Harald nods, hands it back, smokes. It's not unusual Martin would have joined the search party - it would be unusual if he had n't - it's his sister that's missing - but this blazer he's wearing troubles Blomkvist - HARALD Handsome but useless young man, Martin. Like his father.", "INT. ARCHIVES - DUSK The archive manager shoulders her purse, locks her anteroom, and approaches Salander. LINDGREN We're closing. SALANDER -LRB- without looking up. -RRB- Nowhere near finished. LINDGREN I'm not staying late. SALANDER I am. And I need access to all the rooms, including any that are locked. -LRB- nothing from the woman. -RRB- Call Frode.", "INT. HOSPITAL - DUSK As Henrik naps and Martin clears his dinner tray, Frode listens to the caller on the room phone - LINDGREN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She wants to look at everything. I do n't like her and I do n't trust her. There's something wrong with her. FRODE Hang on a second -. -LRB- to Martin. -RRB- I'm going to let you decide. It's Ms. Lindgren again. MARTIN -LRB- takes the phone. -RRB- Yes, Ingrid, what's the problem? LINDGREN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This girl wants a set of keys now. To my room as well. It's outrageous. MARTIN It's fine. Just tell her to make sure to leave the keys with security when she's done.", "INT. ARCHIVES - DUSK Having found nothing of interest in the 1954 files, Salander moves on to the 1957 killing of Rakel Lunde. The older woman comes back. Drops a set of keys on the desk. LINDGREN Stay all night if you want. Leave the keys with the guard. The woman leaves. Her footsteps echo and fade. Salander reads a yellowed clipping from a Landskrona newspaper : It's about Vanger Industries hiring a local contractor, Carlen Construction, to build a plant. Gottfried Vanger - here to sign the contract. But all that really interests Salander is the date. The article was published one day after the paper printed the story of the discovery of Rakel's battered naked body. Salander flips through the handwritten notes she made during her talk with the retired detective in Landskrona - and finds that part - time palm reader Rakel's main job was as a cleaning woman for Carlen Construction. The detective interviewed her co - workers, but no one from Vanger Industries, including that firm's representative in town for a few days, Gottfried Vanger. Gottfried Vanger. which one was he again? Salander brings up on her laptop photographs she took of the wall of the cottage : the Vanger family tree. Gottfried Vanger, Son of Margareta & Richard the Nazi Husband of crazy Isabella, Father of Martin and Harriet Of all the Vangers - at least back in 1950 when Harriet was born - Gottfried was the most handsome. Clark Gable good looks. She puts a check next to Rakel's name and returns to Mari Holmberg and the 1954 Vanger files.", "INT. COTTAGE - EVENING Blomkvist flips through one of Morell's reports stating everyone's whereabouts on the day Harriet's disappeared. INSERT : Across from Martin Vanger's name it reads : `` Arrived on 4:30 train.'' He brings up the Photoshop - enhanced Brannlund parade photo on his laptop - INSERT : The figure with the blazer and pocket patch standing near the watch repair clock, which reads : 2:00. And the photo Harald let him take with him of ` Gottfried's useless boy' - INSERT : Young Martin with the search party, the emblem clearly visible on his blazer pccket. He shuffles through copies of articles in Salander's victims' files. Looks at the last one, Lena Andersson, 1967. The photo is a school wallet photo - INSERT : She's wearing a sweater with the same Uppsala Prep School lion emblem as Martin. He looks at Mildred's parade photo of the figure standing near the watch repair clock. It reads, 2:00. And the photo Harald let him take with him of ` Gottfried's useless boy' with the search party. In it and the parade photo, he's wearing the same blazer. He shuffles through copies of articles in Salander's victims' files. Looks at the last one, Lena Andersson, 1967. The photo is a school wallet photo - in a sweater with the same Uppsala Prep School lion emblem as Martin.", "INT. VANGER ARCHIVES - EVENING Knowing what she's looking for now, Salander finds it fairly quickly : A clipping about a timber company Vanger Industries bought in Kalmar and an interview in its local paper with Gottfried, two days after Mari's murder. She jumps to 1960 - Magda Lovisa Sjoberg - Karlstad - and an article in its local paper - this time with a photo of Gottfried - about a union dispute at its factory there.", "EXT. COTTAGE - EVENING Blomkvist comes out with his cell phone, tries to make a bar or two materialize on it. Dials but only gets a beep that asks him if he wants to ` retry.' He does n't. Instead, under the darkening sky, he looks off to the point. Martin's house is small in the distance, but he can see there's no car in the driveway and no lights on. He stares at it for a long time.", "INT. VANGER ARCHIVES - EVENING Salander pulls a 1962 Uddevalla paper from the files. Same day this time, the same page of the newspaper : Lea Persson's horrific murder and an story quoting Gottfried about an expansion project to the town's harbor. She regards Gottfried's newsprint photo : His face looks more than 8 years older than the one in Kalmar but that's what drinking to excess, and murder perhaps, does to you.", "INT. COTTAGE - EVENING Blomkvist lays the Lena Andersson article - and the photograph of the figure at the parade - atop the rest of the junk on the desk - and quickly scrolls through photos on his laptop, leaving on the screen for Salander to see when she returns : Martin's recent Vanger Industries PR portrait.", "INT. ARCHIVES - NIGHT Salander has hit a snag. Gets up. We stay to have a look at the problem she leaves : the victims list - now with `` Gottfried'' jotted down next to all but one name : 1967 - Lena Andersson - Uppsala Next to it, the newspaper article about the murdered girl, with a school photo. And, next to that, the reason there's no `` Gottfried'' notation : his obituary in a Hedestad Courier clipping : 1965. We listen to the fading echo of Salander's footsteps -", "INT. ARCHIVES - SAME TIME - NIGHT As annoying as the older woman was, it was less creepy with her around. Salander is alone in the old building now, wandering through it looking for vending machines. She finds some. Drops coins in one. A cup fills with coffee. She gets a candy bar from another. The coffee machine finishes. The place again plunges into silence. She starts back with her snack down a hallway -", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - NIGHT Trying to look like he's just out for a stroll, Blomkvist walks past Martin's dark house, then turns around, walks up the front path to the porch and makes a show of knocking on the door, just in case anyone on the island can see him, which is doubtful in this darkness. He tries the door. Locked. Comes down off the porch as if leaving, but then veers off the path and walks around to the side of the house. He peers through a floor - to - ceiling window, but ca n't see much inside. Comes around to the back and looks in another window. Tries the back door. Unlocked.", "INT. MARTIN'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS He ca n't see a lot in the dark, but does n't dare switch on any lights. He crosses through the kitchen, but we stay behind to regard a closed basement door. We pick him up again as he comes into the living room, follow him to a wall of glass. It's pitch black outside. We follow him down a hallway - but stop at a bedroom doorway as if this is as far as we care to go. We stay at the threshold and watch him go in and look around. As he begins rummaging around the recesses of a closet -", "EXT. THE BRIDGE - NIGHT A pair of headlights comes across the bridge.", "INT. MARTIN'S HOUSE - NIGHT Blomkvist comes back to the wall of glass. Still no lights out there. Heads off to the hall again.", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - NIGHT The car parks fifty yards from Blomkvist's cottage. The headlights blink off. Someone climbs out.", "INT. MARTIN'S HOUSE - NIGHT Blomkvist comes into a study. Lots of books and framed photographs. He begins looking around.", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - NIGHT The headlights come up the road leading to the point.", "INT. MARTIN'S HOUSE - NIGHT Blomkvist approaches a gun case in the study. Hunting rifles. Three of them - and an empty space for a fourth one. The trees outside the study window flare with light. A moment later, Blomkvist hears a sound of tires on gravel. Martin is back, and Blomkvist is in his house. We rush back down the hall with Blomkvist. Hopefully Martin will enter through the front door because we're going to try to get out the back one - Blomkvist trips over something in the dark and we go down with him. Then up again - through the kitchen - past the basement door - grabs a knife from a drawer - shoves it in a back pocket - hurries out the rear door -", "EXT. MARTIN'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS Blomkvist tries to steady his breathing as he slinks around the side of the house. As he passes a window, it lights up - and we again hit the ground with him. He hurries across the yard, trips over something in the dark - a sprinkler? - and goes down again into wet muck. He gets up and starts down the road as if returning from a leisurely evening walk - which would be more convincing without the limp - not daring to look back as he goes. MARTIN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Hello? Mikael? Blomkvist stops. His heart pounds. Martin comes down his porch and walks toward his car. MARTIN Your evening stroll? BLOMKVIST Hi. How are you? Martin pulls a golf bag from his trunk and shoulders it. MARTIN I stopped at the hospital on my way home. Henrik asked me to ask you something. BLOMKVIST What. MARTIN Come on in, I'll make you a drink. Naturally, this is the last thing Blomkvist wants to do, but it would be more suspicious if he refuses. He heads back to Martin's house, trying not to limp.", "INT. ARCHIVES - NIGHT Finished with her candy bar and coffee, Salander opens the 1967 files, looks through the clippings for anything of note in Uppsala, where Lena was killed. She finds no news of factories opening there that year, but she does come across a PR newsletter about a winter retreat for fifty employees and their families. There's a photo of Henrik presenting someone with a Best Worker of the Year plaque. And another taken at a dinner for twenty guests and Vanger family members : The camera has captured Henrik presiding at the head of the table, putting on a brave face, raising a champagne flute - as everyone else does the same - except for the young man at the far right foreground. He looks sullen. But what teenager would n't at an event as boring as this. Salander would look even more sullen. She checks the caption and reads :. far right, Martin Vanger -LRB- 19 -RRB-, currently studying in Uppsala. Uppsala. Same place as Lena - though it's what young Martin is wearing that strikes her : an Uppsala private school blazer with a lion on its pocket - the same as on Lena Andersson's sweater in the photo of her in the article about her murder.", "INT. MARTIN'S HOUSE - NIGHT It's not as eerie with the lights on - except for the fact there's a killer in it. Martin sets the golf clubs down and begins emptying a grocery bag in the kitchen. MARTIN What happened to you? BLOMKVIST When. MARTIN Now. Blomkvist's clothes. The fresh mud stains. BLOMKVIST I fell in the dark. MARTIN You do n't have a flashlight? I'll give you one. BLOMKVIST I just was n't being careful. Martin smiles, but Blomkvist is n't sure what he said warrants one. Martin begins rummaging through a drawer for a flashlight. The knife block - with one missing - is right there. MARTIN How's the investigation? BLOMKVIST Nothing new to report. Blomkvist notices a drop of blood from his pantleg on the stone floor and covers it up with his shoe. Martin, not seeming to notice, finds a mini - Maglite in the drawer. MARTIN Dirch says Ms. Salander is clever. Maybe she'll turn something up. BLOMKVIST Maybe. Martin hands Blomkvist the mini - Maglite. BLOMKVIST Thanks.", "INT. ARCHIVES - NIGHT Salander scrolls through laptop photos to the one at the parade taken by the Brannlund woman on her honeymoon ; the people across the street and the blurry figure wearing the blazer with the `` pocket square''. SALANDER Hello, Martin.", "INT. MARTIN'S KITCHEN - LATER Martin pours Scotch. Hands one to Blomkvist. BLOMKVIST What did he say? MARTIN What? BLOMKVIST You said Henrik asked you to ask me something. MARTIN I just did. BLOMKVIST What? MARTIN How the investigation's going. That was his question. BLOMKVIST Oh. Blomkvist's eyes only dart to a rifle bag leaning against the wall next to a box of shells, but Martin follows them. MARTIN You hunt? We should go hunting together sometime. BLOMKVIST Sure. They drink. Listen to a silence. MARTIN Nothing at all? -LRB- Blomkvist does n't know what he means. -RRB- New. To report. BLOMKVIST No. Martin regards Blomkvist in another silence. Then - MARTIN I can see you're anxious. BLOMKVIST No. MARTIN To get home. After your walk. BLOMKVIST I suppose I am. MARTIN To have dinner. With your girlfriend. BLOMKVIST My assistant. Yes. MARTIN We'll have better luck with a gun. BLOMKVIST Sorry? MARTIN When we go hunting. Martin pulls open a bar drawer and takes from it a handgun. MARTIN A gun. Rather than a knife. He gives a little gesture with it to the handle of the knife protruding from a back pocket of Blomkvist's jeans. There are fresh drops of blood on the floor next to his shoes. MARTIN You just could n't stay away, could you. Blomkvist does n't know what to say. Martin's demeanor, even in this situation, remains cordial. MARTIN I want to show you something. Bring your drink. Leave the knife. Blomkvist's hope of getting out of here unscathed is pretty much gone now. He pulls the knife from his back pocket and sets it on a side table.", "INT. VANGER ARCHIVES BUILDING - NIGHT Salander strides past the napping night watchman without leaving the keys or bothering to tell him she's done.", "EXT. VANGER ARCHIVES BUILDING - NIGHT Crossing the empty parking lot, she tries Blomkvist on her cell. Gets his voice mail. Kick - starts her bike.", "INT. MARTIN'S HOUSE - NIGHT Martin `` leads'' Blomkvist from behind back to the kitchen, switching off lights as they go. MARTIN You know what's harder than shooting someone? Just missing them. That was a very good shot up at the cabin. BLOMKVIST It did n't work. I'm here. MARTIN Mikael, it did work. You're here. They come through a pantry, at the end of which is a door. MARTIN Open it. Blomkvist does. Sees steps leading into darkness. As they descend Martin flicks a switch and bare fluorescent tubes flicker on to reveal : A furnace. Washer. Dryer. Old discarded furniture. And another door. A steel one. As they approach it, Martin presses a little remote and the lock on the steel door clicks. MARTIN Push it open.", "INT. BASEMENT ANTEROOM - CONTINUOUS As Blomkvist steps across the threshold - MARTIN Switch is on the left. Blomkvist flips it and a row of overhead fluorescent tubes flickers on - one after the other - revealing a subterranean torture chamber : Metal eyelets bolted to the concrete walls and ceiling and floor - table with leather straps - bed with leather straps - steel - mesh cage - work bench with handsaws and other tools - Blomkvist takes it in with one glance and immediately turns to try to smash the glass in his hand into Martin's face - which is covered now with a plastic oxygen mask he holds to it. Gas plumes down on Blomkvist from above ; the glass comes out of his hand, shattering on the cement floor -", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - NIGHT The Honda's single headlight shudders as Salander comes across the bridge onto the island.", "INT. MARTIN'S BASEMENT - CONTINUED Blomkvist comes to on the floor, handcuffed to a chain that runs through a metal eyelet. He sees Martin behind a video camera on a tripod, focusing it - a shelf full of Betamax tapes - and a TV monitor on which his own image then appears. Note : the steel door if we were close enough to it to notice - which we are n't - is not locked. It's not even completely shut. Satisfied with the framing of the shot of his guest, Martin takes a seat on a comfortable armchair upholstered in clear plastic. It squeaks. He regards Blomkvist calmly. Sips his drink. Then almost sighs. MARTIN Why did n't you just go home. BLOMKVIST I assume you mean the opportunity for that has passed. Martin smiles, appreciating, perhaps, Blomkvist's `` easy'' manner in this dire circumstance. MARTIN How'd you do it? What did you find? Blomkvist does n't say. Martin looks like he has all the time in the world to wait, and does. Then - MARTIN We can talk or we can just get on with it. It's really up to you. Nothing from Blomkvist. Martin shrugs ` okay,' gets up, goes to his workbench and takes a plastic shower curtain from it. As he's laying it on the floor around his victim, Blomkvist changes his mind - BLOMKVIST I found a picture no one had seen before. MARTIN Of. BLOMKVIST You. In your Uppsala prep school blazer. Martin does n't see the significance, but is pleased Blomkvist has decided to `` participate.'' He rewards him by suspending his shower curtain work to return to the chair. It squeaks again. MARTIN What does that say? BLOMKVIST That you lied about where you were that day. Or rather when. MARTIN Did I? If I did, so what. People lie all the time. BLOMKVIST It also said that Lena Andersson was a schoolmate. MARTIN Lena. -LRB- he has to think back to remember her. -RRB- Lena was a long time ago. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Where's this picture now? With all the other junk on your desk? BLOMKVIST A print is. Digital copies are on a secure photo site. MARTIN That's a lie. How much does the girl know? Blomkvist is n't sure how to play that question. MARTIN Let's hope it's as much as you. That'll make it more fun. Where is she? BLOMKVIST Stockholm. She went there this morning. MARTIN And that's a lie. She's sitting in our offices looking at more old crap. Our archives manager called me - very perturbed with this girl. Lisbeth. I like that name. Lisbeth. When Lisbeth leaves I'll get a call from security, so I can be at your cottage to greet her when she arrives - He holds up the keys he took from Blomkvist's pocket when he was out cold. MARTIN I ca n't thank you enough for bringing her to me.", "INT. COTTAGE - NIGHT As Salander gets the door open with her key and comes in - SALANDER Mikael -? He's clearly not here. She goes to the closet. Takes out the surveillance PC. Puts it on the desk - next to Blomkvist's laptop which is now displaying - not the photo of Martin he left for her - but the Apple default `` light spider'' screen saver. As Salander begins rewinding the captured surveillance images backwards at high speed to get to earlier in the day -", "INT. MARTIN'S BASEMENT - CONTINUED Martin reframes the video camera to include part of himself in the shot, sits again and crosses his leg like this is a talk show. MARTIN So what would you like to know? There are so many things, but also no point, so Blomkvist says nothing. MARTIN You're the journalist, ask me something. Nothing from Blomkvist. Which is okay with Martin ; he can do this alone - MARTIN What do I do with my guests? Is that the question? Well, before - I do what we're doing. Relax, have a drink, converse. I like that part a lot - having a chat when you both know one of you is going to die. After - I simply get rid of them. Out to sea -. -LRB- points off. -RRB- - unlike my father leaving them scattered all over the place like trophies. That's not smart if you ask me. That's just garish and loud. But he was a garish and loud man. Frankly, he got what he deserved. Nothing from Blomkvist, but he is wondering now what happened to Gottfried if the drowning was n't accidental. MARTIN You ca n't be a sloppy technician like that. You ca n't drink to excess like he did. This takes discipline. It's a science of a thousand details. The planning. The execution. The cleanup. I'm sure I do n't have to tell you you're going to make quite a mess. Nothing from Blomkvist, but Martin nods. -LRB- `` How do you do this and still function in normal society?'' -RRB- MARTIN That's the interesting thing. Because most of the time I am just like everyone else. I just have a bigger secret. It's wonderful really - standing there waiting for a train - or on a street corner as people brush past me. You know what I mean ; you have secrets. You had one when you came up here. It made you feel - special. Did n't it? Blomkvist does n't say. Martin is a little thrown by Blomkvist's next unspoken comment - -LRB- `` Yes, but my secrets are n't rape and murder'' -RRB- MARTIN No. I'm not a rapist. Of course I do that too - and at one time it was enough - but -. -LRB- gathers his thoughts to explain it. -RRB- A rapist, Mikael, gets off on domination. I need. -LRB- discards a few other words before :. -RRB- - destruction. Martin gets up and sets about the business of immobilizing Blomkvist further with a block - and - tackle contraption of chains and straps. MARTIN Can I ask you something? Why do n't people trust their instincts? They sense something's wrong - someone's walking too close behind them - yet they do n't cross the street. You knew something was wrong - you even knew what it was - but you came back into the house. Did I force you? Did I grab you and drag you in? I just offered you a drink. -LRB- pause. -RRB- You'd never think the fear of offending could be stronger than the fear of pain - but you know what? It is. They always come willingly. It amazes him. It always amazes him. He keeps working. MARTIN And then they're here. They know it's over like you do - and still somehow think they have a chance. `` Maybe if I say the right thing - if I'm polite - or I cry and beg - maybe I'll survive.'' -LRB- regards Blomkvist. -RRB- And then the moment comes when they realize. no, all hope is gone And when that happens - when I see the hope draining from their face like it is from yours right now -. -LRB- whispers like it's just between them. -RRB- - well, I feel myself getting hard just watching it. Silence. MARTIN Say something. BLOMKVIST You are a sick fuck. MARTIN Is this an interview or an editorial? Blomkvist, of course, does n't answer, or comment, yet Martin considers what the journalist has n't said. -LRB- `` Martin, civilized people do n't do what you do.'' -RRB- MARTIN You're right, this behavior is unacceptable. I know that. But we're not completely different. We both have desires. Satisfying mine just requires more towels. Martin regards Blomkvist in a silence. Then - MARTIN Anything else you want to know? -LRB- pause. -RRB- You sure? -LRB- pause. -RRB- All right. Whatever you say. He yanks a chain that feeds through the pulleys that lift Blomkvist up onto his feet -", "INT. COTTAGE - NIGHT Salander watches the surveillance images, forward - Blomkvist leaving the cottage and property on foot. Blomkvist returning to the cottage, going back inside. Blomkvist coming out and attempting a call on his cell. Blomkvist going back inside the cottage. Blomkvist coming out again and leaving the property. Blomkvist not coming back. Nothing but the sky darkening to night. Then - Headlights coming through frame. A figure appearing on foot at the front gate. The figure just standing there, looking at the cottage. The figure approaching it, and, as it's trying the locked front door, the motion detection light snapping on and illuminating Martin. Martin moving to the side, looking in a kitchen window, coming around front again, walking to the gate, turning around, looking back, then walking out of frame.", "INT. MARTIN'S BASEMENT - NIGHT Blomkvist hangs from the block - and - tackle rig, leather strap around his neck now, fed through a ceiling eyelet. With a big sewing scissors, Martin cuts through and removes Blomkvist's pants and underwear - MARTIN It might amuse you to know that while you were over here having dinner with me and Liv - who, by the way, finds me very conventional - Irina was down here in the cage. Who's Irina, you ask? A girl I met in Belarus. Just another girl. Another immigrant whore. Who misses them? He returns to his work bench to lay out various tools next to his gun and a desk phone. BLOMKVIST Your sister was n't just another girl. Martin comes back quickly and yanks a strap that cinches the noose tighter around Blomkvist's neck as it lifts him onto his tiptoes. MARTIN What happened to her. BLOMKVIST You're choking me - MARTIN You found her? BLOMKVIST You killed her. Martin just stares at him confused. Then - MARTIN You useless fuckin detective. He lets go of the strap and Blomkvist's feet come back down to the floor. As Martin returns to his workbench, Blomkvist is not only scared to death, but confused now. Did Martin not kill her? Then Martin is back in front of him with a roll of cellophane, pulls on the strap again until Blomkvist is balancing on his tiptoes, and ties it off. MARTIN Too tight to talk? It is. Blomkvist can utter no sound but a gag. MARTIN Good. I'm tired of talking to you. He wraps Blomkvist's head in cellophane, completely cutting off his ability to breathe, and calmly watches him struggle. MARTIN Would you like me to do something about that? Blomkvist desperately nods as he's about to suffocate. Martin watches another several moments. then pokes a finger through the cellophane into Blomkvist's gasping mouth. MARTIN See? I'm not a monster. He frames a wide shot of his naked prey. Turns on some music. Takes a moment to collect himself from all this strenuous work. Brushes back his hair like he wants to look presentable in the shot. Then smiles pleasantly - MARTIN You know, I've never had a man in here. I've never touched a man as a matter of fact. Except my father, of course. But that was my duty. Harriet's, too. The circulation to Blomkvist's head is being cut off by the strap. His fingers behind his naked back claw at the concrete wall to try to relieve some of the weight on the noose, but ca n't get a grip. Martin watches the struggle calmly, and just as calmly offers : MARTIN It's time. I do n't want to be late for my date with our girlfriend. He puts on a plastic rain poncho. A painter's mask. Plastic goggles. Surgeons gloves. Picks up a hunting knife. Steps up to Blomkvist. Looks at his eyes. Brings his own head close to his victim's - MARTIN Goodbye, Mikael. He pulls the strap, lifting Blomkvist's toes off the floor, closing off his air again. and is about to gut him like a wild boar. when he hears a sound like some kind of animal behind him. He turns and sees her - coming at him from out of the shadows by the steel door - He darts for the gun he left on the workbench - Salander just as quickly swings a 5 - iron - his 5 - iron - like a baseball bat. Its metal - wedged end arcs through the gloom and slams into the side of his head, sending him tumbling to the floor. He struggles up to his knees, and she swings the club again, splitting flesh and crushing bone as he crumples the floor. She takes the gun from the bench and shoves it in her other back pocket. Grabs the hunting knife and shackles key and hurries over to Blomkvist who only witnessed part of the spectacle before losing consciousness - She saws through the leather strap around his neck. Unlocks the chain. As he sinks to his knees on the floor, blood rushes to his head, bringing him back to life just enough to see what she ca n't behind her - Martin, blood streaming from the gash in his head, getting to his feet. But he's not coming at them ; he's trying to get out - Blomkvist tries to say her name to get her to look. Lifts a hand to try to point. She turns and glimpses the monster as he disappears out the steel door. Looks back at Blomkvist, still handcuffed on the floor, and, like a child asking a parent for permission - SALANDER May I kill him? Nothing in his life would allow him to agree to such a thing - until now. Now it's as if her years of violence and degradation have been passed to him. He nods. She puts the hunting knife in his hand. Pulls the gun from her back pocket, checks the clip, flicks off the safety, and turns to leave - BLOMKVIST He has more guns in the den - SALANDER I know. She comes up the basement stairs, leading with her gun. Distant thunder rumbles. She crosses through the kitchen to the living room, and down the hall to the study. She eases around the doorway - the room is empty - looks to the gun case - sees there are only two rifles there now. She hears an engine start outside. Hurries back through the house. Sees out the picture window the taillights of Martin's car receding fast down the road as clouds burst. She bangs out the front door. Runs halfway down the hill in the rain to where she left her motorcycle, jumps on and kick - starts it.", "EXT. THE BRIDGE - NIGHT She roars onto the bridge, chasing the taillights. Guns the bike to full throttle. Comes alongside him. He swerves to try to crush her against the railing - but she hits the brakes, avoiding the impact - She accelerates again and comes up on the other side of the car. He swerves again at her, but this time the bike pulls ahead of him. Now he's chasing her - He gains on her as they near the end of the bridge. As they race off it, he goes in for the kill, but she veers hard to one side, leaving him headed straight for the gas station Blomkvist makes his pay phone calls from - and the tanker truck parked there - Martin hits the brakes - hydroplanes into the truck - and its, or his own tank, or both, explode - Salander circles back. Regards the fire engulfing the car. The rain does nothing to dampen it. She could probably brave it to pull Martin out - but does n't. As the flames burn his clothes, he manages to get his hands on the rifle he took from the den, turns its barrel to his bloody head - but before he can pull the trigger, she hurries over, yanks it from his grasp and stands back again. It's much more cathartic to watch him burn.", "INT. MARTIN'S HOUSE - LATER - NIGHT She finds Blomkvist in the living room. Sitting in a chair, his coat wrapped around him. The hunting knife in his hand. Distant sirens echo. He can still just barely manage to speak - BLOMKVIST Where is he? SALANDER Dead.", "EXT. HEDESTAD - DAWN Reminiscent of the last photographs taken on the Hedeby Island bridge forty years ago, police and firemen finish up at the crash site. A winch drags Martin's charred black wreck of a car onto a tow truck.", "INT. COTTAGE BEDROOM - MORNING Blomkvist is asleep in the bedroom with what looks like a neck tattoo - the black and blue mark left by Martin's noose that nearly strangled him to death. He does n't hear the knock at the front door, nor - SALANDER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- It's open. Frode comes into the cottage looking shaken. Salander is the picture of calm, drinking a cup of black coffee. FRODE Where's Mikael? SALANDER Asleep. Coffee? There's no milk. Frode absently shakes his head no. FRODE I have some very upsetting news. Martin was killed in a car accident last night. SALANDER Sad. Frode is n't sure he heard right. Regards Salander sipping her coffee. FRODE What? SALANDER I said it's sad. FRODE -LRB- pause. -RRB- What do you know about this? She does n't say any more. Frode gets up and starts toward the bedroom - FRODE I have to talk to. -LRB- Mikael. -RRB- - SALANDER Let him sleep. It's not a request ; it's a command.", "INT. COTTAGE - LATER - MORNING Frode is ashen as he leafs through a binder Salander brought from Martin's chamber of horrors late last night : A scrapbook of murder. A death book. Photos of women cowering in his cage, tied to the bed, dead on the table - along with souvenirs of painted fingernails and locks of hair - all carefully taped into the ` album.' The older photographs are Polaroids ; the newer ones digital prints. With little to no discernible emotion, Salander watches Frode wince as he turns the pages. Frode ca n't take it anymore. Closes the book before reaching the end. Just sits there. FRODE What are we going to do? SALANDER We're going home, Mikael and me. I do n't know what you're going to do. FRODE I'm going to the police. SALANDER Show them the videos while you're at it. FRODE The - Salander points to a stack of video tapes. SALANDER Would you like to see them? FRODE No.", "INT. COTTAGE BEDROOM - LATER - MORNING Blomkvist half - wakes to find Salander lying next to him, fully - clothed, watching him. Is she actually there, or part of a dream? He looks at her a long moment, then tries out his voice - BLOMKVIST How is it someone who's 23 is a ward of the state? SALANDER I'm mentally incompetent and ca n't manage daily life. He smiles, thinking it's joke. It is n't, he realizes. BLOMKVIST Since when have they said that. SALANDER Since I was twelve. BLOMKVIST Something happened when you were twelve? She does n't say. Just studies him. BLOMKVIST It's all right, you do n't have to tell me anything - SALANDER I tried to kill my father. I burned him alive. Got about 80 percent of him. BLOMKVIST -LRB- pause. -RRB- Oh. Silence. Then - SALANDER We need milk.", "INT. COTTAGE - DAY She pours milk in her coffee from the carton she just bought. Pushes over two faded Polaroid photos. He picks them up : One shows a young girl about 14, naked from the waist up, head turned half - away from the camera. The second shows her on her stomach on a bed, completely naked, face turned to the photographer, frightened. BLOMKVIST Harriet? SALANDER I think so. Blomkvist ca n't look at the photos long. Sets them down. Something's troubling him - BLOMKVIST Martin did n't deny killing anyone. But when I mentioned Harriet, he was confused. He was angry - at me - for not being able to tell him what happened to her. -LRB- pause. -RRB- He did n't kill her. And his father was dead the year before. -LRB- pause. -RRB- What if she did somehow get away? Could she have done that? Could she have done it alone? He goes up to his wall of suspects. BLOMKVIST Is she's alive, there's only one person in this family who would know where she is. He takes the photo of Anita down from the wall.", "INT. HOSPITAL - DAY Henrik sits in one of the chairs. Blomkvist in another. Salander prefers to stand. Eventually - VANGER Poor Martin. Clearly, he has n't been shown the death book, or been told the tale of Blomkvist's night in Martin's dungeon. BLOMKVIST I have to go away for a couple days. When I come back, I hope to have an answer for you. Such a possibility stuns the old man. He regards Blomkvist a moment. Then Salander. VANGER Would the young lady mind giving us a moment of privacy. BLOMKVIST She's my partner, Henrik. She should stay. A tiny, tiny, tiny smile finds its way to her face at the mention of the word ` partner.' VANGER What have you found? BLOMKVIST I'm not sure. VANGER Do n't treat me like a child. Tell me. BLOMKVIST I ca n't. I do n't know. I need a week. Vanger studies him. Then - VANGER I've waited forty years. I can wait another week.", "INT. AIRLINE - IN FLIGHT - DAY Blomkvist and Salander read magazines in a pair of coach seats. Across the aisle - occupying two seats - is one 300 - lb. sleeping figure : Plague.", "INT. PUB - LONDON - DUSK They drink pints in an unpopular, almost - empty pub. A Cure song plays. BLOMKVIST I always liked this song. -LRB- nothing from her or Plague. -RRB- You do n't? SALANDER I do n't like classical music. A strange - looking young man comes in, regards the strange - looking trio at the table, comes over. To the fat man - TRINITY Plague? PLAGUE Trinity. SALANDER Wasp. Blomkvist starts to offer his hand before realizing no one else has or will. BLOMKVIST Mikael. Trinity sits. None of these people have much experience with human interaction. They all look at Blomkvist, but he is n't sure why. SALANDER The money. Blomkvist takes an envelope from his jacket, hands it to Trinity. He begins counting it -", "EXT. LONDON - NIGHT Alone in the back of a parked van amidst electronic components he does n't understand, Blomkvist anxiously stares out a tinted window at a dark row house. Headlights flare down the street. An approaching car. He hopes it passes, but it instead pulls up to the garage - waits for the door to go up - pulls in. BLOMKVIST Fuck me. He watches Anita Vanger get out of the car - the garage door come down - light go on inside the house - then dark figures hurrying along the side of the house : Trinity, Salander, and finally Plague. They climb into the van with their tools, firewires, a laptop. None speaks as they tether cables to computers in the van. Blomkvist just watches. Finally, to him - SALANDER It's your turn.", "EXT. ANITA'S HOUSE - LONDON - NIGHT Blomkvist knocks on the door. Anita pulls it open. BLOMKVIST It's me. Sorry to bother you. She does n't invite him in, but does n't shut the door in his face either. ANITA What do you want? BLOMKVIST No one's called you? ANITA About. BLOMKVIST Your cousin. She has two, but does n't ask which - BLOMKVIST Martin. ANITA What about him? BLOMKVIST He died last Thursday. A car accident. I'm sorry. -LRB- nothing from her. -RRB- There's going to be a memorial in Hedestad. I know you have n't been back there in a long time, but - ANITA I'm not interested in any memorial. BLOMKVIST I understand. ANITA What do you understand? BLOMKVIST That you do n't really care for any of your relatives. Still, I thought you should know. ANITA Now I know. And now, she closes the door.", "EXT. ANITA'S HOUSE - LONDON - NIGHT Blomkvist returns to the van. Climbs in. SALANDER How'd it go? BLOMKVIST Okay. I think. He sits and watches them monitor the phone and computer taps they installed earlier. One of the laptops, without anyone touching it, blinks on to a Google screen. TRINITY She's on. A screen name and password characters on a Gmail page type themselves. They expect her to go to `` Compose,'' but she opens one of the messages - spam - deletes it - marks a couple more and banishes them as well. The only new thing left in the inbox is an eBay alert. Clicking it takes her to an auction for a triple - strand faux - pearl Jackie O necklace : 49 pounds. The cursor clicks the Buy - It - Now button. As the screen switches to Anita's Paypal account, Blomkvist and Salander exchange a confused glance.", "INT. HOTEL ROOM - LONDON - LATER - NIGHT Salander's laptop is monitoring Anita's computer, her hard - line phone and cell. Blomkvist emerges from the bathroom, rests a hand on Salander's shoulder to peer over it at the screen : In one of the windows, cards are dealing themselves. BLOMKVIST She's playing solitaire? -LRB- Salander nods. -RRB- And she still has n't called anyone. SALANDER No. BLOMKVIST Do we have her cell, too? Salander points to one of the windows on the screen. His hand comes off her shoulder. BLOMKVIST I was so she'd lead us to her. SALANDER Put your hand back on my shoulder. He does. They watch the solitaire game together. SALANDER There's only one reason she would n't call Harriet. She ca n't because Harriet is indeed dead.", "INT. HOTEL ROOM - LONDON - LATER - NIGHT It's strange perhaps, but he does some of his best thinking during sex - BLOMKVIST I was just thinking. What if - SALANDER Ten more seconds. That's fair. She finishes. They lie there. Then - SALANDER Okay, what. BLOMKVIST I was just thinking, there could be one other possibility.", "INT. INVESTMENT BANK - LONDON - DAY Blomkvist taps on Anita's open office door. BLOMKVIST May I? ANITA What is it now. He comes in and sits. BLOMKVIST I want to show you something. He tugs his shirt collar low enough to reveal the black and blue `` tattoo'' around his neck. Anita is taken aback by the sight. It's hard to imagine how anyone would end up with a mark like that. BLOMKVIST Before he died, your brother hung me from a hook. Harriet.", "EXT. PARK - LONDON - DAY They sit together on a park bench. BLOMKVIST Anita married in Stockholm in 1967. It's recorded in the Swedish General Register. But the family never knew, did they. -LRB- she confirms that with a shake of her head. -RRB- I'm guessing she then came here on a passport in her married name, and you followed on her maiden name passport. HARRIET Actually, it was the other way around. She thought it safer for me to travel with Spencer myself. BLOMKVIST What did he think about that? HARRIET Nothing. Only that he loved her. She said, If you love me, you'll do this and not ask why. He never did. BLOMKVIST They both died twenty years ago. HARRIET A car accident. You found that, too. Blomkvist nods, reaches for something in his jacket pocket - changes his mind - changes it again and pulls it out. BLOMKVIST Is this you? He hands her the less graphic of the two Polaroids Salander found in Martin's basement - the young girl, face turned half - away from the camera. HARRIET I was 14 the first time he raped me. BLOMKVIST Martin. HARRIET No, my father. He took this picture. Martin did n't start until he died. Blomkvist ca n't hide his horror even after all he's seen. BLOMKVIST Why did n't you tell someone? HARRIET I did. My mother. Blomkvist stares. Finally - BLOMKVIST Henrik would have done something. HARRIET Would he? I do n't know. I almost told him. But I was afraid because of what I did. -LRB- pause. -RRB- You still do n't understand? He does n't. She studies him, and perhaps sees in him what Salander did long ago - that he can be trusted. HARRIET A year after the first time - after many times during that year - my father got drunker than usual one night and started bragging about women he'd killed. He quoted from the Bible as he tore off my clothes. He wrapped a belt around my neck. He wanted to kill me.", "EXT. GOTTFRIED'S CABIN - NIGHT - 1965 Harriet makes it out of the cabin in torn clothing, trying to get the belt around her neck off. Her father can heard inside ranting something from the Bible. HARRIET -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I made it out of the house and down to the dock. He came staggering after me - Gottfried emerges from the cabin and stumbles down the hill in pursuit of his almost - naked daughter. HARRIET -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I could never fight him off in a small room, but I was strong enough out in the open to deal with an old drunk. As he comes onto the dock, she waits for the moment, and smashes him in the head with the flat side of an oar. It stuns and sends him toppling off the dock into the water. He surfaces, reaches for the dock planks. As he takes hold of them to claw himself from the water, she brings the sharp edge of the oar down, burying it in his head like an axe. He stares up her, uncomprehending. His fingers slide away from the dock. His body goes limp and sinks out of sight beneath the water. HARRIET -LRB- V.O. -RRB- When it was finally over I looked up, and Martin was standing there - She sees her brother up by the cabin looking down at her. HARRIET -LRB- V.O. -RRB- With a little smile.", "EXT. PARK - LONDON - DAY HARRIET He dragged me back to the cabin. All I'd accomplished was substitute one rapist for another.", "EXT. HEDESTAD - DAY - 1966 Young Harriet and her school friends walk along the town's main street past crowds lining it, and we realize we're seeing what we've only seen in still photographs. HARRIET -LRB- V.O. -RRB- A couple months later, Henrik sent him off to school in Uppsala. And I thought maybe - maybe - the nightmare was over. Until that day. The float with the harem girls comes past, and we watch the smile on young Harriet's face change to fear as she notices something off to the left. HARRIET -LRB- V.O. -RRB- There he was - across the street - looking at me with that same little smile on his face. A clear shot of young Martin in his Uppsala blazer, standing by the corner, smiling at her. HARRIET -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It was n't over.", "EXT. PARK - LONDON - CONTINUED BLOMKVIST How'd you get away? Anita?", "INT. VANGER MANOR - DAY - 1966 Anita, framed in the bedroom window - like in the photograph - looks out at the activity on the bridge. Behind her, Harriet packs a few items of clothing. ANITA Do n't take anything. Harriet puts the clothes back. Picks up her purse. ANITA Leave that, too.", "INT. VANGER MANOR - NIGHT - 1966 The dinner that night. Vanger noticing Harriet's empty chair. And Anita saying nothing, taking a bite of food.", "EXT. HEDEBY ISLAND - DAY - 1966 The searchers scouring the island. The boats moving along the shoreline. The crane lifting the truck from the bridge. Anita climbs into her car outside her father Harald's house. Drives down the road toward the bridge. ANITA Stay absolutely still. The blanket covering Harriet on the backseat floorboard moves slightly, then is still. A policeman on the island side of the bridge waves the car across it. As it heads along the mainland service road toward the highway - HARRIET -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She saved me.", "EXT. PARK - LONDON - DAY Silence. Then she gestures to Blomkvist's neck. HARRIET How did you get away? BLOMKVIST Someone saved me, too. He gestures off to the thin, strange girl sitting on another park bench too far away to hear them. Harriet does something she has n't done since they met : smile.", "EXT. VANGER MANOR - DAY - ESTABLISH", "INT. VANGER MANOR - DAY Blomkvist, Salander and Frode wait in Vanger's study. A tea service tray sits there untouched like the first time Blomkvist came here. Anna pushes a wheelchair into the room with Vanger in it. There's a file on his lap. BLOMKVIST How are you feeling? VANGER I'm fine. Thank you, Anna. Anna leaves. Closes the doors. Before Blomkvist can say anything else - VANGER I made you a promise. Whether you found out anything or not. He holds out the file. Blomkvist takes it and sees : INSERT : Wennerstorm's name typed on it, and a fairly recent photo of him clipped to it. VANGER Now. What do you have to tell me.", "EXT. VANGER MANOR - DAY A car pulls up the drive. Parks. The back door opens. Harriet climbs out. Looks at the manor. Then walks toward the front door -", "INT. VANGER MANOR - MOMENTS LATER Vanger propels his wheelchair down the main hall, but stops when he sees Harriet coming in the front door with Anna. He stares, trying to reconcile how she looks now compared to when he last saw her, or maybe to convince himself she's really alive. She sees him. HARRIET Hi, Henrik. He begins to weep. She walks to him and places a hand on his hunched shaking shoulders. Frode, Blomkvist and Salander watch. One of them is n't particularly moved.", "INT. COTTAGE - LATER - DAY As Frode leafs through the file that Blomkvist has already read - FRODE I do n't even remember Wennerstrom working here, much less being fired. BLOMKVIST Why would you. It was a long time ago. Which is more to the point than the money he embezzled. FRODE I do n't think I'm seeing the point. BLOMKVIST Yes, you are. FRODE -LRB- another look at the paperwork. -RRB- It happened in the 1970's. Salander watches the two men from across the room. FRODE -LRB- ADR. -RRB- -LRB- regarding the documents. -RRB- I swear I did n't know this was what Henrik had on him. If I had, I never would have let him bring you up here. But he was n't trying to deceive you. BLOMKVIST Come on, he knows you ca n't try somebody for this 35 years later. I like Henrik, but he knows that. Frode disagrees - FRODE A man's reputation used to mean something - he still believes that. I'm sure he thought you could destroy Wennerstrom with this in the court of public opinion. BLOMKVIST The `` court of public opinion,'' Dirch, makes celebrities out of girls who shop. Henrik promised me Wennerstrom's carcass on a plate. This is n't even the plate. I ca n't do anything with this. FRODE Of course you're right. -LRB- pause. -RRB- I'm sorry.", "EXT. VANGER MANOR - LATER - DAY Blomkvist and Salander sit out by the water, sharing the last cigarette in his pack. Her arm is draped over his shoulder, which strikes him as the most tender of gestures, coming from her. SALANDER Fuck these people. BLOMKVIST Yeah. SALANDER Harriet most of all. BLOMKVIST Excuse me? SALANDER If she'd done anything but run, Martin would n't have been able to kill all those women. BLOMKVIST She had no idea he was doing it. SALANDER She should have killed her father and him. BLOMKVIST That's what you would've done. Not everyone's you. She's not sure she likes the comment. Decides she does n't. Takes her arm away from his shoulder. BLOMKVIST That was meant to be a compliment. Put your arm back on my shoulder. She does n't. So he drapes his on hers. Then - SALANDER What happened with Wennerstrom. How did he get you? BLOMKVIST I was stupid. I got something from an anonymous source, who I'm sure now worked for him. It was fake. Which he easily proved in court. Not a good day, that. Then - SALANDER You were emphatic that the way I looked into your life was illegal and immoral. Would you feel the same about Wennerstrom? He regards her, uncertain what she means. SALANDER I started investigating him on my own. Then you showed up and hired me. I have n't had a chance to look at it all - you and Harriet - fucking - Vanger have kept me busy. but I may have something. BLOMKVIST -LRB- pause. -RRB- On Wennerstrom. She nods. Then rests her head on his shoulder.", "INT. BLOMKVIST'S APARTMENT - MORNING A new family tree on a wall here, more complicated than the Vanger's : The Wennerstrom Group, made up of dozens of companies in cities worldwide. As Erika looks at it - BLOMKVIST Wennerstrom's Swedish assets are genuine, but they're the only things that are. The rest is funneled through companies in Gibraltar, Colombia, and Macao. These companies produce no products and provide no services. They're shells. They launder money from arms and drug sales, and crime syndicates in Russia. And that money - which accounts for all but 5 - percent of his holdings - ends up in accounts in the Cayman Islands. It's a completely illegal, criminal empire. ERIKA How do you know this? BLOMKVIST This time you do n't want to know. ERIKA This time I do want to know. BLOMKVIST I have access to his computer, and his accountants' and lawyers'. She is n't happy to hear that explanation. ERIKA And how do you have that? BLOMKVIST I could have gotten it from a source inside the company. ERIKA But you did n't. BLOMKVIST But that's what you'll say. ERIKA But what will you say to me? BLOMKVIST That depends on if you really want to know. ERIKA I do. Who gave you access? What looks like 16 - year - old tattooed runaway lets herself in with her own key. Crosses past Erika with a paper bag, takes out two bagel sandwiches, the same kind Blomkvist brought when he barged into her apartment. As she puts some water on for coffee, Erika looks at Blomkvist. He nods. Yeah. Her. ANNOUNCER Journalist Mikael Blomkvist - who this time last year was convicted of libel in a Stockholm courtroom - does n't seem to have learned from that experience. Or maybe he has -", "INT. BLOMKVIST'S APARTMENT - NIGHT The report continues on a TV in Blomkvist's bedroom - ANNOUNCER In the current issue of Millennium magazine, he now charges the same company that successfully sued him - The Wennerstrom Group - of criminal activities on a global scale - backing it up with internal financial reports, bank records and emails - annotations almost as long as the article itself. The cover of the magazine features a head shot of Wennerstrom, and, rare for the magazine, a tabloid - style title : GANGLAND. Salander leafs through the article as Blomkvist brushes his teeth in the bathroom. BLOMKVIST He'll call it a personal vendetta but it wo n't work. FI ca n't ignore banking and securities fraud like this. The police ca n't ignore the organized crime stuff. They'll both have to investigate. SALANDER Then. BLOMKVIST We'll be back in court, but this time it'll cost him. That's probably it, though. These guys never to prison. Salander nods, but it's not really in agreement. Or maybe it is. In any case, she's not as enthused about all this as he is. BLOMKVIST What's wrong. SALANDER It's embarrassing. BLOMKVIST What. SALANDER I need to borrow some money. Blomkvist grins and reaches for his wallet. SALANDER 50,000. His grin stays stitched to his face a moment, then unravels. He puts his wallet away. SALANDER I have a chance to make an investment. It's a smart, safe investment. BLOMKVIST I do n't know that I have that much. SALANDER You do. I'm sorry that I know that. You have 65 thousand in your two accounts. He's no longer shocked or dismayed by her knowing more about his personal affairs than he does. SALANDER You'll get the money back. I promise.", "INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - DAY Several pages torn from pages of fashion magazines : Models - all of them blonde - their beautiful faces - designer clothes - accessories - make - up tips. Applying makeup to the wasp tattoo on her neck and the `` handcuffs'' on her wrists, Salander pays no attention to the TV showing Wennerstrom under an umbrella, interviewed outside the building that bears his name - WENNERSTROM These allegations - like the last ones from this so - called journalist - are as ridiculous as they are untrue -", "EXT/INT. CLOTHING STORE - STOCKHOLM - DAY Salander purchases with cash expensive designer clothes she normally would n't be caught dead in. WENNERSTROM I'll be seeing Mr. Blomkvist in court again. I'm looking forward to it.", "EXT/INT. LUGGAGE SHOP - STOCKHOLM - DAY Here she's buying a high - end carry - on valise and portfolio briefcase. REPORTER What about his documentation? WENNERSTROM Fabricated. All of it.", "EXT/INT. WIG SHOP - STOCKHOLM - DAY Good wigs cost money - like the shoulder - length blonde one atop a black Lucite head Salander is purchasing. ANNOUNCER The Securities Fraud Office is n't quite as certain as Mr. Wennerstrom of that.", "EXT/INT. SHOP - STOCKHOLM - DAY A place that caters to transvestites who, among other things, require as Salander does, latex breasts. FSA OFFICIAL If even a fraction of what Mr. Blomkvist is alleging proves to be true, not only will there be a securities investigation, but an organized crime inquiry as well.", "EXT/INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - DAY Wearing the wig and a designer outfit she takes her own passport photo against a wall. She looks like Erika. REPORTER Mr. Blomkvist names no sources. FSA OFFICIAL And we ca n't force him to. But we can look for them. REPORTER Beginning where? FSA OFFICIAL Beginning with those closest to Mr. Wennerstrom. Only someone in the inner circle of a corporation like this could have access to this kind of information.", "INT. PLAGUE'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Not wearing the wig now, she inspects a passport Plague has acquired for her featuring the crown of Norway, and some credit cards. On his TV, a pack of lawyers stand where Wennerstrom was standing before - outside the Group's corporate offices - under, as usual, umbrellas - LAWYER Mr. Wennerstrom is n't available for comment today, but as his legal counsel, I'd be happy to answer your questions. REPORTER Where is he? LAWYER At home, I imagine. REPORTER He is n't. Has he left the country? LAWYER I do n't think so.", "EXT. ZURICH - DAY A plane touches down on a Zurich Airport runway.", "INT. ZURICH AIRPORT - DAY A customs official, satisfied with `` Irene Nesser's'' Norwegian passport - not to mention her blonde hair and bustline - stamps a page.", "EXT. ZURICH - DAY Bellmen outside the 5 - Star Zimmerstahl Hotel attend to the luggage of wealthy guests emerging from nice cars.", "INT. ZIMMERSTAL HOTEL - ZURICH - DAY As a desk clerk photocopies Ms. Nesser's passport, she neither hides from nor plays to the security camera.", "INT. SUITE - ZIMMERSTAHL - EVENING Salander emerges from the bathroom without the wig on. Crosses through the suite in her underwear. Oddly - or perhaps not - she's also wearing a pair of white gloves. She opens the balcony's doors to let in some air. On the TV : ANNOUNCER With his failure to appear before a Security Exchange Commission panel, a warrant has been issued for The Wennerstrom Group CEO. An immigration official appears before the news cameras - IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL I can confirm that he left Sweden on a private jet that landed in Paris last week, but whether he's still there, we do n't know. He could be anywhere by now. She sips at her room service coffee.", "EXT.   ZURICH - DAY `` Irene Nesser'' enters Bank Hausen General under watchful security cameras.", "INT. BANK HAUSEN GENERAL - ZURICH - DAY Security cameras inside watch her and a banker at a desk in an area reserved for discreet transactions. SALANDER I have a number of accounts at Bank of Kroenfeld, Cayman Islands. I want to transfer those funds and convert them to bonds. As she writes an account number on a slip of paper from memory, Herr Wagner notices - as she intends - the pen she's using - from the venerable Zimmerstal Hotel. WAGNER Naturally, you have the clearing codes. SALANDER Naturally. WAGNER How many accounts will you be transferring? SALANDER Thirty. He glances at his watch, perhaps thinking about lunch. His faux - politeness - even his appearance - reminds her of Bjurman. WAGNER This will take some time. SALANDER For which you'll receive a 4 - percent commission. WAGNER I will. SALANDER Then it wo n't be a waste of it. She offers him the Zimmerstal pen. WAGNER Thank you, I have one. He picks up one of his cheap pens. She hands him a long list of account numbers and clearing codes -", "INT. SUITE - ZIMMERSTAL HOTEL - ZURICH - DAY As she sorts through a stack of bonds, the TV shows a reporter in a colorful town square. REPORTER A Swedish tourist vacationing here in Barbados says he knows where fugitive financier Hans - Erik Wennerstrom is : Here in this Caribbean island's capital, Bridgetown. Police released this photograph, taken yesterday by the tourist, Jens Assur - A snapshot of Wennerstrom, or someone who looks like him - tropical shirt, hat and sunglasses - climbing into a car. REPORTER - and say they believe it is the disgraced billionaire.", "INT. BANK DORFMANN - ZURICH - DAY Sitting with a different bank manager now as security cameras keep silent watch, she opens her portfolio and turns it so he can see its contents. He glances up with a polite smile that's supposed to mask his surprise. HASSELMAN How many of these would you like to convert for deposit? SALANDER All fifty. Into five accounts. He works out the conversion to CHF and hands her the calculator : A `` 2'' followed by more digits than we can count. SALANDER That looks correct.", "INT. SUITE - ZIMMERSTAL HOTEL - EVENING The remnants of a McDonald's kids meal on the desk with the wig and white gloves. She bypasses the hotel's internet service, uplinks her MacBook through her cell. Five accounts - the ones she just established at Bank Dorfrmann - appear on the screen. She transfers all the funds into one account at Bank Kroenfeld, Cayman Islands, belonging to a Gibraltar company.", "EXT. ZURICH AIRPORT - DAY - ESTABLISHING", "INT. LADIES ROOM - ZURICH AIRPORT - DAY Irene cuts up credit cards, flushes them down a toilet.", "INT. ZURICH AIRPORT - DAY Drops the scissors in a trash bin on her way to security.", "INT. OSLO AIRPORT - DAY Irene disembarks with the other Zurich flight passengers.", "INT. LADIES ROOM - OSLO AIRPORT - DAY Irene's earrings disappear down a sink drain. Necklace falls to the bottom of a paper towel bin.", "EXT. OSLO TRAIN STATION - DAY Irene/Salander puts her empty portfolio in an unlocked locker, wipes the prints from it, heads for the platform.", "INT. TRAIN - MOVING - EVENING She has a private sleeping berth, but is n't sleeping. She's smoking a cigarette next to a No - Smoking decal on the window that's cracked open, and tosses the Zimmerstal Hotel pen out to the darkening countryside rushing past.", "INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - STOCKHOLM - NIGHT Salander - looking like Salander - enters her apartment with only her laptop bag. Holds Irene's passport over a stove flame. Sets the burning document on a plate. Takes a Coke from her fridge, sits with it. Puts the cold can to her forehead like a compress. Then opens it, drinks, and closes her eyes.", "EXT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - STOCKHOLM - NIGHT A dark figure is looking up at her apartment, at television light playing on a window. As he walks off into the night, we see it's Bjurman. ZURICH REPORTER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- The man who is now being called Sweden's Pablo Escobar, may not have a country to call home, but does have enough money to buy one.", "EXT. ZURICH - DAY The reporter stands under an umbrella on the same street Salander crossed to get from one hotel to the other. ZURICH REPORTER According to the International Banking Commission, Wennerstrom, just days after the Millennium article that brought him down appeared on news stands, began emptying accounts at Bank of Kroenfeld in the Cayman Islands.", "INT. MILLENNIUM'S OFFICES - EVENING The place is trimmed with Christmas decorations again. In a glassed - in conference room, Blomkvist, Erika, and a few others sit around the table, their production meeting interrupted by the news on the plasma TV here : ZURICH REPORTER ON TV That money, approximately two billion Euros, was then spread over a number of accounts with the help of this confederate, seen here in Zurich - Security camera images of `` Irene Nesser,'' entering and leaving banks. ZURICH REPORTER ON TV - who converted the funds into private bonds, which, I'm told, are even harder to trace than Wennerstrom himself. Europol has launched a search for the woman who had used a stolen Norwegian passport. Her whereabouts, like her boss's, are unknown.", "EXT. STOCKHOLM - EVENING - SAME TIME Her whereabouts are here, roaring through Stockholm on her Honda like the first time we saw her.", "INT. MILLENNIUM'S OFFICES - EVENING Blomkvist hears a motorcycle and glances out the window to see Salander pulling up outside.", "EXT. MILLENNIUM'S OFFICES - EVENING He comes out, meets her at her motorcycle. She takes a cashier's check from her jacket pocket. SALANDER The money I borrowed. BLOMKVIST Already. She nods. BLOMKVIST Thank you. SALANDER Thank you. BLOMKVIST Good investment? SALANDER It was okay. He nods. She nods. SALANDER What are you doing later? BLOMKVIST Seeing my daughter. SALANDER Okay. She nods. He nods. BLOMKVIST You look nice. SALANDER Thanks. He nods. She nods. Erika regards them from inside the conference room. Salander climbs back on her motorcycle. SALANDER Christmas again. see you soon.", "EXT. PALMGREN'S APARTMENT - DAY - ESTABLISHING", "INT. PALMGREN'S APARTMENT - DAY While the nurse fills a plastic days - of - the - week container with a concoction of pills, Salander sits with her Palmgren by the untouched chess table. SALANDER Can you hear me? -LRB- no indication that he can. -RRB- I miss our meetings. -LRB- pause. -RRB- I'm sure you do n't. Why would you? I was always such a headache for you. Never showing up with good news. Only problems. -LRB- pause. -RRB- I have some good news now. I've made a friend. I mean one that you'd approve of. -LRB- pause. -RRB- I'm happy. One of Palmgren's hands manages to pull slightly away from the other, tries to reach for her, perhaps, but only makes it about an inch. She reaches over and holds it.", "EXT. SPAIN - DAY A reporter bundled - up outside a low - rent building cordoned off with police tape - REPORTER Behind the walls of this dingy rooming house behind me lies a body in a pool of blood - A man who has been living here the last three weeks under the name Victor Fleming -", "EXT. CAFE - STOCKHOLM - DAY The same cafe Blomkvist retreated to after his libel conviction. REPORTER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- A man who police in Marbella, Spain, have confirmed is fugitive Hans - Erik Wennerstrom -", "INT. CAFE - STOCKHOLM - DAY Blomkvist is at the counter, across from a barista, but his attention is on the TV - REPORTER ON TV - shot three times in the head at close range in what is being called a classic gangland execution. BARISTA What would you like? Blomkvist glances blankly at the barista, then back to the TV - REPORTER ON TV The investigation into Wennerstrom's ties to crime organizations worldwide will now turn to speculation : Which of them caught up with him before Swedish authorities could? BARISTA Sir? REPORTER ON TV Wennerstrom spent the last days of his flamboyant life in solitude and anonymity, locked behind the door of Room 3A - BLOMKVIST Coffee and a sandwich. that one. REPORTER ON TV Indeed, after checking in, he was never seen again - until this morning when the building manager came calling to collect the unpaid bill -", "INT. TAILOR SHOP - STOCKHOLM - DAY A tailor brings out a garment bag bearing his exclusive insignia, drapes it across a table, returns to Salander the photograph she provided him with last week : It's of a much younger Blomkvist - at about Salander's age now - wearing the black leather jacket he loved and lost track of years ago. The tailor unzips the bag revealing an exact - though considerably more expensive - replica of the jacket. SALANDER It's perfect. TAILOR Your father? SALANDER A friend. TAILOR Must be a very good friend. -LRB- she nods. -RRB- He's lucky.", "INT. SALANDER'S APARTMENT - DUSK A perfect Christmas card vista that actually turns out to be a Christmas card : A snowy rural landscape scene. It's stupid, but she's writing under the pre - printed `` Merry Christmas'' inside, a personal note that's more sincere than she thought herself capable. She blows on the ink, puts the card in its envelope, neatly writes `` Mikael'' on it, gets up -", "EXT. STOCKHOLM - EVENING Snow's falling, but unlike the brutal winter storms last year, it's just heavy enough to dust the city in white powder that reflects the Christmas lights in the trees. The beauty of her city pleases Salander as she rides through it on her motorcycle. Or maybe it's something she's feeling as she turns onto Blomkvist's street. She parks. Gathers the garment bag and card, walks under construction scaffolding toward his apartment building. From around the corner ahead, Blomkvist and Erika appear. He says something and she laughs, puts her arm around his waist and lays her head against his neck scarf. Salander stops mid - stride, ducks into an alcove under the scaffolding, waits as long as it should take them to get inside the building, then peers out again - They're not inside. They've stopped just outside the building's entrance. They're embracing. And the longer they stand there together, the sharper the pain stabs at Salander. Finally they separate, but only to allow Blomkvist to unlock the door. Erika takes his hand then, and they disappear inside. Salander ca n't move. Waits for the pain to subside - which it eventually does - but only to be replaced with a sense of helplessness. Then that subsides, replaced with a facade of insouciance. The richest girl in Sweden emerges from the alcove and walks back the way she came - tossing the garment bag and card into a construction dumpster - climbs onto her Honda - starts it - and drives off - Probably forever."], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "In Stockholm, disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist is recovering from the legal and professional fallout of a libel suit brought against him by businessman Hans-Erik Wennerstr\u00f6m, straining Blomkvist's relationship with his business partner and lover, Erika Berger. Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant but antisocial investigator and hacker, compiles an extensive background check on Blomkvist for the wealthy Henrik Vanger, who offers Blomkvist evidence against Wennerstr\u00f6m in exchange for an unusual task: investigate the 40-year-old disappearance and presumed murder of Henrik's grandniece, Harriet. Blomkvist agrees, and moves into a cottage on the Vanger family estate on Hedestad Island. Salander's state-appointed guardian, Holger Palmgren, suffers a stroke, and is replaced by Nils Bjurman, a sadist who controls Salander's finances and extorts sexual favors by threatening to have her institutionalized. Unaware she is secretly recording one of their meetings, Bjurman brutally rapes her. At their next meeting, Salander tasers Bjurman, binds him to his bed, anally rapes him with a metallic dildo, and tattoos \"I'm a rapist pig\" across his torso. Using the secret recording she'd made, she blackmails him into securing her independence and having no further contact with her. Blomkvist explores the island and interviews various Vanger family members. He uncovers a list of names and numbers that his visiting daughter, Pernilla, notices are Bible verse references. Blomkvist discovers that Salander had researched him illegally, but rather than report it, he hires her as his research assistant. She uncovers a connection between the list and numerous young women brutally murdered from 1947 to 1967, indicating a serial killer. One morning, Blomkvist finds the mutilated corpse of his adopted cat on the doorstep. Another night, while walking outdoors, a bullet grazes his forehead; after Salander tends his wounds, they have sex. Blomkvist begins to suspect Martin, Harriet's brother and operational head of the Vanger empire. Salander uncovers evidence that Martin and Harriet's late father, Gottfried, and later Martin, committed the murders. Blomkvist breaks into Martin's house to obtain more proof, but Martin arrives and catches him. He forces Blomkvist into his specially prepared basement, placing him in restraints. Martin brags about killing women for decades, but denies murdering Harriet. As Martin is about to kill Blomkvist, Salander arrives, attacking Martin and forcing him to flee in his SUV. Salander, on her motor bike, pursues Martin until he runs off the road and is killed. Salander nurses Blomkvist back to health and tells him that, as a child, she was institutionalized after attempting to burn her father alive. They deduce that Harriet is alive and in hiding; traveling to London, they confront Harriet's cousin, Anita, only to discover that she is Harriet. Harriet reveals that her father and brother sexually abused her for years, and that Martin witnessed her killing their father in self-defense. Her cousin, Anita, smuggled her off the island and let Harriet assume her identity in London, though Anita and her husband were later killed in a car accident. Finally free of her brother, Harriet returns to Sweden and tearfully reunites with Henrik. As promised, Henrik gives Blomkvist information against Wennerstr\u00f6m, but it proves useless. Salander then hacks Wennerstr\u00f6m's accounts, finds Blomkvist evidence of Wennerstr\u00f6m's crimes, which Blomkvist uses to ruin him. Salander travels to Switzerland in disguise and removes two billion euros from Wennerstr\u00f6m's secret accounts. Wennerstr\u00f6m is later murdered in an apparent gangland shooting. On her way to give Blomkvist a Christmas present, Salander sees him with Erika. She then discards the gift and rides away on her motorbike.", "name": "The_Girl_with_the_Dragon_Tattoo_(2011_film)"}
{"scenes": ["MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: THE MOVIE BLACK SCREEN Words SCRAWL UP ON SCREEN and we hear a RESOUNDING VOICE. VOICE In a time of great strife, a legendary interdimensional being known as Zordon, came to the city of Angel Grove to establish a vanguard in the never ending struggle against evil. with the aid of his trusted assistant, Alpha 5, the noble master sought out six extraordinary teenagers and gave them the power to transform into an unstoppable fighting force. In time of great need, the young heroes could now call upon colossal assault vehicles known as `` Zords''. while the identity of the six remained a guarded secret, their courageous exploits soon became the stuff of Legend, earning them the title. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. We hear PUMPING ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC as the POWER RANGER'S LOGO BURST'S ONTO THE SCREEN. Now the logo EXPLODES, revealing", "EXT.  PROP PLANE / FLYING - DAY A prop plane whisking across the deep blue sky. ROCKY YeeeoowwWWWWW!", "INT.  PROP PLANE / FLYING - DAY The six Power Rangers, TOMMY, KIMBERLY, BILLY, AISHA, ADAM and ROCKY sport sleek sky diving suits, parachute packs and helmets. Tommy is strapped into a high - tech airboard. ROCKY We're OUTTA here! KIMBERLY Easy, Rock. TOMMY Once we hit the target zone we've got fifteen seconds to make the drop. BULK -LRB- 0. S. -RRB- Step aside, pinheads. BULK and SKULL push their way through the Rangers, decked in bizarre skydiving regalia, topped off by World War II leather caps and aviator goggles. BULK The Stealth Eagle is about to fly. SKULL Ditto for the Swooping Swallow. The Rangers exchange amused looks. Aisha gestures to them AISHA Lead on, flyboys. Bulk and Skull swagger to the door and open it - the ground is a dizzying distance below. They swallow hard. SKULL Bulk. where'd the earth go? BILLY Five seconds to the target zone! TOMMY Aisha you' re on! Bulk and Skull step aside, Aisha LAUNCHES herself. The others follow through the opening with flair. ROCKY Stylin! ADAM On your tail! BILLY All systems Tommy and Kimberly share an infectious glance, Kimberly a hand, indicating Tommy should go first. TOMMY Surf's up! He's gone. Kimberly stands backwards in the doorway. KIMBERLY Catch you on the flipside. Bulk and Skull watch wide - eyed as she BACK - FLIPS out of the plane.", "EXT. SKY  -  DAY ROCK AND ROLL fills the track as the Rangers plunge towards earth, executing a series of MIND - BOGGLING MANEUVERS : SPINS, FISHTAILS, POWER DIVES, BACK FLIPS, you name it.", "INT. PROP PLANE  -  DAY Bulk and Skull psyche themselves up. BULK Be the eagle. Be the eagle. SKULL Be the swallow. Be the swallow. They take deep breaths then CHARGE THE DOOR. BULK AND SKULL Aaaaaahhhhhhhh! Naturally, they get STUCK, wedged shoulder to shoulder. THE PILOT glances back, CHUCKLES and BANKS THE PLANE.", "EXT. PROP PLANE - BARREL-ROLLING - DAY Bulk and Skull rotate into frame. Now, facing straight down - they FALL INTO CAMERA, CLINGING TO EACH OTHER DESPERATELY BULK AND SKULL YEAAAAAAHHHHHH!", "EXT.  SKY  -  DAY The Rangers pull off more SPECTACULAR MANEUVERS then swoop TOGETHER, interlocking hands and forming a PERFECT CIRCLE They look to one another and a moment of pure magic passes between them. It's not usual the exhilaration of flight they're sharing, it s the exhilaration of togetherness, of being part of a team. TOMMY Let's BREAK! They disperse and yank their rip - cords. The sky BURSTS TO LIFE WITH SIX BLOSSOMING PARACHUTES - white, pink, blue, yellow, red and black in color.", "EXT.  ANGEL GROVE PARK  -  DAY FAMILIES eat hot dogs and cotton candy at a huge fundraiser. A large banner proclaims `` SAVE THE OBSERVATORY.'' We see diving teams with labeled uniforms - the BOWLING TEAM, ANGEL GROVE P.D. and the FIRE DEPARTMENT. There s a large white `` BULLSEYE'' spray - painted on the grass. The city's spectacular large skyline rises out of the b.g.. A SPUNKY MR. KELMAN stands at a podium, speaking into a mic. MR. KELMAN Okay, so the firemen landed four out of six inside the target - A BOWLER shouts out playfully. BOWLER How ` bout a show tune?! Mr. Kelman feigns seriousness. MR. KELMAN Somebody wan na keep chose bowlers in line. A hip thirteen year old, FRED KELMAN, yells out as he points to the sky. FRED Hey dad, get with the program! MR. KELMAN Ladies and gentlemen, it's Angel Grove High ANGEL ON TARGET - AS AISHA touches down flawlessly. MR. KELMAN And that's one! A perfect landing! Aisha clears, then Billy and Adam land toqether. MR. KELMAN Three for three. Look at ` em go! Billy and Adam clear and now Rocky and Kimberly come in. MR. KELMAN That's five perfect landings! Now it's all up to Tommy Oliver. Everybody watches with dumbfounded expressions as Tommy SAILS IN ON HIS AIR BOARD AND SLIDES INTO DEAD CENTER. He spreads his arms wide. TOMMY Touch down. The families CHEER and APPLAUD as they surge forward to congratulate the Rangers. Mr. Kelman and Fred approach Tommy - Fred and Tommy exchange stylish hand slaps. FRED Looking good up there. TOMMY Thanks, man. MR. KELMAN Congratulations - the Observatory's got a new lease on life. FRED Awesome! Ryan's Comet is passing over in two days! The other Rangers approach. AISHA Who's up for lunch? ROCKY You read my mind. KIMBERLY Last one to Ernies buys. ADAM Let's roll!", "EXT.  ANGEL GROVE PARK  -  DAY We hear a VOCIFEROUS SISSING SOUND, but we ca n't see where it's coming from. - Suddenly the six Rangers come SCREAMING AROUND A CORNER ON STATE - OF - THE - ART ROLLERBLADES. These kids are FLYING! We hear FULL - THROTTLED MUSIC as the kids WEAVE, DUCK and SWERVE like blading virtuosos. Tommy LEAPS in the air, does a 180 and SKATES BACKWARD. THE HIGH BRANCHES.past a large tree as Bulk and Skull DROP INTO FRAME SKULL Stealth Eagle, huh? The Lame Duck is more like it!", "EXT.  CITY STREET - DAY The Rangers GLIDE around another corner - there's buildings on one side of them and a construction site on the other. TOMMY Let's take the shortcut! Tommy leads them up a plywood ramp - they LAUNCH TEN FEET THROUGH THE AIR, PULLING OFF HAIR - RAISING FREE STYLE MOVES THEN MAKE SPECTACULAR LANDINGS on the construction site parking structure. As they shoot across the concrete, the CAMERA PUSHES IN on :", "EXT.  INNER CITY CONSTtZUCTION SITE - DAY WORKERS operating heavy machinery - cranes, bulldozer, etc., Construction Worker jackhammers solid rock. Drill makes a CLANGING SOUND as it HITS METAL! A baffled look comes over him as he stops the jackhammer, brushes away debris. uncovering an ANCIENT IRON PLATE. He gapes at it, too stunned to speak.", "EXT.  CONSTRUCTION SITE - SHORT TIME LATER A large hook has been fastened to the iron plate - a crane ENGINE ROARS as it HOISTS THE PLATE UP, revealing a CAVERNOUS OPENING. TWO MORE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS have joined the first, all of them look on in amazement. CONSTRUCTION WORKER #2 Whadda you figure it is?! CONSTRUCTION WORKER #1 Hey, ya got me. Suddenly a PURPLE STEAM POURS from the opening. And now something really amazing happens. A menacing STONE CLAW RISES UP, CRADLING A HUGE STONE CONSTRUCTION  WORKER  # 1 I'll be damned. As though drawn by it's power, he moves to touch it. KZAAAAAAP?! APURPLE BEAM OF LIGHT BLASTS HIM - SENDS HIM FLYING TEN FEET THROUGH THE AIR! CONSTRUCTION WORKER #1 AHHHHHHHHH!", "EXT.  CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY A T.V. REPORTER is talking into camera. REPORTER We're here at the World Center Construction Site, where a mysterious object was just uncovered in a freak accident in which one workman suffered minor injuries.", "INT.  ERNIE'S WATERFRONT CAFE - DAY CLOSE ON - T.V. SCREEN We see the reporter then a few cuts of GEOLOGISTS combing the site with scanning equipment and COPS sealing off the area with yellow tape. REPORTER Angel Grove Police have cordoned off the area until it can be determined whether or not the unidentified object poses any threat. The injured workman was quoted as saying. PULL BACK TO REVEAL A CAFE. The Rangers are at a table - Tommy is teaching Fred martial arts moves. TOMMY It's one smooth move and then you've got ta explode off the top. Tommy executes a wicked JUMPING ROUNDHOUSE KICK. Fred is wowed. He drops into position. TOMMY Nice and easy. The jovial proprietor, ERNIE, approaches the Rangers' table with a loaded tray. Fred pulls off a dazzling JUMPING ROUNDHOUSE KICK and almost knocks Ernie's tray over. ERNIE Hey, no Karate on the patio! FRED Actually, Ernie, it's Tae - Kwan Doe. ERNIE Well Tae - Kwan - Do - it some place else. Fred moves off as Ernie serves the desserts. ERNIE So, what're the plans for the weekend? KIMBERLY Aisha and.I are checking out a new dance spot. AISHA I heard that! BILLY I'll be at the Observatory Sunday. ERNIE That's right - Ryan's Comet. ROCKY We should throw a little comet shindig. ADAM Any excuse for a party. Aisha reacts to something off screen. AISHA The Eagle has landed. Bulk and Skull swagger past followed by a GROUP OF KIDS. BULK The earth was hurtling toward us at seven hundred miles per hour, and we knew at that moment that we were facing death straight in the eye. SKULL We could smell it's breath. Ernie moves off after Bulk and Skull. Tommy's wrist communicator BEEPS. The kids exchange glances than look for a private area. ROCKY There's a spot over there. They move out of everybody's sight. TOMMY -LRB- into communicator. -RRB- What's up, Alpha? ALPHA 5 -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Rangers, we need you at the Command Center, L.R.N! Aisha gives Kimberly a puzzled look. KIMBERLY ` Like Right Now.' TOMMY We're on our way. They hit their wrist - communicators and instantly TRANSFORM INTO SIX IRIDESCENT COLUMNS OF COLOR. The columns SHOOT UP THROUGH a giant oak tree, KNOCKING LEAVES LOOSE.", "EXT. COMMAND CENTER  -  SUNSET Zordon's remote headquarters protrudes from a craggy mountain top - silhouetted by a glorious sunset. The SIX STREAK OF COLOR slice downward into the roof.", "INT.  CONIMAND CENTER  -  NIGHT Everything's gone haywire buttons BLINK, emergency lights FLASH, there's a CACOPHONY OF ELECTRONIC SOUNDS. ALPHA 5 works frantically amidst the array of computer banks while ZORDON looks on from his COLUMN OF LIGHT. The six Rangers MATERIALIZE, Tommy turns to Zordon. TOMMY What's happening? ALPHA 5 Ay, yi, yi, yi, yi! Our thermionic - sensors have been hit by a CATACLYSMIC surge of evil! ZORDON Rangers, you must act swiftly. The planet is in GRAVE danger! KIMBERLY Danger from what? ZORDON Six thousand years ago a morphological being known as Ivan Ooze, ruled the world with a reign of unparalleled terror. Finally, a rebel factor known as the `` Order of the Meledon'' lured him into a hyperlock chamber and buried him deep underground. ALPHA 5 In a place that came to be known as Angel Grove. ZORDON The chamber has been accidently UNCOVERED! You must return it to the depths. or anyone should open it and Ivan is released! ALPHA 5 To assist you I have retro - fitted your helmets with new Opti - Scan devices. ZORDON Use extreme caution, Rangers. You are dealing with an evil here that is beyond ALL comprehension.", "EXT.  INNER CITY CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT Barricades and police tape surround the egg. A SECURITY GUARD passes his sleeping CO - WORKER, drops into a chair, sips his coffee. BZZWAPP - ZEDD, RITA, GOLDAR and a short, fat, furry creature named MORDANT appear. RITA Another Saturday night and I'm traipsing around the galaxy with the THREE LITTLE PIGS! My mother warned me this would happen! Rita, she said, after 89 marriages you might wan na think about throwing in the towel. Why did n't I listen to her?! Zedd grumbles to himself. ZEDD That's a good question. The stunned guard stirs his sleeping buddy. FIRST SECURITY GUARD Uh. Kurt. you might wan na take a look at this. Kurt looks up groggily. ZEDD No need to wake him. In fact, why do n't you take a little nap yourself. Zedd ZAPS THE GUYS with a bolt from his staff - they are knocked out. Goldar steps back from the blast and accidentally steps or Mordant's foot. Mordant KNOCKS on Goldar's metallic leg. MORDANT Hey bonehead, get off my hoof! Goldar is oblivious. Zedd, stands reverently before the glowing egg shape. ZEDD After two thousand years of searching. I have finally found you. Mordant BANGS on Goldar's leg again. MORDANT Yo, earth to Bigfoot! Goldar SWATS Mordant. GOLDAR Watch your mouth, fuzz - ball! ZEDD SILENCE! RITA -LRB- to Goldar. -RRB- Where did you FIND this rabid little rodent, anyway?! GOLDAR Mordant's my second cousin three times removed on my mother's side. He ` s just visiting for the summer. RITA Well put a muzzle on him! Mordant GRUMBLES under his breath. Meanwhile, Zedd aims is staff at the chamber and BURSTS a blast of energy. The egg opens up with a wHOOSH of decompressing air. webs of ELECTRICITY BRANCH OUT, followed by a SWIRL OF BLACK SMOKE. When the smoke clears we see a BUBBLING, PURPLE, PHOSPHOSCENT OOZE. The group gathers around - Rita sticks a finger in o the sticky substance. RITA What. you spent two thousand years looking for this tub of SNOT! As if in response, the ooze BOILS AND FROTHS. Zedd and Rita are too busy arguing to notice this. ZEDD Do n't you ever have anything nice to say?! RITA Well, if I did I certainly would n't say it to you! We hear a SLITHERING SLURPING SOUND as the substance RISES UP AND TAKES ON THE GHASTLY SHAPE OF IVAN OOZE. Mordant tugs at Zedd. MORDANT Boss. ZEDD For your information this is not just your average, run - of - the - mill tub of snot! RITA You're trying to tell me there ` re different levels of snot?! MORDANT Boss. ZEDD WHAT! Zedd and Rita finally notice Ivan, standing with his lips apart, revealing jagged teeth, one of which is made of GLISTENING SILVER. He stretches his sinewy arms, releases an enormous YAWN, puts his hands on his head, CRACKS it. IVAN Ahhhhhhhh. Now he SMACKS his lips together, opens his arms theatrically and gives his trademark stance. IVAN Ladies and Gentlemen. the OOZE is back! Rita blushes. RITA He's so cute. Zedd flashes her an angry look, turns back to Ivan. ZEDD I am Lord Zedd, sworn enemy of all that is good and decent. It is a supreme honor to finally meet you. Ivan gives a slight bow. IVAN How can I ever repay you? ZEDD Do you recall the name. Zordon of Eltare? Ivan's face goes dark, THUNDER RUMBLES and the site LIGHTS UP WITH A FLASH OF LIGHTNING. Mordant turns to Goldar. MORDANT Seems to ring a bell. ZEDD I want you to destroy Zordon, so that my evil may once again reign SUPREME. IVAN -LRB- hissing. -RRB- I will not only destroy him, I will OBLITERATE his entire being. It will be like Zordon of Eltare never EXISTED! RITA Finally, a real man. Goldar hands Ivan a scrap of paper. GOLDAR Here's his address. IVAN -LRB- reading. -RRB-''. left off Interstate 12?!''. -LRB- puzzled. -RRB- What's an `` interstate''? MORDANT It's like a freeway. How long have you been locked up?! ZEDD We shall leave you to weave your wicked ways. RITA Now we go out on the town. First dinner, then dancing, then - BZZWAPP! The foursome DE - MATERIALIZE. IVAN What is that odious stench? His eyes come alive. IVAN Smell's like. TEENAGERS!", "EXT.  CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT On cue, the Power Rangers TELEPORT into the construction site. They're surrounded by rock piles, pools of water and a plethora of building supplies. Billy looks down at the mud puddle he's standing in. BILLY Remind me to have a word with Alpha about his teleporting calculations. They survey the construction site for a moment. AISHA Anybody see anything? TOMMY Let's take a look over there. They advance up a slope - the egg comes into view. ROCKY -LRB- alarmed. -RRB- It looks like it's been opened! The kids get close to the egg, looking it over with fascination. Suddenly a hand falls on Aisha. SECURITY GUARD -LRB- O.S. -RCB-. -RRB- Hey! They all whirl around and see the first Security Guard. He half smiles, shaking his head. SECURITY GUARD You had me scared there. AISHA Makes two of us. KIMBERLY You have n't by any chance seen a. morphological being lurking around? SECURITY GUARD The only thing I've seen is you teenagers. -LRB- beat. -RRB- And you know. if there's one thing in the world I reeeeally hate. CLOSE ON HIS FACE as it SHAPE - SHIFTS INTO THE + HIDEOUS VISAGE OF IVAN OOZE. IVAN It's TEENAGERS KIMBERLY GroSS! IVAN You're too kind. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the infamous, world - reviled, universally despised, IVAN OOZE! ROCKY Well, pack your bags cause we're sending you back where you came from! IVAN Gee, a teenager with a big mouth. Not much has changed in six thousand years. KIMBERLY we're not just teenagers, raisin - head. TOMMY We're the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers! Ivan puts his hands to his face in mock fear. IVAN Ooooh, where's my autoqraph book? He looks them over reproachfully. IVAN Power Rangers, huh? So Zordon is still using a bunch of rug - rats to do his dirty work. And speaking of rats. Ivan raises both hands - ELECTRICITY SHOOTS OUT HIS FINGERS and the kids DIVE CLEAR as the bolt ZAPS A THRONG OF RATS. Now, incredibly, the RATS GROWN INTO GRUNTING, SNARLING MAN SIZED RAT - BEASTS. IVAN From this moment forth, the world as you know it SHALL CEASE TO EXIST! Ivan raises his arms - thunder CRACKLES and LIGHTNING RIPS ACROSS THE SKY. IVAN WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE! An EXPLOSION OF PURPLE SMOKE CONSUMES IVAN. ROCKY He's gone. The RATS ATTACK! ADAM Let's take these beasts! Tommy gets off a stellar CROSS - HOCK TAKEDOWN, Kimberly delivers a world class HEEL STOMP, Billy executes a lethal REVERSE HANDSWORD. Despite their valiant efforts, the Rangers ar being overwhelmed by the fierce combatants.", "INT.  COMMAND CENTER - NIGHT SMOKE POURS from various circuit boards, numerous control panels VIBRATE. ZORDON Alpha, my sensors tell me the Rangers were too late! Ivan is on his way here! ALPHA 5 Hey, NOBODY enters the Command Center without a power coin! There's a BLEET, BLEET - emergency lights start FLASHING near the entrance. Alpha watches, forlorn, as OOZE SEEPS through the hairline cracks in the door. ALPHA 5 Well. ALMOST nobody. The ooze SLITHERS AND GURGLES ACROSS THE FLOOR, once again IVAN RISES UP. He takes in the state - of - the - art surroundings. IVAN Gee. pretty fancy - shmancy. I guess if you invest your money well over SIXTY centuries you can buy something pretty nice. Alpha drops into a Karate stance, makes some BRUCE LEE NOISES then LUNGES. ALPHA 5 HI, YAH! Ivan holds his arm out, ZAPS Alpha with an electrical charge Alpha starts spinning. ALPHA  5 Welcome to Wiener World. May I take your order, please? ZORDON You have n't changed, Ooze. You're still picking on creatures smaller than yourself. Ivan slowly circles Zordan's column of light, Zordon turns with him. IVAN Put a cork in it `` Z''. Ten minutes out of the egg and I'm already listening to one of your lectures. -LRB- he explodes furiously. -RRB- You robbed me of my PRIME! I was the Supreme Ruler of the most foul Empire in the Universe. I was the King of Calamity. The Duke of Destruction. The big man on campus! -LRB- beat. -RRB- And then you came along. You locked me into your stuffy little hyperlock - chamber and tossed me into the depths like yesterdays TRASH! ZORDON It worked for six thousand years. IVAN Do n't remind me! IVAN Do you have any idea what it's like to be cooped up in a rotten egg for six thousand years? It's BORING! Not to mention I've had a Charlie horse since the Renaissance! But now the tables are turned. Now. IVAN raises his hands - he is holding a flute and he PLAYS A FEW NOTES IVAN it's time to pay the PIPER! He uses the flute like a lightning rod - A BOLT OF LIGHTNING BLASTS A PANEL TO SMITHEREENS. IVAN Oh, the things that I have missed. The BLACK PLAGUE! He blows up another PANEL. IVAN The SPANISH INQUISITION! -LRB- another bolt. -RRB- The 70's! HE BLOWS UP ANOTHER PANEL. Ivan CASTS ANOTHER LIGHTNING BOLT, DEMOLISHING AN ENERGY PILLAR. IVAN And now, finally, I have the strength to DESTROY your pathetic powers FOREVER! ZORDON YOU WO N'T GET AWAY WITH THIS! IVAN I've got a NEWS flash for you LIGHT - BRIGHT - I ALREADY HAVE! Now Ivan begins to THROW LIGHTNING EVERYWHERE, LAYING THE COMMAND CENTER TO WASTE. Ivan laughs in the b.g. as Alpha continues to spin, moving his arms in and out. ALPHA 5 You put your left probe in, you put your left probe out, you put your left probe in and you shake it all about. You do the hokey - pokey and you turn yourself around.", "EXT.  CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT Two rats charge Aisha and she LEAPS UPWARD - the pair SMASH into each other. Rocky picks up a two - by - four and starts SPARRING with another rat. Billy SHOVES A HUGE WOODEN - SPOOL down a slope and it ROLLS INTO A COUPLE OF RATS, BOWLING THEM OVER. One rat CRACKS IT'S TAIL like a whip, KNOCKING Adam to the ground. Another rat gets Kimberly in a bear hug and she makes a face. KIMBERLY RAT breath! She grabs a handful of his whiskers. KIMBERLY Somebody needs a shave. She YANKS THEM OUT, the rat SQUEALS and releases her. The fight well, but the rats start to get the upperhand. TOMMY IT'S MORPHIN TIME! The Rangers click their power coins into their power morphers. KIMBERLY PTERODACTYL! BILLY TRICERATOPS! ROCKY TYRANNOSAURUS! ADAM MASTODON! AISHA SABER TOOTH TIGER! TOMMY WHITE TIGER! RANGERS MORPHENOMENAL! They JUMP INTO THE AIR and they're ENGULFED IN A DAZZLING GOLDEN LIGHT as we do a 3D MOVIE VERSION OF THEIR TRANSFORMATION INTO COSTUME. They all LAND and there's a WHIRRING SOUND as all six of the face pieces POLARIZE so we can see their faces. The rats immediately scurry off. TOMMY Let's teach these vermin a few manners. AISHA Activating Power Beam! A YELLOW BEAM SLICES THROUGH THE DARKNESS. Aisha leads the group through the site. KIMBERLY Everybody stay alert. -LRB- CONTINUED -RRB- - NEXT FILE PAGES 21 ONWARDS CONTINUED : -LRB- 2 -RRB- They pass a bulldozer, some scaffolding ADAM Hold it. They come to a stop. ADAM -LRB- pointing. -RRB- I heard something over there. BILLY Activating Audio Enhancer! AN AUTO - PHONIC RECEIVER POPS OUT of the side of Billy's helmet. As he turns his head, the receivers ROTATE. SOUND EFFECT : We hear silence and then. a RASPY BREATHING, followed by a GUTTURAL SNARL. BILLY They're on the other side of that wall. The Rangers advance along a cement wall, slowly round a corner. Aisha's light PANS THROUGH THE GLOOM. TOMMY Anybody see them? ROCKY Activating Power Scope! A SCOPE SNAPS into place over Rocky's left eye. P.O.V. - THROUGH POWER TRACKER We see HEAT SENSOR OUTLINES, PULSATING WITH COLOR. COMMAND GRAPHIC : SEARCH MODE. Lines VECTOR and SCAN as Rocky searches the area. Eventually he looks up and the lines LOCK ON TO THE PULSATING FORMS OF THE RATS. ROCKY THEY'RE ABOVE US! The creatures LEAP DOWN and we see the Rangers pull off KICKS, SUCKER PUNCHES, SPINBACK - ROUNDHOUSES, you name it. One of the beasts TACKLES Tommy and the pair go TUMBLING OWN A TWENTY FOOT ROCK PILE. Aisha picks up a handful of dirt AISHA Hey, handsome! A beast turns - Aisha FLINGS dirt in his eyes. AISHA My mistake. She follows through with an OVER SHOULDER THROW - the beast CRASHES INTO A JOHNNY - ON - THE - SPOT. Rocky fights another beast and the creature SWINGS UP THROUGH SCAFFOLDING with phenomenal dexterity. Rocky goes after him. TOMMY SABA SABER? The talking Saber appears in Tommy's hand. SABA -LRB- yawning. -RRB- What a DREAM I was having! TOMMY We've got company. Saba sees the rats. SABA Rats! I hate rats! We hear a PRIMITIVE CRY as a beast SLAMS INTO ADAM, SENDS HIM CATAPULTING. Adam rises, speaks in a low growl. ADAM Bad move, Willard! He holds his hand in the air. ADAM STEGA - STINGER! The STEGA - STINGER appears in Adam ` s hand. He aims it toward an overhang, FIRES. A thin wire SHOOTS OUT - the Stinger at the end PIERCES the overhang. ADAM Coming through! Adam leaps off a platform, SWINGS THROUGH THE AIR like Tarzan, SLAMS into the rat and sends him CATAPULTING. ADAM Target Neutralized? KIMBERLY Raptor - Ribbon! A contraption APPEARS in Kimberly's hand and she throws her arm out - a LONG RIBBON SWIRLS out and tangles itself around the rat. KIMBERLY Now you see ` em. She yanks the ribbon pulling the rat into an opening - he DISAPPEARS. KIMBERLY Now you do n't. Billy takes a hit, ROLLS across the ground. He stops inches away from a twenty foot drop - off. The beast CHARGES HIM, he ducks and the beast GOES FLYING THROUGH THE AIR AND SPLASHES DOWN IN ONE OF THE MUDDY POOLS OF WATER. BILLY Not the brightest of beasts. Rocky is now up in the scaffolding. He DROPS TEN FEET through the air, LANDS ON ONE END OF A BOARD. There's a beast at the other end and he goes FLIPPING THROUGH THE AIR. Tommy throws Saba Saber and the knife SWOOPS THROUGH THE AIR and zings around the beasts as they try to knock him down. SABA Na na na na na! The rats chase after Saba as he heads into a water - slicked area. There's a large power cable running across it. Once all the rats are in the water, Saba kamikaze dives into the cable, SLICING IT OPEN WITH AN ERUPTION OF SPARKS. The water SIZZLES WITH ELECTRICITY and the rats GO UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE. SABA Fried mice, anyone? We see the six original small rats scurry away, SQUEAKING. Suddenly, there's an EXPLOSION OF ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY and the Rangers watch, stunned, as their COSTUMES DE - MATERIALIZE and they appear back in civilian clothes. KIMBERLY What's going on?! Billy tries his wrist communicator. BILLY Alpha, come in! There's no response. TOMMY We'd better get back. They all hit their communicators and nothing happens. AISHA -LRB- worried. -RRB- Something's wrong! TOMMY Come on, guys. They hurry off.", "EXT.  COMMAND CENTER - NIGHT The Rangers climb a mountain path, all of them looking alarmed. Up ahead, there's a PILLAR OF BLACK SMOKE rising from the Command Center.", "INT.  COMMAND CENTER - NIGHT The place is trashed - there's SMOKING debris, ravaged panels, exposed wires and mechanisms. The kids move through the wreckage in numb silence. TOMMY -LRB- barely audible. -RRB- what happened here? Adam spots Alpha's arm protruding from a mound of rubble. ADAM Guys! The kids quickly uncover the battered robot. BILLY Alpha, are you okay?! ALPHA 5 I'll GET you my pretty, and your little DOG toa! BILLY He must've blown an anitromic demodulator! KIMBERLY -LRB- stunned. -RRB- Oh, no. Everybody follows Kimberly's gaze, thunderstruck expressions coming over them. Laying on a destroyed bed of crystals is Zordon. He is still a SHIMMERING SPECTRAL being, only now he s aged a good fifty years. The kids stand over him, forlorn. AISHA What's happening to him?' BILLY Outside of his time warp he's aging at a vastly acellerated rate! KIMBERLY We have to help him! Zordon opens his eyes. ZORDON Rangers. thank goodness you're safe. The kids drop down beside him. TOMMY We have to get you back inside your time warp. ZORDON I'm afraid that's impossible. The power has been destroyed. It's gone. The Zords, the weapons. all of it. -LRB- beat. -RRB- The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are no more. The kids are stunned. Kimberly gently takes Zordon's hand. KIMBERLY Zordon. you ca n't leave us. Ever since you came into our lives. you've been like another father ` to us all. - ZORDON You must be strong. Ivan almost overthrew the planet once. and now I'm afraid he has the strength to see his scheme through. Zordon closes his eyes. Tommy puts a hand on Kimberly's shoulder. The kids slowly rise, all of them looking utterly despondent. Billy turns to Alpha. BILLY what're we going to do? ALPHA 5 I do not LIKE Green Eggs and Ham! I do not like them, Sam - I - am! Billy opens a panel on Alpha's back, makes an adjustment. Alpha's head rolls back like he's going to sneeze. ALPHA 5 Ah - Ah - Ahhhh - CHOO! SPARKS BURST from where his nose should be. He SNIFFS. ALPHA 5 Thanks, Billy. Rocky hands Alpha a hanky, Alpha wipes his nose area. ADAM There has to be something we can do. TOMMY Come on, guys, think! Aisha turns to Alpha. AISHA Alpha. Is there any way we can defeat this monster? Any way at all? ALPHA 5 Perhaps there is a way. I have heard tales of another power. ADAM What?! ALPHA 5 They say that somewhere beyond the Hyperion Constellation there exists a mythological power that is beyond all comprehension. TOMMY How can we get to it? ALPHA 5 As the legend goes, the power is impossible to obtain. ROCKY We have to try, Alpha. It's our only hope. Alpha shakes his head. ALPHA 5 It's far too dangerous. Zordon would never allow it. AISHA If we do n't try, Zordon wo n't survive! ADAM If Ivan Ooze is n't stopped, nobody will survive. Alpha heaves a sigh. ALPHA 5 Ay, yi, yi, yi. -LRB- beat. -RRB- The legend speaks of a Master Warrior who lives on the planet Phaedos. This is the only person who knows the secrets of the power. AISHA How can we reach Phaedos? Alpha heaves a SIGH. ALPHA 5 Zordon's going to have my orbicular spheroids when he hears out about this! The kids exchange curious looks as Alpha opens a compartment and removes a vile filled with RADIOLUMINESCENT ENERGY. ALPHA 5 This is an emergency reserve of morphonic emissions. It should be enough to get - you there. He approaches a damaged panel, loads in the vile. ALPHA 5 There is one problem. I only have enough reserve to send you Phaedos. I ca n't bring you back. ADAM So how do we get back? Alpha gives them a grim look. ALPHA 5 You'll have to pray that the legends are true. Alpha keys in coordinates. ALPHA 5 You're sure you want to do this?! The Rangers share purposeful looks. TOMMY It's our only hope. Alpha shakes his head, punches in the final codes. ALPHA Safe journey, Rangers! He pulls a lever. ALPHA  5 BE CAREFUL! The kids TRANSFORM INTO SIX STREAKS OF COLOR AND BLAST 0FF THROUGH THE CEILING. Alpha shakes his head in despair. ALPHA 5 Ay, yi, yi, yi. They're DOOMED!", "EXT.  EARTH - NIGHT We see the SIX COLORED STREAKS BLAST away from earth and SHOOT PAST the moon. The CAMERA MOVES IN on Zedd's ominous palace which rises up out of the tortured landscape. Zedd, Rita, Mordant and Goldar are standing on the balcony.", "INT.  ZEDD'S PALACE - NIGHT Zedd, Rita and their minions are inside Zedd's dark palace Goldar looks through Rita's telescope as Rita rants. RITA -LRB- outraged. -RRB- How could he let them slip through his hands?! He's no better than the rest of the hired help around here! Goldar looks up from the telescope. GOLDAR According to the TX Tracker, they're headed for Phaedos. ZEDD I'm gon na fire that slimeball so fast his not gon na know what hit him! Ivan sweeps regally into the room. IVAN Hi, honey, I'm home! RITA You garlic - sucking DINGLEBRAIN! The Rangers are going after the Great Power. -LRB- to Zedd. -RRB- I thought you said this guy was the Master of Disaster? -LRB- to Ivan. -RRB- He's nothing but a slime - infested, jelly - bellied blob of - Ivan SNAPS his hand - a WAD OF OOZE FLIES OUT, SPLATS RITA across the mouth, muffling her. RITA Rrgh mmffpprr brghuh! ZEDD How dare you?! Nobody shuts up Rita but me! IVAN Sorry, slick, there's been a slight ` change of plans. -LRB- arms out in trademark stance. -RRB- The `` booger man'' is taking over. Ivan drops regally into Zedd's chair. ZEDD Nobody double - crosses Lord Zedd and lives! Mordant slips behind Goldar, using him as a shield. MORDANT Zedd's gon na kick this snotball into next week! Zedd SHOOTS A BLAST from his staff - Ivan is COVERED IN SPARKS. IVAN Ooooh, that tickles! Ivan raises his hands and the sparks DISAPPEAR. IVAN My turn. He ZAPS Rita and Zedd, and with a BRILLIANT FLASH, THEY'RE GONE. Mordant moves to a snow - globe on the table, his mouth falling open. Zedd and Rita are INSIDE IT! Rita wipes the ooze off her mouth, RANTS IN A MUNCHKIN VOICE. RITA This is all your fault! If you'd taken me out tonight like you were suposed to, none of this would've happened. Ivan turns menacingly to Goldar and Mordant. IVAN Now you have a choice, either serve me, or join those insufferable cheesedongs. Mordant and Goldar exchange a look, then turn back to Ivan. GOLDAR We never liked the cheesedongs in the first place. MORDANT Couldn'' t stand them - low - class all the way. And did you catch a whiff of their BREATH?! It's like having a conversation with a couple of ONIONS! Not to mention. Goldar throws a hand over Mordant's mouth, MUFFLING him. GOLDAR -LRB- apologetic. -RRB- He's just visiting for the summer. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Now what about, the Rangers, oh hideous one? IVAN Ah yes, the RANGERS! He makes a HOARKING SOUND then SPITS OOZE ONTO THE FLOOR, MORDANT Gasunteidt. Now the OOZE GROWS INTO TEN TENGU WARRIORS - BIRD - LIKE CREATURES WITH LONG BEAKS AND ENORMOUS WINGS. THEY GOBBLE, SQUAWK AND CHIRP like newborn chickens, the CACOPHONY GROWING LOUDER AND LOUDER until. IVAN SHUT YOUR BEAKS! The Tengu fall dead silent. IVAN Tengu Warriors, you will fly to Phaedos, find the Power Rangers. and TEAR THEM APART! The creatures make HORRENDOUS SQUAWKING SOUNDS AS THEY SPREAD THEIR REPTILIAN WINGS. IVAN Mordant, go with them and report back to me! MORDANT You know boss, I'd really like to help out but I've got this gastronomic condition which rules out all space trave - One of the Tengu grabs hold of Mordant and the FLOCK WINGS OFF LIKE COLOSSAL BATS. MORDANT IIIIIII! ANGLE ON - SNOW GLOBE Zedd waves his arms around in outrage. ZEDD Is n't this just TYPICAL! We finally do somebody a good turn and just look what happens! RITA From now on it's E - V - I - L, NO exceptions! RITA -LRB- optional line. -RRB- It just goes to show, ya never go into business with a booger.", "EXT.  OUTER SPACE - NIGHT The Tengu warriors sweep toward us - we see Mordant dangling from one of the Tengu's talons. MORDANT Watch the HAIRRRRRRRR! He SWINGS PAST CAMERA and out of sight.", "EXT.  SPACE The COLORED STREAKS OF LIGHT SHOOT THROUGH THE COSMOS, heading down toward the planet, PHAEDOS. It's emerald green with two radiant golden circles around it.", "EXT. JUNGLE CLEARING / PHAEDOS - DAY The STREAKS OF COLOR hit the jungle floor and only FIVE RANGERS MATERIALIZE. TOMMY Everybody okay? KIMBERLY Where' s BILLY?! The kids search the sky in a panic.", "INT.  COMMAND CENTER - DAY Alpha works frantically hitting buttons and levers. ALPHA 5 Ay, yi, yi, yi! The filamentary transistors have malfunctioned! SPARKS erupt from the panel, SINGING ALPHA. He snarls. ALPHA  5 Why you low - frequency, battery operated - Alpha winds up and DELIVERS A MIGHTY KICK to the panel. suddenly comes to life with BLEEPS and BLIPS.", "EXT.  JUNGLE CLEARING / PHAEDOS - DAY  (OLD SC.  32C) The Rangers continue scouring the sky as BILLY COMES FLYING. BILLY WHOAAAAAAHHHH! He SPLASHES DOWN in a puddle. AISHA BILLY! The others quickly gather around him. KIMBERLY You okay? BILLY I think so. Billy looks down at the puddle. BILLY This puddle thing is really getting on my nerves. They help Billy up then take in the exotic jungle environment. They hear all sorts of EXOTIC ANIMAL SOUNDS. AISHA Welcome to beautiful downtown Phaedos. ROCKY Incredible. Tommy gives them all an invigorating look. TOMMY Let's see if we can find this Master warrior. He leads the team down a narrow path.", "EXT.  CHEMICAL PLANT - DAY (OLD SC 32D) Establishing.", "INT.  CHEMICAL PLANT - DAY Ivan is walking through a giant chemical plant with Goldar IVAN Taking over the world is one thing. It's finding good help to run it for you that's the killer. GOLDAR You want me to place a few calls? Ivan shakes his head. IVAN No need. I'm going to use the young minds of Angel Grove. GOLDAR digs for buried treasure deep in his nose. GOLDAR No offense, boss, but they might find you a little disgusting. IVAN Yes, well, I suppose you'd know a little something about that. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Not to worry. I'll ever so gently lure them in and mold them into an army of devils! And what better way to entice them. than with a little Ivan's Ooze?! Ivan approaches an enormous vat, turns a tap - it BURPS and GLOPS as PURPLE OOZE pours out. GOLDAR But boss, what about their parents? IVAN Ah, the old and doddering. I'm going to SCOURGE their puny minds, reducing them to ZOMBIE'S. And then I'll put them to work rebuilding my empire. Bulk and Skull enter waving a `` help wanted'' flier. Both them are wearing their garish blazers and dark sunglasses. SKULL I understand you're looking for a few new assistants. Bulk does a G.Q. stance. BULK Well put your mind to rest ` cause now you've got the best. Ivan does n't look too pleased. IVAN What is this?! I advertised for brilliant and good looking assistants! Skull extends his hand. SKULL Hi, I'm brilliant. BULK -LRB- hand extended. -RRB- And I'm good looking. Ivan steps forward. IVAN And I'm Little - Bo - Peep. Bulk and Skull lower the sunglasses and take a good look Ivan. Both of them swallow hard. SKULL Bulk. why do n't we give Mr. Peep here a chance to think it over? BULK A stellar idea, Skull. They start to back away. IVAN Not so fast, greaseballs. Goldar blocks their way. IVAN You'll have to do.", "EXT.  PHAEDOS JUNGLE - DAY The Rangers move through foreboding jungle terrain, their ears alert to all the UNEARTHLY SOUNDS around them. Tommy watches Kimberly, who seems to be lost in thought. TOMMY Hey. Kimberly glances up. TOMMY You okay? Kimberly takes a moment to answer. KIMBERLY I was just thinking about Zordon. everything we've been through together. AISHA You know, meeting Zordon. teaming up with you guys, it's the best thing that's ever happened to me. ROCKY It's the best thing that's ever happened to all of us. ADAM He's gon na make it, guys. The others nod in agreement. TOMMY We'll get this warrior. save Zordon. and send that SLIMEBALL Ivan Ooze back to the SEWER he crawled out of. Tommy's words sink in. He stops suddenly, sensing something. ANGLE ON - MORDANT hiding behind a tree, watching the Ranger's pass. There's a HORRIFIC SCREECH - the kids look up as the TENGU WARRIORS COME SWEEPING OUT OF THE SKY ROCKY TAKE COVER! It's too late. The Tengu attack with unbelievable ferocity They SLASH with their claws, STAB with their beaks and BATTER with their wings. KIMBERLY THEY'RE T00 STRONG? ADAM WE NEED OUR POWERS! Rocky is hurtled into some bushes, Aisha is knocked against a tree, Adam splashes down in a small creek. Mordant watches of this from the sidelines. He gets so excited that he starts throwing punches and kicks. MORDANT WHAM! KAPOW! BOOM! He accidently punches a tree. MORDANT # 0! @! #! One of the Tengu gets Kimberly in a choke - hold, TOMMY HANG ON, KIMBERLY. Tommy rushes to help her and another Tengu trips him - he TUMBLES HEAD OVER HEELS DOWN A SLOPE. We hear an OTHERWORDLY CRY as a small, hunched figure wearing a tattered robe SWINGS IN ON A VINE. He proceeds to pull off what is nothing short of a miracle. He uses the STICKS for weapons as he executes a ROUNDHOUSE KICK, a SCISSOR - KICK TAKEDOWN, a SITTING SIDE KICK, a ROUNDHOUSE DROP SPIN BACK KICK, a PARALLEL BLOCK FROM THE OUTSIDE, a REVERSE HANDSWORD and so on. The creature punctuates the hits with an exotic variation of BRUCE LEE NOISES. MORDANT What's the matter with you woodpeckers! Take this guy out! The Tengu SQUAWK and SQUEAL as the little dynamo WAILS ON THEM. MORDANT The Tengu Warriors my butt! The Tengu TURKEYS is more like it! Finally the Tengu retreat, WINGING UP THROUGH THE TREES. MORDANT Hey, are n't you bird - brains forgetting something?! One of the Tengu SWOOPS IN AND SNATCHES Mordant up. MORDANT Watch the meathooks! The Rangers recover and exchange expressions of utter disbelief KIMBERLY Wow! That was amazing for such a little dude! The figure speaks in a HOARSE WHISPER. FIGURE You're trespassing. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Now state your business. TOMMY We're looking for the Master Warrior. Do you know where we can find him? FIGURE The Master Warrior does n't entertain visitors - KIMBERLY But we have to find him. Our leader Zordon is dying. FIGURE Zordon? Now the most amazing thing happens. The figure RISES TO FULL HEIGHT OF SIX FEET, while simultaneously shedding it's robe. Underneath is a SCANTILY CLAD, STUNNING AMAZONIAN WOMAN. We're talking B - U - I - L - T. Meet the Master warrior, DULCEA. The Rangers stand there with stunned expressions. Dulcea looks to Tommy. DULCEA How did this happen?! Tommy just gapes. Kimberly gives him a cold glance and THUNKS him one with her elbow. KIMBERLY The lady asked you a question. TOMMY Huh. Oh, uh, we re, ah. Kimberly intervenes. KIMBERLY He was attacked by this horrific being - Ivan Ooze. DULCEA Ivan Ooze is free?! We are all in mortal danger! She moves off - the Rangers just stand there staring at each other. DULCEA Let' s go. The Rangers quickly follow her through the brush Aisha turns to Kimberly, speaks under her breath. AISHA Kind of bossy, is n't she?", "EXT.  ANGEL GROVE PARK - DAY      (OLD SC 38)         39A CLOSE UP - OOZE CONTAINER There's a label with a picture of Ivan - he's wearing make - up to make him a little more presentable. DOZENS OF KIDS Ranging in age from eight to seventeen, are swarming Bulk and Skull, who have set up a booth with a large banner that reads : `` FREE OOZE!'' Some kids STRETCH the ooze, others MOLD it, others THROW it at each other. It's an ooze free - for - all. IVAN Boys and girls, girls and boys, gather round and feast your eyes. This ai n't sludge and this ai n't guck. this is the one and only Ivan's Ooze! Yesireebob. It's ooey, gooey and even kind of chewy. But best of all it's FREE! Bulk and Skull run a booth. A banner screams `` OOZE RULES''. Kids crowd around. BULK Here you go! No pushing! SKULL There's enough for everybody! Fred approaches. FRED So where'd this guy come from? Bulk and Skull exchange apprehensive looks. SKULL Uh. that's classified, top secret, confidential, undercover information. BULK If we told you - we'd have to kill you. Fred looks at the container in his hand but he does n't open it. Skull sees a kid HURL some ooze at him. SKULL INCOMING! Skull ducks and Bulk gets SPLATTERED in the face. Bulk glares at Skull, wipes some goop off, FLICKS it at Skull. WIZARD Come on, come all - it's an COZE FREE FOR ALL! He smiles, revealing a glistening silver tooth.", "EXT.  DULCEA'S MOUNTAINSIDE COMPLEX - DAY An oriental garden set against a stunning hillside vista.", "EXT.  DULCEA'S CAMP / PHAEDOS - DAY The kids are seated on rocks by a lakeside, all of them drinking from clay mugs. Dulcea finishes handing out bowls. Aisha stares into hers with a grim expression. AISHA Is this. food! DULCEA They're called squirbs. Kimberly lifts out an EEL - LIKE CREATURE, and watches it SQUIRM between her fingers. KIMBERLY Mine seems to be a little undercooked. Dulcea sprinkles hers with brown flakes. DULCEA Add a few dried weevils and you'll never know the difference. The other Rangers watch as Billy holds one of the squirbs over his mouth and drops it in. He chews a few times, lets out a BURP. BILLY Not bad. TOMMY Listen, we appreciate your hospitality, but we really do n't have much time. Dulcea looks to Tommy. DULCEA What do you know of the Great Power? KIMBERLY Only that we need it to defeat Ivan Ooze. Dulcea's eyes move from Ranger to Ranger. DULCEA It is said that to those who possess the Power. all things are possible. BILLY Where did it originate? DULCEA In another time, another dimension. It was brought here long ago by the `` Nathadians'', a people who are now all but extinct. They built an impenetrable stone Monolith to store the power and keep it from their enemies. -LRB- ominous. -RRB- For thousands of years, beings from all over the Universe have tried to obtain it. ALL have perished. Dulcea's words hang heavily in the air. AISHA So how can we get to it? DULCEA The only way to obtain the power is to achieve the highest state of being. TOMMY And how do we do that? DULCEA By learning the ancient art of Ninjetti. It is the Genesis of what you on earth have come to know as the Ninja. -LRB- beat. -RRB- It is the perfect union of mind, body and spirit. ROCKY Look, Zordon does n't have much longer to live. And for all we know, Angel Grove could already be under attack. We do n't have TIME for this. As Rocky is talking, a flubbery looking SNOUT works it's way over Kimberly's shoulder. She has n't noticed it yet. DULCEA You do n't understand. If you do not have the Ninjetti, the power will destroy you. -LRB- beat. -RRB- To reach the Monolith we must traverse the Neola jungle. We will train today, and set out on foot tomorrow. The snout works it's way underneath Kimberly's chin - she SCREAMS FOR ALL SHE'S WORTH. INCLUDE - A TERRIFIED SNOGGLE. This is Dulcea's ant - eater like assistant. He jumps up and down, YAMMERING and GESTICULATING. SNOGGLE HNUGLHLU PHUNGLUMP BUGHLSMRPH GBUJIPHN HUPHLGMPNORU! DULCEA Snoggle, you watch your language! Snoggle now re - fills Aisha's tea - cup. SNOGGLE Slnughyu buglhugrmrph? AISHA Excuse me? SNOGGLE Slnughyu buglhugrmrph? DULCEA He wants to know if you'd like a cube of sugar in your tea. AISHA Ah. sure. We hear a PHOOT as Snoggle BLOWS A CUBE OF SUGAR OUT HIS SNOUT AND IT SPLASHES INTO AISHA'S TEA. Aisha stares at the cube a moment. AISHA Ah. thanks. The other Rangers watch as Billy holds one of the squibs above his mouth and drops it in. He chews a few times, lets out a BURP. BILLY Not bad.", "EXT.  ANGEL GROVE LANE - DAY   (OLD SC 40) Night has fallen on Angel Grove. We PAN ACROSS a quiet, middle - class neighborhood, settle on a two story house.", "INT.  LIVING ROOM / KELMAN-RESIDENCE - DAY   (OLD SC 41) CLOSE ON - OOZE CONTAINER We PULL BACK to reveal it's sitting on a table. Mr Kelman enters, looks it over curiously. He picks it up, opens it and sticks his finger inside. Suddenly a CRACKLING ELECTRICAL CURRENT RUNS OVER HIS ENTIRE BODY. His face goes blank and his eyes momentarily GLOWS PURPLE. Now he strides purposefully out the door.", "EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - DAY Dulcea and the Rangers are gathered around a bird - bath stand with FLAMES leaping out of it. DULCEA In the language of the Nathadians, `` Nin'' stands for `` man'', `` jetti'' stands for `` animal''. Ninjetti - man and animal, together as one. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Now, put your hands inside the flame. AISHA Yeah, right. DULCEA It will not harm you. The kids hesitate a moment, then reluctantly put their hands inside the flame. Aisha makes a horrific expression. AISHA Just kidding. They remove their hands - they're filled with sand. AISHA Wow. Sand. DULCEA Now tell me. what do you see? Aisha studies the sand for a moment - it MAGICALLY TAKE ON THE SHAPE OF A BEAR. AISHA -LRB- bedazzled. -RRB- I see. a bear DULCEA Aisha, you are the Bear, stalwart and bold. AISHA Stylin'! Dulcea turns to Rocky. His sand MAGICALLY TAKES ON THE SHAPE OF AN APE. ROCKY I see. an Ape. DULCEA Rocky, you are the Mighty Ape. We see each of them DISCOVER THEIR ANIMAL. BILLY I see. a fox DULCEA Close. Billy, you are the Wolf, cunning and swift. And now Kimberly. She studies hers for a moment. It looks like a bird. KIMBERLY I think its some kind of bird. DULCEA Kimberly, you are the Crane, agile and sublime. Now Adam. ADAM That's got ta be a frog. DULCEA Adam, you are the Frog, quick as lightning. And finally, Tommy. TOMMY It's. an eagle? DULCEA Look closer. TOMMY A falcon? DULCEA Tommy, you are the Falcon, Winged Lord of the Sky. Kimberly regards Dulcea with true admiration. KIMBERLY How do you know so much about the Ninjetti? Dulcea stands tall and proud. DULCEA I. am the sole living descendant of the `` Nathadians''. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Now prepare yourselves for the most intense physical and mental training known to man and animal.", "INT.  KELMAN HOUSE / LIVING ROOM  -  DAY   (OLD SC 44) Fred enters the living room and searches for his Dad. FRED Dad??! He heaves a frustrated sigh.", "INT.  KELMAN HOUSE / MASTER BEDROOM  -  DAY   (OLD SC 45) 48B Fred enters the empty master bedroom, a look of concern coming over him. FRED DAD?!", "EXT.  KELMAN HOUSE  -  DAY    (OLD SC 46) Fred comes outside as several KIDS approach, all of them looking forlorn. KID #1 You seen my parents? FRED I ca n't find my dad either. KID #2 What's going on?! Suddenly a WILD KID wearing grunge clothes runs by HOWLING LIKE A BANSHEE. He's holding a container of ooze in one hand and a baseball bat in the other. He SMASHES a couple of trash cans with his bat. WILD KID Ooze, ooze, ooze rules! The kid BASHES IN a mailbox then runs off. Fred looks startled. FRED That guy was the student body President", "EXT.  DULGEA'S GARDEN - DAY Kimberly and Snoggle observe as Dulcea walks ON HER HANDS across a narrow bamboo log that spans a pond. A waterfall churns in the b.g. DULCEA The crane maintains it's agility through the perfect harmony of mind, body and spirit. She leaps into the air, does a ROUND - HOUSE KICK, lands perfectly on the narrow span. KIMBERLY Awesome! Dulcea reaches the end of the log, flips through the air lands flawlessly on the ground. Kimberly heaves a sigh, climbs onto the bamboo and start walking across, balancing precariously on her hands. She gets about a quarter of the way, loses her balance, and falls into the shallow pond. Snoggle laughs, making a loud HONKING SOUND. Kimberly recovers, shoots him a look. KIMBERLY Let's see you do it. SNOGGLE -LRB- indignant. -RRB- Ghun Phnug Gnouphl. He marches to the pole, Dulcea holds him back. DULCEA Snoggle, we do n't have time for you to show off", "EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - DAY Dulcea and Rocky are standing at the bottom of a twenty foot pole with an exotic oriental carving DULCEA The ape is strong, but more importantly it is flexible and free. Dulcea now SCRAMBLES UP THE POLE WITH THE NIMBLENESS OF A SPIDER. In less than ten seconds she reaches the top. Rocky shakes his head in disbelief. ROCKY Who is this lady? Now she SLIDES DOWN like a firewoman, drops beside Rocky. He takes hold of the pole, focuses for a moment. ROCKY Here goes! It starts SCURRYING UPWARD. He gets about fifteen feet in the air, loses his grip, PLUMMETS AND SLAMS TO THE GROUND.", "EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - DAY   (OLD SC 53) Dulcea and Billy circle one another, fighting with spinning WHISTLING sticks. Dulcea is blindfolded, Billy is n't. DULCEA The wolf relies on it's enhanced senses to guide it. He can hear what we can not hear, he can smell what we can not smell. Billy takes SWING after SWING - Dulcea easily DEFLECTS every blow. Now Dulcea takes numerous SWINGS, THWACKING Billy repeatedly and finally KNOCKING him INTO THE WATER.", "EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - DAY Dulcea, Adam and Snoggle stand in an area filled with FLYING INSECTS. DULCEA The frog remains still and silent while it assesses its target. then strikes out in the blink of an eye. We hear a TRILLING SOUND as Dulcea watches some kind of insect dart around her. THWAP! The TRILLING SOUND is gone. Dulcea has literally caught the insect in the blink of an eye. Adam shakes his head in disbelief. He waits a moment, hears a TAT - TAT - TAT sound and watches a insect zip around him. He lashes out numerous times, missing the insect completely. THWUMP! With lightning speed Snoggle VACUUMS the fly into his snout. CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH. Adam speaks under his breath. ADAM Show off.", "EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - DAY   (OLD SC 52) Aisha watches as Dulcea goes into a bear stance. DULCEA The bear is sturdy as a towering tree. Nothing can uproot it. Snoggle CHARGES Dulcea, SLAMS INTO HER. She remains as rooted as a tree. Snoggle meanwhile suffers some serious bodily damage. AISHA Girl, you've got to be kidding me. Snoggle recovers and faces Aisha. Aisha shrugs, goes into a bear stance. Snoggle charges, SLAMS INTO HER and sends HER FLYING!", "EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - DAY Dulcea and Tommy are standing on a towering rock rising out of a dark lake. DULCEA The falcon never struggles with the air, but rather becomes one with it. Now Dulcea does the impossible. She LEAPS OFF THE ROCK, SOARS FIFTY FEET through the air, AND LANDS on another protruding rock. Tommy is stunned. DULCEA -LRB- calling out. -RRB- JOIN WITH THE FORCES OF NATURE! Tommy psyches himself up. TOMMY You can do this. You can do this. You can do this. He spreads his arms out, LEAPS. and DROPS LIKE A ROCK exploding into THE BLACK WATER.", "INT.  COMMAND CENTER - NIGHT      (OLD SC 54E) Alpha fusses over Zordon, who is looking a good ten years older. ZORDON Alpha, I am deeply concerned about the Rangers. ALPHA 5 I told them it was too dangerous, but they would n't listen. ZORDON We must try to communicate with them. Alpha looks out over the decimated Command Center. ALPHA 5 Perhaps if I could locate a vertical - deflector then I could assemble a holographic - comlink. Zordon shudders in pain, closes his eyes. Alpha watches over his mentor, shakes his head in anguish. ALPHA Ay, yi, yi, yi, yi.", "EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - NIGHT Dulcea leads the kids through a circular opening in one wall, all of them look completely wiped out. She reaches an ornate doorway, faces the Rangers. DULCEA Each of you must reach deep within and draw upon your natural instincts. Only then will you know the way of the Ninjetti. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Rest for a few hours. We will continue at daybreak. She heads through the door. KIMBERLY So where are we supposed to sleep? Snoggle points to the campfire. SNOGGLE Buhph nghujr. He pushes Kimberly toward it making a `` Na na na na na'' sound through his snout. He then hurries inside and SLAMS the door. KIMBERLY That guy's cruisin' for a bruisin'. The kids approach the dying fire, all of them limping a little. BILLY I can hardly walk. AISHA I've never been this sore in my life. They drop around the fire, a few of them GROANING. They stare into the orange coals for a long moment, all of them looking disillusioned. BILLY Do you guys really think we can pull this off? It takes a moment to get a response. ADAM Maybe if we had more time. TOMMY I wonder. We've been relying on our Morphin Powers for so long. maybe we've forgotten how to rely on ourselves. There's a somber silence. TOMMY We should get some rest. They all settle in for the night.", "EXT.  INNER CITY CONSTRUCTION SITE  -  NIGHT  (OLD SC 47) 55B A PURPLE HAZE OF SMOKE has settled on the construction site. Suddenly, mysteriously, SWARMS OF ZOMBIFIED PARENTS emerge from the vapors - We see Mr. Kelman amongst them. Ivan steps forward, followed by Goldar. IVAN Ladies and gentlemen, Simon says. STOP! All the parents stop. IVAN Simon says. stand on one foot! All the parents stand on one foot. Ivan seems to be taking a perverse glee in all this. IVAN Simon says. GOLDAR Quack like a ` duck! All the parents start QUACKING LIKE DUCKS. Ivan slowly turns to Goldar, gives him an icy stare. GOLDAR It just slipped out. Ivan turns back to the QUACKING parents. IVAN SHUT UP! The parents keep quacking. GOLDAR You did n't say `` Simon says''. IVAN -LRB- irritated. -RRB- Simon says SHUT UP! -LRB- they shut up -RRB- Now, as soon as I give the word I want all of you to start digging. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Do I make myself perfectly - The zombie parents have already started going to work. Ivan shakes his head in exasperation. IVAN This is the Iast time I use parents for anything!", "EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - NIGHT The Rangers are fast asleep. A night wind WHISTLES through the trees, causing the branches to shiver. After a moment, there's movement in the bushes. Suddenly, amazingly, a WOLF emerges - his mane glistening in the moonlight, his eyes GLOWING LIKE FIRE. He surveys the sleeping clan, moves straight toward Billy. He stands inches away from him, watches him with an intense gaze. Billy stirs slightly. The embers cast an orange glow on Kimberly's sleeping face A SHADOW moves over her and two CRANE LEGS step into frame. There's a FLURRY OF FLAPPING WINGS as a FALCON SWOOPS DOWN and lands on a rock directly above Tommy. The bird fixes on Tommy with its piercing eyes. We hear a GRUNTING SOUND as the SILHOUETTE OF AN APE APPEARS : Now a FROG HOPS through the air and lands inches away from Adam. The frog sits there a moment, it's THROAT THROBBING Now we hear a DEEP GROWL and a tree SHAKES. Aisha fidgets in her sleep as an ENORMOUS BEAR SHADOW FALLS OVER HER. Now, all at once, the six animals VANISH INTO THIN AIR LIKE SPIRITS OF THE NIGHT.", "EXT.  CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT  (PART OLD SC 55B) Ivan and Goldar patrol the parents who are busy digging. IVAN Let's pick it up here! I've got a schedule to keep. In twenty four hours the ooze is gon na hit the fan! Goldar suddenly point to the sky. GOLDAR Hey, boss! THE TENGU DROPS INTO THE SCENE, SQUEALING MORDANT What kind of landing was that?! These clowns are a menace to the sky IVAN How did you fare? Mordant waves Ivan off. MORDANT Oh, it could n't've gone better. The Power Rangers did n't know what hit them. The Tengu appear, one of them SQUAWKS and makes grand gestures. MORDANT That's right. And then we threw one of them off a mountain and another one into a raqing river! IVAN So they've been destroyed? The Tengu SQUAWKS some more. MORDANT `` Basically''. IVAN What do you mean `` basically''? MORDANT Well. we were about to finish them off. when this huge monster came out of nowhere! MORDANT Okay, maybe he was n't so huge. But you should've seen the size of his STICKS A pensive look comes over Ivan. IVAN Did these sticks make a whistling sound? MORDANT How'd you know? IVAN Dulcea! -LRB- beat. -RRB- That miserable, manipulating loathsome she - devil of a WITCH! To help make the point Mordant SPITS on the ground. IVAN How could you let them get away?! If Dulcea leads them to the Great Power, everything will be ruined! They must be OBLITERATED! One of the Tengu SCREECHES again. MORDANT What're you talking about?! It was n't my fault! You're the featherbrains that let them get away! Ivan looks up to the sky. IVAN I call upon the Powers of Darkness to enrich the evil of my creatures by tenfold! LIGHTNING RIPS from the sky and ZAPS THE TENGU, CAUSING THEM TO GLOW RADIANTLY. IVAN And now the coup de grace, to lead my tribe to victorious battle! He shoots a BOLT OF ENERGY AND CREATES THE OUEEN TENGU! She is a different color than the rest and her eyes GLOW RED. Mordant shakes his head in wonder. MORDANT Where does he come up with this stuff? The Queen spreads her wings and makes the most HORRENDOUS SCREECH imaginable. IVAN Queen Tengu, lead - your warriors to Phaedos, FEAST YOURSELVES UPON THE POWER RANGERS AND BRING ME DULCEA! Once again, the Tengu take to the sky like GIANT BATS.", "EXT.  LONG SHOT OF DULCEA'S COMPOUND - SUNRISE (MATTE) 55E The morning sun bathes Dulcea's compound in a shimmering golden light.", "EXT.  DULCEA'S COMPOUND - SUNRISE   (OLD SC 55D) CLOSE ON KIMBERLY Snoggle's snout works it's way toward her making SNORTING SOUNDS. Kimberly bolts awake and SLAMS his snout with her fist. She YELPS LIKE A CHILD as he grips the protrusion and JUMPS UP AND DOWN. SNOGGLE BUGHU PHUNGL MURHPUGNU! All the Rangers spring awake. As they get out from under their blankets they're shocked to discover that they're all wearing Ninjetti costumes with animal symbols on their chest. TOMMY How the heck?! ROCKY What's going on?! KIMBERLY I do n't believe it! Dulcea approaches, a wondrous expression on her face. DULCEA You have been visited by the animal spirits. they have given you their blessing. The Rangers continue to admire their symbols in silent wonder.", "EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - MORNING  (OLD SC 55E) MONTAGE HARD DRIVING MUSIC KICKS IN. 1. We see Aisha standing on a rock, her whole body flowing in a martial art exercise. 2. Billy and Dulcea continue to fight with whistling sticks. Billy is starting to get the hang of it. He hits Dulcea a few times, then she CLOBBERS him. 3. Kimberly balances along the bamboo log again. She does a FLIP and lands it, however one foot slips off and she struggles to maintain her balance. 4. Tommy stands on the protruding rock again, spreads high like a falcon, SOARS THROUGH THE AIR. He gets about ten feet then DROPS INTO THE WATER. 5. Rocky climbs up the oriental pole - this time he makes it up about FIFTEEN FEET before he slips. He only drops five feet. 6. Adam stands amidst overhanging trees and goes into his frog animal stance, his entire being focused on his actions. 7. Billy stands off alone practicing with the whistling sticks. The weapons are now a BLURR in his hands. 8. Kimberly balances along the log, executes a FLIP, lands it perfectly, throws her arms up triumphantly. 9. Adam stands on the lakeshore, c ncentrating on a buzzing insect. He strikes out at it, but just misses it. 10. Aisha also does something appropriate.", "EXT.  ANGEL GROVE PARK - DAY   (OLD SC 55F) HUNDREDS OF KIDS AND TEENAGERS fill the park, all of them wearing PURPLE CLOTHES. They're all dirty and grunged out They jump around, breaking stuff, sparring with each other It's total pandemonium. Suddenly, an ERUPTION OF SMOKE - and Ivan, disguised as the wizard, MAGICALLY APPEARS. The crowd CHEERS, Nuremburg style, fists raised. CROWD OOZE! OOZE! OOZE! OOZE! IVAN Thank you! Please! You're too kind. -LRB- sotto voce. -RRB- Finally. a little appreciation where it's deserved. VOICE We love you Ivan! IVAN Right back at ya! -. -LRB- he smiles. -RRB- Now, WHO MISSES SCHOOL?! CROWD NOT US! IVAN AND WHO MISSES RULES?! CROWD NOT US! IVAN AND WHO WANTS TO JOIN ME IN RAISING HELL ACROSS THE UNIVERSE?! CROWD WE DO! At the edge, Fred discreetly approaches Bulk and Skull. FRED Can I have a word with you guys? -LRB- he pulls them aside. -RRB- What's really going on here?! Where are everybody's parents? Bulk and Skull exchange a look. SKULL Like we said before, that's classified, top secret. Fred decides to be tricky. FRED Look, Ivan wants me to go dump a load of garbage all over them. BULK Well, why did n't you say so?! SKULL They're at the World Center Construction Site. Fred nods. FRED Uh. OOZE RULES! He does a ridiculous mock salute. Bulk and Skull repeat it. BULK AND SKULL OOZE RULES! Fred rolls his eyes and hurries away.", "EXT.  JUNGLE / PHAEDOS - MORNING Dulcea leads Snoggle and the Rangers up a stone path. They approach a bush filled with exotic berries. All of them start eating the berries. TOMMY Dulcea. how do you and Zordon know each other? Dulcea reminisces. DULCEA We belonged to an interstellar Peace Keeping Force known as the `` Order of the Meledan''. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Zordon was widely regarded as the finest Commander in the Galaxy. He was a true Legend. If it was n't for him, the Universe would be a very different place from what it is today. The kids are overwhelmed by what they're hearing. ROCKY So. what happened? DULCEA Over time our enemies were defeated. I returned to Phaedos, Zordon moved on to continue the struggle elsewhere. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Until you kids showed up, I had n't heard from him for centuries. The Rangers are silent for a moment. DULCEA He was always an inspiration. Dulcea speaks with grim - visaged intensity. DULCEA This is why I'm taking you to the Nathadian Monolith. That is why I'm teaching you the Ninjetti. -LRB- beat. -RRB- If Zordon dies. then a piece of all of us dies. and the force of good within the Universe will be dealt an irreparable blow. These words strike deep in the kids.", "EXT.  INNER CITY CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY The bulldozers and earth movers have dug out a twenty foot pit. IVAN leads Goldar and Mordant through the site, passing dozens of laboring parents. MORDANT As soon as we've taken over the world I'm gon na change my name to Sir Mordant. Or how about MAJOR Mordant?! GOLDAR How about Major Moron? IVAN How about the two of you shut Up and pay attention! The entourage comes to a stop, Goldar and Mordant ca n't believe what's before them. MORDANT What is THAT! INCLUDE - A HUGE MECHANICAL ARM AND LEG EXTRUDING FROM THE DIRT. IVAN Feast your eyes upon the exoskeleton of the barbaric HORNITOR! -LRB- to parents. -RRB- KEEP DIGGING. THE DREADFUL SCORPITRON SHOULD BE CLOSE BY. -LRB- beat. -RRB- ONCE I HAVE MY ECTO - MORPHICON MACHINES UP AND RUNNING, I SHALL ANNIHILATE ANGEL GROVE. AND THEN. THE WORLD ANGLE ON FRED as he darts through the construction site, taking care not to be seen. He hunkers down behind a stack of two - by - fours, searches the area. He spots his dad, speaks under his breath. FRED Dad?! He glances around to make sure the coast is clear, then sprints off to where his dad is digging, grabs his hand. FRED We have to get out of here! MR. KELMAN Dig. dig. dig. FRED Dad?! It's me, Fred! Mr. Kelman just gives Fred a blank stare. MR. KELMAN Dig. dig. dig. Suddenly an ARM FALLS ON FRED'S SHOULDER. MORDANT -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Gotchya! Fred whips araund, finds Mordant standing behind him. He SPRINGS TO ACTION pulling off a lightning quick IRON HAMMER FIST STRIKE, a PALM HEEL BLOCK, A FRONT KICK WITH JUMPING KICK. Mordant is getting pummeled. The last kick sends him FLYING BACK INTO THE DIRT. Fred takes off as Goldar stands over Mordant. MORDANT Just shut your gap! GOLDAR Did I say anything?", "INT.  COMMAND CENTER - DAY Zordon is looking more decrepit than ever. Alpha inserts tube into a make - shift electronic contraption. ALPHA 5 By bouncing ultra - high frequencies off one of the network satellites, I can send a long - range pulsar signal to within TWO FEET of the Rangers coordinates. ZORDON -LRB- with difficulty. -RRB-. I just pray we're not too late. Alpha continues making adjustments. ALPHA 5 Let's give it a whirl. He flicks a switch and the screen LIGHTS UP WITH STATIC. The the same reporter we saw at the opening of the movie appears. REPORTER Angel Grove Police have been fielding hundreds of calls from concerned citizens as the number of missing gersons continues to grow There's more STATIC, then IVAN APPEARS AS THE WIZARD. IVAN Hi, folks, Ivan Ooze here. ALPHA 5 Ai, yi, yi, yi, yi As Ivan speaks we see Mordant behind him waving into camera. IVAN Are you bored with your work? Are you bored with your family Are you bored with your 1ife Well, come on down to Ooze City and LET'S GET STICKY!", "EXT. ROCKY TERRAIN  -  DAY The group reaches the crest of a ridge - off in the background we can see the outline of the Nathadian Monolith. DULCEA The Monolith is there in the distance. The kids strain to get a better look. DULCEA This is as far as I can take you. The kids are thrown by this. KIMBERLY You're leaving us?! DULCEA I have taught you all that I know. Now you must achieve the Ninjetti on your own. The kids share glances, not quite knowing what to say. DULCEA It is said that once you've reached the power. you have only ten triacs to release it. BILLY What's a Triac? DULCEA About twenty seconds in your time. TOMMY And how do we release the power? DULCEA The legend goes that you release the power with the power. ADAM What does that mean! DULCEA That is a question that even I can not answer. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Remember, ten triacs. After that something bad will happen. KIMBERLY Like. how bad? Dulcea gives them a grim look. DULCEA They say the power will throw off a super - heated, radioactive fireball, instantly reducing you to ash and bits of charred bone. Aisha nods. AISHA That's pretty bad. TOMMY Thank you, Dulcea. For everything. Dulcea catches her hand and six Rangers put their hands on top of hers. DULCEA Ka'Alabas tor nartu En ` Kata - Tay. -LRB- beat. -RRB- May your animals watch over you.", "EXT.  CHEMICAL PLANT - DAY The sky above the chemical plant is BOILING WITH DARK CLOUDS.", "INT.  CHEMICAL PLANT - DAY                             66 The parents have finished assembling the STEEL TOWER - thick cables run from the base to the skeletal heads of Hornitor and Scorpitron. We see a group of parents fastening clear plastic pipes to the skeletal feet - the pipes are attached to the vat of ooze. Mordant videotapes Ivan as he struts past a giant mechanical foot. IVAN Finally, after centuries of waiting, my Ecto - Morphicon machines are ready to take on the world! Mordant gets the camera a little too close to Ivan. IVAN GET THAT THING OUT OF MY FACE! Ivan SWATS Mordant and the camera FLIES up through the air and SMASHES against a wall. MORDANT Oh, man, that was a rental! ANGLE ON - FRED watching from behind a generator, an alarmed look on his face. Ivan steps up onto a platform. IVAN Mordant. let the ooze flow! Mordant pulls a lever and the OOZE SLITHERS THROUGH THE PIPES AND STARTS FILLING OUT THE GIANT EXOSKELETONS. IVAN Goldar. the roof! Goldar presses a button and the roof of the plant ROLLS OPEN, REVEALING THE TUMULTUOUS SKIES ABOVE. IVAN Looks like a fine day for raising HELL! Ivan holds his arms up to the heavens. IVAN HECALE MENNIPUS LIBRI MAGUS! THE SKY CRACKLES WITH THUNDER AND A JAGGED BOLT OF LIGHTNING STREAKS DOWN, ZAPS THE METAL TOWER SENDING UP AN ENORMOUS ERUPTION OF SPARKS! IVAN Bullseye! ELECTROMAGNETIC CHARGES TRAVEL THE LENGTH OF THE CABLES AND HIT HORNITOR AND SCORPITRON WITH SEARING BLASTS OF ENERGY. IVAN LIFE! Give my creatures LIFE! Mordant admires Ivan. MORDANT This guy is the King! Now the most amazing thing of all happens. The SCINTILLATING BEHEMOTHS AWAKE FROM THE DEAD, THEIR EYES AND MOUTHS OPENING, THEIR ARMS REACHING UPWARD. The beasts ROAR OUT IN THUNDEROUS RAGE. Mordant's HAIR LITERALLY STANDS ON END - he quickly retreats behind a drum. FRED looks on in horror. IVAN PARENTS OF ANGEL GROVE. All of them turn their attention to Ivan. IVAN YOU HAVE SERVED YOUR PURPOSE. NOW YOU WILL RETURN TO THE CONSTRUCTION SITE AND LEAP TO YOUR DEMISE! The parents just stand there with blank expressions. IVAN What're you waiting for? Goldar taps him on the shoulder and he spins around. IVAN What! GOLDAR You forgot to say ` Simon says.'' Ivan shakes his head dismally.", "EXT.  ROPE BRIDGE -  DAY The Rangers crest a hill and Adam, who's in the lead, suddenly drops down - the others following suit. They peer over the ridge - their eyes wide. Before them, a tenuous rope bridge leads to a vast rock landing. The ocean RAGES BELOW. On top of the island is the Nathadian Monolith. It's a mind - boggling wonder from another time and place. Between the Rangers and the bridge, the Tengu Warriors are on patrol. KIMBERLY Man, these are the last guys I wanted to see. AISHA Whadda we do now? Kimberly surveys the area. BILLY That's the only way to the Monolith. ROCKY We can take these guys! Tommy pulls all of them into a huddle.", "EXT.  ROPE BRIDGE -  DAY The Tengu are on full alert. One of them hears something, snaps around, there's nothing there. Another Tengu looks down as a frog hops between his leg. He SCREECHES and STOMPS down his taloned foot, missing the creature by inches. We hear a CAW and the Queen Tengu squints as she spots a falcon circling in the sky above. The Queen is perched on top of a 20 foot rock face. She looks around hesitantly. Now the Rangers ATTACK, some of them LUNGING OFF ROCKS, others BURSTING out of crevices, others coming over the walls. Billy wields his WHISTLING sticks - misses several times, then starts BASHING and THWACKING the feathered beasts. The Queen SHOOTS A LASER BLAST from her eyes - it EXPLODES before Tommy. Kimberly battles another Tengu and the creature forces her back on to the rickety bridge. The Queen FIRES ANOTHER BLAST. ROCKY LOOK OUT! Rocky DIVES, knocking Aisha away from the bolt. Adam and one of the Tengu circle each other warily. ADAM The frog silently assesses its target, then strikes out. Suddenly the Tengu is HURTLED BACKWARD TEN FEET THROUGH THE AIR. We did n't even see Adam move. ADAM in the blink of an eye. Tommy steps up behind a Tengu. TOMMY Yo, Tweety! The Tengu turns around and Tommy WHALLOPS HIM WITH A SPINNING - HEEL KICK. A Tengu faces down Aisha and she goes into a bear stance. AISHA The bear is sturdy as a towering tree. Nothing can uproot it. The Tengu CHARGES LIKE A BULL, SLAMS INTO AISHA. She holds fast and the bird EXPLODES INTO A CLOUD OF FEATHERS. AISHA Bye, bye birdy. Kimberly continues balancing precariously on the bridge as she EXCHANGES BLOWS with her foe. She finally drops into a crane stance. then just like Dulcea she LEAPS THROUGH THE AIR, EXECUTES A BRUTAL SPINNING HELL KICK and sends the birdman TUMBLING OFF THE BRIDGE. In a movement that seems to defy gravity, she lands perfcctly back on the swinging bridge. KIMBERLY Hasta la Pasta, Bigbird! Billy swings his sticks, BASHES one of the Tengu in the beak - the creature EXPLODES INTO A CLOUD OF FEATHERS! BILLY AIM FOR THEIR BEAKS! Tommy reaches the top of a rack. He sees a Tengu making a KAMIKAZE DIVE TOWARD KIMBERLY. TOMMY DIVES, SOARING THIRTY FEET THROUGH THE AIR - HE INTERCEPTS THE TENGU AND THEY SPIN TOWARD EARTH TOGETHER. They HIT the ground and EXCHANGE BLOWS AS THEY FALL OVER ONE ANOTHER. Rocky SLAMS another Tengu in the beak, KABLAM - the creature is OBLITERATED. Tommy LEAPS INTO THE AIR, NAILS two Tengu in the beaks. They BOTH BURST IN AN EXPLOSION OF FEATHERS. The Queen shoots another BOLT OF ENERGY - a rock EXPLODES, SHOWERING THE KIDS WITH SHRAPNEL. Aisha turns to Rocky. AISHA It's up to you. Rocky takes a deep breath, goes into a crouch position. Incredibly he SCALES THE WALL IN THE SAME WAY HE WENT UP THE POLE. HE FLIPS OVER THE TOP and lands right before the Queen Tengu. He looks her dead in the eye. ROCKY Polly wan na cracker? With that, he executes a devastating SPINNING - HEEL KICK and the Queen BURSTS INTO OBLIVION. KIMBERLY ALL RIGHT, ROCKY! Instantly, the remaining Tengu retreat, SQUAWKING and CAWWING in rage. The kids turn to eaeh other, sharing in a moment of triumph. ADAM WE DID IT!", "EXT.  ANGEL GROVE TOWER - DAY We're on top of a high tower overlooking the entire city There's a BURST OF PURPLE SMOKE - Ivan, Mordant and Goldar appear. Ivan looks out on the city, holds up his arms theatrically. IVAN ANGEL GROVE. I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO A COUPLE OF MY NEAREST AND DEAREST FRIENDS. HORNITOR! HORNITOR APPEARS on the street ROARING like a fiend. His enormous foot DROPS DOWN AND CRUSHES A CAR INTO OBLIVION. IVAN And his trimetallic partner in crime. SCORPITRON! SCORPITRON APPEARS on the street and BASHES IN THE SIDE OF A BUILDING, SENDING GLASS AND DEBRIS EVERYWHERE. IVAN THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN! GOLDAR GO IVAN! Mordant turns to Ivan and throws his arms up in jubilation. MORDANT LONG LIVE THE BOOGER MAN!", "INT. COMMAND CENTER - DAY Zordon, now barely alive, watches as Alpha makes more adjustments to his contraption. ALPHA 5 That should do it. we wo n't be able to hear them, but they SHOULD be able to hear us. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Here goes. There's STATIC and then we see the reporter again. NEWS REPORTER the Mayor has declared a state of emergency and asked that the city be immediately evacuated. He has reiterated the need for everyone to remain calm. We see images of PEOPLE SCREAMING THEIR GUTS out as they CLAMBER PAST CAMERA. NEWS REPORTER Angel Grove has never before known such a crisis and we can now only pray for the swift arrival of the Power Rangers! ALPHA 5 Ay, yi, yi, yi! Zordon speaks in a whisper. ZORDON Alpha, keep trying!", "EXT.  MONOLITH - DAY The kids climb up on top of the rock bluff - before them is a huge black Monolith. There's all sorts of charred bones and skeletons strewn around it, some of them human, some of them alien. They approach the massive block, stand before it in awe struck silence. In the middle of the Monolith there's a large circle with the six animals of the Ninjetti carved into it. ROCKY The Nathadian Monolith. Kimberly looks at all the bones - instinctively puts her hand on her animal symbol. KIMBERLY I guess these guys were n't so lucky. A few of the kids walk around the Monolith, examining it more closely. AISHA We've come all this way for a rock wall?! BILLY There should be a way to open it. Billy & ; Tommy latch their hands over the block, searching for an opening. BILLY Nothing. ROCKY Release the power with the power. Rocky steps back, THROWS HIS SHOULDER into the Monolith with a THUMP, winces in pain. AISHA Not that kind of power. The kids exchange discouraged looks. BILLY There has to be something we're missing. The kids look crestfallen. ROCKY It ca n't end like this. Suddenly a SIZZLE OF ELECTRICITY forms in front of them. KIMBERLY What NOW! The kids mouth's fall open as. a HOLOGRAPHIC IMAGE OF ZORDON'S WITHERED FACE APPEARS. He speaks in a barely audible voice. ZORDON Rangers. Ivan has invaded the city. time is running out. Zordon's image FLICKERS a few times then STABILIZES again. ZORDON Each of you are now in possession of miraculous skills. but only when the six become one will you have the strength to harness the Great Power. His IMAGE FLICKERS then FADES AWAY. KIMBERLY ZORDON! Billy studies the circle with zealous eyes. TOMMY Six become one. the combined forces of the Ninjetti. ROCKY Strength in numbers! They silently assemble in a line, all of them interlock : hands. They face the Monolith with fire in their eyes. BILLY I am the wolf, cunning and swift! KIMBERLY I am the crane, agile and sublime! AISHA I am the bear, stalwart and bold! ADAM I am the frog, quick as lightning! ROCKY I am the mighty ape! TOMMY And I am the Falcon, Winged Lord of the Sky! RANGERS WE. ARE THE NINJETTI! A mysterious HALO OF LIGHT SHROUDS the Rangers and they dissapear INTO THIN AIR.", "INT.  MONOLITH - DAY The kids BURST THROUGH A WALL OF LIGHT and come down together inside a vast cavern. There's a pyramid shaped steel object in the center of the room, a RADIANT LIGHT SHINING FROM IT. AISHA What HAPPENED?! ADAM Where are we?! BILLY Of course! The power is of another world. Another dimension. KIMBERLY WE'VE GOT TEN TRIACS BEFORE WE'RE TOAST! ROCKY That's twenty seconds! The kids advance toward the pyramid. TOMMY Release the power WITH the power. AISHA What does that mean?! Adam notices their symbols are glowing. BILLY Our SYMBOLS. The kids ogle the radiant emblems. Kimberly takes hold of hers and it COMES OFF in her hand - there's a mirror on the other side. ROCKY Ten seconds and counting! KIMBERLY It's some kind of mirror! Kimberly looks at her reflection and primps her hair. The other's remove their symbols. AISHA Release the power with the power. BILLY I've got it! We use the mirrors to reflect the light back into itself! ROCKY THREE SECONDS! TOMMY LET'S DO IT!? All of them turn their mirrors toward the pyramid. A BEAM OF LIGHT SHOOT FROM THE POWER ; INTO THE MIRRORS AND BACK IN TO THE POWER. We hear a RUMBLING SOUND as the earth starts to SHAKE. The Rangers look to each other, horrified. Then everything falls still and silent. and then a miracle happens. We hear a HARMONIOUS, OTHERWORLDLY CHORUS as the pyramid OPENS UP, REVEALING THE MOST GLORIOUS SOURCE OF LIGHT IN THE UNIVERSE. The kids shield their eyes from the brilliance, all of them wearing wonder - struck expressions. SIX BEAMS OF COLORED LIGHT SHOOT OUT AND HIT EACH OF THE RANGERS. AND THEIR POWER RANGERS UNIFORMS MATERIALIZE ON THEM! Their visors are clear so we can see their faces. TOMMY WE HAVE THE GREAT POWER! Now the symbols in their hands TRANSFORM INTO. ROCKY NEW POWER COINS! BILLY OUR MORPHERS ARE ON LINE! AISHA. says. WE DID IT! ADAM HANG ON, ANGEL GROVE. KIMBERLY WE'RE ON OUR WAY! They hit their communicators - they instantly TRANSFORM INTO SIX IRIDESCENT COLUMNS OF COLOR AND BLAST OFF.", "EXT.  MOUNTAIN SIDE / PHAEDOS - DAY Dulcea and Snoggle watch as the COLUMNS OF COLOR streak away from the planet, leaving behind a RAINBOW with the six colors of the Power Rangers. SNOGGLE Spherhlegnu. DULCEA Yes, Snoggle. they now have the Great Power of the Ninjetti!", "EXT. GEORGE STREET  -  NIGHT     (OLD SC 75B) We see the mass of parents as they march intently down a dark city street.", "EXT.  ANGEL GROVE PARK - ERNIE'S  -  NIGHT  (OLD SC 64) Ernie's is packed with crazed kids and teenagers who are ripping the place apart. Bulk and Skull watch while gorging themselves on pizza. BULK There goes the neighborhood. SKULL A real shame. Suddenly Fred appears and shouts out. FRED EVERYBODY, LISTEN UP! The place falls silent. FRED You've been brainwashed! This Ivan is no Wizard. He's some kind of DEMON! KID #4 Shut up, squirt. KID #3 You ca n't talk that way about our leader. Enraged, they move in on Fred. FRED You got ta believe me - he's EVIL! The crowd gets angrier. They move closer. Fred gulps with fear. glancing around for help, he notices a HOSE. He lunges for it, cranks on the water, and TURNS IT ON THE CROWD! SPLASH! They get SPRAYED DOWN! Suddenly - they stop in their tracks, slowly blinking, confused. The spell is broken. We hear : `` What's going on?!'' `` What am I doing here?!'' , etc.. FRED Listen to me! Our parents are in danger! If we do n't help them they're going to be killed! He hurries off. A few follow him, then a few more. until pretty soon everybody joins him. Bulk and Skull share a look. SKULL What about the pizza? Bulk considers the dilemma. BULK We could take it with us. Skull nods, relieved. They gather up the pizza and move off after the others.", "INT.  COMMAND CENTER - NIGHT The Rangers MATERIALIZE in the Command Center with their helmets off. AISHA ALPHA?! Alpha approaches, speaks in an anguished voice. ALPHA 5 Rangers. I'm afraid you're too late. AISHA What?! ALPHA 5 Zordon. he's gone. The Rangers are too stunned to speak. They approach Zordon's lifeless form looking absolutely devastated. KIMBERLY This ca n't be. They stare at Zordon with gut - wrenching expressions. They're utterly defeated. Eventually, Tommy looks to the others and speaks in a fervent voice. TOMMY `` To those who possess the Great Power. all things are possible.'' The kids gradually exchange zealous looks. They form a circle around Zordon and interlock hands. They close their eyes, bow their heads. After a long moment, a SHIMMERING ENERGY BEGINS TO FLOW DOWN FROM THE RANGERS, INTO ZORDON'S ASTRAL FORM. Zordon grows BRIGHTER and BRIGHTER and then there's a DAZZLING, STROBOSCOPIC EXPLOSION. When the LIGHT FADES WE SEE THE COMMAND CENTER BACK IN ITS ORIGINAL, PRISTINE FORM. Zordon's youthful face once again looks down from within his pillar of light, his eyes filled with a fierce pride. RANGERS ZORDON! ZORDON Welcome back, kids. ADAM It's good to be back. Alpha jumps up and down like a child. ALPHA 5 HE'S ALIVE! HE'S ALIVE! KIMBERLY We thought you. ZORDON It's good to see you again, too. Alpha sees the Ecto - Morphicon machines on the VIEWING GLOBE. ALPHA  5 AI, YI, YI, YI, YI Ivan s Ecto - Morphicon machines are leveling the city! ROCKY We've got news for you, Ivan. TOMMY The Power Rangers are BACK IN BUSINESS! They TELEPORT out.", "EXT.   ANGEL GROVE TOWER - NIGHT CLOSE ON IVAN as he TURNS INTO CAMERA, a startled look on his face. IVAN I. SMELL. He looks down on the street as the COLUMNS OF LIGHT SHOOT DOWN AND THE POWER RANGERS APPEAR. IVAN -LRB- outraged. -RRB- POWER RANGERS!", "EXT.  CITY STREETS The Rangers watch as Hornitor and Scorpitron come THUNDERING down the street toward them. KIMBERLY What're THOSE?! We hear Alpha on Tommy's wrist communicator. ALPHA 5 -LRB- V. 0. -RRB- Rangers, call for your new animal Zords! TOMMY Let's DO it! One after another they click their new coins into their morphers and go into their stances. KIMBERLY NINJA CRANE ZORD! BILLY NINJA WOLF ZORD! AISHA NINJA BEAR ZORD! ADAM NINJA FROG ZORD! ROCKY NINJA APE ZORD! TOMMY NINJA FALCON ZORD! From the sky, the six new ANIMAL ZORDS BURST FORTH LIKE THUNDERING, MECHANICAL GODS. The Rangers look up at the TOWERING ASSAULT VEHICLES in awe.", "INT.   COCKPITS We see VARIOUS SHOTS of the Rangers DROPPING INTO their respective cockpits.", "EXT.  MONORAIL STATION - NIGHT   (OLD SC 69) Fred, Bulk and Skull watch a sleek monorail pulling in. Skull talks with a mouth full of pizza. SKULL Look, kid, I do n't think you realize who you're dealing with. FRED I do n't think he realizes who HE'S dealing with. The train glides to a complete stop and the doors SLIDE OPEN. FRED EVERYBODY ON BOARD! The youngsters pile through the doors, quickly filling up the entire monorail.", "EXT.  CITY STREET The parents round a corner, advance down the street like machines.", "EXT.   THE ECTO-MORPHICON MACHINES ATTACK WITH A RELENTLESS FEROCITY. There's all kinds of CRASHING and BASHING and EXPLOSIONS! There's a BLAM, BLAM, BLAM as Scorpitron REPEATEDLY FIRES his cannon arm at the Bear Zord, who in turn DEFLECTS THE VOLLEYS. Hornitor shoots a BLAST from it's stinger, the Crane Zord dodges the FIERY ERUPTION. KIMBERLY -LRB- V. O. -RRB- Nice try, Pinhead! Scorpitron repeatedly KICKS at the Frog Zord with it's BLADED FEET, SENDING UP OSCILLATORY DISCHARGES, at the same time SLASHING WITH IT'S LETHAL CLAWS. ADAM -LRB- V. O. -RRB- Somebody back me up, here! Hornitor BORES IT'S DRILL ARM INTO THE APE ZORD, SENDING EXPLOSIONS OF SPARKS. ROCKY -LRB- V. O. -RRB- These things are FEROCIOUS! The Bear Zord CHARGES HORNITOR and the two Mastodons go CRASHING BACKWARD. AISHA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The bear kicks butt! Hornitor SEARS the Wolf Zord with it's needle - nose. In retaliation, the Wolf Zord POUNCES, KNOCKING HORNITOR INTO THE STREET. Now the Falcon Zord SWOOPS THROUGH THE AIR. TOMMY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Heads up! He FIRES BOOSTER ROCKETS, STRAFING SCORPITRON WITH AN INTENSE FUSILLADE. Hornitor gets back up - the Ape Zord SWINGS DOWN FROM BILLBOARD, RAMS HIM FEET FIRST, SENDS HIM CATAPULTING BACK. ROCKY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Hope you've got a good mechanic. Scorpitron FIRES A VOLLEY at the Frog Zord - the Zord BOUNDS THROUGH THE AIR, AVOIDING THE BLAST, COMES CRASHING DOW ON TOP OF SCORPITRON. The Falcon Zord swoops in and blasts Scorpitron who BLOWS UP INTO A BILLION FLAMING PARTICLES! KIMBERLY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- WE GOT HIM! IVAN -LRB- outraged. -RRB- These brats are ruining EVERYTHING! Mordant and Goldar watch popeyed as IVAN'S BODY STRETCHES OUT LIKE A HUGE PIECE OF GUM. He STRETCHES and STRETCHES until his head BURSTS THROUGH THE STOMACH OF SCORPITRON. We hear a resounding SNAP AS IVAN'S FEET ARE RELEASED FROM THE ROOFTOP AND HIS ENTIRE BEING SPURTS INSIDE THE GIANT'S BELLY. Now there's all sorts of GURGLING and SLURPING sounds as the monster's face SHAPE - SHIFTS INTO IVAN'S FACE! He grins, revealing his silver tooth. IVAN Let's TANGO! TOMMY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We need Ninja MEGAZORD POWER, NOW! There's amazing PYROTECHNICS AS FIVE ANIMAL ZORDS MERGE TOGETHER AND TRANSFORM INTO THE NINJA MEGAZORD.", "INT.  COMMAND CENTER As Alpha watches the battle on the viewing globe, he does little jig. ALPHA 5 GO, Rangers! GO, Rangers! GO, Rangers! GO!", "INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT The Rangers are side by side, each of them handling different controls. BILLY ACTIVATING NINJA MEGAZORD BATTLE MODE!", "EXT.  MAIN STREET There's plenty of GRINDING and SCRAPING as the MEGAZORD RISES UP TO ITS FULL, TOWERING HEIGHT. BILLY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- All systems go! KIMBERLY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This guy is messing with the wrong teenagers! The behemoths CHARGE each other and the mother of all battles begins.", "EXT.  GREENWAY STREET - NIGHT The parents continue to advance through the city like robots.", "EXT.  MAIN STREET - NIGHT The battle continues. Remarkably, these enormous machines pull off DOUBLE PUNCHES, DROP KICKS, ROUNDHOUSE HOOKS, SPINBACK KICKS - YOU NAME IT! KIMBERLY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- ENGAGING KNUCKLE ROCKETS! BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM - The Megazord STRAFES Ivan/Scorpitron with EXPLODING MISSILES. IVAN/COLOSSUS Do n't make me LAUGH! Ivan/Scorpitron SINGES the Megazord with a DEVASTATING LASER BLAST, SENDING IT TUMBLING BACKWARD. RANGERS -LRB- V.O. -RRB- WHOOOAAAHH! The Falcon Zord SWOOPS IN, STRAFING Ivan/Scorpitron with gunfire. Ivan/Scorpitron now turns to Angel Grove Tower and grabs hold of it.", "EXT.   TOWER Mordant grabs on to Goldar. GOLDAR I'm outta here. MORDANT Wait for me! Goldar TAKES FLIGHT with Mordant CLINGING DESPERATELY TO ONE OF HIS LEGS. GOLDAR GET OFF ME! MORDANT BUT I'M YOUR COUSIN! GOLDAR SECOND COUSIN, THREE TIMES REMOVED. NOW GET OFF ME!", "EXT.  MAIN STREET Ivan/Scorpitron RIPS THE TOWER OUT AND USES IT AS A SWORD TO BATTLE THE MEGAZORD. IVAN/SCORPITRON UN GARDE! The giant SWINGS THE TOWER, BATTERING THE MEGAZORD MERCILESSLY. ROCKY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- POWER SWORD, NOW! The POWER SWORD DROPS FROM THE HEAVENS, PIERCES THE GROUND. Megazord grips the handle, raises it to the sky. ADAM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- HIGH POWER ENGAGE! The sword is STRUCK BY THUNDERBOLTS and now the behemoths SLASH and PARRY WITH CATACLYSMIC BURSTS OF SPARKS. Ivan/Scorpitron takes a swing and the TOWER SMASHES INTO MONORAIL, SHATTERING A TWENTY FOOT SECTION OF AN OVERPASS Ivan/Scorpitron continues backing the Megazord toward an enormous power station. IVAN/SCORPITRON Time to recharge your batteries, FLOWER Rangers! He takes a final, DEVASTATING BLOW, SENDS MEGAZORD HURTLING THROUGH THE AIR AND DOWN INTO GIANT GENERATORS. There's an APOCALYPTIC FIREWORKS DISPLAY AS TEN MILLION VOLTS COURSE THROUGH MEGAZORD.", "INT. COCKPIT The kids are SHOWERED WITH SPARKS - ELECTRICAL TENTACLES SPLAY THROUGHOUT THE COCKPIT. RANGERS WHOOAAAAAHHH!", "EXT.  MEGAZORD Rolls clear, SMOKE AND SPARKS SPITTING FROM ITS JOINTS. BILLY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- SYSTEM MALFUNCTION! AISHA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- OUR SEMI - CONDUCTORS ARE DOWN! IVAN PICKS UP THE PROSTRATE MEGAZORD, RAISES IT OVER HIS HEAD AND THROWS IT. IVAN/COLOSSUS NEXT STOP, ANGEL GROVE FIRST NATIONAL! He HURTLES THE MEGAZORD INTO A BUILDING with a sign that `` Angel Grove First National Bank''. The ENTIRE SIDE OF THE BUILDING IS DEMOLISHED. TOMMY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- One more blow like that and we're HISTORY!", "EXT.  THE MONORAIL Speeds around a bend.", "INT.  FRED Looks on in shock at the huge rupture in the tracks ahead. FRED EVERYBODY HANG ON! He YANKS the emergency cord. It does n't work!", "EXT.  THE TRAIN The train heads for the jagged edge of the broken track.", "INT.  FALCON ZORD COCKPIT Tommy throws his collective forward. TOMMY The monorail is in trouble! I'm going in!", "EXT.  THE MONORAIL has almost reached the rupture. Suddenly the Falcon Zord SWOOPS IN AND FILLS THE RIFT. The monorail miraculously SLIDES across the back of the zord and continues down the tracks.", "INT.  MONORAIL Fred, Bulk, Skull and the hundreds of kids CHEER WILDLY. We hear : `` Right on!'' , `` All right Power Rangers!'' , `` Awesome!''", "EXT.  IVAN/COLOSSUS climbs up a ten story building like a mechanical King Kong.", "INT.  COCKPIT The kids watch as Ivan reaches the top of the building, gazes up at the stormy skies. ROCKY What's he doing?! There's more SLURPING and BUBBLING AS HIDEOUS, BAT - LIKE WINGS ERUPT FROM HIS BACK. The wings FAN OUT and Ivan/Colossus DIVES INTO THE AIR AND SOARS UP INTO THE HEAVENS. BILLY Let's go after him!", "INT.  FALCON ZORD COCKPIT TOMMY Ultra Ninja Megazord complete!", "EXT.  MEGAZORD The Falcon Zord SWOOPS down and latches on to the back of the Megazord. Now the Megazord GLOWS WITH A TRANSCENDENTAL LUMINESCENCE and GLORIOUS WINGS SPREAD OUT FROM IT'S BACK.", "INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT Tommy DROPS INTO a seat beside the other Rangers. TOMMY I'm in! BILLY LET'S FLY! Billy throws a switch.", "EXT.  MEGAZORD The Megazord TAKES TO THE AIR with the grace of an Eagle.", "EXT.  CITY STREET Fred, Bulk, Skull and the entourage of kids come rushing toward the construction site. They can see the parents heading toward the drop off. FRED There they are! BULK They're heading for the cliff! SKULL That's got ta be an eighty foot drop! KID #3 Whadda we do?! Fred thinks for a moment, his eyes settling on a large tanker truck. FRED FOLLOW ME!", "INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT Billy fixes on a screen. ADAM We've got him locked! BILLY Speed? AISHA 1600 m.p.h. and increasing! TOMMY Everybody hold on tight. We're gon na send this sucker into OBLIVION!", "EXT.  SKY KAPAOW! SPARKS EXPLODE AND METAL CRUNCHES AS THE TWO GIANTS GO CATAPULTING OFF INTO OUTER SPACE.", "INT.  SNOW GLOBE / ZEDD'S PALACE Zedd and Rita are now half - buried in snow, both of them blue in the face. As usual, Rita is ranting away. RITA You call yourself a hell - hound?! A basset hound is more like it. If you were a real outlaw you would've gotten me out of this blizzard HOURS ago! Zedd shakes his head in misery. ZEDD This is the last time I marry a witch. Zedd and Rita react as they see Ivan/Colossus and Megazord shooting out into the stars. RITA It's Ivan and the Megazord!", "EXT.  OUTER SPACE The two behemoths HURTLE THROUGH SPACE while POUNDING, SLASHING and RIPPING at each other. IVAN/COLOSSUS NOTHING can defeat the Powers of Darkness! Now Ivan/Colossus goes to town on Megazord. WHOMP! THWACK! CRUNCH! He SMASHES the machine mercilessly.", "INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT The cockpit fills with smoke, SPARKS erupt from panels, EMERGENCY LIGHTS FLASH. BILLY WE'RE BREAKING UP!", "EXT.  OUTER SPACE Ivan/Colossus BASHES the Megazord so hard that the machine does MULTIPLE CARTWHEELS through the cosmos. Ivan/Colossus makes a KAMIKAZE - DIVE straight for Megazord IVAN/COLOSSUS SLAM DANCE, ANYONE?! He BASHES the Megazord, SENDS IT SPIRALING.", "INT.  MEGAZORD FLAMES ERUPT in the cockpit - everything SHAKES and RATTLES ADAM He's on us! BILLY Wait a second. What time is it? ROCKY Two thirty three a.m. BILLY Ryan's Comet! KIMBERLY What about it? Biily punches information into a keyboard. BILLY It's passing over earth as we speak! -LRB- reading screen. -RRB- Trajectory coordinates are 009843. ADAM Billy, that's BRILLIANT! KIMBERLY BILLY We get Ivan into the Comets PATH - AISHA - and KABOOOM - he's space dust!", "EXT.  CONSTRUCTION SITE Fred is standing beside the water truck holding a large hose Bulk and Skull are in the truck cabin trying to start the engine. It turns over but it wo n't catch. FRED Come on! Come on! The parents are now five feet from the drop off. Bulk turns the key again and the engine starts up. FRED All right! He LETS IT RIP - A POWERFUL JET OF WATER ARCS THROUGH THE AIR AND SHOWERS DOWN ON THE PARENTS. They're about a foot away from the drop when they come to a standstill, all of them sharing confused looks. There's all sorts of CHEERS as parents and kids are reunited. Fred runs into his father's arms. FRED DAD! Bulk turns to Skull, holds out his arms. BULK SKULL! SKULL BULK! They embrace - Skull practically gets crushed by his burly friend.", "INT.  SNOW GLOBE / ZEDD'S PALACE Zedd and Rita continue watching the battle from the snow globe. RITA I hope those Rangers put that lousy lowlife out of his misery! ZEDD GO POWER RANGERS!", "EXT.  OUTER SPACE Ivan/Colossus SLAMS into Megazord again and the pair go TWISTING THROUGH THE STARS. Ivan/Colossus gets the Megazord into a lethal bear hug. IVAN/COLOSSUS Have you hugged your Zord today?", "INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT KIMBERLY R.G.P. PRESSURE IS HEADING INTO THE RED! TOMMY WE'RE GOING TO IMPLODE! BILLY THREE DEGREES OFF THE COMETS TRAJECTORY! ROCKY GIVE IT EVERYTHING WE'VE GOT! All the Rangers go to work.", "EXT.  OUTER SPACE Ivan/Colossus continues to SQUEEZE Megazord. We hear SCREECHING METAL and BURSTING VALVES.", "INT.  COMMAND CENTER Alpha and Zordon watch as Ivan/Colossus bear hugs Megazord. ALPHA 5 Ay, yi, yi! The Rangers are going to be CRUSHED! ZORDON Do n't lose hope yet, Alpha!", "INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT BILLY 009843. 42. 41! WE'RE IN ALIGNMENT! ROCKY THERE'S THE COMET! We see a BRILLIANT COMET BLAZING straight toward us! BILLY IMPACT IN FIFTEEN SECONDS! TOMMY WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!", "EXT.  OUTER SPACE Ivan/Colossus continues to SQUEEZE Megazord, oblivious to the COMET BOMBING TOWARD HIM. Megazord struggles fiercely to break free.", "INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT ADAM WE CA N'T BREAK FREE! BILLY IMPACT IN EIGHT SECONDS! AISHA Desperate times call for desperate measures. Aisha opens a metal switch cover. KIMBERLY What're you doing?! Inside is a red switch with a sign : `` FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY'' AISHA Taking care of business. She flicks the switch.", "EXT.  OUTER SPACE Ivan/Colossus is about to CRUSH Megazord into oblivion whEn Megazord's KNEE SUDDENLY RISES WITH LIGHTNING SPEED AND KICKS IVAN/COLOSSUS RIGHT IN THE GROIN. Ivan/Colossus releases Megazord and DOUBLES OVER IN PAIN. IVAN/COLOSSUS YEEOOOOOWWW!", "INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT AISHA Bull's eye! BILLY FOUR SECONDS TO IMPACT! TOMMY WE'RE OUTTA HERE!", "EXT.  OUTER SPACE Megazord WINGS OUT OF THE WAY as the COMET BLASTS STRAIGHT TOWARD IVAN/COLOSSUS. In the last second, he see the HURTLING ORB. IVAN/COLOSSUS NOOOOOOOOOOOOUOOOO! Now we witness the EXPLOSION TO END ALL EXPLOSIONS as Ivan/Colossus is TRANSFORMED INTO A BILLION FLAMING PARTS HURTLING THROUGH OUTER SPACE.", "INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT The Rangers all throw their hands up in triumph. RANGERS MORPHENOMENAL!", "INT.  COMMAND CENTER Alpha LEAPS for joy. ALPHA 5 HOORAY, POWER RANGERS!", "INT.  SNOW GLOBE / ZEDD'S PALACE Rita and Zedd both look immensely pleased. ZEDD That was a CHEAP shot! RITA We could n't have done it better ourselves. KAPOW - Zedd and Rita APPEAR BACK IN ZEDD'S PALACE IN ORIGINAL SIZE, both of them still covered in snow.", "INT.  COMMAND CENTER - DAY The Rangers are gathered around Zordon, holding their helmets in their hands. ZORDON Rangers, by going after the Great Power, all of you knowingly put your lives at extreme risk. and in so doing you not only saved my life, you saved all of Angel Grove and the world from a reign of unthinkable terror. The Rangers literally beam. Alpha holds up a camera. ALPHA 5 Everybody say cheese. The kids share amused looks and all together they LEAP IN THE AIR, PUMPING THEIR FISTS UP VICTORIOUSLY. RANGERS POWER RANGERS! WE FREEZE FRAME. BEGIN CLOSING CREDITS.", "INT.  ZEDD'S PALACE - DAY - OVER CLOSING CREDITS Rita and Zedd chase Mordant and Goldar around the palac BLASTING them with their staffs. GOLDAR What'd we do?! ZEDD It's not what you DID, it's what you DID N'T do! MORDANT We tried to rescue you every chance we had! RITA LIARS! She WHACKS Goldar. GOLDAR Ouch! RITA Do you know what it's like to be stuck in a BLIZZARD FOR TWO DAYS?! MORDANT Cold? ZEDD Are you trying to be funny?! Zedd BLASTS Mordant, SINGING his hairy behind. MORDANT Hey, watch the hair! FADE OUT."], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers participate with Bulk and Skull in a charity skydive for the Angel Grove observatory, in anticipation of Ryan's Comet which is scheduled to pass by in two days. Bulk and Skull miss the target landing zone and accidentally land in a construction site where a giant egg has been unearthed. Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, Goldar, and Mordant arrive at the construction site and crack open the egg, releasing Ivan Ooze, a morphological being who ruled Earth with an iron fist 6,000 years ago before he was overthrown by Zordon and a group of young warriors. The Rangers find and confront him, but Ivan unleashes some ooze monsters on them. While the Rangers battle and successfully defeat them, the fight distracts them long enough to allow Ivan to escape and he lays siege to the Rangers' Command Center and incapacitates Zordon, robbing the Rangers of their powers. As the Rangers return to the Command Center, they find it destroyed and Zordon, being outside his time portal, aging and dying. Zordon's assistant Alpha 5 sends the Rangers to the distant planet Phaedos to obtain the Great Power and save Zordon. On the Moon, Ivan usurps Rita and Zedd, trapping them in a snow globe, and forces Goldar and Mordant to be his servants, then sends his Tengu warriors to Phaedos and begins building an army. He uses children to bring his ooze to their parents, and it hypnotizes them into becoming his workforce to dig up his Ecto-Morphicon Titans, twin war machines built during his reign. When Fred Kelman, a friend of the Rangers', discovers his father missing, he finds him working at the construction site and discovers Ivan's plans. On Phaedos, the Rangers are almost killed by the Tengu, but are rescued by Dulcea, Phaedos' Master Warrior. She initially tells them to leave for their own safety, but after hearing of Zordon's plight, she agrees to help them and takes them to an ancient ruined temple where the Rangers will have to overcome obstacles to acquire the power of the Ninjetti. Dulcea awakens each Rangers' animal spirit: Aisha Campbell is the bear, Rocky DeSantos is the ape, Billy Cranston is the wolf, Kimberly Ann Hart is the crane, Adam Park is the frog and Tommy Oliver is the falcon. The Rangers make their way to the Monolith housing the Great Power, defeating its Stone Gargoyle guardians, and retrieve the Great Power. On Earth, Ivan's Ecto-Morphicons are completely unearthed, and he unleashes them on Angel Grove, ordering the parents to commit suicide at the construction site. Fred, Bulk, Skull and the other kids head to the construction site to save their parents. The Rangers return with their new animal-themed Ninja Zords and, after a difficult struggle, destroy one of Ivan's Ecto-Morphicons, Scorpitron. Ivan takes control of Hornitor and becomes a giant and battles the Rangers himself as the Rangers combined their Zords to form the Ninja Megazord and later the Ninja Falcon Megazord. The Rangers lead Ivan into space right into the path of Ryan's Comet, which destroys him. His destruction breaks the hypnosis and the parents are reunited with their children. The Rangers then return to the Command Center, but are distraught to find Zordan is dead. Then, they use the Great Power to restore the Command Center and resurrect Zordon, returning him to his time portal. later on everything returns back to normal in Angel Grove as a celebration was held with fireworks shooting up to the sky and a message saying \"Thank You Power Rangers\". In a mid-credits scene, Goldar briefly lounges in Zedd's throne, being served by Mordant, only to panic when Zedd and Rita appear, having been released after Ivan was destroyed, and not very happy over Goldar and Mordant siding with Ivan earlier.", "name": "Mighty_Morphin_Power_Rangers:_The_Movie"}
{"scenes": ["MOON Helium3 is a gas ejected from the surface of the sun and blown through space by solar winds. It plays an essential role in Cold Fusion, often toted as the solution to humanity's future energy needs. There is one major problem. Helium3 is extremely scarce on Earth. The gas does, however, exist in abundance on the Earth's only natural satellite : The Moon. Should we turn to Cold Fusion in the future, it is conceivable that man will mine the Moon for Helium3 and bring the precious gas back to Earth. We hear something - a machine - CHURNING and POUNDING. Constant. Rhythmic. Though the sound is slightly familiar, we're not sure what it is yet. Hold for a few seconds and then", "INT. REC ROOM -- MORNING The sound belongs to a regular old TREADMILL like you see in most gyms across the world. Running on it : SAM BELL, mid thirties, thick beard, handsome, striking blue eyes. Sam's face is flushed and glistening with sweat. He lunges for a towel draped over the treadmill's bar, dabs his face as he runs. We see OUTSIDE THE WINDOW : A gray, powdery landscape stretching beneath a BLACK SKY.", "EXT. MOON -- MORNING Aerial view of the Earth's only natural satellite, the camera roaming about a hundred feet off the surface. Desolation. Serious, uncompromising, desolation. This place makes Antarctica look like Tokyo. And utter silence. Eventually the camera arrives at a moon base, DIVING DOWN towards it - TITLE CARD : `` MINING BASE SELENE. CREW : 1.''", "INT. BATHROOM\\SHOWER -- MORNING Sam takes a shower, treading in a tight circle beneath the nozzle, eyes closed, hot water blasting his face.", "INT. COMMS ROOM His hair still wet from the shower, Sam sits before a COMMS UNIT, dressed in a `` Lunar Industries'' boiler suit, a zip up the front, colorful patches sewn into the arms. He begins to record a message. SAM Tess. Hi. It's me. How are you, sweetheart? It's the morning here. In a few minutes Gerty and I will sit down for breakfast, go over the day's itinerary. As Sam continues his message, we are given a TOUR of the mining base. Beginning with :", "INT. MONITORING STATION This is where you want to be if the shit hits the fan. The base's equivalent of HQ. A wall of computers and flickering digital displays. SAM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Today begins my 154th week on Selene. I officially have two weeks to go before I climb into that Return Vehicle.", "INT. RETURN VEHICLE A small space craft attached to the base. It is essentially a tiny room with a coffin like, sealed bed in the middle of it : a cryogenic POD with an array of complicated controls surrounding it. SAM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And blast home.", "INT. REC ROOM Sam spends most of his time here. It is kitchen and play room combined. We PICK OUT a television set, an armchair, a Ping - Pong table, the treadmill. SAM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I never dreamed I'd make it this far. DETAIL : A WOODEN MODEL On a table, we also PICK OUT a LARGE MODEL carved out of BOLSER WOOD. It's a TOWN. Intricately done down to the tiniest details. SAM -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- There were times, as you know. We go even CLOSER to the model, seeing that there are actual people, actual characters in the little town ; actual buildings : a CHURCH, a TOWN HALL, etc.. Clearly someone has put a ton of work into this thing. SAM -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- when I thought I was going to crack up.", "INT. GREENHOUSE And the tour of the base continues. Onto a new room. A dark storage area Sam has repurposed to grow a handful of plants. They sit surrounded by darkness, glowing under pools of artificial light. SAM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But I think I've come out the other side now.", "INT. INFIRMARY A strange angular room, obviously purposeful, but its design more geared to a computer than a human being. A single bed dominates. SAM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- In many ways, this place is all about contradictions.", "EXT. LUNAR LANDSCAPE The empty terrain surrounding the mining base, as viewed from the Monitoring Station window. Across the landscape a mountain rises from the morning shadows. SAM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's bleak, it's beautiful. CLOSE UP - A HAND TOOL Some kind of rake or shovel half buried in the powdery soil, like a child's toy abandoned in a sand box. SAM -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- It's barren, yet filled with riches.", "EXT. EARTH -- AS SEEN FROM THE MOON From up here it is easy to see why the Earth is sometimes referred to as `` the blue marble.'' A swirl of color. SAM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The earth is thousands and thousands of miles away, but sometimes looks so close I feel like I could reach out and snatch it with my hand.", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS Sam's bed - A New York Jets poster on the wall - a few knickknacks bedside, rock samples in jars, a lucky tambourine Sam got in Mexico some years ago - a red stress ball - a photograph by the bed in a frame - SAM -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'm incredibly lonely, yet I'm never alone. We MOVE CLOSER to the PHOTO by the bed. PHOTOGRAPH Of a slightly younger and clean - shaven Sam with his arms wrapped around his wife of four years, TESS BELL. SAM -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- Because I have you. Tess is a far cry from the stereotypical Astronaut's Wife of the 1960's / 70's with the plastic smile and beehive hairdo. Tess is modern, sophisticated, and jaw - droppingly beautiful. She looks like she'd be a hard woman to leave behind. Note : In the photograph Tess is visibly PREGNANT. SAM -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- And I have Eve. I do n't take you guys for granted. You know that now.", "INT. COMMS ROOM Back with Sam at the Comms Unit as he wraps up the message. SAM Please kiss Eve for me. And tell her daddy will only be away a little longer - seventeen days longer, approximately. I love you both dearly. Bye. And he sends the message.", "INT. CORRIDOR The main corridor connecting the different rooms. We've seen everything there is to see now. The base is small. Confined. Claustrophobic. It is easy to imagine how someone could crack up here. Sam leaves the Comms Room and heads down the corridor.", "INT. REC ROOM A state of the art robot, a GERTY 3000 - known simply as `` GERTY'' - is preparing Sam's breakfast. Gerty is in three sections and moves along a horizontal rail that runs throughout the base. He has a readout screen that perpetually spews data. His hands resemble pincers, but are perfectly nimble. For the purposes of helping run the base and looking after Sam, Gerty is as good as human, if not better. Sam enters. SAM Morning, Gerty. GERTY Morning, Sam. How are you today? SAM Fine. Fine. You? GERTY I'm very well. How's your headache? SAM Much better, thanks, pal. Sam treats Gerty more like a person than a robot. Whether this is down to Gerty's intelligence or Sam's desperation for company is n't clear just yet. Note : Gerty talks like a well - educated older man. His language does n't have a great deal of inflection -LRB- i.e. Monotone -RRB- but he is friendly enough. Sam switches a dial on a radio but gets nothing but static - he sticks in a mini cd and skips the first few tracks. We hear brief clips of talk radio and shuttle through it before he allows it to play on, on some random American station - an old weather report : VOICE ON RADIO it's a hot one on the East Coast, temperatures soaring to a high of ninety three degrees in New York City - They zip around the tiny kitchen, together preparing Sam's breakfast, working as a team.", "EXT. MOON We take in the whole Moon at once. Gray, colorless, eerie. From this distance the surface resembling Plaster of Paris.", "INT. MONITORING STATION -- DAY Sam sits before Selene's main computer, known as THE OLD MAN. Data flickering off Sam's face. He is making a log entry. A CLOCK is running on the monitor. SAM 8:32 Pacific Time. Lunar Day 1. All Harvesters running smoothly this morning. Readouts are as follows : Matthew, 14.6 miles ; Mark 16.8 miles. Sam continues with his entry while we", "INT. STORAGE CUBBY Gerty is selecting food for the up - coming week, stacking ready - meals on a small fork - lift buggy.", "INT. MONITORING STATION A RED LIGHT Pulsing rapidly. The `` ping - ping - ping'' of an alarm. BOARD Sam stands before the Big Board. The names of the four Harvesters -LRB- Matthew, Mark, Luke, John -RRB- in a collum. The red light is flashing next to Matthew. Sam presses an INTERCOM BUTTON, dips down, speaks into it. SAM Gerty, we've got a live one on Mark. I'm going out now to rope her in. GERTY'S VOICE Okay, Sam. Sam heads off.", "INT. CHANGING AREA A SPACE SUIT Resembling an unmanned puppet. Sam begins to insinuate his body into the suit.", "INT. DOCK Three Rovers -LRB- moon buggies -RRB- parked in their separate bays. The Rovers are caked in lunar soil, as though sand blasted. In his space suit Sam bends into one of the Rovers, starts the engine.", "INT./EXT. ROVER/MOON SURFACE Sam drives along, dwarfed by an enormous lunar bolder and the rising slopes of the valley beyond. A toy car in this vast and alien terrain.", "EXT. HARVESTER/MOON SURFACE The second in a fleet of four Harvesters -LRB- this one known as Mark -RRB- collecting lunar soil. The Harvester resembles a tank and kicks up clouds of dust. Booming, hulking, efficient. Sam catches up in his Rover and accelerates into the back of the Harvester up a couple of ramps. An intricate and dangerous maneuver he executes deftly.", "INT. HARVESTER/BELLY -- CONTINUOUS Sam is in an area of the Harvester - a kind of hatch - not dissimilar to a garage and known as THE BELLY. Once safely inside Sam closes the door. He is able to breathe in the Belly without his helmet, which he duly removes. Sam steps up to a wall of computers. A light is flashing to indicate one of the pods is filled with Helium3. Sam does his thing, eventually removing a keg - size pod of Helium3. He hauls it over to the Rover and sticks it in a special slot in the equivalent of the Rover's trunk. A new pod - an empty - replaces the pod Sam just removed. Sam puts his helmet back on, returns to the Rover, reverses out of the Harvester carefully.", "INT./EXT. ROVER/MOON SURFACE Sam snakes through the soil on his way back to base, the tracks of the Rover as sharp as if they had been made through talcum powder. The Harvester churns into the distance.", "INT. CORRIDOR -- LATER Sam loads the filled pod into a CARGO CONTAINER. The Cargo Container is about the size of a fridge and can take a maximum of five pods. There are four pods already inside, Sam's new pod taking up the fifth and final slot.", "INT. COMMS ROOM Sam is seated at the Comms Unit recording a message for his superiors back on Earth. SAM Sam Bell reporting to Central. 10:14 Pacific Time. Lunar Day 1. -LRB- less formal. -RRB- Overmeyers, Thompson? It's Sam. How goes it? I've got a full container of Helium3 ready to roll. The purity is pretty good, so assuming your last market prices are still relevant I think you are looking at getting about 3 million dollars per kilo with this load. By the time this message reaches you it should be in transit. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- Otherwise, everything running smoothly. There was a discrepancy between a couple of the N3000 modulators a couple of days ago, but Gerty and I caught it in time, no big deal. Uh. how are things down there? Sam desperately wants to talk but has nothing very important to say. Then he remembers something. SAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh, and I just wanted to thank you for sending out the football feed. Almost felt live! -LRB- getting pissed off. -RRB- Seriously, I do n't mean to be an asshole, but surely replacing one satellite cant be that fucking hard! I have n't been able to have a conversation with my wife. My kid can talk now! Fuck! Sam concentrates, getting a grip on his temper. Two weeks. Two weeks. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Hey. Three years is a long haul. If you guys want to run some psych evals on me when I get back, I'm happy to do it. It ai n't Disney World up here. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- That's it. Over and out. Sam reaches forward, sends the message.", "INT. CORRIDOR -- DAY Sam is loading the Cargo Container into the base's MAGLEV LAUNCHER. He works with a sense of routine, far away, preoccupied. All of a sudden Sam STOPS. He has the feeling someone is standing behind him. He slowly turns. A GIRL is standing in the doorway watching him. She is perhaps fifteen or sixteen years old. A yellow dress. Long, wheat - colored hair. Freckles. At once beautiful and haunting. Sam gets the FRIGHT of his life. He FLIES against the wall. WIDEN to reveal Sam and the Girl facing off. Sam POP - EYED and SHAKING. The Girl IMMOBILE, arms at her sides, head tilted ever so slightly to one side. The Cargo Container is sent hurtling through space. A TERRIFIC BLAST. It distracts Sam's attention, breaks his stare. And just like that, the Girl is gone. Sam is just staring at an empty doorway. Nothing there. Sam is baffled. Had to be his imagination. Had to be. After a few seconds he shakes his head dismissively and continues working.", "INT. REC ROOM -- DAY Gerty is cutting Sam's hair. Sam sitting back in a chair, barber shop style, while the robot snip - snip - snips away with a pair of scissors. Sam is gently squeezing a STRESS BALL in his right hand. GERTY Sam, is everything okay? SAM Everything's fine, Gerty. For a moment there is no sound but the snipping scissors, reminiscent of keys snapping on a typewriter. Then : SAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Why do you ask? GERTY You do n't seem like yourself today. Sam frowns, contemplative. For a moment we think he is going to tell Gerty about the Girl he saw earlier - or imagined he saw. But he goes with something different. SAM It's Tess. GERTY Has something happened? SAM No, not exactly. Gerty stops cutting, lowers the scissors. GERTY Sam, what is it? SAM Something does n't feel right, that's all. A beat. Sam's fingers twitching around the red stress ball, squeezing harder. GERTY Sam, it might help to talk about it. Sam decides to come clean. SAM Tess is n't responding to things. GERTY Tess is n't responding to things? SAM Right. GERTY What kind of things? SAM -LRB- a beat. -RRB- A couple of weeks ago I asked her if she wanted to go on vacation when I get back, and that I was thinking of either Mexico or Hawaii. Tess never said anything about it. Three messages she's sent me since. and she's never once mentioned the vacation. GERTY Im sure she ca n't wait, Sam. SAM That's not the point. This is someone who lives for vacations and travelling. I thought she'd jump at the chance for us to go away - with Eve, of course - we'd take Eve. GERTY Perhaps Tess did n't receive the message? SAM -LRB- as if anticipating Gerty's comment. -RRB- But this is n't the only time it's happened, Gerty. When I asked her how her dad was doing on his new heart medicine she did n't respond to that - I asked her when Eve was going to start nursery - nothing. Had her brother got the position at the University? Nothing. Nothing. Sam is really having a go at the stress ball now. GERTY I think her brother did get the position at the University. His name is Christopher, correct? SAM He did? GERTY Yes, I seem to recall he got the position. Professor of Biochemistry, I think. At Syracuse University in New York? Sam is slightly alarmed that Gerty knows this and he does n't. SAM How do you know that? GERTY You told me. Some time ago now. Towards the beginning of your time on Selene. When we were starting to get to know each other. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- You were very happy for your brother - in - law. You danced around the Rec Room, if I remember correctly. Sam looks perturbed. For a few seconds he'd eased up on the stress ball. He starts up on it again now. SAM Gerty, have you heard anything new about anyone fixing lunar sat? GERTY No Sam. From what I understand it's fairly low on the companies priority list with the Jupiter mission active. I would imagine it would be very expensive to fix. A pause. Sam still looks troubled. GERTY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Sam, are you ok? SAM They need to sort that out. Seriously. I've only got two weeks left. It's not fair on whoever's up here next. Gerty, you tell them to sort it out. It's not healthy. GERTY I will Sam. Do you want me to finish cutting your hair later? SAM Nah. Come on. Let's finish this. Gerty resumes cutting Sam's hair, and stops again, sensing Sam is going to say something more. The scissors freeze. SAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I've got another one of those headaches. Can you get me something for it? GERTY Of course. Now? SAM No not now, afterwards. The scissors start up again. SAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Thanks, pal.", "INT. REC ROOM -- LATER Sam with a HAIRCUT and a neatly TRIMMED BEARD is sitting before the Bolser Wood model of the little town. He is arched over working away with an EXACTO BLADE - SQUINTING - whittling a figure out of wood. This is difficult and complicated work, and over three years Sam has become highly skilled at it. Sam can carve an actual person out of wood - actual cheekbones, actual throats, actual hands - it's fascinating to watch. From another room Sam hears the `` ping - ping - ping'' of an alarm.", "INT. COMMS ROOM -- CONTINUOUS CLOSE UP - COMMS UNIT Flashing on the comms unit monitor : `` NEW TRANSMISSION.'' There is a small icon of a telephone.", "INT. REC ROOM -- CONTINUOUS ON SAM He carefully puts down the wooden figure and the exacto blade - stands and leaves the Rec Room.", "INT. COMMS ROOM Sam sits at the comms unit watching a message from his superiors, OVERMEYERS and THOMPSON, a purposeful looking woman in charge and her earnest second. The two talk RAPIDLY and trade off like a tag team. At times their tone can be almost bizarrely whimsical. Overmeyers and Thompson seem to have known Sam for a while, but even so, there is a practised casualness to the repartee. It's a professional friendliness on Overmeyers part, no more and for Thompson it's merely an eagerness to be involved. OVERMEYERS Delighted to hear about the latest shipment, Sam. THOMPSON According to Albatross 90 it should be landing off the California Coast within the next three days. OVERMEYERS Now in response to your question about the communications equipment, the news is not good. THOMPSON Sam, those solar storms did a lot more damage than initially thought - OVERMEYERS Fixing the lunar sat is going to take some time. It's a significant operation. THOMPSON And what with the Jupiter Program hemorrhaging money - Sam curses to himself. OVERMEYERS Lunar does n't have the budget it once did, Sam, you know that. THOMPSON Even the coffee machine down in the Hub has been broken since I do n't know when - OVERMEYERS We have to go to Genesis 3 just to get a decent cup of coffee, Sam. Genesis 3. That's three buildings over. THOMPSON We're hoping to get the live feed up and running by the Fall. The good news is you'll be home by then, Sam. OVERMEYERS You only have two weeks to go! Congrat - Sam shuts off the message before Overmeyers can pipe out his last line. Sam sits before the dead screen - eyes closed - taking a succession of DEEP BREATHS.", "INT. REC ROOM -- DAY Sam playing Ping - Pong. He has folded up the second half of the table and is using it as a wall. The sound is rapid and rhythmic : ca - cluck ca - cluck ca - cluck. Sam taking his FRUSTRATION out on the little white ball.", "INT. BATHROOM -- DAY Sam stands before the toilet urinating. Rather ironically he is whistling I'm Walking on Sunshine - focussed ahead at his reflection in the mirror - angling his face, admiring his haircut, his beard. Then he looks down to flush the toilet and his WHISTLING abruptly STOPS.", "INT. BATHROOM\\TOILET It looks like someone just poured a glass of CRANBERRY JUICE into the toilet bowl. Literally. The red urine clouding the water like a squirt of octopus ink. Yeah, Sam just pissed blood. There is a `` PING!'' and Gerty's voice crackles from the intercom. GERTY'S VOICE Sam, a transmission has arrived from your wife. Sam reaches over and presses the INTERCOM BUTTON. SAM Be right there. And he flushes the toilet.", "INT. COMMS ROOM -- DAY Sam sitting before the monitor. He hits the `` PLAY'' button, begins watching the message. ON THE MONITOR : Tess is sitting in a living room talking to Sam. Tess has a sweet voice, she sounds grounded, like she's got a head on her shoulders. TESS Hi Sam. It's me. How are you? -LRB- a beat. -RRB- I got your last message, it was really great to hear your voice. I know you've been really lonely up there, but in a lot of ways it's been good for you, I think. I hope you do n't mind me saying that. I'm proud of you. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- Hey, someone's got something to say. A WOMAN, possibly a nanny or some form of hired help, swings a LITTLE GIRL into Tess's arms. This is EVE, Sam and Tess's daughter. TESS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Eve, it's daddy. What did you want to say to him? Eve just stares. Tess whispers to her -LRB- `` Remember what we practiced'', etc. -RRB- Finally Eve attempts : EVE Asstraut. TESS Who's an astronaut? -LRB- encouraging. -RRB- Go on! EVE Daddy asstraut! Tess laughs. So does Sam. TESS That's right, daddy's an astronaut. Clever girl! Eve fidgets, rubs her nose, distracted. TESS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- She's shy. Uh, Cathy, could you? The Maid steps in, hoists Eve away. Tess waits until they're out of earshot. TESS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It's her birthday next month. I thought we'd get her a play house for the garden. We could even pick it out together. A pause. Tess just stares into the camera. She is hundreds and thousands of miles away, but for a second it feels like she's right there in the Comms Room with Sam. It's intimate. She finally shakes her head, self - conscious, shy. TESS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- God, I hate these things. Sam, I love you. I'm thinking of you always. I ca n't wait to see you, sweetheart. Okay. Bye. And the message ends. ON SAM : smiling, on the brink of tears.", "EXT. THE EARTH -- NIGHT/LATER The Earth at night, illuminated by a glittering spider's web of artificial lighting. From the Moon this is one of the most beautiful sights you'll ever see.", "INT. REC ROOM -- SAME Sam is in improved spirits. He pours himself a glass of juice as Gerty prepares dinner. SAM What's on the menu tonight, Gerty? GERTY Baby back ribs with french fries and spinach. SAM Ribs! Good choice, pal. Fine choice. It might be baby back ribs with french fries and spinach, but it's made from a packet by adding hot water. Nasty. Sam sits down with the packet. Digs in with a fork. SAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh yeah! Compliments to the chef, Gerty, this is delicious! Sam eating ravenously.", "INT. GREENHOUSE -- NIGHT Sam is in the Greenhouse pruning plants with a pair of secateurs. He treads up the aisles slowly, taking time with each of the plants. CLASSICAL MUSIC plays over the sound system, Brahms, Beethoven, Bartok, one of the B's. Sam HUMS along to the music. A man at peace.", "INT. REC ROOM -- NIGHT/LATER Sam is working on his wooden model of the town. Across the room the Ed Sullivan Show is on TV. Ed's guest is a very young Goldie Hawn. Note : Whenever any TV is watched in the film, it is always a show from 1970's America. -LRB- Mash, Six Million Dollar Man, Laugh - In, etc. -RRB- No explanation is given for this. Sam is half - watching the TV, but his focus is chiefly on the SMALL HOUSE he is carving. And carving beautifully. After a few seconds he stands and snaps off the TV with a remote. He crosses to the kitchen section of the Rec Room to make some tea. The water has just boiled. As Sam is about to pour the boiling water, tea kettle in hand, he glances across the Rec Room and sees : The Girl. She's taken Sam's chair before the model. She is motionless, staring down at the model like she recognizes one of the little figures walking the tiny streets. Sam calmly puts the tea kettle down and begins to move towards the Girl, slowly, cautiously, like he wants to sneak up on her. Sam walks right up to the Girl and reaches out his hand. SAM And then we CUT to Sam standing in the kitchen. Over by the model there is no sign of the Girl. The chair is empty. She's gone. Her sitting there, Sam's walk across the room - apparently he imagined it all. Sam looks down. The tea kettle is dangling at an angle and BOILING WATER is DRIBBLING onto his left hand. Simultaneously : Sam SNAPS his hand AWAY, Sam SCREAMS. The tea kettle CLATTERS to the floor. Sam HURRIES to the sink and jerks his hand under a stream of cold water. Cursing under his breath the whole time : `` Shit, piss, fuck.''", "INT. INFIRMARY -- LATER Sam sits in a chair as Gerty tends to his scolded left hand. It's a nasty burn. SAM I'm going to feel that for a while, are n't I, Gerty? -LRB- then. -RRB- Damn it. Gerty applies a translucent balm to the burn. GERTY Sam, can I ask how it happened? SAM I told you, I saw something on the TV and spilled boiling water on my hand. GERTY You saw something on the TV? SAM -LRB- a touch petulant. -RRB- Yeah, something on the TV distracted me, Gerty, what's wrong with that? A pause. Gerty is wrapping Sam's hand with a bandage. GERTY Sam, you said it was the TV that distracted you, but when I came in the TV was n't on. Gerty has caught him out. Sam knows it. GERTY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Perhaps you were imagining things? Gerty has hit the nail on the head, in a way that makes Sam feel a little uneasy. Is there something Gerty knows that Sam does n't?", "INT. THE SLEEPING QUARTERS -- NIGHT Sam asleep in bed. SAM'S DREAM Sam making love to Tess. We remain very close to their bodies in bed. The background a blur. No sound. It's all flesh and white sheets. Sensual, delicate, intense. We feel almost intrusive watching.", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS -- MORNING Sam wakes up and lunges across the bed to shut off his alarm clock. We notice a WHITE BANDAGE on the hand that he scolded. Afterwards : Sam lies back, watching the ceiling, groggy, reflective, still surfacing from his dream. And then OVER THIS : The sound from the opening of the film, THE TREADMILL, and we", "INT. REC ROOM -- MORNING Sam on his morning run.", "INT. REC ROOM -- MORNING/LATER Gerty is making breakfast. Sam enters, fresh from the shower. SAM Morning, Gerty. GERTY Morning, Sam. How are you today? SAM Fine. Fine. GERTY How's the hand? SAM It's a little sore. Gerty pops the radio on. Just another morning on Selene.", "INT. MONITORING STATION -- MORNING/LATER Sam sitting before The Old Man doing his daily log entry. A CLOCK is running on the monitor. SAM 8:19 Pacific Time. Lunar Day 2. Readouts are as follows : Matthew, 9.8 Miles. Suddenly the monitor BLIPS - a BLAST of STATIC - and Sam SEES himself talking on the monitor. It appears to be a previous log entry. SAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Luke. 7.3 miles. wow, better look into Luke. But bizarrely, the Sam talking on the monitor has long hair pulled back into a ponytail - and no beard - And then another BLIP - another BLAST of STATIC - and the screen turns completely BLACK. A single word begins to flash in the center of the screen : `` ERROR.'' The word flashes three times - before the screen returns to normal, the CLOCK running again. It all happened so quickly Sam wonders if he did n't just imagine it. After an awkward pause he simply continues the original log entry. SAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Mark, 11 miles on the button. CLOSE UP - RED LIGHT Pulsing. Going `` ping - ping - ping.''", "INT. MONITORING STATION -- LATER/MORNING Sam stands across the room with a mug of coffee, peers up at the Big Board, sees that the alarm belongs to Matthew. He crosses to the INTERCOM, speaks into it. SAM Gerty, looks like we've got a live one out on Matthew. I wondered what was taking him so long, the old fart. I'm heading out in a few minutes, just going to finish my coffee. GERTY'S VOICE Okay, Sam.", "INT./EXT. ROVER/MOON SURFACE -- MORNING Sam at the wheel in his space suit, speeding towards the first of the Harvesters, known as MATTHEW. HARVESTER/MATTHEW As Sam gets closer to the Harvester, he suddenly sees something : The Girl. She is standing maybe a hundred yards away in her yellow dress, resembling a FLAME or a FLOWER in the barren and colorless landscape. She appears to be staring directly at Sam's rover. SAM His face unfolding with panic, alarm, curiosity. An intense, yearning, curiosity. He drives closer. But like in a dream, Sam ca n't seem to make up any distance between the Rover and the Girl. He CRUSHES the accelerator peddle. For a moment Sam drives right alongside the Harvester, clouds of lunar dust being kicked up, cascading against the side window. But Sam is looking away from the Harvester, focussed on the Girl. ON SAM : He does n't notice Matthew -LRB- The Harvester -RRB- suddenly veer RIGHT, slamming into the side of the Rover and causing Sam to lose control. The steering wheel swings left and right as Sam desperately tries to STRAIGHTEN the path of the vehicle, but a split second later the Rover is FLIPPED like a matchbox, and SPUN into the path of the Harvester - a HIDEOUS SCREECH of MANGLED METAL - the Rover gobbled up by the front of the Harvester, DEVOURED. The Rover is JAMMED under the Harvester's monstrous AXLE, resembling a crushed beer can in a fist - and with a BIG, BOOMING GROAN the Harvester slides to a STANDSTILL. WIDE SHOT : Silence. The Harvester stationary. The Rover caught beneath it. No sign of the Girl. BLACK. Silence. Hold it for five seconds and then A BLUR Eyelids fluttering, bright light, at first broken up, filtered, as if viewed through a Kaleidoscope. Slowly shapes and impressions begin to form and we know where we are. It's the Infirmary.", "INT. INFIRMARY -- DAY A CLEAN SHAVEN and drugged - up Sam is sitting up in bed, propped with a pillow. Sam does n't have a scratch on his face, but has clearly been through a terrifying ordeal. Gerty is bedside. SAM Where am I? GERTY Sam, you're in the Infirmary. You had an accident. Sam looks bewildered - he desperately racks his brain, trying to locate the memory. GERTY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Do you remember what happened? SAM No. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- I do n't remember a thing. Sam just stares back at Gerty, not so much as a flicker of recognition. GERTY Do you remember me? SAM Yes, of course I remember you, Gerty. GERTY That's good. That's very good. It's nice to see you awake again. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- I'd like to keep you under observation here in the Infirmary for a few days and run some tests. A pause. Sam taking it all in. Eventually : SAM How long have I been out? GERTY Not long. Sam, go back to sleep. You're still very tired. We can talk later. Sam closes his eyes, sinking deeper into his pillow.", "INT. INFIRMARY -- LATER Sam asleep in bed. Gerty is scanning his head with a small instrument resembling a camcorder. There are READOUTS on a monitor showing blood flow, oxygen levels and glucose metabolism in the tissues of Sam's brain.", "EXT. MOON --   DAY LUKE, one of the Harvesters, crossing the lunar landscape at HALF SPEED.", "INT. INFIRMARY Sam wakes up from an extended nap. He thrusts his fists into his eyes like a child, yawns ferociously. SAM Gerty? No sign of the robot. Sam is feeling well enough to walk. He swings his legs out of bed, begins to plod around the room. He is tentative at first, slow, as if walking is something he is having to learn from scratch. Eventually when he is moving fluidly he goes to the door and pokes his head out into the corridor.", "INT. CORRIDOR -- CONTINUOUS Sam peers around. From another room he can hear the faint drone of VOICES. One of these voices belongs to Gerty. The other voices are deeper, faster, human. SAM Gerty? The voices continue. Intrigued, Sam PRESSES ON down the corridor. ON SAM As he walks up the corridor in the direction of the Comms Room. Sam is close enough now that he can actually hear the conversation. Sam arrives at the door of the Comms Room and peers in. GERTY -LRB- 0. S. -RRB- These were extraordinary circumstances, as you know -", "INT. COMMS ROOM -- CONTINUOUS Gerty is installed at the Comms Unit. Thompson and Overmeyers are on the screen. The moment Gerty sees Sam he shuts off the monitor and the screen fizzes to black, Thompson and Overmeyers vanishing. Strange : Gerty appeared to have a live feed. GERTY Sam, you're out of bed. SAM I wanted to stretch my legs. -LRB- then. -RRB- What was that? GERTY Not talking. No. We've been having some problems with the lunar sat and our live feed seems to be down. I was recording a video message for Central updating them on your progress. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- Sam, you need to stay in bed. You're not ready to walk around yet. Sam nods vaguely, turns around and heads back to the Infirmary slowly.", "INT. INFIRMARY -- LATER Sam watching TV - The Muppet Show, the `` Pigs in Space'' sketch - and eating dinner. He's not laughing.", "INT. INFIRMARY -- LATER Sam hunched over the infirmary's stainless steel wash basin giving himself a shave. He hits the razor on the side of the basin - tap tap tap - like a conductor with a baton.", "INT. INFIRMARY -- LATER Sam is seated at a table. Frankly he looks better now than he did before the accident. Perhaps it's the rosy hue of his freshly shaven face. He certainly looks younger. A man revitalized, a man mended. Gerty is giving Sam something very similar to an IQ Test. Sam has just arranged a series of blocks into an L - shaped tower. GERTY Excellent, Sam. SAM How much longer do I have to be in here, Gerty? GERTY Sam, you suffered minor brain damage in the crash. This has resulted in memory loss and slight logic impairment. SAM When can I get back to work? GERTY Central has asked me to slow down the Harvesters to ensure you have time to recuperate and get your strength back - SAM -LRB- dryly, exasperated. -RRB- Terrific. GERTY The good news is you can return to the sleeping quarters tomorrow. But it will still be a few more days before you can resume anything like a normal work schedule. Sam's face taught with irritation. He is n't happy. Gerty gives him the next puzzle to solve. WE MOVE IN ON SAM'S LEFT HAND as he takes the puzzle, the same hand he scolded in an earlier scene. The BANDAGE is GONE and the BURN appears to have completely HEALED.", "INT. CORRIDOR -- DAY Sam walking down the corridor in the direction of the Sleeping Quarters. He stops at a RED LIGHT on the corridor wall, beneath it the word, `` EXIT DOORS.'' He's locked inside the base. Sam pulls a face, disgruntled, continues down the corridor.", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS -- CONTINUOUS Sam takes in the New York Jets poster on the wall and walks over to the bed - studies his lucky tambourine and the glass jar of lunar rock samples - like he's trying to reacquaint himself with his own belongings. His eyes arrive on the red stress ball. Sam scoops up the ball and PITCHES it at the wall like he expects the thing to bounce back to him. The stress ball does n't bounce back, simply hits the wall with a dull THUD and DROPS to the FLOOR.", "EXT. THE MOON -- DAY A desolation special. The blacker than black sky above. None of the ingredients of life. On Earth we have rainforests, and flowers, and birds. We have color. Up here we realize how lucky we are. The base is lit by large halogen comfort lights, alone in the lunar desert. This is a lunar night.", "INT. MONITORING STATION -- MORNING Sam sitting before The Old Man doing a few innocuous tasks, collecting readouts, slurping a cup of coffee. Gerty is within ear shot. Sam sees something that pulls him CLOSER to the monitor. SAM Gerty, do you know about this? Gerty approaches. Sam taps the screen. SAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Matthew's got no velocity read - out. He's completely still. GERTY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- He must have stalled. Sam gives Gerty a look. That's not good.", "INT. COMMS ROOM -- LATER Sam is recording a message for Central. SAM There's no way to tell from here if a track's been thrown, or if it's just something jammed in an axle, or what. I can shoot out there, check it out, get some video and maybe save you guys the expense of floating in a whole crew! I know how tight money is right now. Sam really frustrated now. He feels cooped up, stir crazy, idle. SAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Just give me the word - or Gerty the word, tell him to unlock the exit doors - and I'll go out and get Matthew up and running again. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- That's it. Over and out. Sam sends the message.", "INT. REC ROOM -- MORNING Sam enters the Rec Room, looks around, his eyes settling on the model of the town. Sam sits down in front of the model, staring - he picks up the HOUSE he was carving earlier - studies it carefully.", "INT. COMMS ROOM -- DAY Sam and Gerty are seated at the Comms Unit watching a video message from Central. Sam is holding a carved HOUSE, examining it as he listens to the video. The familiar faces of Overmeyers and Thompson on the screen, shoulder to shoulder, the two looking more like vultures right now than lizards. THOMPSON Sam, we appreciate the offer, but you concentrate on feeling better. SAM -LRB- muttering, vexed. -RRB- Oh for Christ's sake. OVERMEYERS We do n't want you to take any unnecessary risks. You're too important to us. THOMPSON You're to stay put, understand? OVERMEYERS It's an order. THOMPSON It's an order, Sam. From Lunar. Stay put. OVERMEYERS We're going to send a Rescue Unit to tend to the stalled harvester and get the base back on its feet. SAM -LRB- incensed. -RRB- Why? The message ends. Sam turns to Gerty, irate, the message as good as a kick in the balls. GERTY I'm sorry Sam. Sam stares at Gerty. GERTY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Sam, I am under strict orders not to let you outside. Sam throws the half completed wood carving in his hand at the other end of the room, breaking it. He FLIES to his feet - growling with frustration - STORMS out of the room.", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS -- MORNING Sam asleep in bed. SAM'S TROUBLED DREAM Sam and Tess making love. We remain very close to their bodies in bed. The background a blur. It's the same dream we saw earlier. Something is different though. We drift past Sam and Tess, and under the sheets of the bed. Down between their entwined feet huddles a bearded, wide - eyed Sam, staring directly at us from under the sheets at the end of the bed!", "INT. REC ROOM Sam is quietly eating breakfast, lost in thought. Gerty puttering around in the background. The radio drones away.", "INT. COMMS ROOM Sam is seated at the Comms Unit watching a message from Tess. We assume this is an old message since Tess is heavily PREGNANT. Her slender hands are spread over her prodigious belly as she beams at the camera. TESS He's kicking. or she's kicking. I'm certain he's a boy. I wish you could feel it. -LRB- a beat, shifting. -RRB- I think we made the right choice, Sam. I really do. We need some time apart. We got stuck. That happens in marriages sometimes. It's nothing terrible. -LRB- then. -RRB- Well listen, I love you lots - and we'll talk soon, okay? Bye Sam. A POP and Tess is gone - the monitor filled with STATIC. Sam sits staring into space. Tess' message seems to have agitated him. SAM Fuck it. He JUMPS from his chair and HEADS OUT of the Comms Room at pace.", "INT. REC ROOM Sam strides in - swipes a KNIFE from beside the wooden model - strides out again.", "INT. CORRIDOR Sam glances left and right - making sure there's no sign of Gerty - then begins to PRY open a VENT with the knife. Once the vent is removed he reaches deep inside and YANKS out a bundle of interwoven WIRES - Sam bends the wires around the BLADE of the knife - and CUTS. GAS ISSUES from the cut wires. An ALARM sounds. Sam hides the knife away, shouts down the corridor : SAM Gerty! Get over here! Quickly! Gerty comes out of the Monitoring Station and SHUTTLES down the corridor. GERTY What happened? SAM Do n't know - Micro meteorites, maybe? Either way there might be damage to the exterior shell. I'd better go outside and take a look. GERTY There is no damage to the exterior shell. SAM It's not that I do n't believe you, Gerty, but the inner skin is springing leaks like an ACME fire hose. Maybe you better let me take a look, just in case, huh? GERTY Sam, I'm not supposed to let you go outside. SAM Then let's keep it between you and me then. Ok? The robot takes an inordinate amount of time to think this through. The syrupy gas distorts the light as it collects at Sam's ankles. Gerty's arms work away as they speedily repair the damage Sam has done. Finally : GERTY Okay, Sam. The `` Exit Doors'' LIGHT turns from RED to GREEN. For Sam this is like the BLAST of a STARTING PISTOL - he immediately takes off down the corridor -", "INT. CHANGING AREA Sam finds his space suit is gone, so grabs the spare suit and scrambles into it.", "INT. DOCK Two Rovers parked side by side. One of the parking bays is EMPTY. Sam stands before the empty bay for a moment - why is one of the Rovers missing? If Sam suspected something was wrong before, he is certain of it now. He climbs into one of the two remaining Rovers.", "INT./EXT. ROVER/MOON SURFACE Sam speeding along in the Rover. He has Matthew's coordinates plugged into his Navigation System and is following a MAP on a small monitor.", "EXT. MOON -- CONTINUOUS Sam heading towards the stalled Harvester. It soon becomes apparent that there is something STUCK under the front of the Harvester's AXLE. A second later it is apparent what that something is : inevitably, it's the MISSING ROVER. Sam slows his Rover down, approaching the scene with CAUTION. He parks a few feet away from the wreck and opens the door of his Rover, stepping outside gingerly. ONE SIXTH GRAVITY is like walking on a trampoline. Sam takes long strides, bobbing over to the front of the Harvester to take a closer look, his boots leaving deep FOOTPRINTS in the lunar soil. THE FRONT OF THE HARVESTER The crashed Rover is exactly as we left it after the accident, mangled, crushed, captured beneath the trundles of the Harvester. Sam peers closer and sees that there is an UNCONSCIOUS MAN in a Lunar Industries space suit trapped inside. Sam ca n't see the man's face - he has his back to Sam, his body sprawled across the passenger seat like he's searching for loose change on the floor of the vehicle. With great effort Sam manages to prize the Rover's door open. He reaches inside and begins to pull the man out - Sam's sheer ADRENALINE giving him the strength of a YETI. Sam DRAGS the unconscious man away from the crashed Rover, his body leaving a big TRACK MARK in the gray soil. Sam takes a second to catch his breath, then leans down and turns the unconscious man onto his back. He BRUSHES DUST from the glass of the man's HELMET, leans down even closer. CLOSE UP - THE MAN Through his helmet we see a BLOODY and BEARDED SAM. Sam as we remember him. The Sam from the opening twenty minutes of the film. Sam's face as the PANIC, the ALARM, the SHOCK, the REALIZATION hit him like a wrecking ball : this man he has just pulled out of the crashed Rover is himself. WIDE SHOT - THE STALLED HARVESTER Sam gathers his wits and manages to lift the unconscious Sam up over his shoulder, fireman's lift style, taking him to the parked Rover.", "INT. DOCK -- A FEW MINUTES LATER Sam drives the Rover into the Dock, flies out and removes his space helmet, screaming : SAM Gerty! Gerty! Help! He reaches into the Rover, lifting out the unconscious Sam. He carries him in both arms, staggering across the dock - back arched, arms beginning to sag - and into the corridor.", "INT. CORRIDOR Sam promptly collapses and DROPS the unconscious Sam onto the floor. SAM Gerty! Gerty approaches, gliding along his rail. Sam is freaking out big time, exhausted, panic - stricken, bewildered. SAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I found him outside by the stalled harvester. Who is he? What the fuck is going on? A pause. Gerty literally seems lost for words. SAM -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- demanding an answer. -RRB- Gerty! GERTY We need to get him to the Infirmary. SAM Not until you tell me who he is! GERTY Sam, we need to get him to the Infirmary immediately. Sam SCOOPS the unconscious Sam up off the ground and lifts him towards the INFIRMARY - staggering - stumbling - going : SAM Who is he! Who is he! Sounding like some deranged homeless man. Gerty gliding alongside him.", "INT. INFIRMARY -- DAY Lying in the Infirmary bed, propped on a pillow, is the first Sam, the bearded Sam, who we will now refer to as SAM 1. He has a wicked black eye and a purple bruise on the right side of his face, looks like he was on the losing end of a brawl. He has a DRIP stuck in his arm and a tangle of WIRES attached to his bare chest. A MACHINE is BEEPING away. Gerty hovers over him, redressing the BANDAGE on Sam 1's left hand, the one he scolded a while back.", "INT. INFIRMARY -- LATER Sam 1's eyes pop open, he is awake, staring directly at Gerty. GERTY Hello Sam. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- How are you feeling? SAM 1 Where am I? GERTY The Infirmary. You had an accident out by one of the harvesters. Do you remember? For a second this is playing out like the other Infirmary scene. A case of deja - vu. Sam 1's eyes twitch as he catalogues through his memory. Yes he remembers the crash. He remembers something else, too. SAM 1 I saw someone out there, Gerty. GERTY Who did you see, Sam? Just then Sam 1 notices the other Sam - the more current, clean - shaven Sam - who we will now refer to as SAM 2. He is standing against the wall watching Sam 1. SAM 1 I saw a girl. GERTY You saw a girl out by the harvester? How is that possible? Sam 1 continues to stare at Sam 2, hardly believing his eyes. GERTY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Sam, you suffered a slight concussion in the crash and have incurred minor injuries, but all in all the prognosis is good. I'm happy to see you again. As he says this Sam 2 crosses slowly from one side of the room to the other, never taking his eyes off Sam 1. It's like Sam 2 is purposefully keeping his distance, reluctant, afraid even, to approach any closer. Meanwhile Sam 1 is beginning to look spooked. SAM 1 Gerty? GERTY Yes, Sam? SAM 1 Is there someone in the room with us? GERTY Yes. SAM 1 Who is he? But Sam 1 knows exactly who it is. He's seen that face every morning of his life in the bathroom mirror. GERTY Sam, get some sleep. You're very tired. Sam 2 wordlessly walks out of the room. Sam 1's eyes shift to Gerty, the spooked expression yet to leave his face.", "INT. CORRIDOR -- DAY Sam 1 hobbling along, in addition to his facial injuries he injured his knee in the crash and is walking with a slight LIMP. The camera TRACKING behind Sam 1 as he swings along and stops at", "INT. REC ROOM -- CONTINUOUS Sam 1 in the doorway, he peers in. Seated before the TV watching The Newlywed Game, Sam 2. He turns from the TV and shares a LONG LOOK with Sam 1. Finally : SAM 1 Hi. Sam 2 just nods. He turns back to the TV. Sam 1 continues on down the corridor.", "INT. MONITORING STATION Gerty is studying lunar rock samples through a microscope. Sam 1 enters. SAM 1 Gerty, what the hell is going on? Who is that guy in the Rec Room? Where did he come from? Why does he look like me? Sam 1 is perplexed, but not freaking out, not yet anyway. GERTY Sam, you're out of bed. SAM 1 Yes, Gerty, I'm out of bed. Who is the guy in the rec room? GERTY Sam Bell. Sam 1 is officially FREAKING OUT now. SAM 1 Who the fuck is in the rec room, Gerty!? GERTY You are Sam Bell. A long pause. Sam 1 at the point of tears. GERTY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Sam, what is it? It might help to talk about it. SAM 1 I do n't understand what's happening, Gerty. I think I may be losing my mind. GERTY We could run some tests. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- I have n't reported anything to central, Sam. They do n't know you were recovered alive from the accident. SAM 1 Recovered alive? What do you mean? Why have n't you reported to central? GERTY I'm here to keep you safe, Sam. I want to help you. Are you hungry? Sam 1 merely nods at this, turning and plodding out of the room, seemingly in a DAZE.", "INT. CORRIDOR Sam 1 comes out of the Monitoring Station, passes the Rec Room without looking in.", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS -- CONTINUOUS Sam 2 has taken over the room. The same belongings, of course, but there's a different energy. For one thing it's very untidy ; looks like the bedroom of an unruly teenager. Sam 1 stands in the doorway, taking it in. Wordlessly Sam 1 begins to tidy the room. He seems almost RELIEVED to be able to lose himself temporarily in this physical activity - making the bed, folding clothes, etc..", "INT. REC ROOM Sam 2 has stopped watching TV and is now seated at a table playing solitaire. Sam 1 appears in the doorway. Sam 2 looks up. The energy bristling with tension. SAM 1 You're Sam Bell. Sam 2 does n't answer, goes back to his cards. Sam 1 enters with CAUTION, takes a seat across the room, purposefully keeping his distance. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm Sam Bell, too. SAM 2 Yeah. Sam 1 nods. A beat. SAM 1 This is fucked up. SAM 2 Completely. Sam 2 slapping down cards. Sam 1 desperately attempts to put together a coherent thought. SAM 1 Why. What are you? For a second we do n't think Sam 2 is going to respond. Then : SAM 2 I'm a clone, Sam. Im a fucking clone. SAM 1 How long have you been here? SAM 2 About a week. A beat. SAM 1 How are you getting on? SAM 2 -LRB- repeating the question slowly. -RRB- How am I getting on? -LRB- then. -RRB- The company ordered Gerty to lock all the exits. I have n't been able to do anything for seven days but sit on my ass. SAM 1 They locked all the exits? What about the harvesters? SAM 2 Slowed them down to half speed, apparently. And then when I finally trick Gerty into letting me outside I find a clone of myself in a crashed rover. How am I getting on? Oh I'm loving it. SAM 1 I'm not a clone. SAM 2 Ok, Sam. You're not a clone. SAM 1 You're the clone.", "INT. GREENHOUSE - LATER The two Sam's are inspecting plants. SAM 2 How long have you been here? SAM 1 Almost three years. SAM 2 Hence the Captain's beard. SAM 1 -LRB- with a smile. -RRB- Right. SAM 2 I did n't know it could get so thick. Does it itch? SAM 1 No, not really. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Listen, I wanted to say thank - you. If it was n't for you I'd still be out there in the crashed rover. You saved my life. -LRB- then. -RRB- Will you shake my hand? Sam 2 hesitates, eventually shakes Sam 1's hand. Meanwhile Sam 1 is staring at his clone, astonished. SAM 2 -LRB- self - conscious. -RRB- What? SAM 1 You look just like me. It's incredible. SAM 2 Why do I look like you? Why do n't you look like me? SAM 1 We look like each other, I guess. This final line intended as a kind of truce.", "INT. REC ROOM -- LATER Sam 1 and Sam 2 are folding the Ping - Pong table down so they can have a real game. PING - PONG The two Sams playing Ping - Pong. It's slightly competitive, but mainly they are just happy to take their minds off their situation for half an hour. SAM 1 Your serve. SAM 2 Score? SAM 1 Two points to eighteen. SAM 2 Fuck! Sam 2 slaps his paddle on his thigh, his temper creeping up on him. He catches Sam's eye. Gets a grip. Sam 1 is a better player than Sam 2. He's been up here longer. He's had more practice.", "INT. REC ROOM -- LATER After the game, the two Sams are sprawled in their seats, sweaty, flushed, energized. They sit before the model of the town. SAM 2 How long did it take you to do this? SAM 1 I do n't remember doing all of it. I remember when I did the church and the Salvation Army. And a few of the people. My mind's been acting kind of weird lately, though. SAM 2 It's Fairfield, right? -LRB- pointing. -RRB- There's Town Hall. SAM 1 Uh - huh. You know Fairfield? -LRB- also pointing. -RRB- That's the Baskin & Robbins. And there's Tess and Eve. Do you know Tess? The mention of their wife has stopped the conversation in its tracks. Sam 2 immediately drops into deep melancholy. SAM 2 Yes. I know Tess. SAM 1 You know about Eve, right? It is obvious from Sam 2's expression that he does n't. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- We had a girl. SAM 2 We did? -LRB- beat. -RRB- She thought she was going to have a boy. She was so sure. -LRB- then. -RRB- Eve? Sam 1 nods. SAM 1 She's beautiful. She's really beautiful. SAM 2 How much did she weigh? Is n't that what you're supposed to ask, how much did she weigh? SAM 1 Nine pounds, eleven ounces. Sam 2 does n't know what to do with the news : on the one hand he is jubilant, on the other he's a clone, the baby technically is n't even his. All of a sudden there is a `` PING!'' From the Intercom speaker : GERTY'S VOICE Sam, a message has arrived from Central. Sam 1 and Sam 2 share a look, then together SPRING from their chairs.", "INT. COMMS ROOM -- DAY Sam 1 and Sam 2 seated before the Comms Unit. Sam 1 hits the `` Play'' button. Overmeyers and Thompson appear on the screen. OVERMEYERS Greetings, Sam! THOMPSON How's our Man? Feeling better? OVERMEYERS You getting lots of rest? THOMPSON Yeah, you resting up, Sam? You'd better be you bastard. OVERMEYERS Enjoy it while it lasts! We've got good news. THOMPSON The Jupiter Program had to be put on hiatus, so we've got a few free pairs of hands - OVERMEYERS We've managed to secure you a Rescue Unit ahead of schedule. THOMPSON Rescue Unit Eliza. A SHOT/STILL PHOTO of Rescue Unit ELIZA. A meaner group of sons - of - bitches you have never seen. These guys make the rescue team from Apocalypse Now look like The New Kids on the Block. OVERMEYERS They've been stationed on Goliath 19 for the last couple of months. THOMPSON -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Eliza's been in transit for the last day. we expect them to reach you in approximately 14 hours. OVERMEYERS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Commence to jump for joy! THOMPSON -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You'll be back to work in no time. Now back on Overmeyers and Thompson. OVERMEYERS Eliza is bringing you something special, Sam. Compliments of the company. THOMPSON A hooker! OVERMEYERS No not a hooker. What's wrong with you? It's a little something to drink, Sam, that's all, our way of patting you on the back for all that you've been through. THOMPSON In the meantime, keep resting up, and hang in there. OVERMEYERS Yeah you hang in there, Sam. Over and out. And the screen pops to black. A pause. For a moment there is silence, neither of the Sams knowing how to react - going by the message Thompson and Overmeyers do n't know anything about there being two Sams on the base now. SAM 1 They're sending a Rescue Unit? Why? SAM 2 To fix the stalled harvester. They did n't think I was up to it. SAM 1 Then I'm going back. Sam 2 gives Sam 1 a perplexed look. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I've done my three years. That's it for me - Sam 2 is shaking his head slowly. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What? SAM 2 Is that what you really think? SAM 1 I've got a contract - SAM 2 You're a fucking clone! You do n't have shit! At once Sam 1 and Sam 2 ROCKET to their feet - right in each others faces, on the BRINK of BLOWS. SAM 1 I'm going home! SAM 2 You're not going anywhere! Sam 1 turns around, heads out of the room. Sam 2 STORMS after him, TALKING the whole time - SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You've been up here too long, man! You've lost the plot! Gerty shuttles along after them.", "INT. CORRIDOR -- CONTINUOUS Sam 1 presses down the corridor, Sam 2 tailing right behind him. SAM 2 What, you think Tess is back home waiting for you? What about the original Sam? SAM 1 I'm the original! I'm Sam fucking Bell! Me! Me! Sam 1, stress ball pumping away in his hand, spots Gety and angrily faces him. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Gerty, am I a clone? Gerty does n't know which way to look. GERTY Yes, Sam. Sam 1 ducks in the Rec Room, Sam 2 in tow.", "INT. REC ROOM Sam 1 takes his old seat before the model. Sam 2 stands over him. SAM 2 What about the other clones? `` Other clones?'' Sam 1 just stares back. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Yeah, we might not be the first two to be woken up. -LRB- indicating the model. -RRB- You said that thing had already been started when you got here. Well, who started it? -LRB- then. -RRB- There might be other clones up here right now. Think about it. How did I get here so quickly after your crash? They did n't ship me in from Central, there was n't time. I must have come from the base. SAM 1 That's ridiculous. Impossible. Why would hey do that? SAM 2 I bet there's some kind of secret room - SAM 1 -LRB- laughing. -RRB- Secret room? SAM 2 Yeah, secret room, why not? SAM 1 -LRB- losing his cool. -RRB- You're the one who's lost the plot! I've been here for three years. I know every inch of this base. I know how many dust fibres are between those wall panels over there - why would they do that?! SAM 2 Look. It's a company, right? They have investors, shareholders - shit like that. What's cheaper? Spending time and money training new personnel or just have a couple of spares here to do the job. If they make it through their contract, great. If they do n't, hallelujah! No contract completion fees, no retirement package. Just thaw out the spare, and keep the profits rolling in. It's the far side of the Moon, Sam! The tight fuck's have n't even fixed our communications satellite. SAM 1 Tess would know. SAM 2 Do you really think they give a shit about us? They're laughing all the way to the bank! SAM 1 Tess would know what's going on! She would n't let that happen! SAM 2 -LRB- exhasperated. -RRB- There's some area we do n't know about. I'm going to find it. Sam 1 shakes his head dismissively, picks up the wooden house, starts whittling. Meanwhile Sam 2 has left the room.", "INT. MONITORING STATION -- QUICK CUTS Sam 2 in the Monitoring Station checking wall panels, reaching his hand inside cubbies and feeling around deep inside, SEARCHING.", "INT. CORRIDOR -- QUICK CUTS Sam 2 moving along the corridor, pressing his ear against panels, tapping with his finger -", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS -- QUICK CUTS Sam 2 RAMPAGES through the Sleeping Quarters, pushes the bed aside, lifts the mattress, goes tearing through a closet, ripping clothes from hangers, checks the back panel.", "INT. REC ROOM Sam 2 has come full circle. He shifts the ping pong table, goes through cabinets in the kitchen, feels inside - Sam 1 half - whittling, half - watching. SAM 1 I told you. SAM 2 Shut - up! Finally Sam 2 arrives before the model. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Get out of the way. SAM 1 Why? SAM 2 I want to check underneath there. SAM 1 You're not moving the model. SAM 2 Get the fuck out of my way! Sam 1 stands, keeps his ground. SAM 1 No. Sam 1 is still holding the knife. Though he's not about to use it, both Sams are aware that it's there. Suddenly Sam 2 LUNGES for the knife ; an INTENSE STRUGGLE ensues - TEETH CLENCHED, sputtering BREATHS - the two Sams less clones right now than ANIMALS. Sam 2 is able to loosen Sam 1's grip on the knife - flinging the weapon across the room - and SWINGS Sam 1 up against the wall. Now Sam 2 turns to face the model. Using BOTH HANDS he lifts the model up HIGH over his HEAD and PUSHES the entire thing UPSIDE DOWN. A massive CRASH. There is nothing there but the bare table. Sam 1 comes up behind Sam 2 with his nose SPEWING BLOOD, wraps both arms around Sam 2's neck. Sam 2 elbows him in the ribs - a quick, controlled jab - SPINS around, manages to secure Sam 1 in an arm lock. But suddenly there is no struggle coming from Sam 1 : he's stopped fighting. Sam 2 removes him from the headlock - notices his arm is SMUDGED with Sam 1's BLOOD - SAM 2 You okay? Sam 1 has remained bent over, like he's cast in stone, blood RAINING from his face and POOLING at his feet thick and fast. Sam 2 just staring, as freaked as he is baffled. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I hardly touched you. Now he tries to help Sam 1. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Let me see. Sam 1 tears away from him. He looks up, his face a MESS of blood - the WHITES of his eyes unnaturally bright, shouts : SAM 1 Get off me! Sam 1 holds his face with his outstretched hand, as if holding it in place - STUMBLES from the room - leaking BLOOD the whole way. A concerned Sam 2 watches him go.", "INT. BATHROOM -- MOMENTS LATER Sam 1 spills in and locks the door. He RAPIDLY turns on the faucet and cups his hand to transfer water up to his face - this going on for a few seconds. MIRROR Sam 1 stares at his reflection in the mirror, holding a MOUND of TOILET PAPER against his NOSE. The blood flow has subsided Suddenly Sam 1 sees the GIRL in the mirror. It gives him a hell of a FRIGHT. The Girl remains in the mirror looking at Sam 1. A neutral expression, impassive. Sam 1 takes a deep breath, lowers the toilet paper from his nose. SAM 1 Who are you? No answer. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- shouting. -RRB- Who are you! Sam 1 swings around to confront the Girl. but she's not there, she's vanished. Her reflection has vanished from the mirror also.", "INT. REC ROOM Sam 2 snaps on the TV with the remote, starts watching Laugh - In, turns, sees Sam 1 wander by in the corridor. Sam 2 considers calling out to him, opts against it, gives the TV his full attention.", "INT. MONITORING STATION Gerty is stationed at the Old Man collecting data. Sam 1 enters. GERTY Hello Sam. SAM 1 Hi Gerty. Sam 1 sits. A pause. Gerty turns from the monitor, faces of with an EXHAUSTED and DRAINED Sam 1. GERTY Sam, is everything okay? SAM 1 We had a fight. Me and the other guy, the other Sam. We had a fight, Gerty. He's a maniac. You know what he did? He flipped the entire model over. Do you know how much work I've put into that thing? GERTY 938 hours. SAM 1 938 hours, exactly. -LRB- then. -RRB- Really? 938 hours. GERTY Approximately. SAM 1 -LRB- a beat. -RRB- He scares me, Gerty. GERTY What is it about Sam that scares you? SAM 1 He flies off the handle. I see it now. I see what Tess was talking about. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- I've never told you this, Gerty, but she left me. Tess left me. For six months. She moved back in with her parents. GERTY I know. SAM 1 Oh. -LRB- beat. -RRB- It was the year before I came in here. She gave me a second chance. I promised her I'd change. GERTY You have changed, Sam. SAM 1 Yeah, I guess I have. A beat. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Gerty, since I've been up here I've sent Tess over a hundred video messages. Where did those messages go? Did they ever reach her? A pause. GERTY Sam, I can only account for what occurs on the base. SAM 1 What about the messages she sent to me? A long pause. Finally Gerty repeats : GERTY Sam, I can only account for what occurs on the base. SAM 1 Gerty, am I really a clone? GERTY Sam, when you first arrived at Selene, there was a small crash. You woke up in the infirmary. You suffered minor brain damage and memory loss. I kept you under observation and ran some tests. SAM 1 I remember. GERTY Sam, there was no crash. You were being awakened. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- It is standard procedure for all new clones to be given tests to establish mental stability and general physical health. Genetic abnormalities and minor duplication errors in the DNA can have considerable impact - SAM 1 And Tess? Eve? GERTY They are memory implants, Sam. I'm very sorry. Sam 1 nods at this. He's broken - hearted. He begins to leave. GERTY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Sam, it's been several hours since your last meal. Can I prepare you something? SAM 1 No thanks, Gerty. Sam 1 exits.", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS Sam 1 enters the sleeping quarters - straightens the bed and lies down. He picks up the picture of the pregnant TESS, stares at it long and hard.", "INT. REC ROOM   -- LATER The TV is off. Sam 2 is sitting, arms folded, entrenched in GLOOM. Sam 1 enters and heads for the kitchen, prepares himself a snack. Sam 2 is aware that Sam 1 is there, but keeps his eyes focussed forward, as immobile as a statue. Eventually Sam 1 tentatively comes over. SAM 1 You okay? SAM 2 I'm staring into space. -LRB- points to the window. -RRB- Get it? Sam 1 does get it. He smiles to be polite, sits. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- How's the nose? SAM 1 Better. A beat. SAM 2 Listen, I went haywire before. I lost it. I'm sorry. SAM 1 It's okay. SAM 2 No it's not okay. I fucked up Fairfield - your model - that's unacceptable. I do n't know what's wrong with me. -LRB- then. -RRB- I've got a temper. I need to do something about it. SAM 1 Yes you do. A pause. SAM 2 I've been thinking. That Rescue Unit - Eliza - they'll be here in less than fourteen hours. I do n't know about you but I'd like to figure out where we stand before they get here. SAM 1 Absolutely. SAM 2 Ostensibly they're coming to deal with the stalled harvester. We both know that is n't true. -LRB- then. -RRB- They're coming to dig your body out of that rover. They think you're in there. SAM 1 Right. SAM 2 What'll their reaction be when they find out you survived the crash? I was n't supposed to find you. Lunar instructed Gerty to lock me inside the base for Christ's sake. A pause. Sam 1 thinking it over. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And there's something else. Something I have n't told you. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- Right around the time I was awakened. I walked in on Gerty talking to Central. He was having a live conversation. SAM 1 A live conversation? SAM 2 Yeah. SAM 1 That's not possible. SAM 2 No no no, it is possible. It's possible because I saw it, that's my point. Sam 2 feels himself losing his temper a little here. He reigns himself in. SAM 1 How do you know the conversation was live? SAM 2 It was a back and forth exchange. And I saw Thompson and Overmeyers up on the monitor. I was supposed to be asleep in the Infirmary. The moment I walked into the comms room Gerty terminated the transmission. Now I was a little drugged up, granted, but I did n't imagine it. SAM 1 The communications equipment is damaged - there was a solar storm - SAM 2 Tabitha. SAM 1 Tabitha, right. SAM 2 Lunar made it up. Maybe. I do n't know. Bottom line is they do n't want us to be able to contact Earth. Otherwise why would they have lied to us? A pause. Sam 1 staring forward, concentrating. Sam 2 concentrating on Sam 1. SAM 1 How are they blocking the live feed? The base's communications equipment works fine - SAM 2 Maybe they're not blocking the signal from inside the base. SAM 1 From where then? As if reading each others minds, the two Sams' heads turn to the window - a slow, perfectly synchronized movement. The lunar landscape, as black and vast as ever. The view almost cruel in its emptiness. It's not giving them any answers, not yet.", "INT./EXT. ROVER ONE/MOON SURFACE -- DAY Sam 1 speeding along in one of the Rovers. He wears his space suit and resembles a cosmic racing driver - shifts up a gear, the vehicle flirting with peak speed. He flies past one of the Harvesters, speaks through a microphone inside his helmet. SAM 1 Just passing the last of the Harvesters - looks like John - All of this against the ROAR of the Rover's engine.", "INT./EXT. ROVER TWO/MOON SURFACE Driving away from base in a different direction, Sam 2. He also wears a space suit. He also guns the engine. He also has a microphone inside his helmet. The two clones are able to talk back and forth with no delay. SAM 2 How long until you're out of the base's range? We INTERCUT between the two Sams in their Rovers. SAM 1 If I maintain this speed. a minute. Ninety seconds tops. SAM 2 You ever been this far out? SAM 1 No, never. ANOTHER ANGLE - SECOND ROVER Viewed from far away, the Rover's speed less impressive from a distance.", "INT./EXT. ROVER'S ONE AND TWO/MOON SURFACE -- INTERCUT As the Sams continue to drive. SAM 1 You see anything yet? SAM 2 Nothing. You? SAM 1 There is n't shit out here. I feel like I'm about to drive off the end of the world. -LRB- then. -RRB- It would help if I knew what I was looking for. Through the glass of Sam 1's helmet we see his FACE suddenly SHIFT. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Wait a second, wait a second. Sam 1 squints and leans closer towards the windshield, like he's trying to decipher a road sign - SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I see something. SAM 1'S POV About a hundred feet away - appearing from thin air - a massive metal pole stretches up into the black sky. SAM 2 What is it? SAM 1 Do n't know yet. Sam 1 getting closer. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Looks like some kind of antenna. SAM 2 Antenna? Really? -LRB- then. -RRB- Hang on, looks like there's one on this side too. Sam 2 is indeed approaching something similar. Sam 1 stops his Rover about twenty feet from the Jammer. He opens the Rover's door and steps out to take a closer look. WIDE SHOT - SAM 1/ROVER Taking in the Jammer and the adjacent Rover. Sam 1 loping towards the Jammer, seemingly in slow motion. The JAMMER is GIGANTIC - An intimidating, stark pole stabbed into the lunar landscape, like the worlds biggest caber. Next to it Sam 1 is tiny, a white dot, as insignificant as a pin prick. Sam 1 and Sam 2 We cut back and forth between the two Sams as they both investigate the separate but identical - looking Jammers. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I can just make out the top. Must be a hundred feet tall at least. It's huge! SAM 1 Whoever built these things meant business. They were n't fucking around. Their voices ENERGIZED - they are excited to have made this discovery - they are n't dealing with the negatives yet. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What do you think? SAM 2 Its not an antennae, dude. Its a jammer. -LRB- looking around. -RRB- No wonder we ca n't get a live feed. These things must be blocking our signal. Suddenly Sam 1 doubles over. He vomits thick, viscous blood and sick into his helmet. Revolting. The noise is AUDIBLE over the microphone. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You okay? No answer from Sam 1. He COLLAPSES backwards onto the ground. His chest LURCHES like he's been punched at from the inside - he spins over onto his front - SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Sam? Sam 1 manages to climb to his feet - heads slowly back to the Rover - he dips in, closes the door. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Sam, can you hear me? SAM 1 Yeah, I hear you. -LRB- then. -RRB- I'm going to head back to base. I'm not feeling too good. SAM 2 I'll stay out here a little longer. I want to see if there are any more of these things. Sam 1 pulls a U - turn and begins his journey back to base. Sam 2 remains out by his Jammer, investigating further.", "INT./EXT. SAM 1'S ROVER/MOON SURFACE Sam 1 at the wheel. He has pulled his helmet off within the safe pocket of the rovers cabin. He's a grizzly mess of splashed sick and blood all over his face and chest. Sam 1 screams out with confusion, frustration, terror. SAM 1 Fuck! He seizes the steering wheel, shakes it FIERCELY - beginning to really LOSE IT -", "INT. DOCK Sam 1 drives his Rover into the Dock - not with his customary precision - parks at an angle, grazes the wall. The Rover's door JERKS opens and Sam 1 steps out unsteadily, his face visibly PALE through the glass of his helmet. He STAGGERS across the dock - does n't even close the Rover's door behind him - heads into the corridor.", "INT. CORRIDOR Sam 1 goes swerving up the corridor like a drunkard - BANGING into walls - he finally reaches the bathroom and ducks in -", "INT. BATHROOM Sam 1 sinks to his knees before the toilet bowl. With great effort he is able to remove his helmet, placing it on the floor next to him. He stares into the toilet. For a moment all is calm. The gentle `` ping - ping - ping'' of a computer somewhere inside the base. Sam breathing steadily. Spots of sweat on his upper lip. And then he VOMITS. He vomits LOUD, he vomits VIOLENTLY. His whole body THRUSTS forward in the process, taught, tense, like a dog being YANKED on a CHAIN. Sam 1 vomits again. And again. And again. And stops. ANGLE FROM ABOVE - SAM 1 Sam 1's vomit is DARK RED - he's thrown up BLOOD - but that's not all - we can clearly see two or three TEETH floating in the vomit - THE MIRROR Sam 1 stands, moves to the mirror, opening his mouth wide to look for the missing teeth - he uses his thumbs, shows his gums - revealing : yes, he's lost at least a couple of teeth. He flushes the toilet.", "EXT. MOON -- DAY Sam 2 driving along in his Rover. He comes across another one of these JAMMERS. He drives right up, ducks down, peering up through the windshield - this new Jammer is as tall as the others, in fact, it is identical in every way. How many of these things are there? Sam 2 circles the Jammer in the Rover, drives on.", "INT. MONITORING STATION Sam 1 enters and sits down at The Old Man. Frantically he starts typing in numbers. An array of Log Entries appear ON THE SCREEN. Sam watches one of them. SAM 1 -LRB- on screen. -RRB- January 12th, Lunar hour 8:32. All Harvesters running smoothly today. Readouts are as follows : Matthew, 12.7 miles ; Mark 11.9 miles. These are just his log entries. What's he looking for? Sam 1 starts scrolling BACK through the log entries, like he's REWINDING chapters on a DVD, showing himself at various stages of his time on Selene - his beard essentially growing in REVERSE as the messages stretch further back - eventually Sam 1 is clean shaven - SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- on the screen. -RRB- Luke, 12.9 miles ; John, 11.1 miles. Sam 1 keeps typing in numbers. ON THE SCREEN : `` RESTRICTED. PASSWORD REQUIRED.'' No go. He tries to hack his way in, but is having no luck. One of Gerty's long spindly ARMS slides into the room. Sam backs away from the intimidating piece of machinery, but it stops within reach of the computer. Sam 1 watches as the arm reaches forward and taps the password in for him. It leaves the room the way it came in. Sam 1 continues to go further and further back - and suddenly he POPS up on the screen again - or is it him? - this Sam up on the screen has stubble - no beard - and looks seriously ILL - He is barely able to talk - in fact he's SLURRING - SAM -LRB- on screen. -RRB-. John, 15.1 miles. sorry, I'm not feeling too hot today - I'm going to have to continue this later - The SEQUENCE becomes a FAST - PACED and NIGHTMARISH MONTAGE - continuing to BACKTRACK through the log entries - showing yet more SAMS - one has a MOUSTACHE - one has a SHAVED HEAD - one has grown out his hair and has a PONY TAIL, we've seen this particular Sam before in an earlier scene. But all the Sams have one thing in common : towards the latter end of their log entries they all appear to be in very bad physical shape - SAM 4 I've got blood coming out of my nose. SAM 5 I do n't feel too well, Old Man. SAM 6 My hair's falling out. look it. Sam 1 searches even DEEPER into the COMPUTER and uncovers yet more footage. We see the others Sams returning to Earth - yet they do n't seem to go anywhere - when they blast off the RETURN VEHICLE remains in its bay - Sam 1 views different Sams blasting back to earth in the return vehicle - always with the same result - the return vehicle remaining in its bay, the Sams seemingly VANISHING. In one particularly GRAINY SEQUENCE Sam 1 views Gerty opening the lid to the cryo pod in the return vehicle and beginning to VACUUM what appears to be DUST or DEBRIS - Sam 1 understands now that the Return Vehicle is not a spacecraft, but some kind of INCINERATOR.", "INT. RETURN VEHICLE Sam 1 heads into the Return Vehicle. Its dominated by the cryo pod, used to hold astronauts in a state of cryogenic sleep on their way back to Earth. Sam 1 pops open the lid and starts frantically searching the chamber for TRACES of the previous Sams, eventually finding particles of DUST in the cracks - He closes the lid. A video showing a TECHNICIAN in a white lab coat begins to play on a screen aimed at the glass lid of the pod. It's mute, but we can hear a tinny version of the audio coming from the cryo pod. Sam 1 pushes a button on the monitor and we hear the audio properly. TECHNICIAN relax and breathe deeply. The cryo pod is designed to put you into a deep sleep for the duration of your three day return journey back to Earth. As you begin to get sleepy, think about the magnificent job you've done, and how proud your family are of what you've accomplished. Relaxing music begins to play. After a moment the music stops. There is a pause. Then an almighty pulse of light from the cryo pod. This is how Sams past have met their end. Nuked to ash like microwave meals in the cryo pod. Sam 1 inspects the controls of the spacecraft to see if it really is a vehicle - in the process of his search he finds himself down on his knees checking out the wiring. Suddenly Sam 1's attention is on the floor BENEATH HIM. He appears to be kneeling on some kind of PANEL - like a tablet in the return vehicle's floor - he presses his ear against the panel - KNOCKS - The panel sounds HOLLOW. CUBBY Sam 1 opens a cubby, swipes something similar to a CROW BAR, heads out of the frame - RETURN VEHICLE Back in the Return Vehicle, Sam 1 stands over the panel in the floor. He uses the CROW BAR to prize the panel open - this takes an extraordinary effort - the panel eventually LIFTING like a manhole cover. Sam 1 ca n't believe his eyes. At the top of the OPEN PANEL, leading down into darkness. there's A LADDER.", "INT. DOCK Sam 2 returns from his tour of the perimeter of the base ; pulls up alongside Sam 1's Rover, having to compensate for his clone's poor parking job.", "INT. CORRIDOR Sam 2 exits the Parking Bay and removes his helmet. Down the corridor he sees Sam 1 standing outside the Return Vehicle : facing him, waiting. SAM 2 I saw three more of those jammers. The base is surrounded. I printed out their coordinates - Sam 2 begins to remove a piece of paper from his pocket, but suddenly stops. He can tell by Sam 1's expression that something has happened. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What? What is it? SAM 1 I found your secret room.", "INT. RETURN VEHICLE Standing over the Open Panel, an anxious Sam 1 and Sam 2 stare down. SAM 2 Who goes first? Sam 1 wordlessly takes the lead, crouching slightly to seize the ladder and twist his body down into the hole. He begins to DESCEND. When he is roughly half way down Sam 2 follows.", "INT. LOWER DECK/CHAMBER -- CONTINUOUS Sam 1 reaches the bottom of the ladder. He's in a dark room, a kind of CHAMBER - if NASA did crypts, it would look like this. The only light source right now is the coming from the Return Vehicle up above. Sam 2 hops down beside Sam 1, squints into the darkness. SAM 2 Is there a light? Both Sams FUMBLE along opposing walls - Sam 1 eventually finding a SWITCH, snaps it on. An array of overhead fluorescent bulbs begin to STUTTER and FLASH before ILLUMINATING the chamber completely - The two Sams can hardly believe their eyes : stretching back maybe fifty feet are rows and rows of PODS - like upright glass coffins - and standing inside each pod, an as - of - yet UNAWAKENED CLONE. It's like an ENTIRE ARMY of Sam Bells. Spooky as hell. For a few moments Sam 1 and 2 are too stunned to speak. They walk to the end of the chamber and back again, looking at each clone one at a time - all the clones are bare chested and wear some kind of white cloth to cover their genitals, like a diaper. Of course they all look the same, that's why they're clones, but this piece of scientific wizardry is mind - boggling to Sam 1 and 2 - they MARVEL at how each of the clones is identical in every way, and down to the minutest of details - same length of hair, same skin tone, same fingernails - SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Why are there so many of them? SAM 1 The cryo pod in the Return Vehicle is an incinerator. Sam 2 reacts with appropriate shock. SAM 2 What? SAM 1 We do n't go home. We're burned to death up there. Then the company wakes up a new one. Every three years. Like clock work. Sam 2 absorbing this. Then : SAM 2 How do you know all this? SAM 1 -LRB- beat. -RRB- I hacked into the Old Man. Actually, Gerty did. I saw footage. You're right, there have been other clones before us. SAM 2 How many? SAM 1 Enough. A pause. SAM 2 If that Rescue Unit finds the two of us awake at the same time, they'll kill us both for sure. Sam 1 does n't respond, he's in his own world. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What are we going to do? All of a sudden Sam 1 makes a beeline for the ladder, starts heading back up. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Where are you going?", "INT. MONITORING STATION -- MOMENTS LATER Sam 1 is digging in drawers, removes some equipment, some wires ; a radio, a small machine called a VIDEO PHONE, referred to as a VP. He is watched by Gerty. GERTY Sam, can I help you with something? SAM 1 Not now, Gerty, okay? Gerty begins to slide out of the room. Sam calls after him. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Gerty? Why did you help me? With the password? Does n't that go against your programming or something? GERTY Helping you is what I do. Gerty leaves. Sam 1 goes on picking up equipment, shoves it all into a backpack he swiped from a peg. Now Sam 2 appears in the doorway. SAM 2 What's going on? SAM 1 There's something I've got to do. Sam 1 brushes by Sam 2 on his way out.", "INT. DOCK Sam 1 marches up to his Rover, tosses in the backpack and dips inside without his helmet, closes the door and backs out into the black day.", "INT./EXT. SAM 1'S ROVER/MOON SURFACE Sam 1 at the wheel, flooring the Rover - he looks possessed, determined - a man on a mission - WIDE SHOT Sam's Rover approaches one of the many Jammers that we now know circle the perimeter of the base. Sam 1 stops the Rover on the other side of the Jammer. Here, outside the range of the Jammers, he figures he might be able to get a signal through to Earth. ON SAM as he removes his equipment from the backpack and starts to uncoil wires - inserts a small BATTERY PACK onto the back of the VP, sits the VP on his lap. The VP resembles a Play Station Portable with its small but nonetheless high - quality screen. Sam is n't sure who to contact at first. finally he enters some numbers from memory. The VP shaking in his hands. He is nervous, scared. He disables the video mode on his end, so he is only sending audio. A moment of silence. The VP seems dead. SAM 1 Come on. come on. Then the VP BEEPS - the monitor BLIPS - the message seems to have gone through. And suddenly a GIRL appears on the screen. Sam 1 ca n't believe it. It's the same Girl from his hallucinations. Same wheat - colored hair. Same freckles dotting her cheek bones. Same yellow dress. The moment Sam 1 sees the Girl he thinks - naturally - that he's imagining things again. But then she speaks : GIRL Hello? That's never happened before. Sam 1 finally manages to respond : SAM 1 Uh, Bell residence? The conversation has a very slight delay, maybe a second or two, and the Girl is n't completely clear on the monitor. We assume that these minor technical glitches are the same on the Girl's end. The Girl is sweet, chirpy - nothing like the haunting, ghost - like figure from Sam 1's hallucinations. GIRL This is the Bell Residence. SAM 1 I'm trying to reach Tess Bell. The girl's expression shifts - now somewhere between melancholy and curiosity - GIRL I'm sorry, she passed away some years ago. Sam 1 GASPS. He literally gasps. Like someone just plunged a paring knife into his belly. SAM 1 No. no way. The girl just stares. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Tess Bell? Are you sure? GIRL Uh, yeah, I think so. I'm her daughter. -LRB- then. -RRB- Can I help you? And astonishingly, the news of Tess's death actually takes a back seat as Sam 1 is forced to confront this new revelation. The girl is EVE BELL. Sam 1 is talking to his DAUGHTER. Sam 1 tilts his head, a smile twitches on his face. SAM 1 Eve? Sam 1 ca n't believe it. She's beautiful. She's beautiful. EVE BELL Yes? A moment. Eve looking more closely, trying to decipher Sam 1's face. Tears glistening in his eyes. SAM 1 -LRB- overwhelmed. -RRB- Hi. Hi. Eve. How old are you now? For a second Eve is embarrassed - she blushes slightly - but is still pulled in, intrigued. EVE BELL I'm fifteen. -LRB- then. -RRB- Do I know you? SAM 1 How did mom die, sweetheart? EVE BELL Uh. Now Eve is beginning to look spooked. She turns away from the screen and calls to someone in another room : EVE BELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Dad! And then we hear a voice. Sam's voice. SAM'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What! EVE BELL Dad, there's someone asking about mom. Sam's voice sounds CLOSER, more SUCCINCT, as he comes into the room - but we do n't see him yet - he sounds, OLDER. SAM'S VOICE Who's asking about mom? Sam 1 hurriedly shuts off the VP. He sits there in the Rover, on the Moon, the middle of nowhere - hundreds and thousands of miles from Earth - Sam 1 has never felt more alone than he does right now.", "EXT. ROVER/MOON SURFACE The Rover viewed from outside. We ca n't hear a thing. Just the endless and unrelenting MOON SILENCE. Inside the Rover we are able to make out Sam 1, quivering at the wheel as he sobs.", "INT. COMMS ROOM CLOSE UP - THE OLD MAN The `` ping - ping - ping'' of an alarm. Appearing on The Old Man's monitor : `` RESCUE UNIT ELIZA : ARRIVAL TIME, 12 HOURS and 22 MINUTES.''", "INT. REC ROOM -- DAY Sam 2 is sitting before the model. He's flipped it back over and returned it to the table top. Now he is attempting to fix some of the demolished pieces. At this moment he's gluing the spire back on the church. Sam 2 hears a sound from the corridor. Moments later Sam 1 appears in the doorway wearing the backpack. Sam 1 is beginning to look alarmingly ILL.. His depleting health has been evident throughout the film, but now it seems to have jumped to a new level. He watches Sam 2 for a little while. SAM 1 Want me to help? Sam 2 shifts over to give Sam 1 the adjacent chair. Sam 1 walks over, sits down. Together they work on gluing the church back together. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Remember that crazy drunk guy who used to hang out by the church? SAM 2 Barbara Streisand? SAM 1 -LRB- with a smile. -RRB- He looked like Barbara Streisand. We used to hide his Bible when he passed out. Drove the guy nuts. Sam 2 nods, remembering. A pause. SAM 2 How do you carve these things? SAM 1 Want me to show you? Sam 2 nods. Sam 1 picks up a block of wood, grabs an exacto blade. Demonstrates. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You need to hold the wood away from you. Like this. SAM 2 You're shaking. Sam 2 is n't kidding. Though he is carving the block of wood, Sam 1 ca n't keep it steady. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Why are you shaking? SAM 1 Watch what I'm doing. -LRB- then. -RRB- You watching? SAM 2 Yeah. SAM 1 Now you try. Sam 1 hands the wood and exacto blade to Sam 2. Sam 2 attempts to whittle. He smiles, a little embarrassed. SAM 2 I suck. SAM 1 You'll get the hang of it. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- You see, that's a little better already. Suddenly Sam 1 turns around and has a vicious coughing fit. It actually seems to propel Sam 1 out of his chair and up onto his feet. Sam 2 watches with concern. Eventually the coughing subsides. SAM 2 What's happening to you? Sam 1 averts his gaze. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Listen, I realize I've been less than cooperative. But I want to change that. You and me, we need to work together. And that starts with not keeping secrets from each other. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- Now what's going on? Sam 1 tells the truth. SAM 1 I think I'm dying. Sam 2 stares back at him. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- There's blood in everything. My urine. My vomit. I've got a constant headache. Dizzy spells. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- The same thing happened to the other clones. I saw it when I hacked into the Old Man. After three years they all started to get sick. Now it's happening to me. Well, it's been happening for a while now. A couple of weeks. SAM 2 What do you think it is? SAM 1 Maybe we do n't live that long. Maybe we start to decompose or something. SAM 2 Jesus. Suddenly Sam 1 closes his eyes - SWAYS - looks like he's going to pass out. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Hey hey hey, you okay? Sam 2 stands and moves to Sam 1. Holds him up, checks his temperature. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Why do n't you lie down for a while? Take some tranqs. Get some sleep. SAM 1 -LRB- grim smile. -RRB- No tranqs. I do n't think I would ever wake up again. Sam 1 manages a nod. Sam 2 hooks his arm around Sam 1's shoulder, helps him from the room.", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS Sam 2 deposits Sam 1 onto the bed. He removes Sam 1's backpack, eases a pillow under his head. Sam 1 is instantly asleep. Sam 2 pulls the comforter over him. Sam 2 begins to leave the room, sees Sam 1's backpack on the floor, the VP sticking out of it. Curious, Sam 2 grabs the VP. FLASHING on the VP's SCREEN : `` Last Transmission : 15:14 pm.''", "INT. REC ROOM Sam 2 enters the Rec Room and shuts the door. He moves to one of the tables and sits down, POPS on the VP. ON THE VP MONITOR we begin to re - watch the conversation between Eve Bell and Sam 1. Obviously we are only seeing Eve's face on the screen, but WE HEAR Sam 1's voice in the background. SAM 1 -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Uh, Bell Residence? EVE This is the Bell residence. SAM 2 -LRB- commenting as he watches. -RRB- No you did n't. SAM 1 -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I'm trying to reach Tess Bell. EVE I'm sorry, she passed away some years ago. Sam 2 and Sam 1 have exactly the same reaction at the same time. SAM 1 -LRB- O.S. -RRB- No. no way. SAM 2 No. no way. SAM 1 -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Tess Bell? Are you sure? EVE Uh, yeah, I think so, I'm her daughter. -LRB- then. -RRB- Can I help you? I'm her daughter. A couple of days ago Sam 2 did n't know he had a daughter, and now he's seeing her as a teenager, a young woman. He is stunned. Sam 2 continues to watch the message but we", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS -- DAY Sam 1 fast asleep. Sam 2 watches him from the doorway.", "INT. STORAGE CUBBY Gerty is just continuing with his tasks like nothing is happening. Right now he's STACKING ready - meals and miscellaneous lunar snacks into neat columns. Sam 2 walks up. SAM 2 Gerty, I need to talk to you. GERTY Of course, Sam, how can I help? SAM 2 We found the hidden room. We know about the other clones. A long pause. Then : GERTY I do n't know of a hidden room. SAM 2 The hidden room under the Return Vehicle, Gerty. You know what I'm talking about. We found it on our own. Lunar does n't know anything about it. A beat. GERTY The lower deck is out of bounds to awakened clones - SAM 2 Ordinarily, Gerty, but what with there being two of us awake at the same time, and what with the situation being unprecedented, the rules have had to change. Do you understand? GERTY I understand the situation is unprecedented. SAM 2 Good. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- Gerty, how long does it take for a clone to wake up? GERTY A clone is awake the moment his pod is opened. But he is not fully conscious for several hours. A beat. SAM 2 Gerty, we need to wake up a new clone. GERTY I am not permitted to do that, Sam. SAM 2 If we do n't wake up another clone me and the other Sam will die. We'll die, Gerty. Do you understand? GERTY Yes. SAM 2 Do you want me and the other Sam to die? GERTY That is the last thing I want. SAM 2 Then you have to wake up a new clone. Okay, pal? Sam 2 waits for a response. And waits.", "INT. COMMS ROOM CLOSE UP - THE OLD MAN The `` ping - ping - ping'' of an alarm. Appearing on The Old Man's monitor : `` RESCUE UNIT ELIZA : ARRIVAL TIME, 6 HOURS and 19 MINUTES.''", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS Sam 1 fast asleep in bed. SAM 1'S DREAM A stretch of green grass dissected by a dirt path. A light breeze. Endless blue sky above. No clouds. No visible sun.", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS Back on the sleeping Sam 1. Deep breaths. Eyelids twitching slightly. SAM 1'S DREAM - CONTINUED In the distance, sitting beneath a tree on a blanket, we see TESS BELL. She is removing items from a picnic basket. Sam enters the frame, his back to the camera. He watches his wife for a few moments, maintaining his distance. Tess looks up and sees Sam. She lifts her hand, waves. ON SAM - IN THE DREAM Sam's expression is blank at first, but then he smiles at Tess, waves back.", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS Sam 1's eyes open slowly. He's awake. Was his dream a memory? A premonition? Or was it simply made up? ANOTHER ANGLE - SAM 1 A BLEARY Sam 1 yawns and stretches his arms over his head. He reaches across the bed and rips a couple of tissues from a box of Kleenex, blows his nose. Afterwards he checks the tissues : a thick RED GOO came out of his nose, the color and consistency of tomato pur\u00e9e. Yeah, gross. Sam 1 rolls out of bed, plants his feet on the ground. The base seems eerily quiet. Too quiet. Sam 1 stands and crosses to the door.", "INT. CORRIDOR Sam 1 begins to walk left, down towards the Rec Room and the Monitoring Station, but hesitates - he turns the other way, towards the Infirmary, heads that way instead.", "INT. INFIRMARY -- CONTINUOUS Lying in one of the Infirmary beds, eyes closed, a NETWORK of WIRES attached to his chest. Sam. We do n't know which Sam it is yet. He is clean shaven. He looks like any one of the clones down in the secret chamber ; then again he could just as easily be Sam 2. And that's what Sam 1 naturally assumes as he enters the Infirmary and sees him lying there. Sam 1 moves closer, curious, until he is standing right at the edge of the bed. Sam 1 reaches out his hand to wake him up when there is a voice from the doorway behind : SAM 2 Do n't touch him. Our suspicions are now confirmed. The Sam in the Infirmary bed is a new clone. We will call him SAM 3. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- He's not conscious yet. Gerty and I only woke him up a few hours ago. Sam 1 is not even remotely on the same page. SAM 1 Why? Sam 2 puts his finger to his lips. Then : SAM 2 Come to the Rec Room. Sam 2 turns and leaves. Sam 1 follows slowly, one or two glances at the sleeping clone along the way.", "INT. REC ROOM We cut straight to the Rec Room and the conversation between Sam 1 and Sam 2. SAM 2 When the Rescue Unit arrives they'll expect to find a body in the crashed Rover, right? -LRB- a beat. -RRB- We've got our body. SAM 1 -LRB- points towards the Infirmary. -RRB- That guy? Sam 2 nods. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- They'll expect to find a dead body in the crashed Rover. SAM 2 I know. SAM 1 -LRB- stunned. -RRB- You're going to kill him? SAM 2 Someone's got to pull the short straw here, better someone who's unconscious than you or me. Sam 1 simply digesting the gravity of Sam 2's plan. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- If we go through with this, I'm going to need your help hauling him out to the crash site. SAM 1 What about us? Eliza arrives, finds you and me as the welcome party - SAM 2 They're not going to find you and me as the welcome party, they're going to find me. You're going to blast back to Earth before they get here in one of the Helium 3 containers. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- You're going home. Sam 1 was n't expecting that. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You've done your three years. I ca n't expect you to stick around. Maybe you can meet Eve in person. A beat. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I saw the message on the VP. Eve is beautiful. She looks like her mom. Sam 1 realizes that Sam 2 knows everything. There are no secrets between them now. They both absorb the impact of knowing Tess is dead. Finally : SAM 1 How do you think she died? SAM 2 I do n't know. -LRB- then. -RRB- Jane died of cancer. I mean, it was in the family. Who knows? Or maybe it was an accident? Could have been a million things. SAM 1 I wish I'd been there. SAM 2 Yeah. Me too. The two Sams sitting together, UNITED by their grief.", "EXT. MOON BASE -- DAY Shot of Selene from across the lunar plane. The base looks almost peaceful. No evidence of the DRAMA going on inside.", "INT. CORRIDOR The two Sams are testing out the CARGO CONTAINER to see if their plan is going to work and Sam 1 can actually fit inside. These containers were designed to carry cannisters of Helium 3, not to accommodate human beings. Sam 1 looks in increasingly bad shape. Blanket draped around his shoulders - gaunt, bobbing, shivering. SAM 2 Go for it. Sam 1 hunches and slowly insinuates himself into the container - yes, he fits, but it's tight, like really tight - Sam 1 can anticipate one hell of a stiff neck by the time he steps out onto terra firma. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Comfy? SAM 1 No. Sam 2 chuckles. SAM 2 But you fit. That's good. You fit. With a HEAVE Sam 2 PULLS Sam 1 from the container.", "INT. INFIRMARY -- DAY Gerty is running tests on the unconscious Sam 3. Sam 1 and Sam 2 stand on opposite sides of the room. Both clones seem uneasy. They ca n't look at each other. They ca n't look at Sam 3. Their eyes roam every inch of the room just about before finally settling on Gerty. Regardless of Sam 3 being unconscious, are they really going to kill him?", "INT. COMMS ROOM Sam 2 sits at the comms unit recording the message, a smile plastered on his face, as WIDE as it is FAKE. SAM 2 Sam Bell reporting to Central. 19:14 Pacific Time. Lunar Day 14. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- Evening Overmeyers, evening Thompson! According to the Old Man Rescue Unit Eliza will be here in just over three hours. Not a moment too soon! I never thought I'd say this, but I want to get out there, I want to work. I feel like a kid who's been grounded. Looking forward to Eliza straightening everything out and things getting back to normal around here. Well. that's it. I'll let you know how it goes. Over and out, gentlemen. Sam 2 sends the message, his SMILE instantly COLLAPSING. He mutters under his breath : SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Bastards.", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS -- DAY Sam 1 is sitting on the edge of his bed holding the photograph of the pregnant Tess - staring with great concentration - almost penetrative - like he's trying to will himself into the photograph. We find out what's running through his head, cutting to : SAM 1'S DREAM Sam 1 has gone back to his dream - or his vision - of Tess sitting on the picnic blanket beneath the tree. Sam and Tess continue to wave to one another. Sam has n't moved. Tess calls out : TESS Come on! Suddenly we hear a voice. SAM 2 -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Sam?", "INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS Sam 2 is standing at the door. Sam 1 looks up at him. SAM 2 We need to do it. We need to do it now. He'll be conscious any minute. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- We've been putting it off for long enough. Sam 1 stares back at Sam 2 with defiance. SAM 1 We do n't have to do anything. I changed my mind. Sam 2 is n't following. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm not going back. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- I'm coughing up blood, I'm as white as a ghost. I look like I belong in a graveyard. I meet Eve now, I'll scare the shit out of her more than anything else. D'you think she'll even come within ten feet of me, the way I look? SAM 2 What are you talking about? She's your daughter, man! She's not going to care what you. SAM 1 -LRB- angry. -RRB- She's not! She's not. my daughter. At least, I'm not her father. Not to her. Sam 2 keeps quiet. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'll put myself in the Rover, I'll be the body - it was me to begin with anyway, right? You go back to Earth. You go back. You're healthy. You've got three years ahead of you. You stand a much better chance than I do. The other guy. Gerty can get him up to speed. he can be here to meet Eliza when they arrive. Sam 1 seems to have it all figured out. Although Sam 2 should in some ways be relieved by Sam 1's decision, he looks closer to distraught. SAM 2 This is wrong. What are we supposed to do? Sit around here and wait to die? Fuck that! SAM 1 I do n't know. -LRB- beat. -RRB- It's what we were designed to do. Both Sams struggle to hold in their emotions ; Sam 1 morose, Sam 2 angry. SAM 2 Screw that! I'll go! And I'm going to find this asshole, Sam Bell, and ask him why the hell he put us through this shit! Sam 1 looks concerned. Sam 2 reads his mind. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'll be careful. I'll keep Eve out of it. She wont even know I exist. Sam 1 smiles wearily, watching his old self. SAM 1 You're a good guy, Sam. SAM 2 I might stop shaving ; It suits us. -LRB- beat. -RRB- If all our memories are implants, no disrespect, but I think its about time I got some of my own, as well. SAM 1 Yeah. You should travel. I've always wanted to do that. SAM 2 I'd like that.", "INT./EXT. ROVER/MOON SURFACE -- DAY Driving to the crash site. Sam 2 at the wheel, Sam 1 riding shotgun. Both men staring ahead in silence. MATTHEW Where all the trouble really started. Matthew, the stalled Harvester, with the crashed Rover still trapped beneath it. The crash site is beginning to resemble some old underwater shipwreck. The Rover enters the frame, beginning to slow down as it approaches the crash site. Sam 2 rolls the Rover to a standstill about ten feet from the front of the Harvester.", "INT./EXT. ROVER/MOON SURFACE -- MOMENTS LATER Sam 2 keeps the engine running as Sam 1 takes a handful of TRANQUILIZERS one by one, washing down each pill with a swig from a bottle of water. Afterwards : a long pause. The two Sams sitting side by side, staring across the bleak landscape. Neither of them wants to say good - bye particularly. SAM 1 Tess came in for the interview, remember? Sam 2 is nodding away. Of course he remembers. SAM 1 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- She was so beautiful. Even if she was n't the best candidate, I just knew I had to give her the job. I thought she was so sweet. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- And then it was the end of the summer. SAM 2 She was going back to San Francisco. You knew you had to take a chance. So you called her. You were terrified and wrote that whole speech for her answer machine -. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- But I did n't need it because Tess answered the phone. And I could tell in her voice as we talked, she was thinking. `` Why has Sam called me?'' `` The internship's over, why's he called me at home?'' And then I asked her if she was going to Adrian Fiddle's barbecue and. Sam 1 has dropped off to sleep. The back and forth exchange is now essentially Sam 2's monologue. SAM 2 -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- That's when I knew she liked me. Because she did n't want to talk to anyone else! She'd get up, get some potato salad, go to the bathroom, but she'd always come back. And then we kissed. On the steps in front of her apartment building. Sam 2 finally turns and looks at Sam 1. Sam 1's head cocked to one side, eyes closed. Sam 2 lifts the helmet off Sam 1's lap - carefully lowers the helmet onto Sam 1's head.", "INT./EXT. ROVER/MOON SURFACE Sam 2 LOPES towards the crashed rover holding Sam 1 in both arms like a bride. He places Sam 1 on the ground and PRIZES open the rover door - he slowly slides Sam 1 inside. Inside the Rover Sam 1 lies with his head jammed awkwardly against the passenger side door. At once he looks peaceful and wretchedly uncomfortable. Sam 2 can barely bring himself to look at Sam 1. With both hands he FORCES the door CLOSED, pivots around and slowly BOBS back to his rover.", "INT./EXT. ROVER/MOON SURFACE -- MOMENTS LATER Sam 2 driving back to base. He has removed his helmet and is brushing tears from his eyes with his glove.", "INT. COMMS ROOM CLOSE UP - THE OLD MAN The `` ping - ping - ping'' of an alarm. Appearing on The Old Man's monitor : `` RESCUE UNIT ELIZA : ARRIVAL TIME, 1 HOUR and 40 MINUTES.''", "INT. INFIRMARY -- LATER Gerty is continuing to run tests on Sam 3. Sam 2 enters. He carries the freighted exhaustion of a man who has just completed a long and difficult journey. SAM 2 How long before he's conscious, Gerty? GERTY The new clone will be conscious within one hour. SAM 2 That's good. That's very good. GERTY Sam? Where is Sam? SAM 2 He's gone home, Gerty. Sam 2 leaves.", "INT. MONITORING STATION -- DAY Sam 2 is loading OXYGEN CANISTERS into the CARGO CONTAINER in preparation for his trip back to Earth. Sam 2 working FAST, a sense of URGENCY. Eliza will be there in a mere 90 minutes! It's coming down to the wire. Gerty glides in as he works. GERTY Sam, this is not going to work. SAM 2 What? Why not? Now Sam 2 loads food into the cargo container - moon snacks, rations, etc.. - and bottles of water. His final addition is a 5 kilo load of precious Helium3 ; A good 15 million dollars worth! GERTY If the Rescue Unit examine my memory banks they will discover what has taken place over the last week. As you know I record everything. If they are suspicious, the first thing they will do is search my memory banks, and this would put you in considerable danger. Sam 2 straightens up, giving Gerty his full attention now. This is serious. It could ruin everything. The fact that Gerty has brought it up indicates that the robot's loyalties lie ultimately with Sam. GERTY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I recommend erasing my memory banks. I can reboot myself once you have departed. SAM 2 So that's what we're going to have to do. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Are you ok with that? GERTY I'll require your assistance, Sam. SAM 2 Sure, just let me finish this. Sam 2 continues his work.", "INT. INFIRMARY -- DAY Sam 3 asleep in bed, very close to consciousness.", "INT./EXT. CRASHED ROVER/MOON SURFACE Sam 1 inside the crashed rover, resembling a wild animal pinned in a trap. He's still breathing. SAM 1'S DREAM Once again we see Tess beneath the tree sitting on the blanket. She looks over at Sam, continuing to wave. TESS Come on, Sam! Sam Bell! Come on! Sam begins to walk towards Tess.", "INT./EXT. CRASHED ROVER/MOON SURFACE Back on Sam 1. The glass of his helmet is beginning to MIST with blood. Sam sees a sliver of the sun as he dawns on his side of the moon. He closes his eyes for the last time.", "INT. INFIRMARY -- LATER Sam 2 stands before Gerty. SAM 2 I've set your computer to reboot the second I've blasted off. GERTY Okay, Sam. SAM 2 Thanks for all your help, Gerty. I wish I could say I was going to miss you, buddy, but to be honest, I ca n't wait to get away from here. GERTY I understand, Sam. I hope life is everything you remember it to be. SAM 2 Thanks. Are you sure you're going to be ok? GERTY Of course. The new Sam and I will be back to our programming as soon as I have finished rebooting. SAM 2 Gerty, I'm not programmed. Gerty does n't respond. Sam 2 seems troubled. Sam 2 leans forward and activates the Memory Erase button. Gerty's READOUT SCREEN begins to TWITCH and FLASH with RANDOM DATA - then slowly FADES TO BLACK. The Robot has been officially SHUT DOWN. Gerty just stands there. Completely still. As lifeless as a toy. Sam 2 heads out of the room at top speed.", "EXT. MOON SURFACE Shot of LUKE, the third of the Harvesters, heading across the lunar plane.", "INT. MONITORING STATION Sam 2 pauses at the window. looking for Eliza. The Rescue Unit is so close Sam 2 might actually be able to pick out their spacecraft. And he can! It's tiny, but nevertheless it's there - a metallic spacecraft, glinting like a jewel - and heading steadily towards the Moon. There is n't a moment to lose. Sam 2 swings around, heads for the CARGO CONTAINER. We remain inside the Monitoring Station as Sam 2 climbs inside the Cargo Container He readies himself. Says a little prayer and. he cant do it! Cursing at himself and glancing at the time ticking away before Eliza lands, he jumps back out of the CARGO CONTAINER and runs back into the base.", "INT. MONITORING STATION Sam 2 sits down before the Old Man. Eliza's imminent arrival causing increased STRESS and TENSION. Sam 2 takes out the piece of paper on which the COORDINATES of the Jammers are printed out. He starts to frantically type, altering the PATH of the HARVESTERS.", "EXT. MARK Mark trundling along at half - speed. The Harvester suddenly changes direction - veering sharply to the left and heading up over a steep slope.", "INT. MONITORING STATION Back on Sam 2 as he RAPIDLY types, makes an error, screams : SAM 2 Fuck! Pounds the delete button, continuing to type coordinates into the Old Man - He's done! He leaps out of his chair and tears off through the base towards the cargo container.", "EXT. WIDE SHOT -- THE MOON As Eliza's spacecraft sets its sights on Selene, we see the Cargo Container ROCKET through the sky in the opposite direction.", "INT. MOON BASE SELENE/QUICK SHOTS For a few moments all is quiet inside the base. The `` PING - PING - PING'' of the Old Man. The grinding GURGLE of a computer readout. This sequence echoes the tour at the very start of the film, but the base has a decidedly different feel to it now. It's like an abandoned house.", "INT. COMMS ROOM CLOSE UP - THE OLD MAN On the monitor : `` RESCUE UNIT ELIZA : ARRIVED.''", "EXT. ELIZA'S SPACECRAFT/MOON SURFACE A box shaped spacecraft, all menace and angles, slowly DESCENDING towards the lunar surface.", "INT. INFIRMARY -- LATER Gerty sits lifeless. We hear the sounds of pressure doors opening. Unrecognized voices as the landing crew enters the base, calling for Sam. Gerty comes to life. His principal monitor POPS ON and his pincer - like HANDS begin to TWITCH. His READOUT SCREEN streams with DATA. Gerty's head begins to swivel left and right - as if he's awoken with a stiff neck - eventually he SEES Sam 3, crosses to him. Just like that, Gerty continues his routine checks of Sam 3 - studying Sam 3's heartbeat, his brain activity - the robot literally picking up where he left off. And then Sam 3's eyes open. He is awake. He blinks at Gerty, cloudy, groggy. SAM 3 Where am I? GERTY Sam, you're in the Infirmary. You had an accident. Sam 3 staring ahead, trying to dig up the memory. GERTY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Do you remember what happened? SAM 3 No, Gerty. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- I do n't remember a thing. We hear heavy footsteps and voices closer now, just outside the infirmary.", "EXT. MARK/JAMMER/MOON SURFACE A CLOSE UP of MARK as the Harvester churns along and SLAMS into an JAMMER with full force. The Jammer wobbles unsteadily from the IMPACT, before finally TOPPLING over, HAZING the air with lunar dust.", "EXT. CARGO CONTAINER/SPACE The Cargo Container BULLETING through space, fire blasting from its jets like the petals of an exotic flower.", "INT. CARGO CONTAINER Sam 2 is seriously cramped inside one of the Helium 3 containers, about as comfortable as a pony in a dog kennel, but nonetheless WHOOPING RAUCOUSLY at the sheer velocity of the container - as well as, and perhaps even more so, the fact that he has successfully escaped the base. He's going home.", "INT./EXT. CRASHED ROVER/MOON SURFACE -- DAY Sam 1 has stopped breathing. The sun shines on his face. SAM'S DREAM Sam walks towards Tess. He sits down in front of her on the blanket. A beautiful picnic is spread out before them. Tess has never looked so radiant, so beautiful. Light from the sky pours into her upturned face. TESS What took you so long? Sam just smiles back at her. She hands him a bottle of wine and a corkscrew. CAMERA PANS UPWARD - not a cloud in sight - but we are just able to pick out the chalky outline of the MOON, resembling a white thumb print in the blue sky. HOLD THIS shot of the Moon for a few seconds before we FADE TO BLACK.", "INT. COMMS ROOM On the Comms Unit monitor there is a BLAST of STATIC, followed by a FLASHING MESSAGE : `` LIVE FEED AVAILABLE.'' THE END"], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0], "summary": "In the near future, Lunar Industries has made a fortune after an oil crisis by building Sarang Station, a facility on the far side of the Moon to mine the alternative fuel helium-3 from lunar soil, which is rich in the material. The facility is highly automated, requiring only a single human to maintain operations, oversee the harvesters, and launch canisters bound for Earth containing the extracted helium-3. Samuel Bell nears the end of his three-year work contract at Sarang Station. Chronic communication problems have disabled his live feed from Earth and limit him to occasional recorded messages from his wife Tess, who was pregnant with their daughter Eve when he left. His only companion is an artificial intelligence named GERTY, who assists with the base's automation and provides comfort for him. Two weeks before his return to Earth, Sam begins to suffer from hallucinations of a teenage girl and a bearded, disheveled man. One such image distracts him while he is out recovering a helium-3 canister from a harvester, causing him to crash his lunar rover into the harvester. Rapidly losing cabin air from the crash, Sam falls unconscious. Sam awakes in the base infirmary with no memory of the accident. He overhears GERTY having what appears to be a live chat with Lunar Industries management. Lunar Industries then orders Sam to remain on base and informs him that a rescue team will arrive to repair the harvester. Suspicious, Sam manufactures a fake problem to persuade GERTY to let him outside. He travels to the crashed rover, where he finds his unconscious doppelganger. He brings the double back to the base and tends to his injuries. The two Sams start to wonder if one is a clone of the other. After a heated argument and physical altercation, GERTY reveals that they are both clones of the original Sam Bell. GERTY activated the newest clone after the rover crash and convinced him that he was at the beginning of his three-year contract. GERTY confirms his memories of his wife and daughter are implanted. The two Sams search the area, finding a communications substation beyond the facility's perimeter which has been interfering with the live feed from Earth. GERTY helps the older Sam access the recorded logs of past Sam clones, showing them all falling ill as their contract expires. Later, the older Sam discovers a secret vault containing hundreds of hibernating clones. They determine that Lunar Industries is unethically using clones of the original Sam Bell to avoid the cost of training and transporting new astronauts, as well as deliberately jamming the live feed in order to prevent the clones from contacting Earth; clones who believe they are entering the final hibernation at the end of their contract just before their final return to Earth are in fact incinerated. The older Sam clone drives past the interference radius in a second rover and tries to call Tess on Earth. He instead makes contact with Eve, now 15 years old, who says Tess died \"some years ago\". He hangs up when Eve tells her father (offscreen, identified as \"Original Sam\" in closed captioning) that someone is calling regarding Tess. After he returns, the older Sam begins displaying the same symptoms as previous clones as they begin to deteriorate. The two Sams realize that the incoming rescue team will kill them both if they are found together. The newer Sam convinces GERTY to wake another clone, planning to leave the awakened clone in the crashed rover and send the older Sam to Earth in one of the helium-3 transports. But the older Sam, having learned that the clones are designed to break down at the end of the 3-year contract, knows that he will not live much longer. With his health rapidly declining, the older Sam suggests that he be placed back into the crashed rover to die so that Lunar Industries will not suspect anything, while the newer Sam escapes instead. Following GERTY's advice, the newer Sam reboots GERTY to wipe its records of the events. Before leaving, the newer clone reprograms a harvester to crash and wreck the jamming antenna, thereby enabling live communications with Earth; he also brings along a canister of helium-3 to provide him with funds once he reaches Earth. The older Sam, back in the crippled rover, remains conscious long enough to watch the launch of the transport carrying the newer Sam to Earth. The rescue team is successfully fooled after finding both a newly-awakened clone in the medical bay and the corpse of the older Sam inside of the crashed rover. The helium transport arrives at Earth, and over the film's credits, news reports describe how Sam's testimony on Lunar Industries' activities has stirred up an enormous controversy, and the company's unethical practices have caused their stock to plummet.", "name": "Moon_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["EXT. A SAVANNAH STREET - DAY (1981) A feather floats through the air. The falling feather. A city, Savannah, is revealed in the background. The feather floats down toward the city below. The feather drops down toward the street below, as people walk past and cars drive by, and nearly lands on a man's shoulder. He walks across the street, causing the feather to be whisked back on its journey. The feather floats above a stopped car. The car drives off right as the feather floats down toward the street. The feather floats under a passing car, then is sent flying back up in the air. A MAN sits on a bus bench. The feather floats above the ground and finally lands on the man's mudsoaked shoe. The man reached down and picks up the feather. His name is FORREST GUMP. He looks at the feather oddly, moves aside a box of chocolates from an old suitcase, then opens the case. Inside the old suitcase are an assortment of clothes, a pingpong paddle, toothpaste and other personal items. Forrest pulls out a book titled `` Curious George,'' then places the feather inside the book. Forrest closes the suitcase. Something in his eyes reveals that Forrest may not be all there. Forrest looks right as the sound of an arriving bus is heard. A bus pulls up. Forrest remains on the bus bench as the bus continues on. A BLACK WOMAN in a nurse's outfit steps up and sits down at the bus bench next to Forrest. The nurse begins to read a magazine as Forrest looks at her. FORREST Hello. My name's Forrest Gump. He opens a box of chocolates and holds it out for the nurse. FORREST You want a chocolate? The nurse shakes her head, a bit apprehensive about this strange man next to her. FORREST I could eat about a million and a half of these. My momma always said, `` Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gon na get.'' Forrest eats a chocolate as he looks down at the nurse's shoes. FORREST Those must be comfortable shoes. I'll bet you could walk all day in shoes like that and not feel a thing. I wish I had shoes like that. BLACK WOMAN My feet hurt. FORREST Momma always says there's an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes. Where they're going. Where they've been. The black woman stares at Forrest as he looks down at his own shoes. FORREST I've worn lots of shoes. I bet if I think about it real hard I could remember my first pair of shoes. Forrest closes his eyes tightly. FORREST Momma said they'd take my anywhere.", "INT. COUNTRY DOCTOR'S OFFICE - GREENBOW, ALABAMA - DAY (1951) A little boy closes his eyes tightly. It is young Forrest as he sits in a doctor's office. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She said they was my magic shoes. Forrest has been fitted with orthopedic shoes and metal leg braces. DOCTOR All right, Forrest, you can open your eyes now. Let's take a little walk around. The doctor sets Forrest down on its feet. Forrest walks around stiffly. Forrest's mother, MRS. GUMP, watches him as he clanks around the room awkwardly. DOCTOR How do those feel? His legs are strong, Mrs. Gump. As strong as I've ever seen. But his back is as crooked as a politician. Forrest walks foreground past the doctor and Mrs. Gump. DOCTOR But we're gon na straighten him right up now, wo n't we, Forrest? A loud thud is heard as, outside, Forrest falls. MRS. GUMP Forrest!", "EXT. GREENBOW, ALABAMA Mrs. Gump and young Forrest walk across the street. Forrest walks stiffly next to his mother. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now, when I was a baby, Momma named me after the great Civil War hero, General Nathan Bedford Forrest.", "EXT. RURAL ALABAMA A black and white photo of General Nathan Bedford Forrest. The photo turns into live action as the General dons a hooded sheet over his head. The General is in full Ku Klux Klan garb, including his horse. The General rides off, followed by a large group of Klan members dressed in full uniform. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She said we was related to him in some way. And, what he did was, he started up this club called the Ku Klux Klan. They'd all dress up in their robes and their bedsheets and act like a bunch of ghosts or spooks or something. They'd even put bedsheets on their horses and ride around. And anyway, that's how I got my name. Forrest Gump.", "EXT. GREENBOW Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk across the street. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Momma said that the Forrest part was to remind me that sometimes we all do things that, well, just do n't make no sense. Forrest stops suddenly as his brace gets stuck. Forrest's brace is caught in a gutter grate. Mrs. Gump bends down and tries to free Forrest. Two old cronies sit in front of a barber shop and watch. MRS. GUMP Just wait, let me get it. Mrs. Gump struggles to pull the stuck brace from the grate. MRS. GUMP Let me get it. Wait, get it this way. Hold on. Forrest pulls his foot out of the grate. MRS. GUMP All right. Mrs. Gump helps Forrest up onto the sidewalk. She looks up and notices the two old man. MRS. GUMP Oooh. All right. What are you all staring at? Have n't you ever seen a little boy with braces on his legs before? Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk along the sidewalk past the two old men. Mrs. Gump holds tightly onto Forrest's hand. MRS. GUMP Do n't ever let anybody tell you they're better than you, Forrest. If God intended everybody to be the same, he'd have given us all braces on our legs. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Momma always had a way of explaining things so I could understand them.", "EXT. OAK ALLEY/THE GUMP BOARDING HOUSE Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk along a dirt road. A row of mailboxes stands left. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We lived about a quarter mile of Route 17, about a half mile from the town of Greenbow, Alabama. That's in the county of Greenbow. Our house had been in Momma's family since her grandpa's grandpa's grandpa had come across the ocean about a thousand years ago. Something like that. Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk along the Gump Boarding House driveway. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Since it was just me and Momma and we had all these empty rooms, Momma decided to let those rooms out. Mostly to people passing through. Like from, oh, Mobile, Montgomery, place like that. That's how me and Mommy got money. Mommy was a real smart lady. MRS. GUMP Remember what I told you, Forrest. You're no different than anybody else is. Mrs. Gump heads Forrest to the porch. She bends down to look Forrest in the eye. MRS. GUMP Did you hear what I said, Forrest? You're the same as everybody else. You are no different.", "INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL / PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE - DAY PRINCIPAL Your boy's. different, Mrs. Gump. Now, his I.Q. is seventy - five. MRS. GUMP Well, we're all different, Mr. Hancock. The principal sighs, then stands up.", "INT. HALLWAY Forrest sits outside the principal's office and waits. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She wanted me to have the finest education, so she took me to the Greenbow County Central School. I met the principal and all. The principal stands in front of Mrs. Gump. Forrest, sitting left, listens. PRINCIPAL I want to show you something, Mrs. Gump. Now, this is normal. The principal holds up a chart with a designations according to I.Q. and points to the center of the graph, labeled `` Normal.'' A red line below the normal area is labeled `` State Acceptance.'' The principal points to the section below the acceptance line labeled `` Below.'' PRINCIPAL Forrest is right here. The state requires a minimum I.Q. of eighty to attend public school, Mrs. Gump. He's gon na have to go to a special school. Now, he'll be just fine. MRS. GUMP What does normal mean, anyway? He might be a bit on the slow side, but my boy Forrest is going to get the same opportunities as everyone else. He's not going to some special school to learn to how to re - tread tires. We're talking about five little points here. There must be something can be done.", "INT. HALLWAY Forrest sits outside the principal's office. PRINCIPAL We're a progressive school system. We do n't want to see anybody left behind.", "INT. PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE PRINCIPAL Is there a Mr. Gump, Mrs. Gump? MRS. GUMP He's on vacation.", "EXT. GUMP BOARDING HOUSE - NIGHT Forrest sits on a swing outside the house. Loud organic male grunts are heard coming from inside the house. Forrest sits on the swing as the grunts continue. The principal steps out of the Gump House and wipes the sweat from his face. Forrest is sitting on the porch. PRINCIPAL Well, your momma sure does care about your schooling, son. Mm - mm - mm. The principal wipes the sweat from his neck, then looks back at Forrest. PRINCIPAL You do n't say much, do you? Forrest grunts, imitating him. The principal, embarrassed, turns and walks away.", "INT. GUMP BOARDING HOUSE/FORREST'S BEDROOM Mrs. Gump reads from the book `` Curious George'' as Forrest sits on the bed and listens. MRS. GUMP Finally, he had to try it. It looked easy, but, oh, what happened. First there. FORREST Momma, what's vacation mean? MRS. GUMP Vacation? FORREST Where Daddy went? MRS. GUMP Vacation's when you go somewhere, and you do n't ever come back. Forrest lies down on his bed and looks up. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Anyway, I guess you could say me and Momma was on our own.", "EXT. GUMP BOARDING HOUSE - DAY A cab driver closes the trunk of the car as two women walk toward the house. A milkman steps down from the porch. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But we did n't mind. Our house was never empty. There was always folks comin' and goin'. MRS. GUMP -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Suppa.", "INT. GUMP BOARDING HOUSE Mrs. Gump steps forward and speaks to all the boarders. MRS. GUMP It's suppa, everyone. Forrest. A MAN WITH A CANE steps left across the hall. MAN WITH CANE My, my. That sure looks special. Mrs. Gump looks into a sitting room and informs the boarders about dinner. MRS. GUMP Gentlemen, would you care to join us for supper? Hurry up and get it before the flies do. I prefer you do n't smoke that cigar so close to mealtime. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sometimes we had so many people stayin' with us that every room was filled with travelers. You know, folks livin' out of their suitcases, and hat cases, and sample cases. MRS. GUMP Well, you go ahead and start. I ca n't find Forrest. Mrs. Gump walks up the stairs. MRS. GUMP Forrest. Forrest. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- One time a young man was staying with us, and he had him a guitar case. Mrs. Gump looks into Forrest's room. She hears singing coming from another room and walks over to a closed door. Mrs. Gump opens the door, revealing a young man with long sideburns as he plays the guitar and sings. Forrest holds onto a broom and dances oddly. The young man is ELVIS PRESLEY. ELVIS PRESLEY -LRB- sings. -RRB- `` Well, you ai n't never caught a rabbit, and you ai n't no friend of mine.'' Forrest's legs rock back and forth to the guitar. MRS. GUMP Forrest! I told you not to bother this nice young man. ELVIS Oh, no, that's all right, ma'am. I was just showin' him a thing or two on the guitar here. MRS. GUMP All right, but your supper's ready if y' all want to eat. ELVIS Yeah, that sounds good. Thank you, ma'am. Mrs. Gump leaves and closes the door. Elvis sits back down. Forrest stands left, and looks himself in a mirror. ELVIS Say, man, show me that crazy little walk you just did there. Slow it down some. Forrest begins to dance again as Elvis plays the guitar and sings. ELVIS -LRB- sings. -RRB- `` You ai n't nothin' but a hound, hound dog.'' FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I liked that guitar. Forrest dances as he watches himself in the mirror. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It sounded good. ELVIS -LRB- sings. -RRB-''. cryin' all the time'' Forrest rocks up and down on his braced legs, then begins to step. ELVIS -LRB- sings. -RRB- `` You ai n't nothin' but a hound dog.'' FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I started moving around to the music, swinging my hips. This one night me and Momma.", "EXT. GREENBOW - NIGHT Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk along a sidewalk. A television inside a store window reveals Elvis Presley as he performs `` Houng Dog'' on a stage. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- was out shoppin', and we walked right by Benson's Furniture and Appliance store, and guess what. The television reveals Elvis as he thrusts his hips and sings. ELVIS -LRB- sings. -RRB- You ai n't nothin' but a hound dog. Mrs. Gump and Forrest watch the television. Elvis dances around in the same manner Forrest did. A woman in the audience screaming and applauding. ELVIS -LRB- sings. -RRB- You ai n't nothin' but a hound dog. MRS. GUMP This is not children's eyes. Mrs. Gump walks away, pulling Forrest with her. Forrest stops and takes one last look. Elvis continues to perform over the television. ELVIS -LRB- sings. -RRB- `` Well, you ai n't never caught a rabbit and you ai n't no friend of mine.'' FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Some years later, that handsome young man who they called `` The King,'' well, he sung too many songs, had himself a heart attack or something.", "EXT. SAVANNAH/BUS BENCH - DAY Forrest is still sitting on the bus bench. The black nurse looks at him. FORREST Must be hard being a king. You know, it's funny how you remember some things, but some things you ca n't.", "EXT. COUNTRY ROAD/ALABAMA - MORNING (1954) Mrs. Gump and Forrest wait for the school bus. The bus pulls up as Mrs. Gump prepares Forrest for his first day of school. MRS. GUMP You do your very best now, Forrest. FORREST I sure will, Momma. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I remember the bus ride on the first day of school very well. The bus driver opens the door and looks down. Forrest walks to the steps of the bus and looks at the bus driver. She is smoking a cigarette. BUS DRIVER Are you comin' along? FORREST Momma said not to be taking rides from strangers. BUS DRIVER This is the bus to school. FORREST I'm Forrest Gump. BUS DRIVER I'm Dorothy Harris. FORREST Well, now we ai n't strangers anymore. The bus driver smiles as Forrest steps up into the bus.", "INT. BUS Forrest steps up onto the bus. Mrs. Gump waves to Forrest as the bus drives away. Forrest begins to walk down the aisle. TWO YOUNG BOYS look up from the seat. BOY #1 This seat's taken. BOY #2 It's taken! Forrest looks around. A larger girl slides over so Forrest ca n't sit next to her. She shakes her head. Forrest looks to the other side where a boy sits alone on a larger seat. They boy glares up at Forrest. BOY #3 You ca n't sit here. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You know, it's funny what a young man recollects.'Cause I do n't remember being born.", "EXT. SAVANNAH/BUS BENCH - DAY Forrest continues talking as he sits on the bus bench. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I, I. do n't recall what I got for my first Christmas and I do n't know when I went on my first outdoor picnic. But, I do remember the first time I heard the sweetiest voice.", "INT. BUS - MORNING (1954) Young Forrest is still standing in the aisle on the bus. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- in the wide world. GIRL You can sit here if you want. Forrest looks back at JENNY CURRAN, a young girl about Forrest's age. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life. She was like an angel. JENNY Well, are you gon na sit down, or are n't ya? Forrest sits down next to Jenny. JENNY What's wrong with your legs? FORREST Um, nothing at all, thank you. My legs are just fine and dandy. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I just sat next to her on that bus and had conversation all the way to school. JENNY Then why do you have those shoes on? FORREST My momma said my back's crooked like a question mark. These are going to make me as straight as an arrow. They're my magic shoes. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And next to Momma, no one ever talked to me or asked me questions. JENNY Are you stupid or something. FORREST Mommy says stupid is as stupid does. Jenny puts her hand out toward Forrest. Forrest reaches over and shakes her hand. JENNY I'm Jenny. FORREST I'm Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- From that day on, we was always together. Jenny and me was like peas and carrots.", "EXT. OAK TREE - DAY Young Jenny and Forrest run toward a large oak tree. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She taught me how to climb. Jenny sits on a large branch and calls down to Forrest. JENNY Come on, Forrest, you can do it. Forrest dangles from the branch. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I showed her how to dangle. Jenny and Forrest sit on a tree branch and read. FORREST. a good little monkey and.'' FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She helped me to learn how to read. Forrest hangs upside down from a branch and swings back and forth. Forrest's braces are wedged in the tree. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And I showed her to swing.", "EXT. OAK TREE - NIGHT The silhouete of the oak tree, Jenny and Forrest as they sit on a branch. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sometimes we'd just sit out and wait for the stars. FORREST Momma's gon na worry about me. Jenny puts her hand on Forrest's hand. JENNY Just stay a little longer. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- For some reason, Jenny did n't never want to go home. FORREST Okay, Jenny. I'll stay. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She was my most special friend.", "INT. SAVANNAH/BUS STOP - DAY Forrest nods as he remembers. FORREST My only friend. Forrest continues talking to the black woman. She does n't seem to be listening as she reads her magazine. She looks up from her magazine. FORREST Now, my Momma always told me that miracles happen every day. Some people do n't think so, but they do.", "EXT. OAK ALLEY - ANOTHER DAY (1954) Jenny and Forrest walk. A dirt clod hits Forrest in the back of the head. Jenny looks as Forrest rubs his head. THREE YOUNG BOYS get off their bikes and pick up more rocks. BOY #1 Hey. dummy! Forrest is hit in the eye with another dirt clod. Forrest falls backward onto the ground as the boys glare at him. BOY #2 Are you retarded, or just plain stupid? BOY #3 Look, I'm Forrest Gump. Jenny helps Forrest back up. Boy # 1 and Boy # 2 throw more dirt clods at Forrest. JENNY Just run away, Forrest. Another dirt clod hits Forrest in the arm. JENNY Run, Forrest! Forrest tries to run along the road, but his braces makes it impossible. He hobbles along as Jenny yells after him. JENNY Run away! Hurry! Boy # 1 and Boy # 2 turn back toward the bikes. BOY #2 Get the bikes! BOY #3 Hurry up! The boys pick up their bikes and ride after Forrest. BOY #3 Let's get him! Come on! BOY #2 Look out, dummy, here we come! The boys ride after Forrest. Jenny stands and watches. BOY #2 We're gon na get you! JENNY Run, Forrest! Run! Forrest hobbles along the dirt road. JENNY Run, Forrest! Forrest looks over his shoulder. The three boys race on their bikes. BOY #1 Come back here, you! Forrest begins to run faster with his braces on. Forrest continues running as the boys chase him. Blood drips down from a cut on his head. The boys on the bikes are gaining on Forrest. Forrest hobbles along. He begins to gain speed. JENNY Run, Forrest! Run! SLOW MOTION - Forrest runs from the chasing room. He looks over his shoulder in fear. The boys on the bikes peddle faster as they gain on Forrest, running. Forrest tries to run even faster to get away. Suddenly his braces shatter, sending steel and plastic flying into the air. Forrest runs and look down at his legs in surprise. Forrest continues to run faster as the metal braces and straps fly off his legs. Forrest runs free of his braces and begins to pick up speed. The chasing boys ride over the remains of Forrest's braces. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now, you would n't believe it if I told you.", "EXT. SAVANNAH/ BUS BENCH - DAY FORREST But I can run like the wind blows. The black woman continues to read her magazine. Forrest smiles as he remembers. FORREST From that day on, if I was going somewhere, I was running!", "EXT. OAK ALLEY - DAY (1954) Forrest sprints away from the boys. The boys stop the chase and watch in disbelief. Forrest is already at the far end of the road, clear of the chasing boys. BOY #2 He's gettin' away! Stop him! Boy # 1 throws his bike down in frustration. Forrest runs across a field.", "EXT. COUNTRY ROAD Forrest runs past a chain gang in their prison uniforms. They are cutting at the weeds on the side of the road.", "EXT. GREENBOW Forrest runs across the street. THE TWO OLD MEN sit in front of the barber shop. OLD CRONY That boy sure is a running fool.", "EXT. JENNY'S HOUSE Forrest runs down a driveway toward Jenny's small house. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now remember how I told you that Jenny never seemed to want to go home? Well, she lived in a house that was as old as Alabama. Her Momma had gone up to heaven when she was five and her daddy was some kind of a farmer. Forrest knocks on Jenny's door. FORREST Jenny? Jenny? Forrest look around the field at the left. He notices Jenny and runs toward her. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He was a very lovin' man. He was always kissing and touchin' her and her sisters. And then this one time, Jenny was n't on the bus to go to school. Forrest runs to Jenny. FORREST Jenny, why did n't you come to school today? JENNY Hsh! Daddy's takin' a nap. Jenny grabs Forrest's hand and runs into the field. Jenny's DAD drunk, steps out onto the porch and shouts. JENNY'S DAD Jenny! JENNY Come on! JENNY'S DAD Jenny, where'd you run to? You'd better come back here, girl! Jenny's dad steps out toward the field. Jenny leads Forrest into the thick tobacco field. Jenny's dad runs through the field searching for Jenny with a liquor bottle in his hand. JENNY'S DAD Where you at? Jenny and Forrest run into a corn field as Jenny's dad tries to chase her. JENNY'S DAD Jenny! Jenny! Where you at? Jenny! Jenny drops to her knees and pulls Forrest down with her. JENNY Pray with me, Forrest. Pray with me. JENNY'S DAD Jenny! JENNY Dear God, make me a bird so I can fly far, far, far away from here. Dear God, make me a bird so I can fly far, far, far away from here. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Momma always said that God is mysterious. JENNY'S DAD Jenny! Get back here! FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He did n't turn Jenny into a bird that day. Instead.", "EXT. TRAILER PARK/ALABAMA - DAY (1955) A police officer escorts Jenny to her grandmother's trailer. Jenny's grandmother meets Jenny outside and leads her toward the trailer. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- he had the police say Jenny did n't have to stay in that house no more. She went to live with her grandma just over on Creekmore Avenue, which made me happy'cause she was so close.", "EXT. GUMP HOUSE - NIGHT (1955) Jenny climbs over a second - floor railing and enters the house. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Some nights, Jenny'd sneak out and come over to my house, just'cause she said she was scared. Scared of what, I do n't know.", "INT. GUMP HOUSE/FORREST'S BEDROOM Jenny lies in bed next to young Forrest. She hugs him. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- but I think it was her grandma's dog. He was a mean dog. Anyway, Jenny and me was best friends.", "EXT. GREENBOW/OAK ALLEY - DAY (1961) Forrest and Jenny are teenagers now. They walk along an oaklined road. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- all the way to high school. Suddenly Forrest is hit in the back with a rock. Forrest and Jenny turn around. OLDER BOY #1 Hey, stupid! JENNY Quit it! A teenage boy throws another rock as a pickup truck pulls up behind him. Jenny turns and looks at Forrest. JENNY Run, Forrest, run! OLDER BOY #1 Hey. Did you hear me, stupid? JENNY Run, Forrest! Forrest drops his books and runs down the road. The teenage boy jumps into the back of the pickup truck with another boy as the truck speeds after Forrest. Jenny steps left and gets out of the way. OLDER BOY #2 Come on, he's getting away! Move it! JENNY Run, Forrest! Run! OLDER BOY #1 You better be runnin', stupid. Forrest runs along the road. The truck speeds after him. OLDER BOY #2 Come on, dummy! OLDER BOY #1 Haul ass, dummy! Older Boy throws rocks at Forrest. OLDER BOY #1 Yeah, you better be runnin'!", "INT. TRUCK BOY Ya - hoo!", "EXT. OAK ALLEY The boys in the back of the truck throw rocks at Forrest as they drive up to him. OLDER BOY #1 Move it, jack rabbit! The truck follows right on Forrest's heels. A rebel flag license plate adorns the truck's grill. OLDER BOY #1 Come on! Forrest runs along the road as the truck chases him. The boys in the back of the truck pound on the roof as the truck turns right, after Forrest. The truck drives into a field. Forrest runs toward a fence. BOY Run! Faster! Yeah! Go! Go! Come on, Forrest! Yeah! JENNY Run, Forrest! Forrest leaps over a five - foot fence as the boys try to catch him.", "EXT. SAVANNAH/BUS BENCH - DAY (1981) Forrest looks left as he continues telling his life story. FORREST Now, it used to be, I ran to get where I was goin'. I never thought it would take me anywhere.", "EXT. HIGH SCHOOL/ROAD - DAY (1961) Forrest runs along the road in front of the high school. The truck continues to chase him as the boys pound on the roof. OLDER BOY Come on. Whoo - hoo! The truck speeds past Forrest as he turns from the road and runs onto the high school football field. Forrest runs across the field during a football scrimmage. In the stands watching the scrimmage is the legendary University of Alabama football coach BEAR BRYANT, wearing his trademark plaid hat. A group of assistant coaches sit around him, as well as the high school football coach. The quarterback throws the ball into the air. Forrest runs past the quarterback. The receiver catches the ball. Forrest runs past the receiver as an opposing player tackles the stunned receiver. The football coach stands, followed by the assistant coaches. FOOTBALL COACH Who in the hell is that? HIGH SCHOOL COACH That there is Forrest Gump. Coach. Just a local idiot. Forrest runs under the field goal post and through the end zone. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And can you believe it? I got to go to college, too.", "EXT. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA STADIUM - DAY (1962) The crowd roars with excitement as a football is kicked off. The football players run around on the field. The crowd of cheering fans create a huge sign that reads : `` GO.'' Forrest is in a University of Alabama football uniform. He looks up into the cheering crowd as his teammate fields the kickoff. The teammate runs over to Forrest and hands him the ball. FOOTBALL COACH Okay! Run! The football coach, the assistants, and Alabama players cheer for Forrest. FOOTBALL COACH Run, you stupid son - of - a - bitch! Run! Forrest runs across the field. He speeds past the defending players. Forrest runs past the opposite players. The crowd cheers wildly, holding up cards, making a large sign that reads : `` Go.'' They turn the cards over, creating the word : `` ALABAMA.'' The football coach runs along the sidelines as he yells. FOOTBALL COACH You stupid son - of - a - bitch! Run! Go! Run! Forrest cuts and runs toward the sidelines. Two opposing players collide. The football coach, the assistants and the players all motion for Forrest to run toward the end zone. FOOTBALL COACH Run! Turn! Go! Forrest turns up the sidelines and runs toward the end zone. Some opposing players fall down. Forrest runs along the sidelines. The opposing players try to catch him. Forrest runs into the end zone as an opposing player dives at his feet. The referee holds up his arm, signaling a touch down. The crowd cheers wildly. Forrest continues to run, smashing through the band members, then all the way toward the team tunnel. The football coach looks at an assistant coach. FOOTBALL COACH He must be the stupidest son - of - a - bitch alive. But he sure is fast! FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now, maybe it was just me but college was very confusing times.", "INT. GREENBOW/BARBER SHOT - BLACK & WHITE TELEVISION (JUNE 11, 1963) An anchorman named CHET HUNTLEY appears over the television. CHET HUNTLEY -LRB- on TV. -RRB- Federal troops enforcing a court order integrated the University of Alabama today.", "EXT. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA - DAY Forrest walks through a crowd of people. CHET HUNTLEY Governor George Wallace had carried out his symbolic threat to stand in the schoolhouse door. GOVERNOR WALLACE We hereby denounce and forbid this illegal and unwarranted action by the central government.", "INT. GREENBOW/BARBER SHOP A black & white television reveals George Wallace as he stands in the doorway of the schoolhouse. KATZENBACH -LRB- on TV. -RRB- Governor Wallace, I take it from that, uh.", "EXT. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA Forrest steps over to a young man as the crowd looks at the demonstration. KATZENBACH statement that you are going to stand in that door, and that you are not going to carry out the orders of this court, and that you are going to resist us from doing so. I would ask you once again to responsibility step aside and if you do not, I'm going to assure you. FORREST Earl, what's going on? EARL Coons are tryin' to get into school. FORREST Coons? When raccoons try to get on our back porch, Momma just chase'em off with a broom. EARL Not raccoons, you idiot, niggas. And they want to go to school with us. FORREST With us? They do? Forrest walks toward the schoolhouse.", "INT. COACHES' OFFICE A football coach looks at a black and white television as a newsman outside the schoolhouse speaks to the camera. NEWSMAN -LRB- on TV. -RRB-. block the doorway, President Kennedy ordered the Secretary of Defense then to use the military force. BLACK AND WHITE FOOTAGE The footage cuts to Governor Wallace as he speaks to General Graham. NEWSMAN Here by videotape is the encounter by General Graham, Commander of the National Guard, and Governor Wallace. Forrest stands next to George Wallace and listens. GOVERNOR WALLACE We must have no violence today, or any other day, because these National Guardsmen are here today as Federal Soldiers for Alabamans. And they live within our borders and they are all our brothers. We are winning in this fight because we are awakening the American people to the dangers that we have spoken about so many times, just so evident today, the trend toward military dictatorship in this country.", "EXT. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA Some of the Alabama policeman and citizens clap their hands as the National Guardsmen stand at attention with their weapons in front of them. Forrest walks through the crowd. Two black students were being led toward the schoolhouse. NEWSMAN And so at day's end the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa had been desegregated and students Jimmy Hood and Vivian Malone had been signed up for summer classes. The young black girl drops one of her books. Forrest notices and steps past the policeman toward the book on the ground. Forrest steps out from the crowd and picks up the book. He brings it up to the girl. FORREST Ma'am, you dropped your book. Ma'am.", "INT. COACHES' OFFICE - NIGHT (1963) A coach looks at the television. The television reveals Forrest as he stands at the schoolhouse door. He looks around, then waves. CHET HUNTLEY -LRB- on TV. -RRB- Governor Wallace did what he promised to do. By being on the Tuscaloosa campus, he kept the mob from gathering and prevented violence. An assistant coach looks at the television, then at the other coaches. ASSISTANT COACH Say, was n't that Gump? The football coach and two assistant coaches look. Forrest dries himself off with a towel as he steps from the showers. CHET HUNTLEY -LRB- on TV. -RRB- NBC News will present a special program on the Alabama integration story at 7:30 p.m. tonight. ASSISTANT COACH Naw, that could n't be. FOOTBALL COACH It sure as hell was. CHET HUNTLEY standard Eastern Daylight Time. Now a word from Anacin. Forrest steps up to the coaches' area and grabs a clean towel. The coaches turn and stare at Forrest. Forrest gives them one of his silly waves, then walks away. COLOR FOOTAGE - Governor Wallace waves to the crowd as he stands behind a podium with his wife. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- A few years later, that angry little man at the schoolhouse door thought it would be a good idea, and ran for President. COLOR FOOTAGE - Governor Wallace mingles in a crowd. Gunshots are fired, wounding him. Some men wrestle the shooter. Wallace lies wounded on the ground. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But, somebody thought that it was n't.", "EXT. SAVANNAH/BUS BENCH - DAY (1981) Forrest sits on the bench as the black woman looks at him. A WHITE WOMAN with a bay sits left. FORREST But he did n't die. A bus pulls up to the bus stop. The BLACK WOMAN looks down at her watch. BLACK WOMAN My bus is here. FORREST Is it the number 9? BLACK WOMAN No, it's the number 4. The Black Woman gets up and steps over to the bus. FORREST It was nice talkin' to you. The white woman sits closer to Forrest. WHITE WOMAN I remember when that happened, when Wallace got shot. I was in college. FORREST Did you go to a girls' college, or to a girls' and boys' together college? WHITE WOMAN It was co - ed. FORREST'Cause Jenny went to a college I could n't go to. It was a college just for girls. EXT, GIRLS' COLLEGE/JENNY'S DORM - NIGHT -LRB- 1963 -RRB- Forrest sits outside Jenny's dorm in the rain. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But, I'd go and visit her every chance I got. A car pulls up. A song is heard from the radio. Forrest, holding a box of chocolates, looks at the car. The two people inside the car begins to kiss and embrace each other. Jenny is inside the car with a boy. She leans back against the passenger side door as they struggle to get comfortable. JENNY Ouch! That hurts. Forrest gets up and runs toward the car. He tries to look in the window as he steps over to the driver's side door. He opens the door and begins to punch the boy inside. Jenny jump out of the car and runs over to Forrest. JENNY Forrest! Forrest! Forrest, stop it! Stop it! BILLY Jesus! JENNY What are you doing? FORREST He was hurtin' you. Jenny's date, named BILLY, gets out of the car angrily. BILLY What the hell is going on here? JENNY No, he's not! BILLY Who is that? Who is that? JENNY Get over there! Jenny turns and looks at Billy. He shoves Jenny's hands away from him. JENNY Billy, I'm sorry. BILLY What in the hell, git, would you git away from me! JENNY Do n't. Wait a second! BILLY Git, just git away from me! JENNY Do n't go! Billy, wait a second! Billy gets back into the car. JENNY He does n't know any better! Billy pulls away as Jenny steps toward Forrest. JENNY Forrest, why'd you do that? Forrest holds out the box of chocolates. FORREST I brought you some chocolates. I'm sorry. I'll go back to my college now. JENNY Forrest, look at you! Come on. Come on. Jenny grabs Forrest hand and leads him toward the dorm.", "INT. JENNY'S DORM/HALLWAY Jenny and Forrest sneak to Jenny's door. FORREST Is this your room? JENNY Shh! Jenny unlocks the door and they step inside.", "INT. JENNY'S DORM ROOM Jenny pulls a robe off of her sleeping roommate's bed. Jenny hands the robe to Forrest, sitting on Jenny's bed. JENNY Do you ever dream, Forrest, about who you're gon na be? FORREST Who I'm gon na be? JENNY Yeah. FORREST Are n't I going to be me? JENNY Well, you'll always be you, just another kind of you. You know? I want to be famous. Jenny picks up a towel, then walks back toward Forrest. Jenny dries the water from her hair. JENNY I want to be a singer like Joan Baez. I just want to be an empty stage with my guitar, my voice. just me. Jenny takes off her slip and sits on the bed next to him. She is only wearing her bra and panties. Forrest looks at Jenny like he's never seen a woman in her underwear before. JENNY And I want to reach people on a personal level. I want to be able to say things, just one - to - one. Forrest looks down at Jenny's breasts. Jenny realizes that he is looking at her. JENNY Have you ever been with a girl, Forrest? FORREST I sit next to them in my home economics class all the time. DJ -LRB- over radio. -RRB- You're listening to WHHY in Birmingham, the clear A.M. voice of Northern Alabama. I'm Joel Dorn. Forrest looks at Jenny as she removes her bra. Forrest looks away, a bit shamed. Jenny takes his hand and guides it up to her breast. DJ -LRB- over radio. -RRB-. coming to you on a night that is anything but clear. The weatherman says that rain's gon na fall all night long so stay with us, get warm, get cozy, get under the covers to the cool sounds of WHHY. Forrest looks over at Jenny's breasts, the shudder as he has an orgasm. FORREST Ohh. Oh. I'm sorry. Sorry. JENNY It's okay. DJ -LRB- over radio. -RRB-. 444 - 6789, with ya till sunrise, playing the music you want to hear when you want to hear it. If you have a request or dedication, give us a call. We guarantee you'll hear your requests within one hour. Forrest breathes heavily. Jenny puts her bra back on. JENNY It's all right. Jenny leans over and puts her head on Forrest's shoulder. DJ -LRB- over radio. -RRB- Candy is on the line tonight. Candy's answering the phones, give Candy your request, your dedication, and ask her why she wo n't go out with me, would you? Here's more music. JENNY It's okay. FORREST Oh, I'm dizzy. A song is coming over the radio. Jenny hugs Forrest. JENNY I bet that never happened in home ec. FORREST No. Jenny laughs and kisses Forrest on the cheek. Forrest and Jenny hug on the bed as Jenny's roommate pretends to be asleep, but is listening, horrified, with her eyes open. FORREST I think I ruined your roommate's bathrobe. JENNY I do n't care. I do n't like her, anyway.", "EXT. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA/FOOTBALL STADIUM - DAY (1963) Forrest runs across the field as the defending team chases him. The crowd yells for Forrest. They flip a sign that reads : `` Go Forrest.'' CROWD Run! Run! Run! Forrest runs along the field. The crowd cheers. CROWD Run! Run! Run! Forrest runs into the end zone. The band members rush toward Forrest with their hands up, signaling him to stop. The crowd flips over cards, creating a sign that reads `` STOP.'' CROWD Stop! Forrest stops in the end zone as he hears the crowd yells. The band motions for Forrest to stop and stay in the end zone. A group of defending players fall over each other in the end zone. Forrest looks as the crowd cheers wildly. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- College ran by real fast'cause I played so much football. BLACK AND WHITE PARAMOUNT NEWSREEL - DAY -LRB- 1963 -RRB- The White House with the words `` The eyes and ears of the world Paramount News'' superimposed. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- They even put me on a thing called the All - America Team where you get to meet the President of the United States. BLACK AND WHITE NEWSREEL PRESIDENT KENNEDY holds an autographed football as the All - American Team stands behind him. Forrest is among the players in suits. ANNOUNCER -LRB- over newsreel. -RRB- President Kennedy met with the Collegiate All - American Football Team at the Oval Office today.", "INT. WHITE HOUSE RECEPTION AREA - DAY (1963) The All - American players mingle around the food table. Forrest steps up to the table. A large spread of food and soda is on the table. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now, the real good thing about meeting the President of the United States is the food. Forrest takes a bottle of Dr. Pepper from the buffet table. Numerous bottle of Dr. Pepper are displayed on the table. A servant opens the bottle for him. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- They put you in this little room with just about anything you'd want to eat or drink. And since number one, I was n't hungry, but thirsty. Forrest begins to guzzle the Dr. Pepper. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- and number two, they was free, I musta drank me about fifteen Dr. Peppers. Forrest sets down an empty Dr. Pepper bottle next to a large number of other empty bottles. Forrest holds his stomach and burps. BLACK AND WHITE FOOTAGE - President Kennedy shakes hands with the All - American football players. PRESIDENT KENNEDY Congratulations. How does it feel to be an All - American? 1ST PLAYER It's an honor, Sir. Another player steps up to the President and shakes the President's hand. PRESIDENT KENNEDY Congratulations. How does it feel to be an All - American? 2ND PLAYER Very good, Sir. PRESIDENT KENNEDY Congratulations. How does it feel to be an All - American? 3RD PLAYER Very good, Sir. The player walks away. Forrest steps up to the President. The President shakes his hand. PRESIDENT KENNEDY Congratulations. How do you feel? FORREST I got ta pee. President Kennedy turns and smiles. PRESIDENT KENNEDY I believe he said he had to go pee.", "INT. WHITE HOUSE/BATHROOM Forrest urinates in the bathroom, then lowers the lid and flashes. Forrest washes his hands, then notices an autographed photo from Marilyn Monroe and a photo of John with his brother Bobby. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sometime later, for no particular reason, somebody shot that nice young President when he was ridin' in his car. ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE - DAY SLOW MOTION - President Kennedy rises in a convertible and smiles. FORREST And a few years after that. ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE - Robert Kennedy stands at a podium as people around him applaud. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- somebody shot his little brother, too, only he was in a hotel kitchen.", "EXT. SAVANNHA/BUS BENCH - DAY (1981) Forrest sits on the bench and shakes his head. FORREST It must be hard being brothers. I would n't know.", "EXT. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA - DAY - GRADUATION DAY (1966) Students in their caps and gowns step forward the podium to receive their diplomas. Forrest's name is called. He steps up and accepts his diploma. DEAN Forrest Gump. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now can you believe it? After only five years of playing football, I got a college degree. The dean shakes Forrest's hand vigorously. Forrest looks out into the crowd. DEAN Congratulations, son. Mrs. Gump, sitting in the audience, cries. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Momma was proud. Forrest and Mrs. Gump have their picure taken in front of a large statue. A military recruiter spots Forrest and steps up to him. MRS. GUMP Forrest, I'm so proud of you. Here, I'll hold this for you. Mrs. Gump takes the diploma from Forrest. The recruiter slaps Forrest on the shoulder and hands him some military literature. MILITARY RECRUITER Congratulations, son. Have you given any thought to your future? FORREST Thought? Forrest looks at a pamphlet with a photo of `` Uncle Sam'' and the caption `` EXCELLENT CAREERS FOR EXCELLENT YOUNG MAN. Apply now at your local U.S. Army Recruiting Center.'' FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Hello, I'm Forrest.", "INT. ARMY BUS - DAY (1966) Forrest steps onto the army bus. Rain pours outside as the army bus driver yells at Forrest. FORREST Forrest Gump. ARMY BUS DRIVER Nobody gives a hunk of shit who you are, fuzzball! You're not even a lowlife scum sucking maggot! Get your faggoty ass on the bus. You're in the Army now! Forrest is about to sit on the first available seat, but the recruit sitting there refuses Forrest. RECRUIT #1 This seat's taken. Forrest tries to sit on the next seat, but the 2nd recruit slides over, blocking him. RECRUIT #2 It's taken. Forrest steps forward, looking much like he did on his first bus ride to school years ago. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- At first, it seemed like I made a mistake. A large black recruit with a strange look on his face, much like Forrest's, looks up from his seat. His name is BUBBA. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- seeing how it was my induction day and I was already gettin' yelled at. Bubba moves his case over, making room for Forrest to sit down. BUBBA You can sit down. if you want to. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I did n't know who I might meet or what they might ask. Bubba hands Forrest a handkerchief. BUBBA You ever been on a real shrimp boat? FORREST No, but I been on a real big boat. BUBBA I'm talkin' about a shrimp catchin' boat. I've been workin' on shrimp boats all my life. I started out my uncle's boat, that's my mother's brother, when I was about maybe nine. I was just lookin' into buyin' a boat of my own and got drafted. My given name is Benjamin Buford Blue. Bubba and Forrest shake hands. BUBBA People call me Bubba. Just like one of them redneck boys. Can you believe that? FORREST My name's Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So Bubba was from Bayou La Batre, Alabama, and his momma cooked shrimp.", "INT. LOUISIANA/KITCHEN - DAY (1966) Bubba's mother, a robust woman in a cook's uniform, carries a bowl of shrimp into a dining room. She sets it down on a table in front of a wealthy white man. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And her momma before her cooked shrimp.", "INT. SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTH/KITCHEN - DAY (EARLY DAYS OF SLAVERY) Bubba's grandmother carries a bowl of shrimp into a dining room. She sets it down on a table in front of a wealthy white man. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And her momma before her momma cooked shrimp, too. Bubba's family knew everything.", "INT. ARMY BUS - DAY (1966) FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- there was to know about the shrimpin' business. BUBBA I know everything there is to know about the shrimpin' business. Matter of fact, I'm goin' into the shrimpin' business for myself after I get out the Army. FORREST Okay.", "INT. BARRACKS - DAY A DRILL SERGEANT is in Forrest's face as Forrest stands in line with the other recruits. DRILL SERGEANT Gump! What's your sole purpose in this Army? FORREST To do whatever you tell me, Drill Sergeant! DRILL SERGEANT Godamnit, Gump! You're a goddamned genius! That's the most outstanding answer I've ever heard. You must have a godamned I.Q. of a hundred and sixty! You are godamned gifted, Private Gump! The Drill Sergeant moves down the line to the next man. DRILL SERGEANT Listen up, people. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now, for some reason, I fit in the Army like one of them round pegs. It's not really hard. You just make your bed real neat and remember to stand up straight. DRILL SERGEANT That is one very intelligent individual! You lock your scuzzy bodies up behind that private and do exactly what he does and you will go far in this man's army! FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And always answer every question with `` Yes, Drill Sergeant!'' DRILL SERGEANT Is that clear? FORREST & RECRUITS Yes, Drill Sergeant! ANOTHER DAY The recruits are sitting at the base of their bunks assembling their rifles. Bubba speaks to Forrest. BUBBA What you do is you just drag your nets across the bottom. On a good day, you can catch over a hundred pounds of shrimp. If everything goes all right, two men shrimpin' ten hours, less what you spends on gas, you can. Forrest finishes assembling his rifle as the other recruits are still working on theirs. FORREST Done, Drill Sergeant! DRILL SERGEANT Gump! The Drill Sergeant rushes up to Forrest. DRILL SERGEANT Why did you put that weapon together so quickly, Gump? FORREST You told me to, Drill Sergeant. The Drill Sergeant looks at his stop watch. DRILL SERGEANT Jesus Christ! This is a new company record. If it would n't be a waste of such a damn fine enlisted man, I'd recommended you for O.C.S., Private Gump. You are gon na be a General some day, Gump! Now, disassemble your weapon and continue! The Drill Sergeant walks away as Forrest begins to disassemble his rifle. After the Drill Sergeant walks past Bubba, Bubba looks up at Forrest. Bubba continues talking about shrimp in his slow southern drawl. BUBBA Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There, uh, shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole. ANOTHER DAY Bubba and Forrest shine their boots. BUBBA shrimp gumbo, panfried, deep fried, stir fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp. ANOTHER DAY Bubba and Forrest are on their hands and knees as they scrub the floor with toothbrushes. BUBBA shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. that's, that's about it. NIGHT Bubba lies in his bunk and looks up quietly. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Nighttime in the Army is a lovely time. Forrest lies in his bunk and looks up. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We'd lay there in our bunks, and I'd miss my momma. And I'd miss Jenny. A young private tosses a Playboy magazine onto Forrest. YOUNG PRIVATE Hey, Gump. Get a load of the tits on her! Forrest pick up the magazine and turns the page, revealing Jenny as she poses with a school sweater on, and that's all. The pictorial is titled : `` Girls of the South.'' Forrest looks up with shock. He cranes his head up for a closer look. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Turns out, Jenny had gotten into some trouble over. some photos of her in her college sweater. And she was thrown out of school. SONG `` My baby does the hanky - panky.''", "INT. NASHVILLE/NIGHT CLUB - NIGHT (1966) Forrest, in his army uniform, steps into the foyer of the club. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But that was n't a bad thing. Because a man who owns a theater in Memphis, Tennessee, saw those photo and offered Jenny a job singing in a show. The first chance I got, I took the bus up to Memphis to see her perform in that show. EMCEE steps out onto the stage. EMCEE That was Amber, Amber Flame. Give her a big hand, guys. Good job, Amber. And now, for your listening and viewing pleasure, direct from Hollywood, California, our very own beatnik beauty, let's give a big round of applause to the luscious Bobbie Dylan. CROWD Bobbie. Bobbie. The emcee walks back off the stage and the curtain opens, revealing Jenny as she sits on a stool on the stage. She holds a guitar up and begins to play. She is topless. JENNY -LRB- sings. -RRB- `` Yes, and how many seas must the white dove said, before she sleeps in the sand.'' FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Her dream had come true. She was a folk singer. JENNY -LRB- sings. -RRB- `` Yes, how many times must the cannonballs fly before they're forever banned.'' MAN #1 You got ta lose the guitar, darling. MAN #2 Hey, come on, baby. Shake it up. Shake it up now. MAN #3 Hey, somebody ought to get her a harmonica. The men laugh. JENNY -LRB- sings. -RRB- `` The answer, my friend is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in. MAN # skin, honey. This is n't Captain Kangaroo. MEN Yeah! Come on! Man # 5 reaches up and tries to stick some money in Jenny's shoe. MAN #5 : Hey, honey, I got something here for you. Jenny kicks his hand. He yells angrily as he sits back down, then tosses his drink on her. MAN #5 Goddamnit! JENNY Hey! Hey! Stupid jerk! I'm singing a song here. Polly, get out here! MAN # Hey, show us some stuff, honey! JENNY Shut up! Oh, shut up! Forrest walks up to Man # 5 and grabs him and tosses him down on the ground. Man # 4 tries to grab Forrest, but Forrest shoves him down too. JENNY Forrest, what are you doing here? What are you doing? Forrest climbs up onto the stage and picks Jenny up, guitar and all, and carries her. FORREST Come on. JENNY What are you doing? Forrest, let me down! Jenny struggles and frees herself from Forrest. Forrest steps back in surprise. Jenny shoves the guitar at Forrest. Jenny walks off as Forrest holds the guitar. He follows after her.", "EXT. MEMPHIS BRIDGE - NIGHT Forrest follows Jenny over a bridge outside the night club. JENNY You ca n't keep doing this, Forrest. You ca n't keep tryin' to rescue me all the time. FORREST They was tryin' to grab you. JENNY A lot of people try to grab me. Just - you ca n't keep doing this all the time! FORREST I ca n't help it. I love you. JENNY Forrest, you do n't know what love is. Jenny turns and looks over the bridge. JENNY You remember that time we prayed, Forrest? We prayed for God to turn me into a bird so I could fly far, far away? FORREST Yes, I do. JENNY You think I can fly off this bridge? FORREST What do you mean, Jenny? JENNY Nothing. Jenny turns and looks at the light of an approaching vehicle. She steps into the street. JENNY I got ta get outta here. Jenny runs and flags down the approaching vehicle. FORREST But wait. Jenny! JENNY Forrest, you stay away from me, okay? You just stay away from me, please. A pickup truck pulls over as Jenny looks at the driver. JENNY Can I have a ride? DRIVER Where you going? JENNY I do n't care. DRIVER Get in the truck. FORREST So bye - bye, Jenny. They sendin' me to Vietnam. It's this whole other country. Jenny walks toward Forrest. She looks at the driver. JENNY Just hang on a minute. Jenny walks up to Forrest. JENNY Listen, you promise me something, okay? Just if you're ever in trouble, do n't try to be brave, you just run, okay? Just run away. FORREST Okay. Jenny, I'll write you all the time. Jenny takes a last look at Forrest, then climbs into the truck. Forrest watches Jenny in the pickup as it drives away. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And just like that.", "EXT. GREENBOW/GUMP BOARDING HOUSE/RIVER - DAY Forrest, dressed in his uniform, sits on a log and looks out at a river. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- she was gone. Mrs. Gump walks toward Forrest and sits down next to him on the log. Forrest leans down, placing his head on his mother's shoulder. MRS. GUMP You come back safe to me, do ya hear?", "EXT. VIETNAM/MEKONG DELTA - MORNING (1967) The shadow of a helicopter over the rice field below. A soldier is manning a gun from inside the helicopter. The solider looks left, Forrest and Bubba ride in the helicopter.", "EXT. FIREBASE/4TH PLATOON The helicopter circles overhead, then lands at the firebase. SONG `` Some folks are born made to wave the flag. Ooh, they're red, white and blue. And when the band plays `` Hail to the Chief,'' ohh, they point the cannon at you all. It ai n't me. It ai n't me. I ai n't no Senator's son, no. It ai n't me. It ai n't me.'' Bubba and Forrest jump out of the helicopter with their gear / They walk and look around oddly. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now, they told us that Vietnam was gon na be very different from the United Sates of America. The soldier places a case of beer on a large stack of cases. He takes two beers out and walks away. In the background, soldiers are barbecuing steaks and drinking beer. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Except for all the beer cans and the barbecue, it was. BUBBA Y' know, I bet there's shrimp all in these waters. They tell me these Vietnams is good shrimp. You know, after we win this war, and we take over everything we can get American shrimpers to come on here and shrimp these waters. We'll just shrimp all the time, man. So much shrimp, why, you would n't believe it. Lieutenant DAN TAYLOR steps out of a tent. Shirtless, he holds a roll of toilet paper in his hand. LT. DAN You must be my F.N.G.'s. BUBBA AND FORREST Morning', sir! LT. DAN Ho! Get your hands down. Do not salute me. There are goddamned snipers all around this area who would love to grease an officer. I'm Lieutenant Dan Taylor. Welcome to Fourth Platoon. Lt. Dan looks at Bubba. LT. DAN What's wrong with your lips? BUBBA I was born with big gums, sir. LT. DAN Yeah, well, you better tuck that in. Gon na get that caught on a trip wire. Where you boys from in the world? BUBBA & FORREST Alabama, sir! LT. DAN You twins? Forrest and Bubba look at each other oddly, they do n't get the joke. FORREST No, we are not relations, sir. LT. DAN Look, it's pretty basic here. Lt. Dan starts to walk. Bubba and Forrest grab their gear and follow him. LT. DAN You stick with me, you learn from the guys who been in country awhile, you'll be right. There is one item of G.I. gear that can be the difference between a live grunt and a dead grunt. Lt. Dan stops and looks at the boys. LT. DAN Socks, cushion, sole, O.D. green. Try and keep your feet dry when we're out humpin'. I want you boys to remember to change your socks wherever we stop. The Mekong will eat a grunt's feet right off his legs. Lt. Dan steps over to a large black soldier named SERGEANT SIMS. LT. DAN Sergeant Sims! Goddamnit, where is that sling - rope I told you to order. SGT. SIMS I put in requisitions at Battalion. LT. DAN Yeah, yeah, yeah, well you call those sonabitches again, call them again and again and again. I do n't care how much it takes. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Lt. Dan sure knew his stuff. I felt real lucky he was my lieutenant. He was from a long, great military tradition. Somebody in his family had fought and died in every single American war.", "EXT. VALLEY FORGE/THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR - DAY (1778) A distant relative of Lt. Dan's, wearing a revolutionary war uniform, falls dead in the snow.", "EXT. GETTYSBURG/THE CIVIL WAR - DAY (1863) Another relative, wearing a civil war uniform and bearing a striking resemblance to Lt. Dan, falls down dead.", "EXT. NORMANDY/WORLD WAR II - DAY (1944) Another relative, wearing a World War II, falls down dead on the beach at Normandy.", "EXT. VETNAM/MEKONG DELTA/FIREBASE - DAY (1967) LT. DAN Goddamnit, kick some ass! SGT. SIMS I'm on it, Lieutenant. LT. DAN Get on it! Lt. Dan steps back up to Bubba and Forrest. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I guess you could say he had a lot to live up to. Lt. Dan walks along the walkway and Bubba and Forrest follow. LT. DAN So, you boys are from Arkansas, huh? Well, I've been through there. Little Rock's a fine town. Now, go shake down your gear, see the platoon sergeant, draw what you need for the field. Lt. Dan steps inside the latrine, still holding the roll of toilet paper. LT. DAN If you boys are hungry, we got steaks burnin' right here. Lt. Dan sits down out of sight in the latrine, then stands up, looking at the boys. LT. DAN Two standing orders in this platoon. One, take good care of your feet. Two, try not to do anything stupid, like gettin' yourself killed. Lt. Dan sits back down out of sight in the latrine. Bubba and Forrest look at each other. FORREST I sure hope I do n't let him down.", "EXT. RICE FIELD - ANOTHER DAY Forrest, Bubba, and other soldiers in the Fourth Platoon walk across the rice field. Some Vietnamese rice farmers are working as the soldiers walk past. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I got to see a lot of countryside. We would take these real long walks.", "EXT. JUNGLE/DIRT ROAD - ANOTHER DAY Forrest's unit walks along a dirt road. SONG And we were always lookin' for this guy named Charlie. I ca n't get no relief. Suddenly Lt. Dan holds up his fist, a signal for the unit to stop. He motions for them to get down. LT. DAN Hold it up! SGT. SIMS Hold up, boys! Forrest gets down and looks around. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It was n't always fun. Lt. Dan always gettin' these funny feelings about a rock or a trail, or the road, so he'd tell you to get down, shut up! LT. DAN Get down! Shut up! FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So we did. Lt. Dan motions for the lead soldier to get down. Lt. Dan crouches down. Lt. Dan looks at the soldiers and points to his eyes. He lies down on the dirt road and crawls. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now, I do n't know much about anything, but I think some of American's best young men served in this war. There was Dallas, from Phoenix. Cleveland, he was from Detroit. CLEVELAND Hey, Tex.. Hey, Tex.. Man, what the hell's going on? Tex holds up his hand, motioning that he does n't know. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And Tex was, well, I do n't remember where Tex come from. LT. DAN Ah, nothin'. Fourth Platoon, on your feet! Still got ten clicks to go to that river. Forrest stands up and begins to walk with the platoon. LT. DAN All right, move out! Comin' out. Look alive out there. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The good thing about Vietnam is there was always someplace to go. LT. DAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Fire in the hole!", "EXT. VIETNAM/VIET CONG FOXHOLE - ANOTHER DAY Lt. Dan walks away as Forrest rushes over, aims two pistols in the hole, then climbs inside. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And there was always something to do. LT. DAN Mount'em up. SGT. SIMS Spread out! Cover his back. ANOTHER DAY - The platoon walks through a rice paddy, waits deep in water. It begins to rain. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- One day it started raining, and it did n't quit for four months.", "EXT. JUNGLE The rain pours down on Forrest and Bubba as they sit in a foxhole. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain. ANOTHER DAY - The platoon walks through the jungle as rain pours down on them. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- and big ol' fat rain. ANOTHER DAY - The platoon shelters themselves as they walk through the wind and rain. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Rain that flew in sideways. ANOTHER DAY - Forrest and other soldiers walk chest - deep through a river. The rain splatters back up from the river, hitting the soldiers. Forrest holds his hand up to protect his face. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath.", "EXT. ENCAMPMENT - NIGHT The rain pours down on the men of the platoon as they sit in a camp. Bubba sits down next to Forrest. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Shoot, it even rained at night. Bubba leans his back up against Forrest's back. BUBBA Hey Forrest. FORREST Hey Bubba. BUBBA I'm gon na lean up against you, you just lean right back against me. BUBBA This way, we do n't have to sleep with our heads in the mud. You know why we a good partnership, Forrest?'Cause we be watchin' out for one another. Like brothers and stuff. Hey, Forrest, there's somethin' I've been thinkin' about. I got a very important question to ask you. How would you like to go into the shrimpin' business with me? FORREST Okay. BUBBA Man, I tell you what, I got it all figured out, too. So many pounds of shrimp to pay off the boat, so many pounds for gas, we can just live right on the boat. We ai n't got to pay no rent. I'll be the captain ; we can just work it together. Split everything right down the middle. Man, I'm tellin' you, fifty - fifty. And, hey, Forrest, all the shrimp you can get. FORREST That's a fine idea. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Bubba did have a fine idea. ANOTHER NIGHT - Some soldiers patrol the area. Forrest lies in a pup tent and writes a litter as the rain pours down. He uses his flashlight to see. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I even wrote Jenny and told her all about it. I sent her letters. Not every day, but almost. I told her what I was doin' and asked her what she was doing, and I told her how I thought about her always.", "EXT. JENNY'S GRANDMOTHER'S TRAILER - DAY Jenny steps out of the trailer with a backpack and a guitar. She hugs a hippie guy, then jumps into the back of a Volkswagen bus with another guy. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And how I was looking forward to getting a letter from her just as soon as she had the time I'd always let her know that I was okay.", "EXT. VIETNAM - NIGHT Forrest writes a letter in his tent. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Then I'd sign each letter, `` Love, Forrest Gump.''", "EXT. JUNGLE - DAY The Fourth Platoon makes their way through the jungle and rain. SONG `` There's something happenin' here. What it is ai n't exactly clear. There's a man with a gun over there, telling' me I got to beware.'' FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This one day, we was out walking, like always, and then, just like that, somebody turned off the rain and the sun come out. Forrest looks up as the sun suddenly appears. Forrest's platoon is attacked. A bullet kills the soldier standing next to Forrest. Bombs explode all around as the soldiers scramble to the ground. LT. DAN Take cover! Forrest crawls over a berm as bullets fly overhead and explode all around him. Forrest rolls over and pulls his pack off Lt. Dan lies next to Forrest. LT. DAN Get that pig up here, goddammit! BUBBA Forrest, you okay? Two soldiers with a machine gun fire into the jungle. Lt. Dan shouts into the radio. Forrest begins firing his weapon into the jungle. LT. DAN Strongarm, please be advised. Two soldiers pull a wounded soldier into the jungle. BUBBA Medic, we got a man down! LT. DAN Strongarm, this is Leg Lima 6, over! LT. DAN Roger, Strongarm, be advised we have incoming from the treeline at point blue plus two. A.K's and rockets. The machine gunner fires into the treeline. Another soldier helps him with the ammunition. The machine gun jams. SOLDIER WITH BIG MACHINE GUN Misfire! Misfire! LT. DAN Goddammit, Mac! Get that pig unfucked and get it in the treeline! A rocket explodes on the machine gunner and the other soldier, killing them. Forrest looks down and covers his head as rockets explodes all around him. LT. DAN -LRB- into radio. -RRB- Ah, Jesus! My unit is down hard and hurting! 6 pulling back to the blue line, Leg Lima 6 out! Pull back! Pull back! BUBBA Forrest! Run! Run, Forrest! LT. DAN Pull back! BUBBA Forrest! Run! Run, Forrest! Run! Run! SGT. SIMS Pull back! Let's go! Lt. Dan gets up and grabs Forrest by the collar. LT. DAN Run, goddammit, run! The platoon gets up and runs toward the cover of the jungle. Rockets explode all around the field. Forrest runs into the jungle. The soldiers run through the jungle as bullets explode all around. A soldier is blown up by a rocket. A soldier runs through the jungle. Forrest runs past the soldier. SOLDIER Medic! Medic! Jesus, can I get a medic? FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I ran and ran, just like Jenny told me to. Rockets explode in the jungle as Forrest runs out toward a clearing. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I ran so far and so fast that pretty soon I was all by myself, which was a bad thing. FORREST Bubba! Forrest turns around, then runs back into the jungle. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Bubba was my best good friend. I had to make sure he was okay. Rockets explode in the jungle. Forrest runs back into the jungle to look for Bubba. 1ST SOLDIER Any friendlies out there? 2ND SOLDIER Yeah, I've got three over there. 1ST SOLDIER Where the hell are you? Forrest stops and aims his weapon. He looks around, scared. FORREST Bubba? Something moves. Forrest turns and looks, then rushes over. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And on my way back to find Bubba, well, there was this boy laying on the ground. FORREST Tex! Tex lies on the ground, his face distorted with pain. FORREST Okay. Forrest reaches down and picks up Tex from the ground. Forrest pulls Tex up over his shoulder, then runs. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I could n't just let him lay there all alone, scared the way he was, so I grabbed him up and run him out of there. Forrest carries Tex out of the jungle and into the clearing. He sets Tex down on the bank of a river, and runs back into the jungle. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And every time I went back looking for Bubba, somebody else was saying, `` Help me, Forrest. Help me.'' Forrest drops another wounded soldier down at the bank of the river next to Tex, and then runs back toward the jungle. Forrest grabs the third wounded soldier up from the ground and turns him over. It is DALLAS. DALLAS Ca n't hear. Ca n't hear. Dallas is dropped off at the bank next to the other wounded soldiers. Forrest turns to go back to the jungle. 2ND WOUNDED SOLDIER No sweat, man. Just lay back. You're gon na be okay. You're gon na be okay. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I started to get scared that I might never find Bubba. STRONGARM -LRB- over radio. -RRB- You're danger close for crack air, over. Forrest trips over something and falls to the ground. He looks up to find two bloody legs. It is Lt. Dan, who is wounded. He speaks into the radio. LT. DAN -LRB- into radio. -RRB- Roger, Strongarm, I know my position is danger close! We got Charlie all over this area! I got ta have those fast movers in here now! Over! STRONGARM -LRB- over radio. -RRB- Six, Strongarm, we want. FORREST Lieutenant Dan, Coleman's dead! LT. DAN I know he's dead! My whole goddamned platoon is wiped out! STRONGARM -LRB- over radio. -RRB- Leg Lima 6, Leg Lima 6, how copy you this transmission? Over. Forrest tries to pick up Lt. Dan, who tries to push Forrest away. LT. DAN Goddammit! What are you doing? Leave me here! Get away. Just leave me here! Get out! Forrest pulls Lt. Dan over his shoulder and runs through the jungle. STRONGARM Leg Lima 6, Leg Lima 6. This is Strongarm, be advised, your fast movers are inbound at this time, over. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Then it felt like something just jumped up and bit me. Forrest falls down. FORREST Ah, something bit me! Forrest gets up as Lt. Dan yells. Lt. Dan fires his pistol at the unseen enemy as Forrest pulls him away. LT. DAN You dink son - of - a - bitch! I ca n't leave the platoon! I told you to leave me there, Gump. Forget about me. Get yourself out! Did you hear what I said! Goddammit, pull me down! Get your ass out of here! Forrest drops Lt. Dan down at the bank, next to the other wounded soldiers. Lt. Dan grabs Forrest by the shirt, angry. LT. DAN I did n't ask you to pull me out of there, goddamn you! What the hell do you think you're going? FORREST To get Bubba. LT. DAN I got an air strike inbound right now. They're gon na nape the whole area. Forrest gets up and runs as Lt. Dan yells after him. LT. DAN Gump, you stay here, goddammit! That's an order! FORREST I got ta find Bubba! Forrest runs through the jungle searching for Bubba. Forrest slows down and looks around carefully. BUBBA Forrest. FORREST Bubba. Bubba looks up as he lies on the ground. BUBBA I'm okay. Bubba holds a palm frond over his wound. Forrest removes the frond to look at the wound. Bubba's chest has been blown open. FORREST Oh, Bubba, no. BUBBA Naw, I'm gon na be all right. Forrest looks around as he hear the voices of the enemy. FORREST Come on. Come on. Come here. Forrest carries Bubba through the jungle. The sound of approaching planes fills the air. BUBBA I'm okay, Forrest. I'm all right. The roar of approaching planes is deafening. Forrest looks up in fear. Three planes dive down toward the jungle. They fire napalm as the jungle explodes with massive fireballs. Forrest runs, carrying Bubba. The fireballs explode behind him. The entire jungle area is in flames as Forrest runs. Forrest carries Bubba to the bank of the river. Lt. Dan and the other wounded soldiers wait for a rescue helicopter. LT. DAN Helo's inbound. Pop smoke, get it up there! FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- If I'd a known this was gon na be the last time me and Bubba was gon na talk, I'd a thought of something better to say. Forrest looks down at Bubba. A soldier releases a smoke canister. FORREST Hey, Bubba. BUBBA Hey, Forrest. Forrest, why'd this happen? FORREST You got shot. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Then Bubba said something I wo n't even forget. BUBBA I wan na go home. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Bubba was my best good friend. And even I know that ai n't something you can find just around the corner. Bubba was gon na be a shrimpin' boat captain, but instead he died right there by that river in Vietnam. The helicopter fly overhead. BUS STATION - DAY Forrest continues with his life story. A MAN is sitting next to Forrest on the bus bench. FORREST That's all I have to say about that. MAN It was a bullet, was n't it? FORREST A bullet? MAN That jumped up and bit you. FORREST Oh, yes sir. Bit me directly in the buttocks. They said it was a million dollar wound, but the Army must keep that money,'cause I still ai n't seen a nickel of that million dollars. The only good thing about being wounded in the buttocks. FLASHBACK - INT. US. ARMY HOSPITAL/VIETNAM - DAY Forrest holds two ice cream cones in his hands as he is wheeled on a rolling stretcher. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- is the ice cream. They gave me all the ice cream I could eat. And guess what. A good friend of mine was in the bed right next door. Forrest, lying on his stomach, is wheeled to his bed. Forrest's butt sticks up and is bandaged. Forrest looks at Lt. Dan lying on the bed. Forrest holds out an ice cream cone for Lt. Dan. FORREST Lieutenant Dan, I got you some ice cream. Lieutenant Dan, ice cream. Lt. Dan, annoyed, takes the ice cream cone and drops it into his bed pan. Forrest slides himself onto his bed. A NURSE reaches toward Lt. Dan. MALE NURSE It's time for your bath, Lieutenant. The male nurse places Lt. Dan's hands on a pull - up bar, then picks up Lt. Dan, whose legs have been amputated. MALE NURSE Harper. Another nurse wheels the rolling bed under Lt. Dan. The male nurse sets Lt. Dan down on the rolling bed. Forrest looks up at Lt. Dan as he is wheeled away. A soldier reads the names from a pile of letters. SOLDIER Cooper, Larson, Webster, Gump, Gump. FORREST I'm Forrest Gump. The soldier hands Forrest a large pile of letters. `` Undeliverable as addressed. No forwarding order on file.'' Jenny Curran Rural Route 2 Greenbow, Ala. 39902 Forrest looks down at the pile of letters.", "INT. ARMY HOSPITAL/VIETNAM - DAY A group of wounded soldiers hang out in the hospital, recuperating. Forrest sits and watches `` Gomer Pyle'' on the television. SOLDIER Gump, how can you watch that stupid shit? Turn it off! ANNOUNCER From the D.M.Z. to the Delta, you are tuned to the American Forces Vietnam Network. This is Channel 6, Saigon. Forrest turns the TV off and he is hit on the back of the head by a ping - pong ball. SOLDIER Good catch, Gump. You know how to play this? Forrest shakes his head. SOLDIER Come on, let me show you. Here. The wounded ping - pong player hands Forrest a paddle. Forrest and the wounded ping - pong player step toward the ping - pong table. SOLDIER Now the secret to this game is, no matter what happens, never, never take your eye off the ball. He holds the ball up and moves it back and forth. Forrest keeps his eyes on the ball. SOLDIER All right. The wounded ping - pong player tosses the ball down onto the table. Forrest begins to hit the ball back to the other player. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- For some reason, ping pong came very natural to me. SOLDIER See, any idiot can play. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So I started playing it all the time. Forrest hits ping - pong balls. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I played ping - pong even when I did n't have anyone to play ping - pong with. The balls at land in a bed pan positioned on a chair. A group of wounded soldier sit and watch Forrest play with himself. Forrest hits two balls at a time against the opposite side of the table. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The hospital's people said it made me look like a duck in water, whatever that means. Even Lieutenant Dan would come and watch me play. Lt. Dan stares out the window. Forrest lies in his bed asleep. A hand reaches and grabs him. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I played ping - pong so much, I even played it in my sleep. Lt. Dan pulls Forrest to the floor, and holds Forrest down. LT. DAN Now, you listen to me. We all have a destiny. Nothing just happens, it's all part of a plan. I should have died out there with my men! But now, I'm nothing but a goddamned cripple! A legless freak. Look! Look! Look at me! Do you see that? Do you know what it's like not to be able to use your legs? FORREST Well. Yes, sir, I do. LT. DAN Did you hear what I said? You cheated me. I had a destiny. I was supposed to die in the field! With honor! That was my destiny! And you cheated me out of it! You understand what I'm saying, Gump? This was n't supposed to happen. Not to me. I had a destiny. I was Lieutenant Dan Tyler. FORREST Yo - You're still Lieutenant Dan. Lt. Dan looks at Forrest, lets go of Forrest and rolls. Lt. Dan sits up as Forrest looks at him. LT. DAN Look at me. What am I gon na do now? What am I gon na do now?", "INT. REC ROOM/VIETNAM HOSPITAL - ANOTHER DAY Forrest plays ping - pong by himself. An OFFICER walks up to him. OFFICER P.F.C. Gump? Forrest immediately grabs the ball and places it down on the table under its paddle. Stands at attention. FORREST Yes, sir! OFFICER As you were. The officer holds up an envelope. OFFICER Son, you've been awarded the Medal of Honor.", "INT. VIETNAM HOSPITAL WARD Forrest steps up to Lt. Dan's bed. FORREST Guess what, Lieutenant Dan, they want to give me a me. Forrest stops in mid - sentence as he looks down at the bed. A heavily bandaged soldier with bloodstains lies there. Forrest turns and look at the NURSE. FORREST Ma'am, what'd they do with Lieutenant Dan? NURSE They sent him home. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Two weeks later, I left Vietnam.", "INT. BARBER SHOP/GREENBOW - DAY ANCHORMAN -LRB- on T.V. -RRB- The ceremony was kicked off with a candid speech by the President regarding the need for further escalation of the war in Vietnam. President Johnson awarded four Medals of Honor to men from each of the Armed Services. The television reveals Forrest as he is awarded the Medal of Honor by President Johnson. PRESIDENT JOHNSON America owes you a debt of gratitude, son. Color footage revealing President Johnson as he places the award around Forrest's neck and shakes hands. PRESIDENT JOHNSON I understand you were wounded. Where were you hit? FORREST In the buttocks, sir. PRESIDENT JOHNSON Oh, that must be a sight. President Johnson leans and whispers into Forrest's ear. PRESIDENT JOHNSON I'd kinda like to see that.", "INT. BARBER SHOP The television revealing Forrest as he drops his pants, bends over and shows the bullet wound on his bare buttocks. President Johnson looks down and smiles. The three men in the barber shop look up in disbelief. Mrs. Gump looks up in shock. PRESIDENT JOHNSON Goddamn, son.", "EXT. LINCOLN MEMORIAL - DAY Forrest walks by the Lincoln Memorial. A fence surrounds the Memorial, as well as armed military guards. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- After that, Momma went to the hotel to lay down, so I went out for a walk to see our national capital. ISABEL Hilary, all right, I've got the vets, what do you want me to do with them? HILARY What are you doing here so late? Forrest takes a photo of the memorial as a woman named Hilary gathers together some veterans against the Vietnam War. HILARY We've been waiting for you for half an hour, so just get them in a line, will you. Hey, hey, come on, pictures later. You look great. Oh come on, get in this line, come on, come on right in line. Come on, let him here, let him in here. Hilary grabs Forrest and puts him in the line with the other vets against the war. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's a good thing Momma was resting,'cause the street was awful crowded with people looking at all the statues and monuments. And some of them people were loud and pushy. Hilary leads the line of vets toward the large anti - Vietnam War rally. HILARY Okay, follow me! Come on. The group of vets walk as Forrest tries to take another picture. A vet behind him pushes him along. HILARY Let's move it out. VET Hey, buddy, come on. We could use your help. Forrest walks in the line. A banner reads `` Veterans against the War in Vietnam.'' FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Everywhere I went, I had to stand in line. HILARY Follow me, let's go! Hilary leads the vets through a crowd of people outside the rally. Another woman, named Isabel, leads the vets toward the back of a stage. ISABEL All right, come on, guys. HILARY Stand here. VET Hey, you're a good man for doin' this. Good! FORREST Okay. A man, wearing an American flag shirt, stands on the stage. He is anti - war activist ABBIE HOFFMAN. ABBIE HOFFMAN We must declare to that fucking impostor in the White House - Johnson. We ai n't going to work on your farm no more! Yeah! FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- There was this man, giving a little talk. And for some reason, he was wearing an American flag for a shirt. ABBIE HOFFMAN Now, I'm going to bring up some soldiers that are going to talk about the war, man. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- and he liked to say the `` F'' word. A lot. `` F'' this and `` F'' that. And every time. ABBIE HOFFMAN that war has come home, and we have to stop these politicians. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- he said `` F'' word, people, for some reason, well, they'd cheer. ABBIE HOFFMAN these guys just told Lyndon Johnson where to stick this fucking war! Yeah! Forrest looks up at the cheering crowd. Abbie turns and motions for Forrest to come up on the stage. ABBIE HOFFMAN Come on, man. Come up here, man. HILARY Come on. Come on. Yeah, you! Hilary pulls Forrest up onto the stage. HILARY Come on, get up there. Come on. Move, move. Let's go! Let's go. The other vets follow Forrest pushes onto the stage and push him toward the microphones. VET Come on, go. You can do it. Just get up there. Go on. That's it. Thousands of cheering protesters stand around the Washington Monument. Forrest looks at the crowd. Abbie Hoffmann steps up to Forrest. ABBIE HOFFMAN Tell us a little bit about the war, man. FORREST The war in Vietnam? ABBIE HOFFMAN The war in Viet - fucking - nam! Abbie raises his fist as the crowd cheers wildly. FORREST Well. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- There was only one thing I could say about the war in Vietnam. FORREST there was only one thing I could say about the war in Vietnam. Forrest looks at the crowd as he speaks. A policeman looks around as he sneaks over to the audio circuit board. FORREST In Vietnam war. The policeman pulls the patch cords out of the audio board. Forrest's amplified voice becomes inaudible. Forrest continues to speak into the microphone, even though no one can hear what he is saying. Hilary looks over and notices the policeman. Hilary rushes over toward the audio board, pushes the policeman away and grabs his night stick. Another protester grabs the policeman and pulls him away. POLICEMAN Hey, what the hell are you doing? HILARY I'll beat your head in, you goddamned oinker! Isabel, Hilary and another protester try to plug the tangled mess of wires back into the audio board. ISABEL Christ, what'd they do with this? Forrest continues to speak into the microphone. The crowd grows restless. CROWD We ca n't hear you! We ca n't hear anything! HILARY This one! This one! Give me that! Hilary plugs in the right patch cord. HILARY That's it. FORREST and that's all I have to say about that. Forrest looks at the massive crowd. They are silent. Abbie Hoffman steps over to Forrest and pats him on the shoulder. ABBIE HOFFMAN That's so right on, man. You said it all. What's your name, man? FORREST My name is Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump. ABBIE HOFFMAN Forrest Gump! Abbie raises his fist into the air. Abbie steps away from Forrest. The crowd cheers. CROWD Forrest Gump! JENNY -LRB- screaming. -RRB- Forrest! Forrest! Jenny wades out into the reflection pool and waves her hand into the air. Forrest recognizes her. FORREST Jenny! Forrest rushes off the stage as Jenny makes her way out into the pool. JENNY Forrest! Forrest jumps down into the crowd and runs. Jenny smiles as she tries to run through the water. The crowd parts as Forrest runs into the pool. Jenny rushes toward him. JENNY Hey! Hey! The massive crowd cheers for the embracing couple in the pool. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It was the happiest moment of my life.", "EXT. WASHINGTON MONUMENT/PROTESTER'S ENCAMPMENT - NIGHT Forrest and Jenny walk past the protesters who are camping out on the lawn. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Jenny and me were just peas and carrots again. She showed me around, and even introduced me.", "INT. BLACK PANTHER HEADQUARTERS/STOREFRONT, D.C. - NIGHT Forrest stands at an open window and looks at the White House. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- to some of her new friends. A Black Panther, named RUBEN, steps over and pulls the shades down. RUBEN Shut that blind, man. And get your white ass away from that window. Do n't you know we in war here? Another Black Panther named MASAI grabs Forrest and pats him down. JENNY Hey man, he's cool. He's cool. He's one of us. He's one of us. MASAI Let me tell you about us. WESLEY Where the hell have you been? JENNY I ran into a friend. MASAI Our purpose here is to protect our black leaders from the racial onslaught of the pig who wishes to brutalize our black leaders, rape our women, and destroy our black communists. BLACK PANTHER Masai, phone. Talk to these guys. WESLEY Who's the baby killer? JENNY This is my good friend I told you about. This is Forrest Gump. Forrest, this is Wesley. Wesley and I live together in Berkeley, and he's the president of the Berkeley chapter of S.D.S. MASAI Let me tell you something else. WESLEY I want to talk to you. JENNY Okay, but. WESLEY No. Now! Goddammit! MASAI We are here to offer protection and help for all of those who need our help, because we, the Black Panthers, are against the war in Vietnam. Yes, we are against any war where black soldiers are sent to the front line to die for a country that hates them. Yes, we are against any war where black soldiers go to fight and come to be brutalized and killed in their own communities as they sleep in their beds at night. Yes, we are against all these racists and imperial dog acts. JENNY You are a fucking asshole! Wesley hits Jenny across the face. Slow motion - Jenny falls back. Slow motion - Forrest steps forward with rage. Slow motion - Wesley turns and looks at Forrest. Forrest tackles Wesley and slams him onto a table. Jenny turns and looks as Masai pulls out a gun. JENNY Forrest! Quit it! Quit it! Forrest! Stop it! Jenny rushes over to Forrest and pulls Forrest off Wesley. JENNY Stop it! Jenny tries to help Wesley as he moans on the floor. Wesley knocks Jenny's hand away. He gets up, holding his bloody lip. WESLEY Oh, God. I should n't have brought you here. I should have known it was just gon na be some bullshit hassle. FORREST He should not be hitting you, Jenny. JENNY Come on, Forrest. Jenny steps out the door as Forrest picks up his hat. FORREST Sorry I had a fight in the middle of your Black Panther party. The group of Black Panthers glare at Forrest. Forrest turns and walks out the room.", "EXT. WASHINGTON D.C. - NIGHT Forrest and Jenny walk past the White House. Protesters hold a candlelight vigil behind them. JENNY He does n't mean it when he does things like this. He does n't. FORREST I would never hurt you, Jenny. JENNY I know you would n't, Forrest. FORREST I wanted to be your boyfriend. They walk in silence. Jenny touches Forrest's uniform. JENNY That uniform is a trip, Forrest. You look handsome in it. You do. FORREST You know what? JENNY What? FORREST I'm glad we were here together in our national capitol. JENNY Me too, Forrest. I have so much to tell you, you wo n't believe what's been going on. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We walked around all night, Jenny and me, just talkin'.", "EXT. ROUTE 66 - FLASHBACK - DAY Jenny stands in the rain, hitchhiking. A car pulls over to pick her up. Jenny and other other girls get into the car. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She told me about all the travellin' she's done.", "EXT. COMMUNE IN NEW MEXICO - NIGHT A hippie gives Jenny a sugar cube of acid as they sit in front of a roaring fire. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And how she'd discovered ways to expand her mind and learn how to live in harmony.", "EXT. HOLLYWOOD/WALK OF FAME - DAY A star with the name `` Jean Harlow'' on the sidewalk. Jenny and two other girls sing on the sidewalk and collect change from the passersby. Jenny plays the guitar. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- which must be out west somewhere,'cause she made it all the way to California. JENNY -LRB- sings. -RRB- `` Smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love on another right now'' A young hippie looks over his faded Volkswagen at the girls. YOUNG HIPPIE Hey, anybody want to go to San Francisco? JENNY I'll go. YOUNG HIPPIE Far out!", "EXT. WASHINGTON D.C. - DAWN Forrest and Jenny walk through the park. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I was a very special night for the two of us. I did n't want it to end.", "EXT. PARKING LOT - EARLY MORNING Jenny carries a backpack as she prepares to board a bus back to Berkeley. FORREST I wish you would n't go, Jenny. JENNY I have to, Forrest. WESLEY Jenny? Things got a little out of hand. It's just this war and that, that lyin' son - of - a - bitch Johnson. I would never hurt you. You know that. FORREST You know what I think? I think you should go home to Greenbow. Alabama! JENNY Forrest, we have very different lives, you know. Forrest looks down at Jenny. He pulls his Medal of Honor from around his neck. FORREST I want you to have this. Forrest places the Medal of Honor in Jenny's hand. Jenny looks up at him. JENNY Forrest, I ca n't keep this. FORREST I got it just by doing what you told me to do. JENNY Why're you so good to me? FORREST You're my girl. JENNY I'll always be your girl. Jenny and Forrest hug each other. Wesley waits for Jenny. Jenny turns and walks up to Wesley. They walk toward the entrance of the bus. Forrest smiles as Jenny looks at her. Jenny climbs up into the bus. Wesley glares at Forrest. Forrest gives Wesley the `` evil eye.'' Jenny through the near window of the bus, knocks on the window. Forrest turns and looks. Jenny waves to Forrest. Forrest looks up and smiles sadly. Jenny gives Forrest the peace sign as the bus pulls away. The sign on the back of the bus reads `` Berkeley to D.C.'' Forrest gives Jenny the peace sign. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And just like that, she was gone out of my life again.", "INT. VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HOSPITAL/REC ROOM - DAY A footage of Neil Armstrong's first step on the moon on television. NEIL ARMSTRONG That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. The, uh, the surface is fine and powdery. I can, I can pick it up loosely. Forrest demonstrates a ping - pong to some wounded vets. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I thought I was going back to Vietnam, but instead, they decided the best way for me to fight communists was to play ping - pong. So I was in the Special Services, traveling around the country cheering up all them wounded veterans and showing them how to play. BUS STOP - PRESENT - DAY Forrest looks at a man. FORREST ping - pong. I was so good that some years later.", "EXT. CHINA/PING-PONG TOURNAMENT - FLASHBACK - DAY Forrest plays ping - pong against a Chinese player. A large mural of Mao Tse - tung hangs on the wall. A crowd of communist leaders sit and watch. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- the Army decided I should be on the All - American Ping - Pong Team. We were the first Americans to visit the land of China in like a million years or something like that, and somebody said that world peace was in our hands. But all I did was play ping - pong. When I got home. BUS STOP - PRESENT - DAY FORREST I was national celebrity. Famouser even than Captain Kangaroo. Color footage of the DICK CAVETT Show. Dick Cavett stands up as he introduces Forrest. DICK CAVETT Here he is, Forrest Gump, right here. Forrest makes his way onto the stage, shakes hands with Dick Cavett. DICK CAVETT Mr. Gump, have a seat. Forrest sits down between JOHN LENNON and Dick Cavett. DICK CAVETT Forrest Gump, John Lennon. JOHN LENNON Welcome home. DICK CAVETT You had quite a trip. Can you, uh, tell us, uh, what was China like? John Lennon lights a cigarette. FORREST Well, in the land of China, people hardly got nothing at all. JOHN LENNON No possessions? FORREST And in China, they never go to church. JOHN LENNON No religion, too? DICK CAVETT Oh. Hard to imagine. JOHN LENNON Well, it's easy if you try, Dick. Forrest looks oddly at John Lennon. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Some years later, that nice young man from England was on his way home to see his little boy and was signing some autographs. For no particular reason at all, somebody shot him.", "EXT. STUDIO - LATER A guard lets Forrest out a side entrance door. Forrest steps, an then stops as he hears s man sitting in a wheelchair speak to him. LT. DAN They gave you the Congressional Medal of Honor. FORREST Now that's Lieutenant Dan. Lieutenant Dan! Forrest looks at Lt. Dan. He is a dirty with long hair. LT. DAN They gave you the Congressional Medal of Honor! FORREST Yes sir, they sure did. LT. DAN They gave you an imbecile, a moron who goes on television and makes a fool out himself in front of the whole damn country, the Congressional Medal of Honor. FORREST Yes, sir. LT. DAN Well, then, that's just perfect! Yeah, well I just got one thing to say to that. Goddamn bless America. Lt. Dan's wheelchair begins to slide down the ramp and spins around on the icy ground. Forrest looks down at Lt. Dan crashes at the bottom of the ramp. FORREST Lieutenant Dan!", "EXT. NEW YORK CITY STREETS - NIGHT Taxi cabs crowd the street as Forrest pushes Lt. Dan along the sidewalk. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Lieutenant Dan said he was living in a hotel. And because he did n't have no legs, he spent most of his time exercising his arms. LT. DAN Take a right, take a right. A taxi driver honks his horn as Forrest wheels Lt. Dan out in front of the taxi. TAXI DRIVER #1 Hey! Come on already! LT. DAN Ah! FORREST What are you doing here in New York, Lieutenant Dan? LT. DAN I'm living off the government tit. Sucking it dry. A taxi skids to a stop, almost hitting them as they cross the street. The taxi honks at Lt. Dan. Lt. Dan slaps the bumper of the taxi. LT. DAN Hey! Hey! Hey! Are you blind? I'm walking here! Ah, get out. TAXI DRIVER #2 Why do n't you go home before you kill yourself? Get out of the way! LT. DAN Come on, go! Go! Go!", "EXT. LT. DAN'S HOTEL ROOM - LATER A Bob Hope Christmas special in Vietnam on television. Lt. Dan and Forrest watch the television. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I stayed with Lieutenant Dan and celebrated the holidays. BOB HOPE You have a great year and hurry home. God bless you. LT. DAN Have you found Jesus yet, Gump? FORREST I did n't know I was supposed to be looking for him, sir. Lt. Dan chuckles, drinks the rest of a bottle of wine and tosses it down. He looks at Forrest. He wheels himself over to television and turns it off. LT. DAN That's all these cripples, down at the V.A., that's all they ever talk about. Lt. Dan picks up another bottle of port wine, but it is empty. He tosses it onto the floor. LT. DAN Jesus this and Jesus that. Have I found Jesus? They even had a priest come and talk to me. He said God is listening, but I have to help myself. Now, if I accept Jesus into my heart, I'll get to walk beside him in the Kingdom of Heaven. Lt. Dan tosses the empty liquor bottle down and picks another bottle. He becomes enraged as he throws the bottle and looks at Forrest. LT. DAN Did you hear what I said? Walk beside him in the Kingdom of Heaven. Well, kiss my crippled ass. God is listening. What a crock of shit. FORREST I'm going to heaven, Lieutenant Dan. LT. DAN Huh? Ah, well, before you go, why do n't you get your ass down to the corner and get us another bottle of wine. FORREST Yes, sir.", "INT. TIMES SQUARE BAR - NIGHT A television shows DICK CLARK as he emcees the Times Square New York Eve celebration. DICK CLARK We are at approximately 45th Street in New York City at One Astor Plaza. This is the site of the old Astor Hotel. Down below us, well over a hundred thousand people are milling about, cheering with horns and whistles and hats. LT. DAN What the hell's in Bayou La Batre? FORREST Shrimpin' boats. LT. DAN Shrimpin' boats? Who gives a shit about shrimpin' boats? FORREST I got ta buy me one of them shrimpin' boats as soon as I have some money. I made me a promise to Bubba in Vietnam, that as soon as the war was over, we'd go in partners. He'd be the captain of the shrimpin' boat and I'd be his first mate. But now that he's dead, that means that I got ta be the captain. LT. DAN A shrimp boat captain. FORREST Yes, sir. A promise is a promise, Lieutenant Dan. LT. DAN Now hear this! Private Gump here is gon na be a shrimp boat captain. Well, I tell you what, Gilligan, the day that you are a shrimp boat captain, I will come and be your first mate. FORREST Okay. LT. DAN If you're ever a shrimp boat captain, that's the day I'm an astronaut. Two sleazy women, named LENORE and CARLA, walk up to Lt. Dan. LENORE Danny, what are you complaining about? CARLA What are you doing, huh? LENORE Mr. Hot Wheels. Who's your friend? FORREST My name is Forrest, Forrest Gump. LT. DAN This is Cunning Carla, and Long - Limbs Lenore. Carla puts a `` Happy New Year'' crown on Lt. Dan's head. Lenore fixes her makeup. CARLA So where you been, baby - cakes, huh? Have n't seen you around lately. You know, you should have been here for Christmas'cause Tommy bought a round on the house and gave everybody a turkey sandwich. LT. DAN Well, well, I had, uh, company. LENORE Hey, hey! We was, we was just there. That's at Times Square. Lenore leans and speaks into Forrest's ear. LENORE Do n't you just love New Year's? You get to start all over. CARLA Hey, Lenore. LENORE Everybody gets a second chance. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's funny, but in the middle of all that fun, I began to think about Jenny. DICK CLARK -LRB- on television. -RRB-. getting wild out there. It's beginning to.", "INT. APARTMENT/L.A. - NIGHT The New Year's Eve celebration over the T.V. DICK CLARK -LRB- over television. -RRB-. pour here in Times Square. It's been off - and - on all night, but these people hang in there. Jenny fills her bag with her belongings. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Wondering how she was spending her New Year's night out in California. A man lies passed out on the bed. Jenny looks at her black eye in a mirror, then leaves the apartment. The TV shows the ball in Times Square. CROWD -LRB- over television. -RRB-", "INT. TIMES SQUARE BAR - NIGHT The ball is lowered, lighting up a sign that reads `` 1972.'' CROWD -LRB- over television. -RRB-. 1! Happy New Year! The people in the bar cheer and kiss each other. They blow horns and toss confetti into the air. Forrest looks around as Carla and Lenore lean over and kiss him. PATRONS -LRB- sing. -RRB- `` Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind. FORREST Happy New Year, Lieutenant Dan! PATRONS -LRB- sing. -RRB- Should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne.''", "INT. LT. DAN'S HOTEL ROOM - LATER Carla removes her top and sits on top of Dan in his wheelchair. They kiss and play around. Forrest sits in a chair. Lenore leaps on him and begins to kiss Forrest. She reaches down to Forrest's crotch. Forrest stands up nervously, causing Lenore to fall down on the floor. Lenore stands up, angry. LENORE What are you, stupid or something? What's your problem? What's his problem? Did you lose your pecker in the war or something? CARLA What, is your friend stupid or something? LT. DAN What did you say? CARLA I said, is your friend stupid or something? LT. DAN Hey! Do n't call him stupid! Lt. Dan throws Carla back onto the bed. CARLA Do n't push me like that! LENORE Hey, do n't you push her! LT. DAN You shut up! Do n't you ever call him stupid! CARLA What's the matter, baby? Why you treating me like shit? LT. DAN Get the hell out of here! LENORE You stupid gimp. You belong in `` Ripley's Believe It Or Not.'' LT. DAN Get the hell out of here! Go on! LENORE You should be in a side show! LT. DAN Go on! Get out of here! Get out of here! LENORE You big loser! CARLA Come on, Lenore. We do n't need this shit! LENORE You're so pathetic. LT. DAN Get out of here! Lt. Dan falls out of his wheelchair and lands down on the floor. Carla and Lenore laugh as they leave the apartment. CARLA You retard! LENORE You loser! You freak! Forrest tries to help Lt. Dan. Lt. Dan pushes Forrest away. LT. DAN No! Forrest steps back as Lt. Dan flips back over, then pulls himself back up onto his wheelchair. He breathes heavily. FORREST I'm sorry I ruined your New Year's Eve party, Lieutenant Dan. She tastes like cigarettes. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I guess Lieutenant Dan figured there's some things you just ca n't change. He did n't want to be called crippled, just like I did n't want to be called stupid. LT. DAN Happy New Year.", "EXT. WHITE HOUSE - NIGHT An ANCHORMAN reports in front of the White House. ANCHORMAN The U.S. Ping - Pong Team met with President Nixon today at an Oval Office ceremony. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And would n't you know it. PRESENT - BUS STOP Forrest looks at the fat man on the bus bench. FORREST a few months later they invited me and the ping - pong team to visit the White House. So I went again. And I met the President of the United States again.", "INT. WHITE HOUSE - DAY A plaque, presented to Forrest, reads `` Presented to Forrest Gump, member of the United States table tennis team as player of the year for 1971. President NIXON holds the plaque. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Only this time they did n't get us rooms in a real fancy hotel. PRESIDENT NIXON So are you enjoying yourself in our national capital, young man? FORREST Yes, sir. PRESIDENT NIXON Well, where are you staying? FORREST It's called the Hotel Ebbott. PRESIDENT NIXON Oh, no, no, no, no. I know of a much nicer hotel. It's brand - new. Very modern. I'll have my people take care of it for you.", "INT. WATERGATE HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Forrest speaks on the phone. SECURITY GUARD Security, Frank Wills. Forrest steps over to a window. Flashlights are moving around in an office across from Forrest's room. FORREST Yeah, sir, you might want to send a maintenance man over to that office across the way. The lights are off, and they must be looking for the fuse box or something,'cause them flashlights they're, they're keeping me awake. SECURITY GUARD Okay, sir. I'll check it out. FORREST Thank you. SECURITY GUARD No problem. FORREST Good night. SECURITY GUARD Good night. Forrest hangs up the phone. The camera tilts down, revealing the hotel stationary, which reads `` The Watergate Hotel.''", "INT. GYMNASIUM - DAY President Nixon makes a resignation speech on TV. PRESIDENT NIXON -LRB- over television. -RRB- Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. The television cuts to a shot of President Nixon standing outside Air Force One with his hands in the peace sign. PRESIDENT NIXON -LRB- over television. -RRB- Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office. As I recall the high hopes for America with which we began this second term, I feel a great sadness that I will not be here in this office. Forrest is playing ping - pong by himself at the gymnasium. An officer steps up to him. OFFICER Sergeant Gump! FORREST Yes, sir! OFFICER As you were. I have your discharge papers. Your service is up, son. The officer hands Forrest an envelope, then walks away. FORREST Does this mean I ca n't play ping pong no more? OFFICER For the Army it does. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And just like that, my service in the United States Army was over. So I went home. Forrest takes his paddle and runs out of the gymnasium.", "EXT. GUMP HOUSE - DAY Mrs. Gump walks out of the house and smiles. Forrest walks up to the house, wearing his uniform. FORREST I'm home, Momma. MRS. GUMP I know, I know.", "INT. GUMP HOUSE Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk into the house. MRS. GUMP Louise, he's here. He's here, everybody. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now, when I got home, I had no idea that Momma had had all sorts of visitors. In the house are stacks of ping - pong paddles and life - sized cardboard cutouts of Forrest playing ping - pong. The name on the ping - pong paddles boxes reads : `` Gump - Mao table tennis.'' MRS. GUMP We've had all sorts of visitors, Forrest. Everybody wants you to use their ping - pong stuff. One man even left a check for twenty - five thousand dollars if you'd be agreeable to saying you like using their paddle. FORREST Oh, Momma. I only like using my own paddle. Hi, Miss Louise. LOUISE Hey, Forrest. MRS. GUMP I know that. I know that. But it's twenty - five thousand dollars, Forrest. I thought maybe you could hold it for a while, see if it grows on you. Oh, you look good, Forrest. You look real good. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That Momma, she sure was right. It's funny how things work out.", "EXT. BAYOU LA BATRE/BUBBA'S MOM'S HOUSE - DAY Forrest walks up to a shack on the edge of the Bayou. A group of black kids play in the front yard. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I did n't stay home for long, because I'd made a promise to Bubba. And I always try to keep my promise. So I went on down to Bayou La Batre to meet Bubba's family and make their introduction. Bubba's mother named MRS. BLUE and her other children look at Forrest. MRS. BLUE Are you crazy, or just plain stupid? FORREST Stupid is as stupid does, Mrs. Blue. MRS. BLUE I guess.", "EXT. BUBBA'S GRAVE - DAY Forrest steps over to Bubba's tombstone. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And of course, I paid my respect to Bubba himself. FORREST Hey, Bubba, it's me, Forrest Gump. I remember everything you said, and I got it all figured out. Forrest pulls out notes from his pocket. FORREST I'm taking the twenty - four thousand, five hundred and six - two dollars and forty - seven cents that I got.", "EXT. BAYOU - DAY Forrest walks across a yard where men are cleaning shrimp. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- well, that's left after a new hair cut and a new suit and I took Momma out to real fancy dinner and I bought a bus ticket and three Doctor Peppers. Forrest walks along a wooden pier. Forrest pays an old black shrimper a large wad of cash. OLD SHRIMPER Tell me something. Are you stupid or something? FORREST Stupid is as stupid does, sir.", "EXT. BUBBA'S GRAVE Forrest stands at the grave. FORREST Well, that's what's left after me saying, `` When I was in China on the All - America Ping - Pong Team, I just loved playing ping - pong with my Flex - O - Ping - Pong Paddle.'' Which everybody knows it is n't true, but Momma says it's just a little white lie so it would n't hurt nobody. So, anyway, I'm putting all that on gas, ropes and new nets and a brand - new shrimpin' boat.", "EXT. BAYOU - DAY Forrest steers his shrimping boat. The boat is old and rusty. Forrest unleashes his nets as his catch of the day drops to the deck. It is a bunch of garbage and shells. Forrest picks up one shrimp. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now, Bubba had told me everything he knows about shrimpin', but you know what I found out? Shrimpin' is tough.", "EXT. DOCKS Forrest pulls a couple of shrimp out of a bucket. FORREST I only caught five. OLD SHRIMPER A couple of more, you can have yourself a cocktail. The old shrimper begins to walk away, then stops and looks at Forrest. OLD SHRIMPER Hey, you ever think about namin' this old boat? FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'd never named a boat before, but there was only one I could think of. Forrest paints a name on the side of his boat. The name is `` Jenny.'' FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The most beautiful name in the wide world.", "INT. DISCO Disco lights flash and people dance. A guy asks a girl to dance. GIRL Okay. Jenny sits at a table with some other people. She is snorting cocaine. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now, I had n't heard from Jenny in a long while. But.", "EXT. BAYOU LA BATRE - DAY Forrest stands at the helm as the boat glides across the water. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But I thought about her a lot. And I hoped that whatever she was doing made her happy.", "INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT Drug paraphernalia and a large wad of cash are spread out on a table. A man drops a syringe on the table. He reaches over and touches Jenny. She is pale with dark lines under her eyes.", "INT. BATHROOM Jenny smears some lines of cocaine on a mirror. She looks at herself in the mirror.", "EXT. BALCONY Jenny steps out onto the high - rise balcony. She steps up on a table and stands on the edge of the balcony. A busy street lies many stories below. Jenny looks down to the intersection below. She slips over the edge, regains her balance, turns and looks back at the intersection below, and begins to get down from the edge. Jenny grabs a hold of the ledge and carefully climbs down. She sits down on a chair. Jenny rocks back and forth as she cries. She looks up at the sky.", "EXT. BAYOU LA BATRE/FORREST'S BOAT - NIGHT The moon shines above in the sky. Forrest lies in a hammock on his boat. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I thought about Jenny all the time.", "EXT. FORREST'S BOAT/BAYOU DOCK - DAY Forrest stands at the helm of his boat and slowly glides by the docks. Forrest looks around and notices something and bends down to get a clear view. Lt. Dan sits in his wheelchair on the deck. Forrest looks at Lt. Dan. He smiles, surprised. FORREST Hi! Forrest leaps off of his moving boat and into the water. The boat continues as Forrest clumsily swims. Lt. Dan sits in his wheelchair at the edge of the dock. Forrest flails his arms as he swims up to the dock. Lt. Dan waits for Forrest, smoking a cigar. Forrest climbs up a ladder onto the dock. FORREST Lieutenant Dan, what are you doing here? LT. DAN Well, I thought I'd try out my sea legs. FORREST Well, you ai n't got no legs, Lieutenant Dan. LT. DAN Well, well, Captain Forrest Gump. I had to see this for myself. And I told you if you were ever a shrimp boat captain, that I'd be your first mate. Well, here I am. I am a man of my word. FORREST Okay. Forrest shakes Lt. Dan's hand. LT. DAN Yeah, but do n't you be thinking that I'm gon na be calling you sir. FORREST No, sir. Forrest's boat glides, crushing a dock. Forrest and Lt. Dan look at it. FORREST That's my boat.", "EXT. BAYOU LA BATRE WATERS - DAY Forrest's shrimping boat is alone on the gulf waters. LT. DAN I have a feeling if we head the east, we'll find some shrimp. So, take a left. Take a left. Forrest looks up. Lt. Dan is sitting in the rigging. FORREST Which way? LT. DAN Over there! They're over there! Get, get on the wheel and take a left! FORREST Okay. LT. DAN Gump, what are you doing? Take a left! Left! That's where we're gon na find those shrimp, my boy! That's where we'll find'em. Forrest empties the net. Their `` catch'' is debris that falls to the deck. FORREST Still no shrimp, Lieutenant Dan. LT. DAN Okay, so I was wrong. FORREST Well, how we gon na find them? LT. DAN Well, maybe you should just pray for shrimp.", "INT. SMALL CHURCH - DAY The all - black gospel choir sings and claps their hands. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So I went to church every Sunday. Lt. Dan is sitting in his chair at the back of the church. He takes swigs from a liquor bottle. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sometimes Lieutenant Dan came, too. Though I think he left the praying up to me.", "EXT. BOAT - ANOTHER DAY A catch of junk is dumped onto the deck. Lt. Dan lowers himself from the rigging. FORREST No shrimp. LT. DAN Where the hell's this God of yours? The wind begins to blow strong. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's funny Lieutenant Dan said that,'cause right then, God showed up.", "EXT. BOAT - NIGHT Water sprays on deck during a hurricane. Lt. Dan on the rigging, shouts and shakes his fist as he is pelted by wind and rain. LT. DAN You'll never sink this boat! FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now me, I was scared. But Lieutenant Dan, he was mad. LT. DAN Come on! You call this a storm? Forrest slides back and forth as he attempts to steer the boat. LT. DAN Blow, you son - of - a - bitch! Blow! It's time for a showdown! You and me. I'm right here. Come and get me! You'll never sink this boat!", "INT. GUMP HOUSE - DAY An ANCHORMAN over TV, is standing in front of a pier. ANCHORMAN -LRB- over television. -RRB- Hurricane Carmen came through here yesterday.", "EXT. BAYOU DOCKS - DAY The anchorman is standing in front of the ruined pier and boats. ANCHORMAN destroying nearly everything in its path. And as in other towns up and down the coast, Bayou La Batre's entire shrimping industry.", "INT. GUMP HOUSE ANCHORMAN has fallen victim to Carmen and has been left in utter ruin. Speaking with local officials, this reporter has learned, in fact, only one shrimping boat actually survived the storm. Forrest's boat comes down the river. MRS. GUMP Louise. Louise, there's Forrest! FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- After that, shrimpin' was easy. FORREST'S BOAT - DAY Lt. Dan and Forrest empty their net. A huge catch of shrimp falls onto the deck. Lt. Dan opens another big catch. Another catch drops open on top of yet another huge catch. Forrest and Lt. Dan smile. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And since people still needed them shrimps for shrimp cocktails and barbecues and all.", "EXT. BUS STOP - PRESENT The man sitting on the bench listens to Forrest. An ELDERLY WOMAN sits next to the man. FORREST and we were the only boat left standing `` Bubba - Gump'' shrimp's what they got. We got a whole bunch of boats. Twelve Jenny's, a big ol' warehouse, we even have hats that says `` Bubba - Gump'' on'em. `` Bubba - Gump Shrimp.'' It's a household name. MAN Hold on there, boy. Are you telling me you're the owner of the Bubba - Gump Shrimp Corporation? FORREST Yes, sir. We've got more money than Davy Crocket. MAN Boy, I've heard some whoppers in my time, but that tops them all. We was sitting next to a millionaire! The man laughs as he walks away. ELDERLY WOMAN Well, I thought it was a very lovely story. And you tell it so well. With such enthusiasm. FORREST Would you like to see what Lieutenant Dan looks like? ELDERLY WOMAN Well, yes, I would! Forrest shows her the cover of a `` Fortune'' magazine with Forrest and Lt. Dan on the cover. FORREST That's him right there. The elderly woman looks at the magazine and at Forrest with surprise. FORREST And let me tell you something about Lieutenant Dan.", "EXT. BOAT/DECK - DAY Forrest and Lt. Dan are working on the boat. LT. DAN Forrest, I never thanked you for saving my life. Forrest looks a little surprised. Lt. Dan smiles, then looks away. Lt. Dan pulls himself out of his chair to the railing and jumps into the water. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He never actually said so, but I think he made his peace with God.", "EXT. BOAT Forrest and Lt. Dan have dinner on the deck. The television shows an assassination attempt on President Gerald Ford. ANCHORMAN -LRB- over television. -RRB- For the second time in seventeen days, President Ford escaped possible assassination today when a woman, Sarah Jane Moore, fired on him as he stepped out of a hotel in San Francisco. MARGO -LRB- over radio. -RRB- Base to Jenny One. Base to Jenny One. LT. DAN Jenny One, go Margo. MARGO -LRB- over radio. -RRB- Forrest has a phone call. LT. DAN Yeah, well you'll have to tell them to call him back. He is indisposed at the moment. MARGO -LRB- over radio. -RRB- His momma's sick. ANCHORMAN -LRB- over television. -RRB- Lynett Alice Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson better known as `` Squeaky,'' attempted to assassinate the President as he was. Forrest dives into the water as he reacts.", "EXT. ROAD/GUMP HOUSE - DAY Forrest carries a suitcase as he runs down the road. Forrest runs past the row of mailboxes and turns into the drive. Louise and others are on the front porch. FORREST Where's Momma? LOUISE She's upstairs.", "INT. GUMP HOUSE - WOMAN'S BED ROOM Forrest opens the door, the doctor stands next to Mrs. Gump in bed. MRS. GUMP Hi, Forrest. DOCTOR I'll see you tomorrow. MRS. GUMP Oh, all right. The doctor looks down at Forrest's legs. DOCTOR We sure got you straightened out, did n't we, boy? The doctor leaves and closes the door. Forrest takes off his hat and steps over to her. FORREST What's the matter, Momma? MRS. GUMP I'm dyin', Forrest. Come on in, sit down over here. FORREST Why are you dyin', Momma? MRS. GUMP It's my time. It's just my time. Oh, now, do n't you be afraid, sweetheart. Death is just a part of life. It's something we're all destined to do. I did n't know it, but I was destined to be your momma. I did the best I could. FORREST You did good, Momma. MRS. GUMP Well, I happened to believe you make your own destiny. You have to do the best with what God gave you. FORREST What's my destiny, Momma? MRS. GUMP You're gon na have to figure that out for yourself. Life is a box of chocolates, Forrest. You never know what you're gon na get. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Momma always had a way of explaining things so I could understand them. MRS. GUMP I will miss you, Forrest. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She had got the cancer and died on a Tuesday. I bought her a new hat with little flowers on it.", "EXT. BUS STOP - PRESENT The elderly woman and Forrest sit. The woman is crying and wipes her eyes with a hankie. FORREST And that's all I have to say about that. A bus stops. Forrest looks at the elderly woman. FORREST Did n't you say you were waiting for the Number Seven bus? ELDERLY WOMAN There'll be another one along shortly. FORREST Now, because I had been a football star, and a war hero, and a national celebrity, and a shrimpin' boat captain, and a college graduate, the city of fathers of Greenbow, Alabama, decided to get together and offered me a fine job.", "EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD - DAY Forrest rides a lawn tractor as he moves the football field lawn. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So, I never went back to work for Lieutenant Dan.", "EXT. GUMP HOUSE MAILBOXES Forrest takes out a letter and opens it. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Though he did take care of my Bubba - Gump money. He got me invested in some kind of fruit company. And so then I got a call from him saying we do n't have to worry about money no more.", "EXT. BUS STOP FORREST And I said, `` That's good. One less thing.''", "INT. CHURCH - DAY The choir and members are singing. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now, Momma said there's only so much fortune a man really needs.", "EXT. CHURCH The sign reads : `` Four Square Baptist Church.'' A new cross is placed on the steeple. New furniture is taken inside. REVEREND Praise the Lord. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- and the rest is just for showing off. So, I gave a whole bunch of it to the Four Square Gospel Church.", "EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY The sign reads : `` Gump Medical Center Bayou La Batre, Alabama.'' The ribbon - cutting ceremony. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And I gave a whole bunch to the Bayou La Batre Fishing Hospital.", "EXT. BUBBA'S MOM'S HOUSE A postman delivers a letter to Bubba's mom. She opens the letter. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And even though Bubba was dead, and Lieutenant Dan said I was nuts. I gave Bubba's mommy Bubba's share. She is surrounded by her many children. She looks at the check and faints.", "EXT. BUS STOP FORREST And you know what.", "INT. FLORIDA CONDO A door opens as a white woman serves Bubba's mom some shrimp. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- She did n't have to work in nobody's kitchen no more. MRS. BLUE Smells wonderful!", "EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD Forrest rides the mower. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And'cause I was godzillionaire and I liked doing it so much. I cut that grass for free.", "EXT. GUMP HOUSE BALCONY - NIGHT Forrest looks down the road as he steps onto the porch. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But at nighttime, when there was nothing to do and the house was all empty, I'd always think of Jenny. Jenny's image walks, then vanishes. Forrest looks away. He turns and walks into the house.", "EXT. GUMP HOUSE - DAY Jenny walks across the lawn to Forrest. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And then, she was there. JENNY Hello, Forrest. FORREST Hello, Jenny. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Jenny came back and stayed with me.", "INT. GUMP HOUSE Jenny lies asleep in bed. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Maybe it was because she had nowhere else to go. Or maybe it was because she was so tired, because she went to bed and slept and slept like she had n't slept in years. It was wonderful having her home.", "EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY Forrest and Jenny walking. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Every day we'd take a walk, and I'd jabber on like a monkey in a tree. And she'd listen about ping - pong and shrimpin' boats and Momma makin' a trip to heaven. I did all the talkin'. Jenny most of the time was real quiet. FORREST big ol' gobs of rain and little bitty stinging rain and rain. Jenny's old house stands at the end of the dirt road. It appears to be deserted. Jenny walks toward the house and stops. She stares at the house. Forrest walks toward Jenny. Jenny suddenly heaves a rock angrily at the house. She throws other things at the house. JENNY How could you do this? She breaks a window. Jenny collapses to the ground and sobs. Forrest knees down next to her. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sometimes I guess there just are n't enough rocks.", "EXT. OLD OAK TREE - DAY Jenny and Forrest sit on a limb together. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I never really knew why she came back, but I did n't care. It was like olden times. We was like peas and carrots again.", "INT. GUMP HOUSE - DAY Jenny sits by the vase of flowers and look out the window. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Every day I'd pick pretty flowers and put them in her room for her.", "EXT. GUMP HOUSE - DAY Forrest closes his eyes as he sits on the porch. Jenny places a box of Nike running shoes in his lap. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And she gave me the best gift anyone could ever get in the wide world. JENNY Okay, you can open your eyes. FORREST New shoes. JENNY They make them just for running.", "EXT. GUMP HOUSE - NIGHT Through the windows, Forrest and Jenny are dancing as it rains outside. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And she even showed me how to dance. And, well, we was like family. Jenny and me.", "EXT. RIVER - NIGHT Jenny and Forrest sit on a log together and look at the river. Jenny places her arms around Forrest. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And it was the happiest time of my life. The fireworks explode in the sky.", "INT. GUMP'S HOUSE - NIGHT The Statue of Liberty is shown on the TV. Fireworks go off. Forrest and Jenny are watching the 4th of July celebration on TV. ANNOUNCER -LRB- over television. -RRB- And this Fourth is witnessing one of the largest fireworks displays in the nation's two - hundred year history. JENNY You done watching it? FORREST Mm - hmm. ANNOUNCER -LRB- over television. -RRB-. here in New York Harbor. After the spectacular display of tall ships earlier, the Statue of Liberty. Jenny stands up and kisses Forrest on the cheek. JENNY I'm going to bed. Jenny turns off the TV and walks outside. Forrest stands as he puts down his Dr. Pepper. Jenny walks toward the stairs. FORREST Will you marry me? I'd make a good husband, Jenny. JENNY You would, Forrest. FORREST But you wo n't marry me. JENNY You do n't want to marry me. FORREST Why do n't you love me, Jenny? I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is. Forrest turns and walks toward the door. Jenny turns and walks up the stairs. Forrest stands outside.", "EXT. GUMP HOUSE - NIGHT The house stands in the rain.", "EXT. GUMP HOUSE - NIGHT Forrest lies in his bed as the door opens. Jenny gets into bed next to Forrest. FORREST Jenny? JENNY Forrest, I do love you. Jenny and Forrest kiss. Jenny takes off her nightgown as they make love.", "EXT. GUMP HOUSE - MORNING Jenny carries her purse and walks toward a waiting cab. CAB DRIVER Where are you running off to? JENNY I'm not running.", "INT. GUMP HOUSE The cab drives away as Forrest is asleep in his bed. The Congressional Medal lies on a table by a ping - pong paddle. Forrest holds a glass of milk and wears his bathrobe. He looks at the medal he had give to Jenny. Jenny's bed is made. Forrest stands in the doorway looking at the room and bed where Jenny had been.", "EXT. FRONT PORCH - DAY Forrest sit on a rocking chair with his running shoes on. He is still, as if in a trance. He slowly puts on his Bubba - Gump cap. Forrest stands. He walks off the porch. He begins to jog across the lawn. His speed increases as he runs farther away. Forrest runs down the drive away from his house. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. Forrest runs to the end of the drive, then turns right and runs down the highway. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So I ran to the end of the road, and when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town.", "INT. BARBER SHOP - DAY The three men sit as they watch the television. Forrest runs through the main street of town. NEWSCASTER President Carter, suffering from heat exhaustion fell into the arms of security agents. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And when I got there.", "EXT. ALABAMA ROAD The sign reads `` Entering Greenbow County.'' FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great. Forrest runs by a sign that reads `` Mississippi welcomes you. The Magnolia State.'' FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- state of Alabama. And that's what I did I ran clear across Alabama.", "EXT. BUS STOP - PRESENT FORREST For no particular reason, I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean.", "EXT. SANTA MONICA - DAY The sign reads `` Santa Monica yacht harbor sports fishing - boating - cafes.'' Forrest runs under the sign and onto the pier. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And when I got there, I figured since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going.", "EXT. ATLANTIC OCEAN Forrest runs to a pier at the Atlantic Ocean. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- When I got to another ocean, I figured since I've gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going. Forrest runs across the pier. A lighthouse stands at the end of the pier. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- When I got tired, I slept. When I got hungry, I ate.", "EXT. BUS STOP - PRESENT FORREST When I had to go, you know, I went. ELDERLY WOMAN And so, you just ran? FORREST Yeah.", "EXT. HIGHWAY Forrest is running along the highway. Forrest runs down a road between field of wheat. A Mountain river. Forrest runs across a cobble - stone bridge. The Rocky Mountains are behind him in distance. Forrest runs through some meadowland. Split rail fences line the road. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'd think a lot about Momma and Bubba, and Lieutenant Dan, but most of all, I thought about Jenny. I thought about her a lot.", "EXT. BARBER SHOP The three men in the barber shop watch the news on television. NEWSCASTER For more than two years now, a man named Forrest Gump, a gardener from Greenbow, Alabama, stopping only to sleep, has been running across America.", "INT. COFFEE SHOP Jenny fills customer's coffee cups. NEWSCASTER Charles Cooper brings us this report. NEWSMAN For the fourth time on his journey across America, Forrest Gump, a gardener from Greenbow, Alabama, is about to cross the Mississippi River again today. The TV shows Forrest runs across a bridge that reads `` Mississippi River.'' JENNY I'll be damned. Forrest.", "EXT. MISSISSIPPI BRIDGE NEWSMAN Sir, why are you running? 1ST REPORTER Why are you running? 2ND REPORTER Are you doing this for world peace? 3RD REPORTER Are you doing this for women's right? NEWSMAN Or for the environment? REPORTER Or for animals? 3RD REPORTER Or for nuclear arms? FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- They just could n't believe that somebody would do all that running for no particular reason. 2ND REPORTER Why are you doing this? FORREST I just felt like running.", "EXT. BUS STOP - PRESENT FORREST I just left like running.", "EXT. SMALL EASTERN TOWN Forrest runs as a YOUNG MAN runs up to him. YOUNG MAN It's you. I ca n't believe it's really you.", "EXT. BUS STOP - PRESENT FORREST Now, for some reason what I was doing seemed to make sense to people.", "EXT. SMALL EASTERN TOWN The young man jobs behind Forrest. YOUNG MAN I mean, it was like an alarm went off in my head, you know. I said, here's a guy that's got his act together. Here's somebody who's got it, all figured out. Here's somebody who has the answer. I'll follow you anywhere, Mr. Gump. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So, I got company. Forrest runs up a slope on a high mountain road. A group of people are jogging behind him. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And after that I got more company. And then. A large group jogs behind Forrest across the desert road. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- even more people joined in. Somebody later told me.", "EXT. BUS STOP - PRESENT FORREST it gave people hope. Now. Now, I do n't know anything about that, but. Forrest and his followers job through a small town. A man runs up and talks to Forrest. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Some of those people asked me if I could help them out. AGING HIPPIE Hey, man, hey, listen. I was wondering if you might help me, huh? Listen, I'm in the bumper sticker business and I've been trying to think up a good slogan. And since you have been such a big inspiration to the people around here, I thought you might be able to help me jump into. Whoa! Man, you just ran through a big pile of dogshit! The hippie jumps over the `` dogshit'' as he runs along Forrest. FORREST It happens. AGING HIPPIE What, shit? FORREST Sometimes. The hippie stops to ponder this profound thought. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And some years later I heard that fella did come up with a bumper sticker slogan. A bumper sticker reads `` Shit Happens.'' FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- and he make a lot of money off of it. The truck with the bumper sticker drives into an intersection. It collides with a car.", "EXT. TRUCK STOP Forrest runs, followed by his group, as a man runs up to him. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Another time I was running along, somebody who had lost all his money in the T - shirt business, and he wanted to put my face on a T - shirt, but he could n't draw that well and he did n't have a camera. WILD-EYED MAN I think it would be really fortunate for me if I could get your name on these, oh, your face and name on these T - shirts. It would be wonderful. A truck splashes mud onto Forrest as it goes by. The man hands Forrest a yellow T - shirt to use as a rag to wipe the mud off. WILD-EYED MAN Here, use this one. Nobody likes that color anyway. Forrest wipes his face on the towel and hands it back to the man. FORREST Have a nice day. The man looks at the T - shirt. He holds it up displaying the `` Happy Face.'' FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And some years later I found out that that man did come up with a idea for a T - shirt and he made a lot of money off of it.", "EXT. MONUMENT VALLEY Forrest runs with a group that follows behind him. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Anyway, like I was saying, I had a lot of company. My Momma always said you got to put the past behind you before you can move on. And I think that's what my running was all about. I had run for three years, two months, fourteen days, and sixteen hours. Forrest stops running. The group stops behind him. Forrest stands and looks as the group waits expectantly. Forrest turns and look. YOUNG MAN Quiet. Quiet, he's gon na say something. FORREST I'm pretty tired. I think I'll go home now. Forrest walks toward the group. The group parts for Forrest as he walks down the middle of the road. YOUNG MAN Now what are we supposed to do? FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And just like that, my running days was over. So, I went home to Alabama. A television shows President Reagan and his staff as they react to gunshots in front of a limo. NEWSCASTER -LRB- over television. -RRB- Moments ago, at two twenty - five p.m., as President Reagan was leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel.", "INT. GUMP HOUSE - DAY Forrest sits eating a sandwich, watching the news of the assassination attempt. NEWSCASTER five or six gunshots were fired by an unknown would - be assassin. The President was shot in the chest and the assailant was immediately tackled by a half a dozen lawmen. As the Presidential. LOUISE I picked up the mail. FORREST Oh, thank you, Miss, Miss Louise. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- One day, out of the blue clear sky, I got a letter from Jenny.", "EXT. BUS STOP - PRESENT Forrest takes the letter out of his pocket. FORREST wondering if I could come down to Savannah to see her, and that's what I'm doing here. She saw me on TV, running, I'm supposed to go on the Number Nine bus to Richmond Street and get off and go one block left to 1 - 9 - 4 - 7 Henry Street, Apartment 4. The elderly woman looks at the letter. ELDERLY WOMAN Why, you do n't need to take a bus. Henry Street is just five or six blocks down that way. FORREST Down that way? ELDERLY WOMAN Down that way. Forrest hastily grabs his suitcase and letter as he stands. FORREST It was nice talking' to you. Forrest runs, the elderly woman shouts from the bus stop bench. A truck honks its horn as Forrest runs across the street past the truck. ELDERLY WOMAN I hope everything works out for you.", "INT. JENNY'S APARTMENT - DAY Jenny opens the door. JENNY Hey! Forrest! How you doing? FORREST Hi. JENNY Come in. Come in. FORREST I got your letter. JENNY Oh, I was wondering about that. Jenny shuts the door. Forrest looks around. FORREST Is this your house? JENNY Yeah, it's messy right now. I just got off work. FORREST It's nice. You got air conditioning. Forrest hands Jenny the box of chocolates. FORREST Ah. JENNY Thank you. FORREST I ate some. Jenny picks up a scrapbook and turns the pages. JENNY Hey, I kept, I kept a scrapbook of your, of your clippings and everything. There you are. This, I got your running. FORREST I ran a long way. For a long time. JENNY There. Listen, Forrest. I do n't know how to say this. Um, I just. I want to apologize for anything that I ever did to you,'cause I was messed up for a long time, and. There is a knock at the door. LYNN MARIE enters as she opens the door. LYNN MARIE Yoo - hoo. JENNY Hey. LYNN MARIE Hi. Jenny grabs a young boy. JENNY Hey, you. This is an old friend from Alabama. LYNN MARIE Oh, how do you do? JENNY Ah, listen, next week my schedule changes, so I'll be able to. but thanks for picking up. LYNN MARIE No problem. Got to go, Jen. I'm double parked. JENNY Okay. Lynn Marie closes the door and waves bye to Forrest. LYNN MARIE Bye. JENNY Thanks. This is very good friend, Mr. Gump. Can you say hi to him? LITTLE BOY Hello, Mr. Gump. FORREST Hello. LITTLE BOY Now, can I go watch TV now? JENNY Yes, you can. Just keep it low. The little boy runs into other room and picks up TV remote control. FORREST You're a momma, Jenny. JENNY I'm a momma. His name is Forrest. FORREST Like me. JENNY I named him after his Daddy. FORREST He got a daddy named Forrest, too? JENNY You're his daddy, Forrest. Forrest continues to stare at Forrest Jr.. Forrest then looks frightened and starts to back away. JENNY Hey, Forrest, look at me. Look at me, Forrest. There's nothing you need to do, okay? You did n't do anything wrong. Okay? Jenny turns and looks at Forrest Jr. in the other room. JENNY Is n't he beautiful? FORREST He's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. But. is, is he smart, or is he. JENNY He's very smart. He's one of the smartest in his class. Forrest breathes deep. He looks at Jenny, then at Forrest Jr.. JENNY Yeah, it's okay. Go talk to him. Forrest walks into the room and sits down next to Forrest Jr. `` Sesame Street'' is on the TV. BERT Oh, great. ERNIE Hey, Bert, can you give me a hand? BERT A hand? Well, yeah, what do you want, Ernie? FORREST What are you watching. FORREST JR. Bert and Ernie. ERNIE Well, it's the first stage. Bert. It's planning to write a story, Bert. I have pencils right here to write with, Bert. Now, we got, uh, paper. I'll take that paper, Bert. See, we have the paper to write on.", "EXT. PARK - DAY Forrest and Jenny sit on a bench. Forrest Jr. swings behind them. JENNY Forrest, I'm sick. FORREST What, do you have a cough due to cold? JENNY I have some kind virus. And the doctors do n't, they do n't know what it is. And there is n't anything they can do about it. FORREST You could come home with me. Jenny, you and little Forrest could come stay at my house in Greenbow. I'll take care of you if you're sick. JENNY Would you marry me, Forrest? FORREST Okay.", "EXT. GUMP HOUSE - DAY A group has gathered on the lawn for the wedding. Louise walks up to Forrest. MINISTER Please take your seats. LOUISE Forrest, it's time to start. Jenny walks out of the house. Forrest walks over to greet her. She wears a white dress. She walks up to Forrest and adjusts his necktie. JENNY Hi. Your tie. Lt. Dan is walking across the lawn. He uses a cane. A WOMAN is walking next to him. FORREST Lieutenant Dan? Lieutenant Dan! LT. DAN Hello, Forrest. Jenny walks over to Forrest and Lt. Dan. FORREST You got new legs. New legs! LT. DAN Yeah, I got new legs. Lt. Dan lifts his pant leg to display his metal leg. LT. DAN Custom - made titanium alloy. It's what they use on the space shuttle. FORREST Magic legs. LT. DAN This is my fiancee, Susan. FORREST Lieutenant Dan! Susan shakes Forrest's hand. SUSAN Hi, Forrest. FORREST Lieutenant Dan, this is my Jenny. JENNY Hey, it's nice to meet you, finally. Jenny steps forward and kisses Lt. Dan's cheek. The group is seated as they watch Forrest and Jenny take vows on the front lawn. Forrest Jr. stands next to Jenny. MINISTER Do you, Forrest, take Jenny to be your wife? Do you, Jenny, take Forrest to be your husband? If so, I pronounce you man and wife. The wind blows fallen leaves across the ground. Jenny, Forrest, and Forrest Jr. walk toward the house. They all hold hands as they walk.", "INT. GUMP HOUSE - MORNING Forrest steps into Jenny's bedroom. He carries a tray with breakfast on it. Forrest looks at Jenny as she sleeps. Slowly she wakes up and looks at Forrest. FORREST Hey. JENNY Hey. Forrest sets the tray down next to Jenny as she sits up in bed. Forrest opens a window, then sits down next to the bed. JENNY Hey, Forrest, were you scared in Vietnam? FORREST Yes. Well, I, I do n't know.", "EXT. VIETNAM - FLASHBACK - NIGHT Forrest looks up into the sky as the rain stops. Forrest removes his helmet. The stars emerge from behind the clouds. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sometimes it would stop raining long enough for the stars to come out. And then it was nice. It was like just before the sun goes to bed down on the bayou.", "EXT. BAYOU - FLASHBACK - SUNSET Forrest stands on his boat and looks at a deep orange and red sunset. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- There was over a million sparkles on the water. Like that mountain lake.", "EXT. MOUNTAIN LAKE - FLASHBACK - DAY Forrest runs along a highway. A lake reflects the mountains and the sky. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It was so clear, Jenny. It looks like there were two skies, one on top of the other. And then in the desert, when the sun comes up.", "EXT. DESERT - FLASHBACK - SUNRISE Forrest runs along a desert highway. The morning light casts an orange glow over the desert. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I could n't tell where heavens stopped and the earth began. It was so beautiful.", "INT. GUMP HOUSE - MORNING Forrest looks at Jenny. Jenny looks out the window. JENNY I wish I could have been there with you. FORREST You were. Jenny reaches over and takes Forrest's hand. JENNY I love you. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You died on a Saturday morning.", "EXT. JENNY'S GRAVE AT OLD OAK TREE - DAY Forrest stands under the old oak tree where Jenny has been buried. FORREST And I had you placed here under our tree. Jenny's grave marker. Forrest tries to hold back his tears. FORREST And I had that house of your father's bulldozed to the ground.", "EXT. JENNY'S OLD HOUSE - DAY Forrest watches as Jenny's dad's house is knocked down by a bulldozer. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Momma.", "EXT. JENNY'S GRAVE FORREST always said dyin' was a part of life. Jenny's grave marker reads : JENNY GUMP July 16, 1945 - March 22, 1982 Beloved Mother, Wife and Friend FORREST I sure wish it was n't. Little Forrest, he's doing just fine.", "INT. GUMP HOUSE - NIGHT Forrest Jr. reads a book to Forrest sitting next to him. FORREST JR. -LRB- reading. -RRB- `` But he was n't quite sure. Everywhere they went, the new guests. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- About to start school again soon. I make his breakfast, lunch, and dinner.", "EXT. JENNY'S GRAVE Forrest looks down as he sobs. FORREST every day. I make sure he combs his hair and brushes his teeth every day. Teaching him how to play ping pong.", "EXT. GUMP HOUSE - NIGHT Forrest tries to teach Forrest Jr. how to play ping - pong. FORREST Okay. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He's really good. FORREST Forrest, you go. Forrest Jr. serves the ball, causing Forrest dive and miss it.", "EXT. GUMP HOUSE/RIVER - DAY Forrest and Forrest Jr. sit on a log by the river and fish. FORREST -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We fish a lot.", "EXT. JENNY'S GRAVE Forrest looks down at the grave marker. FORREST And every night, we read a book. He's so smart, Jenny. You'd be so proud of him. I am. He, uh, wrote a letter, and he says I ca n't read it. I'm not supposed to, so I'll just leave it here for you. Forrest places the letter down at the grave marker, next to fresh flowers. The name on the envelope reads : `` Mom.'' Forrest steps back and looks down at the grave. FORREST Jenny, I do n't know if Momma was right or if, if it's Lieutenant Dan. I do n't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental - like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time. I miss you, Jenny. If there's anything you need, I wo n't be far away. As Forrest walks away, a flock of birds flies overhead and lands in the tree. Forrest turns and watches.", "EXT. ROAD - MORNING Forrest walks with Forrest Jr. for the bus. The bus drives toward them. FORREST Here's your bus. Okay. Forrest pulls `` Curious George'' out of Forrest Jr.'s backpack. FORREST Hey, I know this. FORREST JR. I'm gon na show that for show - and - tell because grandma used to read it to you. Forrest looks at the book. The feather from the beginning of the movie drops out of the book, unnoticed. FORREST My favorite book. The bus comes to a stop. The door opens. FORREST Well. Forrest puts the book back into Forrest Jr.'s backpack and hands it to him. FORREST okay. Hey, there you go. Forrest Jr. walks toward the bus. Forrest stands up. FORREST Hey, Forrest. Do n't. I wanted to tell you I love you. FORREST JR. I love you too, Daddy. FORREST I'll be right here when you get back. Forrest Jr. looks into the bus and at the bus driver. It is the same bus driver, only older now, who drove Forrest to school when he was a young boy. SCHOOLD BUS DRIVER You understand this is the bus to school now, do n't you? FORREST JR. Of course, and you're Dorothy Harris and I'm Forrest Gump. Forrest Jr. looks over and waves to his father. Forrest nods approvingly. Forrest Jr. gets on the bus. The bus pulls away. Forrest stands next to the mailbox. Forrest sits down. The camera cranes down, revealing the feather as it lies at Forrest's feet. A gust of wind picks the feather up. The feather floats up into the air. Forrest sits at the side of the road. The feather floats higher into the air. The feather soars up into the sky and travels up and down, then covers the camera lens. THE END"], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "In 1981, a white feather lands at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia. A man named Forrest Gump picks it up as he recounts his life story to strangers who sit next to him on a bench. In 1951 in Greenbow, Alabama, young Forrest is fitted with leg braces to correct a curved spine, and is unable to walk properly. He lives alone with his mother, who runs a boarding house out of their home that attracts many tenants, including a young Elvis Presley, who plays the guitar for Forrest and incorporates his jerky dance movements into his famous performances. On his first day of school, Forrest meets a girl named Jenny Curran, and the two become best friends. Forrest is often bullied because of his physical disability and marginal intelligence. While fleeing from some bullies, his braces fall off, revealing Forrest to be a very fast runner. This talent eventually allows him to receive a football scholarship at the University of Alabama in 1963; he witnesses Governor George Wallace's stand in the schoolhouse door, becomes a top running back, is named on the All-American team, and meets President John F. Kennedy at the White House. After his college graduation, Forrest enlists into the U.S. Army, where he befriends a fellow soldier nicknamed \"Bubba\", who convinces Forrest to go into the shrimping business with him after their service. In 1967, they are sent to Vietnam, serving with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta region. After a few routine operations, their platoon is ambushed while on patrol, and Bubba is killed in action. Forrest saves several wounded platoon-mates\u2014including his lieutenant, Dan Taylor, who loses both his legs\u2014and is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism by President Lyndon B. Johnson. At the anti-war \"March on the Pentagon\" rally, Forrest meets Abbie Hoffman and briefly reunites with Jenny, who has been living a hippie lifestyle. He also develops a talent for ping-pong, and becomes a sports celebrity as he competes against Chinese teams in ping-pong diplomacy, earning him an interview alongside John Lennon on The Dick Cavett Show. In New York City, he spends the holidays and the 1972 new year with Lieutenant Dan, who has become an embittered cripple. Forrest soon meets President Richard Nixon and is put up in the Watergate complex, where he accidentally exposes the Watergate scandal, forcing Nixon to resign. Forrest Gump is officially discharged from the army after the war ends. Returning to Greenbow, Forrest endorses a company that makes ping-pong paddles. He uses the earnings to buy a shrimping boat in Bayou La Batre, fulfilling his promise to Bubba. Lieutenant Dan joins Forrest in 1974, and they initially have little success. After their boat becomes the only one to survive Hurricane Carmen, they pull in huge amounts of shrimp and create the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, after which Lieutenant Dan finally thanks Forrest for saving his life. Lieutenant Dan invests into Apple Computers and the two become millionaires, but Forrest also gives half of the earnings to Bubba's family, giving them a better life. Forrest then returns home to see his mother as she dies of cancer. In 1976, Jenny\u2014recovering from years of drugs and abuse returns to visit Forrest, and after a while he proposes to her. That night she tells Forrest she loves him and the two make love, but she leaves the next morning. Heartbroken, Forrest goes running, and spends the next three years in a relentless cross-country marathon, becoming famous again before returning home to Greenbow. In the present, Forrest reveals that he is waiting at the bus stop because he received a letter from Jenny, who asked him to visit her. The strangers say that the address on the letter is only a few blocks away and Forrest immediately takes off. As Forrest is finally reunited with Jenny, she introduces him to their son, named Forrest Gump, Jr. Jenny tells Forrest she is sick with an unknown incurable virus and the three move back to Greenbow. Jenny and Forrest finally marry, but she dies a year later. The film ends with Forrest seeing his son off on his first day of school as Forrest lets go of the feather from the beginning and the wind carries it back into the sky.", "name": "Forrest_Gump"}
{"scenes": ["EXT. DELTA TERMINAL - KENNEDY AIRPORT - DAY On a taxi arriving at the Delta terminal of Kennedy Airport. A man in a well - tailored gray suit gets out of the taxi. CUT TO a CLOSER SHOT of the man as he pays the cabbie. He is WILLCOX HILLYER, the middle - aged `` Buddy'' of this story and the observer through whose eyes it is seen. He has a dry, ironic, rather agreeable manner and he should seem like everyone's idea of a successful author, a slightly graying, trim, still - youthful - looking fifty. The CAMERA follows him as he walks into the terminal carrying a small travel bag.", "INT. DELTA TERMINAL - KENNEDY AIRPORT - DAY CUT TO a shot of Willcox Hillyer at a counter getting his ticket processed. A little smile is on his face as he talks to a pretty airline girl. This character likes girls ; his aloofness is modified, his face changes when he talks to them. The airline girl smiles back, she finds him attractive. We do n't hear what they are saying, no dialogue on track - it is obvious he is flirting with the girl in a mild way, but now a frown comes on his face and he turns his head as if slightly annoyed by something. CUT TO a POV shot of a tall, gaunt, almost totally bald man at the next ticket counter. The man is about sixty - five and looks like a half senile Great Dane. He is DAVE WILKIE, erstwhile husband of the heroine of this story. Age has not been at all kind to Dave ; his face is lined with bitterness, he is a sour, angry, lonely man and now he is making a very unpleasant scene with a ticket girl and an airline representative, waving his ticket and gesticulating angrily. He wears an expensive, ill - fitting suit and a Texas - type hat. We do n't hear his angry complaints, no dialogue is on the track. CUT BACK to a CLOSE SHOT of Willcox Hillyer as he stares with a frown at the man. It's as if he knows the man but ca n't place him. The airline ticket girl speaks to him and he turns back to her, his face softening as he answers her, obviously saying he'll carry his bag. He nods goodbye to the girl, turns and the CAMERA follows him as he walks some distance away and stops, looks back with another pensive frown at the tall, gaunt man at the next counter. CUT TO ANOTHER POV shot of Dave Wilkie, a longer shot than the first. The man is now arguing angrily with two airline representatives, still waving his ticket and shaking his head. We do n't hear him. Lip - readers might pick up what he is saying : `` I'm supposed to be in first class, not tourist. What's the matter with this friggin' airline?'' CUT BACK TO Willcox Hillyer, a CLOSE SHOT of his face as he rubs his chin and frowns obviously struggling to remember the man. The CAMERA holds on him as he stares at the gaunt angry Dave, racking his brain. He shakes his head, he can not place the man and yet he knows him. The CAMERA moves in closer on Willcox Hillyer's face as he stares in pensive puzzlement at this ghost from the past and now we hear, as if from a distance, FAINT MUSIC on the track - it is `` Dixie,'' played with beautiful lazy mocking love by the great Louis Armstrong in his prime. At first we can barely hear it, then the MUSIC becomes LOUDER as Hillyer's frown deepens and he seems almost to know the man. MAIN TITLE -LRB- SUPERIMPOSED -RRB- : `` RAMBLING ROSE'' The MUSIC remains a bit in the distance, but it can be heard. OTHER TITLES -LRB- SUPERIMPOSED -RRB- : over the following action. VARIOUS SHOTS, on Willcox Hillyer. He gives up his effort to recognize the strangely familiar Dave with a little shrug, turns and walks away with his travel bag.", "INT. DELTA TERMINAL - LOUNGE - DAY We see him entering the departure lounge and boarding the plane.", "INT. DELTA AIRPLANE - DAY A shot of him as he smiles rather nicely at a very attractive young stewardess as he walks down the aisle of the plane. He is not a crass or lewd flirt, but life comes into his face when he sees a pretty girl - he seems to have a real affection for girls : toward men he is polite but rather dry and ironic, almost aloof, but girls he likes. We see him sit in a seat, open his travel bag and take out long galley sheets. He stares for a moment rather wearily at the galleys, then sighs, puts on reading glasses and begins to make corrections as boarding passengers walk by in the aisle. Something or someone disturbs him, he looks up with a slight frown and CUT TO a POV shot of Dave Wilkie, all wonder and enthusiasm. This OVER the TITLES and we do not hear the dialogue they speak, what we heard is LOUIS ARMSTRONG, but I will put the dialogue in here so the actors can act it. We do not want to hear it, the sense of what they are saying will be obvious from the acting. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- not on track. -RRB- Buddd - dee! My God, if it ai n't Buddy! Well, if this ai n't the darnest thing! ANOTHER ANGLE, on them both as Dave blocks the aisle, an idiot false - toothed grin on his face. Hillyer has a pained embarrassed smile. WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- not on track. -RRB- Excuse me. your voice is familiar and I'm sure I know you from somewhere. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- not on track, with delighted injury. -RRB- Awww - rr, Buddy, come on, you know me! WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- not on track. -RRB- Well, I. I. ah - h, let's see. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- not on track. -RRB- It's Dave Wilkie! I'm Dave Wilkie, do n't you remember me? WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- not on track. -RRB- Oh. Oh, God. Of course, Dave, how are you? The men shake hands, Dave enthusiastically, Hillyer less so. We see Dave stow his suitcase and take the seat next to Hillyer.", "EXT. KENNEDY - DAY CUT TO a shot of a big Delta jet making its final taxiing turn and ROARING into a take - off.", "INT. KENNEDY - DAY CUT TO a dramatic underbelly shot of the jet going up. END OF TITLES.", "INT. DELTA AIRPLANE - DAY A shot of the attractive, young stewardess, harried as she fixes drinks.", "INT. DELTA AIRPLANE - DAY CUT TO Dave and Willcox Hillyer as the young stewardess gives them drinks. Dave bestows a sour glance on her when he sees the single drink, but at the moment he is in the midst of an aggressively self - satisfied conversation and says nothing to her. He speaks to Hillyer, who is making a real effort to be polite but is less than happy about the encounter. DAVE WILKIE Well, I am in the construction business, Buddy, and without braggin' I have done real good at it. -LRB- with a meaningful bitterness. -RRB- There are those who would n't have expected that out of me. -LRB- pauses as if waiting for a reaction, but Hillyer is very silent. -RRB- Right now I'm buildin' a giant motel unit near Alexandria, outside Washington, D.C. Not fi - nance, I'm on the construction side. WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- making polite talk. -RRB- Well, that's interesting, Dave. I always liked Washington, it's a pretty town. DAVE WILKIE Oh, it's all right, beats Jew York. But the niggers have took it over, just like every other city we got, only worse. Hillyer gives a barely perceptible wince at this speech, but Dave does n't notice, he goes on with aggressive self satisfaction after a swallow of whiskey. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- But I have done real good in the construction field. What I do n't know about buildin' ai n't worth knowin'. I knocked off twenty - eight thousand smackeroos last year, how's that for an old country boy? Dave pauses, realizes this might not impress ; glances down with curiosity at the galley sheets, then an unpleasant smile. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Ha ha, course you make a lot more. -LRB- points at the galleys. -RRB- What's that you got there, Buddy? WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- reluctantly. -RRB- Galley proof. DAVE WILKIE Galley what? WILLCOX HILLYER Page proof of a book I'm working on. DAVE WILKIE How about that. Well, you always were a screwball. WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- lifts an eyebrow in mild irony. -RRB- Oh, yeah? DAVE WILKIE -LRB- unfazed. -RRB- I do n't mean that the way it sounds. -LRB- stares at galleys as if rattlesnake. -RRB- Imagine it, a book. And I used to know you personal way back when. -LRB- pauses, then earnestly. -RRB- Tell me something, Buddy, how do you dream up all that stuff? WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- absolutely straight. -RRB- Well, actually, we have a little black boy named Her - t who lives in the garage. He does it for me. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- for a moment half believes it, then a slow, stupid grin. -RRB- Heh heh heh heh, same old Buddy, always jokin' around. Almost as much of a joker as your Daddy. -LRB- drains his drink, grimaces ; a heavy drinker, Dave. -RRB- I saw your Daddy a coupla years ago, I was up in Glenville lookin' at a motel site. I guess that's where you're headed, huh, to see him? WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- stares out of plane window. -RRB- That's right, Dave, I'm headed for Glenville on a whisperin' jet. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- suddenly calls out. -RRB- Hey, girl! Hey, you, give us another drink! -LRB- to Hillyer, sullenly. -RRB- Dumb little bitch, supposed to give us two in the first place. Willcox Hillyer listens with a pained half smile, a hand at his temple. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- This friggin' airline's out of its mind. -LRB- a martyr. -RRB- The sons of bitches tried to put me in tourist. -LRB- portentuously philosophical. -RRB- But our whole civilization is screwed up, Buddy. The heebies and the coconuts have took it over and ruined it. Willcox Hillyer half closes his eyes in weariness, but says nothing. Gently, he rubs his temple. It is plain Dave Wilkie gives him a headache.", "INT. DELTA AIRPLANE ANOTHER ANGLE, on the pretty young stewardess as she brings two more drinks. Dave stares sourly at her, wholly unmoved by her charm. DAVE WILKIE Took your time gettin' here. WILLCOX HILLYER She has other things to do, Dave. Willcox smiles apologetically at girl. DAVE WILKIE Supposed to get two drinks in the first place. This friggin' airline ca n't do nothin' right. The stewardess purses her lips at Dave, who is bowed over his drink busy opening it. Hillyer lifts an eyebrow at the girl as if to say, `` Do n't blame me because of this damned idiot,'' and she half smiles at him. WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- obviously getting him off subject. -RRB- Tell me about that job in Alexandria, Dave, the big motel you're building. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- with pedantic exactitude, the man is a complete pain in the ass. -RRB- Near Alexandria. It is n't in Alexandria, it is outside it. WILLCOX HILLYER I see. Outside it. DAVE WILKIE That's correct - outside it, not in it. As for the job, well, the Jewboy suppliers give me a lot of grief and we use a pile of niggers to haul and tote and they ai n't worth a sorry - ass damn. -LRB- takes big swallow of drink. -RRB- But I can build anything, Buddy. Give me the plans and I can build a goddamn staircase to the moon. It's a fact, I can build anything. -LRB- pauses, then bitterly. -RRB-. but she never believed that. Oh, hell, no, she never believed in me. This is another pointed bitter reference to the unknown `` she.'' Once again, Willcox Hillyer is deliberately unresponsive. WILLCOX HILLYER Um - m, well. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- broodingly. -RRB- Doubted my ability all along, the little bitch. I never remarried, Buddy, you know that, do n't you? WILLCOX HILLYER Well, no, I did n't actually. DAVE WILKIE She's te reason - cured me of women once and for all. Oh, I got rid of her, Buddy, I did n't waste no time kickin' that bitch out. Hell, she was screwin' everybody in Savannah. I caught her in a motel with this long tall son of a bitch and boy did I beat the everlastin' piss out of him! Dave Wilkie's eyes narrow with vindictive anger as he says it and one can well believe the streak of raw violence in the man. It is frightening even now ; he is a clown, but he is a dangerous clown. As his long, bitter, impassioned tirade continues, Willcox Hillyer becomes increasingly tense and pale - it is obvious he detests what the man is saying and he is struggling to control himself. Dave's tone and voice are laconically Southern, but the hatred and misery in his eyes are raw. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- She did n't marry him, though, later she married another guy and went to Winston - Salem. It did n't last That girl could n't have no lastin' marriage, she left him and married another dumb sucker and went out west. Little bitch left him, too, and you know what she's married to right now? -LRB- puts a big finger on Hillyer's chest. -RRB- A kike. That's right, some kind of kike horse doctor named Schapiro out in Seattle, who's got the nerve to have the same first name I got. Would n't you know it, Rose would wind up married to a goddamn kike? She was always out of her friggin' head and I'll tell you why. -LRB- his eyes narrow and again he puts a finger on Hillyer's chest. -RRB- Buddy, she was sick in her mind and between her legs, too. She was a nymphomaniac. WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- he has had enough ; with a pale trembling anger and in even tone. -RRB- Dave, you are as full of shit as a Christmas turkey and you know it. Now if you want to start a fight on this plane and get yourself in jail, go right ahead. But I am telling you, you are full of shit right up to your eyeballs. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- with surprising mildness ; a little smile almost as if he is pleased. -RRB- I do n't want to start no fight with you, Buddy. Why do you say I'm full of shit? WILLCOX HILLYER Dave Schapiro is no horse doctor and Rose has been a good wife to him for a long time. To call her a nymphomaniac is the most stupid thing I ever heard in my life. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- again surprisingly mild. -RRB- You loved her, did n't you. Well, so did I. -LRB- a little shrug. -RRB- You'll have to admit she had four husbands. WILLCOX HILLYER Yeah, it took her a while to grow up and find Mr. Right, but she did it. She found him. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- another little smile. -RRB- She used to call me Mr. Right. Remember that, Buddy? WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- he is pale with anger. -RRB- Yeah, I remember it. Willcox picks up galley sheets, half turns away. DAVE WILKIE Well, I tell you, I do n't know what the world's come to these days. Things used to be better. We did n't have any money, but things were better. -LRB- grimaces in anger. -RRB- Goddamn niggers and kikes burning the flag, rioting, raising hell - they ought to shoot their asses off. I tell you, Buddy, where this country made its mistake was allowing people without property to vote. During this speech, Willcox Hillyer grits his teeth but says nothing. He keeps his eyes down on the galley sheets. As Dave shakes his head in sorrow at the state of the nation.", "INT. ATLANTA TERMINAL - HERTZ COUNTER - DAY A shot of Willcox Hillyer at a Hertz Counter in the Atlanta airport. A tense, wrought up Dave Wilkie is in the b.g. of the shot. During the following brief exchange, Hillyer is politely cool, Wilkie under a great strain. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- holds out hand. -RRB- Well, got to get a plane to Savannah. Great running into you, Buddy. Give my best to your Daddy. WILLCOX HILLYER Yeah, I'll do that, Dave. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- sweating, tense, under some kind of awful emotional strain. -RRB- Ah - h, if you happen to run into Rose sometime. do me a favor, give her a message for me, will you? WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- a trifle wearily. -RRB- Dave, I have n't seen Rose for years. Hillyer takes rental car papers from a pretty young HERTZ GIRL, gives the girl a little smile, picks up his travel bag. In desperation, Dave takes his arm. DAVE WILKIE Buddy, I'm a sick man. I had a heart attack last year, I was n't expected to live. Hillyer turns to Dave, puzzled and interested ; Dave earnestly explains. DAVE WILKIE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You might see her. She writes your Daddy, and she and that doctor came to see him, did n't they? I wish you'd tell her something. I never could write letters. WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- in a different tone, interested, curious. -RRB- What do you want me to tell her, Dave? DAVE WILKIE -LRB- a painful inward struggle ; the man is tormented, miserable. -RRB- Oh, to hell with it, never mind. Do n't tell her anything. Do n't even tell her you saw me. -LRB- half turns his back, his face twisted with strong emotion. -RRB- Got to run, Buddy, I'll miss my plane. Willcox Hillyer and the pretty young Hertz Girl stare after Dave Wilkie as he walks away with spasm - like steps. Hillyer seems affected, less hostile toward Dave now. He speaks half to himself, half to the Hertz Girl. WILLCOX HILLYER He still loves her. The poor damn fool still loves her. HERTZ GIRL Who was she? WILLCOX HILLYER A girl named Rose. -LRB- pulls himself back into the world of reality. -RRB- Still take R75 to Glenville? HERTZ GIRL Yes, sir. Willcox nods thanks and walks away carrying his travel bag.", "EXT. ATLANTA AIRPORT - ROAD - DAY CUT TO a shot of the red Ford driving from the airport.", "EXT. INTERSTATE 75 - DAY A shot of the red Ford on Interstate 75, Atlanta skyline in b.g.", "EXT. GEORGIA INTERSTATE - DAY On the red Ford as it speeds along a Georgia Interstate through red clay hills in green springtime.", "INT./EXT. CAR - GEORGIA INTERSTATE - DAY CUT TO a shot on Willcox Hillyer CLOSE ON his face in the car. He is lost in reflection. A look of bitter sweet emotion is on his face, an expression of sadness mixed with amusement. As the CAMERA holds on his face, we hear again on the track Louis Armstrong's great version of `` DIXIE,'' or music of comparable power, beauty and nostalgic evocation. Now the music is stronger, much stronger than behind the titles, we are beginning to hear it full force.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - DAY A shot of a thirteen - year - old boy on the front porch of a house in the sleepy Depression South of many years ago. He is BUDDY, Willcox Hillyer as a boy. The MUSIC continues as he shades his eyes to look at something far away.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - DRIVEWAY - DAY CUT TO a LONG POV shot of a young and very pretty blonde girl walking slowly up an oak - shaded driveway. A ZOOMAR LENSE takes us TOWARD her. She is carrying a cardboard suitcase tied with a string. Her clothes are cheap, her shoes are dusty, runs are in her stockings. She is sweaty, tired and seems very nervous. ROSE is a very attractive girl, but her primary quality is not sexiness, but an innocence and sweetness. She pauses to wipe sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and nervously moistens her lips as she stares ahead uncertainly at the `` nice'' Southern home which to her seems very grand. It is apparent she is badly frightened and apprehensive about what lies ahead. She is also exhausted from the heat and a long hot walk in the Southern sun. She blinks at perspiration, swallows in anxiety again and forces herself to walk on.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - PORCH CUT TO a shot of Buddy on the porch. Expressionless, unreadable, neither friendly nor hostile, he stares with an even gaze directly into the CAMERA. He has his hands on his hips in a distinctive way that we will later see is a mannerism of his father's. Buddy tries to imitate the style of his father, not always with complete success. Unreadable as a Sphinx, he stands there, waiting.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME PORCH - DAY CUT TO a POV shot of Rose at the foot of the porch steps. A tentative little smile is on her face. It is very plain she is nervous and frightened. ROSE Hello. I'm Rose, and I've come to live with you and your family. Silence. The damn boy says nothing. A trifle crestfallen, Rose moistens his lips and swallows. She ventures another little smile and the CAMERA follows her as she walks up the steps. The at - times - insufferable Buddy comes into the shot. He still has his hands on his hips Daddy - style and his expression is inscrutable, neither friendly nor hostile. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What's your name? What do they call you? Finally, the boy speaks - and he is not so bad. He's a child after all. BUDDY Lots of things. Buddy, mostly. ROSE -LRB- greatly reassured, a real smile now. -RRB- Buddy. Well, now, that's a nice name, I like it. I am real pleased to meet you. -LRB- solemnly holds out her hand, they shake. -RRB- Hey, look, do you think you got a cold drink of ice water somewhere? BUDDY Sure. Let me take your suitcase. A warm and beautiful smile comes on Rose's face and a little twinkle comes into her eyes. The innocence and sweetness are not lost, that is never lost, but this is a girl who likes boys and men. ROSE You're sweet.", "INT. HILLYER HOME BEDROOM STUDY - DAY CUT TO a shot of Buddy's mother, Mrs. Hillyer, in a Morris chair in her bedroom study. MOTHER is a sensitive, kind and rather appealing if slightly eccentric lady of about 37 or 38. She wears glasses, has a Victorian hairdo and a 1930ish style dress. At the moment Mother is absorbed in her studies - notebooks and history books are littered and piled everywhere around her chair. She is drinking a Coca - Cola and smoking a cigarette held by a bobbie pin. Calmly, she glances up as Buddy enters the room. The CAMERA pulls back to include him. BUDDY The new girl is here. MOTHER Wonderful. What's she like, Brother? What is your impression of her? BUDDY She talks a great deal and smiles a lot. She's very pretty, she has a real good figure. She's very girlish or womanish, if you know what I mean. She would n't hurt anybody, this girl. She could n't. Mother accepts her son's precocious pronouncement as perfectly normal ; talks to him as if he's an adult. MOTHER Your impression is very reassuring, Brother. Of course she's had troubles, poor thing, but I sensed that was that the girl was like and I'm glad to have it reconfirmed. BUDDY You mean confirmed, Mother. I did n't confirm it before. I would have had to confirm it previously, in order for it to be reconfirmed. MOTHER All right, all right. Doll and Waski are upstairs taking their nap, you go get them and bring them down to the living room. Where is the girl? BUDDY In the kitchen drinking all the ice water in Glenville. She walked out here, she did n't go by the hotel. MOTHER Walked, in all that heat? It's a wonder she has n't got sunstroke. I'll phone Daddy and you go get Doll Baby and Waski.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM A shot of Mother, Rose, Buddy, Doll and Waski in the living room of the Hillyer household. DOLL is a pretty little girl of about 11, WASKI a boy of 5. Mother's tone is very gentle, very sweet, very kind. Her unabashed admiration for her own children has an ingenuousness that is more amusing than offensive. MOTHER Rose, this is Waski. His real name is Warren but we call him Waski. He does n't like it much and I suppose someday we'll have to stop calling him that. WASKI You can stop it right now. MOTHER When he was baby we called him `` Wa Wa,'' a baby name, you know. You will find him a very good boy. His brother can be bad and so can his sister, but Waski is a very good boy. And as you can see he's beautiful. WASKI Oh, Mother, cut it out. MOTHER -LRB- serenely. -RRB- There are plenty of girls who would give thousands of dollars to have your auburn hair. Beauty is beauty and that's all there is to it. Beauty is there and we have to recognize it. Now Rose, the little girl sitting across from you with the blue eyes is Doll Baby. She looks like an angel and she is an angel, but she can be a naughty angel sometimes, although her father wo n't believe it. Her real name is Frances, but we call her Dolly or Doll. DOLL I do n't like that, either, it's worse than Waski. I want to be called Fran. MOTHER Daddy would n't hear that. Now the redhaired boy you see sitting there, of course you have met him, he is my oldest son and my most brilliant child. All children have great creative powers, but I do n't want to rattle on about my children, they say I brag too much about them, especially about Brother. Am I boring you, Rose? Rose has not as yet caught on to Mother's style and is staring at her with lips apart and blue eyes slightly popped. ROSE -LRB- feebly. -RRB- Oh, no, ma'am. MOTHER Well, it's rather interesting about Brother, actually. I realized the remarkable thing he had when he was six weeks old. He looked at me and understood me, he knew exactly who I was. I know it sounds crazy but it's true. He's very remarkable, he was born for the ministry and could move millions, but he does n't know that yet. I have to warn you about him, he can be very dangerous, there is an evil streak in him, a streak of pure sheer meanness. But at heart Brother is saintly and that is why he was born for the ministry even if he does n't know it. Thus, Mother. Slightly cuckoo, a bit out of touch with reality, but no fool. A very intelligent woman really, and very, very gentle and kind. Her style, however, takes a little getting used to and her long speech throws Rose completely. She stares at Mother in speechless open - mouthed awe, unable to say a word. The CAMERA moves in CLOSER on Rose as she moistens her lips, swallows, tries to talk and ca n't. She is very, very nervous. Now she flinches and looks around as we hear a deep masculine VOICE OVER the shot. It is the voice of DADDY, Mr. Hillyer, Buddy's father. DADDY'S VOICE Honey, you'll scare the gizzard out of the girl going into the fourth dimension like that. ANOTHER ANGLE on Daddy in the doorway of the living room. He is a handsome man of about forty with a style and a manner all his own. As extravagant as his remarks often are and funny though he is at times, the man has a courtly Southern dignity that is never lost. He is no clown, he is not even a comedian, he is a man and a formidable man at that : all the characters in this story love and fear him. We see now where Buddy got his unreadable expression thing and his hands on the hips thing. Daddy is unreadable. A straw hat is on the back of his head, a rolled - up Glenville Tribune is in his hand, his hands are on his hips. He is staring with what seems to be stern fierceness at them all, but his attitude really is inscrutable. MOTHER It is n't the fourth dimension. To you it's the fourth dimension, maybe, to me it's simply the truth. DADDY -LRB- staring fiercely at Rose. -RRB- Well, well, well. So Miss Rosebud has arrived. Un - hmm. And you're all assembled here. Yes, indeed. Un hmmm. Daddy walks in as Rose stares wide - eyed at him. It is obvious he scares the absolute bejesus out of her, she looks actually as if she might faint, her hands trembling on her lap and her knees quivering beneath her cheap and tacky dress. But she has a surprise coming. She is soon to lose all her fear of him, every bit of it. Daddy walks over and sits in a chair beside her, stares fiercely at her for a moment, then begins a long speech. Again, extravagant as this speech is, he is no clown, he is not `` being funny,'' he means every word he says. DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Well, Rosebud, now you are here, darling, and I swear to God graceful as the capital letter S. You will adorn our house, Rosebud, you will give a glow and a shine to these old walls. If there's one thing I like to have around, it's a frizzy - haired blonde. Now I assume Mrs. Hillyer and the children have introduced themselves and made your acquaintance, and so forth and so on? Rose can barely answer, eyes fixed in rapt fascination on him, a half whisper. ROSE Yes, sir. DADDY All right. Now as head of this household I have a couple of remarks to make. It is my dear wife's belief, which I accept although I do not totally grasp it, that to hire a person to do household work is a criminal practice. Therefore, you are here not as a servant, you are here as a friend, as a guest and hopefully as a member of this family. You will eat your meals with us, you will share life itself with us - in love and harmony, dear Rosebud, in love and harmony. Do you understand me? ROSE -LRB- a half whisper. -RRB- Yes, sir. Daddy pauses, then in a different tone, his hidden gentleness and kindness are much more plain ; as he talks Rose's eyes begin to well with tears. DADDY Now, I know you've had some troubles in your life, those. scoundrels in Birmingham and so forth trying to. lead you astray. I hope you find a safe haven here, honey, I know you've had a hard time. Life can be cruel to a young girl all alone. We welcome you to our home, Rosebud, we all welcome you from the heart and hope you are happy here. Rose bites her lip, her eyes are filled with tears ; an inaudible whisper. ROSE Yes, sir.", "INT. HILLYER HOME VARIOUS SHOTS of Rose doing household chores : sweeping the floor, vacuuming, cooking. She is cheerful in her work, smiling, good - humored and she works hard. It is obvious she is happy. We see the children in most of these shots. It is apparent Rose is a very good worker and very happy in her new home.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY Rose is washing the dishes while the children finish breakfast. Buddy looks up from this cornflakes with a slightly sly expression. BUDDY Rose, who were those scoundrels in Birmingham? ROSE Nobody. BUDDY But who were they? ROSE They were just bad men, that's all. BUDDY In what sense were they bad? ROSE Bad is bad, Buddy. There ai n't no sense to it. BUDDY Did they try to induce you to become a prostitute? Rose turns around, lifts her eyebrows, tosses down the dishcloth. ROSE I do n't answer talk like that, Buddy. I just do n't hear it, I turn my back and look away. Rose turns her back on him. BUDDY Was that what they tried to do? Was that why Daddy gave you the job, to save you from those scoundrels? ROSE Your Daddy is a wonderful man, I'll say that. He's the best and most kind - hearted man in the world. BUDDY Hey, Rose, did you hear about that terrible thing down in Cave Springs? ROSE What terrible thing in Cave Springs? BUDDY There was this old man that ate his niece. Rose stares emptily for a moment, then bites her lips together. ROSE I did n't hear you. I did n't hear that. BUDDY He really did, he ate his little niece. He made pork chops out of her. ROSE I do n't hear you. I just turn my back on that kind of talk and look away. BUDDY Well, it's only the truth. There are horrible things in the world, Rose. ROSE Buddy, you are in one of your evil moods, I do n't want to talk to you. I'm going out and sweep the patio. Rose exits and the CAMERA stays on Buddy, Doll and Waski. BUDDY Rose is almost as sentimental as Mother. If there's one thing I ca n't stand it's sentimentality. In Chattanooga this man committed an almost perfect murder. He killed his wife with a black widow spider. DOLL Oh, shut up, Buddy. WASKI Yeah, shut up.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - PATIO - DAY CUT TO a shot of Rose on the stone patio of the Hillyer house, an attractive area with outdoor furniture and crabapple tree limbs overhead. Rose is busy sweeping. The CAMERA PANS to follow her and we pick up Mrs. Hillyer, Mother. It is a nice day and she is studying out on the patio, books and notebooks piled around. Rose glances down curiously at her. ROSE What are you studying now, Mrs. Hillyer? MOTHER More history, Rose. ROSE Are you going to get your degree soon? MOTHER Well, I am working on my thesis. ROSE -LRB- as she busily sweeps. -RRB- It must be wonderful to be so smart. I do n't see how you do it, reading all those books, learning all that stuff. MOTHER -LRB- looks up, and gently. -RRB- Rose, you work too hard. Why do n't you go sit down somewhere and drink a Co - Cola? ROSE -LRB- smiles, trusts and knows Mother now, not at all afraid of her. -RRB- You're so sweet. Rose again busily sweeps. MOTHER Really, why do n't you go sit down somewhere? ROSE I like to work. I do n't mind work. It's the least I can do after all you and Mr. Hillyer have done for me. -LRB- stares worshipfully at Mother. -RRB- You're so sweet. There never was nobody like you. MOTHER -LRB- gently. -RRB- Well, you run on now. ROSE Yes, Ma'am. Exit Rose. Mother adjusts her notebook and turns the page of a history book as she resumes her studies. We hear the sound of an approaching CAR and she glances up.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - DRIVEWAY - DAY CUT TO a shot of a slightly worn - out 1932 Model - A Ford as it rolls up the driveway of the Hillyer home, Daddy at the wheel.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - PATIO - DAY ANOTHER ANGLE, on Daddy as he gets out of the Model - A. He has his usual straw hat on the back of his head. The CAMERA FOLLOWS him as he walks onto the patio. DADDY Good morning, sweetheart. Beautiful day. MOTHER Yes, it's so nice I thought I'd work outside. DADDY How goes it, darlin'? MOTHER Slow, hon. But at least I can concentrate now that Rose is here. DADDY What do you think of her, honey? Mother does n't answer, she writes on, head bowed over her notebook. We see in this shot the hearing aid she wears and hear from it a faint BUZZ. DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Turn up your hearing aid. MOTHER What? DADDY Your hearing aid, it's buzzing at me like a snake. MOTHER -LRB- adjusts hearing aid. -RRB- Oh. Did you say something? DADDY I asked you what you think of Rosebud, now that she's been here a while. MOTHER Honey, she's perfect. She works all the time and she's wonderful with the children. And they love her, even Brother likes her though he wo n't admit it. I think she's just perfect. DADDY Um - hmm. Almost too perfect. MOTHER And she's such a good - hearted thing, there is n't an ounce of harm or malice in her. DADDY Well, I'll admit I do n't see any flies on her yet. MOTHER There are no flies on Rose, I do n't know what you're talking about. DADDY Well, she must have done something to encourage those scoundrels in Birmingham, even if she did run away from them.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY CUT TO a shot of Buddy in the window of the kitchen. He is propped on his elbows and listening with keen interest to the talk on the patio. We hear the VOICES of his parents OVER the shot. MOTHER'S VOICE If you mean. boys and men, I do n't think so. Rose seems very calm about all of that. DADDY'S VOICE Well, so far I have to agree. She seems calm as lettuce. The CAMERA FOLLOWS Buddy as he draws back into the kitchen. We see Doll and Waski playing a game on the kitchen table. BUDDY Daddy says Rose is calm as lettuce. Do you believe that, Doll? DOLL No. WASKI Neither do I. BUDDY Oh, Waski, you do n't even know what we're talking about. WASKI I do, too. Buddy turns, looks back out the window.", "EXT. HILLYER SOME - PATIO - DAY CUT TO Mother and Daddy on the patio. Daddy stands up. DADDY Well, let's hope for the best, darlin'. MOTHER Hope for the best? I do n't understand all this skepticism. I thought you liked Rose. DADDY I love Rosebud, I am wild about Rosebud. I just hope she does n't turn out to be a hidden hotcha character, that's all. We have growing children in the house. MOTHER Hotcha character. If I had to live with your cynicism, I would n't want to live at all. What you ca n't understand is that the creative forces of the universe are positive, not negative. DADDY -LRB- gently, his irony is mild. -RRB- All right, darlin', do n't go off into the fourth dimension. MOTHER I'm not in the fourth dimension -. -LRB- points a finger at him. -RRB- - you are in the fourth dimension, when you allow skepticism and doubt to take control. As Blake said, if God had doubt the sun would go out. DADDY -LRB- again gentle irony, always courtly toward her. -RRB- Forgive my crudity, darlin'. I do n't understand these deeper things the way you do. MOTHER -LRB- reaches up, takes his hand. -RRB- Be nice to Rose. She's never had a real home. DADDY You're a wonderful woman, darlin'. As long as you're around, I'm sure the sun would n't dare go out.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll and Waski in the kitchen. Doll and Waski are playing parchesi on the kitchen table. Buddy turns from eavesdropping at the window and strolls across the kitchen, hands in his khaki pants. BUDDY It's pitiful. Neither one of them know. DOLL -LRB- as she shakes dice. -RRB- I think Daddy suspects. BUDDY No, he does n't. Not really. The CAMERA FOLLOWS Buddy as he goes to the hall door, carefully opens it to make no noise and peers down the hall.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - DAY CUT TO a POV shot of Rose busy dusting hall furniture, humming as she works. We hear on the track the SOUND of the Model - A starting, and Rose freezes. Then, quickly, Rose hurries down the hall toward the front door. ON Buddy as he watches her through a crack in the door. He has his hands on his hips Daddy - style and his face is expressionless. ANOTHER ANGLE, POV of Buddy but CLOSER on Rose at the end of the hall. She is staring soulfully through the glass of the front door as we hear the Model - A go down the driveway. Rose lifts a hand between her breasts, sighs. A lovesick expression is on her face.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY ON Buddy, as he comes back into the kitchen sadly shaking his head. BUDDY It's really pitiful. She's in bad shape. DOLL She's watching the car again? BUDDY Yeah. DOLL I get so irritated with Daddy. He's so dumb sometimes. WASKI Yeah, I know. BUDDY Oh, Waski, you do n't know anything. WASKI I do, too! BUDDY All right, what do you know? WASKI Rose is madly in love with Daddy. DOLL -LRB- pauses, then solemnly. -RRB- Well, do n't tell Mother. WASKI Do you think I'm crazy?", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT A shot of the family at dinner in the dining room at night. Daddy is at the head of the table, Mother is at the other end. Buddy, Doll and Waski are all seated in neat, nice clothes, hands washed and hair combed. Rose is serving, but a place is set for her. She wears an attractive little apron and is smiling, blushing, happy as Daddy teases and jokes at her. DADDY -LRB- in a good humor. -RRB- Rosebaby Blossom, these are the most delicious candied yams I ever ate! Why, they just melt in my mouth. And this fried chicken is fit for a king. How do you do it, Peachbird? What is the secret of your art, Plum Blossom, huh? ROSE -LRB- blushing, smiling. -RRB- Oh, I do n't know, I. I. DADDY Rosebird Baby, you are the light of my life, darlin'. How did we ever get by without you? ROSE -LRB- stares at him, stricken. -RRB- I. I'll get the grits. The CAMERA FOLLOWS Rose as she exits, and STOPS on Buddy and Doll. Buddy slews his eyes toward his sister, who meets his gaze for a moment then looks down at her plate. The CAMERA MOVES on to Mother, who is utterly oblivious of anything going on between Rose and Daddy. MOTHER Rose does have a gift for cooking. She learns so fast, but mainly I think it's that she tries so hard.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT (LATER) ANOTHER ANGLE, on the family as they eat dinner. Rose is seated at the table now. She is picking lifelessly at her food and glancing from time to time with a lovesick expression at Daddy, who is busy eating and seems wholly unaware of it. Mother also is wholly unaware, but all the children know what is happening. Rose takes a gravy for a biscuit and spills a little, her hand is trembling. MOTHER -LRB- gently, suspects absolutely nothing. -RRB- Rose, you're in an awful dither tonight. What's the matter with you, honey, are you sick or something? ROSE -LRB- in a feeble voice. -RRB- No, ma'am, I'm just fine. MOTHER You look sick if you ask me. I hate to leave you with the dishes and all, but I'm supposed to go to a meeting of the Garden Club this evening. -LRB- to Daddy. -RRB- I'll need the car keys. DADDY I'll drive you, darlin'. You've got no business behind the wheel of an automobile. You do n't think about what you're doing and you'll run into a telephone pole. MOTHER I think about what I'm doing all the time, and I've got as much business behind the wheel of an automobile as anybody. Besides, I want you to stay and help Rose with the dishes, the poor girl is n't feeling well. DADDY All right, darlin'.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT (LATER) A shot of Daddy alone in the dining room, reading a newspaper and drinking coffee. Rose comes INTO THE PICTURE, gets dishes as she clears the table. She stares with a lovesick expression at Daddy, who is absorbed in paper. DADDY -LRB- to himself, mostly. -RRB- Hmmp. Did you realize there are a thousand Coca - Cola millionaires in Atlanta?", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll tiptoeing down the darkened hall toward the front door. We hear the MODEL - A going down the drive. They peer out of the glass of the front door. They whisper. BUDDY There goes Mother. DOLL Yeah. BUDDY Let's go peep from the living room. DOLL Okay.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA FOLLOWS them as they tiptoe into the darkened living room. They go over to the sliding doors and silently struggle for the best peeping spot. Buddy gets up high, Doll down low, at the crack in the doors through which light shines.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a POV shot of the dining room, as seen by children. Daddy sits absorbed in his paper, oblivious of Rose. She is staring down at him with a pale look of love.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a CLOSE - UP of Buddy and Doll, their heads together. They whisper. DOLL I think she's gon na kiss him. BUDDY At least.", "INT. HILLYER HOME DINING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a POV shot of Daddy and Rose, as seen by children. The table now is cleared and Rose stands half behind Daddy, staring down at him with a stricken expression. DADDY -LRB- half to himself. -RRB- Ehh, Lord, should have bought that stock when we had some money. A thousand millionaires. Rose suddenly makes up her mind, places her hand on his shoulder, turns sideways, sits down on his lap, puts an arm around his neck. ROSE Oh, oh! Oh, Mr. Hillyer, I love you, I love you so much! I've tried, but I ca n't help it! Please kiss me - will you kiss me? For a long time Daddy stares groggily at her with a half frown as if he ca n't believe it. In order to stare at her, he must tilt his head back and, handsome man though he is, he looks a bit like a startled rooster. Her breasts are pressed against him, and her eager - pink lips are waiting for a kiss. DADDY -LRB- finally clears his throat. -RRB- Ahh - hem! Now, Rose, get off my lap. What are you doing, girl? Are you crazy? ROSE Yes, crazy about you! Kiss me, Mr. Hillyer! DADDY Why, I'm not going to kiss you, you crazy girl. Now I'm telling you again, get off my lap. Come on, Rose, get up. Now you get up, I say, and stop this! ROSE No, no! You do n't understand, I love you! It's real love and I ca n't help it! Please kiss me, Mr. Hillyer, I love you, I love you so much. Rose breaks down and begins crying, her head on his shoulder. She has her arms wound tight around him and Daddy seems at a loss what to do. DADDY -LRB- in a shaken voice. -RRB- All right, all right. Now calm down, Rose, the children will hear you. Calm down, let's talk. about this thing, let's discuss it. ROSE -LRB- sobbing. -RRB- Do n't make me. me. me. get up! DADDY Calm down, Rose, let's calm down and discuss it.", "INT. HILLYER HOKE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll. Doll is down near the floor and ca n't see as well. They whisper. DOLL I ca n't see. What are they doing, what's happening? BUDDY They're discussing it. DOLL I ca n't see, let me see. Doll tries to rise up and Buddy puts a hand on her head and shoves her down. BUDDY This is my place and you ca n't have it. DOLL -LRB- a whispered moan of frustration. -RRB- Ohhh - hh. what's happening now? BUDDY -LRB- his eyes open wide. -RRB- He's trying to get up - good God, one of her titties is out! DOLL Let me see!", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a POV shot of Daddy and Rose, as he struggles to rise from the chair. They are half falling to the floor and now they fall, Rose still on his lap. One of her breasts has come out of her dress, which is very loose and low - cut. She has no bra, the breast is bare. Daddy is staring groggily at the breast as if slightly dazed.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT CUT BACK TO Buddy and Doll. Buddy is frustrated now. BUDDY Now I ca n't see. What are they doing? DOLL -LRB- happy, peeping through crack. -RRB- Boy! Wow! Buddy groans and peers intently through crack.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT A POV shot of scene as observed by Buddy. He is up too high, the dining table blocks his view. We see the lower half of Rose and Daddy. Rose's skirt is up well above her knees.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll. DOLL Wow! Brrrother! BUDDY What are they doing? DOLL Buddy, this is amazing, you would n't believe it. BUDDY What are they doing, Doll? DOLL -LRB- staring, enthralled. -RRB- He kissed her. BUDDY Is that all? DOLL -LRB- happily, enjoying it. -RRB- He had his hand on her titty. BUDDY Let me look. -LRB- ca n't stand it, grabs her around waist and pulls her away ; eagerly looks, sags. -RRB- Aww - rr. CUT TO a POV shot of the scene in the dining room.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT DOWN LOW, we can see under the dining room table now. Daddy has his hands on Rose's shoulders and is firmly pushing her away. DADDY All right, that is enough of this nonsense, and I mean enough! Get up off this floor, Rose, and put your damned tit back in your dress! Do you hear me, girl, get up off of that floor! Rose, on all fours, blonde hair over her face, making little whimpering noises of dismay : ROSE Ohh - hhh. ohh.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO Buddy and Doll. BUDDY -LRB- disappointed. -RRB- She's putting the titty back. DOLL -LRB- a furious whisper. -RRB- Buddy, that was my place. Doll forces her way in and they both peep through crack in door.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a POV shot of Rose and Daddy. Rose stands sheepishly by the dining room table, half - crying as she adjusts her dress. Daddy sits in his dining room chair. Daddy is glaring at her. DADDY Goddamn you, girl! You've made me make a fool out of myself, damn your hide, but let me tell you I am standing at the pass of Thermopylae and I wo n't budge! The very idea, my own home with children in the house, to say nothing of my wife - oh - h, you had better believe I am standing at Thermopylae, you little nut, you had better believe it! What are you, crazy? A man is supposed to be a fool like this, but a woman is supposed to have some control and sense! Are you a nitwit? What's the matter with you? ROSE -LRB- weeping. -RRB- Oh - h, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Mr. Hillyer. I just. could n't help myself. I'm sorry.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll as they peep at the door. Doll whispers angrily at him. DOLL Buddy, that was pretty snotty of you, pushing me away like that just when it was interesting. BUDDY You should n't watch such things, Doll. They continue to peep with interest through the crack in the doors.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Rose and Daddy. Now Rose is sitting penitent and crying in one of Daddy's handkerchiefs. Daddy's anger is gone, he has gotten control of himself and speaks to her now in a different tone. He sits beside her, an arm around her shoulders in a fatherly way. DADDY Rose, Rose, Rose, you poor miserable little child, do n't you know I love you? Do I have to put my hand on your body or kiss your pretty lips to prove it? You are beautiful to me, Rose, I've loved you since you first came here, darlin'. And do n't you know Mrs. Hillyer loves you, too, that she's already taken you into her heart, and that that woman's heart is as wide as the blue sky itself and as deep as the stars? ROSE -LRB- weeping in handkerchief. -RRB- Oh, I know. She's so sweet, she's been so good to me. DADDY Do you know what a friend you have got there? Do you know she would fight for you like a tiger, that she would fly to your defense in an instant with all the courage in her soul if anyone tried to hurt you? Is this any way to repay her trust and love? Are you ashamed as I am ashamed? -LRB- pauses as Rose sobs in handkerchief. -RRB- Do n't cry, honey, do n't cry. But let me warn you, damn your hide, this is Thermopylae and I am standing here. Do you hear me, damn you. I am standing at Thermopylae and the Persians shall not pass! Now get your tail out of here and go wash those dishes, and stop crying!", "INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO Buddy and Doll in the darkened living room. He gestures that they'd better leave, and they do. The CAMERA FOLLOWS them as they tiptoe out of the living room.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT STAIRS - NIGHT ANOTHER ANGLE, on Buddy and Doll as they tiptoe up the front stairs.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - TOP OF STAIRS - NIGHT ON Buddy and Doll at the top of the stairs. They pause to talk and now they do n't have to whisper. Doll is happy, pleased. DOLL Was n't Daddy wonderful? He wanted to kiss her some more and play with her, but he did n't, because he loves Mother and all of us, and he loves Rose, too. Is n't he wonderful, is n't he great? BUDDY -LRB- dryly, aloof ; he does n't mean this really. -RRB- Wonderful? He kissed her and played with her titty, and I do n't see anything so great about that. He was probably afraid Mother would come back early and catch him. DOLL You know, Buddy, sometimes you make me sick. Doll gives him a venomous glance and walks away. The CAMERA STAYS on Buddy as he stares after her with a thin little smile. Be seems wryly amused that he has made her angry. After a moment, he turns and stares in the direction of downstairs and his face changes. His smile fades, then slowly returns as he thinks of what has happened. BUDDY -LRB- quietly, to himself. -RRB- Thermopylae. The Persians shall not pass. It is obvious that secretly Buddy admires very much his father's behavior.", "INT. HILLYER HOME BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT A shot of Buddy at night in his small bedroom. He wears a rather skimpy old - fashioned nightshirt that comes midway between his hips and knees. At the moment he is finishing brushing his teeth at the bureau, using an old fashioned water pitcher and bowl. The CAMERA FOLLOWS as he walks across the room in the light of the lamp by his bed. He looks around cautiously, then picks up the mattress of his bed. He pushes it far back and we see springs. He takes out a small `` book'' or pamphlet and stares gravely at it. CLOSE - UP : The front cover of the pamphlet. We see the overall title : LITTLE DIRTY COMIC BOOKS. And beneath it : BLONDIE AND DAGWOOD. And beneath that, in smaller letters : `` Mr. Dithers Comes to Dinner - and How!'' We see Buddy's hands in the shot, and he opens the pamphlet and we catch enough of a glimpse of the thing to know it is pretty awful - a drawing maybe of `` Blondie'' stark naked with a finger in her mouth going, `` Tee - Hee!'' ON Buddy, as he stares down with grave intentness at the Little Dirty Comic Book. Slyly now, he retraces his steps to the bureau and takes out a flashlight. He goes back to the bed, switches off the lamp, gets in the bed and turns on the flashlight and pulls the covers over his head. We hear a faint SOUND on the track and Buddy suddenly yanks back the covers, puts the flashlight on the table by the bed and throws the Little Dirty Comic Book under the bed. He lies on pillow and pretends he's asleep, and we hear the door of his room OPEN and a CREAKING on the floor. ANOTHER ANGLE, on a weepy Rose in a very thin nightgown. The shot is FROM BELOW as Buddy might see her as she stands over his bed. She looks very lonely and unhappy and is half crying. ROSE Buddy. are you asleep? ANOTHER ANGLE, on both of them. Buddy stares at her in surprise. It is dim in the room, but we can see them in the moonlight. BUDDY No, I'm awake. What's the matter? ROSE Buddy, I am wandering in a wilderness, lost. -LRB- sits glumly on edge of bed. -RRB- I just feel awful. Do you mind if I get in bed with you for a little while? BUDDY Well, all right. ANOTHER ANGLE, on Rose and Buddy in the bed in the moonlight. It is all innocent enough, Buddy is a child and Rose obviously has no lewd intent in getting into his bed. She lies back on a pillow staring up at the ceiling and smoking a cigarette. ROSE I thought I'd go crazy back there in that room all by myself with nobody to talk to. As a child, I never had no room all to myself, we were awful poor. Buddy. I have got a confession to make. BUDDY What is it, Rose? ROSE It's so terrible I ca n't tell you. Oh, Buddy, you do n't know how it hurts to have a broken heart, what a terrible feeling it is, and I've had a broken heart so many times. Men, I do n't understand them, I ca n't figure them out and they break my heart, that's all. I ca n't find Mr. Right, Buddy, I ca n't find him no matter how hard I look, all I find is a whole pile of Mr. Wrongs. But this is the worst ever because it was n't his fault. It was my fault, oh yes, my fault, I was bad - oh God, I was bad, you would n't believe how bad I was. BUDDY -LRB- a little smile. -RRB- What'd you do, Rose? ROSE Buddy, I was horrible. I ca n't tell you who it was, but do you know what I did? I sat on his lap and got ahold of him and wiggled and wiggled my ass on him and was worse'n you could know, a child like you. Why, I let one of my tits fall out deliberate on purpose and practically smack him in the face with it and I let my dern skirt come up so he could see my drawers. -LRB- pauses, realizes this is n't too dignified. -RRB- But to get back serious to what I was sayin', it is not only, Buddy, the loss of him but my own bad behavior what bothers me so. BUDDY You were pretty bad, huh? ROSE Why, it has just made me ill, Buddy. I'm sick. I do n't want to eat nothin', I do n't, and me I got a good appetite, that ai n't nat ` ral for me. I'm ill. BUDDY -LRB- slyly, pretends he does n't know. -RRB- But, Rose, what is the cause of it all? ROSE Promise not to tell Doll? - or nobody? Buddy, it's your Daddy! I'm so much in love with him I am out of my mind! BUDDY But, Rose, how could such a thing as that happen? ROSE I fell madly in love with him when he called me Rosebud. You know that first day when I come and he said I looked graceful like a capital letter S and called me Rosebud? I fell madly in love with that man right then. -LRB- sighs tragically. -RRB- But it's a lost love, Buddy. He's a good man and wo n't have nothin' to do with me. ANOTHER ANGLE, on Rose and Buddy in the bed. Buddy has propped on an elbow and is staring down at her breasts in the moonlight - we see the soft notch between her breasts in the open V of her thin nightgown. She is completely unself conscious with him. BUDDY -LRB- casually. -RRB- Can I touch you here? Before she can answer, he touches her breast with his finger through her nightgown. BUDDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Hmmm, it's soft. It's awful soft. ROSE -LRB- casually, does n't object. -RRB- What did you expect? BUDDY Well, I thought they were more like a cantaloupe. ROSE Ha ha ha, that's some idea, a cantaloupe. BUDDY -LRB- touches her breast more boldly, his hand outside the nightgown. -RRB- There's some kind of gristle in it, though. ROSE Buddy, quit that, you're just a child, you're not supposed to be interested in such things. BUDDY Actually, I am, though. ROSE -LRB- dreamily, thinking of Daddy as she smokes cigarette and stares up at the ceiling. -RRB- You know, that Daddy of yours is the funniest man, the things he says, you never know what's going to come out of his mouth next. BUDDY Can I put my hand inside your nightgown, Rose? ROSE No, you ca n't. And I'll tell you this - he scares me. As kind as he is, he scares me. You ca n't fool around with him, not with that man. And, boy, I sure better not try nothin' like that with him again, he'll fire me. BUDDY Rose, ca n't I see what the nipple on it is like? ROSE -LRB- frowns. -RRB- Buddy, what's come over you? A child like you, askin' such things. BUDDY But I'm curious, Rose. Puts his hand in her nightgown. ROSE Buddy, get your hand offa me! Quit it, get you hand away. Takes his wrist. BUDDY Just for a second. Please, Rose, what's the harm? ROSE -LRB- gently. -RRB- Buddy, you do n't realize it but what you're doing is n't nice. BUDDY Aw, come on, Rose, I want to see what the nipple on it is like. ROSE You don' t need to know that. It's none of your business. BUDDY Aw, be a good sport, Rose. -LRB- sweetly, almost sugarily. -RRB- You like me, do n't you? I like you a lot.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Mother's bedroom - study in the moonlight. We see Daddy lying wide - awake in a single bed staring broodingly out into space. Mother lies asleep in a big four poster in the background of the shot. Daddy sighs wearily to himself in the grip of `` insomnia in reverse.''", "INT. HILLYER HOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT BACK to Buddy and Rose in bed. He has evidently sweet talked her into letting him fiddle with her ; his hand is - in her nightgown. There is no indication of lewd interest on Rose's part, a peeved and exasperated look is on her face. Buddy seems quite fascinated, however. ROSE Well, are you satisfied now? Can we just lie and talk, huh? BUDDY Hmmph. It has a nipple, all right. ROSE ` Course it does. BUDDY First I could n't feel it, but now I feel it easily, it's like a little acorn. ROSE -LRB- moistens her lips, swallows ; it is affecting her ; she frowns. -RRB- All right, that's enough. -LRB- firmly pushes his hand away. -RRB- You're just a child and would n't understand it, but that type of thing can stir a girl up. Now lie back and we'll talk. BUDDY That was very interesting. Thank you, Rose. ROSE -LRB- lighting cigarette. -RRB- Do n't mention it. BUDDY -LRB- pensively, with the solemn pedanticness of a precocious child. -RRB- It was softer'n I thought, that was my main impression. You know, if you hit a girl there it would hurt her a lot. ROSE Who would want to do such a thing as that? BUDDY Well, some fiend might. ROSE -LRB- stares wonderingly at him. -RRB- You know, Buddy, sometimes I ca n't figure you out at all. You can be very nice, but like your mother said there's an evil streak in you. BUDDY There's an evil streak in everybody, Rose. ROSE There ai n't none in your Daddy. You know, what happened has just made me love him all the more. I not only love him, I respect him, I admire him. BUDDY Rose, I have a serious favor to ask you. ROSE Most men would n't do what he done. If they can get a girl they go right ahead and get her - I guess to hell they do, just like a dern rabbit. ` Course later they'll tell her she's no good when they done the same thing their selves. They're a bunch of monkeys. I like'em, but they're a bunch of monkeys. BUDDY -LRB- trying to be casual. -RRB- Rose, since you're here in bed with me and everything and I've already touched your titty. Ca n't quite say it ; leans over and whispers in her ear and we do n't hear what he says. ROSE -LRB- her eyes open wide as he whispers. -RRB- Why, Buddy, shut your mouth! What an awful thing to say, and where did you get any such idea as that, anyhow? BUDDY I'm curious to see what it's like. I'm very curious, Rose. ROSE Well, now that is just too bad! Curiosity killed the cat. BUDDY Yeah, but satisfaction brought him back. Can I? ROSE No! You ought to be ashamed of yourself astin' such a nasty things a child your age! BUDDY Ca n't I touch it a little, Rose - not a lot, just a little? ROSE Of course you ca n't! I'm. I'm shocked at you, Buddy, real shocked! Now you be quiet or I'm going back to my own bed! BUDDY Please, Rose. I'm curious, that's all, I have a natural curiosity, it's only human. You're my friend, are n't you? Do n't you like me? -LRB- again sweetly, almost sugarily. -RRB- I like you, Rose, a lot - in fact, I love you. ROSE -LRB- softens despite herself. -RRB- Well, you're sweet, but you do n't really love me. BUDDY Yes, I do. Please, Rose, be a good sport. ROSE Buddy, you're just a child. BUDDY I'm thirteen. And I have a natural curiosity. It's only nature, Rose, that's all. Now what's wrong with nature, huh? ROSE Well, nothin'.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Daddy sitting on the edge of his bed in pajamas. He looks frowzle - haired and glum. The CAMERA FOLLOWS him as he wearily gets up and walks across the bedroom in the moonlight and takes a package of cigarettes from a bureau. Be glances over his shoulder as we hear Mother. MOTHER What's the matter, hon? Is anything wrong? DADDY No, darlin'. Just that damnable insomnia in reverse. I sleep like a baby for an hour then I'm wide awake. You go back to sleep. Daddy lights a cigarette and walks to the window and stares out at the moonlit night. The CAMERA MOVES IN CLOSER on his face and we see a weariness and strain he has not shown before. DADDY The Depression has got me. That miserable hotel, no money anywhere, strong men out of work, children hungry. It's a great life if you do n't weaken.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT A shot close on Rose and Buddy in bed. Evidently Rose has weakened and is allowing him to fiddle with her, but we can only surmise this, the shot is on their heads and shoulders and a cloud has crossed the moon, the light is more dim. A different look is on her face, a solemn expression as if she is listening to some far away sound that she finds strangely haunting. She moistens her lips, speaks in a slightly feeble voice. ROSE You better quit that. BUDDY But Rose. ROSE I must be outta my mind. Buddy, quit it. BUDDY Am I hurting you? ROSE -LRB- pauses, stares off as if listening, then in an even feebler tone, a half whisper. -RRB- No. No, you're not hurting me. -LRB- moistens her lips, swallows. -RRB- But I think you better quit it. BUDDY But why, if I'm not hurting you? ROSE You would n't understand. -LRB- puts a hand on his shoulder as if to push him away, but ca n't ; puts her other hand over her eyes. -RRB- Oh, God, I must be outta my mind. What would your Momma think? The hand falls limply from Rose's eyes and she turns her head to the side and closes her eyes. Helplessly, she lies there as the boy fiddles with her.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Daddy walking down the downstairs hall in a bathrobe and slippers. He looks very frowzled and sleepy.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - NIGHT ON Daddy as he walks into the kitchen, turns on the light. He goes to the ice box, an old - fashioned type made of wood that takes cakes of ice. Be pours out a glass of milk.", "INT. HILLYER ROME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a very CLOSE SHOT on Rose's face. The light is dim but we see perspiration on her forehead. Her breathing is not normal. Her eyes are shut tight, her teeth are clenched. CUT TO a shot CLOSE on Buddy. We do not see what he is doing, but evidently he is fiddling with her. He seems quite interested in the proceedings. BUDDY Rose, beyond a doubt this is the most fascinating experience of my life.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Daddy in the kitchen as he sits rather gloomily at the kitchen table drinking the glass Of milk. DADDY -LRB- to himself. -RRB- Ehh - hh, Lord, man born of woman hath few days and they are full of trouble.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot close on Rose ai Buddy in the bed. The shot is of their heads and shoulders. She has an arm very tight around his shoulders and her eyes are shut tight. The moment of truth is at hand. ROSE Ohh - hh! Ohhh - hh! -LRB- it's all over ; she twists sideways, puts both arms around him. -RRB- Oh, Buddy, you're so sweet. I love you a lot.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Daddy as he washes out the glass in the sink.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Rose and Buddy in the bed. The extremity of her crime has dawned on Rose and she is sitting up in the bed with a look of horror on her face. Buddy is staring worriedly at her. BUDDY Rose, are you all right? Are you sick or something? ROSE -LRB- staring off in space, lost in horror. -RRB- No. No, I'm all right. -LRB- turns, stares at him, puts a hand in woe on her forehead. -RRB- Oh, God, what have I done? I have robbed a cradle and fallen into hell! -LRB- fumbles desperately on bed for cigarettes. -RRB- I must be crazy, a child like you. Oh, God, oh, Lord. This is awful, this is terrible, I got ta get outta here! ANOTHER ANGLE, on Rose and Buddy as Rose in a panic gets out of the bed, pulls down her thin nightgown and tiptoes toward the door. She stops and looks back as a chilling thought occurs to her. ROSE Buddy, you would n't tell nobody, would you? BUDDY -LRB- a trifle too piously. -RRB- Do n't worry, Rose, I wo n't tell a soul. ROSE I sure hope you do n't. -LRB- still in a panic. -RRB- I got ta get outta here, good night. BUDDY -LRB- sweetly. -RRB- Good night, Rose.", "INT. HILLYER SOME - UPSTAIRS HALL AND DOWNSTAIRS HALL CUT TO a shot of Daddy walking down the downstairs hall in his bathrobe. The shot is down the staircase and Rose in the upstairs hall tiptoes into the picture. A floorboard creaks and he looks up and sees her. DADDY Rose, what are you doing up? ROSE Nothin', just goin' to the bathroom. DADDY Is anything wrong? ROSE No, sir. DADDY Well, good night. ANOTHER ANGLE on Rose in the upstairs hall. Fortunately for her the light is dim. Her knees are shaking beneath the nightgown, she looks as if she might faint. ROSE Good night. The CAMERA FOLLOWS her as she goes on shaky legs down the hall.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Rose as she enters her small bedroom. Feebly, as if totally exhausted, she shuts the door behind her then leans against a bureau and states into its mirror. The horror of her own criminality has overwhelmed her. With trembling hands, she takes a cigarette from her half empty pack and finds a wooden kitchen match on the bureau. Her hands tremble visibly as she strikes the match. She has not turned on the light in her room and her considerable charms are very apparent in the orange glow of the match. Burning match in her fingers, she stares at her own reflection in the bureau mirror, transfixed by a horrible realization.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DREAM - CELLAR QUICK DISSOLVE TO BLURRED SCREEN : the border of the screen is blurred, we are obviously seeing a nightmare fantasy. The shot is of an eager, excited, diabolically mischievous Buddy and an astonished, awed DOLL. They are in some far dark recess of the cellar of the house and the scene is furtive, murky, cobwebby. BUDDY Wait till you hear what happened! Now you wont believe this, Doll, but Rose came in my room and got in my bed last night. ANOTHER ANGLE on Buddy from below with candlelight giving his child's face a sinister look. Now he has `` Dracula'' teeth and evil arched eyebrows. BUDDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- and she sweated and snorted like a horse and had a horrible fit, her eyebrows were all scrunched up and she groaned like she was eying and foamed at the mouth!", "INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Rose standing horrified before the mirror. The match is still burning in her fingers.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM/STUDY A shot of Mother in her study, a worried Doll stands before her. The border of the screen is blurred, it is another flash of fantasy. MOTHER Yes, dear, what is it? DOLL Mother, Buddy says Rose got in his bed last night and he fiddled with her and she snorted and had a fit - and he says I would too if I was grown - up. Is it true, Mother - would I sweat and snort and froth at the mouth and have a horrible fit like he says? Mother stares in consternation at Doll.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT PORCH - NIGHT A shot of Daddy and Rose on the front porch of the house. The scene is murky, dark, gloomy night and the weather is bad. Daddy has his arm rigidly thrust outward as he points down the driveway. A weeping, slumped Rose sadly walks down the steps carrying her cardboard suitcase. Fantasy. DADDY Out! Out, you viper in the grass! Out! Never darken our doorstep, you immoral, terrible girl!", "INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT BACK to Rose standing before the mirror, sick with horror. A feeble whimper - like groan comes from her. ROSE Ohh - hh, ohhh - hh. -LRB- match burns her fingers, she shakes it out. -RRB- Ouch! Oh - hh. ohh. ANOTHER ANGLE on Rose as she turns from the bureau and stares off into space, a very badly frightened girl. Half - crying, she speaks to herself. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- He'll tell'em for sure, he will. Oh, Lord, what can I do?", "INT. HILLYER HOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy half asleep in bed. The light of the lamp by his bed goes on and he sleepily opens his eyes. The CAMERA COMES BACK and we see Rose in her nightgown standing by his bedside. She is very pale and tears are on her cheeks. ROSE I hate to turn on this light, you Daddy's awake downstairs, but I have to take the chance. -LRB- sits by him on bed. -RRB- Buddy, please do n't tell on me. BUDDY -LRB- rather coolly. -RRB- I said I would n't. ROSE -LRB- her lip trembles. -RRB- Buddy, I have to ask you, as bad as I've been please have pity on me and do n't ruin me by telling them what I did. I know it was bad, it was bad and dumb. But mostly it was dumb, I did n't mean you no harm, I'd never want to hurt a hair on your head and that's the truth. I love you. But they'd think I did, they'd think I was awful, they'd despise me and hate me. Rose bows her head and begins crying into her hands. CUT TO a CLOSE SHOT of Buddy. We hear the soft sound of Rose weeping over the shot. Buddy is affected, his flinty child's heart has been touched, but he is not quite ready to admit it yet. He is struggling with himself, trying to remain `` cool'' and not show his emotion. He frowns, moistens his lips, swallows. With seeming coolness, very much as in the scene with Doll in which he deprecated Daddy's stand at Thermopylae, he shrugs. BUDDY Well, I do n't know what you're worried about. It was my idea, I was the one who thought of it, not you. The CAMERA PULLS BACK to include Rose. She is staring at the boy with hopeless despair. ROSE You do n't understand. They'd blame me, not you. And they'd think I was awful, a disgustin' girl, which I am, but Buddy, please do n't tell them. Please do n't. Ill have to go and I love it here, I love your whole fam ` ly, your Daddy, your Mother. -LRB- pauses, then makes her final and ultimate plea in a shaking voice as tears run down. -RRB- Buddy, I know I'm no good, I'm a bad girl but I ca n't help it, please have pity on me and do n't tell! Please do n't, please. Too much for Buddy, he loses his `` cool.'' He swallows and blinks as if he might cry, then sits erect in the bed and squares his shoulders and assumes a stern expression Daddy style. BUDDY -LRB- very solemnly. -RRB- Rose, they could stick splinters under my fingernails, and I will never say a word! I will never tell them, because. I love you! ROSE -LRB- sees that he means it, smiles in relief and throws her arms around him. -RRB- Oh, Buddy, you do love me! I knew you did, knew it all the time.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Daddy, lying in bed and staring up sleeplessly at the ceiling. Insomnia in reverse has got him. DADDY -LRB- a half whisper to himself. -RRB- Ehh - hh, Lord. great life if you do n't weaken.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Rose and Buddy. Rose is sitting on the bed beside him and she has dried her tears and got herself in hand. ROSE Well, Ill tell you this. I have learned a lesson tonight. I was n't gon na run around, but when I start botherin' your Daddy and worse robbin' a cradle, I got ta face the facts of life. -LRB- pauses, then with firm resolution. -RRB- Tomorrow mornin', I'm gon na get myself up and go out. BUDDY -LRB- a wee mite puzzled. -RRB- You're going to get yourself up and go out? ROSE Buddy, Mr. Right is out there somewhere and I'm gon na find him!", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY A shot of a coolly angry Mother in the kitchen. It is late morning. As she talks the CAMERA PULLS BACK to show a sheepish Buddy standing `` on the carpet before her. The other children, Doll and Waski, are seated at the kitchen table having hamburgers for lunch. They are happily smiling with schadenfreude amusement at their brother's discomfiture. MOTHER Brother, when I have to wake you up at eleven o'clock in the morning you're either sick or you were up very late last night. -LRB- points a finger at him. -RRB- And you were n't reading Huckleberry Finn. I looked and its not in your room. Now what were you doing? BUDDY -LRB- sheepish. -RRB- Mother, I have to tell the truth. I was n't reading Huckleberry Finn, I was reading one of those Little Dirty Comic Books. MOTHER -LRB- sadly. -RRB- Oh, Brother, I am so disappointed in you. You must n't look at those horrible things, they degrade the human image. BROTHER -LRB- hangs head. -RRB- They're filthy, Mother. MOTHER Sex is n't ugly, sex is one of the most beautiful things in life, the creative power of the universe is behind it. BROTHER I know, Mother. MOTHER But we must respect that power, we must be in awe of it. BROTHER I am in awe of it, Mother. MOTHER I do n't think you are sufficiently in awe of it. Get the castor oil. BROTHER -LRB- winces, as Doll and Waski happily smile. -RRB- Oh, Mother, not the castor oil. MOTHER This is n't punishment, I do n't believe in punishment. It's for your health. Obviously you're sick if you can act like that. As she talks, Buddy reluctantly gets a bottle of castor oil and a tablespoon from a shelf and brings it to her. A smiling Doll comes forward and hands Buddy half of an orange. He makes a face at her. Mother takes the bottle and pours out a tablespoon of castor oil. BUDDY -LRB- wanly. -RRB- Mother, cant you make it calomel instead of castor oil? MOTHER This is for your own good. When you look at negative, destructive things like those little filthy comic books, you are sick. Here, take this. BUDDY -LRB- he is resigned, there's no way out ; he makes a face, swallows the castor oil. -RRB- Geccch, yehh, guhhhh! MOTHER Stop gagging like that and putting on a show, and swallow it. BUDDY Uhhh, gahdam stuff! MOTHER What did you say, Brother? BUDDY I said ahhh - dam stuff. MOTHER No, you did n't say that, Brother. BUDDY Yes, I did, mother. Your hearing aid is n't working right. I said ahhh - dam stuff. DOLL No, Mother, he's lying. BUDDY Shut up, Doll. I'll cut your guts WASKI -LRB- happily excited, stammering. -RRB- He did lie, and. and. and Mother, yesterday he stole money out of your pocketbook! BUDDY Quiet, you little muddy - eyed brat, or Ill kill you! MOTHER Children, children! Be quiet, all of you! -LRB- the children at once simmer down. -RRB- The vibrations in this house are strange today. Where's Rose, anyhow? BUDDY She's getting herself up to go out. MOTHER -LRB- frowns, adjusts hearing aid. -RRB- What'd you say, Brother? BUDDY She's getting herself up to go out. I think she's coming down the hall now. MOTHER Oh, yes, it's Thursday. -LRB- glances around at sound of an opening door. -RRB- Hello, Rose, dear. -LRB- her eyes open wide as she stares at Rose, disconcerted ; now weakly. -RRB-. my, you're. looking pretty. CUT TO a shot of Rose in the doorway of the kitchen. She is quite an apparition. She wears bright red lipstick, pink rouge on her cheeks, mascara and her hair is coiffed up in some outlandish manner, but her clothes are the most remarkable thing of all. The skirt is of strange, pink, semi - shiny and very thin material and has about a dozen tiny little flowers that could be rosebuds sewed on it. It fits extremely snugly to say the least. The blouse seems a composite : it has frilly white sleeves that are opaque and otherwise is made of filmy white material that is hardly opaque at all. She has no bra and her breasts are half visible, the nipples denting the material. It is pretty wild for 1935. She seems to have on no underwear of any kind ; the skirt, which clings to her like a bathing suit, shows no panty seams. She is carrying a shiny black patent leather pocketbook and has on high heel black patent leather shoes and no stockings. An ingenuous little smile is on her face. ROSE How do you like my outfit? I made most of it myself. Rose walks in, `` modeling'' the outfit and the CAMERA PICKS UP Mother. MOTHER -LRB- smiling, slightly aghast. -RRB- Well, it's. very gay. We hear the SOUND of the Model A on the driveway. BUDDY Here comes Daddy. ROSE -LRB- staring down admiringly at the outfit. -RRB- I have a knack for designing clothes. But I had to buy the shoes and the pocketbook. MOTHER -LRB- makes up her mind to defend Rose. -RRB- Well, I think it's charming, Rose. -LRB- tactfully. -RRB- But do n't you think. ah, the skirt is a little tight? ROSE Oh, no, that's the style. It's meant to be clinging. We hear the PORCH DOOR SLAM. Smiling, happy, Rose glances around. We hear the SOUND of the kitchen door opening. CUT TO a POV SHOT of Daddy in the kitchen doorway. As usual, he has a rolled - up Glenville Tribune in his hand and a Straw hat on the back of his head.His hands are on his hips and he is hunched forward as if he can not believe what he sees. DADDY Ye gods and little fishes. What have you done to yourself, Rose? ON THEM ALL. Rose is smiling, happy to be the center of attention. ROSE Nothin'. I got myself up, that's all. DADDY Got yourself up? ROSE Yeah. I'm goin' out. Daddy walks slowly into the kitchen shaking his head. Sits at table. DADDY Um - hmm. Well, that is the damndest outfit I ever saw in my life. You walk down the street like that and they'll put you in jail, Rose. MOTHER Why, they wo n't either. She looks pretty. And I wish you would n't pick on the poor girl all the time. Do n't listen to him, Rose, you look pretty, even beautiful. ROSE -LRB- smiles affectionately at Mother. -RRB- You're so sweet. DADDY If you've got time before you go `` out,'' get me a half - a - cup of coffee, Rose. Not a whole cup, a half - a - cup. ROSE Why, sure, always got time to get you a half - a - cup, and one of these days I'm gon na get you a whole cup and see what happens. DADDY -LRB- a growl, does n't like jokes about his foibles. -RRB- Um - hmmuhh. I never drink a whole cup, my nerves ca n't stand the caffeine. Ehh - hh, Lord awful insomnia in reverse last night. Lay there and sweated blood for hours. DOLL -LRB- sweetly. -RRB- Daddy, Buddy was up late last night reading little dirty comic books. Mother gave him a dose of castor oil and he cursed it, he took the Lords name in vain, then claimed he had n't said it. He lied, Daddy. MOTHER You must n't be a tattletale, dear. You must n't be Delilah - ish and Jezebel - ish toward your brother, dear. DOLL I'm only trying to help him, Mother. BUDDY Heh, what a hypocrite. MOTHER -LRB- to Daddy. -RRB- I do wish you'd speak to Brother. It's true he's been looking at those horrible little books again. DADDY -LRB- stares sternly at Buddy. -RRB- Lay off of that stuff, son. It upsets your mother. MOTHER -LRB- genuinely worried. -RRB- I'm serious. We forget he's just a child. I wish you'd speak to him. DADDY I'll take him with me downtown. -LRB- glances at Rose as she comes with coffee. -RRB- And you, too, Rose, if you want a ride. ROSE Sure, love one. Here's your half - a cup of coffee. Daddy is staring with a very dubious frown at Rose's skirt. He slowly shakes his head. DADDY That's a pretty stylish skirt, Rose. The only thing I do n't understand is how did you ever get it on. ROSE -LRB- happy, pleased by his interest. -RRB- Well, it has buttons. Points to little buttons on right side of the skirt. DADDY How can the buttons stand the pressure? ROSE There are more on the other side. Points to buttons on left side. DADDY Turn around, darlin'. Happy to oblige, Rose turns around. Her plump, round, feminine behind is only too plainly revealed through the thin material. Daddy slowly shakes his head. DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- They'll put her in jail. The damn little fool might as well be naked. MOTHER -LRB- a wee mite worried. -RRB- Well, it is a little tight. But it is n't as bad as all that. No one will notice unless they have such thoughts in the first place. DADDY Who does n't have such thoughts? -LRB- glances at wristwatch. -RRB- We'd better get going. MOTHER You're not having lunch? DADDY Just half - a - cup of coffee. I never eat, darlin', you know that. Not eating and reverse insomnia are my curses. Let's go, Rose, you and Brother, let's hit the road. MOTHER Rose, you and Brother wait in the car. I want to speak for a moment Lo Mr. Hillyer. ROSE Yes, Ma'am. MOTHER Doll, you and Waski run on, too.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - PATIO - DAY CUT TO a shot of Rose and Buddy as they walk out onto the patio of the house. Rose walks down the steps to the flower garden and Buddy follows. ANOTHER ANGLE on Rose and Buddy as Rose picks a red rose and puts it in her hair.' ROSE Did your Momma really give you castor oil? BUDDY Yeah. ROSE -LRB- puts an arm around his shoulders. -RRB- You're my sweetheart.", "INT. HILLYER HOME KITCHEN - DAY CUT TO Mother and Daddy at the kitchen table. MOTHER -LRB- earnestly. -RRB- I wish you would n't pick on Rose and tease her like that. Of course her clothes are silly, but she's ignorant, naive, she does n't know any better. DADDY The girl worries me. If she walks down the street like that, an army will be following her. MOTHER Well, I admit that outfit is n't very modest. But she does n't mean any harm, she just wants to attract, attention. DADDY She will succeed. MOTHER I do n't think you understand her. It is n't sex she wants, it's love she wants and this is the only way she knows how to get it. DADDY -LRB- musingly. -RRB- That farmer in Gadsden was awful eager to get rid of her, and I'm beginning to see why. MOTHER He and his wife both said she had a fine moral character and was wonderful with children. DADDY Well, she loves children, all right. -LRB- adds dryly. -RRB- She loves everybody. MOTHER But that's a wonderful quality, not a bad quality. -LRB- takes his hand. -RRB- Have a little patience with her. She's such a good - hearted little thing and tries so hard. DADDY -LRB- stares pensively at her. -RRB- You are the one who's good - hearted. -LRB- rises. -RRB- As for Rose, let's hope for the best. MOTHER -LRB- rises, again takes his hand. -RRB- Be kind to her. She loves you so much. -LRB- Daddy stiffens slightly, and she adds. -RRB- In a perfectly proper way, of course. DADDY Yes, of course.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - DRIVEWAY - DAY CUT TO a shot of Rose and Buddy waiting in a Model A. Rose is smiling, happy to be going out. The red rose is prominent in her hair, Daddy walks INTO THE SHOT, gets into the driver's seat of the car, He glances in a wry manner at the flower in her hair. DADDY What have you got in your hair, girl? ROSE My rose. It's kind of like a motto. People will say, there comes Rose with her rose. Daddy gives her another wry stare and starts the Model A. CUT TO a shot of the Model A going down the driveway.", "EXT. MODEL A IN TOWN - DAY ANOTHER SHOT or two of the Model A on the quiet summer streets of a sleepy little town in the Depression South of years ago.", "INT./EXT. MODEL A - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy, Rose and Buddy in the car. Buddy is in the middle. Daddy is staring expressionlessly straight ahead. His tone is sternly neutral as he speaks. DADDY You were up late last night, Brother. BUDDY Well, a little. DADDY Reading dirty comic bocks. -LRB- glances shrewdly at him. -RRB- And you admitted it? BUDDY -LRB- a trifle uncomfortable. -RRB- Well, yeah. Both Rose and Buddy begin to look increasingly tense. Hawkshaw the Detective is on the scent. Daddy stares ahead. DADDY You were up late last night, too, Rose. ROSE -LRB- meekly. -RRB- Yes, sir. I had to go to the bathroom. A long pause, as Daddy stares ahead. His expression is inscrutable. DADDY -LRB- finally, `` casually''. -RRB- Sometimes I think I was born to be a detective. I get a feeling about things. I'm not always right, but often I am.", "EXT. MODEL A BY LIGHT - DAY CUT TO a shot of the Model A as it stops for a red light.", "INT./EXT. MODEL A - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy, Rose and Buddy in the car. Daddy turns and stares sternly at Buddy. DADDY Son, was Rose in your room last night? BUDDY -LRB- scared, but a good liar. -RRB- No. Why should Rose be in my room? Daddy sternly scans them both. They stare back `` innocently'' at him. Finally he seems to accept it. DADDY I ca n't imagine why. It was just a thought. Daddy shifts gears and faces front. Buddy glances upward in relief, as if to say, `` Wow, that was close.'' DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Where do you want me to let you out, Rose? ROSE Oh, anywhere downtown. DADDY You do n't know where you're going? ROSE Oh, I'll just mosey around here and there.", "EXT. MODEL A - DAY CUT TO a shot of the Model A as it stops off the main street of a small sleepy Southern town.", "INT./EXT. MODEL A - DAY CUT TO a shot through the side window on Rose, Buddy and Daddy. DADDY Is this ill right? ROSE It'll do just fine. -LRB- gets out of car. -RRB- Bye - bye, see you later. Rose waves goodbye and walks off down the sidewalk, swinging her hips and her pocketbook,", "INT./EXT. MODEL A - DAY CUT TO a front shot of Daddy and Buddy in the car as they stare after Rose.", "EXT. STREET - DAY CUT TO a shot of POV Daddy and Buddy of Rose walking along. MUSIC.", "INT./EXT. MODEL A CUT TO Daddy and Buddy. Daddy slowly shakes his head, shifts gears.", "EXT. MODEL A - DAY CUT TO a shot of the Model A as it rolls along the main street.", "EXT. MODEL A - DAY ANOTHER SHOT of the Model A as it abruptly turns a corner.", "EXT. MODEL A - DAY ON the Model A as it abruptly turns around corner. Evidently it is circling the block.", "EXT. STREET - DAY CUT TO a shot of Rose as she walks along, swinging her hips and her pocketbook and smiling at whoever she sees. She passes a few people and she smiles cheerfully at them - the men stare with a flat interest at her and the women frown, but she smiles at one and all.", "EXT. MODEL A CUT TO a shot of the Model A as it creeps along.", "INT./EXT. MODEL A - DAY On Daddy and Buddy in the car. DADDY They might arrest her. I doubt it, but they might.", "EXT. STREET - BUS STOP - DAY CUT TO a shot of Rose as she walks up to a bus stop. A fairly WELL - DRESSED MAN with a door - to - door salesman kit is standing there. Rose glances at him then sidles up alongside him as if she's waiting for a bus. He glances at her for a moment with interest, but does n't want to stare, looks away. We see the Model A stop in the background of the SHOT.", "EXT. STREET - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy and Buddy in the car, watching Rose.", "EXT. STREET - DAY CUT TO a shot of Rose and the Young Salesman. Rose glances at the man, glances at him again, then sighs and speaks. ROSE My feet sure do hurt. YOUNG SALESMAN -LRB- turns to her with a slow smile. -RRB- Oh, yeah?", "EXT. STREET - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy and Buddy in the car, watching.", "EXT. STREET - DAY CUT TO a LONG POV SHOT of Rose and the Young Salesman. They are talking amiably. Both are smiling.", "EXT. STREET - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy and Buddy. DADDY She has made contact.", "EXT. STREET - DAY CUT TO ANOTHER POV SHOT of Rose and the Young Salesman. It is another LONG SHOT. MUSIC ON TRACK. They are smiling, talking. The Young Salesman seems to ask Rose a question. She nods and takes his arm and they walk off.", "EXT. STREET - DAY CUT TO Daddy and Buddy. Daddy is staring pensively at the scene. DADDY I never saw anything like it. How did she pick him up so fast? BUDDY I do n't know. DADDY The girl strikes like a cobra. Slowly shaking his head, Daddy starts the car.", "EXT. STREET - DAY A shot of Rose and the Young Salesman as they walk along. She is holding his arm and they are smiling and talking as if the best of friends. We hear MUSIC ON THE TRACK. The MUSIC continues over the following MONTAGE OF SHOTS.", "INT. HONKY TONK - VARIOUS SHOTS ON Rose in a beer `` honky tonk'' with the Young Salesman in a booth. He is drinking beer, she is drinking Coca Cola from a bottle. ON Rose in the booth, ANOTHER ANGLE. A second man has joined them, a big beefy man - he is BUSTER.", "EXT. STREET - LATE AFTERNOON ON Rose as she walks down a sidewalk in late afternoon with Buster and still another man, a tall fellow in a Coca - Cola Delivery Man's uniform or shirt. Rose seems to be innocently happy, but the men appear to be having a mild dispute. ON Rose getting into Busters car as Buster holds the door for her, smiling. The COCA - COLA DELIVERY MAN is left on the sidewalk, disappointed.", "INT./EXT. BUSTER'S CAR - DUSK CUT TO a shot of Rose in the car eating barbecue with Buster. She is talking animatedly and he seems enchanted with her. It is dusk.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of a car pulling up in the driveway of the Hillyer house. Rose gets out, waves goodbye to Buster. It is night. End MUSIC.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Daddy in pajamas peering out of the bedroom window. DADDY Well, she's back. MOTHER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What time is it? DADDY Quarter of twelve. MOTHER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Is she all right? DADDY I do n't see any bruises or broken bones. CUT TO a shot of Mother in bed in the four poster. MOTHER Bruises and broken bones, what kind of thing is that to say? Daddy walks INTO THE SHOT, sits on the edge of the bed. MOTHER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Why should n't she go out and have boyfriends? DADDY No reason at all, darlin'. MOTHER Well, I wish you'd stop criticizing and picking on her. DADDY Forgive my crudity, darlin'. All I'm saying is that a girl who would wear clothes like that is going to get in trouble sooner or later. MOTHER -LRB- doubtfully. -RRB- Well, time will tell, wo n't it? DADDY Yes, darlin', time will tell.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - PATIO - DAY A SHOT of Mother on the patio studying. It is a sunny afternoon. Mother looks up idly, looks back down at her notebook, then looks up again with a frown. CUT TO A POV SHOT of a SCRUFFY - LOOKING KAN as he darts behind one tree to another. The Scruffy - looking Man does not seem sinister, but he definitely is scruffy. ON Mother. Frowning, she puts down her notebook and rises, walks toward the door of the kitchen.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY CUT TO a shot of Rose washing dishes in the kitchen. As usual, she is in a cheerful good humor. We see Buddy at the kitchen table building a model airplane. Mother comes INTO THE SHOT, worried, frowning. MOTHER Rose, that scruffy - looking man is out in the yard again. ROSE -LRB- her smile fades. -RRB- Mrs. Hillyer, I do n't know who he is, I really do n't. MOTHER I had better call Daddy.", "INT. HOTEL - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy behind the desk of a slightly run - down small hotel of the Depression era. He is handing a key to a guest. DADDY Glad to have you with us, Mr. Watson. Make yourself at home. Shadrach, take Mr. Watson's bag. A black bellboy takes the guest's bag as Daddy turns to answer a BUZZING switchboard.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY CUT TO a shot of Mother talking on a phone. MOTHER Hello, honey? That scruffy - looking man is out in the yard again.", "INT. HOTEL - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy at the switchboard. Be is grim. DADDY Luckily, Johnson just walked in to relieve me. I'll be right out there!", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Rose in the kitchen. BUDDY Rose, you must know who the fellow is. ROSE -LRB- innocently. -RRB- Well, he might be that man who followed me home from the store the other day. But I do n't know who he is, Buddy, I really do n't.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - YARD CUT TO a shot of the Scruffy - looking Man. Be is half - crouched behind a big oak, peering at the Hillyer house. We hear the approach of a car and the man looks over his shoulder. CUT TO a shot of Daddy in the Model A. The TIRES SCREECH as he puts on the brakes. CUT TO a shot of the Scruffy - looking Man as he turns and runs. On Daddy as he jumps out of the car. DADDY Come back here, sir! Come back here, you! Daddy runs after the man. CUT TO a shot of Daddy running after him. CUT TO A FINAL SHOT of the Scruffy - looking Man as he leaps a hedge in full stride.", "EXT. HILLYER HOUSE - FRONT PORCH CUT TO a shot of a worried - looking Mother on the front porch of the house. Buddy and a meek - looking Rose are in the background in the doorway. A weary, out - of - breath Daddy comes INTO THE SHOT and walks up the steps, straw hat in hand. DADDY I could n't catch him. He ran like a deer. Daddy fixes a stern glance on Rose. As he does so, Mother and Buddy also turn and look at her. Rose smiles wanly. ROSE I do n't know him.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - DAY A SHOT of Mrs. Hillyer in her bedroom study. She is drinking a Coca - Cola and smoking a cigarette held by a bobbie pin. We hear the SOUND of an old - fashioned doorbell. She ignores it.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT PORCH - DAY CUT TO a shot of a sullen - looking young boy on the front porch. He is poorly dressed. He rings the doorbell. This is BILLY.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - DAY CUT TO a shot of Mother. Frowning, she gets up.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT PORCH ON Mother as she opens the front door. A sullen Billy stares at her. MOTHER Yes? BILLY Is Rose here? MOTHER She must have gone out for a walk with the children. BILLY -LRB- sullenly. -RRB- Well, I got to see her. MOTHER She is n't here. And I'm sorry, but Mr. Hillyer does n't want her to have callers during working hours. BILLY -LRB- sullenly. -RRB- Where is she? MOTHER I said she is n't here. NOW you go home. Be a nice boy and go home. Gently but firmly, Mother shuts the door in Billy's face. A SHOT of Billy frustrated on the front porch. Sadly, reluctantly, he turns and walks off the porch down the steps.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - DAY ON mother, peering worriedly through the curtains of the front door.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT A SHOT of the family at dinner at night. Daddy, Mother, Rose, Buddy, Doll and Waski. The SHOT FAVORS Mother. MOTHER That sulky boy was here again this afternoon. I was almost scared, he would n't go away. DADDY -LRB- throws his napkin on table. -RRB- Rose, my patience is wearing thin. First a scruffy man who runs like a deer and now a sulky boy who wont go away. This is getting to be a regular monkey and dog show. ROSE I swear to God I do n't know who in the world he is. Really, I do n't, I do n't know no boy like that, I do n't. Slowly, his face grim, Daddy returns his napkin to his lap and resumes eating. The children are very silent and look a trifle scared. MOTHER -LRB- finally, in a small voice. -RRB- Well, it is n't Rose's fault boys and men like her. You cant blame her for that, hon. DADDY Rose, I realize you do n't know this boy, but if you know anybody who does know him, if you have even a faint clue as to who he might be, then convey to him that he had better stay away from my house and stop scaring my wife. and I do n't mean maybe.", "INT. HILLYER SOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy in his room at night. He is dressed and at a study table listening with cheap earphones to a homemade crystal radio set. Enter a rather somber - faced Doll in her nightgown. BUDDY -LRB- listening. -RRB- Chattanooga. I had St. Louis, Missouri. DOLL Buddy, I'm worried about Rose. BUDDY So am I. DOLL She has n't got any sense. In some ways, she's awful dumb. BUDDY -LRB- takes off earphones, gives it a moment of grave consideration, then his opinion. -RRB- It is n't that she has n't got any sense, Doll. Her basic intelligence is probably above average, maybe quite a bit above average. DOLL Then why does she act so dumb? BUDDY Dumbness does n't concern her, Doll. And neither does smartness. You see - Buddy is interrupted by the SOUND of the distant angry shout of a man's voice, evidently from somewhere outside in the woods because Buddy and Doll turn at once toward the window. In shock they listen. FIRST MAN'S VOICE You son of a bitch, what are you doing here?! SECOND MAN'S VOICE I'd like to ask you the same question, you bastard! FIRST MAN'S VOICE I told you to stay away from her, goddamn you! SECOND MAN'S VOICE You got no right to tell me to stay away from her, I knew her before you did! BUDDY Oh, boy. Oh, boy, oh boy. Daddy is n't going to like this. FIRST MAN'S VOICE She told you to leave her alone, did n't she? SECOND MAN'S VOICE Like hell she did! You're the one she wants to get shed of! BUDDY Come on! He and Doll hurry from the room.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - UPSTAIRS HALL AND STAIRS - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll running down the upstairs hall and down the stairs. The CAM M FOLLOWS them down the stairs.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - BACK HALL - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll as they slow down and creep cautiously down the back hall to the back porch. We hear the men yelling somewhere out in the dark bushes. FIRST MAN'S VOICE You'll swallow teeth yourself if you do n't leave her alone, you ugly bastard! Go on, throw one, throw one! SECOND MAN'S VOICE I'll throw one, you son of a bitch! We hear a great CRASHING in the bushes, a SMACK of a fist, a GROAN of shock, an OATH, a SHOUT, more CRASHING.", "EXT. BACK PORCH - NIGHT CUT TO a shot from the POV of the children, on Daddy on the back porch as the lights blaze on. He wears his bathrobe and has a big shotgun in his hands. Now he speaks in a loud, clear and very angry voice. DADDY All right, I have got a Parker shotgun here and it is loaded and the trigger is cocked and wherever you birds are and whatever you are doing you had better get the hell out of here goddamned quick! A sudden total silence ensues, then a sudden CRASHING in the bushes as the `` birds'' take off. DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And do not come back, you sons of bitches! Stay away from my house and home and my wife and children or I'll blow your goddamned heads off!", "INT. HILLYER HOME - BACK HALL - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll as they cower in awe in the downstairs hall. Daddy walks up to them carrying the shotgun. He is grim and furious, but his voice is surprisingly calm. DADDY You children go to bed. And Brother, stay away from Rose, I'll speak to her in the morning.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - UPSTAIRS HALL - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll in the upstairs hall. Doll meekly goes to her room. Buddy hesitates, looks at Rose's door, glances nervously back at the stairs, then goes to Rose's door, knocks softly, opens it.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Rose as he stands in the doorway of her room. Rose is sitting on the edge of her bed in her nightgown, a damp cloth held against her jaw which seems a little swollen. A look of fear and guilt is on her face. ROSE -LRB- rather feebly, as if it explains something. -RRB- I got an awful toothache. BUDDY -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Rose, if you do n't keep your boyfriends away from the house, Daddy is going to fire you. ROSE -LRB- innocently. -RRB- But I do n't know who they are. Buddy makes an exasperated grimace and exits, shutting door. The CAMERA REMAINS on Rose as she rolls her eyes upward in dismay.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - DAY A shot of the family at breakfast in the dining room. The silence is deafening. Everyone looks depressed except Daddy, who is aloofly calm. Rose's head is bowed meekly over her plate as we hear the CLATTER of silverware. Finally, Daddy speaks in an almost pleasant tone. DADDY Well, Rose, my sleep was a little disturbed last night, and so was Mrs. Hillyer's, and so was the children's. How about you? Was your sleep disturbed, too? ROSE -LRB- solemnly. -RRB- Yes, Mr. Hillyer, it was. I. I heard strange voices in the night. DADDY -LRB- softly strumming fingers, finally. -RRB- Strange voices, Rose? ROSE -LRB- innocent as an angel. -RRB- Yes, sir. DADDY -LRB- still aloofly polite. -RRB- Now Rose, stop behaving as if you're Bo Peep. Those men had a flight last night because of some female in this house, and it was n't Dolly or Mrs. Hillyer. MOTHER -LRB- very tense. -RRB- I do n't think we ought to discuss this in front of the children. ROSE -LRB- weeping, a hand over her eyes. -RRB- Oh. oh. oh! I think. maybe. one of'em. was Foster. but I do n't hardly know him! DADDY Oh, shut up, Rose. Shut your mouth and quit crying! MOTHER -LRB- draws herself up. -RRB- I will not sit here and listen to you be brutal to this poor girl. DADDY I am not being brutal to her! MOTHER You certainly are! She has an awful toothache, look at her jaw, it's all swollen. DADDY -LRB- trying to restrain himself, aloofly polite to the utmost. -RRB- Darlin', it is not my fault if the girl has epizootics - - The word means `` an animal epidemic,'' and it's a pet word of Daddy's ; he pronounces it epi - zoo - tics, not epi - zoo - ot tics, and uses it to mean any outrageous human malady - DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- - I am not responsible for her epizootics and I did not bring about her epizootics. Now listen to me. When I have to get up in the middle of the night and defend my home with a shotgun against a couple of damned scoundrels fistfighting in the bushes - MOTHER Scoundrels? They were n't scoundrels, they were just boys. DADDY Boys? You say to me boys? MOTHER Yes! Yes, I say that to you, they were boys! Boy friends of Rose, chat's what they were, and why should n't she have boy friends? Do you want her to be unnatural? Do n't you think she's human the same way you are yourself? It's the South, that's what it is, the South with its horrible traditions, of slavery and crime and the oppression of women, who are just as good as men and just as human! DADDY -LRB- his eyes are a trifle glazed. -RRB- Now darlin', what has the South got to do with this? MOTHER -LRB- in a real snit, afraid he will fire Rose. -RRB- And when I try to talk to you seriously, when I try to explain to you the unlimited creative power of life, how beautiful it would be if we gave up this hopeless struggle and simply loved each other from our hearts, what do you do - you mock me! DADDY -LRB- mildly, his eyes are even more glazed. -RRB- I do n't intend to mock you, dear. I respect your philosophy. It's beyond my comprehension, but I respect it. ROSE -LRB- head bowed, weeping in a little handkerchief. -RRB- Ohhh - hh, ohhh. DADDY -LRB- exasperated. -RRB- Oh, shut up, Rose, eat your cornflakes! ROSE -LRB- piteously. -RRB- I'm not hungry. The word is hongry, not hungry. DADDY Now you listen to me, Rose - MOTHER -LRB- with fire in her eyes. -RRB- Just a moment! You are not going to fire this girl for an innocent thing like having boy friends, not while there is breath in my body! DADDY I do n't intend to fire her, darlin'. MOTHER It is n't her fault if she's popular. what? DADDY I said I do n't intend to fire her. I just want to ask her to keep her boy friends away from my home and hearth, that's all. MOTHER -LRB- simmers down at once, now calmly. -RRB- Well, that's very reasonable. Howe I hate to bring it up, but she's got an awful toothache, we've got to carry her to the dentist. ROSE I do n't want to go to the dentist. MOTHER Be quiet, Rose. DADDY Darlin', I'll take a taxi to the hotel. You and Brother can handle the girl's epizootics. I'll just say one more thing. -LRB- turns to Rose and, in a grave tone. -RRB- Rose, I told you you had a friend in Mrs. Hillyer, did n't I, that she would fight for you like a tiger? ROSE -LRB- meekly. -RRB- Yes, sir. DADDY All right, thanks to her, and thanks to this case of epizootics, you are getting another chance. -LRB- points a finger at her, and sternly. -RRB- But do n't try my patience again. We have growing children in this house. Do you understand me? ROSE Yes, sir.", "INT. DENTIST'S WAITING ROOM - DAY CUT TO a shot of Mother, Rose and Buddy in a dentist's waiting room. Rose is holding a rubber ice bag to her jaw, which is quite swollen. She is groaning and half weeping in pain. MOTHER Poor thing. Does the ice help, Rose? ROSE Ohh - hh, a little. Oh - h, I ai n't never been to no dentist before. He's gon na kill me, I just know it. MOTHER No, Rose, he'll help you. ANOTHER ANGLE, Rose shrinks in fear as, enter the dentist in a white coat, DR. WINTON, a kindly - looking, gray - haired man. We see a nurse behind him. He smiles in a reassuring manner. DR. WINTON Nurse says we have a nervous patient. Now, young lady, be calm. First of all, let me tell you, I am not going to hurt you. ROSE Yes, you are. DR. WINTON No, I am not. ROSE Look, you ca n't kid me. MOTHER -LRB- rises, takes her by the hand. -RRB- Now, come on, Rose. Stop being so childish, come on.", "INT. DENTIST'S OFFICE - DAY ANOTHER ANGLE, on Rose and Mother and Dr. Winton, as they guide and lead Rose into the dentist's operating room. - She plants her feet and her eyes open wide with horror as she sees the chair and other equipment. ROSE I'm not goin' in there, I do n't like the looks of it! MOTHER -LRB- annoyed. -RRB- Rose, sit down in that chair and be quiet! We're trying to help you, you silly creature, sit in that chair! ROSE -LRB- very reluctantly sits in chair. -RRB- Oh - hh, ohh - hh, Lord, he's gon na kill me. DR. WINTON You and the boy wait outside.", "INT. DENTIST'S WAITING ROOM - DAY CUT TO a shot of Mother and Buddy in the waiting room. Enter Dr. Winton with a little frown. DR. WINTON Well, she finally let me look in her mouth. Is it true she's never been to a dentist? MOTHER She was raised on a poor dirt farm. I'm sure she's never seen a dentist or hardly even a doctor. DR. WINTON Well, she has one mouth in ten thousand, I do n't see teeth like that once in ten years. Her trouble is an impacted wisdom tooth, but there is n't a cavity in her head, not a single one. She has perfect teeth. MOTHER But the wisdom tooth will have to be pulled? DR. WINTON Yes, and it's very bad. It probably should be done at the hospital under general anesthesia. MOTHER That would scare her to death. She's terrified of hospitals. To her, a hospital is where you go to die. DR. WINTON I think you're right, it would be harder on her. But you'd better call Mr. Hillyer, she's going to need help to get home.", "EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DAY A shot of Daddy behind the wheel of the model - A. Rose lies pale and exhausted on Mother's shoulder on the front seat. A trace of bloody gauze can be seen in her mouth and her eyes are closed. Buddy is on the back seat. ROSE -LRB- a whisper, muffled by the bloody gauze. -RRB- Never again, never again. MOTHER -LRB- with pity, gently. -RRB- I know it was bad, honey. I'm sorry. ROSE No more dentists, no more dentists. MOTHER It'll get better now.", "EXT. HILLYER DRIVEWAY - DAY CUT TO a shot of the Model - A in the driveway of the Hillyer home. Mother helps Rose out of the car, but Rose ca n't stand on her feet. Daddy has to catch her from falling. Daddy picks her up in his arms and carries her up the steps as Buddy runs ahead to open the front door.", "EXT. HILLYER PATIO - DAY A shot of Mother and Daddy and Buddy on the patio. It is a beautiful sunny morning. Mother and Daddy are seated at an outdoor table about to have coffee. Daddy is opening mail and Buddy, in the b.g., is gluing up a kite. Enter a smiling and healthy Rose with orange juice, toast, cups and coffee on a tray. DADDY Good morning, Rose. And how do you feel today? ROSE Wonderful. Except I can touch the place back there with my tongue, I would n't even know I had that tooth pulled. DADDY -LRB- dryly, as he looks at mail. -RRB- Well, I know it, I just got the bill for it. ROSE Boy, for four or five days there I did n't think I'd live. But I'm my old self again! DADDY Umm. Well. Yes. But no more strange voices in the night, Rose. ROSE Oh, no, sir. MOTHER Rose has learned her lesson, have n't you, Rose? ROSE Yes, ma'am.", "INT. HOTEL - MEZZANINE - DAY A shot of Daddy peering down at an old pool table in the mezzanine of the family hotel. Buddy stands by with a pool stick in hand. In the b.g., we see a black bellboy, SHADRACH, approaching. DADDY I see my mother - in - law's face, son. Read'em and weep, boy, I am playing a spectacular combination, a triple. The nine ball in the corner! -LRB- takes his stance with cue as Shadrach walks up. -RRB- Read'em and weep, boy, that's all she wrote. SHADRACH Mistah Hillyer, the Chief of Police wants you on the telephone. DADDY -LRB- about to make his shot, looks around. -RRB- The Chief of Police? SHADRACH Yassuh. Daddy straightens up, sets his jaw, leans the cue against the table and marches toward the elevator as Buddy stares after him. The CAMERA STAYS on Buddy.", "INT. HOTEL - DAY CUT TO a shot of Buddy going down the hotel stairs. He holds onto the banister, sliding with his hands far ahead in order to take four and even five steps at a time - it is a childish trick, the point of the game is to touch as few stairs as possible. ANOTHER ANGLE, on Buddy as he jumps down the last remaining five steps and walks into the lobby. Daddy comes from behind the desk, grim. DADDY Rose is in jail. She bit a policeman's thumb. Come on, son, Shadrach can run the hotel.", "EXT. MODEL-A - STREET - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy and Buddy in the Model - A. Daddy stares grimly ahead. Buddy steals a worried glance at him.", "INT. LOCAL JAIL - DAY CUT TO a shot in the local jail. The shot is on Daddy as he stands before jail bars staring sternly into a cell. His hands are on his hips, his straw hat is on the back of his head and a bit to one side. Buddy stands beside him, a little bit behind, a worried look on his face. The CHIEF OF POLICE, a fat man, is on the other side of Daddy. CUT TO a POV shot of Rose in the cell. Her hair is mussed, her dress is torn. A little innocent, frightened smile is on her face. The CAMERA PANS to include Daddy and the Chief of Police. CHIEF OF POLICE That was a awful brawl down at the Busy Beaver, Mr. Hillyer. You know that fat Horton, the bootlegger? DADDY Yes, I know the son of a bitch. CHIEF OF POLICE Son of a bitch is right, he dern near killed a man. And this girl was the cause of it all. What's more, she bit a police officer's thumb right to the bone. DADDY Well, Rose, what have you got to say for yourself? ROSE -LRB- coughs, then feebly. -RRB- I got an awful bad cold. DADDY -LRB- nods slowly, then with aloof politeness. -RRB- That's all you've got to say, you've got a bad cold? ROSE -LRB- coughs again. -RRB- Well, I do n't know what happened. They were arguin' about baseball, then all of'em started fightin'. As for that policeman, I did n't bite him, I do n't think I bit him. In dour silence, Daddy and the Chief of Police stare at Rose. She gives them a little smile, as if to say, `` See how innocent I am?'' The Chief turns to Daddy and asks with dry irony : CHIEF OF POLICE Well, she's your girl, Mr. Hillyer. You want me to release her in your custody? DADDY No, not really. But I guess we'll have to do that, John. Let her out. Let the crazy creature out and I'll take her home.", "INT./EXT. MODEL-A - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy, Rose and Buddy in the Model A. Daddy stares grimly ahead, silent. Buddy looks solemn. Rose is badly frightened and still coughing. Finally she ventures a little smile and speaks to Daddy. ROSE I got an awful cold, I think I'm sick. Daddy is silent, his eyes fixed ahead.", "EXT. HILLYER DRIVEWAY - DAY CUT TO a shot of the Model A as it turns onto the Hillyer driveway.", "INT./EXT. MODEL A CUT TO a shot of Daddy, Rose and Buddy in the car. She tries again. ROSE I did n't mean to bite him. He was hitting Horton with a blackjack in the meanest way and. and I bit him accidental. DADDY -LRB- stops the car, turns to Rose. -RRB- I have to go back to the hotel. I'm on duty at the desk and who knows a quest might arrive. I will see you at suppertime, Rose. ROSE -LRB- a feeble smile. -RRB- I did n't mean to bite him, I really did n't. DADDY I will see you at suppertime, Rose. ROSE -LRB- feebly. -RRB- Yes, air.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT STEPS - DAY CUT TO a shot of a shaky, slumped Rose going up the steps with Buddy as the Model A drives away. Rose is coughing, looks miserable.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT A SHOT of Buddy and Doll in the living room of the Hillyer home at night. Doll is half - heartedly practicing scales on the piano and Buddy is pacing the floor, hands clasped behind him in something like the style of his father. As the CAMERA FOLLOWS Buddy in his pacing we see Waski playing with marbles on the floor. DOLL -LRB- turns around on piano stool, to Buddy. -RRB- What is Rose going to do? Where can she go? BUDDY They've been in there the longest kind of time. I ca n't stand it, I got ta find out what's going on. DOLL You better not snoop, Daddy'll kill you!", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy coming with great furtiveness from the living room out into the front hall. Very cautiously, he tiptoes across the hall and bows down and listens at the door of his mother's bedroom - study. He crouches down, peeps through the keyhole.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM/STUDY - NIGHT CUT TO a `` keyhole shot'' of Daddy and Mother in the bedroom. Mother sits in her study chair, a handkerchief to her eyes. Daddy sits in a chair nearby. He looks depressed. DADDY I'm sorry, darlin', I hate it as much as you do. MOTHER -LRB- wanly. -RRB- Well, she does seem to cause a lot of trouble, I admit. But she does n't mean any harm and it'll break the children's hearts, they all love her. DADDY It's because of the children she's got to go. I do n't want to be holier - than - thou, but the girl does n't have the same outlook we do. Morals do n't mean a thing to her, not a thing, and we ca n't have a girl like that in this house. MOTHER Who is to say our morals are better than hers? -LRB- frowns, sighs. -RRB- But maybe you're right. She could. influence Dolly. DADDY That is exactly what I'm afraid of. -LRB- pauses, and firmly. -RRB- The girl has got to go, darlin'. MOTHER But morals come from the heart, not from rigid rules and empty laws. And in her heart Rose has never hurt anyone and she never would. Therefore, she's not immoral. Not really. DADDY Now look, darlin', this is no time to go off into the fourth dimension. MOTHER But what I said is the simple truth. And now I see something else, I see more deeply into it. Mother has a slightly `` other - worldly'' look on her face. Daddy glances at the door of the bedroom, he suspects something. DADDY Just a moment, darlin'.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy crouched at the keyhole. With great alacrity, he jumps up and hurries across the hall and shuts the living room door just as Daddy whisks open the bedroom door. Daddy grimaces. DADDY Could of sworn that boy was out here. Daddy shuts the door and at once almost like the movement of a ballet Buddy opens the living room door and tiptoes back to the keyhole.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a Shot of Daddy and Mother. It is another `` keyhole shot.'' MOTHER How could Rose really be a bad influence on Dolly? She has a loving nature, you ought to want someone like that around your children. Why do you think those boys and men like her? DADDY Well, I have a pretty good idea. MOTHER If you mean sex, you could n't be more wrong. Rose likes those boys and men, she has love in her heart, and that is what they want. It's the most rare and beautiful thing in life and that is why they follow her. DADDY They follow her because she's a -. -LRB- he is about to say `` piece of tail,'' but interrupts himself. -RRB- - no, I wo n't say that. MOTHER What she does n't understand is that her behavior is disturbing to other people. She's young, she's got to learn to restrain the life force that's in her. Its creative, but in her case it's too creative. DADDY Darlin', Rose has got to go! MOTHER -LRB- rises. -RRB- I'll talk to her, I'll reason with her.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy in the hall. He jumps up and hurries across the hall into the living room. Again, as the living room door shuts the bedroom door opens. Mother starts up the stairs, her mouth determined.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll and Waski in the living room. DOLL What's happening? BUDDY Mother is struggling desperately. In fact she's fighting like a tiger. But I do n't know, it's close, it's mighty close. DOLL -LRB- pauses, then in a low tone, slightly wide - eyed. -RRB- Buddy. does Rose really. `` do it'' with all those boys and men? BUDDY -LRB- aloofly, like Daddy. -RRB- Doll, do n't ask childish questions. WASKI -LRB- indignantly, to Doll. -RRB- Of course not! BUDDY Oh, Waski, you do n't even know what we're talking about.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - UPSTAIRS HALL - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Mother going down the upstairs hall. She knocks on Roses door and enters.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Mother as she walks over and stares down in shock at Rose on the bad. Rose is lying back on a pillow and staring groggily at her, obviously not quite all there. Frowning with worry, Mother sits beside her and puts a hand on her forehead. MOTHER Rose, you're very sick. You're burning up. Rose, can you hear me? Rose? ROSE -LRB- semi - delirious. -RRB- What? Wha - at? Mrs. Hillyer?", "EXT. HILLYER SOME - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of an ambulance pulling up outside the Hillyer house. Attendants get out of it carrying a stretcher.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy, Doll and Waski in the front hall. They are badly frightened, even terrified. The CAMERA PANS to show the ambulance attendants carrying Rose strapped in a stretcher down the stairs, as Mother helps and Daddy follows, both of them very worried. Rose is conscious now and her eyes roll with terror toward the children. ROSE Buddy! Dolly! They're takin' me to the hospital! Do n't let'em, do n't let'em! The CAMERA STAYS on the frightened silent children as they stare after Rose on the stretcher.", "INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - NIGHT A shot of Mother, Daddy, Buddy, Doll and Waski in the corridor of a hospital. All look very solemn. A nurse leads them to a door and opens it.", "INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of a hospital room. A very pale, sick - looking Rose lies in a hospital bed. The nurse, mother, Daddy, Buddy, Doll and Waski enter, all of them looking very grave. ANOTHER ANGLE, CLOSE ON Rose as she weakly turns her head on the pillow. Her eyes well with tears as she recognizes the children. ROSE -LRB- a feeble whisper. -RRB- Pray for me. ANOTHER ANGLE, on the nurse as she speaks in a whisper we do n't hear to Mother and Daddy, obviously telling them they'd better go. Daddy beckons to the children and they start to leave, all looking depressed.", "INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of DR. F. ROBERT MARTINSON, a rather unpleasant man with a spade beard. He has a superior, patronizing way of talking and very little Southern accent if any. The scene is his office and he is in a swivel chair behind his desk. As he speaks the CAMERA PULLS BACK to show Daddy, Mother and the Hillyer children. DR. MARTINSON Well, Mrs. Hillyer, the girl is strong as an ox and that is what is keeping her alive. But not many people walk away from double pneumonia, Madam, not many. MOTHER She looks terrible, just awful. DR. MARTINSON Of course she does and I must say I'm puzzled by your delay in getting her to the hospital. I should think ordinary powers of observation would have suggested to you that she was seriously ill. MOTHER She hid it from us, Doctor. She's afraid of the hospital. DR. MARTINSON -LRB- a thin superior smile. -RRB- Afraid of the hospital? MOTHER Deathly afraid of it. Her people were poor tenant farmers and she does n't know anything about doctors or medicine or hospitals. DR. MARTINSON -LRB- frowns in open disbelief. -RRB- A tenant farm? Are you trying to tell me that girl is a product of the hookworm and pellagra belt? MOTHER Well, her people were very poor. She says she was often hungry as a child, and I'm sure the food she ate was pretty awful, not a balanced diet at all. DR. MARTINSON Exactly, and that's why she could n't possibly have come from such a farm. DADDY -LRB- icily polite. -RRB- Excuse me, sir, are you calling my wife a liar? MOTHER -LRB- embarrassed. -RRB- Honey, please. DR. MARTINSON -LRB- a thin unpleasant smile. -RRB- It's simply that I find it incredible, Mr. Hillyer. Aside from the girl's illness at the moment, she is very strong, a very healthy specimen of a young human female - and a comely one, too. She must have gotten protein somewhere as a young child, if only sporadically. MOTHER It is kind of amazing. The dentist says she has perfect teeth, there is n't a cavity in her mouth. MR. MARTINSON -LRB- tries to make a supercilious joke. -RRB- Her entire mouth is a cavity, Madam, ha ha ha. DADDY -LRB- dryly, does n't like the man a bit. -RRB- Ha ha ha ha. Mother frowns at Daddy and Dr. Martinson gives him an aloof glance. DR. MARTINSON -LRB- with spurious dignity. -RRB- The point is you do n't grow up like that on a diet of sorghum and hominy grits. She got protein somewhere, she's a very strong girl and I think she'll live. despite the delay in medical treatment. DADDY That's all I want to know. -LRB- rises. -RRB- Lets get out of here before I get the epizootics myself. Thank you, Doctor, for your discourse, it was fascinating, no doubt. MOTHER Yes, thank you, Doctor. DR. MARTINSON -LRB- as they leave. -RRB- I beg your pardon, epi - zoo - tics? Do you mean `` epi - zoo - ot - tics,'' an animal epidemic? DADDY -LRB- icily polite, from the door. -RRB- No, I mean epizootics.", "INT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Mother, Daddy, Buddy, Doll and Waski as Daddy comes out of the Doctor's office and shuts the door. DADDY I ca n't stand that polecat. They ought to hang him. MOTHER You do n't like him because he's a Yankee. He's a brilliant doctor. DADDY He's a polecat, dear.", "INT. HOSPITAL ELEVATOR - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Daddy, Mother and the Hillyer children in a hospital elevator as a black elevator operator runs them down. Daddy has his hat politely removed and is staring pensively ahead. DADDY Rosebud looked pretty pitiful in that bed. -LRB- sighs, shakes his head. -RRB- I hope she'll be all right, but I still think we ought to fire her. MOTHER I do n't see how you can even think of it now. Daddy purses his lips but says nothing. It is obvious the `` epizootics'' have saved Rose, at least for the time being.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT A SHOT of Rose in bed in her own bedroom. She is propped up on pillows and wearing a rather attractive pink silk housecoat of Mother's. A tray is on her lap and she is eating her supper as Buddy sits on the edge of the bed talking with her, or rather listening to her. It is obvious she is well on the road back to health. ROSE Oh, he's so kind, so gentle inside, and so unhappy with that rich wife who does n't understand him, her being a Southerner and everything, and what a bedside manner he has got - so gentle and kind beneath the professor way he acts! BUDDY Rose, you are too uncritical of people. ROSE You do n't know the bedside manner that man has got. Why, it does me good just to see him sit there all solemn and go pokin' in his bag like he's gon na cure me, which he did of course. And even more important he loves me, like a patient I mean, the other day he got tears in his eyes just listenin' to my heart beat. BUDDY He did? ROSE Yeah, he tried to hide it but I saw'em, and a little bit he says to me, `` You know, you are beautiful.'' Now was n't that a nice thing for a doctor to say to a patient, was n't it? What could cheer a girl up more? BUDDY Rose, I have got doubts about that doctor and so does Daddy. ROSE He's got doubts about hisself and that's the saddest thing of all. Would you believe that poor man thinks nobody likes him? BUDDY Yeah, I'd believe it. ROSE Well, I like him. I used to be afraid of doctors but not any more. Why, he could operate on me any old time and I would n't even be scared. BUDDY Rose, you are just entirely too uncritical of people. ROSE I ai n't neither. Listen here, Buddy, besides all his vast medical knowledge, he has the most kindest heart beneath the professor way he acts - he wants justice in the world and he's got some real interestin' ideas.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT DOOR - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Mother opening the front door. Dr. Martinson is there - with his black bag, an icy polite look on his face. ; MOTHER Oh, good evening, Doctor. Rose is a lot better, I just gave her her supper. She's almost all well now. DR. MARTINSON Let me be the judge of that, Madam. MOTHER Yes. Well. She's upstairs.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - DAY/NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Rose in Rose's bedroom. ROSE Justice, that's what he wants, justice for everybody and especially for niggers. And I think that's real nice of him because black people do n't have a very good life, you got to admit that, to be a nigger is sometimes practic ` ly fatal, but the wife do n't understand all of that, she thinks niggers are just so much dirt, which anybody ought to know better if they been on their ass their ownselves - and that is the cause of his profound unhappiness, Buddy, that no - good - mean wife with all her Southern prejudice against niggers and everything! It is a very long speech and delivered with a non - stop vitality that leaves Buddy a trifle groggy. Slowly, he shakes his head, as enter Mother. MOTHER The Doctor is here. And Brother, supper is ready.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT A SHOT of the Hillyer family minus Rose eating dinner in the dining room. The meal is almost finished, Daddy cutting apple pie. DADDY Is that Doctor still up there, Brother. BUDDY Yeah, he's still up there. DADDY What's taking the rascal so long? MOTHER Honey, Dr. Martinson is n't a rascal, he's one of the finest physicians in Glenville. He studied at Johns Hopkins University. DADDY I do n't care where the polecat studied. MOTHER Sometimes the negativism and cynicism in you makes me want to vomit. -LRB- shakes her head sadly as Buddy surreptitiously puts his napkin on table. -RRB- Your real trouble is that you're anti - intellectual. The irony is women are supposed to be emotional, but I never saw anybody who depended more on emotion and prejudice than you do. BUDDY -LRB- a half audible murmur. -RRB- Excuse me, got ta go to bathroom. MOTHER Now I have a plan about Rose, an educational plan. She's getting better and we do n't want any more trouble -. -LRB- notices Buddy slipping out. -RRB- Brother, you ought to hear this. BUDDY I'll be right back. The CAMERA FOLLOWS Buddy as he slips out during following speech. MOTHER First, those clothes she wears. They're too provocative. I've talked to her a lot about it and I think she understands.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy as he goes down the hall, eyes narrowed. ON Buddy posted in the doorway of the living room. He has his hands on his hips Daddy - style and is staring sternly up the stairs. CUT TO A POV SHOT of Dr. Martinson with his black bag in hand and shoulders hunched coming down the stairs. The man is slinking, has quilt written all over him. As he goes down the stairs he glances to one side, sees Buddy and frowns. The man gives a sudden nervous start of fright as we hear Daddy's voice loud on the TRACK. DADDY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Everything all right, Doctor? CUT TO A POV shot of Daddy at the rear of the downstairs hall, napkin in hand and hands on hips. He is staring sternly at the doctor. CUT BACK TO the Doctor. He glances nervously again toward Buddy. ANOTHER POV SHOT of Buddy. Looks just like Daddy, hands on hips. ON Dr. Martinson, as he looks back at Daddy. DR. MARTINSON Oh, yes. Yes. Just fine. A few more days. a little more rest. she'll be perfectly healthy. ANOTHER ANGLE on Daddy as he walks forward down the hall toward Buddy. The CAMERA PICKS UP Buddy and both of them grimly stare after the fleeing doctor. DADDY -LRB- in a low, conspiratorial tone. -RRB- What do you think, Brother? BUDDY I do n't know. But you better watch him like a hawk, if he comes back again. DADDY He's not coming back again. We scared the rascal off, son. -LRB- puts a hand on Buddy's shoulder. -RRB- Come on back to supper. Your mother has a theory about how to educate Rose.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY A SHOT of Mother and Rose and the children in the kitchen. We see a sewing machine and evidences of dressmaking. Rose has on a new and modest little dress that Mother evidently has made for her. MOTHER You see, Rose? Now that's the kind of dress you ought to wear. ROSE -LRB- less than enthusiastic. -RRB- Yeah, it's kinda nice. MOTHER You look very pretty in it, Rose. Really, you do. ROSE -LRB- smiles at Mother. -RRB- Well, you're real sweet to make it for me. -LRB- puts an arm around Mother's shoulder. -RRB- There never was nobody like you. And you do n't need to worry, I ai n't goin' out no more. MOTHER Well, there's no reason you should n't go out, Rose. in moderation. ROSE -LRB- a little shrug. -RRB- I do n't want to. When I was lyin' there in that hospital bed at death's door I says to myself, I ai n't goin' out no more. If I ever get outta this, I'll just stay home. Rose casually pulls the dress over her head and stands there in panties and bra, oblivious of Buddy and the children. She has about as much modesty as a small child herself. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- rather sadly. -RRB- Besides, there ai n't no Mr. Right out there. Or if there is I ca n't find him, all I find is a pile of Mr. Wrongs. I ai n't goin' out no more.", "EXT. CHURCH - DAY A SHOT of Daddy, Mother, Rose, and the children all in their Sunday best going up the steps of a church. Rose looks virginal in the modest dress Mother made for her.", "INT. CHURCH - DAY A SHOT of Rose, Mother, Daddy and the children on a bench in church. We hear singing. Rose looks innocent, virginal as she sings. Mother gives her an approving look, exchanges glances with Daddy.", "EXT. CHURCH - DAY CUT TO a shot of the Hillyer family coming out of church. We see them shaking hands with the Minister. Rose smiles sweetly, modestly.", "EXT. HILLYER DRIVEWAY - DAY CUT TO a shot of the Model A driving up in the driveway of the Hillyer house. ANOTHER ANGLE on them all as they get out of the car. Rose takes Doll's hand with one hand and Waski's hand with the other. ROSE All right, we'll play monopoly then. Mother, Daddy and Buddy watch Rose go up the steps with Doll and Waski. MOTHER She's like a different person. Being so sick made a big impression on her. I really think she's learned a lesson. DADDY Um - hmm. -LRB- waits as Mother goes on up steps, then turns to Buddy and in a low tone. -RRB- Come with me, Brother. I want to show you something.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE GARDEN - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy and Buddy in a rose garden below the windows of the house. It is Hawkshaw the Detective and his Unwilling Assistant. Daddy solemnly points to dim marks in the flower bed. DADDY See that, son? Now this is a heel, see, and there, that's the ball of a foot. Someone has been walking here. BUDDY -LRB- reluctantly. -RRB- Well, it's not very plain. DADDY That is because it rained recently, the rain has obscured the evidence. But you could still take plaster casts of these footprints, then match up the plaster casts with whosever shoes they are, and that way you could catch him - understand? BUDDY But how would you find him? DADDY Well. Well, what I mean is, you could prove it was his shoes if you did catch him. But look this, Brother, it is even more interesting. Look at this mark here, and that mark over there. Now would n't you say those marks are the marks of a ladder? BUDDY Well, I do n't know. -LRB- trying to sound like a fellow detective, but does n't want Rose to get caught. -RRB- No, I do n't know, Daddy, I think the rain has obscured it. DADDY True, but if you look sharply you can see that those marks are the marks of a ladder. Now let's go back to the garage and see if the ladder has been tampered with.", "INT. GARAGE - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy and Buddy back in the garage. They are scrutinizing a wooden ladder that hangs on pegs alongside the garage. All Daddy needs is a cap and a pipe to be a dead ringer for Sherlock Holmes. He is in dead earnest about this, it is no Joke and he does not dream of being funny. DADDY -LRB- points to ladder, eyes narrowed. -RRB- See, son? The paint is flaked off here, freshly. Look at it, Brother, there is no question about it. Some person or persons unknown have very recently tampered with this ladder. BUDDY Well. maybe. DADDY And there's only one reason anybody would want this ladder - to get up into Rose's bedroom in the dark of night! I am going to chain up this ladder and padlock it! - and that is not all I am going to do! Buddy stares at him in apprehension.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT A shot of the whole family at dinner including Rose. Daddy puts down his napkin. DADDY That was a delicious repast, Rose, as usual. Now I have something of grave import to say to you and to Mrs. Hillyer. -LRB- pauses, points at Buddy. -RRB- And I do n't want you children snooping, do you hear me, Brother? Go up to your rooms.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - UPSTAIRS - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy, Doll and Waski in the upstairs. They tiptoe along furtively.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - STAIRCASE - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of the children going down backstairs.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - CELLAR - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy leading Doll and Waski down the steps of the cellar. The CAMERA follows as they walk past an ancient coal - burning furnace and.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - CRAWL SPACE - NIGHT climb up into' a crawl space beneath the front of the house. A shot of Buddy, Doll and Waski crawling along on dirt in the crawl space under the house. They come to a floor heat ventillator grill and stop. Buddy holds his fingers to his lips and listens intently.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Daddy, Mother and Rose in Mother's bedroom study. We see the grillwork of the heat ventillator in the floor. Daddy is at the climax of his speech. DADDY We all love you, Rose. Even more now, since you've bravely surmounted all these epizootics. We admire you, we esteem you, we hold your hand with love and affection, we have an investment in you - and I do n't mean money, although God knows we have that, too, considering those godawful hospital bills.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - CRAWL SPACE - NIGHT CUT TO a shot CLOSE on Buddy, Doll and Waski in the crawl space. Buddy is smiling in relief. He whispers to Doll and Waski. BUDDY He's not going to fire her.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT CUT BACK TO Daddy, Mother and Rose in the bedroom - study. DADDY I mean a human investment, Rose, we care about you, you matter to us. But we have innocent and unformed children in this house and the monkey and dog show has got to stop. Do you hear me? ROSE -LRB- meekly. -RRB- Yes, sir. MOTHER -LRB- a bit overwhelmed by Daddy. -RRB- She has n't actually done anything. DADDY -LRB- very firmly. -RRB- Just a moment, dear. -LRB- turns to Rose and almost sadly. -RRB- We ca n't have it, Rose. Can you behave yourself - or not? That is the question, to behave or not to behave, to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous chastity and keep your skirt down or to hoist it in the light of the moon and make whoopee - that is the coil shuffling question. -LRB- a dramatic pause, then points at her. -RRB- If you ca n't behave I am going to fire you and I say it in front of you and Mrs. Hillyer and I mean it. I point my rigid finger right at your nose, Rose, and I stare unwaveringly into your big blue eyes and I tell you. this is a final warning. Do you hear me? ROSE -LRB- very meekly. -RRB- Yes, sir.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - CELLAR - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy, Doll and Waski as they climb from the crawl space down into the cellar by the furnace. DOLL Well, if she's got any sense at all, she'll listen to that. BUDDY Sense does n't mean anything to Rose. But I think we're on safe ground now. Daddy chained up the ladder, whoever it is ca n't get in the house.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - DAY A shot of Buddy sound asleep in his bed in the early gray dawn. As we DISSOLVE IN on the shot, we hear a loud BANGING and DADDY'S VOICE. DADDY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Open that door! Open it up, open it this instant! Do you hear met open that door! Buddy sits quickly up in bed, at once pushes back the covers and gets out of the bed, hurriedly reaches for his khaki pants.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - UPSTAIRS HALL - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy in the upstairs hall. He is fully dressed and is banging angrily on Rose's door. DADDY Rose! Rose! Open this goddamn door! Open it or I'll break it down! ANOTHER ANGLE on Buddy as he hurries down the hall up to Daddy, in khaki pants and pulling a shirt over his head. DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Open that door, damn you! BUDDY Daddy, what's the matter? DADDY -LRB- glances around at him. -RRB- She's got somebody in there, Brother! His shoes are on the back porch - there they were, naked and smiling at me! -LRB- bangs on door. -RRB- Rose, open this door immediately! ANOTHER ANGLE on Daddy as he bangs on the door. We see a frightened Doll in her nightgown in the b.g. down the hall, a hand to her mouth. Daddy commences kicking at the door. ANOTHER ANGLE, CLOSE ON Daddy. DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Open up, Rose! Procrastination wo n't help you! Finally, the CLICK of a bolt and slowly the door opens. We see a wide - eyed, terrified Rose. She has a sheet around her and evidently nothing more. DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- he pushes past her. -RRB- All right, where is he? Where's the culprit?", "INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy in the bedroom. He yanks open the closet door, looks under the bed as he talks. DADDY Where is he? I know he's in here, where is he, Rose? His shoes were on the back porch I smiling at met Where are you, you son of a bitch? In her distress and dismay, the sheet has come down over Rose's shoulder and one of her breasts is exposed. ROSE -LRB- feebly, she is terrified. -RRB- There ai n't nobody here, Mr. Hillyer! Honest, there ai n't! DADDY Where is he? Where have you got him hid? -LRB- notices curtain blowing in wide open window. -RRB- Ah, ha! The CAMERA follows Daddy as he strides angrily toward the window and leans out of it and stares down. Rose makes a little whimpering sound.", "EXT. HILLYER SOME - GARDEN - DAWN CUT TO a POV shot of the garden below as seen by Daddy from the window. We see lying on the ground BILLY, the Sulky Boy who scared Mother. He wears only undershorts and is groaning, holding his leg, which evidently he has injured in jumping from the window.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - DAWN On Daddy, as he turns from the window to Rose. DADDY And who, Rose, may I ask, is that? ROSE Well, it's Billy. DADDY And what, may I ask, was Billy doing here? ROSE -LRB- a straight answer. -RRB- Well, Mr. Hillyer, Billy's very poor, he do n't have no money and there was n't no place else to go. DADDY Well, it was a silly question. ROSE He's a nice boy, you'd like him. He wants to be a fireman. DADDY Ye gods and little fishes, a fireman. Put on some clothes, Rose, you're naked as a jay bird. When you're dressed, come on downstairs. I'm afraid your friend Billy is injured, where are his clothes? ROSE -LRB- begins weeping, both breasts now are exposed. -RRB- Under the mattress. I hid'em so you would n't be mad. He wants to marry me, he loves me. I ca n't marry him, he's too young and has n't got no job, but he loves me. now you would n't hurt him, would you? Daddy gently pulls the sheet around her to cover her breasts. DADDY I wo n't hurt him, honey.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY A shot of Daddy, Mother and Rose at the kitchen table drinking coffee in the early morning. Daddy looks grave, Mother looks sad, and Rose is crying into a handkerchief. ROSE Mr. Hillyer, I know it was bad and I had n't ought to of done it. But I'm only a human girl and I. I ai n't always perfect. I promise I wo n't let him in the house no more, I promise. Wo n't you and Mrs. Hillyer forgive me? DADDY Rose, darlin', you break my heart. But I am only a human man myself of the father variety. Rose, pack your bag, baby, as of this moment you are hired, mired and fired.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - DAY A shot of the family at breakfast in the dining room. The dissolve suggests that some time has gone by. Daddy looks a bit grim, Rose has a wan and depressed expression. Mother looks worried. DADDY -LRB- politely. -RRB- Well, Rose, going out to look for a job today? ROSE -LRB- eyes down. -RRB- What's the use, there ai n't none. DADDY Mmm. Would you get me another half a - cup of coffee, dear? Rose rises and he watches her leave, then turns to Mother. DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- It has been three weeks since I `` fired'' her. Is there no way to get rid of this girl? Are we stuck with her for life? MOTHER She ca n't get a job, it's a depression. And we ca n't just throw her out on the street. DADDY The hell we ca n't. Rose returns with coffee and pours it out for Daddy. MOTHER Rose, you do n't look well and you have n't eaten a bit of breakfast. ROSE I'm not hungry. I ca n't eat nothin', I have n't been able to eat since I got fired. I think maybe I'm sick. DADDY God forbid. You're not sick, Rose, forget it. Do n't get any notions in your head, you're not sick. ROSE Yes, sir. MOTHER She does look a little peaky. DADDY No, she does n't, she's fine, fine. She's perfectly healthy, do n't give her ideas. ROSE Well, I'll do the dishes, then I'm goin' to lie down a minute and rest. My stomach hurts. Daddy watches Rose exit to the kitchen, then leans forward and speaks to Mother, his expression a bit sly. DADDY Her plan is obvious, plain as day. She's going on a hunger strike. The question is, how do we foil her? MOTHER She's just nervous and worried. And you would be, too, if you had no job and no place to go. DADDY -LRB- thinking hard. -RRB- Something has got to be done or Rose is going to be in this house forever.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - DRIVEWAY AND PATIO - DAY A shot of the Model A coming up the driveway of the Hillyer House. It is late afternoon. CUT TO a shot of Daddy getting out of the car. He has a triumphant little smile on his face. A shot of Daddy as he walks onto the patio, a rolled - up copy of the Glenville Tribune in his hand and his straw hat on the back of his head. He definitely has a triumphant expression. Buddy on the patio notices it.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY CUT TO a shot of the kitchen on Mother and Rose. Mother is helping a rather wan Rose prepare dinner. Enter Daddy. DADDY -LRB- as if everyone will be pleased. -RRB- Well, I have got news! I called long distance and spoke to Cousin Hop and you'll be glad to know, Rose, I have found you a job! ROSE Tennessee? DADDY Yes, Tennessee, a lovely state! ROSE Well. What kinda job is it? DADDY Ahh - hh, you'll like it. It's a fine, outdoor - type job. ROSE You mean a farm? DADDY No, no, not exactly. It is n't a farm in the sense that it's a farm. Not at all. It's a. dairy establishment. You'll 1ike it! I'm sure you'll like it because it's so. peaceful! Rose bows her head and begins crying. MOTHER Honey, Rose was born on a farm and has terrible memories of farm life. Now I do n't think - DADDY Just a minute, Rose, you do n't understand. This is n't a dirt farm like the one you were born on, it's nice. A neighbor of Cousin Hop's, I talked to him on the phone, a fine man. it's not a farm, damn it, it's a beautiful dairy establishment! Stop crying, Rose! Do you hear me? Stop crying, it's ideal! MOTHER I do n't know how you can call it ideal - do n't you know what the word `` farm'' means to her? DADDY I do n't give a hoot in hell's hollow what it means to her! She ca n't stay in this house forever! I fired her, damn it! MOTHER It sounds like a farm to me. Calling it a dairy establishment, that's just trickery and flummery. DADDY Trickery and flummery or not, she's going there tomorrow on the bus! It's settled! And I must say we've been more than fair to you, Rose, it's pretty selfish and mean hearted of you to sit there and cry like that! Rose sits head bowed at the kitchen table. ROSE I'm not cryin' because of me, I'm cryin' because of somebody else. DADDY -LRB- stops in mid - air, so to speak. -RRB- What?", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - PATIO - DAY CUT TO a shot of Buddy outside on the patio, listening intently at the window. He leans forward with a keen interest, eyes wide.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN CUT TO a shot CLOSE on Daddy. He is peering intently at Rose. DADDY What did you say, Rose? CLOSE ON Rose, as she turns, weeping. ROSE Well, I was born on a farm myself. and I hate to think of the baby being born on one. On them all. Daddy and Mother stare in shock at Rose. DADDY What baby? What baby? What baby are you speaking about? ROSE Mine. DADDY Your baby? ROSE Yes, mine. I'm going to have one. DADDY -LRB- he is `` poleaxed,'' staggered. -RRB- Good God almighty. This is a catastrophe, they wo n't hire her. MOTHER -LRB- looks up, sees Buddy in patio window. -RRB- Brother, get out of that window! Buddy ducks down out of eight instantly. Both Mother and Daddy, however, are too preoccupied and upset to be concerned with him. DADDY -LRB- stares off groggily into space. -RRB- This is a total catastrastroke. As of this moment I am stumped, I admit, I am stumped and treed both, the hound dogs have me surrounded. MOTHER -LRB- as Rose begins crying. -RRB- Poor thing, do n't cry, Rose. I know you feel awful, but do n't cry, honey, nobody's perfect. Who's the father, dear? ROSE Well, I. I. I do n't know. maybe it was. but no, you ca n't be sure about a thing like that. It was n't Billy, I did n't know him. MOTHER -LRB- gently. -RRB- I know it's embarrassing. but who were you exposed to, dear? ROSE Well, now, Mrs. Hillyer, I. ah - h, that's kinda hard to say. DADDY You're not going to get anywhere with that line of questioning. The problem is, what are we going to do? MOTHER That's why I'm asking her who the father is. It's the most vital question of all. Who's the father, dear? DADDY -LRB- offhand ; he is thinking hard about what to do. -RRB- She already told you, she does n't know. MOTHER -LRB- naively. -RRB- But she must know. unless. unless. Rose, was there more than one person? ROSE -LRB- weeping in handkerchief. -RRB- Oh - h, Mrs. Hillyer, I. I ca n't think. I. I'm not really sure. MOTHER -LRB- gently, a tiny frown, a bit shocked. -RRB- Rose, really, you should n't act like that. ROSE -LRB- weeping. -RRB- Oh, I know. But I did n't, really. Honestly, I did n't. There was only one, but he's out of town and leave no forwardin' address. DADDY -LRB- a brilliant idea. -RRB- Ah, ha! Hold the phone! No forwarding address, huh? -LRB- turns to Mother. -RRB- In the shock of this brilliant move, I forgot something. MOTHER What did you forget? DADDY I forgot that Rose will lie like a child. She's no more pregnant than I am, she just does n't want to go to that farm! ROSE Yes, I am. DADDY No, you're not. ROSE Yes, Mr. Hillyer, I am. DADDY -LRB- triumphant, sure he's right. -RRB- All right, tell us, Rose, what makes you think you're pregnant? ROSE -LRB- simply. -RRB- I have n't had my period for three months and my stomach is getting big. DADDY -LRB- again `` poleaxed'' for a moment, but pulls himself together. -RRB- I do n't believe it. ROSE It's so, Mr. Hillyer. DADDY All right, damn it. We've seen you with your clothes off around here, stand up and pull up your dress and let's take a look! MOTHER Honey! DADDY She does n't have to take her panties off, we can see her stomach with'em on. All she has to do is pull up her dress and let us see her belly. ROSE Well, all right, if you just wo n't believe me. Rose stands up. MOTHER Rose, you do n't have to. ROSE I do n't mind. DADDY Now, you will see, she's lying like she always does - that belly will be flat as a pancake! Rose lifts her dress and Daddy leans forward eagerly to confirm his belief. Rose stands there with her skirt lifted. She has on a pair of skimpy white panties. An unmistakable, definite protrusion can be seen in the area below her navel just above the line of her panties. A stupefied look is on Daddy's face. MOTHER I'd say about three months. Are you satisfied? DADDY I am poleaxed and in a non compos mentis condition. I wash my hands or the whole thing.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - PATIO - DAY CUT TO a shot of Doll walking up onto the patio with schoolbooks. The CAMERA follows her as she walks over to Buddy, who is crouched down eavesdropping at another window. She whispers to him. DOLL What's goin' on? BUDDY Rose says she's goin' to have a baby and she sure looks it, but I do n't think so. DOLL A baby. and she is n't even married. BUDDY That's the least of her troubles. Rose had a rare tropic disease and the little tubes in her that babies swim down are all stopped up, she told me all about it. DOLL If it is n't a baby. what is it?", "INT. DR. MARTINSON'S HOME OFFICE WAITING ROOM - NIGHT A shot of Buddy and Rose in a rather elegant Doctor's waiting room. It is night and they are alone on a small sofa. Buddy has a very solemn and worried look. Rose lies weeping in terror on his shoulder. ROSE Oh, Buddy, they're gon na cut me all up! They're gon na cut my stummick all open, I'll die! BUDDY -LRB- trying to be brave. -RRB- You wo n't die, Rose. ROSE Buddy, I'm scared, I'm scared!", "INT. DR. MARTINSON'S SOME OFFICE - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Dr. Martinson's private office in his home, quite a bit more luxurious than his office at the hospital. A sober - looking Mother and Daddy sit talking to him. He almost seems to relish the situation. DR. MARTINSON I'm not surprised you thought she was pregnant. An ovarian cyst can look very much like pregnancy. But it was pure wishful thinking on her part. The girl can never have children, she had gonorrhea at fifteen and it was untreated. MOTHER -LRB- shocked, rather feebly. -RRB- Gonorrhea? DR. MARTINSON Do n't worry, Madam, she ca n't infect your dear little kiddies. She long ago fully recovered, but the disease did irreparable damage. The girl is permanently barren. MOTHER Well, that's pathetic. Poor Rose, what a life she has had. DR. MARTINSON We make our own lives, Madam. As for malignancy, I do n't think so, it's very unlikely. I probably should n't have even mentioned that possibility to her. MOTHER -LRB- rather coldly, seems disenchanted with him. -RRB- No, you should n't have, it was needlessly cruel. She thinks she has cancer and is going to die. DR. MARTINSON She's an adult, Mrs. Hillyer, I was merely giving her the facts. DADDY Well, it's a disaster. I do n't know what to say, Doctor, I am floored. How dangerous is the operation? DR. MARTINSON Any major operation is dangerous. However, as we know from her previous illness, she's a very strong girl. DADDY Well, if it is n't malignant and she can get through the operation all right, it might be better than her really being pregnant. She does n't even know who the father might have been. DR. MARTINSON Oh, it's definitely better, beyond question. A fatherless child, an ignorant girl with no job, no money, no home. It's fortunate, a blessing really, and a stroke of good luck for another reason I want to mention to you. MOTHER -LRB- totally disenchanted with the Doctor. -RRB- This conversation is making me a little sick. DADDY Honey, that's no way to talk to the Doctor, he's merely doing his job, dear. Oddly enough, in the stress of the situation, Daddy now seems almost friendly to Dr. Martinson, whom previously he considered a polecat.", "INT. DR. MARTINSON'S HOME OFFICE WAITING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Rose in the waiting room. He is helping her lie on the couch on pillows as she weeps, a hand over her face. BUDDY I got ta find out what they're saying. You lie back and rest, Rose, and I'll give you a report on it. ROSE I do n't want to know.", "INT. DR. MARTINSON'S HOME OFFICE - NIGHT CUT TO a CLOSE shot of Dr. Martinson. An expression of distaste is on his face. The CAMERA pulls back as he talks to Mother and Daddy. DR. MARTINSON I'm sorry the truth nauseates you, Mrs. Hillyer, because before you leave there's a bit more of it I'd like to put to you. This operation provides a therapeutic opportunity that I feel is quite important in regard to this particular girl, who suffers not only from an ovarian cyst but from a certain psychoneurotic condition as well. MOTHER What do you mean, what kind of gobbledygook talk is that? DADDY Go ahead, Doctor, I think I am following you. DR. MARTINSON -LRB- gives Mother an aloof glance, then to Daddy. -RRB- First, about the girl's history. Evidently she's been very promiscuous since early childhood, she has no control over her sexual impulses. Furthermore, she is permanently barren, she ca n't have children. DADDY Go on, Doctor. MOTHER -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Yes, go on. DR. MARTINSON I am thinking particularly of the other ovary. As a rule I do n't believe in removing it. The woman's hormonal system is profoundly disturbed, she is subject to possibly serious depression, she loses many of her secondary sexual characteristics for example, her breasts might shrink and become flabby, facial hair might appear along with a coarsening of the features, and of course her sexual drive is greatly diminished, especially in a girl or young woman. For these reasons I am opposed to removing the other ovary, as a rule. Do you follow me? DADDY I am ahead of you. DR. MARTINSON Then. may I speak quite frankly with you, Mr. Hillyer? DADDY Please do. DR. MARTINSON I have of course observed the girl in treating her. DADDY Of course. DR. MARTINSON I think we both know her. DADDY Yes, we know her. MOTHER What are you talking about? I do n't understand all this mumbo jumbo and the funny looks on your faces. DR. MARTINSON Mrs. Hillyer, this girl is sick in more ways than one. She is an extreme psychoneurotic with uncontrollable sexual impulses. It would be a mercy to spare her the suffering she causes herself and others. Therefore I recommend as a therapeutic measure the removal of her second ovary. It is ethically and medically the only proper decision in this case and I suspect your husband agrees with me. DADDY Reluctantly, I do. It would be a blessing to her and everyone else. The girl is oversexed and I say - spay her! MOTHER -LRB- slowly rises to her feet and in a trembling voice. -RRB- Over. my. dead. body! A long, frozen pause as both Daddy and Dr. Martinson stare at Mother in surprise. She stares at the Doctor with fire in her eyes. He seems already to shrink a little. Finally she speaks with a calm fury. MOTHER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Are you human beings or are you some kind of male monsters? Is there no limit to which you wo n't go to keep your illusions about yourselves? DR. MARTINSON -LRB- shrinking a little. -RRB- Illusions, Madam? MOTHER You'd go so far as to mutilate a helpless girl who has no means to defend herself, you'd go that far? Do n't you think I know what you've just said and do n't you think I understand the dreadful and revolting crime you've just conspired to commit? Dr. Martinson stares at her in fear and shock, intimidated by the calm fury and ice - cold moral indignation. He opens his mouth as if to speak, but no sound comes out. Mother turns to Daddy. MOTHER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I thought I knew you. I thought I knew you better, I thought in your heart you were a good and kind man. Well, I ca n't believe what I've just heard in this room. A defenseless girl depending on you for protection, and you propose to mutilate and destroy her. How could you listen even for a moment to that sadistic man? DADDY -LRB- slightly shattered. -RRB- Well, now, darlin'. give me a chance to defend myself. MOTHER I ca n't believe you really meant it, if I did I'd want to die. You are n't a male monster, that man is but you are n't. Look me in the eye and tell me, do you really want to take Rose's womanhood away from her when it's all she has got? DADDY Well, I. I had n't thought about it that much. I was thinking. well, it's an idea, the girl is oversexed, and. MOTHER Rose is n't oversexed, that's ridiculous. If you're going to talk nonsense, I do n't want to talk to you at all. Rose is exactly the same as the rest of us, except more so. DADDY Well, I know, more so. That's why I was thinking. maybe she'd be better off. MOTHER -LRB- with a quiet fury. -RRB- Better off? How could she ever find love and happiness, if you did what you're talking about? Are you insane? DR. MARTINSON -LRB- rather feebly. -RRB- Now, may I say, I am against that particular procedure, as a general rule. But in a case of near nymphomania, it does n't seem monstrous to me at all, but medically advisable. Both Mother and Daddy totally ignore him. Mother's eyes are fixed on Daddy and he is struggling with himself, staring down at the floor. DADDY Well, now, I admit. in Rose's case, it would be cruel. If Rose was n't attractive and pretty. well, it would probably be bad for almost any young woman. I do n't know exactly what I was thinking about, the doctor said it and it sounded reasonable. Daddy finally looks up at Mother and admits his error like a man. DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- But you're right, darlin', you're absolutely dead right, it would be an awful and horrible thing to do. I'm sorry, honey, forgive me, I did n't mean it. Mother turns from Daddy and walks up to the desk and stares down at Dr. Martinson as if he is a loathesome bug upon which she intends to step. MOTHER I will not cry like a woman. If I'm upset it's because of what my husband said, not because of you. You ca n't make me cry like a woman, a woman has got just as much intelligence and self - control as a man. And you get this in your head. If you hurt that girl, I'll hire lawyers and sue you for malpractice for every penny you have got, I'll do my level best to ruin you. Do you understand me? DR. MARTINSON -LRB- a sickly smile, he is licked totally. -RRB- Yes, I understand you, but you have misunderstood me completely. MOTHER -LRB- icy cold. -RRB- I understand you perfectly. You leave that girl alone, you wretched man, or you will be sorry. DR. MARTINSON -LRB- a foolish smile, as if Mother has paid him some kind of compliment. -RRB- Actually of course I wo n't operate, I do n't do major surgery. Dr. Hardy will operate and of course he'll be guided by your wishes in this respect. MOTHER Let him be guided not by my wishes and not by Rose's wishes, although I am sure they are identical. Let him be guided by the wishes of the creative power of life itself, because that is what has spoken through me tonight.", "EXT. STREET BY HOSPITAL - DAY A shot of the Model A parked on the street outside a hospital in a small Southern town. We see Daddy slowly pacing back and forth in front of the hospital entrance, his head bowed and his hands clasped behind him. ANOTHER ANGLE, CLOSER on the Model A. Buddy sits in the middle on the front seat, Mother is at the window. Doll and Waski are on the back seat. They all are staring with pale worry at the pacing Daddy fifty feet away. All are frightened, Mother is very pale. Doll has a tiny handkerchief to her eyes and is half crying. Even Waski is very scared. WASKI -LRB- seems on verge of tears. -RRB- Mother. is Rose going to die? MOTHER -LRB- in a trembly voice. -RRB- No, Waski, she wo n't die, because we are praying for her. CUT TO a shot of Daddy from the POV of the car. He looks at his wristwatch, frowns and walks into the entrance of the hospital. ANOTHER ANGLE, on them all in the car. They wait, pale and silent. Doll sniffles in her handkerchief. DOLL Why is it taking so long? BUDDY Here comes Daddy. CUT TO a POV shot of Daddy as he slowly walks up to the car, his straw hat in his hand. CUT TO a shot of Mother CLOSE on her face as she stares at her husband as if trying to read the news on his face. A tiny frown comes on her forehead as icy fear comes in her eyes. ANOTHER ANGLE, CLOSE on Daddy as he walks up to the window of the car, hat in hand. A trace of tears can be seen in his eyes, but when he speaks his voice is calm. DADDY -LRB- philosophically. -RRB- Well, I thought I'd seen the limit, but these are the most great, gaga epizootics she's ever had. ANOTHER ANGLE on Daddy and them all. In pale fear, mother stares at him, uncertain what has happened. MOTHER How is she? DADDY Fine. As mother sighs in heartfelt relief.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY A shot of Daddy sitting with mother at the kitchen table. Bright cheerful sunshine comes in the window that opens on the patio. Rose comes into the SHOT carrying a coffee pot, a sunny smile on her face. DADDY You're looking very chipper this morning, Rose. Sow do you feel? ROSE Perfect, wonderful, good as I ever felt! Except for a big old scar on my stummick, I would n't even know I been in the hospital. DADDY -LRB- with mild irony, as she pours him coffee. -RRB- Well, we know you were there. The bill that hospital sent was absolutely horrendous. ROSE -LRB- her smile fades a trifle. -RRB- Well, I'll pay you that back sometime, Mr. Hillyer. MOTHER Do n't worry about it, honey. Daddy pauses, seems to be struggling with himself, he is frowning. DADDY Rose. I hate to be mean, but. -LRB- another pause, then a little shrug. -RRB- Oh, nevermind, forget it. ROSE -LRB- in a little sad voice. -RRB- What was it, Mr. Hillyer? DADDY -LRB- rises. -RRB- Nothing, Rose. Daddy stops beside her, puts an arm around her shoulders and with weary irony. DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- We all love you, darlin'. Daddy wearily picks up his straw hat from the kitchen counter and walks out of the kitchen on the patio, as the CAMERA stays on Rose and mother. MOTHER Do n't worry, honey, you'll find something. ROSE I was offered that job as a waitress. MOTHER Forget about it, I do n't want you working in one of those honky tonks.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - PATIO - DAY CUT TO a shot of Buddy on the patio. He has eight or nine gourds on an outdoor table and is cutting round holes in them and emptying out the seed. He glances up as Rose walks up to him, pocketbook in hand. She seems a little sad. But she smiles at him. ROSE Hi, Buddy. -LRB- puts an arm around his shoulders. -RRB- How's my sweetheart who never told on me when I was bad? BUDDY Okay. ROSE -LRB- picks up a hollowed out gourd. -RRB- Makin' homes for purple martins, huh? We had'em on the farm. They're the prettiest things. That's what I wish I was, a bird. Just fly around catch bugs and have a lot of fun. BUDDY What are you going to do, Rose? ROSE Take a little walk with me, huh?", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - GARDEN CUT TO a shot of Rose and Buddy on a beautiful summer day walking in the garden behind the Hillyer house. They walk up to an empty rabbit hutch. The hutch is made of rough lumber and chicken wire and has cubicles for about a dozen rabbits. ROSE -LRB- as she stares at the empty hutch. -RRB- I guess I'll work as a waitress, Buddy. I done that before and it got me in worse trouble than you could know, but I ca n't stay here no more. Why did you get rid of your rabbits, Buddy? BUDDY They're dumb things. I got tired of them. ROSE -LRB- smiles, touches chicken wire. -RRB- Did you know when I was a child we had pretty near five hundred rabbits? BUDDY Five hundred rabbits? ROSE Yep, we had'em in orange crates all over. It was Daddy's dream. He was goin' to get rich raisin' rabbits. It was what killed Daddy. He did n't drown hisself till a long time later after Momma and Lunette died of typhoid, but it was them rabbits what killed him. BUDDY How did the rabbits kill him? ROSE He thought he could sell'em, but nobody but country folks eat rabbits, Buddy, and they ai n't got no money. We had to eat them dern rabbits our own selves. Every dern one, and it took about four years to eat'em all up. BUDDY -LRB- a little smile. -RRB- Well, that doctor said you got protein somewhere and I guess he was right. ROSE Boy did I get sick of rabbit. But later on after Momma died and Daddy was n't doin' nothin' but drinkin', I sure would of been glad for a little rabbit stew. You know, I ought n't to of told you about what Daddy done when I was a child. Until them rabbits ruined him, he was a real good man, Buddy. BUDDY What was your mother like? ROSE A saint just like your own mother. She's up in heaven right now, her and Lunette, there ai n't no doubt about it. ANOTHER ANGLE as Buddy and Rose walk away hand in hand away from the rabbit hutch. BUDDY Maybe it was eating all those rabbits that made you sexy, Rose. ROSE Buddy, sex do n't mean a thing to me. It ai n't nothin' but a mosquito bite. -LRB- stops, smiles, puts an arm around his shoulders. -RRB- I'll tell you a secret. Girls do n't want sex, Buddy, girls want love. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM NIGHT A shot of Mother and Daddy in the Hillyer living room late at night. Mother sits with a worried expression on a chair, a kimono around her shoulders. Daddy is pacing worriedly in pajamas and a bathrobe. He looks at his wristwatch. DADDY It's twenty after one. MOTHER I do n't understand it. Even in the wild days she was never as late as this. DADDY I'm afraid it's my fault. I made her feel guilty this morning -. -LRB- glances around, sees something in doorway. -RRB- Brother, what are you doing up? ANOTHER ANGLE on Buddy in pajamas as he enters the living room. BUDDY I heard you talking. Has n't Rose come in? DADDY No, she has n't. -LRB- frowns, looks around. -RRB- I think I hear a car.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - DRIVEWAY CUT TO a shot of a 1930's automobile in the Hillyer driveway at night as it drives up and stops before the front steps. ANOTHER ANGLE, CLOSE on Rose and Dave Wilkie in the car. Here DAVE is much YOUNGER, of course, and a rather handsome man in a stolid way. Even though he is younger than when we saw him on the plane, he is quite a bit older than Rose. Rose's eyes are opened wide, she is a bit breathless, obviously something important has happened. Dave stares at her as if fascinated, almost as if awed. DAVE -LRB- rather stiffly. -RRB- I want to thank you for a wonderful afternoon and evenin'. Can I see you in the mornin'? ROSE -LRB- a bit breathless. -RRB- Yes. Year you can, you sure can.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Daddy peering out of the window of the living room. DADDY Why, that looks like Dave Wilkie, MOTHER Who? DADDY You know Dave, his wife used to do dressmaking for you before she died.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT STEPS - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of Rose on the steps. Happy as a clam, she turns and waves at Dave in the car, then goes on up the steps.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT CUT TO a shot of the front hall as Rose comes through the front door. She is very excited, happy.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT The CAMERA follows her as she goes into the living room with her big news. ROSE You'll never guess what happened! -LRB- pauses, then dramatically. -RRB- I have met Mr. Right! I been with him all day and he loves me, I know he does, he loves me and he's going to marry met Be's practi ` cly ast me already! MOTHER Well. well, that's wonderful, Rose. ROSE And who do you suppose he is? That policeman who arrested me, the one I bit! He is Mr. Right!", "INT. CHURCH - DAY VARIOUS SHOTS of a wedding in a tiny country church. We see shots of Rose in a white wedding dress, smiling, happy. Dave is stiff and solemn in his best suit. Daddy gravely gives Rose away. We hear no dialogue here, MUSIC on track. We see Mother, Buddy, Doll and Waski in the front row, all in Sunday best and very solemn. We see a CLOSE SHOT of Rose's knees trembling beneath her white wedding dress as a country minister marries them. VARIOUS SHOTS of a rather idyllic country wedding in a very plain, unpretentious country church, and.", "EXT. CHURCH - DAY A shot of Rose, Dave, Buddy, Doll and Waski at a picnic celebration outside the church by a running brook. The scene should be beautiful in summertime. We see a barbecue pit, homemade ice cream in the metal can, other picnic things. A happy Rose is kissing first Buddy, then Doll, then Waski. Dave smiles fondly, but rather stiffly at her. ROSE And now Waski, are you and Buddy and Dolly ready for some ice cream, huh? Do you like picnics or do n't you? WASKI We like'em! We love'em! DAVE Well, it is n't a picnic, honey. It's a barbecue. ROSE -LRB- a little smile. -RRB- Okay. DAVE A picnic does n't involve roast meat, hon. At a barbecue you have a lot of roast meat. CUT TO a shot CLOSE on Buddy as he stares pensively at Dave. The CAMERA stays on him as we hear VOICES OVER. Rose is happy, Dave phlegmatic. ROSE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Well, all I know is there's ice cream. And I'm gon na have me a plate right now! DAVE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Better wait, hon. It'll spoil your appetite. Have some barbecue first. The CAMERA stays on Buddy, as he stares pensively at Dave. He has no expression on his face at all.", "EXT. CHURCH - DAY A shot of Rose and Dave bidding goodbye to the Hillyers. Daddy, Mother, Buddy, Doll and Waski are in the model A. Rose is obviously on the verge of tears as Dave speaks solemnly to Daddy. DAVE Well, we are off to Savannah, Mr. Hillyer. No more police work, I'm getting in the construction field. DADDY Good luck, Dave. And good luck to you, too, Rosebud. ROSE -LRB- begins crying. -RRB- Oh, Mr. Hillyer! I just ca n't stand to say goodbye! Daddy starts the Model A. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I love you all! Goodbye, Buddy! Goodbye, Dolly! Goodbye, Waski! ANOTHER ANGLE on Rose as she weeps and waves the handkerchief. ROSE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Goodbye! Goodbye!", "INT./EXT. MODEL A - STREET - DAY A shot of Daddy and Mother in the Model A as Daddy drives. We see Doll and Waski solemn on the back seat, but Buddy is not visible. DADDY Well, thank God we are rid of her at last. And the best thing of all is that she's happy. The little nut is happy, she found Mr. Right in the nick of time! MOTHER Well, yes, she's happy. Of course Dave does n't have her life force, not at all. There is n't much furniture in his house, just a table and one or two chairs, whereas Rose has furniture coming out of the windows. DADDY Honey, he is Mr. Right. MOTHER -LRB- slowly nods. -RRB- Yes, I think so. He adores her, it's almost pitiful the way he worships her. I just hope she is n't too much for him. Mother pauses, frowning, she has her doubts, looks over her shoulder. MOTHER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What do you think, Brother? Mother frowns in surprise. CUT TO a POV shot of Buddy on the back seat of the car. Now it is clear why we could n't see him in the other shot. Be is lying down on the seat of the car with his Sunday coat pulled over his head. ANOTHER ANGLE on Mother and Buddy, Doll, Waski. Buddy lies on the seat, motionless with his coat over his head. MOTHER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- What's the matter with him? DOLL -LRB- seems awed, staring down at Buddy. -RRB- I do n't know. I think he's cryin'! CUT TO ANOTHER ANGLE on Mother, from the front as she slowly turns back and stares thoughtfully ahead. The shot is also on Daddy. They both stare ahead in pensive silence. Finally Mother speaks. MOTHER -LRB- rather sadly. -RRB- Maybe Brother is right. Maybe so. END OF FLASHBACK", "INT./EXT. HERTZ CAR ON INTERSTATE - DAY ON Willcox Hillyer behind the wheel of the Hertz car. He is staring pensively ahead, a faint trace of tears in his eyes. It is a very faint trace, a look of mild irony and amusement is on his face. WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- dryly, to himself. -RRB- Mr. Right. Dave Wilkie. Willcox slowly shakes his head.", "EXT. HERTZ CAR - INTERSTATE EXIT - DAY CUT TO a shot of the red Ford as it takes a turn - off from an Interstate.", "EXT. HERTZ CAR - BUSTLING CITY - DAY CUT TO a shot of the red Ford as it drives into a rather bustling little Southern city that does not look at all like the `` Glenville'' we have seen. A lot of traffic, new roads, filling stations, prosperity. It could be Rome, Georgia as it is today.", "EXT. CAR PAST HOLIDAY INN - DAY ANOTHER SHOT of the red Ford going past a modern Holiday Inn in the city.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - DRIVEWAY - DAY ON the red Ford as it turns into a familiar driveway, that of the old Hillyer home. But insofar as possible it looks different now, like a relic from the past. Maybe the house needs painting, the garden is in weeds - the place is not exactly dilapidated, but it is marked by time. A SHOT of Willcox Hillyer as he gets out of the red Ford and walks up the familiar steps of the front porch, travel bag in hand.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT PORCH - DAY ON Willcox Hillyer at the front door. He tries the knob, opens the door and goes inside.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - DAY CUT TO a shot of Willcox Hillyer as he glances into the living room. The room looks the same but different - it is musty, dim. Willcox Hillyer stares at it as if haunted a bit, turns and the CAMERA follows him as he crosses the hall and looks into Mother's old bedroom - study. This room is quite different. The four poster is gone. The room is dusty, musty, dark. Magazines are on the floor in a ring around Mother's old study chair. We see `` male'' things. It is apparent Daddy lives alone in this room. A SHOT of Willcox Hillyer as he walks down the familiar hall back to the kitchen.", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY He looks around. No one is there. He glances at a modern refrigerator that is in pretty poor shape, glances with a frown at dishes in the sink unwashed. He goes on out to the patio.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - PATIO - DAY CUT TO a shot of Daddy putting out seed for birds on a table on the patio. Daddy now is a very old man, but his personality and style are the same as ever. He looks up with a stern frown as Willcox Hillyer comes out on the patio. DADDY Well, you rascal, where'd you come from? WILLCOX HILLYER Hello, Daddy. How are you? DADDY About as good as can be expected with one foot in the grave. Good to see you, son. -LRB- they shake hands. -RRB- Did you bring any of that Yankee whisky with you? WILLCOX HILLYER It is n't Yankee whisky, Daddy, it's Scotch. DADDY It's Yankee whisky to me. Daddy takes him by the arm, leads him back into the kitchen. DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- How do you stand it up there, boy, in all that ice and snow? What are you, a polar bear?", "INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY CUT TO a shot of Willcox Hillyer and Daddy as they enter the kitchen. The former opens his travel bag and takes out a bottle of Teacher's. WILLCOX HILLYER I can use a drink after the plane ride I had. DADDY Your wife and children are back in New Hampshire in the snow? WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- a little smile ; it is summer, there could n't be snow in New Hampshire. -RRB- Yeah, they're in the snow. Willcox opens whisky, looks for glasses in the dusty familiar cupboard. DADDY Are they polar bears, too? WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- frowns at cupboard. -RRB- Good God, the way you live here. This place has n't been dusted since Mother died. Look at that goddamned refrigerator. DADDY Got another twenty years in it, boy. -LRB- something seems to be bothering him. -RRB- By the way, son, do you recall Rose, that pretty blonde girl who came to our house way back in 1935 or 1936 and caused such a damnable commotion. WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- frowns, turns and stares at him. -RRB- Of course I recall Rose. In fact I've been thinking of no one else for the last hour and a half. DADDY How could that be, son? WILLCOX HILLYER Dave Wilkie of all people was sitting by me on the plane - her first husband. It's funny you would mention Rose. Did you hear from her? Willcox pours out whisky. DADDY -LRB- casually. -RRB- Well, yes, in a manner of speaking. You'll have the back bedroom, son, Mother's old art room. Just be careful going down the stairs you do n't break your Yankee neck.", "EXT. HILLYER HOME - PATIO - DAY CUT TO a shot of Willcox Hillyer and Daddy as they walk with their drinks out to the patio. WILLCOX HILLYER What's all this about Rose? What do you mean, you heard from her in a manner of speaking? DADDY Oh, I heard from her, I got a letter from her, she's fine. But there is some sad news. WILLCOX HILLYER What sad news? Did her cancer come back? DADDY Oh, no, no, she got all over that. Rose is fine. Let's sit down, son. WILLCOX HILLYER Is her husband sick or something? DADDY No, it's another thing. I was going to write you about it, but since you were coming down anyway I thought I'd wait till you got here. What did Dave Wilkie have to say? ANOTHER ANGLE on Willcox Hillyer and the aged Daddy as they sit on the patio sipping whisky. Willcox Hillyer is not disturbed or worried about Rose, Daddy has been very casual and offhand about it and he has no inkling of what the news really is. WILLCOX HILLYER The pitiful son of a bitch said Rose was a nymphomaniac. DADDY Um - hmm, and I suppose that incensed you? WILLCOX HILLYER You're damn right it incensed me, the miserable bastard. He also said the kikes and the niggers have taken over Washington. D.C. DADDY -LRB- nods somberly. -RRB- Yeah, I know, he was up here. It's pitiful like you say. When he lost Rose it ruined the man, it destroyed him totally when he lost Rose. WILLCOX HILLYER He did n't lose her, he threw her away. DADDY Yes, I guess he did. He threw her away and it was the mistake of his life. WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- staring off pensively into space. -RRB- You know, I do n't know this town any more. All this traffic, new buildings, prosperity. -LRB- pauses, almost as if in pain. -RRB- Where have the years gone, Daddy? Where is the little town I knew as a boy? DADDY At rest in the creative universe with Mother, son. WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- a little smile. -RRB- That's what she would say herself. DADDY -LRB- simply, he is not emoting. -RRB- A wonderful woman, boy. WILLCOX HILLYER It always gives me a funny feeling to come home. Dear old Southland. Gone. It's all gone, Daddy -. -LRB- a fond little smile. -RRB- - except you, you're still here. DADDY -LRB- matter - of - factly. -RRB- Not for long, boy. I've outstayed my welcome already. WILLCOX HILLYER It's funny you would mention Rose, I was thinking about her all the way up in the car. -LRB- gives him a glance. -RRB- Or maybe it is n't so funny. DADDY -LRB- as if in previous thought. -RRB- I'm older than hell, boy. But this Yankee whisky is mighty fine, I'll say that. WILLCOX HILLYER All right, Daddy. We have our drink, we're out on the patio, you have prepared me for it. Rose's cancer has come back, has n't it? DADDY -LRB- simply, quietly. -RRB- No, son, she is dead. WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- numb with shock, for a moment ca n't speak or think. -RRB- Dead, Rose is dead? You mean. she died? DADDY I am afraid so, son. About a week ago. Her husband phoned me, she had asked him to call me if anything happened. WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- in awful shock. -RRB- But. but how? She was young! Rose was n't old! DADDY She was fifty - six, son. Of course she did n't look it, nowhere near it. The cancer came back, I'm afraid I fibbed about that. But it was very quick, son. She was in the hospital only two weeks, and the last week she did n't know anything. WILLCOX HILLYER -LRB- in distress, a slightly choked voice. -RRB- Excuse me, I'll be right back. Willcox Hillyer rises with his drink in hand and walks across the patio to the kitchen door.", "INT. HILLYER HOME KITCHEN - DAY CUT TO a shot of Willcox Hillyer as he goes into the kitchen. He picks up the whisky bottle and pours himself a very large drink. ANOTHER ANGLE, CLOSE on Willcox Hillyer as he stares across the kitchen lost in thought. BLUR - BORDERED SHOT OF ROSE in the kitchen, a sunny smile on her face as she pours coffee for Daddy. A very quick moment, only a few seconds. A CLOSE SHOT OF WILLCOX HILLYER in the kitchen, drink in hand, a look of grief on his face. He struggles to control himself, puts a hand over his eyes, then pulls himself together, turns from the kitchen. SHOT OF THE PATIO ON Willcox Hillyer and Daddy as the former walks up with his refreshed drink and sits down. He is in control now, his face is expressionless and he is seemingly calm. WILLCOX HILLYER Well, you have knocked me for a hell of a loop, old man. A hell of a loop. DADDY -LRB- simply. -RRB- I know. You loved her. So did I. It was an awful shock to me, too. An awful shock. Rose was so alive it's hard to believe. WILLCOX HILLYER I ca n't believe it, Daddy. I know it must be true, but I ca n't believe it. DADDY It's true, son. The girl with the cornflower eyes is dead, she is no more, Daddy pauses, in trouble emotionally, but gets a grip on himself and in an almost dispassionate manner ; but powerful feeling is behind his words. DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- She got cancer of the breast, was operated on and had a seven - year recovery, then after a brief illness passed on in her sleep, as the man with whom she'd lived in beautiful love and harmony for twenty - five years held her hand. That is what happened, son, and God rest her lovely soul! CUT TO a CLOSE SHOT of Willcox Hillyer. Despite his efforts to control himself, tears are in his eyes. He clenches his teeth, takes a big swallow of his drink. ANOTHER ANGLE on them both as Daddy rises. DADDY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And now, if you are through with that Yankee whisky, we'll go to the Holiday Inn and get some dinner. SHOT OF WILLCOX HILLYER AND DADDY as they walk toward the red rental Ford. Daddy uses a cane. He is a very old man. Willcox Hillyer looks in pain, he grimaces as they walk along. WILLCOX HILLYER Why Rose? Why Rose, Daddy? DADDY Nobody lives forever, boy. Who'd want to? WILLCOX HILLYER That's a hell of a thing to say. Why, Rose? DADDY -LRB- stops and firmly. -RRB- Now look, boy, get a grip on yourself. Rose had a good life. She found her. Right, did n't she? She triumphed over everything, what are you blubbering about? WILLCOX HILLYER I'm not blubbering. CUT TO a shot of the red Ford going down the familiar driveway. SHOT ON DADDY AND WILLCOX HILLYER in the car. Daddy is staring fiercely ahead, Willcox Hillyer stares ahead in gloom. SHOT OF THE RED FORD as it pulls up in front of the Holiday Inn we have already seen. SHOT ON DADDY AND WILLCOX HILLYER in the car. Willcox Hillyer sits there staring off into space in deep gloom. Daddy eyes him and now relents. We see sympathy in his face. DADDY -LRB- gently. -RRB- Rose is n't dead, son. Not really. Some of us die, but some of us do n't. Rose lives. As long as some little girl somewhere gets herself up and goes out, Rose lives. CUT TO a shot of Daddy and Buddy, now middle - aged Willcox Hillyer, as they walk toward the entrance of the Holiday Inn. MUSIC. THE END"], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "In 1971, a grown Buddy returns to his former family home and reflects back on his youth during The Great Depression when Rose came to live with his family in order to escape her miserable life in Birmingham where she was being forced into prostitution. The Hillyers are an eccentric family who take Rose in as a domestic servant. Rose quickly begins to admire Mrs. Hillyer who is working on her master's thesis and who she learns was orphaned at a young age, just as Rose had been. Rose also develops a crush on the paternal and warm Mr. Hillyer that the three Hillyer children and Mr. Hillyer become aware of while Mrs. Hillyer remains oblivious. Eventually Rose kisses Mr. Hillyer who at first responds to her advances and then becomes angered at her and rebuffs her. Buddy witnesses Rose and Mr. Hillyer kissing and later, when Rose gets into his bed to talk to him at night, he repeatedly tries and eventually is allowed to grab and massage her breast just as his father had done while he was kissing Rose. Eventually to satisfy his curiosity Rose allows 13 year old Buddy to masturbate her. Afterwards she is apologetic and upset and begs him not to tell anyone. The Hillyers begin to disagree about Rose's presence in their lives. Mr. Hillyer worries that Rose is too promiscuous when she goes to town and will cause them problems but Mrs. Hillyer sees her promiscuity as her way of trying to obtain love and attention. Strange men begin lurking around the house and even fighting with one another. Mr. Hillyer attributes this to Rose but she repeatedly denies knowing them before eventually admitting it. However, Rose is eventually arrested when some of her men begin brawling in a bar over her and she bites the finger of a policeman. Though the police and Mrs. Hillyer are willing to forgive Rose, Mr. Hillyer insists on firing her, but before he can Rose is hospitalized with a bad case of pneumonia. The attending doctor tells them that Rose has too strong a basic constitution to have had the desperately poor country background she has asserted. She develops a passion for the doctor, who spends a rather long time in her bedroom in his visits to her during her convalescence. After she recovers, Rose seems to be on her best behaviour but Mr. Hillyer eventually catches her with another man in her room. He fires her but obtains a position on a dairy farm in Tennessee for her. When he informs Rose she begins crying as she does not want her baby being born on a farm. Mr. Hillyer believes she is lying about being pregnant and the Hillyers take her to a doctor where they learn that while she is showing signs of being pregnant she actually has an ovarian cyst and is sterile because of untreated gonorrhea contracted when she was 15. The doctor recommends a radical full hysterectomy, involving the removal of the womb and both ovaries, potentially resulting in a less feminine appearance and reduced sexual drive, as it would reduce Rose's promiscuous behaviour. While Mr. Hillyer at first agrees to the operation Mrs. Hillyer argues against it and eventually persuades the two men. Rose is treated for her cyst and returns home where she eventually marries the policeman whose finger she bit. Returning to the 1971 reflection, Buddy reveals that Rose married three more times and was eventually happy with and faithful to her last husband with whom she lived for 25 years. He goes to talk to his father who tells him that Rose died the previous week. When Buddy begins crying Mr. Hillyer tells him that Rose is a person who will never really die as she will live on forever in their hearts.", "name": "Rambling_Rose_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["THE LIMEY NOTE : THE HARD COPY OF THIS SCRIPT CONTAINED SCENE NUMBERS. THEY HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THIS SOFT COPY. Wilson's first impression of Los Angeles was blue. He was in the sky at the time, so it was a curious reversal, looking down rather than up at the color he had always felt was nature's finest. Swimming pools. Hundreds of them. Pockmarking the landscape like miniature lakes. A flat landscape of straight streets and square blocks and sparse grass that did n't look quite green enough. As far as Wilson could remember, he had only ever seen seven or eight swimming pools in his entire life and they had been public ones. Here everyone had their own. Marvellous. There was the one at the Butlin's holiday camp where he had enjoyed his last legitimate employment - as driver of a tour bus. And there was the one at Crystal Palace he had gone to once or twice when he was younger. He was most familiar, though, with the Chelsea Baths as he had lived for some time in a flat nearby in what he now thought of as his good years - before he'd gone grey, went to prison, and found himself in a plane over a foreign town arriving to avenge the death of his daughter. WHOOSH! The sound of automatic doors opening and -", "EXT. ARRIVALS TERMINAL.  L.A. AIRPORT.  AFTERNOON. WILSON steps out into the late sunlight and the heat of the day. A slow - motion moment while he gets acclimatized. He would n't have ever felt quite this kind of heat before. After such a rigorously air - conditioned interior. Or seen cops wearing guns on their belts. Or black cops, for that matter, with guns on their belts. Or seen people as fat as Americans on their home turf. Things someone from England notices immediately, whether consciously at first or not. CUT.", "EXT. MOTEL.  EVENING. Wilson's not here for comfort. Shown to a shitty room, round the corner of a typical 2nd - level outside walkway. Airport close by.", "INT. MOTEL ROOM.  EVENING. He draws a curtain open across a window in one strong easy glide. His moves are neat. His expressions just as economical, not giving much away. Outside the planes are practically on top of us. The sunset colors strange and chemical. He's only got one light bag. Unzips, unpacks a few things. Change of clothes, a travel kit, and some familiar items -LRB- shaving foam/toothpaste/deodorant -RCB- bearing unfamiliar British brand names. Goes into the bathroom. Turns on the shower in there. Comes back to sit on the bed. Takes an envelope out of his jacket. ENVELOPE Turns it over to see the return address on the back. CUT.", "INT. TAXI.  NIGHT. Wilson in the back. Stares at the impenetrable name on the driver's posted ID. Glances at the driver. DRIVER glances back at his quiet passenger in the rearview mirror. CUT.", "EXT. SMALL HOUSE.  NIGHT. Wilson walks up a cracked little path to the front door. Lower middle - class street. Two cars in the driveway, one behind the other. Lights on inside the house - as he rings the bell. ED RAMA Answers it. Hispanic. Late 30's. Chairman Mao on his T - shirt notwithstanding, an easygoing sort of fellow. Not looking for any trouble - anymore. But once did, and able to handle himself if any shows up. Which it has. WILSON Edward Rama? ED Eduardo. -LRB- rolling the R. -RRB- Rama. WILSON You're home, then. He turns, waves away the taxi he's kept waiting. While Eduardo Rama waits for an introduction. WILSON My name's Wilson. Accent speaks for itself. Hard, working - class. ED Wilson? Knows the name. But just now it's unexpected. He's holding a hot TV dinner, hand protected by a dish towel. WILSON You wrote to me about my daughter. CUT.", "INT. ED'S HOUSE.  NIGHT. Ed takes Wilson inside. ED I did n't expect anyone. WILSON No reason. ED I mean, what has it been - six months? WILSON Round about, yeah. They've entered a cauldron of family life. TV blaring -LRB- SHOWBIZ TONIGHT! -RRB- . A couple of younger KIDS yelling `` Mama''. Their MOTHER shouting back at them from the kitchen -LRB- in Spanish -RRB- that she only has two hands. A sullen TEENAGER walking by. ED I did n't even know who I was writing to - just someone with the same last name. She never talked about any family. WILSON It was better than a telegram. Ed opens a screen door to the backyard.", "EXT. ED'S BACKYARD.  NIGHT. They sit at an outdoor table. Wilson with a TV dinner in front of him now too. Sounds from inside MUTED. Even this little house has a little pool. WILSON Who done it, then? ED Huh? WILSON Snuffed her. Ed surprised at Wilson's directness. Ed stands nervously. ED Now, wait up a second, man. And paces back and forth. ED I never said nothin' about nothin' like that. No, no, no. That's not what I wrote to you. WILSON No, but between the lines, eh? Mysterious circumstances, and that. Ed stops pacing. ED Look, I sent you that newspaper clipping, all right? I told you what I know. It was an accident. I did n't say anything about anybody being `` snuffed.'' Beat. WILSON This bloke she was bunked up with. This Terry what ` sit. ED Terry Valentine. WILSON Valentine. What's he got to say for himself? ED I dunno. What's he gon na say? They had a fight that night, she drove away, she was upset? I do n't even know the guy. Do n't get me wrong, Jenny and me were friends, but we did n't travel in the same social circles. She had her life, I had mine. Makes a kind of scoffing gesture : and you can see what my life is. ED Valentine came into the restaurant where I work with Jenny a couple times. He's a money guy. Jenny would say, hey, here's my friend Eddie and he would shake my hand and everything, but he would n't even see me, you know what I mean. Wilson gazes up at the sky. Clear night. Stars. WILSON How long had she been in the States? -LRB- as if to himself, somewhat wistful. -RRB- Near on ten years, was n't it? Long enough to know her way about, I reckon. Ed leans down, palms on the tabletop, facing Wilson. ED There was an investigation, okay? The car was totalled. Jennifer was. Her neck was broken. On impact, they said. So she would n't have. felt the effects of the fire. -LRB- helpless shrug. -RRB- It happens up there. Happens a lot. What more can I tell you. Wilson taps out a cigarette from a pack of `` Silk Cut'' he's produced from his pocket. WILSON What more is there. ED I'm just sayin' - it was a steep hillside. There was no moon that night. Wilson's quiet stillness is getting to him. ED Coulda happened to anyone, man. I never knew her to be reckless. I mean, sure, she would smoke a little grass, or something, have a few drinks. But that's it, nothing more than that. WILSON No, not my girl. Self - control, she had. Point of pride. -LRB- smokes. -RRB- And people do n't change, do they. ED I dunno. Maybe they do. Wilson notes the tattoos on Ed's forearms. WILSON Going straight, are ya. Ed looks at him. Sits down again. Keeping his forearms under the table. ED -LRB- looks away. -RRB- Boomerang. WILSON Y' what? ED I knew when I was droppin' that letter into the mail slot it was gon na come back and smack me in the face. -LRB- looks at Wilson again. -RRB- I did my time, okay? My sister, her ol' man's up in Chino right now doin' eight years. WILSON -LRB- re the family inside. -RRB- This ai n't your lot? ED You kiddin', man? I do n't need a wife and screamin' kids. I still got my youth. And yet - he lives here. Wilson declines to pursue the matter. ED I go to work, try to keep my life together, put all that shit behind me, man. What d'you want from me. WILSON -LRB- calmly smoking. -RRB- I only asked. Ed sighs. Reaches for one of Wilson's cigarettes. ED Couple weeks before she died, Jennifer asked me to drive her downtown. Said she was meeting - her boyfriend - Valentine. But I think she was looking for him. ED AND JENNIFER. In a car, downtown. She has the same steely intensity as her father. Ed looks a little worried. WILSON -LRB- lighting Ed's cigarette. -RRB- What, tryin' to catch him with another bird? ED That's what I thought, man. But it was not a hotel or nothin' that we went to. It was someplace else. WILSON Where abouts? JENNIFER. Talking to a beefy SUPERVISOR. Or talking at him. Either way, he is n't happy. MEAT PUPPETS. Watch instead of working. ED. Taking all this in. ED Bad place, man. Bad people. Some guys loading some trucks. Some kinda deal goin' down. -LRB- anticipating Wilson's next question. -RRB- I do n't know and I do n't care. Maybe they're shipping fava beans to Eskimos. WILSON Did Jenny know? ED -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- Valentine was n't even there. If he was into something, if she was involved - who can say. -LRB- stands up again. -RRB- But I'll tell you something. She stood in front of these dudes, man. Eyeballing them. Checking them out. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I felt like she was covering my ass that day. Unconsciously rubbing his arms where his tattoos are. ED I drove her back to Valentine's house. VALENTINE. Standing in front of his house. His expression says : We have something to discuss. ED He was standing outside waiting for her. That's the only other time I ever saw him. -LRB- a short sad note. -RRB- Last time I saw her. He meets Wilson's gaze. As hard and pointed as a drill through his skull. CUT.", "INT. ED'S CAR.  NIGHT. Ed drives Wilson back to his motel. Wilson silent. Ed still not quite sure who he's dealing with. Is this really or merely a grieving dad? ED What you gon na do, man? You gon na go to the cops? WILSON Nah, coppers do n't do nothing, do they. ED Those streets up in the hills, man. Got ta be real careful, keep your eye on the ball. Two o'clock in the morning, it's dark, your mind is all agitated, you're drivin' a little too fast. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Those curves do n't kid around. Could be talking about the girl. Wilson does n't move. But touch him, he'll explode. Out the window lights are passing, but no landmarks. He might as well be on the moon. ED You should talk to Elaine. That was her best friend. WILSON She did n't write to me, did she. ED She did n't know what to say. -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- I thought someone should say something. To someone. With me it was, I do n't know - Jenny liked me for some reason. I felt like I owed her. WILSON Who'd Jenny get it off of - this grass or whatever? ED -LRB- self - conscious again. -RRB- Not me, man. I'm no drug dealer, what you think. WILSON -LRB- re Ed's tattoos. -RRB- I think you did n't get that lot in the Navy, doing your National Service. ED I already told you, man. Corcoran. Know what that is? State prison. WILSON Nick's a nick, n' it? No matter what state you're in. State of remorse, most likely - for gettin' caught. ED But that's not me anymore. That's when I was into the gang lifestyle. That's not who I am now. Five years in the joint - that's it for me, man. Now Wilson drops the clanger. WILSON Just got out meself, did n't I. And Ed turns. Looks at Wilson. Fellow ex - con. CUT.", "EXT. WILSON'S MOTEL.  NIGHT. Wilson out of the car, shuts the passenger door. Ed on the other side, looks over the roof at him. ED Go home, man. -LRB- plane taking off in background. -RRB- Get on a plane. Wilson has other plans. WILSON I'll be needing a shooter. Makes his fingers like a gun. And a clicking sound. ED -LRB- comes quickly over. -RRB- You're kiddin' me, right? WILSON What do I do, then, look in the bleedin' Yellow Pages? ED -LRB- an urgent whisper. -RRB- These are not guys you can just go run a number on, man. WILSON -LRB- looking around. -RRB- Thought perhaps there'd be dispensing machines, you know. Bung in your coins, come out with a.44 Magnum, fully - loaded. Ed throws up his hands, walks back to his driver's side door. ED Are you a resident of California? You gon na fill out forms, man? Do the background check? Go through a three - day waiting period? WILSON Sod that. Got ta get back before my probation officer wonders where I've skived off to. ED Probation? Man, you crazy. They should n't've let you outta your country, much less prison. WILSON Travelling on a dodgy passport, n' all. Walks round to come face to face with Ed once more. WILSON Which is why I thought, save some time, get what I need under the table, like. ED As if resigned and mulling the problem over : ED Under the table? CUT.", "INT. GUN SHOW.  DAY. Hundreds of tables. Under bright lights. Displaying every kind of firearm. Handguns, rifles, shotguns, parts to make machine guns. A weapons bazaar. WILSON AND ED Walking around. Even a cool customer like Wilson ca n't help but be impressed by America's loving embrace of senseless mayhem. DEALERS Touting their wares. VISITORS Trying out pistol grips - or pushing baby carriages. Guys in fatigue jackets with toddlers on their shoulders. Women in stretch pants looking for a little something in personal protection. WILSON Does n't know where to look. At the booth featuring `` Classic Cowboy Collectibles'' - or the most OBESE COUPLE he's ever seen who just walked by. PA SYSTEM Attention : the long - range vermin - shooting panel is due to commence in two minutes in the blue room at the rear of the Convention Center. and other anomalous oddball ANNOUNCEMENTS in the background as long as we're here. DEMONSTRATION At a booth selling laser attachments. BEAM SALESMAN BeamSight II is easily mountable on any shotgun, rifle, or sidearm and will project a small, bright red dot directly onto the point where your weapon is aimed. For purposes of display, a smiling YOUNG WOMAN is the `` target.'' WILSON Walking past, almost subliminally noting the Young Woman with the symbol of death on her. TABLE A.45 passed from a DEALER's hand to Wilson's. DEALER Man knows what he likes. ED -LRB- he'll talk if Wilson wo n't. -RRB- Lookin' good. DEALER -LRB- while Wilson checks. -RRB- That's a high - end item. Total reliability. ED What'd you call that - the Protector? DEALER Yes, sir. Wo n't find a better CQC on the market. Wilson's eyes glance up - but Ed asks the question. ED CQ what? DEALER Close Quarters Combat. Keep one in my own home. WILSON Trouble is, I'm not at home, see. Fancied a bit of target shooting, y' know, while I'm here - with me mate. Nods at Ed. DEALER Oh really? Where you from? WILSON England. -LRB- sighting the weapon. -RRB- Only, we saw there was a show on, thought I might pick something up for a price, type of thing. DEALER You came to the right place, sir. My wife's second cousin is English. Well, Scotch - Irish. Can I interest you in a holster? WILSON Just luck, this, really. Never been to one of these before. DEALER You're in gun country now, my friend. WILSON -LRB- picks up another, checks it out. -RRB- Been to the Boat Show. DEALER -LRB- re Wilson's new selection. -RRB- Packs a punch, but it's compact, has accessible features - makes a nice concealed - carry piece. ED -LRB- playing the reluctant buyer. -RRB- He do n't have a concealed weapons permit. WILSON Do n't have time for a lot of paperwork, y' know. Just popped over on a quick visit. DEALER I can take care of the paperwork. WILSON Yeah? DEALER No problem. If you do n't have a problem with me reporting this gun stolen. A look of understanding between them. WILSON No. Not at all. -LRB- to Ed. -RRB- Do we? ED Not me, man. WILSON I mean, it's already a steal, n'it - what you said - four hundred for this one? DEALERS Well, I'll have to add another two hundred on top of that. WILSON Oh, aye? DEALER -LRB- another look. -RRB-. for the paperwork. CUT.", "INT. ED'S CAR.  DAY. Ed drives. Nervous at Wilson handling his new gun purchase beside him. WILSON Violation of my parole, this. -LRB- a perfect pause. -RRB- - Goin' abroad. Ed shakes his head at Wilson's sense of humor. ED You hadda show up on a weekend. This weekend. Would n't've even been a gun show. for another month. WILSON Fucking out of order, that. Should n't be allowed. As he puts away a box of ammo. ED Now what. You gon na take your new arsenal, go visit Terry Valentine, just like that? Boom bam boom. WILSON It's only insurance. Ca n't be too careful. This Terry Valentine, he's probably a wonderful fella. They were together how long? ED Five years, I think. Long time. WILSON Well, there you are. Jen must've liked him. Does n't make Ed feel any better. Nor does the way Wilson seems now to be studying Ed's driving techniques. Paying attention to the way traffic lights and left - turn lanes and cars without clutches work over here. ED -LRB- remembering. -RRB- Jenny told me she met him at the beach. Got blinded by his smile. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You believe that shit? Son of a bitch never smiled at me. Buried her at a `` private'' service. Private for who. Him? WILSON -LRB- confused. -RRB- Hang about. I thought you said he come into the restaurant where you worked with Jenny. ED He came in with Jenny to the restaurant where I work. That's not where they met. WILSON And that's where you met Jenny. ED No, no - Jenny used to work as a waitress. Before she met him. But that's not where she met me. Not in my restaurant. WILSON How'd the two of you hook up, then? ED Oh, Jenny was in my acting class. CUT.", "INT. RENTAL CAR.  DAY. Wilson at the wheel himself. Getting the hang of L.A. Driving downtown. Along one of the major boulevards. Glances at a street sign as he goes by. Picks up the map book on the seat beside him to check his route.", "EXT. BOULEVARD.  DAY. Wilson makes a sudden lane change to avoid getting fed in the wrong direction. Gets HONKED by another driver.", "EXT. A STREET DOWNTOWN.  DAY. Wilson cruises past a particular building. We do n't have to really clearly see it just yet -LRB- we saw it in the flash cuts -RRB- - more important we see him seeing it. Casing it with the eyes of a professional. Sniffing it out ; the instinct of a predator after prey.", "INT. CAR.  DAY. Parks it. Produces the little leather travel kit we saw him unpack at his motel. Unzips it. Under the usual assortment of clippers, razors, etc., is a hidden layer - storing still more personalized items : a set of select slim lockpicking/cutting tools.", "EXT. SIDE STREET.  DAY. Wilson locks the car. Walks away. STAY with him. AROUND THE CORNER He walks down the block. A nice long walk. What we get out of it besides a sense of Wilson - cool cat ; ambling along ; loner ; sun beating down ; not bothered ; his shadow doubling him - is this : The building approaching. The one he has his eye on. The target. It's across the street. A kind of flat windowless warehouse with adjoining loading yard. Loading yard surrounded by a chain - link fence - topped with barbed wire. The actual geography of where he left his car in relation to this building. Safely around the corner. And how he might practically get back to it, either this same way or via a more circuitous route round another block. The sense you get in downtown L.A. on a lazy Saturday afternoon that you're in a ghost town. Particularly in this shabby kind of industrial section.", "EXT. THE BUILDING. Wilson crosses over to it now. From sunny to shade. Walks past the chain - link fence. The padlocked gate, big enough to accommodate the -LRB- couple of -RRB- trucks parked within the compound. Walks past the closed security door which would appear to be the building's main entrance. Round the next corner - SEES there's a steel back door as well. Comes around this block again. Looking surreptitiously around now. Streets here utterly deserted. Not even a passing car. Crappy residential building on an opposite corner, SPANISH MUSIC blaring from one of the open windows, but not with a direct view on the loading yard fence on this side. Wilson nearing it now - taking something out of his pocket. One of the mysterious metallic tools from his travel kit. Snaps his wrist, unfolding the tool with a CRACK. Wire cutters. He does n't go for the gate, the padlock, like we might have thought. He suddenly drops to one knee, in shadow where the fence meets the adjoining building. SNAP, SNAP, SNAP, SNAP, SNAP - so quick, with great dexterity, though his face grimaces with the strength he has to exert with each application of pressure - he cuts just as many links as he knows he needs to push in a little flap of fence and roll under. Whole thing accomplished in seconds. LOADING YARD Walks fast to the cover of the trucks. Passes. Looks around. Cement loading docks and bays. Shuttered doors. He jumps up to one, puts his ear to the metal. Listens awhile. WILSON Scans the wall for any sign of an alarm box or anything. Then cocks an ear upwards. CAMERA CRANING UP to show us what he hears : an air - conditioning unit HUMMING away. Which means someone must be inside. Wilson looks back at his entry options. Not the loading doors - but a conventional door at one end, with a conventional lock his eye zeroes in on. Gets out his tools, going over.", "INT. WAREHOUSE HALLWAY. A SCRATCHING at the door. It opens. He's in. Waits. Cautious. Nothing. He starts along the hallway.", "INT. WAREHOUSE. A SUPERVISOR -LRB- the one from the flash cuts -RRB- does a double take as Wilson passes. SUPERVISOR Hey! Wilson stops and turns. Says nothing. SUPERVISOR How'd you get in here. WILSON Walked. SUPERVISOR You walked. -LRB- coming over. -RRB- What the hell are you doing here. WILSON Looking for a bloke named Valentine. Know him? MEAT PUPPETS -LRB- who we saw before as well -RRB- who work here gathering. The Supervisor and the Meat Puppets exchange glances. SUPERVISOR He's expecting you? WILSON -LRB- beat. -RRB- I doubt it. The Supervisor moves toward Wilson. SUPERVISOR So why would he want to see you. WILSON I have a message for him. About Jennifer Wilson. SUPERVISOR Jennifer Wilson. More looks are exchanged. WILSON You know her? SUPERVISOR Yeah. I know her, all right. She came down here once, stirred up a shitstorm. We lost a full day's work, took me weeks to get back on schedule. If she had n't a' been Terry's woman I would've broke her jaw. ` Course, she's nobody's problem now. Wilson stares at him. WILSON Is Valentine here? SUPERVISOR What do you think? Wilson looks at the Meat Puppets, the loading area. WILSON Where is he, then? SUPERVISOR Listen, get the fuck out of here before you get hurt. Who the fuck do you think you are, waltzing in here, asking questions? Wilson just looks at him. SUPERVISOR Do you hear me, asshole? The Supervisor shoves him. The Meat Puppets move a little in anticipation. Wilson is n't giving any indication that he's going to leave. SUPERVISOR Jesus, you really want your ass kicked, do n't you? He pushes Wilson again, hard. SUPERVISOR Go on, get outta here. He pushes Wilson again. Still, Wilson wo n't leave. SUPERVISOR Fuckin' nut. Go on. This time he tries to slap Wilson. Wilson blocks the Supervisor's hand and then punches him, hard. The Supervisor stumbles back and falls to the floor. THE MEAT PUPPETS Move to Wilson. He tries to fend them off, but there are too many. They beat him. When they find that he's armed, they beat him harder. CUT.", "EXT. BUILDING.  DAY. Wilson is taken outside and dumped. After a moment, he gets to his feet. Dusting himself. Reaches for ANOTHER GUN tucked in his lower back. He re - enters the building. A beat. We hear several SHOTS. Seconds later, one of the Meat Puppets comes stumbling out of the door, terrified. He runs past us, fast. A moment later, Wilson emerges, gun in hand. WILSON You tell him. You tell him I'm coming! CUT.", "INT./EXT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  DUSK. A series of images that prove Valentine -LRB- whoever he is -RRB- has taste, wealth, and influence, stretching back a good three decades at least. Walking through some of these shots is a young beauty in a bathing suit named ADHARA. She advances slowly, not entirely sure of herself, and stops to look at things just like we do. At one point she looks to see a BEEFY GUY -LRB- GORDON -RRB- sitting at the kitchen counter, flipping through a magazine. He looks her up and down, more from reflex than anything. She continues on. Eventually she emerges through sliding glass doors and on to a patio. HER POV A figure by the pool, talking on the phone. His back to us. The pool is spectacular, mosaic tile bottomed. ADHARA Approaches, then sits beside him. His voice is soothing, but with the tiniest hint of exasperation that comes with being slightly ahead of everyone. VALENTINE -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Not before. Not before. Think about it. What does it mean? What - no, I'm not. Think. Yes. See? You figured it out all by yourself. I know. Are we done? Okay. He hangs up, stands, still does n't turn. VALENTINE Adhara. I told your father, if you're looking for a name, you ca n't go wrong with a constellation. ADHARA I used to hate it. Now I like it. VALENTINE Could be worse, he could've named you Reticulum. He turns and we see him for the first time. VALENTINE Polished. Handsome. Charismatic. Especially when he's smiling like he is now. He leans over and kisses her. VALENTINE Is there anything in the world that you want or need? ADHARA I want to know why you need that scary guy in your house. VALENTINE Gordon? He's been with me for years. He's not as tough as he looks. ADHARA Then what good is he? VALENTINE Is it possible that you're too young to be acquainted with the idea of loyalty? ADHARA Is that a problem? VALENTINE Not for you, clearly. ADHARA I'm loyal to things that make me happy. VALENTINE Am I a thing? ADHARA Well, you're certainly not a person. VALENTINE I'm not. ADHARA No. You're not specific enough to be a person. You're more like a vibe. VALENTINE I'm so glad we're having this chat. ADHARA It's not a knock. VALENTINE It's not a compliment. ADHARA It's an observation. Like : I'm hungry. When are we eating? VALENTINE As soon as you get dressed. ADHARA What kind of food? VALENTINE Anything but Japanese. ADHARA Why? VALENTINE I'm not into finger foods. Too fussy. ADHARA Like you. VALENTINE I do n't like do - it - yourself cuisine. Buffets. Salad bars. ADHARA You demand to be served. A fork fetishist. VALENTINE It's just fuel to me. I'm not there for distractions. ADHARA For some, eating is a sensual experience. The sensual experience. VALENTINE That's what Gordon's always saying. ADHARA Oh, god. His cell phone rings. VALENTINE -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Yes. He listens, then looks up at his balcony, where a MAN -LRB- AVERY -RRB- stands holding a phone, obviously talking to Valentine. VALENTINE -LRB- into phone. -RRB- I'll be there as soon as I can. He hangs up. VALENTINE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- We can leave as soon as you're ready. ADHARA Okay.", "EXT. BALCONY.  EVENING. Valentine approaches Avery. VALENTINE What. AVERY There's been some trouble downtown. VALENTINE What kind? AVERY What the papers used to call a `` gangland slaying.'' VALENTINE Our black friends? AVERY No, Terry. They do n't work like that. Jenny Wilson's father paid a little visit, left a message. VALENTINE I thought he was in prison, in England. AVERY Well, either they have a very liberal work - release program, or he's out, because he's here in L.A., looking for you. Valentine is a little ruffled. Maybe Avery likes that. VALENTINE What do we do? Beat. AVERY We wait, and we watch. Valentine just looks at him.", "EXT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  POOLSIDE.  EVENING. Adhara approaches Valentine, who stands staring at the pool. ADHARA Italian? VALENTINE I'm sorry. ADHARA Italian. VALENTINE Who? ADHARA Not who, food. Should we get Italian. VALENTINE Sure. Turns to her. VALENTINE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Yes. Are you ready? ADHARA As long as I do n't have to pass Gordon again. I'm never ready for that. He smiles, rises, and offers her his hand. VALENTINE No. I know another way out. She takes it. CUT.", "EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING.  EVENING. ELAINE on her way in. Handsome woman. Intelligent, capable - looking. Passes Wilson who's leaning somewhere smoking. ELAINE Aware as a wary woman will be of a strange man's presence without necessarily having looked at him. Well aware too that he stayed where he was - so she unworriedly unlocks the building's security gate and goes through to the inner - COURTYARD - and closes the gate behind her, now seeing him amble up, arriving as it CLICKS shut between them. He's looking at her a certain way. She looks back. And knows. ELAINE You're Jenny's father. And the recognition on his part : WILSON Had a feeling it was you. ELAINE You look alike. WILSON -LRB- cigarette in hand. -RRB- Perhaps it was the smoke. ELAINE Not her brand. WILSON She used to pinch'em off me. -LRB- trying to defuse Elaine's cold stare. -RRB- Funny that. One thing she never tried to get me to stop. Elaine does n't soften. ELAINE Why did you come here? WILSON Wanted to talk to you, did n't I? ELAINE No, why did you come here? America. WILSON Sort a few things out. ELAINE Been busy, have you. WILSON How d'you mean? ELAINE It's been a while. WILSON I was skint - did n't have no money to get here. ELAINE That's not what I heard. WILSON What was that, then? ELAINE I heard you were - what's that adorable phrase? - `` at Her Majesty's pleasure.'' WILSON It was the bars, then. Indicating his face, viewed by Elaine through the barred security gate that divides them. ELAINE In any case, I do n't suppose the salary you make sewing mailbags is really commensurate with international airline travel. WILSON Sewing mailbags? Me? Never did an honest day's work in my life, dear. Was n't about to start when I was in stir - not with all that leisure time on my hands. ELAINE And not with all that buried loot you had waiting for you when you got out. From the Wembley Staduim job, was n't it? Pink Floyd concert receipts. Jenny would've been. fourteen at the time? WILSON -LRB- trying to conceal his surprise. -RRB- Hardly buried. Earning interest, love. Earning interest in an offshore account. Tidy little premium per annum, that. ELAINE Well, that kind of security ca n't be bought. Must be more comforting than a daughter to greet you. She turns to walk away. WILSON Here, are n't you gon na let me in. ELAINE -LRB- without looking back. -RRB- Try calling me again.", "INT. ELAINE'S APARTMENT.  EVENING. She comes in. A modest studio apartment. Puts her bag on the kitchenette countertop. Glances at her answer machine to see if she has any messages. The phone RINGS. She sits down glumly on her couch, holds her head in her hands.", "EXT. ELAINE'S APARTMENT BUILDING.  EVENING. Wilson gives up, starts to walk away. The gate BUZZES.", "INT. ELAINE'S APARTMENT.  EVENING. Elaine opens the door. Wilson in the hall. ELAINE I was just going to toss some vegetable rolls in the microwave, open a can of diet soda. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Want to take me out? CUT.", "INT. RESTAURANT.  NIGHT. Wilson and Elaine at a table. WILSON No, I went in for more improving pastimes. Philosophy classes, language courses, European history, all that lark. Did you know that in Paris in the Eighteenth Century there were more rats in people's houses than there were people in people's houses. ELAINE Sounds like Beverly Hills. WILSON Here, are you always this sarky? ELAINE Sarcastic, moi? Maybe I'll mellow when my ship comes in. It's expected any day now. I'm all packed and ready to go. WILSON Were n't you on a television series? ELAINE -LRB- has he seen it? -RRB- If it played in England somebody owes me money. Who told you that - Eddie? WILSON -LRB- yes. -RRB- Said it went on for donkey's years. ELAINE Three seasons. They found that's the limit of human tolerance when it comes to following the adventures of a family of Mormons on the Chisum Trail. -LRB- blinks coquettishly. -RRB- I was wife number three - the ingenue. WILSON Oh, it just ended, then. ELAINE Now who's being sarcastic? WILSON When you've lost as many years as I have, love, puts things in perspective, know what I mean. ELAINE I'm sorry. I guess the rest of us have no excuse for wondering where the time went. -LRB- raises her drink. -RRB- It must've been the bars. Their food arrives. ELAINE It's a kind of prison, doing a series. Early to bed, early to rise, no time off for good behavior, you grab the boodle for as long as it lasts. -LRB- the kicker. -RRB- Only difference is you ca n't get arrested afterwards. Wilson appears fascinated by the cold glasses of water on the table. Ice cubes CLINKING as he holds his. A BUSBOY bringing them to other people, too, just like that, without anyone even asking. WILSON I ca n't believe Jenny told you all that. About me. She was always so embarrassed. ELAINE Not embarrassed. WILSON -LRB- correcting. -RRB- Ashamed. ELAINE Not ashamed. Wilson looks at her. Okay. What then. ELAINE Disappointed. WILSON She never told Eddie, though. ELAINE She never told anyone else. -LRB- making light now. -RRB- About the convict strain - or is it stain? No, I was privileged. I was someone who helped Jenny efface her past. WILSON How'd you manage that, then. ELAINE When I'm not honing my craft in episodic television I do double - duty as a voice coach. Not that her accent would have hobbled her progress. Not with that look. WILSON Yeah, well, she started all that in London. ELAINE Modelling. WILSON Learnin' ` ow to speak proper. -LRB- putting it on a bit there. Then, upper crust :. -RRB- Central School of Speech and Drama. It's no doddle gettin' in there, y' know. At seventeen. They offered her a place at RADA n' all, only she'd've had to wait till the next session and she was always in hurry to get on, was Jenny. She could talk posh without any training, when she was knee - high to a grasshopper. -LRB- indicating himself. -RRB- Show up the old man, you know. Elaine smiles slightly. None of this information new to her. But warming to this man. ELAINE You were n't disappointed in her, then. WILSON In Jenny? ` Course not. How could I be. ` Course I was n't. ELAINE She was twenty - one when she came to me. -LRB- looks at him. -RRB-. Straight from leaving you. WILSON Footloose and fancy free. ELAINE She was happy here. However the two of you might have parted. Do n't think she was n't. It's because Wilson thinks the opposite that he's here. Looks at Elaine. WILSON That's the trouble, n' it. -LRB- hard as nails again. -RRB- She enjoyed life. CUT.", "EXT. OCEANFRONT.  NIGHT. They walk along the seafront. We HEAR the ocean but ca n't see it. ELAINE When did you get in? WILSON Yesterday. Afternoon. ELAINE -LRB- occurs to her. -RRB- You have n't been lurking outside my building all day. WILSON No, I had - some other matters to attend to, you know. Getting a car sorted. ELAINE I might've been away for the weekend. WILSON Well, I reckoned, Saturday night, if you were goin' out, you'd probably have to come home first. ELAINE And you've seen Eddie Rama. WILSON Yeah, saw Eddie, yeah. Me and him are muckers. Mates. Friends. Makes a kind of bonding gesture. ELAINE I should really give him a call. He's a character, is n't he. Well, not to you. I meant to us squares in the outside world. WILSON He give me your address. ELAINE I gave him yours. Said, here, you want to write, I think this is a relative. I guess I thought I was being true to Jenny. Who told me she did n't have a father - before proceeding of course to tell me why. WILSON Well, do n't suppose she did, really, most of her life. On her own after her mum died. Aunts and uncles for a time - and then the bright lights beckoned. ELAINE Were you still married at the time - to Jenny's mother, I mean? WILSON Nah, we split up when Jenny was six. Her second husband done a runner after she got sick. They give me compassionate leave from Parkhurst to go visit her in hospital. We were always mates, me and Jenny's mum. I like to think they're together again now. Y' know. Heavenly choir. Beat. ELAINE The address Jenny gave me, that was n't a prison, was it? WILSON Nah, accommodation address. ELAINE What's that, like a P.O. box. WILSON Something like that, yeah. ELAINE Where you get your bank statements. Wilson gives a laugh. WILSON Well, you got ta have something permanent, do n'tcha. Even if it's a hole in the wall. No matter which jug I might be transferred to, I always got someone on the out checks up on it for me, see. Anything I need to know, comes round on visitor's day - word in my ear. Elaine pauses. ELAINE Some word. Wilson leans on the wall overlooking the black ocean. Sound of WAVES gently lapping the beach. WILSON I already knew. Knew beforehand. When was it supposed to have happened? - two o'clock in the morning, Eddie said. ELAINE -LRB- watching him. -RRB- That's what was estimated. WILSON Eight hours difference between here and London. Would've been, what, ten in the morning, my time. I was just coming out on the yard. Now, I was in the habit of saving my newspaper till then. Bit of fresh air, stretch me legs - well, stretch the day out, really, that's what you wan na do. And I'll tell ya : I could n't open the paper. Could not pry the pages apart - it was like they was glued together. That's how weak my hands went. Thought I was having heart attack, only I knew I was n't. Bloke come up to me, he says, Dave, he says, you've gone all white. I said, fuck me, I've been in prison half my life, what d'ya expect. But he was dead on,'cause I could feel the blood drain right out of me head. And I knew. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Something had happened to Jen. They stand here a while. Listening to the BREAKERS hit the shore. CUT.", "INT. ELAINE'S APARTMENT.  NIGHT. They come in. ELAINE Make yourself at home. Steal something. That gets her a look. ELAINE There's nothing I ca n't afford to lose. She goes to make coffee. Wilson looks around. ELAINE Do you even know who Terry Valentine is? WILSON Well, I gathered something from the article what Eddie sent me. Some sort of pop music producer, was n't it. Maybe a smile from Elaine at the quaintness of `` pop'' music. ELAINE Rock n' roll, is what we called it. He's sort of a forgotten figure now, but back when the West Coast was the grooviest place on earth, Terry Valentine was where all the happenings happened. More of a kind of promoter, I guess, whatever that means. Just took that whole Southern California Sixties Zeitgeist and ran with it. Packaged and sold it. Made out like a bandit. VALENTINE. At home. Watching as Adhara undresses, either deliberately for him, or just casually. She smiles as she notices he's looking. WILSON What's he done lately. That line pregnant with meaning. Elaine looks at him. Avoids answering the question actually implied there. ELAINE -LRB- brings a tray over. -RRB- Lives high off the hog and waits for the next big thing. Like me - but on a grander scale of failure. WILSON Now, you should n't run yourself down. My employer, Mr. Lindgren - ELAINE - Your employer? WILSON - Mr. Lindgren. ELAINE Who's Mr. Lindgren? WILSON My employer. ELAINE What line is he in. WILSON Proprietor of a London firm. Of longstanding. ELAINE I see. WILSON Based in London, but with international concerns. ELAINE I bet. WILSON Various enterprises, style of thing. ELAINE I thought you said you never did an honest day's work in your life. WILSON Well, not to say Mr. Lindgren is dishonest, exactly. ELAINE -LRB- she gets the picture. -RRB- Right. WILSON Anyhow, he's always saying to me, Dave, never run yourself down, son -'cause there'll always be plenty of people willing to do it for you. ELAINE In what capacity are you employed by this Mr. Lindgren? WILSON This and that. Y' know. Ways and means. ELAINE - When he wants someone run down, you're willing to do it for him. They sort of come together - in mutual understanding - and sit down. Coffee steaming. ELAINE So what's the deal. You and Terry Valentine at twenty paces. Is that what this is about. WILSON Why not. ELAINE Are you serious. WILSON Have you ever known me not to be. Elaine looks away : ELAINE You fuckin' guys and your dicks. WILSON What'd you want me to do. Stay at home, twiddlin' me thumbs. Doing sweet F.A. -LRB- Fuck All. -RRB-. ELAINE You do n't believe it was a car accident. WILSON What do you think. ELAINE Terry's never going to give you satisfaction. Not the type. WILSON Depends, don' it. ELAINE On what. What makes you so certain. WILSON I'll bloody well ask him. ELAINE There's the phone. You want his number. WILSON That look again. WILSON I got his number. ELAINE Past caring. ELAINE I'm not going to help you. She goes into a bathroom. Shutting the door behind her. WILSON Sips coffee. Bites into a cookie. CUT.", "EXT. HILLSIDE.  UNDERBRUSH.  LATE AFTERNOON. Thickets part and we SEE Wilson scrambling up a rather steep hill. Coming to a ridge where he settles down to look at something O.S. His expression changes by degrees from curiosity to dawning realization to a kind of frustrated disappointment.", "INT. WILSON'S CAR (ON THE ROAD BELOW).  LATE AFTERNOON. Ed sits in here, RADIO on. Wilson appears out of the brush, gets in. Ed turns the radio down. ED -LRB- mindful of the odd car driving past. -RRB- Told you you would n't be able to see through that gate. WILSON Gate's open. I had a butcher's at the house. ED -LRB- alarmed. -RRB- Who'd you butcher at the house? WILSON Butcher's hook. Look. -LRB- does n't anyone speak English in this fucking country? -RRB- I do n't much reckon those minders of his. ED Huh? WILSON He's brought in the heavy mob. ED What? WILSON Extra muscle. Bodyguards. ED Has he? WILSON They look a right load of wallies. Patrolling back and forth outside the gate, all ponced up like the fuckin' Household Cavalry. -LRB- ducks suddenly. -RRB- Watch it. As one of the `` bodyguards'' runs by, only fleetingly glimpsed by us. ED That was one of them? WILSON -LRB- sits up again. -RRB- See what I mean? Wearing bloomin' uniforms n' all. Off Ed's perplexed look.", "EXT. HILLSIDE UNDERBRUSH.  LATE AFTERNOON. Wilson settles into position again, this time with Ed. WILSON Look at that. Ed just laughs. WILSON What's so fucking funny? ED Those are n't guards. They're valets. POV Now we SEE what Wilson had mistaken for Valentine's private army. Half a dozen VALETS outside Valentine's hilltop home. Dressed in matching attire, a couple of them wielding walkie - talkies. RESUME WILSON AND ED Ed's still laughing. WILSON Valets. What d'ya mean valets. What is he, then, the Earl of fucking Doncaster? ED Valets. They park cars. He's having a party. CUT.", "EXT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  LATE AFTERNOON. Wilson's car pulls up. He and Ed get out. Wilson engages in a mini tug - of - war with a Valet over his car key, it so rubs him the wrong way having to give it up. WILSON Keep it handy, mate, all right? We're not stopping long. He gestures, apparently getting the message across that he wants the car kept close by. VALET Yes, sir. WILSON Cheers. Exchanges the key for a card - which he turns over in his hand and studies curiously as they head inside. WILSON Valets, eh? Are n't we all la - de - da. ED -LRB- nervous being here. -RRB- I thought you just wanted to check out the house, man. WILSON Well, that's what we're doin', n' it. ED No one else is even here yet. WILSON First in, first out, that's me. Looking over to note the multi - car GARAGE off the main house.", "INT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  AFTERNOON. Wilson and Ed are among the first to arrive. A smattering of other GUESTS. Elaborate catered cuisine. They mosey over to the wet bar. BARTENDER Gentlemen. What can I get you. WILSON -LRB- suggesting Ed take first crack. -RRB- Dubonnet with a twist? Baby sham? Tomato juice and Tabasco sauce? By now his whole dynamic with Ed is a verbal tease. ED -LRB- to Bartender. -RRB- Got a Coke?", "INT. VALENTINE'S BEDROOM.  AFTERNOON. Valentine is checking himself in a full - length mirror. TV on in background, sound low -LRB- ENTERTAINMENT WEEK! -RRB- . Not quite satisfied, Valentine crosses to the bathroom. BATHROOM Valentine takes one more closer look. ADHARA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You have the same posters. Valentine turns. VALENTINE Hmm? ADHARA Is lounging in the large tub. Staring dreamily at a couple of framed posters on the walls : more 60's psychedelia. ADHARA That you have down at your office. Valentine sits on the edge of the tub. With a nostalgic air as he looks at her : the embodiment of youth. VALENTINE Different ones. He strokes her wet skin. They kiss lightly. ADHARA I like the colors. VALENTINE We all did. ADHARA It must've been a time. A golden moment. Beat. VALENTINE Have you ever dreamed of a place. you do n't really recall ever having been to. a place that probably does n't even exist except in your imagination. somewhere far away, half - remembered when you wake up. but when you were there you spoke the language, you knew your way around. -LRB- significant pause. -RRB- That was the 60's. With that exit line -LRB- practiced? -RRB- , he starts to go. Then pauses, turns again. VALENTINE No, it was n't. Was n't either. Comes back to her. Faraway look in his eyes. VALENTINE It was'66. early'67. -LRB- comes back to now. -RRB- That was all. He goes.", "INT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY.  AFTERNOON. Wilson wanders around, exploring the house. Comes to a wall of photographes. Casually scanning them as he passes slowly by, he's caught up short by one. POV A framed photo of JENNY, his daughter. WILSON A series of emotions play over his face. He turns - SEES Valentine coming down the stairs. Valentine joins the party without noticing him. BY THE BUFFET TABLE Ed peruses the available food. Valentine comes over to check it out. Glances at Ed without recognizing him. VALENTINE Hi. And goes away. Leaving Ed more nervous than ever.", "INT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  UPSTAIRS HALLWAY.  AFTERNOON. Wilson has come up here. Peeks into one room. Moves along to another : the master bedroom. Opens the door gently.", "INT. MASTER BATHROOM. Adhara is still enjoying her bath.", "INT. MASTER BEDROOM. Wilson enters. Careful. Aware that someone's in the adjoining bathroom. The soft RIPPLE of WATER from in there. Perhaps he even glimpses her through the door as he boldly looks around. He notices a video camera on a tripod, a cord running to the television. Suddenly we hear the CHIRP of a cellular phone. BATHROOM Adhara reacts. ADHARA Shit. She gets out of the tub and goes for the nearest towel. Quickly wrapping herself, she exits. BEDROOM Adhara enters and goes for her purse. She pulls the RINGING phone out and answers it. ADHARA Hello? Hey! Great. You got my message? Yeah. No, Crestview Terrace, not Crestview Place. Yeah, there's like three different ways up the hill ; the quick way is to bear to the right. Sure. Okay. Okay. ` Bye! She hangs up and begins toweling her hair. After a moment she stops. Something is n't right. She looks around the room, and her eyes stop on the TV. Her brow furrows, trying to place the familiar image on the screen : a girl towel - drying her hair by the bed. ADHARA That's me. She looks over to see the video camera, which has been turned on and pointed toward the bed. She's not sure if it's funny or creepy. CUT.", "INT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  DOWNSTAIRS.  AFTERNOON. Valentine mingling, all smiles and movement. WILSON At the foot of the stairs. Watches him, all stillness and intensity. VALENTINE Catches Wilson's eye for a nanosecond, does a subtle double take, then moves on.", "INT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  UPSTAIRS HALLWAY.  AFTERNOON. Adhara, dressed, looking great, exits the bedroom and heads for the stairwell.", "INT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  DOWNSTAIRS.  AFTERNOON. Adhara descends the stairs. WILSON Turning to SEE her as she comes down. ADHARA Makes her way across the room to Valentine. ADHARA Hey, I thought you were n't a buffet person. VALENTINE I'm a gracious host. WILSON Watching them, when - GUY Excuse me? Wilson looks at him. Reluctantly. GUY Do n't you work with Ian? WILSON Ian? GUY I could swear I met you with Ian at the EMI offices in London. WILSON Sorry. Was n't me. GUY You sure? WILSON Unless I'm not who I think I am. GUY That's too bad. Ian's got a good thing going over there. WILSON Yeah? GUY Turned that place completely around. 180 degrees. WILSON No kidding. GUY What I like about Ian, he believes in a chain of command, but not a chain of respect, you understand what I'm saying? WILSON Right. Chain of respect. That's good, that. GUY Yeah. I really admire the guy. Well. Good to meet you. WILSON Yeah. Cheers, mate. The Guy leaves. Wilson sees that Adhara is now on the other side of the room, separated from Valentine. He heads for her. VALENTINE Still dealing with people desperate to be the focus of his attention. He notices : WILSON AND ADHARA Talking in a corner. She seems attentive. VALENTINE In a SERIES OF CUTS, still being the gracious host, still keeping his eyes on : WILSON AND ADHARA Who, in a SERIES OF CUTS, continue to talk. Finally, they separate, Wilson heading outside onto a deck. VALENTINE Excuses himself from a group of sycophants and goes to her. ADHARA Valentine approaches and begins talking to her, low. After a few moments of conversation, they both look toward : WILSON On the deck outside. Joining Ed, who's taken refuge out here with a plate of food. What Wilson ca n't belleve when he SEES it - is that behind Valentine's house, which is on top of a high hill, is nothing but desolate scrub canyon. On the other side of the railing around the deck, which is surely less than regulation height, is a sheer drop into an abyss. WILSON -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- -LRB- jumps back with only slightly affected vertigo. -RRB- Flipping heck. Ed, a little more accustomed to L.A. architecture, nods in agreement. ED If you could afford a house like this you would buy a house like this. Wilson edges forward to the rail again. WILSON What are we standing on? ED Faith. They stand there looking out. Quite a view once you get used to it. Breeze. ED -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- -LRB- nods to the hazy distance. -RRB- You could see the sea from here if you could see it. WILSON Could you? But now Ed gives Wilson a nudge - SEEING that Valentine inside the house is making his way out here. WILSON Why do n't you go nick one of those little cooker what's its warming up the sausages cocktail and meet me in the garage. Look about for a toolbox while you're at it. Ed considers. His is not to reason why. ED Okay. Ed moves off. Valentine steps up, smile fully loaded. VALENTINE Hi. Terry Valentine. He extends his hand. Wilson shakes it. WILSON Pleasure. VALENTINE Have we met? There's something I ca n't quite - WILSON EMI in London. I work with Ian. VALENTINE Ah. WILSON You must know Ian. VALENTINE I do n't. WILSON Great bloke. Really turned things around there. 180 degrees. VALENTINE I suppose that's good, unless things were fine the way they were. WILSON Oh, I think a shake - up was in order. Definitely. Otherwise, people get lazy, do n't they? Forgetful. Start thinking they can get away with things. Got ta shake'em up now and again, make'em pay attention. Wilson looks at him. Valentine looks back. Something about those eyes. EXCITED GUY Terry, Terry. The Excited Guy appears, tugging at Valentine. WILSON Glad I got to meet you. EXCITED GUY Ter. Ter. you got ta. VALENTINE Thanks. You, too. WILSON Be seein' you. The Excited Guy ushers Valentine away. Wilson watches him go. EXCITED GUY Charles Grodin is here. CUT.", "INT. VALENTINE'S GARAGE.  AFTERNOON. Ed, waiting. Wilson enters. WILSON Got it? Ed displays the Sterno. WILSON Toolbox? Ed points to a table, where a toolbox sits. Wilson crosses to it, begins going through the contents. WILSON Put the Sterno on the ground, near the center of the garage. Ed does. Wilson pulls a brace - and - bit from the toolbox and crosses to the rear of one of the cars. Dropping to the ground, he bores a hole in the gas tank. Ed raises his eyebrows and moves toward the door. Wilson crosses to the other car and puts a hole in that gas tank as well. Then he puts the brace - and - bit back in the toolbox and heads for the exit, Ed right behind him, giving a quick backward glance. THE GASOLINE Spills out, slowly but steadily, and slithers toward the garage door.", "EXT. BETWEEN VALENTINE'S HOUSE AND GARAGE.  AFTERNOON. Wilson and Ed walk briskly along the path. WILSON -LRB- gives Ed parking ticket. -RRB- Bring the motor around. Bang out in front, right? ED You goin' back inside? WILSON One thing I need.", "INT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  DOWNSTAIRS.  AFTERNOON. Valentine is talking to Gordon, his beefy bodyguard, and looking around. He stops as he sees Wilson once again stepping onto the deck. He points Wilson out to Gordon, who nods and heads for the deck.", "EXT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  AFTERNOON. Ed hands the ticket to a Valet. He exchanges looks with a couple of the other Valets.", "INT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  DOWNSTAIRS.  AFTERNOON. Valentine is talking to Adhara, who is introducing her Girlfriend. As Valentine greets her, he glances outside where Gordon is approaching Wilson on the deck.", "EXT. DECK. Wilson SEES Gordon approaching. Gets ready to greet him. Removes cigarette from mouth, drops it to floor of deck, presses it out under his shoe. Limbers up his shoulders in a subtle way. Gordon coming towards him. As if to challenge Wilson's legitimacy as an invited guest. Closer. About to speak. But Wilson does n't even give him a chance to do that. In quick succession : Wilson HEAD BUTTS Gordon, splintering his nose ; KNEES him in the groin ; then, using the knee for leverage, grabs Gordon by the lapels - and heaves him over the railing! It happened so fast that if anyone else is nearby they probably did n't even notice - or did n't readily grasp what they saw.", "INT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE. Valentine had turned his attention back to Adhara and her Girlfriend. When he glances back to the deck he's a little concerned not to see Gordon anywhere out there anymore - just Wilson coming back in. WILSON Adjusting his jacket, walking back through the house. Behind him, people are rushing to the railing and looking over. A few yells of `` Call an ambulance!'' etc. are heard. VALENTINE Moves that way. WILSON Moving across the room towards the front door. They are heading right toward each other. WILSON AND VALENTINE Pass each other, eyes locked, almost dream - like. Wilson's eyes cold, though with the hint of a smile. Valentine throws a last look back before reaching the deck.", "EXT. DECK. Valentine pushes through to look over the railing. HIS POV Gordon - a crumpled, inert heap way down the hill below. VALENTINE Turns to look toward the front door. Wilson not to be seen. Valentine pushes through the crowd toward the door.", "EXT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  AFTERNOON. Valentine emerges in time to see Ed and Wilson pulling away. Wilson looks at him, impassive, through the passenger window. AVERY Is just arriving in his car. Valentine gestures at him. Suddenly we HEAR a loud, bass - heavy WHHUUUMMMPPP. Valentine -LRB- and a few others -RRB- turn toward the sound, which came from : THE GARAGE There is smoke coming from under the door.", "EXT. CANYON ROAD.  AFTERNOON. Wilson's car practically tobogganing back down the hill. BOOM! We hear an explosion from back UP the hill.", "INT. WILSON'S CAR. Ed jumps - though he's driving. The gas pedal his most pressing concern. Negotiating the dangerously winding road comes second. Exhilaration mixed with panic. WILSON Steady on. ED You steady on, man. What the fuck else did you do back there.", "EXT. ROAD. An especially sharp curve looms ahead. WILSON Flinches, grabs a handhold. CURVE Car makes it around on two side wheels. WILSON Gulps. WILSON Bloody hell. Ed regains control. AVERY In his car, takes a different turn.", "EXT. ROAD.  CAR. Swerves some more curves. Should be some sense here that a similar skyline route would have been taken by Wilson's daughter on her final drive.", "INT. WILSON'S CAR. ED Why did n't you just kill him, you had the chance. WILSON That would be too easy. ED Too easy? WILSON He's got ta know why. ED You think a fuckin' guy like that ever will? What more do you want, man? Suddenly out of nowhere - -LRB- a side street -RRB- - BAM! - another car shoots out to cut them off, sideswiping them.", "EXT. ROAD. Wilson's car SKIDS into a spin from the impact. THE OTHER CAR It's Avery. Chased them via a shortcut down the mountain. Now jumps out of his car, levels a shotgun at them and pumps off a BLAST. WILSON'S CAR BAM! - the trunk pops open as the car rights itself. Avery FIRES again, but the upended trunk is a kind of shield, deflecting the shot.", "INT. WILSON'S CAR. Despite the fact that Ed is still in the driver's seat -LRB- and managed rather skillfully to avoid crashing -RRB- - Wilson acts like he's not there, grabs the steering wheel, jams the car into reverse, virtually sitting on Ed as he pounds his own foot onto the gas pedal - and with his ferocious eyes monitoring the door - mirror, steamrolls the car backwards towards Avery.", "EXT. ROAD. Wilson reverses his car like a speeding tank : SMASHING into Avery's car. Pushing it right off the edge of the road. AVERY Falls backwards to the ground as he gets the hell out of the way. WILSON Jumps out of his car. Gun drawn. Advancing on Avery with it pointed. AVERY'S CAR CRASHING through underbrush down the steep bank of the hillside. WILSON'S FACE SOUND of the divebombing car OVER. Another pointed echo of his daughter's fate. AVERY Their eyes meet momentarily. And before Wilson can shoot, Avery rolls over the edge of the road himself. ED Calls frantically to Wilson from their car. ED C'mon, man! C'mon! SIRENS in the distance. WILSON That consuming rage overtaken him again for a second. But the exigencies of the moment snap him out of it. WILSON Turns on a dime, goes back to the car. Before he's halfway in, Ed's driving them away again. Trunk at the back BANGING up and down, up and down. AVERY Pulls himself back up to the road. Brushing himself off. Looking the way they went. He gently tosses his shotgun down into some thick brush where maybe he'll retrieve it later.", "EXT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  AFTERNOON. Avery returns, sweating, walking back up the road to where all the action is. Party guests milling outside, waiting for their cars so they can leave. A fire truck, a police car. SMOKE pouring out of Valentine's garage. Valentine finishes talking to a couple of COPS. Walks over to Avery. AVERY You should have let me do the talking. VALENTINE Why, because you're my security consultant? -LRB- insecure. -RRB- This cocksucker nearly burnt my house down. AVERY -LRB- more concerned about police presence. -RRB- What did you tell them. Valentine blows air, runs a hand through his hair. VALENTINE I told them a long - time employee flipped out. Had a drug problem, refused counselling. Set the garage on fire, then committed suicide. One of my `` guests'' tried to stop him - but how do you stop Gordon. In this context meaning how did that rangy Englishman do it. VALENTINE I mean, Gordon must weigh a good four hundred pounds. AVERY Heavier than that now. But are there any drugs in that stomach to back up your story. VALENTINE As it happens. I did n't make that part up. AVERY And where is this guest? Do n't they want to interview him. VALENTINE I do n't know everyone here. He was so traumatized he split. -LRB- another notion. -RRB- Maybe he was Gordon's pusher. Avery stares at Valentine. Impressed at him thinking on his feet. VALENTINE Where do you think he is, Mike. AVERY -LRB- already turning. -RRB- We'll find him. VALENTINE -LRB- stops him. -RRB- No. I mean. Not even your people should be involved. Right? It's too close now. AVERY You could use a few of my prime shitkickers up here. VALENTINE You think I'm staying? AVERY There's already gon na be talk about how people close to you keep falling into canyons. VALENTINE Well, can we make it one more. Nowhere the fuck near me. He's being glib, but he's being serious. His open - handed gesture inquiring of Avery : are you up to the task? AVERY I have other resources. He turns to go.", "EXT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  CANYON.  AFTERNOON. The huge dead bulk of Gordon hoisted back up to the deck by a paramedic team.", "INT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE. Valentine comes back in. In the living room beyond, Adhara stands anxiously, where she's been waiting for him. Cops visible outside on the deck, peering over the edge. VALENTINE Heading that way. Then stops. Backtracks. Something peripherally had caught his eye and he returns to it. His wall of photographs. AN EMPTY FRAME The one that had contained the picture of Jenny. CUT.", "INT. WILSON'S CAR.  AFTERNOON. Safely down the hill. Driving away in traffic, Ed calmer now. WILSON Pulls the rolled - up photograph of his daughter out of his jacket and looks at it. CUT.", "INT. POOL HALL.  NIGHT. Two characters stand, leaning, against a back wall. Staring ahead, without purpose. Halfheartedly watching a game of pool in progress. Just hanging out. Strange, threatening characters. One of them is young. Lean, hungry - looking. STACY is his name. A shrewd, scheming kid. But definitely a little unhinged. Weirder is his companion. UNCLE JOHN. The title is n't one of courtesy. He's an actual blood relative. Maybe 25 years older than Stacy. But intellectually younger. Physically, much bigger. The man is huge. Nevertheless, the safer of the two - until Stacy tells him otherwise. Way they're standing next to each other suggests the ease they feel in each other's company. Tight bond. They're good buddies. AVERY Walks in. Stops to look around. Spots his two freaks. Walks toward them. DOORWAY A mysterious black man has followed Avery in. THOMPSON is his name. He hangs back and watches. AVERY Makes contact. AVERY Stacy. Stacy turns to see him. Uncle John looks vacantly. STACY -LRB- bored. -RRB- Hey. AVERY Come over here. That was in the way of an order. He nods around the corner where it's less crowded. Stacy stops Uncle John from following, and goes after Avery. THOMPSON At the bar. Keeping his eye on them. AVERY Speaks softly. Alone with Stacy. AVERY How they goin', kid? STACY Not bad. AVERY How'd you like to kill someone for me? STACY Okay. Avery gives him an envelope. AVERY Same as last time - the rest after. STACY -LRB- pockets it. -RRB- Where do we go? AVERY When you find the guy, you'll know. STACY What shit is this. I just do it. I do n't prepare it. AVERY I'll point you in the right direction, but you'll have to take it to the end - zone. He's a hit - and - run gunman - I figure he's not cruising the Polo Lounge. STACY This is un - fucking professional. AVERY See, a successful man like me has limitations - I lose touch at a street level. So I have to depend on a smart boy like you who's closer to the nitty and the gritty than I am. STACY Fuck you, Mr. whatever - your - name is. This is a lifestyle I embrace. AVERY That's why I'm letting you take care of this. I'm the one with appearances to maintain. But who gives a shit about you? Not even God. CUT.", "INT. WILSON'S MOTEL.  NIGHT. Wilson on the bed. Watching TV -LRB- ACCESS HOLLYWOOD! -RRB- . KNOCK at door. He turns down the TV. Takes a.45 from the springs under the bed. Looks carefully through the peephole in the door. Opens it. Elaine has come to visit. Lets her in. After closing the door resumes his position on the bed. Elaine looks around. ELAINE I was in the neighborhood. I come down here quite a bit. Watch the planes taking off. -LRB- re this motel. -RRB- Study the architecture of early David Lynch. But she does n't really have it in her to be ironic right now. Leans back against the door. Wilson remains silent. He's done the same to Elaine now that he did to Ed. Almost magically induced her to a confessional verge. Elaine, too, is n't sure she wants to be complicit in this revenge tragedy. But here goes : ELAINE Jenny was supposed to come to my place that night. She called me, asked if she could come over. She and Terry had been - having some trouble. Lately. I do n't know about what. On this occasion, it reached some sort of crisis point. WILSON She told you all about my details but not about his. Lovely. ELAINE She'd never called me like that before. She sounded more. pissed off - angry - than upset or afraid. But she never turned up. I called the house but only got the answer machine. When they found her. she'd been going the wrong way. Not the direction she'd have gone if she'd been coming to see me. Or coming straight to see me. Who knows. Maybe she just wanted to drive. She looks at Wilson. Shrugs. That's it. That's all. Is n't it? WILSON -LRB- measured. -RRB- How did you come to have my address? Found it, did you. Among her things. ELAINE You think Terry gave me access to her things? Probably sold her clothes. WILSON -LRB- gently urging. -RRB- And how did you get it? Elaine looks at him. ELAINE She gave me your address. Wilson nods. ELAINE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- -LRB- starting to realize. -RRB- Not long before. -LRB- realizing. -RRB- She said if anything ever happened. -LRB- realizes. -RRB- That's how you know. That's why you're so sure. -LRB- realization. -RRB- Jenny's telling you. She's sitting on the bed now. CUT.", "EXT. MEAN STREET.  NIGHT. Stacy, putting on a jacket that says `` Bomb Hanoi'' comes out of the pool hall. Uncle John in tow. UNCLE JOHN How much. STACY Five thousand. UNCLE JOHN -LRB- impressed. -RRB- Hey. STACY -LRB- taps pocket. -RRB- I got half. UNCLE JOHN Makin' trouble for someone? STACY Yeah. UNCLE JOHN Which kind? STACY The forever kind. BEHIND THEM Thompson, the mysterious black man, watches them from the hall doorway. CUT.", "EXT. WILSON'S MOTEL.  MORNING. Early.", "INT. WILSON'S ROOM. Wilson and Elaine. Getting dressed. She's in pantyhose. Fastening a bra. He's got trousers on, reaching for a shirt. WILSON How long've you lived here? Elaine sits on the bed, fastening her skirt. Her bra strap cuts across her bare back. ELAINE This town's been chewing my flesh since. what we now refer to as `` the early 70's.'' -LRB- thinks back. -RRB- Christ, my past became nostalgia and no one even asked me. WILSON Early 70's. I was away. -LRB- tries to remember. -RRB- Maidstone. Possibly Brixton. ELAINE These more highlights from the Zagat prison guide? Wilson looks at her : she's the one who goes to bed with ex - cons. WILSON You do n't seem bothered. ELAINE You do n't know how I've compromised my standards. WILSON Tell us about it. ELAINE It's too involved ; a lifetime of non - involvement. Anywhere else I'd be an interesting little number, here I'm just SAG number forty - eight thousand and one. -LRB- quickly. -RRB- SAG meaning Screen Actor's Guild. WILSON Oh, I was gon na say. ELAINE Still, there have been rewards. It's sunny. And some of the producers who call even have credits. WILSON I can see the attraction. She glances up at him to try and see how he means that. Is he looking at her or out the window? ELAINE What did you do? To make them take the early 70's away from you. WILSON A jeweller's up the West End. We tunnelled our way under the shop floor from the public lavatory down the road. Filthy work. Trouble was, the bloody thing collapsed - after we'd made the grab,'n all. Would you Adam n' Eve it. ELAINE You mean if they'd nabbed you before you actually broke and entered you would only have been charged with making a mess. WILSON We were lucky to be nicked. Me and the lads went down there Sunday evening, we were n't discovered till the Monday. Good job we were still breathing. ELAINE It did n't discourage you, though. WILSON Hey? ELAINE From pursuing your chosen profession. WILSON I'll tell ya something : it made me a model prisoner. Put me right off any escape attempts. Tunnel my way to freedom after that experience? Not bloody likely. ELAINE I was inside once. I punched a cop at a demo. WILSON Did you. What was that in aid of? ELAINE Who remembers. WILSON Get seven years, did you? ELAINE Overnight. What about just now? WILSON Just now? -LRB- playful, goes over, ready for more. -RRB- Overnight? ELAINE You have been away. -LRB- lies back, regards him carefully. -RRB- Or is all this just new to you? WILSON It's true. Has to be said. I got off to a slow start. ELAINE I do n't believe it. WILSON Honest. Did n't know where to look till I was 21. ELAINE Pushing the legal limit even then. He stands again, vaguely disappointing her. WILSON Me mate introduced me to a woman up the street. Funnily enough, she was married to a milkman. Straight up. I said, `` Good is she? Been around?'' He said, `` Good? Listen, mush, it's not that she's been around, it's that she's been around hell of a long time.'' He laughs uproariously at that. But the point is : he's sort of complimenting both Elaine and himself. They've been around, had their knocks, they've lasted. Elaine remains unsmiling. Still leaning back on her elbows on the bed, in bra, skirt, hose, no shoes. She asks again the question Wilson avoided answering. ELAINE Your most recent incarceration. What was that for? And again he evades the answer she wants. WILSON It was for nine years. -LRB- buttoning his shirt. -RRB- The last nine years. CUT.", "EXT. PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY.  MORNING. For the first time, we see the Pacific coastline. Impressive. And a sleek Italian sports car. Heading north.", "INT. SPORTS CAR. Valentine at the wheel. Adhara besides him. ADHARA I've lived in L.A. all my life, I've never done this drive. VALENTINE All your life. That happened while I swam the length of my pool. Adhara looks back over her shoulder. Checking the road behind. VALENTINE What's the matter? ADHARA Nothing. I guess it's hard to pass on this road. VALENTINE The freeway's faster, but lacks a certain majesty. ADHARA Just feels like the car behind has been following us the longest time. VALENTINE I sure hope so.", "INT. THE CAR BEHIND. A big utility vehicle. With Avery in the front passenger seat. And three bodyguards he's brought along to protect Valentine. RICK driving, TOM and LARRY in the back. TOM All I'm sayin' is travel time should n't be the same rate. Travel time is down time, right? I mean, we're not even in the same car as the client. -LRB- to Avery. -RRB- You told me the job was at the house. When we get to it. Well, are we shadowing the client right now or are we just going the same way? The company I was with in Seattle, these distinctions were made. Now, I do n't dispute him getting the full whack. -LRB- he means Rick, who's older. -RRB- Seniority and all that. But if I'm getting paid the same hourly rate when we're at the house as I am in this car, that does n't sit well with me and I feel obliged to say so.'Cause in Seattle what you're paying now for so - called travel time was half what we got for actual clock - time with the client. So I just feel we should get more when the job actually commences. After this spineless whining weak - willed sob story, Larry just turns to him and says : LARRY I'd really like to eat your pussy. CUT.", "EXT. ELAINE'S NEIGHBORHOOD.  DAY. Stacy and Uncle John sitting on a bench in a beach setting -LRB- though we still do n't see the ocean -RRB-. Or on some grass, maybe, in a little park - opposite Elaine's building. People - watching. In their own unique way. Stacy commenting on fellow humanity all around them. TIME CUTS between each comment : STACY -LRB- after laughing loudly at a handicapped person. -RRB- I believe in mocking the afflicted. Good for'em. Makes'em stronger. Uncle John picks at the grass or sand. As they kill the day. STACY -LRB- spotting a woman with a dog. -RRB- Ever take a look at the women who work in pet stores? Wow. STACY -LRB- as a fat jogger passes. -RRB- Good luck. STACY -LRB- watching someone else go by. -RRB- Jesus, are you gay enough or what. STACY -LRB- barely out of earshot of a black woman with dyed blonde hair. -RRB- Very attractive. Good idea. Now I really want to fuck you. STACY -LRB- after a long time in silence, just staring at someone. -RRB-. you can always tell the ones who'll do anal. STACY -LRB- regarding some other beachgoers. -RRB- Kinda makes you wonder why more people do n't put a bullet through their fuckin' skulls, does n't it. STACY -LRB- reading a newspaper. -RRB- Looks like they just airbrushed the dick out of his mouth. STACY -LRB- leaning back on his elbows. -RRB- Why do n't they have TV shows about people whose daily lives you'd be interested in watching. Y' know. Like SKINNY LITTLE WEAKLING. Or BIG FAT GUY. SICK OLD MAN. FAMILY OF LOSERS. Would n't that be good? STACY -LRB- sitting up. -RRB- Two blacks and a Mexican in a car. Who's driving? UNCLE JOHN I do n't know. STACY The L.A.P.D. STACY -LRB- observing a `` fast - walker''. -RRB- Oh yeah, keep doing that. That's really healthy. STACY -LRB- his gaze following another unfortunate. -RRB- Ca n't you do something about your ass? STACY -LRB- his head turning after someone else. -RRB- Other people's lives scare the shit out of me. STACY -LRB- watching some guy rooting in a trash bin. -RRB- `` Homeless'' people. Fuck them. Remember when they were just bums? Everyone with an axe to grind. Like to grind in their face. Pretty soon there'll be shit - in - your - pants rights groups. Stupidity activists. STACY -LRB- glad he's who he is and not who he's looking at. -RRB- Wonder what it's like being a dumb guy in a dumb suit trying to cross the street. STACY -LRB- staring at another sad couple. -RRB- Life sure is a minefield. STACY -LRB- clocking another female. -RRB- Look at that one. She's really been used. STACY -LRB- in a contemplative mode. -RRB- I'd love to be famous so I could snub ordinary people. Imagine, you're famous, you're sitting in a restaurant, some fool comes up to you, wants you to sign your name on his napkin, his wife is there, it would be something these poor saps would cherish the rest of their lives, talk about to their cretin friends. Bam! You tell'em to FUCK OFF! God, I'd love that. Suddenly Uncle John speaks. UNCLE JOHN Is that her? I bet that's her. Stacy turns. POV Across the street, Elaine comes out of her building. -LRB- We're supposing this is an apartment building somewhat worth living in that has outdoor parking of some kind, visible from the street, or only street parking. -RRB- CUT.", "EXT. SOME STREET.  DAY. Elaine's car on the move. Stacy and Uncle John in a car following.", "INT. ELAINE'S CAR. Going somewhere. Unaware of the creeps in her wake.", "INT. STACY/UNCLE JOHN'S CAR. An `` 8x10'' of Elaine on their back seat. Another picture of her on a page torn from a `` Player's Directory.'' UNCLE JOHN Maybe she does n't even know the English guy. STACY -LRB- driving. -RRB- Avery said she was tight with his daughter. UNCLE JOHN That do n't mean nothin'. Stacy knows better than to argue with a moron. UNCLE JOHN She's nice lookin'. STACY So what. UNCLE JOHN I dunno. I just said she's nice lookin'. STACY And I said so what. You think she's any happier? UNCLE JOHN What d'you mean, any happier? STACY Any happier than any other asshole in life. Pause. UNCLE JOHN I dunno. I never met her. CUT.", "INT. SOUND STUDIO.  DAY. On screen : A BEAUTIFUL MODEL - but speaking in ELAINE'S VOICE. ELAINE At a mic. Wearing headphones. Matching her voice to the model's lip movements. Looping this commercial or whatever it is.", "INT. HALLWAY. Wilson. Comes to a window where he can see Elaine inside in the sound - proofed studio. CUT.", "INT. SOUND STUDIO.  DAY. Wilson and Elaine talk while technicians change reels. ELAINE - they want Southern, I do Southern, they want Midwest, I do Midwest, they want tall, blonde, and twenty - two, I'm shit out of luck. -LRB- pauses. -RRB- One thing I ca n't do is English. Americans ca n't. Should n't even try. And Laurence Olivier could n't do us. WILSON You ever been to London? ELAINE Only in the movies. WILSON I've ` ardly ever left it. ELAINE Yeah, well, you're here now -. -LRB- re Wilson's accent. -RRB- - where hurricanes hardly ever happen. WILSON I've got the hang of the driving. Found this place all right. ELAINE Stick with me, kid. Looks big when you get here but you can cover it in five minutes. Beat. ELAINE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- So, is there anybody in your family who's not a criminal? WILSON Not that I recall. ELAINE What about your grandmother? WILSON Nah - she was married to me grandad - he was as bent as a boomerang - used to make knuckle - dusters down the shop. Crafty old sod. ELAINE He alive to see this? WILSON -LRB- shakes head. -RRB- Dropped dead in the stalls in the Odeon, Muswell Hill. Watching Doris Day. ELAINE What'd your father do? WILSON Black market during the war. Elaine shakes her head. ELAINE I guess you're just habitual. WILSON You sound like my fucking probation officer. ELAINE Wo n't he be looking for you about now? WILSON Good luck to him. He could n't find his prick if he did n't wear Y - fronts. ELAINE Minor officials bother you, do n't they? WILSON Do us a favor. Ca n't even go have a slash without'em saying, what're you going in there for?", "EXT. ELAINE'S BUILDING.  DAY. Elaine and Wilson enter. Stacy not far behind. Catches outside gate before it slams shut. CUT.", "INT. ELAINE'S BUILDING.  DAY. Wilson and Elaine turn the corner into the corridor approaching her apartment door. Pause to kiss. Walk closer. And Stacy appears at the other end of the hall. Both arms stretched out with the.38 at the end of them. STACY Hi, kids. Starts to squeeze off a shot. As Wilson pushes Elaine to the floor. As another SHOT rings out from further along the hall behind Stacy. Catching him across the cheek. Only skimming him. But knocking him down. Bullet chipping the wall. UNCLE JOHN Across from Stacy. Freezes, his own gun in hand. AT THE STAIRS Three BLACK GUYS. Including Thompson. They approach. Guns pointed at Stacy and Uncle John. WILSON Hand on his.45 now. But a fourth Black Guy coming up behind him. Wilson lowers the.45. ELAINE Flattened herself back against a wall. Petrified. STACY Sits on the floor. Holds his hurt face. Thompson walks over and picks up Stacy's gun. One of the other blacks relieves a reluctant Uncle John of his. THOMPSON -LRB- stops at Wilson. -RRB- Come with us. If there's any doubt whether Wilson will - one of the blacks gently puts the muzzle of a gun to Elaine's head. Cocks the hammer. They all go off down the stairwell. Except Stacy and Uncle John. Hit men wondering what hit them. CUT.", "INT. ROOM.  DAY. Like Wilson's motel room, another version of a cell. A small window, high up. Bricks and debris around the floor. And Wilson and Elaine. Sitting, leaning against opposite stone walls. ELAINE Tell me you would n't prefer a steady income. Wilson takes a cigarette pack from a pocket. Lights himself one. Then tosses the stuff over to Elaine. WILSON I got a steady income - I'm on the dole. ELAINE -LRB- lights up. -RRB- A leech on the welfare state in addition. You do n't miss a trick. WILSON I fiddle it. They got me down as an immigrant with five kids. Elaine sort of shares a laugh at that. ELAINE Yeah. Jenny spoke fondly of her imaginary siblings. Though real ones might have been nice. This an unspoken thought between them. ELAINE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Do you remember the last time you saw her? WILSON Last time might as well've been the first. I remember all the times, do n't I. Watching her grow up -. -LRB- finding the word. -RRB- in increments. ELAINE She told me you were a ghost in her life. Daddy the friendly ghost. Coming back to haunt her. WILSON Well, she twigged by the time she was eight or nine that daddy was n't in the Royal Marines or doing scientific research in the jungles of Borneo or playing Iago in a worldwide tour of OTHELLO. ELAINE Still, you could never. do what she wanted. Wilson shakes his head. WILSON She used to tell me she'd turn me in. -LRB- tries to laugh about it. -RRB- Little kid. Ten year old. `` If you're naughty, Dad, I'll tell on ya.'' She did n't want me sent down again, see. When I was planning some job. `` I'll tell'em, Dad, I promise I will. Here, look, I'm calling the Old Bill right now'' - picking up the telephone. I can see her, the phone in her hand. Became a sort of joke between us. Only it was n't a joke. ELAINE She never would have turned you in, not in a million years. WILSON I know that. But as time went on. well, it was n't a joke, was it? She had a feeling about it - about the last job - how long I'd get the hook for. Said she would n't be there this time when I got out. DOOR opens. Thompson. Gun in hand. CUT.", "INT. HALLWAY.  DAY. Thompson leads Wilson past a row of windows. Dockyards, harbor activity outside. Toward a door with things stencilled on it. One of them : US DEPT.. OF CUSTOMS.", "INT. OFFICE. A man named FEATHER. Black. Half sitting on the edge of a table. Wilson is shown in. Wilson at the door. Sizes Feather up at a glance. WILSON This is where I come in. He walks confidently in. Outside, through the window, an image of a foreign sports car being hoisted in the air by a crane. There's a chair. Wilson sits in it. Feather squints a little. Seems ready to listen to whatever Wilson has to say. WILSON -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- How's it going, squire, all right? Now listen - when I was in the nick - second time, it was - no, third. Third stretch, yeah. There was this screw had it in for me. That geezer was top of my list. Two years after I was slung, I saw him. He was sitting on a bench in Holland Park. There was no one else about. I coulda gone up behind him and snapped his fucking neck. But I left it. Coulda nobbled him, but I did n't. ` Cos what I thought I wanted was n't what I wanted. What I thought I was thinking about was something else. This berk on the bench was n't worth my time. See what I mean? It did n't matter. It meant sod all in the end. Feather has been listening to this, expressionless. Now he raises a finger as if there's a point he wants clarified. FEATHER There's one thing I do n't understand. -LRB- wants to make this clear. -RRB- The thing I do n't understand. is every motherfucking thing you're saying. WILSON Look, mush, you're the guv ` nor here, I can see that, I'm on your manor now, right. So there's no need to get out of your pram. I'm Johnny - come - lately to all this. Whatever the bollocks between you and this slag Valentine, it's got nothing to do with me. I do n't wan na know. FEATHER Well, I'll tell you. I believe this Valentine screwed me out of a fair sum of money. WILSON I can well believe it. I'm sure he has done, son. He's about as straight as a dog's hind leg. FEATHER But I ca n't be sure. I do n't even know who he is. He's too insulated. Too many layers around him. WILSON Your guess is as good as mine, mate. I'm here on another matter entirely. FEATHER -LRB- moves to window. -RRB- Yeah, I guess you are. WILSON Good job your lot showed up when they did or it would've been me for the high jump. FEATHER That dude who works for Valentine. He's the one sent those guys after you. You know that. WILSON Yeah. Should n't wonder. Must've done. FEATHER So what's your beef, pal? WILSON Nothing financial. Strictly personal. -LRB- moves to window. -RRB- I can see how all this import - export malarkey might give rise to confusion where I'm concerned. A foreigner, showing up unexpectedly, like. FEATHER -LRB- looks at him. -RRB- It was you. Downtown. WILSON -LRB- all innocent. -RRB- Eh? FEATHER Because that was n't anything to do with me. And suspicion has been cast in my direction. -LRB- pondering. -RRB- Did n't make any sense. Choosing those shitheads over me, cutting me out of the deal, then screwing them over too. WILSON No, I can reassure you on that point. Valentine was just as surprised by that turn of events as you. FEATHER He'd already grabbed more than his allotted cut. Did n't think he'd be so bold as to take all of it. WILSON All of what? FEATHER Of the deal, man. WILSON Oh, yeah, right. The deal. FEATHER But if you're mad at him too and he's mad at you. that must make us pals. WILSON As you prefer, squire. As you prefer. FEATHER -LRB- weary of his life. -RRB- In which case I'll just do what I usually do. WILSON And that is? FEATHER What am I doing? He's standing at the window, staring out. As if Wilson is n't even in the room any more. A ship being loaded out there. Inspectors with clipboards. Trucks like the ones we saw at that warehouse downtown. WILSON Looking the other way. -LRB- turns to go. -RRB- Gotcha. CUT.", "EXT. INN.  DAY. Along the way up the coast. Through a window we SEE Valentine and Adhara enjoying a pleasant lunch. The bodyguards hang out by the cars outside with fast food bags and drinks. TOM -LRB- to Rick. -RRB- I mean, how much are you getting? Just as a point of interest. See, I did n't realize there was a sliding scale. AVERY At a payphone. His idiots in the background. Dials a number.", "INT. POOL HALL.  DAY. Stacy. Nasty bruise on his cheek. Takes a cue off the rack. Chalks up. STACY Straight rotation, no shit, call your shot. UNCLE JOHN Lem me break. They're playing against a couple of other creeps. CREEP You broke last time. STACY Let him break - he likes to break. CREEP Fuck you. STACY I would n't talk. CREEP Huh? STACY I saw your mother on the Strip last night. She went up to three guys, said she'd like'em to stick one in each, know what I mean? Creep rushes Stacy. But does n't get past Uncle John. Who drops him with one punch. Flooring him between two pool tables. Stacy then goes over. Supports himself with a hand on each table, swings his boot into the thug's face. BARTENDER -LRB- calls. -RRB- Stacy. Stacy looks. Bartender holds up phone. Stacy goes over. BARTENDER -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- I can do without you inhibiting my business. Stacy just scowls, takes the phone. STACY -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Yeah. UNCLE JOHN Breaks. STACY Hangs up. Goes back to Uncle John. Picks up his cue again. STACY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- We've been fired. CUT.", "EXT. VALENTINE'S HOUSE.  L.A.  DAY Someone we've never seen before and will never see again stands in Valentine's driveway. His name is FIELDING. A car comes up. Another guy, GRAMMS, sits in it. He waits. Eventually Fielding walks over. GRAMMS -LRB- re : the burnt garage. -RRB- Valentine had himself a party, I hear. FIELDING -LRB- by rote. -RRB- My client has already given a statement regarding yesterday's events. GRAMMS A statement? I would n't mind getting a statement. You see, my client - the United States Government - would love to get a statement about a few of the deals going down with your client. FIELDING Deals? My client is involved in any number of deals at any given moment. You'd have to be more specific. GRAMMS Your client have a deal in Long Beach? How about downtown? There's some folks there - oh, wait, they're all dead. Any of this ring a bell? FIELDING My client is an entrepreneur. I am his lawyer, not his business manager. GRAMMS So you would n't have any idea how your client continues to make so much fucking money. FIELDING He's always been very forward - thinking. He invested wisely. GRAMMS Where is he now? FIELDING He had urgent business in the north. Gramms just laughs. Just laughs and laughs. And we leave him laughing. And Fielding not. CUT.", "INT. RESTAURANT.  KITCHEN.  DAY. Ed takes off an apron, heads out the door. It's clear that he's not the head chef here - because the HEAD CHEF, an Anglo, turns, wondering where he's going. Over this we hear : WILSON -LRB- over. -RRB- Where's Big Sur? ELAINE -LRB- over. -RRB- Up the coast. WILSON -LRB- over. -RRB- How far? ELAINE -LRB- over. -RRB- I do n't know - few hours, I guess. WILSON -LRB- over. -RRB- Fancy it? ELAINE -LRB- over. -RRB- I could use a vacation. Of course, I keep forgetting, for you this is a vacation. WILSON -LRB- over. -RRB- Never thought of that. -LRB- grunt of laughter. -RRB- Busman's holiday. ELAINE -LRB- over. -RRB- What's in Big Sur? WILSON -LRB- over. -RRB- That's where Valentine's scarpered. ELAINE -LRB- over. -RRB- How do you know? WILSON -LRB- over. -RRB- Bloke told me. Beat. WILSON -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- -LRB- over. -RRB- You should n't go back to your place. Not till. this is resolved. Another beat. ELAINE -LRB- over. -RRB- I hear it's a nice drive. CUT.", "EXT. RESTAURANT.  BACK ALLEY. Ed gets into Wilson's car. Elaine in there too. CUT.", "EXT. COAST HIGHWAY.  DAY. Wilson's rented car. Heading for Big Sur.", "INT. CAR. Ed drives. Wilson beside him. Elaine in the back. ED What d'you say, Elaine? ELAINE Not much - you? ED Same. ELAINE Uh - huh. ED Last time I saw you, were n't you up for some equity - waiver thing? ELAINE Probably. ED I was gon na be in that Michael Mann movie, you know - with Pacino and DeNiro. Got three callbacks. ELAINE Really. ED Did n't get it. ELAINE Well, those are the breaks. ED Not no more, they ai n't. I quit that acting shit, man. ELAINE You just cooking then? ED Hell, no. I started writing. Elaine and Wilson exchange glances.", "EXT. HIGHWAY.  DAY. Onwards. CUT.", "INT. BAR.  DAY. Stacy and Uncle John sit and drink. Uncle John lamenting their monetary loss. Stacy thinking to himself. UNCLE JOHN We coulda used the other two - and - a - half grand. STACY There's more than a measly few grand in this. UNCLE JOHN There is? STACY Something's on. UNCLE JOHN What? STACY I happen to know more about Mr. Whatever - his - name - is than he thinks I know about him and his operation. UNCLE JOHN You do? STACY You bet. UNCLE JOHN Like what. STACY Like he'd never hire me for real. Not week - to - week. I do n't have the credentials. He thinks I'm just a sociopath, someone he can turn to when he needs `` plausible denial.'' UNCLE JOHN Well, we blew it, did n't we? He ai n't wrong. STACY -LRB- savage mimicry. -RRB- `` He ai n't wrong.'' Listen, I know this asshole who did just go to work for him. Full - time. And this dickhead's parents just told me he took a road trip up the coast. That's the type of individual gets hired, someone who'll shoot his mouth off to his family while on the job. UNCLE JOHN I do n't get it. STACY I do n't know who that English guy is. Some kind of -. -LRB- finding the word. -RRB- - courier or something. Maybe a seller. Maybe a buyer. But Mr. Avery wanted him, those jigs wanted him - and I betcha there's a briefcase somewhere. UNCLE JOHN What's in it? STACY -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- Drugs? Cash? Both if we're lucky. UNCLE JOHN How we gon na get that lucky? STACY While they're all fucking each other over. couple of parties like us could move right in. CUT.", "EXT. HIGHWAY.  DAY. Wilson's car. Closer to Big Sur. Scenery more magnificent.", "INT. WILSON'S CAR. Ed still driving. Wilson next to him. Opening a new cigarette pack. ED I've been wondering something. WILSON Again? ED Do you have any friends, man? WILSON Yeah, I suppose. Call'em that, yeah. Down the boozer Saturday night. Meet some of the lads. ELAINE -LRB- a little more pointed. -RRB- Friends and colleagues. WILSON You ca n't count on very many people, that's the trouble. Number of times a decent job's been cocked up. ELAINE Poor baby. Little back - seat sarcasm there. Wilson looks kind of bitter. WILSON Useless gits. I was gon na do the Post Office once. ED What post office? WILSON The lot. The whole British bloody Post Office. I had a brilliant plan - all worked out - work of genius, it was. Could I get anybody interested? No - they're too busy pinching orange squash from the milkman. Lazy sods. Jumble sale on in Watford, they'll be up at the crack of dawn. ELAINE You're just on a higher plane, Wilson. WILSON Too bleeding true,'n' it. Flicks some cigarette pack paper out the window.", "EXT. HIGHWAY. The car speeds along. CUT.", "EXT. HOUSE.  BIG SUR.  DAY. An impressive clifftop dwelling. Isolated on a winding road. On a beautiful promontory overlooking the sea. Valentine RINGS the DOORBELL -LRB- actually CHIME -RRB-. It's opened by his ex - wife. SUSAN. Very well - maintained. 50 - something. Surprised to see him. But not overjoyed. VALENTINE Hello there. SUSAN What are you doing here? VALENTINE Exercising my visitation rights. SUSAN Since when? VALENTINE I miss my kids. SUSAN They're at college. Or does n't your accountant even tell you where the money goes anymore. Valentine goes inside.", "INT. HOUSE. He looks around. She does n't shut the door. VALENTINE You've made it. brighter. SUSAN I do n't want you here, Terry. VALENTINE Sure you do. He turns to look at her. Smiles. Somehow it does n't work on her. One of the reasons she divorced him. Just one. She sighs. Resigned to his presence. Starts to close the door. VALENTINE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Do n't shut the door - I have people with me. Now she gets it. SUSAN What kind of trouble are you in? VALENTINE No trouble. Susan SEES Adhara get out of the sporty car parked in the drive and stand against it in a posture of younger chick defiance. SUSAN Surely you can think of somewhere else to take one of your chippies for a quick getaway. VALENTINE Susan. He actually puts his hands on her arms. To hold her firm while he locks onto her eyes. And does n't smile. VALENTINE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- I just need. somewhere remote. Away from L.A. For a couple of days. -LRB- now the kicker. -RRB- I pay for this house too. Susan reads him. He's not claiming ownership rights. He's telling her this house, because of the connection to him, is a target of some kind. SUSAN What have you done? The Land Cruiser pulls up outside. Avery emerges, comes over, comes in. Susan notes the bodyguards out there as well. AVERY -LRB- to Valentine. -RRB- We were n't followed. -LRB- to Susan. -RRB- Susan. Valentine lets Susan go. Knowing she's now speechless at what's turned into, as far as she's concerned, a home invasion. VALENTINE -LRB- moving, looking around. -RRB- Where's. what's - his - name - Fred - SUSAN - You know his name is Frank. VALENTINE Is he here? SUSAN You know I do n't live with him. VALENTINE Go to him. Go to his studio, or writers workshop or artists colony, Esselin retreat, nudist camp - SUSAN Are you finished? VALENTINE In a couple of days this whole thing - SUSAN Who's looking for you? VALENTINE Go now. Encouraging, if not in fact ushering, her towards a bedroom. SUSAN It's been five minutes and I'm packing to leave again. I ca n't believe this. VALENTINE That's right, your life is Shit, and I'm to blame. It's that simple. That does it. Susan turns on him. SUSAN It is that simple. I blame you for everything. Losing inhibitions and chicks without bras did n't have to lead to hardcore porno in every American household : that was you. The first on your block to turn on a camera in a hot tub and peddle it to your friends. A little recreational pot did n't inevitably have to lead to the eventual devastation of the inner cities : you made that happen, the first time you bought a bigger stash than you yourself meant to smoke. It happened when you made your first buck hyping some so - called `` event'' that was over before it began or marketed some `` product'' whose only value was its instant disposability. You were the first person to see there was a lot of money to be made selling Navajo rugs - you've even stolen from the fucking Indians! You looked at Charlie Manson when all he had to show for himself was a guitar instead of a knife and saw another merry prankster, the freedom of the frontier. Your pal here -. -LRB- Avery. -RRB- - He saw gated communities. Rich people coming to him with their money, terrified of what people like you had left of this society. Why invest in a marriage and children when you had him? He's your oracle. But you could n't even trust in friendship, could you? Still he's the dog you call for its dinner. Because everything that might once have been fun or nice or sweet you had to turn mean and cold and sour. That was your `` genius,'' Terry. Have n't you read your own press? CUT.", "EXT. MOTEL.  EVENING. Wilson and his friends pull in. Get out of the car. Stretch. ELAINE -LRB- finding herself at another shithole. -RRB- What is it, you just like the reassuring smell of disinfectant? Wilson just heads for the motel office. Elaine and Ed follow a little distance behind. ED Hey, Elaine. You even know what he's saying half the time? ELAINE No, but I know what he means. CUT.", "EXT. DECK.  BIG SUR HOUSE.  NIGHT. Adhara sways in a hammock. Staring at Valentine. Wanting to know what the hell is going on. Valentine stands smoking at the rail, looking out over the dark sea. Ignoring Adhara. Avery sits at a table. Bodyguards visible inside the house. VALENTINE -LRB- finally, to Avery. -RRB- Do any of these guys cook? CUT.", "EXT. MOTEL PORCH.  EVENING. Wilson at the car. Elaine and Ed watching. Ed has gathered that something has developed between Wilson and Elaine. The way she's looking at Wilson. ED Reminds me of Jennifer. ELAINE -LRB- barely perceptible nod. -RRB- Hard to miss. Ed sighs. Awkward. ED I thought maybe you just came for the ride. ELAINE I'd rather be with him than without him. I do n't want to be found dead in L.A. Wilson walks back to them. Looking at Ed as if to say, ready to go? At her as if to say. maybe farewell.", "EXT. VALENTINE HOUSE.  NIGHT. Tableau. Evening has descended. Surfaces glisten from a light drizzling rain.", "INT. VALENTINE HOUSE, BEDROOM.  NIGHT. Adhara, dressing. Behind her, outside, way out of focus, a figure slithers by.", "INT. VALENTINE HOUSE, LIVING ROOM.  NIGHT. Valentine and Avery sit watching TV -LRB- CELEBRITY REPORT! -RRB- . Tom is behind them in the kitchen, flipping through Marie Claire magazine. VALENTINE Turns to look through the sliding glass doors. HIS POV Beyond the deck stands Larry, his back to us, facing the ocean.", "EXT. VALENTINE HOUSE.  BACK YARD.  NIGHT. Looking toward the house, Larry in the foreground, facing us. He takes a bite from a cinnamon granola bar, then looks at it unhappily as he chews. LARRY Fuck.", "EXT. VALENTINE HOUSE, ANOTHER ANGLE.  NIGHT. Looking at the house from the top of the hill. Rick stands in the driveway next to Valentine's car, smoking a cigarette. REVERSE ANGLE Wilson and Ed watching him. Wilson nods his head to the left, and Ed moves in that direction. Wilson moves quietly off to the right.", "INT. VALENTINE HOUSE.  LIVING ROOM.  NIGHT. Valentine and Avery, still watching TV. VALENTINE -LRB- re : the channel. -RRB- Check the news. Avery starts looking around. AVERY Where's the remote? Suddenly, we hear a CAR ALARM. Tom looks up from his magazine. Valentine looks to Avery, who shakes his head : It's nothing.", "EXT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  DRIVEWAY.  NIGHT. Rick turns and looks up the driveway toward the sound. He puts his cigarette out.", "EXT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  BACK YARD.  NIGHT. Larry has turned toward the sound as well. Through a partially obscured side entrance, he sees Rick walking up the driveway.", "EXT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  DRIVEWAY.  NIGHT. Rick walks away from us, toward the vehicle -LRB- the Land Cruiser they drove here -RRB- parked up the driveway. We lose sight of him as he crosses to the driver's side. The alarm goes off. We hold for several beats. He does n't emerge.", "INT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  LIVING ROOM.  NIGHT. Valentine and Avery are still looking for the remote. Avery stops, his attention drawn to the fact that he has n't heard anything from Larry. He crosses to the window. HIS POV The driveway, car at the top partially visible. No sign of Rick. AVERY His brow furrows. VALENTINE Notices this, looks out toward the backyard. HIS POV Same as before, except Larry is n't there. VALENTINE Moves to the sliding glass door to get a better look at the deck and back yard. Still no Larry. VALENTINE Where's Larry? AVERY Leaves the window and moves to Valentine. Tom has joined them. After a beat : AVERY Turn all the lights out. I'll get Adhara. Tom begins looking for the light switches. VALENTINE What's happening? Avery is already heading for the bedroom. AVERY Stay away from the windows.", "EXT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  BACK YARD.  NIGHT. Tableau. Avery exits the kitchen and takes the surrounding porch to the bedroom. Are we seeing this from someone's POV?", "INT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  BEDROOM.  NIGHT. Adhara, finished dressing, looking at herself in the mirror. The lights behind her go off. She turns to see Avery coming toward her to turn off the lights by the mirror. ADHARA Uh, you've heard of knocking? AVERY I need you to come with me. ADHARA Why, what - He takes her by the arm. Firmly, but not roughly. AVERY Please. She sees in his expression that something is up. ADHARA Okay.", "INT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  LIVING ROOM.  NIGHT. Tom and Valentine have finally found the light switches, and the room is dark. Valentine moves slowly to the window, takes a tentative peek. HIS POV The driveway. Hard to see. Is there something moving out by the shed? AVERY -LRB- off. -RRB- I thought I said stay away from the window. AVERY Entering the kitchen with Adhara in tow. He brings her around behind the counter. AVERY Everybody in the kitchen. Valentine and Tom move to join Avery and Adhara. AVERY Behind the counter. Everyone moves behind the large counter in the center of the kitchen and crouches down. They have a wall behind them and all the windows in front of them. ADHARA -LRB- scared. -RRB- What's going on? Avery and Tom have drawn their guns. VALENTINE We think someone is here. ADHARA We think? VALENTINE We ca n't find. -LRB- what are their names? -RRB-. two of our guys. TOM -LRB- fucking typical. -RRB- Larry and Rick. ADHARA Did somebody call the cops? Tom snorts. Avery looks at Valentine : Have n't you told this girl anything? VALENTINE No. ADHARA Why not? VALENTINE Because - AVERY Because I'm taking care of it. ADHARA You guys are fucking nuts, I'm calling - She starts to stand. Valentine pulls her down. ADHARA Hey. TOM Mr. Avery. Avery looks to Tom, who nods toward the back porch. THEIR POV A silhouetted figure is tentatively making its way along the porch, trying not to be seen. We do n't get a very clear glimpse. AVERY Draws his gun and takes aim. THE FIGURE Careful not to become fully visible, but growing more courageous with each step. AVERY Locked on him, waiting. VALENTINE Puts Adhara's hand to her ears. THE FIGURE We see a little more now than we have before. AVERY He sees enough. Squeezes off a series of SHOTS, the muzzle flash strobing the kitchen area like a flashbulb, Adhara and Valentine flinching. THE FIGURE Hit. Spinning and collapsing to the ground. AVERY Lowers his gun. Turns to Tom. AVERY Watch my back. Avery moves out from behind the counter and heads for the body.", "EXT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  BACK PORCH.  NIGHT. Avery makes his way to the figure, which is on its stomach and writhing slightly. AVERY Careful. Takes the gun and turns the body over. STACY Stares up at him, choking on his last few breaths. AVERY Puzzled. What the hell is this guy doing here? He starts feeling around Stacy's jacket for anything useful, but is interrupted when his hand EXPLODES, accompanied by the sound of a gunshot. He screams in pain.", "INT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  KITCHEN.  NIGHT. Valentine and Adhara drop to the floor. Tom, gun raised and pointing, tries to see who shot Avery.", "EXT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  BACK PORCH.  NIGHT. Avery is turning toward his assailant, but not fast enough. A shot rings out and part of his neck disappears in a blossom of blood. Stunned, he falls on his side, gasping. AVERY'S POV Uncle John. Close by, huddled by the lip of the cliff. He starts to move cautiously toward Avery and Stacy.", "INT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  KITCHEN.  NIGHT. Tom squints, trying to see. TOM Fuck. VALENTINE What? TOM Avery's down. TOM'S POV A piece of Uncle John's silhouette appears. TOM Fires at it. Did n't hit anything. TOM Fuck this. Tom jumps up and runs for the living room, firing his gun in front of him toward where he last saw Uncle John's silhouette. LIVING AREA Tom runs through and reaches the sliding doors to the back porch. A portion of the frame SPLINTERS from a gun shot as he gains access to the other side of the back porch.", "EXT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  BACK PORCH.  NIGHT. Tom is through the sliding doors and trying to make his way around to the driveway. UNCLE JOHN Crouched behind the opposite end of the porch, sticks his head up. HIS POV Tom crossing to the steps, slips on the damp wood, tries to right himself. UNCLE JOHN Squeezes off two shots. TOM Is shot in the ankle as he is about to reach the steps. He yelps in pain, tries to raise his gun. UNCLE JOHN Crouched down. A shot flies over his head. TOM Stops shooting. Tries dragging his shattered ankle to the steps. UNCLE JOHN Looks over the edge of the porch. HIS POV Tom turning toward the steps. UNCLE JOHN Fires at him. TOM Screams again as his elbow of his gun hand disintegrates. He slips on the first step and tumbles down, the gun bouncing beside him. UNCLE JOHN Sees this. Stands up to cross the back porch. Takes a step forward but is stopped by a bullet in the chest -LRB- about the only clean shot anybody makes -RRB-. He looks down at himself. UNCLE JOHN Shit. He looks up to SEE : AVERY Near death. Gun in his good hand. He squeezes the trigger again. UNCLE JOHN A small black hole appears in his cheek. He blinks, begins to raise his hand to his face, and collapses. AVERY Exhales and rolls over. TOM Still trying to get to his feet. He gives up and just lies there, panting. A HAND Reaches for the gun beside Tom. Tilt up with it to reveal : ED He puts the gun in his jacket and slides away.", "INT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  KITCHEN.  NIGHT. Valentine and Adhara are still stuck behind the counter. Valentine sees the shadowy shape of Ed slipping behind the back porch. VALENTINE Decides to make a run for it, following Tom's route, away from Ed. ADHARA Where are you going? LIVING ROOM Valentine runs to the sliding door, smack into : WILSON Standing there. Wet. Mad. He grabs Valentine by the shirt and pushes him back into the room. VALENTINE Bounces off the couch and onto the floor. WILSON Comes toward him. VALENTINE Grabs a lamp off an end table and hurls it at Wilson. It careens off Wilson's arm and shatters. WILSON Is almost on him now. VALENTINE Tries to scramble away. Throwing anything he can get his hands on at. WILSON Who keeps coming. He grabs Valentine, pulls him up, then throws him into the television. VALENTINE Crashes into the TV face first and bounces to the floor. WILSON Goes to him, grabs him by the neck with one hand and pulls out his gun with the other. He seems about to speak when suddenly he screams instead. WILSON AAAAGGGGHHHH! ADHARA Has just stuck a kitchen knife into Wilson's back. WILSON Turns instinctively and whips the pistol around, smashing Adhara in the mouth. ADHARA Hits the ground. She wo n't be retaliating. WILSON In agony, spinning, trying to reach the knife in his back, but IT'S JUST BEYOND HIS REACH. VALENTINE Scrambles through the sliding glass door.", "EXT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  BACK PORCH.  NIGHT. Valentine stumbles out. Notices Avery slumped on the deck, mortally wounded. Goes to him - as if concerned - but actually just to take the gun. Then runs off the porch toward the STEPS that lead down to the sea. WILSON Comes out after him, the knife still in his back. So intent on catching Valentine he fails at first to notice Avery lying in the shadows. AVERY Has just barely managed to reach Stacy's pistol. Raises it weakly. Points it at Wilson. WILSON Seems to feel it. Turns. Locks eyes with Avery. Avery could already have shot him. But there's a momentary sense of recognition : both of them just foot soldiers for fat cats - and Avery's is not worth saving. AVERY Lowers the gun. Nods in the direction Valentine went. AVERY that way. Wilson moves on. Avery just lies there, presumably to die.", "EXT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  STEPS.  NIGHT. Valentine hurries down the rickety steps. Trying not to slip in the darkness, though there are tiny Malibu lights illuminating the steep and winding wooden framework.", "EXT. BEACH.  NIGHT. A rocky cove. Valentine looks back up the way he came, HEARING the FOOTSTEPS coming down after him. Backs away a few paces on the slippery rocks. Falls. Lands on the crumpled, dead body of LARRY, the bodyguard, who was thrown off the cliff. Valentine recoils. When Wilson appears, Valentine FIRES at him. A wild shot that only makes Wilson duck momentarily. Valentine scrambles to his feet, runs on. WILSON Jumps down from the steps. Stops for a moment and leans his back against the railing. Bends at the knees slightly. THE KNIFE The handle is forced upward just enough to be reachable now. WILSON Grimacing, pulls the knife out and discards it. FURTHER DOWN THE BEACH Valentine runs. Or tries to. It's dark and the ground is treacherous. The beach runs out pretty soon. Now just rocks. Maybe he thought he could get around the rocks on the point at the other end. But he ca n't see very far ahead. And the tide is in, water making any escape extremely difficult. He tries to scramble over some rocks. They're wet, slippery. He falls, cries out as he literally breaks an ankle. WILSON A dark figure. Coming into focus. Walking inexorably this way. VALENTINE Painfully rights himself. A small bone protrudes from his broken ankle. He FIRES at Wilson, gun in one hand, other hand gripping his wrist to try and steady it. Doing his best to aim. But the SHOTS miss their mark. WILSON Steadily coming. VALENTINE Out of bullets now. Gun CLICKING crazily on empty. He simply drops it. WILSON Now stands before him. THE TWO OF THEM Both breathing hard. WILSON Tell me. This is not what Valentine expected. VALENTINE What. WILSON Tell me. VALENTINE Tell you. WILSON About Jenny. -LRB- closer. -RRB- Tell me about Jenny. -LRB- closer. -RRB- About the deal. Whatever fucking deal you had to kill my daughter for when she found out about it, you bastard. Wilson drops to the ground too, in a passionate fury, starts strangling Valentine. WILSON Tell me. Tell me about it, you fucking bastard. Easing up just enough for Valentine to sputter out a response. VALENTINE She could've had the deal! I would've handed it to her if she wanted. I would have given her everything. WILSON Why then. Why did you do it! They're locked in a kind of embrace. Sprayed by the waves crashing into the rocks. Sweating and gasping and exhausted and hurt and furious. VALENTINE She did n't want to share it, she wanted to stop it. To stop me. She said she'd turn me in. WILSON Shock of recognition on his face. At those words. VALENTINE She said, `` You go ahead with this, I'll turn you in, Terry.'' Wilson sits back. Panting. Totally spent. The two of them. Both on the ground now. Whatever energy they had left drained - Valentine from his confession, Wilson from hearing it. Valentine shaking, sobbing. Still not realizing the pathetic folly of his actions. VALENTINE She was serious. She would have done it. She had the phone in her hand. She was going to do it. WILSON Knows that the girl he loved. loved Valentine, too. Having heard the truth, the last vestige of revenge has vanished. He gets up and walks away. Leaving the quivering shell of Valentine behind. CUT.", "INT. BIG SUR HOUSE.  LIVING ROOM.  NIGHT. Adhara wakes up. Hand to her smashed cheek and mouth. But it's not her hand. It's Valentine's. She sort of shuffles away from him along the floor. Sits against a wall holding her face. Valentine sits back against an opposite wall. They stare at each other. CUT.", "INT. PLANE.  DAY. Wilson, lost in thought. Accepts a drink from a FLIGHT ATTENDANT. We can see it pains him to reach for it. WILSON Ta. After setting the glass down, his other hand goes to the shoulder where his stab wound was no doubt only temporarily dealt with. WILSON. At the roadside hotel, grimacing. ELAINE. Cleaning his wound. Wilson rubs his shoulder. The AMERICAN LADY in the seat beside him heard the way he said thanks to the Flight Attendant. LADY You're English. A small beat -LRB- which he takes each time he responds -RRB-. WILSON Yeah, that's right. LADY I can never decide what I like better. Leaving home, or coming back. WILSON Takes this in. WILSON. Shaving in the mirror at his L.A. motel. He stops. WILSON. In the car leaving Valentine's house. Fingering the picture of Jenny. WILSON I would have preferred staying home, me. LADY You're a reluctant traveller, then. Wilson nods. WILSON. In the car with Elaine and Ed, driving back from Big Sur. Everyone in their own world. WILSON. At Ed's house. Saying goodbye. WILSON AND ED. Shake hands. ED. Watching him get into Elaine's car. WILSON Got called out to L.A., unexpected like, to do a job of work. WILSON. At the airport, staring at Elaine. ELAINE. Staring back. WILSON AND ELAINE. She embraces him. ELAINE. She watches him leave. WILSON. Disappearing into the terminal. LADY You'll be looking forward to getting back, then. WILSON Yeah. Another little matter needs attending to soon as I return. LADY No rest for the wicked. Wilson nods, exhales. WILSON. In the cab on the way to Ed's, at the beginning of the film. Watching the lights go by. WILSON Been away a lot. LADY Where else? Longer beat. He actually turns to look at her now. Takes her in, then looks forward again. WILSON Out on a oil rig. In the North Sea. Nine years. LADY Nine years? -LRB- laughs. -RRB- Is that legal? WILSON Well, time off for good behavior, you know. I should n't have even been there - it was these other blokes who shoulda gone in my place. I got lumbered with the job they were responsible for. I do n't mind pulling me own cart, but not someone else's, know what I mean. LADY But you stuck it out, anyway, all that time. WILSON I had to, did n't I. Nothing else for it. Then just when I'd finished my nine years - my contract - wallop, I had to bugger off to the States. LADY -LRB- reacting slightly to his `` colorful'' language. -RRB- Sounds like you need a rest. WILSON Could do, yeah. Another beat. WILSON But first I got ta give these lads a talking to, these geezers what sent me up the river, in a manner of speaking. LADY The ones whose burden you took upon your own shoulders. WILSON Yeah. And he turns away, to the window. Looks at the blue sky. Sips his drink. Then, hard : WILSON Them next. CUT TO BLACK. THE END."], "labels": [1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "An Englishman named Wilson travels to Los Angeles to investigate the death of his daughter, Jenny, reported to have died in a car accident, while Wilson suspects murder. Recently released from a British prison, he is a hardened man. Arriving in Los Angeles, he meets Jenny's friends Eduardo and Elaine and questions them. Finding they pass his initial inquiry, he elicits their help in investigating Jenny's death. One suspect who emerges is Jenny's boyfriend, a record producer named Terry Valentine. In investigating him it is learned that in addition to his legitimate record company business, Valentine has involvement in drug trafficking. His involvement is managed through his security consultant, Avery. Wilson locates a warehouse used by the drug trafficker and questions the men there. Laughing at him, they insult his daughter, they beat him, and throw him out onto the street. Undeterred, Wilson draws a hidden pistol and returns to the warehouse, shooting dead all but one of the employees. As the survivor flees, Wilson shouts \"Tell him ... I'm coming!\" Back with Elaine and Eduardo, Wilson reminisces about his earlier life with his daughter, whom he remembers only as a child. Worried her father would be sent away to prison, she would often threaten to call the police whenever she found evidence of the crimes he was involved in or planning. He recalls she'd never followed through on her threats because she loved him and it eventually became a sad joke between them. However, his life of crime put a strain on his family. He ended up in prison after the men he was involved with sold him out to the police. Seeking more information from Valentine, Wilson and Eduardo sneak into a party held at Valentine's house. Once there, Wilson searches for evidence of Valentine's involvement. He finds and steals a picture of Jenny. Attracting suspicion from Avery, Wilson is accosted by a guard whom he swiftly head-butts and throws over a railing to his death. Wilson and Eduardo flee, only to be chased by Avery, who rams their car with his own. Wilson rams Avery's in return, forcing it over a cliff. He and Eduardo escape but not before Avery hears Eduardo call out Wilson's name. Avery hires a hit-man, Stacy, to track down and kill Wilson and Elaine. Avery is prevented from making the hit by agents of the DEA, who have been monitoring Valentine as part of their investigation. Wilson and Elaine are then taken to meet a DEA investigator. The head agent makes it clear the DEA is after the dealer who'd used Valentine to launder drug money, and that the agents do not intend to interfere with Wilson's personal mission. He lets Wilson see their file on Valentine, including a photograph and address of a second home in Big Sur. Meanwhile, Stacy and his partner, angry at their beating at the hands of the DEA agents, plot to double cross Avery. Avery moves Valentine to the house in Big Sur, unaware that Wilson now has the address. That night, Wilson enters the grounds. Avery's guards shoot an intruder who turns out to be Stacy and engage in a shootout with his partner, Uncle John, resulting in several deaths, including that of Avery himself. Valentine flees to the beach with Wilson in pursuit. Falling and breaking his ankle, Valentine cannot escape and begs for his life. He tells Wilson that Jenny had found out about his drug ties and threatened to call the police on him (reminding Wilson of what she'd done as a child) and in his attempt to stop her Valentine had pushed Jenny against a wall where she received a fatal injury. In an effort to deflect attention from Valentine, Avery staged the car accident. Wilson knows Jenny would never have turned Valentine in. He turns away, allowing Valentine to live. Wilson makes his farewells to Elaine and Eduardo, and returns to London.", "name": "The_Limey"}
{"scenes": ["CARD : 1841 FADE IN : INT. TOWNHOUSE/STUDY - DAY -EARLY APRIL, 1841- We are close on a PAIR OF BLACK HANDS as they open A FINELY WRAPPED PACKET OF VIOLIN STRINGS. WE CUT TO the hands stringing a VIOLIN. It's not a high end piece, but it is quite nice. WE CUT TO a wide shot of the study. Sitting in a chair with violin in hand is SOLOMON NORTHUP ; a man in his late twenties. Everything about Solomon, his mien and manner, is distinguished. But he, too, seems a hardy individual. Someone who has known manual labor in his time. Solomon begins to lightly play his violin, as if testing the strings, their tuning. Satisfied, Solomon begins to play vigorously. As he does, we make a HARD CUT TO :", "INT. HOUSE/LIVING ROOM - EVENING We come in on a lively affair. A dinner party is being thrown within the confines of a fairly stately house. In attendance are EIGHT COUPLES. All are WHITE and all are FAIRLY YOUNG, in their early twenties. The men and women are dressed in very fine attire. We should get the sense that for the most part they are people of means. The furniture has been set aside in the living room. At the moment the couples are engaged in the dancing of a REEL. The music they are dancing to is being played by Solomon, having cut directly from the tune he was previously playing. He plays with a light determination, and in no way seems possessed with empty servitude. Solomon concludes the reel, and the dancers break into enthusiastic applause, which is followed by personal thanks and congratulations from all. It should be clear that despite their respective races there is much admiration and appreciation for Solomon's abilities.", "INT. NORTHUP HOUSE/BEDROOM - MORNING It is a Saturday morning. Clad in her finest attire is ANNE ; Solomon's wife, a few years younger than he. We see also the Northup children : MARGARET who is eight, and ALONZO who is five. They are handsome, and well groomed kids. Anne straightens up the children. She finishes, she rises up and stands behind them, almost as if preparing to pose for a portrait. They all wait a moment, then Solomon enters the foyer. He stands and looks admiringly at his family. ADMIRINGLY stressed. It is n't that he does n't have love for them, he does as well. But in the moment, he truly admires his greatest accomplishment : a family that is healthy and well and provided for. He goes to his children, and hands each a coin, then goes to Anne. Gives her a kiss on the cheek. The children giggle at the sight.", "EXT. STREET - DAY Solomon and his family are out walking along the streets and groves of Saratoga. The streets are well populated this morning with many people out strolling. Most are WHITE, but there are BLACKS as well. They are FREED BLACKS who mingle fairly easily - though not always completely - with the whites. We see, too, a few BLACK SLAVES who travel with their WHITE MASTERS. These pairings are largely from the south and - despite the fact the blacks are slaves - they are not physically downtrodden, not field hands. They are well dressed and `` leading apparently an easy life'' - comparatively speaking - as they trail their masters. As they walk, Solomon and his family arrive to an intersection well-worn and muddied from horse and cart traffic. Solomon and his children easily jump across the muck. Anne stands at the lip of the puddle, calls for Solomon to help her across. ANNE Solomon... Solomon, turning back to his wife with a broad smile waving her forward : SOLOMON Come, Anne. Jump. The children, now smiling as well, egg their mother on. ALONZO MARGARET Jump. You can make it. I've done it. You can make it. ANNE I will not ruin my dress. Catch me! Solomon moves close, holds out his arms. Yet, there's still just a bit of mischievousness in his eyes. Anne gives her husband a lightly stern look to which Solomon replies. SOLOMON I will catch you, Anne. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- I will. Again, lightly stern : ANNE You will. And with that Anne takes the leap. Solomon catches her, swings her around grandly and sets her down lightly to the delighted applause of the children. That done, Solomon takes Anne's hand and leads her on. As Solomon and his family make their way, among the slaves on the street, we see one in particular ; JASPER. As he trails his MASTER he ca n't help but note Solomon and his family as they enter A STORE. His intrigue of this most handsome and harmonious group should be obvious. With his Master occupied, Jasper moves slyly toward the STORE. Frozen on the spot, Jasper looks on admiringly. Suddenly a voice barks out- A VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Jasper! Come on!", "INT. STORE - LATER We are inside the store of MR. CEPHAS PARKER ; a white man and a supplier of general goods. Solomon greets him WITH : SOLOMON Mr. Parker. PARKER Mr. Northup. Mrs. Northup. With money in hand the Northup children move quickly about the store looking for items to purchase. CONTINUED : Anne looks over some silks and fabrics. Parker suggests", "TO SOLOMON: PARKER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- A new cravat, Solomon? Pure silk by way of the French. SOLOMON We are in need of a fresh carry all for the Mrs's travels. PARKER A year's passed? Off to Sandy Hill? ANNE I am. Using a long pole, Mr. Parker fetches down a CARRY ALL from an upper shelf. PARKER Something to suit your style, but sturdy enough for the forty miles round trip. Handing the Bag to Anne, she is immediately taken by it. ANNE It's beautiful. SOLOMON -LRB- CAUTIOUSLY -RRB- At what price? ANNE We will take it. Children, come see what your father has just purchased for me. As the children run over - chattering excitedly about the new gift - they RUN PAST JASPER who has quietly entered the store. At the checkout counter sits a portrait of WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, the edges draped in black crepe. Before the book sits a LEDGER. Mr. Parker asks of Solomon : PARKER If you would sign our condolence book. My hope is to find a way to forward it to the Widow Harrison. Sad days for the nation. SOLOMON Yes, certainly. Poor Mrs. Harris and her children. I hope brighter times ahead. -LRB- CONTINUED -RRB- Jasper looks scared, timid. It's as though he'd like to engage, but is unsure of as to how. Noting Jasper, Parker SAYS : PARKER A moment, sir, and you will be assisted. SOLOMON If we could discuss the price... -LRB- CONTINUED -RRB- PARKER Forgive me, Mrs. Northup. A customer waits. Welcome, sir. To Jasper, with good nature : SOLOMON Shop well, but mind your wallet. PARKER Ignore the gentleman's nonsense. Now, may I interest you in a new cravat? Pure silk by way of the -- Before Parker can finish, the door opens. It's Jasper's Master, FITZGERALD. He's stern, clearly displeased. FITZGERALD Jasper!  -LRB- TO PARKER -RRB- My regrets for the intrusion. SOLOMON No intrusion. Fitzgerald looks to Solomon. It is a cold glare as though he was n't speaking to, and has no interest in a response from a black man. Looking back to Parker : FITZGERALD Good day, sir.", "INT. NORTHUP HOUSE/DINING ROOM - EVENING Anne, busy in the kitchen, puts the final touches to the meal, which is just about to begin. Solomon, in the meanwhile, sits at the head of the table reading from a NEWSPAPER. He reads to his children solemn news of the funeral arrangements for the recently deceased President Harrison. SOLOMON `` Thus has passed away from earth our late President.'' Solomon starts from the top of the article. SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- `` During the morning, from sunrise, the heavy bells had been pealing forth their slow and solemn toll while the minute guns announced that soon the grave would receive its trust. Our city as well as our entire nation has been called to weep over the fall of a great and good man. One who was by the wishes of a large majority of our SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- people raised to fill the highest place of trust within their gift. William Henry Harrison.'' A long moment of quiet, the family continuing to eat. Then, from Margaret : MARGARET Will you read it again? ANNE Not just now, darling. Anne enters the dining room and places a large chicken at the center of the table. As she takes a seat, all heads are bowed. MARGARET For food that stays our hunger, For rest that brings us ease, For homes where memories linger, We give our thanks for these. ALL Amen. SOLOMON Margaret, that was wonderful. MARGARET Thank you, Papa. SOLOMON Alonzo, do you have something to say? ALONZO Yes, I helped Momma make this. ANNE Yes, and you were such a good help. Especially making the gravy. MARGARET Papa, I would very much like to learn how to play the violin. Could you teach me? ALONZO Me too! MARGARET Yes, but I asked Papa first. SOLOMON Both of you, calm down. We will have our first lesson after this wonderful dinner. And on that note, let's start eating. The family all tuck in to their meal. The scene is one of warmth and happiness.", "INT. NORTHUP HOUSE - NIGHT Solomon and Anne have fun and difficulty putting the unruly children to bed. They are tucked in, and each given a kiss good night. As Margaret lays down to sleep, Anne blows out the candle darkening the room. Silhouetted in the doorway, Solomon takes Anne in his arms, holds her tightly as they both luxuriate in the simple, beautiful gift that is their children.", "INT. NORTHUP HOUSE - NIGHT Now alone together, we see Anne and Solomon wrapped in each other's arms. Beyond being physically close, emotionally close, they are just so very comfortable with one another. They are the very representation of a couple who are made for each other. They look at each other for a prolonged time. SOLOMON -LRB- COMICALLY FORLORN -RRB- Three weeks. Two days. ANNE It is the custom. I wonder what you'll do without me? SOLOMON I wo n't stay idle. SOLOMON's eyes lower. ANNE Darling, it's good money. SOLOMON If only I did n't have to share your cooking with other people. ANNE holds his gaze. ANNE You do n't. They kiss. OMIT", "EXT. NORTHUP HOUSE - MORNING We are just outside the Northup house. A CARRIAGE waits with a DRIVER. Anne and the children are dressed for travel - Anne sporting HER NEW CARRY ALL. The Driver loads bags into the carriage. For her parting gift, Anne gives her husband a kiss. SOLOMON Travel safely. ANNE Stay safely. Anne and the children loaded up, the Driver chides the horse and the carriage heads off. Solomon waves a hearty good bye to his wife and children.", "EXT. PARK - DAY Solomon is now out for a stroll. He passes two men - two in particular - who stand outside conversing with MR. MOON himself : MERRILL BROWN and ABRAM HAMILTON. Brown is about 40, with a countenance indicating shrewdness and intelligence. Hamilton is closer to 25, a man of fair complexion and light eyes. Both are finely, if perhaps a bit garishly, dressed. Hamilton, as Solomon describes him, slightly effeminate. Moon, spotting Solomon : MR. MOON Call the Devil's name... There he is now. Mr. Northup...! I have two gentlemen who should make your acquaintance. Messrs. Brown and Hamilton. BROWN Sir. MR. MOON Mr. Northup, these two gentlemen were inquiring about distinguished individuals, and I was just this very moment telling them that Solomon Northup is an expert player on the violin. HAMILTON He was indeed. SOLOMON Mr. Moon is being overly gracious. -LRB- CONTINUED -RRB- BROWN Taking into consideration his graciousness and your modesty, may we trouble you for a moment of your time to converse, sir?", "EXT. PARK/PAVILION - LATER We make a jump to a green space. Solomon, Brown and Hamilton are sitting at a bench. SOLOMON A circus? HAMILTON That is our usual employee. The company currently in the city of Washington. BROWN Circus too constricting a word to describe the talented and merry band with which we travel. It is a spectacle unlike most have ever witnessed. Creatures from the darkest Africa as yet unseen by civilized man. Acrobats from the Orient able to contort themselves in the most confounding manners. HAMILTON And I myself in aide of Mr. Brown ; an internationally renowned practitioner in the art of prestidigitation. BROWN We are on our way thither to rejoin the company having left for a short time to make a small profit from our own exhibitions. HAMILTON The reason for our inquiry with Mr. Moon... BROWN Yes. We had just a devil of a time in procuring music for our BROWN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- entertainments. Men of true talent seemingly in short supply. SOLOMON Thank you sir... BROWN If we could persuade you to accompany us as far as New York... We would give you one dollar for each day's service and three dollars for every night played at our performances. In addition we would provide sufficient pay for the expenses of your return from New York here to Saratoga. SOLOMON You understand this is all very sudden. HAMILTON Consider it an opportunity to see THE COUNTRY -- SOLOMON It's intriguing... HAMILTON If there is any way in which you would give consideration to the offer... Solomon gives the whole deal one last consideration. SOLOMON The payment offered is enticement enough, as is my desire to visit the metropolis. HAMILTON We are delighted, sir. So delighted. Though we would add that our travel plans -- BROWN We would like to depart with haste. -LRB- CONTINUED -RRB- SOLOMON As luck would have it, my wife and children are traveling. I will write her of our plans. BROWN Excellent! I would beg you collect yourself, then we may proceed.", "INT. NORTHUP HOUSE/BEDROOM - LATER Back in his house, we see Solomon packing : putting some clothes in a travel case, and collecting his violin as well.", "INT. NORTHUP HOUSE/STUDY - LATER Solomon sits down to write a letter ; pen poised over paper with already a few lines written. But Solomon thinks better of it. WITH LITTLE THOUGHT HE TEARS THE PAPER AND SETS IT ASIDE. WE SHOULD GET THE SENSE THAT THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE BY LETTER IS LOST ON SOLOMON. THIS FACT WILL HAVE GREAT WEIGHT IN THE NEAR FUTURE.", "EXT. SOLOMON'S HOUSE/INT. COVERED CARRIAGE - LATER Solomon enters the buggy, carpet bag in hand. Brown and Hamilton are waiting. They ride in a covered carriage led by a pair of `` noble'' horses. HAMILTON No letter to post? SOLOMON No need. My return will coincide with my family's. BROWN We're off then.", "INT. PUB - EVENING -MID TO LATE APRIL, 1841- We find ourselves in a roadside pub. It serves the purpose of drinking and diversion, and little more. As Solomon plays his violin, Brown and Hamilton perform a decent, paired magic routine before a SPARSE AUDIENCE NOT OF `` SELECT CHARACTER.''", "INT. PUB - LATER After the show, the pub now fairly empty, Solomon, Hamilton and Brown sit down to eat. Hamilton and Brown drink, but again Solomon abstains. Though Solomon remains cool, Hamilton and Brown put up a great show of being disappointed as Hamilton counts out what little money was collected. HAMILTON Not an additional tip from a one of them. They expect to be entertained for nothing. BROWN And not satisfied a bit despite giving them more than what they paid for. SOLOMON It's the national mood. There's too much grief to make room for frivolity. HAMILTON My sincerest apologies, Solomon. You were promised opportunity, and you were given none. BROWN The opportunity is with the circus. A two man show poorly promoted, what were we to expect? But the circus bills itself. HAMILTON True. BROWN I have told you of the circus with which we are connected. Creatures from the darkest of Africa. Acrobats from the Orient who -- SOLOMON You have described it, yes. BROWN Yes. We need to return immediately to Washington. Solomon... I believe us familiar enough now, but forgive me if I am bold... would you consider making the trip with us? Solomon gives a bit of a laugh at the idea. HAMILTON Entertaining at pubs and inns has it's place, but a man of your skills deserves better. BROWN Hear, hear. HAMILTON And more importantly you would build your own name and following. The circus tends to attract those with the highest of reputations. An introduction here and there could amount to a lifetime of reward. Now would be the time. With your family away, an opportunity presents itself. BROWN Said as fellow artists as well as businessmen. Well worth the effort at least. SOLOMON You present a flattering representation. As my family will be traveling back shortly, perhaps I might commit only to one trial engagement. HAMILTON Oh, very good, sir. Very good. I can not recall being so excited. BROWN There is a practical concern. If you are to continue on with us you should obtain your free papers. SOLOMON Not necessary. BROWN Here in New York, no. But we will be entering slave states and as a matter of precaution... It's to all our benefit we should not have to come to account for your well being. HAMILTON Six shillings worth of effort could well save much trouble later. BROWN We'll go to the Customs House in the morning, then travel on. Good business all around. OMIT", "EXT. WASHINGTON - DA Y The city is a swarm of people. At the moment the populace is displaying both sorrow and anticipation. Sorrow for the loss of the President. Many are dressed in black, and black crepe hangs nearly everywhere. Black armbands are frequently seen, and the occasional American Flag hung at half mast. As well, there are portraits of Harrison at varying locations. Having arrived in Washington, Solomon, Hamilton and Brown RIDE ONWARD IN THEIR CARRIAGE.", "INT. GADSBY HOTEL/DINNING ROOM - EVENING A decent though crowded, boisterous and smoke-filled joint. Very lively. Solomon, Hamilton and Brown are among several parties drinking in the hotel's bar. As with seemingly everywhere in the city black crepes accessorize the background. Brown counts out $ 43.00 IN COIN on the tabletop. Solomon is astonished by the amount. BROWN Forty-three dollars. All to you. SOLOMON That... it's far more than my wages amount to. BROWN Consider the remainder an advance from the circus. I can not tell you... I honestly wish you had seen the expression of our director when I described your abilities. He was fairly overcome with excitement. HAMILTON You should have invited him to sup with us. BROWN I did. I did, but so many preparations before the company is to depart. SOLOMON GENTLEMEN -- BROWN Tomorrow we shall prepare for our Washington debut. But tonight, our thoughts are with the great man -LRB- CONTINUED -RRB- BROWN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- for whom this city prepared solemn memorial. He has passed from the praise of men to receive the plaudit of his heavenly father. A fine man has passed. Let us remember him with a drink. Both Hamilton and Brown hold up their tankards to drink. Solomon, a bit reluctantly, does the same. HAMILTON Cheers. BROWN Another. Our departed President deserves all the salutation we can imbibe. Hamilton and Brown drink again, and Solomon does as well. OMIT", "EXT. ALLEY - LATER WE MAKE A HARD CUT to Solomon outside of the Pub, in an alley, with Brown and Hamilton in silhouette, back-lit by the street lights. He is violently ill, hunched over and retching horribly. HAMILTON That's all right Solomon. No shame in it. No shame at all. INT. GADSBY HOTEL - STAIRCASE Hamilton and Brown help Solomon to lumber up the spiral staircase, passing the occasional bemused guest.", "23 INT. GADSBY HOTEL/SOLOMON'S ROOM - NIGHT 23 Hamilton is placing a spittoon near Solomon's bed, where a prone and reeling Solomon lays. Hamilton sits on the bed. As he strokes Solomon's sweaty face, Hamilton speaks sweetly. HAMILTON I'm afraid that Brown and I have n't brought you much luck. But rough waters bring smooth sailing. Eventually they do. SOLOMON....So... so sorry... HAMILTON Shhh. We wo n't hear it. We wo n't. BROWN Let him sleep. HAMILTON Hmm. A good night's sleep. And tomorrow... tomorrow you will feel as well and refreshed as though the earth were new again. Hamilton lingers a bit too long and a bit too close to Solomon for Brown's taste. With more than a bit of SIGNIFICATION : BROWN Hamilton! Nothing more we can do for him. HAMILTON Such is the pity. Displaying an odd sort of disappointment, Hamilton slinks away from the bed. He crosses to, and BLOWS OUT A CANDLE. The room goes dark with a blackness more than night. Brown and Hamilton exit. Solomon lays in the dark and moans. His sounds becoming MORE AND MORE DISTRESSED.", "INT. BURCH'S DUNGEON - DAWN Solomon stirs, then slowly awakes to his new circumstances. He finds himself in a nearly lightless room about twelve feet square with walls of solid masonry. There is a thick and well-locked door, a small window covered with iron bars and a shutter. The only furniture is a wood stool and an old fashioned, dirty box stove. As Solomon rises he sees that his HANDS are CUFFED - the chain running to a bolt in the ground - and his LEGS IN IRONS. At first Solomon is incredulous. But that emotion is replaced first by fury and then panic. He begins to pull on the chains, fight against them. He does so with increasing desperation. Solomon flails about, the sounds of the steel chains whipping and beating against the masonry. He grunts and screams without regard as the cuffs and irons bite into his flesh, but he can not pull himself free. After several minutes of intense effort, Solomon tires, slows, then finally he collapses. And in this collapsed state he remains.", "INT. BURCH'S DUNGEON - MORNING Solomon again awakens. He hears sounds beyond the door... footsteps. Eventually the door opens. Enter JAMES BURCH - who runs the slave pen - and EBENEZER RADBURN who works as a turnkey and overseer. As the door opens, this is the first light to seep into the otherwise near-black room. The shine is painful to Solomon's eyes. With no salutation whatsoever, Burch ASKS : BURCH Well, my boy, how yah feel now? Solomon rises up as best he can. With all the resolve he can put together he states what he considers to be fact : SOLOMON I am Solomon Northup. I am a free man ; a resident of Saratoga, New York. The residence also of my wife and children who are equally free. I have papers. You have no right whatsoever to detain me -- BURCH Yah not any -- SOLOMON And I promise you - I promise - upon my liberation I will have satisfaction for this wrong. BURCH Resolve this. Produce your papers. With confidence Solomon goes to the pocket of his trousers. He searches one, then the other, but they are empty. He feels quickly about himself, but clearly his papers have been lifted. Solomon's confidence shifts, but to resolve rather than fear. Papers or none, he will not be easily cowed. Still, Burch asserts : BURCH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Yah no free man. And yah ai n't from Saratoga. Yah from Georgia. A moment. Not a word spoken among the trio, but Solomon and Burch do some serious eye fucking, neither man yielding. Burch says again : BURCH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Yah ai n't a free man. Yah nuthin' but a Georgia runaway. Burch waits for Solomon to acquiesce. Solomon does not in any way. Both men exchange a long and daring stare. The two are clearly at an intellectual stand off. Burch, leans to Radburn, SAYS SOMETHING WHICH WE CAN NOT DISTINGUISH. Radburn walks off-camera and returns with a pair of `` instruments :'' a PADDLE - the flattened portion, which is about the size in circumference of two open hands, and bored with a small auger in numerous places. He also carries a WHIP. A cat-o-nine tails ; a large rope of many strands. The strands unraveled and a knot tied at the extremity of each. Burch says again : BURCH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Yah a runaway nigger from Georgia. Solomon stands with a quiet stoicism. He will say nothing of the kind. As that is the case, Solomon is seized by both men. He is pulled over the bench, face downward, shirt still on his back. Radburn then STEPS ON HIS CHAINS, holding Solomon down in a bent position. With no preamble, Burch begins to beat Solomon about the back with the paddle. Burch strikes him wordlessly - no taunting, no sneering. Solomon screaming against each blow. His back immediately SWELLING WITH WELTS AND BRUISES. This beating continues on and on and on until quite literally Burch WEARS HIMSELF OUT with the effort. Dripping in sweat and panting : BURCH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Yah still insist yah a free man? SOLOMON... I... I insist... Burch regrets hearing this. Not from sympathy, but rather because he's nearly too tired to go back to beating Solomon. Yet, as if returning to work, Burch returns to pummeling Solomon. Burch punctuates the blows WITH : BURCH Yah a slave. Yah a Georgia slave! Burch continues to strike, and strike... This time until the paddle SNAPS IN HALF. Burch then GRABS THE WHIP. Hardly missing a stroke, he whips Solomon relentlessly, the flails cutting into Solomon's back. Again, Burch's arm tires before Solomon `` breaks.'' BURCH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Are yah slave? SOLOMON... No... Burch goes back to whipping and whipping, and whipping... SOLOMON'S BACK IS NOW TORN OPEN WITH LACERATIONS AND OOZING WITH BLOOD. Finally Burch can whip no more. He pours sweat and sucks air, leaving himself just enough energy to take up his instruments and EXIT. Radburn lingers for a moment. He takes the irons off Solomon's legs. Opens the window some. As he makes these gestures, in a patronizing and confidential manner, one wrought with poor sincerity : : RADBURN I seen a good many of the black kind just where yah're. Sick. Make me sick. Often times the situation was resolved, and I think ; what was all the beatin' and abuse for? Things end as they should, and the violence was for naught. So why cause trouble when they ai n't no cause for it? Be of a cooperative nature, and things do n't need be particularly unpleasant. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Or, yah can carry on like yah been, and I fear yah wo n't live to see Sunday next. With that thought, Radburn exits. Solomon rests. But to rest seems like giving in to defeat. He begins pulling on his chains. But for all his struggling, the chain loosens none. Solomon calls out : SOLOMON Help me! Someone help me! If anyone at all hears him, they do not respond. Solomon continues his plaintive cry for assistance.", "EXT. BURCH'S DUNGEON - CONTINUOUS Beginning with a TIGHT SHOT on the shuttered, barred window of Burch's dungeon - Solomon's cries barely eking beyond the space - THE CAMERA PULLS BACK from the building, onto the city until clearly visible is the Nation's capital. It's icon's of freedom - the WHITE HOUSE, the CAPITOL BUILDING - fairly mocking Solomon's captivity. Simultaneously, barren at the early hour and cluttered with litter and the remains of previous day's procession, the city is a bleak and forboding sight.", "INT. BURCH'S DUNGEON - DAY IT IS DAY NOW. The door to the yard is thrown open. The harsh white light floods all over Solomon. MOVED TO SC. A32", "EXT. BURCH'S DUNGEON/YARD - DAY It is a yard just beyond Burch's. The yard is hemmed in by a brick wall. In the yard are two men, and a boy. The oldest is CLEMENS RAY a man of about 25 years of age. He is well educated. JOHN WILLIAMS is about 20 years old. He is born and bred a slave, is lacking in education, and overwhelmed with fear of the situation. Finally there is a child about 10 years of age who answers to the name of Randall. Solomon, Clemens Ray, John and Randall ALL STAND NAKED. Though they try to cover their privates a bit, they are all aware of the uselessness of modesty. Radburn is present. He has before him A COUPLE OF BUCKETS OF COLD WATER. He throws water on the naked men. RADBURN Go on. Warsh up. The men, soaking in humility as well as water, begin to scrub with A SINGLE BAR OF HARSH SOAP passed among them. RADBURN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- The boy, too. Get him clean. Solomon takes some soap and rubs it over Randall. RADBURN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Scrub now. Git'em clean. Solomon scrubs harder. Randall - clearly cold and uncomfortable - appeals to Solomon. RANDALL Do you know when my Mama will come? RADBURN Hush him up! Seeing Solomon has no answer for him, Randall begins to cry. RANDALL Mama..! Mama! Is she going to come? Doing all he can to spare the child from a certain BEATING : SOLOMON Quiet, please. Randall is becoming nearly inconsolable. RANDALL Mama! Saying anything to keep the boy quiet : SOLOMON Your mother will come, I swear she will, but you must be silent. Please. Be silent! On the seeming strength of Solomon's promise, Randall goes silent. Solomon looks to Radburn, who just throws water on the soapy men. OMITTED A32 INT. BURCH'S DUNGEON - EVENING A32 Radburn brings food in to Solomon ; a shriveled piece of meat and some water. Just barely enough to sustain Solomon. Radburn also has a SHIRT. RADBURN That old thing of yours is just rags and tatters. Need something proper to wear. Solomon does n't move for the clothing. RADBURN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Go'won. Put it on. With slow defiance, Solomon does as instructed. He removes what remains of his old shirt - the one he was wearing when first kidnapped - and puts on the one Radburn brought him. The shirt's ill-fitting and dirty. Despite that, Radburn says : RADBURN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- There. Tha's fine. Tha's fine. Got no gratitude? SOLOMON... Thank you... RADBURN Yah keep bein' proper, yah'll see how things work out. Radburn starts to take the old shirt. SOLOMON No! It was from my wife. RADBURN Rags and tatters. Rags and tatters. Taking the shirt, the `` rags and tatters'' as he calls them, Radburn exits, locking the door behind him. Solomon sits with the plate of food before him. He pushes the plate away rather than eat.", "EXT. BURCH'S DUNGEON/YARD - DAY Sitting together out in the yard are Clemens Ray, John and Solomon. Over time they have drawn trustworthy enough to speak with one another. At the moment Solomon is still trying to apply reason to the situation. Randal wanders about in the background. As usual, he calls out for his `` Mama.'' By now, however, his calls should feel like little more than background noise. SOLOMON This ca n't stand. It is a crime. I believe now someone lay in wait for me. My drink was altered... We are free men. They have... they have no right to hold us. Solomon waits for a response from the others. They give none. SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- We need a sympathetic ear. If we have an opportunity to explain our SITUATION -- CLEMENS Who in your estimation is that sympathetic ear? SOLOMON The two men I journeyed with. I'm certain they're making inquires at this very moment. CLEMENS I would be just as certain they are counting the money paid for delivering you to this place. SOLOMON They were not kidnappers. They were artists. Fellow performers. CLEMENS You know that? You know for certain who they were? The fact is, Solomon ca n't say for certain. CLEMENS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- How I reckon the situation : whatever past we had... well, that's done now. The reality to come is us being transported southward. New Orleans if I were to venture. After we arrive, we'll be put to market. Beyond that... Well, once in a slave state I suppose there's only one outcome. JOHN No. CLEMENS I do n't say that to give you empty agitation, John... JOHN For y'all. For y'all they ai n't nothin' but that! But John was' n kidnapped. John bein' hold as debt, tha's all. Massa pay his debt, and John be redeemed -- CLEMENS Boy, our masters will not come for us. John is nearly beside himself with panic. JOHN Now John's... John's sorry for y'all, but tha's how it be. Where y'all goin', yah goin' witout John. Massa take care of me. Massa take care. RANDALL Mama! All three men turn and look. At the moment Randall does n't call out emptily. At the door to the yard is Burch along with two women. One in her late twenties ; ELIZA. She is `` arrayed in silk, with rings upon her fingers, and golden ornaments suspended from her ears.'' Though a slave, Eliza was a mistress and has - to this point - lived well. This is reflected in her airs and her speech. The other is a little girl, light in skin color, of about seven or eight. This is EMILY, Randall's half sister. As she enters the yard Eliza squeals with high delight, then breaks into tears of both sorrow and joy. Clearly this is mother and child being reunited. As Burch locks the yard door, Eliza clutches Randall. She is overcome with emotion. ELIZA My darling. My sweet, sweet baby.", "INT. BURCH'S DUNGEON - EVENING Later in the evening. Solomon now shares his space with Eliza and her children. As the children rest, Eliza drops into a lament as if pleading her case to Solomon who lends a sympathetic ear. Both slyly, and with a bit of aggrandizement : ELIZA When I say I had my master's favor, you understand. Above even his own wife, I had it. Do you know that he built a house for me? Built it on the sole condition that I reside there with him. The added promise in time I would be emancipated. And for nine years he blessed me with every comfort and luxury in life. Displaying the finery she still wears : ELIZA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Silks and jewels and even servants to wait upon us. Such was our life, and the life of this beautiful girl I bore for him. But Master Berry's daughter... she always looked at me with an unkind nature. She hated Emily no matter she and Emily were flesh of flesh. As Master Berry's health failed, she gained power in the household. Eventually, I was brought to the city on the false pretense of our free papers being executed. If I had known what waited ; to be sent south? I swear I would not have come here alive. -LRB- CONTINUED -RRB- ELIZA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- My poor, poor babies.", "INT. BURCH'S DUNGEON - NIGHT It's the deep of night, all are sleeping. A KEY TURNS IN THE LOCK AND THE DOOR OPENS. Burch enters with Radburn beside him. Both carry LANTERNS with them. Hardly giving Solomon and Eliza a moment to rouse themselves, BURCH DEMANDS : BURCH Come on. Get yer blankets. Get up. Sensing that things will not end well : ELIZA No, please do n't... BURCH I do n't want to hear yer talk. Get in the yard. ELIZA Please... RADBURN Ai n't no need for all that. Putting hand to Randall's head. RADBURN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Jus takin' a li' l trip, tha's all. Do n't want to frighten the chil'ren none over a li' l boat ride, do yah? Eliza gives a shake of her head to the negative. RADBURN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Alright then. Git yerselves up.", "EXT. BURCH'S DUNGEON/YARD - NIGHT We now have Solomon, Clemens, John, Eliza and the children. They are being cuffed together. As John is cuffed, he pulls back. Scared. He beings in DESPERATION : JOHN John's massa gunna pay his debt. John's massa gunna come for him. Not wanting to hear any of this talk, Burch strikes John several times in the head with a sap-like instrument. Weakened, but again : JOHN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- John's massa gunna -- Burch again strikes John until he's quiet. Curiously, Emily and Randall do n't even flinch. Why would they? They are quite used to seeing this kind of violence. BURCH Not a word out of none a yah. Not a word. Burch and Radburn begin driving the shackled slaves from the yard.", "EXT. BURCH'S DUNGEON/INT. WAGON/FLAT BED - LATER The slaves are lead to a flat bed of the horse and carriage. They are made to lay down side-by-side. We stay with them as some sort of cloth is flung over them, obscuring and blacking out their view. At that moment, the screen is BLACKENED and we hear the sound of the cart moving in haste.", "EXT. WASHINGTON, D.C. DOCK - NIGHT Led by Burch, the group of slaves arrive to a dock. They are taken quickly up a gangplank and onto the steamboat ORLEANS as the CAPTAIN, CREW and a MULATTO WOMAN WATCH, but do not interfere.", "INT. ORLEANS/HOLD - CONTINUOUS The slaves are hustled down one at a time into a dark, dank hold among barrels and boxes of freight... and RATS. Burch comes around and `` checks'' the chains ; makes sure they are all secure and locked. Satisfied, he heads up out of the hold. Radburn follows. Alone in the dark in the hold, John cries, as does Eliza. Solomon stares down Burch for as long as he can, as if wishing bad things. As if wanting to exact some measure of revenge. But the greater insult is that Burch and Radburn, engaged in conversation, take no notice of Solomon whatsoever. He is that insignificant to them. That fact, that reality, makes Solomon boil with a rage he can not express in words. OMIT INT. STEAMBOAT - NIGHT We are now in the engine room of the steamboat, pistons pumping, black oily cogs turning, the power and the rhythm are both aggressive and hypnotic. A shovel comes into view, feeding the furnace. EXT. SEA - DUSK/DAWN The steamboat is en route between Washington and Norfolk. We tilt up from the violent water foam to the powering paddles of the boat. MOVED TO 43A OMIT OMIT OMIT", "I NT. ORLEANS/HOLD - LATER - NIGHT Down in the hold the slaves eat, pray. The MULATTO WOMAN moves among them, catching ELIZA's eye. MULATTO WOMAN Cheer up and do n't be so cast down. Clemens Ray and Solomon watch as the Mulatto Woman returns to top deck, the trapdoor locked firmly behind her. Clemens Ray turns to Solomon with a deadpan stern expression. CLEMENS RAY If you want to survive, do and say as little as possible. Tell no one who you really are and tell no one that you can read and write. CLEMENS RAY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- SLOWLY -RRB- Unless you want to be a dead nigger. Clemens Ray turns away from Solomon, eyes lost into the distance. Solomon's face is one of a confused despair. EXT. NORFOLK/PORT - DAY We see a flat overhead view of the port of Norfolk. Sardines are laid out to dry in rows, glittering in the day's sun as if like silver pennies. A chain of slaves enter the frame and are led one by one on to the docked vessel. MORE SLAVES - about 15 in all, of various genders and ages - are brought on board. Chief among them is ROBERT who fights viciously with his captors. `` With all haste'' is shoved down into the hold. Having taken their cargo as far as they care or need to, Burch and Radburn depart. They do so without a word spoken to Solomon or the others. With this new and sizable batch of slaves on board, the crew again CASTS OFF, and the Orleans makes its way again.", "INT. ORLEANS/GALLE Y Solomon is back cleaning in the galley. As he cleans, he again watches Robert prep food. Robert's skill with a knife is not lost on Solomon.", "INT. HOLD - LATER - DAY The hold is packed tighter now. Muzzle covering his face, Robert is shackled with his hands tied behind his back. Solomon and Clemens Ray look on. A sailor descends the staircase and takes off Robert's muzzle, shooting him a forbidding look. He leaves. CUT TO : Solomon, Clemens Ray and Robert, now in mid-conversation. ROBERT I say we fight. Robert delivers this in a hushed voice. SOLOMON The crew is fairly small. If it were well planned, I believe they could be strong armed. CLEMENS RAY Three ca n't stand against a whole crew. The rest here are niggers, born and bred slaves. Niggers ai n't got the stomach for a fight, not a damn one. ROBERT All I know, we get where we travelling we'll wish we'd died trying. CLEMENS RAY Survival is not about certain death, it is about keeping your head down. Solomon looks at Clemens Ray, agitated -- his voice now raised above the previous whispers. Grits his teeth. SOLOMON Days ago I was with my family, in my home. Now you tell me all is lost. `` Tell no one who I really am'' if I want to survive. I do n't want to survive, I want to live. OMIT OMIT EXT. SEA - DAY The steamboat paddles pound the water, filling the whole frame. The vessel ploughs on south. OMIT INT. HOLD - NIGHT The slaves are asleep. A Sailor descends the ladder approaching Eliza. He bends down and attempts to wake the daughter by caressing her face. Solomon rouses, and looks across to witness the scene. From his vantage point, we see Eliza stand to interrupt the Sailor. The Sailor looks at Eliza, Eliza looks back at him. Knowingly she leads him off into a corner of the hold. As she does so, Eliza passes Robert who jumps up to stand between Eliza and the Sailor. Stretching out a firm hand to the sailor's shoulder, Robert's look says `` No you do n't.'' Clemens Ray is awake now, watching. There is an odd moment of stillness between the Sailor and Robert, an impasse. We focus on the Sailor's face. Slowly, a greasy smile erupts upon it. Back now to Robert's face, a look of incomprehension. Robert looks down. We follow his gaze to the knife that has already been jabbed unseen between Robert's ribs. The sailor withdraws the bloody blade. A wide shot of the two men. Robert collapses to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Clemens Ray and Solomon react. Complete horror. OMIT OMIT", "EXT. ORLEANS/DECK - DAY We are back up on the deck of the ship. SOLOMON AND CLEMENS RAY dump ROBERT's body over the side of the ship. Solomon watches as the body churns for a moment in the wake of the vessel... then sinks beneath the water. Clemens Ray, with no sentimentality : CLEMENS RAY Better off. Better than us. EXT. NEW ORLEANS HARBOUR - DAY Solomon's POV from the back of the steamship of Robert's corpse slipping gracefully into the water.", "EXT. NEW ORLEANS/PORT - DAY -MID MAY, 1841- A white male, fairly smart, with broad shoulders, stands AND BELLOWS- RAY Clemens...! Clemens Ray! We are in the port of New Orleans, one of the busiest in the young nation. On the dock itself there is a bustle of activity as goods are loaded and unloaded from a various ships. It's a bit of controlled chaos as a VARIETY OF LANGUAGES are spoken and shouted while slaves are shuttled from the Orleans to a holding pen. Solomon, and all the slaves are overwhelmed by all that is happening around them. Two men - among many - are awaiting the arrival of the Orleans. They are JONUS RAY - Clemens Ray's master - and DAVIS who is the solicitor of Mr. Ray. They both look like they mean business. The moment the gangplank is laid, Ray yells for Clemens. Clemens, seeing his master, is nearly crazy with delight. He is, uncharacteristically beside himself. Ironically, his master now represents `` freedom.'' CLEMENS... My master... Master Ray, sir! Master Ray! Clemens pulls on his chain. As he does so, Several other slaves collapse in his effort to reach his master, like dominos. RAY Who is in charge of this vessel? CAPTAIN I am the Captain. RAY I am Mr. Jonus Ray. My solicitor has documentation verifying that the Negro named Clemens Ray is my property. As he reads PAPERS handed to him by Davis : CAPTAIN I know nothing of -- RAY You are ordered by court to return that property immediately, or face charges of thievery. CAPTAIN My duty is to transport goods. I am not responsible for their origin. RAY Remove these contraptions! To his mate : CAPTAIN Free him! Biddee does as ordered. Once free, Clemens hugs and sobs over his master as would a lost and then found child. RAY It's all well, now, Clemens. You will return home with me. -LRB- to the Captain -RRB- Consider this notice and warning. Ray, Davis and Clemens head away. Solomon seems both desperate and hopeful of some aid from Clemens and Ray. But there is none forthcoming. Ray and Clemens continue on - Clemens not so much as even looking back in Solomon's direction. Solomon stands and watches as they fade into the environs and are gone from sight.", "EXT. NEW ORLEANS/PORT - LATER Hours later. The slaves sit off on one side of the dock, baking in the sun, awaiting their fate. THEOPHILUS FREEMAN - a tall, thin-faced man with light complexion and a little bent - moves along the deck calling out names from a list. The slaves STAND as they are called. FREEMAN Oren. John. Lethe. Eliza. Randall. Emily. Platt... Platt! Solomon does not respond. Freeman looks around. He spots Solomon. FREEMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Captain, who shipped that nigger? CAPTAIN Burch. Freeman steps to Solomon. He gives him a looking over. FREEMAN Stand up. Solomon does as told. FREEMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You fit the description given. Why did n't you answer when called? SOLOMON My name is not Platt. My name is -- Freeman strikes Solomon hard across the face. FREEMAN Your name is Platt, and I will teach you your name so that you do n't forget. -LRB- to the Captain -RRB- Shackle my niggers. Get them to my cart.", "I NT /E XT. CART - LATER Solomon is carted off along with the rest of `` Burch's stock :'' Eliza and her children, John and Solomon. As they move off from the port in a make-shift cart, it opens up to the frenzic, busy port. For the first time Solomon sees true and severe slavery. These are not visiting servants, such as Jasper was back in Saratoga. These are humans held in strict bondage - herded like cattle, chained together as if in a `` chain gang.'' Slaves are evident not merely by the color of their skin. The residue and accessories of slavery are everywhere. Blacks almost universally display scars - THICK AND HEAVY DEAD TISSUE FROM LACERATIONS LEFT UNTREATED - brands, and are often missing limbs. Blacks are held in all types of shackles, from simple chains to elaborate bindings, to neck collars that are spiked. Some are muzzled or forced to wear bits. One slave is attacked by a dog and the slave owner. The dog pulls and tears at the slave's clothes. THESE IMAGES SHOULD BE A CONSTANT AND CONTINUAL CANVAS TO THE PIECE. EVER PRESENT, BUT NOT REALLY COMMENTED ON AS THEY ARE THE NORM. They should be a reminder that not only are people being oppressed, but that there is an entire system of oppression in place.", "EXT. FREEMAN'S SLAVE PEN - LATER `` Burch's stock :'' arrive at Freeman's slave pen. They are led in by Freeman and his house slave CAPE - a mulatto. The yard is enclosed by plank, standing upright, with ends sharpened instead of brick walls as with Burch's. Including Burch's group there are about 30 SLAVES in the pen. Solomon and the others look around and see nothing but downtrodden and despondent faces. Three men sit next to each other with muzzles and quietly stare back at this new batch of arrivals. One attempts to speak, but all that comes out is a muffled, unintelligible sound.", "EXT. FREEMAN'S SLAVE PEN - LATER The slaves are in various states of undress, men and women alike. They clean themselves, scrubbing with soap and water. Women wash their hair. Men shave, skin is oiled. Freeman walks among them, inspecting them as they primp themselves.", "INT. FREEMAN'S SLAVE PEN - LATER The slaves are given new clothes by Cape. The men are given hat, coat, shirt, pants and shoes. The women frocks of calico and handkerchiefs to bind about their heads.", "INT. FREEMAN'S/GREAT ROOM - LATER It's an odd, ironic scene. The slaves are in a large and fairly ornate room within Freeman's house. CAPE PLAYS A PAINFUL TUNE ON A FIDDLE - background music - as Freeman tries to line up A SMALL GROUP OF THE SLAVES, he becomes less patient, jittery and nervous, knowing that his livelihood is at stake, he wants his slaves to make a good impression. Sometimes his patience gets the better of him, and his hands move freely in direction of the slaves. The business has the air of an etiquette class, though what Freeman is trying to do is coach the slaves into being more `` sellable.'' He works with them in groups of five or so. FREEMAN Tallest to smallest, understand? Are you taller than her? Then you'd go before her. Do it. Move. -LRB- to the group -RRB- Keep your heads up. A sense of direction ; that's how you look smart. None of those saucer eyes. Rid yourself of that smile. Look like a goddamn grinnin' monkey. Put the least thought in your head. C'mon, now. Think of somethin'. Weary of Cape's playing, Solomon moves to Cape. He asks : SOLOMON Can you play a reel? CAPE -LRB- DISMISSIVE -RRB- Nah. I do n't know no reel. SOLOMON If I may...? Cape looks to Freeman : FREEMAN He sick of your caterwaulin'. Let him play, boy. Let's see what he can do. Cape reluctantly hands the fiddle over to Solomon. Solomon tunes it a bit, then begins to play. His fingers stiff at first, he takes a moment to warm up. But as he warms up he is, despite the circumstances, masterful. THE SLAVES ALL CLAP ALONG. SOME DANCE ALONG. All admire his work. Freeman chief among them. FREEMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Keep on. Keep on. Solomon continues to play. FREEMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- A damn sight better than you, Cape. A damn sight better. Cape looks bitter as Solomon plays on.", "INT. FREEMAN'S/GREAT ROOM - DAY We come in on an odd sort of sight ; A JUMBLE OF ACTIVITY. CUSTOMERS have come to see Freeman's lot - the room all gussied up with flowers. Freeman moves among them, displaying them as a rancher would prize chattel. Freeman makes the slaves hold their heads up - `` look smart'' as he previously admonished them. They are made to walk briskly back and forth while customers feel their hands and arms and bodies, turn them about and ask what skills they possess. The Customers routinely make the slaves open their mouths and show their teeth. At times a MALE or FEMALE SLAVE are taken off to the side, stripped and inspected more minutely. One of them, John, is stripped and inspected. Cape, as he's done previously, plays his fiddle. A buyer - WILLIAM FORD ; a man of middle age, and an attractive nature in his tone of voice - consults a list he's drawn up and asks of Freeman : FORD What is the price for the ones Platt and Eliza? FREEMAN A thousand for Platt ; he is a nigger of talent. Seven hundred for Eliza. My fairest price. FORD You will accept a note? FREEMAN As always, from you, Mr. Ford. Eliza is beside herself as it seems she is about to be separated from her family. She begs of Ford : ELIZA Please, sir... Please do n't divide my family. Do n't take me unless you take my children as well. FREEMAN Eliza, quiet! ELIZA You will have the most faithful slave in me, sir. The most faithful slave that has ever lived, but I beg that you do not separate us. A BUYER interrupts the skirmish and approaches Freeman and delivers coolly, eyeing Randall- BUYER Your price for the child? FREEMAN You see how fit the boy is. Like ripe fruit. He will grow into a fine beast. Randall is made to run, and jump by FREEMAN - exhibiting his activity and his condition. FREEMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Six hundred, and that's fair and final. BUYER Done. He reaches into his waistcoat and retrieves his wallet, counting out six hundred dollars, placing them into the already extended hand of Freeman. Ford sees the distress and panic in Eliza ; it visibly touches him. He now tries to buy EMILY to console her. FORD How much for the little girl? You have no need for her. One so young will bring you no profit. FREEMAN I will not sell the girl. There's heaps' n piles of money to be made off her. She is a beauty. One of the regular bloods. None of your thick-lipped, bullet headed, cotton picking niggers. FORD Her child, man. For God's sake, are you not sentimental in the least? FREEMAN My sentimentality stretches the length of a coin. Do you want the lot, Mr. Ford, or do you pass on them all? FORD I will take the ones Platt and Eliza. Eliza grips her children tight. ELIZA I will not go without my children. You will not take them from me. As if to prove her wrong, Freeman puts a foot to Eliza and harshly kicks her away from Emily. ELIZA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Please, do n't. No! Freeman, to Cape : FREEMAN Take her out of here. Cape DROPS HIS FIDDLE, begins to pull Eliza away toward the door of the room, but her screaming and pleading do not abate. IT IS CLEARLY UNSETTLING TO THE OTHER BUYERS. FREEMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Keep her quiet. Cape tries to muzzle her with his hand, but Eliza continues to scream for her children as Emily does for her mother. EMILY Mama... Mama! FREEMAN -LRB- TO SOLOMON -RRB- Play something! Get the fiddle and play. As ordered, Solomon takes up Cape's fiddle and begins to play lightly. FREEMAN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Play! Solomon plays harder and more loudly. Still, it is barely enough to drown out Eliza's cries. Freeman gets the other slaves to clap along with Solomon's playing. Emily frees herself and runs back, crying but endeavoring to be strong- EMILY Do n't cry, Mama. I will be a good girl. Do n't cry. I will keep my head up and I will look smart. I will always look smart. FREEMAN Make merry, all of you! Goddamn it, Cape! Keep her quiet or it's your damned hide I will take it out of! Cape pulls a rag, stuffs it in Eliza's mouth. Clamping both hands over her mouth, he hauls Eliza from the room by the head. IT IS AN UGLY, UGLY SCENE.", "EXT. FORD PLANTATION - LATER Driven in a horse drawn wagon by Ford are Solomon and Eliza. Eliza is sullen to say the least. With the loss of her two children she has dropped into a depression she will not be able to pull out of. They arrive to the FORD PLANTATION. The main house of the plantation - the GREAT HOUSE as they are commonly called - is sizable. Two stories high with a piazza in front. In the rear are also a log kitchen, poultry house, corncribs and several slave cabins. The plantation is described as `` a green spot in the wilderness.'' With the arrival of Master Ford there is a flurry of activity - the `` excitement'' of a new delivery. MR. CHAPIN, a white overseer, instructs a slave named SAM. CHAPIN Sam, call to the Mistress. SAM Mistress! Mistress, they arrivn'. MISTRESS FORD EXITS the house - along with her attending slave, RACHEL, who is a cook AS WELL AS SAM'S WIFE - and travels to her husband, kisses him, then laughingly INQUIRES : MRS. FORD Did you bring all those niggers? Two of them? You got two? FORD Make me something to eat, dear. The day has taken it from me. MRS. FORD Let me get a look at them... FORD Mr. Chapin -- MRS. FORD -LRB- RE : ELIZA -RRB- This one's cryin'. Why is this one cryin'? FORD Separated from her children. MRS. FORD Oh, dear. FORD It could n't be helped. MRS. FORD Poor, poor woman. FORD Mr. Chapin, tomorrow you will take these two up to the mill and start them workin'. For now make them -LRB- CONTINUED -RRB- FORD -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- adequate ; fix them a meal, and have them rest themselves. CHAPIN Yes, sir. -LRB- to the slaves : -RRB- C'mon, now. C'mon. Do n't dawdle. MRS. FORD -LRB- TO ELIZA : -RRB- Something to eat and some rest ; your children will soon enough be forgotten.", "EXT. FORD'S WORK AREA - DAY John Tibeats, stands before the slaves. Chapin hovers to one side. TIBEATS My name is John Tibeats, William Ford's chief carpenter. You will refer to me as Master. Tibeats nods in Chapin's direction : TIBEATS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Mister Chapin is the overseer on this plantation. He is responsible for all of Ford's property. You too will refer to him as Master. This plantation covers many hundreds of acres, and you will traverse the Texas road between the forest site and the sawmill in double time. Any clever nigger on that path that gets a little lightfooted, I will remind him that on one side men and bloodhounds patrol the border and on the other the bayou provides a hard living, with alligators and little to eat or drink that wo n't kill you. No slave has escaped here with his life. You're here to work niggers, so let's commence. Tibeats begins to sing the song `` Run Nigger, Run'' mockingly. We cut to Solomon chopping logs and into the montage of the slaves doing manual labor and arriving back to the sawmill. Lyrics for `` Run Nigger, Run'' Oh run nigger run well the pattyroller will get you Run nigger run well you better get away Run nigger run well the pattyroller will get you Run nigger run well you better get away Nigger run nigger flew Nigger tore his shirt in two Run run the pattyroller will get you Run nigger run well you better get away Nigger run, run so fast Stoved his head in a hornets nest Run nigger run well the pattyroller will get you Run nigger run well you better get away Nigger run through the field Black slick coal and barley heel Run nigger run the pattyroller will get you Run nigger run well you better get away Some folks say a nigger wo n't steal I caught three in my corn field One has a bushel? And one has a peck One had a rope and it was hung around his neck Run nigger run well the pattyroller will get you Run nigger run well you better get away Run nigger run well the pattyroller will get you Run nigger run well you better get away Oh nigger run and nigger flew Why in the devil ca n't a white man chew Run nigger run well the pattyroller will get you Run nigger run well you better get away Hey Mr. Pattyroller do n't catch me Catch that nigger behind that tree Run nigger run well the pattyroller will get you? Run nigger run well you better get away Nigger run, run so fast Stoved his head in a hornets nest Run nigger run well the pattyroller will get you Run nigger run well you better get away", "EXT. WOODS - DAY -END OF MAY THROUGH EARLY JUNE, 1841- We are in a wooded area. There is A GANG OF SLAVES chopping trees into timber. It is hard, laborious work made no more easy by the sweltering heat. Solomon is among them as well as Sam.", "EXT. WOODS - LATER The slaves now load the timber onto a horse drawn wagon. Again, hard work done under the ever present sun.", "EXT. ROAD - LATER As Sam drives the wagon, the other slaves trudge along side by foot. We should get the sense the travel is long and tedious.", "EXT. FORD'S WORK AREA - LATER It is a sizable work area on the edge of Indian Creek. There is much work being done, the slaves primarily employed in piling the timber and chopping it into lumber. As before, there is little doubt about the rigors of the job at hand. Working as a carpenter at the work area is JOHN TIBEATS. There are also various CUSTOMERS who move about placing orders.", "EXT. FORD PLANTATION - DAY -EARLY TO MID JUNE, 1841- It's Sunday morning. All of Ford's slaves are dressed with their `` finest'' clothes - brightly colored and as free as possible of defect. The slaves are gathered on the lawn just beyond the piazza. Mistress Ford is present as well. As the slaves listen, Ford reads to them Scripture. His tone is of a man trying to preach by way of compassion. FORD `` But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.'' Despite the lightness with which Ford speaks and the hope in his words, ELIZA SITS OFF TO THE SIDE - SELF-SECLUDED A BIT - WEEPING GENTLY. We should be able to see in Mistress Ford's eyes that Eliza's constant crying is unsettling. OMITTED OMIT OMITTE D OMIT", "EXT. FORD'S WORK AREA - DAY -MID JUNE, 1841- The slaves have broken for lunch. They snack on smoked meat and drink water from gourds. As they lunch Solomon reads from Sam's Bible to the other slaves. SOLOMON But he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger ; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat? But I am among you as he that serveth. A white customer - WINSLOW - irate at the sight and sound of slaves reading Scripture, crosses over. He grabs the Bible. WINSLOW From where did you thieve this? SAM Suh, the book is my property. The White Customer has no interest in Sam's answer. With flailing hands he STARTS BEATING ON SAM. Solomon tries to stop him. That only makes the situation worse, Solomon now the target of the man's ire. WINSLOW Take your hands from me! Ford comes running over. FORD What is the commotion? WINSLOW Your niggers are either brazen or rebellious. This one was readin' Scripture, and this one claims it to be his. FORD It is. A gift from his Mistress. WINSLOW You condone this? FORD I encourage it. As a Christian I can do no less. WINSLOW You can do no worse, Ford. A slave that reads is dangerous. Winslow moves off. He yells back at Ford : WINSLOW -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- And the man who would allow a slave to read is unfit to own niggers! Handing the Bible back to Sam, very matter of factly : FORD Pay him no mind. The word of God applies to all. In that you may take comfort. OMITTED", "EXT. ROAD - DAY Sam is at the reigns of the wagon carrying the timber to Ford's WORK AREA. Slaves trudge alongside, same as it ever was. Only... it's not quite the same. Sam brings the wagon to a halt. He, and the slaves look up the road ahead of them. Standing in the middle of the road is a group of CHICKASAWS INDIANS. They are in their `` usual'' dress of buckskin breeches and calico hunting shirts of fantastic colors, buttoned from belt to chin. They have with them DOGS and HORSES. They carry with them the carcass of a deer. The two groups stare at each other for a long moment.", "EXT. FIELD - DUSK/END OF DAY The groups of slaves and Chickasaws are now intermingled. They `` break bread'' - actually they work on the carcass of the deer which is now roasting over a large fire. As well the group share a smoke on a pipe. One of the Chickasaws is playing a tune on an `` INDIAN FIDDLE.'' The Chickasaws perform a customary dance ; trotting after each other, and giving utterance to a guttural, sing-song noise. The slaves enjoy the respite from work, Solomon particularly taken by the music... if not entirely enthralled by it. After a bit, Solomon rights himself and heads from the group.", "EXT. RIVER BANK - CONTINUOUS Solomon arrives to some tall grass at the edge of the river. Lowering his trousers, SOLOMON SQUATS TO DEFECATE. As he does, he stares out toward the flowing waters of Indian Creek. After a few moments, as though a thought far greater than relieving himself has come to him, Solomon stands and replaces his pants. Oddly, Solomon stares out at the water as though he were a man possessed.", "EXT. FORD'S WORK AREA - DAY Just beyond the WORK AREA Solomon speaks with Ford as Tibeats listens. Solomon is drawing in the dirt, making rough diagrams for Ford as he explains himself. SOLOMON The creek is plenty deep enough to sail, even with a boat full of load. The distance from the WORK AREA to the point on the latter bayou is several miles by water fewer than land. It occurs to me that the expense of the transportation would be materially DIMINISHED -- TIBEATS `` Materially diminished?'' SOLOMON If we use the waterway. TIBEATS It's a scheme. Plenty of engineers have schemed similarly. The passes are too tight. SOLOMON I reckon them at more than twelve feet at their most narrow. Wide enough for a tub to traverse. A team of niggers can clear it out. TIBEATS And you know what of transport and terra formin'? SOLOMON I labored repairing the Champlain canal, on the section over which William Van Nortwick was superintendent. With my earnings I hired several efficient hands to assist me, and I entered into contracts for the transportation of large rafts of timber from Lake Champlain to Troy. FORD -LRB- TO TIBEATS -RRB- I'll admit to being impressed even if you wo n't. -LRB- TO SOLOMON -RRB- Collect a gang, see what good you can do.", "EXT. CREEK - DAY -END OF JUNE, 1841- WE HAVE A SERIES OF SCENES in which we see Solomon and a TEAM OF BLACKS working on the creek : CHOPPING TREES ALONG THE BANKS, widening out the shore... It's all just a trial for now. The work is diligent, but it is basic to this point. Still, under Solomon's direction, the slaves go at it like they've got something to prove. And rightly they do. Solomon also works on a narrow raft of twelve cribs with which he will transport the timber. Once this is constructed, HE PERSONALLY `` SAILS'' THEM UP THE CREEK WITH A TEST LOAD.", "EXT. FORD'S WORK AREA - LATER Ford and a group of slaves wait along the river banks just beyond the WORK AREA. All are expectant in their manner. A long moment passes with no sign of Solomon. Then, from up river, we see Solomon's raft of lumber winding its way. SLAVES CHEER, and Ford literally applauds the effort. Tibeats looks pissed. He has just been shown up after all.", "EXT. FORD PLANTATION/GREAT HOUSE - DAY As we come into the scene, Ford is presenting Solomon with a fiddle. Not as grand as the one he previously owned in New York, but a fine instrument none the less. It is a gift of thanks for his hard work. Solomon's gratitude is easily expressed. SOLOMON My great thanks, Master Ford. FORD My thanks to you, and it is the least of it. My hope is that it brings us both much joy over the years. Following the statement, Solomon's not sure how to react. He remains grateful, but the thought of `` over the years'' is just a reminder of the altered state in which he now finds himself.", "EXT. FORD PLANATION/SLAVE SHACK - EVENING -END OF JULY, 1841- The slaves eat. All tired from a days work they conduct themselves in silence. All except for Eliza who, SLIPPING INTO PERMANENT DEPRESSION, as always weeps. The sound of her sobbing edging him up - particularly after Master Ford's `` over the years'' observation. Solomon FINALLY SNAPS : SOLOMON Eliza. Eliza, stop! Solomon goes to her, grabs Eliza. She does not stop. As if to force the misery from her, Solomon SHAKES ELIZA VIOLENTLY. SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Stop it! Stop! ELIZA It's all I have to keeps my loss present. SOLOMON You let yourself be overcome by sorrow. You will drown in it. ELIZA Have you stopped crying for your children? You make no sounds, but will you ever let them go in your heart? SOLOMON... They are as my flesh... ELIZA Then who is distressed? Do I upset the Mistress and the Master? Do you care less for my loss than their well being? SOLOMON Master Ford is a decent man. ELIZA He is a slaver. SOLOMON Under the circumstances -- ELIZA Under the circumstances he is a slaver! Christian only in his proclamations. Separated me from my precious babies for lack of a few dollars. But you truckle at HIS BOOT -- SOLOMON No... ELIZA You luxuriate in his favor. SOLOMON I survive. I will not fall into despair. Woeful and crushed ; melancholy is the yolk I see most. I will offer up my talents to Master Ford. I will keep myself hearty until freedom is opportune. ELIZA Ford is your opportunity. Do you think he does not know that you are more than you suggest? But he does nothing for you. Nothing. You are no better than prized livestock. Call for him. Call, tell him of your previous circumstances and see what it earns you... Solomon. Eliza uses Solomon's name quite pointedly as if to underscore his true self. Solomon get her meaning. Yet he says nothing. Again, pointedly : ELIZA -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- So, you've settled into your role as Platt, then? SOLOMON -LRB- DEFENSIVE -RRB- My back is thick with scars from -LRB- CONTINUED -RRB- SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- protesting my freedom. Do not ACCUSE ME -- ELIZA I accuse you of nothing. I can not accuse. I too have done so many, many dishonorable things to survive. And for all of them I have ended up here... No better than if I had stood up for myself. Father, Lord and Savior forgive me... Forgive me. Oh, Solomon, let me weep for my children. FORD -LRB- V.O. -RRB- At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?", "EXT. FORD PLANTATION - MORNING -AUGUST, 1841- It's Sunday. The slaves are again gathered in the rose garden near the front of the house to hear the word of the Lord as read by Master Ford. FORD And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. The phrase seems to trigger Eliza's tears. She begins to sob uncontrollably. Mrs. Ford turns to Rachel in a hushed whisper- MRS. FORD I can not have that kind of depression about. Solomon, pretending not to have heard, slowly turns to Eliza with worry. Ford continues to preach over Eliza's keening. FORD But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto -LRB- CONTINUED -RRB- FORD -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come ; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! BLACK", "EXT. FORD PLANTATION - DAY -JANUARY, 1842- Seasons have passed. It is winter now, and very grey out along the bayou. Ford and Tibeats - who we have seen working around the WORK AREA - stand with Solomon, Tibeats giving Solomon an inspection. Ford carries much lament. TIBEATS Raise yer shirt. Solomon does as instructed. Tibeats looks at Solomon's back, at the scars from lashings he bears. TIBEATS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Troublesome. FORD He's a good carpenter and quick- witted. TIBEATS I am familiar with his cleverness. FORD You wo n't find a nigger more humble. TIBEATS Ai n't found a nigger yet I cai n't humble. Tibeats heads off. Solomon, highly curious over the preceding. SOLOMON Sir, have I done something wrong? FORD Not your concern, Platt. I say with much... shame I have compiled debts. I have long preached austerity, but find myself hypocritical in that regard. You'll be in the ownership of Mr. Tibeats. You are his now. Serve him as you'd serve me. SOLOMON Sir. FORD And your faithfulness will not be forgotten. SOLOMON Yes, sir. FORD Pride and want have been my sin. Loss of you is but one of my punishments.", "EXT. FORD PLANATION - DAY -END OF JANUARY, 1842- [ OVER ONE DAY ] We see Solomon working as a carpenter, helping to erect a Weaving House that stands off to the side of the plantation's Great House. At the moment Solomon is nailing on siding. Tibeats arrives and is immediately dissatisfied with the work. TIBEATS Make them boards flush. SOLOMON They are, sir. TIBEATS They is no such thing. Solomon runs his hands over the boards. SOLOMON As smooth to the touch as a yearling's coat. TIBEATS Callin' me a liar, boy? SOLOMON Only a matter of perspective, sir. From where you stand you may see differently. But the hands are not mistaken. I ask only that you employ all your senses before rendering judgement. What's Tibeats to do when faced with fact? All he can do is spew invectives. TIBEATS You are a brute. You are a dog, and no better for followin' instruction. SOLOMON I'll do as ordered, sir. TIBEATS Then you'll be up at daybreak. You will procure a keg of nails from Chapin and commence puttin' on clapboards. Tibeats wheels away. Solomon goes back to his work. After a few moments Solomon notices a bit of commotion in the drive of the great house. It involves an inconsolable Eliza who is being herded by Sam onto a cart DRIVEN BY A WHITE MAN. Mistress Ford and Rachel watch. Solomon can only watch as the last connection to his days as a free man is driven away to a location unknown.", "EXT. WEAVING HOUSE - MORNING It is day break. As ordered, Solomon is up and working. Chapin is rolling a keg of nails off a handcart for Solomon. CHAPIN If Tibeats prefers a different size, I will endeavor to furnish them, but you may use those until further directed. SOLOMON Yes, sir.", "EXT. WEAVING HOUSE - LATER As the day gets on to mid-morning, the sun already baking in the sky, Tibeats makes his way over to Solomon. Even before arriving to Solomon his mien is one of belligerence ; out of sorts and something less than sober. TIBEATS I thought I told yah ta commence ta puttin' on clapboards this morn'. SOLOMON Yes, master. I am about it. I have begun on the other side of the house. Tibeats walks around to look over Solomon's work. He is picayune, as if purposefully looking for fault. TIBEATS Did n't I tell yah last night to get a keg of nails of Chapin? SOLOMON And so I did ; and Chapin said he would get another size for you, if you wanted them when he came back from the field. Tibeats walks to the keg and kicks it. Moving toward Solomon `` with a great passion :'' TIBEATS Goddamn yah! I thought yah knowed somethin'! Solomon, perhaps inspired by his moment with Eliza, is in no mood for Tibeats. SOLOMON I did as instructed. If there's something wrong, then its wrong with your instructions. TIBEATS Yah black bastard! Yah goddman black bastard! In an inconsolable rage, Tibeats runs off to the piazza to fetch a whip. Solomon looks around. He is alone other than Rachel and Mistress Ford who, shocked by that which she witnesses, runs out to the field to fetch Chapin. Solomon's instinct is to run, but he stands his ground as Tibeats marches back whip in hand. TIBEATS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Strip yer clothes! Solomon does no such thing. TIBEATS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Strip! SOLOMON I will not. With `` concentrated vengeance,'' Tibeats springs for Solomon, seizing him by the throat with one hand and raising the whip with the other. Before he can strike the blow, however, Solomon catches Tibeats by the collar of his coat and pulls him in close. Reaching down, Solomon grabs Tibeats by the ankle and pushes him back with the other hand. Tibeats tumbles to the ground. A violent struggle takes place as Solomon puts a foot to Tibeats throat, and then in a frenzy of madness snatches the whip from Tibeats and begins to strike him with the handle again and again and again. TIBEATS Yew will not live ta see another day, nigger! This is yer last, I swear it! Solomon ignores the threats, continues to beat Tibeats. Blow after blow falling fast and heavy on Tibeats's wriggling form. The stiff stock of the whip wraps around Tibeats's cringing body until Solomon's arm aches. Tibeats's cries of vengeance turn to yelps for help and then pleas for mercy : TIBEATS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Murder! It's murder! Lord, God, help me. God be merciful! And then suddenly, Tibeats shrieks- TIBEATS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Papa I'm sorry! Chapin comes RIDING IN FROM THE FIELD fast and hard. Solomon strikes Tibeats a blow or two more, then delivers a well-directed kick that sends Tibeats rolling over the ground. CHAPIN What is the matter? Tibeats struggles up and tries to present an air of dignity and control while he keeps a demonic eye on SOLOMON : SOLOMON Master Tibeats wants to whip me for using the nails you gave me. CHAPIN What's the matter with the nails? With a mix of shame, anger and embarrassment, Tibeats says, as if being exposed- TIBEATS They're... they're too large. CHAPIN I am overseer here. I told Platt to use them, and CHAPIN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I shall furnish such nails as I please. Do you understand that, Mr. Tibeats? Tibeats answer is in the grinding of his teeth and the shaking of his fist. TIBEATS This ai n't done by half. I will have flesh, and I will have all of it. Tibeats moves off toward, and then INTO THE HOUSE. Chapin follows. A long moment, Solomon stands alone. He looks around, not sure what to do ; to stay or to flee. Anxiety mounts on his features. A moment more, and Tibeats EXITS the house. He saddles his horse and rides off to beat the devil. Or, worse, to fetch him. Chapin comes running back out of the house. He is visibly excited, and when he speaks he is quite earnest. Though he tries to project reasoned emotions he gives off an air of impending trouble. CHAPIN Do not stir. Do not attempt to leave the plantation on any account whatever. But if you run there is no protecting you. SOLOMON SIR -- CHAPIN If you run, Platt, there is no protecting you. Rachel...! Chapin runs off to join Rachel. The two converse at a distance from Solomon, then they head off for the log kitchen. Solomon is now very much alone, and he waits for what is to come. AND WE WAIT WITH HIM. And we wait, and we continue to wait... Moment by moment, the dread of the unexpected mounts. Solomon's eyes begin to well. He has beaten a white man, and he knows that death awaits him. A SLIGHT PRAYER TO THE HEAVENS BEGINS TO FORM IN HIS THROAT, but he is too choked up to fully speak it. Chapin has now returned to the piazza. He stands and watches, but does not move to Solomon. Solomon waits, and waits... WE HEAR THE SOUND OF DISTANT HOOFS which grow louder and louder in the manner of rolling thunder. It's Tibeats. He returns with two accomplices ; RAMSAY and COOK. They carry with them large whips and a coil of rope. TIBEATS Tha's the one. Tha's him. Dismounting, they move with menace that is tinged with perverse pleasure and wordless malevolence. Solomon tries to fight back, but he is strong armed and tied by TIBEATS - his wrists, and then ankles bound in the same manner. In the meantime the other two have slipped a cord within Solomon's elbows, running it across his back and tying it firmly. Solomon is then dragged toward a peach tree. A lynching is in store. The naked horror of it intensely palpable. Solomon looks toward the piazza, but Chapin is now gone. Tears of fear flow down Solomon's cheeks. He is on the verge of panic ; a man heading toward his own execution, he begins to struggle and fight. A rope goes around Solomon's neck, then is tossed over the branch of the tree. The trio begin to hoist Solomon. He gasps and gags as spittle flies from his mouth and the life is choked from him. With suddenness, Chapin comes from the house brandishing a pistol in each hand - Colt Paterson.36 caliber `` Holster'' pistols with 9'' barrels. Chapin moves with determination toward the lynch mob. He is sharp and matter of fact. With the guns in hand, he really does n't need to be much more demonstrative. CHAPIN Gentlemen... Whoever moves that nigger another foot from where he stands is a dead man. I am overseer of this plantation seven years, and in the absence of William Ford, my duty is to protect his interests. Ford holds a mortgage on Platt of four hundred dollars. If you hang him, he loses his debt. Until that is canceled you have no claim to his life. Directing his attention to Ramsay and Cook : CHAPIN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- As for you two, if you have any regard for your own safety... I say, begone! Ramsay and Cook do n't need to be told twice. The pistols Chapin's gripping make the situation real clear. Without further word, they mount their horses and ride away. Tibeats remains, and his anger with him. TIBEATS Yah got no cause. Platt is mine, and mine ta do with as I please. Yah touch my property, I will'ave yah strung up as well. Tibeats mounts up and departs. There is a surreal moment as Chapin's not sure what to do about Solomon. He chooses to do nothing. Solomon is left dangling by the neck from the tree as Chapin calls to Sam in the DISTANCE : CHAPIN Sam! Get the mule. You must ride to Master Ford. Tell him to come here at once without a single moment's delay. Tell him they are trying to murder Platt. Hurry, boy. Bring him back if you must kill the mule to do so! SAM Yes, suh! Sam mounts up and rides off, the mule demonstrating much speed.", "EXT. FORD PLANATION - LATER HOURS HAVE PASSED. The sun is now at its apex. The sight and smell of the red rose bush is more than vivid as Solomon remains tied and dangling exactly where he was left. The scene is both tranquil and horrific. Life on the plantation continues. The OTHER SLAVES work in the field. CHILDREN make their way playfully in the yard. It should all underscore the fact that a black, hanging even partially from a tree, is nothing unusual in this time and space. Chapin walks back and forth with the pistols in his hands. Clearly he fears Tibeats returning with more and better assistance. And yet, he does nothing to alleviate Solomon's suffering. He heeds Tibeats words, and as though caught up in the middle of nothing more than a property dispute, he offers no further aid. Solomon's head lolls to one side. He looks toward the sun. The bright light flares off the leaves and branches of the tree from which Solomon hangs. The glare in Solomon's eyes offering him more pain than solace, but he can not help but look upward. As he does, his eyes flutter between life and lifelessness... OMIT", "EXT. FORD PLANATION - LATER Solomon continues to hang. By now he is drenched in sweat, and nearly delirious with dehydration. His lips dry and parched. He may not die from hanging, but he may very well expire before the day is over. Eventually Rachel comes over - timidly, and as though she were acting contrary to orders - and offers a drink of water from a tin cup, pouring it in Solomon's mouth for him. She then takes a small hand towel and dabs at the water which clings to his lips. Rachel then retreats, and leaves Solomon to hang.", "EXT. FORD PLANATION - EVENING The sun is just now arching for the horizon. Solomon remains, as though his torture will not end. Ford, trailed by Sam, finally comes riding up. He dismounts, and moves swiftly over to Solomon. With great heartache : FORD Platt... My poor Platt. Ford produces a blade and cuts Solomon loose. Solomon attempts to carry himself, but he can not. He falls to the ground and passes out.", "INT. FORD PLANATION/GREAT HOUSE - NIGHT As we come into the scene, Solomon lays on a blanket on the floor. Eventually, his eyes flutter, then open. He is in the foyer of the Ford house. As he gets his bearings, he looks around the interior. THE SPACE IS HANDSOME, AND WELL DECORATED. It is sharp contrast to the bleak surroundings, shacks and dungeons Solomon has largely been accustom to during his time of slavery. It will be the `` first and last time such a sumptuous resting place was granted'' during his twelve years of bondage. Solomon does n't have much chance to luxuriate in his surroundings. He hears a DOG BARKING just outside, and is unnerved. Has Tibeats returned to finish what he started? From a study, Master Ford appears with a gun in hand. He goes to the door, opens it and looks outside. He can see nothing. Satisfied, Ford crosses back over to Solomon. He is frank with Solomon regarding the situation. FORD I believe Tibeats is skulkin' about the premises somewhere. He wants you dead, and he will attempt to have you so. It's no longer safe for you here. And I do n't believe you will remain passive if Tibeats attacks. I have transferred my debt to Edwin Epps. He will take charge of you. SOLOMON -LRB- desperate, urgent -RRB- Master Ford, you must know ; I am not a slave. FORD I can not hear that. SOLOMON Before I came to you I was a freeman. FORD I am trying to save your life! And... I have a debt to be mindful of. That, now, is to Edwin Epps. He is a hard man. Prides himself on being a `` nigger breaker.'' But truthfully I could find no others who would have you. You've made a reputation of yourself. Whatever your circumstances, you are an exceptional nigger, Platt. I fear no good will come of it.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/BACK PORCH - DAY -END OF JANUARY, 1842- From the back porch, we come into the scene on EDWIN EPPS ; a repulsive and coarse man. His language gives speedy and unequivocal evidence that he has never enjoyed the advantages of an education. Epps reads the Bible to his slaves, eight of them altogether. ABRAM ; a tall, older slave of about sixty years. WILEY, who is forty eight. PHEBE, who is married to Wiley. BOB and HENRY who are Phebe's children, EDWARD and PATSEY. Patsey is young, just 23 years old... though in the era, 23 not as young as in the present day. She is the offspring of a `` Guinea nigger,'' brought over to Cuba in a slave ship. She nearly brims with unconversant sexuality. MISTRESS EPPS, Epps's wife, is also present. She sits with, holds quite lovingly, some SLAVE CHILDREN. WITH THEM SHE IS VERY `` MOTHERLY.'' We also see Epps's overseer TREACH. Treach constantly sports a LOADED PISTOL. Though Epps reads the word of the Lord, he lacks the tone of compassion with which Ford read. EPPS `` And that servant which knew his Lord's will... WHICH KNEW HIS LORD'S WILL and prepared not himself... PREPARED NOT HIMSELF, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes...'' D'ye hear that? `` Stripes.'' That nigger that do n't take care, that do n't obey his lord - that's his master - d'ye see? - that'ere nigger shall be beaten with many stripes. Now, `` many'' signifies a great many. Forty, a hundred, a hundred and fifty lashes... That's Scripter!", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/FIELD - DAY -AUGUST, 1842- WE START THE SCENE WITH A PAIR OF BLACK HANDS picking cotton ferociously. As we move out, we identify PATSEY, a 23 year old striking black woman. The camera moves out again to a wider shot. This reveals several lines of slaves picking cotton, with Patsey way out in the lead. We cut to another pair of black hands. This time, revealing SOLOMON, clumsy and unskilled hands, picking cotton. A lash bears down on him. It is August, `` cotton picking'' season. We are looking out over a cotton field in full bloom. It presents a visual purity, like an immaculate expanse of light, new-fallen snow. The cotton grows from five to seven feet high, each stalk having a great many branches shooting out in all directions and lapping each other above the water furrow. There is a slave to each side of the row. They have a sack around their necks that hangs to the ground, the mouth of the sack about breast high. Baskets are placed at the end of the furrows. Slaves dump their sacks of cotton in the baskets, then pick until their sacks are again filled. EDWARDS Pick that cotton. Move along now. THE SOUNDTRACK TO THE SCENE IS NOTHING MORE THAN THE RUSTLE OF LABOR, THE MALE CICADAS BUGS `` TYMBALS'' IN THE HEAT and a SPIRITUAL SUNG BY THE SLAVES. Despite the heat, there is no stopping for water. The slaves are `` driven'' by Edward, who is himself `` driven'' by Treach. TREACH C'mon. Drive dem niggers. Edward moves among the slaves, applying the whip to them without regard. EDWARD Pick dat cotton. Move along now, hear?", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/GIN HOUSE - EVENING The day's work is done. The slaves are now assembled in the gin house with their baskets of cotton which are being weighed by Treach. There is anxiety among the slave, the reason for which soon becomes apparent. TREACH Two hundred forty pounds for Bob. EPPS What yah got for James? TREACH Two hundred ninety five pounds. EPPS Tha's real good, boy. Tha's real good. TREACH One hundred eighty two pounds for Platt. Epps does not look happy. Treach says again : TREACH -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- One hundred eighty two. EPPS How much can even an average nigger pick a day? TREACH Two hundred pounds. EPPS This nigger ai n't even average. Epps pulls Solomon aside. TREACH Five hundred twelve pounds for Patsey. EPPS Five hundred twelve. Yah men folk got no shame lettin' Patsey out pick yah? The day ai n't yet come she swung lower than five hundred pounds. Queen of the fields, she is. TREACH Two hundred six pou -- EPPS I ai n't done, Treach. Ai n't I owed a minute to luxuriate on the work Patsey done? TREACH... Sir... EPPS Damned Queen. Born and bred to the field. A nigger among niggers, and God give'er to me. A lesson in the rewards of righteous livin'. All be observant ta that. All! -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Now, Treach. Now speak. TREACH One hundred thirty eight pounds for Phebe. EPPS Hit one forty five yesterday. Pull her out. TREACH Two hundred six pounds for Wiley. EPPS How much he pick yesterday? TREACH Two hundred twenty nine pounds. Wiley is pulled from the line, huddled with Solomon.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/YARD - EVENING In the distance, a flogging is going on. Solomon, Phebe, and Wiley are stripped, placed in a stockade and now being given a perfunctory whipping delivered by ANOTHER IDENTIFIED SLAVE.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION - EVENING Evening, but the day is not yet done. Slaves attend their various evening chores ; feeding livestock, doing laundry, cooking food. There is no respite from a slave's charge.", "INT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/SLAVE SHACK - NIGHT A fire is kindled in the cabin. The slaves finally fix their own dinner of corn meal. Corn is ground in a small hand mill. The corn meal is mixed with a little water, placed in the fire and baked. When it is `` done brown'' the ashes are scraped off. Bacon is fried. As the slaves eat, Abram goes on in great length and with much emotion about General Jackson. UNCLE ABRAM Hold my words : General Jackson will forever be immortalized. His bravery will be handed down to the last posterity. If ever there be a stain upon `` raw militia,'' he done wiped away on the eight of January. I say da result a that day's battle is of'mo importance to our grand nation than any occurrence'fo or since. Great man. Great man in deed. We all need pray to Heavenly Father da General reign over us always.", "INT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/SLAVE SHACK - NIGHT The slaves are sleeping. There is a loud commotion. Epps enters, drunkenly, forcing the slaves awake. EPPS Get up! Get up, we dance tonight! We will not waste the evenin' with yer laziness. Get up.", "INT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/MAIN HOUSE - NIGHT Despite the lateness of the hour, the slaves are up and now fully dressed. They take up position in the middle of the floor. They wait, poised like actors. Solomon strikes up a tune ; Henry joins in with a pan flute and the slaves dance. They do so very wearily. The whole of it certainly more torture than pleasure. Epps, whip in hand : EPPS Where's yah merriment? Move yer feet. As the slaves twirl about Epps keeps an attentive eye on Patsey. It should be quite clear that his primary motivation for holding dances is so that he may view Patsey twirl about the floor. This fact is not lost on Mistress Epps. A few moments of Epps's lust on display is all that the Mistress can bear. Jealousy mounting, she snatches up a CARAFE. With all her might she throws it at Patsey. It hits Patsey square in the face. TOO THICK TO SHATTER, IT LEAVES HER BLOODY AND WRITHING ON THE FLOOR. The dancing, the music stop. The slaves, however, react as though it is not the first time they've seen as much from the Mistress. Mistress Epps, screaming like a hellion : MISTRESS EPPS Sell her! EPPS C'mon, now. Wha's this? MISTRESS EPPS You will sell the negress! EPPS You're talkin' foolish. Sell little Pats? She pick with more vigor than any other nigger! Choose another ta go. MISTRESS EPPS No other. Sell her! EPPS I will not! MISTRESS EPPS You will remove that black bitch from this property,'er I'll take myself back to Cheneyville. EPPS Back to that hog's trough where I found you? Oh, the idleness of that yarn washes over me. Do not set yourself up against Patsey, my dear. That's a wager on which you will not profit. Calm yerself. And settle for my affection,'cause my affection you got. Or, go.'Cause I will rid myself of yah well before I do away with her! Mistress Epps stands irate, lost in fury and unable to even think of what to do. Eventually, optionless, she storms away. For a few beats there is only the sound of Patsey sobbing. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- That damned woman! I wo n't have my mood spoiled. I will not. Dance! Epps sends the whip in Solomon's direction. Solomon responds by playing. Treach literally drags the prone Patsey from the floor, blood still spilling from her face. The slaves, as ordered, return to dancing.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION - MORNING -AUGUST, 1843- The sun has only just risen above the horizon. FROM THE GREAT HOUSE THE HORN IS BLOWN signaling the start of another day.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/FIELD - DAY Slaves are in the field picking cotton. They accompany their work with a SPIRITUAL.", "100 EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/GREAT HOUSE - LATER 100 As the slaves make their way in from the field, the Mistress calls to Solomon. SHE HAS A PIECE OF PAPER IN HAND. MISTRESS EPPS Platt... SOLOMON Yes, Mistress. MISTRESS EPPS Can you find your way to Bartholomew's? SOLOMON I can, ma'am. Handing Solomon a sheet of paper. MISTRESS EPPS This is a list of goods and sundries. You will take it to be Tell Bartholomew to add it to our debt. filled and return immediately. SOLOMON I will, Mistress. Solomon looks at the list. In a careless moment, Solomon reads quietly from it. He catches himself, but not before the Mistress notes his action. With high INQUISITIVENESS : MISTRESS EPPS Where yah from, Platt? SOLOMON I have told you. MISTRESS EPPS Tell me again. SOLOMON Washington. MISTRESS EPPS Who were yah Master? SOLOMON Master name of Freeman. MISTRESS EPPS Was he a learned man? SOLOMON I suppose so. MISTRESS EPPS He learn yah ta read? SOLOMON A word here or there, but I have no understanding of the written text. MISTRESS EPPS Do n't trouble yer self with it. Same as the rest, Master bought yah to work. Tha's all. And any more'll earn yah a hun'red lashes. Having delivered her cool advice, Mistress heads back into the house.", "EXT. ROAD - DAY Solomon walks along a well-worn path, shopping bag draped over one shoulder. We see his feet. As the walk slowly gathers pace, Solomon suddenly turns left into dense foliage. His tread is now a full blown sprint, trees flash past as Solomon attacks his way through the woods. The sound of branches cracking underneath. His feet, heartbeat and breath almost deafening. He is desperate. The violence of his advance abruptly stops, there is silence. We see in a clearance a posse of patrollers, preparing for a lynching of two young men. Solomon's eyes meet theirs. The two men look back at Solomon with a look of fear as one of the patrollers checks the noose around their neck. Suddenly the bloodhounds start barking and the patrollers turn in the direction of Solomon. Solomon's whole body shakes with anticipation. PATROLLER -LRB- AGGRESSIVELY -RRB- Boy, where are you going? SOLOMON -LRB- almost tripping over HIS WORDS -RRB- To the store, Sir, to Bartholomew's. I was sent there by Mistress Epps. The patroller reaches out for Solomon's free pass around his neck, yanking him forward. He looks at it. PATROLLER Get there and get there quick. The patroller kicks Solomon hard, sending him on his way. Solomon walks on, looking one more time at the two young men ; again there is a moment of connection. Solomon turns. The two men are hoisted up, kicking and spitting, behind his shoulder. Solomon finds himself back on the trail walking towards Bartholomew's, his face now full of shock and trepidation. He walks, fighting to calm himself down. We move behind him as he continues his journey, a lonely figure.", "INT. BARTHOLOMEW'S - LATER A general store in the township of Holmesville. Solomon stands at the counter as BARTHOLOMEW fills Mistress Epps's order. Among the items set before Solomon is a QUANTITY OF FOOLSCAP. The items are collected for Solomon and placed in a sack. Solomon giving little thought to them other than getting them back to the mistress. As he turns, he glimpses the regalia of slave restraints, of all different guises ; chains, muzzles for sale.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/GREAT HOUSE - LATER Solomon returns and delivers the items to the Mistress. MISTRESS EPPS Any trouble? SOLOMON No, ma'am. No trouble. OMIT - MOVED TO A105", "E XT. SHAW'S HOUSE - DAY -JULY, 1844- Sitting on the Grand house's Piazza, Patsey is having tea with MISTRESS HARRIET SHAW, WHO IS A BLACK WOMAN. Though once a slave, she is now comparatively refined though not wholly so. The table where they sit is adorned with white linens, and they are attended by a HOUSE NIGGER. It makes for a tranquil surreal scene. MASTER SHAW, A WHITE MAN, IS ON THE LAWN GROOMING A HORSE. EXT. ROAD - DAY Solomon is running flat out along the road. Running as though his life depended on getting to his destination in beyond a timely manner. EXT. SHAW'S HOUSE - DAY Still running, slick with sweat, Solomon comes upon the SHAW HOUSE. As Solomon arrives : MASTER SHAW Platt Epps, good Sunday morning. SOLOMON Good morning, Master Shaw. I've been sent by Master to retrieve Patsey. May I approach? MASTER SHAW You may. Solomon makes his way over to the piazza. SOLOMON Excuse me, Mistress Shaw. MISTRESS SHAW Nigger Platt. SOLOMON My apologies. Patsey, Master wishes you to return. PATSEY Sabbath day. I's free ta roam. SOLOMON Understood. But the Master sent me running to fetch you, and said no time should be wasted. MISTRESS SHAW Drink tea? SOLOMON Thank you, Mistress, but I do n't dare. MISTRESS SHAW Would you knowed Massa Epps's consternation ta be any lessened wit your timely return? Sit. Sit and drink the tea that offered. Solomon knows better, but he sits and the Mistress has tea poured for him. MISTRESS SHAW -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- What' n was Epps's concern? SOLOMON... I'd rather not say... MISTRESS SHAW L'il gossip on the Sabbath be fine. All things in moderation. Solomon is not sure what to say. He struggles to be as diplomatic as possible. SOLOMON As you are aware, Master Epps can be a man of a hard countenance. There are times when it is impossible to account for his logic. You know he has ill feelings toward your husband. MISTRESS SHAW He do. SOLOMON Master Epps has somehow come to believe, as incorrectly as it may be, that Master Shaw is... That he is something of a lothario and an unprincipled man. A misguided belief born out of their mutual competition as planters, no doubt. MISTRESS SHAW No doubt... if not born outta truth itself. The Mistress waves to Shaw. Shaw, unsuspecting of the conversation, waves back. SOLOMON I'm certain Patsey's well being is Master Epps's only concern. MISTRESS SHAW Nothin' Epps desire come outta concern. SOLOMON I meant no disrespect. MISTRESS SHAW He ai n't heard you. SOLOMON I meant no disrespect to you, Mistress. MISTRESS SHAW Ha! You worry for me? Got no cause to worry for my sensibilities. I ai n't felt the end of a lash in'mo years than I cain recall. Ai n't worked a field, neither. Where one time I served, now I got others servin' me. The cost to my current existence be Massa Shaw broadcasting his affections,' n me enjoyin' his pantomime of fidelity. If that what keep me from the cotton pickin' niggers, that what it be. A small and reasonable price to be paid'fo sure. Looking toward Patsey, speaking with great empathy : MISTRESS SHAW -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I knowed what it like to be the object of Massa's predilections and peculiarities. And I knowed they can get expressed with kindness or wit violence. A lusty visit in the night, or a visitation from the whip. And wit my experience, if' n I can give comfort, then comfort I give. And you take comfort, Patsey ; the Good Lord will manage Epps. In His own time the Good Lord will manage dem all. Yes, Lordy, there's a day comin' that will burn as an oven. It comin' as sure as the Lord is just. When His will be done... the curse on the Pharos is a poor example of all that wait'fo the plantation class. Mistress Shaw turns her head to the side, catching a slave's attention. As she does so, the slave, a YOUNG WOMAN, commences to pour tea. As if to punctuate her thought, the Mistress takes a sip of her tea.", "EXT. EPPS'S PLANTATION - LATER Solomon and Patsey are returning from Shaw's. Waiting on the porch of the Great House, a drunk Epps beckons for Patsey, his lewd intentions obvious. EPPS Pats...! Patsey! SOLOMON Do not look in his direction. Continue on. Epps does not care to be ignored. He lifts himself and moves toward the pair in a rage. EPPS Patsey...! Solomon moves between Epps and Patsey, cutting Epps off as Patsey continues on. Playing up his `` ignorance'' of THE SITUATION : SOLOMON Found her, Master, and brought her back just as instructed. EPPS What'd you jus now tell her? What'd you say to Pats? SOLOMON No words were spoken. None of consequence. EPPS Lie! Damned liar! Saw you talkin' with'er. Tell me! SOLOMON I can not speak of what did not occur. Epps grabs Solomon. EPPS I'll cut your black throat. Solomon pulls away from Epps, RIPPING HIS SHIRT IN THE PROCESS. Epps gives chase. Solomon begins to run around the large pig sty, easily keeping his distance. Epps, however is undeterred. He moves after Solomon as speedily as he can, which is n't very speedily at all. And quickly he tires. Epps is forced to bend over and suck air. Solomon maintains his distance, barely breathing hard. His breath returned to him, Epps starts up the chase again. Solomon runs on out of reach. Shortly, Epps again stops, gets his breath... And now in what should be quite comical, Epps again runs after Solomon. Again, Epps's vigor leaves him before he can even get close to the slave. Dropping down to the dirt, in a show of regret and piety : EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Platt... Platt, liquor filled me. I admit that it did, and I done over reacted. It's the Lord's day. Ai n't nothin' Christian in us carryin' on like this. Help me ta my feet, and let us both pray to the Lord for forgiveness. Epps extends a hand to Solomon. Cautiously, Solomon moves close, but not too close. As Solomon draws within striking distance, Epps lunges for him. He chases Solomon on until he is again out of breath and once more drops down. And again offering a treaty : EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'm all done in, Platt. I have met my limitations, and I ai n't equal to'em. I concede to yah, but in the name of valor, help yer master to his feet. Solomon cautiously moves closer to help. Again he is attacked by Epps - this time by knife. Sort of. Epps is too drunk and tired to fully open the folding blade - and chased far around the field by Epps. ALL OF THE PRECEDING SHOULD BE MORE FUNNY THAN SHOCKING. A CHANGE OF PACE FROM THE OTHERWISE NECESSARY BLEAKNESS OF SLAVE LIFE. Mistress Epps comes running from the house to the pair. MISTRESS EPPS What? Wha's the fuss? SOLOMON A misunderstanding is all. It began when I was sent to retrieve Patsey from where she'd taken sabbatical at Master Shaw's. Upon returning, Master Epps believed Patsey and me to be in conversation when we were not. I tried to explain, but it lead to all this. MISTRESS EPPS What is it? Ya cai n't remain the Sabbath without her under your eye? Ya are a no-account bastard. EPPS Hold a moment... MISTRESS EPPS A filthy, godless heathen. My bed is too holy for yah ta share. EPPS Wha's... wha's he been tellin' yah? MISTRESS EPPS Of yer misbegotten ways. EPPS And he would know what of anythin'? I ai n't even spoken with him today. Platt, yah lyin' nigger, have I? Have I? Discretion being the better part and all, Solomon remains silent. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- There ; there's all the truth he got. Damned nigger. Damn yah. Epps pushes his way past the Mistress.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/FIELD - DAY -AUGUST, 1844- With the sun yet again high in the sky the slaves are working the field picking cotton. As before THEY SING A SPIRITUAL, the only thing that distracts them from the tedium at hand. But there is no distracting from the heat. We see Henry begin to falter before it... And eventually collapse right in the dirt. Though the other slaves take note, none move to help him. None dare. From Treach rather matter of factly : TREACH Get him water. Edward runs to fetch a gourd. He carries it to Henry, DUMPS THE WATER ON HIM, BUT DOES NOT ACTUALLY GIVE HENRY ANYTHING TO DRINK. Roused, Henry rights himself. EDWARD Go'won. Git up. Unsteadily, Henry lifts himself and goes back to picking cotton. He joins in again with the spiritual, as if the song is all that can keep him going.", "INT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/SLAVE SHACKS - NIGHT -OCTOBER, 1844- The slaves are asleep. Epps arrives, again without knocking, with his whip in hand. The slaves stir. Uncle ABRAM ASKS : UNCLE ABRAM We dance tonight, massa? Epps remains quietly focused on Patsey. And it's clear from her apprehensive expression just what it is he's come looking for. This time there is no escaping it. As if to acknowledge the badness to come, Phebe lightly cries.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/SMOKE HOUSE - NIGHT On top of a wood pile, in the back of the smoke house - Epps shoves Patsey. He stops, stands as if gathering his manhood, then he's all over Patsey. He is rough and clumsy. It looks like something between an awkward rape and a virgin attempting his first sexual encounter. Patsey does not respond in any way other than to continually turn her head from Epps, but otherwise remain as still as possible. If there is such a thing, she is vicious with her passive aggressiveness. Epps's frustration mounts until - as the Mistress Shaw had cautioned - he crosses the line from passion to violence. He begins slapping Patsey to get a response from her. When that fails, he punches her which only leads to him taking up his whip and lashing Patsey MERCILESSLY. Still, she gives him nothing. Beaten, Patsey sits in the dirt among the cotton, Epps deep breathing above her. The desire for sex now having left him. Epps heads from the field. Patsey is left where she is.", "I NT. BARTHOLOMEW'S - DAY -NOVEMBER, 1844- As before, Solomon waits as Bartholomew fills Mistress Epps order. Among the items set before Solomon is another quantity of foolscap.", "EXT. ROAD - DAY Solomon is making his way back to the Epps plantation. He carries with him a sack filled with the goods from the store. As he walks, SOLOMON LOOKS AROUND CASUALLY. When he is certain he is alone, he sets down the sack, opens it and appropriates A SINGLE SHEET OF THE PAPER which he folds and places in his pocket. That done, he cinches up the sack and continues on his way. OMIT", "INT. EPPS'S PLANTATION/SLAVE SHACK - DAY Solomon takes the slip of paper and hides it within his fiddle. Perhaps the safest place he can think of. He acts as though he's hiding away found gold. In reality it's more than that. For Solomon the paper is a first step toward freedom.", "INT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/MAIN HOUSE - NIGHT -DECEMBER, 1844- It's another night of Epps's forced revelry. Coming in quick from the previous scene, we go from Solomon holding his fiddle, to playing it as the slaves are again made to dance. Mistress Epps brings out a tray of freshly baked pastries. She sets them down on a table. MISTRESS EPPS A moment from the dancing. Come sample what I baked for y'all. The slaves, thankful for the rest as much as the food, file toward the tray reciting a chorus of `` Thank you, Mistress.'' As Patsey moves toward the pastries : MISTRESS EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- There'll be none for you, Patsey. Patsey merely turns away. Her non responsiveness, however, serves only to incite the Mistress. Screaming : MISTRESS EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Yah see that? Did yah see the look of insolence she give me? EPPS Seen nothin' but her turn away. MISTRESS EPPS Are you blind or ignorant? It was hot, hateful scorn. It filled that black face. Yah tell me yah did' n see it, then yah choose not to look, or yah sayin' I lie. EPPS Whatever it was, it passed. MISTRESS EPPS Is that how yah are with the niggers? Let every ill thought fester inside'em. Look at'em. MISTRESS EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- They foul with it ; foul with their hate. You let it be, it'll come back to us in the dark a night. Yah want that? Yah want them black animals to leave us gut like pigs in our own sleep? Epps is n't sure how to respond to the inchoate berating. It's an invitation for the Mistress to continue. MISTRESS EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You are manless. A damned eunuch if ever there was. And if yah wo n't stand for me, I'd pray you'd at least be a credit to yer own kind and beat every foul thought from'em. Epps does nothing. The Mistress lets her anger loose. She moves quickly to Patsey, DRIVES HER NAILS INTO THE PATSEY'S FACE AND DRAWS THEM DOWN ACROSS HER FEATURES. FIVE DEEP AND BLOODY GASHES ARE LEFT IN PATSEY'S SKIN, the moment marked with appropriate screams. Patsey collapses on the floor, covering her bleeding face. MISTRESS EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Beat it from'em! Thoroughly cuckolded by the Mistress's actions, Epps takes his whip and pulls Patsey out of the house. His intentions are plain. All the slaves remain silent. The Mistress, however, displaying high satisfaction, entreats the others : MISTRESS EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Eat. Fill yourselves.... And then we dance. The slaves eat, but without a hint of levity.", "INT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/SLAVE SHACK - NIGHT We come up on the slaves who lay sleeping. All except for Patsey. She rises from her bedding, goes to a corner of the cabin and removes something from a secretive location. She then moves over to Platt. PATSEY Platt... Platt, you awake? SOLOMON I am. PATSEY I have a request ; an act of kindness. Patsey displays what she took from hiding. It is a LADY'S FINGER RING. PATSEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I secreted it from the Mistress. SOLOMON Return it! PATSEY It yours, Platt. SOLOMON For what cause? PATSEY All I ask : end my life. Take my body to the margin of the swamp -- Solomon looks at Patsey as though she were insane. SOLOMON No. PATSEY Take me by the throat. Hold me low in the water until I's still' n without life. Bury me in a lonely place of dyin'. SOLOMON No! I will do no such thing. The... the gory detail with which YOU SPEAK -- PATSEY I thought on it long and hard. SOLOMON It is melancholia, nothing more. How does such despair even come to you? PATSEY How can you not know? I got no comfort in this life. If I cai n't buy mercy from yah, I'll beg it. SOLOMON There are others. Beg them. PATSEY I'm begging you! SOLOMON Why? Why would you consign me to damnation with such an un-Godly request? PATSEY There is God here! God is merciful, and He forgive merciful acts. Wo n't be no hell for you. Do it. Do what I ai n't got the strength ta do myself. Solomon says nothing. Clearly he's not about to do the deed. With nothing else to do, knowing she is damned with every breath she draws, Patsey crawls back to her spot on the floor and lays herself down. BLACK", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/FIELD - DAY -JULY, 1846- Hard times on the planation. Where previously the field in bloom was a carpet of white, it is now patchy and under grown. The slaves move through the field picking not cotton, but rather COTTON WORMS from the plants. The cotton worms have dined on the cotton and nearly destroyed the crop. We see the cotton worms in extreme close-up, moving among and destroying the cotton crop. Epps is beside himself as he looks out over his ruined field. EPPS It is a plague. TREACH -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Cotton worm. EPPS A plague! It's damn Biblical. Two season God done sent a plague to smite me. I am near ruination. Why, Treach? What I done that God hate me so? Do I not preach His word? TREACH -LRB- O.S. -RRB- The whole Bayou sufferin'. EPPS I do n't care nothin' fer the damn Bayou. I'm sufferin'. Epps looks among his slaves at work, his enmity growing. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- It's that Godless lot. They brought this on me. I bring'em EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- God's word, and heathens they are, they brung me God's scorn. Crazed, Epps runs into the field, taking himself from slave to slave delivering a whipping to all he can lay his hands on. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Damn you! Damn you all! Damn you! RE-OMIT", "EXT. JUDGE TURNER'S PLANTATION - EVENING -OCTOBER, 1846- Henry, Bob, Uncle Abram and Solomon sit in the back of a cart. SOLOMON HAS HIS FIDDLE WITH HIM. Epps has delivered the men to JUDGE TURNER, a distinguished man and extensive planter whose large estate is situated on Bayou Salle within a few miles of the gulf. Epps and Turner stand off to one side engaged in bargaining as Henry, Bob, Uncle Abram and Solomon wait and watch. One of the slaves whisper under their breath. EPPS' SLAVE I hear cutting cane is twice as hard as picking cotton. BOB But at least we'll be away from Master Epps. UNCLE ABRAM Boy, you two have no sense. Epps returns to his slaves and gives a parting salutation. EPPS Yer Judge Turner's for the season. More if need be, until my crop return. Yah'll bring no disrespect to me, and yah'll bring no biblical plagues to him. Be decent, ere mark my words, I will deliver an ungodly whippin'.", "INT. SLAVE SHACK - NIGHT Slaves are crammed into the shack - LITERALLY ON TOP OF EACH OTHER - as they try to sleep. Some lay, some sit up. Packed in like cattle, there is barely room to move let alone draw a deep, clean breath. There is a real risk of suffocating in the mass. Some cough and wheeze. A CHILD CRIES... Among them is Solomon who must believe at this point that his life has reached its very lowest point. The odds of survival are slight, let alone the chance of actually ever returning to his family. This clearly weighs on him as he struggles to find anything like comfortable space in the pen.", "EXT. CANE FIELDS - DAY An OVERSEER is explaining to the new slaves - SOLOMON AMONG THEM - how to cultivate cane. WITH A KNIFE IN HAND he demonstrates the process : OVERSEER Draw the cane from the rick, cut the top and flags from the stalk, understand? Leave only that part which is sound and healthy. Cast off the rest...", "EXT. CANE FIELDS - DAY -NOVEMBER, 1846- ABOUT THIRTY SLAVES are working the field. They are divided into THREE GANGS. The first which draw the cane, the next lay the cane in the drill, the last then hoe the rows after. Solomon is among a gang that draws and cuts, and he moves with speed and skill. Certainly more so than he displayed picking cotton. Standing with his overseer, Judge Turner watches.", "INT. SLAVE SHACK - NIGHT Again, the slaves have been herded into the shack and pressed together. As he tries to rest - sleep is nearly impossible - Solomon finds himself face to face with a woman, ANNA. She is awake. For a few beats she avoids eye contact with Solomon. She seems, like Solomon, to be unaccustomed to her surroundings and horribly frightened by them. Eventually her eyes meet Solomon's. She makes no sound, but great apprehension spills from her eyes. Whatever's next, whatever horror awaits, she can barely stand to face. Fear, proximity... They drive her hand to Solomon's. After a moment of seemingly reacquainting herself with genuine human contact, the woman TAKES SOLOMON'S HAND AND PRESSES IT TO HER BREAST. Solomon tries to jerk his hand away, but ANNA HOLDS IT IN PLACE. Manipulating Solomon's hand, she begins to massage her breast. Solomon takes no real pleasure in the act - really, neither does Anna. THERE SHOULD BE A TRUE SENSE ANNA IS JUST SO VERY, VERY DESPERATE FOR HUMAN CONTACT, FOR THE NEED TO FEEL ALIVE AND LIKE A PERSON RATHER THAN AN ANIMAL THAT EMOTIONALLY SHE IS WILLING TO ENGAGE SOLOMON. The need quickly compounds. Anna presses her lips to Solomon's. Eventually, SHE DIRECTS HIS HAND BENEATH HER DRESS AND BETWEEN HER LEGS. Solomon, with slightly more compassion than a guy making union wages, BEGINS TO MANIPULATE ANNA WITH HIS HAND. The act remains more perfunctory than passionate. We can see Anna moving toward climax and eventual release. But more - or substantially less - than joyous sex, it is really just a drug-like inoculation against reality. But the feeling quickly fades. All that remains, as with most chance encounters, is regret. And there is shame, too. This is put on display as Anna turns away from Solomon. As quickly as it began, it is as though the act had not happened at all. OMIT", "EXT. JUDGE TURNER'S PLANTATION/GREAT HOUSE - EVENING Solomon waits outside the house on the porch. A house servant - ZACHARY - approaches and admonishes Solomon. ZACHARY Off the porch. Get off. Like a dog shooed away, Solomon steps down. Eventually Judge Turner exits the house and crosses to Solomon. SOLOMON... Sir... JUDGE TURNER Platt is it? Have you cultivated cane previously? SOLOMON No, sir, I have not. JUDGE TURNER You take to it quite naturally. Are you educated? SOLOMON Niggers are hired to work, not to read and write. Turner gives that a bit of consideration as he gives Solomon a wary looking over. JUDGE TURNER You play the fiddle? SOLOMON I do. JUDGE TURNER Willard Yarney, a planter up the bayou, celebrates his anniversary in a three week's time. I will hold out your name to him. What you earn is yours to keep. SOLOMON Sir. JUDGE TURNER Mind yourself, Platt. SOLOMON Yes, sir.", "EXT. TURNER PLANTATION - LATER Work over, the slaves congregate to eat. As Solomon eats, he takes note of the JUICE FROM SOME BERRIES ON HIS PLATE.", "EXT. TURNER'S PLANTATION - EVENING Solomon plays with a piece of cane, fashions it into some kind of writing tool, testing it in the mud. He then brushes over the dirt with his hand.", "EXT. TURNER PLANTATION - NIGHT Secreted away out near the edge of the bayou and sitting by a small fire, Solomon takes the slip of paper from his fiddle. It is yellowed, showing age, but still usable. Dipping the piece of cane - a quill - into the crushed berries, Solomon attempts to write a bit on the paper. The berry juice, too free-flowing, is unusable as ink. Solomon returns the paper to the fiddle. He has some scraps of food with him, which he snacks on. OMITTED INT. SLAVE SHACK - DAY We see a sharp object scratching onto a surface. The tool moves on to form another mark. The sound is repetitive and almost unbearable. As we move out, we see the names Anne, Margaret, Alonzo. They are engraved onto the violin, in the hidden area where Solomon would rest his chin. Solomon looks at it for a moment, moving his fingertips across the engraving. His face full of loss. Sadly, he lifts his instrument under his chin and leaning his head to the side as if to play.", "INT. YARNEY'S HOUSE - EVENING A party has commenced at the noble home of one MR. YARNEY. A group of REVELERS have gathered and are on the dance floor, in fancy dress. Their faces are covered with a variation of decorative masks. The party is a feast of celebration. As entertainment, SOLOMON ACCOMPANIES A GROUP OF MUSICIANS, no more than three. And as he does so, they all play with jovial liveliness. Clearly a good time is being had by all.", "EXT. ROAD - NIGHT His playing done for the evening, Solomon is returning to Judge Turner's on foot. There is only the moonlight with which to light the way. As he walks, Solomon eats from a HEARTY CHUCK OF BREAD. Obviously part of his haul from the evening. Solomon again hears noises coming from the brush just up ahead of him. Solomon tears off some of the bread, kneels and holds it out before him. SOLOMON C'mere. C'mon, boy. This time, there is no dog. Instead, from the dark and the brush step TWO BLACK MEN. Solomon stands. He looks the men over - their clothes tatters and they themselves covered in dirt. It becomes quite clear they are not just slaves. A fact confirmed when they step menacingly toward Solomon, ONE WITH A SHIV IN HAND. At first it seems they want Solomon's food or money. Worse, THEY GO FOR HIS FIDDLE. Solomon has but a moment to brace himself before he is attacked, TAKING A CUT TO THE ARM. Solomon fights back, PICKING UP A PINE KNOT and striking his attacker over the head. That takes the fight out of him, and both men retreat back the way they came leaving Solomon be.", "EXT. TURNER PLANTATION - NIGHT Outside of the slave shacks Solomon's wound tended by Uncle Abram. As he works on it : UNCLE ABRAM Runaways I would expect. The Bayou full with'em. They nothin''mo dangerous than a nigger in flight. SOLOMON They acted out of desperation. UNCLE ABRAM Act outta lunacy. Heads fulla stories'bout life up north. Yah ever been north, Platt? SOLOMON... No... UNCLE ABRAM And never should yah be. I hope that yah never bear witness the sorry condition of the northern black. Got neither no purpose, nor direction. They jus... they jus fall about the streets in search of sustenance of both body and spirit. SOLOMON You know this to be so? UNCLE ABRAM Two of my massas tolt me. OMIT", "EXT. TURNER PLANTATION - NIGHT -FEBRUARY/MARCH, 1847- Alone out on the edge of the Bayou, Solomon is playing a low air on his violin WHILE SNACKING ON SCRAPS OF BACON. As he plays, something appears in the distance. From the edge of the bayou, coming forth like an apparition arisen from the earth, is CELESTE. She is a young woman of about 19 years of age and far whiter than most blacks. `` IT REQUIRED CLOSE INSPECTION TO DISTINGUISH IN HER FEATURE THE SLIGHTEST TRACE OF AFRICAN BLOOD.'' Beyond that, she is pale and haggard, but still lovely. Dressed in a white gown, she emerges from the water. Draped on her dress, her period. A line in her skirt. It's very visible, but not shocking. A ribbon of red in her dress. Celeste moves to Solomon without fear or hesitation. As Solomon, startled, takes her in, Celeste says quite PLAINLY : CELESTE I am hungry. Give me food. SOLOMON Who are you? CELESTE I'm hungry. Solomon gives Celeste some of his food. Celeste, famished, devours it. SOLOMON What is your name? CELESTE My name is Celeste. SOLOMON What are your circumstances? CELESTE I belong ta Massa Carey, and'ave been two days among da palmettoes. Celeste is sick and cai n't work, and would rather die in the swamp CELESTE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- than be whipped to death by the overseer. So I took myself away. Massa's dogs wo n't follow me. The patrollers'ave tried to set dem on me. But dey a secret between dem and Celeste, and dey wo n't mind the devilish orders of the overseer. Celeste lifts her head from the food on which she gnaws. CELESTE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Do you believe me? SOLOMON Yes. CELESTE Why? SOLOMON There are some whose tracks the hounds will refuse to follow. CELESTE Give me more food. I'm starvin'. SOLOMON This is all my allowance for the REST OF -- CELESTE Give it to me. Almost as if compelled, Solomon does as ordered. As she eats, Celeste aggrandizes herself : CELESTE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Most slaves escape at night. The overseers are alert for such chicanes. But Celeste tricked dem' n alight in the middle of the day wit the sun up at its highest. The place of my concealment now deep in the swamp, not half a mile from Massa's plantation, and a world apart. A world a tall trees whose long arms make fo' a canopy so dense dey keep away even the beams of the sun. It twilight always in Celeste's world, even in the brightest day. I will live there, and I will live freely. The overseers are a cowardly lot. Dey will not go where their dogs show fear and where it always be night. Others will join me in the twilight, and we ai n't gunna be slaves no'mo forever. Solomon is n't sure what to say. Before he can say ANYTHING : CELESTE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Celeste will come to you again in the night. You will have food for her. Celeste departs the way she came ; as though she were a vision.", "INT. JUDGE TURNER'S PLANTATION/FOOD STORAGE - NIGHT Solomon stealthfully makes his way into the storage shed. Dried and smoked meats are hung, and milled corn is about. Taking out a handkerchief, Solomon begins to load it with food. Not too much. Not so much his thievery will be readily noticed, but he does avail himself.", "EXT. TURNER PLANTATION - NIGHT Solomon plays his violin, but plays it with an anxious nature as he waits. Then, as before, a figure appears in the distance. It is Celeste coming out of the night. She makes her way directly to Solomon. With no greeting, she says : CELESTE I am hungry. Solomon gives Celeste the handkerchief he's filled. She opens it, and begins to devour the food. As she eats : CELESTE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I was rude, and did n't even ask yo name. SOLOMON Platt.  -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Solomon. Solomon is my true and free name. CELESTE Was you free? SOLOMON I was. I am. Solomon exposes his wrist, displays his tattoo as he ANNOUNCES : SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I remain free in my heart. Giving a laugh as though it's the silliest thing she's HEARD : CELESTE Free heart means nothin if' n yo body gunna die a slave. SOLOMON I will not. CELESTE How? Celeste knows you ai n't gunna run. Celeste knows it ai n't your nature. SOLOMON I have a plan. I have a letter. CELESTE A letter? How'll yah mail da letter? Who yah trust to post it? A nigger that can read and write is a nigger that'll hang. There is a pause. Solomon ca n't answer this question. It is the glaring hole in his plan. Having finished eating : CELESTE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Celeste will come again in de night. You will bring her'mo food. SOLOMON I risk discovery to take more. CELESTE You will bring Celeste'mo food. And with that Celeste again moves back into the darkness. OMIT OMIT", "EXT. TURNER PLANTATION - EVENING Solomon is picking at the bark off a WHITE MAPLE.", "EXT. TURNER PLANTATION - EVENING In a tin cup, over a fire, Solomon boils the white maple bark in just a bit of water.", "INT. JUDGE TURNER'S PLANTATION/SLAVES CABIN - NIGHT As others sleep, by the light of dying coals, Solomon uses the quill to test the boiled bark. The liquid holds as a form of ink. It is no? t ideal, but it is legible on the page. Armed with this, Solomon writes his letter.", "EXT. TURNER PLANTATION - NIGHT Solomon sits with Celeste. He relates his news to her. SOLOMON I have my letter. CELESTE Yah has your freedom then? SOLOMON All that remains is to contrive measures by which the letter can safely be deposited in the post office. When Celeste speaks she is quite melancholy. CELESTE I have resolved to return to my Massa. Solomon gives an unnerved look. This is not good news. SOLOMON Is it more food you need? CELESTE I live in fear. SOLOMON None will come after you in the swamps. CELESTE It ai n't the patrollers I scared of... At all seasons the howling of wild animals can be heard at night along the border of the swamps. At first their calls were welcomin'. Dey too was free,' n I thought dey greeted me like a sistah. Lately, dey cries have turned horrifyin'. They mean to kill Celeste. SOLOMON The solitude plays tricks. It's your impression, nothing more. If you go back to your master you could face the same. CELESTE My freedom been nothin' but a daydream. So was Celeste's thoughts of slaves conjoinin' in the bayou. SOLOMON Better the loneliness. You have been free most of the summer. Return now and your master will make example of you. CELESTE It is lonely dwellin' waiting for others who wo n't never come. SOLOMON Go north. Make your way by night... CELESTE It'll only be worse if' n Celeste do n't go back of her own will. SOLOMON You wo n't be caught. The dogs wo n't track you. You are... you are unique. Celeste... CELESTE You got alternatives, Solomon. SOLOMON To return is to die! CELESTE Celeste got no one to write a letter to. As if to punctuate her resolve, without a word more Celeste departs toward the swamp. Solomon starts on into the swamp after her. SOLOMON Celeste... Celeste! Solomon continues after Celeste, wading deeper into the dark night and murky waters. SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Celeste, I will guide you north! Wait, and I will take you. Celeste is too nimble. She outpaces Solomon, continues on and disappears into the night. SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Let me take you! Let me go with you! Solomon runs on, then splashes to a stop. He stumbles around disoriented, calling into the blackness : SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Celeste... Nothing. No answer. Not a human one. There are sounds and echoes - some in the distance, some perhaps moving closer - which, moment by moment, become more and more frightening. Soon, Solomon realizes he is in quite literally over his head ; the water first chest deep, then neck deep. With no way to orient himself, no means to guide him in the dark, Solomon's reserve begins to crumble. He thrashes in the water trying to find his way back to shore. No longer trying to save Celeste, Solomon calls to her - desperately - for assistance. SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Celeste! Come to me, Celeste! In that moment Solomon is quite certain he is nearly done ; that he will not find land, nor aid and that this is his final moment. His panic should be that tangible. It is either force of will, or survival instinct... or maybe just pure luck that carries Solomon on until he reaches first muddy ground, then firm footing. Hauling himself onto the swamps edge, Solomon finally collapses in a drenched, worn heap. His life spared, but Celeste never to be seen again. BLACK", "EXT. EPPS'S PLANTATION - DAY -MAY/JUNE, 1847- We come up now outside of Master Epps's plantation. Epps stands in the drive. He's in surprisingly good spirits as Solomon, Uncle Abram, Henry and Bob trudge their way wearily toward Epps and his other slaves who are gathered. The cotton field is in full bloom, the crop fully returned. EPPS A joyous day. A joyous day. Dark times is behind us. Clean livin'' n prayer done lifted the plague. Indicating to the cotton : EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- As thick' n white as New England snow.' N now my niggers is returned to me. -LRB- TO SOLOMON -RRB- Heard Judge Turner gave you favor. Oh, did you beguile him, Platt, with your slick nigger ways? Well, yah wo n't stand idle, boy. Not on my land. Much work to do. Days of old long since, eh? Joyous! Joyous indeed! Throughout Epps's welcome, Solomon's focus is on Patsey who is lined up with the other slaves. SHE IS NOW MORE HAGGARD THAN WHEN WE LAST SAW HER. Her face and arms display many new scars. It's clear that in the intervening years she has quite literally been a whipping boy for Epps and the Mistress.", "EXT. EPPS'S PLANTATION/COTTON FIELD - DAY -JULY, 1847- The slaves are out working on the field. White hands appear, picking cotton : ARMSBY. He is wholly unskilled at picking cotton, and he puts little effort into the job. As we meet him he seems a decent sort if a little short on self-motivation. In anachronistic terminology, he'd be called a `` slacker.'' He joins in with the slaves, singing a spiritual.", "INT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/GIN HOUSE - EVENING As Epps said, it is days of long since. The slaves are back to having their cotton weighed in the Gin House EPPS Wiley...? TREACH Two hundred sixty pounds. EPPS Bob? TREACH Three hundred forty pounds for Bob. EPPS Patsey? TREACH Five hundred twenty pounds. EPPS Tha's a girl. Do n't never let me down. Platt? TREACH One hundred sixty pounds. Before Treach is even done announcing the weight, Epps has pulled Solomon aside to where Uncle Abram already awaits his fate. EPPS Armsby? TREACH Sixty four pounds. Epps speaks to Armsby sternly, but nothing of the manner in which he would address the slaves. EPPS A good days labor would average two hundred pounds. ARMSBY Yes, sir. EPPS I'm sure in time y'll develope as a picker, but it takes effort, boy. Put some damn effort into it. ARMSBY Yes, sir. To Treach, regarding Solomon and Abram : EPPS Take'em out. Get to whippin'. No force is needed. The slaves understand the situation. They follow Treach out of the Gin house.", "EXT. EPPS'S PLANTATION/SLAVE SHACK - NIGHT We come in after the punishment has been dealt. Patsey tends to Uncle Abram's back as Armsby applies liniments to Solomon's. As he does, Armsby muses : ARMSBY It's a tragedy. How does such come to pass? Working a field and picking cotton like a lowly hand. I'm of a damn sight better station. And my desires never lacked for a grandiose component, though I will admit they have at times been short on ingenuity. But only at times. I've worked as an overseer, you know. SOLOMON I did not, sir. ARMSBY Not `` sir.'' Just Armsby. Not owed more than any other in the field. I worked plantations from Virginia, down into Alabama. I could manage easy a hundred slaves and have done so. But to toil in the field? Never thought that would come to pass. Never. But times are desperate. Where once I had said `` no'' to Epps and his merger offerings, I returned cap ARMSBY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- in hand.... Look at what I've become. SOLOMON How did you arrive at such a place, if I may ask? ARMSBY Ask. It's just conversation. From a pocket Armsby produces a flask. ARMSBY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I became a little too dependant on the whisky, a little too undependable on the job. Before you say I'm just a sorry drunkard, let me state my case : As reliable employment as overseeing is, it's no easy chore on the spirit. I say no man of conscious can take the lash to another human day in, and day out without shredding at his own self. Takes him to a place where he either makes excuses within his mind to be unaffected... Or finds some way to trample his guilty sensations. Well, I trampled. Armsby takes a drink. ARMSBY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- And with frequency. SOLOMON Where is your place of birth? ARMSBY Maryland. Have you traveled there? SOLOMON... I can not say that I have. ARMSBY Fine country. More seasonal than the bayou. A deal less humid. SOLOMON Why did you leave it? ARMSBY To make my fortune, of course. I gave in to tales of wealth and prosperity that were the lore of the southern states : all that's needed being a patch of land and a few good growing seasons. Cotton, ARMSBY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- or tobacco. And then locating a proper bank in which to store your riches. But such profitable outcomes are reserved for the plantation masters. It's the lot of the rest of us to serve. So I settled on being an overseer, and failed as well at that. In the meantime my dreams gave way to reality. Now, I want nothing more than to earn a decent wage. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- And get myself home. Armsby takes another drink and leans back.", "INT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/SLAVE SHACKS - MORNING -AUGUST, 1847- We again hear the sound of the HORN BLOWING signaling the start of the work day for the slave.", "144 EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/FIELD - DAY 144 With the sun yet again high in the sky the slaves are working the field picking cotton. As before they sing a spiritual, the only thing that distracts them from the tedium at hand. But there is no distracting from the heat. We see Uncle Abram begin to falter and finally drop down to the ground. Treach calls to Edward : TREACH Get him water. Edward runs to fetch water which he carries to Abram and DUMPS ON HIM... BUT ABRAM DOES NOT RISE. DOES NOT MOVE. At this point, the sounds of the singing from the others tapers off as they realize Abram is n't getting up.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/SLAVE CEMETERY - LATER We are beyond the main of the plantation, the cotton field in the background. We are at the slaves' cemetery, a mixture of crude crosses and unsettled ground. Solomon, Bob and Henry, now much visually older than when we first saw them, are digging a grave in the dirt. The uncovered body of Abram lays near. Having dug down an appropriate distance, the three men take the body and, very unceremoniously, place it into the ground. Holding the shovel in his hands, and resting it by his feet, Bob tilts his head down and closes his eyes. The others do the same. Almost stutteringly, not really knowing what to SAY -- BOB I just want to say something about Uncle Abram. He was a good man and he always looked out for us since we were little. God Bless him. God love him. And God keep him. That done, they begin to cover it with dirt. It is all the more of a funeral that Abram will receive. OMIT OMIT EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/SLAVE CEMETERY - LATER A female voice appears out of the blackness and begins to sing solo, `` Went down to the river Jordan.'' A response of `` Oh Yeah'' quickly follows. Again the singer continues, `` where John baptized three.'' The same faces we have seen on Epps' plantation, but now filled with rapture, appear. It's as if the voices have created a new form of awakening and presence. It seems to transcend and translate in a strange way, joy. A joy which has un-yet been seen on screen. A joy which has been hidden, but a joy which is undoubtedly there. It's captivating, infectious. This should be a moving part of the film, which stirs the audience and, for a moment, relieves them of the seemingly chastising environment. The singer continues, `` Well some say John was a Baptist, some say John was a Jew, but I say John was a preacher, because the Bible says so too, preach on Johnny.'' And with that, the rest of the congregation chant `` I believe. Oh, I believe.''", "INT. EPPS'S PLANTATION/WOODS - NIGHT Solomon goes to RETRIEVE THE SMALL PACKAGE FROM UNDER A ROCK AT THE BASE OF A TREE. Solomon returns the letter to hiding. He takes the money with him and cautiously moves from the area. OMIT", "INT. EPPS'S PLANTATION/ARMSBY'S SHACK - LATER The door opens. Solomon enters. Armsby is surprised to see him. So much so, he is n't sure what greeting to give. Solomon gives a blunt introduction. Re : the COINS : SOLOMON The proceeds of my fiddling performances. A few picayunes, but all I have in the world. I promise them to you if you will do me the favor I require. But I beg you not to expose me if you can not grant the request. ARMSBY What do you ask? SOLOMON First, your word, sir. ARMSBY On my honor. SOLOMON It is a simple enough request. I ask only that you deposit a letter in the Marksville post office. And that you keep the action an inviolable secret forever. The details of the letter are of no consequence. Even at that, there would be an imposition of much pain and suffering were it known I was the author. A patron is what I require, sir. ARMSBY Where's the letter now? SOLOMON... It is not yet written. I will have it in a day. Two at most, my skill with composition as poor as it is. Armsby considers the request. ARMSBY I will do it. And will accept whatever payment is offered. Solomon hesitates. In the moment, he's not so sure he can wholly give himself over to trust. ARMSBY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- To assist you, I put my own self at risk. I will do so, but fair compensation is all I ask. Solomon hands over the money. ARMSBY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Draw up your letter. We will meet again. In two days? SOLOMON In two days.... Thank you. Solomon exits.", "EXT. EPPS'S PLANTATION/COTTON FIELD - DAY Solomon and the slaves pick cotton. Armsby is conspicuously NOT laboring in the field. As Solomon works he is watched by Epps. Watched more than he normally is. For a moment it seems it might just be a matter of perspective ; Solomon's unease over his actions. But soon Epps is joined by Armsby. The two men stand and talk, their looks locked toward Solomon. Whatever it is that is occurring between them continues for a long, long moment. But Epps makes no move toward Solomon. Solomon continues with his work.", "INT. EPPS'S PLANTATION/SLAVE SHACK - NIGHT The slaves are at rest. Gripping his whip Epps enters, without so much as a knock at the door. For a moment there's curiosity ; is he there for a dance, for Patsey...? Looking right to Solomon : EPPS Get up. Solomon does. Epps heads back out into the dark. He says nothing, but his directive is clear : Follow me.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/SLAVE SHACK - CONTINUOUS Solomon comes out into the dark. Nearly hidden in the shadows is a bitter Epps. Despite the lack of light, Epps's malevolence is quite clear. His whip attached to his hip. As he speaks, he stokes himself with swigs from a FLASK. Epps puts his arm around Solomon, as if consoling a friend, and guides him into the woods. EPPS Well, boy. I understand I've got a larned nigger that writes EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- letters and tries to get white fellows to mail'em. Solomon, hardly missing a beat, plays this off. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Well, Armsby tol' me today the devil was among my niggers. That I had one that needed close watchin' or he would run away. When I axed him why, he said you come over to him and waked him up in the middle of the night and wanted him to carry a letter to Marksville. What have yah got to say to that? SOLOMON All I have to say, master, is all that need be said. There is no truth in it. EPPS You say. SOLOMON How could I write a letter without ink or paper? There is nobody I want to write to'cause I hai n't got no friends living as I know of. That Armsby is a lying drunken fellow. You know this, just as you know that I am constant in truth. Now, master, I can see what that Armsby is after, plain enough. Did n't he want you to hire him for an overseer? A beat. SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- That's it. He wants to make you believe we're all going to run away and then he thinks you'll hire an overseer to watch us. He believes you are soft soap. He's given to such talk. I believe he's just made this story out of whole cloth,'cause he wants to get a situation. It's all a lie, master, you may depend o n't. It's all a lie. For a tense moment we are unsure which way Epps'll go. Increasingly it become apparent that, shallow minded and equally soused, Solomon has been able to fold Epps's thoughts. In a low curse that clearly states his ill intentions. Revealed is a pocket knife, which all through the conversation, unknown to us the audience, was pushed up against Solomon's stomach. As Epps speaks, he closes it and taps it on Solomon's shoulder. EPPS I'm damned. I'll be god... Were he not free and white, Platt. Were he not free and white. Epps heads off. Solomon is left to exhale a deep breath.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/WOODS - NIGHT Having found a lonely spot, Solomon has struck a SMALL FIRE. He has in his hand his letter. With no ceremony, he casts the letter upon the flames and watches it burn. And with it, at this time, seems all chance of him ever being free. He stands and looks at it as if forever, as ashes descend into the night sky. FADE TO BLACK.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/GREAT HOUSE - DAY -MARCH, 1852- The slaves are now employed working on an extension to the Great House. The slaves work under the direction of MR. SAMUEL BASS, a between forty and fifty years old, of light complexion and light hair. He is cool and self- possessed, fond of argument, but always speaking with extreme deliberation as well as a Canadian accent.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/GREAT HOUSE - DAY As the slaves continue to work, there is a conversation going on between Epps and Bass. Bass much skilled in the art of sophistry, while Epps's arguments are fueled mostly by emotion alone. Though at first Epps does little more than joke his way around the facts. Solomon, working still, ca n't help but overhear as Epps offers Bass a drink, which Bass waves away. EPPS Take it. You look unsettled. BASS I'm well. EPPS No shame in taking respite from the heat ; drink, shade. It's ungodly for travelers. Hearty, or otherwise. Bass gives a laugh. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I meant no joke. BASS Your humor is inadvertent. Sensing perhaps Bass's laughter might be at his expense, Epps presses. EPPS Then share what's funny. Or what ills you. BASS I'm here to complete the work at hand. As requested, and as paid. EPPS Something rubs you wrongly. Before I take further offense, I offer you the opportunity to speak on it. BASS You ask plainly, I will tell you plainly. What I find amusing : You worry about my well being in the heat but, quite frankly, the condition of your laborers -- EPPS `` The condition of my...'' What in the hell are you -- BASS It is horrid. It's all wrong. All wrong, sir. EPPS They ai n't hired help. They're my slaves. BASS You say that with pride. EPPS I say it as fact. BASS If the conversation concerns what is factual and what is not ; there's no justice nor righteousness in slavery. I would n't own a slave if I was rich as Croesus, which I am not, as is perfectly well understood. More particularly among my creditors. There's another humbug : the credit system. Humbug, sir. No credit, no debt. Credit leads a man into temptation. Cash down is the only thing that will deliver him from BASS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- evil. But this question of slavery ; what right have you to your niggers when you come down to the point? EPPS What right? I bought'em. I paid for'em. BASS Of course you did. The law says you have the right to hold a nigger, but begging the law's pardon... it lies. Is everything right because the law allows it? Suppose they'd pass a law taking away your liberty and making you a slave? EPPS Ha! BASS Suppose. EPPS That ai n't a supposable case. BASS Because the law states that your liberties are undeniable? Because society deems it so? Laws change. Social systems crumble. Universal truths are constant. It is a fact, it is a plain fact that what is true and right is true and right for all. White and black alike. EPPS Whoa, whoa, whoa. Yah compare me to a nigger, Bass? Yah might as well ask what the difference is between a white man and a baboon. Now, I seen one of them critters in Orleans that knowed just as much as any nigger I got. Yah'd call them fellers citizens, I s'pose? BASS Look here ; you ca n't laugh me down in that way. These niggers are human beings. If they are allowed to scale no higher than brute animals, you and men like you will have to answer for it. There's an ILL -- EPPS Ahhh! BASS A fearful ill, resting on this NATION -- EPPS You betray yourself a foreigner! BASS That will not go unpunished forever. There will be a reckoning yet. EPPS You like to hear yourself talk, Bass, better than any man I know of. Yah'd argue that black was white, or white black if anybody would contradict you. A fine supposition if yah lived among Yankees in New England. But yah do n't. -LRB- POINTED -RRB- You most assuredly do not.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION - DAY It's the Sabbath. The slaves are left to themselves to do their own chores. At the moment the female slaves are washing their clothes in large cauldrons, slapping their clothes against washing boards and hanging them up to dry near to their living quarters behind the plantation. It is a sight of ritual. Missing from the field of labor is Patsey, for whom Epps hollers. EPPS Patsey... Patsey! A drunk Epps asks of the slaves : EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Where is she? Where is Patsey? No one answers. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Talk, Damn you! PHEBE We know nothin' of her, Massa. EPPS The hell you do n't! You know where she is! She run off, ai n't she? She's escaped, and you miserable black dogs stand like EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- the deef and dumb. Speak! Speak! Not a word spoken. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- My best cotton picking nigger! My best. A beat. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I'd give yah all up for her. Where she gone? The slaves say nothing. There is nothing for them to say. They do n't know where she is. Eventually Epps drops into true sorrow. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- She gone... My Pats gone.", "EXT. EPPS'S PLANTATION - LATER Epps sits on the piazza looking quite forlorn. He looks up only to see PATSEY RETURNING TO THE PLANTATION. Epps steps up to greet her, with anger rather than relief. As they hear his angry voice, the slaves step around from where they are hanging their laundry to dry. Treach is near as well. EPPS Run off. Run off, did you? PATSEY MASSA EPPS -- EPPS You miserable wench! Where you been? PATSEY I been nowhere. EPPS Lies to your misdeeds! PATSEY The Sabbath day, Massa. I took me a walk to commune wit da Lord. EPPS Bring the Lord into yer deceptions? Yah Godless... Shaw's. Comin' from Shaw's plantation were n't yah? PATSEY... No... EPPS Yah took yerself ta pleasure Shaw. Yah gave baser passion to that unblushin' libertine! Solomon tries to intervene : SOLOMON MASTER EPPS -- EPPS Now yah speak? Now that yah want to add to'er lies yah find yer tongue. Epps goes to strike Solomon, but Patsey pulls his arm back. PATSEY Do not strike him. I went to Massa Shaw's plantation! EPPS Yah admit it. PATSEY Freely. And you know why. Patsey takes soap from the pocket of her dress. PATSEY -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I got this from Mistress Shaw. Mistress Epps wo n't even grant me no soap ta clean with. Stink so much I make myself gag. Five hundred pounds' a cotton day in, day out. More than any man here. And'fo that I will be clean ; that all I ax. Dis here what I went to Shaw's'fo. EPPS You lie... PATSEY The Lord knows that's all. EPPS You lie! PATSEY And you blind wit yer own covetousness. I do n't lie, Massa. If you kill me, I'll stick ta that. EPPS I'll learn you to go to Shaw's. Treach, go get some line. Treach runs quickly to the tool shed. In short order he returns with the rope in hand. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Strip her. Strike her bare' n lash her to the post. Mistress Epps has now come from the Great House. She gazes on the scene with an air of heartless satisfaction. Now tied to the post, Epps stands behind Patsey with his whip. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Yah done this to yerself, Pats! Epps hoists the whip to strike, holds it high... but no matter his rage, Epps can not bring himself to deliver the blow. He looks to Mistress Epps who now stands gloating and spurring him on. MISTRESS EPPS Do it! Strike the life from her. Epps again hoists the whip. It trembles in his hand ahead of the act... But he does not have it in him to deliver such a beating. Turning to Solomon, thrusting the whip at him : EPPS Beat her. Solomon does n't move. Epps shoves the whip into his hand. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Give her the whip. Give it all to her! Patsey, begging to Solomon : PATSEY I'd rather it you, Platt. EPPS Strike her, or yah'll get the same! Solomon takes a step back. He unfurls the whip... He begins to whip Patsey. Lash after lash, Patsey squirms before it. Epps eyes fill with tears, he is nearly too distraught to watch. But the Mistress... She is not satisfied with Solomon's half-hearted effort. MISTRESS EPPS He pantomimes. There ai n't barely a welt on her. That's what your niggers make of yah ; a fool fer the takin'. Epps's grief is replaced by fury. EPPS GRABS THE PISTOL FROM TREACH'S HOLSTER and draws down on the slaves. EPPS Yah will strike her. Yah will strike her until her flesh is rent and meat and blood flow equal, or I will kill every nigger in my sight! Solomon ca n't strike a blow, even if it means his life. But from the ground, from Patsey : PATSEY Do it, Platt. Do n't stop until I am dead. What else can he do? Solomon begins to whip, to truly whip Patsey. Her back welts, then tears... Patsey screams in agony. Solomon strikes again and again... After a full thirty lashes Solomon looks to Epps, who is not satisfied. EPPS Until I say no more! I ai n't said nothing! Solomon strikes another ten to fifteen times. By now, as promised, Patsey's back has been reduced to LITTLE MORE THAN TORN MEAT AND BLOOD. Finally, Solomon holds low the whip. He can and will do no more. EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Strike her! Strike her! Solomon will not. Epps takes up the whip and whips Patsey with `` ten fold'' greater force than he had. The painfully loud and angry curses of Epps load the air. Patsey by now is terribly lacerated, literally flayed. The lash wet with blood which flowed down her sides and dropped upon the ground. At length Patsey ceases struggling. Her head sinks listlessly on the ground. Her screams and supplications gradually decrease and die away into a low moan. It would seem that she was dying. Solomon, screaming at Epps : SOLOMON Thou devil! Sooner or later, somewhere in the course of eternal justice thou shalt answer for this sin! Though Epps fronts rage, there should be underlying anguish for what he has done to his beloved Pats. EPPS No sin! There is no sin! A man does how he pleases with his property. At the moment, Platt, I am of great pleasure. You be goddamn careful I do n't come to wantin' to lightenin' my mood no further. By contrast to this horror, the field of cotton smiles in the warm sunlight. The birds chirp merrily amidst the foliage of the tress. Peace and happiness seems to reign everywhere. Everywhere else. Epps leaves Patsey to herself. He says not a word to the Mistress as he passes. The Mistress herself heads back into the house. Solomon unties Patsey, lifts her and takes her to the cabin.", "INT. CABIN - LATER Patsey is laid on some boards where she remains for a long time with eyes closed and groaning in agony. Phebe applies melted tallow to her wounds, and all try to assist and console her. In time Patsey opens her eyes. She looks to Solomon. She does not say a word. She just looks at him... and then her eyes close again.", "INT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/GREAT HOUSE/ADDITION - EVENING -APRIL, 1852- Solomon and Bass are working together alone on the extension. From the amount of work that's been done on it, it should be obvious that days have now passed. Solomon makes a cautious approach to Bass. As casually as he can he inquires : SOLOMON Master Bass, I want to ask you what part of the country you came from? BASS No part of this land. I was born in Canada. Now guess where that is. SOLOMON Oh, I know where Canada is. I have been there myself. BASS Have you? SOLOMON Montreal and Kingston and Queenston and a great many places. And I have been in York state, too. Buffalo and Rochester and Albany, and can tell you the names of the villages on the Erie canal and the Champlain canal. Bass gives Solomon a long and curious stare. BASS Well traveled for a slave. How came you here? SOLOMON Master Bass, if justice had been done I never would have been here. BASS How's this? Tell me all about it. SOLOMON I am afraid to tell you, though I do n't believe you would tell Master Epps if I should. BASS Every word you speak is a profound secret. Solomon holds a moment. Has n't he heard the same promise before? Prior to Solomon stating his case, WE FADE TO :", "INT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION / ADDITION - DAY Hours have passed. Bass reflects on the story that Epps has told in the intervening. BASS How many years all told? SOLOMON Just nearly... just passed eleven. BASS Your story is... it is amazing, and in no good way. SOLOMON Do you believe, sir, in justice as you have said? BASS I do. SOLOMON That slavery is an evil that should befall none? BASS I believe so. SOLOMON If you truly do, I would ask... I would beg that you write my friends in the north, acquainting them with my situation and beseeching them to forward free papers, or take such steps as they might consider proper to secure my release. Bass looks at Solomon, holding his gaze for more than a prolonged beat. SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- My daughter Margaret is possibly now 19 and my son Alonzo, 16. I miss them so. It would be an unspeakable happiness to clasp my wife and my family again. Bass hands Solomon an end of a long plank of wood and looks over his shoulder, as if to camouflage the conversation by work. They both lift it toward the floorboards. Finally Bass speaks. BASS I have always forgone relationships and family. I did once have a sweetheart who I loved deeply. Bass points to a measuring tool, which Solomon immediately hands over. BASS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- But that was a long, long time ago. I've been traveling this country for the best part of twenty years. My freedom is everything. The fact that I can walk out of here tomorrow gives me most pleasure. I see the aching in your eyes, the pain of not being attached to your loved ones. My life does n't mean much to anyone, but it seems your life means a lot to a lot of people. What you have just said to me scares me, and I must say, sir, I am afraid. Not just for you, but for me. They continue working, fixing the floorboards in unison. Solomon, slightly confused. BASS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I will write your letter sir, for if I could bring freedom to you, it will be more than a pleasure. It will be a duty. Now, would you be so kind as to pass me those nails, sir. We pull back to reveal the two men dwarfed by the unfinished structure. They continue to work, as if the conversation had never occurred. OMIT EXT. SWAMP TBD Solomon walks a path he has walked a thousand times or more on his way back from Bartholomew's - sack familiarly slung over his right shoulder. Drearily he walks. His eyes acknowledge something we yet can not see to his left. Almost simultaneously, his eyes retract back to the path towards Epps'. As he passes out of shot, the evidence of what he was looking at is revealed. FEET hang at the top right hand corner of the frame. A woman, who has been lynched.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/ADDITION - DAY -SEPTEMBER, 1852- SLOW DISSOLVE To a now virtually complete, half-painted white gazebo. Slaves continue to work on it. As they do so, Bass peels away from the structure to have an overview. He beckons Solomon toward him, out of earshot from the slaves who are continuing to work on the gazebo. As Solomon approaches, Bass shouts- BASS And bring those markers! Solomon gathers a clutch of markers in his hands and approaches Bass. BASS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- No letter yet. SOLOMON You are certain? Bass takes a marker from Solomon and slides it into the earth. BASS I have inquired thoroughly. More than is safe for either of us. improvising a pathway towards the gazebo. Bass takes another and pokes it into the ground, BASS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Solomon... I have a job or two on hand which will be completed shortly... The work here has grown sparse. Bass does n't need to spell things out for Solomon. Solomon's understanding of the finality of the situation should be very clear. BASS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You must know, wherever I am I will press your cause. SOLOMON Five months. On top of these years. No cause remains. BASS If there is any chance... SOLOMON Mr. Bass... BASS I will continue to write your PEOPLE -- SOLOMON Go home knowing you have tried. The weight of defeat should hang very heavily with both men. Nothing more to do, nothing more to say BASS TAKES SOLOMON'S HAND, GRIPS IT FIRMLY, BUT LOW AND SURREPTITIOUSLY knowing full well he can not be seen making contact with a slave. But in the strength of their collective grip, in the emotion in which they hold each other's eyes, we should be able to easily see how greatly Bass wanted to be able to help Solomon. Equally, we can see the depth of regard Solomon has for Bass. The moment is made all the more powerful by the fact neither man can openly speak his regret or thanks. A moment longer, and then Bass releases his grip and makes his way marching toward the gazebo, pointing instructions. Solomon is left, markers in hand, alone. OMIT OMIT EXT. ROAD BY EPPS' PLANTATION - EVENING Solomon sits on a secluded part of the road, fiddle in hand. He stares across the expanse. His eyes fixed on something that is a million miles away. Slowly Solomon tunes his fiddle, turning the tuning peg tighter and tighter. As the strings are taut, the sound is almost unbearable as Solomon tightens bit by bit, as if bones are being cracked one by one. Just beyond the breaking point of sound, there is a snap. He then repeats the action. Solomon holds the neck of the violin. Sliding his thumb and forefinger down the neck, he methodically cracks it at the base. He carefully snaps the neck and removes it from the body, then snaps it in two, placing it on the ground. He then starts on the body. Heaving it on the ground, it falls apart. Methodically he breaks the violin into small bits - silencing the instrument with a hushed display of violence, rather than aggressive. Seems almost to be, in an odd way, respectful.", "EXT. MASTER EPPS'S PLANTATION/FIELD - DAY -FEBRUARY, 1853- The Slaves are sewing the heavily plowed field, making their way in the trying soil. Solomon, too focused to note the arrival of two men by carriage : Parker and the SHERIFF. While the Sheriff makes his way to the field, Parker remains with the carriage. The Sheriff calls : SHERIFF Platt...? Where is the boy called Platt? SOLOMON... Sir... The Sheriff crosses to him. SHERIFF Your name is Platt, is it? SOLOMON Yes, sir. Pointing off to the distance. SHERIFF Do you know that man? Solomon looks toward the carriage. He has to shield his eyes from the sun. Recognition is slow coming to him. But when it does, it hits him as a rush. SOLOMON Mr. Parker...? Solomon starts for Parker, but he is pulled back by the Sheriff who is keen to determine Solomon's true identity. SHERIFF Say again? SOLOMON Mr. Parker? As he does, Epps makes his way over. SHERIFF That man received a letter compiling many accusations. You look me in the eye and on your life answer me truthfully : have you any other name than Platt? SOLOMON Solomon Northup is my name. EPPS Sheriff... SHERIFF Have you a family? EPPS What's all this? SHERIFF It's official business. EPPS My nigger, my business. SHERIFF Your business waits. -LRB- TO SOLOMON -RRB- Tell me of your family. SOLOMON I have a wife and two children. SHERIFF What were your children's names? SOLOMON Margaret and Alonzo. SHERIFF And your wife's name before her marriage? SOLOMON Anne Hampton. I am who I say. Solomon pushes past the sheriff. As Solomon moves toward Parker, his pace quickens with each step until his personal velocity has him nearly at a dead run. The two old friends make contact with each other, wrap each other in a long and emotional embrace. It if finally broken by Epps, who has moved over with the Sheriff. EPPS Nah... You will unhand'em. Platt is my nigger! PARKER He is Solomon Northup. EPPS You say... PARKER He belongs to no man. EPPS You say! You come here, unfamiliar to me, and make claims. SHERIFF Not claims. I have no doubts. This is Solomon Northup, a resident of Saratoga Springs, NY. EPPS To hell with that! My nigger, and I'll fight you for'em! PARKER As is your right. As it will be my pleasure to bankrupt you in the courts. Your decision. By this time, the slaves in the plantation have overcome their fear of penalty, and left their work and gathered in the yard as witnesses. They stand behind the cabin, out of sight of Epps. Mistress Epps also bears witness, standing on the veranda next to her house slave. Her face is of a strange mixed emotion. Epps looks to Solomon. Solomon icily, stoically holds his ground. He makes it quite clear in his countenance that nobody owns him. Sheriff, hand on his gun, is there to back Solomon up. Epps, with no other recourse than to BACK DOWN : EPPS You think this is the last you'll see of me, boy? It ai n't. -LRB- TO PARKER -RRB- Whatever paper you hold about his freedom, it do n't mean naught. He is my nigger - and I will have my day in court, sir. As God as my witness, I will have my day in court. Take'em! Epps calls to Bob- EPPS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Saddle my horse! And bring her up here. Epps walks back into the plantation. The trio starts for the carriage. Solomon is pulled back by the call of Patsey's voice : PATSEY Platt... Disregarding Parker, Solomon crosses over to Patsey. Under the circumstances, neither really knows how to engage. Finally, suddenly, Patsey throws her arms around Solomon and they embrace. Epps, now mounted on his horse, witness the encounter. Kicking the stirrups hard into the sides of the horse, he rides off furiously. Calling from the carriage, mindful of Epps : PARKER Solomon... if we know what's wise, we should depart. A moment longer Solomon and Patsey hold each other. They separate, Solomon heading back to the carriage. He and Parker alight. The Sheriff chides the horses and they start up. As they move on, Patsey sinks down to the ground, where she remains in a weary and half-reclining state, the other slaves around her. WE STAY WITH Solomon as he travels further and further from the slaves - who are diminished by distance. Solomon waves a hand to them, but the carriage rounds a bend and a thicket of trees hides them from his eyes forever more. BLACK", "EXT. NORTHUP HOUSE - DAY -MARCH, 1853- We now see Solomon in front of a door. A door we have seen before at the very beginning of our story. Solomon, aged significantly since then, stands nervously, swallowing, and adjusting his attire. He breaths in and holds his breath. He blows out and closes his eyes. A tear falls from his cheek, but this is not the way he wants his family to see him. He gathers himself, and looks to his right. There stands Mr. Parker. He places his hand on Solomon's shoulder. He says gently- PARKER Are you ready? Solomon swallows and nods.", "INT. NORTHUP HOUSE - LATER THE DOOR TO THE ROOM OPENS. Mr. Parker enters, Solomon behind. We first see Anne, in her finest attire ; the Northup children : Alonzo, who is now seventeen and Margaret who is now twenty - SHE CARRIES WITH HER A BUNDLE. Also present is MARGARET'S HUSBAND. The family waits patiently, dutifully... but anxiously. Anne rises to greet him, but holds back. All around, the body language of the family is stiff and awkward. They are, after all - after twelve years - little more than familiar strangers. SOLOMON I apologize for my appearance. I have had a difficult time of things these past many years. Solomon looks among his family ; trying to recall them as much as they look to see familiarity within him. To his CHILDREN : SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Alonzo... Margaret, yes? You do not recognize me, do you? Do SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- you... do you even remember the last time we saw each other? I put you on a carriage with your mother... Margaret, tearing, hugs her father. Solomon almost breaks, but he keeps himself together. Looking to the UNKNOWN MAN : SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- And who is this? MARGARET He is my husband. SOLOMON Husband? MARGARET'S HUSBAND It is very good to meet you, sir. SOLOMON We have much acquainting to do. Margaret rises, she presents her bundle to her father. MARGARET And this is your grandson. Solomon Northup Staunton. SOLOMON... Solomon... The fact his grandson carries his name, is overwhelming. Solomon breaks down. Emotionally, physically... But ANNE IS THERE TO CATCH HIM. As she holds him, Solomon says to Anne with all his heart : SOLOMON -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Forgive me. ANNE There is nothing to forgive. The pair, joined now by the whole family, hold on to each other for life... and one would think for all the rest of their lives. FADE TO : BLACK CARD : Upon gaining his freedom, Solomon Northup located and attempted to seek legal justice against the men who kidnapped him. The case was tried in Washington, DC where blacks were prohibited by law from testifying against whites. The charges against the kidnappers were eventually dismissed. Northup spent the rest of his life working as an abolitionist, and with the Underground Railroad. Solomon Northup most likely died between 1863 and 1875. The exact date, place, and circumstances of his death remain unknown. - END -"], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "Solomon Northup is a free African-American man in 1841, working as a violinist and living with his wife and two children in Saratoga Springs, New York. Two white men, Brown and Hamilton, offer him short-term employment as a musician in Washington, D.C.; instead, they drug Northup and deliver him to a slave pen. Northup proclaims his freedom, only to be savagely beaten. Northup is shipped to New Orleans along with other captives. He is told by the others that if he wants to survive in the South, he must adapt. A slave trader named Theophilus Freeman gives Northup the identity of \"Platt\", a runaway slave from Georgia, and sells him to plantation owner William Ford. Ford takes a liking to Northup and gives him a violin. Growing tension between Northup and plantation carpenter John Tibeats finally breaks when Northup physically defends himself from Tibeats and beats him with his own whip. Tibeats and his men prepare to lynch Northup, but they are stopped by the plantation overseer. Northup is left on tiptoes with the noose around his neck for hours before Ford arrives and cuts him down. To save Northup's life, Ford sells him to Edwin Epps. In the process, Northup attempts to explain his situation, but Ford does not help him. Epps is ruthless and sadistic. Northup meets Patsey, a favored slave and Epps' top cotton picker. Epps regularly rapes Patsey while his wife abuses and humiliates her out of jealousy. Some time later, cotton worms destroy Epps' crops, so he leases his slaves to a neighboring plantation for the season. Northup gains the favor of the plantation's owner, Judge Turner, who allows him to play the fiddle at a neighbor's anniversary celebration and to keep his earnings. When Northup returns to Epps, he uses the money to pay a white field hand and former overseer, Armsby, to mail a letter to his friends in New York. Armsby agrees and accepts Northup's saved money, but immediately betrays him. A drunken Epps questions Northup at knifepoint, and Northup is narrowly able to convince Epps that Armsby is lying and Epps relents. Afterwards, Northup mournfully burns the letter to prevent Epps from finding it. Some time later, Patsey is caught by Epps going to a neighboring plantation in order to acquire soap, as Mrs. Epps will not let her have any. In retaliation, Epps orders Northup to whip Patsey. Rather than risk harm to himself, Northup accepts but Epps demands he strike her harder, eventually taking the whip from Northup, and nearly whips Patsey to death. Enraged, Northup destroys his violin. Northup begins working on the construction of a gazebo with a Canadian laborer Samuel Bass. Disturbed by Epps' open cruelty towards his slaves, Bass, citing his Christian faith, expresses his opposition to slavery and castigates Epps, earning Epps' enmity. Northup overhears the conversation and decides to reveal his kidnapping to Bass. Once again, Northup asks for help in sending his letter. Although Bass is hesitant at first because of the risk, he agrees. Not long after, the local sheriff arrives and Northup recognizes the sheriff's companion as Mr. Parker, a shopkeeper he knew in New York. As they embrace, an enraged Epps furiously protests and tries to prevent Northup from leaving only to be rebuffed. Northup bids an emotional farewell to Patsey and rides off to his freedom. Northup returns to reconnect with his wife with their fully grown son, daughter, and his daughter's husband. He is presented with his grandson and namesake, Solomon Northup Staunton. Northup tearfully apologizes for his long absence while his family comforts him. The film's epilogue titles recount: Northup's unsuccessful suits against Brown, Hamilton, and Birch; the 1853 publication of Northup's slave narrative memoir, Twelve Years a Slave; describes his role in the abolitionist movement; and the absence of any information surrounding the details of his death and burial.", "name": "12_Years_a_Slave"}
{"scenes": ["SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE OVER BLACK We hear, Ja Rule's `` Livin' It Up''.", "EXT. NEW YORK CITY - A HOT AUGUST NIGHT - MUSIC OVER MIDTOWN. A Brunette Beauty crosses in front of a stack of cabs, her sheer dress clinging to her remarkable body. A Club in THE MEATPACKING DISTRICT. A long line waits to get in. A couple of Gorgeous Girls show up at the velvet rope and are promptly'' let inside. SOHO. A Crowd spills out of a Bar and onto the sidewalk. A Confident Knock Out in jeans and a tank top laughs, drinking a beer out of the bottle. HARRY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Ahhhh. The sweet, uncomplicated satisfaction of The Younger Woman. That fleeting age when everything just falls right into place. It's magic time and it can render any man, anywhere - absolutely helpless. Some say I'm an expert on The Younger Woman. Guess that's'cause I've been dating them for over forty years. INTO AN EMPTY FRAME COMES HARRY LANGER What is it about him? Could be his eyes, the turn of his mouth. something about this guy is just so damn appealing. Maybe it's just the way he wears the Young Slinky Girl on his arm. He's confident, cool, enviable. We're in : A CHIC EATERY - DOWNTOWN The place is full. Everybody is somebody here. HARRY -LRB- to Hostess. -RRB- Langer. The Maitre'd snaps to attention at the sight of him. MAITRE'D Mr. Langer, got your table waiting. As Harry and his Girl wend their way around tables, we pass Other Couples. Young Couples. Middle - aged couples. Not talking Couples. HARRY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So what does a life of bucking the system all add up to? HARRY -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- To never settle down with the right woman for a life of leftovers and Christmas mornings. No his and her IRA accounts, no mini van parked in the garage. I think it's made me what I am today. -LRB- Harry smiles to someone across the room. -RRB- The luckiest son of a bitch on earth. Look at me. I'm positively debonair. I should be illegal I'm lookin' so good. Harry passes a table where a BEATEN SIXTY YEAR OLD dines with his AGE APPROPRIATE, WELL - FED WIFE. IN SLOW MOTION, Harry and The Beaten Man catch each other's glance. HARRY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It is n't as if I have n't wondered what my life would be like if I was a Regular Joe and came in here once a month with a dame my age' for a porterhouse and a side of spinach. I've wondered.", "INT. CHIC EATERY - HARRY'S IMAGINATION Harry ENTERS all over again. This time he looks older, something in his walk and the boxy cut of his jacket. With him is a regular looking, nothing - to - write - home - about WOMAN IN HER FIFTIES. HARRY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- No, come on, let's be honest. a dame really my age.", "INT. CHIC EATERY - HARRY'S IMAGINATION - TAKE TWO Again, the identical set up. Harry ENTERS again. This time he looks ten years older. The bounce to his step is gone. The twinkle in his eye, long dead. On his arm is a 63 YEAR OLD BATTLE AX, built just like Harry. The Maitre'd reluctantly shows them to a shitty table. HARRY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- There you have it. The story in a nutshell. Not exactly debonair, am I? -LRB- Harry TRIPS, his wife looks disgusted. -RRB- Awww, man, it's down right sad. Look at me. I look like I'm about to die. God help me. I do not want to die. A LONG STRETCH OF PRISTINE COUNTRY ROAD - THE HAMPTONS - DAY A Silver Mercedes convertible bursts into FRAME. Harry's behind the wheel, shades, smoking a cigar, livin' large. Next to him sits a thoroughbred of a girl. An `` IT'' Girl. Smart, sexy and built for fun. She has perfected flirting to an art. Her hand rests on Harry's neck. There's a good thirty year age difference between them. Her name is MARIN. She SINGS along with Ja Rule, now coming from a CD. MARIN -LRB- singing. -RRB- To all my thugs that be livin' it up, we say, what I do. To all my. -LRB- stops. -RRB- Oh! This is it. Make a right. HARRY -LRB- admiring the neighborhood. -RRB- So baby, you're rich. MARIN Well, my mother is, sort of. Not really. HARRY If she lives within a mile of here, she's rich. MARIN I guess a hit play will buy you a house in The Hamptons. HARRY I'd like to meet your mother. MARIN No you would n't. I mean, she's great. She's totally brilliant, but she's not your type. HARRY You're overlooking one of the great things about me. I do n't have a type. MARIN -LRB- very directly. -RRB- She's over thirty. Harry looks to Marin, feigning hurt. MARIN Oh, what?! Like you do n't know you have a slight reputation for. Just then the CAR PHONE RINGS. Harry keeps looking at Marin. HARRY - For what? Harry waits. RINGGG! He does n't look away. MARIN For never dating anyone over 30. Do n't look at me like that. HARRY It's just not true. MARIN Okay. Sorry. Over 31? HARRY Oh, so you wait'til we get out to The Hamptons to let me know you're a wise ass. -LRB- answers phone. -RRB- Hold on. -LRB- then to Marin. -RRB- It just so happens, my dear, that women of a certain age, do n't date me. You ever think of it that way? No, it's always me. You dames are all alike. -LRB- then into phone. -RRB- Hey. MARIN -LRB- amused, to herself. -RRB- Dames. Marin continues singing along with Ja Rule as Harry confidently slips his hand onto her thigh. BARRY -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Vh - huh. I'll call back Monday. Who else? Monday. Monday. Say you could n't find me. Who? -LRB- glances at Marin, she's not listening. -RRB- I'll call her later. No, I have it. Harry hangs up, does n't look in Marin's direction to see if' she caught that. This brand of cool is about not playing that card. Marin turns toward him, she has been listening. They've reached the end of the road, sand dunes, long lilting grass and the ocean stretch before them. MARIN -LRB- all business. -RRB- Make a right, left at the second fence. Marin turns up the CD, getting herself out of whatever just came over her, looks out the window. HARRY Have I mentioned how gorgeous your breasts look in this sweater? MARIN -LRB- blushing. -RRB- Yes you have actually. HARRY So it would be too much to mention it again. Marin laughs, softening, as Harry turns down a dirt driveway, driving toward a DREAM BEACH HOUSE. HARRY Wow. It's the perfect beach house. MARIN I know. My mother does n't know how to do things that are n't perfect. HARRY Which explains you. That got her. Harry parks. She looks over at him but he's grabbing some cigars for his shirt pocket, then looks up at her with an innocent look that suggests he did not just say such a lovely thought. MARIN -LRB- trying to keep up with him. -RRB- Yeah, okay, right. They both grab their H overnight bags and step out of the car. says. ARRY So, what are we gon na do out here, just the two of us, for two whole days? Marin sets her bag down, walks to Harry, wraps her arms around his neck. MARIN Tell me the truth, are you at all glad we waited? HARRY I'm incredibly glad we're finally going to do it. -LRB- she's a bit disappointed. -RRB- If that's the same as being glad we waited, then baby doll, I'm ecstatic. Marin smiles then kisses him. He's one of those guys that lets you kiss them. HARRY -LRB- slaps her tush. -RRB- Let's go for a swim, how long will it take you to change? MARIN Two minutes. Marin starts UNBUTTONING HER SWEATER as she dances seductively toward the front door, then notices Harry's cigars. MARIN Oh Har. No smoking in the house. My Mom does n't allow it. HARRY But she allows you to strip in the front yard and bring men you're dating here to. MARIN She does n't know everything I do. Or when I do it. or where I do it. She SLIPS OFF her sweater and DROPS IT ON HARRY'S HEAD.", "INT. HOUSE It's one of those great Beach Houses. Light filled and warm with spectacular views of the sandy landscape wrapping around the rear of the house. Marin, now in a tight tank, tight pants, gives Harry the grand tour as she continues to undress. MARIN -LRB- TAKING OFF her belt. -RRB- The fabulous living room, perfect for entertaining an intimate group of friends or that special someone. -LRB- DROPS her belt then UNBUTTONS Harry's shirt. -RRB- Behind me, the requisite Hampton's deck complete with pool and ocean view. MARIN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- UNBUCKLES Harry's belt. -RRB- Your pants, please. HARRY Ladies first. Marin provocatively UNZIPS her pants and wriggles out of them. She's now in a TINY TANK AND BIKINI PANTIES. MARIN Gourmet kitchen's to your left where tonight I will whip you up a culinary feast of Mac and Cheese. Marin HEARS Harry's ZIPPER UNZIP. She turns, her EYES WIDENING as Harry's PANTS land on a chair. Harry is now down to his Boxers, an Open Shirt and a fearless smile. MARIN -LRB- smiling. -RRB-. O - kay, going quickly now. Master bedroom is that away. They arrive in a warmly decorated GUEST BEDROOM. MARIN And this as they say on ` Cribs', your favorite show, is where the magic happens. Do we like it? Going once, going twice. HARRY Sold. Harry takes Marin's hand and pulls her OUT OF FRAME and ONTO THE BED. She playfully rolls on top of him. His hands cup her ass. MARIN You know when I first started auctioneering someone told me if I was nervous to just picture everyone in the audience in their underwear. This sort of gives that a whole new meaning. HARRY Why? You're not nervous now, are you? MARIN I'm always a little nervous. HARRY -LRB- removing his hands. -RRB- So put on your bathing suit. I brought some champagne, I'll put it on ice. MARIN Me like you, Harry Langer. She bounces off him like a kid and disappears into the bathroom. Harry lies there alone for a second. Catches his breath. He sits up, feet on the floor, shoulders hunched, clears his throat, bangs on his chest. He waits a sec then stands with a stiffness that for the first time suggests he is not a that young man.", "INT. LIVING ROOM Now wearing only his Boxer Shorts, Harry crosses through the Living ROOM, singing ` Livin' It Up' to himself. He reaches into his bag and lifts out Two Bottles of Crystal. He sees himself in the mirror, sucks in his gut.", "INT. KITCHEN Well stocked, the best of everything. Harry opens the door to the fridge and just as HE DISAPPEARS BEHIND IT, the BACK DOOR OPENS and TWO WOMEN ENTER from a beach walk, in the middle of a lively conversation. One of them is ERICA, Marin's Mother. The other is Erica's Younger Sister, ZOE. ERICA is in her mid - fifties and is a poster girl for growing old. It's actually hard to imagine 55 looking any better. And not because she looks 35, but because she makes 55 look graceful and right. Erica is the `` girl most likely'' who went beyond expectations but did n't realize until recently that being sure of herself was a handicap. She does n't try to be intimidating, she just is. Her sister, ZOE is in her forties. Zoe's the loose one. She wears draw string pants and a T - shirt that says, `` BOYS LIE''. The Women stop mid - sentence when they notice the REFRIGERATOR IS WIDE OPEN. Then they SEE A PAIR OF BARE MEN'S LEGS poking out from UNDER THE DOOR. They don' t move. ERICA Oh God. What is this? Erica nods to Zoe, gesturing a nearby knife. Zoe grabs the knife. Harry pokes his head out from behind the fridge, equally confused. ERICA -LRB- in control. -RRB- Okay, stay right where you are. We have a knife. HARRY -LRB- eyeing the knife. -RRB- Do you. live here? ERICA Okay, Mister, look, I'm gon na dial 911 and you're not gon na move. Zoe, hand me the phone. -LRB- reaches out to Zoe without looking at her. -RRB- HARRY You do n't understand. I'm a friend of your daughter's. With that, Harry SHUTS the fridge door. The Women see he's naked except for a Pair of Boxers. They both GASP. Zoe FUMBLES the phone over to Erica who dials quickly. ERICA Yeah? I do n't think so. My daughter's in the city and you what, wandered in here, like high on Ecstasy? -LRB- looks at phone. -RRB- Shit. I dialed 8 - 1 - 1. -LRB- redials. -RRB- HARRY -LRB- calmly starts to move. -RRB- Honestly, if you just. ERICA Back off. She was in the Israeli army. She can break you in half. Zoe ca n't believe she just said that - no truth in it whatsoever. ERICA -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Yes. I have an intruder in my house. 29 Daniels Lane, Sagaponack. HARRY I'm dating your daughter Marin. She invited me here for the weekend. She's in her room right now, changing. ERICA -LRB- GASPS even louder, really scared now. -RRB- You're dating my daughter? HARRY -LRB- amused. -RRB- Now who would've thought that would be worse news? With that, Marin ENTERS, in a tiny bikini, sees Harry in his shorts, Zoe holding the knife and Erica frozen, holding the phone. MARIN Oh, fuck. ERICA Oh, God. -LRB- into phone. -RRB- I'm sorry. False alarm. Yeah, no, I'm sure. No, he's not a burglar. -LRB- with enormous difficulty. -RRB- He's dating my daughter. MARIN Mom, I had no idea you were coming out this weekend, you said you had to write. ERICA I do. I thought I'd do it out here. MARIN Oh, man, this is really. ERICA Awkward. MARIN Totally. but. -LRB- starts laughing. -RRB- You got ta admit, sorta funny You thought he was a burglar? In his boxer shorts? ERICA Yeah, well, the world's nuts, I do n't know the man. MARIN -LRB- still laughing. -RRB- I'm sorry, it's not really funny. I'm an idiot. I should've told you I was bringing someone out. ERICA No, no, I should've told you we were coming. Well. Anyway, here we are. -LRB- waves to Harry. -RRB- Hello. I'm the mother. All three Women turn to Harry who now dangles a long Lobster shaped oven mitt over his `` privates''. HARRY Harry Langer. How are ya? MARIN Yes. Sorry. Mom, this is my friend, Harry. Harry, my Mom, Erica. my Aunt, Zoe. -LRB- they all shake hands. -RRB- Harry's sort of a new friend. I think I mentioned him in an e - mail. We just, totally spur of the moment thought we'd get out of the city for a few days. ERICA AND ZOE Of course. Right. Great. ERICA -LRB- ca n't look at him. -RRB- Honey, does Harry have a robe? HARRY -LRB- backing out. -RRB- You know what? Actually, I think I should just take off. Let you gals enjoy your weekend. Marin shoots her Mom a look. Help! ERICA No, no, no. Do n't be silly. Uh, look, here's what we'll do. Zoe and I will leave. We took a great walk on the beach, we'll go into town for lunch. You two stay. Harry, apologize about the near arrest. HARRY No, you were impressive. Very strong, very. `` macho''. ERICA -LRB- a little thrown. -RRB- I do n't think I was exactly `` macho''. HARRY Trust me, if I ever catch a guy in his underwear in my refrigerator I hope I'm half the man you were, Mrs uh. ERICA -LRB- already hating him. -RRB- Yeah. Okay. Whatever. Marin watches. Dying. HARRY All righty then. I'm definitely gon na hit the road. -LRB- salutes Erica and Zoe. -RRB- Ladies. sensational meeting you. -LRB- then to Marin. -RRB- Doll, call me. ZOE Hold on. Hold on. Let's not get so dramatic here. What are we four teenagers? We're all sophisticated people. Why ca n't we all stay, for the weekend? Your mother's got work to do I've got papers to grade. You'll do your thing, whatever that is and if we want to hang together, we'll hang together. If we do n't, we do n't. There's no reason why any of us should give up this spectacular weekend. MARIN Seriously. I can handle it. ZOE I can totally handle it. ERICA -LRB- on the spot. -RRB- I mean, well, I can `` handle'' it. The Women all look to Harry. He looks at Marin. She's hard to resist. HARRY It can only go up from here. HARRY AND MARIN Walking past SHOPS on the MAIN DRAG IN EAST HAMPTON. They are both licking ice cream cones. CAMERA STAYS BEHIND THEM. ZOE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- He's obviously a penis substitute. ERICA AND ZOE Are paced 20 feet behind them, carrying groceries. ZOE I mean a father substitute. ERICA Except he's older than her father. I ca n't even look at them. What is she doing with a guy that age? ZOE Marin was how old when you guys broke up? ERICA Five years ago, so. twenty - three. ZOE Okay, so she was old enough not to feel Dave was walking out on her. ERICA Is that supposed to mean Dave walked out on me? Why do people assume when you break up after twenty years that the guy's the one who wanted out? Just because once we broke up he shtupped everything that moved. ZOE Easy cowgirl. I did n't mean it that way. Just trying to figure out why such a smart girl is always with the wrong guy. CLOSE ON A YOUNG FRENCH GIRL IN AN APRON YOUNG FRENCH GIRL Mme. Barry, que je puis vous obtenir aujourd ` hui? The Girl stands BEHIND THE CHEESE COUNTER in : THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA A Gourmet Market in East Hampton. The clientele in here is as rich looking as the food. Erica stands on the other side of the Cheese Counter. ERICA Bonjour je veux une partie de votre pate merveilleux et de votre meilleur fromage absolu de chevre. Harry and Marin shop near by. Harry listens to Erica out of one ear. HARRY That's impressive. MARIN She started French lessons after she and my Dad split up. Part of her `` Keep Busy, Do n't Look Back'' program. She's practically fluent now. ERICA -LRB- turning back to Marin. -RRB- Marin, au cas ou nous prende un desset ou devrions jefaire quelgue chose? MARIN -LRB- with an impeccable accent. -RRB- Laissons quelque chose d'achat. Et ce grand gateau de chocolat? HARRY Hey, not bad. MARIN -LRB- shrugs. -RRB- Yeah. well. I am fluent. Be right back. Marin crosses to the dessert counter. Erica turns back and catches Harry checking out Marin's ass. He smiles as he licks his ice cream. Erica rolls her eyes then spots another Older Guy with a Leggy Girl twenty - five years his junior. ERICA It's an epidemic. Then Erica notices who's next to her at the cheese counter. She sees her Sister, Zoe, reading a cheese label with her glasses on and next to Zoe are two sad looking Old Women in their Eighties with their arms linked. Almost woozy, Erica is snapped out of it when she is handed her package. YOUNG FRENCH GIRL Merci madame. Erica heads down the aisle, passing Harry whose back is to her. Just as she passes, he turns and almost bumps into her. ERICA -LRB- backing off. -RRB- Woops. Sorry. HARRY My fault. They so very badly do not want to actually touch. Erica hesitates. Harry gestures for her to go first then walks alongside her. ERICA So, Harry. What do you do? HARRY I'm one of the owners of a record company among other things. ERICA Oh, really? Which record company? HARRY Drive by Records. ERICA -LRB- appalled at the name. -RRB- `` Drive By'' Records? Is that a joke? What is that? HARRY It's a Hip Hop label. ERICA Hip Hop? Oh, rap? Oh, right. Well. -LRB- with disdain. -RRB- Okay. That's. `` interesting''. HARRY Let me see if I get where you're headed here. ERICA I'm sorry, but, look, you know I hate rap, I mean I do. It's sort of violent and crude for my taste, not to mention just a tad misogynistic. HARRY Hey, a lot of people see rapping as poetry. ERICA Yeah, but come on, how many words can you rhyme with ` Bitch'? Erica places her groceries on the check out counter. MARIN -LRB- joining Harry. -RRB- How we doin? HARRY Should've left when she tried to arrest me.", "INT. ERICA'S DINING ROOM - THAT NIGHT Marin serves plates of pasta with lobster. Zoe pours wine and Erica tosses a salad. Harry is the only one sitting. MARIN So, Mom, how's the new play? You gettin' happy with it? Marin places a plate in front of Harry then runs her finger along `` the nape of his neck. They smile at each other as she continues on. Erica notices, tries not to respond. ERICA Well, the thing with me is that I'm about 90 % hard word, 10 % talent and so far the talent part has n't exactly kicked in yet. ZOE Yeah, right. HARRY What's your play about? Marin and Zoe stop what they are doing and turn to Erica. She's hesitant to reveal this. ERICA About? Well, I'm not exactly sure which is a bit of a problem, but so far it's about a divorced woman, a writer, she's this high strung, over - amped, controlling, know it all neurotic. -LRB- everyone stares at her. -RRB- Who's incredibly cute and lovable. -LRB- more stares. -RRB- It's a comedy. -LRB- takes a seat next to Zoe. -RRB- So, how did you two meet? MARIN At a Wine Auction at Sotheby's. Harry was the big buyer of the night. HARRY I kept winking at Marin as she was conducting the auction and apparently every time I did that she misunderstood and I ended up buying cases of outrageously expensive wine. Zoe and Marin laugh. ERICA Ever been married, Harry? HARRY No. No, I have n't. ERICA Wow. Now why do you think that is? HARRY Some people just do n't fit the mold. And so far. ERICA Hey, if it ai n't broke. HARRY Exactly. Harry leans back, places his arm around Marin's chair. Erica takes note. ZOE Wait a second, are n't you like a famous bachelor? HARRY I would n't say I'm famous. ZOE No, I think I read a piece on you in New York Magazine. HARRY I guess people find it interesting that I've escaped the noose for so long. ZOE Yeah, was n't the name of the article, `` The Escape Artist''? ERICA Wait. I read that article. That was you? You were once engaged to somebody big. Who was it? Not Joan Collins. Wait. Carly Simon? ZOE Yeah, it was somebody cool like that. -LRB- trying to remember. -RRB- Not Martha Stewart. MARIN You could just. ` ask him. HARRY No, this is more fun. It's like I'm not here. MARIN Harry was once engaged to Diane Sawyer. Okay? ZOE Right. Diane Sawyer. I love her. ERICA -LRB- stunned. -RRB- I'm impressed. HARRY Yeah, women your age love that about me. Erica pauses on that one. HARRY -LRB- trying to get thru this. -RRB- You know what I mean. ERICA Yes I do. HARRY It's not a bad thing to say ` women your age'. ERICA No. I'm sure it was a compliment. HARRY It was. just the truth. ZOE -LRB- stepping in. -RRB- So when was this engagement? HARRY Long time ago. She was just this adorable lanky girl from Kentucky with the greatest pair of legs I'd ever seen. Never understood her ending up with a job where she never showed them. -LRB- munches on his lobster. -RRB- ERICA You're not serious? She's Diane Sawyer, she goes into caves in Afghanistan with a shmahtah on her head. Who cares about her legs? HARRY Just anyone who's ever had the pleasure of. You know what? I hate to eat and run but. ZOE No, wait. This is actually a very fascinating dynamic - what's going on at this table. MARIN -LRB- warning him. -RRB- Zoe teaches Women's Studies at Columbia. HARRY Oh, so this is gon na hurt. ZOE No, come on, listen, here's the rub for women. Look at what we have here with you and Erica. Harry, you've been around the block a few times, right? You're what? Around 60, never been married, which, we all know, if you were a woman, would be a curse, you'd be an old maid, a spinster, blah, blah, blah. Okay, so instead of pitying you, they write articles about you, celebrate your never marrying, it makes you illusive and ungettable. You're a real catch. Then, take my gorgeous sister here. ERICA Any chance of you stopping here? ZOE Come on, this is interesting. I mean, look at her, she's so accomplished, the most successful woman playwright since who? Lillian Hellman? She's over fifty, divorced and still sits in night after night because the available guys her age want. -LRB- to Marin. -RRB- ZOE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- - forgive me honey for saying this, but they want girls that look like Marin so the whole over fifty dating scene is geared completely towards men leaving older women out and as a result that makes the older women more and more productive and more and more interesting, which, in turn, makes them even less desirable because as we all know - men, especially older men, are threatened and deathly afraid of interesting and accomplished women. It's just so clear. Single older women, as a demographic, are as fucked a group as can ever exist. Erica and Harry's EYES CONNECT for a millisecond. HEAR THE SOUND OF PLATES CRASHING.", "INT. KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER OVER, we Erica is cleaning up the broken plates, Zoe leans down to help. ERICA What are you, possessed? How could you say those things? ZOE It just seemed so obvious to me. The injustice of it. Thank God men die younger than us. It's the only break we get. ERICA Then you know what? Write a dissertation on it, do n't announce to the world that I stay in night after night after night and by the way, one night after night would have been enough. Did you ever realize, I stay `` in'' as part of my job. Why do you think I married the director of my plays? He was the only man I ever saw. Anyway, I like staying in and I like this time in my life. Why do I have to defend myself? I was married for 20 years. I'm done. Marin ENTERS carrying more dishes. MARIN What the hell was that? ZOE I'm sorry, I thought I was onto something. ERICA Honey, what are you doing with this guy? He's old, he's chauvinistic. MARIN He's fun. ERICA He's fun? How is he fun? He's like. wrong. MARIN Wrong can be fun, Mom. ERICA Not this wrong. MARIN Can we not do this now? He's actually incredibly smart and fascinating and if you had talked to him about something other than his marital status you would've found out how smart he is. He owns like 10 different companies. ERICA What does that mean he owns ten different companies? He ca n't commit, that's what that means. Not that, God forbid, I want him to commit. MARIN Yeah, that I get. Anyway, he said he thought you two were very spontaneous and nice and then said he's leaving as soon as the sun comes up. ERICA What? His car does n't have headlights? MARIN Good night. ERICA Wait. I have no right to get this nuts. -LRB- hugs her. -RRB- He's your friend. Not mine. I love you. MARIN -LRB- hugs her back. -RRB- I love you more. This is obviously a ritual between them. Erica kisses Marin's cheek in a flutter of kisses, then Marin EXITS. ZOE No chance he said we were nice. ERICA Please. None. They HEAR MUSIC coming from Marin's bedroom. ZOE What are they listening to? ERICA I do n't care. -LRB- listens. -RRB- Oy. Marvin Gaye. Erica turns on the garbage disposal. Zoe sings along, `` Let's get it on''. , Erica shoots her a look, turns off the garbage disposal, doing the dishes with vigor. ERICA I know she'll never see him after this weekend. She ca n't commit either. Then they hear Marin GIGGLING. ZOE He does sound fun. Marin YELPS. ZOE Admit it, he's got something. You felt it, right? Then they hear Marin SCREAM. ERICA Oh, this is nuts. Erica covers her ears with her hands. Then they hear Marin SCREAM `` MOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!'' ERICA Did she say, Mom?", "INT. MARIN'S ROOM - ANGLE - THE DOOR Erica and Zoe bust into the room and find Harry. on the floor, leaning against the bed, a clenched fist on his chest. His shirt is open, he's sweating, his complexion is grey. Marin stands back, freaked out, afraid to get near him. MARIN We were fooling around and he said he felt funny Hthen he just collapsed. ARRY -LRB- out of breath. -RRB- It's nothing. I'm okay maybe it was the lobster. ERICA Does your chest hurt? HARRY Like an elephant's standing on it. ERICA -LRB- to Marin. -RRB- Call 911. tell them to send an ambulance. Marin hesitates. ERICA Marin! Now! HARRY'S POV - THE ROOM Spinning. When he shuts his eyes, it goes BLACK. Spinning. BLACK. Spinning. BLACK. He sees Marin, soft in the background, on the phone and Erica coming toward him. He hears Zoe : ZOE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What are you doing? ERICA -LRB- coming closer. -RRB- Mouth to mouth. ON HARRY Even in this state he gets that Erica is about to place her. mouth on his. His eyes WIDEN IN HORROR, he reels back. Erica catches this. ERICA You fucking guy. She does it anyway. Her - mouth on his, her breath into his lungs, over and over. Harry's eyes roll back in hi - so head. As. Erica pounds on his chest, we HEAR THE BLARE OF A SIREN. AND A LOUD CLANG As the DOORS to SOUTHAMPTON HOSPITAL FLY OPEN. Paramedics WHEEL Harry through the corridors and into the ER with dizzying speed. Two Nurses jostle Harry OFF the gurney and ONTO A BED. DR. JULIAN MERCER arrives at Harry's side. Julian is in his early - thirties and has finally just graduated out of the ` you look too young to be a doctor' syndrome. Julian is a man whose goodness makes him sexy. He wears his hair shaggier than you'd expect but then again, this is a Johns Hopkins graduate who chose to live near the beach and work nights. The Nurses place oxygen in Harry's nose,. ; hook him up to a heart monitor and connect him to an IV. JULIAN How we doing here? PARAMEDIC #1 He's had 30 minutes of chest pain, nausea, shortness of breath, blood pressure's 170 over 100, pulse 104, respirations 18. JULIAN Let's get an EKG. Mr. Langer, I'm Dr. Mercer. Are you in any pain right now? The Nurse wheels over an EKG machine, Julian helps hook it up. HARRY Feel some pressure in my chest. it's real tight. JULIAN Can you show me where the pain is? Harry clenches his fist over his sternum. JULIAN What were you doing at the onset of the pain? HARRY I was uh, kissing a beautiful. JULIAN -LRB- watching the monitor. -RRB- Where you having intercourse? HARRY - Unfortunately, no. JULIAN Sense of humor in tact. -LRB- checks EKG. -RRB- Hang a nitroglycerine drip. Mr. Langer the EKG shows you have a blocked artery which is not allowing enough oxygen to get to the heart muscle. HARRY I'm having a heart attack? JULIAN We're gon na stop it. But I need to know what kind of medications you take? HARRY -LRB- scared shitless. -RRB- I take uh. uh. Lipitor. JULIAN -LRB- reading the EKG tape. -RRB- Uh - huh. Any thing else? HARRY - and a white one for blood pressure. JULIAN procardia? HARRY Yeah. JULIAN What about, Viagra? Erica, Marin and Zoe ARRIVE in the DOORWAY of the ER. Harry eyes them. stalls. JULIAN Mr. Langer? Did you take any Viagra today? Mr. Langer? HARRY No. No Viagra. JULIAN You're positive? HARRY I do n't take Viagra. Do n't need Viagra. The Women grab looks at each other, know they should n't be there. They turn away. JULIAN Great. Just needed to be sure because I put nitroglycerin into your - drip and if you had taken Viagra, the combo would make your heart leap right out of your body. CLOSE - HARRY'S EYES - PANICKED As he watches the NITROGLYCERIN make it's way DOWN THE TUBE and APPROACH HIS ARM. Just as the amber liquid is about to enter his bloodstream he YANKS the IV out of his arm. The drip is knocked onto the ground. The Women shriek as the Nurses scurry to clean up. Erica and Zoe rush out, Marin hangs back. Harry catches the look on her face. JULIAN Let's give him an aspirin and Metoprolol 5mg. HARRY Sorry, had an audience. -LRB- clutching his chest. -RRB- JULIAN It's okay. it was a great save. -LRB- to Nurse. -RRB- Let's start the thrombolytic protocol. `` 4000 units of heparin. Mr. Langer, if this works and I have every reason to believe it will, it's going to reverse what's going on so there will be little or no damage to your heart. You with me? -LRB- Harry nods. Julian places his hand on Harry's. -RRB- Okay, here we go. THE HALLWAY Marin paces, smoking. Erica sits. Zoe leans against the wall. MARIN Oh, man, what if he does n't make it? I do n't know who to contact. MARIN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I do n't know his family. I've gone out to dinner with the guy three times. I hardly know him. ERICA He's gon na make it. Do n't worry. He's like a bulldog. He'll make it. MARIN This is a nightmare. I go out with a guy who's so old, he takes Viagra. ERICA Are you nuts? You go out with a guy who's so old he's having a heart attack! ZOE All I can say is, thank God it did n't happen when he was inside you. That could be life altering. Julian rounds the corner of the corridor. Marin rushes toward him, her face begging for good news. JULIAN Your Dad's gon na be okay. MARIN Oh, he's not my Dad. JULIAN I'm sorry. -LRB- then. -RRB- Your Grandad's gon na be okay. MARIN -LRB- throws her arms around him. -RRB- Oh, thank you so much. But he's not my. oh we're not related. He's just a friend. JULIAN Sorry. His sweet apologetic smile is not lost on Marin. Zoe and Erica join them. JULIAN I'm Dr. Mercer. Mr. Langer did have a mild heart attack. I gave him something to break up the clot in his artery and it worked beautifully. JULIAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- His EKG returned to normal almost immediately which means I do n't expect any permanent damage. He's very lucky. ERICA -LRB- shoulders sagging. -RRB- Thank you. JULIAN No, whoever got him here so fast should be thanked. Another half hour and I do n't know if this would've worked. Marin pats her Mom on the back. ERICA Oh, man. -LRB- realizing it all now. -RRB- This was. intense. Erica wipes away a tear. Nothing could surprise her more. JULIAN We're out of the woods. I've given him something to sleep, it might make him a little loopy at first but then it should knock him out. -LRB- to Erica. -RRB- You're Mrs. Langer? ERICA No, no I'm just. No. I'm Erica Barry. He was having dinner at our house. I just met him this afternoon. JULIAN You're Erica Barry? ERICA Yes. JULIAN The playwright? ERICA Yes. JULIAN What a pleasure. I'm a huge fan. Huge fan. ERICA Really? Oh, thanks. This is my daughter, Marin, my sister, Zoe. Julian says Hi to each then returns his attention fully and devotedly to Erica. Takes her in. JULIAN Wow. CLOSE - A JAPANESE TEA POT Julian pours steaming hot tea into 3 paper cups. MARIN - CLOSE Sitting in the hospital corridor as JULIAN'S HAND ENTERS HER FRAME and hands her a cup of tea. She looks up at him with more adorableness than most men could handle. She blows on the steam. MARIN Thanks. Camera Pans to ZOE. Sitting next to Marin. She is also handed a Cup of Tea. Even she softens as she looks up at Julian. ZOE Thank you Doctor. This is all beginning to feel a little like the Step Sisters trying on the Glass Slipper. Until we get to Erica, not paying any attention at all as she is handed her Tea. ERICA Oh. Hey. Ew. Hot. Thanks. JULIAN -LRB- eyes on Erica. -RRB- You're welcome. May I join you? ERICA Yeah. Sure. This is very nice of you. JULIAN First year of medical school you learn what can keep you up all night without making you nuts. Green Tea beats everything plus it's a great antioxidant. Cheers. MARIN -LRB- turning on the charm. -RRB- So, urn, do you always work nights? JULIAN Usually two or - three a week, gives me a chance for a real life during the day. -LRB- immediately turns back to Erica. -RRB- You know, I heard you had a place in the Hamptons. I really am a very big fan. I honestly think I've seen every play you've ever written. ERICA I think some were written before your time. There are some Marin's never even seen. JULIAN No, I'm pretty sure I've seen them all and I saw the last one twice. Zoe nudges Erica as a Nurse enters from the ER. NURSE Doctor, we've got a walk in, may need stitches. JULIAN -LRB- rises. -RRB- I'll check on MI. Langer. if he's asleep ; you all might want to get some shut eye and come back in the morning. Great to meet you Erica. Ladies. The Women wave and watch him exit. The second he's gone : ERICA -LRB- to Marin. -RRB- Okay, now that's a perfect a guy for you. He's adorable. MARIN Mother! I've never seen a man less interested in me. ZOE Or more interested in you. ERICA Me? He's thirty years old. MARIN No, he's older than that. ZOE Who cares how old, he is. I mean, he's not my type, he's like a gorgeous wholesome doctor but, he's perfect for you and hot for you, which makes him really perfect. ERICA Stop it. He likes my work. Not me. -LRB- they just stare at her. -RRB- It's insane. I would never. -LRB- off Zoe's look. -RRB- Shut. Up. Just then, Harry stumbles into the corridor in his Hospital Gown, pretty out of it. ZOE Yuh - oh. MARIN -LRB- rises. -RRB- Harry. Confused, Harry turns around, a little lost, giving the Women a FULL VIEW OF HIS BARE ASS. The Women muffle screams. MARIN Harry! Over here! He faces them. HARRY Honey, I want to go home. Can you call Lowell to pick me up? MARIN -LRB- confused. -RRB- Lowell? Harry wobbles. Is he going to fall? Marin freezes, looks to her Mom for help. Erica rushes to Harry. ERICA Harry, you have to get back in bed. HARRY Woman. And I say that as a compliment. You saved my life. -LRB- kisses her hand. -RRB- Soft. -LRB- then. -RRB- I do n't remember your name but I thank you from the bottom of my. He falls on Erica, totally out of it, his head on her breast, his mouth open. ERICA -LRB- afraid to breathe. -RRB- Ugh. Look at this, even unconscious, he's a lech. The Nurses rush out and peel Harry off Erica. NURSE Mr. Langer, you should n't be standing. HARRY Got to take a whiz girls. NURSE We'll take care of that for you, Mr. Langer. Harry turns back to the Women, smiling. He likes that idea. LOVES that idea. HARRY Okay. You take care of it for me, sweetheart. I'd like to see that. As he walks away, his bare ass shines like a full moon in a desert sky. MARIN This is the most insane night of my life. ZOE Yeah, but just admit that was one great ass for a guy that age. CLOSE - A LARGE VASE OF YELLOW ROSES - 36 HOURS LATER A Nurse slides the Roses down the counter of her station. NURSE Now what can I do you for? She looks across at a neat as a pin Man in his early forties, Prada suit, crisp white shirt, dark tie. He's a Gershwin tune of a man. A throwback to a kinder world. This is. LOWELL, Harry's Houseman/Chef/all around Man Friday. LOWELL I'm here for Mr. Harry Langer. Julian ENTERS the Nurse's station. NURSE -LRB- to Julian. -RRB- Are we discharging Hurricane Harry? JULIAN Yes we are. Hi, I'm Dr. Mercer. Come on, I'll take you to him. Julian EXITS the Nurse's Station. Lowell, carrying the flowers, follows. He nods to TWO TALL LEGGY MINI SKIRTED ASSISTANT TYPES, KIM and LEXI who follow. Both pack cell phones, note pads, carry balloons, flowers and shopping bags. JULIAN And you are? LOWELL Lowell St. James'. Mr. Langer's houseman, chef. general valet. JULIAN Well that sounds like a pretty, interesting job. LOWELL Fifteen years. Never a dull moment. They arrive at : A PRIVATE ROOM where Harry lies on the bed, dressed and ready to go. He squints as he reads a pamphlet at arms's distance called, `` Heart Attack - Bouncing Back''. JULIAN Okay, Harry, looks like we're going to have to let you go. Harry sits up too fast, lies right back down. Lowell looks like he might cry. The Girls hold back. HARRY Take it easy kids, I just sat up too fast. Doc, tell them. Am I in good shape? How were my tests this morning? JULIAN He's doing extremely well. LOWELL -LRB- holding back tears. -RRB- Can I hug him? JULIAN Absolutely. Harry stands and indulges Lowell in a deep hug. Lowell's shoulders shake as he sobs. HARRY Okay, Okay. Let's not get goofy. We got no thin, but good news here. LOWELL I must say, you do look good. considering. You have a little extra baggage under your eyes, but I know how to fix that. HARRY -LRB- to Julian. -RRB- See what good hands I'm in. Did you meet my gorgeous assistants? JULIAN Not formally. HARRY Girls. my Doctor, Julian Mercer. -LRB- then. -RRB- Honey, did you bring the CDs? Kim hands Harry a shopping bag full of CDs. HARRY -LRB- to Julian. -RRB- These are for you. -LRB- to the Girls. -RRB- The man loves Hip Hop. JULIAN -LRB- checking out the bag. -RRB- Maybe not this much but. HARRY And did you bring the other thing? Lexi hands Harry another bag. Harry reaches in and pulls out a small leather box, hands it to Julian. HARRY This is just to thank you for your brilliance the other night. I hope it suits you. JULIAN -LRB- opening the box. -RRB- Wow. This is. Jesus, this is the most gorgeous watch I've ever seen. HARRY - Oh, good. It's a Piaget. -LRB- to Girls. -RRB- He likes it. JULIAN No, I love it and this is incredibly generous of you but I ca n't accept it. HARRY You save my life and you end up with some CDs? JULIAN No, I end up seeing you walk out of here and I do get paid you know - MARIN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- - Knock, knock. They all turn, see Marin at the door. She waves to Harry, more reserved than normal. JULIAN Harry, I'll see you on the way out. LOWELL -LRB- whispers. -RRB- We'll pull up the car. Everyone EXITS leaving Marin and Harry alone. Harry sits on the bed. Marin joins him. Harry places his hand on her thigh. All she notices is his hospital bracelet. HARRY So, I'm some great date, huh? MARIN Yeah. Mr. Excitement. HARRY Tell me somethin', we have n't actually had sex yet, have we? MARIN No we have n't. You're correct on that one. HARRY Something to live for. Marin smiles, kisses Harry on the cheek. HARRY Down to the cheek. -LRB- that's big, he digests that one. -RRB- Come on, let's get outta here.", "EXT. SOUTHAMPTON HOSPITAL - DAY Harry is wheeled out in a wheelchair, Marin and a Nurse on either side. In the parking lot is a Town Car with Lowell and the Girls standing next to it. Next to them is Erica, waiting by her car. She's on her cell phone. Harry spots them and tries to get out of the wheel chair before it stops. NURSE Hold on Tarzan, we're still movin'. -LRB- she stops. -RRB- Okay, now slow - ly. To prove her wrong, Harry rises quickly. Everyone stands by, ready to help. HARRY Look at these faces. Will you tell them I'm fine. As soon as Harry spots Erica, he starts to wobble. ERICA Whoa! Whoa! WHOA! Everyone grabs for Harry as he FALLS OUT OF FRAME AND THE SCREEN GOES BLACK. CLOSE ON JULIAN taking Harry's pulse as Harry lies on the ASPHALT OF THE HOSPITAL PARKING LOT. Lowell, the Two Assistants and Marin huddle around. Erica steps back a bit. JULIAN Harry, I'm sorry, but I think we jumped the gun. ca n't let you travel quite yet. HARRY I ai n't goin' back in there. JULIAN You do n't have to but I ca n't put you in a car right now and I ca n't leave you in the parking lot. I'd like you to stay nearby for a few days and let me keep an eye on you'til you get your strength back. HARRY Doc, I'm out in the middle of the Hamptons. Where do you want me to go? Marin turns to Erica who very clearly mouths, `` FORGET IT!''", "EXT. ERICA'S HOUSE - LATER THAT DAY. The Town Car sits in the driveway, Lexi leans on the hood, talking on her cell. A Market Delivery Van pulls away as a Drugstore Delivery Van pulls in. A Flower Delivery KID holding a large bouquet, knocks at the front door.", "INT. THE GUEST BEDROOM - SAME TIME Harry sits up in bed wearing silk pajamas, holding an unlit cigar, and is on the phone. Zoe enters, placing the new bouquet on the already flower filled dresser. Lowell lifts a LUNCH TRAY off the bed as Kim stands nearby on the cell phone. Marin packs her bag. HARRY -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Just promise me you wo n't make a decision until we talk. Thinking about it ai n't promising me. Okay, man, I'm seein' you Friday. -LRB- hangs up, then to Lowell. -RRB- Lowell, what was that? LOWELL -LRB- looking down at the Tray. -RRB- Your lunch. HARRY Somebody tell you to starve me to death? Kim hands Harry the cell phone. KIM Russell. HARRY -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Rush? No, man, you're livin' the shit. I just got a clean bill of health. Kim hands Harry a NOTE that says : YOU HAVE TWO DINNER DATES THIS WEEK, SHOULD I CANCEL AND SEND FLOWERS? Harry steals a look at Marin, then nods to Kim.", "INT. KITCHEN Erica puts away groceries, a little on edge. Her back is to a Man in his fifties, who sits at the island, eating a sandwich. He wears sweats and a baseball cap. His natural expression is - worried. This is DAVE. DAVE This is the best turkey sandwich I ever had in my life. What kind of mustard is this? ERICA -LRB- not turning around. -RRB- I do n't know. DAVE All right, do n't get pissy. It's not Dijon, right? ERICA Do n't get pissy. you say that'cause this, of course, would never happen to you. 1 come out here for peace and quiet and suddenly I'm a character in a Kaufman and Hart play. -LRB- the phone RINGS. -RRB- And the phone does not stop. -LRB- phone STOPS RINGING. -RRB- And it's never for me! Lowell ENTERS with the Bed Tray. LOWELL Sorry to interrupt. ERICA That's fine Lowell, I'll take that. LOWELL No, please, allow me. ERICA No, no, I'll take it. No problem. Erica takes the bed tray as Lowell EXITS. ERICA The man does not know my name and I'm doing his dishes. Lexi ENTERS, all 5' 10'' of her. Dave suddenly looks alive. She carries an empty water glass. LEX Hi Erica. Um. where should I put this? ERICA Right here. I'll take it. LEXI And Harry has a headache. Do you have any Tylenol? ERICA Tylenol yes. -LRB- reaches in cabinet. -RRB- LEXI -LRB- extends her hand to Dave. -RRB- Hi. I'm Lexi, Harry's second assistant. DAVE Hey. Dave Klein. How ya doin'? Erica hands Lexi the Tylenol, she thanks her and EXITS. ERICA -LRB- holding the water glass. -RRB- Where should I put this? It's an empty water glass. What are the choices? DAVE -LRB- rises. -RRB- I'm gettin' outta your hair. ERICA Thank you. DAVE So you're not ready to show me any pages? I'm not putting pressure on you, I'm just asking. ERICA I have n't written a word. I'm on page twelve and the first eleven pages stink. DAVE So you have one good page. -LRB- then. -RRB- How tall do you think that girl was? Before Erica can respond, Marin ENTERS. MARIN Dad! I did n't know you were here. DAVE I'm just on my way out, bubbee. MARIN Well, I was just gon na drive into the city with Zoe but if you're driving back, I'd much rather go with you. DAVE I have to meet someone before I go. ERICA -LRB- to Marin. -RRB- Wait wait wait wait. You're leaving, Zoe's leaving, the entourage is leaving. And I'm supposed to stay here with him alone? MARIN The doctor said'' he's ` sending over a Nurse in the morning. ERICA The morning? That's nineteen hours from now. -LRB- takes a deep breath. -RRB- Okay, I can handle this. I'm just going to get into a zen' place, play music, cook, write, focus. DAVE She never changes. ERICA -LRB- setting him straight. -RRB- Yes. Maybe that's a good thing.", "EXT. ERICA'S HOUSE - SUNSET No cars are out front. Quiet and peaceful. On the Soundtrack we hear the French tune, I wish You Love sung in French.", "INT. ERICA'S KITCHEN - THE SAME TIME - MUSIC OVER Erica cooks, softly singing along in French. HARRY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Smells great in here. Surprised, Erica turns to find Harry leaning in the doorway in his pajamas, robe and slippers. No one's ever had more gorgeous clothes to sleep in. His presence disarms her. ERICA Coq au Vin. -LRB- he looks confused. -RRB- Chicken cooked in red wine. HARRY French Food. French music. ERICA Part of my play takes place in Paris so I'm hoping this helps me think. I'm hopin'. How you feeling? HARRY Well, I walked all the way in here, only bumping into two chairs and an ottoman. ERICA Everyone bumps into that ottoman. Harry appreciates the thought. Before it has time to become awkward, the Phone RINGS. HARRY Hey, thanks for letting me. ERICA Yeah, no. it's fine. -LRB- answering the phone. -RRB- Hello. Yes, he is. -LRB- hands the phone to Harry. -RRB- HARRY -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Hello. Hey sweets. -LRB- Erica hates this. -RRB- Oh, you got the flowers? Are they pretty? Erica ca n't stand this. She puts on her glasses and skims her recipe. HARRY Hey, can I call you in a little bit. What's your number doll? -LRB- spots a pad and pencil. -RRB- Harry squints, ca n't see what he's writing. backs his head away from the pad. Erica hands him her glasses. HARRY -LRB- slips them on, jots down the number. -RRB- Okay. Call you in a little. Harry hangs up and hands the glasses back to Erica. HARRY Same prescription. ERICA Look, Harry, it's not like in any stretch of the imagination, I think you're all that right for my daughter but I do n't really appreciate hearing you on the phone with other women. It's like I'm an accomplice to you cheating, it's. HARRY Your daughter knows I see other women. ERICA She does? I mean, fine, it's none of my business. but. -LRB- struggles to open a bottle of wine. -RRB- HARRY She knows I'm not monogamous. We've discussed it. ERICA Great? And that's what? Why are you proud of that? HARRY Not proud. Just honest. Your daughter said she likes that about me. -LRB- takes the wine and opens it with ease. -RRB- ERICA My daughter is confused when it comes to men. HARRY I do n't blame her. We're confusing. Harry hands her the open wine bottle.", "EXT. BEACH PATIO WIDE SHOT - ALMOST NIGHT Erica and Harry sit not so close together at a long table, under a purple sky. Another French Tune plays. If this was n't them, this would look romantic. Nothing is said. Just two people eating. Harry lifts the salt shaker, about to add salt to his chicken. ERICA Should I just call the ambulance now? Harry shoots her a look and places the salt shaker back on the table.", "EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT - OVER - LOUIS ARMSTRONG'S LA VIE EN ROSE A starry sky gives the house a storybook setting. We HEAR THE PHONE RING.", "INT. ERICA'S BEDROOM - SAME TIME - MUSIC CONTINUES Erica works at a laptop at a cluttered table. The CLOCK tells us it's a little after ONE A.M. Annoyed by the ringing phone, she points her remote at the CD Player and stops' the song. Harry answers the phone in his room. A moment of quiet. Erica points her remote, starts the song again, starts typing again. Now the other line RINGS. She looks over at the phone watching one RED LIGHT `` BLINK, while the other line is answered. ERICA What am I doing? She throws a piece of paper over the phone so she ca n't see it. She clicks on her AOL ICON and is told : AOL CAN NOT CONNECT. LINE BUSY. She's pissed. Then, worse, she SMELLS something.", "INT. HARRY'S BEDROOM - SAME TIME Harry is on the phone, smoking a cigar. His pajama top is unbuttoned, his hair is allover the place. His bed is a mess, laptop open, newspapers spilling onto the floor. Erica stands in the doorway. He quickly hides his cigar. HARRY -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Can you hold a see, doll? -LRB- looks to Erica. -RRB- Hey. ERICA Okay, here's the thing. I really do n't want to play the part of the uptight Nurse to your bad boy patient. If you want to have another heart attack, go ahead, it's your life but I have work to do and I do n't have time to make another run to the hospital because you're filling your already clogged arteries with smoke but more importantly, I'd rather not have my house smell like a pool hall. Erica holds out a partially filled water glass for Harry to deposit his cigar in. HARRY I have a question for you. She waits. She does n't say anything. ERICA What? Do I Hhave to say what? ARRY Have you always been like this or do I bring this out in you? She shakes the water glass, waiting for the deposit. He drops the cigar in. HARRY I do n't think I've ever had this effect on a woman before. ERICA -LRB- picking up the newspapers. -RRB- And what effect do you think you're having on me? HARRY I do n't quite recognize it, that's how I know I've never had it before. Erica rolls her eyes as she finishes cleaning up. HARRY So you do n't sleep? ERICA I only need about four hours a night. HARRY Me too. Never slept eight hours in my life. ERICA Me either. I wish I could. but. -LRB- re : curtains. -RRB- Want me to shut these, sun comes in pretty strong in the morning. HARRY Sure. thanks. ERICA -LRB- drawing the drapes. -RRB- Who you talking to at this hour? HARRY A friend in L.A. It's only ten out there. ERICA And that's not past her bedtime? HARRY So you do n't get more mellow as the hours pass? ERICA -LRB- heading out. -RRB- Good night, Harry. HARRY Can I ask you one other thing? -LRB- Erica turns. -RRB- What's with the turtlenecks? It's the middle of summer. ERICA Now seriously, why do you care what I wear? HARRY Just curious. ERICA I like them. I've always liked them. I'm just a turtleneck kinda gal. HARRY You ever get hot? ERICA No. HARRY Never? ERICA Not lately.", "INT. ERICA'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Almost TWO. Erica is writing, her eyes go to the phone with the typing paper over it. She LIFTS a corner of the paper, takes a peek. The one lit line GOES OUT. Finally. `` Erica turns off her computer, sits for a second. No one has rattled her cage like this in quite some time. And no, she does n't like it. She stands, starts to undress. ANGLE - THE FLOOR As Erica's TURTLENECK lands on it. Then her BRA, then her PANTS then her PANTIES. ERICA - NAKED - TIGHT SHOT She crosses through the room on her way to the Bathroom. She passes by her partially open door, happens to look out INTO HARRY - PLANTED RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER Seeing it all. ERICA - SCREAMS and DROPS OUT OF FRAME. HARRY flustered, spins around, loses his balance, crashes into the wall, covers his eyes. HARRY I'm sorry! Oh, God am I sorry. ERICA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What are you doing?!? HARRY Trying to find the kitchen! ERICA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Back here? HARRY I - I got confused! It was dark. I did n't really see anything. Just your tits and a little of your - Erica SLAMS HER DOOR. Photos on the wall shake. HARRY This is gon na be murder.", "INT. LIVING ROOM - THE NEXT MORNING A very wide MIDDLE AGED NURSE gruffly crosses thru the room toward the Front Door. Just as she opens the door, Erica ENTERS in hat, sunglasses, turtleneck, long skirt. Pretty much no skin is showing whatsoever. She carries a few packages. NURSE Good bye Mrs. Barry. ERICA Good bye? You're leaving? That's not good. NURSE Been fired. ERICA Fired? You just started. HARRY Not fired darlin'. Just not needed. Erica hardly looks at You Know Who who appears to be fresh out of the shower, wet hair, silk robe, bare chest and legs. ERICA What do you mean, not needed? Of course we need her. She's gon na take care of you and feed you and. HARRY - No, no, I'm actually feeling pretty perky today. Making quite a recovery. -LRB- opening the screen door. -RRB- Sorry for the trouble Mrs. Gimble. Take care, dear. Harry hands her a wad of bills like she's a Maitre'd. Mrs. Gimble gives Erica a look of pity as she exits. Erica, now alone with Harry, self - consciously adjusts her sunglasses. Harry, on the other hand, slips his hand onto his bare chest, pats it. HARRY Listen, about last night. ERICA Yeah. How ` bout we never talk about that? -LRB- hands him some pills. -RRB- I was at the drugstore. Your prescriptions were ready. They said take these two with food and this one without. HARRY Honestly, you were in silhouette. ERICA I think that's talkin' about it. HARRY I really did n't see all that much. ERICA -LRB- heading toward her room. -RRB- Yip. There you go. HARRY Okay. Wo n't mention it again but. ERICA -LRB- almost out of the room. -RRB- Goin' to work, Harry. HARRY -LRB- yells. -RRB- You saw my ass, you do n't see me acting nuts, wearing hats and glasses and weird get ups. The Sound of a DOOR SLAM. - Harry flinches.", "INT. HARRY'S BEDROOM Harry and Julian sit on the bed. Julian takes Harry's blood pressure. HARRY Yes or no. What's the deal, can I go? JULIAN You still getting dizzy? HARRY Not as much. JULIAN Out of breath? HARRY Only sometimes. JULIAN -LRB- listens with stethoscope. -RRB- How's Erica treating you? HARRY Who? JULIAN -LRB- nods toward Living Room. -RRB- Erica. HARRY Her? Oh, she's a major piece of work. The woman wears turtlenecks in the middle of the summer. HARRY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- She's beyond uptight. Almost makes her fun to be around. JULIAN Uptight? That's funny. I have n't noticed that. HARRY Try livin' with her. Julian takes Harry's pulse. HARRY -LRB- with secret glee. -RRB- I actually saw her naked last night. JULIAN That does n't sound so uptight. HARRY It was an accident. She thought I was asleep, I thought her room was the kitchen. JULIAN You know what Freud said - there are no accidents. HARRY Trust me. This was an accident. Although, why would she be walking around naked when she knows I'm 20 feet away. JULIAN Why would you think her bedroom was the kitchen? HARRY It was dark, it was two in the morning. JULIAN That could explain why she was walking around naked. Deep breath. HARRY You know I've never seen a woman that age naked before. JULIAN You're kidding? HARRY Hey, we're not all doctors. JULIAN Well, I think she's very beautiful and she's a fantastic writer, you know. HARRY No, I do n't know. JULIAN Erica Barry? She's pretty major. -LRB- writing a prescription. -RRB- So, you date her daughter? HARRY Okay, now she's a great chick. Must take after the father. Which reminds me. Doc, what. -LRB- about Mr. Midnight here? indicates his dick. -RRB- When can I be up and running in that department? JULIAN I think Mr. Midnight needs to stay put for another couple of weeks. HARRY But it wo n't kill me when I do it, right? JULIAN It's exercise. It'll be good for you. And just so you know, I'm told after a heart attack, if you can climb a flight of stairs, you can have sex. A LOW ANGLE OF A STAIRCASE Which goes from the beach up to Erica's deck. Harry stands at the bottom of the stairs in his robe, velvet slippers and sunglasses.' He looks up to the top of the stairs as if it's Mt. Everest. Bravely, he climbs the first few steps. Not bad. After two more, he's out of breath. Determined, he holds onto the railing and drags himself up to the next step. Happy with himself, he holds on for dear life and drags himself up one more. and then, he's so out of breath, he can barely move, yet he reaches up the railing and tries to hike himself up one more.", "INT. KITCHEN - SAME TIME The tea kettle WHISTLES as Erica and Julian stand on either side of her island. Erica reaches for a tea bag. ERICA So, you're saying, he's not ready to travel at all? Not even by plane? Train? JULIAN I do n't think so. -LRB- sees her disappointment. -RRB- It's been tough, huh? ERICA Well, he fired the Nurse after an hour, now says he does n't need one. He's a bit of a workout. yeah. JULIAN How are you holding up? ERICA Oh, fine. I'm fine, I'm. JULIAN One more fine and I wo n't believe you. The Phone RINGS. ERICA Oh, shoot, hold on. -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Hello. Hey. Oh, hi. ANGLE - JULIAN Smitten. Just something about her. Watching her. ANGLE - ERICA Not noticing, pouring water for her tea. ERICA -LRB- into phone. -RRB- No, I'm finally getting to it. Erica sees Julian sliding a slip of paper over to her. Looks over at it. It's a piece of paper from his prescription pad. On it is written. Have dinner with me tonight? Erica looks up at him. Stunned. J JULIAN -LRB- heading out. -RRB- Pick you up around seven? ERICA W - What about the patient? JULIAN Like he said, he does n't need a nurse. We begin to hear strains of another French song.", "INT. ERICA'S BEDROOM - LATE AFTERNOON - MUSIC OVER Erica at her desk, typing. The Music plays from the CD player. As much as she does n't want it to be true, this attention from Julian has fueled her. THE LIVING ROOM - SAME TIME - MUSIC OVER Harry, dressed for the first time, wearing khaki's and a summer shirt, strolls through the Living Room a bit cautious. HARRY -LRB- yells, warning - like. -RRB- I'm Walking Around The house! ERICA Laughs. Even she knows this is funny. Harry arrives at her open doorway, timidly pokes his head in. ERICA Listen, I've decided to get over the whole `` you saw me naked'' thing. So, we do n't have to deal with it anymore. Okay? HARRY Good,'cause I've been hiding from you all day. ERICA I know. You want to come in? HARRY I do n't want to break your rhythm or anything. ERICA That would be wishful thinking. Harry ENTERS cautiously and curiously. HARRY Beautiful painting. So I'm gon na venture out there and go for a short walk. ERICA You up to that? HARRY My doctor recommended it. I got ta build up to stairs and stuff like that. You would n't want to join me? ERICA That means you do n't want me to? HARRY No, I was asking if you wanted to. ERICA Oh, well, I would but. I do n't usually like to break once I've started writing so I probably should n't, not that a little fresh air would hurt but. HARRY It's just a walk Erica, not a marriage proposal. ERICA You know my name. HARRY Erica Jane Barry. I looked you up on the internet.", "EXT. BEACH - MOMENTS LATER - LATE.IN THE DAY Erica and Harry walk by the water's edge. They are the only two people on the beach. HARRY - Did you know there are over eight thousand websites that mention you? ERICA That ca n't be possible. HARRY No, it's true. I know everything about you now. And not because of last night, but. ERICA Yeah, I understood. I actually looked you up too. You grew up in L.A., which I thought nobody did. ERICA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You were the road manager for a group I sorta never heard of, started your own record label at 29, sold it at 45, then started buying and selling boutique companies then invested in a small record company which you turned into the 2nd largest Hip Hop label in the world. HARRY It's exhausting just hearing about it. ERICA I know, but the truth is, it goes fast does n't it? HARRY Like the blink of an eye. Erica bends down and picks up A FLAT WHITE STONE, then another and another. HARRY I noticed you have bowls of those all over your house. ERICA I know, I'm crazy, I just think they're so beautiful. HARRY But why do you only pick up the white ones? ERICA I do n't only pick up the white ones. HARRY Oh, so you really are crazy. ERICA I pick up only the white ones? -LRB- looks in her hand. -RRB- Oh, God, what does that mean? I'm controlling, unadventurous, what? HARRY So you're as hard on yourself as you are on everyone else. Erica is stunned that he caught on to that. Harry bends down, picks up a BROWN stone, places it in her palm among the white stones. HARRY Something to remember me by. Erica realizes she ca n't sum this guy up so easily or at all. ERICA So can I ask you something Harry? What's with all the young girls? I mean, what's the story there, really? HARRY I just like to travel light. ERICA You just like to travel light? Oh, please, what the hell does that mean? HARRY Now see a thirty year old gets that. ERICA You mean falls for that. HARRY I mean, accepts it. ERICA If that's what you want. a non threatening woman, who wo n't get your number, you get to run the show. HARRY I think our relationship is growing by the way. Have you noticed? There he goes again. She ca n't believe he's cute like this. HARRY I'm serious. Maybe we just needed to get out of the house. Now, you may notice, interestingly, we're walking back toward the house and its getting a little rocky again. ERICA Of course it's getting a little rocky, we're talking about you. HARRY See, I'll accept that slight hostility because I'm enjoying your company so much. They're reached the bottom of the beach stairs. Harry looks up, daunted. ERICA You okay? HARRY Yeah, but I think I'11 stay down here and watch the sunset. You interested? Erica checks her watch. HARRY Big dinner date? ERICA Well, yeah, as a matter of fact. With your doctor. HARRY Ohhhhh, my doctor,'cause he's not too young for you, huh? ERICA No, he's totally too young for me. But we're just having dinner. It's not a date. HARRY Does he know that? ERICA Well, I'll tell him, but I doubt that he thinks of it that way. HARRY I doubt that you doubt that. Anyway, you may like it. Think of it this way - he's not threatening, wo n't get your number, you get to run the show. You might have a hell of a time. Over, we HEAR, DING DONG. THAT NIGHT - THE FRONT DOOR - SWINGS OPEN And we find Julian. Looking just as any girl would hope. Dream Date. AND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR is Harry, in his robe and PJ's. JULIAN Hey, look who's answering the door. HARRY And look who's at the door. JULIAN Brought you something. Julian hands him a take - out food box. JULIAN A heart healthy dinner from our cafeteria. ERICA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Hello. Both guys turn at once. She looks beautiful, wearing a dress, probably the sexiest one she owns. No turtleneck tonight. Julian walks to her, kisses her on the cheek. JULIAN You look beautiful. ERICA Thank you. Behind Julian's back Harry gives Erica the ` OK' sign. ERICA -LRB- thrown. -RRB- We ready? JULIAN Let me just see how Harry's doing. It'll take two seconds. Har, have a seat. ANGLE - HARRY sitting, self - conscious in his new role - The Sick One. Julian takes his wrist, feels his pulse. Harry looks straight ahead. WHAT HE SEES - ERICA'S LEGS as she sits right in front of him. She crosses her legs and her dress hikes up a little, exposing her thigh. JULIAN furrows his brow. HARRY What? That's not the face you want to see your doctor making. JULIAN Your pulse is a little fast but maybe you're just excited about something. Harry LOOKS AT ERICA'S LEGS again. HARRY -LRB- quickly. -RRB- I do n't think so. I'm not excited about anything. Erica shifts, the hem of her skirt RISING even higher. JULIAN There it goes again. Racing. HARRY Doc. Impossible! Erica rises, leaving Harry's eye - line. JULIAN Oh, there we go, now I feel better. Back to normal. Harry winces then rises, looks to Erica as she throws a pashmina over her shoulders in SLOW MOTION. Harry rushes them OUT THE DOOR. HARRY Okay, all right, good, have fun, do n't rush back for me and do n't do anything I would n't do. ERICA Well that would n't leave us too many options would it? HARRY And do we wonder how she writes that snappy repartee. -LRB- whispers to Erica. -RRB- Let him pick up the check. It'll make him feel older. On Erica's shocked expression, the DOOR SLAMS.", "INT. LIVING ROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT - A BEN WEBSTER CD PLAYS Harry lies on the sofa. CAMERA MOVES UP Harry's body, past the hospital take out carton on his stomach and finally up to his face. As the CAMERA moves we HEAR : MARIN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Hi, it's Marin, I'm not in so leave a message and I'll call you back. HARRY Hey, it's me. just sitting around looking at your baby pictures. Thinking about you. He hangs up, dials another number. ANOTHER YOUNG WOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Hi and HI, you've reached Brooke and Shannon. For Brooke push one, for - Harry hangs up then slowly sits up, letting himself feel as funky as he wants. HARRY Everybody's out but old Har. Old, old old old Har. Harry rises dizzily, crosses to the bookshelves. He rummages around, finds ERICA'S SCRAPBOOK, pulls it out, randomly opens it, finds a photo of Erica in the 70's, wearing a turtleneck. Harry smiles.", "INT. ERICA'S BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER Harry wanders in with the scrapbook tucked under his arm. He notices a bowl filled with white beach stones. Harry's brown stone sits at the top of the pile. HARRY -LRB- complimented. -RRB- Top of the heap. CLOSE ON JULIAN Staring at Erica. He ca n't get enough of her. They're in a ROMANTIC SEASIDE RESTAURANT. And Erica's blushing for the first time in twenty - five years. ERICA - So, when the land came up, I snatched it and the house was built in record time and. -LRB- blushing to death. -RRB- It's like a thousand degrees in here. JULIAN You know, they say doctors fall for people who need rescuing, that we have a need to take care of someone. ERICA Really? I never heard that one. -LRB- starts fanning herself with the menu. -RRB- Julian, how old are you, like. JULIAN - Thirty - three. ERICA Thirty - three. - Okay, so, I'm twenty years older than you. More than twenty years older than you. JULIAN You look fabulous. ERICA Thank you but you know, I'm not sure where you were headed with that thing you were just saying, but in terms of us, you just want to be friends, right? JULIAN Honestly? No. ERICA Well, then, what is it that you. want to be? JULIAN I think I'd embarrass you if I told you. ERICA I was embarrassed just getting dressed to see you. JULIAN This may surprise you but some women consider me quite the guy. I've never been married. I'm a doctor. You would n't believe what catnip that is for some women. ERICA Oh yes I would. But, you do n't like girls your own age? JULIAN I do very much. But I've never met one I've taken to quite like this and when something happens to you that's never happened to you before, do n't you have to at least find out what it is? ERICA I suppose but, see, I do n't date all that much or all that well. JULIAN Oh, come on, you must beat them away with a stick. ERICA Now you're kidding, right? No, guys my age, the ones I've met. well, I'm not that regular a person and they really like regular. JULIAN Men your age may be really stupid, you ever think of that? -LRB- takes her hand. -RRB- ERICA Yes I have. Many times. JULIAN -LRB- looks from her hand to her eyes. -RRB- There's something radically wrong with the idea that no one loves you. Ow. Right to the middle of her shoulder, then her neck. Julian kisses her palm, then her. JULIAN I knew you'd smell good. ERICA It's just. soap. JULIAN How much is soap that smells like this? ERICA I do n't know. I got it at the market. JULIAN Erica, you're incredibly sexy. ERICA No, swear to God, I'm not. MEANWHILE, HARRY IS SOUND ASLEEP ON ERICA'S BED Her scrapbook open against his chest. We HEAR the SOUND OF ACAR pulling up to the house. Harry wakes up. Oh shit. He leaps out of bed, this is the fastest he's moved in days. A bit disoriented, he straightens the covers, looks around for other evidence then hightails it out of there.", "INT. LIVING ROOM - A MOMENT LATER Erica enters, letting out a huge sigh. She's brought back to reality when she hears the TV in Harry's room. She heads his way, then changes her mind and stops. ERICA -LRB- yells. -RRB- I'm back. HARRY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You have fun? ERICA It was interesting. So. Good night.", "INT. HARRY'S ROOM - SAME TIME Harry's in bed, clearly disappointed that she did n't stop in. HARRY -LRB- yells. -RRB- ` Night.", "INT. ERICA'S BEDROOM - LATER Erica, in pj's and glasses, sits at her laptop, writing. She hears the CHIME of someone INSTANT MESSENGERING HER. It a message from HARRYL37. It says : What R U doing? We go BACK AND FORTH between their TWO ROOMS. She answers : Writing. Hi. What R U doing? He writes : Watching Joan Rivers sell jewelry. Erica laughs when he adds : So was your date a date? She types : I think so. He types : I told ya. -LRB- then -RRB- You hungry? Surprised, she types : I just had dinner. He writes : Yeah, but women never eat on dates. ERICA -LRB- to herself. -RRB- How does he know everything! She hesitates then types : Actually am a little hungry but, I'm in my pjs. He writes : Me too. Pajama party? SHE stares at the screen biting her lip. HE does the same. Erica rises, LOOKS IN THE MIRROR, checks out her boobs in her pajamas. They look so low. She opens a drawer, rifles through it, takes out a bra, takes out a better bra. IN HIS BATHROOM, Harry fixes his hair, tries to make more of it than he has. Erica now wearing a bra under he pajamas, checks out her boobs again. Better. She adjusts the straps. Lifts them higher.", "INT. LIVING ROOM Erica and Harry ENTER FROM OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE ROOM, both in their pajamas. HARRY We are cute. ERICA This is pretty unusual for me. I'm not used to having sleepovers. HARRY Me either. ERICA Really? With your social life? HARRY My, dear, you are confusing sex with sleeping. Sleeping is something I prefer to do alone. ERICA Okay, good to know. -LRB- heading for the kitchen. -RRB- So, what are you hungry for? HARRY -LRB- joining her. -RRB- What are my choices? I mean I know you think I'm not very discriminating but. She looks through the fridge. ERICA Oh, God, what's the difference what I think. I ca n't imagine what you think of me. Okay, so. Pasta, left over coq au vin, turkey sandwich or grilled cheese. HARRY Pancakes. ERICA Totally what I wanted. Blueberries? HARRY You ever miss being married? I bet you were great at it. ERICA Sometimes I miss it. At night. But not that much anymore. Was one of us just saying something interesting? HARRY You said you ca n't imagine what I think of you. ERICA Oh, right, but you do n't have to answer that. HARRY Okay. ERICA I mean, if you had an opinion, I'd be curious but.' HARRY will you tell me first why you only miss being married at night? ERICA -LRB- cracking eggs. -RRB- Oh,'cause the phone does n't ring as much at night and the `` alone'' thing happens at night and sleeping by myself took some getting used to. But I got the hang of it. You got ta sleep in the middle of the bed. It's absolutely not healthy to have a side when no one has the other side. She starts mixing the batter. HARRY Okay, now I'm convinced what I think of you is right. -LRB- Erica waits. -RRB- You are a tower of strength. ERICA -LRB- shoulders sagging. -RRB- Ughhhhhhhhhh. HARRY Try not to rate my answer. ERICA I'm sorry. It's just. I'm sorry. HARRY You're like a thoroughbred in a world of mutts. No, you know what you are, you're like a great portrait over a fireplace. Words have been invented to describe women like you. ERICA -LRB- fearful. -RRB- Such as? HARRY Flinty and. Impervious. ERICA So you think I'm inhuman. HARRY No. I think you're formidable. ERICA But cold and distant. Like I'm frozen in some painting. HARRY Not at all. I think you're strength defines you. -LRB- sees how sensitive she is. -RRB- But it's thrilling when your defenses are down arid you're not isolated. That, I believe, is your winning combo. A killer combo actually. ERICA So I ca n't decide if you hate me or if maybe you're the only person who ever got me. HARRY I do n't hate you. The moment is broken when they HEAR the FRONT DOOR OPEN and HIGH HEELS APPROACHING. ERICA Hello? Marin ARRIVES IN THE DOORWAY in a knockout of a dress holding a bag from Zabars. She looks fresh, vibrant, sexy. MARIN Room service! ERICA What are you doing here at this hour? Erica and Harry have the air of kids caught making out by one of their parents. Harry straightens out his pajamas, smooths down his hair. Erica catches all this. MARIN -LRB- enters, kisses Erica. -RRB- I had this big photography auction tonight, then I went out with a bunch of people, I checked my messages and got this so sad message from Harry so bored out here. I thought I should come out and at least see how he was doing. -LRB- kisses Harry on the cheek. -RRB- Thank you for the gorgeous flowers by the way. They were so huge. Erica nods to herself. Oh, God, he sends them all flowers. Harry notes Erica's reaction. MARIN So how are you guys? -LRB- sets down the Zabar's bag. -RRB- Oh, this is too sweet. You're making pancakes? Awwww. And you're both in your pj's. Now I feel I'm interrupting. ERICA Do n't be silly. You know I never sleep and this one does n't sleep either. It's. What's in the bag? MARIN -LRB- reaches into the bag. -RRB- A quart of matzoh ball soup for Harry. I know it's not the remedy for heart problems but it is low cholesterol. ERICA -LRB- hating to correct her. -RRB- But high sodium. MARIN Oh, sorry. Stupid. For Mom, your favorite raisin - bread. And for me. -LRB- reaches into the bag. -RRB- My favorite Vodka. Marin's cell phone RINGS. MARIN -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Hello? No I'm here, babe. Made record time. Everyone's still there? Erica feeling suddenly frumpy, fixes her hair. Harry watches her. She catches him and shrugs. Marin flips her phone shut and tosses it in her purse. ERICA So, Mar, now that you're here, why do n't you finish the pancakes and I'll get back to work. MARIN Mom! I just got here, hold on. She pours a healthy Vodka into a glass, grabs some ice. MARIN So your ex - husband stood me up today. We were supposed to have lunch at Barneys. He never showed up. Was he always like this? ERICA Honey, I do n't know. MARIN This is what happens after a couple gets divorced, the kid inherits all the problems. Not that I'm a kid. -LRB- then to Harry, the flirt in her coming back. -RRB- So how are you, how do you feel? When can you go home? Just as harry is about to answer, Marin's cell RINGS. She picks it up, looks at her caller ID, throws it back in her bag. ERICA I really am gon na do a little work. you two catch up. and just flip these Hin like two seconds. ARRY You do n't want pancakes anymore? ERICA I, uh, I do n't think I. I. -LRB- looks at Marin so. -RRB- gorgeous, next to him No. I do n't. Marin watches her mother EXIT then looks to Harry, his eyes following her Mom out the door. She's sees a look on Harry's face she never remotely saw when he looked at her. At first she's shocked. He likes my mother? Then a flash of jealousy. He likes my mother! ?! Then pure joy - realizing how perfect it is.", "INT. BRIDGEHAMPTON GENERAL STORE - DAY Erica, back in a turtleneck, picks peaches out of a basket. Marin ENTERS HER FRAME, baseball cap, sunglasses, picking cherries. MARIN I'm breaking up with Harry. ERICA Why? What do you mean? MARIN'Cause I met someone else. ERICA In the two days you've been gone? MARIN You know me, my life's crazy. I meet a thousand people everyday. Also, let's face it, the guy's insanely old for me. I'd be nuts to keep this going. ERICA True, but you know he is. MARIN - I know. He's soulful when you do n't expect it, right? ERICA It's unnerving. MARIN Now, Mom, if you could handle this, I was thinking. you and Harry. ERICA I ca n't handle it. Would n't want to handle it. MARIN But you're only saying that'cause you think he and I have had sex. ERICA Yes. Lower your voice. Have n't you? MARIN -LRB- whispering. -RRB- Never even got close. Swear to God. -LRB- Erica digests this. -RRB- Just puttin' that out there.'cause for two people who are convinced they got life beat, there's was somethin' cooking in the kitchen last night other than pancakes.", "INT. ERICA'S KITCHEN Erica looks out her KITCHEN WINDOW and SEES Marin and Harry TALKING ON THE BEACH. She leans so far to see them, she's about to lose her balance. The Phone RINGS, she reaches for it and slips right Out Of Frame. ERICA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Hello.", "INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR Julian, in his scrubs, walks quickly down a hallway of the ER, on his CELL PHONE. JULIAN I've waited a reasonable amount of hours before calling you, even though you've been on my mind since I woke up at 5:15. I'm wondering when we could have dinner again? I have to work the next few nights and if we wait'til next week, I know you'll chicken out so how's Friday? I know it's like a date night but I think that's good. ERICA Who is this? Julian stops short. ERICA I'm kidding! JULIAN Can you meet me at The Grill at eight? ERICA Okay. Yes. That's seems fine. JULIAN I look forward to, seeing you too. Erica smiles to herself. ON JULIAN - AS HE LEANS AGAINST A WALL turning off the phone and grabbing his heart", "INT. ERICA'S KITCHEN Marin ENTERS through the kitchen door, looking almost a little dazed. MARIN Okay, he's all yours. ERICA Stop that. How'd he take it? MARIN He just took care of it for me ; He was an ace. Elegant. Said our fate was to be friends. Oh my God. -LRB- realizes something. -RRB- He was breaking up with me. He's a genius. ERICA That's impossible, he would n't. MARIN It does n't matter, we're done and we both feel good about it. -LRB- hugs her. -RRB- I got ta get back. -LRB- as she exits. -RRB- Now Erica, try to think of this as the smartest thing you've ever done for yourself. Marin EXITS and the PHONE RINGS. ERICA -LRB- into the phone. -RRB- Hello. HARRY -LRB- from the beach. -RRB- Thought you'd like to know your daughter broke up with me. Harry and Erica talk while looking at each other through the Kitchen Window. ERICA I heard. HARRY Made up a story about meeting another guy. Guess I was n't so cute with an IV in my arm. ERICA No, I think she really did meet someone else. HARRY Hey, it's alright. Her mother did n't like me anyway. ERICA -LRB- smiles. -RRB- How ` bout I bring you out some lunch and a couple of blood pressure pills? HARRY You're a great woman, Erica. -LRB- Erica relaxes. -RRB- Is this why my doctor is falling in love with you? THE BEACH - MUSIC OVER Erica and Harry sit on a blanket on a cloudy day having a picnic lunch. Harry is telling Erica a story and she screams with laughter. BROWN STONES IN THE SAND - MUSIC CONTINUES Erica picks them up as.she walks with Harry by the water's edge. They talk non - stop. A LITTLE LATER - LIGHTNING STREAKS THE SKY Out of nowhere, a downpour. Erica and Harry gather their picnic things. The blanket starts to fly and Harry grabs it as Erica runs after a plate spinning away in the wind.", "INT. LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER Erica and Harry, wet from the rain, quickly shut all the doors and windows. Lightning crackles across the sky and THE LIGHTS IN THE HOUSE GO OUT. A MATCH IS STRUCK and a CANDLE is lit. Then ANOTHER ONE, and ANOTHER ONE. Erica turns and finds Harry just looking at her. Before either of them has time to think, they kiss. ERICA I'm sorry. HARRY -LRB- truly confused. -RRB- For what? ERICA I just kissed you. HARRY No, honey, I kissed you. Relieyed, Erica kisses him. ERICA I know that one was me. HARRY Try not to keep score. He kisses her again and again. HARRY Soft lips. ERICA I'm so glad they still work. I have n't used them for kissing in so long. They've been more like for wearing lipstick and whistling and. He kisses her quiet. Relieved, she finally fully kisses him back. A big gorgeo ~ s kiss. HARRY Well, well, now look who's got something that works. They both look down at Harry. Hello, Mr. Midnight. ERICA And you did n't even take Via - HARRY -LRB- puts his finger on her lips. -RRB- Kiss me before you make it go away. She kisses him long and sweet. ERICA'S BED They're kissing on it. The rain pelts against the windows as the sun goes down. HARRY This could be world class interesting. -LRB- Erica nods. -RRB- Having any doubts? ERICA -LRB- as they kiss. -RRB- Yes. HARRY Me too. ERICA But so far the kissing is spectacular. -LRB- He looks at her. -RRB- I'm not grading you, just mentioning it. Brilliant. He tries to kiss her neck but the turtleneck is in the way. He pulls it down, but it's tight and it's, difficult to get to her. HARRY Ca n't get past your damn turtleneck. He tries lifting the shirt from the bottom, it's awkward, he does n't want to be down there yet. He comes back up when Erica reaches to her night table, slides opens the drawer, takes out a SCISSORS and hands it to him. ERICA -LRB- breathless. -RRB- Cut it off. Please. What a brilliant invitation. He takes the scissors and starts cutting from the bottom, right past her belly, up her torso, between her breasts. The turtleneck falls open from the center. When he reaches her neck, he gently tears at it and it easily rips apart and there she is. He takes her in. HARRY You're beautiful. She shakes her head, ` no'. shuts her eyes. HARRY Open your eyes so I know you can hear me. -LRB- she opens her eyes. -RRB- Beautiful. They kiss and she reaches down for his pants. HARRY What about birth control? ERICA Menopause. HARRY -LRB- thrilled. -RRB- Who's the lucky boy. He kisses between her breasts, her stomach, heads down and OUT OF FRAME. Erica ca n't quite believe life held this twist for her. Then :, ERICA I think we should take your blood pressure. His head POPS BACK INTO FRAME. What? ERICA It's irresponsible not to. HARRY -' A MINUTE LATER sprawled out on the bed. Erica straddles him and whips the blood pressure cuff on his arm and pumps it hard. Like a warm Jewish Mother of a Dominatrix. He looks up at her, shaking his head. HARRY Nobody but you would. ERICA Yeah. so you're lucky. Erica grabs Harry's glasses, reads the results. ERICA -LRB- ecstatic. -RRB- One twenty over eighty! Baby! THE BLOOD PRESSURE CUFF - IN SLOW MOTION hurdles recklessly into the air.", "EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT - LATER The rain is coming down in torrents. INSIDE We are CLOSE ON ERICA'S FACE - UPSIDE DOWN, hanging off the side of the bed. She's sweaty, flushed, overwhelmed. ERICA Oh my God, I do like sex. CAMERA TWIRLS AROUND and we FIND HARRY, sprawled nearby, catching his breath, satisfied, stunned, scared. HARRY You certainly do. Erica arrives next to him, also out of breath. ERICA Wow. So this is what you're supposed to do on a rainy afternoon. Harry smiles. He's trying to be his debonair self but something's off. He's very aware of himself. They lie there quietly for a second when Erica begins to tear up. Harry slowly, nervously turns to her. ERICA I really thought I was sorta closed for business. Just never expected this. HARRY -LRB- nods. -RRB- Nothin's ever surprised me more. Flattered, Erica snuggles up close. Harry puts his arm around her. Then, with no warning, his eyes fill with tears. HARRY This is crazy. I ca n't remember the last time I cried. I think I'm overwhelmed. ERICA -LRB- crying with him. -RRB- Me too. That's the perfect word. HARRY Baby, I had sex three days after a heart attack and I did n't die! Erica pauses. Oh. That kind of overwhelmed. HARRY That's got ta be some kind of record. Good sport Erica gives him a double thumbs up. ERICA -LRB- wiping her tears. -RRB- Let's not brag about this to our doctor, okay? HARRY Honey I may not be many things but one - thing I am is a gentleman. Harry holds her close. HARRY Erica, Erica, Erica. -LRB- she turns to him. -RRB- You know I'm not good at being monogamous, right? ERICA Monogamous? Please, I hardly know you. He looks at her wondering if she's for real. She smiles as she wipes a small tear from the corner of her eye. Then he kisses her. LATER - THEY'RE HUDDLED UNDER THE COVERS Cozy. Candles light the room. It's still raining. HARRY - So there I was at nineteen, in New York, by myself, and I'd never seen snow before and I did n't have enough money for the bus, so I had to walk. Had no idea how far it was and I'm talking blizzard and I'm in sneakers. ERICA Awwwww,. LATER - THEY'RE LYING ON A CHAISE in Erica's room, making out. A Cell Phone RINGS. They both look around for it. Erica reaches for it on her desk. ERICA -LRB- disoriented. -RRB- Hello? I mean. Hello. -LRB- turns phone upside down. -RRB- Hello. INTERCUT WITH MARIN IN A TAXI IN THE CITY - IT'S POURING MARIN Mom, you guys okay out there? ERICA We're fine. Why? What's going on? MARIN What do you mean, it's like a hurricane. The news said the winds are like a zillion miles an hour. ERICA Oh, that. Oh, no, we're fine. MARIN Are you having sex? Tell the truth. You are, are n't you. ERICA Absolutely not. No. That is not going on now. MARIN Oh my God, you already did it. Was it amazing? ERICA I have to go. MARIN Just tell me, was it amazing? ERICA Yes and thank you for the wonderful opportunity. Marin SCREAMMMMMMMMMMMS. Erica flips the phone shut, looks to Harry, embarassed. ERICA -LRB- to Harry. -RRB- Am I interested in buying aluminum siding. HARRY Really? Marin's selling aluminum siding? Erica buries her face in his chest. LATER Harry and Erica SIT ON STOOLS AT THE KITCHEN ISLAND, drinking wine and eating scrambled eggs right out of the pan. Candles light the room. HARRY - But why Paris? ERICA I just always wanted to write a play that ended there. ERICA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- People need romance like that. And if someone like me does n't write it, where they gon na get it? Real life? HARRY -LRB- slightly insulted. -RRB- Excuse me. What do you call this? Eating eggs by candlelight in our robes after. She kisses him, starts to say, `` I'm sorry'' when he pulls her back, kisses her again, then looks at her hard, perplexed. CLIMBING BACK UNDER THE COVERS HARRY So where do you like to eat in Paris? E RICA Oh, I love this place called Le Balzar, it's just a little bistro on the Left Bank, best roast chicken in the universe. HARRY You'd be fun to go to Paris with. ERICA It's a great city to stay up all night in. -LRB- then. -RRB- When's your birthday? HARRY February. ERICA Mine's in January. So, how ` bout if we still know each other by then we go to Paris for our birthdays. HARRY -LRB- a beat, then. -RRB- Maybe. ERICA Oh. Sorry. You just. -LRB- sees the look on his face. -RRB-. I have no idea how to do this. be intimate but not. The color is draining from your face. Okay, look, I'm gon na pee, take one of your blood pressure pills then when I get back, let's not talk anymore. She gets out of bed. HARRY You're the funniest girl I ever had sex with. She has no idea how to take that. Decides to accept it. ERICA That's somethin'. HARRY Honey? She turns, sees he's getting out of bed, approaching her. HARRY I think I'm gon na go back to my room. let you sleep. ERICA Let me sleep? Oh, right. you usually send the girls home. but I am home. so. okay. HARRY I'm an old dog, you' know. ERICA Hey, it's perfectly. whatever. Good night. This was. This was a great night. For me. HARRY Me too. At one point I even thought soul mates, you know. Erica nods. She knows. HARRY FLOPS ONTO HIS BED stares straight up at the ceiling.", "INT. ERICA'S ROOM - SAME TIME Erica gets back in her bed. She lies there for a second, securing her armor back in place. She routinely moves to the middle of the bed, neatens out the covers and shuts her eyes. Then a small KNOCK on her open door. She sees Harry in the doorway. HARRY I'd like to try sleeping with you. Erica hesitates, then moves to one side of the bed and as Harry climbs in next to her we :", "EXT. HOUSE - THE FOLLOWING MORNING The place is a mess, the aftermath of the storm.", "INT. ERICA'S BEDROOM - THE SAME TIME Harry spoons with Erica on her side of ` the bed, his arms snuggly around her. The ELECTRICITY POPS BAGK ON and the room is suddenly lit up and one of Erica's French CDs comes on full blast. Harry opens his eyes. He's surprised to see he has his arm around her. Erica awakens just as surprised. In the light of day, a definite hint of embarrassment. HARRY -LRB- grabs his watch, blinks. -RRB- Can you see this? ERICA Not really but it looks like it says eleven. HARRY -LRB- slips on his glasses. -RRB- It is eleven. ERICA It ca n't be, that would mean we slept eight hours. HARRY Impossible. They turn and finally look at each other. Both look wrinkled, messy haired, a little wiped. HARRY How ya doin' Ace? -LRB- she, elts as he lies right back down. -RRB- Whoa Nelly. little dizzy. ERICA Okay, just stay still, here's the clicker. You know you have a doctor's appointmQnt in an hour. -LRB- getting out of bed. -RRB- -LRB- MORE. -RRB- ERICA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'll make us some coffee, get you your pills, whip us up some french toast, I have, the best maple syrup ever.' HARRY Erica. -LRB- she turns. -RRB- You are a woman to love. Erica smiles, then walks away with the achey walk of a woman who has n't had sex in many a year but has more than made up for it in the last 12 hours. She holds onto the wall as she exits the room, a little bow - legged, like she's just gotten off a horse. Alone in the hallway, she stops. ERICA You are woman to love. What the hell does that mean? AN EKG MACHINE Spits out a long tape. TILT UP to Julian at the end of the tape. Harry sits on an examining table in JULIAN'S OFFICE, buttoning up his shirt. JULIAN Okay, buddy, I'm sending you home. These past few days have done wonders for you. HARRY Yeah, I've been working on that stair thing. I can do it by the way. JULIAN Do what? HARRY -LRB- quickly. -RRB- Climb a flight of stairs. Several times actually. Harry stands, tucks in his shirt, smiling proudly to himself. JULIAN Way to go. How's Erica? HARRY -LRB- caught. -RRB- Erica? JULIAN I know you must know her name by now. HARRY Yes, I do. Erica, as it turns out is an amazing woman. Does whatever she can to make me happy. Really. Turns out she's very giving. Julian, suddenly riveted to these words. HARRY Very giving. JULIAN -LRB- looking away. -RRB- Yeah, well that's wonderful. I think she's wonderful. A real moment between them. Julian decides to take the high road. HARRY I think she's wonderful too. JULIAN -LRB- gathering his things. -RRB- Give her my best. HARRY Julian. Thanks for everything. Julian shakes Harry's hand. Harry's eyes TEAR UP. JULIAN You're gon na be okay. HARRY -LRB- touching his tears. -RRB- What the? This is the second time I've done this now. I get overcome or something. JULIAN It's very common to become emotional after having an episode like you've had. Everything takes on a new meaning. HARRY -LRB- wiping his tears. -RRB- So it's not crazy for a man to do something entirely out of character after having a heart attack? JULIAN -LRB- handing him Kleenex. -RRB- Like crying? HARRY Yeah and totally changing their tastes. Like suddenly really liking something they never thought they could like. ever. and I'm talking really liking it. It's. unnerving. JULIAN I think you can expect just about anything right now. People have done some wild things after having a heart attack. selling businesses, getting divorced, moving. Some people say it saved their lives. HARRY But most people go back to being themselves, right? I'll go back to being me, wo n't I? JULIAN We'll see. ERICA - TYPING - HER PHONE RINGS She wears a blouse with more buttons unbuttoned than ever in her life. She picks up the phone. HARRY DRIVES ERICA'S CAR, TOP DOWN. HARRY -LRB- on his cell. -RRB- Hi. ERICA Hey. What'd he say? HARRY He said you're wonderful. ERICA No, really, what'd he say. How are you? HARRY He said I'm good. that I can go. . ERICA ERICA says. -LRB- obviously conflicted. -RRB- Oh. So. Congratulations. That's really. great. HARRY Yeah, he said. by tomorrow for absolute sure. You think you can deal with me for one more night? A CROWDED CLUB - SOUTHAMPTON - THAT NIGHT Packed with Young People. In the middle of this twentysomething sun burnt beach crowd, we find, Erica and Harry, the two coolest people in the room, dancing with each other. A LITTLE ` LATER - THE KARAOKE ROOM Harry leads Erica through a crowd listening to a Girl singing Britney Spears' Oops, I Did It Again. When she finishes the crowd enthusiastically applauds. HARRY -LRB- big breath. -RRB- Okay, here goes. ERICA Here goes what? HARRY Here goes me singing to you. -LRB- pulling a DISC out of his pocket. -RRB- Bought my own music. ERICA You knew they had karaoke? HARRY Baby, it's why we're here. Harry makes his way TO THE STAGE, hands them his disc. He's handed a microphone. He looks right at Erica. HARRY This is for you, Ace. -LRB- then, under his breath. -RRB- wish me luck. The Music begins and it is an instrumental version of one of Erica's French Songs, `` I Wish You Love''. HARRY -LRB- sings. -RRB- I wish you bluebirds in the spring. To Give your heart a song to sing. And then a kiss, but more than this. I wish you love. Harry takes out a sheet of paper and his glasses. HARRY Do n't want to blow this part. Now Harry sings the rest of the song IN FRENCH. HARRY -LRB- sings. -RRB- Et en juillet une limonade. Pour vous refroidir dans quelque lefy glade. And so on. Erica watches knowing something in her life has just that second, forever changed. And as Harry continues singing, we : LOWELL - THE NEXT DAY Packing the Trunk of the Town Car in front of Erica's house.", "INT. HARRY'S ROOM - SAME TIME Harry tosses his pills in a leather bag. Erica enters doing the worst job she's ever done of being strong. ERICA -LRB- holding some cigars. -RRB- Here you go, you can have these back now. -LRB- Harry looks confused. -RRB- I confiscated them your first night here. HARRY -LRB- smells them. -RRB- Thank you darlin'. ERICA Try not to smoke them. -LRB- hands him a small bag. -RRB- And I packed you a sandwich, just in case your blood sugar got low. And some of that iced - tea you like, and a nonfat, low cholesterol cookie. And a peach. HARRY what a doll. -LRB- notices. -RRB- Got something else? From behind her back Erica pulls out a Mason Jar filled with all dark beach stones with ONE WHITE STONE in the center. ERICA Something to remember me by. Harry hugs her. Erica awkwardly throws her arms around him and kisses him, then kisses him better. He's moved by her. HARRY There is that. ERICA And hey, we'll always have Paris. HARRY Honey, no words can ever express my gratitude for taking me in and taking care of me and. ERICA Hey, your heart attack could be the best thing that ever happened to me. HARRY -LRB- kisses her quickly, even faster throws out. -RRB- I love ya. ERICA I love you too. if that's what you said. I do n't know if it ends in ` ya' if it's an official I love you but. Harry expression looks something like he's in pain. Then. HARRY You're not like anybody. ERICA Neither are you.", "INT. CAR - MOVING AWAY FROM THE HOUSE - DAY Lowell drives, rattling on about all the people who have been calling about him. Harry, in the backseat, looks back at the house, until it is finally out of view. Harry then looks inside the bag with the sandwich and finds an Envelope from Erica, pulls it out, does n't open it, places it back in the bag then takes out his cell phone and dials.", "INT. ERICA'S LIVING ROOM - SAME TIME - OVER, THE PHONE RINGS The room is empty. Erica rushes in, picks up the phone. ERICA I knew you'd call. MARIN - WALKING IN SOHO on her cell phone, CRYING. MARIN Who? It's me. INTERCUT ERICA What's wrong? MARIN I had breakfast with Dad this morning and we're talking and he starts looking all weir ~ and then he tells me he met someone three weeks ago and it's `` really something and then he. -LRB- sobbing now. -RRB- He tells me he's getting married. Why am I reacting this way? I'm almost thirty years old. -LRB- people stare at her. -RRB- Yes, I'm crying, leave me alone. ERICA Who's he marrying? MARIN I do n't know. Some chick he met three weeks ago. She's four years older than me and she's an Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor. Has he lost his mind? I have a huge auction tonight. Why do I have to be the one to deal with this? Can you please come in? I'm rea : ~ y upset, my shrink' ~ away for two weeks. I know you're working but. please? AN UPPER EAST SIDE STREET - A LITTLE LATER One of those gorgeous tree lined streets from a Woody Allen movie that makes New York seem quaint. Harry's Town Car pulls up in front of a GORGEOUS PRISTINE TOWNHOUSE. Harry steps out in shades, holding an unlit cigar. Lowell joins him as the Front Door opens and out pours his Two Leggy Assistants and thumping Hip Hop Music. LOWELL Good to be back? HARRY Let's find out.", "EXT. ERICA'S HOUSE - LATER Camera quickly TRACKS Erica down the front path and to her car. She's on her cell. ERICA Hold on, I'm losing you. Okay, so you'll let Harry know I'll be. in the city tonight and he can reach me on my cell. if he wants. Okay? Aw shit. Hello?", "EXT. SOTHEBY'S AUCTION HOUSE - THAT NIGHT A Crowd files in for tonight's auction.", "INT. BACKSTAGE DRESSING ROOM - SAME TIME A tearful Marin is changing from jeans and a T - shirt to a proper dress and heels. Erica leans on a table, listening. MARIN - Look, I get that he has a right to get remarried, but he does n't even know her and she's like my age. You know what that's like? It's like beyond creepy. And I know he's not replacing me so why does it feel like he is? This is crazy, right? Crying like this. -LRB- lights a cigarette. -RRB- ERICA Honey, if he's replacing anyone, it's me. And all the statistics say divorced men almost always remarry. That's just the way they're built. MARIN -LRB- slipping on her dress. -RRB- Mom, you want to know the answer to the big mystery of my life? Why I'm always with the wrong guy? This is why. Because the wrong guy ca n't do this to you. You have some control with the wrong guy. This thing I'm feeling right now. This is my big fear. that some guy could get me unglued like this, like nothing's connected. And this is just my father! I'm just not strong enough to handle this kind of drama. ERICA The drama in life is what makes you strong. MARIN No, it's what makes you strong. You've never really understood this, but we're not all like you. MARIN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm sorry, if I were you and my ex husband, the man who I still allow to direct my plays! was getting married to some 33 year old Ear, Nose and Throat Babe, I'd be bonkers. And look at you. -LRB- realizes. -RRB- You've never looked better, by the way. -LRB- sinks. -RRB- My anti - depressant is obviously not working. It should cover events like this should n't it? ERICA Since when do you take an antidepressant? MARIN Ugggh, mother, do you know anyone who does n't? ERICA Yes. Me. MARIN I rest my case. A KNOCK on the door. VOICE FROM OUTSIDE Marin, we're all set. MARIN Mom, can you do one other really big thing for me? Just say yes. ERICA -LRB- taking two Turns. -RRB- Anything bubee. MARIN Will you come out to dinner tonight with me and Dad and the fiance? ERICA Absolutely not. No. MARIN Please. He wants me to meet her and I can not go alone. I already asked him if you could come and he said it was fine and she said it was fine. Look, you're gon na have to meet her too, so, we might as well meet her together. Come on, you know you can handle it. Erica pauses, thinks M about it. She knows she can too. She knows she can too. says. ARIN Okay. That's it. See that look on your face. That's the gene I did n't get.", "INT. SOTHEBY' S - MOMENTS LATER Marin, now all pulled together, stands at the podium in front of a packed house. If' you did n't know, you'd never guess. MARIN Good evening and welcome to Sotheby's and this evening's sale of Impressionistic and Modern Art. Bidders should know that the auctioneer may open bidding on any lot below the reserve by placing a bid on behalf of the seller. Okay. Let's start with Lot I, the Bonnard drawing. And $ 5.000 starting with my bidders, $ 5000 is bid, 5500, 6000, 6500 is mine, 7000 gentleman's bid, 7500 is here, 8000 on the phone. ON ERICA in the back of the room, watching with pride and worry. She slips out her cell, checks her messages. Her phone lights up and tells her she has `` 0'' Voice Mail. A CLOCK ON THE WALL - IT'S 8:30 We are in ERICA'S EMPTY KITCHEN in The Hamptons and her phone is RINGING. ANGLE - A CELL PHONE as A Man's HAND turns it off. We are :", "INT. HAMPTON'S RESTAURANT Julian sits at a table, by himself, in a coat and tie, tucking away his phone. The Waiter sympathetically approaches the table. JULIAN Guess I got stood up. WAITER Would you like to order or? JULIAN Why not, I put. on the tie and everything. And can you bring me another. -LRB- indicating his drink. -RRB- Julian takes a look at the menu, then looks away. TWO DINNER PLATES ARE CARRIED THROUGH THE RESTAURANT and as the CAMERA WIDENS we realize we are : IN A CHIC CAFE IN MANHATTAN - LATER THAT NIGHT Camera takes us to Erica, Marin, Dave and DAVE'S FIANCE, KRISTEN, a combo of a hot tie and a young professional. Everyone has menus and drinks. A Waiter delivers two new Martinis for Marin and Erica. They both go right for them. Erica drinks too much too fast. D AVE -LRB- to Erica. -RRB- Thirsty? ERICA I've had a big week Dave, forgot how these slip right down. I'm fine. So, Kristen, where'd you go to. -LRB- burps. -RRB- - medical school? Excuse me. KRISTEN University of Pennsylvania. ERICA I went to school in Philadelphia too. DAVE Bryn Mawr girl. KRISTEN That's amazing. My Mom went to Bryn Mawr. MARIN Wow. So not only are you marrying my father but our mothers went to the same college. Marin takes out a pack of cigarettes. MARIN Anyone mind? KRISTEN Actually I do. MARIN Okay, I'll just. have one. -LRB- lights up. -RRB- So, this is n't going badly so far is it? I mean for a totally surreal situation like this. DAVE Shall we order? KRISTEN Absolutely. DAVE -LRB- peruses menu. -RRB- Erica, do I like duck? ERICA Yes. It's rabbit you hate. -LRB- to Kristen. -RRB- I'll give you a list of everything he likes and dislikes. DAVE Let's let her figure some things out on her own. ERICA I did n't mean those things, Dave. She did go to medical school. MARIN -LRB- pointing to herself and Kristen. -RRB- Hey, not in front of the kids. ERICA -LRB- polishing off her Martini. -RRB- I will tell you this. Dave has one truly great love in his life. KRISTEN Really? What's that? ERICA His balls. DAVE Okay, I forgot to mention she ca n't drink hard liquor. -LRB- to Marin. -RRB- Why did you order her a Martini? ERICA What? It's not true? The man can not watch TV or read without the hand down the pants - Here's my advice after 21 years I say who cares, they're his balls, let him enjoy'em. MARIN -LRB- chokes. -RRB- I think I swallowed my olive, whole. Erica looks up and sees something that takes her breath away. A COUPLE ZIGZAGGING AROUND TABLES and headed in her direction. A sexy Young Thing followed by her date - no other than Harry. Harry stops to shake someone's hand, holds his date around the waist. Suddenly, the SOUND DROPS OUT of the restaurant as Harry and his Date walk right by Erica's table in SLOW MOTION, not noticing her. MOVING IN ON ERICA as the room comes alive again. Her eyes follow Harry as he is seated only one table away, his back to Erica, his Date facing her. Marin has n't seen him. Erica tries her hardest to act normal but apparently is n't. MARIN Mom, you okay? ERICA Yeah, fine. Erica looks at her menu then her eyes go right back to Harry. His Date is laughing at something Harry is saying. Harry leans in to her, whispers something to her. She touches his hand. RICA You know what? Maybe I need a little air. Erica rises ; grabs her purse, almost bumps into a Waiter as she passes Harry's table, knocks into someone's chair, a glass breaks. Everyone turns to her, including Harry. She now stands right at his table. He smiles up at her. HARRY Hey. ERICA Hello. Harry. -LRB- to his Date. -RRB- Hello.", "EXT. RESTAURANT Erica rushes out. She's a little high and her heart is pounding. She heads down the street. ERICA Oh, God, I'm so stupid. She picks up her pace, starts running. Her cell phone RINGS. ERICA Hello? Intercut Harry and Erica on their cells, a block apart. HARRY -LRB- walking quickly. -RRB- Slow down. You want to kill me? She considers it. ERICA Harry, I got ta go. HARRY Erica, she's just a friend. ERICA Yeah, she looks like a buddy kind of a girl. Erica reaches a corner, ca n't get across, turns the corner. Harry ARRIVES NEXT TO HER. HARRY Come on, it's just a dinner. ERICA Look, Harry, here's the problem. I really like you. HARRY I really like you. ERICA Yeah, but I love you like you. -LRB- that stops him. -RRB- I do. I love you. Harry swoons and not in a good way. HARRY I think maybe you should consider that you're in love with the idea of being in love. ERICA Do you? Okay. Oh, God. -LRB- stomps her feet. -RRB- I'm like the dumb girl who does n't get it. -LRB- tries not to cry in front of him. -RRB- I've never been the dumb girl before. It ai n't so great. HARRY Let's just calm down. This was just a a meal with a friend. ERICA - Did you know I called you seven hours ago? HARRY I was gon na call you. I've been jamming all day, it's my first day back. ERICA Uh - huh. HARRY I had these plans before I met you. But I do like seeing you. I do. I'm always surprised by it. ERICA What was I thinking? HARRY Maybe you were n't thinking for once and look what a good time we had. Let's not ruin something great. ERICA Harry, I wo n't be good at this. HARRY At what? ERICA Acting like I do n't care. HARRY I have never lied to you. I have always told you some version of the truth. ERICA -LRB- freaking on that one. -RRB- The truth does n't have versions. HARRY Can you cut me a little slack? My life's been turned upside down. ERICA Yeah. Mine too. HARRY Then let's each get our bearings. ERICA I do n't want my bearings. I've had my bearings my whole fucking life. I felt something with you that. Oh, you do n't want to - HARRY Yes I do. -LRB- she wo n't open up. -RRB- Tell me. ERICA I felt something with you, I did n't know really existed. You know what that's like after a twenty year marriage? To feel something for another person that's so off the charts, that -. -LRB- Harry looks down. -RRB- Okay, not your problem. This is why I'm not good in relationships. You know writers are like teachers, those who can - do, those who ca n't - write romantic comedies where THIS does not happen in the third act. and it certainly does not happen to a 55 year old woman. In the play I'll be 36 so it wo n't be as pathetic. I'm just too old to feel crushed.I've written this feeling but I never really got it. -LRB- realizes. -RRB- You know what this is? -LRB-. -LRB- pointing to herself. -RRB- This is heart broken. How's that for impervious? HARRY You're killin' me. ERICA I just wish it had lasted more than a week. HARRY Me too. ERICA That's a horrible thing to say. -LRB- walks off, comes back. -RRB- The life I had before I met you. I knew how to do that, could do that forever. Now look at me. what do I do with all this? HARRY Can we talk tomorrow? ERICA What for? I saw your friend you were having dinner with, if that's what you want, it's never going to work with me. Look at me. I'm a middle aged woman, do n't let this brown hair fool you, I do n't have a real brown hair on my head, I'm almost all grey. that would freak you out, would n't it? And I have. high cholesterol and my back hurts every morning and I'm post menopausal and I have osteoperosis and I'm sure arthritis is just around the corner and I know you've seen my vericose veins. Let's face it man, that's not quite the buzz you're lookin' for. A TAXI pulls up. ERICA And you know what? Everyday, I'm gettin' older. just like you. Erica opens the back door of the Taxi. HARRY Wait. Erica turns. This is his chance. HARRY I just. the truth is. I do n't know how to be a boyfriend. ERICA That's what you have to say after all this? You do n't know how to be a boyfriend. HARRY That's not a small thing. They're both out of words. ERICA Are we done? HARRY I do n't know. She nods. He does n't give. She ducks into the CAB and it PULLS AWAY. Harry stands on the street, watching her go. HARRY -LRB- winces. -RRB- Ouch. He grabs his heart. HARRY Oh, God. HARRY - ON A GURNEY wheeled through the Emergency Room of Beth Israel Hospital. This is not the Hamptons. This place is crawling with patients. Harry's delivered to a Latina Doctor in her thirties, DR. MARTINEZ. As he's taken off the gurney, he's immediately hooked up to a heart monitor, given oxygen and an IV. NURSE Came in by cab, 15 minutes of chest pain, no nauseau, some shortness of breath, was hospitalized a week ago with a coronary thrombosis. DR. MARTINEZ Hang a nitro drip. HARRY You ca n't. I took Viagra. DR. MARTIINEZ You have been through this before. Give him 5 mgs of Metoprolol. You h ~ ving chest pain right now? HARRY No, and the pain I was having was sharp, not like before. DR. MARTINEZ That's good. Not like before is we like to hear. -LRB- reads EKG. -RRB- Give him aspirin. DR. MARTINEZ -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Based on what I see so far, your heart is not in distress but I'm gon na do a rapid enzyme test to be sure. What were you doing at the onset of the pain? HARRY Having a fight with someone. A woman. Can a woman give you chest pain? DR. MARTINEZ Are you kidding? Love hurts, have n't you heard? HARRY Yeah, but so far, I've only given pain, I never got any. DR. MARTINEZ -LRB- confused at how literal he is. -RRB- All right, well you're battin' a thousand here. Your enzymes look perfect, your EKG is normal and the pain does n't sound like the kind of pain we worry about. I think what you experienced was normal chest pain associated with stress. HARRY Stress? DR. MARTINEZ And incase you have n't heard, that can give you a heart attack. Mr. Langer, I donlt know what you're up to gallivanting out and about at this hour, but if you were my Dad, I'd make sure you were home, in bed, recuperating.", "INT. HARRY'S TOWNHOUSE - LATER Harry slowly climbs up the gorgeous staircase of his Townhouse. Exhausted, he stops half way up, sits on a step, takes out his cell. HARRY If you were my Dad. He pulls his glasses out of his pocket, puts them on to dial. Something feels odd, he takes off his glasses, looks at them, they're not his - they're Erica's. He puts them back on and dials. ERICA'S VOICE Hi. It's Erica. I'm not here so leave a message. He realizes he does n't know what to say, hangs up, then looks at her glasses. HARRY -LRB- grabbing his chest. -RRB- Ouch. BLACK SCREEN A LIGHT POPS ON and Erica ENTERS HER BEDROOM, crying. She flops down on her bed, picks up her phone, grabs her glasses, puts them on, does n't realize they're Harry's. She dials. Voice Mail tells her she has One Message. She sits up, excited. JULIAN'S VOICE Erica, Hi, it's Julian. It's about 8:20, I'm in the restaurant. just Wondering if you're. Erica hangs up, starts crying again. She takes off her glasses to wipe her eyes when she realizes she's holding Harry's glasses. Just the sight of them makes her burst into tears, the kind of tears that have been thirty years in the making. ERICA'S COMPUTER KEYBOARD - NIGHT A tear lands on it. Erica, back in a turtleneck and wearing Harry's glasses, starts writing at a breakneck pace, all the while, tears flood her eyes. MORNING - WAVES BREAKING ON THE SHORE ERICA wakes up. As soon as her eyes open, she bursts into tears. While in the SHOWER, the crying never stops. While she EATS BREAKFAST, a downpour. Running ON THE BEACH, she's wailing. Back at the `` COMPUTER, she's sobbing as her hands fly over the keys. An actual boo hoo can be heard. At NIGHT, laptop in bed, Erica writes, eating a bagel, wearing Harry's glasses and a pair of wrinkled pajamas, FRENCH MUSIC plays in the BG. At this point, she does n't eVen'' pay attention to her tears, just wipes and types when out of nowhere she receives an INSTANT MESSAGE from HARRY. He writes : Do I hear French Music? Shocked, she sits up, tries to fix her hair.", "INT. HARRY'S BEDROOM - SAME TIME Harry sits up in bed, staring at his laptop, wearing Erica's glasses, a pair of pajamas and a three day growth. A thermometer is propped in his mouth. He writes : R U there? She answers : Yes. Hello. He writes : How are ya? She writes : Great. as, she wipes her tears on her sleeve. He writes : How's the writing going? She answers : Pouring out of me now. Go figure. He types : I miss y. He stops, thinks before sending. Erica waits on her side. Nothing, is coming over. Then, on his side, he receives : Actually just running out. Take care. Harry deletes the I miss y. and instead writes : U 2. Erica slides down in her bed, wiped.", "INT. HARRY' S BEDROOM - SAME TIME Harry takes out his thermometer. Feels lost. Looks at the clock. It's 10:00 p.m.", "INT. LOWELL'S BEDROOM - SAME TIME Lowell lies in bed in pj's, WATCHING TV, smoking. Harry arrives at his doorway in his pajamas. Lowell puts out his cigarette, fans the smoke. HARRY Lowell, I'm goin' out. LOWELL -LRB- confused. -RRB- Okay. Do n't forget to put some clothes on. HARRY I mean, I should go out, should n't I? Since. when do n't I go out? Just cause some Emergency Room Doctor tells me to stay in bed, does n't mean I have to turn into a monk. LOWELL Is there something you'd like me to do for you, Mr. Langer? HARRY Well, no, just. well, what are you doin'? LOWELL Watching Lucy. HARRY Would you hate making me something to eat? CLOSE - LUCY AND ETHEL ON TV REVERSE - HARRY AND LOWELL lying on top of the covers in Lowell's room, both eating bowls of pasta, watching TV. HARRY Funny women are adorable, do n't you think? LOWELL I never really thought about it. HARRY Neither had I, but think about it. Funny's a unique thing in a woman. It's fun to be around. LOWELL There's some reason we've been watching these two for 5O years. HARRY Exactly. It lasts. We're not sittin' here watchin' Mamie Van Doren reruns. LOWELL No we're not. You feeling okay? HARRY I do n't think I've slept one night since I've been home. Every little ache and pain scares the shitout of me. ca n't get a handle on my emotional life, do n't know what I want, do n't know if what I felt was because I just had a heart attack or was real. Plus, I feel needy. I never used that word in my life. HARRY -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Lowell, have you ever seen me like this? Be honest. LOWELL Nothing even close. HARRY That's right, buddy, I'm a mess. And I'm no good at it. -LRB- realizes something. -RRB- Those are very nice pajamas, by the way. Did they used to be mine? LOWELL Yes but you gave them to me, you said you never wore them. HARRY I know. But why would I do that? They're so elegant. Nice piping. LOWELL Mr. Langer, you're always giving away beautiful things. HARRY Awwwww. How did I get like this? -LRB- eyes fluttering shut. -RRB- I'm gon na shut my eyes for a few minutes. Keep Lucy on. Harry nods off and Lowell TURNS OUT THE LIGHT.", "EXT. BEACH - THE HAMPTONS - MORNING - MUSIC OVER Erica and Zoe are taking a walk. Erica, still crying, picks up a brown stone, explains its meaning to Zoe. Zoe holds the stone, makes an ` awwww' face.Erica nods, then Zoe tosses the stone in the ocean, fed up with hearing about him already. Then, Zoe stops Erica, points to something. MARIN AND HER NEW BOYFRIEND frolicking on the beach. He's a YOUNG HUNK in a tank top, shorts, highlighted hair. Erica rolls her eyes.", "EXT. BEACH STAIRS - DUSK Marin rushes down the stairs. Erica sits near the bottom of the stairs, watching the sunset. MARIN Mom, we're going into town. Erica turns, wiping tears. MARIN Are you crying? -LRB- joining her. -RRB- I did n't know you did that. ERICA Yeah, it's my new thing. I've gotten abnormally great at it. MARIN -LRB- sitting on the step with her. -RRB- Is it Harry? ERICA Seems I got ta learn how to do that love'em and leave'em stuff. MARIN Fucking men. You do n't care when I say fuck, do you? ERICA Not really. Sometimes. Not right now. MARIN So now you get my theory about love? You got ta self protect. It's too dangerous. ERICA Marin, that theory. how can I put this so your feelings wo n't get hurt. It's just so crazy, it makes me want to SCREAMMMMMMMMMMM! MARIN And how would you put it if you wanted to hurt my feelings? ERICA Listen to me. you can not hide from love for the rest of your life because maybe it wo n't work out and maybe you'll become unglued. That's not a way to live. MARIN So you're telling me you're happy right now? This is good what happened to you? ERICA No. This was bad. But for the three days it was good, it was electrifying. Marin's eyes fill up. ERICA I think you must consider the possibility that we are more alike than you realize. I let someone in and I had the time of my life. MARIN -LRB- tearful. -RRB- I've never had the time of my life. ERICA I know. And bubbee, I say this from the deepest part of my heart. what the fuck are you waiting `` for?", "INT. HARRY'S HOUSE - NYC - NIGHT A PARTY is in progress. It's loud. The place is crawling with characters from the Hip Hop world. Harry winds his way down his crowded STAIRCASE, Girls grabbing at him as he passes by. As hard as he tries, he ca n't quite bring to life the guy he knew how to be. LOWELL -LRB- as Harry passes. -RRB- Having fun? HARRY Not quite. Harry makes his way down the stairs, through the crowded entry and OUT THE FRONT DOOR. OUTSIDE, Harry steps into the QUIET STREET, looks up at his house and the party inside.", "EXT. ROADSIDE FARM STAND - EAST HAMPTON - DAY Zoe is picking corn, when she notices Julian across the way. He glances up, looks right past her, obviously does n't remember her, keeps on shopping. Zoe thinks for a see, wondering how she can get his attention when he looks right back at her, his face full of hope.", "INT. ERICA'S DINING ROOM - LATER Erica sets the table for two. Zoe pokes her head in the door. ZOE I got you something great at the farm stand. Zoe fully opens the door revealing Julian holding a bouquet of fresh cut flowers. JULIAN These are for you to give me when you apologize.", "INT. DINING ROOM - LATER - MUSIC OVER Candlelit. Zoe, Erica and Julian share a bottle of wine and a home cooked meal. The CAMERA does a 360 around the table, their faces saying it all. The Women bask in Julian's warmth as he entertains them with stories. Zoe looks from Julian to Erica, relieved to see her sister smiling again.", "INT. KITCHEN - LATER Erica places coffee cups in the sink. Julian is next to her, leaning against the counter, holding a glass of wine. ERICA Julian, I hope you know I'm mortified by my behavior. I was going to get in touch with you, send you a note or something. JULIAN A note? That's a little chilly. ERICA I'm embarrassed. I just have n't been myself lately. What can I say? JULIAN Just tell me you're sorry. ERICA I am sorry. JULIAN Then you could kiss me. ERICA Kiss you? Julian nods. ERICA You'll forgive me if I kiss' you? JULIAN Think so. Erica hesitates then gives him a peck of a kiss. JULIAN No one on earth would forgive you for that kiss. -LRB- places his wine glass on the counter. -RRB- May I? Erica nods as Julian takes her in his arms and gives her a kiss that does n't quit. JULIAN -LRB- still holding her, whispers. -RRB- I forgive you. Erica very distinctly begins to hear the BEATING of her own heart. ERICA'S COMPUTER SCREEN - ANOTHER NIGHT On it is written : The lights on the Eiffel Tower dim to black as the music continues to play. Erica sits back, still wearing Harry's glasses. Finished at last. She notices an empty Kleenex box on her desk. She tosses it in a hook shot across the room and it lands right in the trash can.", "INT. LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER Julian sits on the sofa, shoes off, reading the first half of the play. A fire burns in the fireplace. Erica approaches the back of the sofa, holding the rest of the pages. JULIAN It's the best thing you've ever written. ERICA It is? JULIAN It's wonderful. It's sweet. It's smart. It's funny. Erica leans oyer the sofa, reading over his shoulder. JULIAN How great is it that I'm not intimidated by your brilliance? Erica gives him a small kiss of appreciation. JULIAN Must we go through this every time? Come here. She leans into him and he kisses her fully and sweetly. She holds onto the sofa for support. A PRETTY GIRL - WHO LOOKS A LOT LIKE MARIN eating lunch in Orso's, talking non - stop. PRETTY GIRL I'm totally excited about this audition. It's such a great part. It's supporting but she's a really funny character. There's this totally hilarious scene where she's dating this like chauvinist older guy and just as they're about to do it, the guy moans and she thinks he's just really into her, right? Except he's having a heart attack and she's like creeped out and her mother, who basically despises the guy, rushes in, gives him CPR and saves his life. REVERSE ON HARRY choking on his lunch.", "INT. BROADWAY THEATER - DAY Auditions are in progress. On stage, AN ACTRESS reads for the part of `` The Sister''. ACTRESS Look, we're four sophisticated people. Why ca n't we all stay for the weekend? ON ERICA'S PROFILE in the audience. She sits in a row by herself, listening. Harry ENTERS HER FRAME, sitting directly behind her. HARRY I need to talk to you. Erica freezes, horrified. Turns, sees him. HARRY Got a minute? BACKSTAGE Erica and Harry stand in front of a BACKDROP OF THE BEACH. HARRY So your play's about us? ERICA No, it's about me. HARRY Am I in it? ERICA A guy like you is in it but he's not you. HARRY What happens to this guy who's. not me? ERICA Have n't totally decided. He can live or he can die. HARRY What are you leaning towards? ERICA Death. -LRB- Harry reacts. -RRB- It's funnier. HARRY He dies of a funny heart attack? ERICA He's sort of a schmuck who screwed around with our heroine, so it wo n't be too sad. HARRY Schmucks are people too you know. Death does n't seem a little harsh? ERICA I just went where the story took me. It's a work of fiction, Harry. Really. just stuff I made up. STAGE MANAGER -LRB- approaching. -RRB- Erica, we're ready to do the hospital, ` Do You Take Viagra scene. Should we wait for you? Erica nods, horrified. HARRY So I'm going to be the laughing stock of Broadway. ERICA Harry, he's not you. He's a version of the truth of you. So to speak. STAGE MANAGER Sorry to interrupt again but Dave wants to know, when Henry says, `` I love ya'', you want that to be ` Ya', not ` You', right? ERICA Right. We now HEAR Louis Armstrong's La Vie En Rose play throughout the theater. The BEACH backing is ` raised and an EIFFEL TOWER BACKING is lowered behind them. They both try to ignore the music, but it's impossible. ERICA Well, you look really nice. You feeling all right? As they stand in front of the Eiffel Tower backing, FAKE SNOW FALLS from above. HARRY You know it is n't like I wanted to stop seeing you. We could've carried on a fun thing for awhile. Why is it you dames want all or nothing? ERICA I do n't know, we're just goofy when it comes to love. Look, Harry, if it's all right with you, I'd like to be friends HARRY I'm not ready to be your friend. How's that? ERICA Fine. I understand. HARRY Anyway, do you actually buy that horse shit. that men and women can be friends once they've had sex? ERICA I'm friends with my ex - husband, but then again, we did n't just have sex. HARRY We did n't just have sex either. ERICA Then what was it? Love to know. HARRY Can I e - mail it to you when I figure it out? -LRB- laughs. -RRB- This is perfect. I have given the ` Ca n't We Be friends' speech for 40 years. I think I invented the ` Ca n't We Be Friends' speech. But you know what, now I get why they never went for it. You dames got one thing right. Sometimes sex does change everything. Call me crazy, but I just do n't see us out on the town, being pals, having dinner,'cause I'd bet you anything, at some point, one of us will have very unfriend like thoughts about the other then pass the bread becomes anything but pass the bread. You get what I'm saying? ERICA You do n't want to be friends. HARRY Not `` do n't''. Ca n't. Ca n't be friends. Does n't work that way. -LRB- tries to calm down. -RRB- Okay, I'm moving into another phase of this thing. I'm mad at you. -LRB- realizes. -RRB- It almost feels good. ERICA I think I'm mad at you too. HARRY Excellent.'Cause I do n't like thinking about you so much and worrying about how you are and if I ruined your life or. ERICA - You've worried about me? HARRY Yes honey, the schmuck who deserves to die, worries about you. HARRY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Sometimes worrying about you feels like a full time job. ERICA Well, doll, I'm doing fine. So you do n't have to work that shift anymore. Again, The Stage Manager. STAGE MANAGER Erica, they want you to take a look at the costumes for the dancing Henry's. These gon na work for you? Harry and Erica TURN and SEE a CHORUS LINE of BALDING 60 YEAR OLD MEN IN HOSPITAL GOWNS AND SOCKS.", "EXT. THEATER - DAY Harry FLIES OUT the Stage Door, right into the street, is almost hit by a motorcycle, does n't seem to care.", "EXT. CENTRAL PARK - DAY Harry walks briskly through the park, still pissed, his pace starting to get to him. He spots a bench with a WOMAN JOGGER at one end. He parks himself at the other end of the bench, out of breath. Tries H reason with himself. to ARRY God is a woman, I know that now. No man would punish me like this. WOMAN JOGGER You never change, do you? Surprised, Harry turns, glances over at the Woman. She drinks from a water bottle then offers him an easy warm smile. She's adorable, mid - sixties, short grey hair. HARRY Do you know me or are you just talking to me as `` man'' in general, the beast women love to hate. WOMAN JOGGER No, no, I know you Harry. HARRY Oh. Do n't tell me. I dated your daughter. -LRB- the Woman laughs. -RRB- Right? I broke her heart then she married some hard working Joe on the rebound, has three great kids. What is so funny? WOMAN JOGGER You dated me and you broke my heart but after you I met the right guy. I've been married thirty - seven years, have four kids, eight grandkids and a ninth on the way. Harry now fully turns in her direction, totally clueless. HARRY I dated you? -LRB- the Woman nods. -RRB- Did we. ever? WOMAN JOGGER No. we did not. He looks at her hard but still does n't remember her. HARRY Can you give me hint? A year? A decade? WOMAN JOGGER The sixties. -LRB- Harry squints at her. -RRB- You took me to Shea Stadium. HARRY To a Mets game? I must've really liked you. WOMAN JOGGER You took me to see The Beatles. HARRY Oh, God, I really liked you. You're Sandra. Cook. We did. We saw The Beatles together. How the hell have you been? What happened to you? SANDRA Well, let's see, after we stopped going out, I went back to school, got my doctorate in marine biology, went around the world a few times, met the man of my dreams at Oxford, married him, we lived in London for 25 years. I wrote and taught, we raised 3 sons and a daughter. I've just finished my ninth book and now I'm training for my first marathon. Now, I must confess, I actually remember the very last thing you ever said to me. SANDRA -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- You walked me to my door, I was tearful and you looked at me with those puppy dog eyes and said, `` Honey, I just do n't know how to be a boyfriend.'' Now, tell me, what have you been up to since 1964? OVER Harry's face, we HEAR the SOUND of a SIREN BLARING.", "INT. HOSPITAL - DAY Harry is wheeled through the ER with the gurney. Dr. Martinez runs along with the gurney. DR. MARTINEZ Mr. Langer. Back so soon. HARRY This is it, I'm dyin', I've had 20 minutes of severe chest pain, nausea, shortness of breath, blood pressure's got ta be 170 over 100. -LRB- sticks out his arm. -RRB- Give me the nitrate, I did n't take viagra. -LRB- rips open his shirt. -RRB- Plug me in to the EKG, I need an aspirin, I'm taking 2 beta blockers, blood thinner, Lipitor, Procardia and if I were you, I'd be pounding my chest. Ow! MALE NURSE You're a doctor, huh? HARRY Just a very sick man. CLOSE - THE PAPER TAPE FROM HARRY'S EKG Dr. Martinez reads it. DR. MARTINEZ Mr. Langer, your diagnosis although fascinating, was entirely incorrect. HARRY That's impossible. DR. MARTINEZ Your realize a severe anxiety attack can masquerade as a heart attack. HARRY So I'm nuts? Perfect! The one thing I'm not taking pills for. DR. MARTINEZ If you do n't want, to end up in here every week, I suggest you do whatever it takes to decompress. Try something with me, okay? -LRB- takes his pulse. -RRB- Close your eyes. now give yourself a visual image of something that gives you a feeling of peace and serenity. HARRY I do n't know. A hammock. DR. MATINEZ Okay, good. what else? HARRY Palm trees. clear blue water. We hear the SOUND OF LAPPING WATER, SEA GULLS. DR. MARTINEZ Anybody there with you? HARRY Yes. Beautiful women. in thongs. DR. MARTINEZ -LRB- disgusted. -RRB- Okay. What else do you see, feel, taste. HARRY A margarita. a Cuban cigar. miles of soft beach. DR. MARTINEZ Keep going. you're doing great. And as Harry keeps listing things, Camera MOVES IN ON HIM as the STEEL BAND gets LOUDER AND LOUDER. THE WORDS. SIX MONTHS LATER FALLING SNOW FILLS THE FRAME Boom down to see the THEATER MARQUEE of Erica's play on Broadway. On the Marquee are raves from critics,'' ****'', and a banner that brags, `` Sold Out!'' . CAMERA CONTINUES DOWN to street level. Couples walk by, bundled up against the cold. Harry ENTERS FRAME. He looks different. He has a beard and has lost some weight : And in his eyes, a calm we have n't seen before. He pauses in front of the theater - loo ~ s at the PUBLICITY PHOTOS. He SEES Henry in his boxer shorts at the refrigerator meeting `` Emily'' and her Sister. He sees ANOTHER PHOTO of The Dancing Henrys kicking up their legs like Rockettes. Then, finally, A PHOTO of Henry and Emily in bed, both wearing glasses. Harry OPENS THE DOOR TO THE THEATER, steps inside and listens, hearing Louis Armstrong's La Vie En Rose, then, the audience breaks out in LAUGHTER. Harry smiles to himself.", "INT. APARTMENT BUILDING CORRIDOR - EARLY EVENING The elevator opens. Harry steps out, looks around for an apartment number, finds it, rings the bell and clears his throat. The door quickly OPENS and we see MARIN. She looks relaxed and happy to see him. MARIN I could n't believe you were calling from downstairs. -LRB- hugs him. -RRB- So great to see you. HARRY You could n't look better. MARIN Thank you. Come on in. HARRY No, no, I just wanted to stop by and say hi and tell you I'm sorry if I ever did anything to you that was n't on the up and up or. MARIN What do you mean? You were great to me. HARRY I was? MARIN Always. HARRY That's refreshing. Good. Well, I do n't know what you've done to yourself but you look absolutely radiant. MARIN I'm three months pregnant, that might have something to do with it. HARRY, Really? Who's. the, lucky guy? MARIN My husband, hold on, he really wants to meet you. -LRB- calls. -RRB- Danny. A Solid Citizen of a Guy joins Marin, loosened tie, glasses. MARIN Harry Langer, my husband, Danny Yellin. DANNY -LRB- shaking Harry's hand. -RRB- I've heard so much about you. HARRY I bet. DANNY Yeah, with Hthe play and all. ARRY I'm famous, huh? MARIN Just to us. In every interview my Mom does, she always says she made you up. HARRY So the guy in the play, he does n't make it, does he? DANNY He basically dies at the end of the second act, but it's very funny. -LRB- as if that's some consolation. -RRB- HARRY Was hopin' she'd give me a reprieve, but. MARIN Yeah, well. HARRY Yeah. Okay. Best of luck, kids. Marin is stumped by this little visit. Harry heads toward the elevator, pushes the button, then turns back. HARRY How is she? MARIN She's. -LRB- Harry waits. -RRB- Really good. Up to her old tricks. Learning Italian, remodeling her apartment in the city. HARRY Now if I wanted to see her. how would that go over? MARIN -LRB- encouragingly. -RRB- Only one way to find out, except she's out of town right now. HARRY Oh yeah? Where is she? MARIN Paris. She left two days ago, for her birthday. But she'll be back next week. The Elevator arrives. Harry salutes his goodbye and steps INSIDE THE ELEVATOR. He turns, FACES CAMERA. HARRY Paris. ANOTHER ELEVATOR.OPENS And a clean shaven, dapper looking Harry steps off, cashmere coat, gorgeous scarf. CAMERA FOLLOWS HIM out of the elevator and through a BEAUTIFUL LOBBY OF A HOTEL then right onto THE STREET. CAMERA does a 360 and we catch glimpses of PARIS AT NIGHT. CAMERA SETTLES ON HARRY just as the LIGHTS OF THE EIFFEL TOWER POP ON, sending a flood of golden lights high into the night sky directly behind him. HARRY Showtirne.", "INT. LEFT BANK BISTRO - NIGHT Erica sits alone at a table in the back of the room, drinking a glass of wine. She looks vibrant. She glances up from her drink and sees what looks like Harry making his way around the tables. She leans to the side for a better look, to make sure it's him. It is him and he's corning right toward her. Her stomach sinks, her mind races. and before she can come up with a single thought that makes any sense - there he is. HARRY -LRB- proud of himself. -RRB- I knew you'd be here. ERICA You did? HARRY I've come a long way to see you, Erica. ERICA You mean we're not bumping into each other? You came here to see me? HARRY Yes, I did. -LRB- she seems to shiver. -RRB- I'm aware it was a bold move, one of those impulses that grabs you,' but. so far, we're okay ; right? ERICA Well, uh, I mean, I'm just. HARRY I'll take that as a ` Yes'. Harry takes off his coat and scarf, hangs them on a hook. ERICA You want a glass of wine or something? HARRY I was just gon na give you a kiss hello. ERICA Oh, Okay. Neither is sure where to go. Cheek? Lips? He lands on her chin. Not what he wanted, but he takes a seat across from her. She looks at him - utterly speechless. HARRY I remember you said if we still know each other we should go to Paris for our birthdays, well, we still know each other.''. ERICA That's true, but, Harry, I have n't heard from you in six months. HARRY I know but I've certainly been thinking about you. There's a lot I have to say. First thing is. I'm not mad at you anymore. ERICA Good,'cause I'm not mad at you anymore either. HARRY That's a relief. since I did come all the way to France and everything. And. Happy Birthday. ERICA -LRB- afraid of everything he could possibly say. -RRB- Thank you. HARRY And congratulations on your amazing success. ERICA It's been quite a ride. Funny, I thought maybe I'd hear from you when it opened. Where've you been? HARRY After I saw you in the theater that afternoon, I had another `` episode. ERICA Oh, I'm sorry. HARRY I was actually okay, but I was sure I was dying and the doctor in the ER said I needed to decompress. So I did. I walked out of there and changed my life, sold most of my businesses, packed my bags and moved to an island in the Caribbean. ERICA That's where you've been all this time? In the Caribbean? HARRY Actually. No.", "EXT. CARIBBEAN BEACH - FLASHBACK Harry lies on a chaise under a palm tree, drink in hand, Hawaiian shirt, shades. A steel drum plays in the distance. HARRY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I was there about six hours, when it occurred to me that wasting away on an island in the Caribbean was n't going to remotely cure what was ailing me. Harry sits straight up into CAMERA. BLACK SCREEN A LIGHT POPS ON and we realize we are in HARRY'S CLOSET. HARRY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So I decided to take another kind of pilgrimage. into my past. Harry ENTERS THE CLOSET, reaches onto a top shelf, and starts pulling down dozens of what used be called, `` Little Black Books''. HARRY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- My thought was - if I retraced my steps and visited all the women I've dated. He blows dust off of the books. BACK IN PARIS HARRY - maybe I could figure out how I got so screwed up. FLASHBACK - HARRY'S PILGRIMAGE Harry STANDS at one FRONT DOOR after the NEXT, EACH ONE SLAMMING IN HIS FACE. HARRY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- A lot of the women would n't see me. Then, we see WOMEN of various ages SLAP HIM ACROSS THE FACE. HARRY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Or speak to me. Harry reels backwards from one Hefty Mama. HARRY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But I was on a mission to save my soul. A Woman In Her Fifties, purposively walks down a SMALL TOWN MAIN STREET carrying groceries. Harry, at her side, keeps talking at her, even though she picks up her pace and ignores him. HARRY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- My losing streak finally ended when I got one to open up to me. In a HOSPITAL ROOM, an Older Woman on life support, scrawls out a note and shows it to Harry who sits in a chair by herside. A Priest stands in the background. The note says, `` As I remember it, you were wildly insensitive''. Harry lowers his head in shame. She places another note in front of him. It says, `` I forgive you.'' Relieved, he smiles. Then, one last note : `` Now, scram.'' HARRY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Hearing what they had to say was no picnic. In an Upper West Side COFFEE SHOP, Harry pas coffee with a Woman in her Mid Forties. She talks his ear off. Harry can' t deal with it. He looks away ~ The woman places her hand on his chin and pulls him right back to her and keeps talking at him. HARRY -LRB- V. O. -RRB- But I stuck it out and I listened. Then I listened harder. Harry WALKS down THE STREET with a ANOTHER WOMAN in her Thirties, who carries a cello. She never shuts up. HARRY -LRB- V. O. -RRB- And one of the things I realized was, I was actually giving closure to generations of women. At the corner, the Woman hugs Harry goodbye. HARRY -LRB- V. O. -RRB- Although I admit, some refused to give, no matter what I did. CLOSE - DIANE SAWYER On the set of GOOD MORNING AMERICA. She glances out the STUDIO WINDOW and sees Harry ON THE STREET among the folks holding signs. He HOLDS A SIGN that says, `` DIANE, YOU WERE RIGHT. I WAS ENTIRELY WRONG. I ` M SORRY.'' She looks him straight in the eye and gives ` him the finger. HARRY - FULLY DRESSED - LYING ON HIS BED - TOP SHOT HARRY -LRB- V. O. -RRB- When you hear the same story about yourself over and over, your life begins to make sense and the future becomes your only salvation.", "INT. PARIS BISTRO - THE PRESENT HARRY It took me six months to find them all. I visited 18 different states but I came the furthest to see you. A HAND lands on his shoulder and he HEARS : A MAN'S VOICE I do n't believe it. Harry looks up and sees handsome young Julian in a beret. Harry looks to Erica, instantly deflated. HARRY Me either. Harry stands. The two Men hug, then Julian squeezes in next to Erica. Harry slowly takes his seat across from them. ERICA I should have told you he was coming, but I was so engrossed in your story. JULIAN What story? HARRY Oh, maybe another time. So. -LRB- looks from Erica to Julian, it all dawns on him. -RRB- I guess I should've seen your play, then I would've Jknown how this ended. JULIAN Yeah, big twist, huh? So what are you doing over here, man? HARRY Just a uh, vacation. never been to Paris in January. JULIAN It's amazing to run into you. You look wonderful. ERICA You do. HARRY Have n't been on a gurney in six months so that's somethin'. JULIAN Well, I've just been to every store in the city, this woman is impossible to buy for. But I think I finally found the right gift. He puts what can only be a RING BOX on the table between Erica and Harry. JULIAN Happy Birthday baby. He kisses her. Harry watches, dying. ERICA -LRB- reaching for it. -RRB- I'll open it later. Harry rises, reaches for his coat. HARRY No, no, you know what, I'll let you two celebrate. ERICA Harry, stay. HARRY I ca n't really. JULIAN Why? You have somewhere to go? THE WAITER POURING THE END OF A WINE BOTTLE Everyone at the table is laughing, mid - meal. Julian is doing the talking as well as laughing. Harry laughs along, trying to be an approving part of their romance but he's totally faking it. THREE GLASSES OF BRANDY ARE SERVED - A LITTLE LATER JULIAN - To the forces of destiny that brought us together tonight. Erica lights a cigarette. JULIAN What are you doing, you do n't smoke? ERICA I'm in Paris, the second hand smoke will kill you anyway. JULIAN She's very brilliant, but the woman can not hold her liquor. Julian puts his arm around her, pulls her close. ERICA I like that about me. BOTH GUYS Me too. The Guys exchange looks. ERICA Now, if I were writing this, this is where I'd write, ` an awkward moment'. HARRY Honey, if you were writing this, I'd be dead. Erica laughs. HARRY Never fails to amuse her. The Waiter drops the check on the table. Harry takes it. JULIAN No, Harry, please, let us. HARRY No, no, I insist. I crashed your party. -LRB- to Erica. -RRB- At least let me buy you dinner on your birthday. -LRB- squints at his watch shows it to Erica. -RRB- What time does that say? ERICA -LRB- squints. -RRB- I have no idea. HARRY -LRB- feels around. -RRB- Wait,' I have my. ERICA -LRB- reaching into her purse. -RRB- Me too. They each take out EACH OTHER'S GLASSES and put them on. Erica points to Harry wearing her glasses and laughs. HARRY You think you look so handsome in mine? ERICA You know how long I've been looking for those? HARRY Yes I do. Harry hands Erica her glasses. She hesitates. He snaps, gesturing for his to be turned over. She hands them to him. Julian watches all this, sobered by their chemistry. HARRY -LRB- tucking away his glasses. -RRB- Once again. closure. -LRB- reads his watch. -RRB- So it's only 5 in the afternoon in New York. What do they do around here for fun?", "INT. NOISY CLUB - NIGHT Camera finds the three of them sitting at a small table. The place is dark, loud, crowded and young. They're all drinking champagne. The air is strained. BOTH GUYS -LRB- at the same time. -RRB- Want to dance? Harry gestures for Julian to have the first dance. Julian takes Erica's hand and leads her to the dance floor. Harry watches them slip through the crowd. Erica turns back, Harry waves. Julian takes Erica in his arms, it's clear she's comfortable in his embrace. None of. this is lost on Harry and as he watches, the smile on his face more than fades, it evaporates and everything inside him begins to hurt. ANGLE - THE DANCE FLOOR Erica and Julian - they're sexy together. ANGLE - THE TABLE Harry is gone.", "EXT. STREET - PARIS - NIGHT Harry, with his collar turned up against the cold, walks past the glass pyramid in front of The Louvre.", "EXT. PONT NEUF - PARIS - MOMENTS LATER Harry walks over the bridge, the beauty surrounding him just making it all worse. He stops, looks out at the Seine. He hears a classic French song in the distance, then sees a small barge, playing the music, pass beneath him. Without warning, a tear falls from his eye. HARRY -LRB- laughs at himself. -RRB- At the end of the day, I'm nothin' but a sap, a stupid old sap, standing on a bridge in Paris, crying my eyes out. He stops, looks at the mighty city surrounding him. Beauty's not supposed to hurt. Another tear. HARRY -LRB- almost amused. -RRB- Look who gets to be the girl. He wipes his eyes on his coat sleeve as SNOW begins to fall. HARRY -LRB- looking toward heaven. -RRB- Anything else. ERICA'S VOICE Harry? Harry turns and sees Erica standing by a Cab with its motor running, snow falling on her hair and coat. HARRY Where's Julian? ERICA He went back to the hotel. HARRY How come? ERICA -LRB- walking to him. -RRB- He said when he saw me with you, he knew I was still in love with you. What do you have to say about that? HARRY If it's true, my life just got made. ERICA Why'd you come here, Harry? HARRY Because I realized what I was feeling for you, have always felt for you, was something I did n't understand, like a language I did n't speak. -LRB- she listens. -RRB- It scared me so I did what I do. I snuck away. Turns out the heart attack was easy to get over. You were somethin' else. -LRB- she's starting to melt. -RRB- And when I went to see all those women, I found out I was never really present for any of them. And something inside me at some point, had just. shut off. That's when I think my heart gave out and you saved me. I finally get what it's all about. I'm 63 years old and I am in love for the first time in my life. And that's what I came here to say. ERICA Okay, this is the best birthday ever. HARRY I know I'm no spring chicken, I figure I only got another 30 - 40 years in me. Tops. But how ` bout we figure out a way to make this work. ERICA Okay. HARRY Okay? Okay! I'll take it. The Barge drifts back under the bridge, La Vie En Rose piping out of it's tinny speakers. HARRY Honey, they're playing our song. She comes close and he pulls her in, kissing her great. And as they separate, he smiles, relieved.", "INT. CHIC EATERY - NYC - A HOT AUGUST NIGHT The same restaurant from the first scene of the film - One Year Later. Harry ENTERS FRAME, just like he did before. HARRY Langer, party of four. and a half. The Maitre'D snaps to attention and leads Harry, Erica, Marin, holding her Baby Girl, and her husband Danny through the crowded restaurant. The Baby fusses and reaches out to Harry who takes her in his arms and proudly parades her through this swanky crowd to a round table in the center of the room. Harry beams at the prize in his arms as he sits with his family for a Sunday dinner."], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "Harry Sanborn is a wealthy New York music mogul who has had a 40-year habit of dating women under 30, including his latest conquest, Marin Klein. The two drive to her mother's Hamptons beach house expecting to be alone, but are surprised by Marin's mother, successful playwright Erica Barry, who is there with her sister Zoe. After an awkward dinner, the night turns disastrous when \u2014 during foreplay with Marin \u2014 Harry has a heart attack and is rushed to a hospital. The doctor, Julian Mercer, tells Harry to stay nearby for a few days, so Harry ends up staying with Erica. Their personalities clash and create awkward living arrangements\u2014until they get to know each other. The fact that Harry is dating her daughter and that Julian has fallen for Erica leave the two struggling to deal with relationships. Marin and Harry agree to break up. He and Erica spend more time together and eventually consummate their relationship. Harry discovers that his improving health means that he no longer has to stay with Erica, so he heads home. Marin receives news that her father, Dave Klein, Erica's ex-husband, whom Erica still allows to direct her plays, is getting remarried to Kristen, an ear, nose and throat doctor who is only two years older than Marin. Although Erica is unaffected by the news, Marin is devastated and pressures her mother into accompanying her to a family dinner. Erica is the life of the party until she sees Harry at another table with another woman. In the argument that follows, Harry suffers from what he believes is another heart attack, but he is told by the young ER physician, Dr. Martinez, who treats him like her father, that it was only a panic attack. Although she is heartbroken, Erica figures that these events would be great to use in a play. Harry hears about it and rushes to the NYC theater where it is being rehearsed. Despite her denials, it is quickly obvious that she has used the most personal details of their affair in the play. Erica coolly rebuffs his every insinuation that he cares about her and hints that his character will die in the play\u2014for a laugh. He then has another panic attack and is again treated by Dr. Martinez, who warns him that he needs to learn to \"decompress\". Six months pass. Erica's play is a huge success. Harry pays Marin a visit to apologize for anything he ever did to hurt her. She replies that he was nothing but nice to her and happily tells him that she is pregnant and has a new husband. Harry expresses a desire to see Erica. Marin tells him that her mother is in Paris celebrating her birthday. Harry decides to surprise Erica. Remembering how they had once planned to spend their birthdays together there, he shows up at the Parisian restaurant where she is seated at a table. Harry explains that over the past six months he reached out to all of the women he ever had affairs with, and even though repeatedly rebuffed at first, finally broke through. They all had identical harsh stories that helped him learn how he arrived at being him, with his trip to find Erica being the last and the farthest. Julian, whom Erica is now dating, then appears since she had been waiting at the restaurant for him. It is subsequently implied that he plans to propose to her. Harry and Erica get along well during the dinner, but they part outside the restaurant. While he is gazing in heartache over the river Seine, Erica shows up. She explains that Julian realized what was happening between them and decided to step aside to let her be with Harry. Harry explains that his search the last six months has made him realize he truly loves Erica. A year later, at a New York restaurant, Erica and Harry, now married, are out with Marin, her husband Danny and her new baby daughter, as one big happy family.", "name": "Somethings_Gotta_Give_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["EXT. OUTER SPACE The infinite blackness punctuated by a billion stars. As we slowly DESCEND through the varied shades of blue of the Earth's atmosphere, we HEAR the first strains of a haunting, Central American FLUTE, joined by a swelling background of JUNGLE SOUNDS. We descend further, through a lush JUNGLE CANOPY, backlit by a setting sun.", "EXT. JUNGLE COASTLINE - DAY (MAGIC HOUR) Through a collage of shimmering HEAT - WAVES, a dark, OTHER - WORLDLY OBJECT drops INTO VIEW, backlit by the fiery, ORANGE - RED sphere of a setting tropical SUN, heading slowly towards us, floating, as if suspended by the rising heat of the jungle. Continuing to approach, the shimmering object resolves into a MILITARY ASSAULT HELICOPTER, its rotors strobing in the fading sunlight. Drawing closer, the SOUND of powerful TURBINES, throbbing in the heavy air, becomes dominant, overpowering. Guided by COLORED SMOKE and LANDING LIGHTS, the chopper looms hard INTO VIEW, pitching forward and settling to the ground, kicking up a maelstrom of dust and vegetation", "INT. COMMAND POST - DAY (MAGIC HOUR) Where a MAN wearing a military UNIFORM watches through the large open windows the helicopter as it continues to approach. Before the skids have even touched down he SEES the first of the MEN, dressed in CIVILIAN CLOTHES but carrying full COMBAT GEAR, alight gracefully from the chopper, double - timing in close order to one side, the orders SHOUTED by one man lost in the ROAR of the chopper. The man turns away from the window, to a FIGURE, hidden in the shadows. MAN He's here. He turns back, lowering a BAMBOO SHADE, obscuring the window.", "EXT. HELICOPTER PAD - NIGHT On adjoining PADS, two other HELICOPTERS are VISIBLE ; in the b.g. can be SEEN several concrete and THATCHWORK BUILDINGS, a secret command post disguised as a COASTAL FISHING VILLAGE. The post in a flurry of activity, AMERICAN ADVISORS shouting directions to dozens of LATIN AMERICAN SOLDIERS who stand by to assist the landing helicopter and to load EQUIPMENT into the other choppers. Inside the chopper, one man remains, stretched out against the bulkhead, as if asleep. He stirs, sits up, lighting up a CIGAR. With fatigue showing in his motion, he leans forward, descending to the ground. A JEEP pulls to stop, the man swinging casually into the front seat, tossing his GEAR into the rear. With a lurch the jeep heads out towards the command post. In the doorway TWO MEN solemnly watch as the jeep approaches. Reaching the command post the man alights from the jeep, heading towards the two men. Into the pool of light cast by the fixture above the door steps MAJOR ALAN SCHAEFER, the team leader, 38, an intelligent and intense man. He informally salutes, GENERAL H.L. PHILIPS, 55, hardened, close - cropped graying hair, his nameplate and insignia identifying him as a member of an elite commando unit in the U.S. Army. He clasps Schaefer warmly on the shoulder. PHILIPS -LRB- with affection. -RRB- You're looking well, Dutch. SCHAEFER It's been a long time, General. They walk up the stairs, entering the palapa, leaving the other man on guard.", "INT. PALAPA - DAY Large, two room concrete floor, thatched walls and roof. Behind a partially drawn curtain in the kitchen, a naked lightbulb hung from the rafters illuminates a bank of compact FIELD RADIO EQUIPMENT, MAPS and AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS. Otherwise the rooms are primitive and stand out in stark contrast to this high - tech invasion. Philips and Schaefer enter the room. PHILIPS -LRB- growing serious. -RRB- We've got a real problem here, something right up your alley. They cross to the center of the room to a folding table, covered with a large TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP of the Central American highland jungle. Philips leans over the table, circling a set of COORDINATES and a MARK on the open map. PHILIPS Eighteen hours ago I was informed that one of our choppers, transporting three presidential cabinet members from this charming little country, was shot down. -LRB- point to the circled area. -RRB-. The pilots radioed from the ground that they were all alive. Their position was fixed by the transponder beacon onboard the chopper. -LRB- points. -RRB- Here. Schaefer studies the map. He looks up at Philips. SCHAEFER That's over the border, General. PHILIPS -LRB- dead serious. -RRB- That's the problem. Apparently they strayed off course. -LRB- pause. -RRB- We're certain they've been captured by the guerrillas. Schaefer looks up, puffing lightly on the cigar. SCHAEFER -LRB- quietly. -RRB- What have you got in mind, General. PHILIPS We figure we've got less than twenty - four hours to catch up with them. After that, there's not much hope. We want a rescue operation mounted tonight. That does n't give you much time. Another puff on the cigar. SCHAEFER What else it new? When do we leave? Philips looks at his watch. PHILIPS You lift off in three hours. -LRB- pause. -RRB- There's one other thing. SCHAEFER What's that, General? PHILIPS Someone else will be going in with you. Schaefer stubbs out his cigar in an ashtray. SCHAEFER You know we do n't work with outsiders, General. VOICE -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Who said anything about outsiders, Dutch? Schaefer turns, SEEING the outline of a figure standing in the doorway of the communications room, holding a sheaf of PAPERS. Wearing pressed fatigues, DILLON, mid - thirties, black, walks into the room. Although as rugged looking as the others, his bearing and grooming indicate he's been away from the business of soldiering for sometime. His quick intelligent eyes reveal his current profession. DILLON Last time we danced, it was Lieutenant, Schaefer. A grin breaks out across Schaefer's face. SCHAEFER Dillon, you son of a bitch. The two men step forward and simultaneous swing from the hip as it to land a punch. but their hands SLAP together in a gesture of friendship, their forearms bulging, testing each other's strength. DILLON -LRB- warmly. -RRB- How you been, Dutch? They continue the contest, Schaefer has the edge, forcing Dillon's arm slowly downward. SCHAEFER You've been pushing too many Pencils, Dillon. Had enough? DILLON -LRB- grinning. -RRB- No way, old buddy. SCHAEFER You never did know when to quit. They look into each other's faces, each remembering something from the past. A moment's hesitation and they quit the contest. They laugh, Dillon slapping Schaefer on the shoulder. DILLON That piece of work you guys pulled off at the Berlin embassy last week was really something. Blew the entry points on three floors and neutralized the opposition in eight seconds flat. Beautiful. SCHAEFER Like the old days, Dillon. DILLON Also heard that you passed on that little job in Libya. Schaefer looks at Dillon, quietly considering him. SCHAEFER Was n't my style. We're a rescue unit, not assassins. -LRB- smiles. -RRB- This must be good. Big shot from the CIA, leaves his desk to come back to the bush. What's so important? DILLON Those cabinet members are very important to our scope of operations in this part of the world. They're about to get squeezed. We ca n't let that happen. I needed someone who could get the job done, quick and quiet. no screw - ups. I needed the best. The best. So, I pulled a few strings at the State Department. and here we are. SCHAEFER Go on. Dillon goes to the map. DILLON The set - up is simple, Dutch. One day job. We pick up their trail at the chopper, run'em down, grab the hostages and bounce back across the border before anyone knows we were there. You've done it a hundred times. Nothing out of the ordinary. Schaefer considers this. SCHAEFER And nothing we ca n't handle alone. Philips breaks in. PHILIPS I'm afraid those are your orders, Major. Once you reach your objective, Dillon will evaluate the situation and take charge. Schaefer looks from Philips to Dillon. He still does n't like it. DILLON Not to worry, Dutch. I have n't lost my edge. They've got a head start on us in some real tough country, otherwise, believe me, it's a piece of cake. PHILIPS Gentlemen, we're losing time. -LRB- to Schaefer. -RRB- You'd better get your men ready. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Good luck, Major.", "EXT. TWO ASSAULT HELICOPTERS - NIGHT Burst over the top of a ridge. Rising up in silhouette they perform a radical left bank turn and descend rapidly into an adjoining valley, racing over the jungle at treetop level. As the helicopters perform dizzying, high - speed maneuvers through the winding canyon, the PILOT'S VOICES can be HEARD, coordinating their operations. PILOT ONE -LRB- voice over. -RRB- Redbird Two, Two. Bearing south, three, five, zero, one o'ckock on the saddle ridge. Over. PILOT TWO -LRB- voice over. -RRB- Roger, Blue Leader. Three, five, zero, on your move. Over. The helicopters rise in perfect coordination over another ridge and bank sharply into the next valley, leveling out as they go.", "INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT Illuminated by the eerie red glow of NIGHT LIGHTS, are SEVEN MEN, dressed in jungle camouflage, soft hats and camouflage face - makeup. They wear no identity badges or insignias. The man are checking their WEAPONS, making last minute adjustments to their GEAR. The compartment reverberates with the NOISE of the THUMPING ROTORS and the ROAR of air from the open doors. BLAIN, weapons and ordinance specialist, a frightening bull of a man, a 240 pound killer, removes from his shirtpocket a think PLUG OF TOBACCO. He looks across at : MAC, a huge bear of a man, black, holding am M - 60 MACHINE GUN. Blain holds out the tobacco to Mac who refuses with a gentle shake of the head, a knowing smile, he knows what's coming. Holding the plug between his teeth Blain yanks free from his shoulder scabbard a wicked, ten inch COMBAT KNIFE. Placing the razor sharp blade next to his lips he slices through the plug as if it were butter. He chews throughtfully. Seated by the open doorway is RAMIREZ, a slight, angular man, an East L.A. streetwise Chicano. Adding a final piece of camouflage TAPE to his pack HARNESS, he looks up and smiles, faking a throw and the bulleting the tape to : HAWKINS, the radioman and medic, Irish, street - tough, reading a rolled - up magazine, as if he were a rush hour commuter. He snags the tape with an instinctual snap of the wrist, continuing to read for a moment before looking up, grinning at Ramirez, his boyish, eager face belying the rugged professional beneath. He turns his gaze to the man next to him : BILLY, the Kit Carson Scout, an American Indian, proud, stoic, a man of quiet strength and simplicity, carefully replacing the FIRING MECHANISM of his M - 203, working its action several times. He looks up with a smile at Hawkins. HAWKINS -LRB- shouting. -RRB- Hey, Billy, how many marines does it take to eat a squirrel? Billy looks back, shaking his head, uncomprehending. HAWKINS Two. One to eat it and one to watch for cars. Hawkins laughs heartily at his joke.", "EXT. JUNGLE - NIGHT Clearing another ridge, the helicopters plunge into a steep descent, turning quickly into a DEEP - WALLED CANYON, the force of the turn accentuated by the changing PITCH of the screaming turbines and the biting of rotors into the air.", "INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT The men, suspended in RESTRAINING HARNESSES from the bulkheads, lean forward, nearly upside down in response to the radical maneuver, handling the situation with ease. Blain holds out the tobacco to Ramirez, who swats at the offending object as if it were alive. RAMIREZ -LRB- shouting. -RRB- Get that stinkin' thing out of my face, Blain! Grinning, Blain proffers the plug to each man, each one refusing ; they've done it a thousand times. It's an old gag but they obviously care for the man in a big way. BLAIN bunch of slack - jawed faggots around here. -LRB- holds up plug. -RRB-. this stuff will put hair guaranteed. -LRB- chewing. -RRB-. make you a God - damned sexual ty - ran - toe - sore - ass. just like me. This brings a chorus of HOOTS and SHOUTS from the others. The helicopter makes another radical turn. Schaefer and Dillon, seated near the cockpit, communicate through HEADSETS, also linked to the pilot. They consult a TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP by RED PENLIGHTS. DILLON -LRB- pointing to the map. -RRB- Our rendezvous points and radio freqs. are indicated and fixed. AWACS contact on four hour intervals. SCHAEFER Who's our back - up on this? DILLON -LRB- grinning. -RRB- No such thing, old buddy. It's a one way ticket. Once we cross that border, we're on our own. SCHAEFER This gets better by the minute.", "INT. COCKPIT - NIGHT The PILOT and CO - PILOT are surrounded by an array of dimly lit GAUGES and SWITCHES. Before the Co - Pilot is a RADAR SCREEN and an INFRA - RED DISPLAY TERMINAL on which the TWO HELICOPTERS appear as HEAT SOURCES. PILOT NUMBER ONE roger Bird Two, Two. Reconfirm insertion at Tango, Charlie, Delta One, zero, niner on the grid at zero, two, two, mark four by zero. Over. PILOT NUMBER TWO -LRB- voice over. -RRB- Two, Two, leader. Roger your insert co - ord. Over. PILOT NUMBER ONE Leader to Bird Two Two. I bear two minutes to Landing Zone. The Pilot throws a SWITCH on the panel before him", "INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT A BLUE LIGHT appears on the forward bulkhead. Schaefer is speaking over a RADIO TELEPHONE. The Co - Pilot turns and hands him a clipboard. Schaefer reads, notes his approval and hands it back.", "EXT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT Flares up into position over the jungle and hovers, as the SUPPORT HELICOPTER holds in a protective position above.", "INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT Dillon seems comfortable with the men, showing Ramirez a battered CIGARETTE LIGHTER from a famed commando unit from the past. But his ingratiating demeanor is not impressing Mac, who regards Dillon with the cold suspicion reserved for an outsider. Mac looks up at Blain, his eyes narrowing. Blain's massive jaws roll as he masticates the chew. He pauses, eyes moving downward, spotting his target. He hocks a thick, vile stream of TOBACCO JUICE directly between Dillon's legs and onto the floor, a gelatinous skein lacing across the toe of one boot. Dillon looks up, his face goes cold and menacing. DILLON -LRB- icy. -RRB- Man, that's a real bad habit you've got. Dillon turns back to Ramirez, ignoring Mac and Blain, who continues to stare at him. Mac looks across at Blain, wide grins breaking across their huge faces. Cradled in Blain's arms, as if it were a part of his body, is a large, CANVAS - COVERED BUNDLE. Blain looks down at his bundle, almost affectionately. The PILOT's VOICE breaks in over Schaefer's headset. PILOT NUMBER ONE -LRB- voice over. -RRB- LZ comin' up in 30 seconds. Stand by the rappel lines. Looking up, Schaefer gives a hand signal to the nearest man who nods and in return, passes the signal down the line. Ramirez and Blain pick up heavy, METAL CONICAL DEVICES, attached to canvas bags filled with rope.", "EXT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT From the open doors the RAPPELLING LINES hurtle into space, CRASHING through the double canopy of the trees and to the jungle floor below.", "INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT The blue light changes to GREEN. Schaefer nods. RAPPELLING DEVICES SNAP into place. Gloved hands grab onto rope. Combat boots move into position. DILLON -LRB- shouting to Schaefer. -RRB- You do n't know how much I missed this, Dutch! Once you get this in your blood, you never get it out! SCHAEFER You never were all that smart. let's go! Schaefer signals. Men leap from the chopper.", "EXT. JUNGLE - NIGHT The man crash through the trees and are swallowed up by the darkness below. The helicopters depart, THUMPING their way into the night.", "EXT. MOUNTAIN RIDGE - DAY (DAWN) A light shower passes through the trees. The sky clears, REVEALING a lush and exotic foliage. Birds are beginning to SING but otherwise, all is SILENT. The dense growth seems impenetrable, but from a solid wall of undergrowth, a HAND appears and signals in a downward motion. As if by magic, the assault team materializes, quietly, cautiously. Schaefer makes another gesture and the team moves forward in perfect harmony in POINT - LOCK step, taking their cue from Ramirez, the pointman. Schaefer, highly focused and alert to every sound and movement, follows Ramirez, as if organically connected.", "EXT. JUNGLE HILLSIDE - DAY Descending the steep mountain slope, the team encounters an even denser growth of jungle, at times moving by instinct, as they are often visually separated. At one point, Schaefer checks his COMPASS, flashing some hand signals to Ramirez, indicating a new direction. Ramirez nods and moves on, Schaefer signaling to the rest of the men.", "EXT. JUNGLE CLEARING - DAY Blain, in a defensive position, sweeps the jungle slowly with his MP - 5. He steps back and turns, checking, revealing in the b.g. the WRECKAGE OF A U.S. ARMY UH - 1H HELICOPTER, hanging upside down, twenty feet above the ground, entangled in vines in the heavy capony, badly damaged, rotors bent, its tail section blown away. A GRAPPLING HOOK is hurled from the ground, CLATTERING into the cargo hold, hooking the edge of the airframe.", "INT. HELICOPTER - DAY Ramirez moves cautiously, searching for trip wires, using his knife to check the edges of the seats and door frames. Grimly he glances at the TWO BODIES slumped over the controls and then exits, snapping into and rappelling down the rope to the ground. He joins Schaefer standing in the f.g.. They look up, watching as Dillon moves through the cockpit, searching through pockets and compartments. Schaefer turns his back to the helicopter. RAMIREZ The pilots have each got one round in the head. And whoever hit it stripped the shit out of it. Schaefer studies the clearing, eyes always moving, wary. He turns back, looking at the chopper. SCHAEFER Took'em out with a heat seeker. RAMIREZ There's something else, Major. SCHAEFER Mmmnnn? RAMIREZ I do n't think that was any ordinary army taxi. Schaefer looks at him quizically. RAMIREZ looks more like a surveillance bird to me. Dillon rappells down the line and approaches. DILLON Have you picked up their trail yet? Schaefer taps Ramirez on the shoulder and he moves away. Schaefer turns to Dillon : SCHAEFER Billy's on it. -LRB- indicates chopper. -RRB- Heat seeker. Pretty sophisticated for half - asses mountain boys. DILLON They're getting better equipped every day. Bill approaches from the b.g. BILLY Major, looks like there were ten, maybe twelve guerrillas. Looks like they took some prisoners from the chopper. -LRB- points. -RRB- Then a different set of track, over there. SCHAEFER -LRB- puzzled. -RRB- What do you mean? BILLY Six others, U.S. issue jungle boots. They came in from the north, then followed the guerrillas. Schaefer turns to Dillon. SCHAEFER Mean anything to you? DILLON Probably another rebel patrol. They operate in here all the time. Schaefer is obviously concerned about this. He turns to Billy. SCHAEFER Get ahead, see what you can find. -LRB- to Ramirez. -RRB- Slow and easy. SCHAEFER -LRB- Contd. -RRB- -LRB- to Dillon. -RRB- We do n't want any accidents. Billy takes up the trail, disappearing in to the jungle. Ramirez signals, the team moves out.", "EXT. JUNGLE - DAY As Billy reconnoiters, Ramirez looks back and gives a sign. Schaefer nods and rappels down cliff. As he joins Ramirez, there seem to be butterflies everywhere - SCHAEFER What's he got? RAMIREZ Same business, guerrillas hauling two guys from the chopper. followed by men with American equipment. Ramirez seems concerned by this. Schaefer signals him to move on. Before he follows, Schaefer looks around : there's something dodgy about this. He goes. Over his head is a butterfly on a limb :", "EXT. JUNGLE - OVERHEAD - DAY As the assault team passes below, a BUTTERFLY lands on what appears to be the BARK of a TREE. It fans its wings and flies on. The impression of the butterfly remains in PERFECT RELIEF, as is imprinted on the bark. The image fades, REVEALING for an instant a gridwork of TINY SCALES on the bark. The bark moves! Changing colors, like a chameleon, REVEALING for an instant the form of something alive as it flows into the leaves, once again becoming indistinguishable from the surrounding foliage. TWO EYES, faintly flowing yellow, appear in the foliage. They blink, disappearing, and then become VISIBLE again.", "EXT. ALTERED P.O.V. - DAY SEEN THROUGH HEAT - SEEKING VISION, studying the team's careful, silent movements at they pass by. The SOUNDS of the FOREST are also ALTERED and ENHANCED with an electric, STATICLIKE quality. The Observer scans over the men. and then focuses on Schaefer as he crouches down, signaling forward and rear with a circular motion. He refers to an OBJECT in his hand, studying it carefully.", "EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY Using a MAP in lining out a course on his COMPASS. The other team members appear, silently, clustering around him. Using hand signals, Schaefer indicates a course change.", "EXT. OBSERVER'S P.O.V. - DAY Watches closely as Schaefer continues with his hand signals, instructing his team.", "EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY OUT", "EXT. DENSE UNDERGROWTH - DAY The hillside of a steep valley, dark and foreboding. Billy passes by and halts, removing his KNIFE. With his other hand he pulls down from overhead a THICK VINE, severing it. A thin stream of WATER emerges which he drinks. Suddenly he stops, letting the water drip to the ground. He quietly releases the vine and brings his M - 203 shotgun to bear, listening intently. Something seems wrong. He brings his eyes upward and stares, hard into the treeline of the opposing hillside. As his eyes strain to penetrate the dense, intertwined canopy, he is engulfed by the rising SOUNDS of the JUNGLE, a cacophony of BUZZING and CLICKING, amplified in the sweltering heat of the day. Unable to locate a source to account for his anxiety, he relaxes, moving on, resuming the track. BILLY -LRB- MINUTES LATER -RRB- examines the ground as he moves, growing confused and puzzled by what he sees before him. He stops, scrutinizing the jungle, probing the world around him with his keen senses. HEARING a faint RUSTLING SOUND he looks up, SEEING a curtain of MOSS several feet away. He takes a cautious step forward, extending his weapon. He reaches forward with his free hand, touching the moss. Behind the curtain a slight shifting of DARK FORMS occurs. He pauses and then with a sudden movement, sweeps the moss aside. A BLACK EXPLOSION of FLUTTERING WINGS as carrion - eating BIRDS rush past Billy's body. Billy's face seizes into a mask of horror, his expression descending into a state of complete, primitive shock, his eyes staring transfixed, inches away from the leering death - grin of a HUMAN FACE, upside down, completely stripped of skin. Reeling, his body numbed by the sight before him, he stumbles backwards and stops. Vines threaded through their achilles tendons, the BODIES OF THREE MEN, skinned and gutted, hang suspended in the think, suffocating air, BUZZING with insects. Billy turns away, revulsed as Ramirez moves quietly INTO VIEW, Schaefer directly behind him. Ramirez stares at the bodies, now seen to be in the first stages of deterioration, strips of flesh torn away by the birds and other scavengers. In an almost childlike manner, he crosses himself. RAMIREZ -LRB- hoarse whisper. -RRB- Holy Mother. Schaefer moves into the clearing, kneeling beside a bloody pile of CLOTHING and ENTRAILS. He examines the clothing and then rises, holding a DOG TAG on a broken chain. He reads the tag, his face growing hardened and bitter as he stares down at the tag, recognizing the name. SCHAEFER -LRB- to himself. -RRB- J.S. Davis, Captain, U.S. Army. Schaefer's eyes move from the bloody dog tag to the bodies. SCHAEFER -LRB- coldly. -RRB- Mac. Cut them down. Mac moves forward, withdrawing his COMBAT KNIFE. The blade flashes, cutting the vine as the first body THUDS to the ground. He bends over, picking up other DOG TAGS. Schaefer turns to Dillon. SCHAEFER I knew this man. Green Berets, out of Fort Bragg. What the hell were they doing in here? You got any answers for this, Dillon? DILLON -LRB- stunned. -RRB- Jesus. this is inhuman. -LRB- to Schaefer. -RRB- Uh. I was n't told of any operations in this area. They should n't have been here. SCHAEFER -LRB- angry. -RRB- Well somebody sent them. Schaefer walks off. Mac steps out of the clearing, sheathing his knife with a violent gesture, passing Ramirez. RAMIREZ -LRB- seething. -RRB- Must have run into the guerrillas. Fucking animals. Mac moves alongside Blain. MAC -LRB- spits. -RRB- Ai n't no way for a soldier to die. -LRB- looks at Blain. -RRB- Time to let ` ol ` painless' out of the bag. Grimly, Blain RIPS apart the velcro closures of the CANVAS BUNDLE slung across his shoulder, REVEALING a truly awesome weapon, a SIX - BARRELED MINI - GUN adapted for field combat.", "EXT. BILLY - DAY Kneels at the side of the original trail examining the ground. He rises, holding a spent CARTRIDGE. Schaefer approaches, kneeling beside him. SCHAEFER What happened here, Billy? Billy looks at him, puzzled. BILLY Strange, Major. There was a firefight. Shooting in all directions. SCHAEFER I ca n't believe Jim Hopper walked into an ambush. BILLY I do n't believe he did, Sir. I could n't find a single track. Just does n't make sense. SCHAEFER What about the rest of Hopper's men? Billy shakes his head. BILLY -LRB- uncomfortably. -RRB- No sign. They never left here Major. -LRB- pause. -RRB- It's like they just disappeared. Schaefer ponders a moment. Then, to Billy : SCHAEFER Stick with the guerilla trail. -LRB- to team. -RRB- Let's get it over with. We move. Five meter spread. No sound. Nothing.", "EXT. BLAIN - DAY Blain feeds the magazine of BELTED - SHELLS into the weapon, cocking it. He looks up at Mac, his eyes cold, his face taut with anger. BLAIN Payback time. Blain hefts the Mini - gun to his hip as Mac draws back slightly on the breech bolt of the M - 60, letting it snap. They move on, Billy pausing to look at the jungle before disappearing into the foliage.", "EXT. ALTERED P.O.V. - DAY carefully watching this exchange from high in the treetop canopy. The Observer watches as Schaefer turns and leaves the clearing, cautiously moving into the jungle.", "EXT. JUNGLE HILLSIDE - DAY Mac appears suddenly, materializing out of the undergrowth, pausing cautiously, his senses alert, intense, almost nervous. He moves on, his huge body barely making a sound as he weaves through the heavy undergrowth. Dillon appears. As he moves on, he crosses over a fallen TREE. Stepping down, his foot breaks through a rotten portion, a CHUCK of the log breaking free and rolling down the hill. Dillon at once goes into a defensive position, listening. The jungle is SILENT. He stands and starts to move forward. Suddenly Mac appears within inches of Dillon's face. Mac's face is menacing, angry. MAC -LRB- hissing ; barely audible. -RRB- You're ghostin' on me, mother fokaaa! I do n't care who you are back in the world. You give away our position again and I'll bleed you quiet and leave your fuckin' ass right here. -LRB- hisses ; spits. -RRB- Got it? Dillon's eyes are wide and fixed, staring back in cold hatred at Mac, controlling his rage. he knows the rules. Not waiting for a response, Mac turns and vanished into the jungle. Seething with anger Dillon focuses on a still moving LEAF and STEM, indicating Mac's exit point. He moves on.", "EXT. BLAIN - DAY Crouches under heavy foliage, waiting. He is joined by Mac. They glance briefly at each other, scanning in opposite directions for movement and sounds. They speak in whispers. BLAIN Say, Bull. What's goin' down? We got movement? MAC No. Shithead with his trenchcoat and dee - coda - da ring was makin' enough noise to get us all waxed. I do n't like that guy. Do n't like him at my back. I ai n't winding up like those bastards back there. Mac, sweating heavily, wipes the moisture from his brow with his finger. Blain pats the mini - gun affectionately. BLAIN I know what you mean, Bull, but do n't sweat it, me and ` ol ` painless' here are watchin' the front door. MAC As always, bro. They do a gentle fist dap and smile warmly at each other. Two men who have seen it all, through a dozen no - win situations, and have lived to tell about it. Mac advances a few meters and signals slowly.", "EXT. KNOLL The assault team moving up the hill, barely visible in the heavy foliage, the team moves cautiously into defensive positions. Holding. A moment later they continue up the hill, crawling. On their stomachs, Schaefer and Ramirez clear the edge of the knoll, SEEING below a GUERRILLA VILLAGE, a huge, spreading PALAPA covering implacements dug into a hillside, descending to a winding stream bed below. 30 MEN, dressed in a mixture of jungle fatigues and civilian clothes, armed with AK - 47 ASSAULT RIFLES move about the camp. A heavy MACHINE GUN emplacement guards the entrance to the camp. TWO MEN sit in the camouflaged emplacement. SCHAEFER sweeping the camp with BINOCULARS, SEES a GUARD above the camp. One of the man picks up a hand - held ROCKET LAUNCHER, placing it beside a bandolier of ROCKETS and a RADIO SET and CONSULS taken from the U.S. surveillance helicopter as if preparing to take them away. Schaefer puts down the glasses, looking at Ramirez who nods in acknowledgment. A sudden MUFFLED CRY brings Schaefer's attention to one end of the camp, where a heavily thatched DOOR covers and opening to the PALAPA. A GUARD stands at the door. The door flies open as a HOSTAGE, shirtless, hands tied behind his back, staggers through the door as if kicked from behind. The man falls to the ground, feebly trying to regain his footing. Although difficult to see from Schaefer's vantage point, the man's battered face and welt - covered back indicate he has been severely tortured. Emerging from the palapa, a GUERRILLA LEADER, moustached and wearing a SIDEARM, approaches the beaten man, kicking him viciously in the stomach, rolling him to his side. Kneeling beside the man he withdraws an AUTOMATIC from his holster and cocks the hammer. Grabbing the man by the hair he jams the muzzle into the man's ear and with a violent twist, pulls the trigger. The guerrilla leader stands and strides quickly back to the palapa, still holding the pistol, closing the door behind him. SCHAEFER grim - faced at having witnesses the murder, lowers him glasses, a look of cold determination on his face. Quickly he and Ramirez ease down the escarpment, joining the other team members. Schaefer makes a circling motion with his thumb and the team members gather in close, huddle formation. SCHAEFER -LRB- whispering ; angry. -RRB- Just killed one of the prisoners. No time for invitations. We take them, now.", "EXT. BLAIN AND MAC - DAY Crawl silently through the underbrush. With nearly impreceptible movements, Blain slips out of the cartridge pack, ditching the Mini - gun. He withdraws his COMBAT KNIFE, placing it between his teeth. They move through the underbrush in tandem, like two bug cats, stalking. Mac freezes, the sweat pouring from his face, holds up his hand as Blain stops. Using a BLADE OF GRASS, Mac points out a metal TRIP WIRE, following it to a hidden CLAYMORE MINE. Blain grins making a switching GESTURE. Carefully Mac detaches the LEAD WIRES. Directing the mine towards the camp, he reattaches the wires, nodding at Blain.", "EXT. JUNGLE - OVERHEAD - ALTERED P.O.V. - DAY SEEN THROUGH HEAT - SEEKING VISION, FOCUSED ON Blain and Mac, lying in the grass below, their bodies outlined in LUMONOUS AUREOLES. The Observer SEES the NETWORK of TRIP WIRES guarding the approaches to the machine gun nests. The wires GLOW as if ELECTRIFIED, standing out in hard - edged relief in contrast to the jungle foliage. He moves higher into the forest canopy.", "EXT. BILLY - DAY On Schaefer's signal rises up, pulling a SENTRY to him, covering his mouth with his hand, jerking him backwards and to the side, knocking him off balance with a sweeping motion of his left leg, killing him with his COMBAT KNIFE.", "EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY Belly crawls silently through the tall grass just outside and above the main entrance to the camp. He stops, studying the ancient, rusted skeleton of a TRUCK parked on a level spot above the camp, its engine quietly IDLING. The truck is jacked and blocked up, one rear wheel attached to a belt - drive leading to a PUMP, drawing water from a river nearby. In the open cab of the truck a GUARD is on duty, watching the high ground above the camp. Schaefer moves out, heading for the guard.", "EXT. MACHINE GUN EMPLACEMENT - DAY While one Guerrilla attends to his equipment, the OTHER attentively watches the approaches to the camp. He is momentarily distracted by a BUZZING FLY, which he annoyingly swats at with his hand. He hears something to his side. Turning to investigate, the huge, hamhock fist of Mack smashes into his throat. Simultaneously, Blain rises up behind the other man, grabs him by the hair, pulling him down, his COMBAT KNIFE driving downward.", "EXT. TRUCK - DAY A SATCHEL CHARGE is looped over the gearshift lever, resting on the floorboard. Schaefer, lying low across the seat of the truck, turns and looks, SEEING the guard, lying in a heap in the foliage.", "EXT. RAMIREZ - DAY Moves into position to the side and above the camp. He carefully checks the readiness of his SIX - SHOT GRENADE LAUNCHER, also setting his MP - 5 in front of him, ready for action.", "EXT. SCHAEFER Crouched to the side of the truck, watches the camp, SEEING below through the dense undergrowth, Ramirez, barely visible, signaling. Before him are two FRAGMENTATION GRENADES. He looks at his watch, and then up the hill to : DILLON AND HAWKINS their weapons ready. Dillon picks up his binoculars, focusing on the machine gun emplacement, seeing a MAN, his face covered by a HAT. The head rises, REVEALING the face of Blain, who looks above the camp and slightly nods. Putting his glasses down, motions to Hawkins. DILLON -LRB- to Hawkins. -RRB- Ready, kid? Hawkins grins back. Together they slip through the grass, downward towards the edge of the camp. OUT", "EXT. SCHAEFER Holds his huge, COMMANDO MACHETE on a diagonal, pushing through the belt, slicing it cleanly. Turning he crawls silently to the rear of the truck, positioning himself behind the rear of the one ton truck. He squats, and with an enormous, concentrated effort, deadlifts the rear of the truck, its rusted springs and frame beginning to CREAK and GROAN slightly. With a herculean effort he lifts the truck free of its blocks and then pushes forward. He rolls aside, disappearing into the ground cover as the truck, its tireless rims digging into the earth, lops down the hill, slowly picking up speed.", "EXT. GUERRILLA VILLAGE - DAY A Guerrilla, alerted by the SOUND of the approaching truck, looks up at the hillside, SEEING the vehicle still moving down the hill at a moderate roll. He CALLS OUT and several Guerrilla leaves their posts, moving out to prepare to stop the truck. The truck rolls into the clearing picking up speed, heading towards the main palapa. The men rush forward, surrounding the truck, trying to slow it down, but the truck rolls, SMASHING through the front wall of the palapa. The men gather around truck and then look back up the hill.", "EXT. ALTERED P.O.V. - DAY Watching as Schaefer pulls the pin and launches the GRENADE into the air, the Observer following its arc as it spirals dead - center into the camp, bouncing twice before rolling into the FUEL DUMP. which a moment later, EXPLODES into an incredible FIREBALL. The expanding FIREBALL released from the explosion is to the Observer like an erupting sun, momentarily blinding him.", "EXT. GUERRILLA CAMP - DAY The truck is BLOWN up into the air by the explosion. a moment later the satchel charge DETONATES with an ear - splitting EXPLOSION, tearing the truck apart.", "EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY Jumps to his feet, FIRING an M - 203 round into the camp.", "EXT. KNOLL - DAY Schaefer races down the hillside, joined by Dillon, leaving Hawkins to cover them. Bullets burst around their feet as they run low, firing short bursts to his left and right. He FIRES the undermounted GRENADE LAUNCHER, sending a round into a gun position in the trees. Still running he breaks open the breach, slamming in another 40mm ROUND from the cartridge pack at his waist. Blain and Mac fire the heavy machine guns, laying down a withering curtain of lead, shredding the camp, taking out five Guerrillas at once.", "EXT. GUERRILLA CAMP - DAY A MAN almost completely ON FIRE is hit by an onslaught of GUNFIRE, ripping him back into the jungle. Ramirez cuts loose a barrage from the SIX - SHOOTER. seconds later the MACHINE GUN IMPLACEMENT erupts in a series of EXPLOSIONS, blowing two Guerrillas into the air. At the HILLSIDE HUT, two Guerrillas move into position by the window, drawing down on Schaefer as he appears, racing down the hill. As they are about to open fire, Dillon appears, YELLING OUT a warning. DILLON On your nine! Schaefer dives, hitting the ground as Dillon OPENS FIRE taking out the Guerrillas. Schaefer rolls to his feet, spins, firing the 203 grenade launcher, completely destroying the hut.", "EXT. ALTERED P.O.V. - DAY As the Observer regains its vision an eerie, surreal experience of sight and sound unfolds : BULLETS streak through the air, leaving blood - red trails of HEAT, like laser blasts. As they impact into the Guerillas, we HEAR the enhanced SLAPPING of BULLETS, SEEING tiny blossoms of HEAT mushroom out of their bodies. We HEAR the horrific, deformed CRIES and SCREAMS of the dying men. Another searing, blinding EXPLOSION sends pieces of SHRAPNEL ripping through the air, some of them ROARING past the Observer's position, like tiny meteors.", "EXT. GUERRILLA VILLAGE at the entrance way to the main palapa, a Guerrilla stands in the doorway, giving COVER FIRE to his comrades as they fall back inside. Jumping from the roof of the adjoining palapa, Billy drops directly in front of the Guerrilla. From the side, unseen by Billy, another Guerrilla thrusts out with a knife, Billy ducking backwards, the tip of the knife SLASHING his face. With a lightning move, Billy whips his arm up and around the Guerrilla, locking his elbow, breaking the joint. Still holding the man he FIRES, blowing the other Guerrilla off his feet with the SHOTGUN portion of his weapon. He looks at the Guerrilla out of the corner of his eye. He suddenly strikes, breaking his neck, dropping him in a heap. Billy continues on, racing down the stairs, firing the M - 203. Meanwhile, Blain is crouched next to a tree, providing cover. Behind Blain, at the edge of the camp, circling around from below, TWO GUERRILLAS appear and FIRE a grenade round which EXPLODES behind Blain, fragments ripping into the tree next to which Blain is standing, bark and dirt flying as shrapnel rips into his vest, one piece tearing into his upper shoulder. The hits have no effect on the huge man and with a savage GROWL, he spins, opening fire, raking the two attackers with the Mini - gun. Nearby, Mac charges from the jungle on a dead run, diving over a fallen tree as machine gun FIRE rakes the ground around him. Blain, spotting the sniper high in a tree, opens FIRE with the MINI - GUN, shredding the tree, sending the Guerrilla crashing down through the roof of the palapa.", "INT. PALAPA - DAY The sniper CRASHES through the roof, landing on the floor near Hawkins and Ramirez who do a quick double take before opening fire on a group of fleeing Guerrillas, taking out two, giving chase to the others. Schaefer and Dillon appear at the top of the staircase, Schaefer freezing as he SEES below a Guerrilla raising an AK - 47, preparing to fire. Schaefer tackles Dillon, the two men hurling into the air, a moment later BULLETS ripping into the CRATES behind where they were standing. Dillon rises up, kicking over a crate, shooting the Guerrilla who is trying to bring the gun around to fire at him. Schaefer crouches, covering the upper entrances to the palapa, as Ramirez rushes past, joining Schaefer. From the corner of his eye, Schaefer catches a movement. With a whipping, backhanded throw, he lets fly his COMMANDO MACHETE. The machete impales the attacking Guerrilla, driving him backwards, pinning him to a post. SCHAEFER Stick around. Schaefer and Ramirez run towards the lower levels, side by side, firing as they go. They reach a door, Schaefer taking out an ATTACKING Guerrilla. Ramirez grabs the side of the door, shoots a look to Schaefer and throws it open. With Schaefer covering him, Ramirez takes a quick peak inside and then rushes into the room.", "INT. ROOM - DAY At one end is a STAIRWAY, leading to an escape door. A Guerrilla, seen from the waist up, scrambles down the stairs. At the base of the stairs, a Guerrilla, holding an AK - 47 on his hip, turns and starts to fire. Schaefer and Ramirez respond with full AUTO BURSTS which rip into the Guerrilla, spinning him around, knocking over a crude WOODEN TABLE, scattering a BRIEFCASE with burning PAPERS, FOOD CANS, and LIQUOR BOTTLES. As he spins he FIRES the weapon, an arcing line of SLUGS slamming into the tin roof, sending down a shower of rust and dirt. He falls to the ground. Dead. Ramirez charges through the DUST and thick SMOKE to cover the fallen men ; Schaefer following close behind, jerking a new CLIP from his ammo belt. Suddenly, another Guerrilla erupts from behind some ammunition crates, drawing down on Ramirez with a machine pistol. SCHAEFER -LRB- shouting. -RRB- Down! As the Guerrilla fires, Schaefer smashes the butt of his empty weapon into the Guerrilla's shoulder, knocking the gun aside, the SLUGS thudding into the wall harmlessly. He hits the Guerrilla with a vicious glancing blow to the head with the barrel of his weapon. The Guerrilla is hurled backward, crashing into the wooden crates and to the floor. Ramirez, recovering quickly, descends the stairs with catlike agility, disappearing. Schaefer crouches and spins, jamming a new clip into the rifle, scanning the palapa for any other movement. He races to the main door of the room, shouting into the palapa. He SEES Blain charging down the steps. Catching his attention he signals him on, out the back to cover Ramirez. SCHAEFER -LRB- to Hawkins. -RRB- Hawk, Get Con. Op. on the hook! Position and situation, now! As Blain runs down the stairs, Hawkins already has the radio off his back, setting up the portable SATELLITE DISH ANTENNA. HAWKINS You got it, Major!", "EXT. PALAPA - WATER AREA - DAY Ramirez, Blain and Billy race down the back stairs of the palapa, FIRING Mini - gun, automatic and grenade rounds at the escaping GUERRILLAS as they flee the area, splashing, charging across the shallow river. The guerrillas are history. in no uncertain terms.", "INT. PALAPA - DAY For the first time, Schaefer studies the interior of the cavernous palapa, SEEING the enormous stockpile of WEAPONS, EQUIPMENT and SUPPLIES stacked along the walls, obviously a major military stronghold hidden deep within the mountains. Mac hustles up to Schaefer, a look of urgency on his face. SCHAEFER Any sign of the hostages? MAC -LRB- nods. -RRB- We found'em both, dead. And the gear from the chopper. If they're Central American, I'm a fuckin' Chinaman. By the looks of'em, I'd say our cabinet minister and his aide are CIA. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Another thing, Major, we were lucky. couple of those guys we waxed are Russians, military advisors by the look of it. Something big was about to happen here. Schaefer looks at Mac a moment, a flush of anger beginning to show. SCHAEFER Good work, Mac. Clear the area, no traces. Get the men ready to move. Schaefer goes back into the room, looking down at the unconscious guerrilla, racking a round into the chamber, reloading his weapon. He kneels, staring into the FACE of a WOMAN, ANNA, dark, late twenties. Despite her blood and dirt - smeared face, she is beautiful. SCHAEFER -LRB- closes eyes. -RRB- Shit. He checks her pulse and then slowly he bends to pick up her PISTOL, ejecting the clip. He stands, beginning to shuffle through the PAPERS scattered about the room. Staring at one he looks up, the pieces falling together.", "EXT. JUNGLE - DAY Ramirez, at a crouch, runs through the jungle, following the obvious signs of the Guerrilla's retreat. He emerges from the trees into an opening, leading to a sheer rock cliff, towering fifty feet above the ground. Scanning the wall, he SEES movement and quickly takes cover, as automatic FIRE rips up the ground before him.", "EXT. ROCK WALL - DAY Near the center of which a narrow cut, two feet wide, leads to the top of the cliff, giving access to the adjoining ridge. Two Guerrillas scramble up through the chimney, assisted by a ROPE, which with withdraw as they reach the top. Ramirez takes out one man, the other taking cover, returning fire.", "EXT. BASE OF ROCK WALL - DAY Blain joins Ramirez, behind cover at the foot of the cliff. As they take cover, Ramirez notices the wound on Blain's shoulder. RAMIREZ You're hit. You're bleedin', man. Blain looks briefly at the wound. BLAIN -LRB- spits. -RRB- Ai n't got time to bleed. On a signal, they both clear cover and fire LONG BURSTS from their weapons up the cliff. The smoke is hardly cleared when they are answered by withering FIRE. They duck down as a grenade EXPLODES nearby. Ramirez quickly replaces the 40MM rounds into the SIX - SHOOTER. BLAIN Son of a bitch's dug in like a Alabama tick. -LRB- spits. -RRB-. jack us around all day. RAMIREZ Hell, dude, we do n't have all day. Ramirez immediately rolls into the line of fire, BLASTING six RAPID - FIRE shots on a HIGH - ARC trajectory towards the rocks. Blain reacts. BLAIN Shit, Pancho! Blain dives against the protective cover of the rock wall, covering his head. Ramirez casually hops across, squatting next to Blain. They make eye - contact. RAMIREZ What's your problem, dude? Before Blain can answer, Ramirez puts his fingers into his ears and grimaces just as. The entire hillside EXPLODES, blowing the Guerrillas into the air, a torrent of vegetation and earth raining down the cliff, obscuring Blain and Ramirez.", "INT. PALAPA ROOM - DAY Schaefer is staring out the window, his weapon slack in one arm, still holding the paper. Dillon enters, obviously excited about what he has found. He sees the papers on the floor. He reads through them quickly, growing even more excited. DILLON This is beautiful! More than we ever thought. We got the bastards! Schaefer turns, striding slowly to Dillon, handing him the paper he is holding. SCHAEFER I think this is the one you want. Dillon reads it. DILLON -LRB- reacting. -RRB- Two days. that's all we had. In two days, three hundred of these bastards would have been equipped with all this. After they crossed the border, it would have taken a year to stop them. -LRB- looks up. -RRB- We've averted a major guerrilla invasion, Dutch. Schaefer moves in close to Dillon, face to face, anger flaring in his eyes. SCHAEFER -LRB- slow ; deliberate. -RRB- It was all bullshit. All of it. From the start. you set us up, got us in here to do your dirty work. DILLON -LRB- angry. -RRB- That's right, I set you up. You're a veteran at this, Dutch, I had to. SCHAEFER Why us? DILLON Because I told you, you're the best. I knew you could do it but I could n't get you in here without a cover story. SCHAEFER What story did you give to Davis? DILLON We've been lookin' for this place for months. The chopper must have gotten close when they got shot down. Hopper was sent in to get my men. He was just doing his job. When he disappeared I had to clean this up, I had to stop there bastards. We were so close, we could n't quit. We could n't sleep through this one. I needed you, Dutch, ca n't you see that? DILLON To invade a foreign country, illegally? You lied, Dillon. Stacked the odds against us. Set us up. You could have gotten us all killed. -LRB- pause ; looking at him. -RRB- You used to be one of us, Dillon, someone I could trust with my life. DILLON We've been through a lot together Dutch. When we were together, no one could stop us, the hottest Goddamned team the army ever saw. But things changed, I woke up. We're fighting them in a dozen Goddamned countries. It's a fight we ca n't lose, Dutch. We're all expendable assets, ca n't you see that? Schaefer takes the paper from Dillon's hands. SCHAEFER That's your problem, Dillon. You always did put ambition before the lives of your men. -LRB- pause. -RRB- My men are not expendable. I do n't do this kind of work. -LRB- crumples up paper in fist. -RRB- This is your dirty little war, not mine. He stuffs the crumpled paper into Dillon's shirt pocket. Anna, regaining consciousness, GROANS, a heavy flow of blood running down her face from her head wound. Hawkins appears at the door. HAWKINS Major! Schaefer turns away from Dillon and steps through the doorway into the palapa as Anna moans again, MUMBLING something in Spanish. Dillon kneels, beside her. DILLON -LRB- quietly ; in Spanish. -RRB- Are you all right?", "INT. PALAPA - DAY Schaefer is talking to Hawkins who has the field radio set on a crate just outside the door. HAWKINS -LRB- urgent. -RRB- Major, we stepped into some real shit here. I got a hook - up with aerial surveillance. SCHAEFER Movement? HAWKINS -LRB- nods. -RRB- Guerrillas swarming like flies all over the place. Ca n't be more then one, maybe two miles away. Place is going down, Major. SCHAEFER How much time? HAWKINS Half an hour, maybe less. Schaefer touches him on the shoulder. SCHAEFER -LRB- urgently. -RRB- Tell Mac we move in five. He starts to walk away. DILLON -LRB- o.s. -RRB- She goes with us. Schaefer turns. Dillon is at the doorway, supporting the still groggy Anna. DILLON She's too valuable. She's got to know their whole network. The whole set up. We take her with us. SCHAEFER We take her and she'll give away our position, every chance she gets. No prisoners, Dillon. Dillon grabs the handset from Hawkin's radio, shoving it at Schaefer. DILLON You're still under orders, Dutch. You want to make the call, or should I? Schaefer looks at the handset. Then at Dillon, he knows Dillon's won. He starts to walk away but stops, turning back, pointing a finger at Dillon. SCHAEFER I'm getting my men out of this damn jungle, Dillon. She's your baggage. You fall behind, you're on your own.", "EXT. GUERRILLA VILLAGE - DAY Schaefer and Billy are kneeling on the ground near the trailhead, studying a MAP. In the b.g., the team, hidden, covers the hillside approaches to the camp, nervous and wary, weapons ready. SCHAEFER This place is too hot for a pick - up. They wo n't touch us until we're over the border. We can lift at LZ 49, here. -LRB- points to map. -RRB- Spotter plane says we're cut off. -LRB- points to map. -RRB- Except for this valley. Billy shakes his head, following the CONTOUR LINES of the rugged terrain. BILLY Looks bad, Major. It's gon na be a real bitch. -LRB- points to map. -RRB- If we follow above the river and then down, here, at this canyon, we might find a way out. Schaefer turns to Ramirez, kneeling close by. SCHAEFER -LRB- decisively. -RRB- Not much choice. Pancho, take the lead. Double time it. He turns and looks at Dillon, Anna as his side, her forehead bandaged, her hands bound in front of her. He turns back to the others. SCHAEFER Lock n' load, watch your ass. Blain moves out, swinging the Mini - gun in front of him as he goes.", "EXT. OBSERVER'S P.O.V. - DAY Watching as Dillon leads ANNA onward, SEEING her bound hands. Dillon pushes her.", "EXT. ANNA - DAY Spins, hurling a string of insults to Dillon in SPANISH. ANNA -LRB- in Spanish. -RRB- You touch me again, pig, and I will cut off your balls! DILLON -LRB- in Spanish. -RRB- It's a long walk back, make it easy on yourself. She spits at him, turning forward with a twist of her head. Dillon picks up his back, shouldering it. As they move on, Mac calls out to him. MAC -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Hey, Dillon, over here. Dillon does n't respond. MAC -LRB- louder. -RRB- Dillon, over here. Dillon turns and approaches, warily, holding the girl. DILLON Yeah, what is it, Sergeant? MAc unsheathes his knife. He gives Dillon a cold look and turns him by the shoulders. Crawling across the PACK on Dillon's back is a huge SCORPION. Mac skeweres the scorpion with the tip of his blade, holding it before the wincing Dillon. Anna smirks, nodding to the writhing, stinging insect. ANNA -LRB- in Spanish. -RRB- When my people catch you, you'll wish you were him. Dillon looks at Mac. DILLON Thanks. MAC -LRB- coolly. -RRB- Anytime. Mac flings the scorpion to the ground, crushing it with his boot. He looks up at Dillon, walks away. Dillon follows, pulling Anna behind him. Billy, guarding the rear, glances furtively around the clearing. He moves a step forward and stops, freezing. Slowly he turns back, his eyes riveted upon the treeline above the camp. His eyes strain, his senses registering a fear he can not name or see. Something is out there, in the trees, waiting, watching. Billy turns and walks into the jungle, pausing one last time to look behind him before he too disappears from sight. The jungle GROWS SILENT.", "EXT. OBSERVER'S ALTERED P.O.V. - DAY LOOKING DOWN from his vantage point TO the treeline below, terraces like stepping stones, FOCUSING ON a TREE, fifty feet away. The Observer utters a LOW TRILL and springs outward into space, hurtling downward towards his landing point, the canopy of the trees approaching in a staccato rush of green. The SOUNDS of the FOREST are again altered and enhanced with an electric, STATIC - LIKE quality as the Observer descends fluidly through the trees and to the ground. He enters the camp, surveying the terrible destruction and carnage. He SEES the dead Guerrillas, the dissipating heat from their bodies leaving them pale and GHOST - LIKE, as if fading light about to extinguish. He sees their weapons, the cold hard steel of the barrels registering ICE BLUE in his vision.", "EXT. OBSERVER'S P.O.V. OF HIS HAND - DAY As it appears, pulsing in a pale magenta heat, low to the ground, holding his weapon. He lays down the weapon, picking up the SCORPION, turning it slowly in his fingers, examining it. It looks like an exotic flower, its color fading from sight, turning to BLACK. A low SOUND is uttered, something vaguely familiar about it : A NEARLY HUMAN VOICE, a distorted imitation of Mac. HUNTER -LRB- o.s. ; filtered. -RRB- Dillon, over here. Again the phrase is uttered, improving, closer to Mac's inflection and accent. HUNTER -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Dillon, over here. The Hunter lowers the pitch. HUNTER -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Dillon, over here. The last effort is a chilling simulation of Mac's voice.", "EXT. OBSERVER'S HAND - DAY Drops the scorpion and picks up the weapon which changes instantly back to the Observer's skin tones.", "EXT. OBSERVER'S P.O.V. - DAY He turns and focuses on the area where the team left camp. He crouches and springs to the lower branches of a tree, grasping them with his clawed, three - fingered hands, pulling himself up and through the branches with astounding speed and simian - like dexterity ; his spurred prehensile feet, grasping and thrusting him to a vantage point, fifty feet above the ground. As he moves on, the jungle grows suddenly QUIET, as if aware, sensing that the HUNTER is now stalking, no longer observing!", "EXT. JUNGLE VALLEY - DAY The twilight world of a PREHISTORIC FOREST, filled with gigantic plants and towering trees, overgrown with vines and creepers. The team, with Billy at point, walk alongside a wandering STREAM BED, weirdly illuminated by SHAFTS OF LIGHT, streaming through openings in the trees, as if from spotlights, a hundred feet above. It is midday, hot and humid, the air BUZZING with the sounds of insects, the CRYING of birds and monkeys. The men are moving fast and quiet, straining to see into the dense jungle, aware of every sound, sweating, quietly slapping at biting insects.", "EXT. GIANT HARDWOOD TREE - DAY Lies across their path. As the man climb over a rotten section, Mac stops to assist Blain with his Mini - gun. MAC I've seen some badass bush before, but nothin' like this, man. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Little taste' o home? Blain nods and pauses to rest, looking around him as Mac withdraws a small silver POCKET FLASK. He takes a nip, passing the flask to Blain who also takes a sip. BLAIN I hear you bro, this is some shit. Makes Cambodia look like Kansas. Lose your way in here, man, you be in some kinda hurt. Blain hands back the flask, Mac replacing it inside his vest. They do their hand dap, looking warily behind them before they move on.", "EXT. ANNA AND DILLON - JUNGLE - DAY Have fallen behind, Dillon looking worriedly ahead at the them out distancing them. Anna is keeping her pace purposefully slow. She trips on a root falling to the ground. She lies there, motionless. He quickly reaches down to haul her to her feet. DILLON -LRB- urgently. -RRB- Shit. Come on. Like an uncoiled spring, Anna turns, flinging a handful of DIRT into his face, momentarily blinding him. She lunges for his rifle with her bound hands. Suddenly the BARREL of an MP - 5 is thrust into her face. Looking up she SEES Ramirez, calmly holding the weapon on her, the look in his eyes indicating he'd hove no trouble shooting her. RAMIREZ -LRB- in Spanish. -RRB- Do n't try it. She looks back at Dillon, wiping the dirt from his eyes. She moves on. Ramirez gives him a cold look as Dillon hurries past. RAMIREZ -LRB- coolly. -RRB- You should put her on a leash, Agent Man. If you ca n't handle her, just say the word. Dillon moves on, ignoring Ramirez, who turns, scanning the jungle behind him before moving on. Dillon catches up with Anna, turning her sharply by the chin. DILLON -LRB- cold ; in Spanish. -RRB- Try that again. Please. She looks at him contemptuously, undaunted. She will try it again. She breaks away from his grasp and moves on, Dillon watching her go, he wo n't hesitate next time.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY As he travels, directly overhead, timing his movement with those of the team. He moves lower, closer to the slowly moving humans.", "EXT. RIVER BED - DAY The team moves cautiously through the winding stream bed, now wearing their clothing in various stages of disarray for comfort, sweat dripping from their bodies. Billy, in the lead, picks his way along the riverbank, his concentration rapt, aboriginal. His face a trancelike mask of expectation. Blain, cradling the heavy Mini - gun as if it were a toy, swings the weapon relentlessly across his field of view. He pauses to adjust the hanging, belted loop of cartridges trailing from the back pack magazine. An INSECT lands on his face and is trapped in the grease paint near his lips. He draws the hapless bug into his mouth with his tongue and quietly spits it out, his concentration unbroken. Mac follows, holding the M - 60 high across his chest. Schaefer, bent, cautious, his feet moving aside the dry leaves on the ground, heel to toe and on foot edges. He glances around, checking the team's position and progress. Hawkins follows, his mouth open, breathing deeply, exhausted, the radio a 60 pound demon. Anna, struggling to climb a section of the stream bank, slips on some loose dirt. Unable to assist herself with her hands tied, she nearly falls. Dillon prods her with his rifle, forcing her to her feet. She scrambles up the bank, Dillon following.", "EXT. RIVER BANK - DAY As Billy enters a small clearing, bordered on one side by the towering trees, carpeting the mountainside. High above in the thick, impenetrable treeline, brightly colored birds SQUAWK loudly, chasing each other from branch to branch. Suddenly Billy stops. Schaefer holds up his hand and the team freezes in position. An eerie SILENCE, like a slowly falling curtain, descends over the jungle until even the BUZZING and CLICKING of insects have CEASED.", "EXT. TEAM MEMBERS - DAY Sensing an ambush, move quietly into the foliage. Dillon moves into the undergrowth, dragging Anna with him. He slings his MP - 5 over his shoulder, withdrawing his KNIFE. Grasping Anna by her shirt collar and pushing her to the ground he holds the weapon near her throat. Dillon signals to Ramirez who approaches. Dillon hands Ramirez the knife. DILLON Watch her. Before Ramirez can respond, Dillon slips into the undergrowth. Ramirez holds the knife on Anna, cautiously scanning around him for movement. Unseen by Ramirez, Anna's outstretched hands slowly tighten around a stout ROOT - BURL, lying loose on the ground.", "EXT. BILLY - AT THE RIVER BED - DAY He remains frozen and transfixed, staring into the treeline. Something is moving, fluid, silently and downward, into the forest. Billy remains rooted to the spot, lost in concentration. SCHAEFER sensing something very wrong with Billy, moves alongside Mac. SCHAEFER What's got Billy so spooked? MAC Ca n't say, Major. been squirrely all mornin'. fuckin' weird. sometimes I think that nose of his is too good. smells things that ai n't there. Schaefer signals for Mac to cover him and then moves low and quiet towards Billy. Dillon appears, looking to Mac for an explanation. Mac ignores him, concentrating on the jungle. Dillon looks forward at. Billy, his eyes riveted to the capony above, as he unconsciously reaches to his throat, grasping a LEATHER POUCH, secured to his neck by a thong. He fingers the MEDICINE BAG talisman.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY As he slowly descends through the trees, moving towards Billy, who's eyes search the treeline for movement. BACK TO SCENE/SCHAEFER approaches Billy, gripping his shoulders and in a hoarse whisper, speaks his name. SCHAEFER What is it? Billy, rigid, does not respond. Schaefer forcefully jerks his around to face him. SCHAEFER Billy. What the hell's wrong with you? BILLY -LRB- low. -RRB- Something. in the trees.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY Still closing in on Billy. Billy turns back, looking high into the trees, puzzled and frightened. He's lost sense of the Hunter's presence. He lowers his vision, looking towards the Hunter, now on the ground, 30 yards across the clearing from Billy. The Hunter pauses. BACK TO SCENE/BILLY AND SCHAEFER BILLY -LRB- whispers. -RRB- Can you see anything. -LRB- points. -RRB-. there? Schaefer stares hard at the jungle. SCHAEFER It's. nothing.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY Moves behind a broad fern, skirting around Billy and Schaefer, heading away from the column. BACK TO SCENE/BILLY AND SCHAEFER Schaefer shakes his head, continuing to stare into the jungle. He turns to Billy. SCHAEFER What do you think? Billy turns, a puzzled look in his eyes. He nods in agreement. BILLY It's nothing.", "EXT. ANNA AND RAMIREZ - DAY Sensing the danger has passed, Ramirez releases his grip on Anna. As they start to rise, Ramirez sheaths his knife and unslings his MP - 5. Anna still stares hard into the jungle. Suddenly, without even looking, Anna with the trained reflexes of an experienced fighter swings the BURL with all her might, catching Ramirez hard on the side of the head, just above the eye, opening a wicked gash. Spinning around she knees him brutally in the groin. As Ramirez goes down, doubled over in pain, Anna turns, scrambling up the embankment, running for the jungle. Ramirez CRIES out.", "EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY HEARING Ramirez' cry, Schaefer signals to Hawkins to move. Hawkins moves out, fast, heading towards the sound.", "EXT. HAWKINS - DAY SEES Anna running away. He gives chase. Anna, although bound, is light and fit and runs fast, hurdling fallen logs and branches, charging through the undergrowth. SHe has a good start. Hawkins, hampered by the radio and weapon but in tremendous shape, thunders after her, closing the distance.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY As he passes from behind a large tree, surrounded by dense foliage, SEEING the fleeing Anna. He watches her and then begins to move parallel with her, only faster, the green of the jungle rushing by in a blur.", "EXT. ANNA AND HAWKINS - DAY Anna, bursting through a grove of ferns, drives on, breathing hard with the exertion. Hawkins, ten yards behind, closing the distance, taking advantage of any hesitation Anna makes, struggling with the dense jungle. Anna hits a small clearing, an alleyway through the trees. She sprints hard across the clear ground.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY Moving through the jungle. As he steps clear of the foliage he SEES Anna driving hard into the alleyway, running directly towards him. Twenty yards away, Hawkins, closes in. BACK TO SCENE/HAWKINS Only a few feet behind Anna, lunges forward, knocking her to the ground. In a second he's on her, his weapon ready. She struggles to her feet, fighting, gasping for breath. Hawkins holds the MP - 5 on her, looking at her, almost pleading. He does n't want to shoot her, but he will if he has to. HAWKINS Please. She looks at the weapon, to Hawkins and then, hopefully, to the jungle. She stops, staring hard down the alleyway. Something. suddenly she sees it! ANNA -LRB- in Spanish. -RRB- Look out, behind you! Hawkins spins.", "EXT. HAWKINS AND ANNA'S P.O.V. - DAY SEEING the MOTTLED OUTLINE of the Hunter's body, racing towards them, as if the entire wall of the jungle were rushing in. The Hunter's WEAPON flares to life.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - ANNA AND HAWKINS - DAY As he hurtles towards them, their faces frozen in surprise. BACK TO SCENE/ANNA AND HAWKINS A splitting THUD as Hawkins is hurtled backwards into the undergrowth, the Hunter's hand and WEAPON flashing through the air. BLOOD splashes on Anna's face. She SCREAMS as Hawkins' MP - 5 FIRES a short BURST into the air.", "EXT. RIVER BED - DAY HEARING the GUNFIRE, Schaefer WHISTLES low and sharp. Ramirez, face bloody, swings into action, moving in a coordinated defensive/offensive pattern into the jungle. HAWKINS/BACK TO SCENE The Hunter's ARM and SPUR hook into Hawkins' leg, and he is dragged into the jungle.", "EXT. RAMIREZ - DAY Ramirez runs forward ten paces, drops to a crouch, scanning to each side. Immediately Schaefer runs forward twenty paces. As he passes Ramirez, Ramirez turns and scans the rear and flanks. Dillon, Mac and Blain repeat the maneuver, leap - frogging forward, canvassing the jungle, providing areas of intersection cover.", "EXT. RAMIREZ Entering the alleyway where Hawkins was killed he SEES Anna, cowering in the bushes, her blood splattered face glazed with terror, his eyes vacant. He approaches, angry, wary, but the girl is so stunned. He SEES the trail of BLOOD and CRUSHED GRASSES leading into the jungle. He gives a LOW WHISTLE and then moves on, the rest of the team assuming defensive positions around the clearing. He follows the trail, finding first Hawkins' blood - covered weapon, and then, a few yards later, the radio. Ramirez cautiously parts the brush before him. A look of puzzlement and then revulsion comes of his face.", "EXT. ALLEYWAY - DAY Blain and Mac at either end, cautiously searching the jungle ; Billy covering their flanks. Schaefer and Dillon approach Anna. She seems unaware of their presence, staring numbly ahead. Schaefer checks her out, looking for wounds, he wipes some of the blood from her face. SCHAEFER It's not her blood. Ramirez emerges from the jungle carrying Hawkins' MP - 5 and radio. He approaches, dumping the equipment on the ground. RAMIREZ Major, you'd better take a look at this. SCHAEFER Hawkins? RAMIREZ -LRB- oddly. -RRB- I ca n't tell.", "EXT. SCHAEFER AND RAMIREZ - DAY Dillon in the b.g., as Ramirez parts the brush with his weapon. Before them, covered with dirt and leaves, are Hawkins' ENTRAILS. There is no body. SCHAEFER -LRB- shocked. -RRB- What in God's name? RAMIREZ I think it's Hawkins. SCHAEFER Where the hell is his body? RAMIREZ There's no sign of it.", "EXT. ALLEYWAY - DAY The entire team is gathered, still holding defensive positions. Anna, still stunned, is beginning to come around. She looks up at Schaefer. He turns to Ramirez. SCHAEFER Ramirez, ask her what happened. Ramirez drops to one knee and talks softly to her in SPANISH. She mutters incoherently in Spanish, still dazed, shaking her head. Dillon listens closely to her response. Ramirez turns to Schaefer. He seems confused. RAMIREZ She says. the jungle came alive, and took him. DILLON That is n't what she said. she said. -LRB- pondering ; to Ramirez. -RRB-. she does n't make sense. RAMIREZ -LRB- growing angry. -RRB- Couple of sappers been trailing us all the way from the camp, Major. Billy heard them. She set us up, ran for it. They were waiting. I should've wasted the bitch when I had the chance. Schaefer, looking at Hawkins' bloodstained equipment lying at Anna's feet, looks up. SCHAEFER -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Why did n't they take the radio and his weapon? -LRB- pause. -RRB- Why did n't she escape? Ramirez and Dillon look at the equipment and then to the girl, still numb with shock. DILLON -LRB- grimly ; remembering. -RRB- They did the same thing to Davis. The two veteran commandos look at each other, finding no explanation between them. SCHAEFER -LRB- urgent ; to the others. -RRB- I want him found. Sweep pattern and double back. Fifty meters. They move out. Schaefer moves into the jungle, searching. He crouches at the base of a huge MAHOGANY TREE, covered with vines, studying the jungle. He moves away from the tree and into the forest, looking for signs on the ground. Where he was sitting, a DROP OF BLOOD falls. Another drop falls, dripping from a leaf and above that, from another leaf. Above that, high in the top of the tree, SUSPENDED from vines from his ankles, is HAWKINS' BODY, his chest a gaping wound. He hands there as if he were an animal, field dressed.", "EXT. BLAIN - DAY Crouched in the undergrowth. There is a movement in the brush before him. He wipes the sweat from his eyes and clicks his safety on the Mini - gun to fire. The SOUND is growing closer. Blain levels the weapon. A smile crosses his face. BLAIN -LRB- whispers. -RRB- Come on in you fuckers. come on in. ` ol ` painless' is waitin'. The movement in the brush is GROWING LOUDER. Blain's finger moves closer to the trigger. Suddenly a small TAPIR bursts through the leaves, startling Blain. He relaxes momentarily as he watches the animal scurrying from sight. He stands. SOMETHING grazes his shoulder, a gout of BLOOD erupting. He starts to turn, the Mini - gun held low, ready to fire. from out of the jungle, 75 feet away, the Hunter's WEAPON streaks toward him like a missile. He SCREAMS as it enters his back, erupting from his chest in an EXPLOSION of BLOOD.", "EXT. MAC - DAY Has heard Blain's cry. He moves fast through the brush. He HEARS a RUSTLING in the bushes. A wet SUCKING SOUND. Mac charges into the clearing. In the instant before the Hunter disappears into the forest, Mac SEES a vision so brief and fantastic that it seems like a hallucination. The Hunter's EYES flare momentarily from the green before they vanish. Mac sees his friend, lying on the ground, his chest open, the powerful man, dead. MAC -LRB- shouting. -RRB- Contact, 30 Right! He OPENS FIRE with his M - 203, belted shells slamming into the weapon from the magazine at his waist, expending it in one LONG BURST.", "EXT. THE OTHER TEAM MEMBERS - DAY Flying through the jungle, weapons ready, eyes searching for movement.", "EXT. MAC - DAY He throws down the weapon and with a cry of rage, lunges forward, grabbing the Mini - gun. As he stands, the CARTRIDGE BELT, attached to Blain, strings out between them. He opens FIRE and the foliage before him EXPLODES with the fury of the terrible weapon. Mac sweeps the Mini - gun from left to right, like a man possessed, mowing down the jungle. The other team members race INTO SIGHT and begin firing with Mac. Ramirez opens FIRE with the SIX - SHOOTER grenade launcher. EXPLOSIONS rock the jungle.", "EXT. HUNTER - DAY Moving. A piece of SHRAPNEL cuts his shoulder. A splash of ORANGE BLOOD spatters across the LEAVES of a nearby tree, bullet holes ripping through the surrounding foliage. BACK TO SCENE/MAC More FIRING. Mac, his weapon expended, continues to thrust the Mini - gun forward, still squeezing the trigger. Suddenly, as quickly as it started, THE FIRING STOPS. The men move catlike into the jungle, reloading, searching, their nerves taut, stretched to the limit, ready to fire again at any second. Mac is frozen, eyes wide, unblinking, his breath coming in rapid gasps as he stares into the jungle, still squeezing the trigger of the weapon, its breech locked open, GUNSMOKE wafting from the chamber and barrel. Schaefer moves in front of Mac, still staring into the jungle. Dillon pushes Anna into the clearing, moving towards the body. Anna looks at the body and then up to Mac. Schaefer sees a terrifying moment of recognition flash in her eyes as she continues to stare at Mac. He turns to Mac. MAC -LRB- confused. -RRB- I. saw it. At these words, Anna reacts in shock, drawing a slight breath. Schaefer turns, sees her staring at Mac. He turns back. SCHAEFER You saw what? MAC -LRB- still dazed. -RRB- I saw it. Schaefer turns back to see Anna, staring fixidly at Mac, watching his lips. Schaefer turns quickly to Blain's body and kneels alongside Dillon. SCHAEFER is at Blain's side, shocked at the sight of the mutilated body. He is joined by Dillon. SCHAEFER -LRB- to himself. -RRB- Blain. -LRB- puzzled. -RRB-. Just like the others. no powder burns, no shrapnel. DILLON The wound all fused, cauterized. what the hell did this? Schaefer stands, looking at the body. In the b.g. Anna drifts away from the group. SCHAEFER -LRB- to Mac. -RRB-. Mac! Mac stares ahead, dumbly, not hearing. He grabs Mac by his shoulders, shaking him violently back to awareness. SCHAEFER -LRB- demanding ; angry. -RRB- Mac! Mac! Look at me! Mac turn to face Schaefer, a shocked expression on his face. SCHAEFER -LRB- urgent. -RRB- Mac, who did this? Mac is suddenly angry and frustrated, he has no explanation. MAC I do n't know. Goddamn it, something. I saw something /. Ramirez runs from the jungle, breathing hard, shaking his head. RAMIREZ Nothing. The same thing. Not a fucking trace. No bodies, blood, anything. Mac stands. Instinctively the team has now grouped around Schaefer, their weapons pointing into the jungle, ready, their nerves on total edge. Schaefer looks upward at the darkening sky. SCHAEFER -LRB- quietly. -RRB- We're losing the light. Mac, I want a defensive position above this ridge, mined with everything we're got. Man is again the hardened professional. MAC Yessir. Schaefer looks down at Blain's body. He turns to Ramirez and Billy. SCHAEFER Put him in his poncho and liner and carry him back. We'll bury him in the morning. MAC I'll take him. ANNA as they leave approaches the brush, her attention focused on something clinging to the leaves, well off to the side of where Mac saw the Hunter. She draws closer, reaching out, hesitant, as if drawn magnetically to the leaves.", "EXT. DETAIL - HUNTER'S BLOOD - DAY Clinging to the leaves, thick, viscous, pale - orange, almost like the sap of an exotic plant. Her fingers hover above it, hesitantly, and then touch it. ANNA examines the blood, transfixed. Dillon appears at her shoulder, startling her. He motions for her to return. She turns, wiping the blood onto her pants leg.", "EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DUSK The team is dug into the foxholes in a dense grove of trees, a solid wall to their backs. The men are barely visible they blend in so well. Nearby, Mac is stringing a TRIP WIRE, low to the ground, covering it with leaves and grass. He moves into camp and reports to Schaefer. MAC We've got most of the flares, frags. and two claymores just outside. Nothin's comin' close to here without trippin' on somethin'. SCHAEFER Thank you, Sergeant. Mac starts to go but Schaefer places his hand on his shoulder. SCHAEFER I'm sorry, Bull. It's never easy. He was a good soldier. MAC -LRB- hardened. -RRB- The best friend I ever had. Mac turns and walks through the camp, stopping beside a DARK OBJECT on the ground. He kneels beside the PONCHO pulling back the zipper REVEALING Blain's face, looking peaceful in death, as if lying in state. Mac removes something from his pocket, holding it in his hand, studying it. DETAIL OF OBJECT IN MAC'S HAND The small WHISKEY FLASH, the chrome rubbed away in places REVEALING the brass beneath and a MEDALLION depicting the 101 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION. MAC takes a tiny sip from the flask. He replaces the cap and lifts the flap of Blain's shirt pocket, placing the flask inside. He lingers on the face and then closes the zipper. MAC -LRB- softly. -RRB- Good - bye, Bro. ANNA is huddles into a foxhole, her hands still tied in front of her. She looks down at her pants leg. The Hunter's BLOODSTAIN glows with a faint luminosity. She places her fingers near the stain.", "INT. HUNTER'S SHIP - NIGHT Hawkins' BODY impacts the floor with a THUMP.", "EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY (DUSK) A momentary HUSH falls over the symphony of night sounds. Anna and Billy turn towards the trees with a growing look of wariness. The others, setting up the RADIO, show no response.", "INT. HUNTER'S SHIP - DAY (DUSK) The Hunter's foot steps on the upper leg of the corpse, the PREHENSILE SPUR digging deep, pinioning the body to the ground. The Hunter's HAND extends, his FINGERS puncturing the skin at the base of the spine, gripping the vertebrae. With otherworldly strength the arm pulls, the entire SPINAL COLUMN ripping free from the body, a sickly SNAPPING and POPPING of cartilage separating from bone and tissue.", "EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY (DUSK) Ramirez is tuning in the compact FIELD RADIO, equipped with a CRYPTO - PHONE device. Dillon holds the handset. DILLON -LRB- to phone. -RRB- Blazer One, say again. A CRACKLE of STATIC over the radio. BLAZER ONE -LRB- voice over. -RRB- Red Fox, I say again. Your request for extraction denied. Your area still compromised. Proceed to Sector 3000 for prisoner extraction, Priority Alpha. Next contact at 1030 hours. DILLON -LRB- to phone ; angry. -RRB- Roger, Blazer One. 1030 hours. damn, bastards. He puts down the phone, turning to the group, huddled together in a tight circle, Ramirez and Billy facing outward in defensive positions, Anna, silent, watching. Schaefer is look at him. DILLON -LRB- angry ; shocked. -RRB- We're still too far in, they wo n't risk coming in for us. SCHAEFER Expendable assets, Dillon. Seems Langley is never around when you need them. DILLON I can accept that, it comes with the job. SCHAEFER Bullshit. You're just like the rest of us. Dillon glares back. Schaefer leaves, lost in thought. Ramirez looks up at the impenetrable canopy. RAMIREZ Shit load o' good a chopper'd do us in here anyway. Dillon turns to Mac. DILLON Mac. Who hit us today? Mac is still obviously feeling the anger and bitterness of the mystifying event. MAC Do n't know, only saw one of'em. Camouflaged. He was there. -LRB- remembering. -RRB-. Those fucking eyes. DILLON -LRB- abruptly ; pushing. -RRB- What, Sergeant? MAC -LRB- returning ; angry. -RRB- Those eyes. disappeared. But I know one thing, Major. -LRB- pause. -RRB-. I drew down and fired right at it. Capped - off two hundred rounds and then the Mini - gun ; the full pack. Nothin'. nothin' on this earth could have lived. not at that range. Dillon ponders this for a moment, staring hard at Mac. Mac gets up. MAC I've got the first watch. Mac departs. Dillon watches Mac as he creeps forward to the sentry position. He turns to Ramirez. DILLON Ask her again. What did she see? What happened to Hawkins? Ramirez turns to Anna. They talk quietly in Spanish, Dillon watching, listening carefully. Ramirez turns back to Dillon. RAMIREZ -LRB- interpreting. -RRB- She says the same thing. It was the jungle. Ramirez looks up at Billy who continues to stare into the jungle, aware, catlike, reacting to every sound, his nerves on edge, as if ready to snap. Ramirez rises, moves alongside his friend, Dillon watching closely. RAMIREZ -LRB- whispering ; imploring. -RRB- You know something Billy, what is it? Billy turns, his face a mask of primal fear. He moves close to Ramirez. BILLY I'm scared. Ramirez is frightened by this. RAMIREZ -LRB- shaken. -RRB- Bullshit. You ai n't afraid of no man. Billy looks deep into his eyes, chilling Ramirez to the bone, looking at his with eyes which have seen on an instinctual level what the others have so far only begun to sense. BILLY There's something out there, waiting for us. it ai n't no man. Billy turns away, moving a short distance away, taking up his position. Dillon looks after him and then into the blackness of the jungle canopy. Dillon speaks to Ramirez. DILLON He's losing his cool. There's nothing out there but a couple of men that we're going to have to take down. Despite his words, there is an edge of doubt in his voice. Schaefer returns. He's overheard this exchange. He's holding the group of DOG TAGS taken from Davis' men. He holds them up for Dillon to see. SCHAEFER You still do n't get it, do you Dillon? He took Davis. and now he wants us.", "INT. HUNTER'S SHIP - NIGHT CLOSE ON an oval CHAMBER made of an otherworldly looking metal with a strange copperlike patina, its interior bathed in INTENSE BLUE LIGHT. In the chamber is Hawkins' SKULL CAP and SPINAL COLUMN still attached. The light field suddenly changes as all connective tissue, flesh and blood and drawn away from the bony structures with incredible force, disintegrating as they rush toward the sides of the chamber. The light changes in frequency to a dull glow as the Hunter's hands remove the GLAZED, POLISHED trophy from the chamber. He turns, carefully placing it upon a GLOWING SURFACE. He touches the trophy gently, feeling its texture, as a man might touch the hide of a big cat. He pulls his hand away and instantly an opaque FORCE FIELD covers the trophies.", "EXT. MAC - NIGHT (LATER) Hunched down in a foxhole, the Mini - gun on a tripod before him. It's nearly a FULL MOON, the jungle a montage of SHADOWS AND REFLECTIONS. Mac stares into the night, his eyes always moving. MAC -LRB- distant ; whispering. -RRB- It's the same kinda jungle, Bro, same moon. everything. -LRB- pause. -RRB-. a real number ten night. Remember Bro? Only you and me, the only one's out of the whole fuckin' platoon who made it out. His eyes probe the darkness, remembering. MAC we walked out on top of'em. Not a scratch, not a fuckin' scratch. -LRB- spits into the night. -RRB- No fuckin' chili - choker got to you, Bro. you were just too good. He ponders this a moment. MAC I promise you this, Bro. whoever he is, I hope he's plannin' to hit us again. -LRB- pauses ; spits. -RRB-.'cause he's got my name on'em.", "INT. HUNTER'S SHIP - NIGHT A FORCE FIELD that permeates the jungle, becoming one with the trees and foliage. The Hunter walks down a CORRIDOR of SOLID LIGHT, leading to an opening to the jungle. As the Hunter reaches the doorway he changes from visible to invisible, moving on into the night.", "EXT. ENCAMPMENT - NIGHT The mist has thickened, the night alive with a million JUNGLE SOUNDS. The team members sleep uneasily, if at all. Mac, although weary, stares hard into the night, waiting, each small sound a potential enemy. A LULL spreads over the jungle, animals and insects QUIETING. Mac tightens his grip on the Mini - gun. Billy awakens, peering into the night. Nothing. Suddenly, a metallic CLICK, a POP, the SOUND of a warning flare rocketing into the canopy. A moment later a brilliant FLASH as the flare burns, illuminating the camp. An echoing eerie SCREAM fills the night as a DARK SHAPE in the mist rockets through the undergrowth towards Mac. Mac spins, hauling the heavy gun around, just as something crashes into his upper body, driving the huge man into the foxhole. A desperate battle for life ensues, illuminated with the strobing light of the descending flare. Mac's enraged SHOUTS and ROARS mingled with horrific SCREAMS fill the night. Mac's razor - edged KNIFE slashes in the light ; BLOOD spatters his face as he attacks fiercely. Schaefer and Ramirez rush at a crouching run towards the foxhole, their weapons ready. A tremendous climatic SCREAM from the foxhole AND THEN, SILENCE. Schaefer and Ramirez approach, cautiously. Mac stands, his face and clothes drenched in blood, some of it his, his breath coming in rapid gasps. He looks at Schaefer, whispering hoarsely. MAC Got the motherfucker. As the flare breaks through the canopy, dying out in great flickering bursts, the man stare down into the foxhole. A huge, jungle BOAR lies mutilated in a pool of blood, still quivering in the final throes of death. The flare dies out. Mac, shaking from adrenalin, breathing heavily, looks down at the dying animal. MAC -LRB- incredulous. -RRB- A pig. just a fucking pig. Schaefer shines his TEKNA - LIGHT onto the boar, playing the light along its massive hulk, its razor edges tusks gleaming in the light. Ramirez appears by his side, looking down at the huge carcass. RAMIREZ Holy shit, Mac. Nearby, unnoticed by the men, Anna stoops, her hands still bound, picking up an MP - 5 from the ground. She turns, looking for an avenue of escape, running for the jungle. But the forest looks foreboding and sinister. She stops, staring at the jungle, the moonlight reflected off leaves like a thousand eyes. For a brief second she imagines she can see the Hunter's eyes, crashing towards her, the shifting patterns of light and dark making the jungle seem to strobe, like it is about to rush in at her. She freezes, paralyzed by fear, by her memories of the attack. She drops the MP - 5 to the ground. Back at the foxhole, Schaefer and Ramirez help the still shaken Mac from the hole. Schaefer looks at Mac, at the huge gash across his chest. SCHAEFER Get a field dressing on that right away. Suddenly he remembers, Anna. SCHAEFER Where's the girl? They all turn, ready to move and then stop. Coming forth from the shadows Anna appears, still frightened, seeking the security of the soldiers. From the darkness nearby, Billy's VOICE in a hoarse WHISPER. BILLY -LRB- o.s. ; urgently. -RRB- Major, over here. Schaefer turns, apprehensive, something in Billy's voice. He walks over to Billy, standing with a FLASHLIGHT pointing to the ground. They see Blain's BODY BAG slashed open, covered in blood. Ramirez appears. BILLY The body. it's gone. RAMIREZ Came in through the trip wires, took it right out from under our noses. Anna appears between Schaefer and Ramirez, staring down at the empty, blood - soaked body bag. She looks up, into Schaefer's eyes.", "EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY (PRE-DAWN) A patchy GROUND FOG covers the area. Anna, in her foxhole, awakens, LISTENING to the rising SOUNDS of the jungle. MONKEYS begin to forage, their noisy CHATTERING and SCREECHING filling the air. A BIRD flutters back to its nest ; a CHAMELEON emerges onto a leaf, directly above Anna's head. Anna carefully extends her arm, allowing the lizard to crawl onto her, watching, fascinated as it changes colors. She carefully places the chameleon back on the leaf, which changes color again, becoming nearly invisible. Near the empty PONCHO, Schaefer, Billy and Ramirez are examining the ground and the trip wire to the flare. Billy stands, turns to Schaefer. BILLY Boar set off the trip flare, Major. No other tracks. Schaefer kneels and examines the thin, well hidden WIRE. He stands, looking around the camp. RAMIREZ How could anyone get through this, carry Blain out, right under our noses without leavin' a trace? SCHAEFER He knows our defenses. RAMIREZ Why did n't he try to kill one of us last night? Schaefer looks at him. SCHAEFER He came back for the body. -LRB- pause. -RRB- He's killing us, one at a time. Schaefer turns and looks at Billy, asking with his eyes for a viable explanation. BILLY Like a Hunter. Schaefer stares at him, the words sinking in. He looks up, reconstructing in his mind the possible events of last night, his eyes following the tree line, tracing the path of the intruder as he might have travelled through the trees and down to the ground. He looks up at Billy. SCHAEFER He uses the trees. Billy and Ramirez stare up at the trees, a wave of fear passing through them. from the trees. Schaefer turns, moving to where Dillon is guarding Anna, sitting on the ground. Reaching down, Schaefer pulls her firmly to her feet, looking at her intensely. SCHAEFER Yesterday. What did you see? She stares back at him. DILLON You're wastin' your time. SCHAEFER No more games. She looks at him a long moment, and then answers in English. ANNA I do n't know what it was. It. Dillon does a double take. Schaefer continues to look at Anna. He was n't surprised : he knew it yesterday. SCHAEFER Go on. ANNA It changes colors, like the chameleon. It uses the jungle. DILLON -LRB- derisively. -RRB- Shit, you trying to tell me Blain and Hawkins were killed by a fucking lizard? Do n't listen to her. Its's a psych - job. Two, maybe three of them, that's all. We keep our cool, out - think them'til we're across the border. Ignoring him, Schaefer takes her hands, drawing his COMMANDO KNIFE, looking squarely into her eyes. SCHAEFER What's you name? She looks back into his eyes. ANNA Anna. SCHAEFER Anna. He's hunting us. You know that? She nods. With a sudden movement he slices through her bonds. DILLON What the hell do you think you're doing? SCHAEFER We're going to need everyone. DILLON What are you talking about? We'll be out of here in ten minutes. SCHAEFER We're not going. DILLON That rendezvous is ten maybe twelve miles, at most! We're almost home. But the chopper wo n't wait. Schaefer turns to face him. SCHAEFER Dillon. This thing does n't care who we are, who she is. We make a stand or there wo n't be anyone left to make that chopper. Dillon stares back, not wanting to hear what he already knows to be true. Anna touches Schaefer's arm. ANNA There is something else. When the big man was killed, you must have wounded it. -LRB- pause. -RRB- It's blood was on the leaves. She touches her pant leg, the stain is faded but still there. Schaefer turns to Dillon. SCHAEFER If it bleeds, we can kill it.", "EXT. ENCAMPMENT - MORNING (LATER) Anna at the base of the rocks scans the jungle with binoculars watching the tree line. Mac moves past her, uncoiling a trip wire linking up four CLAYMORE mines hidden at various points with leaves and foliage. In a tree at the edge of the clearing, Billy tosses an uncoiling roll of wire to Ramirez who attaches it to a GRENADE, wedged it the crouch of a tree. Wires attached to GRENADES and CLAYMORE MINES lead off through the underbrush and trees leaving a long, unmined corridor leading from the camp and into the jungle. At the corridor's end, where the rocks merge with the jungle, Schaefer hauls down on a HEAVY VINE, straining with every ounce of strength, his muscles bulging, while Dillon takes up the slack of the vine around the base of a tree. The vine is attached to a forty foot SAPLING, arcing closer to the ground in a gigantic bow with every pull, CREAKING and GROANING with tension. With a last mighty heave, Schaefer draws the tree almost within reach, gesturing to Dillon to tie it off, who does. DILLON -LRB- straining. -RRB- I'm tellin' you, this little ` boy scout' stunt is a Godamned waste of time. -LRB- stands. -RRB- We've got to get the hell out of here, now, while we've still got the chance. Ignoring him, Schaefer rapidly drags into position a NET crudely woven of differing sizes of vines, their LEAVES still attached. He carefully begins to cover the net with leaves and debris. Dillon watches him in growing frustration as Schaefer moves quickly, picking up a FRAMEWORK of STICKS he has tied together, a TREADLE - SPRING TRIGGER. He holds up the framework, hurriedly examining his work before placing it on the ground. SCHAEFER He'll be looking for the trip wires. If we're lucky, he wo n't see this. DILLON Now what, Dutch. You going to send your mystery guest an invitation? Schaefer turns, there is a touch of fear in Dillon's eyes. SCHAEFER You're catching on, Dillon. Schaefer returns to his work on the net and trigger.", "EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY (LATER) Morning passes. Fog lifts as the sun creeps into the jungle. Insects swarm and are fed upon by BIRDS and other predators. At the entranceway to the rock outcropping, the net and trigger are hidden beneath the leaves, the framework of the trigger bulging with tension from the straining vine attached to the bent tree. At the other end of the corridor, several meters above the jungle floor, Schaefer and his team, heavily camouflaged, nearly invisible, lie hidden, waiting. The team members, as if hypnotized by the BUZZING din, stare into the jungle, fixated, alert. ANNA while waiting at the net : ANNA -LRB- hushed. -RRB- When I was little we find a man -. -LRB- she struggles for the words. -RRB- - like a butcher. The old ones in the village cross themselves and whisper crazy things. ` Demonio, cazador de trofoes. Only the hottest times of the hottest years.' Crazy things. This year is grows hot. And we begin finding our men. We find them sometimes without their skin. Sometimes. much, much worse. Cazador de trofoes. means the demon who takes trophies. SLOW RACK TO Schaefer's face. Ashen. HOLD. Suddenly an EERIE SILENCE moves over the jungle : He whips his face forward. The silence is SHATTERED by a bird flapping from the brush. Schaefer sits back and scratches his head, frustrated and a little chagrined. DILLON -LRB- o.s. -RRB- What'll you try next - cheese? Schaefer glares at him. Turns to go - He stands and begins to move low to the ground toward the waiting snare. Behind him, sighting down their well - hidden gun barrels, the others scan the jungle, alert for the slightest sound or movement, covering him. Schaefer reaches the trap, carefully skirting the trigger hidden beneath the leaves. He reaches the end of the corridor, moving out into the jungle. He moves further away from the others, the silence crushing down on him. He stops and waits, sweat pouring down his face, his finger tightening on the trigger of his M - 203, eyes scanning the jungle. He turns his back on the jungle, waiting. Nothing. He moves back towards the corridor, reaching the net, again waiting, listening, sensing. Nothing. He turns around, looking at the jungle one last time, his face measuring defeat and then, with carefully, measured strides, he walks back to the camp. Schaefer looks at Billy who shakes his head in puzzlement. Nearby, Dillon starts to rise. DILLON -LRB- low ; whispered. -RRB- Satisfied? Now let's get the hell out. Suddenly, behind Schaefer at the end of the corridor, with a resounding SWISH and SNAP, the NET explodes off the floor of the jungle in a hail of leaves and sticks, rocketing upward into the treetops. Schaefer spins, the others leaping to their feet as they SEE the net as it tears into the treetops, a large struggling bulge trapped within as a long, unearthly TRILLING SCREAM ECHOES through the jungle. Schaefer and the others charge from the rocks towards the jungle and the bobbing net, their weapons ready. Anna remains behind, watching terrified from the rocks. They arrive under the net, raising their weapons to fire. but before they can fire the entire net EXPLODES into a flurry of leaves, twigs, vines, dirt and a FLASH of PULSATING CRIMSON.", "EXT. HUNTER'S HAND AND ARM - DAY As the Hunter leaps from the net his WEAPON activates, his arm slashing out, severing a THICK LIMB of the spreading tree capony, entangled in vines.", "EXT. THE TEAM - DAY The limb CRASHES down from the trees, Schaefer, Dillon, Billy and Mac Diving for safety. But Ramirez, following the Hunter's leap, SEES too late the pendular movement of the severed limb and is struck a THUDDING blow in the ribs, which lifts him off his feet, hurling him backwards like a rag doll, his shirt torn open, exposing a BLOODY WOUND. As Anna runs to Ramirez's side the others, still stunned, look upward, frozen in shock SEEING : THE HUNTER, clinging to a side of a tree, flushed bright crimson. Dillis is dumbfounded, like the others, rooted to the ground staring upward. DILLON What is God's name? The Hunter utters an unearthly SNARL and HISS from his open mouth as an instant later his camouflage resumes and he vanishes from sight. a rapid, furtive movement through the trees. Mac OPENS FIRE with the M - 60, the others joining in, shredding the foliage, but they know the creature is gone. With a SHOUT, Mac races into the jungle, in pursuit of the Hunter. SCHAEFER Mac! Schaefer hurriedly ejects the spent clip from the M - 203, slamming in a new one. He shouts an order to Billy. SCHAEFER -LRB- to Billy. -RRB- Get Ramirez on his feet! Take the girl and get the hell out of here! He turns to run after Mac. Dillon steps in front of him, putting his hand on Schaefer's chest. DILLON No way, Dutch. I'm going. You get these people and get the hell out of here. SCHAEFER This is n't your style, Dillon. DILLON Guess I've picked up some bad habits from you, Dutch. Now do n't argue with me, you know I'm right. Get to that chopper and hold it for us. We'll be along. SCHAEFER You know you ca n't win this one. Dillon stares at him. DILLON You know me, Dutch, I never did know when to quit. Dillon turns and begins to move out. SCHAEFER Dillon! Dillon turns. Picking up the spare MP - 5, Schaefer tosses the weapon to Dillon, who grabs it with one hand. They share a look, knowing this is farewell. SCHAEFER I'll see you there. DILLON Right behind you. Hefting both weapons at the hip he runs into the jungle after Mac. Schaefer watches him leave. He breaks and goes to Ramirez, attended by Anna and Billy, who is now sitting up, holding his ribs and gasping for breath. BILLY He's busted up, bad, Major. RAMIREZ -LRB- gasping. -RRB- I can make it, Major. Schaefer lifts him to his feet, supporting him. SCHAEFER Come on, Poncho, we're getting out of here. -LRB- to Billy. -RRB- Billy, take the radio, leave the rest. Come on!", "EXT. MAC - DAY Creeping low to the ground, his eyes searching through the trees. MAC -LRB- whispered. -RRB- Come on, you motherfucker!", "EXT. DILLON - DAY Moving through the underbrush HEARS a slight RUSTLING in the foliage. Mac? He strains to locate the source of the movement. He HEARS A SOUND, too faint at first it identify. He listens. Silence. He hears is again, the SOUND of a VOICE, barely audible. A VERY QUIET WHISPER. VOICE -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Dillon, over here. Dillon locates the direction of the voice and moves towards it. VOICE -LRB- o.s. ; barely audible. -RRB- Dillon, over here. Dillon moves a few feet into the undergrowth. He carefully parts the thick leaves and vines and enters a tiny opening. He looks around, seeing nothing. DILLON -LRB- whispering. -RRB- Mac? Suddenly a HAND appears and covers Dillon's mouth. Dillon gasps as Mac pulls him down to where he is hiding. MAC -LRB- whispering ; close. -RRB- Out there. Past the rocks. can you see it? Something seems to MOVE in the direction Mac is pointing. DILLON -LRB- whispering. -RRB- I see it! -LRB- pause. -RRB- We're gon na take this thing. Dillon points to an OUTCROPPING OF ROCKS, covered with VINES. DILLON Take a position over there. I'll work around towards you. When I flush him, you nail him. MAC -LRB- a mean look. -RRB-. Right, I got a score to settle for the Bro. DILLON We both got scores to settle. Dillon silently disappears into the jungle, Mac watching him go. Mac makes his way toward the rock outcropping, working his way between the rocks and the vines. He takes up a position and scans the jungle before him. DILLON moving quietly, his face intense, determined. He stops and listens. MAC/ROCK OUTCROPPING straining to hear VAGUE SOUNDS coming from the jungle. He reaches out and grabs a VINE and carefully pulls himself forward into a better position. BACK TO SCENE/DILLON moving, searching. He goes into a crouch. MAC/ROCK OUTCROPPING There is MOVEMENT in the undergrowth. He begins to sweat. He moves the safety to fire ; reaches out and grabs another vine to pull himself forward. Mac reacts in shock. The vine is alive! Before he can move, the Hunter's HAND appears from the vines, grabbing Mac by the wrist. In the moment before he is killed, Mac turns and SEES the Hunter's glowing EYES. A FLASH as the Hunter's other hand, moves with blinding speed, Mac's face contorting in pain as the Hunter's razor - sharp SPUR rips deep into his throat. He falls forward into the leaves. DILLON He HEARS the faint disturbance in the leaves. He pauses, turning in Mac's direction, listening. Hearing no further sound he relaxes, moving on.", "EXT. NARROW RIVER GORGE - DAY Anna in the lead, followed by Schaefer carrying Ramirez on his back. Billy, carrying the RADIO is covering them from above, as they skitter and slide down the loose gravel of a rocky slope, leading to a river crossing.", "EXT. DILLON He stalks through a narrow corridor of tangled vines and moss, leading to the rock outcropping on the other side, his face alert, showing no signs of fear, his weapon ready.", "EXT. VINES AND MOSS - DETAIL - DAY Through the thick tangle of undergrowth, there is MOVEMENT, a slight, undulating distortion, drifting through the hanging vegetation, as if cast by a passing shadow. DILLON as he stops and crouches slightly, listing behind him. Did he hear something? He moves on.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY Behind Dillon and to the side of the corridor. The Hunter syncopates him movements precisely with those of Dillon. Dillon stops. The Hunter freezes in position. BACK TO SCENE/DILLON He does sense something behind him. He crouches and spins, leveling the weapon. The corridor behind him is empty, quiet and undisturbed. He studies the trail intently.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY Peering out through the vines. Dillon is looking directly at him. Dillon turns, moves on, as the Hunter resumes his stalk, timing his movements perfectly with those of Dillon. BACK TO SCENE/DILLON as he approaches the rock outcropping. He signals. Receiving no response he moves closer, turning cautiously to right and left. DILLON -LRB- whispering. -RRB- Mac. Mac. He moves closer to the rocks, eyes probing. Through a gap in the rocks he SEES Mac's face, staring up at him, eyes frozen wide in death. Dillon spins hard. He stares at the solid wall of undergrowth. He looks from one side of the corridor to the other. Something it out there. Where? Something in the vines has caught his attention. He stares hard at a section of moss.", "EXT. MOSS - DETAIL - DAY Suddenly the right combination of light and shadow prevail and Dillon SEES in an instant, the Hunter's EYES materialize and then disappear. BACK TO SCENE/DILLON With a growl and exhalation of breath, charges, bringing the weapon to bear. A short BURST OF GUNFIRE erupts from the barrel.", "EXT. THE HUNTER - DAY In an indiscernible blue of camouflage releases his weapon. DILLON SCREAMS, his arm instantly severed halfway between his shoulder and elbow. The weapon drops to the ground, the forearm still attached, still FIRING. With his left hand he FIRES the second weapon SHOUTING INSANELY as swings it towards the blurred image of his unseen attacker, hitting nothing. The Hunter reloads his WEAPON which turns INVISIBLE again. Dillon continues to fire. The Hunter's weapon appears from below, cutting into Dillon's unprotected abdomen, which, as if hit by a samurai sword, bursts open. Dillon CRIES OUT as the huge man hits the ground.", "EXT. LOG CROSSING - DAY spanning the narrow gorge, Schaefer and Anna with Ramirez between them, move onto the log, preparing to cross. They stop, HEARING Dillon's GUNFIRE.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY Moving through the jungle with incredible speed, leaping, tearing from tree to tree, the jungle a rush of HEAT TRAILS as he charges on.", "EXT. LOG CROSSING - DAY The jungle is still deathly SILENT. Schaefer, Anna and Ramirez cross the log, moving onto the other side. Billy, still at the foot of the log, providing cover, turns to face the jungle. He lifts his head towards the trees, feeling the onrushing presence of the Hunter. He shrugs off the radio letting it fall, smashing into the rocks below. He casts away his weapon. Staring forward he reaches into his cargo pocket, withdrawing a small GREASE - PAINT TIN. Covering his finger in BLACK PAINT he applies dark slashes under his eyes and again, vertically down his cheeks. Taking another dap of paint he makes a SYMBOL on his bare skin, over his heart. He drops the tin, withdrawing his COMBAT KNIFE. Holding the knife he grasps the MEDICINE BAG around his neck, yanking it free with a quick snap. He wraps the leather thong around his hand and knife, binding the weapon and bag together. Staring outward, as if in a trance, he begins a low CHANT. On the other side, Schaefer carrying Ramirez on his back, laboring up the steep slope, nearing the top, turns and SEES Billy standing, waiting at the foot of the bridge. SCHAEFER -LRB- screaming. -RRB- Billy! But Billy stands at the foot of the bridge, knife raised, waiting, accepting his oncoming destiny. SCHAEFER Billy! In frustration, Schaefer hikes Ramirez higher onto his back, digs in and sprints to the top of the hill, Anna waiting at the top. OUT", "EXT. BILLY - DAY Crouches low, knife extended in a fighting position. OUT", "EXT. RIDGETOP - DAY Over the top, in a low depression, Schaefer props Ramirez against some rocks, reaching for his weapon. They HEAR Billy's echoing SCREAM. Instantly their weapons are raised, cocked and ready. SCHAEFER Get back, into the rocks! Schaefer sweeps Anna behind him as Ramirez struggles to his feet. Together they back up, covering the ridgeline over which they've just come. Suddenly, from one side, near Ramirez, the Hunter bursts from the jungle, Ramirez, seeing the Hunter, spins raising his weapons to fire. Ramirez SEES the Hunter's onrushing face, still in camouflage, a montage of organic textures and colors, his yellow eyes burning. Whipping the MP - 5 is the direction of the Hunter he is hurled backwards from the impact of the Hunter's weapon, his neck gushing BLOOD, the MP - 5 flying through the air, landing in front of Anna. She moves for the weapon. The Hunter, with unearthly speed, turns towards Anna, as Schaefer starts to spin, SEEING the Hunter about to strike as Anna dives for the weapon. Schaefer lunges kicking the MP - 5 out of Anna's reach. SCHAEFER -LRB- to Anna. -RRB- Run! Get to the chopper! Schaefer spins and FIRES, bullets THUDDING into the ground, the barrel arcing towards the Hunter as Anna stumbles to her feet running into the jungle. In a blur the Hunter spins back, hurling his weapon at Schaefer which slices through the wooden stock of the rifle, SPARKS FLYING as it severs the trigger guard and steel breech. The M - 203 flies out of Schaefer's hands as the Hunter's weapon cuts deeply into his left shoulder, laying open the flesh. The M - 203 hits the ground, where it lies broken in half, useless. Schaefer hits the ground and is rolling, up and running for his life, the Hunter charging after him. SCHAEFER crashes headlong through the jungle. He leaps a fallen log, stumbles, struggles to his feet, running on pure adrenalin, his shoulder pulsing blood, his eyes filled with terror. Behind him he can hear the Hunter in pursuit, closing. Schaefer spins to look behind him, a wild desperate look on his face ; he turns back, ducks an overhanging limb and lunges on.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. OF SCHAEFER - DAY Closing rapidly. another few yard. BACK TO SCENE/SCHAEFER runs like a madman, the SOUND of the Hunter's FOOTSTEPS close behind. He's losing ground. He knows he's going to die. Schaefer SHOUTS. Suddenly the ground before him COLLAPSES and he disappears from sight.", "EXT. CANYON WALL - DAY In a shower of leaves, flailing arms and legs, Schaefer crashes through the trees at the canyon's edge, free falling into space. With a sickening IMPACT, he hits the branches of the first trees lining the canyon and falls, a hundred feet, through one canopy after another, desperately grabbing for limbs and branched to break his fall. He hits the bottom branches of the list line of trees, impacting crosschest on a large BRANCH, knocking his wind out. Semi - conscious, he hangs momentarily before he slides off, fingers digging into the bark, falling another ten feet into the swiftly moving river.", "EXT. RIVER - DAY Weighted down by his boots and clothing, Schaefer struggles to stay afloat. Gasping for air he ducks underwater, untying one of his boots. He surfaces, fills his lungs and dives again, releasing the other boot. He surfaces, strips off his shirt and pants and begins to swim towards shore, stroking with one arm.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY As he nears the edge of the precipice from which Schaefer has fallen. The Hunter in close pursuit does not hesitate but LAUNCHES himself off the cliff in a spectacular LEAP, streaking downward towards the tops of the trees that grow out from the canyon wall. The Hunter tears through the canopy of the first tree, the branches and leaves rushing past in a KALEIDOSCOPIC BLUR. The Hunter bounds off of one branch after another, moving through the trees as an expert skier might negotiate a series of downhill gates. The Hunter leaps free of one tree, bounds across twenty feet of open space to a large branch of a huge tree, affording a good view of the river below. From his vantage point, looking down at the windening, slowing expanse of river, Schaefer is nowhere to be seen.", "EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY He is swept into a still FASTER CURRENT and is carried helplessly downstream. Boiling WHITEWATER appears. Out of control he is swept through a series of rapids, pulling his further and further downstream until he is finally ducked into the undertow and hurled over the top of a six foot falls, driven deep underwater by the pounding force of the water.", "EXT. POOL AT BASE OF FALLS - DAY There is no sign of Schaefer. Precious seconds pass. Slowly, looking like a drowned rat, he surfaces, taking a feeble breath. He is nearly finished, his energy sapped. But the water is calm and a few strokes are enough to carry him near the shore. His feet hit bottom. He tries to stand but pitches headfirst into the thick MUD SLURRY at the river bank. With his last ounce of strength, he crawls, panting and gasping into a sheltered mud OVERHANG, collapsing beside the exposed ROOT - SYSTEM OF A DEAD TREE, his body completely covered in thick, gray MUD. Nearly unconscious, he raises his head and looks to the opposite side of the river, scanning the bank. There is no sign of the Hunter. He collapses in relief. He's escaped. Suddenly, the Hunter impacts the water, throwing up a huge SPLASH. He stands up in the waist deep water. As the water streams off of his body, the chameleon effect rapidly changes, struggling to match the shifting color patterns of the shimmering water. His glaring yellow orbs stare directly at the spot where Schaefer lies helplessly trapped. The Hunter surges forward, relentlessly closing in on this prey. SCHAEFER is frozen in terror, paralyzed with fear, his eyes locked ontothe incredible creature that is about to kill him.", "EXT. HUNTER - DAY Closing rapidly, another ten feet. He leaves the water and walks through the mud, stopping, towering over Schaefer.", "EXT. SCHAEFER'S P.O.V. - DAY As the Hunter's feet surge though the mud and stop, three feet away.", "EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY Realizing his life is about to end, closes his eyes, awaiting the Hunter's killing blow.", "EXT. HUNTER'S EYES - DAY The fierce yellow orbs look downward.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY He's looking directly at Schaefer, EXCEPT HE CA N'T SEE HIM. He can clearly see the EXPOSED ROOT - SYSTEM, but because of the heavy mud blocking Schaefer's body heat, Schaefer registers in the Hunter's vision as merely an indistinct lump of clay, unrecognizable to the Hunter as a human being. He scans the bank, searching, looking for heat sources. Detecting none he moves on sounding a questioning TRILL several times. BACK TO SCENE/SCHAEFER disbelieving that he's still alive, opens one eye, SEEING the Hunter's feet move away, his prehensile spurs dragging in the mud. He rounds a bend and disappears, heading for the undergrowth. Astonished, he tries to raise up on his hands but a sudden jabbing pain in his shoulder causes him to collapse, falling onto his side, unconscious in the mud.", "EXT. RIVER - DAY As a HUEY ATTACK HELICOPTER breaks over the top of the ridge, diving forward, moving down the canyon. The chopper flares up into a holding pattern. In the open doorway, a SOLDIER searches the top of the canyon with binoculars. Seeing no sign of life, the chopper flies on, disappearing down the canyon rim. BACK TO SCENE/SCHAEFER lies unconscious in the mud, the distant SOUND of the helicopter THRUMPING into the distance.", "EXT. ANNA - DAY She runs into a clearing, stopping momentarily, gasping for breath. She is startled by a sudden movement behind her. She spins, looking. There is nothing there. She runs on.", "EXT. THE CANYON - DAY (DUSK) Schaefer GASPS as his eyes bolt open in fear. As if the Hunter were still attacking, Schaefer rolls to his feet and runs, slogging through the THICK MUD, stumbling, lunging forward, gasping for breath. Schaefer spins and staggers backwards into a shallow POOL, scuttling, crablike into the chest deep water. Schaefer backs into the moss - covered wall by the waterfall, looking for movement, regaining his senses. As the water settles, he looks down, SEEING the image of himself, reflected in the pool ; his hair and face covered in THICK CLAY. He stares, mesmerized at the image. He lifts his arm from the water, his fingers wiping the MUD from his face, exposing a PATCH of SKIN. He studies the mud in his hand and then looks at the image of himself in the water, SEEING the exposed skin. HE stares at it, a wave of realization rushing through his mind. He places the mud back on his face, again looking at his image. SCHAEFER You could n't see me. He looks up, out into the failing light, at the treeline of the deepening forest, realizing that fate has given him a fighting chance. Slowly a look of vengeance and hatred crosses over his face.", "EXT. CLAY BANK - NIGHT Using his MACHETE he carves MAGNESIUM SHAVINGS from a fire block into a pile of KINDLING. He removes a match from the hollow handle of the machete, also containing a coil of PIANO WIRE, GREEN TAPE and MEDICAL SUPPLIES. He lights the shavings which burn with a brilliant white light. Schaefer shelters the fire with a banana leaf until the flame dies down. He feeds the fire with more kindling, fanning it with a leaf. SCHAEFER - BOW AND ARROW MONTAGE - NIGHT -LRB- LATER -RRB- Holding a three foot section of FIRE - HARDENED sapling between his feet and shoulder, he scrapes the char from the seasoned wood with his machete. He bends the bow and attaches a long piece of PIANO WIRE to one end, carefully wrapping it for strength, using strips of green tape to cover the sides of the wire where the nock of the arrow will fit. He attaches split quilled FEATHERS with fishing line to an ARROW, its tip fashioned into a series of barbs, rubbing them to a polished hardness against a smooth stone. When finished he places the arrow on the ground next to three other identical arrows. SCHAEFER One chance, that's all.", "EXT. CLAY BANK - NIGHT Schaefer is pounding a peeled root between two stones. He pauses to drool saliva into the pulpy mass. He scrapes the milky substance onto a BANANA LEAF, mixing it with a sticky SAP, holding it over the coals until the mixture steams. Schaefer coats the arrow tips with the sticky poison, holding them over the coals until the sap bubbles and smokes. He spins the arrows in his hands, blowing on the tips to cool and harden the mixture. Using the tip of his machete, he pries open the casing of one of the 40MM grenades, discarding the warhead. He dumps the PROPELLANT POWDER from the shell onto a leaf, mixing that with a mound of MAGNESIUM SHAVINGS. He opens the narrow, tight roll of GAUZE taken from the first aid kit of the machete handle, fluffing it into a large, loose BUNDLE, the size of a baseball. He pours the powder - mixture into the gauze, mixing it into the fabric. He transfers the ball of explosive ladened gauze to a pliable DRY LEAF, closing it into a bundle, binding it at the top with a long strand of jungle - grass. He twists the remaining gauze around a MATCH, leaving the head exposed, forming a self - striking FUSE. He coats the fuse with SAP and then thickly covers it with more powder from the 40MM grenade. He pokes the fuse down into the leaf. Taking a long strand of JUNGLE GRASS he makes a large loop, tying it onto the grenade, slipping the loop and grenade over his head. Finally, using several sections of BAMBOO of differing diameters, he fashions a crude, anti - personnel SPEAR - BOMB, a BANG - STICK like weapon, using the sharpened TONGUE from his belt buckle for a FIRING PIN and a 40MM GRENADE from his belt pouch as an explosive charge.", "EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - NIGHT Schaefer appears, he has covered him entire body with a variety of CLAYS and OCHERS, creating a mottled, EARTHEN CAMOUFLAGE pattern. Holding his weapons in one hand, he moves up the canyon, ascending into a rising boulder field.", "EXT. BOULDER FIELD - NIGHT Where the river flows into a series of falls and pools, surrounded by massive boulders and table top rocks, their crevices jammed with large amounts of DRIFTWOOD swept down at high water from the forests above. On a flattened section of rock, Schaefer drags a large section of BRANCHES INTO VIEW, adding it to a growing mound of FIREWOOD. He kneels, tending to a pile of DRIES GRASS, LEAVES and other tinder. Using the last of his precious matches, he sets fire to the tinder, gently coaxing the tiny blaze into a slowly consumming FIRE, flames starting to lick upward through the dry wood. He stands, staring into the rapidly growing blaze. He turns, facing the canyon rim, raising his weapons in one hand. From the depths of his soul, a SOUND emerges ; primitive and visceral, as if from an animal in pain. He throws back his head and SHOUTS.", "EXT. CANYON RIM - NIGHT A hundred feet below, Schaefer stands in the boulder field, his mud coated body bathed in RED FIRELIGHT, looking like a fierce, primitive warrior ; a timeless, prehistoric sight, his long and WAILING CRY, ECHOING endlessly through the canyon.", "EXT. HUNTER'S SHIP - NIGHT Backlit by the LIGHT of the open door, the Hunter's head, in three - quarter profile, his eyes gleaming, rears INTO VIEW, looking up at the sky, HEARING Schaefer's cry. Responding with a low HISS, he turns back, raising in one hand his weapon, in the other a U - shaped SHARPENING DEVICE. As he passes the weapon through the device, it FLASHES into life, a deep, HARMONIC HUM emitted as the blade grows with energy, growing hotter, hotter and HOTTER with each stroke. He draws the blade now WHITE - HOT through the device for the last stroke. He lifts it, testing its balance, the WHITE - HOT blade illuminating his alien face. OUT", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - JUNGLE - NIGHT Emerging from his camp, the Hunter swings into the nearby tree line, moving to the uppermost branches. The Hunter travels silently from tree to tree, arriving at the canyon rim where far below he SEES in the canyon, the BONFIRE, a leaping, shifting, multi - colored collage of HEAT WAVES and FLARES, luring him onward. SCHAEFER hidden back within the deep notch of several large LOGS and broken trees, in the river canyon. Below him, on the rock plateau, is the bonfire, illuminating in SHIFTING PATTERNS of LIGHT, the awaiting arena of destiny. His eyes shift, trancelike, moving from side to side, watching the approaches to the fire below. His senses are alert ; his nerves on a wire edge.", "EXT. HUNTER - NIGHT His SHADOW - FORM descending through the canyon, a rippling movement of grays and blacks, passing through the shifting light patterns on the rocks, cast by the growing bonfire below.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - NIGHT His eyes probe the canyon, drawn to the swirling patterns of HEAT given off by the gaseous COMBUSTION of the bonfire.", "EXT. HUNTER - NIGHT Continues on, moving silently down through the canyon. SCHAEFER sits motionless, nearly invisible in his mud camouflage amid the darkness of the logs. Suddenly, over the CRACKLING of the FIRE, the BUZZING, CLICKING of INSECTS, and the CROAKING of FROGS, suddenly CEASES. Slowly, painfully he draws the bow to full arch, his wounded shoulder trembling, the BLOOD beginning to seep through the bandage. The bow straining at full draw, Schaefer stares intently, concentrating, searching for the Hunter's form in the dancing light below.", "EXT. THE HUNTER - NIGHT Like a giant insect, drops from above, fifteen feet above Schaefer, his steel - like spurs digging deep into the log.", "EXT. SCHAEFER - NIGHT He freezes at the sound of the Hunter dropping, his eyes wide with fear. The slightest movement will bring an instant attack from the Hunter behind him. But to wait, his back exposed.", "EXT. THE HUNTER - NIGHT Jumps from the log above and to Schaefer's left, onto a boulder, gaining a better vantage point of the arena and fire below. He raises his weapon, his EYES glistening in the dim light, searching. A quiet HISS emerges from his mouth.", "EXT. SCHAEFER - NIGHT Spins and fires at the movement of the Hunter.", "EXT. ARROW - NIGHT Flies into the night, lodging into a BRANCH of an exposed tree, just missing the Hunter's head. In a blur, the Hunter's arm streaks downward, a dull flash of light leaving his fingers as he fires the weapon, the projectile STREAKING downward, EXPLODING into the log, inches from Schaefer, sending a SHOWER of wood chips and bark, flying in every direction. SCHAEFER in a flash, is up and running, clutching his weapons, leaping from boulder to boulder. He jumps down into the lighted area below, landing hard, rolling into the protective shadows of the rocks, putting the loping fire between he and the Hunter's position on the rocks above. He moves forward, darting to look backwards before leaping off the lip of the table rock into the boulder field below, a flat plane littered by weirdly shaped, water - erroded rocks, forming a giant stone AMPITHEATER. Shadows leap and dance across the boulders, cast by the bonfire from the plateau above. Schaefer crouches between two large boulders, quietly breathing through clenched teeth, feeling the pain of his now freely bleeding shoulder wound.", "EXT. HUNTER - NIGHT A nightmarish silhouette appearing for an instant on the rim of the plateau above.", "EXT. SCHAEFER - NIGHT Over the SOUNDS of the FIRE and the softly flowing RIVER, distinguishes a NEW SOUND, one that brings fear and a savage determination to his heart : the rhythmical CLICK - SCRAPE, CLICK - SCRAPE of the Hunter's feet, moving over the rocks, somewhere above him. Drawing back on the bow, Schaefer moves around the boulder to his left, heading towards the sound of the Hunter. OUT", "INT. HUNTER. SOMEWHERE IN THE BOULDERS - NIGHT REVEALED in flashes of strobing light, pauses at the juncture of several towering rocks. He stands, erect, tilting his head slowly, turning it from side to side, his ears trying to orientate to the diversity of SOUNDS reflecting off the circular walls, enclosing the boulder field.", "INT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - NIGHT His vision, accustomed to another spectrum, has little available heat to register vivid images of the inert, lifeless forms of the stones. He SEES instead, a world of soft, ill - defined shapes in a pale MAGENTA field of flickering heat.", "INT. SCHAEFER - NIGHT Creeping forward, carefully placing one foot in front of the other, suddenly stops, hearing the CLICK - SCRAPE, CLICK - SCRAPE, now on his right. Starting to move in this new direction, he stops again, HEARING the sound now directly across from him. Listening, he hears the sound again from yet another direction, the sound ECHOING in the natural ampitheater of rock. Schaefer, uncertain of where to turn, waits. Suddenly he crouches and freezes, HEARING the unbelievable SOUND of a HUMAN VOICE, softly echoing through the ampitheater. ANNA'S VOICE -LRB- o.s. ; filtered ; in Spanish. -RRB- Look out, behind you! Schaefer spins, his breath catching at the sound of Anna's voice. Wide - eyed, straining, he waits, hearing only the muted FLOWING of water, the HISSING and POPPING of the dying fire above, the shadows growing longer, darker with each minute. And then again, Anna's VOICE. ANNA'S VOICE -LRB- o.s. ; in Spanish. -RRB-. Look out, behind you! SCHAEFER -LRB- to himself. -RRB- Anna? Tracelike he moves towards the sound. THE HUNTER his head canted, throat distended, utters another mimicry. SCHAEFER moving towards the space between two boulders from which the VOICE seems to emanate. SCHAEFER -LRB- louder. -RRB- Anna? THE HUNTER his ears now directed towards the SOUND of Schaefer's voice, his slowly approaching FOOTSTEPS, raises his weapon. SCHAEFER pauses before the opening of the passageway. All is silent. He hesitates to enter. Listeneing. He starts to move and then hears a NEW VOICE : HUNTER -LRB- o.s. ; Mac's voice. -RRB- Dillon, over here. Schaefer, horrified at the sound of the dead man's voice, backs quickly into the space between a boulder and the high rock wall of the ampitheater.", "INT. HUNTER - SOMEWHERE IN THE BOULDERS - NIGHT His feet moving quietly over the rock, the shadow - light deepening with the dying fire above, closing in.", "EXT. SCHAEFER - NIGHT Bow drawn, trapped against the rock, HEARING the sound of the Hunter approaching from the left, now the right, is helpless, not knowing where to fire, the Hunter's deadly strike only an instant away. Still holding the bang - stick in his bow hand, he carefully releases the draw on the string, reaching to his neck for the FLASH - GRENADE. With painstaking care he removes the grenade from his neck. Focusing on the rocks before him and the still approaching SOUND, he reaches down with the grenade, gripping with his fingertips the matchhead fuse, placing it against the rocks at his side. With a sudden jerk of his hand he strikes and throws the grenade, snatching up the bang - stick with his good hand. The matchhead SPUTTERS as the grenade flies through the air, an instant later a blinding, WHITE FLASH of light illuminates the ampitheater. In that instant Schaefer SEES above him and to his left, the HUNTER, poised on top of a rock, his weapon raised, about to strike! Momentarily blinded by the flash of light, the Hunter's head recoils to the side. Darkness swallows the image of the Hunter, but in that second, Schaefer seizes his advantage, hurling the bang - stick spear. OUT", "INT. THE SPEAR - NIGHT It smashes into the boulder at the Hunter's feet. The Hunter leaps as the grenade DETONATES, shrapnel tearing into his body. With a terrifying SCREAM of pain and anger, the Hunter clutches frantically at the WOUNDS in his neck and chest. Another bloodcurdling SCREAM OF RAGE and the Hunter is gone.", "INT. WATERFALL - NIGHT Cascades over the rocks, fed by a small stream running through the ravine. A pile of BOULDERS breaks the falls, filling the area with an everconstant MIST. Schaefer appears, holding the bow and arrow, following the LUMINOUS BLOOD TRAIL of the Hunter over the rock. Moving behind the falls, Schaefer's body is briefly soaked by the water, the hardened and CAMOUFLAGE beginning to dissolve, running off his body. He continues on, slowly, cautiously following the blood trail.", "INT. TABLE TOP BOULDER - NIGHT Next to the flowing stream, surrounded by an open area of rock. Schaefer, smeared with blood and sweat, his clay and ochre camouflage partially washed away, climbs up a log onto the boulder. Oblivious to the searing pain in his shoulder, he breathes in hot, powerful exchanges, his eyes wide and glowing with vengeance. SCHAEFER Bleed, you bastard. His bow down, Schaefer follows the blood trail across the rock, edging alongside a huge vertical boulder. The blood trail stops. He takes another step forward, past a darkened ALCOVE. Schaefer spins, SEEING in the alcove the SURPRISED Hunter whirl and spring towards him. Schaefer in a bound closes the distance, savagely kicking the Hunter's arm. The WEAPON flies from the Hunter's hand CLATTERING to the rock. Before he can recover, Schaefer follows with a karate kick to the chest, hurling the Hunter to the ground, his back exposed. In a flash, Schaefer is standing over the Hunter, the bow drawn, poised, the blood from his open wound dripping onto the Hunter's back. The Hunter slowly rolls onto his back, REVEALING his face, his eyes bleached white in shock from the loss of blood. The Hunter's body, rippled out of control, trying desperately to orientate itself to the environment. SCHAEFER -LRB- incredulous. -RRB- Who the hell are you?", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. OF SCHAEFER - NIGHT Schaefer's body, looms over him, MOTTLED and STREAKED from his exposed skin, blood oozing from the shoulder wound, his eyes like black sockets in his almost skull - like face. Seen from this perspective, Schaefer is a frightening, horrible visage. THE HUNTER shudders, GASPING hungrily for air, strugging to speak. From his throat, Schaefer HEARS the feeble, distorted efforts of the Hunter, at first garbled, incomprehensible and then, slowly, chillingly, taking on the timbre and quality of his OWN VOICE. HUNTER -LRB- electronic ; filtered. -RRB- Who. -LRB- improving. -RRB-. the hell. -LRB- nearly perfect. -RRB-. are. -LRB- perfect. -RRB-. You? The Hunter's strength seems to fade even more. Then, suddenly, with the last of his diminishing strength, he lashes out with one arm, activating the lethal, razor sharp SPURS on his wrists. The Hunter's coiled leg kicks upward with incredible force, his terrible spur ripping into Schaefer's thigh, hurling Schaefer into the air, flipping him over, sending him crashing to his back into the shallow pool of water, momentarily losing his bow. He flounders desperately in the water, searching for the bow. He finds it just as. The Hunter rises slowly to his feet, GASPING desperately for breath. He inhales deeply, hungrily, gaining strength with each breath. Schaefer looks from the pool to SEE the Hunter, raising his weapon to throw. In one totally instinctual movement, Schaefer draws back on the arrow to its very tip and fires. The arrow, with a deadly THUD, penetrates deeply into the Hunter's neck. Another bloodcurdling SCREAM of RAGE as the Hunter clutches his throat, dropping his weapon. An instant later and the Hunter is gone.", "EXT. LOG BRIDGE - NIGHT (PRE-DAWN) Emerging onto a huge log leading to the rim of the canyon, Schaefer holding the Hunter's weapon, pauses several times, finding more traces of the Hunter's blood, the deep WOUND in his thigh flowing heavily. He continues across the log and climbs the bank, following the traces into the jungle.", "EXT. JUNGLE - PRE-DAWN Moving along the rim of the coulee, Schaefer follows the thick, orange blobs hanging on leaves and spent on the forest floor. Too weak to move through the trees, the Hunter has left a SWATH of trampled grasses, broken twigs and branches in his headlong retreat from Schaefer : the Hunter turned Hunted.", "EXT. TWO ATTACK HELICOPTERS - DAY (PRE-DAWN) Powering upward from the canyon, the WATERFALL in the b.g., clear the rim, racing along at treetop height, heading towards the island promontory.", "EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - CAMP -PRE-DAWN Staggering into the clearing, bleeding severely. The Hunter is rapidly losing his camouflage ability, his skin turning a PALE GREEN, flexing and pulsing in shock. The glow of light from the ENERGY FIELD reflecting off the spreading apron of BLOOD flowing from his wound. With trembling hands he grasps the arrow and breaks it, pulling the shaft from his neck. He screams in pain.", "EXT. GLEN - PRE-DAWN Schaefer follows the blood trail, deeper into the incredibly dense vegetation, ripping aside the heavy growth, plunging onward. Before him, covering a narrow passageway, is a huge SPIDER WEB, intricate, four feet across. Schaefer starts to sweep aside the web. With a sharp intake of breath, he halts, inches from the wed.. Something is wrong. Examining the web closer he sees not silken threads but a hard and shiny network of HAIR - FINE WIRE : A TRAP. He backs up, picking up a hefty branch from the ground. He swings the branch with a mighty heave, clenching his teeth in pain. The branch sails end over end into the web impacting the strands. A metallic SNAP is HEARD ; a high - pitches WHINE and the log is violently severed, the pieces flying in opposite directions with great speed. Schaefer runs on, again picking up the blood traces of the fleeing Hunter.", "EXT. HUNTER'S CAMP At the edge of the site. He SEES the Hunter staggering through the foliage. Schaefer starts after him but then stops, dumbfounded by the incredible images that crash in on him : TRANSLUCENT HUMAN SKINS stretched over frames, the hair of the attached scalps moving lightly in the wind ; SKINNED BODIES, some lying on the ground, others hung from the trees, like Hopper and his men were. He turns back, SEEING the Hunter as he passes through the shimmering distortion of a FORCEFIELD enveloping the forest. Within the force field he SEES the vague, nearly transparent OUTLINE of the Hunter's ship. He approaches it, wide - eyed, his senses reeling with astonishment and rage. From within the force field, a PASSAGE WAY of BLUE LIGHT appears, the Hunter's form backlit as he ascends the RAMP to his spacecraft. OUT THE HUNTER as he passes his hand through a light BEAM, the ship instantly responds, as a low, TURBINELIKE HOWL is HEARD, building slowly in volume and pitch. SCHAEFER in his weakened condition staggers forward, looking up, SEEING the passage way of light diminish as the door begins to close. As rising HEAT WAVES begin to envelope the ship, the Hunter stares out at Schaefer, the heat waves increasing as the KEENING WHINE of the ship's drive builds. He enters the force field, the door now inches from closing. On the ground, nearly obscured by the grass and leaves, Schaefer SEES the Hunter's WEAPON, lying where he dropped it in his desperate flight to escape. Schaefer grabs up the weapon and holds it. How the hell does it work? He squeezes the handle of the weapon feeling it resist. Nothing happens. With the last ounce of his strength, and with a BELLOW of RAGE, his arm muscles bulging, he crushes down on the handle. In a FLASH of blue - white light, the weapon becomes ACTIVATED. Schaefer raises the weapon, sensing its power and function. In the final seconds before the door closes, Schaefer, with a triumphant SCREAM, fires the weapon. The weapon, flaring with deadly energy, drops and turns sideways, accelerating through the door and into the spacecraft.", "INT. SPACECRAFT - DAY The weapon impacts the Hunter, his head EXPLODING in a fountain of orange blood and pale green tissue. The weapon continues on, burying itself into the energy field, bolts of plasma - energy begin arcing from the force field. Schaefer falls forward onto his hands and knees, staring at the Hunter's ship. The SOUND of the hyper - drive continues to increase, as the ship begins to tremble.", "EXT. HELICOPTER COCKPIT - DAY As suddenly the instrument panel goes wild, gauges spinning, digital readouts racing out of control. The SOUND of the turbine faltering, changing pitch. The pilot lurches forward with the stick, fighting for control.", "EXT. HUNTER'S CAMP - DAY The multi harmonic whine of the Hunter's ship is still building as the ground begins to shake. Schaefer, realizing that the ship is going to explode, and ignoring the pain of his shoulder and leg, runs desperately, searching for cover. He sprints for the edge of the clearing, diving over the embankment just as : A blinding purple FLASH blows the ship to pieces.", "EXT. HELICOPTER - COCKPIT - DAY Enveloped in the flash of intense light. CRIES of surprise fill the ship as the SHOCK - WAVE hits the chopper, heeling it hard over to one side. Below, the concentric waves of energy race outward from the center of the blast, an unearthly sight, like the miniature birth of a star. The helicopter suddenly regains control, its power restored. PILOT Holy, fuck, what was that?! PHILIPS Orbit right. check it out! The helicopter levels out and heads toward the smoking, devastated site of the blast.", "EXT. HUNTER'S CAMP - DAY The jungle has been completely transformed. No longer lush and verdant, the area is clear - cut, two feet above the ground, covered in FINE WHITE, smoldering ASH. Amongst the shattered stumps, debris from the ship, bright as magnesium flares, burns with exotic colors. If the f.g., Schaefer, a living dead - man, streaked with the alien ash, rises up from a shallow depression, staring dumbstruck at the site. Breaking in low over the treetops, the HELICOPTERS flare up into position, one preparing to land. As the chopper descends, the crew, standing in the door way, stare transfixed at the devastation, their eyes trying to penetrate the dense white smoke. As the helicopter slowly descends, its propwash creating a raging storm, Schaefer materializes from the SWIRLING SMOKE AND ASH, his features taking form as he approaches, his naked body covered in mud, blood and ash.", "EXT. SCHAEFER'S P.O.V. - LANDING HELICOPTER - DAY As the chopper, emerging from the vortex, settles towards the ground where the spacecraft once stood. Through the distorted veil, the helicopter, bristling with WEAPONS, VISORED and HELMETED MEN, now covered with WHITE ASH, looks like a landing spacecraft.", "EXT. HELICOPTER - DAY The door gunner swings the M - 60 into firing position, pointing it at Schaefer. He racks the bolt, loading a round. The crewmen look tense, frightened. Anna, standing next to the door gunner, stares at the strange creature before her, narrowing her eyes, uncertain. Is there something familiar about the figure? SCHAEFER stands in the clearing, staring at the helicopter and the array of weapons pointed at him. He looks dazed, like a man making contact with members of an alien race, for the first time. THE HELICOPTER hovers low to the ground, the tension inside building as Schaefer approaches. More weapons swing into position. Fingers tighten on triggers. Suddenly Anna recognizes the figure. Realizing the danger she holds up her hands, shouting ANNA NOOOOOO!", "EXT. HELICOPTERS - JUNGLE - DAY Flash overhead, heading across the trackless jungle, their rotors THUMPING like heavy machine gun fire.", "INT. HELICOPTER - DAY Schaefer, a blanket over his shoulders, still in the remains of his mud camouflage, his body laced with deep cuts ; his chest and shoulder caked with dried blood, is seated on a bench in the cargo hold. Near the cockpit are General Philips, an ARMY MEDIC, two MACHINE GUNNERS. They look at Schaefer in awe. The Medic, holding an open FIELD KIT, a syringe and bandages, turns to Philips. MEDIC -LRB- shaking his head. -RRB- Looks like he's been through hell. ca n't believe he's still alive. What the hell went on down there? PHILIPS If it had n't been for her, he'd be dead now. That story she told us. I still ca n't believe it. He looks at Anna, her eyes meeting his, as if asking for an explanation. She looks at him a moment before turning back to Schaefer, staring at him as if he were risen from the dead. She looks into Schaefer's face, Schaefer returning her look, recognition passing between them. Anna extends her hand. Schaefer slowly reaches out, touching her fingers, then clasping her hand. Schaefer turns his eyes to stare out the open door, beyond the passing jungle below, out to the heavens. He turns back, looking at Anna, a faint smile crossing his face. they made it.", "EXT. TWO HELICOPTERS - JUNGLE - DAY Pull away and head towards the distant, green horizon. FADE OUT THE END"], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0], "summary": "An alien spacecraft deploys a shuttle to Earth. Meanwhile, Vietnam War veteran Major Alan \"Dutch\" Schaefer[6] and his military rescue team, consisting of Mac, Poncho, Blain, Billy, and Hawkins, are tasked with rescuing a foreign cabinet minister and his aide from insurgents. CIA officer Al Dillon, a Vietnam War buddy of Dutch's, is assigned to accompany the team over Dutch's objections. En route, the team discovers the wreckage of a helicopter and three skinned corpses. Dutch identifies them as Green Berets that he knew, and becomes suspicious of Dillon's intentions. The team reaches the guerilla camp and witnesses the execution of a hostage. They mount an attack, killing the rebels and several Soviet intelligence officers. Dutch confronts Dillon, who reveals their true mission was to stop a planned Soviet-backed invasion and that the CIA sent the Green Berets weeks earlier for the same mission. The only surviving guerilla, Anna, is captured. Learning that more rebels are coming, the team must trek to the extraction point. They are followed by a presence that uses a cloaking device and tracks them by thermal imaging. A spooked Billy glimpses it while Anna attempts an escape. Hawkins catches her, but the creature attacks and kills him while sparing Anna. Dutch organizes a search party, but Blain is killed by the creature's plasma cannon. Enraged, Mac incites everyone to fire their weapons into the jungle, unknowingly wounding the creature. As the creature mends itself, the commandos regroup and realize they are being hunted. Dillon believes only two or three guerrillas are responsible, but Billy is adamant that their pursuer is not human. They make camp for the night and set traps, which are triggered by a wild boar. In the confusion, Mac kills it while the creature steals Blain's body. Dutch later realizes that their enemy uses the trees to travel and frees Anna, who states that her people had seen similarly mutilated bodies in the past. The next day, the group constructs a net trap, and the creature is captured, but it escapes and Poncho is injured. Mac and Dillon pursue it but are outmaneuvered and killed. As the survivors flee, Billy stays behind to fight the creature, giving the others time to escape. Billy is killed and the creature follows the survivors and kills Poncho. Dutch realizes it does not attack unarmed individuals. He tells the unarmed Anna to \"get to the chopper\" at the extraction point. Dutch attempts to distract the creature by fleeing but is followed to a muddy riverbank, where Dutch emerges from the water, covered in mud. The creature fails to see him and leaves to collect trophies from the others. Dutch realizes that the creature hunts by using Thermal imaging technology to detect body heat, and the cool mud provided camouflage. He crafts makeshift traps and weapons and lures the creature out at night with a warcry and torch. He lightly injures the creature and disables its cloaking device, and the creature fires wildly into the forest. Dutch escapes into the river, and the water dissolves his mud camouflage. As the creature confronts Dutch, it removes its mask and plasma cannon to fight him hand-to-hand, having deemed him a worthy opponent. Despite being overpowered, Dutch attempts to goad the creature into a booby trap. It goes around, but Dutch triggers the trap anyway, crushing the creature with the trap's counterweight. He almost kills it, but stops to ask it, \"What the hell are you?\" The creature repeats the question to him and activates its self-destruct device. Realizing what it has done, Dutch runs for cover and survives the explosion. He is then rescued by the extraction helicopter, with Anna already safely onboard.", "name": "Predator_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["Nothing But a Man A crew of African - Americans are laying tracks in rural Alabama. The crane operator is the only white man on the section gang.", "INT. BUNK CAR The dormitory of the section gang. The men are through for the day and lounging on their bunkbeds. DUFF ANDERSON plays checkers with FRANKIE, using bottle tops as pieces. Duff makes the winning move and Frankie, disgusted, turns over the board. He saunters over to JOCKO, who is shaving in a broken mirror. Frankie watches him with a grin. JOCKO Go to hell, Frankie. FRANKIE Man, you sure one ugly cat! He takes the cigarettes Jocko has rolled, sailor - style, into the sleeve of his T - shirt. JOCKO Why do n't you guys buy your own? FRANKIE ` Oughta give up smoking, Jocko. He stops in front of an older man, who is writing a letter. FRANKIE How much longer we got on this stretch, Riddick? RIDDICK Five weeks, maybe six. FRANKIE Man, what a dump. He circles restlessly past two cardplayers back to Duff, who is clipping his fingernails. FRANKIE What you gettin' all pretty for? DUFF -LRB- with a grin. -RRB- Why do n't you relax, Frankie? RAILROAD TRACK Duff, Frankie, and Jocko are riding a track - car, powered by a small engine, into the nearest town. The sun is setting. A church bell rings. POOL HALL Jocko, a cigar in his mouth, is playing a pinball machine. Duff and Frankie stand at the bar. They are joined by DORIS, a sad - looking woman with bad skin. DORIS Who's going to buy me a beer? FRANKIE -LRB- scornfully. -RRB- What's the matter, Doris? Business bad? DORIS It sure is. FRANKIE Everybody givin' it away free, huh? DORIS You gon na buy me a beer, Frankie? FRANKIE See Duff. He's the money man. DORIS What d'you say, Duff? DUFF -LRB- to the bartender. -RRB- Give her a beer. DORIS Thanks, Duff. You' a nice guy. Not like Frankie. FRANKIE You know, Doris - you'd make some guy a swell wife. DORIS You think so, Frankie? FRANKIE Hell, you got steady work. DUFF Quit ridin' her, Frankie. The bartender serves her a bottle of beer FRANKIE I ai n't ridin' her. Would n't ride her on a bet. Duff pays for the beer and turns to leave. DORIS Where' you goin'? DUFF Out. DORIS Want me to come? DUFF No thanks. DORIS Come on, honey. FRANKIE Where' you goin'? DUFF ` Round town. FRANKIE What's so hot ` round town? DUFF -LRB- with a grin. -RRB- Take it easy, Frankie. He leaves. FRANKIE Do n't wan na fish you outa no jailhouse. STREET -LRB- Night -RRB- Duff is walking along the deserted street in the black part of town. Music from the pool hall fades and we pick up the strains of gospel singing from a nearby church.", "INT. CHURCH The choir is singing `` Precious Lord.'' The women are spirited and the congregation in the small wooden building is alive to the music. Duff appears in the open doorway and stops to listen. When the song ends, REVEREND DAWSON rises from his chair. REVEREND I'm glad to see this meeting off to a good start. Now we'll take a break and then come back to hear from our distinguished guest - Reverend Butler of the Morgan Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. See you all in a little while. Reverend Butler compliments him on the choir. CHURCH YARD Long tables laden with food are lit by strings of lightbulbs. The sound of a gospel piano from inside the church. A smiling middle - aged woman has taken Duff in tow and leads him over to a young woman -LRB- JOSIE -RRB-, who is serving food. WOMAN Josie - this is Brother Anderson. Now you give him some of that good food. He's a fine young man. -LRB- on her way. -RRB- Ai n't it a wonderful meetin'?! Duff studies Josie with a smile. She is clearly middle class. While she puts food on a paper plate, she glances at him - matching his ironic detachment with her own. She hands him the plate DUFF Thank you, Ma'am. That's fine. JOSIE You must be new in town. DUFF -LRB- with a grin. -RRB- I'll have me some of that punch there, too. She serves the punch. JOSIE Have n't seen you around, have I? DUFF No. I'm new in town. JOSIE -LRB- unwilling to give up. -RRB- You working? DUFF Yeah. On the section gang. He is sure that this will put a stop to her curiosity. It does n't. JOSIE -LRB- interested. -RRB- Oh yeah? DUFF You work around town? JOSIE I'm a teacher. DUFF Went to college, huh? JOSIE In Birmingham. DUFF Oh yeah? That's my home town. JOSIE Your folks live there? DUFF No. My mother's dead. -LRB- after a moment. -RRB- You goin' back inside? JOSIE Yes, are n't you? DUFF No. Never had much use for hell - howlers. You goin'? JOSIE -LRB- with a smile. -RRB- My father's the preacher. DUFF -LRB- grinning. -RRB- Oh yeah? Well, I guess you got no choice. JOSIE That's right. DUFF -LRB- a bit tentatively. -RRB- Look, I do n't know what you been told ` bout section gangs, but how ` bout seein' me sometime? JOSIE -LRB- with a non - committal smile. -RRB- Maybe.", "INT. CHURCH The visiting revival preacher is in full swing, preaching and singing. The congregation of women is in a state of high excitement. Josie alone seems out of it, though she sits in their midst. Duff has been standing in the doorway. He turns away.", "EXT. CHURCH Duff walks away, past a shack. The singing fades. A dog barks. BUNK CAR -LRB- Night -RRB- Duff, Frankie, Jocko, and an older man -LRB- POP -RRB- are playing cards. While waiting for his turn, Jocko catches a fly and sneaks a look at Frankie's cards. JOCKO You got a lousy hand, Frankie. Frankie throws down the cards. FRANKIE Yeah, I quit. He gets up. At loose ends, he picks up an old Flit - gun and squirts it at Duff, who is polishing his shoes. DUFF You got nothin' on your mind but your hair, Frankie. How ` bout your car, Riddick? RIDDICK Yeah, you can have it. JOCKO Man, you wo n't like that back seat. FRANKIE Man, why ` you messin' around with a gal like that? You wo n't get no place. JOCKO Hell, they're all after the same thing. POP Yeah. All a colored woman wants is your money. JOCKO What d'you know about women, Pop? POP Well, I got married to one of them. JOCKO Hell, I did n't know you was married. POP Sure. Got a sixteen - year - old girl. JOCKO Is that right? -LRB- to Duff. -RRB- Think you're gon na make it with her? FRANKIE Just get her drunk. DUFF -LRB- to Riddick. -RRB- How ` bout the key? FRANKIE I bet she's easy jam. DAWSON DINING ROOM -LRB- Night -RRB- A middle - class tableau. Dinner is over. Reverend Dawson is reading the paper. Josie, dressed for an evening out, sits across from her step - mother, who is looking at her with pursed lips. MRS. DAWSON I know you pay no mind to my feelings, but d'you think it's right for you to go out with him? JOSIE I'm twenty - six years old, Susan. MRS. DAWSON Perhaps you ought to tell her, Frank. Reverend Dawson has no stomach for confrontations, but turns to Josie dutifully. REVEREND DAWSON Well, we have a position in town, Josie. You have to remember that. There're lots of other young men. MRS. DAWSON I do n't think your mother would have approved. JOSIE I do. MRS. DAWSON Well, there's just one thing you can be looking for in a man like that. JOSIE I know that's what you think. REVEREND DAWSON Hush your mouth, child. The doorbell rings. JOSIE -LRB- leaving the table. -RRB- Good night, Dad. ROAD HOUSE On the dimly lit, smoke - hung floor a large crowd is dancing. Josie is having a great time. When the music ends, she and Duff return to their table. DUFF That's pretty good for a preacher's daughter. JOSIE What d'you expect? DUFF You know, baby, I ca n't figure you out. JOSIE How d'you mean? DUFF Why d'you come out with me? You slummin' or something? JOSIE No. DUFF So what you doin' with a cat like me in a joint like this? JOSIE You do n't think much of yourself, do you? DUFF -LRB- put off. -RRB- Well, that's a funny thing to say. JOSIE You keep asking me why I'm here. DUFF Yeah, and you keep not answerin', too. JOSIE I like a place with lots of life. DUFF How about another beer? JOSIE No thanks. DUFF Go on - you can have one! His attention is drawn by something off screen. DUFF Hell! JOSIE What is it? Frankie and Jocko swagger toward them, beer in hand. FRANKIE Well, if it ai n't Duff! JOCKO How you doin'? -LRB- to Josie ; with a bit of a leer. -RRB- Hi there! JOSIE Hi. JOCKO Mind if we sit down? DUFF We was just leavin', fellows. FRANKIE Let's go, Jocko. The man's got homework. JOCKO -LRB- leaving. -RRB- See you, Duff. DUFF Yeah, see you in hell. Frankie follows Jocko out of the frame. JOSIE They must work on the section gang. DUFF That's right. JOSIE Well, they seem just like everyone else. DUFF Hell, baby, I bet you think we got tails. FRANKIE'S VOICE -LRB- off - screen. -RRB- We do! Frankie and Jocko have occupied the adjoining table and are grinning at them. Duff gets up, camouflaging his irritation. DUFF Come on, baby. He ushers Josie out. Frankie looks after them. FRANKIE School teacher! My nappy head!", "INT. RIDDICK'S OLD CONVERTIBLE (Night) Duff has parked on a country road. JOSIE I guess it's hard working on the road like that. DUFF Damn few places you can make eighty bucks a week. JOSIE I mean, you're kind of cut off, are n't you? DUFF That's fine with me. Keeps me out of trouble. JOSIE How d'you mean? DUFF Well, I do n't get on so well most places. JOSIE I see. That beer made me dizzy. Duff is looking at her. DUFF You got a lovely face, kid. Ai n't too often I get to meet a girl like you. Hell - He kisses her, but releases her very quickly. DUFF Baby, how many times' you been kissed? Josie takes a moment to collect herself. JOSIE Well, let's see now - not counting tonight. must be about twenty - eight times. DUFF -LRB- with a grin. -RRB- You got a problem all right. Someone moves in back of her. A white man in his early twenties has emerged from the dark and looks down at them. WHITE -LRB- with a smile. -RRB- Hi. The voice of a second white man calls from off screen. SECOND WHITE They doin' anything? WHITE -LRB- calling back. -RRB- Nah, nothin'! DUFF Get out of here! JOSIE -LRB- frightened. -RRB- Do n't Duff - WHITE Relax, man! The second white man joins him. SECOND WHITE What's goin' on? He shines his flashlight into Duff's face. DUFF Cut that out! The white man shines the flashlight across Josie's breast. DUFF -LRB- very tense. -RRB- I said : Cut it out! WHITE Do n't start no trouble, boy! SECOND WHITE Let's go! That's the preacher's girl. Mess with him and you got old man Johnson on your back. Come on. The white men leave. JOSIE Let's go, Duff. DUFF Take it easy. We see that he has a knife in his hand. He closes and pockets it. The white men drive off, whooping and beating on the side of their car. DUFF Do n't sound human, do they?", "INT. MOVING CAR (Night) Duff is driving through the center of town. DUFF How come you stay ` round here? JOSIE Well, my mother was the only good teacher the colored school ever had. Nobody bothers with those kids. DUFF That's why you come back, huh? JOSIE It's hard to see any change. But I'm going to stay. Another year, anyway. DUFF You got more guts than me, baby. It's a no - good town. JOSIE It's better than it used to be. Eight years ago they still had a lynching here. They tied a man to a car and dragged him to death. My father knew who did it, but he did n't say anything. DUFF Scared, huh? The car pulls up in front of the Dawson house and Duff parks. DUFF Well, good night, baby. He is about to kiss her. JOSIE Not here, Duff. DUFF I get it. -LRB- with a laugh. -RRB- Yeah, I can see your old man with a shot - gun right now. JOSIE But I would like to see you again. DUFF You would, huh? If I was you, baby - I would n't go ` round stickin' out my jugular vein. JOSIE What d'you mean? DUFF You almost got into trouble back there. JOSIE -LRB- with a smile. -RRB- I would n't have let you. DUFF Hell, baby, I'm not in the third grade. Well, look - what' we gon na do next time - have a nice long chat in the parlor? JOSIE No, on the porch. DUFF Oh yeah, and then what? JOSIE What? DUFF Well, either we're gon na hit the hay or get married. Now you do n't want to hit the hay, and I don' want to get married. JOSIE You have some very primitive ideas, do n't you? DUFF -LRB- defensively. -RRB- All right, so I'm primitive. So what d'you want with me? JOSIE Look, Duff - most of the men I know - they're kind of sad. When I met you the other day I had a feeling that you're different. That's why I went out with you. I thought we might have something to say to each other. DUFF Hell, baby, I do n't know what to say. JOSIE Good night, Duff. She gets out of the car and starts toward the house. He looks after her, then drives away. OPEN FIELD The section hands are hunting rabbits, scaring them up out of the tall grass and then clubbing them with sticks that have a heavy bolt fastened to the end. Jocko is fishing from a trestle. Pop fries skinned rabbit in a skillet. Duff is whittling. CLASSROOM The grade school children, all black, are writing at their desks. The end - of - school bell rings and one of the boys jumps up. JOSIE Are you finished, Jackie? BOY Yes, Ma'am. JOSIE Well, I'm not. Wait till class is dismissed. She walks over to close the window. In the yard below, Duff is sitting on one of the swings. Josie smiles and turns to the kids - JOSIE All right. Class dismissed.", "EXT. SCHOOLHOUSE A bus crowded with noisy kids pulls away to reveal the yard. Duff and Josie are sitting on two swings side by side. DUFF At first it was real strange. Hell, Japan is a long ways from Alabama. Really got under my skin, though. Almost did n't come back. JOSIE Why did you? DUFF I do n't know. ` Guess I belong here more than there. JOSIE ` Been up north? DUFF Yeah. Knocked around for a couple of months after the Army. You been there? JOSIE No. DUFF Well, it ai n't that good up there neither. Might as well make it here. ` Course I ai n't really makin' it now. He gets up and gives her swing a forceful shove. DUFF Anyway, they ca n't get to you if you keep movin'! Josie laughs. FRONT YARD, DAWSON HOUSE It is raining. Duff and Josie dash up the path to the front door. DAWSON PARLOR Duff and Josie barge in out of the rain and find themselves face to face with Reverend Dawson and a middle - aged white man - Superintendent Johnson. JOSIE Oh, I'm sorry. JOHNSON Come on in, Josie. We're all through. JOSIE Daddy - this is Duff Anderson. REVEREND DAWSON Hello. DUFF How are you? REVEREND DAWSON All right, son. JOSIE This is Mr. Johnson, our school superintendent. JOHNSON -LRB- with a friendly smile. -RRB- How are you? JOSIE I'll be right back. She leaves. JOHNSON So you're courtin' the preacher's girl. Well, just watch your step, boy, or he'll preach you right into hell. -LRB- to Reverend Dawson. -RRB- I'm counting on you, Reverend. REVEREND DAWSON I understand. JOHNSON Would n't do for one of your people to sue at a time like this. REVEREND DAWSON I know. JOHNSON -LRB- on his way out. -RRB- I'll talk to the Mayor. REVEREND DAWSON That'll make the folks very happy. Johnson leaves. Reverend Dawson sits down in a rocker. REVEREND DAWSON It's hard to know how to talk to the white folks these days. DUFF Guess it's never been easy. REVEREND DAWSON It's a changing time. Sit down, son. DUFF Thank you. He sits down opposite Reverend Dawson. REVEREND DAWSON Well, it looks like we'll be getting our new school. DUFF How come you all ai n't sendin' them to the same school? REVEREND DAWSON Well, you've got to go easy. We have n't had any trouble in town for eight years, and we're not going to have any now. DUFF Ca n't live without trouble, can you? -LRB- he sees he is on the wrong track. -RRB- Nice place you got here. Real nice. REVEREND DAWSON Yes, the Lord's been pretty good to us. I guess you're a church man, are n't you? DUFF I guess I ai n't. REVEREND DAWSON Why? Do n't you believe in the Lord? DUFF Aw, I do. But ` seems to me us colored folks do a whole lot of church - goin'. It's the whites that need it real bad. REVEREND DAWSON I think if you tried livin' in a town like this, instead of running free and easy, you'd soon change your tune. DUFF I doubt it. REVEREND DAWSON I see. -LRB- rising. -RRB- Well, I guess we do n't have much to say to each other. DUFF I guess not. REVEREND DAWSON And since we're talking, my wife and I do n't want you hanging around our daughter. DUFF Well, that figures. -LRB- he too stands up. -RRB- Kind of fits in with everything else, do n't it! DAWSON PORCH Duff comes out. Josie joins him a moment later. JOSIE I'm sorry. DUFF Ai n't your fault. JOSIE That's the way he is. DUFF Yeah. It's just like I figured. JOSIE What d'you mean? DUFF Hell, I do n't belong here. I do n't know what I' been thinkin'. JOSIE Look, Duff - if you're free, I'm not working tomorrow. DUFF Sorry, baby. I'm goin' to Birmingham. JOSIE Just for the day? DUFF Goin' to see my kid. JOSIE I did n't know you had one. DUFF Yeah. Well, I do. JOSIE Are you married? DUFF No, I ai n't married. -LRB- leaving. -RRB- Well, good - bye. COURTHOUSE SQUARE -LRB- Morning sunshine -RRB- A bus has pulled in.", "INT. BUS Duff is making his way down the aisle. To his surprise, he comes upon Josie, who is sitting at a window with an empty seat next to her. DUFF -LRB- with a grin. -RRB- Well, what - do - you - know? JOSIE Surprised? DUFF No. Women're always followin' me ` round. JOSIE I'm just going in to do my shopping. DUFF Yeah, it's just a coincidence. JOSIE That's right. DUFF -LRB- moving on. -RRB- I'll see you later. JOSIE Come here, Duff. No point running away from coincidence. He sits down next to her. DUFF Baby, you must be crazy. The bus starts up. JOSIE How old is your boy? DUFF Four. JOSIE What's he like? DUFF I ai n't seen him in a couple of years. ALLEYWAY, BIRMINGHAM Duff is walking past crowded back - porches in a black section of town. Gospel music. He steps up onto one of the porches and knocks at the screen door. EFFIE'S PARLOR Through the screen door we see EFFIE SIMMS, a woman in her twenties. She is sitting on a chair and cradles a sleeping child. DUFF ` You Effie Simms? EFFIE -LRB- suspiciously. -RRB- What d'you want? DUFF Guess you must be lookin' after my boy. I'm Duff Anderson. EFFIE ` Bout time you showed. Door's open. Duff enters. EFFIE -LRB- calling. -RRB- James Lee, you come in here and meet your daddy. DUFF Where's Wilma? EFFIE She done moved to Detroit. DUFF Ai n't she goin' to take the boy? EFFIE She got herself a husband now. They don' want him ` round. And I tell you, man, I got no use for him neither. DUFF I been sendin' her money. EFFIE Well, she never gave me none. Look, you better find him a place pretty quick. DUFF Like where? EFFIE I do n't know. He's your boy. DUFF I ai n't so sure of that. If I was, maybe I'd feel different. Effie gives him a scornful look, puts down the child, and opens the curtain that leads into the bedroom. EFFIE -LRB- sharply. -RRB- James Lee - I said for you to come in here. BEDROOM Two children are playing on the floor. James Lee is up on a Castro convertible. Duff appears beside Effie in the doorway. DUFF How ` you been, boy? James Lee looks at him, scared and silent. EFFIE Go on. Tell him. She returns to the parlor. DUFF I got you something. He crouches down and holds out a toy. James Lee approaches, takes the toy, and withdraws. EFFIE'S PARLOR Effie is folding diapers. Duff comes out of the bedroom. EFFIE ` Doctor says he could use some shots. DUFF Yeah. Look, I'll be sendin' you the money from now on. EFFIE Okay. DUFF Make sure he gets those shots. He looks back at the boy in the bedroom. EFFIE They say your dad's ` round town. DUFF ` That right? I thought he was up North. EFFIE People seen him ` round. DUFF Where's he at? EFFIE I do n't know. STREET Duff is walking through a black section of town.", "EXT. TENEMENT STAIRS Duff climbs to the top of the rickety wooden steps. WILL ANDERSON'S ROOM Duff's father, a big man in his fifties, is reclining on the bed. Duff appears in the open doorway. DUFF ` You Will Anderson? WILL Who're you? DUFF I'm Duff. WILL -LRB- sitting up, with a faint grin. -RRB- Would n't have known you. DUFF Would n't have known you. WILL What's on your mind? DUFF Nothing. Heard you were in town. WILL Wanted a look at your old man, huh? DUFF Yeah. That's right. Will gets up and crosses the room. WILL How about a drink? DUFF Okay. Will pours whiskey into two glasses. Duff sees that Will's left sleeve hangs empty. DUFF What happened? WILL Workin' a saw mill. -LRB- raising his glass. -RRB- Here's to. A woman in her late thirties -LRB- LEE -RRB- comes in with a shopping bag. WILL Baby - want you to meet Duff. LEE -LRB- flatly. -RRB- Hi. WILL He's my son! She turns and looks at Duff with a glimmer of interest. LEE Come and have some coffee. -LRB- sitting down. -RRB- I'm Lee. Sit down. He joins her. LEE Come on, Will. WILL What's the matter?! You mad at me? LEE No. Why? WILL -LRB- sitting down. -RRB- Nothin'. -LRB- to Duff. -RRB- She's all right. Would n't have made it without her. Christ - have n't worked in eight months. Right now, I'm waitin' for some insurance money. And man, when I get it, I got plans to make me some more. -LRB- he gets up restlessly. -RRB- Let's get out' a here. This place gives me the willies. -LRB- to Lee. -RRB- You got some money? LEE -LRB- she knows what's coming. -RRB- Let's stay here, Will. WILL -LRB- aggressively. -RRB- What's the matter?! It's a celebration! BAR Will, Lee, and Duff are standing at the bar. Will has been drinking. WILL So what's this about a woman? You got woman trouble? DUFF I said, I come to town with a girl. WILL Plannin' on getting married? DUFF No. WILL ` Do n't sound so sure. DUFF Well, matter of fact, I done a lot of bangin' ` round. WILL Yeah. That's how me an' your mother got started. I'm tellin' you, boy, you ai n't got a chance without dough. They take it all away from you. He drains his glass and puts it down for Lee to refill. LEE Pour your own trouble, Will. WILL Your mother used to lay for her boss, boy. Did you know that? LEE Shut up, Will. WILL Okay, so what's a girl supposed to do? Me not workin' and her cleanin' house for a white man. I'm tellin' you, boy, keep away from marriage. Ya got ta stay light on your feet or you wo n't make it. He puts his hand on Lee's bare arm. WILL Is she good in the hay? No point marryin' her just to find out. Is there, baby? LEE If you do n't quit it, Will, I'm leaving. WILL You're breaking my heart. -LRB- he grabs her neck and shakes her. -RRB- Got to see a man about a dog. DANCE FLOOR Duff and Lee are dancing. She looks at him with a touch of sympathy. LEE Do n't let him get you, Duff. DUFF How often does he get like that? LEE Whenever he's got an edge on. DUFF How often is that? LEE He's been hitting it pretty hard. Got high blood pressure, too. I guess it's hard on him, having you around. BAR Will is back and drinking when Duff and Lee come off the dance floor. WILL -LRB- aggressively. -RRB- Well, what d'you think of her? Duff says nothing. WILL I asked you somethin', boy! DUFF I heard you. WILL Pretty good for a one - armed nigger, huh? DUFF Great. WILL What d'you want anyhow? What you come and bother me for? LEE He's your son. WILL Okay, boy, beat it. DUFF I got the point. He leaves money on the bar. LEE Come back some other time, will you? DUFF Yeah, sure. Good luck. DOWNTOWN STREET -LRB- Night -RRB- Duff is walking, lost in thought.", "INT. BUS DEPOT (Night) Josie enters with her purchases. She joins Duff at the sandwich counter. JOSIE Hi. DUFF -LRB- relieved to see her. -RRB- I thought you was n't comin'. She sits down. JOSIE How did it go? DUFF What? JOSIE Your boy. DUFF Okay, I guess. JOSIE -LRB- to off - screen waitress. -RRB- I'll have some coffee, please. DUFF You know, I been thinkin' - how ` bout us gettin' married? Josie is stunned. JOSIE -LRB- playing for time. -RRB- What d'you mean? DUFF Just what I said. Do n't look so scared. The waitress puts down a cup of coffee. JOSIE Thank you. DUFF How about it? JOSIE What happened, Duff? DUFF Look, baby - I do n't know ` bout you, but it's the right thing for me. I just know it is. So, what d'you say? JOSIE Do n't push me, Duff. DUFF Yeah. Would n't be no picnic for you. I ai n't exactly housebroken. JOSIE What about that girl? DUFF She do n't mean nothin' to me. That's all over. -LRB- after a moment. -RRB- Hell, baby - I'm askin' you to marry me. I guess you want a big scene, huh? JOSIE No. But a small one. They look at each other. DUFF It's yes, huh?", "INT. BUNK CAR (Day) Frankie is looking scornfully at Duff, who is lying on his bunk bed. FRANKIE I'll be a monkey's kid sister! What d'you want to do a thing like that for? JOCKO ` Musta knocked her up. FRANKIE What're you gon na get out of it, huh? DUFF -LRB- with a smile. -RRB- A whole lot, Frankie. FRANKIE -LRB- aggressively. -RRB- Like what? DUFF Like a home, for one thing. FRANKIE You gon na sit at home the rest of your life? Jesus! DUFF Well, it's better than windin' up like a bum. FRANKIE -LRB- defensively. -RRB- What ` you signifyin'? DUFF I was n't thinkin' about you, Frankie. JOCKO Ol' Doris sure goin' to miss you. FRANKIE Just give him a couple of months. A girl like that, she do n't know any tricks. JOCKO You know what Doris told me? She say : That Duff's a nice guy. Would n't even charge him nothin'. FRANKIE I guess you'll be quittin' the railroad, huh, man? DUFF That's right. FRANKIE Man, you must be plumb outa your mind! You'll be makin' twen' y bucks a week, if you're lucky.", "INT. MOVING CAR Josie is next to Duff. They are driving past a row of small attached houses in the black section of town. JOSIE Turn here. There it is! They stop in front of a house. It is barely larger than a shack. DILAPIDATED LIVING ROOM Duff and Jose come in. The room is full of abandoned, broken furniture and the ceiling and wallpaper hang down in strips. JOSIE I used to know them. They've gone North. DUFF -LRB- with a laugh. -RRB- I can see why. JOSIE Well, what d'you think? DUFF It's okay with me, baby. But how' you goin' to like it? JOSIE It'll be fine when we get done with it.", "EXT. WINDOW OF LIVING ROOM Duff is looking out through the broken pane of glass. DUFF Who's that? NEIGHBORING HOUSE, SEEN FROM WINDOW A woman is putting laundry into a washing machine on the open porch. Her children are all around her and in the yard below.", "EXT. WINDOW Josie has stopped next to Duff and looks out. JOSIE That's Bessie Hall. Barney works at the mill. DUFF Yeah? Josie removes a shard of glass from the window ; a larger piece falls out. DUFF Hey, watch out! Guess you want a house full of pickaninnies too, huh? JOSIE Do n't call them that. DUFF That's all right with me. Always liked kids. He moves to the rear of the room. LIVING ROOM Josie turns to him. JOSIE What about your boy? DUFF -LRB- defensively. -RRB- What about him? JOSIE He could live with us. DUFF Let's just see how the two of us make out first, huh?", "INT. CHURCH Duff and Josie are getting married. Duff is waiting near the pulpit. The section hands are seated on one side of the aisle, Josie's family and friends on the other. The gospel piano segues into the wedding march. Josie is coming down the aisle by herself. She joins Duff and they step forward to face Reverend Dawson. DUFF AND JOSIE'S BEDROOM -LRB- Early morning -RRB- Josie lies in bed with closed eyes. She hears Duff move and turns to him. He is dressed for work. JOSIE Good luck, baby. He sits down beside her for a moment.", "INT. MOVING CAR Duff is in the rear seat with his new neighbor, Barney. Joe, a millhand, sits next to the driver in front. He turns to Duff. JOE Hard to get up in the morning, huh? DUFF -LRB- with a grin. -RRB- That's right. How' you doin', Barney? BARNEY -LRB- not given to saying much. -RRB- Okay.", "EXT. SMALL HOUSE The car drives up and Joe leans out. JOE Come on, Willie! Willie, a big man, has been fixing his front step. WILLIE Just a minute, man. JOE Come on - we're late! WILLIE -LRB- taking his time. -RRB- Yazzuh, Boss - ah's comin' as fast as ah can. He picks up his lunch box and shuffles toward the car, Stepin' Fetchit style. JOE -LRB- laughing. -RRB- Get in the car, man!", "INT. CAR Willie climbs in next to Duff. WILLIE How' you doing, man? DUFF Okay. -LRB- to the driver. -RRB- Let's go. WILLIE That's right, Jethro - take us to the plant. And hurry, boy - ah's got a heavy day. The driver backs up fast, jerking the passengers forward. WILLIE Ah tells you, man - you give these niggers a machine and they go stark - ravin' wild! Laughter.", "INT. MILL ENTRANCE Duff is among the mill hands punching in on the time clock. VOICE OF FOREMAN -LRB- off screen. -RRB- You new here? DUFF That's right. MILL YARD Duff and two other men are working on top of a pile of lumber. A white supervisor on a forklift has been watching them. FOREMAN -LRB- calling. -RRB- Hey, Jack! Duff does n't respond. FOREMAN Hey, boy - I'm talkin' to you. DUFF -LRB- after a moment. -RRB- Name's Duff. FOREMAN How ` you doing? DUFF Okay. FOREMAN -LRB- genially. -RRB- Looks like you're doin' a good job. DUFF Thanks. FOREMAN Do n't say much, do you? DUFF Guess I do n't. FOREMAN Just so you do your work.", "EXT. MILL SHED The mill hands are on their lunch break. The only white man among them is looking at Duff with a grin. WHITE Hell, I bet those black girls really go for you, huh? That's the best - lookin' colored girl in town. Duff is eating and says nothing. WHITE What's the matter? Still on your honeymoon, huh? Just like you, Barney. ` Been on your honeymoon for twen' y years, huh? BARNEY -LRB- cautiously. -RRB- Yeah. The white mill hand helps himself to a piece of Barney's pie. WHITE How many kids you got now, Barney? BARNEY Four. WHITE -LRB- eating the pie. -RRB- Hmmm - she can cook, too. Man, it's no wonder you ` been draggin' your tail on the job. You ` been doin' your best work at home. He notices that Duff's face is set. WHITE -LRB- aggressively. -RRB- What's the matter, boy? Never smile? DUFF I'll smile when it's funny. WHITE So it was n't funny, huh? Well, I thought it was. What d'you say, Barney? Was n't it funny?! BARNEY Yeah, it was funny. WHITE Sure. -LRB- to the others. -RRB- What d'you say, boys? Was n't it funny? MILL HANDS Yeah. Sure. WHITE -LRB- to Duff. -RRB- Trouble with you, boy, you ai n't got no sense of humor. Ought to smile more. DUFF I know. WHITE You' new here, man! -LRB- he gets up to leave. -RRB- See you, boys. JOE -LRB- to Duff after a moment. -RRB- You know, man, that guy was trying to be friendly. DUFF That ai n't my idea of friendliness. BARNEY You got to watch yourself pretty close. WILLIE Yeah, you want to get along, act the nigger. DUFF Like hell. You know, if you fellows stuck together ` stead of letting them walk all over you, they might not try it. JOE Like hell they would n't. WILLIE They been doin' it all my life. DUFF Maybe it's time you stopped letting them. Jesse, a heavy - set man who has been silent till now, stands up and looks at Duff. JESSE Man, you sound like a trouble man.", "EXT. DUFF AND JOSIE'S HOUSE (Dusk) The lights are on inside. DUFF AND JOSIE'S KITCHEN Duff is finishing his supper at the table. Josie is at the stove pouring coffee. She puts a piece of pie in front of him. He drinks his Coke out of the bottle. JOSIE Use the glass, honey. That's what it's for. DUFF -LRB- with a grin. -RRB- Is that so? JOSIE Yeah, that's so. She returns to the stove. Duff picks up the pie and sniffs it suspiciously. JOSIE What's wrong? DUFF Smells like something crawled in there and died. JOSIE -LRB- innocently. -RRB- Oh really? I thought it was pretty good. DUFF Come here, baby. He gets her to sit on his lap. DUFF Everything you cook is good. JOSIE Duff - you know those women you used to know - He forks a bite of pie into her mouth. DUFF What about them? JOSIE -LRB- her mouth full. -RRB- Am I as good as they? DUFF -LRB- drinking. -RRB- Hmmm - good coffee. JOSIE You did n't answer my question. DUFF Baby, you're the best thing that ever happened to me. JOSIE You still did n't answer my question. DUFF Well, if you do n't know I ca n't tell you. She elbows him in the stomach. He laughs. BACKYARD -LRB- Night -RRB- Duff is helping Josie take in the wash. Music from Barney's house. JOSIE You know how to box? DUFF Uh - huh. Why? JOSIE My kids want me to teach them. DUFF Okay. Come on. Put'em up! She assumes the posture of a boxer. Duff laughs and adjusts her hands. DUFF Like so. There you go. Okay, hit me! JOSIE I do n't want to hurt you. DUFF Go on - hit me! She does. DUFF Ooh! My, oh my! They spar - briefly in sync with the music. She goes after him, flailing her arms. The music is turned off abruptly and we hear Bessie's raised voice. She is out on the porch of her house, yelling at Barney. BESSIE Just leave me alone! You can sit out here all night. I do n't care what you do! You're no good around the house anyway. Barney remains silent. Duff and Josie exchange a look. DUFF AND JOSIE'S BEDROOM -LRB- Night -RRB- They are in bed. DUFF -LRB- gravely. -RRB- It sure scares you, a guy like that - settin' out on his porch, doin' nothin'. I seen hundreds of them - all my life. JOSIE My father's never done a thing for any of them. He touches her face. JOSIE I'm very happy, Duff. How about you? He smiles. Josie gets up and slips out of her nightgown. Her body merges with the darkness. DUFF AND JOSIE'S LIVING ROOM -LRB- Evening -RRB- The place has been painted and simply furnished. Josie has made dinner for the section hands. Pop is the only one who is still eating. FRANKIE You sure done a great job, Mrs. Anderson. JOSIE Thanks, but you have n't eaten very much. How about it, Frankie? I bet you could eat some more. FRANKIE No, thanks. RIDDICK -LRB- to Duff. -RRB- How's that job comin'? DUFF Well, it ai n't the railroad. Those guys are scared. Guess they've never known nothin' but takin' it. JOCKO -LRB- with an edge. -RRB- They all got families to support. DUFF -LRB- good - naturedly. -RRB- Yeah. That's right, Jocko. -LRB- to the others. -RRB- Those white guys sure shoot up at you like a yeast cake if you just cock an eye at them. JOCKO -LRB- sarcastically. -RRB- I guess you'll be making' some changes ` round here. DUFF -LRB- with a grin. -RRB- What's eatin' you, Jocko? JOCKO Nothin'. I just figure you were the right man for the job. JOSIE -LRB- changing the subject. -RRB- I guess you'll all keep workin' together, wo n't you? FRANKIE Heck, no. They're shippin' us all over the map. JOSIE That's too bad. RIDDICK If you wan''em, there's some expert dishwashers here. JOSIE No, thanks. My kitchen's too small. Riddick gets up. RIDDICK Okay, fellows - let's give the folks some privacy. DOORWAY The men, on their way out, shake hands with Duff. DUFF Good - bye, Frankie. FRANKIE ` Got a good thing, man. POP See ya. DUFF Take it easy, Pop. -LRB- shaking Riddick's hand. -RRB- ` See you before you take off. JOCKO ` See ya. DUFF ` Bye, Jocko. BATHROOM -LRB- Night -RRB- Duff is washing his face at the sink. Josie comes up behind him. She is in her nightgown. JOSIE Duff. He turns to her. Instead of speaking, she turns her back to him. JOSIE My back itches. He scratches her back. JOSIE How would you like to have a baby, Duff? DUFF Huh? JOSIE Do n't look so scared. DUFF You jivin' me? JOSIE Well, I have n't come around. Duff is taken aback. DUFF Ai n't that something?! -LRB- recovering. -RRB- That's just fine, baby. JOSIE We'll be all right. He kisses her and sits down on the rim of the bathtub. DUFF Man, we sure hit the jackpot fast around here. JOSIE What about your boy? DUFF How come you keep askin'? JOSIE I keep thinking about him. DUFF Well, he ai n't mine, so skip it. She gargles. Duff moves over to her with a grin and puts his arms around her - DUFF Baby, we're goin' to put a whole lot of little kids into this world. Hell, we'll swamp'em. LOCKER ROOM, MILL The men are done for the day. Duff is putting on his shirt. Willie is under the shower. DUFF Hell, if they can do it in Birmingham - and that's a mean town, we oughta do something here. Willie says nothing. His eyes are on a white supervisor, who has stopped in the doorway. SUPERVISOR ` You Duff Anderson? DUFF That's right. SUPERVISOR Want to talk to you. DUFF Okay. SUPERVISOR I hear you're tryin' to organize this place! DUFF I do n't know what you're talkin' about. SUPERVISOR That's no way to talk, boy. Now we had one of them union men ` round here coupla years ago. Stirred up a lot of trouble. They're always after you colored boys. DUFF I still do n't know what you're talkin' about. SUPERVISOR You a union man? DUFF Used to be. On the railroad. SUPERVISOR Uh - huh. Well, this ai n't the railroad. Now what's all this talk about stickin' together? DUFF Well, what d'you know?! He looks over at the other men. They avoid his eyes. SUPERVISOR Look, boy, we got a smooth operation here, and I aim to keep it that way. Now I got an idea you're plannin' trouble. DUFF No. You got the wrong idea. SUPERVISOR All right, then. All I want you to do is tell these boys here you did n't mean what you said about stickin' together an' all. Duff says nothing. The mill hands watch him silently. SUPERVISOR Want to keep your job, boy? DUFF What d'you think? SUPERVISOR Then do like I said. -LRB- to the men. -RRB- Men - this boy here's got something to tell you - all. -LRB- to Duff. -RRB- Well, how about it? Duff looks at the supervisor in silence, fully aware that he is about to be fired. He turns and opens his locker. SUPERVISOR Boy, you're actin' like a nigger with no sense. All right, go down' the office and get your pay. Tell them you're through. DUFF'S CAR He is driving past Josie's school and slows down. The kids are out in the yard but Josie is not in sight. He accelerates, his face set. DUFF AND JOSIE'S BEDROOM. -LRB- Night -RRB- Josie is correcting papers on the bed. Duff is at the mantel, playing with a cat. He puts a small box over its head. The cat cries out and backs up clumsily, trying to free itself. JOSIE Do n't, Duff. DUFF Yeah. He sits down. Josie comes over and sits on the arm of the chair. DUFF I'm jumpy, that's all. She runs her hand through his hair. JOSIE Well, you've had quite a day. He brushes her off : DUFF I do n't like bein' mothered. When she touches him again, he jumps up. DUFF Jesus, baby - leave me alone, will ya? He flings himself down on the bed. JOSIE. -LRB- sitting down beside him. -RRB- Do n't deny me, Duff. DUFF Hell, baby - I met this beautiful chick and she's just dyin' for me, okay? She takes him by the shoulders and shakes him. JOSIE Do n't be so silly. Duff laughs. DUFF Yeah. But just how're we goin' to make out? I got to get me a job. JOSIE You will. DUFF Pay is so damn low. I do n't want my kids to grow up like Barney's. JOSIE They wo n't. DUFF I'm telling you, baby, maybe we better get out of here. JOSIE. -LRB- gravely. -RRB- We can always do that, Duff. DUFF Yeah. Yeah, I know. I'm not really thinkin' about it. Anyway, do n't want those white guys laughin' up their sleeve at me when they see me pull out.", "EXT. HIRING SHED, MILL YARD Duff waits outside the open window, while the white man in the shed checks his job application. WHITE Yeah, we can use you. Ever work a saw mill? DUFF Yeah. WHITE Where was that? DUFF. -LRB- after a moment's hesitation. -RRB- Walker and Williams. WHITE What did you say your name is? DUFF Anderson. The man checks for Duff's name on a list. WHITE. -LRB- turning to Duff. -RRB- Sorry, boy, there ai n't nothin' here.", "INT. RESTAURANT Duff is sitting at the lunch counter. Joe, the mill hand, comes in. JOE. -LRB- to the waitress. -RRB- Hello, Frances. He sits down next to Duff. JOE How ` you doin' man? DUFF. -LRB- non - committal. -RRB- Okay. JOE. -LRB- to Frances. -RRB- Cup of coffee. -LRB- to Duff. -RRB- I ` been meanin' to talk to you. DUFF Oh yeah? JOE You know, over at the mill, there's just one guy that talked. It's kinda late to say it, but we shoulda acted different. The waitress brings his coffee. JOE Been over to the other mill? DUFF Yeah, I been there. JOE It's just that we're not used to seein' anyone stand up ` round here. Kinda took us by surprise. DUFF Oh yeah? That's good.", "INT. POOL HALL Duff is at the bar. BARTENDER Well, if you tried the mills, there ai n't no other industry ` round here. DUFF How ` bout that furniture plant? BARTENDER. -LRB- with a laugh. -RRB- Man, the darkest thing they got in there is Coca - Cola. DUFF Yeah. BARTENDER Now, if you want to work like a real nigger, you can always go out and chop cotton. DUFF. -LRB- grimly. -RRB- They done that too long in my family. BARTENDER They pay you three bucks a day an' all the cotton you can eat. Duff laughs. HOTEL LOBBY Duff faces the white manager, who is behind the registration desk. MANAGER Yeah, I might have something for you, if you want to put on a uniform. Duff looks over at the one black man in the lobby - a uniformed bellhop emptying ashtrays. DUFF What's the pay? MANAGER Pay's ten dollars a week, plus tips and lunch. DUFF I see. Ai n't for me, thanks.", "INT. GENERAL STORE The white proprietor has rung up the order for an elderly black woman. PROPRIETOR Now what about soap? WOMAN I got enough. PROPRIETOR. -LRB- insisting. -RRB- I got a good buy on soap. You go on over there an' take a look! -LRB- urging her on. -RRB- Right over there. The woman goes over to look at the soap. The proprietor turns to Duff. PROPRIETOR Yes? DUFF I'm lookin' for work. PROPRIETOR I got a boy. Thanks.", "INT. DUFF'S CAR He is driving through town at a fast clip. The car rattles.", "INT. BEAUTY PARLOR The staff and clientele are black. Duff enters and sits down close to Josie, who is having her hair done. JOSIE Hi. DUFF Do n't ask, baby - huh! -LRB- lowering his voice. -RRB- How much money you got with you? JOSIE About ten dollars. DUFF Water pump's busted. I do n't know if it's worth fixin', but I need that car. JOSIE You can have what I've got. It's right there. Duff opens her pocketbook, embarrassed by the women watching him. FLAT BED TRUCK It rattles over a country road between cotton fields. Duff stands among the field hands on the open flatbed.", "EXT. COTTON GIN The white foreman is up on the loading platform. He addresses a group of field hands looking for work. FOREMAN Startin' tomorrow mornin', we got work for fifteen hands. All we're gon na pay is two - fifty a day. Ca n't pay you the three'cause ai n't gon na be much of a crop this year. Now you all who want to work, step up and we'll take your name. Duff is among the few who leave. The others surge closer to the platform, ready to work for any wage. DUFF AND JOSIE'S PORCH. -LRB- Night -RRB- Josie is sewing on the porch. Duff is in the yard a few feet away, using the back of an axe to hammer loose nails into an old chair. JOSIE It's not as hard on a girl. They're not afraid of us. Duff says nothing. JOSIE You know - we do have enough money. Especially now. DUFF. -LRB- grimly. -RRB- Sure, baby. ` Fact, I do n't ever have to work no more. When that baby comes, I can just stay home and send you back to school. How about that? JOSIE I'm trying to help, Duff. DUFF Yeah! JOSIE. -LRB- after a moment. -RRB- I could work even after the baby comes. A few hours a week, anyway. DUFF What the hell could you do? JOSIE Day work. DUFF ` You kiddin'? You ai n't goin' to no white home. I seen the way they look at you when you go down the street. He jumps up and raises the axe - DUFF No point fixin' it! JOSIE. -LRB- frightened. -RRB- What're you going to do? He smashes the axe into the chair. JOSIE. -LRB- jumping up. -RRB- Do n't do that! DUFF Watch out! He smashes the chair to pieces. DUFF. -LRB- throwing down the axe. -RRB- Good kindlin'! He turns to Josie. She is looking at him, deeply upset. DUFF What's bitin' you now! ? She turns away. He jumps up onto the porch and grabs her. DUFF You heard me! JOSIE I ca n't stand to see you like that. I know you ca n't help it. DUFF. -LRB- darkly. -RRB- Stop bein' so damn understandin'. DUFF AND JOSIE'S LIVING ROOM. -LRB- Day -RRB- Duff is on the sofa, looking up at Reverend Dawson. REVEREND DAWSON I know just how you feel, son. But believe me, you're going about it the wrong way. DUFF Do n't look like there's a right way. REVEREND DAWSON Well, you have to be reasonable. Now they say you're a troublemaker. That's no good. Use a little psychology. Make'em think you're going along - and get what you want. DUFF It ai n't in me. REVEREND DAWSON You'll be in trouble, son. -LRB- after a moment. -RRB- Now just how do you intend to support your family? DUFF I guess I'll rob a bank. REVEREND DAWSON Do n't you get smart with me, boy. We hear a dish break. KITCHEN Josie is on the floor, picking up pieces of broken glass. LIVING ROOM REVEREND DAWSON Maybe you ought to move. You'd be a lot better off in the North. DUFF So I been told. REVEREND DAWSON It's for your own good. DUFF Oh yeah? -LRB- he gets up. -RRB- Seems to me, Reverend, you' more concerned ` bout your good. Guess it looks kind' a bad, havin' me for a son - in - law. REVEREND DAWSON You can be cocky now, boy. But you wo n't make it. You wo n't last. I just feel sorry for Josie. I knew it would n't work out. DUFF Well, at least she ai n't married to no white man's nigger! You been stoopin' so long, Reverend, you do n't even know how to stand straight no more. You' just half a man! KITCHEN Josie has cut her finger on the glass. She is weeping silently. LIVING ROOM Reverend Dawson turns to leave. His sense of calm superiority is shattered. REVEREND DAWSON. -LRB- at the door. -RRB- Maybe I could talk to Bud Ellis. He might have a job for you at his filling station. DUFF Oh yeah? REVEREND DAWSON I'll be seeing you. Josie has come into the room. JOSIE. -LRB- gravely. -RRB- ` Bye, Dad. DUFF AND JOSIE'S BEDROOM. -LRB- Night -RRB- Duff watches Josie. She is sitting at her dressing table. DUFF How come you do n't hate their guts? JOSIE I do n't know. I guess I'm not afraid of them. DUFF You were plenty scared that night in the car. JOSIE Just of getting hurt. They ca n't touch me inside. DUFF Like hell they ca n't. -LRB- he gets up. -RRB- They can reach right in with their damn white hands and turn you off and on. JOSIE Not if you see them for what they are, Duff. DUFF. -LRB- exploding. -RRB- Jesus, baby, you're so full of talk! Well, you ai n't never really been a nigger, have you - livin' like that in your father's house! So just shut your mouth.", "EXT. GAS STATION (Night) Duff finishes pumping gas into Joe's car. DUFF That's two bucks, Joe. JOE. -LRB- paying. -RRB- Why do n't you come over for a beer when you get through? DUFF Okay, I will. Brad Ellis, the white owner of the service station, comes out of his office. ELLIS Hey, Duff! Run the truck down Holly Road. There's a guy in the ditch. CAB OF TOW TRUCK. -LRB- Night -RRB- Duff is driving along a wooded country road. Shreds of fog drift across the headlights. A ditched car comes into view, its front end crushed against a tree. A tubby white man stands beside it, waving to Duff with a flashlight. Duff passes him and backs up to the car. COUNTRY ROAD The owner comes toward him eagerly. OWNER Sure glad to see you, boy. Duff gets out of the tow truck to inspect the damaged car. The owner follows him, nervous and garrulous. OWNER Guess I was kinda lucky, huh? My wife's going to give me hell. Duff lowers the hoist on the truck. OWNER. -LRB- anxiously. -RRB- How you doin', boy? DUFF Okay. He gets under the car to attach the chain. OWNER Want me to hold the light for you? DUFF No, thanks. OWNER Just tryin' to be helpful. He continues talking, though Duff ca n't hear him. OWNER Most folks around here got no use for nigrahs. Got to understand them, that's all. How you doin', boy? DUFF. -LRB- emerging from under the car. -RRB- Okay. The owner tests the rig with his foot. OWNER Seems a little loose! DUFF. -LRB- with a grin. -RRB- She'll do. He starts raising the car. OWNER She ai n't comin' up even! Duff ignores him. The chain slips and the car drops to the ground with a bang. OWNER. -LRB- jumping back. -RRB- Jesus, I told you to watch it! DUFF Sorry. He gets back under the car. OWNER That's the trouble with you boys! Do n't listen when a man tells you something. DUFF She do n't look no worse to me. OWNER Do n't do her no good to get banged like that. DUFF. -LRB- under the car. -RRB- Do n't do her no good to go into a tree. OWNER. -LRB- enraged. -RRB- What did you say, boy?! DUFF I said, she's in great shape. OWNER I heard you! Now ` stead of bein' smart, you just get that car out of here! GAS STATION. -LRB- Night -RRB- Duff is changing a tire outside the repair bay. A car shoots out of the dark with its horn blaring, and screeches to a stop at the pump. Brad Ellis steps up to the driver. ELLIS Can I help you? The driver is the white mill hand who gave Duff a hard time at the mill. DRIVER. -LRB- indicating Duff. -RRB- Like some service from that boy there. Like the way he takes care of us. ELLIS Okay. Duff has come over. He is aware of impending trouble. One of the men in the car is the owner of the ditched vehicle. DUFF Fill her up? DRIVER No, boy. Thirty - eight cents worth of gas. And watch you do n't make it thirty - nine. Duff starts the pump. DRIVER Did n't hear you say `` Yessir!'' Do n't they say `` Yessir'' where you come from? Duff finishes pumping and puts the nozzle back onto the pump. DRIVER Boy - you hear me?! DUFF That'll be thirty - eight cents. DRIVER Goddamnit, nigger - you must think you're white! Who d'you think you are - king of Harlem? SECOND WHITE How ` bout this windshield, boy? Like a little service. Duff takes a moment before moving to the windshield and wiping it. The men inside the car watch him through the glass. THIRD WHITE Hell, they're getting' too big for their britches. SECOND WHITE Yeah, his wife's the same way, struttin' through town like she owns the place - shakin' that little rear end. THIRD WHITE It's all that education they're getting. DRIVER Real cool, ai n't he! Just like we're not here. Duff moves over to the driver. DUFF That'll be thirty - eight cents. DRIVER You in a big hurry, boy? SECOND WHITE Yeah, he's tryin' to get home! DRIVER Bet she's pretty hot, huh? DUFF. -LRB- very tense. -RRB- You watch your mouth, man! The driver has finally found a way of getting to Duff and a grin spreads over his face. DRIVER I bet she's a sly little nigger, that girl. Would n't mind a piece of her myself! DUFF All right, you get out of here, man! DRIVER. -LRB- exploding. -RRB- Who're you tellin' to get, boy?! You watch it, or there'll be some dyin' done ` round here! DUFF That dyin's gon na be done two ways. He steps away from the car, a hand on the rear pocket where he keeps his knife. In the backseat, the owner of the ditched car looks nervous. OWNER Let's go, Al.. He ai n't worth it. DRIVER. -LRB- turning on him. -RRB- Now you stay out of it! Brad Ellis has come over. ELLIS What's goin' on? DRIVER You better get rid of this white - eyed nigger! ELLIS. -LRB- to Duff. -RRB- What happened? DRIVER Never mind! You keep him workin' here and this place wo n't be around. And I ai n't kiddin'! He guns the engine and shoots out of the service station in a cloud of dust. Duff looks at Ellis, whose next move is predictable, and leaves the frame to run a water hose over the back of his neck. Ellis stops next to him. ELLIS Guess we got trouble. DUFF. -LRB- blowing up. -RRB- You ai n't got none, Mister! ELLIS I'm sorry, Duff. DUFF. -LRB- tossing down the hose. -RRB- Do n't tell me. I know. DUFF AND JOSIE'S LIVING ROOM. -LRB- Night -RRB- Duff enters. Josie comes out of the bedroom in her nightgown. She has been waiting up. JOSIE I called the gas station. I've been worried. Duff slumps down on the sofa, utterly discouraged. DUFF Hell, if they do n't blow up his place, they'll get him some other way. Do n't make no difference no - how. JOSIE. -LRB- anxiously. -RRB- What d'you mean? DUFF Nothin. Quit lookin' at me like that! He gets up. JOSIE. -LRB- approaching him. -RRB- Duff, I love you. DUFF Well, that do n't do me one bit of good! She touches him. JOSIE Come on, Duff - let's go to bed. He gives her a sudden, violent shove. It sends her sprawling to the floor. She picks herself up, weeping. DUFF I never should have married you in the first place. He stares at her. DUFF Ai n't you goin' to say something? JOSIE There's nothing to say. DUFF Well, that'll be the first time. He leaves the room. DUFF AND JOSIE'S BEDROOM. -LRB- Night -RRB- Duff is packing his things. Josie is on the bed. JOSIE Where're you going to go? DUFF When I get set, I'll send for you. JOSIE I do n't think that'll happen. DUFF You'll be better off without me. I ai n't fit to live with no more. It's just like a lynchin'. Maybe they do n't use a knife on you, but they got other ways. JOSIE You're not a man because of a job, Duff. DUFF You don' know nothin' ` bout it, baby. Nothin'! And do n't kid yourself - you did your bit. He closes his bag. DUFF Okay. JOSIE Duff - DUFF. -LRB- at the door. -RRB- Like I said, baby - I'll write you.", "INT. DUFF'S CAR (Dawn) He is driving across a bridge into Birmingham. DOWNTOWN STREET Duff stands on a deserted corner.", "EXT. TENEMENT STAIRS Duff climbs up to Will Anderson's room. WILL'S ROOM Will is sitting at the table in a drunken stupor. There is a knock at the door. WILL Who is it? LEE It's your son. Duff enters. WILL My son? I ai n't got no son. You Duff? DUFF That's right. WILL Beat it! He gets up and staggers toward Duff DUFF Take it easy, Pop. WILL What's the matter? Do n't smell so good, huh? Must' a broken some records. He pushes Duff away and pours himself a glass of whiskey. His hands are shaking. DUFF. -LRB- trying to restrain him. -RRB- Come on, Pop. LEE Nothing you can do. Been like this for days. WILL Got no use for nobody. He raises the glass to his mouth, but drops it and puts his hand on the back of his head. DUFF What is it? What's the matter? Lee grabs Will and pushes him onto the bed. LEE. -LRB- at the end of her rope. -RRB- Now you lay down and get some sleep! Will grabs her blindly and pulls her down onto the bed. LEE. -LRB- freeing herself, furious. -RRB- You let go! She starts picking up the broken glass. Will sits up again. He is dazed. LEE Now you stay put! WILL. -LRB- leaving the bed. -RRB- I ai n't drunk, honey. LEE Like hell you ai n't! He sits down at the table and touches the back of his head. WILL Got a thick feelin' here. LEE What's the matter now? WILL Better now. -LRB- closing his eyes. -RRB- Where ` you at? LEE. -LRB- concerned. -RRB- Right here. She puts her hand on his forehead. WILL Could n't get the words out before. DUFF Better get him to a hospital. WILL Did n't I tell you to beat it - huh? LEE. -LRB- taking Will's arm. -RRB- Let's go. WILL Anything you say, baby. With Duff's help, Lee raises Will out of the chair.", "EXT. TENEMENT, RAIN Duff has helped Lee get Will into the backseat of his car. Through the window we see him grope blindly for Lee's breast.", "INT. MOVING CAR Duff, in the driver's seat, is lost in thought. LEE. -LRB- off - screen. -RRB- Duff. Duff turns to her. Will's head is in her lap. LEE He stopped breathin'. Duff stops the car.", "INT. FUNERAL PARLOR The undertaker sits down behind his desk. He lays out Will's watch and a few other belongings for Duff and Lee, who are standing in front of him. UNDERTAKER We thought you might want these. DUFF Thanks. UNDERTAKER Would you like me to say anything tomorrow? DUFF Guess so. UNDERTAKER Have anything in mind? DUFF No. What you usually say, I guess. UNDERTAKER Where was your father born? DUFF I do n't know. He looks at Lee. She shakes her head. UNDERTAKER His profession? DUFF Well, he worked around. UNDERTAKER And his age? DUFF I do n't know. Forty - eight, I guess. UNDERTAKER Any other family? DUFF No. Just me. -LRB- he includes Lee. -RRB- Me an' her. UNDERTAKER Well, I guess that's all till tomorrow. DUFF Okay, thanks very much. URBAN CEMETERY, BIRMINGHAM The mechanical arm of a backhoe opens up a new grave. Duff and Lee walk away from the burial site. The camera moves with them. LEE What're you going to do? Duff says nothing. LEE Want to come up the house? You can stay there till you get on your feet. There's no point paying a hotel. DUFF No thanks, Lee. LEE It's just that I hate empty rooms. DUFF Sure. LEE Well, what're you going to do? DUFF I guess I'll make me some trouble in that town. LEE Going back, huh? DUFF That's right. LEE They'll run you out. DUFF No, they wo n't. LEE How ` you gon na live? DUFF I can always chop cotton if I have to. -LRB- he stops. -RRB- If you want a ride, I'll take you home. LEE No, thanks. I'll take the bus. DUFF Okay. LEE Do n't be too hard on him. DUFF Hell, I'm just like him. LEE I know he was n't much of a father. DUFF Who is?! LEE Good - bye, Duff. She walks away. BIRMINGHAM ALLEYWAY -LRB- Night -RRB- From the interior of Duff's car we see Duff come out of Effie Simms' house, carrying James Lee through the rain. He deposits the scared - looking boy in the front seat and gets in on the driver's side. James Lee shrinks as far away from Duff as the seat allows. DUFF -LRB- with a kindly grin. -RRB- That window's broke, boy. You stay over there, you're gon na get awful wet.", "INT. MOVING CAR (Dawn) The sun is coming up through the trees. James Lee is asleep on the front seat. DUFF AND JOSIE'S LIVING ROOM Duff brings in the sleeping boy and puts him down on the sofa. Then he leaves to get his belongings. Josie has woken up and comes in from the bedroom in her nightgown. She sees James Lee and leans over him. JOSIE -LRB- softly. -RRB- Hi. James Lee opens his eyes. Josie hears Duff enter and turns to him. They come together and hold each other for a long moment. DUFF Ai n't gon na be easy, baby - but it's gon na be all right. Josie is weeping. DUFF Baby I feel so free inside."], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "Duff Anderson works on a railroad section gang near Birmingham, Alabama, earning a good wage and living an itinerant life with his black co-workers. On their night off, while the other men drink and visit a pool hall, Duff decides to walk into the nearby small town, and ends up at a church meeting featuring good food and lively gospel music. There, Duff meets the pretty and genteel schoolteacher Josie, the daughter of Preacher Dawson. They begin to date against the wishes of Josie's father and stepmother, who think the relatively uneducated, non-religious, and (to them) arrogant Duff is not good enough for Josie. Despite her parents' objections, Josie continues to see Duff, partly because Duff shows himself willing to resist and challenge the social conventions that oppress black people, rather than just accepting the status quo in order to get along with white people, as Josie's father has done. Initially, Duff is just looking for a sexual relationship and tells Josie he doesn't want to get married. But after Duff visits his four-year-old illegitimate son in the care of an unloving, indifferent stepmother, and his emotionally abusive, hardly functioning drunken father (Harris) living off his girlfriend (Lee), Duff realizes that he prefers the stability of a family to the life of a drifter. Duff and Josie marry with bright hopes for the future but then begin to face a series of challenges as a married couple. Duff quits the section gang and takes a lower paying job at the local sawmill in order to have a stable home life. Being on the move had given Duff the illusion of freedom, but living in the town makes Duff subject to the town's social rules, and he immediately starts to have problems. Unlike his peers, Duff refuses to pretend to be friendly to white people who treat him obnoxiously or patronize him. Duff tries to encourage his black co-workers at the mill to stick together and stand up for their rights, but one of them informs on him to the white mill bosses, who suspect him of being a union organizer and troublemaker. After Duff refuses to follow his white boss's order to retract his statements to the other men, Duff is fired, and subsequently finds himself blacklisted at other area mills. Despite diligently searching for work, he is unable to find another job that is not humiliating and that also pays enough to support his family, now including a baby on the way. Duff hates his preacher father-in-law, whom he sees as having sold out to the white people in return for social status and economic gain, and he hurtfully says to his wife, \"You've never really been a nigger, living with them, in that house.\" Nevertheless, out of concern for Josie, Preacher Dawson uses his connections in the town to get Duff a job at a white-owned gas station. Soon, white customers who find Duff too proud for a black \"boy\" threaten to cause trouble if the boss keeps him on, and he loses that job as well. Although Josie is understanding, Duff, under emotional pressure and in a rage, shoves his pregnant wife to the floor when she tries to comfort him. Duff packs his bag and leaves their house, telling Josie that he will write her when he is on his feet again. Duff storms off to his father, and finds him so inebriated that he dies as Duff and Lee are driving him to the hospital. Neither Duff nor Lee know where Duff's father was born or how old he was, and the only possessions he has handed down to Duff are the contents of his pockets. Duff decides to return home with his young son, whom Josie had been wanting to adopt. Duff and Josie tearfully embrace as he reassures her that it \"ain't gonna be easy, baby, but it's going to be alright. Baby, I feel so free inside\u201d.", "name": "Nothing_But_a_Man"}
{"scenes": ["MONTAGE - POV SHOTS OF PARIS SET TO MUSIC We hear voices over - GIL and INEZ, a young couple of Americans, engaged to be married as we shall learn. -LRB- Standard locations are listed here but they will be determined later when we location scout. Music.", "EXT. MONET'S GARDENS - DAY GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This is unbelievable - look at this. There's no city like this in the world. There never was. INEZ -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's become so touristy. GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Well that's just the awful era we live in but can you just imagine what this was like before - but even with all the fast food joints and the traffic - god, you just ca n't imagine what it was like years ago. INEZ -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Well you like cities. GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I really do - I love cities - I love big cities with all the crowds and all the action. -LRB- Having seen a panoramic view of let us say the Champs Elysee we embark on a montage of the city. The comments offered above and following are an approximation of what the actors feel. -RRB-", "EXT. TBD - DAY GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Look at these places - the streets - the boulevards. INEZ -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You act like you've never been here before. GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I do n't get here often enough is the problem. Every once in a while for a few days is nothing - my biggest regret is that I did n't settle here the first time I came. I should have gone with my instincts. INEZ -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I admit it's pretty but so are so many other places I've visited. GIL If I'd have stayed the first time I came by now I'd be a Parisian. INEZ -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Starving.", "EXT. TBD - DAY -LRB- Pause here for third dialogue exchange -RRB- GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'm thinking of a painting by Pisarro I've seen of Paris in the rain. Can you picture how drop dead gorgeous this city is in the rain? Imagine this town in the twenties - Paris in the twenties - in the rain - the artists and writers - I was born too late. Why did God deliver me into the world in the 1970's and in Pasadena yet. INEZ -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Why does every city have to be in the rain? What's wonderful about getting wet? GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's romantic. INEZ -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's annoying. GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Or Paris when it's just getting dark - the lights go on - or at night - it's great at night - or no, sunset on the Champs Elysees - GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Could you ever think of us moving here after we're married?", "EXT. TBD - DAY INEZ -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Oh god, no. I could never live out of the United States. And if I could it would be someplace totally different. GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Like? INEZ -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I do n't know, Hawaii. GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Hawaii is America. INEZ -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yes but it's - Hawaiian. GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- If I had stayed here and written novels and not gotten into grinding out movie scripts. INEZ -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Right, and becoming rich and successful. Tell me the sad story. GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But this is where all the artists came to live, to work - the writers, the painters. INEZ -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That was ninety years ago. GIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Boy, I'd drop the house in Beverly Hills, the pool, everything - in a heartbeat. Look - this is where Monet lived and painted - we're thirty minutes from town. Imagine the two of us settling here. If my book turns out we could do it - you could just as easily make jewelry here.", "EXT. MONET'S GARDENS - DAY INEZ -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You're in love with a fantasy. Now we CUT AROUND and see Gil and Inez live. GIL I'm in love with you. -LRB- kiss. -RRB-", "INT/EXT. HOTEL LOBBY - DAY Gil and Inez enter lobby of hotel they are all at. In the lobby they are awaited by her parents, JOHN and HELEN BLAIR. JOHN There are our sight - seers. INEZ If I never see another charming boulevard or bistro - GIL What a town. HELEN To visit. GIL I could easily see myself as a Parisien - strolling the Left Bank - a baguette under my arm - finishing my novel - at a table at the Cafe Flore. A Moveable Feast - Hemingway called it. HELEN In this traffic nothing moves. GIL Well yes it was different then. JOHN Can we continue this talk of moveable feasts at Grand Vefour because I'm starved. GIL Americans eat dinner so early. JOHN And I'm proud of it.", "INT. GRAND VEFOUR RESTAURANT - NIGHT HELEN -LRB- lifting wine glass. -RRB- A toast to John's new business venture here. JOHN Well I'll be perfectly frank - I'm excited over this corporate merger between our people and the French company but otherwise I'm not a big Francophile. HELEN John hates their politics. JOHN They've certainly been no friend to the united States. GIL -LRB- amiably. -RRB- You ca n't say they were n't right in not backing Bush's moronic war in Iraq. INEZ Please let's not get into that discussion yet again? GIL There's nothing wrong with your father and I disagreeing. That's what democracy is. Your father defends the right wing of the Republican party and I happen to think they represent sub - mental Neanderthals. But we respect each other's views - am I right? -LRB- this last directed at John gets no enthusiasm but a cold look from him. -RRB- HELEN Can we discuss the wedding plans? Your father's used his good offices with the opera to get some of the singers to attend and sing. I thought Puccini would be nice. INEZ Is n't that great Gil? GIL Just no Wagner. When she walks down the aisle not The Ride of the Valkyries. Hey look, I just want to say that I am politically bipartisan in that, in my view, to be a politician of any party one must of necessity be a whore. INEZ Gil. Just then another young couple pass the table and recognize Inez. PAUL and CAROL BATES. PAUL Inez. INEZ Paul! Carol -. -LRB- ad - lib introductions. -RRB- Paul and Carol Bates - Mom, Dad, you know Gil - you did n't mention you'd be here. CAROL It was sudden. Paul got invited to lecture at the Sorbonne. INEZ Oh - how terrific. Dad's here on business and we free - loaded along. PAUL It's great. We can spend some time together. GIL Do n't we have a lot of commitments? INEZ What? CAROL What are you doing tomorrow? We're driving to Versailles. INEZ I'm dying to see Versailles. GIL Do n't we have something tomorrow? We were going to have lunch at the Brasserie Lipp. My old professor once actually saw James Joyce there. He said Joyce was eating sauerkraut and frankfurters. -LRB- silent pause. -RRB- INEZ Is that the end of the story? GIL It is actually - INEZ We'd love to go with you guys. Versailles is beautiful - I have to see it Gil - it's perfect for you with your obsession with `` les temps perdus'' \u00b7 GIL Yes - but - PAUL It's such a lovely treat running into you here. A demain.", "INT. HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT INEZ -LRB- as they do their nocturnal ablutions. -RRB- I hope you're not going to be as anti - social tomorrow when we go to Versailles. GIL How was I anti - social? INEZ It was so clear you did n't want to go. GIL Well they're your friends and I ca n't say I'm as taken with him as you are. INEZ He's brilliant. I used to have such a crush on him at college. And Carol's very bright. GIL I find him a pseudo - intellectual. INEZ I hardly think the Sorbo nne would have him lecturing if he's a pseudo - intellectual. You should give him your novel to read. I'm sure he'd be able to critique your writing and show you why you're having so much trouble. GIL I'm having trouble because I'm a Hollywood hack who never gave actual literature a real shot. INEZ -LRB- said with her usual seductiveness. -RRB- Gil, promise me if this book does n't come off you'll give up beating your brains out and get back to what you do best. The studios adore you - you're in demand - I do n't think you want to trade everything just to struggle.", "EXT. VERSAILLES - DAY Next day. The two couples are there and Paul waxes pedantically as they tour the grounds or inside. PAUL I believe Louis moved his court here in about 1682 - originally this was all swamp land - in fact, if I'm not mistaken, in old French the word Versailles means something like `` terrain where the weeds have been pulled''. The main structure is French classical style at its height - the work, I believe of Louis Le Vau, I think Mansart and Charles LeBrun I believe.", "EXT. VERSAILLES/PICTURESQUE SPOT/GARDEN - DAY INEZ I think I could get used to a summer home like this. PAUL Me too except, remember, in those days they only had baths and I'm definitely a shower man. CAROL Where are you two planning to live after the wedding? INEZ We're looking in Malibu. We love where you live. GIL I keep trying to talk her into a little attic with a skylight in Paris - CAROL La Boheme. PAUL All that's missing is tuberculosis. INEZ He does n't even know if he can write a novel. So far your track record's - you know - whereas, everyone likes your movies - GIL Yes movie scripts are easier. INEZ Tell them about the lead character in the book you're working on. GIL I do n't like to discuss my work. INEZ Not the plot, just the lead character. He works in a nostalgia shop. CAROL What's a nostalgia shop? PAUL Not one of those stores that sells Shirley Temple dolls and old radios? I never know who buys that stuff - who'd want it. INEZ -LRB- pointedly. -RRB- People who live in the past. Who think their lives would have been happier if they lived in an earlier time. PAUL And just what era would you have preferred to live in, Miniver Cheevy? INEZ -LRB- teasing Gil. -RRB- Paris in the twenties - in the rain - when the rain was n't acid rain. PAUL I see. And no global warming, no TV or suicide bombing, nuclear weapons, drug cartels. CAROL The usual menu of cliched horror stories. PAUL Nostalgia is denial. Denial of the painful present. INEZ He's a romantic. Gil would be just fine living in a perpetual state of denial. PAUL The name for this fallacy is called, Golden Age thinking. INEZ Touche. PAUL The erroneous notion that a different time period was better than the one, one's living in. It's a flaw in the romantic imagination of those who find coping with the present too difficult.", "EXT. CHOPARD/PLACE VENDOME - DAY HELEN It's definitely the nicest ring we've seen. INEZ I love a diamond wedding band. The way it sparkled they'll see it in the last row when he puts it on my finger. HELEN This is going to be such an event, Inez. I only wish - INEZ -LRB- cutting her off. -RRB- I do n't want to keep going over it, Mom. HELEN Look, he's your choice. What can I say? INEZ Gil's smart and successful. HELEN And yet he talks of g1.v1.ng it up and moving here. That frightens me. INEZ The world is full of people who dream of writing the great American novel. Let me handle him. HELEN You're father thinks you're comfortable with Gil because you can control him. INEZ He likes to please me - is that so terrible? Oh gosh - I have to go - Paul arranged a private tour of the Rodin Museum.", "EXT. RODIN MUSEUM GARDEN - DAY Paul, Carol, Gil and Inez getting guided tour. Guide speaks French and mostly English - as she feels. GUIDE This is, of course, Rodin's most famous statue. A cast of this work was placed next to his tomb. Rodin wished for it to serve as his headstone and epitaph. PAUL That would be in Meudon. He died of the flu if I'm not mistaken - 1917 I believe. GUIDE Exactly correct. You know your art history, monsieur. The design - PAUL -LRB- cutting her off. -RRB- The Thinker is so powerful because he thinks not just with his brain - he thinks with every limb and muscle - you feel the concentration. INEZ -LRB- to Gil. -RRB- He's so knowledgeable, is n't he? PAUL So much of Rodin's work was influenced by his wife, Camille. GUIDE Yes, she was an influence - though Camille was not the wife but his mistress. PAUL Camille? No. GUIDE Yes. Rose was the wife. PAUL He never married Rose. GUIDE Yes, in the last year of their lives. PAUL I think you're mistaken. CAROL Are you arguing with the guide? PAUL I am. GUIDE Ah, non, non, je suis certaine. GIL I'm afraid she's right. I just read the recent two volume biography of Rodin - Rose was definitely the wife, Camille the mistress. PAUL You read that? Where did you read that? GIL I did - no question. Camille - Rose. INEZ Do n't forget, Dad invited you to join us at a wine tasting tonight. CAROL It'll be so fun. Paul's an expert on French wines. INEZ -LRB- walking with Gil. -RRB- When did you read the biography of Rodin? GIL Me? Why would I read a biography of Rodin?", "EXT. WINE TASTING - EVENING Inez already a little high. Her parents having fun. Gil is also feeling it by now. INEZ -LRB- tasting. -RRB- I ca n't tell the difference. They're both delicious. JOHN Take it easy Inez. Those little sips add up. HELEN You should talk, John - especially for someone who once advocated the boycott of french wines. JOHN I'll always take a California wine but the Napa Valley is six thousand miles away. They laugh and drink. INEZ -LRB- to Gil. -RRB- Which do you prefer? GIL To me they're all great. What the hell do I know? INEZ I do n't think I've ever seen your cheeks so red. GIL Pheromones, it's your pheromones. Paul and Carol have ambled over, having heard Gil's last amorous remark. PAUL Ah yes - sex and alcohol - It fuels the desire but kills the performance - according to the Bard. CAROL Have you tasted the' 61? It's divine - though Paul found it - what? PAUL Slightly more tannic than the' 59. I prefer a smoky feeling to a fruity feeling, do n't you agree? GIL You will admit she's a sexy woman. PAUL This I have known for many years. You're a very lucky man. -LRB- toast. -RRB- May you make the transition from movies to literature and may your book glorify all the Shirley Temple dolls and Charlie Chaplin wristwatches that make us nostalgic for an allegedly once simpler, more charming world. GIL -LRB- a bit high. -RRB- To the little green Heinz pickle pin.", "EXT. WINE TASTING/STREET - NIGHT PAUL Carol and I are going to go dancing we heard of a great place. Interested? INEZ Sure. GIL I do n't want to be a party pooper but I just want fresh air. INEZ Oh come on - although if you're just going to sit there and obsess over where the fire exits are. CAROL If Gil does n't want to go, I'll share Paul with you. I'm very democratic. And he's a marvelous dancer. GIL If it's okay with you, I'd really just like a little walk and go to bed. We can do it another night. INEZ Well I can go, right? GIL You go? INEZ I'm not tired and I'm dying to dance. I'll just meet you back at the hotel. PAUL I'll take good care of her. GIL I - I - guess so.", "INT. TAXI - NIGHT The three are having a fine time. INEZ Is n't it great we're all on holiday at the same time. CAROL Back home we just joined a marvelous tennis club and Paul says you play. Does Gil? INEZ I ca n't introduce him to tennis - Daddy's having the damndest time pressuring him to learn golf. PAUL Is he a good writer? Have you read his prose? INEZ He wo n't let anybody - PAUL If he wants I'd be glad to go over his novel and critique it for him. INEZ That's what he needs, to have it read by someone who really knows and would n't pull any punches. The problem is - when it comes to his writing he has no respect for anyone's opinion.", "EXT. STREET - NIGHT Gil walks street, obviously lost.", "EXT. LOVELY SPOT - NIGHT Gil wanders. Eventually he is at a lovely spot. Perhaps by the river, the bridge - or somewhere else but he's just wandering lost. Finally he looks at his watch. Either by his watch or a nearby building clock, the hands move to exactly midnight. perhaps midnight chimes somewhere. At precisely that moment a car happens to pull up along side him. Inside are TWO MEN and TWO WOMAN - elegant - they have champagne and glasses and they pour from the open bottle and drink happily. DOUG Come on - get in. GIL Huh? DENISE -LRB- speaking with French accent. -RRB- Let's go, we're late. GIL You have the wrong person. DENISE Mais non, pas de tout - allez montez - GIL Look, I'm a little drunk - DOUG C'mon - for god's sake - we ca n't sit here all night. GIL This is a great old peugeot. I have a friend in Beverly Hills who has the same one - he collects - DENISE Let's go. -LRB- dragging him in. -RRB- We have so many parties to go to. GIL What parties? DOUG a Venez - la prochain gauche. DENISE Here - you need some champagne - Gil gets in. They shut door and pull off.", "INT/EXT. CAR - NIGHT GIL Where are we going? PHIL 36 rue de. -LRB- tbd address. -RRB- and lets hurry. GIL It's not fair - my head is swimming from wine. DENISE -LRB- refilling glass of champagne. -RRB- Prenez du champagne - detendez - vous un peu. GIL I do like champagne. DENISE The night is young - drink up, drink up, drink up. GIL I'm drinking up. He drinks, befuddled.", "EXT. LEFT BANK STREET - NIGHT Car pulling up at some great old street. They all get out and take him inside to a party in progress.", "INT. PARTY - NIGHT There is a mixture of elegant plus bohemian types. In the background a MAN sits at the piano singing a Cole Porter tune. Gil looks at the revelers. A few CUTS. Music plays. Finally A WOMAN comes over to Gil. ZELDA -LRB- glass in hand drinking. -RRB- You look lost. GIL You're American. ZELDA If you count Alabama as America which I do. I miss the bathtub gin. What do you do? GIL Oh I - I'm a writer. ZELDA What do you write? GIL Right now I'm working on a novel. ZELDA Oh yes? I'm Zelda by the way. Oh Scott - Scott come over here. Here's a writer from, where? GIL California. SCOTT -LRB- Scott joins. -RRB- Scott Fitzgerald, and who are you old sport? GIL I'm Gil Pen - oh you two have the same names as - SCOTT As what? GIL Scott Fitzgerald and - SCOTT -LRB- drinking. -RRB- Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. The Fitzgeralds. Is n't she beautiful? GIL Yes - its a coincidence. I mean it is a funny coincidence. ZELDA You have a glazed look in your eye. Stunned, stupefied, anesthetized, lobotomized - GIL I - I - I keep thinking that man at the piano - believe it or not I recognize his face from some old sheet music - what am I talking about here? ZELDA I know if I put my mind to it I could be one of the great writers of musical lyrics not that I can write melodies - and I try - and then I hear the songs he writes and I realize I'll never write a great lyric and that my talent really lies in drinking. GIL Yes but - he did n't write that song - did he? That's not possible - SCOTT What kind of books do you write? GIL I - I - I - I'm - I'm working on a - exactly where am I? SCOTT I'm sorry - Do n't you know the host? Some friends have gotten together a little party for Jean Cocteau. GIL -LRB- looks around, drinks it in. -RRB- Hey lady, are you kidding me? ZELDA I know what you're thinking - this is boring - I agree - I'm ready to move on - let's do Bricktop's, Scott, I'm bored, he's bored, we're all bored. SCOTT Whatever you say, sweetheart. See if Cole and Linda want to come with. Coming? Gil stares open mouthed.", "INT/EXT. CAR - NIGHT Shot of group -LRB- Gil, Cole Porter, Fitzgeralds -RRB- piled into period open top car tearing down a Parisian street. -LRB- Note : we can include Denise and Doug or Phil if we want -RRB-", "INT. BRICKTOP'S CLUB - NIGHT The group is watching someone like Josephine Baker. Gil is stunned by it all. The Fitzgerald's drink a lot.", "EXT. CAFE #3 - NIGHT Group entering cafe.", "INT. CAFE #3 - NIGHT A little late night cafe, very bohemian. Scott, Zelda and Gil enter, the group having thinned out. The Fitzgeralds drink a lot. ZELDA Une bouteille de bourbon. SCOTT -LRB- stops at another table. -RRB- Greetings and salutations. You'll forgive me - I've been mixing grain and grappa. This is Gil - Gil? Yes, Gil. GIL Gil Pender. HEMINGWAY Hemingway. GIL Hemingway? Hey, is this some kind of a - HEMINGWAY You liked my book? GIL Liked - I loved - everything you wrote - HEMINGWAY Yes it was a good book because it was an honest book and that's what war does to men and there's nothing fine and noble about dying in the mud unless you die gracefully and then it's not only noble but brave. GIL Ernest Hemingway - this is - I - HEMINGWAY -LRB- introduces his drinking partner. -RRB- Say hello to Pender - the bulls in the ring do n't frighten Belmonte - he's killed many brave ones. Fine brave bulls. GIL I'm sure - good bulls, true bulls. HEMINGWAY Why are you smiling? SCOTT -LRB- drinks. -RRB- In New York you ca n't buy this - it can only be made in a bathtub - and some of the bathtub mixtures are damn good -. -LRB- to Zelda. -RRB- Is n't that so? She prefers her hootch from a homemade still - more kick. ZELDA -LRB- to Hemingway. -RRB- Did you read my story? What did you think? HEMINGWAY It began well - really well - then it became weak. ZELDA I might've known you'd hate it. SCOTT Darling you're too sensitive. ZELDA You liked the story but he hates me. HEMINGWAY There was some fine writing but it was not fulfilled. SCOTT Please old sport - you make matters extremely difficult. ZELDA I'm jumpy - suddenly I do n't like the atmosphere here anymore. -LRB- to Belmonte. -RRB- Where are you going? JUAN BELMONTE Para reunirse con amigos en el St. Germain. ZELDA He's going to St. Germain. I'm going with him. SCOTT Zelda - ZELDA If you're going to stay and drink with him I'm going with the toreador. SCOTT -LRB- to a polite Belmonte. -RRB- Get her back at a reasonable time. They go. HEMINGWAY She'll drive you crazy, this woman. SCOTT She's exciting - and she has talent. HEMINGWAY This month it's writing, last month it was something else. You're a writer - you need time to write - not all this playing around - she's wasting you - because she's really a competitor - do n't you agree? GIL Me? I just met - HEMINGWAY Speak up for Christ's sake. I'm asking you if you think my friend is making a tragic mistake. GIL Actually I do n't know the Fitzgeralds that well - HEMINGWAY You're a writer - you make observations - you were with them all night. SCOTT Can we not discuss my personal life in public? HEMINGWAY She has him on yachts, at parties, jumping into swimming pools you're wasting your talent. SCOTT You do n't understand her. HEMINGWAY -LRB- to Gil. -RRB- She's jealous of his gift and it's a damn fine gift. It's rare. You like his work? You can speak freely. SCOTT Stop it. HEMINGWAY You like Mark Twain? GIL I do - very much. SCOTT I'm going to find Zelda. I do n't like the thought of her with the Spaniard. -LRB- stumbles out. -RRB- HEMINGWAY He's a fine writer, Fitzgerald. You box? GIL No. HEMINGWAY What are you writing? GIL A novel. HEMINGWAY About what? GIL A man who works in a nostalgia shop. HEMINGWAY What the hell's a nostalgia shop? GIL Where they sell old things - memorabilia. Does that sound terrible to you? HEMINGWAY No subject is terrible if the story is true. If the prose is clean and honest and if it affirms courage and grace under pressure. GIL Would you do me the biggest favor in the world - I ca n't even ask. HEMINGWAY What? GIL Would you read it? HEMINGWAY Your novel? GIL It's only about four hundred pages - if you could just give me your opinion. HEMINGWAY My opinion is I hate it. GIL You do? HEMINGWAY If it's bad I'll hate it because I hate bad writing and if it's good I'll be envious and hate it all the more. You do n't want the opinion of another writer. GIL But there's no one I really trust to evaluate it - HEMINGWAY Writers are competitive. GIL I could never compete with you - HEMINGWAY You're too self - effacing - it's not manly. If you're a writer, declare yourself the best writer - but you're not the best as long as I'm around. Unless you want to put the gloves on and settle it. GIL No - no - that's okay - HEMINGWAY I wo n't read your novel but I'll tell you what I'll do. GIL Yes? HEMINGWAY I'll bring it over to Gertrude Stein. She's the only one I trust to read my work. No one discovers new talent like Gert - whether it's poetry, painting, music - She'll tell you if you have a book or not. GIL You could have Gertrude Stein read my novel? HEMINGWAY Give it to me. GIL I have to get it. It's at the hotel. HEMINGWAY She gets back from Spain tomorrow. GIL -LRB- rises. -RRB- I'm so thrilled - my heart is beating. I'll go home and get it - I'll give it to you - I ca n't tell you what this means to me. To have Gertrude Stein read my novel - thank you, thank you - He exits the place.", "EXT. CAFE #3 - NIGHT GIL Calm yourself - get a grip, Gil - deep breaths - been quite a night - Fitzgerald - Hemingway - the Hemingway - Papa - where do I meet him - he never said. Gil goes to return to the cafe - he ca n't find the door, nor the club facade. It's gone. We are in the present and he searches the wall of a facade where he came out but he is in despair over the fact he ca n't find it.", "INT. HOTEL SUITE - DAY Next morning. Gil and Inez probably dressing. INEZ Lucky you did n't go last night. You'd have hated the music and the crowd - but I had fun. GIL Uh - huh. INEZ What are you thinking? You seem in a daze. GIL If I told you I was with Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald last night, what would you say? INEZ Is that what you were dreaming about? Your literary idols. GIL But if I was n't dreaming - INEZ What does that mean? GIL If I told you I spent time with Hemingway and Fitzgerald and Cole Porter - INEZ I'd be thinking brain tumor. GIL Can I tell you Zelda Fitzgerald is exactly as we've come to know her from articles and books - she's mercurial and moody and she does not get along with Hemingway - and Scott knows Hemingway's right about it but you can see how conflicted he is because he loves her - INEZ Right, right - er where's my cold cream - we should knock off the idle chatter because we're going to be late. GIL Actually I wanted to stay and work on my novel - it needs a little polishing. INEZ You can work on it later. And we can use Mom's decorator's discount.", "INT. ANTIQUE STORE - DAY Helen, Inez and Gil in antique store. HELEN Come look at this Inez - would n't this be charming for a Malibu beach house? OWNER Dix - huit mille. HELEN -LRB- to Inez. -RRB- It's a steal at eighteen thousand dollars. GIL Eighteen thousand dollars? HELEN Oh wait, that's Euros so it's more - INEZ That's over twenty thousand dollars, Mom. HELEN Yes but it's very hard to find anything like this at home. INEZ She's right, Gil. GIL Yes but we have n't even found a house yet and I'm trying to keep expenses down so I can turn down jobs. HELEN You get what you pay for. Cheap is cheap. GIL I know you love Malibu but - INEZ -LRB- sotto seductively. -RRB- Did you ever make love in a chaise like this? Imagine the possibilities. GIL Er - of course when you think of it that way it does help amortize the eighteen grand. HELEN And do n't forget - we're taking you to dinner tonight at. -LRB- * tbd. -RRB-. INEZ Great. GIL -LRB- sotto to Inez. -RRB- And after I have a terrific surprise for you. INEZ What? I'm not big on surprises. GIL You will be. Believe me. HELEN Look at these marvelous Blackamoors. I see them in your living room.", "EXT. LOVELY SPOT - NIGHT Gil and Inez arriving at the spot he was picked up by car. He waits nervously. INEZ Where are you taking me? You made me rush through dinner. Dad was n't finished with his profiteroles. GIL You're going on one of the most amazing adventures of your life. INEZ Where? And why are you carrying around your manuscript. GIL You'll see - you'll see - and your jaw will drop.", "EXT. LOVELY SPOT - NIGHT They're still waiting with nothing happening. Cars pass but no action. INEZ I do n't know what it is you're carrying on about but this is not my idea of an amazing adventure. I'm exhausted from the gym and the massage. GIL Inez. INEZ Look - you want to walk the streets and `` drink in Paris by night'' - go ahead. I'm in the middle of a great book Carol lent me and if I'm asleep when you get in, do n't wake me. -LRB- she gets in cab. -RRB- GIL -LRB- to himself. -RRB- What am I doing wrong? Unless she's right and I need to see a neurologist. Left the wine tasting - a little high yes - right here. The clock begins to chime midnight. GIL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I remember the river - the clock struck midnight - I - the clock struck midnight! Yes - On the dot of midnight I He looks at his watch which obviously confirms the chimes he hears. The period car comes - the door opens. We hear Hemingway'S voice : HEMINGWAY -LRB- V. o. -RRB- Get in. Gil gets in, car pulls off", "INT/EXT. CAR - NIGHT Only Gil and Hemingway. HEMINGWAY The assignment was to take the hill. There were four of us. Five if you counted Vincente but he had lost his hand when a grenade went off and he could n't fight as he could when I first met him and he was young and brave and the hill was soggy from days of rain and sloped down toward a road and there were many German soldiers on the road and the idea was to aim at the first group and if our aim was true we could delay them. GIL Were n't you scared? HEMINGWAY Of what? GIL Getting killed. HEMINGWAY You'll never write well if you fear dying. Do you? GIL It's my biggest fear. HEMINGWAY But it's something all men before you have done and all men will do. GIL Yes but - HEMINGWAY Have you ever made love to a truly great woman? GIL My fiance is very sexy. HEMINGWAY And when you make love to her you feel true and beautiful passion and you at least for that moment lose your fear of death. GIL I do n't know about that - HEMINGWAY I believe that love that's true and real creates a respite from death. All cowardice comes from not loving or not loving well which is the same thing and when the man who is brave and true looks death squarely in the face like some rhino hunters I know or Belmonte who is truly brave, it is because they love with sufficient passion to push death out of their minds till it returns as it does to all men and then you must make really good love again. Think about it.", "EXT. GERTRUDE STEIN'S PLACE - NIGHT Shot of them arriving at Gertrude Stein's.", "INT. GERTRUDE STEIN'S PLACE - NIGHT They enter. HEMINGWAY This is Gil Pender. He's a young American writer. I thought you two should know each other. STEIN I'm glad you're here. You can help decide which of us is right and which of us is wrong. She leads them into other room, introduces Gil. STEIN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- This is Gil - GIL Pender. STEIN Pablo Picasso. They ad - lib greetings. Picasso speaks French and is with a beautiful girl - Adriana. STEIN I was just telling Pablo that this portrait does n't capture Adriana. It has universality but no objectivity. PABLO Vous ne le comprenez pas correctment. Vous ne connaissez pas Adriana mais c'est tout ce qui la represente. STEIN No tu n' a pas raison. Look how he's done her - dripping with sexual innuendo. Carnal to the point of smoldering and yes she's beautiful but it's a subtle beauty - an implied sensuality. -LRB- to Gil. -RRB- What is your first impression of Adriana? GIL -LRB- very taken. -RRB-. \u00b7 \u00b7 Exceptionally lovely. STEIN Belle, mais plus subtil plus implicite, Pablo. HEMINGWAY You're right Gertrude - of course you can see why he's lost his objectivity. -LRB- flirting with her. -RRB- STEIN You've made a creation of Place Pigalle, a whore with volcanic appetites. PABLO Mais c'est comme elle est, si vous la connaissez. STEIN Yes - avec vous en prive - because she's your lover - but we do n't know her that way - so you make a petit bourgeoise judgment and turn her into an object of pleasure. C'est plus comme une nature morte qu'on portrait. It's more like a still life than a portrait. PABLO -LRB- waves her off and goes to get a drink. -RRB- Je ne suis pas d'accord. STEIN -LRB- turning to Gil. -RRB- And what about this book of yours I've been hearing about? -LRB- to Hemingway. -RRB- Have you read it? HEMINGWAY No, this I leave to you. You've always been the best judge of my work. STEIN -LRB- thumbing first page, she reads. -RRB- `` Out of the Past was the name of the store and its products consisted of memories. What was prosaic and even vulgar to one generation had been transmuted by the mere passing of years to a status at once magical and also camp.'' ADRIANA I love it. I'm already - hooked? Hooked. STEIN I'll start it tonight. But first we have something to talk about. She collars Hemingway and they huddle to one side. Picasso has busied himself at a distant spot with a drink, sulking. This leaves Gil off with Adriana to chat. GIL Did my opening lines really get to you that strongly? ADRIANA The past has always had a great charisma for me. GIL Me too. I was born too late. ADRIANA Oui, exactement. For me Belle Epoque Paris would have been perfect. The whole sensibility, the street lamps, the kiosks - the horse and carriages. And Maxims - then. GIL You speak very good English. ADRIANA No, not really. GIL Yes - and how long have you been dating Picasso? My god, did I say that? ADRIANA Pardon. GIL Oh - I - no, I did n't mean anything - you know - to pry. born in Paris? ADRIANA I was born in Bordeaux - I moved here to study fashion and - you do n't want to hear this - GIL No, I do. ADRIANA I came here - to study with Coco Chanel - and I fell in love with Paris and also a very dark eyed, haunted, Jewish - Italian painter - and I knew Amedeo had another woman but still I could n't resist moving into his apartment when he asked and it was a beautiful six months. GIL Not Modigliani? Was it Modigliani? You lived with Modigliani? ADRIANA You asked me so I'm telling you my sad story. With Braque also there was another woman - many - and now with Pablo - I mean Pablo is married but every day it's on again, off again - I do n't know how any woman can stay with him - he's so difficult. GIL My god you are a whole different level of art groupie. ADRIANA Pardon. GIL Nothing - I'm - ADRIANA But tell me about yourself. Have you come to Paris to write because these days so many Americans feel the need to move here. Is n't Hemingway attractive? I love his writing. GIL Actually I'm visiting. ADRIANA Oh you must stay here. It's a wonderful city for artists and writers. GIL Believe me, I want to but it's not that simple. ADRIANA And I did fall madly in love with the start of your book so I want to hear the rest of it. Hemingway and Stein return. HEMINGWAY Come, let's all go for a drink up at Montmartre. STEIN We'll discuss your book as soon as I finish it. Where can I reach you? GIL Oh that's okay - I'll drop by - it'll be easier for you - if that's okay. STEIN We run an open house. ADRIANA You sure you wo n't come? GIL -LRB- checks watch. -RRB- I only wish I could but I ca n't - but hopefully I'll see you again - ADRIANA That would be nice. Hemingway, Picasso and Adriana are going off - Hemingway flirtatious with her. HEMINGWAY -LRB- teasing Picasso. -RRB- One of these days I plan to steal you away from this genius who's great but no Miro.", "EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT Gil returning.", "INT. HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT Gil gets into bed with Inez. She's asleep and he lies awake thinking. He pinches himself to make sure he's awake. GIL -LRB- to himself. -RRB- I'm Gil Pender - I was with Hemingway and Picasso - Pablo Picasso - Ernest Hemingway - I'm Gil Pender from Pasadena - the Cub Scouts - I failed freshman English - I'm Gil Pender and my novel is with Gertrude Stein - I once worked at The House of Pies. I'm little Gil Pender. And that girl was so lovely.", "EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Gil, Inez and Helen. HELEN It's a shame you two did n't come to the movies last night. We saw a wonderfully funny American film. I forget the name. GIL Wonderful but forgettable. I've seen that picture. HELEN I know it was moronic and infantile and lacking any wit or believability but John and I laughed in spite of ourselves. INEZ What time did you get in? I was dead asleep. GIL Not late. I find these midnight strolls are very good for me creatively - without the distractions of the day - I'll probably take another long walk tonight. INEZ We'll see. Oh how about this? HELEN Oh look at these wonderful glass figures. As they're preoccupied, Gil is caught up by a woman who plays some old 78 records on an old phonograph and she's playing the Cole Porter tune Cole was playing the other night. GABRIELLE C'est jolie, no. GIL Yes - very beautiful. GABRIELLE Cole Porter. Vous aimez - you like Cole Porter? GIL Love his music - we're very close - Cole, Linda and I. She gives him a look. GABRIELLE Very pretty and tres amusant. He listens. Inez comes over. INEZ Gil - Gil - Gil? GIL -LRB- coming out if, realizing she's been talking to him. -RRB- Huh? INEZ We should go. We're meeting Paul and Carol for a private showing at the museum. GIL With the same sharp guide? INEZ It's a different museum and we do n't need a guide. Paul's an expert on Monet. -LRB- MORE. -RRB- INEZ -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- We can see all those beautiful water lilies at his home.", "INT. L'ORANGERIE MUSEUM - DAY Paul, Carol, Inez and Gil in circular room with huge Monets. PAUL The juxtaposition of color is amazing. This man was the real father of abstract expressionism. I take that back, maybe Turner. INEZ I prefer Monet. I mean I love Turner but this is overwhelming. PAUL If I'm not mistaken it took him two years to complete this. And he worked out at Giverny - where he frequently - GIL They say Monet used to - INEZ Shhh. I want to hear what Paul's saying. PAUL He was frequently visited by Caillebotte - an artist I personally feel was underrated. CAROL I find Monet almost too pretty - like Renoir - sometimes it's cloying.", "INT. ANOTHER FLOOR OF THE MUSEUM - DAY                        A36 PAUL -LRB- coming to Picasso's portrait of Adriana. -RRB- Ah - now here's a superb Picasso. Gil is stunned. PAUL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- If I'm not mistaken he painted this marvelous portrait of his French mistress Madeline Brissou in the twenties. GIL Er - I have to differ with you on this one. PAUL Really? INEZ Gil pay attention and you'll learn something. GIL If I'm not mistaken this was a failed attempt to capture a young French girl named Adriana - from Bordeaux - if my art history serves me - came to Paris to study costume design for the theatre. Believe she had a brief affair with Modigliani - then Braque - that's where Pablo met her - er Picasso. You'd never know it from this portrait but she's quite subtly beautiful. INEZ What have you been smoking? GIL And I'd hardly call the picture superb. It's more of a petit bourgeoise statement of how Pablo er Picasso sees her, saw her - he's distracted by the fact she was a volcano in the sack.", "INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT John, Helen and Inez finishing fancy dinner. JOHN Too rich for me. HELEN Where did Gil run off to? INEZ Work - he likes to walk around Paris - the way the city is all lit up at night allegedly inspires him - It's okay. Paul and I are going dancing. HELEN Where's Carol? INEZ In bed with a bad oyster. -LRB- rising. -RRB- See you later. Thanks for dinner Dad. She exits. JOHN Where does Gil go every night? HELEN You heard her. He walks and gets ideas. JOHN Uh - huh. HELEN You sound skeptical. JOHN I do n't know. I see what he earns but sometimes I think he's got a part missing. And I did n't like his remark about tea party Republicans. They're decent people who want to take back the country - they're not crypto - fascist, airhead zombies. Did you hear him say that? HELEN Nevertheless I hardly think your idea of having him followed is practical. JOHN No? I'd like to know where he goes every night. HELEN Well we know one thing - he does n't go dancing.", "INT. FITZGERALD'S PARTY - NIGHT Gil dancing with a woman at Fitzgerald's party. He stops finally and Adriana wanders over. ADRIANA Hello again? How nice you're here. GIL I was at Gertrude Stein's - she's almost finished with my novel. And the Fitzgeralds invited me over and said you'd be here - you and Pablo. ADRIANA Pablo's home - we had a bit of a quarrel. But you looked like you were having fun dancing with Djuna Barnes. GIL That was Djuna Barnes? No wonder she wanted to lead. ADRIANA Is n't this a wonderful place to throw a party - only the Fitzgeralds would think of it. Look - this is from the turn of the century. Everything was so beautiful then. Hemingway coming over now. He squeezes Adriana playfully flirtatious. HEMINGWAY Is n't this little Parisienne dream a movable feast? Mark my words - I'm going to steal you from that fugitive from Malaga one way or the other. -LRB- MORE. -RRB- HEMINGWAY -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- -LRB- referring to his companion of the moment. -RRB- Between Belmonte and myself - which of us would you choose? ADRIANA Vous etes tous deux tres impressionants. HEMINGWAY But he has more courage. He faces death more directly and more often and if you chose him I would be disappointed but understand. JUAN BELMONTE Por desgracia para ambos ella ha elegido Pablo. HEMINGWAY Yes, she's chosen Picasso - But Pablo thinks women are only to paint or sleep with. ADRIANA And you? HEMINGWAY I think women are the equal of men in courage. Have you ever shot a charging lion? ADRIANA Never. HEMINGWAY Have you ever hunted? -LRB- to Gil. -RRB- Have you? GIL Only for bargains. BELMONTE -LRB- to Hemingway. -RRB- venga - tomemos otra copa. GIL -LRB- to Adriana. -RRB- Would you like to maybe take a walk?", "EXT. PLACE DAUPHINE - NIGHT Gil and Adriana walk. GIL I hope it was nothing serious with you and Pablo? ADRIANA He's moody and possessive. Artists are all like children. GIL I understand why they all want to paint you - you're so damn interesting to look at in a lovely way. ADRIANA And you're interesting in a lost way. Tell me more about your book. GIL I do n't want to talk about my book. I want to enjoy Paris by night. ADRIANA I keep forgetting, you're only a tourist. GIL That's putting it mildly.", "EXT. MONTAGE/PARIS - NIGHT Adriana is showing him around. ADRIANA I can never decide whether Paris is more beautiful by day or by night. GIL There's no book or painting, or symphony or sculpture that can rival a great city. All these streets and boulevards as a special art form. -LRB- MORE. -RRB- GIL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- When you think in the cold, violent, meaningless universe Paris exists - these lights - I mean nothing's happening on Jupiter or Neptune or out beyond - but from way out in space you can see these lights in the whole dark void - the cafes, people drinking and dancing - I mean for all we know this town is the hottest spot in the entire universe - ADRIANA Vous avez l'ame d'un poete. GIL You're very kind. I would not call my babbling poetic. OMITTED", "EXT. PLACE PIGALLE - NIGHT Gil and Adriana are here with the street lined with prostitutes. ADRIANA See anything you like? GIL I'm ashamed to admit I'm attracted to all of them. I like cheap - sexy. I know it's shallow. ADRIANA When I was in Catholic school, one weekend, my roommate and I paid one of the girls of Pigalle to come teach us all her tricks. GIL Well, that's the most interesting thing I've ever heard in my life - I'd like to think about that for awhile.", "EXT. RIVER - NIGHT Gil and Adriana walking by the river. ADRIANA I love that the main character in your book sells memories. GIL Because he believes in his soul that progress is not automatically for the better. ADRIANA Often quite the opposite. GIL Say - is that who I think it is? ADRIANA What is she doing here? And why is she staring into the river. They see a distraught woman contemplating jumping into the river. Upon running to her, it's Zelda. ADRIANA Oh gosh! My god - what are you doing? ZELDA Please leave me alone. I do n't want to live. ADRIANA What is it? What's going on? ZELDA It all became clear to me tonight. Scott and that beautiful Countess - it was so obvious they were whispering about me and the more they drank the more he fell in love with her. GIL Scott loves only you. I can tell you with absolute certainty. ZELDA No, he's tired of me. GIL No you're wrong. I know. ZELDA How? How? GIL Trust me. I know. ZELDA But you just met us. How can you know anything. My skin hurts. I hate the way I look. GIL Take this. -LRB- pill. -RRB- ZELDA What is this? GIL A Valium - it'll calm you down. ADRIANA You carry medicine? GIL Only since Inez and I became engaged. I've had these anxiety attacks - I'm sure after the wedding they'll subside. ZELDA I never heard of Valium. What is this? GIL Er - it's the pill of the future. ZELDA But pills wear off - and then it all comes back. No, I wo n't kill myself. I'll write and I'll write more passionately than Scott. I'll work harder. ADRIANA He loves you. He's not with that woman. She's already on her way back to Rome. GIL I'll try and score some more for you. And I have some Xanax at the hotel - it's another one you'll like. ADRIANA Come on, we'll find a taxi. We'll see you home - things will be better in the morning.", "INT. BOHEMIAN CAFE - NIGHT ADRIANA You never said you were getting married. GIL Yes - I - I mean it's in the future. ADRIANA Well good luck with your book and your wedding. GIL You'd like Inez - she has a sharp sense of humor - and she's sexy - not that we agree on everything. ADRIANA But the important things. GIL Actually the small things - the important things we do n't - she'd like to live in Malibu and that I'd work in Hollywood - but I will say we both like - er - er Indian food - not all Indian food - pita bread - we both like pita bread - ADRIANA -LRB- rising. -RRB- I should go. Pablo will be missing me. GIL I'll walk you home - ADRIANA NO, no. Finish your drink. I live just around the corner. GIL No, I would n't think - ADRIANA I'd prefer to be by myself for awhile. Thank you for this evening. And she goes. He's stressed, thinks. Presently Salvador Dali comes to table. DALI We met earlier tonight. At the party. GIL Yes - I remember - DALI Dali - si? Dali! Dali! Une bouteille de vin rouge I waiter scurries for one. DALI -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You like the shape of the rhinoceros? GIL A rhinoceros? I never thought about it. DALI I paint rhinoceros. I paint you - sad eyes - big lips - melting over hot sand - with one tear - yes - and in your tear - Christ's face. And rhinoceros. GIL I'm sure I look sad. I'm in a very perplexing situation. DALI Everyone is in perplexing situation - to be or not to be - this is ultimate perplexing question - you agree? Ah - here they are - Bufiuel, Man Ray enter and the table enlarges as they sit. Dali introduces them to Gil. GIL My god, I own a surrealist print - only a print by Magritte. DALI Pender - Pen - der - Pen - derrr - and I am Da - li. Pender is in perplexing situation. GIL It sounds so crazy when I say it and you'll think I'm drunk but I've got to tell someone I'm from a different time - a whole other era - the future - and I pass from the two thousandth millennium to here - a car picks me up - I slide through time - MAN RAY Exactly correct - you inhabit two worlds - so far I see nothing strange. GIL Look, you're sur - realists - but I'm a normal guy - See, in one life I'm engaged to marry a woman I love - at least I think I love her. Christ, I'm supposed to love her if I'm marrying her. DALI Love - the word love - love - the word love - same as the word rhinoceros - the rhinoceros makes love by mounting the female - but is there difference in beauty between two rhinoceroses? MAN RAY But there is nothing more sur - real than the human heart. DALI Past is also present. GIL In a dream - which is fine for you because you guys dabble in dreams. MAN RAY There is another woman? GIL Adriana is her name. And I felt drawn to her - but it would n't matter - men much greater than me, profound artists - she's drawn to geniuses - and they to her. DALI I see you with Christ - he is smiling while you are crucified on the heavy wooden cross of self - doubt. GIL Of course my biggest problem is reality. BuNuEL Reality is nothing more than a dream - we all exist in the dream of a dog. GIL I was born in the wrong time. DALI Time is all the mind. Time melts - the watches melt - the hands of the clock melt. MAN RAY A man in love with a woman from a different era. I see a photograph. BuNuEL I see a movie. GIL I see an insurmountable problem. DALI I see - a rhinoceros.", "INT. HOTEL SUITE - DAY Next morning. Room service breakfast. INEZ Did you get much work done last night? GIL Er - some - yes - I'm beginning to think my book may be too realistic - that I've missed some chances to let my imagination run wild and not be so damn logical. INEZ Should n't we be getting dressed? GIL C'mere - you always look great in the morning. INEZ -LRB- she does. -RRB- We'll be late. GIL I have to work. I'm working like a demon but I ca n't resist you half dressed like that. INEZ Paul says we have to see the countryside. He's taking us for lunch at this beautiful little inn. I know you like making love in the morning but I find it much sexier late afternoon - just before we go out to dinner. Except I always have to explain to my parents why your cheeks look radiant. Hey - I'm not going to force you. I know you're hot on your writing. I'll be happy when you finish this book and move on.", "EXT. RODIN MUSEUM GARDEN - DAY Gil is near The Kiss. He has tracked down the guide. GIL Hello - Bonjour - I'd like to ask you a question about Rodin. GUIDE Yes? GIL He loved his wife, he also loved his mistress - is it really possible to be in love with two women? GUIDE He loved both in different ways. GIL God it's so French. Er - you remember me? GUIDE I do. Qui - you were with the group, the pedantic gentleman. GIL Yeah, pedantic - perfect word. You're very observant. I need some advice. I'd like a woman's take. A French woman - an observant French woman. I met some woman that I very quickly became smitten with. Smitten? GUIDE Uh - huh. GIL I'm engaged to be married. I know Rodin had a wife and a mistress but I'm American - we ca n't handle that - we're monogamous. GUIDE You're engaged and you met a new woman - GIL Yes. Her name's Adriana. Right now she's living with Picas - with a Spaniard - er he paints - fairly well. \u00b7 \u00b7 GUIDE Yes - and does she love him? Or you? GIL Love him or me? Well I hardly think, me. But we've just met. See, another very gifted man flirts with her, a writer. All these geniuses fall in love with her. And what am I? And then of course there's another big problem. I ca n't exactly explain. GUIDE Yes? GIL I do n't know whether to call it an age difference - or a problem of geography - I'm so messed up. I'm not Hemingway, I'm not Picasso, I'm not Rodin. I'm just a guy who was born too late. OMITTED", "EXT. STREET/INT. BUILDING - DAY John walks down a street and enters a building. As he goes up the stairs we learn it is the office of a private detective agency.", "INT. AGENCY OFFICE - DAY John and M. DuBois, the head detective. M. Tisserant, the second is present too. JOHN Here's his photo. I want to know where he goes each night. DUBOIS What is your suspicion? JOHN He's engaged to my daughter - to marry and I want to be certain she's making a wise decision. Naturally discretion is paramount. DUBOIS You've come to the right place, monsieur. Monsieur Tisserant - will personally keep track of the gentleman and report back on his whereabouts at night.", "EXT. LOVELY SPOT/INT. CAR - NIGHT Gil getting into the car as usual at the same spot at midnight. Another man is in there. Tisserant is observing from his car. TOM Come. GIL -LRB- gets in. -RRB- Thanks for stopping. Gil Pender. TOM Tom Eliot. GIL Tom Eliot? Tom - Stearns - T.S. Eliot? T.S. Eliot? SHOT of Gil entering car. GIL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm stunned, stunned - Prufrock - my mantra - As the car pulls off, we hear Gil speaking. GIL -LRB- CONT'D ; V.O. -RRB- May I tell you where I come from they measure out their lives in coke spoons. OMITTED", "INT. GERTRUDE STEIN'S PLACE - NIGHT Picasso present - dour. STEIN Oh Pender - I'll get to your book in a moment. I finished it. We're just in the middle of a little personal crisis. GIL I did n't mean to intrude. STEIN No, it's no secret. Adriana has left Pablo and has flown to Africa with Ernest Hemingway. GIL What? PABLO Sabia que tenia una obsesi6n con este fanforr6n. Sobre esto discutimos. STEIN Estoy seguro que regresara muy devoto. -LRB- English to Gil. -RRB- He took her hunting kudu but she'll be back to him - the sound of hyenas every night when you're trying to sleep in a tent gets on your nerves pretty quickly. Mt. Kilimanjaro is not Paris. GIL They're on Mt. Kilimanjaro? STEIN Now about your book. Very unusual indeed. In a way it's almost science fiction - fiction with all the futuristic devices - television sets, supersonic flight - and yet it's not typical science fiction - it's unique. -LRB- MORE. -RRB- STEIN -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Nevertheless you have to get rid of all that technology - what's good about your book are the characters - the human questions - love - mortality - nobody cares about the technology, they care about the human heart. We all fear death and question our place in the universe. Unfortunately your book lapses into easy pessimism. I was having this conversation with Giacometti the other day - he's such a gloom monger. GIL Still, those sculptures - STEIN It's the artist's job not to succumb to despair but to find an antidote to the emptiness of existence. I find your voice clear and lively - do n't be such a defeatist. OMITTED", "EXT. FRONT OF HOTEL - DAY Inez, her mother and father loading into car. HELEN Tell Gil to bring a suit because tomorrow night we'll be dining formal. Where's Gil. INEZ I forgot to tell you. Gil is not going with us to Mont St. Michel. JOHN Why not? I do n't understand it. INEZ He writes, he rewrites, he rewrites his rewrites. He says Picasso never left his studio. -LRB- MORE. -RRB- INEZ -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- I said, Gil, you have absolutely nothing in common with Picasso. He just looks at me. HELEN Well he's going to miss a great weekend. OMITTED", "EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY                                        55 Gil browsing. He listens to the old phonograph recordings. GIL Any Cole Porter? GABRIELLE Oh yes - I remember - he was your friend. GIL I was kidding you realize. GABRIELLE I did realize. You're a bit young. GIL I'm surprised you're so familiar with his work. GABRIELLE He wrote many songs about Paris - very beautiful. GIL Yes - he was in love with your hometown. You're a Parisiene? GABRIELLE Oui monsieur. GIL How much. GABRIELLE Dix - huit euro. He pays. Takes album. OMITTED", "EXT. BOOK MARKET - DAY Gil at a place that has a bin of various old books more pretty than great - the kind people buy for the binding or plates. He picks up a pretty bound but totally wrecked book in the inside. It is slim, leather, torn up. He reads the title page in hand writing. It reads : `` This diary belongs to Adriana Dupree.'' GIL -LRB- to customer. -RRB- Can you translate this? Speak English? customer shrugs. Moves off.", "EXT. NOTRE DAME GARDEN - DAY Gil with Museum Guide. She's translating the diary into English. GUIDE -LRB- reading. -RRB- That Paris exists and anyone could choose to live anywhere else in the world will always be a mystery to me. Turns pages. GUIDE -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Dinner with Pablo and Henri Matisse. Pablo is the greater artist although Matisse is the greater painter. GUIDE -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Paris in the summer - what it must have been like to sit opposite one's lover at Maxim's in it's heyday. Pages are torn and text cuts off. GUIDE -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I am in love with an American writer I just met named Gil Pender. His eyes widen. GUIDE -LRB- continuing. -RRB- That immediate magic one hears about happened to me. I know that both Picasso and Hemingway are in love with me but for whatever inexplicable reasons the heart has, I am drawn to Gil. Perhaps because he seems naive and unassuming. GUIDE -LRB- continuing. -RRB- As always in this sad life he is about to marry a woman named Inez. I had a dream where he came to me and brought me a little gift - earrings they were - and we made love. perhaps it is just as well I accept Hemingway's offer to go to Africa. Life with Pablo is too full of conflict and I am suffocating under his genius. Why I need to go from one brilliant man to another is my weakness. Gil is different, perhaps not a genius but not moody and selfish like Pablo or Amedeo was. I think a trip to Africa with Hemingway would help get these feelings for Gil off my mind. GUIDE -LRB- finished reading. -RRB- I do n't understand. What is this? GIL It's a little complicated to explain. Thanks for translating - GUIDE The writer clearly has feelings for this man Gil. That's your name, no? GIL She finds him no genius - naive and unassuming - that's not exactly dazzling. GUIDE To some women naivete is endearing. And she's romantic. She dreams of Belle Epoque Paris and a gift of earrings and making love with this man. Gil stares, thinking.", "INT. HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT Gil is sprucing up. He douses himself with aftershave, checks clock. It's eleven PM. GIL -LRB- to himself. -RRB- Eleven - let's see - where the hell am I going to get earrings at this hour? -LRB- thinks. -RRB- I must improvise. He goes to Inez's jewelry box and picks out art nouveau earrings he knows Adriana would like. He grabs a box and gift wraps it quickly. Maybe it comes in a blue velvet box and he finds some colored paper. Gil writes card : To Adriana with love. He crosses it out - To Adriana avec amour. He gives a final check to himself and opens door to leave, running smack into Inez and both her parents, home from their trip prematurely. GIL Ohmigodl What are you doing back? INEZ Daddy got chest pains. GIL Really? JOHN I'm sure it's indigestion. HELEN Well we ca n't take a chance. INEZ Daddy had an angioplasty three years ago. JOHN They put a balloon in me. Big deal. HELEN -LRB- phone. -RRB- Yes - I want the hotel doctor - suite 818. -LRB- she trails off. -RRB- INEZ Why are you so dressed up? GIL Me? No - I was just writing. INEZ You dress and put on cologne to write? GIL I took a break and showered. I think better in the shower. All those positive ions. INEZ We were halfway to Mont.. St. Michele and Daddy started to look pale. GIL That's terrible. INEZ We turned right around. GIL No - sure - is there anything I can get you, John? JOHN I'm fine. I'm sure it's the beef bourguignon. INEZ What's this. -LRB- picking up gift. -RRB- GIL -LRB- grabs it from her. -RRB- It's nothing - nothing - INEZ What is that? It's a present. GIL Yes - yes. it is. Because it's gift wrapped. but er - you're not supposed to see that - it's a surprise. INEZ You got me something? GIL It's nothing great - from the flea market. INEZ Let me open it. GIL No! No - not now. I got it for - I mean to give it to you at a special dinner - just leave it. INEZ Now I'm dying of curiosity. If it's jewelry I hope it's my taste - not like the moonstone necklace. GIL You did n't like the moonstones? They're understated yet elegant -. -LRB- to Helen. -RRB- Do n't you always say that, ha, ha. \u00b7. HELEN Cheap is cheap is what I always say. INEZ You never saw the necklace he got me. I've never actually worn it. You'll see why immediately. Opens her jewelry box, holds up moonstones. GIL I thought you'd like their simplicity. INEZ That's just it, they're too simple. HELEN I agree. INEZ Hey - where are my art nouveau earrings? GIL You probably did n't pack them. INEZ I've worn them here. GIL I guess you lost them. They probably dropped off. INEZ Both of them? My ears are pierced. HELEN I told you to keep everything in the hotel safe. INEZ You think it was the maid? HELEN It's always the maid. INEZ I remember seeing them there this morning. HELEN I would report the theft right away. INEZ I'll bet it was that maid. She was so snotty yesterday about turning out the beds. She goes to phone. GIL Gee I would n't jump to any conclusions. I mean an accusation of theft. INEZ -LRB- phone. -RRB- I want to report a theft. I'd like the house detective to please come to room 818. GIL Oh god - INEZ -LRB- hangs up. -RRB- I did n't like that maid from the first day, did n't I say that? Door rings. GIL The maid was very sweet. INEZ -LRB- opening door, doctor is there. -RRB- Right. Take the side of the help as usual. That's why Dad calls you a Communist. DOCTOR I'm Dr. Gerard. HELEN Come in - he's right there. JOHN I'm fine. HELEN He's had an angioplasty. Amidst the ad - lib moment, Gil has managed to secure a private spot and has swiped the box. He's torn it open and removing earrings, runs into the room with them. GIL Look! Look! Are these what you're missing? INEZ Where did you find them? GIL They were in the bathroom. INEZ The bathroom? GIL Right out on the sink. HELEN I was in the bathroom, I did n't see them. GIL Well you're under stress. INEZ Why the hell would they be in the bathroom? GIL Maybe you thought you put them away and left them out or dropped them, and the maid found them and left them out where you could see them easily. INEZ I did n't drop them or leave them out. GIL The main thing is they're not stolen. DOCTOR I'm going to send you for some tests but I think that you are right and this is only indigestion. JOHN See. Incidentally, it was very nice of you to come over so late. HELEN Yes - my god, is it midnight already? Gil is disappointed.", "EXT. FLEA MARKET - DAY Gil is buying earrings. OMITTED", "EXT. DETECTIVE TISSERANT'S CAR/LOVELY SPOT - NIGHT He is behind the wheel of his car observing. Car stops - picks up Gil, pulls off. Tisserant pulls off to follow.", "INT. GERTRUDE STEIN'S PLACE - NIGHT STEIN -LRB- to Matisse. -RRB- C'est l'un de vos meilleurs jusqu'a present. Je parlai a Leo. Je pense qu'il souhaite l'acheter. Matisse is delighted, goes about his business there as she turns to Gil. STEIN I was just telling Matisse we want to buy one of his new pictures for our personal collection. Five hundred francs seems fair. GIL Five hundred francs? For a Matisse? -LRB- half to himself. -RRB- -LRB- MORE. -RRB- GIL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Gee, why do n't I pick up half a dozen? I could clean up - but how's all this possible - I should have paid more attention in my physics class. STEIN Well? GIL Oh er - I brought a rewrite of the first few chapters of my book and was hoping you would tell me if you thought I was on the right track. STEIN Leave it with me. GIL Er - have you heard from Hemingway? STEIN Oh yes, they've been back for days. The trip did n't work out. I knew they would n't hit it off. That's over. with Picasso too. She's at Deyrolles - by herself. GIL By herself? STEIN On of those surrealist painters is getting married and they did it up there. She'll be glad to see you.", "INT. DEYROLLE - NIGHT Wedding in progress. Informal, non - traditional wedding with artist type guests. Gil finds Adriana. ADRIANA Oh - what are you doing here? GIL I came to find you. ADRIANA You did? GIL Let's just say as a writer I see into women's souls and I sense that you have very complicated feelings towards me. ADRIANA But you're going to be married. GIL I'm not so sure about anything anymore - can we just go where it's quiet? They are almost out the door when they run into Luis Bufiuel. GIL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Oh, Mr. Bufiuel, I had a nice idea for a movie for you. BuNuEL Yes? GIL A group of people are at a formal dinner party and after dinner when they try to leave the room, they ca n't. BuNuEL Why not? GIL They just ca n't seem to exit the door. BuNuEL But why? GIL And because they're all forced to stay together the veneer of civilization quickly comes off them and they behave as who they really are - animals. BuNuEL But I do n't get it - why do n't they just walk out of the room? GIL Just think about it - that's all I'm saying - maybe one day you'll be shaving and it'll tickle your fancy. They go off as Bufiuel gets in last line. BuNuEL I do n't understand - what's holding them in the room?", "EXT. PRETTY LOCATION - NIGHT Gil and Adriana at romantic locale. He kisses her. ADRIANA What are you doing? GIL I do n't know but I do know that for a brief moment, when I was doing it, I felt - immortal. ADRIANA But - you look so sad. GIL Because life is too mysterious for me. ADRIANA It's the time we live in. Everything moves so fast - life is noisy and complicated - not like the Belle Epoque. In those years Paris lived only for beauty. GIL I've always been a logical person. I never took chances - did anything crazy - like move here when I first came or take a shot at being a real writer, not a Hollywood hired hand - but I feel like letting everything go. Gil gives her earrings. GIL Here. ADRIANA How remarkable - they're beautiful. A horse and carriage pulls up. DIDIER Monsieur, mademoiselle - on y vas. ADRIANA What? Who are you? CHLOE Montez. On y vas. Nous allons etre en retard. GIL What's going on? They get in. ADRIANA Where are we going? DIDIER To drink champagne.", "EXT. MAXIMS - NIGHT They pull up at Maxims. People from the Belle Epoque enter and exit. ADRIANA This is so beautiful. ADRIANA -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- All those pictures I've seen of Belle Epoque Paris. We're herel - GIL I do n't know what it is about this city but I must write a thank you note to the chamber of commerce.", "INT. MAXIMS - NIGHT Inside. MARIE Welcome - and oh what marvelous outfits. So avant garde - please have some champagne. ADRIANA I ca n't believe this is happening to me.", "INT. MAXIMS - NIGHT Gil and Adriana are dancing romantically. ADRIANA I never want to go back to the present. Never. GIL The present - Yes, the present always seems worse than the past but it ca n't be - to always think this generation is stupider and coarser than the last - and yet - here we are at Maxims tonight and yes, it's fabulous. ADRIANA And I know just where I want to go after.", "INT. MOULIN ROUGE/STAGE - NIGHT The girls dance.", "INT. MOULIN ROUGE/AUDIENCE - NIGHT Gil and Adriana sit and hold hands. Dance ends and girls run off. ADRIANA -LRB- to waiter. -RRB- Encore du vin. Le meme chose. -LRB- to Gil. -RRB- Is n't this something. Lookl Look I She points out Lautrec sketching. ADRIANA Pablo worships him. I have to say hello. Come with me, I'm nervous. GIL We should n't bother him. ADRIANA But we know he's a lonely man. he longs for company. They go over. She speaks to Lautrec. ADRIANA We're both great admirers of your work. Nous sommes tout les deux de grands admirateurs de votre travail. LAUTREC Merci madame. ADRIANA Pouvons nous vous offrir un verre? LAUTREC J'en serai enchante mademoiselle. Prenez un siege je vous en prie. ADRIANA He's asking us to sit down with him. GIL This much French I know. LAUTREC Etes vous Americain? GIL I'm American. Oui - LAUTREC Je l'ai devine a votre accent. ADRIANA Nous aimons, tous les vos dessins et peintures, en realite tout ce que vous faites. GIL Yes, I love your pictures too. LAUTREC -LRB- welcomes two new men to table. -RRB- Oh - puis - je vous presenter mes amis. Monsieur Degas and Monsieur Gauguin. ADRIANA Ohmigoodness - hello - enchante -. -LRB- ad - lib hellos best they can. -RRB- -LRB- to Gil. -RRB- Is n't this thrilling? You see the sketch he's made? Nobody can draw like that today - not Pablo, not Matisse - We see fine drawing, Lautrec style. GIL Parlez Anglais? DEGAS No monsieur. LAUTREC -LRB- referring to Gauguin. -RRB- Il parle un petit peut. GAUGUIN I speak well - je parle tres bien. DEGAS -LRB- scornfully over Gauguin's boasting. -RRB- Ah - GAUGUIN Degas and I were just talking about how - cette generation est depourvue de sens et mangue d'imagination. ADRIANA He says they find this generation sterile and empty - GAUGUIN La Renaissance est beaucoup mieux - better to have lived during the Renaissance. ADRIANA No - this is the Golden Age - L'Age D'or. DEGAS Pas do tout - la Renaissance - c ` etait mieux - leur vetements sont tres, tres modernes, tres originaux. ADRIANA He says your clothes are very modern and original. GIL Er - yes - Monsieur Lauren - Ralph. -LRB- to Gauguin. -RRB- Should n't you be in Tahiti? GAUGUIN I? What? Yes - I live on the island - a much better life than here - better there - but then I miss Paris - up and back - Qu'est que vous faites dans la vie? ADRIANA What do I do? Je suis etudiante. En haute couture - fashion designer but studying - DEGAS Ah ga compte pour les vetements outrageux. LAUTREC Vous devriez la presenter a Richard. GAUGUIN He wants Degas to have you meet his friend Richard. -LRB- MORE. -RRB- GAUGUIN -LRB- cont' d. -RRB- He's looking for someone to do costumes for the ballet. ADRIANA Ballet costumes - my god - I do n't live here. I mean I do but I do n't. Je n'habite pas ici. GIL I would n't get into too many details with them. Let's just leave it that we're temporarily passing through. ADRIANA -LRB- to Gil. -RRB- Can I speak with you a minute? -LRB- to table. -RRB- Permettez - moi de m ` absenter un instant. -LRB- she gets him off. -RRB- Let's never go back to the twenties. GIL What are you talking about? ADRIANA I think we should stay here - it's the start of the Belle Epoque - this is the greatest, most beautiful era Paris has ever known. GIL But I love the Jazz Age. ADRIANA The twenties are full of strife and uncertainty. But think of it, Gil - the two of us - in a lovely art nouveau home - I'll work in the fashion world - I love the styles - you can write. it's the age of Debussy and Guimard. Maybe you can meet Balzac. GIL But what happened to the twenties and the Charleston and Cole Porter? ADRIANA That's the present, it's dull. GIL It's not the present for me - I'm from 2010. ADRIANA What do you mean? GIL I dropped in on you just the way we dropped in on the 1890's. ADRIANA You did? GIL I wanted to escape my present just like you wanted to escape yours. To a golden age. ADRIANA Surely you do n't think the twenties are a golden age? GIL To me they are. ADRIANA But I'm from the twenties and I'm tellin you the golden age is the Belle Epoque. GIL Yes but do n't you see - to these guys the golden age was the Renaissance. They'd all trade the Belle Epoque to paint alongside Michelangelo or Titian. And those guys probably imagine life was better when Kubla Khan was around. I'm having an insight. A minor one but that accounts for the anxiety of my dream. ADRIANA What dream? GIL Last night I dreamed I ran out of zithromax - and then I went to the dentist and there was no novacaine - these people have no antibiotics - ADRIANA What are you talking about? GIL And even in the twenties - no dishwashers - no 911 if your appendix bursts - no `` movies on demand'' \u00b7 ADRIANA But if we love each other what does it matter when we live? GIL Because if you stay here and this becomes your present, sooner or later you'll imagine another time was really the golden time. And so will I - I'm beginning to see why it ca n't work, Adriana. The present has a hold on you because it's your present and while there's never any progress in the most important things, you get to appreciate - what little progress is made - the internet - Pepto - Bismol. The present is always going to seem unsatisfying because life itself is unsatisfying - that's why Gauguin goes back and forth between Paris and Tahiti, searching - it's my job as a writer to try and come up with reasons why despite life being tragic and unsatisfying, it's still worth it. ADRIANA That's the problem with writers - you're all so full of words - but I'm more emotional. I'm going to stay and live in Paris' most glorious time. You made a choice to leave Paris once and you regretted it. GIL Yes, that one I regretted but it was a real choice and I made the wrong one. This is a choice between accepting reality or surreal insanity. ADRIANA So finally you do love Inez more than me. GIL No - I love you - but this way lies madness - and if I'm ever going to write anything worthwhile I've got to get rid of my illusions and that I'd be happier in the past is one of them. ADRIANA Goodbye, Gil. GIL Goodbye Adriana. Good luck. They kiss, she turns and goes to the table of artists.", "INT. GERTRUDE STEIN'S PLACE - NIGHT Gil being admitted to the Stein home. He is full of energy. STEIN Ah - Pender - I read your rewrite. Yes. you're nicely on the right track. You've understood me clearly. If the rest of the book reads as well when you're done you'll have something of value. GIL -LRB- taking it back. -RRB- Thank you. I ca n't tell you how much this means to me. STEIN Hemingway who read your chapters and agrees it's going to be a fine book did have one plot suggestion. GIL Hemingway read it? What was his suggestion? STEIN He finds it hard to believe the protagonist does n't see his fiancee is having an affair that's going on right before his eyes. GIL with - STEIN The other character - the pedantic one - GIL It's called denial. Thanks again. -LRB- to passing poet. -RRB- You're Ezra Pound right? T.S. Eliot says you owe him forty francs.", "INT. HOTEL SUITE - DAY Gil back in present in mid - argument with Inez. INEZ You're crazy - Paul and me? Where did you get such an insane notion? GIL From Ernest Hemingway. He thought it out and it makes perfect sense. INEZ Gil, your brain tumor's acting up again. GIL There's nothing crazy about Ernest Hemingway or Gertrude Stein or Fitzgerald or Salvador Dali - INEZ Nothing except they've all been dead for years. GIL It was William Faulkner who said, the past is not dead. -LRB- MORE. -RRB- GIL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- In fact, it's not even past. Actually I ran into Bill Faulkner at a party. INEZ You're a raving lunatic. GIL I guess I'm too trusting. I'm jealous and also trusting - cognitive dissonance, Scott Fitzgerald speaks of it. INEZ Gil - GIL I know it Inez - you can fool me but not Hemingway. INEZ Jesus Christ I'm dealing with a madman - okay - Paul and I had a few nights alone. We danced, we drank - you were always working - he's very attractive, he spoke to me in French - the whole mystique of this corny city got to me - it's over. We can put this all in perspective at home. GIL I'm not going back. INEZ What? GIL I'm staying here. It's not the romantic fling. Paris is Paris. It's that I'm not in love with you. INEZ What? GIL A lot has happened to me since we got here. I wo n't begin to bore you - but - I know what that feeling of love is and it's not us. INEZ Have you met someone else? All those late night walks. GIL I was attracted to another woman but it was the whole deal - meeting Gertrude Stein and Hemingway and Dali and Scott and Zelda - INEZ Honey, you better listen to yourself. You're a psycho. You do n't know what you're doing. You see everything here through magical colored glasses. You're a California film writer with a house in Beverly Hills with two Mercedes'. You're not some kind of twenties expatriate novelist. Her parents enter from the adjoining suite. HELEN What's going on? We can hear every word. GIL If I'm not happy I'll move back. But right now I'm going to stay. INEZ With who? All your crazy hallucinatory friends? Mother was right about you - there's a part missing. JOHN said that first. INEZ Anyone who's protagonist makes a living selling old cap pistols and Joan Crawford cut out books. GIL You're better off without me. INEZ Go ahead. Walk the streets - gush over the Parisian light and the rooftops. GIL Goodbye Inez. He goes. JOHN I had a private detective follow him - I knew he was up to no good. INEZ Daddy you did n't. JOHN I did. He saw him get into a car at midnight each night and he followed close behind. HELEN What happened? JOHN I do n't know. The detective agency says the detective is missing.", "INT. VERSAILLES - DAY Detective Tisserant is in a period room with two stunned period occupants. They all speak French. COUNT A qui ai - je l'honneur? TISSERANT Je me suis perdu - J'ai pas du tourner au bon endroit COUNTESS Guardes! Guardes! COUNT Qu'on lui coupe la tete! OMITTED", "EXT. PONT ALEXANDRE III - NIGHT Gil walking at night. He sees someone approaching and realizes it is the girl from the Flea Market, Gabrielle. GIL Hey, I know you - the girl at the flea market. GABRIELLE Oh yes - yes - the Cole Porter one. GIL What are you doing here? GABRIELLE I'm returning from dinner with my girlfriends. I live near here. GIL What's your name? GABRIELLE Gabrielle. GIL Gabrielle, - I'm Gil - I just moved to Paris this week. GABRIELLE Oh I'm sure you'll love it. GIL Can I walk along with you or can I buy you a coffee? Oh god, it's starting to rain. GABRIELLE That's okay. I do n't mind getting wet. Paris is the most beautiful in the rain. GIL Oh what a thing to say. I could n't agree more. GABRIELLE I just thought about you the other day because my boss got in a whole album of Cole Porter songs. GIL Hey what are those bells? GABRIELLE It's midnight. GIL Midnight - right - right - pretty name. FADE OUT as they walk off together in the rain."], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "In 2011, Gil Pender, a successful but creatively unfulfilled Hollywood screenwriter, and his fianc\u00e9e Inez, are in Paris vacationing with Inez's wealthy, conservative parents. Gil is struggling to finish his first novel, centered on a man who works in a nostalgia shop. Inez dismisses his ambition as a romantic daydream, and encourages him to stick with lucrative screenwriting. Gil is considering moving to Paris (which he notes, much to the dismay of his fianc\u00e9e, is at its most beautiful in the rain). Inez is intent on living in Malibu. By chance, they are joined by Inez's friend Paul, who is described as both pedantic and a pseudo-intellectual, and his wife Carol. Paul speaks with great authority but questionable accuracy on the highlights of Paris up to the point of even contradicting a tour guide at the Mus\u00e9e Rodin, and insisting that his knowledge of Rodin's relationships is more accurate than that of the guide. Inez admires him; Gil finds him insufferable. A night of wine tasting gets Gil drunk and he decides to walk the streets of Paris to get back to the hotel; Inez goes off with Paul and Carol by taxi. He stops to reconnoiter his location. At midnight, a 1920s car pulls up beside him, and the passengers, dressed in 1920s wardrobe, urge him to join them. They hit a party for Jean Cocteau attended by notable people of 1920s Paris: Cole Porter and his wife Linda Lee Porter, Zelda, and Scott Fitzgerald. Zelda gets bored at the party and encourages Scott and Gil to leave with her. They head first to Bricktops where they see Josephine Baker dancing, and then to a cafe, where they run into Ernest Hemingway and Juan Belmonte. Zelda gets upset when Hemingway says her novel was weak, and she heads with Belmonte to St. Germain, followed shortly thereafter by Scott, who doesn't like the thought of his wife and the toreador. After discussing writing, Hemingway offers to show Gil's novel to Gertrude Stein. As Gil exits the building to fetch his manuscript from his hotel, he finds he has returned to 2011; the bar where the 1920s literati were drinking is now a laundromat. The next night, Gil wants to share with Inez his time travel experience. She ditches Gil before the clock strikes midnight. Before long, the same car returns; Gil joins Hemingway on his way to visit a friend. Gil is introduced to Gertrude Stein and other friends at her apartment: Pablo Picasso and his lover Adriana. Adriana and Gil are instantly attracted to each other. Stein reads aloud the novel's first line: Out Of The Past was the name of the store, and its products consisted of memories: what was prosaic and even vulgar to one generation had been transmuted by the mere passing of years to a status at once magical and also camp. Adriana says that she is hooked by these few lines and has always had a longing for the past, especially the Belle \u00c9poque. Gil continues with his time travel for the next couple nights. Inez is annoyed at the boulevards and bistros and Gil's wanderings. Her father is suspicious and hires a private detective to follow him. Adriana has her time with Picasso and Hemingway, and eventually Gil, although he is conflicted by his attraction to her. Gil confides his predicament to Salvador Dal\u00ed, Man Ray, and Luis Bu\u00f1uel, but being surrealists they see nothing strange about his claim to have come from the future, finding it to be perfectly normal. Each discusses the impossibility of Gil's relationship with Adriana, and as artists, what work of art from each could come of the romance. Gil would suggest a film plot to Bu\u00f1uel that is the cause of him attempting to understand the purpose of the plot. Inez and her parents are traveling to Mont Saint Michel while Gil meets Gabrielle, an antique dealer and fellow admirer of the Lost Generation. He buys a Cole Porter gramophone record, and later finds Adriana's diary from the 1920s at a book stall by the Seine, which reveals that she was in love with him. Reading that she dreamed of receiving a gift of earrings from him and then making love to him, Gil attempts to take a pair of Inez's earrings to give to Adriana, but is thwarted by Inez's early return to the hotel room. Gil buys earrings for Adriana. Returning to the past, he finds her at a party and tells her, \"I sense there are some complicated feelings you have for me.\" He takes her for a walk, they kiss, and he gives her the earrings. While she's putting them on, a horse-drawn carriage comes down the street, and a richly dressed couple inside the carriage invite Gil and Adriana for a ride. The carriage transports the passengers to the Belle \u00c9poque, an era Adriana considers Paris's Golden Age. Gil and Adriana go first to Maxim's Paris, then to the Moulin Rouge where they meet Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gauguin, and Edgar Degas. Gil asks what they thought the best era was, and the three determine that the greatest era was the Renaissance. The enthralled Adriana is offered a job designing ballet costumes and proposes to Gil that they stay, but Gil, upon observing that different people long for different \"golden ages\", has an epiphany and realizes that despite the allure of nostalgia, any time can eventually become a dull \"present\", so it's best to embrace your actual present. Adriana however, elects to stay in the 1890s, and they part. Gil rewrites the first two chapters of his novel and retrieves his draft from Stein, who praises his progress as a writer and tells him that Hemingway likes it, but questions why the main character has not realized that his fianc\u00e9e (based on Inez) is having an affair with a pedantic character (based on Paul). Gil returns to 2011 and confronts Inez. She admits to having slept with Paul, but dismisses it as a meaningless fling. Gil breaks up with her and decides to move to Paris. Amid Inez's pique, Gil calmly leaves, after which Inez's father tells her and her mother that he had Gil followed, though the detective has mysteriously disappeared. It is revealed that the detective found himself in the Versailles of Louis XIV, and is last seen fleeing from the palace guards amid threats of \"Off with his head!\" Walking by the Seine at midnight, Gil bumps into Gabrielle,  and, after it starts to rain, he offers to walk her home and they learn that they share the love of Paris in the rain.", "name": "Midnight_in_Paris"}
{"scenes": ["Halloween MAIN TITLE SEQUENCE OPEN on a black screen. SUPERIMPOSE in dark red letters : HALLOWEEN Darkness, with a SMALL SHAPE in the center of the screen. As MAIN TITLES CONTINUE OVER, CAMERA SLOWLY MOVES IN ON the shape. We get closer and closer until we see that the shape is a HALLOWEEN MASK. It is a large, full - head platex rubber mask, not a monster or ghoul, but the pale, NEUTRAL FEATURES OF A MAN weirdly distorted by the rubber. Finally CAMERA MOVES IN CLOSE on the eyes of the mask. It is blank, empty, a dark, staring socket. SUPERIMPOSE FINAL CREDIT. Black screen. SUPERIMPOSE : HADDONFIELD, ILLINOIS. OCTOBER 31, 1963.", "EXT./INT. MYERS HOUSE - NIGHT - SUBJECTIVE POV (PANAGLIDE) It is night. We move toward the rear of the house through SOMEONE'S POV. CAMERA MOVES UP to a Jack - O - Lantern glowing brightly on a windowsill. It is a windy night and the curtains around the Jack - O - Lantern ruffle back and forth. Suddenly we hear voices from inside the house. SISTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- My parents wo n't be back till ten. BOYFRIEND -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Are you sure? Then LAUGHTER. The POV moves from the Jack - O - Lantern down to another window and peers inside. We see the sister's bedroom through the blowing curtains. Into the bedroom comes the SISTER, 18, very pretty. She GIGGLES as the BOYFRIEND jumps into the room. Alan, 18, he wears a Halloween mask and a costume. BOYFRIEND -LRB- V.O. ; cont'd. -RRB- We're all alone, are n't we? SISTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Michael's around someplace. The boyfriend grabs the sister and kisses her. SISTER -LRB- V.O. ; cont'd. -RRB- Take off that thing. The boyfriend rips off his mask. He is a handsome young man underneath. They kiss again, this time with more passion. The boyfriend begins to unbutton the sister's blouse. She responds to him. The POV swing away from the window and begins to restlessly pace back and forth, agitated, disturbed. We HEAR THE SOUNDS of the sister and boyfriend inside the bedroom growing more and more passionate. Finally the POV moves back up to the window. Inside through the moving curtains, we see the sister and the boyfriend on the bed, naked, making love. The POV springs back from the window and stalks quickly down the side of the house, past the Jack - O - Lantern, around to a door. Quickly the door is opened and the POV moves inside. The POV glides silently through the house into the kitchen, up to a drawer. The drawer is opened. A large BUTCHER KNIFE is withdrawn. Then the POV swings around and moves to the kitchen door. We look down a hallway to the front door. The boyfriend steps out of the bedroom door, buttoning his shirt. The sister stands in the doorway, a sheet wrapped around her. BOYFRIEND I got ta go. SISTER Will you call me tomorrow? BOYFRIEND Yeah, sure. SISTER Promise? BOYFRIEND Yeah. They kiss again and the boyfriend walks to the front door. The sister watches as he leaves and shuts the door behind him. Then she turns and steps back into the bedroom. The POV moves slowly down the hall to the bedroom door and peers around inside. The sister sits at her night - table brushing her hair. She is still completely nude. Slowly the POV moves into the room. Suddenly we move down to the discarded Halloween mask on the floor. The POV bends down and picks it up. Then suddenly the POV is covered by the mask and we see through the eye - holes. The POV moves up behind the sister. Sensing a presence, she spins around and stares at the POV, covering her breasts quickly. SISTER Michael? Suddenly the POV lunges forward. The sister continues to stare incredulously. There is a RAPID BLUR as the POV drives the butcher knife into the sister's chest and out again almost before we've seen it. The sister looks down at the blood forming at her hands, then back up at the POV with an astonished disbelief. Then in a WILD PAROXYSM the butcher knife blurs continuously in and out of frame, slashing the sister mercilessly. She begins to SCREAM, trying to fend off the blows with her hands, then suddenly falls out of frame to the floor. The POV moves back away from the sister's lifeless body, spins around and careens out of the bedroom. At top speed the POV races through the darkened house, to the front door, out the door, down the steps and rapidly up the street. The CAMERA careens along in frenzied flight, up the sidewalk, up a small side alley, down someone's back yard, then to a sudden, abrupt halt in front of MOTHER and FATHER just coming out of a neighbor's house. Mother and Father stare at the POV, at first in puzzlement, then slow, growing horror. MOTHER Michael? CLOSE SHOT - MICHAEL - CRANE The father's hand reaches up and rips off the Halloween mask, revealing MICHAEL, 6, underneath, a bright - eyed boy with a calm, quiet smile on his face. CAMERA PULLS BACK, revealing the blood - stained butcher knife in his hand, then further back. CRANING UP past his parents standing there, up from the neighbor's house to a HIGH SHOT of the neighborhood as the sounds of POLICE SIRENS rise in the distance. Black. SUPERIMPOSE : SMITH'S GROVE, ILLINOIS OCTOBER 30, 1978", "EXT. HIGHWAY - RAIN - NIGHT Two headlights appear in the darkness, backlighting the rain that pours down on a lonely strip of highway. A station wagon HISSES along the wet road surface.", "INT. STATION WAGON - NIGHT The baack seat is separated from the front by a wire - mesh screen, much like a police car. MARION, 30, drives. She is dressed in a crisp, white nurse's uniform. Next to her in the passenger seat is SAM LOOMIS, a clinical psychiatrist. He is a tough - looking man in his forties who flips through pages in a manila folder. LOOMIS then he gets another physical by the state, and he makes his apperance before the judge. That should take four hours if we're lucky, then we're on our way. MARION What did you use before? LOOMIS Thorazin. MARION He'll barely be able to sit up. LOOMIS That's the idea. Here we are. POV THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD - SANITARIUM Through the rain we see a large sign : SMITH'S GROVE - WARREN COUNTY SANITARIUM Behind the sign is the sanitarium itself, a cold - looking building surrounded by a fence.", "INT. STATION WAGON LOOMIS -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- The driveway's a few hundred yards up on your right. MARION Are there any special instructions? LOOMIS Just try to understand what we're dealing with here. Do n't underestimate it. MARION I think we should refer to ` it' as ` him.' LOOMIS If you say so. MARION Your compassion is overwhelming, Doctor. Loomis glances at Marion as she lights a cigarette. She shoves the matches into the pack and tosses it on the dashboard. Loomis stares at the cigarette pack. The pack of matches reads : `` The Rabbit in Red Lounge - Entertainment Nightly.'' Loomis turns his eyes back to the rain - slicked road. LOOMIS Ever done anything like this before? MARION Only minimum security. LOOMIS I see. MARION -LRB- defensively. -RRB- What does that mean? LOOMIS It means. I see. MARION You do n't have to make this harder than it already is. LOOMIS I coul n't if I tried. MARION The only thin that ever bothers me is their jibberish. When they start raving on and on. LOOMIS You do n't have anything to worry about. He has n't spoken a word in 15 years. Both of them suddenly stare out the windshield in front of them. POV - THROUGH WINDSHIELD - FIELD Through the rain we see a field off to the side of the road. Dimly lit by the car headlights are FIVE PATIENTS, dressed in wind - blown white gowns, drenched by the rain, wandering aimlessly around the field.", "INT. STATION WAGON MARION Since when do they let them wander around? They look up ahead. POV - THROUGH WINDSHIELD - PATIENT Standing by the side of the road is a MALE PATIENT, a wild - looking man in his sixties dressed in a white gown, who stares at the station wagon.", "INT. STATION WAGON Marion slows the station wagon and pulls off to the side of the road. Loomis jumps out. POV - THROUGH WINDSHIELD - LOOMIS AND PATIENT Through the windshield we see Loomis rush over to the patient, stand and talk for a moment, then hurry back.", "INT. STATION WAGON Loomis climbs back in, dripping from the rain. LOOMIS Pull up to the entrance! MARION Should n't we pick him up? LOOMIS Move it! Marion starts down the road. MARION What did he say? LOOMIS He asked me if I could help him find his purple lawnmower. MARION I do n't think this is any time to be funny. LOOMIS He said something else. `` It's all right now. He's gone. The evil's gone.'' POV - THROUGH WINDSHIELD - SANITARIUM DRIVE Ahead of them is the entrance to the sanitarium.", "INT. STATION WAGON Marion slows down to turn. Through the rear window we see a SHAPE spring up out of the darkness, streak through the rain and LEAP UP ON THE REAR OF THE STATION WAGON. The station wagon bounces up and down. The roof sags in and out with the weight of SOMEONE ON TOP. MARION Something fell on the roof. The roof continues to buckle in and out wildly. LOOMIS Something JUMPED on the roof. Marion stops and rolls down her window to look outside. Loomis opens his door and steps out. Suddenly he is HIT IN THE FACE by a powerful fist from the roof. Loomis staggers backwards and falls by the side of the road. Marion starts the react. SUDDENLY A HAND REACHES IN THROUGH THE WINDOW and lunges at her. THE FINGERS GRAB HER HAIR. She SCREAMS. The fingers tighten around her hair and the hand pulls Marion roughly to the window. Twisted around in the seat, Marion's foot jams down all the way on the gas pedal. The station wagon ROARS foreward. Marion continues to SCREAM, clawing at the hand. POV - THROUGH WINDSHIELD - ROAD Through the rain the road spins crazily ahead, the wipers erasing sheets of rain. Suddenly the OTHER HAND REACHES DOWN from the roof and grabs the wiper, holding it tightly. Rain splashes on the windshield obscuring the road.", "INT. STATION WAGON The hand rips at Marion's hair. SCREAMING. Clawing. POV THROUGH WINDSHIELD The windshield is completely obliterated by rain.", "INT. STATION WAGON The station wagon skids and WHAMS into the shoulder on the side of the road. Marion is hurled across the seat against the passenger door. Suddenly the HAND SPRINGS DOWN FROM ABOVE and SLAMS against the passenger window, shattering it. SHRIEKING, Marion scurries across the front seat, open's the driver's door and scrambles out.", "EXT. ROAD - STATION WAGON Marion frantically crawls her way across the rain - drenched road away from the station wagon. CAMERA TRACKS with her as she slides down into the muddy shoulder. She looks back. POV - STATION WAGON From the shoulder we see the station wagon in the rain, and the SHAPE JUMP IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT and SLAM the door. Then the station wagon takes off and disappears down the road into the darkness. ANGLE ON SHOULDER Loomis runs up out of the rain and helps Marion to her feet. She CRIES hysterically. Loomis stares off down the road at the disappearing tail - lights. LOOMIS You can calm down. The evil's gone. FADE OUT. Black screen. SUPERIMPOSE : HADDONFIELD OCTOBER 31, 1978", "EXT. LAURIE'S HOUSE - DAY LAURIE, 17 and pretty in a quiet sort of way, steps out of her two - story frame house, down the front walk to the street. Her face has a soft, innocent quality, her eyes bright and alive. Her FATHER steps out of the door behind her and walks to the car in the driveway. His car has `` STRODE REAL ESTATE'' emblazoned on the side door. FATHER Do n't forget to drop off the keys at the Myers place. LAURIE I wo n't. FATHER They're coming by to see the house at 10:30. Be sure you leave it under the mat. LAURIE I promise. TRACKING SHOT - LAURIE CAMERA MOVES with Laurie as she walks down the residential street. She carries a large bundle of school books in her arms. Across a backyard TOMMY DOYLE, an eight - year - old boy with tossled brown hair and bright blue eyes comes running with his books. TOMMY Hey, Laurie. LAURIE Hi, Tommy. He catches up with her and they walk along down the street. TOMMY Are you coming over tonight? LAURIE Same time, same place. TOMMY Can we make Jack - O - Lanterns? LAURIE Sure. TOMMY Can we watch the monster movies? LAURIE Sure. TOMMY Will you read to me? Can we make popcorn? LAURIE Sure. Sure. They walk up to the front of the old, two - story Myers house set back from the street. It is now weather - beaten and dilapidated. Laurie walks through the front gate and starts up toward the porch. TOMMY You're not supposed to go in there. Laurie holds up a key. LAURIE Yes, I am. TOMMY Uh - uh. That's a spook house. LAURIE Just watch. Laurie strolls up to the front porch. She bends down, lifts the welcome mat and places the key under it.", "INT. MYERS HOUSE - THROUGH WINDOW Through a frost window, we see Laurie bending over the welcome mat. Suddenly a DARK SHAPE, THE OUTLINE OF A MAN, leans forward, watching her. As she walks back to Tommy at the street THE SHAPE MOVES TO WATCH THEM, then fades back into the interior of the house. TRACKING SHOT - LAURIE AND TOMMY Laurie and Tommy continue walking down the street. TOMMY Lonnie Elam said never to go up there. Lonnie Elam said that's a haunted house. He said real awful stuff happened there once. LAURIE Lonnie Elam probably wo n't get out of the sixth grade. Tommy breaks stride and runs across the street. TOMMY I got ta go. I'll see you tonight. LAURIE See you. Laurie continues walking alone. She begins to sing quietly to herself. LAURIE -LRB- sings. -RRB- I wish I had you all alone. Just the two of us. I would hold you close to me. So close to me. ANGLE DOWN STREET We see Laurie walking off down the street in the distance. CLOSE TO CAMERA the DARK SHAPE MOVES INTO FRAME, watching Laurie disappear around the corner. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- -LRB- sings. -RRB- Just the two of us. So close to me.", "EXT. SANITARIUM - DAY Sam Loomis strides quickly out of the front of the sanitarium followed immediately by DR. WYNN, a gray - haired man in his fifties. CAMERA TRACKS with them across the parking lot. WYNN I'm not responsible, Sam. LOOMIS -LRB- angrily. -RRB- Of course not. WYNN I've given them his profile. LOOMIS You must have told them we shocked him into a grinning idiot. Two roadblocks and an all - points bulletin would n't stop a five - year - old! Loomis reaches a car and unlocks it. WYNN He was your patient, Doctor. If the precautions were n't sufficient, you should have notified. LOOMIS I notified everybody! Nobody listened. WYNN There's nothing else I can do. LOOMIS You can get back on the telephone and tell them exactly what walked out of here last night. And tell them where he's going. WYNN PROBABLY going. LOOMIS I'm wasting time. Loomis gets in the car. Wynn leans down to the window. WYNN Sam, Haddonfield is a hundred and fifty miles from here. How could he get there? He ca n't drive. LOOMIS He was doing all right last night. Maybe somebody around here gave him lessons. Loomis starts up the car and pull away from the sanitarium. Wynn watches him go, then hurries back into the building.", "INT. CLASSROOM - DAY Laurie sits at the back of a classroom of HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. CAMERA MOVES IN on her as a TEACHER drones away at the front of the room. TEACHER -LRB- v.o. -RRB- and the book ends, but what Samuels is really talking about here is fate. CAMERA MOVES to a CLOSE - UP of Laurie. She barely listens to the teacher as she doodles in her notebook in front of her. TEACHER -LRB- v.o. ; cont'd. -RRB- You see, fate caught up with several lives here. No matter what course of action Rollins took, he was destined to his own fate, his own day of reckoning with himself. The idea is that destiny is a very real, concrete thing that every person has to deal with. Laurie lets her gaze move to a window. She stares dreamily outside. LAURIE'S POV - STREET From the window she can see the street, and a station wagon parked along the sidewalk. Behind the station wagon stands THE SHAPE OF A MAN. We ca n't quite see his features from here, but it is clear that he is looking in the school window. ANGLE ON LAURIE She turns away from the window and begins to doodle again. ANGLE ON NOTEBOOK We see Laurie draw : LAURIE STRODE TEACHER -LRB- v.o. ; cont'd. -RRB- Edwin, how does Samuels' view of fate differ from that of Costaine? ANGLE ON LAURIE She glance up from the book and out the window again. LAURIE'S POV - STREET The shape behind the station wagon is still there and STARING RIGHT AT HER. ANGLE ON LAURIE She frowns, staring back at the shape. EDWIN -LRB- v.o. -RRB- Uh. does n't he feel that no matter how complicated something is, it's also really simple, too? TEACHER -LRB- v.o. -RRB- No. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Laurie. This springs her around from the window. LAURIE M'am? TEACHER -LRB- v.o. -RRB- Answer the question. LAURIE Costaine wrote that fate was somehow related only to religion, where Samuels felt that fate was like a natural element, like earth, air, fire, and water. TEACHER -LRB- v.o. -RRB- That's right, Samuels definitely personified fate. Laurie sneaks a glance back to the window. LAURIE'S POV - STREET The shape and the station wagon are GONE. ANGLE ON LAURIE She turns back from the window and back to her notebook. ANGLE ON NOTEBOOK She has written : LAURIE STRODE IS LONELY. says. 41A EXT.. GAS STATION - HIGHWAY - DAY We see a car parked in front of a small, closed - down gas station/diner by the side of the highway. CAMERA SLOWLY TRACKS over to a phone booth. Loomis is inside on the telephone. LOOMIS -LRB- into the telephone. -RRB- No, not since Thursday. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Yes, yes, I'm all right. Stop worrying. After this I'll sleep for a week, two weeks. -LRB- pause. -RRB- I said I'm all right. Believe me. I'll be home soon. Yes, I do. Very much. I just. have to stop him. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Of course it's possible, but I know him. And when he gets there, God help us. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Right, right, I'll call you. Me too. Goodbye. Loomis hangs up the phone and steps out of the booth. He looks up the highway. 41B LOOMIS' POV - HIGHWAY The highway disappears off into the distance. There is an old weatherbeaten sign that reads : HADDONFIELD 73 MILES Just above the horizon huge clusters of clouds, dark and ominous, are blown along by the wind. 41C EXT.. GAS STATION Loomis turns and walks back to his car. He glances at the old gas station as he walks. 41D LOOMIS' POV - GAS STATION - MOVING SHOT The building is dark, empty, dilapidated. On the padlocked door are HUGE MARKS like the clawing of an animal wanting to get in. 41E ANGLE ON LOOMIS Loomis stops, stares at the door and then slowly walks over to it. He touches the marks with his hands, then looks at the dirt driveway around the building. 41F LOOMIS' POV - DRIVEWAY There are definite TIRE TRACKS leading from the highway up to the door, then back to the highway again. Then his gaze returns to a discarded object crushed in the dirt of the driveway : A PACK OF CIGARETTES. 41G ANGLE ON LOOMIS He picks up the cigarette pack. 41H CLOSE SHOT - CIGARETTE PACK Stuck in the cellophane of the crushed pack are matches : `` The Rabbit in Red Lounge - Entertainment Nightly.'' 41J EXT.. GAS STATION Loomis turns and quickly strides back to his car, gets in and roars away from the lonely gas station.", "EXT. SCHOOLYARD - DAY The playground is filled with CHILDREN just getting out of school for the day. Some are dressed in HALLOWEEN COSTUMES, some carry pumkins and orange and black streamers, some carry Jack - O - Lanterns. Tommy Doyle comes out of the door carrying a very large pumkin. He is followed by three BOYS, RICHIE, KEITH, and LONNIE, who are laughing and PUSHING him. TOMMY Leave me alone! LONNIE He's gon na get you! Lonnie runs up to Tommy and wiggles his fingers in Tommy's face. The other boys form a circle around Tommy and taunt him. In unison they sing : BOYS He's gon na get you, he's gon na get you. LONNIE The boogeyman is coming! TOMMY No, he's not. Leave me alone. LONNIE He does n't believe us. Do n't you know what happens on Halloween? TOMMY Yeah, we get candy. The boys LAUGH. Richie runs up to Tommy and makes a face. RICHIE Oooooo! The boogey man! The other boys join in the chant. BOYS -LRB- in unison. -RRB- The boogey man, the boogey man, the boogey man. Tommy turns from them and starts to run away. Richie sticks out his foot. Tommy trips and falls to the concrete, SMASHING his pumkin beneath him. The other boys run away GIGGLING and SCREAMING with delight. PLAYGROUND ENTRANCE - GATE As the boys race out of the playground, Richie barrels through the gate and RUNS RIGHT INTO THE DARK SHAPE. We do n't see the shape's face, just his lower body. He is dressed in pants and a shirt that look too big for him. He grabs Richie and holds him back at arms length. A large OBJECT falls out of his pocket. Richie quickly stares down at it. The shape lifts his foot and SMACKS it down over the object to hide it. Quickly, Richie and the other boys run around the man and on down the block. The shape lifts his foot. Underneath it is a LARGE BUTCHER KNIFE. He quickly picks it up and shoves it into his pocket. Slowly, the shape turns and walks away from the playground gate, CAMERA TRACKING WITH HIM. Across from him in the playground we see Tommy get to his feet, wiping the demolished pumking off his shirt and pants. We TRACK WITH the shape to a station wagon. On the side of the door is a STATE EMBLEM.", "INT. STATION WAGON The shape gets in the station wagon. We still do n't see his face. Separating the front and back seats is the wire - mesh screen. It is Loomis' vehicle. The shape starts the engine. He pulls away from the curb. POV FROM WINDOW Slowly, the station wagon moves down the street. We see Tommy hurrying along the sidewalk, still rubbing off the pumkin splatter. Tommy turns off the side walk and cuts up a side alley. The wagon picks up speed and continues on down the street.", "EXT. HIGH SCHOOL - DAY Laurie and LYNDA stroll down the front steps of the high school and turn up the street. Laurie carries another large stack of books. Lynda is a knockout in tight jeans and tight T - shirt. She carries no books. CAMERA TRACKS WITH THEM up the street. LYNDA It's totally insane! We have three new cheers to learn in the morning, the game in the afternoon, I get my hair done at five, and the dance is at eight. I'll be totally wiped out! LAURIE I think you have too much to do tomorrow. LYNDA TOTALLY! LAURIE As usual, I do n't have anything to do. LYNDA It's your own fault and I do n't feel sorry for you. ANNIE comes out of the side doors of the high school and calls after Laurie and Lynda. ANNIE Hey, Lynda, Laurie! The girls stop and wait for Annie. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Why did n't you wait for me? LYNDA We did. Fifteen minutes. You totally never showed up. ANNIE That's not true. Here I am. LAURIE What's wrong, Annie? You're not smiling. ANNIE I'm never smiling again. Paul dragged me into the boys' locker room to tell me. LAURIE Exploring uncharted territory? LYNDA It's been totally charted. ANNIE We just talked. LYNDA Sure. ANNIE Old jerko got caught throwing eggs and soaping windows. His parents grounded him for the weekend. He ca n't come over tonight. LAURIE I thought you were babysitting tonight. LYNDA The only reason she babysits is to have a place to. Laurie suddenly stops and looks back toward the school. LAURIE Shit! ANNIE -LRB- indignant. -RRB- I have a place for that. LAURIE I forgot my chemistry book. LYNDA Who cares? I ALWAYS forget my chemistry book. Laurie glances down the street. LAURIE'S POV - STATION WAGON The station wagon slowly moves up the street toward them. The shape is n't visible behind the windshield. ANGLE ON GIRLS LYNDA Is n't that David Graham? He's cute. LAURIE I do n't think so. Laurie stares at the station wagon as it moves past. She looks directly at the shape inside. There is a quick glimpse of him, a strange pale face staring back.", "INT. STATION WAGON The shape is close to CAMERA, out of focus. Out the window we see the three girls on the sidewalk. The shape stares at Laurie looking back at him, then tromps on the accelerator. The wagon whizzes past them. ANGEL ON GIRLS ANNIE -LRB- yells after the car. -RRB- Speed kills! POV - STATION WAGON Up the street the wagon suddenly stops. It sits there, waiting. ANGLE ON GIRLS ANNIE -LRB- softer now. -RRB- Ca n't you take a joke? POV - STATION WAGON For a moment the station wagon just sits there. Then it takes off down the street and disappears around a corner. ANGLE ON GIRLS LAURIE Annie, some day you're going to get us all in deep trouble. LYNDA Totally. ANNIE I hate a guy with a car and no sense of humor. The girls start walking again. Laurie is quiet, puzzled by the appearance of the man in the car. LYNDA Well, are we still on for tonight? ANNIE -LRB- coldly. -RRB- I would n't want to get you in deep trouble, Lynda. LYNDA Come on, Annie. Bob and I have been planning on it all week. ANNIE All right. The Wallaces leave at seven. LAURIE -LRB- excited. -RRB- I'M baby sitting for the Doyles. It's only three houses away. We can keep each other company. ANNIE Terrific. I've got three choices. Watch the kid sleep, listen to Lynda screw, or talk to you.", "EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - DAY The three girls stop in front of Lynda's house, a modest suburban home on a quiet, tree - lined street. ANNIE What time? LYNDA I do n't know yet. I have to get out of taking my stupid brother trick - or - treating. ANNIE Saving the treats for Bob? LYNDA Fun - ny. See you. Lynda strolls up to her house. Annie and Laurie start down the street. CAMERA MOVES IN to a CLOSE SHOT of Laurie's face. She stares ahead along the sidewalk. LAURIE'S POV - MOVING SHOT - BUSHES Up the sidewalk is a series of bushes lining the street. There, partially hidden in the shadows of a bush, IS THE SHAPE OF A MAN, watching them. He is barely visible, almost blending in with the dark foliage. ANGLE ON LAURIE - ANNIE LAURIE Look. ANNIE Look where? LAURIE Behind that bush there. Annie looks POV - MOVING SHOT - BUSHES The shape is gone. Just bushes. ANGLE ON LAURIE - ANNIE ANNIE I do n't see anything. LAURIE That man who drove by so fast, the one you yelled at. ANNIE Subtle, is n't he? Hey creep! Annie walks right over to the bushes and kicks them hard. Nothing happens. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Laurie, my dear, he want to talk to you. Laurie just stands on the sidewalk several feet from the bushes. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- He wants to take you out tonight. Slowly Laurie walks over and stares at the bush. LAURIE He was standing right here. ANNIE Poor Laurie. You scared another one away. LAURIE Cute. They start walking down the sidewalk again. ANNIE It's tragic. You never go out. You must have a small fortune stashed from babysitting so much. LAURIE The guys think I'm too smart. Laurie glances back at the bushes behind them. ANNIE I do n't. I think you're whacko. You're seeing men behind bushes. The two girls stop in front of Annie's house, another small suburban home. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Well, home sweet home. I'll see you later. LAURIE Okay. Bye. Annie walks up to her door. For a moment Laurie looks around cautiously before searching down the sidewalk again. CAMERA TRACKING WITH HER. A strong wind rises and blows hair in front of her face. Again she turns around and glances back down the street. LAURIE'S POV - BUSHES There is still nothing there. ANGLE ON LAURIE Suddenly, Laurie walks RIGHT INTO A MAN standing on the sidewalk in front of her. She SCREAMS and drops her books. It is LEE BRACKETT, Annie's father. He is a tall man in a county sheriff's uniform. He quickly bends down and picks up her books. BRACKETT I'm sorry, Laurie. LAURIE Mister Brackett. LAURIE It's okay. BRACKETT Well, it's Halloween. I guess everybody's entitled to a good scare. LAURIE Yes, sir. Nice seeing you. Brackett walks down the sidewalk to his house. Laurie bundles her books and hurries up the street.", "EXT. LAURIE'S HOUSE - DAY Laurie walks up on the front porch of her house. She pauses a moment and glances down the street. LAURIE'S POV - TRICK OR TREATERS Several CHILDREN in costumes are going door to door collecting their treats. ANGLE ON LAURIE LAURIE -LRB- to herself. -RRB- Well, kiddo, I thought you outgrew superstition.", "INT. LAURIE'S HOUSE - DAY Laurie strolls through the living room. Through the doorway into the kitchen we see LAURIE'S MOTHER busy making candied apples. LAURIE Hi, Mom, I'm home. LAURIE'S MOTHER Laurie, Annie just called. She said call her back. Laurie turns and hurries up the stairs. LAURIE Thanks, mom.", "INT. LAURIE'S ROOM Laurie walks into her bedroom. She tosses her books on the bed and starts to her telephone. The wind blows her curtain through the open window. Laurie crosses to the window and leans up to close it. LAURIE'S POV - BACK YARD From her room in the second story, Laurie can see into the back yard next door. There is a clothesline with sheets blowing in the wind. In between the sheets we glimpse THE SHAPE STANDING THERE, looking up at Laurie. ANGLE ON LAURIE She freezes and stares down feafully. LAURIE'S POV - BACK YARD The sheets continue to twist and turn in the wind, but now THE SHAPE IS GONE. ANGLE ON LAURIE Laurie SLAMS the window and locks it. She slowly walks to the middle of her room and stands there for several moments, unsure as to whether she has actually seen it. Suddenly, THE PHONE RINGS, loud and shrill, startling Laurie. She answers it. LAURIE Hello? Silence. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Hello? There is a SOUND from the reciever, like CHEWING. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Who is this? The chewing continues. She slams the reciever down. Almost immediately, the phone RINGS again. Laurie looks at it. It rings again. She picks it up. LAURIE Hello? ANNIE -LRB- v.o. -RRB- Why did you hang up on me? LAURIE Annie, was that you? ANNIE -LRB- v.o. -RRB- Of course. LAURIE Why did n't you say anything? You scared me to death. ANNIE -LRB- v.o. -RRB- I had my mouth full. Could n't you hear me? LAURIE I thought it was an obscene phone call. ANNIE -LRB- v.o. -RRB- Now you hear obscene chewing. You're losing it, Laurie. LAURIE I've already lost it. ANNIE -LRB- v.o. -RRB- I doubt that. Listen, my mother is letting me use her car. I'll pick you up. 6:30. LAURIE Sure, see you later. ANNIE -LRB- v.o. -RRB- Bye. Laurie hangs up. LAURIE -LRB- to herself. -RRB- Calm down. This is ridiculous.", "EXT. GRAVEYARD - DAY WIDE SHOT of an old graveyard on a windy hillside. CAMERA BOOMS DOWN as a car pull up on the small road in f.g. Sam Loomis gets out, along with TAYLOR, the graveyard owner. Taylor is a small, officious man in his late sixties. He glances at a small notepad. TAYLOR Let's see. Myers. Judith Myers. Row 18, plot 20. Over this way. The two men begin walking along the graveyard, winding arlund headstones and flowers. TAYLOR -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Every town has something like this happen. I remember a guy over in Russellville. Charly Bowles. About fifteen year ago, he finished dinner, excused himself from the table, went out into the garage and got a hack saw, then came back into the house, kissed his wife and two children goodbye, and then proceeded to. LOOMIS Where are we? TAYLOR Just right over there a ways. And I remember Judith Myers. Just could n't believe it. A young boy like that. Talyor stops cold. LOOMIS Lost? TAYLOR -LRB- sadly. -RRB- Why do they do it? He points to a plot right in front of them. Loomis stares. THE HEADSTONE IS MISSING, uprooted from the ground. TAYLOR -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Goddamn kids. They'll do anything on Halloween. LOOMIS Whose grave is it? Taylor checks his notebook, then counts the rows and plots. TAYLOR 18, 20. Judith Myers. Taylor gives Loomis a quizzical look. Loomis shakes his head and looks across the graveyard. LOOMIS He came home.", "EXT. LAURIE'S HOUSE - DUSK CAMERA BEGINS on the trees that line the residential street, twisting and writhing in the dusk wind. SLOWLY CAMERA BOOMS DOWN to Laurie waiting outside her house by the street. She carries a totebag with schoolbooks and knitting needles stuck inside, and a large pumkin. The sun is a pale glow behind the trees. Laurie turns her gaze down the street. LAURIE'S POV - TRICK OR TREATERS More CHILDREN in costumes walk from house to house, some with MOTHERS and SISTERS, trick or treating. The wind blows their costumes, billowing them outward. ANGLE ON LAURIE She watches the trick or treater as a car swings around the corner and pull up in front of her. It is Annie. ANNIE Hurry up. Laurie walks around the passenger door and gets in.", "INT. ANNIE'S CAR - DUSK Annie pulls away from the curb and hands Laurie a joint. ANNIE We just have time. Laurie lights the joint and puffs vigorously. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- You still spooked? LAURIE I was n't spooked. ANNIE Lies. LAURIE I saw someone standing in Mr. Riddle's back yard. ANNIE Probably Mister Riddle. LAURIE He was watching me. ANNIE Mister Riddle was watching you? Laurie, Mister Riddle is eighty - seven. LAURIE He can still watch. ANNIE That's probably all he can do. Behind them, through the rear - view mirror, we see LOOMIS' STATION WAGON pull out of an alley and follow along. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- What's the pumkin for? LAURIE I brought it for Tommy. I figured making a Jack - O - Lantern would keep him occupied. ANNIE I always said you'd make a fabulous girl scout. LAURIE Thanks. ANNIE For that matter, I might as well be a girl scout tonight. I plan on making popcorn and watching Doctor Demensia. Six straight hours of horror movies. Little Lindsey Wallace wo n't know what hit her.", "EXT. HADDONFIELD SQUARE - DUSK Annie's car drives through the main square of Haddonfield. Following behind is the station wagon.", "INT. ANNIE'S CAR Annie points up ahead and quickly hides the joint. ANNIE My dad! POV THROUGH WINDSHIELD Two police cars are parked in the street in front of Nichols Hardware Store. An ALARM BELL inside the store CLANGS SHRILLY", "INT. ANNIE'S CAR They quickly roll down the windows and begin wildly clearing out the marijuana smoke. Behind them the station wagon disappears off down a side - street. ANGLE ON POLICE CARS Annie's car stops at the police cars. Lee Brackett strolls out to the car and leans down to the window. BRACKETT Hi, Annie, Laurie. ANNIE Hi, Dad. What happened? BRACKETT -LRB- strains to hear over the alarm. -RRB- What? ANNIE What happened? BRACKETT Someone broke into the hardware store. Probably kids. ANNIE You blame everything on kids. BRACKETT The only things missing were some Halloween masks, rope, a set of knives. What does that sound like to you? Annie turns to Laurie. ANNIE It's hard growing up with a cynical father. Behind Brackett, Sam Loomis walks up the street. We see Loomis talk to a COP who points over to Brackett. BRACKETT You're going to be late at the Doyles, Annie. ANNIE -LRB- unable to hear over alarm. -RRB- Huh? Just as Brackett is about to speak, the alarm shut off. BRACKETT -LRB- shouts. -RRB- You're going to be late! ANNIE -LRB- to Laurie. -RRB- He shouts, too. Brackett smiles as Loomis walks up behind him. BRACKETT Goodbye, girls. ANNIE AND LAURIE Bye. Annie's car pulls away. LOOMIS Sheriff? I'm Doctor Sam Loomis. BRACKETT Lee Brackett. As they talk CAMERA SLOWLY MOVES AROUND THEM to a view of the street. LOOMIS I'd like to talk to you, if I could. BRACKETT May be a few minutes. I got ta stick around here. LOOMIS It's important. Loomis' station wagon moves by behind them. Loomis does n't see it. BRACKETT Ten minutes. LOOMIS I'll be here.", "EXT. MOON - NIGHT Through the blowing trees we see the full moon rising in the night sky. The are SOUNDS of wind and CHIRPING CRICKETS.", "EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - NIGHT Annie's car moves down a quiet little residential street and pull up in front of a two - story house set back from the street : the Doyle house. ANGLE FROM STATION WAGON We are in the front seat of the station wagon. Through the windshield we see Laurie get out of Annie's car, say goodbye and walk up to the Doyle house. Then Annie's car makes a wide U - turn in the street and starts down the other direction. The station wagon pulls forward and follows her. Annie stops three houses down the street and pulls into a garage. the station wagon stops several feet away. We see Annie come out of the garage and walk to another two - story frame house : the Wallaces'. TRACKING SHOT BEHIND SHAPE The shape gets out of the station wagon, close to CAMERA so we ca n't see him. He glances down the street. Gusts of wind blow the costumes of children going from house to house. The shape moves. CAMERA tracks behind him as he walks toward the Wallace house. The shape stops in front. Through the front room windows we can see Annie talking to the WALLACES as they put on their coats. The front door opens. CAMERA and shape quickly MOVE BEHIND A TREE to hide from sight. The Wallaces step out of their house and walk to the garage. Annie and LINDSEY WALLACE, a pretty little nine - year - old, stands in the doorway framed by the hall light. Out of the garage comes the Wallaces' car. It turns and disappears down the street. Annie closes the door. The shape steps out from behind the tree and stares at the house. ANGLE ON WINDOW The shape moves to see inside a window of the Wallaces house. Inside, we see Annie turn on the TV. She goes to the mirror on the wall and begins to brush her hair.", "EXT. MYERS HOUSE - NIGHT A police car pulls up in front of the Myers house. Brackett and Loomis get out and stand by the front gate. LOOMIS Anybody live here? BRACKETT Not since 1963, since it happened. Every kid in Haddonfield thinks this place is haunted. LOOMIS They may be right. 86A ANGLE DOWN SIDE OF HOUSE Looking down the side of the house we see Loomis and Brackett walk up to the front porch. A broken, rusted RAIN GUTTER CLANGS back and fourth against the house in the wind.", "INT. MYERS HOUSE - NIGHT The front door slowly opens. Brackett and Loomis stand in the doorway. They glance at each other. Brackett draws his gun and the two men step inside. It is totally dark in the house. Brackett's flashlight comes on, illuminating the two men. As they move through the house CAMERA TRACKS with them. Suddenly Brackett stops. He trains his flashlight on a SMALL OBJECT in the corner of the room. LOOMIS What is it? For a moment Bracket does n't speak. Then he steps closer to the object. BRACKETT A dog. Both men look down off screen at the animal. Brackett bends down to it. BRACKETT -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Still warm. He stands back up and looks at Loomis. LOOMIS He got hungry. Brackett gets a disgusted expression and steps away. BRACKETT Come on. A skunk could have killed it. LOOMIS Could have. Brackett looks back at the dead animal. BRACKETT A man would n't do that. LOOMIS He is n't a man.", "INT. MYERS BEDROOM Loomis and Brackett cautiosly step into the bedroom, the same room where the murder took place fifteen years ago. The glow from a distant street light casts the shadows of blowing trees on the walls. LOOMIS It happened in here. Loomis walks over to the spot where the sister was sitting. LOOMIS -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- She was sitting here when he came through the door. Loomis turns and glances at the window. He slowly walks toward it. LOOMIS -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- He must have watched them through this window. 88A LOOMIS' POV - WINDOW CAMERA SLOWLY TRACKS IN toward the window. 88B ANGLE ON LOOMIS Loomis stops by the window. LOOMIS -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Standing just outside, he could peer over the sill. Blown loose by the wind, the rain gutter suddenly swings down and SMASHES through the window with a THUNDERING CRASH of broken glass. Loomis jumps back, reaches into his coat pocket and draws a.357 magnum revolver. Brackett stares at him. Loomis sees Brackett's reaction and slowly reholsters the revolver. LOOMIS -LRB- looks at Brackett. -RRB- I suppose I do seem a bit sinister for a doctor. BRACKETT Looks like to me you're just plain scared. LOOMIS I am. -LRB- he glances around the bedroom. -RRB- I met his fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left, no conscience, no reason, no understanding, in even the most rudimentary sense, of life or death or right or wrong. I met this six - year - old boy with a blank, cold emotionless face and the blackest of eyes, the Devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him and another seven trying to keep him locked away when I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply. evil. Brackett just looks at him a moment. BRACKETT What do we do? LOOMIS He was here, earlier tonight, and he may be coming back. I'm going to wait for him. BRACKETT I keep thinking I should call the radio and TV stations. LOOMIS If you do they'll be seeing him everywhere, on every street corner, in every house. Just tell your men to shut their mouths and open their eyes. BRACKETT I'll check back in an hour. Brackett turns and walks out of the bedroom. For a moment Loomis stares at the rain gutter in the broken window.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE - NIGHT CAMERA SLOWLY TRACKS through the Doyle house. It is a large home with a staircase that leads to the bedrooms upstairs. Through a doorway we see a very modern kitchen. There is a dining room and living room with a big bay window that looks out into the street. Laurie sits with Tommy Doyle on the couch reading him a story. Tommy has his Halloween costume on and a big bag of candy on the floor. LAURIE -LRB- reads. -RRB-. `` how now, cried Arthur. ` Then no one may pass this way without a fight?' ` That is so,' answered the night in a bold and haughty manner.'' TOMMY I do n't like that story. LAURIE But king Arthur was always your favorite. Tommy pulls out a stack of comic books from underneath the couch. TOMMY Not any more. LAURIE Why are they under there? TOMMY Mom does n't like me to have them. Laurie glances through the stack of comic books. LAURIE ` Neutron Man'. ` Laser Man'. I can see why. ` Tarantula Man'. TOMMY Laurie, whats the Boogey Man? The phone RINGS in the other room. Laurie goes to answer it. She picks up the reciever in the den. LAURIE Hello.", "INT. WALLACE KITCHEN Annie stands making popcorn, the phone at her ear. ANNIE Having fun? Never mind, I'm sure you are. I have big, big news for you. LESTER, a large, ferocious - looking German shepherd, trots happily into the kitchen, spies Annie and walks over to her. He nudges her legs with his head. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Oops! Hold on a minute. She turns and reaches for Lester uncertainly. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Hi Lester. Lester GROWLS at her menacingly. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Lindsey, Lindsey! -LRB- into phone. -RRB- I'm about to be ripped apart by the family dog. Lindsey trots into the room. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Get him out of here! LINDSEY Here, Lester. Immediately Lester walks over to the back door. Lindsey opens the door and the dog trots out. Then Lindsey closes the back door and walks back into the living room. ANNIE -LRB- into phone. -RRB- I hate that dog. I'm the only person in the world he does n't like. LAURIE -LRB- v.o. -RRB- -LRB- from phone. -RRB- What's this big, big news? ANNIE What would you say if I told you that you were going to the Homecoming Dance tomorrow night? INTERCUT WITH LAURIE IN DEN LAURIE I'd say you must have the wrong number. ANNIE Well, I just talked with Ben Tramer and he got real excited when I told him how attracted you were to him. LAURIE Annie, you did n't. Tell me you did n't. ANNIE You guys will make a fabulous couple.", "INT. DOYLE LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Tommy walks to the front window and looks out. TOMMY'S POV - STREET A couple TRICK OR TREATERS walk by. Behind them, across the steet, stands THE SHAPE, LOOKING INTO THE HOUSE.", "EXT. STREET - DOYLE HOUSE CAMERA is behind the SHAPE, looking into the Doyle house. We can see Laurie talking on the phone. The shape's head moves slightly and WE PAN to see Tommy at the front window looking out. Tommy moves away from the window. PAN back to see him enter the den and pull on Laurie's blouse.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE TOMMY Laurie. LAURIE -LRB- into phone. -RRB- I'm so embarrassed. I could n't face him. ANNIE -LRB- v.o. -RRB- You'll have to. He's calling you tomorrow to find out what time to pick you up. LAURIE -LRB- paniked. -RRB- Annie! TOMMY Laurie, the boogey man is outside. Look! Tommy runs to the window in the den and points. Laurie walks over with the phone and looks. LAURIE'S POV - STREET The street is empty. ANGLE ON LAURIE - TOMMY LAURIE -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Hold on. -LRB- to Tommy. -RRB- There's nobody out there, Tommy. Go watch some TV. Tommy rushes out of the den.", "INT. DOYLE LIVING ROOM Tommy dashes up to the front window and looks out. POV - STREET We see the man as he passes under a streetlight on his way TOWARD THE WALLACE HOUSE.", "INT. WALLACE HOUSE - NIGHT Annie stands by the kitchen stove making popcorn. ANNIE -LRB- into telephone. -RRB- Look, it's simple. You like him, he likes you. All you need is a little push. POV FROM OUTSIDE KITCHEN WINDOW The shape stands close to CAMERA watching Annie make popcorn. She puts the butter in the pan. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- It wo n't hurt you to go out with him, for God's sake. Annie starts to pour the butter over the popcorn but instead pours it on herself. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Shit! No, no, I got ta call you back. I just made a mess of myself. Nothing unusual. Annie hangs up. She quickly takes off her blouse and blue jeans. She stands in the kitchen with only her panties on. She pulls a box of cornstarch out of the closet and sprinkles it out on the stains of butter. ANGLE ON SIDE OF HOUSE The shape moves closer to the kitchen window and knocks over a potted plant. It CRASHES noisily against the side of the house.", "INT. WALLACE HOUSE Annie is startled by the crash. She looks outside the window. POV OUT KITCHEN WINDOW A hanging plant swings in the wind. It BUMPS against the side of the house. ANGLE ON ANNIE She turns from the window and walks out of the kitchen. 104A EXT.. WALLACE HOUSE The hanging plant continues to WHAP against the house. A HAND suddenly stops its motion. The shape leans up close to the kitchen window, looking inside. 104B ANGLE ON DOG From the darkness of the back yard Lester springs forward into CAMERA, SNARLING and BARKING viciously. 104C ANGLE ON SHAPE - DOG The shape darts away from the kitchen window, the dog SNAPPING right after him. 104D INT. WALLACE HOUSE Annie listens to the GROWLING of the dog. She turns to Lindsey in the living room. ANNIE Lindsey, Lester's barking again and getting on my nerves again. LINDSEY -LRB- o.s. -RRB- No, he's not. Suddenly the GROWLING sounds ABRUPTLY STOP. ANNIE Never mind. He found a hot date. Annie turns and walks into the living room. 104E EXT.. WALLACE HOUSE We see the shape's legs a few feet from the house. Next to him are LESTER'S LEGS, kicking and struggling a few feet above the ground. Off screen, the shape is strangling the dog in mid - air. Finally the dog's legs stop moving and DANGLE LIFELESSLY. The shape moves away from the house.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Laurie and Tommy are sitting on the couch watching the Horrorthon on TV. TOMMY What about the Jack - O - Lantern? LAURIE After the movie. TOMMY What about the rest of my comic books? LAURIE After the Jack - O - Lantern. TOMMY -LRB- quietly. -RRB- What about the bogyman? LAURIE There is no such thing. TOMMY Richie said he was coming after me tonight. LAURIE Do you believe everything that Richie tells you? TOMMY No. LAURIE Tommy, Halloween night is when you play tricks on people and scare them. It's all make belive. Richie was trying to scare you. TOMMY I saw the bogyman. I saw him outside. LAURIE There was no one outside. TOMMY There WAS. LAURIE What did he look like? TOMMY The bogyman! LAURIE We're no getting anywhere. All right, look, Tommy. The bogyman can only come out on Halloween night, right? TOMMY Right. LAURIE And I'm here tonight and I wo n't let him get to you. TOMMY Promise? LAURIE I promise. TOMMY Can we make the Jack - O - Lantern now? Laurie holds out her hand. Tommy takes it and together they walk into the kitchen.", "EXT. PASSAGEWAY TO LAUNDRY - WALLACE HOUSE - NIGHT Annie walks through the passageway to the laundry room. She is wearing a nylon robe and carrying her clothes to be washed. The wind blows the robe open. ANOTHER ANGLE - PASSAGEWAY The shape stands behind a tree watching Annie walk along the passageway.", "INT. LAUNDRY ROOM Annie walks into the dark laundry room. Almost immediately the wind BLOWS THE DOOR SHUT! Annie stands motionless for a moment, then begins looking for the light switch. ANNIE Terrific! ANGLE ON DOOR The door CREAKS open. Behind the door we see the outline of the SHAPE STANDING THERE. ANGLE ON ANNIE Annie turns toward the slightly open door. ANNIE Hello? Silence. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Who's there? Silence. The wind blows the door open a little wider. In the light from the main house, Annie sees the light switch. Quickly she flicks on the switch and the laundry room lights up. She glances outside the door. There is no one there. ANNIE Paul, is this one of your cheap tricks? -LRB- pause ; disappointed. -RRB- I guess not. She steps back inside and crosses to the washing machine. She opens the top and dumps her clothes inside. ANNIE No tricks for Annie tonight. Suddenly a big gust of wind comes through the opened window above her. The door SLAMS SHUT! Annie hurries to the door and tries to open it. It wo n't open. CLOSE SHOT - ANNIE She tries to pull the door open. BEHIND HER, in the open window above the washing machine, we see the SHAPE looking in. ANNIE Lindsey! Lindsey, come out here!", "INT. WALLACE HOUSE LINDSEY WALLACE, 8 years old with a pretty face, watches the Horror Marathon at top volume on TV. She does n't hear Annie's call.", "INT. LAUNDRY ROOM ANNIE Lindsey, I'm in the laundry room! The door is stuck! Annie turns and glances at the window above the washing machine. THE SHAPE IS GONE. She quickly crosses to the washing machine, climbs up on top of it and starts out the window. Half way through she GETS STUCK. She tries to squirm her way back in but it's hopeless. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Lindsey! Lindsey, goddamn it, help! From the house Annie hears the phone ring. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Lindsey, answer the phone! It's Paul! Lindsey! LINDSEY!", "INT. WALLACE HOUSE Lindsey still sits in front of the TV. She lets the phone ring away. Finally she gets up and walks to the phone, her eyes pivoted on the TV. She picks up the reciever. LINDSEY Hello. PAUL -LRB- v.o. -RRB- Hi, Lindsey, this is Paul. Is Annie there? LINDSEY Yes, she is. PAUL -LRB- v.o. -RRB- Will you get her for me? LINDSEY She's washing her clothes. PAUL -LRB- v.o. -RRB- Well, go tell her it's me, okay? LINDSEY Okay. Lindsey hangs up the phone and walks through the kitchen to the back door. She calls from the door. LINDSEY Annie, Paul's on the phone! ANGLE ON ANNIE HANGING OUTSIDE THE WINDOW ANNIE Lindsey, open the door! I'm locked in the laundry room!", "EXT. LAUNDRY ROOM Lindsey crosses to the laundry room door. It is bolted from the outside. She lifts the bolt and looks inside the room.", "INT. LAUNDRY ROOM LINDSEY You locked yourself in. ANNIE I know. Pull my legs. I'm stuck. Lindsey pulls on Annie's legs and she slides from the window onto the dryer. ANNIE Lindsey, promise you wo n't tell anyone!", "INT. WALLACE HOUSE As Annie and Lindsey walk back into the house, the phone rings. Lindsey races across the room and picks it up. LINDSEY She was stuck in the window, she'll be right there. Lindsey sets down the reciever and walks out of the kitchen. Annie gives Lindsey a dirty look and picks it up. ANNIE Hello, Paul. -LRB- pause. -RRB- All right, cut it out. It can happen to anyone. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Yeah, but I've seen you stuck in OTHER POSITIONS! Suddenly behind Annie THE SHAPE WALKS THROUGH THE HALLWAY BETWEEN THE LIVING ROOM AND THE KITCHEN. She does n't see it. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- That's fantastic! When did they leave? -LRB- pause. -RRB- Utterly fabulous! So why do n't you just walk over? My clothes are in the wash. I ca n't come now. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Shut up, jerk. I've got a robe on. That's all you think about. -LRB- pause. -RRB- That's no true. I think about lots of things. Why do n't we not stand here talking about them and get down to doing them? All right, see you in a few minutes. Annie hangs up the phone. She walks into the living room. Lindsey is back watching the TV Horrorthon. LINDSEY -LRB- excitedly. -RRB- I'm scared. ANNIE Then why are you sitting here with half the lights off? LINDSEY I do n't know. ANNIE Well, come on, get your coat. We're going to pick up Paul. LINDSEY I do n't want to. ANNIE Look, Lindsey, I thought we understood each other. LINDSEY I want to stay here and watch this. Annie calculates a moment. ANNIE Okay, if I can fix it so you can watch TV with Tommy Doyle, would you like that? Lindsey's eyes light up. LINDSEY Yes. ANNIE Come with me.", "EXT. STREET - NIGHT Annie and Lindsey come out of the Wallace house. Lindsey carries a bowl of popcorn. Annie has a coat over the negligee. They walk down the street to the Doyles. The wind blows strong and whips the negligee around Annie's legs. ANOTHER ANGLE - STREET As the girls make their way down the street. The SHAPE steps into the glow of the streetlight and watches them. He pulls a LARGE KNIFE from his pocket. The BLADE GLISTENS in the light.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE - NIGHT Laurie and Tommy are covered with pumpkin meat when the doorbell rings. Tommy runs to answer it. He opens the door. Annie and Lindsey stand there. TOMMY Hi, come on in. We're making a Jack - O - Lantern. LINDSEY I want to watch TV. Lindsey sees the TV and runs into the living room. She takes off her coat ; sits in front of the TV and eats her popcorn. Laurie comes from the kitchen. She glances at Annie's coat. LAURIE Fancy. ANNIE This has not been my night. My clothes are in the wash, I spilled butter down the front of me, I got stuck in a window. LAURIE I'm glad you're here because I have something I want you to do. I want you to call up Ben Tramer and tell him you were just fooling around. ANNIE I ca n't. LAURIE Yes, you can. ANNIE He went out drinking beer with Mike Godfrey and he wo n't be back until late. YOU'LL have to call him tomorrow. Besides, I'm on my way to pick up Paul. Laurie glances at Lindsey. LAURIE Wait a minute here. ANNIE If you watch her, I'll CONSIDER talking to Ben Tramer in the morning. LAURIE Deal. Hey, I thought Paul was grounded. ANNIE He was. Old jerko found a way to sneak out. Listen, I'll call you in an hour or so. Before Laurie can say anything else, Annie rushes out the door. Laurie closes the door and looks in at Tommy and Lindsey engrossed in the Horrorthon. LAURIE The old girl scout comes through again.", "EXT. WALLACE HOUSE - GARAGE - NIGHT Annie hurries across the back yard and steps into the garage. She walks to her car. ANNIE -LRB- sings to herself. -RRB- Oh, Paul, I give you all. She tries the door. It is LOCKED. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- No keys, but please. my Paul. Quickly she turns and walks out of the garage.", "INT. WALLACE HOUSE Annie wanders through the empty house looking for her purse. She finds it in the front room, takes out her brush and lipstick and stands in front of the mirror primping. ANNIE -LRB- sings. -RRB- My Paul, I can no longer stall. She glances up at her image in the mirror. ANNIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Lucky thing. Spilled butter on her clothes, but nobody will know. -LRB- sings. -RRB-. except for Paul. Suddenly the phone RINGS. Quickly Annie grabs it. ANNIE Hello. Oh, hi, Dad. -LRB- pause. -RRB- No, just watching TV with lindsey. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Be careful about what? -LRB- pause. -RRB- Well, if you wo n't tell me how can I be careful? -LRB- pause. -RRB- Sure, sure I will. Bye, dad. She hangs up, grabs her purse and rushes out the door.", "INT. GARAGE Annie walks into the garage, over to her car and opens the door. It is now UNLOCKED, but Annie does n't notice.", "INT. CAR Annie slides in and inserts the key in the ignition. The car starts. Annie glances at the car door lock. Suddenly she remembers it was locked. She stares at it, puzzled. An instant later, A MAN SITS UP IN THE BACK SEAT. HE WEARS A HALLOWEEN MASK made of rubber with the grotesqe features of a man. He reaches forward and grabs her. Annie SCREAMS. She lurches for the door. The man puts one hand over her mouth and brings the HUGE BUTCHER KNIFE up to her throat.", "INT. GARAGE - ANGLE ON CAR From outside the car we see the struggle inside. Annie's anguished face presses against the steamed window. Her SCREAMS are muffled by the closed car. Suddenly, the struggle stops. Annie's face slides down the car window leaving a track in the wet surface. Then slowly the track in the glass steams over again.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE - NIGHT Music from INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS fills the room. Lindsey and Tommy are riveted to the screen. Tommy glances at Lindsey and slowly sneaks away from the couch. He jumps to a window and ducks behind a curtain. TOMMY -LRB- from behind curtain. -RRB- Lindsey. Lindsey. Lindsey turns around and looks for Tommy. LINDSEY Where are you? No answer. Lindsey gets up from the couch to search for Tommy. BEHIND CURTAIN Tommy hides, preparing to jump out and scare Lindsey. For a moment, he glances out the window. TOMMY'S POV - WALLACE BACK YARD The figure of a MAN carries what seems to be a BODY across the Wallace's back yard.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE Tommy SCREAMS and jumps out from the curtain, scaring the hell out of Lindsey, who also SCREAMS and begins crying. TOMMY There he is, there he is! The bogyman! Laurie rushes in from the kitchen finding the children in tears. LAURIE What's wrong? Tommy points out the window. TOMMY I saw him again! He's over at Lindsey's house. The bogyman! At this, Lindsey begins to CRY even louder. Laurie bends down to comfort her. LAURIE Tommy, stop it! You're scaring Lindsey. TOMMY I saw him. LAURIE I said, stop it! There is no bogyman. There's nothing out there. If you do n't stop all this, I'm turning off the TV and you go to bed. Tommy turns away from Laurie and Lindsey and walks over to the couch in front of the TV set. Almost instantly, Lindsey stops crying and follows him. TOMMY Nobody believes me. LINDSEY I believe you, Tommy. Lindsey sits up next to Tommy and hugs him. Laurie shakes her head and walks back into the kitchen.", "EXT. MYERS HOUSE - NIGHT The old Myers house looks ominous and forboding silhouetted against the dark, whishing trees. CAMERA TRACKS behind the hedge where Loomis sits waiting. Suddenly, there are noises from the street. Loomis parts the hedge in front of him and stares. LOOMIS' POV - STREET Three boys, Keith, Richie and Lonnie -LRB- from the playground -RRB- creep up to the edge of the sidewalk in front of the old house. They stare fearfully at the dark, tomb - like structure. LONNIE I'm not afraid. RICHIE Bullshit. LONNIE I'm not! RICHIE Then go in. For a moment Lonnie hesitates, then slowly moves through the front gate up toward the porch. ANGLE ON LOOMIS He watches the young boy walk toward the house, unsure whether he should interfere or just watch. LOOMIS' POV - OLD HOUSE - STREET Lonnis makes it to the front porch and tentatively steps up to the door. He glances back to his friends in the street. Loomis' POV moves to the street. RICHIE Chicken! KEITH Go on, Lonnie! Then Loomis' POV moves back to Lonnie at the front door. The boy turns to open the door. He's scared out of his mind. ANGLE ON LOOMIS Loomis quietly stands up behind the hedge. LOOMIS Lonnie. LOOMIS' POV - OLD HOUSE Lonnie spins around and stares in horror at the talking hedge. ANGLE ON LOOMIS LOOMIS Get your ass away from there! LOOMIS' POV - OLD HOUSE - STREET Moving like the wind, Lonnie barrels off the porch and races back to his friends. The boys hurtle off down the street in utter terror. ANGLE ON LOOMIS He watches them race away, smiling to himself. Suddenly, TWO HANDS enter frame and grab Loomis' shoulders. Loomis jumps and spins around. Standing there is Brackett. LOOMIS Jesus! BRACKETT You all right? LOOMIS Sure. BRACKETT Nothing's going on. Just kids playing pranks, trick or treating, partying, getting high. I have the feeling you're way off on this. LOOMIS You have the wrong feeling. BRACKETT You're not coming up with much to prove me wrong. LOOMIS Exactly what do you need? BRACKETT Well, it's going to take more than fancy talk to keep me up all night creeping around these bushes. LOOMIS I watched him for fifteen years, sitting in a room staring at a wall, not seeing the wall, seeing past it, seeing THIS NIGHT. He's waited for it, inhumanly patient. Hour after hour, day after day, waiting for some silent, invisible alarm to trigger him. Death has arrived in your little town, sheriff. You can ignore it, or you can help me stop it. BRACKETT More fancy talk. You want to know what Haddonfield is? Families. Children, all lined up in rows, up and down these streets. You're telling me they're lined up for a slaughterhouse. LOOMIS They could be. BRACKETT I'll stay out with you tonight, Doctor, just on the chance that you're right. And if you are right, damn you for letting him out. Brackett turns and walks back to the street. Loomis watches him for several moments.", "EXT. WALLACE HOUSE - NIGHT The house is quiet, dark. The lights are all out. Annie's car is parked in the garage. A car pulls up in front of the house and parks. Its lights flick off. The sounds of LAUGHTER come from inside.", "INT. CAR - NIGHT BOB SIMMS, a good - looking 17 - year - old, POPS open a can of beer. Next to him Lynda guzzles hers. They embrace. LYNDA Now. First we'll talk a little, then Annie will distract Lindsey and we sneak quietly up the stairs to the first bedroom on the left. Got it? BOB Okay. First I rip your clothes off. Bob grabs Lynda and she starts giggling. The can of beer falls over onto the front seat. LYNDA You idiot! BOB Then you rip my clothes off. Then we rip LYNDSEY'S clothes off. I think I've got it. LYNDA Totally.", "EXT. WALLACE HOUSE Bob opens the door and together they fall out onto the ground. Bob picks Lynda up and carries her up to the front door. LYNDA Bob. Put me down. Put me down. This is totally silly. Lynda squirms in Bob's arms. As he sets her down her foot accidentally hits the front door and it swings open. Lynda and Bob both stop. LYNDA Annie, Annie, we're here! Bob and Lynda enter the house.", "INT. WALLACE HOUSE - NIGHT The living room is empty. The lights are off. Lynda and Bob enter the house and begin turning on the lights. BOB I wonder where they went. LYNDA Annie probably took Lindsey out or something. Let's look for a note. Bob walks over to Lynda. BOB Let's do n't. They embrace. Bob pulls Lynda over to the couch and turns out the light. They kiss. A SHADOW COMES OVER THEM. They continue kissing, unaware of the shape of a man on the stairway WATCHING.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE - NIGHT The house is totally black inside. The only sound is the music score from `` The Thing.'' Suddenly, the sound of laughter is heard from the kitchen. Then an orange light floats around the room. As it gets closer, we see that Laurie is carrying a Jack - O - Lantern, with a candle illuminating from the center of the pumpkin. Behind Laurie is Lyndsey and Tommy making scary noises. The procession continues through the house. TOMMY Ooooooo. He's gon na get you. LYNDSEY No, he's not. LAURIE Nobody's going to get anybody. Now stop scaring each other. The procession continues to the front window. Laurie places the Jack - O - Lantern on the window sill. She looks down the street toward the Wallaces. LAURIE'S POV OF THE WALLACE HOUSE Laurie sees Bob's car parked in front of the house. ANGLE ON LAURIE Laurie smiles to herself. LAURIE Everybody has a good time tonight. Okay, kids, what do you want to do now? LINDSEY Let's make more popcorn. LAURIE You've had enough. Why do n't we just sit down and watch the rest of this movie. Laurie sits down on the couch and sighs. Lindsey and Tommy cuddle up with her, one on either side. The phone rings. Laurie gets up to answer it. LAURIE Hello.", "INT. HOUSE - NIGHT Lynda sits on the couch in the dark. Her hair and clothes are messed up. Bob lies on the couch, his head on her lap. LYNDA Hi, Laurie, what's up? LAURIE -LRB- v.o. -RRB- Nothing. I was just sitting down for the first time tonight. LYNDA Is Annie around? LAURIE -LRB- v.o. -RRB- No. I thought she'd be home by now. She went to pick up Paul. LYNDA Well, she's totally not here. LAURIE -LRB- v.o. -RRB- They probably stopped off somewhere. Have her call me when she gets back. I've got Lyndsey here and I want to know what time to put her to bed. LYNDA Okay. Later. LAURIE -LRB- v.o. -RRB- Have a good time. Lynda hangs up the phone and grins. LYNDA We sure will. Lynda grabs Bob's hand and stands up. LYNDA -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Lindsey is gone for the night. Bob grins. BOB Now that's wonderful. Lynda pulls Bob up from the couch and they walk quickly up the stairs.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE - NIGHT Laurie stands by the telephone. She walks to the window and glances out. LAURIE'S POV - WALLACE HOUSE It is dark. ANGLE ON LAURIE Laurie shrugs, turns away from the window and walks back to Tommy and Lindsey sitting on the couch.", "INT. WALLACE BEDROOM - NIGHT Sounds of lovemaking come from the bed. The only light is a candle illuminating the sheets as they move slowly up and down and from side to side. Empty beer cans leave a trail from the door to the bed. The moans from Lynda begin increasing. They get louder. Building to a crescendo. The phone rings. The lovemaking suddenly stops. LYNDA Shit! Not again. Lynda rises up on one arm. The sheets fall away from her, showing a very beautifly young body. Her hair is a mess and she is frustrated. The phone continues to ring. BOB I ca n't help it. It just keeps ringing. LYNDA And I ca n't keep you interested? Bob opens a fresh can of beer. He chugs it down. LYNDA That's great. Now you'll be too drunk to. BOB Just answer the damn phone. LYNDA I ca n't. What if it's the Wallaces!? We'd get Annie in trouble. The phone stops ringing. BOB Take it off the hook. Lynda reaches over and kisses Bob behind the ears. She slowly moves around his ear with her tongue. Bob grabs Lynda and pushes her down on the bed. CAMERA MOVES BACK from the bed as their lovemaking continues, back through the bedroom doorway. Standing there in the darkness is THE SHAPE watching them. Finally, Bob and Lynda climax. Bob rolls off Lynda. She lights a cigarette and hands it to Bob, then lights one for herself. LYNDA Fantastic. Totally. BOB Yeah. LYNDA Want a beer? BOB Yeah. LYNDA Is that all you say? BOB Yeah. LYNDA Go get me a beer. BOB I thought you were gon na get one for me. LYNDA YEAH? Bob gets out of bed and pulls his jeans on. He looks for his glasses. He finds them and puts them on. BOB I'll be right back. Do n't get DRESSED. Bob leans over and kisses Lynda. He leaves. Lynda leans back onto the pillows. She smiles to herself.", "INT. WALLACE KITCHEN Bob comes through the swinging doors. He opens refrigerator and takes out two beers. He looks around the kitchen. He opens the cupboards and takes out a bag of potato chips. In another cupboard he finds a can of peanuts. Bob gathers the food and beers into his arms. He shuts the doors. WHAM! He steps into a chair, knocking him backwards. The beer falls on the floor along with the chips and peanuts. BOB Goddammit! says. ANONOTHER ANGLE Bob has his head down, intent on cleaning up the mess. There is a SLAM from across the kitchen. Bob looks up. BOB'S POV - DOOR The back door of the kitchen slowly swings open, as if it has been slammed shut and the bolt did n't catch. It squeaks on it's hinges as it swings back and forth.", "INT. KITCHEN Slowly, Bob gets to his feet and walks over to the door. BOB Annie, Paul. He steps to the door and looks outside. BOB'S POV - BACK YARD The yard is empty. Just the wind blowing the trees. ANGLE ON BOB He turns from the door. There is a SQUEAK from one of the two closet doors by the kitchen counter. Bob freezes, staring at the two doors. BOB Lynda, you asshole! He walks to one of the doors and opens it. Nothing inside. BOB -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Alright, Lynda, come on out. He steps to the other door and opens it. RIGHT BEHIND THE DOOR STANDS THE SHAPE wearing the rubber mask. He steps out and grabs Bob around the neck with an instantaneous lunge. Bob tries to jump away, but the shape has a firm hold on his neck. Bob COUGHS and GAGS from the pressure. Then the shape LIFTS BOB UP OFF THE FLOOR. ANGLE ON BOB'S FEET Bob's feet leave the floor. ANGLE ON BOB'S FACE He makes a gutteral sound deep in his throat as the shape's hand closes tightly around his windpipe. ANGLE ON SHAPE Behind the mask are two burning eyes. The shape moves forward. ANGLE ON WALL Still holding him up with one hand, the shape SLAMS Bob against the wall, holding him several feet off the floor. Bob struggles to get free. The shape lifts his other hand. It holds the butcher knife. The shape drives the knife deeply into Bob's chest with a SLAMMING THUD, the other end of the knife stuck through the wall. Then the shape steps away. Bob hangs there, impaled on the wall, eyes still open in horror, dead.", "INT. WALLACE BEDROOM Lynda lounges in the bed smoking another cigarette. She hears Bob enter the room but does n't look up. LYNDA Where's my beer? No answer. Lynda turns around and looks. ANOTHER ANGLE - LYNDA'S POV The SHAPE STANDS in the doorway. He is covered with A SHEET LIKE A GHOST. He WEARS BOB'S GLASSES. LYNDA -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Cute, Bob. Real cute. The ghost does n't answer. ANOTHER ANGLE - LYNDA AND GHOST Lynda looks at the ghost. She slides the sheets down from her body. LYNDA -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Come here, you fool. The ghost does n't answer. He continues to stare at Lynda. LYNDA -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Ca n't I get your ghost, Bob? Lynda laughs at her own joke, then stops when she sees the ghost is motionless. LYNDA -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- All right, all right. So where's the beer? Nothing. The ghost just stands there. LYNDA -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Well, answer me! Okay, do n't answer me. Boy, are you weird! Lynda gets out of bed. She is nude and looks beautiful and sensuous in the candlelight. She walks over to the phone. LYNDA -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Well, I'm gon na call Laurie. I wan na know where Annie and Paul are. THIS is n't going anywhere. Lynda sits down on a chair by the telephone. In the b.g. the ghost stands in the doorway. She starts to dial the phone. The ghost starts walking toward her.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE - NIGHT The house is very quiet. The kids are asleep. Laurie is sitting on the couch knitting. The phone RINGS. LAURIE Finally. Laurie crosses to answer the phone.", "INT. WALLACE BEDROOM Lynda holds the phone to her ear. The ghost walks up slowly behind her. He raises his hands to grab her.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE Laurie answers the telephone. LAURIE Hello.", "INT. WALLACE BEDROOM Lynda hears Laurie's hello as THE GHOST GRABS THE PHONE. He clamps one hand over Lynda's mouth. She squirms and writhes. He takes the telephone cord and wraps it around her neck.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE LAURIE Hello? Laurie hears SQUEALS, and rustling sounds across the phone. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- All right, Annie! I've heard your famous chewing, now I get your famous squeals? Laurie continues to hear weird SOUNDS. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Annie?", "INT. WALLACE BEDROOM Lynda tries to fight off the ghost. He wraps the cord around her neck. He pulls tight. Lynda reaches up and pulls on the sheet. It slides off the man, to reveal the grotesque Halloween mask. Lynda gasps and tries to scream. The man pulls the cord tighter. Her face turns blue. She opens her mouth, trying to get air, then slowly slumps forward and remains motionless. LYNDA IS DEAD. The shape picks up the reciever and puts it to his ear.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE - ANGLE ON LAURIE LAURIE Annie, Annie! Are you all right? Silence over the phone. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Are you fooling around again? Silence. LAURIE -LRB- co n't. -RRB- I'll kill you if this is a joke! More silence. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Annie. Suddenly the phone goes dead. Laurie stares at the reciever, then hangs up. She crosses to the window and looks out toward the Wallace house. LAURIE'S POV - WALLACE HOUSE The street is quiet, dark and windy. Bob's car is parked in front of the Wallace house. SUDDENLY A LIGHT GOES ON IN THE BEDROOM. ANGLE ON LAURIE She stares at the house, puzzled. LAURIE'S POV - WALLACE HOUSE THEN THE LIGHT GOES OFF.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE Laurie moves from the window back to the telephone and dials Annie's number. We HEAR the phone ringing on the other end.", "INT. WALLACE HOUSE - BEDROOM CAMERA SLOWLY TRACKS through the darkened bedroom of the Wallace house. There is no sign of a struggle. The room is empty. The phone RINGS away.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE Laurie finally hangs up the phone. She stands for a moment considering it, then turns and walks upstairs.", "INT. DOYLE BEDROOM Laurie opens the door to the bedroom. Tommy and Lindsey are sound asleep on the bed. She looks at them a moment, then closes the door behind her.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE - LIVING ROOM Laurie comes back downstairs. She takes a key out of her purse and again steps to the window. LAURIE'S POV - WALLACE HOUSE Dark and silent. ANGLE ON LAURIE She steps to the front door.", "EXT. MYERS HOUSE - NIGHT Loomis sits in silence behind the hedge watching the Myers house. Frustrated, he gets up and walks to the street. For a moment he glances back at the Myers house, then starts down the quiet residential street. LOOMIS' POV - STREET - STATION WAGON It is empty except for a station wagon parked several blocks away. ANGLE ON LOOMIS He turns away from the street. Then a thought strikes him. He looks again. LOOMIS' POV - STREET - STATION WAGON THE LONE CAR IS LOOMIS' STATION WAGON. ANGLE ON LOOMIS He's not certain of it. Slowly Loomis starts walking down the street toward the station wagon.", "EXT. STREET - NIGHT Laurie locks the Doyle house and walks away out into the street. The wind whips her clothes and hair. LAURIE'S POV - WALLACE HOUSE - MOVING SHOT MOVING SHOT toward the Wallace house, dark and ominous. MOVING SHOT - LAURIE She moves down the street, shivering in the chill wind. She puts the key to the Doyle house in her pocket. LAURIE'S POV - WALLACE HOUSE - MOVING SHOT A car turns the corner and drives past the Wallace house, casting a strange shadowy pattern across the front of the house. MOVING SHOT - LAURIE She picks up her speed, now up the sidewalk. LAURIE'S POV - WALLACE HOUSE - MOVING SHOT The house looms closer and closer.", "EXT. STREET - NIGHT TRACKING SHOT with Loomis as he walks up the street. LOOMIS' POV - STATION WAGON The station wagon moves closer. MOVING SHOT - LOOMIS He recognizes it and races forward. LOOMIS' POV - STATION WAGON CAMERA TRACKS IN to the station wagon, right up to the STATE EMBLEM emblazoned on the side.", "EXT. WALLACE HOUSE - NIGHT CAMERA MOVES UP to the front of the Wallace house. Laurie walks up to the front porch. She stands there a moment, listening, as if to hear some sound of life from the inside. She KNOCKS on the door and RINGS the doorbell. She waits. Silence. She steps off the porch and walks around to the side of the house, CAMERA TRACKING WITH HER. She moves to the garage and peeks inside. There is Annie's car. Laurie thinks a moment, then looks to the street. LAURIE'S POV - BOB'S CAR Bob's car sits there on the street. ANGLE ON LAURIE She turns and walks through the breezeway between the house and garage around to the back door. THE KITCHEN DOOR IS AJAR, swinging back and forth in the wind. Laurie pulls open the door and steps into the house.", "INT. WALLACE KITCHEN The kitchen is dark. Laurie stands there a moment staring into the blackness. LAURIE Annie? No answer. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Bob, Lynda, Annie? No one answers. Laurie searches for the wall light. She flips it and nothing happens. She looks again into the darkness. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Hello? Nothing. Laurie moves forward into the house, CAMERA TRACKING WITH HER. Laurie walks into the living room. She stops to let her eyes get accustomed to the almost total darkness. She reaches for a nearby lamp and trips over the cord. The lamp CLUNKS to the floor. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Shit. SUDDENLY THERE IS A CRASHING SOUND FROM UPSTAIRS. Laurie spins around and stares up the dark staircase. Another SQUEAK from above. Laurie smiles. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- All right, meatheads. The joke is over. Silence. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Come on, Annie, enough. Another SOUND from upstairs, a DRAGGING across the floor. Laurie moves to the head of the staircase. The dragging sound STOPS ABRUPTLY. Silence. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- This has most definitely stopped being funny. Now cut it out! A SCRAPING SOUND, then silence. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- You'll be sorry. Slowly Laurie starts up the staircase.", "EXT. STREET - NIGHT Loomis stands by his car glancing up and down the empty street. Finally he makes up his mind and starts moving down the street, almost running, looking back and fourth at the rows of houses on either side for something out of place.", "INT. WALLACE HOUSE - NIGHT SLOWLY TRACKING up the staircase. MOVING SHOT - LAURIE as she slowly moves up the stairs. She reaches the top and stops. LAURIE'S POV - SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY It is totally dark. At the end of the hall is the bedroom door. From around the edges of the door is the faintest ORANGE GLOW. ANGLE ON LAURIE She moves for the door, CAMERA TRACKING WITH HER. LAURIE'S POV - DOOR She reaches the door. Her hand reaches out and touches it. The door swings open. A Jack - O - Lantern casts and eerie glow around the room. There is SOMEONE lying on the bed but from this position Laurie ca n't see. ANGLE ON LAURIE She moves forward toward the bed. LAURIE'S POV CAMERA MOVES FORWARD. There on the bed is ANNIE! Her face is a chalky white and there is a huge red gash across her throat. AT THE HEAD OF THE BED IS JUDITH MYERS' TOMBSTONE. ANGLE ON LAURIE She stares at the bed and then SCREAMS at the top of her lungs. SUDDENLY SOMETHING DROPS DOWN AT HER FROM ABOVE. Laurie jumps back to the door. LAURIE'S POV - BOB Strung up to the light fixture on the ceiling, dangling there in the middle of the room, is Bob, eyes open and staring.", "INT. SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY Laurie backs out of the bedroom. Her mouth is open in speachless horror. SUDDENLY A DOOR NEXT TO HER SLOWLY OPENS. There is LYNDA standing there, propped up by a chair, staring at her with glazed, dead eyes. ANGLE ON LAURIE - CORNER -LRB- LIGHTING EFFECT -RRB- Laurie shrinks back into a dark corner. She can only stare in horror at the sight of her dead friend. SUDDENLY WE ARE AWARE OF SOMETHING THERE IN THE DARK CORNER. It is almost as if our eyes have suddenly begun to adjust to the darkness and we see THE OUTLINE OF A MAN standing right behind her. The outline becomes more and more clear. It is the shape, wearing the mask, the butcher knife in his hand, gleaming, RIGHT BEHIND LAURIE. Laurie suddenly moves away from the corner. The shape lunges out at her. CLOSE SHOT - LAURIE'S BACK - HAND The hand grasps a piece of Laurie's blouse and RIPS it. CLOSE SHOT - LAURIE She SCREAMS and spins around. ANGLE ON SHAPE He stands there holding up the piece of material, then raises the butcher kinfe and moves for her. ANGLE ON LAURIE CAMERA MOVES WITH HER as she backs away, SCREAMING at the top of her lungs. ANGLE ON SHAPE He lunges at her suddenly with the knife. ANGLE ON LAURIE - TOP OF STAIRCASE THE KNIFE SLICES ACROSS HER ARM, ripping her flesh. Laurie suddenly jumps backward, raising her arm instictively. ANGLE ON RAILING Laurie bumps back into the railing. ANGLE ON SHAPE He lunges again with the knife. ANGLE ON LAURIE She leaps backward to avoid the blade and slips over the edge of the railing. LAURIE'S POV CAMERA POUNGES DOWN from the second floor and SLAMS into the floor. ANGLE ON LAURIE She hits the floor and rolls over, holding her leg painfully. Then she looks up at the staircase. POV - STAIRCASE The shape moves to the top of the staircase and STARTS down toward her. ANGLE ON LAURIE She pulls herself up off the floor and hobbles into the living room. ANGLE ON STAIRCASE Thge shape races down the stairs. ANGLE ON LAURIE She moves for the kitchen. She trips on the fallen lamp and fall to the floor. ANGLE ON SHAPE The shape steps into the living room, knife raised. ANGLE ON LAURIE - KITCHEN She crawls to the kitchen, rolls inside an SLAMS the kitchen door behind her. In a flash, she leaps up and CLICKS the lock. There is a POUNDING on the door from the other side. Laurie slowly climbs to her feet and limps toward the back door. Suddenly, the kitchen door EXPLODES, the middle of it BREAKING APART. The shape reaches through, groping for the lock. ANGLE ON DOOR Her hand tries the door. It is KEY - LOCKED. ANGLE ON LAURIE Desperately she tries the door, glancing behing her. ANGLE ON SHAPE The shape's hand reaches for the lock. ANGLE ON LAURIE She steps back from the door into the kitchen. LAURIE'S POV - KITCHEN WINDOW She sees the kitchen window over the sink. ANGLE ON LAURIE She hobbles to the sink, climbs up on it and grabs the window. With a heave she opens it half - way. ANGLE ON SHAPE The shape's hand grabs the lock and CLICKS it open. ANGLE ON LAURIE - KITCHEN WINDOW She can only get it three - fourths open. Headfirst she crawls through the window. ANGLE ON SHAPE The shape pushes the door open and leaps into the kitchen. ANGLE ON LAURIE She drags herself roughly out the window. CLOSE SHOT - WINDOW The shape grabs at Laurie's legs as they disappear through the sill.", "EXT. WALLACE HOUSE Laurie picks herself up from the ground and runs as fast as she can, limping across the backyard, CAMERA MOVING WITH HER. She passes the driveway and scurries into the neighbor's backyard, up to the back door of the house. She POUNDS furiously on the door. LAURIE Help me! Help me! She looks behind her. LAURIE'S POV - WALLACE HOUSE No sign of the shape. The house is dark and silent. ANGLE ON LAURIE The back porch light comes on. Laurie continues to POUND on the door. LAURIE'S POV - DOOR Through the glass in the back door we see an OLD WOMAN dressed in a nightgown approach. ANGLE ON LAURIE LAURIE Please, help me! Call the police! Please! LAURIE'S POV - DOOR The old woman stares at her suspiciously for a moment, then turns from the door and walks away. ANGLE ON LAURIE THE PORCH LIGHT GOES OUT. LAURIE No! No! Please, open the door! She turns around and looks back. LAURIE'S POV - WALLACE HOUSE Nothing. No sign of the shape. ANGLE ON LAURIE She hobbles off the back porch and runs across the yard to the street. CAMERA MOVES WITH HER as she limps along.", "EXT. DOYLE HOUSE Laurie rushes up to the front door. She reaches in her pocket for the key and drop it on the porch. Quickly she bends down and scrambles for it. She looks back toward the street. LAURIE'S POV - STREET The street is empty. The wind WHISHES the trees. Leaves sprinkle down.", "EXT. DOYLE HOUSE Laurie gropes around for the key. It lies over a crack in the wooden porch. She reaches for it but her fingers nudge the key between the crack, down out of sight. Laurie SCREAMS with frustration and glances back at the street. LAURIE'S POV - STREET THE SHAPE WALKS SLOWLY DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, RIGHT TOWARD HER! ANGLE ON LAURIE Laurie begins to BANG on the front door. LAURIE Tommy! Tommy, open the door! She grabs a planter on the porch, steps back and hurls it at an upstairs window. ANGLE ON UPSTAIRS WINDOW The planter SMASHES against the window. A light goes on. Tommy appears sleepily at the window. TOMMY Who is it? ANGLE ON LAURIE LAURIE Tommy, let me in! She looks back at the street. LAURIE'S POV - STREET The street is empty. THE SHAPE IS GONE. ANGLE ON LAURIE She stands there breathlessly, her eyes burning in the darkness. Finally the door opens. Tommy stands there in his pajamas. Laurie leaps inside and SLAMS the door.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE Laurie bolts the door from the inside. LAURIE Tommy, I want you to go back upstairs. TOMMY What is it, Laurie? LAURIE Be quiet! Get Lindsey and get into the bedroom and lock the door! TOMMY I'm scared. LAURIE DO WHAT I SAY! NOW! TOMMY It's the bogyman, is n't it? LAURIE HURRY! Tommy turns and runs upstairs CRYING. Laurie moves from the door to the telephone. She picks it up, dials a number and waits. Then suddenly she reacts. The PHONE IS DEAD. No dial tone. She puts down the phone and stands very still. There is A SLIGHT BREEZE BLOWING HER HAIR. Slowly Laurie moves around the couch. LAURIE'S POV - KITCHEN From the living room we see into the kitchen. THE BACK DOOR IS OPEN. ANGLE ON LAURIE Laurie does n't move. She begins crying softly, her eyes wide with fear. LAURIE Please stop. Please. Silence. No movement anywhere in the house. Slowly Laurie sinks down to her knees by the couch. CLOSE SHOT - KNITTING NEEDLES Her hand brushes against the knitting needles protruding from her totebag. ANGLE ON LAURIE - COUCH She reacts to the feel of the knitting needles and pulls one out. It is long and deadly sharp. She stares at it. SUDDENLY THE SHAPE LEAPS UP FROM BEHIND THE COUCH! He springs at her, plunging the butcher knife. ANGLE ON COUCH The blade of the butcher knife THUMPS into the couch. ANGLE ON LAURIE - SHAPE Instinctively Laurie raises the knitting needle and drives it home, right into the shape's neck! The shape springs backward, clawing at the needle, rolling his head back and forth. Then suddenly he freezes, hands outstretched, motionless, and falls into a heap on the floor. Laurie sits there. The shape does n't move. Laurie begins to cry again, harder and harder.", "EXT. STREET - NIGHT CAMERA MOVES WITH LOOMIS as he moves along the street. Suddenly two headlights hit him and a police car swerves to a stop next to him. Brackett gets out. BRACKETT Where were you? I went back to the Myers house. LOOMIS I found the car! He's here! BRACKETT Where? LOOMIS Three blocks down. Get in the car and go up that other street and then back down here. I'm going up the block. Brackett turns and hurries back to the car. Loomis starts up the street again as Brackett pulls off in the other direction.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE - NIGHT WIDE SHOT of the living room. Laurie is on one side of frame, the motionless shape lying behind the couch on the other. Slowly Laurie stands up, stares at the shape and then moves to the staircase. Slowly, painfully, Laurie climbs up the stairs.", "INT. BEDROOM Tommy and Lindsey are huddled in a corner WHIMPERING softly. The door opens and Laurie steps in. The two children run to her CRYING. She holds them in her arms tightly and nudges the door shut with her foot. LAURIE It's all right now. Shhh, it's all right. She takes the children back to the bed and sits down with them. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Now I want you to change your clothes, Tommy. We're going to take a walk outside. TOMMY Was it the bogyman? LINDSEY I'm scared! LAURIE There's nothing to be scared of now. Get changed. TOMMY Are you sure? LAURIE Yes. TOMMY How? LAURIE I killed him. TOMMY But you ca n't kill the bogyman. SUDDENLY THE BEDROOM DOOR SWINGS OPEN. Standing there is THE SHAPE, the butcher knife raised. Both children SCREAM. Laurie shoves them into the bathroom and pulls the door shut, leaving herself outside in the bedroom. LAURIE Lock the door! Lock the door! The shape moves for her, slowly now, but relentless, the knife glistening. There is a CLICK as the bathroom door is locked. Laurie leaps away from the door and circles around the bed. The shape keeps coming. Laurie dashes to a clothes closet and ducks inside.", "INT. CLOTHES CLOSET Laurie pulls the sliding doors closed and crawls back into the small, dark interior of the closet. Suddenly the doors begin to buckle as the shape pounds on them. ANGLE ON LAURIE She reaches up and grabs a wire hanger from the top of the closet. She rips off the shirt and begins unhooking it. ANGLE ON CLOSET DOOR The door buckles inward as the shape SMASHES against it. ANGLE ON LAURIE She twists the top of the hanger, unwinding the wire. ANGLE ON CLOSET DOOR The door BREAKS IN. The shape steps inside, pushing aside the clothes. ANGLE ON LAURIE She unhooks the hanger and bends it out straight. ANGLE ON SHAPE The shape leans in, peering down at Laurie in the corner, raising the knife. ANGLE ON LAURIE Holding the hanger with both hands she thrusts it forward with all her might. ANGLE ON SHAPE The wire hanger flashes into the shape's right eye. He leaps back in pain, dropping the butcher knife, grabbing his eye with both hands. ANGLE ON LAURIE She grasps the butcher knife with both hands and jabs it upward. ANGLE ON SHAPE The butcher knife plunges into the shape's mid - section, right down to the hilt. The shape stumbles backward out of the closet. ANGLE ON LAURIE She just sits there in the corner of the closet. There is a THUMP from the bedroom, then silence. Slowly Laurie crawls around and peeks out of the closet doors. LAURIE'S POV - SHAPE The shape lies on the floor by the bed, the butcher knife protruding from his stomach.", "INT. BEDROOM Laurie emerges from the closet and carefully crosses the bedroom, avoiding the shape's body. She goes to the bathroom door and knocks softly. LAURIE Tommy, it's me. Open the door. There is a silence, then the door opens. On the other side are Tommy and Lindsey, looking utterly terrified. Laurie bends down and shields them from the sight of the shape. LAURIE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Now, I want you to walk to the door, down the stairs and right out the front door. LINDSEY You're coming with us. LAURIE Listen to me. I want you to walk down the street to the MacKensie's and knock on their door. You tell them to call the police and send them over here. Do you understand? TOMMY Laurie, you come with us. LAURIE No! Do as I say. She stands up and carefully guides the children across the bedroom to the door and ushers them outside. She watches for a moment as they walk down the stairs, then slumps down against the door frame in an exhausted heap.", "EXT. DOYLE HOUSE - NIGHT Tommy and Lindsey run out of the house and down the walk to the sidewalk. They rush up the street. As they leave frame we see Loomis on the other side of the street. ANGLE ON LOOMIS He watches the children with a puzzled frown. LOOMIS' POV - TOMMY AND LINDSEY Shrieking with fear, Tommy and Lindsey run up the sidewalk. ANGLE ON LOOMIS He stares at them for a moment, then moves for the Doyle house.", "INT. DOYLE HOUSE - ANGLE THROUGH BEDROOM DOOR - NIGHT We see through the bedroom door. In f.g. sits Laurie, slumped against the door frame, staring out at nothing, tears streaming down her face. In the b.g. lies the shape. Slowly Laurie begins to pull herself together once again. She gets up to her knees and begins to pull herself up to her feet. Her back is to the shape. As she starts to stand THE SHAPE SITS UP, the head turning to Laurie. CLOSE SHOT - LAURIE Laurie rises into frame, holding herself erect by grasping the door frame. BEHIND HER THE SHAPE RISES UP INTO FRAME, quickly, silently. Laurie just hangs there on the doorframe. An exhausted, ironic smile comes over her face. LAURIE Well, kiddo. Some Halloween. Slowly the shape moves for her, his hands outstretched. Just as he is about to grab her, Laurie manages to step out the door. ANGLE IN HALL Unaware he is behind her, Laurie limps toward the stairs. Suddenly the shape jumps out of the bedroom and grabs her, hands around her neck. Laurie SCREAMS. She twists and squirms and claws at him, her fingers ripping at his mask. She pulls it off over his face, wriggles out of his grip and turns around. CLOSE SHOT - MICHAEL The shape, Michael, stares at her with his one eye. He has a dank, white face with blond hair. There is something completely unhuman about his features, the open mouth, the dark staring eye. ANGLE IN HALL Michael lunges at her again. Suddenly there is a THUNDERING EXPLOSION and Michael is blown off his feet. Laurie falls back against the wall. ANGLE ON LOOMIS Standing at the top of the stairs is Loomis, gun in his hand. He moves forward down the hall. ANGLE IN HALL Michael slowly gets up to his feet, still refusing to die. Loomis stops and takes aim. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Michael is hit three times, each bullet throwing him backward further down the hall until he hits the window at the end and SMASHES through it.", "EXT. DOYLE HOUSE - UP ANGLE Michael falls from the second story right down into CAMERA with a CRASH! ANGLE IN HALL Loomis rushes to Laurie and bends down beside her. For a moment she just cries in his arms, sobbing hysterically. Then she looks up at him with a glazed, wild expression. LAURIE It WAS the bogyman. Loomis looks down at her, then up at the shattered window at the end of the hall. LOOMIS As a matter of fact it was. He walks slowly down to the window and peers out. LOOMIS' POV - BACK YARD He looks down at the spot where Michael shoud be, but there is nothing there, just a TRAMPLED PATCH IN THE GRASS. ANGLE ON LOOMIS He stares down with growing fear, then looks out from the house. LOOMIS' POV The back yard, the neighboring yards, the street, all are empty, quiet, dark. There is only the SOUND of the wind swelling in the trees. Michael is gone. FADE TO BLACK. ROLL END TITLES. THE END"], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "In 1963, on Halloween night in Haddonfield, Illinois, six year-old Michael Myers inexplicably stabs his older sister Judith to death with a kitchen knife in their home, and is incarcerated at Smith's Grove sanitarium. Fifteen years later, Michael's psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis and his colleague Marion Chambers arrive at the sanitarium to escort Michael to court. Michael escapes by stealing their car and returns to Haddonfield, killing a mechanic for his overalls, as well as stealing a white mask and knives from a local hardware store. On Halloween, when high school student Laurie Strode drops off a key at his former home so her father can sell it, Michael stalks her throughout the day which she notices, but her friends Annie Brackett and Lynda Van der Klok dismiss her concerns. Loomis arrives in Haddonfield in search of Michael, and finds Judith's tombstone missing from the local cemetery. He meets with Annie's father, Sheriff Leigh Brackett, and they both investigate Michael's house, where Loomis tells Sheriff Brackett of the danger Michael poses. Sheriff Brackett, while doubtful of Michael's danger, patrols the streets, while Loomis waits at the house, expecting Michael to return. Later that night, Laurie babysits Tommy Doyle, while Annie babysits Lindsey Wallace just across the street, unaware that Michael has followed them. When Annie's boyfriend, Paul, calls her to come and pick him up, she takes Lindsey over to the Doyle house to spend the night with Laurie and Tommy. Before Annie can leave in her car, Michael, who hid in the back seat, strangles her and slits her throat. Soon after, Lynda and her boyfriend, Bob Simms, arrive at the Wallace house. After having sex, Bob goes downstairs to get a beer for Lynda, where Michael stabs him. Michael then poses as Bob in a ghost costume and confronts Lynda, who teases him to no effect. Annoyed, Lynda calls Laurie, but Michael strangles her with the telephone cord just as Laurie picks up. Meanwhile, Loomis discovers the stolen car and begins searching the streets. Suspicious, Laurie goes over to the Wallace house, and finds the bodies of Annie, Bob, and Lynda, as well as Judith's headstone. She cowers in a hallway, where Michael suddenly appears and attacks her. Barely escaping, Laurie flees back to the Doyle house; Michael gets in, but she manages to fend him off long enough for Tommy and Lindsey to escape. Loomis sees the two children fleeing the house and goes to investigate, finding Michael and Laurie fighting upstairs. Loomis shoots Michael six times, once in the face, knocking him off the balcony; when Loomis goes to check, he finds Michael's body missing. Unsurprised, Loomis stares off into the night, while Laurie begins sobbing in terror.", "name": "Halloween_(1978_film)"}
{"scenes": ["FADE IN: From an absolutely glistening WHITE - an image which first appears to be a brilliantly shining glass globe, and then gradually becomes more of a piece of solid matter, less of a mystery. It's the", "EXT. WHITE BUNGALOW (OR HOUSE) \u00ad DAY FILLING THE FRAME like a picture postcard. Modest, old - fashioned, spotless - a vision of small town normalcy and virtue. This is the home of MARGARET WHITE and her daughter CARRIE. It seems to have been scrubbed from roof to porch ; it is white. Even the lawn seems to have been washed and bleached. Antiseptic. We hear a woman's voice : MARGARET. -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Carrie! Carrie The voice is distant but insistent. It is heard, in perspective, through the following prologue, which initially involves : STELLA HORAN - DAY An all - American sunbathing beauty of eighteen, getting the tan of her life with only a skimpy white bikini running interference between her skin and the sun. The CAMERA SLOWLY PANS OVER the expanse of her body - luxuriant, taking it in inch for inch as she dreamily rubs in suntan lotion and licks her lips. The MUSIC is coming from a transistor radio by her side ; she's on a beach blanket in the Horan back yard. DOWNWARDS ANGLE - STELLA As she senses someone standing over her, someone staring at her body through the half - grown hedge which separates the Horan back yard from the White house next door. VOICE. -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What are those? STELLA'S POV - CARRIE WHITE A terribly appealing little girl, a child of indeterminable age. Pink cheeks, a halo of blonde - white hair which will darken in time. What sets her apart from other children, however, are a pair of bright button brown eyes ; and it's these eyes that we notice as she peers at Stella through the hedge. STELLA Hiya, Carrie. Gee you gave me a fright. -LRB- turning down the radio. -RRB- How long have you been there? CARRIE. -LRB- not smiling ; pointing with her finger. -RRB- What are those? Stella looks where Carrie is pointing ; the top of her bikini has slipped, just barely revealing her breasts - white against the golden tan. Stella adjusts her suit - not out of any particular modesty of her own but as a reflex at being stared at so strangely. STELLA Those are my breasts, honey. CARRIE. -LRB- a beat ; then solemnly. -RRB- I wish I had some. STELLA You will. ` Course you'll have to wait a couple of years, but - CARRIE. -LRB- a fact. -RRB- No I wo n't. STELLA Why, sure you will. CARRIE. -LRB- emphatic. -RRB- No, I wo n't. -LRB- glancing behind her. -RRB- Momma says no. Momma says good girls do n't. STELLA. -LRB- at something of a loss. -RRB- Well, I'm a good girl. And besides, does n't your mother have breasts? CARRIE Glances anxiously at the mention of her mother at the White house next door. She swallows her words so that all Stella and we hear is : CARRIE. dirtypillows. STELLA What? CARRIE Momma calls them dirtypillows. Says she's got them ` cuz she was bad when she made me. STELLA Incredulous. But she senses that Carrie is both perfectly serious and quite worried, and she too glances warily over at the White house just beyond the half - grown hedge. She kneels next to Carrie and tries to laugh it off. STELLA Now, honey, that's just silly. Listen - you must be real hot in that long dress. What do you say we go inside and get us some lemonade, would you like that? CARRIE Clearly torn - tempted but in the clutch of some weird terror - as if she expected the earth to open and swallow her up. She shakes her head. STELLA C'mon. -LRB- offering her hand. -RRB- It'll be our secret. Carrie - now really scared - shakes her head and disappears farther into the hedge. CARRIE I ca n't! STELLA Sure you can. I make it nice and sweet, and - And just at that moment, a figure appears in the second - story window in the White house. Although Stella and we really ca n't distinctly see through the sun's glare, it's unmistakably MARGARET WHITE. The moment this big woman sees her daughter with Stella, she lets out a bloodcurdling scream : MARGARET CAARRIEETTAAA! CARRIE, STELLA Both frozen by this terrible sound STELLA'S POV - CLOSER ON CARRIE As she sucks in her breath, quivering with fright, looking as if she might faints. She looks quickly to Stella, then back at the White house, then back to Stella. For the merest flash, she seems to smile - or is she about to cry? And then, she's gone - running around the hedge and then up the porch stairs and into the White house as fast her legs can carry her. STELLA Stands there, riveted. Not knowing what's happened, what to do. It's utterly silent for a moment. And then, an incredible CACOPHONY of strange sounds starts coming from the White house - an unearthly babble as Margaret White screams, rants, and screeches ; as Carrie sobs that she's sorry, that she forgot. STELLA Mother! -LRB- louder. -RRB- Mother! THE HORAN HOUSE As MRS. HORAN - in an old housedress with the hem falling down in the back - rushes out to answer to her daughter's call. MRS. HORAN What in the name of God? What's the matter? STELLA. -LRB- frantic. -RRB- I do n't know. Carrie was just talking to me, and Mrs. White started screaming and. THE WHITE HOUSE The sun glistening brilliantly on it as in the opening shot. Again, it should appear like a huge glass globe over which we counterpoint one mother/daughter dialogue with the less distinct babble of another : MARGARET. -LRB- v.o. -RRB- I told you to stay away from there, I told you. CARRIE. -LRB- v.o. -RRB- I'm sorry, Momma. MARGARET. -LRB- v.o. -RRB- . to stay away from that girl, that whore. CARRIE. -LRB- v.o. -RRB- Please, Momma! MARGARET. -LRB- v.o. -RRB- . of Babylon! Which continues over : TWO SHOT - STELLA AND MRS. HORAN Their eyes riveted on the house - trying, squinting to see through the sun's terrible glare. STELLA Do n't you yell at her like that! Stop that! MRS. HORAN That poor sweet child. STELLA Mother, we've got to do something! MRS. HORAN What? STELLA Call the police? Mother, call the police! MRS. HORAN. -LRB- not about to interfere ; hopeless. -RRB- The child. At this point, the hysteric babble reaches its crescendo ; we should be able to pick out phrases in this cacophony as Margaret rants at Carrie to go into her closet and pray for forgiveness ; as Carrie's frightened little voice proclaims that she forgot, that she's sorry. And then suddenly the screaming stops and it's quiet - dead quiet. THE WHITE HOUSE As it becomes more distinct, visible. There's a low WHISTLING sound, and then what appears to be a stone the size of a small pebble lands on the roof. Another, slightly larger one appears a second or two later. And then another, and another, and. TIGHTER TWO SHOT - STELLA AND MRS. HORAN squinting, blinking at the pebbles which are coming down like marbles. THE WHITE HOUSE as it's pelted with what are now even larger stones - WHISTLING, SCREAMING in the air like miniature bombs. Stones from a perfectly blue summer day. Stones ranging in size from marbles to handballs. One of them hits a downspout, knocking it onto the lawn. CRASHING, CRACKING SOUNDS as these pieces of granite tear into the stucco roofing, leaving holes. The effect is that of a drum being bombarded. TWO SHOT - MRS. HORAN AND STELLA Frozen to the spot : Mrs. Horan with her hands over her ears, her screams blending with the SOUND of larger and larger stones as they pelt the house and we hear Margaret throughout screaming : MARGARET'S VOICE Stop that! Stop that! Stella is clutching Mrs. Horan like a child terrified by the freakiest of summer storms - a healthy young woman as her figure in the bikini testifies, but a child nonetheless, this nightmarish moment. THE HOUSE As still larger stones hail from the sky. And then just as suddenly and inexplicably as they started, they stop. TWO SHOT - THE WOMEN Mrs. Horan with her hands still over her ears, her daughter standing next to her, transfixed on the lawn. Once again, it's quiet. THE WHITE HOUSE As one final stone - this one the size of a mere pebble - falls from the roof and plops onto the lawn. The image grows lighter and lighter. All the color seems to bleach out, turning the screen once again into an incredible, silently blazing white. MAIN TITLES.", "EXT. THE WHITE HOUSE \u00ad MORNING Now some years later - and no longer glistening so whitely or mysteriously. We see the front of the house as the door flies open. Carrie, now sixteen or seventeen, appears in the doorway, carrying school books. As she comes out on the porch, the screen door bangs behind her. She is wearing a shapeless, drab dress - much too long, not so much out of style as utterly without style. What remains in this adolescent girl that links her with the pretty child we glimpsed in the prologue are those remarkable eyes. As she comes down the porch stairs, we hear : MARGARET'S VOICE Carrie! Carrie stops, turns to reply into the house. CARRIE Yes, Momma. MARGARET'S VOICE You come straight home from school. A moment of hesitation on Carrie's part, a very slight hint of rebellion, but : CARRIE. -LRB- sweetly. -RRB- I always do, Momma. Then she turns, walks to the street, gathering pace, quickening.", "EXT WHITE HOUSE \u00ad ANOTHER ANGLE As Carrie walks down the path from the porch and turns at the sidewalk, in the course of which she passes by where the Horans used to live. Only the Horans no longer live here. No one does. It's a vacant lot with a FOR SALE sign out front, with overgrown weeds. From the looks of them, the house vanished a long time ago.", "EXT. TOWN STREETS \u00ad DAY Carrie is walking to school, the sun shining brightly above her. The farther she gets from her house, the livelier she seems. We sense that underneath this drab dress is a girl pushing out, an altogether different creature than her appearance would suggest. And to help persuade us about this possibility, there is MUSIC. BOBBY ERBETER About five, BOBBY bikes on the other side of one of the streets, keeping pace with Carrie on a twenty - inch Schwinn with training wheels. BOBBY Hey, fart - face! Hey, old praying Carrie! Praying, Carrie, praying Carrie, praying Carrie! Carrie favors him with a sweet tolerant smile and goes on toward the high school, in the background : Bobby, frustrated, stops astride is bike and screams after her. Bobby's face - THE FACE OF AN ADOLESCENT Or as he is known in school, THE BEAK. He is pathetically thin, myopic, weak - chinned, beak - nosed, almost a caricature of an adolescent reject. Over his face, we HEAR : FROMM'S VOICE What are you going to leave for us, You people in your big cars Spewing pollution into the air? We PAN the faces of adolescents, listening with various degrees of attention, indifference, or reluctance, to : FROMM'S VOICE You people with heavy feet Trampling down the wilderness? You people who peer into the back seats of our cars Hours after you come out of the back doors of your motels. Soon all we will have is each other, and that could be enough.", "INT. CLASSROOM \u00ad FROMM \u00ad DAY Or, as he is known to his pupils, BIG BELLY FROMM, at his desk in front of the class, reading from an assignment paper. FROMM. If you will let us have room enough And air enough And peace enough To love each other As you never could He sets down the paper, and looks at the class. FROMM'S POV - THE CLASS We will see, among others, Carrie. We also see TOMMY ROSS - a mid - seventies version of the boy next door. Good - looking, clean - cut, intelligent, athletic. FROMM He is nodding his head slowly, affecting a kind of puzzlement. FROMM I must say - I must confess - this poem displays an extraordinary talent. -LRB- the knife. -RRB- . a talent extraordinary for you, Tommy Ross. THE CLASS All eyes are on Tommy, who does n't seem very abashed. In fact, he turns, clasps his hands over his head, to the delight of his classmates. But you do n't get the feeling he is a goof - off ; he is a kid aware of his own popularity and comfortable with it. FROMM FROMM Tommy, this is slightly different from running for a touchdown. Any criticisms? THE CLASS The usual hesitation. Then Carrie's hand shoots up. FROMM He appears surprised to see Carrie, ordinarily shy, volunteering. FROMM Carrie White? THE CLASS - FEATURING CARRIE Her volunteering has surprised her as well. But she's stuck with it. The eyes of the class are on her. And she has to say something. So she does. CARRIE It's. beautiful. FROMM He leaves his desk, moving into the class area, seeming to pounce on Carrie. FROMM ` Beautiful.' ` Bee - t - ti - ful!' ` Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain.' Is that the beautiful you mean? The class is snickering. Carrie throws a despairing glance toward Tommy. Tommy looks at her, and away, embarrassed. Carrie looks down at her desk, almost burying herself. FROMM That is n't exactly a criticism, Miss White. -LRB- looking around. -RRB- Anyone else? -LRB- no one else. -RRB- Well, at least we've finally gotten Carrie White to say something! Tommy looks toward Carrie, with something suggesting compassion. Then he looks toward Fromm, and he is muttering something. Or to be specific : TOMMY. -LRB- muttering. -RRB- You suck. FROMM Tommy? You said something? TOMMY Yes, sir. -LRB- moment ; `` popular'' grin. -RRB- I said. ` shucks.' But everyone in the class knows. OMITTED", "EXT. VOLLEYBALL COURT \u00ad DAY Two teams of girls, among them NORMA WATSON, HELEN SHYRES, CORA and RHONDA WILSON. -LRB- sisters although not identical twins -RRB-, CHRIS HARGENSEN and SUE SNELL. Supervising the game is MISS COLLINS wearing a warm - up suit and holding a whistle awaiting the next point. Among the girls is CARRIE anxiously watching for the ball to come her way. It has apparently been a close game, the competition building steadily. When the shot begins, Miss Collins has just blown her whistle to announce : COLLINS Okay, now. This is game point. This is the final point of the game and Rhonda Wilson is serving. -LRB- she is on the opposite team as Carrie -RRB-. RHONDA. -LRB- giving the score. -RRB- Twenty - Twenty. The ball is successfully served and remains in play for some time as the girls skillfully volley it back and forth over the net. And then, just when the tension is its greatest, the ball comes over the net toward Carrie. It's evident that the outcome of the game depends upon her success. The little boy who decided to put his finger in the dyke had it easier. The other girls are. -LRB- AD LIB -RRB- shouting cautions and admonitions to Carrie. Carrie almost trembles with tension, about to bat the ball over the net, afraid to hit it. Carrie whacks the ball. She shacks it hard. And on a line - straight into the net. Another chorus of groans, with remarks like `` Would n't you know!'' and `` Dumbo!'' reinforcing them. Chris storms back toward Carrie. CHRIS. -LRB- low, harsh. -RRB- You eat shit! Miss Collins blows her WHISTLE.", "INT SHOWER ROOM \u00ad DAY Steam partially obscures the girls as they whoop and holler and cavort under individual showers. They banter little barbed pleasantries, bits of sexual information, family plaints, talk of college - all of which we hear from separate stalls. One by one the showers are turned off, the girls stepping out, removing pastel bathing caps, toweling, spraying deodorant, bras hooked, underpants stepped into. Steam hangs in the air. So do words, running into one another, tumbling, drifting. `. Tommy says he hated it on me. My sister's husband picks his nose. So does your sister. too cheap to spend a penny. we'll go after school. I'm going with Billy, we'll meet you. Friday night.' We PICK UP Miss Collins as she steps among the girls, spies Carrie still standing under the shower. She claps her hands together once, smartly. COLLINS What are you waiting for, Carrie? -LRB- as Carrie looks at her. -RRB- Bell in five minutes. CARRIE Oh uh? As Collins departs, and the other girls start to move toward their lockers, Carrie is left alone in her shower stall. She is soaping herself. In a virtual reverie, she begins at her shoulders, moving her hands over her breasts in small, regular, virtually erotic circles. Her hand goes out of frame, below her stomach. Slowly, it emerges back into frame - full of blood. And just as she and we see this, so do the girls. CHRIS Peer - iod! Peer - iod! Carrie stares at her dumbly. The other girls are quick to take up the chant. Chris leads them. GIRLS Peer - iod! Peer - iod! Peer - iod! Peer - iod! One voice chimes in : NORMA Plug it up! Others take up this new chant. For a while, like counterpoint, he chants overlap ; then the new chant emerges solely : GIRLS Plug it up! Plug it up! Plug it up! Plug it up! Dime - sized drops are striking the tile floor at Carrie's feet. SUE For God's sakes, Carrie, you got your period. -LRB- as Carrie turns toward her. -RRB- Clean yourself up! Carrie seems bewildered. SUE. -LRB- furiously. -RRB- You're bleeding! You dumb pudding, you're bleeding! Carrie looks down and wails, the sound is very loud. A tampon strikes Carrie's chest, plops to her feet. Carrie just stares at it. NORMA She thinks they're for lipstick. Behind her, another girl pretends to throw up. Shrieks of laughter. Another tampon strikes Carrie. Another. The girls are bombarding her with tampons and sanitary napkins, some from purses, some from the broken dispenser on the wall. As they bombard Carrie : GIRLS Plug it up, plug it up, plug it up, plug it up. We isolate Sue Snell at the moment she joins in the chant, and watch her beginning to be caught up in what can only be described as a fury. Carrie howls and begins to back away, howling louder and louder. The door is flung open by Collins. COLLINS What is this? And she takes it in. She jerks the whistle to her mouth, blows and blows! The sound is louder than a shriek. -LRB- which it resembles -RRB- or a howl. -LRB- which it does n't -RRB-. And there is sudden silence. COLLINS. -LRB- to girls. -RRB- Get out! Get out! The girls retreat, Sue last. SUE It must be her first. COLLINS Out! As the girls slip out, Collins turns to Carrie, who has backed up and is whimpering. Collins slaps her face, not too hard at first, then with a flash of anger. CARRIE M. M. Miss Collins. COLLINS Stand up. Take care of yourself. CARRIE I'm bleeding. One blind searching hand comes up, clutches Collins' white shorts, leaving a bloody handprint. COLLINS Damn you! She hurls Carrie part way across the room toward the broken sanitary napkin dispenser. COLLINS Get over there! And take one! CARRIE I do n't know. COLLINS Never mind the coin slot. It's broken. CARRIE It hurts. my stomach. COLLINS. -LRB- grabbing her. -RRB- Do it! Now. CARRIE I ca n't. I do n't know how! There's a bright flash as a light BULB POIPS, fizzling out. Collins is surprised. COLLINS What? And she looks at Carrie. Her anger seems to seep away. Her voice softens. COLLINS Carrie, do n't you know? -LRB- shakes her head, realizing and wondering. -RRB- You do n't. -LRB- reaches for Carrie. -RRB- I'll show you. 38A INSERT INT WAITING ROOM - DAY CARRIE AND MISS FINCH", "INT. PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE \u00ad DAY HENRY MORTON, the principal, a decent but somewhat plodding man in his mid - forties, is tapping out his pipe as he talks to Collins. MORTON Is n't she a bit old for her. Well, he ca n't quite say it. COLLINS Her first period? MORTON Ah, yes. COLLINS Morty, until a half hour ago, I do n't think she knew there was such a thing. He hesitates a moment - noticing Carrie's bloody handprint on Collins' gym shorts. MORTON It's hard to believe in this day and age a girl in high school would n't know. something. the facts. COLLINS Well, knowing that mother of hers. MORTON. -LRB- cutting her off. -RRB- Miss Collins, if you'd been with us longer, you'd understand we can not interfere with people's beliefs. As for the girls - COLLINS Carrie's always been their scapegoat. So they. MORTON You'll have to do something. COLLINS I will. But I understood how those girls felt. The whole thing just made me want to take the girl and shake her. MORTON Ummm. COLLINS It's just her period, for God's sake. MORTON. -LRB- cutting in ; uncomfortable. -RRB- We'll send her home. -LRB- to intercom. -RRB- Miss Finch, send in Cassie Wright. COLLINS It's Carrie White. MORTON. -LRB- fiddling with paper clips on his desk. -RRB- Oh. The door is opened. Carrie stands in the doorway. MORTON Come in, Cassie. Collins starts to correct him, but : MORTON Close the door. No, wait. -LRB- up. -RRB- Miss Finch, bring in a dismissal slip. -LRB- to Carrie. -RRB- I think you might take the rest of the day and go home and, uh, well. take care of yourself, Cassie. CARRIE. -LRB- hardly a murmur. -RRB- Carrie. MORTON We're all sorry about this incident. MISS FINCH, elderly, spinsterish, goggles in with the yellow dismissal slip, brings it to Morton who initials it. MORTON. -LRB- to Finch, as she goes. -RRB- Thank you. -LRB- to Carrie. -RRB- Would you like to go to the infirmary? Carrie is shaking her head. MORTON. lie down for a while. COLLINS I think Carrie can go home. MORTON Would you like a ride? Again, Carrie is shaking her head. MORTON We could call you a cab. COLLINS I'm sure she can walk home. And Carrie, you're excused from gym for a week. Take study hall instead. Morton picks up the dismissal slip, hands it to Carrie. MORTON We are sorry about this, Cassie. CARRIE. -LRB- sudden fury. -RRB- That's not my name! Two things happen simultaneously ; Morton recoils slightly and the ashtray quakes a little and then tumbles from the desk. Then Carrie goes out. Morton comes around the desk, stoops to pick up the ashtray, stares at it curiously for a moment, then looks at Collins. COLLINS. -LRB- slowly. -RRB- That reminds me. A light blew out while I was trying to calm her down. MORTON I'll send a janitor to fix it. Okay, that's reality. He puts the ashtray back on the desk decisively, dismissing any `` peculiar'' thought he may have had. A RED SCREEN PULL BACK QUICKLY to show red circles of a traffic light. Carrie is standing at an intersection, waiting for the light to change. CARRIE'S POV - CHAMBERLAIN STREET Cars are flashing by ; they seem to leave blurs of light. FLASH CUT Carrie's tormentors. FLASH CUT Carrie. LONGER CUT The girls throwing tampons and sanitary napkins. LONGER CUT Carrie, hatred showing. THE GIRLS - FEATURING CHRIS Suddenly their motions are ARRESTED. Their images polarize ; the girls disappear, except for Chris. Her image REMAINS. CARRIE Concentrating her hatred CHRIS' IMAGE It begins to shatter. And then explodes. THE LIGHT Turns green CARRIE She walks across the street.", "EXT. ANOTHER STREET \u00ad DAY A quiet residential street in a lower middle - class neighborhood. Carrie is walking down the street, slowly. ANOTHER ANGLE There comes Bobby Erbeter again on his bike, paralleling Carrie. -LRB- as before -RRB- BOBBY Hey, fart - face! Hey, old praying Carrie! CARRIE She keeps on walking, ignoring him. BOBBY Keeping pace with Carrie, shouting across the street. BOBBY Fart - face, fart - face, fart - face. CARRIE Turning toward him, her face contorted with rage. CARRIE'S POV - ANGLE ON BOBBY The bike wobbles on its training wheels. And the bike topples over, on top of Bobby, who screams OMITTED CARRIE CLOSE now, featuring her eyes most prominently. Her face is uncertain, confused. What just happened? She thought. -LRB- that's right, thought -RRB- something and it happened. And we HEAR another SCREAM, more of an angry shriek, and then the strange sight and SOUND of : FLASH CUT As the stones pelt the White bungalow years ago. CLOSER The stones pelting the roof. CARRIE She is staring across the street at : BOBBY Screaming with anger. -LRB- more than anything else -RRB- as he disentangles himself. He stands up, looks toward Carrie across the street, shakes his little fist. BOBBY. -LRB- defiantly. -RRB- Fart - face! CARRIE The boy's defiant chant can be heard as Carrie blinks, wondering. Then she opens her eyes, wider. She looks at the boy. She frowns for a moment. FLASH CUTS The stones. The light bulb exploding. The ashtray falling. We hear : BOBBY'S VOICE Fart - face, fart - face, fart - face! CARRIE A faint smile, partly of wonder, partly of a strange kind of joy. She knows.", "INT. SNELL KITCHEN \u00ad ELEANOR SNELL \u00ad DAY Sue's mother. Out of a margarine commercial - a packaged, nice lady, neat, trim - a good mother, good wife. She is preparing dinner ; in her line of sight, a television game show glitters. DOORBELL Eleanor frowns momentarily, leaves the kitchen.", "INT. SNELL HOUSE \u00ad TRACKING ELEANOR \u00ad DAY Through the middleclass, rather tasteful home, to the front door. Eleanor opens the door. ANGLE ON MARGARET WHITE Standing in the doorway. She is a large lady dressed in black, carrying a worn black leather sack, which we will discover is bulging with religious tracts. ELEANOR WITH MARGARET Margaret White is not a welcome visitor, but Eleanor Snell is a polite lady. ELEANOR Oh, Mrs. White. MARGARET How have you been, Mrs. Snell? ELEANOR Fine. MARGARET And the doctor? ELEANOR Fine. MARGARET And your daughter? ELEANOR Sue is. fine. An impasse. Finally Eleanor feels constrained to open the door wider, put a smile on her face, and : ELEANOR Wo n't you come in, Mrs. White? MARGARET Thank you. She steps inside and Eleanor closes the door behind her, saying : ELEANOR I think Carrie is in some of Sue's classes. MARGARET Yes. ELEANOR Perhaps some time Carrie might visit. MARGARET I'm here on the Lord's work. ELEANOR Yes, of course. Margaret is fishing tracts out of her bag. MARGARET These will interest the doctor and you. Eleanor looks at the tracts with pretended interest ELEANOR I'm sure they will. MARGARET And your daughter. ELEANOR. -LRB- a smile. -RRB- Well, I do n't think Sue would be - MARGARET. -LRB- cutting in. -RRB- Children are godless these days, Mrs. Snell. Margaret's voice is almost toneless - now and throughout. ELEANOR My Sue is a good girl. MARGARET These are Godless times. ELEANOR I'll drink to that! Humor - and she regrets it immediately. ELEANOR. -LRB- continuing ; quietly. -RRB- We'll all read. these. The telephone RINGS. ELEANOR Excuse me. -LRB- retreating. -RRB- Please sit down. Margaret does n't sit, and Eleanor flees into the kitchen.", "INT KITCHEN \u00ad DAY As Eleanor reaches the phone. ELEANOR Hello. Betty, can I call you back? Margaret White is here. Right. right. Let me get rid of her and I'll call you back. She hangs up, opens a drawer, takes out some hidden household money -LRB- a couple of bills -RRB-, and drags herself back into the living room.", "INT. SNELL LIVING ROOM \u00ad DAY Margaret is still where we left her. ELEANOR We'd like to contribute ten. -LRB- a look at Margaret. -RRB- . twenty dollars. MARGARET Thank you. I'll give you a receipt. Eleanor shifts from foot to foot while Margaret writes out the receipt, gives it to her. ELEANOR Thank you, Mrs. White. MARGARET I'll pray you find Jesus before it's too late. What can one say? Eleanor stands there, completely exasperated but retaining her politeness like a steel, middle - class glove. She accompanies Margaret to the door and the latter leaves. Eleanor is about to close the door, stops, seeing :", "EXT SNELL HOUSE \u00ad FROM DOOR \u00ad DAY Sue is coming toward the door. She passes Margaret with a quick. -LRB- inaudible -RRB- greeting and hurries to the front door where her mother is waiting. SUE That's Carrie White's mother. As Eleanor nods and closes the door. SUE. -LRB- apprehensively. -RRB- What did she want? ELEANOR. -LRB- indicating tracts. -RRB- She gave us these -. -LRB- conspiratorial sigh. -RRB- . and I gave her a donation. Sue's face betrays relief, but Eleanor notices nothing. ELEANOR. -LRB- brightly. -RRB- Well, how was school today? SUE Today? Like always. HOLD ON Sue, staring at the tracts on the table -LRB- or perhaps out the window as Margaret leaves -RRB-. A long beat, then : CARRIE Who is sitting in an old Boston rocker by the window in her room which overlooks the street. She is wearing just a slip or perhaps an old terrycloth robe - her plain dress and school books on the narrow bed. She is leafing through a teenage magazine on the order of `` Seventeen'' - absorbed in the mundane fantasies of models in their pantyhose and underwear ; long gowns and mystery men. An escape of sorts. And we reveal Carrie's bedroom in the low attic of the White house : tiny, plain, severe. It's decorated with just the fewest embellishments -LRB- i.e. high school pennant -RRB- that Margaret would allow in exchange for her own prices - a crucifix above Carrie's bed, a small bureau with an equally small mirror, a Bible and plastic glow - in - the - dark Madonna and child, and various religious prints and plaster quotations on the wall. ANGLE - FEATURING CARRIE Caught up in the magazine, in the most normal of female fantasies courtesy of the slick Madison Avenue mind. And then, with that extra sense of perception apparatus that fears it's about to be caught doing something it should n't, Carrie glances out the window and down to see :", "EXT THE STREET \u00ad MARGARET As this formidable vision of black strides down the walk. Another woman like this would be coming home from a funeral ; Margaret actually seems to like black. CLOSEUP - CARRIE Her heart pounding as we glimpse that look of terror we witnessed earlier - a scared little girl now encased in the body of an adolescent. As she hears Margaret close the front door and call out her name as she hangs up her coat, Carrie hastily stashes the magazine under the mattress. Then she begins to dress as we hear the SOUNDS of Margaret in the kitchen, starting her daily afternoon ritual of making tea. And then the telephone RINGS - only to stop as Margaret picks up the receiver. It's just as Carrie dreaded - it's the school - and she stands by the door, trying desperately to overhear Margaret's muffled voice. And then Margaret hangs up, and in a deadly tone of voice - not yelling but enunciation with a terrible clarity - she calls up the stairs : MARGARET'S VOICE I know you're listening. Come downstairs. And defeated, Carrie braces herself and goes down the : HALLWAY, STAIRS, LIVING ROOM, FOLLOWING CARRIE As she hurries down toward her mother and into :", "INT WHITE KITCHEN \u00ad DAY Where Margaret is standing by the stove, her back to her in stony silence. CARRIE Hello, Momma. No response. The teakettle is just beginning to boil over the gas burner, and in this altogether strange little kitchen - a veritable arsenal of lace - tatted religious art - Margaret is a rock. Carrie sits down at the kitchen table, bursting with shame and the need to talk. Yet she recognizes her mother's wall of silence, knowing she wo n't speak until she's ready. They've been through this dance a thousand times. Finally, Carrie breaks. CARRIE Who was it that called? -LRB- no response. -RRB- What did they say? MARGARET Point one and some grim satisfaction. Yet she does n't respond immediately. Then she turns from the stove. MARGARET. -LRB- softly. -RRB- You're a woman now. CARRIE Oh Momma, why did n't you tell me something? I was so scared. Margaret walks over to the table and sits next to Carrie. She puts on rimless glasses, then opens the Bible and starts to read with one of those strange Kathryn Kuhlman looks on her face : MARGARET ` And God made Eve from the rib of Adam. And Eve was weak and loosed the raven on the world, and the raven was called Sin - ` She pushes the Bible at Carrie, her finger on the place. MARGARET. and the raven was called sin. CARRIE Why did n't you tell me? Oh, Momma - MARGARET. -LRB- overriding. -RRB- . and the raven was called Sin! and the first sin was intercourse. CARRIE I was so scared! And the other girls, they made fun of me and threw things and - Margaret's hand flashes out, backhanding Carrie into the wall. It's a wallop of a slap, the sting of it bringing tears to her eyes. CARRIE Momma, please listen. It was n't my fault. Another backhanded blow knocks Carrie to the floor. CARRIE Momma! MARGARET And Eve was weak and. say it, woman! Kick. CARRIE Momma, please help me. MARGARET And Eve was weak and loosed the raven on the world. CARRIE They threw things. MARGARET. -LRB- overriding. -RRB- . and the raven was called Sin. Sin! and the first sin was intercourse. CARRIE Momma, please listen. A kick. MARGARET And the Lord visited Eve with a curse, and the curse was the Curse of Blood! The teakettle starts to WHISTLE. CARRIE You should have told me! Margaret clutches Carrie's wrist in a vise. MARGARET. -LRB- heavenward. -RRB- O Lord, help this sinning woman see the sin of her days and ways. Show her that if she had remained sinless - CARRIE No! MARGARET - the Curse of Blood would never have come on her. She may have been tempted by the Antichrist. She may have committed the Sin of Lustful Thoughts. The teakettle is WHISTLING louder - a high - pitched scream. CARRIE No, Momma. MARGARET Do n't you lie to me, Carietta, do n't you know by now I can see inside you? I can see your sin just as surely as God can. CARRIE Momma, let me go. Margaret flings open the door of the kitchen closet. MARGARET We will pray. We will pray, woman, we will pray to Jesus for our woman - weak, wicked, sinning souls. She switches on the light, and there is Jesus on the wall, rictus, crown of thorns, bathed in an ominous blue light. A vision of a wrathful God. Throughout the following, Carrie struggles desperately, but she's no match for her mother. MARGARET And the Lord visited Eve with a Curse, and the Curse was the Curse of Blood. And there was a Second Curse, and this was the Curse of Childbearing, and Eve brought forth Cain in sweat and blood! She propels Carrie into the closet, slams the door behind her. Margaret's voice continues, overlapping onto :", "INT. CLOSET \u00ad CARRIE \u00ad DAY Very much the little girl now as she sinks to the floor of the closet - crying, disheveled, beaten. The closet is just what every child ever dreaded about the night. JESUS Looking down at Carrie. CARRIE She looks away - and inwards. With her, we see : SPLATS OF BLOOD Falling on the shower floor. THE GIRLS - IN THE SHOWER ROOM Surrounding Carrie, jeering her, bombarding her. JESUS Impassive, impersonal, unconcerned - or so it seems. CHRIS - IN THE SHOWER ROOM In the forefront of the pack. CARRIE - IN THE SHOWER ROOM As the girls would see her, cowering, the bloody napkins pelting her. JESUS - CLOSER ANGLE The blood seems to be streaming down his face ; it moves. CARRIE - IN THE CLOSET Tears are streaming down her face. She whispers : CARRIE Please!", "EXT. THE HILL \u00ad NIGHT MOVING IN SLOWLY on Tommy Ross' 1963 Ford, which is parked in the shadows on The Hill -LRB- something of a ridge which overlooks the town and is dedicated to Eros by high school students and occasional graduates -RRB-. The MUSIC swells as we MOVE IN. And finally, we PEER into the car, where we see :", "INT. TOMMY'S FORD \u00ad NIGHT Sue and Tommy have finished making love in the back seat. They are both putting their clothes in order, silently, slowly. Then they climb into the front seat. Sue takes out a cigarette. Tommy lights it with the dashboard lighter. They say nothing as Sue smokes for a few moments. Then Tommy looks at her closely. TOMMY Hey. She turns away. TOMMY Hey, what's the matter? He puts his arm around her clumsily. SUE Nothing. TOMMY What did I do? SUE Nothing. It's not you. TOMMY Hey, everything's all right. I love you, honey. -LRB- silence. -RRB- Did I? SUE. -LRB- blurting. -RRB- It's Carrie. TOMMY Who? SUE Carrie. Carrie White. TOMMY Praying Carrie? SUE. -LRB- sharply. -RRB- Do n't call her that. TOMMY. -LRB- imitating Carrie. -RRB- It's. beautiful. -LRB- laughing. -RRB- That's what she said when I read that poem you wrote for me. SUE Tommy, please. TOMMY. -LRB- going on. -RRB- And Big Belly Fromm saying. -LRB- imitating. -RRB- That is n't exactly criticism, Miss White. -LRB- exploding. -RRB- Jesus! Sue has turned away from him. TOMMY Hey, honey, it was a beautiful poem. I wish I could have written it. -LRB- silence. -RRB- Honey? SUE Do n't call me that. TOMMY Do n't call her that. Do n't call me that. What the hell's the matter with you? She is crying, that's what. TOMMY Hey, are you crying? -LRB- yes, stupid. -RRB- Are you? He tries to turn her toward him. She struggles. Manfully, he forces her around. TOMMY Jesus, Sue, what is it? SUE. -LRB- trying to turn away. -RRB- I told you. TOMMY Told me what? SUE About Carrie. TOMMY That thing in the shower? -LRB- she's silent. -RRB- Hey, it was a joke, was n't it? I mean, everyone was doing it. SUE I'm not everyone. TOMMY You're special. SUE I was one of them. TOMMY So you were teasing Carrie White - SUE We were hurting her - TOMMY She's used to it. Jesus, you remember how she'd get down on her knees and say grace in the cafeteria. alone, for Christ's sake. And the way she dresses. Hey, Sue, she's asking for it. SUE. -LRB- vehemently. -RRB- How would you like to be Carrie White? TOMMY How would I like to be Carrie White? SUE How would you like to be Carrie White? How would you like to be Carrie White instead of being Tommy Ross. big man, big jock, popular. TOMMY What's the big deal about being popular? I mean, one day I'll wake up and find myself working at my dad's car lot and out Friday nights and Saturdays at Uncle Billy's or the Cavalier drinking beer and maybe married with a bunch of kids. -LRB- stops. -RRB- What's that got to do with Carrie White? Or anything? SUE I did something wrong and I feel bad about it. TOMMY I can understand that. Hey, back in seventh grade, there was this kid. SUE. -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- I've got to do something about it. TOMMY Like what? SUE I do n't know yet. Apologize. TOMMY Okay, you tell her you're sorry. SUE That's not enough. That's like something my mom would do. TOMMY What are you going to do? Kiss her, for God's sake? SUE God, I hate you sometimes! TOMMY What the hell do you want me to do? SUE I want you to help me. Or are you just interested in fucking me? TOMMY. -LRB- angrily. -RRB- Do n't say that! SUE Fucking me, fucking me. TOMMY Cut it out! SUE Then help me! Tommy moves back from Sue. He is looking at her, trying to figure her out. He wants to do something, he does n't want an argument, but. TOMMY Okay, what can I do? SUE I want you to think about Carrie White. TOMMY. -LRB- incredulously. -RRB- You want me to sit here and think about. Jesus! -LRB- moment. -RRB- Are you serious? -LRB- moment. -RRB- You're serious. -LRB- moment. -RRB- What's there to think about? SUE Think about it. TOMMY Jesus. He stares off through the windshield. He is really puzzled. He steals a look at Sue. He starts to put his arm around her ; she moves a little, subtly but clearly. Tommy stares off into space again. TOMMY I never thought about her. I mean, she was n't someone you had to think about. -LRB- beat. -RRB- She was always there - keeping to herself in that stupid dress - that weird mother. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You know what I mean? Sue glances toward him. Of course she knows. And he is beginning to understand. Tommy looks straight ahead again. He is starting to think. It's not all that easy. TOMMY. -LRB- almost under his breath. -RRB- Carrie White? It does come out as a question.", "INT. WHITE LIVING ROOM \u00ad NIGHT Margaret is at the sewing machine. She is either listening to a reasonable facsimile of Kathryn Kuhlman preaching on the radio, or instead, to an old Victrola which plays Tennessee Ernie Ford's `` Let the Lower Lights Be Burning.'' A Black Forest cuckoo clock, providing a sense of lapsed time. Suddenly the treadle on the sewing machine depresses itself. The needle begins to dip up and down ; the bobbin whirs and jerks. Margaret turns around to see : CARRIE She is standing in the entrance of the living room. Her demeanor seems more peaceful, calm, almost too calm. MARGARET A touch of fear in her eyes. But : MARGARET Go to bed. CARRIE She crosses over to her mother, kisses her lightly on the. -LRB- unmoving -RRB- head. CARRIE Good night, Momma. Carrie goes to the stairs. UP THE STAIRS With Carrie. UPPER HALLWAY Carrie goes into her room.", "INT. CARRIE'S ROOM \u00ad NIGHT Carrie turns on a light. She undresses slowly, wearily. And then she stops and looks at herself in the mirror. A close, tired inspection. Her eyes seem hollow, haunted. Carrie does n't like what she sees ; she does n't like herself. Flex. Slowly cracks appear in the mirror, spiderwebs. Flex. The mirror cracks wider. And flex : the mirror shatters, crashes to the dresser in pieces, loudly ; some of the pieces fall on the floor. MARGARET Carrie! Carrie? Carrie! A moment of utter panic - now what? HALLWAY STAIRS As Margaret strides up them, past the landing, and tries the knob on Carrie's door. It's locked. She rattles the knob. But to no avail. Then : MARGARET Carrie! Carrie, open this door! -LRB- a beat ; nothing. -RRB- Carrie! Another beat ; then : CARRIE'S VOICE. -LRB- sweetly. -RRB- It's open, Momma. Margaret tries the knob again, and it is, indeed, open.", "INT CARRIE'S ROOM Where Carrie is kneeling by her bed, now in her flannel nightgown, praying. MARGARET What was that noise? CARRIE Nothing, Momma. Margaret peers around the room ; she did hear a mirror break, no mistake about it. But there it is - whole again as her reflection in it testifies. Margaret walks over to it, rearranges the plastic glow - in - the - dark Madonna and child on the dresser. MARGARET Go to bed. She leaves the doorway and we return to Carrie, who smiles sweetly. And then : Flex. The door slams closed.", "INT. THE GYM \u00ad TRACKING SHOT \u00ad DAY Down the class of twenty - five or so girls, still in their street clothes, lined up against the gym wall under their class numbers as : COLLINS Walks in front of them with a clipboard taking roll. Collins. Shyres. SHYRES. -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Present COLLINS. Snell. THE GIRLS STILL TRACKING, FEATURING Sue SUE Here. COLLINS. -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Watson. WATSON Present. The CAMERA COMES to an empty space - without being told, we can tell it's Carrie's. COLLINS Hesitates, then moves right along. COLLINS. and the Wilsons. Who're identical twins. CORA Here. RHONDA. Miss Collins. COLLINS. -LRB- small smile ; then, closing her book. -RRB- Okay. Sit down. All the girls - except Chris - obey. COLLINS You too, Chris. And spit out that gum. CHRIS. -LRB- overly sweet. -RRB- Where'll I put it, Miss Collins? COLLINS You can choke on it for all I care. Now sit down. CHRIS Pausing for a second, then deciding it's better to go along without talking back. She sits down. THE GIRLS Shifting nervously, unused to Collins' absolute no - nonsense tone. COLLINS Taking a deep breath. COLLINS Okay. I just want you all to know that you did a shitty thing yesterday. A really shitty thing. HELEN SHYRES the freckled, slightly pudgy girl sitting next to Sue - giggles nervously. But no one joins her, and she clasps her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle it. COLLINS Glaring at Helen, silencing her. COLLINS Did any of you stop to think that Carrie White has feelings? Do any of you ever stop to think? No, I guess you've got your minds on your dates and the Prom. Chris, I imagine you can take your pick, who's the lucky guy? CHRIS. -LRB- mumbling. -RRB- Billy Nolan. COLLINS. -LRB- loudly. -RRB- Who? Speak up! I ca n't hear you. Chris tries to control her anger - is barely able to. CHRIS Billy Nolan Collins - eye - to - eye with Chris now, smiles. COLLINS Well, is n't he the lucky one. She walks down the line, stopping in front of Sue. COLLINS And what about you, Sue? Who's taking you? SUE Tommy Ross. COLLINS Right. -LRB- beat ; then. -RRB- Okay. Now my idea for this little trick you pulled was three days' suspension and refusal of your prom tickets. THE GIRLS As Collins' words sink in - groans of disappointment. SUE'S POV - COLLINS Almost seeming o single Sue out as she continues - at least that's the way it seems to Sue. COLLINS That would hit you where you live, now, would n't it? And you'd deserve it - I do n't think any of you have any idea of just how nasty what you did was. The office has decided that you're to have one week's detention. The girls sigh with relief. Chris has a particularly smug look. Collins takes in their reactions ; then she reels in the line : COLLINS But. There's one little catch. It's to be my detention. Right here in the gym. Fifty minutes every day. Get the picture? THE GIRLS As they realize just how they've been had - indeed, getting the picture. CHRIS Furious, defiant. CHRIS I wo n't come. COLLINS No less determined, but cool. COLLINS That's up to you, Chris. That's up to all of you. Punishment for skipping detention is three days' suspension and the loss of your prom tickets. Any other thoughts? THE GIRLS Sober, slightly frightened.", "INT. HALL OUTSIDE GYM \u00ad CARRIE \u00ad DAY She is standing in the hall, looking into the gym through the small glass window cut in the door.", "INT. GYM Collins has finished with the girls, she stands in front of them, the victor. COLLINS Right. Now change up. The girls start to turn.", "INT. HALL OUTSIDE GYM Carrie quickly pulls away from the door before she can be seen, hastens away.", "INT. GYM Collins watches the girls filing into the locker room, a small triumphant smile on her face.", "INT. HALL OUTSIDE GYM Carrie is now far down the hall, a small distant figure. Now she goes out of sight around a corner. The hall is empty and still ; HOLD, then :", "INT. THE LOCKER ROOM As the girls change silently into their green gym outfits - quiet, subdued, most of them resigned to their punishment. Chris, however, is about to blow up ; she tosses her skirt into her locker and slams the door shut. AN INDEX CARD - SCHOOL LIBRARY And then another, and another, and yet another flipping by us, one title following another as Carrie looms over the card catalog, searching. The title cards include POISON, POLITICS and POLTERGEISTS - on this latter card, it reads : `` A ghost supposed to be responsible for table rappings and other mysterious, noisy disturbances.'' It also contains a cross - reference - see tele - and the rest of the word is blurred. 121A CARRIE Her face - curious, deciding to follow it up. 121B A FASTER MONTAGE As Carrie flips through the `` T'' card catalog - passing everything from Talmud to Tarantula until she gets to : 121C TELEKINESIS - A CLOSER SHOT On the word, and below it : ` Thought to be the ability to move or to cause changes in objects by force of the mind, perhaps a genetic - recessive in origin.' 121D CARRIE - CLOSE Her mind struggling with the words on the card, pondering, thoughtful. Her heart starts to beat.", "INT. THE GYM \u00ad TRACKING SHOT On the girls, all of them in the green gym suits, being run ragged, just as Collins promised. She's pushing them extremely hard, barking orders at them, using her whistle like a drill instructor. ANGLE - ON CHRIS As she runs to position herself next to Sue. CHRIS She ca n't get away with this. I'm going to get her. That goddamn snerd - SUE Let it go, Chris. And Sue runs on, leaving Chris - red in the face, breathless, furious - behind. Chris deliberately slows down and then just halts. COLLINS The period's not up, Hargensen. CHRIS It is for me. COLLINS There are ten minutes left. CHRIS Stick them up your ass. Chris starts to stalk past Collins who reaches out and firmly pushes her back. Chris becomes immediately hysterical. CHRIS You ca n't hit us! You'll get canned for this, you bitch! My father - COLLINS One more word from you and I'll throw you across the room. Want to see if I'm telling the truth? GROUP SHOT - FEATURING CHRIS Appealing to the others now ; flailing, out of control. CHRIS She ca n't get away with this! Goddammit! If we all stick together, we can - THE GIRLS As Chris looks to them for support, none of them quite knowing what to do. CHRIS Norma. Helen. Sue! ANOTHER ANGLE Featuring Chris and Sue SUE. -LRB- lifeless. -RRB- Shut up, Chris. Just shut up. CHRIS A mutineer without a single ally now. She realizes it and heads for the door leading to the locker room, and this time, Collins does n't even try to stop her. At the door : CHRIS This is n't over. This is n't over by a long shot. The door slams shut, leaving the girls and Collins frozen by Chris's outburst. The BELL gives a shrill RING, and we :", "INT. THE CAVALIER \u00ad AFTERNOON The local after - school hangout. Clusters of students milling in and around booths. Pinball machines, a jukebox thumping `` NO WHERE TO RUN'' by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. Sue is sitting, reading, alone in one of the booths as Chris enters, says hello to some of her clique, and spots her. CHRIS Hey, Sue! Just who I've been looking for! Sue looks up and tries to force her face into a smile. Chris slides into the booth across from her and thrusts her John F. Kennedy school yearbook across the table - an action which Sue involuntarily jerks away from out of nervousness. CHRIS. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I wanted you to sign my yearbook. Hey, where's you old man, did he stand you up? SUE. -LRB- busying herself with the yearbook. -RRB- Still at practice CHRIS Well, I guess you've heard I'm out of the prom. I bet that cocksucker Morton loses his job, though. Daddy's suing them. Hey, Billee! Billee! Come over and say hi to Sue. Sue slides the yearbook back across the table to Chris, who examines it : CHRIS. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Hey, is that it? Just Sue Snell? Billy goons INTO FRAME next to Chris, glomming his arm around her neck. BILLY Hey, Suze. CHRIS I think we're going anyway, right, Billee? BILLY Sure thing, Charlie. Chris playfully jabs him in the ribs. SUE You mean crash? CHRIS Sure, why not? Hey, listen, I've got a good one. `` Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, but Carrie White eats shit.'' Billy, goon that he is, cracks up. Sue finds it not at all funny, but does n't know exactly what to do about what she's feeling. SUE Chris, I've got to go. A new tune comes on the juke - Shirley and Company whooping it up on `` SHAME, SHAME, SHAME.'' CHRIS. -LRB- oblivious, her laughter turning to fury. -RRB- That goddamn Carrie! If only the rest of you had walked out with me. Jesus, Sue, why did n't you? SUE I took the detention because I thought we - I - earned it. It was a shitty thing to have done. End of statement. CHRIS Bullshit! That goddamn snerd and her batshit mother - saying we're all going to hell. SUE. -LRB- rising. -RRB- What'd she ever do to you, Chris? Or to any of us? Why do you hate her so much? CHRIS Hey, hey. tell me if I'm wrong, but who was that n there pitching with the rest of us? SUE Me. -LRB- it comes out a pinched nerve. -RRB- Me. But I stopped. CHRIS. -LRB- dawning on her ; getting it finally. -RRB- Oh. Oh, are n't you just it? Oh, my, yes. -LRB- imitating ; prissy. -RRB- You stopped. Hey, Billee, she stopped. Sue is scared now - she hears it coming. There's no question about it, though ; the rumbles have already begun, and there's no stopping what's coming. CHRIS. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- God, I'm dumb sometimes. Billee, hey, Billee, do you want to know why Suze here did n't walk out? Billy's over by the pinball machines with some of his goon squad. He boastfully struts around - much to their obvious delight - making the sound of a chicken in reply. SUE - CLOSE Seeing this ; feeling it all about to lurch out of control and turn against her. The bottom's falling out. SUE I'll see you around, Chris. TWO SHOT - SUE AND CHRIS FEATURING Chris prominently - a bloodhound now sure of the scent. CHRIS No. Wait. You stopped, remember? So just stop again. -LRB- uglier. -RRB- Why did n't you walk out? Why did n't you walk out, Sue? SUE Okay, Chris. That's enough. CHRIS You did n't walk out, Sue. little Suze. little Suzy Creamcheese. because you did n't want to miss a moment of your precious prom. Bulls - eye. Sue fights back the tears and fury, trembling now. But she tries to muster up some dignity. SUE And you do n't? CHRIS. -LRB- not about to be put off. -RRB- You're goddamn right, I do n't. But we're on your case now. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'll bet you've got your dress all picked out, too. What color is it? Yellowguts? She's about to break, holding it in as best she can. Chris just as quickly as she spots the weakness, shuts it off, bottling up all the rage into he cruelest stainless - steel smile she can muster. CHRIS. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Okay. -LRB- dismissively. -RRB- See you around, Sue. And that's it - shut up, shut down, shut out. Sue turns and starts to walk out of the Cavalier. In the background behind her, it's all out of focus, an incoherent babble of snickering and clucking laughter. She's crossed the line.", "EXT. ATHLETIC FIELD \u00ad DAY Sue sits in the bleachers overlooking the field. She is preoccupied, still shaken by the afternoon's confrontation with Chris. The track team is moving past the bleachers. -LRB- a coach in the field clocking them and shouting orders -RRB-. Tommy, in his track uniform, peels away from the group and comes running up to Sue. TOMMY Hi! SUE I want to talk to you. TOMMY Sure, what's up? To avoid the noise of the cheerleaders practicing down in front of them, and the other girls sitting in the bleachers half watching their boyfriends and half eyeing Tommy and Sue, Sue beckons Tommy to follow her away from the group behind the bleachers, and as they walk off together we hear the following : SUE If I asked you to do something for me - something special - would you? TOMMY. -LRB- nodding. -RRB- Uh - huh. SUE No matter how crazy it sounded? TOMMY Sure. What? The sound is muffled, and we do n't hear what she says. But we do hear : TOMMY. -LRB- continuing ; exploding. -RRB- Are you out of your mind?", "EXT. VAN NUYS BOULEVARD \u00ad NIGHT A big hangout - cruising night on the boulevard. Neon, convertibles, `` Rebel Without a Cause'' meets `` American Graffiti'' seventies - style. In other words, the works - with MUSIC.", "EXT. INTERSECTION \u00ad NIGHT As a'61 Chevy leaves a sizeable patch of rubber on the street as it GRINDS to a hard stop, just barely halting before it almost went through a red light and collided with the traffic already in the intersection.", "INT. THE CHEVY which belongs to the aforementioned BILLY NOLAN - a character whose life and brains stopped around the time he saw `` Rebel'' on television. He's Chris's boyfriend, and a huge cross swings around his neck. Right now, he's utterly amused by his harrowing driving, and turns to Chris who ignores him, still brooding over her afternoon losses. Billy takes a huge toke from a joint and hands it to her ; she ignores that too, and proceeds to busy herself applying makeup in the visor window. So Billy looks out his window and strikes up some banter with a fellow cruiser idling beside them at the light. The light changes, and Billy peels out - an action with throws Chris backwards onto the seat. CHRIS Goddamnit, Billy! He just laughs as he weaves through traffic. CHRIS. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Slow down! -LRB- as he pays no heed. -RRB- Slow down, you stupid shit! BILLY Scared, Chuckie? CHRIS No. You'll kill us, you stupid shit! Billy lazily slaps her, speeds up. BILLY Do n't call me that. CHRIS Stupid shit. He slaps her again. CHRIS. -LRB- continuing ; under her breath. -RRB- Stupid shit. BILLY. -LRB- disgustedly. -RRB- Oh wow! He slams on the brakes, and pulls into :", "EXT. CARNEY'S (SUNSET BLVD.) \u00ad DOWNWARDS ANGLE \u00ad NIGHT LOOKING DOWN on a parking lot where cars are parked ; a huge pullman's car which has been converted into a restaurant. This after - school hangout is called the Cavalier.", "INT. CHEVY As Billy reaches over, very confidently, to draw Chris to him. She lets herself be kissed, then pulls away abruptly. He grabs at her, and she pulls away. BILLY What's wrong? CHRIS Ca n't you wait a minute? BILLY What for? CHRIS You're so ignorant. BILLY That's what you like. CHRIS Bullshit. BILLY No? I'll show you what you like, Chuckie. Grab. CHRIS No. BILLY Jesus. Grab. CHRIS No! She pushes him away. He grabs her. She pushes ; he grabs. A struggle. Grabs at her tit. There goes the blouse ; the buttons are ripped off. BILLY. How you. gon na. explain that. CHRIS Dumb shit! He slaps her. BILLY What'd I tell you? Silence. Then, after some time, he leans over and kisses her. She lets him. He kisses her again, and she responds. He goes at it. And she squirms away. BILLY. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Hell is this? CHRIS I want you to do something. BILLY | What? -LRB- eagerly. -RRB- Yeah, what? CHRIS I want you to do something for me. Something important. BILLY. -LRB- warily. -RRB- Something important? CHRIS It will be very important to me. It will make me feel very good if you do it. She moves closer to him. Her hand dips down out of FRAME. She blows in his ear. Billy is beginning to writhe ; he moves in on her, but she holds him off, playing him like a puppet. CHRIS. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Billy, I hate Carrie White. TELEVISION SCREEN On which we see the opening, helicopter - credit - sequence from `` Duel at Diablo.'' The television is in :", "INT. SNELL LIVING ROOM \u00ad NIGHT Where the movie's SOUND continues uninterrupted for a bit over an incredible silence between Tommy and Sue. They are sitting on a couch. The silence is finally broken by a reluctant : TOMMY Okay. I'll do it. And we :", "INT. WHITE HALLWAY \u00ad NIGHT Margaret slowly opens the door to Carrie's room and enters. Light filters in from the street. Carrie is lying in bed, motionless, asleep. Margaret crosses the room quietly. She leans over the bed. On the table next to it is the glow - in - the - dark statue - not in its usual place on the dresser. Carrie's face, in the soft light, seems very innocent. MARGARET. -LRB- low. -RRB- Carrie, did you pray? No answer. Margaret bends over Carrie. And with surprising tenderness, she kisses Carrie's forehead. The she straightens up quickly, as though she has violated herself, and leaves the room. Carrie opens her eyes. She pulls a book out from under the covers ; then she stares at the Madonna - child figurine, it begins to glow brighter and brighter, illuminating the room. It's bright enough to read by now, and we leave Carrie expanding her education and :", "INT. SCHOOL LIBRARY \u00ad DAY As Carrie examines a shelf of books with titles like `` Cosmic Consciousness'' and R.D. Ogilve's `` Hidden Powers of the Mind.'' She decides on the latter just as a voice startles her : TOMMY'S VOICE Carrie? CARRIE Ohuh? She stares at him and quickly covers the binding of the book with her hand, covering the title. He looks as startled as she does. TOMMY How're you doing? CARRIE. -LRB- after a beat ; almost inaudibly. -RRB- Okay. It's harder than he thought it would be ; just trying to make small talk is agonizing. But try it, he does : TOMMY I thought you had gym this period. All she can do is shake her head. And a young man not easily deterred, he tries again. TOMMY. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- What're you reading? CARRIE. -LRB- trying to cover, and not very well. -RRB- It's about. um. sewing. Right. Check and stalemate. Which brings him to : TOMMY Umm. if you do n't have a date for the Prom, would you want to go with me? CARRIE What? TOMMY The Prom. Without saying a word, Carrie walks down the aisle of book shelves. He follows her into the main room where students are reading, working. TOMMY. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- . It's next Friday, and I know this is later notice, but they stop selling tickets soon, and - The bell RINGS. CARRIE I do n't like to be tricked. A couple of students stare at Tommy talking to Carrie as they start leaving the library. TOMMY Carrie. But it's too late - she's gone, already out the door.", "INT. HALL \u00ad TRACKING \u00ad DAY As Tommy weaves through the crowd after her. Gangly GEORGE DAWSON spots him : GEORGE Hey, Ross! But Tommy ignores him in his singular pursuit. TOMMY Hey, Carrie! Wait! A couple of other students watch this - is this their Tommy Ross actually trying to speak with Carrie? But he's oblivious of any looks now, any snickering - all he wants is to catch up with Carrie. Which he does ; he manages to touch her arm, and it's a weird moment, this contact. She turns around, her head painfully ducked down. TOMMY. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Hey, it's no big deal. And she looks up and stares at him with that peculiar intensity that cuts through all the clamor around them. Quiet, quietly : CARRIE Do you people think you can just go on tricking me forever? A beat. Tommy stands there helpless, sensing just how much of a big deal it is. Seeing that she's on the verge of tears, he's feeling even worse, and all he can say is : TOMMY Sorry. But it's too little, and too late. She's crying. And what's more, she's gone - swallowed up into the clamor of students rushing to beat the bell. Which RINGS as we :", "INT. GIRLS' LOCKER ROOM \u00ad AFTERNOON As Collins tidies up after one of the classes - throwing towels into huge cans, etc.. Only to hear a mewing, whimpering sound and come upon Carrie who's huddled in one of the dark corners of the room, crying. It's almost as if she created her own closet of space. COLLINS Carrie? -LRB- on no response. -RRB- Carrie, what's the matter? -LRB- on still no response. -RRB- Was it one of the girls? Did one of the girls do something to you? Do you want a Kleenex? CARRIE No. COLLINS It's all right. Just tell me, there's nothing to be afraid of. CARRIE Miss Collins. COLLINS That's it. CARRIE When can I come back to gym? COLLINS Not until Monday. Now what is it? Are you going to tell me? Come on, Carrie, tell me. CARRIE I got asked to the prom. COLLINS That's great! CARRIE Tommy Ross asked me. COLLINS Tommy Ross - that's wonderful. He's cute. CARRIE I know who he goes around with. They're trying to trick me again. I know. COLLINS Maybe he really meant it. I mean, maybe he really did mean it. Maybe you should think about it. It might be really fun. You might have a really good time! CARRIE It would be a nightmare. COLLINS C'mon, Carrie. You should have a better image of yourself. You just think you're unattractive, but look at your hair. It's really beautiful. If you just fixed it up a little. here, I'll show you. OMIT", "INT. FACULTY LOUNGE \u00ad DAY where Collins and Morton are grabbing a quick cup of coffee. COLLINS Carrie's been asked to the prom. MORTON Who? COLLINS Carrie White. MORTON By whom? The Beak? COLLINS By Tommy Ross. Morton goes into a coughing fit, accidentally knocking over his coffee in the process. Collins watches, slightly amused by his reaction. When he recovers : MORTON What about his girlfriend? Does n't he date the little Snell girl? COLLINS I think she put him up to it.", "INT. OFFICE \u00ad DAY Where Collins is grilling a very nervous Sue - just Sue so far. COLLINS Who's brainstorm was this? -LRB- no response. -RRB- What are you trying to do? SUE You've got it wrong. COLLINS I hope so. I would n't have expected this from you, Sue. Not any of it. Well? SUE What do you want to know? COLLINS Why Tommy asked her to the prom. -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Well? SUE. -LRB- reluctant ; able to go this far. -RRB- I asked him to. COLLINS Why? SUE. -LRB- swallowing. -RRB- I asked him to. COLLINS But, in God's name, what for? What could you possibly have in mind? DIFFERENT ANGLE - FEATURING TOMMY Who's also in the office for this interrogation - ill at ease, trying to appear cool. SUE You mean what good would it do? Maybe it'll. bring her out of. make her a. COLLINS A part of things? Oh, come on, Sue. None of us are that stupid. And neither is Carrie. SUE Maybe not. COLLINS And you're not going to go? You're going to stay home and miss your senior prom? Just as this point, NORMA WATSON - a prissy little pleaser with a mouth whose verbal discretion could make the telephone obsolete - enters the room with a sheaf of attendance sheets for the next week. All conversation ceases. COLLINS. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Yes, Norma? What is it? NORMA Just the attendance sheets, Miss Collins. COLLINS Just leave them on the desk. -LRB- to Sue. -RRB- You understand, you ca n't come without a date? Sue understands perfectly well, but with Norma there, she's not about to say a word. And Collins finally picks up on this : COLLINS. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Is there something else, Norma? NORMA. -LRB- butter could melt. -RRB- No, Miss Collins. And she exits as slowly as she can - trying to hear the last possible word. Then : COLLINS. -LRB- to Tommy. -RRB- Which brings us to you. TOMMY Miss Collins, I have to get to practice. COLLINS That's too bad. TOMMY Look, this is between Sue and me. If you do n't mind. COLLINS Oh, but I do. Or would you rather we continue this discussion in Mr. Morton's office? TOMMY. -LRB- bluffed ; then off - handedly - like we first saw him in Fromm's class. -RRB- What's the big deal? COLLINS Because it's a very big deal for Carrie White. And you know it. TOMMY Anyway, she's already said no. SUE You can make her change her mind. TOMMY Do n't overrate me. COLLINS Just do n't try. TOMMY Okay. SUE It's not okay. -LRB- to Collins. -RRB- You ca n't order anyone not to take someone to the prom. COLLINS I can make sure you do n't hurt Carrie. SUE We're not trying to hurt her. We're trying to help her. COLLINS How? Silence. COLLINS. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Tommy, when you come to the prom with Carrie White, do n't you think you'll look a little ridiculous? TOMMY Well. SUE We do n't care how we look. Sue looks over at Tommy. SUE. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Do we? Tommy says nothing ; he's caught between a rock and a hard place.", "EXT. WHITE HOUSE \u00ad DAY As Tommy's Volkswagen parks across the street, Tommy gets out and approaches the White house. Carrie is inside, watching him come up the stairs. She remains on the hall side of the screen door. TOMMY So this is where you live. CARRIE What. what're you doing here? TOMMY. -LRB- laughs. -RRB- Are n't you going to ask me in? She shakes her head ; he laughs again, a little nervously. Throughout this scene in which he remains on the porch side of the screen door, he catches glimpses of the weird house within. TOMMY. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Why not? CARRIE Momma's resting. What do you want? TOMMY Right to the point, huh? Okay, about the prom. CARRIE I already told you. TOMMY. -LRB- a little charm. -RRB- Nothing to stop you changing your mind. Girls do it all the time. CARRIE Why are you doing this? TOMMY Hey, I'm asking you because I want to. CARRIE No. TOMMY Look, I do n't do anything I do n't want to. CARRIE I ca n't. TOMMY Sure you can. In the background - in the kitchen, perhaps - Margaret calls out Carrie's name. Carrie glances nervously behind her ; then back at Tommy. CARRIE You better go. MARGARET'S VOICE Carrie! Who are you talking to? TOMMY Do n't you think you better answer? CARRIE No one, Momma. TOMMY You're going with me. CARRIE I ca n't. TOMMY You're going. CARRIE They'll laugh. TOMMY No one will laugh. We'll see to it. CARRIE Please. Please go. TOMMY Not ` til you say yes. Carrie swipes at her eyes with the back of her hand ; helpless, honest, confused. She'd really like to go at this point, but that extra sense in her is resisting. CARRIE Why? Why is it so important to you? TOMMY I do n't know. Maybe it's because you liked my poem. MARGARET. -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Carietta! And in just these split seconds, she decides ; had he not `` liked'' her poem, had Margaret not called, perhaps she could have held back. CARRIE Yes. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Okay. TOMMY I'll pick you up at eight. CARRIE. -LRB- whispering. -RRB- Fine. -LRB- then. -RRB- Thank you. Tommy smiles at her and, turning to leave, touches her hand against the screen door. A goodbye, nothing more. He goes down the walk toward his car. CARRIE Watching him. She takes the hand he `` touched'' and brushes the hair back from her face. A little beautiful? You bet. MARGARET'S VOICE Carrie? Did you hear me? CARRIE Coming, Momma. Coming. And as she turns away from the door, we :", "We PULL BACK to see the gym. The entire back wall has been devoted to a giant mural of stars and planets - it seems the prom is to have a celestial theme, and the gymnasium is in the process of being hung with a great deal of crepe paper, moons, etc.. SUE I asked Tommy to take Carrie. I thought I owed her that much. HELEN Where does that put the rest of us? SUE You have to make up your own mind. HELEN And Tommy went along with it? SUE Uh - huh. -LRB- pauses. -RRB- I guess the other kids think I'm stuck - up. HELEN Well. they're all talking about it. But most of them still think you're okay. HELEN'S POV - THE GYM - CHRIS AND NORMA WATSON as thick as thieves, off in the corner, whispering. TWO SHOT - SUE AND HELEN HELEN There is. -LRB- giggles. -RRB- . a small dissenting faction. SUE I guess she's having a field day with this. HELEN Susie, she hates your guts. Sue nods - she knew it, now she hears it.", "EXT. WHITE HOUSE \u00ad EVENING FULL FRONTAL VIEW of thee bungalow IN the FRAME. The lights are on downstairs ; there's a slight drizzle and haze. HOLD, then :", "INT. WHITE KITCHEN As Carrie and Margaret finish dinner. Silence - punctuated only by the slight DRIZZLE outside and occasional flashes of THUNDER and lightning. Then : MARGARET You have n't touched your pie, Carrie. CARRIE It makes me have pimples, Momma. MARGARET Your pimples are the Lord's way of chastising you. CARRIE Momma? MARGARET Yes? CARRIE Momma, please see that I have to start to get. to try and get along with people. MARGARET Whatever are you going on about? Have you been showering with the other girls again? CARRIE I. I've been invited to the prom. MARGARET. -LRB- a foreign language. -RRB- Prom? CARRIE It's next Friday, and - MARGARET It's that teacher, the one that called. She'll be sorry. CARRIE Momma, please see that I'm not like you. I'm funny, I mean, the kids think I'm funny. I do n't want to be. I want to try and be a whole person before it's too late to - Margaret throws her cup of tea in Carrie's face. It's cold, wet, sticky. But Carrie holds herself in, she's going to be in charge this time. She takes a deep swallow and continues : CARRIE. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- His name is Tommy Ross, and he's a very nice boy. He's - MARGARET No! CARRIE - promised to stop in and meet you before, and - MARGARET. -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- - I said no! CARRIE - have me in by midnight. I've - MARGARET. -LRB- shaking her head now ; uncontrollable. -RRB- No, no, no - CARRIE - accepted. Pause. Margaret's shaking with fury, trembling. Carrie wipes the stringy wet hair from her forehead. CARRIE. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- I've accepted, Momma. I have accepted. MARGARET The closet. CARRIE No. MARGARET After all you've been taught - CARRIE Everyone is n't bad, Momma, everything is n't sinful. MARGARET Go to your closet and pray. Ask to be forgiven! CARRIE You'll like this boy, he. And Margaret at this word shifts gears and winds up - in the grip of a weird babble. MARGARET Boys. Yes, boys come next. After the blood, the boys come. Like sniffing dogs. CARRIE Momma - MARGARET. grinning and slobbering, trying to find out where the smell comes from, where the smell is. That. smell! CARRIE Please stop. MARGARET Yes, in cars. Yes. I know where they take you in their cars. Roadhouses. Music. Whiskey. I've seen it, all right. Oh, yes. CARRIE Momma, you better stop. MARGARET You're not going. CARRIE I've already said I would, Momma. MARGARET Then say no. Say no. Or we'll move. CARRIE No. MARGARET We'll move from here and you'll never see that boy again. A gust of wind causes the window to blow open. Margaret gets up and starts toward the window. Carrie is silent, watching herself being shut out. MARGARET. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- The rain's coming in. CARRIE Momma, sit down. MARGARET I'm going to close the windows. CARRIE I'll get them. Please sit and talk to me. MARGARET No. Margaret continues toward the kitchen window to close it. Carrie knits her brow, and flex, the window closes. Margaret whips around, facing Carrie. CARRIE I'm going, Momma. And things are going to change around here. Flex. The SOUND of a window shutting in another room. MARGARET Witch! Flex. Another window. MARGARET. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- It's Satan's power. First he entered your father, carried him off. CARRIE He ran away, Momma. Everyone knows that. Flex. A couple of windows. MARGARET The devil tempted him. CARRIE He ran away with a woman, Momma. MARGARET All men are the same. That boy, he's like all the rest, he does n't - Flex. The rest of the windows in the house THUNDER shut. CARRIE I do n't care. He asked me to go. And I'm going. I'm going, Momma. You ca n't stop me. HOLD - & 156 OMITTED", "EXT. ROAD \u00ad NIGHT Leading to Henty's farm. A slight drizzle ; or, the ground is still wet. A little more than a crescent moon silhouettes a group of five : Billy and Chris in front, and Billy's twitchy zoo - a completely wrecked KENNY GARSON, a very nervous FREDDY DE LOIS, and an occasionally giggling, goggled HENRY TRENNANT - trailing behind. De Lois is swinging a nine - pound sledge - hammer in the air ; the other two goons are struggling with an ice - chest and steel pails. Henty's farmhouse and barn are in the distance. DE LOIS Hell of a risk for a joke. Trennant giggles inanely. Billy stops and glares at De Lois. BILLY You want out? DE LOIS. -LRB- hastily. -RRB- No, uh - uh. -LRB- then. -RRB- It's a good joke, Billy. Trennant giggles again. Garson is stoned silly - zonked, deadpan. He greedily sucks the last remnants of a joint into oblivion before our eyes. De Lois angrily snatches the roach out of Garson's fingers. DE LOIS. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Hey, piggie. Trennant just giggles inanely. Another long beat, then : DE LOIS. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- You sure Old Man Henty wo n't be around? CHRIS I told you. He's at a funeral. Trennant explodes into a fit of high - pitched laughter. BILLY Shut up, Henry. DE LOIS Whose funeral did he go to? BILLY His mother's. DE LOIS His mother's? Jesus Christ, she musta been older than God! Trennant lurches into another cackle. And in spite of themselves, Billy and Chris start laughing, too. Even De Lois starts laughing. The group passes a `` No Trespassing'' sign, prompting : DE LOIS. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- The bastard is going to shit where he stands when he comes back and gets a look. Garson drops one of the pails on the ground. BILLY Asshole. The sound of Trennant's high - pitched giggle. CHRIS'S POV - THE HOG PEN And OVERLAPS INTO the harmonic chanting of De Lois, Trennant and Garson : THE BOYS Soo - ee, soo - ee Pig - pig - pig. Soo - ee, soo - ee Pig - pig - pig. And an old sleeping boar and two sows are GRADUALLY REVEALED. FULL SHOT - PANNING The face of five - COMING TO REST on De Lois. DE LOIS Doan worry, piggies, doan worry. I'm gon na bash your fuckin' heads in, and you woan have to worry ` bout the bomb no more. BILLY Shut up and do it already. DE LOIS I will, I will. I'm not gon na give ` em time to burp. BILLY The throat. But it's too late. De Lois has lost all conviction. DE LOIS I. ca n't. -LRB- then. -RRB- You. He hands the sledge hammer to Billy. Chris, chilled to the bone, rubs herself to keep warm. CHRIS Do it, Billy. Billy touches the ball of his thumb to the edge of the sledge hammer. CHRIS. -LRB- continuing. -RRB- Do it quick. And Billy smiles. Yes, he actually smiles. As he raises the sledge hammer, we GO TO : BLACK", "EXT. THE WHITE HOUSE \u00ad AFTERNOON The sun is shining - perhaps the next day, a day later. The house is a picture postcard - under it, we hear the sweet, muffled sound of `` Amazing Grace.'' It's just loud enough for us to hear it - joyous, triumphant. 160A. INT. WHITE LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOON Margaret sits beneath the plaster crucifix. The sampler, however, sits in her lap - unfinished, unminded. She's virtually catatonic. `` Amazing Grace'' - a sweet, contemporary rendition - is on the Webcor. A pleasure after Kathryn Kuhlman. Carrie sits at the sewing machine, finishing work on the pattern for her prom dress. She removes the material from the sewing machine, which we now see is a lush crushed velvet. MARGARET Red. I might have known it would be red. The cuckoo clock is TICKING, TICKING. Carrie stares at Margaret, then turns the sewing machine off. She looks back at Margaret, then turns her attention to the machine, her eyes sparkling. Courtesy of Carrie, the treadle on the machine depresses itself. The needle starts to bob up and down, up and down, up and down. WHIRRING, jerking. The side wheel spins. And then stops. CARRIE. -LRB- softly. -RRB- Only clearing the thread, Momma. She smiles. Then rises and goes to start up the stairs to her room. Margaret looks after her. Hate. And fear. MARGARET. -LRB- abruptly. -RRB- It's Satan. Carrie pauses. CARRIE. -LRB- wearily ; pitying. -RRB- Oh, momma. MARGARET He has given you a power. CARRIE Momma, it does n't have anything to do with Satan. It's me. If I concentrate hard enough, I can make things move. MARGARET Satan is clever. CARRIE Momma, there are other people. people with the power. It's a part of me. MARGARET Satan. CARRIE If it were, I'd know it. MARGARET You poor child. He does n't let you know he's working through you. CARRIE Momma, I'd know. MARGARET You are to renounce this power. You must give it up. You must never use it. CARRIE I'm going to do my homework, Momma. Another step up the stairs, stopping as Margaret hurls after her. MARGARET There's going to be a judgement! There's nothing more to say. Carrie walks up to the stairs, and we :", "INT. GYMNASIUM \u00ad NIGHT Very dark, shadowy, deserted. The night before the prom. Silence, then a SCRAPING sound of a : WINDOW Being jimmied open. Behind the thick glass, we see a face - just whose is n't clear yet. The slip - lock comes free, the sill is being pushed up, and Billy's head appears. Chris is right behind him. LONG SHOT - THE GYM As a flashlight is shined upwards - at the criss - crossing girders sheathed in crepe paper ; at banks of lights which will later be used to shine down and highlight two areas in particular - the huge wall mural and the chalked - in spot where the King and Queen of the Prom will be crowned. TWO SHOT - BILLY AND CHRIS DOLLYING right behind them as they proceed toward the stage area - past the numerous tables set up for the prom - goers, past the twin bandstands. Billy is carrying the ice chest, Chris the flashlight. ANOTHER ANGLE As they arrive behind the stage. Billy puts the chest down and takes out a pair of Playtex rubber gloves, snaps them on. Then he takes out two small pulleys and a coil of twine. CHRIS' POV - BILLY Looking somewhat like a bizarre mountaineer, climbing a ladder which takes him up to a narrow platform overlooking the stage area. CLOSEUP - CHRIS Shining the flashlight to guide Billy, her face flushed with excitement. BILLY As he disappears behind a short draw curtain which obscures the girders over the stage. CHRIS unable to see him, suddenly feeling very alone. CHRIS What's it like up there? -LRB- no response. -RRB- Billee? -LRB- no answer ; genuinely scared. -RRB- Billy! And just at that moment, a piece of crepe paper floats into the FRAME and lands in Chris's hair. She jumps, utterly unnerved. She looks up to see Billy staring down at her from the platform, grinning. BILLY Boo. CHRIS You stupid shit. BILLY. -LRB- still in good humor. -RRB- Nice talk. CHRIS Hurry up. Do you hear me, just hurry up. BILLY. -LRB- blackface. -RRB- Yes ` um. Yes ` um. Weeze doing the best we can. CHRIS I want to go home. BILLY Just keep your tits on and I'll let you pull it when the time comes. CHRIS I plan to. A SERIES OF SCENES - LEADING TO THE PROM CUTTING between the final arrangements for the prom itself and Carrie's preparations as the night approaches. The emphasis is on these two paralleling elements, although this montage - scored throughout with happier and happier MUSIC - will also feature some of our lesser characters. Among other things, we will see : A -RRB- THE GYM - as last - minute arrangements are made - more crepe paper hung, party favors put on tables, etc. B -RRB- CARRIE - in a town store as she shops for makeup. C -RRB- NORMA WATSON - under a hair dryer, her mouth going a mile a minute as a manicurist does her nails and looks utterly exhausted. D -RRB- TOMMY - picking out Carrie's corsage at the florist. E -RRB- CARRIE - at the sewing machine, finishing her dress -LRB- which we still do n't see -RRB-, a happy look on her face. F -RRB- THE GYM - as a bank of lights suddenly illuminate the mural on the stage wall. G -RRB- SUE - having dinner with her parents. H -RRB- THE TWINS - in front of their dressing tables ; both of them putting on enormous fake eyelashes simultaneously. I -RRB- ERNEST - the class president - making sure the microphone on the stage works. J -RRB- THE BAND - among them, The Beak, setting up. K -RRB- SANDRA STENCHFELD, practicing her fabulous twirling baton act. L -RRB- A DOOR - which opens to reveal the twins in their high heels, both of them several inches taller than their depressed - looking dates. M -RRB- GEORGE AND FRIEDA - he in his tuxedo, she in her prom dress ; a flash as Freida's parents take a Polaroid of this night to remember. N -RRB- THE GYM - with the adult chaperones - teachers, administrators - standing around, looking for something to do. It is now the night of the Prom - just minutes before it officially begins, we end this montage and :", "INT. CARRIE'S ROOM \u00ad NIGHT Carrie sits in front of that same mirror, but this time, there's a different attitude. And a different girl, which pleases her. She looks different, very different, from before. She's dressed in her lush red crushed velvet prom dress, but the SHOT is ANGLED in such a way that we do n't see it. In any case, it is not prim. She is wearing some makeup. She looks. well, there has been a transformation. In the background, the door is opened by Margaret. CARRIE Come in, Momma. Margaret advances into the room. Carrie opens a florist box and takes out a lovely corsage of tiny tea roses. CARRIE Do you want to pin it on, Momma? MARGARET I can see your dirtypillows. Everyone will. CARRIE Breasts, Momma, breasts. Every woman has them. Carrie's voice is calm ; nothing, not even Margaret, will spoil tonight, and ever so slightly, this scene - and all that follow for a considerable period of time - has an edge of unreality to it. It's all been diffused a bit - a fairy tale through Carrie's eyes. What would look bad or tacky looks acceptable ; what looked good before now looks spectacular. MARGARET Take off that dress. CARRIE No. MARGARET We'll burn it together, we'll pray for forgiveness. CARRIE No, Momma. The Black Forest CUCKOO CLOCK sings out downstairs. It's eight o'clock. MARGARET He's not coming. CARRIE Stop it, Momma. I'm nervous enough. Margaret reaches up and pinches her cheek hard, leaving a red mark. She looks toward Carrie. Carrie is pinning the tea roses on herself. Margaret hooks her right hand into a claw, rips at her cheek, leaving a thin line of blood. CARRIE Stop hurting yourself, Momma. That's not going to stop me either. Margaret strikes herself in the mouth with her fist. CARRIE Go away, Momma. MARGARET You know I'm right. He'll laugh at you. They'll all laugh at you. CARRIE No. It'll be okay. Bur she's rattled, and nervously starts moving around a series of objects in the room. Cosmetics on the bureau, the florist box, the glow - in - the - dark statue. But it's sheer will at this point. It's after eight, and there's no sign of Tommy. MARGARET It's not too late. You can stay here with me. CARRIE No. MARGARET I'll answer the door and say you're sick, I'll say - CARRIE Momma, sit on the bed. Flex. Margaret is pushed back on the bed. Horrified, she rises again. MARGARET I'll say that you changed your mind, I'll say - Flex. Margaret is thrust back on the bed. MARGARET ` Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.' The words stop. But Margaret's eyes are fixed on Carrie, as Carrie leans toward her. Carrie's voice is soft and compassionate. CARRIE You'll say nothing, Momma. You are going to have to learn that I'm not like you, not anymore. The BUZZER downstairs sounds. Carrie goes to her window and sees : CARRIE'S POV - TOMMY at the front door, the overhead light shining on his hair, making it glisten. He looks very handsome. CARRIE She goes back to the bed and picks up her wrap ; then, to Margaret : CARRIE I'll be home early, Momma. The BUZZER downstairs sounds again. MARGARET There's going to be a judgement! CARRIE Momma, you will be quiet until I'm gone. -LRB- beat ; then, at the door. -RRB- I love you, Momma. And she's gone, down the STAIRS, LIVING ROOM, TO THE FRONT DOOR - TRACKING Carrie who opens the door. ANGLE ON TOMMY Well, we know he's beautiful. And he's looking at Carrie. He did n't know : CARRIE - TOMMY'S POV He did n't know she could be beautiful. And she is. TOMMY AND CARRIE He reaches out his hand. TOMMY Hi. Carrie takes his hand.", "EXT. WHITE HOUSE \u00ad NIGHT Hand in hand, Carrie and Tommy walk down the path toward his car. They are observed by : MARGARET at the window of Carrie's room.", "INT. CARRIE'S ROOM \u00ad NIGHT Margaret leaves the window as we HEAR Tommy's car drive off. She goes out of the room. TRACKING MARGARET Down the stairs, through the dining room, into the kitchen. Almost the same path that Carrie trod, but trod so differently. While Carrie's pace had been light, nervously expectant, Margaret's is slow and heavy.", "INT. WHITE KITCHEN \u00ad NIGHT Margaret crosses to one of the drawers. She reaches in and takes out a long carving knife ; it gleams in the light.", "EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT \u00ad NIGHT The school gymnasium is lit up brightly for the Prom ; cars are pulling in, among them, Tommy's Ford.", "INT. TOMMY'S CAR as Tommy turns off the ignition. Carrie's staring at the other couples getting out of their cars. Tommy watches her taking it all in. CARRIE It's like a dream. TOMMY You can still change your mind, you know. She turns to him and realizes he's teasing her. CARRIE Easier said than done. TOMMY. -LRB- grinning. -RRB- C'mon. CARRIE No. Please - not yet. TOMMY Scared? CARRIE Yes. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Can we sit here another minute? Tommy laughs and nods. A moment of silence. Carrie is miserable - she's happy to be with Tommy, she's trying to have a good time, but it's hard. It's like getting up to dance the first time. Perhaps it would be better to sit this one out. CARRIE Tommy. -LRB- and then out it comes. -RRB- Maybe. maybe this was a mistake. TOMMY Hey, it wo n't be so bad. She tries to smile at him. It's not very persuasive. TOMMY Really, I mean it. They're okay, you'll see. -LRB- beat ; she's trying to believe him. -RRB- Do n't be nervous. Besides. -LRB- a little self - mocking. -RRB- I'd look awfully silly dancing by myself. And that's just enough - he's taken her mind off her own fear just enough to make her laugh.", "INT. GYM where the prom is already under way, the band PLAYING an energetic version of `` Harlem Nocturne.'' From Carrie's POV it's all magic - explosions of pastel color, everyone looking like they stepped out of an advertisement for happiness. Carrie just stands at the double - doors which are the main entrance to the gym, taking it all in as Tommy hands their tickets to ushers at the door. As Carrie stares at the giant mural on the stage wall - full of celestial moon, stars and rockets - a VOICE bellows out behind her. VOICE Hey, Ross. Gawd, you look queer. GEORGE DAWSON The source of the salutation and Tommy's best friend. He bounds INTO FRAME, wearing a T - shirt with a painted black tie under his dinner jacket. His girlfriend, Frieda Jason, tags behind. TOMMY When did you come out of the treetops, Bomba? GEORGE Ross, if I'd known you were going to look this good, I'd have asked you instead of Frieda. The two boys immediately go into a mock fight. Frieda comes up to Carrie. FRIEDA Do n't let it bother you. If they destroy each other, I'll dance with you. Carrie smiles back at her nervously ; there's an awkward silence. FRIEDA Hey, where'd you buy your dress? I love it. CARRIE. -LRB- shyly. -RRB- I made it. FRIEDA. -LRB- unaffected surprise. -RRB- Made it? No shit. Carrie hesitates ; realizes Frieda is quite sincere. CARRIE No shit. Frieda laughs ; so does Carrie, and the tension eases up. Behind them, Tommy keeps one eye on Carrie. He shrugs - it's working, goddammit - and he stuffs his hands into his dinner jacket. ANOTHER ANGLE - THE GYM Carrie and Frieda, Tommy and George right behind them, head for their tables. FRIEDA The mural's nice. CARRIE Yes. -LRB- confiding. -RRB- I'm really nervous. FRIEDA S'okay. We're sitting together. And she takes Carrie's arm. Norma Watson rushes over to them - all breathy taffeta and green chiffon. NORMA Carrie! -LRB- looking her up and down. -RRB- That's a lovely dress, Carrie. Wherever did you get it? CARRIE I made it. NORMA Well, of course you did. I ca n't get over it, you look so different. You're positively glowing. What's your secret? CARRIE I'm Don MacLean's secret lover. NORMA. -LRB- a half - beat late, getting it, tittering. -RRB- Don MacLean's secret. How funny you are. -LRB- cutting her. -RRB- Why, hello Tommy. Are n't you excited? TOMMY Cold sweat is running down my thighs in rivers. NORMA. -LRB- smile slipping a full notch now. -RRB- Well, I have to hurry back. Stan'll think I got lost. GEORGE. -LRB- King Kong ; right on top of her. -RRB- Bom - ba! NORMA. -LRB- tittering, moving away smack into Frieda. -RRB- And, Frieda, do n't you look nice. FRIEDA. -LRB- toothpaste smile. -RRB- Get douched, Norma. MONTAGE As the prom gets underway : A -RRB- JOSIE AND THE MOONGLOWS - THE BAND - make like Lawrence Welk and launch into an oldie - but - goodie. On drums - The Beak himself. B -RRB- THE TWINS - CORA AND RHONDA - dressed identically, dancing with C -RRB- ERNEST PETERSON, the black class president, is wonderfully officious as he gets the evening's first entertainment organized. It. -LRB- or she -RRB- is - D -RRB- SANDRA STENCHFIELD and her fabulous twirling baton act, a phenomenon to the lilting STRAINS of `` Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.'' E -RRB- NORMA is off in a corner, bending another girl's ear ; STAN is standing idly by, pretending to be invisible. F -RRB- MORTON, FROMM and the other chaperones including MISS FISH look for something to do, for someone who's stepping out of line. And find it. In the person of FREDDY DE LOIS, who's guzzling the punch. G -RRB- TOMMY and CARRIE sit at their table next to GEORGE and FRIEDA. Tommy lights a candle. ANGLE - TOMMY AND CARRIE'S TABLE As Josie and the Moonglows launch into a new NUMBER. George suddenly comes to life. GEORGE Viiibes! He grabs Frieda, and they make their way out onto the dance floor, Frieda shrugging helplessly at Carrie. CARRIE They're nice. George is funny. TOMMY He's a good guy. -LRB- beat. -RRB- See, did n't I tell you? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Sure you do n't want to dance? CARRIE Could we just sit here for a minute? Tommy nods - it's okay with him. VOICE Carrie? Carrie turns around and finds herself facing Collins - dressed up, looking more like one of the students than a teacher. CARRIE You look very pretty, Miss Collins. COLLINS Thank you. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You too. Beautiful. CARRIE It's awfully nice of you to say so. I know I'm not. not really. but thank you anyway. Tommy - feeling like a fifth wheel - clears his throat and stands up. TOMMY ` scuse me. -LRB- to Carrie. -RRB- Be right back, okay? He goes off into the crowd. COLLINS. -LRB- gesturing to his seat. -RRB- May I? Carrie nods, and she sits down, pulling the chair next to her. They're virtually alone at this moment ; everyone else is dancing or occupied. COLLINS Carrie, anything that happened before. well, it's all forgotten. I want you to know that. CARRIE I ca n't forget it. -LRB- beat. -RRB- But it's over with. It's over. Collins smiles ; she looks at the dance floor and Carrie's eyes follow hers. At this particular moment, the band is PLAYING a quiet number - slow, romantic. COLLINS I remember my own prom. I was two inches taller than the boy I went with when I was in my heels. He gave me a corsage that clashed with my gown. But it was magic. I do n't know why. But I've never had a date like it, ever since. Is it like that for you? CARRIE It's very. nice. COLLINS. -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Just nice? CARRIE No. There's more. I do n't know. -LRB- hesitating ; then. -RRB- . it's like being on Mars. COLLINS You'll never forget it. CARRIE I think you're right. And then, on sheer impulse, Carrie reaches out and hugs her, hugs her tightly. CARRIE Thank you. COLLINS Have a lovely time, Carrie. TOMMY. -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Hey, what's going on here? There is Tommy, looking `` stern.'' TOMMY. -LRB- to Collins. -RRB- What are you doing with my date? COLLINS Girl secrets. A smile at Carrie, and she goes off. TOMMY Do n't let me catch you hugging any guys. CARRIE You wo n't. TOMMY Better not. Hey, listen, do you really have to be back so early? CARRIE I promised. TOMMY Okay. I understand. CARRIE I'm sorry. TOMMY No, it's okay. Listen, the other kids are going over to Lewiston after the Prom - CARRIE. -LRB- breaking in. -RRB- That's okay. TOMMY What is? CARRIE You want to go with your friends. I do n't want to spoil anything. TOMMY Hey, let me finish. What I was going to say, I mean if it'd be alright with you, what do you say we go to the Cavalier? CARRIE. -LRB- surprised ; she'd love to. -RRB- I've never been there. TOMMY Hey, great. We'll have the place all to ourselves. Great! -LRB- he means it. -RRB- Then it's settled. He takes her arm, turns her toward the dance floor. CARRIE. -LRB- holding back. -RRB- Tommy. TOMMY C'mon. CARRIE I do n't. I ca n't. I. TOMMY You can. He has his arms around her and half - spins, half tugs her out onto the floor. He is a young man of considerable confidence - the best part of his popularity - and it's a contagious trait. Gradually, Carrie gets caught up in the slow dancing, begins to follow him less and less awkwardly, begins to get less and less self - conscious, and, in short, starts to glide into her freedom. A CORNER OF THE GYM Tommy and Carrie dance into this corner ; Carrie is a bit breathless and very happy. For some moments, Tommy keeps his arms around Carrie, looking at her. And then he leans forward, about to kiss her, impulsively. And impulsively and instinctively, she draws back. And is immediately embarrassed. TOMMY Hey. CARRIE I'm sorry. TOMMY I. CARRIE It's just. TOMMY No harm, no foul. They stand there for a couple of seconds. And suddenly and swiftly, Carrie kisses Tommy. It's a quick, awkward, frightened kiss. A bird peck. And again they stand there, until : CARRIE I do n't know. anything. I ca n't dance. TOMMY You danced. CARRIE I do n't even know how to. TOMMY It's easy. And he kisses her. She breaks, looking up at him. CARRIE Tommy. why? TOMMY Why what? CARRIE Why am I here? TOMMY It's the prom. CARRIE With you. TOMMY Because I asked you. And. CARRIE Why? Why did you? TOMMY Because I wanted to. CARRIE Why? TOMMY Because. He pauses ; he's on the edge. And steps back. TOMMY. you liked my poem. Only I did n't write it. Someone else did. CARRIE Oh. She's puzzled. And she's about to ask something else. TOMMY. -LRB- quickly. -RRB- Look, Carrie, we're here, we're together. and I like it, you know. I mean, I. CARRIE But. A commotion from the floor. Tommy turns. TOMMY Hey, look! Carrie looks off, following his glance, at : STAGE AREA - POV As the head Custodian supervises the sliding of two thrones from the wings onto pre - set marks on the stage apron. They're sheathed in white - strewn with crepe papers and flowers to match the prom's celestial theme. CARRIE AND TOMMY CARRIE. -LRB- uneasily. -RRB- It's a fairy tale. TOMMY. -LRB- beaming ; taking her arm. -RRB- C'mon. He starts to lead her towards their table while :", "EXT. SCHOOL \u00ad STREET \u00ad NIGHT Sue Snell - unable to contain her curiosity about how all this has worked out - pulls up in one of her parents' cars, parks, and deliberates coming in. The lights of the gymnasium are glowing. While inside :", "INT. GYM \u00ad STAGE AREA Class president Ernest Peterson makes his way to the microphone. He takes all this quite seriously. ERNEST All right, ladies and gentlemen. Take your seats, please - it's time for the voting. NORMA This contest is an insult to women! A couple of CHEERS, scattered APPLAUSE. GEORGE It insults men, too! Louder CLAPPING, foot STOMPING, WHISTLES. ERNEST. -LRB- over the noise. -RRB- Please take your seats. It's time to vote for the King and Queen. Several ushers go up and down the aisles, passing out ballots. ANGLE - TOMMY AND CARRIE'S TABLE as Norma Watson haughtily drops a ballot on their table in front of Tommy, another in front of George. Carrie examines the paper. CARRIE Tommy. -LRB- looking up to see him smiling at her. -RRB- . we're on here! TOMMY I know. -LRB- seeing her concern. -RRB- Want to decline? CARRIE Do you want to? TOMMY Hell, no. If you win, all you do is sit up there for the school song and one dance. And they put your picture in the yearbook so everyone can see we looked like idiots. Besides, it's the last year. Carrie looks up at the stage - at the massive thrones all in white. CARRIE They're beautiful. TOMMY You're beautiful. Carrie meets his eyes and blushes ; it's all overwhelming her, and she has to look away - at the tiny party favor boat on the table in front of her, at the tiny pencil next to it. CARRIE Who do we vote for? They're more your crowd than mine. TOMMY Whatever you like. CARRIE In fact, I do n't really have a crowd. TOMMY Let's vote for ourselves. To the devil with false modesty. She laughs aloud - the sound of her own laughter is so foreign to her that she claps a hand over her mouth, at her own daring. She takes the pencil and quickly circles their names - so quickly that the pencil breaks, bringing a small drop of blood to her finger. She gasps. TOMMY Hurt yourself? CARRIE No. -LRB- trying to smile. -RRB- But I broke it and it was a souvenir. TOMMY There's still your boat. -LRB- he pushes it gently toward her. -RRB- Toot, toot.", "INT. SCHOOL \u00ad NIGHT as Sue - hardly in formal attire - stares through the same small window in the gym door that Carrie stared through earlier - she stares inside as :", "INT. GYM \u00ad STAGE AREA The ballots are being counted, Morton and Fish helping Ernest separate them into piles. We ought to notice either De Lois or Trennant hanging around the voting tables - perhaps Norma Watson as well. ANGLE - TOMMY AND CARRIE'S TABLE Carrie is holding Tommy's hand tightly - too tightly. TOMMY Hey, hey. CARRIE Sorry. TOMMY Do n't know your own strength. Whew. He sees she's taking him seriously. Sensitive to her reaction, he smiles at her. TOMMY Hey, it's okay. In the background Josie and the Moonglows provide a flourish of drums. THE STAGE as Ernest walks up to the microphone and almost drops the ballots in the process. ERNEST We've sort of hit a snag. Mr. Morton says this is the first time in the history of the Spring Prom that - VOICE How far does he go back? 1800? LAUGHTER, CATCALLS. ERNEST We've got a tie. GEORGE Polka - dot or striped? ERNEST Sixty - three votes for Frank Grier and Cora Wilson, and sixty - three votes for Tommy Ross and Carrie White. Silence, then the APPLAUSE begins and starts to swell as we. TOMMY's POV - CARRIE An island in the APPLAUSE around her, her head lowered. TOMMY Watching her intently, his mouth slightly open. THE STAGE - ERNEST Vainly trying to speak over the APPLAUSE. ERNEST Attention! If I could have your attention, please. TOMMY AND CARRIE Tommy still staring at her. ERNEST. -LRB- o.s. -RRB- We're going to have a run - off ballot. When you get yours, please write the couple you favor on it. CARRIE Slowly looking up, seeing Tommy. CARRIE They're not applauding for us. It ca n't be for us. TOMMY Maybe it's for you. CHRIS AND BILLY Just exactly where they are is n't clear yet, nor should it be. But we do hear the Prom noises. BILLY I thought you said they'd win. CHRIS They will. They will. Wo n't even be close. BILLY If you screwed up. CHRIS Do n't worry. I called in a few favors.", "INT. WHITE HOUSE \u00ad NIGHT The black cuckoo clock - STRIKING TEN", "INT. WHITE KITCHEN as Margaret, mumbling to herself, with the fixated attention of the damned, continues to scrub a sliver of whetstone along the gleaming edge of the knife's blade.", "INT. GYM \u00ad CARRIE AND TOMMY'S TABLE as new ballots arrive courtesy of Norma, who leans over them and whispers breathily : NORMA Good luck! As Tommy picks up the pencil, Carrie puts her hand on his. CARRIE Do n't. TOMMY What? CARRIE Do n't vote for us. TOMMY In for a penny, in for a pound. That's what my grandmother used to say. CARRIE. -LRB- swallowing. -RRB- Do n't. Please. Tommy hesitates for a second, seeing her face so full of premonition. Then he overcomes it, and scrawls their names on the slip of paper, folding it. TOMMY For you. He hands it to Norma Watson, and it's off - spirited away, gone. TOMMY Tonight you go first - class. Carrie stares at the receding figure of Norma as if she were the messenger of doom.", "INT. GYM \u00ad VOTING TABLES Where we get a sense of exactly what Chris meant by favors as De Lois, Trennant, and a once again completely wrecked Kenny Garson plus Norma bring over more ballots. It's not exactly what one would call an honest ballot. GYM DOOR - POV as Sue manages to slip by Fromm, who's still lazily monitoring the door. She starts heading for the backstage area, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. NORMA At the voting table, she spies Sue coming in, and finding it irresistible, blurts out the news, whispering to : MORTON Who's just finishing the ballot counting. He looks in the direction that Norma's pointing in, seeing : SUE Going backstage, heading into the wings to watch :", "INT. GYM \u00ad THE STAGE as Ernest returns to the microphone. The BAND plays another FANFARE OF DRUMS. Ernest sees this as his big moment ; he almost drops the ballots. He pauses for a moment, surveying the gym floor and the anxious prom - goers. An actors savoring the tension. Then he smiles, white teeth grinning : ERNEST Tommy and Carrie win. By one vote. Begin SLOW MOTION Silence. Everything a half - beat exaggerated, slowed. Carrie gasps inwardly ; the candle in front of her blows out. Tommy grins, amused. He shrugs his shoulders at Carrie. And the applause begins - some of it, most of it, genuine, but some of it mocking too. The band launches into a rock version of `` Pomp and Circumstance.'' Ushers appear at Tommy and Carrie's table. George is pounding Tommy's back. An aluminum foil scepter is thrust into Tommy's hand ; a robe with a fur collar is thrust over Carrie's shoulders. SUE - STAGE WINGS Peering out farther to get a good look. Unseen at first by her, there's a cord on the edge of the FRAME. MORTON Blocked by the clamor of the students, he's unable to make a straight bee - line for Sue in the wings. So he takes the long way around - back behind the stage. TOMMY AND CARRIE Dollying as they're led down the center aisle ; past a blur of smiling faces, the APPLAUSE SWELLING. They're being led toward the stage area - the thrones waiting for them. The lights get brighter ; the MUSIC gets louder. THE BANDSTAND As they pass by. The Beak winds conspiratorially at Carrie. THE STAGE as Tommy gives Carrie his hand, helping her up the steps, over tangles of black power cables. BENEATH THE STAGE Where we finally reveal just where Chris and Billy have been hiding all this time. Chris listens to the footsteps. -LRB- of Carrie and Tommy -RRB- coming overhead ; grasping the cord that Billy has hooked up, holding it very tightly. CARRIE AND TOMMY as they're helped into the massive thrones ; behind them is the huge mural of stars and ships. ERNEST the showman now, P.T. Barnum in all of his expansiveness. SUE In the wings, watching this action. In the corner of the FRAME, the cord we glimpsed earlier - the same one which Chris clutched beneath the stage - jiggles, and Sue notices it move. She traces its path with her eyes, seeing that it goes up to : A BANK OF LIGHTS Concealing a single silver bucket ; meanwhile : CARRIE Staring down at the gym floor ; the lights are searing - so hot and bright that it's impossible to see clearly, and a new set of spotlights being shone on Tommy and her only makes it harder. ANOTHER ANGLE - CARRIE as a piece of crepe paper lands in her hair. THE STUDENTS A sea of faces, the spectrum of reactions. ERNEST spreading his arms ; a politician. ERNEST Ladies and gentlemen, I give you he King and Queen of the Spring Prom - TOMMY ROSS AND CARRIE WHITE! The Band starts playing the school SONG, and we. SUE IN THE WINGS The implications of the cord and bucket positioned over the throne just starting to dawn on her as everyone begins singing the school song : ALL. -LRB- o.s. -RRB- All rise for the John F. Kennedy Hiyyyyh. And a hand comes into FRAME, clutching Sue's wrist. It belongs to : MORTON What're you doing here, young lady? SUE. -LRB- trying to head for cord under stage. -RRB- Something's wrong! ALL. -LRB- o.s. -RRB- We'll raise your banner to the skyyyyh. But Morton has no interest in what Sue is trying to tell him : MORTON I'll say there is. ANOTHER ANGLE - CARRIE'S POV From the throne, she sees Sue - and Morton and he pulls her toward the back exit. BENEATH STAGE Chris is almost hyperventilating as the school song continues. BILLY What's the matter with you? Pull it! Chris is frozen - immobilized, terrified. CARRIE'S POV - SUE As Morton firmly pushes Sue out the rear gym door. The door shuts, and as it closes : CARRIE Confused, wondering what's happening in the glare of lights and noise.", "EXT. BACK OF GYM \u00ad SUE locked out by Morton, trying to get back in. The door wo n't open. She debates going to try another door. UNDER STAGE - CHRIS AND BILLY as the song reaches its crescendo : ALL. -LRB- o.s. -RRB- With pride we wear the red and whyyyte. BILLY. -LRB- leering. -RRB- It can stay there until hell freezes over, Chuckie. Chris shudders involuntarily at the mention of this nickname. She violently jerks the cord with both hands, yanking it. A sound - half - scream, half - moan - comes from her mouth, overlapping into : THE STEEL BUCKET high above the stage, slowly tipping over, the blood pouring from it. LONG SHOT - THE STAGE almost proscenium - like in this FRAMING, from all the way in the back of the gym. Carrie and Tommy sit on their huge thrones as the buckets above them deposit their contents on top of them. CLOSER The blood splashing down. THE MURAL Some of it splattering on the celestial cyclorama, running downward, streaking. THE BAND As more blood splatters them in their white dinner jackets, the MUSIC halting. THE STAGE End SLOW MOTION. Tommy and Carrie, drenched with blood. CHRIS AND BILLY - UNDER THE STAGE Preparing to leave now that their mission has been accomplished, just about to crawl out as they spot : MORTON - CHRIS AND BILLY'S POV realizing they'll have to stay put - trapped now. CHRIS. -LRB- panicky. -RRB- Billee! BILLY. -LRB- nervous too, hissing. -RRB- Shut up! They crawl back under the stage, out of sight.", "INT. GYM \u00ad THE STUDENTS As the singing stops, the students staring at the stage. CARRIE Her eyes tightly clenched shut, looking as if she's been dipped in a bucket of red paint. She's gotten the worst of it. THE BUCKET dangling on the pulleys over the throne, clanging back and forth. A high - pitched GIRL'S VOICE SCREAMS. TOMMY Splattered with blood. Below them, the sounds of hysteria begin. -LRB- `` My God, that's blood!'' -RRB- Tommy starts toward Carrie just as : ANOTHER ANGLE - STAGE - FEATURING TOMMY As the bucket falls and hits Tommy on the head ; it knocks him unconscious, and he slumps to the floor. THE STUDENTS - FEATURING HELEN SHYRES Watching this in pure horror. She starts to giggle uncontrollably, the kind of hysterical laugh that comes out of pure terror. It overlaps onto : STUDENTS - ANOTHER ANGLE. -LRB- S -RRB- - SWISH PANS As the hysteria begins to spread. CARRIE as she starts toward the unconscious Tommy. THE STUDENTS as more of them start laughing. the sound of it becoming contagious. CARRIE hearing the dreaded laughter. CARRIE'S POV - THE STUDENTS Through the harsh glare of the lights - laughing, pointing. -LRB- see Norma Watson -RRB-, doubling up in hysteria, utterly out of control. FACES, FACES, FACES Laughing. 256A BILLY AND CHRIS reacting to their `` success.'' CARRIE Putting her hands to her blood - covered face, slowly getting to her feet. THE STAGE As Carrie makes her way to the stairs, tripping over the black power cords. A horrified Collins is on her way up the stairs. COLLINS Oh, Carrie - let me help you. Carrie hesitates at the sight of the teacher. But it's too late for help, and in the fastest flex we've seen to date, she jerks her head and Collins bounces backward - down the stairs, slamming into a wall. THE STUDENTS Laughing harder now, unable to stop. THE GYM - ANOTHER ANGLE Where all is pandemonium. Morton makes his way to Collins, giving her his handkerchief ; she has a bloody nose. COLLINS. -LRB- to Morton. -RRB- Call the police! CARRIE Tears streaming down her face, the blood streaking, as she takes in the sight of her tormentors. THE GYM - YET ANOTHER ANGLE Helen Shyres is still laughing so hard that she's about to throw up or go into shock. George Dawson has climbed on the stage and is hunched over the slumped figure of Tommy Ross, examining him. GEORGE Call a doctor! Hey, call a doctor, quick! He tries to pick Tommy up, and in the process the throne topples over on the stage.", "INT. HALL CORRIDORS \u00ad SUE Frantic, rushing back into the school and down the hall toward the prom doors. CARRIE Takes a deep breath, mustering her energy. She closes her eyes and sees : THE GYM DOORS - THREE SETS OF DOUBLE DOORS All of them open, a few students milling around them as. CARRIE Closes her eyes even tighter and flexes. And - in SWISH PANS : THE DOORS slam shut. In the process, several things are accomplished at once. The prom - goers are trapped inside, and one or two of them get their hands or legs caught in the doors as they close, screaming with surprise and pain.", "INT. HALL \u00ad SUE who once again was just a little late, arriving just as the DOORS SLAMMED SHUT ; she sees the screaming prom - goers unlucky enough to have been caught in the doors.", "INT. GYM Utter pandemonium as students rush toward the doors. THE BEAK Near the bandstand area, looking up at the stage and realizing that it's Carrie who's responsible for closing the doors. THE BEAK It's Carrie! It's Carrie! Fromm starts heading toward the stage to get control of the microphone, to stop the panic. The kids continue rushing toward the closed doors. CARRIE A small smile at being recognized by the Beak as the one responsible, the one with the power now. It's not what she wanted, but it no longer matters. They're going to know her now and never forget her. CARRIE'S POV - GYM WALL Between two sets of double - doors, FEATURING a huge firehouse installed in case of an emergency. CARRIE Seeing the hose, getting the idea. NOTE : SPLIT SCREENS begin here. CLOSER as her eyes narrow and focus on the hose, zeroing on it. THE HOSE As it starts to unwind, to unspiral into the air, starting to spray a burst of water. THE HOSE - ANOTHER ANGLE As it becomes snake - like, water springing from the nozzle. THE STUDENTS Cries of surprise as it begins to spray water on them, ruining their clothes. THE HOSE As the velocity of the water increases, stronger and stronger. CARRIE Eyes gleaming, a glimmer of triumph as she concentrates and surveys - THE STUDENTS Like rats in a maze - a slapstick chaos as they try to get away from the animated hose. The water forces the students back from the doors, backwards toward the stage. 280A CHRIS AND BILLY - UNDER THE STAGE As they see students propelled toward them by the hose. CARRIE A smile of satisfaction. For the first time, she's showing them - they're the ones being made to look foolish. She's standing on one side of the stage. ERNEST Level - headed to the end, making his way through the pandemonium toward the stage area and the bandstand as fast as he can. CARRIE Still controlling the hose, she spots Ernest, seeing him move toward the stage area. TRACKING - ERNEST knowing somehow - with some sixth sense - that Carrie's watching him. He feverishly hurries toward the area where the band equipment is plugged in. where the high voltage cables are hooked up to the electrical current. Behind him, Fromm has reached the microphone and is trying to be heard, telling everyone to remain calm. CARRIE Realizing just what Ernest plans to do : CARRIE. -LRB- gently ; determined. -RRB- No. And she mentally fixes on him, jerking her head just so. so - ERNEST Is flung invisibly and forcibly away from the area by Carrie's will. FROMM Big belly and all, trying to steady the mike. He puts his hand on it. The water, however, has reached him, and just as he touches the mic, he's electrocuted - his arm bursting into flame, unable to let go as his body goes into an electric dance, his mouth gaping open like a fish on land. CARRIE Watching this ; another flex, and : FROMM Is propelled backwards from the microphone ; he falls backward into the cyc, his flaming arm igniting it. A celestial fantasy immediately bursts into flames. It prevents any of the students from using the back exit. THE STUDENTS Watching, riveted with horror, some of them screaming, others frozen to the spot as the cyc CRACKLES. Utter pandemonium. CARRIE Her face flushed, a vein in her forehead throbs, her heart pounding. She spots : THE LIGHTING T - BAR hanging over the bandstand. THE DOORS as the prom - goers press against the opaque glass, straining to get out. Fish in an aquarium. COLLINS moving toward the dazed Ernest, who's recuperating from his bout with Carrie. CARRIE her heart pounding like an anvil. She's staring at : THE LIGHTING BAR CARRIE She flexes. CEILING POV Collins and Ernest directly below the path of the lighting bar. We see the flaming cyc on the stage collapse forward. The light bar begins to shake. Plaster drops, and the light bar DROPS - just short of Collins' head - as far as its wires carry it. CARRIE Watching all this - a giggle -LRB- or is it a sob? -RRB- emerging from deep within her. Another flex. THE LIGHT BAR starts to swing recklessly around the gym. Back and forth, back and forth - it hits the ceiling, igniting it and the decorations. Flaming stars and planets begin dropping from the ceiling. BENEATH THE STAGE - CHRIS AND BILLY seeing their chance to escape while Carrie is busy with the light bar. The back door -LRB- which Sue could n't enter from the outside, and which the cyc flames prevented any of the students on the gym floor to get to -RRB- is now free, and Billy and Chris see their chance to escape. They burst out from under the stage as : CARRIE Spots them. In the instant it takes her to wonder what they're doing there, it's too late. They're out the door, and there's absolutely nothing she can do. THE GYM - FEATURING THE LIGHT BAR As it swings, catching Norma Watson in its path, casually whipping this screaming girl in her green chiffon dress back into a wall. Helen Shyres is backed into a corner, giggling with horror, in shock, utterly hysterical. Students have climbed onto the back of the bleachers, trying in vain to pry off the screens on the windows so they can escape. Morton has grabbed a chair and is trying to smash it through another of the windows. All this to no avail. End SPLIT SCREEN. CARRIE As she makes her way down the stage stairs and out onto the floor. She spots the cord going under the stage first, and realizes just how the trick was engineered. that Billy and Chris did it. THE STUDENTS Moving aside as Carrie walks through them - an endless series of blurred, hysterical faces. WIDE SHOT - THE GYM As Carrie makes it to one set of double doors, flexes them open, and exits.", "EXT. GYM \u00ad HALLWAY As Carrie exits, the doors swinging shut. Behind her, through the windows, we see a wall of fire collapse behind her. She passes Sue in the hall who's sobbing hysterically. And as Carrie exits, Sue runs into this inferno of fire to find Tommy. And then the town WHISTLE BLOWS. and BLOWS. It overlaps onto :", "EXT. TOWN STREETS \u00ad NIGHT Carrie's on her way home. At this point, she looks less like a girl that the survivor of a grisly car accident ; wet, caked with blood, eyes glistening madly, almost shapeless. She goes down a hill, and then, from : ANOTHER ANGLE - THE HILL - NIGHT as a fire truck rushes toward the school, past Carrie. And then shortly afterward, out of nowhere, Billy's Chevy - it's headlights gleaming, lurches forward ; it's headed right for her. CARRIE Turns around and sees it coming toward her.", "INT. THE CHEVY Chris screaming `` Get her! Get her!'' at the top of her lungs, Billy grinning madly behind the wheel. CARRIE As the Chevy heads right for her, standing in the headlights in its path, bloated, swaying back and forth, her arms thrown out. THE CHEVY Almost right on top of her. CARRIE Flexing, averting the car just as it almost smacks into her. It just misses her.", "INT. THE CHEVY Billy is livid, turning around to see Carrie in the back window. BILLY Goddamnit! CHRIS Billy! BILLY Shut up! Just shut up! But the car is headed for an embankment. Billy realizes this and starts pumping the brakes. But the car's accelerating, not responding to Billy's efforts to slow it down. CARRIE Her head pounding, flexing.", "INT. CHEVY As Billy attempts to turn the wheel ; it, too, has turned traitor - it wo n't turn. They're heading right for the embankment. Billy's eyes are bugging out, Chris is screaming as : THE CHEVY Plows smack into the embankment and rolls over several times. It then bursts into a sheet of flames. CARRIE Watching this explosion turn into a conflagration. We see the fire reflected in her puffy, exhausted face - brighter and brighter as we HEAR the sound of the WHISTLE merging with SOUND OF SIRENS, and :", "EXT WHITE HOUSE \u00ad NIGHT The house is totally dark. Not even a porch light. In the distance, perhaps, the glow from the burning gymnasium. A figure is moving toward the house. It is Carrie. AT DOOR Carrie tries the front door. It is unlocked. She opens it partially. CARRIE. -LRB- small voice. -RRB- Momma? Momma? She opens the door wider. CARRIE. -LRB- louder. -RRB- Momma? Silence. Carrie steps inside. CARRIE. -LRB- louder. -RRB- Momma, I'm home. Silence. Carrie closes the front door.", "INT. WHITE HOUSE \u00ad NIGHT With the closing of the door, Carrie turns on a light. She looks around. The house is ominously empty, ominously still. CARRIE MOMMA! Silence floods back in. Carrie moves to the foot of the stairs, turning on lights as she goes. She mounts the stairs, goes along the narrow hallway to her room.", "INT. CARRIE'S ROOM \u00ad NIGHT Carrie turns on the lights, closes the door. She stares at the Madonna - child figurine on the bureau. Then, slowly, she removes her blood - stained clothing, letting it lie in a heap. Clutching a robe, she goes into the bathroom.", "INT. BATHROOM \u00ad NIGHT Carrie turns on the shower, waits for it to get hot. It is almost steaming as she steps in. Very carefully, Carrie scrubs herself clean. Then she steps out of the shower, dries herself off briefly, puts on her robe, and turns off the bathroom light. What's important here is this gives us time to breathe, to focus on Carrie.", "INT. CARRIE'S ROOM \u00ad NIGHT Carrie returns to her room. She is clean now ; her wet hair hangs. A feeling of despair about her or perhaps she is emptied out. Carrie almost mouths : CARRIE Momma. It is a little child's voice and there is no answer. She goes out into the hallway.", "INT. HALLWAY \u00ad NIGHT Carrie goes to the head of the stairs. Once again, she mouths the words : CARRIE Momma. Something - a movement? An instinct? - makes her turn. She sees : MARGARET Coming toward her. CARRIE She flings out her arms and cries out : CARRIE Oh, Momma! And throws herself against her mother, holds her. A movement from Margaret, a quick movement, hard to define. And Carrie recoils, her hands clutching her stomach. Briefly we see the knife in Margaret's hand. Then Carrie tumbles down the stairs. ANGLE DOWN STAIRS On Carrie, lying like a broken doll, huddled at the foot of the stairs. MARGARET Carrying the knife, she stares down the stairs. MARGARET It says in the Lord's Book : ` Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.' CARRIE Dazed, she sees her mother coming, dimly, everything distorted. She begins to crawl backwards, her eyes always on her mother, who is slowly but inexorably coming down the stairs. MARGARET And now the devil has come home. CARRIE. -LRB- whimpering. -RRB- Momma, it's not right. Carrie starts crawling to the kitchen.", "INT. KITCHEN \u00ad NIGHT Carrie crawls farther and farther from the door, until she reaches the far end of the kitchen, just as Margaret, the knife gleaming in her hand, pointed toward Carrie, reaches the bottom of the stairs and turns toward the kitchen, mumbling all the while. Carrie flexes : the kitchen door swings shut. Margaret is coming toward the kitchen. Carrie flexes again - to hold the door shut. But it's no use - Margaret is relentless now, and the door opens. She raises the knife and starts toward Carrie, the door swinging behind her. MARGARET I should have killed you when you were born. CARRIE Momma, I love you. Please help me! MARGARET Sin never dies. There's nothing else to be done. Carrie flexes, and a serving fork - dangling from a hook on the way - suddenly hurtles through the air, piercing Margaret. It is followed by another and another as a rain of instruments strikes Margaret. Margaret collapses. Carrie, horrified by what she's done, starts toward her mother. And then she and we see Sue standing in the doorway, clasping her hand to her mouth, stifling her screams. CARRIE You. You tricked me. SUE No. CARRIE Get out. SUE We were just trying to. CARRIE Get out. And then something hits the roof, rattling. A small sound. A stone. Then another. Then a third. CARRIE Get out! Get out! The stones are beginning to rain on the roof, like hail. Sue is rooted to the spot, terrified. CARRIE Get out, get out, get out! The stones are coming down harder. All sound as one or two of them break through the roof, rattle on the floor below. CARRIE GET OUT! A stone of fairly small size crashes through into the kitchen. Carrie flexes. And Sue stumbles backwards toward the door. Flex. Sue is whipped around, as though by a great wind. 333A EXT.. WHITE HOUSE - NIGHT Stones are crashing on the house. Sue is hurtled out of the house.", "INT. KITCHEN As a couple of larger stones crash into the room, Carrie heads for the closet.", "EXT. WHITE HOUSE \u00ad NIGHT Sue, rising from the ground, see stones crashing into the house. She begins to run away.", "INT. WHITE HOUSE \u00ad NIGHT Carrie walks toward the closet ; the figure of Jesus is illuminated - welcoming her? She goes into the closet. She closes the door. Stones crash down, obliterating the scene.", "EXT. WHITE HOUSE \u00ad NIGHT Sue stops running. She turns to look at the White house. WHITE HOUSE - SUE'S POV The stones are flattening the house. The house is being pounded into the ground. SUE Terror and disbelief. Nightmare. THE WHITE HOUSE The rain of stones stops. Silence. Then the house begins to sink - slowly, slowly, slowly - into the ground. And the ground is swallowing up the house. And covering it until - nothing remains. Not a trace.", "EXT. SNELL HOUSE \u00ad DAY Some time later - a week, perhaps two weeks after the nightmares of Prom Night.", "INT. SNELL HOUSE A home in the course of losing its family. White sheets cover furniture. Boxes in the midst of being packed. Eleanor Snell, looking incredibly tired, is attending to the last - minute details of moving. She sorts through magazines and books, discarding some, putting others into cartons. And she comes across the religious tracts left behind by Margaret White, forgotten until now. They have a momentary hypnotic effect on her. The phone RINGS, startling her. She rushes to answer it in the kitchen, catching it on the first or second ring. ELEANOR. -LRB- hushed voice. -RRB- Hello? Oh, thank God it's you, Betty. I do n't think I could have handled one more reporter. -LRB- she appears to hear a noise upstairs. -RRB- Just a sec, dear. -LRB- she comes into the living room and looks toward the upstairs. -RRB- Sue? -LRB- a little louder. -RRB- Sue? -LRB- no answer, she returns to the phone. -RRB- Sorry, Betty, I just wanted to make sure the phone did n't wake her. We're all a bit edgy. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Better. Sleeping too much, I guess, but Schneider says that's to be expected after what she's gone through. He says she's young enough to forget it in time. Knock wood. As Eleanor's side of the conversation continues, the camera conveys her tension. Half of her is listening and talking to Betty ; the rest of her mind is on Sue upstairs. With good reason. Because :", "EXT. EMPTY LOT \u00ad DAY Where the Horan house used to stand, now vacant. Strewn with beer cans, overgrown with grass and weeds and wildflowers. And a FOR SALE sign. We PAN over next door where the White house used to stand. It, too, is vacant but utterly bald - there's been no time for anything to grow here. There is another FOR SALE sign put up by Born Realty. SUE SNELL looking utterly haggard and perhaps a bit on the loony side from a lack of sleep stands staring at the lot. She's standing there in her white nightgown, barefoot. THE WHITE LOT - SUE'S POV as she slowly walks toward it. Underwater, almost floating. We come closer on the sign which now starts appearing a bit odder - less like a simple FOR SALE sign and more like a grave marker. And when we get close enough, we see that some graffiti has been hastily scrawled in chalk on the sign : CARRIE WHITE IS BURNING IN HELL FOR HER SINS. And below it, in a second vandal's handwriting, some idiot's notion of one final joke : JESUS NEVER FAILS. SUE as she kneels down, putting the wreath she's carrying next to the marker. She proceeds to try to wipe off the red chalk with the palm of her hand ; it smudges badly. She stares at her hand, fixating on it, remembering Carrie in the shower. Suddenly, a second hand thrusts into frame, onto her nightgown. A bloody hand. A hand from the Earth itself. Carrie's hand It clutches a horrified Sue by the wrist. Tightly. A vice. Sue begins screaming uncontrollably. The hand is trying to pull her into the ground. Her screams turn into howling. SUE Still screaming. But now in her room, waking from what is, indeed, a bad nightmare. Upright in bed, screaming her head off, her face covered with perspiration. Eleanor Snell rushes into the room to the bed, embraces her hysterical daughter. ELEANOR It's all right, it's all right, darling. SUE Mother? And we come in close on Sue's stricken face as her mother holds her, calming her, cradling her. Closer still on Sue's eyes. She closes them, and we go to : BLACK"], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "Carrie White is a shy 16-year-old girl who lives with her fanatically religious and abusive mother, Margaret. Carrie is unpopular at school and is often ostracized by her peers. Carrie experiences her first menstrual period as she showers with her female classmates after gym class. Unaware of what is happening to her, she panics and desperately pleads for help, believing herself to be bleeding to death. The other girls\u2014led by the arrogant, popular and beautiful Chris Hargensen, who frequently bullies Carrie\u2014pelt Carrie with tampons, laughing and chanting \"Plug It Up! Plug It Up!\" A light bulb mysteriously breaks as Carrie reaches the height of her panic. Gym teacher Miss Collins breaks up the commotion, consoles Carrie, and tells her what menstruation is. Later, as the principal dismisses Carrie from school, Carrie becomes frustrated at both cigarette smoke emanating from an ashtray and at the principal repeatedly referring to her by the name \"Cassie\"; she causes the ashtray to flip from his desk and shatter. On Carrie's way home, a young boy teases her, and she makes him fall off his bicycle with just one look. At home, Carrie is abused by Margaret, who uses fake Bible quotes to rant about menstruation being the result of sinful thoughts, and Eve being \"weak\". Carrie is dragged and locked in a small, specially-decorated \u201cprayer closet\u201d and forced to pray for forgiveness. When she is allowed to go to her room, she gazes into her reflection, causing the mirror to shatter. Shocked, Carrie begins to assume she may have some kind of supernatural power. Carrie's classmate Sue feels guilty for participating in the locker room antics, so she arranges for her boyfriend\u2014the handsome and popular Tommy\u2014to invite Carrie to the upcoming prom. Carrie is reluctant to accept, but is encouraged to do so by Miss Collins. Chris furiously throws a tantrum and defiantly skips her detention for tormenting Carrie, resulting in her getting slapped in the face by Miss Collins. Swearing vengeance, Chris recruits her delinquent boyfriend Billy to play a prank on Carrie. They slaughter pigs from a nearby farm and place a bucket of pigs' blood above the stage at the school's gymnasium. Margaret discovers Carrie's prom plans and attempts to abuse her again. Having researched her telekinesis, Carrie asserts her power and stands up to her mother. Margaret responds by accusing Carrie of being a satanic witch. At the prom, Carrie finds acceptance among her peers and shares a kiss with Tommy. Chris's friend Norma rigs the election and Carrie is crowned Prom Queen. However, Carrie's joy is cut short when Chris pulls a rope to dump the pig's blood on her. Chris and Billy escape through a back door while the bucket falls on Tommy's head, knocking him unconscious. The audience is left shocked and speechless, but Carrie hallucinates that everyone in the gymnasium is laughing at her. Enraged, Carrie goes into a silent-psychotic breakdown which causes her to unleash telekinetic fury upon the crowd. The doors slam shut, a high-pressure water hose assaults many people (including Norma, who is knocked unconscious), the principal is electrocuted, Miss Collins is crushed to death, and Carrie's English teacher is electrocuted so badly that his body erupts in flames, setting the gym on fire. As the inferno rages, the enraged and entranced Carrie calmly walks out and locks the remaining students inside, sealing their fates. Later, Chris and Billy\u2014who witnessed the entire episode\u2014attempt to run over Carrie with a car. Carrie causes their car to flip and explode, killing them both in a burst of flames. When Carrie reaches home, Margaret reveals that Carrie is the result of a rape committed by her drunken father and that Margaret enjoyed the experience. Margaret says that sin never dies; as she comforts Carrie, Margaret stabs her in the back and chases her around the house with a knife. In self-defense, Carrie causes knives and sharp kitchen utensils to fly through the air and crucify Margaret. Overcome with anguish over her actions, Carrie loses control of her powers and incinerates the house while she and her mother are still inside. Weeks later, Sue\u2014the only survivor of the prom massacre\u2014has a nightmare in which she lays flowers on the remains of Carrie's home. A \"for sale\" sign has been vandalized with the phrase \"Carrie White burns in Hell!\" Suddenly, Carrie's bloody arm reaches from beneath the rubble and grabs Sue's forearm. Sue wakes up screaming as her mother comforts her.", "name": "Carrie_(1976_film)"}
{"scenes": ["EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - BACKYARD HAZEL GRACE LANCASTER ( 16 ) lies in the grass, staring up at the stars. We're CLOSE ON her FACE and we hear : HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You have a choice in this world, I believe, about how to tell sad stories. CUT TO A SERIES OF QUICK IMAGES : - Hazel and the BOY we will come to know as AUGUSTUS `` GUS'' WATERS ( 17 ) at an outdoor restaurant in some magical place. [ They look very much like the perfect Hollywood couple. ] HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- On the one hand, you can sugar coat the way they do in movies and romance novels. - `` Perfect'' Hazel and `` Perfect'' Gus sit on a BENCH o v erlooking an incredible seascape in some foreign country. She rests her head on his shoulder. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Where villains are vanquished and... heroes are born and... - `` Perfect'' Hazel and `` Perfect'' Gus kiss in a dark room. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... beautiful people learn beautiful lessons... - `` Perfect'' Hazel and `` Perfect'' Gus fall onto a bed together. They look deep into one another's eyes. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... and nothing is too messed up that ca n't be fixed with an apology and a Peter Gabriel song. BACK TO Hazel on the grass, still watching the stars. Were those dreams or were they memories? Still unclear. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I like that way as much as the next girl, believe me. It's just not the truth. Hazel closes her eyes. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This is the truth. And EVERYTHING GOES BLACK. We HEAR : HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Sorry. FADE IN ON : 2.", "INT DOCTOR'S OFFICE - DAY The real Hazel is no less beautiful than the one we just saw. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Late in the Winter of my 17th year... There are, however, some key and obvious differences. First, you'll notice the OXYGEN TUBE in her nostrils which help her to breathe. Second, you'll notice her hair - which we could n't see in the grass. It's much shorter than the `` Perfect'' version, the result of someone whose head was completely shaved a few years before. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... my mother decided I was depressed. HAZEL I'm not depressed. Hazel's legs dangle over the side of an exam table. Her mother FRANNIE ( early 40s, younger than she feels ) explains to the DOCTOR : FRANNIE... she eats like a bird. She barely leaves the house, HAZEL I'm not depressed. FRANNIE... she reads the same book over and over... DOCTOR She's depressed. HAZEL I'm not depressed! OFF HER LOOK, CUT TO : QUICK SEQUENCE, which play over : HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The booklets and web sites always list depression as a side effect of cancer...", "- INT A SHOPPING MALL. Filled with TEENAGE GIRLS - gossipping, laughing - being teenage girls, basically. And here's Hazel. With her Mom. And her oxygen tank. Just another day. 3. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Depression's not a side effect of cancer... - HAZEL'S LIVING ROOM. She sits watching game shows in the middle of the afternoon. Her Mom brings her a sandwich. A glass of water. And then a whole host of prescription meds. Hazel eyes them with indifference. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... it's a side effect of dying.", "- INT A STARBUCKS. Hazel sits alone reading a dog-eared, heavily underlined copy of a novel ( `` An Imperial Affliction'' by Peter Van Houten ). She only looks up when distracted by a squeal of delight. A YOUNG GUY has lifted a YOUNG GIRL over his shoulder playfully. He spins her around. Hazel watches a beat goes back to the book. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Which is what was happening to me. AND WE CUT BACK TO :", "INT DOCTOR'S OFFICE - SAME Frannie continues to talk to the doctor. Hazel continues to dangle her feet. FRANNIE... some days she wo n't even get out of bed. The Doctor scratches his beard, thinking. DOCTOR I may switch you to Zoloft. Or Lexapro. And twice a day instead of once. HAZEL Why stop there? DOCTOR Hmm? HAZEL Keep ` em coming. I can take it. I'm like the Keith Richards of cancer kids. The Doctor looks at Frannie who just shakes her head. DOCTOR Have you been going to that Support Group I suggested? Instead of answering, Hazel looks at her Mom. 4. FRANNIE She's gone a few times. HAZEL I'm not sure it's for me. DOCTOR If you're depressed -- HAZEL -LRB- EXASPERATED -RRB- I'm not de -- DOCTOR -LRB- IGNORING HER -RRB- -- support Groups are a great way to connect with people who are... HAZEL What? DOCTOR -LRB- BEAT -RRB- On the same journey. HAZEL `` Journey?'' Really? FRANNIE Hazel. DOCTOR Just give it a chance, ok? For me. Hazel rolls her eyes, knows she's lost this battle. DOCTOR Who knows? You might even find it... enlightening. SMASH CUT TO :", "INT CHURCH BASEMENT - DAY CLOSE UP on PATRICK ( 30s, pony-tail ). He has a guitar. PATRICK... we are gathered here today - literally - in the heart of Jesus. ANGLE on Hazel who just shakes her head. This is the lamest thing she could be doing right now. PATRICK Who would like to share their story with the group? The basement is filled with SICK PEOPLE. Hazel among them. Most are under the age of 18. QUICK CUTS : 5. SPEAKER #1 Jillian. 15. Lymphoma. SPEAKER #2 Angel. 17. Ewing sarcoma. PATRICK Patrick. 34. Testicular. It started a few years ago, when I was... As Hazel watches, bored, and Patrick continues, we hear : HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'll spare you the gory details of Patrick's ball cancer. Basically, they found it in his nuts, cut most of it out, he almost died, but he did n't die, and now here he is - divorced, friendless, addicted to video games, exploiting his cancertastic past in the heart of Jesus - `` literally'' - to show us that one day - if we're lucky - we could be just like him. They all say : ALL IN UNISON `` We're here for you Patrick.'' Hazel says it the least enthusiastically. She locks eyes with her only friend in Support Group, a blonde kid with an eye patch, ISAAC. He's also shaking his head. PATRICK Who else would like to share?  -LRB- NO RESPONSE -RRB- Hazel? Oh no. Patrick gestures for her to speak. Reluctantly she stands, sighs... HAZEL I'm, uh, Hazel. 16. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Thyroid originally but with quite the impressive satellite colony in my lungs. Not much more to say, Hazel is about to sit down. PATRICK And how are you doing Hazel? Hazel has no idea how to answer that. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You mean besides the terminal cancer? 6. But that's not what she says. She says : HAZEL Alright? I guess...? Isaac tries not to laugh at this. Hazel sits back down. ALL IN UNISON `` We're here for you Hazel.'' Hazel exhales. This is not at all helpful. A few more beats. PATRICK Maybe now I'll play a song...", "EXT CHURCH - LATER Frannie sits in the car in the parking lot, reading from a book, waiting for Group to be over. She sees the church door open and puts the book away. Hazel comes out. Frannie looks at her like `` well, was it great?'' Hazel just exhales and gets in the car. CUT TO :", "INT HAZEL'S LIVING ROOM - ANOTHER DAY `` America's Next Top Model'' is on the TV. Hazel sits on one side of the L-shaped couch, flipping through her novel. Frannie and Hazel's dad MICHAEL ( 40s, kind, doing his best t o stay positive ) sit on the other side, watching her - but trying not to make it seem that way. After a few beats : FRANNIE It's Friday night. HAZEL Hmm? FRANNIE I was just thinking... you should call your friends, see what they're up to. HAZEL -LRB- DISINTERESTED -RRB- That's ok. Frannie and Michael look at one another, do n't say anything. MICHAEL Wan na see a movie? Hazel looks up from the book. Sees her parents. Gets an idea. HAZEL Why do n't you guys go to a movie? -LRB- off their look -RRB- -LRB- MORE -RRB- 7. HAZEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You have n't been out in a while. Go. Have fun. Take the night off. Frannie and Michael look at one another again. MICHAEL This is a really good show. Hazel sighs. And just like that, everyone goes back to what they were doing. CUT TO : QUICK SEQUENCE, which plays over : HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And that was my life. - Hazel watching TV, book in hand. - Hazel in another doctor's office. - Hazel popping pills. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Reality shows. Doctor's appointments. Eight prescription drugs, three times a day.", "INT HAZEL'S KITCHEN - ANOTHER DAY Hazel and her parents in the kitchen. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And worse worse worst of all... support group. HAZEL Ugh. You ca n't make me. MICHAEL Of course we can, we're your parents. Hazel frowns. MICHAEL Hazel, you need to get out of the house. Make friends. Be a teenager. HAZEL If you want me to be a teenager, do n't send me to Support Group. Buy me a fake ID so I can go to clubs and drink gimlets and take pot. MICHAEL You do n't take pot. 8. HAZEL See, that's the kind of thing I would know with a fake ID. FRANNIE -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Get in the car. Hazel mock stabs herself in the stomach with an invisible sword. CUT TO :", "EXT CHURCH - ESTABLISHING A small Episcopalian sanctuary in suburban Indianapolis. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And so I went... Frannie's car pulls up close to the back entrance. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Not because I wanted to or because I thought it would help. But for the same reason I did anything these days... Hazel, oxygen tank in toe, gets out of the car with Frannie's assistance. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... to make my parents happy. HAZEL Are you gon na sit here and wait the whole time? FRANNIE Of course not, no. I... -LRB- she totally is -RRB- I have errands to run. Hazel knows she's not planning to run any errands. She does n't press the issue. HAZEL Ok. FRANNIE Love you. HAZEL Love you too Mom. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The only thing worse than biting it from cancer - is having a kid bite it from cancer. As Frannie gets back in the car, she shouts to her daughter : 9. FRANNIE Make some friends! Hazel just shakes her head. CUT TO :", "INT CHURCH - SAME Hazel walks towards the elevator. An EXTREMELY SICK LOOKING KID holds it open for her. Hazel thinks better of it. HAZEL I'll take the stairs. The KID nods. The doors shut. Hazel is reminded - it could always be worse. She turns to go, walking right into : GUS HAZEL Ooph. Sorry! A SUPREMELY BEAUTIFUL BOY ( we will come to know him as GUS ). Tall, lean, muscular, straight short mahogany hair, blue eyes. Hazel has never seen a better looking kid in her life. GUS HAZEL My bad. No, it's... For a brief moment, the Earth stops. They stand looking at one another. Hazel is speechless. HAZEL Excuse me. With the Beautiful Boy watching, a wan smile on his face, Hazel shuffles off as fast as she can, ducking into :", "INT BATHROOM - SAME Hazel catches her breath. Shakes her head. Surprised at herself. She looks in the mirror. So does n't like what she sees. The Earth starts moving again. CUT TO :", "INT CHURCH BASEMENT - LATER Hazel sits in the Circle of Sick. PATRICK Who would like to begin? No volunteers. Hazel catches sight of the Beautiful Boy, sitting next to Isaac. He seems to be watching her, that same flirty smile on his face. She self-consciously looks away. 10. PATRICK Isaac, I know you're facing a challenging time. Perhaps you would like to say something... Isaac nods, rises. ISAAC Yeah, um... I'm Isaac. 17. Eye cancer. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- It's looking like another surgery in a couple weeks. After which, well, I'll be blind... Hazel tries to focus on what Isaac's saying but it's difficult. She still feels the Beautiful Boy's gaze on her. ISAAC Not that I'm complaining or anything. I know a lot of you have it way worse but, still, I mean, you know, being blind's gon na suck... As Isaac shares, the Beautiful Boy does n't look away from Hazel. Hazel finds this intimidating. And intimidation irritates her. So she decides to play the game with him, meeting his gaze and holding it just as firmly. A staring contest. ISAAC... My girlfriend helps. And friends like Augustus here... Isaac nods towards the Beautiful Boy who now has a name -AUGUSTUS. He still does n't look away from Hazel. ISAAC So... yeah. That's what's up. ALL IN UNISON `` We're here for you Isaac.'' The staring contest continues another few beats until : PATRICK And does your friend want to speak? This causes the Beautiful Boy to momentarily look away. Aha, he's lost the contest! Hazel smiles, flicks her eyebrows up as if to say `` Victory is mine!'' He smiles back at her, the most radiant smile on the planet. He turns back to the Group. GUS Hi. I'm Augustus Waters. 17. Had a touch of osteosarcoma bout a year and a half ago - lost this baby as a result... 11. Gus holds up his right leg - a prosthetic. GUS But really I'm just here at Isaac's request. PATRICK And how are you feeling Augustus? GUS Me? Oh I'm grand. I'm on a roller coaster that only goes up, my friend. Hazel smiles. Gus catches this. Embarrassed, she stops smiling and looks away. PATRICK Perhaps you'd like to share your fears with the group, Augustus. GUS My fears? Gus thinks about this. GUS Oblivion. PATRICK Oblivion? ANGLE ON Hazel, intrigued. GUS Yeah, see... I intend to live an extraordinary life. To be remembered. If I'm scared of anything it's... not doing that. Patrick does n't quite have the tools to deal with that. PATRICK Would, uh, anyone like to speak to that? And Hazel's hand goes up. Even Patrick is surprised by that. PATRICK Hazel! That's unexpected. Hazel stands, takes a second to gather her thoughts. Augustus watches her, waits for it. HAZEL I just wan na say... there will come a time when, you know, all of us are dead. Gus is now even more fixed on her than before. 12. HAZEL It might be tomorrow. Might be a million years from now but... it's gon na happen. And when it does, enough generations will come and go, there'll be no one left to remember Cleopatra. Or Mozart. Or Muhammad Ali, let alone any of us, right? The look on Gus's face is unreadable. HAZEL Oblivion's inevitable. And if that scares you, well, I suggest you ignore it. God knows it's what everyone else does. A beat. And then an enormous smile spreads across Gus's face, not a flirty smile but a surprised one, a real one. CUT TO :", "EXT OUTSIDE THE CHURCH - LATER Hazel waits for her Mom's car to appear. Across the parking lot, she sees Isaac going at it with a redhead, MONICA ( 17 ), sucking face like there's no tomorrow against the door of her green Pontiac Firebird. Between kisses, we can hear : ISAAC MONICA Always. Always. And Hazel hears : GUS Literally. Hazel turns to find the Beautiful Boy, Augustus, standing right next to her. GUS I thought we were in a church basement but apparently we were literally in the heart of Jesus. Hazel smiles. HAZEL Someone should probably tell him, do n't you think? Jesus? Seems kinda dangerous keeping all these kids with cancer in your heart. Gus laughs. GUS What's your name? 13. HAZEL Hazel. GUS No your full name? HAZEL -LRB- CONFUSED -RRB- Hazel Grace Lancaster. Gus nods to himself, smiles. Still fixated on her. HAZEL What? GUS I did n't say anything. HAZEL Why are you looking at me like that? GUS Because you're beautiful. Hazel is taken aback. No one's ever said that to her before. GUS I enjoy looking at beautiful people and I decided a while back not to deny myself the simpler pleasures of existence. Particularly given that, as you so astutely pointed out, we're all gon na die pretty soon. HAZEL -LRB- BEAT -RRB- I'm not beaut -- A CUTE YOUNG GIRL walks past them. YOUNG GIRL Hey Gus. GUS Hey Alisa. Hazel is n't surprised that other girls know Gus. Of course they do. She turns back towards Isaac and Monica pawing at each other. She hears : ISAAC MONICA Always. Always. HAZEL What's with the `` always?'' 14. GUS `` Always'' is their thing. They'll `` always'' love each other and whatnot. Must have texted `` always'' to each other at least four million times this year. They continue to watch the show. It's pretty gross. Isaac squeezes Monica's breast like a clown horn. HAZEL He's got ta be hurting her boob. GUS Let's watch a movie. Hazel is again surprised. HAZEL Oh. Um. Uh... -LRB- yes! -RRB- Sure. Yeah. I'm... pretty free this WEEK -- GUS No I mean now. HAZEL What? GUS Hmm? HAZEL What do you mean `` now?'' GUS I've got a car. He shrugs. Hazel has never seen someone so confident. HAZEL You could be an axe murderer. GUS There is that possibility. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Come on Hazel Grace... take a risk. As Hazel mulls this over, Gus reaches into his pocket and pulls out, of all things, a pack of cigarettes! Hazel is in disbelief. He flips the box open, puts a cigarette between his lips. HAZEL Oh my god. Oh. My. God. You're kidding right? -LRB- off his look -RRB- You just ruined the whole thing! 15. GUS Whole thing? HAZEL What, you think that's cool? Oh you idiot! There's always a hamartia, is n't there? And yours is - even though you had FREAKING CANCER you give money to a corporation for the chance to acquire EVEN MORE CANCER!? Ugh. And you were doing so well. As she rants, Gus continues to look at her with that smile on his face. Hazel does not find it so amusing. HAZEL Let me tell you... not being able to breathe? Sucks. Totally sucks. GUS Hamartia? Hazel folds her arms and turns away from him. HAZEL A fatal flaw. Gus takes a beat and then moves to face her, the smile still etched on his face. GUS They do n't hurt you unless you light them. HAZEL Sorry? GUS I've never lit one. Hazel turns back to him. GUS It's a metaphor. See? You put the thing that kills you between your teeth. But you do n't give it the power to do the killing. Hazel is floored. And impressed. HAZEL Metaphor. Gus holds her gaze. And it's at this point Frannie pulls up. FRANNIE Hi sweetheart. Ready for some `` Model?'' 16. Hazel looks at Gus, cigarette dangling from his lips. Cool as anything. Handsome as hell. She looks back at her mom. HAZEL Ca n't tonight. -LRB- off her confused look -RRB- I've made plans with Augustus Waters. And with that, she walks off. Frannie looks at the boy with the cigarette in his mouth. This could be trouble. Or awesome. Or both. And we CUT TO :", "INT GUS'S CAR - LATER Hazel is terrified. Turns out, Gus is the world's worst driver. When he brakes, her body flies forward against the seatbelt. And when he hits the gas, seconds later, her neck snaps back in the seat. Gus sees the look on her face. GUS I failed the test a couple times. HAZEL You do n't say. GUS Most amputees can drive with no problem but... yeah. Not me. HAZEL I'm surprised you have a license. GUS Tell me about it! Another brake forces Hazel against the seat belt. GUS The fourth time I took the test... it was going about how this is going... and when it was over, the instructor looks at me and goes, `` your driving, while unpleasant... is not technically unsafe.'' HAZEL Aha. Cancer perk. GUS Total cancer perk. A few beats of silence. GUS So what happened to you? Hazel takes a deep breath. She's told this story before but somehow this seems different. 17. HAZEL I was 13 when they found it. And as she speaks, we see it unfold. SMASH CUT TO :", "INT HOSPITAL BED - FLASHBACK 13-YEAR OLD HAZEL has a biopsy. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Stage IV thyroid cancer.", "INT OPERATING ROOM - FLASHBACK 13-YEAR OLD HAZEL on the operating table. It's a nightmare. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I had surgery first.", "INT SEVERAL MORE HOSPITAL ROOMS - FLASHBACK This poor little girl is taking a beating. And it's just getting started. - Radiation treatment. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Then Radiation... - Having her head shaved by Frannie. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Then Chemo... - With a PICC line in a chemo chair. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- All of which worked for a while. - A RADIOLOGIST looks at an X-ray. He's not pleased. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And then stopped working. - 14-Year Old Hazel lies in bed, struggling to breathe. Frannie runs her fingers through her hair. Dad calls 9-1-1. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And then my lungs started filling up with water. - In the ICU, her parents standing over her. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That should have been the end. 18. FRANNIE -LRB- through the tears -RRB- Are you ready, sweetie? 14-Year Old Hazel nods. Michael ca n't keep it together any longer. He completely breaks down. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But it was n't.", "INT ICU - THE NEXT MORNING The sun shines in the room. 14-year old Hazel eats ice chips, the color has returned to her cheeks. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The antibiotics kicked in. They drained the fluid from my lungs. And in time I got better. Stronger.", "INT YET ANOTHER HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY Slightly older Hazel is getting more intravenous medication. It's never ending. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I even found myself in an experimental trial. You know the ones that are famous in the Republic of Cancervania for not working. - A SECOND RADIOLOGIST examines a second X-ray. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's called Phalanxifor. Did n't work in over 70 percent of patients but, for some reason... The Radiologist looks surprised. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... it worked in me. They called it `` The Miracle.'' AND FINALLY, BACK TO :", "INT GUS'S CAR - SAME Gus has one eye on the road, the other on Hazel. He was impressed with her before. He's totally dazzled now. HAZEL Tumors shrank, my mets have hardly grown since... -LRB- MORE -RRB- 19. HAZEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Of course my lungs still suck but, theoretically, they could continue to suck in just this way for, I dunno, a while maybe. GUS Wow. HAZEL Yeah. GUS So are you back in school or...? HAZEL Ca n't. GUS Why not? HAZEL Got my GED. GUS A college girl! Well that explains the aura of sophistication... He smiles at her. She smiles back. Shoves his upper arm playfully. They're easing into each other. Eventually Gus's car pulls into his driveway. GUS We're here. He's as good at parking as he is at driving. CUT TO :", "EXT/INT GUS'S HOUSE - SAME Hazel follows Gus inside. She quickly notices all sorts of engraved plaques and framed signs with phrases like `` Home is Where the Heart Is'' and `` True Love is Born from Hard Times.'' Hazel looks at Gus quizzically. GUS My parents call them `` encouragements.'' -LRB- rolling his eyes -RRB- Do n't ask. Gus's MOM and DAD ( 40s ) are in the kitchen making dinner. GUS Hey guys. GUS'S MOM Augustus, hi. New friend? 20. Gus's parents do n't seem surprised to see Gus with some random girl in their house. Hazel takes note of that. GUS This is Hazel Grace. HAZEL It's just... Hazel. GUS'S DAD How's it going, Just Hazel? GUS -LRB- ABRUPTLY -RRB- Downstairs if you need us! Gus drags Hazel to the next room. As she's pulled : HAZEL Nice to meet you! They walk down the carpeted stairs - Gus having an easier time with his one leg than Hazel is with her oxygen tank and weak lungs. Eventually they arrive at Gus's basement bedroom. There's a TV with a video game console, a few band posters, and a whole host of basketball memorabilia ( autographed sneakers, school trophies, framed images etc. ) Gus sees her looking at them. GUS I used to play. HAZEL Must have been pretty good. GUS These are mine. And these. The rest of it's just cancer perks. Gus grabs a DVD from his stack of DVDs. Hazel sits down on the bed, her breathing noticeably heavier. HAZEL Need to sit. Gus sits down next to her on the bed. HAZEL Do n't get any ideas. -LRB- catching her breath -RRB- All that standing... and stairs... and then more standing... lotta standing for me. GUS I understand. 21. HAZEL I'll be fine in a minute. Unless I faint. I'm a bit of a Victorian lady, fainting-wise. Gus smiles. He waits for her breathing to slow down. In time : GUS You ok? Hazel nods, smiles. GUS So what's your story? HAZEL I already told you my story. I was DIAGNOSED -- GUS Not your cancer story. Your story. Interests, hobbies, passions, weird fetishes... HAZEL Um... GUS Do n't tell me you're one of those people who becomes their disease. HAZEL No. I'm just... I do n't know... un- extraordinary. GUS I reject that out of hand. -LRB- beat, Hazel shrugs -RRB- Think of something you love. First thing that comes to mind. HAZEL `` An Imperial Affliction.'' GUS Ok. What's that? HAZEL It's a novel. My favorite novel. GUS Does it have zombies? HAZEL -LRB- LAUGHING -RRB- What? No. GUS Stormtroopers. 22. HAZEL Seriously? -LRB- HE SHRUGS -RRB- It's not that kind of book. GUS Sounds horrible. HAZEL It's not, it's... kind of my bible actually. GUS Interesting. What's it about? HAZEL Cancer. -LRB- off his look -RRB- But not in that way, trust me. The guy who wrote it, Peter Van Houten, he's... well, the only person I've ever come across who seems to a ) understand what it's like to be dying and b ) not have died. GUS -LRB- INTRIGUED -RRB- In that case... I am going to read this horrible book with the boring title that does not contain zombies or stormtroopers. And in exchange... Gus pulls a book from his bookshelf. GUS... all I ask is that you read this brilliant and haunting novelization of my favorite video game. Hazel looks at the slim, ridiculous novella. She laughs. She's adorable when she laughs. She takes the book from him and as she does, their hands get tangled together for a brief, charged moment. GUS Your hands are cold. HAZEL Not so much cold as under- oxygenated. GUS Ooh Hazel Grace...  -LRB- BEAT -RRB- I love it when you talk medical to me. Hazel blushes. And off her completely smitten smile, CUT TO : 23.", "INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - ANOTHER NIGHT Hazel sits in bed reading Gus's novella. Frannie stands in the doorway, notices the new book. FRANNIE That's different. Hazel shrugs. Frannie looks intrigued. FRANNIE Did he give it to you? HAZEL By `` it'' do you mean herpes? Frannie rolls her eyes. Hazel's phone buzzes. She excitedly checks it - only to be disappointed. Frannie notices. FRANNIE I'm sure he'll call, do n't worry. HAZEL I'm not worried. Please. It's not like I'm waiting for him to call or anything. I just... we hung out. No big deal. Frannie says nothing to that. Her silence says it all. Hazel ROLLS HER EYES. CUT TO :", "QUICK SERIES OF SCENES: Hazel continues `` not to wait'' for Gus's call. We see her : - Brushing her teeth. And checking her phone. - Watching TV. And checking her phone. - Eating breakfast. And checking her phone. - Looking out the window on a rainy day. Trying not to check her phone. Willing herself to not check the goddamn phone. And checking the phone. Where is he?! Did he forget about h er?", "INT HAZEL'S DINING ROOM - NIGHT Hazel at the dinner table with her parents. She's a little sullen, barely touching her food. Hazel's phone buzzes. She tries not to seem too eager to check it, what with her parents watching and all. She subtly looks down at her lap. And sure enough : a text from Gus! Her eyes bug out. We see : 24. `` Tell me my copy is missing the last ten pages or something.'' Hazel smiles. Goes back to eating. Frannie and Michael share a quick glance. A second later, there's a follow-up text. `` Tell me I have NOT reached the end of this book!'' Hazel smiles again. And then a third text : `` A BOOK CAN'' T END IN THE MIDDLE OF A SENTENCE?! WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS THIS MADNESS! AAAAHHHH!'' Hazel now laughs out loud. Michael clears his throat. Hazel looks up. MICHAEL Would you like to be excused?", "EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - BACKYARD - MOMENTS LATER Hazel sits down on a patio chair and dials the phone. Gus answers on the first ring. GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Hazel Grace. HAZEL Welcome to the sweet torture of reading `` An Imperial --'' At which point she hears a loud WAIL coming from the other end of the phone. HAZEL What the -- are you ok? GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Me? Yeah. I'm excellent. INTERCUT BETWEEN HAZEL ON THE PATIO AND :", "INT GUS'S BASEMENT BEDROOM - SAME Isaac's head is buried in Gus's couch. He's wailing like a banshee, having some kind of nervous breakdown. GUS -LRB- INTO PHONE -RRB- I am, however, with Isaac. Hazel hears more wailing. Has no idea what to make of it. 25. GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- TO ISAAC -RRB- Dude! Hey! Does Support Group Hazel make this better or worse? Hazel genuinely has no idea what the hell is going on. GUS Isaac! Focus. On. Me. Hazel waits a few beats for Gus to come back on. Finally : GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- TO HAZEL -RRB- How fast can you get here? Hazel thinks about this. And on her face, CUT TO :", "INT GUS'S BASEMENT - LATER Hazel descends the steps. She hears an ungodly moan before she sees anyone. What has she gotten herself into? Gus appears at the base. GUS -LRB- calling to Isaac -RRB- Isaac, Hazel from Support Group is coming downstairs. Gus waits for a response. None comes. He gestures for her to follow him into the room. Before he does : GUS A gentle reminder : Isaac is in the midst of a psychotic episode.  -LRB- HAZEL NODS -RRB- You look nice, by the way. Hazel blushes, follows Gus into the room to find Isaac sitting upside down in a gaming chair. Tears are flowing down his reddened cheeks. Empty soda cans and bags of junk food lie around him. HAZEL How ya doing Isaac? Again, no response. Hazel looks to Gus for an explanation. GUS Seems Isaac and Monica are no longer a going concern. HAZEL Oh I'm sorry. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Do you want to talk about it? Isaac starts to sob again. 26. GUS He just wants to cry and play video games. HAZEL Fair enough. GUS It does n't hurt to talk to him, however. If you have any sage words of feminine advice... HAZEL I actually think his response is appropriate. GUS `` Pain demands to be felt.'' HAZEL -LRB- lights up at that -RRB- You're quoting my book! Gus winks at her. At which point, Isaac lets out another howl. Gus gestures for Hazel to sit. The two of them flank Isaac. He finally speaks. ISAAC She did n't want to do it after the surgery. Said she could n't handle it. I'm about to lose my eyesight and she ca n't handle it. Hazel rubs his shoulder in sympathy. ISAAC I kept saying `` always'' to her. Always, always, always. And she just kept talking over me and not saying it back. It was like I was already gone, you know? `` Always'' was a promise! You ca n't break promises. HAZEL Sometimes people do n't understand the promises they're making when they make them. ISAAC Right, sure, but you keep the promise anyway. That's what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway. GUS That could be an `` encouragement.'' It's silent for a beat. And then Isaac stands up, a funny look on his face. 27. GUS Isaac...? Suddenly Isaac starts kicking his chair across the room. GUS Here we go... The chair lands against the bed. Gus hands Isaac something else to throw, a pillow. Isaac grabs the pillow and slams it against the wall. He dives on it and beings pummeling the pillow like a maniac. GUS That's it! Punch that thing. And so he does. As he continues to, Gus looks at Hazel, cigarette dangling from his mouth. GUS I've been wanting to call you on a nearly minutely basis but I have been waiting until I could form a coherent thought in re : `` An Imperial Affliction.'' -LRB- SHE SMILES -RRB- I ca n't stop thinking about it. HAZEL I know, right? GUS The only problem is the ending. HAZEL It is rather abrupt. GUS It's torture! I mean, I totally get that she died or whatever - Anna. But there is an unwritten contract between author and reader and I think ending your book in the middle of a sentence kind of violates that contract. HAZEL But that's part of what I like about it. It portrays death truthfully. You die in the middle of your life, in the middle of a sentence. But I do - God, I do want to know what happens to everyone else. GUS Yeah like her Mom. HAZEL The Dutch Tulip Man... 28. GUS Sysiphus the Hamster... Hazel beams. Gus totally gets the book. A bond between them. GUS Have you tried contacting this... Peter Van Houten? HAZEL I've written letters. He's never responded. Apparently he moved to Amsterdam, became a recluse. Has n't published anything. Does n't do interviews. GUS Sad. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Hang on. -LRB- turns to Isaac -RRB- Isaac! Gus stands and takes the pillow out of Isaac's hand. GUS Pillows do n't break. Gus hands Isaac one of his basketball TROPHIES. GUS You need to break something. Isaac looks at it, then back to Gus as if asking permission. Gus nods. Isaac holds it over his head and SMASH! The trophy breaks into a million pieces. Isaac almost smiles. Gus hands him another. GUS Go to town, my friend. And Isaac does. Smashing them one by one. Hazel looks at Gus. GUS I've been looking for a way to tell my Dad that I kinda hate basketball. Think maybe we've found it. Isaac grabs more of the TROPHIES, smashing them to pieces. Gus and Hazel enjoy the spectacle. When there are none left Isaac is panting, standing over the bronze carnage. GUS Feel better? Isaac thinks about it. Shakes his head no. Gus puts his arm around him but looks at Hazel. 29. GUS That's the thing about pain... it demands to be felt. Hazel smiles. And on her face, we CUT TO :", "INT LANCASTER HOUSE - DINING ROOM - ANOTHER NIGHT Where Hazel is having dinner with her parents. FRANNIE Dr. Maria called today. The PET Scan is set for the eighth. Hazel nods. This could be a source of worry but she's not going to think about that right now. She's upbeat. And she's actually eating, which her parents ca n't help but notice. Frannie and Michael look at one another, pleased. FRANNIE I told you Support Group was a good idea. Hazel's phone buzzes. `` Augustus.'' She looks to her parents. MICHAEL By all means.", "EXT HAZEL'S BACKYARD - MOMENTS LATER Hazel lays on the grass in her backyard staring up at the stars. She rings him back and as she does SPLITSCREEN w/ Hazel in the grass and :", "INT GUS'S BASEMENT BEDROOM - SAME Gus ( upside down ) in bed, a laptop on his chest. GUS Hazel Grace. HAZEL Hello Augustus. GUS So I read it again. And I just kept feeling like... like it was a gift. Like you'd given me something important. HAZEL -LRB- TOUCHED -RRB- You're welcome. GUS On the other hand... we need closure, do n't we? 30. HAZEL What we need is a sequel. GUS Yes. We need to know what happens to Anna's family after she dies. HAZEL That's what I kept asking Van Houten for in my letters. GUS But he never wrote back. HAZEL That's correct. GUS Because he's a recluse. HAZEL Yeee-up. GUS Utterly unreachable. HAZEL Unfortunately so. Gus clears his throat, smiles. Hazel waits. GUS `` Dear Mr. Waters... I am writing to thank you for your electronic correspondence received this 6th of April. Hazel sits up. Could it be...? GUS `` I am grateful to anyone who sets aside the time to read my book...'' HAZEL Augustus!? GUS I found his assistant. I emailed her. She must have forwarded it to him. -LRB- Hazel is stunned -RRB- Shall I continue? HAZEL Keep reading, keep reading! 31. GUS `` I am particularly indebted to you, sir, both for your kind words about ` An Imperial Affliction' and for taking the time to tell me that the book, and here I quote you directly, ` meant a great deal' to you.'' Hazel pays attention to every word. GUS `` To answer your question : No, I have not written anything else, nor will I. I do not feel that continuing to share my thoughts with readers would benefit either them or me. However thank you again for your generous email. Yours most sincerely, Peter Van Houten. HAZEL You're making this up? GUS Hazel Grace, could I, with my meager intellectual capabilities, make up a letter from the great Peter Van Houten? HAZEL Holy hell. GUS Indeed. HAZEL Can I... would you mind... GUS -LRB- SMILING -RRB- Go check your in-box. Hazel jumps up as fast as her lungs will allow. CUT TO :", "INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT Hazel sits at her computer, Van Houten's assistant's email address staring her in the face. The cursor blinks on a blank page. And then Hazel starts writing... HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Dear Mr. Peter Van Houten, my name is Hazel Grace Lancaster. My friend Augustus Waters, who read your book - at my recommendation - just received an email from you at this address. I hope you will not mind that he shared that email with me.'' 32. While Hazel reads the letter, we see a SERIES OF SCENES showing the next several days. They include : - Hazel and Gus drinking coffees at a cafe. He's enthusiastically telling a story and she's enjoying every moment of it. - Hazel helping Gus become a better driver. It's no use. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` I was wondering if you would n't mind answering a few questions I have about what happens after the end of the book. Specifically, the FOLLOWING :'' - In his kitchen, laughing, trying to make omelettes. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Does Anna's Mom marry the Dutch Tulip Man ; is the Dutch Tulip Man up to something - or is he just misunderstood? What happens to Anna's friends? - Watching TV. Their bodies almost touching. But not quite. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Lastly, I was hoping you could shed some light on Sisyphus the Hamster. These questions have haunted me for years. And I do n't know how long I have left to get answers to them.'' And finally, back in Hazel's bedroom. She finishes reading this letter into the phone. HAZEL `` I know these are not important literary questions and that your book is full of important literary questions, but I would just really like to know.'' INTERCUT w/ Gus bouncing a ball against the wall, listening. HAZEL -LRB- reading it aloud to him -RRB- `` And of course, if ever you do decide to write anything else, even if you do n't want to publish it, I'd love to read it. Frankly, I'd read your grocery lists. Yours with great admiration, Hazel Grace Lancaster. Age 16.'' GUS Not bad. 33. HAZEL You think? GUS Bit pretentious. But then again, Van Houten uses words like `` tendentious'' and... `` bacchanalia'' so I think he'll like it. Hazel smiles, looks at a clock. HAZEL Is it really almost 1? GUS Guess so. HAZEL I got ta get to sleep. GUS Ok... HAZEL Ok... Neither one of them want to hang up the phone. GUS Ok... HAZEL Ok... They both laugh at this. GUS Perhaps `` ok'' will be our `` always.'' Hazel smiles. HAZEL Ok. GUS Ok. HAZEL Ok. Gus hangs up. We stay with Hazel. Is it really possible this Beautiful Boy likes her? She thinks about it. She's not convinced. CUT TO :", "INT HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY Isaac lies in bed, bandages covering his eyes, now officially blind. A NURSE attends to him while Hazel sits by his side. 34. ISAAC She has n't even visited. Fourteen months we were together. What kind of person... ISAAC'S NURSE You'll get over her Isaac. Just takes a little time. You'll see. The Nurse exits the room. ISAAC Is she gone? HAZEL Yeah. ISAAC Did she really just say `` you'll see?'' HAZEL -LRB- shakes her head -RRB- Qualities of a Good Nurse. Go. ISAAC Does n't pun your disability. HAZEL Gets blood on the first try. ISAAC That is huge. I mean, seriously, is this my freakin' arm or a dartboard? Three - no condescending voice. HAZEL -LRB- lays it on thick -RRB- `` I'm gon na stab you with this needle now, so there might be a little ouchie.'' They laugh and then lapse into silence for a moment. HAZEL You doing alright, Isaac? ISAAC I do n't know. To be honest, I think a hell of a lot more about Monica than my eye. Is that crazy? That's crazy. HAZEL It's a little crazy. 35. ISAAC But I believe in love, you know? I do n't believe that everybody gets to keep their eyes or not get sick or whatever, but everybody should have true love. Do n't you think? Hazel thinks about it as Isaac presses the button on his pain pump, self-administering morphine. ISAAC Gus was here earlier. HAZEL -LRB- trying to be nonchalant -RRB- Was he? Isaac exhales as the pain pump starts to kick in. ISAAC Mmm... that's better. HAZEL The pain? -LRB- off his slow nod -RRB- Good. Good, Isaac. -LRB- Isaac closes his eyes -RRB- What about Gus? But Isaac is already asleep. Whatever he was going to say about Gus is gone. Hazel nods, pats his hand. CUT TO :", "INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - MORNING Hazel rolls out of bed, stumbles to her computer. She casually checks her in-box and is shocked to discover - he's written her back! HAZEL Holy shit!  -LRB- READING ALOUD -RRB- `` Dear Ms. Lancaster... I can not answer your questions, at least not in writing, because to do so would constitute a sequel, which you might publish or otherwise share on the internet. Not that I do n't trust you, but how could I trust you, I barely know you.'' Hazel's jaw hangs open as she reads the next part : HAZEL `` Should ever you find yourself in Amsterdam, do pay a visit at your leisure. Yours most sincerely, Peter Van Houten'' Son of a - WHAT IS THIS LIFE!!! 36. Frannie races in, clearly expecting a health problem. FRANNIE What's wrong?! HAZEL -LRB- realizing she scared her -RRB- Nothing. Sorry. FRANNIE -LRB- CONFUSED -RRB- Nothing? HAZEL Everything! Look! Hazel shows Frannie the note. Frannie reads it. HAZEL Can we go to Amsterdam? Please? Frannie thinks about how to respond for a beat. FRANNIE Hazel, I... I love you and... you know I'd do anything for you, but we do n't... -LRB- PAINED -RRB- We do n't have the money. The expense of getting equipment over there - love, it's just not possible... HAZEL -LRB- DEFLATES -RRB- No, yeah, of course. Clearly Frannie feels awful. Which makes Hazel feel awful. FRANNIE I mean, I could talk to your father OR -- HAZEL Mom, no. Please. Do n't do anything. Forget I mentioned it. A beat between them. Frannie walks out, sadly. Hazel sits on the bed, totally bummed now for two reasons. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Guilt is definitely a side effect of cancer.", "EXT SUBURBAN STREET - LATER Hazel and Gus walk together on the sidewalk. 37. GUS Just use your wish. HAZEL I've used it already. Pre- `` Miracle.'' GUS What'd you do? Hazel does n't want to say. Gus realizes. GUS Not Disney. HAZEL I was 13... GUS Tell me you did not go to Disney World. -LRB- Hazel looks away -RRB- Hazel Grace! You did not use your one dying Wish to go to Disney World! HAZEL -LRB- FEEBLE -RRB- And Epcot Center. GUS -LRB- hands in the air -RRB- Oh my God! HAZEL -LRB- DEFENDING HERSELF -RRB- We had fun on that trip. GUS That is the saddest thing I've ever heard! HAZEL I met Goofy... GUS Now I'm embarrassed. HAZEL Why are you embarrassed? GUS How can I have a crush on a girl with such cliche wishes? HAZEL Wait, what? The word `` crush'' has taken Hazel totally by surprise. 38. GUS What? She looks at him. A beat. She quickly looks away, blushing. Gus continues on about Disney but all Hazel can think about is `` CRUSH''. She tries not to seem too excited. CUT TO :", "INT PET SCAN ROOM - DAY Hazel, in a hospital gown, is slowly fed through the machine. A TECH explains that she should hold still, try and relax, etc. But Hazel knows. She knows all about these procedures. She's a pro. CUT TO :", "EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - FRONT Gus is waiting on the front stoop when Frannie's car pulls up. They're home from the hospital. He wears an Indiana Pacers JERSEY and carries a bouquet of bright orange TULIPS. Michael gets out of the passenger's seat to help Hazel out of the car. Gus rises to assist them. MICHAEL Is that a Rik Smits jersey? GUS It is indeed. MICHAEL -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Man, I loved that guy. Hazel sees Gus, was n't expecting him. HAZEL Gus? GUS Hi Hazel. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- How would you like to go on a picnic?", "INT HAZEL'S LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER Gus is with Frannie and Michael downstairs. FRANNIE Something to drink? GUS I'm great Mrs. Lancaster. 39. Meanwhile, upstairs, Hazel gets ready for the date. She's put the orange flowers in a toothbrush holder and is putting on LIP GLOSS. She can faintly hear the conversation downstairs. ANGLE ON Gus sitting on the stairs. Michael next to him. MICHAEL You're a survivor yourself? GUS -LRB- taps his leg -RRB- Did n't cut this fella off for the hell of it. Though it is an excellent weight-loss strategy. Legs are heavy! MICHAEL How's your health now? GUS N-E-C for fourteen months. MICHAEL That's fantastic. GUS I'm very lucky. ANGLE ON Hazel, checking herself out in the mirror. Seems to like what she sees a lot more than before. BACK ON Gus and Michael, downstairs : MICHAEL Son, you have to understand... Hazel's still pretty sick. She will be the rest of her life. ANGLE on Hazel, who can hear all of this. She stops what she's doing and listens. MICHAEL She'll want to keep up with you - she's that kind of girl - but the truth is, her lungs -- HAZEL You ready Gus? Hazel appears, silencing her Father mid-sentence. CUT TO :", "EXT PARK - LATER Behind the Indianapolis Museum of Art is 152 Acres of Gardens and Grounds. Hazel and Gus walk together. HAZEL Is this where you bring all your romantic conquests? 40. GUS Every last one. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Probably why I'm still a virgin. Hazel laughs, elbows him. HAZEL You're not a virgin. -LRB- off his look -RRB- Are you really? Gus picks a STICK up from the dirt. Draws a BIG CIRCLE in it. GUS See this? This circle is virgins... Now Gus draws a much smaller circle inside that circle. GUS And this... is 17 year old dudes with one leg. Hazel laughs. Point made. He grabs her hand, helps her walk up a tiny hill. Once up there, Gus lays a blanket on the ground. They sit, looking out over a rather odd SCULPTURE - a set of GIANT WHITE BONES where children can jump and play. GUS -LRB- EXPLAINING -RRB- `` Funky Bones'' by Joep Van Lieshout. HAZEL He sounds Dutch. GUS And he is. Much like Rik Smits. And tulips. Hazel raises an eyebrow at Gus. He's sure taking this Amsterdam/Dutch thing pretty far. He removes some sandwiches and orange juice out of a basket. GUS Sandwich? HAZEL Let me guess -- GUS -LRB- NODS -RRB- Dutch cheese. And tomato. -LRB- she takes one -RRB- The tomatoes are Mexican. Sorry. They eat for a second, their eyes watching the children play on the bones. 41. GUS How cool is that? A skeleton being used as a playground. HAZEL You do love your symbols. GUS Speaking of which... Gus stands up, takes a cigarette, puts it in his mouth. He clears his throat. GUS You're probably wondering why you're sitting here eating a bad cheese sandwich and drinking orange juice with a guy in a Rik Smits jersey. HAZEL It has crossed my mind. GUS Hazel Grace, like so many before you - and I say this with great affection - you spent your Wish... moronically. HAZEL I was thir -- GUS Hush! I'm in the midst of a grand soliloquy here. HAZEL Sorry. Please, continue... GUS You were young. Impressionable. The Grim Reaper staring you in the face. And the fear of dying with your one true Wish left ungranted led you to rush into making one you did n't really want, for how could little Hazel Grace, having never read `` An Imperial Affliction'' ever know that her one TRUE wish was to visit Mr. Peter Van Houten in his Amsterdamian exile. Hazel nods in agreement. GUS If you were smart, you would have saved your wish til the time in your life when you really knew your true self. 42. Gus stops talking. Hazel is confused. HAZEL But I... did n't save it. Gus smiles. GUS Good thing I saved mine. Hazel cocks her head to one side. What is he talking about? GUS Got it in exchange for the leg.  -LRB- BEAT -RRB- And I still have it. She starts to realize. HAZEL Are you saying -- GUS I'm not gon na give you my Wish or anything. But I too have an interest in meeting Peter Van Houten and it would n't make much sense to meet him without the girl who introduced me to his book, now would it? -LRB- Hazel's eyes widen -RRB- I talked to the Genies and they're in total agreement. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- We leave on May third. Hazel is so excited that she grabs Gus and pulls him into a hug. Their faces close, lips inches apart, and just when it looks like something might happen -- HAZEL Wait a minute. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Are you only doing this so I'll kiss you? A beat. Gus blinks a few times. HAZEL Cause I'd totally kiss you either way. And kiss him she does. He's surprised. And when it's over, they sit back, look at one another. A magic moment. HAZEL Seriously... why are you doing this? 43. GUS Because Hazel Grace... I found my Wish. And Hazel is beyond touched. We hear : FRANNIE -LRB- OVERLAP -RRB- Are you out of your mind?", "INT HAZEL'S UTILITY ROOM - DAY Frannie folds laundry while Hazel pleads her case. FRANNIE It's too much, Haze. We ca n't accept something like that from a virtual stranger. HAZEL He's not a stranger. FRANNIE Really? HAZEL Do n't be gross. FRANNIE It's still `` no,'' I'm afraid. HAZEL Can we at least ask Dr. Maria?", "INT DOCTOR'S OFFICE - ANOTHER DAY Where Hazel's oncologist DR. MARIA shakes her head. DR. MARIA That's out of the question. HAZEL You said the PET scan was encouraging! DR. MARIA The PET scan is encouraging. We just do n't know how long it'll stay that way. What if you get sick in a foreign country? HAZEL They have doctors in Amsterdam. And cancer. Someone will know what to do. 44. DR. MARIA Be that as it may, without someone familiar with your particular case, I ca n't -- HAZEL -LRB- turns to her Mom -RRB- So you'll come too. FRANNIE What? HAZEL The Genies can hook it up. They're loaded. FRANNIE I -- HAZEL You've never been to Amsterdam, have you Mom? And judging from her face, seems she'd kinda like to. Dr. Maria looks at Frannie, shrugs - kid's got a point. Hazel smiles. And on that smile, we SMASH CUT TO : BLACK. Over which, we HEAR : HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And then this happened.", "INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT [ Note : There's no sound in this sequence. Just images. ] Hazel wakes up screaming in the middle of the night, shaking and holding her head. Frannie and Michael burst in. Mom grabs her crying daughter, frightened beyond belief, waves to Michael to call for help. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- People talk about the courage of cancer patients. And I do not deny that courage... He leaves the room to do so and Fran stays behind, rocking with her daughter, promising her it'll all be ok. Whatever nightmare this is, it's going to end. CUT TO :", "INT FRANNIE'S CAR - MOMENTS LATER Still silent. Michael drives, trying to keep it together. Frannie's in the back with Hazel's head in her lap. 45. Hazel continues to scream in silence, whether from pain or terror, we do not know. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'd been poked and stabbed and poisoned for years and still I trod on.", "INT EMERGENCY ROOM - MOMENTS LATER Michael carries Hazel into the chaotic emergency room. They're practically running. There's still no sound. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But make no mistake... The doctors rally to assist the screaming, crying child. She's wheeled away from her family who can only watch. We stay with her and WE HEAR : HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- In that moment I would have been very, very happy to die. END SEQUENCE.", "INT HOSPITAL ROOM - ICU - MORNING The sound returns. And it's the sound of a heart monitor. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. It's also the sound of a working heart. Hazel has made it through. Her eyes open. A NURSE is there. HAZEL'S NURSE Hello. HAZEL Hi. HAZEL'S NURSE You're ok, Hazel. Even Hazel seems surprised by that. HAZEL'S NURSE Would you like to see your parents? Hazel nods. The Nurse goes to get them. Soon they come bounding in, crying and kissing her repeatedly. So much relief. CUT TO : LATER. Hazel's bed has been raised up so she can talk to her parents `` comfortably.'' FRANNIE They thought it was a brain tumor. MICHAEL It was n't - thank god -- 46. HAZEL So what happened? FRANNIE The usual. Fluid in the lungs, preventing oxygenation. They put that in... There's a TUBE in Hazel's side draining fluid into a plastic bladder that hangs off her bed. FRANNIE Drained a liter and a half last night. ( That's a lot of fluid. ) MICHAEL The good news is... no tumor growth. No new tumors in your body. Hazel nods. That is a relief. MICHAEL We're all so relieved. Frannie embraces her daughter. FRANNIE This is just a thing Hazel. It's a thing we can live with. Hazel nods again. Only in the universe of Hazel Grace Lancaster is something like this just a thing. Meanwhile :", "INT HOSPITAL ICU - WAITING AREA - LATER Here's Gus, his foot tapping nervously on the floor. It's unclear how long he's been waiting there. He sees Michael walk down the hall. Races after him. GUS Mr. Lancaster! How's she doing? MICHAEL Better, thank you. Much better. Gus nods, as relieved as the rest of them. GUS They wo n't let me in. Family only. MICHAEL I'm sorry -- GUS No I get it. Will you just... will you tell her I was here? 47. MICHAEL Of course I will. Gus smiles. And sits back down. Though he wo n't get to see her, he still wants to stay. MICHAEL Gus. Michael really likes this kid. MICHAEL Why do n't you go home, get some rest? Gus looks up. That might be for the best. CUT TO :", "INT HOSPITAL - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAYS LATER Hazel and her Parents sit at a very large conference table along with Dr. Maria and THREE OTHER ONCOLOGISTS - her whole `` Cancer Team.'' ONCOLOGIST #1 The great news is... Phalanxifor continues to control your tumor growth. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- The not so great news is we're still seeing serious problems with fluid accumulation. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- So how should we proceed? Silence. Hazel looks around the room, waits for someone to answer. No one does. HAZEL Um, I feel like I'm not the most qualified person to answer that. ONCOLOGIST #1 I was talking to Dr. Simmons. DR. SIMMONS ( late 60s, white beard, old school ) speaks next. DR. SIMMONS It's a strange case. Normally the tumors start resisting the treatment. But that has n't happened here - yet. Hazel hears the `` yet'' the loudest. DR. SIMMONS Unfortunately, the drug may be worsening the edema. 48. DR. MARIA But if we stopped it entirely, we're likely to face even graver dangers. MICHAEL So we're gon na do nothing? DR. MARIA That's what we have to decide. The truth is... very few people have been on Phalanxifor as long as Hazel has. We do n't really know the long term effects. That comforts no one. HAZEL Ca n't I just get like a lung transplant or something? The Doctors look at one another like `` who wants to take that one?'' Eventually : DR. MARIA You would not be considered a... strong candidate for a transplant. Hazel takes that in, nods, tries to pretend it did n't bother her. Sensitive Michael on the other hand starts to cry a little bit. He grabs Frannie's hand. DR. SIMMONS We're trying to prevent endothelial growth while at the same time preventing immunosorbent... As Dr. Simmons drones on with some cancer gobbledygook, Hazel's eyes remain firmly fixed on her parents. She hates what she's doing to them. And seeing them holding hands, crying but trying not to cry - it jogs a memory. CUT TO :", "INT HOSPITAL ICU - FLASHBACK We saw this once before. It looks like the end for 13-year old Hazel. Her father is weeping off to the side while her mom stands over her, holding her hand, and asking : FRANNIE -LRB- through the tears -RRB- Are you ready, sweetie? 13-year old Hazel nods. The doctors get to work. The anaesthetic takes hold and Hazel goes under. But not enough. Cause she totally hears her mother say : FRANNIE I wo n't be a mom anymore. 49. SHE FALLS INTO HER HUSBAND'S CHEST. AND WE'RE BACK TO :", "INT HOSPITAL - CONFERENCE ROOM Hazel comes out of the memory when her parents see her staring at them. She tries to shake it off. Dr. Simmons is still talking nonsense when : HAZEL I have a question. DR. MARIA Yes Hazel. HAZEL Can I still go to Amsterdam? Dr. Simmons ca n't help himself. He laughs. Everyone looks at him. He clears his throat. DR. SIMMONS That would not be wise at this juncture. HAZEL Why not? DR. SIMMONS Excuse me? HAZEL Why not, Dr. Simmons? DR. SIMMONS I -- The doctors are trying to be delicate here. DR. MARIA It would... increase some risks -- HAZEL So does going to the mall -- DR. MARIA Yes but an airplane? HAZEL They have oxygen on airplanes. FRANNIE HAZEL -- HAZEL It's my life, right? DR. SIMMONS You're Stage IV -- 50. HAZEL I have this opportunity I may never have again. If the medicine's working, I do n't see why -- DR. SIMMONS Because, Hazel. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Look, I do n't know any other way to say this... You're just too sick. And this is like a punch in the gut. DR. SIMMONS I'm sorry. Everyone feels horrible now. Dr. Maria, Frannie and Michael, and even Hazel. This meeting could n't have gone worse. And we CUT TO :", "EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY Hazel parent's bring her home from the hospital. She looks miserable. It's clear the last few days have been a big emotional set back. CUT TO :", "INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - LATER Her parents tuck her in. FRANNIE We'll be right outside. Hazel nods. Her phone buzzes. She looks at it. A text from Gus that reads : `` ok?'' Hazel looks at it. And she does n't write back. CUT TO :", "INT HAZEL'S KITCHEN - ANOTHER NIGHT Hazel sits staring at nothing. The house phone rings. Michael comes in from another room with the phone in hand. Whispers : MICHAEL Gus again. Hazel thinks about it - silently shakes her head, no. Michael says into the phone. MICHAEL I'm sorry Gus, she's asleep. Hazel stands and goes into her bedroom, clearly depressed. 51.", "INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - LATER Hazel reads from `` An Imperial Affliction.'' Her phone buzzes again. `` Augustus.'' It just says `` hello?'' Again she ignores it. And then a second text. She looks at it. `` The silence is deafening.'' She puts the phone back down. Hazel's heart breaks. She ca n't take it anymore. She picks the phone back up. She texts the following : `` I do n't know if you'll understand this but I ca n't see you anymore. I mean I want to. I just...'' She thinks about the rest. She writes : `` I'm a grenade.'' She sends the text. Waits. And then there's more to say. She sends a second text. `` When I look at you, all I can see is what I'm going to put you through. I ca n't have that. I'm sorry.'' She sends that text. Waits. He writes back. `` Ok.'' Hazel reads it. Writes back : `` Ok.'' A beat. Gus responds : `` oh my god, stop flirting with me!'' Hazel smiles - she ca n't help herself! - but she must. She gets her emotions in check. Puts the phone away. CUT TO :", "EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - ESTABLISHING An ugly day in Indianapolis.", "INT HAZEL'S HOUSE - SAME Inside, Hazel is about as miserable as the weather. The sky and the circumstances - have cast a grey pall over the day.", "EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - BACKYARD Hazel walks out back. Looks up at the clouds, threatening rain but not yet delivering it. She sits down in the grass, on the verge of tears. She looks at the old rusty SWING SET that's been in her backyard for years. 52. And starts to cry. Just for a few brief moments, she lets herself cry. Then she wipes the tears. Becomes strong again. And makes a decision. Hazel dials her phone. We hear : GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Hazel Grace! HAZEL Hi Augustus. GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Are you crying, Hazel Grace? HAZEL Kind of. GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- What's the matter? HAZEL I do n't know. I want to go to Amsterdam. And I want him to tell us what happens after the book and I do n't want my particular life and also the sky is making me sad and there's this old swing set that my Dad made for me when I was a kid. It's just... everything. Hazel is on the verge of losing it again. A few beats of silence pass by. GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I demand to see this swing set of tears. Hazel ca n't help but smile and we CUT TO : LATER. Same backyard - only now Hazel is with Gus. Which makes everything better. They both look at the swing set. GUS I see your point.  -LRB- BEAT -RRB- That is one sad swing set. Hazel nudges her head onto his shoulder. HAZEL Thanks for coming over. 53. GUS You do realize... trying to keep your distance from me will in no way lessen my affection for you. Hazel says nothing. GUS All efforts to save me from you will fail. Hazel looks at him. He's sure not making this easy. GUS Is this about Amsterdam? Cause we DO N'T -- HAZEL It's not about Amsterdam. It's about me. It's about... GUS Grenades. Hazel nods. GUS I get it. One day you're going to explode in a huge ball of fire and everyone close to you will die in your wake. HAZEL Exactly. GUS There's already two people in your life you're going to destroy. Why add a third to that list. Am I right? HAZEL -LRB- NODS -RRB- That's why I do n't have a hamster. Gus is silent. He ca n't argue. They stand there quietly a few more beats, looking out at the swing set. Until : GUS We have got to do something about this frigging swing set.", "INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER Hazel sits at the computer screen writing a Craigslist post. Gus stands next to her. 54. HAZEL -LRB- TYPING -RRB- `` Swing Set Needs Home.'' GUS `` Desperately Lonely Swing Set Needs Loving Home.'' HAZEL `` Lonely, Vaguely Pedophilic Swing Set Seeks Butts of Children.'' Gus laughs. HAZEL No? Gus laughs harder. Hazel laughs with him. GUS That's why. Hazel looks at him, not understanding. GUS In case you were wondering... that's why I like you. -LRB- beat, off her look -RRB- You're so busy being you that you have no idea how utterly unprecedented you are. Hazel absorbs that. Her feelings for this boy in a tangle. CUT TO :", "EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - BACKYARD Gus and Hazel watch as a TOWNIE finishes loading the swing set into the back of his PICK-UP. Gus salutes the swing set as the truck drives off. Then he sneaks a quick kiss on Hazel's cheek. She shoots him a look. Gus throws up his hands. GUS Friendly. She playfully elbows him away.", "EXT CHURCH - ANOTHER DAY Hazel walks with Isaac out of Support Group. ISAAC Do you like him? HAZEL Of course I like him. 55. ISAAC But you do n't want to hook up with him? Hazel does n't know what she wants. HAZEL It's complicated.", "INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - DAY Hazel is at her computer reading a new email from Lidewij Vliegenthart. Clearly Hazel was not expecting this. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- `` Dear Hazel, I have received word via the Genies that you will be visiting us with Augustus Waters and your mother beginning on the 4th. A week away! Peter and I are delighted and can not wait to -- Hazel is confused. She stands and walks into the hallway. HAZEL Mom? No response. HAZEL Mom! -LRB- STILL NOTHING -RRB- MOM!!! Frannie races out of her room in a towel, dripping wet. FRANNIE What is it, what's wrong?! HAZEL Sorry, I... I did n't know you were in the shower. FRANNIE -LRB- EXHAUSTED -RRB- Bath. I was just... just trying to take a bath for five seconds. What's the matter? HAZEL Did you ever call the Genies to tell them the trip is off? I just got an email from Peter Van Houton's assistant. She still thinks we're coming. Frannie purses her lips and squints past Hazel. Clearly unsure what to say. 56. HAZEL What? Frannie ca n't keep a straight face. FRANNIE I'm not supposed to tell you until your father gets home. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- We're going to Amsterdam. HAZEL -LRB- still not believing -RRB- Really... FRANNIE Dr. Maria called last night and made a convincing case that you need to live -- HAZEL -LRB- YELLING -RRB- I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! Hazel ca n't move all that fast to hug her Mom so Frannie comes to her and they embrace. After : FRANNIE I'm getting back in the tub now. When she leaves Hazel grabs her cell phone. ANGLE ON IT. Hazel sends Gus the following text : `` STILL FREE MAY 3? : - )'' A moment later Gus responds : `` EVERYTHING'S COMING UP WATERS!'' Hazel is over the moon with excitement. She smiles, then tries to calm herself, knowing it's the best thing. HAZEL -LRB- whispering to her lungs -RRB- One week, lungs. Keep your shit together one more week...", "INT KITCHEN - ONE WEEK LATER Luggage waits by the door, including oxygen tanks and medical equipment. Frannie makes breakfast as Hazel enters, now dressed and excited for the trip. HAZEL Amsterdam! FRANNIE Amsterdam! And a moment later Michael joins them. 57. MICHAEL Amsterdam! They're all going crazy with excitement! CUT TO :", "EXT HOUSE - LATER Michael finishes loading up the car. Kisses his wife goodbye. He embraces Hazel. She hugs him back and of course he starts to cry. MICHAEL -LRB- WHISPERING -RRB- I love you. I'm so proud of you. HAZEL For what? Michael lets go of her and wipes away his tears. They look at each other. Unable to help himself, he grabs her for another hug. Hazel lets him, laughing.", "INT / EXT CAR - LATER The car is packed with oxygen tanks, a suitcase for clothes, another for medicines and back-up medicines just in case etc. Frannie pulls up to Gus's house. They get out of the car and head to the front door, buzzing with excitement. As they get close, they can hear a commotion inside. A WOMAN'S VOICE yelling something unclear, followed by : GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- BECAUSE IT'S MY LIFE, MOM. IT BELONGS TO ME! Frannie immediately puts her arm around Hazel and quickly spins her back to the car. HAZEL Mom? FRANNIE We ca n't eavesdrop, Hazel. Back at the car, far out of earshot, they wait. Hazel unsure what that was about. Frannie politely honks the horn. A moment later Gus emerges from the house, smiling. A travel bag over his shoulder and a cigarette dangling from his lips. GUS -LRB- TO FRANNIE -RRB- Always a pleasure to see you ma'am. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Hello, Hazel Grace. 58. HAZEL Ok...? GUS Ok. HAZEL Ok. Frannie does n't know what to make of any of that. She just says, when they stop and look at her : FRANNIE Amsterdam!", "EXT AIRPORT - ESTABLISHING A SKYCAP helps Hazel, Gus and Frannie with all their bags and equipment.", "INT AIRPORT - MOMENTS LATER They wait in line for the security checkpoint. When it's Hazel's turn she unhooks the plastic nubbins from her nose. Gus places the oxygen tank on the conveyer belt. Hazel takes slow, careful steps through the metal detector. She seems determined to get through this without any help. But upon reaching the other side it's clear that even these few steps without oxygen were a struggle. Hazel holds on to the side of the conveyer belt to steady herself. As soon as her tank reappears she puts the cannula back in place. Still light-headed, Hazel closes her eyes and focuses on her breathing. She catches her mom looking at her, nervously. HAZEL -LRB- with some difficulty -RRB- Amsterdam!", "INT AIRPORT GATE - LATER Arriving at the Gate area they draw curious looks from the OTHER PASSENGERS : Hazel with her oxygen tank, Gus with his noticeable limp and Frannie helping with the equipment. A YOUNG COUPLE gets up so that Hazel and Gus can sit. HAZEL Oh that's not necessary. But they give up their seats anyway. Hazel and Gus take them. We see various Passengers watching. Hazel ignores the attention until a LITTLE GIRL ( 6, cute braids ) appears. 59. LITTLE GIRL What's in your nose? HAZEL It's called a Cannula. These tubes give me oxygen and help me breathe. The GIRL'S MOTHER swoops in, a little frantic. GIRL'S MOTHER Jackie... Oh, I'm sorry. HAZEL -LRB- SINCERE -RRB- No, no. It's alright. LITTLE GIRL Would they help me breathe too? HAZEL I dunno. Wan na try? Hazel removes her cannula and let's the Little Girl try it. LITTLE GIRL Tickles. HAZEL Right? LITTLE GIRL I think I'm breathing better. HAZEL Well... I'd love to give you my cannula but... I kinda really need the help. The Little Girl nods, hands it back to Hazel, who quickly reattaches it. LITTLE GIRL Thanks for letting me try it. They smile at each other before the Little Girl walks back to her family. She waves. Hazel waves back. AIRPORT ANNOUNCEMENT -LRB- O.S. -RRB- We will now begin pre-boarding Flight 144 to Amsterdam. For those passengers in need of extra assistance... HAZEL I think that's us. 60.", "INT AIRPLANE - MOMENTS LATER Hazel sits in the middle with Frannie on the aisle and Gus at the window. He looks around, antsy. HAZEL Have you never been on a plane before? Gus shakes his head, he has not. And he's nervous. He pulls a cigarette out of his pocket and puts it in his mouth. Within seconds a FLIGHT ATTENDANT rushes over. FLIGHT ATTENDANT Sir, you ca n't smoke on this plane. Or... any plane. GUS -LRB- cigarette in his mouth -RRB- I do n't smoke. The Flight Attendant shoots him a look. HAZEL It's a metaphor. He puts the killing thing in his mouth but does n't give it the power to kill him. FLIGHT ATTENDANT -LRB- NO NONSENSE -RRB- That metaphor is prohibited on today's flight. Gus nods and puts the cigarette away. PA SYSTEM `` Flight attendants, prepare for departure.'' The engines roar to life and the plane accelerates towards take off. Gus is getting more worried by the second. He grabs the arm rest, his eyes wide. HAZEL Ok? Gus does n't say it back. Hazel laughs. HAZEL This is what it feels like to ride in a car with you. Gus grabs Hazel's hand as the plane lifts off. He looks out the window - they're flying! - and then back to Hazel. GUS We're flying! Look! Hazel smiles at his enthusiasm. 61. GUS Holy -- look at that?! NOTHING HAS EVER LOOKED LIKE THAT EVER IN ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY! He's adorable at this moment. Hazel ca n't resist leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek. FRANNIE -LRB- not looking up from her MAGAZINE -RRB- Just so you know, I'm right here. Sitting next to you. Your mother. HAZEL We're just friends, Mom. GUS She is. I'm not. Hazel shoots him a look. Gus shrugs - `` what, it's the truth.'' Hazel just shakes her head. CUT TO : LATER. Mid-flight, the plane is dark, Frannie's asleep. Hazel and Gus watch the same gory action movie. Actually, he watches the movie. She just watches him watch it. He watches it with gusto. Hazel continues to watch him. Try as she might, she's falling in love. CUT TO : SFX : the PLANE touching down. CUT TO :", "EXT/ INT AMSTERDAM HIGHWAY - TAXI CAB - MORNING Hazel, Gus, and Frannie ride in the back of a YELLOW CAB. CAB DRIVER Americans? FRANNIE We're from Indiana. CAB DRIVER Indiana. They steal from the Indians but the keep the name, yes? Hazel and Gus share a look. HAZEL Something like that. Meanwhile, the landscape outside is flat and dusty, with dirt tracks and the occasional concrete building. In other words, it looks more like Indianapolis than Holland. HAZEL -LRB- to the Driver -RRB- This is Amsterdam? 62. CAB DRIVER Yes and no. Amsterdam is like the rings of a tree. It gets older as you get closer to the center. Soon enough, the cab takes an off-ramp and turns a corner and suddenly, it's as if they're transported - not only to another universe but to another time as well. We see MULTI-COLORED ROW HOUSES lined on both sides of a windy CANAL. HOUSEBOATS float against the edges and everyone rides BICYCLES down cobblestone streets. They're astounded.", "INT HOTEL - LATER Gus helps Hazel and Frannie bring their stuff into the room. We see a WICKER BASKET of gifts - presents from the Genies - welcoming their arrival. Hazel, exhausted, sits on the bed. GUS I'll be right down the hall. Hazel nods, already drifting off to sleep. CUT TO :", "INT HOTEL ROOM - HOURS LATER Some time later. Hazel stirs. Her Mom is seated in a sagging, paisley CHAIR across from the bed reading a TRAVEL GUIDE. HAZEL Good morning. FRANNIE Actually, it's five o'clock. HAZEL How was the park? FRANNIE Never made it. HAZEL Mom! FRANNIE What? I like watching you sleep. Hazel shoots Frannie a look. Even in an exotic city, her Mom still ca n't enjoy herself. FRANNIE I promise I'll do crazy Mom stuff tonight while you and Gus are at dinner. HAZEL What do you mean? 63. FRANNIE You have reservations at a place called Oranjee. Mr. Van Houten set it up. Very fancy according to the Book. And romantic. HAZEL Mom... FRANNIE I'm just saying... HAZEL A 16 year old girl running free with an older boy on the streets of a foreign city famous for its vice and debauchery... is totally cool with you. Is that what you're saying? FRANNIE -LRB- beat, excited -RRB- Let's get you dressed! Hazel just shakes her head. CUT TO :", "INT HOTEL ROOM - LATER Frannie opens the door to find Gus in a perfectly tailored BLACK SUIT, cigarette dangling from his mouth. FRANNIE -LRB- calling to the bathroom -RRB- Hazel! Gus is here. -LRB- TO GUS -RRB- Looking sharp. GUS Thank you ma'am. A few beats later Hazel emerges from the bathroom. She wears a knee-length, pale blue SUNDRESS. And she looks... GUS Wow. HAZEL I... -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Am I under-dressed? GUS You look gorgeous. Gus offers Hazel his arm. She takes it. They're ready to go. 64.", "INT/EXT AMSTERDAM - ON THE TRAM - LATER Hazel and Gus ride the crowded tram through the city. ELM TREES line the canals, their pale petals blowing into the wind like a spring snowstorm. An OLD COUPLE stands to give up their seats - this happens all the time. Hazel again tries to protest and again it falls on deaf ears. She and Gus sit. They look out the window onto the city. Excited. The night just beginning.", "EXT ORANJEE RESTAURANT - LATER At the edge of the canal, near an ancient bridge. Hazel and Gus are shown to a TABLE right next to the water. HOSTESS Your table, Mr. And Mrs. Waters. Gus pulls out Hazel's chair for her. A WAITER brings them a bottle of CHAMPAGNE as they sit. HOSTESS The champagne is our gift. Hazel and Gus look at each other. Is this a dream? The champagne is poured and Gus raises his glass. GUS Ok. Hazel raises hers. HAZEL Ok. They clink glasses and sip. HAZEL Wow that's good. WAITER Do you know what Dom Perignon said after he invented champagne? -LRB- BEAT -RRB- ` Come quickly,' he said. ` I am tasting the stars!' Hazel and Gus smile. WAITER Welcome to Oranjee. Would you like a menu or will you have the chef's choice? Gus looks at Hazel. She shrugs. 65. GUS The chef's choice sounds lovely. -LRB- the Waiter nods -RRB- And can we get more of this? WAITER We have bottled all the stars for you this evening, my young friends. The Waiter leaves. Hazel and Gus look at each other. GUS Thank you for coming to Amsterdam. HAZEL Thank you for letting me hijack your wish. GUS Thank you for wearing that dress which is like whoa. Hazel shakes her head, trying not to smile but unable not to. The Waiter brings two more glasses of champagne and a plate : WAITER Belgian white asparagus with a lavender infusion. Hazel takes a bite. HAZEL Oh my god. GUS Yeah? Gus takes a bite. HAZEL I mean... GUS That is just... HAZEL There are no words. Meanwhile, down on the water a BOAT passes, filled with merry, drinking LOCALS. One of them raises a glass to them and says something in Dutch. GUS -LRB- SHOUTING BACK -RRB- We do n't speak Dutch! ANOTHER LOCAL She says, `` the beautiful couple is beautiful!'' 66. Hazel and Gus smile. This night could not be going any better so far. CUT TO : LATER. Hazel and Gus enjoying their second courses. GUS I want this dragon carrot risotto to become a person so I can take it to Vegas and marry it. Hazel leans back in her chair, in need of a breather. HAZEL I like your suit. GUS Thanks. First time wearing it. HAZEL That is n't the suit you wear to funerals? GUS Oh no. That one's not nearly this nice. -LRB- off her look -RRB- When I first found out I was sick - I mean, they told me I had like an 85 % chance to be cancer-free. Great odds, sure. But that meant a year of torture, the loss of my leg, and still a 15 % chance it might fail. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- So right before the surgery I asked my parents if I could buy a suit, like a really nice suit, just in case I did n't make it. HAZEL It's your death suit. GUS That's what it is. HAZEL I have one of those. Bought it for my 15th birthday. Do n't think I'd wear it on a date, though. GUS Are we on a date? HAZEL -LRB- cocks her head -RRB- Watch it. Gus winks. CUT TO : LATER. Dessert on the table. As they euphorically eat : 67. GUS God? HAZEL Maybe. GUS Angels? HAZEL Undecided. GUS Afterlife? HAZEL No. Well... -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Maybe I would n't go so far as to say no. I just... I'd like some evidence. -LRB- GUS NODS -RRB- What do you think? GUS Absolutely. HAZEL Really? GUS Oh for sure. I mean, not like a heaven where you ride unicorns, play harps, and live in a mansion made of clouds but, yeah, I believe in something. Hazel is surprised. GUS Something becomes of us. It has to. Otherwise what's the point? HAZEL Maybe there is no point. GUS I refuse to accept that. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- I wo n't accept it. Hazel thinks about it. She appreciates his conviction but is still not sure she agrees. The hand they've been dealt too unfair. Hazel looks out at the water as she says : HAZEL I hope you're right. GUS I'm in love with you. 68. That gets her attention. GUS You heard me. HAZEL AUGUSTUS -- GUS I'm in love with you. And I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you. -LRB- shrugs, matter-of-fact -RRB- Sorry. At which point, the Waiter reappears. WAITER More stars? Hazel is still too speechless to respond, her eyes fixed on Gus. Eventually Gus answers for them. GUS Just the check, please. WAITER No, sir. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Your meal has been paid for by Mr. -LRB- Van Houten. -RRB- Gus raises his eyebrows at Hazel. This Van Houten guy is something else.", "EXT AMSTERDAM CANALS - LATER Hazel and Gus on a park bench, his arm around her, looking out over the water. Seeds blow from the elm trees and the reflections of the city ripple in the water below them. Hazel leans into his body, just a little. They stay like that, savoring the best night of both of their lives. CUT TO :", "EXT AMSTERDAM - HOTEL - ESTABLISHING A crisp Spring morning in Amsterdam. The buzz in the air outside is equalled by the buzz in : 69.", "INT HOTEL ROOM - SAME Where Hazel excitedly paces through the room. FRANNIE I really do n't get that shirt. Hazel wears a screen print t-shirt of Magritte's `` Ceci N'est Pas Une Pipe.'' ( A painting of a pipe with words below that mean `` This is not a pipe.'' ) HAZEL Van Houten will get it. Trust me. There are like fifty Magritte references in `` Imperial Affliction.'' FRANNIE -LRB- READING -RRB- `` This is not a pipe.'' HAZEL Exactly. FRANNIE But it is a pipe. HAZEL No it's not. It's a drawing of a pipe. See? -LRB- SHE DOES N'T -RRB- All representations of a thing are inherently abstract. A drawing of a thing is not the thing itself. Nor is a t-shirt of a drawing of a thing the thing itself. Frannie is still at a loss but she's impressed. FRANNIE When did you get so grown up? I feel like it was yesterday I was telling 8-year old Hazel why the sky was blue. You thought I was a genius back then. HAZEL Why is the sky blue? FRANNIE -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Because I say so. A knock on the door. Gus pokes his head in. GUS Who's ready for some answers! 70.", "EXT. VONDELSTRAAT ROW HOUSES - LATER Gus and Hazel stand outside Van Houten's white house. HAZEL I'm so excited I can barely breathe. GUS As opposed to other days...? She playfully hits him. He takes her arm, picks up the oxygen tank, and up they go towards his front door. As they approach, there's a noticeable NOISE coming from inside the house. It's the deep thump of a BASS BEAT. Loud. Like, obnoxiously loud. Hazel grabs the brass ornament and knocks. They wait. There's no response. GUS Maybe he ca n't hear over the music? Gus tries again, this time with more force. Still nothing. He tries a third time. Finally, the music stops. They wait. Still excited. A moment later the door swings open. It's a MAN IN PAJAMAS ( 60s ), with a huge potbelly, thinning hair, and a week-old beard. All he says is : MAN IN PAJAMAS What?! Gus and Hazel look to one another. Could it be? GUS Mr. Van Houten? At which point, the Pajama Man slams the door in their faces. Hazel and Gus are too stunned to react. Through the closed door, they hear this : MAN IN PAJAMAS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- SHOUTING -RRB- LEEE-DUH-VIGH! WOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Are they here, Peter? So it is PETER VAN HOUTEN. Gus and Hazel ca n't believe it. MAN IN PAJAMAS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- There are two -- -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Who the hell's `` they?'' 71. WOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- They are Augustus and Hazel, the young fans with whom you've been corresponding. Gus and Hazel smile at hearing their names. Perhaps this will help things take a turn for the better. MAN IN PAJAMAS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- The Americans? WOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You invited them, remember? MAN IN PAJAMAS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You know why I left America, Lidewij? To never have to encounter Americans. Get rid of them. Hazel and Gus ca n't believe it. This is terrible! WOMAN'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I will not do this Peter. Be nice. At which point, the door opens - opened by the Woman whose voice they'd been hearing - Van Houten's assistant LIDEWIJ ( 30s, Dutch, pretty in a bookish way ). She virtually shoves Van Houten towards a stunned Gus and Hazel. And they are again face-to-face with Van Houten. One beat, two beats. No one knows what to say. Finally : VAN HOUTEN Which of you is Augustus Waters? Gus raises his hand tentatively. Van Houten sizes them up. Without another word, he turns and walks inside - at least this time, leaving the door ajar. LIDEWIJ Please. I am sorry. Come in. Hazel and Gus share one more awkward glance before Gus takes a step. Hazel follows. They walk :", "INT VAN HOUTEN'S HOME - SAME Lidewij leads Gus and Hazel into a living room so sterile it's creepy. The walls are empty and white, there's a single couch, a small ottoman, and a single lounge chair. That's it. Van Houten sits in the chair. Off to the side are two large black garbage bags, full and twist-tied. HAZEL Trash? 72. LIDEWIJ Fan mail. 18 years worth. He never opens it. Van Houten kicks his feet up on the ottoman and crosses his slippers. He motions for them to sit on the couch. VAN HOUTEN Yours are the first missives to which I've replied and look where that got me. Hazel and Gus take their seats. VAN HOUTEN Scotch? HAZEL Um, no thanks. VAN HOUTEN Augustus Waters? GUS It's 11am. VAN HOUTEN Just me then, Lidewij. Scotch and soda. LIDEWIJ Perhaps some breakfast first Peter? VAN HOUTEN She thinks I have a drinking problem. LIDEWIJ I also think the Earth is round. Nevertheless, Lidewij pours Peter half a glass and hands it to him. He takes a sip, then sits up straight. VAN HOUTEN So you like my book. HAZEL Yes. We - well, Augustus, he made meeting you his Wish so that we could come here and talk to you. Van Houten says nothing. Takes a long pull on his drink. VAN HOUTEN Did you dress like her on purpose? HAZEL -LRB- looks at her shirt -RRB- Kinda. 73. Van Houten says nothing to that. VAN HOUTEN I do not have a drinking problem. I have a Churchillian relationship with alcohol : I can crack jokes and govern England and do anything I want to do. Except not drink. He glances over at Lidewij, who dutifully refills his glass. GUS Incidentally, thank you for dinner last night. VAN HOUTEN -LRB- TO LIDEWIJ -RRB- We bought them dinner last night? LIDEWIJ It was our pleasure. VAN HOUTEN -LRB- SIGHS -RRB- You've come a long way so... what is it I can do for you? HAZEL We have some questions -- VAN HOUTEN Uh-huh... HAZEL About what happens, you know... after... the end of your book. Specifically to those who Anna leaves behind. Like her Mom, the Dutch Tulip Man, Sisy -- VAN HOUTEN -LRB- INTERRUPTING -RRB- How familiar are you with Swedish hip-hop? Hazel looks at Gus. Is he kidding? HAZEL I would say... limited? VAN HOUTEN But presumably you know Afasi Och Filthy's seminal album `` Flacken.'' GUS Um... VAN HOUTEN Lidewij! Play ` Bomfalleralla' immediately. 74. Lidewij sighs but she does as she's told. A few seconds later, some loud Swedish rap song blasts from the speakers. Hazel and Gus sit through this, totally baffled. HAZEL -LRB- yelling over the music -RRB- I'm sorry, sir. We do n't speak Swedish. VAN HOUTEN -LRB- YELLING -RRB- Who the hell speaks Swedish? The important thing is not what nonsense the voices are saying, but what the voices are feeling. The song continues another awkward ten seconds or so before Gus has enough. He gets up and turns off the music. GUS Are you messing with us? VAN HOUTEN Pardon? GUS Is this some kind of performance? VAN HOUTEN Rudolf Otto said that if you had not encountered the numinous then his work was not for you. And I say to you, my friends, if you can not hear Afasi Och Filthy's bravadic response to fearfulness, then my work is not for you. Hazel is really getting worried at this point. They came all this way for this? HAZEL So anyway... when the book ends, Anna's mom -- VAN HOUTEN -LRB- raising a hand to silence HER -RRB- Let us imagine that you are racing a tortoise. Hazel and Gus fidget in their seats. Lidewij frowns, clearly feeling bad for them. Van Houten continues. VAN HOUTEN The tortoise has a ten yard head start. In the time it takes you to run ten yards, the tortoise has moved maybe one yard. And so on, forever. -LRB- MORE -RRB- VAN HOUTEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You are faster than the tortoise but you can never catch him, you see, you can only decrease his lead. Now certainly you can run past the tortoise as long as you do n't contemplate the mechanics involved but the question of how turns out to be so complicated that no one really solved it until Cantor's proof that some infinities are bigger than other infinities. 75. Hazel and Gus have no idea how to respond. VAN HOUTEN I assume that answers your questions. GUS -LRB- TO HAZEL -RRB- I do n't know what's going on. VAN HOUTEN And yet you seemed so intelligent in print, Mr. Waters. -LRB- under his breath -RRB- Must be all that cancer in your brain. LIDEWIJ Peter! Gus could throw a punch right now. Hazel tries to calm the situation. HAZEL Can we please, maybe, talk about Anna for a sec? I mean, I understand that the story ends mid- sentence because she dies or she becomes too sick to continue -- VAN HOUTEN I'm not interested in talking about that book. HAZEL - but that does n't mean her family and everyone she loves does n't have a future, right? VAN HOUTEN I said I'm not interested -- HAZEL -LRB- GETTING UPSET -RRB- But you promised! -LRB- CALMS HERSELF -RRB- -LRB- MORE -RRB- 76. HAZEL -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Mr. Van Houten, you said you would tell us what happens and that's why we're here. We... I need you tell me. Surely you've thought about it. I mean, as characters -- VAN HOUTEN Nothing happens to them! They're fictions. They cease to exist the moment the novel is over. This is not what Hazel came all this way to hear. She wo n't accept it. HAZEL They ca n't! -LRB- again, has to calm HERSELF -RRB- I mean, I understand. In a literary sense. But it's impossible NOT to imagine some future -- VAN HOUTEN I ca n't do this. Lidewij, get rid of them, please. -LRB- Lidewij does n't move, he turns back to Hazel -RRB- I wo n't indulge your childish whims. I refuse to pity you in the manner in which you're accustomed. HAZEL I do n't want your pity -- VAN HOUTEN Of course you do. Like all sick kids, your existence depends on it. LIDEWIJ Peter! VAN HOUTEN -LRB- on a roll -RRB- You are fated to live out your days as the child you were when diagnosed, the child who believes there is life after a novel ends. And we, as adults, we pity this, so we pay for your treatments, for your oxygen machines. We give you food and water though you are unlikely to live long enough -- LIDEWIJ PETER! VAN HOUTEN You are a side effect of an evolutionary process that cares little for individual lives. -LRB- MORE -RRB- 77. VAN HOUTEN -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You are a failed experiment in mutation. LIDEWIJ I RESIGN! Lidewij has tears in her eyes. Gus has balled his fists. But not Hazel. Van Houten's words have not phased her one bit. She rises from the couch. HAZEL Hey listen douchepants. You're not gon na tell me anything I do n't already know about illness. I need one thing and one thing only from you before I walk out of your life and that's for you to tell me what happens to your goddman characters! VAN HOUTEN -LRB- BEAT -RRB- I can not tell you. HAZEL Bullshit! VAN HOUTEN I can not -- Van Houten goes to take a drink but... HAZEL Make something up. ... Hazel smacks it right the fuck out of his hands, surprising everyone. After a beat : VAN HOUTEN Lidewij. I'll have a martini please. LIDEWIJ I have resigned. VAN HOUTEN Oh do n't be ridiculous. No one moves. Van Houten realizes he's alone in this. VAN HOUTEN I'd like you to leave now. HAZEL You're really not gon na tell us? VAN HOUTEN I would like you... to leave. 78. Hazel is furious. Gus stands next to her, touches her arm is if to say `` come on, enough of this guy.'' CUT TO :", "EXT VAN HOUTEN'S HOUSE - SAME Gus and Hazel come out of the house, practically shaking. As they get to the street, Van Houten has one more thing to say. VAN HOUTEN Have you ever stopped to ask why you care so much about your silly questions? A beat. HAZEL Go fuck yourself. Van Houten does n't have a response to that. He just shuts the door. And when he does, that's when Hazel gets emotional. GUS Hey. It's ok. It's ok... -LRB- beat, an idea -RRB- I'll write you a sequel. -LRB- she cries harder -RRB- I will. Better than any shit that drunk could write. With blood and guts and sacrifice. You'll love it. Hazel nods, then wipes away tears. She fakes a smile and Gus gives her a hug. Afterwards : HAZEL I spent your Wish on that asshole. GUS You did not spend it on him. You spent it on us. They embrace once more. HAZEL I wanted... GUS I know... I know. Apparently the world is not a wish-granting factory. This gets a real smile from Hazel. That's when Lidewij comes outside. Clearly she's been crying too. LIDEWIJ I'm so sorry. Circumstance has made him cruel. I thought meeting you would help him, if he would see that his work has shaped real lives, but... I'm very sorry. 79. Hazel says nothing. Gus holds her in a very protective way. LIDEWIJ Perhaps we can do some sightseeing. Have you seen the Anne Frank House? GUS I'm not going anywhere with that monster. LIDEWIJ He is not invited.", "EXT ANNE FRANK HOUSE - LATER Lidewij walks back from the ticket kiosk with more bad news. LIDEWIJ I'm afraid there's no elevator. HAZEL Oh, um, that's alright. LIDEWIJ No, there are many stairs. Steep stairs. HAZEL I can do it. GUS HAZEL -- HAZEL I can do it! Hazel is not going to stand for any more disappointments today. They are going inside. CUT TO :", "INT ANNE FRANK HOUSE - GROUND FLOOR - MOMENTS LATER A VIDEO plays on a MONITOR showing the Nazi invasion of Holland. Hazel and Gus stand with Lidewij in a pack of BACKPACKERS and TRAVELERS about to take the tour. Many of them begin to walk up the first flight of stairs. LIDEWIJ Shall we? Hazel nods. Both Hazel and Gus walk slowly up the stairs. So far so good. They find themselves in an office space. LIDEWIJ This is the bookcase that hid the Frank family and four others. The BOOKCASE is half open. Behind it is an even steeper set of stairs, only wide enough for one person at a time. 80. Some of the Travelers begin to walk up the stairs. Gus looks at Hazel - are you sure we should continue? She begins the climb, determined. Lidewij trails behind, carrying her oxygen tank. Hazel moves very slowly. We are aware of her labored breathing the entire time. ANGLE ON OTHER TOURISTS, watching and quietly commenting. Just like at the airport, except now in foreign languages. Hazel arrives on the NEXT FLOOR - an empty room. She's definitely starting to struggle. She leans against the wall to catch her breath. Gus comes to her side, wipes her brow. GUS You're a champion. Hazel smiles. When she's feeling up to it they walk into the next room, also empty. And another staircase, even more narrow and steep - practically a ladder. When Gus sees this he looks at Hazel : GUS That's enough -- HAZEL -LRB- RESOLUTE -RRB- I'm ok. Hazel very slowly begins the climb. Again we're aware of her every breath. It's dark. And it's becoming very difficult. Near the top Hazel stumbles but is finally able to pull herself through. Once there, she falls to the floor, slumping against the wall, trying to catch her breath. Gus crouches next to her. GUS We're at the top. That's it. Hazel becomes aware that TOURISTS look at her with concern. She smiles, stands up, nothing to see here. And now they're in the final room - a long, narrow hallway. This is where Anne Frank and 7 other people lived in hiding for as long as they could. There's a TIME LINE detailing their story. LIDEWIJ The only member of the whole family to survive was Otto, Anne's father. Gus takes Hazel's hand. LIDEWIJ I do n't know how you go on, without your family. 81. Lidewij stays behind to study part of the exhibit. Gus leads Hazel into the room at the end of the hallway where a VIDEO details the last days of Anne Frank's life. Over it, we hear a YOUNG GIRL's VOICE reading from the diary. The Travelers stand to watch and listen. Gus and Hazel do the same. The room is dark. GIRL'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- `` At such moment's, I do n't think about the misery...'' Gus and Hazel stand very closely together. The video is the cherry on top of a very emotional day. Hazel watches it. GIRL'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- ``... but about the beauty that still remains.'' Gus, meanwhile, is just watching Hazel, the same way she watched him on the airplane. After a beat, she catches him. Their eyes meet. The emotions build... GIRL'S VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- `` Try to recapture the happiness within yourself. Think of all the beauty in everything around you... and be happy.'' And Hazel KISSES Gus. A most passionate, intense, you-and-me- against-the-world kind of kiss, better than any they've experienced or could even imagine. It seems to last for a small eternity. Eventually, they break away and open their eyes. They quickly notice all the Travelers staring at them. For a brief second, they wonder if that was a very inappropriate thing to do... When suddenly everyone starts clapping for them, moved by the whole thing. One EUROPEAN even shouts `` bravo!'' Hazel blushes, Gus smiles, bows, he grabs her hand. CUT TO :", "INT GUS'S HOTEL ROOM - LATER They fall onto Gus's bed, kissing. Hazel is very in the moment and now it's Gus who seems nervous. As they kiss : GUS It's above my knee. She ignores him, more kissing. She takes off his shirt. GUS It tapers a little and then it's just skin -- HAZEL What? 82. Hazel pulls away from him. GUS My leg. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Just so you're prepared -- HAZEL Oh get over yourself. Hazel kisses him again. Now he tries to pull her shirt off but it gets tangled in with her oxygen tube. He ca n't figure it out. Eventually the whole thing is hilarious to them. They shake their heads - laughing - certainly not your typical Hollywood movie moment. And yet, for them : HAZEL I love you, Augustus Waters. GUS I love you too, Hazel Grace. They resume kissing. And we CUT TO :", "INT HOTEL ROOM - MORNING Gus wakes up in the bed. He looks around for Hazel but she is n't there. On the bed is a piece of paper. A note. It reads : `` Dearest Augustus...'' Beneath that is a BIG CIRCLE, labeled `` Virgins.'' And in that circle is a SMALLER SECOND CIRCLE labeled `` 17 year old dudes with one leg.'' We'll notice part of that circle is now outside the bigger circle. Gus flashes that signature smile.", "EXT CAFE - DAY Hazel and Gus sit with Frannie drinking coffee in the sun at an outdoor cafe. They're re-enacting yesterday's events. HAZEL `` Get up you fat bastard.'' GUS `` I ca n't stand up, I'm too drunk.'' HAZEL I said `` get up.'' GUS `` Standing is for fools!'' HAZEL God, what an asshole. They both giggle at the whole thing. 83. HAZEL It was awful, Mom. You ca n't imagine. FRANNIE And then what happened? HAZEL Then we went to the Anne Frank museum. FRANNIE And after that? A quick glance between Hazel and Gus. HAZEL We just... walked around. Hazel and Gus smile, thoroughly in love but trying to keep it in check in front of her Mother. FRANNIE Sounds lovely. A few beats later. FRANNIE Listen... I'm gon na stretch my legs a little. Give the two of you some time to talk. HAZEL -LRB- THAT'S WEIRD -RRB- Um... ok... As she stands up to leave, Hazel thinks she catches Gus and Frannie making eye contact for a brief second. Once Frannie has left them : HAZEL That was weird. Gus does n't respond except to say : GUS Shall we?", "EXT AMSTERDAM STREET - LATER They start to walk. Gus takes a cigarette out of his pack, sticks it between his lips. Hazel notices he's struggling with something. HAZEL Augustus? 84. GUS There's something I have to tell you... They walk in silence a few beats. GUS Just before you went into the hospital... There was this... I felt this... ache in my hip. Hazel grabs onto his arm, a lump already forming. HAZEL Oh no... Gus takes the cigarette out of his mouth, clenches his teeth tightly, trying not to cry. GUS I had a PET scan. Gus sits down on a BENCH. Looks up at her. Tries to smile. Before he even says it, she knows. GUS It lit up like a Christmas tree, Hazel... HAZEL Oh god. GUS The lining of my chest, my liver... everywhere. HAZEL Oh my god no! Hazel loses it in that moment, falling on top of him, hugging him for dear life, her head in his lap. HAZEL I'm so sorry, Augustus. I'm so so SORRY -- GUS I'm sorry too -- HAZEL It's so unfair -- GUS I should have told you -- HAZEL It's so fucking unfair! A beat. Gus still trying not to cry. 85. GUS Apparently the world is... not a wish-granting factory. And at that point, Gus lets it go, lets himself cry and be sad and feel awful. But just for a second. Then he shakes it off, pulls Hazel's face up to his, tries again to smile through the tears. GUS Do n't you worry about me, Hazel Grace. I'll find a way to hang around and annoy you for a long time. She hugs him, perhaps a little too tightly. He winces. HAZEL Does it hurt? GUS It's ok. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- I'm ok. HAZEL Ok. GUS Ok. But of course it's not ok. Not by a mile. Hazel takes a moment to look at him, touches his cheek. GUS What? HAZEL I'm just... I'm very fond of you. He grabs her hand and holds it. GUS I do n't suppose you can forget about it, treat me like I'm not dying. HAZEL I do n't think you're dying, Augustus. You've just got a touch of cancer. Gus nods. Squeezes her hand. GUS Would it be absolutely ludicrous to make out right now? 86. Hazel does n't answer. She just kisses him, hard. And on the two of them, so in love, we CUT TO :", "INT AIRPLANE - LATER Hazel lays on Gus's shoulder as he stares out the window, leaving Amsterdam behind.", "INT INDIANAPOLIS AIRPORT - BAGGAGE CLAIM - DAY As they ride down the escalator, Hazel sees Michael standing amongst the livery drivers. He holds a sign that says - instead of someone's last name - `` My Beautiful Family ( and Gus ).'' Upon seeing them, he immediately starts to cry of course. He kisses his wife, gives Hazel a big hug. Gus goes to shake his hand but Michael hugs him as well. CUT TO :", "INT HAZEL'S LIVING ROOM - THAT NIGHT Hazel sits with her father on the couch. HAZEL Gus had a recurrence. MICHAEL -LRB- NODS -RRB- Mrs. Waters told us the night before you left. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- I'm sorry Hazel. They sit for a beat. Tears form in Michael's eyes. HAZEL You're not gon na say it? MICHAEL What's that? HAZEL The usual. `` Everything happens for a reason...'' Michael shakes his head. MICHAEL I do n't know, Haze. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- I always thought being an adult meant knowing what you believe... -LRB- BEAT -RRB-... that has not been my experience. Hazel understands exactly. CUT TO : 87.", "INT GUS'S BASEMENT BEDROOM - DAY Gus lays in bed, eyes open, a PICC line now being fed through a port in his chest. Chemotherapy at work. Hazel and Isaac are keeping him company. HAZEL How are your eyes? ISAAC Great. Wonderful. I mean, they're not in my head is the only problem. GUS I hate to one-up you but... seems my entire body is made out of cancer now, so... Isaac nods. Tries not to get emotional but it's happening. He goes to touch Gus's arm and accidentally touches his thigh. GUS Whoa, I'm taken. Isaac laughs. ISAAC -LRB- to Hazel, re : Gus -RRB- Did you write his eulogy yet? Hazel is confused. GUS Dude. ISAAC What? GUS I have n't asked her. ISAAC Oh. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Oops. HAZEL What are you talking about? ISAAC My bad. HAZEL -LRB- STILL CONFUSED -RRB- Augustus? Gus looks at her, grows a little serious. 88. GUS I need speakers at my funeral. I thought maybe you and Isaac... but especially you -- ISAAC Hey! GUS Would you be kind enough to whip something up? HAZEL -LRB- touches his hand -RRB- It would be an honor. They hold holds. ISAAC You guys are adorable. Hazel play slaps Isaac on the arm. HAZEL How's your love life? Anything from Monica? ISAAC Not a word. HAZEL She has n't even like, texted to ask how you're doing? He shakes his head. Gus gets an angry look on his face. HAZEL That is so messed up! ISAAC I've stopped thinking about it. Moving on. There's a new girl in Support Group with these humongous - Isaac gestures to his chest. Hazel is confused. HAZEL How do you even know that? ISAAC I'm blind but I'm not that blind. GUS Hazel Grace! They turn to him. GUS Do you happen to have four dollars? 89. No one knows what that means. CUT TO :", "INT HAZEL'S CAR - LATER Gus is in the passenger's seat. Isaac sits in the back. Hazel returns to the car. With a CARTON OF EGGS. HAZEL Ok now what? Gus smiles. CUT TO :", "EXT SUBURBAN STREET - MOMENTS LATER Hazel, Gus, and Isaac lean against Hazel's car staring something down. ISAAC Is it there? GUS Oh it's there. REVEAL they're looking at Monica's green Firebird. ISAAC She's in the house? GUS Who cares where she is? This is not about her. This is about you. -LRB- sticks out his hand -RRB- Hazel... Hazel nods, opens the egg carton, hands Gus an egg. Gus puts it in Isaac's hands. Positions Isaac - who, of course, ca n't see a thing - towards the Firebird. Isaac winds up and tosses the EGG. It misses the car by a mile. After a beat : ISAAC I did n't hear anything. GUS A little to the left. ISAAC My throw was to the left or I should aim to the left? GUS Aim left. Isaac turns his shoulders. 90. GUS Lefter. Isaac turns some more. GUS Yes! Excellent! And throw hard. Gus hands him a SECOND EGG. Isaac winds up and hurls it - missing the car again but hitting the HOUSE. GUS Bullseye! ISAAC Really? GUS No you missed it by like 20 feet. -LRB- hands him a THIRD -RRB- Try one more time. Isaac hurls it, this time smashing the car's taillight. Isaac's face lights up. HAZEL Woo hoo! Isaac grabs for ANOTHER EGG. Throws it. Then ANOTHER. He's a throwing machine. Most of them miss but at least he's enjoying himself. Finally there's a DIRECT HIT on the car door, triggering the alarm. Isaac pauses. GUS Keep throwing, keep throwing! Isaac does. Gus smiles, putting an unlit cigarette in his mouth. Hazel watches him, enjoying this moment. Eventually, MONICA'S MOM opens the front door and comes out. MONICA'S MOM What in God's name -- Seeing Hazel, Gus, and Isaac, she stops in her tracks. GUS Are you Monica's mom? MONICA'S MOM -LRB- CONFUSED -RRB- I am. GUS Hello ma'am. Your daughter has done an injustice and we've come here seeking revenge. We may not look like much. Between the three of us, we have five legs, four eyes, and two and a half working lungs. -LRB- MORE -RRB- 91. GUS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- But we also have two dozen eggs. So If I was you, I would go back inside. Monica's Mom is very confused. A beat. Without another word, she turns and goes back inside. The three of them celebrate. As Isaac picks up where he left off, Hazel gently kisses Gus on the cheek. And over we hear : HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- A few days later, Gus landed in the hospital with chest pains.", "INT HOSPITAL - WAITING ROOM - DAY Hazel bounds in to find Mrs. Waters in the waiting room. She stands to hug Hazel. They both sit down. HAZEL How's he doing? MRS. WATERS He's had a tough night, Hazel. His blood pressure's low. His heart -- Mrs. Waters starts to cry. HAZEL What about the chemo? MRS. WATERS -LRB- shakes her head -RRB- They're gon na stop the chemo. They both know what that means. Mrs. Waters gathers herself. HAZEL Can I see him? MRS. WATERS -LRB- BEAT -RRB- We have to be a family now. Hazel nods. She understands. MRS. WATERS We'll tell him you were here. HAZEL If you do n't mind, I'll just hang for a while. Mrs. Waters nods, hugs her again, walks out through the heavy doors towards Gus's room. Hazel sits in the chair. Same chair Gus sat in while waiting for her. They've switched places. 92.", "EXT INDIANAPOLIS MUSEUM OF ART - DAY Hazel pushes Gus, now confined to a WHEELCHAIR, to their spot on the hill overlooking `` Funky Bones.'' A second picnic, this time with champagne. Hazel pours some for them both into little Winnie the Pooh cups. She's trying to be upbeat - but it's difficult. Gus watches the kids play on the bones. HAZEL What are you thinking about? GUS Oblivion. HAZEL Augustus... GUS I know it's kid's stuff but... I always thought I'd have a grand story to tell, you know? Something that would run in all the papers. I always thought I was special. HAZEL You are. GUS Yeah but... you know what I mean. Hazel, annoyed finishes her cup, tosses it to the side. Gus can tell he's said something wrong. GUS What? HAZEL I do know what you mean, I just... I do n't agree. Hazel stands up, anger building. HAZEL This obsession with being REMEMBERED -- GUS Do n't get mad -- HAZEL But I am mad! -LRB- BEAT -RRB- I think you're special, is that not enough? GUS HAZEL -- 93. HAZEL You think the only way to live a meaningful life is for everyone to love you, for everyone to remember you. Well guess what, Gus, this is your life. This is all you get. You get me, and your family, and this world. And if that's not enough, well I'm sorry, but it's not nothing. Cause I'll remember you, I'll love you -- GUS You're right -- HAZEL And I just wish... I just wish you'd be happy with that. GUS You're right. I'm sorry. -LRB- pulling her back down -RRB- I'm sorry. Gus hands Hazel another Winnie the Pooh cup. Raises his to hers in a toast. GUS It's a good life, Hazel Grace. She softens. They toast. HAZEL It's not over yet, you know. Gus nods. Of course it is n't. And yet they both know there is n't much time. CUT TO :", "INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - ANOTHER NIGHT Hazel is asleep. Suddenly, her phone buzzes. She looks at it - `` Gus'' - then she looks at the clock - 2:35am. A pit grows in her stomach. A quick panicked beat before she answers : HAZEL Hello? GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- WEAKLY -RRB- Hazel Grace. HAZEL -LRB- RELIEVED -RRB- Oh, thank God. Hi. Hi, I love you! GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I'm at the gas station -- 94. HAZEL What? GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Something's wrong. You got ta... please come help me.", "INT/ EXT HAZEL'S CAR - MOMENTS LATER Hazel drives like a maniac down the street, eventually finding herself at the Speedway gas station. Gus's car is alone in the parking lot and she pulls up next to it. She gets out of her car, opens his driver's side door, and finds him sitting there, his shirt stained with vomit and blood. She gags from the smell. GUS -LRB- MUMBLING -RRB- Hi. Hazel looks down at his hands which are pressed tightly to his belly. She sees something is leaking from the TUBE sticking out of it. HAZEL -LRB- PANICKED -RRB- Oh, God, Augustus, I'm calling 911. GUS No! Please! Hazel, listen to me. Do not call 911 or my parents -- I'll never forgive you -- Do n't, please. Gus starts to cry. GUS Please just look at it. Hazel lifts up his shirt. His ABDOMEN is bright red. HAZEL I think it's infected... Hazel feels his forehead, he's burning up. HAZEL Gus, what the -- why are you here? Why are n't you home? Gus throws up. He does n't even have the energy to turn his mouth away from his lap. HAZEL Oh, sweetie... GUS I wanted to buy some cigarettes. I lost my pack. Or they took it. -LRB- MORE -RRB- 95. GUS -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- I do n't know. They said they'd get me another one but I wanted... to do it myself. Do one little thing myself. Hazel does n't know what to do. HAZEL I ca n't fix this. I have to call someone. I'm sorry. GUS No, Hazel, please! But she must. She gets out her cell phone and dials. At which point, Gus really loses it, weeping like the poisoned, dying teenage boy that he is. As Hazel dials, we hear : HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I wish I could say Augustus Waters kept his sense of humor till the end, did not for a moment waiver in his courage and his spirit soared like an eagle to the sky... GUS -LRB- to himself, shaking -RRB- I hate myself I hate myself I hate this I hate this... HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... but that is not what happened. LATER. An EMT loads Gus into the back of an AMBULANCE. Hazel is allowed to ride with him in the back. As the car starts moving, Gus grabs her hand. GUS Read me something. HAZEL Read you something? GUS Do you know any poems? HAZEL I know one. GUS Read it to me. HAZEL `` The Red Wheelbarrow'' by William Carlos Williams. -LRB- beat, tries to remember -RRB- `` So much depends / upon / a red wheel / barrow / glazed with rain / water / beside the white / chickens.'' 96. GUS -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Is that it? That is it. But there's another ten minutes of driving to do. Hazel thinks fast. HAZEL No of course not. Um... what else... -LRB- THINKS -RRB- so much depends/ upon a blue sky/ cut open by the branches/ of the trees./ So much depends/ on the transparent G-tube/ erupting from the belly/ of the blue-lipped boy. Gus smiles, weakly, barely conscious. Hazel cradles his head in her arms. And continues... HAZEL So much depends upon this observer/ of the universe... As Gus is drifting off to sleep, WE HEAR : HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- One of the less bull-shitty conventions of the cancer genre is the convention known as the `` Last Good Day...''", "EXT GUS'S HOUSE - ANOTHER DAY Gus comes home from the hospital. He does not look good - but he lives. Hazel is there to help get him inside.", "INT GUS'S HOUSE - ANOTHER DAY Gus no longer sleeps in his basement. Nor does he sleep in his own bed. He sleeps in a HOSPITAL BED set up in a guest room. Hazel is with him. They're watching sports on TV. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This is where the victim of cancer finds himself unexpectedly with some hours...", "EXT GUS'S BACKYARD PORCH - ANOTHER DAY Hazel and Gus getting some fresh air. She sits there reading a book. Gus just sits there. His eyes staring off into nothing. Hazel waves to him. Gus looks over, as if waking from a dream. She manages a smile. He manages one back. 97. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... when it seems like the inexorable decline has suddenly plateaued, when the pain is for a minute bearable.", "INT HAZEL'S DINING ROOM - ANOTHER DAY Hazel sits at dinner with her parents. She is barely touching her food. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The problem, of course, is that there's no way of knowing that your last good day is your `` Last Good Day.'' At the time, it's just another decent day. The phone buzzes and Hazel answers it. HAZEL Hi, Augustus. GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Good evening, Hazel Grace. His voice is strong today, and Hazel is happy to hear it. GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Quick question for you. Did you ever write that eulogy I asked you to prepare? HAZEL I may have... GUS Excellent. Do you think you could find yourself at the Literal Heart of Jesus in 20 minutes. HAZEL Um... sure. Is everything -- GUS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I love you Hazel. The call ends. Hazel, confused, stands to go. HAZEL I got ta go. FRANNIE Finish eating first. HAZEL I ca n't, I have to meet Gus. 98. FRANNIE You have n't eaten a thing. HAZEL I'm not hungry. FRANNIE You ca n't not eat, Hazel. HAZEL I am aggressively unhungry, ok? MICHAEL HAZEL -- HAZEL I have to go. FRANNIE Sit down. HAZEL No! MICHAEL Hazel, listen to your mother. Hazel tries to push past her but Frannie grabs her shoulders. FRANNIE You have to eat, Hazel. You're not gon na starve yourself to death just because Gus is sick. You have to stay healthy -- HAZEL I ca n't! I ca n't stay healthy because I'm not healthy, Mom. I am dying. I am going to die and leave you here alone and you wo n't have me to hover around and you wo n't be a mother anymore, and I'm sorry, but I ca n't do anything about it, ok?! Just leave me alone! Upon seeing her mother's face change, Hazel immediately regrets this. FRANNIE You heard me? Frannie has tears in her eyes. Hazel looks away, feeling terrible. FRANNIE You heard me say that to your father? Frannie sits down on the couch with her daughter. 99. FRANNIE Oh god, sweetie. I'm sorry. I was wrong, ok? It was n't true. It's not something I believe. Michael sits across from them. FRANNIE As long as either of us is alive, I will be your mother. Even if you die, I -- HAZEL When. FRANNIE Even when you die, I will still be your mother. I will always be your Mother. By now Michael is crying too. They all are. HAZEL I worry that you wo n't have a life. That you'll sit around all day with no me to look after and stare at the walls and be miserable or off yourselves or something. FRANNIE We're not gon na off ourselves. It's gon na hurt like hell to lose you BUT -- MICHAEL Hazel. You of all people know it's possible to live with pain. She takes that in. It rings true to her. Hazel nods. FRANNIE I do n't just sit around, you know. Hazel is confused. Frannie looks at Michael like, `` should I say something?'' She goes for it. FRANNIE I'm taking some classes. Online. To get my master's in social work. HAZEL You are? Hazel is stunned. HAZEL So when you're waiting for me outside Support Group or whatever, you're always -- 100. FRANNIE Working or reading. If I get my MSW, I can council families in crisis or lead groups dealing with ILLNESS -- HAZEL Why did n't you tell me? Frannie and Michael do n't quite know what to say. MICHAEL We did n't want you to feel ABANDONED -- HAZEL Are you kidding? Mom, this is awesome! This is fantastic! Oh my god! Hazel grabs her Mom for a hug. HAZEL I'm so excited! You're gon na be so great, Mom! FRANNIE Thank you. That means everything to me. Mom and Daughter hug. And when it's over : FRANNIE I'd still really like you to eat. HAZEL I know Mom. And I will. I promise. But right now... I really got ta go.", "INT CHURCH - LATER Hazel enters the Literal Heart of Jesus room which is now empty except for Isaac, up on a dais, and Gus, in his wheelchair. Gus is thinner than we've ever seen him, thinner than any young man should be. But for now, he's happy. GUS Hazel Grace, you look ravishing. HAZEL I know, right? -LRB- BEAT -RRB- So, um, what's going on guys? ISAAC You're late. HAZEL Late for what exactly? 101. Gus gestures for her to sit next to him and she does. GUS I wanted to attend my funeral. By the way, will you speak at my funeral? Hazel looks at him like `` of course, silly'' and then kisses him on the mouth. GUS Sweet. I'm hopeful I'll get to attend as a ghost, but just to make sure, I thought I'd - well, not to put you on the spot, but I thought I'd arrange a pre-funeral. HAZEL Why now? GUS No time like the present. HAZEL -LRB- looks around the room -RRB- How did you even get in here? GUS Would you believe they leave the door open at night? HAZEL Um, no. GUS As well you should n't. He smiles and for a brief moment it's old Gus. Hazel laughs. Isaac clears his throat. ISAAC `` Augustus Waters was a self- aggrandizing bastard. But we forgive him. We forgive him... not because he had a heart as figuratively good as his actual one sucked, or because he got 18 years when he should have gotten more.'' GUS 17. ISAAC I'm assuming you've got some time, you interrupting bastard! I mean seriously... -LRB- back to the speech -RRB- `` Augustus Waters talked so much that he'd interrupt you at his own funeral. And he was pretentious. -LRB- MORE -RRB- 102. ISAAC -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Sweet Jesus that kid never took a piss without pondering the resonances of human waste production. And he was vain. But that comes with superhuman handsomeness.'' Gus nods - that part is true. ISAAC `` But I will say this : when the scientists of the future show up at my house with robot eyes and they tell me to try them on, I will tell the scientists to piss off, because I do n't even want to see a world without Augustus Waters.'' Hazel smiles - but it's one that triggers an immediate emotional waterfall. ISAAC `` And then, of course, having made my rhetorical point, I will put my robot eyes on because, I mean... robot eyes!'' Gus has a big smile on his face. ISAAC `` So anyway, Augustus, my friend... Godspeed.'' Gus nods a couple times. GUS Thank you Isaac. This causes Isaac to lose it. He clings to the lectern. ISAAC Goddamn it, Gus. GUS Hey do n't swear in the Literal Heart of Jesus. ISAAC Shit! Ass! Balls! Isaac sighs. Wipes away the tears. And another beat passes. ISAAC Can I get a hand here, Hazel? Hazel remembers Isaac ca n't see. She rises, goes up to get him, walks him back to her seat. GUS Hazel Grace, it's down to you. 103. Hazel takes out a piece of paper, walks up to the dais. Takes a beat to ready herself. HAZEL `` Augustus Waters was the great star- crossed love of my life. Ours was an epic love story, and I wo n't be able to get more than a sentence into it without disappearing into a puddle of tears. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- Like all real love stories - ours will die with us, as it should. I'd hoped that he'd be eulogizing me, because there's no one I'd rather have...'' And that's all she can get out before falling apart. She lets it out for a couple beats and then pulls herself together. HAZEL -LRB- beat, composing herself -RRB- `` I ca n't talk about our love story so instead I will talk about math. I am not a mathematician, but I know this : there are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. There's.1 And.12 And.112 And an infinite collection of others. Of course, there is a bigger infinite set of numbers between 0 and 2, or between 0 and a million. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. A writer we used to like taught us that. I want more numbers than I'm likely to get, and God, I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I can not tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and for that I am eternally grateful. I love you.'' Gus smiles, nods, and closes his eyes. CUT TO : BLACK. Over which we hear a RINGING TELEPHONE.", "INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Hazel turns on the LIGHT by her bed. Her HOUSE PHONE is ringing and it's 4am. She knows instantly. 104. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Augustus Waters died eight days later in the ICU... Hazel's head falls into her chest. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... when the cancer, which was made of him, stopped his heart, which was also made of him. Her bedroom door opens. It's Frannie and Michael. This only confirms her worst fears. She starts to cry. Her parents embrace her in the bed. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It was unbearable. The whole thing. Every second worse than the last.", "EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - SAME Hazel sits in the car in the dark. She's blaring the loudest music she can possibly blare - a means of drowning out the horrors of the world. Over which we hear this : HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- One of the first things they ask you in the ER is to rate your pain on a scale from 1 to 10. I'd been asked this question hundreds of times and I remember once, early on, when I could n't catch my breath and it felt like my chest was on fire, and the nurse asked me to rate the pain and though I could n't speak, I held up 9 fingers. The loud music is n't protecting Hazel as well as she hoped. She falls apart nonetheless. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Later on, when I'd been feeling better, the nurse came in and she called me a fighter. `` You know how I know,'' she said. `` Because you called a ten a nine.''", "INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - ANOTHER MORNING Hazel puts on her funeral dress. She looks in the mirror. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But that was n't the truth. The reason I called it a nine was... I was saving my ten. 105.", "INT CHURCH - DAY The place is filled today with mourners for Augustus Waters. Hazel comes in with her parents and stands in the back, watching people she's never seen before approach the Waters family and extend their deepest condolences. HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And this was it. The great and terrible ten. When Mr. and Mrs. Waters see Hazel, they open their arms. MRS. WATERS He loved you so much. Hazel nods. Hugs them back. HAZEL He loved you so much too. More MOURNERS approach the family, leaving Hazel stranded in the receiving line. Her eyes turn towards the COFFIN. She's not entirely sure she wants to go there but she takes a deep breath, wills herself to walk towards it. Gus is there in the same suit he wore to Oranjee. Immediately, Hazel breaks down. And immediately, she catches herself. HAZEL It's ok, you hear me? It's ok. She leans forward and kisses his cheek. She looks around. Once in the clear, she pulls out a hard pack of Camel Lights and sticks them in the space between Gus and the lining of the coffin. A MINISTER approaches at that moment. MINISTER I think we're ready to begin. Hazel nods and walks back to her parents, taking her seat in the middle of the room. MINISTER Augustus Waters fought hard for many years. His battle was a courageous one and his strength was a source of inspiration for each and every one of us... Hazel frowns. This is all such bullshit. And she hears : MALE VOICE What a load of shit, eh kid? Hazel recognizes that voice. But it does n't make sense. She turns around and, sure enough, it's Peter Van Houten. 106. MINISTER Let us pray. Everyone clasps their hands, closes their eyes. Hazel keeps staring at Van Houten, too shocked to do a thing. VAN HOUTEN We need to fake pray now. Van Houten bows his head. Hazel, still stunned, slowly turns back to the Minister, trying to make sense of this unexpected appearance. MINISTER Now I call on Augustus's close friend Isaac to say a few words. Isaac stands, walks up to the podium with someone's help. Hazel sneaks one more look at Van Houten. Yup, it's really him. That makes no sense to her. Isaac starts to speak. ISAAC Of all the things I've lost in my life, this hurts the most. And Isaac stops talking. It's unclear if that was the end or if he just ca n't go on. He returns to his seat. The Minister walks back up. MINISTER And now we'll hear from Gus's... special friend Hazel Lancaster. Hazel stands, walks up to the podium. A few titters in the room at the words `` special friend.'' HAZEL I was his girlfriend. Some laughter from the crowd. She takes out her notes. HAZEL There's a beautiful quote in Gus's home that reads `` if you want the rainbow, you got ta deal with the rain.'' Hazel continues to speak but we over it, WE HEAR instead : HAZEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I did n't believe a word, of course. But that was ok. Funerals, I'd decided, are n't for the dead. They're for the living. Gus's Parents, arm in arm, nod along with every word. C UT TO : 107.", "EXT CEMETARY - DAY Everyone is watching Gus's body be lowered into the ground. Everyone but Hazel. She looks off into the distance. Off to the side, we see Van Houten, also not watching the burial. He's watching Hazel. CUT TO : LATER. Ceremony over, we see Hazel with her parents. HAZEL I'll be fine. FRANNIE Are you sure? We can drive you -- HAZEL No, I'd... I'd like to be alone for a while. Hazel hugs Mom and Dad, walks alone towards the parking lot. As she gets to the car, Van Houten approaches. VAN HOUTEN Could I hitch a ride? Hazel does n't want to help this man. VAN HOUTEN Just to the bottom of the hill. Hazel exhales. Fine. Once they're both in the car : HAZEL How did you even -- VAN HOUTEN The internet. HAZEL And you just... bought a ticket? VAN HOUTEN The drinks are free drinks in First Class. Van Houten removes a FLASK from his coat pocket. Takes a swig. Hazel shakes her head in disgust. Starts driving. VAN HOUTEN Omnis Cellula e cellula. Hazel ignores him. VAN HOUTEN Your boy Waters and I corresponded quite a bit in his last -- HAZEL You read your fan mail now? 108. VAN HOUTEN I would hardly call him a fan. He despised me. But he was quite insistent I attend his funeral and tell you what became of Anna and her mother. So here I am and that's your answer : omnis cellula e cellula. HAZEL I'm so not in the mood -- VAN HOUTEN `` Life comes from life.'' HAZEL Goodbye Mr. Van Houten. VAN HOUTEN You do n't want an explanation? HAZEL Nope. Thanks though. Have a great life. VAN HOUTEN You remind me of her. HAZEL -LRB- BEAT -RRB- I remind a lot of people of a lot of people. VAN HOUTEN She was eight, my daughter. She suffered... beautifully. For so long. Hazel starts to understand Van Houten - and softens. HAZEL She had leukemia? Like Anna? VAN HOUTEN Just like her, yes. HAZEL Were you married then? VAN HOUTEN Not when she died, no. I was insufferable long before Anna, my dear. Grief does n't change you, Hazel, it reveals you. Hazel takes that in. HAZEL Well I'm sorry for your loss. 109. VAN HOUTEN And I'm sorry for yours. I'm sorry for everything, for being so rude to you two, for ruining your trip -- HAZEL You did n't ruin our trip, you asshole. We had an awesome trip. VAN HOUTEN Hazel, I'm trying. I'm trying! You asked me to tell you what happens and I wish I could do that. I wish that I could. But I ca n't. No one can. No one knows, Hazel. They do n't talk to us. Unless... Van Houten takes out a typed piece of paper. He hands it to Hazel who grabs it - and immediately crumples it into a ball. HAZEL You think I care about that? I do n't give a shit, Van Houten. Hazel throws the piece of paper at Van Houten. HAZEL You're a drunk and a jerk and a failure. And I'd like you to get out of my car right now so I can go home and grieve. VAN HOUTEN -LRB- STUNNED -RRB- BUT -- HAZEL Get out of the car! Van Houten knows he's too late. He does as he's told, stepping out of the car onto the side of the road. He stands there as Hazel peels out. In the rearview mirror, she sees him raise the FLASK, as if toasting her. She blinks away some tears and drives. CUT TO :", "INT HAZEL'S LIVING ROOM - DAY Hazel lies in front of the TV. `` Top Model'' is playing but she's lost in her own world. Tears fall from her eyes and she ca n't do anything to stop it. Hazel gets up.", "INT BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS Hazel sits against the tub on the floor and weeps. Soon there's a knock. 110. HAZEL -LRB- THROUGH TEARS -RRB- Occupada. MICHAEL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Can I come in? Hazel leans over and unlocks the door. Michael kneels down next to her, putting her head on his shoulder. Hazel presses her face into his shirt and cries some more. Michael squeezes her tightly. And this time, he does n't cry. MICHAEL I'm so so sorry. -LRB- BEAT -RRB- It was a privilege to love him, though, was n't it? Hazel nods into his shirt. Then looks up at her Dad. MICHAEL Gives you an idea how we feel about you. Michael smiles at Hazel. And he does n't cry. Hazel draws strength from him.", "EXT ISAAC'S HOUSE - NIGHT Hazel and Isaac have climbed through his open bedroom window. They sit on the roof. ISAAC Do you know if it hurt or whatever? HAZEL He was really fighting for breath, I guess. He eventually went unconscious, but it seems like, yeah, it was n't great or anything. Dying sucks. ISAAC -LRB- LONG BEAT -RRB- It just seems so impossible. HAZEL Happens all the time. ISAAC Are you angry? HAZEL Very. 111. ISAAC Me too. -LRB- a few beats -RRB- Gus really loved you, you know. HAZEL I know. ISAAC He would n't shut up about it. HAZEL I know. ISAAC It was annoying. HAZEL I did n't find it that annoying. They sit there in silence a few beats. ISAAC Did you read the note or whatever from your author friend? HAZEL He is not my friend and -- how do you know about that? ISAAC We talked at the cemetery. Said he came all this way to give you that. HAZEL Yeah well I'm over it. I never want to read another word of that asshole's again. ISAAC Yeah but he did n't write it - Gus did. HAZEL -LRB- STUNNED -RRB- What? ISAAC That's what he said. Gus had written something, sent it to Van HOUTEN -- Hazel sits up. Her heart is racing. ISAAC What? HAZEL I... I have to go. I... Are you...? 112. ISAAC I do it all the time. Go. As quickly as possible Hazel leaves. Isaac stays behind, enjoying the cool night. A new day is coming.", "INT/ EXT HAZEL'S CAR - DAY Hazel is inside the car, rummaging crazily through the trash in an effort to find what Van Houten gave her. She's about to give up when she sees it - crumpled up into a ball beneath the passenger's seat. She reaches under, pulls it up, and unwraps it. As she reads, WE HEAR : GUS'S VOICE Mr. Van Houten, I'm a good person but a shitty writer. You're a shitty person but a good writer. We'd make a good team. I do n't want to ask you any favors but if you have the time, and from what I saw you have plenty, please fix this for me. It's a eulogy for Hazel. Hazel is overcome with emotion. GUS'S VOICE She asked me to write one and I'm trying, I just, I could use a little flair. See the thing is... we all want to be remembered. She smiles to herself, remembering : - That first time Gus and Hazel ran into each other. - The staring contest in Support Group. GUS'S VOICE We all want to leave a mark. - Driving ( badly ) in Gus's car. - Their first kiss at the picnic by `` Funky Bones.'' GUS'S VOICE But not Hazel. Hazel is different. Hazel knows the truth. She did n't want a million admirers, she just wanted one. And she got it. Maybe she was n't loved widely but she was loved deeply. And is n't that more than most of us get? - And BACK TO HAZEL reading the letter, tears in her eyes. GUS'S VOICE When Hazel was sick, I knew I was dying. But I did n't want to say so. 113.", "INT ICU - FLASHBACK Gus stealthily sneaks into Hazel's single room in the ICU. She sleeps. He kneels by her side. GUS'S VOICE She was in ICU and I snuck in for ten minutes and sat with her before I got caught. Her eyes were closed, her lungs were intubated... Gus takes her hand and holds it. GUS'S VOICE... but her hands were still her hands, still warm, and the nails painted this dark blue back color and I just held her hands and I willed myself to imagine a world without us and what a worthless world that would be. - AND BACK TO HAZEL reading the letter. She never knew that story, never knew he was there. CUT TO :", "EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - BACKYARD - LATER Hazel walks out to the grass behind her house, the oxygen tank dragging behind her. She lays down on the grass and looks up at the stars - the same IMAGE that opened the movie. GUS'S VOICE She's so beautiful. You do n't get tired of looking at her. You never worry if she's smarter than you cause you know she is. She's funny without ever being mean. SHE REMEMBERS: - The magical dinner at Oranjee. - The bench in which they sat overlooking the water. - The passionate kiss in Anne Frank's house. - Falling onto the bed together. [ All of these are images we saw at the beginning of the movie, only now, we SEE the oxygen tank, we SEE Gus's leg, we SEE the fumbling and the difficulties etc. They do n't make these images less beautiful. They make them twice as beautiful - because they're real. ] GUS'S VOICE I love her, god I love her. I'm so lucky to love her, Van Houten. -LRB- MORE -RRB- 114. GUS'S VOICE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- You do n't get to choose if you get hurt in this world but you do have a say in who hurts you. - AND BACK ON Hazel in the grass. She holds the letter to her chest. A single tear falls onto her cheeks. GUS'S VOICE I like my choices. I hope she likes hers. Hazel CLOSES HER EYES. GUS'S VOICE Ok, Hazel Grace? A beat. Another. Hazel OPENS HER EYES. And she says to the universe : HAZEL Ok. BLACK."], "labels": [1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "Hazel Grace Lancaster is a teenager, living in the suburbs of Indianapolis, who has thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs. Believing she is depressed, her mother urges her to attend a weekly cancer patient support group. There Hazel meets Augustus \"Gus\" Waters who is at the support group for his friend Isaac, who has eye cancer. Augustus lost a leg to bone cancer but has since apparently been in remission. The two bond over their hobbies and agree to read each other's favorite books. Gus gives Hazel The Prince of Dawn, while Hazel recommends An Imperial Affliction, a novel about a cancer-stricken girl named Anna that parallels her own experience, but has an abrupt ending. Its author, Peter Van Houten, retreated to Amsterdam following the novel's publication and has not been heard from since. Weeks later, Gus tells Hazel he has tracked down Van Houten's assistant, Lidewij, and has corresponded with Van Houten via email. Van Houten explains that he is only willing to answer their questions in person. Gus then surprises Hazel with tickets to Amsterdam, acquired from the Genie Foundation. After a medical setback, Hazel's doctors eventually allow the trip. Hazel and Gus arrive in Amsterdam and Gus confesses his love for Hazel during a romantic meal sponsored by Van Houten. The following afternoon, they go to Van Houten's house, but are shocked to find out he is a mean-spirited alcoholic. It is revealed that the emails from Van Houten had actually come from Lidewij, who arranged the meeting without Van Houten's knowledge. Van Houten taunts Hazel for seeking serious answers to a piece of fiction and belittles her medical condition. The teens leave distraught. Lidewij invites them to go sightseeing to make up for their ruined experience and they visit the Anne Frank House, where they share their first kiss. The next day, Gus tells Hazel that his cancer has returned, spread throughout his body, and is now terminal. Hazel is heartbroken. After their return to Indianapolis, Gus' health only continues to deteriorate. Gus invites Hazel and his best friend, Isaac, to his \"pre-funeral\", where they deliver eulogies that they have both prepared. Hazel tells him she would not trade their short time together for anything. Gus dies eight days later. Van Houten attends his funeral, revealing that Gus had demanded he do so. Van Houten explains to Hazel that An Imperial Affliction is based on his own daughter, Anna, who died from leukemia at a young age. He gives Hazel a piece of paper, which she initially discards but later retrieves after a conversation with Isaac reveals that the paper was a letter from Gus, not Van Houten \u2013 the former had asked Van Houten for his help in writing a eulogy for Hazel. Hazel reads the letter, in which Gus accepts his fate and professes his love for Hazel. It concludes with, \"I like my choices, I hope she does too.\" As Hazel finishes the letter, she lies on her back in her lawn and looks up at the stars, responding, \"I do, Augustus, I do.\"", "name": "The_Fault_in_Our_Stars"}
{"scenes": ["FADE IN : EXT. THE EARTH (FROM SPACE) The EARTH as seen from space, perfect and seemingly serene. DIANA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I used to want to save the world... The distant SOUND OF TRIBAL DRUMS as we DESCEND planet- ward. CIRCLING the globe, CLOSER as the DRUMS BUILD. DIANA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This beautiful place. LOUDER DRUMS SOARING OVER oceans and continents. CLOSER. DIANA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But the closer you get, the more you see the great darkness simmering within. Finally, we arrive in PARIS, FRANCE.", "EXT. LOUVRE MUSEUM (PARIS) - EARLY MORNING The LOUVRE MUSEUM -- with its 16th-Century architecture and its I.M. Pei glass-and-metal PYRAMIDS -- a place where the past and the future meet. DIANA PRINCE ( 30 ), antiquities expert, strides towards the Louvre, passing ARMED MILITARY at guard and alert. DIANA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And mankind? That's another story altogether. A TRUCK pulls up, blocking our VIEW. ARMED SECURITY OFFICERS exit, unloading a CRATE from WAYNE ENTERPRISES addressed to DIANA PRINCE : CURATOR.", "INT. LOUVRE MUSEUM - CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana walks down a HALLWAY with Assyrian bas-relief sculptures showing the good, and the bad, of humanity throughout history. She takes this in. DIANA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- What one does faced with the truth, is more difficult than you think.", "INT. LOUVRE MUSEUM - DIANA'S OFFICE - MINUTES LATER The CRATE is delivered to Diana -- a wall-mounted COLLECTION OF ANCIENT WEAPONRY and GREEK ANTIQUITIES behind her. She eyes the WAYNE ENTERPRISES LOGO warily. Now alone at her desk, Diana opens the crate and looks inside, stunned. REVEAL THE ORIGINAL DAGUERREOTYPE of Diana from BvS -- She's in her WONDER WOMAN ARMOR, surrounded by a band of SOLDIERS -- her friends -- from long ago. DIANA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I learned this the hard way. A long, long time ago. And now I will never be the same. She holds up the unsigned note accompanying the photo : `` I found the original. Maybe one day you'll tell me your story.'' She contemplates the faces of her friends long dead. Her eyes focus in on a man we'll soon know as STEVE TREVOR. She lingers on him, and then drifts to herself. Surrounded by HISTORY, Diana is overwhelmed by the memory of how this photo -- and Wonder Woman -- came to be -- CUT TO :", "EXT. ARMY TRAINING GROUNDS (THEMYSCIRA) - DAY THE PAST. Flashes of AMAZONS as they train for COMBAT on VARIOUS PLATEAUS extending from the edge of the CLIFFS of Themyscira. The Amazons train with WEAPONS, CLASHING and TESTING one another to their limits. DOZENS of ARMORED FEMALE WARRIORS -- AMAZONS -- engage in a dazzling array of training exercises. Every Amazon is an ageless beauty, between 30 and 50. They spar with BO STAVES, KNIVES, SWORDS. Practice ARCHERY, SPEAR THROWING, and LASSO from HORSEBACK. It's breathtaking -- -- and YOUNG DIANA ( 8 ), Princess of Themyscira, watches it all from the edge of the field. Her eyes blaze with admiration. ANTIOPE, the demanding GENERAL, oversees the Amazons. She wears a distinctive HELMET. At her side, the Amazon PHILIPPUS ( African, regal ). Diana fixates on one Amazon in particular, FIERCE and POWERFUL -- ARTEMIS. She sends her opponent to the GROUND, then SPINS to face another! ANTIOPE Yes, the blow was strong, but Eliana's footwork betrayed her! A battle is like a river-crossing, every step must find a safe spot -- Diana REHEARSES Artemis' moves, her young face set in a fierce scowl. She stabs at imaginary enemies, then looks up to find -- Antiope STARING AT HER from across the grounds. She's caught! But instead of hiding -- she looks back to Antiope : I'm ready to fight! LET ME TRY! Antiope shakes her head but smiles -- Diana smiles back. MNEMOSYNE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Diana! Diana freezes, then BOLTS, before MNEMOSYNE ( Diana's long- suffering tutor ) can push through the crowd. MNEMOSYNE Diana, I see you!", "EXT. PUBLIC SQUARE (THEMYSCIRA) - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana dashes through the crowded marketplace, hoping to lose Mnemosyne, but every Amazon whose path she crosses greets her with a smile or `` Good morning, Princess!'' `` Hello, Diana!'' We realize that Diana is the ONLY CHILD in this world. Diana races past a MURAL in the public square of QUEEN HIPPOLYTA, Diana's mother, triumphantly leading the Amazons. MNEMOSYNE Diana, come back! A young AMAZON GUARD sees Diana coming, holds out her hand, STOP! Diana sees up a narrow stairway, grins -- an escape! She darts up it and back down another straight into a DEAD END. Looking for a way out, she sees a long jump she just might make. There's a big fall, but Diana loves a challenge! She smiles mischievously, runs and LEAPS -- -- but she's NOT GOING TO MAKE IT! Diana stretches out, her face falling as she realizes she's missed the jump, when -- A hand grabs her wrist!", "EXT. OTHER BRIDGE (THEMYSCIRA) - CONTINUOUS ACTION Dangling, Diana's pulled up to see : QUEEN HIPPOLYTA, ethereally beautiful, holding Diana easily by one arm as if Diana weighed nothing. She sits HORSEBACK, the mounted QUEEN'S GUARD behind her. Diana twists uneasily, smiling up at her mother. YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 8 -RRB- -LRB- breathless ; innocently -RRB- Hello, Mother. How are you today? HIPPOLYTA -LRB- sighs -RRB- How many times, Diana? YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 8 -RRB- I have n't actually counted. Quite a few? HIPPOLYTA -LRB- smiles ; nods -RRB- Let's get you back to school before another tutor quits. YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 8 -RRB- But, Mother... Do n't you think it's time to start my training? HIPPOLYTA Training? You are training. Hippolyta softens, she loves her daughter more than anything, and PULLS DIANA into an embrace. HIPPOLYTA Your mind is your most powerful weapon. -LRB- beat -RRB- All battles begin here -- -LRB- taps Diana's head -RRB- -- before they end here -- Hippolyta motions to the world around them. Diana frowns. Antiope RIDES to meet them, PHILIPPUS at her side. Antiope catches Diana's hopeful eyes. YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 8 -RRB- Antiope thinks I'm ready. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- eyeing Antiope -RRB- Does she? Antiope approaches, Philippus respectfully keeping a distance. ANTIOPE I could begin showing her some things. -LRB- off Hippolyta's silence -RRB- She should at least be able to defend herself. HIPPOLYTA From whom? ANTIOPE In the event of an invasion. HIPPOLYTA Is n't that why I have an army at my command, General? ANTIOPE I pray a day will never come where she has to fight, but you, the wisest of us all, know that one can not deny their inner nature. A scorpion must sting, a wolf must hunt -- HIPPOLYTA She's a child. The only child on the island. Please, let her be so. ANTIOPE But, sister -- YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 8 -RRB- But, Mother -- HIPPOLYTA -LRB- a final declaration -RRB- There will be no training. Hippolyta rides a crestfallen Diana away. She looks back at Antiope, who nods at Diana pointedly.", "INT. HIPPOLYTA'S PALACE - DIANA'S BEDCHAMBER - NIGHT Hippolyta attempts to tuck a wide-awake Diana ( 8 ) into bed. YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 8 -RRB- What if I promised to be careful? HIPPOLYTA It's time to sleep. YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 8 -RRB- What if I did n't use a sword? HIPPOLYTA Fighting does n't make you a hero. YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 8 -RRB- -LRB- not listening -RRB- Just a shield then! No sharp edges! HIPPOLYTA Diana... You are the most precious thing in this world to me. So much so, I sculpted you from clay and begged Zeus to give you life. YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 8 -RRB- -LRB- bored -RRB- You've told me that story. Hippolyta steps away and removes a GOLDEN-BOUND TRIPTYCH. HIPPOLYTA Then I will tell you a new one. One of our people, and my days of battle... Diana's face LIGHTS UP, but Hippolyta raises her voice to correct her mood. HIPPOLYTA So you will finally understand... why war is nothing to hope for. Hippolyta slowly unfolds the large TRIPTYCH, revealing an elaborate PAINTING illustrating the history of the Amazons. HIPPOLYTA Long ago, when time was new, and all of history was still a dream... the gods ruled the Earth, Zeus king among them. PUSH IN as the painting seems to come alive, subtly animates. Lightning and thunder herald the arrival of ZEUS atop Olympus, surrounded by the PANTHEON OF GODS. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Zeus created beings over which the gods would rule -- beings born in his image -- fair and good, strong and passionate. Zeus called his creation... man. -LRB- beat -RRB- And mankind was good. Another flash of lightning REVEALS MANKIND. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- But one grew envious of Zeus' love for mankind -- and sought to corrupt his creation. The painting seems to come alive again -- ARES, features hidden in shadow beneath a fearsome, HORNED HELMET. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- This was Ares. The God of War. The sky splits open and fire rains from the heavens. Men take up arms, falling in line around Ares and becoming his ARMY. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Ares poisoned men's hearts with jealousy and suspicion, vengeance and rage. He turned them against one another. The DYING and the DEAD litter a RAGING BATTLEFIELD.", "INT. HIPPOLYTA'S PALACE - DIANA'S BEDCHAMBER - NIGHT BACK TO Young Diana ( 8 ), her eyes WIDE. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And war ravaged the Earth.", "EXT. PALACE (THEMYSCIRA) - NIGHT YOUNG DIANA ( 8 ) sneaks out of the palace, past her GUARDS. Pleased with herself, she runs off into the night!", "EXT. SECRET TRAINING LOCATION 1 (THEMYSCIRA) - NIGHT Antiope and Young Diana ( 8 ), now dressed for training, raise their BO STAFFS. Antiope strikes, gently at first, but not for long. Diana works hard to defend herself. 11,12 OMITTED -- INCORPORATED INTO SCENE 8, 8A 11,12", "EXT. BATTLEFIELD (PAINTING) APHRODITE, Goddess of Love, stands beside Zeus and the other gods at the shore of a turbulent sea, waving her hands as the ocean churns. From out of the sea rises : HIPPOLYTA, ANTIOPE, and countless other figures -- WARRIOR WOMEN. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- So the gods made us, the Amazons, to influence men's hearts with love and to restore peace to the world. Standing behind Aphrodite on the shore, MEN watch the women approach in awe, lowering their weapons. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- For a brief time, there was peace, even a unity among the world, as the gods and man fought side-by- side against a great evil. An ancient war is subtly depicted, but not lingered on. If one looks close you'll see : THREE ARMIES -- The gods, Amazons, and Atlanteans battling JACOB. Each army in possession of a LOTUS. ARES cleaves Jacob, then he looks to the LOTUS the humans have discarded. He reaches for it -- ANTIOPE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But it did not last. ARES' ARMY OF MEN swing a barrage of weapons at Hippolyta and the Amazons, led by the God of War himself. ANTIOPE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Ares refused to give up his hold on mankind. Tightening his grip, he turned them against us. ARES AND HIS ARMY OF MEN lead Hippolyta and the other Amazons out of a BURNING CITY in SHACKLES and CHAINS. ANTIOPE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- When Zeus led the gods to our defense, Ares killed them, one-by- one... Ares grabs Apollo from behind, slitting his throat -- elsewhere, he assassinates Aphrodite -- elsewhere, Hermes -- ANTIOPE -LRB- V.O. -RRB-.... until only Zeus himself remained. HIPPOLYTA breaks the chains between her bracelets! ANTIOPE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Your mother, the Amazon Queen, led a revolt that freed us all from enslavement. Hippolyta leads the Amazons in battle against Ares, swinging her sword, a feral CHEETAH fights at her side --", "EXT. WOODS (THEMYSCIRA) - DAY Young Diana ( 8 ) mimics her mother in battle, thrusting her WOODEN SWORD as she runs. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- While Zeus used the last of his power to stop Ares...", "EXT. BATTLEFIELD (PAINTING) Ares and Zeus CLASH in the eye of a STORM, each at the edge of death. Zeus throws his last THUNDERBOLT, hitting Ares. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... striking him such a blow, the God of War was forced to retreat. Ares staggers back, a large gash in his chest leaks VIOLENT, BLUE POWER! He's swallowed up by DARKNESS. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- With Zeus' dying breath, he created this island to shield us from the outside world. Somewhere Ares could not find us.", "EXT. SECRET TRAINING LOCATION 2 (THEMYSCIRA) - DAY Antiope attacks! Young Diana ( 8 ) tries to keep up -- and to Antiope's surprise and satisfaction -- she does! ANTIOPE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But in the event he did, Zeus left us a weapon, one powerful enough to kill a God... to destroy Ares before he could destroy mankind... and us... with an endless war.", "EXT. SCENIC OVERLOOK (THEMYSCIRA) - DAY Hippolyta and Young Diana ( 8 ) look across their island home. Hippolyta smiles, ending her story... But Diana looks out across the oceans, wondering if Ares is still out there... HIPPOLYTA We give thanks to the gods for this paradise. YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 8 -RRB- And the Godkiller? Hippolyta is n't sure what Diana is referring to... HIPPOLYTA The Godkiller? YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 8 -RRB- Yes. The weapon that can kill Ares if he ever finds us. May I see it, Mother? Hippolyta's conflicted by Diana's excitement. A beat. Then she nods, Diana elated.", "EXT. ARMORY - DAY Hippolyta and Young Diana ( 8 ) ride their HORSES to the ARMORY, a heavily guarded keep at the top of Themyscira's hillside. The QUEEN'S GUARDS follow. Diana's eyes drift up at a HIGH TOWER with a single window.", "INT. ARMORY - CONTINUOUS ACTION Young Diana ( 8 ) follows Hippolyta down a torch-lit tunnel and into the open-air center. One high window. HIPPOLYTA This is where we keep all the gifts the gods have given us. Diana's eyes drift past a dazzling array of items, including a glowing GOLDEN GIRDLE, LASSO, and at the center, an ornately-crafted SWORD. Diana gently touches the hilt of the sword, in awe. YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 8 -RRB- The Godkiller... It's beautiful... Hippolyta watches her carefully. YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 8 -RRB- Who would wield it? HIPPOLYTA I pray there will never come a time when it is called to arms. But only the fiercest among us even could... And that is not you, Diana. She takes Diana's hand away from the sword. HIPPOLYTA So you see, my daughter, you are safe. And it is nothing for you to concern yourself with. But Diana is determined to prove her mother wrong --", "EXT. SECRET TRAINING LOCATION 3 (THEMYSCIRA) - DAY SWORDS clash! Young Diana ( now 12 ) continues to train with Antiope -- more skilled, stronger -- but not yet the warrior she will one day be. As Antiope pushes her -- ANTIOPE You're doubting yourself. YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 12 -RRB- -LRB- defiant -RRB- No, I'm not. Antiope swings, the swords clashing! Young Diana ( 12 ) loses her footing, falling to the ground -- ANTIOPE Yes, you are. -LRB- beat -RRB- But you're stronger than you believe... HIPPOLYTA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Diana! Hippolyta rides towards them, her GUARDS follow. The Queen climbs down, furious. She checks her daughter for injury. YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 12 -RRB- Mother... I'm fine... I was just -- HIPPOLYTA Training. -LRB- to Antiope -RRB- It seems I am not the revered queen I should be. Disobeyed, betrayed, by my own sister -- YOUNG DIANA -LRB- 12 -RRB- Mother! It was me. I asked her to -- HIPPOLYTA -LRB- to her Guards -RRB- Take her to the palace. Crestfallen, Young Diana ( 12 ) is led away by Hippolyta's guards. She locks eyes with Antiope as she leaves. ANTIOPE You left me no choice, Hippolyta. You neglect your duty if she can not fight. HIPPOLYTA You speak of a time that may never come. He may never return! He could have died of his wounds. Antiope raises her voice to meet Hippolyta's for the first time in three thousand years. ANTIOPE You think I do n't wish that were true?! -LRB- beat -RRB- You feel it in your bones, just as I do. Ares is still alive... He is out there... and it's only a matter of time before he returns. HIPPOLYTA The stronger Diana gets -- ANTIOPE Nobody wants this less than I. I love her as you do. -LRB- beat -RRB- But this is the only way to truly protect her. Hippolyta's pained eyes look away, pause for a beat, and then return to meet Antiope's with a steely stare. HIPPOLYTA She is to never know the truth about what she is and how she came to be. -LRB- beat -RRB- You will train her harder than every Amazon before her. ANTIOPE Hippolyta -- HIPPOLYTA Five times harder -- ten times harder. -LRB- beat -RRB- You will train her until she is unconquerable. A beat. Then Antiope nods. SMASH CUT TO :", "EXT. TRAINING GROUNDS (THEMYSCIRA) - DAY An AMAZON rolls across the ground with a BOW AND ARROW, rising up and letting an ARROW fly! It's DIANA! She's now fully grown, striking and formidable, with a sly smile -- the arrow HITS the target DEAD CENTER and she moves on -- Antiope nods to Diana to look across the audience of Amazons and up to the hillside -- where Hippolyta has arrived on HORSEBACK. Diana grins, drawing her sword. Diana moves THROUGH and OVER obstacles, where she faces off against one of ANTIOPE'S GUARDS ( African ), using her SHIELD, BRACELETS and SWORD -- then ARTEMIS joins. Diana now taking on TWO AMAZONS -- and excited for the challenge. Diana dispatches Antiope's guard. The Amazons' brawler -- Artemis -- bares her teeth and attacks with no mercy, striking Diana hard! Artemis is fierce, revered by the other Amazons. Diana blocks the next blow, then sends Artemis crashing to the muddy ground at the feet of the other Amazons! The Amazons step back from Artemis. Humiliated, Artemis scowls. Diana, grins -- Then Antiope and Diana go into battle! Warriors in violent, graceful combat. Antiope feels her holding back. ANTIOPE Come on, Diana. You're stronger than this. Diana attacks Antiope with strength previously unseen! The Amazons watch with awe. Even Hippolyta. Unrelenting, Diana strikes hard, AGAIN AND AGAIN, until she knocks Antiope's sword out of her hands! Cocky, Diana points the sword at Antiope, who holds up her hands in surrender, proud. Diana nods, lowering the sword -- she's won. Diana turns to her mother, looking for her approval but -- -- WHAM! Out of nowhere, Antiope sends Diana to the ground with a BRUTAL BLOW! Not so fun anymore. Diana takes a breath, recovering. Hippolyta watches from the hill -- HIPPOLYTA -LRB- under her breath -RRB- Get up, Diana. Diana glances at Antiope -- it was a dirty move -- but Antiope faces off against Diana! ANTIOPE NEVER let your guard down! Your opponents will have no honor. They will strike at you from behind! They will attack without provocation! Antiope knocks Diana's sword aside! ANTIOPE Show me the Amazon you are! -LRB- pushing Diana -RRB- Or was I wrong to put such faith in you? Pushed to her limit, Diana brings both arms up -- then SLAMS her bracelets together! BOOSH! A FIELD OF ENERGY EMANATES FROM DIANA'S CORE. We get the sense that this is just the beginning of her true POWER. Still, it's powerful enough to knock Antiope off her feet. Diana stumbles back... Diana, amazed and elated, realizes that something unbelievable has happened. A tiny GOLDEN SPARK in her eye quickly fades. Diana's ecstatic, scared and confused. She looks to her mother : Did you see that? But Hippolyta is worried about the implications of Diana's power -- and Diana mistakes it for judgment. HIPPOLYTA What have you done? Diana looks to Antiope, blood streaming from a cut to the head. Diana rushes to her side. DIANA I'm sorry -- But Antiope holds up her hand -- ANTIOPE Stay back. Diana looks at the other Amazons, who all stare back in silence, even Artemis -- then back to her mother's forlorn face, filled with fear. Diana slowly takes a step away, feeling frightened, guilty, rejected -- And Diana runs -- A COLD WIND blows across the hill. Fear falls on Hippolyta's face, taking in Diana's actions.", "EXT. CLIFF (THEMYSCIRA) - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana races up a grassy embankment to a CLIFF overlooking the ocean. She looks down at her open palms, clenches them shut. What was that? Then -- An UNFAMILIAR SOUND : a strange gnawing BUZZ. Diana looks upward, quickly spotting -- A SHAPE on the horizon, moving closer. Something she has never seen before : A GERMAN WARPLANE, a Fokker, out of control, trailing SMOKE. Diana's sharp gaze catches sight of SOMEONE IN THE COCKPIT, struggling to escape. The PLANE dives down, crashing into the water! Without hesitation, Diana DIVES off the cliff, hurtling hundreds of feet through the air and into the sea.", "EXT. UNDERWATER (AEGEAN SEA) - MOMENTS LATER The plane SINKS, its PILOT already underwater. He struggles to break free from the cockpit, but his MESSENGER BAG is caught! A loud CREEEEAAAK pierces the water. The PILOT looks up to see a deep FISSURE running along the tail. It BREAKS free and the engine and cockpit sink like stones. As he sinks, he loses breath, the light fading. Suddenly, out of nowhere, DIANA APPEARS ON THE PLANE'S TAIL, above the surface. The sun blazes, framing her, an epic vision -- like an angel. The PILOT blinks into the light one last time. The DARK DEPTHS closing in on his face as his eyes fall shut. Diana DIVES in and grabs the Pilot. She braces her feet against the plane and rips him away, kicking to the surface.", "EXT. SURFACE (AEGEAN SEA) - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana surfaces with the Pilot, swimming effortlessly to shore, unaware that behind them a WWI GERMAN BATTLE-CRUISER and its THREE LANDING CRAFT head towards the island.", "EXT. GERMAN BATTLE-CRUISER - DECK - CONTINUOUS ACTION A GERMAN COMMANDER stares into the THICK FOG with FIELD GLASSES. His LIEUTENANT at his side, bewildered. GERMAN LIEUTENANT Where did this fog come from? GERMAN COMMANDER Find the plane.", "EXT. GERMAN LEAD LANDING CRAFT 1 - CONTINUOUS ACTION GERMAN SOLDIER # 1 spots something, pointing -- GERMAN SOLDIER #1 -LRB- to ship's tillerman -RRB- It's there! Landing craft 1 steers through the FOG toward the Fokker's TAIL SECTION, still afloat.", "EXT. GERMAN LANDING CRAFT 1 - CONTINUOUS ACTION German Soldier # 1 REACHES OUT over the side and HIS HAND disappears in a BLINDING REFLECTION, like fractal SHARDS of LIGHT hitting a mirror. He briefly sees a flash of a beautiful island -- startled, he jolts back, the image vanishing into fog. He leans back out and there it is again! Beyond the protective RING of FOG and reefs -- AN ISLAND! And Diana swimming the Pilot toward the beach! Stunned, he leans inboard, once again enshrouded in a foggy, cold, gray day. GERMAN SOLDIER #1 -LRB- stammering -RRB- The pilot. He's... there? The tillerman is skeptical but slowly turns the boat.", "EXT. BEACH (THEMYSCIRA) - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana drags the Pilot onto the beach, his bag around his shoulder. She gently lays him on the sand and gets her first real look at the FIRST MAN SHE'S EVER SEEN. His mouth, lips, jaw, hair, stubble -- captivating. This is CAPTAIN STEVE TREVOR ( 30s ), rugged, handsome. An American fighter pilot undercover for the British. Steve wakes, squinting in the sun, surprised to discover Diana's not a hallucination. He takes in the strange surroundings, blown back by her breathtaking beauty. STEVE -LRB- PILOT -RRB- Wow. She backs away as he sits up, surprised by the timber of his voice. Diana studies his eyes. They're so blue. DIANA You are a... man? STEVE Yes, I mean -- -LRB- lowering his voice -RRB- Yeah. Do I not look like a... where am I? DIANA You are on Themyscira. STEVE Thema -- say it again? DIANA Who are you? They're cut off by the ear-splitting SOUNDS OF SCRAPING METAL. Diana and Steve turn to see the GERMAN BATTLE-CRUISER running aground on the protective REEF around Themyscira. STEVE I'm one of the good guys, and those are the bad guys. The wounded battle-cruiser sinks, but her THREE GERMAN LANDING CRAFT steam towards the beach. STEVE Y'know... Germans. DIANA Germans? STEVE We got ta get out of here. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Diana! Diana and Steve look up to the cliffs to see -- Battle-ready HIPPOLYTA on HORSEBACK, with the QUEEN'S GUARD, all with ARROWS pointed directly at Steve. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- to Steve ; enraged -RRB- Step away from her! NOW! STEVE Where are their guns? ANOTHER WAVE OF GUARDSWOMEN arrive behind Hippolyta on HORSEBACK, aiming ARROWS at the German ships. STEVE Do they only have arrows? We need guns. Because the Germans have guns. Lots and lots of -- A torrent of FLAMING ARROWS sail from the cliff top, over Diana's and Steve's heads, hitting all three landing craft. The Germans FIRE back in retaliation! STEVE Get down! Steve pulls Diana behind a ROCK FORMATION, out of sight of the invading Germans now fanning out across the beach. MORE AMAZONS join the others on the cliff, led by ORANA. Orana shoots a GRAPPLING ARROW into the rock wall of the opposite cliff. She swings down the attached line toward the beach, firing ARROW AFTER ARROW at the Germans. ON THE BEACH : Diana and Steve watch her, stunned. Diana turns as a soldier lifts his rifle and FIRES. She sees the BULLET leave the gun, heading straight for her in SLOW MOTION -- Steve TACKLES DIANA, pushing her to the ground as the BULLET just misses her. Diana's heightened senses allow her to see the bullet sailing past -- she's confused by what she's seeing -- until it HITS ORANA! Diana is aghast as Orana falls slack on the grappling line, her lifeless body swinging against the cliff wall. DIANA NO! STEVE Keep your head down! The Germans continue to FIRE at the Amazons atop the cliff, several of whom plummet to their deaths on the beach below. Orana's slayer squints down his rifle's eyesight -- WHUNK! An arrow now sprouts from the rifle barrel. A STAMPEDE OF HORSEWOMEN ride through a massive STONE ARCHWAY onto the beach. The AMAZON CAVALRY, led by ANTIOPE. Antiope, MENALIPPE and ARTEMIS at her side, BLOCKS BULLETS with her SHIELD and cuts through Germans with her SWORD, trampling them beneath her horse's feet. Steve crawls out, seeing a soldier taking cover behind a rock nearby. STEVE -LRB- to Diana -RRB- Stay here! A GLINT of a KNIFE in Steve's hand as he leaps on the soldier, dragging him down -- then quickly reappearing, SHOOTING a RIFLE. Diana grabs the SWORD and SHIELD of a fallen sister and joins the battle. She's quickly surrounded, but holds her own, fending off a SWARM of Germans. ANTIOPE -LRB- shouting to her troops ) Omicron formation! Antiope's team organizes into a formation, working together but still overwhelmed until -- HIPPOLYTA arrives on the beach, joining the battle in spectacular fashion. She slashes through the Germans like no other Amazon, proving why she is QUEEN! Diana is in awe of her mother -- it's the first time she's witnessed her fight. Antiope finds relief as Hippolyta joins her side -- the two sisters fight back-to-back, wiping out all but FIVE GERMANS. ANTIOPE -LRB- to Menalippe -RRB- SHIELD! Steve watches as MENALIPPE takes her SHIELD with both hands, holds it parallel to the ground. Antiope dismounts, runs at her, then jumps onto the SHIELD, springing HIGH INTO THE AIR! One of the five remaining Germans raises his rifle to fire at Antiope, but Steve SHOOTS him first, saving Antiope's life, which is not lost on Diana. At the height of her mid-air arc, Antiope FIRES THREE ARROWS AT ONCE, eliminating all but ONE remaining German who raises his gun at Diana. STEVE Diana! Steve aims at the soldier as he fires, but Antiope steps in front of her niece. TAKING THE BULLET, she falls to the ground. Steve fires and the German falls, too. DIANA Antiope! The noise, the battle, everything falls away as Diana races to Antiope's side. DIANA No! Please no! Diana races to Antiope, dying, struggling to speak -- ANTIOPE Diana. The time has come... you... you must... DIANA What!? Antiope!! ANTIOPE -LRB- barely audible -RRB- The Godkiller, Diana, go -- DIANA -LRB- uncomprehending -RRB- Go where? Antiope! No! Hippolyta rushes to Diana, falling to her knees in front of Antiope's lifeless body. HIPPOLYTA Sister! Antiope stills. Diana's devastated, her first experience of death. Philippus looks on, saddened. Hippolyta grabs her sword and turns to Steve. HIPPOLYTA You! Diana rushes between them. DIANA Mother, no! He fought at my side against the invaders. MENALIPPE Typical. The man fights against his own people. STEVE They were n't my people. MENALIPPE Then why do you wear their colors? ARTEMIS Tell us! Steve looks down at his German uniform. STEVE I -- I'm not at liberty to say. MENALIPPE What is your name? STEVE I ca n't tell you that, either. VENELIA We should kill him right now and be done with it. Philippus talks, calm despite her friend's death. PHILIPPUS He dies now and we know nothing about why they came here and who they are. STEVE Ladies, I'm sorry. I can only tell you one thing about me : I'll never talk.", "INT. PALACE - THRONE ROOM - LATER Steve's overcome by an unseen force. He struggles. STEVE My name's Captain Steve Trevor. Pilot... American Expeditionary Forces. Serial number 8121941. That's all I'm at liberty to s -- REVEAL : Steve, bleeding from injuries sustained in battle, bound by a GLOWING GOLDEN LASSO controlled by Menalippe. Diana and Hippolyta, battle weary, watch him. With them the QUEEN'S GUARDS, what's left of ANTIOPE'S GUARDS and SENATOR ACANTHA ( 50s ). Steve strains to keep his mouth shut. He ca n't. STEVE Seconded... to British Intelligence. -LRB- re : lasso -RRB- What the hell is this thing, anyway? DIANA The Lasso of Hestia compels you to reveal the truth. MENALIPPE It is pointless -- and painful -- to resist. HIPPOLYTA What is your mission? STEVE Whoever you are, you're in enough danger as it is. You should n't -- HIPPOLYTA What is your mission? STEVE -LRB- exhales ; caves -RRB- I'm a spy. CUT TO :", "EXT. MILITARY INSTALLATION (OTTOMAN EMPIRE) - DAY FLASHBACK Steve, in his GERMAN PILOT'S UNIFORM, stands on an AIRSTRIP next to several other PILOTS and PLANES. STEVE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- British Intelligence got word that the leader of the German Army, General Ludendorff, was visiting a secret military installation in the Ottoman Empire. STEVE'S POV FOLLOWING GENERAL LUDENDORFF as he and his troops enter a large, nondescript WAREHOUSE. STEVE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I posed as one of their pilots, then flew in with them.", "INT. MILITARY INSTALLATION - FACTORY/LABORATORY - DAY Steve follows the others into the warehouse. STEVE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- According to our intel, the Germans had no troops left, no money, no munitions of any kind... Steve discovers this is an immense MUNITIONS FACTORY manned by elderly men, women, and children, all of whom appear to be slave labor for the Germans in the mass production of BOMBS. STEVE -LRB- V.O. -RRB-... but our intel was wrong. The Germans had the Turks making bombs for them. And not just bombs... Ludendorff approaches a SCIENTIST, wearing head-to-toe protective gear. Removing mask and goggles, we meet the STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL DR. MARU, 40s. She finishes writing a CHEMICAL FORMULA in a NOTEBOOK. She turns, greets Ludendorff with respect and confidence. STEVE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- New weapons. Invented by Ludendorff's chief psychopath. Dr. Isabel Maru. Steve ca n't help but stare admiringly... until Maru turns her head, revealing METAL PLATES on her face, hiding damage incurred by her own experiments. STEVE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Boys in the trenches call her ` Dr. Poison.' Maru leads LUDENDORFF to her lab, to a fully-enclosed TEST CHAMBER with a VIEWING WINDOW. In the chamber, Steve sees a gruesome site : A PRISONER, his terrified face covered by a GAS MASK, his wrists and ankles stretched out and restrained by CHAINS. Another CHAIN leads from the top of the prisoner's gas mask. Out of earshot, Steve watches as Maru shows Ludendorff the formulas in her notebook, explaining them. Maru closes the notebook and sets it down, then releases GLOWING GAS into the chamber. Panicked, the prisoner's terrified eyes widen, MUFFLED SCREAMS cry out behind his gas mask. Enraptured, Maru puts a hand against the window, her anxious eyes follow the SMOKE filling the chamber : It has to work this time. Ludendorff watches, waiting. Steve looks on in horror as the prisoner's gas mask begins to show slight signs of disintegration : thin cracks in the glass, wear on the straps, corrosion on the metal -- Maru is n't even aware she's grinning, but then -- The prisoner realizes the gas mask is resisting the gas, protecting him. He calms. Maru's face falls. Her eyes dart to Ludendorff who shows obvious signs of disappointment. Steve watches as a frustrated Dr. Maru pulls a LEVER -- and the chain connected to the prisoner's gas mask tears the mask off, exposing him to what's left of the gas! The panicked prisoner screams in pain as he breathes in, dying horribly! Steve can barely watch, he glances away -- and his eyes lock on Maru's notebook. STEVE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- From what I saw... if Dr. Maru was able to complete her work, millions would die. The war would never end. -LRB- beat -RRB- I had to do something... Steve makes a decision, knowing it could cost him his life -- he grabs the notebook. STEVE Dammit. Maru turns to see her notebook gone! She looks around just in time to see Steve leaving. They lock eyes briefly as he exits --", "EXT. MILITARY INSTALLATION - AIRSTRIP - CONTINUOUS ACTION An ALARM BLARES as Steve -- pursued by a dozen German soldiers -- runs to a FOKKER, props already rotating.", "EXT. SKY ABOVE THE MILITARY INSTALLATION - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve's plane takes off, but he does n't fly away. Instead, he doubles back toward the warehouse, where Ludendorff and Maru escape in a MILITARY VEHICLE.", "INT. STEVE'S FOKKER - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve uses the Fokker's 12-BARREL ROTARY CANNON to FIRE on Ludendorff's vehicle -- but it gets away. Steve trains the gun on the evacuated military installation's glass roof, whose WORKERS have just evacuated. He STRAFES it, taking out all of the glass panes before dropping HAND-BOMBS into the complex. The factory EXPLODES in a fire ball as he flies off into the sky! END FLASHBACK.", "INT. PALACE - THRONE ROOM - DAY Steve tries to resist the lasso again, but ca n't -- STEVE I was on my way back to London when the Germans shot me down... Steve's eyes firmly on his BAG at Hippolyta's feet. Diana removes Dr. Maru's notebook. STEVE But if I can get those notes to British Intelligence in time, it might make a difference... -LRB- emotional -RRB-... stop millions more from dying... Stop the war... DIANA War? What war? STEVE... The War to End All Wars. Four years, twenty-seven nations, twenty-five million dead -- soldiers... and civilians... Steve swallows hard, forced by the lasso to reveal all. Not just the facts, but also his feelings about them. STEVE -LRB- with difficulty -RRB-... Innocent people. Women and children. Slaughtered. Their homes -- villages -- looted, burned. Weapons deadlier, more horrifying than you can imagine. Like nothing I've ever seen... It's like... -LRB- absolute truth to him -RRB-... like the world is going to end. Steve's head hangs low, Diana looks at him with sympathy and sadness. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- stoney-faced -RRB- Take him to the infirmary. Diana tenses, clearly shaken by this.", "EXT. PALACE - COURTYARD - NIGHT Diana follows Hippolyta and the cortege into the courtyard, trying to lend voice to their debate. PHILIP P US Should we let him go? HIPPOLYTA And risk him bringing more men to our shores. Philip p us... DIANA -LRB- quiet -RRB- Mother --? PHILIP P US We ca n't hold him forever, my Queen. DIANA Excuse me, Mother. But after everything the man said... this must be Ares. They all stop and face Diana. SENATOR ACANTHA What are you talking about, child? DIANA Forgive me, Senator Acantha, but... the man called it a war without end. Millions of people already dead. Like nothing he's ever seen. Only Ares could do such a thing. We can not simply let him go. -LRB- then -RRB- We must go with him. HIPPOLYTA We are not deploying our army and leaving Themyscira defenseless to go and fight their war! DIANA It is not their war. -LRB- repeating the history lesson -RRB- Zeus created man to be just and wise, strong and passionate. HIPPOLYTA That was a story, Diana. There is much you do not know. Mankind is easily corruptible. DIANA But Ares is behind that corruption. It is Ares who has these Germans fighting. And stopping the God of War is our foreordinance -- HIPPOLYTA We must care to our wounded, honor our fallen! DIANA Themyscira has seen death for the first time, Mother. Ares must not be allowed to threaten us again. We know only too well what happens if he finds us -- and he will. Never again shall we be enslaved. And now mankind must be freed. As Amazons this is our duty! HIPPOLYTA You are not an Amazon like the rest of us, Diana. That strikes Diana in the heart. Hippolyta stops herself from revealing more, covering -- HIPPOLYTA You do n't know war like we do. DIANA -LRB- accusatory -RRB- You may be afraid to face Ares, Mother, but I am not. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- angry ; for her own good -RRB- Afraid? You know nothing of fear, child. Nothing of war. Nothing of pain. Nothing of sacrifice. So you will do nothing. -LRB- beat -RRB- Your Queen forbids it. Diana leaves, brimming with anger -- Hippolyta with conflict.", "INT. INFIRMARY - EPIONE'S ROOM - NIGHT EPIONE, a skilled healer, stitches up a wound on Diana's ARM. Diana does n't flinch. EPIONE Is it true you saved his life? DIANA Who told you that? EPIONE He did. beat What will the Queen do with him? Will she kill him? OFF Diana, wondering herself.", "INT. INFIRMARY - STEVE'S ROOM - LATER Diana enters to find Steve stepping out of a TUB -- his back to her -- NAKED. She studies his body as he towels himself dry. Steve's shoulder has been BANDAGED, but his body is covered with CUTS, BRUISES, SCARS from other battles. Diana touches her own wound, sympathetic. Steve finally turns, startled to see her there. STEVE Did n't hear you come in./Did n't hear you knock. Diana stares at him. Puzzled. Steve is n't enjoying the look on her face. DIANA Would you say you're a typical example of your sex? Steve raises an eyebrow, slightly offended, but he does n't cover himself. STEVE I like to think of myself as... above average. DIANA What is that? Steve is relieved to see she means his POCKET WATCH on top of his clothes. STEVE It's a watch. DIANA A watch. STEVE My father gave it to me. Been through hell and back with him, and now me, and it's still ticking. DIANA -LRB- listening to it tick -RRB- Why? STEVE Because it tells time. -LRB- off her look -RRB- So, I know when to wake up, work, eat, sleep. DIANA -LRB- that's ridiculous -RRB- You let this little thing tell you what to do? Steve takes the watch from her, covers up. STEVE Do you mind if I ask you a couple hundred questions? Diana shrugs. STEVE What is this place? DIANA Themyscira. STEVE I caught that before. I mean what is this place? How come I've never heard of it? Who the hell are you people? How do you know English? DIANA We speak hundreds of languages. We are the bridge to a greater understanding between all men. STEVE Funny, because I understand even less now than before you walked in. The way Steve watches her makes Diana self-conscious. STEVE Hey, I did n't get to say it earlier... but thanks for dragging me out of the water. DIANA Thank you for what you did on the beach. STEVE So... Are you here to let me go? DIANA I'm sorry... It's not up to me. I tried. I even asked them to send me with you -- Steve's eyes brighten. Diana backpedals in embarrassment. DIANA -- or anyone. An Amazon. The Amazons. STEVE The Amazons? DIANA It is our sacred duty to defend the world... and I wish to go. But my mother will not allow it. Which, from her tone, clearly disappoints Diana. Steve's surprised to find himself disappointed, too, though his better sense tells him not to be. STEVE Ca n't say I blame her. -LRB- off Diana's surprise -RRB- The way this war is going, I would n't let anyone I care about near it. DIANA Then why do you want to go back? Steve starts dressing. STEVE I do n't think want is the word, but... I've got ta try. -LRB- wistful ; remembering his father -RRB- My father used to say. -LRB- MORE -RRB- STEVE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- ` You see something wrong in the world, you can either do nothing, or you can do something. And you already tried nothing.' Moved, Diana takes that in. Determination on her face.", "EXT. ARMORY (THEMYSCIRA) - NIGHT On this still, MOONLIT night, the armory stands monolithic amongst the other buildings of Themyscira. Diana surveys from an opposing hillside. The building's face an impenetrable mountainside, accessible by only one main entrance, completely blocked by SEVERAL GUARDS who stand watch -- and even if she could take them all on, Diana does n't want to hurt them. Studying the building further, she focuses on the SINGLE WINDOW in the HIGH TOWER. Diana's face darkens with fixed focus. She looks down at her feet, back at the space -- calculating it all. She turns to the hillside behind her, spots a distant branch twisting from a tree. It looks relatively equidistant to the armory. She takes a step towards it, then another -- and another -- and Diana leaps into the air, locked on the branch -- but she lands far before reaching it! As Diana jogs to a stop, her frown fades : I know that I can do this. Diana sets off in a dead sprint towards the cliffside -- she LEAPS over the abyss below. Her face calm as she SOARS through the night -- THE BUILDING BARRELS TOWARDS HER, her eyes widen. Thinking fast she GRASPS a SPUR and -- She SLAMS into the side, holding on. She revels in the moment briefly and then sobers : Now what? The window is at least 30 feet above her -- below, the abyss. The wind MOANS. Diana's GRIP TIGHTENS on the spur. Suddenly, the SPUR CRACKS! Diana falls -- She scrambles against the wall, her hands grasping at the stone face. SHARDS FLYING around her, she realizes she's strong enough to make her own handholds -- SLAM! Her hand catches and she YANKS to a stop! Shocked, she hangs there for a second, then grins fiercely. She begins to CLIMB her way straight up the stone wall, her fingers slamming into the tower, making her own ladder out of solid stone.", "EXT. ARMORY - ROOFTOP - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana FLIPS herself up onto a tiny ledge outside of the window. She moves in --", "INT. ARMORY - CONTINUOUS ACTION In the moonlit darkness of the deserted armory, Diana moves towards the GODKILLER SWORD. She takes it from its SCABBARD, awed by its weight, its sheer power in her hands. She holds it tight. It feels right. As she leaves, she passes a suit of ancient armor and SNATCHES ITS SHIELD. Then the LASSO OF HESTIA disappears from its hook. Diana, now half-dressed in GREEK ARMOR, admires a glowing GOLDEN BELT-LIKE GIRDLE, then looks ahead to something that really catches her eye. BLURRY in our f.g., the silhouette of a woman's form GLOWS GOLD, RED, AND BLUE from its display. Diana's eyes widen with delight.", "INT. INFIRMARY - STEVE'S ROOM - MINUTES LATER Diana enters, waking Steve -- STEVE Nice outfit. DIANA -LRB- without irony -RRB- Thank you. Now I will show you the way off the island. And you will take me to Ares. STEVE -LRB- as she's a bit nuts -RRB- Deal. Steve grabs his watch and bag.", "EXT. HARBOR (THEMYSCIRA) - DOCK - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana and Steve on HORSEBACK emerge from the forest at the edge of a harbor. Diana and Steve turn to the front of a not-very-modern-looking ( by 1918 standards ) AMAZON SAILING VESSEL. STEVE -LRB- skeptical -RRB- I'm leaving in that? DIANA We are. STEVE We're leaving in that? DIANA Do you not know how to sail? STEVE -LRB- a touch of bravado -RRB- Of course, I know how to sail. Why would n't I be able to sail? -LRB- beat -RRB- Just have n't since I was a kid -- She nods, motions to the boat with encouragement. DIANA Then there's nothing to be afraid of. Steve hesitates. DIANA What? Steve nods at the valley behind them, where HIPPOLYTA and the QUEEN'S GUARD thunder in on their horses. Hippolyta raises her hand, ordering her GUARDS to halt. She approaches Diana ALONE. Diana takes a breath, reluctantly meeting her mother's eyes, dreading this. DIANA -LRB- defiant ; strong -RRB- I ca n't stand by while innocent lives are lost. If no one else will defend the world from Ares, I must. I have to go -- HIPPOLYTA I know. Diana finds not fury on her mother's face, but sadness. HIPPOLYTA Or at least I know that I can not stop you. There is so much... so much you do not understand. DIANA I understand enough. That I'm willing to fight for those who can not fight for themselves. Like you once did... HIPPOLYTA You know that if you choose to leave us, you may never return. Once you leave this island, its location will fade from your memory... Hippolyta relents, nodding. She climbs down from her horse, taking something from the saddle. She presents Diana with ANTIOPE'S HEADBAND. HIPPOLYTA This belonged to the greatest warrior in our history -- make sure you are worthy of it. DIANA I will. She hands it to her daughter. HIPPOLYTA Be careful in the world of men, Diana, they do not deserve you. Hippolyta tries to memorize her daughter's face, believing it's the last time she'll ever see it. HIPPOLYTA You have been my greatest love. Today you are my greatest sorrow. Diana WALKS AWAY from her mother, and the only home she's ever known, towards Steve and the ship. The weight of this good-bye does n't go unnoticed by Steve.", "EXT. THEMYSCIRAN SAILING VESSEL (AEGEAN SEA) - NIGHT Diana looks back towards the island, her whole world until now.", "EXT. SHORELINE (THEMYSCIRA) - NIGHT Menalippe approaches, joining Hippolyta's side. MENALIPPE Should you have told her? HIPPOLYTA The more she knows, the faster he will find her.", "EXT. THEMYSCIRAN SAILING VESSEL (AEGEAN SEA) - NIGHT A BREEZE moves through Diana's hair as she takes a breath, watching the island drift away, and in a SUDDEN FLICKER of fog -- it is gone. Bittersweet. She eyes Steve at the TILLER. He looks at his WATCH, still ticking, then pockets it. DIANA How long until we reach the war? STEVE The war? Well, which part? The Eastern Front in France is 400 miles long -- from the Alps to the Atlantic. Then there's the Dolomites in Italy, Turks in Arabia -- there used to be a Russian Front but they quit last year so they could kill the Tzar and have a revolution. DIANA Where the fighting is the most intense then. If you take me there, I am sure I will find who I'm looking for. STEVE Who's that? DIANA Ares. STEVE Ares? As in the God of War? DIANA The God of War is our responsibility. Only an Amazon can defeat him. With this. Diana points the SWORD at Steve, he holds his hands up. DIANA And once I do, the war will end. Steve gently pushes the sword away from him. He would normally refute this outright, but after all he's seen today, he's turned upside down -- STEVE Look, Princess, I like your spirit, and maybe you know something I do n't, but this war is so sprawling, there's nothing the two of us can do about it. But we can try to get to the men who can. DIANA You're looking at the person who can. And after I find and destroy Ares, the German armies will be freed from his influence -- and they will be good men again. STEVE -LRB- as she's nuts -RRB- I'm starting to understand why your mother did n't want you to leave. -LRB- beat -RRB- How much do you really know about the rest of the world? DIANA The world of men? I know all there is to know about them -- from the great books. Steve ca n't tell whether she's joking or not. STEVE The great books. Those books explain why there are no men on that island? Or kids? DIANA I was raised on the island. STEVE Just you? -LRB- off her nod -RRB- Sheltered upbringing. DIANA My mother sculpted me from clay. I was brought to life by Zeus. STEVE Oh. Well, that's not how babies are made where I come from. Diana turns to Steve, moving closer. The tension between them palpable. Diana gets close -- DIANA You refer to reproductive biology. STEVE I refer to more than that. DIANA Ah. The pleasures of the flesh. Steve gets closer. STEVE -LRB- pleasantly surprised -RRB- You know about that? DIANA Of course. I've read all twelve volumes of Clio's Treatises on Bodily Pleasure. STEVE All twelve, huh? -LRB- off her nod -RRB- You bring any of them with you? Steve moves closer to Diana. She grins -- DIANA You would not enjoy them. They came to the conclusion that men are essential for procreation, but when it comes to pleasure... unnecessary. Steve gives Diana a look that seems to suggest he'd challenge that. Diana takes that look in for a split second, then turns away, self-conscious. Steve does the same. And they sail on...", "EXT. HANGAR (BELGIUM) - DR. MARU'S LABORATORY - DAY GENERAL LUDENDORFF marches toward a HANGAR that's become Dr. Maru's new FACTORY. He's followed by a CAPTAIN and his GUARDS. Ludendorff does not look happy, despite the hustle and bustle of workers. LUDENDORFF How long until we are operational? CAPTAIN Two days, sir. LUDENDORFF You have until tonight, Captain. CAPTAIN Sir, the men have had no food. No sleep. LUDENDORFF Do you think I've had food or rest, Captain? Do you hear me making excuses? Your men are weak. Complacent. You've spoiled them. You've let them forget that an attack can come at any time -- from any quarter -- so let's you and I remind them, shall we? Ludendorff SHOOTS the Captain, making an example of him. His body THUDS to the ground.", "INT. HANGAR - DR. MARU'S LABORATORY - CONTINUOUS ACTION Ludendorff walks into Maru's new lab in mid-construction. BARRELS of CHEMICALS and EQUIPMENT line the hangar.", "INT. HANGAR - DR. MARU'S LAB - DAY Maru furiously works, looking at the chemicals, her formulas, writing in a NEW NOTEBOOK -- she's at a crossroads. She stops, stuck -- when Ludendorff approaches. LUDENDORFF Doctor. Are you making progress? MARU Not enough... It is over, General. Germany is giving up. -LRB- MORE -RRB- MARU -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Von Hindenburg has recommended the Kaiser sign the armistice. We have run out of time. LUDENDORFF Once the Kaiser sees your newest weapon, he will never sign the armistice. MARU But without my book... Ludendorff turns to Maru, gazes at her. LUDENDORFF We will get your book. But I believe in you, not it. I KNOW that you CAN and you WILL succeed. -LRB- beat -RRB- It is what you were put on this Earth to do. The way he says it, as if he were God himself. MARU Something did come to me -LRB- ALT -RRB- last night. Doctor Maru pulls out a METAL CASE, produces a GLASS CAPSULE full of BLUE GAS. MARU A different type of gas. -LRB- beat -RRB- To restore your strength. General Ludendorff takes the capsule, examines it. MARU And make you into the god you are. He breaks the capsule under his nose, inhales -- his veins GLOW as he breathes in. He stands taller, re- energizes, confident, his hand holds a GUN -- and CRUSHES it. A STRANGE WIND BLOWS across Maru... she turns, as if she can hear a VOICE. Then she grins. MARU General... I have it. And if it is what I think... it's going to be... terrible. LUDENDORFF And our war will swallow this world... Forever. PRE-LAP -- The HORN and BELLS of a STEAMSHIP.", "EXT. THEMYSCIRAN SAILING VESSEL (OCEAN) - MORNING Diana wakes to find an enormous STEAM SHIP, its HORN BLARING, towing their boat into the harbor. She blinks, never having seen anything like it. STEVE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Good morning. -LRB- beat -RRB- We got lucky, caught a ride. Made good time. Over Steve's shoulder, Diana gets her first eye-popping view of industrialized LONDON ( circa 1918 ). STEVE Welcome to jolly ol' London. Diana, awestruck, takes in the city's skyline. DIANA It's hideous. STEVE Eh. It's not for everyone.", "EXT. PICADILLY CIRCUS (LONDON) - DAY Diana, eyes-wide, takes in the COBBLESTONE STREETS. OVER-DRESSED PEOPLE, a HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE, NEWSSTANDS shout out headlines of WAR and VOTES FOR WOMEN. These are all FIRSTS for Diana, and she seems fascinated by them -- to her this is the world of good men. She looks through various STORE WINDOWS with wonder. She moves past a BAKERY, breathing in the wonderful smell. A HORSELESS CARRIAGE HONKS, Diana watching it drive by, moving out of its way -- but with a smile. STEVE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Diana! Steve is working to keep up with Diana. She sees something she can barely fathom -- a MAN and WOMAN holding hands, very much in love. It's captivating. DIANA Why are they holding hands? STEVE Well, because they're... together. Diana takes Steve's hand. He lets it go. STEVE No, we're not together... I mean, like that. Look, we need to go this way. DIANA Because this is the way to the war? STEVE -LRB- points the opposite way -RRB- Technically, that's the way to war. DIANA Then where are we going? STEVE -LRB- pats his bag -RRB- I have to get this notebook to my superiors. DIANA I let you go, you take me to Ares. We made a deal, Steve Trevor. A deal is a promise. A promise is unbreakable. STEVE -LRB- almost finds that endearing -RRB- Oh, boy. Okay... -LRB- stuck with her -RRB- Dammit. -LRB- beat -RRB- Come with me to deliver this, then we'll talk about getting you a train ticket. Someone glares at Steve's clothes -- the remains of a German pilot. STEVE I need to change. -LRB- to Diana -RRB- And you... People stare at Diana, her cloak open, revealing her armor. She smiles and nods, `` Hello!,'' they back away. Steve tries to keep her cloak closed -- he ca n't help but take a second glance at her leg. DIANA What are you doing? STEVE -LRB- sneaks a third glance -RRB- We need to get you some clothes. DIANA Why? STEVE Because you are n't wearing any. Diana, confused, looks down at her armor, then looks around at the mostly overdressed women on the street. DIANA What do these women wear into battle? STEVE -LRB- how to say it? -RRB- Well, women do n't exactly -- Diana's eyes snap to a YOUNG MOTHER holding a BABY. DIANA A baby. The mother looks at Diana quite oddly. Steve takes Diana gently by the arm, nods to the mother, and keeps moving. STEVE And that one was n't made out of clay. They move on, both unaware that they're being following by a MAN IN A SUIT. VOICE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- pre-lap -RRB- It's true! You're alive!", "EXT. SELFRIDGE & CO. - DAY ETTA CANDY, Steve's loyal, cheeky, secretary spies Steve and Diana walking towards her. ETTA Well, thank God for that! I thought you were dead this time, I really did, then I got your call -- -LRB- to Diana -RRB- He was gone for weeks! Not a word. Very unlike him. Etta extends a hand to Diana. Diana just looks at it. ETTA Hello. I'm Etta Candy. Captain Trevor's secretary. DIANA What is a secretary? ETTA Well, it means I do everything. I go wherever he goes. Do whatever he tells me to do. DIANA -LRB- glaring at Steve -RRB- Where I'm from, that's called slavery. ETTA -LRB- to Steve ; re : Diana -RRB- Ooh, I like this one. -LRB- to Diana -RRB- It does rather feel like that sometimes. But the pay's good and he's almost never here. Eyes Diana's clothing. ETTA We've got our work cut out for us. We FOLLOW Diana in --", "INT. SELFRIDGE & CO. - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana examines a CORSET tight on a MANNEQUIN, Etta and Steve with her. DIANA Is this what passes for armor in your country? ETTA Of a sort. It's fashion. Keeps our tummies in. DIANA Why must you keep them in? ETTA Only a woman with no tummy would ask that question. Etta holds up an OUTFIT for Diana. ETTA Conservative, but not entirely... un-fun. Diana looks at Steve as if to say, `` Do I have to?'' STEVE At least try it on. Diana, sighs, then starts to take off her cloak. Etta's eyes go wide. She rushes to stop Diana from removing it. ETTA Oh, my! Are n't you terribly cold out here where everyone can see... everything? Let's get you into a nice, warm, private dressing room, shall we? Etta leads Diana off, looking to Steve as if to say, `` Where did you find this woman?''", "INT. SELFRIDGE & CO. - WOMAN'S WEAR - MOMENTS LATER Diana, in OUTFIT # 1 -- frilly and silly -- stands in front of the mirror, miserable. It's ridiculous. Diana pulls the dress up, wondering aloud -- DIANA How can a woman possibly fight in this? ETTA We fight with our principles. It's how we got the vote. She winks at Diana, who relates to principled fighting. ETTA Not that I'm opposed to engaging in a bit of fisticuffs when the situation calls for it, mind you!", "INT. SELFRIDGE & CO. - WOMAN'S WEAR - MOMENTS LATER Diana in OUTFIT # 2 -- a tight skirt and top. Etta admires it. ETTA There we are. Very nice. Diana tries to kick, impossible in this dress. It rips. She shakes her head at Etta. This dress wo n't do.", "INT. SELFRIDGE & CO. - WOMAN'S WEAR - MOMENTS LATER Diana, in OUTFIT # 3 -- almost exactly what Etta wears - yanks at its high collar impatiently. DIANA So itchy. And it's choking me. ETTA -LRB- exasperated -RRB- I ca n't say that I blame it.", "INT. SELFRIDGE & CO. - MOMENTS LATER Steve walks up to Etta. He's now dressed in his SUIT. STEVE Where is she? ETTA Trying on outfit number two hundred and twenty-six. Diana emerges from the dressing room in FASHIONABLE WOMAN'S DRESS that, on any other woman, would be unremarkable. On Diana, it's spectacular. DIANA Why is everyone staring? Is it because I can barely breathe in this? Diana shifts uncomfortably, self-conscious, and disliking the restrictions. Steve, catching himself staring, snaps out of it. STEVE -LRB- to Etta -RRB- Etta, the whole point was to make her less conspicuous. Steve looks around the store, grabs a pair of GLASSES. He gently puts the glasses on Diana's face. Looks satisfied. ETTA Really, Steve? All it takes is a pair of specs, and suddenly she's not the most beautiful woman you've ever seen? Diana LOOKS into the mirror, takes a deep breath and settles into the dress. She smiles as she fixes her glasses.", "EXT. SELFRIDGE & CO./OXFORD ST. - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana, HAIR UP, in her GLASSES and NEW OUTFIT pushes through the door as DIANA PRINCE. The MAN IN THE SUIT from earlier, holds it open for her. DIANA Thank you. Etta follows Diana and Steve out with the SHOPPING BAGS. Diana tucks the LASSO into the inside of her coat -- ETTA Right then, I'll take the rest of this. Good luck, I'll take these back to the office and meet you both later. Etta goes for Diana's SWORD, but Diana yanks it back. ETTA It really does n't go with the outfit. STEVE It'll be safe. You can trust her. -LRB- beat -RRB- I do n't think we're going to run into Ares at the meeting. Diana reluctantly lets Etta take the sword along with the SHOPPING BAGS, presumably carrying her armor. DIANA -LRB- earnest -RRB- Please. Protect it with your life. ETTA -LRB- raising an eyebrow -RRB-... Who would n't?", "EXT. STREET (LONDON) - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana and Steve walk down the street, the SUITED MAN from earlier follows them. He's suddenly distracted by the reappearance of the Suited Man from earlier, who confers with A SECOND SUITED MAN ( SM # 2 ). STEVE Come on. DIANA What is it? STEVE Hopefully nothing. Steve leads Diana down a less-populated street. Diana sees SM # 1 and SM # 2 tracking them on opposite sides of the street. Steve, distracted, bumps right into SUITED MAN # 3 and looks down to find a GUN aimed at his gut. SUITED MAN #3 Captain Trevor, I believe you have something that is the property of General Ludendorff.", "EXT. ALLEYWAY (LONDON) - CONTINUOUS ACTION SM # 3 backs Steve and Diana into an ALLEYWAY where TWO MORE men wait. Now all FIVE of the SUITED MEN gather, THREE of them have their GUNS out on Diana and Steve. STEVE Quite a reception. SUITED MAN #3 Give us Dr. Maru's notebook. Steve steps in front of Diana, searching his jacket -- STEVE Where did I put that thing? At which point -- Steve KICKS THE GUN OUT OF SM # 3's HANDS, HITTING HIM INTO THE TWO OTHERS HOLDING GUNS. Steve holds his arm up, `` protecting'' Diana -- STEVE -LRB- to Diana -RRB- Stay behind me! SM # 2 FIRES! Steve pushes Diana out of the bullet's path, but Diana reaches out -- THE BULLET BOUNCES OFF HER BRACELET! EVERYONE FREEZES WITH ASTONISHMENT as Diana realizes her bracelets may be more than just symbolic. STEVE Or not. SM # 2 and SM # 3 FIRE! Diana RAISES BOTH BRACELETS, deflecting their bullets. Her technique is clumsy at first as she gets used to the torque, impact and SOUND. Steve takes out SM # 1 while Diana grabs SM # 3 as his LAST SHOT fires -- and lays him out with a blow. Diana deflects the last of SM # 2's bullets as his gun runs EMPTY. Everyone is amazed, especially Steve -- STEVE How'd you do that? She smiles as if to say, you ai n't seen nothing yet -- The remaining THREE SUITED MEN rush Steve and Diana. Diana slams her fist into SM # 2 while Steve takes on SM # 4. Diana grabs the dazed SM # 2 -- swings him around, crashing him into SM # 5 hard -- and they're both down. A spilt second later, Steve finishes taking out SM # 4. The suited men run off, leaving only SM # 1 behind. SM # 1 stirs. Diana and Steve turn to see him make a run for it -- ETTA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I thought you looked suspicious. SM # 1 is stopped in his tracks by Etta, wielding the GODKILLER, shopping bags at her feet. ETTA Where do you think you're going? SM # 1 runs in the other direction, but Diana retrieves the LASSO from inside her coat and uses it to pull him off his feet, onto his back. As the lasso glows, Diana kneels at his side, compassionately placing her hand on his chest. In her mind, his actions are not his fault. DIANA I am sorry. You are clearly under his control. Let me help you get free. Tell me where he is... Where will I find Ares? But the suited man pops a CYANIDE pill between his teeth before she can get an answer. DIANA He's dead. Diana looks at Steve and Etta, horrified.", "INT. WAR OFFICE BLDG. - ASSEMBLY HALL - DAY Diana follows Steve into an ASSEMBLY HALL, where an unruly group of men, MILITARY LEADERS and MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, shout down SIR PATRICK MORGAN ( 40s ), kindly faced, a CANE at his side. Diana gazes across the hall like a tourist. STEVE Stay here. Diana nods -- a beat -- then she proceeds to follow Steve down the aisle, running her hand across the rows of chairs, nodding and smiling to the dumbfounded men staring at her. SIR PATRICK Gentlemen! Germany is a proud nation who will never surrender. The only way to end this war and restore world peace is to negotiate an armistice. The ASSEMBLY ROARS objections at Sir Patrick as Steve finds COLONEL PHILLIP DARNELL ( 40s ) in the crowd. STEVE -LRB- to Darnell ; urgent whisper -RRB- Colonel! SIX COLONELS, who are not Darnell, turn their heads. STEVE -LRB- to the Colonels -RRB- Sorry. -LRB- another urgent whisper -RRB- Phillip! Phil! Darnell turns, amazed to see Steve there -- alive! Steve nods toward the door, then realizes the room has gone silent. Every eye in the hall is fixed on Diana, the only woman in a room that does n't allow women. Diana, oblivious, looks up at Sir Patrick. SIR PATRICK -LRB- distracted by Diana -RRB- Our only aim at this moment -- must be to achieve peace at any cost. The crowd GRUMBLES again, about a woman's presence there as much as Sir Patrick's rhetoric. Steve takes Diana's arm and leads her out of the auditorium, Darnell follows. SIR PATRICK Gentlemen, I beg you, please, if you'll just hear me out -- DIANA Why will they not let him speak? He's talking peace. STEVE That's why they wo n't let him speak. DIANA But if they want to stop the war, is n't that foolish? -LRB- beat -RRB- Are they fools? STEVE -LRB- shakes his head `` no'' -RRB- Most of ` em.", "INT. WAR OFFICE BLDG. - LOBBY - CONTINUOUS ACTION An agitated and embarrassed Colonel Darnell makes his way to Steve and Diana, glancing at others watching him. Colonel Darnell makes his way to Steve and Diana. COLONEL DARNELL Trevor?! What the hell were you thinking bringing a woman into the council chamber? Diana looks at Steve, indignant. He holds his hand up, calming Diana -- STEVE -LRB- to Darnell -RRB- I'm sorry, sir, but the intel I've brought back is very time sensitive. We were attacked by men looking for it on the way here. One of Maru's notebooks. STEVE We need to get it to Cryptography. And I need an immediate audience with the Generals -- COLONEL DARNELL You do n't just rush in here, like this, and demand an audience with the cabinet. Cryptography takes time and -- SIR PATRICK -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Captain Trevor! Sir Patrick emerges from the auditorium, making his way over to the threesome. SIR PATRICK I'd heard you were lost on one of your missions, yet here you are. And you've brought a friend. Sir Patrick smiles sweetly at Diana, she smiles back, noticing his cane. COLONEL DARNELL Our deepest apologies for the interruption, sir -- SIR PATRICK Nonsense. -LRB- MORE -RRB- SIR PATRICK -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Thanks to this young woman, the room was finally quiet enough for me to get a few words in. -LRB- a humble bow -RRB- Sir Patrick Morgan, at your service. Diana bows her head in return. DIANA Diana, Princess of -- STEVE -LRB- over -RRB- Prince, Diana Prince. We... she and I... we work together. She helped me get this notebook here. From Maru's lab -- Steve presents the notebook. Sir Patrick takes it, understanding the implications immediately. SIR PATRICK ` Dr. Poison' herself? My God... -LRB- to Darnell -RRB- I suggest we assemble the war cabinet so they can tell us more. Darnell hesitates, then nods. Steve and Diana grateful for the assist --", "INT. HANGAR - DR. MARU'S LABORATORY - DAY TIGHT ON : a GAS CANISTER. Maru turns a valve on it, adjusting the pressure. She screws the canister onto the side of a small GLASS CHAMBER containing a GAS MASK. She locks the canister in place, then releases the gas into the chamber. Ludendorff and Maru watch as the NEW GAS hisses in, creeping towards the gas mask, enveloping it. The mask begins to disintegrate -- thin cracks in the glass, wear on the straps, corrosion on the metal. It's just as it was before. Maru, filled with anticipation, wonders : Will it work this time? It does. The gas continues, eating away at the mask -- the glass cracks apart, the straps sever, the metal breaks. A sign of the pain and horror it will soon inflict. It is Maru's greatest achievement -- then even the glass chamber itself starts to shudder -- and crack! Maru grins, waiting until the last possible second before unleashing a SINGLE SPARK into the chamber, causing the highly flammable gas to COMBUST in a burst of FLAME! Elated, Maru looks to Ludendorff. He nods with approval. LUDENDORFF Congratulations, Doctor. OFF the steaming, rotting gas mask...", "INT. WAR OFFICE - WAR ROOM - LATER Steve, Darnell, Sir Patrick, GENERAL DOUGLAS HAIG, and the BRITISH WAR CABINET crowd in a room, walls full of MAPS and PHOTOS of LUDENDORFF and DR. MARU ( before her metal implants ) and the notebook. A TERRAIN MAP in the center. Diana stands near the door watching, LISTENING. She walks to the wall of PHOTOGRAPHS. COLONEL DARNELL Cryptographers had no luck. It seems like a mixture of two languages. Diana hones in on the PHOTOS OF LUDENDORFF, even examining the PINS holding them to the board, then looks at THE NOTES. DIANA Ottoman and Sumerian. Everyone turns to look at her. DIANA -LRB- sincere -RRB- Surely someone else in this room knew that. GENERAL HAIG -LRB- incorrectly offended -RRB- Who is this woman? Darnell glares at Steve. He'd like to know that, too. STEVE She's my... secretary. Having learned what a secretary is, Diana does n't like being called one. GENERAL HAIG -LRB- skeptical -RRB- And she speaks Ottoman and Sumerian? STEVE She's a very good secretary. GENERAL HAIG See her out. COLONEL DARNELL -LRB- reluctant, but practical -RRB- If this woman can read it, sir... we should hear what she has to say. General Haig takes a beat, then nods. DIANA -LRB- nods at Darnell -RRB- Thank you. -LRB- beat -RRB- It's a formula... for a new kind of mustard... Haig scoffs : mustard? DIANA Mustard gas. Hydrogen-based, -LRB- instead of sulfur. -RRB- They react gravely to this... DARNELL Gas masks would be useless against hydrogen. DIANA The book says they plan to release this gas at... the front... -LRB- unsure what it means -RRB- Front of what? STEVE -LRB- alarmed ; to Generals -RRB- General, you have to find out where they're making this gas. Burn it to the ground. Destroy it. COLONEL DARNELL Ludendorff was last seen in Belgium -- GENERAL HAIG -LRB- dismissive -RRB- We ca n't be seen sending troops into German-occupied Belgium when we're negotiating their surrender. STEVE Sir, I saw this gas with my own eyes. All the men on the front line could die on both sides unless you -- GENERAL HAIG That's what soldiers do, Captain. Diana's shocked by the callousness. Sir Patrick looks at her apologetically. GENERAL HAIG What? Would you have us abandon the front altogether? STEVE Pull the troops out. Send me in. With some strategic support, I could take Ludendorff and his operation out myself. GENERAL HAIG Are you insane, Trevor? I ca n't introduce rogue elements this late into the game. STEVE But, General -- Before Steve can argue further, Sir Patrick speaks up -- SIR PATRICK Now more than ever, the armistice is of paramount importance, we must get it negotiated and signed. That is the surest way of stopping the war. GENERAL HAIG You will do nothing, Captain Trevor. That's an order. Diana expects Steve to defy the General like she defied her mother, but -- STEVE Yes, sir. I understand, sir. Diana blinks, confused, astonished, disappointed. DIANA I do n't. STEVE -LRB- warning -RRB- Diana. I know it's confusing -- DIANA It's not confusing. It's unthinkable. GENERAL HAIG I'm sorry, who did you say this woman was? STEVE She's with me. With us. DIANA -LRB- appalled -RRB- I am not with you. You would knowingly sacrifice all those lives? Do they mean less than yours? Where I come from Generals do n't hide in their offices like cowards. They fight alongside their soldiers. They die with them on the battlefield. STEVE Diana. Enough. -LRB- to Haig -RRB- My apologies, sir. Diana gapes at him, sickened, betrayed. DIANA You should be ashamed! -LRB- to the room -RRB- All of you. Diana storms out. Steve and Sir Patrick exchange a look --", "INT. WAR OFFICE - LOBBY - DAY Diana leaves the War Office in a rage. Steve follows. STEVE Diana, wait! She wheels on him, furious and confused. DIANA That's your leader? How could he say that? Believe that? -LRB- points at Steve -RRB- And YOU! Was your duty to simply give them a book? You did n't stand your ground! You did n't fight! STEVE Because there was no chance of changing his mind! Listen to me -- DIANA This is Ares and he is n't going to allow a negotiation or a surrender. The millions of people you talked about? They will die. My people? They're next! STEVE If you just listen to me -- DIANA How can you call yourselves good men? STEVE -LRB- shouting -RRB- WE'RE GOING ANYWAY! DIANA What? You mean you were lying? STEVE Diana, I'm a spy. That's what we do. Now are you coming or not? DIANA How do I know you're not lying to me right now? Steve grabs hold of Diana's lasso, wraps it around his wrist and looks right into her eyes. STEVE -LRB- speaking the truth -RRB- I'm taking you to the front. -LRB- then -RRB- And we're probably going to die. Steve's surprised that last part came out. Diana's skeptical. DIANA You have no faith in yourself. STEVE -LRB- keeps speaking the truth -RRB- This is a terrible idea... -LRB- lets go of the lasso ; frustrated -RRB- Come on. If we're going to get to the front on our own... we're gon na need reinforcements.", "EXT. PUB (LONDON) - NIGHT Steve and Diana move towards a shady PUB. Diana squints, does n't like the look of this place.", "INT. BRITISH PUB - NIGHT Diana follows Steve into the seedy, dimly-lit pub. She gets a look at its rough ` n tumble clientele and frowns. DIANA These are the reinforcements? Are these even good men? STEVE Relatively good. DIANA Relative to what? Steve and Diana move behind a GROUP of OFFICERS, out slumming. One of them, SAMEER ( 30s ) dashing, exotic, has been holding court. SAMEER... In Africa, gentlemen, we had no such luxuries... The OFFICERS laugh, agree, as Steve and Diana approach. SAMEER But the luxuries we have now. It's like we ca n't stop making money. My uncle, the Prince, and I would keep it all, but we want to extend the opportunity to a few good soldiers -- STEVE Which Prince was that? -LRB- grabs Sameer -RRB- I need to talk to you, Prince Madras Angora Cashmere... Sameer turns and glares. Sameer smiles to the men around him -- Forgive my rude friend -- and excuses himself. SAMEER -LRB- to Steve -RRB- You bugger. I been greasing those peacocks all night... -LRB- sees Diana -RRB- My goodness gracious, that's a work of art. STEVE Sameer. This is Diana. Diana studies the man with suspicion. And rightly so. He, meanwhile, is infatuated with her, all charm and smiles. SAMEER Diana, call me ` Sammy.' Please. DIANA Sammy. Please. YELLING O.S., TWO MEN are having an argument that threatens to boil over. They tune it out as : STEVE Sameer's a top undercover man. Can talk the skin off a cat in as many languages as you. Diana speaks Spanish. DIANA -LRB- [ He does n't look that impressive -RRB- -LRB- to me? ] -RRB- SAMEER -LRB- [ You do to me. Your eyes, as soft -RRB- -LRB- as your smile... ] -RRB- Then in Chinese. DIANA -LRB- [ And your eyes look like they want -RRB- -LRB- something. ] -RRB- SAMEER -LRB- [ I know Chinese, too, tricky -RRB- -LRB- girl. ] -RRB- Then in Ancient Greek. DIANA -LRB- [ But can you recite Socrates in -RRB- -LRB- Ancient Greek? ] -RRB- Sammy blinks. He has no idea what she's saying. Diana's unimpressed. STEVE Where's Charlie? Sameer points at TWO MEN FIGHTING : a huge BRUISER beating the hell out of a smaller, younger man. Diana looks at the Bruiser and nods approvingly. DIANA At least this Charlie is good with his fists. STEVE That's not Charlie. The Bruiser lands a blow that knocks the smaller guy off his feet. Steve winces, nodding at the smaller guy. STEVE That's Charlie. The two GRUNT at one another in Scottish slang, but the Bruiser sees Charlie's got friends -- and quickly leaves. The surprisingly cheerful CHARLIE ( 30s ) gets to his feet.", "INT. BRITISH PUB - MOMENTS LATER Diana, Steve, and Sameer sit with bruised Charlie, Scottish and deeply drunk. A WHISKEY GLASS in each fist. STEVE All right, Charlie? CHARLIE Steven. May God put a flower on your head. Charlie downs the whiskey in a fluid sip. Gone. DIANA What were you fighting about? CHARLIE I mistook his drink for mine. Diana looks at Steve, clearly concerned by his choice of reinforcements. DIANA This man is no fighter. STEVE Charlie here's an expert marksman. -LRB- off her look -RRB- He shoots people. SAMEER From very far away. Charlie grabs a drink from a patron who is n't looking. CHARLIE -LRB- cheers -RRB- They never know what hit ` em. There's a darkness behind Charlie's polite smile. DIANA How do you know who you kill if you ca n't see their face? CHARLIE I do n't. Better that way. DIANA My aunt warned me about men like you. CHARLIE Ai n't the first time I heard that, lassie. DIANA You fight without honor. Deep down, Charlie already knows that. CHARLIE Do n't get paid for honor. SAMEER What's the job, Trevor? STEVE Two days tops. We need supplies and passage to Belgium -- CHARLIE What's the going rate? SAMEER Better be good pay. -LRB- MORE -RRB- SAMEER -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- to Diana ; in French -RRB- And perhaps a picture of your lovely face. Something to keep me alive. Diana hides her disdain as best she can. DIANA You wo n't need a picture. I'm coming with you. Sammy's smile fades. SAMEER What is this? STEVE We're dropping her off at the front. SAMEER Dropping her off? CHARLIE -LRB- to Diana -RRB- No offense, cherie, but I do n't wan na get killed helping a girl out of a ditch, ya know what I mean? The Bruiser that Charlie was fighting returns, this time with several ROUGH-LOOKING FRIENDS! BRUISER You got your friends. -LRB- lifts up a gun -RRB- These are mine. Charlie's knocked to the ground! He does n't see Diana move fearlessly, grabbing the BRUISER -- as if he weighed nothing -- and tosses him across the room! The Bruiser smashes into the wall, crumpling to the floor. His friends make a quick exit. Sameer is smitten, helping Charlie up. SAMEER I am both frightened and aroused. CHARLIE -LRB- to Sameer ; unimpressed -RRB- When are n't you? ETTA -LRB- O.S. -RRB- There they are. Etta arrives, flustered, a forced smile on her face. ETTA Hello, all! Sorry, I'm late. I got waylaid by -- DIANA Sir Patrick! ETTA That's what I was going to mention. Steve, Sameer, and Charlie STAND out of respect. Steve glares at Etta. She shrugs apologetically, raises a hand : Just listen, you'll see. SIR PATRICK Sit, gentlemen. Please, sit. Sir Patrick pulls up a chair. SIR PATRICK I assume you're here planning something that's either going to get you court-martialed or killed. STEVE I assume you're here to stop us. SIR PATRICK No. Not that I like any of this. -LRB- beat -RRB- As one of your American authors, Thomas Paine, so eloquently put it, ` I prefer peace. But if trouble must come let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace.' Diana nods, liking the sentiment. SIR PATRICK Now nothing can jeopardize the armistice talks, but... I also believe in insurance. I'm here to help you. Unofficially, of course. What's your plan? STEVE If there is another weapons facility, find it and destroy it. Along with Ludendorff and Maru. A dark understanding passes between them. Sir Patrick nods. SIR PATRICK Etta will run the mission out of -LRB- my office, to allay suspicion. -RRB- ETTA -LRB- nearly wetting her pants -RRB- Run the mission, sir? He slides an envelope to Steve. SIR PATRICK -LRB- re : Charlie and Sameer -RRB- It's enough for a few days. STEVE Thank you, sir. Diana turns to Steve. DIANA The gas, Ludendorff, Maru... You realize they are all symptoms. Ares is the disease. And once I find him, none of this will matter. Steve looks at her, no time to argue. STEVE I'll take you to the front, but I ca n't make any promises about finding ` your friend' any more than I can Santa Claus. DIANA You wo n't need to. I'll know him when I see him.", "INT. PADDINGTON STATION - MORNING Diana takes herself into the throng, OBSERVING all the DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEOPLE hustling and bustling in the station. The atmosphere is weirdly JUBILANT and GUNG HO. Two sikhs ride through the station on bicycles, a WILLFUL LITTLE GIRL runs away from her mother, NURSES and WOMEN FACTORY WORKERS board the train, solemnly and purposefully. Diana takes in an array of HUMAN EMOTION. Mothers CRYING, fathers PROUD, sons COMMITTED and BRAVE, going off to war. GIRLFRIENDS are swept passionately into BOYFRIEND'S ARMS. DOGS are scooped up and hugged goodbye. Diana's eyes well as Steve checks his WATCH. STEVE Train leaves in a few minutes. But Diana is engrossed with the joy around her. Steve looks around at what she's seeing, then back at her a beat longer than he would expect. Diana watches a MAN and his DAUGHTER walk away from an ICE CREAM VENDOR, eating an ICE CREAM CONE. Steve spots her eyeing the girl eating, curious. STEVE Hungry? Diana nods, smiling. Steve buys TWO ICE CREAM CONES. Hands her one. She examines it, delighted. DIANA It's cold. STEVE It's ice cream. Diana tastes it -- her eyes go wide, the best thing she's ever tasted in her life. DIANA It's wonderful. -LRB- to the ice cream vendor -RRB- You should be very proud. Steve pulls her away, sheepishly smiling and nodding at the confused vendor. STEVE Forget the countries or the territory or the Generals. -LRB- looks around -RRB- This is what we're really fighting for. Then Diana sees something odd as they board the train : a PUNCH & JUDY PUPPET SHOW, one puppet hitting the other -- people LAUGHING at the violence -- and to her, that's very strange. Almost ominous.", "EXT. DOVER DOCKS - HOURS LATER The train rolls into the station at the Dover Docks.", "EXT. DOVER DOCKS - HOURS LATER The train sits at the top of Dover Docks. Its STEAM engulfs HUNDREDS OF ALLIED SOLDIERS disembarking, among them, Diana, Steve, Sameer, and Charlie. The new recruits are jubilant, singing `` It's A Long Way To Tipperary'' as they walk toward the waiting STEAMSHIP. Steve checks his watch again -- STEVE We've got to get a move on. Chief wo n't wait. DIANA Chief? STEVE Smuggler. Very reputable. Diana looks at the ragtag team Steve's assembled, shakes her head. DIANA A liar, a murderer, and now a smuggler? STEVE Careful, I might get offended. DIANA I was n't referring to you. STEVE I went undercover and pretended to be something else, I shot people on your beach, and I smuggled a notebook. Liar, murderer, smuggler. -LRB- beat -RRB- You still coming? Diana's confusion only grows as Steve LEADS a reluctant Diana and the group away from the soldiers, down a different path. NURSES in the same uniforms as the clean and pristine ones who boarded the train are now soiled, stressed, wretched as they transfer the WOUNDED YOUNG SOLDIERS from a HOSPITAL SHIP to a TRAIN back to London. Steve purposely BLOCKS HER VIEW of the wounded men and women. Diana pushes him aside, taking in the horror and despair until she can look no longer. She grabs Steve's arm, firm. Steve looks at her, still thinking she's a bit crazy -- but right now, she's absolutely right. He does n't know how to stop it, but he nods at her just the same. The team moves towards a PASSENGER BOAT.", "EXT. SHORELINE (BELGIUM) - DAY Diana looks around warily as she walks off the boat. She follows the team across the docks where workers load and unload HORSES, some of the animals wear GAS MASKS. Diana registers the bizarre sight. DIANA The gas will kill everyone... everything. Steve nods. DIANA What kind of weapon kills innocents? STEVE In this war? Every kind.", "EXT. CAMPFIRE - DUSK The sky grows DARK as the sun sets, Diana and the team walk up to a CAMPFIRE. THE CHIEF -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You're late. THE CHIEF ( 30 ), a bright-eyed Native-American, steps to the fire, dropping more WOOD into it. He smiles. STEVE Chief! He embraces Steve, then nods and smiles to Sammy and Charlie. SAMEER It's good to see you. CHARLIE Aye. The Chief looks at Diana and, for the first time in the world of men, a man looks her square in the eye. THE CHIEF Who is this? Chief extends a hand to shake. Diana grabs his wrist in a manner not unlike the Amazons. Chief responds, grabbing hers back, seemingly familiar with the gesture. Both Diana and Steve are surprised. Chief speaks his NATIVE TONGUE -- THE CHIEF Niitangio, Napi. And Diana understands. DIANA I am Diana. Chief does not let go, still looking intensely in Diana's eyes. She grips tighter. Surprised, he steps back with one foot. To stay on balance, she does so with the opposite. Suddenly, Chief and Diana are arm wrestling, each trying to throw the other off balance. Then Chief laughs, letting go, conceding lest he find himself flat on his face. THE CHIEF Where did you find her? STEVE She found me. DIANA I plucked him from the sea -- STEVE -LRB- waving Diana to stop -RRB- It's a long story. Diana looks at a pile of packages behind Chief, along with some GUNS -- STEVE British tea for the Germans. German beer for the British. -LRB- MORE -RRB- STEVE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- Edgar Rice Burroughs novels for both sides. CHARLIE And guns. Charlie grabs a RIFLE, looks through the SCOPE and gives it a kiss -- like a father reunited with his long-lost child. The others help themselves to GUNS. Steve, Sameer, and Charlie take BOTTLES OF BEER they pay The Chief for. THE CHIEF -LRB- whispering to Diana -RRB- It's not even very good beer. Charlie's the only one that does n't seem to mind. Steve looks at a MAP. STEVE Ludendorff was last seen at the front -- -LRB- points on the map -RRB- -- near the Somme. Front's about three miles away. Chief will get us there. THE CHIEF Then it's another day to safely cross it. STEVE As soon as we have daylight, we move. I'll take first watch. CHARLIE No need. I'll take it. I never sleep on the job!", "EXT. CAMPFIRE - NIGHT Charlie FAST ASLEEP -- along with Steve and Sameer, around the fire. Chief is heating cans of food. Diana turns to RUMBLING in the distance. DIANA Strange thunder. THE CHIEF German seventy-sevens. -LRB- off her confusion -RRB- Guns. Big ones. -LRB- MORE -RRB- THE CHIEF -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- points out -RRB- That's the front out there. The evening hate. Chief hands her a can of beans. She tries it, frowns. Not all the food here is good. Chief counts his money. Diana eyes him warily -- DIANA So... who do you fight for in this war? Chief stuffs the money in his pocket. THE CHIEF I do n't fight. DIANA You're here for profit then? THE CHIEF Nowhere better to be. DIANA Nowhere better to be than a war you do n't take a side in? THE CHIEF I have nowhere else and no side left. The last war took everything from my people. We have nothing left. At least here, I'm free. DIANA Who took that from your people? know? Chief cocks his head to the side. How could she not THE CHIEF -LRB- motions to Steve ; almost casually ) His people. Before Diana can ask more about that, Charlie suddenly starts to murmur, suffering through some kind of terrible nightmare. Diana watches until -- Charlie CRIES OUT, waking himself and Steve and Sameer. Diana reaches out to Charlie, compassionately -- DIANA You're safe. -LRB- trying to help -RRB- What did you see? Gruff, Charlie pulls away from Diana -- CHARLIE I'm fine, ` right? -LRB- mumbling -RRB- Bloody broad. Charlie gets up and grabs another BEER. Chief looks at Diana. THE CHIEF He sees ghosts. Steve takes a BLANKET -- STEVE You're going to get cold. Here. DIANA No, I'm -- She's not cold, but Steve places the blanket on her shoulders anyway. The gesture is n't lost on Diana. She nods, appreciative.", "INT. GERMAN OPERATIONS BUNKER - NIGHT SENTRIES patrol a fortified bunker deep in enemy territory. Ludendorff enters to find the GERMAN WAR COUNCIL, chief among them COMMANDER VON HINDENBURG. VON HINDENBURG You were absent at the council meeting, General. LUDENDORFF -LRB- frustrated -RRB- You've begun negotiating the terms of the armistice. VON HINDENBURG On the Kaiser's behalf. LUDENDORFF -LRB- accusatory -RRB- But on your insistence. -LRB- MORE -RRB- LUDENDORFF -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- to the council -RRB- We can easily win this war still... -LRB- beat -RRB- If only you had faith in me. The way Ludendorff says it, he almost expects everyone to simply agree with him, but Von Hindenburg gets to his feet, angry -- VON HINDENBURG We do n't. There are shortages of food, medicine, ammunition. Every hour we delay costs thousands of German lives. LUDENDORFF One attack and the war is ours. As we speak, my chemist and her team are -- VON HINDENBURG We stand against you and your witch, Ludendorff! Enough! -LRB- calming -RRB- Twenty-four hours from now this war will end. It is over. Ludendorff looks around, nods. LUDENDORFF For all of you. Ludendorff turns and exits --", "EXT. GERMAN OPERATIONS BUNKER - CONTINUOUS ACTION Ludendorff nods to Dr. Maru who throws a CANISTER OF GAS in. Maru watches curiously as Ludendorff then tosses a GAS MASK in. Von Hindenberg and the men look at the mask. Ludendorff closes the doors as the canister erupts. A COMMOTION within the room breaks out as the gas spreads. Unable to escape, the men desperately fight over the gas mask. MARU The mask wo n't help. LUDENDORFF Yes, but they do n't know that. Ludendorff cracks open a CAPSULE of GAS, inhaling it. Again, it's a PAINFUL process -- again Ludendorff's veins BULGE and PULSATE. With heightened strength, Ludendorff presses against the doors -- the SCREAMS of the dying men in the bunker seep out. It's music to Maru. She can hear a HISSING as the gas scars the doors inside. Ludendorff pulls Maru away -- LUDENDORFF It's time to stage our demonstration for the Kaiser. 74 OMITTED", "EXT. DIRT ROAD (WOODS) - DAY DIANA, CHARLIE, SAMMY, and THE CHIEF follow STEVE down a MUDDY ROAD in the woods, the SOUNDS OF BOMBS in the b.g. Diana takes in the bleakness of the world. A cluster of villagers runs past. Fleeing from something. A BABY cries in its mother's arms. Diana stares -- hears SCREAMS ahead. IN A DITCH on the side of the road, TWO HORSES pulling a CART OF MUNITIONS ( that has tipped ) are stuck in the MUD. A SOLDIER whips the horses, trying to get them out. DIANA Those animals. Why are they hurting them? CHARLIE Because they need to move. Like us. DIANA But I can help them! CHARLIE There's no time! C'mon, woman. Steve and the team jog down the road, Diana reluctantly following. A WAILING man is heard ahead. ON THE ROAD. Diana looks ahead to where a WOUNDED SOLDIER crying out in pain, surrounded by OTHER SOLDIERS trying to administer help ( as best they can ). WOUNDED SOLDIER Oh, God. God, help me! Please. He continues to CRY OUT. Diana horrified. DIANA That man... He's injured. SAMEER There is nothing we can do about it, Diana. We must keep moving. AS THEY MOVED FORWARD, Diana looks ahead sees beyond the woods -- NO MAN'S LAND... PRE-LAP : The SOUNDS of RAIN and THUNDER, which BOOMS, then fades into the SOUNDS of GUNFIRE and EXPLOSIONS.", "EXT. RAIN-SOAKED COUNTRYSIDE (BELGIUM) - DAY Chief leads the team through the muddy Belgian countryside on their HANDS AND KNEES, bullets flying overhead. They stop at a DUGOUT ENTRYWAY to --", "EXT. ALLIED TRENCH (BELGIUM) - CONTINUOUS ACTION -- the ALLIED TRENCH at the BELGIAN FRONT. The team moves into the muddy trench, occupied by TOMMIES -- BRITISH SOLDIERS. Diana and the others get to their feet, bullets and shells whistling and EXPLODING overhead. DIANA Where are we? STEVE You wanted me to take you to the war. This is it. The front lines. DIANA But where are Ares' men -- the Germans? Charlie motions past the shelling and flying bullets. CHARLIE Couple hundred yards that way. In a trench like this one. Diana's dismay grows. She looks at the faces of the frightened, worn-down soldiers as they move through a seemingly endless, narrow passage carved deep into the earth, walled on either side by SANDBAGS and DIRT, which is quickly pooling into MUD at their feet. SENTRY Chief! -LRB- shouting down the line -RRB- Oi! Chief's back! TRENCH OFFICERS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Chief! /Welcome back! /Nick of time! The Chief tosses out PACKS OF CIGARETTES, MATCHES, and other goods to grateful soldiers. Diana watches the MONEY exchange hands, then she hears the sound of anguished tears : A YOUNG MOTHER, MARIE ( 25 ), holds her DAUGHTER, NINA ( 6 ), sobbing to The Chief. Diana listens, though Steve ca n't understand : MARIE The Germans took everything -- homes, food... the ones who could n't escape... they took as slaves. DIANA Where did this happen? Marie points : beyond the trench. DIANA -LRB- to Steve -RRB- We need to help these people. Steve looks across no man's land, shakes his head. STEVE We need to stay on mission. THE CHIEF -LRB- nods to Steve -RRB- And there's no safe crossing for at least a day ahead. Charlie takes a swig from his well-worn FLASK. CHARLIE Then what are we waitin' for? DIANA But these people are dying, they've nothing to eat. And in the village... Enslaved, she said. Women. Children. STEVE There's nothing we can do about that. DIANA How can you say that? What is the matter with you? STEVE This is no man's land, Diana. It means no man can cross it. This is the worst point on the entire front. This battalion has been here for nearly a year and they've barely gained an inch because on the other side are Germany's deadliest soldiers. Pointing machine guns at every square inch of this place. This is not something you can cross. It's not possible. DIANA So we do nothing? STEVE We are doing something. We ca n't save every person in this war. Besides, it's not what we came here to do. She steps away from the group, turning away from them. Steve thinks she's upset. But when Diana turns back to Steve, he sees her face of determination, wearing -- ANTIOPE'S TIARA -- AND FOR THE FIRST TIME -- WE REALLY SEE WONDER WOMAN! DIANA No, but it's what I'm going to do. Diana moves past the team, stepping over the top of the trench -- STEVE DIANA, NO!!!", "EXT. WESTERN FRONT (BELGIUM) - CONTINUOUS ACTION -- onto the BATTLEFIELD. DIANA stands in her WONDER WOMAN ARMOR with THE GODKILLER SWORD in her hand, THE SHIELD on her back, and THE LASSO SHINING at her side. She surveys the battlefield. It's quiet. Empty. She takes a step forward... IN THE GERMAN TRENCH A SOLDIER takes AIM at Diana -- and FIRES! ON THE BATTLEFIELD The bullet moves towards Diana. With her heightened perception, she watches it in SLOW MOTION, swatting it aside with her bracelet. She blocks another -- IN THE ALLIED TRENCH Everyone watches Diana with awe. Even Charlie has to admit -- CHARLIE How the hell'd she do that? ON THE BATTLEFIELD Diana continues walking across the battlefield, step-by- step, blocking bullets. Her pace begins to quicken -- and then she starts to RUN. IN THE ALLIED TRENCH Steve's heart pounds as he watches Diana. He motions to the team. He ca n't believe he's about to do this, but -- STEVE She's drawing their fire! Let's go! Steve and his team climb over the trench, leaving the hesitant British soldiers behind! THROUGH A GERMAN SCOPE Diana races TOWARDS them, knocking bullets aside! IN THE GERMAN TRENCH GERMAN SOLDIERS react, unsure of who or even what Diana is. One of the soldiers motions to others -- they lift a MORTAR, bringing it forward as the others continue to FIRE. Soldier after soldier joins in. ON THE BATTLEFIELD Diana runs, more bullets ricocheting off her bracelets. IN THE GERMAN TRENCH They FIRE a mortar into the air! ON THE BATTLEFIELD Diana uses her SHIELD to bat aside the MORTAR SHELLS -- they EXPLODE around her! With her shield, Diana blocks the increasing barrage of bullets coming at her! ONE of TWO MACHINE GUN NESTS fires at Diana -- IN THE ALLIED TRENCH Inspired, the British soldiers SURGE OVER THE TRENCH WITH A CHEER! ON THE BATTLEFIELD The SECOND MACHINE GUN NEST fires at Diana -- She does her best to repel the machine gun fire, but together the two are SLOWING HER DOWN, taking a toll. Diana falls to one knee, then turns, grateful to see behind her -- Steve, the team -- and the allied soldiers! Steve raises his rifle and takes out some of the shooters, giving Diana some relief. Charlie lays down cover fire as The Chief tosses Sameer a GRENADE. Sameer lobs it at the NEST ON DIANA'S RIGHT. The EXPLOSION knocks the machine gun off its base. The second nest continues to fire on Diana! Diana leaps up into the air, jumping down into the second nest! She lands inside behind the soldiers, spinning around -- slamming into them. She raises her shield and smashes it onto the machine gun, breaking it apart! Steve, the team, and the Allies POUR INTO THE GERMAN TRENCH, battling the soldiers within! Diana looks at the village of Veld ahead of them. Grits her teeth. DIANA We're not finished yet. While the allies clear the trench, Diana takes off through the rain and the mud toward the village! The team heads after her!", "EXT. VELD - SECONDS LATER Diana and the team reach the village, taking cover as they're fired upon. Diana looks to Steve -- DIANA Stay here. I'll go ahead. Before anyone can argue, she races towards the gunfire. Diana, sword at her side, shield on her back -- runs, avoiding gunfire and grenades! Steve leads the team, covering for them as they follow Diana. Steve fires -- STEVE Go! Diana jumps onto the wall of a building, springing off it, SMASHING through a WINDOW of another building -- the source of more gunfire!", "INT. BUILDING (VELD) - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana lands in the middle of a group of ARMED GERMAN SOLDIERS. She goes into action, kicking a TABLE -- smashing it into two soldiers! She deflects bullets with her bracelets, turning to the other soldiers -- sending them flying with her fists, her shield. She hits a SOLDIER, he FLIES through a window --", "EXT. TOWN SQUARE (VELD) - CONTINUOUS ACTION -- the soldier falls onto the street -- where we FIND Steve, Sameer, Charlie, and The Chief following Diana's trail. They watch as ANOTHER SOLDIER is thrown out of a window, then they round a corner -- and find themselves pinned down by gunfire. The Chief hands Steve a grenade -- he tosses it, blowing up the nearby shooters. As they continue to fight their way into Veld --", "INT. BUILDING (VELD) - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana continues to fight her way through the building, breaking through a DOOR -- taking on more German soldiers inside! Diana rushes one, colliding into him -- using him as a shield as she crashes out of a LARGE GLASS WINDOW --", "EXT. TOWN SQUARE (VELD) - CONTINUOUS ACTION -- Diana lands on a nearby rooftop. Steve watches her run across it as he and the team head deeper into Veld, all in the same direction. Suddenly, Steve and the boys are pinned down from gunfire by a TANK. Charlie motions to a walkway between two buildings in front of the tank. The Chief throws a grenade -- Charlie shoots it, causing it to explode! The walkway falls, blocking the tank. Steve and the team make it to the center of the village to find a TANK surrounded by DOZENS OF SOLDIERS. Sammy throws more grenades, but it's not enough. The tank has them pinned down -- until -- Diana rushes the tank, BARRELING into its side like a bull -- the tank is thrown end-over-end across the town square! The soldiers react in shock. Steve and the team use the opportunity to push forward. As the team flanks up against a building, they see locals LOCKED inside, crying out for help from behind CHAINED DOORS. IN THE TOWN SQUARE : Diana blocks bullets with her bracelets, soldiers surrounding and firing on her from all sides. Steve throws two CONVENTIONAL GRENADES -- blowing German soldiers by Diana sky high. Diana turns to see Steve joining her. As more soldiers pour in, one starts climbing the ladder up the BELL TOWER. BACK TO THE VILLAGERS trapped in the building -- the team breaks open the doors, letting them out. ANOTHER ANGLE Diana tosses the German soldiers around like rag dolls. A German has Steve in his sights until -- Diana races in, breaking the German's gun and sending him to the ground. She takes out several soldiers around Steve. Diana continues to block bullets while Steve fires -- they work side-by-side, until -- BANG! The German in the bell tower starts firing down at them. The team scatters, trying to help the villagers. Steve motions up -- STEVE Bell tower. Diana sees the SNIPER at the top of the bell tower. Steve motions to Charlie -- STEVE Charlie! Charlie pulls out his rifle, AIMS UP -- peering through the site. But he's shaking. Sweats. Sameer watches as Charlie FIRES! The bullet ricochets off the bell and gives away their position. The sniper turns against Charlie, Chief, and Sameer. The three flank against the wall, Sameer looks at Charlie, who is devastated. SAMEER You do n't miss. CHARLIE -LRB- stammers ; lies -RRB- Bloody scope... lens is cracked. But the lens looks fine. Steve tries to take a shot at the bell tower, but he ca n't do so without exposing himself to the shooter. DIANA Is there a way inside?! Steve looks at Diana, an idea forming. STEVE There is if you jump! DIANA It's too high. He taps her shield. Diana looks at him, remembering Antiope's jump. Steve holds the shield PARALLEL TO THE GROUND. Diana runs toward Steve, JUMPS UP ONTO THE SHIELD -- and she launches herself high into the air! The sniper looks through his scope -- HIS POV Diana leaping up AT him, gritting her teeth, angry -- BACK TO SCENE Diana SMASHES into the sniper -- breaking apart part of the tower -- sending him flying to the neighboring rooftop below! UP ON THE TOWER : Diana stands, strong and powerful -- the definition of heroic. Then -- CHEERS! The TOWNSPEOPLE gather, emerging from hiding, celebrating this heroic victory! Diana looks down at them -- Steve among the villagers, in absolute awe of Diana.", "EXT. TOWN SQUARE (VELD) - DAWN A PHOTOGRAPHER takes a DAGUERROTYPE of Diana, Steve, Charlie, Sameer, and The Chief standing in the village. FLASH. The photograph sees our team imbuing a sense of pride and accomplishment. Steve's face is turned towards Diana's, with a look of something more than admiration. Moments later, Diana walks with Sameer. They look back at Charlie, head hung low, shaken. Charlie fumbles with his flask, dropping it. DIANA For all his talk of murdering people from afar, your shooter ca n't shoot. SAMEER Not everyone gets to be who they want to be all the time. Me, I wanted to be an actor, not a soldier. But I'm the wrong color. Diana considers this, then she turns, sees The Chief with a small group of BELGIANS from the trench, including Marie and her family. All of them ragged, sleep- deprived, and starving, but hopeful. The Chief dispenses bread and cheese. Diana notices that no money changes hands. Steve walks to her. DIANA -LRB- to Steve -RRB- He does n't charge them? SAMEER Money is n't the only profit. -LRB- beat -RRB- Everyone's fighting their own battles, Diana. Just as you are fighting yours. Diana studies Chief with new eyes, touched by the man's generosity. Her previous opinion of these men continues to come into question. A CHEER goes up from the liberated TOWNSPEOPLE who are busying themselves in preparation for a party to celebrate their heroes.", "INT. INN (VELD) - FRONT DESK - DAY Diana comes in to find Steve behind the front desk of the inn, on the TELEPHONE. STEVE -LRB- into telephone -RRB- Veld. Tiny village. It's probably not even on the -- INTERCUT WITH :", "INT. WAR OFFICE - SIR PATRICK'S OUTER OFFICE - DAY ETTA is on the other end of the call. ETTA Found it. Steve sees Diana standing on the stairs. He picks up an extension and offers it. Diana listens in ( it's her first time using a phone ) : STEVE Have you found Ludendorff's operation? ETTA Not yet, but we've located him. And lucky you, he's only a few miles away -- at German High Command. At first thought, Steve thinks : That does n't sound lucky. STEVE German High Command? SIR PATRICK enters the room, overhearing... ETTA Intel reports Ludendorff is hosting a gala -- a last hurrah before the Germans sign the Armistice. The Kaiser himself will be there. As will Dr. Maru. STEVE Actually, that gala's perfect cover -- SIR PATRICK -LRB- not liking the sound of that -RRB- Captain Trevor, you are under no circumstances to attend that gala tomorrow night. We can not risk jeopardizing the Armistice. DIANA -LRB- to Steve -RRB- You should n't be worried about upsetting the peace accord. Ares would never let that happen... Steve motions her to please stop talking about `` Ares.'' Then Diana, a terrible realization. STEVE What is it? DIANA Of course... It makes complete sense. Ares developed a weapon, the worst ever devised. STEVE Ares? You mean Ludendorff. She turns and look at Trevor. DIANA No. I mean Ares. Ludendorff is Ares. Steve's not sure what to believe at this point. SIR PATRICK Steve? STEVE Sir, this is our chance to find the gas and learn how Ludendorff plans on delivering it. Maybe our only chance. Our last chance -- SIR PATRICK I forbid it. Do you hear me? Steve? A beat of silence as Steve makes a decision... STEVE I'm sorry, sir, you're breaking up. SIR PATRICK Steve? Are you there --? But Steve has clicked off.", "EXT. PUB - COURTYARD (VELD) - NIGHT The tables are crowded with VILLAGERS and all the food the Germans left behind. Beer flows. Tea lights twinkle. A FEMALE PIANIST plays, singing as couples dance. The atmosphere is warm and jovial. Diana and Steve stand at the edge of the crowd, unable to put the urgency of their mission aside and join in. Sameer approaches them with two tankards of ale. Steve waves them off. STEVE Drinks later, Sameer. I need you to rustle up me a German uniform. Sameer puts the ale in front of Steve and Diana despite his protest. SAMEER Already done. Now you two need to relax. There's nothing we can do until tomorrow. You said it yourself, Steve. Sameer strolls off. Steve drinks. Diana does, too, surprised by the flavor. DIANA It's bitter. STEVE -LRB- agrees -RRB- It's an acquired taste. Diana smiles and nods, the world of men is an acquired taste. STEVE It has hints of different flavors, if you look for them. Steve and Diana drink in unison. She nods, seems to like it better. A young girl hands Diana a FLOWER. She's moved. So's Steve. STEVE You did this. DIANA We did. STEVE You have dancing on ` Paradise' Island? DIANA Dance on Themyscira is more -- STEVE Interpretive? DIANA Precisely. -LRB- then -RRB- Perhaps you'd better show me. Diana puts the flower behind her ear then moves out on to the dance floor. STEVE Excuse me? DIANA If I'm going to a gala, I'll need to know how to -- STEVE You're not going to the gala. DIANA Of course, I am. Why would n't I? STEVE Because you do n't know how to dance, for one thing. DIANA -LRB- re : the other dancers -RRB- I would argue that they do n't know how to dance. Steve finally smiles and moves out onto the floor to join her. He takes her left hand and moves his arm around her waist. It's the first time they've touched. Which they're both keenly aware of. DIANA You're awfully close. Their faces are very near to one another's, neither makes a move to pull away. STEVE That's kinda the point. DIANA Ah. I see. Diana moves a bit closer to Steve, smiles. The music changes as a NEW PIANIST begins a beautiful melody, breaking into song with an incredible TENOR VOICE. Diana and Steve look towards the piano and see that it is CHARLIE WHO IS PLAYING AND SINGING. Diana ca n't help but be surprised once again by these men. Sameer and The Chief join the people crowding around Charlie, smiling, laughing, grateful. As the emotional song continues, they sway for a beat, holding each other and then a SINGLE SNOWFLAKE falls. Diana looks up as more and more white ice falls from the sky, sprinkling her hair. She holds out a palm, CATCHING A FLAKE and sniffing it. STEVE It's a snowfall. DIANA It's magical. Steve takes it in, seeing beauty where she does. STEVE You're right. Diana rests her head on Steve's shoulder. Steve ca n't remember loving anything as much as this feeling. DIANA Is this what people do when there are no wars to fight? STEVE This and other things. DIANA What things? STEVE I do n't know. They... make breakfast. DIANA What else? STEVE Read the newspaper. Go to work -- -LRB- carefully -RRB- They... get married. Maybe have babies, grow old together. DIANA What is it like? STEVE No idea. But something in his eyes tells Diana he'd like to find out. Diana thinks she might, too. Steve pulls her in closer. She looks deep in his eyes. DIANA Maybe... once I defeat Ares and war ends forever... there will be time to learn about... all kinds of things. The way Diana says it -- that look in her eyes -- for the very first time in the film Steve finds himself believing her story -- desperately wanting to believe it. STEVE -LRB- wistful -RRB- God, I hope you're right.", "INT. INN (VELD) - BEDROOM - NIGHT Steve lays Diana gently down on the bed, brushing her hair from her neck and KISSING IT. Diana's eyes are wide and shocked by the ELECTRICITY of those LIPS ON HER SKIN. She looks up at him, runs her hands through his hair and pulls him to her, mouth-to-mouth, the most perfect, passionate FIRST KISS ever. ... Steve's TICKING WATCH on the nearby nightstand.", "EXT. TOWN SQUARE (VELD) - DAWN The morning sun looks brighter to Diana than normal. She smiles, turns to see the team, Steve dressed in a GERMAN UNIFORM. They're rounded up with HORSES. SAMEER The villagers gave them to us. THE CHIEF A gracious gift. SAMEER They called us heroes. DIANA You are. Everyone looks at Diana. The way she says it, Sameer and Chief believe it -- and it feels good. Sameer smiles at Charlie -- who forces a smile back, struggling to agree. STEVE -LRB- to team -RRB- Guys, I'm fully aware that I said this job was two days -- THE CHIEF You would get lost without us. SAMEER Yeah, we know Diana's capable of looking after herself, but I'm worried you would n't make it. STEVE There's no more money, boys. Sameer pets his horse with a smile. SAMEER We've been paid enough. The Chief nods, but Diana spots Charlie's hesitation. DIANA If you're coming, Charlie, perhaps you'll sing more for us. -LRB- then ; the truth -RRB- I enjoyed it very much. Charlie brightens at a rare compliment from Diana. SAMEER Ah! Do n't encourage him! Despite Sameer's protests, Charlie starts to SING LOUDLY -- but joyfully -- as the team moves on. OFF Diana, moved by the continued goodness she's discovering within these unlikely men. CHARLIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- pre-lap -RRB- She's a real life Amazon?", "EXT. FOREST (BELGIUM) - DAY Diana leads the men on HORSEBACK. They trail behind. Diana turns, smiles, unaware Steve's just told them all about her. CHARLIE -LRB- to the boys -RRB- That's the craziest story I ever heard! SAMEER Wait. There's a whole island of women like her? And not a single man among them? -LRB- beat -RRB- How do we get there? STEVE You're not their type. CHARLIE You're all going daft. STEVE It's true... every word. SAMEER And she thinks Ludendorff is Ares? The God of War? CHARLIE And only by killing him will the war end? SAMEER You saw what she did out there. The way she charged that machine gun nest. The way she took out that tower. Maybe it's true! Chief nods in agreement. CHARLIE -LRB- to Steve -RRB- You do n't really believe all this rubbish, do ye? Steve wishes he does, but deep down he does n't...", "EXT. FOREST/CHTEAU (BELGIUM) - DAY Through the trees, still on HORSEBACK, Diana and the team see the WELL-GUARDED fortress that is German High Command. Steve uses FIELD GLASSES to survey the scene. Chauffeured LIMOUSINES go through a HEAVILY-GUARDED CHECKPOINT at the gate, behind it, a long line of cars delivering well-dressed GUESTS to the ENTRANCE of the chteau, a SINGLE SENTRY stationed there. STEVE How the hell are we gon na get in? THE CHIEF The way in is through the gate. CHARLIE -LRB- sarcastic -RRB- Thank you, Chief, for that ancient tribal wisdom, that's very helpful. The Chief gets off his horse, hands the reins to Sameer, then wanders off into the forest. Charlie looks through his scope : several guards at the gate, but only one at the door. CHARLIE If you could get through the gate I only see one guard at the door to distract. STEVE It wo n't look at all suspicious when I come sauntering out of the woods on foot -- DIANA I could get in. STEVE You're not going in. It's too -- DIANA Dangerous? STEVE I know how to do stealth -- been doing it my whole life. I'll follow them to wherever they're working on the gas or better yet find out where it is. -LRB- MORE -RRB- STEVE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- beat -RRB- Plus, we ca n't make a scene. DIANA I can be stealthy. STEVE Diana, what you're wearing does n't exactly qualify as ` undercover.' SAMEER -LRB- attempting humor -RRB- I do n't know, I'd say she was pretty under covered. Only Charlie laughs. STEVE -LRB- to Diana -RRB- There's no way to get you in. Let me scout it and report back. Worse case, we follow Ludendorff when he leaves and you can use that magic lasso of yours to get him to tell us where it is. DIANA But as long as he's still alive -- STEVE You ca n't go into German High Command and kill anyone! You have to trust me, Diana. Suddenly, a gleaming, ROLLS-ROYCE LIMOUSINE pulls into the forest, The Chief in the driver's seat. STEVE -LRB- to The Chief -RRB- Where did that come from? THE CHIEF Field over there is full of them. SAMEER Can I drive it? Lem me drive it. I'll be your chauffeur! Steve looks at Diana. STEVE -LRB- pointedly -RRB- Diana. Please, stay put. Steve climbs into the back seat and Sameer drives the limo off. CHARLIE We should scout the area. In case we need to beat a hasty retreat. What do you think, Diana? But when they look for her, Diana is n't there. CHARLIE Uh-oh.", "EXT. CHTEAU - GERMAN HIGH COMMAND - MOMENTS LATER A CAR rolls past the CHECKPOINT GATE, another stops. GUARDS take an INVITATION from the driver, then wave the car on. IN THE NEXT CAR Sameer, wearing a TEA TOWEL AS A TURBAN on his head, watches the exchange, alarmed. SAMEER -LRB- talking through his teeth to Steve -RRB- Steve... Steve in the back, decked out in his GERMAN UNIFORM. SAMEER... they have invitations. Sameer has no choice but to pull up to the guards. One of them holds out his hand, waiting for an invitation -- but Sameer takes the surprised guard's hand with both of his! SAMEER Dhanyavaad, Sahib. The Colonel and I wish many blessings and all manner of other things to fall upon your head -- Thinking fast, Steve belligerently yells at Sameer, startling the guards. STEVE And your head's empty! He wants my invitation, you idiot! Sammy grovels to the guard, kissing his hand. The guard tries to pull it away! SAMEER I must apologize a thousand thousand times, my masters, for my most horrid, wretched, and unworthy soul has lost the Colonel's invitation! Steve checks his WATCH. STEVE What? We drive hours through this mud and filth! SAMEER I am a snail! No, a bug! No, the dung of a bug -- The bewildered and uncomfortable guards shoo them on. As they drive, Sameer grins, glancing back at Steve. SAMEER Blessings be upon us. Steve's smile fades when he sees soldiers setting up a VIEWING PLATFORM with ROWS OF SEATS. Steve does n't know why. AT THE FRONT OF THE CHTEAU Sameer opens the LIMO DOOR for Steve. STEVE Keep the car running, Sahib. And no joy riding. Sameer smirks, bows. Steve heads to the chteau, watching him bowing and blessing to Germans. Steve shakes his head as he enters...", "EXT. CHTEAU - GERMAN HIGH COMMAND - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana, her cloak concealing her armor, watches from the shadows as Steve disappears inside. Frustrated, she searches the exterior of the chteau for another way in, but she's distracted by the insistent HONKING of a CAR HORN behind her. Diana turns to find a stunning, exquisitely dressed woman, FAUSTA GRABLES ( 30 ) in an extraordinary gown, leaning over her driver and honking the car's horn in a futile attempt to get the traffic moving again. FAUSTA I am not spending the entire evening out here, you idiots. Move your cars! I said, move! Infuriated, she marches up the long driveway toward the door. Diana steps out of the shadows and into Fausta's path. FAUSTA -LRB- snorting at Diana's outfit -RRB- What are you supposed to be?! Ha! Out of my way. But when Diana does n't get out of her way -- and instead sidles up to Fausta to see if they're the same height... FAUSTA What are you doing? -LRB- then ; calling out -RRB- Guards --?! Which is when Diana delivers a quick, judo-like CHOP to Fausta's neck -- where it meets her lovely shoulder -- causing Fausta to collapse and lose consciousness. Off Diana, catches Fausta as she falls... For the first time in her life, Diana enjoys her own roguishness. Like one of the boys. DIANA -LRB- realizing -RRB- That was... fun.", "INT. CHTEAU - FOYER - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve walks up the stairs, spotting the KAISER at the head of the RECEIVING LINE atop them. Ludendorff is next to him, talking intensely to Dr. Maru. As much as they try not to, people ca n't help but stare at Maru. MARU They're starting to ask where Von Hindenburg and the others are. LUDENDORFF Soon it wo n't matter. MARU But, General -- LUDENDORFF We continue as planned. Now go. I have people to tend to beyond you. Maru is taken aback by his firmness. Feels eyes staring at her. She's used to rejection, but not from him. She nods and breaks off, moving into the GRAND BALLROOM. An ORCHESTRA plays, COUPLES waltz, CHANDELIERS blaze. The room is full of OFFICERS, their WIVES and prominent CIVILIANS in formal wear. Maru moves to a FIREPLACE, staring at the fire. STEVE -LRB- to Maru -RRB- Excuse me. Maru turns to face Steve, holding TWO GLASSES OF CHAMPAGNE -- he offers her one. MARU I do n't drink. -LRB- faintly recognizing him -RRB- Have we met? STEVE No, but I've been watching you. Following your career, I mean. You're Dr. Isabel Maru. The most talented chemist in the German Army. I'm a fan. Steve keeps one eye on Ludendorff. Maru notices. He covers -- STEVE I hope I'm not crossing a line. I hear you and General Ludendorff are very close. MARU We work well together, yes. STEVE -LRB- flirting -RRB- I'm sure he provides a great deal of support for you and your work, but having someone like me behind you -- I could provide a lot more. She's not falling for the man, but there's something about him... a faint recognition -- MARU And who are you? STEVE A man who would show you the appreciation a genius like yourself deserves. Maru stares into the fire, captivated. STEVE I love fire, do n't you? It's like a living act of entropy. The ultimate weapon of destruction, reminding us that, in the end, everything returns to the ash it once came from. There's something reassuring about it. -LRB- stares into Maru's eyes -RRB- I see all of that in your eyes. Maru ca n't help but stare back deeply into Steve's eyes, surprised to find her heart racing. For a brief moment, she's unsure of what she's feeling. STEVE Perhaps you could show me what you're working on. I hear it's extraordinary. Steve's about to get the answers he needs when -- DIANA, in Fausta's gown, MAKES HER ENTRANCE, at the top of the stairs -- her uniform underneath, the GODKILLER peeking out from the back of her dress, the hilt looking like a piece of JEWELRY. Heads turn at the stunning Amazon. Steve's completely torn, does he stay and gets his answers from Maru -- or stop Diana from getting to Ludendorff? Maru makes the decision for him -- MARU I appreciate your interest in my work, but I am loyal to General Ludendorff. Besides, I see now your attention is elsewhere. DIANA AND LUDENDORFF'S EYES MEET. It is an INTENSE moment. She examines him, trying to confirm with her own eyes that he is Ares. Steve desperately wants to get to Diana, the tension thick : What is she going to do? Seeing the most beautiful woman in the room, Ludendorff ca n't help but give Diana a courtly bow, kisses her hand. LUDENDORFF Enjoying the party? DIANA -LRB- eyes narrow -RRB- I confess, I'm not sure what we're celebrating. LUDENDORFF A German victory, of course. He offers her hand to dance. She takes it, sizing him up. DIANA Victory? When I hear peace is so close? LUDENDORFF ` Peace is only an armistice in an endless war.' Diana understands, tenses. DIANA Thucydides. LUDENDORFF -LRB- happily surprised -RRB- You know your Ancient Greeks. They understood that war is a god. One that requires human sacrifice. Her heart pounds. LUDENDORFF And in exchange, war gives man purpose. A chance to rise above his petty, mortal little life and be better than he is. ON DIANA There's no question now : This is Ares. DIANA Only one of the many gods believed in that... and he was wrong. She desperately wants to reach for her sword, but he's still holding her. LUDENDORFF You know nothing about the gods -- SOLDIER #1 -LRB- O.S. -RRB- General? Ludendorff looks over at a soldier. He checks his watch, relaxes his hold on her. LUDENDORFF My apologies. You'll excuse me. -LRB- beat -RRB- Enjoy the fireworks. Just as he turns his back on Diana, she reaches for her SWORD. She's about to draw it when -- Steve gets between them, facing her! He pulls Diana away from Ludendorff, taking her hand -- dancing with her as cover. DIANA What are you doing? The dancing is anything but what it was in last time. STEVE You agreed to wait. DIANA You agree to do things all the time then do n't do them. Let me go -- STEVE You ca n't kill Ludendorff inside German High Command. The Armistice wo n't be signed. DIANA It wo n't matter -- STEVE What if you're wrong, Diana? What if there is no Ares? DIANA -LRB- realizes -RRB- You do n't believe me. STEVE I ca n't let you do this. DIANA What I do is n't up to you. Reminding Steve of her strength, Diana uses only her fingers to PUSH Steve away -- as if he were nothing -- and he almost loses his footing. Diana looks for Ludendorff -- he's left! She runs out. Steve follows.", "EXT. CHTEAU - MOMENTS LATER Diana exits, looks around, spotting Ludendorff, Maru, and the soldiers entering one of the ch\ufffdteau's TOWER HOUSES, which is quickly secured behind him. STEVE Diana! Diana starts running towards it when -- the sound of a MISSILE launching from the guardhouse. Then another. And another. STEVE The gas. Their eyes follow the PATH OF THE MISSILES -- she understands, horrified, see the target is -- DIANA The village. Diana runs off towards the village while the audience at the chteau behind her bursts into APPLAUSE and CHEERS.", "EXT. FOREST - CONTINUOUS ACTION Sameer has regrouped with Chief and Charlie. Chief and Sameer look up at SMOKING TRAILS in the sky, left by the missiles, while Charlie peers through his SCOPE at the chteau. SAMEER They're cheering. Suddenly, they spot Diana racing through the forest on her HORSE. SAMEER Diana! Steve rides up to the team, out of breath. THE CHIEF What did they fire? STEVE It was Ludendorff. CHARLIE -LRB- through scope -RRB- I see him. STEVE Wherever he goes you follow him. Steve chases after Diana! SAMEER -LRB- calls after to Steve -RRB- How will you find us?! THE CHIEF I know how.", "EXT. OUTSKIRTS OF VELD - MINUTES LATER Racing through the woods in the distance, Diana now in her armor on horseback -- her torn off dress discarded, floating behind her. She arrives at the outskirts of the village, which is now entirely engulfed in a THICK, COLORED CLOUD OF GAS. She dismounts, enveloped by the gas. She ca n't see anything in front of her, but knows immediately that all the villagers have perished. She has trouble breathing, her EYES RED AND STINGING. BLISTERS on her skin. DIANA No. Oh, no, no, no. Tears fill her eyes. STEVE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Diana. Diana walks out to see -- Steve arrive, dismounting. Diana points at Steve, her blisters HEALING before his eyes. DIANA They're dead. They're all dead. -LRB- a horrific betrayal -RRB- YOU DID THIS! STEVE Diana, I'm sorry -- DIANA You stopped me from killing Ares when I had the chance. You murderer! You killed these people! STEVE -LRB- reaching out for her -RRB- No, I -- DIANA STAY AWAY FROM ME! Steve freezes in his tracks. DIANA Everything you've said to me is a lie. -LRB- fury growing -RRB- But I see the truth now. It is n't just the Germans that Ares has corrupted. It's you, too. It's all of you. Steve is rattled -- DIANA -LRB- determined ; dark -RRB- I will find Ares and I will kill him. Steve sees a TRAIL OF SMOKE in the sky in the distance. STEVE It's a signal from The Chief. They followed Ludendorff -- Diana rides off in a fury. STEVE Diana?! Steve starts to get his horse, then sees an abandoned MOTORCYCLE on the road into town and changes his mind.", "EXT. SECURITY POST (BELGIUM) - MOMENTS LATER Along the road, Diana comes upon a GERMAN SECURITY POST : THREE GERMAN SENTRIES but she refuses to stop. She KNOCKS the Germans aside like bowling pins.", "EXT. FOREST (BELGIUM) - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve avoids the security post, tearing through the woods.", "EXT. COUNTRYSIDE (BELGIUM) - MOMENTS LATER The last wash of sunlight FADES as NIGHT takes over. Diana rides on horseback through the countryside at amazing speed -- driven, possessed by rage. She heads towards Charlie, Sameer, and The Chief -- who are all at a FIRE Chief has set, used to create the SMOKE SIGNALS. He points to the top of a hill. She rushes past them and up the hill! Cresting the hill, we see an AIRFIELD -- she heads down towards it. Steve is n't far behind her, racing past the team!", "EXT. OUTSIDE THE AIRFIELD (BELGIUM) - CONTINUOUS ACTION As Diana storms towards the airfield, her eyes land on the CONTROL TOWER, where she sees -- LUDENDORFF on the balcony, looking out over the airfield, a hive of activity. She charges the tower, flipping off her horse and over a BARBED WIRE FENCE -- she takes out more Germans -- slashes through a SECOND BARBED WIRE FENCE -- fights to the tower and -- Diana lassos a soldier on the balcony, yanking him down then leaping up to the tower herself! 96,97 OMITTED", "INT. CONTROL TOWER - CONTINUOUS ACTION Ludendorff turns as Diana arrives, wielding the GODKILLER. He smirks, scoffing -- LUDENDORFF Nice to see you again. This is a surprise. He aims his GUN at her -- LUDENDORFF But I have things to do. -- Ludendorff FIRES at Diana! She blocks the bullet with her bracelet, ricocheting it back at Ludendorff's gun! It explodes in his hand! He cries out in pain, shocked! Diana lowers her smoking bracelet, looking him in the eyes -- assuming he knows who she is now after that display of power. DIANA You know why I'm here. I am Diana of Themyscira, daughter of Hippolyta. Ludendorff turns away from Diana, cracking open a BLUE CAPSULE. He inhales -- it's painful but powerful, veins bulging. 99 OMITTED", "EXT. CONTROL TOWER - WALKWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana sees Ludendorff's veins bulging, almost supernatural -- her eyes widen with confirmation. Diana moves quickly, thrusting the Godkiller at him. He dodges it. She strikes him in the face with her fist. They trade blows. He grabs a BAYONETTED RIFLE mounted on the wall. Ludendorff uses the rifle as A GUN, A SPEAR, and A SWORD. He HITS Diana again and again -- but Diana strikes back with such FORCE that he flies backwards through the WINDOW and onto the narrow walkway outside. Ludendorff struggles to his feet --", "EXT. CONTROL TOWER - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana CHARGES AGAIN. Ludendorff manages to escape being gored by CLIMBING UP TO THE TOWER ROOF. Ludendorff stands, holding his bayonet, as Diana LEAPS up on the roof to join him -- and the BATTLE RAGES on, SWORD AGAINST BAYONET, both so close to plummeting to the ground with every volley. But then Ludendorff lands a BLOW that sends Diana and his bayonet sliding over the roof's edge. She manages to grip the ledge but loses the Godkiller. Pulling herself back up with incredible effort she sees that LUDENDORFF HAS THE GODKILLER. LUDENDORFF As magnificent a creature as you are, you are no match for me. WITH VEINS PULSATING BLUE, LUDENDORFF SWINGS THE SWORD DOWN TO DELIVER THE KILLING BLOW -- But Diana BLOCKS it with her bracelets! DIANA We'll see about that. Ludendorff STRIKES AGAIN AND AGAIN until Diana grabs the blade with her BARE HANDS. It cuts deep, drawing blood, she CRIES OUT in pain. Summoning impossible strength, she grips the blade and SHOVES it back with such force that Ludendorff loosens his grip. For the first time we see that he is afraid. Diana stands over Ludendorff, raising the GODKILLER. DIANA I, daughter of Hippolyta, came here to complete the mission of the Amazons by taking your life, and ridding mankind and my people of you -- forever! Diana PLUNGES THE GODKILLER INTO LUDENDORFF'S BODY. His body crumbles to the ground, the blue in his veins fading away like a light going out! ARES IS DEAD! She breathes heavy, takes in the victory, reveling in it. Her mission accomplished. Her mother would be proud. Antiope. All of the Amazons. The battlefield is quiet. A storm begins to simmer in the sky. Then she hears a GERMAN COMMANDER screaming at his troops. Her brow knits with confusion. Diana looks out over the airfield -- her face falls. HUNDREDS of `` HELLMEN'' SOLDIERS wearing strange customized GAS MASKS emanate from Dr. Maru's lab, working with HUNDREDS OF GAS BOMBS. To Diana's horror, nothing has changed. Ares may be dead but -- WAR CARRIES ON. STEVE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Diana! Steve is on the balcony below. STEVE Diana? Relieved she's okay, Steve sees Ludendorff's body on the edge. Diana turns to him, lost... DIANA I killed him. I killed Ares but nothing stopped. You kill the God of War, you stop the war. Steve registers her confusion, but follows her gaze to the growing threat below. No time to explain -- STEVE Right... Then we've got to do something about it. She leaps down to Steve, eyes wide with shock. DIANA No! Steve. All of this should have stopped. The fighting. It should have stopped. So why are they doing this?! Steve sees the crisis on her face, forcing himself to slow down and tune into it -- sad knowing the reality Diana's about to face. His heart breaks for her. STEVE Diana, I'm sorry... I know you thought -- I hoped it, too -- but I knew -- DIANA You knew what?! STEVE That it might not be that simple. DIANA But Ares is dead. They do n't have to do this anymore. So why would they?! Steve finally says what he has n't had the heart to say all along. STEVE Because maybe people are n't... just good, Diana. Ares or no Ares. Maybe it's... just them. She looks out at them. The truth slowly sinking in as she tries to understand - DIANA No... It ca n't be... Everything I saw? They were killing each other. Killing people they ca n't even see... Killing children. Like it was nothing... It had to be him!! It ca n't be them! STEVE Diana, sometimes people are complicated -- Diana's disbelief begins to turn to anger. DIANA My mother was right. She said' the world of men do n't deserve you.' -LRB- beat -RRB- That's why she left. They do n't deserve our help. Steve knows they're out of time. STEVE It's not about whether they deserve it or not. It's about what you believe. You think I do n't get it? All I've seen out there? I wish I could tell you that there was one ` bad guy' to blame. Maybe we're all to blame. But that does n't mean we should n't try to do better. -LRB- beat -RRB- And if you believe this war should stop, Diana, if you want to stop it, then help me stop it. Now. Diana still is n't there. STEVE If we do n't, they're going to kill thousands more. -LRB- MORE -RRB- STEVE -LRB- CONT'D -RRB- -LRB- beat -RRB- Do n't give up on them. Do n't give up on me. Diana does n't respond. She is n't there yet. STEVE Please. We got ta go... -LRB- beat -RRB- I have to. It kills Steve to release her hand, but he has no choice. He has to. He does and can only look back, hoping she'll follow. Diana's left alone, everything she ever believed in destroyed. She watches as Steve runs off --", "EXT. AIRFIELD - CONTROL TOWER - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve joins the team as they arrive and regroup -- SAMEER -LRB- to Steve -RRB- Where's Diana? STEVE We're on our own. Despite their hesitation and confusion about that, the team follows Steve towards the hangar --", "EXT. CONTROL TOWER - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana takes in a breath, SMELLS the CHEMICALS in the air, HEARS the sounds across the AIRFIELD -- she has become hyper aware of the harshness of the world around her. Diana turns, seeing a FIGURE THROUGH the windows looking at Ludendorff's plans. For a brief moment, she thinks it's Steve. DIANA Steve? The figure pauses, then looks over at Diana. Diana wonders : Who is it? DIANA Who's there? -LRB- beat -RRB- What are you doing? The figure finally speaks -- VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- I've been waiting for you to see the truth. She looks closer, a shiver up her spine -- confusion overwhelms Diana as she sees it's -- DIANA Sir Patrick? Sir Patrick is there, like a dream -- or a nightmare -- calmly gazing over at Diana THROUGH the glass. SIR PATRICK You're right, Diana. They do n't deserve our help. -LRB- beat -RRB- They only deserve destruction. Diana freezes. DIANA You're him. You. SIR PATRICK I am. But I'm not what you thought I was. You blame me, but the truth is... -LRB- motions to the airfield -RRB-... all of this -- I did none of it. Alarmed, Diana reaches for her sword -- but her hand grasps at nothing -- she quickly realizes it's still in Ludendorff! Diana leaps OUT OF FRAME to retrieve it!", "EXT. AIRFIELD - HANGAR - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve and the team regroup, taking cover behind a hangar, Charlie scanning the area with his scope. CHARLIE I ca n't see where they're taking the gas. They duck behind CRATES as gas-masked soldiers march by. Sammy points out over the airfield at -- -- the enormous, modern PROTOTYPE BOMBER on the runway, being loaded up with bombs. The workers hurry as the storm continues to build around them. SAMEER Wherever Diana is, I think we're gon na need her. Steve watches as a soldier motioning to the crew to pick up the pace. Steve and the team see soldiers loading bombs in the back of the plane. Steve motions to the team and they head around the back of the hangar.", "INT./EXT. AIRFIELD - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana leaps down from above, the GODKILLER back in her hands -- she circles the tower like a tiger, looking THROUGH the glass -- but Sir Patrick remains very calm. SIR PATRICK/ARES I am not your enemy, Diana. I am the only one who truly knows you. And who truly knows them as you now do. They have always been, and always will be weak, cruel, selfish, and capable of the greatest horror... As he speaks, Diana holds the sword with TWO HANDS, trying to regain her confidence but struggling. Stepping in the doorway, he vanishes. She looks around. Finds he's suddenly outside. DIANA -LRB- to herself -RRB- I am Diana of Themyscira, daughter of Hippolyta... and I am here to complete her mission -- Diana cocks back her sword for battle when Sir Patrick disappears again -- reappearing behind her. She spins and plunges the GODKILLER into him -- Sir Patrick simply holds up his hand and the sword DISINTEGRATES INTO A CLOUD OF DUST, right down to the hilt! Diana ca n't believe it -- DIANA The Godkiller... SIR PATRICK/ARES The Godkiller? Oh, child. That is not the Godkiller. -LRB- truly feels her shock -RRB- You are. Only a god can kill another god. DIANA I -- SIR PATRICK/ARES Zeus left the daughter he had with the Queen of the Amazons as a weapon to use against me. Diana's mind reeling -- DIANA You lie! Diana throws her LASSO around Sir Patrick, who does n't try and avoid it. On contact with Sir Patrick, the lasso glows BRIGHTER than previously seen -- DIANA I compel you to tell me the truth! Sir Patrick calmly looks into her eyes, the lasso's GOLDEN ENERGY courses between them. ARES I am. 107 OMITTED", "EXT. AIRFIELD - HANGAR - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve and the team put on GAS MASKS and JACKETS pulled from a handful of UNCONSCIOUS SOLDIERS they leave behind as they creep around the hangar to the plane. Steve and the team blend in with the crew working on the plane.", "EXT. AIRFIELD - CONTINUOUS ACTION                          107AA Sameer boards the plane while Steve moves to the front wheel, trying to get a better look at the plane's position. The Chief spots soldiers examining a MAP just inside the hangar. As they walk away, The Chief sneaks in --", "INT. CONTROL TOWER - CONTINUOUS ACTION The lasso is still tight around Sir Patrick, crackling. Diana holds it, still unsure what to think -- SIR PATRICK/ARES I am not the God of War, Diana. I am the god of truth... All I ever wanted was to show my father how evil his creation was. But he refused. As Sir Patrick runs his finger along the lasso, a SURGE of energy runs from his hands and down towards Diana -- into her, causing her to see FLASHES OF THE PAST. Each is like a pulse that fades and returns us to the scene at hand. FLASHBACKS - EXT. NO MAN'S LAND - DAY We PUSH THROUGH the bleakness of the world. SIR PATRICK/ARES -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Mankind stole the world from us. They ruined it, day-by-day.", "EXT. MOUNT OLYMPUS - NIGHT Ares falling to the Earth... His armor falling off... SIR PATRICK/ARES -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And I, the only one wise enough to see it, was left too weak to destroy them myself...", "EXT./INT. TBD - NIGHT Somewhere dark, ARES shivering, powerless... the remnants of his armor CRACKING and BREAKING APART around him. SIR PATRICK/ARES -LRB- V.O. -RRB- All these years, I've struggled. Whispering into their ears...", "INT. HANGAR - DR. MARU'S LAB - DAY Maru at her workbench. The SPECTRAL FORM of SIR PATRICK whispering silently to her, unseen by anyone. A STRANGE WIND passes as he does. Her eyes light up. She starts mixing chemicals frantically. SIR PATRICK -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Ideas. Inspiration. For weapons. Formulas. But I do n't make them use them... they start these wars on their own. END FLASHBACKS.", "INT. CONTROL TOWER - NIGHT The FLASHBACKS FADE and we RETURN TO Diana's stunned face. SIR PATRICK/ARES -LRB- enjoying the revelation ) All I do is orchestrate an armistice I know they will break, in the hope they will destroy themselves. But it's never been enough... -LRB- beat -RRB- When you first arrived I was going to end you, Diana. Then I felt something I have n't for thousands of years. Stronger. Sir Patrick clenches his fists. His neck pulses. SIR PATRICK/ARES It was your power. Healing me more than you could ever hurt me. Diana's eyes narrow, trying to understand. Sir Patrick's hands begin to FLICKER with FIRE -- SIR PATRICK/ARES And I knew that if only you could see what the other gods could n't... Sir Patrick runs his finger along the lasso, energy arcing down the lasso and into Diana! As it hits her --", "EXT. NO MAN'S LAND - DAY VISION - -- they are transported to the barren, war-torn No Man's Land SIR PATRICK/ARES -LRB- V.O. -RRB- All the suffering. All the pain and destruction they create. You would join me. Diana looks around her. SIR PATRICK/ARES -LRB- V.O. -RRB- With out powers combined, ( ALT ) we could finally end this. With our powers combined, we could finally end them. The barren no man's land transforms into a lush, `` Garden of Eden'' -- like Themyscira itself! SIR PATRICK/ARES We could return the world to the paradise it was before them. -LRB- beat -RRB- And there would be absolute peace, Diana. Forever. CLOSE ON DIANA taking it in. Sir Patrick smiles, pleased. But Diana resists. DIANA -LRB- struggling -RRB- No... No, I'd never be a part of that. And like that -- INT. CONTROL TOWER - NIGHT ( REALITY ) The VISION around Diana VANISHES, they are `` back'' in the control tower.", "EXT. AIRFIELD - HANGAR - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve tries to pry open a panel on the plane, looking for a way to sabotage it somehow -- when a German soldier approaches Steve, suspicious. The German is about to yell when -- THUMP! Charlie lowers the butt of his rifle onto the German. Steve nods in appreciation then -- notices a CHILL as the wind starts to rise. Steve looks over, his face grows tense -- DR. MARU approaches the plane for inspection with MORE SOLDIERS. They retreat to the shadows!", "INT. BOMBER PROTOTYPE - CONTINUOUS ACTION Sameer moves past ROWS OF BOMBS already loaded. He spots something -- a TIMER wired to the bombs!", "INT. AIRFIELD - HANGAR - CONTINUOUS ACTION The Chief examines the map, horror covers his face when he sees the plane's target : LONDON.", "INT. CONTROL TOWER - CONTINUOUS ACTION Sir Patrick looks angered -- he almost had her. His eyes narrow. SIR PATRICK/ARES Oh, Diana... my dear sister... I do n't want to fight you -- -LRB- beat -RRB- -- but if I must... He quickly GRABS the lasso -- and a VIOLENT ERUPTION OF ENERGY ERUPTS -- AND THE CONTROL TOWER EXPLODES!! !", "EXT. AIRFIELD - CONTINUOUS ACTION A DEAFENING explosion erupts across the airfield, demanding everyone's attention! It's overwhelming and chaotic, putting the soldiers in panic mode : They're under attack! Steve and the team react, unable to see what caused it, retreating to the shadows to find out -- CHARLIE Hurry up! They're onto us! STEVE Sammy, let's go! Dr. Maru turns to A THREE-MAN CREW -- PILOT, CO-PILOT, and the BOMBARDIER. She calls out -- DR. MARU Forget about them! Come on, move! -LRB- they hesitate -RRB- Go now!", "EXT. CONTROL TOWER - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana lands on the ground, rolling across it.", "EXT. AIRFIELD - RUNWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve and the team race across the airfield, searching for cover.", "EXT. CONTROL TOWER - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana pushes herself up off the ground, gazing over at Sir Patrick, who simply floats down -- burning debris all around them. Getting to her feet, Diana runs towards Sir Patrick. CLOSE ON SIR PATRICK calmly looking out at the DESTRUCTION and Diana, he flicks his hand -- through his sheer force of will, Sir Patrick lifts the TOWER DEBRIS around Diana! Girders rise, toppling over on either side of Diana as she races towards Sir Patrick! Diana dodges them, running through the gauntlet -- gazing up as a LIGHT shines down, toppling towards her -- Diana leaps out of the way!", "EXT. AIRFIELD - RUNWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve and the team take cover behind SEVERAL CRATES.", "EXT. CONTROL TOWER - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana throws her lasso at Sir Patrick, but he holds his hands up and blasts it back! SIR PATRICK/ARES Oh, my dear. You have so much to learn. Diana lassos a GIRDER, swinging it back at Sir Patrick -- but he hovers above it! The debris smashes into a gas tank, exploding!", "EXT. AIRFIELD - CONTINUOUS ACTION Fighting through the growing storm, Diana races towards Sir Patrick -- he raises his hands like a conductor, ripping chunks of the tarmac up! Diana avoids one -- smashes through another -- then leaps in the air as a MASSIVE CHUNK OF THE EARTH rises -- Diana leaps into the air, towards Sir Patrick --", "EXT. AIRFIELD - HANGAR - CONTINUOUS ACTION Hidden behind the crates, Steve and the team remove their masks and see Diana and Sir Patrick battling! Steve reacts to Sir Patrick levitating! CHARLIE What are we going to do? STEVE There's not much we can do... if that's what I think it is. Steve looks to the plane. STEVE But we can stop that plane.", "EXT. AIRFIELD - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana leaps at Sir Patrick, but she blasts her back under the hovering CHUNK OF EARTH! Sir Patrick motions, SENDING the chunk CRASHING DOWN TO THE GROUND -- but Diana zips out of the way -- in a blur, she slams into Sir Patrick, sending him flying -- CLOSE ON SIR PATRICK catching himself, gazing up, crackling with LIGHTNING.", "EXT. AIRFIELD - HANGAR - CONTINUOUS ACTION Charlie peers through is SCOPE at the plane... CHARLIE If we radio ahead? We can ask Air Corps to shoot her down. STEVE No, if it crashes, it'll wipe out everyone for fifty square miles. We got ta ground it. SAMEER Bad news. It's on a timer. If we ground it here, same thing. Steve looks over at Diana then the plane -- and he realizes what he has to do... STEVE Is it flammable, Chief? THE CHIEF Yeah, she said it was hydrogen? It's flammable. STEVE I need you guys to clear me a path to that plane. CHARLIE No, Steve! SAMEER Steve! But Steve is already running towards it. The team go into action!", "INT. AIRFIELD - HANGAR - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana grabs a LARGE WOODEN CRATE and throws it up at Sir Patrick. Sir Patrick raises his hand -- and the crate appears to hit an INVISIBLE WALL, breaking apart, revealing HUNDREDS OF GRENADES INSIDE! The grenades hover for a SPLIT SECOND -- then Ares sends them down towards Diana! Diana grabs a LARGE BOMB nearby and THROWS it into the air towards the GRENADES -- causing a MASSIVE EXPLOSION! The explosion sends Diana and Ares FLYING backwards across the AIRFIELD!", "EXT. AIRFIELD - HANGAR Steve sees Diana smashing across the airfield. He rushes to her side! The team watches as the truck moves the plane forward. Charlie aims his gun -- shooting straight into the engine! The truck SMOKES and HALTS, the plane stopped for a brief moment as -- Steve helps Diana up -- He starts to talk, but Diana's ears are RINGING. She can see him, but not hear him. DIANA What? IN THE FIRE - CONTINUOUS ACTION ACROSS THE AIRFIELD, within the BURNING FIRE... CLOSE ON ARES' HAND awakening, clutching the EARTH.", "EXT. AIRFIELD - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve talks to Diana, but her ears are still ringing. THROUGH CHARLIE'S SCOPE Watching as the truck moves the plane forward. ANOTHER ANGLE Charlie aims his gun -- shooting straight into the engine! The truck SMOKES and HALTS, the plane stopped for a brief moment as -- Chief puts his hand on Charlie's gun, lowers it. THE CHIEF Do n't shoot! The whole thing could go! The plane's blades start SPINNING! The team fights the airmen around it, clearing the path Steve asked them to. ANGLE ON DIANA AND STEVE struggling to say good-bye... CHARLIE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Come on, this way! Steve! Steve looks at Charlie, who motions to the plane. Soldiers are firing at the team, others have unhooked the tow truck -- so the plane is moving forward again! He presses his WATCH into her hand. She looks at it, confused, then looks up to see him running away. One last look at Diana, lingering, his heart breaking -- then he races to the plane. Confused, Diana calls after him -- DIANA Steve! Steve runs past the team, towards the plane. STEVE I have the plane. CHARLIE But, Steve -- STEVE You destroy the lab! Go! The team hesitates for a second, looking at the hangar -- SAMEER -LRB- to Charlie and Chief -RRB- If we go in there, we're not coming back. They share a look -- and then go anyway -- Steve leaps onto a ladder on the wing of the bomber, climbing up as the plane moves down the runway.", "EXT. AIRFIELD - RUNWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTION On the WING, Steve pulls himself to the DOOR, opens it. Steve's confronted by the BOMBARDIER as he enters. They grapple, Steve throws him out!", "EXT. AIRFIELD - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana turns towards a burning fire. CLOSE ON DIANA gazing into the fire.", "INT. BOMBER PROTOTYPE - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve fights with the BOMBARDIER, throwing him out of the plane. IN THE FIRE - CONTINUOUS ACTION SIR PATRICK SUMMONS scraps of METAL all around him. One piece slams against his body. Then another. And another. Faster and faster. ANGLE ON SIR PATRICK using the FIRE to FORGE the METAL on his body -- recreating ARES' ICONIC ARMOR he wore in `` The History Lesson!'' CLOSE ON ARES' HAND wrapped in metals, forming a FIST. CLOSE ON ARES' FINGERS digging into the MELTING METAL on his head, creating the shape of his HELMET.", "EXT. AIRFIELD - CONTINUOUS ACTION Walking out of the fire, WE REVEAL Sir Patrick now in his ARES ARMOR. Diana sees ARES -- and runs straight at him. Ares calmly walks towards Diana. He creates TWIN SWORDS out of thin air -- his power growing thanks to Diana, Ares is able to conjure any MAN-MADE WEAPON at will -- and throws the swords at Diana! Diana blocks the swords, falling back to the ground. CLOSER ANGLE ON DIANA a BLOODY GASH at her side. ANOTHER ANGLE Ares charges Diana -- he conjures a SPEAR, throwing it at Diana. She blocks it, but again is thrown back as the weapon combusts -- slamming into a TRAIN CAR. Ares does not relent, conjuring TWIN SWORDS -- swinging them at her -- she dodges the blades, BLOCKS them with her bracelets -- 112-114 OMITTED", "INT. BOMBER PROTOTYPE - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve moves deeper into the bomber to the PILOT and CO- PILOT. The CO-PILOT gets UP, pulling his GUN. The pilot cautions him, motions to the GAS BOMBS -- PILOT You hit that, we all go up. The co-pilot nods, puts his gun away -- spots another weapon. The co-pilot rips a FIRE HATCHET off the wall, swinging it hard. Steve dodges the hatchet -- then slams his fist into the co-pilot, sending him back against the GAS BOMBS -- Steve wrestles the hatchet away from the co-pilot. Steve slams his fist into the co-pilot -- and he crumples to the ground. Steve fights the Pilot, tossing him back, taking the controls. Steve pulls a lever -- 116,117 OMITTED", "EXT. AIRFIELD - RUNWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTION As the bomber lifts up off the runway into the air, BOMBER DOORS open, dumping out the Pilot and co-pilot.", "INT. HANGAR - DR. MARU'S LABORATORY - CONTINUOUS ACTION Charlie, Sameer, and Chief enter the hangar. GUNSHOTS ring out as Dr. Maru desperately gathers her NOTES, trying to save her work! The team looks out across the lab, seeing DIFFERENT DRUMS OF CHEMICALS -- ready to be MIXED to create the gas. They start kicking over the drums, dismantling the lab, setting CHARGES --", "EXT. AIRFIELD - RUNWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTION ARES conjures a HOOK and CHAIN, throwing it at Diana, wrapping it around her arm -- he throws her across the airfield! Diana slams into a tank, denting it. She stands up -- just as ARES swings a MASSIVE SWORD, the power of the blade SLICING everything in its path -- Diana dodges it as the power SLICES the TANK in two!", "EXT.AIRFIELD - RUNWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana leaps up at Ares as he conjures a HATCHET, tackling him -- they crash onto the top of a HANGAR! Diana digs her hand into the roof, stopping herself.", "INT. HANGAR - DR. MARU'S LABORATORY - CONTINUOUS ACTION The team moves out across the lab, The Chief setting CHARGES -- -- while Dr. Maru escapes out of the hangar with her notebooks, turning back for one last look before disappearing.", "EXT. AIRFIELD - HANGAR - ROOF ON THE HANGAR ROOFTOP -- Diana THROWS HER LASSO around Ares' arm, yanking him forward -- Diana throws her KNEE into Ares, knocking him UP -- and then throws her elbow, knocking him DOWN. Ares barely moves out of the way as Diana SMASHES her foot onto the roof, narrowly missing his head. Ares conjures a LARGE HAMMER, Diana dodging it as he swings. She wraps her lasso around him, tossing him over her head. CLOSE ON DIANA her rage growing. ANOTHER ANGLE Ares conjures a LARGE SWORD, stabbing the roof, stopping himself. Ares launches at Diana, grabbing her by the neck, lifting her into the air off the hangar. SIR PATRICK/ARES Is that all you have to offer me?", "EXT. AIRFIELD - CONTINUOUS ACTION Ares THROWS Diana across the airfield. She slams into TANKS and VEHICLES, springs back onto her feet. Ares uses his GROWING POWER to throw TANK TREADS at Diana. The tread wraps around Diana, slamming her to the ground! LIGHTNING CRACKLING across them as they TIGHTEN around her. Pinned, Diana is overwhelmed by a feeling of desperation.", "INT. HANGAR - DR. MARU'S LABORATORY - CONTINUOUS ACTION Charlie lights a trail of alcohol poured from his flask, leading to a STICK OF DYNAMITE. They run out --", "EXT. HANGAR - DR. MARU'S LABORATORY - CONTINUOUS ACTION Outside the lab, Charlie covers Sameer and Chief while they throw GRENADES in and -- THE LAB EXPLODES!", "INT. BOMBER PROTOTYPE - CONTINUOUS ACTION In the cockpit, Steve uses all his strength to fight the G-FORCE pulling against his body --", "EXT. HANGAR - DR. MARU'S LABORATORY - CONTINUOUS ACTION For a brief moment it's victorious, but DOZENS OF SOLDIERS come at the team from all directions! BULLETS whizzing by, the men take cover! The team returns fire!", "EXT. HANGAR - DR. MARU'S LABORATORY - CONTINUOUS ACTION Charlie fires and -- CLICK -- his face falls - he's out of ammo. They're all out. Trapped. They know it's over --", "EXT. AIRFIELD - CONTINUOUS ACTION Trapped by the treads, Diana turns, seeing the team on the ground, out in the open... Ares hovers over Diana, tightening the treads around her with the movement of his hand. SIR PATRICK/ARES It is futile, sister. But keep trying. Diana hears the sound of a plane and she looks up into the sky -- the plane soaring up into it... DIANA Steve...", "INT. BOMBER PROTOTYPE - CONTINUOUS ACTION Steve breathes, flying the plane high. He looks back at the burning factory, LAUGHS... soars higher into the air... then he looks back at the GAS BOMBS filling the plane. Steve pries his GUN from his holster, pointing it backwards towards the GAS BOMBS.", "EXT. AIRFIELD - CONTINUOUS ACTION Diana is suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling -- almost otherworldly -- a connection -- to Steve -- absolute dread on her face --", "INT. BOMBER PROTOTYPE - CONTINUOUS ACTION STEVE'S jaw is set, determined. He shuts his eyes... thinks of Diana... and then -- HE FIRES HIS GUN!", "EXT. AIRFIELD - CONTINUOUS ACTION DIANA Steve... -- and the BOMBER EXPLODES! Enveloped in a cloud of GLOWING GAS that burns itself up in the explosion. A HORRIBLE SCREAM, emanating from deep within Diana! DIANA NO!!!! CLOSE ON A LOW PROFILE OF DIANA struggling with the tank treads. She explodes with grief and anger -- freeing herself from Sir Patrick's hold. He stumbles back! IN A RAGE, Diana turns to Ares -- jumps into the air at Ares, slamming her foot down across him. Diana tackles him, leaps up -- they crash through a hangar, GERMAN SOLDIERS watching, scattering as Diana slides Ares across the ground. Ares punches Diana off him, motions towards a TANK -- it turns, FIRING at Diana! She rolls out of the way and catches the shell, throwing it back at the tank! As it explodes, German soldiers RUN -- until Ares sees them -- and using his growing power, takes them over. They all freeze in place. CLOSE ON A GERMAN SOLDIER THROUGH his GAS MASK we see his eyes turn black. ANOTHER ANGLE The soldiers AIM their guns at Diana, firing dozens and dozens of BULLETS -- she blocks them, charging towards Ares. As the soldiers move in all around her, blocking her way -- CLOSE ON DIANA her eyes begin to DARKEN. She's lost in Steve's death, transformed into a VIOLENT MACHINE! In a brutal, stunning move, Diana attacks the soldiers in a fit of rage. She decimates the soldiers! One after the other! Tearing through them! She spins through the crowd, slamming into the soldiers -- building to a SUPER SPIN that blows them all back! Diana charges Ares, flipping over and around him, dodging his sword, kicking him, leaping away, landing, and throwing her LASSO around his leg. She wraps her lasso around her own leg, flipping him over her head, slamming him down onto the ground! Diana leaps into the air, smashing her elbow into his back. Breathing heavily, full of anger, Diana pulls Ares up, getting close enough to realize -- ARES IS SMILING. She's almost his. SIR PATRICK/ARES -LRB- enjoying every second -RRB- Yes, Diana. Do n't stop... Diana pauses, breathing heavy like a wild animal. But resists. Ares blasts Diana back into a TANK. Trying to anger her into fighting. SIR PATRICK/ARES Do it... fight. Diana lifts up the tank! SIR PATRICK You came here with such hope and determination and look at you now. Mankind did this to you. Join me in the fight... and we can destroy them forever! But still Diana resists, the darkness in her eyes flickering, Ares sneers with disgust, he turns towards -- THE RUNWAY. -- using the winds to take hold of a MILITARY VEHICLE Maru is desperately trying to escape in. The vehicle SPIRALS towards Diana, spinning end-over-end and breaking apart. MARU tumbles out -- lying in front of Diana BENEATH THE UPHELD TANK. SIR PATRICK/ARES Look at her and tell me I'm -LRB- ALT -RRB- WRONG. Take her. And then take them all... Diana looks at Maru, the anger boiling in her. Maru cowers. Her METAL MASK FLAPPING OFF in the wind, grotesque and pathetic. SIR PATRICK/ARES She is the perfect example of these humans. And unworthy of your sympathy in every way. CLOSE ON DIANA her eyes BLACK as she struggles... she wants so badly to end Maru. SIR PATRICK/ARES Destroy her, Diana. Diana stands over the trembling, terrified woman -- about to crush her. But Diana hesitates... SIR PATRICK/ARES You know she deserves it, they all do! Diana snarls, her arms shaking with the weight of the tank over her head. Her anger threatening to overtake her. Ares uses his power on Diana's lasso, wraps it around her, holding it tight. SIR PATRICK/ARES See the truth for yourself! Maru looks up at Diana. Diana looks down at her... STEVE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- from far away -RRB- Diana... She closes her eyes and in her mind... but it is n't the ugliness of mankind. FLASHBACK - EXT. AIRFIELD - NIGHT She sees STEVE. Their last moment together replaying, but this time she hears him -- STEVE Diana! I have to go. DIANA What are you saying? Steve, whatever it is, I can do it. Let me do it -- STEVE No. It has to be me. I can save today, you can save the world. -LRB- beat -RRB- I wish we had more time. DIANA What? He presses something into her hand. She looks at it, confused, then looks up to see him running away. STEVE I love you. Diana looks down in her hands at Steve's watch. END FLASHBACK.", "EXT. AIRFIELD - NIGHT A GOLDEN GLOW begins to emits from Diana, a warmth within her building. The lasso CRACKLES with power, building up a SURGE OF ENERGY that explodes, runs from Diana, running down the lasso and into Ares, blasting him backwards! Diana opens her eyes. DIANA You're wrong about them... Ares EXPLODES in a NASTY, SNARLING, VICIOUS rage! He raises his hand -- A MASSIVE STORM OF DEBRIS smashes down towards Diana and Maru! It strikes into the tank, but Diana does n't move! SIR PATRICK/ARES NO! The debris combusts around Diana, unable to harm her! Diana HURLS what's left of the tank aside. As Diana turns to Ares, Maru runs away. She walks CALMLY towards Ares. DIANA They're everything you say, but so much more. SIR PATRICK/ARES LIES! Ares commands everything around him, bringing a MASSIVE SWIRLING STORM of DEBRIS AND WEAPONS TOGETHER -- he charges at her in a FURY! But she holds her ground, deflects the barrage and then -- absorbing the power -- sends Ares back! Ares falls back, his helmet blown off. Diana walks towards him. He stands, creating a MASSIVE LIGHTNING BOLT SPEAR. SIR PATRICK/ARES They do not deserve your protection. DIANA It's not about deserve... Diana stops, `` catches'' the massive lightning bolt in her gauntlets. The energy courses between them. DIANA It's about what you believe... and I believe in love -- Ares CRACKLES WITH LIGHTNING, summoning EVERYTHING HE CAN from the STORM ABOVE! SIR PATRICK/ARES I WILL DESTROY YOU! THEN I WILL DESTROY THEM! Ares sends all of the lightning at Diana -- she raises her gauntlets `` catching'' it! DIANA Good-bye, brother. Diana runs towards Ares as he unleashes the very last of his power, erupting towards her. Diana LEAPS into the AIR over Ares' last blast. She crosses her bracelets midair. She sends the lightning BACK INTO Ares! Ares cries out as the lightning strikes him, overwhelming him! Ares EXPLODES! A HUGE ERUPTION of POWER creates a CRATER in the Earth! And the God of War is gone FOREVER. As the rain falls all around her, Diana's feet land softly onto the scorched earth below...", "EXT. AIRFIELD - DAWN The rain washes away the blackened smoke from the sky, DAWN breaking through the clouds. Diana looks around, the soldiers rousing, as if they were waking up from a nightmare, the better side of man returning. They pull their gas masks off. Dr. Maru has vanished. Diana gazes out over the battlefield, looking at the team, the Germans -- the last of the ASH swirling around her as the SUN RISES. The sunlight hits Diana's face... Diana looks at Steve's watch -- it's finally stopped ticking. SERIES OF SHOTS People all over Europe, explode in cheers. For them, the war is over.", "EXT. TRAFALGAR SQUARE - DAY Wonderful chaos in Trafalgar Square! CONFETTI, STREAMERS, FLAGS, people embracing with JOY. HORNS and BRASS BANDS. CHEERING SOLDIERS with CROWNS OF FLOWERS in their hair GRAB pretty NURSES for a kiss. DRUMS THUNDER BY. Diana and Etta walk towards the massive, wondrous celebration. Diana is dressed as Diana Prince, hair up, glasses on. Etta is dressed up, like everybody else partying in the streets. They take in the joy. ETTA You saved everyone. DIANA -LRB- correcting her -RRB- Steve did that. Charlie, Sameer, and The Chief, cleaned and scrubbed and wearing suits, join Diana and Etta. CHARLIE -LRB- to Diana ; excited -RRB- Did Etta tell you? That General whats-his-name, you know -- ETTA Haig. CHARLIE He only went and made us all spies! Oops. We're off to Petrograd! Oops. ETTA There's a revolution going on. Even Chief's coming. You should, too. DIANA -LRB- touched -RRB- I do n't think so. Etta stops in front of a recently erected wall of WAR MEMORIAL PHOTOGRAPHS. Steve looks dashing, happy, and very much alive. Diana's already fighting tears. SAMEER Behind all beauty, all wisdom, there is pain. You must take your pain and make it beautiful. DIANA Where did you read that? SAMEER I did n't. -LRB- beat -RRB- You taught us that. She forces a smile. DIANA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I used to want to save the world.", "INT. LOUVRE MUSEUM - DIANA'S OFFICE - AS BEFORE (PRESENT DAY ) THE PHOTOGRAPH : Diana, in WONDER WOMAN ARMOR, and her TEAM. DIANA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- To end war and bring peace to mankind. She contemplates the faces of friends long dead, her eyes linger on STEVE TREVOR. DIANA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- But now I've touched the darkness that lives in between the light. Seen the terrible things men do to each other in the name of hatred... and the lengths they'll go to for love. ( beat ) And now I know that only love can truly save the world. ( beat ) So I stay and I fight and I give for the love I know can be. This is my mission now. Forever. Diana takes Steve's watch from her pocket, turns it over in her hand twice, feels its smoothness. The watch has stopped -- and has been stopped since the moment Steve died. She places the watch beside the photograph. AT HER COMPUTER : Diana is typing an e-mail, BRUCE WAYNE's name the recipient : `` Thanks for bringing him back to me.'' Just as Diana presses SEND, a news alert pops up on her screen. A fire has broken out in a downtown building, people trapped. SMASH CUT TO :", "EXT. ROOFTOP - DAY Diana in her WONDER WOMAN ARMOR stands atop a building, smiles -- Then she leaps right AT us, into action! SMASH CUT TO BLACK. FADE IN :", "EXT. THEMYSCIRA - NIGHT POST-CREDITS SCENE. [ NOTE : This is a POST-CREDITS SCENE, leading to JUSTICE LEAGUE. ] On the SAME CLIFF where Diana saw Steve's plane, HIPPOLYTA stands on the shore, looking out over the ocean, thinking about her daughter. A beat. Then Hippolyta turns -- as if she hears something -- just as VENELIA rides up to her. Venelia dismounts. VENELIA My Queen -- HIPPOLYTA I know. The Mother Box... it has awoken. Alert everyone.", "INT. PENETRALIUM - NIGHT In the center of the PENETRALIUM -- PUSH IN ON : THE MOTHER BOX... IT GLOWS. HIPPOLYTA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Something terrible is coming. SMASH CUT TO BLACK. THE END"], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0], "summary": "In present-day Paris, Diana Prince receives a photographic plate from Wayne Enterprises of herself and four men taken during World War I, prompting her to recall her past. The daughter of Queen Hippolyta, Diana is raised on the hidden island of Themyscira, home to the Amazons, women warriors created by the Olympian gods to protect mankind. Hippolyta explains their history to Diana, including how Ares became jealous of humanity and orchestrated its destruction. When the other gods attempted to stop him, Ares killed all but Zeus, who used the last of his power to wound Ares and force his retreat. Before dying, Zeus left the Amazons a weapon, the \"god-killer\", to prepare them for Ares' return. Hippolyta reluctantly agrees to let her sister, General Antiope, train Diana as a warrior. In 1918, Diana, now a young woman, rescues US pilot Captain Steve Trevor when his plane crashes off the Themysciran coast. The island is soon invaded by German soldiers, who had been pursuing Steve. The Amazons wipe out the German landing force at the expense of heavy losses, with Antiope sacrificing herself to save Diana. Steve is interrogated with the Lasso of Hestia and reveals that a great war is consuming the outside world and that he is an Allied spy. He has stolen a notebook from the Germans' chief chemist, Dr. Isabel Maru, who is attempting to engineer a deadlier form of mustard gas under the orders of General Erich Ludendorff. Believing Ares to be responsible for the war, Diana arms herself with the \"god-killer\" sword, the lasso and armor before leaving Themyscira with Steve to locate and stop Ares for good. In London, they deliver Maru's notebook to the Supreme War Council, where Sir Patrick Morgan is trying to negotiate an armistice with Germany. Diana translates Maru's notes, revealing that the Germans plan to release the deadly gas at the Western Front. Although forbidden by his commander to act, Steve, with secret funding from Morgan, recruits Moroccan spy Sameer, Scottish marksman Charlie and Native American smuggler Chief Napi to help prevent the gas from being released. The team reaches the front in Belgium. Diana goes alone through No Man's Land and captures the enemy trench, liberating the nearby village of Veld with the aid of the Allied forces. The team briefly celebrates, taking a photograph in the village, where Diana and Steve fall in love. The team learns that a gala will be held at the nearby German High Command. Steve and Diana separately infiltrate the party; Steve intends to locate the gas and destroy it and Diana hopes to kill Ludendorff, believing that he is Ares. Steve stops her to avoid jeopardizing his mission, but this allows Ludendorff to unleash the gas on Veld, killing its inhabitants. Blaming Steve for intervening, Diana pursues Ludendorff to a base where the gas is being loaded into a bomber aircraft bound for London. Diana fights and kills him, but is confused and disillusioned when his death does not stop the war. Sir Patrick appears and reveals himself as Ares. He tells Diana that although he has subtly given humans ideas and inspirations, it is ultimately their decision to resort to violence, as they are inherently corrupt. When Diana attempts to kill Ares with the \"god-killer\" sword, he destroys it, telling Diana that, as the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta, she herself is the \"god-killer\". He fails to persuade Diana to help him destroy mankind in order to restore paradise on Earth. While the two battle, Steve's team destroys Maru's laboratory. Steve hijacks and pilots the bomber carrying the poison to a safe altitude and detonates it, blowing up the plane and himself. Ares attempts to direct Diana's rage and grief at Steve's death by convincing her to kill Maru, but the memories of her experiences with Steve cause her to realize that humans have good within them. She spares Maru and redirects Ares's lightning into him, killing him for good. Later, the team celebrates the end of the war. In the present day, Diana sends an email to Bruce Wayne thanking him for the photographic plate of her and Steve. She continues to fight on the world's behalf as Wonder Woman.", "name": "Wonder_Woman"}
{"scenes": ["The Jackie Robinson Story EFFECT In complete silence the silhouetted grey shadow of a baseball player at bat fills the screen. The background is a tone of black. The player stands motionless for a few seconds and then commences waggling his bat as if preparing to hit. Since he is a right handed hitter he stands front to audience and watching for the ball to come from his left. Slowly he ends his waggling by pulling his bat way back, stands thus posed a moment. then swings hard. Instantly we hear the familiar crack of bat against ball. Almost simultaneously there is the roar of a baseball crowd, our music comes in, and our picture title, THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY, hits the screen. Now, as subtitles appear, they show against a continuation of other baseball scenes in silhouette : a figure running, sliding, jumping for a high ball, throwing, etc.. With the end of the titles we STOCK SHOTS Professional baseball scenes vintage of 1919 : crowds in parks, flying pennants, action on the diamond. CLOSEUP On one of the park pennants we read the inscription : WORLD SERIES, 1919. CINCINNATI VS. CHICAGO. STOCK SHOTS We continue the stock shots now, perhaps even showing closeups of such baseball immortals as mentioned by our narrator -LRB- a phantom voice never identified -RRB- whom we now hear. NARRATOR In 1919 American professional baseball, slowed down by World War I, was picking up speed again. It had its Babe Ruth who was astounding the country by hitting 29 homers for Boston, its Ty Cobb then winding up a Hall of Fame career by leading the American League in hitting with a.384 average, Ty's great contemporary in Cleveland, Tris Speaker, its great pitchers, Walter Johnson, Burleigh Grimes, Herb Pennock. And, down in Georgia, it had something else. coming up. Name? Jackie Robinson. Race? Negro. Occupation? Infant in his mother's arms. GEORGIA ` CROPPER COUNTRY PANORAMIC -LRB- STOCK -RRB- DRAB, FLAT ROAD LONG SHOT Into the scene, far distance, moves a rude, mule - drawn wagon. THE WAGON FULL SHOT Holding the reins is an old Negro in well - worn, farmhand clothes. Beside him on the seat and holding a sleeping baby in her arms is a Negro woman, about thirty. She is dressed in the best that a poor woman of her time and place might be able to afford - a store suit, but re - tailored to fit, and neatly pressed. Between them sits a two year old girl, also in her starched best. Behind, standing and sitting amidst some cheap suitcases, are three other children, two boys and a girl, from four to ten years of age. SAME - CLOSER The cry of a far - off train whistle comes to the group. The mother shifts about in an expression of nervousness and glances back at the children behind her. The whistle has caused excitement among them. The oldest girl leans forward to her mother eagerly, apparently wondering about the train. GIRL - MOTHER CLOSE SHOT The mind of the mother is too pre - occupied to permit her to give the girl more than a fleeting smile and then she turns back. NARRATOR In the family history of every living American, except for the American Indian, there is the story of migration and settling and re - settling. Either the American himself, or an ancestor, had to travel to get where that American is today. Jackie Robinson was raised in Pasadena, California. This is how his mother, a widow, brought him and his brothers and sisters out of Georgia. THE WAGON LONG SHOT The old man is whipping up his mules to hurry them along. DOUBLE SEAT IN DAY COACH - NIGHT MEDIUM SHOT The mother and her brood are asleep. She is against the window, the baby still in her arms, and her head fallen back against the headrest. Alongside her is curled the two - year old girl. Half - sitting, half - slumped against each other on the seat opposite are the next two youngest children, and lying on blankets on the floor between the seats is cramped the oldest child. Once, as the narrator talks, the mother opens her eyes slowly, looks her children over, makes a slight re - adjustment of position here and there among them, then lets her head fall back again. ESTABLISHING SHOT - RAILROAD STATION - PASADENA CALIFORNIA - DAY - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- A taxi in front of the station takes on Mrs. Robinson and her children. The driver helps with their luggage and then pulls away from the station. Except for music, the scene is silent.", "INT. TAXI - (PROCESS) Mrs. Robinson and the children in the taxi as they look out at the scene. -LRB- Stock shots of Pasadena's business sections, then of the residential area are to be inter - cut. -RRB- WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - DAY MEDIUM SHOT - AS FROM TAXICAB As children leave school, trooping out noisily and happily. Among the children are several Negroes.", "INT. TAXI - (PROCESS) The children and the mother gaze intently as they note Negro pupils among the white children. Then they gaze at each other as if it is something hard to believe. CLOSE ON TWO OF THE CHILDREN - -LRB- PROCESS -RRB- As they turn their heads to continue looking at the school even though the taxi is now some distance past it. TAXI DRIVING INTO NEGRO DISTRICT As CAMERA FOLLOWS TAXI, we see that we are now in a low - priced area of homes, stores, etc.. NARRATOR They had never seen anything like the city that was to be their new home. They looked and wondered and the mother told herself that sooner or later they would be well, if humbly, settled there. And - in time - they were. and very humbly. As narration fades, we STREET SCENE LONG A nine year old colored boy is running towards the Robinson home in high excitement. He is carrying a fielder's glove at which he has to glance every other second though he is in full flight. NARRATOR -LRB- talking through the following scenes as well. -RRB- This is n't Jackie - but when he was nine, and the family could n't afford to get him a baseball glove, this is how his mother helped him make a necessary adjustment to life. Jackie had found an old, dilapidated glove. ROBINSON HOME MED. SHOT The kid leaps up the stairs and into the house. ROBINSON KITCHEN MED. SHOT The kid slides into the kitchen, holding the glove out to Mrs. Robinson who is turning around from the gas range, and talks to her eagerly. MRS. ROBINSON CLOSEUP She takes the glove, examines it, and has to smile. It is badly frayed, the side stitching burst in a number of places, and padding extruding. Nevertheless, she nods and turns away. KITCHEN MED. SHOT Mrs. Robinson taking a sewing kit out of a drawer, the kid hopping around just in back of her and getting his head in her way. She goes to table, sits down, and commences threading a needle. MRS. ROBINSON AND BOY CLOSE She starts to take the first stitch. He asks her something anxiously. She nods reassuringly and his face lights up with a heart - wide grin. STREET SCENE - DAY MED. SHOT The same boy stands at a street corner, a bunch of newspapers at his feet, a dozen or so more under his arm, selling papers, both to car patrons and to pedestrians. NARRATOR Between work and school Jackie, like this boy, did n't have all the time in the world to play. The boy turns his back to camera as he sells a newspaper and we see the glove sticking partially out of his back pocket. NARRATOR but he always kept his glove handy.", "EXT. EMPTY PLAY LOT LONG SHOT Running onto an empty lot where several other boys are playing ball in a make - shift game, is Jackie. One of the boys bats out a fly and Jackie scoots after it. -LRB- NOTE : The following shots, illustrating narrator's talk, are quick, almost montage views, taken against any studio backgrounds already up and available. They are all angled to keep face of boy unrecognizable. and as shots progress boy gets bigger to indicate his growth. -RRB- INTERIOR Boy mopping a floor. EXTERIOR Boy delivering package to woman who opens door. EXTERIOR Boy piling up scrap lumber in corner of yard. EXTERIOR Boy pushing hand - truck loaded with sacks. EXTERIOR Boy driving small delivery truck, stopping and jumping out with parcel. NARRATOR -LRB- against above. -RRB- All the things that boys find to do when they have to work through their schoolhood years, Jackie did. ESTABLISHING SHOT - ATHLETIC FIELD - DAY - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- Track events in progress. Students and fans watching. NARRATOR yet he managed to make time for sports as well. BROAD JUMP PIT LONG SHOT - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- We get a bare flash of a young Negro lad in track suit taking his run and launching into a broad jump. NARRATOR This still is n't Jackie, but when he attended Pasadena Junior College he led in all sports, broke the National Junior College running broad jump record with a leap of 25 feet, six inches - a record set a few years earlier by his own brother, Mack! AERIAL SHOT - LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL COLISEUM - DAY FOOTBALL GAME IN PROGRESS - -LRB- STOCK -RRB-", "EXT. COLISEUM - DAY FULL SHOT - (STOCK) Football game in progress, thousands of fans watching. LONG SHOT - PLAYING FIELD THE TWO TEAMS IN POSITION TO START A PLAY - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- MED. LONG SHOT THE PLAYERS - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- As signals are called and a runner gets the ball. -LRB- From this distance we ca n't recognize any player or distinguish actual numbers on their uniforms. -RRB- MED. SHOT The player with the ball breaks through the opposing team's line and dashes for the sidelines and toward camera. NARRATOR But this - IS - Jackie Robinson. As player nears camera we recognize him as Jackie. Over scene is HEARD roar of the crowd. CAMERA HOLDS as Jackie runs into a CLOSE SHOT, then past camera. NARRATOR playing football for the University of California at Los Angeles where he had won an athletic scholarship. STOCK SHOT LONG Any shot of a player crossing into end zone for a touchdown, as opposing players trail after him. this, apparently, being the end of Jackie's run. THE CROWD LONG They are cheering. FOOTBALL EXCERPTS - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- MONTAGE These should be actual shots of Jackie in action against various college teams during his UCLA days. -LRB- During these we should work in a studio CLOSEUP or two to let us take a good look at the man. -RRB- Each of the shots is identified by the narrator as follows : NARRATOR Against Southern California! NARRATOR Against Oregon! NARRATOR Against Stanford! Etc.. COLISEUM STANDS MEDIUM We see small section of student body watching game. Seated with two white girl companions is an attractive Negro girl -LRB- Rae -RRB-. After joining crowd in a cheer one of the white girls turns to Rae. WHITE GIRL Jackie sure can run! How does it feel to see your future husband going wild down there? RAE -LRB- acting taken aback. -RRB- Future husband? You're faster than he is! He has n't got that far yet. WHITE GIRL -LRB- waving hand derisively. -RRB- Now do n't pretend, Rae! We know. -LRB- turning to other white girl. -RRB- Do n't we, Claire? As other nods - WHITE GIRL So do n't pretend, Rae! Rae laughs but is a little embarrassed at being kidded about it. The white girl sees this and pats Rae's face, as you will to a child you are fond of, to indicate she meant no harm. FOOTBALL FIELD LONG SHOT Another quick shot of action on the field, with crowd roaring, as we", "EXTERIOR MED. SHOT Our shot takes in the tailgate of a furniture truck backed close to a warehouse - like entrance or loading platform. A tablet on wall of warehouse reading EMPIRE STORAGE COMPANY helps identify scene. A Negro of about fifty, strongly built, stands on truck tailgate waiting. Jackie, head hidden under huge club chair which he is carrying, walks into scene from warehouse. NARRATOR It was n't all touchdowns and cheers, however. There was also work. Jackie swings chair to truck where older man grabs it. JACKIE -LRB- wiping perspiration. -RRB- That's the last one, Jake. Jake settles chair down, leans against it. JAKE I saw you play yesterday. JACKIE -LRB- pleased. -RRB- Yeah? Like the game? JAKE -LRB- judiciously. -RRB- It was good. You was good. But what's the use if you got to do this kind of work? I did n't have to go to no college to get this job. JACKIE -LRB- smiling, after pause. -RRB- You see, Jake, you're smarter than I am. Jake studies Jackie a moment, and then, with a slow, knowing smile, lifts chair up and disappears into truck with it.", "EXT. UCLA CAMPUS PANORAMIC - (STOCK) General shot campus showing college buildings b.g. and students either wandering around or lounging on ground. NARRATOR And there was always studying to be done. TREE TRUNK CLOSE Jackie sitting with back propped against tree reading book. RAE'S VOICE Oh, I'm sorry I'm late. Jackie looks up as Rae enters scene. He would get up but she slips down beside him before he can get started. RAE Stay put. I was held up by Claire King. She just wanted to talk. JACKIE -LRB- indicating his book. -RRB- That's okay. I can use all the time I can get for this. RAE -LRB- pretending affront. -RRB- Oh. Then I'll go. Jackie instantly tosses book over one shoulder and takes one of Rae's hands in his so she ca n't get away. JACKIE Did you say something? RAE -LRB- pretending alarm. -RRB- Your book! What about your book? JACKIE What about you? Rae has to break down and smile and they are looking at each other as we FOOTBALL GAME - DAY - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- PANORAMIC Another game with stands loaded. STANDS SECTION CLOSE Rae and a few people around her. FIELD - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- LONG A player, indistinguishable, goes down under tacklers. STANDS CLOSE Rae wincing as voices, o.s., yell : VOICES Jackie's down! Wow! They sure got him that time! A white girl sitting with a boy friend in front of Rae comments : GIRL -LRB- indignantly. -RRB- They sure pile on to him! BOY -LRB- brutally. -RRB- What do you think? Who would n't if they had a chance to slug. The girl pokes him and indicates with her eyes that Rae is seated right behind them. The boy looks back at Rae, then at his girl again with a non - committal shrug. LONG SHOT - THE FIELD - RAE'S ANGLE As the players finally unpile. However, the ball - carrier lies there and two or three of his own teammates rush toward him. QUICK CUT - RAE - ALARMED CLOSE SHOT - THE FIELD Jackie on ground, ball under him, two or three players trying to help him to his feet. While they do so, the trainer rushes into scene to help them. CAMERA HOLDS as the trainer and another player help Jackie off the field. Over scene comes a cheer from the crowd, glad that Jackie is n't seriously hurt. However, he does have a decided limp. CLOSEUP - RAE She looks greatly relieved. MED. SHOT - JACKIE, TRAINER AND PLAYER As they walk toward camera, then past camera, on their way to dressing room, o.s. MED. CLOSE - AT ENTRANCE TO DRESSING ROOMS As Jackie, the trainer and another player walk into scene and enter the dressing room. All are quiet, and over scene we HEAR roar of the fans again.", "INT. DRESSING ROOMS - DAY FULL SHOT Lights are on, there is a doctor's bag on one of the rub - down tables, a dozen or so uniforms tossed on various chairs and on the floor near the lockers. The trainer and player help Jackie up onto a table and pull his jersey off. Jackie winces. TRAINING TABLE TWO SHOT TRAINER -LRB- talking as he works. -RRB- Hurt much? JACKIE Yes. TRAINER Hip's badly bruised. The player who helped Jackie off the field comes into shot. He is angry. PLAYER I do n't know what's wrong with those guys giving it to Jackie like that. Just because he's. TRAINER -LRB- curtly. -RRB- Hold it! I knew before the game they were out to watch Jackie close. The trainer on their team told me. But it was because of his playing ability and nothing else. PLAYER Oh. TRAINER You better get back to the bench. -LRB- to Jackie. -RRB- I was n't kidding about that either, Jackie. They had respect for you out there. Plenty. JACKIE CLOSEUP Jackie mulls over the trainer's words. JACKIE Thanks, Dick. It's nice to know. TRAINER -LRB- pleasantly. -RRB- Say, Jackie. How's your brother Mack? I remember him when he went to the University of Oregon. and when he ran in the Olympics overseas. One of the finest athletes I ever met. JACKIE -LRB- after pause. -RRB- Oh, Mack? He's fine. Fine, thank you. FRONT STEPS ROBINSON HOME MEDIUM Jackie and Rae are sitting quietly on the steps. Mrs. Robinson comes out door just as Jackie slips his body down one step and lays his head against Rae's shoulder. Mrs. Robinson, who has some knitting in her hand, goes to a chair in a dark corner of the porch. JACKIE - RAE CLOSE RAE Still in some pain, are n't you? I think football is a wild game. I do n't think I like it. JACKIE -LRB- shifting in discomfort. -RRB- I do n't myself right now. MRS. ROBINSON'S VOICE I think it's disgusting. young men battering each other. no better than just plain old bulls. Jackie gives Rae an amused side glance at this, then shrugs. JACKIE Well, it wo n't last much longer. RAE Why? What are you going to do? JACKIE Oh. something. This is n't getting me anywhere. I mean. this is n't getting us anywhere. He shifts about to look directly at Rae with a smile. JACKIE And that's serious! RAE -LRB- embarrassed. -RRB- Oh - h! She pushes his head around and away from her. MRS. ROBINSON CLOSE She sees this byplay and her face softens in a smile. Quietly she gathers up her knitting and gets up. FRONT STEPS MEDIUM Mrs. Robinson enters house. Jackie hears the door closing and looks around. Then he smiles down at Rae who smiles back in understanding. JACKIE - RAE CLOSE RAE She's cute. JACKIE Yeah. RAE What did you mean, Jackie? About your going to do something? JACKIE CLOSEUP JACKIE -LRB- his face serious. -RRB- Oh. I mean I'm too big to be just ornamental. Keeps Mom and Mack hustling to pay my way. I've got to start in being real useful.", "INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT MED. SHOT - JACKIE He is in bed, unable to sleep. He has a school book on a table beside the bed ; a small lamp is burning. He picks up the book and studies it for a few moments, but his heart is n't in it. A clock on the table shows that it is three o'clock in the morning. Jackie sighs deeply, then slowly starts climbing out of bed, still careful of his hip.", "INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT MEDIUM - JACKIE Standing by the gas range Jackie pours hot coffee into a vacuum lunch bottle. Two sandwiches are on a piece of paper. He corks the bottle and is wrapping up the sandwiches when we hear Mrs. Robinson's voice. MRS. ROBINSON'S VOICE Who is that? You, Jackie? JACKIE Yes, mom. MRS. ROBINSON'S VOICE -LRB- alarmed. -RRB- You sick? JACKIE No. Just could n't sleep. I'm going out to see Mack. Want to talk to him anyway. MRS. ROBINSON'S VOICE Ca n't it wait till morning? It's three o'clock. JACKIE I know. But I wo n't be long. I know where to find him. MRS. ROBINSON'S VOICE -LRB- fading off. -RRB- Three o'clock! My! My! What a thing to do. what a thing to do.", "EXT. PASADENA STREET SCENE - NIGHT LONG Jackie walking along Colorado Avenue, or similar business street, deserted and lonely at this hour except for a street cleaner in the distance. Jackie carries the lunch package in one hand, much as he would a football. Sandwich and vacuum bottle are wrapped in the same, tight package. TRUCKING Jackie approaching street cleaner who, however, does not hear him because of the noise of his heavy broom and the fact that parked cars separate the two men. JACKIE AND CAR MEDIUM Jackie has reached car. He stops a second and we hear the street cleaner's broom being pushed over the concrete. Jackie takes a few more steps, bringing him past the car. He stops and turns in the direction of the street cleaner. JACKIE -LRB- knowing it will be a surprise. -RRB- Hello, Mack. MACK MEDIUM We see that Mack, Jackie's older brother by three years, and former University of Oregon track star, is the street cleaner. He is in the loose uniform of the town's sanitation corps and is startled by Jackie's words and appearance, then grins. MACK What the. what are you doing here at this hour? Schoolboys should be in bed. JACKIE - MACK JACKIE Yeah. I could n't sleep so I fixed you some lunch. Here! He throws the package like a forward pass and Mack, shifting broom to crook of his elbow, snags it expertly. MACK -LRB- dropping his broom. -RRB- Man oh man - I can use some. Hope you figured I was a bit hungry. He is obviously very pleased. JACKIE -LRB- chuckling. -RRB- You bet. Coffee, too. MACK -LRB- indicating curb. -RRB- Now you're talking. Let's sit down and take it easy for a while. Mack opens the package, takes a sandwich and offers one to Jackie. Jackie shakes his head. MACK -LRB- takes a bite. -RRB- Anything bothering you? JACKIE Yeah. I want to quit college. Right after the basketball season. when my scholarship is up. Mack almost chokes on his first bite. JACKIE -LRB- pounding Mack's back. -RRB- Take it easy, boy. I do n't want to lose you now. -LRB- getting serious. -RRB- You know Mom. She sees me as a doctor, minister or lawyer, perhaps. I'd like to please her but it just is n't in me. MACK Yeah. I know. JACKIE -LRB- continuing his thought. -RRB- It would mean years more in school - and the way I feel, I'd rather work at getting some kind of a sport job - an assistant coach - or a trainer - something like that. But I ca n't figure out which to aim at. Coaching jobs are darn hard to get. MACK -LRB- thoughtfully. -RRB- All I can say, Jackie, is that you ought to stay in college as long as you can - try to graduate - and keep at sports as hard as you can. Something might turn up. and as far as education goes - it'll do you good. Then, noticing the trash he has been sweeping, he smiles. MACK How much good - I'm not saying. Jackie nods. Neither of them is at all bitter about it. It is just accepted. JACKIE Sure. I know. But I've got to go to work. I want to marry Rae. School's one thing - but you and Mom ca n't support me in marriage. During the scene, Mack has continued to eat and now he opens the thermos of coffee. Jackie shakes his head that he does n't want any and Mack pours himself a cup. As he starts to drink, a convertible filled with young people drives in sight, the youngsters singing a football victory song. Jackie and Mack watch it drive by. Banners and streamers hang from the car - all showing UCLA insignia. Mack grins at Jackie. MACK Funny place for a football hero to be sitting at this time of night. Jackie grins back at him. JACKIE Funny job you've got for a university man. He kicks at the pile of debris near them. Mack grins back at him, sighs. MACK -LRB- philosophically. -RRB- That's the way it is. They sit in silence for a moment and CAMERA PULLS BACK and draws away from them, their figures small against the long, lonely, dark street.", "EXT. UCLA CAMPUS - NIGHT ESTABLISHING", "EXT. GYM - NIGHT ENTRANCE A student about to enter calls to another student passing by. STUDENT Hey, Jerry! Going to watch basketball practice? The passing student shakes his head and points to some books he is carrying to indicate he has to study.", "INT. GYM FULL SHOT A practice session is on, the players just passing the ball around and shooting baskets. At the sidelines stands an assistant coach. JACKIE MED. SHOT We see him run to the basket, get the ball on a pass, and shoot. Catching the ball as it comes through the net he slings it far upcourt. ASSISTANT COACH MEDIUM COACH -LRB- calling out. -RRB- All right, fellows. Let's work out in teams. GYM LONG SHOT The players break up into two teams and take position for the start of a game. JACKIE AND PLAYER CLOSE Jackie and the player opposing him stand together waiting for the opening whistle to sound. PLAYER That true, Jackie, about your quitting at the end of the basketball season? As Jackie nods - PLAYER Not even going out for baseball again? JACKIE No, I'm not. PLAYER Do n't you like baseball? JACKIE Ca n't afford to like it! PLAYER Why not? JACKIE Ever hear of a Negro in organized ball? GAME LONG We see a few seconds of game skirmish, and follow Jackie down the court in a rush towards the basket which he ultimately shoots. JACKIE AND PLAYER CLOSE They are both panting a little now as they line up against each other again. PLAYER -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Well, do n't think I'll miss you. I'll make the first team after you're gone. JACKIE -LRB- with friendly dig into player's ribs. -RRB- Well, I'll miss you. You kept me stepping. The other player pulls his fist back as if to sock Jackie. PLAYER Get out! Kept you stepping! I did n't have a chance! They are both grinning as the whistle sounds and they jump into play again. BASKETBALL GAMES - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- MONTAGE We see Jackie in action against other college teams during the basketball season, and over each separate game appears a title identifying the particular rival college involved in the shot. After final shot we", "EXT. STUDY HALL LONG A group of students on the steps of one of the campus buildings are reading the college paper which is held by one of them. GROUP MEDIUM One of the students is reading aloud. STUDENT `` UCLA loses four - letter athlete. Jackie Robinson leaving school.'' SECOND STUDENT He was n't kidding. THIRD STUDENT Gee, that boy's gon na leave a hole behind him hard to fill. How come? One of the other students rubs forefinger against thumb in the `` money sign.'' STUDENT Economics, my boy. A man must live before he can play. And in order to live. He makes the money sign again as we cut go :", "INT. DRESSING ROOM MEDIUM Jackie is taking his stuff from his locker and packing it in a small bag. The trainer we met in the football sequences and a student are standing by. Jackie is explaining something to them. JACKIE Coming out of Junior College to UCLA, the way I did, I only had a two - year scholarship to fit my athletic eligibility. Well. the scholarship is over. TRAINER Is n't there any way you can stay on? JACKIE My mother is 63 years old. She's worked as housekeeper, maid, cook, laundress, janitress and selling yard goods in a store to keep us kids going. TRAINER She wanted to do it. She must not want to see you give up now. JACKIE Yes, she'd work for the next ten years if I stayed in school. TRAINER Well? JACKIE Ca n't take a chance. I ca n't expect more future than Mack. and with all his college he was n't able to get anything worth while. That's not worth ten more years of work for my mother. His packing finished, Jackie shakes hands with both men. JACKIE Luck to you, and I'll take the same. TRAINER AND STUDENT -LRB- ad lib. -RRB- All the luck in the world. You'll make out all right, Jackie. As Jackie exits the trainer turns to the student. TRAINER Somehow it does n't make sense. The only four - letter man we've had at UCLA in ten years. High basketball scorer for us in both years he was here. On top of that he's as fine a baseball player as I have ever seen. and it do n't mean a thing. He's walking out of here without anything ahead of him except a couple of games of pro - football signed up. STUDENT Maybe he can have a career in professional football. TRAINER -LRB- shaking his head. -RRB- Baseball is his game. STUDENT He tells everyone he does n't care about baseball. TRAINER -LRB- with a short smile. -RRB- Yeah. I know. What else is he going to say?", "INT. ROBINSON HOME CLOSEUP A pair of hands counting a roll of paper money, each bill being slapped down on a table. CAMERA MOVES BACK to reveal Jackie standing up and counting the money in front of his mother who is seated at the table. She seems puzzled as she looks at the bills and then up at him. MRS. ROBINSON What's that, Jackie? JACKIE -LRB- still counting. -RRB- Money. Remember, Mom? She gives him a warning glance not to joke with her. MRS. ROBINSON What is that, Jackie? JACKIE -LRB- in mollifying tone. -RRB- Okay. Okay, Mom. It's an advance payment for playing professional football. I'm signed up to play for Honolulu. He tidies up the bills and leaves them in front of her as he sits down. MRS. ROBINSON But I do n't like for you to play football. Is that why you quit college? JACKIE No, Mom. I'm going there just to play a few games. They came to me when they heard I was going to quit. We can use the money till I get what I want. So I took it. MRS. ROBINSON Honolulu's far away. JACKIE I'll be there and back inside of two months. She is troubled as she looks at the money and then up at Jackie again. He shrugs. JACKIE And then, maybe, I'll have some answers to all the letters I've been writing for a coaching job. When she still does n't reply he smiles and reaches out to pat her folded hands reassuringly. JACKIE It'll be all right, Mom. Just give me a little time and you'll be proud of me. She looks directly at him. MRS. ROBINSON I was proud of you when you went to college. JACKIE -LRB- gravely. -RRB- I know. But. I did n't feel proud of myself.", "EXT. ROBINSON HOME - NIGHT FULL SHOT Jackie and Rae are sitting on the front steps, apparently having reached a pause in their conversation which has left them both looking a little troubled. DOLLY SHOT CAMERA MOVES IN as we hear : JACKIE May take us a little longer this way but it means a better start. As she nods mechanically - JACKIE When it does. uh. -LRB- in sudden disgust. -RRB- Oh. maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just going around in circles. Rae turns to him quickly in sudden compunction. RAE Jackie, I'm sorry. I did n't mean to act so cold to the idea. I'm not even listening because. because I just do n't want you to go away. As he tries to talk - RAE No. I know you have to do something like this to get a start. I know. but that does n't make me like it. JACKIE -LRB- taking her hand. -RRB- All right. And I am going around in circles. I do n't know how to beat that. But Rae. there's one thing I want you to be sure of. As she nods - JACKIE Every circle comes right back to you. As her face lights up - JACKIE And all I'm worrying about is getting around fast enough! They smile at each other and then Rae leans her head back against Jackie's chest. They stay like this, both gazing off, when she speaks again. RAE -LRB- slowly. -RRB- I have to take my post - graduate nursing course in a hospital. I think I can get in Bellevue in New York. That's where I'll be. JACKIE -LRB- frowning. -RRB- But why so far. RAE -LRB- turning to face him. -RRB- That's where I'll be when you're ready. It's better that way. Something for me to do. You're more free. They study each other's faces. JACKIE All right.", "INT. SHIPBOARD CABIN - (PROCESS) CLOSE A corner of a cabin. Jackie is typing away at a small table next to a porthole through which we can see a mid - ocean horizon rising and falling with the roll of the ship. Next to him is a small pile of letters already written. The distant clang of ship's bells is HEARD. TYPEWRITER CLOSEUP We can see that the letter is printed `` S.S. LURLINE - HONOLULU BOUND.'' Under it he has typed the following heading and salutation : `` Mr. W.J. Jeffrey Athletic Director Overton College Overton, Calif.'' And that he is tapping out the first few lines of his letter which begins as follows : `` Dear Mr. Jeffrey : In application for an athletic coaching, or assistant coaching, appointment at Overton, I would like to submit the following qualifications.'' MONTAGE - FOOTBALL SCENES Opening with STOCK of Hawaii, then into clips of several football games, ending with a SHOT of a steamship leaving Hawaii.", "EXT. ROBINSON HOME - DAY MED. SHOT - JACKIE He is walking up to the house, carrying a suitcase in each hand. CAMERA HOLDS as he reaches front door.", "EXT. FRONT DOOR CLOSE - JACKIE He lowers suitcases and knocks at the door as he finds it locked. He waits a moment, gets no answer, then finds his own key and unlocks the door.", "INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY MED. SHOT As Jackie enters, places his bags on the floor and closes the door behind him. He stands there for a moment, then goes toward a table where there are several pieces of mail. JACKIE AT TABLE MED. CLOSE He picks up the dozen or so letters and finds that four of them are for him. He sits down, opens and reads them, one by one. We do not see the first two which he crumples up and drops into a wastebasket. The third one he re - reads and thinks about for a moment, then places it to one side. The fourth he reads and crumples again and discards with the others. Then he rises and walks back and forth as he thinks. After a moment he stands at the living room window and stares out silently. CLOSE - JACKIE He stares out of the window, then sees something, turns and heads for the front door.", "EXT. HOUSE - DAY MED. SHOT Mrs. Robinson is walking up toward the house, carrying two large sacks of groceries. Jackie hurries to meet her, greeting her and taking the packages at the same time, even as they embrace. JACKIE Hello, Mom. MRS. ROBINSON -LRB- happy to see him. -RRB- I was hoping you'd be here - your telegram came just a little while ago so I went out to get some things. He knows that she intended to get some extra - special food for a homecoming dinner. CAMERA PANS them into the house.", "INT. LIVING ROOM FULL SHOT Jackie and his mother enter and pass through into the kitchen. MRS. ROBINSON -LRB- as they walk through. -RRB-. you did n't get hurt, did you? MED. CLOSE AT KITCHEN DOOR As they enter kitchen to put down the packages. JACKIE -LRB- as he enters. -RRB- Not a scratch. Got a sore arm though - from writing letters. MRS. ROBINSON -LRB- as she follows him in. -RRB- Letters? Some letters came for you. She comes back into the living room, heads for the table where Jackie picked up his mail. As Jackie reenters : MRS. ROBINSON I put them here. JACKIE I read them. She turns to him, hoping that he will have some good news. He smiles at her, then moves over and picks up the letter he saved and hands it to her. TWO SHOT - FAVORING MRS. ROBINSON As she reads the letter. MRS. ROBINSON -LRB- thoughtfully. -RRB- What's this National Youth Association? JACKIE It's something the Government set up to help underprivileged children - they get all sorts of training - MRS. ROBINSON -LRB- hopefully. -RRB-. And they want you to be an athletic instructor? JACKIE Looks that way. Anyway, I'm taking it before they change their minds. Mrs. Robinson looks at the letter again, then back at Jackie. MRS. ROBINSON Pennsylvania. -LRB- with a smile. -RRB- You'll be near Rae, anyway. She moves to the sofa and sits down as she talks. MRS. ROBINSON Maybe you can be there when she graduates - or whatever it is - from the hospital. JACKIE -LRB- nodding. -RRB- Yeah. -LRB- joshing her. -RRB- So even if we do n't have a doctor in the family, we'll have a registered nurse, anyway. -LRB- reflectively. -RRB-. I hope. MRS. ROBINSON Why not write her and let her know? JACKIE -LRB- nodding. -RRB- Good idea. Soon's I put my stuff up. He turns, picks up his suitcases and starts through the hall door with them and we", "INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY FULL SHOT This is a room in the nurses' quarters of a large hospital. Everything white, clean, uncrowded. Rae, in graduate nurse's uniform, is seated at a desk reading a letter. On the desk is a picture of Jackie - in civilian clothes. There is a box of stationery, ink, pen, etc., on the table in addition to several books. CLOSE - RAE READING LETTER She shakes her head, smiling a bit, but with a bit of sadness. INSERT PORTION OF LETTER''. I'm enjoying my work with the kids and the Association has been fine to me. I'll be leaving it soon, though, as the Army has called. But at least, I can stop worrying about the future for awhile.'' BACK TO SCENE Rae folds the letter and smiles in sad contemplation as we hear her thinking voice paraphrase Jackie's last sentence : RAE'S VOICE He can stop worrying now that he's in the Army. We know that she will really start worrying. She glances at the framed photograph of him. As we look at it, Jackie's clothes change into the uniform of an Army Private. ARMY POST - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- MONTAGE If obtainable we will show quick scenes of Jackie's army life as he supervises various athletic activities.", "INT. HOSPITAL - DAY RAE'S DESK There is a picture of Jackie in the uniform of an Army private. The uniform fades and is replaced by the uniform of a first lieutenant. CAMERA PULLS BACK from photograph and we see that Rae is writing a letter. INSERT LETTER - RAE'S HAND WRITING''. so I will be finished with my course in two weeks and then go back home. When you get your Army discharge I'll be waiting for you in California.'' ESTABLISHING SHOT - ARMY POST - DAY - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- This is supposed to be Ft. Breckenridge, Kentucky, although it can be any large Army installation as long as it remains unidentifiable. STOCK SHOT - SOLDIERS Marching, training, etc.. STOCK SHOT - MORE SOLDIERS Entering and leaving barracks, etc..", "INT. BARRACKS' ROOM - DAY CLOSE SHOT - JACKIE He is packing a suitcase and an Army bag. CAMERA PULLS BACK to reveal another Negro officer with Jackie. This man sits on a bunk - both are dressed in their uniforms. Jackie moves to a chest and takes some clothes and stuffs them into the Army bag. Then he takes a photo of Rae off the wall and packs that in the suitcase. The last thing he removes from the chest is a fielder's baseball glove. ROOMMATE What you going to do with that? JACKIE -LRB- studying glove. -RRB- I do n't know. Do n't know if I'll ever do anything with it again. INSERT JACKIE'S HANDS stuffing glove into his bag. CLOSEUP - SAME BAG As Jackie's reaches into it and comes out with the glove. There is a burst of laughter as CAMERA PULLS BACK to show that Jackie is home and unpacking his bag in front of Rae, Mrs. Robinson and Mack, all three of whom are laughing. RAE Just like you. First thing one sees when you unpack is a baseball glove. or a pair of spiked shoes. Jackie draws himself up a little stiffish and addresses Rae in formal tones. JACKIE And when have you ever seen me unpack before, Miss Isum? RAE -LRB- embarrassed in front of Mrs. Robinson and Mack. -RRB- I did n't mean that I had ever seen you. why, Jackie! What do you. -LRB- whirling about. -RRB- Well, if that's to be your attitude! She flounces from room and Jackie motions to his mother and Mack as he prepares to follow. JACKIE Excuse me. I have to effect a. a. a rapprochement, I think they call it. He hurries after Rae while Mrs. Robinson looks after him and then turns to Mack to ask with suspicion edging her voice : MRS. ROBINSON What's he mean by that. that rapproche - that stuff? MACK -LRB- shaking head. -RRB- Search me. We did n't bother with that kind of stuff when I went to college.", "EXT. WAREHOUSE MED. SHOT Same scene as Scene 43. Jake is standing on back of truck maneuvering a settee onto its legs when Jackie walks into the scene and smiles up at him. JACKIE H'ya, Jake. JAKE You been out of the Army a long time now, Jackie. Ai n't got yourself a good coaching job yet? JACKIE Not quite. JAKE -LRB- grunting. -RRB- Still writing letters, eh? JACKIE Yes. But if I do n't get an answer soon I'll be back here looking for my old job. JAKE I hope that do n't happen, son. But if it does. I can sure use you. -LRB- changing tone. -RRB- Why do n't you go to them coaching places in person instead of writing them letters? JACKIE You mean why do n't I spend fifty dollars train fare instead of a three cent stamp? JAKE -LRB- laughing. -RRB- Yeah. I ai n't got all the brains in the world. -LRB- laughing louder. -RRB- I would n't even want to prove I got my share! The two are laughing, with Jake sounding off in wild whoops, when Mack's voice is heard, o.s. MACK'S VOICE -LRB- calling. -RRB- Jackie! They stop laughing and turn around as Mack runs into scene carrying a letter which he hands to Jackie. MACK -LRB- excited. -RRB- It just came. Jackie tears letter open. JACKIE CLOSEUP He is reading letter. MACK AND JAKE MEDIUM MACK -LRB- to Jake. -RRB- It's from the Kansas City Monarchs. It can only be one thing. an offer. JAKE Who are they? MACK -LRB- surprised. -RRB- Never heard of the Kansas City Monarchs? It's a professional baseball team. JAKE But I thought professional teams do n't want us. MACK It's an all - colored team. GROUP Jackie looks up and Mack ca n't wait. MACK Well? JACKIE -LRB- a little dazed. -RRB- A hundred dollars a week. to play shortstop. Jake jumps from truck and is so intrigued he takes letter from Jackie to puzzle over it himself. JACKIE -LRB- puzzled. -RRB- And I did n't even write them. How did they know? MACK Oh, they knew about you from UCLA and some of the pro games you played at Brookside. They must have scouted you. JAKE -LRB- handing letter back to Jackie. -RRB- Here. That's what it says. a hundred a week. -LRB- studying furniture on truck. -RRB- Just pushing a little old baseball around. Maybe there's something to that college stuff after all. LOS ANGELES COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- PANORAMIC NAME PLATE HOSPITAL CLOSEUP", "INT. DRUG STORE CLOSE Just a table in a corner at which sit Jackie and Rae, the latter in white uniform of a nurse, and with Coca Cola bottles and glasses before them. An air of sadness seems to have overcome both of them. RAE -LRB- thoughtfully. -RRB- Well. you've got to take it. I do n't see what else you can do. JACKIE -LRB- in same mood. -RRB- Yeah. and if I can stay with the Monarchs a couple of years I should be able to save up a little money. -LRB- looking at her. -RRB- Maybe even enough. -LRB- hopefully. -RRB- Maybe when I know I'm set there, then? She nods, but not with any particular enthusiasm. Jackie notes this and nods slowly in agreement with her reaction. JACKIE I do n't blame you. Gee. a couple more years. Why do n't we set a wedding date for about 1960 and have it over with? Rae does n't think it is funny, even if it was n't meant to be. She stands up and looks at her wristwatch. RAE I do n't know about 1960, but in five minutes I'm due back in the ward. Jackie gets up and puts some coins on the table. JACKIE And tomorrow I'm due in Kansas City. They stand looking at each other, both with blank faces, unable to fathom either how to solve their problem or what lies ahead of this new development as we ESTABLISHING SHOTS - KANSAS CITY - DAY - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- Over scenes are SUPERIMPOSED the words : KANSAS CITY.", "EXT. BALLPARK - DAY CLOSE SHOT - SIGN `` MONARCHS vs. CLEVELAND'' o.s., we HEAR crowd noises.", "EXT. BALLPARK - DAY FROM HIGH ANGLE The playing field. A game is in progress. WIDE ANGLE SHOT - THE STANDS A fair - sized audience, practically all colored.", "EXT. DUGOUT TWO SHOT Jackie, in uniform, is sitting in a corner of dugout alongside an older man, apparently the manager. MANAGER This being your first game I was going to hold you out a couple of innings but maybe you want to take a lick at bat now? -LRB- nodding to batter. -RRB- Follow Joe. JACKIE -LRB- rising. -RRB- Okay. As Jackie starts away - MANAGER And look! Uh. we give them a show out there, Jackie. If you make an out, act mad. If you think you get a bad call on a ball, talk it up. They like that here. Jackie considers this, nods, and then walks away quietly. The manager shakes his head as if doubtful that Jackie can come through on this order. SIDELINES MEDIUM Jackie, bat in hand, moves `` on deck'' and squats, waiting his turn. BATTER A Monarch player waggling bat viciously as if daring pitcher to throw one in the groove. UMPIRE BEHIND BAT Holding a `` two - three'' count up with his fingers. PITCHER Gazing contemptuously towards batter, winding up and throwing. BATTER Striking out with a tremendous swing, he yells in fury and starts pounding the ground with his bat in anger. SIDELINES MEDIUM As Jackie moves to plate he passes the retired batter. The latter is still gesticulating angrily, but as he passes Jackie he winks at him and we know it is all an act for the fans. GRANDSTAND - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- As loudspeaker announcement is heard : ANNOUNCER Now batting for Kansas City Monarchs in place of Rumley - Jackie Robinson! PLATE CLOSE Jackie takes his stance. The catcher squats and begins talking it up. CATCHER -LRB- calling to pitcher. -RRB- This is a new boy, Bill. Take it real easy with him. Do n't discourage the new boy. Nice and easy! Nice and easy! As the catcher is talking Jackie turns and nods to him as if grateful for the expected gentle treatment. PITCHER CLOSE He acts interested in what catcher is telling him, then nods as if in gentlemanly agreement with the policy of treating a new man with consideration. He begins his windup slowly but when he finally whips the ball it is with everything he's got. PLATE CLOSE The ball streaks past Jackie's head so closely that he has to fall to ground to avoid getting beaned. As he gets up, acting fully bewildered, the catcher runs to him and helps him dust his clothes, simulating deep concern. Jackie gazes at catcher, and then at pitcher, with great suspicion. GRANDSTAND SMALL SECTION The spectators are enjoying this byplay hugely. PLATE CLOSE Jackie waiting and showing determination to hit. He swings and hits. but does n't run. GRANDSTAND ROOF LONG The ball going high over the stands and onto the roof. PITCHER A new ball is thrown to him. He begins his windup and throws. PLATE CLOSE Jackie swings and misses, so hard that he is carried several feet from plate and ends up facing stands. He acts angry, pulls his bat back of him with one hand and looks as if he is going to sling it into the seats. For a moment he stands thus, wrestling with himself almost, as if trying to control his temper. There is a roar of excitement from the spectators, and then Jackie lets the bat down. Lowering his head in deep dejection he starts walking back to the dugout. The crowd's yelling now turns to laughter. DUGOUT MEDIUM As Jackie steps in to resume his seat next to manager. MANAGER -LRB- enthusiastic. -RRB- That was great, Jackie! Fine stuff! They loved it. As Jackie nods - MANAGER But, of course, you know. As Jackie looks up - MANAGER You're also supposed to get a hit once in a while JACKIE CLOSEUP He casts an amused look at manager from under his eyebrows. JACKIE Make up your mind. INFIELD LONG The Monarch batter hits a pop fly and the side is retired. The Monarch team, including Jackie who goes to shortstop, takes the field. The infielders snap up ground balls thrown by first base and we get our first glimpse of Jackie in action as a fielder. JACKIE MONTAGE Various shots of Jackie in action as a shortstop ; picking up a ground ball and shooting it to first, covering second and throwing to first for a double play, backing up the third baseman on a hot grounder and recovering when the latter boots one. SCOREBOARD CLOSE A series of ciphers show three innings have been played. In the fourth inning slot the figure `` 1'' appears for each team, and then further ciphers appear up to the beginning of the ninth inning. INFIELD LONG The Monarchs come running in, including Jackie who goes to the bat rack. JACKIE CLOSE He selects a bat and heads for the plate. SAME - CLOSER JACKIE AT PLATE Jackie first takes a strike, then cuts at the next pitch and lines a double into the field. The crowd yells. FULL SHOT - THE FIELD As Jackie runs, then slides into second just in time to beat the pitch from the outfield. He gets up and dusts himself off as the second baseman, ball in hand, grins at him. SECOND BASEMAN About time you started hitting, boy. Jackie grins and the second baseman returns the ball to the pitcher. As he throws, Jackie suddenly lights out for third and catches the pitcher flatfooted, not expecting such a daring play. The crowd roars as Jackie slides safely into third. CLOSEUP - PITCHER Looking disgusted with himself. CLOSE SHOT - JACKIE ON THIRD Grinning to himself. He obviously loves the sport and enjoys a spectacular play. He takes a long lead, teasing the pitcher. FULL SHOT - THE FIELD The next batter flies to the infield and Jackie gets back to base in time. The shortstop holds the ball for a moment, then satisfied that Jackie is holding the bag, tosses to the pitcher. The moment the ball leaves his hand, Jackie has started for home. By the time the pitcher catches the ball and relays it to the catcher, Jackie is sliding in safe at home plate. The crowd roars approval of his daring base - running. MED. SHOT - AT DUGOUT As Jackie returns. Several players grin and ad lib their approval of the way he has handled himself. As the game continues, one of the players, Slim, moves close to Jackie and starts a conversation. SLIM Good going. You ought to sleep well tonight. JACKIE I generally sleep pretty good. SLIM On a bus? JACKIE -LRB- thoughtfully. -RRB- That's right. I forgot we travel by bus. SLIM Make four hundred mile jumps between games. Only chance we ever get to hit a bed is in a two or three game series. JACKIE Not so good. SLIM It ai n't de luxe, brother! MONTAGE This is designed to show the nomadic life of these ballplayers. A. Players piling into their own bus at night. B. Players inside bus, half asleep as they travel. C. Shots of game, including Jackie getting a hit. D. Bus traveling again. E. Players dressing on bus, getting into their uniforms. F. Players emerging from bus at ballpark, going right onto field as if they've delayed game by late arrival. G. Inside bus again ; night, players asleep, some still in uniform. H. Game in progress. Jackie in good fielding play. I. Shot of fans showing their appreciation of game.", "EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT MED. SHOT The Monarch bus drives down highway, toward camera, which PULLS BACK and PANS as it disappears down highway, L. to R.", "EXT. HIGHWAY LONG SHOT - MONARCH BUS As it drives past. Through the windows we get a glimpse of the players.", "INT. BUS FULL In the dim illumination we can see the players, a few asleep, most sprawled out and listening to a major league night game broadcast. BUS SECTION CLOSE Slim has a portable radio on his lap. Jackie is in seat behind him. RADIO ANNOUNCER It's two and two on Greenberg as Feller winds up. and it's ball three. HIGH - PITCHED WAIL FROM REAR OF BUS Shut off that radio! I want to sleep. SLIM Quiet, Leander! That's Hank Greenberg at bat. -LRB- to Jackie. -RRB- That Leander! He sleeps all day out in right field. LEANDER I do n't care if it's Duke Ellington! I want to sleep. SLIM -LRB- to radio. -RRB- Come on, Hank. Wait it out. ` less it's good. RADIO ANNOUNCER There's the windup again. and Greenberg SWINGS at a high one and he's out! There is a general murmur of disgust from all in the bus. SLIM -LRB- provoked. -RRB- What he bite on that for? -LRB- snapping off radio. -RRB- Ah - h. that's the game! There is a lull as everyone settles back with closed eyes. Then the plaintive voice of Leander is heard again. LEANDER Hey - y - y! SLIM -LRB- angrily. -RRB- What you want now, Leander? I turned the radio off. Go to sleep. LEANDER I ai n't sleepy no more. I'm hungry. ANOTHER BUS SECTION CLOSE Several players open up their eyes and consider this. They look at each other and seem to indicate Leander has something. DRIVER The bus driver looks back and then at the manager who occupies a front seat. SLIM CLOSE SLIM Hungry? Why you. -LRB- on second thought. -RRB- Hungry. -LRB- looking back at Jackie. -RRB- How about you? Jackie compresses his lips and nods as if it is n't a bad idea at all. Almost immediately other players pick up Leander's word and we hear them. PLAYERS -LRB- ad lib. -RRB- Yeah. hungry. I can eat. About time. got ta get out of here anyway. I'm for it! DRIVER CLOSE He checks manager who nods in agreement. Driver nods back and peers ahead.", "EXT. ROADSIDE CAFE - OVER DRIVER'S SHOULDER AND THROUGH BUS WINDSHIELD We see a forlorn - looking combination filling station and lunch room, with several cars parked around. DRIVER -LRB- over shoulder. -RRB- Do n't look too bad.", "INT. BUS FULL SHOT As the players, full of good humor, move around in their seats, trying to see the lunch room.", "EXT. ROADSIDE CAFE MED. SHOT As the bus pulls in and to a stop. FULL SHOT - IN BUS The players, Jackie included, peering through the bus windows, studying the almost deserted roadside cafe. DRIVER -LRB- at them all. -RRB- Whose turn? Let's not waste time. The players look at each other and finally Slim gets to his feet. He combs his hair and brushes at his clothes, trying to look as presentable as possible. The others watch him as he leaves the bus.", "EXT. CAFE AND BUS FULL SHOT Slim starts toward the cafe. He hesitates at the door for a moment, then enters.", "INT. ROADSIDE CAFE FULL SHOT A plain eating spot with one long counter, usual coffee urns, and wall aperture through which the chef can be seen in the kitchen. Three male patrons are seated together halfway down from the door, and the counterman, about thirty, is leaning against the wall talking to them as Slim enters. The four look towards Slim without any welcome and wait till he approaches. SLIM -LRB- nodding. -RRB- Sixteen of us. in the bus outside. How's chances of getting a late dinner? COUNTERMAN - PATRONS MED. CLOSE The patrons look to the counterman to see what his reply will be. He notes their stare and then folds his arms. COUNTERMAN I'm all alone here. Afraid I could n't handle you. The three patrons now swing their stare on Slim. SLIM CLOSE He seems not surprised and is ready with his next question. SLIM How about sandwiches? Could you have the chef make some up for us? COUNTERMAN CLOSE He seems to be considering this but before he can answer an offstage voice is heard : VOICE How many of you? KITCHEN WINDOW CLOSE The chef, a rugged, elderly fellow is looking through the window. SLIM MEDIUM SLIM Sixteen. CHEF CLOSE CHEF Make you about sixteen beefs, sixteen ham and eggs. That be all right? CHEF - SLIM MEDIUM Slim walks to chef as he replies. SLIM Swell. Some fried potatoes on the side, chef? CHEF -LRB- disappearing. -RRB- Yup. -LRB- o.s. -RRB- Take about twenty minutes. The counterman walks into scene and stoops under counter to get a roll of paper containers. COUNTERMAN -LRB- a bit sulky. -RRB- Coffee for everybody? SLIM Yeah. but do n't pour it until the sandwiches are ready, please. so the coffee will be hot. COUNTERMAN Just getting it ready, Bud. Just getting it ready. SLIM Thanks. He indicates outside with his thumb. SLIM You suppose we could wash up a bit? The counterman sneaks a quick look towards window but the chef is apparently too busy to hear this. He turns back to Slim. COUNTERMAN Sorry. It's out of order. SLIM MEDIUM His face is expressionless. SLIM Oh. Thanks. Then we'll go up the road and be back in fifteen minutes. SLIM - COUNTERMAN MEDIUM COUNTERMAN Have to leave a deposit on the sandwiches in that case. SLIM -LRB- reaching into pocket. -RRB- Sure.", "EXT. BUS - LUNCH ROOM LONG Slim leaves lunch room and walks slowly to bus.", "INT. BUS MEDIUM Shooting towards front entrance as Slim climbs aboard. SLIM They're feeding us. That's all. I told them we're goin' up the line a bit. Without another word the driver starts the motor up.", "EXT. BUS - ROAD FULL The bus starts up the highway.", "EXT. BUS - HIGHWAY LONG We see the bus coming to a stop alongside a wooded section. The door opens and the players straggle out. One by one they disappear from sight as they walk into the woods and bushes - as we", "EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT MEDIUM The bus speeding along.", "INT. BUS - NIGHT FULL Now everyone but the driver is asleep, stretched out in the various and often grotesque postures typical of bus slumber.", "INT. CORRIDOR MEDIUM Any sort of corridor in which Rae, in hospital uniform, meets another colored nurse. Rae carries medical tray. OTHER NURSE ` Morning, Rae. I read about your Jackie last night. He's been going great for months. He write you? RAE Yes. He's doing well. Except he does n't like the traveling. OTHER NURSE Well, tell him to give it up and come back here and get a job. RAE -LRB- with slight smile. -RRB- I sure feel like it. OTHER NURSE That's the time to write. RAE -LRB- shaking head. -RRB- I'll wait. Waited this long. They smile and pass on. ESTABLISHING SHOT - CHICAGO SKYLINE - DAY - -LRB- STOCK -RRB-", "EXT. COMISKY BALL PARK - DAY - (STOCK) LONG SHOT", "EXT. BALL PARK ENTRANCE - DAY MED. SHOT TOWARD BOX OFFICE. A sign visible : `` MONARCHS vs. CHICAGO''", "INT. BALL PARK - DAY FULL SHOT A fair - sized crowd, players warming up on the field, but the game has n't started.", "EXT. DUGOUT - PLAYERS MED. SHOT Several players stand near the dugout, throwing balls back and forth. Taking it easy as they warm up. Since most of them are watching those players on the field, we realize that the Chicago players are those practicing ; the Monarchs are waiting for their turn.", "EXT. DUGOUT DIFFERENT ANGLE Jackie and Slim enter the dugout from clubroom runway and notice Bill Piedmont, a pitcher, sitting alone, somewhat disconsolately. Jackie and Slim settle down on each side of Bill. SLIM What's the matter with you? Did n't you pitch and win yesterday? JACKIE That's right. You were hot. BILL Yeah. but there's no future to it. SLIM What ` ya mean? BILL -LRB- to Jackie. -RRB- How much does a twenty game win pitcher get paid in the major league? JACKIE I do n't know. Thirty thousand up, maybe. BILL That's right. And I've won thirty so far. and I'll get more. SLIM And you ai n't getting any thirty thousand. BILL -LRB- staring at Slim. -RRB- Funny boy. JACKIE Think you could do as well in the majors? BILL No. Not any thirty or more. But I'd sure come close to twenty. JACKIE I think so. BILL -LRB- getting up. -RRB- And maybe be able to save a few dollars for when my arm goes. He walks off. Slim watches him and turns to Jackie. SLIM CLOSE SLIM He's right. We're all in the same boat. Get enough to get by - but nothing to put by. SLIM - JACKIE TWO SHOT Slim gets up. SLIM Well. He does n't finish but walks out on field leaving Jackie alone. Jackie sits thinking and we can hear Slim's words echoing in his mind. SLIM -LRB- echo box. -RRB-. enough to get by - but nothing to put by. Someone calls Jackie and he snaps out of his reverie and runs onto field.", "EXT. FIELD FULL Centering on Jackie at shortstop as play begins. We HEAR the crack of a bat and Jackie shoots over to his left to make a pickup and throw out to first. It is a neat, fast play. PLATE CLOSE Jackie stepping up to bat. RADIO ANNOUNCER CLOSE We see him talking into his mike. ANNOUNCER Jackie Robinson up again. He got a hit once and walked once. Let's see what he does now. PLATE CLOSE The ball flashes by Jackie, low. He makes no move. ANNOUNCER CLOSE ANNOUNCER Ball one. Too low. PLATE Jackie waggling his bat, drawing it back. but failing to swing as the ball comes by low again. UMPIRE'S VOICE Ball two! PITCHER CLOSE He is plainly nettled as he receives ball, gets catcher's sign, and winds up. PLATE MEDIUM From behind catcher. We see Jackie poised to hit, the ball coming. and Jackie merely lifts his elbows to let ball come through. UMPIRE Ball! ANNOUNCER CLOSE He is laughing. ANNOUNCER Jackie is not biting. They've got the wrong man. It's ball three now and the pitcher's on the spot. PITCHER CLOSE He wipes sweat from brow. Winds up and - PLATE MEDIUM The ball comes by and without waiting for the umpire's call Jackie tosses his bat aside and makes for first. ANNOUNCER Laughing again. ANNOUNCER Ball four and Jackie walks again. He's got eyes, that boy. INFIELD FULL With the first baseman in the act of tossing the ball back to the pitcher - the ball still in mid - air - Jackie is off on a dash to second. The pitcher is rattled, fumbles momentarily, and then gets off a high throw. Jackie is safe on a long, hooked slide.", "EXT. DUGOUT MEDIUM Monarch players are tumbling into the dugout from the field, ad libbing about winning a tough game.", "EXT. SIDELINES FULL We see Jackie loping along towards dugout. Suddenly his name is called and he looks towards the boxes. SUKEFORTH Oh, Robinson! Can I see you a minute? Jackie pauses, then veers toward the box seats. BOX SEAT MEDIUM Sukeforth is standing as Jackie enters the scene. Sukeforth extends his hand and Jackie takes it. wondering and perhaps a little suspicious that he may be dealing with a crank. SUKEFORTH My name is Clyde Sukeforth. I'm with Branch Rickey. of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie neither changes expression nor acknowledges this in any way. Sukeforth climbs out of box onto field and takes Jackie's arm. SUKEFORTH I'll walk up to the dressing room with you. Talk to you there. They start off, Jackie still wondering.", "INT. DRESSING ROOM DOOR MEDIUM Stopping outside the dressing room door, Sukeforth begins talking again. Several Monarch players, including Slim, walk by and look at them curiously. SUKEFORTH Branch Rickey wants to see you. JACKIE What for? SUKEFORTH Frankly, I do n't know. Can you leave for Brooklyn tonight with me? Jackie is taken aback by this, then, after studying Sukeforth, he suddenly nods his head. JACKIE Sure. SUKEFORTH -LRB- pleased. -RRB- Great! I'm at the Palmer House. I'll arrange for our railroad tickets and suppose you phone me at the Palmer at seven? JACKIE I'll do that, Mr. Sukeforth. They shake hands and Sukeforth leaves. Jackie stands looking after him a moment, his head shaking in wonder. Then he enters dressing room.", "INT. DRESSING ROOM MEDIUM Jackie reaches his locker and starts pulling his shirt off. Slim enters scene accompanied by Bill, the pitcher. SLIM Who was that white man, Jackie? A friend of yours? JACKIE Nope. Said he was a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Said Branch Rickey wants to see me. SLIM -LRB- nudging Bill. -RRB- S'matter? You owe Rickey some money or something? BILL Yeah. what does Mr. Rickey want to see you about? JACKIE -LRB- smiling. -RRB- He did n't say. Just wants to see me. Maybe to see if I've got two heads or something. SLIM What'd you say? JACKIE He's getting the train tickets and I'm to phone him at seven at his hotel. SLIM Better hurry up and pack. We'll miss you. JACKIE -LRB- laughing. -RRB- You do n't think I'm crazy, do you? Slim and Bill join in the laughter and Bill lets his hand fall on Jackie's shoulders. BILL You'll find a lot of these cranks showing up. I do n't know what makes'em do it. Last year I was signed to pitch for the Giants, Senators and Cincinnati. SLIM But none of us have ever been signed for Brooklyn yet. That's a new one. You ought to take Bill and me out and show us a good time on the strength of that. JACKIE On the strength of that I'm going to have dinner and go home to bed. It's been four days since we had a bed to sleep in and I'm going to get a nightful of it. BILL You got something there.", "INT. HOTEL BEDROOM - NIGHT MED. SHOT - JACKIE He is in bed, sound asleep, when a knock is heard at the door. Jackie rolls over a bit, paying no attention. CLOSER - JACKIE As he lifts his head sleepily when the knocking continues, louder this time. JACKIE Who is it? There is silence for a moment, then a dry, angry voice is heard. MAN'S VOICE Robinson? Clyde Sukeforth. CLOSE UP - JACKIE He appears stunned, is completely motionless for a moment, then snaps on the bedside lamp. The room is illuminated for the first time and we see that it is a cheap one, poorly furnished. On the dresser is a framed picture of Rae. JACKIE -LRB- fully awake. -RRB- Just a second! He gets out of bed, in his pajamas, and hurries to open the door. From his expression he still is n't sure what to expect. MED. SHOT - AT DOOR As Jackie opens it and an annoyed - looking Sukeforth enters. They stare at each other for a moment. SUKEFORTH -LRB- angrily. -RRB- What are you trying to pull, Robinson? He moves into the room, angrily continuing to berate Jackie. SUKEFORTH Playing hard to get or something? Or just trying to make a fool out of me? Acting like a smart guy. making me miss my train. -LRB- disgusted. -RRB- I should have taken it and not come here. TWO SHOT - FAVORING JACKIE He is growing indignant at this treatment from a man he is not sure of. He controls his temper, but nevertheless makes himself plain. JACKIE Just a minute, Mr. Sukeforth - if that's your name. I do n't know you and you do n't know me. Sukeforth looks at him sharply. Jackie hesitates, then continues. JACKIE If Mr. Rickey did send you to see me, then I've made a big mistake - and I'm sorry. Sukeforth does n't understand for a moment. Then, angrily, he reaches into his pocket, brings out his wallet and gives Jackie a card. INSERT CARD IN JACKIE'S HAND BACK TO SCENE Jackie looks up from the card, puzzled. JACKIE It's still hard to believe. A lot of fellows come to the game and. you know. SUKEFORTH -LRB- getting Jackie's reasoning. -RRB- Oh. You thought I was giving you the business! I should have thought of that. Jackie relaxes a bit and waits for Sukeforth to continue. SUKEFORTH -LRB- smiling. -RRB- When Mr. Rickey told me to come out here and talk to you, I did n't think I was hearing right myself. but here I am. He looks around the room, then back to Jackie. JACKIE And you said you do n't know why he wants to see me. SUKEFORTH -LRB- no longer angry. -RRB- I do n't. -LRB- thoughtfully. -RRB- Unless. JACKIE -LRB- urging him on. -RRB- After all, there's no chance for me in major league baseball. As Sukeforth nods in agreement - JACKIE So. what. SUKEFORTH The only thing I can think of. and I've got no right to suggest it. just between us. JACKIE Yes? SUKEFORTH There's talk about an all - Negro football team being started by Mr. Rickey. the Brown Dodgers. JACKIE Oh. so that's it. Football. SUKEFORTH I do n't know. But he wants to see you and he's paying your fare. both ways if you come back. What do you say. yes or no? Jackie looks around the room, plainly at a loss. SUKEFORTH You'll just have to make up your mind, quick. I ca n't tell you any more. I do n't know any more. JACKIE I. Okay. SUKEFORTH Fine. Let's pack. We leave in an hour. ESTABLISHING SHOT - NEW YORK SKYLINE - DAY - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- EBBETTS FIELD - BROOKLYN - DAY - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- A game is on.", "INT. BUILDING HALLWAY - DAY MED. SHOT Jackie and Sukeforth round a corner and walk down the hall toward camera. CAMERA PULLS BACK and PANS to a doorway on which is printed : BROOKLYN BASEBALL CLUB, INC.. Branch Rickey, President. CAMERA HOLDS as Jackie and Sukeforth walk up to the door. Sukeforth opens it without knocking and leads Jackie inside.", "INT. RECEPTION ROOM - DAY FULL SHOT An attractive secretary sits at a desk. Two doors lead into adjoining offices. On the walls are signed, framed photographs of some of the old and new Dodgers. SECRETARY Hello, Mr. Sukeforth. Mr. Rickey is expecting you. Sukeforth leads the way to a door marked `` MR. RICKEY.'' He opens it and motions Jackie to step in first.", "INT. RICKEY'S OFFICE - DAY LONG On Rickey, as he looks up towards camera from his desk in a good - sized, well - furnished office, decorated with additional pictures of baseball notables - officials as well as players. RICKEY -LRB- heartily. -RRB- Hello, Clyde! Got your man, eh? He stands up, warm of face and manner, but we can tell from the look in his eyes that he is making a quick and keen study of Jackie. RICKEY Come in, Jackie. I'm very glad to see you. DESK AREA SIDE SHOT As Sukeforth and Jackie come up to desk. JACKIE How do you do, Mr. Rickey. SUKEFORTH Yes, this is Jackie Robinson. and it looked for a while as if I was n't going to get him here. RICKEY -LRB- to Jackie. -RRB- Sit down, wo n't you? -LRB- to Sukeforth. -RRB- Oh, no? -LRB- to Jackie. -RRB- How come? Do n't like Brooklyn? JACKIE CLOSE As he takes a chair. JACKIE I've got nothing against Brooklyn. But. uh. on the Monarchs we get all kinds of men who show up and talk big about signing us up for this and that. It's a kind of a gag. RICKEY - JACKIE TWO SHOT RICKEY Oh, sure! Sure! Sure! But did n't Clyde show you his credentials? JACKIE Yes. we got together finally. RICKEY Well, that's the main thing. And now. JACKIE Yes, sir? RICKEY You're wondering, naturally, why I sent for you. JACKIE More than wondering, Mr. Rickey. I'm most curious. Although. I sort of figured it out for myself. RICKEY -LRB- a bit surprised. -RRB- You did? JACKIE Well, I know you're starting an all - colored football team. RICKEY Oh! Yes! Yes! We are thinking about that. But. that's not what I want you for. -LRB- quietly ; after pause. -RRB- Jackie, I want you for baseball. JACKIE - SUKEFORTH CLOSE TWO SHOT Jackie is bewildered. He looks towards Sukeforth as if for help in understanding but Sukeforth's expression is just as puzzled. Then Jackie turns back and his face hardens a bit. JACKIE You said that as if you were talking about organized baseball, Mr. Rickey. But I'm a Negro. There are none of us in big league ball. I do n't understand. DESK - THREE SHOT RICKEY Why I should want to put a Negro into baseball? JACKIE Yes. RICKEY -LRB- nodding. -RRB- I'm going to tell you. -LRB- to Sukeforth. -RRB- And you, Clyde. -LRB- looking off. -RRB- Because I am going to have to tell many people. Jackie and Sukeforth consult each other with another glance as Rickey falls silent a moment. RICKEY CLOSEUP Leaning forward to Jackie. RICKEY I have been looking for someone like you - an intelligent, educated, good Negro ballplayer - for some time. I needed a man whose character was well regarded and whose background was unblemished. As far as we can find out, you are such a man. You might as well know now. we've done a lot of checking up on you. I can tell you your life story from Georgia to where you are sitting now. It may be that you will be the first Negro in organized baseball. JACKIE CLOSEUP He is flabbergasted and, at the same time, beginning to feel an excitement which he can not well hide. But he is also puzzled, and his hand goes to his chest, indicating himself, as he manages to get out one word. JACKIE But. DESK AREA THREE SHOT As Rickey stands up and shoots a finger out at Jackie as if guessing what is on his mind. RICKEY Why you? Let's get this straight so we can all understand it. It's too important for anyone to have a false impression. People are going to shoot at us. we must know where we stand. I did n't call you here because I want to do something for you, or for your race, or for the Brooklyn Ball Club. I want to do something for all of us. All of us Americans. Rickey turns and gazes out of the window.", "EXT. EBBETTS FIELD - (STOCK) FROM RICKEY'S WINDOW The park is crowded with fans. -LRB- The Brooklyn Ball Club offices are not near Ebbetts Field ; they are in downtown Brooklyn. But the liberty we take is not offensive and should not be objectionable to anyone. -RRB- RICKEY'S VOICE For years I have seen and watched Americans together in the grandstands and bleachers of our country's ball parks. Negroes, whites of all nationalities. BASEBALL CROWDS - ANY PARK - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- MONTAGE Selected to illustrate Rickey's continued speech. -LRB- Great care should be taken here as the proper scenes can lend pointed and heartwarming emphasis to this important, key scene. We see Negroes and Whites laughing together, growing tense together, gulping with relief as some emergency is met. We may have a group CLOSEUP which might include -LRB- this may have to be staged -RRB- an American executive type, a Negro and a Jew, suddenly all filled with heartbreak or dismay as a hometown hero has apparently struck out, or some other bad break has ensued. In no case need we show what they are watching. The faces of the crowds can express the typical emotional situations that come up in any game. -RRB- RICKEY'S VOICE Italians, Irish, Swedes, Jews, Germans, Chinese, Russians, Japanese, Czechs. and I have marveled at their fellowship, their cheers, laughter, disappointments, enthusiasm, all as one. and all made so by the magic of a sport they all loved and appreciated equally. And I could n't help ask myself a question. a long time ago. and hundreds of times since - If Americans can find such a common meeting ground in a game. the game of baseball. If they can play together like this. why ca n't they live together like this. in the game of life? OFFICE MED. Over heads of Jackie and Sukeforth towards Rickey still looking out of window. He turns back and finishes quietly. RICKEY And. I know they can. and maybe baseball can show the way. because baseball is wholly and peculiarly American. JACKIE CLOSEUP He is looking at Rickey with new eyes. RICKEY CLOSEUP RICKEY That's why I called you here, Jackie. Do you want to get in on it? Because it starts with you! JACKIE - SUKEFORTH TWO SHOT Sukeforth looks to see what Jackie's answer will be, and Jackie begins nodding slowly, and replies, not as if he is talking to Rickey, but as if he is asking questions of himself. because this is serious. JACKIE If I'm strong enough. If I should be the one on whom this all depends. When Rickey remains silent - JACKIE I can try. For all I've got. RICKEY - JACKIE TWO SHOT RICKEY -LRB- simply. -RRB- That should be enough. But I want you to know exactly what you are getting into. I'll do my part. You must n't let me, or all of us, down. Jackie, we ca n't start you with Brooklyn. It would n't be fair to both of us. We do n't know if you're major league or not. JACKIE CLOSEUP He nods. He agrees. RICKEY We'll let you try out for Montreal, one of our farm teams, and later hope you make Brooklyn. But aside from that, if and when we announce you for even Montreal. do you know what's going to happen? The papers? People? Other players? Other clubs? The reaction in the south? JACKIE CLOSEUP He nods. RICKEY CLOSEUP RICKEY And if we get over that and you actually start with Montreal - Will you stand what you're going to have to go through? The razzing. the cruel, unfair razzing that every player gets, and the special razzing, the special name - calling you're going to get. Can you stand it? JACKIE CLOSEUP He nods. RICKEY CLOSEUP RICKEY Are you sure? Because. -LRB- face grim. -RRB- You're not going to be able to fight back. no matter what the offense. -LRB- emphasis. -RRB-. No matter what the offense! Do you understand? DESK THREE SHOT Both Rickey and Sukeforth wait for Jackie's reply. Finally it comes. JACKIE Can you use a ballplayer who has n't the spirit. to fight back? RICKEY CLOSEUP It's a poser. He rubs his face, his chin, and practically his entire head. Eventually he finds an answer. RICKEY That's what's going to make your job so tough. No! I want a fighter every time. I want a man in there for everything he's got! But. you'll have to take it. not fight back. and yet, do it so that somehow it's no discredit to you. so that somehow the crowd will sense it's not cowardice that is stopping you but something deeper. If, and when, you can put that over. your troubles are over. No player will bother you, no man will unfairly attack you by name or epithet, when you have established that with the baseball public. Because the very core of Americans is fair play. once they have felt the true situation involved. RICKEY - JACKIE TWO SHOT Rickey stands up. Jackie follows. RICKEY Jackie, I know from your background that you've been spiked and beaned in baseball, you've been clipped and two - way tackled in football, you've been banged around on the street. That's what you face now. And you do n't dare yell copper. or fight back. You do n't dare because more than you. much more than just you. hangs in the balance. -LRB- extending his hand. -RRB- Take a day to think it over. And think it over! They shake. In the background, Sukeforth enters the scene looking a little dazed at what has happened, in fact, blowing off steam.", "INT. ROBINSON HOME - LIVING ROOM FULL Mrs. Robinson at table knitting as Mack enters in his street - cleaning uniform, carrying lunch pail. MACK I'm going, Mom. See you in the morning. The telephone rings and Mack goes to it. Mrs. Robinson watches. MACK -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Hello. Yes, yes. We hear the jangle of heavy coins coming from the receiver as Mack turns to his mother in surprise. MACK It's Jackie, Mom. He's calling from New York. Also surprised, and a bit perturbed, she gets up and joins Mack. MRS. ROBINSON New York? What's he doin' there? MACK -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Hello. Yeah, Jackie, it's me, Mack. What are you? Huh? The Dodgers? The Dodgers! Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mrs. Robinson stands quietly waiting, but we can tell she is dying to know what it is all about. But Mack is listening. Then he finally talks again to Jackie. MACK Yes, she's right here, Jackie. Just a minute, I'll tell her. -LRB- turning to mother. -RRB- Listen, Mom. Jackie's got a chance to try out for Montreal - baseball - and maybe go with the Brooklyn baseball team afterwards. He'll be the first Negro in real baseball. But he has to promise that no matter what kind of trouble happens - and there'll be trouble - MRS. ROBINSON -LRB- cutting in. -RRB- Will he get hurt? MACK Oh, not actually. but it could be nasty. you know. But he's got to promise not to fight back no matter what happens to him and he do n't know if he can trust himself to take it. Feels he'll feel like only half a man. And if things go wrong on his account it might be the end of Negroes in baseball. He does n't know what to do. Mrs. Robinson reaches for the phone but Mack holds it away and seems surprised at what appears to be a quick decision on her part. MACK What are you going to tell him? MRS. ROBINSON Let me have the phone, Mack. He gives it to her. She clears her throat and then begins. MRS. ROBINSON Jackie?", "INT. PHONE BOOTH CLOSE Jackie talking into a pay station phone. JACKIE Hello, Mom! Mack tell you? What do you think, Mom? -LRB- surprised. -RRB- What? What? -LRB- laughing. -RRB- Yeah. I feel all right. Yeah, I'm sure. I feel swell. But what about? MRS. ROBINSON CLOSE MRS. ROBINSON We ca n't advise you, son. You have to talk to somebody with better judgment. Somebody in New York you can sit down with. JACKIE IN PHONE BOOTH CLOSE JACKIE But I do n't know anybody in New York. MRS. ROBINSON MRS. ROBINSON Yes, you do, son. In Harlem there are churches and good men at the head of them. Find one. Tell him. And listen. It means as much to him as it does to you and all of us. JACKIE JACKIE -LRB- thinking. -RRB- Yeah. maybe you're right, Mom. That does sound good. ROBINSON HOME MEDIUM MRS. ROBINSON and take good care of yourself and let us know. What? No, we wo n't tell anyone until you let us know. Yes, just Rae. Good - bye. She hangs up and turns from phone to Mack. MACK -LRB- impressed. -RRB- That was good, Mom. How'd you happen to think he could go to some church and talk to a minister? She sits down and takes up her knitting again. MRS. ROBINSON He needed help and it just naturally came to me he could go to church.", "EXT. HARLEM CHURCH - NIGHT FULL", "INT. RECTORY - NIGHT TWO SHOT Jackie and an elderly minister are seated, both silent, serious and thoughtful. Jackie seems to be waiting for an opinion from the minister. The latter finally stands up and Jackie follows suit. MINISTER -LRB- nodding. -RRB- I understand. It's quite a problem. -LRB- changing tone. -RRB- Do you have time for a little walk, Mr. Robinson? JACKIE -LRB- puzzled. -RRB- A walk? Well. surely, if you like. MINISTER -LRB- reaching for hat. -RRB- Let's take one. HARLEM - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- EFFECT SEQUENCE This scene, which is one of the most important in the picture, will depend almost entirely on footage available, editorial selection of scenes, and technical handling. We see Harlem at night and get the feeling of humanity so congested, and sometimes so suppressed, that it overruns its boundaries both physically and emotionally. Yet there is also the music and laughter of Harlem, and the spirit of a people not to be overcome. Song and violence, rowdy kids and sober elders, church and saloon, and always the streets crowded, the buildings giving an appearance of being stuffed. Intercut in these scenes are the minister and Jackie, so that they appear to be looking on and absorbing what they see. Occasionally the minister will glance at Jackie to make sure he is taking it all in. Occasionally he will explain what is going on. and the dialogue for this is to be written when the proper scenes are selected.", "EXT. THE CHURCH - NIGHT FULL Jackie and the minister have arrived back at the church and stand there. JACKIE - MINISTER MED. CLOSE MINISTER That's your people. As Jackie nods : MINISTER I know that if you do n't make good. it may hurt us. But. -LRB- shrugging. -RRB-. we always can take hurt, if there is the chance to benefit. JACKIE That means I take the chance. MINISTER -LRB- nodding. -RRB- We all take the chance. The Lord has appointed you one of the rising men of your race. And we've got to be a rising people. The minister looks at him. Jackie nods. He keeps nodding as we cut to : MONTAGE A series of newspaper headlines - front page - DODGERS SIGN NEGRO PLAYER! Jackie Robinson sent to Montreal Royals NEGRO BREAKS INTO BIG LEAGUE BALL! Baseball world in furore! Down in the body of one of the newspaper stories is the following paragraph : INSERT NEWS STORY PARAGRAPH `` In the meanwhile, there has been no comment from Jackie Robinson, who, having returned to his home in Pasadena, is preparing to marry Miss Rae Isum, a schooldays sweetheart.'' RADIO STUDIO - ANNOUNCER CLOSE An announcer is standing at a mike, reading from a script he holds : ANNOUNCER When Branch Rickey announced that Jackie Robinson had been signed and would play for the Montreal farm club there was plenty of excitement. Almost everybody had something to say about it - and what's more - they said it! QUICK CUTS - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- - -LRB- ALL SILENT -RRB- A. Two men arguing on a street corner. B. Men arguing in bar. C. Man and woman arguing. D. Three Negroes discussing a serious problem. E. Group at exclusive club discussing same heatedly. F. Radio commentator talking into mike. ANNOUNCER AGAIN CLOSE ANNOUNCER -LRB- continuing. -RRB-. The talk came from high places in baseball as well - with many a club owner declaring that they would n't stand for it. But there it was. What would they do about it? It is something we wo n't know until the season starts in a few weeks in Florida. ROBINSON HOME STEPS - NIGHT TWO SHOT Jackie and Rae are sitting together. RAE -LRB- doubtfully. -RRB- You're sure you want me to come to Florida with you? I've never been south. JACKIE -LRB- nodding. -RRB- I'm sure. I'm very sure. Not afraid, are you? because of all this fuss in the papers? I've never been south either, since babyhood. RAE A little. But that's not why I wonder about coming. I just do n't want to be in your way. You'll be busy with all that spring training. people wanting to talk to you. JACKIE -LRB- laughing softly. -RRB- Who'll want to talk to me? They talk about me. but not to me much. If you are n't there I'll just be alone once I'm off the field. RAE Is that the way you figure it? JACKIE -LRB- smiling. -RRB- Why. Dem's the conditions that prevail. like Jimmy Durante says. RAE -LRB- with sidelong glance. -RRB- Well. if dem's the conditions, I'll see what I can do. We cut as Jackie, pleased, starts to put his arm around her. SERIES OF QUICK CUTS - -LRB- ALL SILENT EXCEPT FOR MUSIC -RRB- 1. Shot of Jackie and Rae getting on plane. PLANE IN FLIGHT. -LRB- STOCK -RRB- 3. Jackie and Rae getting on train. 4. Train speeding along. -LRB- Stock -RRB- 5. Stock shot - Florida. Palm trees, stucco buildings, etc. 6. Shot of Jackie and Rae entering bus. Rae is about to take a seat in middle of bus when Jackie stops her and indicates she is to sit in rear of bus. 7. Rae and Jackie in bus as he points to sign near driver. 8. Sign, reading : `` Colored must sit in rear.''", "INT. BUS DEPOT FULL Bus coming to stop, driver opening door and passengers beginning to exit. BUS DOOR MEDIUM Jackie stepping out and helping Rae down as a well - dressed, middle - aged Negro steps up to him. NEGRO Mr. Robinson? JACKIE Yes? NEGRO -LRB- to Rae. -RRB- And Mrs. Robinson? JACKIE That's right. NEGRO My name is Gaines. I am an attorney in town. A group of us heard you were due here for spring training. We thought you might not have made arrangements for a place to stay. JACKIE Why. we were going to find a hotel. GAINES There is no suitable hotel, Mr. Robinson. That's why we talked it over. I'd be pleased to have you stop at my home while you are here as our guests. Such as it is, it is the only place available. JACKIE -LRB- puzzled, looking at Rae. -RRB- That's very kind of you. but. why. we do n't want to impose. GAINES Not at all. You are a very important man to us. It will be our pleasure, I assure you. Jackie studies Gaines a moment and then understands. He extends his hand and both men shake. JACKIE -LRB- simply. -RRB- Thank you.", "EXT. HOUSE - DAY FULL A car pulls up outside a comfortable looking frame house. The three, Gains, Jackie and Rae, get out, the two men dividing the bags between them, and walk towards house. As they get near the door, it opens and a dignified colored woman steps out and smiles a welcome. From a distance we see the introductions made and the group passes inside. DODGERS' TRAINING FIELD - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- PANORAMIC A general view of the training field with about fifty - odd players tossing the ball around. GAINES' CAR - -LRB- PROCESS -RRB- We see Jackie and Gaines in car as it comes to stop near field which forms the b.g. Jackie, carrying small zipper bag, emerges from car, waves thanks to Gaines, and starts away.", "INT. DRESSING ROOM - DAY FULL Jackie is buttoning up his uniform and nearly a dozen reporters, most of them white, are shooting questions at him. Several have notebooks in their hands and are writing down his answers. REPORTER Think you're good enough to make the Dodgers? JACKIE Do n't know if I'm good enough to make the Montreal team - so I'm not even thinking about the Dodgers. 2ND REPORTER -LRB- curiously. -RRB- What'll you do if a pitcher tries to bean you? JACKIE -LRB- grins. -RRB- Same as you would. Duck. The other reporters grin. 3RD REPORTER You hope to be a Dodger sometime, do n't you? JACKIE -LRB- seriously. -RRB- Sure - provided I'm good enough. 4TH REPORTER What about the other players? You think there'll be any trouble? JACKIE -LRB- looking up. -RRB- Trouble? 2ND REPORTER -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- He means - do you expect to get along with the other guys - Suppose something happens - then what? How'll it affect you? Jackie does n't answer for a moment. Then : JACKIE -LRB- sincerely. -RRB- That's too tough for me to answer. All I can say is that I'm going to do my best - as a player and on and off the field. How it'll turn out - I do n't know any more than you do. A few start writing this down and now the trainer moves up in front of Jackie. TRAINER Sorry, boys - but you'll have to continue this later - right now Robinson's due on the field. The reporters understand and several move to follow Jackie as he and the trainer exit.", "EXT. DUGOUT - DAY MED. SHOT As Jackie, the trainer, and several reporters come up out of it and stand there for a moment.", "EXT. PLAYING FIELD - FULL SHOT - THEIR ANGLE Showing ballplayers, some batting, fielding, throwing balls, etc. o.s., we hear the trainer's voice : TRAINER'S VOICE Oh, Mr. Hopper! At the call, a tall, greying man in his fifties, in uniform, turns around and walks toward Jackie and others, including camera. MED. SHOT - JACKIE, TRAINER, REPORTERS As Mr. Hopper walks into scene and up to them. TRAINER Jackie - this is Mr. Hopper - Manager of the Montreal Royals - Mr. Hopper - Jackie Robinson. They both nod and shake hands. Hopper is a hard man to figure out. His accent is Southern - his attitude calm and quiet. REPORTER Got a few minutes for us, Mr. Hopper? HOPPER Certainly - but let me get Jackie out there first. He starts moving toward the field as he speaks and Jackie follows him. Then they both stop and look out toward the playing field. MED. SHOT - FROM THEIR ANGLE Almost every player on the field is looking in their direction, curious about Jackie. TWO SHOT - HOPPER AND JACKIE As Hopper moves forward again. Jackie is a bit nervous and we can tell that Hopper knows how he feels, but there are no words. PANNING - HOPPER AND JACKIE As they move down the first base line toward a player who is tossing a ball with two other men who are standing as a pair some distance away. HOPPER -LRB- calling out. -RRB- Boys. this is Jackie Robinson. -LRB- to Jackie. -RRB- That's Harker, Billings and Piletti. Catch with them a while. The players and Jackie nod. Hopper turns away and Jackie joins Harker who is the lone player, with Billings and Piletti some sixty feet away. THE FOUR We ANGLE SEVERAL SHOTS while the following routine takes place. Piletti throws the ball to Harker who is alongside Jackie. Harker throws it back to Billings. Billings should throw now to Jackie - instead he also throws to Harker. They keep this up a while, with Piletti and Billings never throwing to Jackie, just to Harker, and as it goes on and the white men realize they have committed themselves to this insult, their faces sharpen, the atmosphere becomes a little tense as indicated by the quick glances they shoot each other and the way they avoid even looking at Jackie. It is his first crisis, a childish one, perhaps, but nevertheless serious. He stands quietly, his face betraying nothing, but his eyes just following the ball. CLOSEUP - JACKIE As he studies their faces, his eyes following the ball in flight. He hopes they might be kidding him. QUICK CUTS - CLOSEUPS - THREE PLAYERS' FACES FROM JACKIE'S ANGLE Their faces serious. It is not a gag. CLOSEUP - JACKIE Looking out toward other players on field. THE PLAYING FIELD FULL SHOT - JACKIE'S ANGLE Several players, including Clay Hopper, who has turned around, are watching with interest, paying no attention to their own practice. MED. CLOSEUP - JACKIE He is troubled, not knowing what to do, but realizing that he must do something - yet nothing that will offend the three players who are still ignoring him. He studies them again. PANNING SHOT - THE THREE CAMERA STUDIES their faces for a brief moment. We even feel that they are sorry they have done what they have, but they do n't know how to get out of it without one of them turning `` chicken.'' CLOSEUP - JACKIE He takes a breath and moves a step closer to Harker. THE FOUR Piletti throws again. JACKIE - HARKER CLOSE The ball is again intended for Harker but Jackie leans over and casually gathers it in in a graceful catch. Before there can be any reaction he has the ball on its way back to Billings. BILLINGS - PILETTI Billings is so unnerved by the whole incident that he fumbles the ball and has to walk after it. JACKIE - HARKER CLOSE Jackie turns after throw to find Harker looking at him almost gratefully. Harker nods in commendation. HARKER Glad you did that. I do n't know how the heck we got into it. THE FOUR Billings has recovered ball and is so confused by the whole episode that, instead of throwing it back to Harker, who is extending a glove up in the air as a sign, he throws it to Jackie instead. Harker watches and looks back at Billings. Then he calls out in pretended indignation. HARKER Oh, great! Now you're leaving me out of it! Oh, fine! The four of them have to laugh now and as we cut away Harker is begging Jackie for the ball. HARKER Here. let me get a chance to throw once in a while! HOPPER CLOSE His face inscrutable, he turns and studies the faces of the other ballplayers who have been watching the incident. They, too, are smiling. Thoughtfully, he walks away.", "EXT. GAINES HOME FULL We can see two women seated on the porch.", "EXT. PORCH CLOSE Rae and Mrs. Gaines are talking. MRS. GAINES You're sure you do n't want to walk into town? RAE -LRB- hesitantly. -RRB- Well. not yet. MRS. GAINES -LRB- pleasantly. -RRB- All right. -LRB- studying Rae. -RRB- You're not nervous about it, are you? Afraid down here? RAE Uh. to tell you the truth, I would n't be comfortable. I've never been south and I'm afraid I would n't know how to act. You probably do n't understand but. when one is n't accustomed to. well, sort of deferring. or whatever it is down here. -LRB- helplessly. -RRB- I'm afraid I'm not clear. Perhaps if you explained. I worry about making a mistake and getting Jackie into trouble. MRS. GAINES -LRB- gently. -RRB- I understand. Of course I do. But it really is n't as bad as reported. Some of what you hear is true. a lot exaggerated. We live our own lives. and as long as we live our own lives we are not bothered. Most of the white people understand our position and are helping, bit by bit, to make things better, easier. We've got to show respect for all of them - whether we respect them or not. Always say Mister or Mrs. - never use first names, even if they ask you to. -LRB- she smiles. -RRB- None of those are hard to do, really. You do defer, but even that is n't hard - once you get used to it. RAE In what way? MRS. GAINES Every way. In stores, say, do n't try to get waited on until you're the only one left - and give way even if you're first and they come in later. Never, of course, try or expect to mix - and as long as they come first in everything - you'll get along all right. Rae is thoughtful for a moment. RAE Tell me - why are you living here - instead of up North. MRS. GAINES To tell you the truth, I like it down here. Even so. I like it down here. If I left. it would be like running away from home. I could n't do that. RAE -LRB- thoughtfully. -RRB- I like it, too. It feels like home. and yet. MRS. GAINES And yet it's strange. RAE Yes. Strange. Almost. mysterious. Mrs. Haines nods in understanding. The two sit silently as : EFFECT We get a synoptic impression of activities : Jackie training, a class being instructed in base sliding, Jackie, Rae, Mr. and Mrs. Gaines around a card table at home, and, at the end, a shot showing a group of white Floridians standing in silence, watching Jackie taking part in a scrub game. GAINES' PORCH - DAY MEDIUM Jackie emerges and Rae comes as far as screen door. JACKIE I'll be right home after practice. Rae nods as Jackie waves and starts to run down the walk. GAINES' HOME FULL A car pulls up and Gaines gets out just as Jackie comes down the walk. GAINES CLOSEUP His face is serious as he looks towards Jackie. GAINES - JACKIE As Jackie comes up to him. JACKIE Hello, Mr. Gaines. I was just on my way to the field. Gaines puts his hand on Jackie's shoulder. GAINES Not this morning, Jackie. JACKIE Not this. Uh? What do you mean? GAINES Come up on the porch. I had a call from Mr. Rickey. I'll tell you what he said. PORCH MEDIUM Rae is still standing. Mr. Gaines offers her a chair, then nods to Jackie to take one, and seats himself. GAINES The town has put a stop to mixed ball playing. JACKIE -LRB- after pause. -RRB- You mean. on account of me? GAINES Yes. Jackie looks at Rae. then back at Gaines. JACKIE Then. you mean I'm through? Is that what he said? GAINES By no means! Mr. Rickey is n't giving up that easy. You're to train in another town. JACKIE -LRB- puzzled. -RRB- By myself? I do n't get it. GAINES Oh, no. With the others. Mr. Rickey's answer to the town was to decide to move the whole Brooklyn organization out of here to another town. Not far. You'll still stay here with us. JACKIE -LRB- staggered. -RRB- And I. I'm the cause of all that? MR. GAINES -LRB- gently. -RRB- Do n't hold yourself cheap, Jackie. Mr. Rickey thinks that you, and what you stand for, is worth it.", "INT. BALL PARK - DAY FULL SHOT Training session on. A few dozen players on the field, catching, throwing, batting, etc.. Jackie is playing shortstop. MED. SHOT - THE FIELD FOCUSED ON PITCHER AND BATTER A batter misses the first pitch, then connects on the second and runs for first. Jackie scoops up the ball but makes a very bad throw to first - and the batter is safe. MED. CLOSE - JACKIE Looking disgusted with himself, then flexes his right arm a few times as he moves back into position.", "EXT. DUGOUT - DAY GROUP SHOT - RICKEY AND TWO REPORTERS They are watching practice. FULL SHOT - THE FIELD OVER RICKEY AND REPORTERS As they watch batting practice. Another batter hits a grounder to Jackie. This time he muffs the ball and it goes into the outfield. GROUP SHOT - RICKEY AND REPORTERS The cynical reporter grimaces at Jackie's performance. REPORTER From what I've heard, you had a good ballplayer in Robinson. But from what I've seen - you've wasted your time -. -LRB- dryly. -RRB- and mine, too. The other two reporters show nothing. Rickey is n't bothered. RICKEY -LRB- to cynic. -RRB- Could be. but I do n't think so. -LRB- turns around and calls o.s., to trainer. -RRB- Pete - tell Robinson I want him at first base. MED. SHOT TO INCLUDE RICKEY, REPORTERS, TRAINER As the trainer nods to Mr. Rickey and trots out on the field. As he leaves, the first reporter turns to Rickey curiously. 1ST REPORTER He ever played first? RICKEY Not that I know of. 1ST REPORTER Then why. RICKEY -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- Because he's been trying so hard he's thrown his arm out. it wo n't be so hard on him at first. The reporters think about this, but the cynic is n't impressed. 2ND REPORTER Just how bad is his arm, Mr. Rickey? RICKEY From what I've heard, he ca n't even comb his own hair. 1ST REPORTER and you're keeping him out there? RICKEY Sure. The trainer comes back. RICKEY -LRB- to trainer. -RRB- How long before his arm? TRAINER A week will bring it around. Rickey thinks about it, then turns to the reporters, looking directly at the cynic. RICKEY I suggest that you catch our first exhibition game - two weeks from today. 1ST REPORTER Here? RICKEY No - Jacksonville. 2ND REPORTER I'll be there.", "EXT. BALLPARK - DAY - (STOCK) Over scene is title : JACKSONVILLE.", "EXT. PARK ENTRANCE - DAY FULL SHOT Fans milling around box - office. A few reading sign on box - office. INSERT SIGN \"GAME CANCELLED\" The authority for the cancellation is partially covered so that we do not have to blame anybody. BACK TO SCENE A few disgruntled fans muttering in disappointment.", "EXT. PLAYERS' ENTRANCE - DAY MED. SHOT - AT GATE It is padlocked and a policeman stands in front of it. As scene opens, a dozen or so ballplayers, in business or sports clothes instead of uniform, are walking into scene and up to gate. Jackie is among them. SAME - CLOSER The trainer moves up toward the cop as the players ask him to open the gates. PLAYER -LRB- smiling. -RRB- How's about opening up? POLICEMAN Not today, I'm afraid. The players do not know what's wrong. The trainer moves up to the policeman. TRAINER What's the matter? POLICEMAN Orders. TRAINER -LRB- bothered. -RRB- Why not? Whose orders? POLICEMAN Well - there's a statute on the books that says white and colored ca n't compete against each other - even in sports. The trainer looks as though he's about to explode and so do some of his players. Jackie looks upset. The trainer shrugs helplessly and motions toward the players to leave. TRAINER Let's go. They start back and CAMERA PANS them to sidewalk where they start walking o.s.", "EXT. SIDEWALK MED. SHOT As the 2nd Reporter and the cynic meet the players. 2ND REPORTER -LRB- to trainer. -RRB- Pete - what's. TRAINER -LRB- disgusted. -RRB- Cancelled - usual reason. CYNIC -LRB- not bothered. -RRB- Think you'll ever play a game down here? TRAINER -LRB- holding his temper. -RRB- We'll play all right. He shoulders on past the reporters and the players follow him. As they walk o.s. we", "EXT. BALL PARK - DAY CAMERA reveals ball park's name : DELAND PARK Jersey City vs. Montreal Royals", "INT. BALL PARK - DAY FULL SHOT A few players warming up. A few hundred fans in stands and more entering. Most of the ball players are around the dugouts, all of them in uniform.", "EXT. DUGOUT MED. SHOT Branch Rickey and Clay Hopper are standing in conference near the dugout. Players, including Jackie, in b.g. RICKEY and I want you to use him - trouble or not. HOPPER -LRB- nodding. -RRB- Okay. -LRB- turning. -RRB- Hey - Robinson! Jackie comes up to them from b.g. Waits for them to speak to him. RICKEY Jackie - I want you to play second today. -LRB- looking at Jackie's arm. -RRB- Arm working all right? JACKIE Yes. RICKEY -LRB- seriously. -RRB- Give it all you've got today. JACKIE I will, Mr. Rickey. Rickey motions for him to join his teammates and he does so. Rickey is thoughtful for a moment. RICKEY I'm going to stay for awhile - just in case. HOPPER -LRB- nodding. -RRB- It'll probably take some time - after they find out Robinson's in the game. They walk away, talking about the situation.", "EXT. BALLPARK - DAY FULL SHOT - GAME IN PROGRESS Scoreboard reads : 1 to 1 - 2nd Inning. Fans seem to be enjoying the game. The batter scores an out and the teams change sides as we HOLD. The Royals are coming to bat.", "EXT. PLAYERS BENCH DUGOUT IN B.G. A player selects a bat and moves to take up his position at the plate as the pitcher and catcher warm up. Hopper motions to Jackie who steps forward and picks out his own bat. HOPPER Okay? JACKIE -LRB- nodding. -RRB- Anything special? HOPPER No - use your own judgment. Jackie nods again, swings his bat, and moves up to the `` on deck'' spot. As he does so, the first batter gets a hit and races toward first.", "EXT. PLAYING FIELD As the batter reaches first safely and Jackie moves up into the batter's box.", "EXT. BOX SEAT - DAY MED. CLOSE - RICKEY He is watching game. Two reporters, the cynic included, sit with Rickey. MED. SHOT - JACKIE AT PLATE RICKEY'S ANGLE The first pitch is a called strike. The second is a ball. The third is a ball. Fourth a strike. Fifth a ball. Sixth a ball and Jackie walks. RICKEY'S VOICE Watch him. See that stance - see how he hugs the plate. He's hard to pitch to - he'll walk at least one for four. SPECIAL SEQUENCE At this point we go into a special sequence which must be worked out at time of shooting between Jackie and the director. It is designed as a demonstration of what makes a good ball player as illustrated by Jackie. with Rickey commenting on him for the benefit of the two reporters. The action is not confined to any one inning but spreads over the entire game in montaged scenes that take in his hitting, funning and fielding. It should end up a memorable sequence for all who play or enjoy baseball and believe, usually wrongly, that they know all its tricks, embracing not only physical skill but headwork as well. When it is over the entire audience must have a knowledge and appreciation of what makes Jackie Robinson the player he is. and, furthermore, a better knowledge of baseball itself. RICKEY - REPORTERS Hopper enters scene. HOPPER Can I see you alone a moment, Mr. Rickey? Rickey smells trouble. He makes his excuses to reporters, who also sense something in the air, and walks off with Hopper. RICKEY - HOPPER CLOSE HOPPER We've just got word. Police are on the way. Mixed playing again. RICKEY Better get him off the field, Clay. no use making it worse. MED. SHOT - TO INCLUDE HOPPER He nods at Rickey and heads back toward dugout.", "EXT. DUGOUT MED. SHOT As Hopper walks up to players' bench. Jackie and the players look up at him. HOPPER Sorry, Jackie - but you'd better leave the park for awhile. The old trouble. See you in the dressing room. Jackie gets up and slowly walks down into the dugout and towards dressing rooms. The other players are silent, yet, we feel, resentful about this unfair situation Jackie has to buck constantly.", "INT. DRESSING ROOM MED. CLOSE - JACKIE He starts pulling off his uniform and the trainer walks into scene. Jackie is definitely unhappy. TRAINER -LRB- disgustedly. -RRB- Same old thing. Same old thing! JACKIE Yeah, Pete. Thanks for looking at it my way but I bet you fellows are fed up with all the trouble I've caused. All the jumping around, cancelled games. ruction in the air. PETE -LRB- squarely. -RRB- Yes, it's been a lot of fuss. But that's the game. We're getting paid for it. Not our business to squawk. JACKIE -LRB- sighing. -RRB- It's the game. but I'll never get to play it, I'm afraid. I've got a hunch that maybe Mr. Rickey has enough, too. and maybe I'll be back with the Kansas City Monarchs in a few days. if they'll take me. Pete is about to reply when the sound of a door opening makes them both turn towards the entrance. DRESSING ROOM DOOR LONG Rickey and Hopper are entering. They walk purposely and Rickey beckons with his finger. RICKEY Pete. better go out on the field and take a look at Hugh's hand. He caught one on the knuckles. JACKIE - PETE MEDIUM As Rickey and Hopper enter scene. PETE -LRB- leaving. -RRB- Right. RICKEY -LRB- to Jackie. -RRB- And you. JACKIE Yes, Mr. Rickey. You going to give it to me now? RICKEY Give you what? JACKIE My walking papers. You must be caught up with all this melodramatic stuff. police chasing the team all the time. RICKEY Oh. -LRB- winking at Hopper. -RRB- Yeah. Never had such excitement in years. -LRB- back to Jackie. -RRB- I'll give it to you. Jackie. you are now officially a Montreal Royal. You have made the team. Okay? Jackie, who has been sitting a bit dejectedly, straightens up slowly and looks from one to the other. His face is filled more with wonder than anything else. JACKIE -LRB- unbelievingly. -RRB- You're still with me! As Hopper nods - RICKEY Still with you. JACKIE -LRB- shaking head. -RRB- And I was ready to give up! He seems lost in thought, his gaze directed at a far corner of the room, as Rickey gives him a farewell pat on the shoulder and exits. Jackie does n't even look up. Then Hopper is standing over him. HOPPER All right, Jackie? JACKIE -LRB- waking up. -RRB- Yes, Mr. Hopper. HOPPER Think I've got even better news for you. JACKIE -LRB- brows knitting. -RRB- Better? HOPPER For you. You can pack up. We head north tomorrow. for Jersey City and our first game of the season. GAINES HOME DINNER TABLE With his wife and Jackie and Rae seated before him, Mr. Gaines rises to propose a toast. MRS. GAINES It is safe to say, Jackie, that this drink is not the only one to be raised in your honor tonight. It is safe to say that hundreds of thousands of our people are doing the same. You have opened another door formerly locked to us by intolerance. It is a milestone. I speak for a great many when I say. thank you. thank you. The Gaineses and Rae drink, but when Jackie, embarrassed, tries to take his glass, Rae puts her hand on it, laughingly, and stops him. RAE You're not supposed to drink now. You do n't drink, anyway. JACKIE -LRB- grinning. -RRB- I forgot.", "EXT. TRAIN - NIGHT - (STOCK) LONG A train roaring through the night.", "EXT. ROOSEVELT STADIUM, JERSEY CITY - DAY - (STOCK) AERIAL VIEW Stadium on a gala day, pennants streaming, stands packed. -LRB- Or any comparable stadium will do. -RRB- As we look at it, the legend : `` JERSEY CITY, APRIL 14, 1946'' appears over the picture. Then the picture gradually darkens until we", "INT. RADIO STUDIO COMMENTATOR He is seated at desk, reading from his notes. COMMENTATOR This was an unusual day in organized baseball, ladies and gentlemen. For the first time, a Negro player was presented to the public. And for his first time, a Negro made his appearance in the big time, his every instinct telling him the crowd might not be friendly at all. But whatever the feeling of the crowd before they saw Jackie Robinson today. they forgot it. Because he made them think of one thing. and one thing only. baseball! And what baseball! Few will forget what they saw. I can see it yet. PLATE JACKIE AT BAT He is waggling his bat. INFIELD Runners on first and second waiting to go. THE STANDS The fans are silent, watchful. PITCHER He winds up and throws. JACKIE He takes a ball. PITCHER Another throw. JACKIE Swings and fouls off. Waiting. Another ball. Another ball. PITCHER Winding up. JACKIE A called strike. SCOREBOARD Shows two strikes and three balls. STANDS Crowds tense. PITCHER Checking runners, then winding up and throwing. JACKIE Swinging and connecting as a roar comes from the crowd. OUTFIELD Outfielder starting to run, then stopping as he realizes ball will clear fence easily. RADIO STUDIO COMMENTATOR COMMENTATOR But a lot of players hit home runs. He gave them more baseball than that. He gave them real baseball. When next he came to bat there were yells for another homerun. Jackie did n't hit a homerun. He showed the crowd something brand new. how to score on a bunt! PLATE LONG ANGLING from third or left field to take in most of infield, including home plate and first base. Jackie bunts towards third and beats the throw to first. SECOND - FIRST BASE LONG Shooting from left field side of second along the line to first base and taking in pitcher. Jackie is taking a long lead off first as pitcher gets ready to throw. With the pitch he is off for second, running towards us. PLATE CLOSE Catcher receives pitch and whips throw to second. SECOND - FIRST BASE LONG Continuation of former shot showing Jackie going into slide and beating throw to second. PITCHER CLOSE Receives ball from second baseman in disgust and turns around towards plate. Only once, before throwing, does he turn around to eye Jackie, then he starts his windup. The second he goes into it there is a roar from the crowd and we can tell from the frantic look that comes into the pitcher's eyes that he knows what is happening - Jackie must be off again. this time for third! But it is, of course, too late for him to do anything but finish his throw. THIRD BASE LINE Jackie racing along. CATCHER Reaching high for a bad throw, then whipping ball. THIRD BASE Jackie sliding in under throw. STANDS The crowd yelling and laughing at this continued larceny on Jackie's part. PITCHER Receiving throw from third baseman and tucking glove under arm to wipe his brow and glare towards Jackie. THIRD Jackie dusting himself off as third baseman looks on coldly. PITCHER Ready to throw. He checks Jackie and starts windup. THIRD Shooting to show both Jackie and the pitcher, the latter in the b.g. With the downswing of the pitcher's arm, Jackie is off and the crowd roars again. But after a half dozen stops Jackie stops suddenly and dashes back to third, just beating a try from the catcher to stop him. INFIELD Taking in Jackie and the pitcher, the former dancing away from third distractingly and the latter plainly worried by Jackie's tactics and snapping a couple of throws to third in an effort to trap him off base. Finally, the pitcher begins his windup and immediately Jackie is off for third. With the yell from the crowd the pitcher stops in mid - windup to make a quick throw to third again. Again Jackie has stopped and is on his way back to third but the umpire there waves him away and signals that he may go on to home. UMPIRE Pitcher's balk. You can score. INFIELD The pitcher comes running over to umpire to protest but realizes after a few words that he plainly made a balk and has no chance. He walks back to mound dejectedly. STANDS Crowd roaring. DUGOUT Jackie tumbling in as pleased teammates slap him on the back. RADIO STUDIO COMMENTATOR COMMENTATOR Before that game was over Jackie had hit safely four times and scored four times, with the aid of two stolen bases and two pitcher's balks! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that was how the first day went for the first Negro in organized baseball. They probably wo n't all go that well. there may still be trouble. But we have an indication that Jackie Robinson has what it takes. to take hold of the public's heart!", "EXT. SYRACUSE, N.Y. AERIAL OR PANORAMIC VIEW Over which appears legend : `` SYRACUSE.'' BALL PARK PAN OR GENERAL VIEW A game is in progress. PLATE MED. CLOSE Jackie takes a strike. VOICE -LRB- calling. -RRB- Hey, dare, big boy! What you - all doin' on a white man's field? Jackie turns head briefly in direction of ground boxes where voice, mimicking a thick southern accent, is coming from. LOWER BOX A thick - necked toughie is doing the yelling. He continues, in a manner which he calculates will tickle those around him. Next to him is another man who bends over to fumble with something at his feet. THICK-NECK Better get your carcass out' a there before you get rode out! The other man comes up with a black cat around whose neck a length of strong twine has been attached. The man throws the cat onto the field. JACKIE CLOSE He hears a yell of laughter from some of the crowd and looks around. JACKIE LONG Shooting from behind him towards box where cat is being made to run back and forth along box, and where Thick - Neck is yelling again, ostensibly about the cat, but while looking at Jackie. THICK-NECK Get that black - A laugh from his companion drowns out the next word. THICK-NECK - off the field. Get him off the field! STANDS SECTION CLOSE We can see that a number of fans are not impressed with this type of humor. PITCHER LONG Smiling at the byplay, he winds up just as Jackie turns towards him. JACKIE LONG We can see the cat business going on in the b.g. as Jackie pulls his bat back, swings and connects. OUTFIELD LONG As ball falls safe for a texas leaguer, Jackie going on to second. GROUND BOX Attendant has appeared and makes the two men lift the cat back with them in the box. INFIELD Shooting from center field and taking in Jackie on second and the next man at bat. We see the pitcher throw and the batter hitting a long single on which Jackie easily goes around third to home. As Jackie turns to go back to the visiting team's dugout his path brings him near the ground box seat where the cat has been sat on the box rail. GROUND BOX As Jackie passes and the man holding the cat holds it up to Jackie and jeers. MAN Here's a brother of yours, Jackie. Why do n't you take him along? He wants to get into baseball, too. Jackie veers suddenly towards box and man falls back in alarm. But Jackie makes no menacing motion. Instead he picks up the cat and starts unloosening the twine as he walks away. JACKIE TRUCKING We walk with Jackie as he gets the twine loose, holds the cat close and pets him comfortingly. STANDS The fans watching in silence as Jackie, walking with cat below, steps into dugout. Suddenly someone applauds. It is taken up and soon the entire park is echoing with the handclapping. DUGOUT CLOSE Jackie sitting in the shadows, his hand still fondly petting the cat. EFFECT Our radio commentator again double - exposed against a background which includes a series of quick shots showing Jackie playing, crowds cheering, an occasional jeering fan. COMMENTATOR With the baseball season almost over, Jackie Robinson has proved himself one of the standout players in the International League. In his home town, Montreal, he is a hero. To the great majority of fans in other International League towns, he is also a favorite. There's no doubt of it. Jackie has made good here. but the biggest hurdle is ahead of him. the major league. The opposition is strengthening. There are going to be fireworks! MONTREAL -. -LRB- STOCK -RRB- There are stock shots available of the riotous scenes when the Montreal Royals won the International League pennant in 1946 and the crowd went wild over Jackie, riding him around on their shoulders. INSERT NEWSPAPER HEADLINE MONTREAL ROYALS WIN INTERNATIONAL PENNANT! Jackie Robinson Leads League in Hitting! BACK TO SCENE Continuation of stock shots of Montreal celebration. STANDS CLOSE A fan throwing confetti, supposedly on the crowd below. SPECIAL EFFECT The confetti turns into snow and we see empty, snow - covered ball park. GAINES HOME LONG Gaines and his wife emerge on porch just as postman comes up the walk. PORCH MED. CLOSE Gaines accepts letter from postman who exits after they exchange greetings. He opens letter and begins to read while Mrs. Gaines turns to go back into house. GAINES Just a minute, Clara. This is from Jackie Robinson. MRS. GAINES Oh. Is he coming back here? GAINES No. That's why he writes. He's on his way to Cuba. That's where Brooklyn and Montreal will train this year. MRS. GAINES -LRB- eagerly. -RRB- Does he think he can go with Brooklyn? GAINES -LRB- smiling. -RRB- He says all he has to do is beat two hundred other men trying for the team. MRS. GAINES -LRB- face falling. -RRB- Oh. GAINES That's all right. He has to show he is able. The important thing is. -LRB- significantly. -RRB-. he has nothing else against him. He, and all of us, have come that far, anyway. He folds letter slowly and thoughtfully as she pats his arm understandingly. MRS. GAINES Yes. Yes. HAVANA - -LRB- STOCK -RRB- AERIAL A legend reads : `` HAVANA, CUBA.'' HAVANA STADIUM The Montreal team is working out in the field preparatory to playing a game, with the ball being whipped out around the infield. Jackie is playing second. BROOKLYN DUGOUT MED. CLOSE Just close enough so we can read the insignia on the uniforms of the players and know that it is the Brooklyn team which will oppose Montreal. INFIELD FULL Shooting from second towards home plate we see a trainer cup his hands to his mouth as if to yell. TRAINER -LRB- yelling. -RRB- Robinson! Mr. Rickey wants to see you! INFIELD REVERSE SHOT Jackie waves acknowledgement and then starts trotting in. SIDELINE MEDIUM Rickey is standing alone, holding a first baseman's glove. As Jackie enters scene Rickey nods and flips the glove to Jackie who catches it but looks puzzled. JACKIE For me? This is a first baseman's glove. RICKEY That's right. I want you to use it. JACKIE I do n't get it. Not play second, you mean? Mr. Rickey, I do n't like first base. I'm not a first baseman. I did well at second last year. RICKEY Jackie, your team begins a seven game practice series against Brooklyn today. I want you to play first. I want you to play like you've never played before. Last year at Montreal does n't mean a thing. This is it. This is where you decide whether Brooklyn wants you. and by Brooklyn I do n't mean me - I mean the Brooklyn players. I want you to run them ragged, on the bases, in the field, at bat. Run wild. Steal their pants off. They know they are definitely weak at first. They want to win the pennant. Make them wonder if their chances would n't be better if they had you. If they wonder loud enough. I'll get you for them. Jackie still has a fielder's glove on his hand. Slowly he shakes it off and puts the first baseman's glove on instead. He seems to have forgotten that Rickey is there. He pounds his fist into the pocket of the glove thoughtfully and then, without another word, still deeply preoccupied apparently, walks off. Rickey's gaze follows him. BASEBALL SERIES MONTAGE Jackie awkwardly scrambling for one in the dirt at first and barely recovering to make the out. Jackie hitting. Jackie racing in for a bunt, turning to find no one at first, and then racing the runner to the bag for the out. After which he mops his brow wearily. Jackie running the bases, stealing into a base, beating a pitcher's throw to trap him, teasing the pitcher, teasing again, then away on a run. Jackie hitting. Jackie hitting again. Jackie walking. And again hitting as we", "INT. SMALL OFFICE MEDIUM Clyde Sukeforth is at a desk working away with a pencil at some figuring. Nearby stands Rickey waiting. Clyde makes a final notation, tosses the pencil away and shakes his head unbelievingly. RICKEY Well? SUKEFORTH I've never seen anything like it before. His fielding was only fair, as you know. He was new to first base. But, at bat! For the seven - game series Jackie stole seven bases and hit.625! RICKEY -LRB- thoughtfully. -RRB- Pretty good. Pretty good. Clyde is amazed at this conservatism, and his face is a study as Rickey nods and walks away.", "EXT. HOTEL NACIONALE, HAVANA - (STOCK)", "INT. CORNER HOTEL ROOM CLOSE Jackie at a small desk, writing. His voice is heard telling us some of the words he is putting down. JACKIE'S VOICE Training is over, Rae. I've had no word yet. We fly to New York tomorrow to play exhibition games against Brooklyn on April 9th and 10th. The tenth is the last day before the official season begins so if I do n't hear by then. I know I'm cooked. They say that some of the Dodgers did n't want me.", "EXT. SECTION HOTEL PROMENADE CLOSE Simply two wicker chairs against a palm trunk or tropical plant of any suitable type for a background. Rickey and Hopper are seated and talking. RICKEY -LRB- concerned. -RRB- It's a tough problem. Most of the players see his value, a few do n't. That still leaves a Dodger team divided against itself. I do n't want that. HOPPER No. unless you could take a chance that they would all come around when they see that Jackie is helping them towards a common cause - the pennant. RICKEY -LRB- thinking. -RRB- I do n't know. I do n't know.", "EXT. EBBETTS FIELD - (STOCK LONG A game is in progress. RADIO ANNOUNCER AT FIELD CLOSE He is at the mike calling the game as he sees it. ANNOUNCER Well, here is Jackie Robinson up again in the last exhibition game before the start of the official National League season. Jackie has had two chances to show whether Rickey is wrong in not signing him for Brooklyn - and failed to get a hit both times. Let's see what he does now with a man on first to bring in. INFIELD LONG Showing Jackie at plate and another Montreal player on first. PLATE Jackie waggling his bat, apparently determined to come through. MONTREAL DUGOUT They are watching Jackie keenly when another player jumps into the dugout excitedly and says something to some of the players. The others hear his words and turn to him in great interest, forgetting about Jackie. PITCHER Winding up and throwing. JACKIE Swinging and hitting. INFIELD Angling to show that Jackie has hit into an easy double play, so easy that he stops running about two - thirds of the way to first and turns to lope back to the Montreal dugout. RADIO ANNOUNCER CLOSE ANNOUNCER That was n't so hot. An easy double play. It's hard to believe after the sensational reports of Jackie's playing in Cuba. Well, everybody has a bad day and I imagine he is feeling pretty blue now as he runs towards his dugout. -LRB- puzzled. -RRB- No! He is n't sad at all. He's smiling. -LRB- excitedly. -RRB- Wait a moment! Something's going on at the Montreal dugout. All his teammates are running out to greet him as they would a hero! What in. INFIELD - FRONT OF DUGOUT Shooting towards dugout, we see the Montrealers running out to Jackie, grabbing his hand, pounding him on the back. PLAYERS - JACKIE CLOSE Several of them clustered around Jackie are all talking at once. PLAYERS -LRB- ad libbing. -RRB- You've made it, Jackie! The announcement just came out! You're a Dodger, boy! JACKIE CLOSEUP He is nodding, smiling, yet still incredulous. RADIO ANNOUNCER CLOSE RADIO ANNOUNCER They've had to announce it to the crowd here, ladies and gentlemen. What we heard from Cuba was right. Jackie Robinson was good enough to be signed by Brooklyn. He's a Dodger - finally!", "INT. DRESSING ROOM - DAY MED. SHOT - JACKIE AND CLAY HOPPER They are standing together at one end of the room, Jackie listening to Hopper. HOPPER -LRB- sincerely. -RRB-. and I mean it when I say I'm glad you're going with the Dodgers. -LRB- wryly. -RRB-. Even though I'd like to keep you with the Royals. Jackie knows that Hopper means it and it affects him, as they shake hands. JACKIE -LRB- sincerely. -RRB- Mr. Hopper - I really appreciate all the help you've given me. And I mean it, too, when I say that last year in Montreal was the happiest year I've ever had. Rae and I'd just as soon live there the rest of our lives.", "INT. RICKEY'S OFFICE CLOSE Jackie is leaning over Rickey's desk and signing his contract while Rickey looks on. When Jackie finishes, Rickey puts out his hand and they shake. RICKEY My congratulations, Jackie. The going is still going to be tough. But I can trust you now to take what comes and not lose your head until you win the National League players over like you did in the International League. JACKIE You can trust me, Mr. Rickey. I ca n't afford to fail. My career is no longer a personal one, as you know. RICKEY I know. MONTAGE Against a background which illustrates the tough time Jackie had in the National League his first season - getting spiked, ducking baseballs, being given the `` hip'' in his baserunning - we see newspaper stories headed variously : ROBINSON SPIKED AGAIN YESTERDAY PLAYERS DENY ANTI - ROBINSON PLOT, SAY ROUGHNESS ACCIDENTAL ROBINSON CALM IN NIGHT GAME FRACAS Whatever the scenes, Jackie is shown as quietly accepting whatever happens and standing clear while his teammates defend him. The news stories are dated to show the progression of the summer months during the 1947 season, or else we might show the calendar months being stripped off one by one. Part of the same effect is the following headline : HOLD JACKIE ROBINSON NIGHT AT EBBETTS FIELD! Here we insert stock shots showing Jackie out in the field receiving the Cadillac car, television set, etc., with his mother and Rae also present at the ceremonies in his honor. ROBINSON WINS `` ROOKIE OF THE YEAR'' AWARD! We illustrate here with stock newsreel shot of Jackie at Baseball Writers Award Dinner. RADIO ANNOUNCER CLOSE This announcer is possibly Walter Winchell or Drew Pearson or some other national name if proper arrangements can be made -LRB- i.e., a Damon Runyon Fund benefit in the case of Walter Winchell, etc. -RRB-. ANNOUNCER Today, ladies and gentleman, near the close of the 1949 baseball season, a great National League player, and outstanding American citizen, is on his way to Washington. His name is Jackie Robinson. He is n't going there to play ball. But he is going to talk about how an American patriot plays ball with the country that extends him the right to fight for freedom. He has been asked to discuss the patriotism of the American Negro. before the members of the Un - American Activities Committee.", "INT. COMMITTEE ROOM - (STOCK) We show those scenes of Jackie in which he is beginning the selected excerpts given below. JACKIE You can put me down as an expert on being a colored American, with thirty years of experience at it. And just like any other colored person with sense enough to look around him and understand what he sees, I know that life in these United States can be mighty tough for people who are a little different from the majority - in their skin, color or the way they worship their God, or the way they spell their names. I'm not fooled because I've had a chance open to very few Negro Americans. It's true that I've been the laboratory specimen in a great change in organized baseball. I'm proud that I've made good on my assignment to the point where other colored players will find it easier to enter the game and go to the top. But I'm very well aware that even this limited job is n't finished. As I see it there has been a terrific lot of misunderstanding on this subject of communism among Negroes in this country, and it's bound to hurt my people's cause unless it's cleared up. I understand that there are some few Negroes who are members of the Communist party, and in event of war with Russia they would probably act just as any other Communists would. So would members of other minority and majority groups. Most Negroes - and Italians and Irish and Jews and Swedes and Slavs and other Americans - would act just as all these groups did in the last war. They'd do their best to help their country stay out of war ; if unsuccessful, they'd do their best to help their country win the war - against Russia or any other enemy that threatened us. I ca n't speak for any fifteen million people any more than any other one person can, but I know that I've got too much invested for my wife and child and myself in the future of this country, and I and other Americans of many races and faiths have too much invested in our country's welfare, for any of us to throw it away. I am a religious man. Therefore, I cherish America where I am free to worship as I please, a privilege which some countries do not give. And I suspect that 999 out of almost any 1,000 colored Americans you meet will tell you the same thing. But that does n't mean that we're going to stop fighting race discrimination in this country until we've got it licked. It means that we're going to fight it all the harder because our stake in the future is so big. We can win our fight without the Communists and we do n't want their help. INTERCUT into speech are scenes of typical Negro life, both impoverished and comparatively affluent, selected to best illustrate his particular words at the moment. There is a CLOSEUP of Jackie as he reaches his final words. As he speaks them we cut to : EFFECT This is the silhouette that began the picture, showing Jackie in action. As his silhouette performs across the screen, the following titles begin rolling up : ROBINSON WINS NATIONAL LEAGUE BATTING HONORS GENERAL EISENHOWER PRESENTS FREEDOM HOUSE MEDALS TO RALPH BUNCHE, JACKIE ROBINSON AND HERBERT HOOVER JACKIE ROBINSON VOTED MOST VALUABLE PLAYER IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER MEMORIAL INSTITUTE GOLD MEDAL FOR BETTERMENT RACE RELATIONS AWARDED TO JACKIE ROBINSON THE END"], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "The film begins with Robinson as a boy. He is given a worn-out baseball glove by a stranger impressed by his fielding skills.  As a young man, he becomes a multi-sport star at UCLA, but as he nears graduation, he worries about his future. His older brother Mack was also an outstanding college athlete and graduate, but the only job he could get was that of a lowly street cleaner. When America enters World War II, Robinson is drafted, serving as an athletic director. Afterward, he plays baseball with a professional African-American team. However, the constant travel keeps him away from his college sweetheart, Rae. Then one day, Brooklyn Dodgers scout Clyde Sukeforth invites him to meet Branch Rickey, president of the Major League Baseball team. At first, Robinson considers the offer to be a practical joke, as African Americans are not allowed to play in the segregated major leagues. When he is convinced that the opportunity is genuine, he and Rickey size each other up. After thinking over Rickey's warning about the hatred and abuse he would have to endure without being able to strike back, Robinson signs with the Dodgers' International League farm team, the Montreal Royals. Though he wants to delay marrying Rae to shield her, she insists on an immediate wedding so she can support her man in the trying times ahead. Robinson leads the league in hitting in his first year, and despite the grave concerns expressed by the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rickey goes ahead and promotes him to the Dodgers. Reviled at first by many of the fans and some of his own teammates, Robinson gets off to a shaky start, playing out of position at first base and going through a hitting slump, but then gradually wins people over with his talent and determination. The team goes on to win the pennant, with Robinson driving in the tying run and scoring the winning one in the deciding game. At the end, Robinson is invited to address the United States House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.", "name": "The_Jackie_Robinson_Story"}
{"scenes": ["The Insider All we can see is black filling the screen. Black on black.", "INT. A JEEP, LEBANON - DAY And we're in a speeding SOVIET JEEP. Two men in front, shouldering assault rifles. HEZBOLLAH SOLDIERS. And there are three MEN in the back. A middle - aged Man wearing a tired suit and tinted sunglasses trying to hold on. And on either side of him, two Men, blindfolded. The man on one side is in his forties, hands pressed in the pockets of a well - travelled black - leather jacket. A stocky man, with the edge of a J.D. Salinger character, he's seen everything at least once. But even he has lost some of his self - confidence, here, turning his head, sensing the wind, a blast of Arabic music that disappears behind him. He's LOWELL BERGMAN. On the other side of the man in the tired suit is a lanky Man with a voltmeter around his neck, NORMAN.", "EXT. THE BEQA'A VALLEY, BAALBEK, LEBANON - DAY The Jeep races up narrow winding streets of a Lebanese village. It's shadowed by a Jeep in front, and in back, each carrying personnel armed with AK's and a few RPG's. And in the third Jeep are two blindfolded, not very threatening Lebanese soldiers. And as the speeding convoy passes a captured Israeli Armored Personnel Carrier covered with Arabic graffiti, looking down on them from huge murals are the stern visages of the Ayatollah Khomeini, and a Hezbollah religious leader, the Sheikh Fadlallah. And, suddenly the convoy skids to a stop. And blindfolded Lowell and Norman are roughly taken out, and pushed, stumbling, through the cloud of dust without sight. The lanky cameraman is stopped, told to wait, while Lowell is pushed past armed men guarding a small stone house, and inside.", "INT. A HOUSE IN LEBANON - DAY A round - faced Man in his mid - forties, with large - framed glasses, black hair and a grey - black beard, wearing a dullbend, a turban, sits informally at a kitchen table. It's the Sheikh Fadlallah whose face stares out at us from walls. A Gunman cradling an AK - 47 sits in an incongruous purple armchair in a corner. A torn poster of the Seychelles is on one wall. Another Gunman stands by a window. Lowell is sat down in a chair at the kitchen table. THE SHEIKH Coffee? LOWELL Yeah. Thank you. THE SHEIKH How have you liked your stay? LOWELL -LRB- droll. -RRB- What I've seen. I've liked. The Sheikh smiles. And the smile passes as quickly as it came. A steaming cup of coffee in a small Arabic demitasse is put down. THE SHEIKH Please to explain, why I should agree to interview. with pro - Zionist American media? LOWELL Because I think Hezbollah is trying to broaden into a political party right now. So you care about what you're thought of in America. And in America, at this moment in time, Hezbollah does not have a face. -LRB- confident. -RRB- That's why. And we've first realized this man is not a hostage ; he's come here voluntarily. THE SHEIKH Perhaps you prove journalism objectivity and I see the questions first. Then I decide if I grant the interview. LOWELL -LRB- blunt. -RRB- No. We do n't do that. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You've seen `` 60 Minutes'' and Mike Wallace. So you know our reputation for integrity and objectivity. You also know we are the highest - rated, most - respected, TV - magazine news show in America. The Sheikh quietly looks out his glasses at him, studying him. And Lowell `` closes'' : LOWELL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- So. Mr. Wallace. Should he get on a plane or not? The Sheikh thinks it over and then. THE SHEIKH Tell him I will see him day after tomorrow. LOWELL That's good. That works. -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Uh, you know, I want to ask you something. I know it sounds odd. but. It's quiet. too quiet. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Hello, Sheikh? -LRB- no answer. -RRB- Hello, Sheikh? Silence. He hesitates, starts to lift his blindfold. He lifts it. And he sees the Sheikh, and his gunmen, are gone. The house empty. Only his Cameraman, the lanky man, left there, standing by the door still in his blindfold. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Norman. NORMAN What? What? LOWELL Take your blindfold off. The lanky man does and we see the cameraman is Asian - American. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- sarcastic. -RRB- Welcome to the world. Norman gives Lowell an ironic look and tests the local current at an electrical outlet. NORMAN Fluctuating all over the place. Anywhere we shoot, here, it's gon na be portable gennies and we'll run cable. Lowell nods and opens the curtains from this commanding height. Baalbek and the Beqa'a Valley below gold - domed mosques. A moment of triumph. He dials his cell phone. MIKE WALLACE'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Hello? LOWELL -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Mike, it's me. We're on. AND WE HEAR PEOPLE LAUGHING AND ENCOURAGING `` GO AHEAD. OPEN IT.''", "INT. A LABORATORY, BROWN & WILLIAMSON, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - DAY We're in a SCIENCE LABORATORY. OUT OF FOCUS LAB TECHNICIANS, in white lab coats, celebrating a heavyset Black woman's birthday. Half her presents are opened. Balloons, incongruous, floating above the lab. And there's a sense that somebody is watching. And from the waist up, a disembodied figure comes into FOCUS behind a glass partition, as if quarantined, isolated, an expressionless MAN in his late forties, watching them.", "INT. JEFFREY WIGAND'S OFFICE - DAY The office soundproofed, he watches the people laughing, their lips moving. His hair not yet settled on grey, his face is changing, always interesting. Born in the Bronx, educated in Upstate New York, he retains little of the accent and much of the directness. He's JEFFREY WIGAND. He turns to resume gathering things from his desk. some technical books, a medical text on asthma. putting them in his briefcase. And as he leaves the office, the silent party like a bizarre mime behind him.", "INT. LOBBY, BROWN & WILLIAMSON BUILDING - DAY Briefcase in hand, Jeffrey appears from the elevator from ABOVE, from WIDE and in FRONT, his eyes, frozen pools. And like a bad dream, a broad - shouldered Man, leaning against the wall near the reception island in a suit he's not comfortable in, wearing an earphone, saying something into a lapel microphone after Jeffrey's passed.", "INT. WIGAND'S CAR, LOUSIVILLE - DAY Light mottled through trees reflects off the car window. Jeffrey's face goes in and out of the tunnel of light and shadow. down this tasteful, suburban Louisville street of neat houses and manicured lawns. He pulls into driveway behind a 3 series BMW. It's a grey French provincial replica.", "INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, FOYER - DAY Jeffrey comes in and a young Girl, six, is watching television in the den. BARBARA. WIGAND Hi, honey. BARBARA Hi, Daddy. WIGAND What's new? BARBARA Ms. Laufer gave me a star today. WIGAND Yeah? What for? BARBARA For reading. He pours himself a drink at a wet bar. WIGAND That's great. Little early for cartoons, is n't it? BARBARA Okay. Dutiful, she shuts off the TV, going upstairs. BARBARA -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Deborah? Debbie? He looks outside. A Woman is sitting on the back porch drinking wine, reading a paperback book, drinking wine. There's something like a Hockney painting about her against the manicured lawns. Right now the Woman comes in. She's pretty, tall, languid, reserved, somebody it would be nice to wear on your arm. LIANE WIGAND. She has an odd delay between a thought and her speech. LIANE Oh, I did n't know you were home. It's early. Is n't it? He does n't say anything. LIANE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Got ta take Debbie to ballet. And it all feels suburban, familiar. Suddenly there's a shout. BARBARA'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Mommy! Jeffrey goes quickly up the stairs into.", "INT. WIGAND'S HOUSE - DEBORAH'S BEDROOM - DAY And a little girl, eight, sitting on the floor in a ballet leotard, her head back, wheezing, her neck muscles contracting and bulging, her face pale, lips white, and her eyes filled with fear as rapid, shallow breathing induces a sense of suffocation. DEBORAH WIGAND is having a severe asthmatic attack. WIGAND Sweetheart, c'mon. C'mon. BARBARA She was playing with my Pooh doll again. Jeffrey sits her on the side of her bed next to which is a Nebulizer, an air compressor to deliver medication via a tube into a circular mouthpiece. The compressor whirs. Deborah breathes in the medication. Jeffrey brushes the hair back from her face and wipes perspiration from her forehead as. WIGAND Slow down. Slow down. Slow down. Breathe deep. Breathe deep. Slow down, honey. Slow down. Slow down. Liane rushes in with rolled - up towels, kneels in front of Deborah, smiling to mask anxiety, and goes into the bathroom with the towels and turns on full blast the bathtub's hot water. We do n't know why yet. Deborah's chest heaves. She's scared. Jeffrey gets in front of her and talks to her to arrest her attention. WIGAND -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Here we go. Deep breaths, deep breaths. BARBARA She was playing with the Pooh doll. WIGAND Pooh's dusty, sweetheart. he's dusty, and you breathed him in, okay? So what's - what's happening to you now is. cells called mast cells told your lungs `` do n't breathe any more of that dust in.'' -LRB- beat. -RRB-. and the airways in your lungs are like branches. And when the branches close up, you get an asthmatic attack. And, we give you medicine, and you get better. Huh? Okay? You're better already, are n't you? And the medication's taking effect and she's calmer. Liane, hands clutched in her lap, smiles at Deborah. Now she takes Deborah's hand and exchanges a look with Jeffrey. Jeffrey's a good father, a natural caregiver. WIGAND -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Okay, baby?", "INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - EVENING Jeffrey, Liane and the two Girls silently eating dinner, Deborah in a bathrobe. DEBORAH Can I go to dance tomorrow? I'm better. LIANE if you are, then I'll take Barbara to soccer and take you to dance after. WIGAND I can take her. LIANE Do n't you have to be at the office? WIGAND -LRB- instead, getting up. -RRB- Is there any more rice? LIANE -LRB- nods. -RRB- Yes, it's on the stove. He goes into the kitchen, to the stove, seeing. LIANE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Do you want more rice? DEBORAH Maybe later. LIANE How about you? BARBARA I'll take some. WIGAND Instant rice? BARBARA Can I go over to Janeane's house? LIANE I'm sorry, darling, have you seen my coffee mug? WIGAND Try the car. And Liane going outside.", "EXT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE - EVENING She opens Jeffrey's car looking in the front seat at the cup holders. She turns to leave and sees the backseat filled with two boxes and the books we saw him take. LIANE Uh, what are those boxes? WIGAND I'm going to the store. You need anything? LIANE What do you need at the store? WIGAND Soy sauce. LIANE Right now? WIGAND -LRB- meaning in the car. -RRB- That's my stuff from the office. LIANE Why did you take your stuff from the office? WIGAND -LRB- simply. -RRB- I did n't want to leave it there. LIANE -LRB- confused. -RRB- I do n't understand. WIGAND -LRB- matter of fact. -RRB- I got fired this morning. Where else am I gon na take it? LIANE Why? Who said? WIGAND -LRB- specifically. -RRB- Thomas Sandefur. LIANE -LRB- stunned, fearful. -RRB- What are we supposed to do? What about our medical coverage ; what about our health? What about our car payments? The payments on this house? He looks at her. There's an unspoken moment when it seems he's desperate for her to ask how he's feeling. But she does n't and now there's a wall up and the moment passes. WIGAND -LRB- a beat, specific. -RRB- There's a severance agreement. It includes cash payouts over time and continuing medical coverage. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Sure you do n't need anything? LIANE No, thank you. She's stunned. He leaves. And as Liane's completely still, her accessories seeming literally to weigh her down, she wants to ask how he is, how he must be feeling, and she turns into CAMERA towards him to do that. But he's driven off down the street. LIANE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Jeffrey!", "INT. ANOTHER HOUSE IN BAALBEK - DAY The Sheikh, wearing a fresh white robe and skull cap, comes into the room. THE SHEIKH I am very pleased to receive you as my guest, Mr. Wallace. MIKE WALLACE Thank you for having us. REVERSE : Norman's camera crew is setting up. MIKE WALLACE is there. A dangerous combination of intelligence, arrogance, and celebrity, there's a kinetic quality about him. Wallace sits across from the Sheikh on a dais of patterned linoleum in incongruous armchairs against a wallpaper mural of a French formal garden. A Sound Technician wires the Sheikh and Mike with microphones. Norman says something to Lowell and then goes out. NORMAN I think I've got a problem with the gennie. I have to go outside. LOWELL -LRB- going outside. -RRB- Norman? Mike turns his chair to face and slides it closer to the Sheikh's chair. The Head Bodyguard barks something in Arabic. The Interpreter says something back in Arabic. The Sheikh, absorbed in his notes for the upcoming interview, ignores all of this. INTERPRETER He says you must not sit so close. MIKE WALLACE What? -LRB- re : Bodyguard. -RRB- I ca n't conduct an interview from back there. The Bodyguard, bristling at Wallace's tone, barks more confrontational Arabic. INTERPRETER You must move back your chair. MIKE WALLACE Will you tell him that when I conduct an interview, I sit anywhere I damn please! INTERPRETER There is no interview. As Mike leaps forward, moving inches from the Bodyguard's face with such sudden ferocity, even the Bodyguard flinches. MIKE WALLACE You! I'm talking to you! More armed men start to enter. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- What the hell do you think I am? A 78 - year - old assassin? You think I'm gon na karate him to death with this notepad? -LRB- to Interpreter. -RRB- Are you interpreting what I'm saying? INTERPRETER Yes. LOWELL We're there. MIKE WALLACE Good, well ask him if Arabic is his second language. LOWELL -LRB- to Interpreter. -RRB- Do n't interpret that! -LRB- to both. -RRB- Hold it. Hold it. Hold it! Slow, slow! -LRB- to the Sheikh. -RRB- Sheikh, do you mind. if you would just turn your chair a little bit to face Mr. Wallace? The Sheikh looks up from his notes, nods, fixes his chair, goes back to his notes. LOWELL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Is that okay? INTERPRETER Okay. LOWELL -LRB- Bodyguard assents ; to Mike. -RRB- Are you ready? Or you want to keep fucking around and warm up some more? MIKE WALLACE No. -LRB- wry. -RRB-. that's got my heart started. They know each other well. Lowell smiles. Wallace sits down. LOWELL Alright, Todd, give me the three - button on Mike, please. Okay. We are rolling. Okay, Mike. They roll camera. `` 60 Minutes''. `` Hezbollah''. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- charming. -RRB- Sheikh Fadlallah, thank you so much for seeing us. -LRB- changes. -RRB- Are you a terrorist? The Sheikh did n't expect the Mike Wallace opening shot between the eyes. He recovers. THE SHEIKH Mr. Wallace, I. am a servant of God. That expression of incredulity. MIKE WALLACE A servant of God? Really. Mike, tipping his glasses down while the hostile Gunmen, cradling weapons, watch him through the doorway. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Americans believe that you, as an Islamic fundamentalist, that you are a leader who contributed to the bombing of the U.S. Embassy. The ballsiness of Wallace, asking these questions in this place, is impressive.", "EXT. BERKELEY - LATE MORNING It's still. A MAIL TRUCK is stopped at an odd angle in the street outside an older brick house with a bold redwood Big Sur - like fence on a hillside. Beyond the truck is a forever view of the Bay. A handle turns. Mail truck door opens. Mailman, carrying a box, going through the gate. Doorstep. Box is deposited there. It's quiet again. The BOX sitting nakedly by the front door.", "INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BEDROOM, BERKELEY - LATE MORNING Lowell, in sweat pants and an old tee shirt now, is on the telephone, still in bed. Newspapers, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, are spread all over. home as refuge. A tray with large cups of coffee is on a side table. LOWELL everyone thinks Canadian Mounties ride horses and rescue ladies from rapids, Mike. They backed locals in Oka in a fight with Mohawks over building a golf course on their burial site. They beat up protesters at Kanasake. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Where'd you hear that? The other phone on a nightstand rings. A Woman in her forties, SHARON TILLER, enters, in a bathrobe, brushing her teeth. She answers it. LOWELL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- -LRB- droll. -RRB- Oh, someone took a poll? `` Are all things Canadian boring?'' SHARON -LRB- to Lowell. -RRB- It's Stuart. he's in Mexico City. LOWELL Let me call you back. He takes up the line. listening. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Yeah, Stuart. What New York bank? A young Man in his early twenties wanders in. JAKE Hey Dad. Sharon. Lowell waves at JAKE, his son. SHARON -LRB- to Jake. -RRB- No classes this morning? LOWELL Will he go on - camera and talk about the Mexico City branch? JAKE I do n't have to be there until ten - thirty. Lowell's son sits on the bed looking at part of a newspaper. And another young Man, in his early twenties, with long hair comes strolling in, Sharon's son, JOSIAH. JOSIAH Hi Mom, Lowell. Lowell, still on the phone, waves to him. SHARON Hi, sweetheart. Josiah sits on the bed too, reading the back of the sports section Jake is reading. Another line rings, Sharon getting it. The Boys, used to them, get up, and leave. LOWELL -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Will independent sources corroborate that? SHARON Hello? Yeah.", "EXT. THE BERKELEY HOUSE - MORNING The Boys coming out of the house together. And seeing the BOX by the door. LOWELL'S SON -LRB- shouts back inside. -RRB- Dad, you got a box out here. And they go out the gate, talking, walking off along the Berkeley street. The box left waiting by the door. LOWELL -LRB- looking at her itinerary. -RRB- Let me see this. No,'cause I got ta know where you're going at all times.", "INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BEDROOM, BERKELEY - MORNING SHARON -LRB- into phone. -RRB- I ca n't. I've got to fly to Boston tomorrow. Lowell comes with the box back to bed. He's already unwrapped it. Inside are stacks of papers. He looks at the box cover. No return address. An anonymous sender ; not unusual for him. He casually looks through the papers. SHARON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Two p.m. Great. Bye - bye. -LRB- hangs up. -RRB- LOWELL -LRB- reading. -RRB-. `` ignition propensity?''. -LRB- to Sharon. -RRB-. you understand any of this? He gives her some papers. We see formulas. scientific data in tables. SHARON no. this looks like a table of temperatures. Who's this from? LOWELL -LRB- shrugs. -RRB-. it's anonymous. References to `` P.M.'' -LRB- motions. -RRB- It's got to be Philip Morris, huh? SHARON I have to take a shower. As he looks at the papers, Sharon goes into the bathroom.", "INT. THE FEDERAL DRUG ADMINISTRATION AGENCY, CAFETERIA, WASHINGTON - DAY We see a MAN in his forties, eating a late lunch, getting paged in a crowded cafeteria. An old 1930's WPA mural on the wall. His pager goes off. Doug Oliver walks across the cafeteria to a bank of pay phones and dials.", "INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, DEN - BERKELEY - MORNING The phone rings. Lowell picks it up. LOWELL Yeah. DOUG OLIVER -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Hi, this is Doug Oliver. LOWELL Oh, hi, Doug. it's Lowell. I'm doing this story on fire safety. People burning up from falling asleep smoking. I received a shitload of scientific papers from inside Philip Morris. Anonymous. You or anybody in FDA know someone who can translate this stuff into English for me? DOUG OLIVER -LRB- beat. -RRB-. uh, yeah.", "EXT. A BERKELEY CAFE - CLOSE:  PAY PHONE There's the sound of a phone ringing. PULL BACK to reveal Lowell outside a cafe with dry cleaning he collected over one shoulder. A LITTLE GIRL'S VOICE OVER -LRB- Deborah's -RRB- answers. `` Hello.'' LOWELL Mr. Wigand, please. There's a whisper. `` Someone's calling for Daddy, Mom.'' Behind Lowell is a humming Berkeley street. He gestures familiarly to a Server, who brings out his two take - out cappuccinos. Lowell nods his thanks, pays. LOWELL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Thank you, Bob. LIANE'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Who's calling? LOWELL My name's Lowell Bergman. I'm - LIANE'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Did you say Berman? LOWELL No, Bergman. B.E.R.G.M.A.N. I'm a producer with `` 60 Minutes''. LIANE'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- `` 60 Minutes''? LOWELL Yeah. LIANE'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- `` 60 Minutes,'' the television show? LOWELL Yes. Lowell waits for some moments, and.", "INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - DAY LIANE -LRB- on phone. -RRB- He does n't want to talk to you.", "EXT./INT. BERKELEY CAFE - DAY LOWELL How does he know he does n't want to talk to me? He does n't know what I'm calling him about. LIANE'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- He does n't care to know. And she hangs up. Lowell's motionless. And his interest piqued, he sets down his cleaning. He calls back. The phone rings and rings. A MACHINE picks it up. Jeffrey Wigand's Voice : `` This is the Wigands'. If you'd like to leave a message or send a fax, start now.''", "INT. THE WIGAND HOUSE, JEFFREY'S OFFICE, LOUISVILLE - DAY And we see Jeffrey Wigand, sitting at his desk in his office, working on his computer, hearing Lowell. LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- on the machine. -RRB- This is Lowell Bergman with `` 60 Minutes''. I'm doing a story on fire safety and cigarettes. I have scientific documents from a tobacco company, and I could use your help as a consultant explaining these documents to me. My number is area code 510 - 555 - 0199. I'll be there, at this number, in 10 minutes. He hangs up. Jeffrey does n't react, quietly working on his computer.", "INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, BERKELEY - DAY Lowell's restless, waiting. And not getting a call back, he tries another tact. He writes a FAX, `` Please call me at.'' He writes his number down. He sends the Fax. He's still. It's quiet. And not getting an answer he gets up, starting to leave the room. And suddenly the fax machine RINGS. He turns. He reads a message emerging from the machine. `` I ca n't talk to you.'' He's quiet. He writes on a piece of paper. `` Ca n't talk to me?'' `` Wo n't talk to me?'' `` Do n't want to talk to me?'' As he faxes it back.", "INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, OFFICE, LOUISVILLE - DAY Wigand reading the return fax from Lowell.", "INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, BERKELEY - DAY Lowell, waiting. The fax machine rings again. He reads Jeffrey's answer. `` Ca n't.'' `` Wo n't.'' `` Do n't want to.'' He's quiet, more than just interested, now. There's something beyond intriguing here. He turns. He looks through a stack of phone books for something. a nationwide 800 directory. He looks through it and dials Wigand's phone number again. LOWELL If you're curious to meet me.", "INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE, OFFICE, LOUISVILLE - DAY Wigand working on his computer. Lowell's VOICE on his answering machine. LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- on machine. -RRB-. I'm gon na be in the lobby of the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, reading The New York Times, tomorrow, at five o'clock. Lowell clicks off. And as Wigand sits at his computer, giving no indication what he might do.", "INT. THE SEELBACH HOTEL LOBBY, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - EARLY EVENING An old hotel with faded carpets. Lowell in the lobby reading a New York Times, waiting. And instead of looking up every time somebody passes, he looks down at people's shoes. A pair of black wing tips walking by. A woman's high heels. A pair of men's tasseled loafers. A lace - up brown. A pair of tennis shoes. A cordovan wing tip. The pair of tasseled loafers walking by again. And Lowell looks up. And the Man in the tasseled loafers, turns away. It's Jeffrey Wigand in a suit and a tie with a Fortune 500, corporate - executive bearing. Lowell crosses to the elevators. Wigand looks around the lobby and follows Lowell in, and as the doors close.", "INT. A HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - EARLY EVENING LOWELL -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Have you always lived in Louisville? Brilliant late afternoon sunlight. We PULL BACK to see Jeffrey, standing by a window, silently looking outside to the left. Lowell, cool, waiting, hands in his pockets, in the middle of the large room. WIGAND Mr. Bergman? What did you want me to consult about? A sudden KNOCK on the door. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- turns, suspicious. -RRB- Who's that? LOWELL -LRB- wry. -RRB- That's room service. They usually knock first. -LRB- calls. -RRB- Come on in. Over here, please. Room Service brings in a tray with coffee. As Lowell signs the bill, the Room Service Waiter waiting, looks at Wigand. Their eyes meet. The Waiter looks away. LOWELL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Thank you. And the Waiter leaves. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- pouring. -RRB- How do you like your coffee? Black? WIGAND Black, black. Lowell gives him his cup of coffee. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Look, I really do n't have that much time. LOWELL -LRB- nods. -RRB- Is there anything you want to know about me, Mr. Wigand? WIGAND Like what? Your sign? Lowell smiles. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I know what I have to know. LOWELL Just so I know you know, when I talk to people in confidence, it stays that way. WIGAND -LRB- abruptly. -RRB- How did a radical journalist from Ramparts Magazine end up at CBS? Lowell looks at him, he does his homework. LOWELL I still do the tough stories. `` 60 Minutes'' reaches a lot of people. Wigand's quiet, measuring him. WIGAND -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Let me see the documents. Lowell gives him the box of papers. Wigand sits down, the box on his lap, quietly looking through them. flips to a different heading, consults a chart. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- this is a Fire - Safety Product Study for Philip Morris. Burn rates. ignition propensity. things of this nature. -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- I could very easily explain this to you in layman's terms, because it's from another company. He puts the papers down. WIGAND -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- but that's as far as I go. LOWELL Far as you go where? WIGAND -LRB- a beat. -RRB- This issue is a drop in the bucket. I can talk to you about what's in here. But I ca n't talk to you about anything else. And Lowell knows something else is going on here. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- meaning Philip Morris documents. -RRB- I signed a confidentiality agreement. I honor agreements. A lot more is going on here. Lowell nods, a good reporter. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Does n't CBS have confidentiality agreements, Mr. Bergman? LOWELL Between journalists and management, yes, I believe they do. but I do n't take that seriously. -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Where do you work? WIGAND Did work. LOWELL -LRB- fast. -RRB- Did work. WIGAND -LRB- the bottom line. -RRB- How much would I get paid? LOWELL That, you have to discuss with CBS Business Affairs. But, for something like this, I would say anywhere between 10, 12 thousand. Wigand nods `` Okay.'' WIGAND Should I just take the documents now? LOWELL If you want to do it. He turns to leave. Lowell gets the door for him. Wigand momentarily slows. WIGAND I worked as the head of Research and Development for Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company. I was a Corporate Vice President. Mr. Bergman. And he goes out the door. Lowell's still. Wigand's job title resonates. Lowell turns to the window, casually looking into the early evening. and he comes face to face with what Wigand was staring at, The Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company Headquarters Building, lit up right across the street.", "INT. CBS, A SCREENING ROOM - DAY MIKE WALLACE -LRB- on screen. -RRB- `` President Assad of Syria said that difficult obstacles remain but that his country, quote, ` looks forward to a great, long peace with Israel.''' TAIL LEADER. THEN BLACK. Suddenly lights come on. Executive Producer DON HEWITT is suddenly on his feet. A veritable dervish, in constant motion. DON HEWITT -LRB- kissing Mike. -RRB- It's a Peabody, Mike. When you're dead and buried, Hezbollah is the one they're gon na remember you for. Mike, used to him, ignores him, getting up, turning to leave, Hewitt on his tail. while. LOWELL -LRB- to his Editor. -RRB-. come in earlier on Mike's Marine barracks line when he's talking to Sheikh Mussawi. MIKE WALLACE You eating with us? LOWELL Yeah. MIKE WALLACE Bring a tie so they'll let us in the front door. And Lowell gestures for an olive - skinned Woman in her late thirties, Lowell's assistant, DEBBIE DELUCA, to join them. The eye contact on the way out says there's something important he needs to tell her.", "EXT. CBS - DAY There's a blast of NOISE. The City. Lowell, Wallace, Hewitt, Debbie, enter from the CBS lobby, moving through the reflections. Lowell is about to say something to Debbie, but BILL FELLING, Evening News' Assignment Editor, coming the other way. LOWELL Debbie. FELLING Hey, Lowell. Midstream, fast : LOWELL Oh, Bill. Main Justice is investigating a major New York bank. Laundering narco dollars out of their Mexico City branch. You want it for the Evening News? FELLING What about you, you got a crew already? LOWELL I'm gon na do a follow - up. FELLING Okay. -LRB- leaves. -RRB- LOWELL Catch ya' later.", "EXT. 53RD STREET, NEW YORK - DAY Lowell, crossing. LOWELL Debbie. And, now, as they cross Madison. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- to Debbie ; finally. -RRB- I want you to get legal onto CORPORATE CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS. Boundaries of their constraint. Kentucky state law about. I want you to drop everything. DEBBIE DELUCA -LRB- cuts in. -RRB- Okay. Hewitt stops to buy a newspaper. He does n't have change, Debbie does.", "EXT. 55TH STREET (WESTBOUND), NEW YORK - DAY And Mike, Lowell and Don bang into Michael's restaurant. We SEE them through the glass, being greeted, people shaking their hands, escorted by the maitre d' to their table as.", "INT. THE BROWN & WILLIAMSON BUILDING, MAIN LOBBY, LOUISVILLE - DAY Meanwhile, it's static. Still, frozen. Jeffrey sits in the RECEPTION AREA of The Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company headquarters. Complimentary cigarettes are arranged on tables. A dark quiet. The hush of big business. Standing in the background by a wall next to the banks of elevators, is an ever - present Man, another one, with an earphone and lapel microphone. UNIFORMED SECURITY -LRB- to Wigand. -RRB- Mr. Wigand, you can go up now. He gets up, crossing to an elevator.", "INT. THOMAS SANDEFUR'S OFFICE, BROWN & WILLIAMSON - DAY THOMAS SANDEFUR -LRB- re : his distraction. -RRB- Sorry. I'm accepting an award from the Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation. It's going to kill the rest of my day. THOMAS SANDEFUR is absorbed in spreadsheets of regional sales figures. Dark pouches are under his eyes. He does n't look up. He does n't look healthy. We're in a luxurious office with a view of Louisville. Jeffrey is waiting in a chair. Sandefur is Brown & Williamson's CEO. Two LAWYERS, their briefcases, like weapons, close at hand, sit on a couch. Their jackets are off. They wear expensive shirts. THOMAS SANDEFUR -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- -LRB- finishing ; looking up at Jeffrey. -RRB- So. You had a chance to play golf? Surprisingly affable, Sandefur prides himself on his salesman's sunny manners. He has a mellifluous Georgia accent. THOMAS SANDEFUR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- to the Lawyers. -RRB- Jeff's a premiere golfer. What are you, a two handicap? WIGAND -LRB- precise. -RRB- Seven. THOMAS SANDEFUR -LRB- to lawyer. -RRB- And, he gets out there and he has five strokes on us. He has more concentration than anybody I've ever met. It's spooky how he can concentrate. WIGAND I'd rather play than talk about it. -LRB- beat. -RRB- What did you want to see me about? I do n't like being back here. Sandefur smiles, used to him. THOMAS SANDEFUR Jeffrey says exactly what's on his mind. Most people consider what they're saying. social skills. Jeffrey just charges right ahead. -LRB- smiles, after a beat. -RRB- Now, I know you understood the nature of the confidentiality portion of your severance agreement with Brown & Williamson, Jeff. WIGAND Chapter and verse. THOMAS SANDEFUR -LRB- nods. -RRB- Yeah, I know you do. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You know, I came up through sales. One of the reasons I was a great salesman, was I never made a promise I could n't keep. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I knew that if I ever broke my promise I'd suffer the consequence. And there's a warning behind it. WIGAND -LRB- contained. -RRB- Is that a threat? THOMAS SANDEFUR we worked together for, what was it, three years? Now, the work we did here is confidential, not for public scrutiny. any more than are one's family matters. WIGAND -LRB- quietly. -RRB- You threatening my family, now, too? THOMAS SANDEFUR Now, do n't be paranoid, Jeff. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- About the direction of research here, we may have had our differences of opinion. WIGAND `` Research.''. -LRB- smile + scorn. -RRB- You declare, as a badge of honor, you do n't even know what makes water boil. THOMAS SANDEFUR That's why we hire scientists. WIGAND -LRB- interrupts, direct. -RRB- Okay. -LRB- a beat, honest. -RRB- I do n't believe you can maintain corporate integrity without confidentiality agreements. I was paid well for my work. The health and welfare benefits are good. The severance package is fair. I have no intention of violating my confidentiality agreement and disclosing that which I said I would n't. THOMAS SANDEFUR I appreciate all that, Jeff. But, upon reflection. we've decided to expand our zone of comfort with you. And there's a seriousness that weighs heavily on the room. THOMAS SANDEFUR -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- So we've drafted a supplement to your agreement. it broadly defines and expands in more detail what is `` confidential.'' Nobody will be able to say, `` Well, hell's bells, Margaret, I did n't know that was a secret.''. -LRB- beat. -RRB- We're very serious about protecting our interests. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- We'd like you to sign it. And he's acutely aware of the threat behind it. WIGAND -LRB- a beat. -RRB- And if I do n't? A LAWYER -LRB- speaking for Sandefur. -RRB- If we `` arrive'' at the conclusion you're acting in bad faith? We would terminate, right now, payouts under your severance package. You and your family's medical benefits. And initiate litigation against you, Mr. Wigand. WIGAND Dr. Wigand. A LAWYER -LRB- a beat. -RRB- Dr. Wigand. after you've examined the document, you will see it is in your own best interest and you'll sign it. Jeffrey slowly turns to face the attorney. And we see on his face the true nature of this man. WIGAND So, what you are saying is : it is n't enough that you fired me. For no good reason! Now you question my integrity? On top of the humiliation of being fired? You threaten me?! You threaten my family?! -LRB- beat. -RRB- It never crossed my mind not to honor my agreement. -LRB- turning, to Sandefur. -RRB- But I will tell you, Mr. Sandefur, and Brown & Williamson, too. Fuck me? -LRB- a beat. -RRB- Well, fuck you! And with that he gets up, and leaves. And it's quiet. A LAWYER I'm not sure he got the message. THOMAS SANDEFUR -LRB- with total confidence. -RRB- Oh, I think he did.", "EXT. A PHONE BOOTH, LOUISVILLE - DAY Wigand picks up the phone and dials.", "INT. THE NEW YORK RESTAURANT - DAY They've finished lunch. Wallace and Hewitt are turned to talk to Sam Cohn and an older writer as suddenly Lowell's cell phone rings. LOWELL -LRB- answering. -RRB- Yeah. WIGAND'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- you fucked me! LOWELL Who is this?", "EXT. A PHONE BOOTH, LOUISVILLE - DAY WIGAND -LRB- crazed. -RRB-. protect your sources! You screwed me! You sold me out!", "INT. THE NEW YORK RESTAURANT - DAY LOWELL What are you talking about? Where are you?", "EXT. THE PHONE BOOTH, LOUISVILLE - DAY WIGAND Fuck you, too! And he slams down the phone.", "INT. THE RESTAURANT, NEW YORK - DAY Lowell, holding the dead phone in his hand.", "EXT. A GOLF DRIVING RANGE, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT We see a brightly lit, golf driving range, empty, the wet grass under the lights vibrant, emerald green. A caged cart, with one big yellow headlight, like some kind of strange insect, drives across the range, picking up golf balls. And we see Jeffrey hitting golf balls, driving one after another, after another. His swing is powerful, angry, a lone golfer, trying to chill out. He pauses, spent. Settling down, he exhales. Then, he looks down the way. And he slows. He sees in the far distance, spot - lit, one other lone golfer, a Stocky Man, incongruously in a suit and tie, watching him. And the Man in the suit right then, with great power and a tremendous follow through drives a golf ball. The ball slamming into the steel net. And the lights SUDDENLY go out. The range closing for the night. The `` insect'' comes to a stop. And it's quiet, dark. Jeffrey gathers up his clubs. He crosses, his golf shoes, the metal cleats, clicking on the pavement, toward the PARKING LOT. And there's the sound of the clicking of golf shoes behind him. He turns. And the stocky Man in the suit, carrying a golf bag walking some distance behind him, staring at him. Jeffrey comes to the parking lot. It's empty. Just Jeffrey's car, and despite all the empty spaces, another car, purposely or otherwise, parked right next to his. He crosses to his car, getting in.", "INT. WIGAND'S CAR - NIGHT He drops the three clubs in the rear seat and settles behind the wheel. He turns. And he sees the Man in the suit has gotten in the car next to his. They look at each other. The Man, in no hurry, lights a cigarette, relaxes. It's malevolent as hell. And Jeffrey, suddenly, grabbing a golf club, jumps out of his car.", "EXT. THE PARKING LOT, DRIVING RANGE, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT Golf club in hand at the driver side window. WIGAND -LRB- motioning with the club, threatening. -RRB- Stay away from me! You stay away from me! The Man starts his car, and drives off nonplussed. It's still. And as Jeffrey with the golf club stands in the empty parking lot, not knowing what's threatening him, something real, something imaginary.", "EXT. THE WIGAND HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - WIDE SHOT: WIGANDS' HOUSE - EARLY MORNING A violent rain's falling. And we see Jeffrey coming out of the house holding an umbrella over his little Girls. They start towards the car. There's the sound of a car door shutting. Liane, carrying lunch boxes, comes after them. LIANE Jeffrey, you forgot their lunches - She slows, seeing someone. Jeffrey turns : it's Lowell. He's surprised. LOWELL Mrs. Wigand, how do you do? WIGAND -LRB- to the girls, protectively. -RRB- Jump in, quick, c'mon. LOWELL I'm Lowell Bergman. We spoke on the phone, remember? The Girls climb in the car. Lowell crosses behind the Audi around the far side. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- C'mere. I want to talk to you. WIGAND Good. I want to talk to you. Jeff closes the door on his daughters and joins Lowell around the far side of the car. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- confronting him. -RRB- What do. LOWELL -LRB- running over. -RRB- I did not burn you. I did not give you up to anyone! WIGAND -LRB- continuing. -RRB- This is my house. In front of my wife, my kids?! What business do we have? LOWELL To straighten something out with you. Right here. Right now. WIGAND So, you did n't mention my name? You have n't talked to anybody about me? LOWELL Why am I gon na mention your name? WIGAND How did Brown & Williamson know I spoke to you? LOWELL How the hell do I know about Brown & Williamson? WIGAND It happened after I talked to you. I do not like coincidences! LOWELL And I do n't like paranoid accusations! I'm a journalist. Think. Use your head. How do I operate as a journalist by screwing the people who could provide me with information before they provided me with it? WIGAND -LRB- skeptical. -RRB- You came all the way down here to tell me that? LOWELL No. I did not. Big Tobacco is a big story. And you got something important to say. I can tell. -LRB- a beat, personal. -RRB- But, yes. I did. I came all the way down here to tell you : story, no story, fuck your story, I do n't burn people. It starts to rain harder. They look at each other. Jeffrey, without saying a word, gets in the Car. He backs out. Lowell, left standing in the driveway with Liane in the rain. Liane goes back into the house. And Lowell starts back across the street to his car. There's a sound. He turns. Jeffrey's car, having gone around the corner, has come back and stopped in the street. WIGAND -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Ride with me while I take the girls to school. Lowell hesitates, then gets into the car in the back seat.", "INT. WIGAND'S CAR - MORNING They drive away. Lowell, incongruously sitting in the back seat with Barbara. Jeffrey and Deborah in the front seat. And it's quiet, just the sound of the wipers on the window. And as Lowell rides with them.", "EXT. A RIVERSIDE PARKING LOT IN LOUISVILLE - WIDE REAR SHOT - MORNING We see the Car's parked in a weed - strewn empty lot. Rain, pounding on it and the surface of the river beyond. WIGAND'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- and my little girl has acute asthma. Deborah. My eldest daughter.", "INT. WIGAND'S CAR, LOUISVILLE - REAR TWO SHOT - MORNING The Girls are gone. We enter mid - scene. Lowell's still in the back seat. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- And, I'm unemployed. So I have to protect my medical coverage. -LRB- the bottom line ; turning to look at Lowell in the rear seat. -RRB-. so I left them a message this morning. Their expanded confidentiality agreement? I will sign it. LOWELL They're afraid of you, are n't they? WIGAND They should be. The sound of the rain. LOWELL -LRB- after a beat, trying to make it easier for him. -RRB- Talk to me outside the zone of your agreement? WIGAND -LRB- guarded. -RRB- Like what? LOWELL Like where'd you work before Brown & Williamson? WIGAND -LRB- a beat. -RRB- Johnson & Johnson. Union Carbide in Japan. I was general manager and director of new products. I speak Japanese. I was a director of corporate development at Pfizer. All health - related. -LRB- wry. -RRB- What else? Outside the `` zone''? LOWELL I do n't know. you think the Knicks are gon na make it through the semi - finals? Wigand smiles. as their eyes meet in the rear view mirror. A subtle connection. It passes.", "INT. WIGAND'S CAR - WIDE FRONTAL - DAY Jeff's car in the field, the giant Colgate - Palmolive clock behind. The rain stopped. Steam rises from the weed strewn empty lot. Lowell's in the front seat. And we get the feeling they've been talking for hours. LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Just give me an example. WIGAND For example. James Burke, the CEO of Johnson & Johnson. when he found out that some lunatic had put poison in Tylenol bottles, he did n't argue with the FDA. He did n't even wait for the FDA to tell him. He just pulled Tylenol off every shelf of every store right across America. Instantly. And then he developed the safety cap. Because, look, as a CEO, sure, he's got ta be a great businessman, right? But he's also a man of science. He's not going to allow his company. to put on the shelf. a product that might hurt people. -LRB- sarcastic. -RRB- Not like the Seven Dwarfs. LOWELL Seven dwarfs? WIGAND The seven CEOs of Big Tobacco. they got up in front of Congress that time. it was on television. LOWELL and swore under oath that they know nothing about addiction, disease. WIGAND It was on C - SPAN. Yeah. LOWELL Okay, so, here you are. you go to work for tobacco. -LRB- after beat. -RRB- You come from corporate cultures where research, really, creative thinking, these are core values. You go to tobacco. Tobacco is a sales culture. Market and sell enormous volume. Go to a lot of golf tournaments. The hell with everything else. -LRB- beat. -RRB- What are you doing? Why are you working for `` tobacco'' in the first place? WIGAND -LRB- deadly honest. -RRB- I ca n't talk about it. The work I was supposed to do. might have had some positive effect. I do n't know. it could have been beneficial. -LRB- bitterness there. -RRB- Mostly, I got paid a lot. I took the money. My wife was happy. My kids had good medical. Good schools. Got a great house. -LRB- simply. -RRB- I mean, what the hell is wrong with that? He looks at Lowell, as if needing validation. LOWELL Nothing's wrong with that. That's it ; you're making money. you're providing for your family? What could be wrong with that? It's quiet. After some moments. WIGAND I've always thought of myself. as a man of science. That's what's wrong with it. LOWELL Then. you're in a state of conflict, Jeff. Jeffrey does n't say anything. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Because, look, here's how it lays out : if you got vital, insider stuff the American people for their welfare really do need to know. and you feel impelled to disclose it and violate your agreement in doing so, that's one thing. On the other hand, if you want to honor this agreement, then that's simple. You do so. You say nothing. You do nothing. There's only one guy who can figure that out for you. And that's you. All by yourself. Lowell's evenhanded. is it too evenhanded? As Wigand contemplates the edge he's standing on, they're quiet. Then Wigand sees the time. WIGAND I've got to go pick up the girls. They only had half a day. Lowell nods. Jeffrey starts the car. The windshield wipers screech on a dry window. Their eyes meet. As they drive off. we HOLD on the Colgate - Palmolive Clock.", "INT. A KITCHEN AREA, CBS OFFICES, NEW YORK - DAY We've entered mid - scene. A monitor on a cart plays a 1/2 - inch VCR of a C - SPAN broadcast. Seven CEOs of Big Tobacco. in front of a bas relief of the American eagle. Each in turn swears nicotine is not addictive or he does n't know anything about health risks, they're not sure, maybe, maybe not, etc. LOWELL -LRB- OVER. -RRB- He referred to this. the Seven Dwarfs. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- What `` Seven Dwarfs?'' LOWELL -LRB- OVER. -RRB- The seven CEOs of Big Tobacco. Referred to this. Said they should be afraid of him. I assume, afraid of what he could reveal. -LRB- to Staff Lawyers. -RRB- Now, you tell me. What does this guy have to say that threatens these people? And, now, we see Lowell, Mike Wallace and Debbie DeLuca with two staff Lawyers, MARK STERN and JOHN HARRIS, sitting around a workstation used as an improvised eating area. Beyond them are the `` 60 MINUTES'' offices, workstations, piles of material, television monitors hanging from the ceiling, all tuned to CBS programming. MIKE WALLACE Well, it is n't `` cigarettes are bad for you''. LOWELL Hardly new news. MIKE WALLACE No shit. LOWELL What's this? MARK STERN -LRB- re : video. -RRB- What that is is tobacco's standard defense. It's the `` we do n't know'' litany : `` Addiction? We believe not. Disease? We do n't know. We take a bunch of leaves, roll'em together. You smoke'em. After that? You're on your own. We do n't know.'' -LRB- beat. -RRB- So. tells me nothing. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Besides, you'll never get what he's got. LOWELL Why not? JOHN HARRIS Because of this guy's confidentiality agreement, he is never gon na be able to talk to you. LOWELL That's not good enough. This guy is the top scientist in the number three tobacco company in America. He's a corporate officer. You never get whistle - blowers from Fortune 500 companies. This guy is the ultimate insider. He's got something to say ; he wants to say it ; I want it on `` 60 Minutes.'' JOHN HARRIS Does n't matter what he wants. MIKE WALLACE Am I missing something here? JOHN HARRIS What do you mean, Mike? MIKE WALLACE He's got a corporate secrecy agreement? Give me a break. This is a public - health issue, like an unsafe airframe on a passenger jet or. some company dumping cyanide into the East River. Issues like that? He can talk, we can air it. They've got no right to hide behind a corporate agreement. -LRB- re : his coffee. -RRB- Pass the milk. JOHN HARRIS -LRB- does. -RRB- They do n't need the right. They've got the money. MARK STERN The unlimited checkbook. That's how Big Tobacco wins every time. On everything. They spend you to death. $ 600 million a year in outside legal. Chadbourne - Parke. Ken Starr's firm, Kirkland and Ellis. Listen. GM and Ford, they get nailed after 11 or 12 pick - ups blow up. Right? These clowns have never. I mean ever. JOHN HARRIS Not even once. MARK STERN not even with hundreds of thousands dying each year from an illness related to their product. have ever lost a personal - injury lawsuit. On this case, they'll issue gag orders, sue for breach, anticipatory breach, enjoin him, you, us, his pet dog, the dog's veterinarian. Tie him up in litigation for ten of fifteen years. I'm telling you, they bat a thousand. Every time. He knows that. That's why he's not gon na talk to you. Lowell's been quiet, thinking about something else. Now. LOWELL Okay, let's look through the looking glass the other way. MIKE WALLACE What do you mean? LOWELL We got a guy. who wants to talk but he's constrained. -LRB- beat. -RRB- What if he were `` compelled''? MIKE WALLACE -LRB- eating. -RRB- Oh, torture? Great ratings. MARK STERN What do you mean compelled? LOWELL -LRB- seriously. -RRB- I mean compelled by a Justice Department, state courts, be a witness. That would cut through any confidentiality agreement, would n't it? MARK STERN Yeah. DEBBIE DELUCA What does that do? LOWELL What do you mean, what's it do? DEBBIE DELUCA What I mean is, like, how does it cut through the confidentiality agreement? LOWELL Because he has to reveal it in a court of law. It's on record, it's out. It's no secret anymore. So how can they restrain his speech or retaliate? It's out in the world. MARK STERN -LRB- nods. -RRB- If you could engineer it into the court record, you might have something. They would have a helluva time trying to restrain his speech then, would n't they? Pause. JOHN HARRIS -LRB- still skeptical. -RRB- Yeah, but what venue? And where does he get - does he have killer attorneys? LOWELL I do n't think he's got any attorneys. MARK STERN He's gon na need attorneys who are n't afraid of risking years of litigation. And millions of dollars of their own dough in legal costs. LOWELL What do you say, Mike? What do you think? MIKE WALLACE -LRB- pause. -RRB- Even if he gets the defense team, will he go for it?", "INT. A HIGH SCHOOL CAFETERIA, LOUISVILLE - DAY MRS. WATSON you're awfully overqualified, Dr. Wigand. The aftermath of a high school lunch. Tables, covered with litter, as far as the eye can see. And we see Jeffrey sitting with a formidable Black Woman in her mid - fifties, the High School Principal, CYNTHIA WATSON, drinking cups of coffee. WIGAND -LRB- after a beat, awkward. -RRB- I'm trying to. start a new career. I believe I could be a good teacher. She's quiet. She senses this applicant has a lot on his mind. MRS. WATSON Let me give it some thought. WIGAND -LRB- selling. -RRB-. and not a lot of companies in the health - care field hire ex - tobacco scientists. She nods, studying him. They get up.", "INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - DAY The house is nearly empty. Liane, arms folded across her chest, is quietly standing in the empty living room. Jeffrey comes down the stairs. WIGAND That's it. And it's quiet. And Liane holds herself, overcome. LIANE -LRB- beat. -RRB- That's where our babies were born. Debbie took her first steps, right there. in the grass. And they're quiet. LIANE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I did n't plan on this. Liane looks at him, afraid. And as he moves to hold her. WIGAND Hey, hey, hey, c'mon. C'mon. We can make this work for us. Okay? It's just. it's a smaller scale. Simpler. easier. more time. More time together. More time with the kids. More time for us, okay? It's just. Can you imagine me coming home from some job feeling good at the end of the day? This is gon na be better. This is gon na be better. And instead of this downturn turning them against each other, it brings them closer together. And as they stand in the empty house.", "INT. THE WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE - DAY We see unpacked boxes in the small 1970's kitchen. Country - western music is playing on a radio. And we see Liane busily putting things away in a cabinet. And, then, stops and looks out the window. She tightens a knob on a cabinet. There's a moment of domestic peace for her as she sees.", "EXT. THE WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE, THE BACKYARD - DAY Jeffrey with the Girls in a part of the backyard, kneeling in the dirt, planting a vegetable garden, putting in some small tomato trellises. We see the house, now. It's a small, one story. Deborah sees her mom and waves. It's an image from the 1950's post - war boom. Liane waves back from behind the pane of glass.", "INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE #2, BEDROOM - LATE NIGHT Jeffrey's asleep on his side next to Liane, her back to him. His arm is draped over her, protectively. There's a sound. He turns. And he sees Barbara in her nightgown, standing in the doorway. WIGAND Hey, baby. What's wrong? BARBARA -LRB- terrified, whispers. -RRB- What's that outside, Daddy? WIGAND Did you see somebody or did you hear them? BARBARA I heard them. WIGAND Where? BARBARA In the backyard. Fast, soundlessly, he's out of bed into old moccasins and trousers.", "INT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, BASEMENT - LATE NIGHT Jeffrey goes into a corner of the basement, around the corner from the furnace, where his `` office'' is now. Unpacked boxes are on the floor. He fumbles with the combination lock on a small gun safe, lifts the lid, taking out a hand gun. Barbara followed him. WIGAND Sit at Daddy's desk, okay? Why do n't you just sit up at the desk. Get out some paper and draw me a picture, okay? What are you gon na draw me, baby? An animal, something like that? You stay down here until Daddy gets back. alright, Barbara? You stay down here. He keeps it hidden from Barbara. He goes up the stairs.", "EXT. WIGANDS' HOUSE #2, BACKYARD - LATE NIGHT It's still. He steps further out onto the lawn with its dark shrubs and small tree in the corner.", "INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE #2, BASEMENT - LATE NIGHT Meanwhile, Barbara in the basement, starts as the water heater comes on, scaring her. She goes up the stairs to follow after her father.", "EXT. WIGANDS' HOUSE #2, BACKYARD - LATE NIGHT Meanwhile, Jeffrey has crossed towards the darker back corners. Sudden rustling. He spins, gun ready. And the yellow eyes of a RACCOON stare at him. WIGAND -LRB- to himself. -RRB- You almost got your damn head blown off. The raccoon defiantly bares its teeth. Jeffrey starts to go. but he sees something and stops. Meanwhile, Barbara has come to the sliding glass door. Jeffrey sees one of the tomato trellises is crushed, stepped on. and in the vegetable garden's earth, are distinct, fresh, deep FOOTPRINTS. BARBARA'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Daddy. Wigand steps between her and the garden, hiding it. EXTREMELY CLOSE ON JEFFREY, as he covers, trying to keep from his daughter the invasion, trying to control his emotions. WIGAND -LRB- reassuring her. -RRB- It's just a raccoon, baby. nothing. He crosses to her, putting his arm, around her, walking her back inside. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- They're nocturnal. You know what that means? That means that they only come out at nighttime. He locks the sliding glass door, takes a last look outside.", "INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE IN BERKELEY - LATE AT NIGHT The Phone suddenly RINGS. Lowell asleep, alone. He gets it. LOWELL -LRB- sleepy. -RRB- Yeah.", "INT. WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE, HALLWAY - LATE AT NIGHT It's dark, save a light from the living room. Liane, in bed, seemingly sleeping. And we see Jeffrey, just outside their door in the foyer, sitting on the floor against a curved wall, a drink at his side on the telephone. A man with no one to talk to. WIGAND -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Lowell. Jeffrey Wigand.", "INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BERKELEY - LATE AT NIGHT Lowell sits up. WIGAND'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Is it too late? LOWELL No. No, it's okay. How's - how's the new place?", "INT. THE WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE - LATE AT NIGHT WIGAND The new place? New.", "INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BERKELEY - LATE AT NIGHT LOWELL -LRB- intuiting. -RRB- You okay? WIGAND'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Sure. Lowell knows he is n't. LOWELL You know, I was thinking of calling you tomorrow, anyway. -LRB- beat. -RRB- How are your kids handling the new house?", "INT. WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - LATE AT NIGHT WIGAND Good. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You have kids? LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- We have a couple. One's hers, one's mine. Everybody uses a different name. -LRB- wry. -RRB- Modern marriage. -LRB- beat. -RRB- How's Liane? WIGAND She's okay. He looks at Liane for beat. We SEE his POV in medium shot. Then he moves and sits on the floor in the living room. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Hold on a minute, Lowell. -LRB- after a beat. -RRB-. somebody. may be following me. I do n't know. They came on the property. LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- What do you mean followed you? Did you call the police? WIGAND I do n't want to be paranoid. I mean, maybe it's a game. Some kind of mind game. LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Well, what do you really think, though? WIGAND I do n't know what the fuck I really think! Are they doing it? Is some crank doing it? Are they doing it to make me feel paranoid? Are they doing it for real and do n't give a shit what I think? I do n't know! I do n't fucking know. And it's quiet again.", "INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BERKELEY - LATE AT NIGHT Lowell sitting in bed on the phone, alarmed, sharing Wigand's fears. LOWELL Jeffrey, describe for me in detail what happened.", "INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - LATE NIGHT And Jeffrey's emotions are back in check as. WIGAND Well, no, look. I mean, there was a footprint. Forget it. It's probably not important at all. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You know, I got a job now. I'm teaching high school. Japanese and Chemistry. -LRB- beat. -RRB- So, what were you calling about? LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- You called me. He takes another drink. WIGAND No, you said you were going to call me tomorrow. So, what about? LOWELL -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Oh, yes, yes, yes, I did. I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to hook up and talk to you. About what we were talking about in your car. WIGAND okay. LOWELL -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Makes you feel good? Putting what you know to use? Jeffrey's impressed by Lowell's perceptivity. WIGAND How'd you know that, Lowell? LOWELL It's obvious, is n't it? He looks at Liane in the next room, asleep. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Hello. You there WIGAND Yeah. Look, thanks for talking. I'm sorry I woke you up. LOWELL It's okay. Jeffrey hesitates, holding the phone, then he hangs up. but the phone RINGS right away. WIGAND Lowell? But there's thick silence. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Who is this? Do not call here! Do not. They hang up. And he realizes he's talking to a DIAL TONE. He hangs up. And as he sits in the patch of light from a street lamp, the gun in his hand on his lap, to be up all night guarding his family.", "INT.  THEIR BEDROOM - LATE NIGHT And past Liane's sleeping form down the hall into the living room is her husband, his back to her, sitting in the trapezoid of light. And as we DOLLY along her side, we come upon her face and discover she's been up all along and her eyes are pressed shut, her hands over her ears. her reaction to his raging on the phone. She's far from `` OKAY.''", "INT. A JAPANESE RESTAURANT, WASHINGTON D.C. - NIGHT And we see Lowell and Wigand sitting in their stocking feet at a traditional Japanese table in a private screened room. A traditionally - dressed Japanese Waitress waiting to take their order. Wigand conversing with her in Japanese. The Waitress formally nods, and leaves. LOWELL What did you get us? WIGAND Tempura. And Wigand drinks some more saki. WIGAND -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- The internet said you did graduate work in Wisconsin, then went to UC La Jolla with Professor. Marcus? LOWELL Marcuse. Yeah. He was my mentor. He had a major influence on the New Left in the late'60s. and on me, personally. WIGAND Next to your father? LOWELL My father? What the hell's that got to do with my father? WIGAND Is that why you became a journalist? Then you get to ask all the questions? LOWELL You charge by the hour? WIGAND My father was a mechanical engineer. most ingenious man I ever knew. LOWELL Well, my father left us when I was five - years old. He was not the most ingenious man I ever knew. Let's get back to Brown & Williamson. If you decide to go on `` 60 Minutes,'' I got to know everything about why you got fired. WIGAND Why? LOWELL They're gon na dig up stuff from your past, they're gon na throw it at you. I got to know what they're gon na throw. You understand? WIGAND -LRB- concedes. -RRB- I drink. A couple of occasions more than I should have. -LRB- thinks. -RRB- I was cited for shoplifting once. But it was a mistake. -LRB- hesitant, after a beat. -RRB- I pushed Liane one time. We were both stressed out because of the pressure. She went to her mother's. -LRB- out of the blue. -RRB- I got fired because when I get angry I have difficulty censoring myself. And I do n't like to be pushed around! LOWELL I'm not pushing you around! -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- I'm asking you questions. WIGAND I'm just a commodity to you, are n't I? I could be anything. Right? Anything worth putting on between commercials. LOWELL -LRB- honest. -RRB-. to a network, probably, we're all commodities. -LRB- beat. -RRB- To me? You are not a commodity. What you are is important. And he's begun to consciously or unconsciously `` sell''. LOWELL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- You go public and thirty - million people hear what you got to say, nothing, I mean nothing, will ever be the same again. Wigand does n't react. LOWELL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- You believe that? WIGAND -LRB- skeptical. -RRB- No. LOWELL You should. Because when you're done, a judgment is going to go down in the court of public opinion, my friend. And that's the power you have. WIGAND You believe that? LOWELL I believe that? Yes, I believe that. WIGAND You believe that because you get information out to people. something happens? LOWELL Yes. WIGAND Maybe that's just what you've been telling yourself all these years to justify having a good job? Having status? And maybe for the audience, it's just voyeurism? Something to do on a Sunday night. And maybe it wo n't change a fucking thing. And people like myself and my family are left hung out to dry. Used up! Broke, alone! LOWELL Are you talking to me or did somebody else just walk in here?! I never abandoned a source! WIGAND I do n't think you really understand - LOWELL -LRB- running over. -RRB- No, do n't evade a choice you got ta make be questioning my reputation or `` 60 Minutes''' with this cheap skepticism! WIGAND I have to put my family's welfare on the line here, my friend! And what are you puttin' up? You're puttin' up words! LOWELL Words! While you've been dickin' around at fucking company golf tournaments, I been out in the world, giving my word and backing it up with action. Lowell is getting very close, in spite of the value of Wigand, to telling Jeff to take his story and stick it up his ass. LOWELL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Now, are you going to go do this thing, or not? Wigand abruptly rises. WIGAND -LRB- surprisingly mild. -RRB- I said I'd call the kids before they went to bed. Onisa. And turning, he crosses the restaurant. And that's where it hangs.", "INT. A CBS EDITING SUITE, NEW YORK - DAY And we see we're watching footage in an on - line editing bay from what we will learn is Lowell's `` N.O.P.D. Blue'' on police corruption in New Orleans. Lowell, TONY BALDO -LRB- his editor -RRB-, Debbie and an intense YOUNG MAN wearing glasses, an Intern, looking at the cut. All the police are on horseback, lots of cops on horses. Lowell is waiting for a call to go through. LOWELL The stringer was supposed to be shooting B - roll on street cops in New Orleans. What's with all the horses? TONY BALDO Camera guy's got a thing about mounted police. LOWELL -LRB- re : horses. -RRB- Do n't any of these guys ride in cars or walk? TONY BALDO How long did he stay on this? LOWELL What was he seeing? DEBBIE DELUCA -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Yes, hello. I'm trying to reach Mr. Richard Scruggs.", "INT. A LEAR JET - DAY And we see the PILOT, a fit - looking, unassuming man, wearing aviator glasses, in his late forties. A heavyset Man in his forties, riding up in the co - pilot's seat we'll come to know as RON MOTLEY. The Pilot's on a headset. He has a distinctive Southern accent. THE PILOT This is Richard Scruggs. DEBBIE DELUCA Could you hold on one second, please? -LRB- to Lowell. -RRB- Lowell, I got him on the phone. LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Hello, I'm Lowell Bergman. RICHARD SCRUGGS Hold on. Mobile approach. this is Lear November 643. Over. CONTROL OPERATOR'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Go ahead 643. RICHARD SCRUGGS -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Request a flight level 220, on a heading of 284 degrees. Over. -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Mr. Bergman? LOWELL Yes, I'm right here. Could you call me back on a hard line? RICHARD SCRUGGS Alright. LOWELL Area code 212 - 555 - 0199. RICHARD SCRUGGS I'll call you then.", "INT. A LOUNGE, PRIVATE AVIATION TERMINAL - DAY Through the window, we see Scruggs' plane being refueled while Scruggs and Motley in a run - down lounge are talking on a SPEAKER PHONE with Lowell. They've taken over the Secretary's office for privacy. LOWELL -LRB- re : footage. -RRB- What do we do with that? The phone rings. DEBBIE DELUCA I do n't know. RICHARD SCRUGGS' VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Richard Scruggs. LOWELL you filed a lawsuit against tobacco on behalf of the State of Mississippi, did you not? RICHARD SCRUGGS -LRB- nods. -RRB- That's right. LOWELL -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Well, I'm working with someone, now, who was the former head of research at Brown & Williamson, a former corporate officer there. RICHARD SCRUGGS What's your interest in this, Mr. Bergman? LOWELL Well, he may tape an interview with us. And, we believe if his testimony showed up in a court record first, it would free him up from his confidentiality agreement and give him some protection. MOTLEY It could work. If it's public record, it's public record. LOWELL Yeah, and he's going to need legal representation. MOTLEY He sure as hell will. RICHARD SCRUGGS -LRB- a beat. -RRB- Has he decided to go public? Because let me tell you, we've been doing this for three years now, and we've worked with a lot of corporate cases involving whistle - blowers, so we know. Big Tobacco will do everything in their power to stop him. So, is your man truly committed? LOWELL Well, actually, no. Well, he's on the fence. That's the point. Scruggs and Motley exchange a look. Motley shrugs. RICHARD SCRUGGS Well, we'd certainly be interested in making his acquaintance, but without knowing what he's going to do. LOWELL Well, would you want him to call you? Or, you want to call him? How do you want to do it? RICHARD SCRUGGS -LRB- no nonsense. -RRB- It would be better if he called us. LOWELL Yeah. RICHARD SCRUGGS Alright? LOWELL Okay. Thank you. At this moment, these two attorneys are unsold on the prospect of Jeffrey Wigand. Scruggs disconnects. LOWELL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Shit.", "INT. CBS EDITING SUITE, NEW YORK - DAY LOWELL -LRB- contemplating phone ; to Debbie re : show. -RRB- Oh, we need cops on the street. We do n't need them on horses. DEBBIE DELUCA I do n't know what he was thinking. LOWELL Oh, for God's sake, what has this guy got, a horse fetish? DEBBIE DELUCA Alright, alright. LOWELL Get me to New Orleans this afternoon. I'll shoot the fucking thing myself! TIGHTEN on mounted New Orleans police at crime scene, herding crowd.", "INT. THE WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE, KITCHEN - TWILIGHT Liane cooking dinner, making pasta. Ingredients, diced tomato, basil, are neatly ordered. She's waiting for water to boil. The kids are doing homework on the round table in the kitchenette. It's an idle moment. She's dazed - out watching them. DEBORAH What are you cooking? LIANE I'm cooking pasta primavera. DEBORAH Oh, I love that stuff. And now she hears from the basement the BELL RING on Jeffrey's computer. It's a tiny bell, incessant. She crosses to the basement stairs. LIANE I'm going to have to go downstairs.", "INT. WIGANDS' NEW HOUSE, BASEMENT OFFICE - NIGHT Liane down the stairs, approaching Jeffrey's computer. And she SEES an incoming E - mail icon - a large letter with wings - flying repetitively across the screen. The bell RINGING is louder. She calls - up the E - mail. On the screen in large RED letters : WE WILL KILL YOU. WE WILL KILL ALL OF YOU. SHUT THE FUCK UP. And now Liane is shouting and running up the stairs and. LIANE Debbie, Barbara. Debbie!", "EXT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - EVENING Jeffrey, having arrived home from work, pulls the mail out of the mailbox, now stands, frozen, staring at something. And he sees, standing upright in the back of the mail box, like a monument of threat, a single hollow point.38 CALIBER BULLET. He freezes. And simultaneously. Liane and the Girls are running toward him. like in a bad fucking dream. He's looking at them. Liane is saying something about E - mail, but his slow - motion attention is still arrested by the statuesque bullet. As they close on him.", "EXT. NEW ORLEANS, THE FRENCH QUARTER - NIGHT And we see Lowell lit by FLASHING POLICE LIGHTS. We're at a crime scene. Uniformed cops on horseback. Just arrived, the Cameraman's unloading his gear, preparing to shoot B - roll. LOWELL What happened? COP Dispatch received a call of shots fired in the area. Uniforms arrived on the scene and found this white male subject shot to death. LOWELL Was it gang related? COP There's no indication as far as a tag or an advertisement. Police moving around as Lowell's cell phone RINGS. LOWELL -LRB- answering. -RRB- Excuse me. Yeah.", "INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE, BEDROOM - NIGHT WIGAND They're terrorizing us. Death threats?! To my family? My kids?! LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- What are you talking about? WIGAND Someone put a bullet in my mailbox. LOWELL Jeff, call the FBI right away. WIGAND They do this with impunity! LOWELL Jeff. WIGAND They get to go home at night. What does it cost these people to do this to us? Nothing?! My girls are crying, so fuck them! I want to tape! I'm done thinking about it. LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- frustrated. -RRB- I heard you. But I got to arrange a legal defense first. I got to get you to testify in court, get it on public record. WIGAND -LRB- cuts in. -RRB- Then hold it off the air until you got that. But I want to go to New York. And I want to go on the record. Right now! LOWELL Good. But Jeff. WIGAND I'll call them, Lowell.", "INT. WIGAND'S HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT And two older, local FBI AGENTS # 1 and # 2 are sitting with Jeffrey in his living room. FBI AGENT #2 Did you handle the round, Mr. Wigand? WIGAND Yes, I'm afraid I did. FBI AGENT #1 We wo n't be able to lift usable prints. FBI AGENT #2 Do you own a gun, Mr. Wigand? WIGAND A gun? Yes. FBI AGENT #2 What caliber is your gun? WIGAND What caliber is my gun? FBI AGENT #2 Yes, sir. What caliber is your gun? WIGAND -LRB- a dawning realization. -RRB- What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? Now one of the kids is crying, Liane trying to calm her, takes her out of the room. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- a beat, realizing. -RRB- You think I put that bullet in the mailbox myself? FBI AGENT #2 If we could take a look, Mr. Wigand. And he gets up. They follow him into the bedroom. He unlocks the side drawer on his night stand, taking out a gun, giving it to one of the Agents. FBI AGENT #1 Why do you keep this gun? WIGAND I do n't think it's unconstitutional yet to own a gun. I'm a target shooter. FBI AGENT #2 That bullet was for a.38 caliber. Do you own a.38? WIGAND Yes, I do. A.38 Target Master. In my gun safe downstairs. A.45 Gold Cup. A.22 target pistol. So what? FBI AGENT #2 -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Do you have a history of emotional problems, Mr. Wigand? WIGAND Yes. Yes, I do. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Yes, I get extremely emotional when assholes put bullets in my mailbox! And we hear Liane's voice from downstairs. LIANE'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- upset. -RRB- I did n't tell you that so you could just pick it up and take it away. Jeffrey! And we see Liane following FBI Agent # 3, coming up the stairs from the basement, and the Agent is carrying Jeffrey's computer. WIGAND What's going on? LIANE I told him that you had an E - mail death threat that said if you did n't shut the `` F'' up, they were going to kill you. Agent # 3 starts out of the house with the computer followed by # 2. Jeffrey runs out after them.", "EXT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE - NIGHT WIGAND -LRB- outraged. -RRB- You ca n't take that. It's personal property! FBI AGENT #2 -LRB- OR # 3. -RRB- We have a search warrant, Mr. Wigand. There's been a death threat. WIGAND -LRB- after him. -RRB-. my files! Personal correspondence. Agent # 3 ignores him, putting the computer in the trunk of their car. And FBI Agent # 1, the.38 bullet in a baggie, comes out of the house. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- letters to my brother. my will. His shoes slip on the grass and he falls. And the FBI are getting into their car. And NEIGHBORS have come out, watching them. Liane and the girls, standing halfway down the front lawn, the neighbors looking at them. She and Jeffrey look at each other. Will she go to him or not? She goes to him as he rises. WIGAND -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- That computer has everything. FBI AGENT #2 You alright, Mr. Wigand? FBI AGENT #1 We need to take a look at your gun safe, Mr. Wigand.", "EXT. NEW ORLEANS, THE FRENCH QUARTER - NIGHT LOWELL -LRB- interrupts. -RRB- I'm telling you, your agents in that office are acting improperly! Now, who are they trying to protect? And we see a Man in his early forties, a neatly - dressed man who prides himself on his appearance, at his desk in the Bureau -LRB- FBI -RRB-. BILL ROBERTSON. He's completely distracted, focused on agent travel orders. BILL ROBERTSON'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Let me tell you something, Lowell. Look, look, look. You're talking about two agents in a regional office in Louisville. I got the goddamn Unabomber threatening to blow up LAX! I got ta move 45 agents from all over the country into L.A. Alright? When I get a chance, I'll give it a look. LOWELL -LRB- heated. -RRB- You better take a good look! Because I'm getting two things : pissed off and curious! Now, any of these guys been offered jobs in corporate security after they retire? Either one of those guys have ex - agent pals already in those jobs? Like, for instance, their ex - supervisor, who's already at Brown & Williamson as we fucking speak?", "INT. BILL ROBERTSON'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON - NIGHT BILL ROBERTSON -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'll give it a look. LOWELL You're getting my drift? BILL ROBERTSON I'll give it a look. He hangs up.", "INT. DINING ROOM, THE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL, NEW YORK - NIGHT And we slide by some elegant diners to fall onto Lowell and Mike Wallace with Jeffrey and Liane in the Hotel's dining room, having ordered dinner. LOWELL So, is everything okay? MIKE WALLACE How are the rooms? Comfortable? LIANE -LRB- to Mike. -RRB- Yes, very. You know, I enjoy your work so much. when you're talking to somebody, I always feel like I'm right there. And she laughs. MIKE WALLACE Thank you got saying that. LOWELL Do you think we could talk about the taping? Tomorrow's taping, just so we can get it out of the way and order. MIKE WALLACE Yeah, well, questions will go toward what work you did there, why you were fired. And others will deal. LIANE -LRB- not sure she quite heard. -RRB-. taping? -LRB- beat. -RRB- What are you taping? WIGAND I'm doing an interview. LIANE -LRB- whispers. -RRB- An interview! Do you know what they will do to us! I thought. Sorry. But she suddenly gets up and leaves, hurrying out of the dining room. And Jeffrey oddly does n't move. LOWELL -LRB- trying to intervene. -RRB- Liane, this is a preliminary. -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- You did n't tell her we were taping? What did she think she was coming to New York for? WIGAND to talk about it. To think about it. I had a plan to ease her into it. But, I really - I did n't know how to do that. Jeffrey abruptly crosses to the nearby Bar. LOWELL Oh, man. MIKE WALLACE Who are these people? LOWELL -LRB- frustrated. -RRB- Ordinary people! Under extraordinary pressure, Mike. What the hell do you expect? Grace and consistency? And Lowell leaves the table. And as Mike Wallace sits at the table, looking around, wondering what the fuck he's doing there.", "INT. THE BATHROOM, NEW YORK HOTEL - NIGHT Liane folds her arms protectively across her chest.", "INT. A STUDIO, CBS - MORNING And we see a small TAPING STUDIO separated by flats and black curtains from other CBS News sets. Cameras are set up.", "INT. THE STUDIO, CBS - DAY And we enter mid - scene on Jeffrey in a more formal demeanor, sitting in a chair, Mike Wallace sitting across from him, under the lights, taping an interview. Lowell, off camera. MIKE WALLACE You heard Mr. Sandefur say before Congress that he believed nicotine was not addictive? WIGAND -LRB- nods. -RRB-. I believe Mr. Sandefur perjured himself because I watched those testimonies very carefully. Lowell's reaction. Jeffrey's statements are stunning and powerful revelations. and dangerous ones to make. MIKE WALLACE All of us did. There was this whole line of people. whole line of CEOs up there all swearing. WIGAND Part of the reason I'm here is I felt that their representation clearly misstated, at least within Brown & Williamson's representation, clearly misstated. what is common language within the company. we are in the nicotine delivery business. MIKE WALLACE And that's what cigarettes are for? WIGAND A delivery device for nicotine. MIKE WALLACE A delivery device for nicotine. Put it in your mouth, light it up, and you're gon na get your fix. WIGAND You're gon na get your fix. MIKE WALLACE You're saying that Brown & Williamson manipulates and adjusts the nicotine fix, not by artificially adding nicotine, but by enhancing the effect of nicotine through the use of chemical elements such as ammonia. WIGAND -LRB- nods. -RRB- The process is known as `` impact boosting.'' While not spiking nicotine, they clearly manipulate it. There's extensive use of this technology, know as `` ammonia chemistry.'' It allows for the nicotine to be more rapidly absorbed in the lung and therefore affect the brain and central nervous system.", "INT. THE STUDIO, CBS - LATER WIGAND The straw that broke the camel's back for me and really put me in trouble with Sandefur was a compound called `` coumarin.'' When I came on board at B&W, they had tried to transition from coumarin to a similar flavor that would give the same taste, and had been unsuccessful. I wanted it out immediately. I was told that it would affect sales, so I should mind my own business. I constructed a memo to Mr. Sandefur indicating I could not in conscience continue with coumarin in a product that we now knew, we had documentation, was similar to coumadin, a lung - specific carcinogen. MIKE WALLACE And you sent the document forward to Sandefur? WIGAND I sent the document forward to Sandefur. I was told that we would continue to work on a substitute, we were n't going to remove it as it would impact sales, and that that was his decision. MIKE WALLACE In other words, you were charging Sandefur and Brown & Williamson with ignoring health considerations consciously. WIGAND Most certainly. MIKE WALLACE And on March 24, Thomas Sandefur, CEO of Brown & Williamson had you fired. And the reason he gave you? WIGAND Poor communication skills. MIKE WALLACE And, do you wish you had n't come forward? You wish you had n't blown the whistle? WIGAND Yeah, there are times I wish I had n't done it. There are times I feel compelled to do it. If you asked me would I do it again? Do I think it's worth it? Yeah, I think it's worth it.", "INT. A HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE CLASS, LOUISVILLE - AFTERNOON Not too many kids paying attention. Meanwhile, Jeffrey has written his name on the blackboard. WIGAND Hi. KIDS -LRB- in unison. -RRB- Hi. WIGAND My name is Jeff Wigand. You can call me Mr. Wigand ; you can call me Dr. Wigand - I have a Ph.D. in biochemistry and endocrinology ; you can call me Jeff. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Anything else you want to call me. you'll have to do so in private. -LRB- a few kids smile. -RRB- Okay. I find chemistry to be magical. I find it an adventure. An exploration into the building blocks of our physical universe. -LRB- beat. -RRB- So, how many of you have taken chemistry before? Nobody raises their hands. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- easy smile. -RRB- Okay. I've never taught it before, so we're gon na be fine. A couple of laughs. And we feel Jeffrey, for the first time is in a milieu that suits him. WIGAND -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Our first experiment is. -LRB- holds up cigarette lighter. -RRB-. going to be measuring the molecular weight of butane.", "INT. SCRUGGS' OFFICE Scruggs' office is decorated with watercolors of Phantom jets and A - 6s as Scruggs takes off his glasses. CHARLENE He's on line three.", "INT. HIGH SCHOOL CORRIDOR Jeffrey Wigand is on a pay phone in the corridor crowded with students. RICHARD SCRUGGS Hello. WIGAND Mr. Scruggs, Jeff Wigand. Lowell Bergman said I should give you a call.", "INT. SCRUGGS' OFFICE RICHARD SCRUGGS My co - counsel, Ron Motley, and I have filed a lawsuit against the tobacco industry on behalf of the State of Mississippi to get the state reimbursed Medicaid costs for treating people with smoking - related illness. -LRB- beat. -RRB- If you'd be interested in talking to us, we'd certainly like to talk to you. WIGAND When should we do this?", "EXT. WIGAND'S HOUSE #2, LOUISVILLE - TWILIGHT Jeffrey drives up the block and onto his driveway. Seeing a MAN in a suit, an ear piece in his ear, disappearing around the corner of his house, Jeffrey leaps out of the car. But the front door's open. So instead of chasing after, he runs inside.", "INT. THE WIGAND'S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - DAY/TWILIGHT And he sees another Man is in the living room. WIGAND Who the hell are you?! What are you doing in my house?! And he sees Lowell enter from the dining room. LOWELL It's okay, Jeff. SECURITY GUARD Mr. Wigand, you need to speak to. LOWELL -LRB- wry. -RRB- It's okay. You got your own security now. Wigand catches his breath. WIGAND Lowell, I ca n't afford - LOWELL they `` volunteered.'' A friend owns a large security company. TALIFARO How are you doing, Mr. Wigand? I'm Jon Talifaro. There'll be three of us on detail. LIANE -LRB- crossing through. -RRB- I'm going to the store. Please explain our new `` houseguests'' to your children. And Wigand looks at Lowell. Barbara comes into the living room and holds onto her father's leg. WIGAND I called Richard Scruggs in Mississippi. LOWELL I heard. WIGAND I'm going to be a witness for them in their litigation. So I'm going to fly to Pascagoula to give a deposition. LOWELL I know. I'm going to go there tonight. WIGAND Did you have a good day? DEBORAH Yes, I did. I had a great day. WIGAND Coffee, Lowell? LOWELL Yeah. -LRB- to kids. -RRB- Want to play that game we were playing before? You know, I think you got it up to five. I was ahead of you. She goes over and holds his hand. And as he holds her hand, seeing what his life has become, he looks up and his glance connects with Lowell.", "INT. THE KITCHEN, THE WIGANDS' HOUSE - NIGHT We see out the window a Security Guard, incongruous, walking by. And we see Liane, finished with the dinner dishes, silently wiping off the sink. There's a pall you could cut with a knife. A moment, and Jeffrey comes in the kitchen door from the garden. He stops to wash his hands in the sink. LIANE Please do n't wash your hands in the sink. WIGAND Where should I wash them? LIANE Use the bathroom. WIGAND What's the difference. LIANE That's for food. But he ignores her, washing his hands. And she turns the water off. He turns it back on. He thinks, then turns it off. Then she turns it on. LIANE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Leave it on! Just leave it on, okay?! And she turns and leaves the room, coldly, all her anger repressed. For Jeffrey, everything else and now this? The running faucet.", "EXT. THE WIGANDS' HOUSE, LOUISVILLE - LATE NIGHT The house on the quiet suburban street. A Security Guard, incongruous, a noticeable bulge where his shoulder holster is, sitting watch under the porch light on the small front porch in a metal porch chair.", "INT. THE BASEMENT, THE WIGANDS' HOUSE - LATE NIGHT And we see Jeffrey, unable to sleep, sitting at his desk, alone in the basement, listening to classical music. He instinctively turns. And he sees Liane, in her bathrobe, has come down to sit on the basement stairs. He looks over at her. And he thinks she's come down to make up. And all she really wants him to do is say, `` I need you.'' But he ca n't. And like ships that pass in the night, nothing's said. It's quiet. She puts her hands protectively in her robe pockets. And she starts to cry. LIANE I do n't think I can do this. I want to stand by my husband. I really do, Jeffrey. But I do n't think I can do this anymore. I am so sorry. WIGAND Can we talk about this when I get back? LIANE Yes. Jeffrey. She goes back up the stairs. And as Jeffrey sits in the basement, and the music plays.", "INT. THE LOUISVILLE AIRPORT - DAY We see Jeffrey and his Security Man. He passes a small Filipino Woman in a nurse's uniform and a Man in clerical garb, who hands him a small American Flag, asking for donations. And, now, he passes through the metal detector. He nods thanks and walks towards us, relaxing, looking behind every so often to see if anybody is following him. As he passes Gate 3, he HEARS over his shoulder. THE MAN -LRB- friendly. -RRB- Jeff? Jeffrey turns and the Man throws a sheaf of SUBPOENAS at his chest. THE MAN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- nasty. -RRB- You've been served. And he turns and walks off. And as Jeffrey looks down at the subpoenas.", "INT. RICHARD SCRUGGS' KITCHEN - 7:00 A.M. Jeffrey is sitting with Scruggs and Motley in Scruggs' kitchen around a semi - circular counter. Coffee and sweet rolls. It's casual. No one's dressed for court. Scruggs has been looking through the sheaf of subpoenas. About Motley, we sense power held in reserve. RICHARD SCRUGGS Now, what this one is, is a temporary restraining order, a gag order, issued by a Kentucky court. Meanwhile, a movie - star handsome man in shirtsleeves and a tie, a coffee cup in his hand, enters and sits casually on the arm of a chair. RICHARD SCRUGGS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- introducing. -RRB- Jeff Wigand, Michael Moore. MICHAEL MOORE Good to meet you, Dr. Wigand. RICHARD SCRUGGS Mike's our Attorney General down here. -LRB- to Moore. -RRB- I was just explaining to Jeff, they got a Kentucky court to issue a gag order to stop his deposition today. MICHAEL MOORE Right. RICHARD SCRUGGS Now, they tried to get the Mississippi Court to honor it, but the judge threw it out. -LRB- to Jeffrey. -RRB- However, for you, there is a more perilous effect to the Kentucky gag order. MICHAEL MOORE -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Dr. Wigand, you do understand what could happen, do n't you? WIGAND I'm not free to testify. here? MOTLEY That's right. If you violate the Kentucky order, when you step foot back in Kentucky, they can find you in contempt and they can incarcerate you. And you ought to know that. And Jeffrey fairly turns white, it's never occurred to him he might go to jail. WIGAND Jail? RICHARD SCRUGGS Possibly, yes. That is one of the possible consequences of your testifying here today. That's right. WIGAND How does one. `` go. to. jail?'' What does my family do? Go on welfare? If my wife has to work? Who's going to look after the kids? Put food on the table? My children need me. If I'm not teaching. there's no medical. no medical. even on co - pay, that's like. Tuition. MICHAEL MOORE Dr. Wigand, listen, you may not be able to do this thing. As I understand from Dick, you're our key witness. And, I hope you do n't withdraw. I guess we'd all understand if you did. -LRB- at watch. -RRB- Guys, I've got to go. I'm gon na be late for court. I'll see y' all a little later. Dr. Wigand, good luck. He leaves. And Jeffrey's quiet, frightened. Having shaken the departing Moore's hand, he now turns away from Scruggs and Motley, thinking about consequences. RICHARD SCRUGGS I know what you're facing, Jeff. And, I think I know how you're feeling. Jeffrey's skeptical anybody could know `` how it is''. RICHARD SCRUGGS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- low, personal. -RRB- In the Navy I flew A - 6's off carriers. In combat, events have a duration of seconds, sometimes minutes. But what you're going through goes on day in and day out. Whether you're ready for it or not, week in, week out. Month after month after month. Whether you're up or whether you're down. You're assaulted psychologically. You're assaulted financially, which is its own special kind of violence. Because it's directed at your kids. what school can you afford. How will that affect their lives. You're asking yourself : Will that limit what they may become? You feel your whole family's future's compromised. held hostage. -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- I do know how it is.", "EXT. RICHARD SCRUGGS' HOUSE, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY A white, traditional, Southern house, with a veranda and gables. a large front lawn with weeping willows. And we see Lowell, hands in his pockets, not an insider or an outsider, waiting alone on the expansive lawn. The front door opens. A Mississippi State Trooper, putting on his round brimmed hat comes out and crosses the driveway. Then Jeffrey coming out with Motley. Motley talks to him on the veranda for a moment and then heads towards his car. Meanwhile, Jeffrey comes down over to Lowell on the lawn. And Jeffrey looks off, across the street from the house, at the Gulf. And we see the street is blockaded by Mississippi State Police cars. An armed camp. Other men in suits, Lawyers and state officials, wait. Ron Motley gets in his car and drives away. LOWELL You attract a crowd. WIGAND -LRB- smiles, wry. -RRB- Yeah, great. LOWELL I heard about the Kentucky gag order. WIGAND I do n't know what to do. And they're quiet, a breeze of the Gulf ruffling their coats. He looks out at the water, a cargo container ship passing by. He watches its slow progress. And Jeffrey quietly starts to walk off across the lawn, hands in his pockets, shoulders bent, head down, thinking. And Richard Scruggs comes out, tying his tie, to wait beside Lowell.", "EXT. COURTHOUSE, CANTY STREET, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI  DAY Motley's car parks, and he and an Assistant are approached by a flurry of media from the parking lot behind us, crossing Canty Street to intercept him. And we SEE the lot is jammed with Mercedes - Benzes, Town Cars and limousines belonging to the 150 - 200 Big Tobacco, Wall Street lawyers. Some hang out by their cars, killing time. It's a tailgate party. Beyond them are trucks and vans with satellite dishes supporting the media circus. They're all here for Jeff's deposition. The scale of it dwarfs the plebeian storefront with its sign `` Temporary Jackson County Courthouse''. into which Motley enters.", "EXT. RICHARD SCRUGGS' HOUSE, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY Jeffrey contemplating.", "INT. COURTROOM, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY One TOBACCO LAWYER, an Edward Bennett - type while waiting is on his cell phone. TOBACCO LAWYER -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Hold on a second. -LRB- seeing Motley enter ; to Jr.. Lawyer. -RRB- Would you please ask Mr. Motley if he expects his witness to appear or not? JR.. LAWYER crosses to Motley.", "EXT. SCRUGGS' HOUSE, DOCK - DAY Jeffrey alone on the jetty, looking out to sea. Trying to decide, trying to untangle identity and consequence. A moment. He turns, crossing to Lowell and Scruggs. Then. it's the three men, standing on the lawn. Time seems to slow. all of them aware it's a critical decision, personally and historically. WIGAND -LRB- severely conflicted. -RRB- I ca n't seem to find. the criteria to decide. It's too big a decision to make without being resolved. in my own mind. They're quiet. Jeffrey, getting nowhere. Lowell offers. LOWELL Maybe things have changed. Long pause on Jeffrey as he contemplates his future. And something just got resolved. He asks Lowell, rhetorically. WIGAND What's changed? LOWELL -LRB- unsure. -RRB- You mean. since this morning? WIGAND No. I mean since whenever. Nothing's changed. Wigand looks at them. He found his own answer. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Fuck it. Let's go to court. And Dick Scruggs and Lowell look at this normal, somewhat flawed, very courageous man. RICHARD SCRUGGS -LRB- to unseen staff. -RRB- Dr. Wigand would like to leave now. And there's a sudden flurry of activity. Jeffrey and Scruggs walk to a Mississippi State Police car. Lowell gets into his car and drives away, separately. Police, State Officials, run to their cars. Cars starting, lights flashing, Wigand's car pulls into position.", "INT. SCRUGGS' CAR - JEFFREY - DAY in the back seat with Scruggs. The driver's a State Policeman. Jeffrey watches the small town of empty lots, old buildings, a 1930's Deco school pass by. It's all heightened, especially vivid to his eyes somehow. And he exhales heavily to calm himself, to focus.", "EXT. THE COURTHOUSE, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY Some of the Tobacco Lawyers, their jackets off, still hanging across Canty Street by their cars. And now they see the police lights turning, coming around a corner, moving towards the courthouse. The caravan stops. First, Scruggs gets out. A moment, then Jeffrey appears. And the Reporters pounce on Jeffrey, cameras flashing. Mississippi Police leading him through the crowd. Moore appears at courtroom door -LRB- already there -RRB-. And as he's whisked away into the courtroom.", "INT. THE COURTROOM, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY The tobacco lawyers become dead quiet. Cell phones are hung up. Newspapers are put away. Jackets are donned. This is now very serious business. Motley meets Jeffrey, all eyes on him. MOTLEY Okay, Jeff, I'm going to sit you down at that table over there. I'm going to start as fast as possible. I do n't want to give them a chance to get another restraining order, okay? Let's go. MICHAEL MOORE Good luck, Doc. Motley calmly motions Wigand to take a chair. He settles in. STENOGRAPHER Please stand. Raise your right hand. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? WIGAND I do. STENOGRAPHER You may be seated. MOTLEY You understand, Dr. Wigand, you are under oath. This is a sworn deposition. There's no judge. It's not a trial. -LRB- understatement of the century. -RRB- Will you state your name for the record. WIGAND -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Jeffrey S. Wigand. He spells it for them.", "EXT. THE COURTHOUSE, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY Lowell, waiting with the other journalists. PHOTOGRAPHER Got any idea what's going on in there? LOWELL No, I do n't have a clue.", "INT. THE COURTROOM, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY Motley still conducting the inquiry. And the tobacco lawyers, like a pack of dogs, waiting to pounce. WIGAND That is correct. MOTLEY In other words, it acts as a drug? TOBACCO LAWYER Object to the form of the question! MOTLEY It acts as a drug on the body? TOBACCO LAWYER Object to the form! MOTLEY It acts as a. TOBACCO LAWYER Object! MOTLEY There an echo in here? Your objection's been recorded. She typed it into her little machine over there. It's on the record. So now I'll proceed with my deposition of my witness. Does it act as a drug? TOBACCO LAWYER -LRB- shouts. -RRB- Dr. Wigand. I am instructing you. -LRB- to Wigand. -RRB-. not to answer that question in accordance to the terms of the contractual obligations undertaken by you not to disclose any information about your work at the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company. And in accordance with the force and effect of the temporary restraining order that has been entered against you to by the court in the State of Kentucky! That means you do n't talk! -LRB- beat. -RRB- Mr. Motley, we have rights, here. MOTLEY -LRB- explodes. -RRB- Oh, you got rights and lefts! Ups and downs and middles! So what?! You do n't get to instruct anything around here! This is not North Carolina, not South Carolina nor Kentucky. This is the sovereign State of Mississippi's proceeding. Wipe that smirk off your face! Dr. Wigand's deposition will be part of this record. And I'm going to take my witness' testimony! Whether the hell you like it or not! -LRB- to Wigand. -RRB- Answer the question, Dr. WIGAND -LRB- slams it home. -RRB- Yes. It produces a physiological response, which meets the definition of a drug! Nicotine is associated with impact, with satisfaction. It has a pharmacological effect that crosses the blood - brain barrier intact. MOTLEY Thank you, Doctor. Thank you.", "EXT. THE SCRUGGS' HOUSE, PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI - NIGHT Lowell stands on the porch looking out at the rain. There's a slight sound. He turns. And Jeffrey's come outside. He stands leaning on the porch railing, looking out at the rain and windswept trees. They're quiet. They share a look. They nod to each other. The smallest nod of accomplishment. And they're there on the porch, alone, outside the house in Pascagoula, Mississippi.", "INT. CBS EDITING ROOM, NEW YORK - AFTERNOON We see Lowell, unusually buoyant in the same clothes as yesterday. He's working with Tony Baldo on a cut of the show, the net result of his architecture of events, his combination of persuasion and integrity. We see on the Avid monitor a single of Jeffrey. WIGAND -LRB- on monitor. -RRB- `` Part of the reason I'm here is I felt that their representation clearly, at least within.'' LOWELL Run that Sandefur piece on `` nicotine's not addictive.'' Run that on - camera. Then cut right to Wigand with `` I believe they perjured.'' Then go wide to the CEOs all taking the oath. Back on Jeff and play the pause after the word `` felt'' on the B - side. Widen to include Debbie DeLuca, the Intern, two other Editors, Felling. They have gathered behind Lowell in the doorway. This is a hot show and it's generated excitement among Lowell's co - workers. And while Baldo cuts, we see.", "INT. CBS, CORRIDOR OUTSIDE EDITING ROOM - DAY the group has spilled out the doorway, watching Lowell's story come together. Beyond them, approaching, is Mike Wallace, coming to work. BILL FELLING -LRB- leaving. -RRB-. helluva show, Mike. Explosive material. People separate as Mike pushes in. Lowell sees Mike. While Tony Baldo is making the edits on the Avid. LOWELL -LRB- to Mike. -RRB- It went great in Mississippi, Mike. MIKE WALLACE Good. Don Hewitt enters from the corridor without jacket. DON HEWITT I heard Wigand's deposition got sealed. LOWELL Yeah, they argued he was going to reveal the secret formula of `` Kools'' to the world. -LRB- seriously. -RRB- `` Sealed'' does n't hurt Scruggs' litigation, and since we're the only ones with the story, I believe we're sitting on an exclusive. MIKE WALLACE I like that. DON HEWITT Corporate has some questions. We've got a meeting at Black Rock first thing in the morning. LOWELL When's the air date? DEBBIE DELUCA -LRB- to Lowell. -RRB- Excuse me, Lowell. Sharon's on line 3. LOWELL Tell her I'll call her back in ten. BALDO Here we go. Baldo now runs Lowell's edit of the above sequence. And we SEE THE IMMEDIATE IMPACT. Sandefur in CLOSE - UP states `` I believe that nicotine is not addictive.'' Wigand in matching CLOSE - UP states `` I believe he perjured himself.'' Then all seven CEOs of Big Tobacco stand up and raise their hands and take an oath in front of Congress to tell the truth while Wallace says''. the whole line of people, the whole line of CEO's up there, all swearing that.'' And Wigand says off - screen with great emphasis `` Part of the reason I'm here is I FELT''. and it cuts to Wigand for a pause that makes the word `` FELT'' resound and, then, he goes on to say on - camera `` that their representation clearly misstated what they commonly knew. We're a nicotine delivery business.'' We see the combination of art and truth woven into impact that has an audacity that's stirring and beautiful.", "EXT. LOUISVILLE - DUSK We see an anonymous rental car moving through downtown Louisville.", "INT. THE RENTAL CAR - NIGHT It's Jeffrey in the front seat, driven by one of his security men. He's coming home under the cover of darkness. They pass a FLAMING CAR on the freeway shoulder. Jeffrey turns to stare at it. They turn off onto city streets and stop at a light. Jeffrey's nervous. Jeffrey instinctively turns. A Police Car stops alongside. The Policeman looks at him. Eyes meet. Jeffrey looks away. The signal takes forever. It changes. And as the Police Car moves off.", "EXT. WIGANDS' HOUSE - NIGHT The car's stopped at the curb. Jeffrey gets out. He starts up the walk, and the Second Security Guard quickly crosses the lawn to intercept him. And Jeff opens the door going inside, anxious to be home.", "INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE - NIGHT The house is quiet, dark. Too quiet. Too dark. Something is n't right. He crosses to one of the children's rooms. the master bedroom. The lights are on. Both rooms are empty. He goes into the kitchen and sees a note that's been left for him. He opens it. He sits heavily in a chair, reading the note. The Security Guard peers. And as Jeffrey sits in the silent house, the hero come home.", "INT. THE CONFERENCE ROOM, CBS - DAY We're at a table. Mike and Lowell laugh at some joke while HELEN CAPERELLI, CBS GENERAL COUNSEL, enters with the President of CBS News, ERIC KLUSTER. HELEN CAPERELLI Shall I send for coffee? Sorry I'm late. MIKE WALLACE No, no, we're fine. HELEN CAPERELLI Are you sure? Also there is Don Hewitt. Caperelli is too well put together, too practiced, too polished. They nod. They do n't need coffee. HELEN CAPERELLI -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Alright, I thought we'd get together because there's a legal concept that has been getting some new attention recently, `` tortious interference.'' -LRB- beat. -RRB- If two people have an agreement, like a confidentiality agreement, and one of them breaks it because they are induced to do so by a 3rd party, the 3rd party can be sued for damages for interfering. hence, `` tortious interference.'' DON HEWITT Interfering? That's what we do. LOWELL I think what we're trying to tell you is that it happens all the time. This is a news organization. People are always telling us things they should n't. We have to verify if it's true and in the public interest. And if it is, we air it. MIKE WALLACE After we corroborate it. That's why we've never lost a lawsuit and run a classy show. -LRB- impatient, now. -RRB- Anything else? HELEN CAPERELLI And `` 60 Minutes''' verification is exact. And precise. And I do n't think it would hurt to make sure you're right. on this one. DON HEWITT Why? You think we have liability? What's the CBS News' position, Eric? ERIC KLUSTER There's a possibility, it's rather remote. HELEN CAPERELLI But one we have to check on, Mike. I've retained outside counsel to do exactly that. On a segment, I might add, that's already rife with problems. LOWELL What does that mean? `` Rife with -?'' HELEN CAPERELLI I'm told unusual promises were made to Wigand. LOWELL No, only that we would hold the story until it was safe for him. HELEN CAPERELLI -LRB- cuts in. -RRB- And, I'm told there are questions as to our `` star witness''' veracity. LOWELL -LRB- trying to control his anger. -RRB- His `` veracity'' was good enough for the State of Mississippi. HELEN CAPERELLI -LRB- historic. -RRB- Our standards have to be higher than anyone else's, because we are the standard. for everyone else. Whatever that means. LOWELL -LRB- wry. -RRB- Well, as a `` standard''. I'll hang with `` is the guy telling the truth?'' HELEN CAPERELLI Well, with tortious interference, I'm afraid. the greater the truth, the greater the damage. LOWELL Come again? HELEN CAPERELLI They own the information he's disclosing. The truer it is, the greater the damage to them. If he lied, he did n't disclose their information. And the damages are smaller. LOWELL Is this `` Alice in Wonderland''? MIKE WALLACE You said `` on this one.'' What about `` this one''? And Lowell hears a changed note in Wallace's voice. After a beat. HELEN CAPERELLI -LRB- familiar, seductive. -RRB- If this holds up, and it very well may not, Mike. but, if it did. And we aired this segment? And CBS was sued by Brown & Williamson? I think we could be at grave risk. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- a beat. -RRB- How grace? HELEN CAPERELLI -LRB- and she's been waiting for this. -RRB- Well, at the end of the day. because of your segment. the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company. could own CBS. As if on cue, the alarm on Helen Caperelli's watch beeps. She glances at it. HELEN CAPERELLI -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You know, I am sorry. But I'm due upstairs. She gets up, gathering her things. LOWELL Is CBS corporate telling CBS News do not go to air with this story? HELEN CAPERELLI You're getting ahead of yourself. We're all in this together. We're all CBS. We'll find out soon. Thank you, gentlemen. And taking up her briefcase, she leaves. Don and Mike rise. LOWELL `` Tortious interference''? Sounds like a disease caught by a radio. DON HEWITT -LRB- to Mike. -RRB- Lunch? MIKE WALLACE Sure. -LRB- to Lowell. -RRB- Do n't worry, we call the shots around here. Lowell finds himself angry and alone. He crosses to the window and pulls out his cell phone and goes to work. DEBBIE DELUCA'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Hello? LOWELL -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Debbie, it's me. I want you to check some filings and give me John Wilson's number at Bear - Stern.", "INT. CBS, HEWITT'S OFFICE - DAY LOWELL What now? DON HEWITT Kluster's coming over. Hewitt's on an unrelated call. Lowell crosses to look out the window, a manila folder -LRB- the filing -RRB- under his arm with whatever he found out, like a bomb, feels distant from these people. The door opens, and Eric Kluster, the President of CBS News enters. ERIC KLUSTER Hello, Lowell, Mike, Don. Hewitt hangs up the phone. ERIC KLUSTER -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- There has been so much soul searching about this Wigand, I've decided we should cut an alternate version of the show without his interview. LOWELL So, what happened to Ms. Caperelli's checking with outside counsel first, all that crap? ERIC KLUSTER That's happening. And, hopefully we wo n't have to use the alternate, but we should have it in the can. LOWELL I'm not touching my film. ERIC KLUSTER I'm afraid you are. LOWELL No, I'm not. ERIC KLUSTER We're doing this with or without you, Lowell. If you like, I can assign another producer to edit your show. Lowell's stunned. He looks like he's been hit with a hammer. LOWELL Since when has the paragon of investigative journalism allowed lawyers to determine the news content on `` 60 Minutes''? DON HEWITT It's an alternate version. So what if we have an alternate version? And I do n't think her being cautious is so damned unreasonable. ERIC KLUSTER -LRB- wry. -RRB- So, now, if you'll excuse me, gentlemen, Mr. Rather's been complaining about his chair again. -LRB- laughter. -RRB- As they start to leave. LOWELL -LRB- mild. -RRB- Before you go. And Lowell takes out. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I discovered this. SEC filing. -LRB- he gets their attention. -RRB- For the sale of the CBS Corporation to Westinghouse Corporation. MIKE WALLACE What? DON HEWITT Yeah, I heard rumors. LOWELL It's not a rumor. It's a sale. -LRB- rhetorical answer. -RRB- If Tisch can unload CBS for $ 81 a share to Westinghouse and then is suddenly threatened with a multibillion - dollar lawsuit from Brown & Williamson, that could screw up the sale, could it not? ERIC KLUSTER -LRB- serene. -RRB- And what are you implying? LOWELL -LRB- to Kluster. -RRB- I'm not implying. I'm quoting. More vested interests. -LRB- reading from SEC filing. -RRB- `` Persons Who Will Profit From This Merger. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Ms. Helen Caperelli, General Counsel of CBS News, 3.9 million. Mr. Eric Kluster, President of CBS News, 1.4 million.'' DON HEWITT Are you suggesting that she and Eric are influenced by money? LOWELL Oh, no, of course they're not influenced by money. They work for free. And you are a Volunteer Executive Producer. DON HEWITT CBS does not do that. And, you're questioning our journalistic integrity?! LOWELL No, I'm questioning your hearing! You hear `` reasonable'' and `` tortious interference.'' I hear. `` Potential Brown & Williamson lawsuit jeopardizing the sale of CBS to Westinghouse.'' I hear. `` Shut the segment down. Cut Wigand loose. Obey orders. And fuck off!'' That's what I hear. DON HEWITT You're exaggerating! LOWELL I am? You pay me to go get guys like Wigand, to draw him out. To get him to trust us, to get him to go on television. I do. I deliver him. He sits. He talks. He violates his own fucking confidentiality agreement. And he's only the key witness in the biggest public health reform issue, maybe the biggest, most - expensive corporate - malfeasance case in U.S. history. And Jeffrey Wigand, who's out on a limb, does he go on television and tell the truth? Yes. Is it newsworthy? Yes. Are we gon na air it? Of course not. Why? Because he's not telling the truth? No. Because he is telling the truth. That's why we're not going to air it. And the more truth he tells, the worse it gets! DON HEWITT You are a fanatic. An anarchist. You know that? If we ca n't have a whole show, then I want half a show rather than no show. But oh, no, not you. You wo n't be satisfied unless you're putting the company at risk! LOWELL C'mon, what are you? And are you a businessman? Or are you a newsman?! Because that happens to be what Mike and I do for a living. MIKE WALLACE Lowell. LOWELL -LRB- runs on. -RRB- `` Put the corporation at risk''? Give me a fucking break! MIKE WALLACE Lowell. LOWELL These people are putting our whole reason for doing what we do. on the line! MIKE WALLACE Lowell! LOWELL What? MIKE WALLACE I'm with Don on this. And there it is.", "EXT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BERKELEY - AFTERNOON We see Sharon in a vegetable garden in their side yard. She turns, seeing him standing behind her. After a moment. She knows. SHARON What's wrong? LOWELL They're killing the Wigand interview. SHARON What?! LOWELL They're pretending it's process. Bullshit, it's foregone. SHARON -LRB- beat. -RRB- What are you and Mike going to do? LOWELL I'm alone on this. SHARON -LRB- beat. -RRB- Oh, baby. And the phone RINGS. Sharon goes in the house to get it. She comes back out. SHARON -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Jeffrey Wigand.", "INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, BERKELEY - LATE AFTERNOON LOWELL Jeffrey.", "INT. A HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT And we see Wigand looking rough, unshaven, sitting on a couch in a hotel room. And we see his belongings, clothing, some boxes, a bottle of vodka, his computer, what's left of his world, are around the room. LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Jeffrey, how are you? How's the family, okay? WIGAND There is - there is no family. LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- What do you mean there is no family? WIGAND Liane has filed for divorce.", "INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, BERKELEY - LATE AFTERNOON And Lowell's dead quiet.", "INT. THE HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT WIGAND And, so, I moved out. I see the girls a couple of days a week. LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- concerned. -RRB- Where you staying now? WIGAND -LRB- sarcastic. -RRB- Our favorite hotel, honey. I checked into Room 930. Odd choice? Huh? And we do n't know what he means by that.", "INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, BERKELEY - LATE AFTERNOON The last of the daylight shadows his office. LOWELL -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- I do n't know how to say this, Jeff, except to just say it right out, so I'll say it. They do not want to air it. WIGAND -LRB- stops. -RRB- What?! LOWELL B & W may have threatened litigation. CBS is on the block. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- But you, I mean, I know how. WIGAND No. LOWELL No? No, what? WIGAND I do not think that you `` know'' for me. what it is to walk in my shoes. -LRB- beat. -RRB-. for my kids to have seen it. for them to know why I've put them through what I did. the public airing of that. the testament to why I did what I did. you're telling me is not going to see the light of day. Lowell's quiet. And Jeffrey starts to hang up. LOWELL Jeff. And Jeffrey hangs up.", "INT. JEFFREY'S HOTEL ROOM, LOUISIANA - (PROCESS) - NIGHT Jeffrey silently sitting in the chair. We COME AROUND and see why he's been purposely sitting there. Why he's chosen this room. Directly across the street is the Brown & Williamson Building. The lights are on. The building lit up. And in an upstairs office Brown & Williamson lawyers, moving around a conference room, talking. And as Jeffrey looks out the window.", "EXT. A SMALL TOWN, UPSTATE NEW YORK - DAY A peaceful, suburban street. Small houses. A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR -LRB- P.I. -RRB- from IGI, in a raincoat, getting out of a car, going up the walk. He knocks on the door. Some moments. A Woman in her late forties, handicapped, in an electric cart answers the door. P.I. Mrs. Wigand? THE WOMAN It has n't been Mrs. Wigand for some time. P.I. Well, I'm an investigator and I was - I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions about that? THE WOMAN Alright.", "INT. JOHN SCANLON'S PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRM, A MEDIA ROOM, NEW YORK - DAY And on a TELEVISION SCREEN, SUSAN WIGAND, the woman in the electric cart, giving a taped interview to the P.I. SUSAN WIGAND seven months after we were married we found out that I had multiple sclerosis. We PULL BACK to see John Scanlon and his Staff watching the tape. His firm's logo, public relations campaigns for some of his high - profile clients are on the walls. Scanlon's on the phone talking with somebody as the tape runs. P.I.'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- on television. -RRB- And, you had a daughter, Diane, with him, is that correct? SUSAN WIGAND -LRB- on television. -RRB- Yes, in 1973. JOHN SCANLON -LRB- on the phone, whispering. -RRB-. come on, Tommy Sandefur told me himself, he's not gon na allow Brown & Williamson to be demonized to the American public, so I told Peter Jennings and I. hold on. He stops, listening to the videotape. P.I.'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- on television. -RRB- Would it be fair to say when he divorced you he left you in a precarious situation? You had multiple sclerosis ; you had a small child to raise. JOHN SCANLON -LRB- ignoring that part ; to staff. -RRB- Mention that part in the executive summary and in the chapters `` First Wife'' and `` Estrangement of Daughter.'' -LRB- beat ; into phone. -RRB- So, I was telling Pete, I said, `` You've been taken in by this guy. SUSAN WIGAND -LRB- on television. -RRB- Yes. -LRB- beat. -RRB- But you have to understand, the divorce was something that we both wanted. JOHN SCANLON He's a total bullshit artist. He's a shoplifter. He's a convicted shoplifter. And as we end in a sea of documents, affidavits, court records, all from Louisville, all about Jeffrey. We understand the war has only been begun.", "INT. CBS, \"60 MINUTES,\" CORRIDOR, LOWELL'S OFFICE - MORNING Lowell, in his office, his door open for anyone to see him, an immovable force, sitting behind his desk. Hewitt appears in his doorway. DON HEWITT -LRB- after a beat, cold. -RRB- So, what are you going to do? LOWELL Well, what do you think I'm going to do? Quit in protest? I'm not going to do that. DON HEWITT -LRB- surprised. -RRB- You're taking `` no'' for an answer? LOWELL No. I'm not going to take `` no'' for an answer. No. DON HEWITT Then what are you going to do? Hewitt looks at him. LOWELL I'm staying right here. Doing my job. Fighting to get my show on the air. You do n't like it? Hey, I'll tell you what. fire my ass. DON HEWITT End up in a high - profile lawsuit with Lowell, the First Amendment martyr? I do n't think so. -LRB- laughs. -RRB- Take a look at this. This is a summary of a dossier that's being prepared. And he gives him a copy of it. DON HEWITT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- He would lie about his whole life? Who's going to believe him about anything he says? -LRB- a beat, and the coup de grace. -RRB- The Wall Street Journal's doing a major story and I think the Post. You backed the wrong horse. He turns and starts off along the hall. As he goes. DON HEWITT -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- -LRB- his parting shot. -RRB- The version without his interview is going to air the week after next. Lowell watches him walk away. Debbie enters. DEBBIE DELUCA What was that about? LOWELL Get me Wigand. DEBBIE DELUCA Sure. LOWELL fuck is this? Fuck!", "INT. THE PHONE BOOTH, HIGH SCHOOL, LOUISVILLE - DAY LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- on the phone, upset. -RRB- You never told me you were married before. that you had a daughter. And Wigand is in the phone booth at the High School. students walking by. WIGAND -LRB- outraged. -RRB- Well, how is that any of your business?! That is not something that you people need to know! His voice carries, a student looks over.", "INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE - DAY LOWELL -LRB- frustrated. -RRB- Oh, you know what we do or do not need to know? Since when have you become a media expert?", "INT. THE PHONE BOOTH, LOUISVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - DAY WIGAND -LRB- upset. -RRB- What do you want to do, Lowell, look up my ass, too! And he realizes he's said it too loud, a couple of passing students stop, looking at him.", "INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, CBS - DAY LOWELL Oh, my God. WIGAND'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- after a beat, lowering his voice, but contentious. -RRB- You're not even on this anymore. What do you care? LOWELL Jeff! Wake the fuck up! Everybody is on the line here. If they can catch you in a lie, they can paint everything with that brush. Do you understand? Everything you say! WIGAND I told the truth! LOWELL Everything. you. say! And I ca n't defend you, man, with one hand tied behind my back! Because you keep from me. what they can discover. And they will discover everything! Believe me.", "INT. THE PHONE BOOTH, LOUISVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - DAY Wigand's quiet. He looks out the phone booth. After some moments. WIGAND -LRB- meaning his first wife and their child, upset. -RRB-. I was young. I was young. confused. We did n't handle it the right way.", "INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE, NEW YORK - DAY LOWELL -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- She sued you for back payments of child support?", "INT. THE PHONE BOOTH, LOUISVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - DAY WIGAND She did not sue me. We had a dispute over money. I settled it, she dropped the complaint. -LRB- angry. -RRB- Any other questions? And we'll go back and forth. LOWELL Yes. Did you lie about being on the American Judo Team in the Olympics? WIGAND What? LOWELL Some public relations guy got a hold of a tape of an interview. where you're saying you were on the American Judo Team in the Olympics? WIGAND -LRB- explosive. -RRB- What kind of shit is this? I was not on the team, I sparred with the Olympic Team. okay? And we see, unbeknownst to Wigand, the P.I. in the raincoat, who interviewed his ex - wife, coming out of an administration office, walking towards us along the hallways. LOWELL Alright. the ABC Telemarketing Company? WIGAND ABC? LOWELL ABC Telemarketing Company. WIGAND -LRB- the absurdity. -RRB- A can opener! A $ 39.95 can opener. I cancelled payment. It was junk. -LRB- sarcastic. -RRB- You ever bounce a check, Lowell? You ever look at another woman's tits? You ever cheat a little on your taxes? -LRB- a beat, angry. -RRB- Whose life, if you look at it under a microscope, does n't have any flaws? The P.I. in the raincoat passes Jeffrey, now, and does n't even glance at him. LOWELL That's the whole point, Jeffrey. That's the whole point. Anyone's. Everyone's. They are gon na look under every rock, dig up every flaw, every mistake you've ever made. They are going to distort and exaggerate everything you've ever done, man. Do n't you understand? WIGAND -LRB- shouts. -RRB- What does this have to do with my testimony? LOWELL That's not the point. WIGAND What does this have to do with my testimony?! I told the truth! It's valid and true and provable! LOWELL That's not the fucking point, whether you told the truth or not! Hello? WIGAND I told the truth. I told the truth. And Wigand's quiet, a deep, dark depression. The school bell RING snaps him out of it. WIGAND -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- I've got to teach class. I've got to go. I've got to teach class. LOWELL -LRB- undaunted. -RRB- And I've got to refute every fucking accusation made in this report before The Wall Street Journal runs. -LRB- a beat. -RRB- I am trying to protect you, man! Wigand's quiet. WIGAND -LRB- after a beat, the killer. -RRB- Well, I hope you improve your batting average. And he SLAMS the phone down. And as he stands in the phone booth, like a man in a glass booth, all alone.", "EXT. CBS BUILDING, ROOFTOP - DAY ON the door to the roof. It SLAMS open. An enraged Lowell enters and walks out into the cold rain. Like a prize - fighter, shoulders hunched against the cold, he buries his hands in his jacket pockets. He crosses to the edge of the roof high above the city. He's pissed off. He takes out his cell phone. He dials. Lowell hears background NOISE.", "INT. WALL STREET JOURNAL - NEWS MEETING - DAY Twenty sub - editors and section heads sit and stand in a clear area. One of them, a large man, is CHARLIE PHILLIPS on a cell phone. CHARLIE PHILLIPS Hello? LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- cautious. -RRB- It's Lowell. Are you guys planning to do a piece on a former top executive in Big Tobacco? CHARLIE PHILLIPS You caught me in a news meeting. LOWELL Well, are you or are you not, Charlie? CHARLIE PHILLIPS You bet we are. And I ca n't talk to you now. LOWELL We got ta hook up. CHARLIE PHILLIPS Sure. Where? LOWELL P.J.'s. CHARLIE PHILLIPS I'll be there.", "INT. A PHONE BOOTH, NEW YORK - NIGHT A busy New York street. Light mist. And we see Lowell is on the phone in a phone booth. LOWELL Yeah, I got it. 500 pages of it. They looked in every corner of this guy's life. from a spousal abuse charge, to shoplifting, to a traffic ticket he got once for running a red light. It's Terry Lenzner's outfit, IGI. Jack, listen to me. Their strategy : discredit this guy, ruin his reputation in The Wall Street Journal, and then nobody will ever listen to what he's got to say about tobacco. He's dead. Unless I can get this thing knocked down.", "INT. A HOUSE IN SAN FRANCISCO - NIGHT A townhouse with a commanding view of the Bay. And we see a broad - shouldered man in his late forties sitting at a desk on the phone. JACK PALLADINO. His wife, SANDRA SUTHERLAND, sitting across from him on another phone. They're Private Investigators. LOWELL To make it even a little more attractive, I do n't know if you're ever gon na get paid. SANDRA SUTHERLAND Is there any truth to any of it? LOWELL That's a good question. `` Is there any truth to any of it?'' I doubt it. PALLADINO What's their deadline? LOWELL Soon. Palladinos exchange looks ; she nods. PALLADINO Fax me the summary. LOWELL That's great, Jack. Lowell hangs up and walks towards us to enter.", "INT. BAR - NIGHT CLOSE on Lowell entering, moving through the crowd of sports writers, feature writers, sub - editors, etc.. He comes upon a rugged - featured man, JIM COOPER from The New York Times, sitting next to Charlie. JIM COOPER Hey, Lowell. LOWELL How are you, Jim? JIM COOPER Hey, listen, I hear you guys are sitting on something sensational over there. Lowell looks at Cooper quizzically. LOWELL Really? Hi, Joan. Just then Jim's wife enters. They exchange greetings. JIM COOPER Hi, baby. LOWELL Catch you later. Cooper and his wife leave. Charlie and Lowell are alone in the crowded bar. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- When's your deadline? CHARLIE PHILLIPS Monday. LOWELL Push it. CHARLIE PHILLIPS What? Forget it. LOWELL It's a smear campaign, Charlie. CHARLIE PHILLIPS It's drawn from a selectively circulated. LOWELL -LRB- cuts in. -RRB- Oh, it's real selective. about as hard to get a hold of as the Manhattan phone book. CHARLIE PHILLIPS Well, it's authoritative and is overwhelmingly documented. LOWELL And it's bullshit. And if I'm right, are you going to put the Journal's reputation behind a story that's going to blow up in your face? CHARLIE PHILLIPS I'll take a look at what you got. But I'm not moving any deadlines'cause you say so. That's the way it lays. In a different, personal tone. CHARLIE PHILLIPS -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Are you all right? LOWELL Yeah. Catch you later.", "INT. A COFFEE SHOP, LOUISVILLE - DAY And we see a Policeman sitting at the counter having a cup of coffee. SANDRA SUTHERLAND Officer Murabchick? He turns as Sandra Sutherland sits at the counter to the left of him. SANDRA SUTHERLAND -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Officer Muravchick. How are you? I'm Sandra Sutherland. POLICEMAN How do you do? SANDRA SUTHERLAND Fine, thank you. I'm doing a background check. Mind if I sit down?", "INT. COURTROOM, LOUISVILLE - LATE AFTERNOON An older Man is on the bench. He's just recessed his court. As everybody streams out, going against the tide is Jack Palladino. He approaches the judge, crossing to a side door. PALLADINO Your honor, could I have a word with you? You presided in a dispute over support payments.", "INT. A COFFEE SHOP, LOUISVILLE - DAY POLICEMAN Jeffrey Wigand? Yeah, I cited him.", "INT. EDITING ROOM, CBS - DAY DAN RATHER -LRB- on monitor. -RRB- CBS is under criticism, because the CBS News program `` 60 Minutes'' will not be presenting an interview. Lowell's destroying his own work product, taking apart his creation that we saw earlier to be so impactful. Tony gets a call as Hewitt enters. DON HEWITT What the hell are you doing? LOWELL What does it look like I'm doing? I'm editing. DON HEWITT No, not that. I'm talking about the Associated Press. They got this story that we pulled this interview and they talked to Mike and I. Did you tell them that we were lying? LOWELL No. I should have. I told them I disagreed with you, Mike and Kluster that this segment is as good as the original. I'm not lying for you. I'm not gon na shut up for you. Not on any of it. DON HEWITT Hey! I'm not going to fire you, okay? Take a vacation. Now!", "INT. LOWELL'S OFFICE - EVENING A suitcase is on the floor. Lowell, finishing packing up his things from his office. MIKE WALLACE'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Lowell. I decided to preface Sunday's show. I did three minutes on the `` Evening News.'' You'll want to see it. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Where you going? And he sees Wallace has stopped at his door. LOWELL I've been banished. In lieu of being fired. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- disinterested. -RRB- I took off on Tisch. I took off on corporate. They'll know they're not going to see everything on Sunday night. LOWELL I do n't know. How does that get Wigand on the air? MIKE WALLACE -LRB- goes up. -RRB- Do me a favor, will you? Spare me, for God's sake. Get in the real world. What do you think? I'm going to resign in protest? To force it on the air? The answer is `` no.'' I do n't plan to spend the end of my days wandering in the wilderness of National Public Radio. -LRB- beat. -RRB- That decision I've already made. VOICE -LRB- from corridor ; to Mike. -RRB- It just started, Mike. Wallace waves Lowell's remark aside and exits. We dwell on Lowell until he exits.", "INT. CBS CORRIDOR - EVENING into the hall. Dan Rather introduced Mike. As Lowell exits, we SEE Hewitt, Kluster and Caperelli outside of Hewitt's office watching. Lowell, disgusted, takes a cursory look and moves towards the elevator. But he hears. MIKE WALLACE'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Where's the rest? Where the hell's the rest?! Lowell turns to see Wallace shouting up at the monitors in disbelief. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- You cut it! You cut the guts out of what I said! Wallace moves in on Kluster. ERIC KLUSTER It was a time consideration, Mike. MIKE WALLACE Time? Bullshit! You corporate lackey! Who told you your incompetent little fingers had the requisite skills to edit me! I'm trying to Band - Aid a situation, here, and you're too dim to. HELEN CAPERELLI -LRB- interrupts, familiar. -RRB- Mike. Mike. Mike. MIKE WALLACE `` Mike?'' It was a big mistake. Now, he turns on her. Zeroing in, getting closer. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- `` Mike?'' Try `` Mr. Wallace.'' We work in the same corporation does n't mean we work in the same profession. What are you gon na do now? You gon na finesse me? Lawyer me some more? I've been in this profession fifty fucking years. You and the people you work for are destroying the most - respected, the highest - rated, the most - profitable show on this network!", "EXT. THE EAST RIVER - NIGHT A Range Rover pulls up. Charlie Phillips gets out. He crosses to Lowell who's been waiting by his own taxi. LOWELL Here. He hands Charlie a folder with the brown notebook inside that is the partially complete Palladino/Sutherland/Lowell work product. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- These are their leads, their sources. I want you to have your reporters. CHARLIE PHILLIPS Suein Hwang and Milo Geyelin. LOWELL Have them make their own calls. They'll find that these sources have a different story than the one that's in the dossier. -LRB- demands. -RRB- Push the deadline, Charlie. Charlie starts looking through the Palladino / Sutherland/Lowell work product. Meanwhile. CHARLIE PHILLIPS I'll push it for a week. Let Milo and Suein go through it.", "INT. WIGANDS' HOUSE #2, KITCHEN - DAY LIANE What do you want to buy him for a gift? BARBARA He's into kind of little cars, that. LIANE That remote control thing? BARBARA Yeah. LIANE Alright, we'll do that tomorrow. BARBARA Mom. LIANE Yes, baby? BARBARA There's Dad, on TV.", "INT. A BAR, LOUISVILLE - DAY And we see Jeffrey in a quiet Bar. The television's on, the sound low, the midday news. As Jeffrey looks up and sees his photograph on TELEVISION. In his LOCAL WORLD the impact is : LOCAL NEWSCASTER And in local news, WLKO Louisville has gained access to a five - hundred - page dossier on former Brown & Williamson research head Jeffrey Wigand detailing charges of spousal abuse, shoplifting. And Jeffrey looks as if something just detonated inside of him. WE'RE LOOKING AT MIKE WALLACE SITTING IN FRONT OF A BACKDROP ON `` 60 MINUTES,'' ON A TELEVISION.", "INT. HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT And Jeffrey sitting alone in the hotel, watching the show. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- on `` 60 Minutes''. -RRB-''. thousands of documents from inside the tobacco industry have surfaced over the past year, documents that appear to confirm what a former.'' And as we look at Jeffrey's face, set in stone.", "INT. THE CARIBBEAN BUNGALOW - DAY/NIGHT MIKE WALLACE -LRB- on `` 60 Minutes''. -RRB-''. US Surgeon General and the current head of the Food and Drug Administration have been saying. We learned of.''", "INT. DON HEWITT'S HOUSE, THE HAMPTONS - NIGHT And Don Hewitt in his house in the Hamptons, alone in his bedroom, watching the show. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- on `` 60 Minutes''. -RRB-''. a tobacco insider who could tell us whether or not the tobacco industry has been leveling with the public.''", "INT. MIKE WALLACE'S APARTMENT, NEW YORK - NIGHT MIKE WALLACE -LRB- on `` 60 Minutes''. -RRB-''. that insider was formerly a highly - placed executive with a tobacco company.''", "INT. HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT MIKE WALLACE -LRB- on `` 60 Minutes''. -RRB-''. but we can not broadcast what critical information about tobacco, addiction and public health he might be able to offer. Why? Because he had to sign a confidentiality agreement with the tobacco company he worked for.''", "INT. MIKE WALLACE'S APARTMENT, NEW YORK - NIGHT Mike Wallace is in his study, watching the show alone. As we slowly move in on Mike, seeing himself on television. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- on `` 60 Minutes''. -RRB- `` The management of CBS has told us that knowing he had that agreement.'' And the look on his face says : HE DOES NOT LIKE THIS.", "INT. THE CARIBBEAN BUNGALOW - DAY/NIGHT Lowell silently watching the broadcast. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- on `` 60 Minutes''. -RRB-''. if were to broadcast an interview with him, CBS could be faced with a multibillion - dollar lawsuit.''", "INT. HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT Jeffrey, watching the show. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- on `` 60 Minutes,'' from the interview with Wigand. -RRB- `` The fact is, we are not allowed even to mention his name or the name of the company he worked for and, of course, we can not show you his face.'. and your confidentiality agreement with. -LRB- blip. -RRB- is still in force?''' And all we can hear is an ELECTRONICALLY - ALTERED VOICE and the BLANKED - OUT image of a man. WIGAND'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- `` Yes, it is.'' MIKE WALLACE -LRB- on `` 60 Minutes''. -RRB- `` So, what are they gon na do? Sue you for making this appearance?'' WIGAND `` I would bet on it.'' MIKE WALLACE -LRB- on `` 60 Minutes''. -RRB- `` The former executive has reason to bet on being sued, for major cigarette manufacturers.'' Jeffrey, motionless. A man, no longer with a face or a voice. And as he gets up, and quietly turns off the television.", "INT. MIKE WALLACE'S APARTMENT, NEW YORK - NIGHT, LATER Wallace, has n't moved, still in his chair. He stares, ignoring the CBS programming, on the phone, making a call.", "EXT. THE CARIBBEAN BEACH - NIGHT Lowell, walking up the sand, his cell phone rings. LOWELL Yeah. MIKE WALLACE You disappeared on me. How long you staying? LOWELL -LRB- absurd. -RRB- I disappeared on you? MIKE WALLACE -LRB- meaning the show. -RRB- Alright. What did you think? LOWELL -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- I think it was a disgrace. The look on Wallace's face says he thinks so, too. It's obvious. He hangs up the phone.", "EXT. LOWELL'S BUNGALOW, THE CARIBBEAN - NIGHT Lowell is on the phone, now. The moon lights the water, the empty beach. He listens as a phone, through STATIC, RINGS and RINGS and RINGS.", "INT. WIGAND'S HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT And we hear the phone RINGING. We slowly PAN across the hotel room. We see on the floor a pair of men's tasseled loafers. A discarded sport jacket. And we see Jeffrey, barefoot, sitting in a chair in the center of the room. He's looking out the window at B&W. The curtains are blowing. And he's still. The sound of the phone RINGING and RINGING.", "EXT. THE BEACH, THE CARIBBEAN - NIGHT AN OPERATOR'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Sir, there's still no answer in that room. LOWELL Alright. Get me the manager's office.", "INT. THE HOTEL MANAGER'S OFFICE, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT HOTEL DESK CLERK David? David, you've got a call on line 4. I think you better take it. A thin Man answers the phone. THE HOTEL MANAGER This is David MacDougal. How can I help you? LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Mr. MacDougal, my name is Lowell Bergman. I'm a producer for `` 60 Minutes''. I'm concerned with a friend of mine who's staying at your hotel right now.", "INT.  THE HOTEL CORRIDOR, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT And we see the Hotel Manager, walking along with a Security Guard, and now KNOCKING on Jeffrey's door. And when there is no response, the Manager nods to the Security Guard, the Guard using a pass key, unlocking the door. But the door stops, the chain - lock drawn. The Manager looks in through the chain. and he can see Jeffrey sitting in the chair. THE HOTEL MANAGER Mr. Wigand? Mr. Wigand? Jeffrey's still. The Manager quickly takes a cell phone from the Security Guard.", "EXT. THE CARIBBEAN - NIGHT Lowell, standing on the beach anxiously waiting. THE HOTEL MANAGER'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- upset. -RRB- I think I need to call the police. He wo n't respond. LOWELL No, no. Do n't call the police! -LRB- urgent. -RRB- Just tell him I'm on the phone with you. My name is Lowell Bergman. Just tell him that.", "INT. THE HOTEL CORRIDOR, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT THE HOTEL MANAGER -LRB- through the door, frightened. -RRB- Mr. Wigand. Mr. Bergman is on the telephone. Jeffrey's quiet.", "EXT. THE CARIBBEAN - NIGHT LOWELL Did he hear you? THE HOTEL MANAGER'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- You're breaking up. I ca n't hear you. Lowell goes deeper into the water. LOWELL What about now? THE HOTEL MANAGER'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- What? LOWELL Hello, can you hear me now?", "INT. WIGAND'S HOTEL ROOM, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT And now the walls behind MORPH into a green daytime garden, the garden behind his house. And as we DOLLY AROUND Wigand, more walls MORPH into the side yard, and, turning slowly, he sees Barbara and Deborah in the emerald - green grass. They stop and smile, then they stare at us, at their father. And he looks at his children, at an idyll lost. The chair, the man are the only real objects left in the view from inside his head.", "EXT. THE CARIBBEAN - NIGHT Lowell anxiously moves along the beach, trying to be heard, the phone chattering with static. LOWELL -LRB- alarmed. -RRB- What's happening?! THE HOTEL MANAGER'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- afraid. -RRB- He does n't seem to be listening. LOWELL -LRB- on the cell phone, shouts, urgent. -RRB- Alright, now listen to me. I want you - I want you to tell him, in these words : get on the fucking phone! THE HOTEL MANAGER'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- I ca n't say that! LOWELL No, you can. Tell him to get on the fucking phone!", "INT. THE HOTEL CORRIDOR - NIGHT THE HOTEL MANAGER -LRB- at the door, to Jeffrey, loud. -RRB- He told me to tell you, to get on. the fucking phone! And even he's surprised by his language. And suddenly Jeffrey gets up, unlatches the door, grabs the phone from the Hotel Manager. Wigand in the hotel corridor, Lowell standing knee - deep in the water. WIGAND -LRB- on the phone, angry. -RRB- You manipulated me into this! LOWELL That's bullshit, Jeff! WIGAND You greased the rails! LOWELL I greased the rails for a guy who wanted to say yes. I helped him to say yes. Alright. You're not a robot, Jeff! That's all. You got a mind of your own, do n't you? WIGAND -LRB- running on. -RRB- `` Up to you, Jeffrey. That's the power you have, Jeffrey. Vital insider information the American public need to know.'' Lowell Bergman, the hot show who never met a source he could n't turn around. LOWELL -LRB- running on. -RRB- I fought for you. and I still fight for you. WIGAND You fought for me?! -LRB- running on. -RRB-. you manipulated me. into where I am now. staring at the Brown & Williamson Building. It's all dark. Except the 10th floor! That's the legal department. That's where they fuck with my life! LOWELL -LRB- beat. -RRB- Jeffrey, where you going with this? So where you goin'? -LRB- quiet. -RRB- You are important to a lot of people, Jeffrey. You think about that. You think about them. CLOSE ON JEFFREY : standing in the room with the blowing curtains. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I'm running out of heroes, man. -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Guys like you are in short supply. And for the first time, Wigand smiles. WIGAND -LRB- a beat, wry. -RRB- Yeah, guys like you, too. And the grave situation passes. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Where are you, anyway? LOWELL I'm on a leave of absence. Forced vacation. WIGAND -LRB- a rare laugh, his sarcasm. -RRB- You try and have a good time. LOWELL -LRB- droll. -RRB- Yeah. Yeah, I will.", "INT. THE CARIBBEAN BUNGALOW - DAY/NIGHT Sharon's cooking across the room. And there's just the sound of the ceiling fan turning. LOWELL `` I'm Lowell Bergman, I'm from'60 Minutes.''' You know, you take the `` 60 Minutes'' out of that sentence, nobody returns your phone call. Maybe Wigand's right. Maybe I'm hooked. What am I hooked on? The rush? `` 60 Minutes''? What the hell for? Infotainment. It's so fucking useless, all of it. SHARON -LRB- a beat. -RRB- So, it's a big country with a free press. You can go work somewhere else. LOWELL Free press? Press is free. for anyone who owns one. Larry Tisch has a free press. SHARON Get some perspective, Lowell. LOWELL I got perspective. SHARON No, you do not. LOWELL From my perspective, what's been going on and what I've been doing is ridiculous. It's half - measures. SHARON You're not listening. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Really know what you're going to do before you do it. And as the fan squeaks, turning. Lowell stares at Sharon. WE SEE SNOW IS ON THE GROUND.", "EXT. LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY Between two curved colonnades of SNOW - covered trees drives a rental car. CLOSER, it's Lowell. His POV spots a dirty SUV and he pulls into park across from a coffee shop in this out - of - context mountain town. His pager beeps. He looks at it. He detours from the coffee shop to a pay phone on the corner of the Moose Lodge. DEBBIE DELUCA'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- I've got Richard Scruggs on the phone. LOWELL Patch him through. RICHARD SCRUGGS' VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Well, Lowell, you are not going to believe this.", "INT. A COURTROOM + ROTUNDA, MISSISSIPPI - DAY And we see the back of a crowded courtroom. Richard Scruggs is standing in the rear amongst bailiffs an witnesses, talking on his own cell phone. RICAHRD SCRUGGS The Governor of Mississippi is suing his own Attorney General. to abandon litigation against Big Tobacco. LOWELL Oh, good. Waiting media are relaxing as Scruggs continues to Lowell. RICHARD SCRUGGS -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- But, now that the version without Jeff ran. what's the chance of getting his interview on the air? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Hello? Sudden STATIC. Scruggs now exits the building, past the metal detector, seeking better reception. LOWELL Yeah, I'm here.", "EXT. COURTHOUSE STAIRS, MISSISSIPPI - DAY RICHARD SCRUGGS What chance is there of getting Jeff's interview on the air? LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- droll. -RRB- Less than great. And the courthouse doors suddenly burst open, Michael Moore and his attorneys coming out. Scruggs comes further down the steps so he can hear, away from Michael Moore who begins answering questions from the Press. RICHARD SCRUGGS -LRB- after a beat. -RRB-. I'd be lying to you if I did not tell you how important it was in the court of public opinion.", "EXT. THE PHONE BOOTH, LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY LOWELL -LRB- a beat. -RRB-. and I'd be lying to you if I did n't tell you, I'm about out of moves, Dick. RICHARD SCRUGGS All right. See you.", "INT. CAFE, LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY Lowell walks right in and up to a booth and a COUPLE in hiking pants and hiking boots. They look up at him. LOWELL Hi. So, what are you folks doing here in Lincoln? And we sense something is all wrong here. MAN GEOLOGIST -LRB- affable. -RRB- Geology survey. LOWELL -LRB- nods. -RRB- Geology. Yeah? Really? WOMAN GEOLOGIST How about you? LOWELL -LRB- direct. -RRB- I work for CBS News. MAN GEOLOGIST -LRB- after a beat. -RRB- Oh, yeah? Lowell nods. They look at each other and they both know there's a lot more than meets the eye. And as Lowell gets up and leaves.", "EXT. A PAY PHONE, LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY And we see Lowell on the PAY PHONE again. LOWELL Just ran into two of your `` geologists.'' Geologists whose hands are n't all chewed up? BILL ROBERTSON'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Lowell?", "INT. THE FBI, BILL ROBERTSON'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON - DAY And we see Bill Robertson's on the phone. BILL ROBERTSON Do not. screw this up. We are a week away from an arrest.", "EXT. THE PAY PHONE, LINCOLN, MONTANA - DAY LOWELL So, I'll hold it. And. BILL ROBERTSON'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- We'll give you a heads up before we launch. LOWELL How long? BILL ROBERTSON'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Three hours. LOWELL You got a deal. -LRB- hangs up. -RRB-", "INT. LOWELL'S ROOM, MOTEL, MONTANA - NIGHT Lowell is in a T - shirt and sweat pants, sitting in an old, re - upholstered - one - too - many - times chair in a room barely big enough for a chair, a bed and the TV/VCR combo on the cheap dresser. It's playing Lowell's cut of the full Wigand interview. He watches the show that will never see the light of day. MIKE WALLACE'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB-''. like the testimony before Congress of Dr. Wigand's former boss, Brown & Williamson's Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Sandefur.'' THOMAS SANDEFUR -LRB- in CLOSE - UP. -RRB- `` I believe that nicotine is not addictive.'' WIGAND -LRB- in matching CLOSE - UP. -RRB- `` I believe Mr. Sandefur perjured himself. Because I watched those testimonies very carefully.'' Then it cuts to all seven CEOs of Big Tobacco raising their hands and taking the oath in front of Congress to tell the truth while. WALLACE'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- `` All of us did. there was this whole like of people, the whole line of CEOs up there, all swearing that.'' WIGAND'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- `` Part of the reason I'm here is I FELT.'' And the PAUSE after the word makes `` FELT'' resound, and as it CUTS TO Jeffrey ON CAMERA saying. WIGAND -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB-''. that their representation.'' And Lowell FREEZES after the image. He gets up, looking out the window through the curtain with the spill from the neon motel sign. Outside are horse trailers. He goes back to watching the show. standing there. in touch with his own creative work product and the ideas inherent in it in this decision - making process that we feel is critical to him. Turning, he dials the phone and we intercut with. JIM COOPER'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Hello? LOWELL Jim, it's Lowell.", "INT. NEW YORK TIMES - NIGHT JIM COOPER Hey! Where are you? LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- -LRB- does n't answer. -RRB- Remember that night at P.J.'s? You asked me if we were sitting on something `` explosive''? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Well, we're not `` sitting on'' it. -LRB- beat. -RRB- CBS corporate leaned on CBS News which yanked an interview we did with a top - ranking tobacco scientist. A corporate officer. They are trying to close down the story. JIM COOPER -LRB- sarcastic. -RRB- You mean, `` 60 Minutes'' is letting CBS corporate decide what is or is not news? -LRB- beat. -RRB- What's Wallace think about this, or Hewitt, or? LOWELL How prominent? What kind of placement? JIM COOPER Oh, c'mon, Lowell. This is The New York Times. I do n't know. LOWELL Well, until you do, all I can tell you is what you already know. they will not air an interview. JIM COOPER Call me back in ten. Lowell hangs up. Re - dials.", "INT. DEBBIE DELUCA'S APARTMENT - NEW YORK - LATE NIGHT Debbie answers, intercutting with above. LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Debbie. It's me. DEBBIE DELUCA Hi. What time is it? LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Oh, it's late. DEBBIE DELUCA That I know. When are you coming back? LOWELL I ca n't get out of here til mid - morning. I'll be in tomorrow night. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Listen, could you call a number for me, it's in Mississippi. DEBBIE DELUCA Okay. Hold on a second. What is it?", "INT. NEW YORK TIMES - NIGHT Jim Cooper's workstation. His phone rings. He grabs it. JIM COOPER Hello? -LRB- beat. -RRB- LOWELL'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Lowell. JIM COOPER Alright, Lowell. Page one. Editorial's interested. Let's talk.", "INT. MOTEL, LINCOLN, MONTANA - NIGHT LOWELL Here's how it works. You ask me questions. I tell you if you're wrong. JIM COOPER'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Okay. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Lowell? LOWELL Yeah? JIM COOPER'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- You're sure you want to do this? LOWELL Why? JIM COOPER'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Hey, it does n't work? You've burned your bridges, man. LOWELL You ready? JIM COOPER'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- Okay. About this whistle - blower. Did Mike and Don go along with the corporate decision? No answer. JIM COOPER'S VOICE -LRB- OVER ; cont'd. -RRB- Lowell? LOWELL Did I tell you you were wrong? JIM COOPER'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB- No. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I'm assuming the cave - in begins with the threat of litigation from Big Tobacco. Are we talking. are we talking Brown & Williamson, here? MOVING CLOSER into the face of Lowell. His gaze falters. His eyes go back to the motel TV mutely frozen on the show. Whatever he's seeing there, his gaze is steadfast.", "EXT. STREET, NEW YORK - 5:30 A.M. Newspaper box is loaded with The New York Times.", "EXT. HOTEL, NEW YORK - 5:30 A.M. Cab pulls to curb and a raincoated Man emerges. We SEE he carries a copy of this morning's New York Times.", "INT. A HOTEL ROOM, NEW YORK - DAWN A suitcase is half - unpacked on the floor. a sleeping figure. There's a knock. Irritated, a sleeping Lowell gets up to answer it. He looks through the security peep hole. He opens it. And Mike Wallace, a newspaper under his arm, is standing in the doorway. MIKE WALLACE Did I get you up? LOWELL No, I usually sit around in my hotel room, dressed like this at 5:30 in the morning, sleepy look on my face. There's an awkward quiet. Mike enters. He slows, looks around. MIKE WALLACE How many shows have we done? Huh? C'mon, how many? LOWELL Oh, lots. MIKE WALLACE Yeah, that's right. LOWELL But in all that time, Mike, did you ever get off a plane, walk into a room, and find that a source for a story changed his mind? Lost his heart? Walked out on us? Not one fucking time! You want to know why? MIKE WALLACE I see a rhetorical question on the horizon. LOWELL I'm going to tell you why. Because when I tell someone I'm going to do something, I deliver. MIKE WALLACE Oh, how fortunate I am to have Lowell Bergman's moral tutelage to point me down the shining path. To show me the way. LOWELL Oh, please, Mike. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- beat. -RRB- Give me a break! LOWELL No, you give me a break! I never left a source hung out to dry, ever. Abandoned. Not'til right fucking now! When I came on this job, I came with my word intact. I'm gon na leave with my word intact. Fuck the rules of the game! Hell, you're supposed to know me, Mike. What the hell did you expect? You expect me to lie down? Back off? What, get over it? MIKE WALLACE In the real world, when you get to where I am, there are other considerations. LOWELL Like what? Corporate responsibility? What, are we talking celebrity here? MIKE WALLACE I'm not talking celebrity, vanity, CBS. I'm talking about when you're nearer the end of your life than the beginning. Now, what do you think you think about then? The future? `` In the future I'm going to do this? Become that?'' What `` future''? No. What you think is : how will I be regarded in the end? After I'm gone. He trails off. They look at each other. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Now, along the way I suppose I made some minor impact. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I did Iran - Gate and the Ayatollah, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Saddam, Sadat, etcetera, etcetera. I showed them thieves in suits. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I've spent a lifetime building all that. But history only remembers most what you did last. And should that be fronting a segment that allowed a tobacco giant to crash this network? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Does it give someone at my time of life pause? -LRB- simply. -RRB- Yeah. And the look on Wallace's face is `` It did. Whether it should or should not. what difference does that make? It did.'' And we realize only now that he has not come to argue. LOWELL Mike. in my. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- low. -RRB- You and I have been doing this together for fourteen years. And he gives Lowell a copy of The New York Times. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- This is today's New York Times. -LRB- beat. -RRB- In it is the whole sordid story of what went on inside our shop. Lowell looks down at the page. The headline is'''60 MINUTES' ORDERED TO PULL INTERVIEW IN TOBACCO REPORT.'' MIKE WALLACE -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- And in the editorial. It accuses us. of betraying the legacy of Edward R. Murrow. Turning, he walks out and down the hallway. Lowell looks at the newspaper.", "INT. THE COMMUTER HELICOPTER - MORNING The helicopter approaching Manhattan. John Scanlon sitting with Hewitt, both of them reading The Wall Street Journal Wigand article. DON HEWITT -LRB- troubled. -RRB- They conclude most of it seems pretty unsubstantiated. -LRB- looking at him, sickened. -RRB- You're full of shit, John.", "INT. COFFEE SHOP, NEW YORK - MORNING Lowell at a table littered with New York Times, New York Daily News, etc.. His phone rings. LOWELL Yeah.", "INT. A CITY BUS, NEW YORK - MORNING Broadway backgrounds streak past Debbie DeLuca's head as she rides, talking on a cell phone, The Wall Street Journal in her hand. DEBBIE DELUCA front page. There's a picture of Wigand. Article's entitled, `` Getting Personal,'' by - lined to Suein Hwang and Milo Geyelin. Wait, hold on a second, Lowell. Debbie hits `` call waiting.'' DEBBIE DELUCA -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- Yeah. Yeah, sure. I'll see if I can find him. Hold on. -LRB- beat ; to Lowell. -RRB- Yeah, Don's looking for you. LOWELL Good. DEBBIE DELUCA The sub - heading is, `` Brown & Williamson Has a 500 - Page Dossier Attacking Chief Critic.'' It quotes Richard Scruggs calling it `` the worst kind of an organized smear campaign against a whistle - blower.''", "INT. COFFEE SHOP, NEW YORK - MORNING EXTREMELY CLOSE Lowell. DEBBIE DELUCA'S VOICE -LRB- OVER. -RRB-''. a close look at the file, and independent research by this newspaper into its key claims, indicates that many of the serious allegations against Mr. Wigand are backed by scant or contradictory evidence.''", "EXT. STREET, NEW YORK - MORNING As Lowell hails a cab in a WIDE ANGLE and runs towards us, jumping into the cab.", "INT. DON HEWITT'S OFFICE - DAY DON HEWITT The news division has been vilified in The New York Times, in print, on television, for caving to corporate interests! We PULL BACK and we see that Lowell's with Hewitt in Hewitt's office. DON HEWITT -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- The New York Times ran a blow by blow of what we talked about behind closed doors! You fucked us! LOWELL -LRB- shouting. -RRB- No, you fucked you! Do n't invert stuff! Big Tobacco tried to smear Wigand ; you bought it. The Wall Street Journal, here, not exactly a bastion of anti - capitalist sentiment, refutes Big Tobacco's smear campaign as the lowest form of character assassination! And now, even now, when every word of what Wigand has said on our show is printed, the entire deposition of his testimony in a court of law in the State of Mississippi, the cat totally out of the bag, you're still standing here debating! Don, what the hell else. do you need? And Hewitt, looking around. DON HEWITT Mike, you tell him. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- simply. -RRB- You fucked up, Don. And Don's taken off stride. DON HEWITT -LRB- recovers fast. -RRB- Hey, it's old news! Stick with me. Like always, we'll be okay. These things have a half - life of fifteen minutes. MIKE WALLACE No, that's fame. Fame has a fifteen - minute half - life. -LRB- droll. -RRB- Infamy. lasts a little longer. Lowell looks at Wallace. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- We caved. It's foolish. It's simply dead wrong. -LRB- in his face, so there's no doubt. -RRB- Now, this is what we're going to do. We're going over to Black Rock.", "INT. A HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE CLASS, LOUISVILLE - AFTERNOON Jeff is in front of his class, teaching. WIGAND Okay, so let's get back to it. Alright, now, what we saw there was.", "INT. LAX - ECU:  LOWELL - NIGHT Tired, his suitcase at his feet. We do n't know if he's coming or going. He's at a pay phone in the more - deserted - than - not airport. LOWELL -LRB- into phone. -RRB- They cancelled the six o'clock. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I do n't know why. I'm on the 8:10. I should be home. 9:30. I'll see you then. Love ya'. Bye. He hangs up and ambles over to a lounge with a few travellers sitting in it. MIKE WALLACE `` CBS Management would n't let us broadcast our original story and our interview with Wigand because they were worried about the possibility of a multi - billion dollar lawsuit against us for tortious interference. But now things have changed.''", "INT. JEFFREY WIGAND'S APARTMENT, LOUISVILLE - NIGHT A small apartment. Jeffrey dishes out second helpings of pasta primavera into two pasta plates and brings them into the kitchenette to his girls, Deborah and Barbara. And now we SEE AND HEAR the small television on the table playing `` 60 Minutes'' and. MICHAEL MOORE -LRB- on television. -RRB-''. in my opinion, is an industry that has perpetrated the biggest fraud on the American public in history.'' Deborah looks proudly at her father. Wigand's gotten up and gone out of the kitchenette. He has stopped for a moment around the corner in the hallway. His kids ca n't see him. We can. And he watches them and his eyes get shiny and start to tear. And as he stands there, watching his girls at the kitchen table witnessing their father's hard - earned `` truth'' on television, we realize that of all the audiences, his girls are the one he cares about most.", "INT. AIRPORT LOUNGE And Lowell in his moment of victory is watching his `` 60 Minutes'' double segment on a departure lounge television with his feet resting on his suitcase, next to a Chicano woman with two kids and her mother and an older man with a beard and cane. An airport cleaner stops to watch, too. Lowell glances at him. Unbeknownst to these viewers, arrested by the content on the television screen, is that the man who made it sits casually among them, watching his work.", "INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, KITCHEN, BERKELEY - NIGHT Sharon sits at the kitchen table. She watches in a far corner a small countertop television. It's `` 60 Minutes,'' the full show entitled `` Jeffrey Wigand, Ph.D.'' and on the top right, `` PRODUCED BY LOWELL BERGMAN.'' As Sharon continues watching the television playing on the counter, the emotional currents within her remaining unrevealed.", "INT. MIKE WALLACE'S STUDY - ON MIKE WALLACE - NIGHT watching the show. He sees himself. MIKE WALLACE -LRB- to Wigand. -RRB- `` You wish you had n't blown the whistle?'' WIGAND -LRB- on television, hesitating. -RRB- `` There are times. I wish I had n't done it. But there are times that I feel compelled to do it.'' `` I've - if you asked me if I would do it again or if it's - do I think it's worth it. Yeah. I think it's worth it.'' Wallace, satisfied, rises to refill his glass, as.", "INT. AIRPORT LOUNGE Lowell watching show in airport.", "INT. A SURVEILLANCE VAN, LINCOLN, MONTANA - NIGHT And we see the FBI Agent, BILL ROBERTSON on the phone. BILL ROBERTSON I promised you a three - hour heads - up. well, here it is. Have a camera crew standing by in Helena, Montana on Tuesday and I'll give you a three - hour head start. Alright? By the way, that was a hell of a good show tonight.", "INT. LOWELL'S HOUSE, BERKELEY - NIGHT LOWELL -LRB- nods, trustworthy. -RRB- Thank you, Bill. And he quietly hangs up. And it's still. Sharon's laid down, closing her eyes. They lie close together. After some moments, she opens her eyes and lets us know what she's been thinking. SHARON -LRB- understated. -RRB- You won. This time he is n't droll. LOWELL Yeah? -LRB- a beat. -RRB- What did I win? There's an odd look on his face, not the look of a victor. He shuts off the light. And as they lie close together in the dark in each other's arms. WE'RE LOOKING AT THE FAMILIAR CBS EYE ON A TELEVISION SCREEN. AND THEN THE WORDS : `` SPECIAL REPORT.''", "INT. MASTER CONTROL ROOM, CBS - DAY Lowell, entering through machine rooms, into a state - of - the - art Master Control Room. On a wall are fifty or more monitors, in the humidity - and - temperature - controlled nexus of CBS operations. And it's jammed with people, witnessing a fast - breaking, major news event. Mike Wallace stands near Felling. Lowell crosses past Felling and stands next to Mike Wallace. And we see footage of a handcuffed, bearded, barefoot Man. THEODORE KACZYNSKI, the UNABOMBER, being taken in by the FBI. A director counts down. Dan Rather launches. DAN RATHER `` Reporting from CBS World News headquarters in New York, good afternoon. There has been a major break in the case of the so - called ` Unabomber.' CBS News has learned that a remote homesite outside Lincoln, Montana has been under FBI surveillance.'' BILL FELLING Thanks for this. You know, we beat everybody. ABC, NBC, CNN. Mike motions Lowell out into the corridor so they can be alone.", "INT. CORRIDOR, CBS - DAY The control room and crowd are seen through the glass wall. After some moments : MIKE WALLACE That Canada story? Still interest you? LOWELL -LRB- nods. -RRB- Everything interests me. Mike nods. Lowell puts his hands in his jacket pockets. After some moments. LOWELL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- I quit, Mike. Mike's startled. MIKE WALLACE Bullshit. Lowell shakes his head `` no.'' MIKE WALLACE -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- C'mon, it all worked out. You came out okay in the end. LOWELL I did? What do I tell a source on the next tough story? Hang in with us. You'll be fine. maybe? They look at each other. Lowell says to Mike, intimately, what he knows Mike knows. LOWELL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- What got broken here. does n't go back together again. Lowell's heartfelt regret. He starts to leave. They look at each other. LOWELL -LRB- cont'd. -RRB- So, uh. And Lowell moves off along the hallway, the monitors all showing CBS programming. He does n't even look back. CARD # 1 : SUBSEQUENT TO THE EVENTS DRAMATIZES HERE, THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY IN 1998 SETTLED THE LAWSUITS FILED AGAINST IT BY MISSISSIPPI AND 49 OTHER STATES FOR $ 246 BILLION. CARD # 2 : ALTHOUGH BASED ON A TRUE STORY, CERTAIN EVENTS IN THIS MOTION PICTURE HAVE BEEN FICTIONALIZED FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT. THE SOURCE OF THE DEATH THREATS AGAINST THE WIGANDS NEVER WAS IDENTIFIED AND NO ONE WAS EVER CHARGED OF PROSECUTED. CARD # 3 : IN 1996 DR. WIGAND WAS NAMED TEACHER OF THE YEAR IN KENTUCKY. CURRENTLY, HE LIVES IN SOUTH CAROLINA. CARD # 4 : LOWELL BERGMAN IS A CORRESPONDENT FOR THE PBS SERIES FRONTLINE AND IS ON THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY. THE END"], "labels": [0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "A prologue establishes the journalistic bona fides of 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman (Pacino) and host Mike Wallace (Plummer) as they prepare to interview Sheikh Fadlallah for 60 Minutes. Later, Bergman approaches Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe)\u2014a former executive at the Brown & Williamson tobacco company\u2014for help translating technical documents. Wigand agrees, but intrigues Bergman when he refuses to discuss anything else, citing a confidentiality agreement. B&W later coerce Wigand into a more restrictive agreement, leading Wigand to accuse Bergman of betraying him. Bergman subsequently visits Wigand to defend himself and investigate the potential story. Wigand, though apparently possessing very damaging information, is hesitant to jeopardize his severance package with B&W by revealing anything. Wigand's family move into a more modest house, and Wigand begins working as a teacher. One night Wigand finds evidence of trespass, and receives a sinister phone call. Meanwhile, Bergman contacts Richard Scruggs, an attorney representing Mississippi in a lawsuit against the tobacco industry, suggesting that if they deposed Wigand, it could negate his confidentiality agreement and give CBS cover to broadcast the information; Scruggs expresses interest. Some time later, Wigand receives an emailed death threat and finds a bullet in his mailbox. He contacts the FBI, but the agents who visit him are hostile and confiscate his computer. A furious Wigand demands that Bergman arrange an interview, in which Wigand states that he was fired after he objected to B&W intentionally making their cigarettes more addictive. Bergman later arranges a security detail for Wigand's home, and the Wigands suffer marital stress. Wigand testifies in Mississippi, over the objections of B&W attorneys, despite having been served with a gag order. On returning home, he discovers that his wife Liane (Diane Venora) has left him and taken their daughters. Eric Kluster, the president of CBS News, decides not to broadcast Wigand's interview, after CBS legal counsel Helen Caperelli warns that the network is at risk of legal action from B&W. Bergman confronts Kluster, believing that he is protecting the impending sale of CBS to Westinghouse, which would enrich both Kluster and Caperelli. Wallace, and their executive producer Don Hewitt, both side with Kluster. Wigand is appalled, and terminates contact with Bergman. Investigators probe Wigand's personal history and publish their findings in a 500-page dossier. Bergman learns that The Wall Street Journal intends to use it in a piece questioning Wigand's credibility. He convinces the editor of the Journal to delay while Jack Palladino, an attorney and investigator, evaluates it. After infighting at CBS over the Wigand segment, Bergman is ordered to take a \"vacation\", as the abridged 60 Minutes segment airs. Bergman contacts Wigand, who is both dejected and furious, accusing Bergman of manipulating him. Bergman defends himself and praises Wigand and his testimony. Scruggs urges Bergman to air the full segment to draw public support for their lawsuit, itself under threat by a lawsuit from Mississippi's governor. Bergman is unable to assist, and privately questions his own motives in pursuing the story. Bergman contacts an editor at The New York Times, disclosing the full story and events at CBS. The Times prints the story on the front page, and condemns CBS in a scathing editorial. The Journal dismisses the dossier as character assassination and prints Wigand's deposition. Hewitt accuses Bergman of betraying CBS, but finds that Wallace now agrees that bowing to corporate pressure was a mistake. 60 Minutes finally airs the original segment, including the full interview with Wigand. Bergman tells Wallace that he has resigned, believing 60 Minutes's credibility and integrity is now permanently tarnished.", "name": "The_Insider_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["EXT. MARINA DEL REY - DAY It's raining lightly in the harbor and the water around the moored boats looks dirty and cold. We PICK UP a sad excuse for a boat sitting in an end slip. It's a sea - gull - shitcovered, thirtyfoot cabin cruiser that has n't cruised in a long, long time. A ratty looking unpainted plywood addition has been nailed to the top of the cabin. It's partially covered with a blue plastic tarp. SUPERIMPOSE : MARINA DEL REY, CALIFORNIA - FALL The tarp moves and SHANE FALCO's half - naked torso emerges from under it. Shane is late twenties, golden boy handsome, but quickly going to seed. He looks hung over. Shane glances up at the sky and rain. He pulls on the top part of an old patched wet suit and zips it up. He shivers.", "EXT. MARINA DEL REY HARBOR - DAY We're BUZZING around the harbor with Shane in an old Zodiac inflatable DINGHY. Shane has pulled up the attached rubber hood to his wet suit so that only the white, pasty oblong of his face is visible. It's still raining as he steers the little boat around the sailboats and yachts. He pulls up to a fiftyfoot sailboat and CUTS the ENGINE. With practiced moves, he ties the dinghy to the rear rail of the sailboat and clips a bill for services rendered on the sailboat's stern line. He slips on a weight belt, puts on a pair of old gaffer taped goggles, jams the end of a air - hose in his mouth, and falls backward out of the dinghy and into the water.", "EXT. UNDERWATER - DAY It's dark, dirty and murky. Suddenly, Shane floats INTO FRAME and comes AT us with a long spatula. ANOTHER ANGLE He attacks the underside of the sailboat which is covered with green algae muck that hangs a foot off the bottom of the boat. The spatula scrapes away the green mess revealing the pure white underside of the boat. CLOSE ON SHANE As he scrapes. Muck from the boat floats past him. This does n't look like fun. As he works, he happens to look down and notices something on the bottom. SHANE'S POV Amidst the beer cans and other trash, something golden is sitting on the bottom. BACK TO SCENE Shane takes a deep pull on his hose, lets it go and drifts down. A shaft of sunlight penetrates the murky water and reveals a broken trophy half - buried in the mud. Shane kneels over it and picks it up. The trophy is almost a full - size football rendered in bronze attached to a broken base. Shane turns `` the ball'' over in his hands. He grips the seams like he's done this before. Then he holds the football out in front of him. Suddenly, he starts barking garbled signals to an imaginary offense. He turns to his running back as he yells something like `` Blue 31!'' It comes out in bubbles He cocks his left leg and his wide receiver goes in motion. Then on the `` snap'' he turns and starts a five step drop. He moves in slow motion because hey. he's underwater! He executes a perfect play action fake on the third step of his drop, and looks `` down field'' for his receivers. But there's a blitz! He steps up in the pocket but a linebacker's arm almost takes his head off. He dodges, he bobs, he weaves in a kind of delicate ballet. He rolls left and keeps looking for the open man. Suddenly he points down field, pulls up and cocks his arm. The `` ball'' comes behind his ear and snaps forward in a perfect release. The trophy spins OUT OF FRAME but we HOLD ON Shane as he watches his pass. Suddenly, he throws both arms up in a touchdown signal. We STAY ON him as he freezes in this pose of victory, fifteen feet underwater, on the trash - covered, muddy bottom of Marina Del Rey.", "EXT. EDWARD FRANCIS O'NEIL STADIUM (WASHINGTON, D.C.)  DAY Bam! A Miami Dolphin linebacker crushes a Washington Redskin running back and lands on his throat, elbow first. It's a beautiful fall day in November and Miami is beating the Skins in front of seventy - six thousand crazed Washington fans. The Redskins are at their home stadium better known as `` The Big O.''", "INT. CONTROL BOOTH - DAY JOHN MADDEN and PAT SUMMERALL are calling the game in shirtsleeves. SUMMERALL That play, my friends, sums up the Redskins' running game all day long. Now Washington calls their last time out. Madden leans over to do his diagram that shows up on your TV screen. We STAY ON him as he draws and explains. MADDEN Hey, the Dolphins do this as good as anybody. See, in a four, three, two, two, you got the guards. boom! Plugging up the middle, then the corners. boom and boom!     Are free to Are free to says. box. leaving the middle linebacker to cut off the trap here. boom! SUMMERALL Third and twenty - two, but forget the first down with eight seconds showing and the Skins down by a touchdown. MADDEN Could be the last play. SUMMERALL Could be the last play of the season if the players go out.", "EXT. SIDELINES - DAY Redskin quarterback EDDIE MARTEL is conferring with Redskin head coach BUD TILDON near the bench. Madden and Summerall continue OVER. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Take it all in, people. This could be it for 2,000. We MOVE TO veteran Redskin center REESE EVANS, 38, standing on the sidelines, uniform totally clean. He looks near tears. SUMMERALL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Once again, if you have n't heard, it was announced during halftime that the N.F.L. Players Association will hold a press conference immediately following this game - that would make it about five o'clock Eastern time - and it is expected that the players' union will announce a strike effective immediately. ON REDSKINETTES Twelve striking - looking women dressed in burgundy and gold are doing some inane chatter to a section of fans that ignore them. The girls are led by pretty ANNABELLE FARRELL, a bundle of manic energy inside a body from heaven. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's all about money, folks. More money, of course and ai n't it always? The shame of it is the big losers are you out there, the fans. ON MARTEL The Redskin quarterback moves to the huddle. SUMMERALL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Here we go : Third down, eight seconds to play, ball on the Dolphins' thirty - three yard line. Skins down by a touchdown. The huddle breaks and Martel sets up over the center. MARTEL Green 48! Green 48! Hut! Hut! The ball is snapped and Martel drops back. He looks for a receiver and does n't see anybody. He steps up in the pocket, sees an opening and takes off running down field. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- There goes Martel! Martel is a pretty good broken field runner for a big guy. Plus with the defense covering every possible receiver, he's got a lot of daylight. Nobody has touched him as he crosses the fifteen. Suddenly, a safety, smaller than Martel, looms in front of him at the ten. Martel goes down in one of those wimpy quarterback slides before the safety can even hit him. BANG! The GUN sounds and the game is over. ON MADDEN AND SUMMERALL They look at each other in disbelief SUMMERALL Well. Martel goes down ten yards short of a score. MADDEN On maybe the last play of the season. SUMMERALL I think he might have slipped. MADDEN Yeah, there's a lot of that going around. ON THREE REDSKIN FANS We'll see these guys throughout. They're typical low level Washington bureaucrats named TODD, ROD and BOB who live for the Hogs - the traditional name for the Redskin offensive linemen. Todd is shirtless and his entire upper body is painted Redskin red. At that moment, they are livid with their quarterback and Bob is speaking for them all. BOB We're coming to your house tonight, and we're gon na fucking kill you! And if you got a dog, we're gon na kill your fucking dog too! ON ANNABELLE Behind her, the rest of the cheerleaders are already walking away. Annabelle looks at Quarterback Martel with pure disgust as he walks off the field.", "INT. LARGE BEDROOM - DAY The room's blinds are pulled tightly against the bright sunlight. Only the blue light of a TV illuminates anything. Suddenly, we hear an old man in the bed give out with a loud piercing wail. The door to the room bangs open and an English male nurse named AUGUSTINE RIPLEY, dressed in white, comes running in. He's carrying a syringe in each hand, poised at the ready. He runs to the bed of the still wailing EDWARD FRANCIS O'NEIL -LRB- 75 -RRB-. O'Neil is hooked up to an oxygen tank, watching the just completed Redskin game with the sound off. AUGUSTINE Did they win or lose?! O'Neil continues to wail. AUGUSTINE That has the distinct tonal quality of a loss. He puts one needle down and jabs O'Neil with the other one. He murmurs to the old man as he injects him. AUGUSTINE Nice medicine for a loss. Keeps us calm. Makes us not so sad. Keeps us on an even keel. Gives us some perspective, does n't it? And we'll save the winning medicine for next Sunday, wo n't we? He finishes. O'NEIL If you keep talking to me like I'm a five - year - old, I'm going to hurt you. AUGUSTINE Sounds exciting. He reaches for the phone and hits the speed dial. AUGUSTINE We'll want to talk to coach now, wo n't we? He hands the phone to O'Neil. O'NEIL -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- What the fuck was that?!", "INT. TILDON'S OFFICE Coach Tildon sitting in his office. We can hear players getting dressed, listening to MUSIC and getting SHOWERS outside his open door. TILDON -LRB- on the phone. -RRB- I think he slipped. O'NEIL Bullshit he slipped! He could have scored! Anybody could have scored! I got one foot in the god damn grave and I could have scored! TILDON Mister O'Neil, let's face facts : The players are going out. It's gon na happen. And nobody wants to get hurt on the last play before a strike that could go on for the rest of the season. O'NEIL You god damn wimp! You're fired! Get out! Get out! Get out! O'Neil throws the phone down. Augustine picks it up and then cranks up the oxygen a notch. O'Neil takes big gulps of the rich air. AUGUSTINE Better? It always makes you feel better when you fire someone, we know it does, do n't we? Yes. O'NEIL Get me Jimmy McGinty. Get him here. Tonight. O'Neil sucks hard on the oxygen.", "INT. REDSKINS LOCKER ROOM - DAY A REPORTER is interviewing WILSON JONES, the huge defensive end for the Redskins. Wilson wears an enormous diamond earring. Wilson is dressing at his locker. WILSON Hey, man, I do what my union says. REPORTER But you're already one of the highest paid players in the game. The fans just do n't see the point of a player like you striking. WILSON Let me tell you something : I'm a big man, you see? Wilson holds his arms out. Yes, he's gigantic. WILSON There are some days when I am so beat up, that I can not dress my own big ass. I asked management for a valet or some shit to help me dress and they said no way. So, fuck'em! PLAYER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Shut up everybody, here it is. Somebody turns UP a TV in the locker room. ON TV A handsome ex - player named Jerome Lindell steps up to a podium at a press conference. He's wearing a two thousand dollar suit. On the TV he is identified with a super : `` JEROME LINDELL - President - National Football League Players' Association.'' LINDELL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I have just left a meeting with representatives of the owners and I am sad to say that they have refused the players' final demands which center around a rise in the current salary cap. -LRB- MORE. -RRB- LINDELL -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- Therefore, I am recommending that all N.F.L. players walk out and not play until our demands are met. I want the players to walk out tall, to walk out righteous, to walk out in the knowledge that we do this as a team. We shall overcome the fat cats. I send peace to my union brothers. The entire locker room is silent for a beat. And then everyone starts getting dressed again, maybe a little slower than before. ON WILSON JONES WILSON Shit, I'm goin' to Vegas.", "INT. O'NEIL'S BEDROOM - CLOSE ON O'NEIL - NIGHT As he sleeps peacefully. The only sound is the HISS of his OXYGEN. Then we hear ICE CUBES SLOSHING in a glass. O'Neil opens his eyes and sees : JIMMY McGINTY, a handsome devil in his late sixties, wearing golf clothes and sipping the last dregs of a Scotch rocks. McGINTY You look like shit. O'NEIL I'm dying, Jimmy. McGINTY You been dying for twenty years. O'Neil motions to the glass. Jimmy pours three fingers from a Glenlivet bottle and hands it to him. McGINTY That poof of a nurse of yours is gon na kick my ass if he catches you drinking. O'Neil removes his oxygen to sip his whiskey. He smiles as it goes down. O'NEIL Gim me a butt. McGINTY I quit. O'NEIL No. McGinty nods. O'NEIL You pussy. I want you to come back as head coach. I fired that asshole Tilden today. McGINTY I'm retired. And besides, you do n't have a team. They all flew home in their jets to their castles. O'NEIL We're gon na finish the season anyway. All of us owners decided. We're gon na use replacement players. McGINTY You're a bunch of greedy bastards, are n't you? O'NEIL Us, greedy?! What about the god damn players?! I got the highest payroll in the N.F.L. and they still want more! McGINTY That's because you've been bottle - feeding straight cash to these big babies for years. O'Neil sips his whiskey and calms down. O'NEIL No team owner in their right mind is gon na give back those T.V. revenues. -LRB- MORE. -RRB- O'NEIL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- All we promised Fox was twenty - two guys with a pulse every Sunday. But think about it, Jimmy. We got a great opportunity here! We got a chance to put a team on the field that plays the game just for the love of it. Like we used to play it. McGINTY We also used to play without face guards. O'NEIL Jimmy, I'm really dying. The doctor says I'll be gone by Superbowl Sunday. Help me bring a winner back to D.C.. You did it for me once before. You can do it again. McGINTY Listen : I golf once a week with the President of the United States. I walk my grandkids to school every day. I got a    young wife who will fuck me any time I want, which frankly, is n't too often, but it's comforting to know it's there. I do n't need it. O'NEIL Come on. Would n't it be fun? A bunch of poor nobodies who play to win instead of a bunch of bitchy millionaires? You can put it together, Jimmy. Player's love you. They always have. McGinty pours more Scotch and looks into the glass. O'NEIL Tell me you're gon na do it. McGINTY Shut up, I'm thinking. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Okay. Here's the deal : you let me recruit who I want, with no interference? O'NEIL Absolutely. McGINTY I'm talking anybody I want. No exceptions. And no interference with my coaching, either, like you used to. O'NEIL Sure, Jimmy, sure. McGINTY And one more thing : no more Notre Dame stories. You start telling me Notre Dame stories and I pull your plug personally.   I I says. swear to God. O'Neil smiles. O'NEIL Deal.", "INT. REDSKINS' HEAD COACH'S OFFICE - DAY McGinty is sitting behind the empty desk as his two main coaches give him a presentation. They are offensive coordinator LEO PILACHOWSKI and defensive coordinator CHRISTOPHER BANES. PILACHOWSKI Six phone lines with internet access on two : One for defense and one for offense. BANES We thought we would skip special teams for the moment. PILACHOWSKI Except for a kicker. We definitely need a kicker. A place kicker over a punter. BANES The thinking being that if we lose the toss, we have to be able to at least kick off. Both coaches laugh nervously. McGinty does n't say anything. PILACHOWSKI Okay. Here's the list of every player cut this past season. What we would like to do is. McGINTY -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- Those people? says. -LRB- pointing to list. -RRB- Most of them were cut because they were shitty. McGinty takes out a piece of paper of his own with a bunch of names on it. McGINTY We're going to go another way here. I've done some scouting since I retired. On an ad hoc basis, of course. And what I have here is a list of people I've kept an eye on. They've all played football somewhere, but only a few in the pros. And they've all got something. unique to bring to the game. We're gon na take these people and try to put together a winning team. And if nothing else, they should be fun to watch. McGinty looks up when he senses someone standing in the doorway. It's REESE EVANS, the veteran Redskin we saw standing on the sidelines with the clean uniform. EVANS You wo n't need a center. McGINTY How you doin', Reese? EVANS Bored and ready to retire. I'm just looking for one more hit. One more really good hit. McGINTY What about the strike? EVANS Hell, I'm rich. I got no complaint with Mister O'Neil. I just want a chance to play one last time. -LRB- MORE. -RRB- EVANS -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Shit, I'd rather go out with a broken leg than sitting on the bench. McGinty nods to Pilachowski. The coach takes a marker and fills in `` Evans'' in the center circle. McGINTY Welcome to the new Washington Redskins. -LRB- to his coaches. -RRB- Let's find Reese somebody to play with.", "INT. METHAMPHETAMINE LAB - DAY A bunch of BIKER types are cooking up a vat of speed. These guys are big, and badasslooking. After a beat, one of the Bikers looks up at the door. BIKER Did you hear something? The other biker shakes his head, no. The one who asked the question walks over to the door and listens for a beat. Nothing. He turns to go back and suddenly the door disintegrates in front of a charging man wearing a `` police'' windbreaker. This is DANIEL BATEMAN, a big, young, psychotic cop, who immediately runs over the poor Biker who was listening at the door, kicking the guy in the head as he goes by. Bateman dives on two more Bikers, and viciously head - butts one of them. He stuffs the other's head into the meth mixture, pulls him out and clubs him with a big police blackjack, three quick times : Rap! Rap! Rap! The guy goes down like lead. Bateman looks around and spots a big BIKER cowering in a corner. The Biker is terrified. Bateman takes two stops toward the guy when suddenly three more COPS wearing windbreakers run in, out of breath. They look around at the unconscious Bikers. COP #1 Jesus, Bateman! Why do n't you ever wait for us?! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Someone's BEEPER is going off. The three cops look at theirs. Nothing. The cowering Biker looks at his. BIKER #2 Not me. Bateman pulls his beeper, studies it and looks puzzled. BATEMAN What area code is 703? COP #1 Washington, D.C.", "INT. LIQUOR STORE - DAY A loaf of Wonder Bread is spinning through the air in SLOW MOTION. It comes AT us, twisting and turning. ON CLIFFORD FRANKLIN He's tall, maybe 22, and positioned behind the cash register. He's wearing a Washington Redskins sweatshirt. Clifford's hands are up as he waits to catch the bread which was tossed by his MANAGER at the back of the store. The loaf hits Clifford's hands and then bounces out. It lands on the counter in front of a TEN - YEAR - OLD smart - ass KID. KID Nice hands. CLIFFORD -LRB- not amused. -RRB- What else? KID A pack of Marlboro Reds, a pint of Martel Cognac and a box of Trojans, extra long. Clifford grabs the Kid's two one - dollar bills, and makes change for the bread. CLIFFORD Get out of here. I'm telling your mother you were talking like that. The Kid leaves. The Manager yells from the back of the store as he holds up a portable phone. MANAGER Hey, Clifford, somebody on the phone wants you to play football next weekend. CLIFFORD Tell'em I got ta work Saturday. And I'm watching the Redskins on Sunday. Ai n't nothing stopping me from watching the Redskins on Sunday. -LRB- mumbling. -RRB- No way that's gon na be happening, me not watching the Redskins on Sunday. MANAGER -LRB- into phone. -RRB- He's got ta work. -LRB- pause. -RRB- They said they'll pay you. CLIFFORD Pay me? How much? MANAGER -LRB- on phone. -RRB- How much? -LRB- pause. -RRB- Ten thousand five hundred dollars! CLIFFORD -LRB- stunned. -RRB- Ray, who the fuck is on the phone?! MANAGER -LRB- pause. -RRB- It's the Washington Redskins! Clifford collapses.", "INT. BACKSTAGE - NIGHT We hear deafening APPLAUSE as we hold on ANDRE and JAMAL WILLIAMS, two huge bodyguards, dressed in identical black suits. Suddenly, the artist formerly known as Prince comes off stage, grabs a towel from an assistant and starts walking with Jamal in front and Andre in the rear. As they walk, a CELL PHONE RINGS. Andre pulls it from his pocket and answers it, quietly. Jamal runs interference with the techies and groupies backstage. JAMAL -LRB- to someone. -RRB- Get out of the way! -LRB- to someone else. -RRB- Do n't look at him! He do n't like being looked at, god damn it! No eye contact! As they walk, Andre is still talking on the phone. Finally, they get to the backstage door and stop. The rock star prepares to run the gauntlet of adoring fans behind his trusty bodyguards. But his bodyguards are conversing quietly but urgently with each other. One of the assistants throws open the door. A big mob waits outside. The anointed one turns to his bodyguards to lead the way, but. they're gone! The mob surges. The artist formerly known as Prince screams as he's trampled to death by his fans.", "EXT. MARINA DEL REY - DAY Shane Falco, wearing his patched wetsuit, climbs out of his inflatable dinghy and flops onto the deck of his cabin cruiser. He looks cold and tired. McGINTY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You look like a swordfish I caught once. Shane jumps. McGinty is sitting in an old deck chair on the stern of the boat. McGINTY He hit the deck just like that. Shane studies his visitor. SHANE And you look like that coach from the Seventies. From the Redskins. McGinty. Except you look a shitload older. McGINTY The price of happiness. Something to take the chill off? He offers Shane an elegant flask. Shane takes it and drinks. McGINTY I'm running the Redskins again. And I want you to quarterback'em. SHANE No, man, I've been out way too long. McGINTY What, three years since San Diego dumped you? That's nothing. You're in shape, flopping around in the water like that. SHANE You know what my nickname was in San Diego, do n't you? McGINTY Sure. Footsteps. SHANE As in, I hear'em and I dump the ball. McGINTY Well, you did n't have much of a line to protect you. SHANE I got two concussions to prove it. McGINTY That's why girls do n't play the game. McGinty drinks from his flask. McGINTY I scouted you when you were playing at Ohio State. I told San Diego they were probably making a mistake when they signed you. SHANE -LRB- truly shocked. -RRB- No kidding? McGINTY Oh, you had a lot of tools : a quick release. Fast. A scrambler by nature. Good downfield vision. But you got hurt a lot. And worst of all, you never could win the big game. What did you lose the Sugar Bowl by, your senior year? What, forty points? SHANE Forty - five. And now you want to recruit me? McGINTY A scrambling quarterback is gon na do real well in this new replacement environment. And to tell you the truth, I think I can help you with your biggest problem. SHANE Okay. What's my biggest problem? McGINTY Courage. I think that Sugar Bowl took it all out of you. There's a beat as Shane looks away. SHANE I'm retired from football. McGINTY Yeah, and it looks like things have been going really well for you since. Shane does n't meet McGinty's eyes. SHANE I like being here. It's quiet. I like being alone. McGINTY Yeah. No screaming crowds, that's for sure. -LRB- pause. -RRB- You know what separates the winners from the losers? Gettin' back on the horse. The one that kicked you in the teeth. You're still young. You still got bags of talent. If you do well, who knows what will happen when the strike ends? Shane keeps staring out at the water. McGINTY You want me to tell you you're not going to get hurt? You know you will. No doubt about that. But, hell. McGinty points to the boats in the harbor. McGINTY Would n't you rather get hurt than scrape the shit off of other guys' toys?", "EXT. QUEENS (NEW YORK) - DAY We're right off Queens Boulevard on a busy side street where LOU PACIFICO, 30, is taking book. Lou is short, dark and handsome. He leans against the wall of a liquor store. PASSERBY #1 Deuce and an eightball on Go Down, Rita in the eighth. Lou writes quickly on a small pad. After a beat, another passerby leans in and whispers something to Lou. Lou writes quickly again. > From across the street an old woman sticks her head out of a four - story walk - up. This is LOU'S MOTHER who speaks with a heavy Italian accent. MOTHER Louis, you got a phone call! LOU -LRB- from across the street. -RRB- Who is it? MOTHER It's the Washington Foreskins. LOU What?! Ma, what are you, out a your tree? MOTHER -LRB- yelling louder. -RRB- I'm telling you they said it's the Washington Foreskins! says. Foreskins! Foreskins! Foreskins! People in the street are now starting to look up at this old woman screaming `` Foreskins!'' Louis quickly crosses the street to his apartment house. But at that moment, a soccer ball bounces toward him from where a group of kids are playing in an alley. Out of pure instinct, Lou gives it a mighty boot. We FOLLOW the arc of the ball as it sails DOWN the block. Everyone stops to admire the kick. Still airborne, the ball crosses Queens Boulevard. At that moment, a very old mafioso type is being helped from his limo by several lieutenants. Pow! The ball hits the old guy right in the back of the head, knocking off his porkpie hat and dropping him to the pavement like a bullet. The lieutenants pull pistols and surround their fallen leader. ON LOU He sees what happens and quickly ducks into his apartment house. ON ONE MAFIA LIEUTENANT He spots Lou before he disappears inside.", "EXT. HIGH SCHOOL PRACTICE FIELD - DAY Coach ROLAND LAMONT, a good - looking ex - running back in his late twenties, is coaching a high school player. We can see that Roland is wearing a pretty substantial knee brace. He holds up a football. ROLAND Cut right on me, now. Right on me. He pitches the ball out to one kid, who runs right at him, steps on Roland's foot with his cleats and then cuts around him. Roland screams and falls to the ground. ROLAND Not right on me, goddamn it! He writhes there a beat until he hears : VOICE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Coach Lamont! Phone call! Long distance. Washington, D.C. It's the Washington Redskins! Roland holds his foot and manages a smile because he seems to know what the phone call means. ROLAND -LRB- to the sky. -RRB- Thank you, Lord!", "EXT. BIG O (WASHINGTON D.C.) - MAGIC HOUR The stadium appears empty. Suddenly, a football thrown with a perfect spiral comes AT us. REVERSE ANGLE We see the ball sail cleanly through a rubber ring attached to the crossbar on the goalpost. ON SHANE FALCO He's in shorts and a sweatshirt taking snaps from center Reese Evans. EVANS Nice. Try a roll to the right. Evans bends over another ball. Shane sets up in the shotgun. O'NEIL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Shane ` Footsteps' Falco? This is what you're going to build an offense around?", "EXT. STANDS - MAGIC HOUR McGinty is sitting with O'Neil on the fifty yard line twenty rows back. Augustine holds O'Neil's oxygen tank as the old man sits huddled in a coat that's way too big for him. O'NEIL Christ, Jimmy, I ask you to build me a team based on balls and the first player I see is Footsteps Falco?! McGINTY He's got as much natural talent as any quarterback in the league. O'NEIL And he's got the happiest feet I've ever seen! McGINTY All he needs is a shot of self - confidence. He's our quarterback. That's the way it is. O'NEIL What about a safety? We got two a days starting tomorrow and a game in five days! And we still do n't have a safety?! O'Neil motions to Augustine for more oxygen. AUGUSTINE Here we go. Nice fat little hits. He turns the valve up. O'Neil breathes deeply. O'NEIL I called a friend of mine who just happens to be the Governor of Maryland. McGINTY Terrific, the Governor is going to play safety? O'NEIL Do n't worry about it. ON SHANE He drills a perfect spiral through the circle.", "EXT. BIG O - MORNING A ramp at the rear of the stadium gives vehicle access to the interior. The bottom of this ramp is now a maelstrom of activity. The regular Washington Redskins are in a picket line walking in circles. The players are dressed in everything from fur coats to expensive leather jackets and leather pants. Half of them are on cell phones. We can see some of their cars parked haphazardly nearby : BMWs, Porsches, Mercedes, etc.. Jerome Lindell, the president of the Players' Association, is being interviewed on camera by a REPORTER. REPORTER As president of the Players' Association, what does your presence mean here, Mister Lindell? LINDELL Very simply, support for these fine players and union men. Washington D.C. is the home of freedom and the collective bargaining agreement. I am here to remind all Americans that the owners are no better than the robber barons of the Nineteenth Century. They have blatantly gone out and hired scabs, which is against all principles of our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and probably even the Emancipation Proclamation. The picketers start shouting and pointing. LINDELL And here come the Scabskins now! A bus slowly makes its way towards the ramp and the picketers.", "INT. BUS - MORNING Shane is sitting in the first seat with Reese Evans -LRB- center -RRB-. We MOVE BEHIND them and see, among others, Daniel Bateman -LRB- psychotic cop -RRB-, Clifford Franklin -LRB- ca n't catch a loaf of bread -RRB-, Jamal and Andre Williams -LRB- ex - bodyguards -RRB-, Lou Pacifico -LRB- kicker and bookmaker -RRB-, and Roland Lamont -LRB- ex - high school coach -RRB-. BANG! EGGS start HITTING the bus WINDOWS. We can hear the regular players chanting : PLAYERS Scabskins! Scabskins! Scabskins! ON CLIFFORD FRANKLIN He's very excited as he looks out the window at the striking players. Roland Lamont sits next to him. CLIFFORD Oh God, there's Eddie Martel! And Wilson Jones! I love Wilson Jones! Yo, Wilson! Yo, player! ON WILSON His big face looms right outside the bus window. He looks pissed off and scary. ON LOU PACIFICO He leans across his seat to Shane. LOU Hey, Lou Pacifico. Shane shakes his hand. SHANE Shane Falco. LOU I know. I lost a ton a money on that Sugar Bowl disaster of yours. Wow. Did you get your butt kicked or what? ON JAMAL He's looking out the window when an eeg splats against it. He turns to his brother Andre : JAMAL You know I do n't take that shit. Jamal reaches into his jacket and starts to pull out a nine - millimeter pistol. Andre stops him. ANDRE Be cool.", "INT. BOWELS OF STADIUM - DAY A nondescript van pulls up and a muscled, deadly - looking guy in handcuffs and jail issue clothes gets out. This is bearded safety EARL -LRB- he - ai n't - no - girl -RRB- WILKINSON. A Maryland state trooper unlocks the cuffs. Earl looks. hungry.", "EXT. STADIUM - DAY The replacements are getting off the bus as the players chant. PLAYERS Scabskins! Scabskins! When Reese Evans -LRB- former Redskin center -RRB- gets off the bus, the players go wild. Reese coolly gives them the international suck my dick sign. Clifford gets off behind him. He waves and smiles at the striking players. They throw rotten fruit at Clifford in return.", "INT. EQUIPMENT ROOM - DAY SID, an oldtimer equipment man folds towels. Behind him, we can see helmets, pads, etc.. McGinty walks up dragging Shane who is fully dressed in a uniform, including helmet. McGINTY -LRB- to Sid. -RRB- What is this? McGinty points to the intricate face guard on Shane's helmet. It's an exaggerated version of a lineman's cage with so much metal criss - crossing that you can hardly see Shane's face. McGINTY He's a quarterback! How is he supposed to see? SID He told me he was a linebacker! SHANE I can see. McGinty holds up three fingers. McGINTY How many fingers? SHANE Two. No, wait. Three.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY Andre and Jamal are hitting the blocking sled simultaneously. They drive it OUT OF FRAME. ON SHANE He's now wearing a helmet with a twobar quarterback face guard. He takes a snap and pitches out to running back Roland Lamont. Roland, now wearing a big knee brace, looks sharp as he cuts to the outside. ON PILACHOWSKI The offensive coordinator is standing with McGinty who is concentrating on the scrimmage. Suddenly, Pilachowski spots someone. His mouth drops open. ON MICKEY LEE He's a fourhundred - fifty - pound ex - Sumo wrestler crammed into a Redskin uniform. Fat rolls are visible everywhere. PILACHOWSKI Oh my God. That's disgusting! Lee walks up. McGinty bows and says something in Japanese. Lee bows and answers back in Japanese. Then they shake hands. McGINTY How you doin', Mickey? LEE Not bad, Coach. McGINTY You look great. Why do n't you work out at left tackle? LEE You got it. Lee puts on his helmet, pulls his ponytail out the back and rumbles away. Pilachowski is looking at McGinty like he's crazy. PILACHOWSKI You're not serious. McGINTY I met Mickey in Hawaii. When he was even bigger. He's a Sumo wrestler. That means he's an expert at pushing people around. That's what pass blocking is, Leo. Defensive coordinator Christopher Banes comes running up in a lather. BANES -LRB- to McGinty. -RRB- I got a defensive end who's deaf! PILACHOWSKI -LRB- watching Lee walk away. -RRB- I'll trade you for a tackle who's gon na play in a diaper. BANES How can I coach a deaf man?! McGINTY You do n't have to. He looks across the field at a big, good - looking kid named BRIAN MURRAY who is in the middle of a pass rushing drill. Murray looks really fast, especially for his size. McGINTY Brian Murray would have gone in the first round five years back if he had n't been born deaf. I first saw him play right here in D.C. for Galludet College. He's a hell of an athlete. You wo n't have to tell him anything. BANES I ca n't believe it! I got to be able to communicate with him. McGINTY Then learn to sign. Hey, look at it this way : He'll never get pulled off sides on an audible. McGinty thinks this is funny as shit. ON SHANE He's just done a fivestop drop on a pass play. He's looking down field when he sees something scary. SHANE Oh shit! No! He throws the ball away and then is nailed and taken down on his back by Bateman -LRB- psychotic cop -RRB-. Shane groans and lies there with Bateman on top of him. BATEMAN Hi, I'm Danny. SHANE -LRB- groaning. -RRB- Shane. McGinty pulls Bateman up. McGINTY Nice pop, Danny. BATEMAN Thank's, Coach! Danny runs off. SHANE What was that? McGINTY Danny Bateman. Ex - cop, ex - Marine, ex - rugby. He's absolutely harmless, if you just play dead. McGinty helps Shane up. McGINTY San Diego used you all wrong. You're not a drop back passer. says. You're a scrambler. Like you were in college. So, we're gon na roll out. A lot. Get used to setting up on the run. You'll live a lot longer. SHANE I'm very interested in that. PRACTICE MONTAGE A -RRB- BATEMAN is lined up at middle linebacker. When the play starts, he runs headlong into four blockers and takes them all down with him. B -RRB- WIDE RECEIVER CLIFFORD FRANKLIN beats his man, and turns as Shane, rolling out to his left, puts the ball right on his numbers. Franklin drops it. C -RRB- ANDRE AND JAMAL On the snap, they pull to lead a sweep. Unfortu - nately, each thinks the play is to their side. They forearm each other and then get into a fight. D -RRB- LOU PACIFICO boots one from thirty - five yards through the uprights. He smiles, takes out a Marlboro Light and a Bic and fires up. E -RRB- CLIFFORD FRANKLIN pulls up, does a button hook and Shane puts the ball in his hands. Franklin drops it. F -RRB- LEE the Sumo guy, hits the blocking sled and turns it over. G -RRB- BATEMAN is down on the ground viciously punching another player as two assistants try to pull him off. H -RRB- FRANKLIN is in a crossing pattern in the end zone. Shane puts the ball right in front of him. Unfortunately, it hits him in the hands.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY Shane is sucking down water from the portable water cart when head cheerleader Annabelle Farrell walks up. She's dressed in tight workout clothes. ANNABELLE Annabelle Farrell, head Redskinette. SHANE Excuse me? ANNABELLE I'm in charge. Of the Redskinettes. The cheerleaders? SHANE Oh yeah, hi. ANNABELLE I've been watching you. You look good. You look strong. Good quick release. Smart. You read defenses quickly. You're gon na do great. SHANE Hey. thanks. ANNABELLE I saw your second concussion. The one against Cleveland. says. Pow! You could hear it in the cheap seats. But you completed the pass. That's what counts. SHANE I guess so. ANNABELLE If there's anything you need, let me know. And I mean anything, okay? You understand? Shane is really not sure. SHANE Sure. I understand. ANNABELLE They put you up at the Hilton? SHANE Yeah. ANNABELLE Good. Remember : anything. You got it? Okay? Shane nods. She walks away. We watch her world - class ass move across the gridiron. ON McGINTY AND CLIFFORD FRANKLIN McGinty is holding a ball and talking to his wide receiver. McGINTY because it's a damn waste of all that speed, Clifford. I told you that when you were in high school. You've got to catch the ball, son. This is the main idea of the passing game. CLIFFORD I know, Coach, I know. McGINTY Okay. I assume that you have touched a woman in a romantic way, have you not? CLIFFORD Oh yeah, Coach, sure. In a, you know, romantic way. McGINTY Good. From here on out, you touch this football, all the time. He shoves the football in Clifford's hands. McGINTY just like you touch your girl friends. I better not see you without this ball. You understand? McGinty starts to walk away. CLIFFORD Coach, wait! Can I still like touch my girl friends if I do n't, you know, let go of the ball? McGinty thinks about that. McGINTY Yes, Clifford, if you can manage that, absolutely.", "INT. LOCKER ROOM - DAY Andre and Jamal are just about dressed. Andre helps Jamal on with his jacket. Jamal then helps Andre on with his. ON SHANE He's stripped down sitting on a bench. Reporters are trying to interview him. Microphones are in his face and video cameras jockey for position. SHANE just glad to be back playing. That's all I've really got to say. REPORTER But where have you been? What have you been doing to make a living? SHANE Well. I've been involved lately in the. aquatic business. ON MICKEY LEE AND ROLAND LAMONT Mickey is watching Roland unbuckle his big complicated knee brace. -LRB- NOTE : There should be something slightly medieval about this brace. -RRB- MICKEY You only played one game?! ROLAND Actually, less than two minutes. I was a rookie third round pick in' 93. We were playing Atlanta in the home opener. Near the end of the first quarter, they sent me in, I took a screen pass over the middle and got hit by both linebackers. Simultaneously. One a side. My knee turned My knee turned says. into wet toilet paper. End of career. MICKEY Can you play on it now? Roland takes out a wrench and starts unscrewing a bolt on his brace. ROLAND I've been teaching high school football for five years. It's not a bad life. I'm good at it. There are some days when I actually love it. But for one more shot at this? Shit. I'd give it all up. This time, they're gon na have to take me out in a box. ON EARL WILKINSON -LRB- CRIMINAL -RRB- He's standing naked in front of his locker staring with anticipation at a garment bag. Slowly, he unzips the bag revealing a beautiful new suit. He touches the lapels reverently. ON CLIFFORD FRANKLIN He's sitting in front of a locker, holding his football, with a shit - assed - eating grin. Someone walks by. CLIFFORD I got Wilson Boone's locker, man. Do you believe that shit? He drops his ball and quickly picks it up again. He looks around to make sure Coach did n't see him.", "EXT. BIG O PARKING LOT - MORNING The regular Redskins are out in force, holding signs as they lean on their Beamers and Porsches. Shane pulls up in a battered'89 Honda. When he gets out, he's immediately surrounded by six striking regulars, led by quarterback Eddie Martel and defensive end Wilson Jones. MARTEL Hey, you ca n't park there. SHANE Look, I do n't want any trouble. MARTEL You do n't want any trouble?! You're taking my job away, but you do n't want any trouble? -LRB- to Wilson. -RRB- He does n't want any trouble, but he puts this piece of shit in a no parking zone. Shane looks but it's obvious he's parked legally. SHANE Okay. I'll move it. MARTEL No, we'll do that for you. Go ahead, Wilson. Move it for him. Wilson motions to another big guy. The two of them proceed to roll the Honda over on its roof. It lands with a crunch. JAMAL -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You all put that car back. Everybody turns to see Andre and Jamal walking towards them. WILSON Who the fuck are you? ANDRE We're the people who take care of the quarterback. We're the guards. All the regulars laugh at this. JAMAL Put the car back. Gently. WILSON Kiss my ass. SHANE -LRB- to Jamal. -RRB- It's okay. JAMAL No, it's not. Jamal points to a gorgeous midnight blue Porsche. JAMAL -LRB- to Wilson. -RRB- That's your ride, ai n't it? Before Wilson can even answer, Jamal pulls his NINE MILLIMETER. BOOM! BOOM! No more Porsche windshield. All the regular Redskins dive for cover. WILSON My windshield! You crazy motherfucker! JAMAL Move his car back. WILSON My car! Jamal raises his GUN again. POW! No Porsche driver's side window. WILSON No! Stop! He turns to his cowering teammates. WILSON Come on, help me, god damn it! The guys quickly pick up the Honda and put it right side up. WILSON -LRB- to Jamal. -RRB- You are gon na pay for this. JAMAL No I'm not. And quit messing with my man here. That includes his ride. Jamal spins the nine and holsters it. Andre and Jamal get on either side of Shane. They look at each other and then quickly switch sides. ANDRE Let's go to practice, Shane. SHANE Let's do that. Shane smiles at his guards, smiles at the still - shocked Redskins, and they move out.", "INT. LOCKER ROOM BATHROOM - DAY Shane, dressed in pads and pants, opens the door and walks in. During the opening and closing of the door we hear : ASSISTANT COACH -LRB- O.S. -RRB- so if anyone does have any firearms, we need to turn those in as soon as possible, no questions asked. Shane stands in front of the urinal and goes through the painstaking process of locating his dick. First he wrestles open his football pants and then has to deal with the cup, etc.. Next to him, at another urinal, is WALTER COCHRAN, a big, serious bornagain tackle. As he pisses, Walter has his Bible propped open behind the flush handle so he wo n't miss a minute of scripture. WALTER Praise the Lord, Shane. SHANE Yeah. Sure. WALTER Walt Cochran. Offensive tackle. Shane nods. Walter pees for a beat. WALTER Shane, will you witness with me? SHANE Will I what? WALTER Will you witness with me? For this upcoming practice. SHANE Now? By now Shane is pissing too. WALTER Praise the Lord for giving us a way to eliminate, Shane. Why not talk to Him in the midst of performing his gift? Walter takes his hand off his whizzing member and holds it out to Shane. Shane looks at Walter's hand for a long time, but finally, he removes his own guiding hand and clasps Walter's hand tentatively. REVERSE ANGLE They continue pissing as they hold hands. WALTER Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to pee the poisons from our systems. Please help us in today's practice to be strong and.", "EXT. McGINTY'S HOUSE - DAY A barbecue is in progress for the new Washington Redskins at the beautiful home of Coach McGinty. The huge back yard features a pool and a catered buffet/barbecue. Andre and Jamal are loading down their plates. Mickey Lee is gnawing on a two - foot slab of ribs. Lou Pacifico has a little three card monty going at a picnic table. Coach McGinty is holding up a beautiful baby girl to the admiring players. He kisses the baby and then hands the child to his gorgeous young wife. Augustine is pushing Mister O'Neil in a wheelchair. They pass the outside bar and O'Neil suddenly lunges for a bottle of tequila. Augustine has to rip it out of his hands. Coach Banes and Earl Wilkinson -LRB- criminal -RRB- are talking to a distinguished - looking big man in his fifties. This is a D.C. CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE. BANES Where did you play, Judge? Wait. Do I call you judge? JUDGE Your Honor, or Judge is fine. I played at Harvard. But I played in the days when you went both ways. Offense and defense. When players were really tough. -LRB- to Wilkinson. -RRB- And where did you play college ball. I'm sorry, what was your name again? Wilkinson is smiling but he looks dangerous. WILKINSON Smith. Ray Smith. I played at a junior college nobody ever heard of. What position did you play on defense, Judge? JUDGE Middle linebacker. WILKINSON Yeah, big fellow like you, that's what I would have guessed. JUDGE It was a different game in those days. Raw. Powerful. No tricks, like today. WILKINSON You know, maybe you can show me some of your technique, Your Honor. Maybe you can show me some of that toughness. JUDGE I'd be glad to! There's an evil glint in Wilkinson's eye.", "INT. McGINTY'S HOUSE - DAY Shane is standing alone in a large hallway looking at an enormous trophy case stuffed with the spoils of football. ANNABELLE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You would think he's done enough. Shane turns and sees her. She's as fetching as ever. ANNABELLE McGinty, I mean. SHANE I was kind of thinking the same thing. ANNABELLE My theory is he came out of retirement to see if he could win with losers. -LRB- pause. -RRB- Oh, shit. I'm sorry. I did n't mean. SHANE -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- Hey, it's okay. I've been called worse. ANNABELLE Like after that Sugar Bowl game? I guess you could survive anything after that. Shane has to actually smile at this. SHANE Sometimes I feel like everybody in the world saw that game. Like I could go to India and some little guy would run up to me and say, ` Boy, did you suck in the'92 Sugar Bowl.' Annabelle laughs. SHANE So, how come you're such a fan? ANNABELLE My dad. He's a huge Redskin fan. For years. He's in his twenty - ninth year at the Senate Office Building. As a guard, not a senator. The only thing that keeps him going he says, is me and the Redskins. That's where I get it. My fan - ness. -LRB- suddenly. -RRB- Are you scared? Shane is totally taken off guard by this woman. SHANE Scared? Well. yes. Absolutely. ANNABELLE It's okay. Anybody would be. But you're good. And you'll do good. SHANE Well, thank you. Look, I got ta study the play book tonight. So. I'll see you. ANNABELLE Break a leg tomorrow. SHANE What?! ANNABELLE It's from the theater. For opening night. You say the worst thing that can happen. And it wo n't. Break a leg. Shane waves uncertainly and walks away.", "EXT. McGINTY'S BACK YARD - DAY The Judge -LRB- now with his jacket off -RRB- and Wilkinson are lined up across from each other in a three - point stance in something called a man maker drill. The entire team forms two lanes on either side of them, as they face off. The idea is to knock the other guy down and get by him. JUDGE Alright, this is how we used to stop a running back. WILKINSON I ca n't wait. Someone says hut! And Wilkinson slams into the Republican 16th Circuit Court Judge and knocks him head over heels. The Judge lands on his back, wham! He's out cold. Wilkinson slaps hands with Andre and Jamal. WILKINSON Oooh. got me a judge! Man, that felt good!", "EXT. BIG O STADIUM - DAY It's another beautiful fall afternoon and cars are entering the stadium parking lot. At one of the entrances, the striking Redskins are picketing. Jerome Lindell -LRB- NFL Players President -RRB- is still marching with them. A little boy stops one of the Redskins and asks for an autograph on a program. The player gives it to him and the kid walks away. Lindell runs after the kid, grabs the program and rips off the page the player signed. LINDELL -LRB- to kid. -RRB- Do n't be asking for no autographs from the real players and then go in and watch the scabs! The kid retreats quickly. Lindell rips up the page. LINDELL -LRB- to the player. -RRB- That is not the message we want to send our children!", "INT. LOCKER ROOM - DAY It's very quiet. Shane sits in pads and no jersey, methodically squeezing a football. Reese Evans, his center, stops by. EVANS You okay? Shane nods and gives a nauseous - looking smile. EVANS Remember to nod your head on the snap. SHANE -LRB- out of it. -RRB- Nod my head? EVANS For when Murray's in. The deaf kid. Hello? He needs to look at you on the snap. Shane nods that he understands but he goes back to staring at a wall. Andre and Jamal sit facing each other. Andre throws a vicious forearm at Jamal's head but Jamal catches it. They both nod in approval. Lou Pacifico smokes and stares. Bateman is leaning against a wall, fully dressed, helmet on. He's staring into space and smiling to himself. He looks terrifying. Earl Wilkinson -LRB- the criminal -RRB- is polishing a beautiful pair of new alligator shoes. Clifford Franklin looks at himself in the mirror as he ceremoniously puts on his helmet. Walter Cochran is reading his Bible in front of his locker, which features a picture of Jesus and a cross. Mickey Lee -LRB- ex - sumo -RRB- is sitting in front of a bowl of hard boiled eggs. He's methodically popping them into his mouth. He eats four as we watch. Coach Pilachowski comes up to Lee and watches him eat. PILACHOWSKI What are you, crazy? Nobody eats right before a game. LEE I always ate before a big match. I need the bulk. Like a hole in the head he needs the bulk. Coach McGinty comes strolling through the locker room, the picture of calm. He walks by defensive end/tight end Brian Murray and signs to him to have a good game. Murray signs back, `` Thanks, Coach.'' Cochran spots McGinty and puts down his Bible. COCHRAN Coach McGinty, I'd like to lead the team in the pregame prayer. McGINTY No. No praying. That's the problem with professional sports today : too much god damn praying. Five hundred dollar fine to the first man I hear praying. McGinty turns and bums an egg from Mickey and walks to the middle of the locker room. He eats the egg as he turns slowly and takes in his players. McGINTY A lot of people are waiting for you to fall on your asses today. And guess what? You're going to. But I do n't give a shit if you look funny out there. Or if you miss a block, or drop a pass, or trip over your own dick. This is professional. And the difference between professional and amateur, between playing for the Washington Redskins and Michigan State is simply. money. You are being paid to win. Not just to play. Not just to learn how to be good sports. Not for the alumni. You are being paid to win. I do n't care how the fuck you do it. But I'm demanding it. Because those guys whose place you're taking have forgotten that simple fact. So, go win it. He walks away. The players get up and start moving.", "EXT. BIG O - DAY We're FOCUSED ON an enormous, plastic blow - up Washington Redskin helmet that bobs on the ground in front of the exit to the field. The idea is, the players will run into and then out of the helmet as they are introduced. Annabelle and her fellow twenty cheerleaders are lined up on either side of the bobbing helmet, waiting for the players. ON MADDEN AND SUMMERALL They are in their booth, vamping ON CAMERA. MADDEN Pretty bold move by New England Patriot owner Victor Kiam, who went out and bought an entire semi - pro team once the strike happened. -LRB- MORE. -RRB- MADDEN -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- Redskin management, on the other hand, is going with a bunch of unknowns. Their public relations people do n't even have bios yet on most of their players, although we'll see one or two familiar faces out there today. SUMMERALL Like Shane Falco, the enormously talented college quarterback from Ohio State, who never fulfilled his potential in the pro's. -LRB- to Madden. -RRB- Wow, remember that Sugar Bowl Falco quarterbacked when Florida State creamed them? MADDEN Oh, yeah, they were absolutely decimated! SUMMERALL Dusted. And if I'm not mistaken, Falco set a record in that game for Bowl interceptions. Anyway, for some of these players this is another shot ; a last shot, probably, for a guy like Falco.", "INT. TUNNEL - DAY Shane is looking out at the field through the blow - up helmet. He looks scared. Suddenly, a CANNON goes off with a stomach - resounding BOOM! Shane jumps. ANNOUNCER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Ladies and gentlemen, your Washington Redskins! IN STANDS A sparse crowd is in attendance, mostly diehard fans like Todd, Rod and Bob, who are decked out in burgundy and gold. They look drunk already as they cheer like mad. ANNOUNCER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Here's the starting defense today.", "INT. TUNNEL Bateman is first in line. He looks like a racehorse on cocaine. ANNOUNCER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- At middle linebacker, number 56, Daniel Bateman! Bateman takes off at a dead run out of the tunnel and into the helmet. ON HIS FOOT It hits a wire stretched across the ground inside the helmet. ON BATEMAN He trips big - time into the side of the helmet. He bounces -LRB- it's inflated, remember? -RRB- to the other side, bounces again and is shot out of the front of it like a cannon ball. ON CHEERLEADERS Bateman bounces out of the helmet and takes out the first six cheerleaders. Girls fly left and right. One girl is knocked out of her shoes. ON MADDEN AND SUMMERALL Madden covers his face. Summerall looks pained. SUMMERALL Oh, my. IN STANDS Even the hardcore Todd, Rob and Bob can hardly look at the carnage. OUTSIDE STANDS A contingent of strike players like Eddie Martel and Wilson Jones huddle in the parking lot. They are laughing their asses off as they watch on a personal TV. ON FIELD Cheerleaders are down and screaming in pain. Annabelle is running from girl to girl, doing triage. ON BATEMAN He's sheepishly standing to one side as trainers come out to assist.", "INT. BLOWUP HELMET Jamal and Shane are examining the trip wire. Obviously, they were sabotaged. JAMAL Bastards. ANNOUNCER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And now. uh, the rest of the Washington Redskins. The rest of the team walks unceremoniously out of the helmet and onto the field.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY BOOM! The Patriot kicker puts one in the end zone for a touchback. The ball is placed on the twenty as Shane and the offense walk out onto the field. Shane walks slowly toward the huddle that's forming. IN HUDDLE Andre and Mickey Lee are arguing. ANDRE That's where I stand. LEE No it's not. ANDRE Come on, man, that's my spot in the huddle. ON SHANE As he walks, we hear McGinty's voice in Shane's helmet. Yes, they do it by one - way helmet radio so the filtered voice you hear is McGinty, speaking into his headset mike. McGINTY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- All right, son, nice and easy now. Let's run our ten planned plays, get a feel for the land. Shane walks into the huddle and chaos. ANDRE Fat fucking nip! You do n't know shit! LEE What did you call me?! ANDRE You heard me, you tub a rice shit! SHANE Hold on, what's the problem here? Andre and Lee ignore Shane and start pushing each other. LEE I'm gon na kick your black ass. ANDRE You ai n't kickin' jack shit. Now Jamal gets involved as Shane tries to get between them. JAMAL -LRB- to Lee. -RRB- Do n't be messing with my brother. SHANE Hey, hold on. ON REF He's watching the play clock and when it gets to zero he pulls his penalty flag and throws it. REF Delay of game! Five yards! IN HUDDLE Lee suddenly punches Andre through his face guard. Andre knocks into Shane and spins him around. Jamal then goes to punch Lee, he misses and nails Shane in the back of the helmet. Shane goes down hard. ON MADDEN AND SUMMERALL They look confused. SUMMERALL I do n't know. Something seems to be going on in the huddle. It looks like. yes, Shane Falco is on his back. They have n't run a play yet but Falco is down. MADDEN This is not a good sign. ON FIELD Trainers race out to Shane, who is lying face up with the huddle standing over him. SHANE -LRB- clearing the cobwebs. -RRB- What happened? Am I hurt already? Shane sits up. Suddenly, he remembers what happened. SHANE God damn it! I am the quarterback! I am the only one supposed to talk in the huddle! ANDRE Yeah, but he took my place. SHANE I do n't give a shit! Shane gets to his feet. SHANE Huddle up! Everybody leans in. SHANE If you've got something to say, raise your hand! Is that understood?! Lee raises his hand. Shane grits his teeth and nods. LEE Suppose like, you do n't feel good. Or you're hurt or something like that. Then what? SHANE Then you tell me before the huddle starts! Okay, listen up : 68 blue east storm toss. On two. Jamal raises his hand. SHANE What?! JAMAL That's to the right. right? ANDRE No, it's to the left. SHANE It's to the right! JAMAL You better be quiet, Shane, they'll hear you. We do hear a WHISTLE. A penalty flag flies by. REF Delay of game! Five yards! Shane throws ups his hands. ON McGINTY He's talking into his mike. McGINTY What the hell is going on? ON MADDEN AND SUMMERALL MADDEN Well, Pat, so far the Redskins have minus ten yards offensively. ON O'NEIL He's in bed sucking oxygen watching the game. Augustine sits with him. O'NEIL Turn it off. This is going to kill me. ON REDSKIN HUDDLE It breaks this time and everyone runs to the line of scrimmage. SHANE Blue 68. Blue 68! Hut! Hut! On the snap, Shane turns to head off to Lamont but instead runs right into Jamal who knocks him down. Shane looks up at Jamal. SHANE Have you suddenly decided you do n't like me, Jamal? JAMAL Oh. You said it was to the right, did n't you? IN HUDDLE Shane leans in. SHANE Okay. Let's try something simple. 18 red left slot open. -LRB- to Jamal. -RRB- That's to the left! They break and Shane lines up over his center. SHANE Eighteen red! Eighteen red! Hut! Hut! On the snap, Shane hands to Lamont who sweeps left, cuts inside and picks up eight yards. Shane is ecstatic. SHANE Yeah! And then a penalty flag flies by. REF Holding! Number 78. Shane looks at Jamal who is trying desperately to hide his number. Shane leans in with the next play. Cochran, playing right tackle, ca n't resist. COCHRAN You see. We should have prayed. SHANE Shut up! Pass. 22 Solo right slot ` A,' Y stick. On one. They break and come to the line of scrimmage. SHANE Twenty - two green. Hut! Shane does a play action fake to Lamont and then turns downfield. Wham! He's buried by three defenders. The ball squirts loose and the Patriots recover. ON PILACHOWSKI He's livid on the sidelines. As his offensive line comes off he rants at them. Shane hobbles off past : The defense rushing onto the field led by Bateman. SUMMERALL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Washington comes up a minus fourteen yards on their first possession. ON PATRIOTS They break their huddle and come to the line of scrimmage. Bateman is snorting fire. Earl Wilkinson -LRB- with SMITH on the back of his jersey -RRB- patrols the secondary and calls out the formation. EARL Wide right! You got wide right! Check on the wing! The PATRIOT QUARTERBACK sets up over center. PATRIOT QB Blue fourteen! Bam! Bateman runs offside and flattens the quarterback. Penalty flags fly everywhere. ON SIDELINE Defensive Coordinator Banes rolls his eyes. The Ref moves the ball five yards and gives the offside sign. ON PATRIOTS They come out of the huddle again. PATRIOT QB Green eighty - seven! Pow! Bateman dives offside again and forearms the Quarterback, knocking him on his back. Flags fly again. One Patriot lineman makes the mistake of pushing Bateman. Bateman literally jumps on his head. More flags fly. ON SIDELINE Banes is screaming something unintelligible at Bateman. ON BALL It's marched downfield by the Ref, this time fifteen yards. OVER this we hear : SUMMERALL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I think the Redskins just set a record for penalties in the first three minutes. We're waiting for the stats on that. Here come the Patriots again. FIRST HALF MONTAGE A -RRB- SHANE rolls to his right but the blitz is on and he reverses and rolls left. He's finally cornered and has to dump the ball off. The pass is incomplete and he's knocked on his ass. B -RRB- SHANE fakes to Lamont and rolls again. He fires a bullet to Franklin on a down and out. Clifford actually catches the ball, then bobbles it and in trying to get possession again, hands the ball to the defender. The defender ca n't believe it for a beat and then he streaks down the sideline and scores. C -RRB- McGINTY just shakes his head. D -RRB- TODD, ROB AND BOB scream in pain. Rod pours his own beer over his own head. E -RRB- O'NEIL looks disgusted as he watches with Augustine. F -RRB- BATEMAN grabs the opposing running backs' face mask and spins him around and around. Flags fly everywhere. G -RRB- SHANE is on the run again looking for a receiver. He finally throws the ball. right into the hands of the opposing safety. Shane dives for the guy and misses. The safety scores. H -RRB- ANNABELLE is trying desperately to get the crowd into the game by jumping up and down and waving her pom poms. Five guys right in front of her get up from their seats, take all their stuff and leave.", "EXT. GAME - ANGLE ON SCOREBOARD - SECOND QUARTER shows the Patriots up 17 to 0. ON SHANE He's rolling in the back field again looking for a receiver. SHANE'S POV Nothing but meat coming at him. BACK TO SCENE Shane panics and tosses the ball out of bounds. Shane looks at McGinty on the sidelines. We hear McGinty's voice. McGINTY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- You had Lamont open in the flat. Shane puts his head down like he knows it. McGINTY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Come on, now, son. Pick up your pace on the roll. See the big picture. Pump and fake, pump and fake. IN HUDDLE Everyone is dirty, sweating bullets and breathing very hard. Shane leans into the huddle. Lee is raising his hand. SHANE What? LEE I do n't feel good. And with that he promptly vomits sixteen eggs. ANDRE Oh, God! COCHRAN Oooooh. JAMAL Man, that's ripe! Everyone is reacting. Some players gag. EVANS Shane, we got to move! SHANE Okay. On the count of three. Everyone more left. Hut! Hut! Hut! ON HUDDLE Eleven bentover guys move in unison with tiny steps to their left. ON PATRIOTS' LINEBACKER The guy watches the huddle moving. PATRIOT LB What the fuck is this? ON MADDEN AND SUMMERALL Summerall has his binoculars on the moving huddle. SUMMERALL John, how many years have we been calling games together? MADDEN Seventeen, I think. Pat just hands John the binoculars. IN HUDDLE Shane calls the play as they continue to move as one. SHANE U brown right, west 19 A lead. That's you, Mickey. Puke on him if you have to. ON HUDDLE The huddle stops and they break for the line of scrimmage. ON LEE He lines up face to face with the Patriots' defensive end. Lee breathes in the guy's face and the Patriot gags. SHANE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Hut! Lee runs right over the guy. He's quickly followed by Lamont with the ball. Lamont runs for eighteen yards and a first down. ON PATRIOT DEFENSIVE END He's waving for a substitute as he weaves off the field. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Very nice off tackle run by Lamont. Execution was letter perfect. SUMMERALL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That puts the Redskins in field goal range. And here comes Pacifico to see if he can get them on the board before the half ends. ON PACIFICO He flicks his smoke away as he runs out onto the field.", "INT. BAR (QUEENS, NEW YORK) A guy sitting at the bar turns his head quickly to the televised game when he hears Pacifico's name. This is the same mafioso type who saw Lou kick the ball that knocked the godfather's hat off. Remember?", "EXT. BIG O - ON SHANE - DAY He crouches down and waits for the snap from Evans. Pacifico lines himself up. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This will be a forty - five yarder. That's a tough distance for your first N.F.L. field goal try. SHANE Hut! It's a perfect snap. Shane spots it, Pacifico belts it. And it goes through for three. ON TODD, ROD AND BOB They begin immediately singing `` Hail to the Redskins,'' a march always sung after a score. They and the sparse crowd in the stadium know and sing every word. ON PACIFICO He gets high fives all around. Then Bateman runs up and in his ecstasy, slaps Pacifico in the head. Pacifico goes down, knocked out cold. ON CHEERLEADERS Led by Annabelle, the girls are doing a stirring finale to `` Hail to the Redskins.''", "INT. LOCKER ROOM - DAY (HALF-TIME) Everyone is lying on the floor. Shane has ice bags on his head, shoulder, elbow and both knees. Pacifico is getting smelling salts from a trainer as Bateman hovers nearby waiting to apologize. Mickey Lee is chewing ice. Cochran is reading his Bible. McGinty walks in and bends down to Shane. McGINTY -LRB- quietly. -RRB- You got to look for Murray over the middle. You got to trust me on this : he's a big, tough kid with good hands. SHANE We ca n't put three plays together without a penalty, a fumble of a fight. McGINTY You still got a whole half left. You're a thoroughbred out there running against a bunch a nags. You can pick these fuckers apart. Shane smiles through his pain. SHANE You're good. You're really good.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY The Patriots have the ball. Their Quarterback drops back for a pass and throws it. ON WILKINSON Earl is covering the intended receiver. He deftly steps in front of the guy, and makes a diving catch. ON MADDEN AND SUMMERALL SUMMERALL Another terrific interception by Smith. That's his second. Madden starts shuffling through pages. MADDEN Yeah, this guy is a player. He finds the paper he's looking for. MADDEN According to the Redskins, Ray Smith. is. that's weird. No college given, no high school given. It just says he's been a resident of the state of Maryland for the last four years and five months. Likes to embroider.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY Shane is walking toward the huddle. In his ear, he hears : McGINTY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Half your job is getting that huddle in the right mindset. Use your imagination, Shane. Shane stops short of the huddle. Everyone is looking at him. There is a beat and then Shane steps in. SHANE Okay, let's all take a few seconds to think about what we were doing for a living. just last week. Shane looks around the huddle. Everybody looks pained and/or depressed. SHANE Good. Let's kick ass. Red right pass 15 x hook. They break the huddle and Shane sets up over Evans. He glances over at Brian Murray. Murray is lined up in a three point stance at tight end. But his head is turned and he's looking directly at Shane. SHANE Red fifteen! Red fifteen! Hut! Shane nods on the snap. The front five, in the persons of Andre, Jamal, Reese, Mickey Lee and Cochran, hit out and simultaneously knock their men on their backs. Shane, with plenty of time, hits Murray over the middle for twelve yards. Shane looks over at the sidelines. McGinty is smiling. MONTAGE A -RRB- SHANE is under pressure but he rolls smoothly and rockets the ball downfield. Murray pulls it in for fifteen yards. B -RRB- SHANE rolls left off the shotgun, fights off a cornerback and throws back across field, complete to Lamont coming out of the backfield. C -RRB- PATRIOT is calling for a fair catch on a punt. He catches the ball but Bateman flies INTO FRAME and decks him. Flags fly. D -RRB- ANDRE AND JAMAL are blocking side by side, pushing their men back as Lamont squeezes through with the ball. E -RRB- EVANS is pass blocking like the all pro that he is. He knocks his man flat and then doubles up on Cochran's man. F -RRB- BATEMAN is pursuing a running back. He knocks down an official and runs right over him. Then he gets his hands on the running back and pushes him out of bounds and then knocks over a photographer. G -RRB- SHANE pumps once and then drills a twenty yard spiral. Clifford Franklin beats his man and dives for the ball. He bobbles it, and then squeezes it to his stomach as he hits the ground.", "INT. BOOTH - DAY Madden uses his pen on the screen to try to explain a play. There are already lines everywhere. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- began with a Redskin end around, but Cochran, the pulling tackle ran into Falco's pitchout. see? -LRB- MORE. -RRB- MADDEN -LRB- V.O. ; CONT'D. -RRB- Right here, it bounced off his helmet. Then it was kicked by Landon and then Hayes touched it, I think, and then Green got a hand on it, and then Bellinski recovered it and then he lost it, and finally the ball took a crazy bounce right back into Falco's hands, look at his face here. He's as surprised as anybody! Falco then ran it back to just about the original line of scrimmage, executed the same play - an end around to Murray - and the Skins score. Welcome to Strike Football! ON PACIFICO Boom! He boots the extra point. Scoreboard : Patriots 17, Redskins 10.", "EXT. FIELD - LATE AFTERNOON We're on the clock which shows one minute ten seconds left in the fourth quarter. ON HUDDLE It breaks and comes to the line of scrimmage. Shane drops into the shotgun. SHANE Hut, hut! Shane rolls left but there's a blitz! The cornerback is almost on him when Shane shifts and rolls the other way. ON FRANKLIN He's wide open five yards from the goal line. ON SHANE They're breathing down his back. SHANE'S POV He sees Franklin and cocks his arm. Suddenly, opposing jerseys are everywhere. Shane dumps the ball. He's immediately decked by a defensive end. ON BALL We watch the flight of it in SLOW MOTION. We FOLLOW it right INTO the hands of. a New England Patriot defensive back. ON SHANE He's down and not moving. ON TODD, ROD AND BOB They scream in despair. ON ANNABELLE She falls to her knees in pain. SUMMERALL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Falco is intercepted. That's too bad. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yeah, and it looks like he's hurt, too. He was really starting to put it together here in the fourth quarter. Only forty - eight seconds now left on the clock. ON SHANE He's helped off the field and onto the bench. ON McGINTY He grabs Bateman before he can run out onto the field. McGINTY Danny. -LRB- very slowly. -RRB- Get me the ball. BATEMAN The ball. Okay, Coach. He runs out onto the field. ON PATRIOTS They line up. PATRIOT QB Hut, hut, hut! The quarterback hands off to the running back right up the middle in a typical `` run out the clock'' play. BAM! Bateman comes out of nowhere, decks the runner and literally rips the ball out of his hands as he goes down. ON CROWD They go wild! ON ANNABELLE She does a cartwheel. ON McGINTY He's leaning over a groggy Shane on the bench. McGINTY Do n't shake your head at me. You are going back in there. You are gon na run the same god damn play, you are gon na throw the ball to Franklin again and this time, he's gon na score. SHANE I ca n't. McGinty grabs some smelling salts from a hovering trainer. He shoves them under Shane's nose. Shane is suddenly very awake. McGINTY You are the only one in this entire stadium who can do it. Do you understand me? You can do something no one else can do. So, start right here. Start living your destiny. Or give it up for good. Right here. Right now. Shane stares at him. Then he stands up, wobbles and puts on his helmet. ON HUDDLE They're all turned and watching as Shane makes his way slowly out onto the field. Annabelle watches him closely. SUMMERALL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Here comes Falco with eighteen seconds left on the clock. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'm surprised to see him again after that shot he took from Bellinski. ON HUDDLE It breaks and Shane stands over Evans and looks out at the defense. Nasty - looking linebackers and cornerbacks stare at him. SHANE 22 green! His voice cracks and several defensive players openly laugh at him. Shane gets an idea. SHANE Check! Black 43! Black 43! ON ANDRE He's down in a three - point stance facing a defender. He whispers to Reese : ANDRE What's that mean? REESE -LRB- whispering back. -RRB- He's changing the play. Listen! SHANE Black 43! MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's a long count. Falco could be calling an audible. ON LAMONT He shifts position in the backfield. LAMONT -LRB- to Shane. -RRB- Is this right? SHANE -LRB- shaking his head. -RRB- Black 43 left! Lamont shifts again. Clifford goes in motion from his flanker position but then changes his mind and goes back the other way. Lamont and Clifford then bump into each other. ON PATRIOT DEFENSE They are totally confused now as they try to adjust to the equally confused Redskins. ON McGINTY He looks extremely pissed. ON SHANE SHANE Hut! Hut! He turns to hand the ball off to Lamont but Lamont is not there. Shane turns the other way and sees Lamont just standing there looking at him. Shane runs over to him and hands him the ball. Meanwhile, the Patriot defense is going the other direction. Lamont takes off. One cornerback is not taken in. The guy dives for Lamont's legs. We hear a CLANK as the cornerback's HELMET hits Lamont's industrial KNEE BRACE. The guy bounces off and Lamont trots into the end zone. SUMMERALL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Lamont scores! MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Whoa! Falco calls an audible at the line of scrimmage and Lamont takes it in! Shane, meanwhile, is looking at McGinty on the sidelines. McGINTY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- in Shane's helmet. -RRB- I guess you saw something I did n't. Shane nods vigorously. McGINTY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Do n't try to bullshit me, pal. You did n't want it. Winners always want the ball with the game on the line. You know that. Shane looks down. McGINTY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Alright. The play is. waggle right, drag hook. You understand? Shane nods. ON O'NEIL He looks ten years younger as he and Augustine watch. SUMMERALL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- With eight seconds remaining, Pacifico will try the extra point that will send this game into overtime. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- This turned out to be one hell of a contest, Pat! ON PACIFICO He sets up for the kick. ON SHANE He waits for the snap. ON BRIAN MURRAY He sets up at his flanker position. SHANE Hut! Shane catches the snap and pitches the ball out to Murray from his holding position. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's a fake! The Patriot right defensive end breaks through and reaches for Murray. The only person in his way is Shane, still kneeling in the holding position. Shane screams as the huge lineman trips over him and then falls on him. Murray sweeps around the right side and scores untouched. Redskins win. Everybody goes nuts. ON O'NEIL He pounds on Augustine. ON TODD, ROD AND BOB They pound on each other. Hail to the Redskins is deafening. ON McGINTY He just smiles. ON SHANE He's still under the defensive end. Reese Evans pulls the guy off and bends down to Shane. REESE We won, Shane. We won! Shane manages a painful smile.", "INT. WASHINGTON HILTON - BAR - NIGHT It's packed with players, friends and assorted groupies. Pacifico is smoking and talking non - stop to a group who hang on his every word. Andre is already passed out at a booth. Jamal supports one side of Andre so he does n't fall over. Murray is signing to several fans who sign back. Clifford Franklin signs autographs. Earl Wilkinson, dressed to the nines, is dancing close and slow with a gorgeous woman. Shane is at the bar and he's not in good shape. He's got cuts and bruises visible and every time he moves he grimaces. The martinis are starting to help, however. He's talking to a stunning WOMAN IN RED. SHANE ultimately, it's a pain thing, you know? I mean, it's Darwinian, the survival of the numbest. Whoever can take the pain most, gets the largest contract. It's sick. He finishes his martini and throws the olive over his shoulder. WOMAN IN RED Exactly. Let me buy you another. She signals to the bartender. WOMAN IN RED I do n't know how you do it. I hate pain. Pain is a no no as far as I'm concerned. Shane gets his new drink, takes a sip and visibly slumps at the bar. SHANE -LRB- slurring. -RRB- I'm glad that you are concerned. WOMAN    IN RED Hey, are you alright? I'll take you up to your room, if you like. Shane looks at her closely. SHANE I would like. CUT TO : :", "INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Shane weaves down the hallway with the Woman In Red. They stop at a door. SHANE Here's home. Shane fumbles for a key. Another stunning - looking woman suddenly appears from down the hall. This is the WOMAN IN BLUE. WOMAN IN RED A friend of mine is going to join us, okay? WOMAN IN BLUE Hi. Ready to party? She checks the hallway, takes the key from Shane and sticks it in the lock. SHANE -LRB- looking at both women. -RRB- Oooooh. Bookends. WOMAN IN BLUE And you're the book, baby. Suddenly, Annabelle Farrell appears in the hallway. ANNABELLE -LRB- to the girls. -RRB- Go away. Both of you. WOMAN IN RED Fuck off! Crack! Annabelle punches her in the nose with a straight right hand. The girl bounces off the wall. SHANE -LRB- to Annabelle. -RRB- These are my guests. WOMAN IN RED -LRB- now bleeding. -RRB- You crazy bitch! Both girls take off. SHANE Why did you do that? Annabelle opens the door. ANNABELLE You were about to be rolled. SHANE -LRB- as he enters. -RRB- That's what I was hoping.", "INT. ROOM - NIGHT Annabelle is pulling the bed down as Shane falls into a chair. ANNABELLE They work the bar downstairs looking for drunk Redskins. Shane looks embarrassed. SHANE I guess they found one. ANNABELLE Do n't feel so bad. It's a rookie mistake. She turns and sees that he's already passed out. She looks at him not unkindly. Then she unbuckles his belt and starts pulling his pants off.", "INT. ROOM - CLOSE ON SHANE'S BEAT UP FACE - DAWN as he opens his eyes. He rolls over and screams in pain. ON ANNABELLE She's wearing nothing but a Redskins' T - shirt. She quickly bends over him. ANNABELLE Here. Take this. SHANE -LRB- groaning. -RRB- What is it? ANNABELLE It's for the pain. Take it. It's only a little bit illegal. Shane takes it and swigs a glass of water. SHANE Oh, God. I've got to go to the bathroom. It's far away, is n't it? ANNABELLE I'll help. We'll just take our time. She helps him get out of bed. When he stands, he screams again. ANNABELLE Kidneys. SHANE Oh, man. My hair hurts. ANNABELLE You took a hell of a beating. The martinis did n't help, either. She walks him to the bathroom like an old man. He shuffles in and closes the door. ANNABELLE Do n't be afraid if you've got blood in your urine. That's normal. SHANE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Did you undress me? ANNABELLE Yes. SHANE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- And you. slept here with me? ANNABELLE Yes. SHANE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Did we? ANNABELLE Are you kidding? You were catatonic. He appears again at the door. SHANE No blood. ANNABELLE Good. Back to bed. He leans on her as she walks him back. He gets into bed with a moan. SHANE May I ask you a personal question? She nods. SHANE Do you do this for all Redskin quarterbacks? ANNABELLE Of course not. SHANE Then why me? Annabelle takes her time answering. ANNABELLE I do n't know. I guess I ca n't resist a man who can take a hit. SHANE I ca n't take a hit! Annabelle cradles his head. ANNABELLE Shhh. It's all in your head. Now, get some sleep.", "INT. HOTEL HALLWAY - DAY Annabelle walks up to Shane's door with a stack of newspapers. She enters.", "INT. ROOM - DAY The bathroom door is closed. Annabelle talks to him anyway. ANNABELLE You're the golden boy in the press this morning. She reads a headline. ANNABELLE ` Falco scores big.'. -LRB- to herself. -RRB- Well. not really. -LRB- still reading. -RRB- Hey, a lot of the regular players are starting to cross the picket line. SHANE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Redskins? ANNABELLE It does n't say. Shane comes out of the bathroom dressed and ready to go. He's still moving slowly and in great pain. ANNABELLE Where are you going? SHANE McGinty called a dinner meeting with the whole team. Shane tries to put on his coat, but he's so sore he ca n't. Annabelle helps him. SHANE Thank you. Thanks for. everything. You saved my life. ANNABELLE No. Probably just your wallet and your watch. SHANE And that pill, that sure worked. ANNABELLE You're basic double D Vicodin. But be careful : It's habit - forming. The best stuff always is. There's another awkward silence. SHANE Well. ANNABELLE Ice both knees and that shoulder before bed.", "EXT. CLIFFORD FRANKLIN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Clifford, still carrying his football, comes out of his apartment in a third floor walk - up. He's wearing his Redskins jacket. As he turns around from locking his door, he stops dead in his tracks. All of Clifford's neighbors, all the way down both halls, are standing in front of their doors. They all start applauding. Clifford smiles from ear to ear. MONTAGE A -RRB- ANDRE AND JAMAL are trying to hail a cab on Wisconsin Avenue. Suddenly, one cab, then two, then four SLAM on their BRAKES. Cabbies hop out to open their doors for the brothers. B -RRB- ROLAND LAMONT walks down G Street with Brian Murray. Brian spots something in a store window and stops Roland. Roland gasps as he sees himself duplicated on ten TV screens in an appliance store. He's on tape being interviewed at a Redskins' practice. C -RRB- EARL WILKINSON dressed in casual chic, is moving quickly through Lord and Taylor's Department Store with two sales clerks in tow. He stops, grabs four cashmere sweaters, smells them, hands them to one clerk and moves on. D -RRB- LOU PACIFICO is standing in front of the White House. He has a line of ten people who are paying five bucks for an autographed picture of himself that he hands out from a huge stack.", "EXT. PALM RESTAURANT - ESTABLISHING - NIGHT We see Shane walk in the door.", "INT. PALM - NIGHT The Scabskins are all being served dinner in a private room. Mickey Lee is served a steak the size of a briefcase. Andre and Jamal get lobsters big enough to be pets. Ed O'Neil is being fed pureed asparagus by Augustine. When Augustine drops the napkin and bends over, O'Neil whispers urgently to Cochran who is enjoying a steak : O'NEIL I'll give you 50 thousand dollars for a bite of that steak! McGinty taps his glass at the head of the table and stands. McGINTY Alright, listen up : There have been a lot of rumors about the regular players crossing the picket lines. They are not rumors. Many union players have now seen the error of their ways and are coming back in droves. Apparently, Apparently, says. they have been struck with the realization that it is a blessing to be playing professional football. There is dead silence in the room. Everybody thinks it's over. McGINTY But they had their chance. Now it's your turn. Mister O'Neil and I have agreed to ban all striking players and to continue to go with you guys. There's a beat and then everyone breaks into cheers. Suddenly, the door flies open and a REPORTER and a cameraman step in and start filming. The Reporter shoves a microphone at McGinty. REPORTER Coach, what will be your strategy against New York this Sunday? Out in the restaurant, patrons see the players and a few break into `` Hail to the Redskins.'' Suddenly, the whole restaurant starts singing. Shane looks embarrassed. Pacifico stands up on his seat, and conducts the singing. Andre and Jamal hold their lobsters in the air and make them dance to the song.", "INT. EDDIE MARTEL'S HOUSE - NIGHT We're ON a TELEVISION showing Pacifico conducting and the entire restaurant singing. Eddie Martel -LRB- Redskin quarterback -RRB- is watching the scene at home on the late local news. NEWSPERSON -LRB- V.O. -RRB-. The Palm patrons showed an impromptu appreciation tonight for the new Washington Redskins. They may be unknowns and far from superstars, but it sure looks like they have charmed the fans. Martel looks very angry.", "INT. SHANE'S ROOM - NIGHT Shane answers his door. Annabelle is standing there. SHANE Hi. Come in. ANNABELLE No. She gives him a bottle of pills. ANNABELLE We do n't travel with the team. So, here's Tylenol with codeine, regular Vicodins, the magic bullet one that I gave you before, and a couple of Darvons if you actually break something. Pop'em in the ambulance. SHANE Wow. Thanks. ANNABELLE I'll be watching on TV. The Giants got back three of their four defensive linemen. Plus their middle linebacker. SHANE Yeah. I know. ANNABELLE What can I say? Go from the shotgun and scramble your ass off. Shane smiles at her. She suddenly grabs him and they kiss big - time. Then she breaks and walks quickly away. Shane does n't know what to make of this.", "EXT. MEADOWLANDS (NEW JERSEY) - DAY We're DOWN ON the field in the middle of a play. Shane is running away from three New York Giant defensive linemen. Shane is not even looking for a receiver. He's looking to save his life. Finally, he's caught by a six - foot - five, two hundred and seventy pound defensive end named HANK MORRIS, who throws him down and lands on top of him. Oooof! MORRIS -LRB- in Shane's ear. -RRB- Hello, again!", "INT. CONTROL BOOTH - ON SUMMERALL AND MADDEN - DAY They're back in their booth calling the game. MADDEN That's all - pro Hank Morris's third sack, his second here in the fourth quarter and the sixth of the day for the Giants. Falco is Falco is says. gon na be sore tonight. SUMMERALL If he can stay alive that long. Ten - three New York in what has turned out to be an incredible defensive duel.", "EXT. STADIUM - DAY Jerome Lindell is once again outside the stadium, picketing with a smaller group of players. He does his interview on camera, standing in front of a huge semi - truck. And a big, overweight truck driver stands next to him. LINDELL because it's about brothers, and brotherhood and standing together against the oppressors. That's why I am so grateful to our Teamster brothers who have joined us here today in New York to protest the greed squad known as the N.F.L. owners. The truck driver suddenly pumps his arm and a CACOPHONY OF TRUCK AIR HORNS GO OFF. It's deafening but Lindell smiles through it all.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY Shane is rolling out with Morris on his heels again. He ca n't find anyone open and runs out of bounds. IN HUDDLE Everybody is breathing hard, beat - up and exhausted. Shane leans in. SHANE -LRB- to Reese Evans. -RRB- You got to double up on Morris. EVANS He's too far outside for me to get to him. -LRB- to Cochran. -RRB- Bring him down and sit on him. COCHRAN He's huge! He's been beating the crap out of me all day! I feel like a rag doll out here. LEE I'll help this time. SHANE Okay. Spread left ` A' Right, roll right Half Back Sail. On two. They break. Shane sets up in the shotgun. SHANE Red, fifteen. Hut, hut! On the snap, Lee and Cochran double - team Morris. Morris slaps Cochran away like, well, a rag doll, and then confronts the Sumo master. He bumps stomachs with Lee. Lee flies through the air and lands on his ass. ON SHANE He spots his receiver, he cocks his arm and wham! Morris decks him. And, of course, lands on him. Oooof! MORRIS -LRB- to Shane. -RRB- It's just me, fuck - face! In order to get up, Morris puts one huge hand on Shane's helmet and pushes himself up. Shane moans as his face guard digs a four - inch hole in the turf. ON McGINTY He's talking into his mike. McGINTY You want a time - out? That looks like it hurt. Shane gets up. He's got a huge piece of turf stuck in his face guard so that for a beat, we ca n't even see him. Then he pulls out the dirt and grass, and we see Shane really pissed off for the first time. SHANE Huddle up! Everyone gathers around. SHANE Same thing. Except. -LRB- to Lee and Cochran. -RRB- Let him in. Do n't touch him. LEE What? EVANS Shane. SHANE Shut up! Let him through. On two. They break the huddle. Shane goes into a shotgun. SHANE Red fifteen. Hut! Hut! Shane does a three - step drop from the shotgun. Cochran and Lee hit out on either side of Morris, giving him a clear shot at Shane. Morris comes hard and fast. Shane looks downfield, winds up, turns and fires the ball at Morris's head. The ball goes like a bullet for five feet and then sticks like a dart in Morris's face guard. For a moment, Morris is blinded. And Shane is dumbfounded. Then Morris starts to wrestle the ball out of his mask. SHANE Get him! Andre and Jamal grab onto Morris who starts stumbling down field with the ball still stuck in his helmet. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Morris intercepts! Wait! The ball is stuck in his face! But Morris wo n't go down. He's still trying to pry the ball loose as he throws off Jamal. Then he shakes off Andre. ON BRIAN MURRAY He's in SLOW MOTION in midair, diving towards Morris. MURRAY'S POV It's absolutely QUIET -LRB- he's deaf, remember? -RRB- as he soars towards Morris's head, helmet and ball. Wham! Murray's full body weight hits Morris in the helmet, which flies off and rolls across the field with the ball still stuck in it. OUT OF THE SILENCE, we suddenly hear the hit and the crowd roar. Morris goes down like a building with Murray buried in his throat. ON ROOM -LRB- D.C. -RRB- Todd, Rod and Bob are destroying Todd's den in reaction to the hit. ON ANOTHER LIVING ROOM Annabelle is screaming `` Whoa!'' to that hit. ON O'NEIL AND AUGUSTINE They're watching ON TV. O'NEIL Now that's a hit! ON BALL AND HELMET It's in the very chubby hands of Mickey Lee, who is rumbling downfield with the fumble/helmet recovery. New York players have been slow to pick this up because they, too, have been admiring the lick that Murray put on Morris. Suddenly, the whole team is chasing Lee. They catch him pretty easily at the twenty, but Lee represents a lot of weight. Lee staggers across the ten, shaking players off left and right. One defensive halfback sacrifices himself and throws himself at Lee's feet. Lee trips over the guy, gains his footing again, walks on the guy -LRB- who screams in agony -RRB- and falls into the end zone carrying three players with him. ON MADDEN AND SUMMERALL John is beside himself. MADDEN Lee scores! Lee scores! Lee scores! I love to see a fat guy score! ON LEE He gets up in jubilation, spikes the ball/helmet combination, and runs through the back of the end zone. But he does n't stop. He's aiming for a low wall that separates the first row of fans from the field. ON FOUR FANS They see Mickey rumbling at them and they all get the picture at the same time. They scream! ON MICKEY He launches himself into the stands in ecstasy. ON FOUR FANS Crunch! Lee lands on all four of them. ON FOOTBALL It's hiked into Shane's hands and Pacifico boots the extra point. ON SCOREBOARD `` Giants 10 - Redskins 10 TIME REMAINING : 58 seconds.'' ON SIDELINE Murray and Lee are getting congratulations from everyone. PACIFICO -LRB- to Murray. -RRB- What a hit! -LRB- slower. -RRB- What a hit! Murray nods that he understands. EVANS -LRB- to Murray. -RRB- I'm proud of you, kid. Jamal and Andre are hugging Lee. In the b.g., we can see paramedics lifting one of Lee's four fans onto a stretcher. ANDRE You're the one, you're the one, you're the one. LEE You think that's worth a shoe deal? McGinty walks into the middle of it. McGINTY Stop with the lovefest! Let's get the goddamn ball back and win this thing!", "EXT. FIELD - DAY We're CLOSE ON Bateman as he lines up for the kick - off. Everybody in the stadium knows that an on - side kick is coming. Bateman is standing in the hot spot for recovering the ball. Shane and everyone with decent hands is on the field. Pacifico lines it up and boots it ten yards. The ball takes a crazy hop, hits a Giant, and ricochets off him. Bateman runs over two guys and grabs the ball on the bounce. He's got it. But Bateman does n't go down. He turns and starts running across the field. Shane runs after him. SHANE No! Danny, go down! You're using up the clock! But Bateman likes this new job : kick - off returner! Especially after he runs over a Giant and stiff - arms another. Bateman is finally trapped on the far sideline after gaining perhaps eight yards. So, he turns and starts running back the other way. Shane has been chasing him and now sees Bateman running back at him. Shane has no choice but to throw himself in front of Bateman's legs. Bateman goes down. Shane jumps up : SHANE -LRB- to ref. -RRB- Time out! Bateman looks up at Shane. BATEMAN Beautiful tackle, Shane! SUMMERALL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Now that's something you do n't see everyday! ON CLOCK Bateman has burned up most of the clock. Eighteen seconds remain. ON SIDELINE McGinty, Shane and Pacifico confer. SHANE We got time for one play, but if we do n't get it out of bounds, the game is over. McGINTY Yeah, but you're looking at a sixty - five yard kick from here. PACIFICO -LRB- smoking a butt. -RRB- No problem. SHANE Seriously? PACIFICO -LRB- to Shane. -RRB- You hold it. I'll kick it. McGinty looks at Shane and they both shrug. McGINTY What the fuck. ON SUMMERALL AND MADDEN Madden ca n't believe it. MADDEN I ca n't believe it! McGinty is gon na let Pacifico try the field goal from sixty - five yards out! SUMMERALL Hey, John, this kid has got a heck of a foot. STRAM But sixty - five yards? Come on! ON SHANE He's set up to receive the snap. Pacifico lines himself up the way soccer - style kickers do. Then he takes a drag on his smoke, and flicks it away. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Pat. did he just? I think that guy is smoking on the field! SUMMERALL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- No, I think you imagined that one, John. Shane looks at Pacifico and his clean uniform. Then Shane looks at his own uniform which is covered with blood, dirt, and grass stains. Pacifico looks clean. SHANE You look great, Lou, you know that? Pacifico is really touched. LOU Really? Thanks, Shane. That means a lot to me. Shane turns to Evans who smiles at him between his own legs. SHANE Hut! The snap is perfect. Pacifico boots the shit out of it. ON BALL End over end, yard after yard, it flies straight and true. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's straight enough! If it's got the distance, it's. The ball hits the crossbar and goes over. MADDEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Good! Redskins win! Everybody goes crazy. Players are pounding on Pacifico. But Pacifico is desperately looking around for someone. He spots him : It's Bateman running flat - out across the field to congratulate him. Pacifico runs for his life.", "INT. APARTMENT DOOR - NIGHT Shane knocks. After a beat, the door opens and Annabelle is standing there rubbing her eyes. She's wearing a cut - off Redskin jersey. ANNABELLE Are you hurt? SHANE No. Not really. ANNABELLE You're getting used to being slapped around. That's a good sign. SHANE I. Nothing comes out. ANNABELLE Would you like to come in and make love? SHANE Yes. No. I'm here because. I do n't want to be alone. ANNABELLE Most of the world feels that way. You do n't have to be embarrassed about it. SHANE But to tell you the truth. I'm kind of scared of you. Annabelle takes that in and thinks about it. ANNABELLE I wo n't hurt you. She takes his hand and leads him inside.", "INT. ANNABELLE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Annabelle is giving Shane a slow, sensuous, full - body massage. It's lucky for us he's on his stomach. Shane does a lot of moaning as Annabelle's fingers work their magic. She gets to a place on his shoulder that's especially tender. He moans even louder. ANNABELLE That shoulder is going to need special handling. Annabelle pulls her jersey off and gently presses her breasts into Shane's back. Shane puts a pillow over his head to drown out the ecstasy. After a beat, he pulls the pillow away. SHANE You know what hurts worse than my shoulder? ANNABELLE I ca n't imagine. SHANE Their defensive end punched me in the mouth. Annabelle starts laughing. SHANE Seriously. It's killing me. Annabelle is laughing hard now as Shane rolls over.", "INT. ANNABELLE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Shane and Annabelle are in a close, after - sex kind of cuddle thing. Shane is unburdening himself. SHANE after that game, after being beaten that badly in front of the whole country, after humiliating myself, my team, my school, my family, I mean - did you know that I set two Sugar Bowl records?! I was sacked eleven times! I threw six interceptions! ANNABELLE Okay. Calm down. SHANE Anyway, after that, I could never seem to adjust in the pros. I was too scared. I lost my balls. We see Annabelle's hand move slightly under the covers. ANNABELLE Well, they're back. SHANE You know what I mean. My nerve. I lost the edge you need to play this game. ANNABELLE I do n't believe that. I do n't think it just goes away. It was only one bad day, Shane. Everybody has those. SHANE No. Somehow, I convinced myself that I could n't ever win the big game. I got so down, that I was afraid to be playing when a game was on the line. I was afraid to screw up. That's the sure sign of a loser. From there, it was n't very far to thinking that I'll never win, that I did n't deserve to win at anything. Including love. ANNABELLE You're wrong. You're winning now. You're winning me. They kiss real good.", "EXT. O'NEIL MANSION - MORNING It's a huge town house in Foggy Bottom. Its entrance is now lined with REPORTERS. One is speaking ON CAMERA to his anchor. REPORTER Bob, I'm standing in front of Redskins owner, Edward Frances O'Neil's home and all we know right now is that the Washington player previously known as Ray Smith is in fact Earl Samuel Wilkinson. INSERT We see two photographs of Earl : One with his current beard and the other, his clean - shaven mug shot of five years ago. REPORTER -LRB- O.S. -RRB- the All Pro Miami Safety who was serving five to seven years in the Maryland state penitentiary for three counts of aggravated assault. As you may recall, one of those counts was against a Baltimore City police officer and resulted in that officer being hospitalized for quite some time.", "INT. STUDIO - ANCHOR He's doing his sports segment from the studio. ANCHOR Any idea how Wilkinson's identity was discovered and who leaked it to the media? REPORTER No, Bob, but rumor has it that the National Football League Player's Association had something to do with it. ANCHOR Thanks, Hank. -LRB- TO CAMERA. -RRB- In other N.F.L. news, almost sixty percent of the regular players have now crossed the picket lines and more are crossing every day. The strike, now in its second week, is expected to go out with a fizzle. Most experts think that the Monday night Dallas/Washington game will be the last with replacement players. But even that game will feature at least 75 percent of the regular Cowboys. Coach James McGinty will try to make it a perfect three and O with a team made up totally of replacement players. Well. and one felon. -LRB- pause. -RRB- That we know of.", "INT. O'NEIL'S BEDROOM - DAY McGinty stares out the window at the reporters as Augustine feeds O'Neil soup. McGINTY Stop worrying. The N.F.L. does n't care if he played under an assumed name. Everything was legal. He was let out on a work release program. He'll be kept under house arrest but he'll still be able to play. O'NEIL Where are we gon na keep him? McGINTY In the stadium. We'll fix up something comfortable for him and he'll get his exercise by kicking the shit out of N.F.L. receivers. O'NEIL How did you pull that off? McGINTY How else? With your money. O'NEIL -LRB- to Augustine. -RRB- Take this cow piss out of here. AUGUSTINE You used to love asparagus soup. They say that when the taste buds go, you're at the beginning of the end. Augustine leaves with the tray. McGINTY I want to keep Falco after the strike ends. As Martel's back - up. O'NEIL Let's keep'em all. The hell with the regulars. McGINTY You've got to take the union players back once the strike ends. It's part of the collective bargaining agreement. O'NEIL The hell I do! I'm dying! Let'em sue me. McGINTY They'll do worse than that. They'll close They'll close says. down the stadium. O'NEIL God damn'em! Then you got to beat Dallas. The whole country will be watching. All those millionaires down there deserve to have their noses rubbed in it. McGINTY Ed, let's be honest : beating Dallas is gon na be a hell of a trick. O'NEIL You can pull it off. You proved that winning does n't have to look pretty. These boys are hungry for it, Jimmy. -LRB- MORE. -RRB- O'NEIL -LRB- CONT'D. -RRB- There's nothin' more dangerous in all of sports than a hungry team. I remember back in' 47, we were playing Nebraska in the mud. McGINTY -LRB- interrupting. -RRB- Ed, I'm begging you - no Notre Dame stories. O'NEIL Okay, Jimmy, okay. But you beat Dallas for me, and then I'll go gently into that night.", "INT. CAR SHOWROOM - DAY We're ON Mickey Lee, who is wearing his Redskin game jersey with no pads. He's stuffed into a Cadillac Brougham, a big - ass version of the Caddy. He's talking directly TO US. LEE You'll score, too, with a Cadillac from Coleman Cadillac. It's a big car for a big man. Mickey is very wooden as a spokesperson. He tries again. LEE -LRB- same thing. -RRB- You'll score, too, with a Cadillac from Coleman's Cadillac. It's a big car for a big man. DIRECTOR -LRB- O.S. -RRB- That's good, Mickey, that's real good. Let's try it again. Mickey looks game. MONTAGE A -RRB- EXT.. STADIUM Andre, Jamal, Brian Murray, Roland Lamont, Daniel Bateman, Lou Pacifico and Shane are standing outside the stadium after practice. They are all mobbed by autograph seekers. All of them are signing as fast as they can. B -RRB- EXT.. WASHINGTON MONUMENT The guys are on the grounds of the Washington Monument. They are lined up against a bunch of little kids. Shane takes the snap. -LRB- The ball is a miniature rubber football. -RRB- All the linemen fall down. The kids blitz and sack Shane for a big loss. Annabelle watches and laughs and claps. C -RRB- MICKEY LEE still crammed into the Cadillac. He looks exhausted and pissed. LEE -LRB- in a monotone. -RRB- You'll score, too, with a Cadillac from Coleman Cadillac. It's a big car, for a big man. DIRECTOR -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Okay. Good. That was good. Let's try it again. LEE -LRB- exploding. -RRB- What?! I'm not doing it again! Who are you, Orson Welles?! This is nuts! Lee tries unsuccessfully to get out of the car. D -RRB- ALL REPLACEMENT PLAYERS are lined up in Redskin jerseys, minus pads. It's team picture day and everyone looks happy to be there.", "INT. HILTON - NIGHT Shane walks down the hall to his room. He enters.", "INT. SHANE'S ROOM - NIGHT He walks in and closes the door. When he turns around, Eddie Martel, ex - Washington Redskin quarterback, is sitting on Shane's bed. Two defensive linemen - types stand by the window. SHANE What's this? MARTEL This is a visit. SHANE A visit. Who let you in? MARTEL I used to nail one of the housekeepers. SHANE Lucky girl. MARTEL -LRB- pointing to the linemen. -RRB- You know who these guys are, do n't you? SHANE Dallas Cowboys. Howdy. MARTEL You'll be seeing a lot of these guys tomorrow. SHANE What do you want? MARTEL Who, me? Not much. But these boys wanted a little head start on you. There's a beat and then Shane suddenly bolts for the door. But the two linemen grab and hold him. SHANE I'm flattered that you actually think we have a chance to win. MARTEL It can be a game of luck. And under no circumstances can we allow a scab team to go three and O. Especially against the Dallas Cowboys. It's just not good for the game. SHANE Is the union behind this ` visit'? MARTEL I ca n't really say, Shane. By the way, have you ever tried throwing a football with bruised ribs? He kicks Shane viciously in the side. Shane screams. MARTEL The pain makes it damn near impossible. The linemen drops Shane on the floor. MARTEL And one other thing : I want you to stay away from Annabelle. Shane is gasping on the floor. MARTEL The sad fact is she wo n't give me the time of day. But you ca n't have everything I want. I ca n't let that happen. So, you got ta stop seeing her. Just on principle. Martel viciously kicks Shane again. Shane screams. MARTEL Let me hear you say it. Shane is trying to get his breath. MARTEL Come on. You can do it. SHANE -LRB- barely visible. -RRB- I wo n't go out with her anymore. MARTEL Good. -LRB- to the linemen. -RRB- Gentlemen? -LRB- to Shane. -RRB- Hey, have a great game! They move toward the door.", "EXT. BIG O - MAGIC HOUR Once again, fans stream into the parking lots. In a corner of a lot, Jerome Lindell is once again holding forth ON CAMERA. But this time, he's standing with a hard - looking guy in a suit, named MATHESON. LINDELL I think that Mister Matheson here, and myself, are very close to an agreement that will put the ` pro' back in pro - football. REPORTER Mister Matheson, what are the sticking points in the negotiations as far as the owners are concerned? MATHESON Only one : that the players immediately go back to work with no change in the existing contract. Lindell looks uncomfortable. But he smiles anyway.", "INT. MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BOOTH - NIGHT The familiar `` MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL THEME SONG'' is just ending. AL MICHAELS does his on camera intro. AL Good evening from the Big O here in Washington D.C. where the mighty Dallas Cowboys take on the Cinderella Washington ` Scabskins' as they have come to be known. Hi, I'm Al Michaels and we are witnesses to a unique matchup tonight as Shane Falco and a contingent of strike players go up against the entire regular squad of the Dallas Cowboys. Yes, you heard right : every Cowboy has now crossed the picket line, some as late as this afternoon, and they will all play tonight. Can a rag tag group of hasbeens and castoffs stand up to what was once called America's team? And what about the strike itself? It has been so ineffective that many predict it will be over before this game ends. Stay tuned as Boomer and Dan join me for strike ball, D.C. style.", "EXT. STADIUM - MAGIC HOUR Eddie Martel, Wilson Jones and other regular Redskins take their seats on the fifty yard line.", "INT. REDSKIN LOCKER ROOM - NIGHT Everyone is just about dressed in their uniforms and ready to go. Lou Pacifico enters in street clothes and starts undressing quickly. He looks worried. Shane watches Lou for a beat. We see Shane shift his upper body and grimace. McGinty enters and pulls Shane aside. McGINTY Congratulations. It's official. You're staying on after the strike. Shane smiles in spite of the pain. McGINTY It's probably better that you not say anything to the rest of the guys until after the game. Okay? SHANE Whatever you say, Coach. McGinty walks into the middle of the locker room and goes into pre - game speech mode. McGINTY Alright, listen up. The strike is just about history. By tomorrow, you will no longer be Redskins. It's important that you leave here, however, with the knowledge that you have made a difference in your own life, in the owner's life - or what's left of it - and especially the fans'. You have proven to a skeptical America that sports is not about contracts, or agents or shoe deals. Sports is about rising to the occasion. We We says. have one more opportunity tonight to do that, one more chance to show what heart is all about. The Dallas Cowboys are waiting out there to kill you. I expect nothing less than for you to win even in your death throes. We have a powerful weapon on our side tonight : there is no tomorrow for most of you. And that makes you very dangerous people. Use it.", "EXT. STADIUM - DAY Boom! Pacifico belts the kick - off deep into the end zone. Touchback. ON AL, DAN AND BOOMER The three hosts sit in shirtsleeves and ties, headphones on. AL That is one very big leg on Lou Pacifico. He's a big reason why this strike team is two and 0. DAN But the fact is, a kicker does not an offense make. I think tonight the Scabskins will have a very rude awakening. BOOMER But you have to admit, Dan, Falco is proving to be the real thing. DAN Well, Boomer, no, I do n't have to admit anything. BOOMER -LRB- rolling his eyes. -RRB- Here we go. Everybody laughs politely.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY Bam! Earl Wilkinson flattens a Dallas punt returner. He's now wearing a jersey with his real name on the back. ON TODD, ROD AND BOB Bob is dressed in a striped convict suit with Wilkinson's number on it. He gets high fives from Todd and Rod for Wilkinson's hit. ON SHANE He walks out onto the field to join the huddle. ANNABELLE Shane! He turns and sees a smiling Annabelle. Shane gives her a guilty wave and then cringes with the pain of just having to lift his arm. ON LINE OF SCRIMMAGE The Redskins line up. Cochran is opposite Butler, the big tackle that `` visited'' Shane's room. COCHRAN -LRB- to Butler. -RRB- I just want to say what an honor it is to play opposite you. And if it's not too much trouble, I would love to have your autograph. BUTLER No problem. SHANE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Hut! Hut! On the snap, Butler bashes Cochran's head with his forearm and knocks his helmet off. Then he runs over him. ON SHANE He under - throws a very weak - looking pass to Lamont. Shane grits his teeth against the pain. ON COCHRAN He's dazed and still on the ground. Butler walks over and bends down to him. BUTLER I'm gon na autograph your body with bruises, you scab - ass son of a bitch!", "EXT. FIELD - DAY Shane is in the backfield, once again running for his life. He's rolling left with Butler on his heels. He throws another weak incomplete pass to Murray. Shane is crushed by Butler after he throws the ball. BUTLER How's that side feel? SHANE -LRB- grimacing. -RRB- Like Christmas morning. Butler leans on Shane's side as he gets up. Shane gasps with pain. ON McGINTY He's watching Shane closely. Then he talks into his mike. McGINTY What's the matter with your arm? Are you alright? ON AL, DAN AND BOOMER They're watching the replay on their monitor. Dan is very happy. DAN What pursuit! Butler never gave up on him. That's a 270 - pound guy who moves like a halfback. BOOMER Dan, I think Butler's hit on Falco was late, to tell you the truth. DAN Well, of course you do. You were a wimp quarterback. AL Easy, guys. Some laughter. FIRST - HALF MONTAGE A -RRB- DALLAS KICKER Boom! The Dallas kicker puts away the extra point after a score. ON SCOREBOARD Dallas 7, Washington 0. B -RRB- SHANE is under pressure as he rolls out. When a defensive lineman gets close, he throws the ball away like we've seen him do before. A defensive back intercepts. Dallas's ball. C -RRB- BALL Boom! The ball goes through the uprights for a Dallas field goal. ON SCOREBOARD Dallas 10, Washington 0. D -RRB- AUGUSTINE massages O'Neil's feet as the old man watches the game. He looks worried. E -RRB- PACIFICO smokes and stalks the sidelines. He looks up into the stands and sees the mafioso type looking down at him. F -RRB- SHANE steps up in the pocket. He looks downfield but in the face of the pass rush, he throws the ball weakly out of bounds. G -RRB- LEE is pass - blocking but the first guy spins him around and the second guy runs right around him. H -RRB- BATEMAN is double - teamed on a pass rush. He spins but he can get no leverage against his opponents. When the play ends, he pushes one of them. A penalty flag flies by. I -RRB- ROLAND LAMONT takes a pitch out, is immediately hit hard and loses the ball. A cornerback picks it up and takes it all the way for a Dallas score. J -RRB- WILKINSON steps up and bats a ball away from a Dallas receiver. A flag flies. Wilkinson argues the call. K -RRB- COCHRAN is lined up across from Butler. On the snap, Butler slaps Cochran in the face mask with his big, fat club of a hand. Cochran disappears OUT OF FRAME. L -RRB- DALLAS KICKER Boom! The Dallas kicker puts away the extra point after a Dallas touchdown. SCOREBOARD Dallas 24, Washington 0. M -RRB- EDDIE MARTEL, WILSON JONES AND OTHER REDSKINS sitting in the stands look satisfied.", "EXT. FIELD - DAY The Redskins huddle. Shane is in pain. He looks up at the clock. ON CLOCK There's thirty - two seconds left in the half. SHANE Okay. Red right 15 X hook. The break the huddle and come to the line of scrimmage. SHANE 15 X hut! Shane rolls right and looks downfield. He holds the ball and keeps rolling. No one can get open. Suddenly, Lamont cuts in front of him and yells : LAMONT Shane! Lamont sees an open lane and Shane follows him. He eats up 15 yards before two defensive halfbacks close in. Lamont throws an incredible block and takes out both guys. Shane blows by and heads for the end zone. Only a safety stands between Shane and pay dirt. CLOSE ON SHANE His side is killing him with every step he takes. When the safety moves up on him, Shane panics and goes down in the same kind of slide that Eddie Martel did in the beginning. Boom! The GUN SOUNDS and the half ends. Shane sees Redskin trainers running out onto the field. He turns and sees Lamont rolling on the ground in pain as he holds his bad knee.", "INT. MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BOOTH - NIGHT The boys are doing their half - time stand up. AL That's the end of the first half and not surprisingly, it was all Dallas. The Cowboys had over two hundred yards offensively versus Washington's frankly pathetic thirty - eight yards. That's total offense. Falco got close to scoring on the last play of the half but he appeared to have slipped. By the way, running back Roland Lamont was hurt on that play and word is he's on his way to the hospital. DAN Al, the battle is being fought and won in the trenches. You ca n't expect a bunch of pick - up players to stand up to a professional pass rush like the Cowboys. BOOMER There's still a whole half left, Dan. And remember, Falco is proving to be a second - half quarterback. DAN You got to be kidding. BOOMER Those big, fat boys in the trenches get awful tired. You ought to know that, Dan. No laughter. AL Okay, let's join Chris Berman with our half - time show. Chris? After a beat we hear : DIRECTOR -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Clear! AL What's wrong with you guys?! BOOMER He started it. DAN I did not! You called me fat! BOOMER I did not! But you are! Dan reaches across Al and grabs Boomer by the throat. AL Stop it! The three of them start wrestling in the booth.", "INT. REDSKIN LOCKER ROOM - NIGHT Everyone is nursing a bruise or some sort of wound. Shane is nowhere to be seen. McGinty walks into the middle of the locker room. McGINTY Alright, listen up : The strike is officially over. They're announcing it on TV right now. So this is it, gentlemen. We have one half left to keep from being totally humiliated. You are better than the present score. You have nothing but your own self - respect riding on this game. It's up to you. Here's your swan song, people. How How says. are you gon na sing it? And with that he walks out. Everybody looks beaten and depressed.", "EXT. OUTSIDE LOCKER ROOM - DAY Shane stops two paramedics who push Roland Lamont on a stretcher. Roland is really hurting. SHANE I'm sorry, Roland. That was a great block. ROLAND For my last play in football, I'll take that block. Shane looks terribly guilty. ROLAND I thought you were going to score. What happened? Did you slip? Shane ca n't look at him, but he nods. ROLAND That's what I thought. SHANE You were a warrior, Roland. I'm gon na miss you. ROLAND It was a dream come true. Go kick some ass for me. The paramedics roll him away. Shane slumps against the wall near tears. McGinty comes out of the locker room. He locks eyes with Shane for a beat. And then McGinty turns his back on him and walks away.", "INT. LOCKER ROOM - DAY Everyone is quiet. Shane walks in. SID, the equipment manager, sees him and yells. SID Hey, Shane, I just heard. Congratulations! He smacks Shane on his bad side and Shane grimaces. WILKINSON Congratulations on what? SID Shane is staying on. He's gon na be Martel's backup. Everyone stares at Shane for a beat. ANDRE Is that true? SHANE Yes, Andre. It's true. Nobody says anything for a beat. FRANKLIN I got to tell you, Shane, you played the first half like you were staying. Like you already had a contract. Shane looks around the room at this beaten bunch. No one makes eye contact with him. SHANE You're right, Clifford. And I'm sorry. But now I want to go out there and either beat these bastards or die trying. I never wanted to beat anybody so bad in my life. Everybody lets this sink in. Earl Wilkinson finally speaks up. EARL I do n't know what yawl are doin' tomorrow, but my ass is goin' back to jail. But if I got ta go, I want to go back a winner. EVANS Hell, I'm retiring. I have thirty minutes of football left in my whole career. I'm homicidal! BATEMAN Me, too, Reese! EARL Let's get it on! Everybody turns to Shane. SHANE Gentlemen, our problem is the Cowboys are n't afraid of us. But they should be! LAMONT Damn straight! Everybody whoops! SHANE We've got one chance on offense to make our stand - the first play of the half. JAMAL One touchdown ai n't gon na help, Shane. SHANE No. But one nasty - ass play might. We just got ta be brave. And trust each other. Shane happens to glance at Pacifico. Pacifico wo n't meet his eye. Shane turns to Sid. SHANE Help me with this. Sid helps Shane strip his jersey off. Everyone reacts to the bruises on Shane's side. SHANE Somebody has to tape me up.", "EXT. FIELD - NIGHT The Cowboys are already back on the field as the Redskins come out of their locker room. AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- at nine - forty Eastern time, the agreement was reached, and except for this upcoming second half, the strike is history. ON AL, DAN AND BOOMER Boomer's tie is off and his shirt is torn. Dan looks guilty, but still angry. DAN It's about time. I say let the professionals back on the field. The fans deserve nothing less. BOOMER Yeah, you would say that. ON BALL The Dallas kicker puts the ball in the end zone for a touchback. ON SHANE He starts to follow the offense out on the field. Then he turns and sees Annabelle engrossed in a cheer. He runs over to her. ANNABELLE Are you okay? Is it your side? SHANE I'm okay. I owe you an apology. ANNABELLE What? You do? SHANE Yes. I'll explain later. But thank you for believing in me. You give me strength just looking at you. And with that, Shane takes her in his arms and kisses her deeply. The crowd on that side of the field reacts to the kiss with a `` Wooooooo!'' AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Well, this is a first. Shane Falco seems to be. BOOMER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Hell, Al, he's necking with a cheerleader! I've done a little of that in my time. DAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The players are not supposed to fraternize with the cheerleaders. BOOMER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Hey, Dan, what are they gon na do? Fire him?! ON SHANE He breaks the kiss and looks up in the stands at Eddie Martel. Shane gives him the finger. The crowd goes `` Wooooo!'' at that too. Martel does n't think this is funny. Shane walks onto the field leaving a confused but happy Annabelle. He walks past Dallas defensive lineman Butler. BUTLER That was n't too smart. SHANE Suck my dick. Butler is too shocked for a comeback. ON HUDDLE It breaks and Shane walks to the line of scrimmage. AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Here we go, first and ten for the Redskins. Twenty - four zip Dallas. We can see now that Wilkinson and Bateman are now part of the offense. They line up as receivers opposite defensive halfbacks. In fact, everyone but Shane is on the line of scrimmage, paired up across from a cowboy. Shane leans over Reese and takes in the Dallas defense. The Dallas MIDDLE LINEBACKER yells at Shane. LINEBACKER Are you ready for more pain, footsteps? Shane just smiles. SHANE Blue thirteen! Blue thirteen! Hut! Hut! Hut! MONTAGE On the snap, many things happen at once : A -RRB- COCHRAN sticks his fingers inside Butler's face mask and pokes both eyes. Butler screams! B -RRB- SHANE throws the ball as hard as he can at the middle Linebacker and hits him in the crotch. The guy grabs himself and collapses. C -RRB- CLIFFORD FRANKLIN kicks his defender in the shins as hard as he can. The defender screams and falls down. D -RRB- BATEMAN gets a cornerback across from him in a choke hold. The guy ca n't breathe but Bateman holds on. E -RRB- WILKINSON lifts up his defender's face guard and connects with a right hand to the guy's chin. F -RRB- LEE pulls the defensive lineman in front of him to the ground. Then he falls on him. The guy screams. ON FIELD All across the line of scrimmage, Redskins are punching, kicking and gouging the Dallas defense. WHISTLES BLOW. Flags fly everywhere. Most of the Dallas players are down and screaming. Jamal stands across from a DEFENSIVE LINEMAN. He has n't touched the guy. But he nods to the player to look at his hand. The guy looks down just as Jamal flicks open a deadly - looking switchblade. The guy jumps back and yells : DEFENDER He's got a knife! But there is so much confusion that nobody pays any attention. Jamal slips the knife away. AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Whoa! Flags fly everywhere! I've never seen anything like this! BOOMER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Unbelievable! One Washington player had a Cowboy in what appeared to be a police choke hold. DAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I see at least five flags. no six! The officials are going crazy trying to figure out the penalties as Shane and the offense back up and make room for the Dallas medical staff who come running out on the field. Some Dallas players are livid : BUTLER -LRB- to the Ref. -RRB- He scratched my eyes out! LINEBACKER He hit me on purpose! ON McGINTY He's smiling to himself on the sidelines. ON REFEREE He faces the cameras, turns on his microphone and sums up the penalties. REF Unsportsmanlike conduct, number 72, number 81 and number 87 on the offense, fifteen yards. -LRB- to himself. -RRB-. times three. that's forty - five yards. Illegal use of hands, number 48 on the offense, fifteen yards. That makes it sixty yards. Unnecessary roughness number 65 and number 32, fifteen yards. that's, wait. forty - five. no, thirty. -LRB- turns to another ref. -RRB-. how many yards so far? ON BALL A ref is taking a very long walk with it. He stops at the Redskin two - yard line and puts it down. IN HUDDLE Shane leans in. SHANE Okay, everybody, stick together and don't take any shit. Let's make'em hurt! They break the huddle and line up with their backs to their goal. ON COCHRAN AND BUTLER Butler is still whining. BUTLER I ca n't believe you went for my eyes! COCHRAN Shut up! I'm gon na do it again'cause it was fun! ON SHANE SHANE Black 98! Black 98! Hut! ON COCHRAN He drops Butler with a vicious forearm. Shane flicks the ball over the middle to Murray who pulls it in for fifteen yards and a first down. MONTAGE - FOURTH QUARTER STUFF A -RRB- BATEMAN -LRB- now at running back -RRB- sweeps outside with Jamal and Reese Evans leading the way. Both linemen growl as they throw themselves into the defense. B -RRB- SHANE is rolling right with Butler on his heels. Just when it looks like Butler has him, Cochran comes out of nowhere and cuts Butler at the knees. Shane fakes a throw and keeps the ball for a fifteen - yard gain. C -RRB- SHANE hits Franklin with a short flick pass. D -RRB- BATEMAN runs off tackle and scores. E -RRB- PACIFICO kicks the extra point. Scoreboard : Dallas 24, Redskins 7. F -RRB- WILKINSON blitzes from his safety position and decks the Dallas quarterback. G -RRB- BATEMAN stops a runner at the line of scrimmage and throws him for a loss. H -RRB- WILKINSON takes a punt at his own thirty. With Bateman blocking, Wilkinson springs to the outside and goes all the way for a touchdown. Pacifico kicks the extra point. Scoreboard : Dallas 24, Redskins 14. I -RRB- DALLAS FIELD GOAL KICKER is set to boot one. The ball is snapped, the kicker moves forward and suddenly Brian Murray breaks through the offense and blocks the kick. J -RRB- SHANE hits Franklin on a little down and out. He's hit by the defender, the ball goes flying but so does a flag. Pass interference. Redskin first down. K -RRB- ON CLOCK Four minutes six seconds remain.", "EXT. HUDDLE - DAY The Redskin huddle breaks. The guys come to the line of scrimmage. AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- First and ten at the Cowboy twenty and I'm telling you, we are looking at a totally different team here in the second half. BOOMER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Absolutely, Al.. The Redskins are playing like there's no tomorrow, because, hey, there is n't! DAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I got ta agree with you on this one. The surprising thing for me is how ineffectual the Cowboys have been in this half. I mean, they look totally intimidated. AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I love when you guys agree. ON SHANE He's in the shotgun calling signals. SHANE Hut! Hut! He gets the snap and starts looking downfield for receivers. ON COCHRAN He slips while he's blocking Butler who takes advantage of the situation and blows by him. ON SHANE He's got Franklin crossing in the end zone. He cocks and throws, and simultaneously gets decked by Butler. ON BALL A Dallas defensive halfback goes up for it but just tips the ball. It keeps going now end over end. right into the waiting arms of Franklin who is standing by himself in the end zone. Franklin is shocked. His teammates run INTO FRAME and mob him. AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Touchdown, Skins! What a fluke! BOOMER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Total luck there, Al.. Makes up for the perfect ones they drop. DAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Maybe not so lucky. Falco is down. ON SHANE He's on his back. ON ANNABELLE She looks worried as trainers run out onto the field. ON O'NEIL AND AUGUSTINE They're watching in O'Neil's bedroom. ON SHANE Trainers are bending over him. He's out but he's mumbling : SHANE Put your tits on my head. A trainer hears that and looks worried. Shane's teammates run up and carry him off the field. ON FRANKLIN He's holding for Pacifico on the extra point. On the snap, Franklin bobbles the ball but manages to put it down. Pacifico belts it through the uprights. Scoreboard : Dallas 24, Washington 21.", "EXT. SIDELINE - DAY Shane is sitting on the bench holding his head and his side. He's talking quietly to McGinty. ON WILKINSON He's on the field calling for a fair catch. He makes it. AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- one minute twenty remaining, and even though Dallas did n't score, they sure ate up a lot of the clock. ANOTHER ANGLE - WILKINSON He's leading the offense out onto the field. BOOMER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And it looks like Falco can not answer the bell. He's still on the bench and it    appears that safety Earl Wilkinson will be leading the Redskin offense. DAN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- They just need to get the ball in field goal range. AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- And for Pacifico, that's anything up to sixty - five yards. ANOTHER ANGLE - WILKINSON He takes the snap from the shotgun and keeps the ball on a sweep. He plows for twelve yards. AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- That's good for twelve yards. The clock stops on the first down. The Redskins have no time - outs left. ON SHANE McGinty is still bent over him. McGINTY I need your hands in there for the field goal. I ca n't trust Franklin to hold. He almost dropped the extra point. Shane is in major pain but nods his head. SHANE I can do it. ON WILKINSON He rolls again, but no one is open. He crosses the line of scrimmage, is hit and goes down. ON CLOCK It continues to run and passes twenty seconds as we watch. ON REDSKINS They're hurrying back to the line of scrimmage. Wilkinson stands over center. On the snap, Wilkinson throws the ball out of bounds. AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Wilkinson throws it away, and with twelve seconds remaining, the Redskins will try a forty - eight yard field goal to tie it up. That's almost a chip shot for Pacifico. ON SHANE He shakily follows Pacifico out onto the field. Reese Evans catches up with him. EVANS -LRB- to Shane. -RRB- Are you okay? SHANE Just make it a good snap. -LRB- to Pacifico. -RRB- And you'll do the rest, right? Pacifico does n't answer. ON BALL Evans leans over it. ON SHANE He's kneeling in the middle of the field waiting for the snap. But something is bothering him. SHANE -LRB- to Pacifico. -RRB- Lou, are you alright? Pacifico looks up from where he is set up for the kick. There are tears in his eyes. PACIFICO I'm sorry. They know where my family lives. Shane tries to digest what he just heard. SHANE What?! EVANS -LRB- through his legs. -RRB- Come on, Shane! Shane looks back at Pacifico and makes a decision. SHANE Hut! The ball is snapped perfectly. Shane catches it and spots it perfectly. Pacifico moves to kick it. And Shane pulls the ball away. Pacifico flies through the air like Snoopy as he kicks nothing but air. He lands hard. Shane jumps to his feet and starts running. AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's a fake! Falco has it! ON McGINTY He's in shock. ON SHANE He has totally caught the Cowboys by surprise. He sweeps around the right side. The Dallas middle linebacker has recovered and is moving quickly to cut Shane off. But Reese Evans comes out of nowhere and crushes the guy with a flying block. Shane cuts downfield and heads for the end zone with nobody near him, except : For the same safety from the first half who waits for him at the ten. The safety smiles as he takes a bead on Shane. Shane heads right for the guy. He puts his head down and smacks helmets with the safety. The guy goes down and Shane runs over him and into the end zone. AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Falco scores! ON McGINTY He jumps into the air. ON O'NEIL He jumps out of bed. ON TODD, ROD AND BOB They jump on each other. ON ANNABELLE She's jumping for joy. ON SHANE He spikes the shit out of the ball. And then sees something up field. AL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Wait a minute. Wait a minute. We've got a flag down. Shane stands stock - still in the end zone watching the REF call the penalty. REF Clipping. Number 77 offense. ON MICKEY LEE He's wearing number 77 and he collapses in tears. ON TODD, ROD AND BOB They are now sobbing in agony. ON O'NEIL He's being helped back to bed by Augustine. ON SHANE He's walking slowly back to the line of scrimmage. ON McGINTY He looks sick. Shane walks up to Pacifico who is down. His arm is being immobilized by a team trainer. PACIFICO I broke my arm. -LRB- big smile. -RRB- Thank you. You saved my ass. Shane nods. In his earpiece, he hears McGinty. McGINTY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Someday, you can explain what that was all about. We got no kicker, so you gotta take it in. Your pick. You're the leader. SHANE -LRB- to himself. -RRB- What would Unitas do in this situation? -LRB- pause. -RRB- I have no idea. Shane leans into the huddle. LEE I'm so sorry, Shane. I'm sorry, everybody. SHANE No problem, Mickey. -LRB- to Evans. -RRB- Hell of a hit, Reese. EVANS That's the one I was looking for. I can retire in peace now. SHANE Right after this play. So besides me, who really wants the ball? He looks around the huddle. He studies each face. And then he comes to rest on Brian Murray. Brian's eyes are shining. He does n't need words here. SHANE -LRB- to Murray. -RRB- Yeah. You want it, Brian. Let's hook up. -LRB- signs as he says it. -RRB- Blue left slot open ` A' right. Two Jet ` X' drive. On three. Gentlemen, it's been an honor sharing the field of battle. Everybody puts their hands into the middle. They break the huddle with a roar. ON CLOCK Three seconds are showing. ON LINE OF SCRIMMAGE Shane leans over Reese and calls it. SHANE Blue 58! Blue 58! Hut! Hut! Hut! Shane nods. On the snap, Shane rolls left. ON REESE EVANS He cuts his man at the knees. ON MICKEY LEE He takes two men down. ON MURRAY He cuts on a deep post. ON SHANE He steps up and throws a clean bullet downfield. He roars in pain as he throws it. ON MURRAY The pass is perfect. He pulls it in and beats his man to the end zone. Redskins win. ON CROWD It roars! `` Hail to the Redskins'' is deafening. Todd, Rod and Bob are screaming. O'Neil kisses Augustine. Annabelle throws a punch into the air. McGinty is all smiles. Shane walks up to him and they shake hands. Pilachowski and Banes hug. Lee and Andre are hugging and crying. Cochran is on his knees praying. Reese Evans joins him. Wilkinson hugs Jamal. Clifford Franklin, hometown boy, throws himself into the stands where fans mob him. ON EDDIE MARTEL The Washington Redskins first - string quarterback is so pissed off he jumps up from his seat and turns quickly to go up the steps and out of the stadium. But he slips awkwardly and falls. He grabs his knee and screams. ON BRIAN MURRAY He's still in the end zone, holding the ball up to the crowd. The roar is deafening. BRIAN'S POV We HEAR NOTHING, but somehow the pure energy of the moment comes through. ON SHANE IN the SILENCE, he's walking in SLOW MOTION toward Annabelle. And everybody is smiling. FADE OUT. THE END"], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "A fictional pro football league finds themselves hit with a players' strike with the season still needing to be finished. Washington Sentinels owner Edward O'Neil calls a former coach of his, Jimmy McGinty, telling McGinty that he and the rest of the teams are going to finish the final four games of the season with replacement players. O'Neil asks McGinty to coach the Sentinels the rest of the season, along with the pressure of winning three of the last four games to make the playoffs. McGinty accepts, on the condition that he will also be given the freedom to sign the players he wants with O'Neil not allowed to interfere. With O'Neil accepting his requests, McGinty builds his team of different varying players that he believes can make a winning team. As his quarterback, McGinty chooses Shane Falco, a former All-American from Ohio State whose career went to pieces after a horrendous Sugar Bowl game, and now lives in a houseboat near the Sentinels' stadium. Falco initially refuses, but McGinty convinces him, believing that Falco can still be the player he was meant to be. The replacement players are greeted to their first practice hostilely by the striking players, calling the replacements \"scabs\", and throwing eggs at them, and Falco, who arrives late, gets his truck turned over. Head cheerleader Annabelle Ferrell, who has to find new cheerleaders since the originals apparently went on strike as well, reluctantly hires strippers when the other tryouts go terribly bad. After practice, Annabelle drives Falco home and surprises him with her vast football knowledge. The replacements' first game is against Detroit, and the team initially struggles to get along, causing the Sentinels to fall behind early. Falco tries to rally the team back, but on the last play, he panics when he sees a pending blitz and calls an audible, which falls short of the winning touchdown. McGinty berates Falco for what he did, telling him that \"winners always want the ball when the game's on the line.\" At a local bar, several of the replacements lament over their loss, when several of the striking players, led by their prima donna quarterback Eddie Martel, arrive and taunt the replacements. When Falco stands up to Martel, a brawl follows, leading to the replacements being arrested, but they build a bond in the process, dancing together in their cell before McGinty bails them out. The dance that the players are doing to the song \"I Will Survive\" is actually the \"Electric Slide\". Annabelle meets Shane the next day, having heard what happened, and tells him that he's the first quarterback she's seen in a long time be so selfless, and a connection starts to grow between the two of them. The next day, when Shane arrives at the stadium for practice, he is, again confronted by Martel and the other players, this time for parking in another player's parking space. Martel and his gang flip over Falco's truck on its side, which they had done earlier for parking in Martel's parking space. But, two of the replacement players, Andr\u00e9 and Jamal Jackson, who are also Shane's bodyguards, force them to flip the truck back over anyway after Jamal shoots up Martel's Porsche. In the Sentinels' next game against San Diego, they fall behind again but are able to come together once again, and this time win, on a 65-yard field goal by their kicker, a Welsh soccer player named Nigel Gruff. Falco meets Annabelle again, where she runs a bar her father used to own and admits that she was raised with football. After sharing a short conversation and having a beer together, they consummate their feelings for one another, sharing a deep kiss. The Sentinels nearly lose their next game on the road against Phoenix, but win on a couple of improbable plays. When the Sentinels return to D.C., O'Neil tells McGinty that Eddie Martel has crossed the picket line, and points out that the entire team of the league's defending champions, and the Sentinels' next opponent, Dallas, have crossed as well. O'Neil shows no confidence in Falco being able to beat Dallas, and hints to McGinty that he could be fired if McGinty refuses to start Martel. McGinty gives in and reluctantly tells Falco, who then tells his teammates the same thing, demoralizing the team. Falco is toasted by his teammates, but unable to face Annabelle after what happened, Falco leaves her stood up for their planned date. In the first half of the final crucial game, Martel clashes severely with the replacement players, and also smugly ignores any play calls McGinty makes, causing the Sentinels fall behind to Dallas 17\u20130. The hometown fans, who had initially despised the replacements, now boo Martel, having accepted Falco as their favorite. On the way to the locker room for halftime, McGinty tells a TV reporter that the team needs \"heart\" to come back and win, something he had earlier said Falco had. Falco, watching this on television, returns to the stadium, and McGinty promptly benches Martel for Falco. Martel angrily tells Falco that he will never be known as anything but a replacement player. Falco says he can live with that and the rest of the team throws Martel out of the stadium. On his way back to the field, Falco finds Annabelle and apologizes to her, giving her another deep kiss in front of the crowd and other cheerleaders. McGinty tells the replacements that the strike will officially end the next day, giving the players incentive to give everything they have left. The Sentinels rally back to a 17\u201314 score, with Gruff being called to kick the game-tying field goal late in the game. However, Gruff spots bookies that he owes money to in the crowd, and realizes that they want him to throw the game or they'll take his pub from him as compensation. He reveals this to Falco just before the kick, and Falco pulls the ball away, causing Gruff to fall from the momentum of his kicking motion and break his arm. Falco initially scores the apparent winning touchdown, but it's called back on a Sentinels penalty. With Gruff unable to continue, Falco tells McGinty that he \"wants the ball\", affirming what McGinty had told him before. Falco calls for a deep pass to the replacements' deaf tight end, Brian Murphy, and hits him with the game-winning touchdown pass as time expires, earning the Sentinels a playoff berth. Falco celebrates with Annabelle, while McGinty narrates that the replacement players left the field with nothing but the satisfaction and personal glory of what they've accomplished, which is living the athlete's dream of a \"second chance.\" He then watches the replacements dance on the field to the Gloria Gaynor song \"I Will Survive\".", "name": "The_Replacements_(film)"}
{"scenes": ["EXT. LOWER MANHATTAN SKYLINE - BROOKLYN BRIDGE - MORNING RUSH HOUR ON a pair of black Dexter penny loafers diligently pedaling an old Schwinn mountain bike. ADJUST ANGLE now to meet the bicyclist. He's African - American. Anywhere from 33 to 40. Wears wire - rim glasses, a fresh white oxford shirt, creased slacks and a solid green tie. An unobtrusive figure, at once familiar and yet undiscerning. The type you'd pass on a sidewalk and never even notice. He's TREVOR GARFIELD. ADJUST ANGLE FURTHER now to reveal the upper promenade bike path and a dramatic view of Lower Manhattan behind him. Morning sun glimmers off the Trade Center towers. Trevor's shadow skitters along the wooden path, 160 ft. above the East River. A fat briefcase, strapped to the back of his bike, rocks back and forth as he pumps the pedals. FROM ABOVE now a sweeping view of Trevor, alone on the bike path, a speck, suspended above a sea of rush hour traffic on the bridge below.", "EXT. ATLANTIC AVENUE (BEDFORD STUYVESANT) - MORNING A wrought - iron train trestle covered with graffiti shakes as an `` EL'' TRAIN ROARS overhead. Trevor races parallel with it along Atlantic Avenue. Every city block becomes more and more rundown.", "EXT. ROOSEVELT WHITNEY HIGH SCHOOL (BEDFORD STUYVESANT) - MORNING A cyclone fence frames the stalwart face of the old three - story administration building. Ubiquitous gray patches of paint fail to cover where taggers have most recently left their marks. The ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, a black man with a booming voice, barks at late - comers who are about to be tardy. ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL -LRB- clapping his hands. -RRB-. Let's go, people! Tardy lock - out starts in one minute! Get your butts in gear! One minute, people! Move it! SUPERIMPOSE : ROOSEVELT WHITNEY HIGH SCHOOL - OCTOBER 1994 The Assistant Principal, attention diverted, does n't even notice Trevor as he enters on his bike and races down the sidewalk in front of the school. With all the prompting, students still do n't seem to be in much of a hurry.", "INT. RWHS \"A\" BUILDING - MAIN ENTRANCE as Trevor squeezes through the doorway past students being processed through card readers and metal detectors and turns down the main hall.", "INT. RWHS - MAIN FLOOR With a glance over his shoulder, Trevor hops back onto his bike and pedals it down the middle of the corridor. STRAGGLING STUDENTS either ignore him or look at him like he's insane. STRAGGLING STUDENT -LRB- as Trevor passes. -RRB-. No ridin' bikes in' a hallway, stoo - pit.", "INT. STAIRWELL As Trevor reaches the end of the main corridor. and steers his bike down the stairs.", "INT. RWHS - BOTTOM FLOOR Trevor coasts skillfully down the stairs and emerges onto the bottom floor of the school. He pedals away toward the other end of the corridor.", "EXT. TREVOR'S CLASSROOM A crowd of 10th graders loiter outside Trevor's room. Seeing him coming, they stir to life with a flurry of taunts. Trevor chooses to face all dissension with a smile. As Trevor hops off his bike and unlocks the classroom door, he notices two lovers making out in the hallway. VOICE IN CROWD Yuh late, Garfield. TREVOR -LRB- catching his breath. -RRB-. No, bell has n't rung yet. Okay, let's get inside. C'mon. -LRB- as they file into the room. -RRB-. Morning, morning. Rise and shine. TWO STUDENTS make passing comments. AUGGIE -LRB- shaking his head. -RRB-. You one crazy - ass nigga, G. TYWAN -LRB- a quarter stuck in one ear. -RRB-. Damn skippy. TREVOR Thank you for sharing, Auggie. TYWAN -LRB- provoking Auggie. -RRB-. Auggie doggie. AUGGIE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Fuck you, Tywan. Yer mama's a gangsta - rapper. Trevor offers a pleasant greeting to the two lovers. TREVOR ` Scuse me, you two. this is n't the Playboy Channel. Trevor enters the room, but ducks his head back into the hall. TREVOR ` Morning, Juanita.", "INT. RWHS - TREVOR'S CLASSROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION Walls are covered with assorted science posters. Styrofoam nuclei dangle from the ceiling. Trevor unstraps the fat briefcase from his bicycle and sets it on a metal stool next to his desk. TREVOR -LRB- enthusiastically. -RRB- Let's get started. August and Tywan, you pass out the books. Thank you, gentlemen. Auggie and Tywan do n't budge. TYWAN Whas up wit' your car, G? Yer Pinto blow up? The majority of students are n't even paying attention. A group in the back is already starting a card game. TREVOR -LRB- good - natured smile. -RRB- No, I do n't own a Pinto, Tywan. -LRB- addressing the class. -RRB- Okay, can I have everyone's attention? No response, but it does n't phase Trevor. He removes the front wheels from his bike. TREVOR The purpose of the bicycle is to demonstrate the principle of centripetal force. That's the opposite of the force we studied yesterday, which was. VOICE IN THE CROWD Magnum force. Hoots and laughter. TREVOR Centrifugal force. Centripetal force is where the acceleration of a body moving in circular motion is directed toward its center by an opposing force, thus creating momentum that constrains the body to its circular path. Like a gyroscope. -LRB- sees nothing but yawns. -RRB- It's better if I show you. Here, Tywan, you be my helper. Tywan and Auggie are busy talking in the corner. They still have n't passed out the books. TREVOR Tywan? Come on. Tywan, solidly built like a Rodin bronze, saunters over. TYWAN Whad - up, G? -LRB- to rest of class. -RRB- Hey, shut up! Y' all too damn loud, man! Class quiets but only marginally. TREVOR I need you to demonstrate centripetal force. -LRB- removes briefcase from stool. -RRB- Here, have a seat. Tywan sits and Trevor hands him the upside - down bicycle. TREVOR Okay, hold the bike steady with your knees. That's it. Seat positioned against your chest. Tywan glances over at Auggie and starts to laugh. TYWAN -LRB- to Auggie. -RRB- Shut up, foo. TREVOR Okay, now crank the pedals and get that back wheel spinning about 180 R.P.M. TYWAN Whas up wit' dat? TREVOR -LRB- coaxing him along. -RRB- You'll see. Be patient. A skeptical Tywan starts to crank the pedals, but he's not pedaling hard enough. TREVOR Put some muscle into it. Tywan cranks the pedals harder now. Trevor back - pedals over to the textbook shelf and randomly selects a physical science book -LRB- but does n't open it -RRB-. TREVOR Keep pedaling. Harder. A paper airplane sails past an oblivious Tywan. He cranks harder and harder until he's sweating ham juice. Now, he impales Trevor with a befuddled squint. TYWAN -LRB- incredulous. -RRB- Whas up? I tol' you you was crazy, man. A thin smile of confidence from Trevor now. TREVOR Now tilt the wheel to your right. Tywan does and immediately the wheel pulls him to the right, causing the stool to slowly spin on its axis. TYWAN -LRB- eyes wide like a little kid. -RRB- Aw, damn. I'm spinnin'. Lookit me, Auggie! Trevor flickers a smile as Tywan's spinning starts to draw the attention of the rest of the class. Now Trevor refers to the physical science book in his hand. Smile on his face immediately fades. INSERT : Physical science textbook. In magic marker. The large number 187 has been scrawled across every page. Trevor flips through the book. He checks the front page to see who it belongs to. Juxtaposed to Trevor's distracted state, the class is now focused on Tywan's achievement. CLASS -LRB- attempting unison. -RRB-. Tywan, Tywan, Tywan.", "INT. RWHS - \"A\" BUILDING - MAIN CORRIDOR - SECOND PERIOD One of the fluorescent lights overhead flickers. The place is deserted except for a custodian who pushes a cresting wave of trash ahead of his broom. Now Trevor heads up the north stairwell at the far end of the corridor. He clutches the desecrated physical science book. A student slides down the banister past him.", "INT. COUNSELING OFFICES - WAITING AREA A PUERTO RICAN WOMAN prods a group of gangbanger wan na - bes. Two of the teens hover over a Sony Walkman, sharing the earphones. SECRETARY Okay, fellas, off the table. Put the Walkman away. I said put it away. A 10th grade counselor's office opens and a student emerges. Trevor walks directly in. TREVOR Walter, I need to speak with you. WALTER -LRB- Anglo ; 52 -RRB- is a disheveled middle - aged counselor. A lifer. He chews on an empty smoking pipe as he glances through a student `` cum'' -LRB- cue - mm -RRB-. WALTER -LRB- preoccupied. -RRB- I'm pretty busy right now, Garfield. What is it? Trevor sets the book down on Walter's desk and nervously adjusts his glasses. TREVOR Could you open it, please? Walter opens the book. WALTER -LRB- a weary look of disgust. -RRB- Do n't suppose this kid cares about our budget crisis? -LRB- shuts the book. -RRB- Have the textbook room charge him for the book. Walter snaps the book shut and looks up at Trevor. That's all? TREVOR One - Eight - Seven is a penal code number for murder, Walter. Means the same thing as T - O - S. ` Terminate On the Spot.' WALTER -LRB- piqued. -RRB- For chrissake, I know what it stands for. Look, kid probably heard it in a rap song. Does n't mean anything. TREVOR The book belongs to Dennis Broadway. He's a known gangster, Walter - a ` Five Percenter.' WALTER Garfield, if I had a dollar for every time a student threatened faculty. Do n't you think you're overreacting a little? TREVOR -LRB- suppressing trepidation. -RRB- Did you tell Dennis Broadway he was getting a fail from me? WALTER -LRB- stymied. -RRB- I have legal access to those files. TREVOR He's a transfer from Nixon High School, is n't he? WALTER -LRB- becoming defensive. -RRB- Look, I'm not obligated to track you down every time a transfer student comes through here. You want confidential information like that, come look it up in his cum. -LRB- cue - mm. -RRB-. Trevor exhales a sigh of resignation. TREVOR Do you have him on a contract? WALTER If he gets through the semester without a fail then he gets to go back to Nixon, so what? TREVOR and be with his homeboys. Walter's caught between a rock and a hard place. His instincts lean toward self - preservation. WALTER So he blew his opportunity. Now he has to learn to live with the consequences. TREVOR I do n't think this kid's ready to deal with the consequences. I think he wants me dead. WALTER Relax, has nothin' to do with you. TREVOR I should have been told, Walter. WALTER Hey, I'm on your side, Garfield, but my hands are tied. Kid has a right to his privacy. Know what your problem is? You're an idealist. TREVOR What's wrong with that? WALTER You only see what you wan na see, that's what's wrong. On one hand you think someone's trying to kill you. On the other hand you actually believe kids are paying attention in your classes. Trevor resigns himself to the fact that he's come to the wrong person for support. TREVOR -LRB- collecting himself. -RRB- Never mind. It's not a problem. WALTER -LRB- an empty promise. -RRB- Tell you what, as soon as I get a chance I'll summons the kid. Promise. Trevor's bemusement holds us.", "INT. RWHS \"A\" BUILDING - MAIN CORRIDOR - MORNING Trevor retraces his steps back up the empty corridor as the passing BELL RINGS. Within seconds the corridor is teeming with teenagers. Into SLOW MOTION now. MANEUVERING THROUGH the crowd to DISCOVER DENNIS BROADWAY -LRB- 16 -RRB-. About ten paces behind. His Snoop - Dogg Afro frames a gold earring and a pair of deep - set eyes filled with vitriol. Oblivious of Dennis, Trevor presses on toward the north stairwell. VARIOUS SHOTS OVERHEAD and THROUGH crowd as the gap between Dennis and Trevor narrows. Every facial expression, every blink of an eye, all magnified a hundred times. Broadway's right hand is wrapped in a dirty white handkerchief as he reaches into the front pocket of his baggie Solos and pulls out a block of wood with a ten - penny nail imbedded in it.", "INT. RWHS - AT NORTH STAIRWELL Trevor's heavy eyelids blink as he slowly glances up into a parabolic mirror on the wall. A silent, paroxysmal terror registers on his face. In a parabolic mirror, the blurred image of Dennis Broadway, pushing hard toward a conclusion now. BACK TO SPEED as Dennis explodes forward, body blocking Trevor from behind, pinning him against a wall and sending the `` 187'' textbook flying. He rams his weapon into Trevor's back. In a SERIES OF RAPID - FIRE CUTS, filtered sunlight shimmers off the sharpened nail as it slashes downward. A barrage of stabbing motions, tearing at cloth and flesh. Trevor's backward flailing arms are ineffective in blocking the frenzied stabfest. Downward slashing, again and again. 10 times. Aftermath. As quickly as it began it's over. Dennis Broadway slams open an exit door and is gone. Students scatter like cockroaches. An eerie stillness lingers. Trevor Garfield is lying on his back now in a pool of blood ; black plastic framed glasses in pieces on the floor ; lifeless arms spread out at his sides. His rheumy, unblinking eyes stare upward into infinite space. Breathing is the major focus of his concentration now as we SLOWLY MOVE IN ON his face. HOLD and now.", "EXT. TREVOR'S HOUSE (SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA)  SUPERIMPOSE : LOS ANGELES - SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, SEVENTEEN MONTHS LATER It's a tiny one bedroom house in the East San Fernando Valley. A chain - link fence surrounds the perimeter and a large olive tree shades the neatly - mowed front lawn. And in the back there's a wooden tool shed that borders a narrow alley.", "INT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM In the predawn light a terra cotta angel stands guard over a bookshelf.", "INT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - BEDROOM Stillness. Now the PHONE RINGS. A shape in the bed stirs. A desk lamp flickers on, illuminating the phone. Trevor's hand reaches for the receiver. TREVOR Morning. SUB UNIT -LRB- V.O. -RRB- ` Morning, Mr. Garfield. This is the Sub Unit. Are you available for work? TREVOR -LRB- clearing his throat. -RRB-. Yes, uh huh. SUB UNIT -LRB- V.O. -RRB- There's a science class in the Valley at John Quincy Adams. It's a four day assignment. Teacher's name is Eskander.", "INT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - TREVOR'S PRAYER - SERIES OF SHOTS We hear what God hears over the following. A -RRB- IN SHOWER Trevor hangs his head under a torrent of soothing water. B -RRB- TREVOR Ceremoniously, he irons a shirt. and polishes his shoes, a broad scar shows across the back of his hand. C -RRB- ANOTHER ANGLE His pressed slacks and tie hang meticulously over a chair as he gets dressed. D -RRB- CRUCIFIX Now Jesus Christ looks down on Trevor from his crucifix on the bedroom wall. TREVOR -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- kneeling bedside. -RRB-. If you're listening, God, please help me today. All I ask is a chance to do my job. t ` do the job you put me here to do in the first place. -LRB- prayerfully now. -RRB- Please help me accept those things I can not change. and give me strength to change those things I can. -LRB- beat. -RRB-. This is me, Trevor, God. Amen.", "EXT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS H.S. (SAN FERNANDO VALLEY)  \"A\" BUILDING - MORNING Traffic bottle - necks as students cross in front of cars, and big yellow L.A.U.S.D. buses pull in. The green lawn is scattered with students -LRB- about 65 % Hispanic -RRB-. Compared to the scarred, institutional look of Roosevelt Whitney, the face of John Quincy Adams is unblemished. -LRB- This is your own backyard, not the inner city -RRB- Sagging pants -LRB- Dickies, Ben Davis -RRB- and oversized jackets -LRB- County Bens, Duke, Georgetown -RRB- are represented. The different socio - economic and ethnic groups stick with their own kind ; the IHPs -LRB- Individual Honors Program -RRB-, the taggers, the Gangbangers, the Asians, the Armenians.", "EXT. JQA PARKING LOT Anglo boy, Stevie Littleton, gets out of his mom's Lexus in the school parking lot and walks towards school.", "INT./EXT. TREVOR'S'64 RAMBLER AMERICAN - FACULTY PARKING LOT DRIVEWAY Trevor sits behind the wheel of his Rambler. Watches a passing parade of students with detachment.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - \"A\" BUILDING ENTRANCE - FEW MINUTES LATER Trevor, fat briefcase in hand, crosses the front lawn. He's not the same Trevor we met back in Bedford - Stuvyesant. Withdrawn, guarded, he manufactures a cautious smile at students in passing. Trevor now approaches VICTOR SIFUENTES, a young plain - clothes narc, who intermittently wands students with a metal detector at the front doors. FAVOR a kid now who wears a baseball cap with an emblem on the crown that says `` Fucd.'' VICTOR Baseball cap, give it up. The kid grudgingly reciprocates, handing over his cap. VICTOR -LRB- stopping Trevor now. -RRB- Hold it, please. Trevor produces his blue employee card. TREVOR I'm a substitute. VICTOR -LRB- pointing. -RRB- Okay, you want the Main Office, straight ahead. Check in with Mrs. Ford.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - \"A\" BUILDING/MAIN CORRIDOR  BEFORE FIRST PERIOD Trevor wanders up the crowded corridor. Along with his briefcase he now carries a sub folder that contains a homeroom roster, lesson plans and seating charts. A sporadic row of teachers, like weary sentinels, stand outside their classrooms. TEACHER # 1 is an insipid woman in her mid - forties. She's overweight and wears too much make - up. TREVOR ` Scuse me. I'm lost. I'm looking for Bungalow. -LRB- checks homeroom roster. -RRB-. eighty - six. TEACHER #1 -LRB- pointing. -RRB- All the way out, next to the parking lot. Last bungalow on the left. TREVOR Thank you. TEACHER #1 -LRB- fatalistic. -RRB- Good luck. Her comment weighs on him as he resumes his winding path through the bustle of students headed for first period.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - MAIN CORRIDOR/CLASSROOMS  TREVOR'S POV Glancing through open doorways. Observing the inner life of various classrooms in passing. sees students watch - ing TV, teacher ignores them.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - CLASSROOM #2 ANGLO MALE, 39, slouching behind his desk, attempting to read a newspaper but distracted by an offstage commotion. CLASSROOM #2 TEACHER -LRB- ANGLO MALE. -RRB- -LRB- erupting. -RRB-. Sit down. I come back there and you're gon na be sorry.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - CLASSROOM #3/COMPUTER LAB On the opposite side of the corridor. we can hear Ellen Henry's voice before reaching her doorway. All brightness and light, full of enthusiasm. ELLEN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- like, a buzzer ; times up. -RRB-. EEEEgghh! Wrong. William, you know this. C'mon, how do you find the pound sign? What's the fastest way? Now we see her through the doorway. ELLEN HENRY -LRB- TEACHER # 3 -RRB-. She's thirty, Anglo, and non - tenured. At the front of the class ten students stand linked together, arm - in - arm, in a human chain. WILLIAM -LRB- 15 -RRB- sits behind a computer in the front row struggling to decipher the problem. ELLEN -LRB- playfully. -RRB- You're not thinking. -LRB- a major clue. -RRB- How ` bout Binary search. William remains puzzled. The chain of students delight in chiding him. `` C'mon, Beavis!'' . ELLEN -LRB- the answer. -RRB- You split them! Ellen attempts to bisect the impulsive chain of students with a double - handed karate chop. Fickle chain that they are, they resist. ELLEN -LRB- amused. -RRB-. Very funny. Now a SLOW MOTION fleeting moment as she catches Trevor's passing gaze and openly smiles at him.", "INT. MEN'S BATHROOM Trevor rinses his face at the sink as Victor Sifuentes' head speaks to him from above one of the heavily graffitied stalls in b.g. VICTOR So who yuh here for? TREVOR Eskander. VICTOR -LRB- zipping up, exiting. -RRB- Aw, man, you got bungalow duty.", "EXT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - BUNGALOWS - MORNING On a MEANDERING COURSE, MERGING with Trevor now. Increasing evidence of tagging, and bands of wandering students, indicate a higher degree of disorder the further one gets from the Main Office. FROM ABOVE NOW, like Algernon and his maze, Trevor negotiates his own path deeper and deeper into the configuration of bungalows. And Trevor's trepidation. Eyes discerning every passerby. His PULSE AUDIBLY RACES, senses heightened. SHIFTING INTO SLOW MOTION AGAIN. And the reverberating SOUND of a SPRAY PAINT MARBLE as Trevor rounds a corner and comes face to face with three tag - bangers concealing spray paint cans inside their oversized jackets. One of the taggers locks eyes with Trevor as he passes, a slow premonitory burn. The tagger has a `` skin tight'' -LRB- pelon -RRB- hair cut and a string of black rosary beads around his neck. A barcode tattoo on the back of his neck identi - fies BENNY.", "EXT. UTILITY SHED AND VICINITY - MORNING Behind the bungalows, adjacent the delivery gate. Meet DAVE CHILDRESS, a forty - something ditto - head. The residual effects of a hangover linger as he sneaks a cigarette before first period. He wears a faded Hawaiian shirt and Huarache sandals. An old military tattoo emblazons his left forearm. As he crushes out his cigarette, something catches his eye.", "EXT. UTILITY SHED Thru a chain - link fence we see a handful of cholo - types loitering around the shed. Childress investigates. As he approaches the fence. CHILDRESS Hey, ese -LRB- s. -RRB-?! Homeboys scatter in all directions, some hop the chain - link fence, others scurry out a narrow gate behind the shed. Childress weighs an amused smirk. Now out of nowhere a gangbanger lurches from the shed, buttoning his sagging Dickies and tripping over his own feet. He scrambles out the back gate and is gone. Childress, curiosity piqued, now enters the compound through a tear in the fence.", "INT. UTILITY SHED - MOMENTS LATER As Childress pokes his head inside he discovers. Rita Nartinez, seventeen. braless. A niobium belly - ring piercing her navel. She pulls a dark blue sweat shirt on over her head. Glances up at Childress. Masks her shame with a defiant smirk. -LRB- Behind the heavy eyeliner and baggy pants of a chola, Rita's really nothing more than a little lost girl. -RRB- CHILDRESS -LRB- knowing full well. -RRB- What the hell's going on here, lil' sister?", "INT. BUNGALOW \"84\" - MORNING Trevor flicks on the lights, exposing bare, colorless walls and closed venetian blinds. His breathing's slightly labored as he sets down his briefcase. His back faces the mob of students that trickle in now as he takes a surreptitious hit off an inhaler. Almost instantly his breathing returns to normal. Now he shuts his eyes and prepares to conjure up the dormant enthusiasm he used to have. Takes a deep cathartic breath. Now he digs a file folder out of his briefcase, opens it, selects a dispatch and approaches the blackboard. BELL RINGS as he picks up a piece of chalk. and begins. First he writes his name in the corner of the blackboard. Now he moves to the center of the blackboard and begins to write per the file folder in his hand. `` GLIS WAS VERY FRAPPER. SHE HAD DENARPEN FARFIE'S MARDSEN.'' No one pays much attention. Back still facing the class. TREVOR Before taking roll, I'd like to prove a point. Now one or two students begin to notice the indecipherable gibberish he is writing on the board. BARSEK -LRB- Armenian ; a disparaging laugh. -RRB- ` Farfie?'. -LRB- cholo - like. -RRB- Whad up, Farfie? Trevor mentally blocks out the salvo of grunts, groans and expletives. With each subsequent stroke of the chalk he is exorcising his demons. TREVOR It's not important what. or who. ` Farfie' is. Turning to face the class now. TREVOR Yuh wan na play, yuh got ta stay. Have a seat, please. A handful of students take their seats. TREVOR -LRB- pacing now. -RRB- The point I'd like to make is this. Anyone here can be a scientist. a grudging buzz of confusion. ASIAN GIRL -LRB- sotto ; puzzled. -RRB-. What's he talking about? TREVOR A scientist is like a detective. He investigates data. He scratches the surface of things he does n't understand to see what's underneath. -LRB- pointing to blackboard. -RRB-. Things like this. Okay, who wants to read? Barsek -LRB- the class clown -RRB- breaks in. BARSEK -LRB- standing up. -RRB- I'll do it. Trevor quiets a harmless barrage of, `` Bart,'' `` sit down'' and `` Armenian Power sucks''. TREVOR Come on, we do n't need disrespect. Let ` im do it. -LRB- to Barsek. -RRB- What's your name? BARSEK Barsek. A wisp of gratification flickers at the corner of Trevor's mouth. TREVOR Okay, Barsek. Read. -LRB- The following is read in fits and starts and accompanied by diminishing laughter and ridicule. -RRB- BARSEK Glis was very frapper. She had denarpen Farfie's Mardsen. She could n't galp a giberter for Farfie. Instead she wharked to plimp a mardsen binky for him. TREVOR Okay, anyone know what Barsek just said? A unanimous `` No.'' Trevor can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. He's back in the zone. TREVOR That's alright. You do n't need to understand something to answer a few simple questions about it. Every one of you is capable of decoding data. Watch. Trevor writes question # 1 on the board. 1. WHY WAS GLIS FRAPPER? TREVOR Why was Glis Frapper? Can anyone tell me? The Asian Girl, into it now, tentatively raises her hand. TREVOR -LRB- pointing at Asian Girl. -RRB- Okay. Asian Girl's POV as she studies the first two sentences on the board. ASIAN GIRL -LRB- slowly ; cautiously. -RRB-. Glis was frapper. because. she had denarpen Farfie's mardsen? TREVOR -LRB- understated. -RRB- That's right. You got it. -LRB- reactions all around. -RRB- Let's try another. Trevor reads and writes question # 2 on the board. 2. WHAT DID GLIS PLIMP? TREVOR What did Glis plimp? Before Trevor can finish writing the question, an unidentified voice blurts out, `` He plimped a Ho.'' Scattered laughter. Trevor grimaces, shakes his head. Now attempts to add the question mark at the end of the sentence but the chalk breaks, causing dissension. TREVOR -LRB- searching blackboard ledge. -RRB-. Hold on, hold on. Where's your teacher keep the chalk? ASIAN GIRL In the desk. Trevor hastily rifles through the teacher's drawers. A startling discovery abruptly halts his search. CLOSER now INTO a brown paper bag Trevor has opened. Inside the bag is a.357 Magnum. OFF Trevor's narrowing gaze, an offstage voice interrupts. CHILDRESS -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Can I help you? Trevor lifts his head to see Dave Childress standing in the doorway of the bungalow. Trevor shuts the desk drawer. You can hear a pin drop. Childress piston - chews a wad of gum as he approaches Trevor. CHILDRESS Sorry I'm late. Had to handle something. You a sub? TREVOR -LRB- puzzled. -RRB- I thought this was Science. Ms. Eskander. Childress weighs a shit - eating grin as he glances at Trevor's name on the board. CHILDRESS No. This is Dave Childress, American History. Some students brave a laugh at Trevor's expense. CHILDRESS Do n't know how to break it to you. -LRB- glancing at Trevor's name again. -RRB-. Garfield. but this is bungalow 84. Childress now places a patronizing hand on Trevor's shoulder and steers him toward the window blinds. CHILDRESS See, you zigged when you shoulda zagged. Course it's not your fault someone jacked the number off my door. Keep askin' Garcia to fix it but all I get is ` nada.' Childress draws the blinds on one of the windows exposing another bungalow across the way.", "INT. BUNGALOW #86 - THROUGH WINDOW PANE In complete disarray. Students clutter the doorway as wads of paper intermittently zing past them. CHILDRESS that mess over there, that's Eskander's. OFF Trevor's unflinching stare.", "INT. BUNGALOW #86 - MORNING The bungalow was originally designed for lab science : glass - encased cupboards, a caged white lab rat on a side counter, an 8' by 3' counter top -LRB- island -RRB- at the front of the room, including a built - in sink and butane gas valve. Students crowd the opened windows on the far side of the room. The chaotic atmosphere centers around one student. Benny Chacon -LRB- 18 -RRB-, the tagger we met earlier. Trevor's back to square one. He struggles with trepidation as he steps into the doorway of the bungalow and hesitates. A young black girl, LAKESIA STEWART -LRB- 16 -RRB-, stands near the doorway. She cradles a realistic looking E.N.A.B.L. baby -LRB- Education Now And Babies Later -RRB-. LAKESIA You our sub? Trevor takes a peek at the doll. LAKESIA It's not real. We're studying teen parenting in home - ec.' It's computerized, so it cries and shit. Crowd at the windows begins to disperse now, finding their seats, except for Benny who does n't budge. Trevor approaches, gazes out the window, eyes sizing up the situation.", "EXT. BUNGALOW #86 - TREVOR'S POV - TEXTBOOKS Scattered on the blacktop between the parking lot fence and bungalow # 86 are 35 science textbooks.", "INT. BUNGALOW #86 TREVOR -LRB- addressing Benny ; without prejudging. -RRB- You know how the books got outside? Benny plays with the black rosary around his neck. Responds with mock ignorance. BENNY No speaky Engless. Class erupts with laughter. A wad of paper sails past Trevor and out the window. BENNY You speak Spanish, Mister. Whas yer name? TREVOR Garfield. BENNY You speak Spanish, Mister G? -LRB- as Trevor ignores the question. -RRB- Eh, G. know what dat means when a homeboy calls you ` G'? Dat means gangster, homes. You a gangster, maestro? TREVOR No, I'm not a gangster. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Would you please do me a favor and pick up the books? BENNY -LRB- righteous indignation. -RRB- Andate a la mierda. -LRB- more laughs. -RRB- I ai n't pickin' dat shit up. You go pick it up. Benny now finds a seat. Trevor follows him. TREVOR What's your name? BENNY Cesar Chavez. Do n't you recognize me? Class laughs. Trevor refers to the seating chart -LRB- inside the sub folder -RRB- in his hand but Benny's not sitting in his proper seat. Benny indicates a 2'' by 3'' monitoring device strapped to his ankle. BENNY See dis? I'm already on house arrest, homes. Ai n't nothin' more you can do to me. Suddenly three students across from Benny -LRB- the other three taggers we saw earlier, Cesar Sanchez, Stevie Littleton and Paco -RRB- stand with bold impunity. All are 17. Cesar has a buzz - cut, Stevie's an Anglo speed freak with a runny nose and a bleached one - clip haircut -LRB- roots showing -RRB- and Paco, a Latino. TREVOR Sit down, please. Cesar, Stevie and Paco ignore Trevor and walk out of the bungalow. Their departure is accompanied by a tumultuous outburst of catcalls and whistles. LAKESIA -LRB- peeking Benny's hold card. -RRB- Mr. G, those guys that jus' walked out are n't even in here this period. -LRB- pointing to Benny. -RRB- And this fool's name is Benny Chacon. BENNY -LRB- whirls in his seat. -RRB- Shut yer mouth, hood rat! School girl bitch! TREVOR Okay, Benny. That's enough. Benny turns his wrath on Trevor now. BENNY Hey, you ai n't no real teacher. Fool, you're nothin' but a sub. T'ink yer so cool. You mus' be ` Mr. culo.' Scattered laughter. Trevor closes the sub folder and just looks at Benny. TREVOR -LRB- a cool curiosity. -RRB- Why do you wear a rosary? BENNY -LRB- reacting. -RRB- Ai n't none a' yer damn business. To put God on me, okay? Why do n't you jus' go sit down and read yer newspaper. Wan na - be, mother fucker. Trevor just stands there, studies Benny. A palpable beat. TREVOR Are you done? There is dead silence as Benny stares Trevor straight in the eye. Trevor stares right back. BENNY Jus' gim me a referral. Shit. Trevor turns and calmly walks back to the island counter, searches and finds a referral slip in one of the drawers, fills it out. TREVOR -LRB- cool deliberation. -RRB- For future reference, anyone who disrupts a class, or in any way infringes on the rights of others to get an education, is subject to disciplinary action. -LRB- beat. -RRB- When I'm here, ladies and gentlemen, I expect to be treated decently. -LRB- walks back to Benny. -RRB-. hopefully in an atmosphere of mutual respect. This classroom is our sanctuary, yours and mine. Respect it. -LRB- handing Benny the referral. -RRB- For your information, I am a real teacher. BENNY Whatever you say, Opie. Benny has a smirk on his face as he sashays past Trevor with the referral slip. TREVOR Okay, who would like to help me pick up the books? Benny, a self - aggrandized exit, crumbles the referral slip and tosses it at Trevor, hitting him square in the back. Like a reflex, Trevor whirls and ducks. Students laugh at his heightened reaction.", "EXT. JQA - FACULTY DINING ROOM We see kids at an armored Coke machine. PAN OFF machine to see kids at lunch.", "INT. JQA - FACULTY DINING ROOM - LUNCHTIME Trevor sits by himself, lost in stirring a bowl of soup. He observes a talkative clique of teachers at the far end of the table, including Teacher # 1. Now Dave Childress sits down, disrupting Trevor's solitude. CHILDRESS How goes the battle, Garfield? Dave bites into a messy sandwich as he skims the front page of a newspaper that someone left behind. CHILDRESS D'juh get that binky marsden farfied? Trevor does n't say a word. Just keeps stirring his soup. Now notices Ellen Henry as she enters and joins the food line. CHILDRESS Know what I think? I think that Chacon punk's the one who opened your bungalow this morning. -LRB- another bite. -RRB- Eskander does n't know how to lock a window. TREVOR'S POV - ELLEN AND CASHIER The cashier -LRB- Armenian girl, 15 -RRB- is one of Ellen's students. As Ellen pays for a sandwich. ELLEN Come by the lab after school, we'll work on it. BACK TO TREVOR AND CHILDRESS CHILDRESS Want some advice? Trevor slides Dave a glance. CHILDRESS First homeboy that gives you the slightest bit of trouble. send ` um tuh Larry Hyland. He's their counselor. Right off the bat, yuh have to sacrifice one. Let ` um know who's boss. Show some balls. -LRB- as Trevor nods. -RRB- And do n't look for support from the administration. Most of'em have n't been in a classroom in ten years. They do n't know shit. I got tenure and I'm still out here in the damn bungalows. I should be in the ` A' building with a nice air - conditioned room. -LRB- sarcastically. -RRB- You met Garcia yet? The principal? Trevor shakes his head as Ellen Henry takes the empty seat at the end of the table, smiles at Trevor. ELLEN Ah! New blood! -LRB- extends a hand. -RRB- Ellen Henry, computer science. TREVOR Trevor Garfield. As they shake right in front of Childress' face he ca n't help noticing the mean scar on the back of Trevor's hand. CHILDRESS Nice scar yuh got there. There's something familiar about this sub. CHILDRESS Ever sub here before? TREVOR First time. CHILDRESS -LRB- curiously. -RRB- What about permanent? TREVOR I taught seven years in the Bedford - Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Roosevelt Whitney High School. CHILDRESS Roosevelt Whitney? Did n't some teacher get stabbed to death there last year? TREVOR Actually, he survived. CHILDRESS No, it was on ` Sixty Minutes.' Some gangbanger stabbed this guy with a ten - penny nail like a dozen times in a hallway and. Childress looks from Trevor silently stirring his soup down to the scar again. and now it hits him. CHILDRESS Jesus Christ, you're him. It was you. Ellen blanches. CHILDRESS -LRB- awestruck. -RRB- Holy shit, Garfield. When was that? December before last? No, it was fall. TREVOR October 27. CHILDRESS Whadda schmuck. I'm sittin' here givin' advice to a man with a purple heart. ELLEN Excuse me. Inexplicably, she gets up and leaves. As Trevor watches Ellen go, Childress slides closer to him. CHILDRESS -LRB- sotto. -RRB- Lem me tell yuh somethin'. In my book you're a fuckin' hero. Damn straight. Trevor slides a look back to Dave as he eats his soup. TREVOR Getting stabbed does n't make me a hero. CHILDRESS -LRB- disregards Trevor's comment. -RRB- So what'd they give the kid? TREVOR They put ` im upstate in a facility until his twenty - first birthday. CHILDRESS That all? They shoulda caned the bastard. Like they did that kid in Singapore. Remember? -LRB- recollecting. -RRB- President of Singapore had a few choice words. Use to have it memorized. He said something like, ` When a state of increasing disorder and defiance can not be checked by the rules. then new and sometimes drastic rules have to be forged to maintain order.'. -LRB- slides Trevor a glance. -RRB- ` The alternative is to surrender order to chaos and anarchy.' TREVOR So why do you still teach? CHILDRESS Same reason as you, Garfield - for the paycheck.", "EXT. BUNGALOW #86 - AFTERNOON (SIXTH PERIOD; NEXT DAY) The windows and blinds are shut now.", "INT. BUNGALOW #86 - CLOCK ON WALL - CONTINUOUS ACTION is inching toward the top of the hour. Closing their books and loading their knapsacks, the students talk and pay more attention to the inexorable march of time than to Trevor writing on an overhead projector. TREVOR Okay, someone tell me the difference between the central nervous system and the lymphatic system? Rita Nartinez -LRB- the chola from the `` utility'' shed -RRB- sits near the front of the class. She wears her usual heavy eyeliner and a new nose ring. RITA -LRB- obscenely. -RRB- Mr. G, you got ta nice butt. Class erupts. Rita enjoys the attention. Trevor turns and looks at her squarely. TREVOR You seem to be an expert on anatomy, Miss -. -LRB- checks roster. -RRB- - Nartinez. Central nervous system and lymphatic system. What's the difference? RITA Uh. Trevor does n't expect anything remotely close to the right answer. RITA It's like the central nervous system, that's your brain and spinal cord, and the lymphatic system, that's the stuff in your blood that fights diseases. A beat. Trevor looks up at her. TREVOR Very good. Trevor notices Cesar Sanchez writing on his desk. Stevie cranes his neck to observe. Paco snoozes. TREVOR Cesar. Cesar throws back his head and jerks both hands from his desk top. Trevor walks up the aisle. TREVOR You writing on your desk? CESAR -LRB- coolly. -RRB- You see anything in my hands? -LRB- displaying his empty palms. -RRB- I do n't think so. Trevor looks down at the tagging on Cesar's desktop. In one corner are the letters K - O - S, and below that the word `` cartoon.'' TREVOR K - O - S, what's that? That a tagging crew? Cesar shrugs with a big grin. TREVOR Cartoon. Is that you, Cesar? -LRB- off no response. -RRB-' K - O - S' has something to do with your friend Benny? CESAR Dawg. You're a sucker. K - O - S stands for ` Kappin' Off Suckers.' Do n't disrespect my homeboy, Benny. He do n't like it. He do n't like you. Trevor dismisses Cesar's comments. TREVOR Do me a favor, Cesar. Go get a paper towel from the counter and wipe off your desk. -LRB- beat. -RRB- And Mr. Littleton, please oblige me and turn that tagger shirt inside - out. Stevie wears a fusion T - shirt emblazoned with a giant spray can. STEVIE -LRB- refusing. -RRB- Hyland said it was okay, Sucker. Neither of them budge. Momentous deliberation. Now the BELL RINGS and the classroom empties in a matter of seconds. Cesar stares daggers at Trevor as he exits. Rita hangs back, the last one to leave. She does n't want anyone to see her talking to Trevor. RITA -LRB- self - conscious. -RRB- Do n't pay no attention to them. They jus' tryin' tuh fuck wit' you, Mr. G. I mean play wit' you. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Sorry I said you had a nice ass. TREVOR -LRB- a pensive beat. -RRB-. Apology accepted. RITA -LRB- in her own defense. -RRB- I ai n't no school girl. TREVOR God forbid anyone should think that. Rita flickers an awkward smile, turns and exits. The class empties and Trevor is left staring at the empty desks where Benny and Cesar sat. WHACK - Trevor's reverie is broken by a BASKETBALL smashing against the side of the bungalow. POV - OUT THE WINDOW A group of boys grin mischieviously at the reaction they get from Trevor. continue smashing the ball against bungalows. TREVOR shifts his gaze from them to the venetian blinds framing the window. to the clock over his desk.", "INT. BUNGALOW #86 - CLOSE ON VENETIAN BLINDS - LATER (AFTER SCHOOL) as they open - revealing the clock - and just as suddenly close. TILT DOWN to find Trevor working the cords to the blinds he's rigged over the timeplace. A FAINT KNOCK breaks his spell as he glances up to discover Ellen Henry standing in the open doorway. ELLEN May I come in? TREVOR Yeah. -LRB- points at her. -RRB-. Ellen. ELLENA -LRB- pointing back. -RRB- Trevor. He sees her looking quizzically at the blinds he's rigged over the clock. TREVOR -LRB- explaining. -RRB- I'm making time a reward instead of a distraction. Impressed, Ellen peruses the room now with a benign gaze. ELLEN Clever. Listen, I wanted to apologize for jumping up like I did at lunch. I was just feeling a little weird. TREVOR It's alright. ELLEN For what it's worth, Dave Childress thinks you walk on water. TREVOR Is that a good thing? Ellen flickers a grin, point taken. ELLEN I think it takes a lot of courage to go back into a classroom after something like that. TREVOR Not if the only thing you ever wanted to do was teach. ELLEN -LRB- smiles. -RRB- Now you see, there's our predicament. WHACK - the noise pulls Ellen's attention out the window where the boys play a rough game of BASKETBALL. ELLEN I assume you've met Benny Chacon? TREVOR I have. ELLEN -LRB- absently. -RRB- Last week Benny and his tagging crew had Ms. Eskander pinned in the corner over there. -LRB- pointing. -RRB-. She's seven months pregnant and he's tormenting her with a broom handle. Can I help you with those? Trevor is trying to put some books on an upper shelf, but he's having trouble raising his arm high enough. Ellen sees he's in pain. TREVOR No thanks. She watches him struggle, then breaks the awkwardness. ELLEN So anyway, Gloria kicks Benny. and if the district construes it as assault and battery on a student, she's gone. TREVOR They'd do that? ELLEN In a heart beat. She's non - tenured, they do n't want to get sued. -LRB- with resignation. -RRB- Do n't be surprised if she files for stress leave by the end of the week. Too bad, too. She's a good teacher. WHACK. WHACK. Outside, the kids continue to play. The late sun makes their violent shadows swarm over Ellen. ELLEN Can I ask you a personal question? Trevor glances up. Here's what she really wants to know. ELLEN -LRB- tentatively now. -RRB- Why'd that kid attack you? TREVOR Because I flunked him. ELLEN -LRB- sobered. -RRB- Is there any way you can see something like that coming? TREVOR When they say they wan na kill you, you'd best take it serious. This kid was an O.T. - Opportunity Transfer - but nobody told me until it was too late. A beat. ELLEN Did you know Benny's an O.T? In less than a year he's been convicted of felony assault and suspended twice. I even testified against him as a character witness. Now I get to see him every day in homeroom. I'm stuck with him. Condition of his probation is that he stay in school. TREVOR You talk to the principal? ELLEN Many times. Three weeks ago, Garcia calls Benny's mother in for a conference, but she refuses to show up. She's afraid they'll deport her because she's illegal. So she contacts the A.C.L.U. and some attorney tells her she does n't have to come in. -LRB- still ca n't believe. -RRB- Garcia got cold feet and dropped the whole thing. -LRB- fear building. -RRB- This kid's threatening me and all he's worried about is a lawsuit. TREVOR -LRB- intent now. -RRB- What'd Benny say to you? Tears involuntarily well up in Ellen's eyes. HOLD for an awkward moment as she collects herself. ELLEN That he wanted to hurt me. Real bad. TREVOR Does he know where you live? ELLEN I think so. Someone's been phoning me at night and hanging up. Two weeks ago, my car was broken into. And last Friday, I think he was inside my house. But I ca n't prove it. The shadows of the basketball players rage inside the bungalow. ELLEN -LRB- bottom lip quivers. -RRB-. I do n't know what to do. TREVOR You can quit. ELLEN You did n't. OFF Trevor's severe gaze.", "EXT. LA RIVER OVERPASS - NIGHT Trace the cold underbelly of the overpass. The glare of oncoming headlights flash overhead as we DISCOVER a tagging wall. CLOSER now. The wall is completely covered with graffiti. The centerpiece of the wall is a 5' by 10' multi - color `` placa'' that reads. K.O.S. ANGLING TO DISCOVER an Anglo tagger now as he defaces the `` S'' in K - O - S, covering it with his own piece. Suddenly the lone tagger feels a presence at his back. He freezes. Now slowly turns to see. Benny, Cesar and Paco. Merely shadows. Benny lights a blunt, illuminating his face. Passes it to Cesar. TAGGER Do I know you? BENNY -LRB- indicates tagging. -RRB- You should. You're fuckin' with my piece, puto. TAGGER -LRB- nervously. -RRB-. You from K.O.S? No shit? Cesar and Paco burst into hysterical laughter which only manages to get Benny piqued. TAGGER -LRB- panicking. -RRB- Look, I did n't mean nothin'. Lem me fix it. I can fix it. Okay? Cesar and Paco laugh harder. BENNY -LRB- to Cesar. -RRB- Eh, shut up, mojado! -LRB- to Tagger now. -RRB- Do n't mess wit' me, whiteboy. I'll cap yer ass. He pulls a.380 or a.25 automatic out of his pocket. Brandishes it at Cesar and Paco. BENNY I said shut up! Shut the fuck up! A BEEPER hooked on Benny's pants pocket BEEPS. Benny shuts it off. The Tagger sees his opportunity and makes a break for it. Without a second thought, Benny SHOOTS him in the leg. Tagger crumbles to the ground. Benny's really pissed now. Checks his beeper's glow - in - the - dark face for the message. BENNY -LRB- reacting to message. -RRB- I do n't have no time to put up wit' ` dis shit! Cesar and Paco attempt to subdue their laughter but fail. BENNY You think it's funny?! Benny lifts a pant leg. Indicates his ankle monitor with the barrel of his gun. BENNY I do n't call my P.O. in 15 minutes, I'm fucked. Venting rage, Benny walks up the wounded Tagger and STARTS SHOOTING -LRB- one hand high near his face, shooting downward -RRB-. Now he kisses the crucifix on his rosary like a sick, distorted affectation. BENNY Dis is K.O.S.' neighborhood. Cesar and Paco laugh even harder now, falling all over each other. Benny storms off. He marches past a street lamp and is swallowed up by the night.", "EXT. L.A. RIVER - NIGHT SUBJECT CAMERA FOLLOWING Benny. Oblivious that he's being followed, Benny walks at a steady pace. As we continue gaining ground on him, a SOUND UPCUT of TREVOR CALLING ROLL transports us to.", "INT. BUNGALOW #86 - ON BENNY'S EMPTY DESK - NEXT MORNING (FIRST PERIOD) Amid unresponsive cross talk : TREVOR -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Sergio Arrellano. Blanca Orantes. Andrew Blackwell. Benny Chacon. LAKESIA -LRB- chiming in. -RRB- Benny's not here. Trevor gazes opaquely at Benny's empty seat. LAKESIA I think he went AWOL, Mr. G.", "EXT. VACANT DIRT LOT - AFTERNOON An eight - year - old Hispanic kid pulls a red Flexi - Flyer wagon -LRB- laden with pop bottles and aluminum cans -RRB- across weeds and cracked earth. He suddenly stops and stares at something in the weeds. Snatches it up, studies it, and tosses it with everything else. SLOWLY MOVING IN ON the wagon now. thru a thin shroud of dust as it bangs and bumps along. Even CLOSER now on the last retrieved article. It's Benny's ankle monitor.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - \"A\" BUILDING - MAIN CORRIDOR  DAY (FIFTH PERIOD) Trevor emerges from Assistant Principal Ford's office and walks up the empty corridor, without breaking stride. ELLEN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- muted. -RRB-. Trevor. Trevor retraces his steps back to the door of Ellen's plant - filled, personalized computer lab. Over the CLACKING of COMPUTER KEYS. TREVOR -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Eskander filed for stress leave. They want me to finish out the semester. ELLEN That's great. TREVOR -LRB- with humility. -RRB- It's only'til the end of the year. ELLEN Listen, I never thanked you for letting me cry on your shoulder. Trevor flickers a conciliatory nod, now she averts his eyes. TREVOR That's okay. ELLEN -LRB- digressing now. -RRB- Hey, have you seen Benny lately? -LRB- as Trevor shrugs. -RRB- Ford told me he has n't phoned his P.O. in four days. -LRB- weighs guilt ; whispering. -RRB- You know what they say. Be careful what you pray for. Do n't get me wrong, Benny's made my life a living hell. I even moved back in with my mother because of him. I love my mother, but if I eat one more dinner off a TV tray or watch one more rerun of ` Wheel of Fortune,' I think I'll lose my fucking mind. Now an EGG TIMER RINGS O.S. on Ellen's desk. Back into the classroom. ELLEN -LRB- to class. -RRB- Time's up. Everyone stop working. Realizing now that all the CLACKING COMPUTER KEYS have stopped moments ago. All eyes are fixed on Ellen and Trevor. Big knowing grins all around.", "EXT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - EVENING Balmy and still. ON bug zapper above garage, a churning, SLOW MOTION swarm of bugs repeatedly throw themselves headlong into the light.", "INT. TREVOR'S LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION MUSIC plays faintly on the STEREO. Numerous artifacts occupy the bookshelves. A primitive AFRICAN MASAI BOW -LRB- with two arrows -RRB- is mounted on a wall. Trevor, tie loosened. Ellen, in nylon stocking feet, leaning back against a couch. On the coffee table before them are dirty dishes and half - full wine glasses. Trevor's lost in a thin introspective smile. ELLEN -LRB- breaks the silence. -RRB-. So you have a wife hiding in a closet somewhere? TREVOR -LRB- smile widens. -RRB- No. No wife. ELLEN Do n't you ever get lonely? Trevor considers the question. TREVOR -LRB- genuinely. -RRB- Sometimes. There's this passage in God's Lonely Man by Thomas Wolfe where he says,'. The whole conviction of my life rests upon the belief that loneliness is the central and inevitable fact of human existence.' I believe that. ELLEN God that's depressing. They both laugh. TREVOR My New York mentality. -LRB- beat. -RRB- It's not always easy looking on the bright side. ELLEN Especially after spending a year in and out of a hospital, I would guess. A beat. TREVOR Actually, that was n't the toughest part - it's the robbery that's been hardest to recover from. ELLEN -LRB- did n't know about this. -RRB- What'd they steal? TREVOR My passion. My old, unguarded self. I resent that. I want them back. He offers a smile. Ellen returns it. ELLEN They're still there. Everybody around me seems to have given up. They're all so beaten down. But you're different. You refuse to be beaten. TREVOR So do you. Kindred souls. Ellen fills her glass. ELLEN Remember the last time a student surprised you? TREVOR You mean where a light goes on? ELLEN Yeah. Where the kid surpasses all your expectations. TREVOR Been awhile. So few you can actually get through to. You? ELLEN -LRB- thinks. -RRB-. That would have to be Daniel Terrazas. This was last year sometime. Kid was failing miserably. But he was the best Salsa dancer in the whole school. TREVOR -LRB- brightens slightly. -RRB- Uh - oh. ELLEN So I made ` im a deal. Tutoring in exchange for Salsa lessons. TREVOR Saw it. Jerry Springer. ELLEN No, no. He was a perfect gentleman. TREVOR -LRB- dryly. -RRB- Male teachers ca n't do things like that. They get arrested. ELLEN Yep, double standard. By the way, did you know Cesar Sanchez was Special Ed? -LRB- as Trevor shakes his head. -RRB- Yep, he never should've been mainstreamed. His I.E.P. says he's L.H. but he acts more like S.E.D. TREVOR Severely Emotionally Disturbed. that's great. A beat. Then Ellen gets up, wine glass balanced in her left hand. ELLEN Come on, Garfield - on your feet. Lem me teach you how to Salsa. TREVOR -LRB- resisting. -RRB- No, no, I'm no good at that. Ellen spins the tuner on the STEREO to a LATIN STATION and practically yanks Trevor to his feet. ELLEN Let's go. Do n't play shy with me, homeboy. Trevor grimaces, awkwardly relinquishes, as Ellen walks him through it. ELLEN -LRB- still holding wine glass. -RRB- That's it. Okay, follow me. It starts on the one. Step forward with your left foot. One. Change weight on, two. And three, feet back together. Now do the same in reverse, starting with your right foot. -LRB- talks their way through. -RRB- One, two, three. One, two three. Trevor concentrates. Up to speed now. Technically he's got it, he just needs to loosen up. Ellen suppresses a gleeful snicker. Now, Trevor attempts to cut loose. He spins Ellen once, into a tango step, one - two - three. Now an awkward dip, causing her glass to spill wine down the back of his shirt. ELLEN -LRB- horrified, giggling. -RRB- Oh, my God. your shirt. Oh, no, I'm so sorry. TREVOR -LRB- self - conscious. -RRB- It's alright. He dashes toward the hallway bathroom. ELLEN Can I help? TREVOR -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Grab the baking soda outta the fridge. In a flurry, Ellen rushes into the kitchen. Flips on the kitchen light, jerks open the refrigerator and locates the baking soda. FOLLOWING now, as she MOVES STEADILY FROM the kitchen TO the hallway bathroom.", "INT. TREVOR'S - HALLWAY/BATHROOM as Ellen steps into the doorway and lets out a startled gasp, dropping the box of baking soda. Trevor is bent over, scrubbing his shirt in the sink. His bare back and shoulders are scattered with brutal knife scars.", "EXT. MOTHER HENRY'S - AFTER MIDNIGHT A tract house in the central San Fernando Valley. Trevor's Rambler is parked at the curb. The house is dark except for a porch light. Trevor and Ellen are greeted by Ellen's golden retriever Jack, who's chained to the front porch. JACK WHIMPERS, ready to bark. ELLEN Do n't start barking, Jack. TREVOR -LRB- petting him. -RRB- Hey there, boy. You're a good dog. Yes, you are. Jack nuzzles up to Trevor, tail wagging furiously, no barking. Now Trevor stands and faces Ellen. ELLEN Sorry for reacting the way I did back there. TREVOR Do n't apologize. That's how most people react. ELLEN Did n't scare me. It just surprised me. Thanks for dinner. I had a good time. TREVOR You're welcome. Awkward silence. Trevor struggles with the urge to kiss her good night. They look at each other timidly for a moment. Now he moves to kiss her and she inadvertently adjusts her stance. The result is a kiss that does n't quite hit her mouth. It's an awkward moment. Ellen feels horrible for him, desperately picks up a strange little plant by her feet. ELLEN Here. you need a little life in that place of yours. Trevor takes it, smiles `` thanks''. TREVOR Good night. turns and starts toward his car. ELLEN -LRB- a half - wave. -RRB-. Night.", "INT. TREVOR'S BEDROOM - AROUND 2 AM In the moonlit darkness. Trevor's abandoned bed. The sheets are twisted and damp. We TILT UP to see a digital clock at bedside reading 2:49 AM, and Trevor's sweat - panted figure moving down the hall in b.g.", "EXT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - LOW ANGLE - TREVOR - NIGHT madly pedaling TOWARD us on a bike. He wears running shoes, shorts and a Morehouse College sweat shirt and his face is contorted from the effort. He wipes sweat from his head, takes a gasping hit from his inhaler as CAMERA CRANES UP to reveal Trevor on a stationary bike in the back yard of his house, rapidly going nowhere.", "INT. TREVOR'S HOUSE His sleepless night continues. Planted at his desk. Trevor corrects a stack of science papers, like a fervent prayer. Sun peeks through the window above his desk. OVER SUBURBAN CLUTTER - RISING SUN - ESTABLISHING Then burning out to white.", "EXT. TREVOR'S BUNGALOW - DAY Shimmering in heat waves.", "INT. TREVOR'S BUNGALOW - DAY It's sweltering. A single fan stirs the air. Amidst growing disorder, Trevor stands behind the front counter. AGENDA is written on the overhead as he flips through pages of a physical science text book. Rita's out of her seat, feeding the caged, white lab rat. Cesar, with sunglasses and typical disregard, holds court in the back of the room. He and Stevie are high. Trevor eyes them, finds what he was looking for in the book. TREVOR -LRB- addressing class. -RRB- Since some of you seem to have an interest in anesthetics, I've prepared a little demonstration. Glances over at Rita now. Checks the wall clock. TREVOR Rita, bring your friend in the cage over here, please. Bringing the cage over. RITA His name's Snowball. Like ` dat lil' pig dude from Animal Farm. TREVOR -LRB- coolly impressed. -RRB- You've read Animal Farm? CESAR -LRB- above the din. -RRB-. schoolgirl. RITA -LRB- snapping a look. -RRB- Shut up, Cesar. TREVOR You read Animal Farm, Cesar? CESAR No, but I fucked a sheep. Stevie and Paco love it. TREVOR Cesar, come up here. -LRB- gesturing. -RRB- I want you to have a front row seat for this. Surprisingly, Cesar does what he's told as Trevor removes an old pocket watch from his briefcase and sets it next to Snowball's cage. TREVOR And remove the ` lokes.' Cesar removes his dark glasses. His eyes are bloodshot and vapid. TREVOR Why your eyes so red? CESAR -LRB- lying. -RRB- Mus' be pink - eye, sir. CESAR -LRB- eyes Trevor's pocket watch. -RRB- Nice watch, homes. Can I have it? Disregarding Cesar, Trevor opens a drawer and removes two latex surgical gloves from a cardboard box. He puts on the gloves and selects a petri dish from another drawer. TREVOR -LRB- pointing. -RRB- Rita, would you bring me a sugar cube from the shelf over there? She does. Trevor now removes a small amber bottle -LRB- with an eye - dropper top -RRB- from his briefcase. The class starts to settle down now as Trevor pre - measures water in a pipette and adds it to the petri dish. TREVOR -LRB- referring to text. -RRB- Cesar, read Young's rule for us. Page 564. At the top. CESAR -LRB- like it's above him. -RRB- I ai n't gon na read ` dat shit. TREVOR Rita, give Cesar your book. Let ` im read. Rita places her book on Cesar's desk. CESAR Forget it. Jeers from the class, `` Come on, read''. `` Hurry up, Cesar.'' TREVOR -LRB- prompting him. -RRB- ` Young's rule.' Go on. Rita points to the passage in the book. Cesar slaps her hand. RITA -LRB- reacting. -RRB-. Chunt. -LRB- Choont. -RRB- CESAR Stoopit bitch. TREVOR Touch her again, Cesar, and you'll answer to me personally. Rita knits her eyebrows at Trevor. Cesar laughs. CESAR You like her, Mr. G? Class erupts. RITA -LRB- shrinking. -RRB- Shut up! TREVOR -LRB- genuinely. -RRB- Settle down, everyone. We all have to learn how to forgive and get along. C'mon, Cesar, read. Please. At first Cesar does n't budge. Now grudgingly he looks down at the book. CESAR -LRB- attempting to read. -RRB-. Young's rule. ff. fo. TREVOR Formulates. Cesar heaves the book across the room : Class erupts, `` Refer ` im,'' `` Send ` im tuh Hyland.'' Trevor walks over and picks up the book. Class now settles. Watches Trevor closely to see what he's going to do. Trevor gazes at Cesar. TREVOR I say everyone deserves another chance. Whadda you say, Cesar? Cesar knits his eyebrows, puzzled. Now Trevor walks over and sets the textbook down in front of Rita. TREVOR Rita, would you please read Young's rule for me? RITA -LRB- hesitates and. -RRB-. ` Young's rule formulates proper dosage levels for children and adolescents.' TREVOR Thank you. Resume the lesson now. Trevor indicates the amber bottle. TREVOR In the brown bottle I have a prescription for liquid Demeral. STEVIE Where'd that come from, sir? TREVOR A doctor. Cesar grudgingly watches as Trevor places a measured drop of the liquid demeral into the petri dish and stirs the solution. TREVOR Demeral is a morphine sulphate. and is soluble in water. Using the pipette, Trevor administers two drops of the demeral and water solution to the sugar cube, which he has placed inside Snowball's cage. As Snowball eats the sugar cube. TREVOR Young's rule says, divide the age of the patient by the patient's age plus twelve, giving us the fraction of the adult dosage suitable for the patient. In Snowball's case, I've calculated the dosage necessary to tranquilize a one - year - old child. then further divided that fraction by 30, based on his weight, to arrive at.002 milligrams. Having eaten most of the sugar cube, Snowball is rendered unconscious. TREVOR Do n't worry, he'll be back to normal in exactly 10 minutes. Trevor peers at his pocket watch. INSERT - FULL SCREEN - TREVOR'S POCKET WATCH The hour and minute hands read 2:40. HOLD as we.", "INT. BUNGALOW #86 - TEN MINUTES LATER Trevor's pocket watch now reads 2:50. RITA He shoulda woke up by now? Snowball is n't moving. HOLD for an uncomfortably long moment ON the class, clustered around Trevor's desk. The class, for once, is completely silent. Beads of perspiration form on Trevor's upper lip as he resolutely watches the sleeping rat. CESAR -LRB- accusatory. -RRB- You just caught a murder case, homes. Now Snowball begins to stir and the class reacts with scattered applause. A thin smile flickers across Trevor's face. As the BELL RINGS. TREVOR Okay, anyone who did n't finish answering the questions on 246, finish them for homework. As students head for the doors, he pulls off his latex gloves and looks for his pocket watch. but it's gone. TREVOR Hold it, Cesar. Cesar and Stevie are almost out the door. TREVOR Where's my watch? CESAR -LRB- urgently. -RRB- Hey, I got ta go. I ai n't got no watch. TREVOR Empty your pockets, both of you. CESAR Want me to break it down to you? I got ta catch a bus. Cesar heads out the door.", "EXT. BUNGALOW #86 - MOMENTS LATER Trevor locks bungalow # 86, picks up his briefcase, and along with the rest of the foot traffic, heads in the direction of the `` A'' building.", "EXT. JQA - ON EDGE OF BUNGALOWS As Trevor rounds a corner and runs smack into Ellen on the opposite side of a chain link fence. TREVOR -LRB- making excuses. -RRB- Sorry. I'm trying to catch Hyland before he leaves. Trevor keeps moving. TREVOR I've been meaning to come by your room. ELLEN -LRB- keeping it light. -RRB-. It's almost been a week. My guess is you're avoiding me. Trevor's tongue - tied. Now he removes the Proventil inhaler from his pocket, take an innocuous hit. ELLEN You okay? Trevor nods, sustains an awkward smile. TREVOR Has nothing to do with you, Ellen. It's. hard for me. A struggle, fighting against his true feelings. TREVOR Pretty much been like that since. you know, my accident. Has nothing to do with you. ELLEN Is it because I'm white? TREVOR No. Trevor stares into her eyes, a soulful, searching gaze. Now he averts a self - conscious look. ELLEN We can still be friends. Just do n't pull away. Trevor just looks at her. Nods, somewhat bewildered. ELLEN -LRB- back to lighter note. -RRB- Now, can I ask you a favor? After you're done with Hyland, can you give me a ride to my car? It's at the mechanics, about five or six blocks up Lankershim. If you ca n't, it's okay, I can walk. TREVOR -LRB- a little embarrassed. -RRB-. I think I can manage that. Victor Sifuentes approaches now. ELLEN Que paso, Victor? VICTOR -LRB- into walkie - talkie. -RRB- Base three to base one. ` Found ` im. As their paths converge and they stop, face to face. VICTOR Mr. Garcia would like to speak with you in his office. OFF Trevor's puzzled look.", "INT. PRINCIPAL GARCIA'S OFFICE - AFTERNOON A wall air conditioner. blows on Stevie and Cesar's sweaty backs. Trevor enters, shirt equally drenched in sweat. The dead silence is like that of a courtroom. MR. GARCIA, late forties, drawn, sits behind his desk. MR. HYLAND, stands in the outer office behind a glass partition, head lowered. Hyland flashes Trevor a defeated smile as we. Trevor coolly deciphers the situation. Garcia reaches down, switches on a portable tape recorder. MR. GARCIA You do n't mind if I tape record our conversation. Matter of record. You understand. -LRB- indicating Mr. Hyland. -RRB- Of course, you know Mr. Hyland. Trevor weighs the situation. Nods. TREVOR Am I being questioned? MR. GARCIA -LRB- beat. -RRB- Mr. Sanchez and Mr. Littleton tell me you've accused them of stealing your watch. If that's the case, I need to address the accusation. TREVOR For the record, I primarily suspect Mr. Sanchez. Although I would n't be surprised if Stevie was an accomplice. -LRB- glances over at Cesar and Stevie. -RRB- Beginning of sixth period, Cesar admired the watch. I believe his exact words were, ` Can I have it?'. -LRB- looks back to Garcia. -RRB- Either way, I'd like my watch back. MR. GARCIA Anything else? TREVOR When I asked him to empty his pockets, Cesar refused. MR. GARCIA Is that true, Mr. Sanchez? CESAR No way. He never asked me nothin' like that! I do n't go ` round taxing no teachers. MR. GARCIA Okay. Calm down. With fervor now, Cesar turns his pockets inside out, emptying the contents -LRB- house keys and two dollars in change -RRB- onto Garcia's desk. CESAR I ai n't got no watch, man. MR. GARCIA Mr. Littleton, may we see your pockets too? Stevie empties his pockets now. Nothing but a twenty dollar bill and an empty pack of Marlboros. Trevor just stares at him. TREVOR -LRB- last try. -RRB- I'd like a locker search, please. Garcia hesitates, now looks to Cesar and Stevie. MR. GARCIA You're excused, gentlemen. Take your things. Thank you. The boys collect their belongings off Garcia's desk and shoot looks at Trevor as they exit. Now Garcia turns back to Trevor. MR. GARCIA -LRB- unflinching pragmatism. -RRB-. Let me try and explain something. I try and think of our students here at John Quincy Adams like they're my clients. I ca n't accuse anybody just on your hunches. I need more than that. I need facts. -LRB- looking at Hyland. -RRB- I wo n't have another law suit like we did with that Blackwell case. -LRB- now to Trevor. -RRB- Boy's mother spent $ 400 that she could n't afford on new clothes for her son. Unfortunately we considered the clothing gang attire and sent the boy home. That cost the district a quarter of a million dollars. -LRB- beat. -RRB- So I want you to be straight with me, Mr. Garfield. Did you physically see Cesar take your watch? TREVOR No, I did n't. MR. GARCIA Do you have any witnesses who saw him take it? TREVOR -LRB- pause. -RRB-. No. MR. GARCIA Unless there's reasonable cause to show that Cesar, or Mr. Littleton took your watch then I ca n't authorize a locker search. I'm sorry. Any concerns regarding my decision, you can look up in the handbook. It's section 628.1 of the Education Code. TREVOR -LRB- to Garcia. -RRB- That was my grandfather's watch. Ca n't you see what they're doing? Were n't you ever a teacher? MR. GARCIA Afraid I never had the privilege. Teaching and being a principal do n't necessarily go hand in hand, Mr. Garfield. OFF Trevor's defeated gaze.", "EXT. GARCIA'S OFFICE - MAIN CORRIDOR - AFTERNOON As Trevor and Hyland emerge from Garcia's office and walk steadily up the empty corridor. HYLAND -LRB- sotto. -RRB- Is it me or is Garcia a real asshole? Trevor does n't respond, lost in thought. TREVOR I've been thinking about videotaping my classes. HYLAND Yeah, well, here's some free advice. Cover your ass. Trevor slides him a glance. They stop in front of Hyland's office door. He unlocks the door with a key. HYLAND If Garcia asks, your main purpose is to observe you, not the students. Excuse me, I mean his ` clients.' PHONE RINGS as they enter.", "INT. HYLAND'S OFFICE - AFTERNOON HYLAND Some gangbanger might think we're violating his civil rights. Trevor weighs it as Hyland picks up the phone. HYLAND -LRB- into phone. -RRB-. Yeah? Signals Trevor to take a seat. HYLAND -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Sorry, Iris. Completely forgot. INTERCUT Trevor as his eyes idly fix on an index card box -LRB- on Hyland's desk -RRB- labeled, `` LOCKER COMBINATIONS.'' Hyland hangs up. HYLAND -LRB- to Trevor. -RRB- Yuh have a minute? Wan na talk to you about our discipline committee. Got ta run up to the office real quick first. Trevor shifts his gaze back to Hyland. TREVOR Yeah, fine, go ahead. I'll wait. Hyland rushes out and Trevor glances back at the index box. Momentous deliberation. Now he reaches over and carefully opens the small tin box. Methodically now, he flips through the file cards until he finds Cesar Sanchez's locker combination. Trevor's eyes scanning the information on the locker combination card. LOCKER # 204. Combination sequence. 08 - 24 - 53.", "EXT. TRAFFIC SIGNAL - AFTERNOON Trevor's Rambler, with Ellen in the passenger seat, stops at a large intersection.", "INT./EXT RAMBLER - CONTINUOUS ACTION ELLEN I have to fly up there for a computer conference. TREVOR When's that? ELLEN Day after tomorrow. As Trevor gets distracted by something he sees. TREVOR Never been to San Francisco.", "EXT. RITA'S BUS STOP - TREVOR'S POV At a right angle to Lankershim, down Magnolia Blvd., Rita Nartinez sits alone on a bus stop bench. ELLEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Oh, you should go sometime, Trevor. I think you'd like it. Really. It's only an hour by air. Maybe five or six by car. Completely different attitude from L.A. Much more like a real city. like Chicago or New York. As Ellen continues talking we see a lowered blue Nissan mini - truck -LRB- with matching shell -RRB- pull up next to the bus stop. A cholo from the utility shed hangs out the passenger window and taunts Rita. Rita immediately stands and walks back down Magnolia. The mini - truck follows her in reverse. Rita halts and begins ranting at the cholo, waving her arms all around. Now she stomps away and the mini - truck drives away with a lurch. ELLEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Only problem is I hate to leave Jack with my mother for any extended period of time. I'm afraid she'll forget to feed him and he'll starve to death.", "INT. TREVOR'S RAMBLER INTERCUT Trevor's distracted gaze. TREVOR If you want, I'll take care of Jack. ELLEN I ca n't ask you to do that. TREVOR -LRB- straight at Ellen now. -RRB- Sure you can.", "INT. BUNGALOW #86 - AFTERNOON (NEXT DAY; FIFTH PERIOD) Trevor's conference period. He stands atop a ladder in the front of the room, drilling holes in the wall for a jerry - rigged camera mount. As he climbs down, Rita enters. Paces back and forth, wringing a clenched spiral notebook, English Comp. essay tucked inside. TREVOR -LRB- continues working. -RRB-. Are n't you supposed to be at P.E. fifth period? RITA -LRB- rants ; kicks a desk. -RRB-. Sunland Boyz gettin' crazy, ol lady's. fucked up. Fuck dis being down shit. I wan na do somethin' wit' my life. A POLAROID PHOTO drops out of her notebook. Trevor reaches down and scoops it up. INSERT - POLAROID PHOTO/DEAD GANG MEMBER IN CASKET Puppet. a young 16 - year - old cholo, dressed in gang colors, laid out in an open casket. ON TREVOR Now as he hands the photo back to Rita. TREVOR You know this guy? Rita takes the photo back. She does n't want to talk about it. RITA -LRB- unravels now ; begins to cry. -RRB- ` Got ta make J - C next year. ` Got to! I ai n't never gon na get up outta here. TREVOR Rita, slow down. RITA ` Dat bitch Quinn, I'm ` onna sue her ass. ` Swear tuh God. TREVOR Okay, okay. Calm down a second. Rita collapses into a desk. TREVOR Who's Quinn? What's she teach? RITA English Comp. She's failin' me. Trevor tentatively picks up Rita's essay -LRB- branded with a big red `` F'' -RRB- and begins reading it. RITA ` Bitch say I do n't talk right. Trevor scrutinizes her with a glance. Now back to Rita's essay. RITA She hates me. She's racist against me. Trevor sets the essay down on Rita's desk. Regards her with genuine candor. TREVOR Just cause you're a Latina does n't mean everyone's racist against you. RITA -LRB- prideful. -RRB- Hey, I'm a La Raza, prof - eh. TREVOR Okay. just stop blaming everyone else. You're too smart for that. -LRB- as Rita's rocked back. -RRB- And every mistake in that essay is fixable, okay? So relax, it's not the end of the world. Rita collects herself, wipes the streaks of mascara running down her cheeks with her sleeve. Trevor studies her for a moment. TREVOR -LRB- points to counter. -RRB- Tissues are in the first drawer. Rita pulls herself together and walks over to the island counter. TREVOR -LRB- innocuously. -RRB- How come you always wear so much makeup? RITA -LRB- wounded. -RRB-. To make me pretty. TREVOR -LRB- frankly. -RRB- You do n't need it. She grabs a handful of tissues, dabs at her smeared mascara. Now her hair falls forward, exposing the back of her neck. and a tattoo that reads `` Puppet'' in a scrawling signature. She tosses her hair back and it disappears. TREVOR -LRB- slightest bit probative. -RRB- That your name? He indicates the back of her neck. RITA -LRB- with fervor and frustration. -RRB- It's a gang thing. But I'm kickin' dat shit. Jus' cuz I look down for my neighborhood do n't mean I'm stupit. TREVOR I know you're not. She inserts her `` failed'' essay inside the rolled - up spiral notebook. TREVOR -LRB- offers. -RRB- The ideas in your essay are n't the problem, Rita. It's your punctuation and grammar. -LRB- beat. -RRB- They need work. Am I lying? -LRB- as Rita shrugs. -RRB- If you want help I'm here for you. Okay? RITA -LRB- tentatively now. -RRB-. I dunno. TREVOR Have to be in the library after school. RITA -LRB- shaking her head. -RRB-. Somebody could see us. TREVOR All right then, I'll come to your house. RITA -LRB- spontaneous and decisive. -RRB- No. No way. TREVOR Where then? You name the place. The passing BELL for 6th period RINGS. OFF Rita's torn gaze.", "INT. BUNGALOW #86 - ON VIDEO CAMERA - SHORT WHILE LATER (6TH PERIOD) fully mounted now on the wall above the blackboard. NEW ANGLE Every eye in the class is riveted on the camera. SETTLE ON Cesar and Stevie seated in the back of the bungalow. OFF their malignant stares. CESAR -LRB- grumbling. -RRB- Dog, you invadin' my privacy. Bitch. TREVOR -LRB- remaining calm. -RRB- Cesar, would you come up here please? Leveling a hard look, Cesar swaggers up to the island counter. Rita watches, a bated gaze, from her seat. Trevor motions for him to come around behind the counter. Now Trevor removes his grandfather's pocket watch from his briefcase and furtively dangles it for Cesar to see. TREVOR -LRB- calmly. -RRB- Since you were so concerned, I though you might like to know. I found my watch. Cesar glares at the watch, looks up at the video camera. CESAR You broke into my locker. Dat's a serious felony, prof - eh. You caught a case for sure now. TREVOR Whadda yuh propose to do, Cesar? Tell Garcia? -LRB- as Cesar weighs it. -RRB- Whadda yuh gon na tell ` im? That I broke into your locker to steal back the watch you denied taking? I do n't think so. I'd say we're even now, would n't you, Cesar? CESAR No, I'd say we're just getting started, ese. Cesar walks out. Trevor smiles innocuously. At a stalemate now. You can hear a pin drop. Suddenly the CRIES of an E.N.A.B.L. BABY break the palpable tension.", "EXT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - 4 P.M. Trevor's Rambler is parked out front.", "INT. TREVOR'S LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION A stilted Rita, planted on the couch. Wearing less makeup than usual. Her notebook and pens are laid out on the coffee table along with an old English grammar textbook. Trevor stands in the kitchen doorway. TREVOR Want something to drink? We have Coke, Fanta or Sprite. RITA -LRB- self - consciously. -RRB-. Coke's awright. OFF Trevor's mollifying nod.", "INT. TREVOR'S KITCHEN - TREVOR A moment of self - examination as he pours a glass of Coke for Rita. TREVOR -LRB- to Rita offstage. -RRB- ` Want you to know, you're not the only one risking a reputation here. Normally I do n't tutor students at my house. -LRB- adds ice cubes. -RRB- Rita, maybe you can clear something up. Can you explain to me what machismo is all about? Cuz this whole respect/code of honor thing baffles me.", "INT. TREVOR'S LIVING ROOM as Trevor approaches the couch, eyes focused on Rita's soda. TREVOR -LRB- preoccupied. -RRB- Ask yourself this question. Is pride really that important? Now he looks up and freezes. Quickly turns away. Rita, lying on the couch, completely naked. Not sexual in the least. More like a distorted offering. Or a patient, placidly waiting for her doctor. TREVOR -LRB- plainly. -RRB- Put your clothes on, Rita. An awkward moment. Chagrin becomes repressed sobs as Rita picks up her pile of clothes off the floor and gets dressed. This is one fucked - up little girl. TREVOR -LRB- affected. -RRB- No harm done. Do n't cry now. Fully dressed again, remotely staring, Rita holds back tears. Trevor sits down on the couch next to her. Opens textbook. TREVOR Why do n't you go ahead and copy the first rule there for the verb ` to be.' Can you do that for me? RITA -LRB- hiccups a sob. -RRB- I jus' wan ` ed to thank you. TREVOR You do n't have to thank me, I'm your teacher. Rita opens her notebook and begins to copy the rule. She wipes at the tears with the sleeve of her baggy sweat shirt. Trevor resists the urge to comfort her. TREVOR From now on I think the best thing for us to do is meet in the library.", "INT. TREVOR'S BEDROOM - THAT EVENING (MAGIC HOUR) Trevor kneels at the foot of his bed. Fully dressed, shirt and loosened tie. Glimpses up at the crucifix on the wall. Bows his head again. TREVOR -LRB- prayerfully, to himself. I'll try.", "EXT. BLYTHE STREET PROJECTS - EVENING BOOMING DOWN FROM the Blythe St. sign. A cement barricade covered in graffiti chokes off street traffic. Crack dealers and gangbangers freely wander the rows of clapboard tenements, kids throwing sneakers, bangers drinking from glass bottles. Now apartment 105 -LRB- Cesar Sanchez's -RRB-. MOVING IN ON the MUTED sounds of an ARGUMENT -LRB- in Spanish -RRB-.", "INT. APARTMENT 105 - CONTINUOUS ACTION Dingy. Yellowing walls. Cesar and his mother continue their arguing as Cesar watches first the `` Animaniacs'' and switches channels to `` The Deer Hunter,'' while his BABY SISTER CRIES in her high chair. MRS. SANCHEZ is older looking than her thirty - four years. Clutching her purse. MRS. SANCHEZ -LRB- on the verge of tears. -RRB-. Deja mis cosas, Cesar. Me oyes? Ese dinero es para poner comida en el plato de tu hermanita. -LRB- subtitles. -RRB-. You stay out of my things, Cesar. You hear me? That money puts food on your baby sister's plate. Cesar yells at his SISTER to stop CRYING. CESAR Callate el osico, Rosillo! -LRB- now to his mother. -RRB- Que? Me estas mandando? Yo soy el hombre de esta casa! Enceneme respeto! -LRB- subtitles. -RRB- shut up, Rosillo! You tellin' me what to do?! I'm the man in this house! you show me respect! MRS. SANCHEZ Pues si eres tan hombre, ve busca trabajo. Para que mantengas a tu madre y hermanita y no tenga que robar de mi bolsa. -LRB- subtitles. -RRB- If you're the man then go get a job. Take care of your mother and sister. Do n't rob from my purse. In a rage, Cesar digs into his pocket and throws twenty dollars in his mother's face. She cowers. CESAR Tenga, no nesecito su pinche, apestoso dinero! -LRB- subtitles. -RRB- Here, I do n't need your stinkin' money! They're interrupted by a KNOCK at the front door. CESAR -LRB- indicating door. -RRB- I ai n't getting it. You get it. Cesar plops down on an old worn out recliner and goes back to watching `` Animaniacs'' on the TELEVISION. ROSILLO STOPS her CRYING and Mrs. Sanchez carefully gathers the money scattered at her feet.", "INT. APARTMENT 105 - FRONT DOOR Behind the screen door, a silhouette fills the doorway. MOVING IN ON CESAR. He can faintly hear the O.S. conversation as he watches TV. MRS. SANCHEZ -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Si, quien es? -LRB- subtitles. -RRB- Yes, who's there? TREVOR -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Senora Sanchez? Soy el senor Garfield, Profesor de ciencia de Cesar. -LRB- subtitles. -RRB- Mrs. Sanchez? I'm Mr. Garfield, Cesar's science teacher. MRS. SANCHEZ -LRB- O.S. -RRB- -LRB- surprised. -RRB- Si, maestro. Cesar's stunned look lifts him from the recliner. TREVOR -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Se que es tarde. Ojala no este estorbando nada. Me permite hablar con usted por un momento? subtitles. -RRB- I know it's late. Hope I'm not disturbing anything. May I speak with you a moment? MRS. SANCHEZ -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Entre, por favor.", "INT. APARTMENT #105 - CESAR'S POV - TREVOR AND MRS. SANCHEZ PIVOTING now to see Trevor enter the front door. Cesar glares with flint - hard eyes at Trevor. TREVOR Hello, Cesar. Breaking his unrelenting stare, Cesar now squeezes past Trevor and out the screen door, slamming it behind him.", "INT. APARTMENT #105 - KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER Mrs. Sanchez cradles Rosillo in her lap. MRS. SANCHEZ -LRB- beside herself. -RRB- No se que hacer, maestro. El no hace caso. -LRB- subtitles. -RRB- I do n't know what to do, maestro. He does n't listen to me. ROSILLO begins to CRY again. MRS. SANCHEZ Perdona me Dios, pero hay veces que quisiera matarlo. -LRB- subtitles. -RRB- God, but there are times I want to kill him. Suppressing her emotions, she comforts her baby. Trevor weighs a vacuous stare. Now he notices a bruise under Mrs. Sanchez's hairline, above her left eye. TREVOR -LRB- indicating bruise. -RRB- Como paso eso? Arriba del ojo? -LRB- subtitles. -RRB- How'd that happen. above your eye? Overcome with shame, she attempts to cover the bruise. MRS. SANCHEZ Nada. es nada.", "EXT. BLYTHE STREET PROJECTS - EVENING Steadfast and unflinching, Trevor beats a path back to his car, parked outside the barricade. Cesar now appears from nowhere. Carries a'40 ouncer' in a paper bag. He's been drinking. CESAR -LRB- venting rage. -RRB- Puto! You lied to Benny. You said you do n't speak no Spanish! TREVOR No I did n't. CESAR ` At's bullshit! TREVOR Enjoy hitting your mother, Cesar? You must be proud of yourself. A handful of gangbangers, drinking and loitering around Trevor's car, sharpen their stares and listen intently. Cesar grows nervous. CESAR -LRB- to gangbangers. -RRB-. He's lyin', man. -LRB- at Trevor. -RRB- Fuckin' liar! Homeboy do n't never disrespec' his mother. Never. You hear me, joto?! TREVOR Whatever you say, Cesar. Trevor steps around the gangbangers and climbs into his car. CESAR I'll find out where you stay. Trucha, homes! As the Rambler drives away Cesar heaves his 40 ouncer at it. Shatters all over the pavement. CESAR Valla ala chingada! Cesar stands in the middle of the street, throwing hand signs.", "EXT. PARKING LOT/BUNGALOW #86 - NEXT MORNING Trevor approaches, via the parking lot, through a gate in a chain - link fence. ADJUST the ANGLE now to discover first period students mobbing the open doorway of Bungalow # 86. TREVOR -LRB- pushing through. -RRB- ` Scuse me. What's going on? -LRB- and. -RRB- Lakesia, who opened the door? LAKESIA It was like that when I got here.", "INT. BUNGALOW #86 - CONTINUOUS ACTION Trevor squeezes through the doorway to find Dave Childress pacing the bungalow, assessing the damage. VIDEO CAMERA -LRB- AND HOUSING -RRB- are scattered in pieces all over the floor. One of the windows is smashed - in. A serpentine trail of BLACK SPRAY PAINT encircles the entire room. Provocative epithets tag the walls. `` Pinche madre'', `` Puto'' and `` Fuck you G!'' CHILDRESS Whoever did this is gon na pay! Better believe it, ese -LRB- s. -RRB-. A curious stream of students fill the room now. Childress vents his anger at them. CHILDRESS -LRB- crazed now. -RRB- Get the hell outta here! TREVOR Dave. -LRB- to Armenian kid. -RRB- Barsek, do n't touch anything, okay? CHILDRESS Get out! And now Snowball. as Barsek discovers him. Lifeless. Impaled by a pair of scissors on the front counter. BARSEK -LRB- an incredulous, sickened laugh. -RRB- Oh, damn. Lookit the rat. OFF Trevor's stricken gaze. Childress snaps. He grabs Barsek by the throat. The crowd scatters, students tripping over each other to get out of the bungalow. CHILDRESS Think it's funny?! Huh?! Yuh little fuck! Trevor attempts to separate Childress from Barsek. TREVOR Dave! No! Let go of ` im! CHILDRESS -LRB- to Barsek. -RRB- D'you do this?! BARSEK -LRB- choking. -RRB- Nooo. Trevor pries them apart. Barsek crumbles to the floor, gulping for air and scurrying out of the bungalow on his hands and knees. TREVOR He did n't do anything. He's a good kid.", "EXT. ATHLETIC FIELD - MORNING (NUTRITION PERIOD) ESTABLISHING the different student factions. MUSIC, playing over a PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEM, fills the quad. Trevor, now an interloper, crossing the senior lawn, openly searching for Cesar. Tag - bangers, a clique of eight or nine K.O.S. wan na - be -LRB- s -RRB-. Feature PACO -LRB- 16 -RRB- as they take quick hits off a blunt. Now Cesar extinguishes the blunt with his fingertips and hides it as Trevor wanders into their midst. TREVOR -LRB- glances around ; sniffs. -RRB- Been smokin' the chronic, Cesar? CESAR -LRB- a smirk. -RRB- I'm hooked on phonics. not ` hooked on chronic.' Laughs all around. TREVOR -LRB- not amused. -RRB- You would n't happen t ` know who vandalized bungalow eighty - six last night? CESAR -LRB- feigning ignorance. -RRB- You guys know anything about that? -LRB- off silence. -RRB- Sorry, maestro. nada. TREVOR -LRB- sotto. -RRB- Garcia may not think there's enough here to prove anything. But you and I both know who's responsible. Do n't we? CESAR Whadda you, a narc? Seriously, I do n't know what the fuck you're talkin' about. Trevor maintains his fervent demeanor. Now he notices the ring on Cesar's right index finger. INSERT - CESAR'S RING emblazoned with a green marijuana leaf. TREVOR -LRB- pointing. -RRB- The ring, Cesar. lem me have it. Cesar dramatically jerks back his finger. CESAR Watch it, eh. that's my trigger finger. As Cesar, with purpose, aims an invisible gun at Trevor. TREVOR It's inappropriate attire. CESAR Bang. TREVOR -LRB- momentous deliberation. -RRB-. Are you finished? Cesar starts to laugh. A crowd begins to gather. CESAR What? Finished with what? Do n't get crazy on me, dude. The boisterous crowd escalates. hoots and hollers. After weighing the situation, Trevor exchanges palpable looks with Cesar. Now he reluctantly back - pedals, squeezing his way past the wall of bodies pressed in behind him. His departure across an empty lawn is accompanied by a hail of `` boos'' and taunts.", "EXT. BURBANK AIRPORT - LANDING RUNWAY - TWILIGHT as an 737 ROARS down onto the tarmac. In the f.g., Trevor and Ellen PEEL away from the curb angrily.", "EXT. TREVOR'S RAMBLER (AIRPORT VICINITY) - NIGHT Traveling down Hollywood Way.", "INT./EXT. RAMBLER - TREVOR AND ELLEN - CONTINUOUS ACTION - NIGHT in the front seat. ELLEN These conferences mainly focus on software now. TREVOR -LRB- far off. -RRB- Software sells. ELLEN -LRB- flickers a smile. -RRB- So, how's Jack? TREVOR Jack's good. As they pull up to a stop light. ELLEN -LRB- flirtatious. -RRB- And what about Trevor? Was Trevor a good boy, too? Triggers an unintended response. TREVOR -LRB- self - consciously. -RRB- What's that supposed to mean? ELLEN -LRB- innocently. -RRB- Nothing. TREVOR Is that supposed to mean something? ELLEN -LRB- baffled. -RRB- Trevor. The light changes to green. An impatient young man in the car behind them BEEPS his HORN. Lays it on a little too long. Trevor snaps.", "EXT. INTERSECTION - CONTINUOUS ACTION - NIGHT As Trevor gets out of the car, marching up to the car behind, slamming his hand down on its hood. TREVOR Ca n't you see I'm talking to the lady?! The young man shrinks, quickly rolling up his window.", "INT. RAMBLER - CONTINUOUS ACTION as Trevor gets back in and they drive away. Not a word is spoken. Exorcising his demons now. He simmers. TREVOR I'm sorry. Forgive me. OFF Ellen's disturbed gaze.", "EXT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - NIGHT as the Rambler pulls into the driveway. Ellen's'92 Jeep Cherokee is parked on the street. Bug zapper above the garage flickers on.", "INT./EXT. TREVOR'S FRONT YARD THROUGH CAR WINDSHIELD  CONTINUOUS ACTION Light now spills into the front yard. No sign of Jack. Trevor SHUTS OFF the IGNITION. A portentous silence. ELLEN Come out, come out, wherever you are. Where is he? Trevor reaches for a flashlight in the glove compartment.", "EXT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - RAMBLER - CONTINUOUS ACTION Trevor and Ellen step out of the car. TREVOR -LRB- tentatively. -RRB- Jack? MOVING THROUGH the chain - link fence, into the front yard. Ellen whistles faintly. Trevor turns on his flashlight. ELLEN Here, boy. here, Jack. Come to Mommy, sweetheart. The glare of the flashlight fixes on the trunk of the olive tree. Jack's chain stretching tautly toward the back alley. ELLEN -LRB- reacting. -RRB-. Oh, my God. Trevor and Ellen, propelled now toward the alley, hearts pounding, frantically rushing toward the conclusion as the flashlight traces the length of the chain. ELLEN -LRB- right behind Trevor. -RRB- Jack?! The chain disappears over the top of the alley wall. Trevor kicks open the alley gate and freezes.", "EXT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - OTHER SIDE OF ALLEY WALL - JACK centered in the flashlight beam, dangling there, strangled to death at the end of his dog collar.", "EXT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - ELLEN AND TREVOR - NIGHT ELLEN -LRB- gut - wrenching. -RRB- Jack! Trevor holds her back. She unleashes her torment, punching and kicking until fully spent, crumbling to her knees now, sobbing hysterically. ELLEN Jack. HOLD ON her fitful sobs, and.", "EXT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - IN ALLEY - THAT NIGHT (APPROXIMATELY AN HOUR LATER) Trevor, a beaten hypnotic gaze, watches as an ANIMAL REGULATIONS OFFICER fatefully slams the cargo door of his truck. ANIMAL REGULATIONS OFFICER Do n't beat yourself up too much. It was an accident. He was probably after a cat. or someone walked past back here in the alley. Whatever it was, he jumped over the fence. What can you do? Ellen watches Trevor's house ; behind a screen door.", "INT. TREVOR'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Ellen sits on Trevor's bed, fighting back tears. Trevor enters with a glass of water and a pill. Sits down on the edge of the bed. TREVOR -LRB- offering pill. -RRB- It's aspirin. ELLEN -LRB- refuses it. -RRB-. I ca n't talk to you right now, Trevor. Please. I'm so upset I ca n't even drive. I just need some time alone. Trevor acquiesces. Steps over to his desk and sets the glass of water down. A key protrudes from one of the desk drawers. He leans over, removes the key and plays with it for a moment. TREVOR -LRB- beat. -RRB- I know about what's not fair. I left part of my lung in a damn hospital because some gangbanger did n't like the grade I gave him. Sometimes you do all the right things. You work hard in school. get a good job. pay your taxes. Things still go bad. -LRB- eyes flicker. -RRB- I'm so sorry, Ellen. Ellen shuts her heavy eyelids now. Shuts out the world.", "EXT. ALLEY BEHIND TREVOR'S HOUSE - NIGHT A thorough investigation now at the foot of Jack's wall. Trevor's flashlight fixes on a faint set of shoe prints in the dirt. Waffle - soled Doc Martens. He follows their trail, down the alley. Hesitating at the wall again. He now focuses his flashlight beam on a smattering of graffiti. and discovers a fresh tag. In black spray paint, the letters K.O.S. Trevor reaches out and touches a coagulated trickle of paint. As he inspects the faint residue on his fingertip.", "EXT. FREEWAY UNDERPASS - LATER THAT NIGHT About 2 a.m.. The street's empty. Cesar's darkened apartment is tucked away in the distance. Now a lone figure emerges and beats a path through the projects. CLOSER now. it's Cesar. White T - shirt, sagging gray dickies. FOLLOWING HIM now. as he crosses the edge of a dirt lot. FOCUSING ON his Doc Marten boots and their waffle - soled print.", "EXT. FREEWAY UNDERPASS - NIGHT Merging with Cesar as he slinks down the dark alley corridor. Lighting a blunt off his Zippo lighter. FURTHER DOWN Cesar spray paints a wall with a can of black enamel paint. He takes another hit. Chokes down a shit - eating grin. And admires his work. a goofy dog smoking a blunt. below the dog he scrawls the word, `` CARTOON.'' Above it, `` K.O.S.'' As he slips the spray can into his front pocket, he senses a presence. CESAR ` At you, Stevie? Profound silence. Grin dissolves. Riveted, Cesar takes another slow hit off his blunt. Suddenly a coyote darts past him. CESAR -LRB- startled. -RRB-. Hells, man. Stupit dog. His sick smirk returns. But only momentarily. Now a premonitory flicker registers on his face. He blinks as a Masai arrow splits the darkness and pierces his left pectoral muscle. Exhaling a stunned breath, Cesar looks down at the arrow. An incredulous, stupefied laugh escapes him as he pulls the arrow out of his chest and studies it. The normal length of the arrow's been shortened by half and the tip has been fitted with a modified hypodermic needle. -LRB- The needle extends from a rubber stopper which has retracted into the hypodermic casing, causing the solution in the hypo to jettison through the needle and into Cesar -RRB-. CESAR Mutha fuck. Now back - pedaling, stumbling, dropping the arrow, he turns and runs off.", "EXT. FREEWAY UNDERPASS Cesar collapses onto a pile of garbage bags. MOVING IN. His eyes fixed and dilated. Forehead beaded with perspiration. Fighting against the effects of the injection. Now blackness.", "INT. TREVOR'S BEDROOM - NIGHT (3 AM) Ellen awakens with a start. She glances about, momentarily disoriented. Now she remembers where she is and what happened. ELLEN Trevor? No response. Choking back emotions.", "INT. TREVOR'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT TV SET ON. Ellen enters, glances around. No Trevor. ELLEN Trevor?", "INT. TREVOR'S BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER As Ellen returns. She notices the glass of water on the desk. Bravely collects herself. Crosses over to the desk and sits down. ELLEN Where'd you put the aspirin? Like an involuntary reflex she tugs on the center drawer of the desk, but it's locked. Now she pulls on one of the side drawers and it slides open. Ellen stops at what she sees. a treasure - trove of homemade shivs, Bic lighters, Walkmen, pagers. and Benny Chacon's black rosary beads. BACK TO Ellen and her curious, sobered look. Now she slowly shuts the drawer.", "INT. TREVOR'S FOYER - A SHORT WHILE LATER Fumbling in her purse for her keys, Ellen makes a hasty departure.", "EXT. FREEWAY UNDERPASS - PREDAWN Almost six AM. Encroaching sunlight creeps toward the horizon. A vapid stillness. Not a soul stirs.", "EXT. FREEWAY UNDERPASS - TIGHT ON CESAR'S FACE  CONTINUOUS ACTION as he comes to. Eyes feverish, registering pain. His head throbs. He begins to move and discovers a pounding in his right hand. Lifting his hand up in front of his face. Cesar's ring index finger has been severed clean off. Blood is everywhere. Cesar emotes a silent panic - stricken scream. Reduced to a snot - sobbing wreck, he frantically searches the ground on his hands and knees. CESAR My finger. Please, somebody help me! Where's my finger?!", "INT. EMERGENCY ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION - MORNING PUSHING IN ON the Emergency Room Sign. MOVING PAST the unrelenting urgency that permeates the ER. DISCOVER Cesar now in a wheelchair, right hand completely wrapped in gauze. He pleads with two police DETECTIVES. CESAR I put it on my mother, sir. DETECTIVE #1 -LRB- leaning forward ; good cop. -RRB-. So your science teacher shot you with an arrow full of drugs then chopped off your finger. Come on, you can do better than that, Cesar. CESAR It had to be him! DETECTIVE #2 -LRB- bad cop. -RRB- He smoke the ` mota' for yuh, too, eh ese? CESAR Pinche madre. he hates my guts, man! DETECTIVE #2 You covering for somebody, homes? Cuz, this circumstantial bullshit wo n't hold up in court, I'll tell you that right now. Detective # 1 refers to a rap sheet. DETECTIVE #1 -LRB- sadly. -RRB- Caught too many priors, Cesar. Juvenile GTA, vandalism. CESAR I know he did it! Do n't you hear what I'm saying? DETECTIVE #1 You saw his face? CESAR -LRB- lying. -RRB- Yeah, yeah. I seen him. Detective # 2 shakes his head and grimaces. DETECTIVE #2 Lem me save yuh from perjuring yourself, asshole. You're full of shit. CESAR I swear it! For reals! DETECTIVE #2 -LRB- turns to leave. -RRB- C'mon, this guy's wasting our time. -LRB- points to Cesar. -RRB- Come up with something better than that, or the truth, then maybe we'll talk. Detective # 2 walks away. Detective # 1 follows. Cesar hangs his head, mumbling a disparaging flood of Spanish expletives.", "INT. E.R. RECEIVING DESK - ANONYMOUS POV - CONTINUOUS ACTION THROUGH passing patients and personnel. APPROACHING the receiving desk. As the blurred shoulder of an orderly CROSSES OUT to reveal a legal - sized white envelope now on the counter top. A busy E.R. nurse notices the envelope. Glances around. Picks up the envelope and reads the name typed across the face of it. CESAR SANCHEZ. narrowing her gaze as she opens the envelope. In the envelope, Cesar's severed finger, nesting in a clump of newspaper. Appears to be something tattooed across the side of it but we ca n't quite make it out. The Nurse gasps and drops the envelope, spilling the finger onto the counter top. CLOSE now ON the finger and the fresh `` tatt'' scrawled across its side : R - U - DUN? SOUND FADES now from the scene, replaced by a TECHNO HIP - HOP TRACK that CONTINUES THROUGH the CUT.", "EXT. BUNGALOW #86 - AFTERNOON (6TH PERIOD) Rain lashes the faculty parking lot.", "INT. BUNGALOW #86 - CONTINUOUS ACTION HIP - HOP TRACK FADES now replaced by the buzz of cross - talk. Trevor strolls the aisles, an open science book in hand. -LRB- NOTE : Rita is dressed in overalls, very subdued compared to her usual attire. -RRB- Cesar's back. and seated in his regular seat, across from Stevie Littleton. Uncharacteristically, his eyes are fixed on the book in front of him. TREVOR -LRB- addressing class. -RRB-. Name one of four parts that make up the human hand? Trevor holds up his hand for display. TREVOR Hands, please. A reluctant cross section of hands go up. 6th period is by no means a synchronized whole but there has developed an odd sort of order to its madness. Trevor looks around. Picks on an Anglo girl in the second row. TREVOR Christian. CHRISTIAN The metacarpals. TREVOR The Metacarpals. That's one. -LRB- to class. -RRB- Name some more? Now he picks on Rita. TREVOR Rita. RITA The wrist. and thumb. A flurry of thumbs go up as if on cue. TREVOR Good. -LRB- holding up all his fingers now. -RRB-. And do n't forget the phalanges. Fingers shoot up and wiggle on cue. CLASS -LRB- in unison. -RRB- Phalanges, phalanges, phalanges. Scattered laughter and groans at this embarrassing routine. Cesar's beaten gaze remains riveted to his book. Now he slides a look at the `` R - U - DUN'' tatt on his right index finger. The severed finger has been sewn back on, supported by a finger brace. Stevie openly stares at the back of Trevor's head as Trevor passes by in the aisle.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - \"A\" BUILDING/COMPUTER LAB  AFTER SCHOOL RAIN steadily plays AGAINST the WINDOWS. Ellen sits behind her computer, lost in a grading program. Trevor now enters. Damp hair and shoulders. TREVOR May I come in? Ellen stops what she's working on. ELLEN -LRB- reticently. -RRB- Hi. TREVOR -LRB- concerned. -RRB- Where'd you go the other night? ELLEN I was going to ask you the same thing. TREVOR I went for a run. -LRB- changes subject. -RRB- Wan na get some Chinese later? There's a new place in the Valley Center. ` Spose to be pretty good. ELLEN -LRB- an excuse. -RRB-. Ca n't tonight. Maybe another time. Weighs it, and. TREVOR -LRB- stands there for a moment. -RRB-. I should probably correct papers anyway. Some of these bungalow kids actually care about a grade. Even Cesar's doing better. Today, for the first time since I took over for Eskander, he actually did his work. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Today Cesar Sanchez was a success. Maybe for the first time in his life. -LRB- blinks now. -RRB- You alright? ELLEN Much better, thank you. A tacit satisfaction that all is well. TREVOR I really am sorry about Jack. He exits now leaving Ellen alone with her thoughts.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS SCHOOL LIBRARY - MORNING Before school tutoring session. The minute hand on the wall clock jerks ahead one minute. 7:23 AM. Trevor and Rita at a table near the back of the library. Trevor gazes blankly at Rita's essay. Rita revises one of the pages. INTERCUT Dave Childress at the front counter as the librarian -LRB- late fifties -RRB- photocopies a page from a history book for him. Childress scrutinizes Trevor and Rita as he waits. Satisfied now, Rita slides the page to Trevor. RITA Finished. Trevor blinks himself back to reality. TREVOR Let's hava look. He adjusts his glasses. Pores over the paper. TREVOR Good. -LRB- deliberating. -RRB-. I was just thinking, since your essay's about gangs and getting away from their influence, you probably could've left some of those double negatives you like so well. RITA -LRB- confused. -RRB- So now you wan' me to use bad grammar. TREVOR -LRB- explaining. -RRB- Only if it suits your topic. RITA I know. We're all products of our environment'n' shit. TREVOR No, I think that's just an excuse. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I say if we're strong, we can rise above adversity. -LRB- lets it sink in. -RRB- But it's like rap or hip - hop. Correct all the grammar and it loses its impact. RITA So you like hip - hop, Mr. G? TREVOR -LRB- shakes his head. -RRB-. I hate it. RITA -LRB- reacting. -RRB- What kinda black man are you? Trevor bursts forth a laugh. Childress perks up at the front counter. Trevor's laugh evokes a smile from Rita. Now she pries a little further. RITA Why you here anyways? Do n't you got nothin' better t ` do? TREVOR Everything I wan na do is right here. -LRB- back on track now. -RRB- It's a good essay, Rita. You put a lot of effort into it, it shows. RITA -LRB- a laconic grin. -RRB- Comes from the heart, maestro. I'm a writer. not a fighter. Trevor returns a cognitive flicker. TREVOR -LRB- hinting now. -RRB-. Ms. Quinn was telling me she picks two seniors each year to read their essays at graduation. RITA -LRB- taken aback. -RRB- She ai n't gon na pick my paper. Anyway, I do n't wan na get up in fronna all those people and make a fool outta myself. TREVOR Why not? It'd be a Pyrrhic victory. RITA What's dat? TREVOR In your case, irony. Refers to King Pyrrhus. Never mind. Look it up sometime. OFF Rita's reluctance.", "EXT. LOS ANGELES RIVER/SEPULVEDA DAM BASIN - AFTERNOON A churning fist of muddy water cuts a path along the perimeter of a golf course and jogging trail. TRACING jogging trail, KEEPING PACE now with a die - hard runner. Something registers in the runner's eyes, pace slowing, now stopping. Not fully comprehending what he is looking at. FOLLOWING HIS GAZE. THROUGH a curtain of rain and tall swamp grass. along the riverbank. TO the base of the Burbank Boulevard Overpass. SLOWING ANGLE to discover precariously jutting out of the rushing waters, in a tangle of chicken wire fence, a partially decomposed torso.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS COMPUTER LAB - AFTER LUNCH (5TH PERIOD) Ellen walks down an aisle of computers as the class settles. ELLEN Before getting side - tracked with viruses and T - S - R programs, we were talking yesterday about E - Mail. INTERCUT Stevie. Ellen passes Stevie's computer as he shares cryptic information with a kid sitting next to him. Ellen approaches her computer console on wheels at the front of the class. ELLEN If you click - on the mail icon in your tray, you'll be ready to send and receive mail. My computer's already set - up. Everyone go ahead and click the white envelope in the lower. Ellen's interrupted by her own computer. A little white envelope icon in the lower left hand tray flashes and BEEPS. Now a COMPUTER VOICE announces : `` You've got mail.'' Ellen's taken aback. Class titters. Now she grins. ELLEN Looks like someone's way ahead of me. Alright. -LRB- adapts and demonstrates. -RRB- To retrieve your mail simply double click the top item in your mail list. -LRB- as she does. -RRB- Since we're all a part of the same network, we share mail. so go ahead and do that. The message read : TEACHER FUCKS NIGGERS Class is dumbstruck. Ellen's riveted. Now she turns. Without losing her temper, she scours the class with a narrow gaze. Class starts to buzz. Now a clicking frenzy to retrieve the same message. The anonymous message pops up on computer screens all around the classroom. Ellen's POV of students -LRB- and Stevie -RRB-. Deciphering reactions. LINGERING ON Stevie's poker face. Her own poker face now. ELLEN Whoever sent that message is n't as anonymous as they think. Ellen turns to her console, clicks the REPLY button. A new mail message window opens up. It's addressed to the anonymous sender, STUDENT # 00. Ellen types in : GO TO THE OFFICE. All the while anticipation builds on Stevie's face. He glances around, starting to get nervous. Ellen now clicks the SEND button. Stevie's COMPUTER BEEPS. COMPUTER VOICE : `` You've got mail.'' . A window opens in the middle of Stevie's monitor revealing Ellen's return message. Class erupts and Stevie springs out of his seat. STEVIE ` Dat's bullshit, man! He rushes up to the front of the class. STEVIE You best step off, Ms. H. Cuz you ca n't prove nuthin'. And I know you ca n't afford to lose ` dis minimum wage job' a yers. ELLEN -LRB- beat and. -RRB- You're right, Stevie. I ca n't afford to live in a big house south of the boulevard. Like you do. Class erupts again, coming down on Stevie and his wan na - be poor boy from the streets image. They're laughing at him now, not with him. In a rage, Stevie kicks open the hallway door and exits the classroom.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS MAIN OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER Ellen hastily enters, looking for Stevie. Addresses IRIS -LRB- a thirty - something Hispanic woman -RRB- behind the counter. ELLEN Iris, did Steven Littleton come in here? IRIS Have n't seen ` im. Teacher # 1, the insipid woman, checks her mail slot. It's her conference period. TEACHER #1 -LRB- appalled. -RRB- You're not supposed to leave your classroom unattended. ELLEN -LRB- reacting. -RRB- Sue me. Teacher # 1 exits in a flurry. Ellen now glances to her right. Seated there in rigid silence is BENNY CHACON'S MOTHER -LRB- 51 -RRB-. IRIS -LRB- offers ; sotto. -RRB- Benny Chacon's mother. Told ` er Garcia had to leave early today but she jus' sits there. She been saying some pretty crazy things. Mrs. Chacon begins speaking Spanish in plaintive spurts. Ellen ca n't decipher what she is saying. ELLEN -LRB- to Mrs. Chacon. -RRB-. Espanol, muy poquito, senora. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Mrs. Chacon. you have to slow down. -LRB- back to Iris. -RRB- What's she saying? Hesitating. Now with apprehension. IRIS You heard ` bout that body they foun' in the L.A. River. She says she thinks it's Benny. OFF Ellen's unblinking gaze.", "EXT. LOS ANGELES COUNTY CORONER'S OFFICE (DOWNTOWN)  EVENING A concrete fortress. Ellen and Mrs. Chacon approach.", "INT. ASSISTANT CORONER'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS ACTION Ellen and Mrs. Chacon sit stiffly in front of the ASSISTANT CORONER -LRB- mid - forties -RRB-. Desk cluttered. Half - eaten sandwich in front of him. He nurses a Styrofoam cup of coffee as he flips through a John Doe folder. ASST. CORONER You say he's been missing approximately four weeks? ELLEN Four, almost five weeks. ASST. CORONER That's a long time. Lots a things happen to a body after four or five weeks. Makes it difficult to I.D. A faint, incongruous smile. ELLEN -LRB- indicating John Doe. -RRB- So he just sits here? ASST. CORONER We keep ` um up to thirty days. Lady, we get 80, sometimes 90 Does a month. Floaters, gangbangers, illegals, junkies. Most of ` um cheap homicides. Nobody's even lookin' for'em. -LRB- indicating folder. -RRB- This guy here, has a dent in his head. Could be post - mortem trauma. Probably hit a retaining wall on his way down river after that rain we had. Who knows. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Yuh ask me, this kid was dead before he got his head caved in. Overdose by morphine. That's what it looks like t ` me. Ellen weighs it. Assistant Coroner now refers to some sort of questionnaire. ASST. CORONER On the phone you said the mother mentioned some identifying marks. Ellen refocuses a far - off, introspective gaze. ELLEN -LRB- affirmative. -RRB- She said he has some pockmarks on his chest ; from a bad case of chicken pox. And there's a bar - code tattoo on his neck. A cognitive flicker now as the Assistant Coroner sets down his coffee.", "INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - EVENING The acrid fecal smell causes Ellen to flinch. Averting her eyes, she holds onto Mrs. Chacon's arm as they stand next to the autopsy table. A plastic diaphanous sheet covers the body. Now the Assistant Coroner raises the sheet. Mrs. Chacon's traumatic gaze confirms her worst fears. She raises a hand to her mouth. Now the tears come. MRS. CHACON Benito. As she comforts Mrs. Chacon. ELLEN -LRB- to Assistant Coroner ; sotto. -RRB- Did you find any rosary beads with the body? ASSISTANT CORONER No.", "INT. TREVOR'S BEDROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT The digital clock next to Trevor's bed reads : 2:14 a.m. Trevor sleeps. HOLD for a portentous moment. Now the stillness is broken by a CLATTER at the front door. Someone enters the house. Trevor awakens. Jolts out of bed. Disoriented a beat.", "INT. TREVOR'S HALLWAY In boxer shorts and a T - shirt, adjusting his glasses, Trevor ventures through darkness. TREVOR Who's there? A light flickers on in the living room. ELLEN -LRB- O.S. -RRB- You should keep your door locked. ADJUSTING the ANGLE now as the living room comes INTO VIEW. Ellen paces back and forth, consumed by what's troubling her. TREVOR -LRB- still half asleep. -RRB- What's the matter? Ellen ignores his question. ELLEN -LRB- impaling him with a look. -RRB- I just want you to tell me one thing. Now something she sees stops her pacing. The black rosary beads on the dinner table. TREVOR -LRB- off Ellen's puzzled look. -RRB- What? Following her gaze, he picks up the rosary beads. As he places them in a drawer in the credenza. TREVOR What is it? Ellen's confused. Lost in a fixated gaze. ELLEN If you had any idea what I've been thinking lately. you'd think I was crazy. -LRB- running it through her mind. -RRB-. Remember that John Doe they found in the L.A. River. Turned out it was Benny. TREVOR -LRB- impacted. -RRB- Who told you that? ELLEN Benny's mother identified the body. Trevor just looks at her, a bated pause. Now he blinks. TREVOR Benny was no saint, Ellen. This is a kid who terrorized half the school. He even broke into your house. Maybe we should think about that ` fore we shed any tears. Ellen just looks at him. TREVOR Maybe he's better off. ELLEN That's a horrible thing to say. Trevor accepts that it is. TREVOR Do you believe for every troubled kid like Benny there's one or two others just waiting to take his place? Like Cesar. or his friend Stevie. An awkward moment of silence. ELLEN You do n't know anything about Cesar's finger, do you, Trevor? TREVOR Sometimes a person just runs out of bad choices. Then he's got ta pay a price. What happened to Cesar was inevitable. Ellen flickers a terrified smile. ELLEN You're scaring me. TREVOR We make choices in life and we live by'em. You and I chose to be teachers, to stand on principle. Benny and Cesar, they're takers. They want what they want, and they want it now. ELLEN Trevor. TREVOR -LRB- unravelling. -RRB- I'm sorry but everyone ca n't always get what they want. Sometimes you got ta take responsibility for your actions. Have you ever been ready to die for a fundamental principle? They have n't. You think those punks would die protecting your Civil Rights? ELLEN Trevor, do n't. TREVOR Did you know Cesar hits his mother? Steals money from her purse? Did you know that? Ellen blanches. TREVOR Did you know he was here that night? In the alley? ELLEN -LRB- confused. -RRB- What are you talking about? TREVOR Cesar. Jack was provoked. It was n't an accident, Ellen. Cesar killed him. Ellen just stares at him. Traumatized. ELLEN -LRB- momentous deliberation. -RRB- Where'd you get the rosary beads? TREVOR -LRB- pause and. -RRB- I like you, Ellen. I like you so much. Do you believe that? ELLEN -LRB- riveted. -RRB- Yes. Trevor ca n't find words. ELLEN I do n't know you. With that, Ellen turns and walks out of the house as quickly as she came. TREVOR -LRB- plaintively. -RRB-. You do know me. I'm a teacher, just like you.", "EXT. STUDENT QUAD/QUEBRADITA - AFTER SCHOOL (CINCO DE MAYO) ESTABLISH hoardes of cowboy hats, belt sashes and boots as they dance to the loud Mexican band music on the patio. Non - Hispanics, along with non - Quebradita cliques, look on from the lawn area. DAVE CHILDRESS hanging back, on the fringes, scoping out the crowd. Notices a pack of cigarettes in the chest pocket of a 15 - year - old kid standing next to him. Kid's wrapped up in talking to another kid, points to something O.S. CHILDRESS -LRB- to the kid with cigarettes. -RRB-. Do n't you know it's not polite to point at people. Everytime you point a finger at someone else. -LRB- demonstrates. -RRB-. There's three fingers pointing back at you. -LRB- lesson over. -RRB- Lem me have a cigarette.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - MEN'S BATHROOM - AFTER SCHOOL Cinco de Mayo. The sounds of a QUEBRADITA waft in from outside in the quad. At the same time, Steve follows him into the rest room. They're all alone. STEVIE Eh, Mr. G? Bracing himself with a fixed, straight - ahead look. STEVIE -LRB- boldly. -RRB- I'm talkin' ta you, Garfield. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Know what you did to Cesar. -LRB- wild notion. -RRB-. I'm thinkin' maybe you did Benny, too. -LRB- incredulously. -RRB- That possible? You crush my friend's skull? Fuck ` im up wit' a two - by - four, maybe a baseball bat? No response. As Trevor starts to leave, Stevie blocks his path. Trevor steps to one side to go around. but Stevie blocks his path again. TREVOR -LRB- trying to maintain. -RRB- Please, step out of the way. STEVIE You kill my friend? Huh? Trevor's head begins to swim. His life's falling apart. Like a trapped animal, he back - pedals a step to escape. but then suddenly snaps. He explodes into Stevie, crushing him against the bath - room wall. Trevor impales Stevie with a look that says it all. Stevie immediately shrinks. Trevor now blinks. Cooling himself down. Slowing his breathing. Stevie slips out from under his hold and bolts for the exit.", "EXT. STUDENT QUAD/QUEBRADITA - CONTINUOUS ACTION Cesar and his tag - bangers. Cesar holds court, drowned out by the MUSIC. Now Stevie arrives. Out of breath. Urgent to tell his story. Rita. Makeup subdued, wearing a cotton button - down blouse. She watches the Quebradita from behind a tree. A desire to be part of it, she moves a little closer. as Cesar notices her. His head races from Stevie's news. Eyes penetrating. Now galvanized. On a rampage, he shoves his way through the crowd. Victor Sifuentes. on the opposite side of the patio, snapping a look, spotting Cesar moving in for the kill. With a start, Victor barks something into his walkie - talkie and squeezes his way into the Quebradita crowd. Cesar shoves Rita to the ground. CESAR School girl bitch! Rita gets to her feet immediately. RITA -LRB- shaken. -RRB- You got ta problem?! CESAR Yer fuckin' maestro, ` at's my problem! RITA I do n't know what yer talkin' ` bout! CESAR Garfield killed Benny! Rita looks at him like he's insane. Cesar's entourage gathers around them. RITA Yer crazy. She turns her back and starts to leave. Cesar grabs her again. CESAR Do n't turn yer back on me when I'm talkin' t ` you, bitch. You think yer better than everybody else. Well you ai n't! You ai n't nuthin' but a whore! RITA Fuck you, asshole! CESAR What? You forget about the time in the bungalows? We all had our turn wit you, man! RITA Shut up! CESAR -LRB- gets in her face. -RRB- What the fuck you been fuckin' a nigger for? Huh? You think he's gon na protec' you? Stop me from doin' whatever I want wit' you? Stop any of us from doin' what we want wit' you?! Rita just stands there, destroyed and sobbing now. RITA Fuck you, Cesar. CESAR No, fuck you! He grabs her blouse and rips it wide open. His eyes glisten with fervor now as he punches Rita -LRB- with his good hand -RRB- square in the face. She crumbles to the ground as Victor bursts through the crowd and restrains Cesar. As Rita gets to her feet and flees into the Quebradita crowd. CESAR Garfield better watch his back!", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS AUDITORIUM - NIGHT Standing room only. An impassioned crowd. ANGLO WOMAN I wan na know if this boy was killed and whether it was gang - related. The audience erupts in unanimous support. ANGLO WOMAN -LRB- playing to crowd now. -RRB- As a mother and a taxpayer, I have a right to know. And if it was gang - related then I want tighter security. At this point she's drowned out by the crowd. On stage the discipline committee, including Trevor, Childress, Hyland and Quinn sit at the dais. Garcia stands at the podium, waiting for silence. MRS. FORD, the assistant principal, a full - figured black woman in her mid - fifties, stands alongside him, gesturing for the crowd to settle down. MR. GARCIA The death. -LRB- too noisy. -RRB- The death of Benito Chacon is not gang - related. That's something you heard on the news. It's wrong. It's misinformation. HISPANIC MAN -LRB- shouting out. -RRB- Who says? How can you be so sure? You're talking about my kid's safety. MRS. FORD Please, everyone just calm down. Audience settles. MR. GARCIA Thank you, Mrs. Ford. -LRB- now. -RRB-. The police at this point are n't even sure if it's a case of murder. The reason we're having this meeting tonight is to quash all the rumors floating around out there. Okay. Here's what we do know. Benny Chacon ultimately died from a drug overdose, technically it was morphine. -LRB- volume rising again. -RRB- Which is what heroin breaks down into. STEVIE -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Dat's bullshit! Benny was no junkie! I know who did it! Heads turn. Ellen quietly enters now and stands just inside one of the doors at the back of the hall. Up at the dais, Trevor notices her. STEVIE It's not the gangbangers y' got ta worry about. It's the teachers! MR. GARCIA That's exactly the type of rumor we do n't need, Mr. Littleton. Stevie deliberately stands and points at Trevor with vitriol in his eyes. STEVIE It was Garfield. The audience grows silent. MR. GARCIA -LRB- losing his patience. -RRB- Say one more word and you're suspended. MRS. FORD Sit down, Stevie. Trevor does n't even flinch. Childress scrutinizes him with a glance. STEVIE -LRB- ranting. -RRB- You're a fuckin' murderer, Garfield! MR. GARCIA -LRB- calling for assistance. -RRB- Victor? STEVIE Maybe I ca n't prove it but I know he did it. He fucked up Cesar and he killed Benny. -LRB- to crowd. -RRB- Ask ` im! As Victor and another plainclothes cop attempt to remove Stevie. STEVIE Touch me and I'll sue yer ass! -LRB- as Victor backs off ; now to Trevor. -RRB- Yer dead, G! Yer a dead man! With that Stevie shoves Victor aside and bolts for the door. Garcia attempts to regain his composure. Trevor glances back to the spot where Ellen was standing. but now she's gone.", "EXT. FACULTY PARKING LOT - NIGHT Meeting's broken up. Dave Childress, cigarette dangling from his mouth, jogs a step to catch up with Trevor. CHILDRESS Garfield, wait up. Trevor maintains a steady pace, one hopeful eye scouring the parking lot for Ellen. CHILDRESS Do n't let that Littleton punk get to you. Trevor ignores him. CHILDRESS Lil' bastard's a tweaker. He's a speed freak. You did n't know that? At Trevor's car now. Hesitating. Turning to Childress. TREVOR -LRB- testing his patience. -RRB- What is it, Dave? How can I help you? Unintentionally in Trevor's face. CHILDRESS How ` bout a ride? -LRB- taking a step back. -RRB-. The wife would n't let me drive my own car. Ai n't that a bitch? Childress is pitiful. Wears a grease - stained tie with his wrinkled Hawaiian shirt and a Windbreaker. TREVOR -LRB- with resignation. -RRB-. You smell like beer. CHILDRESS I only had two. That's all. Swear ta Christ. Raising his palms. Surrendering. Trevor studies him with a sad grimace. CHILDRESS I live right up here off Chandler. I'll buy you a drink.", "INT. CHILDRESS'S GARAGE - NIGHT Dave's Sanctuary. At the end of a gravel driveway, behind a darkened house. Garage door open. Childress chain smokes and drinks beer as he leans against the dented fender of his'66 Lincoln Continental. Trevor nurses a Diet Coke. CHILDRESS I had the same situation ` round the time of that ` Night Stalker' thing. Remember that? Whole city was scared shitless. My wife was convinced the frickin' mailman was the ` Stalker' for about a week there. -LRB- a tubercular chuckle. -RRB- Some mental giant in my 4th period starts this rumor, see. Childress is the ` Night Stalker.' Right? -LRB- chug - a - lugs. -RRB-. Idiots. Even after they caught that Ramirez jerk, I'd still hear those fucks'. They got the wrong guy. Childress is the Stalker, ese.' He finishes beer. Crumples it. Trevor studies him, without expression. Now he notices something stapled to the tar paper wall. Trevor's POV of the `` Certificate of Excellence in Teaching,'' yellowed and dogeared, hanging obliquely by one staple. as Childress opens another beer. TREVOR -LRB- excusing himself. -RRB- I better get goin'. Thanks for the soda. CHILDRESS Wait, wait. Hold your horses. Just hold on. Finding a key in a drawer. CHILDRESS -LRB- a twisted grin. -RRB-. Ca n't leave without meetin' the kids. Childress unlocks a particle board cabinet against the garage wall. A watery glint in his bloodshot eyes. Cabinet door swings wide now, revealing a mini arsenal of handguns. CHILDRESS Ta - dah. Huh? Trevor's eyes remain expressionless. Childress rhapsodizes as he removes and handles some of the guns. CHILDRESS This one's from Czechoslovakia. It's a C - Z.22 automatic. Ten round clip. Glow - in - the - dark sights. -LRB- eyeing the sights. -RRB- Ai n't that a beauty? -LRB- next. -RRB-. Then we got ta custom Smitty, 9 ` milli.' With extended grip. These Smith & Wessons kick like a mutha. -LRB- and next. -RRB- Now this one's special. A Glock 21. Lightest gun in the world. The barrel and firing pin are metal. See. Everything else on it's plastic. -LRB- handing it to Trevor. -RRB- Here, feel that. Trevor takes it, reluctantly weighs it in the palm of his hand. Sets it down. Now Childress removes a gun from a holster in the small of his back, under his Windbreaker. CHILDRESS ` Course you can never be too prepared. My pukey lil' Davis.380. TREVOR -LRB- a severe squint. -RRB- You wear that thing at school? CHILDRESS -LRB- a smirk. -RRB-. Do n't worry. They never use metal detectors on teachers. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I also keep a.357 inside my desk. -LRB- a wry grin. -RRB-. But you already know that. Did n't think I was payin' attention, did ` ja? Shoulda seen the look on your face. Pretending now. Aiming the.380 at an imaginary student. CHILDRESS Now, Jose, if I've told you once I've told you a hundred times, stay in your cotton pickin' seat. -LRB- aiming gun. -RRB- Boom! Childress laughs and chokes on his cigarette. Now he gazes at the.380 in his hand. Lost in a stupid, recalcitrant grin. CHILDRESS Have n't you ever just wanted to blow one of these little bastards away? Childress glances up into Trevor's unflinching gaze. Smiles to himself now. Thinks he's funny. CHILDRESS -LRB- digressing. -RRB-. Speaking of blowing, you ever wan na fuck a high school girl, Garfield? -LRB- off no response. -RRB- ` Caught yer girl, Rita, bustin' a train out in the ` utility' shed couple months back. Swear to God. She had at least five or six cholos lined up back there. -LRB- as Trevor's eyes narrow. -RRB- Face it, brother, she's a slut. C'mon, I know you had ` er. -LRB- bragging now. -RRB- I even did her. TREVOR You're drunk. CHILDRESS I know you been laughin' at me behind my back. I'm talkin' about screwin' high school broads and you're givin' off this self - righteous attitude like your shit do n't stink. Childress rolls back on his heels. CHILDRESS Tell me the truth now, Garfield. Did yuh do it? C'mon, I wo n't tell. Did yuh whack Benny? Whadda ` bout Cesar? That was generous, only taking his finger. I woulda cut off his balls. TREVOR Go to hell, Dave. All traces of a smile fade from Dave's face. Trevor just stands there. Does n't say a damn word. Childress makes his own momentous conclusion. CHILDRESS -LRB- almost exulted. -RRB- You really did it. You son of a bitch. Awkward glint of admiration in Childress's eye. Leans forward, hangs a hand on Trevor's shoulder. TREVOR -LRB- disgusted. -RRB- You probably think you and me are alike. Trevor turns and exits the garage. PULLING BACK FROM Childress's dull anesthetized gaze. Deep down inside Childress knows he's a pathetic piece of shit.", "EXT. TREVOR'S DRIVEWAY - AROUND MIDNIGHT Trevor pulls into his driveway, right up to the garage door. He SHUTS OFF the IGNITION and narrows a gaze out the front windshield.", "INT. TREVOR'S CAR - GARAGE DOOR - TREVOR'S POV  CONTINUOUS ACTION Caught in his headlights, tagged all over. Spray painted threats like, `` YOU'RE DEAD,'' `` 187 - UM,'' `` TEACHER - K'' -LRB- crossed out -RRB- and a CARTOON VERSION OF TREVOR WITH `` X'S'' WHERE HIS EYES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE.", "INT. TREVOR'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT (SHORT WHILE LATER) Dimly lit. Trevor stands in front of the television set, staring at a late - night repeat of `` Talk Soup.'' INSERT - TALK SOUP A clip from `` Sally Jessy Rafael'' or `` Jerry Springer.'' One of those Sturm und Drang moments. Everyone points the finger at everyone else. No one willing to take responsibility for themselves. Only partially watching the television. His eyes are fixed on a point somewhere in his own mind, lost to the world.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS SCHOOL LIBRARY - EARLY MORNING (BEFORE SCHOOL) Into a parabolic mirror above the library doors. an empty corridor stretches forever. Trevor, now unshaven, looking like he has n't slept, sits amidst total silence in his regular spot. No sign of Rita. He checks his wristwatch. WALL CLOCK reads. 7:10 AM. TREVOR peering toward the library doors. Nothing. Now above the doors. TREVOR'S POV BACK AND FORTH between the mirror and Trevor. His eyes glazed and unblinking. FURTHER INTO the parabolic mirror now. Breathing becoming more and more labored. In a flicker, we're transported back to Roosevelt Whitney. Dennis Broadway's image SLOWLY COMING TOWARD us down the long corridor. BACK TO SCENE Trevor catches his breath and blinks. Back to reality. The mirror is empty. He removes his Proventil inhaler from his shirt pocket. Suppressing gasps, he takes two hits. Two girls at the magazine racks whisper to each other, eyes firmly fixed on Trevor. Suddenly there's a presence at Trevor's side. LIBRARIAN I do n't think she's coming.", "EXT. RITA'S TRAILER (SUN VALLEY) - SAME MORNING (7:30 AM) Strictly low rent district. The small dirt yard in front is contained within a cinder block wall. Rita, back to her chola look, heavy makeup, black -LRB- right -RRB- eye where Cesar punched her, watches her two younger brothers as they fight over a toy truck. Her three - year - old baby sister, Maricella -LRB- too big to be carried -RRB- straddles her hip as Rita yells at the boys. RITA Be nice to your brother, Antonio. Do n't make me go get Mommie. Trevor's car pulls up. Rita's taken aback. RITA -LRB- setting Maricella down. -RRB- Go play wit' your brothers. Rita attempts to thwart him at the sidewalk. RITA -LRB- almost defensive. -RRB- Whatcha doin' here, maestro? TREVOR -LRB- with fervor. -RRB- I want you to come back to school, Rita. You ca n't afford to miss finals. They wo n't let you graduate. RITA -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- No way. Forget it. I ca n't. What's wrong wit' you. Trevor really does looks like hell. TREVOR -LRB- beseeching her. -RRB- Cesar and Stevie wo n't bother you. That's a promise. Something stirs deep inside her. RITA -LRB- struggles with it. -RRB- Why'd they have to kill Snowball? TREVOR They did n't. RITA -LRB- on the verge of tears now. -RRB- What's it fuckin' matter?! ` At school shit's for other kids, not me! TREVOR That's not true. You're so smart, Rita. Do n't you know that? You have an opportunity here to change your life. Please do n't throw away everything we've worked for. Trevor just stares at her, incredulously. Rita lowers her gaze, unable to look him in the eye. Momentous deliberation, and now. TREVOR I know what happened with Childress. RITA -LRB- knitting her eyebrows. -RRB- What? TREVOR -LRB- beat. -RRB- He wo n't ever touch you again. RITA -LRB- protesting too much. -RRB- He ai n't done nuthin' tuh me. That boy's fulla shit. What's he been sayin'? TREVOR Does n't matter. RITA He ai n't never touched me no ways. What's he sayin'? He say he fucked me?! He say dat?! -LRB- off Trevor's look. -RRB- He's a damn liar! -LRB- erupting again ; tears streaming down her face. -RRB- Get the fuck outta here! I do n't need yer damn pity and I do n't need you! TREVOR -LRB- genuinely. -RRB- But I need you, Rita. Beat. RITA -LRB- hardening. -RRB- You made a mistake. Dat's all. With that Rita scoops up Maricella and exits.", "INT. MR. GARCIA'S OFFICE - SAME DAY (LUNCH PERIOD) Trevor sits transfixed in front of Garcia. Still has n't shaven. MR. GARCIA See these? Garcia holds up a handful of phone messages. MR. GARCIA They're phone calls about you. Good ones. Cesar's mother told me how you tried to help him. You're evidently a good teacher. You should be commended on your efforts. However. -LRB- pause. -RRB- I'm going to have to let you go. Trevor blinks. MR. GARCIA -LRB- beat. -RRB- As much as I'd like to have you stay until the end of the year, I ca n't overlook the seriousness of certain accusations. Mr. Garcia waits for a response but none is forthcoming. MR. GARCIA -LRB- for example. -RRB-. Is it true you had meetings with a female student at your house? TREVOR I was trying to help her. MR. GARCIA The implications are still there, Mr. Garfield. I ca n't afford to open the door for another lawsuit. Sure you can appreciate my position. -LRB- pause. -RRB- You can stay until Friday. I hope that will be sufficient. This part registers only minimally with Trevor.", "EXT. BUNGALOW 86 - AFTER SCHOOL (SAME DAY) A VAPID SILENCE HOLDS us. The bungalow is awash in a sun - soaked pool of light. Trevor makes his way toward the parking lot with his briefcase and a cardboard box of personal belongings.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - \"A\" BLDG. - MAIN CORRIDOR/ COMPUTER LAB - CONTINUOUS ACTION Plagued with doubts, Ellen lingers in the doorway, confiding with Hyland. HYLAND You're not being an alarmist. -LRB- minimizing her concerns. -RRB- He gets a little overzealous at times. like some other people I know. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I do n't think the rosary adds up to much either, frankly. ELLEN Why? HYLAND It's probably his. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Look, when I received my first Holy Communion all the boys got black rosaries and the girls got white. Trust me, there must be millions of black rosaries filed away in desk drawers from here to the Vatican. Ellen flickers a sad indecisive smile. HYLAND This guy's been through a lot, Ellen. The system failed him. I do n't think any of us can really appreciate what he's been through. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I say we give the man a break. Ellen acquiesces a pensive nod.", "EXT. FACULTY PARKING LOT/ADJACENT STREET (3:20) THROUGH a CHAIN LINK FENCE Trevor approaches his car. Traffic is bumper to bumper.", "EXT. FACULTY PARKING LOT - CONTINUOUS ACTION as Trevor unlocks his car. And hesitates. TREVOR'S POV - DRIVER'S SIDE CAR DOOR. a bold 187 has been `` keyed'' into the paint. TREVOR Rivetted. Now he slides the cardboard box, along with his briefcase onto the front seat. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Ellen pulls up in her Cherokee. She deciphers Trevor with mixed emotions. Trevor adjusts his stance, covering the `` 187.'' Ellen now tentatively rolls her window down halfway. TAILPIPE SPUTTERS, a portentous idle. ELLEN -LRB- stilted. -RRB-. I'd like to apologize for the other night. Trevor stands there transfixed for a moment. Now he looks into her eyes. A soulful gaze. TREVOR Should n't listen to me. I was half asleep. His eyes become damp. Trevor smiles bravely. ELLEN We really need to talk. TREVOR Not tonight. Have to finish some work. ELLEN Tomorrow then? It's important to me. TREVOR -LRB- far off now. -RRB-. Okay. ELLEN -LRB- resolves it in her head. -RRB-. How ` bout seven o'clock? Trevor nods. Ellen flickers a tenuous smile.", "INT. ELLEN'S CHEROKEE - SIDE VIEW MIRROR as she rolls up her window and drives away, leaving Trevor standing in the middle of the parking lot. His image gets smaller and smaller in the mirror.", "INT./EXT. ELLEN'S JEEP CHEROKEE - ELLEN'S POV as she watches him in the side view mirror, torn with mixed emotions.", "EXT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - LATE AFTERNOON Seeing now that the whole house has been tagged with graffiti -LRB- not only the garage -RRB- as the Rambler pulls into the driveway. With dead calm, Trevor leaves his box of belongings behind and enters the front door, carrying his briefcase.", "EXT. STOLEN BUICK REGAL - CONTINUOUS ACTION - LATE AFTERNOON as it parks about two houses down from Trevor's.", "INT. BUICK REGAL - CONTINUOUS ACTION - LATE AFTERNOON All three tag - bangers produce firearms. Cesar loads the cylinder chamber on his.357 magnum. Stevie double checks a 7 round clip and a 39 Smith and Wesson. And Paco plays with a.38 caliber revolver that he hides in the deep front pocket of is County - Bens. The interior of the Buick snaps with the hard sound of gun metal. cocking hammers, loading cartridges and spinning cylinder chambers. As the gun preparations systematically stop. Cesar now flicks ON an ELECTRIC HAIR CLIPPER, sets it on ` NO CLIP,' and passes it back to Paco. Paco runs the clipper over his head. Hair tumbles off in chunks. Stevie fidgets, picks up a naked one - eyed doll off the floor, raises it INTO VIEW. STEVIE Where'd you jack ` dis car from, homes? -LRB- referring to doll. -RRB- ` At's nasty, man.", "INT. TREVOR'S BEDROOM - SUNSET Dutifully seated at his desk. Like a fervent prayer. Lost in correcting his final graded assignment.", "INT. TREVOR'S BEDROOM - POV - SUNSET PAST wrought iron bars on the outside of the window. Sun hangs above a distorted horizon. ELLEN'S POV - SAME SUNSET. PAST high tension lines outside Mother Henry's kitchen window.", "INT. MOTHER HENRY'S KITCHEN - DUSK Ellen's preoccupied with thought as she rinses dishes and places them in the dishwasher. O.S. hear `` WHEEL OF FORTUNE'' on the TELEVISION. Now a wet DISH slips from her grasp and SHATTERS on the floor. MOTHER HENRY -LRB- O.S. -RRB- Ellen? As she picks up the pieces. ELLEN It's alright, mother.", "EXT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - DUSK Sun goes down. A palpable stillness permeates.", "INT. BUICK REGAL - K.O.S. TAG-BANGERS - CONTINUOUS ACTION All three heads clipped `` skin tight.'' Fixed gazes holding. Stevie nurses a runny nose as he smokes another `` Sherm.'' Now something flickers in Cesar's eyes. CESAR Okay, let's smoke this bitch.", "EXT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DUSK The house is quiet now as Stevie and Paco disappear around the back. Cesar approaches the front door, undaunted, gun drawn. Without breaking stride he kicks open the door.", "INT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS ACTION - EVENING Trevor sits on his bed, watching the red orb of the sun disappear over the horizon. He can hear DOOR OPENING and someone moving in his house. TREVOR I'm in here, Cesar. Cesar, Paco, and Stevie enter the bedroom, guns drawn. CESAR Dont' move, mutha fucka! Stevie flips on a light. Paco SHOOTS out the TV set in the living room - an act of intimidation. Cesar jams his.357 under Trevor's chin. Gets in his face. CESAR You killed Benny. And you cut off my finger. Say it. Trevor stares right into Cesar's eyes, unflinching. TREVOR Yeah. I did. STEVIE Told yuh. Fuckin' A, man. PACO Lem me do ` im. CESAR No. This nigga's mine. Cesar sticks the gun barrel right between Trevor's eyes. and squeezes the trigger. Click. An empty sound. Trevor blinks. Cesar exhales a malicious laugh. Opens a fist to reveal six bullets. CESAR Ever seen The Deerhunter, ese? ANOTHER ANGLE In the middle of the dark house - Trevor's dining room table. Trevor on one side, Cesar/Paco/Stevie on the other. Cesar's seated, loading one of the six bullets into a cylinder chamber. He shoves the gun toward Trevor as Stevie and Paco train their pistols on him. CESAR You gon' do yourself, mayate. Put it to your head and pull the trigger. Trevor grabs the pistol without hesitation, puts it to his head and squeezes off TWO ROUNDS without incident. He slams the gun down in front of Cesar without a blink. A crazed, watery glint in his eye. TREVOR That macho enough for you, Cesar? Huh? That make me a man? CESAR Take more'n that. TREVOR Then you do it. All three tag - bangers are taken aback. TREVOR C'mon, show me what you got. Mano a mano. STEVIE He's playin' with yer head. PACO Vato's scared. He tryin' to twist outta it. TREVOR I got ta be a fool to prove you're a fool? - okay. Trevor picks up the gun again, puts it to his head and pulls the trigger. click. Slams the gun down. TREVOR C'mon. CESAR Tha's not how we playin' it. TREVOR Why - you too chickenshit to play yer own game? Got no cojones? Paco lashes out and hits Trevor with his pistol drawing blood. PACO Shut up! Cesar stares at him. TREVOR You gon na let your homies defend your punk ass, Cesar? You gon na let me dis you? I pulled three times, you pussy, you leva, you coward! Lessee you pull one. C'mon, be a man! Get some respect back! Do it! Cesar takes the gun and raises it toward his head. PACO Whatcho doin', homie? He grabs Cesar's arm, but Cesar pushes him away. CESAR -LRB- to Trevor. -RRB- You disrespectin' me, vato? You sayin' I ai n't a man? TREVOR I'm sayin' you're a fool. Cesar puts the.357 to his temple again. STEVIE Do n't do it! They are mesmerized into inaction as Cesar grits his teeth and pulls the trigger. Click. PACO -LRB- instant adulation. -RRB- You the man, Cesar! You the man! Orale, vato! -LRB- to Trevor. -RRB- He got character, homes. STEVIE Crazy mutha fucka. Trevor looks at Cesar in disgust as he takes another bullet and blindly loads it into the cylinder chamber. CESAR Yer turn. He spins the cylinder and slams the gun on the table. TREVOR You think you got respect now? Your kinda respect is bullshit. Only thing you honor is stupidity. You ready to die for stupidity, Cesar? I am, if it'll teach you somethin'. See you ca n't kill me, homeboy. Yeah, my body. but what I am, who I was? That's been dead for over a year. And I'm never gon na get it back - no matter how many of you I get rid of. I realize that now. -LRB- furious. -RRB-. I was a teacher! I wanted to help you! He snatches up the gun, puts it to his head and pulls the trigger again. click. Trevor slams it back down on the table. TREVOR You ca n't kill me. and you ca n't scare me. Cesar's sweating now, glancing between Trevor and the gun on the table. Stevie and Paco shift uneasily. PACO Do n't do it, homie. STEVIE He's crazy. TREVOR Yeah, but is n't that what you respect? Bein' loco? Do n't listen to'em, Cesar. If you gon na live stupid do n't do it half - assed - take it all the way. Take your turn. Pull the trigger. Caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place, Cesar's hand inches toward the gun. Suddenly Trevor is screaming at him. TREVOR Macho is bullshit, fool! Your whole way of life is BULLSHIT! Cesar explodes to his feet and screams right back. CESAR It's all I got! Silence. Trevor studies him with an enigmatic look. TREVOR Well then, I'll take your turn for you. He snatches up the pistol and puts it to his head. CESAR No! pulls the trigger. BLAM! The SHOT knocks Trevor out of his chair. ON PACO AND STEVIE PACO You see dat! He's out! He's fuckin' out! Snuffed hisself! Aw, shit! Stevie's stunned. STEVIE What'd he do that for? He walks toward the back of the house like a zombie. STEVIE Let's get outta here. Paco pulls at Cesar, who's staring at Trevor's dead body. PACO C'mon, homie. CESAR He took my turn. PACO What? CESAR It was my turn. He took it. He dissed me. PACO So fuckin' what, man! He's dead! Let's go! Cesar shrugs him off, picks up the.357. CESAR I got ta do this. PACO Fuck dis shit! Leave it! He tries to pull Cesar away, pleading with him in Spanish, but Cesar shoves him off. CESAR I got one chance in six. I'm ` onna beat ` dis bitch. For honor, vato. STEVIE No! Paco rushes toward him, but is stopped by the BOOM! of the.357. Frozen in shock, Paco stares down at Cesar's body as Stevie re - enters the kitchen. STEVIE Cesar? Why'd he do it? Why? ON PACO AND STEVIE Not knowing himself, Paco stumbles out of Trevor's kitchen toward the back door. Finally Stevie follows him as we PULL BACK to reveal the crumpled bodies of Trevor and Cesar lying on the floor. NEWSCASTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Last night tragedy struck in North Hollywood where a high school teacher and one of his students were both found shot to death inside the teacher's home. V.O. continues through the.", "EXT. J. Q. ADAMS H.S. - MORNING (GRADUATION DAY) TWO WEEKS LATER the marquee outside the school reads. HAPPY GRADUATION - CLASS OF'97 NEWSCASTER -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The teacher has been identified as forty - one - year - old Trevor Garfield, formerly of New York City. Most recently he taught science at John Quincy Adams High School in the San Fernando Valley. -LRB- beat. -RRB- Confidential sources reveal that the teacher had publicly been accused of foul play in the death of another student whose body was discovered just last month in the L.A. River.", "EXT. ATHLETIC FIELD - AFTERNOON Graduation in progress. Standing room only. Administrators have begun to take their seats up on a makeshift stage. Garcia, Hyland, Assistant Principal Ford, etc. Bleachers now as guests and family members fan themselves against the searing heat. A banner strung across the top row of seats reads. CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF'97 Faculty members are seated in the first two rows down on the field. In front of a sea of mortar boards. Dave Childress now enters, his usual shabby attire, nursing another hangover. He takes a seat away from the other teachers.", "EXT. ATHLETIC FIELD - PODIUM - SHORT WHILE LATER As the first speaker approaches the podium. ON two inch high heels, an occasional wobble as the white high heels make their way up to the podium. ANGLE RISING now, LINGERING ON a clinging powder blue dress and mani - cured fingernails. HOLD ON her clenched essay. Now CONTINUE UP to reveal Rita Nartinez. She wears lipstick. and only a moderate amount of eye shadow. She wears a slightly nervous, preoccupied look. Now. Rita at the podium, as she adjusts the microphone, a nervous reflex. Places her essay on the podium. Stares down at it. RITA The title of my essay is, ` Mi Vida Loca'. ` My Crazy Life'. Rita hesitates. Now she gazes out at the graduating class. FACES IN CROWD Waiting. Intently fanning themselves. DAVE CHILDRESS Apathetic. Arms draped over the empty chairs on either side of him. BACK TO RITA RITA -LRB- turning to Quinn. -RRB- Ms. Quinn, can I say somethin'? -LRB- correcting herself. -RRB-. May I say something? Ms. Quinn -LRB- 45 -RRB- hesitates, now acquiesces with uncertainty. RITA There's been a lotta talk las' couple weeks whether Mr. Garfield done those things they been writin' about in the newspaper. He once tol' me you ca n't blame everything on yer environment. -LRB- beat. -RRB- But I t ` ink you can push a good teacher too far and he might jus' go bad like anybody else.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS COMPUTER LAB - AFTERNOON INTERCUT VARIOUS CUTS OF Ellen's hands as she clears a bulletin board. removes a computer graphics display from a wall. empties desk drawers. and packs away her computer in a box. RITA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I dunno if Mr. ` G' did all those bad things. All I know is dat teachers do n't get no respect. ` At's the simple truth. And if Mr. ` G' is responsible, well den he ai n't the only one responsible.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS AUDITORIUM - PODIUM (GRADUATION) RITA We're all responsible. You and me. all of us. I'm up here today cuz a him. He was dere for me when nobody else was. Thing is. I shoulda been ` dere for him too. but I was n't. I turned my back on the only person who ever cared about me. -LRB- pause. -RRB- He said if I could stand up here and read my essay it would be a Pyrrhic victory. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I ast' ` im, ` What's up wit' dat?' A trickle of incongruous laughter, awkward yet cathartic. RITA He told me in my case it was irony. and to go look it up. so I did. -LRB- beat. -RRB- I wonder now if Mr. ` G' was really talking ` bout hisself. -LRB- beat. -RRB- It refers to this guy named Pyrrhus. He was a king back ` round 300 B.C. Rita refers to a piece of scratch paper she has tucked inside her essay.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS COMPUTER LAB again. as she now empties one last drawer, she dis - covers her teaching credential. Reluctantly picks it up. Holds it for a moment. Now read across the face of the credential. STATE OF CALIFORNIA COMMISSION ON TEACHER CREDENTIALING issues this document to ELLEN HENRY BACK TO GRADUATION RITA -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- verbatim now. -RRB-. Pyrrhus defeated the Romans on two occasions. But those two victories lost him a large part of his army. Now whenever people say something's a Pyrrhic victory they mean it's a victory gained at too great a cost. Childress stares off into space, flickers a pathetic smirk. And now Stevie seated amongst the graduates. Glancing up from under his mortar board cap. He adjusts a gaze into the bleachers. STEVIE LITTLETON'S POV - HIS PARENTS Early forties, upper - middle class. Stevie's mother catches his eye. Like an incongruous SLOW MOTION dream, she mouth the words, `` We're. So. Proud. Of. You.'' STEVIE LITTLETON. as guilt eats at him, weaving its insidious web. BACK TO RITA now at the podium. Holding back tears, Rita now carefully folds up her piece of scratch paper. and fixes a distant unblinking gaze.", "INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS COMPUTER LAB - AFTERNOON Slowly SCAN the walls, stripped completely bare now. END ON Ellen standing obliquely in the doorway. Brief - case in hand, files and papers tucked under one arm. Her face, a solemn vacuous gaze. Now she drops something into the trash can, shuts off the lights, and leaves. As the door slowly closes. MOVE IN ON the trash can. and Ellen's crumpled teaching credential. Add another name to the list of fallen heroes as we. BLACKNESS. and ROLL END CREDITS. THE END"], "labels": [1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0], "summary": "Trevor Garfield (Samuel L. Jackson) is an African American high school science teacher at Roosevelt Whitney High School, a high school in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Dennis Broadway (Method Man), a gangster student to whom he had given a failing grade threatens to murder him, writing the number 187 (the California police code for homicide) on every page in a textbook. Garfield knows that this is a warning and tries to report the administration, Garfield knows that Dennis just wanted to transfer back to his old school and he needed to have good grades. The administration ignored this warning and Dennis ambushes Garfield in the hallway, stabbing him in the back and side abdominal area multiple times with a shiv. Fifteen months after surviving, Garfield, now a substitute teacher, has relocated to John Quincy Adams High School in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, but trouble starts again when he substitutes an unruly class of rejects, including a Chicano tag crew by the name of \"Kappin' Off Suckers\" (K.O.S.). Their leader, Benito \"Benny\" Chac\u00f3n (Lobo Sebastian), a felon attending high school as a condition of probation, makes it clear to Garfield that there will be no mutual respect. The tension mounts when a fellow teacher, Ellen Henry (Kelly Rowan), confides that Benny has threatened her life, an action against which the administration of the school refuses to take action, fearing legal threats. After Benny murders a rival tagger in cold blood, he  disappears, and Benny's  unstable tag partner, C\u00e9sar Sanchez (Clifton Collins Jr.), takes over as leader. When C\u00e9sar steals Garfield's family heirloom watch, the principal is more concerned about a lawsuit and refuses to take action.  Ellen and Garfield develop a close friendship that approaches the beginnings of a relationship, but is stymied by Garfield's destabilizing behavior and his confrontations with the K.O.S.. Garfield's past garners the unwanted admiration of Dave Childress (John Heard), an alcoholic history teacher who carries guns at the school. The conflict between Garfield and the K.O.S. escalates with the killing of Jack, Ellen's dog. C\u00e9sar, after spraying cartoon graffiti depicting a dead dog, is shot with a syringe filled with morphine attached to the end of an arrow. He passes out, and wakes up to find one of his fingers cut off. C\u00e9sar recovers the finger and it is reattached, with the letters \"R U DUN\" (\"are you done?\") tattooed as a warning. A student Garfield has tutored, Rita Mart\u00ednez (Karina Arroyave), a Chicana, faces abuse from both the K.O.S. and Childress, and drops out. The school administration is mired in bureaucracy and unable to intervene. After Benny is found dead in the Los Angeles River, apparently of a drug overdose, it is revealed that Garfield took matters into his own hands, killing Benny and severing C\u00e9sar's finger. Garfield lets Ellen leave as she disavows his actions. The K.O.S. plan to murder Garfield. At Garfield's house, the gang forces Garfield into a contest of Russian roulette with C\u00e9sar. The latter's resolve is shaken as Garfield talks about the lost-cause lifestyle he has led. Hesitating at his turn, C\u00e9sar watches as Garfield, offering to take his turn for him, takes the revolver and shoots himself in the head. Driven by his sense of honor and ignoring the protests of his horrified friends, C\u00e9sar insists on taking his rightful turn and ends up killing himself . On graduation day, Rita, who completes her studies along with former K.O.S. member Stevie Littleton (Jonah Rooney), offers a tribute to Garfield by reading an essay about him. The essay incorporates the theme of the Pyrrhic victory and Ellen leaves the school.", "name": "One_Eight_Seven"}
{"scenes": ["INT. DARK ROOM - NIGHT Pitch dark. We hear two men speaking FRENCH in hushed voices. NOTE : All dialogue is in French until otherwise noted. DANIEL -LRB- whispering. -RRB- Turn on the flashlight. JULIEN I'm trying. It does n't work. DANIEL It has to work. You just bought it this afternoon. A beat. JULIEN Do they come with batteries? DANIEL You did n't buy batteries? JULIEN I thought they came with batteries. DANIEL I ca n't believe you did n't check. JULIEN I bought everything you put on the list. Gloves. Pen knives. Flashlight. Batteries were not on the list. DANIEL Why should I have to put it on the list? It's like saying to buy a car with tires.", "EXT. HOUSE -- NIGHT A wealthy neighborhood of Paris off the Champs Elysees. Large homes line the secluded street. We see the silhouette of a man in a Peugeot. We MOVE IN closer to see RAYMOND GAYET, 30's, waits nervously.", "INT. DARK ROOM -- NIGHT Dark. DANIEL FORAY lights his Zippo lighter. He is late 30's, tall, handsome with eyes that seem to twinkle in the glow of the flame. Beside him is JULIEN LABESSE, 30's, hyper. Daniel places the LIGHTER on a small table and moves over to a PAINTING on the wall. Daniel stops at one, removes a pen knife and starts to cut the canvas from the frame. Daniel rolls up the canvas. DANIEL Let's go. Julien starts to pick up the ZIPPO. DANIEL Be careful it's. Too Late! Julien has already picked it up. It burns his hand ans he flicks it away. It flies through the air and lands in the corner of the room. The CURTAINS catch on fire. DANIEL hot! Julien panics! He grabs the canvas out of Daniel's hand and begins beating the flames with it. Daniel looks at him with disbelief. Julien flails his arms wildly as he beats back the flames. He turns to Daniel pleased that his efforts have extinguished the fire, but unaware that the canvas has now caught on fire. A beat. Julien sees the flames and puts them out. Daniel just stares at him. He opens the canvas. The painting is ruined.", "EXT. STREET -- NIGHT A Mercedes parks in front of the Peugeot, boxing it in between it and a car behind it. The DRIVER gets out and walks away.", "INT. HOUSE FOYER -- NIGHT Daniel and Julien move through the darkness. DANIEL Light your lighter. I ca n't see anything. and try not to burn down the house! Julien remove a lighter and presses it. The entire room fills with light. Julien stares at the flame amazed. OLD MAN'S VOICE Do n't move! They turn to see an old man standing at the top of the stairs in his bathrobe. He is frail, his face pasty white. He is holding a very long, double - barrel shotgun. Julien looks to Daniel with a ` what now' expression. The old man slowly moves down the stairs. He loses his balance and falls down the stairs, tumbling head over heals until he reaches the bottom. Daniel and Julien stare at the old man who is sprawled out on the floor, motionless. JULIEN Is he dead? DANIEL I do n't know. He looks dead. JULIEN He looked dead before he fell. The old man groans, then opens his eyes. He grabs his shotgun. Daniel and Julien run to the door.", "EXT. HOUSE -- NIGHT Daniel and Julien run towards the street. DANIEL Start the car! Start the car! Raymond starts the engine. Daniel and Julien rush across the street and get in the back seat. Raymond tries to pull out but there are only a few inches between the Mercedes in front and the car behind. Like a pinball stuck between two bumpers the Peugeot jerks rapidly back and forth.", "INT. PEUGEOT -- CONTINUOUS Daniel and Julien stare angrily ar Raymond. JULIEN You did n't think to move the car before we came out! Daniel looks out his window and sees. DANIEL'S POV - the old man runs out of his house with his shotgun and heads towards the car. Raymond is desperately trying to get the car free. They all slide down as the old man fires. The windows on the left side of the car shatter. DANIEL Raymond, get us out of here! Raymond pops up and returns to getting the car out as the old man opens the breach of the shotgun to reload. Raymond floors the Peugeot keeping his foot on the brake. The engine revs. He turns the wheel to the left and releases the brake. The Peugeot juts forward smashing into the rear of the Mercedes and pushing in out into the street. Before the old man can take aim the Peugeot is speeding down the street.", "INT. PEUGEOT -- MOVING -- NIGHT Raymond bites his lip nervously as he drives. Julien finds the whole thing amusing. Daniel leans forward. DANIEL -LRB- to Raymond. -RRB- You know what makes a good get away driver? -LRB- controlled anger. -RRB- Being able to get away! RAYMOND You're always pointing out my negative qualities. My analyst says positive reinforcement is a much more productive way of relating with people. JULIEN Fine. Raymond, we'd like to commend you on how well you fucked up tonight.", "EXT. STREET, PARIS -- DAY A narrow street. Daniel carries the cardboard tube as he walks with Julien and Raymond. They enter a WAREHOUSE.", "INT. BASTALDI'S OFFICE -- DAY Two large desks are lined up face to face. One is empty. The other is occupied by LAURANT BASTALDI, 40's, all business. Off to the side is MARCEL BUROT, 40's. Daniel, Julien and Raymond enter. As they approach the desk Daniel glances at Marcel who is staring at him. MARCEL -LRB- amused. -RRB- I heard you almost got your ass blown off last night. Some thief. A regular black panther. Marcel glances at Bastaldi to see if he appreciates his comments. RAYMOND A Black Panther was a member of an African American militant group in the sixties, Marcel. I think you're referring to The Pink Panther. MARCEL Pink panther, black panther. Who gives a shit? And I do n't remember asking you a God Damn thing, you little turd. RAYMOND There's no reason to be abusive. You're projecting your anger on me as a defense mechanism. MARCEL What the hell is he talking about? RAYMOND I'm talking about human beings communicating openly and honestly. MARCEL How about getting on your knees and communicating with my dick? BASTALDI Shut up! Both of you! You're giving me a fuckin' headache. A beat. Raymond and Marcel stare at one another. We HEAR a muffled GROANING SOUND in the b.g. DANIEL Where's your brother? BASTALDI Vincent's in the States on business. -LRB- a beat ; referring to the painting. -RRB- That it? Daniel lays the cardboard tube containing the painting on the desk. Bastaldi removes the painting. To him it is not a work of art, just a commodity to be sold. He opens his desk drawer, removes several large stacks of money and hands them to Daniel. BASTALDI Okay. Now I've got something I want to - We HEAR the groaning sound again. Bastaldi looks irritated. He gets up and walks over to a closet. He opens to the doors to reveal a man in his underwear, his wrists tied behind his back, his mouth taped shut. A wire noose is around his neck forcing him to stand on his tip toes to avoid hanging himself. BASTALDI Do you mind? I'm trying to do some business here. The man looks at Bastaldi through pleading eyes and mumbles something. BASTALDI One more sound out of you and I'm going to cut your fuckin' tongue out. Bastaldi closes the door. Daniel looks at him inquisitively. BASTALDI You take someone in. Give them a steady job and how do they repay you? By claiming to misplace a shipment of your merchandise. RAYMOND Maybe he did misplace it. BASTALDI You misplace your car keys. You misplace your cell phone. You do not misplace one hundred and forty seven wide - screen TV's! DANIEL Laurant, how long has he been in there? Bastaldi looks puzzled. BASTALDI I do n't know. What day is today? JULIEN Thursday. BASTALDI Is it Thursday already? This week has just shot by. Bastaldi thinks about something for a moment, then. BASTALDI You and your crew speak English, do n't you? Daniel is still staring at the closet. BASTALDI Hey Daniel! Hello? -LRB- snaps his fingers. -RRB- Do you guys speak English? DANIEL Uh, yeah. BASTALDI Good. I have a job for you in America. Bastaldi tosses a photo of a middle - aged American couple. He points to a diamond necklace around the woman's neck. BASTALDI The Taylors from Chicago. Very rich. An acquaintance of mine recently quit working for Mrs. Taylor as an assistant. She tells me they keep all their jewelry in a safe in their bedroom. JULIEN It seems like a long way to go for a necklace. DANIEL Besides, we do n't know the city and - MARCEL -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- Mr. Bastaldi is n't asking you if you want to go. He's telling you you're going! And if he's telling you you're going to be going then you are going to go! BASTALDI Thank you Marcel, for that. extremely redundant explanation. DANIEL C'mon, Laurant, America? BASTALDI The job is worth about two million euros. Pull this off and you and your crew could make some real money, Daniel. You leave tomorrow. They know they do n't have a choice. JULIEN We're going to need to find someone who knows the city. MARCEL I know someone.", "EXT. NOTRE DAME -- DAY The plaza is filled with tourists. Moving through the crowd is SAMI ZERHOUNI, Algerian, late 20's, a small time street hustler, dressed in jeans and a `` I Love Paris'' tee - shirt. He passes a MAN who is about to take a picture and lifts his wallet. Sami moves on. He sees two overweight women standing at a vendor's cart, holding a large wad of MONEY. The woman puts the cash back in her purse, but does not zip it up. Sami moves in behind her and slips his hand into the purse. She zips the bag closed. Sami's face fills with pain as the zipper catches the hair of his arm. The women walk towards the cathedral. Sami has no choice but follow after them. He tries to match their pace so he does n't alert them of his presence. The woman looks back and sees Sami's hand. She pulls her bag away, ripping a section of hair off his arm, then swings the bag, putting all of her weight behind it. It hits Sami squarely in the face. He lands on his back with a thud. WALLETS and BILLFOLDS fly out from every one of his pockets. He staggers to his feet and starts to pick up the wallets when he sees. HIS POV - ACROSS THE PLAZA : of two police officers moving towards him. He knows he has no more time. He takes off running, disappearing into the crowd.", "INT. CAFE -- LATIN QUARTER -- DAY Sami is at the bar. He sees Marcel enter and runs towards the back. Standing in his way is one of Marcel's MEN. Sami turns around as Marcel approaches and forces a smile. NOTE : All dialogue is now in English unless otherwise noted. MARCEL Going somewhere? SAMI Oh, Marcel! I thought you were somebody else. If I knew it was you I would have never run. A long, awkward beat as Marcel just glares at him. SAMI You're probably here for the money I owe you. -LRB- off Marcel's nod. -RRB- I do n't have it. Marcel opens the door to the bathroom and pushes Sami inside.", "INT. BATHROOM -- CONTINUOUS -- DAY Marcel closes the door. He is face to face with Sami. SAMI You know this is how rumors get started. Marcel punches Sami in the stomach. He drops to his knees. A beat. The door to the bathroom opens and the LARGE MAN peers inside. He stares awkwardly at what he perceives as the beginning of a sexual act. SAMI Told you. Marcel slams the door then grabs Sami by the ear and yanks him to his feet. MARCEL Today's your lucky day, Sami. SAMI -LRB- breathlessly. -RRB- Yeah, I can see that. MARCEL Normally I'd be breaking your fingers right now, but I'm going to give you a chance to make enough to pay me back and have some extra for yourself. We have a group going to Chicago to do a job. You're going with them. SAMI Me? MARCEL You lived there. You know the city. SAMI I've still got a few legal problems back in the States. Marcel glares at him. SAMI -LRB- nervously. -RRB- But I'd be. I'd be happy to go. Marcel stares at him with hard expression. MARCEL If you try to leave town I'll know. If you manage to leave town I'll find you. and the next time we meet in a bathroom I'll be cutting you up into little pieces. He hands Sami a piece of paper. MARCEL Be at this address at nine o'clock tomorrow morning.", "INT. CAFE -- MORNING Daniel sits with Julien. At the end of the bar Raymond is on the pay phone. RAYMOND -LRB- in French. -RRB- Yes, Mama. Yes, I have my vitamins. I have everything. Of course I'm coming back. I'm not leaving you. I'm only going to be gone a few days. I'll call you when I get there. Okay? I've got to go now. -LRB- listens. -RRB- Mama, I've got to go. -LRB- listens. -RRB- No, I'm not yelling. Sami enters and walks over to Daniel and Julien. SAMI I'm Sami. Marcel sent me. JULIEN What is it you do, Sami? SAMI You know, a little of this, a little of that. I've boosted cars, stole radios, run a few scams. Right now I'm into pick - pocketing. JULIEN I see. A master criminal. SAMI Hey, I was told to come here by Marcel. You guys do n't want me, I'll be more than happy to leave. The door opens. ZERO enters. No one knows his last name. He is 40's, blonde hair, leather jacket, black pants. Looks more like a rock - star than a criminal. His eyes are flat and there is an intensity about him that is unnerving. Zero casually nods to Daniel. Zero stares at Sami as Daniel leads him over. DANIEL -LRB- to Sami. -RRB- This is Zero. SAMI Hi. I'm one and this is two, three, four and five. Sami laughs at his little joke. The others cringe. One look in Zero's eyes tells Sami what everyone else already knows : This is not someone to fuck with. Julien puts his arm around Sami and leads him away from the others. JULIEN Let me give you some advice. You do n't want to piss him off because he'll kill you for the fun of it. What you want to do is keep your mouth shut and do what we tell you. ZERO -LRB- in French. -RRB- So, we are going to America? DANIEL In English. Sami does n't speak French. ZERO Where are you from? SAMI Algeria. ZERO And you do n't speak French? SAMI Well, you know, not all Algerians speak French. It's a matter of what school you went too. Me I never really - ZERO -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- - Zero is n't interested in your life story. -LRB- to Daniel. -RRB- Who gets killed? DANIEL Hopefully no one. ZERO -LRB- confused. -RRB- No one? Then why is Zero here? Sami leans over to Raymond. SAMI He speaks about himself in the third person? RAYMOND Feel free to correct him if you want. DANIEL -LRB- to Zero. -RRB- I just want you there in case there's trouble. ZERO And if there is, then Zero can kill someone? DANIEL We'll see.", "EXT. CAFE -- DAY Daniel and the others step out carrying their suitcases. The door to a limousine opens and Marcel gets out. The scene is in FRENCH. BASTALDI -LRB- to Daniel. -RRB- I thought I would accompany you to the airport to say bon voyage. and tell you that Marcel will be going with you. DANIEL What? BASTALDI This is a considerable move up for you, Daniel. The temptation of having so much money might be too much for you. DANIEL You do n't trust me? BASTALDI I do n't trust anyone. You do n't get to the top of this game by trusting people. and after all, you are a thief. It's in your nature to steal. I'm just protecting my investment.", "INT. LIMO -- MOVING -- DAY For many of them this is the first time they have ever been inside a limo. Julien pours himself a drink. Sami plays around with the air conditioner. Zero turns on the radio and clicks through a few stations until he comes to RENAUD singing `` Des que le vent souffera.'' He leans back in his seat, bobbing his head to the music. Marcel does n't like it. He changes the station. We hear JOHNNY HALLYDAY singing, `` Que je taime.'' MARCEL That's better. Zero does n't like it. He pushes the button returning to the Renaud song and stares at Marcel. Marcel, not to be outdone returns the Hallyday song. Like two children they click the buttons of the radio, switching back and forth between Renaud and Hallyday. Bastaldi has had enough. BASTALDI Stop it! Both of you! He turns off the radio. A long beat. Marcel, like a child who has to have the last word starts singing to himself quietly, but loud enough for Zero to hear. MARCEL -LRB- singing. -RRB-. que je t ` aime. que je. Marcel sees Bastaldi glaring at him and stops.", "EXT. O'HARE AIRPORT -- MORNING Daniel and the crew get into a mini - van taxi.", "EXT. CHICAGO DRIVING MONTAGE -- MORNING Quick cuts of the familiar sights of the city. The Sears building. Chicago board of trade building. Grant park. Then with each successive cut the beauty of the city seems to fade until we are in.", "EXT. STREET -- MORNING An industrial section of the city. Empty streets. Run down buildings. Graffiti filled walls and burnt out hulls of abandoned cars line the street. The taxi driver leans out his window. TAXI DRIVER Are you sure you guys have the right address? This ai n't no tourist area. Marcel looks at a piece of paper he is holding. MARCEL Yes. We are sure. The taxi speeds off, leaving them standing on the sidewalk, their bags in a pile. Suddenly, from out of nowhere three BLACK TOUGHS appear and walk over. Daniel looks behind him and sees another two approaching from the rear. Zero calmly sits down on one of the suitcases. SAMI Let me handle this. LAMAR, 30's, the leader of the group steps forward. SAMI Hey, brother. What's happening, man? Sami raises his hand as if to greet Lamar. LAMAR Do n't you brother me, motherfucker. Sami looks like an idiot with his hand up in the air. He casually lowers it. Lamar looks over the group and grins. LAMAR What's in the bags? JULIEN Dirty underwear. Lamar forces a laugh. LAMAR Dirty underwear. That's a good one. Let me explain something to you. This is my street and you're gon na give me want I what or I'm gon na bust your heads open. Raymond steps forward and places his hand on Lamar's arm. RAYMOND Lamar, violence is never an answer to settling disputes. I can see you have a lot of anger. but this is not the way to get it out. LAMAR Get outta my face! Lamar removes a knife. The others in his group bring out an assortment of clubs, chains and pipes. LAMAR Now, are you going to give me the suitcases? Or are we going to have to take them? Zero is still sitting on one of the suitcases. ZERO Va te faire foutre! LAMAR What did he say? DANIEL He said to go fuck yourself. ZERO We are tired and bored with your bullshit. So, put that stupid little knife away before Zero shoves it up your ass. LAMAR Who is Zero? JULIEN He is. LAMAR -LRB- to Julien. -RRB- He speaks about himself in the third person? Julien shrugs his shoulders. LAMAR Maybe Zero would like to get off his ass and take my knife from me? ZERO If you insist. Zero stands up and raises his hand. He is holding a.9 mm Glock. He aims it at Lamar's head. Lamar's brave exterior quickly fades now that he is looking down the barrel of the gun. The rest of his gang turns and runs away. Zero aims the gun at his groin. ZERO Leave now before Zero shoots off those little raisins you call balls. Lamar runs away. Daniel and the others smile at Zero as they pick up their bags and walk towards a building. Zero is left with Sami who stares at him with disbelief. SAMI You put a loaded gun in your bag and brought it through customs? How stupid is that? ZERO Zero did not put it in his bag. He put it in yours. Zero grins and walks away.", "EXT. WAREHOUSE -- MORNING The crew stands at a door. Marcel knocks. A peep - hole in the door is opened and an eye looks them over. MARCEL We are looking for Sophie. Laurant send us. The door is opened by SOPHIE -LRB- the girl in the photo on Bastaldi's computer -RRB-. She is late 20's, beautiful. SAMI -LRB- softly. -RRB- Ouh La La..", "INT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- MORNING An old building, the rooms are partitioned off by sheets hanging from the ceiling. The main area is an artists workspace where large abstract paintings lean against the wall. SOPHIE I was n't expecting this many of you. I've got a few sleeping bags you can use. SAMI Thanks. Of to the side, sitting on the couch is WAYNE, 20's, a burn - out with long hair and a scraggly goatee. His face is buried in a bong as he sucks in a lung full of marijuana. He watches a cartoon show on the television. SOPHIE -LRB- to all of them. -RRB- This is Wayne. My roommate. Raymond walks over to him. RAYMOND I am Raymond. Thank you for allowing us to stay here. WAYNE No problem, man. -LRB- offers him the bong. -RRB- Hey, you wan na hit? RAYMOND No thank you. Raymond looks at the television and sees a cartoon show. RAYMOND Oh, Pepe Le Pew. He is very funny and quite well known in France. WAYNE Yeah, I dig him. RAYMOND Although a cartoon I feel he shares a universal theme : We are all searching for love. No? Wayne stares at him with a dead pan expression as he tries to assemble a coherent thought. WAYNE Whoa. That's deep. SOPHIE You guys hungry?", "INT. COFFEE SHOP -- AFTERNOON Because of the hour the room is not crowded. Only a few PEOPLE sit at the counter sipping coffee. A WAITRESS, 50's, bee hive hair style, face covered in make up arrives at the table. WAITRESS Ready to order? Julien looks up at her. JULIEN Could we see a wine list please? WAITRESS -LRB- smirks. -RRB- That's cute. SOPHIE They do n't have a wine list. JULIEN Oh, then we will have the house wine. WAITRESS Sure - and would you like that before your escargot in white truffle sauce? JULIEN I did not order escargot. SAMI They do n't serve wine here. JULIEN What kind of restaurant does n't serve wine? SAMI This kind. JULIEN Okay. I will have a beer. WAITRESS I do n't think he's grasping the concept. Iced tea, lemonade, coca cola, sprite or root beer. JULIEN -LRB- to the others. -RRB- C'est quoi root beer? DANIEL He'll have a sprite. We'll all have sprite. WAITRESS Good. Now that we've gotten the beverage selection out of the way, dare we move on to the main course? ZERO Idiot. Zero grins as he puts a cigarette in his mouth. The waitress pulls it out of his mouth. WAITRESS And no smoking. ZERO -LRB- in French. -RRB- No smoking? No drinking? What kind of country is this? CLOSE ON MAN'S FACE. VINNY, 40's, not the brightest bulb on the tree. His head snaps back as someone punches him in the face. Blood flows from his nose. We are in.", "EXT. ALLEY -- AFTERNOON Two GANGSTERS stand on each side of Vinny. They are JOEY `` TWO TONS'' 40's, could have a second career as a Sumo Wrestler. NICKY `` THE RAKE'', 30's, thin a rail. They make a strange pair but they both have one thing in common : They are stone cold killers. Standing in front of the them is FRANKIE ZAMMITO, 30's, a wise guy, tough as they come. He wears a well tailored suit, black leather gloves and polished shoes. VINNY -LRB- frightened. -RRB- I'm sorry, Frankie. Really. Vinny gets off his knees and moves towards Zammito. ZAMMITO You bleed on me, I'll kill ya. Vinny takes a step back. ZAMMITO What'd I tell you? Huh, Vinny? What'd I tell you when you came to me for money? Did n't I ask you not to do it? Did I not say that? -LRB- to Joey. -RRB- What'd I say to him? JOEY \"TWO TONS\" You said do n't do it, boss. ZAMMITO That's right. I said do n't do it. Did you listen to me? No. You wanted the money. So, I lent you twenty large. Now it's been three weeks and you ai n't paid a dime. What do you think that makes me look like on the street? I do n't do something to you and everyone will think they can skate. VINNY Frankie, I - ZAMMITO - Shut up! Do n't you try to make me feel bad about this. You knew what would happen to you if you did n't pay. This is on your head, not mine. -LRB- to Joey and Nicky. -RRB- Break his arm. Vinny looks up at Zammito through pleading eyes. VINNY Jesus, Frankie, I'm your brother! ZAMMITO That's why we're only breaking one arm.", "INT. COFFEE SHOP -- LATER -- AFTERNOON The table is littered with plates. Sophie has sketched out a diagram of a house on her napkin. SOPHIE There's an exterior alarm system. There's also another one in the hall that leads to the bedroom with a motion detector. The control panel is in the bedroom. JULIEN I can handle the exterior alarm, but the one in the bedroom is a problem. SAMI After the outside alarm is off we go in through the bedroom window. DANIEL -LRB- impressed. -RRB- Good. Zero and Julien will go in through the window and disable the motion detector. The rest of us will come in through the front door. JULIEN What about transportation? SOPHIE You can use my car. DANIEL Not a good idea. Someone gets a license number and it all leads back to you. Raymond, you'll steal one. RAYMOND No problem. SAMI When do we go? SOPHIE Tonight. DANIEL Tonight? SOPHIE I know they wo n't be home tonight. SAMI You ever hear of jet lag? SOPHIE Take a nap.", "EXT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- AFTERNOON As they crew and Sophie approach the door we hear the muted roar of loud MUSIC.", "INT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- AFTERNOON As the enter the music is even louder. The bass pounds through the walls. Wayne seems oblivious to it as he sits on the couch smoking a joint. JULIEN What the hell is that? WAYNE Neighbors. They do this all the time. SAMI I ca n't even hear myself think. ZERO How are we supposed to sleep with this noise? SOPHIE I've asked them a hundred times to keep in down. They do n't listen. RAYMOND I will talk to them. Sophie and Wayne both find his offer amusing. WAYNE Yeah. Right. SOPHIE Not a good idea. RAYMOND It's just a matter of communication. Raymond leaves.", "EXT. SIDE OF WAREHOUSE -- AFTERNOON Raymond walks towards a door at the end of the building. The MUSIC grows louder. He KNOCKS on the door and waits. It is opened by a very large man. a biker type, leather jacket, full beard, several long earrings hanging from his ear. He is holding a BEER BOTTLE. Behind him are two other rough - looking men. RAYMOND -LRB- cheerfully ; loudly over the music. -RRB- Hello. My name is Raymond. I am visiting next door and I was wondering if you could make your music a little less loud. The Biker takes a sip of his beer. BIKER No. RAYMOND But the music is very - Before Raymond can finish his sentence the Biker pours his beer over Raymond's head. BIKER Fuck off! He slams the door in Raymond's face.", "INT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- MOMENTS LATER -- AFTERNOON The music continues to pound through the walls. A soggy Raymond steps into the room. He walks over to a chair and sits down, his head hung down, embarrassed. Marcel is angered by this. He glances over to Daniel who subtly nods to him. Marcel leaves the room.", "EXT. SIDE OF WAREHOUSE -- MOMENTS LATER -- AFTERNOON Marcel walks purposefully along the side of the building. He reaches into his jacket pocket and removes two black leather gloves. He slips them on as he approaches the door, then knocks. A beat. The Biker opens the door. BIKER Listen asshole, I told you - Marcel head butts him, slamming his forehead into the bridge of his nose. The Biker clasps his hands over his bleeding nose. Marcel grabs him by the hair and rapidly punches him in face several times - each punch backing the Biker into the room.", "INT. BIKER'S WAREHOUSE -- CONTINUOUS On the last punch the Biker falls backwards crashing through a large glass coffee table. BIKER # 2 moves in behind Marcel and throws a hard punch as Marcel turns around. Marcel bends his head down, so that his attackers fists slams into the hard crown of his skull. BIKER # 2 painfully grabs his broken knuckles. Marcel knees him hard in the groin. BIKER # 2 turns to his side and doubles over. Marcel kicks the man into the back of his knee spinning him around and down on his knees. In a fluid movement he elbows the man in the back of head. BIKER # 2 falls face forwards and is out cold. Marcel turns to the third BIKER who is standing by the stereo. He is smaller than the others and has seen enough. He quickly turns off the power. DEAD QUIET.", "INT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- MOMENTS LATER -- AFTERNOON Marcel enters. Wayne is on the couch with Raymond. WAYNE -LRB- impressed. -RRB- What'd you say to them? MARCEL -LRB- dryly. -RRB- Nothing.", "EXT. SOUTH SIDE SOCIAL CLUB -- AFTERNOON A plain looking building in an old neighborhood of the city.", "INT. SOUTH SIDE SOCIAL CLUB - ZAMMITO'S OFFICE -- AFTERNOON Zammito sits at his desk. Joey `` Two Tons'' and Nicky `` The Rake'' sit on the couch. Bobby Beans balding, stocky enters. ZAMMITO Hey, Bobby beans. How you doin'? He walks up to Zammito and they kiss each other on the cheek. BOBBY BEANS Good. I'm doing good. How you doin', Frankie? ZAMMITO Good. I'm good. BOBBY BEANS Mr. Maranzano sends his warmest regards. ZAMMITO When you return please extend my regards to Mr. Maranzano and his family. Zammito motions for Bobby to sit down. ZAMMITO Can I offer you something. A drink? Coffee? BOBBY BEANS No thank you. ZAMMITO You sure? I just got a shipment of espresso from Sicily. Special blend. Ca n't find anything like it in the States. BOBBY BEANS I'm good. Really. ZAMMITO Okay. I understand you're interested in one of our properties? BOBBY BEANS Yeah. That warehouse over on Merchant Street. The volume on our import business has risen dramatically. The proceeds this quarter will be supernumerary due to the - ZAMMITO -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- - Super what? BOBBY BEANS Supernumerary. It means better than expected. ZAMMITO Then why not just fuckin' say better than expected? Everybody knows what better than expected means. BOBBY BEANS I'm taking a vocabulary course to enhance my communication skills. ZAMMITO Okay. How much? BOBBY BEANS I'm not here to negotiate. ZAMMITO Why are you here? BOBBY BEANS To tell you that we're interested in the property. ZAMMITO You told me that on the phone. What the hell are you doing here? Showing off your communication skills? Go back to your people and tell them when they're serious to put a number on the table. BOBBY BEANS I will relay the particulars of our conversation to Mr. Maranzano. ZAMMITO Yeah - you do that. Bobby Beans leaves. ZAMMITO Jerk - wad! Zammito looks over at Joey and Nicky. ZAMMITO How's my brother? NICKY \"THE RAKE\" He's over at St. James. They had to put two pins in his arm. ZAMMITO I said a clean break. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Hey boss, it's not a science. ZAMMITO Send some flowers. Something nice. Roses or carnations. And one of those get well soon cards. Nicky gets up to carry out his instructions. ZAMMITO Oh and uh, send a case of steaks over to his house. I do n't want the kids to go hungry while he's recuperating.", "INT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- LATER -- AFTERNOON Julien and Zero are playing cards at the back of the room. Sami sitting by himself sorting through a BLACK CANVAS BAG filled with shoes. Sophie joins him. Sami pulls another pair of shoes out of the canvas bag. SOPHIE You like shoes? SAMI No, I like the bag. It would be good for the job tonight. SOPHIE It belongs to Vincent Bastaldi. He left it last time he was here. I'm sure he would n't mind if you used it. Sami dumps the rest of the shoes out of the bag. SOPHIE So, how did you get hooked up with these guys? SAMI Just lucky I guess. How'd you start working for the Bastaldi's? SOPHIE The art world does n't fully appreciate my talent yet. I needed some way to pay the rent. Laurant and Vincent pay well for information. SAMI So you arranged to have the people you worked for robbed? SOPHIE They're not nice people. She sees a TATTOO on Sami's arm. It's a heart with someone's faded name. SOPHIE I like your tattoo. Sami is suddenly self - conscious of it. She traces along the letters with her finger. SOPHIE -LRB- reading the name. -RRB- Casandra. Old girlfriend? SAMI Something like that. SOPHIE Did she break your heart? SAMI Something like that. SOPHIE It looks old. Did you get it a long time ago? SAMI You ask a lot of questions. SOPHIE That's how you get to know someone. Did it hurt when you got it? SAMI I do n't remember. I was drunk. SOPHIE You got it in a bar? SAMI No. I got it in prison. I went in for three years. When I came out she was married to my best friend. Happy? SOPHIE Sorry. I did n't mean to pry. SAMI It's okay. It was a long time ago. SOPHIE I've been thinking about getting tattoo. You know, a flower or something. On my ass. Sami looks at her quizzically. SAMI Who's gon na see it there? SOPHIE The lucky ones. She smiles flirtatiously and walks away.", "EXT. LIQUOR STORE -- EVENING A car drives up. We can only see the outline of an old Chevy Impala. Two men get out of the car, leaving the engine running as they head for the liquor store. Across the street Raymond is checking out a Buick LaSabre, but stops when he sees the flashing alarm light on the dashboard. He looks across the street and sees the Impala.", "INT. LIQUOR STORE -- EVENING An OLD MAN is behind the counter. Two masked men enter with guns and rush up to the counter. RAPHAEL Gim me the money! The old man opens the cash register and hands him all the bills. RAPHAEL Open the safe! OLD MAN I do n't have the combination. Raphael pistol whips him with his gun and drags him half way over the counter, then presses his gun to the old man's head. OLD MAN I swear! I do n't have it! Raphael pushes him to the floor. He runs out of the store with the others.", "EXT. LIQUOR STORE -- EVENING They run out and remove their masks. RAPHAEL RUIZ, 20's, Latin, tough, shaved head, neck covered with tattoos. HECTOR, Latin, small, cubby, stops and stares at something with confusion. HECTOR Hey, Vato, where's your car? Raphael stops as he sees the street is empty. RAPHAEL My car! Hector has to grab Raphael who is too stunned to move and drag him down the street.", "INT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- EVENING The crew gets ready. On the table a variety of gear is laid out. Cells phones, electronic devices, all the tools of the trade. Sami throws some items into the black canvas bag. A cell phone rings. Julien answers it. JULIEN It's Raymond. He's outside with the car. They grab their gear and head for the door. Sophie leans over and kisses Sami on the cheek. He stares at her, half surprised, half embarrassed. SOPHIE For luck.", "EXT. STREET, SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- NIGHT The crew steps out to find Raymond in the IMPALA. We can see it clearer now. It's a low rider car. Bright orange flames are painted on the side, wire wheels and chrome exhaust pipes. SAMI I'm glad you did n't get something flashy. RAYMOND Watch this. Raymond pushes a button and the hydraulics make the car bounce up and down. Sami rolls his eyes as the others get into the car. ACROSS THE STREET - Lamar is standing in the shadows with one of his friends, watching.", "INT. IMPALA -- MOVING -- EVENING The six of them are crammed into the car as it moves down the street. Julien studies a map.", "INT.   RAPHAEL'S HOUSE -- EVENING Raphael sits on the couch. He can barely contain his anger. He looks up slowly, his jaw clenched. Hector sits across from him with a few other GANG BANGERS. HECTOR Maybe you should call the police. RAPHAEL Hey, idiot - I've got stolen wheels and a stolen radio in the car. HECTOR I just thought that - RAPHAEL -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- - Do n't think. Okay? You're not good at it. The other Gang Bangers laugh at Hector. RAPHAEL Go do something - get some beers for the guys. Hector slinks out of the room. Raphael's face hardens. RAPHAEL When I find out who did this I'm going to mount their head on my dashboard!", "INT. ITALIAN RESTAURANT -- EVENING A family operation. Checkerboard table clothes. Candles burning in Chianti bottles. On the stereo VIC DAMONE sings `` Angela Mia''. Zammito waits at a table. His cell phone rings. ZAMMITO -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Yeah? HALF TOOTH TONY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Mr. B. wants to see you. ZAMMITO Now? I've got a date with a drop dead major babe. HALF TOOTH TONY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I'll tell him that. Zammito thinks it over. ZAMMITO Okay. I'm coming. He walks over to the MARIO, the OWNER of the restaurant. ZAMMITO Mario, I got ta go. When my date arrives tell her I had an emergency. MARIO Of course, Mr. Zammito.", "EXT. WRIGLEY FIELD STADIUM -- NIGHT The Impala is stopped in the parking lot. RAYMOND -LRB- V.O. -RRB- I think we went the wrong way. SAMI -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Oh, you think? MARCEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- The map said to go left. JULIEN -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yeah and if you turned it around it would say to go right. MARCEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- amused. -RRB- Oh yeah.", "INT. BONANNO'S HOUSE, STUDY -- EVENING Zammito enters to find ANGELO BONANNO, 60's, powerful, head of the Chicago Mob. He is smoking a cigar with a glass of brandy. BONANNO Frankie, come in. Good to see you. You want something? ZAMMITO No, I'm good, Angelo. Bonanno motions to the couch. Zammito sits down. BONANNO I understand Bobby Beans came to see you today. ZAMMITO Yeah. Seems Maranzano wants to talk about buying the Merchant Street warehouse. BONANNO And? ZAMMITO And nothing. He's just feeling us out. BONANNO He's trying to get a foot hold in our territory. ZAMMITO He sticks his toes in the water again, we'll cut'em off. BONANNO Business must be good if he can afford to buy up useless property. ZAMMITO I heard this quarter his profits are gon na be supernumerary. Bonanno stares at him. BONANNO They're gon na be what? ZAMMITO Supernumerary. It means better than expected. BONANNO Good word. Half Tooth Tony, 30's, built like a tank step into the room. He has the face of a boxer, several of his teeth are chipped or broken. HALF TOOTH TONY Mr. Bonanno, I just wanted to remind you that you have an appointment in ten minutes. Half Tooth Tony leaves. ZAMMITO Someone else coming? BONANNO Nah, that's just Tony's way of telling me Judge Judy starts in ten minutes. You ever watch it? ZAMMITO Uh, no - BONANNO You should. You can learn a lot about the criminal justice system on a program like that. Very informative. Stay and watch it with me. ZAMMITO You know, I'm kind of tired. I'm just gon na go home if it's all the same to you. Bonanno affectionately slaps Zammito's cheeks. BONANNO Go. Rest. Bonanno takes a sip of his brandy, but his eyes stay on Zammito. BONANNO Oh Frankie, what's this I hear about your brother? ZAMMITO He missed three weeks. BONANNO Your own brother? You could n't send someone else to do it? ZAMMITO I did. Joey `` Two Tons'' and Nicky `` The Rake'' did the deed. BONANNO But you were there? ZAMMITO Angelo, we live and die by the rules we make. We are men of honor, but honor without respect is a. horse - less carriage. A long beat. Bonanno thinks about what he said, not sure what to make of it, then. BONANNO What the fuck does that mean?", "EXT. STREET -- NIGHT The Impala is by the pumps. Sami leans out the window holding the map as he speaks with the station attendant.", "EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET -- NIGHT An upscale neighborhood. Expensive homes line the wooded street. The Impala stops and the crew gets out. DANIEL -LRB- to Raymond. -RRB- Park on the next street over. We'll meet you when we're done.", "EXT. ZAMMITO'S HOUSE -- NIGHT Julien attaches a device to the alarm panel. A series of numbers flash by as the computer cracks the code. One by one, the numbers stop until the entry code is displayed on the screen. He enters the numbers on the alarm and nods to the others. Julien and Zero move around to the side of the house as Daniel, Sami and Marcel wait in the shadows.", "EXT. ZAMMITO'S HOUSE, SIDE OF HOUSE -- NIGHT Julien places a retractable ladder against the wall and climbs up. He pries open the window and climbs in. Zero follows.", "INT. ZAMMITO'S HOUSE, BEDROOM -- NIGHT Dark. Julien makes his way to the door and repeats the process with another alarm panel. Zero sits on the corner of the bed and waits patiently. Julien turns off the hall alarm and nods to Zero. Zero speed dials a number on his cell phone. ZERO We're in.", "EXT. ZAMMITO'S HOUSE -- NIGHT Daniel uses a locksmith tool and quickly pries the lock out of the door. They go inside.", "INT. ZAMMITO'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT Julien and Zero wait for them. We hear a toilet flush. The door to the bathroom opens and a man steps out. In an instant Julien and Zero jump him. The others enter and quickly join in to subdue the man.", "EXT. STREET -- NIGHT Raymond waits in the Impala. He ca n't resist using the hydraulics, raising the car up and down.", "INT. ZAMMITO'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT The lights are on. The room is an interior designers nightmare. Clashing colors, zebra skin bedspread. We move along Daniel, Sami, Marcel, Julien and Zero as they stare at something. THEIR POV - Tied to a chair, his mouth taped shut, is a very angry Frankie Zammito. He yells, his voice muffled by the tape, but it's not hard to understand what he's saying. DANIEL So much for no one being home. Julien goes to a bookcase and finds the safe. JULIEN At least they got this right. He removes his tools and goes to work. Sami stares at Zammito with vague recognition, then turns to the others. SAMI We've got to be careful not to use our real names while we're in here. DANIEL Good idea. SAMI I'll be Elvis and you - MARCEL -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- - I want to be Elvis. SAMI It's my idea. MARCEL -LRB- whining. -RRB- C'mon, I look more like Elvis than you do. SAMI Okay. You can be Elvis. Marcel smiles happily. SAMI And the rest of us are. John, Paul, George and Ringo. Marcel sees an autographed baseball on the book shelf. MARCEL Hey, Barry Bonds. The home run king. Marcel tosses the ball into the black canvas bag. Daniel stares at him. MARCEL It's for my nephew.", "INT. HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET -- NIGHT A surveillance operation. Two FBI agents sit near the window. A small card table is littered with coffee cups. SPECIAL AGENT AGENT HADLEY, 40's, a hardened field agent, picks up a pair of binoculars and looks out the window. HIS POV - THROUGH THE BINOCULARS : of Zammito tied to the chair and surrounded by the others. AGENT HADLEY Looks like Zammito's being robbed. FBI AGENT Should I call C.P.D? AGENT HADLEY Yeah, but tell them not to move until these morons come out of the house.", "INT. ZAMMITO'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT BLACK SCREEN. From inside the safe we see Julien open the door. Daniel and Julien look inside. There are a several stacks of cash, envelopes and a small cardboard box. Julien starts removing everything and puts it into the bag canvas bag. JULIEN Where are the jewels? There are n't any jewels. Marcel looks as surprised as they are. MARCEL There has to be. JULIEN I'm telling you I've pulled out everything in the safe. There are n't any jewels. MARCEL There must be half a million dollars here though. DANIEL Marcel, we came here for jewels, remember? Sami moves closer to Zammito, studying his face. He moves over to the dresser where there are several photographs of Zammito with various famous people. Next to the photographs is a plaque that reads : TO FRANCIS ZAMMITO. We can see the color drain from Sami's face. He glances over at Zammito whose eyes are locked on his. Sami grabs Daniel and Marcel and pulls them aside. SAMI -LRB- babbling nervously. -RRB- We have a problem. Problem is n't the right word. Dilemma. No that really does n't describe -. -LRB- flatly. -RRB- Do you know who that is? MARCEL Mr. Taylor? SAMI No, that's not Mr. Taylor. DANIEL -LRB- sensing something bad is coming. -RRB- It's not? SAMI That's Frankie Zammito. The Under boss of the Chicago Mafia. MARCEL -LRB- confused. -RRB- Why would they want us to rob the Mafia? SAMI -LRB- screaming. -RRB- WE'RE IN THE WRONG HOUSE, YOU FUCKIN' IDIOT! A beat. The three of them turn and look at Zammito. The seriousness of the situation finally dawns on Marcel. He moves over to Zammito and rips the tape off his mouth. MARCEL Mr. Zammito, there seems to have been a big mistake here. May I use your phone? ZAMMITO Feel free. Marcel picks up the cordless phone and dials.", "INT. BASTALDI'S BEDROOM - EARLY MORNING Bastaldi removes a sleep mask and answers the phone. BASTALDI Hello? MARCEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- in French. -RRB- It's Elvis. BASTALDI Who? MARCEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- in French. -RRB- It's me. BASTALDI Marcel?", "INT. ZAMMITO'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT Marcel continues his conversation. MARCEL -LRB- in French. -RRB- Yes. We went to the address we were given and had to tie up the owner of the house who turns out to be some Mafia guy. BASTALDI -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- in French. -RRB- You're there now? MARCEL Oui. BASTALDI -LRB- in French. -RRB- You're calling me on your cell phone, right? MARCEL No. BASTALDI -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- in French. -RRB- You're calling me on is phone? MARCEL Oui. BASTALDI -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- in French. -RRB- My number's going to show up on his bill! MARCEL -LRB- In French. -RRB- Should I call you back? We can hear Bastaldi sigh over the line. BASTALDI -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- in French. -RRB- You've already robbed the safe? MARCEL Oui. BASTALDI -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- in French. -RRB- Take what you've got and get out of there. Bastaldi hangs up. The line goes dead. ZAMMITO Walk out of here with nothing and I'll forget this ever happened. SAMI Yeah. Right. You're not a vendetta kind of guy. ZAMMITO I'll find you. No matter where you go I'll find you. DANIEL You do n't carry the same weight in France as you do here. Marcel whispers into Daniel's ear. MARCEL You think it's smart to tell him we're French? DANIEL I think he's already figured that out. Zero who has been standing quietly by the window sees something across the street. A flash. Light reflecting off glass. He takes a pair of night vision binoculars out of one of the bags and looks out the window. ZERO'S POV - of Agent Hadley and the other FBI Agent watching him. ZERO We are being watched. Daniel grabs the binoculars and looks. DANIEL Cops? ZAMMITO FBI. They've been there for months. Think I do n't know. Morons. Daniel closes the curtains. He tries to think. The crew huddles together in the corner, speaking softly so Zammito ca n't hear them. JULIEN What do we do? MARCEL I was told to take what we have and go. JULIEN Go where? The police are outside. Daniel looks at the others. DANIEL If we do this we all have to agree. Marcel and Zero nod. Daniel looks to Julien who appears indecisive. JULIEN I do n't know. Maybe if we did just leave - SAMI C'mon, get real, will you. You think he's just going to forget about this? These guys are all about respect. All about honor. He's coming after us, so we might as well take the money. Julien nods. Sami walks over and grabs the black canvas bag. ZAMMITO You're all dead. Zero grins then tapes his mouth closed again.", "EXT. BACK OF HOUSE -- NIGHT The crew goes out the back door and climb over a fence.", "EXT. STREET -- NIGHT The crew arrives to find Raymond still playing with the hydraulics of the Impala. They get in.", "EXT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- NIGHT The Impala pulls into a driveway and goes to the rear of the building, out of view from the street.", "EXT. SOPHIE'S FRONT DOOR -- NIGHT The crew waits as the door is unlocked. Wayne opens the door in a stoned haze.", "INT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- NIGHT The crew places their equipment on the table. SOPHIE -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Wayne, who is it? She enters and appears surprised to see them. SOPHIE I was n't expecting you guys back so fast. How'd it go? She quickly notices their angry expressions. SAMI How'd it go? I do n't know. Daniel, how would you say it went? DANIEL I would have to say. pretty fuckin' bad. You gave us the wrong address Sophie. SOPHIE No, I did n't. JULIEN Bastaldi got the address from you, yes? SOPHIE Yes. JULIEN And he gave it to us. 145 Ridgeway Road. SOPHIE No. 145 Ridgeroad Way. DANIEL That moron. MARCEL It was an honest mistake. Ridgeway. Ridgeroad. Ridgeway Road. DANIEL Everyone get some sleep. We're leaving in the morning.", "INT. SURVEILLANCE HOUSE -- NIGHT Agent Hadley checks his watch. AGENT HADLEY What the hell are they doing in there? FBI AGENT Chicago P.D. says they ca n't hold the units here any longer. They want to know if they should go in? Agent Hadley thinks a moment. AGENT HADLEY Tell them no. We'll advise if anything changes.", "INT. ZAMMITO'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT Zammito is still tied to his chair. HIS POV - of the cordless phone of his bed. He pushes with his feet, sliding the chair over to the bed, then starts rocking back and forth until he tips over forward, his face pressed against the mattress. Using his nose he turns on the phone and presses a speed dial number.", "INT. JOEY TWO TONS BEDROOM -- NIGHT Joey `` Two Tons'' is asleep in a sleeveless tee shirt. Next to him is his wife, her hair in curlers, her eyes covered by a black sleep mask. The phone rings. Joey answers it. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Yeah? We hear Zammito's muffled cries for help. It almost sounds like someone moaning during a sexual act. Joey is surprised at first, then glances over at his wife to make sure she is asleep. He slides his hand under the covers and closes his eyes. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" -LRB- quietly. -RRB- Hmmm. Oh yeah. Uh huh", "INT. ZAMMITO'S BEDROOM -- CONTINUOUS Zammito stops as he begins to realize what Joey is doing on the other end of the line. He grimaces, then shouts louder.", "INT. JOEY TWO TONS BEDROOM -- CONTINUOUS Joey is really going to town now as his hand moves slowly under the covers. We hear a loud scream on the phone. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" That's right baby, give it to papa Joey. He is really deep into his fantasy world when. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" WIFE Joey, who is that? Joey sits up quickly. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" -LRB- loudly ; for his wife's sake. -RRB- - And do n't call here again, you pervert. He slams the phone down. A long beat. It rings again. This time he checks his caller ID and sees that call is coming from Zammito's house. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Yeah boss? Again we hear the same muffled cries. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Boss?", "INT. BODY SHOP -- NIGHT Raphael enters with Hector and two GANG - BANGERS. The room is filled with low rider cars. Working under the hood of a car is FELIX, 30's, sleazy. Raphael walks over and slams the hood down, pinning Felix's upper body and squishing his face between the hood and engine. RAPHAEL Someone stole my car tonight! FELIX C'mon Raphael, you do n't think that I would steal your car? RAPHAEL You run a chop shop for low riders. Yes, I think you'd steal my car. Raphael lifts up the hood and slams it down on Felix again. FELIX I swear I did n't. I would n't! RAPHAEL And I should just believe - HECTOR -LRB- overlapping ; to Felix. -RRB- - you stole my cousin Enrique's car. RAPHAEL -LRB- to Hector. -RRB- Hector, do n't interrupt me. HECTOR He told Enrique he did n't know anything about his car. RAPHAEL I do n't give a shit about your cousin's car. We're here about my car. So, shut your mouth! You think you can do that? You think you can keep your big mouth shut? Hector is embarrassed as Raphael once again berates him in front of the others. Raphael picks up a pair of pliers of the workbench. He clamps them down on the tip of Felix's nose and squeezes. Felix's face fills with pain. RAPHAEL If I find out you're lying. If I find out you know anything about this I'm going to come back and cut off your nose. He gives the pliers one last squeeze, then releases Felix. RAPHAEL -LRB- to the others. -RRB- Vamos.", "INT. SURVEILLANCE HOUSE -- NIGHT Agent Hadley sips a cup of warm coffee. He looks very concerned. FBI AGENT Sir, do you think we could have a hostage situation in there? Agent Hadley is about to answer when he sees something. HIS POV - of a Lincoln Town Car pull up. Joey `` Two Tons'' gets out, goes to the front door and enters. AGENT HADLEY Hold on a second. Joey `` Two Tons'' just pulled up.", "INT. ZAMMITO'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT Joey enters to find Zammito tied to the chair, face down on the bed. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Jesus, Boss!", "INT. ZAMMITO'S LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT Zammito stands behind the bar pouring himself a large scotch. ZAMMITO They were all French guys. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" French guys? You mean like from France? ZAMMITO -LRB- with strained patience. -RRB- Yeah, French guys from France. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" What'd they take? ZAMMITO Everything. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Everything? ZAMMITO Everything. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Boy, you must be pissed. ZAMMITO Well, you know, when five guys break into my house in the middle of the night, stick guns in my face, tie me up and steal from me. it does irritate me. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Well, I must say you're handling it very well. ZAMMITO You know why I'm handling it very well? Because you're going to get these guys for me. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Okay boss. Where are they? ZAMMITO If I knew where they were you would n't have to find them, would you? JOEY \"TWO TONS\" You did n't say find them. You said, `` get them.'' ZAMMITO Just find them! JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Okay boss. Zammito stares at Joey for a long beat, then. ZAMMITO Papa Joey? Joey looks away, embarrassed.", "INT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- NIGHT Sami ca n't sleep. He walks over to the table and sorts through the canvas bag containing the contents of Zammito's safe. Inside a small cardboard box he finds several cassette tapes. He removes the box and walks to the stereo system on the floor, then inserts a tape into the cassette deck. A moment later Sophie enters. SOPHIE Ca n't sleep? SAMI No. SOPHIE I'm sorry things went so wrong today. SAMI It's not your fault. She notices the box of tapes. SOPHIE What are you doing? SAMI I thought I'd listen to some of the tapes. See what's so important that a mob guy has to lock it away in his safe. SOPHIE Sounds boring. SAMI It's three in the morning. Not much else to do. She grins seductively, then leans in towards him. SOPHIE I can think of something. They kiss.", "INT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- MORNING Sami is asleep on the floor, curled up under several blankets. He wakes up and looks to his side expecting to find Sophie. She is not there. Sami looks around for her. Wayne is sitting on the couch preparing his morning joint. WAYNE She's not here, man. SAMI Where is she? WAYNE I think she went to do some laundry. Threw some stuff in a bag and left. It takes a moment for Sami to connect the thoughts. SAMI Bag? Sami runs to the table. The black canvas bag is gone. CLOSE ON DANIEL : Asleep. Sami shakes him. He opens his eyes. SAMI Get up. We've been ripped off!", "INT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- MOMENTS LATER Daniel and Sami are with the crew. They are not a happy bunch. Wayne is smoking his joint, his eyes locked on the television. JULIEN Oh, man. this is bullshit! You ca n't trust anyone these days. RAYMOND She took everything! Did n't even leave us cab fare. A thought occurs to Sami. SAMI Not everything. He removes the tape he put in the cassette deck last night before Sophie entered. SAMI I was going to listen to it last night but I - He realizes it may not be the time to tell them what happened. SAMI - feel asleep. Wayne blurts out a sloppy laugh. WAYNE No you did n't, dude. You were bangin' Sophie. I saw you guys going at it. DANIEL You slept with her? SAMI Well, actually I would say she slept with me. Daniel stares at him angrily. SAMI What's the big deal? It's not like I was on guard duty or something. DANIEL You did n't think it was little suspicious that someone you only knew for a few hours wanted to sleep with you? SAMI No. Chicks dig me. Daniel grabs the cassette and puts it in the player. On the tape we hear a phone ringing. MAN'S VOICE Hello? ZAMMITO'S VOICE It's me. I need an answer from you if I'm going to move. MAN'S VOICE We're not just talkin' about a ` piece of work' here. We're talking about a boss. Sami is the first to realize what he is hearing. SAMI Holy shit. RAYMOND What? Sami holds his hand signaling them to be quiet so he can hear the rest. ZAMMITO'S VOICE Bonanno's a dinosaur. Guy thinks he's fuckin' Vito Corleone or something. The old ways are gone. If we do n't change now we're going to get pushed out. I need to know if I can count on your support? A pause on the line. MAN'S VOICE Yeah. The line goes dead. Sami leans back. SAMI No wonder Zammito did n't want us to walk out with this stuff. He's planning on killing Bonanno and taking over the family. JULIEN This was n't the deal! The deal was to steal a necklace, not get in the middle of a Mafia war. MARCEL The deal is whatever Mr. Bastaldi says it is. DANIEL You know, if you could get your nose out of Bastaldi's ass for two seconds you might see what's going on around you. JULIEN I knew this was a mistake! I knew it last night when you asked me to go along with this. I could hear that little voice in my head saying, `` do n't do it! Do n't you do it!'' Jesus, why do n't I ever listen to myself? SAMI Yeah, but you did do it. So let's deal with that. MARCEL What are you guys so scared of? Zammito does n't know who we are. We just get out of town and it's over. ZERO Oh, you think it's that easy? RAYMOND Yeah. We just go home. DANIEL We ca n't. RAYMOND I agree with Marcel. I say we go to the airport and get on a plane. SAMI They'll be waiting for us at the airport. DANIEL You steal some money from a man he gets over it in time. But these tapes. He's never going to stop looking for us. SAMI We have to find Sophie. RAYMOND How are we going to do that? WAYNE I know where she went. They all look over at him as he takes a huge hit off his joint. WAYNE I heard her talking on the phone. Bay View Motel. It's about five blocks from here.", "EXT. STREET -- MORNING A beat up Ford Pinto sputters down the street, black smoke spewing from the tail pipe.", "INT. PINTO -- MOVING -- MORNING Raphael is at the wheel, his eyes scanning the street for his car. In the passenger seat Hector sits calmly. They come to a red light and stop. RAPHAEL'S POV - Across the street is low rider car. Raphael stares at it as he thinks about his own car. ON HECTOR. We see the Impala pull up beside them. Raymond is driving. Daniel, Sami and Zero are with him. Hector glances over and sees the Impala. Raymond smiles at him and nods. Hector slowly nods back. He looks over at Raphael who is still looking out the window. The light turns green. The Impala turns right. Raphael looks over at a confused Hector. RAPHAEL Tell me the truth Hector. do you think we'll find my car? HECTOR Hard to say.", "EXT. BAY VIEW MOTEL -- MORNING A motel like any other. Sami stands outside the office with Daniel, Raymond and Zero. RAYMOND How do we know what room she's in? SAMI Wait here.", "INT. OFFICE -- BAY VIEW MOTEL -- MORNING Sami enters. Behind the counter is the MOTEL CLERK, middle - aged, balding. SAMI Hi. Did a woman just check in? She's about five six. Pretty. Dark hair. MOTEL CLERK I ca n't give out information on our guests. SAMI C'mon man, I think she's having an affair. MOTEL CLERK So are half the people in this place. I ca n't help you, pal. Sami nods and walks outside. Through the window we see him talking with the others. A beat. Sami steps back inside with Zero. MOTEL CLERK Look, I ca n't tell you - Before he can finish the sentence Zero has his gun out and wedged under the clerks jaw. MOTEL CLERK Room fourteen. ZERO Thank you.", "EXT. MOTEL ROOM -- MORNING Sami knocks. The others stand off to the side of the door. Sophie opens the door and sees Sami. Before she can slam it he pushes it open.", "INT. MOTEL ROOM -- MORNING Sami pushes her onto the bed. SAMI I really thought we had something special going. I ca n't tell you what a disappointment you've turned out to be. SOPHIE After last night I could say the same for you. Sami feigns a smile. Zero checks the bathroom to make sure she is alone. He looks at Daniel and shake his head. Raymond finds the black canvas bag on the dresser and checks the contents. RAYMOND The money is n't here. SAMI Where is it, Sophie? SOPHIE I do n't know. DANIEL If you think because you're a women this ca n't go hard on you, think again. She stares at them defiantly. SAMI Who are you waiting for? SOPHIE Stick around and find out.", "INT. MOTEL ROOM -- LATER -- MORNING A knock on the door. Sami clamps his hand over Sophie's mouth just in case she gets any stupid ideas. Daniel opens the door. Agent Hadley steps in, stares at Daniel, then feels the barrel of Zero's gun pressed against his head. Hadley steps into the room. Daniel closes the door. Zero searches him. Finds a gun which he gives to Daniel, then a wallet. He opens it and sees his FBI identification. ZERO He's FBI. Zero knowingly bends down and removes Hadley's backup gun which is strapped to his ankle. He gives the gun to Sami. RAYMOND What is she doing with an agent du FBI? Sami looks at her - at Hadley - at the black canvas bag. Slowly it starts to come together in his mind. SAMI We've been set up. He stares at Sophie angrily. SAMI We did n't go to the wrong house. We went to right one, did n't we Sophie? Her expression gives away nothing. SAMI They send us to Zammito's house. The FBI is right across the street watching the whole thing, but they do n't move. A crime is going down and they do n't move. Why? -LRB- beat. -RRB- Because they were waiting for us to come out so they could arrest us. ZERO What does arresting us get them? SAMI -LRB- to Hadley. -RRB- You wan na tell him? AGENT HADLEY You're telling it fine. Daniel motions to Zero. DANIEL You see my friend over there? I nod to him and he's going to put a bullet in your knee. Zero stares at Hadley, just waiting for Daniel to give him the go ahead. AGENT HADLEY You would n't. Daniel nods. Zero aims his gun at Hadley's knee cap. AGENT HADLEY That's going to make a lot of noise. Not much time for a conversation after you pull the trigger. They know he's right. SAMI He's got a point. Sami lifts up a heavy brass lamp from the nightstand. He pulls the electrical cord out of the base, then touches two wires together. They spark. Before Hadley can say a word Sami touches them to his hand. Hadley's body jerks violent as he screams. Sami removes the wires. Hadley winces in pain from the burn mark on his hand. AGENT HADLEY Okay! Okay! We've been investigating Zammito for years, but we've never had enough evidence for a warrant to search his house. We got word through a snitch that Zammito was planning on taking Bonanno out. DANIEL We know all this. AGENT HADLEY You just do n't take out a boss. You need permission from the other families to do something like that. Our informant told us that Zammito was talking with other bosses and recording their conversations in case they later claimed they were n't involved. Look at these tapes. The guy has recorded every conversation he's had for years. DANIEL So we rob Zammito. You arrest us when we come out and the contents of the safe is now evidence which you can use against him. Agent Hadley nods. SAMI -LRB- to Sophie. -RRB- What are you getting out of this? There is no point in hiding anything now. SOPHIE Money. It was supposed to simple. In and out. Zammito was n't supposed to be there.", "INT. ITALIAN RESTAURANT -- LAST NIGHT (FLASHBACK) We see Zammito walk over to Mario. ZAMMITO Mario, I got ta go. When my date arrives will you explain to her I had an emergency. MARIO Of course, Mr. Zammito. Zammito leaves. Through the window we see Joey `` Two Tons'' open the door to the car. Zammito and Joey get in and drive away. A beat. A Taxi pulls up. The front door opens and Sophie enters, all dressed up and beautiful. She walks up to Mario. SOPHIE Hi. I'm meeting Frankie Zammito -", "INT. MOTEL ROOM -- CONTINUOUS Sami stares at her with contempt. SAMI Why? SOPHIE Vincent Bastaldi is in jail. DANIEL For what? SOPHIE Laurant and Vincent were in business with Zammito. DANIEL What kind of business? SOPHIE Black market art. Zammito got to a few key security guards at the Metropolitan Museum. The Bastaldi's supplied the artists to make copies of famous works. They'd switch the paintings, send the originals to Paris and the Bastaldi's would sell them to private collectors. AGENT HADLEY We're talking Matisse, Renoir, Monet. We know for sure they replaced Van Gogh's `` Vase with twelve sunflowers'' last week with a copy. It was on loan from the London National Gallery and they're not going to be very happy when they find out about it. SAMI So Bastaldi makes a deal with the Feds to trade up for his brother? AGENT HADLEY Yeah. He delivers the goods on Zammito. If we got what we wanted we'd let his brother go providing he tells us where the Van Gogh and the other paintings are. RAYMOND No one has mentioned the part of the plan about us getting caught and going to prison. DANIEL We're leaving. Raymond get the bag. AGENT HADLEY You walk out with that bag and you wo n't only have Zammito and his people after you. You'll have the entire United States justice department. How far do you think you'll get? I know who you are Mr. Foray? Mr. Zerhouni. Mr. Gayet. -LRB- looks at Zero. -RRB- Mr. Agent Hadley looks to Sophie. SOPHIE Zero. That's all I know. AGENT HADLEY You'll never get out of the city. They move to the door.", "EXT. BAY VIEW MOTEL -- MORNING Daniel, Sami, Raymond and Zero walk to the Impala. DANIEL Bastaldi's dead. He is fuckin' dead! ZERO You want Zero to kill him? DANIEL I'm going to kill him myself! ZERO What about the money? SAMI It has to be at Sophie's. She did n't have time to go anywhere else before she came here. ZERO We do n't know that for sure. DANIEL Forget the money! We've got bigger problems than the money right now. RAYMOND She probably hid it at her place. The six of us could find it in - SAMI -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- - We do n't have time to look for it. Hadley's first move is going to be to look for us there. Daniel dials a number on his cell phone. DANIEL We're moving. Pack up and be on the street in five minutes.", "INT. MOTEL ROOM -- MORNING Agent Hadley steps out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around the burn on his hand. AGENT HADLEY This is turning to shit. If word gets out of my involvement in this I'll go to prison. SOPHIE Listen, we know their names. They do n't know the city. You'll find them. You're the FBI. AGENT HADLEY I ca n't bring the Bureau into this. If I do the tapes become evidence. SOPHIE They're supposed to be evidence. That's why Bastaldi set this up. AGENT HADLEY Fuck Bastaldi and his brother. These tapes are gold. Do you have any idea what Zammito would pay to get them back? SOPHIE I thought you wanted Zammito? AGENT HADLEY What for? The minute I get him some other Gavone will take his place. I've been doing this for twenty years. When I retire it's not going to be to some trailer park in the suburbs. She likes the idea. Already she's thinking how she can work her way into this. AGENT HADLEY Too many people know about my involvement in this. SOPHIE Then we just have to make sure everyone who knows ca n't say anything. His jaw tightens. AGENT HADLEY You're right about that. Hadley is standing behind her. He lifts up the brass lamp with his towel and swings down hard towards Sophie's head.", "EXT. STREET, SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- MORNING Marcel, Julien and Wayne are waiting as the Impala drives up. Raymond hops out of the car. RAYMOND I would like to thank you for your hospitality. -LRB- hands him a card. -RRB- If you are ever in Paris here is my number. WAYNE Cool. Marcel grabs Raymond and leads him back to the car. Daniel sees Lamar standing across the street. DANIEL -LRB- to the others. -RRB- I'll be right back. He gets out of the car and walks over to him. LAMAR What do you want now? DANIEL Guns. Can you get them? LAMAR Man, I can get anything. DANIEL Do n't bullshit me. LAMAR I ai n't bullshittin'. I can get guns. I can get any kind of gun you want. But they ai n't gon na help your sorry ass. You ai n't been in town one day and already you got two of the toughest people in Chicago looking for you. How is that possible? DANIEL I've got a way with people. LAMAR I can see that. The man's car you stole. Raphael Ruiz. He's head of the 19th Street gang and one crazy motherfucker. And Frankie Zammito's got the word out he's looking for some French dudes. You're French ai n't ya? DANIEL I'm from Belgium. LAMAR Yeah, I'd be from Belgium too if I was you. You know Zammito just put his own brother in the hospital? Broke his arm cause he was late on a debt. I mention this to illustrate the kind of people who are lookin' for you. DANIEL Why have n't you turned us in? LAMAR I ai n't no rat. -LRB- beat. -RRB- You got money, right? Daniel nods. LAMAR And, uh, I'm going to have to charge you a commission. kind of like a brokerage fee. DANIEL How much? LAMAR A thousand dollars? DANIEL Fine. Daniel hands him his cell phone. DANIEL Take this. I'll call you in a few hours. You tell me where we meet.", "INT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- DAY Wayne is on the couch watching TV. There is a loud knock on the door. He opens the door to find Agent Hadley. WAYNE Yeah? Hadley pushes past Wayne and enters. WAYNE Hey dude, what do you think you're doing? Hadley flashes his badge. WAYNE Uh. excuse me, but do n't you need a warrant or something? AGENT HADLEY Not today. Where are your friends? WAYNE They left about a half hour ago. AGENT HADLEY Where did they go? WAYNE I dunno. Hadley punches Wayne in the face. Wayne falls to the floor. WAYNE Hey man, you ca n't do that! AGENT HADLEY What? This? Agent Hadley kicks Wayne in the chest. AGENT HADLEY Or this? Agent Hadley kicks Wayne in the ribs. WAYNE Jesus. What kind of FBI agent are you? AGENT HADLEY I'm your worst fuckin' nightmare. Now, if you do n't want me to keep on hurting you, it's important that I believe you and right now I do n't. So tell me, where did they go? WAYNE I swear man, I do n't know. They packed up and left a half hour ago. -LRB- points to coffee table. -RRB- All I got is one of their phone numbers in Paris. Hadley sees the phone number Raymond gave Wayne on the coffee table. He puts it in his pocket and stares at Wayne, then just for the hell of it gives him one last kick in the ribs.", "EXT. BAY VIEW MOTEL -- DAY A MAID stops her cart in front of room fourteen. She KNOCKS. MAID Maid service. No answer. She uses her key and steps into the room. A beat. We hear a loud scream.", "EXT.   HOLIDAY HOTEL -- EVENING A large building near the freeway.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL SUITE -- EVENING Raymond is on the phone. RAYMOND -LRB- in French. -RRB- I know Mama, but I could n't call you yesterday we were very busy. -LRB- listens. -RRB- No, nothing's more important than you. -LRB- listens. -RRB- I do n't know. I think I'm going to have to stay a few more days. Daniel, Sami and Julien sit at a table. Marcel stares out the window sadly. Zero is flipping through the television channels. DANIEL -LRB- to Marcel. -RRB- Did you know about Bastaldi's deal with Zammito? MARCEL No. DANIEL You're sure? MARCEL I think if he told me he was going to steal Van Gogh's `` Sunflowers in a vase'' I would remember it. SAMI -LRB- correcting him. -RRB- `` Vase with twelve Sunflowers.'' MARCEL Whatever! He never told me about the Van Gogh or any of the other paintings. Raymond hangs up the phone and joins the others. SAMI It makes sense. I mean, do you really think he would come along if he knew we were being set up? DANIEL I think he'd cut his dick off if Bastaldi told him to. MARCEL Fuck you! You know I'd never go along with something like this. DANIEL Do I? MARCEL This ai n't about that and you know it. This is about you never forgiving me for leaving the crew. SAMI -LRB- surprised. -RRB- You guys used to work together? MARCEL Yeah and he ca n't stand it that I tried to do something to better myself. DANIEL -LRB- in French. -RRB- You call being Bastaldi's lap dog better? MARCEL -LRB- in French. -RRB- Better than spending my life crawling through windows in the middle of the night. SAMI All right, knock it off. DANIEL -LRB- in French. -RRB- All you are is a professional ass - kisser. MARCEL -LRB- in French. -RRB- I'm not a guy who is known for his patience and right now you're testing mine. DANIEL -LRB- in French. -RRB- What is that a threat? Are you fuckin' threatening me, Marcel? They take a step towards each other. Sami steps in between them. SAMI I said knock it off! Now as far as I'm concerned you two girls can bitch slap yourselves silly when this is over, but right now we've got to figure out what's going on. RAYMOND It's simple. Bastaldi's moving up. He's closing down his operation and this is his way of saying thanks to all of us. JULIEN Well, I say the whole deal is off. In fact, if you ask me, there never was a deal because we were screwed from the start. Zero turns to another channel. A news broadcast. We see a mug shot photo of SAMI on the screen. ZERO Hey Sami, you're on TV. Zero turns up the volume. REPORTER Sami Zerhouni in connection with the murder of Sophie Nichols. Sami is stunned. SAMI What? REPORTER Police have confirmed that Zerhouni was seen entering the woman's room by the Motel Manager. CLOSE ON TELEVISION The Reporter continues her story. REPORTER Zerhouni is also wanted by police for questioning regarding a robbery last night at the home of alleged Mafia member Frankie Zammito. Pull back. We are now in.", "INT. ZAMMITO'S BEDROOM -- CONTINUOUS Zammito grimaces as the news of the robbery becomes public. ZAMMITO Oh, shit! CLOSE ON TELEVISION The Reporter continues. REPORTER The other members of his gang are reported to be French nationals Daniel Foray, Marcel Burot, Julien Labesse. Pull back again.", "INT. LAMAR'S APARTMENT -- CONTINUOUS Lamar is sitting on the couch watching the news report with amusement. LAMAR Dumb crackers - CLOSE ON TELEVISION The reporter finishes her story. REPORTER Raymond Gayet and an unidentified man only known as Zero. Pull back again.", "INT. AGENT HADLEY'S APARTMENT -- EVENING Hadley grins as he watches the report. AGENT HADLEY That should shake things up. CLOSE ON TELEVISION REPORTER Up next. A vacation get away on a budget - We are back in.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL SUITE -- EVENING Sami turns off the television and looks to the others. SAMI Hadley - DANIEL Has to be. JULIEN -LRB- freaking out. -RRB- This is bad. This is really fuckin' bad. Am I the only one who sees how bad this is? SAMI Hey, it's not your picture on the TV, it's mine. So, try to be cool. JULIEN Do n't tell me to be cool! We were supposed to be in and out. In and out! In the last twenty four hours we've managed to get the Mafia. the FBI. the Chicago Police Department and a group of Latin gang members after us. I have n't left out anyone, have I? -LRB- pretends to think about it. -RRB- I do n't think so, because we've already pissed off everyone in the fuckin' city! SAMI We've got to get out of here. JULIEN That's brilliant! Care to elaborate? Sami gets into Julien's face. SAMI You're not helping. RAYMOND Julien, what you're doing right now is a very normal psychological reaction to stress. You're projecting your anger onto us. JULIEN Oh, Jesus. We're dead. Julien walks away. Daniel picks up the phone and dials a number.", "INT. LAMAR'S APARTMENT -- SAME TIME The cell phone Daniel gave him rings. He answers it. LAMAR Yeah? DANIEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- It's me. LAMAR Hey you guys are becoming famous. I was just watching the news and - DANIEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- - Did you set it up? LAMAR Yeah. All set. Tomorrow morning. Ten o'clock. Room 211. Barclay Hotel on River Street. Oh, and due to your recent notoriety and the heat that comes with it, I'm going to have to increase my brokerage fee to twenty five hundred. DANIEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We had a deal. LAMAR We had a deal before you and your friends became the new poster boys for crime. DANIEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Fine. Ten o'clock. The line goes dead. Lamar grins, happy with the money he's going to make.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL SUITE -- EVENING The others are looking at Daniel. DANIEL Sami, tomorrow you lift a wallet from someone who looks like one of us. JULIEN What for? DANIEL We need to rent a car and for that you need a credit card. RAYMOND Why not just steal another one? DANIEL Too risky. We do n't need to get pulled over because of a stolen car. JULIEN Maybe I'm missing the obvious, but why are n't we leaving town? Any place has to be safer for us than Chicago. SAMI It does n't matter where we go. Between Zammito and the FBI they'll find us. We have to end this here. ZERO And how do we do that? SAMI I do n't know. JULIEN That's an excellent plan. Very comforting. DANIEL We'll think of something.", "EXT. BONANNO HOUSE -- MORNING A Lincoln Town Car drives up. Zammito gets out with Joey `` Two Tons'' and Nicky `` The Rake. They wait outside. Zammito enters.", "INT. BONANNO'S HOUSE, STUDY -- MORNING Bonanno is behind his desk. Half Tooth Tony sits on the couch. Zammito enters. Bonanno walks around his desk and hugs Zammito. BONANNO Why did n't you tell me about this? ZAMMITO You have enough to worry about, Angelo. You do n't need my problems. Bonanno places his hands on Zammito's cheeks and presses them together. BONANNO We're family. An insult to you is an insult to me. Bonanno releases him. BONANNO They knew who you were when they broke in your house? ZAMMITO Yes. BONANNO What is happening with the world? There was a time no civilian would touch a made man. Now every babbo in the world thinks he can get away with something. What did they take? ZAMMITO Some cash. Jewelry. The other stuff I can replace, but there's a cardboard box. photos of my mother. They're the only ones I have of her. BONANNO We're doing everything we can to find these people. Right Tony? HALF TOOTH TONY We've reached out to everyone we know. BONANNO If they're still stupid enough to be in this city, Tony will find them.", "EXT. BONANNO HOUSE -- MORNING Zammito steps out onto the street. Joey `` Two Tons'' and Nicky `` The Rake'' are pitching pennies against the wall. They start arguing about something. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Frankie, come here a second. Zammito walks over. NICKY \"THE RAKE\" Who is closer to the wall, Joey or me? ZAMMITO -LRB- impatiently. -RRB- Get in the car. NICKY \"THE RAKE\" Just tell me who's closer to the wall? Zammito grabs him by the neck and smashes his face into the wall. ZAMMITO You are! Now get in the fuckin' car! Both men walk to the car. Zammito starts after them, then stops. He turns back, picks up the coins and puts them in his pocket.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL -- LOBBY -- MORNING Sami moves through a crowd of PEOPLE. He looks around until he sees a man who looks remarkably similar to Raymond. Sami bumps into him and lifts his wallet.", "INT. STEREO STORE -- MORNING Marcel waits as a SALESPERSON brings over several boxes of electronic equipment.", "EXT. LUGGAGE SHOP -- MORNING Sami passes the shop. He stops. In the window is BLACK CANVAS BAG that is identical to the one that they used on the job. He goes into the store.", "EXT. BARCLAY HOTEL -- MORNING An old building that has seen better days. Daniel and Zero get out of a Taxi and go inside.", "INT. HALLWAY -- BARCLAY HOTEL -- MORNING Looks even worse on the inside. A dark corridor is lit by bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. An old PROSTITUTE walks past them, her smile signaling she is open for business. They arrive at room 211 and knock. The door is opened by a very large BLACK MAN. Behind him we can see Lamar with ELLWOOD, 20's, sun glasses, his neck draped in gold chains. BLACK GUY -LRB- very loud. -RRB- I'm gon na have to search you. DANIEL We'll save you the trouble. Daniel pulls back his jacket to reveal the gun he took from Hadley in his waistband. BLACK GUY -LRB- loudly. -RRB- You ca n't come in here with that. Daniel looks past him to Ellwood. DANIEL What's wrong with this guy? ELLWOOD He's my cousin. He's deaf. Daniel removes an envelope full of cash. DANIEL We're here to buy, not steal. If you guys are straight there's not going to be a problem. Ellwood stomps his foot several times on the floor. The black guy feels the vibration and turns around. ELLWOOD Let them in. The black guy steps aside. Daniel and Zero enter.", "INT. BARCLAY HOTEL ROOM -- MORNING Ellwood is sitting on the bed behind several open suitcases displaying a variety of weapons. ELLWOOD What can I do you for? Daniel looks over the merchandise. DANIEL How much for the nines? ELLWOOD A grand a piece. DANIEL I'll need extra clips and ammo. Daniel starts counting out the money. Ellwood points a.357 magnum he's been holding behind the open suitcase at them. LAMAR What the hell you doing, Ellwood? I gave them my word. ELLWOOD Zammito's offering twenty grand a head for these guys. You think I'm going to settle for four G's when I can make forty? -LRB- to Daniel. -RRB- All right. Reach in easy and put the gun on the floor. Daniel slowly grabs his gun and places it on the floor, then kicks it under the bed. ELLWOOD I said put it on the floor, not kick it under the bed. Ellwood speaks to his cousin, speaking slowly and enunciating each word so he can read his lips. ELLWOOD Get that and add it to my inventory. The black guy get on his hands and knees and starts looking for the gun under the bed. As he does Daniel glances over at Zero with a look. Ellwood aims his gun at Zero. ELLWOOD I assume you're carrying too? Zero opens his coat and reveals his.9 mm. ELLWOOD Okay, put it on the floor. and do not kick it under the fuckin' bed. ZERO -LRB- flatly. -RRB- No. He stares at Ellwood calmly through dead, flat eyes. ELLWOOD No? Did you just say no? Listen cowboy, if you're thinking about makin' a move, do n't. Nobody is that fast. ZERO Zero is. ELLWOOD Who's Zero? LAMAR He is. Ellwood is confused. Daniel bolts to his left. Ellwood's eyes leave Lamar for a moment - it's a moment too long. In a blur of movement Zero has his gun out and fires one shot into Ellwood's forehead. Ellwood slumps down on the bed, dead. The black guy who has heard nothing continues searching under the bed. Zero casually picks up the suitcase filled with guns and hands it to Daniel. They walk out of the room. Lamar stands there, stunned, then quickly runs after them. A beat. The black guy pops up with Daniel's gun oblivious to what has transpired in the room. BLACK GUY Found it!", "EXT. BARCLAY HOTEL -- MORNING Daniel pushes Lamar out the door. Zero steps out behind him. He stares at Lamar for a long moment, then hands him the envelope. DANIEL There's ten grand in here. It's yours. I'm going to call you again. There's one more thing I need you to do. LAMAR What? DANIEL I'll tell you when it's time. In the background we hear the loud, agonizing scream from the black guy as he finds Ellwood's body.", "INT. CAR RENTAL AGENCY -- DAY Raymond and Julien approach the counter. Raymond is nervous. RAYMOND -LRB- in French. -RRB- I am not comfortable with this. I'm not a good liar. JULIEN -LRB- in French. -RRB- Relax. It will be fine. They arrive at the counter. The RENTAL AGENT, a man in his 30's looks up at them with a smile. CAR RENTAL AGENT Hello. RAYMOND Hello. I am Robert M. Carney from Dayton, Ohio and I would like to rent a car with my visa gold card. Raymond smiles, a big, friendly, completely over exaggerated smile. Julien looks at him and rolls his eyes. The Rental Agent walks down to the end of the counter and dials a number on the phone. CAR RENTAL AGENT -LRB- into phone. -RRB- I got a couple French guys here trying to rent a car. -LRB- listens. -RRB- Sure. I can stall them.", "INT. HOSPITAL ROOM -- DAY Vinny is in bed, his arm in a cast and sling. His wife ANGIE, 30's, big hair, loud clothes. She sits on the bed feeding him. His two kids, RICHIE, 8, and TOMMY 10, sit off to the side. Zammito enters. ZAMMITO Angie, how you doin'? She kisses him. Vinny stares blankly at his brother. Zammito takes a step back, looks her up and down. He lays on the charm. ZAMMITO Hey, you're looking good. There's something different about you. You get a boob job or something? ANGIE I've gained weight. ZAMMITO Yeah, well, it suits you. Zammito moves over to the kids and offers a quick hello. ZAMMITO Hey Tommy. RICHIE I'm Richie. He's Tommy. ZAMMITO Whatever. Zammito pulls out a roll of bills that could choke a horse and peels one off. ZAMMITO Angie, take the kids down to the gift shop and buy'em something. I need a word with Vinny. Angie looks at the money. ANGIE -LRB- flatly. -RRB- Gee, five bucks. What ever shall we buy? She takes the kids and leaves. ZAMMITO She seems pleasant enough. VINNY She does n't know. She thinks I fell down the stairs. ZAMMITO That's good. That's what a stand - up guy does. Zammito sits on the edge of the bed. ZAMMITO So, I just come by to see how you're doin'? VINNY You broke my arm. How the hell do you think I'm doin'? ZAMMITO Yeah. I mean besides that. They treating you all right? Food okay? VINNY Yeah. I'm going home today. What do you want, Frankie? ZAMMITO I do n't want anything. I just wanted to say. that I may have. overreacted a little the other day. VINNY A little? ZAMMITO Yeah. I mean, you are my brother and. well I should have found another way of expressing my disappointment. So, I've decided to make it up to you. VINNY You gon na forget about the money I owe you? ZAMMITO What are you nuts? A debt is a debt. I was thinking I'd throw a little extra work your way. You know, you come down to the club, make espresso for the boys. wash their cars. run some errands. things like that. Zammito's cell phone rings. ZAMMITO -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Yeah? -LRB- his face hardens. -RRB- I'm on my way. Zammito hangs up. ZAMMITO I got something I got ta do. I'm glad we had this talk. Heal. Get better. Let me know when you're ready to start. Zammito leaves. Vinny can only shake his head in bewilderment.", "EXT. TATTOO SHOP -- DAY Several low - rider cars are parked on the street. Raphael and Hector are with several GANG MEMBERS. GANG MEMBER I ai n't seen it your car. Sorry man. Hey, you know who you should talk to is Freddy O. RAPHAEL I thought he was in prison. GANG MEMBER Got out last month. He's trying to go straight but he's still wired in. He's working at some restaurant. I'll find out where and call you.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL SUITE -- DAY Sami is recording something on a tape deck Marcel bough. He sees Marcel outside on the balcony and removes a piece of paper from his pocket, then picks up the phone and dials. AGENT HADLEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Agent Hadley. SAMI Do you know who this is? AGENT HADLEY -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Yeah. I figured I'd be hearing from you. SAMI If you ever want to get those tapes, meet me in one hour at Grant Park near the statue.", "INT. CAR RENTAL AGENCY -- DAY The Rental Agent walks back over to Raymond and Julien. CAR RENTAL AGENT I'm sorry about the wait. There was a problem with the equipment. JULIEN Everything okay now? The Rental Agent's eyes drift to a black Lincoln Town Car parked across the street. CAR RENTAL AGENT Everything's fine.", "EXT. STREET, ACROSS FROM CAR RENTAL AGENCY -- DAY A Lincoln pulls up. Zammito gets out and walks over to three WISEGUYS in another Town Car. One of the Wiseguys points to the window of the rental agency. Zammito looks at Raymond and Julien. ZAMMITO I do n't know the little one, but the other guy is definitely one of them. Follow them and call me when you find out where they go. Zammito walks back to his car and drives off.", "EXT. CAR RENTAL LOT -- DAY An EMPLOYEE drives up in a CADILLAC DE VILLE. He gets out and Julien grabs the keys from him. JULIEN -LRB- in French. -RRB- I'll drive. RAYMOND -LRB- in French. -RRB- I'm the driver. JULIEN -LRB- in French. -RRB- I've never driven a Cadillac before. Raymond nods and gets in the passenger seat.", "EXT. STREET -- DAY The Cadillac moves down the street. The Lincoln follows a few cars behind them.", "INT. CADILLAC -- MOVING -- DAY Julien drives the car. JULIEN -LRB- in French. -RRB- This is a car. I think this is the best American car I've ever driven. RAYMOND -LRB- in French. -RRB- This is the only American car you've ever driven.", "EXT. GRANT PARK -- DAY Agent Hadley walks towards the statue wearing a pair of sun glasses. As he approaches, Sami steps out. SAMI You set me up, you piece of shit! Hadley pushes him up against the statue and starts frisking him. SAMI What are you doing? AGENT HADLEY You think I'm going to talk to you until I know if you're wired. SAMI Wired? I ai n't wired. Sami lifts up his shirt showing Hadley his bare chest. He drops his pants down to his ankles. AGENT HADLEY Okay. Okay. I believe you. SAMI You killed her! AGENT HADLEY No. You killed her. Manager remembers you going into her room. Your fingerprints were found all over the place. SAMI Bullshit! She was alive when we left her with you. AGENT HADLEY You're fucked, Sami. You know it. That's why you're here. SAMI Look, I just want out of this nightmare. I do n't know these guys. A few days ago I'm in Paris picking pockets and now I'm America's most wanted. AGENT HADLEY Where are the tapes? SAMI I can get them - but what do I get if I do? AGENT HADLEY A pass. SAMI A pass? How you gon na give me a pass? A witness can put me at the crime scene. AGENT HADLEY Witness' can be convinced they made a mistake. Without the murder weapon the D.A. wo n't have enough to prosecute you. SAMI They do n't have a murder weapon? AGENT HADLEY No. I have it. The lamp? The one with your fingerprints and her blood on it? -LRB- holds up his burned hand. -RRB- Remember? Sami is stunned, then his thoughts snap back to.", "INT. BAY VIEW MOTEL ROOM -- MORNING (FLASHBACK) Sami picking up the brass lamp off the nightstand and leaving his fingerprints all over it.", "EXT. GRANT PARK -- DAY Sami stares angrily at Hadley who appears to be enjoying his frustration. AGENT HADLEY Of course they could always get an anonymous tip. Find it in the dumpster behind the motel. Sami stares at him a long moment. SAMI You want the tapes for yourself. You're going to sell them. AGENT HADLEY I'm going to retire with a shit - load of money. Find me a small country that does n't have an extradition treaty with the States and live the good life. SAMI You did n't have to kill Sophie. AGENT HADLEY Yes I did. Lose ends are messy. SAMI What about me? Are n't I a loose end? AGENT HADLEY When this is over you can say whatever the hell you want. I'll be long gone. Besides, who's going to believe you? You're just a two - bit crook. SAMI And you're a dirty cop. At least I do n't pretend to be something different than what I am. Hadley hands him a card. AGENT HADLEY When you've got the tapes call me on this number. We'll make the exchange and that'll be the end of it. Hadley leaves.", "EXT. GRAND AVENUE -- DAY Julien drives the Cadillac along the North River. The Lincoln keeps pace with them several cars behind.", "INT. CADILLAC -- MOVING -- DAY Raymond clicks through a few Radio Stations. Julien glances in his rear view mirror. HIS POV - IN THE MIRROR : of the Lincoln several cars back. Julien seems concerned. He turns the steering wheel hard to the right.", "EXT. GRAND AVENUE -- DAY The Cadillac cuts across the right lane almost hitting a car and turns onto another street. The Lincoln makes a sharp move to stay up with it.", "INT. CADILLAC -- DAY Raymond looks over at Julien. JULIEN -LRB- in French. -RRB- We're being followed. Julien hits the gas.", "EXT. WELL STREET -- DAY The Cadillac speeds down the street, weaving in and out of traffic. The Lincoln does the same. The Cadillac reaches an intersection. The traffic ahead of them is stopped for a red light. The Cadillac veers onto the sidewalk. Pedestrians jump out of the way and the car streaks down the pavement. Behind the Lincoln follows.", "EXT. OHIO STREET -- DAY The Cadillac screeches around the corner, onto a ONE WAY STREET.", "INT. CADILLAC -- MOVING -- DAY Julien concentrates as he weaves the car in and out of the on coming traffic. RAYMOND -LRB- in French. -RRB- I knew I should have driven. JULIEN -LRB- in French. -RRB- Stop talking. I'm trying to concentrate.", "EXT. STREET -- DAY The oncoming traffic veers off. Cars collide. The Lincoln clips a car, loses control for a moment, then continues after them. At the corner the Cadillac turns onto another street and joins traffic in the right direction.", "EXT. FRANKLIN STREET -- DAY The Lincoln moves up along side the Cadillac. Two WISEGUYS lean out the window with guns in their hands. The Cadillac veers away just as they start shooting. Bullets riddle the car.", "INT. CADILLAC -- MOVING -- DAY Raymond removes Hadley's backup gun. The Lincoln pulls up beside them again. The sound of GUN FIRE fills the air as Raymond shoots from the Cadillac. The rear passenger window of the Lincoln shatters and Raymond fires. The Lincoln drops back.", "EXT. HUBBARD STREET -- DAY The Cadillac turns the corner. The Lincoln follows. The traffic is heavier here. The cars have to slow down. The Lincoln moves beside them again. Raymond fires his last shot. His gun his now empty. Several rounds of gun fire come from the Lincoln.", "INT. CADILLAC -- MOVING -- DAY Raymond looks over to Julien. RAYMOND -LRB- in French. -RRB- What are we going to - His voice trails off as he sees Julien. A bullet has glanced his neck, not deep, but deep enough to sever an artery. Blood pours down his neck and covers his shirt. His face is pale. He glances at the wound in the rear view mirror.", "EXT. STREET -- DAY Julien steers the caddy onto another street. The towncar follows.", "INT. CADILLAC -- MOVING -- DAY Julien looks at Raymond. He is paler now, his shirt completely covered with blood. He strains to stay conscious. JULIEN -LRB- in French. -RRB- When we get to the next corner jump out. RAYMOND -LRB- in French. -RRB- I'm not going to leave you. JULIEN -LRB- in French. -RRB- We both know I'm already dead. Raymond knows he's right. The car races into the next turn. JULIEN -LRB- in French. -RRB- Go! Raymond opens the door. He jumps out.", "INT. LINCOLN - DRIVER'S POV -- DAY Of Raymond as he rolls towards the curb. The Caddy skids around the corner.", "EXT. STREET -- DAY The Lincoln slams on it's brakes in the middle of an intersection. Raymond is dazed from his fall. He gets up slowly, his pants torn and sees. P.O.V. RAYMOND OF THE TOWNCAR - DAY The driver is reaching out the window with his gun to take aim and is just about to shoot when.", "EXT. STREET -- DAY Julien comes racing into the intersection full speed and smashes into the Lincoln. The impact sends the Lincoln spinning around. When it stops the driver's window is facing the front of the caddy. The driver of the caddy takes aim and fires. The bullet goes through the windshield and kills Julien. The driver looks over at the passenger just in time to see. P.O.V.. A LARGE TRUCK - DAY Speeds through the intersection and smashes head on into the Lincoln. It crumbles like a toy under the weight.", "EXT. STREET -- DAY Raymond limps into the street oblivious to the oncoming traffic. He stares sadly at Julien.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL SUITE -- AFTERNOON Zero and Marcel are checking over the guns. Daniel writes some notes on a pad of paper. Sami appears nervous as he sits off to the side. The door opens. Raymond limps into the room. His face is dirty, bruised, his pants torn, legs scraped. He stands there, staring at them through empty eyes. Daniel looks at the door expectantly. He knows the answer before he asks the question. DANIEL Julien? Raymond's face fills with sadness. He shakes his.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL SUITE-- LATER -- DUSK There is a cold silence in the room. Daniel stares at the sliding glass door, staring out over the city. SAMI It's not your fault, Daniel. DANIEL No? He looks at them sadly. DANIEL We had a chance to walk out of Zammito's house. MARCEL We all agreed to it. You had no way of knowing Bastaldi was setting us up. DANIEL I just want to live long enough to get back to Paris. Just long enough to kill Bastaldi. SAMI I say we make him pay first. After that you can do whatever you want to him. RAYMOND He's right. Do you have any idea what Van Gogh's `` Vase with twelve Sunflowers'' is worth? MARCEL No. How much? RAYMOND I do n't know. It's got ta be millions. DANIEL We still have to get out of here. MARCEL Maybe if we gave the tapes back - ZERO -LRB- strongly. -RRB- No. Everyone looks to Zero. ZERO They killed our friend. It's personal now. Besides, if we do that, then Julien died for nothing. The tapes are the key. SAMI He's right. The tapes give us leverage with Bastaldi.", "INT. AGENT HADLEY'S APARTMENT -- EVENING Agent Hadley sits on his couch, deep in thought. He glances at the paper with Raymond's phone number on the coffee table. A beat. He gets an idea. He picks up his phone and dials. AGENT HADLEY Hello? Mrs. Gayet? Do you speak English? -LRB- listens. -RRB- You do. Great. -LRB- listens. -RRB- Oh, you taught Raymond English. You did a wonderful job. I'm sorry to call so late but I'm supposed to meet Raymond -. -LRB- listens. -RRB- No, I did n't know he was a difficult child. Mrs. Gayet, I'm calling because -. -LRB- listens. -RRB- No, I do n't have any children of my own. I'm supposed to meet Raymond tonight at his hotel and I forgot what Hotel he is at. I wondering if you -. -LRB- listens. -RRB- The Holiday Hotel. Room 912. Thank you very much.", "EXT. HUBBARD STREET -- EVENING Tow trucks and cleaning crews work around wreckage of the cars. Only a few POLICE CARS are there. A UNIFORMED COP looks over and sees Joey `` Two Tons'' on the sidewalk. Joey motions with his head to an alley.", "EXT. ALLEY -- EVENING The Uniformed Cop enters the alley and joins Joey. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" What'd you guys find? UNIFORMED COP Dead bodies. The ones in the Lincoln are your. associates. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" And the other car? UNIFORMED COP Some French guy. At least that's what his passport said. You know Joey, I should n't be talking to you about this. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Are you forgetting who supplements your income? UNIFORMED COP No. It's just that the French guy had a gunshot wound on his neck. So, this is a homicide. Are you guys involved in this? JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Yeah. I'll come down and make a full confession later. Right now, tell me what else you found? UNIFORMED COP A Wallet. A hotel room card. Some cash. This sparks Joey's interest. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" What hotel? UNIFORMED COP The Holiday Hotel. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" What room number? UNIFORMED COP I do n't know. I did n't look. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" Go look.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL SUITE -- EVENING The crew sits around a table trying to figure out how they can get out of town. DANIEL Okay. Airports, train stations, bus station are out. We know they're connected to the car rental agencies because that's where they picked up Raymond. SAMI Even if we get out of town and go to another airport I'm sure the FBI and Chicago P.D. has alerted customs. MARCEL How about Canada? RAYMOND What are we going to do, take a taxi? Sami opens a pack of cigarettes to find it's empty. SAMI I'm going to get some cigarettes.", "INT. RESTAURANT -- EVENING Because of the early hour the room is empty. Raphael and Hector are with FREDDY O, 30's, hard - looking. He is wearing a bus boy uniform as he sets the tables. FREDDY O I ca n't believe someone would have the balls to rip off your ride. RAPHAEL When I find them they wo n't have them for much longer. FREDDY O I'll ask around. If they try to move it I can find out. RAPHAEL Thanks. Raphael and Hector exit. We move with them through the door into.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL LOBBY -- EVENING Raphael and Hector head for the front door. The elevator doors opens and Sami exits. They walk past each other as Sami heads across the lobby and into the gift shop. As Raphael and Hector walk out the front door Agent Hadley steps in walks past them. He goes over to a WOMAN CLERK at the front desk. AGENT HADLEY I'd like to see the manager please. She walks over to the HOTEL MANAGER and points to Agent Hadley. The Manager walks over. HOTEL MANAGER May I help you? Agent Hadley shows him his badge. AGENT HADLEY I'm looking for several French men who checked in within the last twenty four hours. HOTEL MANAGER They checked in last night. AGENT HADLEY I need you to take me to their room. Agent Hadley follows the manager as they walks towards the elevators and pass. Sami who pretends to read a magazine, covering his face so Hadley will not see him. Sami walks quickly across the lobby and passes. Joey `` Two Tons'', Nicky `` The Rake'' and three other WISEGUYS enter the hotel. Agent Hadley gets in an elevator with the Hotel Manager. The doors close as the wiseguys approach. The moment the doors close Sami bolts into the lobby and over to the house phones. All of them are being used except one. A MAN is just about to lift the receiver when Sami pushes him aside. MAN Excuse me. I was here first. Sami ignores him as he waits for the hotel operator to answer. The phone just rings and rings. Behind him another elevator has arrived and the wiseguys enter. Sami's frustration is growing as the phone continues to ring. The Man who Sami pushed away is still there. MAN Hey buddy, you just ca n't push in here. SAMI Go away. MAN I most certainly will not go - Sami quickly smacks him on the head with the receiver. The man slinks away. OPERATOR'S VOICE Operator. SAMI -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Room 912.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL SUITE -- EVENING The phone rings. DANIEL -LRB- to Raymond. -RRB- Get that, will you? RAYMOND Why do I always have to answer the phone? DANIEL Because you're the closest. RAYMOND I'm not any closer than you are.", "INT. ELEVATOR -- EVENING The wiseguys watch the floor indicator.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL SUITE -- EVENING The phone continues RINGING. DANIEL Why is everything an argument with you? RAYMOND I'm just setting my boundaries. Daniel looks at Raymond and sighs, then gets up and lifts he receiver. DANIEL Hello? SAMI -LRB- V.O. -RRB- Get out of the room! You've got company coming up. I'll meet you at the Chevy. Daniel slams down the phone. The others can see the urgency on his face. DANIEL Raymond, grab the tapes. We're leaving! RAYMOND Why do I have to pick up the tapes. DANIEL Jesus! Daniel grabs the canvas bag.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL -- HALLWAY -- EVENING The manager is about to open the door with his key. Agent Hadley takes it and removes a gun. AGENT HADLEY You should go now. The manager runs away. Agent Hadley inserts the key and opens the door. His face fills with fear as he sees. AGENT HADLEY'S POV - Daniel, Marcel, Raymond and Zero are on the other side, their guns pointed at Hadley's head.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL SUITE - BATHROOM -- EVENING Daniel uses Hadley's handcuffs and handcuffs him to a pipe under the sink.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL -- HALLWAY -- EVENING Daniel, Raymond, Marcel and Zero step into the hall. The moment they do the elevator doors at the end of the hall open. The Wiseguys step out and see them. The door to the room next to theirs opens and a LITTLE GIRL, 8, dressed in a pink dress steps out. LITTLE GIRL -LRB- calling into her room. -RRB- C'mon, Mommy. Everything seems to move in slow motion. - The Wiseguys go for their guns. - The crew goes for theirs. - The little girl is caught between both groups. - Marcel lunges forward, tackling the girl to ground. - The Wiseguys begin to shoot. - The hallway fills with gunfire. - Marcel pulls the little girl into her room. - Plaster explodes off the walls as bullets rip through them. - The Crew rushes back into their suite.", "INT. LITTLE GIRL'S ROOM -- EVENING Marcel hands the frightened girl to her mother, then moves over to the door that joins with the crews. He shoots the lock and moves through the door.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL SUITE -- EVENING As Marcel steps through he sees the crew all aiming their guns at him. Daniel gets an idea. As Zero holds off the Wiseguys from the doorway, Daniel goes to the adjoining door on the other side of the suite. He shoots off the lock. DANIEL Let's go! The Crew moves through the door.", "INT. ADJOINING MOTEL ROOM -- EVENING Empty. The crew runs across to the door. Because the room is built at the intersection of two hallways the crew step out into a corridor out of the Wiseguys line of sight.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL -- BACK HALLWAY -- EVENING The Crew exits and heads for the staircase.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL -- FRONT HALLWAY -- CONTINUOUS Silence. The Wiseguys move down the hall and stop outside the door of the Crew's suite. A beat. They rush in.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL SUITE -- CONTINUOUS Empty. Nicky `` The Rake'' sees the open adjoining door and motions for them to follow him.", "INT. HOLIDAY HOTEL -- BACK HALLWAY -- EVENING The Wiseguys step out just as the Crew are going through the door to the stairwell. The Wiseguys run after them. Joey `` Two Tons'' lags behind.", "INT. STAIRWELL -- EVENING The Crew runs down the stairs. Above them the Wiseguys follow. Joey `` Two Tons'' is breathing heavily as he runs down the stairs.", "INT. UNDER GROUND PARKING LOT -- EVENING The door flies open as the Crew runs across the lot. Sami has already started the Impala and is waiting for them. A moment later the stairwell door opens and the Wiseguys run out, guns blazing. The Crew heads for the Impala, shooting behind them as they run. Nicky `` The Rake'''' shoots. Zero is hit in the leg. He falls to the ground, then rolls on his side behind a parked car. He fights through the pain, props himself up and begins to shoot back. Two Wiseguys step out to flank Zero. Zero takes aim and shoots one. He lines up on the other Wiseguy and pulls the trigger again. Click! His gun his empty. Daniel and Marcel run towards Zero, firing their guns as fast as they can pull the trigger. Marcel takes aim and fires. The Wiseguy's dive for cover as Marcel blazes away until his gun is empty. We hear tires screeching as the Impala backs up. The Wiseguys shoot, blowing out the back window. They move in on Marcel and Zero. Daniel runs forward with two guns firing at the wiseguys. As he nears Marcel he throws the extra gun to him. SLOW MOTION : on the gun as it flies through the air. SLOW MOTION : One of the WISEGUYS has almost circle around the car. SLOW MOTION : on the gun has it flies through the air. REAL TIME - ON MARCEL : He looks to his left just as the gun arrives. It hits him on the forehead and knocks him down. Daniel fires a few SHOTS driving the Wiseguy back. He runs over and with Marcel's help they grab Zero and help him to the car. They dive into the back seat. The car screeches forward and races out of the garage. Silence. The staircase door opens and an exhausted Joey `` Two Tons'' steps out, gasping for air.", "INT. IMPALA -- MOVING -- EVENING Daniel attends to the wound on Zero's leg. DANIEL The bullet went clean through. Daniel stares at him. A beat. Zero grins, saying thank you.", "INT. COFFEE SHOP -- EVENING A distraught Raphael sits across from Hector in a booth near the window. Hector has almost finished eating. Raphael has n't touched his food. He pushes his plate away. RAPHAEL I ca n't eat. Raphael lowers his head sadly. Hector looks out the window. HIS POV - of the Impala driving by - rear window missing, bumper about to fall off. Hector watches it go by, then turns back. Raphael looks up. HECTOR So, can I have your fries?", "EXT. COZY COURT COTTAGES -- EVENING A group of small bungalows built adjacent to the interstate.", "INT. COTTAGE -- EVENING Small. Filled with cheap furniture. A small kitchenette is off to the side of the room. Zero lays on the bed. Daniel uses his belt as tourniquet to slow the bleeding. Raymond sits at the table staring at the black canvas bag containing the cash and tapes. Marcel is in the kitchenette. DANIEL -LRB- to Zero. -RRB- When we get back to Paris I'll take you dancing. Zero smiles. Sami enters carrying a shopping bag. He places it on the counter. DANIEL Bring me the scissors. ZERO And the Vodka. Sami removes the items from the bag. He opens the bottle and hands it to Zero who quickly gulps down a few mouthfuls. DANIEL Cut his pants up the leg to the groin. ZERO And be careful when you get near the top. Zero has a very long one. He winks at Sami. SAMI What's he joking around for? He's been shot. DANIEL He's been shot a lot. He's used to it. Raymond cuts the pant leg away. Daniel walks over to Marcel who is standing over the gas range. Over the flame is a tire wrench, the metal tip glowing red hot. Sami opens the bag and removes some white bread. SAMI Anybody hungry? DANIEL What'd you get? SAMI Some bread and. He removes a can of cheese whiz and sprays the cheese onto the bread. SAMI Cheese. All the French guys look at him as though he is from another planet. DANIEL Cheese? In a can? Sami stuffs his mouth with a big bite. SAMI It's good. MARCEL God, I want to go home. SAMI Hey, you know you ca n't this in France. DANIEL Thank God. Daniel uses a towel to pick up the tire wrench and walks over to the bed. Sami and Raymond grimace as they think about what's about to happen. DANIEL -LRB- to Zero. -RRB- Ready? Zero nods. Daniel takes the bottle of Vodka and pours some over the wound. Zero flinches. Daniel looks at Marcel, then releases the belt. Blood flows from the wound. Marcel presses the hot poker against the wound. Zero grunts, but does not scream. His face contorts violently from the pain.", "INT. SOUTH SIDE SOCIAL CLUB -- EVENING Zammito sits at a table in the back eating an assortment of pasta. DEAN MARTIN `` Innamaraia'' plays on the stereo. EDDIE, 60's, arthritic, finishes making an espresso. He starts carrying it over to Zammito, moving incredibly slow, shuffling one foot in front of the other. Zammito watches him with strained patience. Joey `` Two Tons'' and Nicky `` The Rake'' enter. Their faces tell the story. ZAMMITO What happened? NICKY \"THE RAKE\" They sort of got away. ZAMMITO I see. Well, get back out on the street and find them before I `` sort of'' kill you. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" But we ai n't had nothing to eat all day boss. ZAMMITO Oh, I'm sorry. Zammito scoops up a handful of pasta out of his plate and throws it at him. ZAMMITO Had enough? Joey `` Two Tons'' looks down sheepishly, several pieces of pasta are stuck to his face. Zammito walks over to him. ZAMMITO Try to get this through that fat, stupid fuckin' head of yours. If Half Tooth Tony finds these guys before we do and Bonanno knows what was in my safe we are all dead. They turn around and leave. Zammito stares after them angrily. ZAMMITO Cafones! He looks over at Eddie who is only half way to the table. ZAMMITO You gon na bring that over here today, or what?", "INT. COTTAGE -- MORNING Zero is passed out, a half empty Vodka bottle on the nightstand. The others have been up all night. Raymond is across the table from Sami. RAYMOND The new Beaujolais' come out in France next week. You like wine? SAMI I'm more of a whiskey drinker myself. RAYMOND J&B? SAMI Glenmorangie. RAYMOND Glenmorangie is very good. Sami realizes that Raymond wants to talk about something. anything. that will get his mind of the events that have lead them here. SAMI But I'll have a glass of Beaujolais with you when we get back. Raymond forces a weak smile. Daniel who has been watching them grabs a few things off the table. DANIEL I'll be back in an hour. Daniel looks at Sami and motions for him to come outside.", "EXT. COTTAGE -- MORNING Sami steps outside. Daniel is staring at him. SAMI What? DANIEL Can I trust you, Sami? SAMI Hey, who warned you that they were coming up to the room? DANIEL If they had taken us by surprise they would have gotten the tapes back. That would have left us with nothing. SAMI No, that would have left me with nothing because all of you would be dead. DANIEL You have n't answered my question. SAMI Does it really matter what I say? DANIEL I'm leaving you with my friends. I'm trusting you to do the right thing today. SAMI I will. DANIEL You better.", "EXT. BONANNO'S HOUSE -- MORNING Daniel walks up to the front door and rings the bell. Half Tooth Tony opens the door and looks him up and down. HALF TOOTH TONY Yeah? DANIEL I would like to see Mr. Bonanno please. HALF TOOTH TONY Who the hell are you? DANIEL Tell him I'm the guy who robbed Frankie Zammito.", "INT. BONANNO'S FOYER -- MORNING Half Tooth Tony searches Daniel. He finds a small cassette player, glances at it and sticks it back in Daniel's pocket. HALF TOOTH TONY -LRB- points to a door. -RRB- In there.", "INT. BONANNO'S LIVING ROOM -- MORNING Daniel enters. Half Tooth Tony stands behind him, his eyes locked on Daniel's every move. Bonanno is sitting in an armchair. BONANNO Either you are incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid. Which one is it? DANIEL I guess we're going to find out. BONANNO You rob an associate of mine. a friend and - DANIEL -LRB- overlapping. -RRB- Not such a good friend. May I reach in my pocket? Bonanno looks to Half Tooth Tony. HALF TOOTH TONY He's clean. Bonanno nods. Daniel removes the cassette player and turns it on. ZAMMITO'S VOICE Of course. I need an answer from you if I'm going to move. MAN'S VOICE We're not just talkin' about a ` piece of work' here Frankie. We're talking about a boss. ZAMMITO'S VOICE Bonanno's a dinosaur. Guy thinks he's fuckin' Vito Corleone or something. The old ways are gone. If we do n't change now we're going to get pushed out. I need to know if I can count on your support? Daniel turns off the tape. Bonanno's anger is visible. DANIEL I've got to tell you, Mr. Bonanno, This guy's an idiot. How he's lived this long is a mystery. BONANNO -LRB- seething. -RRB- I do n't think it will be a mystery much longer. DANIEL He's recorded every conversation he's had with you for years. BONANNO I assume you want something? DANIEL We've got a lot of people looking for us. We'd just like to go home. BONANNO You want me to help you get out of the country? Daniel nods. BONANNO And for my help I would get what? DANIEL Half the tapes. BONANNO And the other half? DANIEL I'll destroy them when we get back to Paris. BONANNO I only have your word for that. DANIEL I just want to get my people home. I know who you are and what you could do to me if I do n't honor my word. BONANNO Where are you staying? Daniel grins. He is n't going to tell him. BONANNO I only ask so I can call you when the arrangements are made. DANIEL How about if I call you?", "INT. COTTAGE -- MORNING Zero and Raymond are sleeping. We hear the shower running in the bathroom. Sami is at the table. The black canvas bag containing the tapes is on the table. Sami removes the identical canvas bag he bought at the store from under the bed and places it on the table. He takes the original and leaves.", "EXT. COZY COURTS -- MORNING Sami removes the card Hadley gave him, takes out his cell phone and dials. A taxi pulls up. SAMI Same place. One hour. Sami gets in the taxi and it drives away. A beat. A moment later another taxi pulls up. Daniel gets out.", "INT. COTTAGE -- MORNING Daniel enters to find Zero and Raymond still sleeping. He looks at the black canvas bag on the table. Marcel steps out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.", "EXT. GRANT PARK -- MORNING Hadley is waiting by the statue holding a cardboard box. Sami walks towards him holding the black canvas bag. SAMI What the fuck was all that about at the hotel last night? I thought we had a deal? AGENT HADLEY Hey, you're not exactly the most trustworthy guy in the world. I took a shot. It did n't work. Did you bring the tapes? Sami holds up the canvas bag. SAMI The lamp? Hadley opens the cardboard box to reveal the bloody lamp base. Sami hands him the canvas bag. AGENT HADLEY Just a second. You must think I'm a real moron. Hadley removes a small cassette player from his jacket. He picks a tape and inserts it into the player. ZAMMITO'S VOICE I just came by to tell that `` piece of work'' you asked for on Johnny Wicks - It's done. BONANNO'S VOICE Good. How'd he go? ZAMMITO'S VOICE Like the crying rat bastard that he was. Hadley stops the tape. He inserts another one. ZAMMITO'S VOICE Angelo, we ca n't lean too hard on this guy. He's a congressman. BONANNO'S VOICE I made Peter Dimiano a congressman. We pay him each month to look after our interests. Hadley grins. This is great stuff. He looks up at Sami. AGENT HADLEY Here you go, sport. Sami grabs the box and leaves. Hadley starts whistling a tune and walks off the other way. As he reaches the tree line Lamar pops out with two of his friends. All of them have guns. LAMAR I'll take the bag. AGENT HADLEY You do n't think I see through this? You tell Sami he's dead. One of Lamar's guys searches through Hadley's pockets, finds his gun, then takes his wallet. AGENT HADLEY You're making a big mistake. I'm an FBI agent. Hadley stares at Lamar defiantly. Lamar cocks the hammer back on his gun and presses the barrel to Hadley's forehead. Hadley drops the canvas bag. Lamar picks up the canvas bag and runs away. Hadley stands there fuming. Lamar runs towards the statue and disappears behind it. ANGLE - BEHIND THE STATUE Daniel is waiting, holding the other black canvas bag. As Lamar passes they quickly exchange bags. From Hadley's point of view Lamar has merely run behind the statue as he heads for the street. Lamar runs a few more steps, then stumbles and falls. several cassette tapes spill out of it. Lamar's buddies are already at the street. LAMAR'S BUDDIES C'mon, man! Let's get out of here. Lamar gets up, looks at the bag, pretends to be panicked. He runs off leaving the bag laying on the grass. ON HADLEY : He ca n't believe his luck. He runs over, picks up the loose cassettes and puts them back in the bag, then leaves. ON DANIEL : he peers out from behind the fountain, watching as Hadley walks off in the other direction.", "EXT. STREET CORNER -- MORNING Daniel arrives to find Sami and Lamar. SAMI See, I told you that you could trust me. Daniel grins and pats him on the back. LAMAR Okay, we're square now, right? DANIEL There's just one more thing I need you to do. Lamar is about to protest when Daniel takes out a roll of bills. LAMAR I'm listening.", "INT. TAXI -- MOVING -- DAY Daniel and Sami sit in the back. Daniel is on his cell phone. DANIEL -LRB- into phone. -RRB- Mr. Bonanno, I was wondering if you -. -LRB- listens. -RRB- That would be fine. Thank you.", "INT. FBI HEADQUARTERS -- DAY Hadley enters with the black canvas bag. The RECEPTIONIST hands him a package. RECEPTIONIST This came for you.", "INT. HADLEY'S OFFICE -- DAY Hadley opens the package and finds a video cassette. Hadley pops the cassette into the VCR. On the screen we see Sami speaking into a video camera. SAMI Since we're such good pals I thought I'd sneak you an advanced copy of my latest work. I call it, `` I am a scum - sucking FBI agent''. On the television screen we see Hadley and Sami in the park on their first meeting. SAMI You want the tapes for yourself. You're going to sell them. AGENT HADLEY I'm going to retire with a shit - load of money. Find me a small country that does n't have an extradition treaty with the States and live the good life. SAMI You did n't have to kill Sophie. AGENT HADLEY Yes I did. Lose ends are messy. The color drains from Hadley's face. Sami reappears, talking into the camera again. SAMI It's a little arty I know, but it has great content, do n't you think? You were so busy looking for a wire you probably did n't even think about a video camera. It was on the statue. Anyway, I've sent a copy of the whole tape to the Chicago P.D. and the FBI. They'll get it tomorrow. If I were you I'd take the day off. The tape turns to static. Hadley tries to think. He takes the VHS tape from the machine, then picks up his phone and starts to dial a number. A beat. He thinks better of it, hangs up and uses his cell phone.", "INT. SOUTH SIDE SOCIAL CLUB -- DAY Eddie is on the phone. Zammito is at his usual table. EDDIE Hey boss, some guy named Hadley. Says he's got some tapes you want? Zammito springs out of his seat and grabs the phone. ZAMMITO Yeah? -LRB- listens. -RRB- How much? Are you nuts? -LRB- listens. -RRB- Okay. Okay. There's an old warehouse on Merchant Street.", "EXT. SOUTH SIDE SOCIAL CLUB -- DAY Zammito and Joey `` Two Tons'' rush to the car carrying a briefcase.", "EXT. VINNY ZAMMITO'S HOUSE -- DAY Raymond knocks on the door. Vinny answers it, his arm in sling. RAYMOND Mr. Zammito? VINNY Uh huh. RAYMOND I represent a person who wishes to remain anonymous, but is aware of your current financial problems with your brother. VINNY I do n't know what you're talking about. RAYMOND I understand. The person who sent me wishes to help you. VINNY How? RAYMOND You see that car? Vinny looks on the street and sees the Impala. VINNY Yeah. RAYMOND It's yours. A gift. A gift you could give to your brother. or anyone you owe money to as partial payment. VINNY No shit? RAYMOND The papers for the car will arrive tomorrow.", "EXT.   MERCHANT STREET WAREHOUSE -- DAY An old building, dirty windows and peeling paint. The main door is open.", "INT. MERCHANT STREET WAREHOUSE -- DAY Zammito and Joey `` Two Tons'' are standing next to Zammito's Lincoln. Hadley parks ten yards away and gets out with the black canvas bag. ZAMMITO Those the tapes? Hadley starts to place the canvas bag on the hood of Zammito's car. ZAMMITO Watch the paint. Hadley opens the bag. It is filled with cassette tapes. AGENT HADLEY The money? Zammito nods to Joey `` Two Tons'' who opens another briefcase filled with cash. ZAMMITO How'd you get these? AGENT HADLEY I got'em. That's all you need to know. Hadley starts to go. Zammito motions him to stop. ZAMMITO Just a second. Zammito picks a tape and tosses it to Joey `` Two Tons.'' Who puts the cassette into the cars cassette player. Suddenly we hear Wayne Newton singing `` Danke Schoen.'' WAYNE NEWTON'S VOICE Danke Schoen, darling Danke Schoen. Thank you for all the joy and pain. Hadley's face turns white. He produces an audible gulp as he looks at Zammito weakly.", "EXT. MERCHANT STREET WAREHOUSE -- CONTINUOUS The music continues as we hold on a wide shot of the building. WAYNE NEWTON'S VOICE Pictures show, second balcony, was the place we'd meet. Through the dirty windows we see several flashes as the air fills with gunfire. WAYNE NEWTON'S VOICE second seat, go Dutch treat, you were so sweet. Zammito's Lincoln pulls out of the warehouse and drives down the street.", "INT. LINCOLN -- MOVING -- AFTERNOON Music continues in the cassette deck. Joey `` Two Tons'' drives. Zammito sits in the passenger seat. ZAMMITO Can you believe that guy? What a moron. JOEY \"TWO TONS\" -LRB- referring to cassette. -RRB- Good song though. ZAMMITO Great fuckin' song.", "EXT. PRIVATE AIRPORT -- AFTERNOON Sami, Marcel and Raymond help Zero out of the taxi and towards a small plane. Off to the side Bonanno is standing with Half Tooth Tony. Daniel walks over to him. BONANNO This plane will take you to Canada. From there you can fly back to Paris. DANIEL Thank you. BONANNO You have something for me? Daniel hands him the cassette case with half the tapes. Bonanno hands it to Half Tooth Tony who takes them into the car and listens to a tape. HALF TOOTH TONY They're good, boss. BONANNO And the other half of the tapes? DANIEL You have my word. I'll destroy them.", "EXT. SOUTH SIDE SOCIAL CLUB -- AFTERNOON The Lincoln pulls up. Zammito and Joey `` Two Tons'' get out. Vinny is waiting beside the Impala. ZAMMITO What's this? VINNY A car. ZAMMITO Oh really? Thanks. I thought it was a sewing machine. What the hell is it doing here? VINNY It's for you. ZAMMITO For me? What am I going to do with a piece of shit like this? VINNY I do n't know. Sell it. It's got ta be worth something. Someone gave it to me. C'mon Frankie, I'm trying to make good here. ZAMMITO Okay. Okay. VINNY I'll get you the papers tomorrow. Vinny starts to walk away. ZAMMITO -LRB- yelling after him. -RRB- Hey, if you're well enough to be walking around you're well enough to start working here.", "EXT. MEXICAN RESTAURANT -- AFTERNOON A gang hang out. Raphael is with several hard - looking gang - bangers. Lamar arrives with two of his friends. RAPHAEL You lost? LAMAR Do n't come off like a hard - on with me. I'm about to make you a very happy man.", "EXT. GANG HANGOUT -- AFTERNOON Several Gang Bangers stand around their low rider cars. Sananta's `` Oye Como Va'' plays loudly on one of the radios. Raphael talks heatedly with several of the gang bangers. A SERIES OF QUICK CUTS Music continues as several gang members check their guns.", "EXT. STREET -- AFTERNOON The Santana song continues as several car loads of Gang Bangers drive down the street.", "INT. SOUTH SIDE SOCIAL CLUB -- AFTERNOON The air is thick with cigar smoke. Several GUMBAS hang around the bar. Zammito is at his table with Joey `` Two Tons'' and Nicky `` The Rake.'' DEAN MARTIN `` Return To me'' plays on the jukebox. Outside we hear the sound of cars pulling up and screeching to a stop. The door opens and Raphael and ten other very tough - looking GANG MEMBERS step inside. The room falls silent, except for Dino on the jukebox. Zammito stands up. RAPHAEL Anybody know about that car outside? ZAMMITO Yeah. It's mine. RAPHAEL No. It's mine. ZAMMITO The hell it is. RAPHAEL I'm telling you that's my car! And someone's gon na pay for it! ZAMMITO And I'm tellin' you it ai n't! Now, turn your taco - eating ass around and get the hell out of here. RAPHAEL Fuck you, grease - ball! ZAMMITO Fuck me? Fuck you! They are right on the edge of having a major disaster. The Dean Martin song ends. Dead quiet. Each group watches the other to see who's going to make the first move. The jukebox selects another record. The needle scratches against the vinyl intro. We hear the intro to JERRY VALE singing `` Amore Scusami''. SERIES OF QUICK CUTS - Raphael's eyes burn into Zammito's - A Gang - Bangers eyes dart from side to side. - A Wiseguy bites his lip. - Nicky `` The Rake'' twitches his fingers nervously. - Sweat glistens on the forehead of Joey `` Two Tons''. At the bar Eddie reaches behind for something without looking. He knocks over a bottle. It falls to the floor and breaks. The noise is enough to push things over the edge. JERRY VALE'S VOICE My love, forgive me. Raphael goes for his gun. All hell breaks loose! People dive for cover as shots rings out. In the close quarters it's like shooting fish in a barrel. JERRY VALE'S VOICE I did n't mean to have it end like this. Eddie lifts a shotgun from behind the bar and blows away a gang member. Another gang member kills him. It's a massacre! Bodies drop like flies. The room is so thick with smoke you ca n't see two feet in front of you. Finally it is quiet. JERRY VALE'S VOICE I did n't mean to have you fall in love, in love with me. We move through the room, past the carnage. Smoke swirls, blood covers the floor. Raphael is dead. Along with Joey `` Two Tons'' and Nicky `` The Rake'' On the floor, Zammito is against the bar. He sits up, amazed that he is untouched. He gets to his feet and makes his way to the front door.", "EXT. SOUTH SIDE SOCIAL CLUB -- AFTERNOON Music continues. Zammito staggers outside and into the street. He laughs, a nervous laugh at his good fortune. JERRY VALE'S VOICE My love, please kiss me. Zammito turns around to see ZAMMITO'S POV - A Lincoln Town car speeding towards him. Through the windshield he can see the smiling face of Half Tooth Tony. The front of the car slams into Zammito, lifting him into the air. He flips head over heals then smashes into the windshield and over the car. He lays in the middle of the street, dead. The Lincoln speeds off down the street. JERRY VALE'S VOICE Arrivederci amore kiss me.", "INT. BONANNO'S HOUSE -- AFTERNOON Music continues. Bonanno sits on his couch, eating a cannoli as he watches Judge Judy on television. JERRY VALE'S VOICE Remember when we part.", "INT. MERCHANT STREET WAREHOUSE -- AFTERNOON Music continues. Agent Hadley is leaning against his car, his eyes open, a large bullet hole in his head. JERRY VALE'S VOICE You'll have my heart.", "INT. SOPHIE'S WAREHOUSE -- AFTERNOON Music continues. Wayne is sitting on the couch, an open package on the coffee table. He smiles as he stares at the stacks of cash the crew took from Zammito.", "INT. PLANE -- MOVING -- AFTERNOON Music continues. The crew sits quietly. JERRY VALE'S VOICE I love you so.", "EXT. PLANE -- MOVING -- AFTERNOON Jerry Vale continues singing as the plane glides through a clear blue sky. Music fades.", "EXT. BASTALDI'S'S WAREHOUSE -- PARIS -- MORNING Bastaldi steps outside into the crisp morning air. He takes a few steps, then stops. BASTALDI POV - across the street, standing side by side are Daniel, Sami, Raymond, Marcel and Zero. They look like a ragged bunch, tired, dirty. We PAN across the faces of each one of them as they stare at Bastaldi. A BUS goes by blocking Bastaldi's view of the boys. When it passes the crew it gone! Bastaldi bites his lip nervously. Bastaldi looks around, but there is no sign of them. A DIFFERENT ANGLE We can see the five of them crouched behind a parked car. Marcel peers through the window at Bastaldi who is still trying to figure out where they went. They are all amused with Bastaldi's bewilderment. RAYMOND What's he doing? MARCEL He's looking around for us. ZERO Zero ca n't stay like this much longer. His leg is hurting. Finally, Bastaldi turns around and goes back into his apartment.", "INT. BASTALDI'S WAREHOUSE -- DAY Bastaldi is at his desk, nervously tapping his fingers on the surface. The phone rings. He knows who is calling. He stares at the phone for a long moment, then he slowly lifts the receiver. BASTALDI Hello? DANIEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- in French. -RRB- It's Daniel. BASTALDI -LRB- in French. -RRB- Daniel. Listen I'm afraid there has been a big - DANIEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- overlapping ; in French. -RRB- - I've got the tapes. If you ever want to see your brother out of jail do exactly what I say. Bring one million euros to your boat at six o'clock. BASTALDI -LRB- in French. -RRB- A million! I do n't have that kind of money. DANIEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- in French. -RRB- Do n't bullshit me, Laurant! I know about the Van Gogh. BASTALDI -LRB- In French. -RRB- I do n't have it. That's why Vincent went to Chicago. They arrested him before he could bring it back. DANIEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- in French. -RRB- Well, you better get the money somehow. Six o'clock and come alone. If you do n't we'll destroy the tapes. The line goes dead.", "EXT. HOUSEBOAT -- AFTERNOON Bastaldi drives up. He gets out carrying a suitcase and nervously walks to the boat.", "INT. HOUSEBOAT -- AFTERNOON Bastaldi enters. No one appears to be there. Bastaldi's cell phone rings. He answers it. DANIEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- in French. -RRB- Go back on deck. There's a small rowboat in the water -", "EXT. OTHER SIDE OF RIVER -- CONTINUOUS Daniel, Sami and Zero watch the houseboat. Daniel continues his conversation on the cell phone. DANIEL -LRB- in French. -RRB- Put the money in the rowboat and untie it. The current will carry it down river. When we see that the money is there I'll call back and tell you where the tapes are. DANIEL'S POV : Bastaldi appears on deck. He puts the suitcase in the rowboat and unties it. It drifts slowly into the current.", "EXT. DOWN RIVER -- AFTERNOON The rowboat hugs the shore, moving slowly down the river. Marcel is on the shore with Raymond. Raymond reaches out with a long pole and pulls the boat to shore. Marcel opens the case. Inside are several stacks of five hundred franc notes. Marcel looks to Raymond with a grin and nods. Raymond opens his cell phone.", "EXT. OTHER SIDE OF RIVER -- CONTINUOUS Daniel, Sami and Zero continue to watch the houseboat. Sami's cell phone rings. He answers it and listens. RAYMOND -LRB- V.O. -RRB- We're in business. Sami nods to Daniel.", "EXT. HOUSEBOAT -- AFTERNOON Bastaldi's cell phone rings. He answers it. DANIEL -LRB- V.O. -RRB- -LRB- in French. -RRB- Go down into the main cabin. The tapes are in the wooden chest. The line goes dead.", "INT. HOUSEBOAT -- AFTERNOON Bastaldi enters, looks around the room until he sees the wooden chest. He walks over and opens it. Inside there are several cassette tapes in the cardboard box. Bastaldi grins and lifts the cardboard box out of the chest. He hears a CLICK. He notices something is attached to the bottom of the cardboard box. It's a long thin wire that has pulled the pin on an electronic device.", "EXT. ACROSS THE RIVER -- CONTINUOUS Daniel is now holding small, black device. A yellow light starts flashing. He puts his finger on a red button. DANIEL This is for Julien. He presses the button.", "INT. HOUSEBOAT -- CONTINUOUS A digital counter begins counting backwards. Bastaldi realizes that the device is a BOMB. He stares at the numbers quickly speed by 8. 7. 6. 5. BASTALDI Oh, Merde!", "EXT. HOUSEBOAT -- FIVE SECONDS LATER The houseboat explodes in a brilliant fireball, sending pieces of wood and metal flying into the air. A thick plume of black smoke swirls in the wind.", "EXT. ACROSS THE RIVER -- AFTERNOON Daniel, Raymond, Sami, Raymond, Marcel and Zero watch the smoldering wreckage. Their blank faces show no emotion - just a sense that justice has been done. SAMI Did you have to use that much explosive? DANIEL I promised Bonanno I'd destroy the tapes. Raymond opens the suitcase and looks inside. As he peels through the stacks of money we see that only the top bill of each stack is real - underneath them all is white paper, cut to the same size as the bills. Everyone turns to Marcel. DANIEL You did n't check it?", "EXT. BRIDGE -- AFTERNOON The five of them walk across the bridge. MARCEL I'm sorry! I was caught up in the excitement of the moment. I should have checked. I made a mistake. I suppose that none of you have ever made a mistake before? No one answers him. Sami reaches inside the black canvas bag and removes the autographed baseball Marcel took from Zammito. SAMI This is great. After everything we've been through we've got eight hundred euros and an autographed baseball. MARCEL The baseball is mine. SAMI No! You ca n't have the baseball! You're not entitled to the fuckin' baseball! Sami throws the baseball back in the canvas bag. MARCEL I'm the one who took it. It's my baseball! ZERO If you say baseball one more time Zero will shoot you. MARCEL Raymond, do n't you think they're over reacting a little? RAYMOND No. I think they have a right to express their anger with you in light of the fact that you're. -LRB- something in him snaps. -RRB- A FUCKIN' MORON! HOW COULD YOU NOT CHECK THE MONEY, YOU GOD DAMN STUPID SHIT - HEAD! Raymond's anger takes everyone by surprise. Even Raymond is surprised by his outburst. MARCEL Fine. All of you want to be angry? Be angry. but I'm the one who took the ball and that makes it mine. SAMI No. MARCEL Give it to me, Sami. SAMI No! Marcel tries to take the ball out of the bag. Sami pulls it away. Marcel grabs the bag. Both of them tug on it. Marcel pulls hard and the bag rips down the seam. The baseball falls out and rolls off the bridge into the river. SAMI Perfect. Marcel stands there holding the inside liner of the bag. Sami throws the canvas bag to the ground in frustration. Something catches Daniel's attention. DANIEL'S POV - of the black canvas. The lining has been ripped away. A light breeze blows lifting the underside of the black canvas. There is a flash of color. Another gust of wind turns the black canvas over. On the other side is Van Gogh's `` Vase with twelve sunflowers''. Daniel's jaw drops. The others notice his stunned expression and follow his stare. THEIR POV - of the priceless painting. They stand there, too shocked to move at first, then rush forward. They have almost reached the painting when a truck passes them. The wind kicks up the painting, blowing it over the railing. They reach out to grab it, but it is too far away. They stand there, watching as it slowly floats down to the river below.", "EXT. BRIDGE -- WIDE SHOT -- AFTERNOON They look at one an other, then without speaking a word they all jump off the bridge. As they fall towards the water we. FREEZE FRAME"], "labels": [0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0], "summary": "Daniel Foray (Depardieu) is the leader of an unusual group of burglars in Paris. When he's instructed by fence Laurent (Richard Bohringer) to go to Chicago to steal an expensive necklace in a suburban safe, the seemingly basic job becomes a fight for survival when the homeowner turns out to be mafia kingpin Frank Zammeti (Keitel), who is also under stakeout from authorities. The team are lead to believe by American liaison Sophie (Joanne Kelly) that they wrote down the wrong address, but when she disappears with the money and other items taken from the mafioso, they later learn that his residence was the correct target after all and it was a setup by corrupt FBI Agent Pogue (Shawn Lawrence). Shortly after the revelation, Pogue bludgeons Sophie to death, frames burglar Sam (Sa\u00efd Taghmaoui) and leaks the other men's names to the news media as accomplices. Pogue promises to alter evidence on condition that they hand over an audio tape stolen from Zammeti's safe, which not only declares war on fellow mob boss Angelo Giancarlo (Abe Vigoda) but strengthens the criminal case against the former, who has avoided criminal indictment. The sextet also confirm that Pogue was in cahoots with Laurent, whose interest in the heist indirectly relates to the recovery of a stolen Van Gogh painting and release of his brother from prison. As newly minted fugitives from justice and marks of the American mafia, the thieves make amends with a black street gang they previously clashed with and facilitate a \"handover\" of the tape between Sam and Agent Pogue in Grant Park; Pogue is secretly filmed confessing to Sophie's murder and picks up a switched tape after a fake mugging from the gang members. Pogue is promptly killed by Zammeti and his underboss when the recording in his possession turns out to be the song So in Love by Peggy Lee. To free themselves from the threat of Zammeti, burglar Raymond gifts a muscle car (stolen from a Latino street gang) to Zammeti's dim-witted younger brother, culminating in a deadly shootout between both groups of criminals. Finally, Daniel plays Giancarlo Zammeti's incriminating tape, revealing the betrayal, and requests a small sum of money and safe return to France in exchange for the heads up. With Zammeti gone and Laurent also in line to get \"whacked\" by Giancarlo's right-hand man, the burglars discover they were once again duped with a suitcase filled with counterfeit money. Before embarking as stowaways, they notice Laurent's Van Gogh painting get blown into Chicago River and comically dive into the water, with the outcome of their latest pursuit unknown.", "name": "Crime_Spree"}